Brett Osborne Monroe

To live a life obeying God by listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit who always leads one to do what is right.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Quote from Focus on the Family email:

Good Morning!

“You are not what others think you are,” wrote Brennan Manning. “You are not what you think you are. You are what God knows you are.”

Led to the below Scripture because of quote above.

Ephesians 4:24
Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Words Jesus Christ spoke:

“If you love your father or mother more than you love me, you are not worthy of being mine; or if you love your son or daughter more than me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine. If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.

The only path to real life is living the way Jesus Christ desires by obeying the Holy Spirit.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Sometimes the will of the Most High, our Father in Heaven is not what we want.

He went on a little farther and bowed with his face to the ground, praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.”

Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!
Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

There is teaching that Satan is a fallen angel. We don't have enough information in the Bible to make the conclusion that he was an angel God created and he rebelled against God. What the bible does teach about him definitively is in Revelation 12:7-9:

Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. 8 And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. 9 This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

What I discovered from Scripture is the serpent is mentioned first in Genesis 3:1.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’? ”

The word serpent is used in the first passage quoted

This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels.

These verses are clearly linked.
The other verses attributed to being about Satan are not clear like these verses are. A lot of speculation must be added to the verses to make them be about Satan.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.”

Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.
All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them. Anyone who doesn’t love me will not obey me. And remember, my words are not my own. What I am telling you is from the Father who sent me.

Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love others as yourself.” Love does no harm to others. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

I cannot stop thinking about the words of Jesus Christ:

“So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.
“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.

And the words that the Holy Spirit gave the apostle John:

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

Confession of sin is simply agreeing with the Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ when we have done something or not done something according to what the Holy Spirit desires.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

This post is from thinking about Scripture that I have read in the past.

If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.
We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one.
And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life.
Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts.

Look at the words

All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death.

Jesus Christ said

So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.
“A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad.”

And in conclusion the apostle Paul teaches

Work hard to show the results of your salvation, obeying God with deep reverence and fear. For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Romans 5:17

For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.

Commentary
Those who receive the gift of righteousness “live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Once received obedience to God’s Spirit begins.

1st John 3:7-10

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

John 17:1-3
2 Peter 1:3-4
1 John 4:9-12

Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. 2 For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. 3 And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvelous glory and excellence. 4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Jesus speaking in Luke 10:22

“My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”

Jesus speaking in John 6:44

For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.

Jesus speaking in John 14:21

Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

God’s Omniscience

1Kings 11:38
'Then it will be, that if you listen to all that I command you and walk in My ways, and do what is right in My sight by observing My statutes and My commandments, as My servant David did, then I will be with you and build you an enduring house as I built for David, and I will give Israel to you.

1Ki 14:7-12
(7) "Go, say to Jeroboam, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel, "Because I exalted you from among the people and made you leader over My people Israel,
(8) and tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you--yet you have not been like My servant David, who kept My commandments and who followed Me with all his heart, to do only that which was right in My sight;
(9) you also have done more evil than all who were before you, and have gone and made for yourself other gods and molten images to provoke Me to anger, and have cast Me behind your back--
(10) therefore behold, I am bringing calamity on the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam every male person, both bond and free in Israel, and I will make a clean sweep of the house of Jeroboam, as one sweeps away dung until it is all gone.
(11) "Anyone belonging to Jeroboam who dies in the city the dogs will eat. And he who dies in the field the birds of the heavens will eat; for the LORD has spoken it."'
(12) "Now you, arise, go to your house. When your feet enter the city the child will die.

2Kings 13:18-19
(18) Then he said, "Take the arrows," and he took them. And he said to the king of Israel, "Strike the ground," and he struck it three times and stopped.
(19) So the man of God was angry with him and said, "You should have struck five or six times, then you would have struck Aram until you would have destroyed it. But now you shall strike Aram only three times."

2Kings 13:25
(25) Then Jehoash the son of Jehoahaz took again from the hand of Ben-hadad the son of Hazael the cities which he had taken in war from the hand of Jehoahaz his father. Three times Joash defeated him and recovered the cities of Israel.

Luke 19:43-44
(43) "For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side,
(44) and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."

The reason God is omniscient is that He knows every possible choice that His created beings can make and He is prepared to deal with the choices we make as shown from Jeroboam's case, the king striking the ground three times instead of five or six as the man of God wanted so that Israel would have destroyed Aram and the Jewish people who did not recognize Jesus for who He is causing the destruction of Jerusalem.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Put these Scripture together as I thought of eternal life.

After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you. For you have given him authority over everyone. He gives eternal life to each one you have given him. And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.

The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

These words together teach that eternal life, salvation from eternal death is not because of what we do but we will obey Jesus Christ if we have received eternal salvation.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

The Bible unequivocally teaches that eternal life is a gift and when one has received it one lives a life of obeying the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

1st John 2:29
Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

Hebrews 5:8,9
Even though Jesus was God’s Son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered. In this way, God qualified him as a perfect High Priest, and he became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey him.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Apostle Paul and Apostle John wrote Scripture inspired by God’s Spirit that I put together in this document.

1st Corinthians 9:24-27
Romans 8:12-14
1st John 2:29

Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

Since we know that Christ is righteous, we also know that all who do what is right are God’s children.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Hebrews 13:5,6 New Living Translation

Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said,
“I will never fail you.
I will never abandon you.”
So we can say with confidence,
“The LORD is my helper,
so I will have no fear.
What can mere people do to me?”

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Matthew 22:36-40
Mark 12:29-31
Luke 10:25-28
Romans 13:8-10
Galatians 5:13,14
James 4:17

Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
Jesus replied, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”
Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”
The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

Let no debt remain outstanding, except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.
If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.

Romans 6:21;8:12-14
1st John 1:5-10

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Holiness email August 5,2021

Quote
“Habits are developed by repetition, and it’s in the arena of moral choices that we develop spiritual habit patterns.”

Quote
“Holiness of character is developed one choice at a time as we choose to act righteously in each and every situation we encounter during the day.”

Scripture I am reminded of because of the above information:

Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Proverbs 18:24, Hebrews 2:11 and Jesus Christ speaking in John 15:13,14 New Living Translation of the Bible’s original language

There are “friends” who destroy each other, but a real friend sticks closer than a brother.

So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.

There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

This document is from thinking about Scripture that I have read in the past.

For God said to Moses,
“I will show mercy to anyone I choose,
and I will show compassion to anyone I choose.”
So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

Then the people began to murmur in disagreement because he had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph? We know his father and mother. How can he say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
But Jesus replied, “Stop complaining about what I said. For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up. As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me. (Not that anyone has ever seen the Father; only I, who was sent from God, have seen him.)
“I tell you the truth, anyone who believes has eternal life. Yes, I am the bread of life! Your ancestors ate manna in the wilderness, but they all died. Anyone who eats the bread from heaven, however, will never die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.”

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

The words that catch my attention are

So it is God who decides to show mercy. We can neither choose it nor work for it.

it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him.

As it is written in the Scriptures, ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who listens to the Father and learns from him comes to me.

Anyone who eats this bread will live forever; and this bread, which I will offer so the world may live, is my flesh.

you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

Combining these words

1. God showing mercy is His sovereign choice.
2. Believing Him is our responsibility.
3. Metaphorically feeding on Jesus Christ through obeying the Holy Spirit is the way to eternal life.

[Brett Osborne Monroe @monroe_brett]

Earlier I quoted Scripture about obeying those in authority.
Below is a passage to bring clarity of perspective.

The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead —whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

The only time to disobey someone in authority is when they tell you to do something that is not the will of the Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ.