Tag Archives: God is God

We The Prisoners

The beginning of a person’s salvation is when that person REPENTS. I’ve heard people talk about REPENTANCE as “feeling sorry for or grieving over sin”. That’s not what true REPENTANCE is. The word “REPENT” means “to change the mind”. The first time the word “REPENT” is in the Scripture, it is applied to God Himself. We are told in:

Numbers 23:19 (KJV) God [is] not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that He should REPENT {nāḥam}: hath He said, and shall He not do [it]? or hath He spoken, and shall He not make it good?

Word Study nāḥam: The Hebrew nāḥam properly means “to sigh, to breathe heavily”. God does not plan a thing, then “sigh” because that thing didn’t happen the way He wanted. People often plan things, but because of circumstances that are unforeseen they can’t make it happen. So then they “sigh” and wish they were better able. “Sigh. I wish I hadn’t done that.” God is not like that. Let me tell you a secret:

What God has planned WILL come to pass, and there is nothing that you or I can do to stop God’s plans!

The nature of God is that He is all powerful, all knowing, all seeing, and at all places at all times. What God has decreed will come to pass, even though we as humans do our best to stop Him. God is God, and we are not. Which brings us to the word “REPENT” in the New Testament. This was the first word used when preaching the Gospel. John the Baptist preached:

Matthew 3:2 (NKJV) “REPENT {metanoeō}, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand!”

Our Lord Jesus Christ came preaching:

Matthew 4:17 (KJV) From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, REPENT {metanoeō}: for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand…. Continue reading

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Please God By Realizing He Is Sovereign

If the person who left this life without faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are not in a “better place now”. When the self involved rich man died, and was buried, “he lifted up his eyes in HELL, being in TORMENT” (Luke 16:23-24). He was not in a better place. When Lazarus died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s Bosom (Luke 16:22), he was in a better place.

Neither Lazarus nor the rich man “looked down from Heaven” to see their earthly families.

Lazarus did not become an angel, but was carried by the angels.

How does one get to Heaven? You must “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and be saved” (Acts 16:31). The God Who owns Heaven, and all things (even us) has made faith in what His Son did on Calvary the key to Heaven. I believe much of our problems come about because we misunderstand the nature of God. God is not a “Big Man in Heaven”. He is IMMENSE, SOVEREIGN…. Continue reading

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The Praying Christian

There’s really nothing in the Bible that says “you must say ‘Amen’” for your prayer to be acceptable to God. The word “amen” comes from both Greek and Hebrew. In Greek it is ἀμήν amēn (pronounced am-ane’), and the Greek itself came from the Hebrew אָמֵן ʼâmên, (pronounced aw-mane’). The word means “this word is true, this is sure, so be it, of a truth”. The Greek Lexicon states:

“At the beginning of a discourse – surely, truly, of a truth. At the end of a discourse – so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled. It was a custom, which passed over from the Synagogues to the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed, had offered up solemn prayer to God, the others responded Amen, and thus made the substance of what was uttered their own.”

Jesus often used a double amen in His sermons, quite apart from prayer. The King James often quotes Jesus’ amens as “verily”, as in:

John 1:51 … verily, verily (amen, amen) I say unto you …
John 3:3 … verily, verily (amen, amen) I say unto thee …

Jesus uses “amen, amen” some 25 times in the Book of John alone. The doubled “amen” makes what Jesus says emphatically strong. So “amen” does not have to be in a prayer, but is a statement of affirmation. What DOES have to be in prayer? Continue reading

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What Will Impress God?

When man rejects the call of God, the Lord is not impressed. What God does then is “give them over” to their delusions. God calls, but after calling if His Word is rejected finally God says “Fine. You chose this. Now sleep in the bed you have made.” This is where most of America has gone. Many come to “Church” to be pampered and petted. They want to hear sweet nothings that support their doing nothing. Continue reading

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