"OUR LIGHT AND MOMENTARY AFFLICTIONS"

“Lavished With Grace” By Ralph Gomez “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding.” (Ephesians 1:7-8 NIV) I sent my notes out on Ephesians chapter 1.   If you have not received these, you can visit my blog “Our Light and Momentary Afflictions” and read the notes.   Or download them from Zoho at viewer.zoho.com/docs/cca2acc. Anyway, a Facebook friend asked me about my bibliography yesterday – a good question.   I’ve been using about 5-7 different commentaries, plus the excellent language tools that come with the Logos and E-Sword Bible programs. The Logos resources are far superior, but E-Sword has some very excellent inexpensive stuff which anyone can download.   So, as I was studying more yesterday, I ran across some things that I wanted to share before moving on with this sermon series on the Book of Ephesians.    In parti...

Dear friends, as promised, here is the first installment of my notes on Ephesians chapter 1. It is my prayer that as you read and enter into this wonderful chapter that the Father would give you the “spirit of wisdom” and of “revelation.” (see explanation below) I. Paul’s Song of Redemption (Hebrew Berakah) (1:1–14) He sings because of the Heavenly Blessings. Ephesians 1 should make us sing too! Berakahs are songs of Redemption which celebrate what God has done. (The Song of Moses and Miriam in Exodus 15 is a “berarah.”) These songs not only glorify God, they bless the soul deeply because they inject the Glory of God deeply into the soul – this is the essence of worship. 1. These blessings are in Heavenly Realms. Best way to understand this realm is from a Kingdom “already/but not yet” perspective. In the same way that the End of the Age has been inaugurated with the start of Jesus’ earthly ministry, but not consummated until the Second Coming, the Blessings in Heavenly ...

"And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness." Acts 4:31 (ESV) It IS possible. We can, as a Church, "walk and chew gum" at the same time. You've heard that phrase before. I've used it sarcastically when, in an attempt to convince my wife that I can do more than one thing at a time, I play with my Blackberry and watch TV with her and the kids. This leads to lots of family frustration - mostly because of me requesting rewinds every 3 minutes. It doesn't go over well. Ask my kids or Cathy about it. That being said, the Holy Spirit is not plagued with Attention Deficit Disorder as I am. I've never been diagnosed with this condition - but then again, I was never tested. Back in the 60's if you had no self control, they'd lock you in a closet for a couple of hours. So, I just have a sneaking suspicio...

This post consists of an abbreviated version of my sermon from Sunday, December 12, 2010. (These are my notes. The preached message itself has a lot of variation and augmentation!) As I went back to this text during the week, it struck me that it is not a “disembodied” truth.Romans 8:28 cannot be separated from the rest of the chapter and just tossed out to our hearts content.I mean, really, why should I expect all things to work together for good right? Do they work together for good for everyone – regardless of what they do? And, more importantly, why do they? How does God do this in us? The thing is, this promise will only bring comfort and joy if we really believe it right? And if we’re loving God…and called according to His purpose. So I started reading from verse 1 this week and discovered this amazing thing about Romans 8. It is the testimony of a man who is in love with the Holy Spirit! Read verses 1-4 Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is ...

I am beginning to write a book on the Book of Revelation – a sort of practical commentary that focuses on the value of the book for today. From time to time I might dabble in some speculation about future meanings of the prophecies and visions in the book, but, for the most part I am going to stick to what this amazing book means to a believer in Jesus Christ today. This in fact was the reason why the Revelation was given to John in the first place – the Revelation was meant to “bless” Christians, real Christians, living in first century Asia Minor, who were in need of encouragement, edification, and correction. God’s gift to those beleaguered Christians was a Revelation – but specifically a Revelation of Jesus Christ the King, and His coming Kingdom. This is why the “angels” of the churches (messengers) are instructed to read the book out loud - and, to heed the things written in it. The word for “read” speaks of a public reading. Robertson, in his “Word Pictures in the New Tes...

"In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes." (Judges17:6) "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry...." (1Samuel 15:23) I believe that the question of authority in the local body of believers is vital in this day. We live in a time very similar to the years that the judges ruled Israel. Too many are doing what is "right in their own eyes" without concern for the Body. We often hear believers say "God told me" to do this or that, then we witness the aftermath of offense, confusion, and alienation. I believe that if we all would take just a moment to ask the question, "how will this affect those around me right now?", "will they be blessed?" before acting - we would avoid much of the fallout. Today, there are many Churches which prohibit any manifestations of the Spirit for this very reason. Pastors and leaders have been burned by ...

"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest." (Hosea 4:6) "But a man must examine himself, and in so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body rightly. For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep." (1Corinthians 11:28-30) "See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Hebrews 12:15) I see it constantly. And it is always tragic and sad. Unresolved bitterness is like a pandemic virus. It does not like to remain in the "host." I studied Virology in college as part of my pre-med course requirements. Viruses are nasty little things - they have one purpose - to take over, duplicate themselves, spread and destroy. They are the perfect infil...

The Church At the End of the Age – Is Our Love Growing Cold? “…let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith...Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:21-25) “Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27 Paul wrote these words to a local Church in Corinth over 19 centuries ago. Most of the New Testament, in fact, consists of letters writen to local gatherings of believers. Jesus' followers, the Apostles, were trained and sent out by Him to establish churches all over the world. Church planting was the master plan of evangelism - it was at the center of God's plan to reach the world with the Good News of the Gospel. But it seems that toda...

"Then he said to the crowd, If any of you wants to be my follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process?" (Luke 9:23-25, NLT) My "sermonette" on discipleship and following Jesus is a bit long this week... "If your brother sins, go and show him his fault when the two of you are alone. If he listens to you, you have regained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others with you, so that at the testimony of two or three witnesses every matter may be established. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. If he refuses to listen to the church, treat him like a Gentile or a tax collector.” (Matthew 18:15-17) "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will ...