'Can't start a fire without a spark'

Music critic: “ ‘Dancing in the Dark’ is a song by Bruce Springsteen which is about darkness. The song talks about how we are all dancing in the dark, trying to find our way out. It is a metaphor for how we are all trying to find our way in life and how we sometimes have to go through difficult times before we can find the light.”

From a website: “The phrase ‘darkness feeds off light’ is often used metaphorically to describe how negative forces, emotions, or entities can thrive on the presence of positive energy, truth, or goodness. It suggests a dynamic where the very things that bring clarity, hope, or strength can be exploited or consumed by opposing forces.”

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Here is an outtake from tonight’s Bible study at my church:

Jude 1: [6] And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.

Notice they’ve got some fallen angels that are reserved under "everlasting chains under darkness." The darkness is the chains.

Just like it says at the beginning of Genesis 1: [2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
[3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Darkness disables the functioning of the angelic creation. You know why angels are associated with stars? They need light to function.

You put them in the dark . . . How good do you function in the dark? Have you ever been in absolute darkness? You know, you live in a city like this and can’t imagine. You live in dimness, but you can’t imagine darkness.

You go down to central Illinois, you go down to Ridge Farm, Ill. (farm town, population 735) in September, it gets DARK down there.

One time we were riding back to Morris Chestnut’s farm, and there’s only about 4-5 farmhouses in a mile stretch of land and the rest of it is just fields, and you get out there on a moonless night and it’s DARK.

One of the guys with us, we asked, “What’s the matter?” and he said, “Somebody going to jump on me!” and we said, “There ain’t nobody out here; just corn, maybe a deer or two.” But in the dark, you get the heebie-jeebies.

If you want to get into real darkness, you go into a cave. One time our family went to Lookout Mountain and went down to the cave there to see Rock City and the falls, and you get down there about halfway and the guy turns the light out and you know, all you want to do is hold onto the wall. Because it’s dark. It immobilizes you. 

Rest, relax: peace of God given by God of peace

(new article tomorrow)

Philippians 4: [6] Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

[7] And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Preacher Norman B. Harrison said many years ago in a famous sermon outline, “Be careful for nothing, be prayerful for everything, be thankful for anything.”

That’s the attitude to have. I’m careful for nothing, meaning I’m not worried and full of care about anything. Things aren’t the issue in my life, says Richard Jordan.

I’m prayerful about everything; I’m living my life under the constant scrutiny of examining what’s going on in light of what God says.

And then in everything give thanks. When you do that, the peace OF God. I think about that. What do words mean: “The peace OF God.” The peace that belongs to God. God’s own calm, still, restful heart. Understand, God is at peace today. He’s not worried about anything. He’s not upset. He’s not, “Oh whew, whew, wonder what they’re going to do down there.”

I love the word “rest.” Faith rests, because faith is simply resting. The first time rest appears in the Bible it’s after six days of working, making creation, and on the seventh day He rested. He said, “It’s done. The work’s finished. The purpose for which I’ve labored these six days to accomplish, this creation, now I’m going to enter into it; I’m going to enjoy it.”

In that rest that God has--that confidence that God has, that calm, restful heart--can be your personal profession. God filling your heart with His own divine stillness—the peace of God.

It’s interesting when you look at verse 9: [9] Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

You see, it’s the God of peace who gives you the peace of God.

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By the way, the word “anxiety” and the word “anger” come from the same root, and they’re all connected with fear.

How do you get away from that? How do you stop that? You know, Christian people worry about strange things. We worry about different things than the world does, but we worry about them nonetheless.

Again, Paul says, “In EVERY thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

Instead of being careful about things, we’re to be prayerful, meaning we’re going to talk to God about them. Instead of being filled with unrest inside, I’m to talk to God about these things.

The “everything” answers to the “nothing.” No thing over here is to be something that I be anxious, worried and full of care about, troubled about in my spirit, because EVERYTHING over here, I’m talking to God about. Do you get that? That’s great.

But you know one of the strangest things to me is that Christian people read that verse and one of the things they worry about the most is their prayer life. That’s a truth; you know it is.

“What should we pray for? How should we pray?” Everything goes haywire when you’re worried about prayer. Listen, if you’re worrying about how to pray in your prayer life, forget about not worrying about everything else. Because you’ve just jettisoned the thing that keeps you from worrying about everything else.

The way you war on worry is being prayerful for everything and thankful in anything. But if you’re going to worry about whether you’re praying right, you just lost it. And I tell you, folks, people do that.

Let me say this: Relax. There is no wrong way to pray in the dispensation of grace. There are some uninformed ways to pray, but you’re not going to make God mad at you if you say the wrong thing when you’re praying. Because you know what? You’re going to say the wrong thing. Relax.

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Norman Baldwin Harrison (1874-1960) was a well-known pastor, evangelist and New Testament expositor with many writings.

Here are some outtakes from a website that’s made his messages from Philippians available.

This duality is the key to victorious living. “In Me . . . peace. In the world . . . tribulation; but . . . I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). To live in the world is to be subject to its vicissitudes, which are many. To live in Christ, merely resident in the world, is to live in His complete, perpetual victory.

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Christian's dual sphere of life, “in Christ Jesus at . . .” involves a paradox of experience. He may have Joy in the Lord while utterly lacking in Happiness at (the place of his residence). The paradox rests upon the separateness of the two spheres. Happiness is external. Etymologically, it is derived from “happenings.” So is it practically.

If the external happenings of life suit us, we say we are “happy.” If they shift or become uncertain, we are unhappy. It is a miserable chameleon existence. Yet it is the lot of all who merely live “at” their physical abode.

Joy is inward. It is “in the Lord”—in the inner sphere of the heart where He indwells. Its source is spiritual. Its resources are independent of circumstance. The degree of joy is often heightened and accentuated by the adversity of circumstance.

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A PROMISED PEACE (7). “The peace of God which passeth knowledge (surpasseth our natural powers of understanding, so unaccounted for by our circumstances, so contrary to them), SHALL keep (guard over) your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

It is military language. As a garrison of soldiers God will have His peace take possession of our hearts and minds. He will throw the cordon of His peace about us to ward off every worrying, vexatious thought that would infest us.

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We need more than peace; we need the Person—the God of peace. OUR IDEAL IN CHRIST. Paul is addressing himself to the Greek mind, with whom the pursuit of “virtue” was a habitual occupation.

He would have them know that the Christian faith has not only the loftiest ideal of all that is virtuous and praiseworthy, but the provision for realizing that ideal. This exemplary life, all the qualities he has enumerated, has already found expression in the Man Christ Jesus. And if the Pattern of life seem too remote, Paul is emboldened to direct them to a measurable realization of that model character, even in himself.

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“Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be IN HIM a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14). “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). That is, from “within him.”

As this tact unfolds in experience, how wondrously PERSONAL He becomes. Christ is in Heaven; yes. Christ is common to all Christians; yes. But—He is mine. He is all mine, personal to me.

As I kneel in prayer, though a thousand others be similarly engaged, I do not share my Christ with them, claiming but a thousandth of His thought, His time, attention and love. I have it all, undivided. He is mine, all mine. Yet this is just as true in the experience of the other thousand, if they are truly His. How wonderful.”

Victory through 'weakness'

Satan says, “I’m going to be the one who has the rulership and authority in both the heavens and the earth—everybody’s going to bow to me and follow my will and what I want done.”

The conflict from Genesis 1 to Revelation 21 is who really ought to be running the show. “Who’s qualified to control, to run, to set the rules?” That’s the issue, explains Richard Jordan.

In Mark 10, Jesus Christ is talking to His disciples about the kingdom and the government He’s going to establish:

[42] But Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.

In other words, the way the Gentiles run the world is by power. They use authority, mandates. But listen, if you have a persuasive argument and a persuasive cause, you don’t need to force people to follow it.

If you’ve got to force people, you don’t believe your cause is able to persuade people. You don’t believe it’s able to convince people that it’s right.

[43] But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister:
[44] And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.
[45] For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

Jesus says, “The way I rule is not by power and mandate, but I rule by weakness. I’m not going to tell you you’ve got to do it—I’m going to be your servant. I’m going to minister.”

Satan’s kingdom works by power, authority, rulership: “You do it and if you don’t, I get you.”

God says, “My kingdom’s going to work by service, by ministering, by taking a position of winning your heart.”

There’s a startling passage in II Corinthians 13: [3] Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
[4] For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

Have you ever thought about the crucifixion being the weakness of God? Let’s face it, is God weak? No. But you know what He looked like at the Cross? He surrendered; He served, He GAVE Himself. That appears to be weakness. You don’t see the power until you come to the resurrection.

Romans 1: [4] And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

You know why people love Christmas so much? Because He’s the baby and everybody loves a baby.

Nobody loves a judge. He’s declared to be the judge of all by the resurrection from the dead. The resurrection declares Him to be “God, my judge.”

With a baby, though, you just want to hug them; pick them up and give them a good squeeze. Babies are non-threatening.

The Creator of all things became weak in the arms of His mother. The weakness makes Christmas a holiday everybody can embrace.

I Corinthians 1: [18] For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

He had every right to be claimed as God, but He made Himself of no reputation. He didn’t strut His stuff, as we would say, but He made a choice to become a servant. He was "made lower than the angels." He went right down to the dirt of the earth and became one of us.

His power’s not made known in, “Do what I tell you.” His power’s made known in weakness; the appearance of weakness.

I Corinthians 1: [24] But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
[25] Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
[26] For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
[27] But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

You see, God has a unique strategy in the battle for His universe. He was going to gain victory through weakness. His wisdom devised a strategy to win the battle with the Adversary through a wise plan.

All revealed in time

(time ran out on me and so here's a little outtake and will have new article tomorrow now)

I Peter 1: [9] Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

[10] Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
[11] Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
[12] Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
[13] Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;

This is the salvation of the prophetic program but notice there’s two things they didn’t understand: What they were saying (“What does it mean when I write these verses down?”) and when does it occur? explains Richard Jordan.

You see how verse 11 says, "Glory that should follow"? One, they were confused about when it talks about the sufferings of the Messiah and the glory of the Messiah: “What were those two things and how did they fit together?”

You go back through the Old Testament prophets . . .  just start reading through Isaiah, for example, and you’ll read passages about the suffering servant of Jehovah, and in the same verse, or two verses afterward, you’ll read about the glory of the Messiah. And then two verses later you’ll read about the suffering again and it’s like it’s all jumbled up back there.

These prophets are reading this and trying to figure out one, what it is, and two, how does it fit together timewise. If they just had that dispensational chart!

What he says in verse 12 is “which things the angels desire to look into." There’s things back there in “time past” those prophets wrote down that they couldn’t figure out, and when they asked God to explain it to them, He said, “No, it’s not for you to know; it’s for people over here to know.”

There were some more things that needed to be revealed before the whole thing could be laid out.

You and I as members of the Body of Christ are the first people in all of history who have ever had the COMPLETE revelation from God about His mind, will, purpose and counsels.

We’re the first people who ever had a complete Book. It’s all revealed. Until the Book was complete there were things they couldn’t know because it wasn’t revealed yet.

God's oversight board

(new article tomorrow)

Psalm 89: [5] And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.[6] For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?[7] God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

“We’re talking about the angelic creation in the heaven, gathered together. That’s not an assembly of saints on the earth; that’s in the heavens. I don’t know if you ever thought about how, among the angels, there are saints," says Richard Jordan.

“Daniel 4: [16] Let his heart be changed from man's, and let a beast's heart be given unto him; and let seven times pass over him.

“King Nebuchadnezzar, because of his pride, is going to go out and be like an animal for seven years in judgment. That’s the decree in verse 16.

Verse 17: [17] This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

"Look at the last couple of words in verse 18: [18] This dream I king Nebuchadnezzar have seen. Now thou, O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation thereof, forasmuch as all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known unto me the interpretation: but thou art able; for the spirit of the holy gods is in thee.

“That’s the angelic host. Satan has his angels and then there are what Paul calls the ‘elect angels.’

“Some of these guys, they’re out here watching. You know that verse that says 'the eyes of the Lord go to and fro in the whole earth'?

“You know who the eyes of the Lord are? These people. I don’t know how you think God works, but He doesn’t have the universe in a place where He’s just got to be watching everybody all the time. He has emissaries, agents, looking over, in this case, the nation Israel.

“The watchers see what Nebby is doing, and by the decree of the watchers they’ve seen what Nebuchadnezzar’s doing as worthy of judgment and have issued a decree and a demand: ‘This has to be done.’

“They’ve made some decisions about what’s going on in Israel and in the Gentile kingdom. The decision to judge Nebuchadnezzar is said to be the decision that the watchers made. They’re over the business of these humans.

“Verse 24: [24] This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

“Well, whose decree is it? One verse says it’s the watchers and one verse says it’s the most High. Easiest way to understand that is to say, ‘Yeah, it’s both.’ The most High God has a will and then the watchers go out and apply that will and they participate with the Father in the administration of His activity.

Jeremiah 23:18: [18] For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?

“The counsel here is a group of people who He gets together to advise Him; to tell Him His Word and discuss it. It’ really an administrative body; it’s like a board of the angelic world. They are designed to work together with Jehovah to carry out His business in the heavens and in the earth.

“God has His creation set up with an oversight board, as it were; watchers, eyes looking to administer His will.

“The great illustration of it is in I Kings 22. This passage is so strange that it gets people really jumping off the cliff, but it’s really not that strange."

Material realm patterned after invisible counterpart

Here’s another outtake from Alex Kurz’ study on Bible science and creation:

You know the age-old question: “Why am I here?” “Oh, you’re just a big accident. You know, a bunch of energy hit a pool of slime and here we are.”

You think Adam walked around assuming there was a lightning bolt that hit some slime and there he was?

Can you imagine Adam—he’s talking to God! “Why am I here? Who am I? Who are you? What’s going on?”

So, what’s the Lord seeking to do with Adam during those first days there in the Garden of Eden? He informs Adam about this rebel (the Adversary), which is why God created Adam.

God says, “Adam, I created you because I want YOU to exercise universal reign and rule on this planet.” He didn’t say, “I need somebody to take care of ants.”

God told Adam, “You’re going to have dominion over the seas and every creeping thing.”

God says, “You see those birds flying in the air? They are a representation and a foreshadow of some other creatures flying out there in the universe. You see, that eagle has two wings but there are creatures with six wings and then there are creatures that fly around with no wings.” Superman, where did that concept come from?

Genesis 1:21: [21] And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

God says, “You see that big fish out there, Adam? You’re king of the whale.” What was Adam supposed to do with that creature? Was he to go out there every morning with minnows to try and feed it?

Ezekiel 32: [1] And it came to pass in the twelfth year, in the twelfth month, in the first day of the month, that the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
[2] Son of man, take up a lamentation for Pharaoh king of Egypt, and say unto him, Thou art like a young lion of the nations, and thou art as a whale in the seas: and thou camest forth with thy rivers, and troubledst the waters with thy feet, and fouledst their rivers.

This isn't the Pharoah where Israel was delivered, but this is later on when they engaged in combat in Babylon. God’s not just speaking to that guy; he’s speaking to the real spiritual entity and power behind that rebel.

In Scripture, who is described as a sea creature? Satan is a whale. Satan’s called the Leviathan. He’s called the behemoth. He’s also called the serpent and he’s occupying the seas out there.

So, when God created the physical, material whale, it is a shadow of a creature also called a whale in the INVISIBLE realm.

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Remember when God wiped out all of the human race except for the eight people on the ark? Then God says, “Here’s my prophecy. I won’t destroy humanity with a flood anymore.”

How did God seal the covenant? Ezekiel 1: [27] And I saw as the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round about.
[28] As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face, and I heard a voice of one that spake.

Ezekiel literally sees the throne room of Almighty God and he describes a rainbow like in the day of rain. What did Noah see in Genesis 9? That rainbow is a replica of the rainbow that surrounds the throne. There are waters in the third heaven.

How did God destroy Sodom and Gomorrah? Where did the brimstone come from? God opened up the windows of heaven and guess what fell down? Brimstone.

Remember when God fed Israel with manna from heaven? It’s called “angels’ food.”  Angels have to eat? According to Psalm 78 they do:

[21] Therefore the LORD heard this, and was wroth: so a fire was kindled against Jacob, and anger also came up against Israel;
[22] Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation:
[23] Though he had commanded the clouds from above, and opened the doors of heaven,
[24] And had rained down manna upon them to eat, and had given them of the corn of heaven.
[25] Man did eat angels' food: he sent them meat to the full.

We could go on and on. When Moses was instructed to build the tabernacle, which is the example and pattern of the true tabernacle in heaven, the Lord actually gives him the recipe to make the incense. He says, “You’re going to use special spices for perfume.” Apothecary and all that.

In Revelation 8, John sees the throne room in the third heaven:

[3] And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
[4] And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.

The material universe is patterned after its counterpart in the invisible realm and that’s a fascinating aspect when studying the creation. 

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A related post:

God's mandate to man is in Genesis 1: [26] And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

"If you're made in the image of God, you're going to be His representative, and if you're made in His likeness, you're going to be God-like, which is what godliness is. It's god-likeness, says Richard Jordan.

"When you're like God, you understand why God created you, what creation is for, what's going on, and you're going to be able to labor WITH God in like manner. You're going to work like God would work.

"Godliness is not just knowing what God's doing, and it's not even just laboring with Him in it, it's having the delight in it that He has.

"That verse in Jeremiah says, [24] But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

"God is saying, 'Don't glory in your wisdom, your money, your pomp and all the other stuff. Glory in this, that you know what I delight in!'

"In Hebrews 10, quoting Psalm 40, Jesus said, '[7] Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.'

"The psalmist says, 'I delight to do thy will.' When the Lord Jesus Christ came, He came delighting in what the Father's will was. The verse says, 'For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, despising the shame.'

"You understand His will and then it consumes your heart and becomes the joy of your own heart. That was God's plan for Adam and for Eve.

"God designed for them to be the ruler of creation and He equipped man to do that. He gave him a world. I love Genesis 2:1: '[1] Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.'

"God took Adam and Eve and placed them in a finished work. Do you know of another finished work? Calvary? He took you and me and put us in the finished work of His Son. That's a fascinating thing. It starts right there in chapter 2 of Genesis; God thinking about FINISHING a work."

Fear of losing

(new article tomorrow)

"The Pharisees minded what God spoke, but not what he intended. They were busy in the outward work of the hand, but incurious of the affections and choice of the heart. So God was served in the letter; they did not much inquire His purpose; and therefore they were curious to wash their hands, but cared not to purify their hearts."--quote online

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John 12:42-43: [42] Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: [43] For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

The chief rulers were among the elect of the Jews, probably members of the Sanhedrin. At this point in Christ's ministry, the gospel was having inroads even among the leaders. But because of the Pharisees the leaders would not confess Christ. Knowing it would mean expulsion from their religious circle, they were afraid of being ostracized and shunned.

Being put out of the synagogue was a fearful thing for these Jews. In Luke 9, when Jesus began to tell His apostles about His going to the Cross, one of the things He says is He’s going to be rejected of the elders, explains Richard Jordan.

That’s saying, "You’re not a part of Israel." When you did that to a Jew you completely cut off his whole hope; his whole identity.

All of his connection with his family and his heritage; you cut it away. I mean, that favored nation held together. They struggled together; they stayed together. They were going to put these guys out.

Then He says, "Not only will they put you out of the synagogue, thinking they are doing God’s service (‘We’re serving God by putting you out’), they’re going to kill you!"

That’s not just hatred and rejection; that’s a physical attack that winds up in your death, and before they get you dead, they do all the things necessary to get you dead. They didn’t come up and shoot people because they didn’t have guns back then. They stoned them.

It takes a little bit of time to stone somebody to death. I was reading an article the other day about how difficult it is to kill somebody by strangling them. You can shoot or knife somebody, but to strangle them isn’t just that you have to physically overpower them, which you do, but you literally have to hold them until their very life ebbs out of them.

It takes more than physical strength; it takes a psychological toughness, meanness, hatred, anger, passion, whatever it is, because you have to hold them to the point where they don’t breathe anymore. In your hands you literally feel it and you literally feel it go away.

You see, killing people is not…modern American Gentiles have made killing so easy. We send an airplane at seven miles up into the air and drop a bomb on somebody. Where the bomb lands is terrible but the dude that dropped the bomb goes back home and eats supper and goes to bed and never thinks about it.

If that same guy had to put his hands around the neck of the woman that his bomb destroyed and squeezed the life out of, well there’d be a different kind of situation I bet.

One of the things the Gentiles do is they constantly become better and better at killing people. We’re talking about modern science and the improvement of things, and you know what, every modern advancement and technology has been used, not just for the good of mankind, but to make it easier to kill people.

You name it! In fact, most of the technological advancements that trickle down to you and me in life come from military advancements where they were trying to stay a step ahead of the other guy so, "He can’t kill me; I can kill him first!"

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But these guys are doing this because they thinking they’re serving God; this murderous rage where they’re going to kill you. You’ll see it in the Book of Acts.

Acts 5: [26] Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned.

[27] And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them,
[28] Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.
[29] Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
[30] The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.

Because Peter and John had healed that man at the temple in Acts 3 they got called before the religious leaders and told, "Don’t do that again; you filled the city with this man’s doctrine," and because they kept preaching about the Lord Jesus Christ, they get called in again.

If the rulers tell you not to do something God says to do, and you go ahead and obey God, that means the rulers might come down on you. You’re not doing it to be rebellious against rulers; you’re doing it to be faithful to God. Duties don’t conflict. And when God tells you to do something, you do what God tells you.

But boy, when you break the religious rules of people . . . There’s no hatred like religious hatred, and be it a pope or a Protestant or an Imam, there’s no hatred, no persecution so fierce as that fired by a zeal for God and a zeal for "what’s right" as you want it to be, as your religion says.

Taking life and spreading it out

God is all-powerful; He is the Creator. But He can create and He can also delegate. He can give His power to others for them to operate.

If you know anything about delegated power, you know that’s a very threatening thing because, you know, you have micro-managers that want to control everything and macro-managers that just tell you, “Here’s the goal—go get it.”

When God created all things, Colossians 1:16 says, [16] For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

He created positions to whom He delegated authority to work and have the “powers that be” be ordained of God, explains Richard Jordan.

What delegating His authority means is He’s willing to share of Himself with others. When you think about God as a triune God, sometimes we just think, “He’s trinity, holy, holy, holy, big deal.”

You need to understand how important it is; we’re not just monotheistic, believing in one God. It’s not enough to say I believe in God; Satan’s the “god of this world.” You might be believing in the wrong one.

You need to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You can’t even believe in “christ” because the devil is a christ in Ezekiel 28. You need to believe in the Lord’s Christ.

The trinity is the demonstration of the trustworthiness of the godhead. If there was only one person in the godhead and He said, “This is it and it’s it because I said so,” how would you know He’s right and you could trust Him?

Do you just take one person’s word for anything? It would be an arbitrary statement. If somebody said it and another person witnessed it and said, “Yep, that’s what He said and He’s pretty consistent,” you’d question him because you’d wonder, “Well, are you all?”

But if you had a third person, these three people in the godhead have lived together forever. They’ve seen everything the other one has done. And they can testify of the integrity of the other members of the godhead.

That’s a good thing when you think about it. When one member of the godhead said something you can trust it because you’ve got two eternal witnesses to tell you, “He’s never said something wrong. He’s always spoken out of His goodness. He’s always been a lover. Love works no ill toward his neighbor. You can trust Him.”

It’s not an independent statement; it’s an eternal witness. That’s why Jesus said, “If I testify of myself my witness isn’t true, but I’ve got others to testify of me.”

So in the triune God you’ve got the godhead, and you know what every member of the godhead does? They all live for each other. The Father lives to exalt the Son, the Son lives to exalt the Father and the Spirit lives to exalt the Son. Every one of them exalts the other; they all live spontaneously for one another.

So the life of God is not lived to see what I can get out of it. God’s life is to give to others! That’s the way God’s life operates.

So when you talk about His omnipotence, it’s not, “Get all I can and can all I get.” You see, He has power to share His life.

Here’s the godhead and you think, “Why in the world would they have made creation?” Because they want to take this life that they have and spread it out—they want to GIVE it! They’re interested in moving out with it and they have the power to do that. And they have power to delegate because God is love.

Grand Canyon 70 million years old? Wrong premise

“Among the many questions posed by early philosophers, scholars, and scientists, one that intrigues us to this day is: ‘How old is the Earth?’ The short answer is that the Earth is approximately 4.54 billion years old,” reports Science Notes.

“Before the age of science, most cultures explained the origin of the Earth through their respective creation myths. These were based on religious texts or oral traditions. Early estimates of the age of the Earth were relatively short, often just a few thousand years.

“The understanding of Earth’s age began shifting during the Enlightenment. In the late 18th century, James Hutton, the father of modern geology, proposed that geological forces acted continuously over extremely long periods of time. This was a departure from the common belief that catastrophic events shaped Earth’s surface. Hutton’s ideas laid the foundation for the concept that Earth must be far older than previously thought.”

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Here is a follow-up to yesterday’s post:

What is this issue of the “law of uniformity” and how does it pose a problem in scientific study and research?

By the way, this whole idea of uniformity is generally used in geological science, but that doctrine spills over into the chemical processes, or the biological processes, or the cosmic processes, says Alex Kurz in his study.

Uniformitarianism states that current geological processes occur at the same rate observed today in the same manner. The slogan used is, “The present is the key to the past.”

Uniformitarianism states that you can measure, study, research and analyze things today because things today are the key to the past and supposedly everything operates and moves and decays at the same rate.

In other words, what is measurable today is applied to the past and now you’ve got hundreds of millions, if not billions of years.

You ever wonder why they always have to revert to the issue of time?! Because of the law of uniformity.

It says that what we witness today has ALWAYS occurred in much the same way and by looking at the processes today, we INFER they operate the same way as in the past.

Uniformitarianism often involves slowwww processes. How long does it take that cell to become a human being? “Oh, it takes millions and millions of years.”

How long does it take for the Grand Canyon to appear? “Oh, it takes millions and millions of years.”

I understand why they say it takes millions and billions of years, but their premise is wrong. It’s an assumption.

Paul talks about "science falsely so called." Uniformitarianism is science falsely so called.

In what is one of only two references in the Bible to science (the first is in Daniel 1:4), Paul writes in I Timothy 6: [20] O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called:

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True Bible science will recognize catastrophism; catastrophe, cataclysm. Cataclysmic events in history have radically, dramatically changed creation and therefore we must apply the law of catastrophism.

We understand that what we see today is not what it used to be in the past.

II Peter 3: [5] For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:
[6] Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
[7] But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
[8] But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

The whole concept of old—don’t we find that all over the Bible? There’s the “old man” and the “new man.” There’s the “old covenant” and the “new covenant.”

He says, “I will put a new spirit within you.” The implication is there is an old spirit.

All over God’s Word we see the principle of God redoing something. What is God ultimately going to establish, according to Revelation 21? [1] And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

The whole concept of God re-creating is Scripture. We’re not going to talk about “the gap,” but my personal belief is there was a cataclysmic event that occurred between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2. 

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Here's a related post:

Isaiah writes, [21] Have ye not known? have ye not heard? hath it not been told you from the beginning? have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth?
[22] It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

"Why did God make the creation? He stretched it out as a tent to dwell in," explains Richard Jordan. "He literally created a universe where He could demonstrate and express His life.

"You know what it is when you get home. First thing I do is take my shoes off. You settle down and feel at home; it's your dwelling.

"Now you notice he says it's a tent. Do you know a tent in the Bible where God dwells? Hello. The tabernacle. Remember how God gave Moses the pattern to build a tabernacle by? He said, 'This is a pattern of the true tabernacle in heaven.'

"When God creates in Genesis, there's a shape and a form to it and it's going to have a shape and form of a tabernacle. Genesis 1 starts, [1] In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
[2] And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. [3] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

"The earth was without form, so something happened to the creation and there was a rebellion in it. That's why it's in that shape, because rather than allowing evil to just spread, He boxed it in.

"Notice when the Spirit of God moved, what did He do? He spoke. When God wants to work in His creation, He does it by words. He expresses His Word. He didn't send a cool breeze across the water to go, 'Wow.' He spoke words. Who would know what the cool breeze was for? A cool breeze is nice on a warm day and not so nice on a cold day. How do you decide?

"You don't go three verses in the Bible and God tells you how He works in His creation. You don't get to choose how He does it. He's God, you're not. When God wants His will in His creation, He says.

"Don't forget that. You want God to work in your life, think, 'What did He say? Where do I find what He says in His Word?'

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Genesis 1:4 says, [4] And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.

"Isn't that interesting? You go only four verses in the Bible and you're told God starts dividing things. There's a verse in II Timothy that tells us to 'rightly divide.' I need to recognize the divisions and distinctions God has made in His creation.

"I'm only four verses in and I can learn some things that theology and modern Christianity doesn't have any idea about! No. 1, God speaks, and He works in words, and No. 2, when He speaks, you better be careful to divide it the way He divides it. To me that's just fascinating."

Eastward in Eden

Today’s headline: “Water levels in the Euphrates River within the ‘cradle of civilization’ are plummeting sharply, raising alarm about a Biblical end-times prophecy.

“The deteriorating Euphrates River, Western Asia's longest waterway stretching across Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, runs through a historically significant Biblical area, the Fertile Crescent.”

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Genesis 2: [8] And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.
[9] And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
[10] And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads.

Eden is a territory and you have the river Euphrates that starts out in the Turkish area and flows down into the Persian Gulf area. What did God do in the eastern part of Eden? asks Alex Kurz in a study.

Isn’t it interesting that when God describes what He did in this territory He called Eden, He says He “planted a garden.” My personal opinion is it’s at the edge of the Euphrates River.

Genesis 2:15: [15] And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it.

Remember there’s this whole issue of the appearance of age and Adam was created as a man who immediately communicated with the Lord and there are trees and rivers in the garden.

A river, according to geologists, takes hundreds if not thousands of years to make. You have a trickle of water from a higher elevation to a lower elevation and it takes years before that trickle becomes a brook, then a creek, then a stream, etc.

When God created this garden, it already had rivers, meaning God created it with the appearance of age. Adam’s an adult. What’s on the trees? You’ve got to wait until a tree grows to have fruit on it. The tree was a mature tree because it’s already producing fruit.

So, you understand that when science tries to study the physical universe, they apply the law of uniformity. God created everything with the appearance of age.

Here’s the replication principle. II Corinthians 12: [2] I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
[3] And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
[4] How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

There’s the first heaven, called the open heaven, then there’s the second heaven, a closed heaven, and then there’s the third heaven and that’s where God dwells.

God is replicating on Planet Earth what already exists in the third heaven.

Revelation 2: [7] He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

I know something about paradise. It has a tree. Paradise is a garden. God has a garden in the third heaven.

Revelation 22: [1] And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
[2] In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.

There’s a street up there. What do you think God intended to do with the gold?

You see the replication principle? When we study biblical science, we understand that what God’s doing in the natural world is a replica of the invisible world.

Ezekiel 1: [10] As for the likeness of their faces, they four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left side; they four also had the face of an eagle.

This is Ezekiel, who is literally transported into the invisible realm and he’s now describing the various creatures.

What did Ezekiel see? “Hey, there’s a lion up there. There’s the face of an ox.”

So the natural world possesses beasts that replicate something that’s already out there. Make no mistake, Ezekiel isn’t saying, “You know, the closest thing that I can kind of liken it to . . . ” He’s very specific.

Isaiah 6: [1] In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.
[2] Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

In the invisible realm there are creatures who have wings.

Isaiah 60: [8] Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as the doves to their windows?

What kind of creature was Lucifer? He was an anointed cherub. How many wings does a cherub have? Four. How many wings for a seraphim? Six.

If you could just envision a creature that has four wings that puts on a robe of stones and Lucifer manifests light. In this creature, as he reflects the light through these different colored stones, there’s this kaleidoscope effect, but at the same time there’s something about those wings.

Ezekiel 10: [5] And the sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God when he speaketh.

Guess what Lucifer was doing in the universe when he would flap and spread the wings? He was the voice of Almighty God.

Lucifer had the highest place of governmental rule in all of creation. He was the sum of beauty, He was the sum of all wisdom. You know who’s next above him?

Guess what Adam was created to do? “Adam, you’re in charge of it all. All of those stones are yours and when you speak, you speak as my voice.”

Adam sinned and “died” and that second Adam, what is His name? “The Word.” You see, Jesus Christ, who is the perfect Adam, He does and can do what the first Adam should have done.

Little side note: When you and I preach the gospel, whose voice are we? It’s the voice of God, right? Right now on Planet Earth, outside of the Word of God, we’re His “audible voice” when we’re preaching His Book and that’s why Lucifer hates us with such deep ire and hatred. We’re doing what He once did. Aren’t you and I light?

Ephesians 5: [8] For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
[9] (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
[10] Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.

Everything that Lucifer WAS—he was light, he had the voice of authority. God says, “With the second Adam I’m going to deal with a new creature called the church the Body of Christ.”

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From a study by Richard Jordan:

Jesus Christ says in John 15: [1] I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.

Husbandry has to do with gardening. And the husbandman; it’s interesting that God would use that terminology of a husband to describe the role that we ascribe to a husband.

But a husbandman in the Scripture is someone who cultivates and cares for a garden. Sort of the caretaker.

God literally steps out of heaven into man’s earth and takes on our humanity.

That verse is saying that God the Father was the caretaker for the Lord Jesus Christ. When He’s the husbandman of the vine and Jesus said, "I’m the vine," He’s literally saying, “You know, I’m doing this stuff to do what my Father gave me to do. He gave me a commandment. And my Father is the one who is taking care of me who’s jealous over watching over me and my development; my growth.”

Now there’s a verse back in Isaiah 53 that kind of alerts you to that. Isaiah 53: [1] Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
[2] For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

The Messiah’s going to grow up before Him. You see how that starts talking about Him being a tender plant and a root out of a dry ground? There’s that horticulture terminology. There’s the husbandman. And what’s the Father do? He’s overseeing; He’s tending. He’s watching out for Him and He watches out for His development.

Comfort, refuge like that from God

(when I wrote last night I wasn't remembering today was Mother's Day and I got caught up in making sure my mom was No. 1 with all the trimmings. have to finish new article tomorrow--sorry for putting it off again)

An indignant Jane Fonda writes in her autobiography:

". . .I cannot reconcile myself to the Judeo-Christian assumption that man was God's principal creation, with woman (Eve, fashioned from Adam's rib) a mere derivative afterthought."

Nothing could be more silly.

When God took a rib out of Adam to create Eve, He gave Eve some things directly from His image and likeness that were for her especially. That’s why “men are from Mars and women are from Venus.”

While the pagan depiction of God as a woman/mother demeans His person and character, God's character obviously includes feminine traits.

*****

In Isaiah 66:13, God, making one of numerous references to the nation Israel as His child, says, "As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you."

"There are some things He put into a woman and into a mother that are like Him and she's that way because she's like Him," explains Richard Jordan. "You know what a mother's comfort is like? You want to know what comfort is from God when He says He ‘comforts us in all our tribulations’?

"When a child runs and falls down and skins a knee, does the child jump up and say, 'Daddy, Daddy!' No, the child says, 'I want my momma.' There's just something about comfort that a mother provides because there's something about a mother that's like God.

"In Isaiah 49:15, God again, in reference to His people the nation Israel, emphasizes He's like a good mother who is all-caring: ‘Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.’

"A mother’s going to know something about tears; know something about disappointments. God says, 'You know what I'm like? I'm like that mother who you could never get out of her heart her compassion for her kid.' That’s how God is in compassion.

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“God identifies with the fury of a mother when anyone tries to come between her and her child. God warns in Hosea 13:8, for example, ‘I will meet them as a bear that is bereaved of her whelps, and will rend the caul of their heart, and there will I devour them like a lion: the wild beast shall tear them.’

"He's saying, 'You want to know what I'm like when somebody comes in and tries to take Israel away?  I'm going to be like a bear that's bereaved of her whelps.’

“The mentality is sort of like, ‘Somebody's come and stole my kids?! I'm coming for you, sucker!’ A situation you never want to get into is where a mother is coming after you. God says, ‘That's the kind of fury I have over mine.’

*****

“Insight into Jesus Christ's maternal instinct, even when His children are in gross disobedience, can be found in Matthew 23:37. Christ, looking out over the city of Jerusalem, says, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!’

"Could there be anybody who would deserve that less? They killed the prophets and stoned those who were sent unto them and yet with that mother's compassion, that mother's heart, that heart that only a mother can understand . . .

“Christ says, 'How often I would have gathered you under my wings. I'd have taken those wings (Deuteronomy 32:11 talks about the eagle's wings; how she has her young nestled) and put you under them and shielded you from the wrath you're going to get—the punishment that's coming. I would have done it for you but you would not.'

"The mother broods over, watches after, takes care of, gives refuge to her kids because she's like God.

*****

"The great 19^th Century evangelist Dwight L. Moody once gave a striking story about a mother’s love in a sermon. He told of a woman in England whose son had killed five people—butchered them, sliced them up like a Jack the Ripper kind of copycat.

"And that boy's mother sat in the box during the trial and when he was sentenced, she fainted, fell out.

"They got her awake and she grabbed the boy, hugged him, kissed him and, in order to take him to prison, they had to literally tear her apart from him.

"She went off and petitioned the court to get him off but it never happened. And after they hung the boy, she went and petitioned to get his body, but they wouldn't give it and buried him in the prison graveyard. When that momma died, the one instruction in her will was, 'Bury me next to my boy.'

"You say, 'What in the world?! Where would that come from?' He was a murderer; nobody had any use for him on the face of the earth but a mother. She was able to do that, not because she thought the lives of the people he killed were valueless; it's because there's something in her that's like God who never lets you go even when you ought to be let go."

A drink from some cool spring

(well, time's running out on today and still working on new article. will have to post it tomorrow now. in meantime, here's another article with a VERY high readership tally since 2023:)

Revelation 21: [6] And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.

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"The high mountains of Lebanon rise in a series of steps, with sharp edges facing generally south or south-east," explains an encyclopedia of the Bible. "The lower steps in the 'staircase' were and are fertile basin lands, separated from each other by the barren limestone edges.

"In the time of Jesus, these basins were known for their grain, fruit and olives. They formed a prosperous, well-populated area. But the higher steps rise to a bleak and windswept upland. This is isolated and infertile, and lacks the forests of the higher mountain slopes further north."

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“The mountain of Lebanon derived its name from the white crown of snow, which it wore all the time," writes Bible commentary author Cora MacIlravy, circa 1916.

"Streams of pure, cold water flowed down its sides or found their way through underground channels to the thirsty valleys below. These mountain streams never failed, never became stale and tasteless, warm and unrefreshing.

"From a higher source than any earthly mountain, comes the living water with which we are refreshed; though the Channel through which it flowed, appeared so lowly when upon earth.

“This Fountain of gardens was so uncomely in His human body, this Well of living water was so weak and despised as He hung and died on the Cross, that He appeared no greater than any other man as they laid His lifeless body away in the tomb.

"But this Fountain had its source in the Holy Mountain of God, it issued from the throne of God. It came from the everlasting hills in Heaven and flowed down to earth, bringing life wherever it flowed, watering the wilderness and making the desert to blossom as a rose.

“He is the Fountain of gardens; every garden and every part of God’s great Vineyard must receive all its refreshment from Him and Him alone. All our fountains are in Him, He waters the vineyard of your life and mine.

"It matters not how fierce the wind may blow, nor how hot the valley is through which we are passing, if we keep the connection opened between our souls and the great Fountain of life, the Well of living streams will ever flow from the throne of God. Sometimes they are like rivers, sometimes like hidden underground springs, but they never run dry.”

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When the Bible gives the picture of "rivers of living water flowing" out of the Believer, it’s really talking about God the Holy Spirit. Living water and rivers are two symbols of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ promises in John 7: 38: "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."

“You can have water as dew or as rain, but here it’s living water in the sense it is flowing,” explains Richard Jordan. “Water represents the effectiveness and efficiency of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The living water represents the life that’s in Christ; the life the Messiah will provide.

*****

“Rivers are often used in Scripture to demonstrate the mission of the Spirit of God. Isaiah 48:18 says, ‘O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.’

“The peace of God comes from your faith resting in the truth of God’s Word, which then allows the Spirit of God to produce the fruit of love, joy, peace.

“Isaiah 41:17-18 says, ‘When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
[18] I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.’

“He’s going to quench the thirst of the thirsty, meaning He’s going to satisfy the hearts of Israel. You see the descriptions there that kind of match what Christ says in John 7?

“Look at Psalm 36:8 and Psalm 42:1:

Psalm 36: [8] They shall be abundantly satisfied with the fatness of thy house; and thou shalt make them drink of the river of thy pleasures.
[9] For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.

Psalm 42: [1] As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.

[2] My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God?

The blessings God gave Israel will flow Israel out to the needy and it will be like a river, and when someone comes and drinks of the river, he is satisfied and finds peace. You can go on and on and on with the (analogies).

*****

“Jeremiah 2:13 says, ‘For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.’

“The fountain is sort of like an artesian well; it flows naturally, you can’t stop it. A cistern is a bucket you hold water in, but their bucket’s got a hole in it. They’ve forsaken God and they got buckets that can’t hold water.

“That’s a description of the spiritual condition the nation is in. But who is ‘the fountain of living water’? God is; He’s the source.

“What Jesus Christ is doing in John 7 when He talks about how ‘out of his belly shall flow living waters,’ He’s literally reaching back into Jeremiah, taking a symbol and describing what they’ve forsaken.

*****

“I once wrote down every verse in the Bible about rivers. Rivers start out in Genesis 2. There are four named in Eden and each one has a specific relationship to the land.

“The better known rivers include the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Jordan. There’s the rivers of Babylon and Chadar and every river in the Bible has something specific, something special connected with it. There’s a spiritual identity connected with it.

“Rivers are used to represent spiritual truth. Psalm 1 says the godly man ‘shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’

“One of the things a river does in the Bible is help a godly man produce fruit. Well, isn’t that exactly what the Holy Spirit does? He produces ‘the fruit of the Spirit.’

*****

“Hebrews 4:12 tells us ‘the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.’

“When it says it’s powerful, that means it’s energetic; it’s got a transforming, dynamic in its life that will transform you from the inside. It changes your attitudes, which changes your actions. It transforms your heart and renews your mind.

“The word ‘quick’ in the verse means it’s alive, but don’t be so quick to jump over the ‘quick’ concept because the word ‘alive’ means it’s functioning in every part. The Word of God doesn’t function lethargically. It’s not that it functions eventually.

“What’s in view is that it’s in a state of activity. The word function has the idea of being able to respond without hesitation and delay. God’s Word will respond to your faith quickly. It’s alive, and when you believe it, it works!

“It doesn’t take six months to work. It will work the moment you believe it. That’s why it says ‘quick.’ It’ll do it NOW! The part about the ‘quick’ I like is I didn’t have to do anything but believe it and it worked!

“God isn’t waiting on me to do something; He’s just waiting on me to BELIEVE it! The Word becomes the sustaining internal compulsion with the life of Jesus Christ that gives VICTORY.”

“The biblical definition of the word ‘submit’ is ‘to give your heart over to another person’s will. Sub is under. You put yourself under them. You give your heart over to another’s will.

"That’s the challenge; that’s the dare of love. It’s the dare of faith. And if you dare to do it by faith, because God said to do it, you’ve made the decision based upon the truth of what God’s Word is.”