Psalm 118:5-9 ESV
Out of my distress I
called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
The Lord is on my
side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
The Lord is on my side
as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate
me.
It is better to take
refuge in the Lord
than to trust in man.
It is better to take
refuge in the Lord
than to trust in princes.
The best freedom there could ever be is to be free from our
slavery to sin. Amen! It doesn’t mean we will never sin again, but that sin no
longer has dominion over us. Satan has no more power over our lives. We are no longer
under the control of sin and Satan, for Jesus has set us free!
So many people totally miss this, though. They think that
Jesus’ death on a cross was merely to forgive our sins so that we could escape
hell and have the hope that we will go to heaven when we die. But, his death
paid the penalty for our sin so that we could be delivered out of our slavery,
like he delivered the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt.
Jesus already won this battle for us. He put sin to death on
that cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. So, in his power
and strength within us, we can be victorious over sin and Satan. We can daily
put on that armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us.
For, Jesus already made the way of escape for us. Thus, not one of us who
believe in Jesus should ever be bound by slavery to sin ever again.
So, it is better that we get the truth about our salvation
from the Word of God and not from other humans. For, humans may pull scriptures
out of context to try to convince us of a salvation that does not put sin to
death, but that leaves us still in slavery to sin.
So, we need to read the scriptures in context so that we get
the full understanding of what they mean. For, Jesus died on that cross to
deliver us from slavery to sin, not merely to forgive sin.
He
Lifted Our Burdens
An
Original Work / February 15, 2014
Based
off Isaiah 9:2-7
People walk in darkness.
They abide in their sin.
It has power o’er them.
True belief escapes them.
Jesus Christ came to save them.
He gave His life up for them;
Crucified; died for our sin,
So we might be forgiven,
And have life up in heaven.
Many come to know Him.
God’s love now o’erflows them.
They rejoice in vict’ry.
Their sin is but hist’ry.
We were once bound in slav’ry.
Jesus lifted our burdens;
Set us now free from Satan,
So we now walk in freedom.
Sin has no more dominion.
Praise be to our Savior!
He showed us His favor.
He took all our burdens;
Cast them all upon Him.
He is our mediator;
The Light which shines in darkness.
Counselor in our troubles;
He gives peace now in our hearts;
Joy which is everlasting.
Psalm 118:10-16 ESV
All nations surrounded
me;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
They surrounded me,
surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
They surrounded me
like bees;
they went out like a fire among thorns;
in the name of the Lord I cut them off!
I was pushed hard, so
that I was falling,
but the Lord helped me.
The Lord is my
strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
Glad songs of
salvation
are in the tents of the righteous:
“The right hand of the
Lord does valiantly,
the right hand of the Lord exalts,
the right hand of the Lord does valiantly!”
The nations (the world, including the worldly church) have
come against the faithful in Christ Jesus, and they have come against the
gospel of our salvation as taught by Jesus and his NT apostles. And, they are
out to destroy the gospel message and to discredit its messengers.
Their goal is world-wide unity politically (governmentally)
and spiritually (religiously). And, so they have been on the all-out attack
against the gospel and its messengers for some time now. So, they have diluted
the gospel message to make it more acceptable to all people – to all human
flesh. And, they have reduced it to nothing more than a mere acknowledgment of
Jesus Christ and an acceptance of his grace and forgiveness of sins.
But, they remove the most critical components from the
gospel message. They remove the requirement that we come to Christ humbly, in
confession of our sins, in true repentance, and that we turn our hearts over to
Jesus Christ in surrender to his will, and in submission to his Lordship, and
in obedience to his commands (his instructions to us for godly living).
So, in this day and age when the gospel and its messengers
are under severe attack, we who believe in Jesus Christ must stand firm in our
faith and in defense of the gospel. And, we must expose the lies for what they
are, and we must tell people the truth, for their eternity depends on them
knowing and living the truth.
For, Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to
righteousness. If we don’t die with him to sin, and if we don’t live with him
to his righteousness, then we don’t have eternal life with God. We don’t have
the hope of heaven when we die. But, we have the promise of eternity in hell.
So, know the truth through reading the Bible, and then live the truth (See: Lu.
9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).
Courageous!
An
Original Work / December 24, 2013
Based
off Various Scriptures
The Word of God throughout taught.
Some people heard, but did doubt.
Still others had faith in Christ.
By grace He purified them.
They turned from sin
And they obeyed Christ.
He opened up their blinded eyesight;
Turned them from darkness
To the true Light;
Forgave their sin by His might.
He strengthened them in their faith.
He said, “Remain my faithful.”
He called them to obedience.
By faith, they were so grateful.
By faith, they were to follow Jesus;
To daily sit and listen to Him;
To have such faith
That mountains could move;
To love those whom He gave them.
Be on your guard; courageous.
Stand firm in faith. Be thankful.
Take up the shield of your faith;
Protect against all evil.
Do not move from
The hope that you have.
Your faith in Jesus let it endure.
Hold to the truth;
Your conscience be clear.
Endure with perseverance.
Psalm 118:17-24 ESV
I shall not die, but I
shall live,
and recount the deeds of the Lord.
The Lord has
disciplined me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
Open to me the gates
of righteousness,
that I may enter through them
and give thanks to the Lord.
This is the gate of
the Lord;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I thank you that you
have answered me
and have become my salvation.
The stone that the
builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is the Lord's
doing;
it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that
the Lord has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
The Lord will allow us to go through persecution, for it is
for our strengthening, and it is for his glory. He has allowed this time in
history, too, when the gospel and its servants are under severe attack by the
nations and by the worldly church (See: Matt. 24; Rev. 13).
For, it is God’s will, not only that we live for him, but
that we suffer for him, too. But, these times of suffering come to test our
faith to see if it is genuine, and they come, too, for God to prune us and to
purify us and to conform us, too, to the likeness of Christ. So, they are for
our good.
So, we should give thanks to the Lord for these trials and
tribulations, for they are ultimately for our good, that we may walk in the
ways of the Lord, and that we might please him in all that we do.
For, when things are going easy for us, we may be tempted to
get consumed with self and not with God. Thus, these difficulties are used by
God to draw us closer to him, and to make us into the people he has called us
to be. Yet, what results from these trials all depends on how we respond to
them.
So, when we are persecuted, although it is certainly ok to
cry it out to God in our pain and suffering, we should submit ourselves over to
our Lord and allow him to work his will and his ways in and through our lives,
for his purposes and for his glory. For, he is working his righteousness in our
lives that we may walk in his ways and in his truth, and that we may be pure vessels
ready for his use in sharing his gospel with the world around us, so that many
people may come to know Jesus Christ, too.
All
Through the Night
An
Original Work / December 7, 2013
Based
off Various Scriptures
Blessed are you when you’re persecuted
Because of your faith in Jesus Christ.
Blessed are you when people insult you,
And falsely say what leads folks to doubt.
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is
Great in the heavens. You’re not alone.
When you are persecuted in one place,
Flee to another. God will be there.
You will be hated by all the nations
Because you testify of God’s grace.
Many will seize you and persecute you,
And put to death the foll’wers of Christ.
Yet, do not fear what humans may do to you,
For I’m with you all through the night.
I tell you, love your enemies with my love,
And forgive as I forgave you.
Pray for those who do evil against you.
Rest in my love and grace from above.
Friday, January 11, 2019
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