MARY KNEW

MARY KNEW

I have often wondered what many people must of wondered at the cross of Jesus. But this year it hit me. Mary was the Mother of Jesus and she knelt at the bottom of the cross and she knew. As every thing about the cross pierced her heart She knew that Jesus was the Son of God. She knew as she knelt in the sand and heard Jesus cry out to His Father, she had always known. But this pain and this suffering she did not know.

She knew He was the Prince of Peace the Author and Finisher of our faith, the Living God, the Alpha and the Omega, the Emmanuel, the Savior, Jesus was God in the flesh. Mary knew of the Virgin Birth and that His Father was the God of the universe and that Jesus and him were equal and she waited along with the others in the upper room for the Comforter to come and then she fades off the scene. As a Mother I can not imagine seeing my Son go thru anything near to this and just to kneel and cry and groan while the agony turned worse and worse and as the hours passed while the agony of her Son got worse as men did everything they could to torture God the Son. At the end, even the Centurion had to say this truly was the Son of God while His Own People yelled crucify Him crucify Him. The church of that time was not much different than the churches of today. We have the ones of the Pharisees that make 5 million a year and live in a mansion worth 5 million, they have received their reward, but they have missed the reality of it all, it is Jesus and Jesus only. They demand jet planes, as they are too good to travel like the rest of the people. What have we raised under the name of chruchanity. It surely does not represent the lowly Son of a Carpenter.

In our world today what difference are we? Do we mock the Son of God and forget that Christmas was to celebrate the Birth of the Christ Child not a tree and the gifts wrapped under the tree. The frantic shopping malls and the protesters fighting you for what who knows. We are all the same color we just have different tints to our color from the tower of Babel. We are all Americans. No one has ever called me an Irish, French-American, Yet we call people African-Americans. Why? Moses’ wife was black skinned, depended on what region you lived in and what climate you were raised in. Now today even the Christian tries to be politically correct. Jesus will be darker skinned and dark haired because He was born into the Tribe of Judah.

I watch as people grow deeper in debt to buy gifts for their children, but do not give them love. They are too busy advancing in their careers or else playing games to pay attention to their children. As I watched my oldest son Dave read his grandson a story, I was so very pleased because Beni will know from both his parents and his grandparents that he is loved as they spent their time with him and Mia playing for hours. My beautiful daughter Debbie just loves to play with them. I am anxious to see her pick up the girlie girl thing from Mia because she was a tomboy while I was the girlie girl and loved the dolls and the paper dolls and the play teas and such as that.

I pray as we watch this Christmas Season pass that our hearts will be turned back to Christ. The one who died for us. and that the only present we will give is I served the King of King and Lord of Lords and He is waiting for me in Heaven, for there He has prepared a place just for me out of His love. So think when you wrap that present is Jesus wrapped in it and in that persons heart. If not pray and seek the Lord for the rescuing of their souls. Merry Christmas to Everyone and May we lift our Lord on high.
Agape
Zekma

Our Soon Rapture and Resurrection

It has been a real blessing to review the first 13 numbers in the Bible. I deviated a little to do some feature subjects and stories but was led back to continue and write about this amazing divine order. It has also been a real blessing to see all of the posts about our soon to be rapture and resurrection.

I am perhaps average with the subject of math. Some people are on the genius level. In math there are factors. Every one has to be considered and applied. If even one factor is missing the math problem can not be solved or proved.

In end time biblical prophecy there are at least 100 factors. We probably don't even know every factor that is to be known for our departure in heaven. Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you. This generation shall not pass away, till all be fulfilled."Luke 21:24. This is why Jesus may have said, "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only." Matthew:24:36. Jesus Christ does not even know the exact day and hour He is coming for His Church. Only God the Father knows this fact.

We may not want to be too hard on ourselves or others if a time period comes and goes. We may think we know when our rapture and resurrection is going to take place but all it takes is one missing factor that we are not aware of in this end time biblical scenario to be wrong. It's up to you on how you want to approach this subject. I would just be ready at any moment.

I am looking at the world right now and this planet is shaping more and more like Revelation chapter 6. This is the chapter that opens up the judgments of God in the seven year tribulation period. The world is looking more and more like the book of Revelation because many things have got to transpire after Revelation chapter 6 but let me just mention a few seal judgments in this chapter.

In verse 2 a false peace is confirmed by the antichrist between Israel and the Arab world. Land for peace has been split all over Israel. War is imminent in that whole area. It could break loose at any moment. War in the Middle East and around the world is the second seal.

The third seal is a financial collapse and food shortage. This is happening all over the world. The Bible says it is going to get worse.

The forth seal is disease. Once war takes place that can happen within days.

The fifth seal talks about the Martyrs who were slain for the word of God and their testimony. I have never seen so much power given to the world government and national powers.This is what the Bible teaches.

Billions of people will die in the first four seals and there is never a day that goes by when I don't mourn in my spirit about what the Bible teaches regarding this subject.

I believe the fifth seal gets God so angry that in the sixth seal every mountain and island will be moved out of their places. That is found in Revelation 6:14. "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."

The world is looking a lot like Revelation chapter 6. I believe the rapture could take place at any moment. There is not much time left for this age of grace.

We have only a little time to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with other people. Once the last person gets saved in this age of grace then the fullness of the Gentiles will be completed by God. At that point the rapture of the Church takes place.The Apostle Paul talks about this in Romans 11:25. I really believe that once the last person gets saved, the Church or Christians would be in the way. According to Matthew 24:14 the gospel of the Kingdom will be preached all over the world as a witness to every nation after the rapture of the Church because the age of grace will be over and the dispensation of the kingdom will begin after our departure.

The biblical meaning of number 14 describes both salvation and resurrection. The message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is going around the world right now. The number 14 is mentioned 26 times in the Bible. Twenty Six is the number that stands for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The first 13 numbers seem to represent a panorama of human history. It is not until one gets to the number 14 that Jesus Christ is personally introduced as the Savior of the world (14) in connection with the number 3 which always stands for resurrection.

What good is our salvation if our bodies are not resurrected in heaven? God in His infinite wisdom knew this and understood exactly how to correlate 14 (salvation) with 3 (resurrection).

To speak in simple terms our salvation is of no use without our resurrection. To speak in reverse terms, we can not be resurrected without our salvation in Jesus Christ. The two go hand in hand. You will soon see that the Bible uses these two numbers (14 and 3) together to describe our salvation and resurrection.

If you are giving the salvation message to someone, that point should be explained because he or she may not understand this reality. The Romans Road explains both salvation and resurrection. That might be an idea if you ever want to give the gospel to an individual or group to explain what salvation and resurrection means through Jesus Christ.

God explains this number very early in Scripture. In Exodus chapter 12 the children of Israel were saved or delivered from the Egyptians. When the Bible talks about the subject of salvation or deliverance, one side is judged and the other side is delivered. God saw the blood of the lamb on the doorposts and once again the children of Israel were saved. All the firstborn died in Egypt. Not only did that happen but the people of Israel captured in Egypt were promised to be delivered from the future judgment of the Egyptians.

The most important thing to remember is on the FIRST month of the FOURTEENTH day the children of Israel put the lamb's blood on the two side posts and the upper door post on PASSOVER. Jesus Christ died for the world on the FIRST month of the FOURTEENTH day on PASSOVER. He became our Passover Lamb.

I made a statement that when God delivers judgment is always on the other side. It is very easy to understand. Jesus Christ was JUDGED for our sins when He died on the cross. When we accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts as our personal Savior we were delivered from judgment. You should accept Jesus Christ into your heart if you have not already done so because the promise of salvation is available to you and resurrection is on the other side of glory. It is still a little bit of a mystery as to why people would say no to this saving message of hope.

This I do know. Even in the midst of the judgments in the book of Revelation, the Lamb is mentioned more times in comparison to any other Title given to Jesus Christ. This tells me that the desire of God is that all people come to salvation through His Son. It seems to me that the Holy Spirit is placing emphasis on the fact that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the whole world and that people should invite The Savior into their hearts so they can be delivered from their sins.

The New Testament follows the exact same pattern. Matthew is the FIRST book of 27. In the FIRST chapter of Matthew Jesus Christ is introduced with 3 (Resurrection) fourteens (Deliverance)."So all the generations from Abraham to David are (1) fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are (2) fourteen generations, and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are (3) fourteen generations." Matthew 1:17. Why would the New Testament go to such lengths in putting 3 fourteens together? This symbolizes in the form of biblical numerics our salvation and resurrection through Jesus Christ.

My heart is filled with joy because the Holy Spirit combined salvation and resurrection together. I know many Christians are so excited about the prospect of the rapture of the Church taking place very soon. We should be because after our departure into heaven we will get our new bodies (Resurrection).

The Old Testament shows the same model with Heman.According to 1st Chronicles 25 he had 14 sons and 3 daughters. They were singers in the house of God. They rejoiced in their salvation (14) but had hope that one day their mortal bodies would be resurrected in glory (3).

The person that probably focused in on the salvation message more than any other was the Apostle Paul. In a couple of places God stamped this reality on His servant with the number 14.

In Acts 27 the ship was saved from a violent storm on the fourteenth day. Another example would be that after Paul spent some time in Arabia he went about his business in the kingdom of God. "Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem"... (Galatians 2:1) which at the very least gives me evidence that God is trying to make a point regarding the meaning of this particular number in the Bible.

Fourteen stands for deliverance which is always through the blood of Jesus Christ. " In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." Hebrews 1:7. "In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Colossians 1:14. We came under the blood of Jesus Christ when our salvation took place.

Jesus Christ fulfilled Passover when He died for the sins of the whole world. As you probably can see we are coming pretty close to the rapture. It is the people that invited Jesus Christ into their hearts as their personal Savior for the remission of their sins that will be part of the rapture and resurrection.

I know I went over Revelation chapter 6 but if you were to read chapters 7 through 19 you will see that planet earth is going to face many more horrible judgments. I have a hope that many people will consider making this wise choice in accepting Jesus Christ into their hearts today so more persons can be resurrected whenever tomorrow takes place. 

Bob D.

 

 

 

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Our Supernatural Peace from God

                                               OUR SUPERNATURAL PEACE FROM gOD

The biblical meaning of the number fifteen has a consistent meaning from Genesis to Revelation of rest. It seems to be representative of our supernatural peace from God right after our salvation in Jesus Christ. Our Savior was introduced in Matthew chapter 1 by the number fourteen ( deliverance ).The meaning of this number fifteen is when our salvation is partially recognized and realized in our spirit. The Bible says in Matthew chapter 11 that we can have rest in Jesus Christ.

Let me give you an analogy. If I am in a car accident and people rush me to the hospital then I went from salvation (being rescued from my vehicle) to resting in the hospital. For all practical purposes I am feeling pretty good. I went from a car accident to rest but I would not want to stay there for the rest of my life.

This is what we see in the numbering system of God because His divine structure is progressive. Sixteen is the number in the Bible that stands for love. Seventeen is the number in the Bible that stands for victory. So as you can see God is moving forward after fourteen ( our salvation ) to fifteen, sixteen and seventeen. Each of these numbers symbolizes different levels of grace in Jesus Christ moving upward in nature.

After our salvation in Jesus Christ (14), fifteen through seventeen seems to be an elevator that goes up and down. People reading this probably have many questions about the statement that I just wrote. Just look at the order. Salvation (14), rest (15), love (16), and victory (17). Some Christians are anxious and fearful or preoccupied with life. They don't even give the Holy Spirit a chance to give them rest or peace (15).

Then there are Christians that surrender to the supernatural peace and rest of God (15). They become resigned to their circumstances and allow the Holy Spirit to work through them.

Then there are Christians that decide and allow God to bring them to the next level which is the love of God (16). Sometimes God will just allow one of His children to experience this without consent. It depends on the situation but I will explain this in more depth as the article progresses.

Then there are some Christians who experience not only the rest of God (15) but also the love of the Holy Spirit flows through their spirit (16). When God requires them to make tough decisions about His will they choose obedience. This rare group has salvation (14),rest (15), love (16) and victory (17) in Jesus Christ.

I have seen instances in my life and other fellow Believers get to having victory (17) in Jesus Christ but then everything falls apart. It is not uncommon for a Believer in Jesus Christ to say something like, "I gave everything and I lost it all." Something really bad happens. At this point we have no rest (15), love (16) or victory (17) in Jesus Christ. In despair we sometimes fall into a depression and have no faith. We are saved (14) but have to start all over again by allowing Jesus Christ to rebuilt our lives. This is why I say the biblical meanings of the numbers 14 through 17 seem to be an elevator going up and down. We can't just snap our fingers and have victory in Jesus Christ.

I think it is interesting that the next number is 18. It is almost as if God is presenting salvation to people (14), rest (15), love (16) and victory (17) in His Son Jesus Christ. If a person rejects Jesus Christ as their personal Savior (14) then ultimately he or she will fall into bondage (18). The divine order of this biblical numbering system from God seems to tell a story.  

Notice I said seventeen is the number in the Bible that stands for victory. People have asked me before if I was living a victorious life in Jesus Christ. That is a very broad question. Nobody can attain victory all of the time; however, the Bible does speak of a progression for triumphant living in Jesus Christ. Salvation ( fourteen ), rest ( fifteen ), love ( sixteen ) and victory ( seventeen ).

Like I said some Christians stay at fourteen, fifteen or sixteen. Believe it or not very few Believers attain and maintain true victory in our Savior. Some Christians just simply don't want to progress from their salvation (14) to resting (15) in Jesus Christ. That is what I am here to write about so readers will understand this principle. I do believe that for the most part this boils down to a desire or choice in our will but not in all instances.

Let me just go over some points in the book of Ruth relative to my subject which would be resting in Jesus Christ (15). If we are not resting in the power of the Holy Spirit as Christians we will be anxious and fearful over something. Perhaps Naomi had her problems but she had a heart of gold for Ruth.

Naomi was protective, proactive, wanted the best for her, was constantly thinking to solve solutions but most importantly wanted Ruth to have rest. When she said, "My daughter shall I not seek rest for thee," that was the 15th time that the name Naomi was mentioned in the book of Ruth.

This book is really about an outcast who was troubled and scared. Boaz who is a type of Jesus Christ delivered her and she was able to find rest in her soul. Boaz became her Kinsman redeemer. You may be able to guess how many times Kinsman is written in the book of Ruth-15.

The purpose of Jesus Christ for our lives is that we will find rest in Him (15). The plan of God for us does not stop at peace. The Holy Spirit refines us so that we will move to the next level which is the love of God (16).

Maybe I can explain it this way. As Christians we can have the peace of God and not have joy but if we have joy then peace would have to be present in our souls. If we have joy then we are going to have peace. It is possible to have peace but not have joy. The reason for this is because love is on a higher level than peace. The proof for this is in the order of the biblical numbering system designed by God Himself.

I think that the primary objective of God for Ruth at that time was peace for her troubled soul. This is why we could count "rest" being stamped with the number 15 in the book of Ruth.

We can pray to God that He will advance us to His love in our hearts. We can not go on our own. That is something divine that takes place in our spirit. This is why some Christians are longing for the rapture. Rest, love and victory will be our common experience in heaven. We won't be going up and down because that is part of our testing on earth.

We might be able to understand this biblical meaning of the number 15 in the Bible by seeing that 3x5=15. Three (resurrection) x five (grace) =15. When we accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts (14) [ the resurrected (3) ]  [ grace (5) ] of Jesus Christ now works in and through us in the form of His rest and peace.

If one were to turn this whole principle around that would be 5x3=15. Grace (5) in our Lord's resurrected (3) power = our rest (15) in the presence of The Holy Spirit.

An Unbeliever can not experience the resurrected grace of Jesus Christ working through him or her because Jesus Christ is not living inside the individual. One advantage in accepting the Lord into your heart if you have not already done so is abundant grace that God desires for you that is not available for your spirit right now. When one has Jesus Christ in his or her heart grace is present, ultimately for victorious living.

When people say no to this I really have to wonder if they know what they are rejecting. I personally don't believe anybody truly understands what they are turning their back on because everybody was made to be one with Jesus Christ.

Another observation I made is many people sometimes reject Jesus Christ as their personal Savior in a very innocent way. It is almost as if they are saying, "This is not for me. I am not suppose to do this." They seem to go about their lives and forget about the whole thing.

When Eve ate the apple she thought no harm would come from that piece of fruit. Only bad can come from not allowing God to save you through His Son Jesus Christ.

I am thinking of two evil things that an unsaved person will have to go through and trust me it is not innocent.

After the rapture of the Church the 7 year tribulation will take place and there is no way anybody can prepare for this time period. Twenty one known judgments and seven unknown thunder judgments. If a person reads through Revelation chapters 6 through 19 and comes to the conclusion that there is a way to get ready, please tell me because I would be very curious to know how? Billions of people are going to die. The last book of the Bible (Revelation) is very clear about this manner.

The second thing that I am thinking of is an eternity a part from the love and protection of Jesus Christ. The passages about hell in the Bible are horrible. A person who rejects Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior goes to this place and never gets out according to the book of Revelation. There is no pardon. Isaiah 66:24, Mark 9:44.

I don't know the horror of what God saved me from but on the other hand I don't understand all the freedoms I have in Jesus Christ.

Let me get back to the good news of what I am talking about because I am trying to explain the hope and wonderful destiny that people have in Jesus Christ through this subject that I am talking about regarding our progressive victory that is available to us as Christians.

The way this number was originally constructed was with a Yod (10) and a Hey (5) = (15). Perfect law (10) + Perfect grace (5) = our rest (15). Jesus said, "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." Matthew 5:17. Jesus Christ never broke the law and became our perfect sacrificial atonement on the cross when He died for our sins (10). He gave us His grace when we accepted Him as our personal Savior (5). His perfection (10) + His grace (5) = our rest in Him (15).

Three times in the Old Testament God commanded Israel to rest on the 15th day of the month. The first two times were in Leviticus chapter 23.The third was in Esther chapter 9. The 3rd time God made it very clear that the rest on the 15th day was to be from their enemies.

I could not help but think about the greater principle or truth about our salvation in Jesus Christ and the biblical meaning of the number 15 in our lives. Our enemy was our sin condition. When we got saved, Jesus Christ delivered us from this enemy and gave us rest in Him (15). Our Kinsman Redeemer (Jesus Christ) wants to give us rest in Him because we were saved from our enemy which was our sin condition. When we accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts this condition was saved (14) because the Bible says," Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." 2nd Corinthians 5:17.

I was just writing about our new creation in Jesus Christ. When God created the world it took Him 7 days. The Bible makes strong emphasis that God rested on the seventh day. Our new creation in Jesus Christ (when we accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts) is represented by the number 8 in the Bible. God's rest in the first creation (7) + our new creation in Jesus Christ (8) = The Holy Spirit resting in our salvation. 7+8=15 (rest).

God desires to give us rest in our spirit. (28)"Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.(29) Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.(30) For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30.

The Apostle Paul said,"(6) Be careful for nothing: but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. (7) And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."  Philippians 4:6-7.  


Bob D. 

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Love From Genesis to Revelation

The number 16 in the Bible has a consistent meaning of love from Genesis to Revelation. Before I touch on this divine design of the Bible relative to the number 16 let me just express some incredible truths about this subject.   I believe if people read this whole article they probably will be more open to pursue the essence of God which is His incomprehensible love for you. I know after I finished this biblical study I was more convinced than ever to seek after this high calling that we have in Jesus Christ.   According to the Bible this is the one emotion that makes all the difference no matter what happens in life. This is higher than anything spoken of in Scripture. I will stand up and proclaim the love of God through His Son Jesus Christ because this is the truth that stood up for me. What was the reason God sent His only Son to die on the cross for the sins of mankind? The motivation was love. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16   Both love and hate are powerful emotions but with hate you have to keep feeding it all of the time. It is never satisfied. Love is content, honest and reaches out to other people. Hate does not want anything to do with helping anybody.   A person can either reach out to others for a selfish reason or for an altruistic reason. If you don't know what altruistic means, in simple terms it is to do something with no selfish motive. To do something for a greater reason above ourselves for the benefit of somebody else or other people.   The world for the most part teaches us to be selfish. In fact that is the way human nature is programmed. Jesus Christ changes us from the inside so we will desire to love God and other people. It does not come natural to us.   Jesus Christ shows us that love is the only way and it will last for eternity. Let me give you one example. In 1st Cor.13:13 the Bible says, "And now abideth faith,hope,charity,these three: but the greatest of these is charity." Why is love the greatest? We won't need faith or hope in eternity. Only love will be present throughout the ages to come.   We could have very eloquent gifts and actually be successful but without love nothing we ever do will last. That makes me think. Whatever I do there had better be the love of Jesus Christ working through me because according to the Bible everything else will die.   Let me just say a couple of other truths about this subject. God does not just have great love for us. He has perfect love. Great love forgives. Perfect love does not even see sin. Remember Jesus Christ died for our sins. I would think this should motivate me to want to experience the love of God.   Another thing that I would like to point out is experiencing and understanding the love of God is an ongoing revelation that will last for all eternity. Many times with technical knowledge we will grasp something and never lose what we learned. The Bible says, "That in the ages to come He might shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His Kindness toward us through Christ Jesus." Ephesians 2:7.   It should also be noted that Ephesians 3:17-18 says, (17) "That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith: that ye, being rooted and grounded in love. (18) May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breath, and length, and depth,and height."   In science 4 dimensions (1) breath (2) length (3) depth (4) height are incomprehensible. That is why Ephesians 3:19 goes on to say, "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God." On the one hand we can not comprehend the love of God but on the other hand we recognize and realize the love of God if we have it flowing through our spirit.   I was listening to a few problems that my friends have and comparing them to my own circumstances. Little and big problems that just surround our lives. Then I just thought about our trails and came to the conclusion that God is transcendent over our dilemmas. When we draw close to the love of God, no matter what we are going through Jesus Christ becomes bigger and our problems become smaller. The reason for this is because we serve a big God who is stronger and more powerful than our situation but compassionate enough to allow us to experience His love. It is at this point that our perspective changes and our focus is more centered on Jesus Christ.   I will be the first to admit I'm so busy in my life that I barely have the time to do anything, You can probably imagine I don't always feel spiritual if you know what I mean. I understand this truth that I must yield to the love of God because everything I just mentioned is fleeting. The love of God lasts for all eternity. By the way, my problems in life do not give me comfort; however, the incomprehensible yet reassuring love of Jesus Christ does indeed give me true closure. That is what we are all looking for because God designed us this way.   Even if we figure out our problems we may become worse. This is why the love of Jesus Christ transcends our troubles so that we will be able to get through our hardships. Christians need to fight for their authority to abide in the love of God. When fear arises try and resist this destructive emotion. It should be noted that if we do not pursue and abide in the love of God we will immediately search for some sort of substitute to replace the void that is now in our hearts. We were made to be one with Jesus Christ in His love. A replacement will not work. It is temporary at best.   Sixteen is the number in the Bible that stands for love. Jehovah in the Bible is in 16 different forms under 16 different titles in the Old testament. This is who we serve and all these Holy attributes encompass the love of God. This is one piece of evidence that God really does love us and in return He desires that we be the recipients of His love. I don't have the time or space to go over all 16 of the attributes of Jehovah which starts with our Creator (Genesis 2) and ends with, "The Lord my God." Zechariah 14:5. I am here because God created me and as one of His children I can say, "The Lord my God." He created me. He is my God and He loves me.   When I was reading all of the verses on love the same redundant theme rises to the surface over and over. "And to love Him with all thy heart, and with all understanding, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Mark 12:33.   This overwhelming theme that God loves us so much and that He desires His children to love Him back and love people reminds me of the cross. When Jesus Christ died for humanity one board stood vertical and the other board went across horizontal. I think you probably know what I am about to say. We need to love God ( the vertical board ) and other people ( the horizontal board ) because the cross has a vertical and horizontal board. By loving God and our brothers, sisters and people that don't even believe in Jesus Christ we are exercising the balance that the cross represents.   Let me give you an example. When Christians finally get to heaven we are going to love, adore and worship God but did you ever really stop and think about the level of friendships through love that we are going to be able to cultivate in Paradise. I believe we are going to be able to go pretty deep into love with Jesus Christ, His created creatures and regenerate of all time.   To get back to my original subject, I try to tell as many people as possible and urge them to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. Some individuals are starting to listen because of all the fear in the world. I tell them there is another side to this whole story but people still tend to hang on to the world. Read Revelation chapters 6 to 20. You may change your mind.   Jesus Christ is love and He desires to save people from all this fear in many different ways but primarily through the rapture. The greatest event in the history of all mankind is just about to take place and we should not be quiet about this wonderful truth.   I think there is a point that should be noted. Many Christians read 1st Corinthians chapter 13 which probably is the greatest chapter in the entire Bible about love. The Bible at this point starts to paint a picture that the biblical meaning of the number 16 is associated with love. In this love chapter 16 things are said about love. This fact seems to give more evidence that the number sixteen symbolizes love in the Bible.   When the Apostle Paul's name was mentioned at the 16th time in Scripture the Bible says, "It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barbaras and Paul. That sounds like love to me."Acts 15:25.   The most intriguing truth about the subject of love for me is when the Bible compares this emotion to fear. Being afraid is so part of our nature.   I would even go as far in saying that if we don't have the love of Jesus Christ then some degree of fear will reside inside of us.   First of all as Christians God did not even give us the spirit of fear. "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2nd Timothy 1:7. Notice out of these three spirits that God gave us, love is in the center. Anything we do, love has to be at the center of our lives flowing through our spirit. According to Romans 8:15 we were adopted into the family of God when we accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts as our personal Savior. Once again this verse says, "For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear"...which tells me that God is trying to tell us something.   There are many verses that I could go to but none is more clear than 1st John 4:18."There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love." Jesus Christ is pure love. To me that is the most compelling reason a person should come to know Jesus Christ. It was for me but everyone is different.   In the end it sure seems like a person is either destined for fear or love. What decision will you choose? The love of God through Jesus Christ is bigger than us yet it works through our spirit. Fear is also bigger than us yet it polarizes our spirit.   I don't want to be destined for fear. The love of Jesus Christ sounds like a revelation that I desire to experience for all eternity. If you are on the sidelines looking in choose the love of God. Accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord! Don't choose fear because it is very real and it will defeat you. Love will uplift our spirit. Let me repeat myself. In essence we have to make a choice. Love is warm. Fear is cold.   If only somebody would have told me this message that I am telling you when I was young. In essence there are only two options in life anywhere we go. I would have been spared so much hardship and pain. I did hear sermons on the love of God but they were kind of hollow with no real substance. As a result I ended up walking away half hearted and at best had a somewhat cognitive knowledge on the whole subject.   I really suffered because of this ignorance. When one heavy trial piled on another in my life I did not know how to deal with them because I did not understand this fundamental basic principle in the Bible.   Remember the perfect love of Jesus Christ castheth out fear. If we are in fear because of our torment, that sounds more like hell than Jesus Christ. God wants to make us perfect in His love. We are not destined for fear or torment. Pursue the perfect love of God through His Son Jesus Christ. God's soft answer to our fear is His love.  Bob D.

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