Monthly Archives: December 2014
Mary Did You Know?
Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. [Matthew 1:18] [1]
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From the very beginning, the Lord demanded that His followers believe in and be a part of miraculous works. His very birth was a miracle!
But His mother Mary had to carry with her for the next thirty years the powerful and painful fact that pretty much everybody but Joseph believed she was an impure woman trying to present herself as pure.
It did not matter how much she protested all the disgusting innuendo that followed her constantly. No one other than her husband believed her, and possibly a few others. But these few, if they actually existed, had very little impact on lessening the pain that unbelief caused her. And the only reason Joseph believed was because an angel kept appearing to him giving him spiritual facts he could otherwise not see.
Imagine your entire town, your relatives, your “friends,” the people you attended synagogue with, and effectively the entire nation of Israel not believing a single word you say in defense of yourself. You know God asked you to do a very difficult thing and you showed zero hesitation in accepting the assignment and the great challenge it represented. You learned quickly that when God said a nation was blind He meant exactly that: ISRAEL WAS BLIND.
Mary knew in her heart based on her own very hurtful experience that the same thing would happen to her Son—He would be rejected as she was rejected. Most of His own countrymen would never believe Him. His own family would reject Him! None of His brothers and sisters were at the foot of the cross. Only one of His twelve disciples was there, and one wonders if John was at the cross in part because he was given the mantle of taking care of Mary.
But long before then, while the Lord was growing up, Mary still had to find a way to live with unbelief all around her and everyone whispering and shaming her everywhere she went. It was obvious to all in their spiritually blind and willingly sinful state that the Lord Jesus was certainly illegitimate, and because he did not favor Joseph someone else must be the real father. And everyone probably had their suspects.
But Mary, the wonderful, pure, and blessed mother of our Lord, soldiered on. She was presented with an extremely difficult lifelong task and was determined to fulfill it. She honored God. She gave her word. She considered herself greatly blessed. And most of all, God needed her!
In this wonderful time when we celebrate the birth of our Savior, our Immanuel—GOD WITH US—let us remember the great accomplishment of Mary—Miryam. Let us remember how she remained faithful to God for the duration no matter the pain and rejection she suffered. She did an excellent job as a wife and mother. Is it possible, though, that anyone ever cried more tears? She was holy and obedient and showed great resolve regardless of all the ubiquitous malicious gossip and unbelief.
And when at last her loving Son did that first miracle at the Cana wedding she could finally feel some relief. She could proudly say in clearing her name, “I told you so! Now will you believe me?”
Some did. Most did not. Even miraculous works did not change their dark sinful minds.
But Mary knew. She always knew.
© 2014 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
If We Love Him We Will Obey Him
For those faithful readers who have read the articles on this blog for a while, you know I must write about what is wrong in order to attempt to illustrate what is right. What the Lord Jesus did during His ministry was right. What His hand-picked men did after Him was right.
The original apostles ushered in real Christianity at the very beginning and spread it throughout the then-known world in faithful adherence to the Founder’s vision.
Some may want to call original Christianity a movement, and it certainly is in a sense. Others may see it as simply one more religion begun by a Man who saw a great need for helping people with a better life.
In reality, however, God had an overall plan from the beginning of Creation and part of that plan involved bringing forth truth and reality. Why? Because the enemy of our souls brought in lies, deception, temptation, and sin. And the very heart of the Lord’s teachings is to set us free from the effects of those evil lies, deception, and sin and bless us with His Truth, Life, and spiritual freedom.
Therefore, it must be the goal of every real Christian to do exactly the same. In this regard, the Lord Jesus made the concept very clear when He stated:
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” [John 14:12-18]
In this passage, the Lord mentions the Father, the Son, and the Spirit of Truth, or the Holy Spirit. He then identifies Himself as the Holy Spirit. He also repeats the very message of YHWH in the Old Testament, as when God stated the following at the giving of the Ten Commandments:
Then God spoke all these words, saying, “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.” [Exodus 20:1-7]
A big part of the Lord’s teaching was properly identifying God and God’s real teachings. Why? Because the Pharisees, predominantly, had so muddied the waters with their own false teachings interspersed somewhat with God’s real teachings.
But the one prevailing evidential component the Lord Jesus used to identify Himself as God and confirm that His teachings were correct as opposed to the false religion of the Pharisees or any other was His operative use of miracles both to help others and confirm that His Word was God’s Word.
In other words, if the miracles, healings, release from demon possession, and other great spiritual works were not there, then neither was He or His real Word.
Now, contrast everything you just read with a typical Sunday morning at your church and tell me both are the same. For most of you, you simply cannot do it. And this reveals that the majority of Christianity in this world, regardless of perceived good hearts and good intentions, is either incorrect or greatly lacking.
And further, if you want to know the central reason for this, it is a matter of authority, in that someone or something else is in charge instead of the Lord Jesus. Again, He stated very clearly the following:
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. [John 14:15]
(If you don’t love Me you will not.)
“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.” [John 14:11]
(Even if you cannot perceive that Jesus is God, believe Him because of the miracles.)
Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’”? [John 14:8-9]
This statement, of course, takes us right back to the Exodus passage. The Lord Jesus would never and did never teach anything against the Father (God/YHWH) or anything in addition to the Father.
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. [Matthew 5:17]
What He did was teach the same curriculum but as a human being among human beings as not only an instructor but as our example.
This is why He said His real disciples would perform just as He did. Anyone who does not is either not a real disciple, a very young or immature disciple, or possibly unclear on the concept. But once “no miracles” Christianity was established and institutionalized it became conventional and real Christianity thus became unconventional, and thus ostracized and maligned, just as first-century Phariseeism maligned the Lord and His teachings.
In other words, if Major League Baseball (the highest league on the planet) was easy, anyone could play it. The fact, however, is that it is very, very difficult and only a fraction of exceptional ballplayers ever get there or play well for an extended time at that level.
Most of that which passes itself off as Christianity is mere T-Ball at best and thus has very little or no impact on this fallen world of sin, which is a terrible thing once one considers the extreme price the Founder paid and the price paid by all real believers throughout history who often gave their lives.
2015 will be a pivotal year. The Great Awakening in America will advance. But already, many who would have otherwise participated cut themselves off due to their disobedience, lack of faith, lack of love, and preference for a different gospel. This had to happen for the purpose of clearing the ranks just as was done in the story of Gideon’s army which was reduced by removing 99%.
Just as the Lord Jesus had tens of thousands of followers during His ministry but only managed to gather 120 for the Upper Room Experience at Pentecost, He does not necessarily need great numbers. He wants great numbers in the sense that He loves and wants everybody. But He can certainly make do with a small team of dedicated members willing to obey all of His commandments. His final team will be just that because He said only a comparative few would find the real Door and complete the real path.
To be a real disciple of the Lord, one must be worthy and willing to accept the challenge. Our Lord paid the greatest price for this very reason. He needs our help. A fallen world is crying out for reality, truth, and salvation.
“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” [Matthew 10:37-38] [1]
As His disciples, let us all make a greater effort to exalt the Lord Jesus, put His real Truth on the map through our ministry to others and one another, and illustrate by our spiritual example a pure reflection of His example.
Thank you for reading. Be blessed and Merry Christmas!
© 2014 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved.
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Portals of Progress: The Door Is Shut (Part 6/Final)
“And while they were going away to make the purchase, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.” [Matthew 25:10]
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Regarding the Door being opened and then suddenly shut, the Parable of the Ten Virgins explains exactly what happens for the outsiders when spiritual laziness enters the picture.
There is no doubt that the Word of God is designed in part to greatly convict us, make us uncomfortable with a dead or barely breathing status quo, and attempt to keep us from falling asleep and even revive us.
The five foolish virgins let their lamps go out. They simply did not care enough to stay spiritually alive. There is a heretical doctrine which would state that these five foolish virgins were never saved anyway, were never meant to get in to see the Bridegroom anyway, and were destined to go to hell anyway.
This is obviously a lie straight from the father of lies, because the foolish virgins were warned repeatedly that the very thing God did not want to happen to them was about to happen to them if they did not wake up.
I wrote a post almost three years ago on this topic entitled Keep Your Lamp Filled With Oil. You can find it here. I encourage you to read it in the event you may need a spiritual boost at this time.
I also wrote a series of posts back in January of this year that delves deeply into this topic and actually contains a spiritual anointing for those who read it in faith and sincerity. The spiritual anointing upon those posts will see you through into a miracle realm as long as you obey and follow the Lord Jesus. You can access these posts as follows:
Entering The Miracle Realm (Part 1)
Entering The Miracle Realm (Part 2)
Entering The Miracle Realm (Part 3)
Most “Christians,” however, simply do not have such faith and sincerity and will not disciple themselves to gain it. Most “Christians” are also bogged down with unbelief and untruth that the Lord tries very hard to free them from through chosen ministers that are most often rejected and cast aside. Such facts are written all over the Bible but are routinely not acknowledged, as the Lord Himself was rejected and cast aside.
If one wants a sports analogy, consider a very good player who decides he or she no longer needs to practice or work as hard. I have been engaged in sports for decades and have seen this repeatedly. I approach sports not as being some wimpy “participant” but as someone who will never step on a field without the desire to give my all. When a whole team has such a desire that team will eventually win.
The Lord’s team will eventually win, but it will be composed of only a few. The vast majority will never make the cut. The door will close and it will be over for them.
It was over forever for the five foolish virgins. The DOOR never opened for them again. In our wimpy Christianity the door never closes and everyone makes the cut no matter what they do, what they believe, how hard they work at the wrong thing or don’t work, or even if they actually follow the Lord.
For someone to not see that this is the work of the devil proves how serious spiritual blindness is and how pervasive it is. Most “Christians” love idolatry—the worst and most all-encompassing of sins perpetrated by professed believers—more than they love the Lord Jesus.
This was the exact problem of the ancient Hebrews who eventually turned their backs on God. It is also why the first three of the Ten Commandments have to do with the probable gross sin of idolatry and why the Lord so strongly commanded and cautioned against it.
Today, the most fully evolved idols are living human beings and many of these are in pulpits. “Christian” ministers who are so image conscious and money-oriented have sold themselves to the devil for power and wealth. They do the opposite of the Lord Jesus yet justify it every day and still manage to gain thousands and sometimes millions of followers. They are complete sell-outs and frauds but appear to most as perfectly legitimate.
And here’s what makes their false kingdoms work: They depend on foolish virgins. They must have disciples that are not actually disciples of the Lord. They must have those who would rather believe a false gospel than the real one. They must have their own disciples and in fact they do.
And barring repentance, both will eventually land in hell no matter how good or how right they appear in this present world of fallen mankind.
Such people love this world more than God’s real world.
As a perfect example, here’s an actual foolish virgin as contained in Paul’s letters: (Be warned!)
Luke, the beloved physician, sends you his greetings, and also Demas. [Colossians 4:14]
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke, my fellow workers. [Philemon 1:23-24]
Make every effort to come to me soon; for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica… [2Timothy 9:10]
This person is never mentioned again. And guess what? The Lord makes it even more clear for those who study His Word by telling us what the name “Demas” means: Popular.
So the next time you see or hear some “popular” preacher or believer who doesn’t care so much for the actual Word of God and insists that pretty much everyone is okay with God no matter their lifestyle or false beliefs, remember little Demas.
If the Lord decided to suddenly reveal all the false prophets among us it would blow the minds of most “Christians,” and if He disallowed all these false prophets from ever preaching again many churches and ministries would go out of business overnight, including a particular “Christian” broadcasting network.
For many, the door is now shut. The opportunity to get right with God has been lost. For such people there will no longer be a spiritual portal. As the nation of Israel in the Sinai, they blew their one opportunity to enter the land of promise and that entire generation left their bleached bones in the desert.
The rest of the nation moved on. It was the young and the young at heart who were then used of God. We are in the early stages of a national Great Awakening but those who have rejected it—all the foolish virgins among us at this time—have been locked out.
And He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father.” But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
Another also said, “I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [Luke 9:59-62]
“Later the other virgins also came, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open up for us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly I say to you, I do not know you.’” [Matthew 25:11-12] [1]
© 2014 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [Final]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Portals of Progress (Part 5)
For those who have read the full series thus far, you may have noticed the roundabout nature of the subject matter, in that what started out in Part 1 as an urging to step forth through a portal of spiritual growth has gone full circle regarding what happened to our first parents.
The devil fooled ‘em. No doubt about that. And for those who desire a real walk with God, the enemy will attempt to fool them too.
As a result, for many, a wholesome healthy fear of getting it wrong has resulted in an unwholesome unhealthy paralysis brought on by fear that one will get it wrong. And rather than possibly mess up one’s life by seeking to climb a spiritual mountain by the Lord’s direction and fail, one will almost always obey the tendency to leave well enough alone and be satisfied with much less or dead religion.
In that light, we must always remember that the Lord is trying to get us back to the Garden.
This process, dubbed by the Lord as the narrow road with a small narrow entry, is mandatory for the real Christian, of course, but substitutes are much more comfortable. The majority of that which is called Christianity, which I call Unreal Christianity, has institutionalized the comfortable way, as a third way, of which none actually exists.
The Lord called this comfortable way the broad way. It is the way of the world, the way so easy anyone can walk it, and the way leading in the direct opposite direction of the Garden. Due to such overpowering religious indoctrination and conditioning, most “Christians” fear the real road and thus see the real gate as the wrong gate.
Here is the Lord’s instruction:
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” [Matthew 7:13-14]
Sadly, Christians who drive down Broadway end up at the same place as unrepentant sinners. Imagine all the wasted effort that went into a Christian life that never included full obedience to the Lord, as if some could invent their own more suitable path, and one will understand better what Adam and Eve wasted. They had it all and then they blew it. Believe it or not, they got religious. The forbidden fruit was said to make them wise and be like God and the angels, but it did just the opposite.
Faux Christians have a very hard time seeing this, but it was the exact problem embraced by the Pharisees. They ate the forbidden fruit. They continued to eat it. They turned eating it into religious practice. As a result they became children of the devil.
This is why the Lord made the following curious statement to the religious hierarchy—the chief priests and elders:
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go work today in the vineyard.’ And he answered, ‘I will not’; but afterward he regretted it and went.
“The man came to the second and said the same thing; and he answered, ‘I will, sir’; but he did not go.
“Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.”
Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you that the tax collectors and prostitutes will get into the kingdom of God before you.
“For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him; but the tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him; and you, seeing this, did not even feel remorse afterward so as to believe him.” [Matthew 21:28-32] [1]
These religious people were so bound up in religion they repeatedly rejected the kingdom, exactly the same way so many “Christians” reject the kingdom and the real portal to it.
And remember, the Lord Jesus called Himself the Door, so He is the Real Portal.
This rejection of the real road for the sake of honoring one’s religious tradition is the height of spiritual blindness, something the Lord talked about often.
Adam and Eve saw everything from the opposite perspective of us and still got it wrong. They already had Paradise and went through a portal they thought would lead to greater paradise, which of course did not exist. Most Christians see the kingdom of heaven the Lord Jesus brought to this world as whatever they might currently possess even though the kingdom they claim to be within has none of the evidence the real kingdom possesses.
Unreal Christianity is a faux spiritual kingdom and its leaders warn their subjects to never venture outside it, just as the Lord teaches we must do the opposite. Hence, such unreal Christians are afraid to enter the Real Portal and travel the straight and narrow road as commanded by the Lord. They routinely violate His commands, and have been taught to refuse the full instruction of the Lord and the original apostles, just as the Pharisees did.
But the disparaged tax collectors and prostitutes were not burdened with any religious yokes and were thus able to enter the kingdom relatively quickly compared to the religionists, who for all practical purposes in this day and age are predominantly “Christian,” since such people claim to already have the full Gospel when they don’t, and religious pride keeps them bound up in grave clothes even though the Lord continually tries to call them forth from their respective tombs.
© 2014 by RJ Dawson. All Rights Reserved. [To Be Continued.]
[1] Unless otherwise noted all Scriptures are taken from the New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Real Christianity 