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NASB | 1 Corinthians 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 Corinthians 9:25 Now every athlete who [goes into training and] competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things. They do it to win a crown that withers, but we [do it to receive] an imperishable [crown that cannot wither]. |
Subject: self control / spirit control |
Bible Note: Dear John...... I will attempt to explain my strange and new religion for you, I admit, it’s pretty wild and way out there. It began a long, long time ago in a far off land. The creator of the universe, I will call Him “the LORD” to keep the dialogue uncomplicated, sought to have fellowship with His creation. He did so by informing certain men as to who He is and what His will was for His creation. He told many of these priviledged men to write down what He had to say. I am privy to these writings and have built my strange and new religion upon them. The LORD was looking for a enclave of his creation to follow the wisdom of these writings and be a light, an example, for the rest of the nations, in hopes that they too would choose to join up with his chosen people…..He called these people “Israel” meaning "God prevails". Unfortunately, most of this group, although they got off to a good start chose to do what was right in their own eyes as opposed to following what was right in the eyes of the LORD….time doesn’t allow for the sordid details. As it appeared that these people needed a lot more assistance, instead of giving up on them, the LORD sent His Son to Israel to get them back on track…..instead of soley having the writings which the LORD prescribed, they would have a flesh and blood teacher to personally guide them back to the correct path……the Son’s name was Y’shua, an angel of the LORD told His mother to give Him that name. He told Israel to “repent”, to turn around and rethink things and make the necessary adjustments in accordance with the teachings of the LORD. He taught that this community of excellence, He called it a Kingdom, that the LORD originally had in His mind, would be established, with them or without them, and it would last for eternity……He said that everyone who did the will of His Father, i.e. followed the LORD’s teachings instead of doing what was right in their own eyes, was going to be included…….those who opted out would experience an unpleasant future. These teachings and warnings were accepted by some and rejected by others……some chose to remain in their comfort zone and follow the so called Jewish religious elite of the day or the popular Hellenistic secular way of life. As Y’shua was a threat to the status quo, the religious and secular elite had to dispose of Him, which He knew would happen. However, he arose from the grave as an affirmation to His followers……with many other implications that I will not get into at this point…..they’re pretty heavy. Y’shua’s apostles and His disciples and the first generation believers (reformed Israel)continued to reject the corrupt Jewish religious establishment and continued the “reformation” which Y’shua initiated. They were seen as a breakaway Jewish sect known as “the Way” or the “Nazarene sect” yet they still congregated at the Temple and synagogues with unreformed Israel. They were indeed a light to unreformed Israel as well as to the gentiles, and many chose to join this renewal of getting back to the teachings of the LORD and away from the teachings of men. Many years later some of them wrote down the history of their movement. There were also communiqués among each other and to the outlying communities which have been preserved. Within a short time, although the “religion” had grown by leaps and bounds it also, in many cases, reverted back to corruption…..Israel was up to its old tricks again.....so much so that the LORD gave orders to Y’shua that He needed to reveal even more to His people……He told John, one of His apostles, to write it down……He told Him to write letters to seven communities…….five of them were already way off base after only about fifty years, only two in seven remained faithful. This is the only record of anyone having been told by the LORD to write something in the post Y’shua period. That is basically the history of this “strange and new” religion, simplistically stated. You may be able to get a more comprehensive copy of the teachings of the LORD and the historical accounts of Y’shua at your local “strange and new” religion book store. continued……please see next post |