"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" John 1:14.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not" John 1:1-5.
"He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name"John 1:11-12.
"But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God"Matthew 4:4.
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness"2 Timothy 3:16.
We have become a lazy, pabulum [material whose intellectual content is thin, trite, bland, or generally unsatisfying] consuming Church in these last days. We consume the latest writings of mere men, while we scorn and neglect the WORD of GOD. We totally miss out on the fact that when we turn aside from partaking of the written Word... we are in fact revealing the level of our spiritual maturity. We perceive ourselves to be wise... even while openly displaying our infantile condition. We search for the knowledge and understanding of spiritual things from everywhere and everyone... but from the one true source. There are multitudes of people today who call themselves 'Christian,' who consider themselves to be very knowledgeable about spiritual matters, yet who seldom if ever read their Bible. They are convinced that they can get all that they need from listening to this and that teacher and expositor. When there is 'too much' scripture quoted in an article... they just skim over it or don't read it at all, as they find it too boring.
Little do they comprehend, that by rejecting the written Word, they are rejecting the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE. "In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not." We take a fragment here, a section there, those things that appeal to our flesh and that our reasoning mind can do something with, and neglect the entirety of God's message to mankind. There is no way that the natural mind can ever grasp spiritual things, for they are out of our reach and beyond our comprehension. We are hopelessly, helplessly inadequate to discern even the simplest of Truth's without the Holy Spirit. Jesus said,"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me"John 15:26.
"Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you"John 16:7-14.
"It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life"John 6:63. How much life are we walking in outside of the WORD??? There is LIFE in every WORD Jesus spoke! Yet how little regard modern man gives to the Words of Christ... while extolling the words from the mouths and minds of all too fallible men and women.
JESUS CHRIST IS THE WORD MADE FLESH. Can we acknowledge that there is no wisdom, no knowledge, no light, no hope for eternity, outside of Jesus Christ and His Word? Can we comprehend that we cannot separate the written scriptures from the Son of God, for HE IS THE BEGINNING AND THE END OF ALL THINGS?
"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full"John 15:5-11.
"[Direct such people] to the teaching and to the testimony! If their teachings are not in accord with this word, it is surely because there is no dawn and no morning for them"Isaiah 8:20.
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved"Acts 4:12.
"Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son"2 John 1:9.
"Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world"1 John 4:17.
"If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen" Peter 4:11.
"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"1 John 2:15. The "world" covers everything.
"Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart"2 Corinthians 3:1.
Can you see the beauty in the Word? If we are in possession of a right relationship with God, we do not need for anyone else to tell us what these verses mean. The Holy Spirit within bears witness to them... quickening our inner man. The Word is not limited by being ink on paper, for the Spirit makes them become alive within our hearts!
Our greatest need in this hour of gross deceptions... is that we possess the WORD within our hearts. Why? Because as Isaiah prophesied..."For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee"Isaiah 60:2. We see the darkness manifested all around us today. What is yet to be seen is the glory of the LORD upon His people. Men are exalting and lifting up each other, boasting of their great powers and insights. All the while demonstrating how little they are actually in possession of. Jesus told us in Matthew 12:37 "For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." If we really believed that... we would speak less and seek God more.
We are living in the fulfillment of the words spoken through the prophet... Amos 8:11-12 "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD. And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it."
We are witnesses to the fulfillment of Jesus' warning found in Matthew 24:24-26 "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before. Wherefore if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it not." People are traveling far and wide to see and be part of the many 'movements' and 'outpourings' being hailed as the next great thing... in direct violation of Jesus' Words to us. Little do they imagine the grave danger they are putting themselves in as they journey forth. "But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken"Isaiah 28:13.
They never consider that what men are hailing as wonderful... could in fact be an abomination in the eyes of God. When we place our trust in men, instead of (and in opposition to) GOD, we are like sheep being led to the slaughter. "And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved"2 Thess 2:10. Without a solid foundation in the WORD OF GOD, we are of all people wretched, and blind, and naked. We cannot hold disdain and disregard for GOD'S WORD, and still cling to any hope of entering into HIS REST, or receiving of HIS PROMISES. How do we treat the Word of God? Do we hold it in high esteem... or treat it as being irrelevant?
Our opinions don't amount to much in the grand scheme of things. Those things that we imagine are little more than the vanities of all men. In this age of 'self-exaltation'... when men are being lifted up and followed after, we are blinded to the purposes of God in the world. The Church has lost her way and become a laughingstock... deserving of the world's derision. A compromised, watered-down gospel is no gospel at all. The light of God, that alone can dispel the darkness, is but a feebly flickering ember in the hearts of a majority of those who call themselves believers today. If we desire to see the Glory of the Lord in our midst, then we must seek the face of God with our whole heart. We must partake of the Word of God, which is the Bread of Life, allowing the Holy Spirit to bring us into acceptance of and conformity to the Will of God. "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence"1 Corinthians 1:25-29.
When we see people glorying in their flesh... are we grieved in our spirit? How can we think in any way, shape or form that such glorying is somehow pleasing to God?
"Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near"Isaiah 55:6.
Our spiritual maturity is not dependent upon extensive theological training or our intellectual capacity to absorb 'deep teaching.' We must partake of the 'Word made flesh' in order to grow up in Christ. Jesus plainly told us in John 6:53 "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you." This statement has been a stumbling block to believers in every generation... for it can only be comprehended by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul stated that our only hope, our only sufficiency is found in Christ...
"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory"Colossians 1:27.
May we have a heart to know God. May we reverence and cherish His Word..."Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path"Psalms 119:105, lest we walk in darkness. "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence"1 Corinthians 1:27-29.
Have THY PERFECT WAY LORD, in the hearts of your people.
Amen & Amen.
Cathy Morris
7/25/2008
