Moses 3

Posted on August 5, 2014 by zachridd Standard Reply

Moses 3: First Spiritually, Then Naturally

Day 7: God Rests

“And on the seventh day I, God, ended my work, and all things which I had made; and I rested on the seventh day from all my work, and all things which I had made were finished, and I, God, saw that they were good; And I, God, blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; because that in it I had rested from all my work which I, God, had created and made.” (Moses 3:2-3) God created the heavens and the earth in 6 days and on the 7^th day He rested… and so shall we also labor 6 days and rest on the 7^th.

God then explains to Moses how the plan for the world was created;

“…every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew. For I, the Lord God, created all things, of which I have spoken, spiritually, before they were naturally upon the face of the earth…” (Moses 3:5) So here we learn that God created the blueprint (Spiritually) and then Jesus Christ created the world under God’s direction.

God goes on to explain how man was formed and how the Garden of Eden was created for man to dwell.

“…I, the Lord God, formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul, the first flesh upon the earth… And I, the Lord God, planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there I put the man whom I had formed. And out of the ground made I, the Lord God, to grow every tree, naturally, that is pleasant to the sight of man; and man could behold it… And I, the Lord God, caused a river to go out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into fourheads. And I, the Lord God, called the name of the first Pison, and it compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where I, the Lord God, created much gold; And the gold of that land was good, and there was bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second river was called Gihon; the same that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. And the name of the third river was Hiddekel; that which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river was the Euphrates.” (Moses 3:7-7-14) God breathes life into man and places man inside of the Garden of Eden which had four rivers running around it; Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel, and Euphrates.

God tells Moses that He placed man in the Garden of Eden to dress it, and commands Adam that they man eat freely of the entire garden, except that they forbid them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But, God made it a choice for Adam to obey and tells them that they may choose for themselves, but in the day that they shall eat of the fruit, they shall die. This death would be the spiritual death that would keep them from being in the presence of God. “And I, the Lord God, took the man, and put him into the Garden of Eden, to dress it, and to keep it. And I, the Lord God, commanded the man, saying: Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat, But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.” (Moses 3:15-17)

God gave Adam the ability to choose for himself, his obedience was based on his own choice. But God warned him of the consequences, that he would ‘surely die’. This death would cast him out of the Garden of Eden and bring upon man the physical death.

“And out of the ground I, the Lord God, formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and commanded that they should come unto Adam, to see what he would call them; and they were also living souls; for I, God, breathed into them the breath of life… And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but as for Adam, there was not found an help meet for him.” (Moses 3:19-20) God commands all of the animals to come to Adam to be named, and Adam names them, and whatever name he chose for them, they would be called. God also explains to Moses that every animal was also a ‘living soul’, meaning that Animals have souls like humans have souls.

“And I, the Lord God, said unto mine Only Begotten, that it was not good that the man should be alone; wherefore, I will make an help meet for him. And I, the Lord God, caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam; and he slept, and I took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in the stead thereof; And the rib which I, the Lord God, had taken from man, made I a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said: This I know now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh. And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.” (Moses 3:18; 22-25) God asks His Only Begotten if it is good for Man to be without a Woman and He responds that it is not. So God creates a woman from the rib of man and commands that neither should be without the other. Man and Women, through marriage become ‘one flesh’.

Moses 2

Posted on August 4, 2014 by zachridd Standard Reply

Moses 2: God Created All Things

The Lord speaks to Moses and declares how heaven and earth were formed…

“And the earth was without form, and void; and I caused darkness to come up upon the face of the deep and my Spirit moved upon the face of the water; for I am God. And I God said: Let there be light; and there was light.” (Moses 2:2-3) Here God begins the story of the Creation…

Day 1: God Creates Day and Night

“And I, God, called the light Day; and the darkness, I called Night; and this I did by the word of my power… And again, I, God, said: Let there be a firmament in the midst of the water… And I, God, called the firmament Heaven; and the evening and the morning were the second day.” (Moses 2:6-8) God created both the night and day.

Day 2: God Creates the Land and Sea

“And I, God, said: Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and it was so; and I, God, said: Let there be dry land; and it was so. And I, God, called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters, called I the Sea; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good.” (Moses 2:9-10) God divided the waters from the dry land and called the dry land earth and the water, the sea.

“And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind… And the earth brought forth grass, every herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed should be in itself, after his kind; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;” (Moses 2:11-12) God makes sure to create vegetation across the earth.

Day 3: God Creates Time and Seasons

“And I, God, said: Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to divide the day from the night, and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years; And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth; and it was so. And I, God, made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night, and the greater light was the sun, and the lesser light was the moon…” (Moses 2:14-16) Not only did God create time (as we know it, in a linear sense), but He also created Seasons and the Sun to rule the day and the Moon to rule the night, so that we would always have a way to see.

“And I, God, set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, And the sun to rule over the day, and the moon to rule over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and I, God, saw that all things which I had made were good;” (Moses 2:17-18)

Day 4: God creates ‘creatures’ on the Earth

“And I, God, said: Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl which may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. And I, God, created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind…And I, God, blessed them, saying: Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the sea; and let fowl multiply in the earth;” (Moses 2:20-22) God created all the animals on the earth, in the sea and those who dwell in the air. He commanded all of these creatures to procreate within their own species.

Day 5: God Creates Men and Women

“And I, God, said: Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beasts of the earth after their kind, and it was so; And I, God, made the beasts of the earth after their kind, and cattle after their kind, and everything which creepeth upon the earth after his kind; and I, God, saw that all these things were good. (Moses 2:24-25) After God finishes creating all of the creatures and beasts, He moves His attention to creating a man to take care of the earth.

“And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and it was so. And I, God, said: Let them have dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. And I, God, created man in mine own image, in the image of mine Only Begotten created I him; male and female created I them. (Moses 2:26-27) God creates MEN and WOMEN after HIS LIKENESS! That means that we are like our Heavenly Father! We are literally His offspring!

“And I, God, blessed them, and said unto them: Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” (Moses 2:28) God commands man to multiply and replenish the earth and gives authority and dominion over the care of the earth.

Day 6: God Finishes His work

“And I, God, saw everything that I had made, and, behold, all things which I had made were very good; and the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” (Moses 2:31) God makes the final touches to His work and then admires it.

1 Corinthians 2

Posted on March 12, 2014 by zachridd Standard Reply

1 Corinthians 2: “The Mormons” – We have the Mind of Christ

When I was serving a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Honduras, I was often ridiculed for my faith. I would run into people that would tell me that I didn’t believe in Jesus Christ. I would point out to them that the Church has the NAME of Jesus Christ in it. But usually that wouldn’t be enough. For those who are reading this now… I testify that Members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (a.ka. “Mormons”) absolutely believe in Jesus Christ. He is central to the Plan of Happiness and ONLY through Jesus Christ can we be saved. I know He is my redeemer, He is MY Savior and He is YOUR Savior. For this purpose, I always called this chapter of 1 Corinthians “The Mormons” – We have the Mind of Christ. Because we do, we believe on Him.

Paul comes to the Corinthians and explains that he is not perfect, but that through the Spirit and through the Power of God, he came to them as an Apostle of the Lord;

“And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:1-5)

Even in during this time, False teachers had come forth… enticing men by the slight of their words. Paul explained that he was a simple man, called of God to preach the Gospel. He knew that he was flawed, but knew that God was there for him. He came demonstrating the Power of God, not of Men.

Sometimes when we think of God and His dealings with us, we sell ourselves short. The bottom line is that, GOD LOVES US! We are His children and He would do ANYTHING for us. When we are sad, He is sad! When we are happy, He rejoices with us. Paul reminds us that; “…Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

Paul goes on to explain that we can receive the Spirit of God, which is FREELY given to us. With this power we can have the ability to speak with the wisdom that comes from the Holy Ghost and not from the wisdom taught of men. Paul explains that Spiritual matters need to be compared, understood and taught I a Spiritual manner. Those who have the natural man, do not receive the Spiritual things of God, for they are foolishness to them!

“Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:12-15)

Essentially Paul is saying that if you want to know if something is of God, you must come to that knowledge not through the wisdom of God, but through the wisdom of the Holy Ghost, the Spiritual Wisdom.

Paul closes by saying that the Church has the mind of Christ; “For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)

John 12

Posted on January 12, 2014 by zachridd Standard Reply

John 12: Receive Christ = Receive God

Jesus comes to Bethany, six days before the Passover begins. He goes to the same place where He raised Lazarus from the dead, and there they make Him dinner. Mary took out ointment of spikenard and begins to anoint the feet of Jesus and wipe it with her hair. Judas Iscariot asked why this very expensive ointment wasn’t sold and the money given to the poor. Judas said this; “…not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bad, and bare what was put therein.” (John 12:6) Essentially the money given to the ‘poor’ was put in a bag that he usually had control over. His concern was not getting his cut of the expensive ointment. Jesus tells Judas to calm; “…Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this. For the poor always ye have with you; but me ye have not always.” (John 12:7-8)

Many of the people who had heard about Jesus and how He raised Lazarus from the dead come to see, and believe on Him. Many people attended the feast and this made some Jews uncomfortable, so they plot the death of Jesus and Lazarus. Jesus continues moving forward, riding on a Colt into town as the crowd came to Him, saying; “…Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.” (John 12:13)

Jesus teaches that the “…the hour is come that the Son of man should be glorified.” (John 12:23) and continues by stating; “He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.” (John 12:25) We learn from this, that whatever state you leave this world, you will enter the next. If you lived a happy life and tried to look at the positive, even during the bad… you will have that mindset in the next life. If you are grumpy in this life, you will be grumpy in the next, and so forth. Jesus knew that His hour had come and knew that He was going to be dying for the Sins of all mankind.

Jesus looks to the heavens and says; “Father, glorify thy name.” (John 12:28) Then a voice from heaven came down saying; “…I have both glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” (John 12:28) Jesus explains to the crowd that the voice came down, for their benefit and not for the benefit of Jesus. This was another sign that was given to the believers. Many of the chief priests also believed that Jesus was the Christ, however; “…they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” (John 12:43) and because they loved the praise of man more than God, they did not want to lose their influence over the people. The chief priests saw Jesus taking their glory and they wanted it all. We can learn from this, by wanting spiritual things, instead of wanting the things of the world.

Proverbs 27-28

Posted on August 1, 2013 by zachridd Standard Reply

Proverbs 27-28

Chapter 27: Hell is Never Full

“Open rebuke is better than secret love.” (Proverbs 27:5)

It is better to show/express your feelings of love rather than hide them.

“A prudent man foeseeth the evil…” (Proverbs 27:12) If we put our trust in the Lord, the spirit will guide us to know what to do. In many cases we will be warned of a bad situation (evil) and be able to avoid it.

Essentially we need to be careful because… EVIL is always around us and Hell is never full.

Chapter 28: A Faithful Man Receives Blessings

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper…” (Proverbs 28:13)

We shouldn’t try to hide our sins, we should always try to confess them and avoid them all together.

“He that is of a proud heart sirreth up strife (conflict or trouble): but he that putteth his trust in the Lord shall be made fat.” (Proverbs 28:25) Pride is not good, humble yourself before the Lord!

Psalms 134-135

Posted on August 1, 2013 by zachridd Standard Reply

Psalms 134-135

Chapter 134: Bless the Lord & He will do the same.

A Song of degrees

“…bless ye the Lord…” (Psalms 134:1) If we bless the Lord, He will also bless us.

Chapter 135: God is Like Man

A Song of degrees of David

Praise and bless the Lord, for our “…Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods.” (Psalms 135:5) There exists multiple gods, but only one GOD.

The Lord will judge His people, those who make idols “…are like unto them: so is every one that trusteth in them.” (Psalms 135:18). Idols are “…the work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they speak not; eyes have they, but they see not.” (Psalms 135:16) These verses point out, yet again, that God is like us. We were created in His image; God has a body of flesh and bones that is perfected. Idols are made of man’s hands and have no meaning. Those who make or trust in idols are just like the idol, worthless.

Psalms 89-90

Posted on August 1, 2013 by zachridd Standard Reply

Psalms 89-90

Chapter 89: Christ’s Throne shall be established

Maschil of Ethan the Ezrahite

Ethan tells us that the Lord is merciful and that no one can be compared to Him. We learn that in the assembly/congregation of the saints, the Lord is greatly feared. This Psalm is essentially about the: mercy, greatness, justice, and judgment of the Holy one of Israel. Ethan tells us that David’s seed (through Christ) will be established forever.

There is one thing that really caught my eye “He [Jesus] shall cry unto me [God the Father], thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. Also I will make him my first born, higher than the kings of the earth.” (Psalms 89:26-27)

This tells us a few very important gospel truths:

Jesus is the son of God the Father (Elohiem)
Jesus is the first son of God “…that he might be the firstborn among many bretheren.” (Romans 8:29)
Jesus is separate from God the Father (the Trinity: God the Father, His Son [Jesus] and the Holy Ghost). The Three are separate and individual beings.

Chapter 90: Man’s days, compared to God’s

A Prayer of Moses the man of God

This is a Prayer of Moses where we learn that God is everlasting. Man’s life is meant to be “three score years and ten”; three score was a term used to say “60” and “10”= “70” so in other words humans are meant to live to age “70” according to Moses’s prayer.

Moses tells the Lord that He “…hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance” (Psalms 90:8). Moses is essentially confessing his and his peoples sins. Although I strongly feel that the Lord already knows our sins. Our sins are not secret from Him. Moses asks the Lord for his kindness in blessing the people.

Psalms 65-66

Posted on July 30, 2013 by zachridd Standard Reply

Psalms 65-66

Chapter 65: Blessedness of God’s Chosen

To the chief Musician, A Psalm and Song of David.

David tells us a little about how blessed the chosen people of God are. “Blessed is the man who thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple.” (Psalms 65:4) I personally believe that this verse is speaking of those whose names are taken to the temple so that living children of God can perform the necessary saving ordinances for the dead.

The Lord will send rain and goodness upon all the earth and the earth and everyone upon the earth shall rejoice.

Chapter 66: God Tests Man

To the chief Musician, A Song or Psalm.

David tells us that we need to praise and worship the Lord “…God, hast proved us; thou hast tried us, … thou hast laid affliction upon our loins…” (Psalms 66:10-11)

God will test us, and even put afflictions upon us. But it will be for our good.

Psalms 49-50

Posted on July 30, 2013 by zachridd Standard Reply

Psalms 49-50

Chapter 49: The Glory of the Rich Man will eventually die

To the chief Musician, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.

“Hear this, all ye people; give ear… My mouth shall speak of wisdom… my heart shall be of understanding.” (Psalms 49:1-3)

The author then goes on to tell us of an important message; “They that trust in their wealth, and boast of themselves in the multitude of riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom…” (Psalms 49:6-7)

I think this is very important! Sometimes when people of understanding speak, we ignore them. Men cannot be redeemed by wealth, or ransom God with that wealth. All of the glory of the rich man, the famous man, etc… dies with him. The only thing we take into the next life is our knowledge, experience and wisdom.

Chapter 50: Asaph Speaks of the Second Coming!

A Psalm of Asaph.

Asaph speaks of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ and tells us that the Lord has spoken and in the end He will gather His saints!

“And the heavens shall declare his righteousness: for God is judge himself” (Psalms 50:6) God will judge us for our actions while we are here on this earth.

Psalms 7-8

Posted on July 30, 2013 by zachridd Standard Reply

Psalms 7-8

Chapter 7: God is Angry with the Wicked

Shiggaion of David, which he sang unto the Lord, concerning the words of Cush the Benjamite.

“Shiggaion – From the verb shagah, “to reel about through drink.” The plural form, shigionoth, is found in Habakkuk 3:1. The word denotes a lyrical poem composed under strong mental emotion; a song of impassioned imagination accompanied with suitable music; aka a dithyrambicode.”

The New King James version translates the Hebrew word “Shiggaion” as meditation. The specific occasion is not easily connected with an event recorded in the historical books of the Old Testament; it may be a reference to either Shimei’s accusations against David in 2 Samuel 16:5 or to Saul’s slanders against David. More likely this Cush, a Benjaminite was simply another partisan of Saul against David.

“O Lord my God, in thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me” (Psalms 7:1)

When David was under attack from Cush the Benjamite, the only one he could trust was God. No one else was around (whom he could trust). But with the trust in God, was all he needed. David knew that he was not perfect, but he was asking deliverance from what he believed to be worse… his enemies.

“God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day” (Psalms 7:11)

David knew that God was a JUST GOD. He would judge accordingly. Those who do wickedness in the eyes of the Lord have the wrath and anger of God upon them.

Chapter 8: What is Man? Nothing!

To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm of David.

“Gittith – A Stringed Instrument of music”

“O Lord our God, how excellent is thy name in all the earth…” (Psalms 8:1)

David understand how excellent the Lord really is, and how He is known throughout the entire world. David then tells God that when he considers the creations of the world and the stars, and moon… he asks…

“What is man…” (Psalms 8:4). David is trying to put man in contrast with the Lord, it amazes David that we were given such great responsibility to have dominion over His creations. He sort of asks, what is man? When compared to God? The answer is that, YES we were created in His image, but we are still beneath him and his Excellency.