Author: Christian ambassador (Shawn Brasseaux)

Grace and peace! What a privilege to be an ambassador for the risen Christ here on WordPress! I am a Pauline dispensationalist Christian saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus plus nothing! My goal is to "have all men saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth" (1 Timothy 2:3,4). I seek to preach Jesus Christ crucified for our sins, buried, and raised again for our justification as the only way to salvation. Also, I seek to edify and perfect the saints using dispensational Bible study and the Authorized Version King James Bible!

Unfathomable Distances, Unsearchable Speeds #2

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:20,21 KJV).

The vastness of space is mindboggling; today’s Scripture is equally mind-blowing….

God will use us, the Body of Christ (who have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour), in eternity future to rule the heavens, just as He will use Israel to rule the earth. In order to function in the heavens, we need glorified bodies like Jesus Christ’s (today’s Scripture).

On resurrection Sunday around sunrise, Mary Magdalene goes to Jesus’ empty tomb. After seeing two angels, Jesus Himself appears. “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John 20:17). Jesus must travel to the third heaven to present Himself to the Father, so sinful human hands must not taint Him.

“Then the same day at evening” He reappears, showing Himself to His other disciples (Thomas absent): “after eight days,” He again appears to His disciples, and when Thomas doubts, Jesus instructs Thomas to touch Him (verses 18-29). So, in as little as 12 hours (but no more than eight days), Jesus left earth, crossed a vast portion of the universe and exited it, went to His Father in the third heaven, re-entered and traveled across the universe, and landed right back on earth! We can fathom neither the distance nor the speed Jesus Christ’s resurrected body traveled.

The Apostle Paul described our heavenly glorification in today’s Scripture. At the rapture, we Christians will receive glorified bodies like Jesus Christ’s. We cannot enter heaven with these current, sinful bodies: “for this corruption [deceased Christians’ bodies] must put on incorruption, and this mortal [Christians whose bodies are not yet dead] must put on immorality” (1 Corinthians 15:49-55).

Those new bodies will enable us to travel through outer space….

Unfathomable Distances, Unsearchable Speeds #1

Tuesday, June 4, 2013

“For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself” (Philippians 3:20,21 KJV).

The vastness of space is mindboggling; today’s Scripture is equally mind-blowing….

We who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, are members of the Church the Body of Christ. Paul’s epistles are very clear that, in eternity future, God will use us in the heavenly places just as He will use the nation Israel on the earth.

“And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him [Jesus Christ] to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven” (Colossians 1:20). Verses 16 and 17 already identified these “things:” “For by him [Jesus Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” The “things” are offices of government!

Through the blood of Jesus Christ shed at Calvary’s cross, the governments of heaven and earth (currently occupied by Satan and his minions) will one day be restored, and their new occupants—redeemed Israel on earth and us the Church the Body of Christ in the heavenly places—will bring glory to the Lord Jesus Christ (after all, they were “created by him and for him”).

Distances in outer space are so enormous that scientists often utilize the astronomical unit (Earth’s distance from the sun, roughly 93 million miles / 150 million kilometers) and the light-year (the distance light travels in one year, about 6 trillion miles / 9.6 trillion kilometers). Actually, some objects in the universe are hundreds of light-years apart! In order to function in the vastness of outer space, we will need glorified bodies capable of doing amazing feats….

Unfathomable Distances, Unsearchable Greatness

Monday, June 3, 2013

“Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable” (Psalm 145:3 KJV).

Let us consider the greatness of the Lord Jesus Christ from the perspective of astronomy….

One of the most difficult scientific concepts to grasp is the scale of the universe, but using a familiar unit, we can better appreciate its size. Consider these mathematical calculations from my personal notes.

Assuming a nonstop driving speed of 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per hour), it would take:

  • 68 years to travel from the sun to Mercury.
  • 127 years to travel from the sun to Venus.
  • 176 years to travel from Earth to the sun.
  • 269 years to travel from the sun to Mars.
  • 918 years to travel from the sun to Jupiter.
  • 1,683 years to travel from the sun to Saturn.
  • 3,384 years to travel from the sun to Uranus.
  • 5,304 years to travel from the sun to Neptune.
  • 6,960 years to travel from the sun to Pluto (our solar system’s “edge”).

Another way to comprehend the vastness of the solar system is (using the same speed of 60 miles per hour):

  • Mercury is “108 years” away from us.
  • Venus is “49 years” away from us.
  • Mars is “93 years” away from us.
  • Jupiter is “742 years” away from us.
  • Saturn is “1,507 years” away from us.
  • Uranus is “3,208 years” away from us.
  • Neptune is “5,304 years” away from us.
  • Pluto is “6,784 years” away from us.

Now, think of this… the solar system (above) is merely a speck in the Milky Way Galaxy, which itself is but a speck in the Local Group, which itself is merely a speck in the universe! In fact, traveling at the previous speed of 60 miles per hour, it would take you 580,000,000,000,000,000 years to traverse the known universe from “end” to “end!”

What is most amazing? “By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth” (Psalm 33:6). God spoke it all into being—from nothing!

In the World, But Not Entangled With It

Sunday, June 2, 2013

“Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier” (2 Timothy 2:3,4 KJV).

Rather than hiding ourselves in underground bunkers, or hiding our heads in our hands, let us hide this sound Bible doctrine in our hearts.

I recently spoke with a dear Christian brother and ministry coworker. He was so discouraged after having watched depressing newscasts on television for the last three hours. Life’s daily struggles, morose news stories, and false teaching in religion had the poor man so irritated and disheartened. Today’s Scripture is the solution to such negative thinking.

In Ephesians 6:12, the Apostle Paul admonished: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” There is an invisible battle occurring today—it is the battle of good and evil, the God of creation and Satan are fighting against one another.

The phrase “entangleth himself” (today’s Scripture) carries the idea of being braided with the goings-on of this life. That is, one being so “wrapped up” in the here and now, one so involved with the culture about us, the individual is consumed. The Christian soldier in such a predicament is distracted—he becomes so focused on the world’s problems that he loses sight of the hope, peace, and joy God the Father has given him in His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ! His mind is distracted, to Satan’s delight, and the Christian forgets the battle in which he is engaged!

Read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Remember, dear fellow-soldiers… think on good things, sound doctrine from God’s Word rightly divided (Philippians 4:8)!

Our Second Anniversary – Perfected Saints

Saturday, June 1, 2013

“[Christ] Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus: whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh in me mightily” (Colossians 1:28,29 KJV).

Only by God’s grace, “333 Words of Grace” celebrates its second anniversary today!

Proper Bible study—yea, Bible study at all—is rare. Hence, spiritual ignorance has vexed the Church the Body of Christ for nearly 20 centuries. But, it does not have to be that way. God has given us the written, completed revelation of Him and from Him!

Today’s Scripture summarizes our goal these last two years. To teach the Bible truths that religion denied us for many years. The Holy Bible can be understood and enjoyed—and you do not need a decade of Bible cemetery… I mean, seminary! Simply find a King James Bible, study it dispensationally, and believe what it says where it says it.

For years and years, denominationalism never taught us: (1) that all of the Bible is for us, but not all of the Bible is to us or about us; (2) that the ascended and glorified Lord Jesus Christ committed to the Apostle Paul a special ministry and message; (3) that Israel’s prophetic program for the earth and our mystery program for the heavenly places are separate. We were never taught the Word of God “rightly divided” as 2 Timothy 2:15 declares. Every Bible verse was thoroughly mixed with every other. The Bible became confusing and burdensome, just another weapon Satan used to discourage and defeat us.

Oh, but now Bible study is thrilling! The fetters of religious tradition and spiritual blindness are broken in twain. We now appreciate the Holy Bible like never before! We are maturing spiritually: now we know what God the Father is doing, and we can join Him by faith, declaring to Him in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ: “I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Psalm 40:8a; cf. Hebrews 10:5-9).

Onward, dear readers and saints, in spiritual maturity, for we have several hundred more studies of sound Bible truths to consider and in which to rejoice! 🙂

Note: Please feel free to view our “Original 7” devotionals by clicking here.

For In This We Groan #4

Friday, May 31, 2013

“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:” (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJV).

Having been stricken with a bacterial infection of the sinuses and eyes for the past week, I can give a hearty “Amen!” to today’s Scripture!

Physical death is actually a blessing for us Christians—it severs the final link we have to this fallen creation. (Can you imagine living in these bodies forever?) Once we leave these physical bodies, we are eternally, physically isolated from sin, and we go to be with the Lord Jesus Christ forever and ever!

In the context of today’s Scripture, the Apostle Paul writes that God the Father has given us “the earnest of the Spirit.” “Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (verses 5b-8). By giving us Christians the indwelling Holy Ghost, God has guaranteed that He will one day rescue our physical bodies from sin (just as He has already rescued our spiritual bodies from sin).

While we moan and groan during sickness, let us remember that this body is not meant to last forever anyway, for it would pollute heaven. Our suffering is simply a testament that the great God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ still has a mighty work to accomplish—the redemption of these mortal “vile” bodies and their transformation into immortal and perfect glorified bodies like Jesus Christ’s (Philippians 3:20,21).

Dear readers, take comfort. This limited body of flesh and blood is not our permanent abode. It is merely the vehicle that carries around our soul and our spirit in this time-space continuum we call the natural world. As today’s Scripture states, it is actually our soul that is groaning, the “real” us inside this weakly and sickly physical body. How we long for a change of clothes, some which will not turn to rags! Patiently waiting for the “wardrobe upgrade….” 🙂

For In This We Groan #3

Thursday, May 30, 2013

“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:” (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJV).

Having been stricken with a bacterial infection of the sinuses and eyes for the past week, I can give a hearty “Amen!” to today’s Scripture!

Notice the boldfaced expressions, “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life” (2 Corinthians 5:2-4).

According to the Bible, our physical bodies are actually clothing. The “real” us is inside, a member of the invisible (spiritual) realm! Job 14:22 supplements: “But his flesh upon him shall have pain, and his soul within him shall mourn.” These aching, sickly physical bodies are merely vehicles for our soul and spirit inside them (hence, the language of the passage in the previous paragraph about “clothing”).

We who have trusted the Lord Jesus Christ are redeemed spiritually from Satan and sin. However, these bodies of flesh and blood are still connected genetically to Adam and the fallen creation, so they die. Once they die, our souls and spirits no longer have a means of traveling. This is why resurrection is necessary. Our “unclothed” souls and spirits need new garments, and this new wardrobe is the glorified body the Lord Jesus will give every Christian believer at the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-55). This is the “redemption of our body” mentioned in Romans 8:23 and Ephesians 4:30.

Our physical bodies are referred to as “tabernacles” in Scripture (2 Corinthians 5:1,4; 2 Peter 1:13,14). When we are conceived in the womb, these frail structures are “pitched,” and our soul and spirit spring up from within them. Unlike a permanent structure, however, they can and do suffer “dilapidation” quite easily. Eventually, they are “taken down.” But, the soul and spirit simply move on (necessitating the need for a new, resurrected and glorified body, a new set of clothes)….

For In This We Groan #2

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:” (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJV).

Having been stricken with a bacterial infection of the sinuses and eyes for the past week, I can give a hearty “Amen!” to today’s Scripture!

In this world where Satan and sin reign, sickness is a part of life as well. Our “groaning” in today’s Scripture is further explained in Romans 8:22-25: “For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.”

Paul writes in the context of today’s Scripture, “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens” (2 Corinthians 5:1). This is the “redemption of our [physical] body” of Romans 8:23, when “the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ… shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…” (Philippians 3:20,21).

When the apostle pens, “Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 5:5), what he meant was, “[Christ] In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise” (Ephesians 1:13). “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30).

This sealing by and with the indwelling Holy Spirit is God’s promise that He will one day deliver our (ailing) physical bodies from sin just as He has already delivered our spiritual bodies from sin….

For In This We Groan #1

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

“For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:” (2 Corinthians 5:2 KJV).

Having been stricken with a bacterial infection of the sinuses and eyes for the past week, I can give a hearty “Amen!” to today’s Scripture!

Earlier, in chapter 4, verse 16, the Apostle Paul discussed the issue of the corruptible, dying physical body (“the outward man”), and the spiritual body (“the inward man”) experiencing renewal and maturity: “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.”

In chapter 5, verse 1, the thought continues: “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” Today’s Scripture follows: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:”

Let us read verses 3-8, which elaborate even more: “If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

When the Holy Spirit through Paul wrote, “yet the inward man is renewed day by day,” He was referring to this doctrine transforming the way we view sickness. As Christians, we should look at bodily suffering differently than the lost world views it, than our old sin nature would have us think about it.

Let us briefly dissect this passage, to the intent that we can be comforted during times of illness….

The Greatest War Hero

Monday, May 27, 2013

“For God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 KJV).

In the United States, today is Memorial Day, when we remember those who sacrificed their time and lives to provide our physical freedom. Likewise, as Christians, we have spiritual freedom, which was more costly. Someone had to die to give us the eternal life we now enjoy….

Scripture describes a spiritual warfare between good and evil, God’s truth program versus Satan’s lie program: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles [schemes] of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Ephesians 6:11,12; see also verses 13-20).

Satan distracts mankind from God’s pure Word, the Bible, keeping unbelievers lost (dead in their sins), and preventing unbelievers and Christians from knowing God’s will. The devil draws them away (seduces them) from God’s Word by using religious tradition and human “wisdom” (1 Timothy 4:1-3; cf. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Galatians 3:1-3).

God loves us, so at Calvary’s cross, Christ fought for us sinners, died in battle (today’s Scripture), shed His divine sinless blood, and eternally rescued us from Satan and sin: “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross; and having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it” (Colossians 2:14,15).

Hebrews 9:12 says Jesus Christ has “obtained eternal redemption for us.”

If we have trusted Jesus Christ alone as our personal Saviour, God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son” (Colossians 1:13). Now, God can use us for His glory for all eternity.

Beloved, let us rejoice in our victory over sin, death, and hell that Jesus Christ secured for us by going to Calvary’s rugged cross! Jesus Christ is now alive forevermore—He is our Hero, the Greatest Hero!

*Adapted from a larger Bible study “The Greatest Hero.” It can be read here or watched here.