Joy of Salvation; Day667

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit.  Psalm 51:12

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Celebration Church
Sharepoint 2010 Migration to Hyper-v

Reading List
Windows Powershell Cookbook 2008 p.40

24Hour Report
0700, End of Sleep,
0710, Coffee
1630, Study Psalm 51:12 [read more]

There Is A Plan; Day666

Who gave (yielded) Himself up [to atone] for our sins [and to save and sanctify us], in order to rescue and deliver us from this present wicked age and world order, in accordance with the will and purpose and plan of our God and Father–  Galatians 1:4
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Rest
Config Backup
Perfmon
Event Log Query
FAR-Dryer Output

Reading List
Windows Powershell Cookbook 2008 p.40

24Hour Report
0500, End of Sleep,
0510, Coffee
0530, Study Galatians 1:4 [read more]

Protection; Day665

But I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in and confidently rely on the loving-kindness and the mercy of God forever and ever.  Psalm 52:8

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Rest
Config Backup
Perfmon
Event Log Query
FAR-R08 Unload Error [wafer break]

Reading List
Windows Powershell Cookbook 2008 p.40

24Hour Report
0500, End of Sleep,
0510, Coffee
0530, Study Psalm 52:8 [read more]

Handiwork; Day664

THE HEAVENS declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows and proclaims His handiwork. [Rom. 1:20, 21.]  Day after day pours forth speech, and night after night shows forth knowledge.  There is no speech nor spoken word [from the stars]; their voice is not heard. Psalm 19:1 – 3

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Rest
Config Backup
Perfmon
Event Log Query
FAR-R08 Unload Error [wafer break]

Reading List
Windows Powershell Cookbook 2008 p.40

24Hour Report
0400, End of Sleep,
0410, Coffee
0430, Study Psalm 19:1 – 3 [read more]

Secret to Happiness-Generosity; Day663

For here we have no permanent city, but we are looking for the one which is to come.  Through Him, therefore, let us constantly and at all times offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, which is the fruit of lips that thankfully acknowledge and confess and glorify His name. Do not forget or neglect to do kindness and good, to be generous and distribute and contribute to the needy [of the church as embodiment and proof of fellowship], for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.Hebrews 13:14-16

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Rest
Config Backup
Perfmon
Event Log Query
FAR-R08 Unload Error [wafer break]

Reading List
Windows Powershell Cookbook 2008 p.40

24Hour Report
0500, End of Sleep,
0510, Coffee
0530, Study Hebrews 13:14 [read more]

Indwelling of the Spirit; Day662

Just a little while now, and the world will not see Me any more, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also. John 14:19

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
2.4 Mile Swim

Reading List
Windows Powershell Cookbook 2008 p.40

24Hour Report
0700, End of Sleep,
0710, Coffee
0730, Study John 14:19 [read more]

For Us; Day661

But God shows and clearly proves His [own] love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One) died for us.  Romans 5:8

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
40Mile Bike

Reading List
Windows Powershell Cookbook 2008 p.40

24Hour Report
0700, End of Sleep,
0710, Coffee
0730, Study Romans 5:8 [read more]

Romans 5:8 –
But God commendeth … – God has exhibited or showed his love in this unusual and remarkable manner.

His love – His kind feeling; his beneficence; his willingness to submit to sacrifice to do good to others.

While we were yet sinners – And of course his enemies. In this, his love surpasses all that has ever been manifested among people.

Christ died for us – In our stead; to save us from death. He took our place; and by dying himself on the cross, saved us from dying eternally in hell.

Tell God; Day660

Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. Philippians 4:6

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Celebration Church
Compile list of improvements-CMPLSI
Create a One-Page Guide for each improvement

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro
Windows Powershell Cookbook 2008

24Hour Report
0500, End of Sleep,
0510, Coffee
0530, Study Philippians 4:6 [read more]

Barnes on Phi 4:6 –
Be careful for nothing – That is, be not anxious or solicitous about the things of the present life. The word used here – μεριμνᾶτε  merimnate – does not mean that we are to exercise no care about worldly matters – no care to preserve our property, or to provide for our families (compare 1Ti_5:8); but that there is to be such confidence in God as to free the mind from anxiety, and such a sense of dependence on him as to keep it calm; see the subject explained in the notes on Mat_6:25.

But in everything – Everything in reference to the supply of your wants, and the wants of your families; everything in respect to afflictions, embarrassments, and trials; and everything relating to your spiritual condition. There is nothing which pertains to body, mind, estate, friends, conflicts, losses, trials, hopes, fears, in reference to which we may not go and spread it all out before the Lord.

By prayer and supplication – The word rendered “supplication” is a stronger term than the former. It is the mode of prayer which especially arises from the sense of “need,” or “want” – from δέομαι  deomai, “to want, to need.”

With thanksgiving – Thanksgiving connected with prayer. We can always find something to be thankful for, no matter what may be the burden of our wants, or the special subject of our petitions. When we pray for the supply of our wants, we may be thankful for that kind providence which has hitherto befriended us; when we pray for restoration from sickness, we may be thankful for the health we have hitherto enjoyed, and for God’s merciful interposition in the former days of trial, and for his goodness in now sparing our lives; when we pray that our children and friends may be preserved from danger and death, we may remember how often God has interposed to save them; when, oppressed with a sense of sin, we pray for pardon, we have abundant cause of thanksgiving that there is a glorious way by which we may be saved. The greatest sufferer that lives in this world of redeeming love, and who has the offer of heaven before him, has cause of gratitude.

Let your request be made known unto God – Not as if you were to give him information, but to express to him your wants. God needs not to be informed of our necessities, but he requires that we come and express them to him; compare Eze_36:37. “Thus saith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them.”

Walk In Love; Day659

And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance. [Ezek. 20:41.]  Ephesians 5:2

Everyday no matter how we set our mind to be good and to do good, there will be instances that people around us will oppose us [for no reason], or oppose our ideas, or against our abiding principles, or go against our opinions and they start developing hatred towards us.  There is only one thing we can do to diffuse the situation – love them.   We can try something else but the only best remedy is to love them – because if we don’t, we end up developing a disease of hatred inside of us and with the passage of time, this hatred destroys our joy and inner peace.

Someone mistreats you, love them
Someone insults you, love them
Someone wrongfully accuses you, love them
Someone puts you down, love them
Someone is critical about you, love them
Someone dislikes you, love  them
Someone slanders you, love them
Someone steps on you, love them

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Rest
PerfMon
Config Backup
Event Log Query
Uptime Query
FAR-Dryer Output
Review FAR

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p240

24Hour Report
0500, End of Sleep,
0510, Coffee
0530, Study Ephesians 5:2 [read more]

Barnes on Eph 5:2 –
And walk in love – That is, let your lives be characterized by love; let that be evinced in all your deportment and conversation; see notes on Joh_13:34.

As Christ also hath loved us – We are to evince the same love for one another which he has done for us. He showed his love by giving himself to die for us, and we should evince similar love to one another; 1Jo_3:16.

And hath given himself for us – “As Christ also hath loved us.” We are to evince the same love for one another which he has done for us He showed his love by giving himself to die for us, and we should evince similar love to one another; 1Jo_3:16. “And hath given himself for us.” This is evidently added by the apostle to show what he meant by saying that Christ loved us, and what we ought to do to evince our love for each other. The strength of his love was so great that he was willing to give himself up to death on our account; our love for our brethren should be such that we would be willing to do the same thing for them; 1Jo_3:16.

An offering – The word used here – προσφορά  prosphora – means properly that which is “offered to God” in any way; or whatever it may be. It is, however, in the Scriptures commonly used to denote an offering without blood – a thank-offering – and thus is distinguished from a sacrifice or a bloody oblation. The word occurs only in Act_21:26; Act_24:17; Rom_15:16; Eph_5:2; Heb_10:5, Heb_10:8,Heb_10:10, Heb_10:14, Heb_10:18. It means here that he regarded himself as an offering to God.

And a sacrifice – θυσίαν  thusian. Christ is here expressly called a “Sacrifice” – the usual word in the Scriptures to denote a proper sacrifice. A sacrifice was an offering made to God by killing an animal and burning it on an altar, designed to make atonement for sin. It always implied the “killing” of the animal as an acknowledgment of the sinner that he deserved to die. It was the giving up of “life,” which was supposed to reside in the “blood” (see the notes on Rom_3:25), and hence it was necessary that “blood” should be shed. Christ was such a sacrifice; and his love was shown in his being willing that his blood should be shed to save people.

For a sweet-smelling savour – see the notes on 2Co_2:15, where the word “savor” is explained. The meaning here is, that the offering which Christ made of himself to God, was like the grateful and pleasant smell of “incense,” that is, it was acceptable to him. It was an exhibition of benevolence with which he was pleased, and it gave him the opportunity of evincing his own benevolence in the salvation of people. The meaning of this in the connection here is that the offering which Christ made was one of “love.” So, says Paul, do you love one another. Christ sacrificed himself by “love,” and that sacrifice was acceptable to God. So do you show love one to another. Sacrifice everything which opposes it. and it will be acceptable to God. He will approve nil which is designed to promote love, as he approved the sacrifice which was made, under the influence of love, by his Son.

Love-Spiritual Bond; Day658

Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore will I deliver him; I will set him on high, because he knows and understands My name [has a personal knowledge of My mercy, love, and kindness–trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never forsake him, no, never].  Psalm 91:14

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Rest 
PerfMon
Config Backup
Event Log Query
Uptime Query
More Test Smart Defrag
More Test new sequence
Review FAR

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p240

24Hour Report
0500, End of Sleep,
0510, Coffee
0530, Study Psalm 91:14 [read more]

Barnes on Psa 91:14 –
Because he hath set his love upon me – Has become attached to me; has united himself with me; is my friend. The Hebrew word expresses the strongest attachment, and is equivalent to our expression – “to fall in love.” It refers here to the fact that God is the object of supreme affection on the part of his people; and it also here implies, that this springs from their hearts; that they have seen such beauty in his character, and have such strong desire for him, that their hearts go out in warm affection toward him.

Therefore will I deliver him – I will save him from trouble and from danger.

I will set him on high – By acknowledging him as my own, and treating him accordingly.
Because he hath known my name – He has known me; that is, he understands my true character, and has learned to love me.

Wisdom-True Medicine; Day657

But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God). Galatians 5:16

True Medicine
Life is filled with problems.  We encounter different problems each day and most of the time we find a solution to the issue.  But there are times that no matter how we try hard to fix a problem, the problem persists no matter what.  But here’s the good news, there is a true medicine.

Diseases in Life
I’m angry all the time.
My mouth is filled with negative/bad words.
I’m sad.
I’m depressed.
I’m worried.
My relationship is failing or failed.
I’m lonely.
I can’t find a person to love
I have no motivation.
I’m physically sick.
I’m mentally sick.
I ran out of ideas at work.
I’m not creative.
My passion at work is lost.
I don’t want to exercise.
I don’t want to get up in the morning
I’m always discontented even If I have everything
I’m always jealous.
I envy people.
I’m possessive.
I can’t find a job.
I can’t find a job that I like.
I’ve started 100 resolutions every year and not one is fulfilled.
My child is rebelling and I don’t know what to do.

What do we do?
The straight answer-walk and live and be guided by the Holy Spirit. 

Solomon had a dream one night and asked by God. “What can I give you?” 
Solomon answered “Give me Wisdom”. 
Solomon did not asked for power, for in Wisdom, he can get power. 
Solomon did not asked for possessions, for in Wisdom, he can get possessions. 
Solomon did not asked for health, for in Wisdom, he can get long life.

1Ki 3:9 So give Your servant an understanding mind and a hearing heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and bad. For who is able to judge and rule this Your great people? [James 1:5.]

James 1:5 If any of you is deficient in wisdom, let him ask of the giving God [Who gives] to everyone liberally and ungrudgingly, without reproaching or faultfinding, and it will be given him.

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
1Mile Swim
PerfMon
Config Backup
Event Log Query
Uptime Query
Test Smart Defrag
Test new sequence
Review FAR

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p240

24Hour Report
0900, End of Sleep,
0910, Coffee
0930, Study Galatians 5:16 [read more]

Barnes on Gal 5:16 –
This I say then – This is the true rule about overcoming the propensities of your carnal natures, and of avoiding the evils of strife and contention.

Walk – The Christian life is often represented as a journey, and the word walk, in the scripture, is often equivalent to live; Mar_7:5. See the notes at Rom_4:12; Rom_6:4, note; Rom_8:1, note.

In the Spirit – Live under the influences of the Holy Spirit; admit those influences fully into your hearts. Do not resist him, but yield to all his suggestions; see the note at Rom_8:1. What the Holy Spirit would produce, Paul states in Gal_5:22-23. If a man would yield his heart to those influences, he would be able to overcome all his carnal propensities; and it is because he resists that Spirit, that he is ever overcome by the corrupt passions of his nature. Never was a better, a safer, or a more easy rule given to overcome our corrupt and sensual desires than that here furnished; compare notes, Rom_8:1-13.

And ye shall not fulfil … – Margin, “Fulfil not” – as if it were a command. So Tyndale renders it. But the more common interpretation, as it is the more significant, is that adopted by our translators. Thus, it is not merely a command, it is the statement of an important and deeply interesting truth – that the only way to overcome the corrupt desires and propensities of our nature, is by submitting to the influences of the Holy Spirit. It is not by philosophy; it is not by mere resolutions to resist them; it is not by the force of education and laws; it is only by admitting into our souls the influence of religion, and yielding ourselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God. If we live under the influences of that Spirit, we need not fear the power of the sensual and corrupt propensities of our nature.

Holy Spirit Changes Everything; Day656

If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him!  Luke 11:13

Holy Spirit Changes Everything
Our walk with Christ is not truly real until the Holy Spirit come down and dwell in our heart and mind.  It used to be just a mere simple life but when the Holy Spirit dwells inside me, it changes everything.  There’s a long reading list about the Anointing of the Holy Spirit on the web.  Please find time to read about the topic. 

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Rest
PerfMon
Config Backup
Event Log Query
Uptime Query
NST Database Update
NST Summary
NST Meeting
Review FI Robot issues and fixes
Test Smart Defrag
Test new sequence
Review FAR

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p240

24Hour Report
0900, End of Sleep,
0910, Coffee
0930, Study Luke 11:13 [read more]

Assurance; Day655

Assured that He Who raised up the Lord Jesus will raise us up also with Jesus and bring us [along] with you into His presence.  2Corinthians 4:14

Assurance Not Insurance
I recently watched the movie “Helen” played by Ashley Judd and the movie touched my heart.  When you get a chance, it is on Netflix or rent it on DVD.  I think most of us suffer from depression from time to time.  There are events in life that are unfortunate and sometimes it will put us in a difficult situation and then with the passage of time the left over from that event triggers a mild or severe depression and sadness depending on how strong we are mentally.  When that happens, our survival depends on what we were exposed before experientially. Each one of us were given a capacity to hold off a certain “mental pain threshold” and if we were not exposed to a higher level of “pain and suffering” from previous experiences, then eventually we succumb to sadness and depression.

According to the experts, when an unimaginable event happens, we go through 5 Stages, [Kubler-Ross Model] . Just read the information on the link I just mentioned to get your enlightenment about the 5 Stages of Grief if you have not heard about DABDA.  .
1. Denial
2. Anger
3. Bargaining
4. Depression
5. Acceptance

In the movie, there was a part when Helen and Mathilda [both suffering from depression] were discussing about the “things you don’t want to say to a depressed person”.  I was intrigued of the subject but I did not take notes during the movie and can’t remember the exact phrases and so then I goggled “things to say to depressed friends” right after watching the movie .   I like the things mentioned by most professional counselors [some are from patients or friend of a patient] but I think that there were a few things not discussed or mentioned.  Most of us probably are guilty of not saying the right things to our friends who are depressed and sad. It’s good to know the right things to say.

I’d like to add a few .  I am a cardiac patient but I managed to avoid being depressed.  When I was discharged from the hospital after stent#1, I was told that most likely depression will be there in the horizon a few weeks after.  I was looking forward to it and built a strategy on how to face the mental part of being a cardiac patient.

1. Go to a quite place [ie. a closet, or a deep forest, or an ocean, or an empty road]
2. Close your eyes and be still
3. Pray to God for Wisdom regarding your situation
4. Repeat Step #1-4 everyday until your mind is clear.
5. Rebuild your faith in God
6. Read the Bible at the beginning of every day and reflect
7. Find a non-denominational church
8. Do something [don’t be idle]
9. Write a journal
10. Organize your room, closet, home office, kitchen, bathroom [anything you can organize]
11.Make your yard the number1 in the neighborhood
12.Make a small notebook to write for home related ideas
13.Make a small notebook to write for work related ideas
14.Don’t rely too much on other people, the way out is normally done by your own footstep.
15.Don’t go through Step1-5, go straight to Acceptance.  Either way, research showed people always end up accepting.
16.Know and be assured that you are not alone-God is with you.

Some “not-so common” things I’ve done lately to stay mentally sharp.
1. Increase my cycling mileage to 40miles
2. Fast pace 2.4Mile Swim
3. 25 yard sub-surface swim [swim 25 yards with 1 breath at the end]
4. Made my circle very small
5. Deactivate Facebook
6. Start and finish a task.  [this is the hardest, when I start something, I have to finish it, if I can’t I will not even bother starting]
7. Do things that are important. 
8. Listen to Misty Edwards only

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
2.4Mile Swim
Yard work

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p240

24Hour Report
0900, End of Sleep,
0910, Coffee
0930, Study 2Corinthians 4:14 [read more]

Barns 2Co 4:14 –
Knowing – Being fully confident; having the most entire assurance. It was the assured hope of the resurrection which sustained them in all their trials. This expression denotes the full and unwavering belief, in the minds of the apostles, that the doctrines which they preached were true. They knew that they were revealed from heaven, and that all the promises of God would be fulfilled.

Shall raise up us also – All Christians. In the hope of the resurrection they were ready to meet trials, and even to die. Sustained by this assurance, the apostles went forth amidst persecutions and opposition, for they knew that their trials would soon end, and that they would be raised up in the morning of the resurrection, to a world of eternal glory.

By Jesus – By the power or the agency of Jesus. Christ will raise up the dead from their graves, Joh_5:25-29.

And shall present us with you – Will present us before the throne of glory with exceeding joy and honor. He will present us to God as those who have been redeemed by his blood. He will present us in the courts of heaven, before the throne of the eternal Father, as his ransomed people; as recovered from the ruins of the fall; as saved by the merits of his blood. They shall not only be raised up from the dead; but they shall be publicly and solemnly presented to God as his, as recovered to his service, and as having a title in the covenant of grace to the blessedness of heaven.

Always Faithful; Day654

And behold, I am with you and will keep (watch over you with care, take notice of) you wherever you may go, and I will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done all of which I have told you.  Genesis 28:15

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
40Mile Bike
Convert/Test SATA Controller for Poweredge 2850
Migrate Sharepoint Server to new Contoller

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p240

24Hour Report
0800, End of Sleep,
0810, Coffee
0830, Study Genesis 28:15 [read more]

Gen_28:10-22
Jacob’s dream and vow. Setting out on the way to Haran, he was overtaken by night, and slept in the field. He was far from any dwelling, or he did not wish to enter the house of a stranger. He dreams. A ladder or stair is seen reaching from earth to heaven, on which angels ascend and descend. This is a medium of communication between heaven and earth, by which messengers pass to and fro on errands of mercy. Heaven and earth have been separated by sin. But this ladder has re-established the contact. It is therefore a beautiful emblem of what mediates and reconciles Joh_1:51. It here serves to bring Jacob into communication with God, and teaches him the emphatic lesson that he is accepted through a mediator. “The Lord stood above it,” and Jacob, the object of his mercy, beneath. First. He reveals himself to the sleeper as “the Lord” Gen_2:4, “the God of Abraham thy father, and of Isaac.” It is remarkable that Abraham is styled his father, that is, his actual grandfather, and covenant father. Second. He renews the promise of the land, of the seed, and of the blessing in that seed for the whole race of man. Westward, eastward, northward, and southward are they to break forth. This expression points to the world-wide universality of the kingdom of the seed of Abraham, when it shall become the fifth monarchy, that shall subdue all that went before, and endure forever. This transcends the destiny of the natural seed of Abraham. Third. He then promises to Jacob personally to be with him, protect him, and bring him back in safety. This is the third announcement of the seed that blesses to the third in the line of descent Gen_12:2-3; Gen_22:18; Gen_26:4.

Gen_28:16-19
Jacob awakes, and exclaims, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” He knew his omnipresence; but he did not expect a special manifestation of the Lord in this place, far from the sanctuaries of his father. He is filled with solemn awe, when he finds himself in the house of God and at the gate of heaven. The pillar is the monument of the event. The pouring of oil upon it is an act of consecration to God who has there appeared to him Num_7:1. He calls the name of the place Bethel, “the house of God.” This is not the first time it received the name. Abraham also worshipped God here, and met with the name already existing (see on Gen_12:8; Gen_13:3; Gen_25:30.)

Invisible Kingdom; Day653

And the Ever-living One [I am living in the eternity of the eternities]. I died, but see, I am alive forevermore; and I possess the keys of death and Hades (the realm of the dead). Revelations 1:18

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Celebration Church
Backup Sharepoint Servers
Backup Hyper-V
Backup Data

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p240

24Hour Report
0500, End of Sleep,
0510, Coffee
0530, Study Revelations 1:18 [read more]

Barnes on Rev 1:18 –
I am he that liveth, and was dead – I was indeed once dead, but now I live, and shall continue to live forever. This would at once identify him who thus appeared as the Lord Jesus Christ, for to no one else could this apply. He had been put to death; but he had risen from the grave. This also is given as a reason why John should not fear; and nothing would allay his fears more than this. He now saw that he was in the presence of that Saviour whom more than half a century before he had so tenderly loved when in the flesh, and whom, though now long absent, he had faithfully served, and for whose cause he was now in this lonely island. His faith in his resurrection had not been a delusion; he saw the very Redeemer before him who had once been laid in the tomb.
Behold, I am alive forevermore – I am to live forever. Death is no more to cut me down, and I am never again to slumber in the grave. As he was always to live, he could accomplish all his promises, and fulfil all his purposes. The Saviour is never to die again. He can, therefore, always sustain us in our troubles; he can be with us in our death. Whoever of our friends die, he will not die; when we die, he will still be on the throne.

Amen – A word here of strong affirmation – as if he had said, it is “truly,” or “certainly so.” See the notes on Rev_1:7. This expression is one that the Saviour often used when he wished to give emphasis, or to express anything strongly. Compare Joh_3:3; Joh_5:25.

And have the keys of hell and of death – The word rendered “hell” – ᾅδης  Hadēs, “Hades” – refers properly to the underworld; the abode of departed spirits; the region of the dead. This was represented as dull and gloomy; as enclosed with walls; as entered through gates which were fastened with bolts and bars. For a description of the views which prevailed among the ancients on the subject, see the Luk_16:23 note, and Job_10:21-22 notes. To hold the key of this, was to hold the power over the invisible world. It was the more appropriate that the Saviour should represent himself as having this authority, as he had himself been raised from the dead by his own power (compare Joh_10:18), thus showing that the dominion over this dark world was entrusted to him.
And of death – A personification. Death reigns in that world. But to his wide-extended realms the Saviour holds the key, and can have access to his empire when he pleases, releasing all whom he chooses, and confining there still such as he shall please. It is probably in part from such hints as these that Milton drew his sublime description of the gates of hell in the “Paradise Lost.” As Christ always lives; as he always retains this power over the regions of the dead, and the whole world of spirits, it may be further remarked that we have nothing to dread if we put our trust in him. We need not fear to enter a world which he has entered, and from which he has emerged, achieving a glorious triumph; we need not fear what the dread king that reigns there can do to us, for his power extends not beyond the permission of the Saviour, and in his own time that Saviour will call us forth to life, to die no more.

True Home; Day652

But we are citizens of the state (commonwealth, homeland) which is in heaven, and from it also we earnestly and patiently await [the coming of] the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) [as] Savior,  Philippians 3:20

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Perfmon
Event Log
NST Database Update
Nova Countermeasure
FAR Nova
FAR S2 FI Robot

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p240

24Hour Report
0500, End of Sleep,
0510, Coffee
0530, Study Philippians 3:20 [read more]

Barnes on Phi 3:20 –
For our conversation is in heaven – That is, this is true of all who are sincere Christians. It is a characteristic of Christians, in contradistinction from those who are the “enemies of the cross,” that their conversation is in heaven. The word “conversation” we now apply almost entirely to oral discourse. It formerly, however, meant conduct in general, and it is usually employed in this sense in the Scriptures; see the notes at Phi_1:27, where the verb occurs, from which the noun here is derived. The word used here – πολίτευμα  politeuma – is found nowhere else in the New Testament. It properly means, any public measure, administration of the state, the manner in which the affairs of a state are administered; and then the state itself, the community, commonwealth, those who are hound under the same laws, and associated in the same society. Here it cannot mean that their “conversation,” in the sense of discourse or talking, was in heaven; nor that their “conduct” was in heaven – for this would convey no idea, and the original word does not demand it; but the idea is, that they were heavenly citizens, or citizens of the heavenly world, in contradistinction from a worldly community, They were governed by the laws of heaven; they were a community associated as citizens of that world, and expecting there to dwell.
The idea is, that there are two great communities in the universe – that of the world, and that of heaven: that governed by worldly laws and institutions, and that by the laws of heaven; that associated for worldly purposes, and that associated for heavenly or religious purposes; and that the Christian belonged to the latter – the enemy of the cross, though in the church, belonged to the former. Between true Christians, therefore, and others, there is all the difference which arises from belonging to different communities; being bound together for different purposes; subject to different laws; and altogether under a different administration. There is more difference between them than there is between the subjects of two earthly governments; compare Eph_2:6, note 19, note.
From whence also we look for the Saviour – From heaven. That is, it is one of the characteristics of the Christian that he believes that the Lord Jesus will return from heaven, and that he looks and waits for it. Other men do not believe this 2Pe_3:4, but the Christian confidently expects it. His Saviour has been taken away from the earth, and is now in heaven, but it is a great and standing article of his faith that that same Saviour will again come, and take the believer to himself; see the Joh_14:2-3, note; 1Th_4:1, note. This was the firm belief of the early Christians, and this expectation with them was allowed to exert a constant influence on their hearts and lives. It led them:
(1)    to desire to be prepared for his coming;
(2)    to feel that earthly affairs were of little importance, as the scene here was soon to close;
(3)    to live above the world, and in the desire of the appearing of the Lord Jesus.
This was one of the elementary doctrines of their faith, and one of the means of producing deadness to the world among them; and among the early Christians there was, perhaps, no doctrine that was more the object of firm belief, and the ground of more delightful contemplation, than that their ascended Master would return. In regard to the certainty of their belief on this point, and the effect which it had on their minds, see the following texts of the New Testament; Mat_24:42, Mat_24:44; Luk_12:37; Joh_14:3; Act_1:11; 1Co_4:5; Col_3:4; 1Th_2:19; 2Th_2:1; Heb_10:37; Jam_5:7-8; 1Jo_3:2; Rev_22:7, Rev_22:12, Rev_22:20. It may be asked, with great force, whether Christians in general have now any such expectation of the second appearing of the Lord Jesus, or whether they have not fallen into the dangerous error of prevailing unbelief, so that the expectation of his coming is allowed to exert almost no influence on the soul.
In the passage before us, Paul says that it was one of the distinct characteristics of Christians that they looked for the coming of the Saviour from heaven. They believed that he would return. They anticipated that important effects would follow to them from his second coming. So we should look. There may be, indeed, a difference of opinion about the time when he will come, and about the question whether he will come to reign “literally, on the earth – but the fact that Christ will return to our world is common ground on which all Christians may meet, and is a fact which should be allowed to exert its full influence on the heart. It is a glorious truth – for what a sad world would this be, and what a sad prospect would be before the Christian, if the Saviour were never to come to raise his people from their graves, and to gather his redeemed to himself! The fact that he will come is identified with all our hopes. It is fitted to cheer us in trial; to guard us in temptation; to make us dead to the world; to lead us to keep the eye turned toward heaven.

Devote+Consecrate; Day651; Mom Turns 80

I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship. Romans 12:1

Mom turns 80 today.

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0530, Study Romans 12:1 [read more]

Barnes on Rom 12:1 –
I beseech you – The apostle, having finished the argument of this Epistle, proceeds now to close it with a practical or hortatory application, showing its bearing on the duties of life, and the practical influence of religion. None of the doctrines of the gospel are designed to be cold and barren speculations. They bear on the hearts and lives of people; and the apostle therefore calls on those to whom he wrote to dedicate themselves without reserve unto God.

Therefore – As the effect or result of the argument or doctrine. In other words, the whole argument of the eleven first chapters is suited to show the obligation on us to devote ourselves to God. From expressions like these, it is clear that the apostle never supposed that the tendency of the doctrines of grace was to lead to licentiousness. Many have affirmed that such was the tendency of the doctrines of justification by faith, of election and decrees, and of the perseverance of the saints. But it is plain that Paul had no such apprehensions. After having fully stated and established those doctrines, he concludes that we ought therefore to lead holy lives, and on the ground of them he exhorts people to do it.

By the mercies of God – The word “by” διὰ  dia denotes here the reason why they should do it, or the ground of appeal. So great had been the mercy of God, that this constituted a reason why they should present their bodies, etc. see 1Co_1:10; Rom_15:30. The word “mercies” here denotes favor shown to the undeserving, or kindness, compassion, etc. The plural is used in imitation of the Hebrew word for mercy, which has no singular. The word is not often used in the New Testament; see 2Co_1:3, where God is called “the Father of mercies;” Phi_2:1; Col_3:12; Heb_10:28. The particular mercy to which the apostle here refers, is that shown to those whom he was addressing. He had proved that all were by nature under sin; that they had no claim on God; and that he had showed great compassion in giving his Son to die for them in this state, and in pardoning their sins. This was a ground or reason why they should devote themselves to God.
That ye present – The word used here commonly denotes the action of bringing and presenting an animal or other sacrifice before an altar. It implies that the action was a free and voluntary offering. Religion is free; and the act of devoting ourselves to God is one of the most free that we ever perform.

Your bodies – The bodies of animals were offered in sacrifice. The apostle specifies their bodies particularly in reference to that fact. Still the entire animal was devoted; and Paul evidently meant here the same as to say, present Yourselves, your entire person, to the service of God; compare 1Co_6:16; Jam_3:6. It was not customary or proper to speak of a sacrifice as an offering of a soul or spirit, in the common language of the Jews; and hence, the apostle applied their customary language of sacrifice to the offering which Christians were to make of themselves to God.
A living sacrifice – A sacrifice is an offering made to God as an atonement for sin; or any offering made to him and his service as an expression of thanksgiving or homage. It implies that he who offers it presents it entirely, releases all claim or right to it, and leaves it to be disposed of for the honor of God. In the case of an animal, it was slain, and the blood offered; in the case of any other offering, as the first-fruits, etc., it was set apart to the service of God; and he who offered it released all claim on it, and submitted it to God, to be disposed of at his will. This is the offering which the apostle entreats the Romans to make: to devote themselves to God, as if they had no longer any claim on themselves; to be disposed of by him; to suffer and bear all that he might appoint; and to promote his honor in any way which he might command. This is the nature of true religion.
Living – ζῶσυν  zōsun. The expression probably means that they were to devote the vigorous, active powers of their bodies and souls to the service of God. The Jew offered his victim, slew it, and presented it dead. It could not be presented again. In opposition to this, we are to present ourselves with all our living, vital energies. Christianity does not require a service of death or inactivity. It demands vigorous and active powers in the service of God the Saviour. There is something very affecting in the view of such a sacrifice; in regarding life, with all its energies, its intellectual, and moral, and physical powers, as one long sacrifice; one continued offering unto God. An immortal being presented to him; presented voluntarily, with all his energies, from day to day, until life shall close, so that it may he said that he has lived and died an offering made freely unto God. This is religion.

Holy – This means properly without blemish or defect. No other sacrifice could be made to God. The Jews were expressly forbid to offer what was lame, or blind, or in anyway deformed; Deu_15:21; Lev_1:3, Lev_1:10; Lev_3:1; Lev_22:20; Deu_17:1; compare Mal_1:8. If offered without any of these defects, it was regarded as holy, that is, appropriately set apart, or consecrated to God. In like manner we are to consecrate to God our best faculties; the vigor of our minds, and talents, and time. Not the feebleness of sickness merely; not old age alone; not time which we cannot otherwise employ, but the first vigor and energies of the mind and body; our youth, and health, and strength. Our sacrifice to God is to be not divided, separate; but it is to be entire and complete. Many are expecting to be Christians in sickness; many in old age; thus purposing to offer unto him the blind and the lame. The sacrifice is to be free from sin. It is not to be a divided, and broken, and polluted service. It is to be with the best affections of our hearts and lives.

Acceptable unto God – They are exhorted to offer such a sacrifice as will be acceptable to God; that is, such a one as he had just specified, one that was living and holy. No sacrifice should be made which is not acceptable to God. The offerings of the pagan; the pilgrimages of the Muslims; the self-inflicted penalties of the Roman Catholics, uncommanded by God, cannot be acceptable to him. Those services will be acceptable to God, and those only, which he appoints; compare Col_2:20-23. People are not to invent services; or to make crosses; or to seek persecutions and trials; or to provoke opposition. They are to do just what God requires of them, and that will be acceptable to God. And this fact, that what we do is acceptable to God, is the highest recompense we can have. It matters little what people think of us, if God approves what we do. To please him should be our highest aim; the fact that we do please him is our highest reward.

Which is your reasonable service – The word rendered “service” λατρείαν  latreian properly denotes worship, or the homage rendered to God. The word “reasonable” with us means what is “governed by reason; thinking, speaking, or acting conformably to the dictates of reason” (Webster); or what can be shown to be rational or proper. This does not express the meaning of the original. That word λογικὴν  logikēn denotes what pertains to the mind, and a reasonable service means what is mental, or pertaining to reason. It stands opposed, nor to what is foolish or unreasonable, but to the external service of the Jews, and such as they relied on for salvation. The worship of the Christian is what pertains to the mind, or is spiritual; that of the Jew was external. Chrysostom renders this phrase “your spiritual ministry.” The Syriac, “That ye present your bodies, etc., by a rational ministry.”
We may learn from this verse,
(1)    That the proper worship of God is the free homage of the mind. It is not forced or constrained. The offering of ourselves should be voluntary. No other can be a true offering, and none other can be acceptable.
(2)    we are to offer our entire selves, all that we have and are, to God. No other offering can be such as he will approve.
(3)    the character of God is such as should lead us to that. It is a character of mercy; of long-continued and patient forbearance, and it should influence us to devote ourselves to him.
(4)    it should be done without delay. God is as worthy of such service now as he ever will or can be. He has every possible claim on our affections and our hearts.

Approved and Acceptable; Day649

For our sake He made Christ [virtually] to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in and through Him we might become [endued with, viewed as being in, and examples of] the righteousness of God [what we ought to be, approved and acceptable and in right relationship with Him, by His goodness]. 2Corinthians 5:21

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0500, End of Sleep,
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0530, Study 2Corinthians 5:21 [read more]

Barnes on 2Co 5:21 –
For he hath made him to be sin for us – The Greek here is, ‘for him who knew no sin, he hath made sin, or a sin-offering for us.’ The design of this very important verse is, to urge the strongest possible reason for being reconciled to God. This is implied in the word (γὰρ  gar) “for.” Paul might have urged other arguments, and presented other strong considerations. But he chooses to present this fact, that Christ has been made sin for us, as embodying and concentrating all. It is the most affecting of all arguments; it is the one that is likely to prove most effectual. It is not indeed improper to urge on people every other consideration to induce them to be reconciled to God. It is not improper to appeal to them by the conviction of duty; to appeal to their reason and conscience; to remind them of the claims, the power, the goodness, and the fear of the Creator; to remind them of the awful consequences of a continued hostility to God; to persuade them by the hope of heaven, and by the fear of hell 2Co_5:1 l to become his friends: but, after all, the strongest argument, and that which is most adapted to melt the soul, is the fact that the Son of God has become incarnate for our sins, and has suffered and died in our stead. When all other appeals fail this is effectual; and this is in fact the strong argument by which the mass of those who become Christians are induced to abandon their opposition and to become reconciled to God.

To be sin – The words ‘to be’ are not in the original. Literally, it is, ‘he has made him sin, or a sin-offering’ ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησεν  hamartian epoiēsen   . But what is meant by this? What is the exact idea which the apostle intended to convey? I answer, it cannot be:
(1)    That he was literally sin in the abstract, or sin as such. No one can pretend this. The expression must be, therefore, in some sense, figurative. Nor,
(2)    Can it mean that he was a sinner, for it is said in immediate connection that he “knew no sin,” and it is everywhere said that he was holy, harmless, undefiled. Nor,
(3)    Can it mean that he was, in any proper sense of the word, guilty, for no one is truly guilty who is not personally a transgressor of the Law; and if he was, in any proper sense, guilty, then he deserved to die, and his death could have no more merit than that of any other guilty being; and if he was properly guilty it would make no difference in this respect whether it was by his own fault or by imputation: a guilty being deserves to be punished; and where there is desert of punishment there can be no merit in sufferings.
But all such views as go to make the Holy Redeemer a sinner, or guilty, or deserving of the sufferings which he endured, border on blasphemy, and are abhorrent to the whole strain of the Scriptures. In no form, in no sense possible, is it to be maintained that the Lord Jesus was sinful or guilty. It is a corner stone of the whole system of religion, that in all conceivable senses of the expression he was holy, and pure, and the object of the divine approbation. And every view which fairly leads to the statement that he was in any sense guilty, or which implies that he deserved to die, is “prima facie” a false view, and should be at once abandoned. But,
(4) If the declaration that he was made “sin” (ἁμαρτίαν  hamartian) does not mean that he was sin itself, or a sinner, or guilty, then it must mean that he was a sin-offering – an offering or a sacrifice for sin; and this is the interpretation which is now generally adopted by expositors; or it must be taken as an abstract for the concrete, and mean that God treated him as if he were a sinner. The former interpretation, that it means that God made him a sin-offering, is adopted by Whitby, Doddridge, Macknight, Rosenmuller, and others; the latter, that it means that God treated him as a sinner, is adopted by Vorstius, Schoettgen, Robinson (Lexicon), Dr. Bull, and others. There are many passages in the Old Testament where the word “sin” (ἁμαρτία  hamartia) is used in the sense of sin-offering, or a sacrifice for sin. Thus, Hos_4:8, “They eat up the sin of my people;” that is, the sin-offerings; see Eze_43:22, Eze_43:25; Eze_44:29; Eze_45:22-23, Eze_45:25.
See Whitby’s note on this verse. But whichever meaning is adopted, whether it means that he was a sacrifice for sin, or that God treated him as if he were a sinner, that is, subjected him to sufferings which, if he had been personally a sinner, would have been a proper expression of his hatred of transgression, ands proper punishment for sin, in either case it means that he made an atonement; that he died for sin; that his death was not merely that of a martyr; but that it was designed by substituted sufferings to make reconciliation between man and God. Locke renders this: probably expressing the true sense, “For God hath made him subject to suffering and death, the punishment and consequence of sin, as if he had been a sinner, though he were guilty of no sin.” To me, it seems probable that the sense is, that God treated him as if he had been a sinner; that he subjected him to such pains and woes as would have been a proper punishment if he had been guilty; that while he was, in fact, in all senses perfectly innocent, and while God knew this, yet that in consequence of the voluntary assumption of the place of man which the Lord Jesus took, it pleased the Father to lay on him the deep sorrows which would be the proper expression of his sense of the evil of sin; that he endured so much suffering, as would answer the same great ends in maintaining the truth, and honor, and justice of God, as if the guilty had themselves endured the penalty of the Law. This, I suppose, is what is usually meant when it is said “our sins were imputed to him;” and though this language is not used in the Bible, and though it is liable to great misapprehension and perversion, yet if this is its meaning, there can be no objection to it.
(Certainly Christ’s being made sin, is not to be explained of his being made sin in the abstract, nor of his having actually become a sinner; yet it does imply, that sin was charged on Christ, or that it was imputed to him, and that he became answerable for it. Nor can this idea be excluded, even if we admit that “sin-offering” is the proper rendering of ἁμαρτία  hamartia in the passage. “That Christ,” says an old divine commenting on this place, “was made sin for us, because he was a sacrifice for sin, we confess; but therefore was he a sacrifice for sin because our sins were imputed to him, and punished in him.” The doctrine of imputation of sin to Christ is here, by plain enough inference at least. The rendering in our Bibles, however, asserts it in a more direct form. Nor, after all the criticism that has been expended on the text, does there seem any necessity for the abandonment of that rendering, on the part of the advocate of imputation. For first ἁμαρτία  hamartia in the Septuagint, and the corresponding אשׁם  ‘aashaam in the Hebrew, denote both the sin and the sin-offering, the peculiar sacrifice and the crime itself. Second, the antithesis in the passage, so obvious and beautiful, is destroyed by the adoption of “sin-offering.” Christ was made sin, we righteousness.
There seems in our author’s comment on this place, and also at Rom. 5, an attempt to revive the oft-refuted objection against imputation, namely, that it involves something like a transference of moral character, an infusion, rather than an imputation of sin or righteousness. Nothing of this kind is at all implied in the doctrine. Its advocates with one voice disclaim it; and the reader will see the objection answered at length in the supplementary notes at Rom. 4 and Rom. 5. What then is the value of such arguments or insinuations as these: “All such views as go to make the Holy Redeemer a sinner, or guilty, or deserving of the sufferings he endured, border on blasphemy,” etc. Nor is it wiser to affirm that “if Christ was properly guilty, it would make no difference in this respect, whether it was by his own fault or by imputation.” What may be meant in this connection by “properly guilty,” we know not. But this is certain, that there is an immense difference between Christ’s having the guilt of our iniquities charged on him, and having the guilt of his own so charged.
It is admitted in the commentary, that God “treated Christ as if he had been a sinner,” and this is alleged as the probable sense of the passage. But this treatment of Christ on the part of God, must have some ground, and where shall we find it, unless in the imputation of sin to him? If the guilt of our iniquities, or which is the same thing, the Law obligation to punishment, be not charged on Christ, how in justice can he be subjected to the punishment? If he had not voluntarily come under such obligation, what claim did law have on him? That the very words “sin imputed to Christ” are not found in scripture, is not a very formidable objection. The words in this text are stronger and better “He was made sin,” and says Isaiah, according to the rendering of Dr. Lowth, “The Lord made to meet upon him the iniquities of us all. It was required of him, and he was made answerable.” Isa, Isa_53:6.)

Who knew no sin – He was not guilty. He was perfectly holy and pure. This idea is thus expressed by Peter 1Pe_2:22; “who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth;” and in Heb_7:26, it is said he was “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.” In all respects, and in all conceivable senses, the Lord Jesus was pure and holy. If he had not been, he would not have been qualified to make an atonement. Hence, the sacred writers are everywhere at great pains to keep this idea prominent, for on this depends the whole superstructure of the plan of salvation. The phrase “knew no sin,” is an expression of great beauty and dignity. It indicates his entire and perfect purity. He was altogether unacquainted with sin; he was a stranger to transgression; he was conscious of no sin; he committed none. He had a mind and heart perfectly free from pollution, and his whole life was perfectly pure and holy in the sight of God.

That we might be made the righteousness of God – This is a Hebraism, meaning the same as divinely righteous. It means that we are made righteous in the sight of God; that is, that we are accepted as righteous, and treated as righteous by God on account of what the Lord Jesus has done. There is here an evident and beautiful contrast between what is said of Christ, and what is said of us. He was made sin; we are made righteousness; that is, he was treated as if he were a sinner, though he was perfectly holy and pure; we are treated as if we were righteous, though we are defiled and depraved. The idea is, that on account of what the Lord Jesus has endured in our behalf we are treated as if we had ourselves entirely fulfilled the Law of God, and bad never become exposed to its penalty. In the phrase “righteousness of God,” there is a reference to the fact that this is his plan of making people righteous, or of justifying them.
They who thus become righteous, or are justified, are justified on his plan, and by a scheme which he has devised. Locke renders this: “that we, in and by him, might be made righteous, by a righteousness imputed to us by God.” The idea is, that all our righteousness in the sight of God we receive in and through a Redeemer. All is to be traced to him. This verse contains a beautiful epitome of the whole plan of salvation, and the uniqueness of the Christian scheme. On the one hand, one who was perfectly innocent, by a voluntary substitution, is treated As if he were guilty; that is, is subjected to pains and sorrows which if he were guilty would be a proper punishment for sin: and on the other, they who are guilty and who deserve to be punished, are treated, through his vicarious sufferings, as if they were perfectly innocent; that is, in a manner which would be a proper expression of God’s approbation if he had not sinned. The whole plan, therefore, is one of substitution; and without substitution, there can be no salvation. Innocence voluntarily suffers for guilt, and the guilty are thus made pure and holy, and are saved. The greatness of the divine compassion and love is thus shown for the guilty; and on the ground of this it is right and proper for God to call on people to be reconciled to him. It is the strongest argument that can be used. When God has given his only Son to the bitter suffering of death on the cross in order that we may be reconciled, it is the highest possible argument which can be used why we should cease our opposition to him, and become his friends.
(See the supplementary notes on Rom_1:17; note at Rom_3:21. See also the additional note above on the first clause of the verse. The “righteousness of God,” is doubtless that righteousness which the divine Saviour worked out, in his active and passive obedience, and if ever any of the guilty race of Adam are “treated as righteous” by God, it must be solely on the ground of its imputation.)
Remarks
1. It is possible for Christians to have the assurance that they shall enter into heaven, 2Co_5:1. Paul said that he knew this; John knew this (see the note on 2Co_5:1), and there is no reason why others should not know it. If a man hates sin he may know that as well as anything else; if he loves God, why should he not know that as well as to know that he loves an earthly friend? If he desires to be holy, to enter heaven, to be eternally pure, why should we have any doubt about that? If he loves to pray, to read the Bible, to converse of heaven – if his heart is truly in these things, he may know it, as well as know anything else about his own character of feelings.
2. If a Christian may know it, he should know it. No other knowledge is so desirable as this. Nothing will produce so much comfort as this. Nothing will contribute so much to make him firm, decided, and consistent in his Christian walk as this. No other knowledge will give him so much support in temptation; so much comfort in trial; so much peace in death. And if a man is a Christian, he should give himself no rest until he obtains assurance on this subject; if he is not a Christian be cannot know that too soon, or take too early measures to flee from the wrath to come.
3. The body will soon be dissolved in death, 2Co_5:1. It is a frail crumbling, decaying dwelling, that must soon be taken down. It has none of the properties of a permanent abode. it can be held together but a little time. It is like a hut or cottage, that is shaken by every gust of wind: like a tent when the pins are loose, and the cords unstranded, or rotten, and when the wind will soon sweep it away. And since this is the fact, we may as well know it, and not attempt to conceal it from the mind. All truth may be looked at calmly, and should be, and a man who is residing in a frail and shattered dwelling, should be looking out for one that is more permanent and substantial. Death should be looked at. The fact that this tabernacle shall be taken down should be looked at; and every man should be asking with deep interest the question whether there is not a more permanent dwelling for him in a better world.
4. This life is burdened, and is full of cares, 2Co_5:2, 2Co_5:4. It is such as is suited to make us desire a better state. We groan here under sin, amidst temptation, encompassed by the cares and toils of life. We are burdened with duties, and we are oppressed by trials; and under all we are sinking to the grave. Soon, under the accumulated burdens, the body will be crushed, and sink back to the dust. Man cannot endure the burden long, and he must soon die. These accumulated trials and cares are such as are adapted to make him desire a better inheritance, and to look forward to a better world. God designs that this shall be a world of care and anxiety, in order that we may be led to seek a better portion beyond the grave.
5. The Christian has a permanent home in heaven, 2Co_5:1-2, 2Co_5:4. There is a house not made with hands; an eternal home; a world where mortality is unknown. There is his home; that is his eternal dwelling. Here he is a stranger, among strangers, in a strange world. In heaven is his home. The body here may be sick, feeble, dying; there it shall be vigorous, strong, immortal. He may have no comfortable dwelling here; he may be poor, and afflicted; there he shall have an undecaying dwelling, an unchanging home. Who in a world like this should not desire to be a Christian? What other condition of life is so desirable as that of the man who is sure that after a few more days he shall be admitted to an eternal home in heaven, where the body never dies, and where sin and sorrow are known no more?
6. The Christian should be willing to bear all the pain and sorrow which God shall appoint, 2Co_5:1-4. Why should he not? He knows not only that God is good in all this; but he knows that it is but for a moment; that he is advancing toward heaven, and that he will soon be at home. Compared with that eternal rest what trifles are all the sufferings of this mortal life!
7. We should not desire to die merely to get rid of pain, or to be absent from the body, 2Co_5:4. It is not merely in order that we may be “unclothed,” or that we may get away from a suffering body, that we should be willing to die. Many a sinner suffers so much here that he is willing to plunge into an awful eternity, as he supposes, to get rid of pain, when, alas, he plunges only into deeper and eternal woe. We should be willing to bear as much pain, and to bear it as long as God shall be pleased to appoint. We should submit to all without a complaint. We should be anxious to be relieved only when God shall judge it best for us to be away from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
8. In a mere readiness to die there is no evidence that we are prepared for heaven; compare 2Co_5:4. Many a man supposes that because he is ready to die, that, therefore, he is prepared. Many a one takes comfort because a dying friend was ready and willing to die. But in a mere willingness to die there is no evidence of a preparation for death, because 100 causes may conspire to produce this besides piety. And let us not be deceived by supposing that because we have no alarm about death, and are willing to go to another world, that therefore we are prepared. It may be either stupidity, or insensibility; it may be a mere desire to get rid of suffering; it may be because we are cherishing a hope of heaven which is altogether vain and illusive.
9. The Christian should, and may desire to depart and to be in heaven, 2Co_5:2. Heaven is his home; and it is his privilege to desire to be there. Here he is in a world of trial and of sin. There he shall be in a world of joy and of holiness. Here he dwells in a frail, suffering, decaying body. There he shall be clothed with immortality. It is his privilege, therefore, to desire, as soon as it shall be the will of God, to depart, and to enter on his eternal inheritance in heaven. He should have a strong, fixed, firm desire for that world; and should be ready at the shortest notice to go and to be forever with the Lord.
10. The hopes and joys of Christians, and all their peace and calmness in the prospect of death, are to be traced to God, 2Co_5:5. It is not that they are not naturally as timid and fearful of dying as others; it is not that they have any native courage or strength, but it is to be traced entirely to the mercy of God, and the influence of his Spirit, that they are enabled to look calmly at death, at the grave, at eternity. With the assured prospect of heaven, they have nothing to fear in dying; and if we have the “earnest of the Spirit” – the pledge that heaven is ours – we have nothing to fear in the departure from this world.
11. The Christian should be, and may be, always cheerful, 2Co_5:6. Paul said that he was always confident, or cheerful. Afflictions did not depress him; trials did not cast him down. He was not disheartened by opposition; he did not lose his courage by being reviled and persecuted. In all this he was cheerful and bold. There is nothing in religion to make us melancholy and sad. The assurance of the favor of God, and the hope of heaven, should have, and will have, just the opposite effect. A sense of the presence of God, a conviction that we are sinners, a deep impression of the truth that we are to die, and of the infinite interest of the soul at stake, will indeed make us serious and solemn, and should do so. But this is not inconsistent with cheerfulness, but is rather suited to produce it. It is favorable to a state of mind where all irritability is suppressed, and where the mind is made calm and settled; and this is favorable to cheerfulness. Besides, there is much, very much in religion to prevent sadness, and to remove gloom from the soul. The hope of heaven, and the prospect of dwelling with God and with holy beings forever, is the best means of expelling the gloom which is caused by the disappointments and cares of the world. And much as many persons suppose that religion creates gloom, it is certain that nothing in this world has done so much to lighten care, to break the force of misfortune and disappointment, to support in times of trial, and to save from despair, as the religion of the Redeemer. And it is moreover certain that there are no persons so habitually calm in their feelings, and cheerful in their tempers, as consistent and devout Christians. If there are some Christians, like David Brainerd, who are melancholy and sad, as there are undoubtedly, it should be said:
(1)    That they are few in number;
(2)    That their gloom is to be traced to constitutional propensity, and not to religion;
(3)    That they have, even with all their gloom, joys which the world never experiences, and which can never be found in sin; and,
(4) That their gloom is not produced by religion, but by the lack of more of it.
12. It is noble to act with reference to things unseen and eternal, 2Co_5:7. It elevates the soul; lifts it above the earth; purifies the heart; and gives to man a new dignity. It prevents all the grovelling effect of acting from a view of present objects, and with reference to the things which are just around us. “Whatever withdraws us,” says Dr. Johnson, “from the power of our senses; whatever makes the past, the distant, or the future, predominate over the present, advances us in the dignity of thinking beings” – Tour to the Hebrides, p. 322, ed. Phil. 1810. Whatever directs the eye and the heart to heaven; whatever may make man feel and believe that there is a God, a Saviour, a heaven, a world of glory, elevates him with the consciousness of his immortality, and raises him above the groveling objects that wither and debase the soul. Man should act with reference to eternity. He should be conscious of immortality. He should be deeply impressed with that high honor that awaits him of standing before God. He should feel that he may partake in the glories of the resurrection; that he may inherit an eternal heaven. Feeling thus, what trifles are the things of the earth! How little should he be moved by its trials! How little should he be influenced by its wealth, its pleasures, and its honors!
13. The Christian, when he leaves the body, is at once with the Lord Jesus, 2Co_5:8. He rushes, as it were instinctively, to his presence, and casts himself at his feet. He has no other home than where the Saviour is; he thinks of no future joy or glory but that which is to be enjoyed with him. Why then should we fear death? Lay out of view, as we may, the momentary pang, the chilliness, and the darkness of the grave, and think of that which will be the moment after death – the view of the Redeemer, the sight of the splendors of the heavenly world, the angels, the spirits of the just made perfect, the river of the paradise of God, and the harps of praise, and what has man to fear in the prospect of dying?
Why should I shrink at pain or woe,
Or feel at death dismay?
I’ve Canaan’s goodly land in view,
And realms of endless day.
Apostles, martyrs, prophets there,
Around my Saviour stand;
And soon my friends in Christ below.
Will join the glorious band,
Jerusalem! my happy home!
My soul still pants for thee;
When shall my labors have an end.
In joy, and peace, and thee!
– Charles Wesley.
14. We should act feeling that we are in the immediate presence of God and so as to meet his acceptance and approbation, whether we remain on earth, or whether we are removed to eternity, 2Co_5:9. The prospect of being with him, and the consciousness that his eye is fixed upon us, should make us diligent, humble, and laborious. It should be the great purpose of our lives to secure his favor, and meet with his acceptance; and it should make no difference with us in this respect, where we are – whether on earth or in heaven; with the prospect of long life, or of an early death; in society or in solitude; at home or abroad; on the land or on the deep; in sickness or in health; in prosperity or in adversity, it should be our great aim so to live as to be “accepted of him.” And the Christian will so act. To act in this manner is the very nature of true piety; and where this desire does not exist, there can be no true religion.
15. We must appear before the judgment-seat, 2Co_5:10. We must all appear there. This is inevitable. There is not one of the human family that can escape. Old and young; rich and poor; bond and free; all classes, all conditions, all nations must stand there, and give an account for all the deeds done in the body, and receive their eternal doom. How solemn is the thought of being arraigned! How deeply affecting the idea that on the issue of that one trial will depend our eternal weal or woe! How overwhelming the reflection that from that sentence there can be no appeal; no power of reversing, it; no possibility of afterward changing our destiny!
16. We shall soon be there, 2Co_5:10. No one knows when he is to die; and death when it comes will remove us at once to the judgment-seat. A disease that may carry us off in a few hours may take us there; or death that may come in an instant shall bear us to that awful bar. How many are stricken down in a moment; how many are hurried without any warning to the solemnities of the eternal world! So we may die. No one can insure our lives; no one can guard us from the approach of the invisible king of terrors.
17. We should be ready to depart If we must stand at the awful bar; and if we may be summoned there any moment, assuredly we should lose no time in being ready to go. It is our great business in life; and it should claim our first attention, and all other things should be postponed that we may be ready to die. It should be the first inquiry every morning, and the last subject of thought every evening – for who knows when he rises in the morning but that before night he may stand at the judgment-seat! Who, when he lies down on his bed at night, knows but that in the silence of the night-watches he may be summoned to go alone – to leave his family and friends, his home and his bed, to answer for all the deeds done in the body?
18. We should endeavor to save others from eternal death, 2Co_5:11. If we have ourselves any just views of the awful terrors of the day of judgment, and if we have any just views of the wrath of God, we should endeavor “to persuade” others to flee from the wrath to come. We should plead with them; we should entreat them; we should weep over them; we should pray for them, that they may be saved from going up to meet the awful wrath of God. If our friends are unprepared to meet God; if they are living in impenitence and sin, and if we have any influence over others in any way, we should exert it all to induce them to come to Christ, and to save themselves from the awful terrors of that day. Paul deemed no self-denial and no sacrifice too great, if he might persuade them to come to God, and to save their souls. And who that has any just views of the awful terrors of the day of judgment; of the woes of an eternal hell, and of the glories of an eternal heaven; can deem that labor too great which shall be the means of saving immortal souls? Not to frighten them should we labor, not to alarm them merely should we plead with them, but we should endeavor by all means to persuade them to come to the Redeemer. We should not use tones of harshness and denunciation; we should not speak of hell as if we would rejoice to execute the sentence, but we should speak with tenderness, earnestness, and with tears (compare Act_20:31), that we may induce our friends and fellow-sinners to be reconciled to God.
19. We should not deem it strange or remarkable if we are charged with being deranged for being active and zealous in the subject of religion, 2Co_5:13. There will always be enough, both in the church and out of it, to charge us with over-heated zeal; with lack of prudence; or with decided mental alienation. But we are not to forget that Paul was accused of being “mad;” and even the Redeemer was thought to be “beside himself.” “It is sufficient for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his Lord;” and if the Redeemer was charged with derangement on account of his special views and his zeal, we should not suppose that any strange thing had happened to us if we are accused in like manner.
20. The gospel should be offered to all people, 2Co_5:14. If Christ died for all, then salvation is provided for all; and then it should be offered to all freely and fully. It should be done without any mental reservation, for God has no such mental reservation; without any hesitation or misgiving; without any statements that would break the force, or weaken the power of such an offer on the consciences of people. If they reject it, they should be left to see that they reject that which is in good faith offered to them, and that for this they must give an account to God. Every man who preaches the gospel should feel that he is not only permitted but required to preach the gospel “to every creature;” nor should he embrace any opinion whatever which will in form or in fact cramp him or restrain him in thus offering salvation to all mankind. The fact that Christ died for all, and that all may be saved, should be a fixed and standing point in all systems of theology, and should be allowed to shape every other opinion, and to shed its influence over every other view of truth.
21. All people by nature are dead in sins, 2Co_5:14. They are insensible to their own good; to the appeals of God; to the glories of heaven, and to the terrors of hell. They do not act for eternity; they are without concern in regard to their everlasting destiny. They are as insensible to all these things, until aroused by the Spirit of God, as a dead man in his grave is to surrounding objects. And there is nothing that ever did arouse such a man, or ever could, but the same power that made the world, and the same voice that raised Lazarus from his grave. This melancholy fact strikes us everywhere; and we should be deeply humbled that it is our condition by nature, and should mourn that it is the condition of our fellowmen everywhere.
22. We should form our estimate of objects and of their respective value and importance by other considerations than those which are derived from their temporal nature, 2Co_5:16. It should not be simply according to the flesh. It should not be as they estimate them who are living for this world. It should not be by their rank, their splendor, or their fashion. It should be by their reference to eternity, and their bearing on the state of things there.
23. It should be with us a very serious inquiry whether our views of Christ are such as they have who are living after the flesh, or such only as the unrenewed mind takes, 2Co_5:16. The carnal mind has no just views of the Redeemer. To every impenitent sinner he is “a root out of a day ground.” There is no beauty in him. And to every hypocrite, and every deceived professor of religion, there is really no beauty seen in him. There is no spontaneous, elevated, glowing attachment to him. It is all forced and unnatural. But to the true Christian there is a beauty seen in his character that is not seen in any other; and the whole soul loves him, and embraces him. His character is seen to be most pure and lovely; his benevolence boundless; his ability and willingness to save, infinite. The renewed soul desires no other Saviour; and rejoices that he is just what he is – rejoices in his humiliation as well as his exaltation; in his poverty as well as his glory; rejoices in the privilege of being saved by him who was spit upon, and mocked, and crucified, as well as by him who is at the right hand of God. One thing is certain, unless we have just views of Christ we can never be saved.
24. The new birth is a great and most important change, 2Co_5:17. It is not in name or in profession merely, but it is a deep and radical change of the heart. It is so great that it may be said of each one that he is a new creation of God; and in relation to each one, that old things are passed away, and all things are become new. How important it is that we examine our hearts and see whether this change has taken place, or whether we are still living without God and without hope. It is indispensable that we be born again; John 3. If we are not born again, and if we are not new creatures in Christ, we must perish for ever. No matter what our wealth talent, learning, accomplishment, reputation, or morality; unless we have been so changed that it may be said, and that we can say, “old things are passed away, and all things are become new,” we must perish forever. There is no power in the universe that can save a man who is not born again.
25. The gospel ministry is a most responsible and important work, 2Co_5:18-19. There is no other office of the same importance; there is no situation in which man can be placed more solemn than that of making known the terms on which God is willing to bestow favor on apostate man.
26. How amazing is the divine condescension, that God should have ever proposed such a plan of reconciliation, 2Co_5:20-21. That he should not only have been willing to be reconciled, but that he should have sought, and have been so anxious for it as to be willing to send his own Son to die to secure it! It was pure, rich, infinite benevolence. God was not to be benefitted by it. He was infinitely blessed and happy even though man should have been lost. He was pure, and just, and holy, and it was not necessary to resort to this in order to vindicate his own character. He had done man no wrong: and if man had perished in his sins, the throne of God would have been pure and spotless. It was love; mere love. It was pure, holy, disinterested, infinite benevolence. It was worthy of a God; and it has a claim to the deepest gratitude of man.
Let us then, in view of this whole chapter, seek to be reconciled to God. Let us lay aside all our opposition to him. Let us embrace his plans. Let us be willing to submit to him, and to become his eternal friends. Let us seek to heaven to which he would raise us; and though our earthly house of this tabernacle must be dissolved, let us be prepared, as we may be, for that eternal habitation which he has prepared for all who love him in the heavens.

Power of Death; Day648

But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen; And if Christ has not risen, then our preaching is in vain [it amounts to nothing] and your faith is devoid of truth and is fruitless (without effect, empty, imaginary, and unfounded). We are even discovered to be misrepresenting God, for we testified of Him that He raised Christ, Whom He did not raise in case it is true that the dead are not raised.  For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised; And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is mere delusion [futile, fruitless], and you are still in your sins [under the control and penalty of sin];  And further, those who have died in [spiritual fellowship and union with] Christ have perished (are lost)!  If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hope only in this life and that is all, then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied. But the fact is that Christ (the Messiah) has been raised from the dead, and He became the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep [in death].  1Corinthians 15:13 –20

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0800, End of Sleep,
0810, Coffee
0830, Study 1Corinthians 15:13 -20 [read more]

Barnes on 1Co 15:13 – 20
But if there be no resurrection of the dead – If the whole subject is held to be impossible and absurd, then it must follow that Christ is not “risen,” since there were the same difficulties in the way of raising him up which will exist in any case. He was dead and was buried. He had lain in the grave three days. His human soul had left the body. His frame had become cold and stiff. The blood had ceased to circulate, and the lungs to heave. In his case there was the same difficulty in raising him up to life that there is in any other; and if it is held to be impossible and absurd that the dead should rise, then it must follow that Christ has not been raised. This is the first consequence which Paul states as resulting from the denial of this doctrine, and this is inevitable. Paul thus shows them that the denial of the doctrine, or the maintaining the general proposition “that the dead would not rise,” led also to the denial of the fact that the Lord Jesus had risen, and consequently to the denial of Christianity altogether, and the annihilation of all their hopes. There was, moreover, such a close connection between Christ and his people, that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus made their resurrection certain. See 1Th_4:14; see the note on Joh_14:19.

1Co 15:14 –
And if Christ is not risen, then is our preaching vain – Another consequence which must follow if it be held that there was no resurrection, and consequently that Christ was not risen. it would be vain and useless to preach. The substance of their preaching was that Christ was raised up; and all their preaching was based on that. If that were not true, the whole system was false, and Christianity was an imposition. The word vain here seems to include the idea of useless, idle, false. It would be “false” to affirm that the Christian system was from heaven; it would be useless to proclaim such a system, since it could save no one.
And your faith is also vain – It is useless to believe. It can be of no advantage. If Christ was not raised, he was an impostor, since he repeatedly declared that he would rise Mat_16:21; Mat_18:22-23; Luk_9:22, and since the whole of his religion depended on that. The system could not be true unless Christ had been raised, as he said he would be; and to believe a false system could be of no use to any man. The argument here is one addressed to all their feelings, their hopes, and their belief. It is drawn from all their convictions that the system was true. Were they, could they be prepared to admit a doctrine which involved the consequence that all the evidences which they had that the apostles preached the truth were delusive, and that all the evidences of the truth of Christianity which had affected their minds and won their hearts were false and deceptive? If they were not prepared for this, then it followed that they should not abandon or doubt the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead.

1Co 15:15 –
Yea, and we are found – We are; or we shall be proved to be. It will follow, if the Lord Jesus was not raised up, that we have been false witnesses.
Of God – Respecting God. It will be found that we have affirmed that which is not true of God; or have said that he has done that which he has not done. Nothing could be regarded as a greater crime than this, whatever might be the immediate subject under consideration. To bear false witness of a man, or to say that a man has done what he has not done, is regarded as a grievous crime. How much more so to bear false testimony of God!
Because we have testified of God – Or rather “against” God (κάτα τοῦ θεοῦ  kata tou theou). Our evidence has been “against” him. We have affirmed that which is not true; and this is “against” God. It is implied here that it would be a “crime” to testify that God had raised up the Lord Jesus if he had not done it; or that it would be affirming that of God which would be “against” his character, or which it would be improper for him to do. This would be so:
(1)    Because it would he wrong to bear any false witness of God, or to affirm that he had done what he had not done;
(2)    Because “if” the Lord Jesus had not been raised up, it would prove that he was an “impostor,” since he had declared that he would be raised up; and to affirm of God that he had raised up an impostor would be against him, and would be highly dishonorable to him.
If the dead rise not – If there is, and can be no resurrection. If this general proposition is true that there can be no resurrection, then it will apply to Christ as well as any others, and must prove that he did not rise. The “argument” in this verse is this:
(1) If it was denied that Christ was raised, it would prove that all the apostles were false witnesses of the worst character; false witnesses against God.
(2) this the apostle seems to have presumed they “could not” believe. They had had too many evidences that they spoke the truth; they had seen their uniform respect for God, and desire to bear witness of him and in his favor; they had had too conclusive evidence that they were inspired by him, and had the power of working miracles; they were too fully convinced of their honesty, truth, and piety, ever to believe that they could be false witnesses against God. They had had ample opportunity to know whether God did raise up the Lord Jesus; and they were witnesses who had no inducement to bear a false witness in the case.

1Co 15:16 –
For if the dead rise not … – This is a repetition of what is said in 1Co_15:13. It is repeated here, evidently, because of its importance. It was a great and momentous truth which would “bear” repetition, that if there was no resurrection, as some held, then it would follow that the Lord Jesus was not raised up.

1Co 15:17 –
Your faith is vain, – 1Co_15:14. The meaning of this passage here is, that their faith was vain, “because,” if Christ was not raised up, they were yet unpardoned sinners. The pardon of sin was connected with the belief of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and, if he was not raised, they were still in a state of sin.
Ye are yet in your sins – Your sins are yet unpardoned. They can be forgiven only by faith in him, and by the efficacy of his blood. But if he was not raised, he was an impostor; and, of course, all your hopes of pardon by him, and through him, must be vain. The argument in this verse consists in an appeal to their Christian experience and their hopes. It may be thus expressed:
(1) You have reason to believe that your sins are forgiven. You cherish that belief on evidence that is satisfactory to you. But if Christ is not raised, that cannot be true. He was an impostor, and sins cannot be forgiven by him. As you are not, and cannot be prepared to admit that your sins are not forgiven, you cannot admit a doctrine which involves that.
(2) you have evidence that you are not under the dominion of sin. You have repented of it; have forsaken it; and are leading a holy life. You know that, and cannot be induced to doubt this fact. But all that is to be traced to the doctrine that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. It is only by believing that, and the doctrines which are connected with it, that the power of sin in the heart has been destroyed. And as you “cannot” doubt that under the influence of “that truth” you have been enabled to break off from your sins, so you cannot admit a doctrine which would involve it as a consequence that you are yet under the condemnation and the dominion of sin. You must believe, therefore, that the Lord Jesus rose; and that, if he rose, others will also. This argument is good also now, just so far as there is evidence that, through the belief of a risen Saviour, the dominion of sin has been broken; and every Christian is, therefore, in an important sense, a witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, a living proof that a system which can work so great changes, and produce such evidence that sins are forgiven as are furnished in the conversion of sinners, must be from God; and, of course, that the work of the Lord Jesus was accepted, and that he was raised up from the dead.

1Co 15:18 –
Then they also … – This verse contains a statement of another consequence which must follow from the denial of the resurrection – that all Christians who had died had failed of salvation, and were destroyed.
Which are fallen asleep in Christ – Which have died as Christians; 1Co_15:6 note; 1Th_4:15 note.
Are perished – Are destroyed; are not saved. They hoped to have been saved by the merits of the Lord Jesus; they trusted to a risen Saviour, and fixed all their hopes of heaven there; but if he did not rise, of course the whole system was delusion, and they have failed of heaven, and been destroyed. Their bodies lie in the grave, and return to their native dust without the prospect of a resurrection, and their souls are destroyed. The “argument” here is mainly an appeal to their feelings: “Can you believe it possible that the good people who have believed in the Lord Jesus are destroyed? Can you believe that your best friends, your kindred, and your fellow Christians who have died, have gone down to perdition? Can you believe that they will sink to woe with the impenitent, and the polluted, and abandoned? If you cannot, then it must follow that they are saved. And then it will follow that you “cannot” embrace a doctrine which involves this consequence.”
And this argument is a sound one still. There are multitudes who are made good men by the gospel. They are holy, humble, self-denying, and prayerful friends of God. “They have become such by the belief of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.” Can it be believed that they will be destroyed? That they will perish with the profane, and licentious, and unprincipled? That they will go down to dwell with the polluted and the wicked? “Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” Gen_18:25. If it “cannot” be so believed, then they will be saved; and “if” saved it follows that the system is true which saves them, and, of course, that the Lord Jesus rose from the dead. We may remark here, that a denial of the truth of Christianity involves the belief that its friends will perish with others; that all their hopes are vain; and that their expectations are delusive. He, therefore, who becomes an infidel “believes” that his pious friends – his sainted father, his holy mother, his lovely Christian sister or child, is deluded and deceived; that they will sink down to the grave to rise no more; that their hopes of heaven will all vanish, and that they will be destroyed with the profane, the impure, and the sensual.
And if infidelity demands “this” faith of its votaries, it is a system which strikes at the very happiness of social life, and at all our convictions of what is true and right. It is a system that is withering and blighting to the best hopes of people. “Can” it be believed that God will destroy those who are living to his honor; who are pure in heart, and lovely in life, “and who have been made such by the Christian religion?” If it cannot, then every man knows that Christianity is not false, and that infidelity is not true.

1Co 15:19 –
If in this life only we have hope in Christ – If our hope in Christ shall not be followed by the resurrection of the dead and future glory, and if all our hopes shall be disappointed.
We are … – Doddridge, Macknight, Grotius, and some others, suppose that this refers to the apostles only, and that the sense is, that if there was no resurrection, they, of all people would be most to be pitied, since they had exposed themselves to such a variety of dangers and trials, in which nothing could sustain them but the hope of immortality. If they failed in that they failed in everything. They were regarded as the most vile of the human family; they suffered more from persecution, poverty, and perils than other people; and if, after all, they were to be deprived of all their hopes, and disappointed in their expectation of the resurrection, their condition would be more deplorable than that of any other people. But there is no good reason for supposing that the word “we,” here, is to be limited to the apostles. For:
(1)    Paul had not mentioned the apostles particularly in the previous verses; and,
(2)    The argument demands that it should be understood of all Christians, and the declaration is as true, substantially, of all Christians as it was of the apostles.
Of all men most miserable – More to be pitied or commiserated than any other class of people. The word used here (ἐληινότεροι  elēinoteroi) means, properly, more deserving of pity, more pitiable. It may mean sometimes, more wretched or unhappy; but this is not necessarily its meaning, nor is it its meaning here. It refers rather to their condition and hopes than to their personal feeling; and does not mean that Christians are unhappy, or that their religion does not produce comfort, but that their condition would be most deplorable; they would be more deserving of pity than any other class of people. This would be:
(1) Because no other people had so elevated hopes, and, of course, no others could experience so great disappointment.
(2) they were subjected to more trials than any other class of people. They were persecuted and reviled, and subjected to toil, and privation, and want, on account of their religion; and if, after all, they were to be disappointed, their condition was truly deplorable.
(3) they do not indulge in the pleasures of this life; they do not give themselves, as ethers do, to the enjoyments of this world. They voluntarily subject themselves to trial and self-denial; and if they are not admitted to eternal life, they are not only disappointed in this but they are cut off from the sources of happiness which their fellow-men enjoy in this world – Calvin.
(4) on the whole, therefore, there would be disappointed hopes, and trials, and poverty, and want, and all for nothing; and no condition could be conceived to be more deplorable than where a man was looking for eternal life, and for it subjecting himself to a life of want, and poverty, persecution, and tears, and should be finally disappointed. This passage, therefore, does not mean that virtue and piety are not attended with happiness; it does not mean that, even if there were no future state, a man would not be more happy if he walked in the paths of virtue than if he lived a life of sin; it does not mean that the Christian has no happiness in “religion itself” – in the love of God, and in prayer, and praise, and in purity of life. In all this he has enjoyment and even if there were no heaven, a life of virtue and piety would be more happy than a life of sin. But it means that the condition of the Christian would be more “deplorable” than that of other people; he would be more to be pitied. All his high hopes would be disappointed. Other people have no such hopes to be dashed to the ground; and, of course, no other people would be such objects of pity and compassion. The “argument” in this verse is derived from the high hopes of the Christian. “Could they believe that all their hopes were to be frustrated? Could they subject themselves to all these trials and privations, without believing that they would rise from the dead? Were they prepared, by the denial of the doctrine of the resurrection, to put themselves in the condition of the most miserable and wretched of the human family – to “admit” that they were in a condition most to be deplored?

1Co 15:20 –
But now is Christ risen … – This language is the bursting forth of a full heart and of overpowering conviction. It would seem as if Paul were impatient of the slow process of argument; weary of meeting objections, and of stating the consequences of a denial of the doctrine; and longing to give utterance to “what he knew,” that Christ was risen from the dead. That was a point on which he was certain. He had seen him after he was risen; and he could no more doubt this “fact” than he could any other which he had witnessed with his own eyes. He makes, therefore, this strong affirmation; and in doing it, he at the same time affirms that the dead will also rise, since he had shown 1Co_15:12-18 that all the objection to the doctrine of the resurrection was removed by the fact that Christ had risen, and had shown that his resurrection involved the certainty that his people also would rise. There is special force in the word “now” in this verse. The meaning may be thus expressed: “I have showed the consequences which would follow from the supposition that Christ was not raised up. I have shown how it would destroy all our hopes, plunge us into grief, annihilate our faith, make our preaching vain, and involve us in the belief that our pious friends have perished, and that we are yet in our sins. I have shown how it would produce the deepest disappointment and misery. But all this was mere supposition. There is no reason to apprehend any such consequences, or to be thus alarmed. “Christ” is “risen.” Of that there is no doubt. That is not to be called in question. It is established by irrefragable testimony; and consequently our hopes are not vain, our faith is not useless, our pious friends have not perished, and we shall not be disappointed.”
And become the first-fruits – The word rendered “first-fruits” (ἀπαρχὴ  aparchē) occurs in the New Testament in the following places; Rom_8:23 (see the note on this place); Rom_11:16; Rom_16:5; 1Co_15:20, 1Co_15:23; 1Co_16:15; Jam_1:18; Rev_14:4. It occurs often in the Septuagint as the translations of חלב  cheleb, “fat,” or “fatness” Num_18:12, Num_18:29-30, Num_18:32; as the translation of מצשׂרה  ma‛asrah, “the tenth” or “the tithe” Deu_12:6; of צוון  ‛awon, “iniquity” Num_18:1; of ראשׁית  rē’shiyt, “the beginning, the commencement, the first” (Exo_23:19; Lev_23:1; Num_15:18-19, etc.): of תּרמה  teruwmah, “oblation, offering; lifting up; of that which is lifted up or waved as the first sheaf of the harvest,” etc. Exo_25:2-3; Exo_35:5; Num_5:9; Num_18:8, etc. The first-fruits, or the first sheaf of ripe grain was required to be offered to the Lord, and was waved before him by the priest, as expressing the sense of gratitude by the husbandman, and his recognition of the fact that God had a right to all that he had; Lev_23:10-14. The word, therefore, comes to have two:
(1)    That which is “first,” the beginning, or that which has the priority of time; and,
(2)    That which is apart and portion of the whole which is to follow, and which is the earnest or pledge of that; as the “first” sheaf of ripe grain was not only the first in order of time, but was the earnest or pledge of the entire harvest which was soon to succeed.
In allusion to this, Paul uses the word here. It was not merely or mainly that Christ was the first in order of time that rose from the dead, for Lazarus and the widow’s son had been raised before him; but it was that he was chief in regard to the dignity, value, and importance of his rising; he was connected with all that should rise, as the first sheaf of the harvest was with the crop; he was a “part” of the mighty harvest of the resurrection, and his rising was a “portion” of that great rising, as the sheaf was a portion of the harvest itself; and he was so connected with them all, and their rising so depended on his, that his resurrection was a demonstration that they would rise. It may also be implied here, as Grotius and Schoettgen have remarked, that he is the first of those who were raised so as not to die again; and that, therefore, those raised by Elisha and by the Saviour himself do not come into the account. They all died again; but the Saviour will not die, nor will those whom he will raise up in the resurrection die any more. He is, therefore, the first of those that thus rise, and a portion of that great host which shall be raised to die no more. May there not be another idea? The first sheaf of the harvest was consecrated to God, and then all the harvest was regarded as consecrated to him. May it not be implied that, by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, all those of whom he speaks are regarded as sacred to God, and as consecrated and accepted by the resurrection and acceptance of him who was the first-fruits?
Of them that slept – Of the pious dead; see the note on 1Co_15:6.

Same Rejection As Today; Day647; Day10,593

And when they came to the place which is called The Skull [Latin: Calvary; Hebrew: Golgotha], there they crucified Him, and [along with] the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. Luke 23:33

Same rejection as today
Imagine yourself in the crowd during the crucifixion, will you shout crucify? Will you shout “free Jesus” instead of the criminals beside Him?  During His 3 years of ministry, people saw many miracles and all the wonderful and great lessons He taught. He laid out the foundation of the Christian faith with powerful demonstration of healing miracles.  The blind man see, the lame walk, the brokenhearted healed. 

Fast forward today, if Jesus is hanging at the cross, what will you shout?  Will you weep or will you mock Him?  The answer to that question can easily be answered by just looking around.  Try to confess that you believe in Jesus anywhere and you can tell right away the rejection that people imposes on you.  There is no miracle to show to the people.  There is no healing of the sick, there is no lepers being healed.  In the present day, if you looked at the percentage of people rejecting Him, it is incredible.  You don’t even need to look outside.  Look in your own family, how many shares the same faith as you do?

Our mission as a believer is to make sure that the message goes out to the world.  We don’t have to do anything special, we just have to live a good Christian life. Follow the principles in the Bible and not just read it.   Be real in our faith and show to our families that the faith that we have is REAL.  Maybe one day, we can prevent others from executing the same rejection that happened at the Cross.

Day10,593
My father departed in the summer of 1983 at the age of 55, 29 years ago today.  It was a sad day in my life.  I just turned 16 and just finished high school.  I would like to remember him today.  One thing I learned from that incident was –“ to do the best you can to someone you dearly love”.  It does not have to be elaborate – it just need to be real. 

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0830, Study Luke 23:33 [read more]

Barnes on Mat 27:35 –
And they crucified him – To “crucify” means to put to death on a cross. The “cross” has been described at Mat_27:32. The usual manner of the crucifixion was as follows: After the criminal had carried the cross, attended with every possible gibe and insult, to the place of execution, a hole was dug in the earth to receive the foot of it. The cross was laid on the ground; the person condemned to suffer was stripped and was extended on it, and the soldiers fastened the hands and feet either by nails or thongs. After they had driven the nails deeply in the wood, they elevated the cross with the agonizing sufferer on it, and, in order to fix it more firmly in the earth, they let it fall violently into the hole which they had dug to receive it. This sudden fall gave to the person that was nailed to it a violent and convulsive shock, and greatly increased his sufferings. The crucified person was then suffered to hang, commonly, until pain, exhaustion, thirst, and hunger ended his life. Sometimes the sufferings continued for days; and when friendly death terminated the life, the body was often suffered to remain – a loathsome object, putrefying in the sun or devoured by birds.
This punishment was deemed the most disgraceful and ignominious that was practiced among the Romans. It was the way in which slaves, robbers, and the most notorious and abandoned wretches were commonly put to death. It was this, among other things, that exposed those who preached the gospel to so much shame and contempt among the Greeks and Romans. They despised everything that was connected with the death of one who had been put to death as a slave and an outlaw.
Since it was the most ignominious punishment known, so it was the most painful. The following circumstances made it a death of special pain:
1. The position of the arms and the body was unnatural, the arms being extended back and almost immovable. The least motion gave violent pain in the hands and feet, and in the back, which was lacerated with stripes.
2. The nails, being driven through the parts of the hands and feet which abound with “nerves,” created the most exquisite anguish.
3. The exposure of so many wounds to the air brought on a violent inflammation, which greatly increased the poignancy of the suffering.
4. The free circulation of the blood was prevented. More blood was carried out in the arteries than could be returned by the veins. The consequence was, that there was a great increase of blood in the veins of the head, producing an intense pressure and violent pain. The same was true of other parts of the body. This intense pressure in the blood-vessels was the source of inexpressible misery.
5. The pain gradually increased. There was no relaxation and no rest. There was no prospect but death. The sufferer was commonly able to endure it until the third, and sometimes even to the seventh day. The intense sufferings of the Saviour, however, were sooner terminated. This was caused, perhaps, in some measure, by his previous fatigue and exhaustion, but still more by the intense sufferings of his soul in bearing our griefs and carrying our sorrows in making an atonement for the sins of the world.
And parted his garments – It was customary to crucify a person naked. The clothes of the sufferer belonged to those who were executioners. John says (Joh_19:23) that they divided his garments into four parts, to each soldier a part, but for his coat they cast lots. See the notes at the place. When Matthew says, therefore, that they parted his garments, casting lots, it is to be understood that they “divided” one part of them, and for the other part of them they cast lots.
That it might be fulfilled … – The words here quoted are found in Psa_22:18. The whole psalm is usually referred to Christ, and is a most striking description of his sufferings and death.

Why Faith? Day646; Easter on the Hill

The next day John saw Jesus coming to him and said, Look! There is the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world! [Exod. 12:3; Isa. 53:7.] John 1:29

Easter on the Hill 20120408, Celebration Church, Georgetown, Texas.

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John 1:29 –
The next day – The day after the Jews made inquiry whether he was the Christ.
Behold the Lamb of God – A “lamb,” among the Jews, was killed and eaten at the Passover to commemorate their deliverance from Egypt, Exo_12:3-11. A lamb was offered in the tabernacle, and afterward in the temple, every morning and evening, as a part of the daily worship, Exo_29:38-39. The Messiah was predicted as a lamb led to the slaughter, to show his patience in his sufferings, and readiness to die for man, Isa_53:7. A lamb, among the Jews, was also an emblem of patience, meekness, gentleness. On “all” these accounts, rather than on any one of them alone, Jesus was called “the Lamb.” He was innocent 1Pe_2:23-25; he was a sacrifice for sin the substance represented by the daily offering of the lamb, and slain at the usual time of the evening sacrifice Luk_23:44-46; and he was what was represented by the Passover, turning away the anger of God, and saving sinners by his blood from vengeance and eternal death, 1Co_5:7.
Of God – Appointed by God, approved by God, and most dear to him; the sacrifice which he chose, and which he approves to save people from death.
Which taketh away – This denotes his “bearing” the sins of the world, or the sufferings which made an atonement for sin. Compare Isa_53:4; 1Jo_3:5; 1Pe_2:24. He takes away sin by “bearing” in his own body the sufferings which God appointed to show his sense of the evil of sin, thus magnifying the law, and rendering it consistent for him to pardon. See the notes at Rom_3:24-25.
Of the world – Of all mankind, Jew and Gentile. His work was not to be confined to the Jew, but was also to benefit the Gentile; it was not confined to any one part of the world, but was designed to open the way of pardon to all men. He was the propitiation for the sins of the whole world, 1Jo_2:2. See the notes at 2Co_5:15.

Not Here; Day645

He is not here, but has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still in Galilee. Luke 24:6

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Barnes on Mat 28:1 –
In the end of the sabbath – The word “end” here means the same as “after” the Sabbath – that is, after the Sabbath was fully completed or finished, and may be expressed in this manner: “In the night following the Sabbath, for the Sabbath closed at sunset, as it began to dawn,” etc.
As it began to dawn toward the first day of the week – The word “dawn” is not of necessity in the original. The word there properly means as the first day “approached,” or drew on, without specifying the precise time. Mark says Mar_16:1-2 that it was after “the sabbath was past, and very early in the morning, at the rising of the sun” – that is, not that the sun “was risen,” but that it was about to rise, or at the early break of day. Luke says Luk_24:1 that it was “very early in the morning;” in the Greek text, “deep twilight,” or when there was scarcely any light. John Joh_20:1 says it was “very early, while it was yet dark” – that is, it was not yet full daylight, or the sun had not yet risen. The time when they came, therefore, was at the break of day, when the sun was about to rise, but while it was yet so dark as to render objects obscure, or not distinctly visible.
The first day of the week – The day which is observed by Christians as the Sabbath. The Jews observed the seventh day of the week, or our Saturday. During that day our Saviour was in the grave. As he rose on the morning of the first day, that day has always been observed in commemoration of so glorious an event.
Came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary – From Mary Magdalene Christ had cast out seven devils. Grateful for his great mercy, she was one of his firmest and most faithful followers, and was first at the sepulchre, and was first permitted to see her risen Lord. The “other Mary” was not the mother of Jesus, but the mother of James and Joses (Mark). Mark says that “Salome” attended them. Salome was the wife of Zebedee, and the mother of James and John. From Luke Luk_24:10 it appears that Joanna, wife of Chusa, Herod’s steward (see Luk_8:3), was with them. These four women, Mark says Mar_16:1, having bought sweet spices, came to anoint him. They had prepared a part of them on the evening before the Sabbath, Luk_23:56. They now, according to Mark, completed the preparation and bought more; or the meaning in Mark may be merely that, “having bought” sweet spices, without specifying the time when, they came now to embalm him. John mentions only Mary Magdalene. He does this, probably, because his object was to give a particular account of her interview with the risen Saviour. There is no contradiction among the evangelists; for while one mentions only the names of a part of those who were there, he does not deny that “others” were present also. It is an old maxim, that “he who mentions a few does not deny that there are more.”
To see the sepulchre – To see whether was as it had been left on the evening when he was laid there. To see if the stone was still there, by which they would know that he had not been removed. Mark and Luke say that the design of their coming was to anoint him with the sweet spices which they had prepared. Matthew does not mention that, but he does not “deny” that that was the ultimate design of their coming. It is not improbable that they might have known the manner in which he was buried, with a large quantity of myrrh and aloes; but that was done in haste – it was done by depositing the myrrh and aloes, without mixture or preparation, in the grave-clothes. They came that they might embalm his body more deliberately, or at least that they might “anoint the bandages” and complete the work of embalming.

Know What’s Inside…;Day644

Seek out of the book of the Lord and read: not one of these [details of prophecy] shall fail, none shall want and lack her mate [in fulfillment]. For the mouth [of the Lord] has commanded, and His Spirit has gathered them.  Isaiah 34:16

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Barnes on Isa 34:16 –
Seek ye out – Lock carefully at the prediction, and its fulfillment. This seems to be addressed to the inhabitants of that land, or to any who might doubt, or be disposed to examine. They were invited to compare the prediction with the fulfillment, and see how literally all would be fulfilled – an examination which may be made now, and the prediction will be seen to have been accomplished with most surprising particularity and accuracy.
The book of the Lord – The book of Yahweh, which he has caused to be written, referring, perhaps, especially to what Isaiah has here recorded; including also what had been uttered by the other prophets in regard to Edom. The main reference is, however, doubtless, to what Isaiah has written; and the invitation is to compare his predictions with the certain and remarkable evidence of the fulfillment. ‘The prophet evidently contemplated the insertion of his prophecy among the sacred books of the Jews, from which those that followed him might judge of the correctness of the prophecy’ (Noyes). That a collection of the various prophetic books was made, constituting one book or volume, and regarded as the work of inspiration, is well known, and is referred to during the captivity in Babylon by Daniel Isa_9:2. The direction to search that book accords with the command of the Saviour Joh_5:39, and the direction of Nicodemus Joh_7:32, to search the Scriptures.
No one of these shall fail – Not one of these predictions, or these things which have been spoken.
None shall want her mate – That is, none of the things which I have spoken shall want a fulfillment as its companion. The language is here evidently taken from the pairing of animals, and denotes that all that is spoken shall be entirely fulfilled. Some have understood tilts as referring to the wild animals of which he had spoken, and as meaning that in desolate Idumea they should be appropriately paired, and should breed and increase in abundance. But the more natural interpretation is to refer it to the predictions of the prophet, as meaning that no one thing which he had uttered should want a complete fulfillment.
For my mouth – The word ‘my’ is not in the Hebrew. The Hebrew phrase is הוא כי־פי  kîy-pîy hû’, ‘For the mouth, he hath commanded.’ The word הוא  hû’ stands for “He,” that is, Yahweh, and the phrase means the same as his mouth, that is, the mouth of God. The Septuagint renders it, ‘For the Lord hath commanded them.’ Lowth renders it, ‘For the mouth of Jehovah,’ changing הוא  hû’ into יהוה yehovâh in accordance with five manuscripts and the translation of the Septuagint.
And his spirit – The Spirit of God; that is, Yahweh himself.
Hath gathered them – Will collect, or assemble; that is, the wild beasts spoken of in the previous verses that shall occupy desolate Idumea. It shall be the agency of God that shall bring them up upon the land to occupy it forever.

Death and Then…; Day643

And he said to them, So it is in the Writings that the Christ would undergo death, and come back to life again on the third day,  Luke 24:46

Death and Then…
There can be no resurrection if there is no death.  Christ death was foretold longtime ago but that’s not all, it was also written that after 3 days, he will rise again. The birth of Christ was not the focus of His coming. It was the resurrection after His death as the focal point – the very reason why He choose death over anything else.  The relevance of resurrection lies not during the day He got out from the grave but during the time He gave to His disciples the Holy Spirit.  Without His death and resurrection, the Holy Spirit in us will not be realized. It is the Holy Spirit dwelling in us that made us who we are as a believer in Christ.  Hid death caused us to be alive [spiritually alive while still living here on earth].  It is always the aftermath of death that we start living a full life. A person must reach at the deepest bottom of the complexity and hardship of life before a true life is being revealed.

The process:
1. Death
2. Resurrection
3. Enlightenment
4. Life – a great fulfilling life
5. Eternity

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Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p220

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0530, Study Luke 24:46 [read more]

Barnes on Luk 24:46 –
It behoved – It became; it was proper or necessary that the Messiah should thus suffer. It was predicted of him, and all things have happened as it was foretold.

If Broken Hearted; Day642

Jehovah is near to the broken-hearted; and saves those who are of a contrite spirit. Psalm 34:18

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0530, Study Psalm 34:18 [read more]

Barnes on Psa 34:18 –
The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart – Margin, as in Hebrew: “to the broken of heart.” The phrase, “the Lord is nigh,” means that he is ready to hear and to help. The language is, of course, figurative. As an Omnipresent Being, God is equally near to all persons at all times; but the language is adapted to our conceptions, as we feel that one who is near us can help us, or that one who is distant from us cannot give us aid. Compare the notes at Psa_22:11. The phrase, “them that are of a broken heart,” occurs often in the Bible. It refers to a condition when a burden “seems” to be on the heart, and when the heart “seems” to be crushed by sin or sorrow; and it is designed to describe a consciousness of deep guilt, or the heaviest kind of affliction and trouble. Compare Psa_51:17; Isa_57:15; Isa_61:1; Isa_66:2.
And sayeth such as be of a contrite spirit – Margin, as in Hebrew: “contrite of spirit.” The phrase here means the spirit as “crushed” or “broken down;” that is, as in the other phrase, a spirit that is oppressed by sin or trouble. The world abounds with instances of those who can fully understand this language.

Before Existence; Day641

And He Himself existed before all things, and in Him all things consist (cohere, are held together). [Prov. 8:22-31.]  Col 1:17

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0500, End of Sleep,
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0530, Study Colossians 1:17 [read more]

Barnes on Col 1:17 –
And he is before all things – As he must be, if he created all things. Those who regard this as referring to a moral creation, interpret it as meaning that he has the pre-eminence over all things; not as referring to his pre-existence. But the fair and proper meaning of the word “before” (πρὸ  pro) is, that he was before all things in the order of existence; compare Mat_8:29; Joh_11:55; Joh_13:1; Act_5:36; Act_21:38; 2Co_12:2. It is equivalent to saying that he was eternal – for he that had an existence before any thing was created, must be eternal. Thus, it is equivalent to the phrase, “In the beginning;” Gen_1:1; compare the notes at Joh_1:1.
And by him all things subsist – Or are sustained; see the notes at Heb_1:3. The meaning is, that they are kept in the present state; their existence, order, and arrangement are continued by his power. If unsupported by him, they would fall into disorder, or sink back to nothing. If this be the proper interpretation, then it is the ascription to Christ of infinite power – for nothing less could be sufficient to uphold the universe; and of infinite wisdom – for this is needed to preserve the harmonious action of the suns and systems of which it is composed. None could do this but one who is divine; and hence we see the reason why he is represented as the image of the invisible God. He is the great and glorious and everactive agent by whom the perfections of God are made known.

All Your Mind; Day640

And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment. [Deut. 6:4, 5.] Mark 12:30

All Your Mind
Mind:
1.(in a human or other conscious being) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, judges, etc.: the processes of the human mind.
2.Psychology . the totality of conscious and unconscious mental processes and activities.
3.intellect or understanding, as distinguished from the faculties of feeling and willing; intelligence.
4.a particular instance of the intellect or intelligence, as in a person.
5.a person considered with reference to intellectual power: the greatest minds of the twentieth century.

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Barnes on Mar_12:30
And thou shalt love … – If Yahweh was the “only” God, then they ought not to love any other being supremely – then they might not bow down before any idol. They were required to love God above all other beings or things, and with all the faculties of their minds. See the notes at

Glory in Nothing Else; Day639

But far be it from me to glory [in anything or anyone] except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) through Whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world! Galatians 6:14

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Barnes on Gal 6:14 –
But God forbid – See the note at Rom_3:4. “For me it is not to glory except in the cross of Christ.” The object of Paul here is evidently to place himself in contrast with the judaizing teachers, and to show his determined purpose to glory in nothing else but the cross of Christ. Well they knew that he had as much occasion for glorying in the things pertaining to the flesh, or in the observance of external rites and customs, as any of them. He had been circumcised. He had had all the advantages of accurate training in the knowledge of the Jewish law. He had entered on life with uncommon advantages. He had evinced a zeal that was not surpassed by any of them; and his life, so far as conformity to the religion in which he had been trained was concerned, was blameless; Phi_3:4-8. This must have been to a great extent known to the Galatians; and by placing his own conduct in strong contrast with that of the Judaizing teachers, and showing that he had no ground of confidence in himself, he designed to bring back the minds of the Galatians to simple dependence on the cross.
That I should glory – That I should boast; or that I should rely on any thing else. Others glory in their conformity to the laws of Moses; others in their zeal, or their talents, or their learning, or their orthodoxy; others in their wealth, or their accomplishments; others in their family alliances, and their birth; but the supreme boast and glorying of a Christian is in the cross of Christ.
In the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ – In Jesus the crucified Messiah. It is a subject of rejoicing and glorying that we have such a Saviour. The world looked upon him with contempt; and the cross was a stumbling-block to the Jew, and folly to the Greek. Notes, 1Co_1:23. But to the Christian, that cross is the subject of glorying. It is so because:
(1)    Of the love of him who suffered there;
(2)    Of the purity and holiness of his character, for the innocent died there for the guilty;
(3)    Of the honor there put on the Law of God by his dying to maintain it unsullied;
(4)    Of the reconciliation there made for sin, accomplishing what could be done by no other oblation, and by no power of man;
(5)    Of the pardon there procured for the guilty;
(6)    Of the fact that through it we become dead to the world, and are made alive to God;
(7)    Of the support and consolation which goes from that cross to sustain us in trial; and,
(8)    Of the fact that it procured for us admission into heaven, a title to the world of glory. All is glory around the cross.
It was a glorious Saviour who died; it was glorious love that led him to die; it was a glorious object to redeem a world; and is is unspeakable glory to which he will raise lost and ruined sinners by his death. O who would not glory in such a Saviour! Compared with this, what trifles are all the objects in which people usually boast! And what a lesson is here furnished to the true Christian! Let us not boast of our wealth. It will soon leave us, or we shall be taken from it, and it can aid us little in the great matters that are before us. It will not ward off disease; it will not enable us to bear pain; it will not smooth the couch of death; it will not save the soul. Let us not glory in our strength, for it will soon fail; in our beauty, for we shall soon be undistinguished in the corruptions of the tomb; in our accomplishments, for they will not save us; in our learning, for it is not that by which we can be brought to heaven. But let us glory that we have for a Saviour the eternal Son of God – that glorious Being who was adored by the inhabitants of heaven; who made the worlds; who is pure, and lovely, and most holy; and who has undertaken our cause and died to save us. I desire no higher honor than to be saved by the Son of God. It is the exaltation of my nature, and shows me more than anything else its true dignity, that one so great and glorious sought my redemption. That cannot be an object of temporary value which he sought by coming from heaven, and if there is any object of real magnitude in this world, it is the soul which the eternal Son of God died to redeem.
By whom the world is crucified unto me … – See the notes at Gal_2:20.

Because if…; Day638

Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

Because if…
When I am in the middle of a chaotic situation helping others dealing with their personal problems, I wish I can tell them a direct answer to their problems-‘”acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe that God raised Him from the dead”.  That’s it.  Just a very simple and quick solution.  Don’t ask why but that is the solution to your problems.  Until the time you do that, your issues in life will never go away. I don’t have the time to spend hours inspiring you on how to live a quite and a peaceful life nor the logistics to counsel you every time you have issues in life, but remember this verse when you can’t find me for answers. Start a “change of heart” and the rest will follow.  The salvation mentioned above pertains not just what takes part in heaven after our death but pertains also to the moment you start your confession – that salvation becomes part of you.

Quadrant I-Urgent and Important
Rest
Perfmon
Alarm Summary and Progress
Config Backup
SmartDefrag Documentation +RACB
Meg Bleed Guide
Library Category Cleanup
Complete Sequence Guide +post to Sharepoint Library
Inventory Sequence-All systems
Cleanup Sequence Folder-All systems
Update NST Database with current activities

Reading List
Sharepoint 2010 Search Pro, p210

24Hour Report
0500, End of Sleep,
0510, Coffee
0530, Study Romans 10:9 [read more]

Barnes on Rom 10:9 –
That if thou shalt confess – The word here rendered “confess” ὁμολογέω  homologeō is often rendered “profess”; Mat_7:23, “Then will I profess to them, I never knew you;” Tit_1:16; Tit_3:14; Rom_1:22; 1Ti_2:10; 1Ti_6:12-13, 1Ti_6:21; Heb_3:1, etc. It properly means to “speak what agrees with something which others speak or maintain.” Thus, confession or profession expresses our “agreement or concord with what God holds to be true, and what he declares to be true.” It denotes a public declaration or assent to that, here expressed by the words “with thy mouth.” A profession of religion then denotes a public declaration of our agreement with what God has declared, and extends to all his declarations about our lost estate, our sin, and need of a Saviour; to his doctrines about his own nature, holiness, and law; about the Saviour and the Holy Spirit; about the necessity of a change of heart and holiness of life; and about the grave and the judgment; about heaven and hell. As the doctrine respecting a Redeemer is the main and leading doctrine, it is put here by way of eminence, as in fact involving all others; and publicly to express our assent to this, is to declare our agreement with God on all kindred truths.
With thy mouth – To profess a thing with the mouth is to speak of it; to declare it; to do it openly and publicly.
The Lord Jesus – Shalt openly acknowledge attachment to Jesus Christ. The meaning of it may be expressed by regarding the phrase “the Lord” as the predicate; or the thing to be confessed is, that he is Lord; compare Act_2:36; Phi_2:11, “And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.” Here it means to acknowledge him as Lord, that is, as having a right to rule over the soul.
Shalt believe in thy heart – Shalt sincerely and truly believe this, so that the external profession shall correspond with the real, internal feelings. Where this is not the case, it would be hypocrisy; where this is the case, there would be the highest sincerity, and this religion requires.
That God hath raised him – This fact, or article of Christian belief, is mentioned here because of its great importance, and its bearing on the Christian system. If this be true, then all is true. Then it is true that he came forth from God; that he died for sin; and that God approved and accepted his work. Then it is true that he ascended to heaven, and is exalted to dominion over the universe, and that he will return to judge the quick and the dead. For all this was professed and taught; and all this was regarded as depending on the truth of his having been raised from the dead; see Phi_2:8-11; Eph_1:21; Act_2:24, Act_2:32-33; Act_17:31; 2Co_4:14; 1Co_15:13-20. To profess this doctrine was, therefore, virtually to profess all the truths of the Christian religion. No man could believe this who did not also believe all the truths dependent on it. Hence, the apostles regarded this doctrine as so important, and made it so prominent in their preaching. See the note at Act_1:3.
Thou shalt be saved – From sin and hell. This is the doctrine of the gospel throughout; and all this shows that salvation by the gospel was easy.