He Is In The Saving Business

Acts 16:31" And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house."

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. God has done all that is needed for man to be saved. Jesus said from the cross "it is finished". Now we must only believe.

The spirit and the bride say come. The word of God says come, make Jesus your choice. Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, knocking let Him in. In our text today the jailer after the quake had open the jail doors, found himself in darkness, thinking the prisoners had escaped he was seeking the light(vs29). He fell at the feet of the apostles and asked what must I do to be saved? There is a dying world out there, trapped in darkness seeking the light of the world, lost and scared, wondering what must they do to be saved. We the redeemed of the Lord must tell them as Paul told the jailer,"believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved." It is not about joining church, or a certain denomination. It is not about what leadership you are under, it is simply about your belief in Christ and Him crucified. You must believe that Christ died on cross, and rose on the third day with all power in His hands, and in faith belief that you died with Him and rose a new creation in Christ.

Today's church has made salvation about everything except what God intended it to be. The only way to salvation is through the belief in the death ,burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The forgiveness of sin is only through His shed blood. There is no other way, so let us live a life before man that will lead lost souls to believe that Jesus Christ is the way. That a lost world might be saved. 

Told Me to Run On

Galatians 5:7 "Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth"?
We should always admit and praise that which is good that you may effectually rebuke the evil. Paul did not hesitate to praise  the Galatians and say," ye did run well". It brings great joy to Christians to see others running this race well. We to must run on the right road, straight forward, perseveringly, at the top of our pace, with our eyes on Christ. It is great grief to see the many who are hindered or lead off the road. The way is the truth, and the running is obedience. We are hindered when we cease to obey the truth. It will do us good to check and see who and what has tried to hinder us in our race.

This Christian race is by no means easy. We are hindered in running the race which is set before us, because of our sinful nature still remains in the holiest of us. The entanglements of the world, like heavy or tight fitting clothes, hindering the runners ability to run. Our weakness and infirmities, wear us out, because the race is long and the road can get rough. Some are to busy, they run around to much to run this race well. Some run to fast at the start and are soon out of breath. We have fallen off in the areas of  reading God's word, and family prayer. We have lost God's word in the mist of various other books about the bible that seems to occupy so much of our time, we find no time to read the truth of the bible. Many have read biographies, and commentaries written by religious leaders and famous preachers, but have never read the biography of Jesus Christ, the bible. Many are hindered by the many worldly friends in our lives, none can help us in this race but those who are themselves running it; every one else is a hindrance. When a Christian forms a intimate relationship with a ungodly person, from that moment all progress is at a standstill. See the ungodly person is going in a different direction, so to walk with them you must turn from the direction of God.

 

A man's course in religion may often seem to be right and progressive, but the undercurrent of his besetting sins is driving him contrary to where he is striving to get to.  Let us run on to the end.

Is He Calling For You?

John 11:28 "And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come and calleth for thee".

Do you hear Him? God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to save us and so that we could have everlasting life with Him. Now He is calling you to accept this free gift of salvation. Calling you out of a life of sorrow, death and despair into a life of peace, Joy, and happiness. Do you hear the call?
 

His call is a personal call, He is calling you by name. He is calling you to Himself," come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" is His call. It is a call to peace, so cast all of your cares upon Him for He cares for you. It is a call to a guilt free conscience as he calls you to a full pardon from sin into a new life with Him. He is calling you through His word, for it is a call of faith and faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. He is calling you to confess your sins for He is faithful and just to forgive your sins. He is calling you to repent of your sins that you might experience a new birth, and have a Holy life an abundant life. He is calling you to live an eternal life with Him in a prepared place, prepared just for you. Jesus is calling you, do you hear His call.

He is calling you because He wants to save you soul, He is calling you from your sorrows, from death, calling you out of darkness into His marvelous light. He is speaking to your heart, He is calling you, will you answer the call?

Mercy's Call

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".
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".


This is a voice of mercy, concerned about each one of us. Justice might slay the sinner, but mercy will slay the sin and spare the sinner. Yet the voice of holiness, is opposed to every mans evil way, and offers each person an acceptable life. The Lord Jesus did not come to be a minister of sin ,but a destroyer of sin. Let each of us examine our own selves, for we all have an evil way of our own. God is crying out with mercy, and from his message we first hear we must return. This includes three things; We must stop, stand still, go no further in our evil way. We must turn around, turning from our wicked way to seek Gods face. And we must hurry back, move in the right way and continue on the right path. Seeking the lost was so important to Jesus, that he said he would leave the ninety nine to save the one. So let us heed his call.

There are two things proper to a man that return: first, to go a way clean contrary to the way he went before; secondly to tread out and destroy his former steps. Many think the way to hell is but a little out of the way to heaven, but they would be deceived, sin is more than just a stepping off the path it is total rebellion against God, it is going away from God, so we must turn around, turn from our ways to turn to God's way. Jesus said" I stand at the door and Knock" let us answer his call, let us return to our loving Father like the prodigal son, let us hear his call of mercy.

In Him Is Life

Col. 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. Now thru our faith in the resurrection of Christ, God has blessed us with heavenly blessings which should occupy our every praise and thanksgiving. Christ resurrection shows us that Jesus is in fact the son of the living God. By it we know by faith that we have been raised to a new life, that we are saved and justified, given power to live victoriously over sin and the trials of this world.

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. God takes our faith in Jesus, and counts it as righteousness, 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 with a new heart, a new character, walk toward new aims from a new direction, and walking after new leaders. A heart ruled by the peace of Jesus Christ, a peace that passes all understanding. A peace 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, as we now do everything in the name of Jesus.  We have died to everything else, and now we live a life hid with Christ in God, so let us live our life in Christ;, for in Him is life.

Elevated Through A Humble Heart

Proverbs 25:6-7 "Put not forth thyself in the presence of the King, and stand not in the place of great men: For better it is that it be said unto thee,come up hither; than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince whom thine eyes have seen".

One of the most difficult things for us to do is to acknowledge our pride and choose to step into the path of humility. This can even be painful at first, with the first step being the hardest(admitting your pride.) But what comes after is a sense of peace and feeling the "high road" of a humble heart.

Humility lifts us out of the pit of our selfishness and places us on a higher plane of love, empathy, patience, and trust in God.In these ways, once we step down from our competitive, foolish self-exaltation, we actually step up to a place of wonderful contentment, knowing that God has our path mapped out, and if we are to be exalted, it will be at the right time in the right way, with none being trampled in the process. God will not elevate you on the back of another brother or sister in Christ. In order to take that first step down, we need to be able to see and acknowledge where we have been exalting ourselves. That may be something we are already aware of because God has been speaking to our conscience about it already, or it may be we are blind to and need God to show us. Either way, once we see the problem, we can begin to take action. We might have to wrestle with our pride, we might have to swallow some thing we don't like. we might even resent letting others get ahead of us, or hate losing the perks and special privileges that certain statue affords us. But once we put our feet to the path of humility we are on our way to the peace that only can come from God doing the exalting.

Contrary to what many think it is easy to fall into a prideful state. So we must always esteem other higher than ourselves.Seeking to walk in a life of humility is a daily battle, but remember God doesn't like the proud.  

The Light Of Love

1John 2:10 "he that loveth his brother lives in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him."
Walking in Darkness is a choice, as you cannot  simultaneously remain in darkness and walk in the light. To hate our brother we are not only walking in darkness, we are also abiding in death. Your brother is not limited to your prayer partner, members of your fellowship, your culture or your class, they are not just those you like and agree with you. The brethren are the universal body of believers who profess the name of Christ. Believers from every tribe, nation, kindred, and people. Jesus said "for whosoever shall do the will of my father which is in heaven, the same is my brother.

To Love is a commandment not an option." on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets," That we love God with all our heart, soul , and mind; and that we love our neighbor as ourselves. How can you profess to love God and hate one that he shed his blood to save. It hurts God when we hate one another, so how can you love him and yet continue to hurt him. The love of God will keep us from those things that leads us to hate our brother; every command pertaining unto God and his people will be fulfilled in the lives of believers who walk in his love, those who live in his light.
Love is light, walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. Love provides traction for our footing so that we do not stumble nor become a stumbling block to our brother's faith. We should have the kind of love for others that Christ had for us, we must be willing to lay down our life so that our weaker brother or sister can continue this journey without tripping over us. God's love is the light which lights our path along this journey, that we don't stray off the narrow road. So let us walk in the light, walk in God's love.. 

The Truth Sometimes Hurt

John 8:32 " And ye shall know the truth,and the truth shall make you free".
Jesus said "I am the way, the truth and the life",yet many struggle with what is the truth, and sharing the truth. There are time when even in the house of God, the truth is welcome for fear of running people out of the church, hurting feelings or even worst, crippling the collection plate. But it is only by the truth that man can be saved, and we who have been called by God must not only be willing to stand on the truth, to save a lost world.

Here we have Jesus teaching the truth of Gods word, and much like today he was met with opposition. We must be careful not to disregard something as being the truth, just because it goes against our personal beliefs, lifestyle and/or agendas. There is so much being taught in the house of God that is not the truth of Gods word, and yet we sit quietly by and let it be taught.The word of God didn't change because the world changed. If it was a sin in Abrahams day it is a sin today. The bible tells me "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today and forever", and since Jesus is the word of God made flesh I have to believe he hasn't changed. It is the truth of Gods word that makes us free from the lies and deception of the enemy. It is the truth of Gods word that makes us free of sin and the guilt of sin. His truth gives us the power to live a victorious life.

Jesus taught that when you believe the word of God you know the truth, and it is in this truth that we are made free. The truth is man was destined for hell, when God sent His only begotten son to die on a cross for the sin of the world. The truth is only those who believe this and receives Jesus Christ as both Lord and savior will be saved. The truth is God doesn't want our best, for His word says at our best we are but a filthy rag. What God wants is our all. When we give Him our heart He will give us eternal life. The truth is , as it was in the days of Noah, all who are not in the ark of safety when Jesus comes back will perish. So let us live in the truth of Gods word and be free from the wiles of the evil one..

Following or Walking Behind

1 Thessalonians 4:7 "For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness".


God is calling us, God speaks to us in various ways, and he is calling us to stand up in the holiness of his darling son he sent to die that we might live. Perhaps we've heard the still, small voice of his spirit directing our spirit. Or maybe our conscience has screamed at us when we've headed toward something we know isn't pleasing to God. Maybe some instruction in God's word has hit us squarely between the eyes when we've needed it most. And then there are the timely conversations with the other Christians that brings us a needed word of encouragement, direction, or warning. Yes God is speaking to us,calling us to holiness. But are we listening? Sometimes we're so busy with us, we don't really stop long enough to acknowledge or absorb what He's saying to us. At other times we may not want to hear what He's saying because it doesn't suit us. Or we may just not take the time when we have it, because we're "not in the mood" to spend time with God.

Hopefully, though this isn't the norm for us. As Christians, we should long to hear from God and approach Him with a heart that is eager to listen and please him. But it can be a battle to fight against our own will, as well as the will of the world's demands pressing in on our time and attention. That why it is so important to have some quiet time set aside everyday (maybe 2 or 3 times a day) just to spend time with God. Time set aside to listen to his instructions. The time of day we do this is not as important as having the readiness of heart and mind to not only receive what God is telling us, but also to obey what he tells us. God is calling us to holiness, the word says "be ye Holy as I am Holy", but we'll need to be listening in order to hear His call.

 

Jesus said that those who follow Him should live in such a way, so that others would see their good works and glorify God in Heaven. So our holiness is more than just a matter of personal spiritual growth; it's a matter of honoring God and proclaiming Him to the world. To most of the world we are the only way they will see God. Are you an accurate reflection of our Saviors? Does your actions, attitude, and way of life ,show Christ like characteristics? Will you answer God's call to Holiness?

Have You Answered The Call

Matthew 9:9 " And Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of customs: and he saith unto him, follow me, and he rose, and followed Him".

Do you hear Him? God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to save us and so that we could have everlasting life with Him. Now He is calling you to accept this free gift of salvation. Calling you out of a life of sorrow, death and despair into a life of peace, Joy, and happiness. Do you hear the call?

His call is a personal call, He is calling you by name. He is calling you to Himself, " come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest"is His call. It is a call to peace, so cast all of your cares upon Him for He cares for you. It is a call to a guilt free conscience, as he calls you to a full pardon from sin into a new life with Him. He is calling you through His word, for it is a call of faith, and faith comes by hearing . He is calling you to confess your sins for He is faithful and just to forgive your sins. He is calling you to repent of your sins that you might experience a new birth, and have a Holy and abundant life. He is calling you to live an eternal life with Him in a prepared place, prepared just for you. Jesus is calling you, do you hear His call.

He is calling you because He wants to save your soul, He is calling you from your sorrows, from death, calling you out of darkness into His marvelous light. He is speaking to your heart, He is calling you. Can you hear Him now, will you heed to His call?

He Still Saves

John 3:14 "and as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up:"

Here is the glorious invitation to all mankind, to come to the Lord and be saved. Here is God calling His people to assemble themselves together from among the ways of this world and lift up Jesus that those in darkness might be drawn to Him and be saved. His desire is that all turn from sin and return unto Him. He is both a just God and a willing Savior to all who will come. Here we have the way for all to come, If we lift up Jesus, that will draw all men unto Him. He and He alone is God's perfect plan of salvation.

There is only one who can save. And as Moses lifted up the serpent to save all who looked upon it when bitten by the fiery serpents in the wilderness, Jesus saves all who have been bitten by sin and look up to Him for salvation.  Look at the glory on the cross; Christ and Him crucified. The world was crucified, as he took on the sins of the world, like a felon executed upon the cross. The believer crucified, as we by faith accept the death of the Savior and walk in a newness of life. Knowing that our old man of sin is crucified with Christ, and the body of sin is destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin. Let us glory in the light seen at the cross, and tell the world that Jesus died that we might have everlasting life.

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. Look to Jesus and be saved. Through His death we have life.

Choose Wisely

Deuteronomy 30:19 "I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live".


The will of God is that none shall perish. Before each of us there is a choice. We can choose everlasting life, or we can choose death and eternal damnation. God has offered each of us the chance at life through the death of His son, yet many will by default choose death. What will you choose.

God loves us, but no matter how much He loves us, He still cannot lie. His word is truth and it must come to pass. True His desire is that none shall perish, but His word says the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God. He has given us all that we need to live with Him eternally. He has given us His righteousness. He has shared His mercy, given His grace, made His love available to all who desires it, and He accepted for us the wage paid by sin. He did all of this and more when He gave us Jesus. All that we need, every promise He made is fulfilled in Jesus the Christ, the answer to every prayer of mans heart.

We must be careful not to be deceived by the enemy. God is not mocked, and He know who are His. His word says, my sheep hear my voice and follow me. Are you following Jesus, or are you chasing after the things of this world in Jesus name. Remember He knows the difference. Will you choose life or have you by default chosen death.  

Stay On The Battle Field

2 Timothy 4:7 "I have Fought a good fight,I have finished my course, I have kept the faith".

We must keep moving forward, trials will come and sacrifices will be required, but we must stay the course. These test help us to build godly character. James wrote" count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works  patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

 It is the going through trials which helps in the perfecting us for this long journey home. Jesus cautions us to count the cost of traveling this road, just as we would with any major endeavor. No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for God's kingdom. Jesus expects us to finish what we start. Just as a small child learns to walk, we may be wobbly at first, stumbling in this new way of life. The temptations and trials we face will sometimes cause us to stagger and fall. But remember that God the Father and Jesus Christ are there to comfort and help us each step of the way. Our job is to keep striving with God's help and to become mature Christians. Living God's way must always be our priority. We must continually" seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.

There are something's that can help us stay the course through the many challenges we will encounter along the way. We must stay in prayer and continue in the study of God's word. Also fellowshipping with other true believers can be a tremendous encouragement in living our new lives dedicated to God. Jesus said not everybody who says Lord, Lord will enter into His Kingdom, only those who do the will of the Father. We are given a choice as to what we will do, but Jesus clearly expects that we do our part in remaining faithful to Him. We must produce fruit in our lives that is pleasing to God.Stay the course, we come to far to turn back now.

Slipping Into Darkness

James 1:14-15 "but every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

God wants to live among His people, but sometimes we don't want Him around. (let us be honest) Sometimes do to our fallen nature there are lust and desire we chose to surround ourselves in, that keeps God on the outside of our lives. Sin doesn't rush in and over take us, it is first a simple suggestion, then it becomes a strong imagination, then a delight, then it is accepted. In other words, sin at first does not necessarily appear disgusting to us. In fact sin frequently fascinates us and appeals to our fallen nature. Unless we immediately flee from it, we can easily slip into the darkness of sin. We must recognize it for what it is, a rebellion against God.

Despite God's faithfulness to His people, time and time again, we turn away from him and worship and serve the Idols we have built in our lives. We reject God and embrace the lust of the flesh and the worldly desires that appeal to our carnal nature. Though the Idols and the packaging of sin may appear different than it did to the Israelites, its basic nature is still the same. Sin can hide itself  so that it becomes so beautiful to look at, so wonderful to touch, and so sweet to taste, yet the end there of is still death. Idols today are still made of wood, stone, and metal, but we call them houses, cars, money, and the biggest Idol is the god of flesh, our self. As the writer of Hebrews said, its always tempting to "enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season". In many forms and guises, sin still allures and entices us and charms us to do its bidding, by offering to satisfy desires that pleases  us, but violate God's truth and commandments.

Once sin has won one victory in our lives, it will be even more persistent in securing greater victories. Therefore, we give it power over our lives every time we surrender to it, until sin no longer has to hide its true hideous nature. But by then we are already firmly locked in its grip. Let us not dabble in sin and slip into darkness. But if we find yourself in the darkness of sin, remember Jesus the light of the world, will save you from the grips of sin. Seek him and be saved...................

Come To Jesus

Matthew 11:28 " Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest".

The invitation, Jesus said "come" to him, a different command than that of the Pharisees who said you must do this or that. Jesus offered a different kind of yoke. Jesus is asking us to come to Him so that we could receive a well fitting yoke, one that is not a burden, but will bring us rest. Jesus yoke is tied to the grace of God and results in salvation, based on faith, and not on personal effort, we need to only believe. Jesus wants those of us who follow him to throw off the yoke of legalism we were once hitched. To cast all of our cares, concerns, problems, and circumstances on Him. Jesus' plan to lift the yoke off all who are shackled to their circumstances.

Jesus invites the weary to come to Him so they can experience rest for their souls. The key to experiencing this rest is having a right relationship with God, something that can happen only if you have a personal relationship with Jesus. We all have responsibilities that drain us and difficulties that wear us down. We can let the world drag us down its weary path, or we can join our lives with Jesus, who wants us  to know that He's eager to have us in His yoke of care, guiding us, giving us help for our present needs, and assuring us that He has a plan for us that includes rest, peace, and everlasting life.

So he tell us to come, leave where you are, the situation you are in and come to him.The promise is when you come to Him with everything he will give you rest. Rest from worry, from need, from doubt, rest from the cares of this world, for He has over come the world. Come seek first His kingdom and He will supply your every need. Come to Jesus and live life everlasting in a peace which surpasses all understanding...

In Spite of

Hosea 3:1 " Then said the Lord unto me,Go yet,love a woman beloved of her friend,yet an adulteress, according to the Lord toward the children of Israel,who look to other gods,and love flagons of wine."

God's love for us is unconditional.He loves us inspite of, and Jesus tells us to love one another as He has loved us.See we are to love each other regardless.Not so much because of who we are, or who they are ,but because of whose we claim to be and who they belong to.Jesus died to save the whole world. All souls belong to Him and He shed just as much blood for the least of them as He did the greatest of them.

Here in our text God tells Hosea to go marry a harlot or a prostitute.See he wanted Hosea to feel what He feels when those who claim to be His go a whoring around with other gods.See we claim to be part of the bride of Christ ,yet we fornicate and committe adultry,as we play footsy under the covers with the enemy.With our lips we tell the Lord we love Him yet our actions show a love for another.In our story after Gomar was taken from a beautiful woman down to a as we say today a skank,God told Hosea to go and buy her back and love her inspite of.After sin has taken us from being in the image and likeness of God, down to something born in sin and shaped in iniquity,God sent His only begotten Son to redeem us back and He loved us inspite of.

Nobody forces us to profess Christianity,so it is the profession of our own faith.So if you profess to be Christ like, live Christ like and love like Christ loves.We must love inspite of.We must love even the worst of men,after all in Gods eyes at one time we were all the worst of men.And no matter who you are,when it comes to salvation we are all the same, lost in need of a savior,and all must come to Christ the same way.Let us love one another unconditionally.