Holy and Acceptable to God

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:1-2 ESV)

In God’s eyes, what should our worship of him look like? This is important that we understand this, because so many people these days are presenting worship of God only in the sense of singing worship songs, often with hands raised in the air, and hands and bodies moving to the music. But is that worship? It can be, depending upon what is in our hearts and how we are living. But singing “worship songs” and swaying to the music is not worship of God in and of itself. We can sing the songs and not worship God at all.

Another thing I have noticed about what is often referred to as “worship” is that most all the songs are about what God does for us, but not about what we are to do for him. And the promises of God are being applied broadly to anyone singing the songs or who gives lip service to the Lord. But not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven. Only the ones DOING (obeying) the will of God are those who will get into God’s heaven. To the many he will say, “I never knew you. Depart from me..”

And when we gather together as the body of Christ, it is to be for our mutual edification, encouragement, and exhortation. All of us within the body of Christ have been assigned by God a specific body part and we have all been given spiritual gifts of the Spirit which we are to be using within the gatherings of the church to help one another to grow to maturity in our walks of faith in the Lord. And we are to be warning one another against false teachers and teachings and exhorting one another against sinning.

And the whole purpose of singing in our gatherings is to be speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. This is not about one person choosing all the songs nor is it all supposed to be about just praising God for all his blessings, especially if it includes blessings upon those who do not honor him, who do not obey him, but who continue in sin. The songs are to be spiritual songs which encourage us in our walks of faith and obedience to our Lord, such as what we find in many of the old hymns.

And “church” is not somewhere we go once or twice a week to “worship” God and to hear a sermon preached, usually by just “the pastor.” The church is the body of believers in Jesus Christ. And if our faith in Jesus is genuine biblical faith, and so we have died with Christ to sin, and we’ve been raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, then we are “in church” 24/7, because the church is the body of believers in Christ. It is not a building or church denomination nor a business to be marketed to the world, although that is what it has largely been turned into.

So, the whole model of what is being called “church” these days is mostly not the biblical body of Christ working together in mutual encouragement and edification, exercising our God-given gifts and ministries. But these “churches” are businesses being marketed to the world like other businesses, and so the goal is largely to do what will attract the world to their gatherings in order to grow their numbers. But we are not to be spectators sitting in a building. We are to be ministering to one another.

And with regard to what our worship of God should look like, this passage in Romans 12:1-2 lays it out very nicely for us. Our worship of God is us giving our hearts, minds, and bodies to the Lord as living sacrifices to him. And that requires that we deny self, die with him to sin (not just once, but daily), and that we follow him in walks of obedience to his commands. For to be holy is to be different from (unlike) the world because we are being formed into the likeness of character of Jesus Christ by God, via our cooperation with God.

So our lives are to be surrendered to the Lord Jesus, day in and day out, every day of the week. This is not saying that we will be absolutely perfect in every way, for we are still clay in the potter’s hands in the process of sanctification (the process of salvation). But it is saying that faith which is of God is going to produce within us a desire to serve him with our lives, and so we will no longer be addicted to sin, but now we will be those who make obedience to our Lord our daily practice – all in the power of God.

For if we are still walking in sin, making sin our practice, and if walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commandments is not what we practice, then according to God, and according to the Scriptures, we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess, and regardless of what someone else promised us if we would just “receive Jesus Christ into our hearts.” For to receive Jesus is to receive his word and his commands into our daily lives by doing what they say to do.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

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

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Make Sure You're Believing the Truth

Make Sure You’re Teaching the Truth

This writing will be more focused toward those believers in Jesus Christ who make it their goal and practice to share the message of the gospel of Christ with the people of the world. Some of you may already be aware of this, and some of you may not. But it is critically important that, in our day and age, we make certain that we are hearing the truth of the gospel, that we are believing in and living the truth of the gospel, and that we are sharing the truth and not the lies which are permeating many of today’s churches.

So, it is also critically important that we are getting the message of the gospel straight from the Scriptures, but as taught in their full context. For so many of the lies which are being taught today in the name of Christ, and in the name of the gospel, come straight from the Scriptures taught out of their context and twisted to teach what they do not say if taught in their appropriate context. So we cannot rely on many quick gospel tracts which often use Scriptures out of context to teach their gospel message.

But most of these false gospel messages are half true, but a half-truth is still a lie, especially if it is a deliberate half-truth. Most teach who Jesus was and is, and that he was born as a baby to a virgin mother, and that he was the only begotten Son of God, and that he came to the earth ultimately to die on a cross to save us from our sins and to give us eternal life with God. But so many of them deliberately leave out the “nuts and bolts” of the gospel message, and so many people are believing a lie and not the truth.

So, what is the truth we must believe? Jesus Christ said it so well:

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.” (Luke 9:23-26 ESV)

When Jesus Christ took up his cross it was to put our sins to death with him so that we might become the righteousness of God by faith in him, so that we might die with him to sin (not just once, but daily) and walk (in conduct) in obedience to his commands in holy living. 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, by his grace, and follow him in obedience, then we have salvation from sin and the hope of eternal life with God.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23 ESV)

We are not saved from our sins and promised heaven when we die on the basis of a profession of faith in Jesus Christ only. So many people today, though, are teaching that all you have to do is make a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus and now all your sins are forgiven, and heaven is guaranteed you, and it cannot be taken away from you, but regardless of how you live. But Jesus taught that we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience or we do not have life in him, and he’ll say, “I never knew you..”

Make Sure You’re Living the Truth

Does this mean that we must be absolutely perfect in every way or we are out? No! (1 John 2:1-2) Where God draws the line has to do with our works, some which he requires of us. If sin is our practice, and not obedience to the Lord, we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with God, and we do not have salvation from sin nor eternal life with God. But if what we practice is death to sin and living to God in walks of obedience to his commands, then we are promised salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

But many people claim that Paul did not teach that. Yes, he did! See how many of these above Scriptures were written by Paul as carried along by the Holy Spirit. Most of them! He wrote this in Romans 6 (select verses):

“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?.. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.. Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?.. and its end is eternal life.”

And what was the message of grace that Paul taught?

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who 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 2:11-14 ESV)

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10 ESV)

So, God’s grace to us is not free license to keep on living in deliberate and habitual sin and not in walks of obedience to his commands, and not in surrender to God’s will and purpose for our lives.

“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21 ESV)

And when this says, “that those who DO such things,” the verb tense renders the word to “DOING”, and the word also means “to practice.” So if these sins are what we practice, and others like them, no matter what our lips profess, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. And “practice” has to do with repetition, i.e. these are sins which are willfully and deliberately and habitually being committed. So don’t believe the lies that tell you that you can continue in sin and still be saved and be on your way to heaven.

Here is Your God!  

An Original Work / July 18, 2012

Based off Isaiah 40:9-31 NIV

You who bring good tidings to Zion,

Lift up your voice; raise with a shout,

And do not be afraid of the people.

Say, “Here is your God!”

See how the Lord God comes now with power.

His arm rules for Him; His reward with Him.

He tends His flock just like a shepherd,

His lambs in His arms.

Do you not know? Have you not heard? 

Has it not been told you from beginning?

Our Lord sits enthroned above all things.

None to Him compare.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens.

Who made all of these? Who calls them by name?

Because of His great power and strength,

All accounted for.

Why do you say, “My way is hidden

From the Lord, and my cause forgotten”?

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

The Lord, He is your God.

He will not weary. He gives us power.

Those who trust in Him will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings just like eagles;

Walk and do faint not.

https://vimeo.com/125488095 

Bright Lights

Bright lights, flashing lights

Through the darkness

Beam their brightness

Do tell, what they say

Who will gamble

Playing scramble?

False faith anyone?

Play with fire

Clowns for hire

True faith not in darkness

Obey Savior

Know His favor

An Original Work / September 10, 2023

The Fear of Man

“The fear of man lays a snare,

but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.” (Proverbs 29:25 ESV)

This is a short passage of Scripture and yet it is filled with biblical truth. And the best way to understand what this is teaching is if we look at what these individual words mean:

Words Defined

Fear – anxiety, terror, dread, fright, be afraid of; an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is likely to cause pain. And this may be, but we should not fear the pain. We should not fear what other humans may or may not do to us or think about us or say about us or to us. 

Man – humankind, male or female – other human beings.

Snare – bait or lure, enticement, temptation, inducement; to intentionally make a person angry by saying or doing things to annoy them; a trap - a trick by which someone is misled into acting contrary to their interests or intentions. This is what Jesus’ enemies tried to do to him.

Trust – have faith in – believe in – hope, conviction, confidence, reliance, dependence, firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone, in this case in God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. So, not just an intellectual assent to something, but reliance upon God for strength.

Safe – secure, protected, sheltered, in safe hands – in the Greek New Testament: 4982 sṓzō (from sōs, "safe, rescued") – properly, deliver out of danger and into safety; used principally of God rescuing believers from the penalty and power of sin – and into His provisions (safety).

Summed Up

We are not to let what other humans may or may not do to us or think about us or say about us or to us impact our decision making processes. We are not to let what we believe to be their opinions of us affect who we are and who we become and what we do.

We are not to fall into their traps nor be incited nor enticed by them to go a different direction from what we know we ought to go. We are not to let them intimidate us into disobeying our Lord nor to get into deep seated arguments with them that go nowhere and that accomplish nothing or that turn ugly and hateful and spiteful. We must be wise in how we respond.

We are to keep our confidence in the Lord. Even if we are being led into an area where we should not go, we should refuse to go there. We should step away from such situations and take them to the Lord in prayer and trust the Lord to give us wise counsel to direct us in the right way to go.

And regarding the Lord keeping us safe, this does not mean that he won’t allow bad things to happen to us. He will. He said we will be hated and persecuted if we follow him with our lives. Look at his example and the examples of the prophets and the NT apostles and how they were all treated. But he will keep us safe spiritually, and he will carry us through every difficult situation so that we don’t fail if our trust is in him.

The Fear of Man

Video Talk

October 2, 2023

https://youtu.be/0MMzOdFVwxw 

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Trust and Obey  

Words by John H. Sammis, 1887

Music by Daniel B. Towner, 1887

When we walk with the Lord 

in the light of His Word,

What a glory He sheds on our way!

While we do His good will, 

He abides with us still,

And with all who will trust and obey. 

Not a shadow can rise, 

not a cloud in the skies,

But His smile quickly drives it away;

Not a doubt or a fear, 

not a sigh or a tear,

Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, 

not a sorrow we share,

But our toil He doth richly repay;

Not a grief or a loss, 

not a frown or a cross,

But is blessed if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove 

the delights of His love

Until all on the altar we lay;

For the favor He shows, 

for the joy He bestows,

Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet 

We will sit at His feet.

Or we’ll walk by His side in the way.

What He says we will do, 

Where He sends we will go;

Never fear, only trust and obey.

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KB4KcleYiWM

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The Birthday of a King

Author: William Harold Neidlinger

Tune: NEIDLINGER

In the little village of Bethlehem,

There lay a Child one day,

And the sky was bright with a holy light

O'er the place where Jesus lay.

'Twas a humble birth-place, but O how much

God gave to us that day,

From the manger bed what a path has led,

What a perfect, holy way. 

Alleluia! O how the angels sang.

Alleluia! How it rang!

And the sky was bright with a holy light,

'Twas the birthday of a King.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12X3BDaqqbI

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Ashamed of Christ and of His Gospel

“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.

“And Jesus cried out and said, ‘Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.’” (John 12:42-50 ESV)

It is not enough to just acknowledge the truth of who Jesus Christ is and of what he has done for us in dying on that cross to deliver us from our slavery to sin so that we can now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. And it is not enough to just verbalize faith in him, especially if we do this secretly and we do not tell anyone, especially out of fear that they may reject us and persecute us and cast us off as unwanted and as unnecessary because we believe differently from them.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:24-26; cf. Luke 9:23-26).

We must forsake our lives of sin, and we must follow our Lord in walks of obedience to him, and we must confess him before other humans, proclaiming not only our faith in him, but his gospel message, too, so that others can also believe in him and have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But we must make certain that “the gospel” we are sharing is the one taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles, as taught in full context and not out of context like many are doing today who want to deceive others.

“So Jesus said to them, ‘The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light...’” (John 12:35-36 ESV)

So, we cannot just make an intellectual assent as to who Jesus is and as to what he did for us on that cross. We must walk (in conduct, in practice) in the light (God/Jesus Christ, the full gospel message, truth, righteousness) and then we will have fellowship with God and with his true church, and the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all sin. For if we say that we have fellowship with God, but while we walk (in conduct, in practice) in darkness (sin), we are liars who do not practice the truth. (see 1 John 1:5-10)

For Jesus said that he came into the world as LIGHT so that whoever believes in him may NOT remain in darkness (sin, wickedness, disobedience). And if anyone hears his words but does not keep (obey) them, he will be judged by the Word of the Lord on the last day and he will not inherit eternal life with God, even if he has made a verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ. For it is not enough to profess him as Lord, but he must BE LORD of our lives, and we must follow him in obedience to his ways.

For Jesus also said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. So please take this to heart. (see Matthew 7:21-23).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Matthew 24:9-14; Matthew 28:19-20; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:35-58; John 8:31-32; John 10:27-30; John 14:15,21,23-24; John 15:1-11; Acts 26:18]

Who Believes?  

An Original Work / October 3, 2013

Based off Isaiah 53

Gospel message, who believes?

Jesus Christ died on a tree,

Saving us from all our sin,

So we might be cleansed within.

Had no beauty found in Him,

That we should desire Him.

Man of sorrows, suffering;

Crushed for our iniquities.

Surely He has borne our griefs;

From our sadness, brings relief.

Bore the stripes; forsaken, He,

So forgiven we might be.

We, like sheep, have gone astray,

Each of us turned his own way.

Jesus calls, “Repent today;

My commandments, now obey.”

Jesus said, to come to him,

We must die to all our sin.

Crucified with Him, we live,

Walking in His righteousness.

Suff’ring servants, we will be,

Taking His identity on us,

When confessing Him

As our Savior, Lord and King.

https://vimeo.com/115517757 

You're Always Near

With all of my heart, 

I praise You.

Before other gods,

I sing Your praise.

To You, I bow down

In worship.

Your unfailing love

Leads me always.

When I called to You, 

You listened.

Your answer to me

Strengthened my heart.

Your kindness to me

Assures me,

Of Your love for me

Right from the start.

May everyone sing

Of Jesus.

He pardoned our sins;

Gave us new life.

In trouble, I walk.

You’re near me.

Though enemies roar,

You keep my life.

You stretched out Your hand

To save me.

For my foes assail

What they won’t hear.

Your love so endures

Forever.

From us, not depart.

You’re always near.

Based off Psalm 138

An Original Work / April 5, 2018

If You Continue in the Faith

"And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister." (Colossians 1:21-23 ESV)

If we are of genuine God-given and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, then prior to us coming to faith in Christ we were once separate from him and unable in our own sinful flesh to be approved by him or to share in his righteousness and holiness. For we who were outside of genuine faith in Jesus Christ were considered to be his enemies because we were still living in sin, doing evil deeds, not living in obedience to our Lord in righteous living.

So, what else is this saying? It is saying that before we came to faith in Jesus Christ we were living in sin doing (practicing) evil deeds. So we were (past) doing (in conduct, in practice) what is wicked, sinful, corrupt, dishonest, and immoral in the eyes of God. So this is saying that once we come to faith in Christ we should no longer be doing evil deeds, in practice. It doesn’t mean we will never sin, but sin should not be our practice.

For by God-given and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified and buried with Christ in death to sin and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions. For we are slaves of the one whom we obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness, and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23; cf. Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-24; Titus 2:11-14).

By this faith we are reconciled to God, we are brought into fellowship with him, and the hostility we had against him, as his enemies, is thus removed from us. And now he is able to present us as holy, separate (unlike, different) from the world because by God’s grace we are now becoming like Jesus in character and in word and deed. And now we are living righteous, moral, upright and godly lives, by the grace of God, and no longer in sin. Now we are people of integrity no longer living in sin but now for the Lord.

And all of this is contingent on us continuing in the faith taught by Paul and by Jesus Christ and by the other NT apostles. And that is not the faith that is permeating the American church today. For neither Paul nor Jesus nor the other NT apostles taught that we can make a once-in-our-lifetime profession of faith in Jesus Christ, have all our sins forgiven, be on our way to heaven, and that nothing can take that away, even if we continue living in sin.

Jesus taught 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 lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity, but if for the sake of Christ we die to sin and live to righteousness, we will have eternal life by the grace of and in the power of God (see Luke 9:23-26). For if sin is what we practice, and if godliness, righteousness, and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God.

And the faith that Paul and Jesus Christ and the other NT apostles taught is divine persuasion of God, it is of God, it is gifted to us by God, it is not of our own doing, not of the will of man nor of the flesh of man. For we can’t even come to faith in Christ unless God the Father first persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to turn from our sin and to obey God. For biblical faith = obedience, and disobedience = unbelief.

[John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; Romans 1:18-32; Acts 26:18]

Our salvation from sin is not a one-time thing which takes place in our lives and now we are good to go to heaven when we die regardless of how we live. The gospel Paul taught dispels that notion completely. For Jesus Christ died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness and so we will no longer continue in deliberate and habitual sin. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, we will not inherit eternal life with God. So this is why this tells us that we must continue steadfast in the faith that Paul taught (in biblical context).

[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] 

If You Continue in The Faith

Video Talk

August 28, 2023

https://youtu.be/wSaDsOEVeNw 

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Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387

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

Walk While You Have the Light

“So Jesus said to them, ‘The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.’

“When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

“’Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,

    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?’

“Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,

“’He has blinded their eyes

    and hardened their heart,

lest they see with their eyes,

    and understand with their heart, and turn,

    and I would heal them.’” (John 12:35-40 ESV)

What is the message here for us today? For the Jews of that time period, they had Jesus with them only a little while longer and then he was to be put to death on a cross to die for our sins. For us today we have the Word of God in written form and we have the truth of the gospel that some people are still speaking, and we have Jesus Christ, in the person of the Holy Spirit, living within those who are his by faith in him, some of whom are bringing us the truth of the gospel, which is the light among us.

But we are presently moving closer and closer to the rule of the beast (of Revelation 13) when the truth of God’s word will be done away with, and the Lord’s messengers will be put to death for their testimonies for him, and when we who may still be on the earth will have to decide either to follow Jesus Christ with our lives, to the death, or to worship the beast, instead. So while we still have the light of Christ and of his gospel among us, we need to be those who are walking in that light in walks of obedience to our Lord.

Those who are presently rejecting the light of Christ and of the truth of his gospel message are those who are still in the darkness (in sin), and sin has overtaken them and taken them captive to do its will. And many are them who make professions of faith in Jesus Christ, too, but they have not bowed the knee to God to do his will, for they are still the lords of their own lives determining their own course, doing what their evil hearts desire. Even though many have heard the truth, they have chosen their sins, instead.

So, while we still have the light, we must walk in that light in walks of submission to Jesus as Lord, in surrender to his will and purpose for our lives. For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we refuse the light, and we hold on to our lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience, we have the hope of eternal life with God.

The problem is that many are believing a false gospel message which is telling them that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ is all that is required of them, and then, by God’s grace, they are now saved and on their way to heaven, end of story. And so they are not coming into the light, but they are remaining in the darkness. But if we walk in darkness (in sin) we will die in our sins, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. And your life could be snatched away at any moment and you end up in hell, not heaven.

What grieves me terribly about this whole thing is how so many professers of faith in Jesus Christ are rejecting the truth of the gospel (the light) and they are embracing a diluted half-truth (lie) gospel, instead, because it does not require death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands. And even though some or many of them have heard the truth, they are rejecting the truth in favor of the lies. And so when they die they are not going to heaven, as they had hoped, but they will spend eternity in hell.

For they have put their hands over their eyes so that they cannot see, and they have put their hands over their ears to stop them up so that they cannot hear, because they want to go their own way and not the way of the Lord. And so the Lord lets them go and he hands them over to do whatever their evil hearts desire (Romans 1:18-32). He allows for their eyes to be blinded and their ears deaf to the truth which could save them from their bondage to sin and give them eternal life with God. But it is their choice.

So, whatever show they were putting on for the benefit of others, to make others think that they were in a right relationship with the Lord, will be over, and the masquerade will be revealed for what it was/is. The dream world that they were living in, which was ruled by the flesh, will be exposed for what it was/is, and if they do not repent and turn to follow Jesus with their lives, they will die in their sins. And so this is a call to wake up from your slumber if you are still walking in sin, and now obey the Lord with your life.

For not one of us knows if we have tomorrow or even the rest of today.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

Wake Up!  

An Original Work / November 25, 2011

Based off Ephesians 5:1-21; Revelation 3:1-6

Wake up, sleeper, rise from the dead.

Your God awaits you to do what 

He says to you. 

Be not conformed to your selfish will.

Trust in the Lord. Do what He says. 

He will give you victory.

Do not walk in darkness; 

Come into the light of love.

Listen to your Savior calling

You to obey all His teachings.

Repent of your sin, and 

Christ will shine His love on you.

He waits patiently for you to

Heed His whispers to your heart.

Will you hasten to obey Him;

Not from Him depart?

Live your life from this day forward,

Walking in His love and mercy.

Let Him cleanse you of all your sins.

Dwell with Him today.

Do not insult God’s grace to you.

Do not make light of your sin.

Let the light of His truth come 

And free you from within.

https://vimeo.com/125863007 

Speaking the True Gospel

This is a continuation of the lesson from Acts 26:12-20 in the devotion titled, “Turning from Darkness to Light.” Paul was under arrest and was serving time in prison for his testimony for Jesus Christ and for his testimony of his salvation from sin, i.e. for the sake of the gospel message. And now he was standing before King Agrippa giving his own defense for why he did what he did, and for his belief in Jesus Christ, whom God had raised from the dead.

Paul spoke these words to King Agrippa:

“For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

And as he was saying these things in his defense, Festus said with a loud voice, “Paul, you are out of your mind; your great learning is driving you out of your mind.” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking true and rational words. For the king knows about these things, and to him I speak boldly. For I am persuaded that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this has not been done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” 

And Agrippa said to Paul, “In a short time would you persuade me to be a Christian?” And Paul said, “Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.” (Acts 26:21-29 ESV)

For what reason did the Jews seize Paul in the temple and try to kill him? Because he declared to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, “that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” Again, this is the essence of the gospel of our salvation. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died so that we would no longer walk in sin but now in obedience to our Lord.

And a day is coming soon when preaching the full gospel message of our salvation, as Paul did (in context), will now become a crime. It is already largely being rejected by the majority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ here in America. For they have been indoctrinated with lies coming from Scriptures taught out of context and made to say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. And so they have this notion that a profession of faith in Jesus secures them heaven regardless of how they live.

The predominant gospel message being taught in America today bypasses the need to turn from our sins (to forsake our sins, to die to sin) and to walk in obedience to our Lord, as required of God for genuine salvation from sin and for eternal life with God. And some (or many) of us who are teaching the necessity of biblical repentance, and of walks of obedience to our Lord, are already being ostracized, rejected, ignored, and fought against by those who have embraced an altered version of what Jesus taught us.

But from what I read in the news, and from what I have observed of the times in which we now live, I don’t believe it will be long before it will be a crime to teach the truth of what Jesus and his NT apostles taught. For we are headed in the direction of that rule of the Beast and of a one-world religion and a one world totalitarian regime, where those of us who hold to the truth of the gospel will be persecuted and martyred for our walks of faith and for our testimonies for Jesus Christ and for his gospel message.

But just like with Paul, we have the help that comes from God to endure unjust suffering for the sake of the gospel. We endure being hated and ostracized and thought crazy and called “legalists” and teachers of “works salvation.” We have the help from God to keep going, and to keep sharing the truth of the gospel, and to keep teaching what the Scriptures teach us with regard to what it means to believe in Jesus, i.e. to be one of his disciples (followers). And we do this because we love God and people.

It is not unusual nor unlikely that someone who takes the Lord seriously, and who takes his calling upon his life to heart, and so obeys the Lord in what to say to the people, and when, and where, and how much, that he or she might be referred to as “crazy” or “out of your mind.” For it is not normal in American culture today to have the dedication of Paul and the other apostles and of the prophets before them, and of Christ himself, to the teaching of the Word of God for the salvation of human souls from their bondage to sin.

And it is not unusual nor unlikely for someone with such dedication to be faced with much opposition and criticism and to be falsely accused of what he or she did not do or say. It happened to Jesus! And he said that if we follow him that it will happen to us, too, if we are doing and saying the kinds of things he did and said when he lived upon the earth. And we should expect to be opposed and made fun of and rejected, and that not all who hear what we share will respond in faith. But we still hold out hope.

And so we pray earnestly for the salvation of human lives from hell.

[John 8:31-32; John 10:27-30; John 14:15,21,23-24; John 15:1-11; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14,24; Romans 11:17-24; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 2:10-13; Titus 2:11-14; 2 Peter 1:5-11; Hebrews 3:6-15; Hebrews 5:9; 1 Peter 1:3-9; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6,15,24-25; 1 John 3:4-10,24; 1 John 4:19-20]

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-30 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263

Turning from Darkness to Light

The apostle Paul, before he became Paul, was Saul who was a persecutor and a murderer of Christians. He was a Pharisee of Pharisees according to the strictest party of his religion. But now he was a believer in Christ, and an apostle of Christ in bringing the truth of the gospel to both Jew and Gentile. And he was in prison for his testimony for Christ and for his gospel, and he was on trial because of his hope in the Christ, the promised seed of Abraham who was to come, and who did come to his people, namely Jesus the Christ.

And so he now stood before King Agrippa to give his own defense for his actions. And he shared with him his testimony of how he came to faith in Jesus Christ. 

The apostle Paul speaking to King Agrippa:

“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.’

“Therefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all the region of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” (Acts 26:12-20 ESV)

God can save anyone from his sins, if he is willing and obedient. It doesn’t matter what we have done in the past. If we repent (turn from) our sins, and we follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands, we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God, but provided that we continue in those walks of faith and obedience to our Lord unto the very end. See:

[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] 

Even if someone has resisted and has denied Jesus Christ his whole life, by his actions, yet he professes him with his lips, if he dies with Christ to sin and now walks in obedience to him in holy living, as a matter of practice, then he has salvation from sin and the hope of eternal life with God, even if it is at the very last minute before he dies. For none of us deserve God’s grace. All have sinned and have come up short of attaining God’s divine approval. Only by God’s grace can any of us have salvation and eternal life.

But that doesn’t mean that nothing is required of us. It is!

For what did Jesus say to Saul (Paul)? Well, first of all he asked him why he was persecuting the Lord. But how was Saul doing that? By persecuting the people of God, i.e. all those who by faith in Jesus Christ were crucified with Christ in death to sin, and who were 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. And they were those who were giving testimony to their faith in the Lord Jesus, which is why they were being persecuted and murdered.

And what next did he say to Saul (in this particular passage)? He told him to rise up and stand on his feet, for Jesus had a purpose for Paul’s life, which was to appoint him as a servant and as a witness to the things of God which Christ would reveal to him. For Jesus was sending him to his own people, the Jews, but also to the Gentiles (non-Jews) “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 26:18 ESV) This is the gospel message.

For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce (say ‘No!’ to) 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.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

[Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 3:23-25; Romans 5:1-2; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 2 Corinthians 6:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 6:24; Hebrews 10:26-31; Hebrews 12:12-17; 1 Peter 2:24]  

So, you see, God’s grace does not just forgive us our sins so that when we die we get to go to heaven. His grace delivers us from our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we will serve him with our lives in surrender to his will and purpose for our lives. God’s grace to us is so that we will turn from darkness (sin) to light (Jesus Christ, his gospel, truth, righteousness), and so we will turn from the power (control) Satan has over our lives, and so we will turn to God in repentance, submission, and obedience to him.

Then we will receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified (made holy) by faith (persuaded of God) in Jesus Christ, our Lord. But that faith = obedience, according to the Scriptures. For if we do not obey the Lord, but we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, then we will not have the hope of salvation from sin nor eternal life with God. So we must have a change of mind resulting in a change of behavior, and we must turn from our sins to now obey God, performing deeds in keeping with repentance. All glory to God! Only in his power, wisdom, and strength!

Teach Them  

An Original Work / May 24, 2012

Based off various scriptures

Open up the blinded eyes of

Those who walk in sin’s darkness.

Turn them to the light of Christ

And to His righteousness.

Turn them from the pow’r of Satan.

Turn them to the peace of Christ,

So they may receive forgiveness

And eternal life. 

Teach them to put off their old selves

And their former way of life,

And to put on their new self,

Reborn to be like Christ;

To not copy worldly customs;

Be transformed in life and mind;

Obey freely His word in them,

Pleasing unto God.

Teach them how to love their neighbors

Truly as they love themselves;

Be a witness; share the gospel;

Satan’s lies dispel;

Comfort all who mourn in sadness;

Share Christ’s love and joy today.

Do this through your life and witness

For your Lord always. 

https://vimeo.com/125485489

Proclaiming the Good News

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and he stood up to read. And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written,

“’The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,

    because he has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives

    and recovering of sight to the blind,

    to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.’

“And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them, ‘Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’” (Luke 4:16-21 ESV)

This passage of Scripture from Isaiah 61:1-2a is to be taken more on a spiritual level rather than on a physical level. Did Jesus heal the physically blind? He absolutely did! But the good news is not just for the physically poor. So this is speaking of the poor in spirit who are the ones who are receiving the truth of the gospel. They are those who have humbled themselves before God, who have repented of their sins, and who are now following our Lord Jesus in walks of obedience and surrender to his will.

And on a spiritual level, the blind are those who are blinded to the truth of the gospel, who are blinded by their own sins of rebellion against the Lord. Many of them know the truth of the gospel, and they have been shown the truth about God, by God, via his created works, so they are without excuse if they choose to go the way of the flesh and to keep on in their sins rather than to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ to now go where he sends them and to do what he has called them to do. So, they just shut out the truth.

They are those, too, who are living in captivity to sin by choice. Many of them are those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, too, who are living in sexual idolatry, in addiction to sin, who are unwilling to change course and to let the Spirit of God transform them in heart and mind and behavior. So they shut out God and his Word and they shut out of their minds their own spiritually depleted condition so that they can keep on in their willful and defiant sinful and deviant and utterly wicked (evil) practices (habits).

And the captives who need to be liberated are those who are captive to sin. And Jesus Christ, via his death on that cross, took upon himself the sins of the entire world so that, when he died our sins died with him, and when he was resurrected from the dead, he rose victorious over death, sin, Satan, and hell, and on our behalf. And this is so that, by God-persuaded faith in him, we now can die with him to sin and be reborn of the Spirit of God, and now walk (in conduct) in righteousness and in obedience to his commands.

For that is the “Good News” of the gospel of Christ (of our salvation). The good news is NOT that we can just give lip service to the Lord and then continue living in captivity (addiction, slavery) to sin while we claim Jesus as our Lord and Savior and heaven as our eternal destiny. Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. And he will cast off all who refused to obey him, who would not forsake their sins.

Jesus also taught that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow him in obedience to his commands. For if we hold on to our 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 surrender and in obedience to his commands, then we have the hope of eternal life with God. But if we persist in sin and thus we deny Christ and his word, when he returns he will deny us.

And then this last part about Jesus setting at liberty those who are oppressed, the word “oppressed” can have more than one meaning. But since he already talked about setting the captives (to sin) at liberty (free from their slavery to sin), I am going to suggest here that he is possibly speaking of those who do believe in him, who are serving him with their lives, who are being oppressed of the devil and of other humans who are persecuting them. He will give us his peace even in our suffering.

And the Lord’s favor is his grace, which comes from God, and which is bringing us salvation. This grace 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.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 3:23-25; Romans 5:1-2; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 2 Corinthians 6:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Ephesians 6:24; Hebrews 10:26-31; Hebrews 12:12-17; 1 Peter 2:24]  

Fit for Service 

 

An Original Work / October 5, 2011

Holy Spirit, come within us.

Cleanse our hearts, 

and from sin free us.

Make us holy vessels fit 

for service to the King.

Fill us with Your love and power.

Anoint us within this hour

To be living witnesses 

For Jesus Christ, our King.

Our praise to Him bring.

Father God, our heart’s desire,

Come and speak to us in power.

Revive our hearts to obey You;

Live for You always.

May we love and serve You only,

Walking with You; 

Not a phony.

May we always tell the truth,

And show integrity.

Your true servants be.

Jesus, Savior, sanctify us.

Purify our hearts within us;

Be transformed into Your likeness,

Holy unto You.

May we always listen to You

Speaking Your words 

Now within us.

May we heed Your counsel to us;

Follow You today.

Do all that You say. 

https://vimeo.com/113979906

Who's Refining?

Drummers drumming. Singers humming.

Look to God, for soon He’s coming.

Nailers twisting. Snakers glistening.

Gospel told. Is no one listening?

Trappers trapping. Biters snapping.

Pay attention. See what’s happening.

Miners dining. Who’s refining?

Barely no one. God’s opining.

An Original Work / September 21, 2020

Deceitful Workmen in Disguise

“And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.” (2 Corinthians 11:12-15 ESV)

This is Paul speaking of what was taking place in his time period, but this is happening today here in America on a very large scale. For we have many men claiming to be apostles of God or pastors (shepherds) of our Lord’s sheep, or preachers and teachers of the Scriptures and of the gospel of Christ who are boasting that their mission is on the same biblical terms as that of the NT apostles, but it isn’t. For they are not teaching the same truth the apostles taught, or they are teaching only a half-truth gospel.

Now, I am 75 years old, and I was raised up as a child attending church gatherings, and I have lived in 5 states and 10 cities in the USA, and my family and I have attended many different gatherings of what is called “church” from multiple church denominations, so I have heard many preachers preaching over those 75 years. Also I have listened to many preachers preaching on the internet from various church denominations and cities and states, so I am speaking from some experience here.

And what I have noticed is that not many of these preachers are teaching the full gospel message, but most seem to be teaching a half-truth and/or very diluted and altered gospel message which is deceiving many people into accepting lies as truth and into rejecting the truth as though it is the lie. For although they claim to be teaching the truth, and some of them are teaching more truth than others, not many, if any that I have heard preach, are teaching the whole message of the gospel.

For what did Jesus teach? He taught that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) Jesus. For if we try to save our own lives, i.e. if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives, i.e. if we die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, then we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26; cf. Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24; Titus 2:11-14).

That is the essence of the gospel message, that because Jesus died for our sins and he put them to death with him, and he rose from the grave, it was so that we will now die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died so we would no longer be enslaved to sin but to God and to his righteousness. He died so we would now live for him and no longer for ourselves, and he shed his blood to buy us back for God out of our lives of sin so we would now honor God with our bodies.

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

Then we have all these Scriptures which warn those of us who claim to believe in Christ that if we walk in sin, and if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and holiness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice that we will not inherit eternal life with God, but we will die in our sins. And these Scriptures tell us that we are liars if we say we are in fellowship with God or if we say we know God, but we are still walking in sin and not in obedience to our Lord, and not in holy living.

So, just because someone calls himself an apostle of Christ, or a pastor of God’s sheep, or a teacher of the Scriptures, it doesn’t mean that what he is teaching you is the truth, even if he teaches half the truth. For the full gospel message lets us know not only that we must die to sin and walk in obedience to our Lord in holy living, in practice, but that if we don’t do that, and we continue living in deliberate and habitual sin, that we will not inherit eternal life with God. So, please know the truth and follow the truth.

[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] 

Deceitful Workmen in Disguise

Video Talk

August 16, 2023

https://youtu.be/fmbQfcjdT-I 

Caution: This link may contain ads

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263 

Renouncing Ungodliness and Worldly Passions

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who 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 2:11-14 ESV)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV)

So many people today are teaching God’s grace as merely forgiveness of all sins with a promise of heaven when you die, absent of all works, including the works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them (in conduct, in practice), and including the renouncement of all sinful practices, but with the new practice of living self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return. For many are teaching that God makes no requirements at all of his followers other than a cursory profession of faith.

But as these two passages of Scripture prove to us, and not these alone, what so many are teaching today as God’s grace is just a free license to continue living in sin absent of any feelings of guilt. And many are teaching that if you begin to feel guilty because you are deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord, then you are to just “claim who you are in Christ.” And then they provide a list of “who you are in Christ,” some or most is biblical, but perhaps not all, but it is not being used in a biblical manner.

For the Scriptures are clear on what it means to be “in Christ.” It means repentance and faith in Christ Jesus resulting in righteousness and self-control. 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 as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We are dead to sin and alive to God. It is obedience to Christ leading to righteousness. We are set free from the law of sin and death and we walk according to the Spirit, not by the flesh.

Our minds are set on God’s Spirit. We no longer live according to the flesh. By the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh. We no longer live for self, but for Jesus Christ. The old us is dead and gone and the new us has come to life by the Spirit. The old us is crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are now God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works. Sin is no longer our practice. Righteousness and obedience to our Lord are our practice. For Jesus saved us to a holy calling, set apart for him.

In Christ: [Ac 20:20-21; Ac 24:24-25; Rom 6:3-7,11,16; Rom 8:1-17; 2 Co 5:14-17; Gal 2:20; Gal 5:6,16-21; Eph 1:1-12; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:20-24; Eph 5:3-6; Php 1:29; Php 2:5-8; Col 2:11; 2 Tim 1:9; etc.]

Therefore, God’s grace to us is not free license to continue living in sin without feelings of guilt. His grace, which is bringing salvation for all people, is training us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions (desires), and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age while we await our Lord’s return. God’s grace frees us from our enslavement to sin so that we can now live for God in walks of surrender to him and in obedience to his commands, and no longer in sin. Our desire is now for Him.

For Jesus Christ gave himself up for us on that cross to buy us back for God, i.e. 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 God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (in conduct, in practice). So our salvation from sin is not absent of works. It is absent of the works of the flesh and the works of our own creation. But we are created in Christ Jesus for good works which are the works God prepared for us to walk in them.

Biblical Teachings on Works

[Tit 2:11-14; Eph 2:8-10; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 2:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 2 Co 9:8; Gal 5:6,16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Phil 2:12-13; Col 1:9-14; 2 Thess 1:11-12; 2 Tim 2:21; Tit 3:8; Jas 2:17; 1 Pet 1:17-21; 1 Peter 2:24; Rev 2:1-29; Rev 3:1-22] 

So, if we are those who truly love God and who are called of God and who are in fellowship with the Lord, we will not be those who are living in deliberate and habitual sin against our Lord and not in walks of obedience to his commands. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to our Lord and to his commands, then the Scriptures teach that we will not inherit eternal life with God, but we will die in our sins. Heaven will not be our eternal destiny, but it will be hell, instead.

And this is regardless of what we profess with our lips. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God the Father. And many will stand before God on the day of judgment professing him as Lord, but they will hear Jesus say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” for they did not obey the Lord. They continued in their sinful practices convinced Jesus would still let them into his heaven.

So, don’t be like them. Believe what Jesus and his NT apostles taught us regarding what biblical faith looks like, for it is proven by what we do in practice. For biblical faith = obedience, and disobedience = unbelief. It is what Jesus and his NT apostles taught, which we can learn about if we read the Scriptures in their full context, and if we do not rely on Scriptures taught out of context to secure what we believe and put into practice. So be students of the Scriptures who put into practice what they teach in context.

[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Ac 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; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

My Jesus, I Love Thee

Hymn lyrics by William R. Featherstone, 1864

Music by Adoniram J. Gordon, 1876

My Jesus, I love thee, I know thou art mine;

For thee all the follies of sin I resign.

My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art thou;

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I love thee because thou hast first loved me,

And purchased my pardon on Calvary's tree;

I love thee for wearing the thorns on thy brow;

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,

And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;

And say, when the death-dew lies cold on my brow,

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight;

I'll ever adore thee in heaven so bright;

I'll sing with the glittering crown on my brow;

If ever I loved thee, my Jesus, 'tis now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHrF4_1r-qA 

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What Faith Looks Like

If it Dies, it Bears Much Fruit

“And Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.’” (John 12:23-26 ESV; cf. Luke 9:23-26)

Jesus Christ is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And he was with God from the beginning, and he is our creator God, the giver of life – both physical life and eternal life in him (via God-persuaded faith in the Lord Jesus). But he left his throne in heaven, came to earth, was born as a baby to a human mother, but was conceived of the Holy Spirit. So when he lived on the earth he was fully man and yet fully God (God incarnate, in the flesh). And he came to save us from our sins.

But the majority of his people turned against him and refused to believe in him. And many of them plotted and carried out his death via the governing officials. But in his death he became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. He died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. So by faith in him we are crucified with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him now to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to righteousness.

And this is what this passage of Scripture in John 12 is talking about. This is the essence of the gospel message that Jesus was giving to those who were seeking him. If we are to believe in Jesus Christ with genuine faith which saves us from our sins, and which promises us eternal life with God, we must first of all die with Christ to sin, but not just once, but daily. And then we can walk in holiness and in righteousness, in walks of obedience to our Lord, and thus bear much spiritual fruit for the kingdom of God.

So all those people who are telling you that all you have to do is to give a verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now all your sins are forgiven, and you are on your way to heaven, but without telling you that you must first die with Christ to sin, and then you must, by his grace, walk in obedience to his commands, they are not telling you the truth. It may sound good to the ear and to the flesh, but it is not good if all we do is give lip service to God but then we continue living in sin and not in obedience.

For if we love our lives (in the flesh), and so we hold on to living in sin and for self, then we are going to lose our lives for eternity. But if we hate the sinful lifestyles we have in the flesh, and so we give up our sins to now follow Jesus in obedience to his commands, then we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And to believe in Jesus is to follow him where he leads. It is to serve him with our lives. But that requires that we obey him. And we must continue steadfast in this faith until the very end.

[Isaiah 53:1-12; Matt 7:21-23; Matt 26:26-29; Lu 9:23-26; Lu 17:25; Jn 1:1-36; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:24,58; Jn 10:27-33; Jn 20:28-29; Rom 5:8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 9:5; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 11:23-32; 1 Co 15:1-8; 2 Co 5:15,21; Eph 4:17-24; Php 2:5-11; Col 2:9; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 1:8-9; Heb 2:14-15; Heb 4:15; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; 1 John 3:4-10]  

Breath Of Heaven (Mary's Song)

Songwriters: Amy Lee Grant / Chris Eaton

I have traveled many moonless nights

Cold and weary with a babe inside

And I wonder what I've done

Holy father you have come

And chosen me now to carry your son

I am waiting in a silent prayer

I am frightened by the load I bear

In a world as cold as stone

Must I walk this path alone?

Be with me now

Be with me now

Breath of heaven

Hold me together

Be forever near me

Breath of heaven

Breath of heaven

Lighten my darkness

Pour over me your holiness

For you are holy

Breath of heaven

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6VGVXjGLBQ

Caution: This link may contain ads

What's Your Thinking?

Teaming, steaming, idols gleaming,

Whirlwind, whirlwind, what’s your thinking?

Soap box! Soap box! All are actors.

Truthing, lying are the factors.

Myst’ry! Myst’ry! All is a ruse.

True objective is to confuse.

Pageant! Pageant! All are on stage,

Hoping we’ll turn the foll’wing page.

Captive! Captive! Take them alive!

We will see who will now survive.

Wake up! Wake up! Now is the call

So, from your faith you do not fall.

An Original Work / July 10, 2020

He Will Say, "Here I Am"

Isaiah 58:1-11 ESV

“Cry aloud; do not hold back;

    lift up your voice like a trumpet;

declare to my people their transgression,

    to the house of Jacob their sins.

Yet they seek me daily

    and delight to know my ways,

as if they were a nation that did righteousness

    and did not forsake the judgment of their God;

they ask of me righteous judgments;

    they delight to draw near to God.” (Isaiah 58:1-2 ESV)

There are many people today professing faith in Jesus Christ who are just going through the motions of religious practice but whose hearts are not surrendered to Jesus Christ. They do “religious” things, hoping to be approved by God, while they are still living wicked and evil lives in open and deliberate rebellion against the Lord. But they know they are doing evil, yet they go through religious practices desiring that God will approve them even though they are not living in submission to his will for their lives.

“‘Why have we fasted, and you see it not?

    Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?’

Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,

    and oppress all your workers.

Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight

    and to hit with a wicked fist.

Fasting like yours this day

    will not make your voice to be heard on high.

Is such the fast that I choose,

    a day for a person to humble himself?

Is it to bow down his head like a reed,

    and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?

Will you call this a fast,

    and a day acceptable to the Lord?” (Isaiah 58:3-5 ESV)

So, they are religious people, who make a practice of religion, at least to a point, or in some specific areas. Yet while they honor God with their lips, they deny him by their practices, for their hearts are far from him. For their religion is based on a bunch of rules of human origin, and their lives are not really surrendered to Jesus Christ in walks of obedience and in godly, holy, and righteous living. So they expect God to approve them based off their own human effort even though they are still living in sin.

And so the Lord is honest and direct with them. The Lord does not acknowledge their fasting as something they are doing out of obedience to him because while they look religious on the outside they seek their own pleasure and they mistreat other humans with unfair treatment. They are wicked and cruel and abusive people while putting on a show of righteousness outwardly for others to see and to acknowledge. But the Lord doesn’t look on the outside. He looks at what is in our hearts.

“Is not this the fast that I choose:

    to loose the bonds of wickedness,

    to undo the straps of the yoke,

to let the oppressed go free,

    and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry

    and bring the homeless poor into your house;

when you see the naked, to cover him,

    and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?

Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,

    and your healing shall spring up speedily;

your righteousness shall go before you;

    the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.” (Isaiah 58:6-8 ESV)

So, what is the Lord looking for in us? What is his desire for our lives? It is that we forsake our lives of living in sin and for self and that we now follow him in walks of obedience to his commands (New Covenant) in holy living. And it is that we love God with our whole being and that we love the people of this world and the people of God with the love of God which gives our lives to other people to see them walk in holiness and in righteousness in obedient walks of faith, and that we provide for their true needs.

But just know that just because you may be someone who is generous and who helps feed the hungry and provide for the needy and donate clothing for those who have none, it doesn’t mean at all that you are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ and that you have died with Christ to sin and that you are now living to him and to his righteousness, in his power and strength. For there are many “good deed doers” in this world of ours who have absolutely no relationship with Jesus Christ at all.

So, “good deed doing” alone is not your ticket into heaven. For we have to walk by faith. And doing the good deeds of God he prepared in advance is part of that walk of faith, but not all of it. For we have to surrender our lives to Christ, forsake our lives of living in sin and for self, and now follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands (New Covenant) – all because of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins and in the power of God. And then we will be regarded as righteous and godly and as those of genuine faith in Jesus Christ. We will be healed spiritually and we will walk righteously, by God’s grace.

“Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;

    you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you take away the yoke from your midst,

    the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

if you pour yourself out for the hungry

    and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,

then shall your light rise in the darkness

    and your gloom be as the noonday.

And the Lord will guide you continually

    and satisfy your desire in scorched places

    and make your bones strong;

and you shall be like a watered garden,

    like a spring of water,

    whose waters do not fail.” (Isaiah 58:9-11 ESV)

When our lives are now surrendered to Jesus Christ, to do his will, and we are no longer just performing for an audience out of our own flesh, to look religious in front of others, but we now have humbled ourselves before God, and we have died with him to sin, and we are now living godly and righteous lives, in his strength and power, then when we call on the Lord, he will answer us with, “Here I Am.” Amen! Hallelujah! 

But then we are reminded again of what that looks like. We have to cease from living wickedly and doing evil to others and deliberately and habitually sinning against God. And we have to be those who are loving God with our whole being, in practice, and progressively, who are also loving other humans with the love of God and who are doing good to them and for them. Then it will be obvious that our lives are surrendered to Christ to do his will, and our Lord will continually guide us in the way that we should go.

He Will Say, Here I Am

Video Talk

July 22, 2023

https://youtu.be/ipt3Mvw-oiM

Caution: This link may contain ads

Seek the Lord  

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him. 

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you, 

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

https://vimeo.com/379408296

Fully Ready

An Original Work / June 19, 2013

Based off Acts 20-22,26; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8

Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?

I’m fully ready to suffer for Christ.

If I must die for the sake of His name,

I am convinced it will not be in vain.

Glory to God and to His Son Jesus,

Who has redeemed us; bought with His blood.

May I speak to you? Jesus came to me;

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

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

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

I have appointed you as a servant,

And as a witness; you have been sent.”

“Go into the world and preach the gospel.

Open the blind eyes. They will receive sight.

Turn them from darkness to the light of Christ;

From power of the evil one to God,

So they may receive forgiveness of sins,

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

https://vimeo.com/115439432 

The Abominable Practices of The Nations

“When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.

“The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brothers—it is to him you shall listen— just as you desired of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly, when you said, ‘Let me not hear again the voice of the Lord my God or see this great fire any more, lest I die.’ And the Lord said to me, ‘They are right in what they have spoken. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. And I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. And whoever will not listen to my words that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him.” (Deuteronomy 18:9-19 ESV)

Now these were God’s instructions to his people of old at a specific time in their history, but much of what is expressed here is repeated for us in the New Testament under the New Covenant which God now has with his people Israel (both Jew and Gentile by genuine faith in Jesus Christ), although not in these exact same words, but with the same general meaning. Such as, for instance, ours is not a physical piece of land, but we are a spiritual nation of people across the entire globe. So for us, this is about us coming to faith in Jesus Christ and about what is expected of us as followers of Jesus Christ.

As we come to genuine faith in Jesus Christ, and thus we are on the path of righteous and holy living and of obedience to our Lord in the forsaking of our sins and in doing what he commands us to do, we are no longer to take on the character of this sinful world. But we are to be different from the world, for now we are to being conformed to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, via our cooperation with God’s work of grace in our lives. We must still live in the world, and we are to love the people of the world and to share with them the gospel, but we are not to be like them.

Sadly, though, so much of what is called “church” today, at least here in America, has become one with the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings, so it is barely distinguishable these days between the church and the world. And so many have accepted an ecumenical diluted and altered gospel message which is just leading the way to a one world religion, which appears to be mainly directed toward the blending of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam (Muslims) into one. So pay attention closely to what your leaders are saying who are claiming to believe in Jesus. Many are quite liberal.

But we who believe in Jesus with God-persuaded faith in him are not to learn and to take on the abominable customs and practices of the world. We are not supposed to be like the world to win the world. We are to be like Jesus in order to win the world to faith in Jesus Christ. And this requires that we are 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 to live as slaves to God and to his righteousness. We are to deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience if we want to be his disciples (followers).

[Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26; Ephesians 4:17-32; Titus 2:11-14]

So, be very careful who you are listening to, and from whom you are getting your “truth,” for liars and manipulators of truth abound even within the gatherings of the church (or the false market-driven church). Many preachers are just following what they are taught in their marketing training on how to grow their churches in numbers, and so they are busy trying to figure out how to best market their churches to the people of the world so that the people of the world will come to their gatherings, and so that they will want to come back, which is why they dilute the gospel message.

Make sure that you are listening to what the Scriptures teach (IN CONTEXT), for so many half-truths (lies) are being taught by teaching the Scriptures out of their context to make them say what they do not say if taught in context. Read the words of Jesus and of his NT apostles in their appropriate context, comparing Scripture with Scripture, which must agree with each other. Don’t rely on the words of other humans to tell you the truth (in whole), and don’t rely on memes and short videos, many of which distort and dilute the gospel message and teach the Word of God out of context in order to deceive.

Deny self and die to sin daily, and keep following the Lord in obedience so that you are not taken captive by the empty philosophies of this sinful world. For we are headed toward this rule of the beast (Revelation 13) and toward a one world religion which is a blending of religions and their beliefs and practices. We are headed in the direction of this One World Beastly Order which will force compliance of all people to this one world order of government and of religion. And we are headed in the direction of God’s judgements on his rebellious and adulterous people, too. So wake up!!

[Matthew 24:1-51; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18; 1 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 2 Peter 3:1-18; 1 John 2:18-25; Jude 1:17-23; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22; Revelation 6:9-14; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13; Revelation 18:1-24; Revelation 19:1-21; Revelation 20:1-15; Revelation 21:1-27, etc.] 

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

Something to consider prayerfully: 

https://www.globalresearch.ca/nothing-changes-new-year-day-lies-devastators/5875998