Blind! Walking In Darkness

2Corinthians 4:4" In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believed not,lest the light of the glorious gospelof Christ,who is the image of God should shine unto them".


The sad fact remains that this is not God's world.God's kingdom is still not of this world,as Jesus Christ made clear in Jn.18:36.Who is the god of this age?He is none other than satan,he is the worlds ruler. Jesus said (in Jn 12:31) "the ruler of this world will be cast out".Although we cannot see satan, his influence on the world is pervasive.The result of the devils influence is that before conversion,we all conducted ourselves in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature children of wrath.Satan spiritually influences us to reject God and God's words.Under satan's influences the carnal mind is enmity against God. Separated from God we choose to go our own way,with devestating and tragic results."There is a way that seems right to a man,but its end is the way of death".


Satan's influences is so great that he "deceives the whole world".The entire world lies under the sway of the wicked one.Under satan influences man has rejected God's revelation and with his vain thinking has started worshiping that which is from his own imagination.He has built societies,civilizations,and even religion on the wrong foundation.God's kingdom is one built on the foundation of Love, but man has chosen to build his on a monetary success driven foundation."For the love of money is the root of all evil", yet man in his limited canal thinking has built everything around the haves and the have nots.We no longer love our neighbor as we love ourselves ,cause we are in competition with our neighbor.So there is no shareing, or watching out one for another , we no longer have that "if i got it you got it" attitude. It is more like I got mind better get your own mentality.We have mega churches worth millions of dollar and many of their members can't even pay there bills.

We must be careful not to be blinded from the light by the trick and wiles of the devil.Satan's world built on a foundation of  lies and deception will come crashing down.The light of God's truth will conquor the deception of satans darkness and expose all that are hiding under the cover of said darkness. Jesus died on a cross and rose with all power, that we might walk in his marvelous light and be a light  on a hill for all who are blinded from the light trapped in darkness.We who was once blind and now see, must do all that we can to help others to see the truth of God's word.If we are children of the light ,let us walk in the light, "for God is light and in him is no darkness at all".

Known by your Fruit

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, if they wish to continue in His favor,they must not only confess to Him but also ask Him to"cleanse them from all unrighteousness". We cannot please God if we deliberately practice sinning.However,some habits deeply ingrained from early childhood may not be that easily overcome.The effects of such sin tend to foster serious weaknesses in our walk.It may take a long period of diligent striving to finally overcome.Paul put it this way:"Put to death, therefore,whatever belongs to your earthy nature".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

A New Creation In Christ

Colossians 3:9-10 " Lie not one to another,seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And put on the new man,which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created him:"

When our minds and hearts are transformed by the Holy Spirit, we put on Christ, Paul describes this change of heart and mind as Christ living within us.We are renewed in knowledge and in the spirit of our minds.As the children of God we become"in Christ" a truly new creation.God transforms us into His own Family.God is able and determined to create in us His own divine nature.For he made Christ who knew no sin to be sin for us,that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.God is now creating a righteous character in His sons and daughters.This is why our genuine, heart felt repentance is so important as he begins this process in us.We have to want it with all of our heart, for him to make us a new person.The creation of righteous character is a two way process.God gives us the knowledge and all the power we need,but we must supply the choice to live righteously.

God wants us to be His own children who share His values.He wants us to use His values and convictions to make decisions as He would make them.He wants us to inherit all things, to share His entire creation with Him.He says "He who overcomes shall inherit all things,and I will be his God and he shall be My son".Nothing is more important to God than our Spiritual development.Our development is essential for us to receive the awesome inheritance God has in store for us as His children.

God predetermined, in His master plan, that His son should be the model for our development. As Paul said,God called us with a holy calling,which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began(2tim1;9) If we are "in Christ" we are being conformed to His image.Our spiritual growth should continue until all of  us come to  the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.Therefore, as we have borne the image of the man of dust,we shall also bear the image of the heavenly man.Knowing God's eternal plan for us should inspire us to purify our hearts and motives.In Christ we should share the same love for one another.The proper motivation for all our relationships should be that "nothing be done through selfish ambitions or conciet, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.Let each of you look out not only for his own interest, but also for the interest of others".We need to think with the same love and humility that was in Jesus mind.When we truly become a christian in our hearts we will then be Christ like in our living.

A life Pleasing God

Romans 8:8 " So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God".

Only those who have God the Father and Jesus the Son dwelling in them through the power of the Holy Spirit are considered"children of God".Saints God leads his children with his spirit,he doesn't drive them.God's Spirit empowers only those who choose to serve Him.So we must not let sin reign in our mortal body,that we should obey it in its lust.And we should not present our members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present our members as instruments of righteousness to God".See God through His Spirit, will help us live righteously.If we respond He will instill more and more of His divine nature and character in us.But He will not force us.We must trust Him to help us so we can act in faith,and as we need more faith, He will provide it.

Anyone who claims to be a converted follower of Christ who has truly repented and received the indwelling power of God through the Holy Spirit is sorely mistaken about his status in God's sight. Such a person's outlook on life is still being shaped mostly by his fleshly feelings,desires and impulses because, "the flesh lusts against the Spirit,and the Spirit against the flesh.Without God's Spirit no one can fully comprehend the Holy Scriptures.God's help, through His Spirit, is essential for us to attain that level of understanding.When we receive God's Spirit we are no more than spiritual infants.But we should begin growing by quickly learning the basics of God's way of life,by thriving on the milk of the  Word.If we do, God will work in us, through the Holy Spirit, to transform our lives.

God expects us to study the Holy Scriptures so we will correctly understand them.He wants us to learn how to effectively apply His word to our daily lives.Through His spirit, God helps us incorporate this understanding into our character,thus patterning it after His character,His divine nature.He wants us to be strong enough to walk after the Spirit and not fulfill the lust of the flesh.No amount of effort on our part, unless it is accompanied by the power of God's Spirit, would ever shape us into what God wants us to be.But with his Spirit working in us we become His workmanship,enabled to perform works truly pleasing to Him, thus allowing us to live a life pleasing to God................

A Call to Action

Mark 1:14-15 "Now after John had been taken into custody,Jesus came into Galilee,preaching the Gospel of God, and saying time is fulfilled,and the Kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the Gospel".

Saints when we hear and understand the gospel of the Kingdom of God,Jesus expects us to repent and believe the good news about this Kingdom.His Kingdom is something we must enter.Accepting Jesus' command to repent and believe this message this good news, is the first step.We can turn to God for forgiveness and reconciliation through Jesus Christ and begin to live by the laws of the kingdom of God as taught by Jesus Christ.Those who refuse to live God's holy way of life will be refused entrance into the Kingdom of God and eternal life.

Now jesus warns of the various obstacles that can prevent our entrance into the Kingdom (matt 5:20,19:23-25,mark 9:47 and john 3:5).To enter the Kingdom, we must  gain a proper outlook, a humble, teachable, childlike attitude, accompanied by real repentance, baptism and the receiving of God's Holy Spirit. Seeking God's Kingdom must become our highest priority,no matter what the difficultes.Saints we cannot let the lies of the enemy and the desires and lust of the old man become stumbling blocks to our quest of getting to glory.

When our lives are devoted to seeking God's Kingdom, our outlook will be like that of those recorded in Hebrews 11.Notice these inspiring words about their orientation:"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.These men and women of faith, considered themselves "strangers and pilgrims, because this land was not their home, they were looking forward to life eternal in the Kingdom of God.Their lives were centered on that Kingdom, not on their physical, materal life.They were seeking a home not made with hands,they hadn't seen it but they just trusted God that it would be there. Have you been called to action?

Prayer That Pleases God

James 5:15 "And the prayer of faith shall save the sick,and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins,they shall be forgiven him".

Saints God is aware of everything we say and do.Not even a sparrow can fall to the ground without His knowing it.Therefore when anyone prays to God He is well aware of the words that are spoken.But does He really consider all the requests that are directed to Him? Not always! Let the Bible explain,The scripture says "Behold the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor his ear heavy, that it cannot hear.But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you,so that he will not hear".Jesus also tells us when we pray don't be like the hypocrites(matt.6:5) Saints God hears all, but He respond to the sincere crys of the heart.

Scriptures show that public prayers are appropriate in proper situations.But most of our prayers should be sincere,private conversations between just us and God. God has promised to hear us if we sincerely approach Him in this manner, with an attitude of seeking to do his will and a willingness to allow his word to guide and correct us."For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers,but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil".God looks on our attitude, and our heart, rather than on our past sins.He can see the direction we want to go, and this is what is important to Him. He expects us to have faith that He hears us and to trust His judgement.

God is especially aware of our motives when we pray. If we sincerely want to do what is pleasing to Him and pray accordingly,He is delighted to hear us.He responds according to His judgment,according to what he know is best for us.Regrettably, not everyone prays from pure motives(James4:3).God does not even consider the request of those who are interested only in satisfying their own desires but have no interest in pleasing Him.God looks at our attitude, He knows why we ask,and He knows what is in our hearts.Prayer is essential in our relationship with God, but let us pray to please God by praying for the needs and salvation of others.We are told"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you". When we pray in this attitude, God will hear us.

Called and Committed

Luke 9:62 " No one ,having put his hand to the plow, and looking back is fit for the kingdom God"

Saints God called us from the darkness into his marvelous light,that we might be a light upon a hill that all in darkness might seek his marvelous light.But Saints are we committed to the cause, are we fit for the kingdom of God? Baptism represents the most important commitment we can make. It signifies our willingness to surrender our lives fully and completely to our creator, putting to death our old self and rising from a watery grave to live a new and transformed life.Since this decision is such a major commitment, the scripture tells us not to take it lightly.

In a series of parables in (Luke 14:27-32) Jesus tells us to count up the cost.He used two examples to illustrate His point that we must count the cost,reconize and acknowledge the consequences of our commitment.First he used the example of someone starting an expensive and time consuming building project. He noted that no one should begin such an endeavor without first determining that he can follow through on that commitment.In the second example, He likened our commitment to a decision to go to war.To initate a long, drawnout struggle in which we will face repeated hardship, setbacks,and defeats. Are we willing to remain faithful and committed to that struggle to the end.Saint this is a Life long journey , not a once a week Sunday morning gathering.

Our commitment according to Jesus must be total,for he said whosoever does not forsake all,cannot be his disciple(Luke 14:33)The commitment He expects from us is great indeed, but the reward is even greater. And we have the promise of God's help, for he said "I'll never leave you nor forsake you". We must carefully consider the cost before we are baptized. Once we repent,accept Jesus' sacrifice,are baptized and receive God's Spirit there is no turning back. Jesus tells us we must not waver in our commitment.When we waver over whether to follow Christ or not, Jesus said we are not fit for the Kingdom of God.

God offers us a future so glorious that the challenges and trials we face in pursuit of it are miniscule in comparison.So Stand committed and be fit for the Kingdom of God....