A week after the Resurrection.

^{http://encouragetalk.blogspot.com.au written by Phil Barrington. (Available on ipod and smart phones)}

Aim: to show the importance of believing. We can have life in His name and have assurance of eternal life in Heaven.

^{Thanks Daniel for the Ressurrection message Sunday night. Those that believe have started their eternal life  inclusive of heaven.}

A week later his disciples were in the house again,

and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁷ Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. John 20:26-30

The Death of Lazarus in chapter 11

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” John 11:25-26

Bible Niv version

My fb ministry.

 

There is a story told about a man who was reaching out to the people sharing the gospel of Christ. He started to pray he would see the results of his ministry. God answered his prayer. He was arrested and put into prison. During his term in prison he engaged with the prisoners and found those who had committed themselves to Christ through his ministry.
Who Jesus saves maybe not in our best interest to know; so that We may give him the glory and our lives be protected to continue to share the Gospel of Christ.

Written by Phil Barrington

Romans Road

 

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For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Romans 3:23.
For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.” James 2:10.
We have all sinned. We have all disobeyed God's law in one way or another. We arn't better than one another. This disobedience to God is known in our own hearts yet we try to brush it asside and think we are a good person. Isn't that human nature or the nature of sin? So what is the difference between a believer and non-believer in Christ? Stay tuned because i'd love to tell you. Speaking to me also is the realisation that I have sinned. Are we all able to recognise this fact? if we do then it is a step in the right direction toward knowing God and what he has in store for you and me.

 

So, what is the difference between a believer and non-believer in Christ?

Are we good inside and if not how does a person become good or are we ever good? Also what is the result if we don’t put ourselves right with God?

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:23

First the difference between a believer and non believer is this… A non believer there is a spiritual separation from God. This separation is on this earth and eternally for ever. If a person doesn’t except Christ as their personal saviour it is then an absolute reality separation from God is in the now and eternity. In this state we will voluntarily miss out on the blessings of which God is patiently waiting to freely give. In a sinful state there is a death which can only be empowered and made alive in God by accepting God’s own Son, the Lord Jesus Christ by letting the Holy Spirit to enter our lives.

The result of not accepting the Lord Jesus Christ makes us bad. It is Sin which makes us bad. From the beginning of the fall with Adam and Eve, sin had entered the world with a vengeance. The only way back to God is through the Lord Jesus Christ. Then in God’s eyes this will make us good. Oh, yes we will sin, but once we have accepted Him, The bible says we have and advocate (someone who will plead our case). This is the Lord Jesus Christ. But how can Jesus plead our case if we refuse HIm as our Lord Jesus Christ. e.g If we went to court and refused to have a lawyer speak on our behalf, How then can he plead our case?

The final result not accepting Christ are… No life here on earth to receive his amazing blessings. Cries for help will be hindered in difficult times on this earth which we live and Satan is going too and fro in your life and mine. A separation from God eternally so when we die, He never knew you. And Just a little encouragement , (please remember Satan can and will go too and fro in our lives but, but, but God is everywhere present all of the time). I know who I love to follow.

More to come. An invitation is to you to accept The Lord Jesus Christ now and the Holy Spirit will enter in. It is only then, Only then the full blessings of God can be extended into our lives and have the victory in Him.

Accept Him now. Just pray.

 

10 as it is written:“None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands; no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;no one does good, not even one.”
13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.”
14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.”
15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.”
18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes

It is well appreciated from us all, good things are done in our community and the world i,e. helping the poor, and other good deeds to help others. While it’s true that these things make us feel good, we don’t have the innocence which proclaims a righteousness before a Holy God. In many cases Christians and churches do help out in the community. We are instructed as believers to help the poor and do good deeds.

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him. Proverbs 14:31

So yes, it is Christian like and God like to help the poor and other good deeds. Are we good inside and if not how does a person become good or are we ever good? Also what is the result if we don’t put ourselves right with God? You see it’s what’s in our hearts and our lives which determine if we are good. If we are only doing things in our own strength without God in our lives then our good isn’t worth anything. Our outward efforts need to match our inward heart knowing a Holy God.

What then do we need to do? Stay tuned.

It’s impossible to judge and get away with it.

Do Not Judge
"Do not judge so that you will not be judged.

2"For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.…Matt 7:1-2

This verse says if we judge another then the same is going to come back upon us. This can happen by our  actions or what is in our own mind. To counteract this we need to know the mind of Christ in our lives. To bring a comparison to mind, is when man meets woman, he doesn’t really know her. But spending time with that person over time a man will get to know her and fall in love with her. The only way we can have the mind of Christ to keep our minds and hearts clear is to fall in love with our Lord Jesus Christ. How do we have that intimacy with our Lord? The answer is getting to know Him on a daily basis. The reaping of this great relationship is we won’t be prone to be judging others.

Luke 6:37
"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

Who hates being judged? I know I do. I would love to leave a legacy in this world of being a righteous man. We are all sinful by nature. It is imperative we don’t judge another to avoid being condemned. This doesn’t mean by us not condemning that we aren’t going to be condemned. The world is full of smutty sin that we can so wrongfully be accused of ill acts which goes into a dark place of destruction. This hurts our very being. It’s only by grace we can forgive. Sometimes the damage has been done to where we are at the point of despair. At this point of desperation we need help from God ultimately but also other believers who can have faith and trust in the one who has been deeply hurt. 

Luke 6:41
"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?

In the past, I have had people judge me, only to find out as time prevailed that something worse was in their own life. Has this happened to you? I am sure that we don’t want to show up everyone’s unholy acts. The result could be showing up your extra unholy acts. The only way we can remove planks in our own lives is confessing them to the Lord Jesus as sin in your life. The same with those who have, as it were, saw dust in their eyes, That is, small things that may be hindering your relationship with Jesus Christ.

John 8:7
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her."
 

Remember this part of scripture! They were stoning her because she had committed adultery. But Jesus had stopped them, ok you think you haven't sinned. you throw the first stone. “Please don’t throw stones at me…” we might all say. But how many stones have we thrown at someone today. We are all sinners saved by grace.

 

Romans 2:1
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.

Here is the proof. when you judge you are condemning you. Because you do the same as the person of whom you judge. It is clear it’s not your responsibility to judge. but God’s only.

Romans 14:10
You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.

If you are judged remember that we all are going to appear at the judgment seat where we will be judged. To make our lives easier to live on this planet that God gave us, we need to leave the judgment to the heavenly realm when we appear before a Holy God.

Romans 14:13
Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

Judgements can put a stumbling block in our lives which can stop ministries of which that person could have been successful in reaching people for Jesus and God’s heavenly kingdom. Do we really want to do that? I think not! I think that God and his angels would be very displeased and anti God honouring.

1 Corinthians 4:5
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

When the Lord comes He will know our hearts. Even the motives of which we may have. We are exhorted to judge nothing, i.e, a big fat zero. It’s not for us to bring it to light whatever is hidden in darkness.

James 4:11
Brothers and sisters, do not slander one another. Anyone who speaks against a brother or sister or judges them speaks against the law and judges it. When you judge the law, you are not keeping it, but sitting in judgment on it.

It is finally clear we shouldn’t speak or judge a brother or sister. Most importantly we need to follow Christ. We today have the Holy Spirit in our lives. We don’t want to be going ahead of our Lord and judge others before we go to heaven. Judgement belongs to God only. Therefore we must wait until then for judgement. Then we’ll see.

The Second Promise to Women

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^“To the woman he said,“I will make your pains in childbearing very severe;with painful labor you will give birth to children.Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16

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I want to us to look at this second part of Genesis 3:16 for a moment. You are probably wondering what I am going to say with verses in the New Testament are quoted. It’s not as bad as one might think. Please let us look at this, in a reasonable scripture context.

Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16 (second part)

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But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man,and the head of Christ is God. 1 Corinthians 11:3 

Here in 1 Corinthians 11:3 is very clear the man is the head of the woman. This is another statement stating the obvious. Is this humorous?  If we look closely at the verses below carefully, women it’s not as bad as you may think.

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Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Saviour.

Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

and to present her himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. Ephesians 5:21-27

It is quite clear we need to submit to one another. To submit doesn’t give the man the right to rule with an iron fist or abuse. In the bible reference above it say’s for the man to love their wife. This means to listen to them, and after seeking God’s wisdom to then make a ruling. Then the wife needs to submit.

“But my man is wrong a lot of the time.”

ok he may be wrong.  First God will deal with the man. This isn’t your responsibility. He needs to learn by his own mistakes. If he loves you he will take time to think things through of whatever you have suggested to him during the discourse of a debate.

Next thing which needs to be considered is “God has a plan” He ‘God’ has brought you both together for a reason. God can stop any plan your man may have in the making. You need to trust the almighty God to deal with him when and if he is about to make the biggest mistake of his life.

Let me give an example: Your man has just injured his back. He is nearly recovered. Then he gets this awesome opportunity to apply to work as a truckie unloading heavy machinery. Because of shortage of money he bull headedly goes to the interview that could potentially change his life. But you know this is a very bad situation.  The only thing that is open and possible to you is prayer and your faith in God that he won’t land this job. He then comes home with his tail between his legs (so to speak) He is upset because now he is back to looking for another job. You have submitted to your man, but God has taken care of a bad situation that could have occurred through your faith and prayers.

You see God will bless your submission to your man. Men have a more of a responsibility, because if you love your wife as Christ loves the Church and gave himself for it, it is only then you have a sacrificial love for your wife. It is also then that decisions made together and the proper roles in the home are integrated that God can bless two couples together in the decision making of the home.

Yes, sometimes men we need to step up and make some serious decisions for our wife and family, but let us do it in love, not in an abusive way with an iron fist. 

But I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ,…1 Corinthians 11:3  NOT YOU

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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God is Spirit

First, let me be clear. I believe God is a Spirit. I believe that Jesus by the authority of God sent His Holy Spirit to be in us once we believe in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross of Calvary for our sins past present and future. Also I believe we ourselves are mortal human beings. Jesus came to this earth as both God in the form of human flesh. We as human beings aren't little gods as some would believe.

Having said the above lets look at some verses that may cause us some concern in this area of God a Spirit and God coming to this earth through His Son the Lord Jesus Christ as a flesh and blood. Also in the old Testament (Old Covenant) are some examples when God took the form of a man.

Lets look in Genesis

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” Genesis 1:26

When God first made man and woman, they were without sin. God didn’t sin or has sinned. When the fall took place, man moved away from God and His fellowship with Him. As we look back on this, if we take this literally, I believe we were made in the image of God, only we have the sin nature because of the fall.

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. John 15:26

Here is God the Spirit In John 15:26. God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit is GOD (the trinity) the three in one. Because the Holy Spirit had already came from the Father (God) through our Lord Jesus Christ when John wrote the Gospel of John it is rightly said in John 4:2 that God is Spirit.

God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” John 4:2

God did produce himself in the promise statement of “Let us make man in our own image.” The “US” there I believe is God in trinity the three in one Father, Son and Holy Spirit.” This happened in the fiery furnace of  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego recorded in Daniel chapter Three. We see that four men appeared in the furnace not three. God appeared as a man.

24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, “Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?”

They replied, “Certainly, Your Majesty.”

25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. (This verse KJV)

26 Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!” So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, … Daniel 3:24-27

What do we then do with these verses regarding that God is Spirit and we were made in the likeness of Him. I want to take a simple view without getting tangled up in views that we may speculate on.

In Genesis it says we were made in the likeness or in His image. I Believe this can be explained in a literal sense.

 Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. Luke 24:39

The Later verse is also true. No the Bible doesn’t contradict itself. God sent His Son into the world in the likeness of man did he not? This happened because God had a perfect Holy plan that Jesus would look like us when He died on the Cross for you and me. This is also revealed In Isaiah fifty three

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,and by his wounds we are healed.

⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:3-6.

If God didn’t have a plan at the beginning in creation, then where would prophecy of Jesus be today?

This was also revealed in the burning bush that God had something for Moses to look upon that wasn’t safe for Moses to see.

⁴ And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.

⁵ And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.

⁶ Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

You can’t look on a Spirit. God Is a Spirit being without any denial from me. When we refer to God we more than likely are talking about The Holy Spirit Is the Holy Spirit God? Yes! Was Jesus God and man in human form? Yes! The Holy Spirit came from God through Jesus Christ before He left the earth.

 

 God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth...John 4:24

Here is God in Holy Spirit form sent from God Himself, So then because we have the Spirit of God living in us we should worship him in “Spirit and in truth” of whom is God himself.

As He is God, if He so desired could turn himself into or turn something into what ever He desires. But He has chosen not to. The only thing He desires of you and me, is to be more like Him before we leave this earth.

God had a Holy plan for us to be His image, yet His Spirit abides in the believer. We are an image of what God wanted us to be. From the very beginning after the fall, had a plan of fulfilment of His Son coming to earth by HIs Holy will. He also had a plan to form us into an image that is pleasing to God. Now we must do our part and be transformed to be more like Him in our daily lives. We are always going to look the same on the outside as someone special that God has made, but we need to change on the inside to be more like Christ by the renewing of His Spirit in our lives daily.

I pray that God will reveal Himself to you today.

God’s Promise To Women.

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^“To the woman he said, “I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children….” Genes 3:15 (first part)

Stating the obvious sometimes can be fun. This verse has the intent of stating the obvious. This isn’t fun. There is pain in childbearing. Not experiencing it myself, I can only go on what has been told. Is pain in childbearing happening today? Yes! Is it happening in the Church age? Yes! Did it happen in the old and new covenant? Yes! Lets have a look.

Verses in the Old Testament (Old covenant)

“Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor.” Psalm 48:6

“At this my body is racked with pain, pangs seize me, like those of a woman in labor; I am staggered by what I hear, I am bewildered by what I see.” Isaiah 21:3

“We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us, pain like that of a woman in labor.” Jeremiah 6:24

9 “Why do you now cry aloud-- have you no king? Has your counselor perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?”

10 “Writhe in agony, O Daughter of Zion, like a woman in labor, for now you must leave the city to camp in the open field. You will go to Babylon; there you will be rescued. There the LORD will redeem you out of the hand of your enemies.” Micah 4:9-10

God, I am sure willing will allow me to get to prophecy later. But it is clear in the Old Testament (Old covenant) that the process of child birth women bore pain. God promised this to every woman including Eve.

Some New Testament Verses of the Bible is relevant to giving birth is pain for a woman.

“A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.” John 16:21

Although painful for a woman to give birth, there is wonderful joy when that baby is born. Especially that first born. She forgets her pain because the Joy is so overwhelming.

“She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.” Revelation 12:2

Friends, it is obvious today women do travail in pain giving child birth. This was a promise given by God. As a father, I know the joy that was ours when we had both our Children. As fathers we need to respect what women go through to multiply on the face of this earth to make a difference to our world.

It is also recognised that in this age of Grace Christian, non Christian alike will go through pain in child birth. There is no difference between the Old covenant, the new covenant and the child bearing society we live in today.

Verses from the bible are quoted from the NIV New International Version 

Add other verses and quotes if you like in relation to this topic. Willing to be challenged. Author has the right to delete comments and challenges if so desired. Phil.

 

 

 

God’s first Promise

God fulfils His promises in Scripture and is revealed in the New Testament or New Covenant It is with a saddened heart that many will say it doesn’t apply because that was in the Old Testament or Old covenant.  I assure you that Satan is real today; he still lives on and proved He does in confronting moments in Jesus’ life.

In Genesis 3:14-15… God talks to the Serpent. 

14 The LORD God said to the serpent,“Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.”

In Revelation 12:9… The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

The good news is that in the New Testament or New Covenant Satan is going to be destroyed.

 

Romans 16:20 …The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Colossians 1:13
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.

My friends this is how he was defeated. We have been brought in the light of the gospel. This is how Satan was bruised. God in human form took our place on the cross and was bruised for our Iniquity.  When we come to know Him. We are His forever. John 10:29…  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.

Because of  Jesus Christ God’s only son died on the cross for us, we are His forever and more powerful than Satan. 

1 Peter 2:24 …"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."

 

Matthew 4:10,11  When Jesus was in the wilderness…

10. Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only,

11. Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

Let us then Worship The Lord our God and continue to defeat the Devil by the Holy Spirit in the age of the Church as the Old covenant  is revealed in the New Covenant which includes the Church.

John 16:11… and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

Bible References come from NIV