Welcome to the
inaugural study letter from the river's edge. As we chart
our course into the rough waters of the future we have to
have a strong union with our fellow believers. That is the
purpose of this study letter and
gtmre.org and lightyourcandle.org.
God's Touch Ministry: By The River's Edge has always
been about offering the word of God to His people. Straight
and to the prophetic point. Light Your Candle is just
a place for the Christian to share his or her faith, trials,
successes failures and praise reports. In this disconnected
world, where Christians are being pummeled by the world into
a silenced huddle, it is a place to connect. These
letters will typically contain the weekly bible study from
gtmre.org and anything else that seems appropriate in the
Holy Spirit. Your contributions are welcome and encouraged.
This is not about anybody but Jesus Christ, and Him
glorified in our lives.
Bible Study: John 5: 41-47
We are finishing up with John 5 and Jesus
is finishing up His declaration of who He is. That He is
God, sent by the Father, witnessed by man, miracles and
words to be the Holy One of God, the Messiah. Above that he
is speaking to the pharisees, the people who should KNOW
that things He is saying are true, they should know that He
is the Christ. But they have long been corrupted by greed
and power, and if they had known He was the Christ, then
they saw Him as threat to their position and power, which
had become more important to them than serving God,
important enough for them to seek to kill Jesus. Jesus
confirms this in His next statement.
41 “I do not receive honor from
men. 42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God
in you.
At this point Jesus turns from defining
himself to rebuking the the pharisees, the blind ambitious
leaders of God’s people.
43 I have come in My Father’s
name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own
name, him you will receive.
A messenger from God, they reject, but
anyone who comes to them, honoring them is accepted.
44 How can you believe, who
receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor
that comes from the only God?
Again we are warned in this rebuke of the
pharisees. There are many people today who will come to you
in the name of God, but selfish ambition is their only
motivation. They will tell you how good they are, how
steeped in the word of God they are. They will puff
themselves up, they will wear their ministry titles like a
peacock wears it’s feather, but in the end they only give
you only dry sand to eat and call it bread. The Pharisees
were these types of people , but their type did not end with
their passing. Remember dear Christian that we never honor
the man of God, we honor the God that sent him. As Jesus
said in vs 41″“I do not receive honor from men.” Even Jesus
reflected the glory of the Father and pointed to the Father,
even though He himself is God. Beware the Pharisees dear
children of God, the ones who want you to honor them, and
pay them, and yet have nothing to honor in return.
Finally Jesus takes one last step in
rebuke of the Pharisees. He takes away their final
authority, for in moses and the prophets lay authority. They
could lay claim to rightness is that they were acclaimed by
Moses’ writings. Jesus tells them that association with the
word has no effect with out association with the source of
the word.
45 Do not think that I shall
accuse you to the Father; there is one who accuses
you—Moses, in whom you trust. 46 For if you believed Moses,
you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. 47 But if you
do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?”
So too our modern day Pharisee’s lay claim
authority in the bible, and lay claim to honors they presume
are due to them. But judge their fruit dear children and
remember we honor God, not men.
My Utmost For His Highest By Oswald Chambers January 27, 2009 Look Again and Think So not worry about your life....
--Matthew 6:25
A warning which
needs to be repeated is that "the cares of this world
and the deceitfulness of riches," and the lust for other
things, will choke out the life of God in us (Matthew
13:22). We are never
free from the recurring waves of this invasion. If the
frontline of attack is not about clothes and food, it
may be about money or the lack of money; or friends or
lack of friends; or the line may be drawn over difficult
circumstances. It is one steady invasion, and these
things will come in like a flood, unless we allow the
Spirit of God to raise up the banner against it.
"I say to you,
do not worry about your life . . . ." Our Lord says to
be careful only about one thing-our relationship to Him.
But our common sense shouts loudly and says, "That is
absurd, I must
consider how I am going to live, and I must
consider what I am going to eat and drink." Jesus says
you must not. Beware of allowing yourself to think that
He says this while not understanding your circumstances.
Jesus Christ knows our circumstances better than we do,
and He says we must not think about these things to the
point where they become the primary concern of our life.
Whenever there are competing concerns in your life, be
sure you always put your relationship to God first.
"Sufficient for
the day is its own trouble" (Matthew
6:34). How much trouble
has begun to threaten you today? What kind of mean
little demons have been looking into your life and
saying, "What are your plans for next month— or next
summer?" Jesus tells us not to worry about any of these
things. Look again and think. Keep your mind on the
"much more" of your heavenly Father (Matthew
6:30).
Visit lightyourcandle.org and add your light to the
world!
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