Strong In Jesus

 For all am I strong in Him Who is invigorating me --Christ! 

Paul To The Philippians 4: 13, Concordant New Testament 

I recall taking a class at the old church I was attending which required us to memorize a few selected scripture verses.  One of these verse was the apostle Paul's words to the church at Philippi on the source of our strength.  Lest we become over confident that we ourselves have "Seized the day" and powered ourselves through another hard situation, Paul reminds us that that's not the case at all.  For the source of our strength is Christ with Whom we are one {Johns Account 14:20}.  Yet, looking at my New King James version of the scriptures you might not get that impression.  Yes, we're told that it is Jesus who is our strength, but does not refer to our union with Him.  Simply that it is Christ who strengthens me {Philippians 4:13 NKJV}.  I'm not simply cherry picking translations of the word here, but pointing out that more than a few translations carry with them the ideas of those who interpreted them.  For this reason, I have decided to stick mainly to the Concordant versions of the old and new testaments.  With the Concordant, I find a translation that a bit more true to the original Hebrew and Greek texts.  This is the case with Paul's words in Philippians.  We understand that not only is Christ Jesus the source of our strength, but that we also share a union with Him {Paul To The Philippians 4:13}.  The King James may correctly proclaim that Jesus is the source of our strength, it fails to mention our union with Him which the writers of the Concordant reveal.  This is but one example of the differences in scripture between the New King James and the Concordant versions.  Yet it is a glaring example of those differences.  I would also assume that for someone who has never known the truth of our union in Christ, that there would be no differences in scripture.  So, in the end it comes down to how you see the Father and your relationship with Him.  

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see if they are of God, for many false prophets have come out into the world. 

First Epistle Of John 4: 1, Concordant New Testament 

A good friend recently pointed out the existence of yet another bible translation which I was not aware of.  This being the slave bible.  Now, history tells us that the African American slaves were also very spiritual in their beliefs.  Many would believe in the gospel preached in that day while others carried with them the religions of their homeland.  The hymns which these slaves would often sing amongst themselves often carried hidden messages to each other.  History aside, there is no doubt that the early slaves knew and worshipped the Lord.  So, it's really no surprise that there would come along a translation which would attempt to illustrate/profit upon this.  I have seen many bible translations, including a Hawaiian pigeon dialect bible.  Yet I believe that with each and every translation of the scripture that man produces, the meaning of the scriptures becomes more watered down.  For each and every person who sets out to create another "Version" of the bible for a specific group or language goes into the endeavor with their own pre set understandings of what that scripture should be.  If someone who sat through many years of mainstream church sermons were to write a version of the bible, it might be far different from my own.  For their lens is focused on the teachings of the mainstream institutional church.  For them, their strength is indeed Jesus, but they themselves and Christ are two different individuals.  For myself, I would adhere to the translation of the Concordant version because that is the truth of Christ which I believe.  I believe that it is the Lord Jesus Who is my strength, but I also believe that I am strong in my union with Him.  This is the truth I proclaim.  Of course, your version might be different.  

~Scott~ 

Diggin Up Bones

 I'm digging up bones

I'm digging up bones

Exhuming things that are better left alone

Digging Up Bones ~ Randy Travis 

The other day I found myself recalling some of the times I spent with my mother before she passed.  I do this from time to time despite the fact that she's been gone almost eight years now.  Some of the times were good, others not so much.  When I begin to think of her final days and the pain that she was in, I backtrack and think of what I might have done better to make her feel better.  I'm assuming that this is a normal reaction to someone who has passed away as well.  Yet, as I recall what the past hath wrought, I'm left with one conclusion.  It's over, let it be.  Part of our growing process is to examine those things which we have experienced in the past and to learn from them.  Some make good use of this while others do not.  As for myself, I've learned over time that I have never been alone in my life.  Despite the fact that I may at times feel this way, I've learned that I am in the Father and that He is always present in my life {Johns Account 14:20}.  It hasn't only been my memories of my mother which I have drug out from my memory, but also many of the bad choices which I have made, knowing I could have done better.  Again, experience is the best teacher.  I know that I am not alone in digging up the bones of past experiences, we all do this for different reasons.  Our memories can be both beneficial and detrimental.  Yet the underlying truth of our memories is that they represent what once was, not what will be.  Can we recall Jesus as He once was?  Perhaps, but we also recognize that Jesus is the same, He's never changed {To The Hebrews 13:8}.  The mainstream church is big on referring to us as sinners.  Listen to any pastor speak for very long and you're bound to hear the warnings of sin and how we need to repent from it.  Yet what many in the institutional church fail to recognize is that I'm not the guy I once was {Paul To The Romans 6:6}.  That I am a new creation in Christ {Paul To The Corinthians (2) 5:17}.  How can these two passages help us when we exhume the events of our past?  Because the past is gone and that which we have now is far better.  

For the rest, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is grave, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is agreeable, whatever is renowned - if there is any virtue, and if any applause, be taking these into account. 

Paul To The Philippians 4: 8, Concordant New Testament 

I have seen and heard many of the horror stories of those in the military returning from combat only to find that their war was not over.  When I was younger, I remember my uncle, a Vietnam veteran, walking the halls of the house in the late hours of the night unable to sleep.  Some recent data claims that on average, 17 military soldiers take their lives each day.  While this is a staggering number, consider the circumstances involved.  The military, by nature, exists to prepare those who volunteer to fight to defend themselves and their nation.  War is a ever present reality for all who join our nations armed forces.  When your time in the military is done and you're released once again into civilian life, that transition can be a tough pill to swallow for many.  Indeed, there are many who make the transition without a hitch, but there are also those who continue to fight the ghosts of the past.  The National Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C is visited by millions of people searching for the names of friends and loved ones who served.  Many trace the names of those they remember onto pieces of paper in memory those who have fallen.  I do not take this away from anyone, for it is a part of the grieving process.  But how do we know which of those old bones are good and which ones should remain buried in the past?  Well, I believe that any of those old memories which cause us pain and grief are better left alone.  I've made some pretty bad decisions in the past, but I DO NOT live with the memory of these instances.  I learned from them.  The most important thing I remember is that the old man I once was is dead.  What remains now is Christ {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}.  

Brethren, not as yet I am reckoning myself to have grasped, yet one thing - forgetting, indeed, those things which are behind, yet stretching out to those in front - toward the goal am I pursuing for the prize of God's calling above in Christ Jesus. 

Paul To The Philippians 3: 13-14, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

A Convenient Scapegoat

" I visited every nook and cranny of the camp because I felt it my duty to be in a position from then on to testify at first hand about these things in case there ever grew up at home the belief of assumption that 'The stories of nazi brutality were just propaganda.'  Some members of the visiting party were unable to through the ordeal.  I not only did so but as soon as I returned to Patton's headquarters that evening I sent communications to both Washington and London, urging the two governments to send instantly to Germany a random group of newspaper editors and representative groups from the national legislatures.  I felt the evidence should be immediately placed before the American and British publics in a fashion that would leave no room for cynical doubt." 

General Dwight David Eisenhower upon viewing the German concentration camps

There has been a storm brewing in this nation recently.  A storm of discontent among those who call for the immediate end to Israeli military action against the Hamas terrorists who sucker punched Israel on October 7, 2023.  Chants of "Death to Israel" and "From the river to the sea" have echoed across the college campuses of the country.  Of course, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that these liberal institutions for indoctrination often foment civil disobedience.  We watched this play out in the 1960's and 70's as the anti Vietnam war crowd demonstrated against the war in Southeast Asia.  Many a returning soldier has spoken to being harassed and spit on at various airports across the country.  Now, some Ivy League educated liberal judge may see these actions as free speech, but I see them as assault on another.  In my honest opinion, the Vietnam protests were just a scapegoat for a generation determined to change the moral fabric of our nation.  As surely as Adolf Hitler used the Jewish population of Europe for his own political gains, so are our current batch of college educated liberal young people using the Jewish population of the nation of Israel to get whatever it is they are attempting to gain.  This is nothing new.  Convenient scapegoats have been used for centuries to help people establish themselves as legitimate.  The Jewish people, The war in Vietnam, George Floyd, the list is a long one.  Still, one of the most frequently used scapegoats in history is that of the Jewish population of the world.  The Germans were not alone in their mistreatment of the Jews, for even here in America there is a history of mistreatment of the Jews.  We won't get into the weeds of the claim that these Jews are the "Lords chosen people."  Yes, the Father blessed the nation of Israel, but He also struggled with a stiff necked people at times.  I believe that all are the Lords children, for we share the Fathers image {Genesis 1:27}.  The apostle Paul spoke to our true heritage that we are all one in Christ Jesus {Paul To The Galatians 3:28}.  Knowing this truth, who would you therefore demonize in order to further your cause? 

In Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is no slave nor yet free, there is no male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus. 

Paul To The Galatians 3: 28, Concordant New Testament  

The Scottish poet Robert Burns once penned a poem entitled "Man's inhumanity to man."  In it he described the glory by which every day men did terrible things to their brethren.  From a Christian standpoint, one of the toughest questions to consider is how it is that the Father would allow such treatment of His children.  Yet we see this throughout our history.  The Jews, the Lords so called chosen people, have a history stained by the horrors of mans inhumanity to man.  The battlefields which litter the earth also testify to our own inhumanity to one another.  I do not profess to know the plans of the Lord, but I know enough to trust in Him that His desires and His plans are for the best.  Even in those times where we wonder how it is that a loving Father could allow such bloodshed.  To truly know the Father is to trust in Him no matter the situation.  In the midst of his torment, Job spoke to this as his wife called on him to "Curse God and die" {Job 2:9}.  Jobs response was spot on, and could speak to any difficult situation we experience, "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity" {Job 2:10}?  So it is that placing the blame upon God for the actions of mans inhumanity towards his neighbors is to bark up the wrong tree.  It's not the Jewish people who inspired your own selfish motives.  

And man, whose heaven-erected face

The smiles of love adorn

Mans inhumanity to man

makes countless thousands morn 

Man's Inhumanity To Man, Robert Burns 

~Scott~ 

Who I Am

 

In Whom there is no Jew nor yet Greek, there is no slave nor yet free, there is no male and female, for you all are one in Christ Jesus. 

Paul To The Galatians 3: 28, Concordant New Testament 

I was going through a few health insurance forms the other day when I came across the obligatory question of my race and sex designation.  What made this interesting was the choice at the end, which simply stated "I identify as."  I contemplated a few well thought of responses before I just stated the obvious.  White male.  Of course, if you read the liberal news lately, and I try hard not to, you would get the feeling that most of the worlds problems are caused by white males.  Climate change, crime and even political uprisings.  Yes, the white male is responsible for a good many things.  Yet, on the official form I was forced to identify with someone whom society claims that I am.  The world as a whole sees me as a white male.  But is this who I truly am?  If not, who am I?  Who are we?  The apostle Paul shed some light on this question in his letter to the Galatians.  Paul proclaimed that we are not as the world sees us.  For there are no male nor female, nor white nor black, there is only Christ Jesus {Paul To The Galatians 3:28}.  More importantly, as Paul proclaims, we are all one in Christ.  For it has never been God who chose to separate His children into categories.  To classify His creation based on the color of their skin.  No, this was mans idea all along.  The late Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke of a day when men would be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.  That day has yet to come.  Instead, we base every aspect of our society on race and sex.  Sometimes even those lines have become blurred by mans efforts.  Case in point, the recent transgender efforts.  We now have women who identify as men and men who see themselves as women.  If you don't feel like a man, you can check that box and identify as a female.  I might be old fashioned, but I tend to look at things how Jesus sees them.  So, how does Jesus see someone who chooses to identify as a member of the opposite sex?  Well, I would say that Jesus views this person as he was originally created.  That being in the spirit image of the Father {Genesis 1:27}.  Of course, this might send many a liberal into fits, but it doesn't take away from the truth of who we truly are.  

Now he who joins the Lord is one spirit.

Paul To The Corinthians (1) 6: 17, Concordant New Testament 

I believe that what would help people understand who they truly are is to see themselves as we are, in spirit and not in the flesh {Paul To The Romans 8:9}.  Of course, this might be a tough ask for a lot of people who continue to view themselves by what they see with their eyes.  When I was younger, I tended to see God as resembling my own flesh.  After all, I was created in His image, right?  Wouldn't God look like me?  Unfortunately, that is the wrong way of seeing things in the spirit reality.  In the spirit reality of our true identity, we all bare the same exact spirit image of the Father who created us.  This is who we are in Him. It is the Father who breathed life into these flesh vessels which contain the spirit {Genesis 2:7}.  It is not our flesh which defines us, but the spirit of His very image.  So it is that someone who suddenly decides that no longer "feel" like a man, but as a woman is only fooling himself.  They are missing the point entirely.  This is one situation where what we see IS NOT what we get.  Despite the scriptures speaking to our spirit identity, many believers continue to live in a false reality.  That the flesh is who we are.  Maybe so, but it's not who I am.  

You are not in flesh, but in spirit, if so be that Gods spirit is making its home in you.  Now if anyone has not Christs spirit, this one is not His. 

Paul To The Romans 8:9, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

In That Day

 In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 

Johns Account 14: 20, Concordant New Testament 

I discussed with a few of my married brothers a few years ago the phenomenon of how each spouse would know what the other was thinking at any given time.  This was not so much of a surprise for me, as from the scriptures I knew that the marriage covenant was a vow between two people.  However, once married, these two individuals become one flesh {Genesis 2:21-24}.  The fact that the name woman is derived from her very creation testifies to this truth.  "She shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man" {Genesis 2:23}.  Most believers are all too familiar with the creation history, how God caused a deep sleep to befall Adam and created Eve from the bone which He took from him.  It is no wonder, then, that two individuals brought together would be considered as one flesh.  So, what would the marriage covenant have to do, if anything, with our life in Christ Jesus?  Well, I use this as an example to illustrate what the apostle John spoke of.  That being our union with Jesus.  Jesus speaks to being in the Father, of our being in Him and Christ in us {Johns Account 14:20}.  This has been a topic which our group has discussed to some extent as of late.  What is it like to live IN Jesus?  Well, if you can picture living each and every day living and walking as Jesus then you may just have a good understanding of this truth.  The reason I used the marriage covenant as an example is because it closely identifies with this truth.  For I have never been a separate entity.  It has never been Jesus and then me, it was always about the union I share with Him.  When I see myself in the mirror, I see Jesus as well.  When I run into difficult situations in my life, I am assured that I share them with Christ Jesus Himself.  Indeed, whatever I think or do, I do as Christ.  This is my union with Him.  This is what Jesus referred to which is related to us through the apostle {Johns Account 14:20}.  As the apostle Paul proclaimed, I no longer exist, what remains is Christ {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}.  

That they may all be one, according as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in us, that the world should be believing that Thou dost commission Me. 

{Johns Account 17: 21, Concordant New Testament  

For its part, the mainstream church has never quite grasped the truth of our union with the Father.  They speak in phrases such as "Being like" Jesus and "Walking with" Him.  There is, in fact, a huge difference in the way in which the traditional church sees our union with Jesus and the actual truth.  The church speaks to the lie of our still being separate from the Father.  That the best which we can hope for is to be close to Jesus.  Well, the very definition of the word union speaks to "Joining or being joined."  When we join a club, we are a part of that organization.  When we join a union, we become a part of it.  When we are united with Christ, we are a part of Him.  Nowhere in the definition of the word union is it intended that one would "Be close" to something.  In fact, if we are "Close" to Jesus, then we are not in union with Him.  This is the truth of our union in Christ, that we are now in Him.  It is also through the love and mercy of Christ that He chose me to be in union with Him {Johns Account 15:16}.  Yes, I may have chosen to believe in Jesus, but it is Jesus who chose me to be in Him.  Not to "Be like" Him, but to be in Him.  What confidence it gives us knowing that we live each and every day in Christ Jesus!  The world could not defeat Jesus, and it certainly cannot defeat we who remain in Him.  

"Not you chose Me, but I chose you, and I appoint you, that you may be going away and bringing forth much fruit, and your fruit may be remaining, that anything whichsoever you may be requesting the Father in My name, He will be giving it to you."

Johns Account 15: 16, Concordant New Testament 

~Scott~ 

Free Indeed

 

For freedom Christ frees us!  Stand firm, then, and be not again enthralled with the yoke of slavery.

Paul To The Galatians 5: 1, Concordant New Testament 

How many believers out there have at one time or another seen religion as more of a chore than a belief?  The truth is, I don't blame you if you had.  For centuries the institutional church has burdened congregations with the rules of what to do and what not to do in order to have favor with God.  Some may wonder, what does freedom in Jesus really mean?  Well, I can tell you what freedom in Christ Jesus has meant to me.  See, I was once one of those bored church goers who obediently sat in my pew each Sunday while some pulpit pounder spoke of the freedom to be found in Jesus.  One of the most often quoted verses can be found in John 8:36, that if the Son sets you free, then you are free indeed.  Interestingly, the concordant version of the New Testament speaks that if Jesus makes us free, that we shall be "Really free" {Johns Account 8:36}.  Yet, how do you explain freedom in Christ to someone who has never experienced it?  The mainstream church talks a big game by preaching on the freedom found in Jesus, but they fall short in practice.  I believe that freedom in Jesus goes hand in hand with freedom from the obligations of the institutional church.  Freedom from the traditions.  Freedom from the guilt and shame of sin {Paul To The Romans 6:6-11}.  THIS is the freedom which we find in Christ Jesus.  How many times have you sat through a Sunday sermon only to have the pastor tell you that you are a sinner?  Yeah, I've been there.  Of course, believing that we are still in sin is not freedom, but slavery.  Slavery to the yoke of sin.  The apostle Paul speaks in a few places in scripture.  In Romans, Paul proclaims that we consider ourselves to be "Dead indeed" to sin {Paul To The Romans 6:11}.  Make no mistake, when the mainstream church proclaims us sinners, they are perpetuating that which enslaves us!  Dare I say that when the mainstream church speaks to us of being sinners, that they themselves are perpetuating a lie.  The lie which proclaims that, despite giving Himself on the cross to free us of the consequences of our sin, that Jesus failed to accomplish His destiny.  This is NOT freedom in Jesus.  

For the spirits law of life in Christ Jesus frees you from the law of sin and death. 

Paul To The Romans 8: 2, Concordant New Testament 

The truth of Christ Jesus is that He did not give Himself up that Gods children would remain in bondage.  Yet remain in bondage many continue to do.  I have a good friend and coworker who stresses each and every day if he has offered enough prayers to overcome the sins he has committed that day.  Again, this is NOT freedom in Christ.  This is bondage plain and simple.  When the pastor speaks that we are sinners, he attempts to wash away the hope which Jesus brought unto us.  The hope of freedom from the slavery of sin.  I cannot speak to the motivation within the mainstream church as to why they would continue to promote slavery to sin.  All I know is that it does not speak to the freedom we have in Christ.  The freedom which we have in Jesus assures us that Christ died to free us from the yoke of sin.  That we are no longer under the threat of condemnation {Paul To The Romans 8:1}.  More importantly, that we are now one with Christ Jesus {Paul To The Galatians 2:20}.  Not only are we free from the slavery of sin, but we are now free IN Christ Jesus.  I spoke of how it is that I would describe freedom in Jesus to someone who had never experienced it.  It all comes down to one question...are you a sinner?  If you believe that you are still indeed a sinner, then you are still enslaved by sin and not free in Christ Jesus.  For Jesus took that penalty for you that you will be free!  

~Scott~ 

Daughters Of Men

 

The sons of  the Elohim saw the daughters of the human that they were good looking.  So they took wives for themselves from any whom they chose. 

Genesis 6: 2, Concordant Old Testament 

Here is a stunning statistic.  12 Billion dollars annually in the United States goes into...pornography.  At any given moment in time, over 28,000 people are viewing porn on the internet.  35% of all internet downloads are pornography related.  In 2018, users collectively watched 5,824,629,200 hours worth of porn.  We have a problem.  Unfortunately, this is a subject which I am fairly familiar with as I once counted myself to be addicted to this junk.  What was once seen as somewhat forbidden has now become common in our culture.  Yet ask any person addicted to pornography if they are aware that the images they are viewing are someone's wife or daughter and you might just get a blank stare.  The addiction is that strong.  Yes, I call it an addiction just as I realized that I was addicted as well.  Those who justify the use of pornography refer to it as either a coping mechanism or a pleasure of life.  Indeed, the list is long of those who have viewed pornographic images and in then committed violence against women.  Pornography is a trigger for things far uglier.  I was fortunate enough to learn the lies of pornography before it was too late.  I frequented many a nude bar in my time.  Yet on one night I was stopped in my tracks by a feeling in my spirit that this was not the place for me.  I praise and thank the Father for my revelation that night.  Believe me, I prayed A LOT that my desire for those images would fade away.  I would walk into church each Sunday knowing what I had done.  Knowing that God did not approve of it.  When people talk of the guilt and shame of sin, I've walked that road!  However, I've also known the love and forgiveness which the Father gives to all who desire it.  Trust me, a life in the Father is much better than a life lived as a slave to a lie.  

With Christ have I been crucified, yet I am living; no longer I, but living in me is Christ.  Now that which I am now living in the flesh, I am living in faith that is of the Son of God, Who loves me, and gives Himself up for me. 

Paul To The Galatians 2: 20, Concordant New Testament 

It is interesting that Moses describes in Genesis the erosion of human which God had created.  How the sons of the Lord chose freely from the daughters of the human whomever they desired to be their wife {Genesis 6:2}.  Sounds a bit like todays society huh?  What many fail to realize is that what Moses was describing was the lead up to the flood which God brought upon the earth.  The wickedness of man had reached the point where God pushed the reset button.  One of things I've realized since I've been working to overcome my addiction is that each and every image plastered on the internet of an attractive woman is indeed a daughter or mother or wife.  In the same breath, I react with rage when I think of someone treating someone I know like that.  Yet I was doing the exact same thing!  Make no mistake about it, pornography IS NOT a victimless crime.  The true victims are not those enslaved to viewing the images, but those who are often forced into doing what they do.  I have no magic solution to overcoming this addiction.  However, I can speak with confidence to what opened my eyes to the truth of what I was doing.  Our prayer should not be that the Father would take away the desire, but that He would reveal to us who it is that we truly are inside.  I pray that God would shine His light and pierce the darkness of what we have considered normal for so long.  

~Scott~