Category: Jesus

Bride of Christ (Post #2)

This is second in a series, from hand-written journal of December 16th, 2024. Previous installment is here.

And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord. And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name. And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree. He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away. He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. Luke 1:45-55


Me: Good evening, Jesus!

Jesus: Good evening, Jon!

Me: The last time you offered insights into several things about the meaning of “the bride of Christ”, Most notably, your desire to be one with us (with me!). Would you say more?

Jesus: What would you like to know?

Me: Where does the scripture reference Your bride?

Jesus: Let’s start today with Ephesians 5:25 – 27, that I showed you before:

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.


Have I not given Myself for you? In not the very purpose of My word your sanctification? If you continue to allow My word to change your heart you will be completely transformed. These things are true in My Spirit which is alive in you forevermore. If you allow Me, I will remove all blemishes. (John noted in the beginning of John chapter one that I Am the Word. I Am doing the washing.)

Look what exchanged between Peter and I: “No!”, said Peter, “You will never wash my feet!” I answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with Me.” (John 13:8)

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing. (Ephesians 5: 22-24)

You must let Me serve you in this washing, Even as I told Peter, who was not exclaiming “No!” out of pride. Rather he spoke out of his (accurate) sense of his own unworthiness. I Am not blind to the nature of your sin. Yet I took it upon Myself, despising the shame that you were already bearing, because I love you and I want you to be “without spot or wrinkle or any such thing”. I Am making you holy and blameless. Nothing is too hard for Me.

I have never overruled your free will. I am not about to start doing so. It is up to you whether you will submit to the washing of the water of the word. Look back to My prayer that we be one (John 17). My word never returns void but always accomplishes that which I send it to do (Isaiah 55:11). I have sent it to make us one.

Me: Thank You Jesus! I love You!

Jesus: You are welcome! I love you!

Photo by Jose Vasquez on Pexels.com

Bride of Christ – Post #1

I am grateful to be home relaxing today!

(Excerpt from hand-written Journal entry, dated December 1st, 2024)

In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. (John1:1-2, 14)

Me: Good evening, Father!

Abba: Good evening, Jon!

Me: [My wife] expressed concern that I commented that as a man, I didn’t have an emotional understanding of what it means to be ‘the bride of Christ’. There are many things about it that are obscure to me. Such as, there being many of us, whereas we understand proper marriage to be monogamous.

Abba: Then, let’s start with that!

John:17

11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;

21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.

22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:

23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.

24 Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am; that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me: for thou lovedst me before the foundation of the world.

25 O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee: but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me.

26 And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them.

So, Jon, not many, but one, in love.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Genesis 2:24 (See also Ephesians 5:31, Mark 10:8, Matthew 19:6, Ephesians 5 (all))

For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Ephesians 5:30-31

Me: Thank You Father! I love You!

Abba: You are welcome! I love you!

Unimaginable Gift

Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and my righteousness shall not be abolished.

Thus saith thy Lord the LORD, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt no more drink it again: But I will put it into the hand of them that afflict thee; which have said to thy soul, Bow down, that we may go over: and thou hast laid thy body as the ground, and as the street, to them that went over.  Isaiah 51:1, 6, 22-23

Beginning in verse 1, above, we see admonition to look in two directions that we might remain mindful. Attentive, first, of the Lord our creator who has made us in His image and His intention that we would walk after Him in His way. Heedful, second, we are not to forget the pit from which we have been pulled, our incarceration before the release afforded us by Jesus. We will only be able to maintain our way on the upward path through gratitude in our relationship in Him and humility that remembers our inability to extract ourselves from the mire. We were utterly unable to turn away from the downward trail we were trudging until we accepted the finished work of Christ and His guiding hand to turn us to the upward way.

Though the heavens be removed and the earth fail, the salvation that God has made available to all who willingly receive it endures forever, because it rests on the eternal foundation of His own nature, which changes not. This salvation is offered freely, a gift beyond human comprehension, more priceless than we have yet understood. Though we ought to remember the pit of the past, increasing appreciation of the life we have been handed does not lie in that direction, but in adoration of the Giver.

Finally, observe verses 22 & 23. Our old lives accrued only wrath. Now, some assert that God’s wrath was vengeful anger directed at His own disobedient children. However, an honest reading of the word will reveal that His heart has ever been for our welfare and not for our destruction. (Deuteronomy 28, Jeremiah 29:11). In Jesus, we find an incalculable love, holding Him to bear all the oppressions of the fetid pit in which we wallowed. No more will the tyrant oppressor walk all over us, for our Savior has imputed to us soaring freedom on wings of light and love.

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Merry Christmas, my friends!

Sober

I am grateful for Your provision from the garden! The baked, red-skinned potatoes made a wonderful dinner!

But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine: That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Titus 2:1-2

[sober: circumspect, grave: honorable, temperate: self-controlled, sound: healthy, charity: love]

Me: Jesus, all these come to those who are Yours and led by the Spirit!
Jesus: Paul was telling Titus to speak My word. The trait of being circumspect does not come quickly to the young. Those with some experience ought to model it. Here is my aim:

For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Titus 2:11-12


Me: I see the next verse goes on to say, “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”
Jesus: You should take from that the need to walk in My calling ever more diligently as the day of My return approaches.

Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:14-16

Me: Are you speaking of “him who sleeps” as the unsaved one who is merely drifting through life, carried along by the currents of time? (No one I know disputes that the days are evil.)
Jesus: Yes. I Am the life. Yet this one has not even considered his “deadness”. Give a wake-up call where you can! You surely know how transforming to a sober life requires a circumspect outlook, understanding the whole truth about the consequences of drifting mindlessly along vs being awake and alert to the Life. Look to Me for help! I Am with you!
Me: Thank You Jesus! I love You!
Jesus: You are welcome! I love you!

Beneficiary

It seems in my life; I am often the beneficiary of the love and grace of others. Does it go without saying that I have unfathomably received of the love and grace of God? How can I let such a gift pass without a thank you?

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. Romans 5

Thank you, Jesus!

The picture at the head of this post is of some garlic that I was gifted by my friend Cheryl last fall to plant in our garden. I harvested the results the middle of August. I needed a way to hang it to dry, as I understand one is supposed to do that.

That brings me to another gift that I was given. Another friend had an unsuccessful political campaign years back and had a lot of heavy wire sign frames, of the type that typically are used by stretching what is essentially a printed plastic bag over the frame, which is then poked in the ground. This friend figured since I was politically active, that I could make use of them. Frankly, political signs are always provided with new wires frames of one type or another. Still, I seem to have found a near endless array of things I could make from the heavy steel wire. Which brings me to this picture:

It occurred to me that if I had a really big heavy needle, I could use it to run a string though the stalks of the harvested garlic. So, with a bolt cutter I cut off a length of steel sign wire. I clamped it in a vise for my drill press and used a Dremel tool cut-off wheel and a steady hand to grind a slot through the wire, halfway on each side. I sharpened one end on my bench grinder and polished the rust off with a wire wheel. Viola! A needle!

And the result, hanging in the pole barn.

By the way, some pieces of that same sign wire became S-hooks to connect the string between some shelving units, via a simple loop tied on each end of the string.

The very presence of mature garlic from little cloves planted in the ground prior to winter is still one more example of my status as beneficiary.

26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; 27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. 28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? Mark 4

God made all these mysterious things to work according to His design to sustain and keep us. I am thankful to Him! Praise His holy name!

P.S. I have been pretty occupied with things this summer and posting here has certainly suffered. But all is well.

Whose Faith is it, Anyway?

I am grateful for Your word!

16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. 17 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2)

Three times in the passage above, Paul refers to the “the faith of” Jesus the Son of God. It does not say faith in, it says faith of. [Translations other than the KJV (even the NKJV) have mostly translated this as “faith in”. My amateurish look at the Greek text did not help me much because the meaning of the possessives depends on parsing the language accurately. I must defer to someone trained in Greek grammar to sort this out. So, I refer to an article by Bobby Grow who takes a look at this exact passage in an evenhanded way. He favors the way the King James has it, all things considered.] If we are “crucified with Christ” and if the life that is now in us is the indwelling Christ, as stated clearly in verse 20, then “faith of” would lend credence to His faith being active in us.

On the other hand, the passage goes on the speak of the possibility of our “building again” as transgressors. This is most likely if we are not actively renewing our minds according to the word and submitting to it.

If it is the faith of Christ by which He did all the Father gave Him to do (and it is). If it is the faith of Jesus that allowed Him to conquer the grave, though He had become sin that its power in us might be broken when it was nailed to the cross in Him (and it is). Would we not do well to understand that it is now His faith that is the power by which we are to live. Does not our self-generated faith come fearfully close to the works of the Law that Paul was saying are totally ineffective at justifying us?

The Righteous Judge

The LORD executes righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed. Psalm 103:6

From a purely physical perspective, it doesn’t always look like that to us, does it? My last post was from a conversational journal passage about the unrighteous judge. God, on the other hand, is a righteous Judge for all that are oppressed. That invites the question, are we oppressed? I believe that is a perspective that we often have because there has been some truth to it for all and that may be the actively downward-spiraling situation for others.

When Peter was sent to by the Spirit to minister the Gospel to Cornelius and his household, his discourse included this:

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. Acts 10:38

Well, what manner of oppression might this be?

The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10

(This verse in John 10 is in the middle of a parable where Jesus is describing Himself as the Good Shepherd.)

Is something stealing your peace? Have you been involuntarily divested of property? Is health being destroyed in some fashion? Has death darkened the door of your house yet? If not, certainly the door of friends and loved ones. The methods of such oppression are varied and far reaching.

That is what makes the message of 1 John 3:8 so encouraging.

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8

It is by sin that the devil gained access to trouble mankind with all manner of things leading ultimately to death. All of us have sinned and continue to do so. So what of Jesus’ statement that He came to give us abundant life? That is the good news, for sure.

I am the door: by Me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. John 10:9

(Remember in John 10, Jesus was likening Himself to a good shepherd.)

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Acts 2:21

The remainder of Psalm 103 gives quite a list of benefits we can expect from the Righteous Judge. It is certainly worth frequent reading to be reminded of God’s mercy, redemption, compassion, and more.

I will leave you with a cautionary reminder for all of us.

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

On the positive side, this is great news given to believers in Jesus! But even for believers, the corollary is that the devil will not flee without resistance. Continuing to engage in intentional sin is not resistance, and in fact gives him further access.

Though His mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23), choose you this day whom you will serve. (Joshua 24:15)

Undead Yet?

I am grateful, Father, that You have enabled me to be in Jesus and to be raised with Him!

2 And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you once walked. You were following the ways of this world [influenced by this present age], in accordance with the prince of the power of the air (Satan), the spirit who is now at work in the disobedient [the unbelieving, who fight against the purposes of God]. 3 Among these [unbelievers] we all once lived in the passions of our flesh [our behavior governed by the sinful self], indulging the desires of human nature [without the Holy Spirit] and [the impulses] of the [sinful] mind. We were, by nature, children [under the sentence] of [God’s] wrath, just like the rest [of mankind]. 4 But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace—His undeserved favor and mercy—you have been saved from God’s judgment). 6 And He raised us up together with Him [when we believed], and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, [because we are] in Christ Jesus, 7 [and He did this] so that in the ages to come He might [clearly] show the immeasurable and unsurpassed riches of His grace in [His] kindness toward us in Christ Jesus [by providing for our redemption]. 8 For it is by grace [God’s remarkable compassion and favor drawing you to Christ] that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this [salvation] is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the [undeserved, gracious] gift of God; 9 not as a result of [your] works [nor your attempts to keep the Law], so that no one will [be able to] boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation]. 10 For we are His workmanship [His own master work, a work of art], created in Christ Jesus [reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, ready to be used] for good works, which God prepared [for us] beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us]. Ephesians 2:2-10 AMP

Me: Good morning, Father!

Abba: Good morning, Jon!

Me: Seems this revelation that we are dead unless regenerated, born again, in Jesus is mysterious to the still dead.

Abba: I told Adam, beforehand.

So the Lord God took the man [He had made] and settled him in the Garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely (unconditionally) eat [the fruit] from every tree of the garden; but [only] from the tree of the knowledge (recognition) of good and evil you shall not eat, otherwise on the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die [because of your disobedience].” Genesis 2:15-17

Eve was lied to, in Adam’s hearing, and the two of them bought what the deceiver was selling.

Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which the Lord God had made. And the serpent (Satan) said to the woman, “Can it really be that God has said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, except the fruit from the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God said, ‘You shall not eat from it nor touch it, otherwise you will die.’”  But the serpent said to the woman, “You certainly will not die! For God knows that on the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened [that is, you will have greater awareness], and you will be like God, knowing [the difference between] good and evil.” And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was delightful to look at, and a tree to be desired in order to make one wise and insightful, she took some of its fruit and ate it; and she also gave some to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of the two of them were opened [that is, their awareness increased], and they knew that they were naked; and they fastened fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. Genesis 3:3-7

The serpent countered My message to Adam, “On the day that you eat from it, you shall most certainly die” with “You certainly will not die!”

In disobedience, stepping away from the Author and Sustainer of life is death. Spiritually in the moment, physically in due time. The serpent told a perverted “truth”. Though man’s spiritual connection to Me perished with the sin, his lungs kept filling with air and his heart kept circulating corpuscles to be aerated. Eventual physical death is a mercy to the spiritually dead.

Consider the “sons of disobedience”, who fight against My purposes. Contrary to what the serpent said, My will for man is only for good. Still, the disobedient spiral down into twisted decay. They seek to fill their cadaverous emptiness with anything they think will bring them pleasure or benefit of any kind. They become wholly self-absorbed. They harm others (even children) because they have no idea what the truth is. They call that which is evil, good. They call that which is good, evil. (Isaiah 5:20) The Devil comes but to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10) and they are sold into bondage to him.

Me: The redemption You have provided in Jesus is such a stark contrast to the ever-deepening darkness that follows sin! Thank You for the grace You have lavished upon us! What You have done is beyond comprehension. Yet we can enjoy freedom in the new life and express thanksgiving where there was only taking before. Thank You! I love You!

Abba: You are welcome! I love you!

Rhonda Lisauckis Cross Stitch

Before the Cart

I am grateful for the provision Jesus has made for citizenship in the kingdom of God.

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
John 14:1

Me: Good morning, Father!

Abba: Good morning, Jon!

Me: In English, the first word in John 14:1 implies that the state of my heart is under my control. Is that the intent?

Abba: It is, but I want you to understand more carefully, because you take the “Let not” as the primary instruction in the passage.

Μὴ (Not, lest) ταρασσέσθω (let be troubled, disturb, agitate) ὑμῶν (of you) ἡ (the) καρδία.(heart).

The first word has more depth than simple negation. If you take “let not” as a command, you are not wrong, exactly, but not seeing My full revelation. I do want you to have peace. The heart is where peace resides. Consider carefully the “lest” aspect of Μὴ. The sense is more explanatory. Jesus is saying, “Lest you be disturbed or agitated, you believe, in the Father and in Me.” The thing that is commanded, because of My loving desire for you, is the “believing”. The “letting” is taken care of in the “believing”, more accurately, in the object of your belief.  I Am precisely NOT saying, “Get control of your heart’s condition by some nebulous means, and that will help your believing”. Nor, “Get peace in your heart and belief in Jesus will come.” That would be “putting the cart before the horse”, so to speak.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:27

Verse twenty-seven repeats verse one, in reverse order. Lest (See what I did there?) you miss the point, Jesus is making it clear that peace is in Him. Further, that He is giving it to “believers”. The “let not” language is exactly as in verse one: “I am giving you the same peace that is in Me lest your heart be troubled or afraid”.

So, the question is whether the peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7) is the dominant state of your heart. If it is not, what unbelief is blocking the promise?

Me: Thank You Father! I love You!

Abba: You are welcome! I love you!

Graphic depicting some aspects related to the mind, heart, and spirit.

Cart image from Michael Porter, Pexels.com

Postscript – Given Over

Photo by Gabriele Brancati on Pexels.com

Postscript added to last post, instead of writing a new one. Seemed like it was better there than here. Praising Jesus for His guidance! He is the reason the truth is steadfast! – Jon