Too Much Me,Myself and I

Philippians 2:21 "For all seek their own,not the things which are Jesus Christ's".

WIIFM "What in it for me"We as children of the most high God have to come to a few realizations before we can effectivelly walk this journey we have embarked upon.The first is this life we now live is not ours.The souls we are to lead to Christ He paid for,and the church we are members of belong to Him.We are just tools He uses in His garden of salvation,unworthy earthen vessels chosen to carry His precious word through out a dying land that all might live.

The word of God tells us this life we now live in the flesh,we now live through Christ,it is not us who live but He now lives through us.We have no say so as what we will or will not do.We are His servant, He is the master we are His bond servants.It is not about our will,our wants or even who we are.It is not about our salvation but the Savior who saved us all.They are not our souls we were told to compell to come to the Lord.It is not up to us who is or is not worthy to hear the good news.Jesus said go out and proclaim it to ever creature.Just like we don't know who is going to hell,we also don't know who is going to heaven,regardless of how many tickets they have in their hand.Jesus told us to proclaim the gospel to every creature.It is not our church,or even our ministry,we are just ministers in the ministry of Christ. We are members of the Church of the living God.Jesus said" upon this rock I build MY Church", not your church or your ministry.We don't even have a say as to where in the body we want to be,for He says "God has placed each member,everyone of them in the body where it pleased Him".

When and only when we truly come to realize this is about Christ and Him crucified,when we come to the knowledge that God didn't leave any part of salvation up to us for He said "you didn't choose me,I chose you",cause we didn't have enough since to choose Jesus, we said give me Barabas.But we were chosen for His will,out of His goodness and to serve His purpose.So let us remember the true JOY of salvation "Jesus-Others-Yourself",and let us stand united as the redeemed of the Lord say so.

Lost Head-Surrendered Heart

Revelation 20:4"And I saw thrones and they sat upon them,and judgment was given unto them:and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,and for the word of God ,and which had not worshipped the beast,neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or their hands;and they lived and reigned with Christ  a thousand years.

There are many who are lost in the church who truly want so badly to live holy for the Lord.They are lost to who God truly is and what it is he truly requires from us.Many try and apease God the way we apease the people in our life.We try to serve, worship and give to a spiritual God,with a carnal mind. Until we are willing to give up our head,we can't fully give God our heart.

The problem is our head,or carnal mind is enemy to God and the spiritual things He stands for.So it seems everytime  you want to give God your all, the carnal mind gives you a reason not to.It tells you things like "it don't take all that" or You don't have to put up with that" or God understands you are only human" and all these things may be true to the will lust and desires of the flesh and the carnal mind,but they hinder you from giving God your whole heart.We must remember God dosn't want our things He wants our whole heart.His word says" give me your heart and I'll give you eternal life".We must come to the realization that the carnal man has no understanding of the spiritual man.The carnal man can't understand suffering for another,can't understand self sacrifice,can't understand losing your life to save it, or the thought of denying ones self taking up a cross and following a crucified savior.So we must be willing to lose our head and let Christ be our head that we might surrender to Him our whole heart.

In our scripture today, it was those who were willing to lose their heads,to tell the story, to stand bold on Gods word,who refuse to worship, give his mind or the business of his hands to the work of the evil one.It is those that were beheaded and surrendered their whole hearts,who will reigning with Christ.So are you willing to lose your head to surrender your heart?

Wear the Title-Do The Work

John 13:5 "After that he poureth water into a bason,and began to wash the disciples' feet,and to wipe them with a towel wherewith he was girded".

You want the title,do the work.In this era of growing titles there seem to be more Chiefs than Indians.It seems that everybody is trying to one up each other.The Pastor is upped by the Bishop, who is upped by the Apostle,who is upped by the prophet,overseerer,the elder,to the point where I've even seen some profess to be the anointed one.Now I'm not challenging anyones calling or lack there of ,that is solely between them and God.But if you are going to wear the title, do the work.It is the responsibility of the head to care for the feet,not the other way around.

Now in our story today the disciple were in a heated argument as to who would be the greatest and who would sit where in the kingdom.They got caught up in the ambition for position,power and authority. This had to cut the heart of Jesus, being so long with them and yet they still didn't understand, to whom much is given much is expected.He needed to them.to get the message across forcibly enough that they would never forget the truth,that they way to glory was through service and not through position and authority. This is what led Jesus to wash the disciples feet.See the head cares for the feet.The greatest is servant to the least.Jesus the Son of God came to serve man.We whom God has appointed leadership have a responsibility to be servants of the Lord to those He died for.We must humble ourselves to meet the needs of others.

This walk is not about us it is about Christ and Him crucified.No matter what title we wear we are still nothing more than a servant of the Lord.Called to proclaim His message, about His salvation, to His people, that all might live with Him in His kingdom.Like it or not, it is not our church, ministry,or congragation, we are just servants in the ministry of our Savior.But if you are going to claim the title,at least do the work.... 

Bold Faith

Acts 6:8 "And Stephen full of faith and power,did great wonders and miracles among the people."

Want to see bold effective faith?Look at Stephen, standing to testify to his Lord's saving grace,not caring what he may gain or lose in doing so.Stephen,filled up and overflowing with God's grace and power,as he speaks not with self-righteous pride,but with great confidence in his God,and joy in the salvation he had received and having hope his countrymen would open their hearts and receive the good news.

Here we have Stephen,trusting God so completely that he forgets to think about himself,forgets to be afraid of rejection,and is not worried about whether or not his faith is accomplishing anything.He's just being faithful in his duty,leaving the results up to God.He's speaking boldly because his faith is more than just a creed,it is his whole life with God,and it fills every fiber of his being.That's the connection between faith and speaking out boldly.Faith that conveys God's grace and power doesn't think about itself and whether or not it's adequate to accomplish anything.No true faith is so fixed on God and who He is and how great he is  that it cannot be persuaded to stop testifying about Him.Authentic faith will always be the outgrowth of a deep,genuine love for God,from whom we receive grace and power to testify about Him.Through our testimony, seeds of truth are planted in the hearts of those who hear and are seeking God.These seeds then convict the heart and convert the soul turning a sinner into a saint.

When we step out in trust,God gives us His grace and power to speak out about Him.As a result of His grace,concerns we might experience for ourselves fade from view.Being faithful to God now motivates us and pointing others to Him become our most pressing business.Boldness rises up in us,and the power of God's spirit moves in us to courageously speak of Christ and His gospel   

Look to Jesus

Psalms 121:1-2"I Will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,From whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord,which made heaven and earth"

We must look to Jesus in all circumstances of our life.It is in him we should look,in him we should trust, and to him we should sacrifice in in times of uncertainties.The psalmist here says "I will lift up my eyes unto the hills".

Many are lifting our eyes to the hills and not to Jesus, looking to the elevated high places and the things we have elevated to the high places in our lives,when it is Jesus who saves.Many are looking to our Jobs, bank accounts, positions and other things we have placed in high esteem in our lives.Why do we look to the hills, why do we say we are going to look to the hills,it is looking to the hills which has gotten most of us in the situations we find ourselves in today.Looking to the hills have taken our eyes off of God,and his purpose in our life.The psalmist says he "will lift up his eyes unto the hills", then he ask a question"from whence cometh my help",He say where does my help come from, is it comming from the idols I have placed in the hills and the high places of life.( The hills and high places was where they placed the false god whom they made sacrifices too.)Does our help come from our Jobs, bank accounts, or friends,or the material things in our life we often make sacrifices for.Where does our help truly come from? He goes on to say my "Help cometh from the Lord".Truly the Lord is the salvation of the world. Our help comes from the Lord, it always comes from the Lord.

 

Let us look to Jesus in all that we do ,He and He alone is the answer to the prayers of mankind.He and He alone is our help from the Lord.He is all and in all.Don't look to the blessing from the Lord for your strength, look to the blessor,don't look to the hills,look to the one who made the hills Jesus never fails.

Now I See

John 9:1 "And as Jesus passed by,he saw a man which was blind from birth".

Man is born into this world spiritually blind.He cannot see the things and ways of God.This passage is a subject of man's sinfulness.Here Jesus take a man's physical blindness and demonstrated the stages of spiritual insight and sight.(read John 9:8-41).It should be noted that spiritual insight has to do with seeing Jesus and Jesus alone.Jesus is the very theme of God's revalation.He alone is the perfect revelation of God,and a man's spiritual eyes can be opened to see God only through Him. Apart from Jesus, no man will ever see God.

Here Jesus was passing by,and he saw a man who was blind from birth.Now Jesus saw him which indicates interest,care ,concern, and compassion for the man.Jesus is concerned about all who are blinded by the gods of this world, to the love and mercy of God.Jesus came to seek and to save all that are lost in darkness.Note it was not the man who reached out for help ,but Jesus took the initiative with the man.The man was blind he didn't even know that help was available.There are many who walk blind today to the life of salvation which is avaiable in Christ Jesus.Jesus told us to tell a dying world the good news of the gospel that a lost world might be saved.How can they believe on Him who they haven't heard.If Jesus had not reached out to the man he would still be blind.If jesus hadn't called us out of darkness we would still be in darkness as we didn't choose Him , but he chose us.Jesus came to be the light of the world,if man wishes to be delievered from the darkness he must come to Christ.Christ is the only one who gives sight to man and His world.

Now Jesus tells the man what he must do to receive his sight,the man's faith needed to be aroused and stirred.Jesus used two things to awaken the man's faith.He touched the man eyes,he used clay made moist by spittle,but Jesus would not want the man to think that spittle cured him.Jesus sent the man to the pool to wash, the blind man by obeying Jesus would receive his sight.His obedience would demonstrate to the blind of the world that they too could receive sight by comming to Jesus and obeying Him.Our salvation lies in our coming to Jesus and obeying Him.

Standing In The Gap

Romans 8:34" Who is he that condemneth?It is Christ that died,yea rather,that is risen again,who is at the right hand of God,who also maketh intercession for us".

The key to solving the problem of sin is the help we receive through Jesus Christ.Jesus came not only to make possible the forgivness of the past,but to help us conquer the stronghold of sins, the entrenched habits that are so difficult to dislodge from our lives.Jesus is our merciful High Priest in heaven,who is interceding with the Father on our behalf.Jesus is ever ready to help us gain the victory over sin:"And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.Who is he who overcomes the world,but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God"? The Apostle John, while acknowledging our human weakness, encourages us not to give in to sin."I am Writing these things to you so that you may not sin.But if any one does sin,we have an advocate with the Father,Jesus Christ the righteous and he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins,and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus died to save us from sin not to save us in sin, by his mercy we are forgiven the sins we have commited and will commite, but his grace gives us the strength to not give in to sin and the wiles of the evil one, as it allows us to walk in his spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh.This should give us every reason for encouragement in our daily struggle against sin.After all Christ has experienced the same temptations and fully understands our plight.For our High Priest is one who can sympathize with our weakness,as he has been tried and tempted by the same enemy who attacks us, yet without sin,and he has been given power over all flesh.Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with boldness,so that we might receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

How do we get that help?Jesus said " ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find, knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds and to him who knocks it will be opened". He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him,Jesus Christ our great intercessor is here standing in the gap,our bridge back to God.

Good News From an empty tomb

Matthew 28:6 "He is not here: for He is risen,as He said come,see the place where the Lord lay".

Jesus the Christ the Son of the living God, laid down His life so He could pick it up again.There is good news from the grave.Jesus died and rose again on the third day morning with all power in His hands.There is so much good news from this empty tomb.

Well the tomb was empty.That means God kept His word,the perfect plan of salvation was now set in motion.There is good news in the fact that there is life beyond the grave.There is an everlasting life. Good news that Jesus rose with all power, even power over death and the grave.Good news that the debt for sin has been paid in full; the adoption papers have been filled out completely and all we have to do is sign on to become a member of the Holy family of God.Good news that we can now become the righteousness of God,that we can come boldly to the throne of grace through the blood of Jesus and cry "abba father".For He is risen,the atoning sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has been accepted.By way of His death man can be reconciled back to a Holy and righteous God.

There is good news that we will all one day have a resurrected body,but in the mean time we can die with Jesus in faith and rise again with Him in a newness of life by faith,for He has conquered death and him that has power of death.There is good news from the empty tomb, will you share this good news?

 

Worship or Entertainment

John 4:24 "God is a spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth".

Do you worship the Lord or entertain the congregation?What is true worship? How does one who is at his best a filthy rag,really worship one so holly as our Lord.God wants true heart felt worship.He is not moved by the two hours we pretend to give Him on Sunday mornings,He wants a life of worship.Do we truly believe we can impress God with our lip service, when He gave His son to die for our sin?His word says ,"they that worship Him MUST worship Him in Spirit and in truth.So do you worship Him or entertain others.

How can we worship the Lord if we are not in the spirit of the Lord? And how can we be in the spirit of the Lord, if we are walking and living in the lust,will and desires of the flesh?How can you wake up with your mind on Jesus, getting out the bed with one you are not married to.How are you in the spirit of God, not having love for those He has died for?We worship God in our service to one another.True worship includes praying for the lost, bearing witness of the savior,sacrificing your will, wants, and desires for the salvation of another.Worship is a way of life.We are to worship Him with our life and praise Him with our living.

Here in our scripture we find that true worship is not a matter of where but of How.The woman said where they worship and Jesus told her how she must worship.Many wait until they get to the church house to worship, when Jesus tells us we should be in worship at all times.Our life should say "How great thou art".Our life should say "there is none greater", our life should say, "He rose with all power in heaven and earth in His hands".Our life should be a reflection of the spirit and truth of the God we worship.So is yours worship or entertainment

In The Will Of God

Genesis 50:19 "And Joseph said unto them,fear not: for am I in the place of God".

On this road we have been called to travel,there are going to be times when we find ourselves in some uncomfortable situations.There will be times when we will ask"why me Lord" and "why here Lord". There will be times when we will question and doubt if we are still walking with the Lord.But rather we like it or not, we will endure trial and suffer unjustly on the walk we have embarked upon.Contrary to the popular message being proclaimed today, the pathways of righteousness will take you through the valley of the shadow of death.But fear not, for God is in control.

See here Joseph was a man of great integrity and character.He was one who walked with the Lord.Yet on his journey he was sold into slavery by his own brothers,he was thrown in prision because of a lie that was told on him.But all along the way God was in control.Each trail that came upon him, was preparing him, and elevating him into a position to accomplish God's will for his life. There are some roads we must travel to get  us to the place God has for us.We must be like Joseph and remain faithful knowing that God is always in control and He always has our best interest at heart.He never promised us a walk through the park,but He did tell us to "be of good cheer for I have overcome the world", and that he would never leave us nor forsake us.God's will is that none should perish,so he will use us as He will, to accomplish His perfect plan of salvation.

So when you find yourself in a uncomfortable position don't focus on you, but look to what it is in the situation that can bring God glory, and salvation to one that might be lost.We must remember it is not about us, or about us being saved, it is about a Savior who can save anybody,we are just tools in His garden of salvation.So when the world put you in a situation intending evil,know that God meant it for good, for we know "all things work together for the good to them that love the Lord,them who are the called according to his purpose."All who are in the will of God.

The Best Of My Love

1John 5:11" And this is the record,that God hath given to us eternal life,and this life is in his Son."

John declared that our faith in Christ is the victory that overcomes the sinful influences of the world.And then,as if to test his readers' comprehension of that statement, he asked, Who overcomes the world?John immediately answered his own question:only the one who believes that Jesus is God's Son.

No other agent or formula defeats the sinful influences we face. Only Jesus faced them all and overcame them all.It is only when we acknowledge our own helplessness and place our confidence in the sufficiency of Christ's victory that we have victory over sin.We may try other means,such as will power,accountability, support groups, human thought, or philosophy, rituals,or routines, disgust for the sin, or shame and guilt. We may even find that some of those things offer limited success in helping us curb certain behaviors or keep them in check temporarily.But it is only through faith in Christ, and a total surrender to Him, that we can be tuned in to his will,our mind can comprehend His thoughts, and our actions become joyful acts of worship.

If we are believing in and relying on anything but Christ's victory to overcome sin ,our efforts are doomed.It is good for us to examine ourselves periodically to be sure that our faith is not misplaced. What a relief it is to know that the hard part of overcomming sinful influences has been done for us by Jesus' life, death ,and resurrection.To remain in His victory,we need only to hold confidently to God's provisions for us in Christ.Faith in Christ includes an understanding of who he is and a complete reliance upon him for salvation and an overcoming lifestyle.Through this kind of faith believers experience victory over the sinful influences of this world, and thus walk worthy of the name by which we are called;Christians, or to be Christ like............

His Only Begotten

Romans 8:32 "He that spared not his own Son,but delievered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things".

Members of the early Church often referred to themselves as those who followed "the way".Paul refers to their way of life as "the way of the Lord" and "The way of God".In other words,the early Christians, directly taught by Christ apostles,were recongnized by their deeds and action.The way they lived, separated them from those of the world around them.It was called the way because they lived the way Christ lived.They followed his example,they obeyed His instructions.The way was then,and still is, a way of living and thinking that is different from that followed by those of this world.

When Christ came to earth He explained that this different way of thinking would through the power of the Holy Spirit, produce the fruit of righteous actions and deeds.He taught that God's way is the way of giving rather than the normal selfish human way of alway getting.The key to living a way of life different from the way of the world is to allow the Holy Spirit to work in us so we think like Jesus Christ. Through His spirit,God not only leads us in a different way of thinking,He helps us change the motivations that govern our actions.This focus on unselfishness rather than the self-serving approach produced by our natural way of thinking brings,in turn a dramatic change in the way we live and everything we do.God ask that we reorder our priorities,allowing his spirit to change our thinking, serving God by doing his will and seeking his kingdom.When we put God first ,he promises to provide ways for us to meet our needs.He will with hold no good thing from us.

Living a godly life is much more than merely calling on God's name as though that alone will excuse us for doing whatever we please.Living a godly life is doing what pleases God.It is practicing what he commands us, and living a way of life defined by his word.Jesus taught a way of life based on observing God's commandments from a heart of love that willingly makes personal sacrifices for the sake of others, focusing on giving rather than receiving.A true Christian cannot base his way of life, his new way of living on his own ideas about right and wrong.God's law and Christ example of perfect obedience to those laws, set the standards for the genuine Christian way of Life.Our new life is based on giving,a free gift given by God to all who will receive it."For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son",Giving is the way of God and the foundation of His love to mankind.Let us use this same foundation as we give to a lost world that which God gave to us..Share Jesus with a friend and change a life.

In Obedience To God!

2Samuel 6:7 "And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah; and God smote him there for his error;and there he died by the Ark of God".

In our story today God had given specific instructions on the contructing of the Ark of the covenant,He also commanded them to transport it by using poles.He warned them that anyone touching the Ark would die.

As we see when David moved the Ark to Jerusalem, the people ignored God's directions,and place it on a cart for transporting.Yes on the cart was an easier way to carry the Ark,and what the people did seemed harmless and right.But it went against the commandment of God.Many today go against God's commandment in a search for a way of making things easier.The word of God tells us that Jesus is the way,there is no other way to eternal life with the Father except through His darling Son.Yet there are many ingnor God's word and do things their own way, saying God understands to justify their actions. Many think they can pick and choose who to love, how to live,how to worship,how to serve,and who to forgive.As our story tells us that when Uzzah in an effort to prevent the Ark from falling,reached over to secure it ,he fell dead. See God cannot lie,so when he said anyone who touches it will die,he meant that.When He said the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God, He also means that.

Are the specific details of God's will important?They were to Uzzah! God was teaching His people to take His word seriously.We too must take God's word seriouly, He can't lie and every part of His word must and will come to past.He even gave us a fair warning as he said" There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but in the end is th eway of death". Let us pay careful attention to every point of His word and be obedient and enjoy everlasting life with our Father which art in Heaven.....

It's Your DNA

Proverbs 11:3 "The integrity of the upright shall guide them:but the perverseness of transgressors shall destroy them."

Integrity is a choice,in a society entertained and amused by deception, manipulation,seduction, and witchcraft, many people have convienced and even comforted themselves with the notion that they do not have a choice as to whether or not to engage in the same sins.But we are called to lead the world, not follow it.When Elijah explained to God that he was the only God-worshiper who remained,God replied that "yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him." Although many people are, not everyone is living a lie, a life of compromise.It is unwise to justify your sins by your presumption of everyone else's sin.Our example must be Christ and him alone.

Christians are called to a higher standard of commitment and responsibility.Our bodies are God's temple,we bear the name of his only begotten son,we carry His DNA,and are dedicated solely to his service.In everything we do, we must glorify God.We are called to a lifestyle that is higher than the world's.Using God's word as our guide for life,we build relationships of commitment,responsibility and trust,with integrity and truth.We are a recommendation for Christ,and must live accordingly. It is more important for us to know what is important to God, than to know how doing the right thing will benifits us directly.In a world where it seems it's "every man for himself " is there any benifit to living a righteous life? God says that living a life of integrity results in a fruitful life.Integrity in this sense means living a life of high moral principles, a life characterized by honesty,sincerity, and good judgment.Those who live a life of integrity do what's right even when they can get away with doing something else.They choose to do right when it is more convient to do wrong.They are called to be ye holy.

Living a life based on ungodly principles and practices is destined for diffculty.Duplicitous people base their life on cunning and deception, they are driven by the pursuit of self gratification and material comfort. However, on the Day of Judgment their material wealth and gain will be of no value.Choosing a path of integrity is always beneficial in the long term,for those who walk in the integrity of God, walk in a clear path, for they walk in the light , Jesus the light of the world. So in everything you do and everywhere you go,remember whose you are, and be ye Holy as your Father in heaven is Holy.

Taking A Stand

Daniel 1:8a " But Daniel proposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat nor with the wine which he drank:"

There are many who started this journey on fire for the Lord only to find themselves unwilling to take a stand.In an effort to fit in,or to be politically correct, or for prestige,prosperity and/or power, they have given into the temptaions,will and desires of this world.They have compromised their message, their walk and what they once believed, in favor of the joys,toys,treasure and false pleasures of this world. They have eaten of the kings meat and drank of his wine.

In our story today,we see 4 who was willing to take a stand,they refuse to eat the Kings meat or to drink his wine.We who profess Christ have to be careful that we don't swallow that which the world tries to feed us.We must continue to feed on the truth of God's word,and walk in His spirit,even if it means to stand alone.We can't succome to the doctrine or spirit of this world, and continue to profess to be a child of God.The world is enemy to the ways of God.The world's food allows us to live anykind of way that we want.It say" it's your thing do what you want to do", the world is about "me ,myself and I".The world is selfish,selfrighteous,and self serving.The worlds spirit is one of greed and is uncaring. But we who profess to be children of God, must esteem others higher than ourself; We must be willing to lay down our life for a friend.We must bless others with that which God blesses us with, and live in a way that leads a lost world to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.

In these times of the self claimed, self named and the self fame, there is much compromise.Our religious practices has gotten further and further from the word of God.We have allowed the world to dictate what a Christian is and what type of behavior is acceptable to God.The bible says" Jesus Christ the same yesterday,today and forever" which tells me God's word  has not and will not change.So I ask, will you take a stand? 

Change Me Lord

Philippians 3:21"Who shall change our vile body,that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,according to the workings whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself ".

We use the word changed or converted quite alot in religious circles,but what does it truly mean to be changed.Is going to church,singing in the choir, or preaching in the pulpit evidence of change. And if we are in fact converted or changed what is it we are changed from, or more important what are we change into.The scriptue says Jesus will change our vile body, that it might be fashioned like his glorious body. Well biblical change is represented as a miraculous life transforming process,a process which is totally impossible without the direct,active intervention and participation of God. In fact he must initiate the conversion process. No man can come to Jesus unless the spirit of God draws them.

He first opens the mind of those he is calling, or inviting to change so they can begin to understand the scriptures with a clarity and depth they could never attain on their own.This wonderful miracle of transformation usually begins when those God is calling hear the truth of God 's word accuratelly from one of his true servants( faith come by hearing, but how can they hear without a preacher,and how can he preach unless he be sent). Our creator begins to open their minds at that time to comprehend the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God to salvation.God's words now begin to make sense,just as a picture emerges when a puzzle is put together.Now the once lost soul begins to grasp the truth of  the Holy scriptures and become part of the miracle of God's calling.

What follows depends on the choices they make when they hear or read God's truth. They can respond to God and ask for His help to implement what they learn,or they can turn their back on the truth which they have received.Even though God encourages us to choose life, He will not force this choice on any of us.But as we will soon see, the consequences of our choices are enormous. The process begins with God's calling it is then followed by the key steps of repentance,baptism,and the receiving of the Holy Spirit,and  finally climaxing with the return of Jesus Christ when those that are his will be resurrected to immortality and given eternal life.This is the ultimate transformation, being change from this vile mortal body, and fashioned into a glorious immortal being!  

Lord,I'm Sorry

Joel 2:12"Therefore also now saith the Lord,turn ye even to me with all your heart,and with fasting and with weeping and with mourning:"

Let us gather all those we can, and bring them into the house of the Lord;and cry unto the lord"spare thy people O Lord and "Forgive us for we no not what we do.Let us come together, all the people, and hear what thus saith the Lord;for the Lord says "Turn to me".

There are many going the wrong way,doing the wrong thing,following the wrong leaders,and traveling on the wrong road.Many on the broad road,yet Jesus said narrow is the way.God says turn, turn from our wicked ways,just turn and turn loose.Let go of the earthy and grab hold of the heavenly. Don't just turn your head giving the appearence of change,you know walking different but still going in the same direction.Let us turn our hearts with weeping and mourning,rent our hearts like it greatly grieves our souls to have sinned against God,rent our hearts, as we desire to never do it again.Rent our heart not our garments, make this an inward commitment and not an outward show.Rent our hearts, and turn to God with fasting,not the commitment of doing without meat ,but the commitment of doing without sin for a lifetime, as Jesus told the lady go and sin no more.Crucify the old man and ways,walk in a newness of life.Turn and fast,as to fasten to him,and fasten on him,like jacob holding on to the angel,and refusing to let Go,as our blessing are in holding on to God.Grab on to him with true devotion and loyalty,hold fast weeping for the wrong we have done to him,and the shame sin has brought to us, his beautiful bride.Hold on and wait for our change to come.

Let us truly turn back to God, truly repent and become an accurate reflection of the one whose name we bear.Walk that we might truly lead a lost and dying world,to the salvation of the Lord.Lead in truth, teach in honesty,and reprove in love,for our Fathers desire is that none shall parish.Reach out in love to save the souls Chirst died for,pray for the lost, be a living sacrifice,and lead one back to God, that we might truly be Christ like........

Jesus-Jesus-Jesus

Revelation 1:18 "I am he that liveth,and was dead; and,behold,I am alive for evermore,Amen; and I have the keys of hell and of death.

Life through his name;Salvation is of God and of His Christ."Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under Heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved".Again, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way ,the truth,and the life: no man cometh unto the Father,but by me". No matter how good or noble a man or woman may believe he or she is, that person can no more save himself or herself than you could have created yourself.

"Jesus saith unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me,though he were dead,yet shall he live:and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die".Before a person can experience the event of the resurrection unto life, he or she must experience the person who is the resurrection and the life.People how can you be apart of something you know nothing about, how can you believe in Him whom you haven't heard?Without any conviction there can be no true conversion.You can't experience a resurrected life until you first realize you were dead in sin. As we partake in His death, we will walk in the newness of life. But to walk new, the old must die, and for the old to die, we must realize there was an old."I am crucified with Christ, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God,who loved me and gave himself for me".It is not about the titles we wear, the building we fellowship in,or the Pastors and Bishops we sit under,it is solely about the Savior of the world.

All things are of God. He is the beginning, He is the process, and he is the end. He is our beginning, he is our path, and he is our life.It is all about Christ and him crucified, not about who we are but whose we are.We must come to this knowledge,for when we truly grasp hold to this fact,Then we will become better christians,obedient servants,a conviencing witnesses, and a more accurate reflection of  Christ. Who we are will no longer seem important, our time will be spent conviencing the world there is a  savior, and not trying to convience the world that we are saved.We will seek all lost souls,spreading the good news of the gospel.So let us take the time and let ourselves get caught up in the thought of being in Jesus' powerful presence.This is our resurrected Lord,and it is about Christ and Him crucified.

Made In My Image

2 Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us,who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him".

Jesus Christ death;the message is unbelievable,a message of redemption,that is a substitution for sin. This is one of the great verses proclaiming the unbelievable love of God.It is impossible for man to grasp the fact that God made Christ to be sin for us,yet that is exactly what the scripture says.He who knew no sin made to be sin.He was made in my image that I could take on His righteousness.

 

Why was this act necessary? Because man needs more than just righteousness to stand perfect before God.To stand righteous before God is not enough,for man has already sinned.Man already stands guilty of breaking God's law, and the judgement and condemnation of death has already taken effect upon man. So the condemnation and judgement of sin had to be taken care of.God did this by laying all the sins of man upon Christ,all the guilt and condemnation of sin,God placed it all on Christ and let Him bear it all Himself.God's purpose for this was that we might be made righteousness of God in Christ.When a person believes in Jesus Christ,I mean really believes,God takes that man's faith and He counts it as righteousness.The man is not righteous,but God considers the man's faith as righteousness.God does this because he loves man so much,so much that he sent His only begotten Son to die that we might have a right to life.Jesus secured righteousness for man.He came into the world to die for man.He came and arose from death and thus conquered death for man,thus His resurrected life could stand for the resurrected life of the believer.

The truth is this God loves His Son Jesus Christ so much, that He honors any man who honors His son by believing in Him and believing Him.When we sincerly trust Christ,God takes that faith and counts it as righteousness,thus He judges us , and treats us as though we are innocent.We are not innocent,us and God both knows this,but God counts us as innocent because of our faith in Jesus Christ.To God we have died with Christ and rose a new creation,born again in His image and after His likeness.

Jesus-The Good Shepherd

Ezekiel 34:23 " And I will set up one shepherd over them,and he shall feed them,even my shepherd David;he shall feed them ,and he shall be their shepherd".

Like discontented sheep ,we often burn the ground running in all the wrong places to satisfy our deepest needs.We are all lost sheep in need of a good shepherd.In the old testiment there were two shepherds which demonstrated important principles about shepherding while showing us a picture of the Good Shepherd.When Moses was a shepherd on the backside of a desert,God gave him 40 years experience tending sheep.Before David fought Goliath,he gave his shepherding credentials to King Saul.He told him how he rescued a lamb out of the mouth of a lion and killed all the enemies of the flock.The sheep didn't belong to either David or Moses,yet they loved as though they did.

The good news is the Good Shepherd of Israel can be our personal shepherd.Simular to David and his sheep,Jesus can deliever us out of the lion's mouth of the wicked one(1Pet.5:8) and deliever us out of the demonic activity of all the wild beast of our day(Ps.22:21). No weapon formed against God's flock shall prosper.He leads us beside still waters and into green pastures.If we are hungry,Jesus comes alongside as the bread of life to fill up ever longing.If we are thirsty,he is the living water to soak every dry place.If we are afraid,He is our shield and defender to bring us to safe and secure pastures.He can nurish and fill our soul with the good things by leading us down the trail of His word,where there are tasty morsels from everlasting to everlasting.

Jesus is our shepherd,let us follow where He leads us that we might thourghly furnished to every good work.Trust in Jesus he will never fail.He is the Good Shepherd who gave His life for the sheep, Now let us give our life to Him. 

Hope-The Anchor to our Soul

Romans 8:24-25 "For we are saved by hope:But hope that is seen is not hope:for what a man seeth,why doeth he yet hope for?But if we hope for that we see not,then do we with patience wait for it".

Paul told Timothy "I know whom I have believed,and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day."What we do with what we have been given is a part of our stewartship and responsibility.Stewardship is not just about finances,but we have stewardship over all that we have been given.We have been given hope, and should be good stewards of that hope.Times will come when we might not see God acting,but it is our hope that will substain us through those times.Our hope is not tied in what we see,but in whom we believe.

We have all experienced the tension which comes with the waiting and the promise.We wait but it is not always with patiences, for the promised healing,financial relief,companionship,comfort or even the answers to our many questions and prayers.There seems to always be a war waged between where we are and where God desires for us to be.God's balance and grace in our lives is that there is always a way of escape.There is always grace and wisdom awaiting us the moment we ask.God does not allow our afflictions to exceed the measure of grace and faith given,it is always proportionate to what we know and what we are called to do.God tells us to focus on that we don't see,for the unseen is eternal. God has given us hope,which is the anchor of our souls.An anchor stablizes,keeping the vessel from being tossed to and fro by the wind and waves.God's hope keeps us stable and unmovable,during the storms of our life.Our hope is not in the world or the pleasures of this world, so the world does not settle or unsettle us. It really plays no part in our joy and happiness because it is not the source of our hope.

Our hope lies in the truth and promises of God's word.The righteous wait upon the Lord,we walk in His statues, we live by His commands, follow His precepts and we stand on his promises.Jesus Christ our hope from the Lord and the anchor to our soul..

No Other Help I Know

Isaiah 45:22"Look unto me,and be ye saved,all the ends of the earth:for I am God,and there is none other"

In this day of I, me,and myisms,the concept of God has taken on different forms,shapes,and meanings.In a era of religious rights and freedom, you can talk about and worship openly any god, but the true and living God.In this christian nation we live in,Christ is not welcome in our schools, courts, government funded programs, and on any given sunday he might not be welcome in his own church house.We live in a country which has laws protecting gay rights, civil rights,womens rights, animal rights, gun rights, and criminal rights,yet it sometimes is not politically rights to profess Christ openly in public.

God is real and it is time for the redeemed to say so.We sometimes try so hard to please the world, that we get caught up in its confusion, adopting it's ways, and we begin serving and worshiping it's gods. This brings about a suffering due to sin. But there is good news, with all we've done,even though we sometimes turn from the real God to worship idols,God comforts us through his word,as stands at the door and knocks,he lets us know he hasn't forgotten us.He let us know that he is still good ,still God and still saves, as he still sits upon the throne.Look to Him when you are feeling down and left out.Seek Him if you find yourself lost in a world of darkness.Hold to His hand when you feel yourself falling into the grips of sin.He is God and there is no other.

God has always had a plan of salvation, a way to deliever us from the bondage of our captivity. A way to repair the broken relationship between the creator and his creation. God says assemble yourselves and draw near, and return to me.We must turn from our ways to draw near to God. God is both a just God and a perfect savior, for all who comes to him. God wants us to come to him, for there is none other like him,look to him in faith, look away from all the pretenders in our lives and fix our eyes,and the desires our heart on the true God.Seek him out, look to him and be saved. Look to the great "I AM" for there si no other help I know.

The Seed Of Salvation

Acts 19:20 "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed".

The word Of God; the power of God unto salvation.If we just once again trust in this word like the saints of old did, what a wonderful world we would live in.In these times God's word is so badly needed yet we seem to share everything but the truth and purity of God's word.We agree and disagree with it as it relates to us and what we are doing or trying to do. If it goes against our agenda's we don't want anything to do with that part and will de-friend and remove people from our sights because we're convicted by God's word.How can we lead the lost to Christ when we who profess Christ can't follow one another to his truths.We must continue to share God's word and  we will see the Word of God grow and prevail. 

The gospel is the same as it ever was,God hasn't changed.There are still sinners in the world, the sins that need to be overcome are the same, and the Holy Spirit is just as mighty to convict and renew,but we have changed how we share this good news.We must understand it is a blessed time in the soul,a blessed time in the family,a blessed time in the congragation and in the country when the word of God grows mightily and prevails in the hearts of the people.But Faith comes by hearing,and hearing the word of God.But to many are sharing their books, motivies,ideals and philosophies over the truth of God's word, thus giving birth to so many faithless christians.It is a blessed time when the open sinner is seen leaving his sinful ways and seeking the salvation of the Lord.When men are seen giving up their unholy gains, and changed their lives to follow the word ,will and way of God.When the leaven of the gospel begins to work, there will be no need of  arguments to prove how unworthy it is for a christian to turn to the amusement of the books of the world or those who proclaim the messages of said books.

The grace of the gospel produces a new taste,it alters everything about us,our friends, our pursuits,and even that which we find entertaining.Is the word of God growing amoung us?If not why not?It is a living seed and it should grow,and will grow unless it is hindered or wrapped with the imagination of man.There is no other power in our ministry which will equal that which is produced when one hears the truth of God's word.If you plant it, it will grow;"So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed". It won't come back void!Plant the seed and watch saints grow........ 

Was Blind-But Now I See

John 9:1 "And as Jesus passed by,he saw a man which was blind from birth".

Man is born into this world spiritually blind.He cannot see the things and ways of God.This passage is a subject of man's sinfulness.Here Jesus takes a man's physical blindness and demonstrated the stages of spiritual insight and sight.(read John 9:8-41).It should be noted that spiritual insight has to do with seeing Jesus and Jesus alone.Jesus is the very theme of God's revalation.He alone is the perfect revelation of God,and a man's spiritual eyes can be opened to see God only through Him. Apart from Jesus, no man will ever see God.

Here Jesus was passing by,and he saw a man who was blind from birth.Now Jesus saw him which indicates interest,care ,concern, and compassion for the man.Jesus is concerned about all who are blinded by the gods of this world to the love and mercy of God.Jesus came to seek and to save all that are lost in darkness.Note it was not the man who reached out for help ,but Jesus took the initiative with the man.The man was blind he didn't even know that help was available.There are many who walk blind today to the life of salvation which is avaiable in Christ Jesus.Jesus told us to tell a dying world the good news of the gospel that a lost world might be saved.How can they believe on Him who they haven't heard.If Jesus had not reached out to the man he would still be blind.If Jesus hadn't called us out of darkness we would still be in darkness as we didn't choose Him , but he chose us.Jesus came to be the light of the world,if man wishes to be delievered from the darkness he must come to Christ.Christ is the only one who gives sight to man and His world.

Now Jesus tells the man what he must do to receive his sight,the man's faith needed to be aroused and stirred.Jesus used two things to awaken the man's faith.He touched the man eyes,he used clay made moist by spittle,but Jesus would not want the man to think that spittle cured him.Jesus sent the man to the pool to wash, the blind man by obeying Jesus would receive his sight.His obedience would demonstrate to the blind of the world that they too could receive sight by comming to Jesus and obeying Him.Our salvation lies in our coming to Jesus and obeying Him.I once was blind,but now I see.......

Another Day-Another Chance

Luke 13:7-9"Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard,Behold, these three years I come seeking   fruit on this fig tree,and find none: cut it down;why cumbereth it the ground.And he answering said unto him,Lord,let it alone this year also,till I shall dig about it, and dung it:And if it bear fruit, well:and if not,then after that thou shalt cut it down."

Here we have Jesus telling a parable about a fruitless fig tree. A vineyard owner planted a fig tree, which he left in the care of his gardener. three years later, the owner returned to see if the tree had produced any fruit.It hadn't. In spite of the care and attention of the gardner, the tree was fruitless.In this parable the fig tree represents Gods people,God wants his peoples lives to be a reflection of his character so that others could see what he was like.God has nurtured and protected us that he could accomplish this purpose.God wants to see if his careful attention will produce some spiritual fruit.He wants us to be careful not to slip into fruitless legalism,which gives the appearence of holiness but lacks the quality of true righteousness that God cares about.Simply turning away from our sins is not enough, we need to replace our sinful ways with something better,something more pleasing to God.

Even though the fig tree deserves to be cut down, the gardener didn't want the tree cut down. Like Jesus did for us , he spoke up against destroying the tree. Jesus continious care is so that we might bear fruit. Through this parable we should learn an important lesson about repentance. Though we might deserve judgement, we have time to repent of our sins and live in a way that honors God.Our past sins may have resulted in a fruitless life ,but God is willing to give all who will a second chance.

God expects those who want a right relationship with him to live in a way that honors him. It's not enough just to belive in God or to turn away from sin. We must live obedient lives that bear fruit.

Come Back To God

Isaiah 55:7 "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord,and He will have mercy upon him".

Here we have the great chapter of gospel invitation.How free! How full! How plain and pressing are the calls to receive grace! Yet the necessity of repentance,in its most practical form is a must.We must turn from our sinful ways back to God, its insisted upon.The Gospel provisions are presented freely(vs.1,2). The Savior is provided and proclaimed(vs.3,4).Salvation is promised to Him(vs.5).We are encouraged to seek and find the Lord (vs.6).But the call to conversion follows close after,and is intended to be the necessary inference from all that preceded it.We must return to God: he mercy make it imperative.

The Holy nature of God will not allow Him to pardon those who continue in their wickedness.The very nature of the gospel is not  a proclamation of tolerance for sin,but the deliverance from it.It contains no single promise of forgiveness to the one who goes on in his iniquity.Jesus died to save us from sin not to save us in sin.Conversion always goes with salvation.Sin must be punished or else virtue will perish. The well being of the sinner himself requires that he should quit sin,or suffer the penalty.The work of the Holy Spirit would be of non effect as He is a Sanctifier.The character of heaven requires that a sinner's nature be renewed,and his life purged, in order to enter the holy place where God, and holy angels and perfected saints abide."Except ye be converted, and become as little children,ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven"(Matt.18:3).

Jesus died to accept for us the wage paid by sin.When we accept His death as our own, we must die to the old life and walk in the new life provided by Christ.It is by, and with His power that we can walk in the spirit as not to give into the flesh.But when we do stumble and fall along the way we have an advocate who tells us to confess our sins and he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.

But For The Grace Of God!

Titus 2:3 "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish,disobedient,deceived,serving divers lust and pleasures,living in malice and envy,hateful and hating one another."

"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God";there is none righteous,no not one,there is none who wants to obey the Lord,none who wants to do His will.There is not one who is able to walk in the Holy manner in which we have been called to walk in,we all had to be born again.If we could have done better,Jesus would not have had to die.

We who have been saved by the grace of God, need to be carful in our dealings with others.Sometime in our effort to be Holy we come across as being self righteous, acting as if we are better than someone else.We who have receive the Lord in our life are better off,but we are not better than anyone,for Jesus shed just as much blood for the least and He did for the greatest.We tend to sometimes forget that we at one time was lost,we were foolish,disobedient,decieved,many are still decieved,serving the lust,will, and desires of the flesh, under the disguise of religion."But by the grace of God there go I".We have to remember the kindness and love God shared with us when He gave us Jesus.It was according to His mercy that He saved us,He blessed us with a heart to receive Jesus in our life.There was nothing we did,for Jesus said we didn't choose Him ,but He choose us.

Let us be kind to those still in darkness,let us love them with the same love Christ loved us with.Let us pray that the Father forgives them for they know not what they do.Let us lay down our life by putting aside our wishes,wants,thoughts,and ambitions,and let the Lords will be done. Remember but for the grace of God,that lost soul could be you....