The duty of joy

Not pursuing goodness with all our might do to fear of legalism keeps us from God’s riches just as does finding our worth in pursuing law and perfectionism. Both come from trying to find our worth in ourselves. Both are dangerous because they come from a lack of faith in the worth and work of Jesus.

Humility

Humility - the emptying of oneself, so that you can be filled with God.

To have any part with Christ we must deny ourselves and we must lose our lives. 

        Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?
  
(Matthew 16:24-26 ESV)

Continuum

We often think in continuums and God, He is often not even on the continuum. For He is completely other. He is Holy.

Created in the image of God . . .

“It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified.” -- Galatians 3:1

God has called us to be image bearers of God. That’s what we were created for. It is easy to think, I need to be “holy” so I can portray God’s image. History or His story has another take on portraying the image of God. The pinnacle point in history where the greatest portrayal God took place was at the cross in Jesus.  As we bear God’s image in our own lives, it’s not an outward holiness that is the greatest portrayal of God, but Christ being portrayed as crucified in our lives that is at the pinnacle of our being made in the image of God. As the Gospel permeates us and Christ becomes great we fulfill what we were created to be, image bearers of God.

God's got your back

When you surrender all to the grace of Christ and not your own work and walk in the integrity of God's Word, . . .God's got your back. . . .

And He goes before you to prepare the way. And He is a shield around about you.

And when we fall He picks us up.

Do not be afraid to run after God with all your heart

Catagorical Thinking

I was talking with a friend, tonight, and he mentioned how instead of listening to what people have to say, we tend to put people into categories. For example, in talking about theology or politics, people tend to set categories, so if you approach those subjects people automatically put you into preconceived boxes that they have for you, whether or not you fit in those boxes. We talked about how often, because of this, we get put in boxes that we actually totally disagree with. But because people have already determined this is what we believe and have shut their ears to anything contrary, they don't hear what we actually are saying. And I have done it to others as well.

The problem is that the Word of God doesn't fit into categories, not even close.

My prayer is not necessarily, how do I get others to change, but how can God change me, and help me to communicate lovingly in a way that breaks down any categories. In His grace, I want to be able to speak in a way that is gentle and loving and strong. To speak in a way that makes others feel welcome, maybe uncomfortable and maybe  even hostile at times, but welcome. Jesus, spoke in a way that struck the hearts and souls of men. He was strong and many people rejected Him because of it. But He also said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.". And like Paul, I want to pray that the Holy Spirit will speak clearly through me, breaking down any preconceived categories men have and breaking down any boxes I put God into, so that they might hear clearly what God has to say.

The list of holiness

Once you make holiness a list of rules, you lose holiness. Because holiness is not a list. Holiness is an adventure and a passion for joy. It is a matter of delighting in God.

Jesus made this evident. The Pharisees had made righteousness a set of rules to live by, "Thou shall not murder". Jesus came and made it tougher, "I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment". Elsewhere He says, "So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.". God is not concerned about a list of rules, but the heart and its pursuit of holiness. We are to ever more and more pursue holiness. We are to increase in our love for God and our love for others. We are to grow in purity and uprightness. We are to do well at our jobs. We are to explore the wonders and challenges of manhood and womanhood. We are to enjoy the fellowship of one another, growing deeper in our relationships.

Some of what He says is hard, but it is hard because He knows what joy and freedom there is in what He says, and He is a good Shepherd. He is a Father who delights in His children's joy. God's way is much more demanding, it causes us to tremble, it puts us on edge, it causes us to feel inadequate and hopeless, we don't know if we like it, it rubs you the wrong way, . . . it causes us to fear God, but it is also much more exhilarating and free.

And He is a God who picks us up and comforts us in our failures as we run into His arms. His heart is not a demanding list, but for us to walk with and to be with Him.

God has more in mind than a list, He calls us to explore and to be a part of a kingdom, a kingdom that is beautiful and fills us with awe, and delights us with its extravagance. And it is fun to explore its immenseness and to grow in the likeness of Christ. God calls us to Himself, the most all satisfying thing for our hearts.

So far all those who are weary and heavy laden, for those who are afraid, stop living by a list, for Christ and the Church cries out, "Come and enjoy the richest of fair."

What we should be entertained by

Fragile Breath - Tod Agnew

We must be Holy - We can't, except by faith, and so we behold the Lamb

We Must Be Holy

R.C. Ryle, 1816-1900

The righteousness which Jesus Christ brought in must be our only confidence,—the blood of atonement our only hope. All this is perfectly true, and yet we must be holy.

(First published as a "Helmingham Series" Tract in Helmingham, Suffolk)

We must be holy on earth before we die, if we desire to go to heaven after death. If we hope to dwell with God for ever in the life to come, we must endeavour to be like Him in the life that now is. We must not only admire holiness, and wish for holiness: we must be holy.

Holiness cannot justify and save us: holiness cannot cover our iniquities, make satisfaction for transgressions, pay our debts to God. Our best works are no better than filthy rags, when tried by the light of God's law. The righteousness which Jesus Christ brought in must be our only confidence, the blood of atonement our only hope. All this is perfectly true, and yet we must be holy.

We must be holy, because God in the Bible plainly commands it. "As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15, 16).

We must be holy, because this is one great end for which Christ came into the world. "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:15).

We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we have a saving faith in Christ. "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James 2:17, 26).

We must be holy, because this is the only proof that we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. What can be more plain than our Lord's own words? "If ye love Me, keep my commandments." "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me." (John 14:15, 21).

We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we are God's children. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." "Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God" (Rom. 8:14; I John 3:10).

Lastly, we must be holy, because without holiness on earth we should never be prepared and meet for heaven. It is written of the heavenly glory, "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie" (Rev. 21:27). St. Paul says expressly, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).

Ah, reader, the last text I have just quoted is very solemn. It ought to make you think. It was written by the hand of inspired man: it is not my private fancy. Its words are the words of the Bible: not of my own invention. God has said it, and God will stand to it: "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."

What tremendous words these are! What thoughts come across my mind as I write them down! I look at the world, and see the greater part of it lying in wickedness; I look at professing Christians, and see the vast majority having nothing of Christianity but the name; I turn to the Bible, and I hear the Spirit saying, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."

Surely it is a text that ought to make you consider your ways, and search your hearts. Surely it should raise within you solemn thoughts, and send you to prayer.

You may try to put me off by saying you feel much, and think much about these things, far more than many suppose. I answer, This is not the point. The poor lost souls in hell do as much as this. The great question is, not what you think and what you feel, but what you DO. Are you holy?

You may say, It was never meant that all Christians should be holy, and that holiness such as I have described is only for great saints, and people of uncommon gifts. I answer, I cannot see this in Scripture. I read that "every man who hath hope in Christ purifieth himself" (1 John 3:3). "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."

You may say, It is impossible to be so holy and to do our duty in this life at the same time: the thing cannot be done. I answer, You are mistaken: it can be done. With God on your side, nothing is impossible. It has been done by many: Moses, and Obadiah, and Daniel, and the servants of Nero's household, are all examples that go to prove it.

You may say, If you were so holy, you would be unlike other people. I answer, I know it well: it is just what I want you to be. Christ's true servants always were unlike the world around them,—a separate nation, a peculiar people; and you must be so too, if you would be saved.

You may say, At this rate very few will be saved. I answer, I know it: Jesus said so eighteen hundred years ago. Few will be saved, because few will take the trouble to seek salvation. Men will not deny themselves the pleasures of sin and their own way for a season; for this they turn their backs on an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. "Ye will not come to Me," says Jesus, "that ye might have life" (John 5:40).

You may say, These are hard sayings: the way is very narrow. I answer, I know it: Jesus said so eighteen hundred years ago. He always said that men must take up the cross daily, that they must be ready to cut off hand or foot, if they would be His disciples. It is in religion as it is in other things, "There are no gains without pains." That which costs nothing is worth nothing.

Reader, whatever you may think fit to say, you must be holy if you would see the Lord. Where is your Christianity if you are not? Show it to me without holiness, if you can. You must not merely have a Christian name and Christian knowledge, you must have a Christian character also: you must be a saint on earth, if ever you mean to be a saint in heaven. God has said it, and He will not go back,—"Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." "The Pope's calendar," says Jenken, "only makes saints of the dead, but Scripture requires sanctity in the living." "Let not men deceive themselves," says Owen, "sanctification is a qualification indispensably necessary—unto those who will be under the conduct of the Lord Jesus unto salvation: He leads none to heaven but whom He sanctifies on the earth. This living Head will not admit of dead members."

Surely you will not wonder that Scripture says, "Ye must be born again" (John 3:7). Surely it is clear as noon-day that many of you need a complete change, —new hearts, new natures,—if ever you are to be saved. Old things must pass away, you must become new creatures. Without holiness, no man, be he who he may,—no man shall see the Lord.

Reader, consider well what I have said. Do you feel any desire to be holy? Does your conscience whisper, "I am not holy yet, but I should like to become so"? Listen to the advice I am going to give you. The Lord grant you may take it and act upon it!

Would you be holy? Would you become a new creature? Then begin with Christ. You will do just nothing till you feel your sin and weakness, and flee to Him: He is the beginning of all holiness. He is not wisdom and righteousness only to His people, but sanctification also. Men sometimes try to make themselves holy first of all, and sad work they make of it: they toil, and labour, and turn over many new leaves, and make many changes, and yet, like the woman with the issue of blood before she came to Christ, they feel nothing bettered, but rather worse. They run in vain, and labour in vain: and little wonder, for they are beginning at the wrong end. They are building up a wall of sand: their work runs down as fast as they throw it up. They are baling water out of a leaky vessel; the leak gains on them; not they on the leak. Other foundation of holiness can no man lay than that which Paul laid, even Christ Jesus. Without Christ we can do nothing. It is a strong but true saying of Traill's, "Wisdom out of Christ is damning folly; righteousness out of Christ is guilt and condemnation; sanctification out of Christ is filth and sin; redemption out of Christ is bondage and slavery."

Would you be holy: Would you be partakers of the Divine nature? Then go to Christ. Wait for nothing: wait for nobody: linger not. Think not to make you yourself ready: go, and say to Him, in the words of that beautiful hymn,—

"Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, flee to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace."

There is not a brick nor a stone laid in the work of our sanctification till we go to Christ. Holiness is His special gift to His believing people; holiness is the work He carries on in their hearts, by the Spirit whom He puts within them. He is appointed a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance as well as remission of sins: to as many as receive Him He gives power to become sons of God. Holiness comes not of blood,—parents cannot give it to their children; nor yet of the will of the flesh,—man cannot produce it in himself; nor yet of the will of man, —ministers cannot give it you by baptism. Holiness comes from Christ. It is the result of vital union with Him: it is the fruit of being a living branch of the true vine. Go then to Christ, and say, "Lord, not only save me from the guilt of sin, but send the Spirit, whom Thou didst promise, and save me from its power. Make me holy. Teach me to do Thy will."

Would you continue holy, when you have once been made so? Then abide in Christ. He says Himself, "Abide in Me, and I in you. He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit" (John 15:4, 5).

He is the Physician to whom You must daily go, if you would keep well; He is the Manna which you must daily eat, and the Rock of which you must daily drink. His arm is the arm on which you must daily lean, as you come up out of the wilderness of this world. You must not only be rooted, you must also be built up in Him.

Reader, may you and I know these things by experience, and not by hearsay only! May we all feel the importance of holiness, far more than we have ever done yet! May our years he holy years with our souls, and then I know they will be happy ones! But this I say once more, "We must be holy."

Christians are not morally superior than non-Christians

"The Gospel is the only faith system I know that leads you to expect that people who don't believe like you believe will be better than you. What!? Yes! Because the Gospel says your not saved because your wise; your not saved because your good; your not saved because your virtuous; your not saved because your performing the truth. You are saved because Jesus performs the truth. And you can't get a salvation unless you admit that you are not any better than anyone else, that you are a sinner and that you need grace. And therefore the Gospel leads you to expect that the people who don't agree with you could easily be and usually are better people than you, wiser, nicer, more disciplined, more self controlled, kinder, less likely to fly off the handle; and they are. Every other system of thought leads you to believe that you will be better than the people who do not believe the right things, but the Gospel says if you believe the Gospel you are likely to see other people who don't believe the Gospel better than you. In other words, the Gospel humbles you before the people who don't agree with you. Humbles you! I don't know of any other system that would do that."

--Timothy Keller
Exclusivity of Christianity

Thunder

I love the sound of thunder. Thunder, especially the really loud, deep, house shaking, heart shaking THUNDER, fills me with so much peace. For me it’s a faint echo of hearing the voice of God. It reminds me of Psalm 18 and God’s protection over me. “I will love You, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; . . . . And I cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And even my cry came before Him, even to His ears. Then the earth shook and trembled; The foundation of the hills also quaked and were shaken, . . . . The LORD thundered from heaven, And the Most High uttered His voice, . . . . He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.” I think C.S. Lewis described this feeling well when he describes Aslan’s roar. It’s a strength that both shakes you and gives you unshakable peace at the very core of who you are. When I hear thunder, I feel like a child being held in the arms of my Father.

Beauty

written 2007

In Proverbs 31, King Lemuel sets down to write as he recalls “the utterance which his mother taught him”. These are the words that a mother installed into her son as a youth, and the words that he carried with him as a man. His mother taught him, “Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain” . . . “Do not give your strength to women, or your ways to that which destroys kings.” She warns him not to pursue a woman based on outward appearances and pretences, but to cherish incorruptible and satisfying beauty.

As men since we were little we have been hit by the message of the world. It is the adulteress of Proverbs crying out at every corner, “come here this is what is beautiful; this is what will satisfy” (paraphrased). We so often believe these words (“With much seductive speech she persuades him”), and we chase after the lust of our eyes and follow the lures of the adulterous woman, unaware that it will cost us our life, “for many a victim has she laid low, and all her slain are a mighty throng”. It is as if we are spiritually mad, running after things that have never satisfied us, but only cause us to thirst more. And yet in our thirst, we continue in this madness; we forsake the spring of life for broken cisterns. It destroys men. Proverbs describes its end as death, Jesus describes it as hell. “It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell." Men, if you think a beautiful woman will satisfy your physical desires, you are sadly mistaken. “Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of men.” Our hearts are made for the Lord. This culture has lied to us about what beauty is, it cries out at every corner, and we have bought into it, even in the church. We have let the world cheat us and we have settled for less than what God has for us. It should cause us to weep and be angry.

But that is not the end of this mother’s words, “but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised”. . . “She is far more precious than jewels”. The scripture talks of a woman whose worth exceeds jewels, who is worthy of praise, and is to be honored, and who will also fully gratify all our physical longings and desires. Her beauty goes beyond the imagination of men, is captivating and fully satisfying, and meets the deepest longings of our hearts. It is incorruptible. “Do not let your adornment be merely outward – arranging of the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel – rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.” This is not an outward appearance or pretence of godliness, but a deep inner walk with the Lord. It is woman who has a deep trust in the Lord and embraces womanhood.

Men, this beauty is not just spiritual, it is also physically satisfying. God does not ignore the physical aspect to beauty. God is honest about our physical longings. In Proverbs it says,

“Let your fountain be blessed,and rejoice in the wife of your youth,a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love.
Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden womanand embrace the bosom of an adulteress?”

God commands us to be “intoxicated always” by the love of our wife and to be filled “at all times with delight”. God describes ones wife as beautiful, “a lovely deer, a graceful doe.” This passage is not talking about a young wife with a young body that fits with the world’s description of beauty, but a wife that has grown old with you. She may not have the body of a young woman, but she has the only body that can fully satisfy her husband. The word “fill” here means to have abundance, to be saturated, to have more than enough, to take ones fill. In other words, to have every physical longing filled and to have no need for more. Your wife will fill every physical longing you have. You may be intoxicated by the love of a forbidden woman, but her embrace will never fill your physical longings. “Death and Destruction are never satisfied, and neither are the eyes of men.” To rejoice in your wife is a command of God to the men, and I don’t believe God will command something He won’t perform. If you find a godly wife, God will satisfy your every physical longing for beauty as well. It will be filled and overflowing. Men, “let your fountain be blessed”! The Lord is faithful; trust Him to fulfill what He has promised. Do not be led astray by the lies of the adulteress; by death.

This is the standard of what should attract us as men as we pursue to find a wife, physical attributes or pretenses should no longer be the standard. And it is a standard by which we are treat other women who are not our wife. It is not only our duty to have this as our standard of beauty, but it is also our delight and exceeding joy, as God transforms our definition of beauty to His, and His passions become our own. Women need this from us, the passion of God through us, declaring to them that they as women are beautiful, more precious then jewels. Oh, how “good and acceptable and perfect” is the will of God and how wonderful is His gifts to us!

I know it can be hard, we are hit by television, commercials, the media, by how women dress in our society, even walking in grocery stores with images (although much of this can be stopped, if we act as men). I grew up in this as well and it is hard for me and I struggle. But if we give in to it then we are not walking in godliness or in manhood, but instead eating the vomit of this world. What does the Bible say about this? “Therefore I urge you brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is that which is good and acceptable and perfect”. We must ask God to transform the way we think, so that it conforms to Christ and His view of women. We as men are to demonstrate Christ’s heart and love for the women in our lives. The change must start here with us, and we must pass this on to our sons and other men, speaking to them while they are still young, defining for them what a beautiful woman is and teaching them to deny the world, the adulteress woman.

I do not think we can do this alone. I know I cannot do this alone; I definitely don’t have it all together. I need other men to walk, in honesty and openness, with me in this, to covenant with me to fight; to not look at a woman with lust. To keep me accountable and speak straight words to me when I compromise; the scripture says that we are not even to have a hint of sexual immorality. I need men to be men. God is good and He is faithful and we can give Him our hearts in this.


Women, this is not just for men, it is for you as well. Women are not innocent in their view of men. Be careful to not be lured by the trappings and pretenses of this world. Look to your Father who provides all things.

Safe

“Aslan’s on the move…”

“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy.

“Aslan a man!” said Mr. Beaver sternly, “certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the king of Beasts? Aslan is a lion, the great Lion.”

“Ooh!” said Susan, “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake.” Said Mrs. Beaver, “If there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr. Beaver; “Don’t you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he is good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

-------------C.S. Lewis

quote from pastor JH, Sunday, November 4 2007

The holliness of God will not move, it will move you.

Quote by Mike Yaconelli, The Safety of Fear

----“The tragedy of modern faith is that we no longer are capable of being terrified. We aren’t afraid of God, we aren’t afraid of Jesus, we aren’t afraid of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we have ended up with a need-centered gospel that attracts thousands . . . but transforms no one.
----Unfortunately those of us who have been entrusted with the terrifying, frightening Good News have become obsessed with making Christianity safe. We have defanged the tiger of Truth. We have tamed the Lion and now Christianity is so sensible, so accepted, so palatable.
----Our world is tired of people whose God is tame. It is longing to see people whose God is big and holy and frightening and gentle and tender . . . and ours; a God whose love frightens us into His strong and powerful arms where He longs to whisper those terrifying words, ‘I love you.’”

the trembling

Letter written in 2006

-----I am still learning about this, so I do not know if I can explain this well and I do not have much time to write, so it will be choppy, but I think the Lord will show you more than I can write. I was talking about one aspect of the fear of the Lord and one aspect of what it means to be close and in His presence. You were talking about how you would read the writings of Jonathan Edwards and how his concept on predestination was hard and challenged you. I think there many things about God like that, things that cause us to tremble. The scripture says, “our God is a consuming fire.” And Christ is both the lion and the lamb and both in fullness and truth. He is Holy. And He is loving. I was talking to you about John on Patmos, when he saw Christ. I got the order backwards, but the point is the same.
-----On the isle of Patmos John had an encounter with the beauty of Christ: “ 12Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Jesus revealed to John His beauty. And John’s response to the beauty of Christ was to fall at his feet as though dead. He was in the presence of the beauty of Christ and it was more than he could handle, but by grace, Jesus touched him and said, “Fear not”.
-----Isaiah had a similar experience before God: “1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.
5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."
6 Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for."
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!"”

-----In the fullness of the beauty of God, man trembles and becomes undone. But His beauty is good because He is good.

-----Often the beauty of God can be difficult for man because they do not want to experience a God that will cause them to tremble and be undone. In John we see men forsaking Christ, because the things Christ said were too hard.

"25When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" 26Jesus answered them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal." 28Then they said to him, "What must we do, to be doing the works of God?" 29Jesus answered them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent." 30So they said to him, "Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" 32Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 34They said to him, "Sir, give us this bread always."
35Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day."
41So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven." 42They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 43Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. 44No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me-- 46not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. 47Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48I am the bread of life. 49Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh."
52The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 53So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven, not as the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever." 59Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.
60When many of his disciples heard it, they said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?" 61But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, "Do you take offense at this? 62Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? 63It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. 64But there are some of you who do not believe." (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) 65And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father."
66After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. 67So Jesus said to the Twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" 68Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God." 70Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the Twelve? And yet one of you is a devil." 71He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the Twelve, was going to betray him. "

-----Paul when dealing with a difficult subject of the beauty of God in Roman’s 9, responds to the questions of men who did not like what they heard, because it shook them. They found the beauty of the Lord to difficult. Paul responds to these men by saying, “Who are you O man, who answers back to God?” He does not explain or defend God, God is who he is, and who are we, O man, to question His goodness and beauty even if it makes us tremble at the very essence of who we are? Later in Ephesians when Paul is dealing with the same difficult subject as in Romans, states that the purpose of God in this was “according to the kind intention of His will”. It was because of His goodness. And it stirs up praise within Paul that pours out in his letter and the letter becomes doxology. What man finds difficult, God does because He is kind and good and beautiful.

Here is another verse: “1Thus says the LORD: "Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool;what is the house that you would build for me, and what is the place of my rest? 2All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD.But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.” It is good and sweet to tremble before the Lord.

-----There is a church here and as a part of their statements of belief they state this:
"God's Word is like a lion: powerful, living and active. We believe the lion is 'caged' when it is used improperly as a pragmatic guidebook, platform for politics, for perpetual therapy, or for phony experience. The Church is responsible to uncage this lion and watch it run and triumph. And it will triumph, for it is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice."

-----I would be negligent if I left you with just trembling before the Lord, for it is not all that happens in His presence, for we are not the only one that responds. What is good is the response of Christ, But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Jesus cries out to us, “Fear not, I am” “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” By His grace alone, we stand. And, Oh!, how that grace is lavished on us by His kind intention. And by this, His love, we run into His presence as a child runs to a Father.

“14Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”

“28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."”