Randy Green's Blog - Posts Tagged "righteousness"
Betwixt and Between, Part 1
What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works [Romans 9:30-32].
In those verses a clear dichotomy exists, and this contrast is the point to the entire quotation. On the one hand there is the righteousness which is by faith, on the other a law of righteousness. In each case righteousness is the result. The cause is what varies between the two.
The phrase a law of righteousness is better understood when the order of the words corresponds to the phrase the righteousness which is by faith. After all, Paul is teaching the difference between the two "righteousnesses", if you will permit me to coin a word.
So let's change the order of the words for the phrase a law of righteousness, so that it does correspond to what it is being contrasted with. Voilà! we come up with the righteousness which is by law. For each phrase righteousness is the result, while it is achieved by means of either "law" or "faith".
I wanted to note this contrast because by doing so we can see the purpose of the Law of Moses, dear friends. The Law was given by the Lord to the Israelites to teach them that they could not be perfect. But being perfect is the condition necessary for entrance into heaven. God is perfect and He cannot tolerate anything less. If He did then heaven would become hell pronto!
The problem wasn't with the Law. The problem was with man because man is a sinner and sinners are the opposite of perfect. Trouble is, because man is a sinner his thinking and judgment is all out of whack. Ergo, instead of looking in the mirror and seeing a sinner, he looks in the mirror and sees a saint.
This predicament leaves man betwixt and between. He is torn between Law and grace, and the sinner cannot swallow his pride enough to accept the pure Gospel without adulterating it by adding in the Law. By that means a sinner can feel that he is not perfect and needs the Gospel, but he is not really so bad after all and can do good on his own.
We will continue our flow of thought in our next post tomorrow. For tonight let’s hie off to our prayer closet and ruminate a bit on what we have just studied.
In those verses a clear dichotomy exists, and this contrast is the point to the entire quotation. On the one hand there is the righteousness which is by faith, on the other a law of righteousness. In each case righteousness is the result. The cause is what varies between the two.
The phrase a law of righteousness is better understood when the order of the words corresponds to the phrase the righteousness which is by faith. After all, Paul is teaching the difference between the two "righteousnesses", if you will permit me to coin a word.
So let's change the order of the words for the phrase a law of righteousness, so that it does correspond to what it is being contrasted with. Voilà! we come up with the righteousness which is by law. For each phrase righteousness is the result, while it is achieved by means of either "law" or "faith".
I wanted to note this contrast because by doing so we can see the purpose of the Law of Moses, dear friends. The Law was given by the Lord to the Israelites to teach them that they could not be perfect. But being perfect is the condition necessary for entrance into heaven. God is perfect and He cannot tolerate anything less. If He did then heaven would become hell pronto!
The problem wasn't with the Law. The problem was with man because man is a sinner and sinners are the opposite of perfect. Trouble is, because man is a sinner his thinking and judgment is all out of whack. Ergo, instead of looking in the mirror and seeing a sinner, he looks in the mirror and sees a saint.
This predicament leaves man betwixt and between. He is torn between Law and grace, and the sinner cannot swallow his pride enough to accept the pure Gospel without adulterating it by adding in the Law. By that means a sinner can feel that he is not perfect and needs the Gospel, but he is not really so bad after all and can do good on his own.
We will continue our flow of thought in our next post tomorrow. For tonight let’s hie off to our prayer closet and ruminate a bit on what we have just studied.
Betwixt and Between, Part 2
What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, attained righteousness, even the righteousness which is by faith; but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness, did not arrive at that law. Why? Because they did not pursue it by faith, but as though it were by works [Romans 9:30-32].
Those words take us back to yesterday’s post. Let’s continue now with what we began then. Man thinks he is good enough to obey the Law. So God gave the Law to His chosen people back in the day to allow them all the chances they wanted at keeping it. Guess what? Nary a soul succeeded. The purpose of the Law was achieved: it showed man that he could not possibly live with God on the basis of his own merits.
This taught man that, if he was to live with God, he needed a Savior—One Who could pay the penalty for his sins and also replace the sinner living inside him with a new life of righteousness. On the one hand the penalty for sins needed to be paid, and that penalty is death. On the other hand a new life was needed, one which did not want to disobey the Word of God and also had the power to obey it.
So it is, you see, that it is a good thing we Christians are not under law but under grace (cf., Rom.6:14). The Law did NOT merely consist of a set of do's and don'ts to be followed. The Law consisted of an indivisible set of regulations forming one single LAW, and every last regulation must perforce be obeyed perfectly at all times 24/7, or else the offender was not perfect and so was unable to live with God.
Also, the Law was NOT merely a question of morality. As we learned by the opening quotation of this post, the Law was a means for attaining righteousness. In other words to put ourselves under the Law is to attempt to be perfect, in order to earn our own way to heaven. To be under the Law is not merely to obey the Ten Commandments to the best of our ability. It is to attempt to get ourselves to heaven by our own obedience—in which case either we obey it perfectly always or else we pack the swim suits because the destination will be very hot!
Dear friends, don't listen to well-meaning folks who quote the Law and insist we are responsible to obey it. We are NOT under law: we ARE under grace. The Apostle Paul's words with which we began this post are meant to teach us this very point. Those Israelites who rejected Jesus as Israel's Messiah did so because they wanted the Law, not grace. Ergo, God had the Gospel go to the Gentiles to give them the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Savior.
Which of us in our right minds wants to reject the Gospel and return to the Law? Not me! I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms. Care to join me?
Those words take us back to yesterday’s post. Let’s continue now with what we began then. Man thinks he is good enough to obey the Law. So God gave the Law to His chosen people back in the day to allow them all the chances they wanted at keeping it. Guess what? Nary a soul succeeded. The purpose of the Law was achieved: it showed man that he could not possibly live with God on the basis of his own merits.
This taught man that, if he was to live with God, he needed a Savior—One Who could pay the penalty for his sins and also replace the sinner living inside him with a new life of righteousness. On the one hand the penalty for sins needed to be paid, and that penalty is death. On the other hand a new life was needed, one which did not want to disobey the Word of God and also had the power to obey it.
So it is, you see, that it is a good thing we Christians are not under law but under grace (cf., Rom.6:14). The Law did NOT merely consist of a set of do's and don'ts to be followed. The Law consisted of an indivisible set of regulations forming one single LAW, and every last regulation must perforce be obeyed perfectly at all times 24/7, or else the offender was not perfect and so was unable to live with God.
Also, the Law was NOT merely a question of morality. As we learned by the opening quotation of this post, the Law was a means for attaining righteousness. In other words to put ourselves under the Law is to attempt to be perfect, in order to earn our own way to heaven. To be under the Law is not merely to obey the Ten Commandments to the best of our ability. It is to attempt to get ourselves to heaven by our own obedience—in which case either we obey it perfectly always or else we pack the swim suits because the destination will be very hot!
Dear friends, don't listen to well-meaning folks who quote the Law and insist we are responsible to obey it. We are NOT under law: we ARE under grace. The Apostle Paul's words with which we began this post are meant to teach us this very point. Those Israelites who rejected Jesus as Israel's Messiah did so because they wanted the Law, not grace. Ergo, God had the Gospel go to the Gentiles to give them the opportunity to receive Jesus as their Savior.
Which of us in our right minds wants to reject the Gospel and return to the Law? Not me! I will arise and go to Jesus. He will embrace me in His arms. Care to join me?
Tripping Over My Own Feet
Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil [Proverbs 3:7].
We have a stunning contrast in the opening Bible text of this study. Let’s view it as a bulleted list:
• wise in your own eyes
• fear the Lord
These form a parallel of sorts, what is known as parallelism in Biblical Hebrew poetry. Most often the parallel is synonymous, meaning the two concepts are in agreement. In this case the parallel is antonymous because the two concepts are in sharp contrast and opposition to each other. This makes the text to be in the form of antonymous parallelism.
But not to be distraught over the abstract terminology, dear friends. Let me demonstrate using the particulars, and then it will become crystal clear.
Man is a sinner. His every instinct is to do the opposite of what the Lord tells him to do. He often isn’t even conscious of this motivation because it is ingrained into his very nature, a sin nature. He disobeys automatically without even thinking about it.
The Lord created man and established him as the custodian over His garden. In the cool of the day the Lord came and visited with the man and enjoyed a time of fellowship with him. Picture a country house with a screened front porch. After the outdoor work was done in the evening, folks sit for a spell inside the screened-off area and chitchat for a while.
Anyway, the Lord gave man his food, which consisted of all the fruit in the entire humongous garden—all, that is, except for the fruit of one tree. In the midst of the garden the Lord planted two trees, their location highlighting their prominence. One tree was the life tree, the other the kogae tree.
Here’s the prominence held by the two trees. The Lord instructed man that, if he ate of the life tree, he would live. In contrast if the man ate of the kogae tree, he would die. Not complicated instructions, was it? The life tree had no medicinal properties, and the kogae tree wasn’t poisonous. Obedience or disobedience to the Word of God determined what resulted from eating the fruit of either tree.
When the woman ate from the kogae tree, two concepts were behind her action. Would it surprise you to know the two concepts are the same two which occur in our opening Scripture verse? The woman did not fear the Lord, or else she would have eaten from the life tree in obedience to his warning. Rather, she was wise in her own eyes, which led her to eat the forbidden fruit of the kogae tree.
Therein lies the real reason for the state of the world today, dear friends. Mankind is composed entirely of sinners, and sinners by nature want to disobey the Word of God. Sinners by nature have no fear of God. Sinners by nature are wise in their own eyes. Listen to another Scripture text which portrays this situation:
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble [Proverbs 4:18-19].
Again we have two contrasting concepts, the same two:
• the path of the righteous
• the way of the wicked
The path of the righteous is paved with obedience to the Word of God. Accordingly it is like the light of dawn: it shines increasingly brighter as the day wears on. The way of the wicked, in stark contrast, is like darkness. Accordingly their wont is to stumble incessantly, and they cannot even see over what they stumble! What a frustrating way to live.
None of us would consciously choose to trip over our own feet…would we? I surely hope not! Let’s go by “Thus saith the Lord” and not by “I think”, okay? Light is always preferable to darkness. Speaking of light…time spent alone with Jesus is the brightest and best light available. Let’s recharge ourselves now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
We have a stunning contrast in the opening Bible text of this study. Let’s view it as a bulleted list:
• wise in your own eyes
• fear the Lord
These form a parallel of sorts, what is known as parallelism in Biblical Hebrew poetry. Most often the parallel is synonymous, meaning the two concepts are in agreement. In this case the parallel is antonymous because the two concepts are in sharp contrast and opposition to each other. This makes the text to be in the form of antonymous parallelism.
But not to be distraught over the abstract terminology, dear friends. Let me demonstrate using the particulars, and then it will become crystal clear.
Man is a sinner. His every instinct is to do the opposite of what the Lord tells him to do. He often isn’t even conscious of this motivation because it is ingrained into his very nature, a sin nature. He disobeys automatically without even thinking about it.
The Lord created man and established him as the custodian over His garden. In the cool of the day the Lord came and visited with the man and enjoyed a time of fellowship with him. Picture a country house with a screened front porch. After the outdoor work was done in the evening, folks sit for a spell inside the screened-off area and chitchat for a while.
Anyway, the Lord gave man his food, which consisted of all the fruit in the entire humongous garden—all, that is, except for the fruit of one tree. In the midst of the garden the Lord planted two trees, their location highlighting their prominence. One tree was the life tree, the other the kogae tree.
Here’s the prominence held by the two trees. The Lord instructed man that, if he ate of the life tree, he would live. In contrast if the man ate of the kogae tree, he would die. Not complicated instructions, was it? The life tree had no medicinal properties, and the kogae tree wasn’t poisonous. Obedience or disobedience to the Word of God determined what resulted from eating the fruit of either tree.
When the woman ate from the kogae tree, two concepts were behind her action. Would it surprise you to know the two concepts are the same two which occur in our opening Scripture verse? The woman did not fear the Lord, or else she would have eaten from the life tree in obedience to his warning. Rather, she was wise in her own eyes, which led her to eat the forbidden fruit of the kogae tree.
Therein lies the real reason for the state of the world today, dear friends. Mankind is composed entirely of sinners, and sinners by nature want to disobey the Word of God. Sinners by nature have no fear of God. Sinners by nature are wise in their own eyes. Listen to another Scripture text which portrays this situation:
But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; they do not know over what they stumble [Proverbs 4:18-19].
Again we have two contrasting concepts, the same two:
• the path of the righteous
• the way of the wicked
The path of the righteous is paved with obedience to the Word of God. Accordingly it is like the light of dawn: it shines increasingly brighter as the day wears on. The way of the wicked, in stark contrast, is like darkness. Accordingly their wont is to stumble incessantly, and they cannot even see over what they stumble! What a frustrating way to live.
None of us would consciously choose to trip over our own feet…would we? I surely hope not! Let’s go by “Thus saith the Lord” and not by “I think”, okay? Light is always preferable to darkness. Speaking of light…time spent alone with Jesus is the brightest and best light available. Let’s recharge ourselves now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Deuteronomy: Volume 5 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Don’t Give Your Heart Away – Part 1
Stand firm therefore…having put on the breastplate of righteousness [Ephesians 6:14].
Springtime is in the air. Ah, amore! Venice is nice for the atmosphere it affords springtime lovers, or so I hear tell anyway. Gay Paris is not exactly chopped liver, if you’re looking for a substitute. What is indispensable is the amore part, not the scenery.
Isn’t life in Tinseltown romantic? There are the fairy tales, and there are the fairy tales, and then there are the fairy tales. Who needs reality when fairy tales are so readily available? We modern Americans are real dupes.
No matter how much we want to pretend reality isn’t real, it is still there, waiting to bite us in the rear end at the first opportunity. Money cannot buy us happiness…or fairy tales…or eternal life. Optical illusions and cheap parlor tricks are not reality, so we would do ourselves well not to give away the farm for pie in the sky.
In our last several studies we have been delving into spiritual warfare and “the full armor of God”. This armor is God’s provision for the Christian, in resisting the evil one and overcoming the world. The first piece of armor we descanted upon was “the belt of truth”. Tinseltown is anything but the truth, dear friends. Why are we in America so willing to pretend it is?
We call ourselves being “romantic” when we chase after our lusts, in imitation of the antics of the silver screen. We should be burying our noses in the Word of God to learn of what real life consists. We instead prefer to play Mr. Magoo or Don Quixote and pretend Star Wars is reality.
We fancy ourselves Luke Skywalkers, out to save the lovely Princess Leia from those repulsive alien-looking whatever-they-are. Not to worry. The force will be with us, whatever that is. Oh, I know what it is! It once upon a time wore the epithet “animism” and “ancestor worship”. It was standard fare for the ancient pagans and their heathenism.
But we are so smart today, aren’t we? Just change the label and redo the packaging, display it on the silver screen as “the force be with you”, and presto! we have made Greek mythology modern and returned us to our heathen roots. And this from the intelligentsia wannabes who mock Christianity as a fable and superstition! Who woulda thunk it, huh?
Have you noticed how much mega-millions of dollars these repackaged Greek myths are making? What does that tell us, if not that modern Americans are too “smart” to buy into Ma & Pa’s old-fashioned superstition (read “Christianity”), so we buy into the polytheism of the ancient Greeks and Canaanites and Egyptians?
Not a pleasant note on which to end the song, is it? But we must stop and take our rest for the night. We’ll meet up again tomorrow. Enjoy time with Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
Springtime is in the air. Ah, amore! Venice is nice for the atmosphere it affords springtime lovers, or so I hear tell anyway. Gay Paris is not exactly chopped liver, if you’re looking for a substitute. What is indispensable is the amore part, not the scenery.
Isn’t life in Tinseltown romantic? There are the fairy tales, and there are the fairy tales, and then there are the fairy tales. Who needs reality when fairy tales are so readily available? We modern Americans are real dupes.
No matter how much we want to pretend reality isn’t real, it is still there, waiting to bite us in the rear end at the first opportunity. Money cannot buy us happiness…or fairy tales…or eternal life. Optical illusions and cheap parlor tricks are not reality, so we would do ourselves well not to give away the farm for pie in the sky.
In our last several studies we have been delving into spiritual warfare and “the full armor of God”. This armor is God’s provision for the Christian, in resisting the evil one and overcoming the world. The first piece of armor we descanted upon was “the belt of truth”. Tinseltown is anything but the truth, dear friends. Why are we in America so willing to pretend it is?
We call ourselves being “romantic” when we chase after our lusts, in imitation of the antics of the silver screen. We should be burying our noses in the Word of God to learn of what real life consists. We instead prefer to play Mr. Magoo or Don Quixote and pretend Star Wars is reality.
We fancy ourselves Luke Skywalkers, out to save the lovely Princess Leia from those repulsive alien-looking whatever-they-are. Not to worry. The force will be with us, whatever that is. Oh, I know what it is! It once upon a time wore the epithet “animism” and “ancestor worship”. It was standard fare for the ancient pagans and their heathenism.
But we are so smart today, aren’t we? Just change the label and redo the packaging, display it on the silver screen as “the force be with you”, and presto! we have made Greek mythology modern and returned us to our heathen roots. And this from the intelligentsia wannabes who mock Christianity as a fable and superstition! Who woulda thunk it, huh?
Have you noticed how much mega-millions of dollars these repackaged Greek myths are making? What does that tell us, if not that modern Americans are too “smart” to buy into Ma & Pa’s old-fashioned superstition (read “Christianity”), so we buy into the polytheism of the ancient Greeks and Canaanites and Egyptians?
Not a pleasant note on which to end the song, is it? But we must stop and take our rest for the night. We’ll meet up again tomorrow. Enjoy time with Jesus now.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Categories: Church Age
Don’t Give Your Heart Away – Part 2
Stand firm therefore…having put on the breastplate of righteousness [Ephesians 6:14].
Contemporary USA mocks the Bible as being old-fashioned and consisting of fairy tales. This same USA brags about how modern it is, all the while being bed fellows with ancient paganism! Have you ever heard the pejorative “sucker”?
Well, we better get used to it, for we have been duped by the evil one yet once again. The facticity and sense of the Bible is replaced in our country by the stuff and nonsense of ancient paganism, and we are proud of it! We are “modern”, fresh, new…or so we believe.
Truth be told, our thinking is as old as dirt, as old as the Garden of Eden, as old as Methuselah. Baal worship has nothing on us. Just visit your local abortion clinic and see firsthand. Want to know what the Asherah pole was? Ask a porno flick connoisseur. He can tell you.
What has all this to do with our Bible verse? I’ll bet you’re wondering that, aren’t you? Oh, yes you are. I saw you wondering it! You can’t hide it from me. Well, let’s consider how the two are related.
The state of our country today reveals our heart condition. Our hearts have been stolen by the wicked one, aka Satan or the devil or Lucifer. Nay, but rather we have given our hearts away, like some love-sick puppy dog who just entered puberty.
When we prefer to watch Star Wars and fantasize about it until it forms our mindset, what have we done if not set our heart on the things of the earth? All along we should bury our head in the Book and allow it to transform us by the renewing of the mind. We don’t follow the Lord. We follow old Lucifer.
I know, no one confesses, “I follow Lucifer!” But a rose is a rose. By any other name… We are on a perpetual safari to find something novel, something extraordinary, something to tickle the fancy. Ma & Pa’s Bible is just some more of the same old same old. Who wants that? So we make fun of it and believe we have discredited it thereby.
Too bad for us, but the Bible won’t go off on its own somewhere and die. The grass withers, the flowers fade; but the Word of our God stands forever. God demands that we reckon with Him. We cannot avoid Him. Our hearts will perforce either harden against Him, in which case we become card-carrying members of the Star Wars Reality Club. Or else our hearts melt at His presence, and we give our hearts to Jesus.
Which will it be for me? Which for you? Let’s sit at the feet of Jesus a while and ponder this issue.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Contemporary USA mocks the Bible as being old-fashioned and consisting of fairy tales. This same USA brags about how modern it is, all the while being bed fellows with ancient paganism! Have you ever heard the pejorative “sucker”?
Well, we better get used to it, for we have been duped by the evil one yet once again. The facticity and sense of the Bible is replaced in our country by the stuff and nonsense of ancient paganism, and we are proud of it! We are “modern”, fresh, new…or so we believe.
Truth be told, our thinking is as old as dirt, as old as the Garden of Eden, as old as Methuselah. Baal worship has nothing on us. Just visit your local abortion clinic and see firsthand. Want to know what the Asherah pole was? Ask a porno flick connoisseur. He can tell you.
What has all this to do with our Bible verse? I’ll bet you’re wondering that, aren’t you? Oh, yes you are. I saw you wondering it! You can’t hide it from me. Well, let’s consider how the two are related.
The state of our country today reveals our heart condition. Our hearts have been stolen by the wicked one, aka Satan or the devil or Lucifer. Nay, but rather we have given our hearts away, like some love-sick puppy dog who just entered puberty.
When we prefer to watch Star Wars and fantasize about it until it forms our mindset, what have we done if not set our heart on the things of the earth? All along we should bury our head in the Book and allow it to transform us by the renewing of the mind. We don’t follow the Lord. We follow old Lucifer.
I know, no one confesses, “I follow Lucifer!” But a rose is a rose. By any other name… We are on a perpetual safari to find something novel, something extraordinary, something to tickle the fancy. Ma & Pa’s Bible is just some more of the same old same old. Who wants that? So we make fun of it and believe we have discredited it thereby.
Too bad for us, but the Bible won’t go off on its own somewhere and die. The grass withers, the flowers fade; but the Word of our God stands forever. God demands that we reckon with Him. We cannot avoid Him. Our hearts will perforce either harden against Him, in which case we become card-carrying members of the Star Wars Reality Club. Or else our hearts melt at His presence, and we give our hearts to Jesus.
Which will it be for me? Which for you? Let’s sit at the feet of Jesus a while and ponder this issue.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Don’t Give Your Heart Away – Part 3
Stand firm therefore…having put on the breastplate of righteousness [Ephesians 6:14].
The Word of God is like the hand of God, as it reaches out to us with His offer of salvation. Will our heart harden to His voice and reject the offer, indignant that He should think we need His handout? Or will our heart melt at the sound of His voice and go out to Him, giving itself away to the God of love?
This is where “the breastplate of righteousness” comes in, dear friends. The breastplate of the Roman legionnaire protected his heart. In Scripture the heart is indicative of our emotions, our love, what we desire and live for. Physically the heart is a vital organ. Life cannot exist without the heart.
Spiritually the heart is a vital organ as well. Spiritual life cannot exist, is not real, except the heart be given to the Lord. Otherwise we are simply being religious. We are only playing church. We are serving self and doing good deeds for our own fame. We are tooting our own horn and singing our own praises.
Anyone in such a condition is fair game for the devil. He savors these delicacies, loving ever finger-licking bite. They are defenseless against the wiles of the devil because man by himself hasn’t the power or the intellect to outdo or outwit Satan.
Only the child of God can have the victory against the evil one, and only when he bedecks himself in “the full armor of God” and betakes himself to spiritual warfare. Part of that armor is “the breastplate of righteousness”.
The Holy Spirit teaches us that the Christian is “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”. That, my friend, is “the breastplate of righteousness”. The natural man (i.e., the person who isn’t born again) only has his own righteousness. I am sure your experience confirms what mine does: there isn’t a man alive who is perfectly righteous, who has never done or thought or said anything wrong.
The child of God no longer has to depend on his own righteousness. Now he is the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Once we get this Biblical concept into our heads and move it down into our hearts, it transforms us radically.
The evil one comes up behind us and attempts to disillusion us, “Born again? Oh, really? Didn’t I just witness you losing your temper. Looks like the same old sinner to me!”
The natural man hasn’t any defense to this accusation. He did just lose his temper. He does look like the same old sinner because he is! What can he say except, “Guilty”? Then he slinks off into the shadows to disappear, his face red as a beet.
Hopefully none of us respond in such a fashion. We will pursue this matter some more in our next study. Let us stop now and pitch our tents and take our rest for the night. We still have time to enjoy Jesus before going to sleep.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The Word of God is like the hand of God, as it reaches out to us with His offer of salvation. Will our heart harden to His voice and reject the offer, indignant that He should think we need His handout? Or will our heart melt at the sound of His voice and go out to Him, giving itself away to the God of love?
This is where “the breastplate of righteousness” comes in, dear friends. The breastplate of the Roman legionnaire protected his heart. In Scripture the heart is indicative of our emotions, our love, what we desire and live for. Physically the heart is a vital organ. Life cannot exist without the heart.
Spiritually the heart is a vital organ as well. Spiritual life cannot exist, is not real, except the heart be given to the Lord. Otherwise we are simply being religious. We are only playing church. We are serving self and doing good deeds for our own fame. We are tooting our own horn and singing our own praises.
Anyone in such a condition is fair game for the devil. He savors these delicacies, loving ever finger-licking bite. They are defenseless against the wiles of the devil because man by himself hasn’t the power or the intellect to outdo or outwit Satan.
Only the child of God can have the victory against the evil one, and only when he bedecks himself in “the full armor of God” and betakes himself to spiritual warfare. Part of that armor is “the breastplate of righteousness”.
The Holy Spirit teaches us that the Christian is “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”. That, my friend, is “the breastplate of righteousness”. The natural man (i.e., the person who isn’t born again) only has his own righteousness. I am sure your experience confirms what mine does: there isn’t a man alive who is perfectly righteous, who has never done or thought or said anything wrong.
The child of God no longer has to depend on his own righteousness. Now he is the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. Once we get this Biblical concept into our heads and move it down into our hearts, it transforms us radically.
The evil one comes up behind us and attempts to disillusion us, “Born again? Oh, really? Didn’t I just witness you losing your temper. Looks like the same old sinner to me!”
The natural man hasn’t any defense to this accusation. He did just lose his temper. He does look like the same old sinner because he is! What can he say except, “Guilty”? Then he slinks off into the shadows to disappear, his face red as a beet.
Hopefully none of us respond in such a fashion. We will pursue this matter some more in our next study. Let us stop now and pitch our tents and take our rest for the night. We still have time to enjoy Jesus before going to sleep.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Don’t Give Your Heart Away – Part 4
Stand firm therefore…having put on the breastplate of righteousness [Ephesians 6:14].
Sinners sin and every human being is a sinner. So Satan never runs out of ammo to shoot us. He simply points to one or another of our sins and convicts us. The sinner responds by tucking his tail between the legs and crawling off to hide, defeated by Satan yet once again.
The Christian can do the same because he still does lose his temper or commit some other sin. Nothing difficult about doing that. After all, the old sinner still lurks inside, trying to have his way.
However, the new nature of the Holy Spirit also lives inside the Christian. He responds to Satan, “Get thee hence, Satan. For it is written, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved!’” When that happens, then it is Satan’s turn to slink off into the shadows to disappear, his face red as a beet. Sinners tend to do that, and Satan is the sinner par excellence.
The message for us to garner is this, my friends. We cannot combat the forces of darkness in our own strength, in our own righteousness. Only the righteousness of God can win out in such a campaign. Fortunate for us that we are the righteousness of God, huh? In Christ Jesus, that is.
So let us not be remiss in conducting spiritual warfare against the flesh and the world and the devil. But let us be sure we first don “the whole armor of God”, and that includes protecting our heart. We must needs depend on the Lord Jesus for the victory, not go to war in our own strength and righteousness. We must “put on the breastplate of righteousness”, which is the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. There are no chinks in that armor.
So we prepare for spiritual warfare by “girding our loins with truth”. The Word of God is truth, both the living Word, Jesus, and the written Word, the Bible. We remove the entanglements around our feet, which tend to trip us up and prevent our effective functioning. We pull them out of the way and tuck them into the belt around our waist.
The Word of God removes the obstacles from our feet, allowing us to walk in His ways and not stumble. By this manner we can be effectual soldiers in the army of Christ. He can use us to overcome His adversary, the devil.
We also don “the breastplate of righteousness”. When Satan attempts to force us into losing heart and surrendering, we cling to the Word of God and allow God to go to war against Satan instead of us.
We don’t fight Satan in our own righteousness. We fight him in “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”. We protect our heart with “the breastplate of righteousness”. The Lord provided it to us for that very purpose. As obedient soldiers in the army of Christ, we follow the orders given us from the “captain of the host of the Lord” (cf., Joshua 5:14). That would be the Lord Jesus.
So are you ready to march off to war now, Christian soldier? You are? That’s good. Oops! Not so fast! We still have several other pieces of armor to don before heading to Normandy. Normandy can wait, the pieces of armor cannot.
We’ll continue with the next piece of armor in tomorrow’s study. See you then. For now let us respond to Jesus’ invite. He wishes our company. Let’s not keep him waiting.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Sinners sin and every human being is a sinner. So Satan never runs out of ammo to shoot us. He simply points to one or another of our sins and convicts us. The sinner responds by tucking his tail between the legs and crawling off to hide, defeated by Satan yet once again.
The Christian can do the same because he still does lose his temper or commit some other sin. Nothing difficult about doing that. After all, the old sinner still lurks inside, trying to have his way.
However, the new nature of the Holy Spirit also lives inside the Christian. He responds to Satan, “Get thee hence, Satan. For it is written, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus and you shall be saved!’” When that happens, then it is Satan’s turn to slink off into the shadows to disappear, his face red as a beet. Sinners tend to do that, and Satan is the sinner par excellence.
The message for us to garner is this, my friends. We cannot combat the forces of darkness in our own strength, in our own righteousness. Only the righteousness of God can win out in such a campaign. Fortunate for us that we are the righteousness of God, huh? In Christ Jesus, that is.
So let us not be remiss in conducting spiritual warfare against the flesh and the world and the devil. But let us be sure we first don “the whole armor of God”, and that includes protecting our heart. We must needs depend on the Lord Jesus for the victory, not go to war in our own strength and righteousness. We must “put on the breastplate of righteousness”, which is the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. There are no chinks in that armor.
So we prepare for spiritual warfare by “girding our loins with truth”. The Word of God is truth, both the living Word, Jesus, and the written Word, the Bible. We remove the entanglements around our feet, which tend to trip us up and prevent our effective functioning. We pull them out of the way and tuck them into the belt around our waist.
The Word of God removes the obstacles from our feet, allowing us to walk in His ways and not stumble. By this manner we can be effectual soldiers in the army of Christ. He can use us to overcome His adversary, the devil.
We also don “the breastplate of righteousness”. When Satan attempts to force us into losing heart and surrendering, we cling to the Word of God and allow God to go to war against Satan instead of us.
We don’t fight Satan in our own righteousness. We fight him in “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”. We protect our heart with “the breastplate of righteousness”. The Lord provided it to us for that very purpose. As obedient soldiers in the army of Christ, we follow the orders given us from the “captain of the host of the Lord” (cf., Joshua 5:14). That would be the Lord Jesus.
So are you ready to march off to war now, Christian soldier? You are? That’s good. Oops! Not so fast! We still have several other pieces of armor to don before heading to Normandy. Normandy can wait, the pieces of armor cannot.
We’ll continue with the next piece of armor in tomorrow’s study. See you then. For now let us respond to Jesus’ invite. He wishes our company. Let’s not keep him waiting.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The Town Crier – Part 1
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before You [Psalm 89:14].
The town was in a state of waiting and uneasiness. Folks hustled hither and yon to get the latest scoop on events of import to their community, as well as to share their gossip and opinions about the whole affair. You could cut the suspense in the atmosphere with a knife.
Inside the halls of government important decisions were being decided upon. The populace was divided over the issues and the results were bound to please some while alienating others to the extreme. No one wanted what could potentially transpire to actually occur, once the decisions were announced.
Outside in the streets it was getting dark. The town authorities had worked overtime trying to resolve what might ignite a powder keg of political upheaval. Law enforcement was put on the alert, and every officer was called into duty. The atmosphere was electric.
Suddenly a voice rang out through the night air, echoing like a ricocheting bullet down the streets and alleys of the town. It was the town crier, bedecked in his official garb of robe and breeches and boots, a tricorne hat on his head customary of colonial times. In his hand was a bell, and he was ringing it energetically.
“Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye!” were his opening words. Every person stopped dead in his tracks. All tongues ceased to wag and every mouth was stopped. No one wanted to miss out on the official town announcement. The outcome of the governmental business conducted behind closed doors was about to be revealed.
The entire populace of the town hung on the town crier’s every word. Their fate was about to be revealed. Would the old country be imported to the new, or would the new country remain new? Whatever decision was made, serious and severe repercussions were certain to follow.
Such was the scene back in the day, when the town criers played such a vital role in political affairs. Truth be told, in extreme cases it was not a good thing to be the town crier. He was only the messenger, yes, but messengers have been known to pay the price for the decisions of their superiors. The adage “Don’t shoot the messenger!” comes to mind.
In our Bible verse today a town crier is making the rounds of the town streets. The governmental decisions of the King of kings and Lord of lords are announced by him. He too is bedecked in official garb, and it is most exquisite.
Why don’t you come along with me, and we will go and hear what announcements he has to make. I am sure the announcements will be quite relevant to our day-to-day existence. Indeed they will determine the course not only of our earthly existence, but also of our eternal state.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s prepare our hearts and minds to receive the announcements from our Lord. We will then go forth to hear them on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The town was in a state of waiting and uneasiness. Folks hustled hither and yon to get the latest scoop on events of import to their community, as well as to share their gossip and opinions about the whole affair. You could cut the suspense in the atmosphere with a knife.
Inside the halls of government important decisions were being decided upon. The populace was divided over the issues and the results were bound to please some while alienating others to the extreme. No one wanted what could potentially transpire to actually occur, once the decisions were announced.
Outside in the streets it was getting dark. The town authorities had worked overtime trying to resolve what might ignite a powder keg of political upheaval. Law enforcement was put on the alert, and every officer was called into duty. The atmosphere was electric.
Suddenly a voice rang out through the night air, echoing like a ricocheting bullet down the streets and alleys of the town. It was the town crier, bedecked in his official garb of robe and breeches and boots, a tricorne hat on his head customary of colonial times. In his hand was a bell, and he was ringing it energetically.
“Hear ye! Hear ye! Hear ye!” were his opening words. Every person stopped dead in his tracks. All tongues ceased to wag and every mouth was stopped. No one wanted to miss out on the official town announcement. The outcome of the governmental business conducted behind closed doors was about to be revealed.
The entire populace of the town hung on the town crier’s every word. Their fate was about to be revealed. Would the old country be imported to the new, or would the new country remain new? Whatever decision was made, serious and severe repercussions were certain to follow.
Such was the scene back in the day, when the town criers played such a vital role in political affairs. Truth be told, in extreme cases it was not a good thing to be the town crier. He was only the messenger, yes, but messengers have been known to pay the price for the decisions of their superiors. The adage “Don’t shoot the messenger!” comes to mind.
In our Bible verse today a town crier is making the rounds of the town streets. The governmental decisions of the King of kings and Lord of lords are announced by him. He too is bedecked in official garb, and it is most exquisite.
Why don’t you come along with me, and we will go and hear what announcements he has to make. I am sure the announcements will be quite relevant to our day-to-day existence. Indeed they will determine the course not only of our earthly existence, but also of our eternal state.
So what are you waiting for? Let’s prepare our hearts and minds to receive the announcements from our Lord. We will then go forth to hear them on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The Town Crier – Part 2
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before You [Psalm 89:14].
The town crier of old has become a relic of the past. Internet and evening news have forced him into retirement. But his functions still remain, though now they are done by other avenues for spreading the news. The town crier was the newsman of his day, you see.
The Book of Psalms is composed of Hebrew poetry. Biblical Hebrew poetry does not function in the same way as contemporary poetry does. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines and consider that the essence of poetry. In Scripture the Hebrews rhymed ideas between the lines as their form of poetry.
When the ideas presented rhymes of similar thoughts, we call it “synonymous parallelism”. The thoughts parallel each other with basically the same idea. They are synonyms of sorts. Should the ideas express opposite thoughts, then we refer to it as “antonymous parallelism”. The thoughts parallel each other as contrasting ideas.
Psalm 89:14 is an example of Hebrew poetry. We have two lines which parallel each other. Whether they express similar or opposing ideas is a little more difficult to determine.
The first line of our verse is a reference to the Covenant of Law. The second line introduces the Covenant of Grace. Both Law and grace come from the Lord, so in that sense they are not opposed to each other. However, the two concepts do contrast different aspects of God, and Psalm 89:14 portray this truth. Hence our Bible verse is an example of “antonymous parallelism”.
Both aspects are true of God at all times. He is both righteous and loving simultaneously. He requires that justice tempered with mercy exist together. God loves us, you see, but at the same time He is righteous and cannot allow the guilty to go unpunished for their crimes against His righteous rule.
Let’s itemize the parallel ideas of the two lines:
A. righteousness and justice
B. are the foundation of Your throne
A. lovingkindness and truth
B. go before You
The “A” and “B” before each phrase identifies which ones are parallel. “Righteousness and justice” come from society’s legal code. It is right to obey the rules of civilization. Each person is governed by the same rules. This is government by law. It is “justice”.
The Law of Moses was the legal code of the Israelites while they inhabited the Promised Land in Old Testament times. The Lord identified obedience to the Law as being righteous. When society functioned in that manner, justice prevailed and the Lord was pleased. Blessings followed this arrangement.
Contrariwise, when the Law was skirted and its authority rejected, then unrighteousness existed and justice was nonexistent. Rather than blessings, the Lord rained down curses on the people and the land under that scenario.
The Law, you see, served as the “foundation” of God’s throne, of His Kingship, of His rule over Old Testament Israel. Without obedience to the Law, the reign of God wasn’t visible in Old Testament times. The Law was “the foundation of God’s throne”.
We will assay the parallelism of the second line in our next study. For now let’s mull over the parallelism of the first line and learn from the the foundation of Law.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The town crier of old has become a relic of the past. Internet and evening news have forced him into retirement. But his functions still remain, though now they are done by other avenues for spreading the news. The town crier was the newsman of his day, you see.
The Book of Psalms is composed of Hebrew poetry. Biblical Hebrew poetry does not function in the same way as contemporary poetry does. Today we rhyme words at the end of lines and consider that the essence of poetry. In Scripture the Hebrews rhymed ideas between the lines as their form of poetry.
When the ideas presented rhymes of similar thoughts, we call it “synonymous parallelism”. The thoughts parallel each other with basically the same idea. They are synonyms of sorts. Should the ideas express opposite thoughts, then we refer to it as “antonymous parallelism”. The thoughts parallel each other as contrasting ideas.
Psalm 89:14 is an example of Hebrew poetry. We have two lines which parallel each other. Whether they express similar or opposing ideas is a little more difficult to determine.
The first line of our verse is a reference to the Covenant of Law. The second line introduces the Covenant of Grace. Both Law and grace come from the Lord, so in that sense they are not opposed to each other. However, the two concepts do contrast different aspects of God, and Psalm 89:14 portray this truth. Hence our Bible verse is an example of “antonymous parallelism”.
Both aspects are true of God at all times. He is both righteous and loving simultaneously. He requires that justice tempered with mercy exist together. God loves us, you see, but at the same time He is righteous and cannot allow the guilty to go unpunished for their crimes against His righteous rule.
Let’s itemize the parallel ideas of the two lines:
A. righteousness and justice
B. are the foundation of Your throne
A. lovingkindness and truth
B. go before You
The “A” and “B” before each phrase identifies which ones are parallel. “Righteousness and justice” come from society’s legal code. It is right to obey the rules of civilization. Each person is governed by the same rules. This is government by law. It is “justice”.
The Law of Moses was the legal code of the Israelites while they inhabited the Promised Land in Old Testament times. The Lord identified obedience to the Law as being righteous. When society functioned in that manner, justice prevailed and the Lord was pleased. Blessings followed this arrangement.
Contrariwise, when the Law was skirted and its authority rejected, then unrighteousness existed and justice was nonexistent. Rather than blessings, the Lord rained down curses on the people and the land under that scenario.
The Law, you see, served as the “foundation” of God’s throne, of His Kingship, of His rule over Old Testament Israel. Without obedience to the Law, the reign of God wasn’t visible in Old Testament times. The Law was “the foundation of God’s throne”.
We will assay the parallelism of the second line in our next study. For now let’s mull over the parallelism of the first line and learn from the the foundation of Law.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
The Town Crier – Part 3
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before You [Psalm 89:14].
In the prior study we itemized the parallel ideas of the two lines, and we observed that the first line depicts the Covenant of Law, while the second line portrays the Covenant of Grace. Here is how we delineated the lines:
A. righteousness and justice
B. are the foundation of Your throne
A. lovingkindness and truth
B. go before You
We descanted on the parallelism of the first line. God’s throne is symbolic of His rule. The foundation of God’s rule is “righteousness and justice”. The two go together like hand in glove, or better yet like fruit on the tree. It is inconceivable that God could be anything but righteous, is it not? Righteousness and His very character are indivisible.
The legal code of the Israelites while they inhabited the Promised Land was the Law of Moses. God legislated it as the Law for the Israelites in the Promised Land. He noted that obedience to His Law equaled “righteousness”. Justice resulted when the Law was obeyed. The Law was the tree, and it represented righteousness. Obedience to the Law typified the fruit of the tree, the justice which occurred when the Law was obeyed.
Now let’s delve into the second line of the Bible verse. This line portrays the Covenant of Grace. The Law is noted for its “righteousness and justice”. Grace is epitomized by “lovingkindness and truth”. The two are bound together indivisibly in the Person of God, yet they are anything but the same. This is why the Bible verse presents “antonymous parallelism” and not “synonymous parallelism”.
On the one hand God loves us and doesn’t want to sentence us to death for our sins. Yet the wages of sin is death, and so He must put sinners to death as the penalty for their sins. Anything short of this would be tantamount to unrighteousness. Can it even be envisioned, God being unrighteous? Egads, man!
Imagine a local judge in the courtroom. A person is tried and convicted of premeditated murder. His sentencing is underway. The judge looks at him sternly and tells him off for being a lowlife killer. But then the judge’s face changes to a look of leniency, a look of pity and spineless morality. He tells the convicted murderer,
Though you are most definitely guilty of first-degree murder and deserve to die, still I can’t bring myself to have you executed. So go your way and behave yourself. I am releasing you under your own recognizance.
I can smell impeachment proceedings. I can also smell the avenger of blood going to work post haste. That scenario doesn’t depict a “loving” judge. It depicts a spineless wonder, a pusillanimous pansy. Contemporary America is under the spell of middle class affluent morality, dear friends, and it parades itself in the churches as Biblical righteousness. Beware!
Let us ponder this warning in the presence of the dear Lord Jesus. We will conclude this study on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
In the prior study we itemized the parallel ideas of the two lines, and we observed that the first line depicts the Covenant of Law, while the second line portrays the Covenant of Grace. Here is how we delineated the lines:
A. righteousness and justice
B. are the foundation of Your throne
A. lovingkindness and truth
B. go before You
We descanted on the parallelism of the first line. God’s throne is symbolic of His rule. The foundation of God’s rule is “righteousness and justice”. The two go together like hand in glove, or better yet like fruit on the tree. It is inconceivable that God could be anything but righteous, is it not? Righteousness and His very character are indivisible.
The legal code of the Israelites while they inhabited the Promised Land was the Law of Moses. God legislated it as the Law for the Israelites in the Promised Land. He noted that obedience to His Law equaled “righteousness”. Justice resulted when the Law was obeyed. The Law was the tree, and it represented righteousness. Obedience to the Law typified the fruit of the tree, the justice which occurred when the Law was obeyed.
Now let’s delve into the second line of the Bible verse. This line portrays the Covenant of Grace. The Law is noted for its “righteousness and justice”. Grace is epitomized by “lovingkindness and truth”. The two are bound together indivisibly in the Person of God, yet they are anything but the same. This is why the Bible verse presents “antonymous parallelism” and not “synonymous parallelism”.
On the one hand God loves us and doesn’t want to sentence us to death for our sins. Yet the wages of sin is death, and so He must put sinners to death as the penalty for their sins. Anything short of this would be tantamount to unrighteousness. Can it even be envisioned, God being unrighteous? Egads, man!
Imagine a local judge in the courtroom. A person is tried and convicted of premeditated murder. His sentencing is underway. The judge looks at him sternly and tells him off for being a lowlife killer. But then the judge’s face changes to a look of leniency, a look of pity and spineless morality. He tells the convicted murderer,
Though you are most definitely guilty of first-degree murder and deserve to die, still I can’t bring myself to have you executed. So go your way and behave yourself. I am releasing you under your own recognizance.
I can smell impeachment proceedings. I can also smell the avenger of blood going to work post haste. That scenario doesn’t depict a “loving” judge. It depicts a spineless wonder, a pusillanimous pansy. Contemporary America is under the spell of middle class affluent morality, dear friends, and it parades itself in the churches as Biblical righteousness. Beware!
Let us ponder this warning in the presence of the dear Lord Jesus. We will conclude this study on the morrow.
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Genesis: Volume 1 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/Randy-Green/e/B...
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
