BLOG – SEE THE CARPENTER BUILD

SEE THE CARPENTER BUILD

Page under construction…

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5 New International Version).

SEE THE CARPENTER BUILD

In a very real sense we are all carpenters who are constantly building houses whether we realize it or not. There are two types of houses in life that everyone must build and two places upon which they can only be erected. One erected upon the sand and the other on a r(R)ock.

One house (life) is built upon the sand. – The other house is built on the Rock (Jesus Christ the Anointed One).

As it pertains to our children being successful in life I tell people that as loving parents we all want our children to be successful in life. We want them to at least have a B.A. but the most important B.A. is being born again.

So, do we want our children to excel in various fields of education? Of course we do. But if Christ is not interwoven line upon line into every piece of material studied and into every little nook and cranny of your child’s educational experience she or he will only emerge with a watered down version of truth which God fully intends for each of us to grasp. What do I mean?

Let’s look at some Scriptures:

Colossians 1:15-17 (New Living Translation) says, “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see- such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.” 

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made” (John 1:1-3 New International Version).   “For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring” (Matthew 17:28).

Understand and keep in mind that God created our very bodies from the earth (dirt). “Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being” (Genesis 2:7). While it shows that we are indeed special in God’s eyes, as He said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground” (Genesis 1:26), and the fact that he gave us dominion over everything, it should also be humbling to realize that we are so small, in ourselves, when compared to God. A great lesson to learn, hopefully beforehand, is that, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18) and Luke 14:11 says, “For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

The Word of God says, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord”  “Let me brag on God for a second time. The God we serve, “Creates new things out of nothing” (Romans 4:17 New Living Translation). (God created a people unto Himself. There no Jewish until he brought forth Isaac from Sarah’s womb. He told Abraham that he would make him a father of many nations (see Genesis 11-25). – Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob,” (Matthew 1:2 – who God named Israel). Abraham was 100 years old and Sarah was 90 when God blessed them with Isaac. From this seed God created the Jewish nation.

Getting back to the fact that Adam’s body was made from the dirt. Even if someone tries to question or combat this truth he or she has to admit that throughout history it is recorded time after time after time that for everyone who has died and been buried his or her body has gone back to dirt. There is no way around it.

ASHES TO ASHES AND DUST TO DUST

The phrase, ‘Ashes to ashes, dust to dust’ “Comes from the funeral service in the Book of Common Prayer, and it is based on Genesis 3:19, Genesis 18:27, Job 30:19, and Ecclesiastes 3:20” (Collins, 2010). 

It is not hard and arduous, and certainly not boring (it is in fact the most exciting way to live) as those who don’t have a personal relationship with Lord might imagine. This is where one (those who don’t know Christ personally) might imagine having to go through some mechanical type of process every second of the day while studying school materials or going about daily tasks of all kinds. You see, first of all, an act of God’s Will (see John 3:16 and John 6:44) and our will (see Acts 10:17) joined together actually joins us (God and us) together. While we have a relationship with, ” The Holy Spirit who lives in us.,” (2 Timothy 1:14 New International Version) the full truth is that God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit actually dwells in us. Jesus said, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23). When we fully submit to God we get what I call ‘God goggles as it were.’ Although we are by no means robotic or (pre)programmed as such (this is in part to say that we are not brainwashed and spiritually deficient by false religion, cults, witchcraft, voodoo, or any of the variants to the Cross of Christ which are all led by the devil) but we have been made alive through the blood of Christ. “But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here,he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtainingeternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God” (Hebrews 9:11-14)! Seeing through your natural eye on a very bright sunny day you might be driving or riding in an automobile as the sun is so glaring that is difficult to look up or even see the road clearly ahead of you. Then you decide to put on a pair of quality shades and suddenly you see fine. As you proceed to drive or ride, although you are quite aware (conscious) of the fact that you are wearing shades, you do not have to keep reminding yourself of the fact that you are wearing them. So it is with Christ and God led actions and decisions. We are led by the Spirit.  Roman 8:13 says, “If you live according to the flesh you will die but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will live.” (We don’t have to struggle to make Godly decisions. It becomes as natural, for the mature saint, as breathing.)

Let’s look at examples of what being led by or living according to the flesh looks like.

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” (Galatians 5:16-18).

THE FLESH

“When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:19-21 New Living Translation).

THE SPIRIT

“But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!” (Galatians 5:22-23).

There’s nothing wrong with using some of the accoutrements, that although God blesses people to discover, really ultimately come from Him, as it pertains to maintaining ones youthful appearance. But even better than all of that is when one has a vision or purpose given to her or him by God and one actually lives with a passion to fulfill this vision or purpose. God Himself keeps this person young and vibrant. We must arrive at the place where we become these people for God and then we can experience this amazing blessing for ourselves. God will add years and strength to our lives. Abraham was 75 years young when God called from the land of Ur into his life of faith and a 100 years young when his son Isaac was born (Sarah, the mother was 90 years young when she gave birth). Moses was 80 years young when God called him to back to Egypt. Caleb was 85 years young and was literally a warrior on the field of battle. Keeping a person youthful and strong even into advanced years is no challenge for. He is omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. This God we serve, “Gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not” (Romans 4:17 New International Version).


TAKE THIS ONE TO THE BANK

The Wise and Foolish Builders

“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. 27 The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, 29 because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law” (Matthew 7:24-29).

IF ONE CHOOSES A LIFE OF CRIME OR DRUG ABUSE YOU CAN BE SURE THAT HE OR SHE IS BUILDING HIS OR HER HOUSE ON THE SAND.

IF ONE CHOOSES TO ACCEPT CHRIST INTO HIS OR HEART AND TO FOLLOW HIS TEACHINGS IN THE BIBLE THAT PERSON CAN BE SURE THAT HE OR SHE IS BUILDING HIS OR HER HOUSE (LIFE) ON A THE ROCK (JESUS, THE ONLY SURE SOLID FOUNDATION).

Gospel Communications Network. (1995). Bible gateway. Muskegon, MI: Gospel Communications International. https://www.biblegateway.com/

Ken Collins, Website.  27 September 2010. http://www.kencollins.com/answers/question-27.htm