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The Fear of God

  The Fear of God I confess, that for a long time I do not think I could understand what the Bible (mostly) meant, by the phrase,  "The Fear of God,"  or, " The Fear of the Lord."  . . . I knew that it was  not  a carnal, fleshly, slavish "fear" of a deity that would squash myself and other sinners if we did not obey; and who was always angry and perturbed.  I also knew that it had to be  more  than "respect" or "reverence"--though, clearly, those things are important, too. . . .   So, I have come to  believe  that  "The Fear of God"  is the  realization  that the one, true, holy, sovereign, powerful, and loving Triune Deity is  so inscrutably wonderful --in both "positive" and "negative"  ways,  that my only  reasonable  response to Him, is  fear .   Think about it  this  way: should we not  fear  a God who could create the universe that we behold ...
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The Hidden and Inner Life of The Saints of Christ's Church

  The Hidden and Inner Life of The Saints of Christ's Church In Colossians 3:3, the Apostle Paul wrote these words:  "For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God,"  (ESV).  In Psalm 25:14, King David penned this sweet phrase:  "The secret of the L ORD  is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant,"  (NASB).  The aforementioned Paul also left this instruction to the Philippian church, in Php. 3:15-16:  "Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained,"  (ESV).   What  I desire to  say  in this paper, is that all of us  have  a "hidden" "inner" life.  Those who  love  God by sheer and sovereign grace, have this "hidden" life,  "With Christ in God."   This means that the church's regenerated saints have an inn...
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Our Lord Jesus Christ and Genghis Khan

  Our Lord Jesus Christ and Genghis Khan OK; so just  last  night I (inadvertently) came across Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's,  "Jesus Christ and Genghis Khan"  comment.  Today, I checked to see if it was real, or AI-generated.  (It is being reported to be authentic.)  Then, I saw the prime minister's apology.  I accept his apology. . . .   Still, it dawns on me, that this is an  interesting  comparison: our Lord Jesus, and Genghis Khan.  Mr. Khan was apparently quite a Chinese warrior, living in the late 12th/early 13th centuries.  But, compared to our Lord Jesus Christ, Genghis was quite "tame" as a military man.   Mr. Netanyahu explained that he was quoting the American historian Will Durant, when he (the prime minister) said what he did, about the Lord Jesus Christ and Genghis Khan. . . . If Will Durant really believed what he was quoted as penning, he (Durant) had...
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How Should We View Our Christian Lives On Earth?

  How Should We View Our Christian Lives On Earth? The longer I live, the more I think the question (posed in our title), needs to be answered, (as best as we  can  answer it).  Life on Earth, for all of us mortal creatures is extremely tenuous.  We do not ever know if we will draw our next breath, or not.  So, one thing we should face right away, is the fact that there are absolutely no guarantees that our lives will be prolonged; and we *are* assured that they will eventually come to an end in death (unless we are alive when Jesus returns in His last advent).   Now, the way for sincere regenerated Christians to view their lives down here on this fallen planet--in the church militant/the kingdom of God on Earth--is *entirely* through the "lens" of the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.   If  and  as  we do this, we make our existence here not only meaningful; but also, in a v...
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The Joy of The Christian Life

  The Joy of The Christian Life The  Joy of the Christian Life,  in  four  words, is,  our   Lord   Jesus   Christ .  No one or nothing else  is  this joy; or can in  anyway  substitute for Him.  The gospel of grace is our "lifeline" to this joy--but the gospel itself, taken in the abstract, is not this joy.  The same may be said about any other aspect of the Christian (church) life.  We delight in spiritual gifts (Rom. 1:11; 1 Cor. 1:7, etc.); we appreciate temporal mercies (1 Tim. 6:17); we cherish worship  with  and the fellowship  of  the saints (Heb. 10:25); we are glad to be in good physical health (3 Jn. 2); and we anticipate the glories of heaven (Titus 2:13)-- but, in all of these cases (and all others), the Holy Spirit "brokers" these blessings through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity . . . .   So,  why  is this...
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Being Real With God

  Being Real With God Probably the  hardest  thing for us fallen sinners to do, is to be  truly  honest--with others, with ourselves, and (especially) with God.  The very  first  effect of sin on our souls, is to be  dishonest, deflecting, and insecure .  Once Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden, they, (and  we,  along with them), were seeking ways to hide from God, make excuses for sin, and race from bush to bush to seek to escape the gaze of the Holy One.   Before we begin to  beat ourselves up  too much over this, which tends to only  add  to our troubles, let us recognize that sin really  does  bring  shame;  and shame is an  appropriate  response (before our pristine Triune Deity).  So, the way to get "real" with God, is to deal with the "shame" issue.  It is a  real  problem, and it must be addressed.  And, the way...
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All Divine Miraculous Healing Is Through Christ

  All Divine Miraculous Healing Is Through Christ When we read the four Gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), we are  astounded  at the vast  numbers  of human beings that our blessed Lord Jesus Christ  cured  (of every kind of disease, etc.).  Galilee and Judea were largely made the most physically  healthy  places that the Earth ever saw, following the Fall of Man into sin.   One  could  argue that the hospitals, prompt care units, doctors' offices, counseling centers, and (even) funeral homes were given a respite from their ordinary routines.   Myriads  of people-- all  sinners in Adam-- thronged  around Jesus, to be  relieved  of their blindness, sickness, deafness, dropsy, paralysis, kyphosis, epilepsy, fevers, withered limbs, muteness, leprosy, blood-flows, and demon-possession.  It is astonishing, to think about how  many  bodies and souls were...
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