May 2021 "Dearly Beloved" Articles
Dearly Beloved 5/31/21 "How Could So Many Be Wrong?"
How Could So Many Be Wrong?
Dearly beloved of God, the only media that should shape our believing is the Word of God; the rest of it is fake news.
God instructs us NOT to be conformed to the ideas, philosophies, and tenets of this evil age; they come from the adversary. They are earthly, sensual, and devilish.
The old serpent, the devil, has shaped the narrative he wants people to believe ever since the garden; just read Genesis 3. He is the father of lies, and the deceiver of the whole world.
On the other hand, the One True and Living God reveals the truth to us in His Word. His Word is the truth. If we continue in His Word we will know the truth, and the truth will make us free.
Have you ever heard someone say, “How could so many people be wrong?” It is quite simple; they listen to the wrong source, with the result that their minds are blinded to the truth.
In the Lord’s Day the coming lawless one will deceive the whole world, except those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
II Thessalonians 2:9-12
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Dearly Beloved 5/30/21 "Can You Predict the Future?"
Can You Predict the Future?
Dearly beloved of God, how well can you predict the future? God is amazingly good at it, even if we are not.
We all know that we are going to die. That’s about all human beings can say for sure. No one lives forever, but God tells us what lies ahead in our future.
Those who confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead will be saved when he returns to gather us together unto him in the air.
He will raise the dead in Christ, and change those of us who are alive, and together we will be gathered together up to him in the air.
Those in Christ have already been judged in Christ and we are justified. When he comes for us we will acquire the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will not only be with him, we will be like him, and glorified with him.
Those in Christ will have the life of the ages, and we will see the new heavens and new earth, and we will live with God our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, and reign with them forever.
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Dearly Beloved 5/29/21 "Sufficiency in Uncertain Times"
Sufficiency in Uncertain Times
Dearly beloved of God, happy Memorial Day to you. Today we remember those who have given their lives so we can enjoy the freedoms we have as citizens of the United States of America.
At times it may look senses wise as though all is lost, but fear not, it is not! God is our Father, and He is our sufficiency in all things, all of the time.
We are the children of God, dearly beloved, we are born again of the spirit from God, and we have entered the kingdom of God. We are not only the children of God, we are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ.
As frustrating as these times may be they do not compare to the glory that will be revealed to us when Christ returns to gather us up to him in the air.
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Dearly Beloved 5/28/21 "God's Wisdom"
God’s Wisdom
Dearly beloved, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? And one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are numbered. Fear you not therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows.” Yes, you are His dearly beloved, and He cares for you.
The wisdom of this evil age tries to convince us otherwise, but the Father reveals His wisdom to us in His Word, and His Son demonstrated it while he was on earth.
“Come unto me, all you that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and you shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
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Dearly Beloved 5/27/21 "He Is Alive"
He Is Alive
Dearly beloved of God, the gospel of God concerning Jesus Christ our Lord concerns everything from the new birth to our inheritance in the kingdom of God.
After God raised Jesus out from among the dead people, he lived and ministered on earth for another 40 days, then he ascended into heaven and God seated him at His right side as both Lord and Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ is God’s second in command in the kingdom of God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is far above all; all in this age and in the coming ages. God made him the head of the Church, which is his body, and he filled all the members of his body with everything that he accomplished.
The old covenant of the law was replaced with the new covenant of the spirit. This is a covenant with individuals, not only the nation of Israel. All who confess Jesus as Lord and believes that God raised him from the dead is saved. They are born again of the spirit from God, born of incorruptible seed.
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Dearly Beloved 5/22/21 "The Spirit of Sonship"
The Spirit of Sonship
Dearly beloved of God, since we have confessed Jesus as Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead we will be saved when Christ returns to gather us up to him in the air! Rejoice.
Today we have the treasure of the spirit from God in earthen vessels, but when he returns he will transform our bodies to be like his glorious body by the power by which is able to subdue all things unto himself. We will not only be with him, we will be like him!
In this current age of the grace of God and the mystery, each of us is sealed with the holy spirit of promise. It is the down payment and guarantee of the inheritance we will receive when Christ returns. Rejoice!
In the Law Administration perhaps a person or two had the spirit of God upon them, but the rest of the nation of Israel did not have the spirit. They were men of the flesh given laws to regulate their behavior.
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Dearly Beloved 5/22/21 "The Glory to Come"
The Glory to Come
God bless you dearly beloved! There is so much we do not know about the time after the gathering together of the saints, but what we do know is indeed glorious: from the dead and living in Christ being raised and transformed to have bodies like our Lord’s glorious body, and to enjoy space travel in them without a plane or rocket. We will meet the Lord in the air.
We will see the Lord face to face in the air and return with him into the heavenlies. We will stand at the Bema to receive for what we did in the body. We will never again leave our Lord’s side. We will behold glory after glory in the ages to come.
When he returns in the Lord’s Day to render judgment and make war we will be with him. We will even judge angels. We will see the whole earth bow to him as he rules the earth for a 1000 years.
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Dearly Beloved 5/20/21 "He Sent the Promise"
He Sent the Promise
Dearly beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ said that he would send the promise of the Father, and he did. John the Baptist said that he baptized the Judeans with water, but Jesus Christ would baptize them with the holy spirit.
Jesus Christ gave his life to make the gift of holy spirit available to us. God resurrected Jesus from the dead, and He lifted him up into heaven to sit at His right hand. He made him both Lord and Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ received the promise of the holy spirit from the Father, and he poured it out for any and all who confessed him as Lord and believed that God raised him from the dead.
Speaking in tongues is God’s proof that He raised His Son from the dead, and that by believing in him you are saved for eternal life.
After Peter taught the people the meaning of what had just occurred, the people present asked Peter, “What shall we do?”
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of [from] the Holy Spirit [God]. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.”
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Dearly Beloved 5/18/21 "No Condemnation"
No Condemnation
Dearly beloved of God, God is not mad at you. Many Christians do not know this because no one has taught them about this reality.
The only way we can know anything about spiritual matters, and the will of God is to know and believe the revelation that God has given in His Word.
Listen to what Jesus Christ said.
John 5:24
Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him That sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation [judgment]; but is passed from death unto life.
Condemnation is a sentence against the guilty. How do we know the will of God concerning the terms of judgment that God determined? Jesus Christ revealed it right here. Anyone can read it; it is clearly understandable.
Earlier in John 3, Jesus Christ said that to see and enter the kingdom of God one must be born again, and he explained it.
John 3:6 and 7
That which is born of the flesh [this is the natural birth] is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit [born of Spirit is to be begotten of the spirit of God, to be born again] is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
He continues to explain this in the context.
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Dearly Beloved 5/17/21 "Fullness of Joy"
Fullness of Joy
Dearly beloved of God, God our Father wants us to be full of joy. Joy is delight, or gladness.
The first time occurrence of joy in the New Testament is in Matthew 2:10.
“When they [the Magi] saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.”
Daniel had trained the Magi concerning the astronomical events associated with the coming of the Christ when he was in captivity with the Persians. When they finally saw this wonderful event coming to pass they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
At the end of the book of Matthew we read in 28:5-8:
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Dearly Beloved 5/16/21 "Justice, Joy, and Peace"
Justice, Joy, and Peace
Dearly beloved of God, the kingdom of God is justice and peace and joy in the holy spirit. God’s kingdom doesn’t deal with religious observances like meat and drink; it is in justice, peace, and joy.
God our Father wants us to have His righteousness, His peace, and be full of joy because we received the gift of holy spirit.
Our joy and peace and His justice is completely wrapped up in Jesus Christ our Lord and his accomplishments. As we grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ these things will become more and more manifest in our lives.
Nothing in this world can give us joy and peace; it comes from believing what God revealed in His Word concerning Christ, from the new birth realities to the time we will receive our inheritance as the children of God.
God gave us the revelation of His Word so that we could fellowship with Him and with His Son so that our joy may be full.
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Dearly Beloved 5/11/21 "So Thankful"
So Thankful
Dearly beloved of God, where would we have been had someone not spoken the Word of God to us?
I thank God for the person that had the love and boldness to tell me about God and His Word. I had attended church my entire life, but no one had opened the Word of God to me so that I could know the One True and Living God, and understand His Word. All I knew was religion.
God is Spirit; no one has seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ who was in the bosom of the Father, (the one who was in His love and His will); he revealed Him, he made Him known.
How did Jesus Christ reveal God? He made Him known by his words and his works. Jesus Christ always did the will of His Father.
Without His Father, Jesus said that he could do nothing, but by listening to His Father and doing His will Jesus could do whatever he was instructed to do.
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Dearly Beloved 5/10/21 "Four Leprous Men"
Four Leprous Men
Dearly beloved of God, four leprous men sat at the entrance of the gate in Samaria, and they said one to another, “Why sit we here until we die?”
In the first place the men were lepers. None of us would want to have leprosy and watch our life decay before our very eyes; such despair.
Inside the city there was a very great famine. It was so bad a woman ate her own child to keep from starving. If the lepers went into the city they knew they would die of starvation.
They realized if they kept sitting by the gate death waited for them.
Outside the city the Syrians were besieging the city; perhaps they would save them alive if for some reason they decided not kill them.
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Dearly Beloved 5/9/21 "Complete in Christ Jesus the Lord"
Complete in Christ Jesus the Lord
Dearly beloved of God, there is tremendous revelation given to us from God our Father in Colossians 2:10.
“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power”
The pronoun “him” refers to Christ Jesus the Lord in verse 6. What are we in him? We are “complete” in him. What does this mean?
“Complete” is the Greek word “pleroo.” It means filled full, completely filled, thus, complete. In Christ Jesus, we are filled with “every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ”. It is all of them in all of us.
It is every spiritual blessing in every one of the members of the body of Christ. It is all that he achieved, in all the members of the body of Christ. It is all of them in all of us. Not one member of the body is lacking one single thing that Christ Jesus the Lord achieved. He filled us to complete capacity. If we lacked in even one detail, he could not have used “complete.”
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Dearly Beloved 5/8/21 "Do You Want Answers?"
Do You Want Answers?
Dearly beloved of God, God is Spirit. How can we be certain about spiritual matters that are determined by God in a realm that is unknown to us? What reference can we trust to give us the answers concerning spiritual matters?
People base their spiritual understanding on a number of different sources. This is why there are so many divergent opinions about spiritual matters. The source we utilize as our reference for learning concerning spiritual matters will determine what we believe.
Is there a source that God has given mankind from which we can learn about things that pertain to matters in the spiritual realm? Thankfully there is.
I Corinthians 2:12
Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which of God [Why?] that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
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Dearly Beloved 5/6/21 "Is to Die a Gain?"
Is to Die a Gain?
Dearly beloved of God, a section of scripture that is wrestled from its context is found in Philippians 1:20- 24. Some use this section to teach that death is a gain, because, they say, that death is the entrance to eternal life. Is this what this section is teaching? The context begins in verse 12.
Philippians 1:12
But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel;
The context that follows, concerns “the furtherance of the gospel.”
The Apostle Paul rejoiced that Christ was proclaimed, whether he was in prison or not; whether some spoke of Christ out of contention, or out of love, and good will. The Apostle Paul set himself for the furtherance of the gospel, whether it was by his life or by his death.
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Dearly Beloved 5/6/21 "The Rich Mon and Lazarus"
The Rich Man and Lazarus
Dearly beloved of God, God did a wonderful job communicating His Word so that we could understand His Will.
At times we may have a hard time understanding what God said because of previous teaching. Instead of reading what is written, we read the words, but think of them in light of what someone may have told us they mean. At times this makes it difficult to learn.
Take the record in Luke 16:19-31 for example. This is a parable spoken by the Lord Jesus in a confrontation with the Pharisees who did not believe the Word of God.
A parable is a repeated or continued Simile – an illustration by which one set of circumstances is likened to another. The likeness is generally only in some special point.
The story may be true or imaginary, but those who hear it must believe that it is possible, though it is not necessary that the speaker should believe it to be true.
Those who say that when you die you go to heaven, which they erroneously call paradise, often refer to this parable as the basis for this teaching. Is that what Jesus Christ was saying in this parable? Let us begin in the context to find the answer.
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Dearly Beloved 5/4/21 "The First Fruit from the Dead"
The First Fruit from the Dead
Dearly beloved of God, the Lord Jesus Christ was the first man to be resurrected from the dead. Christ being raised from the dead, dies no more. Death has no dominion over him. He is the first fruit from the dead.
The Scriptures reveal that other people have died and come back to life. For example, Jonah was dead and in the whale’s belly for three days and three nights, and he came back to life.
Jesus raised three people from the dead. Lazarus was one of them, and he was in the grave for four days when Jesus raised him to life.
Hebrews 11 reveals that, “Women received their dead raised to life again,” but all of these people died again, not having received the promise of eternal life.
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Dearly Beloved 5/4/21 "II Corinthians 5:1-9"
II Corinthians 5:1-9
Dearly beloved of God, I Thessalonians 4:13-18, and I Corinthians 15:50-57 reveal “the word of the Lord” concerning our hope in Christ.
By this information we clearly know that God will send His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ to redeem the dead in Christ from the state of death, and to change those who are living to be immortal. Both will be gathered together up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so will we ever be with the Lord.
Until the Lord Jesus Christ returns to raise the dead, the dead will remain in the state of death. Corruption does not automatically inherit incorruption.
This redemption and salvation will take place when God sends the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church and we are gathered up to meet him in the air on the Day of Redemption.
II Corinthians 5:1-5 teaches the same truth.
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Dearly Beloved 5/3/21 "A Mystery Revealed"
A Mystery Revealed
Dearly beloved of God, if Christ was not raised from the dead our believing is vain, we are still dead in sin, and those who have fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
If in this life only we have hope in Christ, then of all men we are most to be pitied. Now, however, Christ has been raised from the dead: the first fruit offering of those who have fallen asleep, and our hope is that he will raise us up also when he comes.
I Corinthians 15:21 and 22 The Working Translation
As a matter of fact, since death came by man, by man is the resurrection of the dead also, for as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all will be made alive.
Each, however, in his own order: Christ, the first fruit offering, then at his coming, those who are Christ’s.
When will those who are Christ’s be made alive? They will be made alive “at his coming,” not at the moment of their death.
I Corinthians 15: 50 The Working Translation
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Dearly Beloved 5/2/21 "Our Hope in Christ"
Our Hope in Christ
Dearly beloved of God, what is the hope of Christianity? How do we know what that hope is? Who will be involved? When will our hope become a reality?
The scriptures interpret themselves in the verse, the context surrounding that particular verse, and/or where the identical subject is mentioned previously.
Within the verse we must consider the biblical definition of words, figures of speech, and customs and expressions that were common at time the scriptures were given.
Any scripture that seems difficult to understand concerning our hope in Christ must be considered in light of the many clear scriptures that God has revealed for our believing.
I Thessalonians 4:13-18, and I Corinthians 15: 51-54 reveal the doctrine of our hope in Christ.
I Thessalonians 4: 13
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.
From this verse we learn that God does not want us ignorant about death and our hope, so He is going to inform us about it. There are also people who have no hope.
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Dearly Beloved 5/1/21 "Is Death the Entrance to Life?"
Is Death the Entrance to Life?
Dearly beloved of God, every religion of the world teaches that there is life after death. They teach that a person does not really die, the person lives on in a different form. Some say that you can communicate with the dead in a séance, while others say you can pray to the dead for guidance.
There are only two sources of all spiritual information: the One True and Living God, or Satan. All religion has a common origin; it is inspired by Satan, the prince of this world. Although there may appear to be a number of spiritual kingdoms, in reality there are only two: the kingdom of the One True God, and the kingdom of Satan.
The One True and Living God declares in His Word that when a person dies that he is dead, and that he will remain in the state of death until God sends the Lord Jesus Christ to resurrect them from the dead.