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Gary Patton

Why You Can't Afford to Live Without Integrity | Keep Pressin' Ahead - 0 views

livingontheedge.org/blog

bible scripture colossians authenticity integrity

shared by Gary Patton on 25 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • The “peace” described in this passage refers to the Spirit of God confirming that everything is OK.
  • Why You Can’t Afford to Live Without Integrity
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Jan 12
       
      This article address the issue of 'integrity' from a Christian perspective. gfp (2012-01-25)
  • Everyone – both believers and non-believers – wants to see positive change in their life.
  • ...7 more annotations...
  • So why is it that genuine and lasting change so rarely occurs?
  • Here’s why.
  • Authentic living means that our words and our actions tell the same story on a consistent basis.
  • Being a person of integrity begins with getting real … with ourselves and with God. Having a sober self-assessment is essential to being honest with others.
  • God put you here for a purpose,
  • Remember, having integrity doesn’t mean being perfect, but it does means being real.
  • live authentically
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Jan 12
       
      There is only one way that a Jesus Follower can live authentically. That is by living our lives as the "dead wo(men) walking" that the Scripture says we are ...allowing Jesus to live his life out through us, moment to moment (http://diigo.com/0mr15).
  • Gary Patton on 25 Jan 12
     
    This article address the above question from a Christian perspective.
Gary Patton

Jesus Promises to Live His Ongoing Life Out Through the Lives Of His Followers - Bible ... - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture scripture interpretation john Holy Spirit God's promises

shared by Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Do you not believe that (C)I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? (D)The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. 11 Believe Me that (E)I am in the Father and the Father is in Me;
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12
       
      Jusus blows His first Disciples minds by telling them CLEARLY that He is God!
  • he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and (G)greater works than these he will do; because (H)I go to the Father.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12
       
      Jesus shares an seemingly impossible truth with His first disciples and through them with us, that all His Followers will do "greater things" than He Himself had done. In the following verses here, He explais how that mystery will occur through the power of His name and the truth that He will live forever in them and us! Hallelujah!
  • so that (J)the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask Me anything (K)in My name, I will do it.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12
       
      It's all about God in us ...NOT about us or what we seem to be doing!
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • I will ask the Father, and He will give you another [a](M)Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 that is (N)the Spirit of truth, (O)whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12
       
      Here it is! The promise that Holy Spirit will continue to live in each person, Jew and Gentile (non-Jew), who belives in Jesus and a mysterious but simple truth ...when we believe Jesus Followers are a "new creation" as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:17 at http://diigo.com/0jis0 ...not a made-over one.
  • After a little while (R)the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; (S)because I live, you will live also. 20 (T)In that day you will know that (U)I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12
       
      In case Jesus' first Disciples, and we, Hislater ones, missed it, Jesus confirms a second time that He will live in His Followers and live His life out through us in the power of Holy Spirit. He does so as the ONE Who does the "greater things" ...NOT us! Again, Yeshua (Jesus) also says clearly that He IS God, incarnate for them in the moment, and, while returning to His Father, continuing present on earth as He had been in Holy Spirit since the beginning of time. In these verses is a clear statement of what Jesus Followers and religious Christians call the Trinity" ...One God existing simultaneously everywhere in three unique personalities. Jesus Followers "know Him", in intimate, personal relationship. Religious Christians only "know about Him".
  • John 14:8-21
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12
       
      In John 14:12, in context, Yeshua (Jesus) explained to His first Disciples, and through them to us, how after His resurrection they and we would do "greater things". Then, in verses 16-21 He explains to them the mystery of how this will happen. gfp (2012-02-08)
  • Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12
     
    In John 14:12, in context, Jesus explained to his first Disciples, and through them to us, how after His resurrection they and we would do "greater things". In verses 16-21 He explains to them the mystery of how this will happen. gfp (2012-02-08)
Gary Patton

"How to Live A Life Lived & Finished Well" - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture scripture interpretation timothy lifestyle

shared by Gary Patton on 27 Dec 12 - No Cached
  • 1 Timothy 6:11-13
  • Gary Patton on 27 Dec 12
     
    "A Life Lived Well" 1 Timothy 6:11-13 clarifies how Jesus would have His Followers lead a life of passion and perseverance as they fulfill the destiny he prepared for them before the beginning of time as outlined at ? by letting our Lord live His life out through us as it says at
Gary Patton

The Great Commission is For ALL Believers - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

matthew jesus Great Commission scripture gospel evangelism

shared by Gary Patton on 11 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • Matthew 28:18-20
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 04 Aug 12
       
      Christian: Jesus' (Yeshua's) Great Commission contains a confusing translation. Matthew 28:18-20 is what many Christians call Jesus' "Great Commission". It is the last command your Saviour and Lord left with you if you are His. The Great Commission is NOT a command to convert others NOR for professionals only. It simply says that Jesus Followers must share Jesus' love in their own way as they are led by Holy Spirit to let Him do the R-E-A-L work (Relational-Engaging-Authentic-Loving & Life-giving) ...as Jesus lives His life out through His Followers. You'll discover that the poor translation, as others would call it is explained in my Note on Verse 19. It has led many into believing something that Jesus (Yeshua) NEVER said. This mistranslation, I believe, has negativity impacted the sharing of His love with Jesus Followers' neighbours.
  • All authority has been given to Me
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 04 Aug 12
       
      Jesus is the ONLY One who builds His Kingdom here on earth as He says here. A Jesus Follower does NOT convert ...anyone. Jesus, in the person of Holy Spirit living in you, will draw to Himself those He brings across your path that He wants to save as He makes clear in John 15: 5 at http://diigo.com/0jv2h . And if what you are doing seems like hard work, stop, because you're probably doing something wrong, e.g., not prayed for the person by name sufficiently, invested quality time in the person, nor built enough trust ...or you have the wrong heart about sharing Jesus.
  • make disciples
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 04 Aug 12
       
      Jesus Followers are not to convert others! We are to let Jesus do it by living His life out through us as we invest time in others and share His love with them. A Jesus Follower's real role is to be "a discipler"! A discipler acts like a farmer. S(he) simply plants, waters, weeds and, then, collects the harvest given to them by Holy Spirit. But instead of sticking your crop in a barn or building, a holding tank most Christians call "the church" and turning them over to paid professionals, Jesus says clearly that you are to help your disciple grow. You are to be a support to Holy Spirit Who is "the Sanctifier" of every disciple that He allows you to protect and assist until they reasonably mature and "grow out" into the world. Plus, you are commanded to do so until you have assisted your disciple to be ready to reproduce him/herself by "mirroring" Jesus to another and reproducing themselves by letting Jesus live is life out through them ...as you modeled for them and taught them to do. This simple process God designed as His "Plan 'A'" to be a constantly repeating one that each Jesus Follower performs as s(he0 is going along where God has planted them at that time ...until Jesus returns or takes them home. It's called "spiritual multiplication". And Jesus has NO "Plan B'"! And yes, with prayerful practise, you can work with more than one Disciple at a time.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • o therefore
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 04 Aug 12
       
      While the common, traditional translation of the King James Version (KJV) of the Christian Bible, plus many more modern translations uses the word, there is NO action verb "go" in verse 19 in the original Greek. The NASB alternate translation at (a) below is a better and more accurate rendering of the Greek. But, it still can be misunderstood to mean "Go over there" somewhere. For even better and more accurate clarity, I prefer: "As you are going along, make disciples ..." This rendering is best because it makes clearest that the Great Commission is the calling and commanded mandate of every person who has Holy Spirit living in them ...NOT just paid, professional preachers, pastors and evangelists... as too many Christians believe. For further documentation of the impact of the poor translation, here is what another Greek expert says: * "The sole imperative and central activity in the Great Commission as recorded in Matthew 28 is to " Make Disciples." "Go," could be translated " going" or "as you go," but takes any imperatival force it may have from the main verb. * "Baptizing" and "teaching" are also participles-not "decisions" or "converts" or "believers" or "acceptors," but "disciples." It goes without saying that the decision-making, conversion, belief, and acceptance are all involved, but the objective of the Great Commission is that we Make Disciples (followers, adherents, learners, and students) of the Lord Jesus. * Hesselgrave, David J., "Scripture and strategy: The Use of the Bible in Postmodern Church and Mission", Pages 106-07 John A. Finton makes a powerful case in his article at http://diigo.com/0qqdf for a poor translation in Matthew 28:19. Because of my evangelism experience, I believe this inappropriate translation has incorrectly preconditioned many English-speaking members of the Body of Christ since at least the publishing of the KJV.
  • Gary Patton on 11 Jan 12
     
    Matthew 28:18-20 is what many Christians call Jesus' "Great Commission". It's the last command your Saviour and Lord left with you if you are His. The Great Commission is NOT a command to convert others NOR for professionals only. It says just share Jesus' love in your own way as led and let Holy Spirit do the R-E-A-L work (Relational-Engaging-Authentic-Loving & Life-giving) ...as Jesus lives His life out through you. gfp (2011-09-18)
Gary Patton

The Fruit of the Spirit - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

galatians Jesus Following Fruit scripture Holy Spirit

shared by Gary Patton on 17 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • If we live by the Spirit, let us also [d]walk (O)by the Spirit.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Jan 12
       
      The Apostle Paul says in this verse that Jesus Followers must "walk in the Spirit". It is a repetition of the command that he makes in Galatians 5:16 when Paul tells us to "live by the Spirit". Both are really the same command that Jesus Himself makes in John 15:5 at http://diigo.com/0jvfh where He tells us to "abide" in Him. Jesus Followers are "Dead Wo(men) Walking" in the power of Holy Spirit while Jesus lives His life in His way and timing out through us in whom He lives permananetly by His Holy Spirit as clarifies in Galatians 2:20 at http://diigo.com/0jggi .
  • the fruit of the Spirit
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 17 Jan 12
       
      The Fruit of the Spirit is a package we receive when we are born-again as "New Creations" in Jesus because Jesus is them all living His life our through us.
  • Galatians 5:19-25
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 17 Jan 12
       
      This New American Standard Bible passage describes the character change that is who everyone in Christ already is when they "walk in the spirit". This is because Jesus lives in us by His Holy Spirit and we are dead to sin because of his paying the full penalty for our sin nature and sins on His cross.
  • ...1 more annotation...
  • love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, (J)self-control;
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 30 Mar 12
       
      Here are the opposites of these: hatred, gloom, agitation, impatience, unkindness, evil, unfaithfulness, harshness, and unrestraint. This is the fruit of the fallen world. The above are fruit too ...the Fruit of the Flesh.
  • Gary Patton on 17 Jan 12
     
    Galatians 5:19-25 NASB
Gary Patton

Was Jesus' Last Supper a Seder? - Biblical Archaeology Review - 0 views

www.bib-arch.org/...jesus-last-supper.asp

bible scripture interpretation Jesus judiasm christianity archaeology history

shared by Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12 - No Cached
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Why would two people, Matthew and Luke, who were the more consistent eye witnesses to the accounts that they report copy Mark? It makes no sense. Mark was a boy while Jesus walked Israel and did not travel about with Him. Mark also was not an original Disciple of Jesus and reported on most the events in his Gospel based on second hand information from the Disciples who did travel with jesus, one can assume. I feel the whole Mathew and Luke copied Mark plus Mark is based on some lost document called "Q" theory of many scholars is rooted in a desire by many to deny or ignore God's supernatural involvement in the documentation of His Son's incarnation and ignores the fact that Matthew and John were eye witnesses to all of what they wrote about. They had no need to copy but had their own perspective on what they heard and saw as do modern witnesses. Likewise, modern research indicates that the reports of most eye witnesses are highly unreliable. If God was not involved, one would have to question the accounts. If that one is not a Jesus Follower and without faith in the supernatural inerancy of the Biblical accounts of both the Old and New Covenants, that's another matter entirely.
  • Thus, in fact we don’t really have three independent sources here at all. What we have, rather, is one testimony (probably Mark), which was then copied twice (by Matthew and Luke).
  • Was Jesus’ Last Supper a Seder?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      This April 2012 article in BAR analyzes the similarities between the Jewish Seder and what Christians call Jesus' "Last Supper" and the timing of the event based on archaeological evidence. gfp (2012-04-07)
  • ...25 more annotations...
  • the Gospels—with their hatred of the Jewish authorities
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      I wonder why the author construes an historical report of what the writer considered 'truth' and 'facts' as 'hatred'. The history of Christianity may be replete with antisemitism, especially some of the protestant Reformers of the Catholic Church, like Luther particulalrly. However, I feel the charge of hatred in the Gospel accounts of the Jewish involvement in the death of Jesus is an unfair one. The Roman authorities were jst as responsible for the crucifixion of Yeshua/Jesus. In fact the Bible seems to make clear that the sin nature and sins of every person who has ever or ever will live is the real reason for Jesus' death. We are ALL responsible ...not just the Jewish and Roman authorities!
  • John’s timing of events supports the Christian claim that Jesus himself was a sacrifice and that his death heralds a new redemption, just as the Passover offering recalls an old one. Even so, John’s claim that Jesus was killed just before Passover began is more plausible than the synoptics’ claim that Jesus was killed on Passover.
  • the Last Supper could not in fact have been a Passover Seder.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Christian historical tradition labels "The Last Supper" a Seder ... not Jesus. He is recorded to have simply called it the "last time He would eat this bread and drink this wine until ...". It was "the time for passover". That Jesus duplicated many Seder rituals seems to be clear from the Gospel accounts ...even if the timing was off. What's the big deal? The REALLY important thing about the Easter events is that Jesus died for humankind's sin nature and sins. Plus, the other big historical event is His resurrection from the grave as proof that God accepted Jesus' sacrifice on behalf of "all who will believe" in Him and what He did for us!
  • That Christians celebrated the Eucharist on a daily or weekly basis (see Acts 2:46–47) underscores the fact that it was not viewed exclusively in a Passover context (otherwise, it would have been performed, like the Passover meal, on an annual basis).
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Jesus called us to "do this", i.e., celebrate His sacrifice by eating together as a community of Believers in and Followers of Him. He did not call us to celebrate Passover an eternal commandment for Jews only. Jesus claimed that he had come to fulfill "all the [requirements of the] law and the prophets"!
  • Moreover, while the narrative in the synoptics situates the Last Supper during Passover, the fact remains that the only foods we are told the disciples ate are bread and wine—the basic elements of any formal Jewish meal.
  • “Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body.’ And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant’” (Matthew 26:26–28=Mark 14:22; see also Luke 22:19–20). Is this not a striking parallel to the ways in which Jews celebrating the Seder interpret, for example, the bitter herbs eaten with the Passover sacrifice as representing the bitter life the Israelites experienced as slaves in Egypt?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      I'd suggest it is more a replacement of, as I note above, rather than a parallel with a Seder!
  • For many Jews (especially non-Orthodox Jews), the process of development continues, and many modern editions of the Haggadah contain contemporary readings of one sort or another. Even many traditional Jews have, for instance, adapted the Haggadah so that mention can be made of the Holocaust.8
  • Almost everyone doing serious work on the early history of Passover traditions, including Joseph Tabory, Israel Yuval, Lawrence Hoffman, and the father-son team of Shmuel and Ze’ev Safrai, has rejected Finkelstein’s claims for the great antiquity of the bulk of the Passover Haggadah.
  • It’s not that rabbinic literature cannot be trusted to tell us about history in the first century of the Common Era. It’s that rabbinic literature—in the case of the Seder—does not even claim to be telling us how the Seder was performed before the destruction of the Temple.b
  • the Holy One, blessed be He
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Here may lie the roots of the similar Muslim practise regarding their reverance, not for God's holy name(s) but, for their human prophet Mohammud. Many Muslims are taught to rever their prophet at a level that approaches worship. The Judeo-Christian Bible reserves worship ONLY for Almighty God ...not the demonically inspired construct called Allah and certainly not a murderous Arab warrior from the 7th Century.
  • King of Kings, the Holy One Blessed be He
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      As I wonder in the e-Sticky Note immediately above, here may lie the root of the similar Muslim practise regarding their reverance, not for God's holy name(s) but, for their human prophet Mohammud. Many Muslims are taught to rever their prophet at a level that approaches worship. The Judeo-Christian Bible reserves worship ONLY for Almighty God ...not the demonically inspired construct called Allah and certainly not a murderous Arab warrior from the 7th Century.
  • Might not Jesus be presenting a competing interpretation of these symbols? Possibly. But it really depends on when this Rabban Gamaliel lived. If he lived later than Jesus, then it would make no sense to view Jesus’ words as based on Rabban Gamaliel’s.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Most Jesus Followers would work from the premise that Yeshua's/Jesus' words during his last Supper on earth, 'till His return at the end of times, were inspired by God's Holy Spirit ...like all His other recorded comments in the Scriptures.
  • Virtually all scholars working today believe that the Haggadah tradition attributing the words quoted above to Gamaliel refers to the grandson, Rabban Gamaliel the Younger, who lived long after Jesus had died.14 One piece of evidence for this appears in the text quoted above, in which Rabban Gamaliel is said to have spoken of the time “when the Temple was still standing”—as if that time had already passed.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Like many scholars, including some Christian ones, statements like this one are often rooted in a disbelief of the supernatural plus a denial of the possibility that God gave Gamaliel, the Grandfather, a prophetic "word of knowledge"! Prophesy can place the words in the elder Gamaliel's mouth who did live at the time of Jesus who also prophesied the soon-coming (about 40 years later) destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem.
  • And presumably they would have engaged in conversation pertinent to the occasion. But we cannot know for sure.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      A Jesus Follower can know that s(he) knows by faith in the accuracy of our Scriptures. The Scriptures make clear, not 'presumably', that Jesus discussed His replacement of an Old Covenant commandment with a New Covenant. he explains clearly a NEW symbolism for the bread and wine as remembrances and tokens of His sacrificed body and blood on behalf of all who would believe ...NOT the Jews deliverance from Egypt but... all humankind's route to deliverance from the penalty of our sin nature and sins (Romans 3:23 & 6:23) through Him!
  • Having determined that the Last Supper was not a Seder and that it probably did not take place on Passover, I must try to account for why the synoptic Gospels portray the Last Supper as a Passover meal.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      The Last Supper being a Seder meal on the Day of Passover is NOT the key issue for a Jesus Follower as I mentioned in my e-Sticky Note above. The key on the cotrary is Who Jesus was as the God-man and what he was about to do for us on His cross on cavalry.
  • Another motive relates to a rather practical question: Within a few years after Jesus’ death, Christian communities (which at first consisted primarily of Jews) began to ask when, how and even whether they should celebrate or commemorate the Jewish Passover
  • The Quartodeciman custom of celebrating Easter beginning on the evening following the 14th day apparently began relatively early in Christian history and persisted at least into the fifth century C.E.
  • Early on, a number of Christians—Quartodecimans and others—felt that the appropriate way to mark the Jewish Passover was not with celebration, but with fasting.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Interestingly, no where, that I can find in the Old or New Covenants, does God command or even suggest that His people should fast. I have not extensively researched the issue but, I suspect I'll discover that, this propably is a Jewish ritual that was carried on by early Christians, i.e., another man-made tradition. There is the reference in Matthew 6:16-18 where Jesus says: "When you fast ...." This is NOT a command but simply, in context, an observational reference to a practise that was common among religious Jews ...the group to whom Jesus was speaking. I comment further on this issue in e-Sticky Note on the Matthew 6 Scripture at http://diigo.com/0piw0 and in the article on fasting from Christianity today at http://diigo.com/0p9iv .
  • Thus, until Jesus’ kingdom is fulfilled, Christians should not celebrate at all during Passove
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      here again, and depsite what Karl Kuhn says, the issue is not celebrating Passover, but Jesus' command to eat together as a group of his Followers whenever we can and "remember" him.
  • By calling the Last Supper a Passover meal, these Jewish-Christians were trying to limit Christian practice in three ways. Like the Passover sacrifice, the recollection of the Last Supper could only be celebrated in Jerusalem, at Passover time, and by Jews.c
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      This heresy didn't last very long. Some Messianic Jews still today follow Old Covenant feast and other practises that other Christians do not.
  • there are various reasons why the early church would have tried to “Passoverize” the Last Supper tradition.
  • This too is a Passoverization of the Jesus tradition, but it is one that contradicts the identification of the Last Supper with the Seder or Passover meal.
  • Surely the depiction of the Last Supper as a Passover observance could play a part in this larger effort of arguing that Jesus’ death echoes the Exodus from Egypt
  • a widely popular Paschal sermon, which could well be called a “Christian Haggadah,” reflecting at great length on the various connections between the Exodus story and the life of Jesus
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      Typology as some call it i.e., seeing Old Covenant people, practises and places as 'types' or 'shadows' pointing to or representing Jesus is common in some Christian circles and with some teachers.
  • Contrary to popular belief, the Catholic custom of using unleavened wafers in the Mass is medieval in origin. The Orthodox churches preserve the earlier custom of using leavened bread.23 Is it not possible to see the switch from using leavened to unleavened bread as a “Passoverization” of sorts?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 07 Apr 12
       
      And regardless of leavened or unleavened bread or wafers, these kinds of issue are seen by many Jesus Followers as focusing on dead and deadly religious ritual, regalia and rules rather than on relationship, revelation and romance with a living God through Yeshua/Jesus the Messiah/Christ.
Gary Patton

The Sin Nature ...Do Jesus Followers Have One? by Dr. Bill Gillham - 0 views

www.christianforums.com/t22382-3

sin nature Mr. Sin christianity dead religion Gillham scripture interpretation romans galatians

shared by Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • We are known as “humans.” Jesus was a human without a sin nature in that He was never descended from Adam. The Holy Spirit furnished the 23 male chromosomes which united with Mary’s 23 to enable Jesus Christ to leave heaven and take on the form of human male.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
       
      One cou;d argue that this implies that our first parent's sinful, human nature is transmitted ONLY through males. Does mr. Gillam really mean that? gfp
  • It is the sin nature that condemns a man to hell, not his sinful performance.
  • The whole ballgame for all of eternity is spiritual, not physical… the bottom line is spirit!
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
       
      This is why Jesus said we can woship God ONLY in spirit and in truth" (John 4:22-24)!
  • ...44 more annotations...
  • The Bible speaks of only two types of spirit-natures referring to them as “men.” They are the “old man” and the “new man.”
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
       
      Modern Bible translated have changed the literal translation of the King James Version of "man" to "self" and noted the original word in a footnote.
  • the Bible speaks of the old man being able, by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, to be born in a new way in order to change his identity (Jn. 3). Through turning from his self-centered rebellion, submitting himself to Christ’s authority as the God He is, appropriating His provision for getting shed of his dead spirit and beginning all over again with a new, good, alive, godly spirit, man can become something he has never been…alive to God through Christ (Rom.6:13). This new man is now a son of God via faith in Christ (Jn. 1:12).
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
       
      This is why the Bible says only Jesus Followers are "children of God" and not all people. The latter are His "creation". But, non-Followers are not his children until they are put to death, spiritually, with Jesus and, then, resurrected or "re-born", as Jesus told the Pharisee in John 3:3-5, by Holy Spirit. gfp
  • We are cut from the same spirit-genetic cloth as our Lovely Lord Jesus! God reveals no provision in His word for adding His Spirit to a spirit-son of the devil You cannot mix Light with darkness.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
       
      Don't misunderstand what Mr. Gillham is saying in the second sentence here. All human beings are "sons of the Devil" until re-born in and by Jesus (John 8:42-45) as Mr. Gillham shares above in this article. gfp
  • A great problem exists today in that many well-meaning Christians teach that the death of the old man is simply a “positional truth”; it’s the “position in which God sees us.” They speak of it as if it were something we have to “reckon on” (count it as true) to keep it true.
  • we do not have to reckon on it to derive any benefit from it
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 22 Dec 11
       
      This sentence contains a typo that confuses its sence. I believe that Dr. Gillam intended to write: "...we DO have to reckon on it..." because that is what Romans 6:11 says!
  • In God’s ecology, in order for a man to cease to be the son of Satan and become a son of God, the man must first die (spiritually) and then be reborn (spiritually), this time to a NEW FATHER! This is portrayed clearly in Romans 7:1-4.
  • The only kind of sons either God or Satan have are spirit-sons,
  • the flesh (body, brain, memory traces (flesh) in the brain
  • The reason a Christian doesn’t have a sin nature is because he is no longer the spirit-genes of God, his (New) Father! Hallelujah! Shout for joy! Whoooooeeeee!
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 22 Dec 11
       
      This sentence also includes a typo that confuses its sense. I believe it should be read, and Dr. Gillham intended to write: "The reason a Christian doesn't have a sin nature is because he has no longer the spirit-genes of Satan but has those of God, his (New) Father!"
  • you are NOW a holy (Eph. 1:4), righteous (2 Cor. 5:21), saint of God (Rom. 1:7), blameless (Eph. 1:4), with Christ as your very Life (Col. 3:4), a son of God (Jn. 1:12), housed in an earthsuit (2 Cor. 5:1-8), a citizen of heaven (Eph. 2:19), on foreign assignment as an ambassador representing the “Fatherland” (2 Cor. 5:20), a righteous son of the King (2 Cor. 5:21), a spirit-son of the Second Adam (1 Cor. 11:45), spawned from His Spirit gene pool (Rom. 8:9), filled up with Christ Himself (Eph. 3:19), will all your needs (not greeds) supplied (Phil. 4:19), blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven (Eph. 1:3), impervious to the obstacles of this planet (Phil.4:13), taking all things in stride as a part of the Loving Father’s “obstacle course” designed to prepare us for eternal rulership (Rom. 8:28-29)!
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
       
      This is an incredible list of Biblical truths that flow from our being born-again in Messiah!
  • It’s not my old self that I am fighting against inside! It’s the power of sin working on my (new) mind (Rom. 7:23) through the flesh (the old memory traces) that I battle, and we are dead to having to submit, brother! (Rom. 6:11)
  • Accept this by faith as your true identity! Set your mind on it! Dwell on it! Meditate on the truth of it! Then, moment by moment act like it is true!
  • Can a man possibly possess dual spiritual sonship? No?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
       
      This is an incredible freedom-granting truth and a major benefit of being born-again children of God!
  • Stop acting like who you are not! That’s hypocritical! Act like the new man you are by faith! That’s obedience!
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
       
      Our "New Man/Creation" is truly astounding. In life or death situations, human beings can lift cars. Just think for a moment of the limitless capabilities we have as New Creations in Jesus. We are flowing and operating in the power our Inner Warrior when we "abide/rest in" Jesus (John 15:5) and "live His Spirit" (Galatians 5:15).
  • But after the one’s “birth” as the new king, the old king could never again resurrect himself because he had no capability for self-resurrection! The very existence of the one precludes the existence of the other and vice versa!
  • was thoroughly confused
  • he was talking about two different people
  • “The King is Dead! Long Live the King!”
  • The old man has indeed died (Romans 6:6, etc.) and the new man has indeed been generated by the Holy Spirit (Colossians 3:10, etc.). But, unfortunately, the pervasive position taken by most Christian leader is that the old man is till “alive and well’ within the believer…that sinful performance gives daily testimony to this as “fact.”
  • The two can’t coexist any more that the two kings can! It was the death of the old man, which enabled the new man to be born! It is impossible for the new man to exist until the old man has died and the old man cannot resurrect himself. There is but One Life Who has such resurrection power…the Life of Christ!
  • Can you see what a difference this makes in motivating a Christian as opposed to berating him by constantly telling him what a sorry, no-good sinner he is and how he is going to face an angry God some day? Folk, it’s our works which will be judged in the future, not our personhood (2 Cor. 5:10) and God is not mad at the saved. He took our all the anger He had against us on Jesus (Isa. 53). We’ll either be rewarded or we’ll lose what we potentially could have won, but “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ” (Rom. 8:1).
  • Those cannot exist simultaneously.
  • peaks of the POWER OF INDWELLING IN (not the sin nature) working in man to produce undesirable (sinful) behavior. The power of sin simply deceives the Christian by masquerading as the old man, suggesting (deceiving) to the will that a choice be made to perform according to the old self-serving patterns programmed in previously. This is referred to as “walking after the flesh.”
  • masquerade in the thought life of the Christian posing as his unique version of the old man! The naïve Christian will believe he, himself, is generating the unchristian suggestion and thus direct his defensive efforts against the wrong foe…what he perceives to be a darker side of himself! He fires all his bullets at a shadow! This is the explanation for the frustration depicted in Romans 7:15 “…why do I do the very thing I hate? Why can I get no victory?”
  • Though it would appear that the “two-natures” view places the greater responsibility for poor performance squarely on the Christian and that the “one-nature” view is a cop out, the opposite is actually true!
  • So long as one embraces the former he is constantly deceived into believe his failure is just standard Christian experience. As Scofield said (paraphrased), “This is not standard Christian experience, it’s the standard experience of most Christians,” the tragic result of faulty discipling.
  • Once the Christian enters into identification with Christ’s death, resurrection and ascension, claiming he no longer has two natures, but is now “the righteousness of God in Christ” and “holy and blameless in His sight” he is without excuse when he sins, because he knows what it is to possess the Life (“Christ in me”) which overcomes on a moment-by-moment basis.
  • In reality, it is accepted as fact that Christians no longer have a sin nature that places one squarely on the hook and totally responsible to choose, moment-by-moment, against the wooings, deceptions and accusations of indwelling sin working through the flesh. “Always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus (moment-by-moment) in our body.” (2 Cor. 4:10—NAS)
  • Indwelling sin deceives the “two-natures” believer into rationalizing, “I’m just human. I just fail a lot and God understands it’s just my old sin nature that got the better of me.” This is the true cop out position!
  • Awake sleeper! The king is dead! Long live the King!
  • The power of sin is what its name implies, a power to entice you into sin. It dwells in you (Rom.7:21) yet it is not you any more than a gold tooth that dwells in your mouth is you. Sin’s goal is to deceive the saints into living to get their needs (though good and godly) met by sinning rather than by using the Matt. 6:33 method; that is, “seeking Christ first.”
  • The power of sin is not your sin nature. Your sin nature is a synonym for old man or old self. That “old you” was crucified in Christ (Rom. 6:6). Before you were saved, it was as normal for you old nature to rebel against God’s authority as it is for a fish to swim.
  • Yet the power of sin is alive and well in you, saint. It indwells your body (Rom. 7:23). On page 1055 of W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vine states that sin is, “a governing principle or power” that is “personified” in the following passages. He then lists sixteen verses in which this holds true. The term personified means “represented as a person.” The power of sin can represent itself as a personage.
  • Since sin is personified, let’s call it “Mr. Sin” so we won’t confuse it with the verb. Mr. Sin tries to control you, to make you live to satisfy your bodily needs.
  • “For sin shall not be master over you…(Rom. 6:14). Mr. Sin (the personification) cannot master you. Remember how sin is “represented as a person?” It tries to master you through presenting thoughts to your mind by masquerading as the old man who has risen from the tomb. But no one except Jesus can do that, right? That’s not the old man; it’s the power of sin personified.
  • “But, if I am doing the very thing I do not wish, I am no longer the one doing it, but Mr. Sin which indwells me (is somehow doing it)” (Rom. 7:20). This verse can really be a puzzler if you interpret the word “sin” as a verb. But it’s a noun, and Vine says it is personified (represented as a person).
  • Mr. Sin the “personage,” wars, fights and seeks to control your mind. But your mind does not want to be controlled by this power, so it fights back.
  • Galatians 5:17 says that the “flesh lusts against the spirit” and vice versa and there is obviously a war going on inside of every Christian, but it’s not the old man versus the new man doing battle.
  • The Law is the source of Mr. Sin’s strength. To couple law with Mr. Sin is like pouring gas on a fire. This personage called sin needs a law to aid it if it is to optimally control you. It “eats, breathes and sleeps” via the Law.
  • “The Law is not made for a righteous man” (1 Tim. 1:9).
  • Why? Because you, the righteous man (2 Cor. 5:21), don’t need it. The lost man does (in order to show him his condition), but you don’t. You now “have the laws of God written on (your) heart and mind” (Heb. 10:16).
  • In this verse, sin is represented as a personage which can harden you through deception.
  • it was exciting to discover that a man of Vine’s stature as a scholar testifies that the power of sin is often personified in the Word. What liberty there is in knowing that the rebellious, evil, hateful thoughts I experience are being presented to my mind, not generated by it.
  • Is Our Sin Nature dead or NOT?
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Feb 12
       
      In the short articles below, Dr. Gillham demolishes the common teaching, often implies by preachers, that a Jesus Follower can have two natures ... a Satanic, sinful nature plus the righteous nature of God in Christ? This hypothesis" or opinion (http://is.gd/2tUCAb) is taught or implied by many in the church usually as truth. It also is implied by the New International Version (NIV) Bible's translating Biblical 'flesh' as "sin nature" ...wrongly as Dr. Gillham illustrates. Can a wo(man) really possess a dual spiritual sonship? You'll find freeing meditating on the clear Biblical answer presented here because Rev. Gillham says the answer is "NO! We don't have two natures!!" "Stop trying and start trusting God! It's not what you have to do that counts. But what Jesus has already fully done for you and the power He gives you because He lives in you!" ~ gfp '42™ gfp (2011-09)
  • Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
     
    In these 3 short articles, Dr. Gillham addresses teaching that a Jesus Follower can have two natures ... a Satanic, sinful nature plus the righteous nature of God in Christ? This hypothesis" or opinion is taught or implied by many in the church usually as truth. It also is implied by the New International Version (NIV) Bible's translating Biblical "flesh" as "sin nature". But, can a wo(man) really possess a dual spiritual sonship? The clear Biblical answer according to Bill Gillham is "NO!" "Stop trying ...and start trusting God, It's not what you do. But what Jesus has already fully done for you!" ~ gfp '42™ gfp (2011-09)
  • Gary Patton on 01 Dec 11
     
    "Mr. Sin" is a more dangerous moment-to-moment foe for you than Satan. Pastor Gillham tells why! gfp
Gary Patton

Connecting With the One Living God - Bible Gateway - 0 views

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scripture romans salvation healing freedom bible Jesus Jesus' promise

shared by Gary Patton on 30 Nov 11 - No Cached
  • if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and (C)believe in your heart that (D)God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; 10 for with the heart a person believes, [b]resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, [c]resulting in salvation.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 04 Jul 12
       
      But, what do I confess and believe you may ask? The key to reconciliation with God is to simply say honestly to Jesus: "I am a sinner. Please save me from my sin nature and my many sins. I believe you died on Your cross and rose ffrom your grave to reconcile me with God by paying the full penalty for my wrongs that my good works cannot overcome!"
  • Romans 10:8-12
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 04 Jul 12
       
      "How To Connect With The One True God" You'll discover in Romans 10:8-12 below what the Bible says about connecting with God and having abundant life and day-to-day peace ...now not just in the next life... through a relationship with Jesus, the One Living God in Three. Having a relationship with the One Living God is not complicated. The door is always available ...in fact, Jesus (Yeshua), but not the Qur'anic Isa, is there knocking right now for those who don't know Him personally. He says so at http://diigo.com/0lk60 . Please take Jesus at His word, believe He wants to save you from your sin nature and your sins ...no matter what you may have done... as He promises below. He WANTS to give you complete peace by entering into His eternity with Him, now, as well as after death! gfp (2011-11-30)
  • WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE [d]DISAPPOINTED.”
  • ...2 more annotations...
  • Whoever believes in Him will not be [d]disappointed
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 04 Jul 12
       
      You're too bright to believe in your heart that a perfectly holy God who demands absolute justice would be willing to measure anyone's ability to enter heaven on a "Bell Curve of good works" as the Qur'an suggests in Surah 23:97-104 or any other way but via His loving grace.
  • there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is (G)Lord of (H)all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;
  • Gary Patton on 30 Nov 11
     
    Connecting with God and having peace with Him is not complicated. The door is always available ...in fact Jesus is there knocking right now as He says at http://diigo.com/0lk60 if you don't know Him personally. Please take Jesus at His word, believe He wants to save you from your sin nature and sins ...not matter what you've done! gfp (2011-11-30
  • Gary Patton on 30 Nov 11
     
    Here's the only route to heaven. Your good works can NEVER get you there! gfp
Gary Patton

"Christians Empower the Demonic in Their Own Lives By Giving Them Rights" - Bible Gateway - 0 views

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bible scripture scripture interpretation scripture topics demons satan

shared by Gary Patton on 03 Oct 12 - No Cached
  • Proverbs 5:22
  • The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;(A)    the cords of their sins hold them fast.
  • Gary Patton on 03 Oct 12
     
    "Christians Empower the Demonic in Their Own Lives By Giving Them Rights" Proverbs 5:22 says we're often responsible for our own problems instigated in our lives by demons. So does 2 Timothy 2:26 at http://is.gd/RJAn4X .
Gary Patton

NASB - Woe to those who call evil good, and - Bible Gateway - 0 views

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bible scripture Isaiah World death dead religion salvation

shared by Gary Patton on 19 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Woe to those who
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 19 Apr 12
       
      A Jesus Follower's escape from God's wrath and death is because we are "in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) when we enter the next life plus, being also in Christ in this one, we confess our sin moment-to-moment (1 John 1:9).
  • Isaiah 5:20-21
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 19 Apr 12
       
      Isaiah 5:20-21 outlines the behaviour of those in what the Bible calls "the world", i.e., every human being (Romans 3:23-26 & 6:23). The Bible makes clear this group includes even Followers of Jesus because sometimes we live out of our flesh by not "walking in the spirit". (Galatians 5:16-19 & 25) God punishes all who disobey His laws because His character of "justice" demands consequences be extracted ...even given His character of grace. Jesus Followers, who truly "fear God" (Proverbs 1:7 & 2:1-7) have an escape from the clear wrath of God and eternal separation from His presence. The guaranteed wrath of God is indicated by His use of the strong Hebrew word translated as "woe". gfp (20120-4-19)
  • And clever in their own sight
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 19 Apr 12
       
      But those in the world have exactly what He charges we must not do withot consequences. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable. We also have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbour's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honoured values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment. (Note 1) And Isaiah 5:20-21 makes clear at that the above is the behaviour of those in what the Bible calls "the world", i.e., every human being (Romans 3:23-26 & 6:23). The Bible makes clear this group includes even Followers of Jesus because sometimes we live out of our flesh by not "walking in the spirit". (Galatians 5:16-19 & 25) God punishes all who disobey His laws because His character of "justice" demands consequences be extracted ...even given His character of grace. Jesus Followers, who truly "fear God" (Proverbs 1:7 & 2:1-7) have an escape from the clear wrath of God and eternal separation from His presence. The guaranteed wrath of God is indicated by His use of the strong Hebrew word translated as "woe". A Jesus Follower's escape from God's wrath and death is because we are "in Christ" (2 Corinthians 5:17-21) when we enter the next life plus, being also in Christ in this one, we confess our sin moment-to-moment (1 John 1:9). If you are not in a close, personal relationship with Yeshua (Jesus), I beg you for your eternity's sake plus to ensure your ability to live an abundant life now, to ask Jesus to save you. Call out to the Son of God from your heart of hearts, acknowledge that is truly Who He is and ask him to forgive all your
  • Gary Patton on 19 Apr 12
     
    Isaiah 5:20-21 outlines the behaviour of those in what the Bible calls "the world", i.e., every human being (Romans 3:23-26 & 6:23). The Bible makes clear this group includes even Followers of Jesus because sometimes we live out of our flesh by not "walking in the spirit". (Galatians 5:16-19 & 25) God punishes all who disobey His laws because His character of "justice" demands consequences be extracted ...even given His character of grace. Jesus Followers, who truly "fear God" (Proverbs 1:7 & 2:1-7) have an escape from the clear wrath of God and eternal separation from His presence. The guaranteed wrath of God is indicated by His use of the strong Hebrew word translated as "woe". gfp (20120-4-19)
Gary Patton

God Lives In Jesus Followers - Bible Gateway - 0 views

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bible scripture john Holy Spirit Jesus Father Trinty God God's promises

shared by Gary Patton on 12 May 12 - No Cached
  • 1 Corinthians 6:18-20
  • do you not know that (C)your body is a [b]temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from [c]God,
  • Gary Patton on 12 May 12
     
    1 Corinthians 6:18-20 says clearly that God lives in Jesus Followers in the person of Holy Spirit to empower us for live. Please do not doubt that Holy Spirit is a person of the One God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, which Christians call "The Trinity". This important truth is confirmed in Acts 5:1-10 at http://diigo.com/0jv6z . gfp (2012-05-12)
Gary Patton

Jesus Is Living IN His Followers and OUT of Them - Bible Gateway - 0 views

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john freedom christ scripture

shared by Gary Patton on 24 Jan 12 - No Cached
  • John 15:5
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 22 May 12
       
      Jesus Is Living IN His Followers and OUT of Them In this Jesus Following Bible passage, Jesus (Yeshua), as almighty God, makes a startling but freeing statement of His truth. 2011-09-08
  • he who abides in Me and I in him, he (A)bears much fruit
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 22 May 12
       
      Jesus makes clear in this verse that that as you rest, remain, stay in Him, He will live His life out through you. Jesus' Apostle (sent-out-one) and our fellow Follower, the Apostle Paul, uses expressions like "live" and "walk in the Spirit" to command the same behaviour for his First Century Gatherings plus modern Jesus Followers us in Galatians 5:16 & 19 at http://diigo.com/0m0c1 and http://diigo.com/0mqyl . This is re-confirmed in other words by Paul in Galatians 2:20 at http://diigo.com/0jggi where he clarifies that for Jesus Followers that their Master's "yoke is easy and his burden light" because He lives His life out through us making us only "Walking Dead Wo(men)".
  • apart from Me you can do nothing
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 22 May 12
       
      What is it that some Jesus Followers don't understand about God saying in this verse that when we work in our own strength we'll accomplish "nothing" of value? My Friend and Brother David Ryser comments on this phrase in a fantastic Blog posting. And he knows what he's talking about when it comes to New Covenant (Testament) Scripture because he is a Greek Scholar with a Ph.D.. David points out: "Part of the problem [with this phrase] is our poorly translated English Bible…and poor translation leads to poor interpretation…and every version has serious problems. "In several translations, the last part of John 15:5 is rendered, "without Me you can do nothing." This leads us to conclude that with Jesus we can do anything. But the Bible never says this…not in Greek, anyhow…and it flies in the face of what Jesus is teaching in the first part of John 15. "The picture here is NOT of a vine that is not with us. The idea is NOT that we branches could bear all kinds of fruit if the vine were alongside of us. "And yet, how much preaching have we heard about how we can accomplish great things for the Kingdom of God with Jesus at our side? "Rather, the illustration Jesus uses is that of a branch that has been detached from the vine. And the word translated "without" (χώρις) in some of the most popular English versions of the Bible, is better translated as "apart/detached from" as it is in the NASB and the NIV. Just try to tear off a grape branch from the grapevine with your bare hands sometime. You will discover the branch is an outgrowth of the vine…so much so that if you attempt to tear off the branch, it will shred the vine all the way to the root. "Grape branches cannot be torn off. They must be cut off. "And if the branches are cut off from the vine, the life of the vine will not flow through them. Not only will the branches not bear fruit, they will die. We are delusional if we think that we are going to produce and manifest the fruit of the life of
Gary Patton

Jesus Public Ministry And Gospel - Bible Gateway - 0 views

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scripture bible luke Jesus yeshua Isa gospel

shared by Gary Patton on 22 Dec 11 - No Cached
  • “(G)THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19 (H)TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD.”
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 22 Dec 11
       
      The Gospel of Yeshua/Jesus is "Good News". But, it's not a book or a passage of Scripture. It's the person of God incarnate Himself! And salvation is a trusting relationship in & with Him by simply believing in Yeshua's payment on His cross of the full penalty God demands for our sin & sins and, then, deferring to Yeshua's lordship of every aspect of our lives by living in the power of His resurrection!" ~ gfp The word 'gospel' means 'good news' and Yeshua/Jesus, the Messiah, is the personification of "good news". Simply put, He is the gospel! For anyone who hears them, Yeshua/Jesus and His words are heart-piercing as you can discover in His 'Beatitudes' at . They are totally convicting because they demonstrate every hearers' total inability to behave as He commands. And, Jesus doesn't leave us hanging! Right now, He's making available to you His power. It's freely available to every man, woman and child ...despite what they may have done. He gives anyone who asks for it a "new life". Plus, He also gives us the power to live it, using His strength, when we believe His 'Gospel' ("Good News"/'Injeel'). This glorious News is that Yeshua/Jesus died to pay the full penalty that God's holiness and justice requires because of both our "sin nature" and our many 'sins'. As Deity incarnate, Yeshua/Jesus died so that His human creation could be forgiven by God and be reconciled to His heavenly Father and have peace with Him through Yeshua/Jesus's sacrifice and His subsequent resurrection from the grave. Yeshua/Jesus's death and resurrection guarantee real, eternal salvation instead by working for ones own salvation by trying to obey the law. Folks, Jesus is alive! He's living right now and praying for you at the right hand of our heavenly Father. When you respond to his pleading, He'll send his Holy Spirit to live inside you as a new, born-again Believer. "The Gospel" is the power in Jesus' words! "Stop trying ...and start tr
  • Gary Patton on 22 Dec 11
     
    Yeshua/Jesus clarified His Gospel first to the Jews and, then later, to all non-Jews through the ones who that became His Followers. He first did so using words of The Jewish Prophet, Isaiah, that Yeshua quoted from the Old Covenant (Muslim: Taurat) in this passage: 18 "(G)THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, 19 (H)TO PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."
Gary Patton

Jesus Lives His Life Out Through His Followers - Bible Gateway - 0 views

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bible scripture scripture interpretation john

shared by Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Gary Patton on 08 Feb 12
     
    In John 14;12, in context, Jesus explained to his first Disciples, and through them to us, how after His resurrection they and we would do "greater things". This is because as He promises in ?, He would come to live in them through the power of Holy Spirit living in them and us.
Gary Patton

Reinterpreting the Great Commission - 0 views

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bible scripture interpretation scripture evangelism great commission Jesus matthew mark luke john

shared by Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12 - Cached
  • Missional Discipleship: Reinterpreting the Great Commission
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      Jonathan Dodson adds exciting new dimensions to the standard interpretations of Jesus' "Great Commission" in the article. It is the first of two parts. gfp (2012-03-03)
  • In evangelical subculture the ubiquity of the Great Commission is matched by the poverty of its interpretation.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      The only greater "poverty" is its lack of application in their lives by so-called Christians. In North America, a too-common and oft-heard phrase exchanged between so-called Christians is: "I'd din't know you were a Christian!" "Lord, please forgive us although we know what we're doing! gfp"
  • The OT commission, frequently referred to as the creation or cultural mandate, was issued by God before the Fall of humanity, emphasizing creative activity with the following verbs: be fruitful, multiply, rule, and subdue (Gen 1.27-28).2 By producing more creators who rule and subdue the elements of the earth,
  • ...30 more annotations...
  • A surface reading of these Old and New Testament texts places them at odds with one another.
  • These impoverished readings call for reinterpretation, one that that allows both Genesis and the Gospels to speak.
  • we will be challenged to understand and embrace discipleship as more that "spiritual disciplines" or an evangelistic program.
  • following after Jesus that requires redemptive engagement not just with souls but with creation and culture.
  • the command is to make disciples of all nations not from all nations.
  • The Great Commission is not about soul-extraction, to remove the disciple from his culture,
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      To often in the past ...and still..., so-called Christian Missionaries who "went" and "go" into other cultures try to shape their disciples in the image of the Missionary's culture, i.e. they "clothed the naked", literally, instead of providing what's need in the moment by the individuals they encounter which is what Jesus meant. 
  • the many-splendored new humanity of Christ.
  • Where Matthew emphasizes the action of making distinctive disciples, Mark stresses the importance of preaching to all creation.
  • When Jesus used the word "preach" he did not mean converse. The Greek word for preach always carries a sense of urgency and gravity, as though what is to be proclaimed is of great importance
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      A better translation of the Greek, that captures it's sense and is not intentionally designed by the translator to reinforce "Sunday morning church activity", is "herald"! 
  • Paul perceives himself as an announcer of a worldly Christ-centered gospel,
  • While this worldly gospel saves, it also condemns.
  • For some it brings life; for others it brings death, but all are to be given the opportunity to be written into the story of God's redemption of all creation.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      This is not a particularly "Calvinistic statement, i.e., those saved are pre-ordained (Romans 8:28) but probably accurate because we'll never know 'till we get to heaven whether Holy Spirit used us to touch the "right" people and bring them "one step closer to Jesus". 
  • Humanity was charged with the task of caring for the earth and creating culture, making the uninhabitable habitable.
  • Jesus preached a worldly gospel, a restorative message that put the creation project back on track. His glorified, resurrection body is clearly proof of the new creation to come.
  • Jesus told those who believe that they will be given power to heal the sick, restore the demon-possessed, and to speak new languages (Mk. 16:17-18). This worldly gospel is for the redemption and renewal of the earth, the body, the heart, the mind, and the cultures of the world. It is a saving message that rescues people from their unbelief, not their world,
  • we are called to preach "repentance and forgiveness of sins." A social gospel will not suffice.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      And a "social gospel" approach is also not excluded.
  • What does it mean to be "witnesses of all these things"? Well, at the very least it means sharing Jesus' self-sacrificing offer of forgiveness,
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      And witnessing includes, I suggest, the practical and explanatory sharing of the blessings that have enriched the life of the witnesser as a result of their forgiveness and Jesus coming to live His life out through them by sharing what Christians call "their testimony". 
  • The problem with many of our stories is that they contain all spirit and very little flesh.
  • People want to touch redemption, which means they need to see resurrection power in our personal struggles.
  • The stories we tell should boast of Jesus' death and resurrection, of his forgiveness of sin and of his restoration of sinners — reconciled families and marriages, restored and housed homeless, renewed life among AIDS orphans, and so on.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      And make sure these resurrection-power stories, if not about yourself, are about other you KNOW personally ...otherwise they can be considered so much fluff!
  • Whereas the previous gospel writers emphasized Jesus' command to make distinctive disciples, preach a worldly gospel, and witness a fleshly Jesus, John stresses Jesus sending his disciples.
  • According to John Piper, we are either goers, senders, or disobedient, but according to Jesus we are all the sent.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      And I agree with Jesus. It's clear notwithstanding Mr. Piper's opinion, that Jesus clearly tells all his followers that we are to "go along", i.e., herald Jesus where He plants us". It's not wrong to help a Brother or Sister "go" somewhere else but Jesus never said or giving money to a so-called missionary could replace His Followers heralding Him where they are in the moment".
  • All followers of Jesus are called to live as missionaries in their culture
  • Our paradigm for living a sent life, a missionary life, is the sending of the Son by the Father.
  • So, within reason we should take on the trappings of our culture in order to contextually relate the gospel.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      And for this reason, it's not wrong to accompany your work colleagues after work for a "drink" at a local strip club ...just don't oggle the strippers or get drunk! We can only earn their trust so they'll "as the reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15-17) when we're not the typical judgemental Christian or pushy Televangelist-type they have been warned to avoid by those judged by those folks.
  • It leads us to immerse ourselves into the humanity of our neighborhoods and cities in order relate the gospel to people and their needs.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      And this doesn't mean that we're more spiritual if we leave our middle-class lifestyle and neighbourhood and move into an inner-city slum or evangelize street people on weekends unless Holy Spirit makes clear that role is His will for you at that point in your life!
  • The power of missional living does not spring from cultural savvy or social sensitivity; it requires the otherworldly, utterly personal power of the Holy Spirit. Only the Spirit of God can make men new.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      Amen to that!! A Lone Ranger Christian carries a notch-less gun in his "heralding holster". 
  • The "good news" of Genesis 1-2 is that God created all things to be enjoyed, managed, cultivated, and recreated by humanity.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 03 Mar 12
       
      And applying 1 Corinthians 6:12 is the wise person's context for ALL her/his behaviour... not just the limited ones involving "food" and "sex" mentioned by Paul in the immediately surrounding verses of this passage.
  • This fruitful multiplication continues both physically and spiritually through the reproducing ministry of missional disciples, who increase in number and good works (Acts 6:7; Col. 1:6, 10). These good works include ruling and subduing creation through the careful, creative arrangement of the elements of the earth into art, technology, infrastructure etc. for the flourishing of humanity.
  • Retaining the cultural impulse of Genesis, the Gospels call us to a missional discipleship that entails creation care, cultural engagement, social action, and gospel proclamation. Missional disciples will not content themselves by preaching a culturally irrelevant, creation indifferent, resurrection neglecting message.
Brian Jones

What Would Happen If You Fully Lived In The Present? - 0 views

brianjones.com/...you-fully-lived-in-the-present

zen fully present Blaise Pascal

shared by Brian Jones on 30 May 13 - No Cached
  • Brian Jones on 30 May 13
     
    What Would Happen If You Fully Lived In The Present?
Gary Patton

Andrew Sullivan: Christianity in Crisis - The Daily Beast - 0 views

www.thedailybeast.com/...an-christianity-in-crisis.html

bibliolatry bible religion christianity politics

shared by Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12 - No Cached
  • Not the supernatural claims that, fused with politics and power, gave successive generations wars, inquisitions, pogroms, reformations, and counterreformations
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      I'm not so sure the Bible documantation of Jesus' miracles are responsible for the horrors Mr. Sullivan seems to attribute to them.
  • What does it matter how strictly you proclaim your belief in various doctrines if you do not live as these doctrines demand?
  • And more intensely relevant to our times. Jefferson’s vision of a simpler, purer, apolitical Christianity couldn’t be further from the 21st-century American reality.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Is using Matthew 5:13-16 to justify spending one's time in so-called "social action" really Biblical? Are we wise attempting to get worldly people to obey what they cannot and do what only Jesus Followers are commanded? Does it not seem a waste of time and energy better spent "making disciples" (Matthew 28:18-20) ...one on one (2 Timothy 2:1-2)... God's clearly commanded plan?
  • ...14 more annotations...
  • evangelical Protestants who believe that religion must consume and influence every aspect of public life
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Please note my questions in the e-Sticky Note above in this paragraph.
  • The crisis of Christianity is perhaps best captured in the new meaning of the word “secular.” It once meant belief in separating the spheres of faith and politics; it now means, for many, simply atheism.
  • you’ll find a small room containing an 18th-century Bible whose pages are full of holes. They are carefully razor-cut empty spaces, so this was not an act of vandalism. It was, rather, a project begun by Thomas Jefferson when he was 77 years old.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Some would argue that President Jefferson was the R-E-A-L founder of the current "Jesus Movement" of Bible reductionists. Or a kndred spirit of the "Red Letter Christians".
  • Christianity has been destroyed by politics, priests, and get-rich evangelists. Ignore them, writes Andrew Sullivan, and embrace Him. 
  • Christianity in Crisis
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      "What does it matter how strictly you proclaim your belief in various doctrines if you do not live as these doctrines demand? ", the writer asks. That's about as difficult a question as one can ask a so-called Christian. gfp (2012-04-11)
  • the unilateral prohibition of the pill
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Given the Catholic "Doctrine of Infalibility", "unilateral" is the right word and one all Catholics are expected to obey.
  • The hierarchy was exposed as enabling, and then covering up, an international conspiracy to abuse and rape countless youths and children.
  • Inequality, poverty, even the torture institutionalized by the government after 9/11: these issues attract far less of their public attention.
  • the mainline Protestant churches, which long promoted religious moderation, have rapidly declined in the past 50 years. Evangelical Protestantism has stepped into the vacuum, but it has serious defects of its own.
  • many suburban evangelicals embrace a gospel of prosperity
  • Others defend a rigid biblical literalism
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      If an omnipotent, supernatural God cannot keep His own words to humankind accurate over time, is He really a God that should be worshipped by Mr. Sullivan? There is a great deal of documented proof for the accuracy of the Bible with Scripture documents available from a time when the eye witnesses to what Jesus said and did were alive and active. Does Mr. Sullivan really believe that the first Apostles and early Christians agreed to be tortured and killed, horribly, for lies in forged documents as they were for most of the 270 years after Jesus died? And if you feel the documents were forged after the eye witnesses died, please reflect on my opening question.
  • Still others insist that the earth is merely 6,000 years old—something we now know by the light of reason and science is simply untrue.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Is Mr. Sullivan really calling as witnesses the same science and it's so-called experts at proving their theories by replicating them that hasn't been able to produce one single shred of evidence for its sacrosanct "Theory of Evolution". Is he really criticizing estimates of the earth's age on the basis of Biblical dating by calling geologists as testamentarians who use the dating of fossils by archeologists to date their rocks when those same archeologists often date their fossils from the rock layers in which they are found. Some science that, eh?
  • Evangelical Christians
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      I agree that torture is unBiblical and something a Jesus Follower should NEVER condone to be used under any circumstances ...never mind the proven fact that it is a totsaally unreliable way to get accurate information. However, Jesus isn't yet finished conforming me to His character as well as His likeness any more than He is the people who support this barbarism. But, I have the promise of the loving, living God that He is doing so in His way and His timing documented in Romans 8:28-39! Any so-called Christian who's not seeing him/herself becoming more like Jesus "as time goes by" is probably not one!
  • Jesus never spoke of homosexuality or abortion, and his only remarks on marriage were a condemnation of divorce (now commonplace among American Christians) and forgiveness for adultery.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 11 Apr 12
       
      Jesus doesn't have to speak on every moral issue condemned in the Old Covenant and He did say He had come to fullfill it! Does Mr. Sullivan really see Jesus condoning the homosexual behaviour that is rampant now on TV while He still loves and died for the sin nature and sins of it's practitioners? How can Mr. Sullivan suggest the antiviolent God-man who deplores murder is not appalled by abortion ...let alone the malevolency of "Partial Birth Abortion" that is practised by so-called healers all over Canada and in many U.S. States.
Gary Patton

"How to Have Consummate Peace" - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture philippians coaching tips lifestyle joy peace

shared by Gary Patton on 19 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • Philippians 4:4-9
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Jul 12
       
      "How to Have Consummate Peace" http://diigo.com/0nkx5 If you want to always sleep sweetly, live your life moment-to-moment as Holy Spirit commands through the Apostle Paul, a sent-out one, in the Christian New Covenant (Testament) Verses below. And after 25 years of taking my worries, fears and F-E-A-Rs (False-Evidence-Appearing-Real) to God, I can guarantee that His way works ...every time! GaryFPatton (gfp '42™ 2012-07-24)
  • whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Jul 12
       
      Before you speak or even reflect: T - is it TRUE? H - is it HELPFUL? I - is it INSPIRING? N - is it NECESSARY? K - is it KIND?
  • Rejoice in the Lord always
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Jul 12
       
      "Dour Christians", i.e., those who are "relentlessly severe, stern, or gloomy in manner or appearance", need to take this admonition to heart!
  • ...3 more annotations...
  • Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 20 Feb 12
       
      Do this and you WILL succeed ...and without fretting!
  •  Do not be anxious about anything,(C) but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Jul 12
       
      Now, hows that for a simple, easy-to work formula, eh? And the secret to how and why this works you can find outlined in Philiippians 4:11-13 at http://diigo.com/0s0n6 , just a few verses later.
  • And the peace of God,(E) which transcends all understanding,(F) will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 25 Jul 12
       
      This is what I call: "God's Perpetual Promise of Peace" In late 1998, Karen, my wife, and I were dealing with life-threatening cancer in her colon. At the same time, I was totally disabled having been totally unable to work for the prior 3 1/2 years. I had serious Chronic Fatigue and Immune Deficiency Syndrome. We'd had no income coming in for over three years. This Verse describes perfectly what occurred in Karen's and my lives when we took our absolute terror about our diseases and what might happen to us in the future to our Heavenly Father! You can read more about our experience at or Website "Are You Sick & Tired Of Being Sick & Tired" at http://is.gd/5Mzhms .
  • Gary Patton on 19 Feb 12
     
    If you want to always sleep sweetly, live your life moment-to-moment as Holy Spirit commands through the Apostle Paul, a sent-out one, in Phillipians 4:4-9.
Gary Patton

The Antidote to Dis-Stress - Bible Gateway - 0 views

www.biblegateway.com/passage

bible scripture john 14 stress stress-management joy hope persecution peace

shared by Gary Patton on 16 Feb 12 - No Cached
  • But the (A)Helper, the Holy Spirit, (B)whom the Father will send in My name
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 16 Feb 12
       
      Altought the word "Trinity", is nowhere in the Christian Scriptures. The concept of One God as three distinct and unique personalities is otline here and throught the New Testament. In addition, the Old Covenant repeatedly points to the coming of Messiah, Yeshua (Jesus).
  • John 14:26-28
    • Gary Patton
      Gary Patton on 12 Sep 12
       
      The Antidote to Dis-Stress Jesus came that his Followers who trust in Him may live in 'permanent peace'. In John 14: 26-28 here, read how that promise was fulfilled. Peace can has been defined many ways. In John 14:27, Yeshua (Jesus) states clearly that, ultimately, peace is a Person, God Himself living in each Jesus Follower.
  • Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. (F)Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Gary Patton

KONY 2012 - YouTube - 0 views

www.youtube.com/watch

family justice warfare peace-making christianity evangelism

shared by Gary Patton on 10 Mar 12 - No Cached
  • Gary Patton on 10 Mar 12
     
    "Where you live [as a child] should not determine whether you can live!" ~ Invisible Children KONY 2012 is a film and campaign of "waging peace" by Invisible Children Inc.. It aims to make Joseph Kony, the LRA leader in Uganda, more infamous ...not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice. Please invest 27 minutes of your life in watching this video and learn why Joseph Kony MUST be stopped., this year, in 2012. Hear the cry of kids who are being robbed of life! Then, write the leader of your country and demand his involvement in Kony 2012. gfp (2012-03-10)
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