This following article is apropos for my 71th year; living the promise of strength...

13:7 When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed. These things musthappen, but the end is still to come. 11  13:8 For nation will rise up in arms 12  against nation, andkingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places, and there will be famines. 13 These are but the beginning of birth pains.
Persecution of Disciples13:9 “You must watch out for yourselves. You will be handed over 14  to councils 15  and beaten in the synagogues. 16  You will stand before governors and kings 17  because of me, as a witness to them.13:10 First the gospel must be preached to all nations. 13:11 When they arrest you and hand you over for trial, do not worry about what to speak. But say whatever is given you at that time, 18  for it isnot you speaking, but the Holy Spirit. 13:12 Brother will hand over brother to death, and a father his child. Children will rise against 19  parents and have them put to death. 13:13 You will be hated byeveryone because of my name. 20  But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 21 ​


Hebrews   6:1 Therefore we must progress beyond 1  the elementary instructions about Christ  and move on to maturity, not laying this foundation again:  repentance  from dead works and faith in God, 6:2teaching about baptisms, laying on of hands, resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 6:3
A. JESUS CHRIST IS GOD’S FINAL REVELATION TO US (1:1-3).
B. JESUS EXCEEDS THE ANGELS IN GLORY (1:4-14).
C. JESUS IS NOT ONLY FULLY GOD, BUT ALSO FULLY HUMAN (2:5-18).
D. JESUS IS GREATER IN GLORY THAN MOSES (HEBREWS 3).
E. JESUS PROVIDES THE ETERNAL REST THAT JOSHUA COULD NOT PROVIDE (HEBREWS 4).
Jesus Christ is my high priest, he is also my king:  the Bible positions him thusly:  
“The Bible says my king is a seven way king.
He’s the king of the Jews, that’s a racial king. 
He’s the king of Israel, that’s a national king.
He’s the king of righteousness. 
He’s the king of the ages.
He’s the king of heaven. 
He’s the king of glory. 
He’s the King of kings. And He is the Lord of lords. 

That’s my king. Well, I wonder do you know Him?

​https://www.raptureready.com/rr-last-generation.html​
Additional views for the life span of man (i.e., the length of a generation) include 100, 80, 70, 60, 50, and 20 years. A more recent theory divides the 2166 years from Abraham’s birth to the birth of Christ by the 42 generations listed in Matthew chapter 1 to give a generation length of 51.57 years. Due to space limitations, these views will not be discussed except for the 70-80 year generation concept. A View from the Psalmist
Disregarding untimely or unnatural deaths due to epidemics, famine and war, there is evidence in the Scriptures and in recent history to support a 70-80 year life span for the past 3000 years. The evidence for a 70-80 year lifespan was present during the 10th century B.C. during the reign of King David (c. 1010-970).
About 400-500 years after the Exodus (c. 1450 B.C.), the life span of man seemed to level off at around 70-80 years. This was around 1000 B.C. during the days of Kings Saul, David, and Solomon. Perhaps the most significant declaration in the Bible for the life span of man is given in Psalm 90. The Psalmist states that the life span of man is seventy years with eighty years being the upper range of normal life expectancy: “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God…For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night…For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: We spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off and we fly away…So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. Return, O Lord, how long?”
Ironically, Moses, who lived to be 120 years old, is credited with writing this Psalm during the 15th century B.C. Moses may have been suggesting a new life span for man, since the 70-80 year statement does not coincide with his age or the age of his contemporaries, Aaron and Joshua.


​So much distress among those I love…It ought not to be so, for we are Christ’s and belong to Him by virtue of a price paid that only He could pay... 

His blood which not all the riches of the world are sufficient to purchase. 

The precious blood of Jesus has paid for our sins, all of them; those we wallowed in when were yet sinners and in the grasp of Satan, those we commit today after having been purchased by Christ’s blood but yet still in the world and so susceptible to it’s temptations, and those which are yet to come because as I Peter tells us

("Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a 'roaring lion,' walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." 1 Pet. 5:8.)

I have been reading and praying, a lot of praying, about the unworthiness I feel in my salvation.  For I am constantly bombarded with temptations leading to sinfulness and despair.  Vanity and Ego are certainly used by Satan as a wedge between us and the Spirit of Christ that has been given to us as a comforter and guide.

It is comforting for me to know that I don’t have to win over Satan (only resist him), because he is the Lord of the world, and as such controls the affairs of state, not only in my beloved USA but in all the goverences of the world, name a country and Satan has dominion; but it is comforting that I can know that God owns the earth;

(Psa 24:1 [[A Psalm of David.]] The earth [is] the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.)

We can also know that God is in control of the actions of nations and governors as stated by the apostle Paul;

(Rom 13:1 ¶ Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God.  )

So I am perplexed and alarmed, weak and wicked man that I am, how can I keep being saved with so many powerful and evil foes besetting my every waking moment, and sometimes even in dreams, have you watched any TV lately, listened to the latest ‘music’ or heard the latest work gossip?

(Mat 19:23 ¶ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.  
 Mat 19:24   And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.  
 Mat 19:25   When his disciples heard [it], they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then can be saved?  
 Mat 19:26   But Jesus beheld [them], and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. )

There’s part of the answer, we are saved by the power of God and his promise that he won’t allow us to be tempted more than we can bear, notice that he doesn’t say we won’t be tempted, not even that he will prevent us from falling to the temptation, only that we won’t be tempted more than we can bear and the stronger our faith, the greater the temptation Satan throws at us;

(1Cr 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God [is] faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear [it].)

(Jam 1:13 Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:  )

(2Pe 3:13 But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness.  
 2Pe 3:14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him.  
 2Pe 3:15 Bear in mind that our Lord's patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him.  
 2Pe 3:16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.  
 2Pe 3:17 Therefore, dear friends, since you already know this, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.  
 2Pe 3:18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.  

I notice that even Jesus was tempted, this is one way we know Satan has the power over world powers because the used this temptation against Jesus, offering Him the kingship of this world.
Jesus passed 100% because He is the perfect sacrifice…but yet, after 40 days of fasting some bread sure would taste good, and surely God wouldn’t blame Him for eating a couple of those old rocks!

We have no hope of overcoming Satan’s temptations, we will fail, if for no other reason than that God demands perfection in his sacrifice for sin and Jesus’ sacrifice would not have had to have been made if we could achieve perfection on our own ability.
My prayer for you is to remain perfect in His sight, growing in grace and knowledge, of and by the saving blood of Jesus and the comforting strength of His Holy Spirit.

Paul; Dad, Brother, in-Christ

I was reading some of Jack Kelley's blog this morning and although I love his understanding and love of the Holy Bible and how he believes it is the inspired word of God, I question his stand on the issue of when we receive the Holy Spirit, is it at the moment of belief?, at the moment of repentance?, at the moment of confession?, or as Peter says in Acts 2:38 we are baptised for the remission of sins and to recieve the gift of the Holy Spirit?.  (emphasis mine)

How many wonderful believers strain at the gnat of 'is baptism required for salvation' to swallow the camel of well 'Jesus said that unless you were born of women and born of the spirit you can't be saved.'

John 3:5 Jesus answered, “I tell you the solemn truth,11 unless a person is born of water and spirit,12 he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

What kind of logic is that?  Surely one saved or not must be born, have a mother, before he could hear and believe the gospel to be saved, receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

And, the question of the thief on the cross, not being baptised, doesn't even deserve discussion, of course he is saved, Jesus himself said it to him.  So too I believe that all who Jesus told that their faith saved them, if they died before Peter used his keys to unlock the Kingdom at Pentecost and the household of Cornelius, which by the way was necessary for the unity of the church and stop the Judiasers (another lesson for another time maybe);  those whom Jesus said their faith had saved them, if they preceded Him in death, I believe met Him in Paradise on the day of his death on the cross.  He did however tell the Jewish believers to go and keep the Law as they were still bound by the Law.  (another lesson, another time maybe).

But so many great preachers and teachers are bound that there's nothing we can do to 'earn' salvation or nothing we can do to lose it once we have been given the free gift.  I'm not, here, going to argue that we can lose it when we are saved, just wonder if  we somehow lose our free will at salvation? (another lesson, another time maybe); I just want to examine what baptism is about in the act of being saved. Jesus did say that the only work on earth is to believe God's word...He also said to Peter that I will give you the keys to the Kingdom and what you bind on Earth will be bound in Heaven and what you loose on Earth will be loosen in Heaven ..........  

So when did Peter use those keys?  At Pentecost (the birthday of Jesus Christ's Church) Peter was asked what must I do to be saved?  He said "Repent and be Baptised, for the remission of sins to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit".  Then again at the household of Cornelius he loosed the Judaic requirements by allowing water immersion baptism to the Gentiles.

Praise the Lord I didn't have to submit to the Jewish Torah as a requirement to be a part of Christ's church here on Earth!!

These verses alone should put an end to the question; and yes, we must be baptised into Jesus Christ to put on Christ (Holy Spirit) and we must continue living under his commands.  The Apostle Paul in Romans tells us that very thing;  that at baptism we are buried with Christ to arise and walk in newness of life.  We die to our old self (repentance), are buried in the watery grave of baptism and arise to walk a new life (with the Holy Spirit guide).
Romans 6:1 What shall we say then? Are we to remain in sin so that grace may increase? 6:2 Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 6:3 Or do you not know that as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 6:4 Therefore we have been buried with him through baptism into death, in order that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too may live a new life.16:5 For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, we will certainly also be united in the likeness of his resurrection.26:6 We know that3 our old man was crucified with him so that the body of sin would no longer dominate us,4 so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 6:7 (For someone who has died has been freed from sin.)5


Is it true that salvation is a free gift of God? Yes!
Can we do anything that will make Him take away this gift? No!
Can we do anything to earn this gift? No!
Must we make a concious effort to keep the faith and live holy lives? Yes!
Are we able to live sinless lives after salvation? No!

Can we make a concious decision to take ourselves out of his Grace?  Another question for another lesson) I don't know for certain, our God is a Awesome God and able to do whatever He wants, not limited by time and space, eternal in his love and vengeful in His wrath ...it is impossible, having once known his grace; if one returns as a dog to it's vomit or a pig to it's wallow; to once again regain his glory (pray's paraphrase, certainly not inspired).  Jack Kelly and I have a different take on if the warning is concerning the false teachers or those who hear about the false teachers.  In either case, someone knew the blessing of salvation and fell away..

22:17 These men⁶³ are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm, for whom the utter depths of darkness⁶⁴ have been reserved. 2:18 For by speaking high-sounding but empty words⁶⁵ they are able to entice,⁶⁶ with fleshly desires and with debauchery,⁶⁷ people⁶⁸ who have just escaped⁶⁹ from those who reside in error.⁷⁰ 2:19 Although these false teachers promise⁷¹ such people⁷² freedom, they themselves are enslaved to⁷³ immorality.⁷⁴ For whatever a person succumbs to, to that he is enslaved.⁷⁵ 2:20 For if after they have escaped the filthy things⁷⁶ of the world through the rich knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,⁷⁷ they⁷⁸ again get entangled in them and succumb to them,⁷⁹ their last state has become worse for them than their first. 2:21 For it would have been better for them never to have known the way of righteousness than, having known it, to turn back from the holy commandment that had been delivered to them. 2:22 They are illustrations of this true proverb:⁸⁰ “A dog returns to its own vomit,”⁸¹ and “A sow, after washing herself,⁸² wallows in the mire.”⁸³