Negatives and Positives

 

Combatting Hindrances to Obedience

“Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

    for I am poor and needy.

Preserve my life, for I am godly;

    save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.

Be gracious to me, O Lord,

    for to you do I cry all the day.

Gladden the soul of your servant,

    for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

    abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

    listen to my plea for grace.

In the day of my trouble I call upon you,

    for you answer me.” (Psalms 86:1-7 ESV)

We all go through stuff, don’t we? Your “stuff” may be different from mine, or not, but we all have “stuff.” And by that I mean things that we experience and go through, i.e. the kinds of things that life throws at us on a regular basis, but not speaking here of material possessions. So we may have good days physically, mentally, and experientially, but then other days may not go so well. Like today I have had a foggy brain and I have had difficulty functioning mentally, so it was a good day for me to do my laundry.

So, whether our experiences are minor difficulties or complications or hindrances, or if they are major upsets in our lives and circumstances, the solution is still the same if we are followers of Jesus Christ. We need to pray to the Lord for his help and his guidance and his strength to make it through each day and to combat and to overcome every hindrance that might take us down and that might have power to destroy us or to weaken us and to cause us to lose hope, or to lose sight of our calling, or to give up.

For we don’t have to let our circumstances get the best of us. We don’t have to let them rob us of our joy or our hope or our excitement over living for the Lord Jesus and for doing his will. And Satan will send people into our lives to try to rob us of all that God has provided for us, to get us to doubt God’s mercy to us, and to believe that we are hopeless and without help. But we need to keep trusting the Lord, even when we don’t understand the reasons for everything in our lives, for God has a plan and a purpose for it.

So, no matter our circumstances, and no matter how we are feeling physically or emotionally or mentally, we must not let how we feel impact what we do. We must keep serving the Lord even when we don’t feel like it. And I am not saying that we should not get adequate rest, or that we should not take proper care of ourselves physically. But I do know that one of Satan’s methods in preventing us from doing the will of God is to convince us that our circumstances can prevent us from continuing to obey God.

But just know that our Lord is our healer, and he is our provider, and if he has work for us to do, he can give us the strength to do it even when our brains are foggy or we are feeling sad or we are being persecuted, or whatever the difficulties and the hindrances or roadblocks may be. So there is a balance here that should be maintained that requires wisdom and discernment from the Lord as to when to push forward when our bodies are resisting and when to step back and take a short rest and then move ahead.

For me personally, there have been times when the Lord had me write while I was running a fever and had a pounding headache, but once I obeyed him and did what he said, the headache went away. Other times he has had me write when my brain was in a fog and when I could see nothing to write about and had no idea what to say, like today. And sometimes those were the writings that encouraged people the most. So take care of yourselves, but don’t let Satan keep you from obeying the Lord. Balance! Wisdom!

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Unite My Heart to Fear Your Name

“Teach me your way, O Lord,

    that I may walk in your truth;

    unite my heart to fear your name.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

    and I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your steadfast love toward me;

    you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

“O God, insolent men have risen up against me;

    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,

    and they do not set you before them.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

Turn to me and be gracious to me;

    give your strength to your servant,

    and save the son of your maidservant.

Show me a sign of your favor,

    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame

    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.” 

(Psalms 86:11-17 ESV)

We who claim to believe in Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior are also to be those who desire the Lord and the truth of his word, and who want to obey the word of the Lord and to live holy lives, pleasing to God. We are to be those who want to be taught the ways of the Lord so that we can walk in his ways and no longer in sin. And we should be those who desire to walk in the fear of the Lord, honoring him for who he is, obeying him, believing him and his word, and putting his word into daily practice in our lives.

And then we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in context, and who are listening for the voice of the Holy Spirit to direct us in the ways that our Lord would have us to go. And context is critical, for far too many people these days are teaching the Scriptures out of context and are, thus, twisting them to say what they do not say in context. And so people by the masses are following after those who are teaching the Scriptures out of context, because they are altering the Word to make it appealing to flesh.

Now the reason that we even have the Scriptures, and that we even have the opportunity for salvation from sin and for changed lives and hearts and minds committed to following after Jesus Christ is because of God’s love for us. God is the one who initiated this relationship with us, not us. And it is only because Jesus Christ (God the Son) gave his life up for us on that cross that any of us can die with him to sin and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God.

And that is what it means to have our souls delivered from the depths of Sheol (hell, hades). And this is only able to happen in our lives by faith in Jesus Christ, which is biblical faith which dies with Christ to sin and lives to him and to his righteousness in obedience to his commands, and which ceases in making sin our practice. For the grace of God teaches us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions (lusts) and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await Jesus’ return (Titus 2:11-14).

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]   

But when we follow Jesus Christ with our lives, in obedience to him and to his commands, we are going to have enemies, and they may even be pastors and elders of church congregations, and they may even be others who profess faith in Jesus Christ who are in the same church fellowships with us. For not everyone who professes Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord is truly a born again believer in Christ. And even if some are of true faith, they are not all walking in holiness and in righteousness, but many are worldly.

And so they may object to our walks of faith in obedience to our Lord, especially if we are those who take God and his word seriously and who are spreading the truth of the gospel of our salvation to people out in the public where others can hear us or read what we write. For they may find us offensive because we talk about sin and repentance and obedience to our Lord, for we call for others to turn from their sins and to follow Jesus in obedience or risk not having eternal life with God because of disobedience.

And so if we are following our Lord in obedience and in holy living, and if we are speaking the truth of the gospel that Jesus and his NT apostles taught, and if we are refuting the lies of the enemy which are being spread by wolves in sheep’s clothing, and by those who follow after their lies, we are going to have opposition. And this is especially true because we live in a day and time when so many are believing that they can keep living in sin and still go to heaven if they give lip service to Jesus Christ.

Thus, we will need our Lord’s comfort, strength, encouragement, and wisdom in order to keep going, and to help us to keep speaking the truth, and to keep refuting the lies, and to keep teaching that we must deny self, die to sin daily, and follow Jesus in obedience, in practice, or we do not have eternal life with God. And this is not speaking of absolute perfection, but this has to do with what we practice – sin or obedience to our Lord. And it is perfectly okay to ask God for some kind of encouragement, too. 

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

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

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Out With the Old, In With the New

 

Put Off Sin and Become Somebody Else

“Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:25-32 ESV)

In America we have such a distorted view of things, at times, even within the gatherings of the church. For evil is now being called good, and good is being called evil. And lies are regarded as kind and loving while speaking the truth is regarded as judgmental and negative, and something to be avoided at all costs, so as not to offend other people. But the Scriptures teach that lies are bad and they are evil and that speaking the truth, if it is spoken in love, and with good (especially biblical) purpose, is loving and kind.

Now some places in the Scriptures we will read of “fits of anger” in the lists of sins we are to not practice, but then here it says to “be angry and do not sin.” So, it appears to me that the emotion of anger, if not from a source of sin itself, is not sin. For anger can motivate us to see what is wrong and to question as to why we are angry, and it may help us, sometimes, to change things that need to be changed and to address issues that need to be addressed and dealt with that may previously have been neglected.

Anger can also serve a useful purpose of pointing us to things stored up in our hearts that need to be cleansed out of our hearts and replaced with the opposite of what is leading us to anger. So not all anger is bad. What really makes it bad is how we express it, and how we deal with it, and what we do with it. Do we let it help us to make positive changes in our lives? Or do we take out our anger on other people? And then do we stuff the anger back inside us so that we keep getting angry over the same stuff, unresolved?

And to give no opportunity for the devil is not just in relation to anger, although it is certainly related to anger. But to give no opportunity for the devil involves us daily denying self, dying to sin, and following our Lord in obedience to his commands. It involves us daily studying the Scriptures in their appropriate context and us listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit and us doing whatever it is that God has called us to do. And it engages us removing from our lives all temptations to sin and all open doors to sin.

For I love how the Scriptures teach us who believe in Jesus Christ, not only that sin must be put out of our lives, but that righteousness, holy living, moral purity, honesty, integrity, and faithfulness, etc., are to be put into our lives in their place. For if we just stop sinning, but we don’t put on Christ and his righteousness, and we don’t walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, then we are just thieves between jobs, and the evil we once did we will do again, and again, until we become somebody else and we replace that evil with the good that is of God and is empowered by God.

[Matt 5:27-30; Matt 7:21-23; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 5:16-24; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-11; 1 Thes 4:1-8; 1 Tim 4:7; Titus 2:11-14; Heb 12:1-17; 1 Pet 1:14; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10] 

And then if we read on into Ephesians 5:1-21 we realize that all of this taught us in chapter 4 is not merely recommendations or suggestions for how we are supposed to live as followers of Christ. For it states clearly to us that if sin is what we practice, we have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. And yes, this was in specific reference to sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness (idolatry), but many passages of Scripture teach the same with many more sins added to the list.

[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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, on the basis of what all these Scriptures teach us on this subject, if we go back and read Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption,” this is not saying that we can still commit all these sins we are being instructed to stop doing, and still be sealed for the day of redemption. For all these above Scriptures negate that notion. And that is why we are being warned not to grieve the Holy Spirit, because if sin is what we practice, we will not inherit eternal life.

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

In What Way Did You Learn Christ?

“Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity.” (Ephesians 4:17-19 ESV)

When Paul used the term “Gentiles” here, it was a term used for the ungodly. For the Gentiles used to be those who were of the world and who were not God’s chosen people, so they were once all who were non-Jews by physical birth. The Scriptures will also, sometimes, use the term “nations” in place of “Gentiles,” which is also speaking of the ungodly, those outside of genuine faith in Jesus Christ. So this includes all Jews and Gentiles by physical birth who do not believe in Jesus, and all professers of faith in Jesus Christ who do not follow our Lord in obedience to his commands.

So, all of us who profess faith in Jesus Christ are to no longer walk (in conduct, in practice) as the ungodly do. We are to no longer walk in sin, doing whatever our flesh desires, which includes giving ourselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity, but is certainly not limited to only that. For the Bible talks about many different kinds of sins, such as adultery, lying, cheating, stealing, slander, all sexual sin, malice, hate, faithlessness, gossip, idolatry, drunkenness, and the like. We are not to make these kinds of sins or any sins our practice (habit, go to).

[Matt 5:27-30; Matt 7:21-23; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 5:16-24; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5-11; 1 Thes 4:1-8; 1 Tim 4:7; Titus 2:11-14; Heb 12:1-17; 1 Pet 1:14; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]  

“But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:20-24 ESV)

For that is not the way in which we should have learned Christ, if we were taught the truth that is in Christ Jesus. But sadly so many people today are not teaching and not hearing the truth of the gospel because the lies have gained much popularity. For many people are now teaching that our salvation only means that we are forgiven our sins and that heaven now is guaranteed us, but regardless of how we live. So what they are teaching is a godless salvation message which does not agree with the Scriptures, for it does not insist on death to sin and living to God and to his righteousness.

For the truth, which is in Christ Jesus, instructs us to “put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” For this is the essence of the gospel message that Jesus Christ taught and that his NT apostles taught, that the old life of sin must be put to death and now we must walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in walks of holiness, righteousness, moral purity, honesty, uprightness, and faithfulness.

For Jesus taught that if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) 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 the sake of Christ we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have eternal life with God. For he also taught that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]   

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

When Each Part is Working as it Should

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” (Ephesians 4:11-16 ESV)

We who believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, are the body of Christ, his church. We who believe in Jesus are the one and only universal church. But we don’t all live in the same locations and so we meet in various places throughout the world. But we are still all one church, and we are all of the same body, the body of Christ.

Also, when we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit of God comes within us and he takes up residence in our lives. And so we now have God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – living within us teaching, encouraging, warning, counseling, comforting, and guiding us in the way that we should go and in the things that God has for us to do. And so he has gifted us all with Spiritual gifts to be used within the body to exhort and to urge one another in the faith.

Now as parts of the body of Christ, we do not all have the same functions (roles, parts) and gifts. For God made us all different. But we are all important to the proper working of the body of Christ, and we are all necessary, if we are walking with the Lord and if we are being led by the Spirit in the use of the gifts and the ministries to which God has assigned us individually. For this has to be the working of the Spirit in our lives, and this cannot be of our flesh, for the body to function as God intended.

Now God uses some of the members of the body to equip the rest of us for the work of the ministry. But this “equipping” is of the Spirit, and it has to do with spiritually getting us ready for the work of the ministry to which we are called of God to do. So this has nothing to do with church programs and church seminars that are created in the minds of humans who are trying to market the “church” to the world in order to grow their businesses. But this is really about discipleship and learning to be disciples of Jesus Christ. 

And, in truth, all of us who claim to be in Christ are to be the Lord’s disciples who are making more disciples of Christ of other people, so this is not something that just a few people do, but it is what all of us are supposed to be doing. And so we are all to be exhorting one another so that we are not led astray by sin’s deceitfulness. And we are all to be teaching one another and speaking the truth in love to one another so that we are warned against false teachings, and so that we all grow together to maturity in Christ.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Having Our Spiritual Ears Opened

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-3 ESV)

This word here translated “urge” is a word often translated as “encourage.” But the word “encourage” is not all about saying only what makes people feel good. The word primarily means to exhort (insist, spur, prod), to beseech (implore, beg, plead), to entreat (request), to admonish (reprove, caution, rebuke, warn), and to urge with a holy urging. But if you are one who is encouraging with this kind of encouragement, here in America you might be chided for being “negative,” and thus to be ignored.

But we are not to ignore such biblical urgings and strong encouragements and exhortations, nor should we minimize them as though they don’t matter, nor should we regard them as though they are recommended, but optional. But we need to make certain that the “urging” or “encouragement” is in true biblical context, and thus is of God, and not of human origin. For so many people today are taking Scriptures out of their context, and they are interpreting them in ways not consistent with the biblical context.

So, I am going to share here one of my real life parables. For the Lord gives me parables sometimes. So recently my ears stopped up and that hindered my ability to hear. I could not hear at all through the left ear, but the right ear was also hampered. So I got an appointment with a doctor yesterday morning and her nurse flushed my ears so that the wax buildup inside my ears came out and now I can hear. But the doctor gave me two prescriptions to take, and the Lord stopped me from taking drugs 15 years ago.

I was also diligent to look up the drugs to see what possible side effects that they might have, for I have a long history of rare side effects to any kind of drugs, even vitamins, and this is what I learned:

“A very serious allergic reaction to this drug is rare. However, get medical help right away if you notice any symptoms of a serious allergic reaction, including rash, itching/swelling (especially of the ear/face/tongue/throat), severe dizziness, trouble breathing” (source: WebMD). And possible side effects of the other medication are dizziness, hives, headaches, nerve damage, taste changes, fast heartbeat, etc. And the thing of it is that I told her that Vitamin B12 caused my tongue to swell and my throat to close up.

So, what is my point here? Well, when the Lord changes our hearts and minds and we repent of (turn away from) our sins to follow Jesus with our lives, he opens up our ears to hear the truth and to discern the lies. And he does use other humans as his instruments to teach us the truth, but not all teach the truth, but many are deceiving and teaching lies. And so we must be people of discernment who test the spirits to see if they are of God or if they might have possible side effects that may do us spiritual harm.

In other words, it was a good thing that my ears were opened up so that I can hear. And it is a good thing when our spiritual ears are opened up so that we can hear the Lord speak truth to our hearts. But then we must be discerning about what truth we choose to take into our ears, so we must test what we hear, and what is recommended or prescribed for us in our walks of faith, to make certain that the counsel that we are receiving is biblical (in context) and that it is not something that will cause us spiritual harm.

So, not all encouragements and urgings that we may receive are in their true biblical context, and so we need to be people who study the Scriptures in their context, and who test what we hear against the Scriptures (in context) to make certain that what we are receiving is of God and not of human origin. For liars and lies abound in our day and time, and trickery, deception, manipulations, misimpressions, and all sorts of twisting of the Scriptures abound, too. So, learn to test what you hear.

So, when Paul urged the Christians to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which they had been called, and if we are to do likewise, then we need to understand what that is. For our walk has to do with how we live, with the things that we do and speak. And worthy is what is suitable, fitting, and appropriate to the calling to which we have been called, which is a call to holiness, righteousness, godliness, moral purity, honesty, faithfulness, obedience to our Lord’s commands, and the forsaking of our sins.

[Ps 139:13-16; Rom 1:6-7; Rom 8:8,28-29; 1 Co 1:9; 1 Co 12:1-31; 2 Co 5:9; Gal 5:13; Gal 6:8; Eph 1:3-4; Eph 5:10; Col 1:9-11; 1 Thess 4:1,7; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 1 Thess 2:4; 2 Tim 2:4; Heb 11:6; Heb 13:6; 1 Pet 1:14-16; 1 Pet 2:9; 2 Pet 1:3; 1 John 3:22]

And humility is the opposite of pride. But there is a false humility that is self-abased which can have as its source inverted pride which is still self-focused. For true humility is able to examine oneself in the eyes of the Lord, and in the eyes of the Scriptures, and to make an honest evaluation of oneself based on what the Scriptures teach, not thinking too lowly nor too highly of oneself, but in all fairness and honesty, giving God the glory for what he has done and for what he is doing in and through our lives.

And gentleness is not going soft on sin nor is it diluting the truth of the gospel so as not to offend others with the truth. Gentleness makes no compromises with truth and righteousness to make others feel good, either. For it means “meekness” which is “gentle strength,” i.e. “gentle force.” For it expresses power with reserve, like Jesus did, for he was meek, but he was not weak, and he made no compromises with truth and righteousness. But he spoke the truth to the people, but in love, which was tough love, too.

And patience is longsuffering, which is willing to suffer injustices for the sake of the gospel and for the sake of the salvation of human lives. Like God is patient, for he is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, and that is why Jesus Christ has not yet returned to judge the people of the earth, because he wants many more people to believe in him and to have the hope and the promise of eternal life with him. But he lets us know that we must obey him and not sin, or we will die in our sins.

And “love” is not all this “feel-good” stuff that so many are propagating today and calling it “the gospel” or “God’s grace.” For this word is “agape” which means to prefer what God prefers, which is what is holy, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord. So the believer who loves with this kind of love will prefer to live through Christ, to embrace God’s will, to choose his choices, and to obey them in his power. And this love will speak the truth in love and not the lies to other people.

And unity of the Spirit is not of man, but of God. And I say this because much of what is being pushed today and called “unity” is not unity with God and with his Word and with his callings and his purposes. But it is unity with other human beings and their marketing schemes and goals and missions which are often flesh-driven. For the goal is to attract the people of the world to their gatherings, not to draw people spiritually to genuine repentance and obedient walks of faith. So make sure you are uniting with God.

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Let No One Deceive You

“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.” (1 John 3:4-10 ESV)

Faith in Jesus Christ, if it is genuine God-given and God-persuaded faith in the Lord, will submit to Christ as Lord (Owner-Master). And the believer will surrender his life to the will of God for his life, and he will deny self, die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. This is not saying that the believer will be absolutely perfect in every respect but that surrender to Christ and the forsaking of his sins, and walking in obedience to the Lord, will be his practice, and not sin.

For when Jesus Christ died on that cross it was so that we would die to sin and live to his righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). And it was so that we would live for him and no longer for self (2 Corinthians 5:15). And in his death on that cross he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we will now honor God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), and so that we will now obey the Lord and his commands and not sin (Romans 6:1-23; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 4:17-24).

So, faith in Jesus Christ is not just a confession of faith or praying a prayer to receive Christ, but it is a walk of faith in the Lord in obedience to his commands in holy living and in surrender to the will of God for our lives. So when we believe in him we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we obey, and not obedience, it will lead to death, not to life eternal.

So, we have now read (in 1 John 1:5-10) that if we claim to be in fellowship with the Lord, but while we are walking (in conduct, in practice) in sin, we are liars who do not practice the truth. And we read (in 1 John 2:3-6) that if we say that we know God/Christ, but we do not keep (obey) his commandments (New Covenant), in practice, that we are liars, and the truth is not in us. And now we read (in 1 John 3:4-10) that no one who abides in Christ keeps on sinning (in practice). If we do, we do not know God/Christ.

So, we are not to allow ourselves to be deceived on this issue, for Paul taught clearly all throughout his writings that we must obey our Lord and we must forsake making sin our practice, or else we will not inherit eternal life with God, even if we profess faith in Jesus Christ. And 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 (Matthew 7:21-23). So, please take this seriously, because it is the truth of the gospel.

Therefore, whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, for whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as Christ/God is righteous. And if we are those who practice righteousness, we are those who are living in moral purity, uprightness, faithfulness, honesty, and godliness. And we are not those who are living in immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, hating, abusing, deceiving, slandering, and taking advantage of those who are vulnerable, in practice. For we are to love other people.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]   

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Whoever Keeps His Word

“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” (1 John 2:3-6 ESV)

A lot of people are convinced that if they pray a prayer to receive Christ, or if they make a public confession of him as Lord and Savior, that it means that they are now “in Christ,” in fellowship with the Lord, and that they are in an intimate (spiritually speaking) relationship with him. But one does not necessarily equal the other. 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 (Matthew 7:21-23).

Obedience to our Lord Jesus is key to us knowing Jesus Christ and being in a relationship with him. It is also key to us having salvation from sin and eternal life with God in heaven. For, according to 1 John 1:5-10, if we claim to be in fellowship with Christ, but while we are still walking (in conduct, in practice) in sin, we are liars who do not practice the truth. And here it says that if we say that we know Jesus Christ/God, but we do not obey his commandments (New Covenant), we are liars, and the truth is not in us.

And we read in Romans 6:1-23 that God-given faith in Jesus Christ results in us being crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Therefore, we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions (lusts). For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to righteousness and sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God.

Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) 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 the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands, then we have the hope of eternal life with God, but provided that we continue in him and in our walks of faith in him, steadfast in faith until the very end (Luke 9:23-26; Colossians 1:21-23).

And then we read in other Scriptures that if we walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, and in sin, and not in holiness and righteousness and in obedience to our Lord, not only are we not in fellowship with him, and not only do we not know him, but we are not born of God, so we are not the children of God, and so we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips have professed or we believe that we believe about Jesus in our hearts.

So, please take this to heart, for the Scriptures don’t just teach this in one or two passages, but all throughout the New Testament this is taught us that Jesus died on that cross that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and for him, and no longer for self. And he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so we will now honor God with our bodies. For God’s grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return.

[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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Unless You Turn and Become Like Children

“And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, ‘What were you discussing on the way?’ But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, ‘If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.’ And he took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me, and whoever receives me, receives not me but him who sent me.’” (Mark 9:33-37 ESV)

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 18:1-4 ESV)

What is it about children that Jesus used them as an example? Children, as a general rule, though not necessarily all children, tend to be very trusting, and they believe easily without question and without doubt. Some of them have the greatest prayers, for they really believe God is going to answer them. So they pray with absolute faith. For they do not have all the experiences of adults which may make them more cynical. 

I, as a child, and as a young adult, especially, was very trusting of God and of his word, and even of pastors and Sunday School teachers and youth leaders, etc. And I had very good reasons not to be trusting of people, too. But I always had that childlike faith. And I can still recall a youth meeting where the leader stated that we are to pray for the missionaries, “But none of us do,” he said. I think I raised my hand and said, “But I do!”

For if I was told to pray for the missionaries, that is what I did. And then someone told me I should carry my bible to school along with my other books, as a witness for Jesus Christ, and so I did that, too. But I was so trusting that I believed a lot of lies early on, too, which the Lord had to eventually get me to unlearn as I began studying the Scriptures more in context and began to realize that not everything I was taught is the truth.

So, it is good to have childlike faith in Jesus Christ which trusts our Lord and his word, which believes what he tells us, and which then acts upon that belief with our actions. But we need to guard against being naïve and too trusting of humans who may take advantage of us and of our trust and who may feed us lies, instead of the truth. So we need to couple childlike faith with spiritual wisdom and maturity and discernment of the Spirit of God.

But the message here isn’t just about having childlike faith, but it is also a message about being humble and not proud. For us to truly believe in Jesus Christ with this childlike (not childish) faith, it requires that we humble ourselves and that we believe Jesus, and that we believe his word, and so we surrender our lives to him to be his possession, and so we die with him to sin daily and we now live for him and his righteousness, and not in sin.

And something that comes to mind here has to do with titles that people give themselves or that are given to them because of their credentials, and that can often be something that leads people to think more highly of themselves than they ought to think and to think more lowly of those who do not share the same titles and credentials. Like this whole thing of clergy and laity is just not biblical. We are all one body with just many parts.

But there are many such people who have titles who think that they are greater than the rest of us, and just because they have particular credentials that the rest of us do not have. But God does not regard those with human credentials and titles above those of us without such titles and credentials, for he does not judge as humans do, nor by the same standards. For he judges us by his standards which have to do with how we live.

And that is also what this is really all about. So we are not to get puffed up and think we are superior to others because of the amount of knowledge or learning or training or credentials or accreditations we have received in this life coming from the standards of human thinking. For the ones God regards as those whom he approves are those who are humble like little children and who trust him with childlike faith and who will do what he says to do.

And that is one of the reasons I love the story in Luke 7:36-50 of the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with ointment and who wet his feet with her tears and who wiped them with her hair. And she did this in front of a Pharisee who she certainly knew would disapprove of her actions, and he did. But Jesus honored the woman for what she did, in front of the Pharisee, and he told him that she did for him what he should have done but did not do.

So, our Lord is not impressed with credentials and titles and positions of honor and recognition by other human beings. What he loves is someone who is humble and who will serve him and do for him what pleases him and what he requires, even if she is rejected, mocked, criticized, and regarded as worthless because she is a woman and because she has no credentials other than her relationship with Jesus Christ.

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Real Change is What is Necessary

“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.” (1 John 1:5-10 ESV)

So, when I woke up this morning I could hear someone in my mind speaking to another and saying, “I am sorry that you are having to go through this.” But then the person being spoken to responded back with, “But you are the one who is putting me through this.” And the implication was that, if the first person doing the hurting would only change and would cease to do the hurting (injuring) of the other, then the second person would not be going through all that he is going through, at least not from that person.

And then a fellow blogger shared with me her blog post for today, which included the passage of Scripture from 1 John 1:5-10, among many others, and I believe the Lord then confirmed for me that is what he wants me to write on today, as well. For this passage of Scripture fits well with the conversation (not a real one) that I was hearing in my mind this morning, which I believe was given to me by God as an illustration of what this passage of Scripture is talking about.

For, in reality, we are hurting God by our sins, especially those done habitually and deliberately and premeditatedly, because it is him that we are sinning against, as well as we are sinning against other humans. And Jesus talked about that in at least one of his parables where he talked about how what we do to his followers we do to him, which he also said to Paul when he told him that he was persecuting Jesus when he was persecuting the Lord’s saints and servants and messengers who were serving Jesus with their lives.

And I don’t think that a lot of people who hurt other people think about that when they are doing evil against them, i.e. that they are hurting God by their sins against others, for it is against him that they are sinning. For how we treat others is how we treat God, well especially if we are deliberately and habitually sinning against them, especially those who belong to the family of God. And if all that we do is just to feel badly for them and what we are putting them through, that is not what God requires of us.

And I believe the Lord gave me that illustration in my mind this morning because so many people are misinterpreting this passage of Scripture in 1 John 1:5-10, mainly because it appears that most are quoting only verse 9, but not in the context of the whole of the passage. Plus, this word “confess” has a much deeper meaning than what we might think of it in the English language. For this is not about us just verbalizing that we are sorry that we did something wrong, but it is about agreeing with God about our sin.

But it goes even deeper than that. For this isn’t just about agreeing with God that we sinned, but it is to speak the same as God speaks about our sin, to speak to the same conclusion in full agreement with God. It means that we align with God regarding the subject of our sins, which is not just an admission of sin, but that we need to stop sinning, and we need to now walk in holiness and in righteousness and in walks of obedience to our Lord in the power of God. We don’t just feel badly that we sinned, in other words.

But we change, and we become someone else who lives a different way than we had been living, if we were still living in sin, which many are who profess faith in Jesus Christ. So, we don’t just feel sorry that we are putting God through this, that we are injuring him by our sins, but we stop doing what is wrong and what is hurting other humans and thus also hurting God. And now we start loving God/Christ and other human beings with the love of God and we do for them what is for their good, not to do them harm.

And that is really the message of this whole passage of Scripture if we read 1 John 1:9 in its context. For not only is it true that if we claim to be in fellowship with our Lord, but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin, that we are liars, but it is that if we walk (in conduct, in practice) in the light (truth, righteousness, obedience to our Lord), then we are in fellowship with God (understood in the context) and then with others who are also in genuine fellowship with him, and the blood of Jesus cleanses us of all sin.

So, what is this saying? If sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and walks of obedience to our Lord (under the New Covenant) are not what we practice, then we are liars if we claim to be in fellowship with the Lord (see also 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10). But if righteousness and walks of obedience to our Lord are what we practice, and not sin, then we are in fellowship with our Lord and with our fellow believers in Christ who are also in genuine fellowship with Jesus Christ. This does not claim we never sin.

So, a mere verbal acknowledgment of sin, or even a mere verbal confession of “I am sorry, Lord, for sinning against you,” is not enough for it to be sincere sorrow (godly sorrow which leads to repentance). And repentance is not just a change of mind to believe in Jesus, but it is a change of mind resulting in a change of heart and behaviors, i.e. it is making a spiritual U-turn in our lives away from walking in sin to now living holy lives, pleasing to God, by his grace and mercy, and in his power, strength, and wisdom.

So, we don’t just say to others who we may be hurting by our actions, “I am sorry that you are having to go through this.” But we change, and we stop doing what is causing them hurt, and we now treat them with love and kindness and with compassion and caring, which includes speaking the truth in love to them if they are professing faith in Jesus Christ but they are still walking in sin deliberately and habitually. For confronting them with their sins and calling them to repentance is love, the best kind of love.

For one day we are all going to stand before our Lord and he is going to judge each one of us according to our deeds, not according to our confessions and professions of faith in him. For it is our deeds that reveal whether or not our confessions of faith are genuine, and whether or not our feeling sorry for our sins is truly godly sorrow which leads to genuine repentance (change). And that really is what this passage of Scripture is all about. So please read 1 John 1:9 in the context of verses 5-10.

[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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

You're All I Want, Jesus

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord;

    teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are the God of my salvation;

    for you I wait all the day long.”

“Good and upright is the Lord;

    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,

    and teaches the humble his way.

All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.” 

(Psalms 25:4-5,8-10 ESV)

When we believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-ordained, God-given, and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, this is what our relationship with the Lord Jesus should look like. And yes, I know this is Old Testament, but it is also New Testament teaching. For we are taught in the New Testament that by faith in Jesus Christ we are to be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24; Luke 9:23-26; Titus 2:11-14

For the faith that is required of us for salvation from sin is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, and so it comes from God, and it is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of humans lest we should have reason to boast. For we cannot even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father first draws us to Christ, i.e. unless he persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die to sin and live to righteousness.

Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; 1 Peter 2:24

But then, when we believe in Jesus with genuine God-given faith in him, what this talks about here in Psalms 25 should represent our relationships with the Lord. We should desire strongly to know his ways that he has for us to walk in so that we will walk in them according to his word. And we should want him to teach us and to lead us in his truth and not in the ways of sin, and not in the ways of deceiving spirits who would try to convince us that we can live in sin and still have heaven secured us when we die.

And we should be humble before our Lord in surrender of our lives to him to do his will and purpose for our lives. We should not be full of pride, deciding to go our own way while presuming upon God his grace to us despite how we live. For his grace, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to renounce (to say “No!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions (lusts), and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For to this reason Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross (Titus 2:11-14).

And then realize that we need to be people of God who make it our practice to walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant. For all his paths are steadfast love and faithfulness for those who keep his (New) covenant and his testimonies (his word). For this is the essence of the gospel message that we must deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, by the Spirit, in the strength and wisdom of God, as we cooperate with God in his work of grace.

[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] 

Video Talk

https://youtu.be/HTKXsQCAmbo

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Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

In Spirit and In Truth

I am reading in John 4:1-42, and this is a lengthy passage, so I am going to summarize some of it and I will quote some of it. For it is the story of Jesus talking with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well in Samaria. And this meeting up with this woman at that well was a divine appointment for Jesus and not an accidental encounter. 

Jesus was wearied from his journey, so he was seated beside the well when the Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Immediately Jesus asked the woman to give him a drink. This surprised the woman since she was a Samaritan and he was a Jew, and Jews generally had no dealings with Samaritans, for they were a mixed race of Jew and Gentile, I believe. 

Now, Jesus certainly must have been physically thirsty, but that is not the real reason that he asked the woman to give him a drink. He asked her as a lead in for him to share with her the truth of the gospel. For then he spoke with her of the gift of God and of living water which is our salvation and our eternal life, and it is the Spirit of God now living within us, too.

The woman then expressed to Jesus a desire to have this living water, but she was still thinking of physical water, for she had not yet grasped his meaning of the living water. So he then told her to “Go, call your husband, and come here.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” (John 4:16-18 quoted)

The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.” (John 4:19-26 ESV)

Now the woman went into town and she said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” They went out of the town and were coming to him. Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.” And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.” (see John 4:27-30,39-42)

Awesome! And I am a woman, so this tickles my heart that Jesus Christ used a woman to take the good news of the gospel to the people of the town and that many believed in Jesus Christ because of her testimony and then because of the testimony that they heard from Jesus Christ, himself. 

Now I want to go back and focus on the large quoted text because there is a message in there that I believe is for all of us today, and that is that once Jesus came, and he died on that cross, and he was resurrected from the dead, and he ascended back to heaven, and he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers, the people of God no longer had to go to a physical temple as part of their worship of the Lord, for now they were the temple of God, and we are, too, who believe in Jesus Christ in truth and in righteousness.

The church is not a building. It is not a church denomination. It is not a business nor a corporation under the state. And it is not a civic center nor a social club, but all this is what “the church” has been turned into today, at least here in America. But the church, the body of Christ, is the people of God who worship him in spirit and in truth. We are that building. We are its living stones with Jesus Christ as our cornerstone. So we don’t have to go to a specific building to worship our Lord, for we can worship him anytime of day or night in any location that is conducive to true worship of God.

And our worship of our Lord is not to be in form only and in religious rituals and traditions. For true worship of our Lord is in the giving of ourselves to our Lord as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him. And it is in the forsaking of our sins, and it is us no longer being conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but us being transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from living in sin and for self to now walking with our Lord in holiness and in obedience to his commands.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]   

Draw Me Close To You  

Donnie McClurkin

Draw me close to You

Never let me go

I lay it all down again

To hear You say that I'm Your friend

You are my desire

And no one else will do

'Cause nothing else can take Your place

To feel the warmth of Your embrace

Help me find a way

Bring me back to You

Bring me back, oh Jesus

You're all I want

You're all I've ever needed

You're all I want

Help me know You are near

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

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Slaves of Sin? Or Slaves of God?

“But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:17-23 ESV)

Now, these words are being addressed to those who were once slaves to sin, meaning that they are no longer living in slavery (addiction, bondage) to sin. Sin is no longer their practice, but now righteousness and obedience to the Lord and to his New Covenant commands are their practice. Now they are slaves of righteousness. And the standard of teaching to which they are committed is what Jesus taught and what his NT apostles taught, which is not what is predominantly being taught in America today. 

Yet, we are still human beings living in flesh bodies in a fallen world with all sorts of evils and temptations everywhere you look, pretty much. And so many people today are teaching a diluted, altered, and corrupted gospel message, which also corrupts the grace of God. And so even those who have been walking faithfully to the Lord in obedience to him may be tempted to be drawn into false teachings which may make no (or little) demands for holy living and for walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands.

And so the truth of the gospel is being reinforced here. Just as once we presented our members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness, we are now to present our members (bodies, minds, hearts, souls) as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. For Jesus died on that cross so that we would be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

For when we were slaves of sin, we were free in regard to righteousness. Do you understand what that is saying? We cannot be slaves to sin and to righteousness at the same time. It is one or the other. Either sin is our practice, and what we obey, in practice, or righteousness and obedience to our Lord are what we practice. So we are not righteous in the sight of God if we are still slaves to sin. The two don’t mix. And this doesn’t mean we are perfect and that we never fail, but that sin is no longer our practice.

And then really pay close attention to verses 21-23, for many people are teaching Romans 6:23 out of context, and they are making it say what it does not say, if taught properly in context. For the free gift of God is not given to those who are still walking in sin. For God’s gift of grace to us is not freedom to keep walking in sin, only now without having to feel guilty. For what does this say? If we are still living as slaves (addicted) to sin, the end of those things is death, not life eternal with God.

But now that we have, IF we have, been set free from our slavery to sin, and we have, IF we have, become slaves of God, the fruit that we get leads to sanctification (holiness), and its end is eternal life with God. So when this says that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord, we have to read that verse in the context of the whole of Romans 6, and in particular in the context of verses 21-23 which makes it very clear what it all means. If sin is our practice, it will lead to death.

So, we don’t just pray a prayer or confess belief in Jesus Christ and now all our sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and so now we have heaven guaranteed us when we die, and it can’t be taken away from us, but regardless of how we live. For the free gift of God’s grace instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions (lust), and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For God’s grace frees us from our slavery to sin so we now become slaves of righteousness.

So the free gift of God, although we do nothing to earn or to deserve it in our own flesh, is not without cost. It is not without rules and regulations which we must follow. For the gift is deliverance from our slavery (addiction) to sin, and it is empowerment of God’s Spirit to now live in moral purity, honesty, integrity, faithfulness, and in obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant). The gift is not freedom to keep living in sin while claiming Jesus as Lord and heaven as our eternal destiny. So please see this!

[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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Just a Closer Walk with Thee  

Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown

Music by American Melody

“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).

I am weak, but Thou art strong;

Jesus, keep me from all wrong;

I’ll be satisfied as long

As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world of toil and snares,

If I falter, Lord, who cares?

Who with me my burden shares?

None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,

Time for me will be no more;

Guide me gently, safely o’er

To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,

Daily walking close to Thee,

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Ks49apflE 

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Are We to Sin Because We are Under Grace?

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! 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?” (Romans 6:12-16 ESV)

When you read the Scriptures, it is good if you can read them in context. It is also good if you could read them with a willing heart and mind to hear the Lord speak truth to your heart, even if that truth conflicts with something you have always been taught previously. For we have all had teachers, and we have listened to preachers’ sermons, but not all of them teach the truth of the Scriptures. Some of them naively teach what is wrong, because that is what they were always taught. But others deliberately alter (corrupt) the truth of the Scriptures for the full purpose to deceive and to lead astray.

Now the most popular version of the gospel of our salvation being taught and largely accepted today teaches that all we have to do is to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ one time in our lives and now all our sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), heaven is now secured for us for eternity, and nothing and no one can take that away from us, but regardless of how we live. Even if they do teach holy living, it is usually optional, i.e. recommended but not required. But many are teaching that we do not have to repent of (forsake) our sins and follow Jesus in obedience for salvation.

Therefore, today’s generational and market-driven “churches” (businesses) here in America are a blend of good and evil and truth and lies, the same as what many of them are teaching. Good is being spoken of as evil, and evil is being spoken of as good. Teaching repentance, obedience, and holy living is regarded as “negative” and “judgmental,” while the broad road that leads to destruction, which is the “easy” way, is being raised up as the true way to God and to salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And that way does not demand death to sin nor walks of obedience to our Lord, nor holy living.

So, the result of that is that we have many professers of faith in Jesus Christ here in America who are living no different from those who make no professions of faith in Christ, or much worse, if truth be told. For we have many (more than not) who are still living in slavery (addiction) to sin but are being coddled in their sins instead of confronted, and instead of facing church discipline. And so we have many professing Christians who are living in sexual immorality, idolatry, adultery, homosexuality, lying, cheating, deceiving, stealing, slandering, and treating others with hate and abuse.

Are we all perfect people? No! We won’t be absolutely perfect until Jesus Christ returns and he takes his faithful bride to be with him for eternity, which is when our salvation will be complete. But we are to be the holy people of God who are denying self and dying to sin, as our practice, and who are following our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), in practice. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord, it will lead to death, not to life eternal, and we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. 

So, are we still under the law? Now, in context, this is a reference to the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions, including circumcision. We are not under that law. But God never did away with his moral laws. They are taught us all throughout the New Covenant teachings. And obedience to our Lord’s commands under the New Covenant is required for our salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And this passage in Romans 6 makes that abundantly clear. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience is what we obey, it leads to righteousness, and its end is eternal life (see verses 22-23).

Therefore, we are no longer to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions (lusts). For we are slaves of the one whom we obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience (to God), which leads to righteousness, and sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God. And other passages of Scripture make it very clear that if sin is what we obey, if it is what we practice (in addiction), and if holy living and walks of obedience to our Lord and to his New Covenant commands are not what we obey, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what we say.

[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 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

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

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Unwanted and Unnecessary?

 

Dead to Sin and Alive to God

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that 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. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 6:1-11 ESV)

The popular gospel message permeating the American church at large today teaches the opposite of what Romans 6 teaches in reference to the gospel of our salvation. For it teaches that Jesus died on that cross to forgive us all our sins so that we can go to heaven when we die, but regardless of how we live. And it teaches God’s grace as permission to keep on sinning, only now without having to feel guilty for one’s sins and without the fear of hell.

Are we going to be perfect people? Not until we get to heaven, and only providing that we are walking in obedience to our Lord, faithful to the end, and that we are no longer walking in sin, i.e. that sin is no longer our habit. For where God “draws the line in the sand” has to do with what we practice, our habits. Are we people of God who are walking (in conduct, in practice) in righteousness and holiness? Or are we those giving lip service to the Lord while we continue in habitual and deliberate sin against our Lord?

And this is the subject matter of Romans 6. For right from the start it asks this question: “Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” And the answer is: “By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” Exactly! But the problem today is that many are bypassing the whole thing of dying to sin and being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And they are going right to “saved, secure, no worries.”

But please pay careful attention to the wording in Romans 6, because it does not teach what many are teaching today as the gospel. For Romans 6 teaches that we must die with Christ to sin and follow him in obedience, and if sin is what we practice, i.e. what we obey, and not obedience to our Lord, we will die in our sins, and we will not have eternal life with God, regardless of what faith in Jesus Christ our lips profess. We need to take this seriously!

For our new lives in Jesus Christ are not to resemble our old lives of living in the flesh. Our new lives in Christ put sin to death in our lives daily, by the Spirit, as we now walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands under the New Covenant, and in walks of moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness to our Lord Jesus, in his power, strength, and wisdom. For we know that our old self was crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we will no longer be enslaved (addicted) to sin.

So, Jesus Christ did not die that horrible death on that cross just to free us from the punishment of sin. He died to free us from our addiction (bondage) to sin so that we will no longer be slaves of sin but now slaves to him and to his righteousness in holy living. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So we must also consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Amen and Amen!

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 10:23-31; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]   

Just a Closer Walk with Thee  

Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown

Music by American Melody

“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).

I am weak, but Thou art strong;

Jesus, keep me from all wrong;

I’ll be satisfied as long

As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.

Through this world of toil and snares,

If I falter, Lord, who cares?

Who with me my burden shares?

None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.

When my feeble life is o’er,

Time for me will be no more;

Guide me gently, safely o’er

To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.

Just a closer walk with Thee,

Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,

Daily walking close to Thee,

Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Ks49apflE 

Caution: This link may contain ads

In the Strength of His Might

“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.” (Ephesians 6:10-20 ESV)

Now, this is not saying that we will not have physical human enemies. We most certainly will! That is why we are taught to love our enemies and to pray for them and to do good to them and to say to them what is beneficial to them in a good way. And it is why we are taught not to fear our enemies, and we are warned of what to expect when we choose to follow Jesus with our lives. For we are told that we should expect to be treated by others as Jesus was treated, because we are living for the Lord in walks of obedience to him and because we are sharing the truth of the gospel and refuting lies.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-36; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

For it isn’t that we don’t have physical enemies, but it is that we are not to fight our physical enemies with the weapons of warfare provided by human beings. We are not to murder and to do evil and to willfully do physical harm to those who are our enemies. For this is not physical warfare being talked about here, but this is speaking of a spiritual battle which we are to fight with spiritual weapons of warfare against the wicked schemes of the devil. And the devil does use humans to do his dirty work, for certain. But we can only fight this battle in the strength of the Lord, and with his armor.

Now, this is written in figurative language comparing physical armor of physical warfare with spiritual armor of warfare against our enemy Satan. But the Lord’s armor he provides for us is not of a physical nature, but of a spiritual nature. So it is not something that we put on our physical bodies, but it is what needs to be applied to our daily lives, in practice. And it is not just words we say or some routine that we go through, but it involves us engaging in these specific areas in our deeds, thoughts, and words.

For Satan (the devil) is going to scheme against us in how he might try to take us down, for he wants us to give up hope, and to stop serving the Lord in ministry, and to stop sharing the gospel, and to not live holy lives, but to continue living in sin. And if he can’t get us one way, he will try another, and another, hoping that something will work and that he will conquer. And those who are not armored up, but who leave a door open for the devil, do get taken out. And this is why we must be armored up all the time.

So, how this is applied to our lives is in how we live our lives, in practice. So if I have on the belt of truth, I am one who is living the truth of the gospel and who is teaching the truth of the gospel, and I am not one who tells lies to make others feel good. And if I am wearing the breastplate of righteousness, then righteousness is what I live, what I practice, and it guards my heart from the evil one. And if I am wearing shoes with the readiness given by the gospel of peace, I am someone who is living and who is sharing the gospel message, in practice, in my daily walk of faith.

And if I am taking up the shield of faith I am putting the faith provided by the Lord into daily practice. And that faith involves obedience to my Lord in holy living, believing his word, and putting his word into practice. And I trust the Lord and I do not doubt him. But I follow him in obedience, I listen to him, and I follow him wherever he leads me. And the same applies if I am taking up the helmet of salvation, for first of all I need to be putting my faith in biblical salvation and not the diluted version of God’s gospel of salvation so many are promoting today. For Jesus delivers from slavery to sin.

If I am taking up the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, then I am being serious-minded and diligent to study the Scriptures in their correct context, to know what they teach, to apply them to my life, and then to share them with others, in truth. I am also using the Scriptures as a sword to fight against the lies of the enemy, for we fight lies with the truth. And believe me, lies and liars abound these days in the governments of nations, in the gatherings of what is called “church,” and in the media, including the news media, but also in social media – lies and liars abound there!

And then prayer is critical! If we are not talking with our Lord, and if we are not listening to him speak to our hearts, then we cannot operate in the Spirit with the Spiritual armor of God. For this can’t be something that we do in the flesh with human reasoning and intellect and choices. We need to be in open communication with our Lord about everything going on in our lives and regarding prayer needs for other people, and in order to know the way he wants us to go so that we can walk in it. For our Lord has specific callings for each of us to follow and so we need to listen to hear him speak.

Now, the Lord Jesus lately has been using this secular song in my life as an encouragement by replacing “Sun” with “Son” (Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is also God). For sometimes the troubles of life can be overwhelming, and the enemy may be attacking fiercely, and it may seem sometimes like it’s been awhile since we have seen the light of day, i.e. a breakthrough of some kind to give us encouragement and hope and healing. 

Here Comes the Sun

By George Harrison

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's alright

Little darlin', it's been a long, cold, lonely winter

Little darlin', it feels like years since it's been here

Little darlin', the smile's returning to their faces

Little darlin', it seems like years since it's been here

Little darlin', I feel that ice is slowly melting

Little darlin', it seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun, doo-doo-doo-doo

Here comes the sun, and I say

It's alright

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fKLV8GCrveQ

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