Working Faith!

James 2:20 "But wilt thou know ,O vain man,that faith without works is dead".

Faith the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.Faith the backbone of this Christian journey ,many have chosen to travel.It is a walk of faith,it is a life of hope, for the bible tells us we are saved by hope.The bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God, for they that come to him must first believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them who diligently seek Him. He gives each man a measure of faith,yet many today chose to live a defeated life.Many give into sin and the ways of this world because they don't have a working faith.

James tells us that faith without works is dead.Now he is not saying we can work our way into heaven, or that we can work our way into salvation.No salvation is a free gift offered to all who will by faith accept this free gift.Now this is where the working of your faith comes into play.See by faith we believe when we are baptized that the old man, the flesh man, the sinner man and all his ways was put to death with Christ.When Christ died on the cross with the sins of the world, by faith we when we accept his death believe that our old man also died, and was raised with him a new creature in Christ old things have past away,behold all things are become a new.So now we are a new creature born of the spirit of God,and by faith we believe we can walk in the righteousness of God,in faith we believe we are no longer a slave to the flesh and it's desires.Now when trials and temptations come upon us, when the desires of the flesh raises up against us, by faith we believe that Jesus has power over all flesh and he will deliever us from these weak moments, that he will save us from ourselves,that he will deliever us from evil,that he will carry us through as he strengthens us.But in the event that we don't submit to God and resist the devil,thaat we do give in to the lust and desires of the flesh,that we are over taken by a fault, by faith we believe that if we go to him with a repented heart, seek his face and ask for forgiveness, in faith we believe he will forgive us and restore us back to his righteousness.

This is working faith.We must put our faith to work, believe that Christ can keep you in the times of weakness,and forgive you when you surrender to the wiles of the enemy. Don't live life thinking that you have to sin, if you believe that your old self died and you have risen a new creature in Christ. Walk by faith in the new creature,believeing that Him whom you rose with has all power, and if you do fall know that he is faithful and just to forgive your shortcomings. 

One Body!

Philippians 2:4 "Look not every man on his own things,but every man also on the things of others".

What differecnce has God made in your life? Do all christians talk and act the same?No.But we should all have a love for God,first of all,and then love for one another.The sweetness Christians experience in knowing Jesus as Savior and all the good he brings into our lives, inevitably reflects in everyone of our relationships.Paul asked the believers at Philippi,"Has being a follower of Christ made any difference in your life? Has the fact that he loves you with everlasting love caused you to make different life choices? Have you experienced the Holy Spirit's presence and enjoyed being a part of this glorious unified body? Is Christ's love flowing in, out, and through this unified body with tenderness and lots of mercy?"

If you answered yes to any of these questions ,then you should spend more time talking about the things we have in common, than our differences.We should love each other unconditionally,strive for unity in all we do by lifting up Christ.We all have sinned and come short of God's glory, the enemy wants us to focus on the short comings which lie in all of us.But Jesus is the one thing we have in common and it is through him and by him that we are perfected even with our shortcomings,so when we lift Jesus up in the lives of others, we have all things common.We should be thrilled to the heart to lead people to the Lord, and then see them interacting and developing deep, caring, and lasting friendships, as their walk with Christ becomes stronger.

How honest are your conversations? It's a good practice among brothers and sisters in Christ to put self aside, help others move forward ,and constantly check our motives.We must be sure, that which we do in the unity of the body, is for the glory of God and not to fulfill a personal agenda.Remember the enemy is a deciever,you may want to do it for God's glory,but if unchecked, pride and self righteousness will creep in, and your good will be evil spoken of. We can emphasize the good in others while still acknowledging their faults and weakness. And the weak should be able to handle correction which is done in love for the building up of the body.(too many of us get mad when someone points out a fault or a shortcoming in our character, but how can we grow stronger if we don't know where we are weak). The Body of Christ can only become unified,loving, and like-minded when we care for the inerest of others as much as we do our own.

Must Be Born Again!

Ephesians 4:24 "And that ye put on the new man,which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness".

We at our best we are still a filthy rag,but thanks be to God we don't have to stay that way.Through the blood of Jesus we can now shed the ways of the old man, and be born a new,become another, someone totally different from the first. God very much wants us to become converted,to be one of his converts. He wants us not only to learn, but practice His ways of life,to be sincerely and thoroughly committed to it.He promises us His help if we willingly follow His instructions.Through His spirit He will empower us to "put on the new man which is created according to God,in true righteousness and holiness". His purpose is to change us, to convert us from the inside,from the heart.Remember God is the only source of righteous character.

In the bible we find details of God's resolve to save us from the spiritual malaise that has plagued us throughout history.It explains the source of our behavioral and spiritual problems.It shows the true difference between God's devine nature and our human nature,and describes His plan to change our basic attitudes and responses to life's everyday situations.It reveals God's commitment expressed in His exceedingly great and precious promises to make us partakers of the devine nature. Our thoughts and emotions are directly linked to our fleshly impulses and desires.We are born with them.But we are born with neither the knowledge nor the power to properly manage them.Our natural impulse and desires are often affected and even manipulated by external pressures.( often situations and circumstances dictate the actions and attitude we display).

Only our creator can give us the power to rightly manage our thoughts and attitudes and resist the temptations that bombard us daily and sometimes every hour on the hour.Therefore the process requires the direct and active intervention of God.First He calls us by opening our minds to understand the scriptures.Then He begins turning our lives around if we willingly respond and submitt to His calling and cooperate with Him.Our commitment to change causes us to be converted,to turn to God with our whole life.Well what separates us from God? Our sins and iniquities have hidden his face from us,so that he will not hear(Isaiah 59:1). To receive the blessings and other help from God, we must turn to him,we must turn away from satan's ways, the ways of the old man,by turning to God's ways, the ways of the new man.Each of us MUST accept and respond to God's terms and conditions for the forgiveness of sin. We must be commited , converted and changed from the old and and his ways to the new man and the ways of God...........

Tell It ;He Is Risen!

Matthew 28:6 "He Is not here:For he is risen,as he said.Come,see the place where the Lord lay".

The resurrection is the basis for hope in the Christian faith.The women who came to the tomb expected to find death.Instead, they met an angel who told them that Jesus had risen.Belief that Jesus rose is the key to the completion of his promise that we will rise also.Believers can also experience Ressurection power in their lives.Without this assurance, Paul said,"we are of all men most miserable".The first witnesses were commanded to go and tell the disciples then later tell the world.Go and tell remains the command for believers today who have discovered the wonder of the risen Christ in their lives.

Go and tell is the command to every man and woman who has discovered the power of Christ.It is through the sharing of this good new that we have the power to change the world.We must tell people that the resurrection brings regeneration into the lives of those who are spiritually dead,through the power of the Holy Spirit,bringing about a new birth,changing one from the inside out.This is the basis for the Church's witness to the world. Every believer can share this certainty with confidence.

Of course, a great controversy has always surrounded the Resurrection.The Jewish priest paid the guards to deny what happened that day,and there are still millions of People who deny the resurrection, in word and in deed.Sometime we don't live like he rose with all power,we don't trust that he overcame the world and all it's temptations,and thus harms our witness to the world. A witness is one who tells what he or she knows as a certainty. You can only witness that which you have seen or experienced. Countless people who have been touched and changed by meeting the living Jesus provide undeniable evedience of the resurrection.The way they live their life is their witness that he rose ,and rose with all power.The first disciples were commanded to be witness,and each of us whose lives have been changed by the resurrection must invite those who need Him to know Him.The Resurrection's reality gives hope to a needy world and gives all who truly believes the power to change the world..............

The Kings Highway!

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,they are pleasing God and have their ticket in their hand.Religion to many is more or less whatever they want it to be,and this is taught in many congregations today by leaders who are more interested in filling the pews than saving the souls.They 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.It is acceptable to believe we are free to worship God the way we want,to refashion God in our own image,and to taylor his word to fit our life style,but is this the 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? 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 faith,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 road lest traveled or not.

Changed!

Philippians 3:21"Who shall change our vile body,that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body,according to the workings whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself ".

We use the word changed or converted quite alot in religious circles,but what does it truly mean to be changed.Is going to church,singing in the choir, or preaching in the pulpit evidence of change. And if we are in fact converted or changed what is it we are changed from, or more important what are we change into.The scriptue says Jesus will change our vile body, that it might  be fashioned like his glorious body. Well biblical change is represented as a miraculous life transforming process,a process that is impossible without the direct,active intervention and participation of God. In fact he must initiate the conversion process. No man can come to Jesus unless the spirit of God draws them.

He first opens the mind of those he is calling, or inviting to change so they can begin to understand the scriptures with a clarity and depth they could never attain on their own.This wonderful miracle of transformation usually begins when those God is calling hear the truth of God 's word accuratelly from one of his true servants( faith come by hearing, but how can they hear without a preacher,and how can  he preach unless he be sent). Our creator begins to open their minds at that time to comprehend the true gospel of Jesus Christ, the power of God to salvation.God's words now begin to make sense,just as a picture emerges when a puzzle is put together.Now the once lost soul begins to grasp the holy scriptures and thus be part of the miracle of God's calling.

What follows depends on the choices they make when they hear or read God's truth. They can respond to God and ask for His help to implement what they learn,or they can turn their back on the understanding of the truth they have received.Even though God encourages us to choose life, He will not force this choice on any of us. But as we will soon see, the consequences of our choices are enormous.The process begins with God's calling,followed by the key steps of repentance,baptism,and the receiving of the Holy Spirit, finally climaxing with the return of Jesus Christ when those that are his will be resurrected to immortality and given eternal life.That is the ultimate transformation being change from this vile mortal body, and fashioned into a glorious immortal being! 

He Did It For Me!

Isaiah 53:5 "But he was wounded for our transgressons,he was bruised for our iniquities:the chastisement of our peace was upon him;and with his stripes we are healed."

When Jesus suffered and died on Calvery's cross,the sin of the entire world hung on his shoulders.This weight He carried,we are not designed to carry.Jesus suffered enormously so that we might be saved from "the sin that so easily entangles us"and be able to run the race he has set before us easier each day, that one day we might be with him in  all his Glory.

Jesus allowed his flesh to be crushed,ripped,and torn.He suffered and died a gruesome death.He was the subsitute who took our punishment, who paid for our crimes,that we might be made whole,that we might be made the righteousness of God.Through his suffering, we are blessed,through His death we have abundant life.It was our sins that pressed the crown of thorns on his head,our hatred that slapped him,and spit on him,our disobedience which mocks him.He was wounded for our transgressions, and  died for our sins.It was by His bruises that healing was made available to all who will surrender their lives into the Masters hands.Jesus looked beyond all of our faults and he saw our need,and he supplied our every need.

Because of Jesus death,lost sinners can find their way back to the Heavenly Father again. Jesus,our mighty hero who poured out his life and his blood for us,and hung on a cross between two criminals, was no criminal himself.He was just our gentle Savior, who died for us, and now intercedes for us in Heaven.God now looks upon all who have truly  committed their lives to Him, through lenses stained with the blood of Jesus Christ,and where there once stood a sinner,there now stands a saint washed in the blood of the Lamb.THANK YOU JESUS