Category Archives: Questions

2023, Christian Living, For What It's Worth To You, Gospel of Matthew, It's a Bonus Post, Questions

Come Along

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Matthew 28 18 Yeshua came and talked with them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore, go and make people from all nations into talmidim, immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember! I will be with you always, yes, even until the end of the age.”   source 

First thing I noticed this time reading these verses. 

immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh, 

Other translations say: baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  And I don’t dispute that. Baptism after conversion is a command, unless, of course, you are the thief on the cross or some other reason beyond your control. But baptism is more than being lowered under a body of water and brought up again and I believe JESUS was saying more than we are generally taught here. 

Let us remember from the verses that He said “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. And does not ALL mean all? All authority is given to Him. We will come back to this.

Hang with me.

What are we commanded to do in this passage? immersing them into the reality of the Father, the Son and the Ruach HaKodesh,
Just what does this mean? What is immersing?

im·merse

  (ĭ-mûrs′)
tr.v. im·mersed, im·mers·ing, im·mers·es
1. To cover completely in a liquid; submerge.
2. To baptize by submerging in water.
3. To engage wholly or deeply; absorb:
 
For purposes here let’s take number 3. 
To engage wholly or deeply; absorb. This I believe describes what we are to do. 
All people. All Nations. Anyone who will believe and come along we are to aid in engaging them wholly, deeply; so they can absorb the ways of GOD. 
We introduce them to JESUS and then we keep on with them, discipling them,  or making sure there is someone else to come alongside them to teach them the Ways of GOD. 
And what do we teach them?
We teach them to OBEY GOD per the Scriptures. 
 
NOTHING IN THIS LIFE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN OBEYING GOD.
 
Let’s go back now. 
 
All Authority in heaven and on earth is given to JESUS.
This is BIG, Y’all! 
JESUS has all authority! All authority! 
 
And some may say, so. What does that mean for me? 
The best news ever!
It means as we are immersed in GOD, we are taught the ways of GOD and we obey Him we too have authority. We have the authority and the power to forsake and overcome SIN. 
 
We do NOT have to live defeated lives. 
We can and must be overcomers. 
When we are immersed in GOD all power and authority that we need to command the flesh and the enemy, we have. We CAN live victoriously. news-clipart-k11232926We do not have to be slaves to sin anymore! 

Now why would we not want to proclaim this to people everywhere? 

It’s Good News! The Best News! 
 

Until next time — Shalom, Kathie 

2023, Christian Living, Gospel of Matthew, Questions, Repentance, Salvation

The Word Knew – Who Knew?

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I am eager to share with you this late morning what I believe. 

Are you familiar with this passage of Scripture? Matthew 7: 21-23.

It’s important. It’s strong. 

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’  source 

This Scripture tapped on my thoughts last night and settled in with what I am about to share with you.

Here YESHUA tells that in the times to come people are going to recite to Him reasons they should be allowed into Heaven. However, they will be denied entry. 
Why will they be denied? 
Hear His Words: 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ 

I never KNEW you, He said and will say. 

How could GOD, who knows ALL not know them? 

This KNEW is not the knew you and I use in our everyday English; it’s not the knew we use when we say oh yeah I knew them. 

It’s the knew of the Hebrews.  Here are two links. I invite you to compare.
yâdaʻ    ginṓskō

The knew JESUS used here is from the knew in Genesis 4:1.

This KNEW means intimacy. It means covenant. It means these people even though they had done some good works, their good works produced NO intimacy with JESUS. Blood CovenantThere was no BLOOD COVENANT applied to them. 
HE did not KNOW them.
He never KNEW them.
They never came to Him in surrender.
They never came seeking His Righteousness — they figured they had their own righteousness.
They figured WRONG. 
And the road to hell they began on? They stayed on.
They remained the Workers of Lawlessness. They never came to Him for rebirth.
Again I say, there was no intimacy. No communion. No Family Gatherings.

But this is not the case for us; for we who are KNOWN by Him. 
We are in covenant with Him (we know Him, He knows us) and because of the blood covenant, we will enter in. Heaven is our eternal home. BloodCovenant

Do you know people whose lives give no evidence that they have a blood covenant with JESUS? 
I do too. Keep praying. Keep proclaiming. Keep praying they will yet be KNOWN by Him. 

Until next time — Shalom, Kathie

2023, Christian Living, James, Questions

Mirror, Mirror

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This is not a time-intensive post; not much editing. 

James 1: 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  source 

This is so important! HUGE!
If we come to the Word and we read but we refuse to OBEY what we read we have profited nothing! It has given us no RIGHT Standing with GOD and we are not changed.

When we stand in front of a mirror it reflects our appearance. We see our own reflection. We see our face, and our hair, we see what shall be presented to others when we turn from the mirror. The mirror lets us see what needs changing. Is there a smudge on our face, is our hair in place, are our clothes modest, do our shoes match? All these material things.

The Bible has a similar function but for the inside.
What do we see?
Do we see GOD?
Do we see ourselves?
Do we see the filth within?
Do we see our sin?
Do we see The Savior?
What shall we do?
Shall we read and walk away the same?
Will we not allow The Word to remove the smudge on our faces?
Will we not allow the Word to bring our shoes (walk) to match The Bible?
Will we not allow the Bible to determine the clothes we wear? Will we wear the Full Armor of GOD? The-Armor-of-God-2
Will we read The Word and make no adjustments?
Then we have read in vain. We have looked in The Mirror and have decided to go out into the world reflecting our own fallen image instead of JESUS.
How foolish and evil can we be?

James 1: 25 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.  source 

Shalom, Kathie armor-of-god-cdd53f0d-6b0f-4ca0-9f21-ea844a06ea1-resize-750

2023, Celebrations, Christian Living, Questions, Resurrection Sunday, Salvation

An Open Letter

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To my beloved family, friends, and readers who come to this page.

Why do I do some of the odd things I do?
Why am I quirkish about more than a couple of norms in this world?
Like coming up quickly what most call Easter.
I try to call it otherwise. It has taken some practice.

I prefer Resurrection Sunday.
I prefer Passover.
Why do I have no fondness or appreciation for easter eggs, hunts, and bunnies?
Chocolate — well, yes I like that a lot, but not bunnies, please.

Why?
Because – well because these are of NO benefit to the Kingdom of GOD and of no godly use to mankind, especially little boys and girls. Their lives are not enriched by baskets or eggs, hunts, or any such things. Children (people) need to be told the whole truth and nothing but the truth at all age-appropriate times.

The same with what has developed into Christmas. The Bible does not tell us to celebrate His Birth – we are told to celebrate His Resurrection and to look with hope and rejoicing for His Second Coming.

This is what our children must be taught or they are in grave danger of perishing forever.

Not that remembering and telling, again and again, the story of His birth is not important and needful – it is, but there is no holy reason for what goes on each year for three to four months.

What holidays do I like?

Thanksgiving.
Although the stories we are told about the first Thanksgiving are just that, stories; even so, gathering to give thanks to GOD is excellent and should be a big day with family and friends, I think.
Feasting on good food, sharing funny stories, praying, laughing, and loving family and friends — oh yes let’s celebrate this big!

New Years
Yes! I enjoy it so much! It’s a time for prayer and hope for new beginnings, letting go of hurts, grudges, and failings, and moving on with JESUS to better living.
Oh, yes! I’m about that and the eating of wholesome, simple foods – that too!
Not for luck or any such pagan idea but for thanks to the Father for providing all our needs and even some of our wants in the coming year.

And some of the others . . . Except for Halloween!
What a damnable thing to celebrate – satan and his underworld of trickery, death, and destruction. How heinous can we get?
It has no place in me, no place in my life.

No place in Scripture have I seen a command from GOD for us to attempt to sanitize and redeem these pagan festivals.
On the contrary, Scripture contains plenty of celebrations, gatherings, and festivals for us to honor and enjoy; but those we as a people have ignored.
What a shame!

Yes, I am aware of the culture in which we live.

I am also mindful of this: We are indeed in this world but this world must NOT be in us!
Yet here in The West, I see the ways of the world in many people who profess that JESUS is their Savior.
These things ought not to be so!

So in a nutshell why am I odd, quirky, old-fashioned, straight-laced, and my favorite peculiar — just to name a few?

Well, my heart is just not into being anything but peculiar. 1 Peter 2:9

I hope you see it’s not a condescending stance.
It’s just me doing the best I know how to humble myself before GOD so He can transform me from a wretched sinner to a saint who can live with Him forever.

And in Light of all this, how could I be different?
I dare not for your sake and the Gospel, be different.

And why is it my constant plea that you daily read your Bible, chapter after chapter, book by book?
Because you cannot KNOW GOD without digesting The Word of GOD, The Bible, for yourself; and if you do not KNOW GOD you will surely perish.

So my beloveds, KNOW GOD so when I depart this earthly life, you may in time come to where I will be then.

KNOW GOD – it’s why I am here: to know GOD and to make Him known (to you).  Some Scripture Verses 

Are you 100% sure you KNOW HIM?
Not what people (or even I) have told you but what the Bible says?!

I think that’s it.
I think that’s what I wanted to say – so now you know I am not quirky and odd for any other reason than trying to please GOD before I please anyone else.
When I can please HIM and you at the same time, I am elated!  pleaseGOD

Love, Kathie
(and all those other names I am known as)