Friday, June 29, 2007

Chosen By God!

What is it to be the elect of God? The Scriptures say a lot about God's election of people for Salvation. I have heard it explained many different ways, but the best description is from God's Word.
Romans; 8:29
(For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.)

PREDESTINED-Literally to mark out, appoint, or determine beforehand.
Ephesians; 1:4,5,11
4(just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love,)
5(having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,)
11(In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will,)
Romans; 8:30
(Moreover whom he predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.)

GOD'S CALLING
Romans; 1:7
(To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.)
2Thessalonians;2:13
(But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,)
2Timothy; 1:9
(who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began,)

APPOINTED TO ETERNAL LIFE
Acts; 13:48
(Now when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.)
John; 6:65
(And He said, "Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.")
John; 6:37
(All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.)
John; 6:44
(No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day.)

We know that we must have faith in Jesus Christ to believe unto salvation. That faith itself is a free gift from God.
Ephesians; 2:8-9
(For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.)
I am not going to try to explain this principal of election. I do know that God does not lie and that this is what the Scriptures teach. We all know that eternal life is in none other than Jesus Christ, and if we come to Him for forgiveness, He will save us. I feel that if you do come to Jesus and are saved, then you are one of the elect, but if you reject that free gift of salvation and do not come to Jesus, then you are not one of the elect. I pray that you are one of the elect and that you will come to Jesus.
Hebrews;; 3:7-8
(Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear his voice, Do not harden your hearts as in the day of rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness,)
Is God calling you? If He is, answer the call.

God Bless You!

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Hatred For God! Why?

You might ask how can anyone hate a loving, gracious, merciful God? It is not hard to see the evidence of this type of thought in our world. We can look at our own country and see the hatred for God. We cannot pledge allegiance to the flag in schools because it says one nation under God. We cannot have the ten commandments in public places because these are from God. We have had to take (in God we trust) off of our coins. Why do people hate God?

First I want to say that not everyone hates God. If you are a born again Christian and have put your faith in Jesus, then you love God. He has saved you from an eternity in hell. He has given you new life in Him. He has given you His Holy Spirit to dwell in you. You have spiritual life now where as before you were spiritually dead and without any hope. You have everything to be thankful for after having received Jesus as our Savior. You have eternal life through Him and only through Him.

If you are an unbeliever in Jesus Christ, then you probably do hate Him. You may not believe that, but what does the Scriptures say?
John; 1:3-5
(All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.)
John; 8:12
(Then Jesus spoke to them again saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.")
We see that Jesus is the light. In Him is no darkness at all. What does the light do in a dark place? It illuminates everything and nothing is hidden from His sight.

An unbeliever hates the light because his evil works are revealed because of the light.
John; 3:19-20
(And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.)
Most evil things are done under the cover of darkness. If a person is going to break the law, they will most likely do it at night.

God tells us that they hated Him and if you are trying to live a righteous life, they will hate you also.
John; 15:18-19
("If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.)
God tells us that not only does it hate Him, but that it will hate you.

By hating God and rejecting Him, they have rejected the only hope of forgiveness for their sins. They have chosen darkness and death over life giving light in Jesus Christ. Sin has its pleasure for a time, but in the end it brings forth death.
Romans; 6:23
(For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.)
No where else is there eternal life. It is in Jesus alone and He has paid the price for us. He died in our place that we might have life in Him. If you haven't given your life to Jesus, today is the day. Don't wait!!! You could very well die in your sins having rejected God's precious gift of eternal life.

God Bless You!

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Confessing Our Sins To God!

Some people can talk the talk about Jesus Christ, but are they really in true fellowship with Jesus? The Scriptures tell us that we will know them by their fruit. If we claim to be Christians and our lifestyle is immoral, are we really born again. The Bible tells us that we are a new creation in Christ, so we should exhibit a new character. The old man has been done away with, so we should have some big changes in our lives.

We can pretend to be a born again Christian, but if we haven't put our faith in Jesus Christ for Salvation, then we do not have eternal life in us. If we have put our faith in Jesus, then we will want to do His will and obey Him.
1John; 2:3-4
(Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, "I know Him," and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.)
Obedience is the external, visible proof of knowing God. Those who are truly born again and know God are obedient to His Word. This doesn't not mean that Salvation is from good works, but that those who posses Salvation will do their best to be obedient to God's Word. Will you still sin from time to time? Yes you will. So what do we do if we sin?
1John; 1:9
(If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.)

You might ask "why should you have to ask for forgiveness of sins, if when you put your faith in Jesus He forgave you of all of your sins? When we do sin, we need to confess that we have sinned and ask God to forgive that sin so we can have continual fellowship with Him. A true Christian will confess any sin that occurs, and God will continually cleanse those who are confessing.
1John; 1:7
(But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.)
A genuine Christian walks habitually in the light (truth and holiness), not in darkness (falsehood and sin). Their walk also results in cleansing from sin as the Lord continually forgives His own. If you sin against a brother or sister, you are going to go to that person and ask them to forgive you. They are not going to stop being your brother or sister, but you want that close fellowship with them restored. You do this by confessing to them that you have sinned against them.

God loves us and He wants us to have close fellowship with Him. If we are sinning, then we have put a wedge between us and God. Our fellowship and closeness to our Savior isn't what He wants it to be and we need to tell him we are sorry and confess the sin. The closeness is then restored. If you have any sin in your life that you have not confessed, now is the day to confess it to God and ask Him to forgive you. God has promised that He will forgive you of your sins.
1John; 2:2
(And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.)
The only way to have your sins forgiven is to come to Jesus for that forgiveness. He paid the price on the cross for all who would repent and believe in Him. He is the only way to the Father.
John; 10:9
(I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.)
John; 14:6
(Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.)
God cannot lie. Jesus is the way to Heaven and the only way to have forgiveness of your sins. Come to Jesus today for forgiveness of your sins.

God Bless You!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

The Spirit Of Truth!

The Holy Spirit, a free gift from God. We hear a lot about the Holy Spirit, but God is the one who gives the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity and is our helper and our teacher when we are studying the Word of God. When Jesus was about to return to the Father, He told his disciples that the Father would send them a helper after He had returned to Heaven.
John; 14:16
(And I will pray the Father and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever)

When you become a born again Christian, the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in you. He takes up permanent residence in a believer. You might ask "how do I know the Holy Spirit is in me"? If you have given your life to Jesus Christ, you do have the Holy Spirit in you. If you haven't given your life to Jesus, then you don't have the Holy Spirit in you.
Romans; 8:9
(But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.)
The Spirit of God makes His home in everyone who trust in Jesus Christ.
1Corinthians; 6:19
(Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?)

THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH
The Holy Spirit is the source of truth and He communicates truth to all believers. If you do not have the Spirit, you cannot know the truths from God's Word.
1John; 2:27
(But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.)
God's Holy Spirit guards and guides the true believer into all truths. The world doesn't have this help because He is given to true believers.
1Corinthians; 2:12-14
(Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know all things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.)

When you are studying God's Word, ask Him to open your eyes to all of the truths in the Word.
Luke; 24:45
(And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.)


God Bless You!

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Understanding What The Will Of The Lord Is!

We hear others tell us that they don't know what the will of the Lord is for their life. They might try to find it from someone else or ask friends what the will of God is, but the only place that we will gain Spiritual wisdom is found in the Word of God. When we study God's Word, we begin to understand what He want from us and how He wants us to live. If you are not in the Word of God, then you can only guess what you should do with your life.

One thing that God wants is for us to be saved.
1Timothy; 2:3-4
(For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desired all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.)
We should also be Spirit-filled.
Ephesians; 5:18
(And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,)
We also are to be sanctified.
1Thessalonians; 4:3
(For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual immorality)
We are to be submissive.
1Peter; 2:13-15
(Therefore submit yourself to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, whether to the king as supreme, or to governors, as to those who are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers and for the praise of those who do good. For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.)
We may suffer for doing good, and we are to take it patiently.
1Peter; 2:20
(For what credit is it if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.)
We are to be thankful.
1Thessalonians; 5:16-18

(Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.)
Jesus has left us an example of how we are to conduct ourselves in this world. Our goal is to be more Christ like in our Christian walk, and we need to look at his life for direction on how to do this.
1Peter;4:1-2
(Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lust of men, but for the will of God.)
Study God's Word the Bible. It is the way you will learn what His will is for your life.

God Bless you!










Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Everlasting Punishment!

Everlasting punishment! This doesn't mean that a person will be annihilated, but that the punishment will last forever. I have had people tell me that they believe that if they end up in Hell, they will be burned up and that will be the end. That is not what the Bible teaches. We are taught that we will either have eternal life in Heaven with Jesus or we will be cast into the lake of fire. There isn't any other options, you will be at one place or the other.

Matthew; 25:46
(And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.")
The punishment of the wicked is never-ending. The punishment is described throughout the Scriptures as:
"EVERLASTING FIRE"
Matthew; 25:41
("Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels;)
"UNQUENCHABLE FIRE"
Matthew; 3:12
(His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather his wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.")
"SHAME AND EVERLASTING CONTEMPT"
Daniel; 12:2
(And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.)
A PLACE WHERE "THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED"
Mark; 9:44
(where 'Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.')
"TORMENTS" AND "FLAME"
Luke; 16:23-24
(And being in torment in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. "Then he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.')
"EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION"
2Thessalonians; 1:9
(These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.)
A PLACE OF TORMENT WITH "FIRE AND BRIMSTONE" WHERE "THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT ASCENDS FOREVER AND EVER"
Revelation; 14:10-11
(he himself shall also drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out full strength into the cup of his indignation. He shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.)
"LAKE OF FIRE AND BRIMSTONE" WHERE THE WICKED ARE "TORMENTED DAY AND NIGHT FOREVER AND EVER"
Revelation; 20:10
(The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.)
Revelation; 20:15
(And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.)

Don't wait any longer, give your life to Jesus now before it is to late. Jesus has paid the price for all of us sinners, and He is offering us life in Heaven with Him. He is not going to force you to accept eternal life. The choice is yours to make. It is free from God, and it is only through Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the way.
John;14:6
(Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.)

God Bless You!

Monday, June 11, 2007

Staying Close To God!

Protecting our children is an awesome task. It seems like no matter how hard we try, they still get hurt. When we were children, I'm sure that our parents tried their best to keep us from harm, but we managed to hurt ourselves just the same. When we would go somewhere, my mother would tell us kids to stay close and not wonder off. We didn't always listen, and we had to pay the price for our disobedience. Sometimes it was just a scolding, other times it was serious discipline.

Our Heavenly Father wants to protect us from harm also. He knows that if we are obedient to His commands, we will be less likely to sin. If we are rebellious, we will most likely find ourselves in harms way. It may not come in the way of physical pain, but it could very well be spiritual pain. Maybe your testimony will be damaged. Maybe someone else will stumble because of something you do or say. We all stumble and fall, but if we are close to God, He is there to pick us up and brush us off. If we think that we can take care of ourselves, we are just fooling ourselves and we will be setting ourselves up for failure.

James; 4:8
(Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.)
If you have been born again through faith in Jesus Christ, you can come to God for everything.
Romans; 8:1-2
(There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the of sin and death.)
Because you are in Christ Jesus, you can come to God for help in the time of need.
Hebrews; 4:16
(Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in the time of need.)
It was at the throne of God that Christ made atonement for sins, and it is there that grace is dispensed to believers for all issues of life.
2Corinthians; 9:8
(And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have abundance for every good work.)

We are told that we are to submit ourselves to God. But how do we do this? When you submit to God, it is a willing decision to put yourself under God's authority as sovereign ruler of the universe. God can protect you from evil and He will, but we must be obedient children. When Jesus was praying for all believers, He ask the Father to keep us safe from the evil one.
John; 17:15
(I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.)
This protection is from Satan and all the wicked forces who follow him. Like a child, if you keep putting yourself into harms way, you will eventually get hurt. You can tell a child that something is hot, but if the child goes ahead and touches it, they will get burnt. When we submit to God, we are then resisting Satan.
James; 4:7
(Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.)
Resist here, literally means "take your stand against". All people are either under the lordship of Christ, or under Satan's control. There is no middle ground. Satan is already a defeated foe.
1John; 3:7-8
(Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.)

No matter how strong a Christian we are, if we try to go it on our own, we will get hurt. Stay close to God and lean on His power to carry you through all of life's trials. He is your heavenly Father and He wants you to abide in Him and His Son Jesus Christ.

God Bless You!


Thursday, June 07, 2007

Rich And Poor!

Once again, we are shown that if you have money, you will be treated differently than the poor. It's seems to be the way it is, and it is sad. Over the last few years we have seen more of this. God tells us not to show favoritism, and by doing so we are judging by appearance rather than substance.
James; 2:1-4
(My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you." but say to the poor man, "You stand there"or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?)
When we give special privileges to the rich and with hold them from the poor, we have discriminated against them.

Why is it wrong to show favoritism to the wealthy?
(1) It is inconsistent with Christ's teachings.
(2) It results from evil thoughts.
(3) It insults people made in God's image.
(4) It is a by-product of selfish motives.
(5) It goes against the Biblical definition of love.
(6) It shows a lack of mercy to those less fortunate.
(7) It is hypocritical.
(8) It is sin.
James; 2:9
(But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers.)

It is easy to fall into the trap of showing special attention to the rich, but God tells us not to do it. We are to remember the poor of our world and treat them the same as the rich.
James; 2:5
Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love Him?)
We are probably all guilty of doing this at some time or other in our life, but we need to remember what Jesus said.
John; 15:12
(My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.)
Galatians; 5:14
(The entire law is summed up in a single command: "Love your neighbor as yourself.")

Our whole country was based on equality for all, and we are moving away from this basic principal. We need to pray for our country and for all those who have been unfairly treated by our judicial system. We need to move back to "One Country Under God With Liberty And Justice For All".

God Bless You!

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Keep Anger Under Control With God's Help!

Angry? We all have been there before. God knows that we have this emotion because He made us. He also has told us to control it. If we don't keep it under control, we are likely to say something or do something that we will regret. Anger is a tough emotion to keep under control, but with the help of the Holy Spirit in our life, we can succeed.

If we loose our temper, we are very likely to find our self sinning.
Proverbs; 29:22
(An angry man stirs up strife, And a furious man abounds in transgression.)
Proverbs; 26:21
(As charcoal is to burning coals, and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife.)
Proverbs; 15:18
(A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.
The righteous weigh their answers; the wicked don't wait to speak because they don't care about the effects of their words. It is important to have something to say, but it is equally important to weigh it first. It is impossible to take back the hurt that our words can cause someone, so we need to think before we speak.

Here are some other places where "hotheads" are contrasted with "peacemakers".
Proverbs; 14:17
(A quick-tempered man acts foolishly, And a man of wicked intentions is hated.)
Proverbs; 14:29
(He who is slow to wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly.)
Proverbs; 15:1
(A soft answer turns away wrath, But a harsh word stirs up anger.)
Sometimes it is very hard to hold back when we have been hurt by someone else. But God has told us to be very careful with our tongue. We can cause a lot of harm in short order when we speak before we think.

We are told in the Book of James that our tongue is a small member of our body, but that no one can control it.
James; 3:8-9
(But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God.)
When we are instructed to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, we are letting the Holy Spirit control our life. God is the only one who can control our tongue. We are not able to control our tongue without His help. The next time anger stirs it ugly head, stop before you act. You will be thankful.

God Bless You!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Be A Laborer In The Field!

Jesus told the disciples that the harvest is ready but the workers are few. When we look around we see that there are few who even care about God. It seems like our world has fallen into the be all you can be and get all you can get mode. God has not only been replaced by material things, but He is almost never mentioned by anyone. We travel at such a rapid pace that we sometimes forget to stop and thank God for all that He has given us. The next thing that happens, is that the harvest passes by and is not harvested because we were just to busy. People will end up in hell because they have not turned to Jesus for salvation. Why? Because we were to busy or afraid to tell them.
Jeremiah; 8:20
("The harvest is past, The summer is ended, And we were not saved!")

When Jesus spoke of the harvest to the disciples, He was speaking of the spiritual harvest of souls for salvation.
Matthew; 9:37-38
(Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.")
When Jesus told them to pray, He was affirming the fact that believers' prayers participate in the fulfillment of God's plan. We as believers are suppose to be in the fields sowing the word of God to the unbelieving world. Maybe all we will do is sow the Word of God, and then someone else will come along and do the harvesting. Maybe you will harvest what someone else has sowed.
John; 4:36-37
(And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: 'One sows and another reaps.')

The harvest is ripe and the reapers will one day come to gather all of the believers to be at home with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. At the present time there are two seeds here on earth, those who belong to Jesus and the tares who belong to the devil. We are to go out and witness, but Jesus is the one who saves a sinner. He alone can change a heart, He is the true sower of the salvation seed.
Matthew; 13:38
(The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.)
At the harvest, Jesus will send out His angels to separate the tares.
Matthew; 13:41-42
(The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and they will be cast into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.)

The next time you have an opportunity to witness for Jesus, remember that you might sow the seed, but someone else might harvest. Jesus wants us to spread the word anytime that we have a chance to do so. Our job is a laborer, Jesus will do the saving of the soul.

God Bless You!