The Great Transgression: Part 4

A great example of a transgression can be found in the story of Israel’s first king: Saul.

So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he [the Lord] slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.

Facing a battle against an enemy of Israel, King Saul was given specific instructions from the Lord through the prophet Samuel, which King Saul did not follow. On top of this, King Saul blatantly disregarded God’s commandments which forbid consulting with witches or diviners (people who communicate with the spirits of dead human beings). Today, these people are known as psychics or fortune tellers.

Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the LORD your God.

And the soul that turns after such as have familiar spirits, and after wizards, to go a whoring after them, I will even set my face against that soul, and will cut him off from among his people.

There shall not be found among you any one that makes his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that uses divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer.

King Saul made a conscious decision to break the commandments of God and do things his way. This willful disobedient act is what is at the heart of the word transgression. Thus we see that “intention” plays a big factor in the word choices of the Bible. It is one thing to be deceived by sin; it is another thing to rebel against God by deciding your thinking makes more sense than His, which is exactly what King Saul did.

For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, he has also rejected you from being king.

In the previous posts, we established that there is no one on the planet that does not sin. Civilization itself is built upon societal ideas and cultural traditions that go directly against the Word of God (the Bible). Therefore, it is impossible to live in a civilized society without sinning, for which reason Jesus it is written in the Bible that Jesus died for the sin of the world.

And he is the propitiation [payment] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Bible teaches that civilization (the world) is not something God built, but rather something the devil built. The devil achieves his goals by influencing the brains of human beings to implement his will on a daily basis. Civilization depends upon human beings “buying in to it” in order to keep it going.

Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

A person’s “love” of the world is what keeps it alive, yet it is not really alive – it is actually dead. If God represents life and the devil represents death, then it is not difficult to understand why God hates the world. The world represents a system of living that is actually causing human beings to deteriorate in body and spirit.

This is why the Bible refers God’s children as people who are in the world, but do not love the world. We are allowed to do our business and navigate through the world, but we are not allowed to love it. This idea can be found in one of Jesus’ teachings.

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money].

In closing, I hope you see that sin is all around us every day and how all human beings are guilty of sin. However, transgression is used in the Bible to refer to acts that are presumptuous and willful – which is the equivalent of telling God to take a hike.

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

~Jo

Bible Passages: 1 Chronicles 10:13-14, Leviticus 19:31, Leviticus 20:6, Deuteronomy 18:10-11, 1 Samuel 15:23, 1 John 2:2, 1 John 2:15-16, Matthew 6:24, Psalm 19:13

The Great Transgression: Part 3

The Bible teaches us that every human being has sinned because every human being is guilty of breaking God’s commandments. The only exception to this statement is Jesus who never broke any of God’s commandments and proved that it is possible for human beings to keep God’s commandments.

The Bible is very clear as to why human beings fail in keeping God’s commandments – they don’t want to!

Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempts he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.

God considers the breaking of one commandment equal to breaking all His commandments, so there is no room for one ounce of self-righteousness, which is thinking you’re not such a bad person.

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.

You may be surprised to learn that the Bible refers to sin as a person. Consider this statement the Lord made to Cain in the Garden of Eden:

If you do well, shall you not be accepted? and if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And unto you shall be his (sin’s) desire, and you shall rule over him (sin).

Remember, God gave Adam & Eve one commandment: don’t eat from the Tree of Knowledge. When Eve broke this commandment, and enticed her husband to do likewise, they opened Pandora’s Box. From this point forward, the devil (who is sin) would have access to the human brain and be able to influence human beings by transmitting thoughts. You can read more about this in a previous post entitled: Winning the Battle in Your Brain.

Even Jesus experienced evil thoughts inside His brain but rejected those thoughts by comparing them to what is written in the Bible, which is the only way human beings can be free of the devil’s influence. This is why Jesus refused to be called “good” because even Jesus experienced evil thoughts. However, Jesus never acted upon those thoughts, no matter how often they returned to Him!

And Jesus said unto him, Why do you call me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if you will enter into life, keep the commandments.

So no one is immune from the devil’s ability to inject thoughts into the human brain, but what varies from person to person is the degree of demonic influence. That’s right – demonic influence is nothing more than the transmission of thoughts into the human brain. When a person is influenced 100% by evil thoughts, then that person is demon possessed.

And please forget Hollywood’s – and Christianity’s – shameful portrayal of the demonic world which are utter fabrications and distortions of Biblical concepts.

The simple truth is: When a person disregards, disobeys, or believes lies about the Bible, that person is more susceptible to the devil’s ability to influence them. When a person discounts the Bible altogether, that person is on the road to demonic possession which often masquerades as superior intellectual thought.

And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.

When you understand that the devil (who is sin) influences you by injecting thoughts into your brain (which seem to be your own thoughts), it’s not so hard to understand why all human beings have sinned.

The good news is: Jesus died for the sin of the world! This means human beings have a way to be forgiven for their evil thinking. They also have the ability to change their thinking by allowing the concepts of the Bible to re-shape their thinking, which is how a person is spiritually re-born.

But transgression is another story because as we will see, transgression involves a willful, deliberate decision to go against God’s instructions (called commandments).

To be continued…

~Jo

Bible Passages: James 1:13-15, James 2:10, Genesis 4:7, Matthew 19:17, 2 Corinthians 11:14

The Great Transgression: Part 2

In order to understand what the “great transgression” is, we need to understand how this word, and similar words, are used in the Bible.

These four words appear frequently in the Bible:

1. Sin
2. Trespass
3. Iniquity
4. Transgression

Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: and Jacob answered and said to Laban, What is my trespass? what is my sin, that you have so hotly pursued after me?

Take heed to yourselves: If your brother trespass against you, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him.

Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.

You can see why studying the Bible takes time!

In the last Bible reference above, which is taken from the New Testament, we see that “sin” results in a “transgression” (against the law of God).

Keep in mind that the laws of God were given to human beings to help them know the difference between right and wrong. In spite of the fact that most human beings believe they already know the difference, this is not true (according to the Bible, not me).

God thinks very different from human beings and until a human being adopts the mentality of God, they are viewing life from their own perspective or one that has been imposed upon them from birth. All human beings have mentalities that have been “shaped” by outside influences, their own experiences & thoughts, and the country they live in. And most people believe their mentality is correct.

From the day you are born, you are being influenced by the thinking of someone else: some of these ideas may be correct and some may not be correct – which is why the Bible exists. Contrary to efforts to discredit the Bible and remove its principles from modern life, God has ensured the Bible’s existence, which is nothing short of a miracle.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

In its simplest form, think of God’s mentality being the “correct” one for human beings to adopt, and all other mentalities as the “wrong” one for human beings to adopt. All other mentalities “seem” to be correct, but they are in fact leading people down the “wrong” path no matter how “good” that path seems.

There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.

If a person has a problem with this, they have a problem with God. The devil himself had a problem with this which is why he is called the “father” of every human being who believes their way is the “right” way.

For you have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and lived not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

To be continued…

~Jo

Bible Passages: Exodus 34:7, Genesis 31:36, Luke 17:3-4, 1 John 3:4, Isaiah 55:8-9, Proverbs 14:12, Isaiah 14:13-14, John 8:44

The Great Transgression: Part 1

The Bible refers to “sin” and “transgression” – what is the difference?

The ancient Hebrew word used for “sin” means: to miss, to err from the mark.

I used to be a wedding photographer. I cannot tell you how many weddings I’ve attended where nothing went as planned! From the “wrong” flowers to the “wrong” cake to the “wrong” music for the first dance. What the bride envisioned and what she received were two different things – her vendors missed the mark!

It is the same way with God and how He designed us. God designed a “perfect” creation and built within it “perfect” laws. These laws were designed so everything created – from nature to animals to human beings – would function properly. When these laws are broken, the creation breaks down. Look around us!

We are scurrying to try and fix a problem human beings have created – which started when we began chipping away at our natural resources and sucking the life away from the earth.

The animals continue to operate correctly in spite of the manmade conditions imposed upon them and the stripping away of their natural habitats. Animals still rely upon their “instincts” to guide them, unlike human beings, who have moved miles away from their instinct.

Enter sin.  When a person understands what God intended for His creation and how He intended us to live, only then can we understand how we have missed the mark! To “sin” means we are not thinking or living the way God intended. God’s way is the “correct” way; our way is the “incorrect” way. This is why the Bible states:

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

The “glory of God” is a reference to Jesus, the Messiah, who did not sin. He did not “miss the mark” when it came to living life the way God intended. Jesus never “presumed” that He had the right to alter God’s laws or “cross the line” where the laws of God are concerned.

Enter transgression. The ancient Hebrew word used for “transgression” means: defection, rebellion; to fall away, break away from. (NOTE: The word “trespass” and “transgression” share the same root word.)

Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

To be continued…

~Jo

Bible Passages: Romans 3:23, Psalm 19:12-13

Why Jesus Endured Brutality

This was recorded on July 1, 2007. Little did I know then where we were headed as a nation.

As I listened to this message today, I was astounded by the timelessness of the Bible. It offers a “treasure” to every generation – a way to climb out of the darkness and into the light.

It is my sincere hope that this message finds its way to the Lost Sheep of Israel – the humble ones who are still searching for truth.

The “big picture” is nothing new. Jesus saw it. So did the prophets. But I fear we as a nation have lost our ability to see beyond the carefully crafted age we live in – where human beings have been reduced to consumers and the Almighty Dollar has replaced the Almighty God.

Yet here we are – faced with an economic crisis that is still not turning our hearts toward God – the Only One who can help us.

If we as human beings had any wisdom at all, we would stand up for the glorious song of righteousness and demand that our leaders do what is right in the sight of God. For blessed is that nation who does so.

I pray this message blesses God’s children who are hurting, discouraged or confused.

Jesus died to give you a vision!

Click below to listen.

What the Prophets Could See

~Jo

Religion v. God (Audio)

Find out the true meaning of religion and how to develop a “real” spiritual life.

Listen to Jo’s inspirational message! Click on the title below.

Religion v. God

Why Gentiles Need The Jews (Audio)

Get the “right” backdrop behind the New Testament teachings and learn how to circumcise your heart.

Listen to Jo’s inspirational message! Click on the title below.

Circumcision Part 2

Abraham’s Children – Part 4

When people say that we are all God’s children, they are right! However, this does not mean all God’s children are good, because after Adam & Eve sinned, mankind began absorbing evil information and destroying God’s creation, which led to the flood of Noah — the first ‘global’ punishment of mankind for its evil.

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart (brain) was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repents me that I have made them.”

I don’t like being the bearer of bad news, but truth is the way we worship God, and truth is — we are headed toward another global punishment. The world-at-large knows we have done great damage to the environment, and they are scurrying to try and ‘reverse’ the damage. Many people fear a cataclysmic event — whether through natural causes (like further erosion of the ozone) or a nuclear war.

This time however, the global punishment won’t be by a flood. It will be by fire.

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

I have good news too, because if you have faith in God’s Word, you are promised to be ’saved’ from the destruction just like Noah! This doesn’t mean you won’t die, but it does mean that your spirit will be carried from this world to the next, and you will receive the privilege of ’sleeping’ in Jesus until the new earth is ready.

This promise depends upon you doing your very best to apply the Bible’s writings and not allowing yourself or others around you to water down the Bible’s teachings, which is exactly what the secular world (including Christianity) is guilty of doing.

The Bible teaches us that Noah was saved because Noah believed God. Noah’s belief was ‘demonstrated’ by his actions — God told him what was coming and what to do to prepare for it, and Noah did exactly what God told him.

Likewise, Abraham believed God and did exactly what God told him to do — leaving his homeland to become the father of ‘many’ nations. Yet as I mentioned in another post, this does not mean all of Abraham’s children share the faith of their father! Some are rebellious and hateful; while others are following in his footsteps.

“Know you therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.”

Faith has one meaning in the Bible: a person believes what is written in the Bible is God’s Word and they apply it to their lives. That’s it. It is in the doing of God’s Word that we receive the blessings of God.

“But whoso looks into the perfect law of liberty, and continues therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.”

The devil knows how the laws of God work and what is necessary for people to receive the blessings of God. This is why he has twisted the Bible’s teachings over the centuries — using so-called scholars to debate the Bible, using preachers to promote varying interpretations of the Bible, and in the last century, using the media to discredit the Bible’s writings.

If ever people should reconsider the Bible’s teachings as an answer to their problems, it is NOW!

If this country would return to its Judeo-Christian roots, and uphold the Bible’s teachings as the law of the land, this nation would be blessed!

“The LORD shall open unto you his good treasure, the heaven to give the rain unto your land in his season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend unto many nations, and you shall not borrow.”

The reason God chose Abraham to make a covenant with is because God knew Abraham could be trusted to keep His commandments and teach them to his children.

“For I know him (Abraham), that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he has spoken of him.”

Some preachers would have you believe that you can ‘name it and claim it’ — in other words, by just professing you are a child of Abraham you will receive great blessings and experience prosperity. (Commonly referred to as the ‘prosperity doctrine’ within Christianity.)

Nothing could be further from the truth.

To be continued…

-Jo

Bible passages: Genesis 6:5-7, 2 Peter 3:10, Galations 3:7, James 1:25, Deuteronomy 28:12, Genesis 18:19

Abraham’s Children – Part 3

The Bible describes Abraham’s children in a very interesting way:

“That in blessing I will bless you (Abraham), and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies…”

Stars and sand have quite different characteristics. Stars give light! If we search these words in the Bible, we find that stars refer to the ‘good’ children of Abraham and sand refers to the ‘evil’ children of Abraham.

So while God promised to make Abraham the father of many nations, this included good and evil children. Thus, the ‘good’ or ‘evil’ nature of a nation depends solely upon the people who make up that nation. A nation is its people!

If we go back to the Garden of Eden, we find that Adam & Eve gave birth to a ‘good’ son (Abel) and and an ‘evil’ son (Cain). The idea of good and evil is contained within a singular idea: a person’s obedience or disobedience to God the Father.

Abel was obedient to God’s commandment; Cain was not. Cain’s disobedience grew like a weed within his body, choking the goodness out of him. (Remember everything God made was good? Thus we can conclude that human beings ‘changed’ themselves into evil.)

“And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

Cain’s disobedience produced hatred toward his brother (Abel) who was righteous. Eventually, Cain’s hatred caused him to murder his own brother. Sin has a spiral affect that has not changed in six thousand years!

Jesus told his disciples to ‘rejoice’ when they were hated and persecuted because it meant they were doing what was right. I know it sounds crazy, but when you understand how the spiritual world works, it makes perfect sense.

“For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.”

Bottom line, people who break God’s commandments become hateful people, capable of murder. This includes church-going people, because religion is the biggest con job on the planet. It also includes the current conflict in the Middle East where the Jewish people are once again suffering at the hands of those who hate them.

“For thus says the LORD of hosts; After the glory has he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that touches you touches the apple of his eye.”

People who love God are willing to keep His commandments. They are willing to humble themselves and do someone else’s will. In the case of Cain, his pride convinced him that he could offer God a better sacrifice than the one God wanted. Pretty arrogant, isn’t it? Yet this is exactly what ‘religion’ is guilty of teaching people: promoting rituals and practices that God never asked for, many of which have pagan origins.

Most human beings claim to believe in God. What’s interesting is all the different ‘definitions’ of God and how people convince themselves they are ‘good’ or ‘godly’ by those personal definitions. Isn’t this what Cain did? Isn’t this what the world does when it attempts to discredit the Bible and promote self-serving alternatives? Yet Abraham’s faith was rooted in one God!

Ironically, the hatred brewing inside Cain’s heart did not stop him from offering God a sacrifice — it simply was not the sacrifice God wanted. Never forget this. Do not be deceived by yourself or others. Wearing religious clothing does not mean a person is good. Going to church regularly does not mean a person is good. Bowing down on your knees does not mean a person is good.

As created beings, we do not get the privilege of dictating our offerings to our Creator. If we do not give God what he asks for, we are deceiving ourselves and worse, we are opening the door to the poison of hatred, no matter how many good deeds we do.

To be continued…

-Jo

Bible passages: Genesis 22:17, Genesis 1:31, 1 John 3:11-13, Zechariah 2:8

Drug Addiction & God

I’m interrupting my series on Abraham’s Children to share a question that was sent to me by a young man. He is trying to live a ‘drug free’ life and has been reading the Bible. He came across a Psalm that puzzled him.

[A Psalm of David.] The earth is the LORD’S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

This is his question:

Drug addiction is a powerful thing on this earth, and I’m wondering why God allows it to exist if the earth belongs to Him. It’s hard for me to find peace about this. Do you have an answer?  -Eric

I’d like to share my response to Eric with the hope of helping someone else out there that may be searching for answers!

Dear Eric,

The reference to the “earth is the Lord’s” means that the Lord created the earth. Everything He created belongs to Him. However, human beings have not respected the Lord’s creation and taken care of it like they should have.

Human beings have created their own problems by doing things that are against God, like taking drugs. So while drug addiction is on the earth, this does not mean the Lord is involved with drug addiction.

Since human beings have free will, some have chosen drugs (or other destructive things) that work against life itself. It is destructive behavior that creates ‘discomfort’ in the human soul and ‘torments’ the human brain.

Always remember, God is a life-giver. All His instructions (commandments) are designed to create life within us. As you apply God’s instructions to your life, you will experience true peace of mind, which is why Jesus said the Kingdom of Heaven is within us!

Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Mankind on the other hand has proven itself to be a destroyer. Mankind has been in the process of destroying itself (and the earth) for thousands of years. When Cain left the Garden of Eden, he built the first city and began raping the earth of its precious resources. From that point forward, mankind has moved further and further away from the natural existence God intended for us.

So while the earth is the Lord’s, this does not mean the Lord approves of civilization — which is what man has created, not God. While we cannot reverse the destructive course mankind has taken, we can stop destructive behavior in our own lives, which is what repentance is all about.

The idea of ‘repentance’ means that a person decides to stop destructive behavior and do positive things — which is why we have the Bible, to help us know what is ‘right’ according to God. When we do our best to keep God’s instructions, our life changes day by day — a little at a time.

Since mankind is a destroyer, you have the reason God is going to create a new earth — no destroyers will be allowed there — only people that want to do ‘right’ according to God, which is the meaning of righteousness.

We show God we are worthy of being included on the next earth by our actions here, which is why it is so important to correct our thinking and straighten out our lives before we leave this planet.

I hope this explanation helps you.

-Jo

Bible passages: Psalm 24:1, Luke 17:21