Showing posts with label Gospel of Barnabas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gospel of Barnabas. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 31, 2011

LOVE YOURSELF FIRST


LOVE will have to start intrapersonal, with yourself.
Before you sow LOVE, fill your own cup with it. Soak yourself in “LOVE which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Timothy 1:5).
Many love and fail simply because they try to give away something they do not have. They are running on empty. No one can drink coffee from an empty cup. No one can give what he does not have. Run a car on an empty gas tank and it will sputter and come to a full stop.   

Fill your cup with uncontaminated LOVE. Be sure to empty your cup of erroneous love before filling it. Erroneous love is of Lucifer. Just as nobody gets to his destination by stepping on the gas and the brake at the same time, so you will not rise to heaven by letting the devil pull your leg.
11 Go now and leave your life of sin. JOHN 8 
Draw and drink from the well of God (Acts 2:38 tlb). Soak your heart 100%, your soul 100%, your mind 100%, your strength 100%...
12 Plow up the hard ground of your hearts, for now is the right time to seek the Lord, that He may come and shower righteousness upon you. HOSEA 10 nlt
20 Here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with Me. REVELATION 3
Soaking is a continuing process. Just as walking in the rain can saturate you with wetness, so you must keep on returning to God. What do we call the driver who waits for his gas tank to empty before he looks for a refilling station? In the spiritual realm we call them wise who refill themselves with LOVE before they run dry. 
Make God your constant companion, wherever you are, whatever your situation. After all every child needs a loving and caring Father to nourish and enlighten him, to strengthen and protect him.

14 Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ROMANS 8
One of the disciples asked Y’shua, “Rabbi, you said constant companion. How can we at every moment have God in our mind? It seems impossible.”
Y’shua replied, “Barnabas, have you seen the men at the quarry? How by constant practice, they talk to each other and at the same time, without looking, strike the moil without injuring their hands? Make a conscious effort to be mindful of God until it becomes a constant practice. Water cleaves the hardest of rocks with single drops over a period of time.” (Gospel of Barnabas, chapters 109 and 75)
6 And now just as you trusted in the Messiah to save you, trust Him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with Him. 7 Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all He has done. COLOSSIANS 2 tlb  
Soaking should visibly result in new birth. E. W. Kenyon said, “LOVE is proof of New Birth.” (Advance Bible Course, p. 18)  
3 How can we be sure that we belong to Him? By looking within ourselves: are we really trying to do what He wants us to do? 4 Someone may say, “I am a Christian; I am on my way to heaven; I belong to the Messiah.” But if he doesn’t do what the Messiah tells him to, he is a liar. 5 But those who do what the Messiah tells them to will learn to love God more and more. This is the way to know whether or not you are a Christian. 6 Anyone who says he is a Christian should live as the Messiah did. 1 JOHN 2 tlb
LOVE is an action word. It should stir you into action. Make it a personal habit. The more you walk in LOVE, the more you shall smell like Y’shua, an aroma pleasing to God.   
2 Let love and faithfulness never leave you. PROVERBS 3
1 Let love be your highest goal! 1 CORINTHIANS 14 nlt
16 Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 1 JOHN 4 
16 [But] anyone who does not love remains in death. 1 JOHN 3


Friday, April 22, 2011

WHY PRAY?



The angels of God rejoice when we pray. Physical eyes do not see it but they sing and worship with us. Why? Because praying to the Most Holy Name is the highest form of blessing it.
Praying acknowledges God’s existence and our dependence upon Him. Praying is an expression of humility, worship, obedience and gratitude. It manifests our heart desire to nurture a LOVE-relationship with God.   
The angels rejoice but the demons tremble when we pray. Allow us to paraphrase what Jonathan Edwards said, “The demons fear nothing from prayerless studies, prayerless work, prayerless religion. They laugh at our toil, mock at our wisdom, but tremble when we pray.”
Nothing is more fearful to them than when we pray to the Most Holy Name. In one occasion, after this scribe did exorcism, the devil was overheard in saying, “Why must he learn that name?”
1 One day Y’shua was praying in a certain place. When He finished, one of his disciples said to Him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.” LUKE 11
Y’shua said, “Your heart ought to be saying a prayer of thanksgiving every time your body receives breath.” (Gospel of Barnabas)
The Son of Man kept Himself in prayer mode 24/7, always mindful of God whatever His circumstances were and whatever He was doing. We are advised to do the same. 
17 Pray continually [without ceasing]. 1 THESSALONIANS 5
Our FB friend Lizetti Dcs said, "When you feel you can no longer stand, it's time to kneel. Make prayer a regulative and regular part of your daily life and it will change things that need changing."

Y’shua said, “Prayers are the hands of life; he who has no hands cannot receive. Prayer is the weapon of faith; it repels the evil empire. Prayer is the shield of the heart from evil touch. Prayer is the medicine of the soul; through it sin is forgiven. Prayer is the advocate of the soul; through it the end times can be delayed. Prayer is the salt that preserves the flesh from putrefaction. Prayer is the bridle that leads the mind into the path of righteousness. The man without prayer is like a sail without a rudder; or like a man who defends himself without any movement or attacks his enemy without any weapon.” (cf. Gospel of Barnabas)
We have to pray to improve our lot.                                                       
20 But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. 21 Keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Y’shua the Messiah to bring you to eternal life. JUDE tlb
25 Pray sincerely that God will help you live a better life. SIRACH 17
In our journey called life we have physical, material, mental, emotional, financial and spiritual needs that must be satisfied before we can honestly say we are “fulfilled”. It is wise to satisfy them with the help of God, especially when it comes to our spiritual needs (soul-growth, salvation, restoration, inner joy and serenity). We must pray for God to satisfy them.
“If we had more prayers,” said W. Len Tucker, “we would have fewer cares.”      
In the kingdom war, we are up against an enemy with a large, well-organized army. There is no way flesh and blood can overcome it, moreso as individuals. We need to be helped. If we link up with God, we get access to His omnipotence and omniscience. In war that matters a lot. At least we can find out where our enemy is, what he is up to and where lies his vulnerable points; and we can crush him with God’s might. God knows what is happening all around us; He can coach us on what best to do. Not to consult with Him is to miss the mark.
36 Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man. LUKE 21
Many people do not pray because they have little (if not zero) faith in God. That’s understandable. Romans 10:14 says: “How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? How can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard?”
Ironically though, the best solution to little or lack of faith is prayer itself!
Praying is like seating by a fireplace. Seat near the fire and you feel more warmth. You touch base with God and get a taste of His loving qualities and sh’khinah (light-pulsating presence) the more. Your soul is enveloped in serenity and your heart, in overwhelming joy. You experience an unparalleled high. You might not see God but you become certain that He exists. This sets in motion the process that leads to faith.
1 Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 6 [God] rewards those who earnestly seek Him. HEBREWS 11
The more fervent you pray, the hotter your LOVE-relationship with God gets. The bonding grows stronger and the communion turns warmer. It is no different when two humans break the wall of silence between them and speak to one another with affection and sincerity. They build intimacy which increases as they reach the point of confiding to one another their personal moments and concerns. Conversely, often where communication is absent or superficial, coldness seeps in to replace the warmth. It can happen that the two end up being distant and indifferent to one another.
A. W. Tozer said, “The man who would know God must give time to Him.”
He who does not pray violates four instructions of God (Luke 21:36, 1 Thessalonians 5:17, Romans 12:12, Colossians 4:2)—five if Sirach 7:10 is included. He who violates an instruction of God makes himself impure and a son of the devil (1 John 3:8). In effect he tells God: “I am not really interested in keeping a relationship with you. I have no faith in what you can do for me! I can win my battles alone. I don’t need any unsolicited advice from you! I can take care of myself. Now get lost! I’m busy. Praying is such a waste of time.”
Impliedly he thinks he is smarter than God and his ways are better than His.
12 Pride has its beginning when a person abandons the Lord, his Maker. 13 Pride is like a fountain pouring out sin, and whoever persists in it will be full of wickedness. SIRACH 10
22 Stop trusting in man. ISAIAH 2
6 I will destroy those who have turned and no longer follow Me, those who do not come to Me or ask Me to guide them. ZEPAHNIAH 1 tev
We have to pray to be held a child of God.
“Acknowledge God's sovereignty over your stressful situation. Declare that He is still in control even if the situation is out of your hands. Believe in your heart that His hand has not been shortened to the extent that it cannot save you (Isaiah 59:1), and confess with your mouth that your problematic situation is not too big for Him to solve or too stressful for Him to resolve,” said Dr. Miriam Kinai in Managing Stress with the Word of God. “If you are suffering from a physical illness, prayerfully declare and believe that since God is the One who created your body, He is also able to heal it. If there is a rift in your marriage, proclaim and believe that since He is the One who joined you to your spouse, He is also able to keep you together. If your children are going astray, believe and decree that since He is the One who gave them to you, He is also able to help you keep them on the straight and narrow path to heaven.”
William B. Girao said, “Relying on our own strength to accomplish things is worldliness. True spirituality is constant dependence on God for everything, from the mundane to the earthshaking (Philippians 4:6-7).”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon said, “The Christian should work as if all depended on him, and pray as if all depended on God.”

Point to Ponder: Do we really understand the power of prayer?
Myles Munroe said, “God, God Almighty, God the Creator of the heavens and the earth, God the Beginning and the End, God the Source of all that is, God the Creator of man—the same God, in all His power and all His majesty, stops and listens when you pray… Prayer is man giving God permission or license to interfere in earth's affairs… All that God is—and all that God has—may be received through prayer. Everything you need to fulfill your purpose on earth is available to you through prayer. Whether you know it or not, you have the authority to change the world through prayer.” (Understanding the Purpose and Power of Prayer)
6 And now just as you trusted in the Messiah to save you, trust Him, too, for each day’s problems; live in vital union with Him. 7 Let your roots grow down into Him and draw up nourishment from Him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all He has done. COLOSSIANS 2 tlb   
5 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: 6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. PSALM 37
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. PROVERBS 3
 “Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance; it is laying hold of His highest willingness,” said a French archbishop. (125 Quotes and Illustrations, p. 3)
Andrew Bonar said, “O brother, pray; in spite of Satan, pray; spend hours in prayer; rather neglect friends than not pray; rather fast, and forget food—and sleep too—than not pray. And we must not talk about prayer, we must pray.”







Sunday, February 27, 2011

THE PURPOSE OF CREATION



The purpose of creation is LOVE. God created us to love and be loved. When He thinks, He thinks of propagating and perpetuating LOVE. When He acts, He acts to propagate and perpetuate LOVE. When He speaks, He speaks to propagate and perpetuate LOVE.
Our Creator is LOVE. His nature is LOVE. Rick Warren said, “1 John 4:16 says God is love. It doesn’t say God has love. He is love! Love is the essence of God’s character.” (Purpose-Driven Life, p. 24)
LOVE too is our nature. Remember, we were created in the image and likeness of the First Tree. Matthew 5:48 says, “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.” It means we are potential perfections (seeds) that must grow into actual perfections—into trees that constantly produce fruits of LOVE.
18 What is the kingdom of heaven like? What shall I compare it to? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. LUKE 13
31 It is the smallest seed you can plant in the ground. 32 Yet it grows and becomes [a tree] the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds of the air can perch on its shade. MARK 4
In us is LOVE that “yearns to be expressed and shared; it needs an outlet,” said Billy Graham (The Journey: How to Live by Faith in an Uncertain World, p. 27).
It is most natural for us to love and most unnatural for us not to. Act contrary to our nature—immobilize or isolate it—and we feel heavy, down and lonely; our life becomes empty and meaningless. However, let our nature fly, let it find an outlet, and we feel light… excited… inspired… fulfilled… easy to smile and laugh… 
What is our world without LOVE? Rosario “Boots” Zulueta Santos said: “Without LOVE, our week would be Sin-day, Tears-day, Wasted-day, Thirst-day, Fight-day and Shatter-day.”
We are created to build and nurture LOVE-relationships. God blessed our first parents and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number” (Genesis 1:6). A mandate has been given and it extends to us, their seeds. The mandate is to propagate and perpetuate LOVE. In this context John 15:12 becomes our accountability—an obligation—to our Creator.
12 Love each other as I have loved you. JOHN 15
6 Fill all the world with fruit. ISAIAH 27
17 Wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then… full of good fruit. JAMES 3
Gratefulness dictates that we reciprocate God’s love for us in a manner most acceptable to Him. He deserves nothing less.
19 We love each other because God loved us first. 1 JOHN 4 nlt
14 Anyone who does not love remains in death. 1 JOHN 3
Now, why must we love God with all our heart and with all our mind and with all our soul and with all our strength?
The teacher of the Law in Mark 12:28 asked the question. Y’shua replied, “When a man loses a purse, does he turn only his eye to look for it? Or only his hand to feel for it? Or only his tongue to ask for it? Certainly not! He turns his whole body and employs all his powers to find it. Is this not true? Now, is not your Father in heaven more valuable than your purse?” (Gospel of Barnabas, chapter 100)
 Why does God command us to love Him? DOESN’T IT SOUND LIKE GOD IS selfish?
God is not selfish. Our existence is one proof of this. He created us to share with us what He has.
Rick Warren said, “God made us so He could love us. This is a truth to build our lives on.” (Purpose-Driven Life, p. 24)
God has no need to be selfish. The whole creation belongs to Him; everything in it is His (Job 41:11, Psalm 24:1, Leviticus 25:23, Psalm 50:10, Haggai 2:8). God is called God because He is perfect and complete. Nothing can be added to Him and nothing taken away (Sirach 42:21).
25 He is not served by human hands, as if He needed anything. ACTS 17
The command to love Him is for our own good. You see, our journey through life is always a matter of choice between the kingdom of God and the evil empire. Life is like standing at the edge of a cliff—with Lucifer urging us to jump and God urging us not to. Lucifer is urging us to jump because it would kill us. God is urging us not to jump so we might live. The devil does not have our best interest in mind (John 10:10). But God is the opposite. He wants us to keep busy living, not dying.
6 I am the way, the truth and the life. JOHN 14 
Strictly speaking, God cannot be served by human hands. Nothing can be added to HIM and nothing taken away. How then should we translate “Love God” into action?  
Love of God = Love of neighbor. That is the equation.
8 If you really keep the royal law found in the Scripture, which is Love your neighbor as you love yourself, you are doing right. JAMES 2 
20 For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 [God] has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1 JOHN 4
The term neighbor encompasses our family members, friends and relatives, churchmates, schoolmates, workmates, townmates and countrymen—even the strangers that come into our sphere and the peoples that live in foreign lands.
God identified “Love your neighbor as yourself” as the second greatest commandment (Mark 12:31). Now, if “Love Godis Commandment No. 1 and “Love your neighbor” is Commandment No. 2, isn’t that two? If we add the Two to the Nine, there would be Eleven, isn’t that right?
No, it isn’t. God gave Ten, not Eleven.
There is only one LOVE Commandment. Y’shua said Love your neighbor is “like” Love God (Matthew 22:39). For whoever loves God must also love his neighbor and whoever loves his neighbor must also love God. No one can love God and put his neighbor aside; neither can he love his neighbor and put God aside. The two commandments are corollary, made to be part and parcel of one another. In the sight of God one is not pleasing without the other. To love God is to love your neighbor and to love your neighbor is to love God. Love God and Love your neighbor are clamped together. They are not really two separate commandments, but one. 
Y’shua said, “When you have seen your brother, you have seen the Lord.”—Tertullian, On Prayer
Does it follow that our neighbor must be loved as well with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength?
The answer is Yes. That precisely is how Love God is translated into action. “And since a neighbor is every person, regardless of race, gender or age, we get to love everyone!” said Paul J. Meyer (Unlocking Your Legacy, p. 31).
If an occasion arises wherein we must choose between GOD AND NEIGHBOR, who must we choose? 
Remember that God called one “first” and the other “second”. Choose Love of God over Love of neighbor. Prioritize the Creator over the creation.
Why was the patriarch Abraham called righteous? He was called righteous because he chose God over his beloved son Isaac. Abraham always prioritized God.  
We love our neighbor only because we love God. Make no mistake about it. Love your neighbor is but an offshoot (meaning only a subsidiary or an extension) of Love God. God should be our first and foremost priority, and Love God our primary focus.  
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men. COLOSSIANS 3

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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

WHAT ON EARTH ARE WE DOING HERE?




The purpose of man on earth is to be holy and pure. God is a God of purity and His kingdom, a kingdom of purity. Nothing impure will ever enter the kingdom (Revelation 21:27, Ephesians 5:5). Only the impure man-turned-pure may re-enter His kingdom.
How many sins did it take for Adam and Eve to be banished from the kingdom of heaven? Just one. Likewise, it takes one sin to keep us out of God’s heaven. (The Truth Behind Left Behind, p. 159) 
22 Keep yourselves pure. 1 TIMOTHY 5
48 Be perfect therefore as your Father in heaven is perfect. MATTHEW 5
1 Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. 2 CORINTHIANS 7
In disobeying God, man chose death over life. God (who is a respecter of the human freewill) had to banish man to the realm of the dead. He did with great hope that man would appreciate life better when death is in sight.
As man had become capable of producing unholy thoughts, unholy actions and unholy words, God also had the great hope that before the Day of Judgment comes, man could be disciplined into producing only holy thoughts, holy actions and holy words. That man would opt for the reversal of his situation and seek the restoration of his original blessed state—to be part of God’s royal family again, partake of His bliss and immeasurable LOVE, and get to celebrate life anew.
29 God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes. ECCLESIASTES 7
Today you might think, “Our destiny is cursed and cannot be altered. We are children of disobedience, born sinners and sinners we will die. So today let’s eat and drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” Lucifer loves that kind of thinking. But we are not totally hopeless.
To those who seek the restoration of their original blessed state, God has given instructions to live by, summed up and unified in the Decalogue called Ten Commandments.
The instructions (summarily called the Law of God or simply the Law) have blueprinted the way of life in heaven. Man—who was weak (Romans 8:3) and error-prone (Hebrew 8:8)—has been told what to do in given situations so he might not miss the mark.
The instructions reflect God’s love, plan and hope for man. Clearly it is not to abandon him in the realm of the dead but to provide him with a roadmap to the realm of the living.
                 17 If you want to enter life, obey the commandments. MATTHEW 19
8 The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes. PSALM 19
 5 Follow the practices and the laws that I give you; you will save your life by doing so. LEVITICUS 18 tev
17 I am the Lord your God who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way to go. ISAIAH 48
11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future… 14 I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you, declares the Lord, and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile. JEREMIAH 29
50 God’s command leads to eternal life. JOHN 12  
What does a journeyman who is disoriented and lost in the thick usually do? Open his eyes and ears for directional signs, right? When he finds someone who could give him proper direction, how would he feel? Relieved and delighted, right? And would he disobey the instructions given him? Of course not! In fact, he would try hard not to forget any one of them. He would obey them 100% with gladness and excitement in his heart.
Now, are we not disoriented and lost in this spiritual journey called life? God no less has provided us the roadmap. 
So stay focused. If we do not stay focused, we lose sight of God and forget the purpose of our being on earth. We are likely to miss the mark and fall into satanic traps.
So be conscientious. It means be thorough and diligent. Obey every instruction of God without omitting or altering any one of its specifications (Galatians 3:15).
Rick Warren said, “Often we try to offer God partial obedience. We want to pick and choose the commands we obey. We make a list of the commands we like and obey those while ignoring the ones we think are unreasonable, difficult, expensive, or unpopular. I’ll attend church but I won’t tithe. I’ll read my Bible but won’t forgive the person who hurt me. Yet partial obedience is disobedience” (The Purpose-Driven Life, p. 72).
10 Whoever keeps the whole Law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. JAMES 2
4 Obey Me and do everything I command you. JEREMIAH 11
2 Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. LEVITICUS 19
7 Consecrate yourselves and be holy. LEVITICUS 20
Being conscientious requires the discarding of our rebellious spirits, sinful desires, negative and compromising attitudes, and the false teachings in our minds while we make a constant practice of obeying God’s instructions until it becomes a habit.
The prophet Ezra devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law, and to teaching its commandments and decrees (Ezra 7:10). We must be as conscientious as he was.
In the Gospel of Barnabas God asked, “My instructions to you, are they given for knowing or for doing?”
So have prior understanding of what to obey. Psalm 19:7-8 says, “The Law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the soul are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the Lord are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes.” While this is true, we must be aware that some of God’s instructions have been corrupted (the Ten Commandments made Nine is one blatant proof of this). It is not healthy for anyone’s spirituality to obey God’s instructions at face value. Before full compliance is made, the Law must be analyzed for flaws. The chaff must be removed from the grain. Our faith must be based on accurate knowledge (John 17:3) and God’s instructions, in their pure form.
17 …Understand what the Lord’s will is. EPHESIANS 5
So have prior knowledge of God’s expectations of us. In applying for a job, we have to know the job requirements before we can comply with them. The same holds true in finding our way back to life. The desire to be loyal to God must be tempered with the knowledge of how God expects us to be loyal to Him.
This book shall unfold and impart to you God’s instructions using the Ten Commandments as teaching vehicle. The Ten-C are like jigsaw parts scattered in the 66 books of the Scripture (74 books if the apocryphal books are added). The parts have been pieced together for study-made-easy.  
11 Whoever wants to keep the Law must learn what the Law means. SIRACH 21
10 Find out what pleases the Lord. EPHESIANS 5
2 It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way. PROVERBS 19
So be realistic. Know first that we are spirits living in souls embodied in flesh (1 Thessalonians 5:23), and that God is not after the state of our flesh but rather after the state of our spirits. That means we should be attending more to our spiritual well-being than our physical well-being.
27 The lamp of the Lord searches the spirit of a man, it searches out his inmost being. PROVERBS 20
Secondly, know what this Scripture verse means:
                 4 It is written: Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God. MATTHEW 4
Thirdly, know that purity cannot be achieved without holiness (100% obedience). Holiness cannot be achieved without conscientiousness. Conscientiousness cannot be achieved without understanding God’s instructions. Understanding the instructions cannot be achieved without knowing them. Knowing the instructions cannot be achieved without being realistic.

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