Love the rich!

[guest6667]

Listen, my dear brothers: Didn't God choose the poor in this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom that He has promised to those who love Him? 6 Yet you dishonored that poor man. Don't the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Don't they blaspheme the noble name that was pronounced over you at your baptism? 8 Indeed, if you keep the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well. 9 But if you show favoritism, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. (James 2:5-9)

My brothers, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 2 For example, a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in. 3 If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes and say, "Sit here in a good place," and yet you say to the poor man, "Stand over there," or, "Sit here on the floor by my footstool," 4 haven't you discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4)

Come now, you rich people! Weep and wail over the miseries that are coming on you. 2 Your wealth is ruined and your clothes are moth-eaten. (James 5:1-2)

This is how God's children--and the Devil's children--are made evident. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, 12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother's were righteous. (1 John 3:10-12)

Love Cain the way Abel loved him.

But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. For He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:44)

Jesus was buried in a rich man's grave as a symbol of him dying in place of all of us.

"I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. 12 This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. 13 No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:11-13)

So he went right up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him. 50 "Friend," Jesus asked him, "why have you come?" Then they came up, took hold of Jesus, and arrested Him. (Matthew 26:49-50)

Understanding surpasses sight and love surpasses understanding. So it should be easy to workout what the right thing to do is, Love. If only it was this easy.

Last week there was this old man (a friend really) who was being very sentimental, telling me and a friend how much we had helped him emotionally, since his wife died. I looked at my friend and she was so moved, I thought Jesus was in her and not in me.

And when I do feel love, often it doesn't feel like mine. I hope I can experience loving everyone, my family, people who are mean to me, all with the same love and for it not to be taken away the next day. Not that I don't have a lot to be thankful for, but Love looks like the greatest gift, It is being:  :HeartThrob:

[guest6667]

Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, and do not curse a rich person even in your bedroom, for a bird of the sky may carry the message, and a winged creature may report the matter. (Ecclesiastes 10:20)

[rosered]

   Hi Eddie  !  your posts , what a blessing it is to think upon it and
    this reminded me of  James 4:17, NIV: "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them." ...

Strong's Concordance
hamartia: a sin, failure
Original Word: ἁμαρτία, ας, ἡ
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: hamartia
Phonetic Spelling: (ham-ar-tee'-ah)
Definition: a sin, failure
Usage: prop: missing the mark; hence: (a) guilt, sin, (b) a fault, failure (in an ethical sense), sinful deed.
HELPS Word-studies
266 hamartía (a feminine noun derived from 1 /A "not" and 3313 /méros, "a part, share of") – properly, no-share ("no part of"); loss (forfeiture) because not hitting the target; sin (missing the mark).

266 /hamartía ("sin, forfeiture because missing the mark") is the brand of sin that emphasizes its self-originated (self-empowered) nature – i.e. it is not originated or empowered by God (i.e. not of faith, His in worked persuasion, cf. Ro 14:23).
 

  Seeing the difference between  knowing   love  as the knowing God , and the unknowing what real love means and is of the heavenly kind and practiced   or as the as of the earthly  kind  that is a respecter of persons .

I agree !!   For you know that Love is being connected to a higher power of  awareness and a partaker in Gods glory as I can  try to explain it   
being touched by Gods good graces   from others and  those  times within  ,an ability to desire this more and the other less .

  OH if it would just continue and stick  as always

  I feel as if it is walking in the Spirit of Life and going in and out  of the pasture  , that place of  promise  and tasting the  good things of God as  a realm of  peace that surpasses all understanding it .


I recall my sister when she was in her last days of earthly dwelling and how she went on to describe ,  how we are all  connected to Jesus ,   but some just have not been awakened fully to this yet .
 
So it made this hope alive in me  by  believing her witness .   I believe she was experiencing the glory of God though Christ  in her   horrible  days of suffering  in her flesh .


it has always stuck with me since 2012 . because she was willing to talk about it openly  and saw some forgiveness  poured out on many whom she felt she had  disappointed   in her life and repented  of it .

there were tears of joy and the flowing of great forgiveness  in those moments .

  makes you think , that is for sure .

It is good to also be reminded  of those things as you have  made me think once again of Gods loving  heart  on all His  creation .

   bless you and yours 

[guest6667]

I don't know what is waiting but even if I did my mind wouldn't be able to appreciate it, as it doesn't truly appreciate the life it does know. But I like the positive feeling of hope I get reading your posts. Maybe the closest to truth is just feeling because it is not obstructed by my flesh and while there are different visible things, there is just greater feeling waiting (not all feeling but some :HeartThrob:)

[rosered]

I find your post very encouraging and also stimulating to think upon Eddie ... I always have  actually .

There are so many unanswered questions  and expectations still ,when it comes to the things of God ..

I think of it like this ,  the only difference  between believers and unbelievers is their faith in God  .

  Because without faith it is impossible to please Him .  Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

I feel that connection is a personal one  and that we speak to the Lord , the same manner as we speak to one another  ..

And seek His face and expect some kind of fulfillment .
  I recall being so empty inside   in my youth and younger years it was like a dark hole that nothing could fill  , that place of looking for   some kind of meaning in life .
nothing the world offered seemed to   satisfy  that hunger and thirst  , till  I read   that His rewards are with Him  and if they are than,  that is where I wanted to be also , With Him  ..

Not that I or anyone is special in Gods sight , it was just more of being able to  keep this hope alive  and not let it die like so many of our other interest  seems to fade out   or disappear over time and place .

I hate it when  it seems that I go though some very dry places and my soul  does seem to be in some kind of unrest

Having learned now to turn around and try and understand what went wrong  and why that peace is not there .
  Where did I wander off from exactly ?


I talk to the Lord about these things often  , our minds are  such  a  busy place and easily distracted  with too much information ..
We tend to kind of shut down at times and just have to wait  on the Lord .

  Needing to focus on the things above always brings  some kind of  joy  about that was lacking  and always ,''Thankful for Gods amazing grace with us all .''
  I want to be loving at all times but still lack  this  ability  to be so  ,if I am being totally honest .

Needing more of Jesus to be revealed  for certain .

[guest6667]

I think the truth is closer to the branches of the olive tree than the heard of sheep.

I was listening to Ecclesiastes yesterday, while walking my dog, it is a strange book IMO. Almost nihilistic. Makes the apostles and prophets all seem a little melodramatic.

And the dust returneth to the earth as it was, And the spirit returneth to God who gave it.
vs
to deliver up such a one to the Adversary for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.     

Faith is a gift of God, the fact that anyone has it is evidence of Jesus's success in saving everyone. I think Jesus has finished the works and the process of cleaning us as we return, is us being reconciled to the Father. But am not solid on this last bit. So I think two differences are 1) the gift of faith 2) where they are on the journey. But really unsure if they have distinctly different paths to knowing Jesus or what any of this will and does really look like.

All just my fuzzy opinion.

[marie glen]

Amen.. The Lord said about the rich person harder to enter the kingdom (meaning now and not just 'afterlife'..) than a camel - or "rope" through the eye of a needle.. BUT how with/to God "nothing" is impossible. :cloud9:

And when He pointed out the Father in heaven "is perfect" (Mt.5:48) it was the conclusion to hiw God loves the wicked and the just..

I like/LOVE these verses for what I consider giving great clarity.

I think three verses sum things up perfectly!
    Jesus said, John 5:28-29 - "...all in the tombs" (graves) "will hear His voice and will come forth" (out of the graves/tombs) some "in the resurrection of life" - (which is at His return, Rev.20) and some in the resurrection of judgment" (which is "after the thousand years"/millennium, Rev.20)
     Considered WITH - 2 Peter 2:9 - "God knows how to preserve the unrighteous for CORRECTION/kolazo on 'day of judgment."
    AND, Matthew 25:45-46, "He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into aionian/agelasting kolazo, but the righteous into aionian life." — It's human (fallible) translators who translated "agelasting correction" into 'everlasting punishment' or sometimes 'everlasting condemnation or contempt' BUT according to what was ORIGINALLY "God breathed"/inspired, it should read "agelasting correction" ..I have to think much like some experience now during this age,
...after all, "a person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven" - John 3:27.
:banana:

[guest6667]

And when He pointed out the Father in heaven "is perfect" (Mt.5:48) it was the conclusion to hiw God loves the wicked and the just..

Oh yeah... that's neat. Perfection is without discrimination.

I think three verses sum things up perfectly!
    Jesus said, John 5:28-29 - "...all in the tombs" (graves) "will hear His voice and will come forth" (out of the graves/tombs) some "in the resurrection of life" - (which is at His return, Rev.20) and some in the resurrection of judgment" (which is "after the thousand years"/millennium, Rev.20)
     Considered WITH - 2 Peter 2:9 - "God knows how to preserve the unrighteous for CORRECTION/kolazo on 'day of judgment."
    AND, Matthew 25:45-46, "He will answer them, saying, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.' And these will go away into aionian/agelasting kolazo, but the righteous into aionian life."

for even as in Adam all die, so also in the Christ all shall be made alive, 23 and each in his proper order, a first-fruit Christ, afterwards those who are the Christ's, in his presence, 24 then -- the end, when he may deliver up the reign to God, even the Father, when he may have made useless all rule, and all authority and power -- 25 for it behoveth him to reign till he may have put all the enemies under his feet -- 26 the last enemy is done away -- death; 27 for all things He did put under his feet, and, when one may say that all things have been subjected, it is evident that He is excepted who did subject the all things to him, 28 and when the all things may be subjected to him, then the Son also himself shall be subject to Him, who did subject to him the all things, that God may be the all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:22-28)


having stripped the principalities and the authorities, he made a shew of them openly -- having triumphed over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)


all things Thou didst put in subjection under his feet,' for in the subjecting to him the all things, nothing did He leave to him unsubjected, and now not yet do we see the all things subjected to him, (Hebrews 2:8)


I think, the passage in 1 Corinthians doesn't split those who wake to Life and Judgement, both are, 'those who are the Christ's'. IMO. This is speculation, but, salvation often sounds to me like 'every man for himself', could the millennium be a age where the dead are spiritually dead (like they are today) and the living are healing them (like a body heals itself)? In the end we will all be subjected together when the Son is subjected to Him. As the age we are living in is very individualistic, 'salvation' is also people individually coming to an awareness of Jesus. Do you see a point in the future when 'salvation' becomes more corporal?

[CindyinSD]

I think, the passage in 1 Corinthians doesn't split those who wake to Life and Judgement, both are, 'those who are the Christ's'. IMO. This is speculation, but, salvation often sounds to me like 'every man for himself', could the millennium be a age where the dead are spiritually dead (like they are today) and the living are healing them (like a body heals itself)? In the end we will all be subjected together when the Son is subjected to Him. As the age we are living in is very individualistic, 'salvation' is also people individually coming to an awareness of Jesus. Do you see a point in the future when 'salvation' becomes more corporal?
« Last Edit: Today at 05:53:14 PM by FatBird »


I really appreciate this thought and I do think you're onto something. After all, we are all in Christ and Christ is in God. When I say all, I mean All. We are all one creation. In HIM we live and move and have our being. God is all and in all and we are all in HIM. Where else could we, or anything else, BE?

I think most of us have a tendency to visualize GOD as a being within or outside of this world, but that's inadequate to describe HIM. GOD is not a being, however magnificent. GOD is BEING itself. We live and move and have our being in HIM because there is no place outside of HIM. He is infinite in "size". He fills all in all and IS the all in all. God has no edges, no boundaries, no beginning, no end.  We are all in Him, we are all of Him, all consist of the same GOD "substance". In Him, we are all one, sinners or saints. If any "part" of God (who is not made of parts) can be destroyed, then and only then can even the worst of us be lost. We are all destined sooner or later (as we see "later"), to be conformed by the Father, through the ministries of the blessed Holy Spirit, into the image of His only begotten Son.

So yes, I think you're absolutely right. We are the body of Christ and as a healthy body heals any parts of itself that are ailing, as His body we must somehow cooperate with our Head to heal those not yet aware that they are His children and that He is Love indeed. I had never thought of it that way. Thanks!

[guest6667]

I didn't really express fairly what salvation today is like. God does bring people together and reveals the work he does in people through others. But it can seem like those who have been given a strong faith are scattered and few. I have friends who have experienced the love of God but do not accept that God is love. And I have people close to me who believe God is love but haven't not known him. So I just thought that the tides will turn, today appears dark, maybe there will be a tomorrow where light dominates darkness in the same way the reverse appears to happen today. 

A good man causeth sons' sons to inherit, And laid up for the righteous is the sinner's wealth. (Proverbs 13:22)

For to a man who is good before Him, He hath given wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; and to a sinner He hath given travail, to gather and to heap up, to give to the good before God. Even this is vanity and vexation of spirit. (Ecclesiastes 2:26)


Maybe the poor in spirit will inherit the rich. The rulership that is sometimes referred to, eg. Matthew 19:28, might be life purifying death? God working through the righteous to heal and make righteous them still in darkness.

Psalm 49 is an interesting Psalm, when considering this. The rich are the ones who trust in transient things and the righteous just trust in God. (grace)

As sheep for Sheol they have set themselves, Death doth afflict them, And the upright rule over them in the morning, And their form is for consumption. Sheol is a dwelling for him. (Psalm 49:18)

I wouldn't say that I believe this, it was a spontaneous thought when I was reading Marie Glen's comments and I haven't given much thought to it. I asked the question of Marie Glen because she has a much deeper knowledge and understanding than me, as you guys do as well.

Thanks Cindy for sharing your thoughts, I love hearing how big God is. Your words also make me feel that I should do more to reach out with my heart and try to heal people around me, God willing, with his love. And not just ponder a possible future time, when that time might be today.

Peace

[guest6667]

and every woman hath asked from her neighbour, and from her who is sojourning in her house, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and ye have put them on your sons and on your daughters, and have spoiled the Egyptians.' (Exodus 3:22)

Israel inherited vessels of silver, vessels of gold and garments. They inherited redemption, holiness and righteousness from those who had worked for it.  Israel were given these things by grace, but did Egypt know they had them, or did they only know the physical/shadow?

In silver, gold and clothes people invest their lives and these things all perish.

Why did Israel receive from Egypt?

I say, then, Did they stumble that they might fall? let it not be! but by their fall the salvation is to the nations, to arouse them to jealousy; 12 and if the fall of them is the riches of a world, and the diminution of them the riches of nations, how much more the fulness of them? (Romans 11:11-12)

Egypt's loss was Israels gain in the sense of election? Maybe that is a better context for those verses I quoted earlier.  :dontknow: