The Illusion of Good, The Reality of Me

The Illusion of Good,

The Reality of Me

Why do bad things happen to good people? That is the question. The answer is, “Good” is just an illusion on this planet. We are all born with the sin nature, and none of us are good. No. not one.

My thoughts are rarely in-line with God's.

I have been known to cause gossip to grow in strength, and to tell a little “white” lie to put me in a better light.

I have even became angry when I didn't get my way, and love for my neighbor is not always in me.

I speed in my car when I am running late, and I have kept the change when I knew they gave me too much.

I have been impatient, hateful, unloving, rude, spiteful, unkind and down-right mean.

Blessing and cursing has come from my mouth, and to turn away when I see the homeless has become habit.

I have talked about people and ignored people, instead of loving, caring and praying for them.

What I want to do I don't do, and what I don't want to do, I do.

I may not have physically murdered anyone, but if I don't love people, show them the Love of Christ, give them the Love of Christ, then I have murdered in my heart, and it's just the same as doing it . . . . I believe.

This is the reality of me, and good is all an illusion. Jesus says:

Mar 10:18 So Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.”

Selah, I.H.G.

Pastor D W Riffe

The Caleb Chronicles

http://pastordwriffe.wix.com/author-blog

Being Set Apart:

1Co 6:11 There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you. (NLT)

Heb 10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

Being set apart is to be sanctified. When we follow Jesus we have been sanctified, set apart from the rest of the world as a special prize, a treasure, the bride of Christ, our Savior and King.

We are no longer part of this world of sin, hate and filth. We have been forgiven of ALL sin, filled with the agape love of Christ and have been made clean.

The Timeless-One has set us aside as His very own, as His very own people, strange and alien-like, that no longer belong here on this earth.

You are separated from earthly things to be connected with spiritual things.

You are separated from time to be connected with eternity.

You are separated from idols (things that are more important than getting to know Yeshuah Jesus) to be joined to the living God.

You are separated from sin to be united with Yeshuah Jesus.

2Co 6:17 Therefore, Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.

14-18 Unequally yoked

2Co 6:14, 15 Don't team up with those who are unbelievers. How can goodness be a partner with wickedness? How can light live with darkness?

What harmony can there be between Christ and the Devil? How can a believer be a partner with an unbeliever? (NLT)

1Co 6:9-12 Don't you know that those who do wrong will have no share in the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, who are idol worshipers, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals,

thieves, greedy people, drunkards, abusers, and swindlers—none of these will have a share in the Kingdom of God.

There was a time when some of you were just like that, but now your sins have been washed away, and you have been set apart for God. You have been made right with God because of what the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of our God have done for you.

You may say, “I am allowed to do anything.“ But I reply, “Not everything is good for you. “And even though “I am allowed to do anything,“ I must not become a slave to anything. (NLT)

God wants us to be different, act different, live different, because we are different. We are set apart from everyone else. We are His.

If we act and talk like everyone else, then they are going to think we are just like them and we don't have anything they want.

We are not better than the world, but we are Children of the King of kings. We need to act like it.

If you don't think Yeshuah Jesus would say or do it, then don't.

Know who you are.

You, Me, Us, we are:

1. Children of God - 1 John 5:1

2. Heirs with Christ – Romans 8:17

3. His Special Treasure —Deu 7:6

4. We are His friend – John 15:15

5. We are His Bride – Rev 21:9, 10

Deu 7:6 "For you are a holy people to the LORD your God; the LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples on the face of the earth.

Remember, you are special, you are set apart, and cherished as a priceless treasure. The Timeless-One has made you into a beautiful spotless bride, adorned in perfection. You, me, we are His.

Of the Three:

High Rock is a community of about three thousand people. Surrounded by a protective force, it lies in the middle of Mount Triune, which cannot be found on any map because the Timeless-One has hidden it from the world. In the day it looks as though it is raining crystals and silver flakes; at night, it looks as though it is on fire. The people call this “the protective hand of the Timeless-One.” No evil can enter High Rock, unless allowed by the Timeless-One, and then the evil has no power.

The above is from the Introduction, from The Caleb Chronicles.

Mount Triune, where the Village of High Rock lies is symbolic of the Holy Trinity. I know the Holy Trinity is controversial in some circles, but I myself do believe in the Trinity. The word “trinity” is not in the Bible, but the concept is; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Mat 28:19 Go you therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit,

In Genesis 1:1 the Hebrew word for God is Elohim, which is plural. Then in Genesis 1:26 it says, “Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;” God is not talking to angels, because angels do not have the ability to create. No, this is the Unity of the Godhead, the Trinity, the Three, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

The introduction to The Caleb Chronicles says, that High Rock sits right in the middle of Mount Triune. So, High Rock is precious, valued, and important to the Timeless-One, just as we are. Not only does Elohim, the Triune God watch over us as a cherished treasure, but He, the Trinity dwells in our very being.

Rev 3:20 (Jesus speaking) `Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

John 14:20 (Jesus speaking) "In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.

1Co 3:16 Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

Rom 8:9-11 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

Luke 4:1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness

Or, we can say, Christ is dwelling in the Father, we are dwelling in Christ, and Christ is dwelling in us. The Holy Spirit dwells in Christ, Christ dwells in us, we dwell in the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Wow!

Eph 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

2Co 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all.

Selah, I.H.G.

The 3 Temptations of Yeshuah

Mat 4:1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Mat 4:2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

Mat 4:3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

Mat 4:5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

Mat 4:6 and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

Mat 4:8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

Mat 4:9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."

Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Mat 4:11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

The three temptations of Yeshuah, Jesus, we’ve read them, now let’s take a closer look at them.

Jesus was just baptized by His cousin, John in chapter 3. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus like a dove, and the Father was pleased. Jesus was acting out His death, burial and resurrection by being baptized. Now, Matthew 4 verse 1.

Mat 4:1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.

Luke says in Luke_4:1 that Jesus was “full of the Holy Spirit;” and it was by Holt Spirits influence, therefore, that He went into the desert to be tempted. Mark 1:12 says He was driven by the Spirit, a phrase that indicates a sudden and forcible impulsion. The first act of the ministry of Jesus Christ was a combat with Satan.

Many people say that Jesus was never really tempted; after all He is the Son of God. If that is true then the scriptures are false, because it says He was tempted by the devil. He had to be tempted to show, that if can overcome, and then, we also can overcome. Yeshuah Jesus is fully God, and He is fully man.

Mat 4:2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.

Can we say understandably?

Moses and Elijah each fasted for the same length of time. It was a period of spiritual exaltation, of meditation and prayer, of preparation for his work. At the close of His fasting He then felt the hunger. Evidently this was a complete fast. There are some fasts that exclude certain foods, or allow a person to drink water, but not this. This was an absolute fast; no food and no water.

First Temptation: Satisfying the lust of the flesh.

Back in Genesis 3 Satan used the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil to tempt Eve to satisfy her lust for knowledge and power.

Mat 4:3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread."

Mat 4:4 But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

Matthew 4:3 in the Analytical-Literal Translation it reads,

Mat 4:3 And having approached Him, the Tempter said, "Since You are God's Son, speak, so that these stones shall become loaves of bread."

The Greek word for “if” is “εἰ”, ei, which means; forasmuch as, if, and since.

Satan was not questioning Jesus deity; Satan was with Yeshuah in eternity. Satan wanted the place of Yeshuah and wanted His worship. Now, he wanted Jesus to selfishly use His power to satisfy His hunger, to satisfy the needs of the flesh, instead of the needs of the spirit. Yeshuah responded with His very own words that He gave Moses to say from the Torah. This is an example of how we should combat evil, with the Word of God.

Deu 8:3 "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the LORD.

Second Temptation: The pride of life.

Mat 4:5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple,

Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him, "It is written again, 'You shall not tempt the LORD your God.'"

In the second temptation, the devil took Jesus to the holy city and set Him on the pinnacle of the temple. The devil then tells Jesus to cast himself down, for the angels will save Him. Jesus said to the devil,

Mat 4:7 Jesus said to him, It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.

Jesus said to the devil, “It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.” Jesus declares to the devil that He is God; He is even Satan’s God. Jesus said in effect, “Do not tempt Me, I AM your God.”

Let’s look at Matthew 4:7 in Hebrew.

Mat 4:7 ויאמר אליו ישוע ועוד כתוב לא תנסה את יהוה אלהיך׃

Yahshua (Jesus) ישוע
Aleph and Tav את (Aleph and Tav, the Beginning and the End, the Strength of the Cross, Power of the Covenant, Alpha and Omega)
YHWH (LORD) יהוה
Elohim (God as Trinity) אלהיך

Matthew 4:7 with meanings; ישוע Yahshua said unto him, It is written again, You shall not tempt את (Aleph and Tav, the Beginning and the End, the Strength of the Cross, Power of the Covenant, Alpha and Omega) יהוה (YHWH the LORD) אלהיך (Elohim, God as Trinity).

You see later Yeshuah Jesus says to Phillip and the disciples . . . let’s start with the question.

John 14:8 Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us."

John 14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?

John 14:10"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

So, He is declaring to the Devil; I Am the Aleph and the Tav, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and Omega. I AM YHWH the LORD and I AM Elohim part of the Trinity. Not only does the Holy Spirit dwell in Jesus, but the Father also.

Here’s a question, Who raised Jesus from the grave? Let’s go to Romans 6.

Rom 6:4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.

This says the Father raised Yeshuah Jesus from the dead. Now, lets’ go to John chapter 2.

John 2:19 Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

John 2:20 Then the Jews said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?"

John 2:21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body.

Here Jesus says, He will raise Himself from the dead. Well, He did, and the Father did. Jesus and the Father are ONE. Amazing!

Third Temptation: Lust of the eyes.

Mat 4:8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

Mat 4:9 And he said to Him, "All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me."

Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Mat 4:11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.

This last temptation the devil takes Jesus to a very high mountain and shows Him all the kingdoms of the world and says, “Worship me and all this I will give to you.” This is a revealing insight into Satan’s heart; worship and recognition are far more precious to him than the possession of the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

Let’s read Luke’s account.

Luke 4:5 Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

Luke 4:6 And the devil said to Him, "All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.

Luke 4:7 "Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours."

Luke 4:8 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Luke adds in verse 5, “in a moment of time.” Indicating that in a matter of just a few short moments Jesus saw every kingdom of the world, possibly even future worldly kingdoms to come. And the Devil said they were his to give. What is interesting is that Yeshuah Jesus never questioned Satan’s claim of ownership of the kingdoms of the world, because, for right now he does own them. The earth was handed over to the Devil when Adam and Eve took the fruit and ate it. But, in Revelation Yeshuah will take the title deed and open its seals and reclaim the earth.

Mat 4:10 Then Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! For it is written, 'You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.'"

Jesus said to the devil, “Get away from Me, Satan: for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.” Jesus is declaring to Satan again that He is Lord and one day Satan himself will declare Jesus is Lord.

These temptations could not have been genuine unless;

HaShem Yeshuah HaMoshiach, The Name Jesus The Messiah had become man. With that came the need for bodily nourishment. And with that comes emotion and fatigue.
Satan had to know the Scriptures . . . and he does.
Satan did have possession of the worldly kingdoms and could give them to whomever he wished.

The three temptations are;

The lust of the flesh;
The pride of life
The lust of the eyes

Let’s quickly look at Genesis 3:6

Gen 3:6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

The tree was good for food. The lust of the flesh.
Pleasant to the eyes. The lust of the eyes.
Desirable to make one wise. The pride of life.

Satan uses the same method every time.