Self Check!

Do you really know Jesus as Lord and Savior? Most of us say that we do. Lets take a look at what the Bible says about knowing Jesus.

Doctrinal -(Who Is Jesus Christ?)
Having a proper view of Jesus Christ.
John; 1:1-2
(In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.)
Jesus, God the Son, was with the Father in the beginning. Everyone should agree that God created all things. The Scripture tells us that Jesus was God the Father's agent in creating everything in the universe.
John; 1:3
(All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.)
Colossians; 1:16-17
(For by Him all things were created that are in the heavens and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him all things consist.)
Hebrews; 1:2
(has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;)

We know that Jesus made the worlds, and He is fully God in every way.
Colossians; 2:9
(For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;)
Jesus was not only fully God but also fully human as well.
John; 8:58
(Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.")
I AM is the name of Yahweh, Lord of the Old Testament.
Exodus; 3:14
(And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'.")
John; 10:30-33
(I and My Father are one." Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him. Jesus answered them, "Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those do you stone Me?" The Jews answered Him saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God.")
Hebrews; 1:8-9
(But of the Son He says; "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than your companions.")
The text is all the more significant since the declaration of the Son's deity is presented as the words of the Father Himself.

There are many Cults in the world that try to deny that Jesus is fully God and Fully human. They want to say that He is a good man, but not God the Son.

Moral -(Obedience to God's commands)
Do we allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in our daily walk? Do we keep His Commandments? Do we love one another?
1John; 1:6
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.)
Romans; 8:14
(For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.)
1John; 2:3
(Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.)
John;14:15
("If you love Me, keep My commandments.)
John; 14:21
(He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me.)
1Corinthians; 7:19
(Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.)
1John; 2:4
(He who says , "I know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.)
1John; 5:2
(By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.)
2John;1:6
(This is love, that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.)

Talk is cheap, but if we live the way Jesus has told us too, others will know that we belong to Him. There are many other verses in the Scriptures to let us know if we are walking according to His commandments. We as believers just need to understand who Jesus is and obey Him. He is God the Son, our Lord and Savior who bought us with His blood. He has cleansed us from all unrighteousness and sin. We have eternal life if we have Him in our life.
1John; 5:12
(He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)
How can you be sure that you that you have eternal life?
Romans; 10:9-10
(that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.)

You cannot earn it or buy it. It is the free gift from God to all who believe in His Son.

God Bless You!

Eternally Secure? Yes Or No?

Today, I will tell you why I believe that once saved, always saved.

There are many times that I have heard people talk about eternal security for believers. You have heard people say that once saved always saved. I believe once saved always saved. The next question will be, were you really saved or did you just repeat some words? The Scriptures tell us that when Salvation takes place that you are a new creation in Christ. There should be some change in your life and the way you think. I have heard others say that you can walk away from your salvation. I believe that if you were truly saved, and the Holy Spirit entered into your life, you will not walk away from your Salvation because He will give you the strength to endure to the end.

Let's look at some Scriptures and see what God says.
2Corinthians; 5:17
(Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.)
This is regeneration or new birth. New birth is an act of God whereby eternal life is imparted to the believer.
John; 3:3
(Jesus answered and said to him, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.")
Spiritual transformation or regeneration produced by the Holy Spirit.
Titus; 3:5-6
(Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior,)
Salvation brings divine cleansing from sin and the gift of a new, Spirit-generated, Spirit-empowered, and Spirit protected life as God's own children and heirs.

Jesus says that those who belong to Him are safe in Him. Jesus tells us that no on can snatch you away Him or the Father, who is in control of everything.
Colossians; 3:3
(For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.)
John; 10:27-30
(My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one.)
Every true believer is eternally secure, kept by God Himself. I feel that all true believer will endure to the end being kept safe from spiritual harm.

Now for those who would walk away from the truth, I don't know if they were ever truly saved and that conversion ever took place. They may have spoke the words, but was their heart right with God.
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.)
If the Spirit of Christ is not in you, you are not his. We need to take a look at our life and see if we do belong to Christ. Have you honestly committed your life to Him as Lord and Savior?
1John; 5:11-12
(And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)
Whoever believes in God's Son has eternal life. You don't need to worry about it because you have been given eternal life by God Himself. Our certainty is based on God's promise that if we have the Son we have eternal life.

I'm not going to try to tell you if you are saved, that belongs to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He knows the heart of man and He knows those who are His. I heard a saying a few years back and it seems to fit. "No Jesus No Change, No Change No Jesus" We cannot do anything on our own, only through the indwelling Holy Spirit can change take place in our life. He comes into our life at the point of Salvation and change starts then. According to the Word, no one or nothing can separate us from the love of God.
Romans; 8:34-35
(Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?)
Romans; 8:38-39
(For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.)
Once a person is truly saved, God will keep you safe until Christ return. I know there are people who say otherwise, but this is how I believe according to what I read in the Scriptures.

God Bless You!

Come Out Of The Darkness And Into The Light!

Light and darkness are two terms that are used over and over in the Scripture. God is the Light of the world and the Father of lights.
1John; 1:5
(This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.)
In the Scripture, light and darkness are very familiar symbols. Light refers to biblical truths.
Psalm; 119:105
(Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.)
Proverbs; 6:23
(For these commands are a lamp, this teaching is a light, and the corrections of discipline are the way to life.)
John; 1:4-5
(In Him was life, and the life was a light of men. And the light shines in the 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.")

Everything that is good and acceptable is from God. There are many false teachers in the world today and what they are teaching is a lie. They would have you believe their lie and not follow Jesus. The Scriptures tell us not to be deceived by their false teachings but to stand firm in our faith. Jesus is the way to life eternal. What they teach is the way to destruction, and it will land you in the lake of fire.
James; 1:16-17
(Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.)

God created light in the world and He is the one who brings light into the believer's heart. Sin has darken our hearts so that we cannot understand the truths of God's word. The Holy Spirit is who brings all of these truths to light and leads us to salvation. God has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ who is the exact representation of God Himself. Jesus is God the Son.
Colossians; 1:13-15
(He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of his love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.)
Colossians; 2:9
(For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.)
God has brought everything to light through Jesus Christ.

Darkness refers false teaching, hardness of heart, the place of punishment, evil, sin, and many others. When an unbeliever hears the Word of God, it is foolishness to them. They are in darkness and their mind is darkened. The light of the Word does not penetrate the natural man because the Word is Spiritually discerned. Natural man refers to the unconverted man, who lacks supernatural life and wisdom.
1Corinthians; 2:14
(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.)
We can tell the unbeliever about Jesus and Salvation, but only God can take away the darkness in his heart.

Men love darkness because their deeds are evil and they don't think God sees them. But we already know that nothing is hidden from the eyes of God.
John; 3:19-20
(And this is the condemnation, that 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 into the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.)

Jesus tells us that if we believe in Him we will not continue in darkness because He will bring light into our life.
John; 12:46
(I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.)

Ask God to bring the truth from His Word into your life. Confess that you are a sinner and believe in your heart that Jesus can save you and ask Him to be Lord of your life. Give your life to Jesus today. You are in darkness until you have Jesus in your life.

God Bless You!

To Be With The Lord, Or To Be In The Lake Of Fire?

I have had people tell me that they believed when you die, if you go to heaven you live forever and if you go to The Lake of Fire you just burn up and are no more. This couldn't be any further from the truth. After a person dies, he either is present with the Lord if he is saved, or he is in "Hades-Sheol". Hades-Sheol-is the same place, a temporary place for the unredeemed "unsaved". They are still in this place of torment until the Great White Throne Judgment at which time "Hades-Sheol" will give up the dead that are in them and they will be judged.

When a Born Again Christian dies, immediately upon death he is in the presence of the Lord.
1Corinthians; 5;8
(We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.)
Our body is placed in the grave, but our soul (spirit) goes to be with Jesus.
Philippians; 1:23
(For I am hard-pressed between the two, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.)
Paul knew that when he died his spirit would go to be with the Lord. The Scripture tells us that at the rapture, the dead in Christ will come with Him and be given resurrected new bodies suited for eternity. Those of us who are still alive will not precede them, but after they come, we will join them to be with our Lord.
1Thessalonians; 4:13-17
(But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.)
Those who have died in Christ will come with Him to be reunited with their new resurrected body.

For those who are not redeemed believers in Jesus, their body is put into the grave, but their spirit is sent to Hades-Sheol to be held until the Great White Throne Judgment of the dead. In the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus in Luke;16 we find that after the Rich Man died he went to a place of torment.
Luke; 16:22-25
(So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments 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.' But Abraham said,' Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented.)
Hades is a place where the torment of hell has already begun. There is unquenchable fire.
Matthew; 25:41
("Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels;)
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.")
2Thessalonians; 1:9
(These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power.)
First, it is forever, thus it is not a reversible experience. Second, destruction means ruin and does not involve annihilation, but rather a new state of conscious being which is worse than the first. If you end up in the Lake of Fire, your torment will be everlasting . There will not be any second chance to be saved once you die the first death.

Forever and ever, have you thought about forever. Life is short here on earth, but forever is forever. Never ending torment for those who reject the free gift of life in Jesus Christ. If you don't give your life to Him, the Lake of Fire will be your destination for eternity.
Revelation; 14:11
(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.)
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; 20:13-15
(The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.)

When you were born you began your earthly life, when you die, you will begin your eternal life. The choice will be eternal life with God, or eternal separation from God. Give your life to Jesus today.

God Bless You!

Indwelling By The Holy Spirit!

INDWELL'ING, n. Residence within, or in the heart or soul.

Yesterday I discussed the difference between baptism by the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit. Today I want to discuss the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Every believer at the moment of Salvation is indwelt by Spirit of Christ. His Spirit comes to live in us and direct us in all truths in God's Word. Every Born Again believer has the Holy Spirit in him.
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; 6:19-20
(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? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's)
The Christians body does not belong to him but to the Lord, and is the Holy Spirits temple.

The renewing of your mind, can only take place as the Holy Spirit changes our way if thinking. This happens as we diligently study Scripture and meditate on them day and night.
Romans; 12:1-2
(I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.)
A renewed mind is controlled by the Word of God. You saturate your mind with the Word and allow the Holy Spirit to direct your life.

We are also told that when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, and love Him and keeps His commandments, He will come and make His home with us.
John; 14:23
(Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.)
Jesus told us that when He went to the Father that He would send us another Helper, The Holy Spirit from God. He will dwell in all believers.
John;14:15-17
("If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that he may abide with you forever-the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.)
Abiding has to do with his permanent residence in believers.

We are told that when we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit will come and teach us all truth, He is the Spirit of truth.
John;16:7
(Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.)
This was to bring us comfort knowing that we will not be left with out help. When we are studying the Word of God, the Holy Spirit gives us understanding of what we read. He gives us the capacity to discern divine truths.
John;2:13-14
(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.)
If you do not have the Holy Spirit in you, you will not be able to understand spiritual truths. You will be able to read the Scriptures, but you won't have the Holy Spirit in you to explain them to you.

Jesus told the disciples that He had many more things to say but that they could not bear them.
He told them that the Spirit would teach them after His departure to the Father.
John; 16:12-15
("I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truths; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.)
This teaches how God has revealed Himself through Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit will make these things clear to us.

Now we know that we have the Holy Spirit in us if we truly belong to Christ. We have seen that He is our Helper, our Teacher, our Guide to Spiritual truths. He is the Spirit of God living in us. He is the Holy Spirit of promise through Whom all believers have been sealed.
Ephesians; 1:13-14
(In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.)
The Holy Spirit is the indwelling power in a Christians life. He is working in our lives to make us more Christ like, to produce fruit, to make our light shine in a dark world.

God Bless You!

One Baptism, Continually Being Filled!

What is the difference between being Baptized by the Holy Spirit and being filled with the Holy Spirit? At the moment of Salvation we are Baptized by the Holy Spirit. We are united with Christ into one body. After Salvation we are continually being filled with the Holy Spirit. As believers we have a Spirit controlled life. Our behavior is controlled by the Spirit of God as long as we walk by the Spirit.

[BAPTIZED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT]
Acts; 1:5
(for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.")
The Spirit marks the beginning of our Christian life, and we must have the Spirit to belong to Christ.
Romans; 8:9
(However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.)
We cannot be united to Christ without His Spirit.
1Corinthians; 6:17
(But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.)
We must have His Spirit to be adopted as children of God.
Romans; 8:14-16
(For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.)
Galatians; 4:6-7
(Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.)
You cannot be in the body of Christ without being baptized by the Spirit.
1Corinthians; 12:13
(For by one Spirit we are all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit.)
The Spirit is the power of our new life in Christ. He begins to change us so that we become more like Jesus Christ.
Galatians; 3:3
(Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?)
Philippians; 1:6
(For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.)
The Holy Spirit can be experienced by all, and He works through all believers.
1Corinthians; 12:11
(But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.)
Ephesians; 4:4
(There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called on one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.)

[BEING FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT]
The Holy Spirit is the One who give us the power to live our life as Christ commanded us too. He is the One who teaches us all truths of the Word of God. He gives us boldness to tell others and the strength to stand up under persecution. When Peter was addressing the Sanhedrin, he was able to speak the truth with power from the Holy Spirit.
Acts; 4:8
(Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, Rulers of the people and elders of Israel:) He was able to address them with boldness, because he was filled with the Holy Spirit. There are many places in the Book of Acts where people were filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke boldly the Word of God.
Acts; 4:31
(And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.)
The Spirit of God is who gives us strength in times of persecution, boldness to speak the truth when people don't want to hear, and the ability to live as God wants us too. We need to be filled with the Spirit in order to survive in this evil and corrupt world. Pray and ask God to keep you full of His Spirit so that you can live as Christ wants you too.

God Bless You!

Don't Run From Jesus-Instead, Run to Jesus!!

Have you ever noticed that there are times when someone will get their feeling hurt because of what the Word of God teaches and then they will quit coming to church? They might try another church until they are convicted again and then they will try another. People just don't like to hear the truth of God's word, if it convicts them of a sin. I have known those who went to church for years and then fell away and haven't gone back. They are neglecting the gathering of the saints. We as Christians are to hold each other accountable and to make sure that we stay on course for Jesus. What better way than to have fellowship with each other at church and at home Bible studies?

The Bible teaches us to stay strong in our faith and not to neglect or forsake the assembling of the saints. As we get closer to Jesus return, the forces of satan will try even harder to draw as many away from the truth as possible. We don't have to look very far to see this happening. Look at all of the false teachers in the world today. Cults are plentiful and the following is increasing daily. People are being drawn into believing the lie, and their eternal salvation is at stake. People are searching for the truth but are looking in the wrong places. They want to know the truth as long as it doesn't convict them of their sin.
2Timothy; 4:3-4
(For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.)
These people want to feel good about themselves when they leave church, so they tend to flock to Churches that have a feel good message. Where the Word of God is watered down so it isn't quite as convicting of sin.

We might be able to fool other people about our life but we can not fool God. He looks into our heart to see what is there. He knows our thoughts and our desires and He is not fooled. When the Word convicts us of sin, we need to repent and ask for forgiveness and stop doing it. The Word of God discovers the condition of our heart.
Hebrews; 4:12-13
(For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of thoughts and intentions of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.)

Each person is not only judged by the Word of God, but by God himself.
John; 12:48
(He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him-the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.)
The word that Jesus has spoken will judge us and so will God Himself. He is the author of the living Word.
Hebrews; 9:27
(And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,)
Jesus will judge the living and the dead.
Acts; 10:42
(And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead.)

If we don't like what the Word of God says, then we need to take a good look at our life and find out why. What is it convicting us of that causes us to dislike what is being said? When you have been saved by Jesus, the Word of God gives you hope for the future. Sure, it tells you to stop sinning and follow His commands, but it also gives you a promise of eternal life with Him in Heaven. We are all sinner and in need of Jesus for Salvation. We are hopelessly lost in our sins without Him. He is the only one who can wipe the slate clean and give us forgiveness of sins. The next time you are convicted of sin, don't run away from Jesus, instead run to Jesus for forgiveness and cleansing. He has the eternal life in Him.
1John; 5:11-12
(And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)
Turn to Jesus and live!

God Bless You!

Are You Truly Free?

I'm not hear to be your judge you, I'm hear to ask if you have thought about this. Are you free or are you a slave? You probably say that you are not a slave because you live in the 21st century. I hope that you are truly free, but the Scripture say that what ever we are controlled by, we are a slave too. Maybe you don't think that anything is controlling your life but let's take a look at some things. Do you smoke? can you quit? Do you drink alcohol? Can you quit? Can you really quit? Do you do illegal drugs or legal prescription drugs? Can you quit?

Let's just discuss the legal drug, "Alcohol ". It is dangerous to your health as well as other people's heath. I don't have to tell you this because you hear it in the news every day. Alcohol has ruined more lives and families and killed more innocent people than we can imagine. We only hear the ones that make the news, but what about all of the ones that we don't hear about? We may not hear about them but God knows and He also knows the cause. Let's look at what the Scripture has to say.

I don't think that having a drink is a sin, but drunkenenss is not the life for a believer. You may say that you don't get drunk but you do drink everyday. Now this may be true, but you probably do come under the influence of the alcohol if you are drinking more than one drink. My point is this, "Can You Quit"? If you can't quit, you are a slave to your habit. Jesus can set you "Free" from this habit.
Isaiah; 4:11
(Woe to those who rise early in the morning, That they may follow intoxicating drink; who continue until night, till wine inflames them!)
I used to be one of these people myself, but after I accepted Jesus into my life, I ask Him to take the sin of drunkenness out of my life and He did it right then. I thought that I was in control of the alcohol, but the truth was that the alcohol was in control of my life. I never went anywhere without a six pack with me just in case my frisends didn't have any beer. After Jesus, I quit drinking all alcohol. My so called friends were not friends, but drinking buddies. They soon disappeared out of my life and I started to get Christian friends. If alcohol has control of your life, you can do the same.
1Peter; 4:3-4
(For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles-when we walked in lewdness, lust, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you.)
Don't think for a moment, if this is the lifestyle you now live, that you won't be ridiculed from your drinking friends if you quit. Your friends will be surprised and even offended because you don't want to participate in these pleasures anymore.

My main point is this, if you are living like this, and you want to be free from this addiction, there is freedom in Jesus Christ. There is nothing that He cannot do. We are told in the scriptures that drunkenness is unrighteousness, and if we live this lifestyle, we won't inherit the kingdom of God.
1Corinthians; 6:9-10
(Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.)
We are all sinners and slaves to sin until we have Jesus in our life. With His power we have victory over sin. Yes, we are still sinners and we will be tempted to sin, but it doesn't have control over you.
Romans; 8:1-4
(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 law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according the flesh but according to the Spirit.)
Walk, refers to a lifestyle, the habits of living and thinking that characterize a person's life. We need to follow the Spirit's guidance in our daily walk to keep from sinning. We want to please our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and God the Father, and we can do this by loving Him and obeying Him.

Give your life to Jesus today and be free from the law of sin. He can help you quit any habit you have been wanting to quit.
John; 8:36
(Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.)


God Bless You!

Give Thanks To God in Prayer For All Things!

When you don't hear from a family member for awhile, you begin to worry about them. It is the same with our children after they have left home. Sometimes their life gets so busy that they just don't have time to call everyday to let us know that they are alright. We are taught in the Bible that we need to be praying to God and letting Him know that we love Him and to bring our anxiety to Him. God wants to hear from His children just as we want to hear from our children.

Why would God want to hear everything that is bothering us? The same reason we would want our children to tell us what is bothering them. Because God loves us and He cares about His children.
1Peter; 5:7
(casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.)
When something is bothering us, we need to come to God in prayer and trust that He will take care of us His children.
Philippians; 4:6-7
(Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and minds through Christ Jesus.)
We need to trust that God will do what is best for his children.

When we come to God, we must believe that He hears and answers prayer. We must ask in faith with the right motive. We must always remember that God knows what is best for His children.
James; 4:3
(You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.)
We always need to seek God's will for our life when we come to Him with request. He knows the things we need before we ask Him.
Matthew; 6:7-8
(And when you pray, do not use vain repetition as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words. "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.)

When we come to God in prayer, it doesn't always have to be when we want something from Him. Maybe He has answered a prayer, or you are just coming to Him to tell Him how much you love Him. We are to give praise to our Heavenly Father.
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.)
Our chief end is to glorify God.
1Chronicles; 16:24-29
(Declare His glory among nations, His wonders among all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is also to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, But the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before Him; Strength and gladness are in His place. Give to the Lord, O families of the peoples; Give to the Lord glory and strength. Give to the Lord the glory due His name; Bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness!)
Romans; 15:5-6
(Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus, that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.)

God wants and demands that he be glorified by His people. To glorify God is to honor God. We are to recognize His glory and extol Him for it.
1Corinthians; 10:31
(Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or what ever you do, do all to the glory of God.)
There is only one God and we are to recognize Him as God, and give Him all of the glory and honor and praise He deserves. He is the creator of all of us and all that we see in the universe. Nothing exist that wasn't created by Him.
1Corinthians; 8:6
(yet for us there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we for Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things, and through whom we live.)

We are to come to God in prayer with our request and also with our praise to Him. We need to be thankful in prayer for all that God has done for us. We can have eternal life through Jesus Christ because God loved us so much that he sent His Son to die in our place. Give God the glory in all things.

God Bless You!

Growing As A Christian

Once you give your life to Jesus, then you need to start to grow in the Word of God. Maybe you have gone to church your whole life and you know some of what the Bible teaches, or maybe you are new to the Christian faith and have never studied the Word of God. No matter which, we need to continue to grow after we are a new creation in Christ. When a baby is born they need food and milk to survive. We as Born Again Christians need to be feed the Word in order to grow in our spiritual life. If we don't get into the Word of God, how are we to know what God expects from us now that we are part of His family? Also, if we don't know what the Word says we can be deceived by false teaching. God warns us that there are false teachers in the world and we need to know the truth.

2Peter; 2:1
(But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.)
So you can see that once we ask Jesus into our life, we need to learn what God says. We need to grow in the Word and build on our faith.
1Peter; 2:2
(as new born babies, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,)
We are new babies in the Christian faith and our desire should be to grow up and not remain as babies. Babies are constantly learning every moment of every day. We need to follow their example and learn all we can about God.

God's moral laws have not changed and Scripture is of spiritual benefit to all.
Romans; 15:4
(For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.)
You can put a child in a highchair and put food in front of him, but it will not do any good if you don't feed him. It is no different if you have a Bible on the table and you never open it and see what it says, you will not learn. We need to be able to understand exactly what God is talking about in His Word, and the only way is to study the Word.
2Timothy; 2:15
(Be diligent to present yourself approved by God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.)
Dividing the word of truth, or cutting it straight, a reference to exactness. When a person is interpreting the Word of God, they need to be exact because it is the Word of God.

All Scripture is profitable to us. It helps us with our daily walk and also in our teaching others about Jesus.
2Timothy; 3:16-17
(All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.)
By the Word of God we can learn Godly behavior so that we can be a light in a dark world. We want our behavior to draw others to Jesus. We also need to be able to tell them the truth when they ask us about our life as a new Christian. They are going to see a change in your life and will ask you what happened.

When we study the Word, we are planting it in our heart so we can live our life by what God tells us. I like to refer to the Bible as our owners manual from God. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we don't belong to our self anymore, we belong to Him. The Bible tells us all we need to know about living for Him.
Psalm; 1:1-2
(Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.)
Psalm; 119:10-11
(With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Your word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.)
Psalm; 119:103-105
(How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Your precepts I get understanding; Therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.)

God's Word gives us understanding, it is a light for our path to keep us from stumbling, and it brings joy to the Christians life. When we draw near to God, God draws near to us.

God Bless You!

What To Do If Sin Occurs

Over the past few blogs I have talked about Christian life, and what Jesus has done so that we may have eternal life. We know that we don't deserve to have eternal life and that there was nothing we could have done to earn it. We also know that God loved us so much that he sent His Son to die for our sins so we could have life in Him. We also know that after we have given our life to Jesus, there will be times when we will fall into sin. We don't want to sin but we will and then what do we do?

If sin occurs, God tell us what to do.
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.)
Confession is the first step. Confession of sin characterizes a genuine Christian, and God continually cleanses those who confess their sins.
Proverbs; 28:13
(He who covers his sins will not prosper, But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.)
Even as a Born Again Christian you will always struggle with your flesh. Sometimes you may lose the battle and sin. That is why we need to be continually confessing our sins to God. The one who says he has stopped sinning and will never sin again is deceiving himself.
1John;1:8
(If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.)

Return to the lord if you slide away and sin. God has told us that He will forgive and not cast away. God wants us to come to Him, He is our heavenly Father.
Isaiah; 55:6-7
(Seek the Lord while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the Lord, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.)
Sin is what separates us from our God. When we confess our sin and He forgives that sin, we have that close relationship with our Lord again.

[ADVOCATE WITH THE FATHER]
When we sin, we have Jesus to turn to for forgiveness. He is with the Father in our defense.
1John; 2:1
(My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.)
Satan brings our sins up in front of God all the time, but Jesus guarantees not only sympathy, but also acquittal.
Hebrews; 4:14-16
(Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.)
Who else would you rather have in your defense than Jesus the Son of God? Jesus has told us in many places in the Scripture that if we come to him, He will forgive us. As Christians we need to rely on the help of the Holy Spirit to give us strength when tempted by sin. With His help we are not powerless against it.

Just because we can confess our sin and find forgiveness, this doesn't give us a license to continually sin.
Romans; 6:12-14
(Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law but under grace.)
You are not a slave to sin any more. You have the Holy Spirit in you to give you victory over sin. We just need to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh.
Titus; 2:11-12
(For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age,)

Let's confess our sins when we sin, but let's also walk by the Spirit and rely on His power to keep us from sinning.

God Bless You!

Success! Only With Jesus!

We all face temptations everyday. It is what we do when we face these temptations that makes a difference. God tells us that we aren't facing anything that our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ don't face everyday. We cannot even go out of our house without seeing billboards showing women dressed in little or nothing or men dressed the same. We see food that isn't healthy for us, or new cars that we don't really need. There is always something that tempts us and how are we suppose to handle these temptations?

First of all, we know that man is tempted by his or her desire for something. It might look good or feel good, so we succumb to the temptation. All of us are tempted by sin everyday and we need to run from it.
1Corinthians; 10:13
(No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.)
When we are faced with that temptation, we need to be looking for the way out. God says He has given us a way of escape.

You may think that you are totally in control of yourself at all times, but the best of men and women have fallen into sin because they thought they were in control. We don't battle against normal forces as you may think.
Ephesians; 6:12
(For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places.)
Coping with deceptive temptation requires truth and righteousness. If you go into the battle unprepared, you will lose every time. We need to rely on God's power to win, not our power.
Ephesians; 6:10-11
(Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.)

Why are we tempted and who tempts us?
James; 1:14-15
(But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it give birth to sin; and sin, when it is full grown, brings forth death.)
So we bring this temptation up on our self. Now we know why we are tempted. We need to be on our guard at all times.
1Peter; 5:8-9
(Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.)
We have a powerful enemy, and we need to stand strong in our faith in Jesus. Jesus will win every time for us.
Philippians; 4:13
(I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.)

What do we gain if we are able to make it through the temptation staying true to God?
James; 1:12
(Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him.)
The believer has successfully gone through the trials and come out victorious because his faith has endured. Jesus went through life without sin and has overcome the world and we can rest in Him.
John; 16:33
(These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.")
Keep focused on Jesus to get through all of life's trials. He is the only way to have victory against temptation.

God Bless You!

Assurance For The Believer In Jesus!

The Scriptures today are for new Christians and for those who have been saved for years. These are Scriptures on assurance of eternal life once you have put your faith in Jesus. I'm sure all of us at times wonder if we are saved especially when we sin. I hope that these will help ease some of the anxiety that we all deal with.

[ASSURANCE]
John; 10:27-30
(My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one.")
Jesus tells us that when we belong to Him, no one is able to take you away from Him.
Romans; 8:28-29
(For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.)
This covers everything that we might encounter in life's path.


Even though we are appointed to die once, Jesus tells us that we will live.
John; 11:25-26
( Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?")
Though we may die physically, Jesus is able to raise us from the dead. He will give us eternal life because He is the Son of God. There is life in no other.

If you have the Son of God, you have life.
1John; 5:11-13
(And this is the testimony; that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.)
All through the Scriptures we are told that eternal life is in Jesus and Him alone.
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.")

We must believe and put our faith in Jesus.
John; 5:24
(Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.)
The people who receive that life are here identified as those who hear the Word and believe in the Father and the Son. They are the people who have eternal life and will never be condemned.

[OUR INHERITANCE IS IN HEAVEN]
1Peter; 1:3-5
(Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.)
God not only keeps the inheritance secure, but He keeps the believer secure. No one can steal the believer's treasure and no one can disqualify the believer from receiving his inheritance.
Romans; 8:31
(What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?)

We know that we can trust God to do exactly what he says. Put all your faith and trust in Him.

God Bless You!

Results Of Your Salvation!

Have you ever stopped to think what the results were after you asked Jesus into your life? You should start to see a change in the way you think and what now is important to you. You will want to tell others about what Jesus has done for you. You will want to learn more about God by studying the Word. Here are some more results from your decision to give your life to Jesus.

NEW CREATION
2Corinthians; 5:17
(Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things become new.)
Your newly transformed life is accomplished by sovereign God.

NOT CONDEMNED
John; 3:18
("He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.)
When you believe, this also includes your trust and commitment to Christ as Lord and Savior which results in receiving a new nature.

A CHILD OF GOD AND HEIR OF GOD
Romans; 8:16-17
(The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together.)
Every believer in Jesus Christ will inherit eternal life.

THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS 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 believes and puts their faith in Jesus Christ.

HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE
John; 3:36
(He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him.)
When you put your faith in Jesus for Salvation, you have eternal life.

YOUR NAME IS IN THE BOOK OF LIFE
Philippians; 4:3
(And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life.)
There will be eternal consequences for not accepting Jesus as your Savior. You must put your faith in Him and believe that He will do what he says.
Romans; 10:9-10
(that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.)

CONSEQUENCES OF UNBELIEF
Revelation; 20:15
(And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.)
Make sure that you put your faith and trust in Jesus, He is the only way to eternal life.

God Bless You!

What Does God Say?

When someone ask you what they should do to be saved, what do you tell them? Some people think they can live a good enough life to get to heaven. Others think it doesn't matter how they live, God will let them in. Some others just don't believe there is life after death. What really is important is what God tells us about eternal life. God has given us His Word and His Word is true.

[DO YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE?]
What does the Scriptures say about eternal life and who has it? Let's go to the Book of 1st John.
1John 5:11-12
(And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in the Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.)
That pretty much sums up how we get life. If you have Jesus in your life you have life, if you don't have Jesus , you don't have life. There is no grey area here. God is explicit when He tell us how to have eternal life.

[HOW DO WE GET THE SON INTO OUR LIFE?]
John 3:16
(For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.)
God sent His Son to earth to die for the sins of the world. There was no other way that a righteous God could forgive sins with out the penalty being paid. We all know that the penalty for sin is death for the wages of sin is death. So God put our sins on Jesus and nailed them on the cross.
2Corinthians; 5:21
(For He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.)
God the Father, using the principle of imputation treated Christ as if He were a sinner though He was not, and had Him die as a substitute to pay the penalty for the sins of those who believe in Him.

We must believe in the Son to have eternal life. We either believe what God has told us concerning the Son, or we don't believe what God has told us and are defiant in disbelief. Failure to believe in Jesus brings about the wrath of God.
John; 3:36
(he who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on Him.)
God the Father has told us that if we want to see life WE MUST BELIEVE IN THE SON,
there is no other way.
When Jesus died on the cross He paid the price of sins for all who would believe on Him. If a person chooses not to believe, his sins still remain unpaid. Once again the Scriptures are perfectly clear, we have to believe in Jesus to have our sins forgiven.

If you notice in all of the Scriptures, we are instructed to believe in order to have forgiveness. If you don't believe in Jesus how can you put your faith in Him? Maybe you don't feel that God will forgive you if you come to Him for forgiveness.
John; 6:37
(All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.)
Jesus is telling you that if you come to Him for forgiveness, you will be forgiven. There is no other way for salvation, it is through Jesus Christ and Him only.
Acts; 4:12
(Nor is there salvation in any other, for their is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.)
This refers to the exclusivism of Salvation by faith in Jesus Christ. There are only two religious paths; the broad way of works salvation leading to eternal death, and the narrow way of faith in Jesus, leading to eternal life.
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.)

Come to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and save you. His promise is that He will do exactly that, He will save you. Once you are saved you have eternal life, you have been born again into a new life. You have been given a new nature and the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you and lead you into all truths. The truth is that you are saved.
Ephesians; 1:13-14
(In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory.)

I keep stressing faith and believing in Jesus. The Word of God says that we must have faith and believe in Jesus. Do it today. Today, is the day of your salvation, if you come to Jesus. You will be a new creation in Christ. A member of God's family, a brother or sister in Christ Jesus.

God Bless You!

Let's Walk By The Spirit And Please God!

In my last few blogs I have spoken about God's love for us, the fact that we are all sinners, there is a price to be paid for that sin, Jesus paid the price for us, we were not going to be able to pay it and live, and God's remedy for that payment. Now that we have ask for forgiveness from God, we have a responsibility to do God's will. One thing we need to do is obey his commandments and spread the Word to the world. Now you might say that is a tall order and who can do it? Well, when we are born again, God send His Spirit to dwell in us and to teach and help us. Without God's Spirit in us, we could not do it.

John; 15:5
("I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.)
God is the one who gives us our strength to obey His will and to complete the task He has set before us. Our pride would say "I don't need any help", but that could not be any further from the truth. God wants us to be obedient to Him and He gives us the help to do it.

We are also commanded to confess and to repent of our sins and to receive a fresh new start in life. Everyone of us sins and needs to repent daily and confess them to God.
Acts; 3:19
(Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,)
God doesn't want us to go through life burdened with guilt. He wants us to come to Him for forgiveness of sins so that we can be of use to Him. How can we be an effective witness for Jesus if we are totally consumed with our own guilt. Remember that Jesus has already paid the price for the sins of the world. Yours and mine were paid for at the cross.
Colossians; 2:13-14
(And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.)
Remember that when you come to Jesus for forgiveness, your sins are forgiven. That is His promise to you.

Another promise is in the book of Romans chapter 8.
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 law of sin and death.)
Once we accept Jesus into our life, we are not under the law but under grace. We have been saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus our Lord. As a believer, your sins have been forgiven, past, present and future. This doesn't give us a free reign to continue to sin. The truth is that we still live in our earthly body and there will continue to be a battle between the flesh and the Spirit. God tells us to walk in the Spirit and not to fulfill the lust of the flesh.

The question then is what are the works of the flesh?
Galatians; 5:19-21
(Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I told you in times past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.)
I'm sure that all of us have done some of these in our past and we have been forgiven by Jesus, but we need to stop this fleshly lifestyle and obey Him. If anyone is still living like this, we need to look at the consequences of this lifestyle.
"THOSE WHO PRACTICE SUCH THINGS WILL NOT INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD!"

Let's make a commitment today to walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh. Let the Spirit of God lead you through life.

God Bless You!

God's Remedy! Salvation In Jesus!

Surprise! No, it may not be your Birthday but I'm sure it is someones birthday today. We all like to surprise people with something good, and we all like to be surprised with something good. Most of the time, I don't think we are surprised because people can't keep a secret. We always know that they are up to something. When we are talking about our God, He is never surprised because He knows the future. Because He knows everything, He knew that we were going to need help getting to Heaven because of our sin.

God doesn't want any of us to perish because He loves us. And because He loves us He sent help from Heaven. God is giving man as much time as He can so that we will come to repentance and ask for forgiveness.
2Peter; 3:9
(The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.)
God doesn't want you and I to spend eternity separated from Him. He created us to have fellowship with him and we blew it by sinning. So God put his plan into action to give us Salvation through Jesus Christ His Son. All we have to do is accept the free gift of life from God.

[THE PLAN FOR OUR SALVATION]
John;3:16-17
(For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.)
God tells us in these verses that if we want to be saved, the only way is through Jesus Christ His Son.
Jesus came to save us because we were lost in our sins and doomed to die in those sins without a means of Salvation.
Luke; 19:10
(for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.")

Jesus came to die for our sins. Why would He come down to earth and suffer and die on a cross? Because he loved us so much He was willing to come and die.
Romans; 5:8
(But God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.)
The Apostle Paul gave this message to the Corinthians.
1Corinthians; 15:3
(For I delivered to you first of all that which I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture,)

It wasn't anything we did to deserve this, because we could never have attained Salvation without Jesus. God knew this and said I'm going to give them the free gift of life, but they must come to My Son Jesus to receive the Gift of Life.
Acts; 4:12
(Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.)
We were slaves to our sinful nature and hopelessly lost. But when we accept Jesus into our life, we are set free from the bondage of sin and become slaves of God.
Romans; 6:22-23
(But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.)

We are told many places in His Word the Bible, that salvation was going to be through His Son Jesus. We are also told that there is no other way for any of us to come to the Father.
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.")
No matter what you might hear or think on this subject, the Scriptures are perfectly clear that Salvation is in Jesus and no other way.

[WITHOUT JESUS YOU ARE CONDEMNED]
John;3:18
("He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.)
Who ever believes in Him shall not perish, we heard this is John;3:16. We must believe in God and put our faith in Jesus.
Hebrews; 11:6
(But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.)
A person must believe not only that God exist, but that He will reward men's faith in Him with forgiveness of sins. He has promised to do so. Don't put off giving your life to God today. Just remember that we are one day closer to His return, and it might be today.

God Bless You!

We Can't Get There Without Jesus!

Looking back on everything that Jesus has done for me, I see just how hopeless I was before Jesus came into my life. I was like everyone else on the fast road to destruction. Oh! I thought I had everything in control but was I ever mistaken. I didn't realize it until I accepted Jesus as my Savior and was Born Again into a new life in Jesus Christ. It was only then that I was able to see just how hopeless I was trying to do it my way. I could never be good enough or righteous enough because I was full of sin. I could never have been able to work my way into Heaven, because I was saved by grace through faith in Jesus. I was hopelessly lost and in need of my Lord to give me eternal life or I was going to end up in the Lake of Fire.

You may be in the same predicament I was in before Jesus. Maybe you are under the assumption that you can be good enough or maybe you think that you can do enough work to warrant eternal life in Heaven. The Bible tells us we can not do anything to earn our way into Heaven. Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

[OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS AND OUR WORKS APART FROM JESUS]
Proverbs; 14:12
(There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.)
So we see that our way is the wrong way, God's way is the right way.

Isaiah; 64:6
(But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousness are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.)
Titus; 3:4-7
(But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.)
Apart from Jesus, we are totally without hope.

We are not justified by works.
Galatians; 2:16
(knowing that a man is not justified by works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.)
Romans; 3:20
(Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.)

We cannot work our way into Heaven. We are save by faith in Jesus and He is the way.
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.)
God new our hopelessness, and He had a plan for our salvation. His plan was to send His Son Jesus down to earth to be a sinless sacrifice for our sins. We were saved by his blood shed for our sins, but we must come to him for that salvation.
Romans; 3:23-24
(for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.)

There it is, we are saved through faith in Jesus and no one else. There are a lot of cults out there that tell you there is another way to be saved. Don't believe them. They are called false teachers and they will lead many away from the truth.
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.)
Put your faith in Jesus today. He is the way to eternal life in Heaven.

God Bless You!