Wed, Mar 30th - 12:14PM

The young man really needed answers. As he spoke, brothers and sisters, I knew I really needed to listen. As he spoke his desperation for an answer, seemed to be almost tangible.

He was more than a little worried. Things had not been going so well for him. He felt he was getting passed over in life because he was not physically attractive. Many peers in his life that he felt were important to him had told him he was unattractive. He was lonely, but did not have any friends among his peers, although he was well accepted amongst older seasoned Christians. He felt he was passed over in his work, as more attractive people seemed to be chosen over him.

I suppose I could have asked him if he considered plastic surgery. However, I did not. The young man’s issue with feeling that a lack of physical attraction was making him an odd man out in life is all too common amongst young Christian men and women. I could have brushed him off with encouragement not to be so concerned about what people thought of him. I could have offered false comfort by telling him he did not look so bad to me; this also would have been insufficient too.

What in the world do we tell our young people facing the false standards of the world focused so much on the outer appearances? We must introduce them, ground them in the everlasting standard of the Bible. Jesus Christ is the eternal everlasting answer, Jesus Christ changes everything, and our sufficiency is of Him.  

God knows the hearts of men:  

Jesus Christ our Lord, did not come into the world with great physical beauty, knowing what is in the hearts of men. It is God our creator who designs all of us according to His sovereign will, none of us make ourselves. It is true that physical beauty is highly desirable in the world, while those who are on the opposite pole are lightly esteemed. Sadly, this same problem can be found in some churches.

We certainly do have some Christians who are less accepting of those whom they see as plain, therefore causing divisions amongst the brothers and sisters. Some church leaders are just as guilty in this area, dividing the sheep based on physical appearance alone.  Too often the “less desirable” sheep are scattered, or cast out, which should never be done. The "more acceptable" sheep are harmed as well by being lulled into a phony  belief that their looks alone entitles them to more than what is warranted. 

  Luk 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.  To be continued.

love

serola

Sun, Mar 27th - 7:19PM

Phil. 2: 8And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Jesus Christ is the only way into heaven, He is the only High Priest and Saviour. Praise God brothers and sisters, He is risen, our Saviour, our Advocate for all believers seated at the right hand of God the Father.

Sat, Mar 26th - 4:47AM

THE ALABASTER BOX?

What a Saviour we have in Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the impartial Judge, and no respecter of persons. He looks into the heart. Jesus had a few things to say to His disciples as well, feel free to see: (Mt.26: 7-14;Mar. 14:3-10).

The Bible gives us a fuller picture of the woman in the book of Luke. The Bible tells us her name Mary, and she is a Jew.

We find Mary in Luke 10:38-42, sitting at Jesus’ feet hearing His word.

We find Mary in John 11:1-45 at Jesus’ feet seeking His help for her deceased brother Lazarus.
We find Mary in John 12: 1-3, 6 days before the Passover, again with another box of costly ointment, anointing the feet of Jesus. Jesus the Passover over Lamb of God not only for Mary, but for all who will believe in and on His name.

Jesus came to live and to die for our sins out of His absolute love for His creations. No matter who you are, no matter the sin, there is ONE, Jesus Christ whose sinless blood is able to cleanse all who believe from all sin. The Bible says of Jesus: Isaiah 53

Brothers and sisters let us take time to pour out  worship, love, honor, praise and thanks and adoration to Jesus Christ our Saviour who alone has saved us and all who will believe. Let us keep in remembrance of Mary, for all she could see was Jesus Christ, and Jesus was all even more than enough for Mary. Therefore, He is more than enough for us too, for all who trust in Him.

Conclusion of the Alabaster box.

love

serola

Wed, Mar 23rd - 1:49PM

THE ALABASTER BOX?

Brothers and sisters I ponder how many of us would be all primed to give Simon aka Pharisee in name only, aka leper, the dressing down of his life. Wouldn’t more than a few us be tempted to tell Simon that he was the pot calling the kettle black and ought to be weeping at Jesus’ feet for forgiveness too? Maybe even some of us would say to Simon to wake up and ask Jesus Christ to heal him of leprosy. Surely more than a few of us would be highly offended at Simon for his worthless pride, and arrogance in seeing our Lord as being of little value.

Our Master, and Maker, Lord Jesus Christ does none of those things. Jesus Christ who knows the secret unspoken thoughts of every heart gives us the perfect example of dealing with unloving, unmerciful, difficult, unpleasant, prideful people. Jesus Christ seeks to teach the heart, to give understanding and compassion to those who lack. He tells Simon a couple of things: Lk. 7: 39Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

JESUS Gives Simon the Parable of the Two Debtors

Lk. 7: 40And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. 41There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. 42And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? 43Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

Jesus compares Simon correctly, and unfavorably to the woman

Lk 7:44And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. 45Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. 46My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. 47Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. 48And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. 49And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? 50And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

Lord Jesus Christ teaches our hearts too, yes,  each and every one of us what our correct spiritual response must be towards Himself as well as those seeking salvation. I pray, brothers and sisters that we will take time at Jesus’ feet, and place Him above all else. I pray we will go forth and give out the word of the New Covenant, and receive all who believe in Jesus Christ as brothers and sisters. We must preach Jesus according to His word never that  of  erroneous and false second hand opinions of religious pundits, so-called spiritual elite scholars,  or the false doctrines of institutional, and organizational "churches". Just like this woman we love Him much because He forgave us all of our debts too. Jesus Christ changes every thing. To be continued.

love

serola

Fri, Mar 18th - 3:14PM

THE ALABASTER BOX?

It seems strange that this Pharisee, who had to have seen some of the miracles that Jesus Christ did, even healing lepers, totally missed what the woman’s action meant.  Do we not ponder how a woman, crying her heart out in the presence of men would not even evoke any compassion or attempt to even ask her what was the matter? Instead she was shown rejection, dismissal, and anger by all but Lord Jesus Christ. Some among us, brothers and sisters, who have come out of the prison systems and other unsavory places, even after they have received salvation are not well received amongst some, but never all Christians. Just like this woman who was rejected, some Christians quickly put the welcome mat away, when they see people like her coming their way.

Let us look at Simon, beloveds, who was he anyway? The Bible tells us that Simon was a leper, and that he was also a Pharisee. (See Luk 7:39-40). Simon had the nerve to judge Lord Jesus Christ, compared himself as superior to Jesus, and obviously questioned that Jesus was really a prophet. Jesus was well aware of Simon's thoughts about Himself and the woman. However, none of it could sway Lord Jesus from having mercy on the woman and receiving her to Himself. Man looks on the outward appearances, but God looks on the heart.

Not surprisingly, Jesus did not speak to Simon out of the Law. For if He did He could absolutely say to Simon that Simon was a Pharisee in name only, and just as great a sinner as the woman who he condemned, because as a leper, under the Law of Moses, Simon was supposed to live alone, and when outside he was to cover a certain part of his face and cry unclean, unclean of himself. This was to prevent him from defiling the people and spreading his contagion amongst the unwary.

Saints (G40 hagios), let us look at the Law of Moses regarding lepers, which declares a man or even a woman who is a leper whether he be of the sons of Aaron or a king or common man must be separated alone by himself. The penalty for violation of this Law was death.

Lev 22:4 What man soever of the seed of Aaron is a leper, or hath a running issue; he shall not eat of the holy things, until he be clean.

Lev 13:45 And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. 46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be.

Num. 5: 1And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2Command the children of Israel, that they put out of the camp every leper, and every one that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead: 3Both male and female shall ye put out, without the camp shall ye put them; that they defile not their camps, in the midst whereof I dwell. 4And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp: as the LORD spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel

2 Kings 15: 5And the LORD smote the king, so that he was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house. And Jotham the king's son was over the house, judging the people of the land. Several house means: separate.

2Ch 26:21 And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.  To be continued.

love

serola

Mon, Mar 14th - 7:12PM

THE ALABASTER BOX?

Jesus Christ, the great shepherd of the flock knew exactly what the woman was bringing to Him and exactly why, for He said unto her: LK. 7: 48 And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

What the woman really brought to Lord Jesus Christ, brothers and sisters, were her many sins. The alabaster box with the ointment within was not ever intended as a gift by her. That which was of the most value in her eyes was Jesus Christ, of whom she was in need of His gift of  forgiveness that ONLY He could give. The ointment of which she poured ALL of it out upon Him, was in preparation of His death and burial, the terrible, horrific price He would pay to seal, not only her redemption, but for the redemption of everyone who will believe in Him- once for all and for all time, now and forever.

Brothers and sisters let us bow our hearts in surrender and  pour out the ointment of love from our hearts in worship at Jesus’ feet too for His grace that is greater than all our sins. For we too who were once bound by the Law of Moses have been set free forever from the Law of death and condemnation, with its curses. Just like the woman who fled to Jesus Christ the eternal only Saviour and High Priest over the house of God, we too are made free forever by the love and truth of our Saviour Jesus Christ. We too are free to love by the Grace of the New Covenant of Lord Jesus Christ and to find eternal peace in the everlasting truth of Him, who loved us and gave Himself for us. Let us worship Him for He has said to us too (put your name here as you worship) "Thy sins are forgiven". Amen. To be continued.

love

serola 

Tue, Mar 8th - 8:55AM

 THE ALABASTER BOX?

God helps us to fully understand the limitations He imposed on the Law of Moses that while some sins could be forgiven, the sin nature itself, the source of sin, which is why we sin, why we like to sin, and inexorably  always do sin, remains unchanged, preeminent, and dominate our lives and can NEVER be done away or changed in any way by the Law of Moses. God's eternal  command for sinners is to turn to His Son Jesus Christ in faith for the pardon of sins and the destruction of the sin nature itself. Jesus Christ the sole Saviour, the new eternal, High Priest, Head of the church, Author of Salvation heals not only the sinner, but the sin problem arising out of the sin nature itself, through His final finished work of the New Covenant,  for all that believe on and in Him.

Brothers and sisters can you imagine the insult to our Lord by those who had the gall to  say "why was the ointment wasted",  on Jesus Christ, the very Son of God made flesh in their midst. One man in particular was so put out at not getting that box of ointment that he got up and left. We know him very well, Judas Iscariot, a thief and also a keeper of the Lord's purse, a false disciple. He went and sold out the very Son of God for thirty pieces of silver. There are even those today, brothers and sisters, who have sold out Lord Jesus Christ for money, and other things that have no value in the eyes of God. Oh Lord, what shall an unrepentant man  ( this includes women too) give in exchange for his soul, for when it is lost not all the gold and silver in the world can buy it back, nor save it from the eternal judgement and damnation of God!

Praise God, brothers and sisters, for the multitude amongst us who know that Jesus Christ is the true pearl of great price, and have come to Him believing and trusting  in Him to gain eternal life through faith in His name. alone.

to be continued

love

serola

Mon, Mar 7th - 11:08AM

In some of the stories of her box, the Bible does not say whether she was a Jew or a gentile, and we must take note of this too, brothers and sisters. Firstly, had she been a Jew, she would not have, could not have gone to the High Priest under the Law of Moses knowing he would surely condemn her to death. This is because, there were certain sins under the Law, that God forbade even the high priest to forgive. Indeed, the penalty of some sins and offenses were such an abomination to God, that the penalty was expulsion by death by stoning or other means. It will be in other books of the Bible that she is more fully identified by name, whether gentile or Jew, and Jesus will speak her name.

Deu 22:21Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she hath wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house: so shalt thou put evil away from among you.

Deu 23:17 There shall be no whore of the daughters of Israel, nor a sodomite of the sons of Israel.

Num 35:31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.

Had the woman been a gentile, she had no right to even enter the tabernacle under the penalty of death. In any case whether she was a Jew or gentile, she had great reason to go to Jesus Christ. She knew she was a sinner, but the most important thing is SHE KNEW WHO JESUS IS.

There are a great many of us brethren too, who have fled for refuge to Lord Jesus Christ, believing all that He has said and done, and through Him received the eternal forgiveness of all of our sins and more that only He can give. Running to Jesus Christ is where God the Father commands all  sinners to go. Some of us also who were whores, murderers, effeminates, homosexuals, fornicators, and more, sinners,  just like this woman, fled to Jesus Christ, the only Saviour and NEW and only High Priest forever over the house of God.

1 Cor. 6: 9Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. 

God helps us to fully understand the limitations of the Law of Moses, IMPOSED BY GOD HIMSELF,  that while some sins could be forgiven, the sin nature itself, the source of sin, which is why we sin, why we like to sin, and inexorably  always do sin, remains unchanged, preeminent, and dominate our lives and can NEVER be done away or changed in any way by the Law of Moses. God's eternal  command for sinners is to turn to His Son Jesus Christ in faith for the pardon of sins and the destruction of the sin nature itself. Jesus Christ the sole Saviour, the new eternal, High Priest, Head of the church, Author of Salvation heals not only the sinner, but the sin problem arising out of the sin nature itself, through His final finished work of the New Covenant,  for all that believe on and in Him.

Some among us have given their testimony of the terrible sins of which they have been forgiven, and found themselves outcasts in their church and found that once friendly folks, suddenly do not want their families to have anything more to do with them. The invitations for dinner etc. have stopped coming. This is because there are some that teach ignorantly that the testimonies of others bring salvation to the hearers. Testimonies certainly have a place if The New Testament is first consistently taught and laid as the framework within which we fully understand them. Certainly people who have not been taught the New Covenant of Jesus Christ can become fearful and wonder if the person who committed some terrible sins could revert and start doing them again.

We must all teach that Jesus changes everything for the believer in and completely through Him. Salvation through Jesus Christ, the Son of God means eternal forgiveness and pardon of all sins, and the destruction of the sin nature itself, of which outward sin is merely just the tip of the iceberg of the sin nature, so to speak. We are made new creatures in Jesus Christ, and given new natures after Christ, and new hearts and minds after Christ. Obviously those who continue to murder etc. after claiming to be saved are liars. No good fruit no good root. Evil fruit, evil root.  To be continued.

love

serola

Fri, Mar 4th - 7:24AM

THE ALABASTER BOX?

Holy brothers and sisters, O.K. some of you do not feel so holy today. Nevertheless, it is not about what your “feelings” say, beloveds, it is about what Jesus Christ has done for me and you, therefore God calls all of His people holy. Come believing what Jesus Christ has done and said about you, and you will find strength to live in what God has eternally declared about every one of His people forever.

Let me start again, holy brothers and sisters, some only preach about the alabaster box, some even write songs about the alabaster, how much it cost etc. However, those among us know that it was about a certain woman, and do not objectify scripture regarding her as being all about a box. I want you to join me in this memorial of not to her, not to worship or make an idol of her, but for remembrance of  her in the light of the gospel message of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Just who was this woman? The Bible tells us: Lke. 7:  36 And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. 37And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,  38 And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

The Bible does tell us who she was-a sinner. The Bible also tells us that she was a woman of ill repute: Lke. 7: 39Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.

The Pharisee and even today the so called “spiritual elite” have a fatal flaw, they have neither mercy nor compassion to see beyond the sinner, to the sinners’ desperate need to gain forgiveness. Certainly under no circumstances would this Pharisee even allow this woman to touch him, as Jesus Christ allowed.

Invariably, saints (G40 hagios), some could only focus on the stuff i.e. the box with the ointment in it and the Bible gives their opinions and shows what was of most importance to them: Mt. 26: 8But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste? 9For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor.

The Pharisee, and the disciples were not alone in their opinions there were unnamed others as well: Mark 14: 4And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made? 5For it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.

Indignation: G23-aganakteo The KJV translates Strongs G23 in the following manner: have indignation (2x), be much displeased (2x), with indignation (2x), be sore displeased (1x).

This woman did not care what anybody thought or said about her, she walked past ALL their condemning glares and harsh words against her, because she heard that JESUS WAS IN THE HOUSE. Jesus was all that mattered to her and nothing and no one else.      To be continued.

love

serola 

Thu, Mar 3rd - 10:51AM

READ THE FINE PRINT

I have always been advised to read the fine print before signing any contract. I have followed this advice and it has saved me many a headache, and financial loss. For example, I had some work done, and the contractor did not pay all of his workmen and one went to court to have a lien placed on me to pay him. Brothers and sisters, it was an easy victory, I had crossed out that section of the contract and wrote in that I would not be liable in such case, and accepted payment was in full and in final. The court confirmed this and the case was thrown out.

 I did feel badly for the workman, and told the contractor I would never do business with him again because he cheated his workman out of his rightful pay. He was contrite and said he would pay his workman. I checked back with the workman who assured me that he did pay him in full.

In the same way, brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ has paid our debt IN FULL, therefore when we stand before the judgement seat of God, our Father will look upon the contract or New Covenant we have with Jesus Christ our Saviour and His Son, and pronounce our debt is paid in full, we will enter into heaven and be with Him forever. Oh the love and mercy of God who through Lord Jesus Christ has made us acceptable in the beloved. Amen.

Know what is or is not in the contract to avoid being taken advantage of out of ignorance or neglect to read the fine print; and to know your rights obligations, responsibilities, and exactly what is or is not due you.

As Christians we know God will never take advantage of His people. God commands us to fully study our contract or New Covenant that He gives to all who believe in His Son Jesus Christ our only Saviour. Some people, and certainly the devil will try to take advantage of those who neglect to study the New Covenant. The devil tried in vain on more than a few occasions to trick Lord Jesus Christ, who is the very Word of God.

 Mt. 4:5Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

7Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.

Tue, Mar 1st - 12:24PM

Brothers and sisters please pray for me as the Lord leads you. I met a church leader teaching it is necessary to be a Hebrew and is teaching salvation through good works and keeping the Law. It would have been so easy for me to throw up my hands in dismay and walk away, but hell is real. I have witnessed to him, gone over scripture from the Old Testament to the New Testament to show him that God's plan for salvation is through His Son Jesus Christ. So far he has been very open, and agree with every thing that I have shown him in the Bible so far. I tell him that I love him and that God does not want him to be lost because He loves him more than anyone on earth,  and desires that he become His, and be saved. I am in agreement with God, I do not want him to be lost either.

He has a lot of extra -biblical material that goes contrary to scripture, and I am urging him to take the Bible as it is the only truth and to throw away the false teachings. I know Lord Jesus is Good all the time, and that it is no accident that I have met this church leader.

I pray that God will turn this whole church to the Lord. As God gives you the opportunity brothers and sisters, tell someone about Jesus, our only Saviour.

love

serola

P.S

I will have another meeting with him hopefully later on this week. I am praying for his heart to be open to receive and believe  the gospel message. I am thankful that he has come to accept that the gospel is not about race, but grace for not only the Jews, but for all who will believe on the only Saviour Jesus Christ. God willing, I will get back on how things go at a later date.

I am thankful that I had the opportunity to show the gospel message to a pastor of a very large church, who was combining Law and grace. Praise God, he agreed with the New Covenant and will no longer teach that  people need the Law to be saved after they come to faith in Jesus Christ. Oh, thank you Lord for your grace, and through this pastor his whole church will become rooted in the grace of the New Covenant. No one is throwing the rest of the Bible away, but all of it is to be understood that God has finished His work forever for righteousness through His Son. Jesus Christ. Amen. Come soon Lord Jesus!