Rivers of living water
John 7:37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.
38 He who believes into Me, as the Scripture said, out of his innermost being shall flow 2rivers of living water.
Note 7:382 The rivers of living water are the many flows of the different aspects of life (cf. Rom. 15:30; 1 Thes. 1:6; 2 Thes. 2:13; Gal. 5:22-23), originating from the one unique river of water of life (Rev. 22:1), which is God’s Spirit of life (Rom. 8:2).
Six steps for experiencing God’s economy
God’s economy consists of arriving at the point that we realize that we can’t do the good that the Lord wants us to do. As long as we believe we can make a strong effort to do good, we are outside of God’s economy. We could say that we have to pass by the following steps: We love God’s will and we agree to do it. We try our best and we fail, fail and fail again. At last, we realize deep down, truly, sincerely that we cannot accomplish God’s will, no matter how hard we try. We stop considering ourselves, and faith...
read moreSix étapes pour expérimenter l’économie de Dieu
L’économie de Dieu consiste à arriver au point que nous réalisons que nous ne pouvons pas faire le bien que le Seigneur veut que nous fassions. Tant que nous croyons pouvoir nous efforcer à faire le bien, nous sommes hors de l’économie de Dieu. On peut dire qu’il faut passer par les étapes suivantes : 1. Nous aimons la volonté de Dieu et nous nous accordons de le faire. 2. Nous tentons notre mieux et nous échouons, échouons et échouons encore. 3. Finalement, nous réalisons profondément, vraiment, sincèrement que nous ne...
read moreSeven statuses of the church in Ephesians
The book of Ephesians shows us at least seven distinct statuses or designations of the church. The entire book is needed to understand these points in context, but I will cite only a few key verses that highlight them most strongly: Church: Eph 1:22 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,”Church” translates the Greek ekklesia, meaning called out. This word refers to the assembly of those whom God has called out of the world to accomplish His own purpose, as detailed in Ephesians...
read moreServing God, not Pharaoh
I guess it is the same in any line of work, but when we pursue excellence in our academic research, it is hard not to be swept away in the current of the age pursuing self-glory and riches. I am currently studying Exodus with the help of the Life-Study. I very much appreciate seeing that the spiritual significance of the plagues of Egypt was that God was unveiling to His people the true nature of the world. In man's eyes, the world produces great monuments that are invaluable for human living. However, in reality, Satan is the Pharaoh...
read moreInstalling Bibles in PocketSword (iPhone)
There are many, many Bible reading apps in the App Store (and I’ve tried a lot of them), but my favourite by far is a free one called PocketSword. Just search for it in the App Store. To load Bibles: Click on the Bible tab in the bottom left corner. Then click the Bible version button in the top right (I think the default is KJV or ESV); this takes you to the screen to choose Bible versions for display. Next, click the + sign button on the top right corner to download new (free) Bible versions. Choose the first source (CrossWire 1). The...
read moreThe sign of the manger
Isaiah 1:2-3 Hear, O heavens, and hearken, O earth, For Jehovah has spoken: I have brought up children, and I have raised them; And yet they have rebelled against Me. 3 The ox knows his owner, And the donkey, his master’s manger; But Israel does not know, My people do not much consider. Compare this with Luke 2:11-12: Luk 2:11-12 Because today a Savior has been born to you in David’s city, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Based...
read moreProphesy for encouragement vs. predicting destruction
A friend asked me my thoughts about a “prophesy” of a devastating earthquake that was supposedly coming to the Northwest coast of the USA in September 2011. Here is the prayerful response I sent my friend. It is helpful to understand the essential purpose of prophesy in the Scriptures. Although biblical prophesy certainly includes foretelling the future to a large part, this is not its essential purpose. In fact, in 1Co 14, when Paul strongly promotes prophesying as a gift and practice for all Christians (the exact opposite...
read moreReigning like Joseph
Gen 41:40 You shall be over my household, and according to your word all my people shall be ruled; only in the throne will I be greater than you. 41 Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, See, I have set you over all the land of Egypt.
read moreThe Christian experience of Christ’s ascension
I’ve been enjoying recently the Christian experience of Christ’s ascension. I have appreciated for a long time that we experience the death of Christ when we experience His killing of our old man, our concepts, our opinions, our preferences, our self, our individualism, etc. I’ve appreciated that we experience His resurrection when we experience His giving us life when we feel dead and powerless, and overcoming our deadness, tiredness, oldness, and so on. However, only recently have I started to really appreciate that the...
read moreProphesying as the goal of the God-ordained way
The prophesying meeting is not the centre of the church life, but it is extremely important. It is a critical aspect of the God-ordained way; in fact, in one sense, it can even be considered the goal of the God-ordained way: 1Co 14:4 … He who prophesies builds up the church. This is the only verse in the entire New Testament that tells us practically how to build the church: it is by prophesying. And it is not just some saints prophesying, but it is by everyone prophesying: 1Co 14:23-25 If therefore the whole church comes together...
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