Wednesday, June 4, 2014

Learning How To Grow In Faith


            And God said to Moses,
"I AM WHOM I AM."
And He said,
"thus you shall say
to the children of Israel,
"I AM has since me to you."
Exodus 3: 14

            One of the pleasures in writing these blogs is the time taken to study before writing these blogs, which often takes several hours of reading and thinking and praying and meditating, for I learn much and my faith has grown deeper and deeper.  I hope this is also true of you!  Why did I open up with this scripture from Exodus?  It is a very well-known scripture, especially the words; "I AM WHOM I AM."  I was recently asked about these words from a fellow down at the Sundial Bridge that crosses over the Sacramento River.  And where I do much study and often times able to speak to those who are either involved in the heretic movement propounded by the: School of the Supernatural, taught by Bethel Church, or those who just see my Bibles and study material and ask questions.  Because scripture is where we find the truth and where God has revealed Himself we find that He has revealed to Moses those most famous words.  The Hebrew word: חיח, hayah, means to exist, to be, or to become and in a legal sense those passages that use this word describes God's relationship to His covenant people and to set forth what is desired and intended.  Now the divine name Jehovah or Yahweh was well known long before this revelation (Genesis 4: 1), and God had already covenanted with Abraham and His people so this is more than just a statement to identify Himself, it is a declaration of divine control of all things.  By the use of Scripture we will come to the truth.  Scripture interpretation will be both truthful and lead a person to the truth and this depends on: 1.  The mode of ascertaining the proper meaning, (as was done to explain the opening scripture).  2.  The mode of making it known when it is ascertained.  This requires an arduous undertaking and is never taken lightly, but God will by means of the Holy Spirit, supply to a person many questions that need to be investigated to be able to find a truthful answer.  Sometime we want to run away from those questions that God has given us and want to live just where we are and what we believe as though not to be bothered by anything different. this isnot the war to grow in faith and truth. God has promised that to those who have will be given even more: ("For whoever has, to him more will be given, that he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him" (Matthew 13:12).  As God increased the fish and bread  to feed thousands, so He will multiply that which you impart and distribute to others and this requires time to study His word and even other books such as concordances, dictionaries, and other writers on theology, etc., and this is time-consuming and arduous but very necessary.  For God will give to you what you need and to study and learn to impart and distribute to others the Gospel, therefore, it is imperative that that which is imparted its truthful interpretation of Scripture.  The truth never incurs less; rather it increases in wealth.
            The Scripture states: "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53: 5); "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sin, might live for righteousness -- by whose stripes you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).  Some interpret this to apply it to physical healing, and God can, when He wills to heal a person physically, Jesus Christ showed us this fact for He did not go and heal every one but He did heal some physically and some mentally.  God has supplied us with remedies to heal the physically sick, but this cure is only temporary.  They healing that God supplied; is by the way of His Wisdom becoming clothed in the flesh and to die for sin, to pay the debt owed to a just God.  God's Wisdom adapted to our wounds, by becoming flesh and curing some miraculously and by this demonstrated His Godship, the very fact that He is God.  Now, when Wisdom so adapted Himself to our wounds, He then applies His cure and the Healer cures the disease of sin, the penalty of death, by dying for those He came to save.  The disease that was thrust upon mankind by the woman's action and that defiance by the man, Adam, the disease that corrupted the soul needed a Healer.  A Healer that did not have a corrupted soul and that Healer was Jesus Christ, the Wisdom of God.  Man lost immortality and became mortal.  Jesus, the Healer came to bring immortality that was lost.
            When we study scripture, and not just some man's opinion, and take the time to examine how a word is used, how they were used in context, then this will keep us from, doing, demonstrating, acting out in some way, and believing that which is not true.  Why? So that we can be what God has given us as work: to be His ambassador.  Remember the attempt in writing this blog is so that we change from the inside/out, and that our faith, and all that we do and say, represent the God whom we say we follow and believe.  I took the time to write this so that we understand that we are seeking the truth so that our Christian life is blessed by God, and is the witness for Him.  Not that He gives us anything special by doing this, rather our love for Him and all He has done for us by means of His Wisdom, we are compelled to deny ourselves and follow His commands, principles, and precepts.

My sheep hear My voice,
            and I know them,
and they follow Me.
                        John 10:27

God blesses His people

       Richard L. Crumb

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