Matthew 6:1-34 – The Nazarene’s Commentary on Leviticus 19:18 Continued 4 Treasures’ and neighbour love

Matthew 6:19-23

d) ‘Treasures’ and neighbor love

|| Luke 11:34-36

MT6:19 “Do not[1] treasure[2] up for yourselves ‘treasures’ on earth where moth and rust consume[3] and where thieves break in and steal. MT6:20 But, treasure up ‘treasures’ in heaven[4] where neither moth nor rust consume and where thieves cannot break in and steal. MT6:21 For where your ‘treasure’ is there your heart will be also.[5] MT6:22 The lamp of the body is the eye.[6] So, if your eye is focused right[7] your whole body will know the Way. MT6:23 But, if your eye is focused wrong[8] your whole body will be blind.[9] So, if the ‘Light’ in you is ‘Dark’[10] – O, how much darkness!

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[1] Do not: The negative commands of the Nazarene. The phrase “do not” occurs over 200 times in the Gospels. The Nazarene says,

‘Those that love me, my true friends, will keep my commandments.’ (John 14:15; 15:12, 14)

There about 60 “commands” of the Nazarene in the Gospels, some negative, some positive. In the 600 laws of Moses it is estimated by some that 60% are negative and 40% positive. For a complete consideration read Nazarene Commandments©.

[2] Treasure: This is the Greek word from which the English thesaurus comes. The word occurs 15 times in Matthew and Luke. A more modern word for it would be “save” or “store.” Compare Luke 12:20: savings. Various renderings: store up no treasures for yourselves; don’t pile up treasures on earth. Is it fair to state that the Nazarene discouraged “savings” in a material sense? In all the Christian Bible there are only two exhortations to “save.” (1 Corinthians 16:2; Ephesians 4:28) Both deal with “saving” in order to give to those in need. One cannot “save” and at the same time ‘sell belongings to give to the poor’ (Luke 12:33). Unless this be a brief and momentary storage in preparation to give to the needy.

Stop saving! is a Nazarene command not to horde or store despite any supposed encouragement in the Solomonic Proverbs to the contrary. Whatever the Proverbs might counsel, ‘God now speaks by His Son.’ (Hebrews 1:1) This is a severe test of faith when the Western or Capitalist World is encouraging exactly the opposite.

The Nazarene and his disciples lived what he taught. Ghandi noted that Jesus was the only religious leader who actually lived what he preached. Solomon had a yearly income of 666 talents of gold. But, Jesus and Peter were unable to come up with the Temple tax, something like two-bits, and had to resort to a piscerian miracle to pay their proper debt so as not to stumble any (Matthew 17:25-27).

Money, material things, possessions and property (riches) can have a powerful influence on love of neighbor. Nothing can injure relations between friends or brothers more than riches. Seldom do the rich or propertied socialize with the poor or needy. These two classes have been separated from that first moment money was invented.

[3] Consume: It is true that in modern times rust and moths do not have the same affect on money as in the First Century. However, there are still thieves, and more importantly there is always the danger of electronic viruses, or transmission failures, or banking collapses that endanger hard earned savings. There is a prophetic warning in The Apocalypse about a future world power with the capacity to enforce the entire globe to use an “engraving” in order to “buy or sell.” (Revelation ch. 13) So, there are other forms of “moths” and “rust” and “thieves,” as property and financial accounts exist in an electronic atmosphere of computer wizardry always dependent on electric power, and totally under the control of economic powers, constantly manipulating stock markets, and materialistic institutions under the control of greedy persons world-wide.

[4] Heaven: The Celestial Bank protected by God! (Note Luke 12:33, 34: sell and heart; Luke 16:9: friends) Various renderings: WMS: keep on storing up your riches in heaven. Heavenly treasure is God’s view of what is valuable (Proverbs 2:1-9: treasure) and it includes the “gold” of faith founded on Christ (1 Corinthians 3:12 and 1 Peter 1:7: tested faith). The Greek for “treasure” is the English “thesaurus” which is a dictionary of words. This is apropos with regard to the Divine Thesaurus found in the Holy Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:16: inspired).

[5] Where your ‘treasure’ is there your heart will be also: It is left to the heart of each Friend of the Nazarene to determine the degree these teachings will be followed. Each person is in a different set of circumstances. However, the spirit of all of this cannot be ignored (1 Timothy 6:9, 10: materialism). There is no better indicator judging a person’s heart than how one uses and views money (1 John 3:17; James 2:15, 16; Matthew 25:31-46). This is surely “the bottom line” with most persons concerned about earthly credits and debits, unaware of the Divine Accountant who is keeping a perfect set of books (Revelation 20:12-14). Most will find themselves in the “red” with God, and unless they repentantly plead their cause and admit their materialism as a desertion of Christ, they can expect no payment except that gleaned from earthly coffers.

One way to judge the “heart” is what a person talks about. That is, what are the main subjects that occupy a persons dialogue and communications? Is the central topic those things of a spiritual nature, or do material matters dominate speech? (Consider Ephesians 5:3-5, 12)

[6] The lamp of the body is the eye: Still on the subject of earthly or celestial treasures, the Nazarene turns to the eye: what and how it looks at various matters. Light enters the eye as an opening to the body or the entire person as a physical entity. However, spiritual light imbues the inner person, the Nazarene Saint’s Transformed Mind. The purpose of this divine illumination is to direct each footstep in the direction of God’s path (Psalm 119:105: lamp).

[7] Focused right: The Greek involved here is APLOUS and is variously translated “simple, sincere, generous, single, unclouded.” The word occurs in various forms in contexts of simplicity and generosity (Romans 12:8; 2 Corinthians 8:2), sound or sincere (Matthew 6:22; Luke 11:34), and, liberal (James 1:5). It seems to us the Nazarene’s subject is how we view matters and if our eye is healthy, and therefore focuses well, we will look properly on things and persons. The simple eye is generous in giving because it does not fret or worry about tomorrow’s anxieties, and so the view or focus on the morrow is bright with gleaming hopes of that “real life” only God can give (1 Timothy 6:19: real life).

Adam’s “eye” was focused wrongly and rather than see the Tree as harmful he viewed it as good (Genesis 3:6). Note the Nazarene’s offer of “eyesalve” to the materialistic in Revelation 3:17, 18. Compare the beloved Apostle’s thought at 1 John 2:16.

Luke 11:33-36 puts the subject of the well-focused eye in the context of the light hidden under a basket. Verse 34: ‘When your eye is single (simple, sincere, generous, focused) your whole body will be illuminated.’ There are various warnings in Proverbs about eyesight and how one views or does not view something (Proverbs 4:25; 23:31). The Bible provides numerous real-life examples of the improper “eye”: Eve (Genesis 3:6); Achan (Joshua 7:21); David (2 Samuel 11:2).

The association of the eye with the word “generous” is a good one when considering Jesus’ sub theme of neighbor love and charity. Note the word “beholds” at 1 John 3:17 (James 2:15, 16). Note also: ‘The generous eye will be blessed, the one who feeds the poor’ (Proverbs 22:9); and, ‘Eat not the bread of the one with a selfish eye, nor desire his delicacies, for he inwardly figures the expense.’ (Proverbs 23:6)

[8] Focused wrong: Various renderings: KJ: evil; TCNT: diseased; MOF: if your eye is selfish; NOR: if you have poor eyesight. The wicked eye, which is wrongly focused, is the envious one who cannot be satisfied with those things already possessed, but must have more than his neighbor. Such a wrongly focused eye is covetous. The Nazarene warns at Luke 12:15:

‘With eyes wide open, guard against covetousness, because Life does not come from possessions.’

The “evil eye” is greedy and desires more of what his neighbor has and is stingy when it comes to showing love to his neighbor.

[9] Blind: The Greek literally, ‘The whole body will be dark’ inferring blindness.

[10] If the ‘Light’ in you is ‘Dark’: Various renderings are: TCNT: inner light is darkness; WMS: the very source of light in you is darkness. On the exterior there is the appearance of light as an illuminator of souls (Romans 2:19) but inside the divided heart is bedarkened by choices between God and Riches. No greater darkness can there be than the person who thinks by his riches to serve God with extravagant contributions to holy orders – often with show and often with the purchase of another Saint’s soul – believing by such charity the way into the Kingdom of God is purchased.

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Preceding articles

Matthew 5:38-42 – 5. The Nazarene’s Commentary on Exodus 21:24

Matthew 6:1-34 – The Nazarene’s Commentary on Leviticus 19:18 Continued 1 Charity and neighbour love

Matthew 6:1-34 – The Nazarene’s Commentary on Leviticus 19:18 Continued 2 Prayer and neighbour love

Matthew 6:1-34 – The Nazarene’s Commentary on Leviticus 19:18 Continued 3 Forgiveness and neighbour love

Written down for God to bring us up to a virtuous life

A look at materialism

There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving

Next:

Man enticed to long for more

Anxiety and neighbor love

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Additional reading

1. Your position about materialistic desires having conquered the world
2. Increasing wealth gap of immense proportions in the Capitalist World
3. Capitalism
4. The Proper Place of Excess
5. Materialism, would be life, and aspirations
6. Charity & Egoism
7. Learning that stuff is just stuff
8. The Culture of Excesses- Losing Humanity
9. Summermonths and consumerism
10. How to Find the Meaning of Life and Reach a State of Peace
11. Material wealth, Submission and Heaven on earth
12. Material gain to honour God
13. Stop and Think
14. The Giant evil and danger for the country
15. Words to inspire and to give wisdom
16. Not holding back and getting out of darkness
17. Faith Over Fear
18. Beginning a Path toward Distributism: A Brief Definition
19. American Christianity no longer resembles its Founder
20. How do you define religion?
21. Reflect on how much idolizing happens
22. From Winterdarkness into light of Spring
23. Looking to the East and the West for Truth
24. Message of Pope Francis I for the 48th World Communications Day
25. Preparing for the Kingdom
26. A way to prepare for the Kingdom
27. Four Pressing Needs in Rural Communities, and How the Church Should Respond
28. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #2 Instructions and Laws
29. Blindness in the Christian world

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Further reading

1. Consumerism
2. Damned Acquisitiveness
3. Because we are living in a material world, but I refuse to be a material girl.
4. But does that make me materialistic?
5. Materialism Today
6. Materialism: Why happiness eludes us
7. A message about materialism
8. He is a slave of materialism. Dont buy things you cant afford.
9. Materialism and the Church
10. What is Important to You?
11. Life, lost
12. The Price is Wrong
13. Ep 13: Christianity and Socialism
14. Intro to Minimalism
15. Our culture is damaging our well-being
16. Quick Thought – Monday, July 17, 2017
17. Truth lies not in the middle
18. How Simple is Living Simply?
19. What Did the Poor Ever Do to You?
20. Materialists, their eye on the rear view mirror
21. What is Right What is Wrong
22. Faith Check
23. The Absolute Laws of Science Refute Atheism and Materialism.God scatters
24. How some rich people are trying to dismantle inequality
25. charity:water
26. What would Jesus have us do?

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Related articles

• Jesus, Not Our Ministries, Is The Point
• A Newly Discovered Manuscript and Its Lesson on Islam
• The Growing Hatred Against Biblical Christianity
• Stronger our belief, the more likely our prayers will be in line with His will
• In the End, It’s All a Matter of Aesthetics:
• He Set The Course For Victory
• Vacation Bible schools slated in Murrysville area
• From the Explanations of the Psalms by Saint Ambros

Written down for God to bring us up to a virtuous life

“23  The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone, 24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness— for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.” (Romans 4:23-24 NIV)“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4 NIV)

“16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NIV)

“19  And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:19-21 NIV)

“He must remain in heaven until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets.” (Acts 3:21 NIV)

“These are the commandments the LORD proclaimed in a loud voice to your whole assembly there on the mountain from out of the fire, the cloud and the deep darkness; and he added nothing more. Then he wrote them on two stone tablets and gave them to me.” (Deuteronomy 5:22 NIV)

“8 And you shall write very clearly all the words of this law on these stones you have set up.” 9 Then Moses and the priests, who are Levites, said to all Israel, “Be silent, O Israel, and listen! You have now become the people of the LORD your God. 10 Obey the LORD your God and follow his commands and decrees that I give you today.”” (Deuteronomy 27:8-10 NIV)

“2 “The Spirit of the LORD spoke through me; his word was on my tongue. 3 The God of Israel spoke, the Rock of Israel said to me: ‘When one rules over men in righteousness, when he rules in the fear of God, 4 he is like the light of morning at sunrise on a cloudless morning, like the brightness after rain that brings the grass from the earth.’” (2 Samuel 23:2-4 NIV)

“”Is not my word like fire,” declares the LORD, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?” (Jeremiah 23:29 NIV)

“So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6 NIV)

“They made their hearts as hard as flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD Almighty had sent by his Spirit through the earlier prophets. So the LORD Almighty was very angry.” (Zechariah 7:12 NIV)

“David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ {Psalm 110:1}” (Mark 12:36 NIV)

“and said, “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus—” (Acts 1:16 NIV)

“But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ {Or Messiah; also in verse 20} would suffer.” (Acts 3:18 NIV)

“The LORD used a prophet to bring Israel up from Egypt, by a prophet he cared for him.” (Hosea 12:13 NIV)

“My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life.” (Psalms 119:50 NIV)

“For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life,” (Proverbs 6:23 NIV)

“but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:6 NIV)

“The LORD said to Moses, “Come up to me on the mountain and stay here, and I will give you the tablets of stone, with the law and commands I have written for their instruction.”” (Exodus 24:12 NIV)

“and observe what the LORD your God requires: Walk in his ways, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go,” (1 Kings 2:3 NIV)

“But your hearts must be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”” (1 Kings 8:61 NIV)

“Surely he says this for us, doesn’t he? Yes, this was written for us, because when the ploughman ploughs and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest.” (1 Corinthians 9:10 NIV)

“These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfilment of the ages has come.” (1 Corinthians 10:11 NIV)

“because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father {Hebrew; Septuagint and he punishes} the son he delights in.” (Proverbs 3:12 NIV)

“He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it.” (Titus 1:9 NIV)

“for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:10 NIV)

“If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching,” (1 Timothy 6:3 NIV)

“What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 1:13 NIV)

“This testimony is true. Therefore, rebuke them sharply, so that they will be sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13 NIV)

“And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,” (Hebrews 12:5 NIV)

“His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.” {Psalm 69:9}” (John 2:17 NIV)

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit {Or Spirit} and they are life.” (John 6:63 NIV)

“23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25  “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 28  “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.” (John 14:23-31 NIV)

“Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.” (John 7:16 NIV)

“For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it.” (John 12:49 NIV)

“10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12  I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. 15  “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be {Some early manuscripts and is} in you. 18  I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (John 14:10-18 NIV)

“They disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your forefathers when he said through Isaiah the prophet:” (Acts 28:25 NIV)

“10  Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV)

“But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.” (1 Thessalonians 5:8 NIV)

“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit {Or Spirit} and they are life.” (John 6:63 NIV)

“For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12 NIV)

“he is not to ‘honour his father’ {Some manuscripts father or his mother} with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” (Matthew 15:6 NIV)

“Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”” (Mark 7:13 NIV)

“For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” (1 Peter 1:23 NIV)

“The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.” (Acts 11:1 NIV)

“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13 NIV)

“According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15 NIV)

“He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.” (James 1:18 NIV)

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Preceding:

Écrit pour Dieu de mettre à une vie vertueuse

Denn Gott aufgeschrieben, um bis zu einem tugendhaften Leben zu erwecken

Neergeskryf namens God om op te voed tot ‘n deugsame lewe

True God giving His Word for getting wisdom

Words to push and pull

Jehovah can make him stand

Sharing the depth of God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge

The holy spirit will bring back to your minds all the things told

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Additional reading:

1. Eternal Word that tells everything
2. Words to inspire and to give wisdom
3. Coming to understanding from sayings written long ago
4. Bible, God’s Word to edify (ERV)
5. Bible, God speaking words profitable for doctrine, for reproof and for correction
6. Bible, sword of the Spirit to come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man
7. Bible, helmet of health, salvation and sword of the spirit
8. Looking for wisdom not departing from God’s Word
9. Bible, helmet of salvation, God’s Words put in the mouth of prophets for perfecting, to reprove and correct
10. May reading the Bible provoke us into action to set our feet on the narrow way
11. Feed Your Faith Daily
12. We should use the Bible every day
13. Bric-a-brac of the Bible
14. Incomplete without the mind of God+++

Related articles

• A Perfect Inheritance (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
• New Start (news.sosevents.org)
• Victory (myspiritualbreakfast.com)
• But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. (1956msbess.wordpress.com)
• Spiritual Growth (faithandfootsteps.wordpress.com)
• Does The King James Bible Reveal The Identity Of The Antichrist? (nowtheendbegins.com)
• Unity (prayersandmeditations.com)
• 10. Daily Bible Verse (12160.info)

There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving

There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.—Acts 20:35.

Wednesday night we look how we as people, who have so much, should not have to look for our luck or happiness in gathering all material things.

We do find people who think they found God, get baptised, and than think everything is all-right and they should not do anything any more because they are saved by the sacrificial offering of Christ. They do forget that faith without works is dead.

26 Indeed, just as the body without spirit* is dead,+ so also faith without works is dead.+ (James 2:26)

When we are baptised, having chosen to go for God, we do need to keep in line with God His Will and with God His commandments. As we can see in several books of the Old Testament, there have been men of God who first walked in the line of God, but got tempted by worldly attractions. They let themselves be carried away. Some of them even did lost interest in the previous told and written down Words of God.

“Death of King Saul”, 1848 by Elie Marcuse (Germany and France, 1817-1902) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Monday we saw (in the study readings of that day) how King Saul allowed selfish thinking and pride to develop, like corrosive rust.
Saul arrogantly built a monument to himself. (1 Sam. 15:3, 9) When the prophet Samuel told him that Jehovah was displeased, Saul tried to justify himself by focusing on the part of God’s command that he had obeyed and by blaming others for his error. (1 Sam. 15:16-21)
Saul’s experience shows that we cannot be complacent, assuming that if we previously showed a self-sacrificing spirit, we will automatically continue to manifest it. (1 Tim. 4:10)

Also Jeremiah’s secretary, Baruch, apparently forgot to focus on the right things. At one point in time, he was no longer enjoying Jehovah’s service. Jehovah told him:

“You are seeking great things for yourself. Stop seeking such things. For I am about to bring a calamity on all flesh, . . . and wherever you may go, I will grant you your life as a spoil.” (Jer. 45:3, 5)

Bear in mind that Saul did well and enjoyed God’s favour for a while, but he failed to root out selfish tendencies that began to take hold. Jehovah ultimately rejected Saul for his disobedience. (w14 3/15 1:9, 10) We too, when we soften our interest in God, give preference to worldly matters and become obedient to God, shall see that the small gate might be shut for us.

As we have seen last Thursday King David described the information needed to build a human body as being written in a figurative book. Speaking of Jehovah God, he said:

“Your eyes saw even the embryo of me, and in your book all its parts were down in writing, as regards the days when they were formed and there was not yet one among them.” (Ps. 139:16)

Which impression do you want to give to God? How do you want to present yourself in front of the heavenly Father, the Only One True God? do you think He shall love you more because you have gathered more material things in your life?

The son of God showed us a very good example of a life worth living in front of the eyes of God. Jeshua (Jesus) did not want to do his own will, but always tried to apply God’s commandments and to do God His Will. He did not look for treasures on earth and did not talk about the worldly wealth to be gathered on earth, but about the spiritual richness people had to strife for.

What sort of building do you want to construct? Do you want to be one of the many stones in the building or body of Christ?

Jesus enjoyed seeing meek people respond to the good news. (Luke 10:21; John 4:34)
Perhaps you have already experienced the happiness that results from helping others. If you base your major choices in life on the principles Jesus taught, you will surely bring happiness to yourself as well as to Jehovah.

11 Be wise, my son, and make my heart rejoice,+  So that I can make a reply to him who taunts me.+(Prov. 27:11)

Our greatest and most true happiness, comes from love and perfection which can receive the best foundation-stones from serving Jehovah, with all your heart.  (Prov. 16:20)

What do you think? What would have made Baruch happy — seeking great things or surviving Jerusalem’s destruction as a faithful servant of God? — Jas. 1:12. (w14 1/15 3:10, 11)

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Preceding articles:

A look at materialism

As Christ’s slaves doing the Will of God in gratitude

Philippians 4:4–7 – Do Not Be Anxious

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Additional reading:

1. Are you being swept along by the world
2. Gone astray, away from God
3. May reading the Bible provoke us into action to set our feet on the narrow way
4. People Seeking for God 3 Laws and directions
5. Like grasshoppers
6. Message to teenagers
7. As the Lord commanded Moses
8. Happiness mapping and getting over gender mapping
9. Lonely in the crowd
10. Leaving the Old World to find better pastures
11. Luck
12. Not holding back and getting out of darkness
13. Your position about materialistic desires having conquered the world
14. The Art of Doing Less – Your Time is Finite
15. Why “Selfishness” Doesn’t Properly Mean Being Shortsighted and Harmful to Others
16. Material wealth, Submission and Heaven on earth
17. Looking at a conservative review of Shop Class As Soul Craft
18. For The Love of Stuff
19. Learning that stuff is just stuff
20. Watch out
21. Food as a Therapeutic Aid
22. Being Religious and Spiritual 1 Immateriality and Spiritual experience
23. How to Find the Meaning of Life and Reach a State of Peace
24. To be prepared and very well oiled
25. Thirst for happiness and meaning
26. True happiness, love and perfection
27. Spreading good cheer contagious
28. Happy is the person who knows what to remember of the past
29. Joy: Foundation for a Positive Life
30. God plays hide-n-seek?
31. Commit your self to the trustworthy creator
32. To Soar In The Spirit You Have To Be Hard Core
33. Myth 12: The Hyper-Grace Gospel Makes People Lazy
34. Let us become nothing, and Christ everything
35. With all your heart
36. God’s wrath and sanctification
37. You shall howl in your latter end

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Related articles

• Walk Humbly with God Daily
• Breath Of Life
• The Meaninglessness of Wealth
• “A Man’s Enemies Are The Men Of His Own House”
• Bible Daily Devotional – Job 28 The hidden treasure – Wisdom
• There is God, and there are gods (Richard P. Sheridan)
• 1 Samuel, chapters 26-31
• Preaching openly
• What is the fastest-growing Christian religion?
• Wait for the Lord

Praying and acts of meditation without ceasing

Looking for solutions

In Natural inclinations and Praying and asking we saw that we are recommended to Pray without ceasing.
(1 Thessalonians 5:17)

With what may we not stop and what is that action of prayer all about?

We can see that in many religions the believers do take time to meditate and to go deep into themselves. It is like they are doing a sort of exercise to come into contact with themselves or with elements outside them. In many religions we can see that time spend in ‘prayer’ may bring pleasant thoughts into their mind.

Many do hope to find solutions for their many questions and for things that happened around them. They expect their prayer to be a way of miraculously solving impossible situations. For many prayer and meditation time is a religious ritual to become holy and to higher themselves above a previous situation.

What is general, is that their prayer is also a confession of their faith, and an indication of what they believe and whom they want to honour.

Not an innocent playful act

It is not such an innocent act as it may look at first sight. For the Divine Creator it is even a very important part of life of His creatures to show their awe and respect for the Most High Elohim. Truly followers of the Lord Jesus Christ must, like him, be guided in all matters of faith and practice by what the Bible teaches about this act of adoration, glorification and communication with the God of gods.

The Bible leaves us in no doubt that believers ought to pray:

“Men ought always to pray and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).

“Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

“In everything by prayer and supplication let your requests be made known unto God” (Philippians 4:6, R.S.V.).

To fail to pray is regarded as a sin; Samuel the prophet declared:

“God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” (1 Samuel 12:23).

Being conscious of inner needs

Today there are many who are afraid to show others their needs and even more afraid to let others know they would ask solace or guidance by someone Who can not be seen, touched or heard.

Nothing has changed with the past. All days there have been people with many questions, people having great difficulty in coping with life, facing seemingly insuperable problems. We may be conscious of our failings and desire some kind of spiritual cleansing; we may be trying to search out the meaning of life. In fact the very problems which confront us have a significance in emphasizing to us that for all man’s great achievements, we are frequently helpless in the midst of human failure. Failure is more often at the start of the road to God than success.

In the Gospels we read of men who commanded great armies, of people in high office in government, of mothers and fathers seeking the best for their children, of farmers and fishermen, tradesmen and craftsmen — people of all types and backgrounds who sought out the Lord Jesus Christ because some need or other could not be fulfilled elsewhere. And as we see Jesus always finding time to listen, to advise, to help, we see how he reveals to us the character of his Father:

“Whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him” (Hebrews 11:6, R.S.V.).

The Bible makes it clear that God wants to help us. We should never feel that it is only good people that He will hear. In fact if we think we are rather good and managing quite well on our own, the chances are we shall be less inclined to rely upon God.

With meditating we are not thinking of philosophical or Zen-meditation. We mean by meditating taking time to set yourself apart to think about matters of life and to think about what you have done, want to do, have read and how you are going to apply it with the knowledge you can get from the Holy Scriptures.

Meditation

Meditating girl on beach

Meditation is a means of transforming your mind, letting that what you have learned from the Holy Scriptures to work in you and to transform your character. It is making your mind free of the pollution this world brings every day to you. Meditating is the willingness to make time free for your own mind, letting God’s Spirit enter into your life. Therefore you can use different techniques that encourage and develop concentration, clarity, emotional positivity, and a calm seeing of the true nature of things. By engaging with a particular meditation practice you learn the patterns and habits of your mind, and the practice offers a means to cultivate new, more positive ways of being. With regular work and patience these nourishing, focused states of mind can deepen into profoundly peaceful and energised states of mind. Such experiences can have a transformative effect and can lead to a new understanding of life.

Meditation is making yourself prepared to go deeper in yourself and to examine your life-path. It is an exercise not to miss our experiences because we are somewhere else in our mind. It is a willingness to for a moment forget the daily worries, work or school, and to look at what really should be our main focus in our daily life. In ordinary life, we tend to equate focus with concentration. That’s like using the mind like a concentrated beam of light. But in meditation, that kind of mind isn’t helpful. It’s too sharp and edgy. To focus in meditation means to pay soft attention to whatever you place in the centre of awareness.

Conscious of a need

In the hectic life we get in this world it is our aim to take distance of the worldly matters and to get to know the more important spiritual matters.

As such we do need to take time of our daily duties to come closer to the Most Important person in our life. It is taking time for the Most High Elohim because we are conscious of a higher need and we recognize that God alone can meet that need. To accept that God can do what we cannot do is to bow to His greatness, to acknowledge His infinite wisdom. When we do set us apart from the worldly business, come close in our own cocoon, we open ourselves to the Only One God, who is our Maker but also our Protector. It is to Him we do want to give our soul, our spirit, our thinking and our handling. In the time we set ourselves apart, we want to come as close as possible to Him, or as close as possible we can get at the moment. To Him we want to give that special time and give our most valuable moment of the day.

In that time of silence and personal withdrawal of the world, we want to give our voice to God to let Him know how we want to be with Him and how we do know we need Him. Coming in seclusion we can find ways to have a conversation with that Most High Spirit. Then we can come to talk to Him and pray. Not only asking Him things for our welfare, but also thanking Him for what we had already and for what we still are going to receive.  This is praise. Praise, when it finds expression in words, is an attempt to describe the ways in which God is superior to man; it is to give God glory. Through praise we reflect on what God is, and what resources He has to meet our need.

Listening to God

Praying is not only speaking to God, but it is also opening up your mind to Him to listen to Him. Since God knows best, we must listen to what He says to us. In prayer we have a communication tool we can use every moment of the day. In it we do have an other means, next to the Bible, for God speaking to us.

We do have god’s Word given to us in the Holy Scriptures. The Bible should be our lead and most important guide through life. Through it we can hear God speaking to us in a Book of books given by inspiration of God, profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that we as children of God may be perfect. (2 Timothy 3:16).

How people like to turn it, prayer is inseparable connected with the Words of God, given in the Bible. Our prayer should be build on the knowledge we get from those Holy Scriptures. The Words of the Bible with our prayer, should be fused with our knowledge and understanding of the Word of God. For prayer is communication with God. The communication is two-way. It is not enough that we should speak to God. He expects us to listen to Him. In fact, we shall often be better occupied meditating on His Word than trying to talk to Him at great length. It is no use to over and over repeat the same words. The Bible itself warns:

“Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few” (Ecclesiastes 5:2).

The Lord Jesus himself emphasizes this point:

“When ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking” (Matthew 6:7).

We should remember that silence is healing. Nothing beats simple silence. We do not need music background to drown out the chatter in our mind. When we sit in silence we actually get to experience what our mind is doing. There is steadiness and calmness that comes from sitting in silence. In time outer and inner silence meet and you come to rest in the moment. It is in such moments that we also can give way for God’s Spirit to enter our universe.

Coming to God

Jesus clearly knew Who was the Most High to give all honour of what he could do. Jesus was thankful and hopeful to His heavenly Father, which he recognised as the Only True God.

Praying should be a coming to God, not to put us in the forefront row, being full of ourselves, ready to tell Him what we think. That would be like the person who asks a question, not because he wants to know the answer’, but because he wants the opportunity to air his own knowledge. Our vanity and pride, we must put aside and we should be humble enough not to propose our thoughts as the best ones, but to allow God to see that we are really willing to hear what He thinks best for us. Like Jesus did not want to do his own will, which he would have done when he would have been God, we also like Jesus should know that we can not do anything without Jesus his heavenly Father. Jesus was well aware that he could not do anything without the Hand of God.  He too prayed to his heavenly Father, and not to himself. He too had questions about his relationship with his Father up high, and even at one moment dared to ask why He (God) had abandoned him (Jesus). Like Jesus not being afraid to ask such matters to the Most High, we too should dare to go to Him (Jehovah God). Jesus prepared the way to the Divine Creator and we should be thankful for that and use it.If we come to God as those who do not know the answers and believe that He does, then what folly if we ignore what He has already told us through the Scriptures! Rather we must read them regularly and reflect on them in order that we may attune our minds to the mind of God, as the words of a hymn direct us:

“Inspirer of the ancient seers,
Who wrote from Thee the sacred page,
A light for all succeeding years,
A lamp in this degenerate age:
Wisdom to us Thy words impart,
And with Thy comfort fill our heart.”

The many examples of prayer in the Bible make it clear that God responds only when man prays in accordance with His will. After all, God knows best what is in man’s interests and can control events accordingly.

Right Relationship with God

Jesus showed us how we should behave, live and pray. He gave the example how our relationship should be with other humans but also with God. We can only come to a good prayer and a fulfilling meditation when we open our hearts to God and our willingness to have a good relationship with Him.

First of all naturally we do need to know God, have to understand His position and should be willing to accept His position. In the bible we are told that there can be life eternal for us as human beings, but then we shall have to accept the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the son God so loved He has taken him with Him to sit next to Him to be the mediator between God and man. (John 17:3, 1 Timothy 2:5, Hebrews 12:24; John 3:16; Matthew 3:17). Many in Christendom do say to know God, but take also Jesus to be God and do not mind bowing down in front of pictures of their god, though God made it very clear that there is only One True God of Whom no pictures may be made and certainly may not be bowed down for. Such knowledge is to be found, in the first instance, in the inspired writings of the Bible-and nowhere else. But to know God is not simply to know about Him. When a husband and wife know each other, they do not just have in their minds a pen-portrait of their partner. Their knowledge is intimate and deep, because of the nature of their relationship. It depends upon continued, regular contact, the acceptance of responsibilities and the desire to grow in knowledge and understanding of each other.

To acknowledge one’s need as a sinner, whose imperfection is in marked contrast to the glorious perfection of God’s character; to develop that “poor and contrite” spirit, which desires to be moved by the power of God through His Word, as the leaves on a tree tremble at the passing of a breath of wind; to realize from the knowledge of God’s gracious dealings with men and women of past ages that the same grace can be extended to us today-this is to begin the process of praise and thanksgiving which marks the beginning of uttered prayer.

Commands to obey

It is all to easy just to want all our wishes to be fulfilled. Would that not be selfish? Would that be taking notice of the Will of God?

For many people prayer consists of asking God for favours. For some the proof of whether God is actually there or not consists of testing out whether God will grant a particular request. Did not Jesus say:

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find” (Matthew 7:7)

There is no room here for the casual or the careless. God is in heaven, man upon earth. We cannot assume familiarity or presume upon His loving kindness. It is God’s to command, ours to obey. We cannot call God “Our Father“, without at the same time hallowing His name. And we cannot do that unless we seek to do His will upon earth as it is done in heaven. If we are to benefit from the privilege of being called His sons and daughters, we must, after serious consideration, come within His family:

“Hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments” (1 John 2:3).

We are told how Jesus welcomed little children and took them up in his arms. In this he reflected the character of his Father, who welcomes all who seek Him in sincerity and simplicity. But whereas the particular purpose of God at the time of the Lord’s ministry and during the subsequent establishment of the ecclesiae involved frequent miraculous signs that this was indeed the Lord at work, we shall be sadly misled if we expect God to work a miracle in response to every request we make.

This is not to say that God’s power is not demonstrated today, or to imply that God is not interested in us. There is a children’s prayer which simply states a truth:

“God always listens whenever we pray,
He’s never too busy to hear what we say.

No time to stop

The world goes on and the end-times come closer. This will not make it easier for believing and God fearing people. They shall be tested more.

It might be easy to say

“let go of your anxiety.” (Matthew 6:34)

Now the time is near it is even more important not to stop to study the Bible regularly and to spend time in conversation with God. “In everything” – without exception and at every opportunity – we should pray. Pray in supplication – humble in treaty – with thanksgiving! Knowing that the prayer will be answered according to His will and in His time.

Praying in the family

Most of us spend lots of time after daily work, in front of the television or enjoying themselves with lots of pastures time, giving enough time to the entertainment industry. Churchgoing has lessened a lot. Not many are spending time with the family together studying the Word of God and contemplating what the Most High wants from us.

Most of us do not take enough time to be on their own and to be with their Creator. When we do love Him, we should, like we do with our most beloved, spend enough time with Him.

We may not cease to pray earnestly and give our worries to Jehovah, our God. Our willing to be with Him should give or be the pulse of your life in Christ. If that pulse is weak or erratic then that life is ebbing away. We need to pray. Alone and in community, we need to pray. And so much the more as we see the day of Christ drawing near.

Cast aside anxiety about the things of this life and pray. Do this and rejoicing in the Lord will be as natural to you as breathing. You will be happy. Profoundly happy so that even in the most terrible affliction and sorrow there will remain within a vibrant core of joy and hope and faith that no circumstance can affect.

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Find our pamphlet to download in pdf: Does God Hear Prayer?

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Preceding articles:

1. Our openness to being approachable
2. Natural inclinations and Praying and asking
3. Always rejoicing Praying constantly Giving thanks for everything
4. Psalm 66 HRV
5. Psalm 66 OJB

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Additional reading:

1. Walking alone?
2. People Seeking for God 1 Looking for answers
3. Looking for True Spirituality 6 Spirituality and Prayer
4. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
5. 7000 to 20000 words spoken each day
6. Do You Expect God’s Answer
7. Biblical Prayer at Tabernacle Site Shilo
8. Praying and thinking positively
9. Being sure of their deliverance
10. Genuine prayer
11. People who know how to pray to move God to take hold of our affairs in a mighty way
12. Does God hear prayer?
13. Does God answer prayer?
14. God doesn’t call the qualified
15. Work with joy and pray with love
16. Give your worries to God
17. Praise Jehovah
18. “Prayer 2″ – Child Abuse
19. If you think you’re too small to be effective
20. Quit griping about your church
21. What moves mountains? Trust!
22. A Living Faith #7 Prayer
23. God, my father, my closest friend
24. Prayer, important aspect in our life
25. Prayer has comforted us in sorrow
26. Prayer for the day
27. If we, in our prosperity, neglect religious instruction and authority
28. Change
29. Prayer has the power to change mountains into highways
30. Try driving forward instead of backwards
31. Preventing us from going window-shopping in prayer
32. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone!
33. Aim High: Examples of Godly Characters to follow
34. Sometimes we pray and pray and it seems like nothing happens.
35. If you do pray you shall not be disappointed
36. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
37. Worship and worshipping
38. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #1 Kings Faith
39. rusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #2 Calling upon the Name of God
40. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #4 Words in Scripture
41. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #6 Words to feed and communicate
42. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #4 Transitoriness #1 Prosperity
43. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #4 Transitoriness #2 Purity
44. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #5 Prayer #1 Listening Sovereign Maker
45. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #5 Prayer #2 Witnessing
46. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #5 Prayer #3 Callers upon God
47. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #6 Prayer #4 Attitude
48. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #7 Prayer #5 Listening Ear
49. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #8 Prayer #6 Communication and manifestation
50. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #9 Prayer #7 Reason to pray
51. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #10 Prayer #8 Condition
52. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #11 Prayer #9 Making the Name Holy
53. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #12 Prayer #10 Talk to A Friend
54. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #13 Prayer #11 Name to be set apart
55. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #14 Prayer #12 The other name
56. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #15 Exposition before the Creator
57. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #16 Benefits of praying
58. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #17 Sorts of prayers
59. Trusting, Faith, Calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #18 Fulfilment
60. Praying For What We Want or Don’t Want
61. Continuing Paul’s Prayer Requests
62. Listening and Praying to the Father
63. Communion and day of worship
64. Funeral service only belongs in church building according to Catholic Church

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  being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ
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• Scripture of the Day, 1/16 (sowegalive.com)
  Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
• Five Believer’s Crowns: Heavenly Rewards (endtimesprophecyreport.com)
  The Bible declares that believers canobtain these heavenly rewards including five different crowns.What are these crowns and how can the believer qualify for them?The five crowns are:
  1. The incorruptible crown – Being disciplined [temperate] in all things.
  2. The crown of rejoicing – Winning souls for the kingdom of God.
  3. The crown of righteousness – All who love the appearing of the Lord.
  4. The crown of life – All who endure trials for Jesus.
  5. The crown of glory – Those who are godly examples to the flock.
• Put First Things First (birdchirp.wordpress.com)
  Apart from Christ, we cannot expect God to bless us. Jesus promised, “But seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matt. 6:33).
• To an inheritance (activeinspiration.wordpress.com)
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• Listen: God’s Second Man, Part 3 (Onward Christian Soldiers #67 with Daniel Whyte III) (blackchristiannews.com)
  In part one and part two of this lesson, we contrasted the “first man”, Adam, with the “second man”, Jesus Christ. Adam disobeyed God and caused the entire human race which descended from him to be a race of sinners. However, when Jesus Christ came, the Bible tells us that He “became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Jesus Christ did what Adam (and none of us) have done — be perfectly obedient to God throughout our entire lives. Because Jesus Christ is sinless, He is the perfect sacrifice for our sins. On the cross, Jesus paid the price for our sins so that we would not have to. Today, there are two races of people in the world — Adam’s sinful race, and Jesus’ righteous race. As Romans 5:19 says, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous.” Of course, we who are in Jesus’ race are only righteous because of what Jesus Christ did for us.
• Excuse My Scepticism (pastorcharleschipere.wordpress.com)
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• A Prayer of The Heart (supertradmum-etheldredasplace.blogspot.com)
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• Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul (emmanuelchatham.typepad.com)
  O God, by the preaching of your apostle Paul you have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching

Building up the spirit of the soul

When you know the Spirit is the source of life you should also know that life without spirit and without the Spirit is impossible. When people think about the living person they think about the living soul which is the being which can exist because of the Divine Creator allowing it to exist.

Of Light and Shadow  says:

All life has soul. The soul tells the body what it is as it’s essence. What it will be. If something is one dimentional, what is it. It simply exists. It is what it is. Humans, animals, and plants have a living soul. Although different from each other. {Spiritual Senses, Opening your spiritual hearing}

Man thinking on a train journey. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The above blogwriter considers that spirit is energy and exists throughout all the universe and forms all things even objects, though we can not see any life in such lifeless elements, like cupboards, houses, etc.. For us the spirit is just the ‘lifespirit’ or ‘breath of life’ which is God His and our thinking, handling, speaking and working.  It is an activity which may keeps the laws of physics in check and which can give impulses or carry with it everything a living thing is and capable of becoming.

A seed carries the potential of being a tree. {Spiritual Senses, Opening your spiritual hearing}

And so we may also carry the potential of growing up and becoming an adult who can think in a different way than the baby, toddler, young child, or adolescent. That spirit, our thinking and our soul is not something which lives next or separately in our body. It is not something which can leave our body to continue to live somewhere else. Once we die our spirit or breath goes out of our body and we finish living, thinking and handling. In our death we can do nothing any more.

Human being itself is the ‘soul’ wherein God blew His Breath of life. we may consider ourselves righteous, lovers of God, believers, wise, or perhaps not so wise, but we all are existing because God allows us to be. We only can do certain things because God allows it to happen and has given us certain crafts or capabilities.  All our works are in the hand of God.

The problem is that since the downfall in the Garden of Eden we all have good and bad things in us. We all carry love  but can bear hatred in ourselves. We all have to grow up and learn things, like Jesus also had to grow up and learn things. We all shall be tempted like Jesus also got tempted. Only God is the only One Who can not be tempted. God is also the only One Who can not die or cease living. god cannot expire or come to come to an end. When a person dies, that person breathes his last breath and dies. All human beings have the death thread in their tree of life. Even Jesus who did not sin had to face death and landed up in hell (sheol = the grave) for three days. We probably shall be there in the underground for longer.

Breath of Life – both sides (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We may be sure that there is one event which shall be the same for rich and poor, to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good, and to the bad; both to the pure, and to the impure; both to him that sacrifices, and to him that does not sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; as is the swearer, even so is he that fears an oath.  After the madness of this world we all go to the dead. The living will know that they shall die; but the dead know nothing, and there is no longer any reward to them, for their memory is lost. Also their love and their hatred and their envy shall have perished when they die. Yea, there is no portion for them any-more, not an other being, a spirit or extra soul that will go out of their body and all the material they gathered in this worl shall be useless for them in their death.

When death comes to us it will be too late to change or to change our mind or path. When we did not enough preparations to enter the gate of the Kingdom of God it shall be totally too late.forever in all that is done under the sun.  It is before you die that you do have to build up your mind, make the right friends, find life with the wife whom you love, all the days of the life of your vanity, which are given to you under the sun; for that is your portion in your life, and in your labour in which you labour under the sun.  Whatsoever your hand shall find to do, do with all your might; for there is no work nor device nor knowledge nor wisdom in Hades/Sheol/the Hell or the Grave/Sepulchre, where you are going.  For Christians there does not exist a Hades, god of the netherworld and dispenser of earthly riches. Also his netherworld kingdom, the abode of the shades of the dead has no meaning for a Christian. Though the bastardisation of the Nazarene prophet Jeshua who is the son of God, to ‘Issou’ or ‘Jesus’ meaning “Hail to Zeus“, real Christians know Jeshua or the Christ is not Zeus the brother of Pluto, the god of the underworld which does not exist in the real universe of the Only One God.  After you die you shall become dust again.

” Jehovah God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7 NHEBJE)

“1  For all this I laid to my heart, even to explore all this: that the righteous, and the wise, and their works, are in the hand of God; whether it is love or hatred, man doesn’t know it; all is before them.  (2)  All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn’t sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears an oath.  (3)  This is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that there is one event to all: yes also, the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.  (4)  For to him who is joined with all the living there is hope; for a living dog is better than a dead lion.  (5)  For the living know that they will die, but the dead do not know anything, neither do they have any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.  (6)  Also their love, their hatred, and their envy has perished long ago; neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.  (7)  Go your wayeat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works.  (8)  Let your garments be always white, and do not let your head lack oil.  (9)  Live joyfully with the wife whom you love all the days of your life of vanity, which he has given you under the sun, all your days of vanity: for that is your portion in life, and in your labor in which you labor under the sun.  (10)  Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in Sheol, where you are going.” (Ecclesiastes 9:1-10 NHEBJE)

“19  For that which happens to the sons of men happens to animals. Even one thing happens to them. As the one dies, so the other dies. Yes, they have all one breath; and man has no advantage over the animals: for all is vanity.  (20)  All go to one place. All are from the dust, and all turn to dust again.  (21)  Who knows the spirit of man, whether it goes upward, and the spirit of the animal, whether it goes downward to the earth?”  (22)  Therefore I saw that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his works; for that is his portion: for who can bring him to see what will be after him?” (Ecclesiastes 3:19-22 NHEBJE)

It is before we die we shall have to have build up knowledge. Gaining knowledge has to happen in the ‘now’, when we do live.

Adam heard the sound of God walking in the garden and heard his voice calling to him.
Samuel when he was young and living with Eli heard God calling his name. He heard it clearly and suspected that Eli was calling to him. He heard it the same as he would hear with his natural ears. {Spiritual Senses, Opening your spiritual hearing}

The Divine Creator, Jehovah, the Most High God, has given His Word to His creation. Each of us is part of that creation and can either listen to God His word or ignore it. In this world we are living in, most people have lost the notion of hearing God.

We have placed God beyond our understanding (and indeed he is) but we have also placed him beyond our experienceing (which He is not) We are called to experience God and have him in our lives. We just get so caught up with our daily lives we loose sight of him and our senses grow dull. Samuel said “Here I am.” We have to ready our mind and spirit to receive from our spiritual senses. We need to learn to pay attention to what they tell us. There are many places in the Bible where the voice of God was heard. Sometimes like a trumpet or a thunder. When Jesus was baptized the heavens opened and voice called out “This is my beloved Son, in whome i am well pleased.” {Spiritual Senses, Opening your spiritual hearing}

Lots of people, also many who call themselves Christian, do not want to listen to what God said about His son, nor to what Jesus said about him and his Father. They ignore what they have said and what is written down in the Bible, and made their own doctrines which all their church members do have to believe, because they so called can not understand it.  But God is not a God of disorder and incomprehension. God is a God of Clarity, and when He says “this is my son’ He means that person is His son and not Him.

We should listen to what God says, but then we first do have to be hearing God which

is not the only benefit of hearing in the spirit.

It is Jehovah God Whom we do have to ask to open our ears to hear

“the sounds of heaven”.

Through the ages many eyes may not have seen, nor ears heard what was really written in the Bible, not wiling to accept it as God His Word. Not willing to listen to it and not prepared to open their heart to it those Words of God could not enter into the hearts of those people. It is up to the lovers of God to call others and to let them know that God calls them. We should let others know that also they like we have the things prepared by Jehovah.

God has revealed so many things to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.  For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

Those who love God and are willing to come closer to Him with the assurance they did not receive the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, in order that they might know the things granted to them by God; which things we also speak, not in words taught in human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

We should allow the Words of God feed us and should be pleased there are men of God willing to contribute to the work of the Lord, helping to spread the Good Tidings and to exhort or to give urgent advice, recommendations, or warnings to people around them. They are aware that the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can they know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  For them and us it is important to listen to those Bible readings, exhortations and devotionals knowing that he that is spiritual discerns all things, yet he himself is discerned by no man.

“9  But as it is written, “Things which an eye did not see, and an ear did not hear, which did not enter into the heart of man, these God has prepared for those who love him.”  (10)  But to us, God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.  (11)  For who among men knows the things of a man, except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so, no one knows the things of God, except God’s Spirit.  (12)  But we received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that were freely given to us by God.  (13)  Which things also we speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, but which the Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things.  (14)  Now the natural man does not receive the things of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned.  (15)  But he who is spiritual discerns all things, and he himself is judged by no one.” (1Corinthians 2:9-15 NHEBJE)

Living in this world we would like to find perfection. The Creator has given His commandment, which is very broad.  those who call themselves Christian should love God’s law and use it as their meditation all the day, so that God can make them wiser than their enemies. We can find God His testimonies as our meditation. Together, with other lovers of God, you can read the Bible and follow its guidance, seeking God His commandments and not those of man. Already in our life such bible reading shall keep back our feet from every evil away when we not depart from God His judgements; for He will instructed us. We can  gain understanding by God His commandments, looking daily in His Word and when we are willing to think about what He is saying to us. Having Daily Manna, when hating every way of unrighteousness we shall be able to find God His law as a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our paths.

“96  I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commands are boundless.  (97)  MEM How I love your Law! It is my meditation all day.  (98)  Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with me.  (99)  I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.  (100)  I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts.  (101)  I have kept my feet from every evil way, that I might observe your word.  (102)  I have not turned aside from your ordinances, for you have taught me.  (103)  How sweet are your promises to my taste, more than honey to my mouth!  (104)  Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.  (105)  NUN Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.  (106)  I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances.” (Psalm 119:96-106 NHEBJE)

Memoir and remains says

The Word of God functions like a light to illuminate both God’s nature and the human heart — and thus interaction between the two.

in Exegeting the Heart.1

The Gospel acknowledges how we have no claim upon God, God is not obliged to us– and yet, God blesses us supremely despite ourselves. A right understanding of the Gospel thus drives us to thankfulness. {Exegeting the Heart.1}

On this site we shall offer words of thought freely and we should carry them out and bring also words of meditation to others freely.

Where all is received freely, there is no cause of discontent: much of giving thanks if we have anything. When we look to desert, we may wonder more at what we have than what we want: if afflicted, destitute, kept low and bare, it is a wonder we are not in hell. All this is spoken because men are not thankful, We are eager till we have blessings, but when we have them, then barren in praises, unfruitful in obedience: like little children, forward to beg favours, but careless to acknowledge what they have received.  {Exegeting the Heart.1}

Our meditation and breathing as a plumb-line to place the bricks of the church wall, strong but with a blow in the wind to bring the message worldwide of the Good News. – Bas-relief, River Wall, Calne This is one (and a half) of several similar pieces in the wall. They were made of ceramics by Richard Cowdy and Vivien ap Rhys Price to symbolize the theme of ‘Breath of Life’ inspired by the legend that the scientist Joseph Priestley discovered oxygen here.  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We should all serve God cheerfully  (Psalms 116:16, Psalms 123:2, 1 Corinthians 3:22-23, Malachi 3:18, John 12:26) and make use of His Word to show others which blessings can come unto mankind if they would listen to the Most High. That Word should be our plumbline in the body of Christ we would like to be part of. With it we can make sure that the walls of our congregation can be straight.

Like Mike Parsons with Jeremy Westcott wrote in A Plumbline, a Doorway and an Anchor

When we meditate on it (the word of God) we can picture what it talks about and use our imagination. We ought not to be scared to use our imagination: God has given it to us so that we can see things, picture them, and visualise them. Now some Christians are wary of concepts like ‘visualisation’ because they have been adopted by New Age and occult people. Even meditation is viewed with suspicion in some circles. But these things are not wrong in themselves. It is simply that we have to approach them afresh and learn how to use them in a godly way.

There are some Christians, also some Bible Students who find meditation is part of the heathen world. Mostly they have a limited view about meditation, thinking of Zen and Buddhist meditation.It depends how you want to look at meditation, being it a mental concentration on something or a way to transpose our being from this world or imagining something that gives us peace or satisfaction. You could say when we are looking for methods to slow down and, eventually, completely stop the incessant activity of our minds then we would also say that is not the meditation we are talking about. For us such exercises are not really meditation – they are substitutes for meditation because it is normally very difficult to stop our minds all-together.
But to come to a state of thoughtless awareness, as an act of doing nothing we also would not call it the right mediation.

The thoughts we would like to present on this platform should make us think and consider. They should bring us into a state of awareness. It may be short messages, but they may not miss their point in waking the state of consciousness. When we take a look at the various explanations of meditation, another thing we often see is that meditation is defined as taking a moment to sit quietly or to ponder. True meditation, however is much more than this. It is a state of profound, deep peace that occurs when the mind is calm and silent, yet completely alert. This is just the beginning of an inner transformation that takes us to a higher level of awareness. This enables us to fulfil our true human potential.

We either come  in this state or we are not, regardless of what we are doing in life. Truly, a man can be in meditation while doing his day’s labours as another man can be very far from meditation while sitting in a lotus posture on the top of a mountain. He can come in a dreaming state of consciousness, where his or her thoughts are far away from the Creator. When we speak about the meditation we as Christians should get it is not about a state of deep sleep in which the mind, the ego and the superego are still. No, for us it should be placing ourselves in the willingness to receive messages from our heavenly Father. It is giving our own ego in the hands of the Most High. It is not bringing ourselves in a state of thoughtless awareness beyond the mind, but bringing ourselves in a state where we allow God to enter our mind and to enlighten us by taking us deeper into His world of ‘sacral’ knowledge.

Meditation is a means of transforming the mind. The short messages we would like to bring regularly, as form of meditation, with the short quotes from the Bible, we would like to offer as a help or a tool to transform our character. It should bring us to take a moment to think about a certain matter and to let the text give us information how to change or how to build ourselves up to become a good Christian. Those texts may be from ordinary human beings, but they want to bring the focus on God His Word and to relate His Words to our daily life. The confrontation of every day, which we should not be afraid off.

Psalm 1 gives us a key to deeper fulfilment in every dimension of our being: meditation. Its essence is reading and reminding ourselves of the truths of God while dwelling in his presence. As we dwell on him with our minds, our other dimensions ignite, affecting our lives and relationships, infusing them with wisdom, stability, and delight.

According the Apostolic Resource Centre, which believes that Jesus intends the church to be instrumental in transforming human society and that he will be returning for a victorious church, a bride who has made herself ready for the King, to meditate we have to learn to use the right side of the brain, the creative/intuitive area.

we need to learn to activate that part of the brain so that we can see, and visualise, and experience spiritual realities, and especially the heavenly realms.

That flow of the spirit is revelation from the inside which comes as spontaneous thoughts and pictures and feelings. If we are not used to tuning in to them, they can slip past and we can miss them. It works like this. The air around us is full of radio and television signals of which we are not normally aware. But if we were to have a radio, turned on and tuned in, we would be able to hear whatever was playing on that particular station. If we had a TV set tuned in we would be able to see what was on that channel. And it is just the same with tuning in to God. {A Plumbline, a Doorway and an Anchor}

Therefore we do need to open our mind and give ourselves in the Hands of God. in case we are not willing to open our ears to the signals God is sending out all the time, we shall not be able to be comforted. We , when reading the bible or reading exhortations, should be willing to let the words come deep into us and should try to find its connection with other passages in the Bible. When we allow those Words from God give sense to those words from people and let them flow through our spirit, then we can let them become projected into the right side of our brain, so that we can hear His voice, see visions and pictures, and receive revelation from Him. We tune in to that through meditation.

Our imagination is the screen on which God projects things. But it can also receive images from our soul, from our subconscious, and we need to know the difference. Our imagination can play back experiences we have had in life. There may be a song, or a smell or a taste which can transport us instantly back to an experience we had many years previously. We can imagine it, recall it even feel the same feelings we had at the time (whether positive or negative).  {A Plumbline, a Doorway and an Anchor}

With those words from our brothers and sisters, who look at a certain Bible passage, we can ad some songs, like ‘Songs in the night’ and other previous publications from various Bible Students from several countries. Those meditations do not have restrictions by borders of countries. they may cross oceans and with internet we do hope to bring those messages all over the world. And each reader can carry the messages with him and bring it to others, so that the good News may be preached in far away parts of the world.

All those people may live far away from each other, but by reading the same texts and taking time to meditate on it and to say prayers over the same subject, we can connect with each other and join forces, being part of a world wide movement of people who want to learn from God His word and who are willing to help each other to grow by that Word of God.

We do hope we can contribute to the spreading of that Good News and to help you to meditate on God His Word. Wishing that we all can grow in ‘heavenly’ knowledge and grow as brothers and sisters in Christ.

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Preceding: Daily portion of heavenly food

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Additional reading:

1. What is life?
2. Darkness, light, burning fire, Truth and people in it
3. Dying or not
4. What happens when we die?
5. Is there an Immortal soul
6. The Soul not a ghost
7. Immortality, eternality – onsterfelijkheid, eeuwigheid
8. Grave, tomb, sepulchre – graf, begraafplaats, rustplaats, sepulcrum
9. Sheol, Sheool, Sjeool, Hades, Hell, Grave, Tomb, Sepulchre
10. A fact of History or just a fancy Story
11. Jesus three days in hell
12. The soul has no rainbow if the eyes have no tears
13. Creator and Blogger God 2 Image and likeness
14. Creator and Blogger God 4 Expounding voice
15. Philosophy hand in hand with spirituality
16. Fragments from the Book of Job #1: chapters 1-12
17. Fragments from the Book of Job #6: chapters 38-42
18. Self-development, self-control, meditation, beliefs and spirituality
19. Fear of God reason to return to Holy Scriptures
20. Fear and protection
21. Atonement And Fellowship 5/8
22. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #1 Kings Faith
23. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #3 A voice to be taken Seriously
24. Trusting, Faith, calling and Ascribing to Jehovah #3 Voice of God #6 Words to feed and communicate
25. Exhortation -Exhortatie of uiteenzetting
26. A Living Faith #3 Faith put into action
27. Looking for True Spirituality 1 Intro
28. Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
29. Being Religious and Spiritual 4 Philosophical, religious and spiritual people
30. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
31. Are you being swept along by the world
32. To mean, to think, outing your opinion, conviction, belief – Menen, mening, overtuiging, opinie, geloof

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Other useful readings:

1. Becoming People of “True Faith”
2. Is There Still a Place for Religion?
3. Spirituality and Your Health

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