February 2020 "Dearly Beloved" Articles
Dearly Beloved 2/29/20 "A Good Report"
A Good Report
Dearly beloved of God, if those cited in Hebrews 11 did what they did by believing information that God gave them, so can we. We can believe the information God gives us having confidence that it will be as He has said.
God gave them a good report for their believing. They believed the information God gave them concerning the coming of Christ and what he would accomplish, and they believed God in the situations they faced. They believed what God said in spite of what they saw.
Are you facing a difficult situation? Is it as tough as the one Noah faced? He was faced with a world-wide flood. Before the flood came it had not even rained, much less flooded, but nonetheless he built an ark at God’s direction. Is your problem bigger than the one he faced?
Moses led the children of Israel out of their captivity through the sea on dry ground, for forty years of wandering in the wilderness and all that it entailed, and he did it by believing God day by day. Is your plate as full as his was?
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/28/20 "Fear Not"
Fear Not
Dearly beloved by God, FEAR NOT! Fear is never the correct response to what you are facing: ONLY BELIEVE!
Whether God sent judges, prophets, priests, apostles, teachers, angels, or His Son with His Word in times of trouble, His Word was “Fear not.”
“The fear of man brings a snare: but whoso puts his trust in the Lord shall be safe.” Proverbs 29:25
The world is always pushing fear. Today it is Corona virus, tomorrow it will be something else; your job, your finances, your retirement, concern for your family, fear of an accident, sickness, or even death. “Fear not” is God’s Word to us.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/27/20 "A Crucial Truth"
A Crucial Truth
Dearly beloved of God, what authority did the Lord Jesus Christ use as his reference for truth? Once we discover the answer, as his followers we should utilize the same source for learning that he used.
“And as for the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was said to you by God . . .” Matthew 22:31
What was his reference for truth concerning the resurrection of the dead? Jesus Christ knew that no man knows any more about matters in the spiritual realm than God reveals in His Word.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/26/20 "All He Can Do Is Tell Them"
All He Can Do Is Tell Them
Dearly beloved of God, God will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth. You would think people would want to know about this.
He has revealed His will to people ever since the beginning. He has not hidden His Word and Will to them.
When against all odds, He delivered Israel from their captivity in Egypt, He said, “…I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19
God gave them a choice. He gave them His Word, He has the power to perform it, and He is willing to perform it to bless His people.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/24/20 "The One and Only One"
The One and Only One
Dearly beloved of God, Jesus Christ is the only one to rise out from among the dead. Of all the people that ever died, God raised this man alone out from among the dead! Every other person that ever died is still dead and their body is corrupting in the grave.
God did not leave Jesus in the grave, and in the state of death, nor did He allow him to see corruption; He raised him to life again. Jesus Christ was the first fruit from the dead.
Only after you realize how singly significant Jesus’ resurrection out from among the dead is, do you begin to understand the vast power and authority God has given him. Why do I say “vast power’ was given to him by God?
God validated that Jesus Christ was His Son by raising him from the dead - quite a noteworthy distinction. This distinguishes him from every other person that has ever lived. God made Jesus both Lord and Christ.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/23/20 "Beloved and Highly Favored"
Beloved and Highly Favored
Dearly beloved of God and highly favored in His sight, we are the children of God and our Heavenly Father loves and cares for us more than we comprehend.
It would take the space of all nine Church Epistles to explain just how much He loves us, and that would only begin to give us a glimpse. It will take eternity to grasp His great love and the exceeding riches of His grace to us in Christ Jesus. Our Father will demonstrate it to us with His loving kindness and tender mercies. We are His dearly beloved children, His kids!
At times it may seem hard to believe that God loves us so much because of the evil age in which we live; the adversary works hard to influence us and get us to conform to his way of thinking.
He does not want us to know or believe who we are in Christ by the grace of God, or our hope of glory. He wants to blind people’s minds to the light of the glorious gospel of Christ.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/22/20 "The Vast Power of the Lord Jesus Christ"
The Vast Power of the Lord Jesus Christ
Dearly beloved of God, there is only one who holds the keys that will deliver a person from the state of death and corruption in the grave – the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no release from death except by his authority, and he will execute it at his coming.
The spiritualist teaching that we die and go to heaven negates the order of resurrection, the time of resurrection, and the power and authority of the Lord Jesus Christ to deliver people from the state of death by resurrection.
The teaching that you die and go to heaven to live in the afterlife if you’ve been good, or you go to hell if you have been bad, and suffer eternal torment is not found in the Word of God; it came from Babylonian, Egyptian, and Greek philosophers, Plato being the one that is credited for its popularity.
Everlasting life is for those who confess Jesus as Lord and who believe that God raised him from the dead. It is dependent on his accomplishments, not ours.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/21/20 "When Will the Dead in Christ Rise?"
When Will the Dead in Christ Rise?
Dearly beloved of God, we are sealed for the day of redemption by the spirit of sonship we received when we were born again. The spirit of sonship is the down payment, the deposit that secures the inheritance we will receive on the day of redemption when Christ returns for us.
When Christ, who is our life shall appear, then we will appear with him in glory. God called us to obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, dearly beloved.
When Christ returns we will receive in full all that God has reserved for us in the heavenly realm. He wants us to know the hope of His calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in His beloved saints – that’s us!
Many people believe that when we die, we either go to heaven or hell. This teaching does not come from God, but from Plato and the Greek philosophers.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/20/20 "Spirit is Behind Every Doctrine"
Spirit is Behind Every Doctrine
Dearly beloved by God, spirit is behind every doctrine promulgated by man. It does not matter what the doctrine is, one God or the other inspires it, whether it goes by the name “Christian,” or humanist, or some other religion.
The two gods are over two spirit kingdoms: the kingdom of God and the kingdom of the adversary.
God is the Head of His kingdom; He is the Holy Spirit.
Seated at His right side is His Son, Jesus, whom God raised to life again out from among all the people who have ever died. He is the ONLY one to rise from the dead and live again. God made him both Lord and Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ said, “I am he that lives, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” Revelation 1:18
This distinguished Jesus Christ from every other man. He was the first fruit from the dead.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/19/20 "Live in His Comfort"
Live in His Comfort
Dearly beloved and highly favored by the Heavenly Father, only He could have conceived the glorious plan of salvation and has the power to save us and give us eternal life.
God sent the Savior, Jesus Christ, to deliver us from sin and death. God gave him the power to make the dead alive and He gave him the authority to carry out all judgment.
Jesus Christ said, “Verily, verily, I say to you, He that hears my word, and believes on Him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but has passed from death unto life.”
There is therefore no more condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. He justified us from sin and gave us the sure hope of obtaining the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ; we will be glorified with him. We have the spirit of life in Christ Jesus.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/18/20 "From Here to Eternity"
From Here to Eternity
Dearly beloved and highly favored by our Heavenly Father, we live in the Administration of the Grace of God, and what a tremendous period of time it is!
In the Word of God there are different administrations, different periods of time of God’s dealings with man.
Originally, Adam and Eve lived in the garden of Eden, having not only natural life, they had spirit life, also. Having been created in the image of God [spirit], God could work with them directly, walk and talk with them so to speak. The day they disobeyed they lost that spirit life; they died that very day; they were dead in sin.
After they lost the spirit of God, God worked with men like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Jacob had twelve sons that became the twelve tribes of Israel. They were men that believed God. God conditionally put His spirit upon these men at times to communicate with them. They were patriarchs or fathers of believing.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/17/20 "Finding Fulfillment"
Finding Fulfillment
Dearly beloved by God, people everywhere are looking for a sense of fulfillment; to know that their lives count for something more than to merely exist.
If you are looking for fulfillment by getting stuff, junk, and things you will be sadly disappointed. Gaining possessions will not bring you fulfillment. Fulfillment comes with the joy of giving yourself.
Those who hear the call of God in their lives most clearly are the ones that will be the most willing to give of themselves.
Beloved, why is the Dead Sea so dead? It has no outlet. If we are to live fulfilled lives, we will have to rise up to be givers.
When we give of ourselves, we will grow in our capacity to give. If we will lose our lives in the service of others we will find them. Fulfillment is the result of giving.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/16/20 "Be Your True Self"
Be Your True Self
Dearly beloved of God and highly favored in His sight, none of us is free to only live for ourselves. God exhorts us to serve one another in love instead of serving only our own desires.
As sons of God, we should not live with callous indifference to the needs of others; we should walk in love and give such as we have in order to minister to those in need. “Such as we have” includes our operation of the nine manifestations of the holy spirit, prayer, as well as material things; the need determines what we are to give.
God looks on our hearts, not the outward appearance. This is pointedly obvious when you consider why God anointed His Son with His spirit and sent him into the world. He anointed Jesus to preach the gospel to the destitute, to heal the broken hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and the recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised….
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/15/20 "The Price of Service"
The Price of Service
Dearly beloved and highly favored by God, the motivation to serve is one of the most powerful principles there is in life. The love of God in the renewed mind lived is the impetus for our service as sons of God.
God gave us free will and therefore the power to direct our own lives. If we willfully determine to make God’s Will, our will, we become what the Word of God describes as a “doulos.” We become sons that are committed to doing their Father’s will.
When a person, by the freedom of his will and motivated by the love of God, commits himself to do the will of God and serve Him, he realizes the greatest attainable freedom there is. This is one of life’s greatest paradoxes. The more committed a person is to do the Father’s will, the freer he will become.
Jesus Christ was the greatest servant that ever lived. He subordinated his will to do His Father’s will. He was the living portrait of self-sacrifice. He gave of himself completely. No greater love can a man have than to give his life for others. We are to follow his example of service.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/14/20 "Claim Your Deliverance"
Claim Your Deliverance
Dearly beloved and highly favored by the Father, deliverance rests squarely upon the will of God.
If it were not God’s will to deliver us there would be no way possible to gain it. If it is the will of God, then it is available, and it as easy to receive as receiving your groceries from the cashier after going through the line at the grocery store.
Read what God declares:
Psalm 34:17 The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles.
He says that He hears and delivers the righteous. It is not up for debate. This is His will.
Psalms 107:6 Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, [and] he delivered them out of their distresses.
Psalms 50:15 And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/13/20 "Which is Greater: Our Fears or Our God?"
Which is Greater: Our Fears or Our God?
Dearly beloved and highly favored by God, I would like to read God’s Word with you this morning about being afraid, and what God says about it.
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7
There is the truth. We must decide to believe it. God does not want us to live with fear in our lives.
“So you have not received a spirit of bondage to again cause fear, but you have received a spirit of sonship [making you sons], whereby we shout, “Abba,” that is, “Father.” Romans 8:15 WT
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/12/20 "Darwin Day"
Darwin Day
Good morning dearly beloved by God and highly favored in His sight. I woke up this morning, turned on the computer, and it said, “Welcome to Darwin Day.”
When a man critiques God’s supernatural handiwork by his limited natural intellectual ability, he puts himself in a precarious position. The fool says in his heart there is no God. What does God say?
Genesis 1:20-23 AV
“And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.”
The Hebrew word for “life” in verse 20 is “nephesh,” which is soul life, breath-life. Each of the moving creatures having soul life were to bring forth abundantly after their kind, or genus.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/11/20 "On the Same Page"
On the Same Page
Dearly beloved by the Father and highly favored in His sight, if we are to know anything about spiritual matters we will have to listen to what God reveals to us about them from the scriptures; it is the only reference for truth we can trust.
If we are to walk with Him, we will have to listen to the revelation of His Word. Every child of God ought to be on the same page. God wants us all to believe the same thing, not be of different opinions.
God does not want us to be ignorant of spiritual matters; He wants us to understand the good pleasure of His will. God’s will is for all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth, but how few take Him up on His offer.
God does not respect one person over any other person. What He has done for one person, He will do for any and all if they will believe what He says. He is not a respecter of persons. God is not holding us back from knowing and believing His will.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/10/20 "What a Promise"
What a Promise
Dearly beloved of God and highly favored in His sight, by God’s Divine power He has given us great and precious promises, that by these we might be partakers of the divine nature. He gave us the promise of life in Christ Jesus.
Our birth into this world was by nature after the flesh. We were born with a physical body and soul life. In II Peter 1 we read that through God’s promise it is available to become partakers of the divine nature; His nature, which is spirit. Jesus Christ came to make this available.
Before Jesus Christ began his ministry, John foretold that Jesus Christ would baptize people with the holy spirit. Read the records in Matthew 3:11-17, and John 1:29-34 for the details. This is the means by which people could receive the divine nature.
After God raised Jesus from the dead and before he ascended into heaven, he said, “And, behold, I [Jesus Christ] send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” Luke 24:49
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/9/20 "World News or Good News"
World News or Good News
Dearly beloved and highly favored by our Father, have you watched the “world news” lately? It is just that… world news. They have no answers, no solutions, just carnal knowledge about the course of this world.
On the other hand, we have good news; very good news indeed. We have the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ and all that he has accomplished and will yet accomplish.
We woke up this morning as God’s saints, His sons and daughters, His dearly beloved, and highly favored in the beloved one, the Lord Jesus Christ.
How highly favored are we? We stand before the Father, in His presence, as holy and as blameless as the Lamb of God slain for us. We stand before Him in Christ Jesus our Lord and in his accomplishments: we are redeemed, saved, reconciled, justified, we have the remission of sins that are past, we are sanctified; we are the righteousness of God in Christ, and we will glorified together with him.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/8/20 "Two Different Approaches"
Two Different Approaches
Dearly beloved and highly favored sons of God, when it comes to knowing the One True God there are two approaches people take.
The correct approach begins with God. God reveals His Will to us by His Word. God’s Word interprets itself; His Word is not of any private interpretation. God did not give commentators; He gave apostles and prophets the revelation of His Word and He had them write it down. God gave us His Word as our reference for truth so that we are not ignorant of His Will. His Word enables us to separate truth from error.
God reveals, “All scripture is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine, reproof, and correction; it is instruction in righteousness so that the man of God may be equipped, fully equipped unto all good works.”
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/6/20 "A Conscience of Unfreigned Believing"
A Conscience of Unfeigned Believing
Dearly beloved of God, you may hear someone say, "That person does not have a conscience," but everyone has a conscience whether good or bad.
What is conscience? Conscience is the knowing within one’s self by the testimony of own’s own conduct. Conscience is the result of thinking patterns formed by a person’s habit patterns. You know their conscience by their fruit.
For example, if a person is a thief, stealing bothers him less and less with every successful theft. The person knows within himself from the testimony of his own conduct that he is a thief. Stealing does not bother their head. They have the conscience of a thief.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/6/20 "Not Guilty, Forever Acquitted!"
Not Guilty; Forever Acquitted!
Dearly beloved by our Heavenly Father and highly favored in His sight, because of Jesus Christ’s accomplishments anyone can stand before God as justified from sin, declared not guilty, forever acquitted in God's courtroom.
The one just man who was without sin, Jesus Christ, gave his life in the place of the unjust so that we could be justified from the sin of Adam and the condemnation of death it brought upon the world.
There is therefore no more condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus; no more sentence that declares us guilty before God. We have been acquitted forever; justified.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/5/20 "The State of Our Union"
The State of Our Union
Dearly beloved and highly favored by the Father, the state of our union with Christ is indeed strong!
In previous administrations we were in union with Adam in the sin he committed, and the sentence of condemnation pronounced against it.
When God created Adam, He created him in His image, which is spirit. God gave Adam a commandment and He told him that the day he disobeyed it that he would surely die. The day Adam disobeyed God’s commandment he did die; he lost the spirit life that God originally created in him.
The death that Adam originally brought upon mankind was first and foremost the loss of spirit life. The physical loss of body and soul life did not occur until much later.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/4/20 "Promises Made, Promises Kept"
Promises Made, Promises Kept
Dearly beloved and highly favored by the Father, His motto is promises made, promises kept. Not a single word He has promised will fail; all will be fulfilled.
By the good pleasure of His will, He determined the plan of salvation and He sent His Son to accomplish it for us.
God’s Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, has done and will yet do what no other can. He gave his life for us and to validate his accomplishments, His Father raised him from the dead, and seated him at His right side in the heavenly realm above all others forevermore, and made him the head of the Church; we are members of his body the fullness of him, and he filled all of us with all he accomplished.
God saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given unto us in Christ Jesus before the time of the ages.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 2/1/20 "Grace and our Privileged Access"
Grace and Our Privileged Access
Dearly beloved and highly favored sons of God, we live in the period of time called the Administration of the Grace of God in the Word of God.
God gave us the gospel of grace, He determined the Administration of Grace, He reveals that we are saved by His grace, we are justified by grace and have the remission of sins by the riches of His grace, we have access by grace, we stand in grace, and it will take Him the ages to come to show us the exceeding riches of His grace to us in Christ Jesus, to mention a few. Grace, grace, all is by His marvelous grace that He freely gave us in Christ!
Grace is Divine favor; it is God’s friendly willingness to bless. God’s grace is a free act of kindness given to all men in Christ. It is not hindered by sin, nor is it conditional upon works. The Father’s attitude and disposition toward us is expressed by His great grace to us in Christ. On the part of the Giver grace demonstrates kindness, and on the the recipient should be thankful for this undeserved favor.
Read more ...