WE DO NOT IMPUTE SIN WHEN WE LOVE AS GOD DOES

Edward O’Hara Do you believe that God is love as John says in 1John4:7,8? And that because He is love He loves just as He instructs His children to? If you do then you must also believe that His forgiveness is given as freely as He tells us to forgive. Because to forgive is an expression of His love. That He does not hold trespasses against us just as He instructs us not to hold them against one another. The reason I ask is, if we have believed that God is only able to express His love for us because His requirement of a penalty being paid for our offenses has been met by the torturous and bloody death of Christ as so many teach, then to love as God does shouldn’t we require the same “pound of flesh” God did,…

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THE BELIEVER’S GUIDE FOR SHARING GOD’S LOVE WITH THE WORLD

Edward O’Hara In witnessing to the unbelieving world we can come to know how to read the Bible for all it’s worth. And how to take what we read and apply it to our witness when we are trying to help someone understand their need for Jesus. And how that when we do all of this we learn that it is not about bringing them under the condemnation of the devil by telling them that they are guilty before God for anything they or someone else may have done. Because Paul taught that it is the goodness of God, not severity, that leads a man to repentance. To do this, 1st We need to understand that it is because Adam was natural, not spiritual when God made him that creates our need for Jesus.  “And so it is written, The first man Adam…

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“The Fall”? “The Curse”? What Does The Bible Really Say? A “Curse”? A “Fall”?

Edward O’Hara Why is it that we hear so many using such hyperbole? Is it hyperbole? Or is it Biblical language? Is this language found anywhere in the Bible from which we may conclude anything like this? When we read the Genesis account do we ever see God using this language? Do we see God using “The curse” or “The fall” in connection to what happened to Adam and Eve? Does God say Adam and Eve were cursed? Or that they “fell” from anything? Do any of the writers of the scriptures use these terms to describe what happened to Adam and Eve? Let’s take a look. You may be surprised at what we find. We’ll start with Genesis and then also see what Paul says about this.  But first, let me give you something to consider that will be answered later…

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‘Church Fathers’; Should We Trust ‘EM? Can What Was Written After the Apostles

Be as Trustworthy in and of Itself as What Was Written by the Apostles? Should It Be as Trusted? What If They Were Wrong? Could They Have Been Wrong?… Have you ever heard the term “church fathers”? The term is usually used in reference to the men who wrote about theology directly after the times of the apostles. Should we consider anyone to be “church fathers” other than those who penned the scriptures? Some do because they have been taught to believe that those who came shortly after the apostles are as much to be believed as the apostles themselves. What say you? Can what was written after the apostles be as trustworthy in and of itself as what was written by the apostles? Should it be as trusted? What if they were wrong? Could they have been wrong?  Have…

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ADAM WAS MADE NATURAL, NOT SPIRITUAL FOR OUR EXAMPLE

Edward O’Hara Why did God make Adam a natural man? Why didn’t God make him spiritual from the beginning? Oh,” you say, “but God did make him spiritual from the beginning. He made him in His image and likeness so that means he was made spiritual”. If you believe that you are seriously and sadly mistaken. Because Paul said plainly in 1Cor.15:45-50 that Adam was not made a spiritual being when God made him, but a natural being. A living soul. Of the earth earthy. Flesh and blood. And God said in Gen.3:19 that all that Adam was was made from the dust. And to the dust, he shall return. With that cleared up, we will now return to our original question. Why did God make Adam natural and not spiritual from the beginning?  The short answer is that God chose…

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Watchman: Daily Devotional, Do Not Be Afraid of Those Who Kill the Body but Cannot Kill the Soul. Rather, Be Afraid of the One Who Can Destroy Both Soul and Body in Hell

Matthew 10:24-25, 28 (NIV) 24″ A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household! 28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. If you identify with Jesus, prepare your heart to be treated like Jesus was treated. They referred to Him as the Lord of the Demons. That is, they regard His disciples as demons. One of Satan’s (the accuser of the brethren) recurring practices is to accuse God’s people of the identical things he is guilty…

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LOOSED BY LOVE OR BOUND BY UNFORGIVENESS, WHICH DO YOU PREFER FOR ETERNITY?

Edward O’Hara In Mat.18 Jesus says “Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” When taken out of context, as from what I have heard taught on this before seems to be the norm, it can mean almost anything. Most have the idea that this means we can bind anything and it is bound in heaven. And lose anything and it is loosed in heaven. But, when understood in context we see a very specific issue that Jesus was referring to here. And that issue is love. And more precisely the love of God.  From the beginning of this chapter, Jesus speaks of offenses and forgiveness saying of little children, “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is…

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Throughout the Old Testament the Prophets Were Called God’s Servants. In Jesus’ Day, the Disciples That Followed a Teacher Served Their Leader Like a Servant

John 15:15-17 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other. In the entire Old Testament, the prophets were referred to as God’s servants. In the time of Jesus, followers of a teacher served their leader as servants. Jesus made it possible for a greater number of people to enter a relationship than under the old covenant. God referred to Abraham as His friend and addressed him in a very personal manner. He…

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The Jewish Elders Were Astounded That Jesus Could Speak With Such Profundity Despite Having Never Studied With Any of the Famous Rabbis of the Day. Man Places a High Value on His Own Educational System, With Each Generation Believing That Theirs Is the Only Accurate and Complete One. Wrong Again!

John 7:16-18 16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. The Jewish elders were astounded that Jesus could speak with such profundity despite having never studied with any of the famous rabbis of the day. Man places a high value on his own educational system, with each generation believing that theirs is the only accurate and complete one. Jesus makes no mention of His miraculous birth, hours of study,…

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OUR NATION IS CORRUPT TO THE BONES

Amos is a shepherd and a fruit picker from the Judean village of Tekoa when God calls him, even though he lacks education or a priestly background. Amos’ mission is directed to his neighbor to the north, Israel. His messages of impending doom and captivity for the nation because of her sins are largely unpopular and unheeded, however, because not since the days of Solomon have times been so good in Israel. Amos’ ministry takes place while Jeroboam II reigns over Israel, and Uzziah reigns over Judah. Amos 2:4, “This is what the LORD says: ‘For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. Because they have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed.” Amos 3:7, “Surely the…

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