#Lessons from Doctrine and Covenants 3 | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

mstulipsage · 1 month ago

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RE: Grace and Courtesy

In the Montessori classroom, Grace and Courtesy lessons cultivate the child's ability to live harmoniously within a community. From a Reformed Presbyterian perspective, this social formation is understood within the broader context of God’s covenantal design for human life. Children are not morally neutral beings—they are covenant members being shaped by the rhythms and rituals of a God-ordered world. Therefore, Grace and Courtesy are not just social niceties but a form of discipleship in Christian love and justice, preparing the child to love God and neighbor in tangible ways (Luke 10:27).

II. Definition and Theological Parallels

Montessori:

Grace is harmony within oneself.

Courtesy is harmony between self and others.

Reformed View:

Grace is God’s unmerited favor, and in Christ, believers are inwardly renewed. Harmony within oneself is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23) resulting from peace with God (Rom. 5:1).

Courtesy flows from the second table of the Law—how we love others. It is the outward fruit of regenerated hearts, producing gentleness, humility, and respect in community (Phil. 2:3–4).

Thus, while Montessori describes grace and courtesy as cultural adaptation, the Reformed framework roots them in the moral law of God, written on the heart (Rom. 2:15) and fulfilled in Christ.

III. The Absorbent Mind and Moral Formation

Montessori teaches that the child absorbs emotional and behavioral patterns from their environment through the Absorbent Mind. She emphasizes that we, the adults, are the material.

From a Reformed standpoint, this affirms the doctrine of covenantal representation and imitation. Children learn how to live in the world primarily through modeling (Prov. 22:6; Deut. 6:6–7). The early years are not morally passive but spiritually formative. Children are being shaped for blessing or curse (Deut. 30:19).

Grace and Courtesy thus become a way to catechize young hearts toward lives of Christian civility and service.

IV. Purpose of Grace and Courtesy in the Reformed Tradition

Montessori Purpose: Teaches appropriate group behavior; prevents misbehavior; cultivates confidence and social poise.

Reformed Purpose: Trains the child to walk in God's ways, live out the fruit of the Spirit, and serve others in humility (Micah 6:8; Eph. 4:1–3). The goal is not behavior modification but heart transformation that manifests in respectful and godly social habits.

Moreover, these lessons align with the Third Use of the Law—God’s moral instruction guiding believers in sanctification.

V. “We Are the Material” — Embodied Discipleship

Montessori emphasizes that adults must live out Grace and Courtesy because the child imitates what he sees.

In Reformed theology, this reflects the principle that covenant children imitate the faith and conduct of their leaders (Heb. 13:7; 1 Cor. 11:1). The adult is a living parable of gospel life. This makes the teacher’s role not only educational but pastoral—she embodies Christian virtue in word and deed (Col. 3:12–14).

VI. Teaching Without Coercion: Heart-Based Practice

Montessori warns against forcing verbal expressions like “say thank you.” Instead, behavior must arise from within.

This aligns with the Reformed understanding that outward obedience is meaningless without inward renewal. True politeness is not external conformity but a fruit of regeneration (Matt. 15:8–9). Children must be shepherded, not merely managed.

Teachers model Christlike behavior and create opportunities to imitate, not manipulate responses.

VII. Ritual, Routine, and Liturgy

Montessori notes that children are drawn to rituals and routines, especially in the sensitive period for order.

This resonates with the Reformed emphasis on liturgy and formative habitus. Young children are shaped by repeated actions—they form patterns of virtue through the “liturgy” of the classroom. Greetings, mealtime order, waiting one’s turn—these are not just manners, but training in dominion, love, and patience.

This echoes how Reformed worship forms the believer: through repetition, reverence, and God-centered rhythms.

VIII. Extensions and Applications

Montessori encourages cross-cultural exploration and practical application in daily routines (e.g., lunch).

In a Reformed context, this would be seen as training children to live missionally—to love the stranger (Lev. 19:34), to bear with others (Rom. 15:1), and to embody Christ in both familiar and foreign contexts. Courtesy prepares the child for life as salt and light in the world (Matt. 5:13–16).

IX. Summary and Key Points of Integration

Montessori PrincipleReformed IntegrationGrace = inner harmonyGrace = peace from God through Christ; inner fruit of SpiritCourtesy = social harmonyCourtesy = second table obedience; loving neighbor in truthAbsorbent Mind copies adultsChildren imitate covenant models (Prov. 22:6, Eph. 5:1)Rituals shape childrenFormative liturgies shape covenant faithfulnessNo correction via coercionShepherd the heart; train in love, not legalismSafe, respectful environmentChristian hospitality: the classroom as sanctuary of love and order

X. Conclusion

Grace and Courtesy in Montessori education offers a profound opportunity to disciple children in the culture of the Kingdom of God. It is not merely etiquette, but an application of the law of Christ (Gal. 6:2) within the daily life of the classroom. When shaped by a Reformed understanding of covenant, regeneration, and sanctification, Grace and Courtesy becomes a visible witness of gospel transformation—rooted in grace, enacted in love, and fruitful unto God’s glory.

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micahammon · 4 years ago

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All the walls are crumbling because they were never real

I’m moving into belief. I’ve spent my whole life trying to understand the nature of life and identify the construction of right and wrong, truth and illusion. It’s a fascinating process and I know I’ll never be done with it, and that’s exciting and makes life interesting. But I feel like I’ve come to a point in my process of discovery something like scientists did when they discovered quantum physics.

In Newtonian physics everything has a cause and effect. There exists a linear relationship between action and consequence. That is true and will continue to be so forever. But Newtonian physics cannot describe everything that happens in the material world. When the scale of matter becomes really small, on the level of atoms, Newtonian physics no longer succeeds as a theory. Atoms are governed by different laws, and quantum theory, as bizarre and unintuitive as it is, continues to be proven true.

Physical reality is made up of two theories which have yet to be reconciled. Although they appear to be incompatible, compatible they must be. The physical world and everything we see with the naked eye is built on the foundation of the irrational and the impossible. The particles which we are made of can move within and without time, be in two places at the same time, and seemingly violate the universal speed limit--the speed of light. Particles can be physical matter which take up space in the physical world, and at the same time, be a wave--like a radio wave if you will. Somehow reality is built upon this impossibility.

"Reality is far fetched. The truth is always a long shot."

As modern humans, we are in a precarious place. A detached place. Our roots are no longer in the soil of the earth which gives us life. We are living in the world of biological theory, political theory, economic theory, etc.--which all function very well and have allowed us to advance incredibly once understood and applied. What is the logical conclusion from this process?

We learn natural laws that we might better understand spiritual laws.

I remember in the first computer science class I took at university, my teacher drew a picture on the board, something like the following...

And then he asked the question, “What’s missing?”. He answered his own question by saying “antimatter”. Then he filled in the “antimatter” absent from view, something like this...

Note: I’m a bad artist but I tried to draw the inverse of what was originally visible.

So what’s the logical conclusion of reality? Reality is a paradox. There’s always a catch.

Note: The teacher then went on to name laughter as an example of something behaving like antimatter. In this regard, we can theorize that antimatter comes in to play where we have inflection points. That’s useful to think about in the context of the choices we make, day by day.

Note 2: Antimatter, which cannot be seen, “refers to sub-atomic particles [that] have properties opposite those of normal matter.” It’s useful to note that this is in the quantum world, where perhaps, we could say that everything there is existing simultaneously.

I think the first paradox was in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were commanded to multiply and replenish the earth. They were also commanded not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The problem which may not be obvious depending on your brand of Christianity is that Adam and Eve apparently could not keep both commandments at the same time. They were in a state of innocence and could not procreate without first creating the fall through eating of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

I’ve heard it said that what may appear to be contradictory to us is not to God, and that somehow He can balance two conditions in perfect harmony which appear mutually exclusive. I don’t know how God could do it in the example of the Garden of Eden, but I do think we should learn to try it in other areas.

I am nothing. I am everything.

Helaman 12:7 O how great is the nothingness of the children of men; yea, even they are less than the dust of the earth.

John 10:34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your law, ‘I said, “You are gods”’?

Through the course of a day we may need to remind ourselves of either of these quotes. What’s important is that we have to choose to put the concept into use in order to humble or inspire ourselves as needed. We have to draw up the belief then let it guide.

All truth is paradox.

My brother once responded to the above statement by saying that the paradox of truth serves as the fuel for free agency. That is an extremely instructive comment, which makes me think of Einstein’s dissatisfaction with the then emerging theory of quantum physics. When Einstein analyzed and documented the workings of the universe, he did so from the perspective of trying to understand the mind of God. He disbelieved the theory of quantum mechanics presented by Niels Bohr; the same theory that today continues to be scientifically verifiable. What he objected to was that in this explanation of the universe, the natural world became a lot more random. It seemed to diminish the role of the Master Designer. Einstein’s famous quote was “God does not play dice (with the universe)”.

I sometimes think that quantum physics only appears mysterious and random to us because we cannot see the complete picture, we are only seeing the effects of things in the physical world and perhaps there are other counterparts like antimatter that we can’t see (but can detect) and even beyond that, other counterparts we can’t even detect with clever testing.

On the other hand, there is beauty in accepting the concept of an “uncreate Reality” that can represent the quantum state. We in the Newtonian state have become the created Reality which “shows forth in our beings the uncreate Reality.” That is to say, our physical world and our physical selves are manifestations of the uncreated reality.

Alma 30:44 ...all things denote there is a God; yea, even the earth, and all things that are upon the face of it, yea, and its motion, yea, and also all the planets which move in their regular form do witness that there is a Supreme Creator...

What we see here in this world is a manifestation of God and the uncreate Reality beyond. Said in different words we have the following:

“For the Source of All Life created the worlds by dividing Its Unmanifest Unity into the manifesting Duality, and we that are created show forth in our beings the uncreate Reality. Each living soul has its roots in the Unmanifest and draws thence its life, and by going back to the Unmanifest we find fulness of life.“

The uncreated reality represents a primordial place from which the physical world is drawn into being from. This place we could liken to the quantum state. I make this comparison because when we can understand a concept in the real world, it helps us to have the faith or belief to put it into practice for our own benefit.

To address Einstein’s concerns, quantum mechanics may actually be evidence of God’s will to give us more free agency by providing an uncreate Reality with which we can interact. For one, It provides some “randomness” whereby everything that happens is not simply a predestined linear result of cause and effect--thereby, we cannot blame every thing that happens as a direct consequence of God’s original first act of creation (whereby He would have known the exact consequences of every single thing to ever happen, and the only intrigue in all of it would be our discovery of the result). Secondly, and more importantly, the interconnection of the quantum and Newtonian world can become for us a primordial wellspring from which we too can create. I am suggesting that it is belief and faith which allows us to materialize things in the physical world. Even as God himself does.

Hebrews 11:3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God...

Lastly, the context of reality, or truth being a paradox further bolsters free agency because it provides choice, even as it did for our first parents. The choices you choose to make are based on what you first choose to believe. In the paradox, you are able to believe whichever aspect you choose to focus on because it also has basis in reality.

I don’t speak of the choice between good and evil, but rather the choice between beliefs. Belief is a tool you can use to do good or harmful things.

I think it’s important to iterate that prerogative is a part of free agency and choice.

Doctrine and Covenants 58:27 Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness.

We know we should do many good things of our own free will and choice but those choices will naturally be more oriented to our own dispositions. The challenge is not to confuse limiting beliefs about ourselves with what is our true nature and disposition. In fact, what I am getting at is that we should use faith and belief to overcome our limitings habits, beliefs and worldview.

I reckon that beliefs become powerful as they connect to internal desire. Since that is the case, it is instructive to follow the path of our own personal orientation and if there are lessons to be learned, we will learn them much, much faster if we are making the choice for ourselves rather than merely trying to follow someone else’s instruction. That’s because belief is the thing that supercharges our experience.

With belief in play we can properly channel the “why” to our actions and attendant effects in the real world. If we err, the “why” will be there to make clear the error of our ways. Notwithstanding, in the middle of all of this is God’s intervention to steer us from unneeded error if we stray off course, and which can be greatly aided by our responsiveness to His Spirit.

Let’s introduce something which is not a paradox but tends to be polemic.

Brigham Young said that “we live far beneath our privileges” because we fail to seek and receive the guidance the Lord wants to give us in our spiritual and temporal affairs.

This instruction is meant to help us lay claim to what might be ours but it can also paralyze us if we don’t engage with the belief that we will actually receive it. Successfully gaining access to guidance from the Lord is usually based on the belief and faith we put into it. The important thing is that we need to use belief to create the reality and then it follows that we will receive the guidance. However, we also have to put belief and faith into a great many other things of which we proceed with in lieu of guidance because...

Doctrine and Covenants 58:26 For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things...

We must build and develop our ability to seek and understand guidance from the Lord but most times His guidance works like a signpost as we navigate. It helps us stay on course but there are a million decisions we must make for ourselves along the way by “using [our] best judgement”.

In my experience the contrast between God having a personal prerogative and objective in the management of choices and not having a prerogative is plainly evident in the line between church affairs and private affairs. When it comes to the administration of callings and duties within the Church I have witnessed an extremely high level of involvement from the Lord. If you pay attention you can see that He is almost constantly involved and directing. The Lord really, really cares about His work.

As soon as you move away from the realm of the administration of His Church, guidance is much more sparse. It truly feels like our personal lives are meant to be a learning experience through trial and error--a sort of experimentation. It does help us develop our own capabilities bit by bit. When you think about it, that really makes more sense anyways. Perhaps it also allows us to make mistakes without the additional condemnation we might receive if we had access to more from beyond the veil.

On the other hand, as I consider what will happen in the future as the world is thrown into turmoil and we all begin the work of building Zion I reckon that the line between church affairs and private affairs will become almost indecipherable--and I know that there will be an abundance of guidance as such in order to complete God’s work. There is something to be said for living like that already, here and now.

Gospel of Thomas 22: When you make the two into one, and when you make the inner like the outer and the outer like the inner, and the upper like the lower, and when you make male and female into a single one, so that the male will not be male nor the female be female...

The world is separating from a longstanding known reality. Social systems are being dismantled with an intention to reengineer them. Truth and science have become weaponized. We are dependent on technology more and more. Algorithms and big data will rule our lives. Breakages will occur. Power grids will be threatened. IT infrastructure will be compromised. Natural resources will become scarce. There will be natural disasters. Financial systems will collapse. Some of these things will be unplanned, others intentional.

I’ve always thought it so peculiar the human creature existing on this planet. All the animals on the earth have been endowed with instincts which directly provision their survival. Many young animals are taught survival skills during infancy, that is true, but even if they lose their mother, their instincts will guide them the rest of the way.

Humans on the other hand are nearly helpless without the knowledge passed on from generation to generation. At this point we’ve already lost our connection to mother earth. In our quest to master nature we have also sought to remove ourselves from nature--mother nature and also what we might call human nature.

As the walls crumble around us and the very ground is swept from under our feet, our only choice is to evolve and learn to fly.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

Faith and belief will enable many to do things which we previously knew to be impossible in the Newtonian world. To evolve means to move beyond the structures (spiritual and otherwise) we have upheld for sake of dogma. Those structures will be shaken. God’s work will not fail but we are to learn not to look beyond the mark. Ultimately, to evolve will result in having our natures changed into that resembling God as we learn to create/do through faith and belief.

For those whose trust remains in the shifting sands of the world’s social, economic, political and even scientific structures--they will be left without root and branch to stand on.

We’ll have to act for ourselves rather than be acted upon. We have to use faith and belief to power those actions or else it will be hollow inside and our hearts will ultimately fail us.

Luke 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth...

Let’s go back to the world of very small particles...

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed...

Matthew 17:19-20 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

I’ve always thought it so curious that basically the whole point of our existence on this earth is to learn to exercise faith and belief. Before we can really do anything, the important first step is starting with a real belief that we can do the thing we set out to do. When we supercharge our actions with belief, the universe responds.

I posit that we on this earth are here to learn to become co-creators with God--creating through faith just as God does.

Sometimes we are able to energize belief through our belief in others, but it’s not always enough, as I believe was the case with the disciples of Jesus referenced in the example above and Oliver Cowdery desiring to participate in translating the Book of Mormon.

Doctrine and Covenants 9:11 Behold, it was expedient when you commenced; but you feared, and the time is past, and it is not expedient now;

Let it be noted that this was free agency in action, since it wasn’t in the original design of God that Oliver Cowdry participate in the translation, but it would have been permitted if he had faith enough.

Because God wanted Joseph to translate, He gave him extra strength to be able to do it.

Doctrine and Covenants 9:11 For, do you not behold that I have given unto my servant Joseph sufficient strength, whereby it is made up?

To aid with the translation of the Book of Mormon Joseph received special seer stones called the Urim and Thummim. What’s curious is that Joseph often used his own seer stone rather than strictly relying on the Urim and Thummim. Eventually Joseph had enough faith to do without seer stones altogether as he continued to receive revelations. I believe that the Urim and Thummim were there to build his belief and make up for his strength until he was able to fully energize belief in himself, his ability.

Believe that you have received it, and it will be yours

One thing that hurts belief is by having a narrow view based on the here and now. When we think of how things are supposed to happen in the Newtonian world we limit the power of the supernatural quantum, timeless uncreate Reality which is boundless. We have to allow for the uncreate Reality, unintuitive non-Newtonian world to intercede. We connect to this state though the particle of belief.

As long as I believe in myself I find I can do certain things. If I ceased to believe in myself, I think I should just crumble into dust, like an unwrapped mummy.

I have said all of this in order to say this, we need to use belief daily in order to shape our lives in the way that we truly wish them to be. Our lives have ended up the way they are precisely because of the beliefs we have engaged about ourselves, others and the nature of reality. If you say that you belief that life can be grand and beautiful but you spend your days dejected and depressed, then you aren’t engaging the grand and beautiful beliefs. Whether we like it or not, beliefs are constantly directing our lives.

“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge, while an ordinary man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse.”

There are indeed blessings and curses in our lives but we cannot ascribe our current condition to merely a result of those two things. In addition, we need to enlarge the gratitude we feel for the blessings and overlook where possible the curses. Feeling gratitude will enlarge our beliefs and strengthen the conduit between us and the Divine.

When we engage in belief in order to shape and direct our lives we cannot merely state a belief and then forget about it. We have to return to the belief day after day.

I have been reading about 45 books a year for the last 5 years. I set a goal on a website which helps track my progress and keeps me motivated. The first year I started the reading challenge I set my goal as 100 books for the year. I didn’t have experience and I didn’t really know what that meant though. It was an idle, pie in the sky wish. I didn’t return to the goal frequently. I forgot about it most of the year and I finished with 33 books that year.

That reminds me of Oliver Cowdry’s wish to participate in the translation of the Book of Mormon. If he had more experience or at least consistent belief he could have succeeded. The same was true of me. Experience does help, in so far as it helps to reduce fear since we have better bearings on the task before us. Perhaps fear is like antimatter.

That’s the tricky thing with belief and faith. If we have enough faith we could actually move mountains. But most of us probably don’t have enough belief to make that happen. But we could and that promise is available for us, but perhaps we misunderstand something about belief.

Mark 11:23-24 (NIV) Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

The NIV translation makes more clear something which has caught on with new age spirituality, like in books such as The Secret, and others which profess the power of manifesting in our lives by using the so-called law of attraction.

New age spirituality has brought us the power of meditation and living mindfully, which have slowly come into mainstream Christianity and that includes the LDS church.

And indeed, meditation and mindfulness are key parts of nurturing belief as I am prescribing. The current problem we have with incubating belief is that, as mentioned above, we already have many beliefs which are like weeds choking out the good belief that we want to use to empower our lives. We live barely cognizant of the incessant, mind-numbing chatter going on about our heads. You can consider all the thoughts that jump into our minds as competing beliefs. It’s a battlefield for our minds and our empowering beliefs may fall casualty if we don’t learn to quiet the mind and focus. That enables us to act for ourselves rather than to be acted upon.

The first thing we need to do with the mind is wash it, clean it up, not only once or twice a day as we do for the body but in all our waking moments.

Similarly...

Doctrine & Covenants 121:45 let virtue garnish thy thoughts unceasingly...

A way which helps me practice a chosen belief is to do an experiment of thought. What I mean is that on a given day I may tell myself that I am doing an experiment of thinking that day and that helps me to suspend disbelief as I am merely there to analyze and watch the results of what happens, rather than to prove veracity or to gauge the level of real belief. I did one experiment of imagining each person as I would my own self.

Mark 12:31 love thy neighbor as thyself

I really did feel something wonderful that day.

That’s one reason I say that...

life works best when undertaken as an experiment

Sometimes if we put too much pressure on the act itself, we enlarge the importance of a thing beyond what it truly is. We have to maintain calm levity and not worry about the result; to laugh instead of get caught up in an act’s undue significance. In this way we can shake off a thousand mistakes of ego and bad humor which sabotage us.

the fatal flaw is that average men take themselves too seriously

The balance has been described this way...

Thus a man of knowledge endeavors, and sweats, and puffs, and if one looks at him he is just like any ordinary man, except that the folly of his life is under control. [He regards] nothing as being more important than anything else. A man of knowledge [can thusly] choose any act, and act it out as if it matters to him.

So to apply all of this in a practical way let me tell you my plans. I am making and setting goals, big lofty goals. I am aiming for 5 years to enter more fully into the vision I see for my life. I will meditate and pray each day and return again and again to the beliefs--multiple times each day in fact--which I think are necessary to empower me to achieve my goals. I don’t know exactly how things will happen, but I do believe in the scriptures referenced, including the very words of Jesus Christ. I consider it already done because I have picked up the rod, which at the far end connects to the result. The point of access where I grip the rod is belief.

Update Apr 22, 2021: This video supports my view of free will and quantum mechanics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMb00lz-IfE

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araitsume · 5 years ago

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The Acts of the Apostles, pp. 9-16: Chapter (1) God's Purpose for His Church

The church is God's appointed agency for the salvation of men. It was organized for service, and its mission is to carry the gospel to the world. From the beginning it has been God's plan that through His church shall be reflected to the world His fullness and His sufficiency. The members of the church, those whom He has called out of darkness into His marvelous light, are to show forth His glory. The church is the repository of the riches of the grace of Christ; and through the church will eventually be made manifest, even to “the principalities and powers in heavenly places,” the final and full display of the love of God. Ephesians 3:10.

Many and wonderful are the promises recorded in the Scriptures regarding the church. “Mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.” Isaiah 56:7. “I will make them and the places round about My hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.” “And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are My people, saith the Lord God. And ye My flock, the flock of My pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.” Ezekiel 34:26, 29-31.

“Ye are My witnesses, saith the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe Me, and understand that I am He: before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me. I, even I, am the Lord; and beside Me there is no Saviour. I have declared, and have saved, and I have showed, when there was no strange god among you: therefore ye are My witnesses.” “I the Lord have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.” Isaiah 43:10-12; 42:6, 7.

“In an acceptable time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped thee: and I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, to establish the earth, to cause to inherit the desolate heritages; that thou mayest say to the prisoners, Go forth; to them that are in darkness, Show yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and their pastures shall be in all high places. They shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the heat nor sun smite them: for He that hath mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water shall He guide them. And I will make all My mountains a way, and My highways shall be exalted....

“Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains: for the Lord hath comforted His people, and will have mercy upon His afflicted. But Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands; thy walls are continually before Me.” Isaiah 49:8-16.

The church is God's fortress, His city of refuge, which He holds in a revolted world. Any betrayal of the church is treachery to Him who has bought mankind with the blood of His only-begotten Son. From the beginning, faithful souls have constituted the church on earth. In every age the Lord has had His watchmen, who have borne a faithful testimony to the generation in which they lived. These sentinels gave the message of warning; and when they were called to lay off their armor, others took up the work. God brought these witnesses into covenant relation with Himself, uniting the church on earth with the church in heaven. He has sent forth His angels to minister to His church, and the gates of hell have not been able to prevail against His people.

Through centuries of persecution, conflict, and darkness, God has sustained His church. Not one cloud has fallen upon it that He has not prepared for; not one opposing force has risen to counterwork His work, that He has not foreseen. All has taken place as He predicted. He has not left His church forsaken, but has traced in prophetic declarations what would occur, and that which His Spirit inspired the prophets to foretell has been brought about. All His purposes will be fulfilled. His law is linked with His throne, and no power of evil can destroy it. Truth is inspired and guarded by God; and it will triumph over all opposition.

During ages of spiritual darkness the church of God has been as a city set on a hill. From age to age, through successive generations, the pure doctrines of heaven have been unfolding within its borders. Enfeebled and defective as it may appear, the church is the one object upon which God bestows in a special sense His supreme regard. It is the theater of His grace, in which He delights to reveal His power to transform hearts.

“Whereunto,” asked Christ, “shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?” Mark 4:30. He could not employ the kingdoms of the world as a similitude. In society He found nothing with which to compare it. Earthly kingdoms rule by the ascendancy of physical power; but from Christ's kingdom every carnal weapon, every instrument of coercion, is banished. This kingdom is to uplift and ennoble humanity. God's church is the court of holy life, filled with varied gifts and endowed with the Holy Spirit. The members are to find their happiness in the happiness of those whom they help and bless.

Wonderful is the work which the Lord designs to accomplish through His church, that His name may be glorified. A picture of this work is given in Ezekiel's vision of the river of healing: “These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live:... and by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine.” Ezekiel 47:8-12.

From the beginning God has wrought through His people to bring blessing to the world. To the ancient Egyptian nation God made Joseph a fountain of life. Through the integrity of Joseph the life of that whole people was preserved. Through Daniel God saved the life of all the wise men of Babylon. And these deliverances are as object lessons; they illustrate the spiritual blessings offered to the world through connection with the God whom Joseph and Daniel worshiped. Everyone in whose heart Christ abides, everyone who will show forth His love to the world, is a worker together with God for the blessing of humanity. As he receives from the Saviour grace to impart to others, from his whole being flows forth the tide of spiritual life.

God chose Israel to reveal His character to men. He desired them to be as wells of salvation in the world. To them were committed the oracles of heaven, the revelation of God's will. In the early days of Israel the nations of the world, through corrupt practices, had lost the knowledge of God. They had once known Him; but because “they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, ... their foolish heart was darkened.” Romans 1:21. Yet in His mercy God did not blot them out of existence. He purposed to give them an opportunity of again becoming acquainted with Him through His chosen people. Through the teachings of the sacrificial service, Christ was to be uplifted before all nations, and all who would look to Him should live. Christ was the foundation of the Jewish economy. The whole system of types and symbols was a compacted prophecy of the gospel, a presentation in which were bound up the promises of redemption.

But the people of Israel lost sight of their high privileges as God's representatives. They forgot God and failed to fulfill their holy mission. The blessings they received brought no blessing to the world. All their advantages they appropriated for their own glorification. They shut themselves away from the world in order to escape temptation. The restrictions that God had placed upon their association with idolaters as a means of preventing them from conforming to the practices of the heathen, they used to build up a wall of separation between themselves and all other nations. They robbed God of the service He required of them, and they robbed their fellow men of religious guidance and a holy example.

Priests and rulers became fixed in a rut of ceremonialism. They were satisfied with a legal religion, and it was impossible for them to give to others the living truths of heaven. They thought their own righteousness all-sufficient, and did not desire that a new element should be brought into their religion. The good will of God to men they did not accept as something apart from themselves, but connected it with their own merit because of their good works. The faith that works by love and purifies the soul could find no place for union with the religion of the Pharisees, made up of ceremonies and the injunctions of men.

Of Israel God declared: “I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto Me?” Jeremiah 2:21. “Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself.” Hosea 10:1. “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt Me and My vineyard. What could have been done more to My vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

“And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to My vineyard: I will take away the hedge thereof, and it shall be eaten up; and break down the wall thereof, and it shall be trodden down: and I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it. For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His pleasant plant: and He looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.” Isaiah 5:3-7. “The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.” Ezekiel 34:4.

The Jewish leaders thought themselves too wise to need instruction, too righteous to need salvation, too highly honored to need the honor that comes from Christ. The Saviour turned from them to entrust to others the privileges they had abused and the work they had slighted. God's glory must be revealed, His word established. Christ's kingdom must be set up in the world. The salvation of God must be made known in the cities of the wilderness; and the disciples were called to do the work that the Jewish leaders had failed to do.

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woodedcove · 5 years ago

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All These Things Will Give Thee Experience

This abstract was given to us by a wonderful friend and hangs on our living room wall. Unfortunately I don’t know who it was painted by.

The past couple of days I’ve been having problems with Trigeminal Neuralgia. Some have described this pain as one of the most severe that a human can suffer. I don’t know if that’s true but I can say it doesn’t feel good. Imagine a Kitchen Aide mixer scrambling your brain while a cattle prod polks your face, now imagine it happening at random moments throughout the day and you’ll have the idea. I’ve struggled with this pain off and on for the last two and a half years. It could be a complication of Ankylosing Spondylitis or a side effect of the neck surgery I had a couple of years ago. It also could have developed all on its own.

So why, on top of all the other forms of pain that I experience, do I have this? Perhaps some might think God is angry with me because of something I've done. Others might wonder how I can believe in God when the things that have happened in my life has been so unfair. I’ve had one person tell me once that all my trials had made her lose faith in God. But my faith in a loving Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ allows me to have hope and teaches me humility. Let me explain.

Faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ is a wonderful thing. It is a miracle. But the miracle doesn't end with Christ's resurrection. Jesus Christ suffered and died so that we may live again. That's so amazing that words just don't cover it. My faith in Jesus Christ teaches me that I will live again and I will be pain-free. My body will be restored to me but it will be renewed and perfected, with no Crohn’s, or Ankylosing Spondylitis or Trigeminal Neuralgia. I will be able to turn my neck. I’ll be able to run and I won’t be fatigued all the time. My body will be able to regulate itself and hot summers and cold winters won't bother me anymore. What's more is I will be able to be with my loved ones, hold them, talk with them, and share eternity with them. All of this gives me great hope and that hope carries me through the hard times.

But how does pain teach me humility?

Job was a righteous man, yet he lost everything; his children, his property and his health. Even his friends turned against him and his wife told him to curse God and die. But when Job finally did complain to the Lord, the Lord said to him:

“Where wast thou when I laid the foundation of the earth? Declare if thou hast understanding.

“Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it?

“Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? Or who laid the corner stone thereof?

“When the morning stars sang together and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7)

Job repented and humbly replied " ... I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me which I knew not." (Job 42:3) In the end, the Lord blessed Job with more than he had in the beginning.

Sometimes, though we’ve been trying to do everything we can to be good people and to live according to God’s commandments, things still go wrong. But Our Heavenly Father sees the big picture. He knows the experiences we need to help us reach our full potential.

Another example is Joseph Smith. From the time that he saw a vision of the Father and the Son, he was persecuted. Joseph was beaten and thrown in jail without cause, he was tarred and feathered several times, and he was dragged from his home and had poison shoved down his throat. All of this persecution would have stopped if he had simply said that the vision he had and the Book of Mormon were lies, but he never did. And because he refused to deny what he knew to be true, he was thrown again into jail where he, his brother and two other men were kept for four months during the coldest part of the Missouri winter. Finally, in Joseph’s darkest moment he pled with the Lord:

“Oh God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covered thy hiding place?

“How long shall thy hand be stayed and thine eye, yea thy pure eye, behold from the eternal heavens the wrongs of thy people and of thy servants, and thine ear be penetrated with their cries?” (121: 1-2)

The Lord’s reply to Joseph was:

“My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment;

“And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes.” (Doctrine and Covenants 121: 7-8)

The Lord reminded Joseph that he was not yet as Job because his friends hadn’t turned against him. Then the Lord instructed Joseph with words I have clung to throughout all my life. He said:

“If thou art called to pass through tribulation; if thou art in perils among false brethren; if thou art in perils among robbers; if thou art in perils by land or by sea;

“If thou art accused with all manner of false accusations; if thine enemies fall upon thee; if they tear thee from the society of thy father and mother and brethren and sisters; and if with a drawn sword thine enemies tear thee from the bosom of thy wife, and of thine offspring, and thine elder son, although but six years of age, shall cling to thy garments, and shall say, My father, my father, why can’t you stay with us? O, my father, what are the men going to do with you? and if then he shall be thrust from thee by the sword, and thou be dragged to prison, and thine enemies prowl around thee like wolves for the blood of the lamb;

“And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.

“The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?” (Doctrine and Covenants 122: 5-8)

The prophet leader Benjamin explained to his people what Christ would suffer for us this way:

“And lo, he shall suffer temptations, and pain of body, hunger, thirst, and fatigue, even more than a man can suffer, except it be unto death; for behold blood cometh from every pore, so great shall be his anguish for the wickedness and abominations of his people” (Mosiah 3:7)

And Christ himself described the suffering He went through while offering His atoning sacrifice this way:

“For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent.

“But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

“Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit - and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink -

“Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.” (Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19)

I have gained a lot of experience in this life even as the Lord told Joseph he would, through the things that I’ve gone through. And maybe, in the very tiniest degree, I have experienced a pain that is about as close to our Savior’s suffering as I can get. Maybe. When I think of this and think of the unimaginable, unfathomable pain my Savior has suffered just for me, my heart is humbled and I am convinced of His incredible love for me. Maybe that’s what all my pain and suffering is about. To help me understand, to become convinced, and to be converted to my Savior’s love, His gospel, His good news. If so I will be patient, try to be humble, and pray that I learn my lesson well.

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trberman · 4 months ago

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Trusting God’s Purpose: Lessons from Doctrine and Covenants 3–5 in Church History

Photo by Rachel Strong on Unsplash Life has moments when everything feels uncertain, and as humans, we often wrestle with mistakes and doubt. Doctrine and Covenants 3–5 reminds us that God’s purposes remain steady, even when our own choices falter. These sections, given during pivotal moments in Joseph Smith’s history, teach us about trusting in the Lord, the power of repentance, and how divine…

#Church history and faith lessons #Doctrine and Covenants 3–5 lessons #Doctrine and Covenants insights for modern challenges #Early revelations Doctrine and Covenants #Faith in God’s plan for us #Faith-building scriptures LDS #Finding hope in Doctrine and Covenants teachings #God’s guidance in Church history #God’s purpose in Doctrine and Covenants #How Doctrine and Covenants 3–5 teaches us to trust God #How Doctrine and Covenants strengthens faith today #Insights from Doctrine and Covenants 3 Trusting God’s promises #Joseph Smith and early Church revelations #Learning to trust God’s plan through scripture study #Lessons from early Church history #Lessons from Joseph Smith on trusting God #Lessons from Joseph Smith revelations #Lessons from scripture LDS #Overcoming doubt through scripture #Spiritual growth through Doctrine and Covenants #Spiritual lessons from early Church revelations #The importance of God’s purpose in LDS scripture #Trust in God LDS teachings #Trusting God in uncertainty #Trusting God’s purpose during trials and adversity #Trusting God’s purpose in life #Trusting God’s will in hard times #Trusting in God’s guidance like Joseph Smith #Understanding God’s purpose

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ahopkins1965 · 5 years ago

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Verse of the Day ▼

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Home Verse Of The Day Joshua 3:8

◄ What Does Joshua 3:8 Mean? ►

"You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"

Joshua 3:8(NASB)

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

Verse Thoughts

Joshua and Caleb were the only two who escaped Egyptian slavery and passed through the Red Sea... who would finally cross the River Jordan, into the promised land. 40 years had passed, since that eventful day, when the lambs were slain in Egypt, the angel of death passed over, and the people were redeemed. Moses had reminded a new generation of Israelites, of the covenant God made with His people, and their duty towards the Lord. Finally, just before his death, Moses passed the baton of leadership to Joshua, just as God had commanded.

"Be strong, and of a good courage", Joshua was told, by the Lord "be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed, for the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest." The 40-year-long wilderness trek had come to an end, and Joshua had prepared the people for the task ahead. They were ready to enter the Land of Canaan and claim the territory promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, many years before. They had to trust all that God had told them - "the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest."

A new generation of Israelites had arrived at the edge of the Jordan, where they encamped for 3 days. God reminded Joshua that every place, where the sole of his foot would tread, would be given into the hands of His people - just as He promised Moses. Joshua was then given some very specific instructions for the priests, who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant on their shoulders. "When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you are to tell them to stand still in the Jordan." The priests were also to believe, that the Lord thy God was with, whithersoever they went.

Just as the Red Sea barred the Israelites' flight from Egypt, so the fast-flowing waters of the Jordan River were impassable, without a mighty miracle of God. The Bible tells us that this was the harvest season, which meant that the river was swollen, and the waters overflowed the banks. God had brought His people to the brink of the Jordan, at a time when it was impossible for them to cross. This was to be a test of faith. This was a demonstration of God's power. This was to be a time for them to grow in their faith. The people were also to believe, "the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest."

From the birth of the nation of Israel, and throughout the dispensation of Law, the Lord wanted to teach His people to trust Him, and obey His Word. He wanted His chosen nation to obey His covenant and believe all He had said. He wanted them to trust in Him with all their heart and not rely on their own understanding, ingenuity, or human wisdom. He wanted them to know, "the Lord their God was with thee, whithersoever they went."

No matter what difficulties they faced; no matter what giants barred their way; no matter what problems loomed over them; no matter what circumstances they had to face... God was teaching His people to trust Him implicitly, and depend on Him entirely so that their faith in Him would grow and flourish, as they witnessed God dealing with difficulties, giants, problems, and the many, onerous circumstances they faced.

God was teaching His people to walk by faith and not by sight. The raging waters would have swept the people to certain death, but God wanted Israel to trust that He would prevent the overflowing waters from overtaking them. For 40 years they had learned that the Lord was with them in the fire and in the cloud, and now their faith was to be tested once again. Now they were to believe, "the Lord thy God is with thee, whithersoever thou goest," - even though the Jordan.

During their wilderness journey, they learned that the Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God, and so the Lord told Joshua to command the priests, who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant, to step into the raging waters, and stand still in the midst of the Jordan, with the Ark on their shoulders, while the entire multitude crossed on dry land. God proved His faithfulness to His people on that day, for they all crossed on dry land.

The Lord is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and like Israel, we are also to walk by faith and not by sight. Like Israel we are to live by faith and to trust the Lord with all our heart, no matter what difficulties we may have to face, no matter what giants bar our way, no matter what problems loom above us, no matter what circumstances overtake us... we are to step out in faith and remember that "the Lord our God is with us, whithersoever we goest."

Too often we want God to act so we can believe in His deliverance, but God wants us to demonstrate faith before He acts, in order to increase our faith - so that we may grow in the faith. We often say 'Deliver me, and I will trust You, Lord', but our Father replies, 'Trust Me, My child, and I will deliver you', for He has promised, to be with us, wherever we go.

Many times the Lord used Israel, as an example to the Church, of faith in action, as well as faltering faith. Through Israel, we learn of the danger of doubting God's Word and falling away. Some of the things Israel did are warnings to the Church not to fall into the same snare, while others are godly examples, for us to emulate. May we remember the encouraging words given to Joshua, the priests, and the people of Israel that, "the Lord our God is with us, whithersoever we go."

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, that You that You are the same yesterday, today and forever. Thank You for the many lessons we can learn from Israel, when they crossed the River Jordan into the promised land. Thank You that you have promised to be with me wherever I go. Thank You that no matter what difficulties or dangers I have to face, You will be with me, to lead, to guide, to protect, and to comfort. Help me to trust You in all things and not allow life's circumstances to cause me to doubt Your precious promises - which are all 'YES' and 'AMEN' in Christ Jesus my Lord, AMEN.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia

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inthespiritofthemind · 5 years ago

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#44 A Call to Pastors

Pastors, the Lord has been speaking urgently to me for a couple of days with a message for all of you. Please read and consider carefully. For all believers are being called “for such a time as this.” Esther 4:14

In most of my recent posts on my blog inthespiritofthemind.com about the dynamics of spiritual warfare, I have issued an urgent call to the church to rise up together in unity to fight the spiritual battle going on in the heavenlies around us right now. Well, Pastors, the Lord has been instructing me to speak plainly and directly to you all to heed His word and join the battle.

This word is about the need for the believers to be speaking to the enemy, the principalities and powers, rulers, the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenlies, the darkness we see advancing around the world and across our nation in growing power and evil. Ephesians 6: 12, Ephesians 3:10 You are all aware of the scriptures referring to the devil and the demons active in the earth, but it seems most of you are not prepared to join the fight because of your lack of knowledge concerning this most important part of the believer’s marching orders from God. We must understand that God is spirit just as the enemy is. The words spoken from the holy realm and the evil realm influence our minds and have an effect. The fight is a spiritual one. It is about light which is God and we as believers. We fight the demons in the spiritual realm.

God is Spirit. John 4:24 God’s words created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1, 3, 6, 11 Jesus said His words were spirit and life. John 6:63 Jesus did not speak on His own initiative, but speaks the things His Father taught Him. John 8:28, John 12:49, John 14:10 Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Those that love it will eat its fruit. Proverbs 18:21 Our words are very important.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8b We are to be doing the same works that Jesus did. John 14:12 Those are the works of the Father. John 14:10b This warfare is ours. 2 Corinthians 10:4 The war is not in the flesh. 2 Corinthians 10:3-4, Ephesians 6:12

Pastors, the enemy, or thief, comes to steal, kill, and destroy. John 10:10 You have heard this before, but have you ever thought about it? Do you know this is true and real? Do you understand that this means the believers? Do you know we are to be doing battle? I understand this has never been a reality to most of you. Therefore, it has never been a reality to the church because neither you nor the people in your church have been taught the truth. Well, you need to hear the truth now! All we have is NOW! We must wake up to the need to do as God has instructed us to do. It’s not about showing up on Sunday, studying a lesson to be prepared for Sunday School, or coming to meetings and activities. Spiritual warfare is when spirits fight. It is not studying or praying. We are spirit when we are born again. We are one spirit with God. We are the spiritual beings fighting the enemy with the Holy Spirit. Spiritual dynamics are happening every split second all the time. And we need to be involved.

Since the virus and quarantine, most of the church meetings have been cancelled thus causing us to lose the attachment to our groups. Then there have been so many other horrible and destructive activities which heighten the awareness of darkness running rampant in the country today. I have seen much on social media talking about the need to do spiritual warfare, that we are in a spiritual battle. The Lord has made it clear that many simply have no training to fight a battle in the spirit. Why? Because the devil, demons, the enemy is never mentioned in church. Sometimes, neither is the Holy Spirit! Pastors, the education of the church, the one church, all believers being the church, one in spirit with God, must happen. You are the ones who must do this. Don’t just talk about the devil and evil to identify what is happening. Learn the tactics of the enemy. Learn what it means to renew the mind. Understand what the battleground is. Otherwise we may lose to the darkness.

Without the attention to the Holy Spirit which we have been given as a helper and without the power and manifestation of the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing. John 14:16, Acts 1:8, 1 Corinthians 12:7-10 But the Holy Spirit was given and waits to talk with us and talk through us. He needs us to discern where the devil has introduced unholy thoughts and separate our holy thoughts to shine the light of God on the darkness. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 We must then speak to the darkness, binding it up and casting it out of our souls (mind, emotions and will). Matthew 18:18 The weapons are divinely powerful to the puling down of strongholds and every lofty thing elevating itself (demons) against the knowledge of God (truth).

The devil has blinded the eyes of the believers and deceived us all. Some of us have been blessed with Pastors who know the truth and have taught us to renew our minds to the truth and the darkness. We have been actively casting demons and their lies out of our souls so that we may hear the voice of the Holy Spirit and do warfare for our country and the world.

The unrenewed mind is on defense. A renewed mind is on offense. Demons cannot attack us because we are light in the Lord. Spiritual warfare is light against darkness. There is no defense in light. Darkness cannot attack light. Demons influence and deceive us with lies. We must be renewed in the spirit of the mind. Ephesians 4:23 These lies originate in the spiritual realm and once believed become strongholds in the minds of our souls hindering us from fighting against the demonic realm. They hide their existence and squelch the knowledge of what they are doing. They have effectively hidden our understanding or desire to know the Holy Spirit and be a vessel for living water to flow. We don’t even know we have demons and darkness in our souls!! They have separated the church into divisions called denominations where believers are taught what we believe that is different from other believers. That is not God! That is doctrines of devils. That is a trap by the enemy to short circuit the power of the church against their plans and schemes and methods.

Well, Pastors, God has issued the call to you all! Begin to learn what to do for the battle. Submit your souls to God. Actively resist the devil and he will flee. But you must submit first. James 4:7 The first demon to go from everyone of you is pride. James 4:8 Then there is the spirit of haughty pride which comes with denominations and is actually a spirit which is proud of its pride. Humility is required to admit that you may be wrong in what you believe or teach to the members of your church. Humility is required to submit to God and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you how to train your church group how to fight the evil threatening our country. But it must be done. The gates of hell shall not prevail against the church. The church must rise up and fight the battle!

We will not fail if we enter into the battle with the Holy Spirit inside us. We are one in spirit with God when born again. But our souls still need to be set free. As the Holy Spirit drives the demons out of our souls when we speak what He says to say to them, He is then the occupier/filler of our souls. He wants to fill us with His presence. Ephesians 5:18 We cannot just ask God to do the battle for us. In the Old Covenant the battle was the Lord’s. Now we get to participate. In the New Covenant the battle is ours. According to the instructions to renew the mind in Romans 12:1-2 and Ephesians 4:23, we are to allow the Holy Spirit to help us discern the lies of the enemy in our souls, be revelated to the truth from God, and fight the battle to cast the liars out of our souls. Then in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 we see that the weapons of our warfare are divinely powerful to the pulling down of strongholds and every lofty thing elevating itself against the knowledge of God. When the strongholds are torn down and the demons are cast out of our souls, we then are instructed to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. This is to determine the origin of every thought, be it holy or unholy. Seeking to be filled with the Holy Spirit is the goal. He has already given us the tools. Salvation means deliverance from conditions and circumstances. We have been reconciled to the Father. 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 Our souls need to be free spiritually and be allowing the rivers of living water to flow out to others. We can be the warriors God meant us to be.

I am so grateful to God for the Pastor He has given me. He began training me in the dynamics of spiritual warfare in 1980 while we were both attending seminary. Since that time, he has helped me and countless others to more spiritual freedom than I knew was possible. His ministry has been to set the captives free through deliverance and warfare. Through perseverance and compassion toward the children of God as our leader, he has kept watch over us, giving us an account of our souls. Several years past he shared with us that he asked the Father if he could sing a different tune or change what he preached. God said no. He told my pastor that this was the part that was missing from the church today. God likened this to having a car with a flat tire. He pointed out that to drive the car it was necessary to fix the flat tire. “My people perish for a lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4:6 “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.” 1 Corinthians 12:1 “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” 2 Corinthians 2:11

For the church today, the necessity is to begin doing spiritual warfare. All men are in bondage the world over, but the Christian has the tools to set all men free. First, help them to be born again. Then help them to renew their minds to be free from demonic intrusion and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Then allow the Holy Spirit to flow through the rivers of living water to the world. Do what Jesus did. Destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8b

Rise up, Pastors! Help the church to rise up! Receive the anointing God has for you! Let His Spirit flow through you!

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nerdygaymormon · 6 years ago

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I’m having a really hard time with Institute this semester talking about the eternal family because my current family and my sexuality and don’t know what to do.

Institute anon. To elaborate on my previous ask, my parents are sealed but getting a divorce (not a temple divorce I think?) and I’m ace but don’t really want to get married very much and talking about being queer in the Church is hard no matter what your identity is, I think, especially since so much doctrine revolves around the family and marriage, and it hurts and I don’t want to be there. But I don’t want to lose the Spirit. But I also don’t feel the Spirit when I’m hurting so much.

Still Institute anon 😅 That was like. An overview of what’s so difficult but there are also a lot of more nuanced things in our individual lessons and it’s HARD.

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I’m sorry you’re having a rough time.

I imagine these are some of the things you’re learning in Institute:

* It is not good for man (humans) to be alone.

* Sex drive is a gift from God.

* Law of Chastity is to have no sexual relations except with a person you’re legally married to

* The greatest happiness in life comes from having a spouse, a companion for your life

* This earthly life is when we start an eternal family

* The covenant path is the way to be exalted & live with God

–UNLESS you’re queer, then none of this applies to you. We’re in a class apart. The greatest blessings aren’t for us.

To exclude queer people is to violate the idea that God doesn’t play favorites, that all are alike to God.

I think about Mark 2:27 when Jesus said, “The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.”I think it’s fair to say “Marriage was made for people, not people for marriage.”

Over the millenia, what marriage looks like and the rules & laws that govern it have changed many times. Even just in our modern era, I’ve observed big difference between the marriages of my grandparents, my parents & my siblings as expectations and roles have shifted.

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Given that you’re ace, check out 1 Corinthians 7. It’s a very different lesson about marriage than the one you’ll get in Institute. Being single is the preferred option and marriage is for those who aren’t strong enough to go without sex.

Paul is not into sex & romance. If he were alive today he might describe himself as ace/aro. Paul wishes more people were like him because they’d be free to give more energy and service to God.

But for the people who aren’t blessed with the gift of celibacy, for those people who have sexual desires & needs, Paul encourages marriage. He speaks of it as a secondary choice.

I think it’s interesting in this chapter he never mentions having children as the purpose for sex. Rather sex is something that will bring two people together as they make sure their partner’s needs are met.

Also in this chapter, Paul is adamant that celibacy should NOT be forced on people. To not allow marriage, to require celibacy of people is to drive most of them to fornication (aka, sex outside of marriage). Is there a better argument than Paul’s for why Christians should accept and celebrate same-sex marriage?

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Oh, one more scriptural lesson for ace people.

Jesus’ ministry took place when he was ages 30-33. He was not married. We have no indication He sought romantic relationships. He had very close relationships with men & women. This is the example the Savior set for us.

And when asked about divorce, Jesus gave a lesson on marriage that our modern-day church sets aside.

1) It’s good for a man and a woman to marry

2) An exception to this would be if this person is divorced, in that case they shouldn’t marry (unless they got divorce because their spouse was having sex with someone else). If they marry, they are adulterers and so is the person who marries them.

3) Another exception to this rule about a man marrying a woman–eunuchs. Jesus describes different types of “eunuchs,” and He doesn’t limit it to men who have been castrated, He includes people who choose to not have sex. With that in mind, it very much sounds like Jesus is including gay people and ace/aro folks in His “eunuch” exception to a man-should-marry-a-woman statement

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Even if not explicitly stated, I find that what gets said about marriage & families often has a negative side to it.

For example, on Father’s Day a speaker said that God sends his spirit children to people he trusts the most. While it’s a nice sentiment and made that dad feel good about himself, the message it sends me is, “God doesn’t trust you enough. There’s a lot of idiots out there who have kids, and God trusts them all more than you.”

I know the speaker didn’t consider what his words meant to people who aren’t like him. This happens a lot at church, especially around the topics of marriage & family. Wonderful things are said about people who fit a certain mold, which queer people do not, and so the negative implications of those messages apparently belongs to us.

One thing I’ve learned is to push back against those negative messages. If you’re in a position to raise your hand and vocalize it, great. If you’re not, then at least tell yourself positive messages to replace the ones you’re hearing.

You are not less worthy than others. You’re not wrong or lesser. You are a child of God who is loved dearly and your Heavenly Parents are rooting for you. They trust you and will help you craft a life that is meaningful and full of blessings.

President Nelson recently said that You may know for yourself what is true and what is not. If you’re not feeling the Spirit at Institute when those lessons are presented, that’s a sign. Try asking about your path. If you’re getting an education or working, you can pray for confirmation you’re on the right path.

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Your parents getting divorced really puts a big crack in the “families can be forever” ideal. I often wonder about the Primary kids we have sing about having a mother & father and an eternal family, but they are in a single-parent home, or part-member family. There’s a dissonance there that people who fit the mold don’t stop to think about.

I recognize the church has it’s principles and ideals, and I’m not saying it shouldn’t teach those things, but what about the rest of us who don’t fit into the Family Proclamation?

In the April 2019 General Conference, Elder Anderson recognized there are a LOT of us who don’t “fit neatly inside the Proclamation.” His answer was that perhaps he doesn’t understand their situations, but the Savior does, to turn to Jesus.

The Savior knows you and your situation and offers you love.

Elder Anderson promised that “He (Jesus) will bless you and lift the burdens too heavy to bear alone. He will give you eternal friends and opportunities to serve. More important, He will fill you with the powerful Spirit of the Holy Ghost and shine His heavenly approval upon you.”

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trr-mason · 5 years ago

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Good Morning Brothers and Sisters, This last weekend I returned from Salt Lake City Utah serving a full time 2 year proselyting mission. A lot of you would probably think "Salt Lake? isn't everybody there a member of the church already?" Others of you who know a little about Salt Lake will know that it is not the place it was when it was founded by the saints in 1847 and has even changed drastically in demographics over the last 20 - 30 years. Its was an amazing time to serve the people of that valley and also South western Wyoming where I personally got to serve in both Evanston and Rock Springs Wyoming. These last 2 years have been full of unbelievable miracles and also tragic hardships. My topic to you today has to do with the 3 most important doctrinal principles I have learned over these last 2 years. This is very difficult because the Lord has been willing teach me many things but I narrowed it down to what I will speak on today which is "How Am I Going To Live With God Again?" and I will use the stories of some of the amazing people I met on my mission to demonstrate the path that God has laid before me. One of the most important things to I know and hope that each of you can come to know is the power that allows for everything else to even be a reality for us; that is the Atonement of our savior Jesus Christ. This is the "....great and last sacrifice... an infinite and eternal sacrifice"(Alma 34:10). During this time Jesus suffered for not just many things, but all things, including our pains, our sorrows, our affictions, the price of our sins and even the temptations that leads to those sins. He did these things that he might be able to empower us and make us clean. He also suffered death and rose again that we might look forward one day to receiving a glorfied and perfected body as our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have. The example I want to share with you today of someone using this power comes from South Salt Lake City. There was a woman, her name is Brenda, and she was living in her daughters home, her and her husband had been separated for several months. During this time that she had been living with her daughter she had both had a knee replaced and intensive hip surgery within 4 months of each other so she could hardly get around. An understatement of a lifetime would say that "she was having a hard time". With all of her spare time she was reading in a book of world religions and came to the conclusion that 1 of 2 religions had to be true and that was either our church or the Buddhist faith. She decided that she would study these faiths more closely. When talking to an upstairs neighbor named Sister Fiso, Sister Fiso jumped on the opportunity and said she knew just the right people to call. That week was the week I met Brenda. From the time that we met in December of 2017 she has had many wonderful things occur in her life naming a few, she gained a testimony of Christ and his true church, she was baptized on new years eve, her Marriage was rebuilt, and she and her husband, who was also baptized, will be sealed in the temple in a few weeks. Many of you have seen the effect of that all encompassing and infinite sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The amazing part is that Christ made it so that there was an outline of the way in which we can access the redeeming and perfecting aspects of His Atonement. While on the earth he taught this as the Doctrine, or Gospel, of Jesus Christ. This is the thing he chose as his core message to share with us. It is process of having Faith in him, to repent, to be baptized, to receive the Holy Ghost, and to continue to make and keep covenants, or promises, with God til the end. The purpose of my, and all, mission(s) is to invite others to do these things and help them live those invitations so that all can take part in His redemtion. A huge example of the Gospel of Jesus Christ being exhibited in someone's life is the experience of Allison Alverdi. She lived the beginning of her life just down the road in Rosemond. After going through some hard times in her life she moved to Salt Lake with a friend also from this area named Sarah. Now the first time that we we went by we first met Sarah and when we said that we were the YSA missionaries she opened the door to show Allison. After a few contacts with her at the door the spirit finally convinced her to let us share a message, then another and another. One day we had a lesson on temple square; there in the he is and presence of the Christus statue and close friends Allison accepted a baptismal date in which she did all she could to make happen. This included flying her grandma out and dropping the use of coffee as soon as she knew it was necessary. The Faith she exhibited at that time in her life is still an example to me. One important thing to notice is all that I have talked about is what Christ has done, to provide the power and path to eventual perfection. The last thing that I wanted to expound on is OUR part in the plan, and yes the Gospel of Jesus Christ is our part, but a key factor that is necessary for lasting discipleship is to have real intent. Real intent is the difference between "feasting upon the words of Christ..." and reading your scriptures because your supposed to or "Counseling with God..." and merely saying the same prayer every night so we can get to bed. In the Book of Mormon this attribute is listed as one necessary qualifier for The Spirit of God to reveal the truth of the Book of Mormon. It's says that's we must pray and ask The Father "a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ" then "he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost." The greatest example of these principles is Kip Smith. Kip grew up in a small town in Wyoming and he has some social and learning disabilities. So that checks both of the boxes for making it hard to learn the Gospel. I first met Lip by knocking on his door and we taught him a little about the Book of Mormon and how important it was and that if he would read it and pray with real intent he would receive an answer and we said we would come by in 2 days to see how that went for him. The next time we came over Kip let us in and told us his story of how after we left he knelt down next to his bed, Book of Mormon in hand, and how he felt so good about the Book he was holding. This was only the beginning for Kip with his real intent. That Sunday he came to church for the 1st time in his life, then as we continued to meet with him, he learned the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and applied it. This led to him sky rocketing in progressing in his own life as he asked God for help, the lord had no reservation in blessing him. He still struggled but he was baptized and received the Gift of the Holy Ghost and he continued to make progress. Even though he couldn't understand what he was reading Kip read all the way to about page 100 in the Book of Mormon by the time I had left that area and he continued to feel good about the Book he had knelt down and prayed about just a few weeks earlier.

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updcbc · 6 years ago

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January 6, 2019 - “The Path of Godliness” Psalm 1

Click KEEP READING to read the full sermon.

Introduction

Our solitary life is in a balance. Who we are and what we may become is a personal choice. We make desperate measures we think for our good but do much damage to our souls. It is not a dead end when we make a wrong choice. The great lessons in life are painfully discovered in our breaking points. Amidst the maze of life we can be redeemed from our frailties and failures. In the agony of our souls we search our hearts to sort out the noble from the mundane. We come to our own senses and find our home back to God. In solitude we dwell in the presence of the Lord and listen to his still voice. In darkness we nurture our souls in light of the Scriptures. We embrace and cherish the Bible that we have so long taken for granted. In coming back to God and in obedience to his Word, we can learn our lessons well in life and make a fresh start.

I grew up as a religious person. Despite my religiosity, my whole being could be summarized in one word: restless. When I was thirteen years old, my aunt gave me a strange gift. It was a New Testament Bible. I would rather have received any other gift for I wondered what good this book could ever do in my life. Four years in high school, the Bible was a closed book to me. Four years in college, the Bible was a dead book to me. Yet, through all those years I wrestled with the agony of my soul. I knew what was good but was bound with guilt. My motives were defiled expressed in secret misdeeds. In my sinfulness I was restless! In the malady of my soul amidst my utter restlessness I welcomed to end it all by placing my life into my bare hands. In that desperate moment I looked up to heaven and uttered a short prayer, “God if you are real, show yourself to me.” In 1980 during my fourth year in college, I heard of the gospel of Jesus through the ministry of the Campus Crusade for Christ. The core of the gospel truth that spoke to my heart was John 3:16. In response to the great love of God who gave his Son for my behalf, I turned away from my sin and yielded my life to Jesus Christ.

That unexpected crossroad of knowing Jesus Christ defined my life. At last, I found rest for my soul! The first thing I did was to go home to find the book I despised. When I found the Bible, I pressed it hard into my heart with a word of deep gratitude, “This is the best gift I ever received in my life.” Since then I learned and still do to walk with God every day guided by his Word. That was almost forty years ago. To this very day I hold in my hands this Book of Life. And I have no room for regrets.

The Bible is the final authority of the Christian faith and life. Our knowledge of God and how we conduct our lives rest upon our attitude to the Holy Scriptures. Our destiny, here and now and for eternity, is determined on how we handle the living and enduring Word of God. It is for this reason that we remind ourselves of the historic account when Moses gave his final word to his own Hebrew people.

In the renewal of their covenant to the LORD their God prior to entering the Promised Land, Moses gave this solemn charge to his own people. The essence of his parting word applies to every people of the world.

“This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the LORD is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.” (Deut. 30:19-20a)

The covenant of God for Israel is binding for us. A blessed life is governed by the Word of God. To this noble end we are called to “listen to his voice.” This noble call is echoed by the psalmist for all of us.

There is a clear distinction that sets apart those who treasure the Bible from those who do not. The very first chapter of the Book of Psalms is a song of prayer that defines the great contrast between the righteous and the wicked. The righteous are blessed for they live by the Word of God (1:1-3). And the wicked who despise it are unfortunate (1:4-6).

A. The Righteous (1:1-3)

Who are the righteous in the sight of God? The righteous walk in godliness, delight in the Scriptures and live a fruitful life.

1. The Path of the Righteous

Those who are right with God walk in the path of godliness.

“Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” (1:1)

Blessedness dispels the notion of shallow happiness based on favourable circumstances. Rather, the biblical thought of blessedness speaks of the highest good bestowed by God to whom he extends his sufficient grace. To be blessed is to experience the fullness of life being assured that God works all things together for our ultimate good and for his glory. A blessed man can be poor but remains grateful and generous in life. A blessed woman in the bed of sickness despite her pain enjoys the sweet communion in the abiding presence of God. A blessed person under severe persecution finds his solace in the safekeeping of God and learns to repay good for evil. Blessedness is to have inward stability and restful peace in whatever circumstance in life. Anchored upon this biblical perspective, the psalmist declared a defining stand of blessedness.

First of all, a blessed person does not walk in the counsel of the wicked. In the time of the judges in the Old Testament, this was the awful description of the Hebrew people, “In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as he saw fit” (Judg. 21:25). In such condition of lawlessness, every man or woman was right in his or her own perspective. The people disregarded their covenant with God and each one became a law to his or her own self. The same attitude of lawlessness is applied in our own time in the name of human rights. On this premise, each one is entitled to his own opinion and we need to respect our own differences, sad to say, on the ground that everything is relative and there is no such thing as absolute. In a secular world each one is entitled to his own opinion and no one has the right to persuade others of his own convictions. And in a pluralistic society we hear many voices with a common argument, “We can speak about anything under the sun, but leave me alone in my belief about God.” We live in perilous times where we create our own gods and define our own standards on what is true or false and on what is right or wrong. The counsel of the wicked defies and distorts the authority and absoluteness of the Bible as the Word of God. In the New Testament, Apostle Paul gave his final instruction to Pastor Timothy. This prophetic word is true to our day.

“In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Tim. 4:1-3)

Secondly, a blessed person does not stand in the way of sinners. In the period of the judges, each person was entitled to one’s own opinion and had the freedom to do his or her own thing. What does this mean? Israel broke their covenant with God and disobeyed the Ten Commandments. When we see ourselves in our own generation, we are not better than the Israelites. The way of sinners defies the commandments of God. There is a steady moral breakdown in the land manifested in religious hypocrisy. The solemn warning of Paul to Timothy is staggering.

“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.” (2 Tim. 3:1-5a)

Paul gives us a strong word, “Have nothing to do with them” (v. 5b).

Thirdly, a blessed person does not sit in the seat of mockers. We go back to the days of the judges. There was no law in the land for each one became a law to his or her own self. Their brazen lawlessness was an outright rebellion against God in defiance to his commandments and mockery to his warnings. There was no fear of God in Israel. We, too, need to answer a serious question for ourselves, “Where is the fear of God in our land?” The seat of mockers speaks of those who are in authority who see themselves above the law and untouchables driven in their greed for money and power. Are we not also guilty of making a mockery of God when our conscience becomes dull to entertain the thought that it is alright for us to live in sin as long as we can make it a secret for ourselves? We only wear out ourselves in despair when we wear masks to portray a good image in betrayal of our true selves. No one can play with God without facing its dire consequences. Apostle Paul gives us a stern warning, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows” (Gal. 6:7).

As in the period of the judges, our present world reflects the spirit of lawlessness where every person is entitled to his own opinion and conviction and not bound to the authoritative and absolute Word of God. In this dark and sinful world, we brace ourselves to be maligned and destroyed in our uncompromising stand for what is true, right and just. Blessed are those who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. This is the narrow path and less travelled road of the righteous.

2. The Delight of the Righteous

What sets apart the righteous before God?

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.” (1:2)

To delight literally means to rejoice in one thing with inner contentment. Above all things, the great joy of the righteous is the Holy Scriptures. The righteous anchor their whole being in the Word of God. In intimate communion with God they meditate upon the Law of the LORD day and night. The Bible is the daily bread of the righteous to govern their lives.

Throughout the historical revelation of God, both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, the LORD upholds the primacy of the Scriptures as the absolute rule of life for his covenant people and the firm foundation of life for all nations. The sovereign LORD, the God of heaven and earth, made this clear to Joshua, the successor of Moses, to lead the Hebrew people. This divine instruction is for all of us.

“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” (Jos. 1:8)

This solemn charge defines our life. It is a command with a promise. We ought to anchor our lives upon the Scriptures and to obey it with all our heart. And we can be assured that God will graciously bless our lives to make a godly difference in this world.

Every Hebrew must treasure the Law of the LORD. Every Christian must live by the Holy Scriptures. And every human being must be governed by the Word of God.

3. The Legacy of the Righteous

Does it really make a difference for us to abide in the Scriptures? Here is a beautiful portrait of a blessed life anchored upon the Word of God.

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” (1:3)

This is a delightful metaphor. Like a tree planted by streams of water, a righteous person is rooted upon the living Word of God and established upon the inexhaustible sufficiency of God. Like a tree which yields its fruit in season, a righteous person bears the fruit of godly character to be a source of joy and channel of blessing for others. And like a tree whose leaf does not wither, likewise, a righteous person receives the gift of eternal life and enjoys the grace of living in its fullness.

In summary, like a living and a fruitful tree, the psalmist described a righteous person with this statement, “Whatever he does prospers.” What does this mean? Anyone who delights in the Scriptures will grow in spiritual discernment to ascertain and do the will of God under divine blessing. We do understand not all things go well with us. Yet, in all our experiences in life, good or bad, nothing will be laid to waste if we learn our lessons well. At times we can have a firmer grasp of the goodness of God and can better appreciate his blessing for our lives when he disciplines us of our sinfulness and affirms his great love for us. Down the road of life we all go through a humbling process so we can learn the redemptive lessons in life. In this way we learn to swallow our pride and walk in the humility of Christ. And so we yield with a humble heart, “Father, not my will, but Thy will be done.”

A. The Wicked (1:4-6)

The righteous live in godliness and find their delight in the Law of the LORD. The righteous are like a tree which is much alive with bountiful fruitfulness. The works of the righteous are under the blessing of God. On the contrary, the wicked gratify their sinful desires as they defy God and spurn his Word. The psalmist speaks on the irreconcilable contrast of the wicked from the righteous.

1. The Vanity of the Wicked

How did the psalmist portray the wicked? Here is the awful plight of those who turn away from God and disobey his commandments.

“Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away.” (1:4)

The chaff or the husk is the seed coverings and other debris separated from the seed in threshing grain. On the outside, the chaff appears to look like a grain. In the inside, it is empty and without a seed in it. The chaff is comparatively a picture of worthlessness.

What does this disheartening imagery has to do with our lives? Unfortunately, there are those who set their hearts on earthly goods and think they can buy anything in life. There are those who embrace a humanistic view of life and perceive they have the freedom to do what they like. And there are those who desire for authority and use their power to influence others for their selfish ends. What does the Bible say into all these? We always need to remind ourselves of the word of God.

“‘This is what the LORD says: Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the LORD.” (Jer. 9:23-24)

The beloved Apostle John wrote a close parallel of this revealing truth.

“Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 Jn. 2:15-17)

We, in our fallen nature, are proud. We are inherently and deceitfully proud. We are inclined to take pride of anything under the sun. Sad to say, we even boast of our knowledge about God. This should not be. Our true knowledge of God should teach us to walk in the innocence of a little child. Such lowly attitude is a despised virtue for those who have no heart for God and who disregard his decrees. The wicked declare their freedom outside of God. They are free, indeed, without a moral compass that leads them to nowhere like chaff blown by the wind.

2. The Judgment of the Wicked

If we rebel against God and treat his Word as garbage, we deserve our own disgraceful and dreadful lot.

“Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.” (1:5)

God hates those who are proud in their heart. The wicked may boast in their wisdom, power and riches. They may see themselves invincible and indestructible for they are in control over the affairs of man. Yet a time is coming when their mockery and laughter will turn into weeping and mourning. In the end, the wicked will stand before God in dread and be cast away from the company of the righteous in disgrace.

3. The Destruction of the Wicked

We only make fool of ourselves when we think we can play around God.

“For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.” (1:6)

God holds everyone accountable for he makes a clear distinction between those who fear him and to those who despise him. Here and now, the God of heaven discerns our hearts and watches over the affairs of every human being on earth. The righteous are wise to search their hearts and make things right with God. The wicked are defiant and carefree to go on with their evil ways that lead them to their irreversible destruction. Such was the dreadful path of Cain who murdered his own brother Abel. Cain was restless throughout his life and for all eternity. The path of the wicked is open and wide for men loved darkness instead of light. Indeed, our life is in a balance. We can choose our own eternal destiny with the kind of life we choose. We can delight in the Scriptures and live in godliness. Or we can choose to despise the Bible and live in sin. In this crucial crossroad of life, the final decision is ours.

Conclusion

Where is our life leading to? It is time for us to watch our steps on what kind of road we trod. Few would dare to walk in the path of the righteous for it involves total submission and sacrificial obedience. The road of the wicked is much more appealing and many would follow it for sin is a pleasure. Now what must we choose? Sin is enjoyable but distasteful. Righteousness is painful but delightful. If we truly care for our souls, we would rather stand for what is righteous for our good than wallow in the mud of sin for our disgrace. In the narrow path of blessedness, how then should we nurture our souls?

Define your moral standards. The psalmist says it well. Do not walk in the counsel of the ungodly. Do not stand in the way of sinners. And do not sit in the seat of mockers. Our lives are established upon the seat of authority that defines our moral stand on how we conduct ourselves. In our waywardness it is much easier to conform to the allurements of this world and satisfy our carnal desires. In our pursuit for our ultimate good we hate every form of evil. And the best safeguard is intimacy with God.

Deepen your biblical convictions. The psalmist gives a nonconforming stand. Delight in the Law of the LORD and meditate on it day and night. What we feed our mind nourishes our heart and transforms our being. Never take for granted the Word of God. Godliness and greatness anchor upon the authority and power of the Scriptures. The Bible nourishes our souls and refines our character. A righteous and stable life is seasoned through daily meditation of and grateful obedience to the Scriptures.

Influence with godly impact. The psalmist makes a powerful portrait. The righteous are like a tree planted by streams of water bearing fruits in season and whose leaves do not wither and whatever they do prospers. Apart from God and his Word there is nothing we can do that satisfies and lasts. God can do great wonders in our lives if we cherish the Scriptures in our hearts. To this ultimate end we have no greater joy as fathers and mothers but to see our beloved children walking in the truth.

#updcbc #dcbc #God #Christian #blessed #blessedness #psalm of david #psalm #Bible

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lesfeldickbiblestudy · 2 years ago

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Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 1 * PART 3 * BOOK 69 REDEEM, REDEEMED, REDEMPTION – PART 3 Various Scripture References For those of you joining us on television again, we want to welcome you to a Bible Study that we trust will help you to learn to study on your own. I’ve said over and over, it’s not that difficult. Just learn to separate some of these things. You can’t just keep it all jumbled up. It’s not an impossible Book, not by any stretch. Remember, we use all the Bible for our learning, but Paul’s books, Romans – Philemon, are for our Grace Age doctrine. We want to thank you for your prayers, your letters, your financial help, every one of you. We love you. We pray for you from coast to coast. We know that we couldn’t do it without you. Same for all of you who come in for these tapings. How we appreciate this! We know that the Lord is using you to use us. Okay, we’re going to continue on with our theme of redemption. First we saw that Adam and Eve needed to be restored to fellowship, but Adam of course plunged the whole human race into a need for redemption. This is going to be our next program, how that Christ in the work of the cross is going to redeem not just Israel but the whole human race. After Israel experienced the national redemption of the Red Sea, we still have that hope of a spiritual redemption in their future. All right, we’re going to jump in, to start this half hour, in Isaiah chapter 59 verse 20. We know that Job spoke of a redeemer, one of the earliest books written in our Bible. But now, Isaiah in verse 20 says: Isaiah 59:20a “And the Redeemer shall come to Zion,…” That’s a future promise from Isaiah’s point in time 700 years before Christ. A redeemer would be coming to Jerusalem to Mount Zion. Isaiah 59:20b-21a “…and unto them that turn from transgression in Jacob, (or in the Nation of Israel) saith the LORD. 21. As for me, this is my covenant with them,…” That is Israel. Now, I can never emphasize enough, and you know that this has been my teaching from day one, that with the onset of the Abrahamic Covenant all of God’s dealing was primarily to the Jew. There were some Gentile exceptions, but that’s what they were, they were exceptions. God has been dealing with the Nation of Israel. He’s going to continue to deal with Israel even as Christ makes His appearance for His earthly ministry. Isaiah 29:21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them, (Israel) saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.” That’s almost a word for word repetition from Jeremiah 31:31 where He calls it a “new covenant I will make with the house of Israel.” All right, let’s jump all the way up to our New Testament and jump into Luke chapter 1. Again, if you really get this concept of Scripture, the four Gospels are not that much different from the Old Testament, especially from Genesis chapter 12, the call of Abraham on. It’s all tied to Israel. Everything is God dealing with Israel. He hasn’t left the Gentiles out of His mind, but He’s going to have to deal with Israel first, and then He’ll deal with the rest of the world. All right, Luke’s Gospel chapter 1, and I want to drop in at verse 68. The setting for this little portion of Scripture is the father of John the Baptist. He was one of the priests laboring at the Temple. When the little fellow was born, they asked the mother what his name would be. Elizabeth said, “John.” Well, that threw them a curve. Nobody has ever been called John before. So they look up old Zacharias who has been stricken speechless throughout the nine months of gestation. They find him up at the Temple compound. They asked him, what’s going to be the name of this baby? And he wrote the name, “John.” Well, they were all shook up, of course, but now the Lord gives him back his speech.

I guess, in that case, we’d better start at verse 67. Now, Zacharias has gotten his speech back. Look what he says. Luke 1:67-68 “And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, (So, everything he says is God moved. This isn’t just the voice of a wishful thinking Jew. This is the word that God wanted spoken.) and prophesied, saying, (or he spoke forth saying) 68. Blessed be the Lord God of (The world? No. That’s not what it says.) Israel; (Now we’ve got to keep Scripture in its context. We have no validity whatsoever in saying, well, He meant everybody. No. He meant what He said.) Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and (What?) redeemed his people,” Well, this is prophecy ready to be fulfilled. Isaiah said, “The Redeemer would come to Jerusalem.” And here He is! He’s in their midst. John the Baptist will in short order be announcing Him to the Nation of Israel. “Your King is in your midst.” He’s ready to fulfill all the promises made to the Patriarchs and to the prophets. Here He is! So, Israel is put on the spot. All right, let’s read a few of these. Luke 1:69 “And He hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.” Now again I always ask the question. How many Gentiles in the House of David? Not a one! This is all Jewish. This is Jewish ground. Luke 1:70-71 “As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, you name them.) who have been since the ages began: (What did the prophets say?) 71. That we should be saved from our enemies, (The physical enemies, their neighbors, the Arab world, the Roman world, Israel was to be saved from all those Gentiles enemies.) and from the hand of all that hate us.” Which were, again, the same people. Luke 1:72-73 “To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant; 73. The oath which he swear to our father Abraham.” Now you see, everything goes back to Genesis 12. You can’t separate it. It’s just an on flowing of those Old Testament statements. Now verse 74. Luke 1:74-78 “That he would grant unto us, that we (the Nation of Israel) being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, 75. In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. 76. And thou, child, (speaking of John the Baptist) shall be called the prophet (the forth teller) of the Highest: (John would be the forerunner of the Messiah.)��for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; 77. To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, 78. Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,” All right, so here is the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry, which is directed completely to Israel with only two exceptions, the Canaanite woman and the Roman centurion. It was all Israel. Everything in His earthly ministry is spoken to the Jews who are now under the Old Testament economy of the Law. The Temple is operating. The priesthood is operating. Into that comes Jesus of Nazareth (Gal. 4:4). For the sake of our study this afternoon, we haven’t got time to go through His earthly ministry, so we’re going to jump all the way over to the Apostle Paul, because Israel has now rejected the Messiah out of hand when they said in so many words, “we’ll not have this man to rule over us.” You know, once in a while the Lord is patient with me. In His own time He revealed it. I made that statement on a program a long time ago and people wrote and said, “Les, where did you get that statement, we’ll not have this man to rule over us? It’s not in the Bible.” And you know, I looked and I looked and I looked and I had to admit, you know I’m wrong. I must have pulled that out of the woodwork someplace. But the other night I was reading in one of the Gospels and there it was! It was in one of His parables. When the husband went to a far country and he sent his son and so forth and then the statement was made, “we’ll not have this man to rule over us.

” Well, it was a direct reference to Christ, but I was remiss in quoting Him as such, although He is the one who said it in the parable. So, they rejected Him. They crucified Him. Peter comes back in the early chapters of Acts and he pleads - repent of the horrible sin of killing your Messiah. I had someone write me the other day. They said, “Peter preached death, burial, and resurrection.” And I have to write right back and say, “But not for salvation!” He had to preach resurrection. Otherwise, how could he tell the people of Israel that their king was still coming? A dead person can’t rule. So, the first thing Peter had to convince Israel was the one they crucified was alive. Indeed He was. And He would still come and fulfill the promises. But Peter never associated it with salvation. Never. He just simply says, “the One you killed, God raised from the dead.” He doesn’t say - believe it with all your heart for your salvation like the next apostle, Paul, does. Paul says, you believe it if you want salvation! All right, now we’re going to look at the approach of this whole idea of redemption not just for Israel, not just for the Gentile, but for the whole human race. That’s why I’ve got it up on the board now - Humanity. The whole sphere of humanity comes under this work of redemption. That is when God the Son took on flesh and ministered for three years to the Nation of Israel, was rejected, crucified, shed His blood. He was buried, raised from the dead. All right, now what have you got? You’ve got the three attributes, again, of redemption. The person? Jesus Christ. The blood? Calvary’s cross. The power? Resurrection morning. Now we’re all set to proclaim redemption to the whole human race. This is for everyone! All right, Romans chapter 3 and I almost have to start, whenever I go into chapter 3, I just can’t leave verse 19 alone. I can’t help it. I wasn’t intending to use it today, but I’m going to have to. Romans 3:19a “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law:” Well, Beloved, there was only one group of people whom God put under the Law. Who was it? Israel! Israel alone had the Temple. Israel alone had a priesthood. Israel alone rested on the prophets and the Old Testament. That has nothing to do with us Gentiles except as it’s going to unfold now through this Apostle. Now Paul is making it so plain that Israel was under the Law, the Ten Commandments. But, since it is God’s moral law for the human race, it didn’t stop at Israel’s borders. It put the whole human race under condemnation. Read on. Romans 3:19b-20 “…that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world (not just Israel now) may become guilty before God. 20. Therefore by the deeds (or the keeping) of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge (Of salvation? No, it’s the knowledge--) of sin.” Now, this is the complete opposite of what even most of Christendom is preaching today. “Just do the best you can. Keep the commandments and God might let you in.” Isn’t that the hope of most people? What a travesty. The Law was never given to get anybody to Heaven, except to bring him under condemnation where he recognizes his need. That’s all the law the can do. The law is a convicting power. The law condemns every one who breaks it. And how in the world do people think they’re going to make it to Heaven by keeping something that no man can keep? So, Paul makes it so plain that “by the law there shall no flesh be justified.” Not one, because only Christ Himself was sinless and never failed in the keeping of the Law. All right, now verse 21, here’s the flipside. We covered it in one of our “But Now’s”. Romans 3:21a “But now the righteousness of God…” This is the verse we used when we were looking at Adam’s salvation back in Genesis. That when God brought in the sacrificial lamb and shed its blood and saw Adams’s faith, He clothed

him with what? Righteousness! Well, it’s the same righteousness that Paul deals with - “The righteousness of God without the law.” Now don’t miss that. Romans 3:21 “The righteousness of God without the law (Leave it where God put it, as a condemnation and nothing more.) is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets.” Of course, this Bible is a progressive revelation. You don’t take one page out of this Book. I’ll come back to the mosaic. You keep every little stone of the mosaic in place. You don’t ever take a portion of Scripture and say, well, that’s irrelevant. I can throw it away. No, you can’t. It’s a complete composite of the Word of God. All right, now verse 22. Romans 3:22 “Even the righteousness of God which is by the faith of Jesus Christ (The faithfulness that Christ accomplished everything that needed to be done and it will never faileth. Now we know that you can put money in banks and a bank can fail and you lose it all. You can put your faith in an MD who is nothing but a renegade. He’s not what he claims to be and you lose it all. And all through life we can have experiences with men and women that are not faithful to what they’re supposed to be. But God will never let us down. He is always faithful. Romans 3:22 “Even the righteousness of God which is by the faith of Jesus Christ (And this righteousness of Christ is imputed to--) unto all and upon all them that believe:” See how simple that is? There’s nothing else in there. This righteousness comes upon all them that believe plus nothing. And, oh, they muddy it up. They goof it up. But it’s so simple. It’s to those who place their faith or believe it. Then verse 23, beginning with Adam, because of Adam-- Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God;” The Ten Commandments prove that. No man can go through life without breaking those Ten Commandments. It just proves that he’s a sin-natured individual. I made the comment in one of my seminars here the other day. I haven’t done it for years and years on the program. But you know, when that little baby is born and first brought in from the hospital, they’re sweet. Oh, they’re innocent. They’re loving. They’re cuddly. But how long until that Adamic nature shows its head? Not long and they have a temper. Oh, they can get angry! Then it isn’t very long and they can lie like a rug. Who teaches them to lie? I know no Mama is going to say, “Now look honey, when I ask if you’ve taken a cookie, all you have to do is just tell me no you haven’t.” That’s the way you do that? No, that isn’t the way it works. They know how to lie. I’ll go one step further. They hear the neighbor’s kid use a bad word. Do they know where to use it? You better believe it! They know where to use it! You don’t have to teach them. Why? We’re born with that Adamic sin nature. Everyone one of us is. All right, now read on. Here’s the blessed hope. Romans 3:24 “Being justified freely (without a cost) by his grace through the (What?) redemption that is in Christ Jesus:” Redemption – the same word that Isaiah and Moses used. It is the same word that Adam experienced. It’s the process where God is going to buy back that which He lost. He’s going to pay the price. He’s going to exert the power necessary to get it done. That’s our redemption. That’s where we are. “Through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Now, what did Christ Jesus do? Romans 3:25a “Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood,…” His shed blood - you can’t take that out of the Gospel of salvation. Denominations take it out, but this Book doesn’t. Some of the new translations take it out. But God’s Word in its original purity hasn’t. So, we have to have faith that His Divine sinless blood was shed as the redemption price for our salvation. Never forget that! That’s why we have to maintain Christ’s Deity, that His blood was Divine. It was sinless blood. That’s why He had to be virgin born.

Have you ever thought of that? Had He been born of an earthly father, his blood wouldn’t have been any more perfect than mine or yours. I mean, it’s impossible for a human being to have the Divine blood that was necessary for redemption. So, he had to be absent a human father. That’s where the virgin birth came in. Mary was impregnated by an act of God. Not by a human father. That’s intrinsic to our whole plan of salvation. He had to be virgin born, without an earthly father to pollute his blood. All right, so it was through His Divine sinless blood that He could-- Romans 3:25b “…to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;” All right, now that word “propitiation” I don’t dare just fluff off. I’ve got to show that. If you’ve ever done a study with me, or anybody else, of the tabernacle out there in the wilderness, I hope you can picture it in your mind’s eye. Here was that beautiful white fence all around the altar and the little tent in the center with the laver of cleansing, and all these things that made up the Temple or the tabernacle complex. Every last jot and tittle of it was a picture of Christ in one form of His work of redemption or another. Every last bit of it was a picture of Christ. Well, not only was it a picture of Christ the person, the Redeemer, it was a picture of His finished work. In other words, when the animal was killed and the blood was shed and it was laid on the altar, what was it a picture of? His own death at the cross. When the priest comes in and stops at the laver of cleansing, what was it a picture of? Who alone can cleanse us from our sins? God the Son. All the things in the tabernacle, everything about it, were not only a picture of Christ Himself in His physical appearance, but in His work. Everything He did was right there in that little tabernacle. Everything! And that’s the word – propitiation. All of that comes together for the act of redemption for us even today, for the whole human race. All right, now I can’t leave without using verse 26, even though we’re moving on from the word redemption now. But in verse 26 Paul says: Romans 3:26 “To declare, I say, at this time his (the Redeemer’s) righteousness: that he (the Redeemer, God the Son, Jesus the Christ) might be just, (absolutely fair) and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus.” Do you see that? God will never cut corners when it comes to our sin. He’s going to deal with it. But He’s going to deal with it and declare us just and justified, not when we’ve kept the commandments, but when we’ve what? Believed Paul’s Gospel. That’s all. Then God moves in and does all the work of transforming our lives and our appetites and all that goes with it. All right, now let’s move ahead a little bit in the few minutes we have left to Galatians chapter 3. We have yet another reference to this work of redemption. Galatians chapter 3, let’s start at verse 10. Galatians 3:10a “For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse:…” Now Beloved, stop and think a minute. How many people today are exactly in that position? It’s sobering. It’s frightening. The multitudes of Christendom are trying to approach God with a works religion. That’s law. And what are they under? The curse of God. Now that’s strong language, but that’s what the Book says. Not my idea. If you’re going to make Heaven by keeping the commandments, you’re not going to make Heaven. You’re going to be under the curse. Galatians 3:10b “…for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” In other words, if you’re going to make Heaven keeping the Ten Commandments, and you so much as steal a dime’s worth of something, you’re doomed. You’ve broken the Law. You’re under condemnation. You’re under the curse. All right, now verse 11, but that’s not the way it is. Praise the Lord, that’s not the way it is!

Galatians 3:11-12 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, (Why? Because even from the Old Testament economy--) The just shall live by (What?) faith. 12. And the law is not of faith: (The law is works. Do this and do that and don’t do that and so forth, that’s law. That’s not faith.) The man that doeth them shall live in them.” Again, if you’re going to make Heaven with works, then you can’t break one single commandment one time in your whole life. Well, you know, it’s impossible. Okay, now here comes the word we’re looking for. Galatians 3:13a “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,…” What’s the word? Redeemed us! He has paid the price of redemption with His shed blood on the cross of Calvary. And you and I have been set scot-free. Now, we’ve got more verses to look at, but we’ll have to pick that up in the next half-hour, because I’m not ready to let this drop. We’ve got to come back in our next program.

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musicgoon · 3 years ago

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Book Reviews: A Puritan Theology, by Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones

What did the Puritans believe about the Bible, God, and life? In A Puritan Theology, Joel R. Beeke and Mark Jones present Puritan doctrine and teachings in a systematic theology.

At the Top of My Favorite Systematic Theologies

A masterwork and unparalleled resource, this is an incredible accomplishment and landmark work. It has quickly jumped to the top of my list on favorite systematic theologies.

The range of theology as well as the Puritans and works featured is staggering. 60 chapters cover prolegomena, theology proper, anthropology and covenant theology, Christology, soteriology, ecclesiology, eschatology, and theology in practice. At just over 1000 pages, this is a behemoth of a book.

Adoption and Preaching

My favorite was Chapter 34: The Puritans on Adoption. While not often mentioned in other works, Beeke and Jones show that the Puritan emphasis on adoption was indeed significant. While adoption is into God’s family, it actually impacts the entire life of the believer. John Cotton, expounding 1 John 3, taught that adoption affects our relationship to God, our relationship to the world, our relationship to the future, our relationship to ourselves, and our relationship to the Church as the family of God. It makes sense that Cotton would see these relationships, as the Puritans showed true spirituality while living between two worlds.

Two chapters are dedicated to Puritan Preaching, but I found the additional chapter on John Bunyan’s preaching to the heart to be most moving. Beeke and Jones examine Bunyan as a preacher, claiming that “oratory skill or passion did not make Bunyan such a powerful preacher,” but “by his own admission he preached what he felt.” They go on to explain three particulars of Bunyan’s preaching: it was participatory, pleading, and Christ exalting. I was captivated and encouraged, inspired with a new preaching hero.

Hear and Learn from Puritan Saints

My copy of this book was sent as a special Puritan Bundle set together with Meet the Puritans, Ore From the Puritans' Mine, and a Free Study Guide. If you love the Puritans, you’ll want to get the full 3-piece set.

The book ends with practical lessons from Puritan theology today. Beeke and Jones call us to focus on Christ, maintain biblical balance, persevere in catechizing, pray without ceasing, handle trial Christianly, rebuke pride, and rely on the Spirit. They conclude that we should emulate Puritan spirituality, and I am eager to learn more these past saints. What a privilege it is to hear and learn from them today!

I received a media copy of A Puritan Theology and this is my honest review. Find more of my book reviews and follow Dive In, Dig Deep on Instagram - my account dedicated to Bibles and books to see the beauty of the Bible and the role of reading in the Christian life. To read all of my book reviews and to receive all of the free eBooks I find on the web, subscribe to my free newsletter.

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eldermillarmissionblog · 3 years ago

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Homecoming Talk

Sunday, August 21, 2022

Given at the Cibolo Hills Ward in San Antonio, Texas

Good morning, brothers and sisters. It’s great to see some old friends and some new faces as well. I look forward to sharing this message with each of you. I pray for and invite the Spirit to be with me as I share these things. I pray that as we discuss the doctrine of Jesus Christ that you will draw closer to him. I hope that is what we all gain from coming to church and from hearing talks and lessons. We don’t just come to be uplifted. We come to worship and draw closer to Jesus Christ. So I invite each of you to seek personal revelation. If you only learn from me, I feel that I’ve failed as a speaker. I pray that you will learn directly from the Holy Ghost himself for what is meaningful and personal in your life.

I kind of mentioned it, but I am going to be taking about the doctrine of Jesus Christ. This has become my favorite thing to talk about especially while I was on my mission. It was the focus of honestly the majority of my studies over my entire mission. It has been the source of the greatest joy that I have experienced and has helped me develop a relationship with my savior, Jesus Christ. For those who don’t know exactly what the doctrine of Jesus Christ is, I want to read a few verses out of the Book of Mormon. In 3 Nephi chapter 11… this is when Christ himself is ministering to the people of the Americas, and in this chapter these are the first things he teaches them. I think in talking about the doctrine of Jesus Christ it is probably best for Jesus Christ to teach it himself so I will read his words. He says:

Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, I will declare unto you my doctrine. And this is my doctrine, and it is the doctrine which the Father hath given unto me; and I bear record of the Father, and the Father beareth record of me; and the Holy Ghost beareth record of the Father and me; and I bear record that the Father commandeth all men, everywhere, to repent and believe in me. And whoso believeth in me, and is baptized, the same shall be saved; and they are they who shall inherit the kingdom of God.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and I bear record of it from the Father; and whoso believeth in me believeth in the Father also; and unto him will the Father bear record of me, for he will visit him with fire and with the Holy Ghost.

To kind of summarize those things, there are five key principles or points in the doctrine of Jesus Christ. First, is to have faith in Jesus Christ. Second, is repentance or changing through the atonement of Jesus Christ. Third is baptism. Fourth is receiving the gift of the Holy Ghost, and fifth is enduring to the end. Until I went on my mission I think I viewed this in the wrong light. I viewed it more as a check list where it is kind of this linear path. OK, I’ve had faith, I’ve changed, I was baptized and I received the gift of the Holy Ghost, so now I’m sort of in the endure to the end phase for the rest of my life where I’m just full steam ahead… Let’s go! That’s still good. My baptism is still very important to me, but I read something on my mission that completely changed this for me. It is in Preach My Gospel.

Preach My Gospel is our missionary guidebook, but it’s for anyone to read. I invite you to read Preach My Gospel yourself. It teaches gospel principles more concisely than I’ve ever seen before. I’m sure that any returned missionary has the same sentiment. Preach My Gospel helps people become converted to Jesus Christ. It doesn’t just help missionaries teach. In the “endure to the end” section of Preach My Gospel it says this:

By following the gospel path we can draw closer to God, conquer temptation and sin, and enjoy the gift of the Holy Ghost more abundantly. As we patiently, faithfully, and consistently follow this path throughout our lives, we will qualify for exaltation.

Faith in Christ; repentance; making, renewing, and keeping covenants; and being cleansed by the Spirit become a pattern of living. Our actions in daily life are shaped and governed by these principles. Peace and joy come by following this way, and we gradually grow in Christlike attributes. Eventually, as we follow this way and “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ… and endure to the end,” we are promised, “Ye shall have eternal life” and exaltation.

I’d say honestly the moment that my mission changed is when I read that very thing. When it says, “Faith in Christ; repentance; making, renewing, and keeping covenants; and being cleansed by the Spirit become a pattern of living,” it changed my thinking. I realized this wasn’t a check list that made me feel I’m in this endure to the end spot. It’s a cycle. I have to have faith every single day. As a human, I make mistakes every single day—a lot of them, so I need to repent. My baptism wasn’t just this sacred moment of turning myself toward Jesus Christ, it was the beginning of me making covenants, and I will speak more about covenants during the course of my talk. I have to remember those covenants. I have to make sure the things that I do, the things that I say, the things that I read, the things that I watch are conducive to letting me be in tune with the Holy Spirit. And that is what it truly means to endure to the end. As we do those things, each and every day, we draw closer unto Jesus Christ. I’ll be talking further about the blessings of this and then I will go through how I have learned on my mission how I can personally make the doctrine of Jesus Christ a pattern of daily living. I want to read something from Elder David A. Bednar. From his most recent General Conference talk titled, “But We Heeded Them Not,” he says:

The doctrine of Christ written “with the Spirit of the living God… in the fleshy tables of [our hearts]” increases our capacity to “heed not” the many distractions, taunts, and diversions in our fallen world. For example, faith focused in and on the Lord Jesus Christ fortifies us with spiritual strength. Faith in the Redeemer is a principle of action and of power. As we act in accordance with the truths of His gospel, we are blessed with the spiritual capacity to press forward through the challenges of mortality while focusing on the joys the Savior offer to us. Truly, “if we do what’s right we have no need to fear, for the Lord, our helper, will ever be near.”

Those blessings that Elder Bednar mentioned are exactly why I’ve love studying about the doctrine of Jesus Christ. I’ve always loved reading my scriptures. I have loved coming to church. I’ve loved praying. But it wasn’t until I started studying the doctrine of Jesus Christ that I was actually excited about it. I would wake up in the morning, and for those of you who know me, I’m not a morning person. I think that Sister Miller who was my first early morning seminary teacher observed me coming to class probably half-dead every morning at 5:45 am for seminary. I’m not much for waking up early, but on the mission I woke up and I couldn’t wait to finish eating breakfast and getting ready for the day, “Why?” so I could start studying about the doctrine of Christ. That wasn’t my nature, but it became my nature on my mission! Again, I loved it because I saw these blessings of being more in tune with the Spirit as it became written on the fleshy tables of my heart it increased my joy and my capacity to be in tune with the Spirit and to rely on him. But most importantly to help me develop a relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ, through my covenants with him.

That is the focus of my message today—how through the doctrine of Christ and through covenants we can develop a relationship with him. That’s the goal here in life. We are not just here to check of boxes so that we can go to heaven and say, “Hey, I did all this, so now I’m good to live in the presence of God.” While anything that we do that helps us draw closer to God is beneficial, and we should always strive to do that, I now bear testimony that the most important thing we can do in our lives is make and keep covenants that bind us to him, because that is what truly matters. We can always have faith in Jesus Christ and that’s great. We can believe in him, but without covenants, and being bound to Jesus Christ, believing in him will only go so far.

Let’s talk a little bit about how we can make these covenants and keep them so that we can make the doctrine of Jesus Christ a pattern of daily living. I don’t subscribe that this is a one size fits all remedy. This is just what I learned on my mission, and I pray that the Spirit will inspire each of you how you can make the doctrine of Christ a pattern of daily living for yourselves. First, in this series of principles is faith… but more specifically it is faith in Jesus Christ. We have to believe in him. There is another quote from Elder Bednar:

Entering into sacred covenants and worthily receiving priesthood ordinances yoke us with and bind us to the Lord Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father. This simply means that we trust in the Savior as our advocate and mediator and rely on his merits, mercy, and grace during the journey of life. As we are steadfast in coming unto Christ and are yoked with him we receive the cleansing, healing, and strengthening blessings of his infinite and eternal atonement.

I can go on and on about faith in Jesus Christ and what it means, at least to me, but I think Elder Bednar sums it up when he says, “This simply means that we trust in the Savior as our advocate and mediator.” I believed in Jesus Christ before my mission. I believed that he was real, but I never think I fully trusted him until I walked beside him every single day on my mission as I sought to represent him. No, I have not seen Jesus Christ, but I don’t need to in order to trust him. Rather, through my covenants that I made at baptism and in the temple, I have learned to trust in Jesus Christ. I recognize that I keep mentioning this word covenant, and the Spirit is telling me that I should explain briefly for anyone who may not know what a covenant is. A covenant put simply is a binding and solemn agreement between us and Heavenly Father, but we don’t make or set the terms for that agreement. God sets the terms and we simply promise, with a binding promise, it’s not just a pinky promise like we made in third grade saying “Oh, give me this bag of chips at lunch and I promise I’ll give you a fruit snack tomorrow.” That’s not how this works. It’s sacred. It’s holy, and as we honor the conditions of those promises that we make with God, he promises us specific blessings.

I’ll talk later on about baptism, but we promise three things specifically when we’re baptized, and we all heard what those are during the sacrament prayers. We promise to always remember Jesus Christ, to take his name upon us, and to keep his commandments. Those are the conditions, and the blessing is that as we keep those we will always have his Spirit to be with us. So that’s what a covenant is. It is a solemn promise between us and our God. As we follow it we are blessed. In terms of faith in Jesus Christ and trusting him, those covenants are honestly what got me through my mission. It wasn’t exactly my favorite thing to obey certain mission rules. I didn’t always want to wake up exactly at 6:30. I sometimes wanted to take a nap. When you are studying for three hours a day or so it can get a little bit tiring and you don’t want to do it, but as I remembered the covenants I had made, I recognized that although it might sound restrictive it truly wasn’t, it was liberating. I realized that I had already made covenants to serve Jesus Christ. So that decision to be faithful and obedient to those rules was already been made for me. And I could trust in Heavenly Father that even though I was tired, and I was exhausted, and we weren’t seeing success, and I thought what on earth could going to see one more person do, Let’s just go home and call it a night. I put my trust in God and recognized he would bless me, regardless if those blessings would come immediately.

I think one of the greatest lessons I learned on my mission was from a dear friend that we taught. He taught me a lot about trust and faith in Jesus Christ. His name was Oscar, and he was an amazing man. For sake of time, I won’t into too much detail about Oscar, but in his younger days he was a professional boxer and because of that he had suffered some brain damage that made it sometimes difficult for him to fully comprehend certain things. He looked at us at the end of one lesson with tears in his eyes and he said, “I can’t fully understand everything right now but I can feel in my heart it is true.” Brothers and sisters, that is trust in Jesus Christ. At times we might be doing all the things we need to like reading scriptures, praying, going to church and to the temple but it may feel like our prayers are going unanswered. We may feel like the promised blessings from our covenants aren’t there. I only echo the words of Oscar. In those times, I can only say, “I can’t fully understand everything, but I can feel in my heart it is true,” or, “I can’t understand it all right now but I will trust in the Lord.”

Through our covenants we will also have desires to change and to repent. This is going to tie into a lot of things. I tend to talk too much. I feel like after every lesson on my mission when we sat back in our car I looked at my companion and apologized for talking so much. Now I look over at the clock while I am speaking and think I have tons of time… I don’t! But to be brief, I will turn back to Preach My Gospel to read one quick thing about repentance. It says:

Covenants place us under a strong obligation to honor our promises to God. We should desire to worthily receive the covenants that God offers us then strive to keep them. Our covenants remind us to repent every day of our lives relying upon Jesus Christ. By loving the Lord, keeping his commandments, and loving and serving others, we receive and retain a remission of our sins through him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

I am so grateful for Jesus Christ and testify of him and his atoning sacrifice for us. I promise each one of you, as a disciple of Jesus Christ, that you are worthy of forgiveness. There is nothing that you can do in this life that can have you descend lower than the reach of the grace and mercy and love from Jesus Christ’s atonement. I can also promise you that through our covenants, through this binding agreement with Jesus Christ and Heavenly Father, we develop a relationship with them and grow closer to them and we will have desires to become more like them. This is where repentance comes into play. I love in 3 Nephi 11:38-39 when Jesus Christ is giving his sermon and he says near the end:

And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.

I’ve always loved the section of this verse that says to repent and become as a little child, that is truly what we do. It does not mean ignorance. It simply means as we strive to become more submissive, meek, and humble, we draw closer to Jesus Christ and we do that through our covenants.

I’ll end with this… in this verse I just read, and I will read it again, “And again I say unto you, ye must repent, and be baptized in my name, and become as a little child, or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that this is my doctrine, and whoso buildeth upon this buildeth upon my rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against them.” To any and all I invite you to do two things. The first is to repent. I know that might sound a bit bold or blunt but I don’t mean in in that sense. Rather, when I say I invite you to repent I mean that in the sense that I invite you to come closer to Jesus Christ. To recognize your dependence upon him and to discover the joy of daily repentance. Second, and this is kind of two parts depending on whether or not you’ve been baptized. The first invitation, if you have not been baptized, I invite you to do so. Even for the young primary children in the audience that have not been baptized, I invite you to prepare with your parents to be baptized when you turn eight years old. Baptism is by no means the end, but rather the beginning to our covenant keeping. The second part of this is to those who have already been baptized. I invite you to remember these covenants on a daily basis. I can promise you as you do so you will find greater joy and draw closer to Jesus Christ. The doctrine of Jesus Christ is the only way in which we can be saved, and it is through him. It is not a series of steps, but a pattern of daily living that draws us closer to Jesus Christ so that he can save us as we honor and keep our covenants. I give all glory and thanks to my Father in Heaven for His Son, Jesus Christ, and I bear testimony of him humbly in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

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