THE PERFECT IMPRINT OF HIS FATHER'S ESSENCE

Hebrews 1:3 The Son is the radiance and only expression of the glory of [our awesome] God [reflecting God’s Shekinah glory, the Light-being, the brilliant light of the divine], and the exact representation and perfect imprint of His [Father’s] essence, and upholding and maintaining and propelling all things [the entire physical and spiritual universe] by His powerful word [carrying the universe along to its predetermined goal]. When He [Himself and no other] had [by offering Himself on the cross as a sacrifice for sin] accomplished purification from sins and established our freedom from guilt, He sat down [revealing His completed work] at the right hand of the Majesty on high [revealing His Divine authority]

~Amplified Bible (AMP)

The superiority of God’s revelation through his Son is demonstrated by seven great descriptive statements about him: (1) appointed heir of all things. The incarnate Son, having performed the work of redemption, was gloriously exalted to the position of the firstborn heir of God, i.e., he received the inheritance of God’s estate (“all things”). See Ro 8:17. (2) through whom he made the universe. See Jn 1:3; 1Co 8:6; Col 1:16 and note. (3) radiance of God’s glory. As the brilliance of the sun is inseparable from the sun itself, so the Son’s radiance is inseparable from deity, for he himself is God, the second person of the Trinity (see Jn 1:14, 18 and notes). (4) exact representation of his being. Jesus is not merely an image or reflection of God. Because the Son himself is God (see note on Ro 9:5), he is the absolutely authentic representation of God’s being (see Jn 14:9; Col 1:15 and note). (5) sustaining all things. Christ is not like Atlas, the mythical Greek god who held the world on his shoulders. The Son dynamically holds together all that has been created through him (Col 1:17). (6) provided purification for sins. Through his redeeming death on the cross (see 7:27; 9:12; Tit 2:14 and notes). (7) sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. Being seated at God’s right hand indicates that Christ is actively ruling with God as Lord over all (see v. 13; 8:1; 10:12; 12:2; Mt 26:64; Ac 2:23; 5:34; Ro 8:34; Eph 1:20; Col 3:1; 1Pe 3:22).

Footnotes:

Hebrews 1:3 The word “Shekinah” does not appear in Scripture, but has been used by both Christians and Jews to describe the visible divine Presence of God, in such things as the burning bush, the cloud and the pillar of fire that led the Hebrews in the wilderness, and the Presence of God that rested between the cherubim over the mercy seat of the ark.

A WHEEL UPON A WHEEL

A WHEEL UPON A WHEEL

(A multitude of layers of God's Glory Shining in the Heavenlies)

Awesome, as I look at this picture I think of Ezekiel 1:16 - The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in the middle of a wheel.

This also could be a painting of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Heavens. Beautiful!!!

Question: "What are the heavenly hosts?"

Answer: On the night that Jesus was born, an angel announced the good news to the shepherds in the fields of Bethlehem. “Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel” and joined in praise to God (Luke 2:13). Most hymnals include “The Doxology,” one of the great hymns of the faith, and that song includes the line “Praise him above, ye heavenly host.” In both of these contexts, the heavenly hosts are God’s holy angels who dwell in God’s presence.

Basically, the word host refers to a great number of individuals or to an army. Modified by the word heavenly, hosts becomes a great number of angelic beings forming a celestial army under God’s command. There is a suggestion of rank and orderliness, of companies and divisions within that heavenly army. The heavenly hosts were created by God and are controlled by God.

One of God’s names is “LORD of hosts,” which occurs often in the Old Testament. In Hebrew, it is Yahweh Sabaoth, meaning “Lord of the heavenly armies” or “God of the heavenly hosts.” The NIV translates the name as “LORD Almighty.” See 1 Samuel 1:3; Psalm 24:10; Isaiah 22:14; Jeremiah 2:19; Amos 4:13; Haggai 2:9; Zechariah 8:6; and Malachi 2:16.

There are places in Scripture where the heavenly hosts include fallen angels, such as in 1 Kings 22:19. The prophet Micaiah relates a vision of God’s throne room, where he saw “the whole heavenly host” standing on God’s right and left (HCSB). One of these beings in the divine presence is a “deceiving spirit” (verse 22), so the term heavenly hosts can refer broadly to all angelic beings, holy and unholy.

Psalm 148:2 equates the parallel terms angels and heavenly hosts: “Praise him, all his angels; praise him, all his heavenly hosts.” Psalm 103:19–21 gives further information: “The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all. Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word. Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.” In this passage, the psalmist praises God for the extent of divine authority—there is no part of creation that is not under God’s rule; His throne is “established.” The heavenly hosts (the angels) praise the Lord; they are, in fact, God’s servants who are at His beck and call. They dutifully obey God’s commands, carry out His bidding, and acquiesce to His will.

As believers, we will someday inhabit heaven with God and the heavenly hosts. According to Hebrews 12:22, we have been called to the place where dwell “thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly.” When Jesus returns to earth to establish His kingdom, “the armies of heaven [will be] following him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean” (Revelation 19:14). In this context, the heavenly hosts are all those who inhabit heaven at that time: the redeemed of the church age, Old Testament believers, martyrs of the tribulation, and angels. The angelic army will be augmented by humans redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. We will not become angels, but we will be with them in glory.

~Bits and Pieces of Got Questions

MY PEACE I GIVE YOU

Jesus said in John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

Jesus stated that the peace He offers is a gift. We can’t earn it. We can’t buy it. We can’t use our will power to find it. It is a gift. But as with any gift it is useless if not opened. His gift is so desirable that it is wrapped in five layers. So let’s unwrap the five layers to get to this marvelous gift.

THE FIRST LAYER IS OBEYING GOD'S INSTRUCTIONS

Psalm 119:165 “Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble.”

God’s Word is the instruction manual for life. He designed us. He knows all about out buttons and knobs. He knows what it takes for our lives to run smoother. And He has placed it in his Word for our information.

If you ignore God’s Word you run that same risk for your life. If you are struggling with peace be sure that you are following his instructions. That responsibility is on you.

THE NEXT LAYER IS ACCEPTING GOD'S PARDON

Micah 7:18 “Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love. Once again you will have compassion on us. You will trample our sins under your feet and throw them into the depths of the ocean!”

In the Hebrew the word pardon meant to be lifted up and carried off. Our guilt was lifted up at the cross when Jesus became our sins. Our guilt was carried off and thrown into the sea of forgetfulness. God has chosen to forgive our failings. We must learn to forgive ourselves.

We will never find the gift of peace if we do not pardon ourselves for our past mistakes. We cannot change the past but we can change the future. God’s word says He delights in showing unfailing love. He delights in forgiving us. We need to find delight in forgiving yourself.

NOW THE LAYER OF TRUSTING GOD

Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!”

Please don’t misunderstand. I am not advocating stumbling along with a blind faith that God will handle everything and nothing will go wrong. I do believe that God, at times, will help us through our stupidity. We are still responsible for our spiritual maintenance. We should not ignore when our spiritual warning light comes on. And that warning light is stress due to loss of peace.

When you allow stress to dictate your life, you have loss the peace that comes from trusting God. In the midst of stressful situations we are to fix our thoughts on God. We are to trust that He is in control.

When Jesus was in the garden, He was under so much stress that He began to sweat drops of blood. He asked God to provide another way for man’s atonement. His thoughts were fixed on his death. But when He fixed his thoughts on God’s will He became filled with peace.

Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God.” The Hebrew word for be still meant “to hang limp, be feeble.” We are to rest in the midst of our situations. We are to recognize that some situations are out of our control and learn to trust God.

THE NEXT LAYER IS SEEKING GOD'S WILL

Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.”

The writer of Proverbs gives us three commands and a promise.

We are to trust in God. We are to put confidence in him and his choices for our life.

We are not to try and figure out circumstances. We are not to rely upon our own understanding. We do not have the mind of God or his ways.

We are to seek his will. We are to recognize that God is in complete control of all the situations that occur in our lives. Nothing occurs that He does not allow for his purpose.

When we quit trying to manipulate our circumstances but instead trust God and seek his will, we have the promise of peace. When we have this spiritual peace then God begins to show us the direction He desires for us to travel.

Jesus was able to sleep in the midst of a storm. Peter was able to sleep on the night before his execution. They trusted God, did not attempt to understand God’s entire plan, and sought his will.

THE LAST LAYER IS PRAYER

Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

What are you worrying about? Have you prayed about it? Nothing is too insignificant to God. Whatever we worry about we should pray about.

We are to pray about everything. We are to share our most intimate needs with God followed by thanksgiving for the times that He has shown himself faithful.

When we quit worrying and allow God to interact with us through prayer, things will begin to change. When we off-set our list of needs with worship for what He has already accomplished, we will begin to experience a peace we cannot begin to understand. It’s the type of peace that comes in the midst of a tragedy in life that assures us that we will survive through this pain.

This peace will act as a filter to our hearts and minds. We will discover that adversity has actually made us stronger.

There is a prayer that I am sure many of you have heard. It is,

“God, grant me the peace to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Let this be our prayer today.

~Bits and Pieces of Sermon by Larry Turner

THE TRIUMPH OF GRACE OVER SIN

ROMANS 6 

THE TRIUMPH OF GRACE OVER SIN

1 So what do we do, then? Do we persist in sin so that God’s kindness and grace will increase? 2 What a terrible thought! We have died to sin once and for all, as a dead man passes away from this life. So how could we live under sin’s rule a moment longer? 3 Or have you forgotten that all of us who were immersed into union with Jesus, the Anointed One, were immersed into union with his death?

Heavenly Father, thank You that Christ was not only my substitute for sin by taking the punishment that I justly deserve, but that He also died as my representative identifying so intimately with me that His death became my death and His glorious resurrection-life became my new-life in Christ.

Thank You that I am a new creation in Christ and positioned in Him through time and into eternity. I pray that the life I now live. may be lived by faith in the Son of God, Who loves me and gave Himself for me so that His life may be lived through me to Your praise and glory.

Thank you Father that Christ not only died FOR my sin so that my sins are forgiven, but that He died UNTO sin so that the old sin nature does not have power over me as I trust my life into Your hands.

Thank You for dying on the cross so that I may be forgiven of my sin. Thank You for identifying with my unrighteousness, so that I may be identified with Your righteousness. 

Thank You for identifying with my death so that I may be identified with Your life  my new life in Christ. Help me to keep all that is not of You nailed to the cross and I pray that I may live godly in Christ Jesus, to Your praise and glory.

4 Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried and entombed with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life. 5 For since we are permanently grafted into him to experience a death like his, then we are permanently grafted into him to experience a resurrection like his and the new life that it imparts.

Father, how I praise and thank You that by grace through faith, I have been made a new creation in Christ and placed in eternal union with my Lord and Savior. Thank You that my old self has been buried with Christ through baptism into death, severing my slavery to sin.  

Thank You Father that I have been raised-up together with Christ from the dead, made a new creation in Him and imputed with His righteousness so that I may walk in newness of life. To You be all honor and glory.  Thank You, that we are united with Christ in the likeness of His death, and that His life has become our life through time and into eternity.

Thank You for directing our lives, every step of the way, as we follow you.  Guide us today, and direct our hearts and minds into the love of Christ and draw us into a closer intimacy with Yourself. We trust You to do in all things well and praise You for Your goodness and grace.

6 Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deprived of its power? For we were co-crucified with him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power. 

Father, please open my understanding more and more to the wonderful truths that are contained in this astonishing verse of Scripture. Thank You that my old sin nature was crucified with Christ. Thank You that because Christ is my representative my “old Adamic self" was crucified with Him, so that I no longer need to be a slave to sin but am set free to live holy as unto the Lord.

7 Obviously, a dead person is incapable of sinning. 8 And if we were co-crucified with the Anointed One, we know that we will also share in the fullness of his life. 9 And we know that since the Anointed One has been raised from the dead to die no more, his resurrection life has vanquished death and its power over him is finished. 10 For by his sacrifice he died to sin’s power once and for all,[f] but he now lives continuously for the Father’s pleasure. 11 So let it be the same way with you! Since you are now joined with him, you must continually view yourselves as dead and unresponsive to sin’s appeal while living daily for God’s pleasure in union with Jesus, the Anointed One.

Thank You that Christ died for my sin so that I might be justified by faith in His finished work at Calvary for the forgiveness of sins and thank You that Christ also died UNTO sin so that the power of sin in my life can be broken in my life. I pray that I may reckon on this truth and discover it to be a reality in my own Christian walk.

Thank You for dying for me so that I might be identified not only with Your death but also with Your resurrection and the eternal life that it guarantees. May I live my life to Your honor and glory. 

Thank You that the power of sin has been broken in me through Christ. May this become an increasing reality to me as I keep my old man nailed to the cross so that my new life in Christ may grow in grace and in a knowledge of Him, until it is not I that live but Christ that lives in me.

Thank You that Christ Jesus identified with my sin and took the death sentence that I deserved and thank You that by faith in Him I am identified with His eternal resurrected life.

Thank You that Jesus died to pay the price for my sins for me so that I might be clothed in His righteousness. Praise God that the power of sin has been broken in my life - may I live unto God and walk in newness of life to Your praise and glory.

Thank You that You not only died for my sin but You died unto sin - so that I might be empowered to live my life in spirit and truth as I abide in Christ and He in me. I pray that I would not only hear this truth but act upon it and reckon my old sinful self to be dead to sin and my new life in Christ to be alive in God through Jesus Christ my Lord.

SIN'S REIGN IS OVER

12 Sin is a dethroned monarch; so you must no longer give it an opportunity to rule over your life, controlling how you live and compelling you to obey its desires and cravings. 13 So then, refuse to answer its call to surrender your body as a tool for wickedness. Instead, passionately answer God’s call to keep yielding your body to him as one who has now experienced resurrection life! You live now for his pleasure, ready to be used for his noble purpose.[g] 14 Remember this: sin will not conquer you, for God already has! You are not governed by law but governed by the reign of the grace of God.

Loving Father, I have read this passage many times, and I ask You to help me to see more clearly what it means to reckon myself to be dead to the power of sin and alive to You in Christ, for I want to live a victorious life in Him, to Your praise and glory.

Thank You that at salvation I was positioned in Christ and received a new life in Him. Thank You that at justification I became a new creation and a member of Christ's body. I pray my new life in Christ may grow in grace and that my faith in the truth of Your Word may be put into action - so that I not only believe Your Word but am ready and willing to act upon it moment by moment to Your praise and glory.

Thank You that Christ not only died for my sins but has died unto sin so that the power of sin no longer has power over me – Help me to make the right choice to follow you and listen to Your voice day by day.

GRACE FREES US TO SERVE GOD

15 What are we to do, then? Should we sin to our hearts’ content since there’s no law to condemn us anymore? What a terrible thought! 16 Don’t you realize that grace frees you to choose your own master? But choose carefully, for you surrender yourself to become a servant—bound to the one you choose to obey. If you choose to love sin, it will become your master, and it will own you and reward you with death. But if you choose to love and obey God, he will lead you into perfect righteousness.

17 And God is pleased with you,[h] for in the past you were servants of sin, but now your obedience is heart deep, and your life is being molded by truth through the teaching you are devoted to.[i] 18 And now you celebrate your freedom from your former master—sin. You’ve left its bondage, and now God’s perfect righteousness holds power over you as his loving servants.

Father, Thank You for saving me and for the many lives that have been saved by grace through faith in Christ. May the inflow of truth from Your word produce an outflow of godliness and grace, as we submit to the Holy Spirit - so that we may grow in grace and in a knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Thank You that I have been freed from slavery to sin and become a servant of righteousness. Help me day by day to make the righteous choices in my life that keeps self nailed to the cross so that my life my be lived in willing obedience.. as I seek to do Your will to Your praise and glory. 

19 I’ve used the familiar terms of a “servant” and a “master” to compensate for your weakness to understand. For just as you surrendered your bodies and souls to impurity and lawlessness, which only brought more lawlessness into your lives, so now surrender yourselves as servants of righteousness, which brings you deeper into true holiness. 20 For when you were bound as servants to sin, you lived your lives free from any obligation to righteousness.

Loving Father, in You is life and light and health and truth. Thank You that I am Your child and I pray that I may be a servant of righteousness, that honors You in thought, word and deed. Thank You that while I was still a sinner and entrapped in the dark kingdom of Satan, Jesus died for me and that by grace through faith in Him, I have been removed from sin's terrible enslavement, and saved into the kingdom of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ my God and Savior. Thank You that He not only died to pay the price of my sin but that He died to break the power of sin in my life and how I thank You that His grace is sufficient for every eventuality in life that I may have to face.

21 So tell me, what benefit ensued from doing those things that you’re now ashamed of? It left you with nothing but a legacy of shame and death. 22 But now, as God’s loving servants, you live in joyous freedom from the power of sin. So consider the benefits you now enjoy—you are brought deeper into the experience of true holiness that ends with eternal life! 23 For sin’s meager wages is death, but God’s lavish gift is life eternal, found in your union with our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One.

Father, thank You that Jesus died for my sin and that the power of sin was broken in my life because I died with Christ unto sin. Thank You that I am a new creation in Christ and have received His new resurrected life. I pray that in Him I may grow in grace and in a knowledge of the Lord Jesus day by day.

Father, I am a sinner and deserving of eternal death and the lake of fire, I am not worthy to set my foot in Your heavenly home, but I believe that the Lord Jesus paid the price for my sins through His death on Calvary and I accept Your free gift of salvation and eternal life IN HIM, in Jesus name I pray, AMEN.

The Passion Translation (TPT)

NOTHING'S GOING ON IN THE PLACE OF WORSHIP

Joel 

1:13-14 And also you priests,

    put on your robes and join the outcry.

You who lead people in worship,

    lead them in lament.

Spend the night dressed in gunnysacks,

    you servants of my God.

Nothing’s going on in the place of worship,

    no offerings, no prayers—nothing.

Declare a holy fast, call a special meeting,

    get the leaders together,

Round up everyone in the country.

    Get them into God’s Sanctuary for serious prayer to God.

15-18 What a day! Doomsday!

    God’s Judgment Day has come.

The Strong God has arrived.

    This is serious business!

Food is just a memory at our tables,

    as are joy and singing from God’s Sanctuary.

The seeds in the field are dead,

    barns deserted,

Grain silos abandoned.

    Who needs them? The crops have failed!

The farm animals groan—oh, how they groan!

    The cattle mill around.

There’s nothing for them to eat.

    Not even the sheep find anything.

19-20 God! I pray, I cry out to you!

    The fields are burning up,

The country is a dust bowl,

    forest and prairie fires rage unchecked.

Wild animals, dying of thirst,

    look to you for a drink.

Springs and streams are dried up.

    The whole country is burning up.

The Message (MSG)

The Book of Joel

Author: Joel

Audience: The people of Judah

Date: Probably between the late seventh and early fifth centuries b.c.

Setting: Joel saw the massive locust plague and severe drought devastating Judah as a harbinger of even greater judgment.

The book of Joel’s importance to the canon of Scripture stems from its being the first to develop an oft-mentioned biblical idea: the day of the Lord. While Obadiah mentioned the terrifying event first (Obadiah 15), Joel’s book gives some of the most striking and specific details in all of Scripture about the day of the Lord—days cloaked in darkness, armies that conquer like consuming fire, and the moon turning to blood. Rooted in such vibrant and physical imagery, this time of ultimate judgment, still future for us today (2 Thessalonians 2:2; 2 Peter 3:10), makes clear the seriousness of God’s judgment on sin.

Visions of the future, such as the kind we find in Joel or even in the pages of the more well-known book of Revelation, can often seem remote from our day-to-day existence. However, their vivid pictures of destruction should serve to awaken us from our spiritual stupor. Do you ever struggle with feeling complacent? A strong dose of apocalyptic imagery like we find in Joel might just do the trick of opening your eyes to the necessity of faithfully following after God every moment of your life.

Judgment:

Joel’s description of the coming day of judgment upon Judah foreshadowed a greater future day of reckoning. The soon-to-come accounting would be against God’s own people, while the later, greater judgment would target their enemies. Joel described the judgment against God’s own people as “the great and dreadful day of the Lord ” (2:31), “a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness” (2:2). The greater future judgment referred to a day when the nations would be held accountable for their mistreatment of God’s people (3:2–16, 19), who themselves would be protected and blessed (3:16–18, 20–21).

Repentance and Salvation:

Joel called upon everyone to repent: old and young (1:2–3; 2:16), drunkards (1:5), farmers (1:11) and priests (1:13; 2:17). External demonstrations of regret and sorrow are insufficient; God requires sincere repentance (2:12–13). In response to heartfelt remorse and trust in his grace, love and compassion (2:13), God forgives and restores (2:18–32). Most notable in this book is his promise of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all people—young and old, men and women (2:28–29)—and the promise of salvation for “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord ” (2:32).

1:14 fast … assembly. See 2:15. Fasting, required on the Day of Atonement (see NIV text note on Lev 16:29) and also practiced in times of calamity (see Jdg 20:26; 2 Sa 12:16; Est 4:3, 16; Jer 14:12; Jnh 3:4–5; Zec 7:3), was a sign of penitence and humility. The Bible speaks against outward signs that do not reflect a corresponding inward belief or attitude (see Mt 6:1–8, 16–18; 23:1–36).

1:15 day of the Lord. See note on Am 5:18. This phrase occurs five times in Joel and is the dominant theme (here; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14). Six other prophets also use it: Isaiah (13:6, 9), Ezekiel (13:5; 30:3), Amos (5:18, 20), Obadiah (15), Zephaniah (1:7, 14) and Malachi (4:5); and an equivalent expression occurs in Zec 14:1. Sometimes abbreviated as “that day,” the term often refers to the decisive intervention of God in history, such as through the invasion of locusts in Joel or at the battle of Carchemish, 605 b.c. (see Jer 46:2, 10). It can also refer to Christ’s coming to consummate history (see Mal 4:5; 1 Co 5:5; 2 Co 1:14; 1 Th 5:2 and note; 2 Pe 3:10). When the term is not used for divine judgments in the midst of history, it refers to the final day of the Lord, which generally has two aspects: (1) God’s triumph over and punishment of his enemies and (2) his granting of rest (security) and blessing to his people.

Father, It is written in Your Word that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. You wish all people to be saved and to know Your divine truth. I stand on Your Word, and shall praise You and thank You for salvation. Your kindness leads us to repent (to change our mind and inner man to accept Your will). You are the One Who delivers us and draws each person to Yourself out of the control and the dominion of darkness and transfers us into the Kingdom of the Son of Your love. I acknowledge Jesus as the Lamb of God, Who takes away our sins, and the Holy Spirit, Who convicts and convinces us of sin, righteousness and judgment. I submit to the Spirit, Who also helps me when I do not always know how to pray worthily, but Your Spirit within me is actually praying for me in those agonizing longings which cannot find words.  In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.