The Story & More - with Nancy Jackson

The World and The Earth - Not the Same | Archive Story - Episode 15

11 min · 15 de jun de 2026
Portada del episodio The World and The Earth - Not the Same | Archive Story - Episode 15

Descripción

The World and The Earth - Not the Same It is common to hear the words earth, and world interchanged. But I believe a closer look at the meaning and proper contextual use is warranted. Listen to my professionally narrated audio books and other podcasts here: AUDIO BOOKS & ALL PODCASTS [https://thestorywithnancyjackson.supercast.com/]. Genesis 1:1 1. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2. The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. In these verses, the word earth in Hebrew is erets, which means earth and land. It is a physical thing that can be touched and felt. Let's consider the word world in Hebrew. It is tebel and means world, but in its usage it lends itself to the inhabitants of the world and their system of living, not the physical earth. There is another term that is often lumped in with these. That is age, such as the end of the age. Age is referring to a period of time. If someone says the end of the age is soon, you are talking about a period of time ending soon. Examples for age are, 'The Gilded Age', 'The Dark Ages', 'The Middles Ages'. Examples for earth are, 'the earth is round', 'the earth is 70% water', 'the earth's core creates a magnetic field'. Examples for world are, 'the world is growing', 'the world is corrupt', 'the world is unfair'. What Does It Matter? Why is this important? Let me explain why I believe it to be important. God created the earth. He created it for a purpose, and that purpose was for us. He created us in the image and likeness of Himself to reflect Him on His created earth. Gen 1:27. But something went awry early in the garden. Can you see God's original vision? Let's view it as I believe He saw it. An earth filled with many millions of people created in the image of God who are actively reflecting Him in all His glory on the created earth. Can you see His glory covering the earth forever and ever? Something Went Wrong Even though something went awry, I do not believe God has changed His purpose or goal. God is never changing, and He is certainly not daunted by a bump in the road. Instead, He just kept making new ways to get to His original goal. When Adam changed his allegiance from God to Satan. The world, not the earth, changed. The inhabitants of the earth died (the light went out) and no longer reflected the glory of God. God reflected his glory in the garden, giving it life. The World of Two Lived on the Earth The world of two, Adam and Eve, were expelled from the garden to live in the earth's remainder. The lack of God's reflection affected the earth. Adam gave over 'ownership' of the world to Satan. Now earth groaned for the world (inhabitants) to once again reflect the glory of God. Romans 8: 19) The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God. 20) for the creation was subjected to futility, not by its own will, but because of the One who subjected it, in hope 21) that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22) We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time. 23) Not only that, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24) For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? Be Transformed We are in a process of transformation, of which the ultimate culmination is being once again the complete and perfect reflection of God just as Adam and Eve were. We are to endeavor to become internally more like Christ every day, which in turn is reflected outwardly in our behavior. Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. But in the meantime, the earth is only partially covered with incomplete images which reflect His glory only partially. On a good day, we are still a dim light. But we are a light nonetheless, and we are told to shine and not put our light away, but let it shine as boldly as possible in the world, the inhabitants and their system of living on God's created earth. We Have a Mandate from God We have a mandate from Jesus to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16), and to GO and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19) . As long as the world still has inhabitants of darkness, we have not completed our assignment and we must all continue with our assignment. That doesn't necessarily mean become a missionary in a third world country. It can mean, as you go about your daily life, let your light shine to all your meet, sharing and teaching about the Good News. Love, show, and teach others about Jesus. Help them grow. Making disciples is so much more than just getting someone to say a prayer of allegiance to Jesus. A topic for another day is that even effective in reality. Increase the Light As we do make disciples throughout the world, the light of God will shine greater and greater, eventually covering the earth. When we have no more disciples to go make, Jesus will return and our bodies will be transformed, both those dead and those still alive. And then the earth, the physical earth, will no longer be confined and can be the garden fully alive and beautiful the way God first intended. Jesus is Waiting on Us to Finish Our Job Jesus will reign in the new Jerusalem, and we will inhabit the garden, which covers the entire earth. So, when we read the word of God, the Bible, I believe we must know the earth is a created physical object created by God's loving hands for a purpose and the world is its inhabitants and its system of being, working, and governing that those inhabitants perpetuate upon the earth. Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection did away with the old rickety bandaid covenant, so that now the new perfect covenant (which excluded no man, woman, or race) our sins are forgiven, the enemy Satan was disarmed and made a show of openly (Colossians 2:15). Now we are empowered to grow in Jesus and be increasingly transformed into the image of God. Go - Make Disciples The more disciples we make, the less darkness is covering the earth. Current stats show that more and more people are coming to profess Jesus as Lord every day, no matter what we are led to believe by the media. Let's get busy discipling them so God's glory will increase. If you believe things are getting worse and worse, you are focusing on the darkness and the perpetual toxic propaganda that the enemy pushes through the media. It is all lies and yet so many are addicted to watching it daily. You Reflect What You Focus On We are told to focus and think on whatever is true, honorable and worthy of respect, whatever is right, whatever is pure and wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings peace… think on these things. (Philippians 4:8 amp emphasis mine) The garbage that the media, both via tv and the internet, which is governed by the darkness still left in the world, is not worthy of respect and we are not following what we are told to do by feeding on it. Ignore the darkness. We reflect on what we feed on. If you feed on the darkness, the light you carry will diminish, reflecting the da...

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59 episodios

Portada del episodio Do You Fear Having an Open Mind

Do You Fear Having an Open Mind

Do You Fear Having an Open Mind? Monday Meditations – Episode 5 Originally written September 5 2011  posted here: https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/09/05/monday-meditations-acts-319/ [https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/08/08/monday-meditations-2-timothy-316/] Today’s Meditation Verse: Acts 3:19  Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Have you ever had an Etch-a-sketch? I may be dating myself here, but I did as a child. It was one of my favorite toys! I would painstakingly work and work to produce a spectacular work of art.  I really never came close to the visions that I had in my mind, but I kept trying, day after day.  The coolest thing about the Etch-A-Sketch was that as soon as I made a mistake I could instantly wipe it away as if it had never been there and start all over. I wouldn’t even stop to think about it. I’d shake it and — Boom — away it would go. Now sometimes that wonderful feature on an Etch-A-Sketch was a two edged sword. There were times that I would have a great picture going and then by accident I would bump it or shake it and it would all be wiped away, and I could not recover it.  When something was wiped out, it was gone forever and could never in any way or fashion be recovered. No matter how hard I tried, I could never recover it again.  Well that is how far removed our sins are. They are not recoverable. So as we are drawing on the Etch-A-Sketch of life and we make a mistake, just shake it (off) and move forward. Start again with a clean slate and move forward with Christ.  The past mistakes are over and gone, wiped away. Don’t allow the enemy to keep bringing them up and reminding you of them. Remind him that they are gone, wiped away never to be recovered. Move forward with hope for tomorrow, knowing that the old is gone and the new is just ahead.  And should we make another mistake, and we will, we have Christ to wipe it clean — again.  Wednesday Word Study – Episode 5 Originally written September 7, 2011  posted here: https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/09/07/wednesday-word-study-repent/ [https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/08/08/monday-meditations-2-timothy-316/] Acts 3:19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. This is the Strong’s Greek Concordance Number: 3340 [http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3340.htm] Transliteration: metanoeó Phonetic Spelling: (met-an-o-eh’-o) Definition: I repent, change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God), repent. When I first learned the true meaning of the work ‘repent’ I was very surprised!!  The church I had grown up in taught us that repenting was telling God you were sorry and that you wouldn’t do it again, then asking Him to forgive that sin.  It was usually a one-sided dialog where we repeatedly kept telling God how sorry we were. It was usually accompanied by remorse and a sense of guilt. But because of the shame, we never really allowed the Father to work on our heart.  It was if we kept Him at arm’s length while we babbled on about how sorry we were that we thought would make it all right. So, the remorse, shame and guilt stayed, and afterwards, because we had not allowed ourselves to receive from the Father, we went away unchanged, untransformed and we made the same mistakes and operated in the same sin again and again.  But the true meaning is to ‘change your mind’!  I copied this from the Biblios website under the Strongs word section: 3340 [http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3340.htm] metanoé? (from 3326 [http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3326.htm] /metá, “changed after being with” and 3539 [http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3539.htm] /noié?, “think”) – properly, “think differently after,” “after a change of mind”; to repent (literally, “think differently afterwards”). The phrase above “changed after being with” makes so much sense to me.  When we are with the Father after doing something wrong, we will change our mind and realize that what we did was wrong and that we should not do it again. Being with the Father will change our heart and when we leave His presence we will desire to be different and to do different than before.  If we will take our remorse, shame and guilt to Him and allow Him to reaffirm His forgiveness and love, we will see a new and better way. Our selfish desires will fade away more and more as we go to the Father in repentance, but not just admitting a wrong done, but receiving His transforming grace, instruction and love in regards to the matter. That would make sense.  If we thought it was a good idea, or if our selfish desires were leading us to that behavior, then we will change our minds and believe that it is behavior that is not beneficial to us or the kingdom.  Therefore, we will strive to never do it again.  Being with the Father will change both our hearts and our minds.  His immeasurable love and grace will give us the power to live a Holy life. But we must move toward Him so that that change can occur.  We must take our mistakes, our sin, our missteps and deeds to Him so that He can reveal the truth of our behavior to us.  As He does, He will also show us His loving heart and that kind of love never fails.  It never fails to transform us into His image, little by little, day by day. Friday Finale – Episode 5 Originally written September 9 2011  posted here: https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/09/09/2413/ [https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/08/12/led-or-driven/] You Might Change Your Mind This week our word study and mediation focused around the word repent.  If you have ever spent any time at all in any Christ based church in the world you have heard the word repent.  But what I was taught was the meaning of the word from a small child on up, was not what the true meaning was. I have been doing a lot of word studies in the past few weeks and very surprisingly when we go look at the root Greek word, it doesn’t have the same meaning that we believed it to have.  I am not sure just how the meanings of the words have become so distorted through the years, but it is vitally important that we know the truth of what is being said in the gospels, for our sake as well as others. The word repent in the Greek means ‘to change your mind’.  It doesn’t mean to beg for forgiveness every time we become aware of a wrong we have committed.  It doesn’t mean for us  to beat ourselves up in an effort to punish ourselves for that wrong.  It also doesn’t mean to force our behavior to change without the transformative power of God. But realize this, all behavior begins in the mind with your thinking.  No action is carried out without a thought first.  It may be a lightning fast thought that we are not initially aware of, but the brain controls every behavior, thought and deed.   Even involuntary...

Ayer16 min
Portada del episodio Friday Finale | You Might Change Your Mind - Episode 5

Friday Finale | You Might Change Your Mind - Episode 5

Friday Finale – Episode 5 Originally written September 9 2011  posted here: https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/09/09/2413/ [https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/08/12/led-or-driven/] You Might Change Your Mind This week our word study and mediation focused around the word repent.  If you have ever spent any time at all in any Christ based church in the world you have heard the word repent.  But what I was taught was the meaning of the word from a small child on up, was not what the true meaning was. I have been doing a lot of word studies in the past few weeks and very surprisingly when we go look at the root Greek word, it doesn’t have the same meaning that we believed it to have.  I am not sure just how the meanings of the words have become so distorted through the years, but it is vitally important that we know the truth of what is being said in the gospels, for our sake as well as others. The word repent in the Greek means ‘to change your mind’.  It doesn’t mean to beg for forgiveness every time we become aware of a wrong we have committed.  It doesn’t mean for us  to beat ourselves up in an effort to punish ourselves for that wrong.  It also doesn’t mean to force our behavior to change without the transformative power of God. But realize this, all behavior begins in the mind with your thinking.  No action is carried out without a thought first.  It may be a lightning fast thought that we are not initially aware of, but the brain controls every behavior, thought and deed.   Even involuntary actions were instilled in an earlier thought process.  Highly skilled martial arts learn involuntary actions by thinking and practice and repetition. Let’s look at a few commonly known scriptures with the word repent in them and substitute with ‘change your mind’ and see what we get. Acts 2:38 Peter replied, "Change your mind and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:22 Change your mind about this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. Acts 3:19 Change your mind, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, Revelation 2:16 Change your mind therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. Luke 24:46-49 46) and He said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ would suffer and rise again from the dead the third day, 47) and that the changing of one’s mind for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48) “You are witnesses of these things. 49) “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” So when you are engaging in wrong behavior you may think it is the right thing to do at the time.  Even if you know down deep inside that it isn’t right, you justify it at the time.   For instance, you know you should go the speed limit, but you justify speeding because you will be late for work.  You haven’t really changed your mind to the belief that you should not speed at all, for any reason.  You still believe it is okay to speed some of the time. So, when we see that the word repent means to change your mind, that is the beginning of changed behavior.  Once the light of the Word is shed on a subject and revelation knowledge is received, it changes your mind.  You then have the power and ability to live it out. If you try to change your behavior only without really changing your mind, then you will not have the power to continue on the right path.  True change starts in the mind, but must drop into our spirit to bring life changing power. True change comes from transformation from the inside out, by first changing your mind. So, today read the Word, meditate on the word and allow it to change your mind.  After being with the Father your mind will be changed. This study is a culmination of this week’s Monday Meditation and the Wednesday Word Study. By drilling down on specific scriptures and then specific words, we can begin to gain a better understanding of the Word of God and therefore apply it to our lives more accurately. The Friday Finally episodes take both the Monday Meditation and Wednesday Word Study and pull them together for an overall teaching to equip and train us for a more Godly and beneficial life. Shop all versions of my novels here: Shop Here [https://nancyjacksonauthor.com/collections/novels] My Media Website: NancyJacksonPodcast.com [https://nancyjacksonpodcast.com/] Check out my website: NancyJacksonAuthor.com [https://www.nancyjacksonauthor.com/] Follow me here: Substack: https://nancyjackson.substack.com/ [https://nancyjackson.substack.com/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyJacksonAuthor [https://www.facebook.com/NancyJacksonAuthor] Twitter: https://twitter.com/NAJackson [https://twitter.com/NAJackson] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/najackson/ [https://www.instagram.com/najackson/] Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nancyannjackson [https://www.pinterest.com/nancyannjackson] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NancyJackson [https://www.youtube.com/@NancyJacksonAuthor] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nancyajackson?lang=en [https://www.tiktok.com/@nancyajackson?lang=en]

3 de jul de 20266 min
Portada del episodio Wednesday Word Study | Repent – Episode 5

Wednesday Word Study | Repent – Episode 5

Wednesday Word Study – Episode 5 Originally written September 7, 2011  posted here: https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/09/07/wednesday-word-study-repent/ [https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/08/08/monday-meditations-2-timothy-316/] Acts 3:19 Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. This is the Strong’s Greek Concordance Number: 3340 [http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3340.htm] Transliteration: metanoeó Phonetic Spelling: (met-an-o-eh’-o) Definition: I repent, change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God), repent. When I first learned the true meaning of the work ‘repent’ I was very surprised!!  The church I had grown up in taught us that repenting was telling God you were sorry and that you wouldn’t do it again, then asking Him to forgive that sin.  It was usually a one-sided dialog where we repeatedly kept telling God how sorry we were. It was usually accompanied by remorse and a sense of guilt. But because of the shame, we never really allowed the Father to work on our heart.  It was if we kept Him at arm’s length while we babbled on about how sorry we were that we thought would make it all right. So, the remorse, shame and guilt stayed, and afterwards, because we had not allowed ourselves to receive from the Father, we went away unchanged, untransformed and we made the same mistakes and operated in the same sin again and again.  But the true meaning is to ‘change your mind’!  I copied this from the Biblios website under the Strongs word section: 3340 [http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3340.htm] metanoé? (from 3326 [http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3326.htm] /metá, “changed after being with” and 3539 [http://strongsnumbers.com/greek/3539.htm] /noié?, “think”) – properly, “think differently after,” “after a change of mind”; to repent (literally, “think differently afterwards”). The phrase above “changed after being with” makes so much sense to me.  When we are with the Father after doing something wrong, we will change our mind and realize that what we did was wrong and that we should not do it again. Being with the Father will change our heart and when we leave His presence we will desire to be different and to do different than before.  If we will take our remorse, shame and guilt to Him and allow Him to reaffirm His forgiveness and love, we will see a new and better way. Our selfish desires will fade away more and more as we go to the Father in repentance, but not just admitting a wrong done, but receiving His transforming grace, instruction and love in regards to the matter. That would make sense.  If we thought it was a good idea, or if our selfish desires were leading us to that behavior, then we will change our minds and believe that it is behavior that is not beneficial to us or the kingdom.  Therefore, we will strive to never do it again.  Being with the Father will change both our hearts and our minds.  His immeasurable love and grace will give us the power to live a Holy life. But we must move toward Him so that that change can occur.  We must take our mistakes, our sin, our missteps and deeds to Him so that He can reveal the truth of our behavior to us.  As He does, He will also show us His loving heart and that kind of love never fails.  It never fails to transform us into His image, little by little, day by day.   Each Wednesday I will be posting a Wednesday Word Study to further elaborate on a significant word from the previous Monday’s Meditation episode. On Mondays I focus on one verse to meditate on for the week. On the Wednesday after I drill down to look at one specific word to gain further information and knowledge. Then on the following Friday I will post a teaching pulling it all together. Each week will provide a thorough study into a verse, a word, and then the overall concept.   Shop all versions of my novels here: Shop Here [https://nancyjacksonauthor.com/collections/novels] My Media Website: NancyJacksonPodcast.com [https://nancyjacksonpodcast.com/] Check out my website: NancyJacksonAuthor.com [https://www.nancyjacksonauthor.com/] Follow me here: Substack: https://nancyjackson.substack.com/ [https://nancyjackson.substack.com/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyJacksonAuthor [https://www.facebook.com/NancyJacksonAuthor] Twitter: https://twitter.com/NAJackson [https://twitter.com/NAJackson] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/najackson/ [https://www.instagram.com/najackson/] Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nancyannjackson [https://www.pinterest.com/nancyannjackson] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NancyJackson [https://www.youtube.com/@NancyJacksonAuthor] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nancyajackson?lang=en [https://www.tiktok.com/@nancyajackson?lang=en]

1 de jul de 20265 min
Portada del episodio Monday Meditations | Acts 3:19 – Episode 5

Monday Meditations | Acts 3:19 – Episode 5

Monday Meditations – Episode 5 Originally written September 5 2011  posted here: https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/09/05/monday-meditations-acts-319/ [https://forthesakeofthetruth.com/2011/08/08/monday-meditations-2-timothy-316/] Today’s Meditation Verse: Acts 3:19  Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away. Have you ever had an Etch-a-sketch? I may be dating myself here, but I did as a child. It was one of my favorite toys! I would painstakingly work and work to produce a spectacular work of art.  I really never came close to the visions that I had in my mind, but I kept trying, day after day.  The coolest thing about the Etch-A-Sketch was that as soon as I made a mistake I could instantly wipe it away as if it had never been there and start all over. I wouldn’t even stop to think about it. I’d shake it and — Boom — away it would go. Now sometimes that wonderful feature on an Etch-A-Sketch was a two edged sword. There were times that I would have a great picture going and then by accident I would bump it or shake it and it would all be wiped away, and I could not recover it.  When something was wiped out, it was gone forever and could never in any way or fashion be recovered. No matter how hard I tried, I could never recover it again.  Well that is how far removed our sins are. They are not recoverable. So as we are drawing on the Etch-A-Sketch of life and we make a mistake, just shake it (off) and move forward. Start again with a clean slate and move forward with Christ.  The past mistakes are over and gone, wiped away. Don’t allow the enemy to keep bringing them up and reminding you of them. Remind him that they are gone, wiped away never to be recovered. Move forward with hope for tomorrow, knowing that the old is gone and the new is just ahead.  And should we make another mistake, and we will, we have Christ to wipe it clean — again.    Each Monday I am going to be having ‘Monday Meditations’. I hope to bring to you each Monday a verse to mediate on for the week. This is not for memorization, but to think about and to dwell on. The word meditate, in the bible, means to mutter. So this week as you go about your life, think about and mutter to yourself the verse for the week and think about how it applies to your life. Meditating on a verse will bind it to your spirit and it will become part of you! The more of the Word you meditate on, the more it will transform you into the image of Christ!   Shop all versions of my novels here: Shop Here [https://nancyjacksonauthor.com/collections/novels] My Media Website: NancyJacksonPodcast.com [https://nancyjacksonpodcast.com/] Check out my website: NancyJacksonAuthor.com [https://www.nancyjacksonauthor.com/] Follow me here: Substack: https://nancyjackson.substack.com/ [https://nancyjackson.substack.com/] Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NancyJacksonAuthor [https://www.facebook.com/NancyJacksonAuthor] Twitter: https://twitter.com/NAJackson [https://twitter.com/NAJackson] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/najackson/ [https://www.instagram.com/najackson/] Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nancyannjackson [https://www.pinterest.com/nancyannjackson] YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/NancyJackson [https://www.youtube.com/@NancyJacksonAuthor] TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nancyajackson?lang=en [https://www.tiktok.com/@nancyajackson?lang=en]

29 de jun de 20263 min
Portada del episodio Archive Story | Check Engine Light. Is Yours On?

Archive Story | Check Engine Light. Is Yours On?

Archive Story Episode 17 Originally written March 23, 2023 Check Engine Light - is yours on? For many of you, it may seem that my last blog post Religion - A Dead Man Walking [https://www.nancyjacksonauthor.com/blogs/inspirational/religion-a-dead-man-walking] distilled Christianity down too far. I did that in order to make a point. You should know by now that I love to push the antithesis to shock you into thinking. BUT, I believe every word I posted. I believe we were meant to be a unified body with one goal: to be the body with Christ as the head, and to spread God’s love throughout the world. Therefore, drawing (not pushing, prodding, coercing, or manipulating) all men to Jesus by lifting HIM up in honor, respect and love. But we have become a brawling set of siblings on the backside of the playground. We’ve lost enormous respect from those who are pre-believers. Why on earth would they want what we have and respect who we are when, from the outside looking in, all they see is discord and strife? But, I digress. I want to discuss something else only slightly related to my last post, and that is what the church world refers to as sin. Yep, I said it - sin. You may also want to hang on to your hat for this one. Does Your Church Discuss Sin? First, let me say that when we discuss sin in the church, we often do not dissect or differentiate between our sin nature and the acts of sin we do once we have become born again. Adam and Eve sealed the deal on the sin nature part. Their act of disobedience put their generational lineage into a perpetual state of bearing a sin spirit from birth to death. If we do not personally say ‘halt’ and ask God to be born again we will continue that perpetration. Nicodemus marveled at that term. He searched Jesus out by night, eager and hungry to learn. John 3:3-6  3) Jesus responded and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”  4) Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a person be born when he is old? He cannot enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born, can he?”  5) Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6) That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit... Do You Truly Live? It is still a unique turn of phrase to our human ears. It is an act that God can only do divinely himself at our request once we realize we need to die spiritually. When we realize that the sin nature or spirit we were born with is corrupt, and we need for it to die and be born again so that we can truly live. Notice in the above passage that Jesus says a person cannot see or enter the kingdom of God if they are not born of the Spirit. Let me ruffle some more feathers here (I seem to be so good at it). I take issue with the little ‘ask Jesus into your heart’ prayers we tack on to the end of our religious box sessions. That is not being born again. It is watered down and very vanilla instruction. The most minimal 'way out'. They aren't asking to be born again because they do not know they need to ask for that. At best, it may allow those saying it to realize that there is a need in their life to allow Jesus to help them change, and by saying that prayer sincerely they are acknowledging that something in their life needs to change and to give that to Jesus. Asking Jesus into our hearts seems to be a gentle way of attempting to confront a dire moment of truth. And we, the body shout hallelujah and fast forward them to the head of the line as though now they are fully one of us. One of us who knew we needed to go from death to life internally and asked for the death, burial, and resurrection of our spirit. Something they probably don't know they need because it was just too much to load them down with initially. Going Beyond Acknowledgment That Something Is Wrong I congratulate all those who have had the courage to say that prayer at the end of a service. You have a heart to follow Christ and were doing what you thought you should. But I believe we already in the body do those new believers a disservice by not going further to teach, and pray with them to complete the new birth process. We have attempted to get as many as possible into the body by making it benignly easy with little explanation. We fear our explanation may frighten and turn most away. But by not fully educating them, we are dooming them to fail. Being born again is so much more than just a quick, brief prayer. We are talking about death, burial, and resurrection of their spirit here. We have to understand that a death needs to occur. That is serious business. It is no wonder why thousands that have said the prayer have then walked away with absolutely no noticeable change in their lives. They may want to do what is right. They may try to not ‘sin’. But unless a spiritual death has occurred inside, where the old sinful nature ceases to exist, and a new God breathed and born again spirit has been birthed and takes its place, there will be no genuine change or entrance into the kingdom of God. It Is Easy To Misunderstand The Bible is rich with countless layers of knowledge, passion, and instruction. Because of that, and the fact much of it was written in various languages and parts specifically for the people at the time who were alive to hear it, we get some things wrong. I know I have. Digging deep into the actual Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic and the literary styles the bible it is written in can clarify much misconception. A section of verses that we have often used to excuse our ‘sin’ is the passage by Paul in the last half of Romans 7 discusses the law and controversy surrounding it.  Do You Try To Do The Right Thing and Can't? Romans 7:19-20  19) For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.  20) But if I do the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, but sin that dwells in me. We have used the above specific verses many times to excuse away what we consider is our inappropriate behavior. “Oh well, I want to do good, but I do the things I don’t want to do and I don’t do the things I do want to do.” After all, if it was the way Paul was, then it is okay for us to be that way too. However, in reading most of Paul’s other writings, it seems very contrary. After spending a large amount of time listening to various Hebrew and Greek scholars who pointed out that there is a shift in the original text that denotes that Paul is referring to the way he used to be before he was born again, it now makes perfect sense. In fact, several verses before and after the two above are in that same literary change. Finishing a Cohesive Argument Romans 7:24-25   24) Wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death?   25) Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, on the one hand, I myself with my mind am serving the law of God, but on the other, with my flesh the law of sin. Romans 8:1-5  1) Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2) For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and ...

28 de jun de 202617 min