Allah

…I Have Known Thee…

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

We have been on a journey through the Priestly prayer of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in John seventeen.  To me it has been a pleasant journey, an encouraging journey, and refreshing one, knowing, and being reminded of the wonderful love, mercy and grace of our God.  I pray you have found it the same or even better.

With this posting we will conclude with the final two verses of chapter seventeen.  Jesus again addresses the Father by name, only as “Righteous Father”, and to that we must say “Amen”.  God our Father truly is righteous.

“O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me.  And I have declared unto them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou has loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”  John 17:25-26 (KJV).

There are too many people in this world who hate God, do not know Him, nor do they want to know Him.  There are many of them who want to worship their own god, in their way, but refuse to reconcile the fact that the true God has only one way of knowing Him.  That one way is by way of the cross of Jesus.

The only way the disciples for whom Jesus is praying knows the Father; is because they know the Son.  That is the way to know God through His Son Jesus Christ.  Jesus has revealed the Father God to us, and has given us His name.  It is not Allah, Buddha,  or Moon. It is Jehovah/YHWH, manifested through the Son Jesus Christ.

The love the Father has for the Son is in us who know the Son.  The reason for that is that the Son has prayed for us, and has received what He has requested.  Let us love as Jesus loves.

-Tim A. Blankenship

Amending Our Ways

/ Tim A. / Leave a comment

We hear about amending constitutions, bylaws, house bills, senate bills, and so forth; however we hear very little about “Amending Our Ways”.

The MIRRIAM/WEBSTER DICTIONARY defines “Amend” as, “To change for the better: Improve”, and that is usually the idea in amending house bills and senate bills.  In politics today it seems like more of a political thing for one opponent to get his way over the other.

“Amending Our Ways” according to Scripture though should be to improve ourselves for the glory of God; and that is the idea of what Jeremiah the prophet has written hundreds of years ago.

“For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour;  If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt:  Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.”  Jeremiah 7:5-7 (KJV)

The prophet had just warned them to not trust in lying words, nor believe that their hope was in the temple; but instead his idea was to trust the LORD.  He is calling for the people beginning with their leaders spiritual and political to get back to God, His Word – the Law and the Prophets; repent and conduct themselves as the people of God should.

This is a warning and a promise to the nation of Judah/Israel.  The only way is God’s way.

We in the USA and all parts of the world who are Christian need to amend our ways by being just and right in our dealings with others [our neighbors], to treat our strangers with kindness, and the orphan and widows with love concern and caring; stop shedding innocent blood by our dreadful tongues or a gun, or by law.  We need to also always be faithful to our God and no other.  Let’s stop giving allegiance to allah, mohammed, buddha, chrisna, or any other supposed deity which lifts its name above the name of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

How do Christians give allegiance to those supposed deities mentioned by telling others “As long as you believe something and are sincere, then you are okay with god”.  That is what will sincerely send multitudes to a burning, fiery hell.

If we want to continue dwelling in our land that God has given us then, we better “Amend Our Ways” and turn completely to the LORD our God, through His Son Jesus, and His death, burial and resurrection.

-Tim A. Blankenship