Jacob The Heel Catcher - Spiritual Adultery

[MessageOfTheCross]

Bread Crumbs “The Compassion of God”

When faced with a difficulty, an impossibility, or a situation that does not seem to have a resolution, how do you approach the Lord? Some people have confidence in the way that they pray. Others are assured by their many and varied repetitions regarding the specific need. It certainly is right to properly present our need to the Lord. And I am a strong advocate of asking, seeking, and knocking until we receive the answers that we desire. But there is a simple attitude that is often overlooked. It is a means of approaching the Lord, given in the Scriptures, that has produced many positive responses and answers to petitions or prayer. That is, to approach the Lord based upon His character and His willingness to show compassion and pity on those who have no means of solving the current dilemma they currently face. We should realize that God's love for His highest creation, man, is both superb and strong. He desires to express mercy and compassion even more than we desire an answer. So the next time that you face a difficulty, approach the Lord with the knowledge that He longs to assist us. Praise the Lord! For His mercy truly dies endure forever.

Psalm 57:1 - Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

The Miracle of God’s Word

Proverbs 28:8
He that by usury and unjust gain increaseth his substance, he shall gather it for him that will pity the poor.

This scripture reveals that eventually God is going to prove that His justice will overtake injustice, even if it doesn’t appear that way at the moment. Those who are charging interest unjustly to gain increase of his own substance will only be gathering it for the poor. God will make sure there will be a transfer of wealth in these situations.

The Lord reminds us that the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just (Proverbs 13:22). Those who are building kingdoms here and now will soon be long gone never to return, but those who are “In Christ” will return with Him to this very earth, and will one day inherit a new earth and all of its riches. We see this in the scriptures as Israel came out of Egypt, and we will see it again in the very near future all because of the blood of Jesus Christ being shed for us, and our faith therein. Keep clinging to that nail scarred hand!

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

Pastor Curtis

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

Your Word for Today

“And they who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:24-25).

How does one crucify the flesh?

We should notice that Paul uses the term “crucified,” which is in the past tense. The Apostle does this because every single Believer crucified the flesh when he came to Christ. That’s what Romans 6:3-5 means. When the believing sinner comes to Christ, he is first of all baptized into the death of Christ, then buried with Him by Baptism into death, and then raised with Him in newness of life. This is what Paul is referring to.

At that time, every single sin in the heart and live of the Christian is defeated, and the Sin Nature is made ineffective (Rom. 6:6). But if the new Believer then transfers his Faith from the Cross of Christ, which is the way he came into Redemption, to other things, then the Sin Nature comes to life, and the person is once again ruled by that evil nature (Rom. 6:13), all because his faith has been transferred to something other than the Cross.

The Believer must understand that the only way “the flesh with the affections and lusts” can be overcome is by trusting Christ and what Christ did at the Cross. This is what Paul means by the word “crucified.” Now that the believing sinner has come to Christ, he “lives in the Spirit,” meaning that everything he has from the Lord is imparted to him by the Holy Spirit, Who — as we have been saying over and over again — works exclusively within the parameters of the Christ and the Cross (Rom. 8:2). In view of the fact that every one of us who is a Believer has this Divine Life operating within us, we then should “walk in the Spirit,” which refers to the manner in which we conduct our life or our lifestyle.

The word “walk” is from the Greek “stoicheo,” which means “to walk in a straight line, to conduct one’s self rightly.”

Thus, the exhortation to the Galatian Believers, who have Divine Life resident in their beings, is to conduct themselves under the guidance, impulses, and energy of that life. Here we have the possibility of a total victory over the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Consequently, the responsibility of the Saint is to desire to live a Christlike life, and to depend upon the Holy Spirit for the power to live that life, which we obtain by registering our Faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross. Fulfilling this will bring all the infinite resources of Grace to the aid of the Saint and put in operation all the activities of the Holy Spirit, all on our behalf.

Without one’s Faith registered and anchored in Christ and the Cross, and remaining in Christ and the Cross, it is literally impossible to “walk in the Spirit.” As a result, the Sin Nature will begin to rear its ugly head, with unholy “affections and lusts” becoming predominant in the life of the Believer. It doesn’t really matter who the Believer is, whether the Pastor of the largest Church in the country, or the Evangelist drawing the largest crowds. The Lord has one way of victory, and one way alone, because that is all that is needed.

As we have said in Devotion after Devotion, that one way is “Christ and the Cross.” That’s why Paul also said, “Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ be made of none effect” (I Cor. 1:17). Paul wasn’t demeaning Water Baptism, only that the theme of our Faith must be “Christ and Him Crucified.”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart

 

[Shekinahglory]

The many are the unsaved masses, not the majority of Christians! Christians are the "few"! So, the basis for your point is debunked.

Now, how about a response to my other questions? Please respond with your own words, not some copy-paste from JSM.

The many are the unsaved masses, not the majority of Christians! Christians are the "few"! So, the basis for your point is debunked.

Now, how about a response to my other questions? Please respond with your own words, not some copy-paste from JSM.[/QUOTE
There is only one Door that we may enter and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. When the Lord was Resurrected the scene in the tomb sent an interesting message. Angels, cherubim on each end of his burial slab reminiscent of the throne on the eastside of Eden that kept men from the Tree of Life was now open the Flaming Sword of the Wor, the Lord Jesus Christ had opened the way by being raised from the dead.

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

Bread Crumbs “God Still Delivers”

Have you ever began to doubt the delivering power of God? This can happen when the storm seems to be never ending and the night feels so dark that morning light seems as distant as a dream. This is when despair comes alive and grips the soul with an iron fist. Fear mounts in our hearts and dismay grapples with our minds as disappointment dances with glee over our seeming devastation. I have been there! It is the place where we lose heart. If you find yourself in a predicament such as this, look back and remind yourself of how great a deliverance that God accomplished when He saved your soul. Remember how He brought you from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His own dear Son. Then recall to mind the magnificent and marvelous miracles of deliverance that He has performed on your behalf since the beginning of your relationship. The fact that God delivered you, and has been delivering you, should add great weight to the thought that He shall deliver you from the present predicament also. Our God is unmatched in delivering power. No enemy, either spiritual or physical, can stand before Him. God is faithful to meet the needs of His children, so look up, your redemption draweth nigh!

2 Corinthians 1:10 - Who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver: in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us ;

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

The Miracle of God’s Word

Proverbs 28:9
He that turneth away his ear from hearing the law, even his prayer shall be abomination.

Those who do not desire to hear, or turn away from what God has said, have no reason to pray. God says their prayer will be an abomination to Him. How can this be? The answer is easy. Whatever we would seek God for in prayer will be answered through what He has already spoken to us through His Word. Today we have the complete Word of God canonized for us, and if we reject what He has already said, He will not offer something else just to suit us.

Every Word out of God’s mouth is in Righteousness (Proverbs 8:8), and His Righteousness is only revealed in the gospel (Romans 1:16), which is Truth, and when Truth is spoken, His Righteousness is shown to us (Proverbs 12:17). God speaks to all today by His Son, Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2), and this speaks of faith in His sacrifice (Hebrews 12:24). Faith in the cross of Jesus Christ is the assurance we have that God will hear our prayers, but we can also be sure that if our faith is not there alone, He will not hear (Revelation 3:1-6). God wants to hear from you today. Cry out to Him in faith through Christ and His atoning work for you at the cross, and know that when God hears, God moves.

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

Pastor Curtis

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

Your Word for Today

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering yourself, lest you also be tempted (Gal. 6:1).

Because the Galatians, at least some of them, were listening to the Judaizers, which means they were forsaking the Cross and going into Law, they had started to observe sin breaking out in their lives, i.e., “the works of the flesh.”

The word “overtaken,” as it is used here, refers to a person doing all that he can do to escape sin, but nevertheless falling into sin. It happens because the Believer has forsaken the Cross and has gone into Law. Despite all of such a Believer’s efforts, the end result, every single time, will be sin. Moreover, if the problem is not corrected, the sin will get worse and worse, despite all the individual’s efforts otherwise!

The word “fault” speaks of a moral lapse, which means a sin of some magnitude.

The word “spiritual” has to do with the realm of the Holy Spirit; consequently, we will learn something here.

The only Believers whom the Holy Spirit judges as truly “spiritual” are those who have their Faith anchored solidly in Christ and the Cross, which refers back to Galatians 5:24. Otherwise, though the person may be saved, may even be a Preacher of the Gospel, still, there is no spirituality!

The word “restore” is from the Greek “katartizo,” which means “to repair, to restore to a former good condition, to prepare, to fit out, to equip.” It is used of reconciling factions, of setting bones, of putting a dislocated limb into place, of mending nets, or of supplying an army with provisions. It is used by Paul in a metaphorical sense of setting a person to rights, bringing him into line.

So, how is the “restoration” to be effected?

The one who is “spiritual” is to inform the one who has failed that the reason he has failed is because his Faith has been transferred from Christ and the Cross to something else, and it really doesn’t matter what the something else is. Such a Believer is then to be encouraged to put his Faith where it ought to be, namely, in Christ and the Cross, which will then guarantee victory (Rom. 6:1-14).

This is to be done “in the spirit of meekness,” meaning that the failed one is not to be lorded over, or subjected to further punishment. The fact of sin is punishment enough! Moreover, only one who truly is “spiritual” can deal with such a person with a “meek spirit.” He can do so because he knows that his victory is not because of any greatness on his part, but solely because of what Christ did at the Cross and his Faith in that Finished Work. Such a “spiritual” person knows and understands sin, why it occurs, and how it was defeated at the Cross, which tends to humble one — and greatly so!

Outside of the Believer understanding Christ and the Cross and there placing his Faith, there is no such thing as humility. The Cross alone produces “meekness.” When one properly understands the Cross of Christ, one then properly understands himself, what sin is, and, above all, what Christ has done to address this terrible problem.

There are three things the Believer should know:
1. Who and what he is;
2. What sin actually is; and,
3. What Christ has done for us at the Cross.
The third is the most important!"

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=421969538501733

Evangelist Torrance Nash Ministries

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

Bread Crumbs “The Lord My Shepherd”

The Bible refers to the Lord as being the Shepherd of His people. He is referred to as the “Good Shepherd” because He laid down His life for His sheep. He is referred to as the “Great Shepherd,” because He is able to progressively sanctify all those who continually trust in Him. But my favorite view of the Lord is that of viewing Him as “my shepherd.” I am thankful for all the people that the Lord has saved. But when I began to focus upon Him as “my shepherd,” the picture of His care for me stands out clear and strong. Because He is “my shepherd” I shall not want for anything. Because He is “my shepherd” I will rest in green pastures and lie down beside still waters. Because He is “my shepherd,” He guides me into all righteousness. No matter what I face, no matter how horrendous the trial, even under threat of death, His rod and His staff comforts me. “My shepherd” prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies and anoints my head with oil. “My shepherd” will see to it that both goodness and mercy will stalk me and consume me, all the days of my life. Thank you, Jesus, for being “my shepherd!”

Psalm 23:1 - A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

The Miracle of God’s Word

Proverbs 28:10
Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.

The church has been paralyzed and devastated for centuries as many false prophets (Matthew 24:11) have presented that which only causes the lust of our flesh to go chasing after. Jesus warned of this. When God’s Word is used outside of the context of Christ and Him crucified, sin will surely be the result. Faith in anything other than Christ and His work at the cross is a sin in the eyes of God, therefore whosoever preaches God’s Word outside that context, causes the righteous to go astray in an evil way. This is the story of all the false prophets of the Old Covenant, the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, and almost all those who attempt to lead the body of Christ today.

Here we see that which is reaped from sowing that which is false. We ourselves will fall into the very pit we have dug, and it doesn’t matter if it is done in ignorance or just plain old rebellion. It is only the upright who will have good things in their possession, and these are the good things the Holy Spirit provides as He finds one’s faith exclusively in the cross of Jesus Christ. He will only work according to that faith (Psalm 33:4, Romans 8:2).

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

Pastor Curtis

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

Your Word for Today

“But God forbid that I should glory, save in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world (Gal. 6:14).

In Verses 12 through 15, Paul sums up all the import of his Letter.

Those who desire to display their zeal for outward ceremonies sought to make them necessary to Salvation, but their real object was to please self and escape persecution. They gloried in these ceremonies applied to men’s bodies.

On the contrary, the Apostle gloried in the Cross, upon which the religious world of sacraments, shadows, outward ceremonies, and good works had been crucified, a Cross upon which he himself by Faith had been crucified, so that he was dead to them, and they were dead to him.

Outward physical sacraments, good works, and ceremonies are unimportant. What is important is the New Birth, and the victory and life that it brings, or at least which it will bring if the Believer steadfastly looks to Christ and the Cross. Most certainly the irreligious world has been judged and ended in the Cross of Christ, but so also has the religious world; and it is the abolition of that world which is the subject of this Epistle.

If Paul gloried in anything physical, it was not in the sign of circumcision, but in the marks of man’s brutality, which, in the triumph of faith, he called “the marks of the Lord Jesus” (6:17). The whole thing is summed up in the fact that, in contrast to the Judaizers who gloried in human attainment and self-effort as a means of Salvation, Paul boasted in the Cross of Christ.

The world of which Paul here speaks is the world Paul knew before he was saved, the world of Philippians 3:4-6, his Hebrew ancestry, his Pharisaic traditions, his zeal for the Law, in short, the world in which he had lived. To all this was he now dead. He had been separated from it by the Cross of the Lord Jesus. It had no more appeal to him, nor influence upon him.

In Galatians 6:15, Paul gives his reason for glorying in the Cross:

While circumcision is of no avail to the Jew, nor the lack of circumcision of any avail to the Gentile, yet the Cross has power to make both a believing Jew and a believing Gentile a new creation, which results in a radical transformation of character. The Cross, in fact, carries the only power which can effect such a transformation.”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=470758450205969

Evangelist Torrance Nash Ministries

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

Bread Crumbs “Saved and Filled”

It is better to be saved and Spirit-filled than lost and lonely! Those who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior have experienced the bliss of being in right relationship with God. Those who have gone on to the experience of being baptized with the Holy Spirit have stepped into a more intimate relationship with the third person of the Godhead. These two experiences may happen close together or far apart. But with both experiences encountered and embraced, the individual is equipped to live a holy life and is brought into a supernatural power that is primarily designated for service. What a marvelous life it is! Those who have never been saved are separated from God. The pain of sin takes a deadly toll! The consequences of sin steal the potential of life and happiness from the heart. The lost can feel lonely in the midst of an all-encompassing crowd. The cheers of the many can do nothing for the tears of the heart. The cure to being lost and lonely is Jesus. Accept Him as Savior, be filled with the Holy Spirit and experience for yourself what abundant life is all about. It truly is better to be saved and Spirit-filled than lost and lonely!

Ephesians 5:18 - And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

The Miracle of God’s Word

Proverbs 28:10
Whoso causeth the righteous to go astray in an evil way, he shall fall himself into his own pit: but the upright shall have good things in possession.

The church has been paralyzed and devastated for centuries as many false prophets (Matthew 24:11) have presented that which only causes the lust of our flesh to go chasing after. Jesus warned of this. When God’s Word is used outside of the context of Christ and Him crucified, sin will surely be the result. Faith in anything other than Christ and His work at the cross is a sin in the eyes of God, therefore whosoever preaches God’s Word outside that context, causes the righteous to go astray in an evil way. This is the story of all the false prophets of the Old Covenant, the Pharisees in Jesus’ day, and almost all those who attempt to lead the body of Christ today.
Here we see that which is reaped from sowing that which is false. We ourselves will fall into the very pit we have dug, and it doesn’t matter if it is done in ignorance or just plain old rebellion. It is only the upright who will have good things in their possession, and these are the good things the Holy Spirit provides as He finds one’s faith exclusively in the cross of Jesus Christ. He will only work according to that faith (Psalm 33:4, Romans 8:2).

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

Pastor Curtis

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

Your Word for Today

“But now in Christ Jesus you who sometimes were far off are made near by the Blood of Christ. For He is our peace, Who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of partition between us (Eph. 2:13-14).

When Paul speaks of “the Gospel,” “the Word,” “the Blood,” “Redemption,” “Salvation,” “The Faith,” etc., he is actually referring to the Cross, which stands for all of these things, and even many things we have not named here.

The Cross, typified in Verse 13 by “the Blood of Christ,” paid the price for man’s Redemption, and we speak of the entirety of mankind (Jn. 3:16), and, in so doing, made both Jews and Gentiles one.

The difference between Jews and Gentiles, at least in physical form, was probably evidenced more than anything else by “the middle wall of partition” that separated the Court of the Gentiles from the Court of Women, which stood before the Temple. This wall, which was approximately four feet high, represented the whole Mosaic economy, which separated Jew and Gentile.

As far as the Lord was concerned, the Jews were near because of the Abrahamic Covenant, and the Gentiles were far off. The Gentiles were not included in the Abrahamic Covenant, at least not during the time of the Law. They could be saved, but only by becoming a proselyte Jew.

When Jesus died on the Cross, thereby shedding His Precious Blood, which referred to the pouring out of His Life, which served as the great Sacrifice for sin, which God accepted, this satisfied the Law and all its requirements, which, thereby, made it possible for both Jews and Gentiles to come even closer.

As a result of what the Lord did at the Cross, He established “Peace,” which eliminates all condemnation and guilt. To “make peace” means, therefore, “to join together that which is separated.” Jews and Gentiles, by God’s act of selecting the Jewish nation to be the channel through which He would bring Salvation to the lost, had been separated. Now, in the Blood of Christ, they, in the Church, had been joined. This is the peace spoken of here.

The word chosen by the Holy Spirit to emphasize “peace” actually means, “He, and no other.” This suggests that not only “He Alone,” but “He, in His Own Person,” made peace. It is not only that peace was made by Christ and ranks as His achievement, but that it is so identified with Him that, were He away, it also would fail — so dependent upon Him that, apart from Him, we cannot have it.

All of this was achieved by the Cross. For us to receive all that was achieved, because it was all done for us, we only have to express Faith in Christ and His Finished Work (Rom. 6:11).”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=2504616676488323

Evangelist Torrance Nash Ministries was live.

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=410436579628455

Evangelist Torrance Nash Ministries

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

Bread Crumbs “Modern Day Idolatry”

In the Old Testament, idolatry involved God’s people choosing to look to a false God that moved a person’s faith from the one true living God. The new object of their faith was usually an idol, carved by the hands of man, made from wood or stone. How could anyone be so ignorant as to reject the God that had proven Himself faithful and capable and extend their faith towards a false god that had been fashioned with their own hands? Today we look back on that activity and shake our heads in wonder. But is not the Church practicing the same sin when they concoct different ways and means of living for God outside of faith in the Cross? The new covenant was brought into being by Christ and His redemptive work on Calvary. When we direct our faith towards other means, especially those designed by our hands, are we not mirroring the mistakes of generations past? When we turn towards anything other than complete and exclusive faith in Christ and the Cross to supply our salvation, sanctification, or deliverance; are we not practicing idolatry? Yes, we are! God is calling the Church to repentance from our modern day idolatry and a return to faith in His way, the way of the Cross.

Jeremiah 2:13 - For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

The Miracle of God’s Word

Proverbs 28:12
When righteous men do rejoice, there is great glory: but when the wicked rise, a man is hidden.

I’m reminded of when the wicked and evil king Ahab was king of Israel, and the people of God were hidden in a cave for preservation (1 Kings 19:18), and this is a great example of this bible verse. When King David reigned over Israel, the nation rejoiced, as he was a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22).

May the church of Jesus Christ arise and rejoice in the Righteousness of our great God, and we will see great glory!! The only place God has given us to rejoice, is in Him, and there alone will our soul be joyful, and in His salvation alone, which is the way of the cross, and there our soul be able to rejoice (Psalm 35:9). The only place a righteous man can rejoice is in the faith of Jesus Christ (Galatians 2:20).

Seeking God in His Word and experiencing Him through faith in the sacrifice of Christ!

Pastor Curtis

 

[MessageOfTheCross]

Your Word for Today

“And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the Cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them who were nigh. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father (Eph. 2:16-18).

Through the Cross, both Jews and Gentiles are reconciled in one body to God. A part of the work of the Cross was to bring the two long-sundered and antagonistic parties together as one whole, one great body, into right relation to God. The words, “having slain the enmity thereby,” here refers to the enmity that is between the sinner and God.

The word “preached,” as used here, refers “to bringing good news.” It is the good news of the Cross, and, more particularly, what the Cross has afforded. The Cross opened up the way to the Father.

Please note that the Trinity is here expressed in Verse 18. God the Son provides the way into the Father’s Presence through the Blood of His Cross. God the Holy Spirit conducts the Saint in and presents him. God the Father is the One into Whose Presence the Believer is brought (Wuest).

However, let it also be understood: It is the Holy Spirit Who gives access to the Believer regarding the Father, which pertains to the Throne of God. The fact that He can allow access means that He also can bar access, which He most definitely will, if the Believer tries to come any way other than by Faith in “the Blood of Christ,” i.e., “the Cross.” Seeing it in that perspective puts a new light on the subject. If the Cross and our Faith in that Finished Work is the password, so to speak, and if the Cross is ignored or repudiated, then such a person will be barred from access to anything and everything pertaining to God. This presents itself as an extremely serious matter.

I do hope the Reader can now see the tremendous, even outsized, significance of the Cross in all that pertains to God and His dealings with us. To fail to see this is to fail! ”

— Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart