Set Apart for God

Psalm 24:3-6 ESV

 

“Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

    And who shall stand in his holy place?

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

    who does not lift up his soul to what is false

    and does not swear deceitfully.

He will receive blessing from the Lord

    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

Such is the generation of those who seek him,

    who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah”

 

His Holy Place

 

The hill of the Lord is the place of worship of God, the altar of God, where we give (surrender) our lives to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our reasonable and acceptable worship of him. It is not a physical place, but a spiritual place (Rom 12:1-2).

 

There we commit our lives to Jesus Christ to follow him wherever he leads us to go. There we deny self and daily we die to sin and to the flesh. And there we walk in obedience to our Lord according to and empowered by the Spirit of God.

 

There we are conformed to the life of Christ and no longer to the ways of this sinful world. We forsake our former lives of living to the flesh, and living according to the world, and now we are becoming like Jesus in how we think, speak, and behave.

 

Now we stand on the Word of God as our only source for hearing the voice of God to show us the way in which we are now to walk. We stand on the truth of his word, and we now reject the lies which are opposed to his word, his truth, which must be taken in the context of where it is written.

 

A Pure Heart

 

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we don’t come to a fast-food restaurant – easy in, easy out. Jesus is not a quick fix to get us out of trouble. He didn’t die on that cross just to forgive us our sins so we can go to heaven one day while we refuse to honor him on this earth.

 

Coming to faith in Jesus Christ requires that we submit to him as Lord, that we surrender our lives to the will of God, and that we leave our lives of sin behind us to follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands for us, his church (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 2:3-6).

 

When we surrender our lives to Jesus, by faith in him, he changes our hearts and minds to be in conformity with the mind of Christ, and he fills us with his Holy Spirit who then serves to encourage, counsel, teach, empower, and to lead and to guide us in the way of righteousness.

 

Through our surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives, he makes us holy (set apart for God and separate from the world), and he gives us pure hearts hungry for him to walk in obedience to him. All praise and glory to God.

 

A Blessing from God

 

The blessing we then receive from the Lord is our salvation from sin and the promise of eternal life with God. But we must walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh if we want to have that eternal life with God. For, again, this is not a quick fix.

 

Our salvation is ongoing. We are saved (past), we are being saved (present) and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns, and our salvation is complete. But we must continue in that faith to the very end. We must remain in Christ and his word must remain in us.

 

We must not walk according to the flesh or walk in obedience to sin or we will not have eternal life with God but a fearful expectation of judgment and hell, no matter what sinner’s prayer we prayed, and no matter what baptism we had, and no matter what public confession we made of Christ.

 

We can’t just pray a prayer, get our salvation “fix,” and then go on with our lives as business as usual. Jesus is either Lord of our lives or the flesh is still on the throne. If we don’t die with Christ to sin, we are not in Christ, and we are still in slavery to sin.

 

Come and See  

 

An Original Work / May 20, 2013

Based off John 1:35-51

 

John, the Baptist, called of God to

Make straight the way for the Lord,

Told his disciples about Jesus,

So two of them followed Him.

 

One of them who followed Jesus

Told his brother, Simon Peter,

Who then he brought to the Savior,

Who had told them, “Come and see.”

 

Jesus Christ, our Lord, Messiah,

On his way to Galilee found a man, Philip,

So he told him, “I want you to follow Me.”

 

Philip then found his friend,

And he told him, “We have found the one

The prophets spoke of – He is Jesus!”

Philip then said, “Come and see.”

 

Jesus saw the man, Nathanael,

While he sat beneath a fig tree,

Even before Philip called him,

So Nathanael did believe.

 

Nonetheless the Lord said,

“You believe because of what I told you.

You will see much greater things than these

If you will Come and see.”

 

Jesus’ calling to each one of us.

He tells us to believe in Him

As our Lord and Messiah,

And to follow where He leads.

 

He says we must turn from our sins,

Die to sin and self each day,

And put on our new lives in Jesus;

Bow before Him; humbly pray.

 

https://vimeo.com/117022624

 

Knowledge and All Discernment

Philippians 1:9-11 ESV

 

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

 

Standing on the Truth

 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we need to be people of discernment so that we are not taken in by clever enchanters and winsome personalities who would try to influence us and to persuade us to put our confidence in man over God, or in teachings of man over the teachings of Jesus Christ and his word.

 

We need to be those who are grounded in the word of God, who know what the Scriptures teach, especially regarding our salvation and eternal life with God, and who will stand on the truth of God’s word no matter what opposition is thrown our way.

 

But, we aren’t going to know the truth if what we are trusting in is what someone else has taught us who has pulled Scriptures out of context to make them say what they want them to say, but who has ignored many of the key Scriptures on what it means to be saved from our sins.

 

We must be those who will test everything we hear, who will examine the Scriptures, in context, who will compare Scripture with Scripture, and who will seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead us to all truth. And we can’t be afraid to unlearn some things we may have learned wrong.

 

And, this discernment doesn’t just apply to the study of the Scriptures, but to the discerning of all that is false, and all that is misleading, and all that is hypnotic and mind-controlling and manipulative which might be leading us in the wrong direction instead of the right direction.

 

Much Needed Discernment

 

For example, we need the discernment of the Spirit of God regarding what is going on in the world, and in our individual nations and with our governments and their leaders so that we don’t fall into any cleverly devised traps that would lead us to putting our confidence in those of the antichrist.

 

So, before we just jump on the bandwagons of particular political platforms and their leaders, we need to pray much for the Holy Spirit’s discernment to know what truth is, and to discern truth from lies.  

 

As we listen to the speeches of these leaders, we need to pray for Holy Spirit discernment to know who is of God and who is of the antichrist. For, we live in an age of great deception, and not everything is as it appears on stage.

 

A lot of what we are seeing on the political stage is a diversion, it is a game, it is amusement, and entertainment, but with an evil and sinister plot for taking down our nation and our present form of government in order to bring us all into submission to a one world order.

 

So much of what is passed off as news or as legitimate conversations or debates among political candidates is pure garbage, lacking any real substance. Like the presidential debate in the USA last night. Did you learn anything from it other than the insults the candidates made to each other?

 

Who is behind all of this junk? Do you realize that the US government is not the true government of the USA? There is a group of elitists, who are the wealthy and powerful of the world, who are the de facto government of the US, who have been busy conquering the world one nation at a time, and now they are conquering the USA, too.

 

And, all this chaos in our government and with the racial troubles and the fires and the floods and the demonstrations and riots and destruction of property and the virus and the masks and social distancing, et al, is all part of the plot to overthrow the USA. Do we want to be party to that?

 

Persuasion to Believe False Gospel

 

And, it isn’t just on a political level that we are being overthrown, but it is on a religious level, too, for they have been working within the church for a long time to bring her down and to get her to depart from the ways of God to follow the ways of man.

 

And, they have convinced many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ that our Lord requires no repentance, no obedience, and no submission to him as Lord of our lives. And this is all leading to a one world religion, which the adulterous American church can easily move into because of all the compromises she has already made.

 

Thus, they have won over the hearts of many professing Christians to a false christ and to a false faith and a false gospel. For, they don’t teach the Jesus of the Scriptures, but a man-made Jesus who suits the flesh of man. And they don’t teach the gospel of Christ, but a man-made gospel.

 

So, just like our politicians are selling us junk, these false teachers within the church are also selling pure garbage to the people disguised as truth, which is a mixture of truth and lies, but with Scriptures removed from their context and given the wrong interpretation or a twisted meaning. And, the masses are following them, because it comforts them in their sin.

 

Approve What is Excellent

 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be those who approve of what is excellent (in God’s sight), so what is pure, upright, godly, moral, and honest. We are not to give our vote of confidence and approval to those who are immoral, wicked, evil, liars, thieves, deceivers, and manipulators.

 

So, this is why we must pray for much discernment of the Spirit of God, for so much of what we see and hear is not really what is going on. But we are not going to know if we will not be willing to ask the Lord and to let him show us what is true and what is false.

 

The Lord does not want us accepting and approving of a false gospel and a false christ, either. So, we have to be willing here to examine what we have always been taught against the whole of the New Testament in context, for we will find out that it says over again what Jesus taught.

 

And that is that we must die to sin and live to righteousness. It is that we must forsake our sins and follow Jesus in obedience. And it is that we are going to be judged by what we do. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction, but if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (1 Pet 2:24; Rom 6:1-23; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10, etc.).

 

Your Servant  

 

An Original Work / September 21, 2011

 

Lord, I love to have You near me

As I go throughout my day,

Walking daily in Your footsteps,

As I humbly pray.

List’ning to You, hear You teaching

Me to live and work for You,

Lord, I pray You lead and guide me

Daily in Your truth.

 

Lord, I want to be Your witness,

Telling others of Your grace;

Telling how they can be set free

Of their sins today;

Share with them the love of Jesus,

He died on a cruel tree,

So that we’d be forgiven

For all eternity.

 

Lord, I want to serve You only,

As I bow on bended knee,

Making You my Lord and master,

And Your servant be.

Humbly walking in obedience,

Doing what You say to me,

Lord, may I be an example

Of one who’s set free.

 

https://vimeo.com/126318100

When We Feel Forsaken

Psalm 22:1-2 ESV

 

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

    and by night, but I find no rest.”

 

Do you ever feel like God has abandoned you? Do you ever feel as though God is far off from you and that you cannot hear him? Do your circumstances sometimes feel so overwhelming that it is hard for you to connect with the Lord? You are not alone.

 

Psalm 22:3-8 ESV

 

“Yet you are holy,

    enthroned on the praises of Israel.

In you our fathers trusted;

    they trusted, and you delivered them.

To you they cried and were rescued;

    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

 

“But I am a worm and not a man,

    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

All who see me mock me;

    they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;

‘He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

    let him rescue him, for he delights in him!’”

 

Sometimes we need to reaffirm what we know to be the truth, which includes the promises of God, and how God has done in the past with his people, and what we know of God’s nature, character, and divine will and purpose for our lives. And sometimes we need to appeal to God on the basis of what we know to be the truth.

 

This helps to strengthen us in our faith, and it helps us to come out of whatever attacks are coming against our minds from the enemy. For, it is putting on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes and his evil attacks against us. And it is taking up the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit in affirming in our own minds and emotions what we know to be true so that we can combat Satan’s lies.

 

And sometimes, when we are going through difficult circumstances, and we are feeling as though God is far off, or we are hearing many different voices speaking to us, we just need time to sort it all out in prayer before the Lord. We just need to tell the Lord how we are feeling.

 

We need to cry out our suffering to the Lord and pray for his healing mercies. It helps to get it out, so we can release the pain. And better that we talk it through with the Lord than we vent with other humans and end up saying things which we will later regret or that might injure others.

 

And, I think as we read through this Psalm that we will recognize familiar language used by Jesus or about Jesus when he was being persecuted, falsely accused, given a mock trial, spat upon, mocked, beaten, and then put to death on a cross. So, he empathizes with us in our unjust suffering.

 

This also reminds me somewhat of some of the things Jeremiah said to the Lord when he was being persecuted unjustly. He knew what it was like to be despised and rejected and to be a man of sorrows, for he had people railing him regularly for the messages the Lord gave him to give out.

 

When we walk closely with the Lord, in full surrender to him, and we truly are following him wherever he leads us, saying what he gives us to say, and doing the things he has called us to do, we will be hated, rejected, falsely accused and persecuted for righteousness’ sake. And, yes, people will mock us, too. But we are to rejoice that we are counted worthy to suffer for Christ.

 

Psalm 22:16-21 ESV

 

“For dogs encompass me;

    a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

they divide my garments among them,

    and for my clothing they cast lots.

 

“But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!

Deliver my soul from the sword,

    my precious life from the power of the dog!

Save me from the mouth of the lion!

You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!”

 

“Dogs” is a term used for the ungodly and for false prophets. And, as followers of Jesus, we are going to have the ungodly and false teachers coming against us, even from within the gatherings of the church or from within what is falsely called “church.”

 

Just as they came against Jesus, they will come against us. They tried continually to trip him up with his words, they falsely accused him of many things, and they attacked him for healing people on the Sabbath. They didn’t like it, too, that he confronted them in their sins.

 

Again, the Psalmist shares his feelings with God but he follows it or he precedes it with the truth of what he knows about God, and so he makes his appeal to God based upon the truth and based upon how God has worked in his life previously.

 

If we are true followers of Jesus Christ, not just part-time or casually interested in him, but those who are surrendered to him and to doing his will, Satan is going to oppose us, and he is going to attack us, sometimes just in our minds and emotions, but often through other people.

 

When we are attacked we need to present our case to the Lord, and we need to call on him for mercy, based on the truth of what we know about God and on what his word teaches us about God and how he works in our lives.

 

And, then we need to rest in the Lord, yield to his will for our lives, surrender to his sovereignty, accept that persecution is part of the Christian life, and then keep on doing what God has called us to do. And he will give us all we need to endure and to keep pressing on in sharing the gospel of our salvation with all who will listen.

 

His Tender Mercies

 

An Original Work / January 26, 2014

 

Fear not! I’m with you.

Be not dismayed!

God watches o’er you.

Trust Him today.

He’ll lead and guide you;

Give you His aid.

He’ll love and keep you

With Him always.

 

Walk in His footsteps.

He’ll lead the way.

Trust in His love;

Believe that He cares.

He will not leave you.

Faithful He’ll be.

His tender mercies

Now you will see.

 

Fellowship with Him

Throughout the day.

Tell Him your heartaches.

He’ll heal always.

Rest in His comfort.

He is your friend.

Your faith He’ll strengthen,

True to the end.

 

https://vimeo.com/379513308

Born of the Spirit

John 3:1-12 ESV

 

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

 

Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Nicodemus said to him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born?” Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”

 

Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” Jesus answered him, “Are you the teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? Truly, truly, I say to you, we speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our testimony. If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you heavenly things?”

 

Born Again

 

When we are born into this world physically, coming from the wombs of our mothers, we are born of water. There is no need to make of this more than what it is, for this is the context. Nicodemus’ question to Jesus was indicative that he was thinking Jesus was referring to physical birth.

 

So, Jesus explained to Nicodemus that we have a physical birth, but we also need to have a spiritual birth. We need both. One is of the flesh (human), and the other is of the Spirit (spiritual). When we come into this world we are born physically, but now we need to be born spiritually.

 

When we are born physically into this world it is something that can physically be seen with our eyes. I have watched at least five of my fourteen grandchildren be born. There is nothing like it, for sure! It is a wonderful sight to behold when a child is born into this world.

 

But spiritual birth is not something we can see with our eyes or touch with our hands. We can see the results (fruit) of it in the person’s life who is born again of the Spirit of God, if indeed they have been born again, but we can’t physically see the birth take place. For, it is spiritual, not physical.

 

So, if we can’t see this spiritual birth take place, how do we know it has taken place? How does it work, exactly? And how should our lives be different after we have been born again of the Spirit of God?

 

Spiritual Birth

 

What does it mean to be born again? Well, it definitely means we are starting over. We have a new life that we didn’t have before, and this one is of the Spirit of God, not of the flesh. So, the life we live after we are born of the Spirit shouldn’t look like the life we lived before we were born again.

 

And, it is of the Spirit, and not of the flesh, so if of the Spirit of God then we, who are born of the Spirit, should look like our parent. We should look like God, not in physical form, but in spiritual form. We should look like him in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:17-24).

 

And the way that this comes about is by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ. And the way the Scriptures describe that faith is that it means we must die with Christ to sin, we are changed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and we must now walk (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

Remember here that this new life in Christ means we are born again. We are starting over with a new life different from the old life. We didn’t just take on some new status, but we took on a new way of living, no longer for the flesh, but now for the Spirit of God.

 

For, Jesus didn’t die on that cross merely to forgive us our sins, but he died to transform us and to make us like him. He died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; Rom 6:1-23).

 

You Do Not Receive

 

Nicodemus didn’t receive what Jesus had to teach him, not because he was ignorant, for he was schooled in the Scriptures, and he taught the Scriptures, but he didn’t want to believe. He wanted to remain ignorant. For, if he accepted what Jesus taught, he would be responsible for what he knew.

 

That didn’t get him off the hook, though. The Scriptures are clear that we are all without excuse if we choose to refuse God and to go our own way, instead. We are all going to reap what we sow. We are all going to be judged by our deeds (Rom 1:18-32; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).

 

We can claim ignorance all we want, but we are not ignorant. We either choose to believe in Jesus or we choose to not believe in Jesus. But belief in Jesus is not some mere acknowledgment of him. It is death to our old way of life, and it is being reborn of the Spirit of God to newness of life in Christ.

 

And, when we are reborn, the Holy Spirit of God now comes to live inside of us to lead, counsel, guide, direct and empower our lives. For, now Jesus is our Lord (owner-master), and we belong to him. We are his possession, so now our lives are to be lived for his glory and honor.

 

Our lives are no longer our own to be lived however we want. If that is what we think, then we aren’t born again. Born again means changed. It means we aren’t like we were before. We don’t do the same things as we did before. Now our desire is for Christ, to walk according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh.

 

For, if we continue to walk (live) according to the flesh, we are going to die in our sins, not have eternal life with God (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Rom 2:6-8; Gal 6:7-8; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Lu 9:23-26).

 

So, if we want salvation from sin and eternal life with God, we need to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, turn away from our lives of sin, and now walk in the Spirit according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, and then we will be saved and have eternal life with God (Rom 6:1-23).

 

Though Your Sins Be as Scarlet

 

Frances J Crosby, 1880

William H. Doane, 1876

 

“Though your sins be as scarlet,

They shall be as white as snow;

Though they be red like crimson,

They shall be as wool!”

“Though your sins be as scarlet,

They shall be as white as snow.”

 

Hear the voice that entreats you,

Oh, return ye unto God!

He is of great compassion,

And of wondrous love;

Hear the voice that entreats you,

Oh, return ye unto God!

 

He’ll forgive your transgressions,

And remember them no more;

“Look unto Me, ye people,”

Saith the Lord your God!

He’ll forgive your transgressions,

And remember them no more.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9FDaARQ-Rnk

*Caution: This link may contain ads

Light or Darkness?

Whoever Believing in Him

John 3:16 ESV

 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

 

Jesus died for us on that cross to buy us back for God so that we would now honor God with our lives and with our bodies. He died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. And He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Co 6:19-20; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21).

 

When we are believing in Jesus to be our Lord and Savior, we die with him to sin, and we are continuing to die with Christ to sin. We are reborn of the Spirit of God, and now we walk (in lifestyle, in conduct) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

Before we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus, we were dead in our sins, not alive to God. We were separate from fellowship with God, and in our own flesh we could do nothing to be acceptable to God (Rom 3:23).

 

That is why God the Father sent Jesus, God the Son, to the earth, to die for our sins, so we would be delivered from our bondage to sin, so we would be made right with God, and so we would be empowered of the Spirit of God to walk in holiness and righteousness to the glory of God (Rom 6:1-23).

 

The faith that we must have in Jesus for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God, thus, is ongoing (believing), it is repentant (daily dying to sin), it is obedient to Christ, and it submits to him as Lord (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Tit 2:11-14).

 

If we do not repent (turn away from our sinful lifestyles), if we do not surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, and if we are not obeying our Lord and his commands, but we are going our own way, instead, we are not saved from our sins and we don’t have eternal life with God (Gal 5:16-21; Rom 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co. 5:10; 1 Co 6:9-10).

 

So, we can’t take this passage in John 3 out of context to say that anyone who (one-time) believes in (acknowledges) Jesus is now saved from his sin and is guaranteed eternal life with God. The rest of Scripture teaches us what it means to believe in Jesus, and not only does it mean death to sin and living to righteousness, but it is ongoing and continuous faith.

 

That we Might be Saved

John 3:17-18 ESV

 

“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”

 

When this says that Jesus did not come into the world to condemn the world, it doesn’t mean that he never spoke words of condemnation and judgment or that he will not ever condemn anyone to hell.

 

What it means, I believe, is that Jesus’ first time to the earth was to bring salvation, not condemnation, i.e. this was not the time he was coming to bring judgment on the earth and on the people of the earth, but he was bringing the message of how we can be set free from our slavery to sin and how we can, in the power of God, live for the Lord in purity and holiness.

 

But he spoke plenty of words of condemnation to the Scribes and Pharisees and to all those who were living hypocritical religious lives but whose “faith” was all a performance to look good to other people. In reality, though, they were full of wickedness and they were sinning against God.

 

Lovers of Darkness, not Light

John 3:19-21 ESV

 

“And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”

 

Jesus also told the people the cost of following him, that it meant he was to be number one in our lives above all else, and that we are to go where he sends us and do what he has called us to do, and we are to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God, and we are to speak the words he gives us to say, and we are to surrender our lives to him as Lord.

 

If we do not deny ourselves and daily die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and if we do not obey him and his teachings, but if we hold on to our old lives of living for sin and self, he says we are going to lose our lives for eternity, not have eternal life with God (Lu 9:23-26).

 

So, don’t be fooled into thinking that a verbal confession of faith in Jesus Christ is enough to save you from your sins and for you to have eternal life with God. And don’t buy into the lie that says God won’t judge you for your disobedience and for your sinful lifestyles. He will (Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).

 

If you are buying into the lies which tell you that you can be saved from your sins and have eternal life guaranteed you, based on a verbal confession of faith, but you don’t have to die with Christ to sin or live to Christ and to his righteousness, but you can continue living in sin, you are being fooled.

 

If you choose to walk in sin rather than to come into the light of truth, which is the righteousness of God, so that you can keep on in your wicked deeds, then know the Bible does not promise you eternal life with God, but it says you will die in your sins (Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

Jesus preached repentance, he preached obedience to his commands, and he preached surrender to him as Lord of our lives. This is the true gospel. If we do not follow it, we will spend eternity in hell, not with God.

 

Come and See  

 

An Original Work / May 20, 2013

Based off John 1:35-51

 

John, the Baptist, called of God to

Make straight the way for the Lord,

Told his disciples about Jesus,

So two of them followed Him.

 

One of them who followed Jesus

Told his brother, Simon Peter,

Who then he brought to the Savior,

Who had told them, “Come and see.”

 

Jesus Christ, our Lord, Messiah,

On his way to Galilee found a man, Philip,

So he told him, “I want you to follow Me.”

 

Philip then found his friend,

And he told him, “We have found the one

The prophets spoke of – He is Jesus!”

Philip then said, “Come and see.”

 

Jesus saw the man, Nathanael,

While he sat beneath a fig tree,

Even before Philip called him,

So Nathanael did believe.

 

Nonetheless the Lord said,

“You believe because of what I told you.

You will see much greater things than these

If you will Come and see.”

 

Jesus’ calling to each one of us.

He tells us to believe in Him

As our Lord and Messiah,

And to follow where He leads.

 

He says we must turn from our sins,

Die to sin and self each day,

And put on our new lives in Jesus;

Bow before Him; humbly pray.

 

https://vimeo.com/117022624

 

Of the World or Of God?

1 Corinthians 2:12-16 ESV

 

“Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

 

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ‘For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”

 

The spirit from the World

 

What is the spirit from the world? It is deceptive, manipulative, charming, enticing, attractive to the flesh, forbidden fruit, entrapping, addictive, and it will send you straight to hell while promising you heaven. It feeds on the flesh and it denies the Spirit of God.

 

The spirit from the world teaches you that Jesus died for you merely to forgive your sins but that you can continue living in sin now that you are under grace, and not under the law. It teaches lawlessness, and it rejects Jesus as Lord (master) and his teachings on repentance and obedience.

 

So, the spirit from the world convinces you that you can live just like the world, think like the world, have the same attitudes as the world does, and behave like the world, and that it won’t impact your eternal life with Christ.

 

The spirit from the world is going to lead you into sin while removing the guilt associated with sinning against God. It is going to get the focus on you and off of God and convince you that God’s love for you looks the other way when you sin. It will teach you self-love, but it won’t teach you to love God.

 

The Spirit from God

 

The Spirit from God, on the other hand, will put the focus on God, and not on the flesh of man. He will lead us to submission to Christ as Lord (master), and he will lead us to repentance (forsaking sin) and to obedient faith in Jesus Christ. And he will teach us to honor, respect and obey our Lord.

 

The Spirit from God will not give us free license to continue living in sin, but he will teach us the way of the cross, i.e. the way of dying to sin and to self and to putting on Christ and his righteousness and holiness daily, and to walking by the Spirit and no longer walking by the flesh.

 

The Spirit from God will never lie to us or trick or manipulate us, but he will always tell us the truth. He will always be straight up with us, not conniving in order to lead us astray. He is from God and he is God and therefore he will represent God in all that he does and says to us.

 

The Spirit from God, thus, will lead us on the path of righteousness, to loving and obeying our Lord above all else, to loving others as we love ourselves, and to full surrender to Jesus Christ as our Lord and master. He will teach us to walk by faith and not by sight, and to trust God in all things.

 

The Natural Person

 

“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

 

So, why is it, then, that so many who profess faith in Jesus do not accept the things of the Spirit? Could it be that they are not truly of the Spirit of God? Because their faith in Jesus Christ is human faith in a false christ and a false gospel? For, they are believing the lies and not the truth?

 

We have many people, at least here in America, professing Jesus as their Lord and Savior, but who refuse to bow to him as Lord, who refuse to leave their lifestyles of sin behind them, and who refuse to obey the Lord and his commands to us, his church. That is not of God’s Spirit!

 

If you are walking (in practice, in conduct) according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, then you are still in the flesh and not in the Spirit of God. Therefore, you do not have salvation from sin or eternal life with God. But these are not my words. They are God’s! (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).

 

The Spiritual Person

 

The Spiritual person is one who has trusted in Jesus Christ to be his Lord (owner-master) and Savior. He has died (and is dying) with Christ to sin and he is walking in newness of life in Christ Jesus, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).

 

He is discerning of right and wrong and of what is true and what is false, for the Spirit of God living within him gives him that discernment. He tests the spirits to see whether they are of God, and he rejects the lies, and he embraces the truth. And he exposes the fruitless deeds of darkness.

 

He is not subject to the judgments (discernments) of human flesh, which judge as the world judges. He may be judged by the world as evil or as intolerant or as hyper-religious or as a legalist, but he must not yield to those judgments, for they are not of God.

 

This does not free him of being judged by any man if he is doing wrong, though, by God’s standards. If we, as Christians, are doing evil and not good, then we are subject to being judged for the evil that we do. But if we are being judged unfairly for righteousness’ sake, we don’t receive that.

 

If we are truly of the Spirit of God, we are not going to be those who are doing evil, but we are going to be those who are living for the Lord, and who are doing what is good in the eyes of God. And we will know the good that we ought to be doing, because we have the mind of Christ living within us.

 

A Believer’s Prayer

 

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

 

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

 

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

 

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

 

https://vimeo.com/114796263

Of the Spirit and Of Power

1 Corinthians 2:1 ESV

 

“And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom.”

 

There are many preachers today who have studied all the right ways of saying things in order to attract a following. They are usually smooth-tongued manipulators who are charming and deceitful who sway the people to their way of thinking through deceitful speech.

 

Many of them are following what they were taught in their schools of higher learning, or in their marketing classes, or by molding themselves after other smooth-tongued charmers and manipulators.

 

Have you ever noticed that preachers of particular church denominations all seem to follow a similar style and pattern of preaching? In one denomination the pastor begins each sermon with a joke, has a 3-point sermon, with each point beginning with the same letter of the alphabet, and he closes his sermon with a “tear-jerker” story to manipulate the people’s emotions.

 

In another denomination, the pastor begins speaking somewhat softly, but as the sermon progresses, he gets louder and faster, and then he begins to add an “uh” at the end of his words, and then he begins to yell so loudly you can’t even think. And, the music follows the same pattern. Pump up the volume and it pumps up (manipulates) people’s emotions.

 

These styles of preaching are not of God, but of men. I am not saying that the preacher who uses either style, or another pattern of preaching, is not teaching the truth of the Scriptures, but that these styles (methods) of preaching are of man, not of God, and they are manipulative.

 

Then, there was the whole Rick Warren movement and the Purpose Driven Church and the church being turned into just a business to be marketed like any other business, and pastors going through training together, regardless of church denominations, and all of them learning the same manipulative techniques, not just for preaching, but for growing their “churches,” i.e. their businesses, using business marketing schemes and techniques.

 

As a result of that, the gospel of our salvation has been slowly degraded to where it is barely or not at all recognizable as the gospel of Jesus anymore. Belief in Jesus has been reduced to mere words, and repentance, obedience and submission to Christ as Lord have been deleted, for the most part.

 

But, there is a new wave of teaching that totally removes the cross of Christ and what he did for us in dying for our sins. And, it teaches that God is so enthralled with us humans that he just wants to love on us and hang out with us and if we would just accept his affection for us we would be blessed.

 

But, isn’t that supposed to be the other way around? Isn’t it that we are to be enthralled with God to the point of humility and repentance and submission to Christ as Lord, and to obedience of faith in Jesus Christ? Yes! But that is not what is largely being taught, at least not in America.

 

1 Corinthians 2:2-5 ESV

 

“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

 

How many preachers today in America are preaching “in demonstration of the Spirit and of power”? I haven’t heard that kind of preaching for many years. My pastor who was my pastor when I was age 18 to 27 preached that way. I have heard one other just like him. But few even close to that.

 

I know they must exist somewhere. I just haven’t heard any that are alive today preaching that way. I’ve heard some emotional and passionate preaching, but we must not confuse emotion with the Holy Spirit. And I have heard some biblically sound preaching that came from the inspiration of dead theologians but not from the demonstration of the Spirit and of power.

 

But this subject isn’t just for preachers. As followers of Jesus we are all his servants and witnesses. We are the light of the world and the salt of the earth. And, we are to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. So, we should all be sharing the gospel.

 

We are not to be speaking impressive words to draw people to us, but we are to speak the truth that leads people to Jesus Christ.

 

So, in all our speaking, witnessing, and writing we should be teaching that Christ was crucified that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. And, the faith in Jesus we are to teach involves us being crucified with him in death to sin and being resurrected with him to newness of life, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; 1 Pet 2:24; Eph 4:17-24).

 

1 Corinthians 2:6-10 ESV

 

“Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,

 

“’What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,

    nor the heart of man imagined,

what God has prepared for those who love him’ — these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”

 

As already stated, there are plenty of preachers today who are imparting the wisdom of this age rather than the wisdom of God, for they are appealing to the flesh of man, not preaching in the power and wisdom of God’s Spirit.

 

The wisdom of this age says we can say some magic words, and we are now saved for eternity, heaven is our eternal home, and no matter how we live from this moment forward, nothing can take that away from us. No repentance, no submission and no obedience required, or it is optional.

 

But the wisdom of God says that, as humans, we are born into sin, separate from fellowship with God, and unable within ourselves to be acceptable to God. So, God the Father sent Jesus Christ to die on a cross for our sins, but not just to forgive us our sins, but to deliver us from our slavery to sin.

 

But too many people are rejecting that message and they are receiving a false grace gospel message instead, because it requires nothing from them other than some non-descript human faith which does not submit to Christ as Lord. And, they are receiving this false grace gospel because it requires nothing of them, and it gives them permission to remain in their sins.

 

But we who believe in Jesus with genuine faith have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. But “freely” does not mean nothing is required of us. It just means Jesus paid the price for us so we can be free.

 

But, our freedom is not freedom to keep on in our sin, but it is freedom from our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin, and it is empowerment of the Holy Spirit of God to live godly, upright and holy lives for the glory and praise of God (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

The Lord’s Anointed  

 

An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

 

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;

Anointed to preach the Good News;

Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;

Proclaim freedom for the captives.

He sent me to preach release for pris’ners

Who are walking in sin’s darkness;

Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;

And tell them about God’s judgments;

Comfort all who mourn;

Give crowns of beauty;

Oil of gladness and thanksgiving.

 

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,

A planting of our Savior, God,

For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and

They will rebuild God’s holy church.

God will renew them, and will restore them,

And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.

You will be ministers of our God, and

You will rejoice in salvation.

The Lord loves justice;

He is faithful to

Reward those who are seeking Him.

 

I delight greatly in the Lord;

My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.

He has clothed me with His salvation,

And in a robe of His righteousness.

He has given me priestly garments to wear,

As the bride of Jesus Christ.

As the garden of our Lord and Savior,

He causes us to grow in Him.

He makes righteousness,

Praise, and thanksgiving

Spring up before all the nations.

 

https://vimeo.com/114836524