2/6/19

"THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS" A Gracious Exhortation (10:19-25) by Mark Copeland


 "THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS"

A Gracious Exhortation (10:19-25)
INTRODUCTION

1. To this point in "The Epistle To The Hebrews", doctrinal arguments
   have been presented to encourage faithfulness and steadfastness...
   a. Demonstrating the superiority of the Son - He 1:1-8:6
   b. Illustrating the superiority of the New Covenant - He 8:7-10:18

2. With He 10:19, the author begins making application based upon these premises...
   a. Which he does through a series of exhortations and warnings
   b. Such composing the remaining part of this epistle

3. In verses 19-25, we find a three-fold exhortation...
   a. To draw near to God
   b. To hold fast our faith
   c. To stimulate one another in love and good works
   -- All based upon what Christ has done and will do for us!

[I have entitled this lesson "A Gracious Exhortation", for certainly
each aspect of the exhortation is based upon God's wonderful grace 
bestowed upon us through Christ, and it reflects the tone of the author
as he makes his heartfelt appeal.  Beginning with...]
 
I. LET US DRAW NEAR IN FAITH (19-22)

   A. WE ARE EXHORTED TO DRAW NEAR TO GOD...
      1. To "enter the Holiest" - He 10:19
         a. That heavenly place where Christ has entered! - He 9:11-12
         b. Into the presence of God Himself! - He 9:24
      2. To so enter:
         a. "having boldness" (with great confidence) - He 10:19
         b. "with a true heart" (with all sincerity) - He 10:22
         c. "in full assurance of faith" (without doubt) - He 10:22
      -- Though not expressed explicitly, this is a call to draw near 
         to God in prayer! - cf. He 4:16

   B. THE BASIS FOR THIS EXHORTATION...
      1. We are able to "enter" God's presence because:
         a. Jesus has consecrated "a new and living way, through the 
            veil" - He 10:19-20
            1) There is now a new way to approach God in heaven, 
               through One who lives!
            2) It is made possible by "the blood of Jesus...His flesh"
               (His death on the cross)
         b. Jesus now serves as "a High Priest over the house of God" - He 10:21
            1) Who is able to come to our aid - He 2:17-18
            2) Who sympathizes with our weakness - He 4:14-16
            3) Who ever lives to intercede in our behalf - He 7:24-25
      2. But we are also able to "enter" God's presence because:
         a. We have had "our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience"
            1) This is an allusion to the Old Testament practice of 
               taking blood from the altar and consecrating the priests
               by sprinkling them with it - Exo 29:21
            2) It is the blood of Christ that is truly efficacious in 
               purging our conscience of sin - He 9:14
         b. We have had "our bodies washed with pure water"
            1) Another allusion to the manner in which priests were 
               consecrated - Exo 29:4
            2) The author likely has reference to baptism...
               a) For baptism is referred to as a "washing"- Ac 22:16;
                  cf. Ep 5:26; Tit 3:5
               b) Though the stress is on the inner cleansing, not the 
                  outer - cf. 1Pe 3:21

[With Christ as our "High Priest", and our own consecration as 
"priests" through the blood of Jesus, we should not hesitate to draw 
near to God in prayer and worship, looking forward to that day when we
literally enter "through the veil" into God's wonderful presence!

For similar reasons we should also heed the next part of "A Gracious
Exhortation"...]

II. LET US HOLD FAST OUR HOPE (23)

   A. WE ARE EXHORTED TO HOLD FAST THE CONFESSION OF OUR HOPE...
      1. In Christ we have a much "better hope" - He 6:19; 7:19
      2. But there is the danger of apostasy - He 3:12-13; 4:11
      3. For which reason we must "hold fast" the hope which we confess
         - He 3:6,14; 4:14
      --  Indeed, we need to "hold fast...without wavering" - He 10:23

   B. A GOOD REASON TO HEED THIS EXHORTATION...
      1. The faithfulness of God:  "for He who promised is faithful"- He 10:23
      2. God will not fail us (He 13:5); therefore we need to emulate
         the faith of Sarah, who "judged Him faithful who had promised" - He 11:11

[We can depend upon God to keep His promise.  But will we remain 
faithful to Him?  To help ensure that we will, we need to heed the 
final part of "A Gracious Exhortation"...]

III. LET US CONSIDER ONE ANOTHER (24-25)

   A. IN ORDER TO STIR UP LOVE AND GOOD WORKS...
      1. As we "draw near" to God and "hold fast" our hope, we are not
         to do so alone
      2. We are to be mindful of each other and how we are doing
         ("consider one another")
      3. With a view to incite or spur on ("stir up") both "love and good works"
      -  This is reminiscent of the exhortation in He 3:12-14

   B. ACCOMPLISHED THROUGH FREQUENT ASSEMBLING...
      1. An important purpose of our assembling is to "stir up love and good works"
         a. Yes, we do come to worship and praise God
         b. But we also come to edify and exhort one another! - He 10: 25a
      2. Therefore we must not become guilty of "forsaking the 
         assembling of ourselves together"
         a. The word "forsake" means "to abandon, desert"
         b. I.e., to stop assembling with the saints altogether
         c. Some evidently had done so ("as is the manner of some")
      3. Exhorting one another through assembling is even more 
         imperative "as you see the Day approaching"
         a. Some commentators believe the "Day" referred to is the
            destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70
            1) Which was impending at the time this epistle was written (ca. 63-65 A.D.)
            2) Certainly such an event would call for encouragement 
               through frequent assembling
         b. Others suggest that the "Day" refers to the Judgment Day at
            the Second Coming
            1) It certainly fits the context of He 9:27-29; 10:27,37
            2) And while one might not know the "day and hour" of His 
               coming, we were given some general signs of His coming 
               - cf. 2Th 2:1-8
      -- The main point is to appreciate the value and necessity of our
         assemblies, and that forsaking them is indicative of apostasy!

CONCLUSION

1. With "A Gracious Exhortation" before us, we are encouraged to:
   a. Draw near to God in full assurance of faith
   b. Hold fast the confession of our hope
   c. Consider one another to stir up to love and good works

2. As motivation to heed this "exhortation", we are reminded of:
   a. The "new and living way" now open to God, made possible by Jesus' death
   b. The High Priest who now serves for us over the house of God
   c. How we have been "consecrated" through having our hearts 
      sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water
   d. How He who has promised is faithful
   e. How we have each other to encourage us along
   f. The approaching Day, in particular the Day of Judgment

If we truly appreciate the blessings we now have in Christ, we will do
all that we can to draw closer to God, hold fast that hope which we 
confess, and utilize the opportunities we have to encourage one another
in love and good works!


Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2016

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Aristotle’s “Unmoved Mover” and Those Who Are “Without Excuse” by Caleb Colley, Ph.D.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=3795


Aristotle’s “Unmoved Mover” and Those Who Are “Without Excuse”

by Caleb Colley, Ph.D.


In Paul’s discussion of the sins of the Gentiles, the apostle explained that those Gentiles who refused to acknowledge the existence of a higher power (one that is responsible for the origin of the natural order) had no excuse for their failure in this regard:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Romans 1:18-21).
If it is the case that those who refuse to believe in God (despite evidence He has presented in the material world) are without excuse, then we would expect to learn of people who, while perhaps lacking special revelation from God, nonetheless applied their God-given rationality to develop belief in a being that is responsible for the physical world. We find just such an example in one of the most famous and important philosophers, Aristotle.
In Aristotle’s Physics, the philosopher addresses the question of motion. After a lengthy discussion on the nature of motion and the immediate causes for motion, Aristotle addresses the remote cause for motion:
If everything that is in motion is moved by something that is in motion, either this is an accidental attribute of the things (so that each of them moves something while being itself in motion, but not because it is itself in motion) or it belongs to them in their own right. If, then, it is an accidental attribute, it is not necessary that that which causes motion should be in motion; and if this is so it is clear that there may be a time when nothing that exists is in motion, since the accidental is not necessary but contingent.... But the non-existence of motion is an impossibility (1984, 1:428, parenthetical item in orig.).
Aristotle, exemplary in his philosophical quest at this juncture, simply asks himself why there is motion. His conclusion, after a lengthy discussion, is essentially this: Because it is undeniable that motion exists, then there must be a first cause for the motion—an unmoved mover, whose movement (or causing of movement) is not an accidental property of His, but rather a necessary component of His being. Whereas each item in the created order is in motion because it has been moved by a distinct mover, the unmoved mover must possess the quality of motion (or the causing of motion). Aristotle lived prior to the Christian age, and was not a Hebrew; yet in his quest to understand the natural order, he was not prejudiced against belief in the supernatural.
Thomas Aquinas would adapt Aristotle’s argument to formulate what we know as part of the cosmological argument for the existence of the God of the Bible (see Maurer, 2010; cf. Jeffcoat, n.d.):
Now whatever is in motion is put in motion by another.... For motion is nothing else than the reduction of something from potentiality to actuality.... It is therefore impossible that in the same respect and in the same way a thing should be both mover and moved, i.e., that it should move itself. If that by which it is put in motion be itself put in motion, then this also must needs be put in motion by another, and that by another again. But this cannot go on to infinity, because then there would be no first mover, and, consequently, no other mover.... Therefore it is necessary to admit a first efficient cause, to which everyone gives the name of God (1952, 19:12,13, emp. added).
Peter Kreeft summarizes Aquinas’ argument: “Since no thing (or series of things) can move (change) itself, there must be a first, Unmoved Mover, source of all motion” (1990, p. 63, parenthetical items in orig.).
The necessity of the unmoved Mover is obvious. Yet, Paul recognized that some had become so calloused by worldly concerns as to prejudice their hearts against the Creator. So, God “gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness” (Romans 1:28-30). Despite the forceful clarity with which God has revealed Himself to His creation, some will misuse their intellectual freedom and reject Him. May we, on the other hand, willingly receive a simple, yet critical, lesson from Aristotle and Aquinas concerning the necessary existence of our Creator.

REFERENCES

Aquinas, Thomas (1952), Summa Theologica, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago).
Aristotle (1984), Physics, trans. R.P. Hardie and R.K. Gaye, in The Complete Works of Aristotle, ed. Jonathan Barnes (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).
Jeffcoat, W.D. (no date), “The Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God,” http://apologeticspress.org/rr/reprints/Cosmological-Argument-for-Exist.pdf.
Kreeft, Peter (1990), Summa of the Summa (San Francisco: Ignatius Press).
Maurer, Armand (2010), “Medieval Philosophy,” Encyclopaedia Brittanica, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1350843/Western-philosophy/8653/Thomas-Aquinas?anchor=ref365766.

Are We “100% Sure” Goldilocks Planet has Life? by Kyle Butt, M.Div.

http://apologeticspress.org/APContent.aspx?category=12&article=3756


Are We “100% Sure” Goldilocks Planet has Life?

by Kyle Butt, M.Div.


Associated Press science writer Seth Borenstein recently reported on a new planet that seems to be in what scientists call the “Goldilocks zone.” What is the “Goldilocks zone?” Very few places in our Universe maintain conditions that are suitable for life. One of those conditions is that liquid water must be present. The “Goldilocks zone” is a specific distance from any star that is “not too hot, not too cold. Juuuust right,”—a situation that allows water to remain in its liquid form (Borenstein, 2010). According to atheistic, evolutionary ideas about the origin of the Universe, in theory, there should be hundreds, thousands, or even millions of planets in our Universe that maintain conducive conditions for life to “begin.” In fact, we are incessantly informed by the media and the scientific community that it is just a matter of time before we discover other planets where life has evolved from non-living chemicals. One would think, according to the propaganda about life arising in other places, that a little liquid water and a few amino acids thrown together will inevitably produce life.

Thus, we have a report of the first Earth-like planet that could possibly “support life.” The planet, labeled Gliese 581g, is the sixth planet from a dwarf star named Gliese 581. Borenstein described the planet in the following way:
It is about three times the mass of Earth, slightly larger in width and much closer to its star—14 million miles away versus 93 million. It’s so close to its version of the sun that it orbits every 37 days. And it doesn’t rotate much, so one side is almost always bright, the other dark. Temperatures can be as hot as 160 degrees or as frigid as 25 degrees below zero, but in between—in the land of constant sunrise—it would be “shirt-sleeve weather,” said co-discoverer Steven Vogt (Borenstein, 2010).
Gliese 581g is of interest, then, because there is a chance that it could have liquid water on its surface. Of course, as Borenstein noted: “It’s unknown whether water actually exists on the planet.” What, then, is so important about liquid water, as opposed to any other constraints that are necessary for life to survive? Vogt said that “chances for life on this planet are 100 percent” since “there always seems to be life on Earth where there is water.” Wow! Look at that reasoning. This new planet might have some water, so we are 100% sure there is life on the planet. We are not even 100% sure it has water. How in the world could we be sure it has life?

The false idea that finding liquid water is the equivalent of finding biological life is easy to debunk. Take some water, kill all the microscopic organisms in it so that no life exists. Add any amino acids or “building blocks” of life that you want, then shock the mixture, blow it up, heat it, cool it, or whatever else you want to do, and see if you get life. News flash—you don’t get life! Louis Pasteur proved that almost 150 years ago (Butt, 2002). Yet Vogt boldly stated: “It’s pretty hard to stop life once you give it the right conditions” (as quoted in Borenstein). And what, pray tell, are the right conditions? Vogt can’t tell you, and neither can any other human alive. Water is certainly not “the right conditions” for life, because we can supply water to any mixture of non-living chemicals all day long for the next 20 billion years and not get life.

What, in reality, are the “right conditions” for life to begin? There is really only one: an intelligent Creator must superintend the process. “In the beginning was water,” will not produce life. But “in the beginning God created the heavens and the Earth,” will supply the necessary condition for life on Earth or any other planet—God. Beware of the false assumptions that fill the media and “scientific” discussions of other planets and life in outer space.

REFERENCES


Borentstein, Seth (2010), “Could ‘Goldilocks’ Planet Be Just Right for Life?”, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100929/ap_on_sc/us_sci_new_earths.

Butt, Kyle (2002), “Biogenesis—The Long Arm of the Law,” http://apologeticspress.org/articles/1769.

Fruit of the Spirit – Love (Part 1) (By Ben Fronczek)

http://granvillenychurchofchrist.org/?p=1479


Fruit of the Spirit – Love (part 1)




Fruit of the Spirit – Love   (Part 1)
(By Ben Fronczek)
We are told that we are created in the very image of God. Since God is a spirit, so are we. In creating us, God also gave us a soul. When David wrote about God knitting us together in our mother’s womb, He actually put together an amazingly complex piece of work in each of us; one that is a spirit, with an individual soul, in a equally unique body for each of us.
By no means are we like an assembly line robot punched out in a cookie cutter fashion. Even though we all take a human form, either male or female, we are still unique and custom made according to God’s own design. When we come out of the womb and enter this world, I do not believe that we come out as a blank slate or with an empty mind. Rather I believe that we have been pre-programmed with information by God Himself.
God pre-programmed our flesh to function and take care of itself to some degree. I also believe that He pre-programmed our soul (that is our mind and being) with some of His own attributes. For example we have faith, hope, and demonstrate and feel love even a a very young age and it grows and matures as we grow older. We also love peace and sense the need for good morals and to some degree we know the difference between what’s right and what’s wrong. We also seem pre-programmed to nurture and take care for things. We also seem to have this uncanny urge to create, investigate, and learn more and more; which seems to lead us to back to Him. I don’t believe that we are born with a totally blank slate.
Unfortunately when sin entered the world, many things that were meant to be used and utilized for our good got twisted around. But thank God He stepped into our history and our personal lives to help us sort things out and lead us back down the right path. That’s why Jesus said, “I am the way.”  Way to what? The way to get us back on that right path, and back to our Father.
He not only saved us from our self and our sin, He quite literally stepped into our life by sharing His own spirit with us to help us along.
Sort of reminds me of a computer. We buy a new computer. And when its bran new, its fresh, its clean or uncorrupted. But the more we use it and interact with the world on the world wide web, it has a tendency to get messed up and polluted with viruses and garbage that attacks some of the computer’s primary programs and it is left corrupted.
When that happens to my computer I have to take it over to the Geek Squad at the Best Buy store to fix it and clean out all the garbage. They usually do so by inserting a new program that cleans it out and helps protect it from future attacks.
When we returned to our maker, God, and accepted Jesus as our Lord, He cleaned us out. And rather than putting a new program in us to help protect us, He Himself entered us, that is His Spirit entered us to help us perform better and better if we choose to run with Him.
Even though we were once corrupted with sin, now we can daily take advantage of going back to the source to help us stay on track and even grow stronger.
As you know, we are not computers. We are a spirit with a soul that has the freedom to choose to utilize and enjoy His own attributes or not. We can choose to grow in these areas or to continue walking in the flesh which is contrary to the way of the Spirit. We are free to choose what fruit we shall bear.
As for me, I choose to learn more about and grow and walk in the way of the Spirit. I hope that you choose that path as well.
In the next few lessons I want to talk about some of these attributes which the Apostle Paul describes as, ‘fruit of the Spirit’.
The first and most important fruit, or natural by-product of God’s Spirit which He would like to see us develop in our life is God-like Love.
I stress God-like love because love is a very complex term describing a number of different feelings and behaviors.
We have a number of different words translated love from the Greek language, in our English Bibles. For example: Eros (έρως) means passionate love or sexual desire.   Philia (φιλία) means friendship or brotherly love. Storge (στοργή) means “affection”, like that felt by parents for their children.
But God-like love is very special. The Greek word agape is used here in the text. It is a very unselfish kind of love. It is always seeking the other person best, even though at times we may not feel very passionate about what that person is doing.
It’s not about giving in to, or always going alone with this person. It’s not about being gentle and pussy-footing around someone so you don’t hurt their feelings when they are doing something foolish, wrong or ungodly. It’s all about really caring for them and doing what you think is best for them even if it means you have to confront or discipline them.
Scripture teaches us that God disciplines those He loves. In Proverbs 3:13 it says;  My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in.”
So sometimes agape love means that we have to confront someone because that may be what they really need.
Most of the time we don’t like to punish or discipline or confront others; including our kids. It can be very hard on us. Doing so can sometimes hurt us more because we know it will cause them pain. But we do it anyway because we love them and know it’s the right thing to do. And if we don’t do something we know it could lead to a worst problems in their future.
Going out of our way to correct or discipline someone we love is never an easy thing to do, especially when it comes to adults. Such a confrontation may stress you out. You may have to endure an argument, some hostility, some rejection and that hurts, especially when you know that you are telling the person, or giving them what they really need.
So this God-like love, agape love; can cost us something of our self. It may involve a major sacrifice on our part to help the other person. It may even hurt us but we do it anyway.
Or this kind of love may simply involve going out of your way to do something nice for someone; whether it is giving words of encouragement, sending someone a card, calling someone on the phone, or literally helping someone do something. It may just involve making yourself available, supporting someone with your presence. Sometimes words won’t even need to be said. Or it may just cost you something as simple as a hug, a gentle touch, or even a smile… whatever. Or it may even cost you financially. But in the end you believe it’s worth it all to bless the other person and seek their best.
Isn’t that what God did for each one of us? Isn’t that what He continues to do for us still? The very fact that He sent His son into the world to save us cost Him probably more than we will ever know. Why did He do it?
Because He loves us and He wanted to save us from Hell, seeking out our best and bringing us home one day. And for Him, for some reason what ever it cost, He thought it was worth it.
And now His Spirit who lives in us wants to help us reach a point of maturity whereby we will love others to the same degree. This kind of love is just the most obvious and most important natural by-product (or fruit) of the Spirit and living the Spirit filled life.
I personally believe that all of the other fruit of the Spirit (joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, faithfulness), if they are going to be seen in us, they hinge on our ability to love like this, like God.
Think about it, could you really have inner peace, or Joy in your heart, or patience for others, could you be kind or gentle and faithful without having love?
The Spirit of God wants to help you learn to love that much.
I’m sure the devil wants to prevent you from even caring for others. He will always have you put yourself and your needs before others. But that’s what Paul calls the way of the flesh or acts of the flesh, which are selfish.
Want to drive the devil crazy and foil some of his plans? Then make a commitment each day to love others the way God would love them if He were in our place. That will drive the devil up the wall. Because there is nothing more powerful, and nothing more God-like in this world than this kind of Love.
In Mark 12:30-31 when asked what is most the important of all Jesus said to 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”
1 John 3:16-18 John wrote 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”  That’s Agape!
Do you want to demonstrate the power of God in this world, in this generation and in your own home and put the devil at bay? Then each day when you wake make a commitment to love others. Do what you believe is best for people you come in contact with. If you are not sure what that is, turn to God and pray and ask for His wisdom as you deal with the individual. And then be strong.

Chapter 12 NAMES AND TITLES by CA Feenstra

http://www.oldpaths.com/Archive/Feenstra/C/A/1931/ch12.html

Chapter 12
NAMES AND TITLES

Q. Does GOD'S WORD teach that we are to do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus and that we are to glorify God in His name?
"And whatsoever ye do, in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." Col. 3:17
"But if a man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this name." I Pet. 4:16
"And in none other is there salvation: for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved." Acts 4:12
"And he (Jesus) is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he (Jesus) might have the preeminence." Col 1:18
Q. If GOD'S WORD teaches that we are to do all things in the name of the Lord Jesus and that we are to glorify God in His name, why do men call themselves, their children, and all things by the name of a mere sinner whose body has returned to dust?
Q. Why do they use "Calvinist"?
"Young Calvinist"?
"Young Calvinist Federation"?
"Young Calvinist magazine"?
"Calvinist Conventions"?
"Young Calvinist Rallies"?
"Calvin Cadettes"?
"Calvinettes"?
"Calvin church"?
"Calvin college"?
"Calvin seminary"?
"Calvin grade schools"?
"Calvin high schools"?
Q. What does GOD'S WORD teach concerning the use of religious titles by those who claim to be God's children?
"Then spake Jesus... saying...
But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your teacher, and all ye are brethren. And call no man your father on the earth: for one is your Father, even he who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters: for one is your master, even the Christ. But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted." Matt. 23:1-2, 8-12
Q. As used in GOD'S WORD, to whom only does the term "Reverend" refer?
"Holy and reverend is his (God's) name. The fear of Jehovah is the beginning of wisdom..." Psalm 111:9-10
Q. Is the use of the religious title "Reverend", any less presumptious and less God dishonoring that the titles of "Pope" and "Father"?

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)

Beyond sight by Gary Rose



From the parallel sand waves at the bottom of the picture, you can tell that the disturbance at the water’s surface is a wave headed for shore. That fish probably has no idea what is going on, much less what land or sky is. How much humans are like that fish; we see things around us but often do not understand the whole story. God’s creation is both complex and wondrous and over time human beings have come to know a great deal about it. Yet, there is another side to God’s handiwork, a side unseen by human eyes…


Creation is more than just what we can see
Colossians 1 (World English Bible)
12 giving thanks to the Father, who made us fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light;  13 who delivered us out of the power of darkness, and translated us into the Kingdom of the Son of his love;  14 in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins;  15 who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.  16 For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. (emphasis added)
A Spiritual realm exists, invisible to our eyes, yet real. I know this because the Bible says so and that is enough for me. And not all of that spirituality is good; for some of God’s wonderful creation have turned from following God (specifically Satan and his rebellious angels) and war against their creator and the summit of the Almighty's creation, mankind. Turning once again to the Bible, it says…


We are in a spiritual battle
Ephesians 6 (WEB)
 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  12 For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. (emphasis added)  13 Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.  14 Stand therefore, having the utility belt of truth buckled around your waist, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  15 and having fitted your feet with the preparation of the Good News of peace;  16 above all, taking up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the evil one.  17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  18 with all prayer and requests, praying at all times in the Spirit, and being watchful to this end in all perseverance and requests for all the saints: 

If you love God and try to faithfully follow him, you will be hated by evil. But God just won’t leave us hanging there, without help, he has given us spiritual armor. Its up to us to use what our heavenly father has given us and to fight back against whatever evil comes our way. But even if we fall short of using everything God has given us for our protection, there is more than just the armor of listed in Ephesians chapter 6, much more. Consider the following verse…


We have Jesus with us
Romans 8   (WEB)
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,  39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

We may fail, but Jesus never will, believe that because its both true and right. If God is for us who can prevail against us. There is no power in any realm (physical or spiritual) that is greater than Christ Jesus our Lord. Some day we will see all of God’s creation with resurrected eyes, but until that day let us take heart that all the things mentioned so far are true. Yet, evil seems too powerful and we just not strong enough to overcome. Turning to the old testament, we are given an example of a revelation of the spiritual realm and its interaction with our own physical world…


Do not be afraid, numbers are irrelevant
2 Kings 6    (WEB)
  9  The man of God sent to the king of Israel, saying, “Beware that you not pass such a place; for the Syrians are coming down there.”  10 The king of Israel sent to the place which the man of God told him and warned him of; and he saved himself there, not once nor twice.  11 The heart of the king of Syria was very troubled about this. He called his servants, and said to them, “Won’t you show me which of us is for the king of Israel?” 

  12  One of his servants said, “No, my lord, O king; but Elisha, the prophet who is in Israel, tells the king of Israel the words that you speak in your bedroom.” 

  13  He said, “Go and see where he is, that I may send and get him.” 

It was told him, saying, “Behold, he is in Dothan.” 
  14  Therefore he sent horses, chariots, and a great army there. They came by night, and surrounded the city.  15 When the servant of the man of God had risen early, and gone out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was around the city. His servant said to him, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” 

  16  He answered, “Don’t be afraid; for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”  17 Elisha prayed, and said, “Yahweh, please open his eyes, that he may see.” Yahweh opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. (emphasis added) 18 When they came down to him, Elisha prayed to Yahweh, and said, “Please strike this people with blindness.” 

He struck them with blindness according to the word of Elisha. 

I await with eagerness a revelation of the true nature of all reality, just like the eyes of the young man that Elisha prayed for. When this does happen, I pray that you will rejoice with me for God’s true greatness will be revealed at the same time.

Then, we will know not only lies above that wave in the picture, but above the heavens as well. I can only wonder at the beauty I will see.