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“For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and
blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship
through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will…”
(Eph. 1:4,5)

Wow, did you know that you were chosen before the creation of the world?
To be called his child? That in love, he predestined you to be his adopted child?
Did you notice WHY, he did that? Because it was HIS will and HIS pleasure
to do so! Because he loves you!

There’s a lot more to this, really. We’ll try to touch on some of it, but let
that sink in for a few minutes first. God chose YOU before the creation of the
world! WOW! He knew you before your ancestors were ever born…before
Adam and Eve were created…before the WORLD was created!
And he loved you. Enough to chose YOU to be his child!

There’s one condition, though. Now there are folks that will try to have you
believe there are many conditions, but there is only one.

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart
that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and
are saved.” (Rom. 10:9,10)

That’s it. Nothing more.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Rom. 10:13)

As time goes by, we’ll learn why this is so important. Why it’s the one and only
“condition” of salvation. But for now, if you’ve never done so before, please…
please, call on the name of the Lord. Confess with your mouth and believe in
your heart, because that’s the only way to salvation! You may not be here to
do it tomorrow.

He chose you before the creation of the world. Take a moment to choose him
back, will ya? It doesn’t cost you anything. The price has already been paid, as
we shall see! If you like, you may pray the sinner’s prayer. All you have to do is
“google” it. Your prayer can be as simple as, “Save me, Lord”. It’s your prayer…
use your words, if you like. Just ask him to be your redeemer…

And don’t forget, my friend…you are chosen…

If you’d like to be sure not to miss any of the study on the Book of
Genesis (coming soon!), please sign up below for the free newsletter!

Again, I realize some of this might be a little “basic” for you, but there is something
very important I’d like to show you, if you’ll just bear with me…

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Before there was anything at all, other than God, Himself…He created
the heavens and the earth. Why? Well, it should be pretty obvious!
He created the earth for us to live on, and the heavens to hold the stars,
the sun, moon and other heavenly bodies that He created. Among other
things, the heavens (and the things contained within them) serve these
purposes:

“…serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years…”  (vs. 14) and
“…to give light on the earth” (vs 15).

We also use “the heavens” for navigation. The heavens “govern the day
and the night” and “separate light from darkness” (vs 18).

They tell us when to plant our crops, give us something to walk under
when we’re feeling romantic, give us something to marvel over when we
realize just how insignificant we really are…

Have you ever really stopped to consider this? We live on a rock that
floats in space! Literally! We live in those heavens…on our own little rock
that is held up by…absolutely nothing. No legs. No base. No strings.

“…he suspends the earth over nothing.” (Job 26:7).

And our rock just happens to be the right distance from the sun to keep us
alive. Any closer, and our rock would be too hot to live on. Any farther away,
and it would be too cold. According to science, our rock revolves at about
1000 miles per hour. As it is revolving, it’s flying through space at about
41,000 miles per hour on it’s course around the sun. With all that, unless
the wind is blowing, we don’t even feel a breeze! And we never get too
close or too far away from that sun…

Now, why do you suppose God created those things? Surely, He didn’t
need them. He’s been around for all eternity, and did just fine without
them before. It’s simple. He created these things for you! Because He
loves you…

If you’d like to be sure not to miss any of the study on the Book of
Genesis (coming soon!), please sign up below for the free newsletter!

We’re gonna start with just plain ol’ basic Christianity, today. I know
that, for you, that may be something that’s common knowledge…but I
also know that for others, it may be the first time they’ve heard it! I
would encourage you, either way, to stick around…there’s gonna be
some totally awesome stuff coming your way, and whether you have
been a Christian for years, or whether you’re still searching for answers,
you’ll find some things here that have never occurred to you before!

Before we do that, though, I’d like to go back to the very beginning.
The VERY beginning…because there’s something very important I
want you to see.

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Gen. 1:1)

Did you know that angels were among God’s very first creations?
Somewhere between the creation of the heavens, and the creation of
the earth, God created angels! How can we know? Because they were
here to watch the creation of the earth…and they rejoiced over it!

“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you
understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who
stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or
who laid its cornerstone—while the morning stars sang together and all
the angels shouted for joy? ” (Job 38:4-7)

The angels were there to see the earth being created…they watched
in awe and shouted for joy!

That statement may produce a lot of questions that, hopefully, will be
answered in time, but for now, I would like to focus on WHY angels
were created in the first place. He created them as ministering spirits
sent to serve those who will inherit salvation (Heb. 1:14). In other words,
they were created to minister to and serve YOU.

There are numerous accounts in the Bible, of angels serving mankind.
Some angels serve at God’s altar in heaven (Rev. 8:2), while some
scurry to and fro, delivering messages from the Pearly Gates to earth,
as in Joseph’s case (Matt. 1:20). Others run around shutting the mouths
of lions (Dan. 6:22) when guys like Daniel get tossed into the den to
be eaten. Still others are out fighting the bad guys (Dan. 10:13).

Regardless of their specific tasks, they were created to serve God by
being “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation”!
Now, don’t misunderstand…they are not your servants. They are servants
of God. But they serve Him by serving you according to His will and
purpose.

So why did God see fit to create such beings for you and me? Well,
it’s because He loves you…

“Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull
(which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him,
and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the
middle.” (John 19:17,18)

I’m not really sure what caused me to start thinking about it, but
have you ever wondered if there was a reason that Jesus was
crucified on the cross between two criminals?

What if, maybe, there were several reasons?    

How about this? Keep in mind that one of the criminals continued
to mock Jesus, while the other said to Jesus, “Jesus, remember me
when you come into your kingdom.” (Luke 23:39-42)

So, perhaps the middle cross was separating the sheep and the goats!

Or how about this? Perhaps it’s because the middle cross is the bridge
a goat must cross in order to become a sheep…

Or, maybe…maybe Jesus was crucified on the middle cross to show
us that there’s nothing between us and him…whether we are a goat in
need of redemption, or a sheep in need of our Shepherd. We don’t have
to climb over anything, crawl through anything, break down anything, go
around anything…we can approach him directly without hindrance.

Then again, maybe he was crucified on the middle cross to remind us
that the only difference “between” the sheep and the goats….

is Jesus….

My apologies for not posting anything in awhile, but I’ve been working
on a new study on the book of Genesis. Most people think of the Old
Testament as the less important section of the Bible…and I suppose, in
some ways, that may be true to some degree. After all, salvation is found
in the section with the red letters!

At the same time, there is some TOTALLY AWESOME stuff in the Old
Testament! The entire Bible, from the first page to the last, is about one
person…Jesus! God’s plan is evident from the very beginning, and every
thing from the Old Testament (even as far back as Genesis) points to
Jesus!

How about this?

“In the beginning….”  (Gen. 1:1)

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and
the End.” (Rev. 22:13)

Jesus in the very first verse of the Bible! Jesus is like a pair of bookends
with the rest of the Bible in the middle! The Beginning and the End…

Or how bout this?

“In the beginning God…” (Gen. 1:1)

There he is…mentioned again, already! Back to back Jesus stuff!

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9 NIV)

“I and my Father are one.” (John 10:30 KJV)

“For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7 KJV)

“…God was manifest in the flesh…” (1 Tim. 3:16 KJV)

As a historical record alone, the Old Testament can be really dry and
boring at times…full of excitement and all kinds of other stuff at other
times. But it always points to Jesus….

Now, I don’t want to promise that I’m going to try to do a study on the
entire Old Testament, but I will promise a neat little study on the book of
Genesis…and we’ll see where it leads! And while Genesis is the very first
book of the Bible, hence the first book of the Old Testament, don’t be
surprised when you find yourself taking a New Testament point of view
of the Old Testament!

I’ve been setting up a series of letters that you can receive directly to your
inbox if you like (that’s where I’ve been “hiding”), so you won’t miss out on
any of the posts. If you’d like to sign up for it (it’s totally free) simply go to
http://imonlywood.blinkweb.com
and leave your name and email address (be sure to look for your confirmation
letter). Of course, you’re name and email will never be sold, rented or given
to anyone for any purpose, and you’re free to unsubscribe at any time, should
you choose to do so! As always, you are more than welcome to follow along
here, as well!

If you would, ask your friends to join us…I PROMISE it’s gonna be a most
fascinating journey…..

“I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what
I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.
As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that
nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to
do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want
to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what
I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does
it. So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in
the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making
me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. What a wretched
man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—
through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s
law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.” (Rom. 7:15-25)

Wow! Does that say a mouthful or what? Paul…the guy that wrote half the New
Testament struggled with sin! So what makes us think we’re immune to the same
struggle? Have you ever stopped to realize that the people in the Bible were no
different from you and me? Noah had a tendency to tip a bottle now and then.
David had an eye (and more) for the ladies…whether they already had husbands
or not! Jacob was a swindler, Abraham was known to tell a tall tale or two now
and then…Peter denied Jesus as outright as one can deny another…

Some of em were married, some had kids…all of em struggled with sin. Just like
us. Without trying to make TOO light of it, sometimes you win, sometimes you
give in. Just like the “Bible” guys. Just like the (human) author of half the New
Testament. Just like everybody else who’s ever walked the face of the earth, with
one exception. Jesus. Without trying to condone or excuse sin, the fact of the
matter is, everyone does it…sometimes on purpose! Should we? Of course not!
Will we? Absolutely! (If you’re one of those that is convinced you don’t sin, I
hate to bust your bubble, but ya might check your pride and self-righteousness!)

Everybody sins…even Christians. We like to think we sin LESS than the world,
but we sin all the same. Some more than others, some less. As Christians, we
normally don’t want to sin, or like to sin…but we do. Sometimes, it’s not what
we do, but what we DON’T do that’s a sin…just like Paul says. Now the question
is…if we are new creatures in Christ, why do we keep sinning?

The answer is simple…to keep us dependent on Jesus, and to keep us fully
aware of the amazing, overwhelming, indescribable grace, mercy and love of
God….

We often quickly forget what God does and has done. Just read through the
Bible and you’ll find more examples than you can shake a stick at! But when
you’re faced with the reality, day in and day out, of situations that you and I,
alone, don’t have the power to face…then you have no choice but to rely on
Jesus, his grace, mercy and love…

The last thing I’d like to point out about this wedding Jesus attended involves
a couple of questions that must be reviewed first.

Q. Why did Jesus turn the water into wine?
A. Because the host ran out of wine.

Q. WHY did the host run out of wine?
A. Because everyone at the wedding drank all he had!

Now, then…if the folks at the wedding had finished off the wine, then they
must have had a fair amount to drink…at least as a group. Peter and Paul
both have strong words to say about drunkenness in what has become
known to us as God’s own Word. Yet God in the flesh…Jesus…stood in
the middle of the wedding party (surrounded by people that had consumed
enough wine to cause the host to run dry) and……

***this is the important thing, so listen closely***

….if Jesus rebuked or condemned even one of the party-goers, it was not
recorded anywhere in the Bible. Nowhere. Now, you and I know that he
does not condone drunkenness. It’s in his very own word. Yet standing
among the wedding guests, he not only didn’t rebuke anyone, he made
more wine.

I’m thinking this is the point of the matter…Jesus hung out with sinners,
tax collectors, prostitutes, drunks, thieves, adulterers…you name it, they
were there in his presence. CONSTANTLY in his presence, I might add.
Yet, he never condemned or rebuked them.

Now, Jesus told everyone…EVERYONE…more than once…that unless
one has been born again, one cannot see the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3).
He made it plain and simple. “Follow me, or don’t. Your choice. Heaven
or hell. Saved or lost.” He let everyone know in no uncertain terms that:

“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except
through me.” (John 14:6)

BUT he never rebuked or condemned the sinners he hung out with. He never
judged them for who they were or what they were, or what they did…instead
he accepted them. And he loved them. While they were still sinners….

(That’s a good thing for you and me, by the way!)

Think about that for a few minutes, will ya? Let that sink in a little bit. If
Jesus…God in the flesh…Creator of all…could hang out with sinners, day in
and day out without speaking harsh words of judgment and condemnation
against them…then what on his green earth makes US think it’s OUR place
to do so?

In fact, what gives us the RIGHT to do so, when we are nothing but sinners,
ourselves, redeemed by HIS blood? WE didn’t change our own path for the
future…HE did. It wasn’t by OUR actions that we’ve been redeemed and adopted,
but by HIS actions! HIS sacrifice, HIS mercy, HIS grace, HIS righteousness
and HIS love…

Remember, brothers and sisters, that at our very best, our righteousness is
still nothing more than filthy rags in God’s eyes. It’s HIS righteousness that HE
gave us…that he GAVE us….while we were yet sinners. Now, if he didn’t
rebuke…if he didn’t condemn…if he didn’t judge as he lived and walked in the
midst of sinners…you and me, included…then maybe we should be careful to
do the same, as imitators of Christ.

The self-righteous folks, on the other hand, were rebuked fairly often. The
“religious” people, if you will…with words like “you brood of vipers” and
“you sons of hell”….but that’s for another post…  

There are a couple more things I’d like to share with you on this topic.
One is this: When you recall all the pictures you’ve seen of Jesus, chances
are, they are very solemn and pious. Now, first of all, not a single one of
us has any clue what Jesus really looks like! But more importantly, I’m
curious why we so seldom see pictures of Jesus laughing, or smiling or
having a good time???

I’ll give you a few examples.

“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on
them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.
He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,
for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mark 10:12-14)

First of all, notice that Jesus was INDIGNANT when he caught the disciples
trying to keep the children away. He not only told them to let the kids come
to him, but he told them NOT TO HINDER them! Why? Because the kingdom
of God belongs to such as these.

Now think about this…and I know there are other ways of looking at this thing…
but humor me just for a second! 

Eternity: millions of years times millions of years, PLUS forever

Now, tell me…would YOU rather spend eternity with a bunch of self-righteous,
solemn, pious, religious, afraid-to-laugh-in-church kind of folks? Folks that look
like they’ve been sucking on sour lemons cuz they don’t want to disturb God or
rock His boat?

Or would you rather spend eternity with a bunch of children that are running around
laughing, playing, shouting children stuff, being kids…being THEMSELVES and
having a great time climbing all over a God that’s just beaming from ear to ear to have
His kids in His lap?

Now if YOU would rather spend YOUR eternity around people that are having a
good time and enjoying life, why would anyone think that JESUS would prefer the
sour lemon sucking folks? It doesn’t even make sense!

I see Jesus grinning from ear to ear when those kids run up…reaching out to take
in as many as he can…maybe even (gasp!) playing tag or running around the yard
a bit, laughing, shouting and smiling right along with those kids. I’d even be willing
to bet that HIS smile was the biggest one of all! (Heaven, forbid!)

How about this? John 5:8. “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

It’s hard for me, personally, to see Jesus all solemn and grave, when he just healed
a man that, in thirty-eight years, had not walked a single step! I can see Jesus maybe
even chuckling a bit, when that guy stood up, picked up his mat and walked! The look
on his face must have been priceless! For THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS, he had been
bed-ridden! Jesus healed him on the spot…and you want me to believe that Jesus
wasn’t grinning from ear to ear as he watched that fellow pick up his mat???

If ya do, no offense, but I’m thinking we must not be talking about the same Jesus!

If it bothered him to heal people, then why did he keep doing it? Why did he raise
the dead, if it was a burden to him? Why did he come at all?

John 10:10 says he came to give life more abundantly. More abundantly than what?
That what we had! We already had sour grapes and sour lemon-suckers long before
Jesus showed up…what he gave us was something to SMILE about…something to
REJOICE over…you can’t rejoice when you’re all puckered up and your lips clamped
together! You can’t REJOICE without grinning a little here and there!

I see Jesus as enjoying a good joke now and then. Why else do you suppose he
pulled a coin out of a fish’s mouth to pay the temple tax? He could have just as
easily pulled one out of the pouch that Judas carried around…the one that had
the money in it? But the expression on the tax collector’s face just wouldn’t have
been the same…

Geez, I know Christians that could make you pity the whole bunch of us if you
hung around em long enough. Love em to death, but BOY do they look sad. It’s
no wonder people avoid Christianity if it does THAT to ya! Most folks can be
miserable all by themselves, without any help from us.

The REALLY messed up thing is this: We are the ones that have a hope and a
future…we are the ones that have a Savior…we are the ones that have the victory,
the ones who have been redeemed.

So why, then, are we such sour looking lemon-suckers?

Alrighty, then. In the last post we began taking a look at Jesus as a
party animal type of guy. Now before anyone gets the wrong idea
here, I don’t believe Jesus was a rabble-rousing, hell-raising, tossing
back the booze, kind of guy….but I DO believe that he knew how
to have fun!

Think about it…who created laughter? Who created fun? Who created
humor? (I’m not trying to imply here, that the only way you can have
fun is by drinking…not at all! Just trying to share with you another
dimension of Jesus that many folks apparently fail to consider!)

Now, we all know that the Bible speaks against drunkeness. More
than once, even! You will never convince me that Jesus was ever on
the verge of being lit up by alcohol. At the same time, I think Jesus was
so high on life…so high on being God in the flesh…so high on the thrill of
living among his creation…that he didn’t need any artificial influences.
If you’ll allow me to continue…

Isn’t it interesting, that Jesus turned the water into wine at that wedding?
Why did he do that? Because they ran out of wine! Why did they run
out of wine? After all, the bridegroom and his beloved had prepared
the guest list. They had some kind of idea how many people to expect,
and had prepared for them. How, then, did they run out of wine?

Because the wedding guests had consumed it all! They had drunk up
every drop. Can you imagine the embarassment it would have caused
the host? To run out of wine at a wedding? The bridegroom and his
bride…the foremost memory of their wedding would be that THEIRS
was the wedding party that ran out of wine! And, you KNOW the
guests would never forget it…

Now look at this…this is the King James Version of what happened:

“And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the
mother of Jesus was there: And both Jesus was called, and his disciples,
to the marriage. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith
unto him, “They have no wine.”"  (John 2:1-3) KJV

Wow! “When they wanted wine” Mary informed Jesus there was no
more. When? When they WANTED wine. Or when THEY wanted
wine. THEY who? Jesus and the disciples! The other wedding guests
wouldn’t have come to Mary for wine. They would have gone to the
servants to have their cups refilled. Mary wasn’t the hostess…she was
a guest, just like Jesus and the disciples.

“When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no
more wine.”  (John 2:2) NIV

It was Mary that first realized the situation…and she brought it to Jesus.
This was, perhaps, his first recorded act of compassion and mercy. It
didn’t involve salvation. It didn’t involve healing. It involved saving
someone from a whole heap of embarassment…and it involved a young
couple’s wedding memories. That’s it. Nothing earth-shattering.

But this is the important thing…even though it wouldn’t change the world…
even though it wasn’t going to heal anyone or bring anyone to salvation…
even though it wasn’t on his list of things to do once he hit earth…

He did it anyway. Because he’s Jesus…

Compassion. Mercy. Love. Using something as questionable as wine,
no less.

It’s Labor Day weekend, here in the USA…a time for many to gather
with friends and family and say goodbye to the summer with cook-outs,
get-togethers, parties and such. Seemed like a good time to talk about
one of the Bible’s most famous party animals! While he’s not so well-known
for his party life, he IS the most famous person mentioned in the Bible…

I wish I could take credit for this post, but the idea was actually established
in my mind by Max Lucado. I don’t recall which book I first read it in, but
the ideas he presented made a LOT of sense to me…so I thought I’d share
some of em with you!    

This guy was a “life of the party” type guy. There are those who see him as
an ol stick in the mud, but this is a guy that people enjoyed being around.
He wasn’t afraid to have a good time…in fact, there were times that
he was actually accused of having TOO good a time (Matt.11:19)! He was
often invited to dinners, parties and functions, and just as often, as it turned
out, he would end up the center of attention. I’m not sure that it was intentional;
more that people just naturally gravitated to him and thrust the “spotlight” in
his direction.

How does one get invited to so many parties? Because other people enjoy
being around a person like this. Why do people enjoy being around a person
like this? Because they’re FUN TO HANG OUT WITH! Same reason you
and I invite the people WE invite to our gatherings! Because we LIKE them!
They’re our kind of peeps! We have fun hanging out with our family and friends!
We ENJOY being around em! That’s all….

Anyway, this fella, I’m quite sure drank a little wine here and there, as wine
was a natural part of the times and the area in which he lived. In fact, Mark
14:24 states as much. At the same time, I don’t believe he over-indulged, as
many down through history have done. Some have argued that the wine served
in that day and in that culture was non-alcoholic. Maybe so, but I don’t buy it…
not even for a minute…and I’ll tell you why in a moment or two.

So who is this famous party animal? Jesus, of course!

Check out John 2: 1-10. Jesus and the disciples were INVITED to a wedding.
WHY were they invited? Go back and read the fourth paragraph again! It wasn’t
because they were socialites. Be real! We’re talking about a carpenter and fishermen.
A tax collector. Common people. It wasn’t their social status.

It wasn’t because they were celebrities, or because they were well known. This
wedding party would turn out to be where Jesus performed his first miracle. Nobody
knew these guys except for their own circle of friends. He was not yet known as
the Messiah, or the Son of God, or the great miracle worker…he was just plain
ol Jesus…Mary’s oldest kid…the son of Joseph, the carpenter!

It was because Jesus and the guys were fun to be around! That’s all…

Why do I believe the wine was fermented? Verse 10. The master of the banquet
took a taste, then complimented the bridegroom on it!

“Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the
guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”

Now, if the wine, as some would argue, was non-alcoholic, why in the world
would it make any difference how much of it the guests have had to drink?

Holy cow! Jesus…the pious, righteous, stern-faced, stick-in-the-mud, Son
of God, religious guy…turned water into wine! The FERMENTED kind, on
top of THAT!

I don’t believe for a minute that the Son of God was a drunkard, or for that matter,
ever even got a buzz from the wine he drank, on that, or any other occasion. At
the same time, it was Jesus, himself, that turned water into wine that day. It was
also Jesus who proclaimed “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out
for many,” (Mark 14:24) as he passed the cup of wine around the table at the last
supper. Wow…the blood of the Lamb, symbolized by wine?

Stick in the mud? I think not. Seems far more likely to me, that our Lord was a
fun guy to be around. Someone that was serious about his work, serious about
his purpose…serious about his Father…serious about saving his creation from
the clutches of evil…but at the same time, a guy that knew how to have fun and
enjoy life! A party animal. Taking the rest of life, not so seriously at all…

We still have a lot to learn….