Run With It: November 2024

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

You Reap What You Sow

Galatians 6:7-8 ESV

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

In America, in our day and time, many people are being deceived into believing that they can make a one-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ and that it will secure them salvation from sin, forgiveness of all sin (past, present, and future), and that it will guarantee them heaven when they die, done deal, nothing else required. But that is not what the Scriptures teach, as you can see by these verses above and by these Scriptures below:

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

Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we lose our lives, i.e. we die with him to sin and we live to him and to his righteousness, then we have eternal life. And he also said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

And Paul taught that if we walk by the flesh, and not by the Spirit, and that if we obey sin, and we do not obey our Lord, and if we practice sexual immorality, and sensuality, and lying, cheating, stealing, and idolatry, and the like, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, but we will die in our sins, and heaven will not be our eternal destiny. Wrath and fury will be. For, again, we all are going to be judged by God by our works, and we are all going to reap what we sow in this life.

So, if we sow to the flesh, and if how we live is of the flesh and not of the Spirit, which is shown by our attitudes, words, and behaviors, then we will reap corruption (death, destruction), not eternal life. But if we sow to the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord, and we leave our lives of sin behind us, and sin is not what we practice, but righteousness and holiness are what we practice, then we will reap eternal life with God. So, please take this seriously so that you are not deceived and fall short of the glory of God.

You Reap What You Sow

Video Talk

February 27, 2023

https://youtu.be/HwXszKtbvEQ

Caution: This link may contain ads

Praise the “I AM!”

An Original Work / February 24, 2012

Jesus, my Savior, full of compassion,

Glorious in power, mighty in strength;

Gracious Redeemer, mighty deliv’rer,

My heart adores Him. Praise to His name!

Perfect salvation my Lord provided

When He died for my sins on a tree;

Crucified my sins; conquered in vict’ry,

When He arose, so I could be free!

I am so thankful for His forgiveness;

Grateful that He chose to pardon me,

Giving me new life full in His Spirit,

So I can serve Him; His servant be!

Walking in daily fellowship with Him,

Obeying Him whate’er He commands;

Forsaking my sins, living in freedom,

I will endure with Him to the end!

He gives me peace and calm reassurance

In times of sorrow, or in distress.

His grace is sure, and oh, how sufficient

To meet me in my need for sweet rest.

Oh, how I love You, Jesus, my Savior.

My heart longs for You where’er I am.

Your word is precious; speaks to my spirit;

Brings comfort, healing. Praise the “I AM!”

https://vimeo.com/125736554

Why Are You Afraid?

An Original Work / December 5, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

Do not be afraid.

Your Lord is always by your side.

Serve the Lord in righteousness

Before Him all your days.

Those who hate the light

Will not come to the Lord.

They fear their deeds

Might be noticed.

So, they hate the light,

And they embrace the night.

Do not be afraid,

Although your enemy attacks.

Dare to share your testimony

Of God’s saving grace.

Do not fear their threats,

But honor Christ, your Lord.

Be prepared to give an answer

For the hope you have,

With gentleness; respect.

Why are you afraid?

For all that’s hidden will be shown.

What I tell you, speak in daylight.

Let the truth be known.

Do not be afraid

Of those who’ll take your life.

Fear the Lord with understanding.

Trust Him with your life,

And give not up to strife.

Do not be afraid.

Take courage, it is I, your Lord.

Bow before Me; now adore Me.

Oh, why do you doubt?

Listen to the Lord.

Get up and bear His name!

Run and tell the world He loves them.

Jesus came to save.

Give Him your all today.

https://vimeo.com/114668071

Have You Been Tested?

Psalms 66:8-14 ESV

“Bless our God, O peoples;
let the sound of his praise be heard,
who has kept our soul among the living
and has not let our feet slip.
For you, O God, have tested us;
you have tried us as silver is tried.
You brought us into the net;
you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
you let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.
I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
I will perform my vows to you,
that which my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.”

If we are genuine followers of Jesus Christ, we are going to be tested and tried so that we can see whether or not our faith is genuine, or so that we can grow in our walks of faith and become more like Jesus and have greater commitments to Christ and to his word and to walks of obedience and holiness. And we will also be persecuted for our walks of faith, too, especially if we are sharing the truth of the gospel and if we are exposing the lies of the enemy which are opposed to the gospel.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-19; John 15:1-21; John 16:33; John 17:14; Acts 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; 2 Co 1:3-11; Php 3:7-11; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Heb 12:3-12; Jas 1:2-4; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 1 John 3:13]

But the Lord will help us so that our feet do not slip and so that we don’t fall back into sin, or so that we don’t become discouraged or disheartened and withdraw from being his servants and witnesses. But we must cooperate with him in his working in our hearts and lives. We have to do what he says to do. We have to obey him. For he is not going to just zap us and do it all for us. We have to do the works that he prepared in advance that we should walk in them. And we must walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, and we must resist Satan and flee temptation, etc.

[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 2:10; 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]

Yet even though the Lord allows us to suffer, and to be persecuted, and to go through trials and tribulations which test our faith, if we cooperate with him in what he is doing in our lives through these difficult times, then he will bring us through them on the other end to a place of spiritual blessings. For he disciplines us for our good so we will share in his holiness, so we will become like him in his death, and so that when we have been trained by these disciplines, some or many of which are painful, the disciplines will yield the peaceful fruit of righteousness in our lives.

And we will fulfill our vows to our Lord, our commitments we made to him when we believed in him by God-given faith, and when we entered into a marriage covenant with Jesus Christ to be wholly his and to die with him to sin and to live to him and to his righteousness. And it isn’t that we weren’t already doing this, but these trials and tribulations, which test our faith, and these persecutions and rejections have a way of rearranging our priorities and of drawing us closer to our Lord in walks of surrender to him. And that really is the point of them all.

Have You Been Tested

Video Talk

February 24, 2023

https://youtu.be/05ITVMS_jEE

Caution: This link may contain ads

All The Way My Savior Leads Me

Lyrics by Frances J Crosby, pub. 1875

Music by Robert Lowry, pub. 1875

All the way my Savior leads me,

What have I to ask beside?

Can I doubt His tender mercy,

Who through life has been my Guide?

Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,

Here by faith in Him to dwell!

For I know, whate’er befall me,

Jesus doeth all things well.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Cheers each winding path I tread,

Gives me grace for every trial,

Feeds me with the living Bread.

Though my weary steps may falter

And my soul athirst may be,

Gushing from the Rock before me,

Lo! A spring of joy I see.

All the way my Savior leads me,

Oh, the fullness of His love!

Perfect rest to me is promised

In my Father’s house above.

When my spirit, clothed immortal,

Wings its flight to realms of day

This my song through endless ages:

Jesus led me all the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWdmZGik1Jw

Caution: This link may contain ads

Heartstrings

What’s pulling on your heartstrings tonight?

Is it concern over a loved one who’s dying?

Or o’er someone who’s sad, who is crying?

Is it money that seems not to come

When you direly need to have some?

Is it fire destroying all that’s around?

Or, is it water that’s not to be found?

Is it that you are treated unfairly?

And kindness received seems all but rarely?

Do you often feel misunderstood?

And, that hate is returned for your good?

Is it that those you trust now betray you?

That their faithfulness is fully untrue?

Are you burdened for those who are lost

In their sins, who’ve not come to the cross?

Do you care they are caught in a snare?

And, clean garments they have not to wear?

Are you burdened so many addicted

To what on the screen is depicted?

Does it pain you that marriages are broken?

And lies are what often are spoken?

And that families are being torn apart?

Because light not preferred, but the dark?

Do you pray for those for whom you’re burdened?

That from their sins they’d be delivered?

Do you trust the Lord now with your life?

And give your heart not up to strife?

An Original Work / October 9, 2019

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

How Long, O Lord?

“The oracle that Habakkuk the prophet saw.
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help,
and you will not hear?
Or cry to you “Violence!”
and you will not save?
Why do you make me see iniquity,
and why do you idly look at wrong?
Destruction and violence are before me;
strife and contention arise.
So the law is paralyzed,
and justice never goes forth.
For the wicked surround the righteous;
so justice goes forth perverted.” (Habakkuk 1:1-4 ESV)

Habakkuk was a prophet of God. As with most prophets of God, he cared deeply about what God cared about. He was deeply troubled in his spirit over the wickedness, the injustice, violence, strife, conflict, physical destruction, and moral decay that he witnessed with his own eyes, in his own nation, and among his own people. He could not understand why God allowed this to go on with no apparent hope for salvation. Not only that, but he felt as though God was turning a deaf ear to his cries for mercy.

I empathize with him. I have seen much wickedness, injustice, strife, and destruction of people’s lives caused by sin’s deceitfulness in my own nation, and among those professing faith in Jesus Christ, too. I have seen so much apathy and complacency among God’s people to the things of God, i.e. to true righteousness and to holiness in living. And I have witnessed the gospel of Jesus Christ being watered down to make it more palatable to the listener and to make it easier for people to “come to faith in Jesus Christ.”

But the problem with that is that it is not the true gospel nor is it true biblical faith in Jesus Christ. For the Bible teaches that unless we die to self and to sin, we cannot live. We have to turn from our sins, and we have to turn to walk in obedience to Christ. This is what it means to come to faith in Christ. Thus, if we preach a false gospel, we are giving people a false hope, and we are condemning them to remain in their sin. So we need to teach death to sin and walks of obedience to God as the faith which saves.

And, I have witnessed that some who stand for what is right, and who preach the true gospel, are being ostracized and rejected in the church, and even invited to leave because they don’t fit the new way of marketing goals and schemes for how to draw in large crowds of people into their gatherings. For so many of our leaders within these gatherings are following after the ways of the flesh and of the world rather than after the ways of God and his holiness and righteousness. So the righteous are being rejected by them.

I have wept many tears and prayed many prayers to God over this destruction of God’s holy people, his church, by sin’s deceitfulness, by moral decay, through complacency and apathy, and through the church becoming one with the world. I know it breaks God’s heart, because he shows me his heart all the time. And it breaks my heart to see those who profess to know and to follow Christ still walking in sin’s way, and still following the ways of the world more than or in place of following Christ Jesus and his ways.

It breaks my heart and God’s heart to see many pastors leading their people to walk in the ways of the world more than or in place of teaching them to walk in holiness and righteousness. And I know God is going to judge his complacent and apathetic church for her refusal to listen to his voice and to turn from her sins of idolatry and spiritual adultery. That breaks my heart, too, because I know the devastation and pain that must come upon God’s people in order to get them back into a right relationship with their God.

[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 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2]

God’s answer to Habakkuk

“For behold, I am raising up the Chaldeans,
that bitter and hasty nation,
who march through the breadth of the earth,
to seize dwellings not their own.
They are dreaded and fearsome;
their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.”

“At kings they scoff,
and at rulers they laugh.
They laugh at every fortress,
for they pile up earth and take it.
Then they sweep by like the wind and go on,
guilty men, whose own might is their god!” (Habakkuk 1:6-7,10-11 ESV)

God’s answer to the spiritual and moral condition of his people, at least here in America, but elsewhere, too, is to bring judgment on the people to get them to repent of their sins. Over the past 20 years the Lord has spoken to me much concerning the church in America, where I live, and concerning our government and their involvement in what is ultimately to be the beast of Revelation, I believe. The government and military of the USA are part of a global order, which includes the U.N. and NATO as its military force.

The Lord has revealed to me many times over that the US government and their military are doing the kinds of things worldwide that are described here in this passage of Scripture concerning this Babylonian kingdom that God would use to bring against his people in order to get them back into a right relationship with God. Leaders of nations are turning against their own people, so this is destruction from within, in concert with other nations in the world, and to bring about a one world order of government, I believe.

I believe they are on their last leg of this journey to conquer all the kingdoms of the world, including the USA will be completely conquered by them, too. History repeats itself. And, one day we will see the fulfillment of the prophecies of the book of Revelation in our time, I believe. First he used the USA and their NATO allies to take down other nations in the world, and I believe now he is turning our leaders against their own people in order for God to bring revival to our nation so that many will be saved for eternity.

Now, what I just stated above may not comply with what you have always been taught or with what you have come to believe about your own nations, or about the USA (where I live), and it would take hundreds of documents to prove my case. So all I can do is ask that you pray about what I just shared with you, and ask the Lord to show you about the governments of your own nations and that of the USA and who they really are and what they are really doing, and then let God show you his plan to get his people revived in heart.

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

The Plans of God for Us

The following was a specific promise given by God to a specific people at a particular time in history under very distinct circumstances which are not relevant to us today. The people of God were under the judgment of God for a period of 70 years. So, the Lord was giving them specific instructions for them only. For they had false prophets lying to them about the 70 years, and so the Lord was correcting those errors. And then the Lord told them that when the 70 years were completed that he would visit them, and that he would fulfill his promise to them to bring them back to their homeland. Then he said:

Jeremiah 29:11-13 ESV

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

Now, although these words were spoken to God’s people under their specific circumstances, and so in that sense that they were given to them they do not apply to our lives, still there are biblical principles contained within these words which do apply to our lives today. And so we can learn from this passage of Scripture what those are in relation to our relationships with Jesus Christ and in relation to the gospel of our salvation.

So, what plans does God have for our lives? We who believe in Jesus, and those who are yet to believe in Jesus, were predestined by God to be conformed to the image (likeness) of Jesus Christ. And he has called us to a holy calling, and to be holy is to be different from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ. And this was his plan for our lives even before he created the world. And we are to be holy in all our conduct.

[Ps 139:13-16; Rom 8:29; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Eph 1:3-4; 1 Pet 1:14-16; 1 Co 12]

And the plans for welfare and not for evil are found in the teachings of the gospel of Christ. For we learn that Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) the Lord Jesus. For if we hold on to our lives of sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if we die to sin and follow our Lord in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life.

[Luke 9:23-26; cf. Matthew 7:21-23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14]

And this is to give us a future and a hope, but this future and hope are contingent upon us dying with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and us walking in obedience to our Lord in holiness and in righteousness, and not in sin. For if sin is what we practice, and if obedience to our Lord is not what we practice, then we do not have a future and a hope. But we will die in our sins, and heaven will not be our eternal destiny, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. So, we need to take this to heart.

Now, we cannot call upon God of our own doing. We can only come to faith in Jesus Christ if God the Father first draws us to Christ (John 6:44), i.e. if he first persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness and of our sinfulness and of our need to repent of (turn from) our sins to follow him in obedience. For the faith to believe in Jesus is not of our own doing, but it is gifted to us by God, for it is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:8-10; Hebrews 12:1-2).

But then we will call upon him, and we will come to him and pray to him, and then we will seek the Lord with all our heart if our faith in Jesus Christ is genuine God-given faith which dies with Christ to sin and which lives to him and to his righteousness. But not everyone has such faith. Many are relying on human faith alone and on humanistic teachings which do not require repentance, obedience, or walks of faith in Jesus Christ. And sadly, they do not have a future and a hope in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

The Plans of God for Us

Video Talk

February 23, 2023

https://youtu.be/h8TCpsxiYsE

Caution: This link may contain ads

If That Isn’t Love

By Dottie Rambo

He left the splendor of heaven

Knowing His destiny

Was the lonely hill of Golgotha

There to lay down His life for me

And if that isn't love

Then the ocean is dry

There's no stars in the sky

And the little sparrows can't fly

Yeah if that isn't love

Then heaven's a myth

There's no feeling like this

If that isn't love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ID9X5ovox0

Caution: this link may contain ads

We are Not Guaranteed Tomorrow

Look How You Walk

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.” (Ephesians 5:15-21 ESV)

Our walks are our lifestyles, our habits, the things we think and do and say day in and day out. And they involve our attitudes, too. We need to look carefully at how we are living, the things that we are doing and watching and listening to, and the words we are speaking. And we need to pay close attention to our thought processes and our attitudes, too. And we should examine these from time to time prayerfully, making sure that we are making the best use of our time and that we are not wasting time.

And the days we live in are very evil. Evil is everywhere we look it seems. Evil is permeating so much of the church here in America with so many people believing a false gospel which is giving them carte blanche to continue in deliberate and habitual sin without conscience, and without feelings of guilt or remorse. And many of them are being told, not that they need to cease living in sin, but that they must not feel guilty about their sin, as though the sin is not wrong but the guilt is. And that is wrong.

So, we need to not be foolish by following the lies, but we need to know what the will of the Lord is. And we are not going to know that just by listening to preachers or Bible teachers, or those who speak or write devotions, for they may not all be listening to the Lord. Many of them are following after the lies. So we need to be students of the Scriptures who read the Scriptures for ourselves, but in context, for many false teachings come from Scriptures taught outside their context and made to say what the Scriptures do not teach in context.

And none of us should be living lives which are out of control, whether it be by getting drunk on strong drink, or whether the source is intoxication to sexual immorality or to romance and to having extramarital affairs, or whether the intoxication is to sports and sports figures or to politicians or to Hollywood actors and actresses, and the list goes on. Basically our lives are to be under the control of the Holy Spirit and not under the control of the flesh, and not out of control to where we are living senseless lives.

But we are to be filled with the Spirit. Now all genuine believers in Jesus are filled with the Spirit, i.e. we have the Holy Spirit living within us. But as we surrender more and more of our lives over to Jesus Christ, and we cease in doing what is of the flesh, and our lives are yielded more and more to the control of the Holy Spirit, then we are being filled more and more with the Spirit of God because we are now living more under his control and not under the control of the flesh. And that is the point of this passage.

And then we can be led of the Spirit in ministering God’s love and grace to one another, because if we are addressing one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, this is not about us singing in a praise and worship service. This is about me singing a song to you that is of the Spirit and for your encouragement and you doing likewise, for my encouragement. And these do NOT have to be professional sounding songs, by human standards. Or the song can merely be read, but the purpose is that we encourage one another in our walks of faith in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

Look How You Walk

Video Talk

February 22, 2023

https://youtu.be/Fi9KLSeLWYQ

Caution: This link may contain ads

Follow Him

An Original Work / February 21, 2013

Based off Luke 9:22-25

Jesus, Son of God,

Died for us on a cross.

Anyone who would come to Him

Must deny himself and follow.

He must take up his cross daily;

Die to sin and self each day.

Father, God above,

Loved us so: gave His Son.

If you want to save your old life;

Keep on sinning, follow your ways,

You will lose your life forever;

Hope of heaven gone away.

Spirit of our God

Gives us life in God’s Son.

Nonetheless, if you die to self;

Forsake your sin; follow Jesus,

You will live with God in heaven,

And forever praise His name!

https://vimeo.com/117316842

By Him Who's to Be Treasured

May I tell you truly,

You who’re so unruly,

Life is to be measured

By Him who’s to be treasured.

God, who is The Righteous,

Is a God of justice.

He declared His wisdom

Through those who had His vision.

They foretold the future,

Of nations in a stupor,

Of times like that of Noah,

Of people in a coma,

A time when God must judge us,

For he must bring us justice,

To turn the hearts of people

Away from all their evil.

An Original Work / October 19, 2023

“For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” Matthew 24:37-39 ESV

God Receives Those Who Pursue Righteousness

Proverbs 15 Select Verses

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place,
keeping watch on the evil and the good.” (Proverbs 15:3 ESV)

God, who created all of us, is completely sovereign over all that he has made. He knows the end from the beginning. All the days ordained for us were written in his book before any of them came into being. And for us who believe in him to be our Lord and Savior, he also predestined us to be conformed to the image (likeness) of his Son (Jesus Christ). For he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. And we are to be holy in all our conduct.

[Jer 1:1-19; Psalms 139:13-16; Acts 26:18; Rom 1:6-7,18-23; Rom 6:15-21; Rom 8:28-29; 1 Co 1:9; 1 Co 12:1-31; Gal 5:13; Eph 1:3-4; 1 Thess 4:1-8; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 10:26-31; 1 Pet 1:14-16; 1 Pet 2:9; 2 Pet 1:3]

“In the house of the righteous there is much treasure,
but trouble befalls the income of the wicked.
The lips of the wise spread knowledge;
not so the hearts of fools.
The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.
The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,
but he loves him who pursues righteousness.
There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;
whoever hates reproof will die.” (Proverbs 15:6-10 ESV)

So, what is “the way” this is talking about here? It is the way of the Lord which he designed and purposed that we should all follow, which is the way of death to sin and living to righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, whether in the Old Testament or in the New Testament. Since Jesus Christ gave himself up for us on that cross to put our sins to death with him, by faith in him we are now crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised to walk in newness of life in him in obedience to him.

But a profession of faith in Jesus Christ alone does not naturally result in us dying with Christ to sin and us now walking in obedience to his commands. By God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in the Lord Jesus we willingly give up our old lives of living in sin and for self so that, by the grace of God, we can now live holy lives, pleasing to God, in walks of obedience to his commands. We have to yield to God and to his will and purpose for our lives. And we have to cooperate with his work of grace, by the Spirit, in his power.

So, there is a huge difference between those who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ with their lips only and those who walk by the faith gifted to us by God, in the power of God, in dying to sin daily and in walking in obedience to his commands. For genuine biblical faith results in us denying self, dying daily to sin, and walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands, by the Spirit. And many who give lip service only continue in walks of sin and in disobedience to our Lord and to his commands, and they are the wicked.

So, a wicked person who is still walking in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord Jesus can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, thinking that his sins are now all forgiven and that heaven is secured him. But that is a lie of Satan. Such a “sacrifice” to God is an abomination to the Lord. But the prayer, devotion, and obedience of the upright in heart is acceptable to God. For God loves those who pursue righteousness. But for him who forsakes “the way,” there is severe discipline. He will die, not have life with God.

“The Lord is far from the wicked,
but he hears the prayer of the righteous.
The light of the eyes rejoices the heart,
and good news refreshes the bones.
The ear that listens to life-giving reproof
will dwell among the wise.
Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,
but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.
The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,
and humility comes before honor.” (Proverbs 15:29-33 ESV)

This is not just Old Testament teaching. This is the spirit of what the New Testament teaches, as well, regarding what it looks like to be someone of genuine faith in the Lord Jesus. You cannot continue walking in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord and then presume upon the Lord that you have salvation from all sin and that heaven is now guaranteed you at death. For “the wicked” are all who still make sin their practice and for whom righteousness and obedience to God are not what they practice.

The Lord is far from the wicked, but he does hear the prayer of the righteous (those who make righteousness their practice). Those who listen to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise, because they not only listen, but they respond in submission to God in walks of obedience to his commands, in practice. So, whoever ignores God’s instructions despises himself because he willingly chooses eternity in hell over eternity in heaven, because he loves his sin more. Those who fear the Lord surrender to his instructions.

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

Monday, November 4, 2024

The Will of God

“Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:1-2 ESV)

I believe this is speaking about Jesus Christ and his suffering on that cross for our sins. In his death on that cross he became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21). And he put our sin to death with him in order that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and that we might walk in obedience to his commands (1 Peter 2:24; Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24; Luke 9:23-26).

So, by God-given faith in Jesus Christ, 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 like our old lives, but now in righteousness and holiness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant). And now we have been set free from our slavery to sin so that we can now walk as slaves of God and of his righteousness, and no longer for human passions.

“For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry.” (1 Peter 4:3 ESV)

Now “Gentiles” is a term that was used to speak of non-Jews, but it was also a term used to refer to non-believers in Jesus Christ, although many Gentiles became believers in Christ. So we can safely substitute this word “Gentiles” with “unbelievers.” But biblically speaking an “unbeliever” is anyone who does not walk in obedience to the Lord and who walks in sin, instead, regardless of what faith they profess with their lips.

So, we, as followers of Jesus, are not to live as though we are unbelievers. We are not to be living in (practicing) sensuality, sinful passions, orgies, drunkenness, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. And idolatry is the worship of anything or anyone in place of or over and above God. And idolatrous worship is the giving of our passions, hearts, time, affections, devotion, loyalties and obedience to anyone or anything above God.

“With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” (1 Peter 4:4-5 ESV)

Now, when our lives change, and we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and so we are now living to God and to his righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, the ungodly, including many who profess faith in Jesus Christ, will malign us, and they will mock us, and they will reject and even scorn us and treat us with disdain, and they may even accuse us of wrongdoing when we are following the Lord, and when we are doing what his word teaches.

And this is because many people profess faith in Christ, but they never died with him to sin, and they are not living to him and to his righteousness, for they have bought into a lie which is telling them that they don’t have to repent of their sins, and that they don’t have to obey the Lord, and that no works are required of them (but read Ephesians 2:10). But they will be judged by God according to their works, as we all will be judged by God.

[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]

The Will of God

Video Talk

February 19, 2023

https://youtu.be/zzogiQVZo_U

Caution: This link may contain ads

Praise the “I AM!”

An Original Work / February 24, 2012

Jesus, my Savior, full of compassion,

Glorious in power, mighty in strength;

Gracious Redeemer, mighty deliv’rer,

My heart adores Him. Praise to His name!

Perfect salvation my Lord provided

When He died for my sins on a tree;

Crucified my sins; conquered in vict’ry,

When He arose, so I could be free!

I am so thankful for His forgiveness;

Grateful that He chose to pardon me,

Giving me new life full in His Spirit,

So I can serve Him; His servant be!

Walking in daily fellowship with Him,

Obeying Him whate’er He commands;

Forsaking my sins, living in freedom,

I will endure with Him to the end!

He gives me peace and calm reassurance

In times of sorrow, or in distress.

His grace is sure, and oh, how sufficient

To meet me in my need for sweet rest.

Oh, how I love You, Jesus, my Savior.

My heart longs for You where’er I am.

Your word is precious; speaks to my spirit;

Brings comfort, healing. Praise the “I AM!”

https://vimeo.com/125736554

I Pray This Would Be the Time

Many false commitments

That were not true to form.

Many false confessions

That not to Christ conformed.

Many empty chatters

That ne’er went anywhere.

Many lies, deceptions,

And not the truth was shared.

Many staged professions

Of faith, faith not sincere.

Many times admissions

Of sin, not truth in gear.

Many are such wand’rings

Of those who not repent.

They go through the motions

And yet their knees not bent.

Fakery is with them,

So much a part of them,

That truth they do not

Separate from lies, oh man!

Many times they’d say they’d changed,

but no, they did not.

Many times they’d dance around

The truth, when on the spot.

Truth and lies so much a part

Of who they really are.

Even though they know the truth,

The truth from them is far.

It will take a miracle

Of God’s grace to see change,

But miracles are what God does,

For that, He can arrange.

An Original Work / September 4, 2022

Looking Into the Perfect Law

James 1:22-25 ESV

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

Not everything written in the Scriptures applies to us followers of Jesus Christ specifically, for some of it is Old Covenant teaching, and some of it was specific instructions to a group of people at a particular time in history under their specific circumstances. But even there we can still learn from these Scriptures, for all Scripture is profitable for doctrine, reproof, instruction and training in righteousness (see 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

But we must be careful that we don’t write off Scriptures which do apply to us, for what Jesus taught was mostly all New Covenant teaching, if not all, and what the apostles taught to the church was New Covenant teaching, and God’s moral laws were never done away with. What was taught in the Old Testament regarding his moral laws was repeated for us in the New Testament, under the New Covenant.

And just because we are under the New Covenant, and we are not under the Old Covenant, it doesn’t mean we are lawless. 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” (Titus 2:14). And if we do not obey him, then when we stand before him one day he is going to say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:21-23).

So, we as followers of Jesus Christ, who profess his name, must absolutely obey our Lord and to do what we are told we must do under the New Covenant. And if the New Covenant teaching repeats for us what is taught under the Old Covenant, then we still have to obey it. For we are not to be those who just listen to the word of the Lord, but we are to do what the word teaches us under the New Covenant. And it definitely teaches us we must die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness.

So we are not to be like those who hear the word, and the word convicts them of things in their lives, and they see themselves as God sees them, and they know what they must do to fix it, to make it right, but then they just walk away and they willfully forget what was shown to them by the Lord. But it isn’t that they don’t know. They do know. They just choose to not bring it to remembrance, and then they just claim ignorance.

Instead, we are to be those who obey our Lord in doing what he says to do, and who look into the perfect law, the law of liberty, which is the gospel of our salvation. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). And he put sin to death in us who believe in him so that we will no longer live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23). And we who follow our Lord in obedience then have the hope of eternal life with God.

Looking Into the Perfect Law

Video Talk

February 17, 2023

https://youtu.be/DalbW9sGH6A

Caution: This link may contain ads

Wordless Book Song

Child Evangelism Fellowship

My heart was dark with sin

until the Savior came in.

His precious blood I know

has washed me white as snow.

And in God's Word I'm told

I'll walk the street of gold.

To grow in Christ every day,

I read my Bible and pray.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FIQ8gb3iUw

Caution: This link may contain ads

Live for Jesus

Live for Jesus every day,

Read your Bible, kneel and pray,

Leave your life of sin behind,

No have you eyes that are blind.

Walk with Jesus every way,

Do not now you from Him stray,

Obey Him and his commands,

Stand on rock and not on sand.

Follow Him where’er He leads,

On His word now truly feed,

Fellowship with Him each day,

Do then all that He did say.

Witness for Him, tell His truth

To those who are so uncouth.

Share His gospel, death to sin,

And that now we live for Him.

An Original Work / September 20, 2022

I Delight to Do God's Will

“In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.’” (Psalms 40:6-8 ESV)

And we read this in Hebrews 10:5-7 (ESV):

“Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
‘Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
Then I said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.”’”

And we read this in 1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV):

“And Samuel said, ‘Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.’”

So, what is the message for us from these passages of Scripture today? I believe it is this, that we can go through the motions of religious practice, sacrificing our time and efforts and passions on forms of religion, but our hearts can still be far from God. We can be faithful at attending weekly gatherings of the church (or of the false church), in doing good deeds, in reading our Bibles (or a daily devotional), in praying before meals, and in singing worship songs, and still not truly worship God in spirit and in truth.

For God is not interested in our religious practices if our lives are not surrendered to him to do his will. He wants our obedience. He wants us living in submission to his will and purpose for our lives, choosing his choices, and obeying them in his power. For his true sheep are those who listen to him (who heed his words) and who follow him in obedience (in compliance to his will). If we are to follow Jesus with our lives we are to deny self, die daily to sin, and obey his commandments (New Covenant).

For Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross, not just to forgive us our sins, and not just so that we can go to heaven when we die, but so that, by genuine God-persuaded faith in him we will die with him to sin daily and walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience (submission) to his will and to his commandments. And the Scriptures teach us that if we continue in habitual and deliberate sin, making sin our practice, and not in walks of obedience to our Lord, that we do not have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God.

So, to obey or to not obey our Lord is not optional for the life of a true follower of Jesus Christ. For we are not saved from our sins and on our way to heaven based on lip service to God alone. We cannot just make a profession of Christ as Lord and Savior and now all our sins are forgiven and heaven is guaranteed us when we die. Many people professing faith in Jesus Christ with their lips, whose lives are not surrendered to the Lord to do his will, will not enter into the kingdom of heaven because they didn’t obey God.

And to do the will of the Lord is not just about us ceasing to make sin our practice and to now follow the Lord in obedience to his commands. But it is a life of surrender to the Lord, making him truly master of our lives. And it is about following his leading in our lives wherever he has us doing whatever he has called us all collectively and individually to do. It means he now is Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and we are now his possession, and our will is to do whatever it is that he calls us to do, by his grace.

“I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
behold, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.” (Psalms 40:9-10 ESV)

And one of the assignments our Lord has given all of his followers to do is to take the message of the gospel of our salvation to the ends of the earth. For he has given each one of us, who are his true followers, spiritual gifts and spiritual assignments (our body parts) within the body of Christ, his church. And he has called us to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light, and to be the light and the salt of the earth, and to be his witnesses and to make disciples of Christ of people.

And we are to be those who are speaking the truth in love, one to the other, so that none of us are led astray by people who are cunning, crafty, and deceitful in spreading false gospel messages, and so that we are all able to grow together to maturity in Christ, as each body part is working properly. And we are to be teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, stirring up one another to love and good works, and exhorting one another daily so that no one may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

And none of this is to be taken as optional, or that it is only for the “professionals” to do. But the gospel message that we share with others needs to be the one that Jesus and his NT apostles taught, when taught within the correct biblical context, and not out of context and made to say what is not the truth. And that gospel message is that Jesus died on that cross so that, by faith in him, we will die to sin and walk in obedience to his commands, by the grace of God, and in his power, strength, and wisdom.

[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; Gal 6:1; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:11-27; Eph 6:10-20; Php 2:1-8; Col 1:9; Col 3:12-16; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; Jas 5:19-20; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6; Jude 1:22-23]

Should I Not Preach Jesus

An Original Work / July 4, 2013

Based off 1 Corinthians 9:16-10:13

Woe to me should I not preach Jesus.

I’m compelled to preach the full gospel.

I make myself a slave to ev’ryone

To win their hearts to Christ.

All this I do for my Lord Jesus,

And for the sake of His Name;

Do it for the sake of His gospel,

So that I, its blessings gain.

Scripture notates the sins of others;

Written down for us as examples

To keep us from setting our hearts

On evil as did those of old.

Do not worship other gods of man;

Do not give your hearts to them;

Not partake in immorality.

Do not test your Lord and King.

So, be careful if you think you are

Standing firm in your faith in Jesus.

God has given his word to warn us,

So through faith we will not fall.

No temptation has o’ertaken you

Except what is commonplace.

God is faithful to not let you be

Tempted past what you can bear.

He gives the way of escape.

https://vimeo.com/116057811

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Enduring to The End

Enduring to the End

Context: Jesus Christ called together his twelve disciples. He sent them out to the lost sheep of Israel, but not to the Gentiles and not to the Samaritans at that time. And he instructed them to do much of what he did during his time of ministry on the earth, which was to heal the sick, to raise the dead, and to cast out demons, etc. And he told them that he was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so they were to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. And he told them that they would be persecuted.

Matthew 10:21-22 ESV

“Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Later on down in this passage of Scripture (vv. 34-39) Jesus taught basically that he did not come to bring peace to the earth. He came to bring peace to the individual hearts of those who trust in him as Lord and as Savior, but his mission was not world peace. He came to bring a sword, and that sword truly is the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, the gospel, which does turn family members against one another. For when one believes in Jesus with genuine faith and another does not it, the nonbeliever may turn against the believer, in many different ways, including some things mentioned here.

And then with regard to this last sentence here in v. 22, what Jesus said in vv. 34-39 also fits, for he said that if we love our family members more, meaning that we give preference to them over our Lord Jesus, then we are not worthy of him. And if we don’t take up our cross and follow him in obedience, meaning if we don’t die daily to sin and to self and follow him in obedience (see Luke 9:23-26), we are not worthy of him. For if we hold on to our lives of sin, we will lose them for eternity. But if we die to sin and to self and follow Jesus in obedience, then we have life in Christ for eternity.

So, a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ does not secure heaven for us when we die. We must die with Christ to sin and deny self and follow Jesus in obedience to him and to his commands (New Covenant). And we must walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, in practice. Sin must not be our practice, for if it is, and if righteousness and the forsaking of our sins and walking in obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we do not have eternal life with God. And if we do not continue in Christ until the very end, we will not be saved in the end.

Matthew 10:26-28 ESV

“So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Now, going back to the subject of persecution, those of us who are following the Lord in obedience and in walks of righteousness, and who are daily dying to sin and denying self, are going to be persecuted, especially if we are sharing the gospel of our salvation with others and if we are refuting Satan’s lies. And that persecution may come from family members, and it may come from others who profess faith in Jesus Christ, too, and from the world. But we are not to fear what others will do to us or say about us, but we are to honor God with our lives and keep on speaking the truth for all to hear.

[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]

Enduring to the End
Video Talk

February 16, 2023

https://youtu.be/Gei0vMsI8yA

Caution: This link may contain ads

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Wait

An Original Work / February 8, 2014

Wait for your Lord. Be of courage.
Be strong and take heart today.
God is always watching o’er you.
Trust Him with your life always.

Sing of your Lord. Praise His blessings.
Believe in His sovereignty.
He delivered you from your sin;
Gave you life eternally.

Rest in your Lord. Know His promise.
Beneath His wings rest secure.
Your God has a plan and purpose.
Let your faith in Him endure.

Trust in your Lord. He’ll not leave you,
Because He is faithfulness.
He will lead and guide; protect you.
In His love you can find rest.

https://vimeo.com/86342154

Remaining Steadfast Under Trial

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (James 1:2-4 ESV)

All people have trials. It is because we live in flesh bodies and we live on this earth, and so we are all going to suffer something or other at some time or another, especially if we live very long. But as followers of Jesus Christ our trials have a purpose, and sometimes they are because we are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake.

But our trials test our faith to see if it is genuine, which is for our benefit, since God already knows the results. And that testing of our faith is for the purpose that it might produce within us steadfastness of faith so that we might be whole (mature) and complete in Christ and reach maturity in our walks of faith. For that is the goal to make us holy, and to make us more like Jesus, and to strengthen us in our walks of faith so that we can endure trials and so that we can grow to mature walks of faith in our Lord.

But we may not all have the same trials, especially if we live in different countries. Like for instance, persecution of us Christians is a trial, but the way some Christians are persecuted in some countries is probably not exactly the same as persecution is for us who live in America. For in America we are not generally beaten and arrested and put to death for our faith in Jesus Christ. But we who are following Jesus with our lives are being persecuted in many of the same ways Jesus was prior to his arrest and his death on that cross, and by many of the same types of people.

“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.” (James 1:12 ESV)

Now I am going to refer back to verse 4 here because it ties in with verse 12. I looked up the word “perfect” on biblehub.com, on their interlinear, and now I have a new understanding of the message in verse 4. This is really talking about the end goal of our faith, the “consummated goal,” like when the Jewish groom has now prepared the place for his bride and he comes to get her and to take her to be with him, which is when their marriage is consummated.

And this parallels over to our salvation. For we are saved (past), we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ (our husband/groom) returns for us, his bride, and he takes us to be with him in the place he has prepared for us, which is when our marriage to him is consummated and our salvation is complete. So, in verse 4, when it speaks of steadfastness having its full effect, that we may be perfect and complete, it is talking about the process and the end goal of our faith.

And this ties in with verse 12 because it tells us that we are blessed of God who remain steadfast under trial, for when we have stood the test we will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Again, this is the process and the end goal of our faith. And please know that those who love him are those who obey him, and if we do not obey him we do not love him, and we do not know him, and we do NOT have eternal life in him. So obedience to our Lord is part of believing faith which saves.

[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]

Remaining Steadfast Under Trial
Video Talk

February 13, 2023

https://youtu.be/yW27iANQb9M

Caution: This link may contain ads

Perseverance

Marching, marching to their chorus,

Enemies who now abhor us.

They are out now to destroy us,

For they hate our Savior, Jesus.

They are all in step with others,

Friends and neighbors, sisters, brothers.

Bent on evil, vermin plenty,

In the year now two and twenty.

Their goal now to dissipate us,

All because they truly hate us.

Some of them will now outdate us.

Some of them will try to bait us.

Wisdom crying through the rafters,

Live with Jesus, ever after,

Turn from your sins, follow Jesus,

Who from our sins he has freed us.

Don’t be troubled by the laughters

Of those who’ll not live forever.

Tears are plenty ever after

For those who’ll not live forever.

Stay with Jesus, perseverance,

To his laws now have adherence.

One day He’ll make an appearance,

From our sins he’ll fully clear us.

An Original Work / March 11, 2022

Out From the Pit of Destruction

“I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.

“Blessed is the man who makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after a lie!
You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are more than can be told.” (Psalms 40:1-5 ESV)

I believe the Lord wants me to look into what this “pit of destruction” could be for any one of us today. It appears that, for David, it had to do with enemies pursuing and attacking him grievously. It had to do with him being persecuted by his enemies to such an extent (degree) that he felt as though he was in a pit of despair and destruction, with no way out. I believe this can also be any attack from the enemy against our minds, emotions, or bodies.

But I also believe that, for us to really get the picture of how this is being done in our world and in the gatherings of “the church” today, we are going to have to redefine “enemies,” to a certain extent. For I think we get in our minds sometimes that our enemies are obvious opponents who, in very outright and visible ways, are trying to destroy us mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and/or physically. But sometimes they are enemies in disguise.

In the New Testament Scriptures we are warned much about these hidden enemies, these who are liars, deceivers, manipulators, and tricksters who pretend righteousness and godliness but inwardly are ferocious wolves (thieves, robbers, strangers, and hired hands). They masquerade themselves as servants of righteousness, but they are on the opposite end of righteous. They are full of wickedness, but disguised to look like kindness.

These enemies can be our family members, our neighbors, pastors of “churches,” attendees of “church” gatherings, other professers of faith in Jesus Christ, our government heads, the news media, Big Pharma (the world of medicine), the public educational system, CEOs of major corporations, people of enormous influence in the world, and the world’s Elite, etc. And they are the lies and the misimpressions and deceptions that they spread.

And their lies are being spread through various means of communication, such as through TV programs, talk shows, movies, videos (especially the short ones), social media memes, song lyrics, advertisements, political events and ads, cartoons, blog posts, social media posts, preachers’ sermons, religious ads, religious movies, books, discipleship programs, and the like. And they deceive via the twisting of truth (indirect lies, mostly).

Many among those who proclaim to be Christians, who are sharing the Scriptures, are sharing or teaching them out of context, which in its original intent is for the purpose to deceive. Out of context they can, thus, make them say whatever they want them to say which they do not say if taught in their appropriate context. And then they put them in memes and other quick ways of communicating with people, and many people are believing the lies.

So, if they can get us to believe their lies, and to reject the truth, which is the ultimate goal of these “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” then they have us down in that miry bog and that pit of destruction, from a spiritual standpoint. And if we turn to other humans to be our “saviors,” as those who are going to rescue us from our troubles and who are going to make things better, we may well be following these liars and deceivers and their lies.

[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; Luke 6:26; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]

So, whether our “pit of destruction” is coming via us being persecuted for our walks of faith, which may lead to depression, or if it is coming via the lies and deceptions and misimpressions (indirect lies – harder to prove) which we may be believing, perhaps unknowingly, we need to be those who are seeking after righteousness and godliness, and who are following the leading of our Lord. And we must not be followers of man (other humans).

And we must not yield and give way to the lies of the enemy which are coming against us, either to trick us into believing that God has abandoned us, or into believing the lies that Satan likes to whisper to us, especially in times of illness and weakness, to try to get us to give up. And we must test the spirits to see if they are of God, but we must test them against the Scriptures taught in full context so that we can discern lies from truth.

And if we who love and obey God call out to the Lord in earnest, when we are under any kind of attack from the enemy, like when our emotions are going bonkers, or when physically we are in pain, or when we are receiving messages contrary to what we know to be truth, and even when we don’t even realize that we are under enemy attack, our Lord will hear us and he will draw us out of those deep waters. We just have to believe him.

But first we must pray for spiritual discernment to understand when we are under enemy attack, and when we might be believing the lies instead of the truth, and to discern the truth from the lies, too. And this covers so much ground, from what is the “true church” via the “false church,” and what is the true gospel via the false gospel, and who is telling us the truth, and who is lying to us. And then our trust must be in the Lord and not in humans.

When the Lord then shows you the lies you have been believing, and the liars who you have been believing, via the Holy Spirit, and via the truth of God’s word (taught in context), and he shows you the difference between the biblical church (the body of Christ) and these businesses of man called “churches,” and he shows you who these “wolves in sheep’s clothing” truly are in the church, in the world, and in our governments, then believe God.

Then he will put a new song in your mouth. And he will make your steps secure when you are listening to him and not to the liars. And you won’t be looking for men or women to save our planet or our nations from what ails them. But you will be looking to God alone for salvation. And your desire will now be to please God and to share the truth of the gospel and to refute the lies of the enemy, as tested against the Scriptures (taught in context).

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

What Road are You Traveling?

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” (Matthew 7:13-14 ESV)

If a gate (entry, way) is narrow, it is restricted and limited, i.e. it has rules we must follow and things we are to avoid. But if a gate (entry, way) is broad or wide, it is wide-ranging and all-encompassing (all-inclusive), and it is not restricted or limited, for many can enter. So the narrow way is hard, because it involves dying with Christ to sin and to self and following Jesus in obedience to his commands. And the broad way is easy because it has no restrictions or limitations but it is all-inclusive (come one, come all).

But if we follow the broad way, and so we have no rules, no restrictions, but we can keep on living in sin and for self without conscience or guilt, then it will not lead to eternal life as many are promising today. For it includes a false and altered gospel which is telling people that they can make a one-time profession of faith in Christ and now all their sins are forgiven and heaven is guaranteed them when they die, regardless of how they live their lives on this earth. But that is a lie from hell which will lead to destruction.

But the narrow way has commands (New Covenant) we must obey or we do not know God and we do not have eternal life with God (1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10). All throughout the New Testament we are instructed in how we should live and in what we should and should not do. And we are warned of the consequences if we go the wrong way and not the way of holiness, righteousness, and obedience to our Lord. For if sin is what we practice and if obedience to our Lord is not our practice, it will end in death, not in life everlasting with God (Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 5:3-6, etc.).

So, the encouragement today is to make certain you are on the right path, which is the narrow way, not the broad way. For the broad way leads to destruction, and only the narrow way leads to life everlasting. But please know that the majority are traveling this broad road and only a few (by comparison) are truly on the narrow road, which is the only way to salvation from sin and eternal life with God. So don’t get caught up with the majority. Find the narrow way and follow it until the end.

What Road are You Traveling?

Video Talk

February 10, 2023

https://youtu.be/Ag4xE1qjjEc

Caution: This link may contain ads

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

They Claim They Can See

Is the Light in You Light or Dark?

“No one after lighting a lamp puts it in a cellar or under a basket, but on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is full of light, but when it is bad, your body is full of darkness. Therefore be careful lest the light in you be darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, it will be wholly bright, as when a lamp with its rays gives you light.” (Luke 11:33-36 ESV)

I believe we are to take this passage of Scripture metaphorically and not literally. What I mean is that this is not speaking of literal lamps and the light that they put out. This has to do with our spiritual lives, and the light is the Light of Christ and of his gospel which is truly in our lives or it is not. For if our faith is God-given faith, the light of Christ and of his gospel should be shining through our lives. We shouldn’t be trying to hide it so no one can see. But those whose faith is not genuine don’t have the true light to shine.

Also, the eye is not a physical eye in the human body, but this is speaking of spiritual discernment, wisdom, and judgment. So, if our spiritual judgment and discernment are spiritually healthy, then we should be making godly choices for our lives. We should be daily dying to sin and to self and walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in walks of righteousness, in the power of God, and we should no longer be making sin our practice, our habit. And the light of Christ should then shine through our lives.

But if our spiritual discernment and judgment are not healthy, we are not going to make godly and righteous decisions for ourselves, but we are going to be choosing sin over God, and we are going to be going our own way, following after our own fleshly desires. And we will be ignoring God and his commands (New Covenant) in order to do what our flesh wants to do. So, then our lives are not full of the light of Christ and his righteousness, but they are full of sin and wickedness and unrighteousness.

So, now we are to be careful lest the light in us be darkness. But how can light be darkness? It can be darkness when it is a false light, a false truth, a false gospel. For many are teaching today that we can make a once in a lifetime decision to believe (not usually biblically defined) in Jesus and now all our sins are forgiven and heaven is guaranteed us when we die, but regardless of how we live our lives. But that isn’t true, for how we live our lives on this earth determines where we will spend eternity.

This is why the Scriptures teach us that, as followers of Jesus, we must now walk (in practice, in conduct) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, for if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins, not have eternal life with God. For if we make sin our practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then heaven is not guaranteed us, regardless of what profession of faith we once made in our lives. For then the light in us is darkness and not true light.

Is the Light in You Light or Dark?

Video Talk

February 9, 2023

https://youtu.be/wOxIgZYydpc

Caution: This link may contain ads

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

Storms are Howling

Storms are howling, folks not bowing,

Headstrong in their plans a plenty,

Trust in God they ain’t got any,

They not friend, they are the en’my.

Tricks and trappings, fingers snapping,

Sins a plenty they are adding,

Those who love God, they attacking,

Wickedness, it is not napping.

They are showing their true colors,

They not showing love to others,

For they follow other lovers

When they’re underneath their covers.

Round about it in their circles,

Singing, flinging, in their hurtles,

Acting out in their rehearsals,

Blurting out so many verbals.

Dancing, prancing, and romancing,

Eyes that lust, they are so glancing,

Evil men they are advancing,

Many people they entrancing.

Lies enormous, they deceiving,

Many people them believing,

God almighty they are grieving,

Human hearts they are now seizing.

Oh, what heartache, lies so many,

Not on God’s side, they not friendly,

For their god, it is their belly,

And their hearts are full of envy.

God is calling to repentance,

Those who in their sins do advance,

Those who live their lives just for chance,

and who’re living life in a trance.

An Original Work / October 23, 2022

The Wicked Plots Against the Righteous

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

“In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.
The wicked plots against the righteous
and gnashes his teeth at him,
but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his day is coming.” (Psalms 37:7-13 ESV)

If we who are followers of Jesus Christ are going to be wise and discerning people, we need to not be naïve and gullible people who just believe whatever we hear from the government, or a particular political party, or a particular media source, or a specific preacher and teacher of the Scriptures. Wolves in sheep’s clothing exist everywhere you look these days. Lies and liars and manipulations of truth are all over the place. And if we are not careful and prayerful with regard to who we believe, we may believe the lies.

Twenty-two years ago, at the age of 52, I went back to college to take business classes. I will never forget what my marketing teacher told us then. He told us that our government has technology at least 20 years ahead of where we are which they have not released to the public because they feel as though we could not handle the truth. Since then I have come more to the thinking that they are not letting us see where they are because they don’t want us to know what they are up to in their secret projects.

Twenty years ago, at the age of 54, the Lord Jesus began opening my eyes to some of the things which our government has kept hidden from the American people. And the Lord had me (a slow reader) begin reading science articles and history articles and all kinds of articles which were available on the internet at that time, which filled me in on all sorts of information that I was completely ignorant about, and which I would not have ever even looked at if it was not the Lord who was leading me in that direction.

Simply put, what I came to realize is that my government is not who they claim to be. I realized that political right and left do not really exist, but they are two sides of the same whole working for the same people, a group of elites who are the de facto government of the USA who are the ones leading the entire world into a one world order (the order of the Beast). Our government is not fighting terrorists in order to save us, but they are the world’s worst terrorists, the harlot who rides the beast, in essence.

So, when strange things begin happening in our world, and in the USA (for those of us who live in the USA), we need to begin asking questions, and we need to pray and ask the Lord to guide us to the truth, and to keep us from believing the lies. And if someone tells us to believe only them and to ignore all other (outside) sources of information, we should take that as a red flag that something is not right and they don’t want us to know what that is, and so they want to convince us that they are the only source of truth.

Now, on a Spiritual level, the Word of God is truth that we can trust, but even there the translations come from varied sources, so we need to pray and seek the Lord regarding what translation is best, if we have a choice at all (not everyone does). And then we need to study the Scriptures in their appropriate context and not interpret them out of context, which is what many people are doing today in order to deceive and to lead people to what is false and away from what is truth. And this is happening everywhere.

What I am saying is that deception is everywhere, and the goal of deception, whether coming from the government and politicians, or from the news media, or from Big Pharma, or “the church,” in general, etc., is to lead us away from the truth to follow after the lies. So the point of what I am saying here is that we should not put on blinders and just believe someone because he is someone respected or a particular preacher or politician or newscaster or whatever. We need to pray the Lord would show us truth vs lies.

So, I am not asking that you believe me just because I said it, but that you should believe the Bible, and the Bible warns us much against lies and liars and deceivers and false teachers and shepherds and doctrines, etc. The Bible directs us that we should test everything we read or hear or see (or think we see) in prayer, and against the Scriptures, and via being led of the Holy Spirit in what to read and to believe, and in what to reject, which cannot be something that is against what the Scriptures teach us.

And we need to face the reality of the times in which we live, and so we must realize what the Scriptures teach with regard to these last days before the return of Christ. And they warn much against liars and deceivers and manipulators of truth who are out to deceive the people. So, especially if someone is telling you to believe them and to reject what anyone else says, then please check out what they are saying in prayer and please ask the Lord to guide you into all truth so that you don’t fall prey to deception.

But as our eyes begin to be opened to the truth, and as we begin to see that those we once trusted are not to be trusted, and those we once thought were on our side are really our enemies out to destroy us, and we realize that we had believed so many lies, and so our foundation we were brought up under is suddenly shaken, we are not to let that undo us. We are not to fret over it, and we are not to get angry and to want to get even. But we are to trust the Lord and just continue to obey him in everything.

For our God is completely sovereign over all that he has made. He knows the end from the beginning, and he allowed everything to happen as it is or it could not happen. And all of this was prophesied in the Old and New Testaments thousands of years ago. A beast is forming his kingdom, and his rule will be allowed by God for a period of time, as God’s judgment, not only on the “unsaved”, but also on those giving lip service to the Lord but who have not died to sin and who are not obeying his commands, in practice.

And the book of Revelation does talk about people coming to faith in Jesus Christ during that time of tribulation, and many of those will be those who now profess faith in Jesus Christ but whose commitment to God is lip service only. And so this ultimately is for our good, for the salvation of human lives from eternity in hell who would not follow the Lord if they had not been put under the fire, so to speak. And one day Jesus will return, and his faithful ones will go to be with him for eternity, and all suffering will be over. Amen!

Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-39; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-17; Jn 15:18-21; Jn 17:14; 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 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

Run With It

Habakkuk 2

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

You Reap What You Sow

Why Are You Afraid?

Have You Been Tested?

Heartstrings

Tuesday, November 5, 2024

How Long, O Lord?

The Plans of God for Us

We are Not Guaranteed Tomorrow

Look How You Walk

By Him Who's to Be Treasured

God Receives Those Who Pursue Righteousness

Monday, November 4, 2024

The Will of God

I Pray This Would Be the Time

Looking Into the Perfect Law

Live for Jesus

I Delight to Do God's Will

Sunday, November 3, 2024

Enduring to The End

Saturday, November 2, 2024

Wait

Remaining Steadfast Under Trial

Perseverance

Out From the Pit of Destruction

What Road are You Traveling?

They Claim They Can See

Is the Light in You Light or Dark?

Storms are Howling

The Wicked Plots Against the Righteous

Original Works

Search This Blog

Pages

Blog Archive

About Me

My Links