#they’re scorched earth passion of the Christ in love. what does that mean? I don’t know

[chartedrights]

There is nothing better in a romance than a man falling in love with a woman not in spite of her ridiculous quirks and massive issues but because of them. This is why Grace/Max will always be a winner for me. He doesn’t want to change her. She is literally unhinged and he loves it. He loves that she is like that and it’s so funny.

[dfroza]

An act of grace paved the way for the rebirth of the heart

and this includes the promise of the body being reborn, and earth as well at some point.

in Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament Letter of Galatians Paul illuminates the significance of what grace has done:

Fourteen years later, I returned to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas and Titus, my coworkers. God gave me a clear revelation to go and confer with the other apostles concerning the message of grace I was preaching to the gentiles. I spoke privately with those who were viewed as senior leaders of the church, wanting to make certain that my labor and ministry for the Messiah had not been based on a false understanding of the gospel.

Even though Titus was a Syrian, they accepted him as a brother without demanding that he first be circumcised. I met with them privately because false “brothers” had been secretly smuggled into church meetings. They were sent to spy on the wonderful freedom that we have in Jesus Christ. Their agenda was to bring us back into the bondage of religion. But you must know that we did not submit to their religious shackles, not even for a moment, so that we might keep the truth of the gospel of grace unadulterated for you.

Even those most influential among the brothers were not able to add anything to my message. Who they are before men makes no difference to me, for God is not impressed by their reputations. So they recognized that I was entrusted with taking the gospel to the gentiles just as Peter was entrusted with taking it to the Jews. For the same God who empowered Peter’s apostolic ministry to the Jews also flowed through me as an apostle to those who are gentiles.

When they all recognized this grace operating in my ministry, those who were recognized as influential pillars in the church—Jacob, Peter, and John—extended to Barnabas and me the warmth of Christian fellowship and honored my calling to minister to the gentiles, even as they were to go to the Jews. They simply requested one thing of me: that I would remember the poor and needy, which was the burden I was already carrying in my heart.

When Peter visited Antioch, he caused the believers to stumble over his behavior, so I confronted him to his face. He enjoyed eating with the gentile believers who didn’t keep the Jewish customs—up until the time Jacob’s Jewish friends arrived from Jerusalem. When he saw them, he withdrew from his gentile friends—fearing how it would look to them if he ate with gentile believers.

And so, because of Peter’s hypocrisy, many other Jewish believers followed suit, refusing to eat with gentile believers. Even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocritical behavior!

So when I realized they were acting inconsistently with the revelation of the gospel, I confronted Peter in front of everyone:

“You were born a Jew, but you’ve chosen to disregard Jewish regulations and live like a gentile. Why then do you force gentiles to conform to these same rules?”

Although we’re Jews by birth and not gentile “sinners,” we know that no one receives God’s perfect righteousness as a reward for keeping the law, but only by the faith of Jesus, the Messiah! His faithfulness has saved us, and we have received God’s perfect righteousness. Now we know that God accepts no one by the keeping of religious laws!

If we are those who desire to be righteous through our union with the Anointed One, does that mean our Messiah condones sin even though we acknowledge that we are sinners? How absurd! For if I start over and reconstruct the old religious system that I had torn down with the message of grace, I would appear to be a lawbreaker.

For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God.

My old identity has been co-crucified with Christ and no longer lives. And now the essence of this new life is no longer mine, for the Anointed One lives his life through me—we live in union as one! My new life is empowered by the faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave himself for me, dispensing his life into mine!

So that is why I don’t view God’s grace as something peripheral. For if keeping the law could release God’s righteousness to us, then Christ would have died for nothing.

The Letter of Galatians, Chapter 2 (The Passion Translation)

to be accompanied by these lines about preserving the truth of grace:

Some people who were pretending to be our brothers and sisters were brought in to spy on the freedom we enjoy in the Anointed One, Jesus—their agenda was clear: they wanted to enslave us. But we didn’t give in to them. We didn’t entertain their thoughts for a minute! We resisted them so the true gospel—and not some counterfeit—would continue to be available to you.

The Letter of Galatians, Chapter 2:4-5 (The Voice)

Their ulterior motive was to reduce us to their brand of servitude. We didn’t give them the time of day. We were determined to preserve the truth of the Message for you.

The Letter of Galatians, Chapter 2:5 (The Message)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 66th and closing chapter of the book (scroll) of Isaiah that points to a time of rebirth but also severe Judgment upon God’s enemies:

Eternal One: Heaven is My throne, and earth is where I rest My feet.

So what kind of structure would you build Me?

What man-made space could provide Me a resting place?

Everything is the product of My hand—My being and My doing—

that’s how all you see came to be; I made it all.

Nevertheless, I am interested in and concerned about even just one person

who is humble and downhearted and trembles at my word.

Eternal One: Whoever slaughters an ox without humility is no better

than one who kills a man;

Whoever sacrifices a lamb without brokenness is no different

than one who breaks a dog’s neck;

Whoever presents a grain offering without fear is no different

than one who offers pig’s blood;

Whoever burns incense without obedience is no better

than one who worships an idol.

They’ve made their own choices

and seem happy enough with their detestable practices.

But I have a choice, too, and I choose to punish them;

I will bring on them what they fear most.

For when I called, no one answered;

when I spoke, they refused to listen.

Instead they did all the wrong things and made terrible choices—

what I expressly said that I hate.

So, if you are one who trembles at His word,

listen closely to what the Eternal One has to say:

Eternal One: I know that some people, even your own family,

reject you because you accept Me,

And they’re saying, “Let the Eternal receive the honor He deserves,

so that we, too, can know your joy.” But they’ll only know sorrow and shame.

Can you hear it? There’s a commotion in the city,

great rumbling coming from the temple area!

Ah, it is the Eternal thundering in to take on His foes.

Have you ever heard of a woman who gave birth before she went into labor?

Have you ever seen a woman who delivered a son without feeling a thing?

Do you think it’s possible for the land to go through labor in an instant,

or to bear a nation, to be new and strong, in a single day?

Nevertheless, Zion suffered only a moment

before she gave birth to her children!

Will I open the womb and not deliver?

I have made this place labor in terrible pain,

But do you think I won’t help it give birth?

That is what I, the Eternal One have to say.

Eternal One: So be happy for Jerusalem;

give her hearty congratulations, whoever holds her dear.

Take part in this joyous celebration, especially if you remember her grief.

For you are her children, and she is giving you the milk of comfort and peace.

Drink at her comforting breasts with satisfaction that all will be well.

I will rain down prosperity on Jerusalem, peace abundant on Zion,

and flood her with wealth from all over the world.

Like a thundering river, the riches will come down.

Like a toddler, you’ll be held, carried, nourished, and comforted.

As a mother soothes her child, so I will comfort you.

And Jerusalem will be so nice, feel so good and safe to you.

When you see what I have in store, it will ease your mind and lift your heart;

you will flourish like the grass!

The Eternal’s power will be clearly evident to His servants;

but His rage will be unleashed against His enemies.

Look now, the Eternal is coming with a vengeance

that scorches all His foes with flames of fire;

Whooshing like a whirlwind, His chariots rush with punishing fury.

God comes with fiery anger and flashing sword.

The Eternal One will execute His judgment,

And many people will die on that day.

Eternal One: Those who perform sanctifying and purifying rituals to serve false gods in gardens, and then proceed to do whatever they see the leader do—eating impure things such as pigs, snakes, and rats—won’t live to do it again. This is My word to you.

Because I know what and why they do what they do, the time is coming when I will bring people together from all over the world. Everyone will come here and have a chance to see and know who I am, in all My weighty significance and splendor. I will put a sign among them and send the survivors of My people to Tarshish, Put, and Lud (where those great archers live), from Tubal east of Lud, and Javan, which is near it. I’ll bring them here from places so far away that they’ve never heard My name, much less had a chance to see My glory. But they’ll hear about Me, far and wide among the nations. And they will bring the surviving members of your family back as if they are a grain offering from all the nations. They’ll come by every conceivable means—on horse, camel, donkey, or mule, in wagons or litters—they’ll come to Jerusalem, My holy mountain. They will be delivered just as the Israelites bring their grain offerings to Me in a clean container at the temple. And out of those who return, I will make priests and Levites. This is My word to you.

Because just as the new heavens and the new earth that I am making

will go on by My enduring will,

So your name and the people

who come from you will go on as well.

From one month to the next, on Sabbath after Sabbath,

everyone, every living thing, will come to this holy place

To honor Me as God of all.

This is My word to you.

They’ll visit the site where the people who rejected Me lie rotting on the ground,

crawling with worms that never die on a fire that just keeps smoldering.

All who see it will recoil at the horrible sight.

The Book (Scroll) of Isaiah, Chapter 66 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for friday, August 13 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons that answers a question mark (?) about God’s name:

I sometimes get email from people confused about the "real" name of God. Is it Yahweh? Jehovah? Yahoshua? or perhaps something else? Is "Jesus" a pagan name that comes from "Zeus"? and so on... Sadly there is a lot of nonsense taught about the name of the LORD floating around out there, often by people who dabble in Hebrew and believe they have gained some esoteric wisdom.... Such false teachers promote some "secret" way to pronounce the name of God, as if it were a "shibboleth" or password to access his presence, and consequently they focus on the superficial rather than the substance. Those who are wise, on the other hand, search for the deeper significance and what must be spiritually discerned.

We must remember that the most common name of God given in the Hebrew Scriptures is "YHVH" (יהוה) which is clearly wordplay on the verb "hayah" (היה), meaning "to be" (Exod. 3:14-15). I have written about this many times before, and there are several articles on the Hebrew for Christians website that deal with this issue decisively, but for this short post let me simply remind you that God's name YHVH is "ineffable" and mysterious, a word that cannot be defined, because a definition requires that the "definiens" (i.e., the group of words that define something) to be equivalent to the "definiens" (i.e., the word or term to be defined). The Scriptures teach, however, that the LORD is unrivaled, matchless, without peer, and utterly unique (Exod. 15:11; Psalm 89:6; Psalm 113:5-6). There is categorically nothing in the likeness of finite reality to whom the LORD can be likened: No amount of words can fully explain who He is, the depths of His character, or the power of His life (Psalm 147:5). Moreover - and as alluded by the verbal wordplay on the name YHVH (i.e.,אהיה אשׁר אהיה) - it is a category mistake to think of YHVH as a "noun" or "thing" rather than as a "verb" or power... He is the "Living God" (אל־חי), alive, powerful, and the Source of all that exists. Therefore if God is to be known by us, we must look to the historical revelation of His creative and saving acts: "You have magnified Your word above all Your name" (Psalm 138:2), which means that God's fame and glory constitutes the very meaning of His Name.

There are hundreds of names and titles of God in the Scriptures, each revealing something about the attributes and character of the LORD, and each therefore worthy of study and appreciation. Ultimately, however, God is disclosed in the person of Yeshua, who embodies and gives expression to the very life and character of the divine. The advent of the Savior (מושׁיע) reveals the meaning of who God is. Indeed it is written in these "last days" God speaks to us "in Son" (ἐλάλησεν ἡμῖν ἐν υἱῷ), that is, by means of the revelation and language of Yeshua, who is "the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature (χαρακτὴρ τῆς ὑποστάσεως αὐτοῦ); Yeshua is the one who "upholds the universe by the word of his power" (Heb. 1:2-3). "For by Him (Yeshua) all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities-- all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things," καὶ τὰ πάντα ἐν αὐτῷ συνέστηκεν- "and in him all things hold together" (Col. 1:16-17; John 1:3). Yeshua is the "Name above all names" (ὄνομα τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶν ὄνομα) the One before whom every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to be the LORD of Glory over all (Isa. 45:23; Phil. 2:9-10). His Name is Wonderful (פֶּלֶא), the Mighty God (אֵל גִּבּוֹר), the Everlasting Father (אֲבִיעַד), and the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6). "His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is ‘The Word of God’" (Rev. 19:12-13).

It is interesting to note that though the ancient Greek language was capable of transliterating the Hebrew name YHVH, it was never done, not in the the Septuagint (i.e., the most ancient Greek translation of the Torah), nor in any of the manuscripts of the ancient Greek New Testament, where the name “ho thos” (ὁ θεὸς) was used in place of YHVH (יהוה). We have no textual evidence that Yeshua ever used this Name (he apparently followed the practice of using the circumlocution of "Adonai"), though he did explicitly refer to Himself as none other than "ehyeh," the great I AM (see John 8:58). But Yeshua’s most common name for God was simply “Father” (πατήρ in Greek, אֲבִי or אַבָּא in Hebrew).

Knowing the Name of the LORD means being in a personal, vital, and all-important relationship with the truth. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth (רוּחַ הָאֱמֶת). This means understanding God’s character as "merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, extending kindness to the thousandth generation, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin" (see Exod. 34:6-7). Since the Hebrew idea of “word” (דָּבָר) is coextensive with truth (i.e., “being”), Yeshua is called the Word of God (דְּבַר אֱלהִים) who represents the Name of God to all who trust in Him (John 17:26, Heb. 1:3). Jesus (Yeshua) is the Name of God, the “life” of God, the “substance” of God, the “exact imprint and representation of His nature,” and so on. Do not be deceived, chaverim: those who impugn the name of our Lord Yeshua thereby profane the very name of God. [Hebrew for Christians]

8.12.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

August 13, 2021

The Righteous Judge

“The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.” (Psalm 145:17)

When Abraham was interceding with God to spare Sodom if even 10 “righteous” people were there, he asked: “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25). The Hebrew word (mishpat) refers to a formal judgment about right and wrong and is more commonly translated “judgment.”

Indeed, the divine Judge will do right and give right judgments in all things, for He “is righteous in all his ways” and “canst not look on iniquity” (Habakkuk 1:13).

Ever since Adam disobeyed the Word of God, however, all his descendants have been unrighteous in their ways. God’s righteous judgment has been that “there is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10).

Thus, a truly righteous Judge would not only have to consign Sodom to destructive “brimstone and fire from the LORD” (Genesis 19:24) but every one of us as well “into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15) forever.

But God, being not only the righteous Judge but also “a faithful Creator” (1 Peter 4:19), had a plan whereby He could “declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past” and both “be just, and the justifier” of those who had been lost sinners (Romans 3:25-26). “God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (8:3). Those who believe on the Son of God as their substitute and Savior are now “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (3:24).

So, Christ has been “made unto us...righteousness” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Furthermore, our loving Savior has now Himself become our righteous Judge, for “the Father...hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22). HMM

A tweet by illumiNations:

@IlluminationsBT: Today, we're highlighting a Bible portion from Papua New Guinea. This language is spoken in 8 Gamei and Boroi villages in Yawar Rural LLG, Bogia District, Madang Province.

Do you know what language this is? Comment below with your guesses.

8.13.21 • 12:01pm • Twitter