Tag: luke

I Am That I Am! Exodus 3:14

The Hebrew word for this English phrase is “Hayah”. Strongs # 1961. This Hebrew word is also related to another Hebrew word “Havah”. Strongs #1933. What is interesting is that these words are not nouns but verbs! So they represent an action or initiation of something! The first word describes God as “to exist.” He always was and always will be! He does not fade off into history like men! The second Hebrew word used means to “breathe.” Do not confuse this word with the two Hebrew words used in Genesis 2:7 and Genesis 6:17. In Genesis 2:7, Strongs #5387, the word breath means a Divine inspiration with intellect. The word breath used in Genesis 6:17, Strongs 7307, means a violent exhaustion of air and spirit. Like giving up the ghost! At Creation God the I Am That I Am, initiated his breath into man with Divine inspiration and intellect! At Noah’s flood in Genesis 2:7, the word breath means a violent exhaustion of air and spirit by death! At birth we receive God’s breath! At death we exhaust God’s breath! At Creation our life is established by his breath! We are established with his breath! We did not evolve! So our breath is not our own! So you have to be careful what you say! Some people have bad breath! Do we praise God or curse him with bad breath? Do we exalt God or ourselves? Every good or evil action is initiated with the breath of our words! Again our breath is not our own! Who is the owner of your breath? When Jesus raises us from the dead again one day we will have breath again! Both believers and unbelievers! Remember the story Jesus told of Lazarus and the rich man? It is found in Luke 16:19-31. Lazarus the beggar was taken to Heaven and the rich man to Hell. There was a great gulf between the two abodes! The rich man begged Abraham to warn his brothers still on earth to the Hell that awaits them unless they repent! Abraham told the rich man in Hell that his brothers had Moses and the Prophets! Abraham told the rich man that if they will not believe them then they will not believe one though raised from the dead! So God was really telling Moses to tell Pharaoh that I am the breath that all men have! I am the God that breathes breath into men! I am the Creator of all living things! Pharaoh you have not evolved by your own works! Pharaoh since you are using my breath that I gave you do not abuse me in unbelief towards me! Jesus said we must be born again! I second breath or wind! Before being born again I cursed God with my breath! No I praise him with the same breath! Pharaoh rejected the God that gave him breath and he and his army was drowned in the Red Sea! In the time of Noah the world except for 8 souls were drowned in the flood! Remember Lucifer who became Satan the Praise Leader of Heaven? Remember the fallen Angel? He used the breath of God to Glorify God then he used the same breath to oppose God! He rebelled against God in Heaven and was cast down to earth with 1/3 of the angels! Now they use the breath of God to oppose his Kingdom here on earth! Satan has many followers over the generations that have lived since the Garden of Eden! Is your breath used to raise doubts about God or affirm him? After the resurrection of the dead we will have breath again! Some to everlasting life and some to judgment! The Praise of the Saints will be beautiful but the screams of Hell deafening! Remember this! What you did with God’s breath while here on earth will determine your outcome in eternity! You are not your own you have been bought with a price!If I were God I would be reluctant to give mortal men my breath! Very risky! Will they praise me or curse me? With the breath of God Jesus said on the Cross,” Father forgive them for they know not what they do”! Crucify Him! One day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord! Why not start now while you have breath! Worship the I Am That I Am! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Do You Understand? Luke 24:45

Greek Translation: ‘Then Jesus opened up their understanding or mental and intellectual perception. He stirred up and agitated their minds and comprehension. He caused them to hear and perceive God’s thoughts with their thoughts so that they could measure the scriptures against their own thoughts and actions.” Comment: It is interesting that the Greek word for “scriptures”, is the word graphe from which we get our English word graph! So what is a graph for? What purpose? It is used to measure and compare things! We need to measure and compare our life to the Word of God! To be honest when we do this we come up short! Lacking! At a loss! Missing link! So how can we measure up? If we look at a graph of ten motor vehicles comparing gas mileage you might want to buy the one that gets the most gas mileage! However if you look at another graph that shows this vehicle has the highest maintenance repairs and another graph that shows this vehicle also has the highest fatality rate then you might change your mind? I can measure my life against other men and I may look good but by other men I look like a failure! The Apostle Paul said it is unwise to compare among men! If I have a compass I can find north and find my way by the standard for direction! How does my life rank against the standard of God? If honest I can only fall at His feet asking for forgiveness and mercy! Then Jesus said we must forgive others as He has forgiven us! If you do not do this you block your own forgiveness! So how do we meet the standard set by God? We cannot in and of ourselves! Our standard was provided to us by God Himself! Through His Son Jesus Christ! God paid the penalty for our sin at the Cross! When we accept His standard in His Son’s sacrifice for our sin then we are forgiven! If we reject the standard of the sinless Savior then we stand naked before God with no covering! We will one day stand before a Holy God Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead! If we look at a graph and compare the life of Jesus to ourselves all we can do is bow our knee and confess with our tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord! If you have not do so right now before it is too late! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

It Was Fun! Luke 6:22-23

These were the words of Tom Brady quarterback of the New England Patriots at the end of his interview last night after their Sunday night football game win over the Pittsburg Steelers! This game was really a hard fought battle with both teams having to send players to the hospital during the game! Hopefully not with career ending injuries! Brady himself was body slammed to the ground by 300 pound plus linemen! So what was fun? Was it the pain, injuries, training or uncertainty of every game? Was it the risk of a career ending injury or death? It was the winning! The sacrifices are then forgotten! Do we have the child like excitement about Christmas? About giving? About receiving? Is it fun? In Luke chapter six Jesus is well past the manger scene! He is preparing his players for the game ahead! Jesus told His 12 players that they are going to hate you, isolate you, reproach you and call you evil because of me! Like NFL players they are going to sack you! But Jesus said to rejoice in that day! Leap for joy! You guys just won the Super Bowl! Your reward is great in Heaven! Your fathers the prophets suffered the same things! We do not like to think about suffering during the Christmas season! Yet that is why He came! To suffer for us! To make our lives fun and meaningful with purpose! To win! Losers made winners! The victory parade for you is going on in Heaven right now! While running your race sometimes the pain seems unbearable! Give your pain to Jesus! He became a curse for you! He took your pain upon Himself! We are on the same team! Jesus disciples except John all crossed the finish line with martyrdom! John was boiled in oil and then exiled to a stone quarry for slaves on the island of Patmos! They all looked beyond the finish line towards the goal and their and your victory in Christ! Those that have gone before us have prepared a way for us! Give a sacrificial gift to someone this Christmas as we were given the gift of a little baby boy born in a manger in Bethlehem! Merry Christmas! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Christmas Myth Debunked! Luke 2:8

Skeptics over the years claimed that the winter time would be too cold for the shepherd herders to be out in the field with their sheep! The average temperature in Bethlehem Israel in the month of December is 59 degree’s F. There are 6 hours of bright sunlight each day which represents 58 percent of the 10 hours of daylight. Bethlehem and the surrounding hills get 4.4 inches of rain in December. Here is a quote from a Holy Land traveler who spent most of his life on the dusty trails of Palestine; “In the dry summer season the hills are well-nigh bare, affording insufficient pasture, so the shepherds then normally keep their sheep near a town and enfold them at night. But when the winter rains fall, the hills become clothed with grass, and the shepherds knowing this, take their sheep further into the fields. Then because of the distance it would make the sheep walk too far every evening expending energy needlessly, they simply watch the flocks in the fields at night. In the winter the shepherds do not stay in the town they are afar in the field or common pasturage. The sheep were only taken there in the winter.” H.B. Tristrous (Holy Land Traveler)

Jesus Return with Signs! Luke 21:25-27

Verse 25: “And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring.” Comment: What are signs? Are they like signs along the road giving us directions? The word translated from the Greek means miracles! Like the star over Bethlehem! Signs are miracles which lead to something out of and beyond themselves! They are miracles which have a ethical and moral purpose! These miracles are not so much for what they are but for what they point too! These miracles indicate the Grace and Power of God in the higher Spiritual world. The word earth used here by Jesus means the part of creation that is man’s domain and the history transacted between God and man. What about perplexity? Is it Washington D.C.? It really means a quandary where there is no way out! So we have miracles, distress of nations and perplexity. Jesus wants us to focus on looking up to Him for the evidence of His signs and wonders! God is really saying through the solar eclipse coming that He is in control of all events and confirms those things to us with his miracles! Jesus is saying I will do the miracles in your life that are needed to sustain you and give you the victory over this fallen world! He wants us to look up not down! Look ahead not back! I conclude with Jesus words in verse 27: “And then they shall see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

God of Mammon! Luke 16:13

The Greek word translates as a comprehensive word used for all kinds of possessions, earnings and gains and is designated for a material value. Jesus said we cannot serve God and Mammon! We cannot have two masters for we will hate the one and love the other! Idol’s are easy to make but hard to abandon! Once entrenched in our soul extraction is very difficult! We are born into a material world! We are material ourselves! Wealth is not evil of itself but Jesus said the love of money is the root of all evil. We can have a misplaced trust in something that will perish! Jesus was trying to get us to focus on eternal values such as your spirit and soul that will never perish but spend eternity in either Heaven or Hell depending on what you with Jesus Christ! You will either worship Jesus or Mammon! Chose Jesus! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Where is the Kingdom? Luke 17:20-21

The religious folks the Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom should come? I wish Jesus had said, “Da! You big idiots! I am God and I am with you right now!” However Jesus was polite not like me and told them the Kingdom of God does not come by observation! That is you cannot observe Him with your eyes! No man can look on God and live! Remember Fanny Crosby the Queen of Gospel Music? She was blind! Then Jesus dropped the bomb shell on them! He told them the Kingdom of God was within them! The religious folk over history have always presumed that since God lived outside of us we must worship Him outside of ourselves! Build monuments to Him! Statues and figures of wood and stone! Build Temples so the poor homeless guy has a place to dwell. Fill it with gold and silver! The bigger the Temple the more impressed God should be! Right? If we can just do enough works for Him! Jesus made things so simple yet missed by most? Who can worship God better than God living inside of you? He knows just how to do it! The songs that speak to us and the sermons that change us are powered by the God that lives inside of us! It is not about us but about Him! Sin is the only thing that keeps God out! Confess your sin to Him and let the Blood of Jesus cleanse you and then the door will be opened for Him to come and dwell in you! There is nothing greater than God living in you! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Worship & Service! Luke 10:38-42

Jesus commended Mary for choosing the good part! Let us look at the Greek word good as used in this passage of scripture! It is Strongs #18. It means constitutionally good but not to benefit others! It means profitable! It means to derive an advantage from it. There is an opposite word used in the Greek for good! It is “Harmartano”, Strongs #264. It means to miss the mark or sin! Mary’s sister Martha was serving and wanted Mary to help! There is nothing wrong with serving because it benefits others! Remember Jesus said he who is greatest in the Kingdom of God is servant of all. However in this case we are talking about God being in your presence! Jesus was not putting Martha down but explained to her that Mary her sister recognized Jesus true value! Remember over in the Book of Luke Mary spent nearly a year’s wages on the perfume to anoint Jesus body for burial. Judas put her down for it! How we value people and things is very important! If we are not careful we can overvalue things and undervalue people! If we undervalue God then nothing else we ever value will help us! Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and He will add to us what is needed! Did you value your father and mother today? Did you value your Pastor today? Did you pray for him? I recently stayed in a wealthy man’s house. He is a good man but when I asked him the name of his Pastor he did not know? If we do not value what is most valuable then it becomes sin! Like Martha serve Him but more important like Mary  worship Him! Get in His presence! One second in Jesus presence will start a fire in your soul that will glow forever! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Democrats against Republicans! Luke 21:10

Jesus said two of the signs of His second coming would be; “Nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.” Comment: So what is the difference between a nation and a kingdom? When you look the Greek words up it becomes clear! The word nation means the non-Jewish nations warring against each other! The word kingdom is very different! It means a dominion or realm of people living in a territory under political leadership. So this would describe an internal fight between a peoples within a nation. It would describe a civil war! Like Syria or American civil war over slavery. Is America heading for another civil war? We hope and pray not but the good news is that Jesus predictions of His second coming is really about the bad news bring the good news! Look up for your redemption draweth nigh! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com