If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple
Luke 14:26
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Heaven and Earth will pass away before any one of His words passes away. Many people would like to interpret this passage into obscurity, equating it with similar, albeit, related scriptures, such as this one.
Luke 16:16
“The Law and the Prophets were proclaimed until John. Since that time, the good news of the kingdom of God is being preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.
Music from “Ancient Cry” by Chris Harvey (www.chrisharvey.org).
I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
John 3:11
One of the tenets of the Gospel is faith. This can mean many things to some people, but a Bible definition goes something like this: Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1). While many people claim to have a “faith”, their claims prove to be nothing at all. They are houses built upon sand (or worse), and they have no ability to stand up for the Truth.
There is only one way to walk consistently in the power of God, and that is focus. What a man beholds, he sees that thing, and it is magnified in his imagination.
If a man set gaze upon it, he can possess it, though it is costly.
Consider the following:
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7
Don’t miss God’s plan… It doesn’t’ include you, per say, although it does… You’ll be there, when you’re in His love, but it’ll be His power.
But, a whole nation missed it, because the physician was sent to the sick, and not to the well. Those who said they saw, their sin remained, but to those who cried out in poverty, desperation, and misery, the Son came.
Only the eyes of a child can see it, and only the pure can remain. Only by the blood, and only as a child. Nothing else matters in Eternity, nothing.
Give yourself to the Master. Unreservedly. Whole-heartedly. He is a treasure worth buying. He is a pearl worth selling all for.
Absolute bondage to the Spirit is absolute freedom from sin. Self seeking, self promotion, and selfish ambition are slavery, and provide for nothing.
Until you are willing to die, you will never live. Until your life ends, you life, not Him. Unless you hate your life, you are NOT His disciple. Luke 14:26.
His mouth is sweetness itself;
Song 5:16 (portion)
Oh, how I love His Word. His mouth is sweetness itself. There is nothing finer, nothing more pleasant, nothing more desirable, than His mouth. Taste and see that He is good.
If ever there was a question about God’s greatness, it is settled in this. You may talk about love, but He is it. You may talk about justice, but He is it. You may talk about joy, but He is the only source. You may talk about peace, but He is its prince. You may talk about patience, but who is more than He? You may talk about kindness, but show me another father willing to send all his prophets, and then, at the last, His son. You may talk about anything that it is to be human, and, you may see someone demonstrate some portion of it, or you may see idealized someone who is famed for it, but Jesus is it all.
[A]s He is, so also are we in this world.
1 John 4:17 (portion)
The Kingdom is like yeast that fills a whole lump. The Kingdom is like a seed, which grows to an entire tree.
No where in scripture is the Kingdom ever depicted as incomplete, nor as coming in multiple installments or dispensations. In fact, from the parables of Jesus, the entirety of the Kingdom is completely contained in its inception, just as with a seed, or with a bit of yeast.
Revelation 20:1-3
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.
One thing I have asked of the LORD, this one thing I seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
that I may gaze upon His beauty,
and inquire of Him in His temple.
Psalm 27:4
The House of the Lord is my home; I have none other.
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