Christian – Page 2 – Living Waters

God’s Love, through Grace, given by the perfect Gift 🎁, of Jesus, accepted by childlike faith, in the midst of difficult circumstances, accepting God’s Provision and Providence!

December 11, 2024 Arw27

“Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.” And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭1‬:‭18‬-‭25‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

https://bible.com/bible/100/mat.1.18-25.NASB1995

What does God require of Man? (See notes below Image)

October 24, 2024 Arw27

3–5 This was the Lord’s appeal. With tenderness and emotion, the divine Plaintiff recalled His many gracious acts toward them, almost to the point of assuming the tone of a defendant. Noting their trek from bondage in Egypt to their own homeland, God had provided leadership (v. 4), reversed the attempts of Balaam to curse the people (v. 5a; cf. Nu 22–24), and miraculously parted the Jordan River (v. 5b) so they could cross over from Shittim, located E of the Jordan, to Gilgal on the W side near Jericho. God had faithfully kept all His promises to them. † 6:6, 7 Micah, as though speaking on behalf of the people, asked rhetorically how, in light of God’s faithfulness toward them, they could continue their hypocrisy by being outwardly religious but inwardly sinful. † 6:8 Micah’s terse response ( v. 8) indicated they should have known the answer to the rhetorical question. Spiritual blindness had led them to offer everything except the one thing He wanted—a spiritual commitment of the heart from which right behavior would ensue (cf. Dt 10:12–19; Mt 22:37–39). This theme is often represented in the OT (cf. 1Sa 15:22; Is 1:11–20; Jer 7:21–23; Hos 6:6; Am 5:15).

Wisdom, does not come from mere knowledge, but is given to those who know and revere God. Just because someone is smart, doesn’t mean that they are wise! (See notes below)

October 19, 2024October 19, 2024 Arw27

1:7 The fear of the LORD.

The overarching theme of this book and particularly the first 9 chapters is introduced—reverence for God (see v. 29; 2:5; 3:7; 8:13; 9:10; 14:26, 27; cf. also Job 28:28; Ps 34:11; Ac 9:31).

This reverential awe and admiring, submissive fear is foundational for all spiritual knowledge and wisdom (cf. 2:4–6; 9:10; 15:33; Job 28:28; Ps 111:10; Ecc 12:13).

While the unbeliever may make statements about life and truth, he does not have true or ultimate knowledge until he is in a redemptive relationship of reverential awe with God.

Note the progression here:

1) teaching about God;

2) learning about God;

3) fearing God;

4) knowing God; and

5) imitating God’s wisdom.

The fear of the Lord is a state of mind in which one’s own attitudes, will, feelings, deeds, and goals are exchanged for God’s (cf. Ps 42:1).

Blessed are the Peacemakers

September 11, 2024 Arw27

The Battle belongs to the Lord! Help us to see the battle through your eyes, Oh Lord. The battle rages within our own hearts, and the unseen things, that surround us in this fallen world. Help us to see the Victory has already been won, both through your death and resurrection, and your promise of coming return and making all things right again. Show who you are today, and every day, as we persevere in Your Name. Amen!

July 31, 2024 Arw27

Philippians 2:7 – He took Position as a Slave

June 30, 2023 Arw27

From: John MacArthur Study Bible.

Vs 7emptied Himself. From this Gr. word comes the theological word “kenosis”; i.e., the doctrine of Christ’s self-emptying in His incarnation. This was a self-renunciation, not an emptying Himself of deity nor an exchange of deity for humanity (see notes on v. 6).

Jesus did, however, renounce or set aside His privileges in several areas:

1) heavenly glory—while on earth He gave up the glory of a face-to-face relationship with God and the continuous outward display and personal enjoyment of that glory (cf. Jn 17:5);

2) independent authority—during His incarnation Christ completely submitted Himself to the will of His Father (see note on v. 8; cf. Mt 26:39; Jn 5:30; Heb 5:8);

3) divine prerogatives—He set aside the voluntary display of His divine attributes and submitted Himself to the Spirit’s direction (cf. Mt 24:36; Jn 1:45–49);

4) eternal riches—while on earth Christ was poor and owned very little (cf. 2Co 8:9); and

5) a favorable relationship with God—He felt the Father’s wrath for human sin while on the cross (cf. Mt 27:46; see note on 2Co 5:21). form of a bond-servant. Again, Paul uses the Gr. word “form,” which indicates exact essence (see note on v.

6). As a true servant, Jesus submissively did the will of His Father (cf. Is 52:13, 14). the likeness of men. Christ became more than God in a human body, but He took on all the essential attributes of humanity (Lk 2:52; Gal 4:4; Col 1:22), even to the extent that He identified with basic human needs and weaknesses (cf. Heb 2:14, 17; 4:15). He became the God-Man: fully God and fully man.