My 12 Favorite Scriptures Pt 10

Video Talk

 

Joel 2:28-29 ESV

 

“And it shall come to pass afterward,

    that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;

your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,

    your old men shall dream dreams,

    and your young men shall see visions.

Even on the male and female servants

    in those days I will pour out my Spirit.”

 

Now, in the video talk I actually quote from Acts 2 where Peter quoted from this passage in Joel, because what Peter described on the Day of Pentecost was the fulfillment of this prophecy in Joel 2.

 

Now, this is the situation. Jesus Christ had died on the cross for our sins, and he was resurrected from the dead, and he ascended back to heaven to be with God the Father, and from there he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his true followers. Now they had had the Holy Spirit with them, among them, but they had not had the Holy Spirit living within them as we have when we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives. So they needed to now be indwelt with the Holy Spirit as we are who believe in Jesus Christ.

 

And when they were filled with the Holy Spirit they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit gave them utterance. And these were known languages because the people heard them speaking in their own languages. For they were hearing Jesus’ followers telling them in their own languages the mighty works of God. But some people mocked them and accused them of being drunk. So Peter spoke up and he said they were not drunk but what they were doing was fulfilling the prophecy of Joel (in Joel 2).

 

And what was the prophecy of Joel? It was that in the last days that God would pour out his Spirit on all flesh, and God’s sons and daughters would prophesy, and some of them would dream dreams and see visions, etc. And what does it mean to prophesy? Well, it can mean to do future telling, but that is not what was taking place here. For it can also mean to proclaim the excellencies of God who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light, which is what all followers of Jesus are to do (1 Peter 2:9).

 

And so I would encourage you today to listen to the Spirit’s voice, and to submit to the Lord Jesus, and to let God speak to you through his word and through his Spirit, and then proclaim the works of God and the gospel of our salvation, and encourage one another with the words of the Lord from the Scriptures and with spiritual songs and hymns. For this is what we are all called to do, as the body of Christ builds one another up in the faith to maturity in Christ as each part does its work. For we are all necessary!

 

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:42-47; Acts 26:18; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Rom. 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 1:22; Eph 2:19-22; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-30; Col 1:18; Col 2:19; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet. 2:4-9,21] 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCcEx5QLCkY

Caution: This link may contain ads beyond my control

 

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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Saying, "I am the Christ"

Matthew 24:3-5 ESV

 

As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?” And Jesus answered them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and they will lead many astray.”

 

Now, I have not actually heard a man say, “I am the Christ,” in these literal words, but I have experienced and have seen and heard many pastors act as though they are the Christ, as though they are God. And a few years ago one of them told me that I needed to sit in the back of the church building and just let him be God’s voice to me. But then he also invited me to leave and to go someplace else where I would be a “better fit.” Many pastors are being trained to be like cult leaders and to demand undivided loyalties.

 

I have had pastors and elders try to be God’s voice to me and to tell me who I am even though they never even had a personal conversation with me ever. One of them told me that I had never been “crucified with Christ.” But he didn’t know me. We had never before had a conversation. He later acknowledged that he had judged me wrongfully, that he was judging me by himself. But so many pastors today truly are being trained to be like cult leaders and to demand undivided loyalties to them, and not to God.

 

And many of them are teaching their own words as though their words are truth that are to be followed. And many are teaching the Scriptures out of context and they are twisting them to say what the Scriptures overall do not teach. And they are convincing many people to believe their lies over the truth, and so they are indeed setting themselves up as gods who are to be believed over the Scriptures and who are not to be challenged. And I have been witnessing this for over 40 years now. They are everywhere!

 

For at least a while there they were posting their goals and mission and purpose statements on literal walls or on websites or church bulletins, and many were asking their congregations to put those words to memory. And I have even heard pastors tell their entire congregations that if they could not unify with the pastor in these goals and mission and purpose statements that they were disunifiers and that they should go “someplace else.” But that didn’t go over so well in some old established church congregations.

 

Yet, many of these charlatans have huge followings, and people are even quoting their words on social media as though they are from the Scriptures, especially if they pretend to be quoting from the Scriptures. And hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of people are following these pied pipers to their deaths. And most who follow them do not question their words to see if they are actually truth. And if you question their words, some of their followers may disown you and/or unfriend you on social media.

 

So, these charlatans don’t have to literally say, “I am the Christ,” to actually be saying, “I am the Christ,” for they say it with their other words and with their attitudes and with the things that they teach and impress on people’s hearts and minds. And they say it when they take the position of Christ in the hearts and minds of the people and they get the people to give to them their undivided loyalties without question and without challenge. And believe me, many pastors are being taught to be like cult leaders.

 

Matthew 24:9-14 ESV

 

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come."

 

They don’t even have to put you to literal death to put you to death, either. Again, these pastors are being trained in who to get rid of, and it isn’t the adulterer, the murderer, the practitioner of incest, the liar, the sexually immoral, the unfaithful spouse, and the slanderer, etc. They coddle them in their sins. It is those who they regard as “disunifiers” because they are not united with the “church’s” marketing schemes and goals. And it is those who have “strong convictions” and those who are “needy people,” etc.

 

Now I am speaking from over 40 years of experience in ministry within these institutional churches and from going through their ministry training classes and from watching how they operate behind the scenes. And this is not localized. This is from living in 5 different states and 10 cities and ministering in many different church settings and church denominations. And it is from watching TV preachers of all kinds and from reading books and from reading people’s responses to my posts. So I am no novice here.

 

The modern market-driven churches are not designed to operate as the body of Christ, even though they call themselves “churches.” For they are human-based businesses which are following after people who are teaching them how to market their “churches” to the world. And so marketing books have become the Bible for many pastors and marketing schemes and goals have replaced the Holy Spirit and entertainment has replaced true biblical worship of God, and teachings of men have replaced the teachings of Christ.

 

So, if you are literally following the Scriptures in truth, and if your life is surrendered to Jesus Christ, and he is truly your Lord (Owner-Master), and if you are walking in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to your Lord, and not according to the flesh, you are most likely not going to be accepted in these market-driven institutional churches, which is perfectly okay, because that is not where God wants you anyway. For he is calling his people to come out of Babylon so that we do not share in her sins.

 

But what this describes here in this passage of Scripture is happening in our day and time here in America within the walls of these institutional churches. I know that in some countries Christians are being murdered literally, and that is awful. But here, if you are sold out to Christ, you may find yourself being “murdered” in other ways such as being invited to leave, and being cast aside, and rejected, and falsely accused of what you did not do. And you may find yourself ostracized and alone because you don’t fit anywhere.

 

But you know what? The Lord used all those experiences in my life for my good to make me who I am today so that I would do what God has called me to do. And the Lord is having me share the gospel of his salvation on the internet, and he is taking that to people all across the globe in many different countries. So God be praised! What Satan meant for evil in my life God meant for good to bring me to the place to where I would be sold out to the Lord and willing to totally commit my life to his service, no matter what.

 

Matthew 24:15 ESV

 

“So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand).”

 

An abomination is something that is an outrage, a disgrace, something God abhors, that is revolting to him. And desolation is misery, despair, sadness, and devastation (destruction, damage). And the “holy place” is God’s temple, and we are his temple if we believe in him.

 

And what is happening in much of today’s church, and to the gospel, and to the lives of many of those who profess faith in Jesus Christ is an abomination, and it does cause much destruction and damage to human lives. And the abomination is this cheap grace gospel which is taking its stand in the gatherings of the church, the body of Christ, and it is killing people, for it is promising them heaven while it is sending them to hell.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Worthy is the Lamb  

 

By Darlene Zschech

 

Revelation 5:12b-13b

 

Thank you for the cross Lord

Thank you for the price You paid

Bearing all my sin and shame

In love You came

And gave amazing grace

 

Worthy is the Lamb

Seated on the throne

Crown You now with many crowns

You reign victorious

High and lifted up

Jesus Son of God

The Darling of Heaven crucified

Worthy is the Lamb

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gae-n0Pb7Q

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False Witness or Faithful Witness?

Proverbs 14:2, 5, 25 ESV

                      

“Whoever walks in uprightness fears the Lord,

    but he who is devious in his ways despises him.

A faithful witness does not lie,

    but a false witness breathes out lies.

A truthful witness saves lives,

    but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.”

 

A faithful witness is not just a singular individual giving a witness to something. A faithful witness is the true gospel of our salvation from sin, the whole counsel of God. For it teaches us to walk in uprightness and holiness and in the fear of the Lord. And it teaches against lying and being devious and against sinning deliberately and habitually against our Lord and other humans. And it does indeed teach that if we are devious in our ways (practices) that we do not love God and we are not in relationship with him.

 

But there is also a false witness which is breathing out lies. But it pretends to be the true witness in order to deceive the unsuspecting and the naïve. For it has some of the character of the true witness but it also tells many lies and twists the truth and turns it into lies. Some people refer to this false witness as “the cheap grace gospel.” For it is a cheapened and diluted and altered version of the true gospel of our salvation and in order to appeal to and to appease human flesh and the ungodly of this world of ours.

 

For what this false witness teaches is that we can “believe” (not defined) in Jesus Christ, be forgiven all our sins, and be guaranteed heaven when we die regardless of how we live on this earth. It teaches that God does not require obedience to the Lord and submission to Christ as Lord and the forsaking of our sinful lifestyles for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God. But that is a lie! Jesus and his apostles taught that we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and live to his righteousness.

 

Proverbs 14:6-8 ESV

 

“A scoffer seeks wisdom in vain,

    but knowledge is easy for a man of understanding.

Leave the presence of a fool,

    for there you do not meet words of knowledge.

The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way,

    but the folly of fools is deceiving.”

 

Sadly, this is the situation of many people professing faith in Jesus Christ. They are mockers and scoffers of the true gospel of our salvation, and although they claim to be seeking the wisdom of God, they are double-minded, for they don’t really want his wisdom. They want him to approve their “wisdom” which is really folly. They want God to give a stamp of approval to their sinful lifestyles and to cover it all with his grace. But his grace to us is not free license to continue in deliberate and habitual sin.

 

For what they are really seeking after is cheap grace which does give them free license to continue living in sin guilt free and without remorse. And cheap grace makes a mockery of God’s true grace for it criticizes the true gospel of grace and it calls it legalism, judgmentalism, and works salvation in hopes that it can deter people from believing the true grace of God, and in hopes that it will lead many to follow its lies, instead. And this is because its creator is Satan, not God, for it opposes the true gospel of grace.

 

So, we are not to adhere to the lies of Satan and to his messengers who are teaching cheap grace. And we should not entertain those lies in our minds. But our minds must be set on Jesus and on his gospel message and on walks of obedience to our Lord in holiness and in righteousness, in the power and strength of God’s Spirit living within us. And we must die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, for this is the reason that Jesus gave his life up for us, to deliver us from slavery (addiction) to sin.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Proverbs 14:15-16, 22 ESV

 

“The simple believes everything,

    but the prudent gives thought to his steps.

One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,

    but a fool is reckless and careless.

Do they not go astray who devise evil?

    Those who devise good meet steadfast love and faithfulness.”

 

There are many people professing faith in Jesus Christ who are very gullible and who are easily deceived because they are not testing what they hear and read against the Scriptures in their full context. For that takes time and effort, and we live in a fast paced and fast food society which is now used to things quick, in and out the door. And the media is a huge contributor to that with all its quick changes of scenes and flashy lights and sounds. And on social media we have quick and short memes to like or not, too.

 

So, we are being programmed, if we are not guarding our hearts against this, to make very quick judgments on what is truth and what is not truth, and a lot of this is based on how it makes us feel. If it feels good, many people instantaneously put likes or hearts on it (speaking of social media here) or they easily accept it as truth, which is evidenced by the numbers of people who are following charlatans with their smooth talk and charm, who are dressed up to look like ministers of the gospel.

 

So, we need to be people of God who are following the Lord in obedience and who are testing everything we hear or read. For just because it looks or sounds good doesn’t mean it is good. It could be pure evil disguised as good. But we need to test these things against the Scriptures in their context for many lies are produced by teaching Scriptures outside their context. But many people are plunging right into evil because they are believing the lies because the lies are permitting them to continue in their sin.

 

[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:3-23]

 

Worthy is the Lamb  

 

By Darlene Zschech

 

Revelation 5:12b-13b

 

Thank you for the cross Lord

Thank you for the price You paid

Bearing all my sin and shame

In love You came

And gave amazing grace

 

Thank you for this love Lord

Thank you for the nail pierced hands

Washed me in Your cleansing flow

Now all I know

Your forgiveness and embrace

 

Worthy is the Lamb

Seated on the throne

Crown You now with many crowns

You reign victorious

High and lifted up

Jesus Son of God

The Darling of Heaven crucified

Worthy is the Lamb

Worthy is the Lamb

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gae-n0Pb7Q

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My 12 Favorite Scriptures Pt 9

Video Talk

 

Luke 9:23-26 ESV

 

“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.’”

 

I quote this passage of Scripture often because it is the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this speaks of why Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross, and it speaks of what is required of us in the way of us cooperating with him in his work of grace in our lives. For we are to be partners in the gospel and to share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings, becoming like him in his death. And Paul and the other apostles taught the same thing.

 

So, if we want to believe in Jesus Christ and to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God, then it requires that we die with Christ to sin and that we are resurrected with Christ to walk in newness of life, not like our old lives, but created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And then we are to die daily to sin and to self and to walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant).

 

And now this is really important that we get this. If we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we die with him to sin that we might live with him for eternity, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. But again, this is daily dying to sin and to self and daily walking in obedience to his commands. This is not saying we have to be perfect, but we have to obey our Lord.

 

For if we choose our sin over obedience to Jesus Christ then that means we are ashamed of Christ and of his gospel. And when Jesus returns for his bride, he is going to be ashamed of us. And we will hear him say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” So, don’t be that person who forfeits his own soul for the sake of holding on to his sin. Surrender your lives to Jesus Christ and take up your cross and follow him.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF9LJQHw24o

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Come Into His Presence

 

By Don Moen

 

Come into His presence with thanksgiving in your heart

And give Him praise, and give Him praise

Come into His presence with thanksgiving in your heart

Your voices raise, your voices raise

 

Give glory and honor and power unto Him

Jesus, the name above all names

 

Jesus!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7ogPS5z92Y

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Two Kinds of Streams

Two Opposing Life Courses

 

I am reading in Jeremiah 17 with regard to two types of people – those whose trust is in the flesh of man (humankind), and those whose trust is in the Lord (God the Father, God the Son Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit). And both types can be people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, but only one type has genuine God-given faith. The other has flesh-born faith which is not true biblical faith in Christ Jesus as our Lord and Savior. So it is only one type of faith that saves lives from hell and promises them heaven.

 

Now the Lord helped me to see an interesting picture here this morning. For this second type of people, whose trust is in the Lord, are described as those who are like trees planted by the water, that send out their roots by the stream. And it was this word “stream” that the Lord had stand out to me. And so I looked up its meaning in several dictionaries and in a thesaurus, and I found that the definitions give a very interesting picture. First of all, the word “watercourse” was a synonym for the word “stream.”

 

Now, in the Scriptures, “water” is often a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and of the life of the Spirit within us and of eternal life with God. And, as followers of Jesus, we are on a life course (a path, a way, a walk). So, I was seeing “watercourse” as our life path of walking in the ways of the Lord, by his Spirit, in obedience to our Lord, living holy lives pleasing to God. We are no longer walking according to the flesh, but now we are walking according to the Spirit, by the Spirit, in accord with God’s Holy Word.

 

But then I saw other meanings of this word “stream” which may describe a life course which is opposite of the one just described above. For “stream” can also mean to run or flow in a continuous current (flow, movement) in a specified direction. Or it can mean a large number of things that happen or come one after the other, or a steady succession of events, or a continuous moving procession or a prevailing attitude. So this can also be speaking of slavery (addiction) to sin, which is a life course of the flesh, not of God.

 

So, what we are going to be looking at this morning is a picture of two opposing life courses, one based in the flesh of mankind and the other founded in Jesus Christ, which is being guided and directed by the Holy Spirit. The way of the flesh is going to send people to hell, not to heaven, even if they profess faith in Jesus Christ. But the way of the Spirit leads to sanctification of the Spirit and to eternal life with God. And this is the ONLY way to God and to heaven and to salvation from sin and eternal life.

 

Trust in Man

Jeremiah 17:5-6 ESV

 

“Thus says the Lord:

‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man

    and makes flesh his strength,

    whose heart turns away from the Lord.

He is like a shrub in the desert,

    and shall not see any good come.

He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,

    in an uninhabited salt land.’”

 

There are many people today here in America making professions of faith in Jesus Christ who are still on a path of destruction. They are still walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit. Their minds are set on the flesh and not on the Spirit, and sin is what they are obeying, not the Lord and his commands (New Covenant). And if our minds are set on the flesh, it ends in death, not in life eternal. And if we live according to the flesh, we will die in our sins. But if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, then we will live with Christ.

 

Some people are calling this “works salvation,” which it is not. And so they are rejecting the truth of the gospel of our salvation in order to follow after lies, instead. For the lies tell them that they don’t have to die with Christ to sin (repent), and they don’t have to walk in obedience to our Lord. The lies tell them they can “believe” (not defined) in Jesus and have heaven guaranteed them when they die, but that it doesn’t have to alter their lifestyles. Even if they are being taught repentance and obedience, many are not making these requirements for salvation, but God’s word does indeed!

 

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we die with him to sin that we might live with him to his righteousness, we will have eternal life with God. For Jesus also said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father. For many are going to hear Jesus say one day, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Trust in the Lord

Jeremiah 17:7-8 ESV

 

“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,

    whose trust is the Lord.

He is like a tree planted by water,

    that sends out its roots by the stream,

and does not fear when heat comes,

    for its leaves remain green,

and is not anxious in the year of drought,

    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

 

So, what does this trust in the Lord look like? It requires that we die with Christ to sin and that we are reborn of the Spirit of God and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, not like our old lives, but created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. It means our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin but to God and to his righteousness. Therefore, we are to not let sin reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions, for sin is to have no more dominion over us.

 

And it means that we no longer walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, but now according to the Spirit. And sin is no longer our master, but Jesus Christ is our Lord and Master. Sin is no longer our practice. We do not obey sin in practice. Now righteousness is our practice, by the Spirit of God. We no longer walk in the ways of the ungodly, and we do not give ourselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. For that is not the way we learned Christ. We learned to put off our old self and to be renewed in the spirit of our minds and to put on the new self in Christ.

 

And if this is how we are living, by the Spirit, in walks of holiness and righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, then we have the hope of eternal life with God, and we will bear spiritual fruit (outgrowth, results) in keeping with repentance. And we will have peace of mind and heart because we know that we are walking in the ways of the Lord and not in the ways of the flesh. This doesn’t mean we are perfect people (1 John 2:1-2) but that sin is no longer our master and Jesus is our only Lord, and our lives are now surrendered to him to walk in his ways and not in the ways of the flesh.

 

[Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Rom 8:1-14; Lu 9:23-26; Matt 7:21-23; Tit 2:11-14; Rom 12:1-2; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:19-20; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15; Eph 2:8-10; Jn 15:1-11; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

Welcome To Our World 

 

By Chris Rice

 

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking

How we need to hear from God

You've been promised, we've been waiting

Welcome Holy Child, Welcome Holy Child

 

Hope that you don't mind our manger

How I wish we would have known

But long-awaited Holy Stranger

Make Yourself at home

Please make Yourself at home

 

Bring Your peace into our violence

Bid our hungry souls be filled

Word now breaking Heaven's silence

Welcome to our world, Welcome to our world

 

Fragile finger sent to heal us

Tender brow prepared for thorn

Tiny heart whose blood will save us

Unto us is born, Unto us is born

 

So wrap our injured flesh around You

Breathe our air and walk our sod

Rob our sin and make us holy

Perfect Son of God, Perfect Son of God

Welcome to our world

 

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

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Shepherds and the Sheep

1 Peter 5:1-4 ESV

 

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

 

A shepherd of the sheep, in a spiritual sense, is a person who cares for and who protects the Lord’s sheep, i.e. Jesus’ true followers (disciples). And the Lord’s true sheep are those who listen to him, who heed what he says, and they follow (obey) him (John 10:27). And these human shepherds (pastors, elders, overseers) of the sheep are to be those who guard and guide the Lord’s sheep in the ways of God and according to the teachings of the Scriptures (in context) which are to be applied to followers of Jesus Christ.

 

And so Peter is giving instructions here to the elders (pastors) of those who are following Jesus Christ with their lives. They are to actually do what God has called and assigned them to do which is to shepherd (care for, protect, guard, and guide in the ways of the Lord) the Lord’s followers. And they are to do so, not for selfish gain, nor to build their own earthly kingdoms, but truly for the spiritual benefit of the followers of Christ. And they are not to be domineering, but they are to lead the flock by their own life examples.

 

Now, first of all, these shepherds are to meet very strict spiritual requirements before they can even be in the position of shepherd of the sheep (1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Timothy 4:11 to 6:2; Titus 1:6-9). They are to live lives which are above reproach, not arrogant, not quick-tempered, not as drunkards or violent or greedy for gain, holding firmly to the Word of Truth so that they may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine. And they must be lovers of good, self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined.

 

Now sadly, that does not describe many men in our churches today who are serving as elders and as pastors. For so many of them are building earthly kingdoms, and they are following marketing books and schemes on how to build their “churches” (their businesses), and they are marketing “the church” to the world, and so they are modeling the church after business models and in order to draw in large crowds of people from the world. And so they mostly are not shepherding their flocks in the ways of the Lord.

 

And so we have many sheep and many false sheep who are being entertained right along with the world and who are hearing diluted gospel messages or no gospel messages at all, for many are just doing pep talks and motivational speeches in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And since “the church” is largely about attracting the world, the Lord’s true sheep are being largely neglected and pushed aside or even cast aside as unwanted for fear they might offend the people of the world with the truth.

 

And church abuse abounds because there are not these strict requirements in place, in most cases, and because so many of these men are living worldly lives themselves and so they are not leading their people in walks of holiness and in righteousness. So they are deserters of the sheep because their focus is so much on drawing in large crowds of people from the world to their gatherings, which have become very worldly, in most cases. And so much of the church is totally upside down from what it ought to be.

 

1 Peter 5:6-11 ESV

 

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”

 

Now where I live in America I have not found a gathering of the pure body of Christ operating under the teachings of the Scriptures which has not sold itself out to attract the world to its gatherings. And we have visited plenty of them – all which are incorporated under the state and which are beholding to church denominations and their agendas. Most do not teach the pure word of God nor do they have strict biblical requirements for their pastors, but they are mostly all being run like businesses marketed to the world.

 

Now, years ago the Lord taught me that what these market-driven churches represent is Babylon, for they are under the world’s system, and their sins are piled high to heaven, for they are following the ways of man over the ways of God or in place of the ways of God. And books written by mere mortals, not under the inspiration of God, are often being taught in place of the Bible, and marketing books are replacing both the Bible and the Holy Spirit. For many pastors follow their business training in place of following the teachings of the Scriptures, and in rejection of the Scriptures, too.

 

And so the Lord Jesus instructed me that I was to come out of Babylon lest I take part in her sins and in her punishment, for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities (Revelation 18:4-5). And he reminded me that I was not to be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (the world, the government), for there is no fellowship between light and darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14-18), and that we are not to turn the church into a marketplace (John 2:13-17), and that we are not to be followers of man (1 Corinthians 1:10-17). And so I left the institutional church.

 

And now I meet with the body of Christ on the internet which is where I get my Christian fellowship and where I am able to participate within the body of Christ in the area of ministry to which Jesus has called me, and where I am able to share the gospel and minister to the body of Christ in the ways in which God has gifted me, by his Spirit. There was no room for me to do this within the institutional church (IC), for mostly the ICs are being very much led by marketing schemes and not by the Holy Spirit nor by Jesus Christ.

 

So, I listened to the Lord and I did what he said and I humbled myself under the mighty hand of God and I went where the Lord sent me even though I have been accused falsely of not gathering together with the body of Christ, and even though I am being shunned for not participating in the ICs and in their marketing schemes. Yet, I gave it all over to the Lord, and I trusted the Lord with my life and with my future, and then he did in my life and through me what I would never have imagined in my wildest dreams.

 

But Satan has definitely been on a warpath against me ever since I made that decision 18 years ago to leave institutional church ministry and to go into the unknown world of the internet to share whatever the Lord gave me to share from my times together with him in the Word of God. And this has included me unlearning things I learned wrong, and learning things new I did not know before, and then me sharing devotions and songs and poems and now video talks, too, which really stretch me. All glory to God!

 

So, going with God doesn’t equal being part of an IC and their marketing schemes. And submitting to church leadership does not include accepting diluted gospels or entertainment or the teachings of man in place of true worship of God and biblically sound in doctrine teaching. Satan wants to guilt-trip us into participating in ICs which are contrary to the will and purposes of God for his body, but we must resist him, and we must call on God and get into his word, and then follow what his word teaches.

 

But when we follow God, and not the crowd, we are going to be hated and persecuted and mistreated because we are not conformed to our culture but we are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ who does not fit in with business marketing schemes on how to attract the world to “the church.” But after we have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called us to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish us in him and in his calling for our lives.

 

Does Jesus Care?

1 Peter 5:7

 

Lyrics by Frank E. Graeff, 1901

Music by Joseph L. Hall, 1901

 

Does Jesus care when my heart is pained

Too deeply for mirth or song,

As the burdens press, and the cares distress,

And the way grows weary and long?

 

Does Jesus care when my way is dark

With a nameless dread and fear?

As the daylight fades into deep night shades,

Does He care enough to be near?

 

Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,

I know my Savior cares.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UpRB90M6xVU

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My 12 Favorite Scriptures Pt 8

Video Talk

 

Ephesians 6:10-20 ESV

 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

 

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

 

“To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”

 

If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), in walks of holiness and righteousness, and not in deliberate and habitual sin, Satan is going to be on the attack against us. And he will be devising all kinds of wicked schemes against us to try to trip us up, to try to make us fearful, and to try to get us to fall back into sin or to get us to be discouraged or to give up the fight and to yield to the flesh.

 

And so we need to put on the armor of God daily in order to fight off his wicked schemes against us. And this is not just reciting this Scripture or going through some kind of religious ritual. What this is talking about, in reality, is putting our faith into practice every day. We need to have our minds bathed in the word of God and walking in obedience to our Lord. And we must guard our minds against all evil by being selective and guarded about what we are taking into our eyes and minds and ears daily.

 

And then we need to be in a mind frame and attitude of prayer 24/7 to where the Lord can speak to us at any time, day or night, and when we can talk with him at any time of day or night, even while cleaning house or driving a car or taking care of small children or working a job where you get a paycheck. We should be able to talk with him like he is sitting there right next to us, and as though he really is our best friend. And we need to pray for one another and pray we all may be bold in our witness for Christ.

 

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

Caution: This link may contain ads beyond my control

 

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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Tell of His Salvation Day to Day

1 Chronicles 16:23-29 ESV

 

“Sing to the Lord, all the earth!

    Tell of his salvation from day to day.

Declare his glory among the nations,

    his marvelous works among all the peoples!

For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

    and he is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,

    but the Lord made the heavens.

Splendor and majesty are before him;

    strength and joy are in his place.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!

Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

    bring an offering and come before him!”

 

Jesus Christ is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He was with God in the beginning, and he is God, and he is our creator God. He made us. And God the Father sent his Son Jesus Christ to the earth to be born of a human mother yet conceived of the Holy Spirit. And while he walked the earth he was fully God yet fully man. He was not born in sin like we are, though, for God was his Father, not Joseph. And he never sinned, although he was tempted to sin like we are.

 

And God the Father sent his Son Jesus to the earth for a very specific reason, to become our pure sacrificial Lamb to be slain on a cross to take away the sins of the world. For Jesus, although he knew no sin, became sin for us on that cross so that when he died our sins died with him. And when he was raised from the dead, he rose victorious over sin, hell, death, and Satan on our behalf so that we could die with him to sin and live as conquerors over sin in the power of God and for his glory.

 

Now when Jesus Christ died on that cross to take away our sins, it was not to just remove the penalty of sin, but it was to deliver us from our slavery (addiction) to sin and to empower us to live godly and holy lives in obedience to our Lord and in surrender of our lives to Christ as Lord. For he died that we might die with him to sin and live to his righteousness and that we might now live for him and no longer for ourselves. For when he shed his blood for us it was to buy us back for God so we’d honor God with our lives.

 

But before his death he lived on the earth about 33 years. And the last 3 years, from what I understand, were the years of his ministry on the earth. He called 12 men to be his disciples to work alongside him in ministry and to be trained by him in holy living and in the truths of the gospel. And they went with Jesus from place to place where Jesus healed people of their sicknesses and their afflictions, and where he also raised the dead, and he delivered people from demons and fed the hungry, etc.

 

During his years of ministry on the earth he also taught the gospel of our salvation which is not like the gospel many people are teaching today. For Jesus taught the cost of following him. He said we must deny self and take up our cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives for his sake, meaning we die with him to sin so we might live to his righteousness, then we have eternal life with God.

 

So, if our faith in Jesus is genuine God-given faith, then we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, not like our old lives, but created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. So sin is to have no more dominion over our lives. We are to no longer obey sin, but we are to obey our Lord, in practice. Now we are to no longer walk (in conduct, in practice) according to our sinful flesh but now we are to walk according to the Spirit in holiness and in righteousness.

 

But if we decide that we don’t have to obey him and that we don’t have to die with him to sin but that we can continue in deliberate and habitual sin guilt free, then we need to know what Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught on that subject. For they all taught that we are going to reap what we sow. And so if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and if we do not walk in obedience to our Lord in holiness and in righteousness, then we don’t know God, he doesn’t know us, and we don’t have eternal life with him.

 

[Isaiah 53; Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 17:25; Jn 1:1-36; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:24,58; Jn 10:30-33; Jn 15:1-11; Jn 20:28-29; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 5:8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 9:5; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 15:1-8; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Php 2:5-11; Col 1:21-23; Col 2:9; Col 3:5-11; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 1:8-9; Heb 4:15; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]     

 

Above All

 

By Paul Baloche / Lenny Leblanc

 

Above all powers above all kings
Above all nature and all created things
Above all wisdom and all the ways of man
You were here before the world began

Above all kingdoms above all thrones
Above all wonders the world has ever known
Above all wealth and treasures of the earth
There's no way to measure what You're worth

Crucified laid behind the stone
You lived to die rejected and alone
Like a Rose trampled on the ground
You took the fall and thought of me
Above all

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7EPZV56PuA

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Corrupting Human Minds and Hearts

1 Corinthians 2:1-5 ESV

 

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

 

The Wisdom of Men (Humans)

 

We have many people in our churches (or what are called churches) today who are feeding the people what is not of God and what is not true to the Scriptures. Now, what they are teaching or proclaiming may have some elements of truth in them, but these people are largely teaching the Scriptures out of their true context, and they are twisting them to say what the Scriptures do not teach. Usually they teach a very clever blend of truth and lies so that they are able to deceive the unsuspecting and naïve.

 

For what they are serving up to the people as the gospel of Jesus Christ has a bug in it, i.e. it contains error (lies, deception) which is something that will corrupt your life if you buy into it. It will corrupt your minds and your hearts and your thinking and believing about God and about Jesus and about our salvation and about our eternal life with God. And it will mess up your ability to function as God designed you to function. For it will cripple your ability to walk in the ways of God and to serve him with your lives.

 

For what so many are proclaiming as the gospel of our salvation is shallow, superficial, and unsubstantial because it is the teaching of human beings and not the teachings of the Scriptures, although they may be teaching the Scriptures, but not in truth, but perhaps in half-truths which are still lies. For what so many are safeguarding is not purity, righteousness, and holiness, but they are safeguarding their ability to continue living in deliberate and habitual sin while falsely promising themselves eternal life with God.

 

For so many of them are getting their “gospel” from books written by mere mortals who are writing in the flesh and not under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And they are getting their gospel from “Christian” marketing literature and from church growth seminars and church leadership training sessions and from some (or many) Bible colleges and Seminaries, too. And a lot of this is being promoted at top levels of church denominations and then is being passed down to their pastors and to their church workers.

 

And what many of them are teaching as “the gospel” is a diluted and altered gospel message to make it more palatable to human flesh and to the people of the world. For they are teaching that we can be saved from our sins and have the guarantee of eternal life with God without dying with Christ to sin and without living to him and to his righteousness, and even if you continue in deliberate and habitual sin without genuine repentance, and even if you refuse to obey the Lord. But the Scriptures don’t teach that!

 

The Wisdom of God

 

But Paul and the other apostles did not teach the diluted and altered gospel message which is being passed off as “the gospel” today. They taught that Jesus died on that cross that we might die with Christ to sin and live to God and to his righteousness, and that we might live for Jesus and no longer for ourselves. For Jesus shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now be God’s possession, and so we would now honor him with our lives.

 

They taught that when we believe in Jesus with God-given faith that we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, not like our old lives, but created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We deny self and daily we take up our cross (daily we die to sin and to self) and we follow (obey) Jesus Christ. For our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

 

So, we are to no longer let sin reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions, for sin is to have no more dominion over us now that we are under grace. For if sin is what we obey, in practice, it will end in death, not in life everlasting with God. For the wages of sin (the practice of sin, obeying sin) is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. And that gift of grace trains us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await Jesus’ return.

 

For God the Father sent Jesus Christ to die on that cross in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk (in conduct, in practice) not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For if we walk according to the flesh, our minds are set on the things of the flesh, and that will end in death, not in life eternal. For if we live according to the flesh we will die in our sins. But if by the Spirit we are putting to death the works of the flesh, we will have eternal life with God.

 

So, if we claim to have fellowship with God but we walk (in practice) in darkness (sin), we are liars. And if we claim that we know God but we do not make obedience to our Lord our practice, then we are liars. And if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we are not born of God, but we are of the devil, and so we are not in relationship with Jesus Christ, and salvation is not ours to claim, and heaven is not our eternal destiny.

 

For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. And so many people who profess Jesus as Lord and who do what they believe are good deeds, in the name of Jesus, but who do not submit to him as Lord, and who do not obey him, but they obey sin, instead, are going to hear him say in the end, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.”

 

[1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15,21; 1 Co 6:19-20; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Lu 9:23-26; Tit 2:11-14; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

So, please take this to heart. For Jesus Christ came into this world to deliver us from our slavery (addiction) to sin and to empower us to live godly and holy lives for the praise and glory of God, in obedience to our Lord Jesus.

 

Welcome To Our World 

 

By Chris Rice

 

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking

How we need to hear from God

You've been promised, we've been waiting

Welcome Holy Child, Welcome Holy Child

 

Hope that you don't mind our manger

How I wish we would have known

But long-awaited Holy Stranger

Make Yourself at home

Please make Yourself at home

 

Bring Your peace into our violence

Bid our hungry souls be filled

Word now breaking Heaven's silence

Welcome to our world, Welcome to our world

 

Fragile finger sent to heal us

Tender brow prepared for thorn

Tiny heart whose blood will save us

Unto us is born, Unto us is born

 

So wrap our injured flesh around You

Breathe our air and walk our sod

Rob our sin and make us holy

Perfect Son of God, Perfect Son of God

Welcome to our world

 

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

Caution: this link may contain ads