New!

John 3:3" Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, Verily, I say unto thee,Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

Birth, the sign of Life; it is a symbol of new life, a new creation. If you want to see King Jesus, you must be born again. It is a must if you want to walk on this journey. Jesus said you must be born again. Every sincere Christian purifies his soul to rid it of the uncleanliness and the defilement of sin, which pollutes the soul. Whoever is seeking salvation, must be purified thru the truth of the gospel, for we are clean by his words. The word of God says at our best we are but filthy rags. Jesus said "except a man be born again". We must have a new life; birth is the beginning of life, so the walk must start here. Just as physical life begins at birth, so must our spiritual life begin with the birth of our spiritual man.

The old foundation has faults and short comings, it can't support the glory or the treasure of this new building. We must have a new nature, with new principles, with new affections and new aims. We must be born another, a different person than the first; like the birth of Israel from Jacob and Paul from Saul. We will have different traits, different desires, doing different things. all Christians are born again. The first birth was after the first man Adam, corrupt, born in sin and shaped in iniquity, born to die, lost in need of a savior. So we must under go a second birth,  a spiritual birth to take on the nature of our adoptive Father.

Born again, changed from a dead soul into a life giving quickening spirit. Walking in the spirit and not giving way to the flesh as it has been crucified with Christ on the cross, as we now live in a resurrected body, a temple not made with hands, now we are a new creature in Christ, sons of the most high Gods.

In Jesus Alone

1Peter 4:18 "And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear"?

"Scarcely saved" points out the difficulty of salvation. Some think it easy to believe, but the prophets cries, " who hath believed"? and Jesus asks, "when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth"? Some may also think it easy to persevere to the end, but the godly are hard put to it to keep their faces toward Zion. It is no light thing to be saved; omnipotent grace is needed. It is no trifling thing to be lost, but it can be done by neglect.

The fact is the righteous scarcely are saved. The time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God. It can be hard to lay hold to and hold on Christ simply as sinners. There is a challenge to give up and overcome the desires and lust of the flesh day after day, and moment by moment. To resist the world with its blandishments, threats, and customs. To vanquish Satan, his horrible temptations, and all the false hoods he promises.  It will not be easy to perform duties in a humble and holy spirit, to forsake the earthly in search of the heavenly, and continue in them. When the apostle uses the phrase if the righteous scarcely be saved, he does not doubt salvation, he is speaking of the difficulty of making it through the fire and the water, coming through many trials and tribulations, and staying faithful to the call. It wasn't easy to get Lott out of Sodom, and Israel out of Egypt, and it is no easy matter to get man out of his state of corruption.

 

Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? IF the saints scarcely reach heaven, what of the ungodly? What can they do who have no God? what can they do who have no savior? What can one do who are without the spirit of God? What without prayer, the word, the promise of God etc. What without truth? If the saints be sorely chastened, what will the justice be to the openly defiant sinner? Surrender unto Christ rest in the peace of the savior of the world. Jesus never fails....

He Died For Me

2Corinthians 5:21 "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him".
Jesus Christ death; the message is unbelievable, a message of redemption, that is a substitution for sin. This is one of the great verses proclaiming the unbelievable love of God. It is impossible for man to grasp the fact that God made Christ to be sin for us, yet that is exactly what the scripture says. He who knew no sin made to be sin, for the sole that sinneth shall surely die, so for man to live He had to die.

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

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

Come To Jesus

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 Samaritan 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 effective witness for the Lord, we must be willing to cross all barriers. The wall of separation has been destroyed, God is now accessible to all through Jesus Christ. Let us invite all to come to Jesus.

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 immediately went to share her experience with those in her town. She invited all to come to Jesus, she challenged them to answer for themselves:  "could this be the Christ?" 

What will you do with Jesus? God has given him to us all, now will you invite all to come and see? When a Christian shares his or her story, they never know how far the gospel will reach, and they never know how much one changed life can change the world. Remember Jesus started with twelve, look how far their testimony have come. Let us tell all that we see to come to Jesus.

Gift Offered; Now What?

2 Chronicles 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".
Now what; the gift has been offered now what? Well it is time for all who has accepted this gift to lift up the savior in all that we do.What if we truly was to come together as one with a singleness of heart and message and loved one another as Christ has loved us we could save the whole world. What if we truly believed " One Lord, One Faith and One Baptism".If we did these things from our hearts, God says he would hear from heaven, forgive our sins and heal the land.

"If my people", if the people of God would do what He has asked of us, then will I forgive their sins and heal their land. We must be careful not to get so wrapped up in the fig leaf of self righteousness that we begin to think we are more than we are. Those who profess to be of God are required to live a life pleasing to God before man that all in darkness could be lead to Jesus the light of the world. What if we truly lived the life we talk about, what if we were half the saint we professed to be. What if we truly accepted the free gift of salvation with all of our heart soul and mind, and shared it with all that we see.

The love of God has made salvation available to all who will accept it, now let us who has accepted it do our part and with the love of God share this free gift with all that we see, in both word and deed, that all might be saved.

The Gift Of Everything

2 Corinthians 1:20 "For all the promises of God in Him yea, and in Him Amen, unto the glory of God by us."

Everything God wants to give to man He gave with Jesus. When man was lost, God gave us Jesus, as he is the way. When he wanted to man love one another, he gave us Jesus. When man needed an advocate, and a high priest, a sacrifice, a Savior, a redeemer, a provider, an example, and a light in a world of darkness God gave us Jesus. God said he was supply our every need, and he did when he gave us Jesus.

 

Here we have Paul explaining to the church at Corinth, that all they need, and every promise of God was fulfilled in Christ. He says all the promises; that includes those in the old testament as well as those of the new testament. Everyone from Genesis to Revelations, every promise in the word of God was fulfilled with Jesus. The conditional and the unconditional, the physical and the spiritual, all promises of God are in Him. They are established beyond all doubt, they are confirmed beyond all alterations. In Christ lies the stability of the promises, for He is the foundation and truth of God's word. Christ is the witness of the promises;the surety of the promise, the sum and substance of the promise. The fulfillment of the promises by His actual incarnation, His virgin birth, his living plea, His atoning death, and in his rising with all power.  

The closer we are to Christ the more of God's promises are fulfilled in our lives. Let us glory in the promises of God, through living a life led by his spirit, in obedience to His word, and in the way of His darling son Jesus the Christ, the promise of God to all mankind.

Good News

Luke 2:11" For unto you is born this day in the city of David, A savior, which is Christ the Lord".

Have you given birth to Christ in your life? With all of the commercialization of Christmas, have you come to the realization that you need a savior? With the worries and worldly cares about what is under the tree, have you taken to heart the most wonderful gift that was born to hang on the tree.
Jesus the Christ, the infant Lord who was born Savior of the world. Who was rejected by the inn keeper, hunted by a king, and received joyfully by Anna and Simione, is still being presented to all today. The good news about Christ is being proclaimed as we read this message.We each have the same choice that was available back then. We can like the inn keeper have no room for a savior. We can be like the king and try to kill the savior, not wanting him to enter in and make changes to who we are. Then we can be like Anna and Simione, who prayed not to see death, until they saw the salvation of the Lord for themselves.They heard about it but they prayed to see it.

We should not want to see death without seeing our salvation. Hearing about it is great, but we must pray not to see death until we see it for ourselves. Let us not kill him off., let us make room in for him in our life. Receive Him in our hearts, and share him with a dying world........Merry Christmas

Give Me Your Heart

Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength:

The heart is the seat of man's affections, and devotion. The heart attaches and focuses our  affection, will, and devotion to an object or person. The heart causes a man to will, or to give himself either to good or bad. To love Jesus means that a man focuses his heart, affections, and devotion upon God by giving and receiving the love of God to one another. When we give all we have and are to Jesus Christ for him to do as he will, then we he surrendered our hearts.

If we love Jesus ,we will keep His commandments. Obedience is not optional for believers. Jesus stated a simple fact that must be clearly understood. If  you love me keep my commandments. Jesus is not giving an optional commandment, If you love me then keep my commandments. He is saying that the man who truly loves Him will keep His commandments. So for the born again believer there is no option. He loves Jesus ;therefore, he keeps His commandments. In this we the true believer is not claiming perfection, but we are claiming to love Jesus and to believe with all our heart that Jesus is the Son of God. Therefore we must diligently seek Jesus, and seek to please Him in all that we do. To Love Jesus is not an emotional thing. It involves emotions but it is not based on emotions. It doesn't change according to the situation. It is not a rational or mental commitment. It involves the mind but it is more than deciding and following some rules. To love Jesus is a matter of the heart and the spirit. It is a heart thing, from the innermost being of man.

Let us be careful not to give God simple lip service while our hearts lay with the enemy. Let us surrender our whole hearts and live a life of pure love unto the Lord, a life that He might be pleased with our testimony and we have everlasting life.

Putting Off Until Tomorrow!

Acts. 24:24-25 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and the judgment to come, Felix trembled and answered, "Go thy way for this time;
when I have a convenient season I will call for thee."


There are many who walk in darkness and feel they have time to surrender there life to Christ. Many who think being saved is just for old people or those who can no longer do anything fun. But the truth is the day you hear His voice is the day of salvation. The word of God says there will come a day when we want to hear but won't be able to hear. Today is the acceptable day of salvation, surrender to Christ and live, don't put off till tomorrow what has been made available to you today.

Here we see Felix and his wife came to hear Paul preach the gospel, it moved Felix to the point that he trembled, yet he told Paul that he would call him back to him when it was more convenient for him. Many today have heard the word of God and it shook up there lives to the point where they know they need Jesus, yet they have put Him off feeling they can call Him back at a more convenient time. When ever you are in a place to hear the Gospel, remember it wasn't by accident, it was part of God's perfect plan for your life. The day you hear Him accept Him, surrender to Him, for He is the only way.

Don't put off until tomorrow, what God has made available to you today. After all tomorrow is promised to no man. Today is the acceptable day of salvation, harden not your hearts..

Marathon Runner

Matthew 24:13 "But he that shall endure unto the end, that same shall be saved.


The life of a Christian is not a Sunday morning thing, it is a life long commitment. It is a life of total surrender. Once you confess Christ there is no turning back, for whosoever put his hand to the plough and look back is not fit for the kingdom of heaven. Jesus tells us to count up the cost before we begin this journey. This is not easy. It is a long uphill journey on a narrow road, but it is the road that must be traveled if you want to be with Jesus.

When you confess Christ, when you truly give your life to Jesus, you will find that many who said they were your friends and family will begin to stray away. They will blame you by saying things like, you think you better than us, or you changed, you're so holy you are no fun. But don't be discouraged by how others act towards you, just make sure you act like Christ towards them. Jesus warns us that we will be hated for His name sake, He didn't say to hate them back, He said to endure to the end and you shall be saved. Don't let the way others treat you, dictate how you treat them. My mother use to always say, "you be the Christian if no body else will". It is not you they are hating it is the perfection which lies within you, that now exposes the imperfection of their lives, it is called conviction of the heart, and this must take place before there can be conversion of the soul.

So as you make this journey there are times when you might feel like you are all alone, but remember Jesus said He will never leave you nor forsake you, so hold to His hand and trust in His word and endure unto the end and be saved. This is a marathon and not a sprint.

The Gift Of Salvation

Romans 6:23"For the wages of sin is death;But the gift of God is eternal life,through Jesus Christ our Lord."

As I think back over this year I can only say thank you Lord. God has truly been good to me and chances are if you think back He has been good to you also. Even though we were deserving of hell, working towards the wage of sin, God looked beyond our faults and gave us what we stood in need of.

The gift of God! Eternal life, being free from sin and  a servant for God. Gods gracious gift of His only son is our deliverance from sin. Gods grace takes what was once a sinner, wrapped in sin and makes him/her a saint ,wrapping them in the righteousness of his precious son Jesus the Christ. Replacing the ways and desires of the natural father, with the characteristics of the Heavenly Father. The gift of eternal life, something given but not deserved, judgment said, we should die, but mercy stepped in and said wait. Though the way may be up hill, and the road is narrow, even though we will be attacked on every side, everlasting life awaits us at the journeys end.

Eternal life ,no infirmities to hinder us ,no death to put a period to us, just life everlasting with our Heavenly Father. Death is the wage of sin, and it comes by abandoning and forsaking our savior, but the life is a gift, it comes by favor, without respect of person. We work for the wage paid by sin, but life is freely given. Sinners merit Hell, it is what they are working for, but saints do not merit heaven, you can't work for it , you can't buy your way in, it is a gift from God, to all who believes, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Accepting The Gift

Luke 23:39 " and one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on Him, saying if thou be Christ save thyself and us ".

Contrary of the popular belief and the self serving messages of today, Jesus came to save. He said, He came to call the sinner to repentance. We have begun to allow the worlds doctrine, ideals and belief structure to start and dictate the why Jesus came into this world. We celebrate His birth with the giving and receiving of material things. Making it about the treasures and pleasure of this world and many have lost track of the true gift and meaning of this holyday season.

Our text today is a picture of the prayer and desire of many of todays believers. There were two thieves hanging with Christ. They were both near to Him Physically so they both saw the same thing. They both prayed, but as you see one prayed to be saved from the cross, while the other prayed to be saved by the cross. One prayed to be saved in his sins, while the other prayed to be saved from his sins. Many of us today want to bypass the suffering and the necessary death needed to truly enjoy a life with Christ. We desire to be saved from the cross instead of by the cross. Jesus came to save and if you truly want to receive the spirit of Christmas surrender your life to Christ. Be saved by His new birth into your life and the dying of the old man with Him on the cross. Be saved by the cross and not from the cross.

Don't remove Christ out of Christmas, now I don't mean the word Christmas, I mean the true meaning of Christmas. Make sure with all that you might find yourself giving or receiving, to be sure that you give Christ to someone and make sure you have received Christ in your life by living a life of total surrender unto Him.

Gift Given

John 19:34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water".

Here as we enter this season of giving we must keep in mind the greatest gift ever given was Jesus the Christ. He was given to be given. He came wrapped in the ugliness of sinful man, but there was a precious gift on the inside.

In our text today to make sure all on the cross was dead, the soldiers went and broke the legs of the malefactors. But when they came to Jesus they saw He was already dead, but to be sure the stuck Him in the side with their sword. Then the gift of life came flowing out, the blood by which we have the remission of sin, and the water by which we are purified. Guilt contracted must be expiated by blood and stains contracted must be done away with by the water of purification, the two must always go together, and what Christ has joined together let no man take apart. They signify the two great ordinances of baptism and the Lords Supper. It is the water out of the side of Christ that by faith is to us the washing of regeneration. It is not the blood from the grape that will save our soul but the blood out of the side of Christ. See the present was ripped open and the gift of life flowed out, given for all to receive..

Let us continue to give Christ this Christmas, He is the gift that was given to be given. He is the gift that keeps on giving, especially if we keep on giving.  Have you received this free gift from God? 

A Vessel Of Gold

2nd Tim.2:20 "But in the great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honor, and some to dishonor".

The new testament gives us many beautiful parables about what it means to be saved, to be a member of the family of God, and to serve the lord Jesus Christ. In the book of Ephesians, Paul talks about the church as the household of God. Here in 2nd Timothy he speaks of the child of God liken to a vessel in this great house.

 

Here he speaks of two types of vessels in this house; a vessel of honor and a vessel of dishonor. Every Christian is a chosen vessel unto Christ, the question is are we to honor or to dishonor. As  believers of the gospel, we should live a life dedicated to serving the Lord, and have a compelling desire to be used of God in whatever way he chooses. We must be strong in the grace that is in Jesus Christ, we must study Gods word that we might be a workman who needs not be ashamed, and useful to the master, prepared for every good work. See it is Jesus Christ which gives us the power and the tools to fight this spiritual battle, he equips us for this ministry of reconciliation., Through Christ, the presence of God enters our hearts, and has the power to transform and convert a vessel of dishonor into a vessel of honor. Gods grace allows us to endure all things, that we might with a singleness of mind proclaim with a loud voice the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God unto salvation.

 

Let us walk in the power of God, and walk worthy of the name by which we are called that we will be victorious over are enemy and lead all in darkness into his marvelous light.

Lost.......

Luke 15:8 "Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it"?

Church there are many who are lost. Some lost outside the church and then many are lost in the house. We must lay aside denominations, titles and positions, and seek diligently to find all that are lost, those in the house as well as those out of the house. We must be careful not to get lost as to the message, or the business of the church.

 

There are a great many people, who enter church houses around the world to worship and praise God, but who have no ideal they are lost. They are lost in the church. Over the years it seems that there has been a great growth in the number of Apostles, Bishops, Pastors, and Prophets, and yet sin is running more rampage than ever before, and the sad thing is a lot of the trouble is coming out of the church house. We must be careful not to get lost in religion and religious rituals, and forsake the true  business of the Church. We were called out and separated to be servants of God, to go out into the world, and preach Christ and him crucified, that a lost world might be saved.

 

Jesus came to seek and save the lost; he gave us instructions to go into the hedges and the highways and compel them to come in, that his house might be full. To preach the gospel to every creature. Somewhere the message has gotten lost. The message of salvation seems to have been replaced with one of prosperity and self promotion. Let us get back on track and find the lost in the house of God, and then go out and preach Christ and him crucified to a dying world. He is the power of God unto salvation.

A Slave to The Gospel

Romans 1:1" Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God."

In our need for self gratification, it is easy for us to become lost in regards to the mission which we have been called into. God called us into His ministry, that we might be His servants to do His will in building His kingdom. It is not about who we are, but whose we are. The title and positions we hold means nothing, it is the work that we have been called to do that will change the world.

Here we have Paul, Now with all that he had accomplished he says he is a servant of Jesus Christ .In fact he often referred to himself as a bond servant or slave for Christ. He never referred to himself as Rev. Paul or pastor Paul or even the apostle Paul, he was just a servant of the Lord. Paul realized it wasn't about him, or the position he had, but it was simply about Christ and Him crucified. He was just an unworthy vessel, called to be an apostle, separated for the purpose of spreading the good news of the gospel. Paul used every opportunity he had to proclaim the salvation of the Lord. Rather in bonds or free his message was the same, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. He had to preach the gospel, for he was a prisoner of the gospel. He new it was the gospel that saved him, kept him, protected him, and provided all that he needed. He knew it was the power of God unto salvation.

 

It is not about us being saved. The world don't care what position or titles we hold. The sinner can't be saved because we have fancy degrees in various religious studies that allow us to call ourselves these fancy names and hold important positions. The only thing that we have that matters, the only thing we have that can save a lost soul is the good news about Jesus Christ. Let us just be called servants for the Lord, that we might hear the words, "well done my good and faithful servant".

He Is Lord

Romans 4:24 " But for us also,to whom it shall be imputed,if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead:"
It is the part of faith to accept great contrasts,if laid down in the word,and to make them a part of her daily speech.This name,Lord, is a great contrast to incarnation and humiliation.In the manger, in poverty shame and death,Jesus is still Lord.These strange conditions for "our Lord" to be found in are no difficulties to that faith which is the fruit of the spirit.

It ought to be the great care of every one of us to follow the Lord fully.We must in a course of obedience to God's will and service to his honor follow him universally,without dividing; uprightly, without dissembling; cheerfully,without disputing;and constantly,without declining: and this is following him fully. A disciple of Christ is one that gives up himself to be wholly at Christ's disposing; to learn what he teaches,to believe what he reveals, to do what he commands, to avoid what he forbids, to suffer what is inflicted by him or for him,in expectaion of that reward which he hath promised.Such a one is a disciple of Christ,and he ,and none else, is a Christian.

 

This thing is solely about Jesus and Him alone.Everything that we are is because of Jesus; all that we have is from Jesus. He is everything that God had to say to man, all that he needed to give to man;and in him is everything man needs to say to God.Jesus is Lord!c

The................

Isaiah 43:11 "I, even I, am the Lord; and beside me there is no savior"

God's promise to save, to help, and to rescue, has been extended to all humanity through Jesus Christ. The God who rescued Judah, is the same God who is with us today, and he rescues all those who call on him, and he walks with them in each hardship. The Lord looked past the sins of mankind, and seen something of value and significance, so much so that He would send His son to die on the cross for our sins.

We never outgrow our need for the Savior. As Christians we trust Christ for our salvation from sin and for the promise of eternal life. When we come to Christ, we are justified, or saved from the consequence of our sin. As we walk with Christ, we are sanctified, or set apart to obey God and live for him, saved from the self-centered living, that trapped us in sin and condemned us to death. And when we go to live with him in heaven, we are glorified, realizing the full extent of our salvation, as we are made complete in every way to enjoy fellowship with God forever, face to face.
We will never stop having a need for the Savior in our lives. He is here for us right now, whatever we may be navigating through, or struggling with, Call on the Lord, trust in his promises, and wait for Him For they that wait upon the Lord..... For he alone is or Savior!

The True Light

John 1:7-8 "The same came for a witness,to bear witness of the light,that all men through him might believe.He was not the light ,but was sent to bear witness of that light."
We have been called out of the darkness into God's marvelous light that we might lead others out of the darkness. Let us let our light so shine before men that they will see our good works, and seek the true light and the salvation of the Lord.

 

We must remember we are not the light. It is not about us, not about who we are, what church we go to, our positions, titles, education, or even our salvation. No it is all about the Saviour, the one who can save, it is about Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We are to bear witness to the true light that those in darkness might believe. Sometimes we spend so much time trying to convience the world of our own salvation that we don't have any time to show them the Savior. We must bear witness not only with our talk but we must also live a life that bears witness to the light.

We have been sent to bear witness to the savior. God called us out, we are the light which sits upon the hill that all might see. Live a life which reflects the true light, that all in darkness might be saved.

Only Ask

Psalms 18:1" I will Love thee, O Lord my strength"

 I heard a story of a father and his son on a camping trip.  As they were making their way up the path a large rock blocked the path. The father said to the son "I'm going to make a man out of you, use your strength and move the rock." The boy gripped the rock on both sides and tried pushing the rock but it never moved. The boy told his father "It won't move". His father told him he wasn't using all his strength. The boy said father I used all my strength and I just can't move it. His father looked at him and said you didn't use all your strength, because you never asked me to help.


Many of us are hindered because of a blocked path and we are stuck all because we have yet to ask the  Father to help us in our journey. There are stumbling blocks that sometimes block the path that God has called us to travel , and many of us get frustrated and change course because we try to move these obstacles by ourselves; But the Lord is our strength in our time of weakness. He is the way and it is in Him and by Him which we are able to conquer and overcome all that life puts before us. we must put our trust in the Lord and trust that He will do just what He said.


 Let us call on the Lord to aid us in moving the mountains which hinder our journey, let us use all our strength........

Give Me Your Heart!

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

There are many who are lost in the church, and who truly wants so badly to live a holy life for the Lord. They are lost to who God truly is, and what it is he truly requires from us. Many try and appease God the way we appease the people in our life. We try to serve, worship and give to a spiritual God, with a carnal mind. But until we are willing to give up our head, we can't fully give God our heart.
The problem is our head, our carnal mind is enemy to God and the spiritual things He stands for. So it seems every time  you want to give God your all, the carnal mind gives you a reason not to. It tells you things like "it don't take all that" or You don't have to put up with that" or God understands you are only human" and all these things may be true to the flesh and the carnal mind, but they hinder us in the giving God our whole heart. We must remember God doesn't want our things, He wants our all. We must come to the realization that the carnal man has no understanding of the spiritual man. The carnal man can't understand suffering for another, can't rationalize the ideal of self sacrifice, it can't comprehend the notion of losing your life to save it, or the thought of denying ones self taking up a cross and following a crucified Lord. So we must be willing to lose our head and let Christ be our head that we might surrender to Him our whole heart. Having the mind of Christ by the surrender of our hearts to Christ.

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

For A Lifetime

Joshua 24:24"And the people said unto Joshua, The Lord God will we serve, and his voice will we obey."

Joshua didn't sigh in relief when the Israelites responded to his challenge to serve the Lord and him only. Instead, he questioned them to say," Do you really mean what you say?" He wanted them to make a conscious decision for God, and he even presented the alternatives so they could make a clear choice, without conviction there is no real conversion or commitment, worldly distractions will draw us away from God. He then presented to them the consequences of failing to follow through on their commitment.

This was wise on Joshua's part. Sometimes people are made to feel that choosing God is simple and easy. They choose to serve Him, but then want to serve Him their way, under their terms and at their convenience. They sometimes have doubts, and wonder if they made the right decision, when trials and tribulations began to come their way. Some even choose to follow God, but then don't think much about it, it is treated like it is no big deal. They allow their days just to flow without a focus on serving Him. Those who haven't chosen to serve God, need to hear Joshua's challenge. This day, right now is the time to choose to follow Him. This is a serious lifetime commitment, that involves putting Him in charge of your life. Even if we have already chosen to serve God, we choose everyday whether we will honor that commitment in the things we do and say. It is through conviction that we will continue to be cleansed of the things in life that might distract us from our commitment to serve God. God has lead us through life and with his shepherd's rod, he has pulled us out of ruts and fought off the enemy.

God still calls us to follow Him by accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. Once we have made that commitment, we must still choose to keep our lives free of those things that can keep us from feeling the joy of his presence, or that divert our attention away from a single-minded devotion to him. Make Jesus your choice, he has chosen to make you His choice. 

In ObedienceTo God

Exodus 19:5 "Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:"

When we give God lordship over our lives, we are committing to a life of obedience to Him, to His will, and to His ways. How often we tend to renegotiate the terms of our commitment to him as soon as His will cramps our style or dents our pride. How good we are at justifying disobedience, down playing it as we try to draw attention to our attempts at "sacrificial" Christian living. To obey is better than sacrifice, Samuel told Saul, when Saul tried to invent a better plan to honor God than the one he had been told to follow. We need to be careful not to fall into Saul's mentality of creating a sacrifice that suits us, in lieu of plain obedience to what God has told us.

Obedience is not an option, if we want the blessing of God, and want to enjoy a relationship with Him.  we must obey and learn to trust that He always have our best interest at heart. If we the people would obey Him, then we would be God's "treasured possession" out of all the nations on the earth. God promised that we would continue to see deliverance from the enemy, along with His miraculous provisions, if we would continue to obey Him. It's all too easy for us to neglect issues of obedience as we get mired down in our day to day living.  Yet if we haven't been faithful to do what He last told us, how can we expect additional guidance to benefit us?  If we can't be faithful over the little, how can we expect to be trusted with the many. We need to be diligent to obey for this is better than any sacrifice in fact it is the ultimate sacrifice, the surrender of self.

So don't let anything and anyone cause you to be disobedient, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Run on to see what the ends going to bring, for obedience is better than sacrifice.

Called For A Purpose

John 13:14 "If I then,your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet".
We are servants of the Lord, no matter what title or position we hold in God's Church, we are but servants to do His will and carry out His commands. The position you hold or the title you give yourself does not free you from the work in which we have been called to do. We are the servants of the Lord, and are to do His will.

 

Jesus tells his disciples that if He being Lord and Master wash their feet, then they to have to wash feet. Now he is not telling us that we must literally go out and wash someones dirty feet, but we who know the Lord are responsible to share Him with a Lost world. We are responsible to look after and care for those who are less fortunate. See somewhere the message got lost. Leadership looks to be served, when we have been called to serve. Jesus the son of God took on the position of a servant that God's will be done, and we are to follow His example. He came to serve, He washed feet, He fed the people, He gave freely of that which He had to all who had need. He sacrificed that others might have. The Son of God became the son of man that the sons of man might become the Sons of God.

 

The work of all who were called is to lead a lost world to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. We have been called to lead all in darkness to Jesus the light of the world

Loves Power

1Samuel 18:3 "Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul".

Jonathan and David made a covenant, because Jonathan loved him. The covenant was made, not so much because of their mutual love,but because Jonathan loved David. Jesus also made a covenant with us, not so much because of our love for him, but because of His love for us." For while we were yet sinners Christ died for us". While we were rebellious against Him ,he was loving toward us. He entered our nature to represent us, and he pledged Himself to redeem us by becoming a sacrifice for us. He took us  into union with himself making us one with Him and members of His glorious body.

Christ and the believer that love Him, live as if they have but one soul between them. "Lovest thou me", "feed my sheep". Jesus the friend, asks three times and then appoints the duty: Peter out of sincere love answers three times, and renders the life long duty. Saints are to look upon themselves as wholly the Lord's possession in opposition to all other competitors.The Lord will not share us with rival" I am a jealous God". If we accept the salvation of the Lord ,all others must go. We belong to Him, giving up all authority to Him, as self has become a dethroned tyrant. Our soul becomes His soul and His spirit becomes our spirit. Our Soul until it comes into the covenant with the Lord, is in a restless state. It is like a bee going from flower to flower or a bird from bush to bush; but when it is married to Christ, it is settled with Him and it rest in perfect peace.

The covenant we have entered into is a offensive and defensive league. We are to have common friends and common enemies with the Lord. His people must be our people, and His enemies our enemies. We have opened our mouth to the Lord and we can't go back. We must be His without end or interruption. There will be stumbling among the best of us, but a renewal of the covenant is the antidote to the poison of backsliding. He who has truly made this covenant with the Lord, has given himself entirely to Christ without reservation, and like Paul has asked, "Lord what will thou have me to do". This is a covenant bound by love.