August 2023 "Dearly Beloved" Articles
Dearly Beloved 08/29/23 Beloved by God Our Father
Beloved by God Our Father
Dearly beloved of God, when John baptized Jesus, something phenomenal happened.
Luke 3:21, 22
21 Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened,
22 And the holy spirit descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, “Thou art My beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased.”
God audibly verified that Jesus was His beloved Son.
God again affirmed that Jesus was His beloved Son while on the mount, when he was transfigured and his appearance was altered, and his raiment became white and glistering. In the vision, Moses and Elijah appeared in glory and spoke of Jesus’ exodus that he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Peter suggested that they make three tabernacles for them, not knowing what he said.
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Dearly Beloved 08/28/23 Eyes Up
Eyes Up
Dearly beloved of God, look up for our redemption draws near. In Christ, we were sealed with the holy spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the day of our redemption, the day that Christ will return to redeem those that he purchased with his life.
We have an inheritance that is incorruptible and undefiled and it does not fade away. It is reserved for us in heaven.
God called us to His kingdom and glory. We are partakers of a heavenly calling, and our hope is reserved for us in the heaven, so rejoice!
We were made alive together with Christ,(by grace you are saved;) and He raised us up together and caused us to sit together in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages He might display the exceeding riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. Read Ephesians 2:5-7, and see for yourself.
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Dearly Beloved 08/24/23 Entrance into the Kingdom of God
Entrance into the Kingdom of God
Dearly beloved of God, God called us to His kingdom and glory. Jesus Christ made it possible to enter His kingdom by being born again of the spirit from God.
In John 1:32-34, the prophet John foretold that Jesus Christ would baptize with holy spirit, not water as he had done.
In John 3:3, 5-7, Jesus told Nicodemus to see and to enter the kingdom of God one must be born again of the spirit from God.
In John 7:38, 39 informs us that the spirit was not given until Jesus was glorified.
In Mark 9:1 Jesus told those present that some that were standing there shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.
In Luke 22:16-20, at his last supper with the twelve and certain of his disciples, Jesus told them that he would not any more eat or drink until the kingdom of God came. He took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you.”
From these records we have a time frame concerning when an entrance into the kingdom of God became available because of Jesus Christ’s accomplishments.
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Dearly Beloved 08/20/23 Changes
Changes
Dearly beloved of God, since Jesus Christ introduced us to God as our Father we have seen a number of changes in our lives.
Since we were born again of the spirit from God we have gone death unto life. We were dead in sin, but God made us alive with Christ.
We were the children of wrath, but in Christ we are God’s dearly beloved and highly favored children who have been delivered from the wrath to come.
We were natural men in the flesh, but in Christ we no longer are in the flesh, but in the spirit since the spirit from God dwells in us.
In Christ we have gone from being guilty before God to being justified. We were made righteous, holy, blameless, and unimpeachable in His sight. There is no more condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. We will never again come into condemnation.
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Dearly Beloved 08/18/23 Sonship and Our Walk with God
Sonship and Our Walk with God
Dearly beloved of God, now are we the sons of God! When? NOW! The moment we confessed the Lord Jesus and believed that God raised him from the dead, we were saved; born again of the spirit from God.
God determined beforehand for us to have the sonship of children by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of His Will. God is now our Father and we are His kids.
Being His kids we are all the rights and privileges and ability and inheritance of that sonship. In Christ, each and every child of God has been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. It is all of them in all of us.
Each and every one of God’s children is justified from sin. We have redemption through Jesus Christ’s blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, which He has abounded to us.
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Dearly Beloved 08/17/23 God is Able and Willing
God is Able and Willing
Dearly beloved of God, Jesus Christ was God’s beloved Son, and he was full of grace and truth. Grace is God‘s divine favor; His friendly willingness to bless us.
John 1:18
No man hath seen God at any time: the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared Him.
Being the only begotten Son of God, Jesus declared His Father. He made Him known by always doing the will of His Father, and by performing the works His Father told him to do. He walked in His Father’s love and will. He showed people that God was able and willing to perform His Word.
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Dearly Beloved 08/14/23 What a Way to Live
What a Way to Live
Dearly beloved of God, those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and that God raised him from the dead shall be saved.
Jesus Christ was delivered over to death on account of our trespasses, and he was raised for our justification. Therefore, being justified by believing, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, and we have access into this grace wherein we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
The hope does not disgrace by disappointed expectations because God’s love has been poured out in our hearts by means of holy spirit, which has been given to us. In the new birth, we received the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Much more, being now justified by Jesus Christ’s blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through him.
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Dearly Beloved 08/12/23 Salvation Versus the Wrath of God
Salvation Versus the Wrath of God
Dearly beloved of God, “God has not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, who loved us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.” I Thessalonians 5:9 and 10
Ephesians 2:1-3
1 And you hath He quickened [made alive], who were dead in trespasses and sins;
2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air [the devil], the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
3 Among whom also we all had our conversation [manner of life] in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.
By our natural birth we were without God, dead in sin, ungodly, and enemies of God, and without hope. That was our condition in the flesh when God saved us. Such grace!
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Dearly Beloved 08/11/23 Oh What a Day that Will Be
Oh What a Day that Will Be
Dearly beloved of God, oh what a day that will be when my Savior I shall see! Who knows, it could even be today.
The current Administration of the Grace of God, the Administration of the Mystery, began when the Lord Jesus Christ poured out the promise of the Father, the gift of holy spirit on the Feast of Pentecost.
This administration will end when the Lord Jesus Christ returns to gather us together to meet him in the air.
There are no signs that will precede his coming for the Church, unlike his coming to the earth in the Lord’s Day. There are no prophecies that must be fulfilled before he comes for the Church, which is his body. We meet him in the air. There is only an eager expectation that he could come at any moment. Oh, what a day that will be!
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Dearly Beloved 08/10/23 A Change in Covenants
A Change of Covenants
Dearly beloved of God, Jesus Christ is the mediator of the new covenant that God made with Israel. It is a spirit based covenant. Jeremiah prophesied about it in Jeremiah 31:27-34, and this is quoted in Hebrews 8:8-13. The new covenant is discussed in Hebrews, chapters 7-10.
The book of Hebrews informs us that “Jesus Christ was made a surety [a guarantor] of a better covenant.”
The old covenant of the law pertained to the flesh, and it was imposed on Israel until the time of reformation. This reformation refers to the restoration of the relationship between God and man.
The new covenant began with the pouring out of the spirit on the Feast of Pentecost after Jesus Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and seating in the heavenly realm at God’s right hand.
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Dearly Beloved 08/06/23 By His Stripes You Were Healed
By His Stripes You Were Healed
Dearly beloved of God, Jesus Christ accomplished the will of God. Isaiah foretold what he would accomplish hundreds of years before he was born.
Isaiah 53:3-5
3 He [Jesus Christ] is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows [pains], and acquainted with grief [sickness]: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he [Jesus Christ] hath borne our griefs [sicknesses], and carried our sorrows [pains]: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.
5 But, he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
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Dearly Beloved 08/05/23 Answers for Our Times
Answers for Our Times
Dearly beloved of God, if the Word of God was rightly divided and taught in our churches, our country would not be in the shape it is today.
Isaiah 33:6
And wisdom and knowledge shall be the stability of thy times, and strength of salvation: the fear of the LORD is his treasure.
Isaiah informed Israel of this truth before they rejected what God had to say, and were carried away into captivity.
There is little stability in our times today because, like Israel, people are ignorant of the wisdom and knowledge that God gives us in His Word, or they have rejected it.
Proverbs 29:18
Where there is no vision, the people perish.
Where there is no vision, speaking of the Word of God, the people perish. The Sanskrit reads, “Where there is no knowledge the people wander aimlessly.”
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Dearly Beloved 08/03/23 Prove Me Now Herewith
Prove Me Now Herewith
Dearly beloved of God, in Malachi 3:6-12, God told Israel that He does not change. He told them to prove Him. He gave them His Word, and told them to apply it, to act on it, and He would fulfill His promise to them and bring it to pass.
This sounds a lot like believing, doesn’t it?
Romans 10:17
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
God reveals what is available from Him by His Word. To believe is to have trust and confidence in information received, therefore we act upon it.