Having the Appearance of Godliness

2 Timothy 3:1-9 ESV

 

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”

 

Not all people are like this, but many are, to one degree or another. And it does seem to be getting worse as time progresses. Lies and deception abound, even among those professing the name of Jesus, and even among pastors and those who are training them in the ministry. Manipulating people to get what they want from them is commonplace now in the church.

 

The cheap grace gospel is permeating today’s modern church here in America, and many people are adopting it as their gospel. But it makes no demands of the “believer” in Jesus to forsake his sins or to follow Jesus in obedience or to submit to Christ as Lord of his life. Instead, it gives carte blanche for the “believer” to continue living in deliberate habitual sin.

 

And so the love of many is growing cold, and they are becoming lovers of self and not of God, for God is being portrayed to them as someone who is there to do everything for us but who expects nothing at all of us in return. It is all about what God can do for us, but the focus is not on us walking in the fear of the Lord in humble submission to doing his will for our lives.

 

And so much of the church now is geared toward attracting the world to their gatherings using worldly means and methods, so that even the gatherings of the church are focused more on pleasing the flesh of humans rather than or in place of focusing on what we can do as followers of Jesus Christ to live morally pure and upright lives pleasing to God, in his power.

 

It's all backwards. Now truth is being attacked as though it is false and the lies are being embraced as though they are truth. Now walking in sin is acceptable behavior while walking in holiness and righteousness is being frowned upon. Now if you actually take God and his word seriously you will be accused of being legalistic or of being self-righteous or of being hateful or bigoted or intolerant or whatever the common word now is against us.

 

2 Timothy 3:10-15 ESV

 

“You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.”

 

Are you living an immoral life, doing the sin, confess, sin, confess thing with no real change in sinful patterns of behavior? You don't need a 12 step program. You need the Scriptures and you need to surrender your life to Jesus, and to cast off those sins and to obey the Lord. That is your only hope of freedom from addiction to sin. Jesus died to free you from your addiction.

 

Are we perfect people? No! Will we ever be perfect? One day if we get to be with Jesus for eternity. So, is it okay to use lack of perfection as an excuse for deliberate and habitual sin? No! We know right from wrong. We know when we are doing wrong. So stop doing wrong and do right. No excuses! Turn from your sin and now follow Jesus in obedience to his ways.

 

Stop following the lies of these charlatans, these liars and deceivers who are tickling itching ears with their feel-good messages. Get into the Scriptures. Read them in context. Do it prayerfully, seeking God’s face for truth. Then reject the lies you are being taught and embrace the truth of God’s word and forsake your sinful practices and become followers of Jesus Christ.

 

Will you be persecuted if you do that? Most certainly! But I would rather be persecuted for righteousness’ sake and spend eternity with my Lord than compromise my faith in order to appease the flesh and to be acceptable to other humans, and then end up in hell. For if you walk in the flesh and if you don’t obey the Lord, you will NOT inherit eternal life with God.

 

So, believing in Jesus is not just words we say but it is dying daily with him to sin and it is daily living with him to righteousness in the power of God. It is walking daily with him in his truth and righteousness, in fellowship with him, in doing what he says for us to do. And there is no greater peace and no greater joy ever than to be living right in the center of God’s will.

 

2 Timothy 3:16-17 ESV

 

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

 

Again, get into God’s word. Read the Scriptures or listen to them wherever you can find them. But read them in context, for many false doctrines are being taught in the church because Scriptures are being taught outside their context and they are being made to say something they don’t say. But don’t just read a little devotional. Read the Scriptures themselves!

 

And read both the Old and the New Testaments. Yes, we are not under the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, and purification laws that the Jews were under before Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected from the dead, but so much of the Old Testament was looking ahead to when Jesus would come to the earth and would die and would rise from the dead.

 

And so much of what was taught in the Old Testament is repeated for us in the New Testament. They parallel each other in so many different ways. But we should always read the Old Testament in light of the New Covenant relationship God has now with his people, and also in light of the Messianic age in which we now live, for we are now under the New Covenant.

 

Also, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His will for us has not changed. What he demanded for salvation then he demands for salvation now. For he saw then and he still sees now our faith as obedience and disobedience as unbelief. And he says if we walk in sin and if we don’t obey him and if we don’t love our fellow humans that we don’t have eternal life with him. And we will all be judged by our works. So take this to heart.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev. 2-3; Rev 18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]  

 

He Gives Purpose  

 

An Original Work / June 9, 2012

 

“Listen to Me when I’m calling to you.

Obey freely My word.

Follow Me in all of My ways.

Do all that I say.

Hear Me gently whisper to you

My will for your life and future.

Give all of your life and heart to

Follow Me always.”

 

Repent of your sins and worship Jesus.

He’s your Lord and Master.

He died for your sins so you could

Live with Him today.

He has a plan for your life and

He gives purpose and direction.

He gives meaning to your life,

So follow Him today.

 

“I love you so much I gave My life for

You to walk in My ways,

Living for Me each day as you

Bow to Me and pray.

Witness for Me of your love for Me and

Of My grace and mercy,

How I died to save you of your

Sins now and always.”

 

https://vimeo.com/119038798

He will Strengthen and Help Us

Isaiah 41:8-10 ESV

 

“But you, Israel, my servant,

    Jacob, whom I have chosen,

    the offspring of Abraham, my friend;

you whom I took from the ends of the earth,

    and called from its farthest corners,

saying to you, ‘You are my servant,

    I have chosen you and not cast you off’;

fear not, for I am with you;

    be not dismayed, for I am your God;

I will strengthen you, I will help you,

    I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

 

Ever since Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on a cross for our sins, was resurrected from the dead, appeared to many people, ascended back to heaven, then sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers, we who follow Jesus Christ with our lives, whether Jew or Gentile by physical birth, are true Israel, the children of promise, the spiritual offspring of Abraham.

 

All who reject Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are not the chosen of God. They are not the Lord’s servants, even if they are physical descendants of Abraham, and even if they make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. For rejecting Jesus as Lord and Savior is more than just a verbal or physical rejection, but it is rejecting all that he is and all that he stands for.

 

Thus, the chosen of God, who are the true servants of Christ, the spiritual seed of Abraham through genuine faith in Jesus Christ, the friend of God, who God has not cast off, and whom he is with, and for whom he is our God, and for whom he will strengthen and help and uphold with his righteous right hand are the Lord’s sheep who are following him wherever he leads them.

 

So, we can only claim this promise as ours if we have biblical faith in Jesus Christ, which means we’ve been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we’ve been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And we can only claim this promise here as our promise from God if we are walking in obedience to his commands and if we are forsaking our sins, proving our faith to be genuine.

 

And this isn’t “replacement theology.” And this isn’t “legalism” or “works-based salvation.” And these are not my words, i.e., I am not making this up out of my own mind. This is what the Scriptures teach.

 

True Israel: Gal 3:16, 26-29; Rom 9:4-8; Gal 4:22-31; Eph 2:14-18; 1 Jn 2:22. Genuine Faith: Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Co 15:58; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23.

 

So, if you are the Lord’s true servants, by genuine faith in Jesus Christ, and you have died and you are dying with him to sin daily, and you are walking according to the Spirit in walks of obedience to the Lord Jesus, then you never have cause to fear anything or anyone, other than to have a respectful fear of God whereby you take him and his Word seriously and therefore you walk in the truth of God’s Holy Word in the power of His might.

 

But we don’t have to fear enemies or opposition or famine or sword or anything that might come our way in order to test our faith to see if it is genuine. For our God is watching over those who are his via genuine faith in Jesus Christ – a faith which originates with him and is gifted to us by God, and thus it submits to Christ as Lord and it walks in obedience to him.

 

We do not have to fear what is going on in the world or how that may impact us, for our God is fully sovereign over all that he has made, and he is absolutely in full control over what happens to us. He has allowed in our lives whatever it is we are going through or it wouldn’t be happening to us. Thus, he also has a plan for it, so we need to submit to his plan.

 

We have no reason to fear it all because our Lord is with us, and he will give us everything we need to endure whatever is coming next or what we are presently having to endure. He will strengthen us, and he will help us, and he will uphold us when we feel as though we can’t go another step, or as though we do not have what it takes to endure and to keep pressing on.

 

So, we who are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in walks of obedience to him, should find great encouragement in this. Yet, this is not saying that we are perfect people. We are still clay vessels being molded by the master. He is still working on us to make us who he wants us to be. But we should be walking in obedience to our Lord and not in deliberate and habitual sin.

 

Isaiah 41:11-13 ESV

 

“Behold, all who are incensed against you

    shall be put to shame and confounded;

those who strive against you

    shall be as nothing and shall perish.

You shall seek those who contend with you,

    but you shall not find them;

those who war against you

    shall be as nothing at all.

For I, the Lord your God,

    hold your right hand;

it is I who say to you, ‘Fear not,

    I am the one who helps you.’”

 

If we are walking in the fear of the Lord, in honoring the Lord with our lives, in walking in faithful obedience to his Word, and if we are going wherever he sends us, and if we are saying all that he commands us to say, and therefore we are sharing the full gospel truth of our salvation, the whole counsel of God, and we are NOT sharing a diluted half-truth gospel meant to appease the flesh, then we are going to be strongly opposed.

 

We are going to have a lot of people incensed against us, and many of them will be professers of faith in Jesus Christ, and many may be pastors or elders of church congregations (or in the false church), and some may even be friends and family members. For remember what Jesus said? He said our family members will come against us, too, and will be our enemies.

 

I can still remember the day vividly when a fellow professer of faith in Jesus Christ, a man, a friend, and one with whom my husband and I were in fellowship, stood in our living room and screamed at me and told me that the majority is right and so I need to go with the majority. He was angry with me because I was testing what I was hearing against the Scriptures.

 

So, when you stand on the truth of the Scriptures, and when you challenge what you believe is false teaching, expect to have even friends, family members, and church people incensed against you because you are “rattling cages,” i.e. you are upsetting them because you are challenging what they believe, and they don’t want their beliefs challenged, even if they are wrong.

 

And if you are on social media sharing the truths of the Scriptures and you are challenging false teaching, and you are countering the lies with the truth, expect some of your friends to unfollow or to unfriend you, either without a word, or after they first of all blast you with hateful comments. Some people just don’t want to have their beliefs challenged.

 

But then be encouraged that this is all temporary. This will not last forever. One day we will be forever with our Lord and all this will pass away. We will no longer be hated, rejected, and mistreated for righteousness’ sake. And then just trust the Lord with your life and keep following him in obedience.

 

Courageous!  

 

An Original Work / December 24, 2013  

Based off Various Scriptures

 

The Word of God throughout taught.

Some people heard but did doubt.

Still others had faith in Christ.

By grace He purified them.

 

They turned from sin

And they obeyed Christ.

He opened up their blinded eyesight;

Turned them from darkness

To the true Light;

Forgave their sin by His might.

 

He strengthened them in their faith.

He said, “Remain my faithful.”

He called them to obedience.

By faith, they were so grateful.

 

By faith, they were to follow Jesus;

To daily sit and listen to Him;

To have such faith

That mountains could move;

To love those whom He gave them.

 

Be on your guard; courageous.

Stand firm in faith. Be thankful.

Take up the shield of your faith;

Protect against all evil.

 

Do not move from

The hope that you have.

Your faith in Jesus let it endure.

Hold to the truth;

Your conscience be clear.

Endure with perseverance.

 

https://vimeo.com/112338495

Fan Into Flame the Gift of God

2 Timothy 1:1-7 ESV

 

“I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”

 

Discouraged and Disheartened?

 

Have you ever been discouraged? Disheartened? Do you ever feel beat up on because of your walk of faith in Jesus Christ? You are being faithful to the Lord. You are doing what he has called you to do. You are going wherever he sends you, and you are saying all that he commands you to say, but it seems sometimes that it just falls on deaf ears. Sometimes you wonder if you are making much of a difference at all. Have you been there?

 

Now, I don’t know what Timothy’s tears were about here, but tears are usually a sign of pain and sorrow. And Paul is encouraging him by reminding him of his sincere faith, and to fan into flame the gift of God within him, for God did not give him a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control. So, it seems obvious to me that Timothy was being faced with some tuff stuff and that he was feeling discouraged and disheartened.

 

Since we are all human, and we live in flesh bodies, we are all susceptible to this. Our bodies get tired. Our emotions grow weak. Sometimes our minds are tired, too. Sometimes we are in physical pain. And sometimes Satan takes this opportunity to oppose us, to come against us sharply, to accuse us falsely, and to attempt to dishearten and to discourage us. And this is definitely when we need to call on God in prayer for strength and courage.

 

I remember when the Lord first called me to this writing ministry. I wrote what he gave me to write, as best as I understood it, and I placed it on the internet so that a herald could “run with it,” and in some cases I had no idea where these writings were going or if anyone was reading them at all. And this went on for a long while before I ever got any responses. So I just had to write and post the writings by faith and trust the Lord with them.

 

It is kind of like stories I have heard missionaries tell over many years where they would talk about going into foreign nations and they would preach the gospel and minister to the needs of the people but it would be years of ministering in these nations sometimes before they would see any fruit for their labors. But by faith they did what God called them to do even though they could not see immediate results, and God did use them there.

 

So, just because God has called you to a specific ministry, and just because you are doing what he says to do, in his power and strength, it doesn’t mean that you are always going to see how God is using you. So, we have to remember that Scripture that says that God’s word that goes out from his mouth will not return to him empty, but it will accomplish what the Lord desires and it will achieve the purpose for which he sent it (Isaiah 55:11).

 

So, we walk by faith and not by sight, and we leave the results in God’s hands. We continue in sincere (honest, pure) faith in our Lord without wavering, and we are bold in our witness for him. And we intentionally work on our relationships with the Lord, to make certain we are growing in our walks of faith, and that our faith is not being hindered in any way, and that we are not giving way to fear, but that we are continuing to obey our Lord.

 

2 Timothy 1:1-7 ESV

 

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.”

 

Don’t Be Ashamed

 

Please know here that if you are truly following the Lord Jesus with your life, and if you are holding fast to the truths of the Scriptures in a day and age when many are not, you are not usually going to be voted most popular. You get that, don’t you? You will be opposed, even by pastors, elders, Bible teachers, other Christians (or professing Christians), family, and friends, etc. But make certain that what you are doing first is truly of God.

 

Since you are in the minority, at least here in America, and I am certain in other nations, too, you are going to be faced with a lot of opposition. People are going to try to prove you wrong. They will try to discredit you, or they will twist your words to saying something you are not saying. First make certain that what you are teaching is in line with the Scriptures, in context, but then go out there and share with others the truth of God’s Word.

 

Don’t be ashamed of sharing the truth of God’s word in an era when the bulk of what is called church, at least here in America, is going the way of the world, and is following a false half-truth gospel which has been altered to appease the flesh of humans. Yes, you are in the minority but the majority are not in the right. Remember that it is the broad road that many take that leads to destruction, and few follow the narrow road that leads to life.

 

So, don’t be afraid of being in the minority. Don’t let that discourage you. Don’t be afraid of being opposed, even by people with bible college or seminary degrees. Just because they have a title of Doctor or Reverend does not make them in the right and you in the wrong. Many of them are following the way of error that leads to destruction and that does not end in eternal life. So, stay the course! Keep on speaking the truth!

 

For we are called to suffering. We will be hated. We will be persecuted. The majority will not listen to us. A remnant will. So don’t let lack of obvious results or persecution or opposition discourage you from following Jesus in the way that he would have you to go. Just keep doing what God has called you to do. Keep sharing the truth even if you think no one is listening. We never know whose lives are being impacted by our obedience.

 

Courageous!  

 

An Original Work / December 24, 2013  

Based off Various Scriptures

 

The Word of God throughout taught.

Some people heard but did doubt.

Still others had faith in Christ.

By grace He purified them.

 

They turned from sin

And they obeyed Christ.

He opened up their blinded eyesight;

Turned them from darkness

To the true Light;

Forgave their sin by His might.

 

He strengthened them in their faith.

He said, “Remain my faithful.”

He called them to obedience.

By faith, they were so grateful.

 

By faith, they were to follow Jesus;

To daily sit and listen to Him;

To have such faith

That mountains could move;

To love those whom He gave them.

 

Be on your guard; courageous.

Stand firm in faith. Be thankful.

Take up the shield of your faith;

Protect against all evil.

 

Do not move from

The hope that you have.

Your faith in Jesus let it endure.

Hold to the truth;

Your conscience be clear.

Endure with perseverance.

 

https://vimeo.com/112338495

I Pray You Tell

An Original Work / February 27, 2022

Hello, hello, I pray you tell

That time’s a ticking on the shelf

That murders’ mysteries ring their chimes

While devil’s advocates do their crimes

While honeymooners swoon and swoon

From night and morning, afternoon

While children playing all their games

Pay no attention to what’s insane

While master craftsmen sing their tunes

While empty vessels blow their balloons

While entertainers do their tricks

While five and six pick up their sticks

But then what happens, do you say

When God’s people forget to pray

When they’re so caught up in this world

That God’s instructions they have hurled?

Will God sit silent and never say,

“I’m calling you to bow and pray,

Repent of sins, put them aside,

And be now only my pure bride?”

What the Scriptures Teach about Sin Addiction

1 John 3:4-10 ESV

 

“Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”

 

Sinning in Practice

 

In some translations this says, “Everyone who commits sin.” But the verb tense is active, so it should read “Everyone committing sin.” This has to do with doing sin actively, as a matter of practice. For, if we read this as everyone who sins, who commits any sin at any time, then it would have to read that if we ever sin once that it means that we are of the devil and that we are not born of God, which is not consistent with the rest of 1 John, and which is not consistent with the rest of the New Testament or the gospel.

 

But does this fit with other passages of Scripture? Yes! Jesus said that we are to take up our cross DAILY and follow him (walk in obedience to him step by step). Paul said the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who WALK not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit, and a WALK has to do with something that is day to day, one step at a time. And he said for us to WALK by the Spirit and we will not gratify the desires of the flesh. And he said we must no longer WALK as the ungodly do.

 

And John said that if we claim to have fellowship with God but we WALK in darkness (in sin) we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we WALK in the light as God is in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. And we read in Hebrews 10 that if we GO ON SINNING deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins but a fearful expectation of judgment and a fury of fire. So this is all about either walking in sin, in practice, or walking in holiness, by faith.

 

And then we read this in Romans 6:16 (ESV): “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

 

The context is obviously that of something that is ongoing, that is continuing, for if we are slaves to something, we are not talking about a one-time thing here. For a slave is owned by another and is in servitude to another whom he is obligated to obey on a continuous basis, for as long as the terms of that enslavement continue to exist. But in this case it is one choosing to live as a slave and to come under the authority of another.

 

And we need to understand here that if we are slaves to sin, i.e. if we are addicted to sin, it leads to death, not to life eternal with God. For if we are living as slaves to sin, and sin is what we are practicing, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. For whatever we sow, that we will also reap. So, if we sow to the flesh, we will reap destruction, but if we sow to the Spirit, we will reap eternal life. For we are all going to be judged by our works.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Eph 4:17-24; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 1:28-32; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Rom 6:16; Rom 8:3-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:26-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Jn 15:1-11; Rev. 2-3; Rev 18:1-6; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15; Matt 7:21-23]

 

Jesus Died to Take Away Sins

 

Now, Jesus didn’t die on that cross just to forgive us our sins and just to promise us heaven when we die. And taking away our sins is not just removing from us the punishment of sin. For when we believe in Jesus with genuine God-given faith (Eph 2:8-10), our old self is crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we will no longer be enslaved to sin but to God and to his righteousness.

 

Therefore, sin is to no longer reign (rule, have supremacy, be in control) over our lives like it was when we were enslaved (addicted) to sin, so that it makes us obey its passions. We are not to present our bodies as instruments of unrighteousness but as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin is to no longer have dominion (control, authority) over our lives. So, are we then to continue living in sin now that we are under grace? No Way!

 

For Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now honor God with our bodies (with our lives). And Jesus gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

 

[Rom 6:1-23; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15,21; 1 Co 6:19-20; Tit 2:11-14]

 

No One Who Abides in Him

 

Now, this is the crux of the matter. If we are abiding in Christ and Christ is abiding in us, we will not be those who are making sin our practice. We will not habitually and deliberately keep on repeating the same sins over again, in direct opposition to our Lord and to his commands, fully knowing that what we are doing is evil, that it is against the Lord, and that it is harming and hurting others, even those we are closest to.

 

And we will not be making excuses for why we continue in those sins, sometimes over many years, even making excuses to those we are sinning against and that we are hurting with our habitual and deliberate sins, which then just insults them and hurts them more. And we won’t be looking for loopholes to find a way that we can continue in habitual sin without guilt and without conscience so that we can ease our own feelings of guilt.

 

For, if we keep on sinning, in practice (in addiction), then we have not seen nor have we known God/Jesus. And, if we make sinning our practice (our addiction), then we are of the devil, and we are not born of God, and God’s seed does not abide in us. So, we are not saved from our sins, our sins are not forgiven, and heaven is not our eternal destiny. But if righteousness is what we practice, by the grace of God, in his power, then we are righteous, and we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

 

[1 Jn 3:4-10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-11; 1 Co 6:9-10; 1 Jn 1:6]

 

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

 

Words by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907

Music by George C. Stebbins, 1907

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Search me and try me, Master, today!

Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,

As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Wounded and weary, help me I pray!

Power, all power, surely is Thine!

Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Hold o'er my being absolute sway.

Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see

Christ only, always, living in me!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z11avpKNLsA

Caution: This link may contain ads

Love Others even When Hated in Return

1 John 3:11-12 ESV

 

“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.”

 

Adam and Eve, the first man and woman on the earth, had a son named Cain. After him came his brother Abel. Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain was a worker of the ground. Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, but Abel brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.

 

“The Lord said to Cain, ‘Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.’” Genesis 4:6-7 ESV

 

Cain then spoke to his brother Abel, and when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. Then the Lord had a back and forth conversation with Cain about what he just did. And God judged Cain for his evil deed. And then we read here in 1^st John that Cain was of the evil one, and so he killed his brother because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s deeds were righteous.

 

And this did not end with Cain and Abel. Human nature is evil. The flesh nature is jealous of others who have what it does not have. The flesh nature is resentful of those who are living righteously and who are approved by God, because the flesh nature is not approved by God. And the flesh nature is opposed to all that is righteous and holy and upright. For, the flesh is at war with the Spirit, and the Spirit is at war with the flesh (Gal 5:17).

 

So, if we are to not be like Cain, this isn’t just about not murdering our brother. We should not be of the evil one. We should not be living in sin and then end up hating and being resentful of those who are living righteously. Sin should not be crouching at our door because we should not be giving sin any sway in our lives. But we should be conquering sin in the power of God, saying “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and living self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return (Tit 2:11-14).

 

1 John 3:13-15 ESV

 

“Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”

 

Do Not Be Surprised

 

“The world” in this instance is the people of the world who are given over to the desires of the flesh and who are not of the Spirit of God. They will not embrace us as their own if we are living righteously as Abel was, and if we are walking according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, and if we are living holy lives separate (unlike, different) from the world, and if we are sharing the gospel as Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught it.

 

They may speak harshly against us, condemning us for what we say, and for what we refuse to participate in. They may try to sway us to not follow what the Scriptures teach but to adopt the ways of this sinful world so that we are more like everyone else and so that we don’t stand out as different. They may attack our character and call us names and accuse us falsely of being self-righteous or hateful or judgmental or of being negative, too.

 

Some of them may take it further and will try to discredit us via false accusations, or they will try to trip us up with our words, or they will try to bait us into getting into an argument with them, i.e. they will do the kinds of things that were done to Jesus. And you know what? Who were Jesus’ strongest and most persistent persecutors? They were the rulers and the teachers of the Scriptures in the Temple of God.

 

So, don’t be surprised if worldly and fleshly professers of faith in Jesus Christ are your greatest opponents and persecutors, too, and not the people who make no profession of faith in Jesus. For, professers of Christ know the way of righteousness. So, if they are living sinful lifestyles in direct opposition to God and to his commands, and if they are lying about it, they are going to be offended by your walk of faith and your relationship with the Lord.

 

And they may see you as a threat to their lies and to their chosen lifestyles because they know you believe that what they are doing is evil, and that it is against the Lord, whether you say it or not, or whether you know what they are doing or not. Your walk of faith is going to be an offense to them because they know that what they are doing is wrong. But especially if you are sharing the truth of the gospel, don’t be surprised if those who claim to be your brothers and sisters in the Lord are your strongest opposition.

 

Love One Another

 

The antidote to hate is love. But this is not speaking of human love which is based in emotions and feelings and experiences and circumstances. This love is not based in others first loving us or them not hating us or them not mistreating us, either. For we are to love even our enemies. We are to pray for them, do good to them, and do and say to and for them what will be wholesome and spiritually and morally beneficial for them, for their welfare.

 

This love comes from God who is love. So, this love is unselfish, self-sacrificial, morally pure, upright, godly, sincere, honest, trustworthy, unadulterated, kind, thoughtful, and righteous. This love is more concerned with the legitimate needs of others than it is with whether or not we are loved in return. We love even when we are not loved in return, and even when we are hated and mistreated, rejected, and persecuted in return.

 

This love will speak the truth in love to others even knowing full well that it is going to be rejected, hated, and mistreated in return, and even falsely accused and slandered. And that is because this love comes from God who is love, and the way he loved us was not just to die for us on that cross, but he spoke the truth into our hearts, and he still does through his written word and through the Holy Spirit who is living within those who are His.

 

And the truth that Jesus spoke was foundationally that if we want to be one of his followers, to be saved from our sins, and to have the hope of eternal life with him, then we must be crucified with him in death to sin and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, free from slavery to sin, and free now to walk in holiness, righteousness, moral purity, uprightness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in His Power!

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev. 2-3; Rev 18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]  

 

Fully Ready! 

 

An Original Work / June 19, 2013

Based off Acts 20-22, 26; Mt. 28:18-20; Ac. 1:8

 

Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?

I’m fully ready to suffer for Christ.

If I must die for the sake of His name,

I am convinced it will not be in vain.

Glory to God and to His Son Jesus,

Who has redeemed us; bought with His blood.

 

May I speak to you? Jesus came to me;

Asked of me, “Why do you persecute me?”

He said, “Now get up and stand on your feet.

Go, and you’ll be told all I have for you.

I have appointed you as a servant,

And as a witness; you have been sent.”

 

“Go into the world and preach the gospel.

Open the blind eyes. They will receive sight.

Turn them from darkness to the light of Christ;

From power of the evil one to God,

So they may receive forgiveness of sins,

And a place among those who’re in heav’n.”

 

https://vimeo.com/115439432

When We Suffer for Righteousness' Sake

1 Peter 4:12-16 ESV

 

“Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler. Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”

 

Are you going through any fiery trials right now? Are you being persecuted for the sake of righteousness and for your testimony for Jesus and for his gospel, and because you hold fast to the truth of the gospel? Are you being rejected and cast aside by those you love, and by those who are supposed to love you? Do other professers of faith in Jesus reject you because of your walk of faith, because you take God and his word seriously?

 

If this is where you are presently, please know that you are not alone. And please know that Jesus was treated the same way. And he told us that if we follow him with our lives that we will be treated the same way he was treated. We will be hated, rejected, forsaken, cast aside, attacked, falsely accused, have people try to trip us up with our words, be mistreated, sinned against, lied to, lied about, and killed for our faith in Jesus Christ.

 

But does all of this serve a good purpose? Yes! For one, it is to test us to see if our faith is genuine. For trials have a way of bringing out the worst in people, or the best, depending upon how they respond to the trials. And the testing is God pruning us, too, to make us more like him, to mature us in our walks of faith, to humble us and to remove some of those rough edges, some of those places in our hearts that need a little pruning.

 

Our sufferings also produce in us endurance, character, and hope, providing that we respond to our sufferings in the way that we ought. And we are to count it all joy when we meet trials of various kinds, for we know that the testing of our faith produces steadfastness, if we pass the test. And we are to let that steadfastness have its full effect so that we may be mature in our walks of faith, lacking in no good thing.

 

Also, when we go through times of suffering, and the Lord Jesus comforts (encourages, exhorts, urges) us in our affliction, we are then able to offer the same comfort (including holy urgings) to others as they go through similar sufferings. Also, when we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we learn to rely on God and not on ourselves, especially since sometimes it is because we have no one else supporting and encouraging us but God.

 

As well, our Lord allows us to suffer as a form of discipline (training and/or correction) in our lives, which comes from a heart of love toward us from God our Father, and which is for our good, that we may share his holiness, and that we might be trained by it, for afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness in our lives. This is the Lord pruning us, and maturing us, and conforming us to his likeness.

 

Therefore, if we are insulted for the name of Jesus Christ, we are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon us. And so we are to rejoice that we are able to share in Christ’s sufferings. For suffering is for our good to make us more like Jesus, and the more we become like him, the more that we can be used in the lives of others to share with them the truth of the gospel and to encourage those who are also suffering for his name.

 

For, honestly, we are flesh, are we not? And flesh is selfish by nature. And flesh may lead us to do things we ought not to do, or to be selfish, or to think only of our own needs and not of the needs of others. So, when we suffer, it prunes away that flesh, again, if we respond to suffering in the right way. And God humbles us, and he makes us more like him so that we can be used of him to minister to the needs of others.

 

So, we should not be ashamed or embarrassed by our suffering, and we should certainly not be concerned about what other people think about us, for we have absolutely no control over what others think about us or say about us, and we have minimal control over what they might do to us. So, when we suffer, we are just to commit our lives into God’s capable hands, rest in him, and then keep following him wherever he leads us.

 

[Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; Matt 5:10-12; Lu 21:12-19; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; Jn 15:1-11]

 

Fully Ready!  

 

An Original Work / June 19, 2013

Based off Acts 20-22, 26; Mt. 28:18-20; Ac. 1:8

 

Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?

I’m fully ready to suffer for Christ.

If I must die for the sake of His name,

I am convinced it will not be in vain.

Glory to God and to His Son Jesus,

Who has redeemed us; bought with His blood.

 

May I speak to you? Jesus came to me;

Asked of me, “Why do you persecute me?”

He said, “Now get up and stand on your feet.

Go, and you’ll be told all I have for you.

I have appointed you as a servant,

And as a witness; you have been sent.”

 

“Go into the world and preach the gospel.

Open the blind eyes. They will receive sight.

Turn them from darkness to the light of Christ;

From power of the evil one to God,

So they may receive forgiveness of sins,

And a place among those who’re in heav’n.”

 

https://vimeo.com/115439432

God's Grace Has Conditions

1 John 1:5-10 ESV

 

“This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”

 

If We Say

 

God is light. He is truth. He is righteousness and holiness. He is moral purity, faithfulness, integrity, and uprightness. There is no darkness in him at all. There is no evil, no lies, no betrayals, no trickery, and no faithlessness in him at all. So, IF WE SAY that we are in fellowship (communion, partnership) with him while we still walk (in conduct, in practice) in deliberate sin, then we are liars who do not practice telling the truth.

 

For, the Scriptures are clear on this subject, all throughout the New Testament. And they teach us that if we are walking in (practicing) sin, deliberately, with full knowledge of what we are doing, especially premeditatedly, i.e. plotting them out in advance, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we don’t know God, we are not saved from our sins, and we will not inherit the kingdom of God.

 

[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Rom 2:6-8; Gal 6:7-8; 2 Co 5:10; 1 Co 6:9-10; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Jn 15:1-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Rev. 2-3; Rev 18:1-6; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15; Matt 7:21-23; Heb 10:26-27]

 

Also, IF WE SAY we have no sin or if we say that we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us, and we make God out to be a liar, who he is not, and so his word is not in us.

 

Now, this could be someone professing faith in Jesus who claims that Jesus has redeemed him from his sin and therefore his present and future sins are as though they are non-existent, and so he can sin as much as he wants without consequence. That is a lie from hell. For if we walk in sin, making sin our practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

And this can definitely be a professing Christian (or not) who is sinning against God and others who is hiding his sin so that no one can see what he is doing, while he presents a different image of himself outwardly where others can see. So he presents a false image of himself, which is a lie. But this is also about lying about the sin, either in advance to try to cover up what one is plotting, or after the fact to cover up for the sin committed.

 

If We Walk

 

But IF WE WALK in the light, as God is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, because we are now in true fellowship with God, AND the blood of Jesus God’s Son cleanses us from all sin.

 

So, what is this saying? Whenever we see these “if” clauses we need to pay attention to what they are saying, for they are saying that what follows is conditional. It is saying that “if” this (whatever) is the case, then that will be the result. Like if you cut back on how much you eat, you will lose weight, but if you don’t, and you continue to eat too much, you will not lose weight. I know that is not a perfect example, but you get the idea.

 

We have many “if” clauses in the Scriptures usually indicating that what follows is something that is conditional. And if we study the Scriptures carefully, we will come to realize that our salvation and our eternal life with God, although gifted to us from God, are conditional on us meeting the requirements of God for the receiving of the gift. And that is because the gift has very specific requirements attached to it.

 

So, you may say, how then can it be a gift? Because the gift of our salvation is not just God forgiving us our sins and us having the hope of heaven when we die. It is us dying with Christ to sin and us living to Christ and to his righteousness, as empowered by God, by faith. It is us walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, and it is us forsaking our sins and our idols to follow Jesus in obedience to his ways and his commands.

 

So, receiving the gift involves us surrendering our lives to Jesus and us now letting him live his life in and through us. It involves walks of obedience to our Lord because we are called to obedience as part of God’s gift to us. So, the free gift us not giving us freedom to keep living in sin without guilt, but it is freedom from our slavery to sin and us living holy lives pleasing to God in the power of God who is living within us.

 

Also, by the Scriptures setting the conditions for us that they do with regard to our salvation and eternal life, and these conditions require us walking (conducting our lives, in practice) in the ways that God says, then that is also teaching us that our salvation is progressive sanctification, and it will not be complete until Jesus returns to take us to be with him, but provided that we continue in him in the faith steadfast to the end.

 

[Rom 8:24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 11:17-24; 1 Co 15:2; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 3:6,14-15; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 2:24-25]

 

If We Confess

 

Now this word “confess” does not mean to make a verbal acknowledgment of sin committed only. There are people who are on a habitual sinful course who will admit their sin only to turn right around and commit the same sins over again while continuing to confess, then sin, then confess, then sin, etc. So, the confession is just to relieve some guilt, but it is not true repentance for nothing changes. They are still on the same sinful course.

 

What this word translated into English as “confess” really means is to speak the same as God about our sin; to be in full agreement with God about our sin; to speak to the same conclusion as God about our sin. And this is not just to admit that we sinned or that what we did was sinful. For if we are in full agreement with God, and we are speaking to the same conclusion as God about our sin, then we agree that we must forsake our sins and that we must follow Jesus in obedience to his ways.

 

And IF WE CONFESS our sins in that manner, then it involves true repentance, and it involves us walking (in conduct) in the light (truth, righteousness) as God is in the light. It means we are no longer walking in the darkness (in habitual sin), but we are now walking according to the Spirit of God in obedience to our Lord in holiness and righteousness. And then the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin and our sins are forgiven.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Co 15:58; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23]

 

Full Release  

 

An Original Work / April 15, 2012

 

Walking daily with my Savior

brings me joy.

Loving Father; precious Jesus;

He’s my Savior and my Lord.

Gently leads me; follow Him.

I’ve invited Him within.

Now abiding in His presence,

oh, what peace.

From my self-life

He has brought me,

By His mercy, full release.

 

Hope and comfort,

peace and safety Jesus brings

When I daily bow before Him;

Obey freely; do His will.

Follow Him where’er He leads.

Listen to Him; His words heed.

Now obeying his words fully,

oh, what love

That He gives me

through salvation,

By His Spirit, from above.

 

Loving Father; precious Jesus,

He’s my friend.

With my Savior, by His Spirit,

I will endure to the end.

Share the gospel, tell what’s true.

Witness daily; His will do.

Tell the world of how their Savior

bled and died.

On a cruel cross He suffered

So that we might be alive.

 

https://vimeo.com/115169203