How You Tell The Story Matters

John 4:29" Come,see a man,which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ".

Here Jesus' interview with the Samaritian woman establishes,for all the readers of John's Gospel, that salvation is for everyone,regardless of social, or racial position.If we want to be an effictive witness for the Lord, we must be willing to cross all barriers.The wall of separation has been destroyed,God is now accessable to all through Jesus Christ.Let us invite all to "come see a man".It it does matter how you tell the story.

In this scene at Jacob's well,the metaphor of water that satisfied the woman's physical thirst represents the need for spiritual nourishment that can satisfy the thirsty soul.Jesus initiated the conversation by asking for a drink.He then offered her "living water" that would meet her eternal needs.We must realize that Jesus is that one thing that meets our most basic need.Jesus did not rush His discussion with the woman.He began where she was,drawing water.We too should share at the other person's pace,meet them where they are in Christ.We all have a story to share, if Jesus has changed our life.When Jesus told the woman that He was the Messiah, the woman went immediately to share her experience with those in her town.She invited all to "come see a man", she challenged them to answer for themselves:  "could this be the Christ?" 

How will you tell the story?Will you invite all to come and see? When a Christian shares his or her story with excitment and passion,they never know how far the gospel will reach.we don't realize that  one changed life can change the world.Jesus started with twelve,look how far their testimony have come.Let us tell our story and lead others to come see a man.............

What He Has For Me

Isaiah 64:4 "For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard, nor percieved by ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God beside thee, what he hath prepared for them that waiteth for him".

  This christian journey we have embarked upon has many unknowns.It is full of challenges, obsticals, opportunities,temptations, stumblings blocks, and barriers.It is a narrow road we must travel, and along the way we will slip,trip and fall. We will stumble, have doubts and sometimes even entertain the thought of giving up. But the word of God tells us to press on towards the mark of the high calling of God, so quitting is not an option.No matter where the journey leads us we must trust that Jesus will never fail.With every twist and turn with every peak and valley we overcome, it brings glory to God and salvation to a dying soul. Every obstical and challenge we are faced with is a opportunity for us to be molded,shaped and fashioned into that which God has called us to be.No matter what it is we are going thru it is working together with Gods purpose for our good.Whatever happens is part of God amazing plan of salvation, which he ordained from the foundation of the world.

   For since the beginning of the world men have not heard; they have not either by hearing or seeing come into the full knowledge of Gods goodness. No man has seen, nor can understand the provision made by God for the future happiness of holy souls. Neither seen by eye nor heard by any ear, nor has entered into the heart of any man, what God has prepared for them who love him; those that wait for him,that await the promise salvation designed for us.No eye has seen ,nor ear heard because it is hid in God.Our true happiness is bound up in the richness of Christ, obtainable only by his guidence and through his grace. The goodness God has prepared for us and preparing us for, are laid up in the riches of Christ for those that fear him and trust him.The goodness which awaits all believers; the things made available to all who commune with him in spirit and in truth,are laid up in Christ. What God has for those who work righteousness,for those who are cheerful in doing the whole duty, as he delights himself in the Lord. Those who obey him and submit to his will, making mention of him in all that we do, as we walk in a way worthy of the name by which we are called.

  For the eye hath not seen another god beside thee O God. A God who was accused of my faults, a God tried for my charges, a God convicted of my sins and yet he never said a mummling word; a God whipped for my transgressions, bruised for my iniquities, a God who served my sentence as he suffered bleed and died on a cross that I might have a right to the good things God has in store for me. Jesus the Christ the good thing God has for all who will believe.

Rest Stop

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

Here we have an inventation from the Lord, all things are ready.It is the great gospel cry,let him who hath ear hear,let whosoever will, come; for today is the day of salvation harden not your hearts.All things ready, all things prepared, all things removed which would hinder our comming and accepting this invite.Jesus has made himself known to us, he's giving us the opportunity to learn of him. It is finished, the foundation laid, the great invitation now offered, but we must accept it.It's offered to all who realize the burden of sin,those who are convienced of the evil of sin,those tired of being in and of the world, chasing its' joys and toys, its treasures and pleasures,there is a promised rest,and all are invited.

First we must come to this rest, for it is in the best interest for sinners to come to Jesus.We must disassociate ourselves with all that stands between us and the promised rest of the Lord.We must give ourselves up to his conduct, submit to his rule and come to him freely,willingly and on his terms.It's his rest offered to all, but only given to those who truly desire his salvation.Let us come to him and take on his yoke,laying down our yoke of sin,for his yoke is easy.Take his yoke,for his yoke will free us from the bondage of sin and death. Take on his yoke of a servant, so that we might be diligent in our service to God.His yoke of submission, that we will humbly and patiently wait on our change to come.His yoke of obedience,that we might walk in his commands and his statues; yoked together with his love,that we have love one for another.Take on his yoke and learn of him,his yoke, that is lined with love and carries the hope of heaven.

Enter this promised rest.The rest that comes from Jesus, the rest that is with Jesus, the rest that is in Jesus, in fact the rest is Jesus. He gives it to every soul that comes to him in faith seeking this rest.Come rest from the terror of sin, the power of sin,and the guilt of sin.Jesus Christ our rest in the Lord. Come And he will give us rest

Promises Fulfilled

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

God promised us eternal Life,an abundant life,a peaceful and restful life, and this promise and all others were fulfill when He gave us His only begotten Son, Jesus the Christ.Here 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 then 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............

Like Father -Like Son?

1John 3:10 "In this the children of God and the devil are manifest:Who ever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother".

The scripture reveals that God's children occasionally sin after baptism.But they do not practice that which is not godly,to continue in His favor,they must not only confess to Him but also ask Him to "cleanse them from unrighteousness". We cannot please God if we deliberately practice sinning.True some ungodly habits are deeply ingrained from early childhood and may not be easy to overcome. The effects of such sin fosters serious weaknesses in our walk.It may take a long period of diligent striving and desire to finally overcome.Paul tells us:"Put to death, therefore,whatever belongs to your earthy nature",and we can accomplish this through the power of God's Spirit.

James puts God's requirements in perspective:"Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water?Can a fig tree, my brethren,produce olives, or a vine produce figs?Neither can salt water produce fresh.Who among you is wise and understanding?Let Him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentlness of wisdom.But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth.This wisdom is not that which comes down from above,but is earthly,natural, demonic.For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing".(James 3:11-16 NASB)

God is love.Love is the foundation of God's character.God's love in us should transform our character. "Love is patient,love is kind,and is not jealous;love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecoming; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;bears all things, believes all things,hopes all things, endures all things.Love never fails.Every other aspect of the fruit of the spirit is merely a specific expression of godly love.We are not just to love our friends and family ,but also love those who do not love us,for which we need God's Spirit to help us.We must overcome evil with good. Let us be known as a child of God by portraying the fruits of God's Spirit

It's Not about Us

John 15:5 "I am the vine,ye are the branches;he that abideth in me,and I in him,the same bringeth forth much fruit;for without me ye can do nothing."

Salvation, the wonderful gift from God.A gift so precious, God didn't leave any part of it up to us.He gave His son to be the sacrifice,His spirit to draw us,and it is by His word that we are cleaned.There is nothing about salvation that we can take credit for.We can't even come to know salvation unless the spirit of God draws us to Jesus.The only thing God left us with, is the choice, we could choose life or we could by default choose death.

Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches,and aside from the vine the branch can do nothing, yet many walk through life staking claim to glory that belongs to God.It dosn't matter what it is that you have,what you have done, or how gifted you are ,all good and perfect gifts come from God and all the glory is due to Him.Our worship is a blessing from God, our testimony is a blessing from God, our salvation is a blessing from God, all that we have is a blessing from God.We must be careful not to get caught up on self and who we are, how saved we are, or how much we got,and make sure that all we do is bringing  honor to God.If you are satisfied and God is not being glorified, chances are you are doing the wrong thing.Jesus called us to bear witness that He lives, and the best way to bear this truth is to allow Him to live through you.One of the greatest witnesses in the bible is Lazarus, he never says a word yet his witness was so strong ,the religious leaders wanted to kill him because his life glorified God,leading others to believe.

Jesus says He is the vine, it is the vine that contains all of the branches needs.Notice the branch does nothing,everything is done by the vine through the branch and for the branch.Jesus wants us to be willing branches on the vine that He might work His plan of salvation through us.Let us truly become branches on the vine and let the Lord have His way with our lives,after all it is not about us.

The Cycle Of Death

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

There was a commercial on T.V. that said "I do coke so I can work real hard to buy more coke so I can work real hard."Just a dangerous cycle that can only have one ending, death.That is what a life of sin is,it is a cycle of death.But through the love of God we can now leave this cycle of death.God wants to live among His people.But due to our fallen nature there are lusts and desires we choose to surround ourselves in, that keeps God on the outside of our lives.Sin doesn't rush in and over take us,it is invited in. 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 get caught up in the grips of sin.We must reconize it for what it is, a rebillion 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 and disguise 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,money, cars and the biggest Idol is the god we've made out of flesh,ourself.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, it charms us to do its bidding, by offering to satisfy desires that are pleasurable to us, but violate God's truth and His 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 fall into its pitfalls and complete the Circle of death.But if we find that we have fallen to sin, the good news is we have Jesus The Christ,the power of God to break this cycle of death.

Open The Door To Your Heart

Revelations 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock:if any man hear my voice,and open the door,I will come in to him,and will sup with him and him with Me".

" He came unto His own,and His own received him not.But as many as received Him,to them gave he power to become the sons of God,even to them that believed on His name". Jesus suffered, bled and died on an old rugged cross to save the whole world.But to be save you must accept His death as your own,you must believe Jesus died for you.You must let Him in to your life.Jesus is knocking have you opened the door to your heart?

Jesus says "I stand at the door and knock".Jesus is standing at the door of our hearts and He is knocking. He came to seek and to save the lost.He is humbling asking to come in,For if any man hears His voice and open,He will do the rest,He will come in.He said "the day that you hear my voice harden not your heart".See today is the accepted day of salvation,so open your heart to receive Him,and open your mind to believe Him.He will come in and sup with you and you with Him.Feast on the bread of life,O taste and see the goodness of the Lord.He is no respect of person he said "if any man hear My voice,"So he is standing and knocking on the door to the hearts of all men, and all women.He is calling out to you, let him who has an ear hear what the spirit and the bride say.Open the door to your heart that he might come in.

Jesus came from heaven to earth to show us the way to salvation.He did everything that was needed for us to enjoy everlasting life with the Father.All he ask of us is just to believe and let Him in.Let us receive the free gift of salvation and everlasting life with our Savior.Open the door and let Him in.

God So Loved............

John 3:16 "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".

Here we have the most popular,the most quoted and no doubt the most misunderstood scriptures in the bible.It is misunderstood because of man inability to grasp the love of God.We tend to love base on how we feel about the person or the situation.We love with expectations,we love with our eyes,we love what we see, taste,and can feel.But here Jesus reveals God's great love.

 

"God so loved the world",He loved the whole world.The ideal that God loves the world is a new idea. The Jews believed God loved the religious and hated the non religious.These same thoughts are held by many in every generation,especially by the religious community.The Fact that God so loves, is shocking.He loves the saint and the sinner.God loves everyman,not just those who love Him but also those who reject Him.He loves the unlovable,the unloving,the unbelieveing,the obstinate, the selfish, the greedy, the spiteful,and the vengeful.The basic of Gods Love is his nature,for God is love. He didn't just love ,He so loved.He loved so much that he gave his only begotten Son. He gave not only all he had but the best that he had, like Abel offering the best of his fruits,like the woman with the two mites, giving all that she had.He gave His only Son to suffer judgement for my sins and yours.He gave His only son to be punished for our sins."God commended His love toward us that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us".He gave His only son to die for sinners.He did this so that we who rebelled against Him, we who cried with one voice "crucify Him and give us Barabas", so that we the sinner might have eternal life with Him in heaven.He gave so that we might have,His Son died so that we might live.

 

When the world said we were not fit to live, God felt we were to precious to die,and he gave His only begotten Son ,not based on our love for Him,but because of His love for us.Let us now take this love we have been blessed to experience and share it with another,that all may come to know the goodness of the Lord.Let us love inspite of.Don't just talk about loving one another, but like our Father, show our love one to another. Let us give the best of ourselves and all of our selves that another might be saved.

Where Will You Stand?

Matthew 25:33 "And he shall set the sheep on his right hand,but the goats on the left".

Rather we believe it ,accept it  or even care about it, Jesus is coming back again.He is not coming to seek and to save the lost this time,He is not coming back for ministries,denominations,positions,or titles, no this time he is coming for his church,the church without spot or blemish.He has forwarned us that not all who cry Lord ,Lord will get in ,but only those that do the will of the Father.So I ask  when Jesus comes where will you stand.

There is only one way to salvation, one way to be the righteousness of God and that way is Jesus the Christ.The only begotten of God, who died on a cross, rose the third day morning with all power in His hands that we might live.God has called us out, separated us from the world to bear witness to him. This is not just to be lip service ,but we are to bear witness in the way we live our life.Here Jesus says He will separate the sheep from the goats.See the sheep are those who lived the life they bore witness to. They fed those who hungered and thirst after righteousness, sharing the word of God with a dying  world.They took in the stranger, loving him the way Christ loved us.Clothing him in the word and promises of God,that he might be healed and set free of the prison on sin and the guilt of  sin.These were His sheep,these He set on His right hand, the hand of honour.But the goats, he placed on His left hand.These are those who looked out only for themselves.They didn't have love one for another,as Christ said those that belong to Him would have.

When the Son of man come in all His glory and all the nations are gathered and He begins to separate His sheep from the goats,I ask where will you stand?Will he say welcome my good and faithful servant, or will you hear the words depart from me,ye are cursed into everlasting fire?

Total Surrender

⁴Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye?

Here we have Jesus at the end of His earthly ministry.Here He is in the garden preparing to drink from the cup.The garden where it all begin, sin begin in the garden,and his suffering began in the garden,and in the garden was where the redeemer was promised.Here is Jesus, the promised seed  making ready to bruise His heel on the head of the serpant.Jesus knew His Father's will was for him to die for the sin of the world,and he knew he would need His Fathers help,so here he is in the garden seeking His Fathers face.Here we have a great picture of total surrender, for knowing all things that should come upon him,Jesus went forth.

Jesus knew the awful separation from God he would endure because of our sins, yet he went forth.He knew he would be cut off from God's presence,that His Father would have to forsake Him,and turn His back on Him, because he was covered with our sins,yet he went forth.He knew the coming judgement on sin that would be excersied upon Him by his Father;knowing all things that should come upon Him he went forth.When they tried to make him king he withdrew and disapeared in the crowd,yet he went forth to be our sacrifice.He went forth in complete surrender,he went voluntarily,

he was not driven, he was lead like a sheep to the slaughter,he went forth.He knew of the suffering, pain and the impending judgement that lied ahead,yet he went forth.He knew he would be rejected, despised, sold out ,lied on abandoned, slapped, spit on, falsely accused, whipped all night long and then nailed to a cross,yet he still went forth.The world he came to save was coming to kill him and he didn't hide in the garden like Adam,he went forth.

Jesus went forth that we might be spared,He went forth to die so we might go forth and live a life that is pleasing to God.He went forth to save us ,that we might go forth to lead others to the salvation of the Lord Jesus stepped forth in our place that we might step forth to save someone else.Knowing all that should come upon him, Jesus looked beyond all our faults and saw our needs and he went forth in total surrender.The question,Will you go forth in is name in total surrender?

The Real Truth

John 8:32 " And ye shall know the truth,and the truth shall make you free".


In the NBA Paul Pierce is known as the truth, but is he the real truth?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 struggled with and not welcome for fear of running people out of the church, or 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 , but we must also be willing to share the truth even if it hurts feelings, 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 recieves Jesus Christ as both Lord and saviour will be saved.The truth is God dosn'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..

The Way Of Love

 John 14:15 "If you love me keep my commandments".

"I love you" these words can be heard many times a day all around the world and in every language. But what does it truly mean to say "I love you", if there is no action  showing the love being profess. Love is an action not a phrase,yet many use the phrase without displaying the action.It has become a word of convience.We say I love you for personal gain,to decieve,and many times as an excuse for unexcusable behavior.( The man who batters his wife and says it is because he loves her so much). But what is real love, what is the way of love?

Jesus says if you love me,keep my commandments.Now on the surface this might seem like a tall order,but in reality it is no different than what we expect out of those who profess to love us. You expect that if your wife/husband loves you ,that they will keep the marriage vows they made. You expect the children who say they love you to be obedient and keep the rules of the house.So when Jesus says "If you love me keep my commandments" it really shouldn't seem that strange a request. What are His commandments, to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart soul and might" and "to love one another as I have loved you."Is this such a strange thing to request? Can't we who profess to be Christ like, love Christ like?How can we say we have been born of the spirit of God, yet at the same time, not possess the love of God, when His spirit is one of love.

Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life. Jesus is the way of love , the truth of what love is, and the life of love we are to live.Let us walk and communicate that love to a lost and dying world that they may come to know the true way of love..............

True Worship

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


We often make empty sacrifices to God and then try to pass it off as worship.Forced worship is not what makes God first in our lives.Worship must come from a voluntary desire of our hearts to obey and follow Him.We must at all times realize that God is truly the most important thing in our lives and the only thing that truly matters.It is then we can return Him to His rightful place as the head of our lives.

The Apostle Paul understood this as he cried to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God.This is worship, we can no longer conform our worship to the patterns of this world.Ours is a life of sacrifice and service.We worship God with our life,everything about us should  now be a sacrifice unto Him."Not my will but thine will be done" should be our daily prayer.Our whole life is one of sacrifice and our living is a praise unto His name as we live a life pleasing to God.The act of worship will always cost us as we deny ourselves daily and joyfully give of ourselves to His will.

Today our idea of sacrifice is often limited to the couple of hours we give up on Sundays when we go to church.If this is your idea of sacrifice and worship you truly must do some reorganizing of your priorities.sacrifice is giving God our first, our all and our best.God demands first place in our lives, and not just on sunday mornings.Give God the first of your fruits He has blessed you with and see how good God really is...............

Heart Condition

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".

Many claim to have said yes to Jesus,but have they truly surrendered to Him their hearts.See it is easy to say let go and let God,but to do this one must truly let go.They have to be willing to let go of everything and everyone.They must be willing to let go of family , friends, material gain, jobs, and most importantly, they must let go of self and its will.Jesus told the rich young ruler to sell everything,give it to the poor,take up his cross and follow;and this is where we lose so many.We must let it go and let God give us that he wants us to have,according to his will,not our want.

See what you want in your life might not be the same thing as what God has planned for your life.To say yes to God ,might mean having to give up that job which you think is so great,because you make a lot of money ,but it leaves you no time to serve and worship God.To say yes to God might mean you have to let go of the house you have become a slave to, or that nice car you have begun to idolize, or to leave those friends who hinder your spiritual growth;or let go of that sinful realationship you are currently involved in.(fornacation,and adultry are still sins,contrary to popular demand).Some think that God wants all christians to have worldly wealth,but my bible tells me that he wants us to depend upon Him to supply our needs, and if we would be honest with ourselves,we know that if we had a bank full of money ,we would tend to lean on it more that we would lean on God.Now I'm not saying all who have plenty haven't surrendered to God,there are many who hold on to the things in their life, more than they are reaching out to God.

Our text says that many draw near to the Lord with lip service,we say all the right stuff, we do honor him with our lips, but our hearts are really with the things that we feel God has blessed us with.We have begun 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.It is a condition of the heart.

Blessed 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.Truly we were blessed with 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.Blessed 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 a blessing in 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 we have been blessed from the empty tomb, will you share this good news?

 

A Love To Hold On To

Song of Solomon 3:4 " It was but a little that I passed from them,but I found him whom my soul loveth:I held him,and would not let him go,until I had brought Him into my mothers house,and into the chamber of her that concieved me".

The writter starts of with the phrase"I passed from them",We must go beyond the fellowship of the best of men,and commune with the keeper whom our soul loves.Our love must lead to action:"I sought Him"Those who truly love Jesus will seek him with all they have.And those that find Him will hold on to Him with all their might;and they will have to share Him; as the prophet said "It's like fire shut up in my bones",When you truly have Jesus you can't help but to share Him with all you see.

See the love of Jesus creates in our hearts ,love one for another.When we have him he lives within our spirits,His mind is our mind,his will is our will,and he is seen by others in all that we do.But first we must find Him;to find Christ ,one just needs to seek Him. The writter says "I found Him"; I a man,found the Lord of Glory;I a slave to sin, found the great delieverer;I, a child of darkness,found the light of the world;I the uttermost of the lost ,found my Savior and my God.Now I hold Him;Holding Him by not offending Him.First by being lazy,when the soul turns sleepy or careless,we tend to put Christ away.By beholden to Idols,for you can't serve two masters,nor hold on to two things.By being unwilling to be santified,or dwelling in an unholy house,we must remember to take Christ home with us,and let Him rule the house.If you only walk with Christ at church and never take Him home,you will soon part company with him forever.So hold on to Him and share Him with all.

When you diligently search for Christ in your heart, he shall be found,but then you must hold to Him by learning of Him,by loving Him,by obeying Him.Build a personal one on one realationship with him,then share him.Bring him to your house,not in word only but let others see him in you by your actions,and attitude.They say you can share anything you have,got Jesus?

Conviction to Conversion

Judges 10:15 "And the children of Israel said unto the Lord,We have sinned:do thou unto us whatsoever seemeth good unto thee;deliever us only,we pray thee,this day".

Repentence Starts with in the heart, with an acknowledgement of the truth as to what we have done and a deliberate turning away from the sin.Then we must make a conscience decision that we will love the Lord with all our heart,soul and mind serving Him only.This love will be evident in our obedience to His word,and our love for one another.Conviction is the first step to true conversion.
 

Many time we call out to the Lord to save us from situation or a circumstance.We make various promises to God saying if you get me out of this or that I will serve you with all my heart.But once delievered, we often times fall back into the same old routine, once again forgetting God and our promise to Him.In our story today the children of Israel once again turned from God to worship idols,and when they found themselves in trouble they once again cried out to the one true and living God.But this time God told them to call on the god's they had been serving.But the Children of Israel continued to cry out even confessing their sins,they turn from their wicked ways and was seeking the salvation of the Lord.
 

A broken and contrite heart the Lord can't deny;The Israelites put away the forgien gods and turned to the Lord.Like a sensitive mother who can't bear to hear her baby's cry, God's heart melted,He forgave their rebelliousness, and rescued them once again from their enemies.God always hears and responds to repentant people.It is a convicted heart that leads to a converted soul and a saved life....

Believe In The Promises

Deut. 1:21--"Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee;Go up and posses it, as the Lord God of the fathers hath said unto thee, fear not, neither be discouraged".

   The mission was complete, the twelve men had returned from their undercover surveillance of enemy territory. They now stood before their fellow country men. The report came in ; the land is good! But ten said it's impossible to possess, the people are too strong, its cities to well defended, and it's a land which eateth up the inhabitants. The people were swayed, they abandoned their invasion plans, and elected to return to the enslavement from which they had been delivered.They failed to believe in the promise.

We live in a 24/7 media world; it consist of television, radio, internet,phones newspapers, books, magizines and the trusted word of mouth.It's a media which even when factual, it can be misleading, prejudicial and often very one sided.Its truth are generally based on the opinons of the ones telling the story.We have televison programs swaying people to believe certain lifestyles are acceptable;some of our music degrades ,defiles and encourages ungodly living. The secular media tells us "it's your life , life it your way to the fullest", while some religious media tells us"Jesus died for your sins so you can live any kind of life,and God understands".Thus many are swayed to abandon Gods perfect plan for our lives,and return to the enslavement of sin to which we have been made free.

 The word of God says "I can do ALL things through Christ who Strenghtens me",  who are we going to believe ?, The report of the world, or the word of God?We walk by faith in the promises of God's word,not by the sight of the lies the world shows us. The challengers might be strong but my God is stronger, the problems might seem like giants but our God is Bigger.We're are at the door step of our breakthrough, let us walk on by faith into the promised rest, in the promised land that God has prepared for those who trust and believe him.Believe In the promises of God 

Highway To Heaven

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 what the bible actually teaches.Many think as long as they believe in Jesus,attend church occasionally and are basically good people,that they are living a life pleasing to God.Religion to many,is more or less whatever they want it to be,and this message is sometimes taught in many congregations today in an effort to fill pews rather than saving souls.Some think that any personal religious preference or practice, as long as it is motivated by good intentions is acceptable to God. They see modern christianity as being a mile wide and a inch deep, but mile wide Christianity is not the path to God's kingdom,rather according to Jesus it is the highway to destruction.

Many teach all you need to do is believe in Jesus and you go to heaven,there is no need for change just  believe.We must be careful not to be decieved that it is acceptable to to worship God the way we want,refashioning Him in our own image,shaping his word to fit our life style,and thinking this is a godly way of life?Is this traveling on the narrow road?Is simply believing on Jesus as Lord and savior enough to enter eternal Life? Jesus said not all who cry Lord, Lord will enter into the kingdom of Heaven.So is simply believing enough?The bible say the devil believes and trembles,so our believing should bring about an action also. What does it mean to believe? Remember God said "your ways are not my ways";Man believes with his mind,but God's word says to believe in thine heart.See our belief in Jesus must be in the heart so that it can change our heart.It is when we believe in our hearts that we can truly deny ourselves,and follow Christ on the narrow road.It is when we believe in our heart that we can honestly and boldly confess with our  mouth that Jesus is Lord.Then we can live by a faith that will keep us when the cares of this world try to lead us down the broad road.

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.As it was in Jesus day,many put their faith in the words and opinions of the religious teachers they like the most and whose teaching agrees with their lifestyles.Few look to God's word  in the scripture as the primary source of their belief.If you really want to follow God according to His instructions,let us honestly take a look at where our current worship habits and the way we live our lives come from.We need to ask ourselves whether they come from scripture or not,are the teachers we follow,faithful to God's word or are they teaching ideals and opinions to fill the pews and collection plates.The answer to these question will help you determine if you are on the highway to heaven.

Deceiving One's Self

Romans 8:7-8 " Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God".

There are many religions and religious groups today. In fact religion is the fastest growing organized group in the world today.But all religion is not holy,and all is not of Christ.There are many beliefs falsely labeled"Christian" and are taught under the name of Jesus Christ.His name is used as a mask for religious philosophies and doctrines that didn't originate with Him or any of His apostles.There are many teachings and followings of gospels full of lawlessness and counterfiet righteousness and is just a natural expression of what we call human nature.

Paul wrote the mind is hostle to God, it does not submit to God's law nor can it do so.Those who are controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.Our natural choice isn't to obey God,but to resist Him and His way of life.As a result, alternatives to the true message of Christ have been devised to accommodate the natural human unwillingness to live by God's commandmants.A message to apease the wants needs and desires of the flesh.Most people who accept these lawless precepts are no doubt sincere.They have accepted and truly believe a fake message which has been taugh and preached for centuries."The delusion is very powerful,the coming of the lawless one is according to the working of satan,with all power, signs, and lying wonders,and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish,because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved.And for this reason God will send them a strong delusion,that they should believe the lie." (2 Thessalonians 2:9-11).

Under the influence of Satan,"the god of this age", mankind has been thoroughly blinded.The devil's unseen power so dominates humanity that "the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.  Many people have accepted a counterfeit gospel,a message full of fluff,and stuff, with no conviction. There must be conviction in the heart if there is going to be a true conversion of the soul.You cannot be pardon of a crime, unless you have been convicted of a crime.Don't be deceived , seek the truth of God's message.

Bringing Satan To Worship!

Job1:6 "Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord,and Satan came also among them".

Every time we come together to present ourselves before the Lord, Satan has a tendency to be among us. But clearly this cannot be acceptable worship,for nothing that satan does can be accepted.We must come to God by faith,or our worship is dead and unprofitable.We must learn to walk in the spirit putting to death the flesh and the lust thereof so that when we come to present ourselves to the Lord Satan is not among us.He come but to still the word, kill the spirit and destroy the soul of all he comes in contact with.He brings mischief to the sons of God by accusing them before the Lord night and day; by causing them to take their thoughts off the heavenly and they begin to worry about earthly concerns Jesus has already overcome.He causes division in the body by sowing dissensions and the people criticize one another, instead of hearing the gospel message.He causes preachers,teachers, choir singers and even a good praying deacon to become filled with pride and seek glory that belongs to God alone.He tries to quinch the spirit , silence the prayer and even chill the praise of the worship service.

He distracts the unsaved from hearing the message that might lead them to Christ,by raising doubts, putting the man before the master.He may cause them to delay giving there life to Christ,showing them all that is wrong so the enjoyment felt is now hindered, as he takes away the word sown to the heart like a bird eating up newly planted seed.You cannot destroy a hornets nest without being attacked in return. Since we know satan will enter our assemblies,we must make sure we are not the one he is riding with, and we don't give him a place to sit when he enters the congregation.

We must continue to present ourselves to the Lord, even though we know many who confess a false profession will be in attendance.But let us do a great soul searching and ask ourselves daily "Lord is it I",so that we are not the ones with the false profession. We must be more watchful as we pray, for the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak,that we give not into the temptations of the flesh.Our preachers and teachers must be more faithful to the gospel truth,that the devil will not find comfort in the congregation, but will be annoyed by the truth which he hates.We must allow the truth of God's word to convict  the heart,then it will convert the soul and bring about true confessions from the mouth.(You cannot confess to something you are not guilty of.).Let us strive for the perfect assembly above where there be no mixture, but a sinless congregation.

Have You Been Changed?

Romans 6:4 "Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death:that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father,even so we also should walk in newness of life".

Genuine repentance leads us to the unconditional surrender of our will to God.When we come to that point  Peter said the next step is to be baptized for the remission of sins(acts 2:38). Baptism is a true reminder of several deep spiritual truths. It represents the death, burial, and resurrection, of both Jesus and ourselves. Baptism shows that we accept the shed blood of Christ for our sins and pictures the death of the old man in the baptismal grave. As Jesus was resurrected a spiritual being,our comming out of the grave,rising out of the baptismal water, symbolizes our new spirit led life.Understanding  the true meaning of repentence and conversion lifts baptism to much more than just a symbol; it becomes a life changing event.It was so important that Jesus himself was baptized by John at the Jordan.

Baptism is not the conclusion of the conversion process,it marks the beginning for us.Paul tells us in our scripture, that going down into the water the old man is dead , along with his ways and his will, and since dead we are no longer servant to sin and the lust there of.Being raised out of the water we should come up a new creature in Christ,walking in the spirit as to no longer fulfil the lust of the flesh. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change of heart and mind.We are no longer like the old man, rebellious, disobedient to the will ,word and way of God.We have taken off the old self with its practices and have  put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its creator.

Hebrews 9:14 tells us that Jesus sacrifice,which we formally accept at baptism,cleanses our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.Through Christ's sacrifice, the waters of baptism wash away the sin in our lives(acts 22:16) we can go forward with a clear conscience. Until our baptism the bible describes us as enslaved to our self serving human nature.But, once we are baptized and our sins are forgiven,God regards us as servants of righteousness.We are redeemed,bought back from a life of slavery to sin to become servants of the living God...............

Tools In His Garden

Matthew 9:37 "Then saith he unto his disciples,The harvest truly is plenteous,but the labourers are few";

In this time of the self named, self famed, and the self proclaimed religions, God is calling humbled servants to be tools to work in His garden of garden of salvation.But many have become so self absorbed, that we have lost track of the purpose of our salvation.It seems that we now spend more time trying to convience the world of our salvation, that we have neglected our duty of proclaiming that there is a Savior.God has chosen us to bear much fruit ,and fruit that will last.

Jesus said "the harvest is truly plentiful,but the labourers are few".The world is full of  lost souls, but there dosn't seem to be enough workers in the field to lead them to Christ.God saved us,that we might be labourers of the harvest.God saved us that we might be witnesses to the lost that he is the savior, that he will provide, that he is the way to peace and rest, he is the truth that makes one free, and he is the life everlasting.But the focus has been lost.The reason Jesus said go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, is because there are wolves in sheep clothing among us, and since we don't know who is who, he said preach it to every creature.God is seeking labourers, servants who are willing to deny self and submitt to the will of the Father,for the good of the Kingdom. Labourers who will walk out in blind faith and trust his word to do what it was designed to do,to totally depend on him, as we work the field of harvest.Someone who will share not only his words but his truths in love, not to hurt feelings, but to convict hearts and convert souls.

We must take his message,His word, to His people, that He shed His blood for, that they may receive His salvation, and enjoy eternal life His kingdom. Now we are not to just proclaim the message with our lips, but we must spread the gospel with our life, by becoming a living example of the message we proclaim.Standing solely on the truth of his word, trusting in the power of his spirit,and submitt totally to his will.Let us become labourers of the harvest, that all in darkness might be drawn to the light and ask "what must I do to be saved".This calling truly isn't about us or the many names we give ourselves to impress others, it is about how Jesus died on a cross, to pay for the sins of the world,and us believers taking this good news to a dying world that all who hears might believe, and believing they might have everlasting life.

 

Shining Light-Quiet Voice

John 12:10-11 "But the chief priests consulted that they might put Lazarus also to death;Because that by reason of him many of the Jews went away,and believed on Jesus".

The Lord said "let your light so shine before man that they see your good works and glorify your Father which art in heaven".Light is seen,and not heard.Jesus wants us to live a life that shows who He is. But many are busy telling  the world they are saved,telling the world what God can do ,but the life they live tells a different story all together.Our life should tell a dying world that the Savior lives.

Here we have one who lived such a life.Lazarus doesn't say a word in the entire bible, there is no record or reference of him saying anything.Yet the life he lived was one that caused others to believe in Jesus. Lazarus was dead and Jesus called him to life.His new life with Christ was such a powerful witness, that not only did it lead others to believe,but the religious leaders wanted to put him to death along with Jesus.We were once dead in sin, once wrapped up in the guilt of sin, and held captive in darkness,but Jesus called us into a new life with Him.We should let the light of our new life so shine that a lost world will believe on the only begotten of the Father.

Jesus said "If I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me". It is when we lift Him with the living of our life which draws lost souls to Him.My grandmother once told me a gentleman never says he is one, his actions do.So a real Christian doesn't have to say he/she is one, the life they live will tell the story.Let your light so shine,and lead a lost soul to Christ.