You reminded me that, when we had our bathroom redone last April, we never
had any written contract with the remodeler.  They just did the work that we
agreed on, and a beautiful job at that, and we paid them the agreed upon
price, and that was that.  Now I just wonder why we've been finding, an
occasional spider in our bath tub/shower.  They weren't in the contract.

Phil, I remember when you wrote this.  And I always am blessed by reading
it.

Vicki


----- Original Message -----
From: "Phil Scovell" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, November 21, 2004 1:20 PM
Subject: The Word


>      A long time ago, there was a single voice.  The voice spoke
> from the totality of darkness and said,  "Let there be light and
> there was."  Thus God revealed Himself by His own spoken Word.
>
>      From the earliest days of man's creation, the spoken word was
> law.  there was nothing that was written because it was superceded
> by the spoken Word of God which became the language of men.
> Later, when God made covenant with man, he did so by His spoken
> word.  The spoken word covenant was confirmed by the shedding of
> blood.  Before the coming of Christ, the sacrifice symbolized the
> blood covenant between God and man.  It wasn't just any sacrifice
> but the sacrifice which God spoke to man by way of man's obedience
> to God and His law.  Later, of course, the commands were written
> by God as a reminder of His already spoken words.  Later still,
> God inspired His followers to write what He spoke and revealed by
> His Holy Spirit.  Jesus, God's only begotten Son, fulfilled the
> entire law for us including becoming the supreme blood sacrifice
> once and for all.  Thus, God's Words were fulfilled eternally.
>
>      In the beginning of mankind, he began living by his own words
> because such is the nature of the Creator.  Human covenants were
> thus established by words alone.  The cutting of covenants became
> the outward symbol of agreement.  The cutting of the hand in order
> that blood may flow served as the blood covenant and thus when men
> shook hands who were in agreement, the testimony of their
> agreement could be felt in their hands which served to physically
> confirm their spoken words to be the whole truth and nothing but
> the truth in God's stead.  The placing of the left hand upon the
> Bible in a court of law and the raising of the right hand to swear
> is, therefore, not an accidental occurrence.  the lifting of the
> covenant hand, with its scars, showed the person was a man of his
> word.
>
>      Today's modern man decided that words were not enough and
> began the writing of contractual agreements which, theoretically,
> would hold up in a court of law as legally binding.  Yet
> contracts, treaties, and agreements are broken every day.  Man's
> word is no longer the Word of God in practice or belief.  Yet, the
> Believer in God, and the one who has accepted the covenant
> relationship by His only begotten Son, once again, by word only,
> has become the promised covenant with God.  The covenant one can
> now once again live by his words because his words have become
> God's Words restored.  To confirm covenant with man again, God's
> own righteousness is thus imparted to the man who confesses Jesus
> Christ as Lord.  Man needs not to write what he believes; he only
> has to say it before God's eternal court.  The Holy Spirit is the
> Spirit of Holy eternal witness which is the circumcision made
> without hands that is the Holy Spirit of promise.  We have become
> the seed of Abraham and inherit the promise.
>
>      I was amazed, recently, when the Hispanic man with one arm
> came and gave my youngest son an estimate for all the concrete
> work my son needed for his new home.  This included the basement,
> the pad for the garage, and a driveway.  When their conversation
> was complete, the man said, "Do you need me to draw up a
> contract?"  My son said, "Do we need one?"  The man said, "I trust
> you.  I need no contract.  Your word is all I need."  My son said,
> "You have my word," and thus they agreed.  Everything was done and
> no paper contract was written as an agreement; their own words
> bound them to the truth.  It is sad to think that such agreements
> by word used to be the norm and now is rare.
>
>      For the Christian, we have the privilege, if we so choose, to
> live by our word once again.  Furthermore, we also have the right
> of speaking God's Words in place of our own.  This, too, is
> covenant in origin.  The two parties would exchange vows, words,
> which sealed their allegiance to each other to the exclusion of
> all others.  God has exchanged His Word with us, His Son, who now
> abides in us through the personage of His Holy Spirit.  This gives
> us legal right to use His name and His Words in relationship to
> His work and for our own lives.  Do you have a contract with God
> through Jesus Christ His Son?
>
>
> I Flew Kites With Jesus
> www.SafePlaceFellowship.com