Your Word for Today

[Edward]

When Jesus spoke about “eating His flesh” and “drinking His Blood,” He was speaking of the Cross, i.e., the Sacrifice He would make there. He would offer up His Perfect Body as an Atonement for sin, thereby, in the giving of His Life, pour out His Precious Blood. This was the price that God demanded, and this was the price that Jesus would pay.

I think that there is more to this than that. When we receive the Lord and He begins the sanctification process on us, it takes a period of time, and He told me that I should take communion every day. I think that (since the prayer of a righteous man availeth much), that when we pray over the bread and wine, and make the declaration that, this IS your body, and this IS your blood, that something happens in the spiritual realm and the communion has an effect on our being and perhaps changes our DNA, or at the least, it helps with our sanctification process. The Lord's work on the cross was necessary but our purification and sanctification still needs to be done...and my understanding is that it can only take place when we come into His presence, like in prayer and communion.

But, I have no proof, nor scriptures so take it how you will...

 

[iLOVE]

I think that there is more to this than that. When we receive the Lord and He begins the sanctification process on us, it takes a period of time, and He told me that I should take communion every day. I think that (since the prayer of a righteous man availeth much), that when we pray over the bread and wine, and make the declaration that, this IS your body, and this IS your blood, that something happens in the spiritual realm and the communion has an effect on our being and perhaps changes our DNA, or at the least, it helps with our sanctification process. The Lord's work on the cross was necessary but our purification and sanctification still needs to be done...and my understanding is that it can only take place when we come into His presence, like in prayer and communion.

But, I have no proof, nor scriptures so take it how you will...

Bread Crumbs “Faith & Grace”

Grace through faith is the only process by which God works in an individual’s life. Grace is not one of many processes by which God works but rather it is the only process by which God participates with the human race. God will not allow us to earn, work for, labour, or bargain for His grace; that would invalidate the very meaning of the word. Help from God that is not freely received and freely given does not qualify as ...grace. One aspect of the grace of God towards man is the moving and operation of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit operates in the Earth today as the spiritual overseer of God's redemption plan. He is here to both distribute and oversee the benefits available to the human race for which Christ died on Calvary. The Holy Spirit has the potential to bring to us everything that Christ’s death paid for. This “grace” will only flow unhindered and free when the believer’s faith is placed in the proper biblically designated object, the person and work of Christ. Therefore, true Bible faith will always maintain Christ and His finished work as its object. Faith in anything else (including Christian disciplines) is faith that God will not recognize or honor.

Romans 4:16 - Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,

Pastor Loren Larson
Loren Larson Ministries

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“in the last day, the great day of the Feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He who believes on Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his innermost being shall flow rivers of Living Water. But this spoke He of the Spirit, which they who believe on Him should receive . . . (Jn. 7:37-39).

The scene that opens before us is magnificent, to say the least. The Temple Mount could have held as many as a half million people. It was the eighth day, the great day of the Feast, and it was a Sabbath. It was a day of ecstatic joy, of loud jubilation, and of sounding of trumpets. On this day, this great day, a Priest, bearing a golden vessel full of water, which had come from the Pool of Siloam, would approach the Altar in front of the Temple, while the rejoicing people sang: “With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of Salvation” (Isa. 12:3).

At the appropriate time, with the Priest holding up the golden vessel full of water above the great Altar, the people would have grown silent for a few moments, observing the very solemn but joyous scene, watching as the water poured from the golden vessel to the great Altar.

It was at this supreme moment that Jesus stood, no doubt on some elevated position, and shouted, “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink” (Isa. 55:1). These Words of the Lord were given, and they rang out over the tremendous crowd there assembled, with a powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit, that must have shaken the entire vast assemblage. That day, all who heard that great invitation would have to choose between two alternatives — either to say, with Caiaphas, “He is guilty of death,” or to exclaim, with Thomas, “My Lord and My God.”

To believe on Him and what He did at the Cross is to drink of Him. In Truth, this great cry of Christ harked back to the smitten Rock, when the river of water poured out, as Moses smote it in the wilderness (Ex., Chpt. 17).

The quotation in Verse 38 refers to the Messiah and not to the Believer. Christ is the Eternal and Inexhaustible Source of all Spiritual Blessings (Isa. 12:3; 55:1; 58:11; Ezek. 47:1; Joel 3:18; Zech. 13:1; 14:8). The Cross, of which all of this is a type, made possible the forgiveness and cleansing of sin, the giving of Eternal Life, and the Believer having now the privilege of being filled with the Holy Spirit. Of all of this, Christ is the Source and the Cross is the Means.

The contrast here is between the lifeless water, quickly exhausted, which a mortal Priest carried in a golden vessel, and the life-giving water flowing in eternal and inexhaustible fullness from out of the Divine and human affections of the great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The lesson to be learned is that ceremonies, however magnificent, venerable, and Scriptural, can never satisfy the deep thirst of the soul. That thirst can only be satisfied by personal union with the Lord Jesus by faith. For He Alone is the Smitten Rock, Who, in Resurrection Power, sends forth a stream of life to dying men and to a thirsty world.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“they say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the Law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what do You say? (Jn. 8:4-5)

As Jesus taught that morning in the Temple, probably in the Court of the Gentiles, He was interrupted by the Scribes and the Pharisees. That’s about all that religion does, interrupt Him!

They had brought unto Him a woman taken in adultery, thinking to embarrass Him, or to force Him to take a position which would bring Rome, or even the people, down on His Head. Whatever decision He rendered would put Him in a vulnerable position, or so they thought. They seemed never to learn Who He really was; He was miles ahead of them in every respect!

Here stands the little, trembling creature, dying in shame, expecting to be stoned at any moment. There was no doubt about her guilt! And yet, why didn’t they also bring the man? The Law of Moses demanded that both be stoned!

Here stands the woman and her accusers in front of the great crowd who had come to hear Jesus teach. The Pharisees demanded of Him, “What do You say?”

The crowd grew silent, wondering what He would say and do. He stooped down and wrote in the dust on the pavement at His feet — for the Temple Court was paved. His action in stooping down to write in the dust recalled His action in stooping down from Heaven to Mount Sinai and writing with His Finger upon the stone tables of the Law, for He was the Author of the Law (Ex. 31:18). Almighty God, now manifested in the flesh, once more stooped Earthwards; once more He wrote upon stones — but now not that which condemned to death, but that which ordained to life. How the heart wishes that the Spirit had willed to record what was written!

The Pharisees brought forth this woman in the hope of confounding Jesus; for He was not a Saviour if He condemned her — the Law did that — and if He let her go, He despised and disallowed the Law. How foolish they were!

His action in writing on the pavement should have opened their eyes as to Who He was. He did not excuse or deny the woman’s guilt, or the fact that the Law justly doomed her to death, but He announced that only those who were themselves innocent of the sin of which she was condemned could accuse her and execute the sentence of the Law.

The words in Verse 7, “without sin,” do not mean “sinless,” but they mean “without her sin.” How could accusers guilty of the same sin as the accused carry out the sentence of a sinless Law?

Accordingly, these impure hypocrites, by slinking away, convicted themselves, and so were themselves found out “in the very act” of which they triumphantly accused their victim. Confused, they separated from one another, each caring for character rather than conscience, he who had the most reputation to save being the first to retire.

How could men who were themselves sentenced by the Law to be stoned to death for adultery, stone another for the same sin?

The Lord wrote twice on the stones at His Feet. He wrote twice at Sinai. One table related to the God; the other, to man, as to obedience and responsibility. But yet, Christ could not break the Law. So how did this dilemma solve itself?

He said to the woman the greatest words she had ever heard, “Neither do I condemn you: go, and sin no more” (8:11). How could He justify that in relationship to the Law, which demanded her death?

He justified His decision regarding her in the same manner that He justifies His decision concerning us, concerning all who ever have believed in Him, by going to the Cross and paying the price that she should have paid, that we should have paid, but couldn’t pay.

On the Cross, He, in totality, fulfilled the requirements of the Law, and in every respect (Col. 2:14-15).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“he answered and said, Whether He be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see (Jn. 9:25).

Williams says, “The Light that justified the adulteress and exposed and confounded her accusers (Jn., Chpt. 8) now enlightened the blind man and put to shame his haters; having brought these lost sheep into the fold, that same Light revealed their safety, and the Grace and Truth of their Shepherd. So Grace saved them, and Truth enlightened them.

“This woman and this man symbolized Israel — as a Church, adulterous; as a nation, blind.”

The man of our Text was blind from birth, which, of course, means that he had never seen anything and had no way to relate to anything except by touch and feel. Israel was morally blind; so are all men. But Jesus gave this man sight. He produced in him that which he previously did not have. He was darkness, but now became light in the Lord because enlightened by the Lord.

When the Disciples observed this man born blind, they asked the question, “Why is he blind?” thinking that his parents had done some terrible thing to occasion his malady. Jesus put that thought to rest by exclaiming that the man was blind, not because he had committed some terrible sin known by the Lord even before his birth, neither had his parents. So, with this one statement, Christ puts to rest the foolish, erroneous doctrine of the family curse.

In essence, He told His Disciples to forget about that. Whatever the problem, and whatever the cause, which, in effect, was original sin, would be set straight by “the works of God which would be made manifest in him.” And Jesus Alone would manifest those works, for He Alone is “the Light of the World.”

Our Lord then did something very unusual; He “spat on the ground and made clay of the spittle.”

Why did He do this?

In this case, the clay symbolized His Humanity, and the moisture of His Lips, the Life that animated it.

The Lord then “anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay.” However, just as the man saw nothing after the clay had been put upon his eyes, so men are blind to the Person and Work of Christ, though He places Himself right before their very eyes.

The Work of Christ in the changing of men’s lives, symbolized by this man born blind receiving his sight, can only be completed at the Cross, which is symbolized by “the pool of Siloam.” This is a great truth which must not be forgotten; regrettably, it seems to be forgotten in most Church circles presently.

When the blind man went and washed, as commanded by Christ, the Scripture says, “he came seeing.” When, for the first time in his life, his eyes were opened to all the beauty of nature, what thoughts and feelings must have entered this man’s heart and mind? Those of you who are washed in the Blood of Christ know exactly how this man felt. Before you were saved, you had no knowledge of all that the Lord is. But upon conversion, as instantly as sight came to this former blind man, spiritual sight came to you.

Spiritual sight cannot be imparted without the action of the Cross, no matter what is done previously. Hence, the man had to go wash in the pool of Siloam.

The Pharisees were angry that Jesus had opened the eyes of this formerly blind man, because it was the Sabbath Day. To confirm the miracle, they went to the man’s parents. The parents, it seems, waffled in their recognition of Christ, probably because anyone who confessed Christ would be “put out of the Synagogue,” which meant to be excommunicated, which carried all type of penalties (9:22).

The Pharisees then went to the former blind man, asking him to identify the One Who had healed him. The man, it must be remembered, had never, as of yet, seen Christ. So he did not know Him by sight. When the religious leaders began to malign Christ, actually calling Him “a sinner,” etc., the man answered, saying, “Whether He be a sinner or no, I know not: one thing I know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (9:25).

The courageous testimony of this man to these Priests and rulers of the Synagogue is inspiring; it also contrasts with the cowardice of his parents. Transported with rage, the rulers had him thrown out into the street, no doubt proceeding to excommunicate him from the Synagogue. But then he met Jesus!

The man now received, as well as his glorious miracle, Eternal Life.

Let it be understood:

It was either Christ or the Synagogue. It could not be both. One or the other had to go. Regrettably and sadly, it is very similar presently!”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“and when He thus had spoken, He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he who was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go (Jn. 11:43-44).

The impotent man (Jn., Chpt. 5), the blind man (Jn., Chpt. 9), and Lazarus picture Israel as morally impotent, blind, and dead. Of these three demonstrations of Christ’s Deity, the last, as would be obvious, was the greatest. The sick may be healed, but there is no remedy for death.

Death convicts man as being a sinner and conducts him to judgment, for, because of sin, original sin, it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment. So Jesus waited for sin to do its utmost in Lazarus’ body, and then went to manifest His Divine Glory in raising it to life.

When told of Lazarus’ sickness, the Master said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the Glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby” (11:4). The Greek Text actually says, “he shall not fall prey to death,” which is the way it should have been translated. The Lord does not get glory out of sickness, but He most definitely does get Glory out of the sick being healed.

Now He will raise Lazarus from the dead, a miracle of astounding proportions, especially considering that Lazarus had been dead for four days. No one ever died in the Presence of Jesus, not even the two thieves.

As Jesus was on the way to the home of Lazarus, Martha went to meet Him, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother had not died” (11:21). But Jesus calmly told her, “Your brother shall rise again.” Martha answered by saying, “I know that he shall rise again in the Resurrection at the last day” (11:23-24).

Jesus probably had Martha stand before Him and He may have put His Hands on her shoulders so she would look straight at Him, even though the Bible does not clearly say this. Then He, in essence, said to her, “Martha, you are looking at the Resurrection. I am the Resurrection, and the Life: he who believes in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live” (11:25).

Our Lord was telling Martha that the Resurrection is not a philosophy or even a doctrine or dogma, but rather a Person. It is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Resurrection, exactly as He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (Jn. 14:6). This means that all the power of Resurrection, all the power of Life, is lodged in His Person.

Resurrection is the end of death; consequently, death has no more to do with the redeemed. It has done all it can do. It is finished. The redeemed live in the Life that put an end to it. For them, the old life and its death and judgment no longer exist.

When Jesus was on His way to the tomb, and when He stood before the tomb, five things happened:

1. “He groaned in the Spirit and was troubled”: He literally groaned indignation, most probably because of the malice of Satan in bringing such sorrow upon man.

2. “Jesus wept”: Once again, this was for the plight of the human race because of the Fall. Man was never meant to die, but sin brought death, with all of its attendant horror.

3. “Jesus said, You take away the stone”: It might be said that one can take away the stone, or one can throw stones. Which are you doing?

4. “Jesus prayed”: He didn’t have to pray at this time, because He already knew the Will of the Father; however, for the people’s sake, He prayed. Prayer must ever be our mainstay.

5. “He cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth”: As someone has well said, “There was such power in His Command, that if Jesus had not called Lazarus by name, all of the Righteous in the graves would have come forth.”

The Scripture then says:

“And he who was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus said unto them, Loose him, and let him go” (11:44).

So this great Miracle portrays the fact that Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life; as such, He is also able to raise man from spiritual death, thereby giving him Eternal Life. For all who will believe, the Word is: “Loose him and let him go.”’

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day")
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“verily, verily, I say unto you, He who enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters in by the Door is the Shepherd of the sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the Door of the sheep (Jn. 10:1-2,7).

The Scribes and Pharisees claimed to be shepherds. Jesus contrasted Himself with them. He was the Good Shepherd. He came in by the door into the sheepfold, and He was Himself, at the same time, the Door of the sheep.

Let it be understood:

The Door of which He spoke was a blood-splattered Door; it was typified by the blood-splattered door of the first Passover in Egypt (Ex. 12:7).

The True Shepherd came in by the Door. That is, He submitted to all conditions ordained by Him Who built the sheepfold. These conditions were given through Moses. Accordingly, Christ was born of a woman under the Law, was circumcised, and fulfilled all that the Law demanded and predicted concerning the Messiah.

He was Jehovah’s Perfect Servant, living by every Word that proceeded out of the Mouth of God, continually doing those things that pleased Him. Consequently, on presenting Himself at the Door, the doorkeeper, i.e., the Law, immediately admitted Him, and the sheep recognized His Voice. He, therefore, had access given to Him and to His sheep, despite the Pharisees and Priests.

Out from under the condemnation of the Law, He led His sheep — He Himself going before them to Calvary. The sheep followed Him, for their safety consisted in knowing the One Voice which was Life to them.

Further, He was the Door of the sheep. He was their authority for going out and their means for entering in. The sheepfold, which to them had been a prison, He turned into a refuge; so they went in for safety and went out for pasture. The sheep enjoyed safety and liberty.

He plainly said, “I am the Door.” This means that the Church is not the Door to Christ, as the Roman Catholic Priests teach, but Christ is the Door to the Church, one might say! Salvation is, therefore, very simple! He promises Eternal Life to all who base their claim for entrance upon Him Alone.

The Good Shepherd died for the sheep; the Great Shepherd lives for the sheep (Heb. 13:20); and the Chief Shepherd comes for the sheep (I Pet. 5:4).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His Feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment (Jn. 12:3).

Before the Crucifixion, it seems that Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, was the only one who actually believed that Jesus would rise from the dead. What she did that day, in taking this very costly ointment, which some believe would be worth approximately $10,000 in 2005 currency, i.e., using it to anoint the feet of Jesus, was totally misunderstood by even His closest Disciples. Man may have misjudged her, but Jesus vindicated her and understood her.

By doing what she did, she unconsciously erected to herself an eternal monument as lasting as the Gospel and linked with it. Jesus predicted the enduring remembrance of Mary’s action, which Matthew recorded (Mat. 26:13). Somehow she learned the fact that on the third day He would rise again. So the spikenard she had prepared for His dead body, she now poured “beforehand” on His Living Body.

It was a testimony to His Resurrection, and she knew that she would have no other opportunity. She was not found at the empty sepulcher; she was too intelligent to be there. Judas objected to this anointing, claiming that it was a waste, proclaiming the fact that he had no understanding at all of Who Jesus actually was and What Jesus would actually do.

It’s amazing! The news media says not one negative word about the millions of elderly people who take their meager income and purchase lottery tickets; however, they have much to say about elderly people who give to the cause of Christ! The only thing that is truly not a waste is that which is given to the Lord.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“he rose from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. After that He poured water into a basin, and began to wash the Disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel, wherewith He was girded (Jn. 13:4-5).

The action presented here, Jesus washing His Disciples’ feet, plays out to several particulars.

First of all, and concerning this, Williams says, “Nothing is more amazing than the fact of God assuming Manhood in order to serve man. Man could only be saved through the self humiliation of Christ — ‘if I wash you not,’ etc. — such is sin; its cleansing demanded such a humiliation!”

Second, the feet only were washed.

Under the Mosaic Law, when the Priests went into the Holy Place, they had to wash both their hands and their feet at the Brazen Laver. To not do so could bring death.

So why didn’t Jesus also wash the hands of His Disciples, along with their feet?

Under the Law, the entire episode presented a constant “doing,” hence, the necessity of the hands also being washed.

Under Christ, the “doing” has already been “done,” hence, the necessity of washing the feet only. The washing of the feet addressed our “walk” before the Lord. Despite the fact that we are Sanctified in Christ, which means to constantly be “made clean,” nevertheless, the very fact of living in this evil world pollutes, sullies, and stains, necessitating the need for constant washing.

What Christ did was only a symbolism, and not meant to be repeated, because ceremonies cannot cleanse.

The Believer is constantly cleansed by placing his Faith exclusively in Christ and the Cross, thereby adhering strictly to the Word of God.

Last of all, what Jesus did presents the pattern for all Believers. The pattern is:

1. “He laid aside His garments”: This speaks of His Incarnation, when He laid aside the expression of His Deity, while not losing the possession of His Deity.

2. “And took a towel”: This represented the Service He would perform for mankind. The Believer is to never be a lord over others, but rather a servant to others, here exampled by Christ.

3. “And girded Himself”: When He laid aside His garments of Deity, He then “girded Himself” with the mantle of humanity, i.e., the Incarnation.

4. “After that He poured water into a basin”: This represents the Holy Spirit working through the Master, carrying out the work of obedience regarding the Father’s Will.

The example for us is obvious! (Jn. 13:13-17).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“and I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of Truth; Whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him: but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you (Jn. 14:16-17).

Jesus said more about the Holy Spirit the last week of His Life than all the balance of His Ministry put together. There was a reason for that. He is now about to leave His Disciples. So now He will tell them how the Holy Spirit will be sent back to them in a completely new dimension, a dimension, in fact, that Believers had not heretofore known.

Before the Cross, the Holy Spirit only dwelt “with Believers,” only coming into hearts and lives occasionally, and then only for a period of time to enable certain individuals to carry out the work designed for them by the Lord. However, even among the great Prophets and Sages of the Old Testament, still, the Spirit’s Work with them was severely restricted and limited, even though He helped them to do great things on many occasions.

John the Baptist was the one who would introduce Christ, the One to Whom all the other great Prophets had pointed. So, John could be rightly said to be the greatest Prophet born of woman under the Old Covenant. But, because of the new dimension of the Holy Spirit’s Work in the lives of Believers after the Cross was a Finished Work, Jesus said that the least Believer under the New Covenant was greater than John the Baptist (Lk. 7:28).

That didn’t mean that modern Believers would be greater in character, etc., but rather greater in privileges, all because of what Christ has done at the Cross.

Before the Cross, animal sacrifices served as a substitute until the Substance would eventually come, Who, of course, would be Christ; however, the blood of animal sacrifices was woefully insufficient to retire the sin debt (Heb. 10:4). The sin debt, therefore, remained, which meant that the Holy Spirit was limited in what He could do.

But since the Cross, where the price was paid for sin — past, present, and future — and in every capacity, at least for all who will believe (Jn. 3:16), man, as a vessel, by evidencing Faith in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross, can be clean in every capacity, thereby a fit subject for the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Of all the great things the Cross afforded, one could probably say, without fear of contradiction, that the enabling of the Holy Spirit coming now in a new dimension is undoubtedly the greatest help of all.

Before the Law, the Holy Spirit, in a sense, accompanied the Sacrifices, at least those ordained by God. During the time of the Law, the Holy Spirit occupied the Holy of Holies, actually residing, so to speak, between the Mercy Seat and the Cherubim. During the time of Christ, He resided exclusively within the Lamb of God, because He was no longer residing in the Holy of Holies in the Temple.

Some 500 years before Christ, in fact, Ezekiel saw the Holy Spirit leave the Temple in Jerusalem because of Israel’s rebellion against the Lord regarding the worshipping of idols (Ezek. 11:23). But when Jesus died on the Cross, and then was resurrected and ascended to the Father, due to what He had done at the Cross, He could now send back the Holy Spirit in this glorious new dimension, which He most definitely did, Who now resides in the hearts and lives of Believers, and does so permanently, all made possible, as stated, by the Cross (I Cor. 3:16).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“and now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your Own Name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one, as We are (Jn. 17:11).

Five times in this one prayer, incidentally, the longest recorded prayer of Christ, Jesus prayed for unity among Believers. Five is the number of Grace, signifying that this unity can be reached only by and through the Grace of God. But considering that He prayed five times in this one prayer for that petition to be fulfilled, we should then know and realize just how important this is for which He prayed.

The five times are found in Verses 11, 21 (two times in this one Verse), 22 and 23.

What did Jesus actually mean concerning Believers being “one”?

First of all, this certainly cannot be done unless Believers are properly in Christ. Jesus said, “that they also may be one in Us” (17:21). This is so important, being properly in Christ, that Paul used this phrase (i.e., “in Christ) or one of its derivatives (i.e., “in Him, in Whom,” etc.) over one hundred times in His fourteen Epistles. So, unity is impossible without all being in Christ.

The next requirement is the critical issue. It pertains to the great Plan of God, consummated in Jesus Christ, which refers to the price that Christ paid on the Cross of Calvary. In other words, the “unity” here addressed must be in the Message of the Cross. Immediately after this prayer, Jesus went to the Cross. He gave to the Apostle Paul the meaning of the Cross, which, in effect, is the meaning of the New Covenant. Therefore, the “oneness” of which our Lord spoke must be centered up in His atoning, Substitutionary, Efficacious, and Vicarious Work on the Cross. This was Paul’s Message as well!

In the First Chapter of I Corinthians, Paul warned greatly about division and then summed it up by saying, “For Christ sent me not to baptize (meaning that the unity is not to be found in Church ordinances), but to preach the Gospel (now he tells us what the Gospel actually is): not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (I Cor. 1:17). There, and there alone, Christ and the Substitutionary Offering of Himself in Sacrifice, must be the sphere of unity, as it alone can be the sphere of unity.

For those who preach another Message, the Word is clear, “Let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“and the Glory which You gave Me I have given them; that they may be one, even as We are One (Jn. 17:22).

It can be said, I think, that the Holy Spirit through Christ explained the Trinity in this Seventeenth Chapter of the Gospel of John as no place else in the Word of God. While there are three Personalities in the Godhead, there is but One God; Jesus here explains what He means by “One.”

These three Personalities, are, above all, One in Essence, and are manifested in “God the Father,” “God the Son,” and “God the Holy Spirit.” All three, as stated, are God, but there aren’t three Gods, just One; One in Unity, One in Purpose, and One in Essence.

Jesus used the word “One” six times in this Seventeenth Chapter. The word, as He used it, was not as a number, but rather as Unity and Purpose.

Concerning Himself and the Father, He used the pronouns, “We” and “Us” (Vss. 11, 21, 22), denoting plurality. Jesus was praying to the Father, and the Holy Spirit was helping Him pray, which denotes the Trinity.

If Jesus and the Father are One and the Same, as some teach, then Jesus was here praying to Himself, which is ridiculous! No! He was praying to His Father in Heaven, which means that He and the Father, although “One” in Unity, Purpose, and Essence, are two distinct Personalities. The confusion concerning the Trinity comes in because of Three manifestations being One; however, Jesus explains it perfectly in this Seventeenth Chapter. “One” is not referred to as a number, but rather as a description. If it is understood in that light, then problems regarding the Trinity are cleared up, becoming, in fact, easy to understand, at least as far as we poor human beings can understand such.

As well, if a person wants to know what God the Father is like, that person only has to look at the Lord Jesus Christ.

Philip said to the Lord, “Show us the Father.” Jesus answered him by saying, “Have I been so long with you, and yet have you not known Me, Philip?” (Jn. 14:8-9). Jesus wasn’t meaning that He was the Father, but rather that He was the same as the Father in Essence. So, if you’ve seen Jesus, you’ve seen the Father (Jn. 14:10-11).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“pilate therefore said unto Him, Are You a King then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a King. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the Truth. Everyone who is of the Truth hears My voice. Pilate said unto Him, What is Truth? (Jn. 18:37-38).

In the jaded world of Pilate’s day, the governor had grown cynical. So he asks Christ, “What is Truth?” He really did not expect an answer, but the answer had already been given.

Some have claimed that “All truth is God’s truth.” They are trying to justify the foray of the Church into humanistic psychology, claiming that God gave this “truth” to
Sigmund Freud. Nothing could be further from the truth!

In the first place, truth is not a philosophy or a culture. Truth is a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. Of Himself, He said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (Jn. 14:6). So, when one knows Christ, one know Truth; and until one knows Christ, one cannot know Truth.

There is what are commonly referred to as “subjective” and “objective” truth. The word “subjective” means that truth, at least as it is claimed, is subject to circumstances, surroundings, happenings, culture, etc. As such, it changes by the hour, because there are no absolutes in subjective truth, so-called! Therefore, such cannot honestly be called “truth,” even to the slightest degree.

“Objective” truth doesn’t change, because truth cannot change. While the label of “true” might change, and does, in fact, change, “truth,” within itself, cannot change, because it is impossible for it to change. If it is truth, not only can it not change, it doesn’t need to change.

Whatever truth was 3,000 years ago, truth is presently! That’s the reason the Holy Spirit could say of our Lord, “Jesus Christ, the same, yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8). That’s the reason it can be said of God the Father, “For I am the LORD, I change not” (Mal. 3:6).

The idea that God would give “truth” to unconverted men is palpably untrue. Concerning this, the Holy Spirit through Paul said, “But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (I Cor. 2:14).”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“then Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, He said, It is finished: and He bowed His head, and gave up the ghost (Jn. 19:30).

What was finished?

The great Plan of God, which had been formulated in the Mind of the Godhead from before the foundation of the world (I Pet. 1:18-20), by the death of Christ on the Cross, was now finished. The story of Jesus Christ and Him Crucified is, in fact, the emphasis of the entirety of the Bible. All of eternity marched toward this one great happening. Every act on this Earth, at least that which was of the Lord, had, as its goal, only the Cross of Christ. That which the First Adam had lost, the Last Adam now purchases back with the death of Himself.

The phrase, “He gave up the ghost,” is, in the Greek Text, quite another word from “expired.” In John, the Holy Spirit emphasizes the voluntary nature of His Death. The special word found here is never used in this way in the Bible, except in this Passage in reference to Christ.

Verses 33 through 35 and Verses 38 through 42 are fundamentally valuable as affirming beyond controversy the actual death of Jesus Christ. The added testimony of the Centurion (Mat., Chpt. 27) is also most valuable. For the doom to which the sinner is justly sentenced was death under the Wrath of God; if Christ did not really die and suffer that Wrath, then the Divine sentence has not been satisfied and the sinner is not released.

But thank God, the Divine sentence was satisfied; all are released from the terrible debt of sin, at least all who will believe (Jn. 3:16).

The moment that Jesus died on the Cross, the Scripture says, “And, behold, the Veil of the Temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the Earth did quake, and the rocks rent” (Mat. 27:51). This means that Redemption was now complete. The price had been paid, meaning the sin debt has been lifted; the way is now open to God, even to His very Throne, at least for all who put their Faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and what He did for us at Calvary’s Cross.

The “finish” of that great Plan did not await the Resurrection, even though the Resurrection was most definitely necessary, as would be overly obvious. The reason it did not await the Resurrection is simply because Jesus atoned for all sin on the Cross, past, present, and future, which guaranteed the Resurrection. If Christ had failed to atone for even one sin, then Jesus could not have been raised from the dead. The reason is simple! “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). But due to the fact that all sin was atoned, the Resurrection was in no way in doubt.

It was at the Cross where the terrible sin debt was paid; at the Cross where the Righteousness of God was completely satisfied; at the Cross where a thrice-Holy God had His Holiness vindicated; at the Cross where the way to God was made completely open; at the Cross where the lost sons of Adam’s fallen race could make peace with God!

It is finished!”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“and when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus said unto her, Woman, why do you weep? Whom do you seek? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, said unto Him, Sir, if You have borne Him hence, tell me where You have laid Him, and I will take Him away (Jn. 20:14-15).

In the Twentieth and Twenty-first Chapters of John’s Gospel, the Holy Spirit records four appearances of the Lord after He rose from the dead, and these appearances banished four great enemies of the human heart: “sorrow,” “fear,” “doubt,” and “care.”

The first appearance was to Mary Magdalene. She was overcome with sorrow, which, regrettably, characterizes the human family. The world is filled with sorrow of every stripe and description. When Jesus appeared to her, He, in answer to this problem, said, “I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God” (20:17). His Ascension to the Father portrays the fact that Calvary is a Finished Work; in the Cross, all sorrow ultimately will be banished.

The second appearance recorded by John banished all “fear.” On that Sunday evening, the “Disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews,” meaning they were in seclusion somewhere in Jerusalem, fearing that they, too, would be killed. But, all of a sudden “came Jesus and stood in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be unto you” (Jn. 20:19).

Peace cannot be had where there is fear; when true peace comes, and it can only come in Christ, fear is banished. There is now a sense of knowing that everything is going to be all right. Once again, the Cross is brought into view, with Jesus “showing unto them His Hands and His Side,” i.e., “the nail prints and the wound in His Side.”

The only people in the world who truly have conquered fear are those who have placed their Faith and trust exclusively in Christ and what Christ has done at the Cross. The Holy Spirit then will guarantee the Peace of God.

The third great life problem that was conquered here is “doubt,” which took place with the third appearance recorded by John.

When Jesus appeared to the Disciples of the second account, Thomas was not present. When Thomas was told by the other Disciples that Jesus had appeared unto them, he expressed doubt, even great doubt. But after some eight days, the Disciples were again gathered and Thomas was with them. The Scripture says that Jesus suddenly appeared again, which was the third appearance, and stood in their midst. Again He said, “Peace be unto you.”

Even as He had done so with the others, He takes Thomas to the Cross. The Lord tells Thomas to “reach hither your finger, and behold My Hands; and reach hither your hand, and thrust it into My Side: and be not faithless, but believing” (20:27). Thomas then gave the greatest exclamation and confession of our Lord to date. He said, “My Lord and my God.”

The appearance of Christ and the sign of the Cross, which pertained to the wounds of the Master, which, incidentally, He will ever bear, addressed the great problem of “doubt.” This means there is no excuse for anyone ever to doubt the veracity of Christ.

The last appearance recorded by John addressed the problem of “care.” The other three appearances had been in Jerusalem. This appearance would be in Galilee. Some of the Disciples had gone fishing. This was not recreation, not at all! Inasmuch as Jesus had been crucified, and even though He had risen from the dead, they did not know how they could care financially for their families.
So these particular seven Disciples resorted to the only way they knew to make a living, which was fishing. To be sure, this problem of “care,” i.e., how they would care for their families, loomed large in their minds.

Even though they fished all night, the Scripture says, “They caught nothing.”

All of a sudden, they heard a Voice from the shore saying, “Children, have you any meat?”

This was more than a call for breakfast; it was a question that really addressed itself to their livelihood — in other words, “Do you know how you will care for your families?” They answered him, “No!” Then He told them to “cast the net on the right side of the ship, and you shall find.” This they did. They instantly caught so many fish that they could not draw the net back up into the ship. So, they had to drag it to shore, which was close.

Somewhere in that procedure, they recognized that He was the Lord.

Jesus then said unto them, “Come and dine” (21:12).

In essence, this stated that the problem of “care” was handled. He would not tell them to “come and dine” to an empty table. He was telling them that, as He had provided this miraculous catch, likewise, He would provide for them. And so He did! And so He does!

These four appearances recorded by John addressed the four life problems of “sorrow,” “fear,” “doubt,” and “care.” Consequently, there is no reason for any Believer to succumb to any one of these maladies. Jesus has already addressed and handled the situation.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“so when they had dined, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, do you love Me more than these? He said unto Him, Yes, Lord; You know that I love You. He said unto him, Feed My lambs (Jn. 21:15).

The Lord will now wound Peter’s heart in order to train and fit him for the high position of shepherding that which was most precious to Christ, the sheep. The questions posed by Christ concerning Peter’s consecration will also address the past. There is no hint of condemnation.

The first question was, “Peter, do you love Me more than these other men love Me, even as you did declare?” (Mk. 14:29). In the Greek, the word used by Christ was “agape,” which means “the God-kind of love.” In other words, He was asking Peter about the depth of his love.

When Peter answered, “I have an affection for You,” he used the Greek word for love, “phileo,” which is a lesser kind of love than the word used by Jesus, and which actually means “affection.” However, the answer Peter gave was the answer he should have given. After the recent past, he no longer desired to boast of his love. Now he was even afraid to exclaim that he truly loved the Lord. How could he?

However, the position he now takes fits him, as nothing else would, for the God-kind of love!

The second question posed by Christ omitted the words, “more than these,” i.e., “Do you love Me at all?” Peter answered, “I have an affection for You.”

The third question posed by Christ employed Peter’s feebler term; it actually asks, “Do you have even as much as an affection for Me?” The Lord’s use of this word plus His putting the question three times (in the evident remembrance of Peter’s three denials) probed Peter’s heart to the very depths.

Peter cried out with anguish, “Lord, You know all things, You know that I have an affection for You.” He was still too heartbroken and miserable to use the stronger term, which again was what he should have felt and done.

The first time in this series of three questions posed by Christ, the Lord said, “Feed My lambs.” The last two times, He said, “Feed My sheep.” In essence, He was telling the Apostle that his true usefulness had not ended, but, in fact, had only begun. He would truly feed the sheep. And so he did, even unto the day of his death.

What is the moral of all this? To show us that we are never as strong as we think we are; and whatever it is the Lord wants us to be, He Alone can make of us!”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“and being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the Promise of the Father, which, said He, you have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days hence (Acts 1:4-5).

First of all, we must understand that the first eight Verses of the First Chapter of Acts proclaim the last recorded words of Christ before His Ascension. As all know, the last words of anyone, especially those of Christ, are of immense significance. Christ could have dealt with any subject He so desired, but we are led to believe that the subject He dealt with, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, was, and is, the most important.

In essence, He was saying to His Disciples and all His followers, “Do not go try to establish Churches, do not attempt to go witness, do not attempt to do anything for Me, until you are first ‘baptized with the Holy Spirit.’” As should be obvious, this tells us how utterly significant the Holy Spirit is to our life, living, and work for the Lord, irrespective as to the person.

In fact, the “Promise of the Father” (Isa. 28:11; Joel 2:28-29), i.e., the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, is absolutely imperative, that is, if the person is to be spiritually effective. Whatever is done for the Lord must be conceived by the Spirit, birthed by the Spirit, and carried out by the Spirit. We Believers are merely channels through which the Holy Spirit works.

Even though Jesus’ Disciples personally had been with Him for some three and a half years, which means they were privileged to have the greatest teaching that any human beings had ever heard, still, our Lord emphatically tells them, and, in fact, all His followers, that they must be Baptized with the Holy Spirit. This tells us how important this great “Baptism” actually is!

Someone has well said, “The Moving of the Spirit is the beginning of life” (Gen. 1:2). Without the Moving of the Spirit, there is no life!”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“i thank my God, I speak with Tongues more than ye all (I Cor. 14:18).

Regarding speaking in tongues, many have asked the question, “What good does it do?” Perhaps the following will be of some help:

1. It is the Holy Spirit Who said that speaking with tongues would be a part of the Believer’s experience. He said it some 750 years before the fact (Isa. 28:11).

2. Paul said, “Wherefore Tongues are for a sign, not to them who believe, but to them who believe not” (I Cor. 14:22). This means that speaking with other tongues is a sign to the entire world, and we speak of unbelievers, that we are coming down to the end. Jesus is about ready to come.

3. When one speaks in tongues, one is speaking unto God (I Cor. 14:2). To be sure, anything that one speaks to God, especially when controlled by the Holy Spirit, cannot be anything but beneficial.

4. Paul also said, “Howbeit in the Spirit he speaks mysteries” (I Cor. 14:2). The word “mysteries” actually means that the person speaks “secrets” unto God.

5. Luke wrote, “We do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful Works of God” (Acts 2:11). So, when a person speaks in tongues, he is not only declaring secrets to the Lord, but also “the wonderful Works of God” (Acts 2:1-13).

6. Paul said, “He who speaks in an unknown tongue edifies himself” (I Cor. 14:4). Every Believer needs edification.

7. Tongues and interpretation are used to give Messages from the Lord to the people. Anything from the Lord is of great blessing (I Cor. 14:13).

8. Jude said, “But you, Beloved, building up yourselves on your most Holy Faith, praying in the Holy Spirit” (Jude, Vs. 20). This tells us that speaking with other tongues builds up the Believer regarding “Faith.”

9. Isaiah, in predicting the coming time when Believers would be baptized with the Holy Spirit, with, we might quickly add, the evidence of speaking with other tongues (Isa. 28:11), also stated, “This is the rest wherewith you may cause the weary to rest” (Isa. 28:12). As one goes through life, one periodically needs “rest.” Speaking with other tongues helps provide that “rest.” The Bible says so!

10. In the same Verse, Isaiah also said, “And this is the refreshing.” So, not only is “rest” provided, but speaking with other tongues rejuvenates the Believer also. It is sad that the modern Church has, by and large, opted for humanistic psychology, which holds no answers whatsoever (Isa. 28:11-12).

11. Concerning the episode involving Simon Peter and Cornelius, Luke wrote, “For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God” (Acts 10:46). We are plainly told here that speaking with other tongues magnifies God. Anything that does this is beneficial, as should be readily understood.

12. Concerning the Day of Pentecost, Luke also wrote, “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance” (Acts 2:4). Anything which the Holy Spirit originates is profitable.

13. Speaking with other tongues is the fulfillment of Bible Prophecy. Peter said so, quoting the Prophet Joel (Acts 2:16-18).

14. Concerning praying in tongues, Paul said, “For if I pray in an unknown Tongue, my spirit prays” (I Cor. 14:14). One’s spirit praying is the highest form of prayer and of worship, that which every Believer ought to desire.

I think the Biblical account is replete, not only with the veracity of tongues, but also of its advantages and profitableness.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”)
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every one (Acts 5:15-16).

This must have been a sight to behold: scores of people so sick that they had to lie on beds and couches, lined up on the streets, along with other ill people who were able to stand, all hoping that Peter would pass their way. Even as he walked by them, his shadow touching them caused “every one of them to be healed.” Without a doubt, this entire episode constituted a miracle of unprecedented proportions.

When we consider that Simon Peter was denying his Master just a few weeks earlier, but now he is being used by God in such a spectacular way, we have to ask ourselves the question, “How could it be?” First of all, when the Lord forgives someone, they are forgiven totally, completely, and absolutely. We must understand that there is no such thing as a 50 percent Justification, etc. One is either fully justified or not at all justified.

The modern Church has a problem with this. Before good graces can be gained again, if, in fact, they ever are gained, punishment has to be invoked. This is because the modern Church little understands the Cross, if at all. Much of the Protestant world, in fact, adopts the same direction as the Catholic Church, i.e., demanding “Penance” of some sort. Such a position, of course, completely abrogates the Finished Work of Christ.

The Lord has nothing for sale. Everything He has is a “Gift” (Rom. 6:23). But it is hard for the modern Church to accept that. Irrespective of the modern Church, Simon Peter was mightily used of the Lord as it regards the establishment of the Early Church.

The type of miracles mentioned here and the way they were carried out did not continue, even though sporadic Moves of God in this capacity did continue, continuing, in fact, unto this hour. The degree of miracle working power specified here was carried out by the Holy Spirit in order to establish the Early Church on a sound footing, which it very much helped to do.

From the pattern of the Early Church laid down in the Book of Acts, we learn what Church is to be like. The earmarks were laid down nearly twenty centuries ago by the Holy Spirit. If the modern Church doesn’t carry those earmarks, then what is now referred to as “Church” is not referred to as such by the Lord at all! This means that every Church must be compared somewhat with the Early Church, that is, if it cares about following the pattern laid down by the Holy Spirit.”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart

 

[iLOVE]

Your Word for Today

“then Peter and the other Apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, Whom you killed and hanged on a tree. Him has God exalted with His Right Hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins (Acts 5:29-31).

From reading the Text, it becomes overly obvious that Simon Peter subscribed not at all to the modern method espoused by the Church of embracing all things and saying nothing negative about anything. So, we can follow the modern method, which is totally unscriptural, or we can follow the Bible. We cannot follow both!

Peter’s use of the titles, “a Prince” and “a Saviour to Israel,” expresses Royalty and Atonement. Not only is the Lord Jesus the Medium of forgiveness and life, but He is the Dispenser of both. He gives, not sells, Repentance and Forgiveness. Forgiveness of sins means release from the eternal punishment of sins, and Repentance expresses and involves a moral revulsion against sin and a determined breach with it. Repentance is a Divine Gift, as Forgiveness is a Divine Gift.

However, God cannot forgive sins of those who will not seek such or do not believe such. True Repentance is when we say of ourselves what God says of us. We must admit the full bore of our spiritual condition, which is negative, to say the least. This is the reason it so hard to get people to repent. They do not want to admit what they have done, which, in essence, says what they are. Sinners are not condemned so much for what they do as for what they are. True Bible Repentance goes to the heart of the problem, which alone can bring about forgiveness of sin (I Jn. 1:9).

For such to be, Holy Spirit conviction must be the order of the event. However, Holy Spirit conviction comes only by a proper Ministry of the Word. Regrettably, the Holy Spirit is sorely lacking in much of the modern Church. That being the case, there is little True Repentance and little resultant forgiveness of sins.

The True Gospel of Jesus Christ either makes men mad or glad; it seldom, if ever, leaves them neutral!”

—Donnie Swaggart (taken from the “Word for Every Day”
Donnie Swaggart