Complete In Christ – I'm Following Jesus

King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Thursday, April 04, 2019
Chapters: Judges 13-15
Message: Complete In Christ, Dedicated To God

Hello My Friend,

I am very emotional as I read these chapters, perhaps it has something to do with what I read from Charles Spurgeon first. He said, “Thou hast learned to hate sin; but thou hast learned also to know that sin is not thine-it was laid upon Christ’s head. Thy standing is not in thyself-it is in Christ; thine acceptance is not in thyself, but in thy Lord; thou art as much accepted of God to-day, with all thy sinfulness, as thou wilt be when thou standest before his throne, free from all corruption. O, I beseech thee, lay hold on this precious thought, perfection in Christ! For thou art “complete in him.” Do you see that? We are complete in Christ. Our past is not what defines us, we are new, we are free, we are accepted, we are forgiven, all through our faith alone in Jesus Christ. Amen!

“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” – II Corinthians 5:18-21.

“who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ,” Reconciled; To call back into union. To restore to friendship or favor after estrangement. Before Christ was in us we were estranged from God, He would not even look at us because we were laden with sin. And while some of us are more sinful than others, we are all guilty of sin, but the second we received Christ as our Saviour we were reconciled with God. Amen! I was thinking yesterday of how God gives so many second chances, we can mess up a thousand times a day, and yet He never gives up on us. However, living in sin without repentance of the sin will put a strain in ones relationship with God, being mage righteous through Christ does not mean we will not suffer in our flesh should we choose to remain in sin. Once again, Israel forsook God, and for forty years He delivered them into the hands of the Philistines.

“And the children of Israel did evil again in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD delivered them into the hand of the Philistines forty years. And there was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife was barren, and bare not. And the angel of the LORD appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Behold now, thou art barren, and bearest not: but thou shalt conceive, and bear a son. Then the woman came and told her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, and his countenance was like the countenance of an angel of God, very terrible: but I asked him not whence he was, neither told he me his name: But he said unto me, Behold, thou shalt conceive, and bear a son; and now drink no wine nor strong drink, neither eat any unclean thing: for the child shall be a Nazarite to God from the womb to the day of his death. Then Manoah intreated the LORD, and said, O my Lord, let the man of God which thou didst send come again unto us, and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.” – Judges 13:1-3,6-8.

“and teach us what we shall do unto the child that shall be born.” Who better to teach us how to raise our children than God? Better yet, if we are learning the ways of God ourselves then we will teach them to our children. You know, the Bible does tell us to be mindful to entertain strangers (Hebrews 13:2) as they may be angels, God sent the angel back, but he had no idea who he was, and urged him to have dinner with them.

“And Manoah said unto the angel of the LORD, I pray thee, let us detain thee, until we shall have made ready a kid for thee. And the angel of the LORD said unto Manoah, Though thou detain me, I will not eat of thy bread: and if thou wilt offer a burnt offering, thou must offer it unto the LORD. For Manoah knew not that he was an angel of the LORD. So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on. For it came to pass, when the flame went up toward heaven from off the altar, that the angel of the LORD ascended in the flame of the altar. And Manoah and his wife looked on it, and fell on their faces to the ground. But the angel of the LORD did no more appear to Manoah and to his wife. Then Manoah knew that he was an angel of the LORD. And the woman bare a son, and called his name Samson: and the child grew, and the LORD blessed him. And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times in the camp of Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol.” – Judges 13:15-16,19-21,24-25.

“And the Spirit of the LORD began to move him at times” There are some amazing insights into these passages, the offering had to be offered to the LORD, it was laid upon a rock to the LORD, and it was burnt upon the rock by the angel. Jesus offered Himself upon the rock, His sacrifice sent up that sweet savor to God, one that would redeem all who believe in Him, and when we receive Him we receive His Spirit in us instantly. Now, we have great power in us, it never leaves us, and yet He only moves in us at times. Even though Samson was raised as a Nazarite, which meant that he was to be dedicated to God, and His Law, he was a worldly as could be, he was friends with the Philistines, and loved their women, but God was going to use this to His advantage.

“And Samson went down to Timnath, and saw a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines. And he came up, and told his father and his mother, and said, I have seen a woman in Timnath of the daughters of the Philistines: now therefore get her for me to wife. Then his father and his mother said unto him, Is there never a woman among the daughters of thy brethren, or among all my people, that thou goest to take a wife of the uncircumcised Philistines? And Samson said unto his father, Get her for me; for she pleaseth me well. But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines: for at that time the Philistines had dominion over Israel.” – Judges 14:1-4.

“But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the LORD,” For years I have read this story only to discover that it was God’s plan for Samson to be friends with the Philistines. While God does not condone mixed marriages, and I am talking about mixed religions here, He will use every situation to His advantage. Keep in mind, we may not always understand God’s plan, and that is why we have to let go of ourselves, and let Him take the reins. God will take us where we need to be and give us the knowledge, strength, and guidance to fulfill His plan, whatever it may be. “For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:24-27.

“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:” The second that we receive Christ as our Saviour we lose our lives, meaning we are dead to ourselves, and alive through Christ. Meaning, we no longer belong to ourselves, we belong to Christ. He lives in us, our lives are saved through our faith alone in Him. Amen! And when we are dead to ourselves and alive to Christ, He will direct us down some unknown paths sometimes. So, how did God use Samson being married to a Philistine woman to judge them? The woman’s father gave her to another man.

“But it came to pass within a while after, in the time of wheat harvest, that Samson visited his wife with a kid; and he said, I will go in to my wife into the chamber. But her father would not suffer him to go in. And her father said, I verily thought that thou hadst utterly hated her; therefore I gave her to thy companion: is not her younger sister fairer than she? take her, I pray thee, instead of her. And Samson said concerning them, Now shall I be more blameless than the Philistines, though I do them a displeasure. And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands. And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith. And Samson said, With the jawbone of an ass, heaps upon heaps, with the jaw of an ass have I slain a thousand men.” – Judges 15:1-3,14-16.

“and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him,” This victory was not in the weapon, not in his own strength, it was the strength of God. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, and those who are free by the blood of Christ are indeed set free. When God calls us for some strange requests it is not to tempt us to go against Him, it is to strengthen us, grow us, and use us for His work. We cannot break the will of God because if we do we will end up right back where we were only taking much longer to get there. Do not fight God, and by all means, do not try to handle things on your own, go to Jesus, with His strength, trust Him, let Him guide you, and walk with you, and you will not struggle so much, and you will see God do a great work in you. “Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.” – Hebrews 10:35-36.

Jesus Christ Magnified: “And the angel of the LORD said unto him, Why askest thou thus after my name, seeing it is secret? So Manoah took a kid with a meat offering, and offered it upon a rock unto the LORD: and the angel did wondrously; and Manoah and his wife looked on.” – Judges 13:18-19.

Today’s Prayer: God, Thank You for the life You have given me, for all Your second chances, and for using me. I will not dare say that I understand Your ways all the time, but I will say that Your ways are best, and will do much more for me than anything I try to do on my own. You know where You have placed me, and You know when, why, how, and what I have to endure to see it through. Lord, lead me and guide me, give me Your mercy, grace, strength, wisdom, guidance, and the patience to wait on Your promise as you work in me as You direct this path that I am on. Work on my heart, keep me faithful, true, and from trying to handle things on my own. I know that as I follow Your commands, and live that You will see me through and I will see Your mighty hand bring it all together. In Your name, Jesus, I pray. Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

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