A couple of days ago I had a very encouraging conversation with a friend who is new to the concept we have been discussing of Jesus presently ruling from His Father’s right hand in Heaven, through us here on the earth. She excitedly told me how, unconsciously, she is finding herself talking to those out in the world, initiating the conversation and just focusing on them in a new way, not trying to “witness” to them at all. She saw it as the Lord…

We saw last week that Psalms 110 and Daniel 7:13, 14, 27 teach us prophetically that Jesus would arrive in Heaven, coming on the clouds, and He would go before the Ancient of Days. There He would be crowned King and receive God’s eternal Kingdom. David further prophesies in Psalm 110, referring to that same event, that Jesus would take HIs seat at his Father’s right hand at that time.  Remember, the context implies that this would occur at the Heaven-end of the Ascension.…

For the last two days I have been watching a very encouraging, streaming TV show called AmericaFest on Real America’s Voice network. As I was watching, it dawned on me that this is very much what I envision will be happening as the church begins to experience the power of the gospel-kingdom Word of God. I found myself clapping, shouting, even tearing up as some 11,000 people are gathering in Phoenix, Arizona for a four-day conference (December 17-20) sponsored by Turning Point, USA, an…

This blog posting is about to explode in me before I can get it out, just as was last week’s posting! What always turns me on is when a biblical truth that I had not previously understood “sets things in order” for me. Last week’s posting did that. According to the Greek meaning of the word for “to know,” knowing the gospel is something we can fully experience now.  On the other hand, the kingdom of God is a vision that we can discover now,…

God today is very busy teaching us to learn to consistently “walk by faith,” i.e., cease trying to live by our addiction to trying to obey God’s law and instead believe that Jesus, by His Holy Spirit, is already doing so through us. The Bible says He is (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 2:13; Romans 8:4)—so I can believe it, irrespective of what I see in my own life,  We saw last week that the path to learning to live this way is to ask myself,…

You may remember a few months ago I told you that I was ceasing to post regularly on my “Two Edges of the Sword” blog, and that I may post occasionally, but don’t count on it! That lasted about a week. After I had quit under the pressure of “ought to, need to and should,” I was free to do absolutely nothing if I so desired. Almost immediately, “naturally, spontaneously and unconsciously,” ideas began to fill my mind, and I literally could not keep…

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD (Isaiah 55:8).  Occasionally, even frequently, God’s way makes no sense to us, on both a personal level and even a national one. This morning I heard a wonderful pastor on the radio preaching an excellent message, and, to sum it up, challenged me to “greater commitment and dedication to making better, more sacrificial choices” in my daily walk.  With this blog posting already in my mind, after hearing…

The purpose of God’s law—as we saw last week in Galatians 3:23-25—is two-fold. The first use is the external use which controls us by keeping us fenced in, “under guard.”  This preserves a society of sinful men. The internal, second use of the law, is to be a mirror that forces us to see our endemic sin and depravity, so we will repent and come to Jesus. Any encouragement to try to keep God’s law to be a better, more righteous person is noticeably…

To some readers, this is a shocking title for a posting by a blogger who is sometimes accused of being an antinomian (“against the law”) because, as I wrote last week, I believe that we follow God’s leading in our lives by doing exactly what we want to do, rather than by trying to obey God’s law. As we saw last week, one of the two indispensable edges of the two-edged sword of the word of God is God’s law, the gospel being the…

I believe one of Martin Luther’s greatest contributions, second only to his recovery of salvation by grace alone, was his differentiation between the GOSPEL and the KINGDOM. Everything he taught was founded on two distinct messages for us in the Bible; what is above us (our relationship with God), and what is beneath us (our relationships in His kingdom on the earth). These messages are like two fraternal twins, each honored and loved by their father. Both are making irreplaceable contributions to the family…