Hiding From The Light

Job 24:13"They are of those that rebel against the light;they know not the ways thereof,nor abide in the paths thereof ".

Most of us have received light in some forms. God has given light to be a display of himself, for "God is light and in Him is no darkness at all". He has dressed it with a measure of his majesty and power of judgment. Rebillion against light is a sin, and there are many forms of dening the light. Some refuse the light not wanting to know more about the light. While others fight against the light as it revell the intent of their hearts. Then there are those who walk contrary to the light for selfish reasons and personal gains, fooling themselves into believing they are still in the light. But to rebell against the light you are in darkness, and all darkness is a rebellion against the light

 

The sins of the godly are magnified more because they are illuminated by the light to which we claim. "They are of those that rebel against the light". Light is taken here figuratively for knowledge, it cannot be denied that the wicked sin knowingly; but the godly have a light which should destroy the darkness.  We have a light which shows us the way of righteousness. We must be careful not to walk contrary to the light and choose the path of darkness. We have a better eye to see sin than the wicked, and for us to mess around with sin, and embrace the darkness provokes God. Sins of ignorance are still sins, but the deliberate acts of sin, and willful neglect of known duty, are great acts of disloyalty.  If a man puts his hand in the fire knowing that it will burn, no one will have pity on him when he burns himself. When the ice is marked "Dangerous"the warning should be sufficient for any reasonable man, he who ventures on the rotten ice is not only a fool but also suicidal should he fall in.

 

The warning signs of the dangers of walking in darkness, and rebelling against the light are plastered everywhere, even planted in the heart of mankind, take heed that you in your folly don't fall in and be cursed to everlasting damnation.

Jesus Saves

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 a era of religious rights and freedom, you can talk about and worship openly any god, but the true and living God. In our 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. In a country which has laws protecting gay rights, civil rights, Women's rights, animal rights, gun rights, and criminal rights, it still 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 the good news is with all we've done, even though we sometimes turn from the real God to worship idols, God comforts us through his word, as 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 are lost in a world of darkness. Hold to His hand if you feel yourself falling into the grips of sin. He is God and there is no other.

God has a plan of salvation, to deliver 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. 

Testimony Of The Heart

Matthew 15:8 " This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me".

The world is full of us who profess a love for God. We are always saying, writing or posting on the various social networks scriptures and various other religious quotations, so others will read them and believe we are saved. But it is not important for others to believe we are saved, as long as they know there is a savior. The purpose of our salvation is to lead others to believe in Jesus, by lifting Him up in all that we do and say.

 

Many claim to have said yes to Jesus, but have yet to surrendering to Him their hearts.  What we might want in life might not be what God has planned for us. The surrendering of our hearts to Him is saying "not my will but thy will be done".  What God has for us is better and more than we could ever want for ourselves. Here in our text Jesus says we honor Him with our lips but with the way we live our life we honor the god of this world. How can we say He has all power and yet live as though we are powerless. How can we claim Him as our shepherd and yet live and worry about the things we need. Without faith it is impossible to please God, we must trust and  believe He will do just what He said.

We  must be careful not to worship the blessings more than the blessor. It is when we give Him our hearts that He will give us eternal life. He doesn't want our best He wants our all, as He gave us His all. Honor the Lord with your heart and they will believe the testimony of your mouth.

Share The Cure

Romans 1:15 " So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are in Rome also."

The gospel of Jesus Christ the power of God unto salvation to all who receives it. The gospel is the cure for all that ails mankind. It has the power to cure a sin sick world, yet those of us who know this tends to make it our best kept secret. It is God's remedy for mans disobedience but like all medicine it must be taken eternally for it to work. Putting a aspirin on your head will not stop your headache, it must be taken eternally to do what it does. We must let the gospel in that we might be made whole.

Here we have Paul telling all in Rome he is ready to preach the gospel to them. We to must be ready to preach/proclaim the gospel to a dying world that all might be saved. We who have the cure must be willing to share the cure, to freely give what was freely given to us. It is not our to keep, to sale, or to hold it from those who needs it. Paul was not ashamed of it, he was a debtor to it, and he was a prisoner bound by it. He knew it was the Gospel and the power of God that saved him and he wanted to share it that all else might be saved. 

We must be careful not to get caught up with this new era gospel that is being preached, which is not The Gospel and share that which God shared with us. It Is the power of God unto salvation. It holds Gods power, for God is the power in the gospel. Let us share the cure and heal a  sin sick world that all might know the goodness of the Lord

Do You Really?

1John 3:18 " My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue: but in deed and in truth."
Love is an action word, and actions are to be seen and not heard. Can your love for the Lord be seen, or is it just something you talk about. Jesus said "If you love me keep my commandments", here our love is revealed by what we do, not just by what we say. God so loved that He gave, He forgave, He sacrificed, and He saved. What are the actions of your love?

 

Christ is the embodiment of pure love.The apostle Paul prayed for the love of Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith. That we may be able to comprehend, the breath, and length, and depth, and height, of Christ love for us, which passes all understanding. It is an inseparable love a love in spite of. The love of God is a reflection of God's heart flowing through Christ, one spirit, one heart, one mind and one love. When Jesus died on the cross, He could have felt two kinds of love. One was for the Father as Jesus did His will. The other was Jesus' love for all people. Because of the love coming from the Father and his desire to love each one of us, He was able to endure the pain and shame of death on a cross.

 

As we draw upon Jesus' unselfish love, we too can better love others. Jesus wants us to love not just with words we say, but also in the things we do. Let your love be a action from the heart not just words from your mouth. 

Power In His Word

Hebrews 4:12 "For the word of God is quick, and powerful,and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and the joints and morrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart:"

The word of God is a name for Christ. But it is also the scriptures, the written word of God, but the Lord Jesus is never separated from them. He indeed is the substance of the written word. Scripture is what it is, because Jesus himself embodies himself in them. He comes in the vol. of the book. It is the instrumnet by which we are set free from the bondage of sin and death, but by this same instrument the world will be judged and condemned. It is the truth which makes us free,yet because of unbelief all are not free. Many wonder aimlessly in a vast wilderness, a prisoner of doubt, not trusting or believing God's word. It is the living active word which meets every man where he is that all might be saved. 

God's word judges our thoughts, works, actions and everything about us, that we might experience his peace and enter his rest and salvation.The help we have from the Lord is his word, our sword, and power. We must first reverence the word truly as spoken by God. Then his word is quick, and quacking, it is life and it creates life wherever it comes. It is a living and incorruptable seed which can never be destroyed. It is powerful; it powerfully convicts, converts, comforts and It pulls down strong holds. It has the power to raise us to great heights of holiness and happiness. His word is sharpe, it cuts all over, it cuts and wounds all who touch it; it kills self righteousness, sin and unbelief. It cuts going out and coming in. It cuts deep removing sinful habits away from the soul, that have become the nature of sinful man. Precision cuts, dividing the joints and marrow without damaging the bone. This word will cut the lust from the flesh, and like a lazor will remove the lust from the eye.

This word is revealing, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, revealing even the most secret thoughts and design. This word will turn a sinner inside out, and let him see all that is in his heart. It has the power to turn a sinner into a saint. It is the power of God.

Oneness

John 17:21-"That they all be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us; That the world may believe that thou hast sent me:

Here we have Jesus  praying that we all be united,that we all be one. The standard of this unity is the oneness between Jesus and the Father.We must be one, it is an absolute for the spreading of the truth of the gospel message. The world has not been reached, there are millions walking in darkness, because we believers have not unified enough to proclaim the truth of the God's gospel.

We who confess Jesus Christ as lord must be careful not to let our difference hinder the spreading of the gospel to a dark world. We must put aside personal agenda, denominations, religious differences, and prejudices, and lift up the name of Jesus.We the many members of His glorious body, comming together as one proclaiming a single message is how we can win souls for the savior. Come together as Christ and the Father.  Having one mind, one heart, one purpose, being of one characters showing one love, with one mission to seek and save that which is lost. One body proclaiming Gods only message to a dying world, Jesus Christ and him crucified. A body of one, perfected in unity and love, that the world may know that God sent Jesus into the world, and that through him the world might be saved.

 

The world  needs to experience a unified love more than anything else. The darkness needs to see the light. Think of the power generated if all believers came together in a united love, sharing the good news of the gospel, in both word and deed.The world needs the love of God. The world needs to believe there is  a love that will give everything that one might be saved. The love of the Father who gave His son, and the sacrificial love of Jesus the Christ who died that all might be saved. Let us become one that we might lead the lost to salvation

Before All Else Fails

John 6:68 "Then Simon Peter answered Him, Lord to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal Life".

In these troubled times we can get pulled away from the rest and peace of the Lord by the trials and perceived troubles of this world. We without even being aware of it, at times begin to focus on that which we don't have and we don't thank and praise God for that which we do have. Come to Jesus before all else fails, make Him your first choice and it will be your lasting choice.

How do people handle going through life without God? Many seek Solis in a number of false gods. They often enter into bad relationships, they chase careers, money, material goods, sex, substance abuse and even religion in an effect to obtain what Jesus freely offers to all who will believe, an abundant life. The Lord is our shepherd, and He provides for us, he is our provision, our hope, our guide, our direction and his two wonderful sheep dogs goodness and mercy follows us all the days of our life. With Gods presence in our life we are never at a loss. He is God, so let us be grateful to him, and thankful for him, in our worship and praise. Here Jesus had fed the multitude and many of His disciple's left and followed Him no more. He ask the other will they also leave Him and Peter said where we going to go. Why would anyone leave Jesus? He is all and in all.

In this world of uncertainties it is good to know we have a sure thing in Christ Jesus. Where else can we go when He and He alone has the words to eternal life. Seek Him first don't wait until all else fails. Jesus never fails.

Almost a Christian?

Hosea 7:8 "Ephraim hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake undone".

 As the world turns it seems so does the people of God. We have allowed our selves to become so entangled with the things of this world it is really hard to tell the difference between a child of God and a man of the world. God called us from among them, to be separated, to be in this world but not of this world, but somewhere along this journey we the people of God have lost focus to the things of heaven and have begun to settle and chase after the things of this world.

The word of God tells us that to be friends with this world is to be an enemy to God,  and we must be careful not to strive to fit in or conform to this world. We can't adopted the ways of the world as our own and then expect the world to respect us as the people of God. Here in our story we have Hosea condemning Ephraim for mingling with other nations, learning their works, and serving their idols. He compared Ephraim to a round cake not turned over, baked or even burned on the bottom but not done on the top, he was half baked and good for nothing. He had lost his strength and didn't realize it for he was no longer connected to his power source. We must be careful not to get so mingled with the things and ways of this world that we loose focus to our savior and our keeper.  

We the people of God must be careful not to come unplugged from our power source. We must be careful not to get so caught up seeking the earthly things that we let go of and loose sight of those things which are heavenly. Jesus said to seek ye first the kingdom of God, and the earthly things shall be added to us. Let us not become a cake un turned. Let us not be one thing with our mouth Sunday mornings, and something totally different in our hearts the rest of the week. Don't almost be a Christian.....

The Road To No Where

Matthew 7:14 "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way,which leadeth unto life,and few there be that find it".

People hold varying ideals about what constitutes Christianity. Few who profess Christ actually know what he taught and even fewer practice what he preached. As a result most people believe Jesus' way of life is impractical and unworkable in the real world. But this is not based on the truth which the bible teaches, but tends to be the message of what man preaches. We must not become complacent and think as long as we say we believe in Jesus, attend church occasionally, and are basically good people,they are pleasing God. Jesus died to save souls and it is a narrow road we must travel to fulfill His will.

There is more to this journey than just saying you believe in Jesus. There is also a life we are called to live, a duty we have been chosen to do and a road which we are lead to travel. It is a uphill road paved solely with the promises of God. His ordinances is our guard rails which keeps up from straying to the left or the right. His truths order our steps in righteousness, and His spirit guides us along the way as we walk in the faith that He walks by our side both day and night. His goodness and mercy following us to catch us when we fall, and comfort us along the way. Are you traveling on the narrow uphill road, you can tell cause you might see a traveler every now and then, or are you on the downward road, busy with many on the road to no where.

 

 

 The way leading to eternal life is the way of living within the boundaries defined in God's law. It is not the broad popular way that approves of any behavioral preference and practice. Ask yourself, are you on the one way street that leads to glory or are you stumbling in darkness on the broad road to destruction.The answer to this question will help you determine if you are on the way. Jesus is the only way.

God Has Not Changed

Hebrews 13:8 "Jesus Christ; the same yesterday, today, and forever"

Christianity and religion; over the years these two words have come to mean something different than what they were intended. The corruption and misuse of one, has caused us to challenge the integrity of the other. With  the desire for power, prestige, and monetary gain, the dignity, character, and respect of Christianity is now being questioned. Man's vain imagination, and his new style religion, has polluted, distorted and corrupted the worlds view of a Christian. Todays religion seems to be driven by the lust and desires of the flesh, and is no longer pure and undefiled.

Gods perfect plan of salvation has been reduced to a game of chance, being sold, and auctioned off, as we seem to  play lets make a deal with God. In our search for the ideal religion, we have gotten caught up in making blessings about the treasures and pleasures of this world one gets and salvation about the fancy titles one holds. We seem to have closed our hearts to and reject Gods revelation, and have opened our minds to receive man's imagination.  Jesus didn't die to give us the right to sin, he died to save us from sin, and he rose to give us the power to live without sin. Jesus Christ, the same Yesterday, today, and forever. Jesus is the same in the old testament as he is in the new testament. The Lord is my shepherd  I shall not want, David said it in the old testament and Jesus said it in the new "I will supply your every need" It is Jesus who paid the cost to be the boss, it is about him and him alone. Jesus is  the bishop of our souls, if you want to be in position to prosper get with Jesus.

Jesus Christ, Gods spoken word, by which all things made was made, the spoken word by which Abraham believed and it was counted as Righteousness. Jesus Christ, the same today; the written word of God unchanged and uncensored, to rebuke, reprove, to correct and instruct us in righteous that we might be thoroughly furnished unto every good work. Written that we might believe on the only begotten of God. Jesus Christ, The living word of God , yesterday the ram in the bush, today the lamb of God who taketh away the sins of the world. Yesterday the way out of the fiery furnace, today the way out of the fires of eternal damnation. Yesterday Noah's ark, today the savior of all who enters his rest. Yesterday manna from heaven today and forever more the bread of heaven, yesterday the love of God, today the love from God to all who will believe...

As I Have Loved You

Luke 6:27-28 "But I say unto you which hear,Love your enemies,do good to them that hate you, Bless them that curse you,and pray for them which despitefully use you".

What would happen if  Christians actually lived what Jesus taught ? What if we truly love one another the way Jesus loved us. Jesus' teachings on love attacks the many misinterpretations of what we know to love to be. We tend to think love is something which comes and goes, or something you can fall into and out of. But the truth is love never changes, for God is love and He said He changes not. He Is the same yesterday, today and forever..

Jesus tells us to love our enemies, because we are not smart enough to now who our enemies are. Many who we call friends truly mean us no good and deep down are our enemies, and those we think are our enemy is in fact the ones with our best interest at heart. Think about how many times a so called friend lead you down the wrong road that a so called enemy tried to warn you about ,but you called them a hater. If we are to love others as Jesus loved us , we must love in spite of. Remember there was a time we were enemies of God , and yet while we were yet sinners Christ died for us, and prayed "forgive them Father for they know not what they do". Our love must be strong and show our trust in the Lord and his ability to use the situation for his Glory. We must also be merciful to others in our daily lives, as the Father daily pours out new mercy on us.
 
The standard of sacrificial love goes beyond what others might do or what we might feel we should do. It must be base solely on what Jesus teaches us to do. The prime example of selfless giving is our heavenly Father himself, who showed kindness to all humanity regardless of how they treated him, as he gave his only begotten son that we might have everlasting life. When we love others the way Jesus instructed us to, we show the world we are his, it is our birthmark seen by the world.

He wants to save us

1 Thessalonians 5:9 "For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ".

We should make a examination of ourselves and our walk with Jesus Christ. Has Christ's love made any difference in our lives? Does being in a community led by the Holy spirit mean anything to you? Do you really have a caring heart? Let us agree with each other, love each other, be one in spirit, and focus on the same goals. Let us lay aside our fleshly desire and let us help others get ahead. But how does one put self and ego aside? Well the apostle Paul paraded Jesus' life in front of all new believers as a guide to know how to move from selfishness to selflessness. Jesus had equal status with God, yet set aside all the divine privileges, and he humbled himself and did everything His Father told him. He was obedient unto death, even the death on the cross. Christ is a model in living an obedient life, a life that puts others needs ahead of our own.

A Christian is someone who professes a belief that Jesus is the Son of God. In addition , he or she has made a commitment to be like Christ. To be united with Christ means to be one with Jesus, and is a statement of a Christian's partnership with Jesus in communicating to others, what Jesus is like. The hearts and action of Christians are to be the same as that of Jesus Christ. Included in the attitude that should characterize the lives of Christians, are tenderness, compassion, unity of spirit, love and a desire to serve others. What should be absent are selfish ambitions and vain conceit. God understands that doing these things will not be easy. But neither was Jesus' journey to the cross. Jesus was obedient to death knowing that his sacrifice would ultimately result in restoring man's broken relationship with God. God wants Christians to be obedient to the same degree, knowing that this will fulfill His purpose for our lives and work out or finish what was started when we first put our faith in Jesus.

Being one with Christ should result in a desire to be like Christ. This in turn should lead to a commitment to be obedient. The net result should be a life that reflects Christ character, one where our attitude and actions are a good reflection on God. Like Noah's ark, there is only one  door into salvation, and that door is Jesus, and only those in Christ will be saved when the flood of judgment comes. For only Jesus can save

There Is Hope

Zechariah 10:6 "And I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again to place them; For I have mercy upon them:and they shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am the Lord their God, and will hear them".

Hope can come to sinners: God says "I have mercy upon them". Mercy abides in the heart of God even after the hope of it has left the heart of man. God's mercy is coming, and it has come to all who will accept it."Behold he prayeth" is the sure indication of coming deliverance (acts.9:11). God has observed prayer in them, for he said,"I will hear them". The result of mercy coming is exceedingly delightful: "They shall be as though I had not cast them off". This promise may be applied to all penitent sinners, and the wayward backsliders. God's mercy in many ways restores men to their lost positions, and in some cases to the pristine condition they had before the fall.

Let us look at the power of God's mercy; the forgiveness of sin, and justification by faith, makes us acceptable in God's sight.The renovation of our nature, by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, creates a man of righteousness, turning a sinner to a child of God. We are restored to paradise, as we dwell in God's blessed state, God's mercy destroys sin but it saves the sinner. We have redemption from the curse, the curse is gone from us, taken by Him who was made a curse for us, removing the anger of God from us forever.We are employed in God service, a living testimony to the redeeming mercy of God. We have communion with our Savior and have the promise of eternal life, all in His mercy.

Only return to God and live in His reverence, and you shall enjoy all the blessedness of your best spiritual state. You will again enjoy the complete removal of guilt, and have no more consciousness of sin, but have rest for your soul. A renewed Joy, restored purity of heart, fresh communion with your Father; A new usefulness, teaching transgressors the forgiving ways of God. Restoration to the church, not just part of the congregation, but an actual belonging to the church of the living God, you shall strive to avoid all temptations, as you stand more firmly in the grace of our Lord. So at once confess your sin, and humbly plead the Lord, for His mercy. Cry out in prayer, for He will hear you. hold on by faith in the name of Jesus,to the promise,"they shall be as though I had not cast them off". By the mercy of God, I beseech all who have not made Jesus your choice, turn back to God, there is hope.

He Is Waiting

Luke 15:20 "But when he was yet a great way off, His Father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck and kissed him."

God takes great pleasure when one sinner repents and returns to him. Jesus tells us of the Joy that takes place in heaven when one lost soul is saved, and one backslider returns.We have a story of a lost sheep, one who was in the fold and wondered away, the lost coin, the one lost in the house, And then the most famous of all the stories the prodigal son.

While in darkeness, a servant to sin and the various lust it powers, my Father saw me. My Father saw me and a great thing happened. He loved me. Before the foundation of the world, he called me from darkness into his marvelous light. While I was waddling in the pig pen of life, He looked beyond my faults and saw my needs. He prepared for me a way out of no way.When he saw me, my Father had compassion on me, had pity on my fallen condition, He forgave me for I didn't know what I was doing. I was burden down with guilt, sin, shame and fear, I came slowly, but He came to me with the urgency of salvation. He met me with encouragment, he gave me hope, comfort and peace as He offered me His rest. The arms of His mercy stretched out to embrace me. He took me in. I had just gotten out of the pig pen of life, covered with the stinch of sin and filth, the Father takes me in his arms and He lays me in his bosom and He loved me .

Like Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham, Jesus places all who surrenders to Him in the loving care of the Father.The bosom is a place of the beloved, a place of honor . The bosom the place of  the blessed as Jesus the only begotten of God, rest in the bosom of his Father.Then He kissed me,not only assuring me of my welcome,but also sealing me with my pardon. Because he saw me,God gave his only begotten son, who was whipped in my place, punished for my transgressions,and died for my sins. The good news is He also did it for you, will you come back to your Fathers house? He is waiting with outstretched arms. Thank you Jesus!

Do You 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. It should be noted that spiritual insight has to do with seeing Jesus and Jesus alone. Jesus is the very theme of God's revelation. 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 available 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 delivered 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 coming to Jesus and obeying Him. Our salvation lies in our coming to Jesus and obeying Him.

The Answer Given

2Chronicles 7:14"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins, and will heal their land."


We live in some dangerous times. It seems as though the world has really lost its way. Lives are taken as though they were meaningless, and the people who are taking them do so without fear of repercussion. But God gave us the answer to all that might hinder us this day, yet we have yet to surrender to His word.

He tells us all we need to do, us , His people those of us called by His name. Christians, children, if we would humble ourselves and pray. If we would come off of our high horse, if we would realize that we need Him in our life, and then call upon Him as we turn from our wicked ways He would heal the land. We who profess the Lord need to first stop the wrong and evil we are doing, take off the fig leaf of self righteousness and come back to God that the lost world might also seek the salvation of the Lord then will He hear from heaven and save us. If we really look honestly at our relationship with God ,we will see it has actually deteriorated some. God has chosen us to be representatives of his character, an example of his Love, a reflection of his caring,sharing and concern for a lost world. But over the years we have drifted away from God, and have become less like the holy people God wants us to be We have become self focused, self absorbed, we no longer resemble the Father we claim to love so much.

Here is our answer to all of life's problems. Let us pray more and we would have to protests less. If we turn to God and cast all of our cares upon Him we wouldn't have so much to worry about and we could do that which He called us to do which is the bear witness that He lives to a lost world.

Do You ?

Isaiah 53:5 "But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed."
Yes Jesus loves me cause the bible tells me so". Yes we all know that God loves us, "for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life". But I ask the question do we truly love Him? With our lips we do honor Him, but it seems that at times, our hearts sometimes are far from Him. We tend to live our lives based on His love for us, more than our love for Him.

Jesus allowed his flesh to be crushed, ripped, and torn. He suffered and died a gruesome death. He was the scapegoat who took our punishment, who paid for our crimes, that we might be made whole, that we might be made the righteousness of God. Through his suffering, we are blessed, through His death we have abundant life. It was our sins that pressed the crown of thorns on his head, our hatred that slapped him, and spit on him, our disobedience which mocks him. He was wounded for our transgressions, and  died for our sins. It was by His bruises that healing was made available to all who will surrender their lives into the Masters hands. Jesus looked beyond all of our faults and he saw our need, and he supplied our every need.
To love Jesus means that we should focuses our heart, affections, and devotion upon God. In total surrender we must give our all to Jesus Christ, for him to do with us as he will, that we might be vessels of honor in the building of God kingdom. Lets show our love for Christ by showing the love we have one for another.

Unconditional!

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us".

Love; the most powerful of all emotions, it has been the focal point and topic of a many movies, books, songs, plays, and poems over the years. Love is the one thing you can't live without. It is also the one thing to where there is no defense, you can't stop love, there is no end to love, and there is no containing love.You can't kill,destroy or hurt love. True love is not just a word it is in fact THE WORD.

 

God's great love is seen in this unbelievable act. We were without strength; we were weak, worthless, useless, helpless, hopeless, destitute, powerless, we were spiritually unable to help ourselves. We were ungodly, not like God, different from God, profane, having a different lifestyle than God. We were on our way to Hell in a hurry, and in due time, in God's time, He sent His Son to die for us. See mankind had to be prepared for Christ before God could send Him into the world. We had to know that we were sinners in need of salvation. Even now we must come to the realization that we are lost before we will began to look to be saved. Christ died for us, for our benefit, because of our sins. Christ didn't died for those who  were righteous or holy, but God commended His love toward us that while we were yet sinner, still in sin, enemies to God, Christ died for us. 

 

How wonderful this world would be if those who confessed Christ would display this Devine love and obey the commandment given us by our savior; " To love one another as I have loved you". It is in love and with love that we will be able to come together as one unified body of Christ, and with one loud voice proclaim Gods love to a Dying world, Jesus the Christ, God's so love to a dying world, the power of God unto salvation!

A New Creature In Christ

Colossians 3:10 "And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him:"

Jesus said you must be born again if you want to enter the kingdom of heaven. Many have professed this new birth, but yet still carry the traits and characteristics of the old man. When a man is born again he is different from the first. Yes there may be times when the old man and his ways might show up, but it should be the exception and not the rule.

Here Paul reminds us that we are dead to the old man, and have taken on the knowledge of  Him who created this new man. That means we have taken on the ways of Christ. We have put off lying, anger, wrath and the deeds of our old self. We are a new creature in Christ, and we have been wrapped in the fruit of the spirit. We display mercy, kindness, humility, patience, meekness, and above all things love. How can we profess to be Christ like, and born of His spirit, yet have no resemblance of His person or character. If you being born of your natural father you would share his characteristics, and so being born of the spirit of our heavenly Father, we should have and show His characteristics.

 Let the life you live profess you to be a child of God. Show this dying world the characteristics of God.Let us lift up Jesus, so that all who see might come to know that He is the Christ, the son of the true and living God. Let us not just say we are new creatures in Christ, let's live like new creatures in Christ

Life In Christ

Colossians 3:3 "For ye are dead,and your life is hid with Christ in God".
We as believers have been called to be the beloved of God, his elect who really believe and trust Jesus Christ as our savior. By the grace of God we have been given new life. By surrendering our life to Christ, God has forgiven us our sins, and he now accepts us in Christ death and resurrection. Through faith in the resurrection of Christ, God has blessed us with a heavenly blessings which should occupy our every praise and thanksgiving.  We have been raised to a new life, we are saved and justified, given power to live victoriously over sin and the trials of this world, living In Jesus.

We are given hope, even the hope of glory which we have in Jesus Christ. In Him we are guaranteed  resurrection from the death of sin. Our faith in Jesus makes us one with Christ, giving us union with him. When Jesus died and rose again, we too by faith, died and rose a new creature in Christ. Having a new life, a new character, causing us to walk toward new aims, from new directions. We have a new heart, a heart ruled by the peace of Jesus Christ, a peace that passes all understanding, which binds us,  joins us, and weaves us together, that we are assured, confident, and secured in the love and care of God. This peace strengthens, encourages, guides, sustains, delivers, saves, provides, and gives us real life, a new life in Christ. This peace makes us one with Christ and his word. This new heart is rich with the word of Christ.

 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ taking root in our heart to furnish us with all the wealth of its promises, commandments, instructions and warnings that we might have real love one to another. We have died to everything else, and now we live a life hid with Christ in God, so let us enter into His rest and live in His peace. 

More Than Going To Church

Matthew 5:20 "For I say unto you, that unless your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven".


Many have been deceived into believing that attending church is enough. We must be careful not to feel like we are doing God a favor by coming to church for a couple of hours on Sunday morning. We must remember if going to church was all it took Satan himself would be heaven bound, for we know he too comes into the church house.

Here in this fifth chapter of  Matthew we have Jesus giving the famous sermon on the mount. Now through a series of scriptures Jesus teaches us on what it means to truly be Christ like. He covers in detail the behavior we as Christian are suppose to put on display that a lost world might see in us the love of God. We are to let our light so shine that the world sees our good work and glorifies our Father in heaven. This walk we are on is an inward thing not an outward show.

The Scribes and Pharisees looked like people of God as the wore their long white robes and entered the synagogue's like they were so important. They said all the right things but the heart was in the wrong place. We must be careful not to just look like we are a child of God, but we must also live like a child of God. Going to church is not enough.

What Have you Put Before God?

Exodus 20:3 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me."

A giant idolatrous pitfall for many of us is our appetite for the praise and approval of fellow human beings. We like for them to notice and praise our strengths, to admire and award our abilities, to think well of us and be on our side. We don't like to be unpopular, unnoticed, or underrated. We love the approval of people. Aaron fell to this temptation. When it came down to pleasing God or people, he caved to the will of the people. He put their desires over God's clearly revealed commands. We today have to be careful not to give into the will of the people but to tell them the truth of God's word.

As we do a "search and destroy" mission for the idols that would stir up God's righteous jealousy, this is one that we need to look for carefully. It has the ability to "fly under the radar" because it's not tangible in the way that relationships, material things or even hobbies and activities are. But it can so drive our motives and actions that we are continually "bowing down" to it. It's the idol of our own desire to be worshiped, and we often serve it at the expense of honesty, integrity, and humility. Some have even adopted self-righteous names and titles so people will think them important. But remember the sinner doesn't care who you are and God is not impressed.


In Jesus day there were some men of influence who didn't want to let loose of  this idol in their lives. It created a big dilemma for them. The bible says "many even among the leaders believed in Jesus, but because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise from men more than praise from God".(John 12:42-43) What a sad documentary, afraid to speak up for Jesus, because of  something somebody might say or do to you. Remember Jesus said if you deny Him in from of men, He will deny you before the Father. What have you put before God?

Hearts Desire

Psalms 37:4 "Delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart".


The love God has for us is one that is unspeakable. While we were yet sinners Christ laid down His life that we might live. His love is so merciful that even those who are lost in sin and still rebels against Him, He continues to stand at the door of their hearts knocking wanting to come in and save them.

God tells us not to worry about those who do evil, but just to trust in Him and do good. He tells us to also delight our self in Him and He will give us the desires of our hearts. God knows when we delight our self in the Lord, He becomes the desire of our heart.  He becomes our rest, our peace, and our hope everlasting. Our delight is now in the law of the Lord, and we meditate on it night and day. Thus we shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water and all that we do shall prosper.

God is a loving Father, He promises in His word to provide our every need. His word says The righteous is never forsaken nor will His seed beg bread. Let us delight our self in the Lord, make Him the desire of your heart. Commit your way to Him and all He has for you will come to pass.

Trust In The Lord

2 Corinthians 1:10 Who delievered us from so great a death, and doeth deliever:in whom we trust that he will yet deliever us".
Here we have yesterday,today and forever;we consider the past ,present and future,each one by itself. We may also view them in their relation to each other.Our text points out the delivering mercy of God as at all times working out the safety of his people. Paul did not stand alone,as he said "who delivered  us","we trust".We all were in Paul situation at one time or another.We shall take Paul's words and apply them to our own situation.

Now the text suggest three trains of thought; memories of deliverences in the past:  Many of us like Paul, have not only been saved a many times from a real physical death, but we have been delivered from the death in sin. God has rescued us from the despair of conviction; the temptations of the evil one; from the destruction of a slanderous tongue; and from the captivity of the old man and his ways. Deliverences in the present, from the unseen dangers of this life; from the constant and subtle assults of Satan; from the many foolish mistake we make in life; from inbred sin and natural corruption. Our present standing is solely due to the grace of God. With expectation let us look upon the future: Faith rest alone in God, in whom we trust, and through him we seek our future deliverance; from all future trails and tribulations; from coming losses, afflictions, and sickness which may be headed our way. We must trust that God will deliever us. 

We know that the Lord will preserve us to the end,and thus we say "In whom we trust that he will yet deliever us".When we learn to trust in God, we will then know He is our deliverer.