Saying, "Peace and Security"

“Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief. 

“For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, are drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him. Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 ESV)

We live in a day and time, at least here in America, when this “peace and security” message is everywhere, and it is being believed by the masses. For what this message says is that you can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, or you can pray a prayer to receive Christ into your heart, and now all your sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and now heaven is guaranteed you when you die, and nothing can take it away from you, but regardless of how you live. But that is not the biblical gospel message.

Do we need to believe in Jesus Christ? Absolutely! But what is belief? It is persuasion of God. And what is God going to persuade us to do? 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 Jesus’s sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience, then we have the hope of salvation and eternal life with God (Luke 9:23-26).

And the faith to believe in Jesus is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ, it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man. So we don’t get to define what that faith looks like. God does. His word does. And his word teaches that it involves us being crucified with Christ 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 as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if we live in sin, we will die in our sins (Romans 6:1-23).

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]

And Paul taught that the grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. And Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” is going to enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father. And many will stand before him one day and claim they know him, and he will respond with, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” 

[Titus 2:11-14; Matthew 7:21-23; cf. 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

So, if we want forgiveness of sins, and salvation out of our lives of slavery to sin, and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven, then we have to follow what the Scriptures teach as a whole unit on this subject and not take some select Scriptures out of context to make them say what they do not say if they are taught within the correct context. For “regardless of how we live” is not part of the gospel message. It teaches the opposite, in fact, that we must die to sin and obey the Lord, in practice, to have those promises.

When this says, “While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them.. and they will not escape,” this is talking about all those who have made no professions of faith in Christ, and all those who have professed faith in the Lord but who are believing the lies of the enemy which are teaching them that nothing is required of them other than some ill-defined “faith” in Jesus Christ which is of the flesh and not of God, and which tells them their sins don’t matter for eternity.

For the Scriptures teach that if we claim that we are in fellowship with God, but while we walk (in conduct) in darkness (sin), then we are liars. And if we say that we know God, but we are not obeying him and his commandments under the New Covenant, then we are liars. For it is not those who give lip service to the Lord who have eternal life with God. Righteousness and obedience to our Lord and holy living and the forsaking of our sinful practices are required of us by God for salvation and for eternal life.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31] 

So, don’t buy into the lies that tell you that how you live will not impact where you spend eternity, if you have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And don’t let sin continue to reign in your mortal body to make you obey its desires. For if sin is what you obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what you obey, its end is eternal life with God.

The Lord’s Anointed  

An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;

Anointed to preach the Good News;

Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;

Proclaim freedom for the captives.

He sent me to preach release for pris’ners

Who are walking in sin’s darkness;

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

And tell them about God’s judgments;

Comfort all who mourn;

Give crowns of beauty;

Oil of gladness and thanksgiving. 

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,

A planting of our Savior, God,

For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and

They will rebuild God’s holy church.

God will renew them, and will restore them,

And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.

You will be ministers of our God, and

You will rejoice in salvation.

The Lord loves justice;

He is faithful to 

Reward those who are seeking Him.

I delight greatly in the Lord;

My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.

He has clothed me with His salvation,

And in a robe of His righteousness.

He has given me priestly garments to wear, 

As the bride of Jesus Christ.

As the garden of our Lord and Savior, 

He causes us to grow in Him.

He makes righteousness, 

Praise, and thanksgiving

Spring up before all the nations. 

https://vimeo.com/114836524

Taught by God to Love

“Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.” (1 Thessalonians 4:9-12 ESV)

Now this “brotherly love” isn’t just for “brothers” (men only), but this has to do with a family type of love like siblings would have for one another, or it is like a friendship kind of love involving a proper (moral) affection for one another because we care about one another as though our spiritual brothers and sisters were members of our own family. 

But when the word “love” is used for the second time in verse 9, this is agape love, which has to do with preferring what God prefers, which is what is holy, godly, morally pure, honest, upright, faithful, and obedient to God. So when we love with this kind of love we are going to do what is right by one another and not what is wrong by our fellow Christians.

And so this also means that we are going to say and to do for each other what is spiritually beneficial for each of us, and what is good and kind, and not what is against each other unless we are having to correct wrong behaviors, which even that is for them and not against them, for against them would be to do what is evil and immoral and that which would cause them harm. And agape love does no willful harm to anyone.

Now, with that subject in mind, when this says next that we are to aspire to live quietly, and to mind our own affairs, this is not saying, “Stay in your own lane” and shut up and keep your thoughts to your own selves if the Lord Jesus is leading you to speak the truth in love to a fellow Christian with regard to matters of Christian conduct and walks of obedience to the Lord. For, as the body of Christ, we are counseled that we are to exhort one another daily so that none of us are led astray by sin’s deceitfulness.

For God has gifted each one of us with Spiritual gifts which we are to be using within the universal body of Christ to encourage and to exhort one another in our walks of faith to walk in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord and no longer in sin. And we are to warn one another, too, of the consequences of walking in sin and not in obedience to the Lord, and that includes walks of idleness where we have no regard for God and for his will and purpose for our lives and to where we chart our own life course, instead, and we live however we want to please ourselves and not God.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

So, when this says that we are to live quietly and to mind our own affairs, this is speaking of us not getting into other people’s business that is not our own business. We are not to be busybodies nosing our way into other people’s private business that has nothing to do with us and that has nothing to do with our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. But the Scriptures teach that the spiritual condition of our fellow believers in Christ is our business, for we are all one body, and we are to have equal concern for one another, and so we are to help one another to walk in holiness and in righteousness and no longer in sin. For that is one of the ways in which we show them love.

Open My Heart  

An Original Work / July 2, 2013

“Be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil” (Rm. 16:19b).

Open my heart. Let Your truth in.

Make of me a servant, pure within;

Sing of Your praise all of my days. 

Let Your Spirit transform all my ways.

Jesus Christ died on a cross to

Save me from my sin.

“Repent of sin. Be cleansed within.

Obey all of His commands today.”

“Why do you doubt? Why do you fear?

Jesus Christ will wipe away your tears.

He cares for you. He feels your pain.

Die to sin, and life with Him you’ll gain.

Follow Him where’er He leads you.

Talk with Him each day.

Then you will know what He has planned

For your life before your world began.”

“Come unto Me, weary in heart.

Let My love and grace to you impart.

Believe in Me. Trust in My care.

Take your burdens to the Lord in prayer.

He will meet all of your needs, 

And give you peace within.

Rejoice in Him! Tell of His love.

He will give you comfort from above.”

https://vimeo.com/116072845

How We Ought to Walk

“Finally, then, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God, just as you are doing, that you do so more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you through the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.” (1 Thessalonians 4:1-8 ESV)

All of us who believe in Jesus Christ, male and female, are to be those who are walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh. For if our faith in Christ is genuine, we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and 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. So we are not to let sin reign in our bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, its end is eternal life in Christ, our Lord.

For, as believers in Jesus Christ we are also followers of Christ, if our faith in the Lord is genuine God-persuaded faith. And as followers of Christ we are to be living our lives to please the Lord Jesus in all that we are and do and say. And this is not saying that we will be absolutely perfect in everything, but that we must no longer be making sin our practice, and now righteousness and obedience to our Lord and to his will and purpose for our lives are to be our practice. For this is the will of God, our sanctification, which means to be made holy, different from the world for becoming like Christ in character.

For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Amen! Therefore, we are to abstain from sexual immorality of all kinds, which includes watching or even dreaming of anything of a sexual or a sensual nature which might stir lust within us towards people to whom we are not married. For Jesus said that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart (and this goes for women lusting after men, and for same sex attraction, too). For adultery first begins in the mind before it is ever acted out in physical ways with another person.

For, as followers of Christ, we are to be those who control our own bodies in holiness and honor, and not in the passion of lust like the ungodly who do not know God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit. For we are NOT to be those who deliberately sin against God and other humans, especially not habitually and premeditatedly, as so many are doing. But we are only going to be able to do what is right if our lives are under the control of the Holy Spirit and not under the control of the flesh, and if we are denying self, dying daily to sin, and walking in obedience to God in holy living.

For, as followers of Christ, we are to be those who love one another with agape love which prefers what God prefers, which is all that is holy, godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, righteous and obedient to God. So if we do this, we will not willfully do to others what we know is sinning against them in any way, whether it is in our minds only, and/or whether it is something that we do with our bodies. And please know here that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to God, then we don’t know God, and we will not inherit eternal life with God.

So, if we disregard these instructions to us, which were written down for us in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8, then it isn’t man we are disregarding in reality, but we are disregarding God, for these instructions came to us by God, through man, but still from God. And God expects that his followers (believers in Jesus Christ) should follow and not ignore his instructions. For these are not optional. They are not mere recommendations that we can ignore and still have the hope of eternal life with God. So we need to take these seriously, and we need to make obedience to God our practice, by the Spirit.

[Romans 8:1-14; Romans 6:1-23; John 10:27-30; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Peter 1:13-16; 1 Peter 2:24; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 4:17-24; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31]

Open My Heart  

An Original Work / July 2, 2013

“Be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil” (Rm. 16:19b).

Open my heart. Let Your truth in.

Make of me a servant, pure within;

Sing of Your praise all of my days. 

Let Your Spirit transform all my ways.

Jesus Christ died on a cross to

Save me from my sin.

“Repent of sin. Be cleansed within.

Obey all of His commands today.”

“Why do you doubt? Why do you fear?

Jesus Christ will wipe away your tears.

He cares for you. He feels your pain.

Die to sin, and life with Him you’ll gain.

Follow Him where’er He leads you.

Talk with Him each day.

Then you will know what He has planned

For your life before your world began.”

“Come unto Me, weary in heart.

Let My love and grace to you impart.

Believe in Me. Trust in My care.

Take your burdens to the Lord in prayer.

He will meet all of your needs, 

And give you peace within.

Rejoice in Him! Tell of His love.

He will give you comfort from above.”

https://vimeo.com/116072845

Open My Heart

This song begins with a prayer from someone who is asking God to open his or her heart to receive God’s truth and to make him or her a servant, pure within. This individual has been drawn to Jesus by the Father, and has responded to that call. He or she desires to please God, to give him praise, and to allow the Spirit of God to transform all his or her ways. And the individual acknowledges the fact that Jesus Christ died on a cross to save him or her from sin. 

And, then we have the response from God: Repent of sin and be cleansed within. Obey all of Christ’s commands. Don’t let doubt and fear consume your life. Jesus cares for you, and he feels your pain. He is full of love, grace, kindness, tenderness and compassion towards us, yet he requires that to follow him we must die to our old lives of sin, be transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and we must put on our new lives in Jesus, “created to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness” (See Ephesians 4:17-24; Luke 9:23-26).

He desires to have a relationship with us, but not just to save us from sin so we can go to heaven one day, but to deliver us out of slavery to sin so that we will now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. For he wants daily communion with us, and for us to follow him where he leads us in him showing us the plan he has for our lives. He asks that we bring our requests to him in prayer, that we lay our burdens at his feet, and that we trust him completely with our lives. Then we will know his comfort from above.

Open My Heart  

An Original Work / July 2, 2013

“Be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil” (Rm. 16:19b).

Open my heart. Let Your truth in.

Make of me a servant, pure within;

Sing of Your praise all of my days. 

Let Your Spirit transform all my ways.

Jesus Christ died on a cross to

Save me from my sin.

“Repent of sin. Be cleansed within.

Obey all of His commands today.”

“Why do you doubt? Why do you fear?

Jesus Christ will wipe away your tears.

He cares for you. He feels your pain.

Die to sin, and life with Him you’ll gain.

Follow Him where’er He leads you.

Talk with Him each day.

Then you will know what He has planned

For your life before your world began.”

“Come unto Me, weary in heart.

Let My love and grace to you impart.

Believe in Me. Trust in My care.

Take your burdens to the Lord in prayer.

He will meet all of your needs, 

And give you peace within.

Rejoice in Him! Tell of His love.

He will give you comfort from above.”

https://vimeo.com/116072845

Don't Believe Everything

 

In the Midst of Liars

“My soul is in the midst of lions;

    I lie down amid fiery beasts—

the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,

    whose tongues are sharp swords.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

    Let your glory be over all the earth!

They set a net for my steps;

    my soul was bowed down.

They dug a pit in my way,

    but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

My heart is steadfast, O God,

    my heart is steadfast!

I will sing and make melody!

    Awake, my glory!

Awake, O harp and lyre!

    I will awake the dawn!

I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

    I will sing praises to you among the nations.

For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,

    your faithfulness to the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

    Let your glory be over all the earth!” (Psalms 57:4-11 ESV)

We live in a day and age when so much is faked, so much is photoshopped, so much is doctored and altered and made to look one way while it is entirely the opposite of that. Liars and lies abound everywhere – within our governments, and the news media, and within the institutional market-driven “churches” (human based businesses). Charlatans and “wolves in sheep’s clothing” are everywhere you look. You can’t trust that anyone is who he says he is or that people on the internet are not robots (AI).

We can no longer take all people at face value, assuming that everyone is who he claims to be, and that is a very sad reality. We have to be discerning about all people and pray to the Lord for his counsel and wisdom in all circumstances so that we are not in danger of falling into the devil’s traps. For just because we see something on a video it doesn’t mean that it really happened and that it is not faked. And just because a certain news organization says something, it doesn’t mean that it is the truth.

And that applies with regard to “the church,” as well. So, just because someone quotes a Scripture, it does not mean that he is quoting it in its context, and so the way the Scripture is presented is false. It is a lie because it is being misrepresented by often willful and deliberate presentations of certain Scriptures out of context in order to teach what is false (lies). Like for example Ephesians 2:8-9 is often used to teach that God requires no works, but verse 10 says that we were created in Christ for good works.

So, we need to be wise, and we need to be discerning people, who don’t believe everything that certain people tell us just because we think we can trust those particular people. We have to open our eyes to see what is going on all around us and awaken to the reality that so much of what we see or hear or read is fake, or it is for our distraction so that we don’t notice what is really happening in our nations and within the gatherings of much of what are called “churches” but are really just businesses of human making.

We are definitely living in the end times the Bible described for us. Where we are in that I don’t know, but the signs of the times are just shouting out at us now for us to take notice and to pay attention to what is going on all around us. And we must come to the realization that we just cannot trust that everyone or even certain people are telling us the truth. And this is one of the reasons that the Scriptures emphasize that we must test what we hear and read to make certain that what we are hearing is indeed truth.

Nets (traps) and pits are being set in place, left and right, for us to fall into. And this is on a national level as well as within many of the gatherings of “churches.” So we need to pray for wisdom and discernment so that we don’t fall into these traps thinking that we are in the right place when we are truly in the wrong place. But those who set these traps for us will eventually fall into them themselves, if they haven’t already, for many of them are already there, which is why they are trying to pull us down with them.

So, it is critical for us who believe in Christ to keep our eyes focused on the Lord and that we put our trust in God and not in human beings who are bound to fail us. And we can only do this if our lives are surrendered to the Lord Jesus to do his will, and if we are walking in his ways and in his truth, and if we are denying self, dying daily to sin, and walking in obedience to his commands, in practice. Then we can hear the voice of the Lord when he comes to warn us against being deceived and when he speaks truth to us.

[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 4:17-24; Romans 12:1-2] 

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/379406352

In Whom Do You Place Your Trust?

 

“Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;

    all day long an attacker oppresses me;

my enemies trample on me all day long,

    for many attack me proudly.

When I am afraid,

    I put my trust in you.

In God, whose word I praise,

    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

    What can flesh do to me?

“All day long they injure my cause;

    all their thoughts are against me for evil.

They stir up strife, they lurk;

    they watch my steps,

    as they have waited for my life.

For their crime will they escape?

    In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

“You have kept count of my tossings;

    put my tears in your bottle.

    Are they not in your book?

Then my enemies will turn back

    in the day when I call.

    This I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,

    in the Lord, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

    What can man do to me?” (Psalms 56:1-11 ESV)

I live in the United States of America, so a lot of this today is going to be geared toward my nation, but the overall message can apply to any nation, for it applies to all of us with regard to whom we are placing our trust.

If we could all see our nations and our governments through the eyes of God and through the lens of reality, I believe we might be surprised at finding out who our true enemies are and who they are not. Especially this is true for us here in America who have been taught from very early on in our lives to put hand over heart and to pledge (vow) allegiance (loyalty, devotion, worship) to the US flag and to the republic (form of government) for which it stands. 

And this pledge states that we are one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. That just isn’t true. And if we do some research on our beginnings as a nation, I believe we would learn that we have never been one nation of people under the one true and only God of this universe who created the world and all that is living on the earth. For our national religion was also founded on Free Masonry and Unitarian Universalism, so very eclectic. And much of Washington, D.C., is patterned after Greek, Roman, and Egyptian gods and goddesses and their temples of worship.

Anyway, we were brought up that when we are told to stand and to say the pledge of allegiance (worship) to our government, that we are all to stand, put hand over heart, and vow our undying loyalty to our government. And then we were also taught to sing patriotic songs to our nation, which are songs of worship of our government. And we were trained to honor our military as our heroes and as our saviors who are going into all these other nations with guns, et al, in order to protect us against “our enemies.”

So, we were brought up to believe that America, we are the “good guys,” and that we have to go to war with all these other nations because they are the “bad guys,” or that we need to go to war in these other nations to take out “the terrorists” in order to protect our own people. And so we are led to believe that our nation is the “good guys” and that our leaders are all working for our good to protect their own people and to do what is best for us. But what if that is all a lie? And we have been deceived? And we are not the “good guys,” but we are really the world’s worst terrorists?

For you see, things aren’t always as they appear to be, and liars abound everywhere – in the news media, in the world of entertainment, in the government, and even in “the churches” (human religious institutions). So we can’t really trust that people are really who they say that they are, or that our government is really who they say they are. So we should test everything. And if we pray about this earnestly, and we seek God’s face, and we ask him to show us the lies that we are believing, I believe he will show us the truth and the lies, if we are honestly desiring to know the truth.

But it is good if we are willing to do this, for some of us may be believing lies and not the truth, and we may have this idea that we can trust our government(s) and the media and the church to tell us the truth. And we may also have wrong thinking with regard to who our true enemies are, too, so that we end up on the wrong side, being against those who we are persecuting (as a nation) while supporting those and pledging our devotion to those who are really our enemies, and who are not looking out for our good, and who are not telling us the truth about what they are doing.

Now if someone is physically or mentally or emotionally abusing you, you can say with certainty that this is someone who is trampling you, for you are an eyewitness to what is being done against you. But be very careful about assigning blame where you don’t really know what is going on but all you have to go by is what you are being told, for those people could well be lying to you and deceiving you. For you may be rising up against those who are the “good guys” while you are supporting and giving your loyalty to the true “bad guys.” And besides that, we are not to put our trust in humans.

And that really is the bottom line here. For those who we think are on our side may really be our worst enemies. And human beings are bound to fail us. And they may lead us in the wrong direction. And we could end up worshiping “the beast” without even realizing it, if we are not listening to the Lord and asking him to open our eyes to separate the truth from the lies. So we really need to be taking all these matters to the Lord in prayer, especially as this is an election year in the USA, and so many people are looking to man to save them, when those same men may be their true enemies.

Make the Lord your trust. And if you are going to say, “In God I trust,” that means that you have surrendered your life to Jesus Christ to do his will and purpose for your life, and to now follow him in obedience wherever he leads you, even if it means standing alone, or not standing and pledging allegiance to a human government when everyone else around you is standing with hand over heart and making that vow of loyalty to this government of the USA. For we are not to vow our unquestioning loyalty and devotion to human beings but to God alone. For we may be unknowingly worshiping “the beast.”

Myopic  

An Original Work / August 19, 2013

Based off 2 Peter 1:3-11

Jesus has given ev’rything

Needed for life and godliness.

His great and precious promises

Free us from our sin and distress.

Add to your faith His goodness;

Knowledge; patience; godliness;

Brotherly love and mutual affection;

Kindness and unselfishness.

If you possess these qualities,

Growing in your maturity,

They will keep you from vanity.

You will bear fruit effectually. 

Nonetheless, if you lack them;

Forget you’ve been cleansed from sin,

Nearsighted are you; you can’t see Jesus.

You have closed your heart to Him.

Therefore, beloved, confirm, then,

Your calling and your election.

Do this by showing diligence:

Obey your Lord; be repentant.

Practice all these qualities

God provided on a tree.

He died for our sins so we’d be given

Life with Him eternally. 

https://vimeo.com/115839336

Only in Him

As Christ’s followers, we are not to be followers of humans, but followers of God. We are not supposed to turn to human beings for help, guidance, counsel, and direction in place of Jesus Christ, especially while ignoring the counsel of Scripture, making humans our gods. 

We are not to form alliances (yokes; partnerships) with this sinful world, or with the people of this sinful world, because there is no fellowship between light and darkness, and because God has commanded us to come out from the ways, philosophies, teachings, culture, thinking and behaviors of this sinful world, and to be separate, holy unto God and to his service. 

And we are to put our trust in Christ, not in our own human reasoning and understanding. In all our ways we are to acknowledge God, and he will direct our paths.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. Romans 8:12-13

Only in Him  

An Original Work / February 19, 2014

Based off Isaiah 30

Woe to those who look to man’s help;

Who turn away from Jesus Christ;

Forming an alliance not in step with God;

Making their own plans, and praying not.

Willing not to listen to truth,

They close their ears to what is right.

Pleasing words are all that they’ll hear;

Feel good messages that bring cheer.

Trust in your Lord; turn from your sin.

Put your faith now ONLY IN HIM.

Do not turn to idols. They’ll not satisfy.

Jesus will save you. That’s why He died.

Your Lord will be gracious to you.

He cares all about you, ‘tis true.

He forgives you all of your sin

When you give your life up to Him.

Oh, how truly gracious He’ll be

When you bow to Him on your knees;

Turning now from your sin; walking in his ways.

He’ll lead and guide you all of your days.

Now you will sing praises to Him.

He delivered you from your sin.

You’ll tell others now of His grace,

So they may see Christ face-to-face. 

https://vimeo.com/87181019 

In the Great Congregation

 “I will tell of your name to my brothers;

    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

You who fear the Lord, praise him!

    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,

    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

For he has not despised or abhorred

    the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

    but has heard, when he cried to him.

“From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;

    those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

    May your hearts live forever!

“All the ends of the earth shall remember

    and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

    shall worship before you.

For kingship belongs to the Lord,

    and he rules over the nations.” (Psalms 22:22-28)

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:9 ESV)

We who believe in Jesus Christ are to be those who are proclaiming the truth about Jesus Christ and his gospel of salvation, and of his plans and purposes for his people, i.e. for those who fear (revere, respect, obey) the Lord, and throughout the world. And we are to be those who are talking about the Lord and the teachings of the Scriptures to one another within the family of God for our mutual encouragement and edification in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord. And this isn’t just locally, but it is far and wide, too.

And with the invention of the internet, and with cell phones, we are able to speak with people all over the world in many nations all at once so that we can share with them the truth of the gospel of our salvation and of what God has planned for those who love and obey him. And with the invention of the internet, our language differences should no longer be an obstacle, either, for there are many ways in which we can find translations into other languages or from their languages to ours so that we can hear one another.

And we who believe in Jesus Christ should make use of this tool we have been given for sharing the truth about Jesus Christ and his gospel of salvation and in order to encourage the body of Christ far and wide in the ways of the Lord. For to this we are all called. And we should be doing this daily. And if you are on social media, right now that is a great tool for sharing the gospel and for encouraging the body of Christ in the ways of the Lord and in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord in holy living.

And the Lord knows who is listening and who needs to hear what and when. And so this is something we should pray to the Lord about, and ask him for the messages that he would have for us to share, and be available to him to hear from him so that we know what to say and when and where. For we are all called of God to be the light of the world and the salt of the earth in sharing Jesus Christ and his word with the people of the world. And we are all to proclaim the excellencies of him who took us from darkness to light.

And what are our vows that we are to perform? Well, when we receive Jesus Christ into our lives to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we enter into a spiritual marriage covenant with the Lord Jesus, and he becomes our husband, and we become his bride. But this is more like the biblical Jewish marriage covenant between man and woman, which was more like a period of engagement where the groom went to prepare a place for his bride and then he came and got her and then they consummated their relationship.

And right now Jesus Christ is preparing a place for us in heaven, and when he returns one day he is going to take his faithful ones, those who fear him, to be with him for eternity. And that is when our marriage to him will be consummated, i.e. that is when our salvation will be complete and not until then. In the meanwhile we are more like in an engagement period with the Lord and we must remain faithful to him in obedience to his commands and in holy living and in service to him until he returns to take us home.

And a big part of our service to the Lord is in taking the truth of the gospel to the people of the world and it is in ministering to the needs of our brothers and sisters in Christ, but not just their physical or emotional needs, but their spiritual needs. And this is why the Scriptures teach us that we are to be exhorting one another daily so that none of us are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness, and why we are to be speaking the truth in love to one another so that none of us is lead astray by people in deceitful scheming.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 7:13-14; 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 5:11-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

And the goal of what we do and why we do it is not only in obedience to our Lord, but it is out of genuine love and concern for all who proclaim faith in Jesus Christ and for all those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus. And the goal is that we might be used of the Lord in the lives of other believers in Jesus to encourage them in their walks of faith and obedience to the Lord and so that people all over the world will turn their hearts to Jesus Christ, deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands.

For this is what is required of us to have life in Jesus Christ and to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God. We must all be 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 now as slaves to righteousness. So we are not to let sin reign in our bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if righteousness and obedience to God are what we obey, that leads to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God.

So, this is to encourage you, not only to make certain of your salvation, that you have died with Christ to sin and that you are now walking in obedience to his commands in holy living, but that you are proclaiming the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light, before the great congregation, and that you are not hiding your light under a bushel, and that your salt has not lost its saltiness, and that you are living and teaching the narrow road to heaven, and not the broad road to destruction.

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

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

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

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

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

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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

Caution: This link may contain ads

Why are We Here?

Why are we here?

For what purpose do we exist?

Why have we come into being?

Do our lives even have meaning?

Are we just here for fun?

Are we here to entertain ourselves?

Are we here just for laughs?

Or is there a purpose we exist?

Well God created us all for a purpose,

And he has a plan for our lives,

And that is that we believe in Him,

Believe in His Son Jesus Christ.

For Jesus Christ gave His life for us

That we might die with him to sin,

That we might follow Him in obedience,

And that we might now live for Him.

An Original Work / May 30, 2024

Christian Memes

I don’t know when all this began, perhaps in 2020, but definitely it has increased much in the last year or two, but the Lord added on yet another ministry to what he was already having me do. Yet, this all began in 2004 when the Lord used the passage of Scripture in Habakkuk 2:2-3 to begin to nudge me toward this present calling of God on my life.

“Then the Lord replied:

“’Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.’” (Habakkuk 2:2-3 NIV’84)

Initially, all I knew is that the Lord was speaking to my heart, and that there was something that he wanted me to do, and that it involved writing, but it was about five months later when I really began to grasp what the Lord Jesus was wanting me to do. And what he called me to do then was to write down on a computerized device (the tablet) what he was teaching me through my times daily with him in his word. And then I was to place these writings on the internet (the herald) so that the internet could “run with it,” which eventually became the name of my primary blogs on the internet.

At first these writings were irregular, not every day like they are now, but only as the Lord led me to write something. And then by June of 2006 they increased to at least every other day. And by the end of that year it was about 25 days a month that I was posting these writings on the internet. Then in 2020 he added an additional 200, and each year since then there has been added about 200 writings on top of the previous year’s number, only this past year it was about an additional 400 that he added on from the count from the previous year. So this is my full-time assignment from God.

So, writing down what the Lord was teaching me from my times with him in his word each day was my only ministry from the Lord of this manner for the first seven years. Then in 2011 he added on another ministry. He gave me the gift of writing songs, with most all the lyrics taken from the Scriptures or based on the teachings of the Scriptures. I had never done anything like that before, so I had a lot to learn about writing and producing songs so that others could listen to them. And then seven years later, in 2018, he had me begin writing poetry (without music), for by 2020 my voice gave out.

The Lord also had me write a couple of short books as my life testimonies, beginning also in 2018. And then in 2020, I believe, he had me begin doing video talks which are on YouTube and on Vimeo. And some time after that, maybe not until 2022, he had me begin writing Christian memes to put on the internet, for many people will read memes who will not read anything of any length at all. And then he had me compile all the songs in a book form, and all the poems (up to the present) in a book form, and now he just had me put all my memes in a book form, too, which you can access here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bhlqiGAC5ClzDuRPnKR1KhPjqI58EZV8/view?usp=sharing

Now each day the Lord Jesus has me writing daily devotions, and sharing songs, and sometimes poems, and sometimes memes, and sometimes video talks. And all these can be found on my blogs (“Run With It” and “Walking Wounded”), on my Facebook page (open to the public), on YouTube, on Vimeo, and on Christian forums (as Christsfreeservant). 

All this comes from the Lord, is gifted of God to me, and all of this is for the glory and praise of God, not for my own glory, and for the encouragement of the Body of Christ, and for the salvation of human lives from slavery to sin, and for walks of obedience to the Lord, so that they can know God/Christ, follow him with their lives, and have the hope of eternal life with God.

[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 5:11-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

Oh, What Joy!

“For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect. See, I have told you beforehand. So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.

“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” ~ Matthew 24:24-31 ESV

Just the mere thought of the return of Jesus and getting to see him face-to-face, and now being with him for eternity, brings much joy to my heart! And, yet, I don’t have to wait until heaven to experience such joy. For, when Jesus Christ came into my life, and he set me free from the power of sin over my life, and he raised me to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as a slave to sin but as a slave to God and to his righteousness, he then gave me the promise and the hope of eternity with him, and I was filled with joy. So, every day that I meet with him is sweet fellowship. Amen!

Oh, What Joy!  

An Original Work / July 8, 2011

Oh, what joy! Oh, what peace

There will be when Christ you meet.

Oh, what love He imparts,

When Christ comes within your heart –

Saving you from all your sins;

Holy Spirit, now within,

Teaching, guiding you each day,

As you bow your knees and pray.

Oh, what joy! Oh, what peace

When you sit at Jesus’ feet, 

List’ning to your Lord speak;

Obey Him throughout the week.

Oh, what grace He provides;

From our past we step aside;

Turn from sin; cleansed within;

Walking with Christ; died with Him.

He paid the price for our sins,

So our new lives we begin,

Living for Him ev’ry day,

Doing all that He did say.

Oh, what grace He provides

When we walk at Jesus’ side;

Follow Him where He leads,

Loving others; their needs meet.

Oh, what joy! Oh, what peace

When Christ Jesus soon we meet.

He will come in the sky

To take home with Him, His bride.

We are waiting His return.

For our Savior, our hearts yearn.

We keep watch in how we live.

To our Lord, our hearts we give.

Oh, what joy! Oh, what peace;

Live with Christ eternally!

Reign with Him; His kingdom;

We will be forever Home. 

https://vimeo.com/127354934

The Lord Shows Compassion

“The Lord is merciful and gracious,

    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

He will not always chide,

    nor will he keep his anger forever.

He does not deal with us according to our sins,

    nor repay us according to our iniquities.” 

(Psalms 103:8-10 ESV)

If you stop reading right there, you might get the idea that God’s grace to us overlooks all our sins, that he does not correct, chastise, rebuke, discipline, warn, and judge us if we continue living in deliberate and habitual sin once we profess faith in Jesus Christ. For that is the picture of God’s grace which is commonly being taught today, here in America, anyway. Some people even go so far as to say that God no longer sees when we sin and so when he looks at us, all he sees is Jesus, regardless of our lifestyles of choice.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

    so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west,

    so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

As a father shows compassion to his children,

    so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.

For he knows our frame;

    he remembers that we are dust.

As for man, his days are like grass;

    he flourishes like a flower of the field;

for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

    and its place knows it no more.

But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting 

to everlasting on those who fear him,

    and his righteousness to children's children,

to those who keep his covenant

    and remember to do his commandments.” 

(Psalms 103:11-18 ESV)

But here is where we learn who those words apply to, and they are not for everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ with their lips. They are for those who fear the Lord (stated here 3 times), who keep his covenant, and who remember to do his commandments. We are those who have these promises, who walk in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin, in practice, and who take God’s words to us (us who believe in Jesus) in all seriousness, and who, by the Spirit, are putting them into daily practice, in the power of God.

And now I know that this is Old Testament teaching, but the New Testament teaches the same thing. For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily 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 deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands, then we have the hope of eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26; cf. Ephesians 4:17-24).

And he 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 will stand before him on the day of judgment proclaiming him as their Lord and claiming all they did in his name, and he will answer them, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” Why? Because they did not fear (honor, revere, obey) him, they did not keep his covenant, and they were not obeying his New Covenant commands (Matthew 7:21-23).

And God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, the works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them, as his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10).

And to fear the Lord means to honor him, to revere him, to respect him, to do what pleases him, to believe him, and to take his words seriously (to heart), and to obey them. It is for us to do what is right in the eyes of the Lord, i.e. what is acceptable to him, in his power and strength. And it is for us to worship him by presenting our bodies to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him. For it is also to cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

[Matt 10:28; Luke 1:50; Acts 9:31; Acts 10:34-35; Rom 3:10-18; Rom 12:1-2; 2 Co 5:6-11; 2 Co 7:1; Php 2:12-13; Heb 5:7; Heb 12:28-29; Rev 11:18; Rev 14:7; Rev 15:4] 

The whole purpose of Jesus giving his life up for us on that cross was 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 as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to our Lord is what we obey, it leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life (Romans 6:1-23; 1 Peter 2:24).

And his word teaches us that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not holy living, and not walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, that we do not know God. We are not in fellowship with God. And if we claim to be, we are liars. We are not born of God. But we are of the devil. And that is because we have not died with Christ to sin and we are not walking in obedience to his commands, so we don’t have forgiveness of sins, and we do not have salvation and eternal life with God.

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

Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah 

 

Hymn lyrics by William Williams, pub.1745

tr. by Peter Williams, pub.1771

Music by John Hughes, 1907

Guide me, O Thou great Jehovah,

Pilgrim through this barren land.

I am weak, but Thou art mighty;

Hold me with Thy powerful hand.

Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven,

Feed me till I want no more (2X).

Open now the crystal fountain,

Whence the healing stream doth flow;

Let the fire and cloudy pillar

Lead me all my journey through.

Strong Deliverer, strong Deliverer,

Be Thou still my Strength and Shield (2X).

Lord, I trust Thy mighty power,

Wondrous are Thy works of old;

Thou deliver’st thine from thralldom,

Who for naught themselves had sold.

Thou didst conquer, Thou didst conquer

Sin and Satan and the grave (2X).

When I tread the verge of Jordan,

Bid my anxious fears subside;

Death of deaths, and hell’s destruction,

Land me safe on Canaan’s side.

Songs of praises, songs of praises,

I will ever give to Thee. Amen (2X).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7G59DKf-AI

Are You Unapproachable?

 

Measure the Temple of God

“Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for forty-two months. And I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’” (Revelation 11:1-3 ESV)

The events which were spoken of here occur during the Messianic age, not under the Old Covenant. Thus, the temple being spoken of here is not the physical temple of God of the Old Covenant, but it is us, the people of God today who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives. We are that temple. God/Jesus Christ lives within us in the person of the Holy Spirit. For the temple is no longer a physical building but is a spiritual building with us who believe in Jesus as its living stones, with Christ as the cornerstone.

And so the measurement being spoken of here is not a physical but a spiritual measurement (examination). So, we are to be examined (judged) spiritually by God’s spiritual measurements, which are his Word and his commands. We the church are to come under the examination of God with regard to the spiritual condition of his temple, the church, the body of Christ, in our present day and time. And we have biblical examples of this kind of judgment written down for us in Revelation 2:1-29 and Revelation 3:1-22.

And what is the altar of God today? It is also not a physical place but a spiritual place of worship of God where we surrender our lives to him as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable worship of him. It is us spending time with him in his word each day, drinking in its truths, taking them to heart, and then obeying the commands of our Lord under the New Covenant in our daily lives. For this is our walks of faith and obedience and service to our Lord as living sacrifices, pleasing to him.

And worship of God is not just singing a bunch of “praise and worship” songs in a “worship service.” It is giving our lives to the Lord as living sacrifices to be lived for God and according to his word. We who believe in Jesus Christ are to be 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 now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Thus sin is no longer to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death.

[1 Peter 2:4-10; Romans 12:1-2; Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26]

And the outer court is the world which is comprised of all who deny Jesus Christ as Lord and who refuse to obey his commands. They are the ungodly, and they include both Jew and Gentile by physical birth, and even many of those who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ, but not in truth, and not in righteousness, because sin is still their practice. For their practice is also not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands. These are the “Gentiles,” i.e. the unholy and the ungodly of this world.

And what and where is the “holy city” now? It is not physical Jerusalem, for Paul made it quite clear that physical Jerusalem, representing the Jews who deny Christ as their Messiah, is of Hagar, the slave woman, because she is still in slavery with her children. For the physical nation of Israel, as a unit, has not accepted Jesus Christ as their Messiah (Savior), but they deny Christ as Lord, just as do many Gentiles and many who profess Jesus’ name, too. So they are the same as their Arab neighbors in relationship to salvation.

So the “holy city” today is comprised of all who believe in Jesus Christ in truth and in righteousness, who have died with him to sin, and who are denying self, dying daily to sin, and who are following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands, in practice. We are his holy nation, his people, set apart from the world and unto God, who are being conformed by God to the likeness of Christ, by the grace of God, in his power and strength, and as we cooperate fully with his work of grace in our lives. 

[Genesis 17:7-9; Genesis 18:19; Matthew 12:15-21; John 8:18-19,38-47; Acts 8:34-35; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 9:4-8,25-26; Romans 11:17-25; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Galatians 3:7-9,16,26-29; Galatians 4:22-31; Galatians 6:16; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Philippians 3:2-3; Colossians 3:12-15; Titus 2:14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-16; Hebrews 8:6-13; 1 Peter 2:9-10; 1 John 2:22; Jude 1:5; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 3:9]  

And the nations [all people who do not believe in and who do not worship the one true God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit] will trample on us who are walking in obedience to our Lord in holy living. They will persecute and they are persecuting those of us who deny self, and who daily die to sin, and who walk in obedience to our Lord, and who are his servants and messengers in taking the true message of the gospel to the people on planet earth, and who are refuting the lies of the enemy.

For we are his witnesses in these last days before our Lord’s return, and what we witness is what is taught us both in the Old and in the New Testaments (the two witnesses, possibly). And we are dressed in humility, for it takes humility to be willing to be hated and persecuted in order to stand on the truth of God’s word in a day and age when the truth is largely being cast aside in favor of the popularity of the lies which ease people’s consciences and which do not demand of them obedience to the Lord.

And the Lord is sending us forth in these last days to prepare people’s hearts for a time of judgment to come which is beyond what many of us have known before, not to this degree, although many have suffered much in the past nearly 2,000 years for their walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. But our job is to prepare people’s hearts to surrender their lives to Christ before the day of judgment, and to forsake the lies, and to obey the truth so that they will not hear Jesus say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (see Matthew 7:21-23), because they would not obey God.

[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]

Full Release  

An Original Work / April 15, 2012

Walking daily with my Savior 

brings me joy.

Loving Father; precious Jesus; 

He’s my Savior and my Lord.

Gently leads me; follow Him.

I’ve invited Him within.

Now abiding in His presence, 

oh, what peace.

From my self-life 

He has brought me,

By His mercy, full release.

Hope and comfort, 

peace and safety Jesus brings

When I daily bow before Him;

Obey freely; do His will.

Follow Him where’er He leads.

Listen to Him; His words heed.

Now obeying his words fully, 

oh, what love

That He gives me 

through salvation,

By His Spirit, from above. 

Loving Father; precious Jesus, 

He’s my friend.

With my Savior, by His Spirit, 

I will endure to the end.

Share the gospel, tell what’s true.

Witness daily; His will do.

Tell the world of how their Savior 

bled and died.

On a cruel cross He suffered 

So that we might be alive. 

https://vimeo.com/115169203

Now Abiding

This song is about our daily walk with Jesus Christ and the responsibilities, blessings and benefits of that daily walk of faith. When we walk closely to the Lord in faithful surrender and obedience to his will for our lives, spending time day-by-day in his presence, praying, and listening to him teach us his word, we experience his presence with us, his comfort, his joy, his peace, and his healing for our minds, souls and emotions. 

He then teaches us how to walk in purity, in holiness, and in righteousness. And he desires and requires of us our full obedience, our turning from sin, and that we be his servants and witnesses in sharing the love of Jesus and his gospel with a world in need of a Savior. 

If we do sin, though, his grace is enough for us. We just need to repent, and then keep walking in faith. Yet, his grace is never a free license to continue in willful sinful practices. For if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins, not have eternal life with God. His grace sets us free from sinful addictions (slavery), and it frees us to walk in his righteousness. Amen!

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

Now Abiding  

An Original Work / January 31, 2012

Walking with Him; have Him near me,

Brings me comfort, joy and healing.

Now abiding in His presence;

His words speaking, oh, how gently:

Speak conviction, inspiration,

And instruction in right living.

Hope and comfort Jesus brings you,

When you’re walking with Him daily.

Be His servant; share the gospel;

Be His witness of salvation.

Love your brothers and your sisters.

Share with them that Jesus loves them.

Talking daily with my Savior;

List’ning to Him while He teaches,

Draws me closer; get to know Him,

So that I can now obey Him.

Follow Him where’er He leads me.

Worship only Jesus, Savior. 

https://vimeo.com/125737543 

"I Will Teach You the Fear of the Lord"

“Come, O children, listen to me;

    I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

What man is there who desires life

    and loves many days, that he may see good?

Keep your tongue from evil

    and your lips from speaking deceit.

Turn away from evil and do good;

    seek peace and pursue it.

“The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

    and his ears toward their cry.

The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

    and delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted

    and saves the crushed in spirit.” (Psalms 34:11-18 ESV)

This is Old Testament teaching, but it is New Testament teaching, too. If we want to be in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, and to have salvation from sin, and the hope of eternal life with God, we must be 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 now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And now we must walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. For if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to life eternal (Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14).

So, we need to be people who fear the Lord, who honor, value, respect, revere, and obey him in our walks of faith in the Lord Jesus. We must take him and his word seriously and do as he says we ought to do. For if we don’t, and if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of faithful obedience to our Lord, in holy living, then the Scriptures teach that we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with him, we are not born of God, but we are of the devil. And if we stand before him claiming otherwise, he will say, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” 

[1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Matthew 7:21-23]

For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross, not just to forgive us our sins, and not just to give us the hope of heaven when we die, but he died that we might die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness. And he died that we might live for him and no longer for self. And 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 might now honor God with our bodies in walks of obedience to him and to his commands. So we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for that will lead to death, not life.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23]

So, we can’t just “pray a prayer to receive Christ” and then go on living in sin, doing what we want to do, without regard for the life that our Lord Jesus requires that we live. And sin is disobedience to the Lord. So you can be a moral person, but if your life is all about you and what you want, and not about the Lord and what he wants from you, and so you live your life your way to please yourself, and not God’s way to please him in all that you do, then, according to the Scriptures, you will die in your sins and you will not have eternal life with God, for Jesus never was Lord (Master) of your life.

[Romans 8:1-14; Luke 9:23-26; Titus 2:11-14; John 15:1-11; Acts 26:18]

So, please understand that whether we are reading in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, our Lord’s instructions to us are that we must deny self, die to sin daily, and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living. For the righteous are those are doing the will of the Lord, who are doing what is deemed right in his eyes, who are being led by the Lord in the way that he would have us all to go and who are surrendered to doing his will for our lives. For we are all to give our lives to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our acceptable worship of him.

[Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2]

My Heart’s Desire  

An Original Work / June 29, 2013

Based off Romans 10:1-21; Luke 9:23-26; Ephesians 4:17-24

Loved Ones, Oh, my heart’s desire

Is that you might come to Jesus.

Many appear zealous for God,

But they do not trust in Him.

They have not submitted to the One

Who saved them from their sins;

Not forsaken their sins,

Nor have they obeyed their King.

The word of the Lord is near you:

The word of faith we’re proclaiming:

That you must confess your faith

In Jesus as your Lord and King:

Believe in Him as your Lord, 

And follow Him where’er He leads.

Share the gospel; be a witness,

And meet others’ needs.

Beautiful are the feet of those

Who bring the good news of Jesus:

Anyone who would come to Him

Must deny himself today;

Die to sin and self, and

Let the Spirit transform you in heart;

Put on your new self in Jesus,

Yielding to the cross. 

https://vimeo.com/115643303

Prayer to God for Them

“Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.” (Romans 10:1-3 ESV)

The apostle Paul was speaking here of his fellow Jews who had not received Jesus Christ to be their Lord and Savior, their Messiah, the Christ who they had been waiting for. For he was once one among them who did not believe in Jesus and who was, in fact, a passionate persecutor and murderer of those who made such professions of faith in Jesus Christ. So he understood their plight, and he felt it with deep passion and compassion, for he knew what it was like to be where they still were, without true hope in God.

Paul speaking: “In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 

“And I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. But rise and stand upon your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’” (Acts 26:12-18 ESV)

Paul, having been where they were, and having “walked in their shoes,” so to speak, felt much passion and compassion in his heart toward his fellow Jews who were still resisting the Holy Spirit and who would not yet yield to submitting to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. For he now knew what it was like to give his life over to the Lord Jesus to do what God called him to do in taking the true message of the gospel to both Jew and to Gentile. And he knew, too, what it was now like to be among the persecuted for his faith.

I can’t relate to Paul in who he was exactly before he met Jesus on that road to Damascus. I believed in Jesus Christ at the age of 7, and I followed him with my life, not perfectly, for I was young and immature and I had a lot of obstacles in my way. But I took God and his word to heart, and I was a follower of Christ who was growing and maturing in my walk of faith in him. But somewhere along the way I got “sideswiped,” and I fell into sin beyond what I had ever known before. But God rescued me. He brought me back.

And after some time of getting back on my feet and walking with the Lord in obedience to his commands again, then he called me to this present ministry of writing down what he teaches me each day from my times with him in his word and in placing those writings on the internet so that a herald can “run with it.” My assignment from God is just to write and to post these writings on the internet wherever the Lord leads me to post them, and then he takes them where he wants them to go. 

So, in some ways I can identify with Paul here, and also with those who are still living in slavery to sin. I know what it is like to follow Jesus with my life and I know what it is like to fall far from that and to follow the flesh, instead. And although it is never the will of God that any of us should sin, I do believe God has used that in my life to make me more passionate and compassionate towards seeing that those that I know and don’t know leave their lives of sin to now follow Jesus in obedience to his will for their lives.

For there are so many people in my country, and perhaps in other countries, who profess faith in Jesus Christ with their lips but who are seeking to establish their own righteousness via diluted and altered gospel messages and false portrayals of God’s true grace and his salvation. So their lives are not truly committed to the Lord. They have not died with him to sin, and they are not walking in obedience to his commands in holy living. So they don’t really know God, and they do not have eternal life with God.

And so the Lord is sending me out into the world with the true message of salvation, like he did Paul, which was taught by Jesus Christ and by Paul and the other NT apostles. But that is something that all believers in Christ should be doing, not all full-time, and not all in writing, like he has me doing it. But we who believe in Jesus are God’s holy people who are to proclaim (preach) the excellencies of God who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. So we all should be doing what Jesus called Paul to do.

All of us should be sharing the truth of the gospel with others in order to open the eyes of the spiritually blind, so that they may turn from darkness (sin, evil) to light (God/Jesus Christ, truth, righteousness, the gospel) and from the power (and control) of Satan to now coming under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified (made holy in practice, i.e. in holy living, separate from the world) by faith in Jesus as their Lord (Owner-Master).

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 15:14; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6; Lu 9:23-26; Matt 7:21-23; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]  

My Heart’s Desire  

An Original Work / June 29, 2013

Based off Romans 10:1-21; Luke 9:23-26; Ephesians 4:17-24

Loved Ones, Oh, my heart’s desire

Is that you might come to Jesus.

Many appear zealous for God,

But they do not trust in Him.

They have not submitted to the One

Who saved them from their sins;

Not forsaken their sins,

Nor have they obeyed their King.

The word of the Lord is near you:

The word of faith we’re proclaiming:

That you must confess your faith

In Jesus as your Lord and King:

Believe in Him as your Lord, 

And follow Him where’er He leads.

Share the gospel; be a witness,

And meet others’ needs.

Beautiful are the feet of those

Who bring the good news of Jesus:

Anyone who would come to Him

Must deny himself today;

Die to sin and self, and

Let the Spirit transform you in heart;

Put on your new self in Jesus,

Yielding to the cross. 

https://vimeo.com/115643303

The Whole Counsel of God

“And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 

“Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 

“And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:25-32 ESV)

The apostle Paul addressed these words to the elders of the church in Ephesus. The conversation is recorded for us in the book of Acts 20:17-38. But in this part of the conversation he focused his thoughts on the knowledge that his life on this earth was soon to be short lived, and so he knew that he would never see these people again. For he had enemies among the Jews who wanted him dead because he did not shrink from declaring to all people the whole counsel of God (the gospel of Christ).

Then he left them with some parting remarks and godly counsel and encouragement, most of which applies to all of us who are followers of Christ, whether or not we are in positions of authority over anyone. For all of us are to encourage, exhort, teach, admonish, instruct, counsel, build up, and warn one another with regard to the teachings of the Scriptures, and concerning God’s divine will and purpose for us who profess faith in Jesus Christ, and pertaining to false teachers and false doctrines, too. 

We are all to do the work of the ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all come to spiritual maturity in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord. And we all are to speak the truth in love to one another so that none of us are led astray by men (or women) in their human cunning, craftiness, and deceitful scheming which is leading so many people to believe that they can have faith in Jesus Christ, and have heaven guaranteed them when they die, but while they still walk in sin and disobedience to God.

And we are to exhort (with a holy urging) one another EVERY DAY so that none of us may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And we are to stir up one another to love and good works, which are the works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 2:11-14). And we are to meet together with one another for the purpose that we, the body of Christ, might encourage one another in our walks of faith and in obedience to our Lord – any day, anytime, anywhere.

And if one of our fellow believers in Christ gets caught up in sin once again, we who are walking by faith in our Lord in holiness and in obedience to our Lord’s commands should restore this person back to a right relationship with Jesus Christ. And this is like a doctor resetting a bone that is out of joint, so this may be a painful process. And we are to do this in a spirit of gentleness (meekness), which is reserved strength, but not weakness. For Jesus was meek, but he certainly was not weak, and he spoke the truth in love.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

So, it isn’t just the job of the overseers (pastors, elders, deacons) to care for the church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We are instructed in the Scriptures that this is the responsibility of each one of us to help one another in times of need, and to help one another to walk in faithful obedience to God, and no longer in sin.

For we have many of these “fierce wolves” (in sheep’s clothing) presently among us who are deceiving the minds and hearts of people by the masses who profess faith in Jesus Christ. And we have professing Christians among us, too, who are speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. For so many of these people are teaching an altered gospel to make it more attractive and acceptable to human flesh, and they are not teaching that we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience.

For they call that “works salvation” or “lordship salvation,” even though it is the salvation message that Jesus Christ taught and that his NT apostles taught, if read and understood in the full context of what they taught. For many people are speaking lies about Jesus and the apostles, putting actions and words into their lives that did not happen, and for the full purpose to deceive and to lead the masses away from pure devotion and obedience to the Lord. And they do this by teaching the Scriptures out of context.

So, we who are following Jesus with our lives need to be alert, aware, and discerning about these matters of deception and false teachers and false teachings. And we must be diligent in examining what we hear and read, or even what we think we see, against the Scriptures (IN CONTEXT), and against the divine will and character of God, and in prayer, seeking God’s face for truth and for him to expose to us any lies of the enemy that we are presently believing that we need to cast off so we can believe the truth.

And Paul, when he told the elders that he was commending them to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build us up and to give us the inheritance among all those who are sanctified, he wasn’t talking about the cheapened form of God’s grace that so many are now passing off as true grace. For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation (a salvation that won’t be complete until Jesus returns and he takes us to be with him for eternity), is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await his return (Titus 2:11-14).

And this message of grace also teaches us that if we claim to be in fellowship with God, but while we still deliberately and habitually sin against our Lord, that we are liars. And if we say that we know God, but we do not walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), we are liars. For if sin is what we practice, we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God. It is only those who practice obedience to the Lord and the forsaking of sins and walks of righteousness who have eternal life.

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

Nothing Can Separate Us  

An Original Work / March 28, 2013

Based off Romans 8:28-39

Nothing can separate us 

From Christ’s love now within us:

Not trouble, hardship, nor famine,

Nor danger, nor sword.

No, in all of these things

We are more than conquerors!

For your sake we face hardship.

We are sheep to be slaughtered.

I am convinced that death, 

Nor life, nor anything else

Will separate us from 

The love of God now in Christ.

What, then, shall we say to this?

God for us: who against us?

He who did not spare His Son

But gave Him for us all – 

How will He not, with Him,

Graciously give us all things?

Who brings a charge against us?

God justifies His chosen.

Who is He that condemns?

Christ Jesus, died, rose again.

He’s at the right hand of God,

Interceding for us.

https://vimeo.com/117314000

Nothing Can Separate Us

I read Romans 8:28-39. This is one of the greatest and most precious promises of Scripture which applies to those whom God is for, who are in Christ Jesus by believing in him, who love God, and who have been called according to his purposes; who walk not after the flesh, but according to the Spirit, not in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, but in walks of holiness and in obedience to our Lord and to his will for our lives (see Romans 8:1-27). Nothing and no one can separate us from Christ’s love. Amen! No matter what we go through, Jesus will always be there for us. 

Even when we fail him, and we fall into sin’s deceptive ways once again, he is there to pick us back up and to restore us if we will repent of our sins and choose to walk in obedience to him once again. He will never leave us nor forsake us who love and obey him. We can always count on him! He is completely faithful to all his promises. No matter what tragedies in life we face, what difficulties, and/or what seemingly impossible situations we may encounter, he will always be there for us to comfort, encourage, strengthen and bring much healing to our hearts and bodies. Amen!

In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loves us. How are we conquerors? We are victorious over sin and the effects of life’s difficulties on our minds, emotions and bodies when we choose to apply the truths of Scripture, and the teachings and remedies of Christ, to our sin problems and to our human weaknesses, trusting the Lord Jesus daily to work in and through us for his honor and glory and praise. And this requires that we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience. For if we don’t, we will not inherit eternal life with God (Luke 9:23-26).

Nothing Can Separate Us  

An Original Work / March 28, 2013

Based off Romans 8:28-39

Nothing can separate us 

From Christ’s love now within us:

Not trouble, hardship, nor famine,

Nor danger, nor sword.

No, in all of these things

We are more than conquerors!

For your sake we face hardship.

We are sheep to be slaughtered.

I am convinced that death, 

Nor life, nor anything else

Will separate us from 

The love of God now in Christ.

What, then, shall we say to this?

God for us: who against us?

He who did not spare His Son

But gave Him for us all – 

How will He not, with Him,

Graciously give us all things?

Who brings a charge against us?

God justifies His chosen.

Who is He that condemns?

Christ Jesus, died, rose again.

He’s at the right hand of God,

Interceding for us.

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