#Isaiah 64:6

[martyschoenleber]

The Relationship Between Farming and Holiness

Analogies are helpful and here is a good one from a godly leader who now lives with Jesus. Jerry Bridges was a long time staff member with the Navigators, a discipleship ministry that started in the military but has expanded in to worldwide discipling movement.   Wise words from Jerry Bridges and his classic book The Pursuit of Holiness. Here’s the analogy that Bridges uses: “Farming is a joint…

[i-dreamed-i-had-a-son]

“because he never accepts that it's never been about righteousness--it's about repentance.” except javert killing himself IS repentance.

well, it’s like 12 different things, because bro had gone days without sleeping and very little food and water and he already had low self-worth and kept asking the amis to kill him and just assumed he was going to die AND THEN valjean upended his understanding of the world and morality. he was really going through it & there are a lot of overlapping reasons for why he jumps into the seine.

but javert is like Number One Most Responsible guy in the whole story. taking responsibility is his Thing (forever bitter the musical doesn’t include the punish me monsieur le maire scene). how else, in his derailment, could he atone for his conceived misdeeds other than by handing in his resignation to god? in the brick he had already left a note urging his superiors to treat convicts at toulon better, which is another step in his repentance (and another crime the musical commits by not including it). jumping into the seine was another step.

honestly a lot of ppl who like the book think the musical was dead wrong to exclude him from the big heaven group sing, because it COMPLETELY undermines the themes of forgiveness and compassion threaded throughout les mis. like the musical was simply wrong lol.

This is helpful context! I am still finishing the brick, although I have fully read the abridged version, and that detail about the letter wasn't included, so I didn't know that occurred! (And thank you for the message--this is a long response but I'd love to hear more of your thoughts!)

I agree that Javert is certainly deeply distraught and remorseful; like you mentioned, his worldview is literally falling apart, and his actions reflect his mental state. But his death isn't really repentance--in the sense that it's not what God would have wanted. To me it reads like a Judas situation: a desperate realization of a huge mistake, and doing the only thing you think can make it right, namely, ending it all. That's the just punishment for someone so wrong, isn't it?

But true repentance, meaning the repentance that the Lord desires, is about changing your ways, not "paying a price." Had Javert really understood the beauty of Valjean's mercy (an image of Christ's, just as the bishop's undeserved mercy was to Valjean himself), rather than killing himself, he would have lived to also become "an honest man"--in heart. One who could forgive and understand forgiveness, for himself as well as others. One who could recognize that he is not The Law, that he can fall, but that he can also be "brought to the light." One who could accept that men like Valjean, and men like himself, CAN change, and be changed.

It's tragic to me because so much of "Stars," and his character in the book as well as the musical, is about wanting to be righteous, to rise above his birth and the sinfulness he associates it with. It's about wanting to please the Lord by his actions. But in his end, he shows he never understood what God really wanted from him, and that's where my original phrase comes in: not righteousness, but repentance. To live, and face the man you were, knowing it's no longer the man you are. That it's never been about what you've done or can do, but about what's been done for you. That's the Gospel that he could never fully accept.

To use another example you mentioned, that misunderstanding drives why he asks the Mayor (Valjean) to punish him--in his worldview, mercy is unjust, or at the very least, unfair. Evil must be punished; "those who fall like Lucifer fell" receive "the sword." But "as it is written," God "desires mercy, not sacrifice" (Matthew 9:13). God would have wanted Javert to live, and Javert couldn't see that, and that's why it's devastating to me. In his misunderstanding of the heart of God, he misses what would have set him free from the chains of sin he's always been trying to escape.

That's why he's contrasted with Valjean, who (though he carries guilt about his past till the end of his life) is eventually able to face it and confess what he had done to those he loves. He knew there was mercy to be found, if only it was asked for. Javert was too blinded by pride and shame to realize it, and so, while broken, he never was able to truly repent.

For that, you must go on.

[walkswithmyfather]

“Then Jesus said to them, “Why are you fearful? Have you lost your faith in me?” Shocked, they said with amazement to one another, “Who is this man who has authority over winds and waves that they obey him?” —Luke 8:25 (TPT)

“But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” —Matthew 9:12‭-‬13 (ESV)

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.” —Isaiah 64:8 (ESV)

“Jesus explained, “I am the Way, I am the Truth, and I am the Life. No one comes next to the Father except through union with me. To know me is to know my Father too.” —John 14:6 (TPT)

[thewordfortheday]

Isaiah 64:6

We are all impure with sin. All our righteous deeds are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

Most people think that somehow they are good enough and they deserve to go to heaven. They think that their good works will take them there, and reject the Salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We can never stand before a holy God in our own righteousness. When we repent of our sins and receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, He will wash us with His precious blood and make us truly righteous. Only through the blood of Jesus can we enter into the presence of God.  Every other attempt at righteousness outside of Christ is futile, and God will look at that kind of righteousness as filthy rags.

The above verse does not mean, our righteous acts are filthy rags, but our righteous acts apart from Christ are filthy rags. 

In fact Ephesians 2:10 reads “For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” But the Bible is very clear, “ It is by grace you have been saved."

[girlbloggercher]

how to read the Bible

this is in order!

1. John

2. Mark

3. Matthew

4. Luke

5. Genesis

6. Exodus

7. Leviticus

8. Numbers

9. Dueteronomy

10. Romans

11. Galatians

12. Colossians

13. Proverbs

14. Ecclesiastes

15. Job

16. 1 Peter

17. 1 Corinthians

18. 2 Corinthians

19. Ephesians

20. Philippians

21. 1 Thessalonians

22. 2 Thessalonians

23. 1 Timothy

24. 2 Timothy

25. James

26. 2 Peter

27. 1 John

28. 2 John

29. 3 John

30. Jude

31. Psalms

32. Joshua

33. Judges

34. 1 Samuel

35. 2 Samuel

36. 1 Kings

37. 2 Kings

38. 1 Chronicles

39. 2 Chronicles

40. Ezra

41. Nehemiah

42. Jeremiah

43. Lamentations

44. Ezekiel

45. Joel

46. Amos

47. Obadiah

48. Nahum

49. Habakkuk

50. Zephaniah

51. Haggai

52. Zechariah

53. Malachi

54. Micah

55. Hosea

56. Luke

57. Esther

58. Jonah

59. Song of Solomon

60. Acts

61. Titus

62. Philemon

63. Hebrew

64. Isaiah

65. Daniel

66. Revelation

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

1 Make a joyful noise unto God, all the earth; 2 sing forth the glory of his name; put glory into thy praise. 3 Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! Through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. 4 All the earth shall worship thee and shall sing unto thee; they shall sing to thy name. Selah. 5 Come and see the works of God; he is terrible in his doing toward the sons of men. 6 He turned the sea into dry land; they went through the river on foot; there did we rejoice in him. 7 He rules by his power for ever; his eyes watch the Gentiles; the rebellious shall not exalt themselves. Selah. 8 O bless our God, ye peoples, and make the voice of his praise to be heard. 9 It is he who placed our soul into life and did not suffer our feet to slip. 10 For thou, O God, hast proved us; thou hast refined us as silver is refined. 11 Thou didst bring us into the net; thou didst lay affliction upon our loins. 12 Thou hast placed a man over our head; we went through fire and through water, but thou didst bring us out into abundance. 13 I will go into thy house with burnt offerings; I will pay thee my vows, 14 which my lips have uttered and my mouth has spoken when I was in trouble. 15 I will offer unto thee burnt sacrifices of fatlings with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah. 16 Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he has done unto my soul. 17 I cried unto him with my mouth, and he was extolled with my tongue. 18 If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me: 19 But verily God has heard me; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. 20 Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer nor his mercy from me. — Psalm 66 | The Jubilee Bible (JUB) The Jubilee Bible (from the Scriptures of the Reformation), edited by Russell M. Stendal, Copyright © 2000, 2001, 2010. Cross References: Leviticus 8:14; Deuteronomy 33:29; Joshua 3:16; 1 Samuel 1:27; 2 Samuel 22:45; Job 19:6; Job 28:24; Psalm 6:9; Psalm 7:17; Psalm 9:2; Psalm 11:4; Psalm 18:6; Psalm 18:19; Psalm 18:36; Psalm 22:24; Psalm 22:27; Psalm 30:1; Psalm 30:3; Psalm 31:9; Psalm 34:11; Psalm 51:19; Psalm 60:3; Psalm 67:3-4; Psalm 68:4; Psalm 81:1; Psalm 98:4; Psalm 106:22; Psalm 116:1; Psalm 145:1; Ecclesiastes 5:4; Isaiah 64:3; Lamentations 1:13; Jonah 1:16; Mark 5:20; John 9:31; 1 Corinthians 3:15; 1 Corinthians 10:1; James 4:3; 1 Peter 1:7

Because of Christ, God always hears you.

[writing-whump]

Fic Masterlist 1-90

1. Sick and hurt Matthew, Isaiah and reluctant Seline help

2. Matthew defends Seline and gets sick

3. Matthew helping sick Isaiah

4. Matthew helping sick Isaiah p.2 (Isaiah's pov)

5. Matthew with stomach flu + caretaker Seline

6. Seline sick with Isaiah on the road

7. Seline sick p.2 + Isaiah and Matthew

8. Food poisoning Matthew + caretaker Isaiah

9. Isaiah poisoned at an event p.1 + Sonny and Matthew

10. Isaiah poisoned p.2 + Seline and Matthew as caretakers

11. Recovering Isaiah, panicked Matthew, moving in together idea

12. Sick Seline with a headache + Isaiah

13. Matthew mixing milk with bubbly drinks + Seline as caretaker

14. Matthew sick from roller coaster ride + Isaiah as caretaker

15. Isaiah stress sick during a movie night + Seline as caretaker

16. Hector with a broken leg + Isaiah reluctantly helps

17. Late night visit with bleeding hand Reuben + Isaiah angsting

18. Caleb sick from fear + Seline + Matthew

19. Seline crying + upset sick Matthew + Isaiah as caretaker

20. Hector sick from Seline's protective wards

21. Isaiah sick from a nightmare + Seline

22. Matthew sick from hiding an infected injury + Seline + worried Isaiah

23. Matthew with a stomach bug calls Isaiah to pick him up + awkward comfort Seline

24. Isaiah catches Matthew's bug + Seline + bellyrubs

25. Seline with a cold + Isaiah + fluff

26. Flashback: upset 18 years old Isaiah can't stop throwing up + crying + reluctant caretaker Sonny

27. Feverish Matthew + backstory reveal + Isaiah and Seline for comfort

28. Arnie with ear infection + Isaiah as caretaker + brotherly reunion

29. Isaiah + heart episode + sick at night + Matthew for help

30. Flashback fic: 17 years old Isaiah, abusive father, Reuben as prisoner

31. Drunk sick emotional Arnie + angry worried Hector

32. Emberassed in denial Isaiah sick from a gory movie + worried angry Matthew

33. Hector with food poisoning + guilty anxious Arnie + calling Isaiah for help

34. Hector recovering from food poisoning + emotional talk with Isaiah

35. Hurt Matt + Hector helps + brings him to Isaiah

36. Seline crying and stressing over trains + Matthew with a concussion for comfort

37. Isaiah comes home to find Seline and Matt huddled together in bed

38. Isaiah with a high fever and a nosebleed + calls Seline to come home to help

39. Hector with bruised ribs + Arnie sick with the flu hiding from he so he doesn't catch it

40. Part 2: Isaiah helping sick Arnie and hurt Hector

41. Seline with upset tummy + Isaiah gives her bellyrubs + fluff

42. Matt sick with heatstroke + Isaiah for comfort

43. Isaiah with heart episode at an event + meeting Matt's sister + Hector trying to help

44. Part 2: Isaiah with heart episode + Hector + Matthew argue

45. Burpy with little indigestion Isaiah + Seline fluff

46. Hector claustrophobic and motion sick on the subway + meeting Olive

47. Flashback: Seline and Isaiah first meeting + magic emeto

48. Hector and Arnie find out the truth about Isaiah + stress sick Hector + Arnie for comfort + angst

49. Feverish Seline cuddling with the boys

50. Stress sick Hector talks with Isaiah about the revelation

51. Arnie with a migraine at night from the revelation + Hector caretaker

52. Isaiah breaks down after the reveal + Matt and Seline for comfort

53. Hector invites Isaiah for breakfast with Arnie + emotional whump + crying + comfort

54. Seline argues with witches + gets attacked by their wolves + Isaiah for rescue

55. Cinema motion sick Matt + Seline + Isaiah

56. Hector gets sick + appendicitis + Arnie for comfort

57. Hector after appendicitis in pain + Isaiah + Arnie

58. Hector with appendicitis part 3

59. Isaiah overeats while visiting Seline's parents + Seline for comfort

60. Isaiah finds Matt coming down with something after the trip

61. Matt gets super sick and emotional during the night + Isaiah for comfort

62. Dylan meets Rip + sick from a hit to the stomach

63. Dylan with a cold + meets Isaiah + caretaker Seline

64. Sick Seline and Isaiah with Dylan's flu + Matthew caretaker

65. Hector + Arnie in a car accident

66. Arnie with stress migraine after the accident + Isaiah

67. Stress sick Isaiah angsting over the accident + Seline

68. Hurt Hector calls Isaiah for help in the middle of the night

69. Hurt Hector part 2: Isaiah, Matthew and Seline help

70. Seline emotional angsting + Isaiah mild food poisoning

71. Isaiah meets with Levi + Rip sick from nearly drowning + Dylan

72. Isaiah hurt hand + sick from pain + Matthew caretaker

73. Matthew with a brutal stomach bug + Isaiah

74. Isaiah violently sick with Arnie part 1

75. Isaiah super sick + Hector part 2

76. Isaiah sick part 3 + stress nauseous Hector + Arnie with a headache + Matt and Seline help out

77. Rip with a silver knife wound to his stomach + Dylan for help

78. Rip silver knife wound part 2: Dylan and Seline for comfort

79. Rip hurt part 3 + Dylan + Isaiah + Rip's backstory

80. Arnie with concussion + Hector and Isaiah angst/fluff

81. Matt sick from his shadow + Isaiah for comfort

82. Seline with period cramps at cinema with Isaiah + Hector and Arnie show up

83. Rip with a stress headache after a fight with Dylan + Isaiah

84. Matt passes out in the park + Hector + Olive

85. Matt fluff and comfort with Seline and Isaiah

86. Fluffy Isaiah and Seline date + slight overeating

87. Isaiah collapses from heart attack + Matt and Seline at the hospital

88. Waiting at the hospital Sel + Matt angst

89. Isaiah wakes up after the operation + nauseous Matt + Seline

90. Isaiah more coherent after surgery + super nausous + Matt

[shiningthelightministries]

Bible Study - Discover The Shocking Truth About Isaiah 64:6!

[awideplace]

My grandmother is dying from a rare form of brain cancer. It came on all of a sudden, last week, to be exact, and now she's gone from having 12-18 months to only a few weeks because she's refusing to eat. As a Christian, how can I navigate this upheaval that I'm going through? I've never had a significant death like this happen to me before, and I'm incredibly angry at myself that it took this tragedy for me to finally take my relationship with Christ seriously. I pray often, and I have faith, but I'm spiritually lazy and fall into sin often. I'm often frustrated with myself for going back into the same sins I so desperately prayed to be saved from, and this predicament with my grandmother only makes me feel worse. I feel a fraud. Of course, I would start getting myself together and taking my spirituality seriously now that something has deeply affected me. Of course I would go to the Lord for guidance and grace NOW, when someone important to ME is dying. I feel unendingly selfish, because a part of me wonders if I would have ever gotten myself together this year if this thing with my grandmother had never happened. I dont know what to say to my mother and the rest of my family members who are grieving, I dont know how to go about this the way the Lord would want me to, and now I'm afraid its too late to ask. I've backtracked so many times. I've procrastinated and broken my promises to Him more times than I can count. What if this is the final straw, and He has hidden himself from me? What if this is His way to telling me, "depart from me, for I never knew you"? I dont deserve any more chances, and I know this, but for the life of me I can't let go. I know this is long, and I'm sorry, but any advice you can give would be appreciated.

The very fact that you are questioning is good; when it says in Scripture, depart from me I never knew you (Matthew 72:3) it is referring to the self-righteous, those that are expecting to be saved because of their own goodness and self-righteousness, not wholly heaving themselves upon Christ as their righteousness. How many do we know in the Catholic Church, the Mormon church, the modern day Evangelical church, who think they are saved because they "belong" to a specific denomination and observe man-made regulations instead of repenting of their sin and forsaking their own selves and following Christ? Beloved, that is self-righteousness...I am a good person, I go to such-and-such church, I listen to such-and-such. No, we must all be faced with and repent of our own sin because we are all sinful. All of us come short. Our righteous deeds are as menstrual rags (Isaiah 64:6).

Pray with your grandma. Ask her if she knows Christ as her Lord and Savior. Read Scripture over her. I did so with my grandma; I don't know where she is, but she passed away and I prayed for her and spoke Scripture over her in her final moments. I do not know where she is; no one knows but Christ where a soul ends up. To do your part...don't waste a moment. Speak the truth in love to your loved ones, even though you may feel a fool. Better to feel a fool than know you could have shared the Gospel with a soul who is faced with eternal life and death.

[wolint]

THE POTTER’S WHEEL!

THE POTTER’S WHEEL

Jeremiah 18:1-9

 

We’ve all probably played with mud, real mud or play dough. Whichever you played with, you remember how it felt to run your hands through the wet mud and mould something out of it.

Consider how painstaking and deliberate the potter is to fashion the humble mud we step on into those beautiful porcelain products we admire, buy, and collect. The potter shapes the mud into whatever form and design he wants; the mud has no say in how it turns out.

Just as the mud has no input in what it becomes, we too cannot tell the Lord (our Potter) what to do, what to make us into, and how we are fashioned. God, the Master Potter, took clay and formed man with a prosperous and powerful result in mind, yet He moulded and shaped us into something beautiful according to 1 Corinthians 15:49, into Christ’s image.

God speaks to us in tangible ways using life all around us and if we listen to Him and place our lives in His hands as mud on a potter’s wheel, He fashions us into that beautiful porcelain He wants us to be. We try daily to make ourselves into what and who we think we should be, we try constantly to shape ourselves into the image that we think is acceptable, fashioned by our circumstances and experience.

We weren’t just made, we were wonderfully and fearfully made according to Psalm 139:14. No matter the blemish the clay has, the potter is still able to squash the clay into a mound and reshape it into a likeness that pleases him. No matter how rough the mud, there is always going to be hope for the tarnished mud, because the potter will never discard the clay, He will merely remould it. In and of itself, the clay was good, but it becomes better in the potter’s hands. The potter’s wheel is the place of change, the place of transformation, and the place of renewal. Regardless of the damage done to our hearts, a new heart can only be granted by the Lord as declared in Ezekiel 36:26. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness,” declares 1 John 1:9. At which, the transformation and sanctification of our hearts and lives begin on the potter’s wheel. We are all clay on the potter’s wheel, where God is shaping us into individual vessels that He wants to use for His glory.

As much as we’d like to reshape ourselves, we will always be unable to mould ourselves aright. We will therefore need to ask the sovereign Lord to mould us into His way of salvation, and He will not abandon us because we are the work of His hands, says Isaiah 64:8.

We must constantly ask ourselves the question in verse 6 and answer honestly. Can God not do with us as our maker what He wills? If God can reshape Israel, He certainly can reshape us. The only way we can become the treasures God fashioned out of clay according to 2 Corinthians 4:7 is to constantly remain on the potter’s wheel where only the Lord can help us overcome every struggle with our human frailty, weaknesses, and imperfections.

Whatever change we desire, God the Potter can reshape, remake, and remould us into the treasure He made us to be, even when we don’t understand the shape, we must trust Him to bring out our potentials in Him.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank you for moulding me into a vessel fit for your purpose. May I always remember to come to you for fixing in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT WOMEN MIN.

[biblegumchewontheword]

Books of the Bible

Here is a detailed list of the 66 books of the Bible, divided by the Old and New Testaments, along with their divisions and categories:

**Old Testament:**

**Pentateuch (5 books):**

1. Genesis

2. Exodus

3. Leviticus

4. Numbers

5. Deuteronomy

**Historical Books (12 books):**

6. Joshua

7. Judges

8. Ruth

9. 1 Samuel

10. 2 Samuel

11. 1 Kings

12. 2 Kings

13. 1 Chronicles

14. 2 Chronicles

15. Ezra

16. Nehemiah

17. Esther

**Poetry/Wisdom Books (5 books):**

18. Job

19. Psalms

20. Proverbs

21. Ecclesiastes

22. Song of Solomon

**Major Prophets (5 books):**

23. Isaiah

24. Jeremiah

25. Lamentations

26. Ezekiel

27. Daniel

**Minor Prophets (12 books):**

28. Hosea

29. Joel

30. Amos

31. Obadiah

32. Jonah

33. Micah

34. Nahum

35. Habakkuk

36. Zephaniah

37. Haggai

38. Zechariah

39. Malachi

**New Testament:**

**Gospels (4 books):**

40. Matthew

41. Mark

42. Luke

43. John

**History (1 book):**

44. Acts

**Pauline Epistles (13 books):**

45. Romans

46. 1 Corinthians

47. 2 Corinthians

48. Galatians

49. Ephesians

50. Philippians

51. Colossians

52. 1 Thessalonians

53. 2 Thessalonians

54. 1 Timothy

55. 2 Timothy

56. Titus

57. Philemon

**General Epistles (8 books):**

58. Hebrews

59. James

60. 1 Peter

61. 2 Peter

62. 1 John

63. 2 John

64. 3 John

65. Jude

**Apocalyptic (1 book):**

66. Revelation

This list represents the traditional order and grouping of the books of the Bible in most Christian denominations.

These are the 66 books that make up the Bible.

Title: The Significance of Each Book of the Bible

Introduction:

The Bible is a collection of 66 books that together form the inspired Word of God. Each book has its own unique message, themes, and significance that contribute to the overall story of God's redemption and love for humanity. Let's explore the importance of each book of the Bible.

Lesson Points:

1. The Old Testament:

- Genesis: The book of beginnings, detailing creation, the fall, and the establishment of God's covenant with His people.

- Exodus: The story of the Israelites' liberation from Egypt and the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai.

- Psalms: A collection of songs and prayers that express a range of human emotions and provide a guide for worship.

- Proverbs: Wisdom literature that offers practical advice for living a righteous and wise life.

- Isaiah: Prophecies about the coming Messiah and God's plan of salvation.

2. The New Testament:

- Matthew: Emphasizes Jesus as the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and the establishment of the kingdom of God.

- Acts: Chronicles the early spread of the Gospel and the growth of the early church.

- Romans: Explains the doctrine of justification by faith and the implications of salvation through Christ.

- Corinthians: Addresses issues within the church and provides practical guidance for Christian living.

- Revelation: Offers apocalyptic visions of the end times, the victory of Christ, and the establishment of the new heaven and earth.

3. Themes and Messages:

- Each book of the Bible contributes to the overarching themes of God's love, redemption, forgiveness, and salvation for all humanity.

- Together, these books provide a complete narrative of God's work in the world and His plan for His people.

Application:

- Take time to explore and study each book of the Bible, seeking to understand its unique message and significance.

- Reflect on how the themes and stories in the Bible can impact your own life and faith journey.

- Consider how the teachings and examples in the Bible can shape your beliefs and actions as a follower of Christ.

Conclusion:

The books of the Bible are not just separate entities but are interconnected parts of the larger story of God's redemption and love for humanity. Each book has its own importance and contributes to the overall message of God's plan for salvation. May we approach the study of the Bible with reverence and openness to the wisdom and guidance it offers for our lives.

[enlargemycoast3]

Being good and doing good things, alone do not qualify us as a Believer in Christ. People in the world (those without Christ) do good things everyday and yet they do not know nor have a relationship with Jesus. Today, many people in churches are taught that just being good will get us to heaven, but this is not biblical. Jesus went about doing good while on earth, but He knew Who He was (The Son of God) and where He was from. He was from the Father. The Father was in Him and He was in the Father and He was always about His Fathers business. (John 16,17, Luke 2:49)

Through this deceptive teaching, we now have breeded a society where “everyone’s saved” through being good and doing good deeds and not that from an active, ongoing relationship in Jesus. You can never be good enough or do good enough, for the word declares in (Luke 17:10) Though in doing all commanded to do, we are still unprofitable servants and have just done our duty. And (Isaiah 6:64)Our righteousness are as filthy rags to the Lord.

Our works and our “being good enough” standards will never be enough. Being good and doing great amazing things is not what constitutes us as Believers in Jesus. We are not saved by our works, good deeds, being good or being better. Only faith in Jesus.

(Philippians 3:7-11) 7But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. 8Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; 10that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11if, by any means, I may attain[b] to the resurrection from the dead.

[walkswithmyfather]

“I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. So many enemies against one man— all of them trying to kill me. To them I’m just a broken-down wall or a tottering fence. They plan to topple me from my high position. They delight in telling lies about me. They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts. Interlude Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.” —Psalm 62:1‭-‬6 (NLT)

“Going Against the Flow” By In Touch Ministries:

“You don't have to fear failure when you trust and obey the Lord.”

“God speaks to us, and yesterday we learned how important it is to listen to Him. But as we all know, His isn’t the only voice out there. Does this mean we should never listen to those around us? Of course not—especially when the voices belong to godly men and women the Lord places in our path. But with so many competing messages, we should aim to hear scriptural advice and listen for the Holy Spirit’s promptings above all else. And then we should obey Him. To the extent that we do so, our life will look different from others.

Sometimes a fear of failure may discourage us from doing things God’s way. But ultimately, we must ask ourselves whether we’re going to listen to Him or the world. Remember, you never have to fear failure when you obey the Lord. He intervenes in times of hardship, and He promises to act on behalf of the one who waits for Him (Isaiah 64:4).

Remaining steadfast takes courage. That’s why Paul said, “Be strong in the Lord” (Ephesians 6:10). All the pressure in the world can’t make you budge when you trust the Rock upon which you stand. Are you listening to the Lord and obeying Him?”

[banana-with-a-bow-tie]

Wondering if you have insight on something I’m wondering about total depravity. When lost, we were dead in terrible sin, and Christ died so we can live through his righteousness etc., but what is the biblical way to think about our current sin status now that we are saved? Per 1John 2:1 we do still sin, and we will not achieve sinlessness in this life, but are we generally less sinful? Or should we still consider ourselves rotten/evil? Does Isaiah 64:6 (works are filthy rags) apply to us?

Good question. It has a lot of nuance to it so I'm open to discussion.

If you we define Total Depravity as being dead in sin, i.e. incapable of any righteousness that makes us favorable to God, then no I do not believe Christians are totally depraved any longer.

We are alive and resurrected in Christ (Eph 2:5-6). Sin has no power over us any more (Rom 6:6). Our sin is not counted against us (Col 2:14), in fact our righteous deeds are counted in heaven and receive reward (1 Cor 3:12-15). Our righteous deeds were once filthy rags because of our hostility toward Him, but now because of Christ's righteousness they are true and proper worship (Rom 12:1).

There is another sense of Total Depravity that may still apply though, which is that sin still touches every aspect of our person. By God's grace, neither saint nor sinner is as sinful as we could possibly be. Both of us do things that God's standard calls righteous, but those outside of Christ can only do them selfishly, apart from submission to God. No matter how many good things they do, their sin will never let them move toward God because their mind, will, and desires are all oriented toward sin.

Christians move in the opposite direction and are increasingly more free of sin's affects, but our fleshly nature trained in the way of sin is still bound to the law of sin in our members (Rom 7:22-23). There is a war inside us, the Spirit changing us into the likeness of Christ and transforming our thoughts, choices, and feelings that are not conformed to Him (Col 3:10).

At our core, we are no different than people dead in their sin because we still have the same tendencies and weaknesses in all the same areas of our nature. What we do have is Christ dwelling in us and giving us victory over those desires and making us acceptable to God because of His perfect righteousness on our behalf (Rom 8:1-4).

[pugzman3]

Make no mistake, God DOES love each of us, BUT...we are to conform and live in HIS ways. He does NOT conform to us, or to a "changing" society, or to what we are told is socially acceptable. God does not wish for anyone to perish, but he is a JUST God, and he has laid it out what he expects. And unless there is true repentance and departure from that life, God will exercise a just judgement accordingly.

God does NOT love us "as we are". Because if God loved us for "as we are", that would mean he would accept anyone and everyone into the kingdom, no matter what lifestyle you lived. It would mean we have no need to repent, and there would have been no reason to send Jesus to die for our sins. “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" Isaiah 64:6.

This? This is going to keep going. And like I said, people will either follow the church, or Jesus. You either preach the Word of God as it is, or you don't. What the pope is doing, this Jesuit heretic, it is 100% antichrist.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

16th July >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Fifteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle A.

(Liturgical Colour: Green: A (1))

First Reading Isaiah 55:10-11 The word that goes out from my mouth does not return to me empty.

Thus says the Lord: ‘As the rain and the snow come down from the heavens and do not return without watering the earth, making it yield and giving growth to provide seed for the sower and bread for the eating, so the word that goes from my mouth does not return to me empty, without carrying out my will and succeeding in what it was sent to do.’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 64(65):10-14

R/ Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.

You care for the earth, give it water, you fill it with riches. Your river in heaven brims over to provide its grain.

R/ Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.

And thus you provide for the earth; you drench its furrows; you level it, soften it with showers; you bless its growth.

R/ Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.

You crown the year with your goodness. Abundance flows in your steps, in the pastures of the wilderness it flows.

R/ Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.

The hills are girded with joy, the meadows covered with flocks, the valleys are decked with wheat. They shout for joy, yes, they sing.

R/ Some seed fell into rich soil and produced its crop.

Second Reading Romans 8:18-23 The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons.

I think that what we suffer in this life can never be compared to the glory, as yet unrevealed, which is waiting for us. The whole creation is eagerly waiting for God to reveal his sons. It was not for any fault on the part of creation that it was made unable to attain its purpose, it was made so by God; but creation still retains the hope of being freed, like us, from its slavery to decadence, to enjoy the same freedom and glory as the children of God. From the beginning till now the entire creation, as we know, has been groaning in one great act of giving birth; and not only creation, but all of us who possess the first-fruits of the Spirit, we too groan inwardly as we wait for our bodies to be set free.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation 1 Samuel 3:9, John 6:68

Alleluia, alleluia! Speak, Lord, your servant is listening: you have the message of eternal life. Alleluia!

Or:

Alleluia, alleluia! The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower; whoever finds this seed will remain for ever. Alleluia!

Either:

Gospel Matthew 13:1-23 A sower went out to sow.

Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables. He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

Then the disciples went up to him and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’ ‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them. For anyone who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough; but from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. The reason I talk to them in parables is that they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. So in their case this prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled:

You will listen and listen again, but not understand, see and see again, but not perceive. For the heart of this nation has grown coarse, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, for fear they should see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and be converted and be healed by me.

‘But happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.

‘You, therefore, are to hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom without understanding, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart: this is the man who received the seed on the edge of the path. The one who received it on patches of rock is the man who hears the word and welcomes it at once with joy. But he has no root in him, he does not last; let some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, and he falls away at once. The one who received the seed in thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this world and the lure of riches choke the word and so he produces nothing. And the one who received the seed in rich soil is the man who hears the word and understands it; he is the one who yields a harvest and produces now a hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Or:

Gospel Matthew 13:1-9 A sower went out to sow.

Jesus left the house and sat by the lakeside, but such large crowds gathered round him that he got into a boat and sat there. The people all stood on the beach, and he told them many things in parables. He said, ‘Imagine a sower going out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell on the edge of the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on patches of rock where they found little soil and sprang up straight away, because there was no depth of earth; but as soon as the sun came up they were scorched and, not having any roots, they withered away. Others fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on rich soil and produced their crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Listen, anyone who has ears!’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.