Songs of Praise

Psalm 95:1-5 ESV

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord;

    let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

    let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

For the Lord is a great God,

    and a great King above all gods.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;

    the heights of the mountains are his also.

The sea is his, for he made it,

    and his hands formed the dry land.

I have been singing ever since I was a small child. From early on God gave to me the gift of song and a voice to sing his praises. Now that I am approaching 70 years of age, though, the old voice isn’t what it used to be. It cuts out on me. It cracks. It is now lacking in strength, as am I.

But, you know something? God doesn’t care what our voices sound like. He is not interested in how good we sound when we sing. He rejoices over even the tone deaf as they sing his praises, if they are singing genuinely from their hearts in true worship of God. For, he says to make a “joyful noise” to the Lord. It doesn’t have to be a great voice or professional sounding.

Yet, you know, as the body of Christ, especially here in America, I think that we can miss out on a lot of good singing to the Lord because the church, at large, has adopted this idea that the music has to be at a professional level, by the world’s standards.

But, that is not God’s standard. His is that we lift him up in song in all sincerity of heart and mind, and in genuiness of devotion and praise to our God for who is he and for the great things that he has done. He is interested in spiritual songs, biblical songs which honor and praise him, even if they are sung by someone who is tone deaf.

I am so grateful to the Lord for spiritual songs, and the hymns, too. For, they speak often to my heart the words of God. My Lord speaks to me through songs all throughout my day. They encourage me. They bless my heart. They counsel me in the ways of the Lord, and they show me the way that he wants me to go, because they are founded in His Word. Even before a prayer is on my tongue the Lord is often answering me through a spiritual song or a hymn. All praise, honor and glory to God!

Psalm 95:6-7 ESV

Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

For he is our God,

    and we are the people of his pasture,

    and the sheep of his hand.

And, this is the clincher! God is not interested in our singing songs of praise to him if we have not first of all bowed the knee before him in humility of spirit, in repentance, and in walks of obedience to his will for our lives. For, this is our acceptable worship of God that we first of all give our lives over to the Lord as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Rom. 12:1-2).

We are to no longer be conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but we are to be transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from our lifestyles of living for sin and self, in order that we might follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his will and to the way he has for us to go (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Lu. 9:23-25).

For, he is our God, our Lord, the owner and master of our lives, if we are truly his by God-given faith in him. And, we are the sheep of his pasture. And, his sheep listen to his voice and they follow him in obedience. And, no one can snatch us who follow him out of his hands (Jn. 10:27-30).

Psalm 95:7-11 ESV

Today, if you hear his voice,

    do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

    as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

when your fathers put me to the test

    and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

For forty years I loathed that generation

    and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,

    and they have not known my ways.”

Therefore I swore in my wrath,

    “They shall not enter my rest.”

And, this warning here is repeated in the New Testament three times, in Hebrews 3 and 4. And, this warning was/is written to those who believe in Jesus Christ, too, and/or to those who profess faith in Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 3, he followed this warning with these words:

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end” (Heb. 3:12-14 ESV).

And, this is critical that we get this. We don’t “get saved,” and then live however we want, and then when we die we get to go to heaven. Our salvation is not a one-time event in our lives. It is continuous. It is ongoing. Daily we are putting sin to death in our lives, by the Spirit of God. Daily we are taking up our cross and we are following our Lord in surrender and in obedience to his commands (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

Our faith in Jesus Christ is not past tense only. It is present tense. If you know how to look up the Greek, you will soon learn how often words that sound (in English) as though they could be past tense are actually present tense words and/or words that express a continuous course of action. For, example John 3:16 should read, “that whosoever believing in him…”

All throughout the New Testament we are taught that our salvation is ongoing and that it must be continuous to the end if we want to have the hope of eternal life with God. For, our salvation will not be completed until Jesus Christ returns for his bride, to take us home to be with him.

All throughout the New Testament we are taught that faith in Jesus Christ is expressed daily in our actions, in how we live our lives, and that eternal life with God is guaranteed only to those who walk (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit, and not to those who make a profession only of faith in Jesus Christ.

So, this is a warning that all who profess faith in Jesus Christ should take seriously. For, scripture teaches us that if we walk (in lifestyle) according to our sinful flesh, that we are going to die in our sins, not have eternal life with God. If we make sin our practice, our “go to,” the way in which we conduct our lives day in and day out, then we will die in our sins.

And, if we do not leave our sinful lifestyles behind us, but we hold on to them, again, we are going to die in our sins, not have eternal life with God (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

So, don’t put God to the test. Don’t play with fire thinking you won’t get burned. Take God’s Word seriously. For, God will do what he says. If we walk by the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of our sinful flesh, then we have eternal life with God.

I Will Lift My Eyes  

An Original Work / December 12, 2012

Based off Psalms 121-125

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.

Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

I give thanks to Him.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.

Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.

Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;

My home, now in heav’n.

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.

Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

I can count on Him.

https://vimeo.com/112516626

Saturday, August 31, 2019

We Have to Yield

Ephesians 2:11-12 ESV

Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

It used to be that God’s chosen people were the Jews, and that all non-Jews were considered to be Gentiles. It used to be that God required of his people that they (the males) be circumcised in the flesh (physically). And, it used to be that all who were Gentiles were outside of faith in God (in Christ), and that they were not heirs of the covenant promise God had with his people. They were separate from God (from Christ) and without hope. Yet, there may have been some believing Gentiles before Christ came into the world.

But, that is not where we are today.

Ephesians 2:13-16 ESV

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.

Now it is all those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior who are God’s chosen people, and who are heirs of the promise God made with his people. For, Jesus Christ destroyed that barrier that stood between Jew and Gentile, and he made us both one in Christ, for those who believe in Jesus Christ. So, the division is no longer Jew and Gentile but it is saved and unsaved or believer in Jesus and non-believer.

For, the Jew who does not believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of his life, it is the same for him as it is for a non-Jew who refuses to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of his life. There is no difference. For, the non-believing Jew is the same as a non-believing Gentile. And, the Lord makes that quite clear in the books of Romans and Galatians, in particular, where he spells it out in clear language (Read Rom. 9:6b-8; Gal. 3:10, 16, 26-29; Gal. 4:22-31; 1 Jn. 2:22).

It used to be that God’s chosen people, too, had to follow a very long list of rules and regulations, mostly ceremonial in nature, and physical in nature, too. You can read about these in the Books of the Law (Genesis to Deuteronomy). The primary one, which was a point of contention with the early church, was physical circumcision. For, many Judaizers were trying to persuade Gentile believers in Jesus Christ that they, too, had to be circumcised of the flesh, and that they had to follow some Jewish regulations, customs and ceremonies.

But, when Jesus Christ died on that cross for our sins, he abolished all of those Old Covenant ordinances (regulations) – all those which were outward and physical in nature but that had little to do with actual heart transformation of the Spirit of God. And, he summarized the ten commandments for us, which were God’s moral laws for his people, into two commandments. We are to love God with our whole heart, soul and mind, and we are to love our neighbors as we love ourselves (Matt. 22:37-40).

But, this love is not human love, of the flesh of man. This is agape love, which is God-like love, and which is based in preference for what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, pure, honest and trustworthy, etc. So, if we love God with this kind of love, we are going to prefer what he prefers, thus we are going to follow him in obedience to his will and to his ways. And, if we love other humans with this kind of love, we are not going to lie to them, cheat them, steal from them, or commit adultery against them, etc. But, we will do to them what is good and righteous.

Ephesians 2:17-22 ESV

And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Jesus Christ preached peace to the Jews and to the Gentiles. For, just because someone was physically a Jew, it did not mean he had the hope of eternal life with God. He still had to believe, and he had to obey God. And, today, just because someone claims to be a Christian or just because he grew up attending gatherings of the church does not mean he is genuinely saved from his sins with the hope of eternal life with God, either.

So, how does one become genuinely saved from his sins and part of the household of God today?

Scripture teaches us that we have to repent of (turn away from) our sins and turn to and follow the Lord Jesus with our lives in obedience to his commands. Yet, this is not works-based salvation, as some would have you to believe. We are still only saved from our sins because of what Jesus Christ did for us on that cross in taking our place so that we could be delivered out of our slavery to sin and so that we would walk righteously before him.

Yet, it is by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ that we are saved from our sins and have eternal life with God. But, his grace to us and our faith are both gifts from God, for human faith is not what saves us. It is God-given and God-persuaded faith, which submits itself to the Lordship of Christ, which saves us from our sins and which promises us eternal life with God. And, it is continuous faith which endures to the end, too.

We are being joined together, and we are growing into a holy temple of God, and we are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Daily, by the Spirit, we are putting to death the misdeeds of our sinful flesh. And, daily we are taking up our cross and we are following (obeying) Jesus Christ with our lives. For, it is those who are walking (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh, who have eternal life with God.

For, Jesus died on that cross, not just to forgive us our sins, and not just to promise us heaven when we die. But, he died that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. For, when we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And, all this is by the Spirit of God. But, we have to yield our lives over to the Spirit’s control.

[Jn. 14:23-24; Rom. 6:16; Heb. 5:9; 1 Pet. 1:2; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; 1 Jn. 3:24; Lu. 9:23-25; Jn. 6:35-66; Jn. 10:27-30; Ac. 26:16-18; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 2:8-10; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 1:13-16; 1 Pet. 2:9-10; 1 Pet. 2:24-25; & 1 Jn. 1:5-9]

I Will Lift My Eyes  

An Original Work / December 12, 2012

Based off Psalms 121-125

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.

Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

I give thanks to Him.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.

Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.

Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;

My home, now in heav’n.

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.

Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

I can count on Him.

https://vimeo.com/112516626

Friday, August 30, 2019

If We are Christ's

Galatians 3:23-29 ESV

Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.

The subject of law and grace can be a confusing subject for those of us who were born into this world after Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Thus, many people distort this to make it say that we no longer have to obey our Lord’s commandments, and that we don’t have to do what God says, as though God’s grace now frees us to do whatever we want.

So, we need to read this in the context of the whole of the book of Galatians, and in the context of the whole of the gospel message as taught throughout the New Testament. And, then we should have a better understanding of what this is saying and why it is being said the way that it is.

For, at the very beginning of this book of Galatians we read that Jesus Christ “gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” (chap. 1, vv. 4-5).

So, if we are delivered from this present evil age, then we are delivered out of our slavery to sin, not given permission to indulge in sin as much as we want now that we are no longer under the guardian of the law. And, if this is according to the will of God, and for his glory and praise, then it is not carte blanche to do whatever we want now that we are no longer under the law, but under grace. For, it is God’s will that we should walk in holiness, purity, righteousness, godliness, uprightness, and in integrity, etc.

Next, in Galatians 1, we read what this letter is really all about. The people were deserting Jesus Christ and they were turning to “another gospel” other than the one they had been taught by the apostles. They were being led astray by those who were distorting the gospel message, and who were teaching a gospel contrary to the one taught by the apostles, which was a gospel of man (of human origin), not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Gospel of Christ

So, what is the gospel of Jesus Christ that the apostles taught? It was Jesus Christ crucified, risen from the dead, ascended to the Father in heaven, and coming again one day to judge the world and to take his own to be with him forever.

It was that Jesus died on that cross that we who believe on him might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. It was that Jesus died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. It was that he died on that cross that we might become the righteousness of God and that we might become God’s possession, and that he might be our Lord (owner-master), and that our lives should no longer be our own to be lived how we want but that they are to be lived for his glory and praise (1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Co. 6:20).

It was that faith in Jesus Christ is of God, and it is divinely persuaded, and thus it submits to the Lordship of Christ and it walks in holiness, purity, etc. And, it was that faith in Jesus Christ means we are crucified with Christ in death to sin in order that we might live with Christ to his righteousness, for in Christ Jesus we were created to be like him in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 2:10; Jn. 6:44; Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

It is that Jesus died in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. And, it is that we who walk (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God have eternal life with God, and that those who walk (in lifestyle) according to the flesh do not have eternal life with God, but will die in their sins (Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

The gospel that the apostles taught, too, says that we must walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commandments if we want to be in relationship with God (with Jesus), be saved from our sins, and to have eternal life with God (Jn. 8:51; Jn. 14:23-24; Rom. 6:16; Heb. 5:9; 1 Pet. 1:2; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; 1 Jn. 3:24; 1 Jn. 5:3; 2 Jn. 1:6; Jas. 1:21-25).

Law and Faith

So, what is the real concern here? It is that people were deserting the gospel of Jesus Christ as taught by the apostles and they were being led astray to a man-made gospel. And, in this case the man-made gospel was teaching the people that they still had to follow some of the Old Covenant rules and regulations regarding cleanliness and some of the Old Covenant rituals and customs and celebrations, too, and that they had to be physically circumcised (the males) as was required under the Old Covenant.

All of these were externals. For, people could do all of these things and never have a heart change towards God at all, which God often chided the children of Israel about in the Old Testament, and which Jesus often chided the Pharisees and teachers of the Law about, too. For, they would do the externals, but their hearts were far from God. They looked good on the outside, but they were filthy on the inside. So, God was not interested in their externals. What he wanted was for them to be circumcised of the heart. And, that is what many of them refused to do.

So, this is not saying that faith in Jesus Christ means we no longer have to obey God or do what he says. To the contrary! It is that we are not saved by merely keeping a bunch of rules while our hearts are still not given over to the Lord. Externals don’t save us. We can be religious people, and go to church gatherings, and be involved in ministry within the church, and tithe, and do good deeds, etc., but none of that will save us from our sins.

Only by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ can any of us be saved from our sins. But, that faith means we die with Christ to sin, and we deny self, and daily we take up our cross and follow (obey) Jesus Christ. Faith in Jesus Christ means we are no longer our own boss, to do what we want with our lives, but now our lives are given over to Jesus to be lived for his glory and praise. We are now his possession. And, he is now our owner-master.

So, don’t be caught up in the lie that says that faith in Jesus Christ means we don’t have to turn away from our sins and that we don’t have to obey our Lord. For, faith in Jesus, which is God-given, gives our all to Jesus to be lived for his purposes, and for his glory and praise, our all on the altar of sacrifice laid, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but now transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God (Rom. 12:1-2).

I Will Lift My Eyes  

An Original Work / December 12, 2012

Based off Psalms 121-125

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.

Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

I give thanks to Him.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.

Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.

Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;

My home, now in heav’n.

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.

Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

I can count on Him.

https://vimeo.com/112516626

Thursday, August 29, 2019

A Hard Saying

John 6:25-29 ESV

When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

So many people seek Jesus just for what they can get out of him, but not because they want to surrender their lives to him. They hear that he has a plan of salvation for them that will mean they can be forgiven their sins and go to heaven when they die, and that sounds good to them.

For, they are told that all they have to do is believe in him, which is true, but “believe” is rarely defined as anything more than an intellectual acknowledgment of who he is and what he did for us, or as a choice to go to heaven when they die.

Thus, they want what they can get out of Jesus, i.e. what he can provide for them, but they don’t want it to have to cost them anything. They don’t want to have to change their lifestyles or give up anything that they already have. They don’t want to have to commit to anything or surrender anything, let alone their entire lives.

So, their “belief” in Jesus is shallow, human-based, and usually self-centered. Thus, there is a reason that James (in the book of James) says that even the demons “believe” and they shudder. For, not all belief is the kind that saves us from our sins. James said that faith that is not accompanied by works (of the Spirit) is dead faith, i.e. it is useless.

For, it is quite clear by the context here that there is a correlation between belief and works, but not works of the flesh or the law, but of the Spirit, the kind that God predestined that we should do in his power and strength, and for which we are saved (Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:12-13; Tit. 2:14; Jas. 2:14-26).

John 6:53-59 ESV

So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught at Capernaum.

To eat or to drink something is to partake of it or to participate in it; to take part in it and to experience it along with others. It is to join in, to involve yourself in it, and to enter into it.

And, Jesus’ flesh and his blood both represent the death he was about to die on a cross for our sins. For, in his death, he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. In his death he put sin to death on our behalf in order that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness (Rom. 6:1-23; 2 Co. 5:21; Eph. 4:17-24).

So, to eat of Jesus’ flesh and to drink of his blood is to participate with him in his death to sin so that we might be resurrected with him to his righteousness. It is to share with him in his sufferings that we might share with him in his glory (Phil. 3:10; Rom. 8:17; 1 Pet. 4:13; Matt. 20:22-23).

Yet, we don’t do this just once. This is continuous. We have to keep dying to sin and self, and we have to keep walking by faith according to the Spirit of God in the Lord’s righteousness. For, this is a lot like a marriage. For, when we marry someone, we don’t have the wedding day and then go off and keep living like we are single. For, when we marry, the two now become one, and we now work to become united with our spouse as one.

And, like a marriage, we are also entering into an intimate relationship with our God and Lord. Thus, this eating of Jesus’ flesh and this drinking of his blood, i.e. this participation with him in his death to sin, and living with him to his righteousness, is also us abiding in him, and him in us. And, this feeding on him is us feeding on His Word and spending time with him in prayer and fellowship, and it is us seeking his will and then doing it, too.

John 6:60-65 ESV

When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.) And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”

Many people today, as well, are rejecting the message of the true gospel of our salvation, because it teaches us that we must die with Christ to sin and live with him to righteousness. It teaches that we must suffer with Christ in the way in which he suffered if we want to live with him for eternity. And, it teaches that we must walk (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God if we want to have eternal life with God. And, so many people today are saying this is too hard. And, so they are rejecting it in favor of something easier.

They are offended, too, at this teaching of death to sin and living to righteousness, and so they opt out for something less offensive and more appealing and appeasing to their flesh. Thus, many people are buying into a cheap grace gospel which requires nothing of them at all – no repentance, no obedience and no submission to Christ as Lord of their lives.

And, this is because their “belief” in Jesus is human-based and not God-given or God-persuaded faith. Their “belief” in Jesus is not based in the whole counsel of God, either, but in a diluted half-truth gospel message that is friendlier to the flesh, for it does not require it to be put to death at all. It coddles it, instead, and makes room for it to still flourish and to thrive.

But, the flesh is no help at all to us if we want to have true faith in our Lord Jesus and to have eternal life with God. We can’t make up our own plan of salvation, in other words, which fits with our lifestyles, and then put God’s stamp of approval on it.

For, it is the Spirit of God who gives life, and we can only come to faith in Jesus Christ if the Father draws us to Jesus, and if he grants us the faith to believe. And, that faith, thus, because it is of the Spirit, and not of the flesh of humans, will submit to Christ as Lord, will turn away from lifestyles of sin, and will turn to follow our Lord in obedience. It will not make provision for the flesh, but it will lead us in the way of the Spirit of God.

I Will Lift My Eyes 

An Original Work / December 12, 2012

Based off Psalms 121-125

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.

Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.

I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.

My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.

I give thanks to Him.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.

Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.

Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.

I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.

I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;

My home, now in heav’n.

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.

Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!

Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.

Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.

I can count on Him.

https://vimeo.com/112516626

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Keeping Faith

Isaiah 26:1-4 ESV

In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah:

“We have a strong city;

    he sets up salvation

    as walls and bulwarks.

Open the gates,

    that the righteous nation that keeps faith may enter in.

You keep him in perfect peace

    whose mind is stayed on you,

    because he trusts in you.

Trust in the Lord forever,

    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Our strong city is the bride of Christ, the Holy City, the temple of God, the body of Christ, his saints, his church. Collectively it is all those who trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of their lives, who have died with Christ to sin that they might live with Christ to him and to his righteousness.

Our salvation from sin, which Jesus Christ provided for us on the cross, is our fortification, our protection, our safeguard and our defense against the wiles of the devil and the curse of sin and death. For, by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord, we are delivered out of our slavery to sin and from the curse of sin and death. And, we are empowered of the Spirit of God to now walk in Christ’s righteousness.

And, Jesus Christ is the door, the gate, i.e. the only way to this salvation from sin and to eternal life with God. Only through him, through God-given faith in him can we be saved from our sins and have eternal life with God. And, his way for us to enter into this gate is that we must keep the faith, i.e. we must walk (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, and we must continue in this faith to the very end of time (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

And, when we are walking in the ways of the Lord and no longer in the ways of our sinful flesh, we do have perfect peace because our minds remain on Christ. He is the focus of our lives, not the things of this world. Continually we are turning to him, putting our trust in him, submitting to his will, going where he sends us and doing what he commands. He is now our life, and not the things of this world. And, our desire is for him to do his will.

Isaiah 26:7-9 ESV

The path of the righteous is level;

    you make level the way of the righteous.

In the path of your judgments,

    O Lord, we wait for you;

your name and remembrance

    are the desire of our soul.

My soul yearns for you in the night;

    my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.

For when your judgments are in the earth,

    the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.

Faith in Jesus Christ is not a religion or religious practices or rituals that we adhere to. First and foremost, it is an intimate relationship with Almighty God. For, when we believe in Jesus Christ, God’s Spirit comes to live within us, and we are united with Christ as in holy matrimony. We become his bride, and he becomes our husband. We are in him and he is in us. And, now he is our Lord and master and we are his own, his possession.

Secondly, faith in Jesus Christ is a lifestyle. For, when we believe in Jesus Christ, we die with him to sin and we live with him to righteousness. We have forsaken our former lifestyles of living to sin and self, and now we have chosen to walk in his ways and in his truth, in obedience to him.

The old has gone. The new has come. Now we walk in the way of righteousness and no longer in the way of our sinful flesh. Now our desire is for God, to do his will, and no longer do we live according to the lust of our sinful flesh. It doesn’t mean we are perfect people or that we will never sin again, but sin is no longer what we practice, and daily we are putting the deeds of the flesh to death in our lives by the Spirit of God.

Our relationship with our Lord is not a casual matter, though. He is not an add-on to our lives. He is our life! He determines our steps, not us. He decides what we will do or where we will go or what we will say, not us. Our devotion to him is not something we do 5 or 10 minutes a day, either. It is 24/7, all the time. Our souls yearn for him in the daytime and in the night, and we earnestly and consistently seek him and his counsel in every aspect of our lives. For, our desire is now for him, to do his will.

Isaiah 26:10-11 ESV

If favor is shown to the wicked,

    he does not learn righteousness;

in the land of uprightness he deals corruptly

    and does not see the majesty of the Lord.

O Lord, your hand is lifted up,

    but they do not see it.

Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.

    Let the fire for your adversaries consume them.

It is true that the wicked take God’s grace for granted. If they are those who have had little suffering in their lives, and if so many things have been handed to them, and if it seems as though they are able to go on in their wickedness and nothing bad has yet happened to them, they don’t learn righteousness. For, they assume life will continue to go on as normal and that they can continue in their wickedness.

And, many of them are professers of faith in Jesus Christ, too, who are counting on heaven as their eternal destiny. For, they have bought into a lie which tells them that they can “believe” in Jesus, have heaven guaranteed them, and yet they can continue on in their sinful lifestyles while claiming that God’s grace covers it all. For, they believe their sin no longer matters to God and so they don’t have to repent of sin or obey the Lord.

They don’t see God for who he truly is, either. They have a false image of who God is implanted in their minds. Many treat God as though he is a doting grandfather or a genie in the sky there to grant their every request, but as though nothing is required of them at all, which is a slap in the face to God. For, they are trampling on God’s grace underfoot, and many of them don’t have a conscience about it, either.

So, the prayer here is that they would see God’s zeal for his people and be ashamed. And, we have a profound example of this zeal as recorded for us in the New Testament when Jesus overturned the tables of the merchants in the temple of God because they had turned God’s house into a marketplace. For, our God is holy, he is righteous and he is just. And, his desire for his people is that we walk with him in his righteousness and holiness.

Isaiah 26:12-15 ESV

O Lord, you will ordain peace for us,

    for you have indeed done for us all our works.

O Lord our God,

    other lords besides you have ruled over us,

    but your name alone we bring to remembrance.

They are dead, they will not live;

    they are shades, they will not arise;

to that end you have visited them with destruction

    and wiped out all remembrance of them.

But you have increased the nation, O Lord,

    you have increased the nation; you are glorified;

    you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

Prior to coming to faith in Jesus Christ we were lost in our sins, bound for hell, and without hope of salvation or eternal life with God. In our flesh there was not anything we could do to earn or to deserve our own salvation, too. We were separate from God and we all fell short of attaining God’s glory.

Yet, by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, who put sin to death on that cross, we were delivered out of our bondage to sin. The sin which once ruled over our lives no longer has dominion over our lives. Amen! But, now Jesus Christ is the ruler, the Lord (owner-master) of our lives, and our lives are given over to him to walk in his ways, and to do what he says to do.

But, this is not something we do in our own flesh. Only by God’s grace, through faith in Jesus Christ, can any of us be counted as righteous in God’s sight and can any of us walk in that righteousness and no longer according to the flesh. For, by faith in Jesus Christ, not only are we delivered out of our bondage to sin, but we are empowered of the Spirit of God to walk in obedience to his commands, for it is now God working his will in our lives.

As well, it is the Lord who helps us to mature in him, to grow in our faith, and to learn his ways. The Spirit of God counsels us, and he encourages and strengthens us so that we can obey the Lord. It isn’t us doing “good deeds” in order to earn our own salvation, but it is God working in our hearts and lives, as we cooperate with his work of grace, and as we yield to his sovereignty over our lives, that helps us to walk righteously before God. So, God is the one who is glorified and who receives all the honor and praise.

Knowing You Jesus / Graham Kendrick

Knowing You, Jesus, knowing You

There is no greater thing.

You're my all, You're the best,

You're my joy, my righteousness,

And I love You Lord.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=60I5MoRTCm8

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Holy and Acceptable

Romans 12:1-2 ESV

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Because of all that Jesus Christ did for us, in dying on a cross so that we could be delivered out of our slavery to sin, we are to present ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God. We are to give our lives to the Lord for his service, to do his will. And, we are to live our lives in the power of God in holiness, set apart (unlike, different) from the world and set apart to God to follow our Lord in obedience.

This is what is acceptable to God, and this is our spiritual worship of him that we should deny self and take up our cross daily and follow (obey) Jesus Christ, God the Son. For, if all we do is worship God with our lips, then that is not true worship. True worship of God is to surrender our lives to him fully, under his control, and to leave our lives of sin behind us to follow him wherever he leads us.

We are to no longer live like we did before we trusted him as Lord and Savior of our lives. We are no longer to live in the ways of this sinful world, hating one another, cheating, lying, thieving, gossiping, lusting, and carousing and the like. But, we are to be transformed (changed) in heart and mind of the Spirit of God in repentance away from our sinful practices to now walking according to the Spirit of God.

And, we need to discern what the will of God is for our lives. Some of this we will learn through experience, through trials and tribulations, as we are maturing in our walks of faith, and as our Lord is disciplining and pruning us in order that we may share in his holiness. Yet, the Word of God instructs us in the ways of the Lord, and it teaches us the good, acceptable and perfect will of God for our lives. So, we would do well to study the Word so that we know what it says, so that we then do what it says.

Romans 12:3-5 ESV

For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we die with him to sin and self and we live to him and to his righteousness, for this is why he died. In order to do this, we must humble ourselves before God, own up to our sin, choose to turn away from it, and choose to follow our Lord in obedience and in surrender to his will. But, we don’t do this in our own flesh, for then it would not be genuine faith, but we are able to do this as empowered by God.

But, while we live on this earth, we still live in flesh bodies. We still have a propensity to sin against God. We will continually battle the flesh, for the Spirit is at war with the flesh, and the flesh is at war with the Spirit. So, daily we must humble ourselves and take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands. Moment by moment we must choose to not yield to the flesh but to the Spirit. But, we have the Spirit of God living within us who will empower us to do so, so all glory and praise to God!

So, not one of us is to raise ourselves up above the other. This does not mean, though, that we can’t teach the truths of scripture which convict hearts of sin, or that we can’t teach on holiness and purity of devotion to Jesus Christ. For, when we teach the truth of the gospel, if our hearts are in the right place, we are not doing so to raise ourselves up, but to raise our Lord up to his proper place within our hearts and lives.

But, by faith in Jesus Christ, all those who have genuine faith in Jesus Christ form one body, and as one body we are members one with the other. And, within the body of Christ we are not to raise one member above the other based on human thinking and reasoning, or on outward appearance, or based on willful pride or prejudice. For, God didn’t make us all the same, nor did he give us all the same gifts and ministries. So, we are to treat one another with the same love, the same purpose, and with sober judgment.

Romans 12:9-13, 21 ESV

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Let love be genuine, sincere, real, and truthful and not fake, phony or pretentious. In other words, don’t lie to one another. Don’t flatter each other for the praise of man. Don’t just say you love people. Show it! But, show it as God shows it. For, his love prefers what is holy, pure, righteous, honorable, honest, trustworthy, kind, and beneficial to others. And, it is self-sacrificial, willing to die, if need be, in order to tell people the truth which will set them free, and which will lead them to salvation and eternal life with God. True love always seeks God’s best for other people.

In loving God and in loving others in ways which are for the honor and praise of our Lord, and which are thinking about what is best for others, we will abhor what is evil, and we will cling to what is good. Thus, we will not lead others into sin, and we will not pacify them in their sin, nor will we refuse to tell them the truth out of fear that they may reject us. We will, instead, speak the truth in love to others so that they can also walk in Christ’s love and holiness and be set free from their slavery to sin.

One of the ways in which we can love one another with genuine love is to pray for one another. But, again, our prayers also need to be in line with God and his Word, they need to be unselfish, and we need to be looking out for what is truly for the good of others and not for what their flesh desires. For many prayers are voiced which are of the flesh and not of the Spirit of God, and which don’t even consider the will of God or his Word, but only what others or ourselves want (desire, crave). So, we need to pray according to God’s will, and not according to the flesh of man.

Thus, in showing God’s love, one to the other, we must guard our hearts against evil, and we must be careful that we are not led astray from our pure devotion to Jesus Christ. For, when we reach out to others in love, if those people are not walking in truth, they may influence us to also forsake truth to follow after lies and to follow after the flesh rather than after the Spirit of God. So, daily we must put on our armor of God and walk according to the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the passions of the flesh. And, we must be constant in prayer in the Spirit of God so that we are not led astray.

The Old Rugged Cross

Words and music by George Bennard, 1913

On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,

The emblem of suff’ring and shame;

And I love that old cross where the dearest and best

For a world of lost sinners was slain.

Oh, that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,

Has a wondrous attraction for me;

For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above

To bear it to dark Calvary.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,

A wondrous beauty I see,

For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,

To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;

Its shame and reproach gladly bear;

Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,

Where His glory forever I’ll share.

So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,

Till my trophies at last I lay down;

I will cling to the old rugged cross,

And exchange it some day for a crown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7v26yrlz5w

Monday, August 26, 2019

My Tongue Will Sing

Psalm 119:161-164 ESV

Princes persecute me without cause,

    but my heart stands in awe of your words.

I rejoice at your word

    like one who finds great spoil.

I hate and abhor falsehood,

    but I love your law.

Seven times a day I praise you

    for your righteous rules.

Apostate faith is stealing true faith from people’s hearts and minds. For, it is a traitor to the true gospel of our salvation. It is a deserter of true faith. For, it refuses to continue to follow Jesus Christ and to obey his commandments. And, it is leading many astray.

It is lying to people, and it is telling them that God no longer demands that we follow his commandments. It is telling them that they can believe in Jesus, have heaven guaranteed them, but that their lifestyles don’t really have to change all that much, or that lifestyle change is optional.

So, they are persecutors of the true faith. They are rebels who want to go their own way, and to do what is pleasing to their flesh rather than to do what is pleasing to God. In fact, they are teaching people that they don’t have to do anything to please God, for he is already pleased with them, no matter what they do, or no matter how much they rebel against him.

But, we are to reject this apostate faith that so many are handing out to the people these days. And, we are to hold on to and to embrace the true gospel of our salvation. We are to study the Word of God so that we know what it teaches us so that we can do what it says. And, we are not to depend on other humans to tell us the truth, for many liars and deceivers abound these days who are leading many hearts astray from pure devotion to Jesus Christ.

Psalm 119:165-168 ESV

Great peace have those who love your law;

    nothing can make them stumble.

I hope for your salvation, O Lord,

    and I do your commandments.

My soul keeps your testimonies;

    I love them exceedingly.

I keep your precepts and testimonies,

    for all my ways are before you.

If we love Jesus Christ, we will love his Word, and we will do what it says. We will make keeping his commandments our practice, and his commandments are not burdensome. His yoke is easy and his burden is light, because he is the one who paid the price so we can go free. And, he is the one who empowers and who strengthens us to be able to obey him.

We don’t have to obey all those Old Covenant laws that the Jews had to obey, for Jesus set us free from that. But, we do have to walk in obedience to God’s moral laws which he summed up into two laws: “’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matt. 22:36-39 NIV)

But, this kind of love is not human love. It is not based on how we feel. We can love even when we don’t feel like it, for this kind of love has to do with preference, a choice of our wills to demonstrate love to others. And, it prefers what God prefers, which is what is holy and righteous, therefore it will do nothing to take advantage of others or to cause them harm.

And, when we are walking in obedience to our Lord’s commandments, in his power and strength, we do have great peace. And, we will be able to resist Satan, and to flee temptation, and to draw near to God in full assurance of faith. For, when we follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands, we will not walk in the darkness, but we will have the light of life (Jn. 8:12).

Psalm 119:169-172 ESV

Let my cry come before you, O Lord;

    give me understanding according to your word!

Let my plea come before you;

    deliver me according to your word.

My lips will pour forth praise,

    for you teach me your statutes.

My tongue will sing of your word,

    for all your commandments are right.

What is my cry? It is that so many people, in the name of Christianity, are being led astray from pure devotion to Jesus Christ, and they are continuing on in their sinful practices (lifestyles), for they have bought into a lie of Satan. And, that lie is telling them that God is not concerned about their sins any longer or that his grace covers them all so it doesn’t matter how much they sin against God. Thus, many are still wandering in their sins.

Many people are claiming faith in Jesus Christ while they make sin their practice (their lifestyle). Thus, we have many broken lives. Many people are still in bondage (prison) to their flesh, to do whatever it is that their flesh desires, no matter who gets hurt in the process. Therefore, the gatherings of the church are filled with people, including their leaders, who are still living to please the flesh.

Families are falling apart. Marriages are being wrecked by pornography, adulteries, unfaithfulness, and the like. Children are being taken advantage of and they are being abused. Lying to one another has become common practice. Stealing from one another is common place. Human lives are being destroyed because so many people are following after a lie rather than following after the truth.

So, we need to be calling on the Lord in truth. And, we need to be praying for the truth to come out. And, we need to be sharing the truth of the gospel with others so that their eyes can be opened, and so they will be turned from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they can receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ (See Acts 26:16-18).

Psalm 119:173-176 ESV

Let your hand be ready to help me,

    for I have chosen your precepts.

I long for your salvation, O Lord,

    and your law is my delight.

Let my soul live and praise you,

    and let your rules help me.

I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,

    for I do not forget your commandments.

If we do follow the Lord’s commandments, though, and if we do share the true gospel of our salvation with others so that they can be delivered out of their bondage to sin, we will be hated and persecuted for righteousness’ sake. We will come up against much opposition. And, we will have our voice squashed in an attempt to silence us and to keep us from speaking the truth.

So, we will need to call on the Lord for help, and for him to give us his counsel and wisdom in these matters. We will need his strength and courage to keep on in sharing the truth despite all opposing forces coming against us. And, we will need his help, too, so that we do not go astray out of fear of what others might do to us or say about us, or because we have caved to the pressure to accept apostate faith as true faith.

We need to keep on in loving God and in walking in obedience to his Word, despite what is going on all around us, and despite common trends to dilute the truth of God’s Word in order to appease human flesh. We need to stand strong in our faith despite all temptation to compromise with the world and with the devil. And, we need to long for God’s Word and to make it our delight rather than to shy away from it for our own comfort and enjoyment.

We need to not yield to the temptation to follow the crowd and to compromise with the world. But, we must remain steadfast in faith and in purpose and in our love for our Lord and for his Word. He alone should be who we serve with our lives. He should be the sole desire of our hearts, too, from which all else flows. And, we should long to be with him, to share in his Word, and to do what he says, because we love him, because he first loved us.

As the Deer / Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70