Mended Institute

Morning Bliss: No Excuses_ Focal Scripture : Luke 12:48 'But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.'                                       Read: Luke 12:45-48   This verse is one of the clearest references in scripture about varying degrees of God's judgment according to the knowledge of the person who committed the sin. The whole chapter of Leviticus 4 is written to deal with sins committed in ignorance.  Jesus said in John 9:41, 'If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.' Also, Romans 5:13 says, 'sin is not imputed when there is no law.' Paul said, in 1 Timothy 1:13, that he obtained mercy because he had sinned 'ignorantly in unbel...

Morning Bliss: Who Is Saved?_ Focal Scripture : Luke 13:23-24 'Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able.'                                       Read: Luke 13:22-27   Jesus said that many will seek to enter salvation and will not be able to. There are many reasons for this, but it is not because God refused salvation to anyone.  ' The grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men . . .'(Ti. 2:11) and God 'is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance' (2 Pet. 3:9). There is effort involved in obtaining salvation. The effort is not for the purpose of earning salvation.  That is a free gift (Rom. 5:15); but we do have to fight the good fight of faith (1 Tim. 6:12). Faith i...

Morning Bliss:  The Veil is Torn!_ Focal Scripture :  Luke 23:45 'And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst.'                                      Read:  Luke 23:45 The veil spoken of here reached from the ceiling to the floor, from wall to wall, and separated the Holy of Holies from the holy place in the temple. Solomon's temple was 30 cubits high  (1 Kings. 6:2) , but Herod increased the height to 40 cubits. Therefore, depending on what standard you use to convert cubits to feet (there is uncertainty as to exactly what a cubit equaled in our feet and inches), this veil was somewhere between 60 feet and 90 feet high. It is significant that this veil was rent from top to bottom ( Mt. 27:51; Mk. 15:38).  No man could have torn the veil in this fashion. It was definitely God that rent the veil. The time when this veil was rent corres...

Morning Bliss: Build Faith, Destroy Doubt_ Focal Scripture :  Matthew 17:20 'And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.'                                      Read:  Matthew 17:9-20; Mark 9:9-27; Luke 9:37-42 The disciples' unbelief in this instance was not a disbelief in God's power to produce deliverance, but rather a 'natural' kind of unbelief that came from a hardened heart that was more sensitive to what it saw than to what it believed. Jesus said that a very small amount of faith (a 'mustard seed') is sufficient to remove a mountain, if no unbelief is present to hinder it. Jesus was disappointed that His disciples had ...

Morning Bliss: Alive Unto God_ Focal Scripture :  Matthew 17:2 'And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.'                                      Read:  Matthew 17:1-8 It is interesting to compare Jesus' transfiguration with that of Moses'. Jesus' face shone as the sun and His garment was as white as the light. This certainly exceeded what Moses experienced, and yet Jesus' face did not continue to shine when He came down off of the mountain as Moses' face did. Moses' face reflected the glory of God, but Jesus was the glory of God (Jn. 1:14; Heb. 1:3). Moses put a veil over his face to conceal the glory of God (Ex. 34:29-35) so that the people would not be afraid to come near him. Jesus' body was His veil that concealed His true glory within. During His transfiguration, H...

Morning Bliss: The Cost Of Discipleship_ Focal Scripture : Luke 14:28 'For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?' him.'                                      Read: Luke 14:25-35   The parable of the man building a tower is a continuation of the teaching regarding what it takes to be a disciple of Jesus.  This parable stresses commitment. 'Jailhouse religion,' where a person is only sorry he got caught and is trying to get out of a bad situation, will not produce true discipleship. It takes a forsaking of all to be Jesus' disciple. Jesus is simply saying, 'count the cost.' Jesus' teaching on discipleship emphasizes commitment. Just as a king wouldn't engage in war without thoroughly considering all the possible outcomes, so no one should attempt to become a disciple of Jesus without...

Morning Bliss: The Goodness Of God_ Focal Scripture : Luke 12:5 'But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him .'                                       Read: Luke 12:4-5   Second Timothy 1:7 says, 'God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.'  First John 4:18 says, 'There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.'  These scriptures may look like they are contradictions to Jesus' statement here; however, they are not. There are two kinds of fear. The American Heritage Dictionary defines fear as 'a feeling of alarm or disquiet caused by the expectation of danger, pain, disaster, or the like; terror; dread; apprehension.'  It also defines fe...

  Morning Bliss: Holiness Is A Fruit_ Focal Scripture : Luke 11:42 'But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done and not to leave the other undone.'                                       Read: Luke 11:42-44   When Jesus said, 'and not to leave the other undone,' it is clear that He is not arguing against doing what is right.  God's Word stresses holiness in our actions. The Pharisees' error that caused Jesus' rebuke was that they believed their actions could produce a right relationship with God.  But a proper relationship with God can only come by humbling ourselves and putting faith in a Savior, who is Jesus.  God cleanses our hearts by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8) and then we have our fruit unto holiness (Rom. 6:22) . Holiness is a fruit, not ...

Morning Bliss: Be filled_ Focal Scripture :   Luke 11:13 - 'If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?'                                      Read:  Luke 11:13 The Holy Spirit is a gift (Acts 2:38) . You cannot be good enough to earn the gift of the Holy Spirit, but you do have to ask. This is speaking of the baptism of the Holy Ghost, which is subsequent to the born-again experience. The Holy Spirit resides in our spirits, and once He comes, He doesn't leave (John 14:16) . There is an initial filling when the Holy Ghost first comes. However, His control and influence over our souls and body does fluctuate proportionally to how well we have our minds renewed to His will (Rom. 12:2). In that sense, we can be more f...

Morning Bliss: Our Loving Father_ Focal Scripture : Luke 11:11 - 'If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?'                                      Read: Luke 11:11-13   The most loving Father in the world cannot compare to our heavenly Father and the love He has for us.  And yet, many times, we find it easier to believe in the willingness of a father or mother or mate to help us than in the willingness of God to use His power on our behalf.  Relatively few people really doubt God's ability, but rather, it is our doubt of His willingness to use His ability on our behalf that causes most people to do without.  Jesus is assuring us that God's love, and His willingness to demonstrate that love, is far greater than we can ever experience in any human relationship. The...

Morning Bliss: Hard Knocks Or God's Word _ Focal Scripture : Luke 15:17 'And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!'                                      Read: Luke 15:11-17   God's Word makes it clear that the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).  Romans 1:18-20 reveals that even those who don't know God's Word have an intuitive knowledge of right and wrong and God's judgment against sin. Therefore, for anyone to live in sin, as depicted by this prodigal son, they have to be deceived. This is exactly what the Bible says is the case in 2 Corinthians 4:4.  When Jesus said, 'he came to himself,' He was referring to the deception being removed and the son's spiritual eyes being opened. Like this story of the prodigal, tragedy often brings people out of deception and back to their ...

Morning Bliss:  The Word Of God Pt 1_ Focal Scripture :  Math. 24:35; Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.".,"                     Read:  Hebrews 4:12 The phrase, “the Word of God” or “the Word of the Lord” has a number of different meanings in Scripture. It can mean either something that God has decreed, something that God has said when addressing humans, words that God spoke through the prophets, Jesus Christ, or finally, God’s written Word. This can be illustrated as follows:   1. It Can Be Something That God Has Decreed God’s decrees are His divine pronouncements. Specifically, the Bible gives a number of examples of this. In Genesis, we read that God commands light to appear:   Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.(Genesis 1:1-3 NASB)  Psalm 33:6, Heaven were made by His word!  2. It May Refer to God Verbally Addressing Humans: Personal...