Mannaword

“For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.” John 5:21-23

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’” John 14:6

“God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.” Hebrews 1:1-2
(All Scripture references NASB).

Many have written articles of late about God that have really been a bit confusing, when there is no need for confusion. The question is: Do all of us, especially the Muslims and the Christians, worship the same God? The answer is not hard. The answer is clearly NO!

The Scriptures above are very clear about who we worship. If ever in doubt, go to the Scriptures. Also, make a list of the things the “various-so-called-gods” do for their people, and very soon it will be exceedingly clear.

The God of the Bible is exclusive about who He is. He is inclusive to all who choose Him and His ways, but very exclusive when it comes to sharing names, thrones, etc…. Jesus is the manifestation of God on the earth and now risen. He is the only one alive pointing to the Father who as he sharing in our lives.

Dr. Koshy, a beloved Pastor of our family for several years, once told a story to put all minds at ease about this very matter. He said, “You come to an intersection in the road and look for a road sign as to which road to follow. You then see many signs with dead people all around them, but only one sign with a living person standing in that way – you ask Him!”

Problem solved!

(Dr. Koshy went home to Jesus a couple of years ago. He is loved by all who had any acquaintance with Him. We bless and pray for his family; his wife Dr. Indura and son, Jay).

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  2016!

May the richness of our Lord’s blessings be yours as we breath deeply and enjoy every breath in Him! It is awesome to be alive at this point in time and I look forward to every moment He ordains for me. I pray you do as well.

It is actually snowing in Central New York! We have only had a couple of “dustings” when we usually have a few feet by now. So it still seems very mild. Our snow blower has not seen any action. Of course, we do expect that to change. I am one of those rare ones I guess – I love the cold and the snow. The Lord certainly knew what He was doing when He placed me here in His design of things! So I love the deep winter. I usually get really tired of it, however, when it stretches into March after starting the previous late October/early November. So to have things this late is going to be interesting.

Resolutions? Well not really. I plan to keep on – keeping on. That means doing what I need to do now and planning for the days ahead. There is one very good resolution that I think is most worthy of us all. How about reading the Bible through this year. I know if you do not do this regularly then you probably have started and stopped many times. I know I did before I finally finished and realized the value it had been in me. So I am going to encourage you to do it. For real.

I do not suggest, however, that you begin in Genesis and read straight through. I would suggest that you find a Bible Reading Plan that you enjoy and would work for you and read through that way. Some prefer it straight through. That’s fine – just do it. I prefer to read it more chronologically.  So I use the plan I wrote years ago and have the Old Testament in an order that works for me.

Many plans, including mine – the Psalm 19 Ministries Daily Bible Reading Schedule are located here: http://pricejh.com/readingplan. To find our plan just go down the plans in order until you see Psalm 19. Then you can download the plan with its app into an iPhone or iPad.  Otherwise we will be glad to send you a hard copy from our office. Just email us at psalm19ministries@gmail.com or call at 315-396-0129. We will be more than delighted to send you one. I plan to get it up in PDF form on our web site in a bit, but that will be a bit later than today. I will try to notify you when it is there.

What actual advantage does reading the Book through do for us? Many things but the things I have heard most often are glowing reports of changed lives, deeper intimacy in the Lord and a much better overall knowledge of what is there – instead of pieces parts.

I have personally done this many, many years. More years than some of you have lived. Yet, I find it much to my advantage as a Bible teacher to review once again what has been written. It has become the beginning of my days. I read my portion then open my prayer journal (either my Moleskin one or my computer one (a good one for the Mac is MacJournal available in the App Store. I have used ones for Windows as well. Some are free while others with many bells and whistles will cost a small amount). However, the point is to read His Word, then talk with Him about it as well as life and its ordering. That is where my days are generally planned and the majority of my direction comes.

Our Lord Jesus loves to talk with us and to be listened to. I know we thought that originated with us humans, but not so. We all like to talk and to be listened to – an attribute of our God and its source is His image which we share. So however you choose to interface in Him, I urge you to begin a renewed emphasis that direction. What I have said here may not work for you – but it is a very good idea for most of us!

“For he (Abraham) was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. …All these people were still living by faith the they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country — a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.”
Hebrews 11:10, 13-16 TNIV

The scripture above describes our Father Abraham as he and many, many others trusted and followed the Lord not knowing where He would lead them. The passage says in verse 13 “All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance,… ” Notice that they “saw” these promises from a distance. They saw them in their spirits as they walked with God! He wishes to show us things from His world (our inheritance and promised land), but He is hindered by our self-consumed emphasis in life. In a journal time with Him recently He taught me this once again. I quote, “Train your spirit in the supernatural (Tongues etc…) for they reach into and unfold for you a way of “seeing” and understanding My world. Many put no effort in sharing anything but their own mind and needs – or something that relates to them or other matters of this world. I would lead you into My world ‘with’ Me in the views from the right hand of our Throne, but so many will not travel there with me, nor do they have any interest in My world (their own inheritance in Me). I am so willing to share and to unfold for you, but not with force, nor will I impose such sharing. I will share life with you any way you choose, but I so long to share the riches of glory that are yours and to delight you with images from our world here. There is truth that you cannot understand from your point of view, but all is clearly perceived from My world. It is a supernatural gift in “seeing” and knowing, I freely give, but it is only found in the depth of willingness to share Me here – not just in your own world.” I began to see His desire for the exchange of true friendship. A friendship that is one-sided, where only one shares and fills the time with their own “stuff” never stopping to spend time in the other’s world – well such a “friendship” is not truly friendship, but one-sided listening. Hearts and worlds are not shared. He wants it to be real in and with us. This invitation is such a precious expression of love toward us.

I believe He desires us to embrace, not only the “faith” of Abraham and the many who have gone before, but be trained in the “seeing” as they saw. May we not boil Him down to what we understand, but allow His own kind of revealing in our hearts as we open even deeper this Christmas to His love, power and world. Lord train us to “see,” hear, and understand. May our love take wings and meet you there, not just here.

2 Corinthians 3:18 “But we all, seeing the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces, as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord.” MEV

This new update of the KJV has done an outstanding job of translating this passage. Even though the word “mirror” is not in the Greek text, the idea is there in the word usage.

The idea transferred is that when we look in a mirror and see the glory of the Lord, we begin to recognize that we actually look and respond like Him. This experiential “knowledge” of His image seen in our persons allows us to move from the glory we have known that is little and law centered, into the full glory of His Holy Spirit within us.

This verse does a good job of combining the statement of truth with the experiential knowledge that same truth. We so often think the two are very separate, when in reality any truth that is truth is experientially true and is expressed that way in a transformed life.

Truth cannot be separated from the experience of it. It is not about our circumstances saying the same thing – they most generally do not. It is about receiving the truth in a way that it becomes experiential in Spirit and then expressed through our lives. This is known as faith – not an abstract idea with some sort of “wish” or positive thinking behind it. Instead it is a confidence in truth from the Word that is deeply rooted in fellowship in the Lord, so trust is born and released in reality.

Yes Lord! May it be ever so true in and though us.

The Institute of Biblical Studies courses are beginning soon! All information regarding courses and registration information is on the Psalm 19 Web Site. Just click on the graphic and it will take you there; one more click and all the data is before you. Do it today! 

We are offering three (3) separate courses this fall.

Monday – 7-9 pm – Romans – Bible Learning Center, 6138 S. Salina St.- Syracuse 13205 – Rev. Iris Godfrey + teaching.

Tuesday – 6:30-8:30 pm – Exploring the New Testament – New Heart Ministries, 80 Smokey Hollow Rd. – Baldwinsville, NY – Dr. Kathy Kinslow – teaching.

Tuesday – 7-9 pm – The New Creation Covenant – Bible Learning Center, 6183 S. Salina St. – Syracuse, Ny 13205 – Rev. Iris Godfrey – teaching.

Easy access and reasonable tuition! Register Today!

“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.” Colossians 2:9-10a (TNIV)

As we ponder this short passage, I am amazed by what it says and then what it really says. You know, the difference between first or casual look and then the reality of truth.

Paul is telling us that in Christ the fullness of the entire Deity lives in bodily form, and then in Christ we also have been brought to fullness. We have been brought into completeness – satisfaction – that everything taken care of place. First look says, “Yes, I know, He has given me fullness or completeness.” But when we look more closely we discover that the same fullness of Deity that filled Christ, now fills us – in bodily form. There seems to be no difference in amount and no difference in essence.

Although I have quoted the first part of this passage time and again to explain the nature of my Lord Jesus (and it is also stated in Colossians 1:19), and I knew it said that we were also filled, never in my fondest dreaming did I understand that it was the same fullness. It relates to “co-heir” and other such “Oneness” concepts which are spoken to us in the Word.

Why have we always thought of ourselves as so lacking, so ill equipped when clearly we have been given everything He was and has been given? Just pondering.

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have looked upon, and our hands have touched, concerning the Word of life — the life was revealed, and we have seen it and testify to it, and announce to you that which we have seen and heard, that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. We are writing these things to you so that our joy may be complete.” (1 John 1:1-4 MEV)

The previous two posts have been about this passage, but there is one more thing that I want the Lord to unfold for us here.

The Apostle ends this paragraph by saying that he was writing these things to them so that his joy could be complete. I know it says “our” and some of our translations say “your,” however, in my Greek text, the word is in the first person and could be translated “that the joy of I may be complete.” I know that is not good English and not good Greek either, but it gets the singular first person across to us. He is saying that in order for him to be absolutely filled up with joy, we must be in fellowship with that joy and the emphasis is that we too will experience that same completeness of joy in the fellowship.

This is no small little-light-of-mine thing!  It is a totalness of being – lost in joy – a filling with joy that has no lack, no want and nothing missing at all. As we fellowship in Jesus in our prayer time, this is the overriding emotion that the Apostle wants us to experience in Him.

Joy is not a “happy feeling,” but a knowing of well-being and power that surpasses “happy” on every level. Remember Isaiah 12:2-3, (MEV – link above):