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The eternal playround for the redeemed off the world!
http://heritage.stsci.edu/gallery/gallery.html
Hagar and Sarah
“And he (Abrham) went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.
And Sarai said unto Abram, My wrong be upon thee: I have given my maid into thy bosom; and when she saw that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes: the Lord judge between me and you.” Gen 16:4-5
“Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then he (Ishmael) that was born after the flesh persecuted him (Issac) that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now.
Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” Galatians 4:21-31
“The Epistle to the Galatians declares that Sarah and Hagar represent the two principles of Law and Grace. Hagar represents Salvation by works; Sarah, Salvation by Faith. The principles are opposed to one another.. Ishmael is born as a result of man's planning and energy. In the birth of Ishmael, God had nothing to do with it, and as regards the birth of Isaac man was dead. So it is today, salvation by works entirely depends on man's capacity to produce them; Salvation by Faith upon God's ability to perform them.
“Under the covenant of works, God stands still in order to see what man can do. Under the Covenant of Grace, man stands still to see what God has done. The two Covenants are opposed; it must be either Hagar or Sarah. If Hagar, God has nothing to do with it; if Sarah, man has nothing to do with it.” - George Williams
Do you 'Possess the double'?
Isaiah 40:1-2
"Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins."
God exhorts Isaiah to speak tenderly to His people and comfort them becausethey have received a DOUBLE for all their sins. What comfort could be found in receiving double for your sins? A perplexing passage for those who are not familiar with Bible customs and culture in Isaiah’s time. Let us take off our western eyeglasses and replace them with eastern ones as we examine this verse more carefully.
The wages of sin is death as God promised to Adam and Eve in the garden.”The day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”(Gen 2:17). This was a spiritual death since Adam and Eve lived for many years after their sin of disobedience. Spiritual death is separation from God. This sin carried a penalty not a punishment; therefore a penalty can be lifted if someone pays for the sin. This brings us back to our passage under consideration. A person in Isaiah’s time would declare bankruptcy by making visible their “certificate of debt “at the gat e of the city for all to see. Also the elders sat at the gate to transact such business.
Someone would see the “certificate of debt” and agree to pay the person’s debt. The elders would receive the amount owed, fold the “certificate of debt” and nail it to the announcement board at the gate. When the bankrupt person returned and saw the paper folded and nailed to the board, they knew their debt was cancelled. Someone had paid it in full.
The word DOUBLE is the word for FOLD (the same word in Exodus 26:9 when reference is made to the double or fold in the curtain in the Tabernacle). In our Isaiah passage, the word fold refers to the certificate of debt which was folded and a nail driven through it to signify it was paid in full.
The word DOUBLE is the word for FOLD (the same word in Exodus 26:9 when reference is made to the double or fold in the curtain in the Tabernacle). In our Isaiah passage, the word fold refers to the certificate of debt which was folded and a nail driven through it to signify it was paid in full.
So God told Isaiah to announce the good news that he was offering Israel a double for all their sins. Their sins were paid for in full. How beautiful to see this fulfilled in Christ who paid our debt, and now bankrupt sinners can receive a double (fold) for all their sins. Christ took our sins and nailed them to His cross (Colossians 2:14).The words “It is finished” is an economic term, meaning “paid in full”.
Have you received your double? If not, do it today.
The Cross of Christ
“The Cross of Christ is the revealed truth of God's judgement on sin. Never associate the idea of martyrdom with the Cross of Christ. It was the supreme triumph, and it shook the very foundations of Hell. There is nothing in time or eternity more certain or irrefutable than what Jesus Christ accomplished on the Cross — He made it possible for the entire human race to be brought back into a right standing relationship with God. He made redemption the foundation of human life; that is, He made a way for every person to have fellowship with God.” Anonymous
Saved by the blood!
“Saved by the blood of the Crucified one!
“Now ransomed from sin and a new work begun,
“Sing praise to the Father and praise to the Son,
“Saved by the blood of the Crucified One!”
“Saved by the blood of the Crucified one!
“The angels rejoicing because it is done;
“A child of the Father, joint heir with the Son,
“Saved by the blood of the Crucified one!”
“Saved by the blood of the Crucified one!
“The Father He spoke, and His will it was done,
“Great Price of my pardon, His own precious Son;
“Saved by the blood of the Crucified one!
“Saved by the blood of the Crucified one!
“All hail to the Father, all hail to the Son,
“All hail to the Spirit, the great Three in One!
“Saved by the blood of the Crucified one!"
Unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given
Isaiah 9:6
“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel” (Isaiah 7:14).
“Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)
“Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,” (Matthew 2:1)
“Behold, The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” (John 1:29)
“The saviour who loves me and suffered the loss
“Of heavenly glory to die on the Cross,
“The Babe of the manger, though born without stain,
“This Jes is coming, is coming again!”
We should follow His steps
“For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow His steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: Who, when He was reviled, reviled not again; when He suffered, He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him Who Judges Righteously: Who His Own Self bore our sins in His Own Body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto Righteousness: by Whose stripes you were healed (I Pet. 2:21–24).”
The Greek word for “follow” literally means “to take the same road” as someone else takes. We should walk the same road that Jesus walked—in short, be Christlike.
However, the only way we truly can follow in Christ’s footsteps is that we ever look to the Cross and keep our faith in Him Crucified and Resurrected.
The American theologian and Lutheran minister Joseph Augustus Seiss (March 18, 1823–June 20, 1904) known for his religion writings on pyramidology and dispensationalism wrote.
“With all his efforts, prayers, and joys, the best Christian is still very faulty.
Christ has taught us to pray daily “Forgive us our trespasses;' but why continue praying for forgiveness if we have not continual trespasses to be forgiven? I know and preach that 'the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from all sin.' This is a special truth to me. But did He not continue a priest forever, daily presenting His precious blood anew on our behalf, we should most certainly come into condemnation. It is only because 'He continues ever' that He is 'able to save them to the uttermost who come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them.' If He did not ever live to make intercession for us, we could not stand for a single day.
And there is not a Christian on earth, however eminent, who does not, every day he lives, accumulative guilt enough to ruin him forever, were it not that he has 'an advocate with the Father' Jesus Christ the Righteous.”
