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No Escaping Sin

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Freedom in Christ with tags death, guilt, illness, Mosaic Law, sin on May 22, 2022 by paulthepoke

If we are at all honest with ourselves, we have some serious issues. The Mosaic Law has incredible standards. Who are we kidding! In our current state of humanity, we are all guilty. Adam introduced sin to humanity. The result was bodily death.

Romans 5:12 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned…

1 Corinthians 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

Sin is the reason for illness and death. We don’t know when or how we are going to die. But we do know the reason for death, sin. Missing the mark or missing the moral standard is the reason we sweat for crying out loud. Weeds were not supposed to grow. A rose was not intended to have thorns. We were not originally created for hard labor.

So, the next time somebody asks, “Why does God allows bad things to happen? How could a loving God let that horrible thing occur?”

We need to take a long, hard look in the mirror and get really honest. Sin is why bad and evil things happen in the world.

Genesis 3:17-19 Then to Adam He said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; cursed is the ground because of you; in toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; and you will eat the plants of the field; by the sweat of your face you will eat bread, till you return to the ground, because from it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

As individuals, it is not our place to judge others regardless of their actions. Every person on the planet has a lifestyle or mental attitude issue that can be taken to task. There is no sliding scale or grading on the curve when it comes to sin. “Well my sin is not as bad as…” Nonsense, judgment belongs to God.

James 4:12 There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?

We are all in need of sin remission. Every single one of us is a sinner. We all have sin in our lives.

Ecclesiastes 7:20 Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…

We all (except a group of believers at the rapture) have a set time and date with the grave. It does not matter what our bodies look like. One cannot diet, vitamin, or exercise their way from the Pit. It does not matter if you are rich or poor. One cannot buy their way out of Sheol.

Psalm 89:48 What man can live and not see death? Can he deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah.

Psalm 49:14 As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; death shall be their shepherd; and the upright shall rule over them in the morning, and their form shall be for Sheol to consume so that they have no habitation.

Job 26:6 Naked is Sheol before Him, and Abaddon has no covering.

The meaning of Abaddon is “destruction”. Sin is naked awareness before God. In the final analysis, there is no covering of sin apart from the cross work of Christ. God has always made provision for the sin of humanity. Apart from God, sin will be exposed, bare, and raw. Its path leads to destruction.

Proverbs 15:11 Sheol and Abaddon lie open before the LORD, How much more the hearts of men!

Death is knocking. The open throat and grave of death await.

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Sin and Health

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Freedom in Christ with tags confession of sin, healing, health, illness, iniquity, Jesus Christ, Psalms, sickness, sin on April 24, 2022 by paulthepoke

Psalm 31:10 For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.

Do sinful actions affect our health? The unpopular answer in today’s woke, soft culture is… Yes. We fundamentally know this but in general, we do not want to admit it or take responsibility. Pick your vice. Alcohol abuse can lead to a variety of issues including cirrhosis of the liver. A swinger’s lifestyle can lead to ramifications of sexually transmitted diseases. The list is endless. You get the point.

This is a simple truth from God’s word. …my strength fails because of my iniquity… Because of sin, our bodies decline and ultimately die.

my strength fails… One’s ability and strength to complete a task fails or kashal in the Hebrew. The word could be associated with a drunken stupor; to stumble, stagger, totter (Strong’s Concordance). Coordination of tasks goes as well.

The Hebrew word for iniquity is avon. The word defined assumes guilt and a consequence for the action. Definition as stated per Strong’s: iniquity, guilt, punishment for iniquity. There is no question. The action is wrong and justice is coming.

Psalm 32:3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

The body’s condition continues to deteriorate if one does not confess their sin. A lack of confession can be an exacerbation and quickening of the process. The context of the verse from Psalms is iniquity or sin.

For when I kept silent… This personality is not about to admit their short comings. It is probably somebody else’s fault.

Look at the attitude exhibited. There is grumbling and complaining about one’s aches and pains. There is no responsibility assumed for the condition or state one is in. It would appear this is a long term condition. This chronic whining, all day long.

The result, my bones wasted away. This could be both literally and figuratively. One’s literal body deteriorates. The essence of the individual pines and withers away. Body and soul wear out and decay.

Admit you are wrong. You made mistakes (plural). Welcome to the club.

James 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

The verse from James implies sickness of an individual. There is an antidote to consequences of sin on the body in the here and now this side of eternity.

Confess or ἐξομολογέω/exomologeó in the original Greek. Per Strong’s Concordance, I consent fully, agree out and out; I confess, admit, acknowledge (early Hellenistic sense of the middle: acknowledge a debt). Thayer’s Greek Lexicon states: from the heart, freely, or publicly, openly, to profess.

In other words, get your sin out there for all to hear about it. Don’t hold back.

There is a result from confession of sins, …that you may be healed.

The Greek word for healed is ἰάομαι/iaomai. The term is generally associated with Jesus and His ability to supernaturally heal others. There are multiple examples in the gospel accounts of Christ. People recognized Christ’s ability to heal.

Matthew 8:8 But the centurion replied, “Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed.

The good news is someday, all of this will be no more. Admit you are a sinner and join Him in His future.

Revelation 21:4-5 …He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

And the One seated on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” Then He said, “Write this down, for these words are faithful and true.”

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Suffering For God’s Glory… Rodna Epley

Posted in #PaulthePoke, Rodna Epley with tags God's glory, Holy Spirit, illness, Jesus Christ, Right Hand of Father, sickness, suffering on July 29, 2020 by paulthepoke

All suffering is meant for God’s glory. Whether we caused the suffering, someone else did, or it’s no one’s fault, suffering is suffering and it’s always meant for God’s glory to SOON be revealed. Suffering is not meant to be held onto for life. It’s meant for God’s glory to be released and revealed on earth in the realms in which He has assigned us to operate in and live in, which means the suffering ends and the promise of God is revealed and manifested in THIS life.

The longest time-frame from the examples that we have in the Bible that Jesus waited to turn a suffering into glory was four days when He purposely waited to raise Lazarus from the dead.

Most of the sufferings He encountered were transformed into glory within a few moments of encountering them, e.g., turning water to wine, opening blind eyes, straightened a crooked back, healing leprosy, walking on water, causing a paralyzed man to walk, raising the dead, etc.

If anyone has been sick or hurting for a long time, it’s okay, there’s no condemnation for those who are in Christ (Romans 8:1). The people in the Bible whom Jesus encountered were usually sick and hurting for a long time until He encountered them. But once He encountered them they were almost instantly well or the problem was almost instantly flipped.

Think of the time when someone was trying to accuse Jesus of not paying taxes to Caesar. Jesus had Peter go catch a fish out of the water. The first fish he caught had a coin in its mouth that was enough to pay taxes for both Jesus and Peter. So the time it took Peter to catch the first fish was how long it took the suffering to turn to glory.

So it doesn’t matter how long we’ve suffered. We only need revelation of the Word of God from the Holy Spirit that we are healed, or He has supplied all of our needs, etc. Then when we act on the instructions given to us by the Holy Spirit or we speak the anointed words the Holy Spirit gives us to say, our miracle manifests or our need is supplied in the natural. Remain in the Word and let His Word remain in you and your Father will give you the revelation so that you can act on it. Don’t worry, it will come. When it comes, you will know.

Most Christians have had encounters with the Holy Spirit where we’ve experience miracles in our lives, but they are usually hit or miss and we don’t really know how to encounter Him again. Knowing that Jesus went to be with the Father and that we are seated in heavenly places in Him, in Christ, right now in the place where He is that He prepared for us changes this hit or miss into a permanent residence. It changes a believer into a disciple. It changes only sometimes having joy and peace to always having it. It locks us down in Him and fastens us in permanently. It changes not knowing what to do to completely trusting that our heavenly Father will show us and guide us because He loves us in the very same way He loves Jesus, and He proves it by backing up our words and works which manifest in the natural because the two became one like hydrogen and oxygen (two gases) make a physical property: water. When what the Holy Spirit speaks and what we speak are done together for any situation, it manifests in the natural.

The Perfect One is the Father and the Father was Jesus’ destination. He’s our destination too and it’s now. We are seated in Christ who is in the Father now, not someday after we die, and Christ is in us now and the Father is in Christ now. We are One with them now. Christ is in us and we are in Christ—full circle back to the Father. From this perspective everything in our lives change and transform.

Blessings to everyone. May the perfect peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. May all your suffering turn to glory in this life. It pleases our Father in heaven for suffering to end and His glory to be revealed. It is His will.