Who For the Joy

Hebrews 12:1 ESV

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”

In Hebrews chapter 11 we read about many of the heroes of the faith of old who believed in God, in Jesus Christ, and whose faith was proved genuine by what they did in obedience to their Lord.

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. By faith Noah, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the saving of his household. By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go to a place that he was to receive as his inheritance.

By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. By faith, the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, and the walls of Jericho fell down, etc.

James (in the book of James) taught that faith apart from works is useless. He said that faith is active along with works, and that faith is completed by works. He said, “For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead” (See: James 2).

What works was he speaking of? Not the works of the flesh. He spoke of the works of the Spirit which God commands us to do under the New Covenant. “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10).

All throughout the New Testament we are warned against trying to earn our way to heaven via our own good works, of our own choosing – works that God never required or that he no longer required (Eph 2:8-9).

Nonetheless, our salvation is not absent of works, but they are the works of the Spirit. We must die with Christ to sin. We must walk in obedience to our Lord. We must walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. And we must do what pleases our Lord and not live to our flesh.

For, we are all going to be judged one day by our works (all of us). So, if we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (death). But if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life.

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10, 15]

Hebrews 12:1-2 ESV

“…let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Since we have such examples of what faith looks like from these saints of old, we are to also put our faith into practice, and we are to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). 

We are to lay aside (to forsake) everything that is weighing us down which is preventing us from following our Lord in obedience to his will for our lives. And that can be good stuff, too. For, if we are so busy doing what we want that we don’t have time for what God wants, then that must go.

Jesus Christ is to be our number one priority, and from him all else should flow. He is not satisfied with us reserving a few minutes a day to have devotions, or to listen to Christian music, or to hear sermons preached. He wants it all! He wants us fully surrendered, holding nothing back.

If what we are doing is preventing us from being fully surrendered to our Lord, ready and willing to be who he wants us to be, to do what he has called us to do, and to say what he commands us to say, then we need to throw it off. We need to let it go.

When we believe in Jesus with genuine God-persuaded faith, we die with Christ to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life in Him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. But it doesn’t end there. We must daily die to sin and self and walk in obedience to our Lord.

If we don’t, we are not going to be able to run with endurance the race that God has set before us to run, for sin and the flesh and the self-life will drag us down and hold us back. They will prevent us from moving forward, and they will send us backwards.

So, instead of us having our focus on what we want out of life, or on our plans, or on entertaining ourselves and having fun, our focus needs to be on Jesus Christ and on what he has planned for our lives, which we can read all about in the New Testament.

And what was the joy Jesus had set before him? The salvation of our lives from slavery to sin so that we might now become slaves of God and of his righteousness, for this is why he died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness.

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10, 15]

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 

Our Nemesis and His Many Tricks

Matthew 10:24-25 ESV

 

“A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.”

 

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, should expect to be treated in like manner as Jesus was if we are truly following (obeying) him, if we are like him, and if we are doing and saying the kinds of things which he did and said.

 

They called Jesus, who was/is God the Son, Beelzebul, the prince of the devils. They accused him of being of Satan even though he was/is God. So, we should not be surprised if we are accused in like manner, we who are of our Lord’s household.

 

Those who use such tactics against us most likely will do so in a manipulative manner so as to try to convince us that we are going the wrong direction, or they will attempt to convince us that we are confused, or mentally ill, or that we are imagining things that don’t exist.

 

For, the enemy against our souls will use all sorts of tricks against us to try to get us upset emotionally. He loves mind games to try to throw us off balance. He will try to torment us, provoke us, and he will scheme against us. And he will lie to us and against us, too, because he wants us to retreat.

 

Our enemy will speak evil against us to other people, too, to try to turn them against us so that they will not listen to us. And since he is a master manipulator, he can be very persuasive. Thus, he uses very charming and persuasive people to do his dirty work for him, too.

 

Matthew 10:26-33 ESV

 

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”

 

We are to have no fear of those who can kill the body but who can’t kill our souls. Yes, they may have the power to destroy our reputations and to manipulate others into rejecting us and turning against us. And they may provoke us, say all manner of evil against us, or try to manipulate us into retreating, but we must stand firm and not give into their tricks.

 

We are to keep on speaking the word of God and all that the Lord teaches us through the word, which he wants us to share with others for their benefit. We are to keep speaking his messages of salvation – of faith, repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord of our lives.

 

And we must continue to confront evil, to call it what it is, to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness, and to warn against deception and mind manipulation, and to call people to follow the Lord God and to serve him only, and to let him be their only master.

 

In all of this, we must keep remembering that our God is still on the throne. He is still God. He remains all powerful. And he is still completely sovereign over all that he has made. So, when he allows such things in our lives, he will also equip us, and he will strengthen us to endure, and he will use such times as this and us for his glory and purposes.

 

So, don’t let the enemy, via other human beings, take you out. Don’t be convinced that they have power over you and that there is no hope. Just keep trusting the Lord, and keep doing what he says, for if we acknowledge Jesus on this earth, he will acknowledge us before God the Father. And please know that if you deny Jesus, he will deny you before the Father.

 

Matthew 10:34-39 ESV

 

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

 

Jesus Christ, our creator God, did not put us on this earth so that we will be loved and accepted by everyone. He didn’t put us here so that we will live our lives for the approval of other humans. He put us here to live for him and for his purposes and to be used of him for his praise and glory.

 

And when we truly follow Jesus Christ with our lives, as did many of the saints of old, and we do what he says, and we say what he says, and we go where he sends us, we may have many people turn against us. They will reject us, and they will not want to be with us.

 

Even members of our own families will/may turn against us and will hate us, reject us, not want to associate with us, and they may turn others against us, too. For, they will not approve of us following Jesus Christ, or they will not approve of us of following Jesus Christ with wholehearted devotion.

 

But Jesus doesn’t see things the way many humans do. He says if we love other people, including our family members, more than we love him, and so we compromise our faith and practices to have family approval, that we are not worthy of him. For, he wants our all on the altar of sacrifice laid.

 

Basically, what this comes down to is, to follow Jesus Christ with our lives, we must die with Christ to sin and self, and we must live to Christ and to his righteousness, for this is why he died for us, to deliver us from our slavery to sin so we would become slaves of God and of his righteousness.

 

But if we are not willing to die with Christ to sin and to deny self and to follow him in surrender and in obedience to his will and to his ways, then we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we willingly die to sin, deny self, and follow our Lord in obedience, then we will have eternal life with God.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 6:44; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15, 21; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8]

 

Based off the song “Edelweiss”

 

Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,

Every morning You greet me.

Meek and pure, truth and light,

You look pleased now to meet me.

 

Flourishing, growing in Him each day,

Live with Him forever.

Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ,

Blessed to know Him forever.

They are Circumventing the Cross

John 10:1-4 ESV

 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.”

 

The True Sheep

 

The sheepfold would be the gathering of the sheep, and the sheep are followers of Jesus Christ. But not everyone who gathers with the sheep are true sheep. Not everyone who professes to be a true sheep is one. Many proclaim faith in Jesus Christ who are not the Lord’s true sheep.

 

There is only one way to be a true sheep of our shepherd Jesus Christ and that is by genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ which submits to Christ as Lord, which leaves our sinful lifestyles behind us, and which then lives to Christ and to his righteousness in the power of God’s Spirit.

 

By faith in Jesus Christ, we die with Christ to sin and we are raised with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. For, Jesus died for us that we might be delivered from our slavery (addition) to sin so that we might be slaves of his righteousness.

 

Entering by way of the door (Jesus Christ) is entering the sheepfold by way of the cross of Christ in dying with Christ to sin and in being resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, putting away our former lives of living to sin and the flesh and now choosing to walk according to God’s Spirit.

 

For, the Lord’s true sheep listen to (heed) him and his words, and we follow (obey) him in doing what he says, and in going where he sends us, and by saying what he commands us to say, too. We aren’t perfect, but we are no longer enslaved (addicted) to sin, for Jesus Christ set us free. Amen!

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 6:44; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15, 21; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8]

 

The Thieves and Robbers

 

Jesus Christ is both the true shepherd of the sheep and he is the door (the way, the truth, and the life, through whom we must enter into God’s eternal kingdom). But to enter God’s kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ is not via the flesh of man, but only through the Spirit of God.

 

Yet, there are those who think they can enter into God’s eternal kingdom via man-made religion and a man-made gospel which is not the true way to God and to eternal life with God. But it is a half-truth (lie) gospel created in the minds of fleshly humans who are circumventing the true way of the cross.

 

Those who are promoting this half-truth gospel which circumvents the way of the cross of Christ are the thieves and robbers who have entered into the gatherings of the sheep by another way other than through Jesus Christ. And that “other way” is through deception.

 

Those who are gathering with the sheep under the guise of being true followers of Christ, who are leading the people to follow this false gospel, are those who are serving Satan and the flesh. They are self-indulgent liars and manipulators who know how to convince the people to follow them, too.

 

But they are against Christ and his gospel, and they are against God, not for him, for what they are teaching is contrary to the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles. And they are contrary to God’s divine character and his intrinsic nature.

 

For many of them are teaching that we are NOT to submit to Christ, we are NOT to follow him in obedience, and we are NOT to leave our lives of sin behind us (to repent). For, they call that “lordship salvation” or “works-based” salvation.

 

So, basically they are encouraging those who claim to believe in Jesus Christ that they can continue living in sin without guilt and without punishment. So, they are promoting sinful lifestyles of adultery, murder, thievery, cheating, lying, slander, idolatry, and the like.

 

But it isn’t just that. They are attacking the truth of the gospel and its messengers and they are accusing us of being hateful, of lying, of teaching what is false, of being hyper-religious, and of being self-righteous, too. So, they are saying that the true gospel is a lie and that the lie is the truth.

 

And this is where we are right now in the vast majority of today’s church, at least here in America, which has united with the government in an unholy union, and which has turned God’s house into a marketplace, and which is adulterating the gospel to make it more appealing to human flesh.

 

John 10:5-6 ESV

 

“’A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.’ This figure of speech Jesus used with them, but they did not understand what he was saying to them.”

 

So, the encouragement here is that if we are the Lord’s true sheep we should not follow these false shepherds of the people. We should not buy into their lies. For we have the Holy Spirit living within us showing us what is truth and what is a lie, so we should discern what is false and reject it.

 

But there are many people professing faith in Jesus Christ who do not get this. They don’t understand that what they are listening to and what they are buying into are lies, and they are not the truth. So, if we want to be true followers of Jesus Christ we need to know the truth, and we know it by studying the Scriptures in context and by heeding what they teach us.

 

My Sheep  

 

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

 

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

 

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

 

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full…

 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

 

https://vimeo.com/114938263

Let Us Worship and Bow Down

 Psalms 95:1-2 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!”

 

Do you know that you don’t have to be a great singer to do this? You could be totally tone deaf musically and still do what this is saying here. For, this has nothing to do with performance. This has nothing to do with how good you sound.

 

Do you know also that you could have the best voice ever, with great instrumental accompaniment behind your voice, and that you could not be doing this at all? You could, in fact, be failing miserably to do what this is talking about here.

 

Why? Because this is about relationship with God/Jesus Christ. This has to do with what is in our hearts, and who is in our hearts. This has to do with our attitude, our mindset, and our actions toward God/Jesus Christ. Are we living for him or for ourselves?

 

For the praise God accepts from us comes from the lips of those who are walking in the fear of the Lord and who are honoring the Lord with their lifestyles. And that is because true praise/worship is not lip service only. He wants us to give our all to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable worship of him (Rom 12:1-2; Eph 4:17-24).

 

Psalms 95:3-5 ESV

 

“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."

 

In America, and probably in other countries, too, the church at large has lost the fear of the Lord. God is now presented as a doting grandfather in the sky there to grant our every request, kind of like the false god Santa Claus. Or he is presented as a genie who serves us and who gives us what we want.

 

The gospel has been so adulterated that what is largely being taught now is that we are NOT to repent of our sins and that we are NOT to obey the Lord, and that we are NOT to submit to his Lordship over our lives, for they call that “lordship salvation” or “works-based salvation.”

 

They are teaching a faith in Jesus Christ, thus, which is man-made, i.e., it is being created in the minds of humans who are, in essence, serving Satan, and who are doing his bidding, for what they are teaching goes totally against the dignity, honor, and the divine character of Almighty God.

 

And people are buying into this false (cheap grace) gospel by the thousands because it allows them to continue living in their sins and doing what they want, only now without guilt or fear of punishment. But it is a big fat lie. And believing it will cost you your life for eternity.

 

Psalms 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.”

 

As I already said, the worship that our Lord accepts from us has to do with us surrendering our lives wholly to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but transformed by the renewal of our minds so that by testing we may discern what the will of God is for our lives (Rom 12:1-2).

 

And bowing down to God has to do with humility, submission, and surrender, too, which is what Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught, too. And if we are his sheep, Jesus said that his sheep listen to him (they heed his words) and they follow (obey) him (John 10:27; Lu 9:23-26).

 

Psalms 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.’”

 

Do you know that this is quoted for us in the New Testament in Hebrews 3:7-11? And that Hebrews 3 and 4 then teach on this subject? And that it was written to those who professed faith in Jesus Christ? And that this kind of teaching is repeated for us in pretty much all of the books of the New Testament?

 

Do you know that in Hebrews it states that we are God’s house if indeed we hold fast our confidence in our hope in Christ Jesus? And that it says that we are to take care lest any of us have an evil unbelieving heart leading us to fall away from the living God?

 

And then it strongly encourages us to exhort (urge, prod, insist, goad, encourage) one another daily so that not one of us may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. But where is this happening today in America’s churches? Too many of them are teaching us, instead, to “stay in your own lane.”

 

So, who didn’t enter God’s rest? Those who were disobedient. They were not able to enter because of unbelief. Do you see what this is saying here? Disobedience equals unbelief. And the New Testament states that if we are not obeying our Lord, as a matter of practice, that we don’t know the Lord.

 

So, what’s the bottom line here? The New Testament teaches us that if we walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, that we are going to die in our sins. If we make sin our practice, we will not inherit eternal life. For we will all be judged by what we do (Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

 

But, if we walk according to the Spirit, and if we walk in obedience to our Lord, and not according to the flesh, then we have eternal life with God. And we will want to sing praises to him for what he has done for us in delivering us from our slavery to sin so we can now be slaves of his righteousness.

 

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

Thanks be to God for our Salvation

Psalms 14:1-3 ESV

 

“The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’

    They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

    there is none who does good.

 

“The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man,

    to see if there are any who understand,

    who seek after God.

 

“They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt;

    there is none who does good,

    not even one.” (cf. Rom 3:10-18)

 

This is a description of the condition of human beings who are under sin. Not one of us is righteous in and of ourselves. We do not seek after God of our own accord. In our flesh, we go our own way. We do what we want to do. We lie, we cheat, we steal, we commit adultery, and we murder, etc.

 

Outside of (apart from) faith in Jesus Christ, we may not all be so foolish as to say, “There is no God,” though many do. But we deny him when we reject him as the holy God that he is, and when we reject his truth and his plan for our lives and we decide to go our own way, instead (Rom 1:18-32).

 

And, according to Scripture, this is where the majority of humans still are, for God’s word teaches us that only a few enter into eternal life with God via the narrow (restricted) path, but the majority take the broad (easy) road which leads to destruction (Matt 7:13-14).

 

Even many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are still in this sinful condition for they are also taking the “path of least resistance,” for they are taking the easy way via the cheap grace gospel, which leads to destruction. For they are not willing to die with Christ to their sins and to live to Christ and to his righteousness (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).

 

Psalms 14:4-6 ESV

 

“Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers

    who eat up my people as they eat bread

    and do not call upon the Lord?

 

“There they are in great terror,

    for God is with the generation of the righteous.

You would shame the plans of the poor,

    but the Lord is his refuge.”

 

Christians are not perfect people. But we should never use lack of perfection as an excuse for deliberate, willful, and habitual sinning against God and against other humans. Daily we should be putting the deeds of the flesh to death, by the Spirit, and we should be walking in holiness in our Lord.

 

We should be ever growing, ever changing, and ever being conformed to the likeness of Christ, by the Spirit. And we should never revert back to where we were before we believed in Jesus Christ, if indeed we did believe in him with genuine God-persuaded faith in him.

 

The difference between Christians and non-Christians is not that Christians never sin and that non-Christians always do, or that Christians have professed faith in Jesus Christ and non-Christians haven’t. Biblically the difference is in how we live, in practice.

 

Evildoers are those who make sin their practice, their habit, their lifestyle, usually without conscience, though some may sin and feel bad about it, but not bad enough to repent of their sins and to allow the Spirit of God to transform them to be like Jesus.

 

And the righteous are those who practice righteousness, not just those who are positionally righteous by faith in Jesus Christ. For, genuine faith in Christ Jesus is going to result in us living righteously, by God’s Spirit. For, those who continue living according to the flesh will not inherit eternal life.

 

So, do evildoers have knowledge that their deeds are evil? Yes! Scripture says they do (Rom 1:18-32). And again, some of them profess faith in Jesus Christ. So professing Christians are devouring genuine followers of Jesus Christ for their walks of faith and for their stand on the gospel of Christ.

 

But God is with those who live righteously in his power and strength. He is our refuge and our strength to help us during times of trouble and distress, when our enemy is coming fiercely against us to devour us in hopes that we will give up or fall apart or retreat. So, we should never give up!

 

Psalms 14:7 ESV

 

“Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

    When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,

    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.”

 

Thanks be to God, salvation for Israel did come out of Zion. Jesus Christ, God the Son, came to earth, was born as a baby to a human mother, grew up and became a man, ministered to the people of this earth, and then was falsely accused and put to death, although he had done no wrong.

 

But his death did not take God by surprise. This was God’s plan from before the creation to save the people of this earth from their sins. And his death was prophesied long ago by the prophets of the Old Testament (Isaiah 53).

 

Jesus died on that cross so that he might deliver us from our slavery to sin so that we might be slaves of God and of his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. And he died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23; 2 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Pet 2:24; Rom 8:1-17).

 

So, we don’t have to be under the control of sin or Satan any longer. We can, in the power and strength of God’s Spirit, resist Satan, flee temptation, and walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh.

 

But again, this doesn’t mean we will never sin again (1 Jn 2:1-2), but that we are now empowered of God’s Spirit to be free from our slavery to sin so that we can now be slaves of righteousness. And all this is possible because of God’s amazing grace in sending Jesus to die for our sins.

 

Amazing Grace  

 

By John Newton

 

Amazing Grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found

Was blind, but now I see.

 

'Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear,

And Grace my fears relieved.

How precious did that Grace appear

The hour I first believed.

 

Through many dangers, toils, and snares

I have already come.

'Tis Grace hath brought me safe thus far

And Grace will lead me home.

 

The Lord has promised good to me.

His Word my hope secures.

He will my shield and portion be

As long as life endures.

 

And when this flesh and heart shall fail,

And mortal life shall cease;

I shall possess within the veil

A life of joy and peace.

 

When we've been there ten thousand years

Bright shining as the sun,

We've no less days to sing God's praise

Than when we'd first begun.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4qbmPpfG6s

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Given Another Chance

Peter was one of Jesus’ twelve disciples. He later became the Apostle Peter.

 

Nonetheless, Jesus had warned Peter that he was going to deny the Lord, but Peter would have none of such talk. He was convinced that he would never deny the Lord. So, Jesus told him plainly that on that evening, before the rooster crowed, that Peter would deny Jesus three times (Matt 26:34).

 

Judas (another of the twelve) betrayed Jesus, and he arranged for Jesus to be arrested, which then lead to Jesus’ false imprisonment, mock trial, beatings, and death (crucifixion on a cross as though he was a common criminal). And as Jesus had predicted, Peter denied Jesus three times.

 

Have you ever denied Jesus? Maybe you didn’t verbally, i.e., maybe you didn’t do what Peter did. You didn’t verbally declare that you don’t know Jesus. But do you know that we can deny him by our silence and by our actions? And do you know that if we are not obeying him, in practice, that it says that we don’t know him? (1 Jn 2:3-6)

 

For, if we make sin our practice, and if we don’t make righteousness our practice, and if we don’t walk in obedience to our Lord, but if we still live to the flesh, it says that we don’t know him, we don’t have eternal life in him, and we will die in our sins (Lu 9:23-26; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10).

 

But Peter’s denial was temporary. As soon as he realized what he had done, he repented of his sin. And you know what? There are probably going to be times in our lives when we deny Jesus, too. We will not speak up when we should, or we will back down when we shouldn’t. And if we do, we should then repent. We should turn away from that denial and now honor our Lord.

 

John 21:15-17 ESV

 

When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Feed my lambs.” He said to him a second time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” He said to him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you.” He said to him, “Tend my sheep.” He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, “Do you love me?” and he said to him, “Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.” Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.”

 

Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on that cross for our sins so that we could die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. In his death he bought us back for God so that we would now be God’s possession so that we would now honor God with our lives (1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20).

 

But Jesus didn’t remain dead. On the third day he was resurrected from the dead. And by faith in him we can be crucified with him in death to sin, and we can be resurrected with him to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).

 

After he rose from the dead, he appeared to many people, including his 11 disciples (Judas was now dead). And this was one of the times in which Jesus appeared to some of his disciples who were out fishing. In fact, this was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after he was raised from the dead.

 

But do you know that even if we sometimes deny Jesus by our words or by our silence or by our actions that if we repent of our sins, and if we turn away from that denial to now honoring him as Lord, that he will restore us, and that he will even use us in ways we could never imagine? That is the beauty of God’s grace (1 Jn 2:1-2).

 

For, we serve a loving and forgiving God, but we also serve a righteous and holy and just God, too. And that is why Scripture teaches that if sin is what we practice that we will not inherit eternal life with God. But this doesn’t mean we will never sin or that we will never deny our Lord on occasion, but that sin should no longer be what rules our lives.

 

So, if you have failed your Lord at some point in your life, and you know that you denied him by your words, or by your silence, or by your actions, he is waiting for you to come to him in genuine godly sorrow which leads to repentance so that he can restore you, and so that he can use you for his glory.

 

The message Jesus spoke to Peter he is speaking to us all today. We won’t all be shepherds of God’s flock like Peter was, but we all have influence and voices and the ability to love others and to show them the way to salvation from sin and to encourage and strengthen the body of Christ in their faith and to warn against deception, too.

 

If we love our Lord, we will obey him. We will do what he says. We will live for him and not for ourselves, and we will do his will for our lives. We will love others with his love and we will share with them the word of God so that they can come to know our Lord in his fulness, too.

 

Only Hope

 

By Jonathan Foreman

 

…I give you my destiny

I'm giving you all of me

I want your symphony

Singing in all that I am

At the top of my lungs

I'm giving it my all

 

So, I lay my head back down

And I lift my hands and pray

To be only yours I pray

To be only yours I pray

To be only yours

I know now you're my only hope

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gnS7ZEbEqU

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Jesus Christ, Our Edelweiss

When I woke this morning, the song “Edelweiss” was playing in my mind, so I searched the internet for the lyrics and for the meaning of “Edelweiss.”

 

I learned that the word “Edelweiss” literally translates to 'noble white'. And noble means honorable, moral, decent, and upright. And white means clean, pure, unblemished, and dirt-free.

 

So, following this meaning, along with the lyrics (below), it would be like saying that every morning I am greeted by what is honorable, moral, upright, pure, and unblemished, which is Jesus Christ and his word. And that is true.

 

The song goes on to talk about blossoms of snow, for Edelweiss is also a flower, and it speaks of these blossoms blooming and growing forever. So, this is like saying, “May what is honorable, moral, pure, decent, and upright bloom (flourish, prosper) and grow (develop, mature) forever.” Amen!

 

And then the song concludes by saying, “Bless my homeland forever.”

 

And so, I considered what this could mean symbolically, along this same line of thinking, and I realized that for the Jews of the Old Covenant their homeland was the “Promised Land,” and for us our “Promised Land” is our inheritance in God’s eternal kingdom, which is not of this earth.

 

So, praise God and give glory to God for our salvation from sin, and for him purifying our hearts and making us clean. And praise him for the inheritance he promised to all those who walk with him in white, who are walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh (Rom 8:1-17).

 

Isaiah 53:1-3 ESV

 

“Who has believed what he has heard from us?

    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

For he grew up before him like a young plant,

    and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

    and no beauty that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by men,

    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

 

Amen! Jesus Christ is our “Edelweiss.” He is all that is noble and pure and white and clean. He is completely spotless and without blemish, which is why he was able to be our sacrificial Lamb on the cross to die for our sins. And when we believe in him, we are to be like him, by the grace of God.

 

May his divine character grow and develop within all of us who believe on him so that we are becoming like him in all that we do and are and say and think. May we live righteously, as he is righteous, with purity of heart and mind, and may we not live to please our sinful flesh.

 

May he be the flower that greets us each morning. May he be who and what is on our minds when we arise in the morning, and throughout the day, and as we are going to sleep at night. May we worship and adore him and sing praises to him and praise him for our eternal inheritance.

 

For, not everyone sees Jesus Christ in this light. When he walked the earth, he was despised and rejected by many people (the majority). They did not see his beauty, because his beauty was not of the flesh but of the Spirit. It was inward, not outward (not fleshly).

 

They were of the world, but he was not of the world, so they didn’t get him. They were thinking with earthly minds, and they had their focus on the things of this life, whereas his focus was on what is eternal and of God, and so they missed it, as many are missing it today.

 

Far too many people, including many who profess faith in Jesus Christ, are focused on what is outward and on what is of this world, and they are missing what all God has for them which is not of this world, but which is of our heavenly kingdom. They are missing out on their “Edelweiss.”

 

Isaiah 53:4-6 ESV

 

“Surely he has borne our griefs

    and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed him stricken,

    smitten by God, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

    and with his wounds we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray;

    we have turned—every one—to his own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all.”

 

When Jesus Christ, God the Son, was crucified on that cross, he who knew no sin became sin for us so that when he died, our sins died with him. And this was so that we could now, by faith in him, die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (2 Co 5:21; 1 Pet 2:24; Rom 6:1-23).

 

So, when we come to him in faith, if our faith is genuine, 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. Sin no longer has mastery over our lives, for Jesus set us free! (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9)

 

At one time we all like sheep went astray. For, all have sinned and all have come up short in our own flesh of attaining God’s divine approval or his righteousness. We can do nothing in our flesh to be approved by God or to earn or to deserve our own salvation.

 

But, because of what Jesus did for us in dying on that cross for our sins, by faith in him we can be delivered from our bondage (slavery, addiction) to sin so that we can now, by God’s Spirit, live righteously and walk in purity of devotion to our Lord Jesus. All glory to God!

 

May Jesus Christ now be our “Edelweiss,” and may he be the one who greets us each morning, and may we be happy to have him and his purity and uprightness right there in our faces each day encouraging us to live righteously and in uprightness and godliness (Tit 2:11-14).

 

Edelweiss

 

By Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein

 

Edelweiss, Edelweiss

Every morning you greet me

Small and white clean and bright

You look happy to meet me

 

Blossom of snow, may you bloom and grow

Bloom and grow forever

Edelweiss, Edelweiss

Bless my homeland forever

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVYrCE9Dv8Q

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By Faith, Not by Sight

Proverbs 3:1-4 ESV

 

“My son, do not forget my teaching,

    but let your heart keep my commandments,

for length of days and years of life

    and peace they will add to you.

 

“Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;

    bind them around your neck;

    write them on the tablet of your heart.

So you will find favor and good success

    in the sight of God and man.”

 

Did you know that much of what was taught in the Old Testament is repeated for us in the New Testament, under the New Covenant? I think there are probably people who avoid reading the Old Testament because they think it doesn’t apply to us today, but much of it still does.

 

In James 1 we read that we are to be doers of the word and not hearers only. We are not to merely listen with our ears and then walk away and forget what we learned. But we are to put the word of God into practice in our lives as it applies to us, the church, under the New Covenant.

 

We are also instructed in the New Testament to keep the Lord’s commandments, which he summarized into two: To love God with our whole being and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt 22:37-40; Jn 14:23-24; 1 Jn 2:3-6). And we do this in the power of God’s Spirit living within us.

 

We are also taught much about loving God and loving other humans, especially those belonging to the family of God (Rom 12:10; Rom 13:8-10). And this love comes from God so it prefers what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, pure, faithful, honest, upright, and godly.

 

Also, we are taught that to love God is to obey him (1 Jn 5:3), and that love for our fellow humans is to do good to them and to do them no harm. So, we won’t deliberately lie to, cheat on, steal from, falsely accuse, murder, slander, deceive or commit adultery against other humans.

 

As well, the New Testament speaks much on the subject of being faithful. We are to be faithful in prayer, to the trust we’ve been given, in Christ Jesus, as stewards of God’s grace, and faithful to walk in the truth, etc. (Rom 12:12; 1 Co 4:2; Eph 1:1; 1 Pet 4:10; 3 Jn 1:3; Rev 2:10).

 

Proverbs 3:5-8 ESV

 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

    and do not lean on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge him,

    and he will make straight your paths.

Be not wise in your own eyes;

    fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.

It will be healing to your flesh

    and refreshment to your bones.”

 

There are hundreds of Scriptures in the New Testament which teach on the subject of trust (faith, belief) in the Lord Jesus Christ. Many of those speak of a continuous faith which endures to the end of time. And there are many Scriptures which talk about the human heart, too.

 

We are blessed who are pure in heart. If we lust after another person we have committed adultery in our hearts. Out of the abundance of people’s hearts their mouths speak. We understand spiritual truths with our hearts when we turn from sin to follow Jesus. Some people honor Christ with their lips but their hearts are far from him. And we forgive others from the heart (Matt 5:8, 28; Matt 12:34; Matt 13:15; Matt 15:8, 18-19; Matt 18:35).

 

And when we trust in the Lord with our whole heart, we don’t rely upon our own human understanding. For, not everything is going to make sense to us from a strictly human perspective. Spiritual things are spiritually discerned.

 

So, when life doesn’t make sense to us, or when we don’t understand why things are happening the way that they are, this is when we walk by faith and not by sight. We trust the Lord that he knows best and that he is in control, and we rest in him and in his love and mercy.

 

We then trust him to lead us one step at a time in the way that he would have us to go. We do know the steps we ought to take and that we ought not to take, from a general sense, but we don’t know what tomorrow brings for us or what challenges we are going to face next, so we just have to take it one step at a time, by faith, and let our Lord lead us.

 

We must guard against trusting in our own logic and reasoning when it comes to spiritual matters of the heart. For, God doesn’t work like humans do. His ways are greater than our ways. So, we need to walk in the fear of (in the honor, respect, reverence, and obedience to) God.

 

Proverbs 3:11-12 ESV

 

“My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline

    or be weary of his reproof,

for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,

    as a father the son in whom he delights.”

 

The writer of Hebrews quoted something similar to this in Hebrews 12:5-6. There we are taught that God disciplines (chastises) us for our good, that we may share his holiness.

 

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it” (Heb 12:11 ESV).

 

The Lord allows us to suffer, sometimes unjustly. He allows us to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake. He permits us to go through trials and tribulations which try our faith. For, suffering is part of our walk of faith, for through suffering we learn obedience.

 

So, when tried, we need to hold on to our faith, keep trusting the Lord, believe he is in control, and believe he is working all things for our good. Even if what we are going through doesn’t make sense to our own logic and reasoning, we trust him, and we walk by faith and not by sight.

 

Believe Him  

 

An Original Work / July 15, 2013

 

My heart cries: Lord, won’t You hear me

Seeking You for the answers

To my heartache and questions

I have concerning my life?

Speak, Lord, to me right now.

 

“Oh, dear one, why don’t you trust Me

With your life’s circumstances?

Give your all on the altar

In submission of your will

To My purpose for you.

 

“Surrender your life completely

To your Lord and your Savior.

He has all things planned for you

For His glory and honor.

He’ll work all things for good.

 

“Believe Him. He will fulfill all

Of His promises to you

For your life and your future.

Trust Him. Rest in His love.

He’ll give you peace from above.”

 

https://vimeo.com/115945593

Always of Good Courage?

2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV

 

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”

 

As human beings we live in flesh bodies. We get sick. We ache. We feel pain and suffering. We hurt. We cry. We grieve. We are tempted to sin. Sometimes we may give in to sin (1 Jn 2:1-2), but it should never be our practice, and we should learn from it and not keep repeating the same sins.

 

Righteousness should be what we practice if we are in Christ by genuine faith in him. We should walk (in conduct, in practice) NOT according to our sinful flesh but according to the Spirit. For we died to sin, so how can we live in it any longer? For, Jesus set us free from our slavery to sin so that we would now be slaves of God and of his righteousness.

 

And those who are slaves of God and of his righteousness have been given the hope of eternal life with God. But this is not earning our salvation. This is living out the salvation we have been given in the power of God’s Spirit living within us and out through us (Phil 2:12-13; Rom 6:16-23).

 

And what that means for us is that one day we will be able to shed these fleshly bodies and we will no longer be in pain or be tempted to sin. We will no longer cry or grieve. No one will hurt us. No one will do evil against us. We will no longer be despised and rejected, but we will be with our Lord forever in complete peace.

 

But this promise is not for everyone who professes the name of Jesus. This promise is not for those who have continued to live in sin and who have refused or who have neglected to turn from their sins to follow Jesus Christ with their lives. For, those who live in sin will die in their sins (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

 

And this is critical that we get this, for many are going to come before God one day and they are going to hear God say, “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. I never knew you!” So, please take this to heart.

 

2 Corinthians 5:6-10 ESV

 

“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

 

We need to always be of good courage, and if we are not, then we need to change that by God’s Spirit. For life can throw some “hand grenades” at us, at times, figuratively speaking. And in our own strength it is impossible to remain courageous. But in God’s strength, we can be courageous!

 

We definitely have to walk by faith and not by sight because we can’t see everything that is going on around us, and some of what we do see isn’t so great. And people lie to us, and people tell false stories, and so we can’t trust that everything we are hearing is the truth, either.

 

And we don’t always see God working in our situations, either. Sometimes our situations may look pretty bleak, at times, and so we have to believe that God is not absent, and that he is with us, and that he is working even if we can’t see what he is doing. So, we trust him.

 

And no matter what we are going through, our goal should always be to please our Lord and not ourselves. Our desire should be to obey him even if it means being hated and persecuted, lied about, falsely accused, and mistreated, or even killed for our faith in Jesus Christ.

 

And why do we make it our aim to please him? First and foremost, it should be because we love him, and because we love him we want to please him. But it is also true that we are all going to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil (cf. Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10).

 

So, while we still have the breath of life on this earth, we must surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, turn from our sinful lifestyles, and now follow the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).

 

For, Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died, in fact, that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15).

 

 Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

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