Smallest Seed

Image from  groningen.nieuws.nl. I thought of posting here a bible study outline I did for a friend. It's about having God's favor: Verse : Esther 2.12-17 Title : "Getting the King's Favor" Passage : [12] Before a girl's turn came to go into King Xerxes' chamber, she should have completed 12 months of rigid beauty treatments required of women--6 months for oil of myrrh treatment, and 6 months of perfumes and cosmetics. [13] And then she went to the king in this way: she would be given a free choice on whatever she wished to take with her from the Harem to the king's palace (to attract the king with). [14] Come evening, she would enter the king's bedroom, and in the morning be sent to a place in the Harem under the care of Shaashgas, the eunuch in charge of the concubines. She was not allowed to see the king again unless he wished for her and called her by name.  [15] When it was Esther'

If you have any concerns or complaints about life, you have no one else to address it to except God. He alone is . Besides Him, there is none. It says somewhere that Satan is the god of this world. True, but only as far as God allows him. Satan is just among millions of tiny particles beneath God's footstool, squirming and clamoring for His audience. Satan cannot make anything happen anywhere on earth as God can. In fact, He alone makes things happen on this planet. God alone. He said to Edom: "See, I will decimate you among the nations; you will be despised to the max," [Obadiah]. Whatever happens in current events, whatever happened in all history, it was all out of God's sovereignty. God's deciding hands. Satan could only ask permission for every little act he is allowed. Without God's go signal, he cannot do anything.  God can act directly or indirectly any time He wants. In Edom's case, God sent an envoy carrying His message t

After pinpointing the mountain God is establishing as chief among mountains, you go up there. Use all your effort and resources climbing it up. Fact, spend your entire lifetime scaling it. Prioritize it. Hate your life even, in favor of it. Yes, hate even your family if it stands in the way of your climbing up God’s mountain. And what will happen there? There, “God will teach us his ways that we may walk in his paths,” [Micah 4.2]. God teaches his ways (through his Word) only on the chief mountain he’s establishing. Nowhere else. Not in your church building, not in your Sunday school, not in your bible school, and definitely not in your theological seminary. “The Law goes out only from God’s Zion, his Word from Jerusalem.” This is not geographic but spiritual. The true church is the true Israel, the spiritual Israel made up of Jews and gentiles with the Jesus DNA, God’s genuine Zion, spiritual Jerusalem the capital of his presence. His Unique Ways and Paths Our ways an

Micah warned God’s people about God’s plan. We often think pleasantly about God’s plan. We claim to desire it so badly. But if we do things contrary to His ways, God’s plan will work against us. In fact, God plans destruction, not LIFE, once we go against His ways. “My Word does good to those whose ways are upright, right?” (Micah 2.7). God’s ways alone in Scripture are upright. All others, like denominationalism, are against His ways. Jesus desires all true believers to be completely united. How complete? As the Father and Son are one (Jn.17). Denominationalism works contrary to this. Their Own Power When God’s people work contrary to His ways, they become God’s enemies. “Lately, my people have risen up like an enemy,” (Micah 2.8) Why? Because they plan evil and carry it out in their own power (Micah 2.1). It happens automatically—you use your own ways, you use your own power. Human effort is zero in the spiritual realms. Everything has to be done in the power of th

There's a future time of seeing God. But nonetheless, we should see God now--or we won't see him at all in the future. Whether we see him then depends on whether we see him now. It's something like the sowing principle. What small thing you have now ascertains what you will have and reap in the future. It's not a desire to "want to see God someday;" It's seeing him now. God should be so real in your life right now. He is not just a future or past God--he is very much a present God. A "now" God. In him we move, and talk, and perceive, and understand, and have our being.  The disciples asked Jesus: "Show us the Father." They thought God was still to be seen . To see God now is very important--or you miss all the glory moments. So Jesus answered something like, "You mean, you've been seeing me and yet you still ask to see God?" Sometimes, it's possible to see and yet not see. You drown in all the busy activiti

God's Blog! When we open a Facebook or blog account we're often careful not to reveal too much of ourselves because of security--there are many hackers or identity thieves out there who mean sure harm. And we're also careful about accepting friends. We'd rather not have strangers comment on our articles or blogs, so we limit comment access. Fact, most FB pages and groups screen incoming members by warning them about negative comments or criticism. I understand that.  Photo by Solen Feyissa on Unsplash . But with God it's different. Oh yeah, there's such thing as God's Facebook or God's Blog . It's in the spirit realms, not on cyberspace, but it somewhat looks similar. He also has to worry about security and abuse and identity theft and hacking. So he also exercises caution. So the Holy Spirit provides security checks. No one can enter His Kingdom if one's not born again, for instance. But he doesn't care if some are able to sneak in awhile

Image from The Longest Straw. Many would raise the eyebrows at this--do you know how you're so blessed when God judges you? And the blessing is this---he judges you to spare you from bigger trouble. That's a powerful blessing. The judgment doesn't seem a blessing now (especially if you don't understand God) because, first, he scolds you. Second, he corrects you. Third, he tells you the gloomy picture if you go on with your error. And fourth, learning often comes with pain and suffering.  Judgment aims to spiritually transform us to be like Jesus in a very radical way. It's all in this e-book, "God's Flesh." See a review by clicking here. To the carnal person, this is NOT good. This is pure punishment. And carnality also makes you hate the guy used by God to pronounce the judgment. This is why a lot of folks hate preachers who hit hard against sin and so with the friend or church member who seems so particular about how we live and behave and questi