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Posts Tagged ‘Matthew 04’

A Spiritual Sword

Posted in The Bible, tagged , on December 11, 2010| Leave a Comment »

[T]ake the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God – Ephesians 6:17

It is said that the best defence is a strong offence. Describing God’s protective armor for us the Bible says we are to use the word of God like a sword. He, of course, is referring to the Scriptures.

Jesus, when tempted in the wilderness,1 struck back each time with the scriptures – responding, “It is written …, it is written…, it is written…1 quoting a passage that directly addresses the problem. Can we expect to succeed differently?

This means we must pick up our Bible and get to know it – better a little each day than a lot at one time. Take the lunch hour to feed your body and your spirit or listen to it in the car on the way home. Take it with you to read when waiting for the kids at soccer.

Get to know your Bible, it will keep you strong.

– fritz
1 – Matthew Chapter 4

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God opens eyes

Posted in Hagar, Repent, See, tagged , , , on June 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; – Genesis 21:19

Hagar, banished to the desert with only a bottle of water, thought she and her son were going to die.

Of interest is the Bible’s unique description of God’s response. It did NOT say God made a well for her or led her to it; God just opened her eyes, the well was already there. Without that eye opening she would have died of thirst with unlimited water right before her.

How many other essentials are, like Hagar’s well, awaiting our eyes to be opened?!

God’s kingdom is one! When Jesus preached, “Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 1, he wasn’t saying it was soon coming from afar off but that it was already here and experienced by “repenting”; a term literally meaning “turning around” and facing it.

Again, when Jesus said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”2, the emphases was on seeing (or not) something already there.

Not just for newbies, Paul tells us looking at the unseen is an ongoing experience for believers.

“we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. – 2nd Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)

Jesus, open my eyes to perceive what you have already provided that I, like Hagar, may be refreshed and grow.

-fritz.
Matthew 4:17
2 John 3:3

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