LUST OF THE EYES - The lust of the eyes subtly draws us away from the Word of God and eats away at our confidence in Him - we see what the world has to offer and desire it above our relationship with God. We begin to place more credence in our perspective of life than in God’s plans and promises - fueled by the lust for what we see, we grab for all that we can get - “My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. . . sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”-Eve saw that the food was “pleasing to the eye” - The “lust of the eyes” was the second channel of temptation through which Satan took advantage. Eve’s resolve was weakening. It looks good and I want it. What harm could possibly befall me if I took just one little bite? Seizing the opportunity, Satan said, “You will not certainly die.” “Don’t listen to God,” he hissed. “He is just trying to deny you some of life’s great pleasures. Do what is right in your own eyes. There are no serious consequences for choices that you make.” The lust of the eyes subtly draws us away from the Word of God and eats away at our confidence in Him. We see what the world has to offer and desire it above our relationship with God. We begin to place more credence in our perspective of life than in God’s plans and promises. Fueled by the lust for what we see, we grab for all that we can get.

.................................................................................................................................................

Lust of the Eyes

.

The lust of the eyes subtly draws us away from the Word of God and eats away at our confidence in Him - we see what the world has to offer and desire it above our relationship with God. We begin to place more credence in our perspective of life than in God’s plans and promises - fueled by the lust for what we see, we grab for all that we can get

Neil T. Anderson

“My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. . . sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth”.- John 17:15,17

Eve saw that the food was “pleasing to the eye” (Genesis 3:6).

The “lust of the eyes” was the second channel of temptation through which Satan took advantage.

Eve’s resolve was weakening. It looks good and I want it. What harm could possibly befall me if I took just one little bite?

Seizing the opportunity, Satan said, “You will not certainly die” (Genesis 3:4).

“Don’t listen to God,” he hissed.

“He is just trying to deny you some of life’s great pleasures. Do what is right in your own eyes. There are no serious consequences for choices that you make.” 

The lust of the eyes subtly draws us away from the Word of God and eats away at our confidence in Him.

We see what the world has to offer and desire it above our relationship with God.

We begin to place more credence in our perspective of life than in God’s plans and promises.

Fueled by the lust for what we see, we grab for all that we can get.

Tempting lies have not changed since the original sin.

Go ahead and do it. You know you want to. Everyone else is doing it. Why should you be denied? Who would know if you did? You will get away with it. 

With Eve, Satan questioned the Word of God.

With Jesus, he quoted Scripture, but in a diabolical way. “If you believe God’s Word is true, prove it. Jump off the Temple wall. God will save you by sending His angels to bear you up. You won’t even come close to hitting the rocks below” (see Matthew 4:6).

Had Jesus jumped to His death, everyone’s confidence in God have been would be shattered. 

However, Jesus was not going to be seduced by a passage taken out of context.

He countered the temptation with a passage of Scripture that exposed Satan’s ploy: “Do not put the Lord your God to the test” (Deuteronomy 6:16).

That verse follows the Shema (see Deuteronomy 6:4-9), which is still recited daily by orthodox Jews.

Shema means “to hear so as to obey.”

The righteous live by faith in the written Word of God and do not demand that God prove Himself in response to our whims or wishes, no matter how noble we think our cause may be.

God is under no obligation to us — He is under obligation only to Himself.

There is no way that we can cleverly word a prayer so that God must respond to our will.

Such thinking distorts the meaning of prayer and puts us in the position of trying to manipulate God. 

A beloved man was once dying with cancer.

Word spread throughout his church that four independent witnesses had all testified that the man was not going to die.

The congregation believed these witnesses had heard from God and rejoiced. Three weeks, later the man died.

Either those four “witnesses” were paying attention to a deceiving spirit, or God’s Word can’t be trusted. 

Counterfeit gifts of knowledge and prophecy spoken through false prophets and deceived Christians can destroy our confidence in God.

If they give us a “word from the Lord” and it doesn’t prove to be true, God can no longer be trusted.

The same thing happens if we pay attention to a deceiving spirit and think it is from God.

Paul says that we will fall away from the faith if we pay attention to deceiving spirits and things taught by demons (see 1 Timothy 4:1). 

SOME QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF:

1.    How will people behave if they believe there are no negative long-term or short-term consequences for their choices?

2.    How can false prophecies and deceiving spirits undermine our confidence in God?

3.    Are there ways that we can pray and use Scripture in such a way that God is obligated to respond favorably to us?

4.    Have you ever wanted something that looks good and wondered why God wouldn’t want you to have it? How is rationalizing a sinful decision questioning God’s Word?

5.    Do you believe that universalism, the belief that all will be saved, questions God’s Word?

Neil T. Anderson is the founder of Freedom in Christ Ministries. He began the ministry in 1989 and continues to spread the message of freedom to this day.

https://blog.ficm.org/blog/lust-of-the-eyes

THE NUMBER 1 IN THE BIBLE - The Lord our God, the Lord is one. The number 1 symbolizes the unity, primacy and the oneness of the Godhead. The number 1 also represents the unity between God the Father and His Son Jesus. Jesus is the one Mediator and Shepherd in the life of a Christian. The first of the ten commandments is "Worship no god but me." Jesus is called the firstborn of every creature, and the firstborn of the dead and also among many brethren. He is also the first of many to be resurrected to eternal life. Christ referred to Himself as the first or Alpha (the first letter of the Greek language). Through the name of Jesus Christ and Him alone that a person can receive salvation and live forever.

.........................................

The Number 1

The Meaning of Numbers

 

The number 1 is only divisible by itself. It is independent of any other numerals yet composes them all.

It symbolizes in the Bible the unity and primacy, and the oneness of the Godhead.

What is known as the Shema (or Shema Yisrael), a quote of verse four in Deuteronomy 6:4 that is often used in Jewish prayer services, attests to this fact.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”Deuteronomy 6:4 English Standard Version (ESV)

The number 1 also represents the unity between God the Father and His Son Jesus (John 10:30).

Jesus, by His singular sacrifice, has made possible the forgiveness of ALL our sins.

He is the one Mediator and Shepherd (1 Timothy 2:5; John 10:16) in the life of a Christian.

The Old and New Testaments have an incredible unity between them. More than 1/3rd of the New Testament is composed of Old Testament quotes.

Many writings from the prophets and Psalms could not be understood without the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament.

Prophecies in places like Isaiah 53 would not be correctly understood as referring to the Messiah if the Gospels did not exist. Such examples are a testament to the unified nature of the Scriptures and offer proof of its direct inspiration by God.

Appearances of the number one

Of the ten shortest books 2 John, 3 John, Philemon, Jude and Obadiah are the shortest with only one chapter.

Words that show up only once in the King James Version translation of Scripture include Reverend (Psalms 111:9), Grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5) and Eternity (Isaiah 57:15).

Other words such as Forgetfulness (Psalm 88:12) and Lukewarm (Revelation 3:16) also appear only once.

The first English translation of Scripture was in 1382 A.D. by John Wycliffe.

The first printed Bible using movable type was produced by Johann Gutenberg in 1456.

William Tyndale (1494-1536) was the first person to translate the Bible into English from its original Greek and Hebrew.

The first thing designated as Holy is God's Sabbath Day (Genesis 2:1-3).

The first person called a prophet is Abraham (Genesis 20:7).

The first of the ten commandments, on which all others are founded and without which is chaos, destruction and death, is "Worship no god but me" (Exodus 20:3).

First words and message

Between His birth and the beginning of His ministry at age 30, the scriptures record only one sentence Christ spoke.

H He spoke it at the age of twelve right after He and His parents kept the Passover in Jerusalem. When asked why His parents could not find Him after the Feast He said "Didn't you know that I had to be in my Father's house?" (Luke 2:49).

What was Jesus' very first public message? Did He chastise the religious leaders of his day for hypocrisy?

Did He rail against sin and how people were disobeying the great Eternal God? Did He promise torture for all eternity to those who did not listen to His words?

Did He condemn the Romans for their cruel occupation of the Holy Land? No, Jesus' first sermon had nothing to do with these subjects.

He began His ministry in 27 A.D. with a reading of Isaiah 61:1-2, which proclaimed a message of hope and a brighter future!

 The Year of the Lord's Favor

61 The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
    because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;^[a]
    he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
    and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;^[b]
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor,
    and the day of vengeance of our God;
    to comfort all who mourn; Isaiah 61:1-2 English Standard Version (ESV)

How is the number 1 related to Jesus?

Jesus is called the firstborn of every creature (Colossians 1:15) and the firstborn not only of the dead (Colossians 1:18) but also among many brethren (Romans 8:29).

He is also called the "first of the firstfruits" (1 Corinthians 15:20, 23), meaning that He is the first of many to be resurrected to eternal life (especially those in the first resurrection, see Revelation 20:6). 

^“ Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20:6 English Standard Version (ESV)

Christ referred to Himself as the first or Alpha (the first letter of the Greek language) several times in the book of Revelation (1:11, 17, 22:13).

The apostle Peter tells us bluntly that it is through the name of Jesus Christ and Him alone that a person can receive salvation and live forever (Acts 4:10-12).

There is no other name in all creation, in spite of the sincerity of countless billions who believe in other paths to salvation, eternal life and so on, by which mankind can connect to the true God and fulfill their destiny.

Additional info on the Biblical Meaning of number 1

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the church at Ephesus, emphasized the uniqueness of the Christian calling when he stated there was only ONE true spiritual body of believers where all share in one spirit (the Holy Spirit).

True Christianity entails one hope, one faith, one baptism, one Lord and Savior and one Father (Ephesians 4:4-6).

http://www.biblestudy.org/bibleref/meaning-of-numbers-in-bible/1.html

 

SHEMA - “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:4

.

"Hear, O Israel"

WHAT'S IN A MEZUZAH?

“Hear, O Israel, the Lord YOUR God, the Lord is one”

Mezuzah is the Hebrew word for doorframe. It is also the name of the little ornament you often see attached to Jewish doorframes.

There is a powerful part of the Bible hidden inside every mezuzah, known as the Shema.

“It’s wonderful when Gentiles say the Shema to us!” exclaimed a Jewish friend here in Israel.

“It says “Hear, O Israel, the Lord YOUR God, the Lord is one”, she explained. “It’s as if it’s supposed to be said to us”.

Nearly every Jewish person is familiar with the first line of the Shema (Shema means ‘Hear’ – the first word of the verse), but there is so much more to this important command in God’s Torah, or law.

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” Deuteronomy 6:4

“The Lord is one” bit seems straightforward enough for most Jewish people, but there is a wonderful treasure of the trinity hidden in the shema . . .

The verse (Deuteronomy 6:4) is written on a small bit of paper, rolled up and inserted in a “mezuzah” which is attached to every Jewish door frame (which in Israel is almost every doorframe!) in accordance

with the instruction in the verses following it to write it “on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.“ (Deuteronomy 6:9)

Very often you will see the first letter of the Shema on the mezuzah.

Shema means “Hear”, and the first letter is the “Sh” sound. It looks like this: ש. 

It is also the first letter of Shaddai which is usually translated “Almighty” – El Shaddai means Almighty God.

He is the God of the forefathers of Israel, and so the ש of Shaddai is usually written on the mezuzahs.

This letter is called “shin” and although it is one letter, it has three prongs, so to speak - Three in one.

Every mezuzah quietly declares that our Lord is one, but with three 

persons united in a singular Godhead.

Equally the name of God (YHWH – יהוה) is mentioned three times:

“Hear O Israel, YHWH your God, YHWH is one, you shall love YHWH your God . . .”

And how about loving the Lord with all our heart, soul and might? Here is a challenge indeed. What does that look like?

The Jewish religion is all about deed, rather than creed – doing rather than believing, as a way of honouring God in the best way they know how.

Following the Torah. Obedience, doing all that is required. But even though Yeshua says, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” in John 14:15, it is possible to obey with no love at all.

Parallel to the command of loving God with all our heart, soul and might is this verse in Jeremiah 17:

“I the Lord search the heart
and test the mind, (the Hebrew for this word is literally “the kidneys” – the innermost parts, or the hidden motivations)
to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”

God knows very well if our hearts and souls are in it – he searches our hearts, he tests our innermost thoughts, and he gives to us according to the fruit of our actions.

This verse comes right after a wonderful passage on how we can keep God at the core of our lives, and avoid putting our love and trust anywhere else. How often do we find it easier to put our trust

in human beings around us, who are visible, touchable, but fallible?

Immediately before this verse (verse 10) is a passage warning us not to trust in human beings but to keep our trust in God.

Cursed is the man who trusts in man, Jeremiah says, and blessed is the man who trusts in God:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come.
He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

What a contrast! When we trust in human beings instead of God himself, it does us no good, and we can’t even see the good that is there. But when we trust in God, even in dry times we don’t have to worry!

We are plugged into the unstoppable, endless water of life. Jeremiah speaks a lot about this problem – 
God’s sorrow that the people of Israel had forsaken him; the spring of living water, and had instead dug around elsewhere – hoping that their broken and useless water cisterns would do the trick.

How had it come to that? The same way it happens in our hearts today –

 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” 

Bemoans Jeremiah in verse 9, right before he tells us that God is searching our hearts and testing our minds. We keep moving away from God in our hearts, deceiving ourselves, and ending up putting our trust elsewhere before we even know it!

No wonder God insisted that we needed to be reminded, which is why he suggested keeping a reminder on the doorframes, hence the development of the mezuzah:

“And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 7-9

You could use the Shema to guide your prayers today for Israel – take time to check in your heart and mind and action whether you are loving God first, and put things right with him where you have moved away from that spring of living water.

Then pray the Shema over the people of Israel, praying that God would be their first and highest love, and that they would come to love the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit as one.
.
https://www.oneforisrael.org/bible-based-teaching-from-israel/hear-o-israel/