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June 18, 2006 “For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” Isaiah 50:7 Paul the Apostle wrote that he was not ashamed of what he was and he was not ashamed of the message of salvation from the Living God because it was the “message of God unto salvation” to everyone who believed. The Old Testament Prophet Isaiah was not ashamed of who he was either. He knew who had chosen him to speak the words God had for men. The prophecy spoken in Chapter 53 of his writings is the height of prophetic vision showing Jesus as the one and true Son of the Living God. The first scripture spoken by Jesus in his role as “rabbi” was from the prophecy of Isaiah and everyone who was anyone fully understood that Jesus was claiming to be the fulfillment of the prophecy concerning God coming to earth as Messiah and savior. There is no shame in belief. There is no reason to be concerned when the unfaithful confront you. We speak the Word of God and every season is the right season. The scripture declares that “today” is the day of salvation. When I think of that term “today” I think of the words of Jesus to the repentant thief on the cross next to his on the day of his death. Jesus told that man that “today’ he would enter into Paradise next to him. The other “malefactor” was left to his own devices but the Lord recognized the truly repentant heart and that repentance received its reward that same day. Even in these present days Christians know of their redemption immediately upon faith and repentance. This is a tangible touch of the Spirit of God and an immediate knowledge of “New Creation”. I will remember the “Parable of the Sower” and the seed that was sown “into” the good ground. Then I will remember the words of the Lord explaining that one would know a Child of God by their fruits. There is no other way to recognize one truly blessed of God. But I cannot possibly be ashamed for believing God. I take God’s word for its historical value and I note every life that gave itself for the furtherance of the Gospel and the prophetic utterances of the Old Testament Prophets, Kings and Fathers. Jesus said that the mark of faith was that one lay down his life for another. The martyrs of the centuries that did not preach murder, jihad and religious tyranny were martyrs of the Gospel of Christ. They preached that message of love that Jesus instilled in his Apostles and their disciples. These men did not draw the sword nor did they preach holy war. Jesus told Peter that those who drew the sword, died by that sword. And then when I think of the “sword” I think of the scriptures that are “quick, and more powerful than any two-edged sword”. The scriptures are a valuable weapon that is not designed to kill, but to heal. The Scriptures heal souls and hearts. The Word of God changes lives into fruit-bearing sources of truth. The Kingdom of God spreads without a single drop of blood. The final blood that was used to form the True Church was that found in the Body of Christ. The “whole armor of God” includes the “sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God”. A Christian is not whole or effective if he is not infused with the truth of God’s written word. There are men who believe that having read the Bible they know the Bible. Many of these men can be proven liars because they do not further the kingdom but seek its destruction. A faithful Child is one ever learning at the counsel of his teacher. The Holy Spirit is the “pedagogue” and it is the wise Christian who reads the words of the Spirit in regard to the Lord. Jesus said that when he would go he would send the one that would testify of him and that this one who testified would indwell the believer “forever”. There is no shame in Belief. ------------ Email Skip: skiptoomaloo@hotmail.com Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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