The Body of Christ (Messiah)

Post-tribulation is true because the body of the Messiah went to and through the cross to display the invisible attributes of God, and the current body of Christ (Messiah) on this earth is called to do the exact same thing.  The cross of tribulation is ours to cling to as it is His good pleasure to carry us through incredible difficulty in order to reach those who are lost.  (Isaiah 53:10 "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief;<sup>"  )


If only we could see it is a high calling. 
It gives purpose and meaning to our current struggles
and it releases us to have the proper attitude toward God and man,
as we see the unseen principalities and powers begin to rise up and speed up.</sup>

Hi I'm Chuck and I'm an Addict, but I am also a New Creation

Many thanks to my wife for this insight.

There is a debate in "recovery circles" on how to
introduce yourself. 
Do you say, "I am an addict..."
or
do you say
"I am a new creation"

My wife said something like this..."In my flesh, and
anytime I walk away from His presence, I am very
much still an addict, but the truth is I am a new creation
and that new creation is not an addict."
I think it lines up with Jesus when He said,

"Apart from Me you can do nothing."  so apart from
Him, if we are not in the vine, in the flow of His life
our reality is we are an addict, but in Him, the addict
is gone gone gone and we are a new creation.

So it is my favorite answer in Bible Study

"yes and yes"!

How a Leader Responds to Criticism

One of the lessons from a beautiful visit with friends, "How does Moses respond to insubordination, murmuring, complaints directed against his leadership, disparaging remarks about his qualifications, and his wife?"


He falls on his face before the Lord. 


He does not defend himself. 


He lets the Lord be his defense.

Israel Will Become Teachers of the Gentiles of the Mercy of God

From the Treasury of David by Spurgeon, specifically Psalm 51 comes this quote.


  " I cannot doubt the prophetic bearing of this Psalm upon the nation of Israel. In the latter day they shall consider their ways: repentance and self loathing will be the result. Blood guiltiness heavier than that of David has to be removed from that nation. They will become the teachers of the Gentiles, when first the iniquity of their own transgressions has been purged away." Arthur Pridham.


Wow. 


This guy gets it.


He has read Zechariah 12-14 and takes it literally.


Psalm 51 applied to the Jewish nation in its entirety!


All Glory to the Mercy and Faithfulness of our God.  One God, One family, One plan of salvation through One Messiah by the Holy Spirit.

Our Reaction to the Partial Hardening of Israel Reveals Either Arrogance or Humility

^"17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches; but if you are arrogant, remember that it is not you who supports the root, but the root supports you. ¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ Quite right, they were broken off for their unbelief, but you stand by your faith. Do not be conceited, but fear; ²¹ for if God did not spare the natural branches, He will not spare you, either. ²² Behold then the kindness and severity of God; to those who fell, severity, but to you, God’s kindness, if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off. ²³ And they also, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. ²⁴ For if you were cut off from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and were grafted contrary to nature into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these who are the natural branches be grafted into their own olive tree?
²⁵ For I do not want you, brethren, to be uninformed of this mystery—so that you will not be wise in your own estimation—that a partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in;"  Romans 11:17-25 


Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit was deeply burdened for Israel.  His hope was that the gentiles who the Lord called him to, would understand and be humbled by the deep cost that Israel is and now has been paying for 2,000 years.  There is no room for arrogance, there is no room for a gentile to feel that in any way they have replaced or super seeded Israel.  The second we leave their root we are cut off.  Paul had the humility of God to see this mystery and to stand before it trusting in the wisdom of our great God.
On the other hand, Luther, had great expectations that his reformation would be welcomed and embraced by the Jews and when they did not turn and repent in the way he expected, he looked at Jewish writings and saw that they disparaged Jesus and he went off, way off!  He wrote a hate-filled book that in a very real sense opened the door for Nazi anti-Semitism. 
Oh God save us from ourselves!  Help us to look with humility at the terrifying cost of the partial hardening, and break us till we are crying out to you for them in priestly intercession!

Preterism Roots

"Preterism is a Christian eschatological view that interprets some or all prophecies of the Bible as events which have already happened. This school of thought interprets the Book of Daniel as referring to events that happened from the 7th century BC until the first century AD, while seeing the prophecies of Revelation as events that happened in the first century AD. Preterism holds that Ancient Israel finds its continuation or fulfillment in the Christian church at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70."  Wikipedia

Preterism is gentile envy of God's choosing of Israel. 


 It is rebellion against His covenant faithfulness.


It paints a picture of a God who is weak and unable to keep His promises.
 
It calls into question the ultimate faithfulness of Israel's Messiah to fulfill the prophecies associated with His calling.


It refuses the God ordained position of Ham and Japheth, which is to serve the chosen people and bow to enter the tent of the chosen people. 


It reeks of the very arrogance that Paul warned about in Romans 11.

Boast No More

1 Corinthians 4:7  "After all, what makes you so special? What do you have that you didn’t receive as a gift? And if in fact it was a gift, why do you boast as if it weren’t?"

This scripture was brought to my mind a couple days ago.  It is so easy to fall into a terrible place where you begin to feel that your "goodness" elevates you above another.

Then, by the grace of God, mercy reminds you that it was mercy that gave you a loving mother, and a stable up-bringing, with clear moral boundaries.  Mercy only mercy.  Each time you can hold your tongue, or reach down to help someone is a result of the mercy you received.

When you see other people struggling to get through life, the proper response is, "Lord please show them the same mercy you lavished on me."

Boasting comes out in many forms, grumbling about a co-worker, being exasperated over another person's behavior, mocking, etc.  Each one is a sin, a stench in the nostrils of the Holy God, who extends mercy to your heart.  Repent and be grateful.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq5gr6GD5DA