Unless You Are Born Again

Jesus told Nicodemus that no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again. When Nicodemus questioned how this could be done, Jesus answered him that people are born of the flesh when they are born from their mother’s wombs, but they must each also have a spiritual birth if they want to have eternal life with God. In other words, we must be reborn, not physically, but spiritually. Still Nicodemus did not understand, yet it was not for lack of knowledge. He knew the scriptures, and he taught the scriptures, yet he chose not to accept what he heard, i.e. he chose not to believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah.

God the Father gave his Son Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Whoever believes in him will not perish, but will have eternal life. “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already.” And, this is the verdict of the trial in God’s heavenly court: Jesus Christ, the Light, came into the world to save sinners, but people loved darkness instead of the Light because their deeds were evil. Those who practice evil hate the Light, and will not come into the Light for fear that their evil deeds will be exposed. But, whoever lives by the truth comes to the Light, “so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out by God.”

Unless You Are Born Again

An Original Work / November 3, 2013

Based off John 3:1-21

Nicodemus came to Jesus.

He acknowledged God was with Him.

Jesus said, “You can’t see heaven

Unless you are born again.”

“How can a man be born when he’s old?

Can he enter into his mother’s womb?”

Jesus answered, “Flesh is flesh,

So of the Spirit, you must be.”

Jesus said to Nicodemus,

“You’re a teacher, and yet you don’t

Understand of what I tell you,

Because you will not believe.

“For God so loved the world that He gave

His one and His only Son for your sin.

So, whoever believes in Him

Has eternal life in heav’n.

“Light has come into the world,

But human beings love the darkness,

Because their deeds are so evil,

So in truth, they stand condemned.

“Everyone who practices evil

Fears that the Light will expose his sin.

Yet, whoever lives his life by the Light

Does so through his God.”

http://youtu.be/mcEApwZjhtQ

http://originalworks.info/unless-you-are-born-again/

Are We Being Careful?

Monday, November 04, 2013, 8:20 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Myopic” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Ephesians 4:25-5:20 (NIV).

When we come to true faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, it means that we put off our old lives of living for self and sin, which were being corrupted by their deceitful desires, we are made new in the attitude of our minds, and we put on our new lives in Christ Jesus, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness – all because of God’s grace in providing the blood sacrifice for our sins through Christ, and because of the working of the Spirit of God in our lives in transforming us into new creatures in Christ Jesus, as we cooperate fully with that work, by faith, in submission and surrender to Christ (See Eph. 4:17-24; cf. Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6; 1 John; Gal. 2:20; book of James, et al).

No Foothold

Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Anyone who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing something useful with their own hands, that they may have something to share with those in need.

Therefore, because Jesus Christ died on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world so that we could go free from slavery to sin, free from eternal punishment in hell, and free to walk in Christ’s righteousness and holiness – all in the power and working of the Spirit within us – and because he rose again, conquering death, hell, Satan and sin, we should live like we say we believe. In other words, salvation is not positional only, i.e. it is not just our get-out-of-jail free card or our free ticket to heaven. Salvation is freedom from slavery to sin day-to-day, and it is freedom to daily walk in Christ’s righteousness (see Gal. 5:16; Eph. 5:2; Col. 3:7; 1 Jn. 1:6-7; 2 Jn. 1:6; 3 Jn. 1:4; Rev. 3:4). Amen!

The Christian life must be lived out by faith and in the power of the Spirit within us day by day. Daily we must die to sin and self, resist Satan, flee temptation and draw near to God in full assurance of faith. Daily we must put on the armor of God with which to fight off the devil’s schemes which come against us. Jesus Christ won this battle for us, so daily we surrender to him, we yield control of our lives over to him, and we allow his Spirit to work his will in our hearts and lives, submitting to the cross. We willingly choose to cease telling lies, and instead we tell the truth. This is the spirit of transformation which the Spirit of God works in our hearts as we yield control of our lives to God daily. We can’t just stop doing bad things in our own strength and willpower, because eventually we will return to our vomit. The old was replaced with the new at the cross and at our conversion, so daily we must allow this life of transformation to work its will in our lives by putting off what once enslaved us, and by putting on the things of God, allowing the Spirit to do his work.

Be Beneficial

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

When we think of unwholesome talk, what comes to mind? I think we naturally think of people cursing or telling off-color jokes or being downright nasty to each other on purpose, with no thought to how our words might hurt another. Yet, “wholesome” merely means health-giving, beneficial, honest, sensible, and the like. So, “unwholesome” would thus be anything that is not beneficial, that is not truthful, and/or that is not health-giving. So, we should cease with talk that is untruthful and/or which provides nothing of benefit to those who listen or that is senseless, and we should instead talk about things which will help others to mature in their walks with the Lord and to live godly and holy lives, or that will add some benefit to their lives in some way according to their true needs (not their selfish desires). So, how do we do in this? How much of what we talk about is either not honest (perhaps false flattery), has no benefit whatsoever to our listeners, and does not touch on their true needs at all? I believe we should all examine what comes out of our mouths and see how much of what we say is just pure junk, and we should commit our mouths to speaking what benefits others instead.

Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

No Hint

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them.

To hint something can mean to suggest something indirectly (Encarta). This can be done purposefully or it can be done without any forethought whatsoever. If you have ever watched secular movies, which I watched plenty in my lifetime, but no more, oftentimes the actors in the plays do not do something outright where you can see it, but they just hint to it being done, which can be just as seductive, if not more. And, oftentimes Christians will excuse these scenes because, after all, you really didn’t see anything. Yet, that is the lie. What we may not have seen with our physical eyes, we could still see and feel with our imaginations and emotions, and even the hint of it can still have the same effect on us.

Well, that is the danger here. Sometimes we can excuse away certain behaviors because we feel as though we didn’t actually do the bad thing, like a movie that has just a few bad scenes in it, and so we allow the whole in our minds and hearts. Yet, we know in our hearts that we are playing with fire, or that we are not as innocent as we would like people to believe. A hint can also be a very small amount of something, so small that it is barely noticed, yet even the smallest amount of immorality is still immorality. Don’t be fooled!

As Light

For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth) and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. It is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,

    rise from the dead,

    and Christ will shine on you.”

The problem here, as I see it, is that what is being taught and modeled to us in most modern church congregations in America is a diluted gospel, i.e. one which does not teach death to our old lives of sin and new birth to new lives in Christ, walking in his righteousness. So many have reduced our salvation to just a choice between eternity in hell or in heaven, and to a decision to merely choose heaven over hell, if hell is even mentioned at all, which it may not be. “Faith” is not even explained, in most cases, and so one is left feeling that a mere intellectual belief or emotional decision to choose Jesus and heaven guarantees eternity in heaven for them, even absent of a true heart transformation from darkness to light. We are taught that repentance and obedience are not required and that God is pleased with us no matter what we do, and so many believe they are saved when a true darkness (life of sin/Satan) to light (salvation/God) transformation never happened.

So, first of all, we need to have our eyes opened to the true gospel of salvation, and we need to be turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so we can receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are being sanctified and made holy in Christ Jesus (See Ac. 26:16-18). And, then we need to daily walk (in lifestyle) in that light (truth, goodness and righteousness), and we need to find out what pleases the Lord and do it – all in the power and working of the Spirit of God within us as we yield to the working of the Spirit by faith, and not in our own flesh. We should have NOTHING TO DO with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather we should EXPOSE THEM. This means we need to do a careful, prayerful and thoughtful examination of every aspect of our lives, and we need to ask the Holy Spirit of God to reveal to us those areas in our lives where we are participating in even the smallest amount of the fruitless deeds of darkness. Then, we need to obey the Spirit, do what he tells us to do, and we need to expose those fruitless deeds of darkness for what they are so that our brothers and sisters in Christ are not led astray.

Be Filled

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In the original language, this really says “Be ye being filled with the Spirit.” In other words, daily as we put off these fruitless deeds of darkness, and we yield control of our lives over to the Spirit of God within us, and we find out what pleases the Lord, and we do it, all in the power and working of the Spirit within us, we are daily being filled with the Spirit of God. Amen! We should be ever aware that the days are evil, and thus we should be so careful (not careless) in the way we live our lives. Our lives should not be out of control, but should be under the direction of the Holy Spirit of God. And, instead of having come out of our mouths what is senseless, useless and which serves no benefit, we should be sharing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with one another, to encourage and strengthen one another in our faith and in our walks of faith with Jesus Christ day by day. Amen!

Myopic / An Original Work / August 19, 2013

Based off 2 Peter 1:3-11

Jesus has given ev’rything

Needed for life and godliness.

His great and precious promises

Free us from our sin and distress.

Add to your faith His goodness;

Knowledge; patience; godliness;

Brotherly love and mutu’l affection;

Kindness and unselfishness.

If you possess these qualities,

Growing in your maturity,

They will keep you from vanity.

You will bear fruit effectually.

Nonetheless, if you lack them;

Forget you’ve been cleansed from sin,

Nearsighted are you; you can’t see Jesus.

You have closed your heart to Him.

Therefore, beloved, confirm, then,

Your calling and your election.

Do this by showing diligence:

Obey your Lord; be repentant.

Practice all these qualities

God provided on a tree.

He died for our sins so we’d be given

Life with Him eternally.

http://originalworks.info/myopic/

No Longer Live

Sunday, November 03, 2013, 9:02 p.m. – I didn’t really have alone time with the Lord Jesus this morning because I spent that time with my husband. We were talking together about lots of different things. I spent most of the day doing things with him, in fact. One of the things we did was to listen to a book on audio, which was written by a Christian author on the subject of discovering God’s will for our lives. We also went out to breakfast.

The Breakdown

After we ordered our food at the restaurant, I sat at a table and just looked around at the other people in the restaurant while my husband was waiting to collect up our food. I saw a man alone at one table with his laptop plugged into the wall. He was busy looking at something on there. At the table next to him was a boy of maybe 10 years old. He was playing with a Smart Phone. He was alone until his parents got the food and they sat down to eat with him. At another table sat a teenage girl and a young boy who was, perhaps, her little brother. They were both plugged in to electronic devices. They both appeared to have Smart Phones and they were listening to something. At another table were two men sitting across the table from each other. I think they were both busy with electronic tablets (like IPads) and/or with Smart Phones. As well, there was a TV playing in the room.

My first thought was about how the popularity of these electronic devices, including TV and home computers, has contributed to the breakdown of communication between or among people. Many families in America have the TV on during all waking hours or at least during primetime evening hours. Many eat their meals together around the TV set and so they don’t talk to each other. Then, with the introduction of the home computer, there was yet another electronic device to steal time away from marriages and families and that also introduced the potential for pornography addiction to be taken to another level, as the internet is now available in most American homes 24/7. And, then with the tablets and the Smart Phones, now private internet access is available at our fingertips, and is even handed to young children at alarming rates. Maybe some parents are able to monitor what their children do on these Smart Phones and tablets, but private access to children 24/7 who know much more about computers than we do is just plain stupid, and dangerous for young minds. So, I began talking with the Lord about all of this while I waited for my food.

Like the World

Then, I thought about why it is bad to invite the world into the church. I am not speaking of it being bad to invite people to faith in Jesus Christ, which then ushers them into the body of Christ, but why it is bad for believers in Christ to invite the people of the world (the unsaved) into fellowship with the body of believers while they are still in their unregenerate state. We are taught in scripture to come out from the world and to be separate. We are still to live in the world, and we are to be lights to the world for the gospel of Jesus Christ, but we are not to have intimate relationships and close fellowship with the people of the world because there is no fellowship between light and darkness. So, when we invite the people of the world into our times of worship and fellowship, we are inviting those worldly influences into the church, as well. All throughout Biblical history God warned his children not to intermingle with the people of the world lest they begin to adopt their customs. And, now the church in America has become so much like the world that it is barely distinguishable between the church and the world anymore, and thus the church is on a moral and spiritual decline, not unlike some of the churches mentioned in Rev. 2-3.

If the church is so much like the world, and they are involved in so many of the same things as the world, including sinful practices of all kinds, and they are just as distracted with all these electronic devices as the people of the world, then who is out there reaching people for Jesus Christ with the gospel of salvation? And, then why are we surprised when we see our nation and our government going down the toilet? The answer is not in getting a better person in public office, either. The answer for what ails this nation of ours and for what ails the church in this nation is the Lord Jesus Christ and us fully surrendered to him, being who he has called us to be and doing what he has called us to do. I believe America is on a path to destruction because the church in America is falling down on the job. This is not a call for civic action or for political participation, though, because human beings in public office are not our hope. This is a call for revival in the church and for the church to rise up and to remember what our salvation is all about and who and what God has called us to be.

Become Mature

So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, and they are full of greed.

That, however, is not the way of life you learned when you heard about Christ and were taught in him in accordance with the truth that is in Jesus. You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. ~ Ephesians 4:11-24 (NIV)

We need spiritual leaders in our churches who will truly disciple the body of Christ, and who will spiritually equip them to do the will of God and the works of service to which God has called them to do. We are not on this earth to please ourselves, to be entertained 24/7, and to be self-absorbed and self-consumed with little time left over for God and for his work. We need to be fully surrendered to our Lord Jesus Christ, ready, available, willing and spiritually equipped to do his work and will within the body of Christ in ministering his grace to each other in its various forms, and also in going out into the world to make disciples of Christ of people of all nations. We need to encourage one another and help strengthen one another in the faith so that we will go out and share Christ with the people of the world, and so we will live godly and holy lives in the power of the Spirit working within us. Then we can help one another to mature in Christ and to no longer behave like spiritual infants being tossed back and forth by so many distractions and by the call of sin, and to no longer be drawn to follow after various popular winds of teaching that look good, sound good, but are not good.

There are so many lies, manipulations and deceitful practices being disguised as truth within the church today, and so many people are being led astray by these feel-good approaches to Christianity. There are so many church leaders today who are saying what people’s itching ears want to hear, and people are buying it by the masses because it feels good. Yet, we need to speak the truth, even if it is not as fine-sounding, smooth and comfortable as the lies, and even if it gets us hated and rejected in return. We have to love people enough to tell them the truth in love so that they are not led astray by those who would lie to them and deceive them. There are not many ways to heaven. Jesus is the only way. Not everyone has God inside them, only those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. We are not supposed to be tolerant of what the Bible defines as sin, but we are to no longer live the way we did before we accepted Christ as Savior. Not every good person is going to heaven, only those who have been crucified with Christ to their old lives of living for sin and self, who have been made new in the attitude of their minds and who have put on their new lives in Christ created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness - by submitting to the Spirit of God and his work of regeneration in our lives.

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer / Thomas O. Chisholm / W. J. Kirkpatrick

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

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

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! Lord, I am coming

Now to receive anointing divine;

All that I am and have I am bringing,

Lord, from this moment all shall be Thine.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

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

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

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

Let Both Grow Together

Saturday, November 02, 2013, 10:27 p.m. – I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, but to no avail. The song “My Cry for Mercy” kept playing through my mind. So, I got up to hear from the Lord.

Last night at Bible study someone brought up the scripture passage from Matthew 13 (vv. 24-30, 36-43) concerning the parable of the weeds. It has been on my mind ever since then, so I began studying and praying over the passage, seeking God for understanding.

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

…Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

The Good and Bad Seed

Jesus Christ is the sower of the good seed. The good seed are the people of the kingdom of God; the saints of Almighty God; followers of Jesus Christ; the church scattered throughout the world. We were sown by God/Jesus in the world to be lights for the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world around us. He has sent us, and has commissioned us to go into the world to make disciples of Christ of all nations, and to be his witnesses for the gospel to all people. We are not to hide our lights, but we are to let them shine brightly for all to see Christ Jesus in our lives and so all can hear the gospel and can know the way of salvation.

Yet, our enemy Satan does not want us to share the gospel, and he does not want us to let our lights shine before men, so he very slyly and cleverly has sown weeds in among us.

Now, since the field is the world, not the church, these weeds can be anywhere – in our families, in our churches, in the workplace, in our neighborhoods, in our homes, and in our governments, etc. They can be anywhere we are since they are sown in among us. The thing is, these weeds appear to look a whole lot like the wheat, so they may not really be distinguishable until they begin to reach maturity. So, it is very possible that these weeds represent wolves in sheep’s clothing and/or false brothers and sisters living among us who have the appearance of being Christians when they really are not. Thus, the purpose of sowing weeds which look like wheat among the wheat would be for the purpose of deception, and to pull God’s people away from their pure devotion to Jesus Christ, perhaps to “another Jesus.” Or, they could be quite obvious, but yet they take us by surprise.

The Servants

The owner of the field is God/Jesus, so his servants are either angels or they are followers of Jesus Christ. The explanation of the parable does not define for us who these servants were. Since the method for pulling up the weeds and for separating them (pulling them away) from the wheat (the good seed) appears to be divine judgment, and the divine instruments of that judgment are angels, it would appear either that the servants were indeed angels, and that God was telling them to wait for the time of harvest, because they were the ones intended to serve as his agents of judgment, or, perhaps they were his followers who were calling on him in prayer for divine intervention and that, through prayer, they would be effecting this divine judgment against the weeds (the people of the evil one).

As evil reigns in the world and the true church suffers much persecution at the hands of the evil one, even at the hands of these weeds made to look like wheat, I am certain there are many followers of Christ who have prayed to God for mercy and to rescue them from their persecutors and from the deceivers. And, God has answered back, “Wait on the Lord. Be of courage. The time is not right. Wait for the harvest.” Yet, when we see all the evil taking place, and especially when our eyes are opened to see all of the deception, manipulation, and falsehood that is going on in the world, and much of it in the name of Christianity, there may be times when we long for God to act in some way to rescue us, yet he answers back that the timing is not right, for if the means of removing the people of the evil one is judgment, then that would mean removing the wheat (the good seed), too, and then who would be here to be a light for the gospel?

Though it is the evil one, i.e. our enemy Satan, who sows the weeds in among us, God allows it for a time and for a purpose, because he is slow to anger, abounding in love, compassionate, merciful, patient, and not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. Also, through the trials and tests we go through because of these “weeds” among us, it should drive us to Christ’s breast, and it should put within us an even greater determination and commitment to follow our Lord Jesus Christ in all ways.

Come out and Be Separate

So, how does this teaching in this parable jive with the teaching that we are not to be partakers with the world, but that we are to come out from them and be separate?

Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will live with them

    and walk among them,

and I will be their God,

    and they will be my people.”

Therefore,

“Come out from them

    and be separate,

says the Lord.

Touch no unclean thing,

    and I will receive you.”

And,

“I will be a Father to you,

    and you will be my sons and daughters,

says the Lord Almighty.” ~ 2 Corinthians 6:14-18

“‘Come out of her, my people,’

    so that you will not share in her sins,

    so that you will not receive any of her plagues;

for her sins are piled up to heaven,

    and God has remembered her crimes. ~ Rev. 18:4-5

It appears to me that God has called us, as his children, to go out into the world for one purpose – to be lights for the gospel; to share the gospel; and to make disciples of Christ of all nations. Yet, we are not to become like the world, we are not to partake in the sinful practices of the world, and we are not to have close fellowships with the people of the world. So, why is it that we have been convinced that we are to invite the people of the world into the fellowship of the Body of Christ? Who sows the weeds (the people of the evil one) among us? The enemy! For what purpose does he do this? - To destroy us, to put us to sleep, to steal from us our pure devotion to Jesus Christ, to distract us, and to get us to compromise with the world of sin. And, he is doing a good job at it, too!

If we invite non-believers into our fellowships and into our times of corporate worship, how does that jive with this teaching? We have nothing in common with unbelievers. Light cannot be in fellowship with darkness. We are the temple of the living God! Our times together as Christ’s body should be for the purpose of fellowship together with Christ and with one another – to encourage, build-up, edify, instruct, nurture, and help mature one another in the faith so that we are strengthened and encouraged to go out into the world with the gospel. Just because the enemy has sown his weeds among us, and just because some within the church have bought into the idea that we are to bring the world into the church – into our intimacy with Christ and his Body – and just because God is loving and patient and he will not pull the weeds out from among us (wherever we are), it does not mean we are to invite the world into the church or that we are to continue trying to blend our times of corporate worship, fellowship and mutual encouragement with evangelism.

I believe scripture is very clear that God’s people are not to intermingle (mix) with the people of the world and that there can be no fellowship between light and darkness, and that there is to be a definite distinction between the church and the world. And, I do believe that God is presently calling his followers to come out of the worldly institutional church (Babylon) and to be separate so we don’t share in her sins or her punishment, and he is calling us to return to the model he set forth for us in scripture for what the church is supposed to be like, and to the original purpose of our times together, so that we can be strengthened in our faith, so we can go out into the world with the gospel of salvation.

Yet, we may not be able to avoid all “weeds” from coming in among us, so we must trust God that he will remove the weeds, in judgment, when the time is right. Yet, we should be in prayer for the weeds to turn from the evil one and to be transformed into wheat before that great Day of Judgment, and we should be diligent to let our lights shine before them. As well, I believe we need to pray for spiritual protection from the evil one over ourselves and over one another, for the strength and encouragement of the Holy Spirit in one another’s lives, and we need to pray for miracles of God’s grace in all people’s lives.

My Cry For Mercy / An Original Work / October 31, 2013

Based off Psalm 86

Hear my prayer, Lord, I am needy.

Guard my life, for I’m devoted to You.

Save me! I’m Your servant.

You are my God. I trust in You.

O, Lord, have mercy on me,

For I call to You.

Bring joy to me, for to You

I will lift up my soul.

You are giving and forgiving.

You abound in love to all who

Call upon You. Hear my prayer, Lord.

Listen to my cry for mercy.

In days of trouble I call to You,

Knowing that You will

Do marvelous things,

Because You are my God.

Teach me Your way; I’ll walk in it.

In Your truth, Lord, You will guide me.

A pure heart, Lord, You will give me,

So that I may glorify You.

Turn to me, Lord, and grant

Strength to Your servant.

O, Lord, You are my help,

For You love and You comfort me.

Teach me Your way; I’ll walk in it.

In Your truth, Lord, You will guide me.

A pure heart, Lord, You will give me,

So that I may glorify You.

http://originalworks.info/my-cry-for-mercy/

My Cry for Mercy

There are times in all of our lives when we feel particularly vulnerable, weak, tired, sad, confused, and hurt; rejected and/or alone, etc. It is in these times, especially, when we need to call upon our Lord to save us from ourselves; and to give comfort, encouragement, counsel, direction, strength, joy, miracles of his grace, hope and healing.

My Cry For Mercy / An Original Work / October 31, 2013

Based off Psalm 86

Hear my prayer, Lord, I am needy.

Guard my life, for I’m devoted to You.

Save me! I’m Your servant.

You are my God. I trust in You.

O, Lord, have mercy on me,

For I call to You.

Bring joy to me, for to You

I will lift up my soul.

You are giving and forgiving.

You abound in love to all who

Call upon You. Hear my prayer, Lord.

Listen to my cry for mercy.

In days of trouble I call to You,

Knowing that You will

Do marvelous things,

Because You are my God.

Teach me Your way; I’ll walk in it.

In Your truth, Lord, You will guide me.

A pure heart, Lord, You will give me,

So that I may glorify You.

Turn to me, Lord, and grant

Strength to Your servant.

O, Lord, You are my help,

For You love and You comfort me.

Teach me Your way; I’ll walk in it.

In Your truth, Lord, You will guide me.

A pure heart, Lord, You will give me,

So that I may glorify You.

http://youtu.be/dJZqdFY8z_Q

http://originalworks.info/my-cry-for-mercy/

The Purpose of His Will

Thursday, October 31, 2013, 8:26 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “His Name is Wonderful” playing in my mind. I used to sing that in a medley of choruses when I was a teenager many years ago in Akron, Ohio. So, it’s an oldie. The song is based off Isaiah 9:6. Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Ephesians 1 (NIV).

Every Spiritual Blessing

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.

I was sitting at lunch today, beginning to read this passage of scripture again. I didn’t get past the first sentence when I started thinking about all the spiritual blessings I have in Christ Jesus. This list (following) is what initially came to my mind, although I know there are probably hundreds more spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus that I could add to this list: Salvation, faith, forgiveness, knowledge, grace, understanding, encouragement, faithfulness, hope, love, joy, peace, healing, strength, wisdom, counsel, guidance, assurance, truth, the Word of God, Father God, The Son – Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit, comfort, discernment, patience, kindness, gentleness, mercy, the body of Christ, Christian fellowship, eternal life, and the list goes on and on and on.

I think sometimes we take for granted all that we have in Christ. Other times, when things are going tough in our lives, we forget all that we have in Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus has blessed me with the gift of writing spiritual songs the past 2.5 years. These songs are for devotional purposes and to encourage the body of Christ, and they encourage me, too. I was listening to some of the most recent ones again this morning, and since they are all based off scripture, they spoke volumes to my heart in the way of encouragement, hope, truth, assurance, God’s faithfulness and all his many spiritual blessings he has provided for me. They encouraged and strengthened my heart that God is absolutely in control of every circumstance in my life, and that he will work out all things for my good. Amen!

So, when things in this life weigh in on us, and we begin to believe Satan’s lies that all is hopeless, or that we somehow have to take matters into our own hands in order to make things work like we think they should, we need to be reminded of who we are in Christ, if we truly are in Christ, and of all the many riches with which God has blessed us. For example, He chose us. He didn’t have to, but he did. But he didn’t choose us just so we could go to heaven one day, as wonderful as that will be. He chose us to be holy and blameless in his sight. The way this happens is that first of all Jesus Christ died on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world, so that when he died, our sins died with him, and were buried with him, but when he rose again, he conquered death, hell, Satan and sin, triumphing over them by the cross. In other words, he died so we can live, but not just in heaven, but so we could live and walk in his righteousness while we still live on this earth. And, we do this by faith, because his righteousness lives within us.

The Purpose of His Will

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

I was reminded of this again last night and this morning that God works out everything in my life in conformity with the purpose of his will, so I might be for the praise of his glory. So, what does that mean? I believe it means, for me, that I just need to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ with the circumstances of my life, pray to God for wisdom and understanding, accept that I will not understand everything, but that is ok, then do what he instructs me to do, believe him to work it all out according to his plan and purposes, and then just rest in him. I think sometimes, as humans, we wish God would hurry up and act, but he has his perfect timing and his perfect reasons for doing everything the way he does them when he does them, and I just have to believe him and trust him, even when I don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. And, he will give me the peace and assurance I need to keep going.

As well, when we believed in Christ, we were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. I hear a lot of people throw out that word “believe” or “faith” rather casually without really explaining what it means to believe or to have faith. What does faith look like? If you were to describe faith, how would you explain it? How does the Bible define it? I believe the Bible teaches that faith is the act of believing God for who he is, for what he has done, and for what he said he will yet do, even when we can’t see the immediate results or the fulfillments of what has been promised to us. This faith or belief is not a mere intellectual assent or acknowledgment or even an emotional realization of such a fact of his salvation, but it is realized in our lives by what we do, i.e. by how we act upon what we know and believe to be true. In other words, if I truly believe that Jesus Christ died on the cross to set me free from sin, and that he came to give me a new life in Christ Jesus so that I could live and walk in freedom and in his righteousness, then faith allows God to work a heart transformation in my life by his grace and does not resist it nor deny it, but submits to the cross in my own life (see Eph. 4:17-24; Lu. 9:23-25; 1 John; Rom. 6; and Gal. 2:20).

Remembering You in My Prayers

For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

Wow! That is some prayer!! What would happen, do you think, if we all began praying for one another like this? I think so often we are good about praying for people when they are sick or in need or in distress or when they are sorrowful and hurting, but how often do we pray with such spiritual depth for our brothers and sisters in Christ? I know this challenges my heart! We, as believers in Jesus Christ, are in a spiritual battle. Satan pulls out all the stops to try to trip us up and to try to get us to fall flat on our faces. We need regular doses of encouragement from the body of Christ, and we need to be praying for one another. And, our prayers need to go beyond the shallow words of “God bless so and so.” Our prayers need to be specific, heart-felt, even passionate, and truly believing God to answer.

We all need regular doses of wisdom. I know I do! We need to know Christ better, no matter how long we have known him or how close of a relationship we have with him, or else we need to be reminded of what we already know and sometimes forget. We need to have enlightened hearts to know the hope to which God has called us. Many believe their hope is solely in their promise of heaven. Oh, how incomplete! Our hope is for this life, too, that we would allow Jesus Christ to live his life in us and out through us into the lives of others that they may come to know and experience him, too, in all his fullness! Our hope is that we would submit to our Lord and to his will for our lives so that his righteousness can be revealed in us. Our hope, too, is that we might live holy lives pleasing to him, victorious over sin and self because of what he did for us on the cross in saving us from our sin - all in his power within us. And, that hope, too, is in believing in the absolute sovereignty of God over our lives, over our circumstances, over the people in our lives, over our world and governments, and in trusting that the Lord has it all worked out according to his plans and his purposes for our good and for his glory. So, we need to pray this for one another!

His Name is Wonderful / Audrey Mieir

…He is the mighty King, master of everything…

He's the great Shepherd, the Rock of all ages,

 Almighty God is He;

 Bow down before Him, love and adore Him,

 His name is Wonderful, Jesus, my Lord.

http://hymnal.calvarybaptistsv.org/254.html

My Concern for All the Churches

Wednesday, October 30, 2013, 5:28 a.m. – When I awoke this morning, the Lord Jesus put the song “Return to Me” in my mind. When I sat down to type up my quiet time with the Lord from today, he put this song in mind, which fits so well with today’s passage:

My Heart’s Desire / An Original Work / June 29, 2013

Based off Rm. 10; Lu. 9:23-26; Ep. 4:20-24

Loved Ones, Oh, my heart’s desire

Is that you might come to Jesus.

Many appear zealous for God,

But they do not trust in Him.

They have not submitted to the One

Who saved them from their sins;

Not forsaken their sins,

Nor have they obeyed their King.

The word of the Lord is near you:

The word of faith we’re proclaiming:

That you must confess your faith

In Jesus as your Lord and King:

Believe in Him as your Lord,

And follow Him where’er He leads.

Share the gospel; be a witness,

And meet others’ needs.

Beautiful are the feet of those

Who bring the good news of Jesus:

Anyone who would come to Him

Must deny himself today;

Die to sin and self, and

Let the Spirit transform you in heart;

Put on your new self in Jesus,

Yielding to the cross.

http://originalworks.info/my-hearts-desire/

Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read 2 Corinthians 11 (NIV).

A Godly Jealousy

I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. ~ 2 Co. 11:1-2

Paul said he was jealous for the church with a godly jealousy. I think sometimes we naturally assume that all jealousy is wrong or evil, but it is not. In Exodus 20:5 we read that we should not worship idols of our own making because our God is a jealous God. So, what does that mean? Well, it means that he created us for his glory, to be in fellowship with him, to love him, to worship him and to be faithful to him only as our only God.

When we accept Jesus Christ into our lives to be Lord and Savior of our lives, he becomes our husband, so in essence we enter into a marriage covenant relationship with him in which, by our faith, we promise fidelity, faithfulness and exclusive devotion to him as our only God. The Bible often compares our relationship with Jesus Christ to that of a wife to her husband, because that is the type of relationship God intended us to have with Jesus Christ. And, we should enter into our relationship with him, by faith, with that belief in mind. In other words, we should be loyal, faithful and committed to Jesus Christ as our only Lord.

Paul said that he, as the church’s spiritual father, much like the father of a bride giving the bride away, promised the church to one husband, to Christ, so he might present the church as a pure virgin to him at his coming. In other words, his desire for the church was that they would be in singleness of mind and heart in relation to Jesus Christ, unadulterated in their devotion to Christ, and fully committed to him as their only Lord and husband. This would be evident in their worship, faith, devotion, conversations, attitudes and actions that Jesus Christ was their only husband and Lord, and that they had undivided hearts.

Paul took God’s calling upon his life seriously, he truly loved the church with a God-like love, and he wanted nothing more than for them to remain faithful to their Lord until his coming. Oh, that we would all love the church to this extent to where we would all have a godly jealousy for the church over the idolatry and spiritual adultery that goes on within the church these days, enough to where we would appeal to the church in like manner as Paul.

Preaching Another Jesus

But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. ~ 2 Co. 11:3-4

Wow! Even though Paul gave them the correct teaching and foundation for their faith, i.e. he taught them the true gospel of salvation, there were many other voices speaking to them, too, and some of those sounded very convincing. The “other Jesus” he spoke of was most likely of the Judaizers, but it could just as well have been of the Libertines. The Judaizers added to God’s grace the works of the flesh, adherence to man-made rules, and some carry-overs from the Old Covenant that no longer applied to those in Christ Jesus by faith. And, the Libertines were those who were morally unrestrained, i.e. they did not teach death to our old lives of sin, but rather that the grace of God in forgiving our sins meant we had the freedom to continue in certain sins, in particular sexual sins of many kinds.

I see “another Jesus” being taught in much of today’s modern church movement that has me greatly concerned and burdened for the church, and it tends to fall more in the line of the Libertines theology than it does the Judaizers. I see the modern church of today as very flesh-driven. They focus much of their money, resources, time and affections on the outward show, entertainment, fun, appealing to the likes, wants and desires of humans; focused on marketing schemes, humanistic philosophies, man-made religion, and the teachings of humankind. They often follow man-made business models for how to grow Christ’s church, and thus they market the church just like a business, which naturally tries to please the customer so the customer will keep coming back. Thus, the gospel is reduced to gospel-lite so as not to offend anyone, and to make people more comfortable and relaxed, thus promoting the idea that church should be fun and a place to have a good time.

In this setting (above), the true gospel has no place. It does not fit! - Because the true gospel of salvation teaches death to our old lives of sin, a transformation of heart and mind away from sin and toward God, and that by God’s grace, through faith, we are given completely new lives in Christ Jesus, created to be like Christ in true righteousness and holiness (See Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 6; Gal. 2:20; Lu. 9:23-25; 1 John; James, et al.).

Yet, many professing Christians in today’s modern church movement easily put up with the false Jesus and the false gospel, which does not teach death to sin and a life committed to Christ Jesus as our only Lord and husband. Thus, they are in grave danger of being deceived by these false teachers of this “other Jesus” and this “different gospel” into believing that faith in Jesus Christ requires nothing of them, demands no faithfulness, does not call for sincere and pure devotion to Christ, and that they can still have their ticket into heaven no matter what. James said that even the demons believe, and they shudder.

Cut the Ground from Under

And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. 2 Co. 11:12-15

The Lord Jesus reminded me here of what I read in 2 Co. 10 yesterday. Paul said: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (v. 5). To demolish means to destroy completely. Arguments and pretensions which set themselves up against the knowledge of God and his gospel of salvation can be found in many forms, such as in intellectual debates, deception, manipulation of truth, tricks, cons, schemes and fantasy. We need to study the scriptures so we know what the Word of God teaches regarding our salvation, so that we can refute these false teachings, and so we are not led astray from our pure devotion to Jesus Christ by fine-sounding arguments. Instead, we should take every human device, intellectual thought, idea or notion, which comes against the true gospel of salvation, and we should make it obedient to Christ and his true gospel by exposing the truth and the lies, so that the lies should not take hold of our lives, but so we should obey the truth.

I Inwardly Burn

Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? ~ 2 Co. 11:28-29

Paul was so concerned for the relationship of the church to her Lord and husband that, not only was he jealous for her with a godly-jealousy, but it pained him greatly to see her corporately or individually led into sin by these false apostles who were teaching another Jesus. James (4:7-10) said: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” So, don’t be led astray by a false gospel absent of true repentance and the kind of faith which enters into relationship with Jesus Christ as a bride enters into marriage with her husband, with the full intention of being faithful and to forsaking all others.

Return to Me / An Original Work / September 5, 2013

Based off Jeremiah 31; Cf. Rev. 2-3

I have loved you with an eternal love,

Which I give to you, in my faithfulness.

Keep your voice from weeping,

And your eyes from tearing.

You will be rewarded

With much fruitfulness.

There is hope for you that My family

Will return to Me; live in victory!

Though I discipline in My love for you,

My heart longs for you that you walk in truth.

Turn your thoughts to your Lord.

Choose to walk in His ways.

Turn from your sins daily.

Follow Jesus Christ.

Oh, how long will you wander in your sin?

Give your hearts to Me; be restored within.

I will satisfy ev’ry weary soul

Who repents of sin; is renewed within.

Behold, days are coming;

It will surely happen;

Though I discipline them,

They will thrive again.

I will be their One and their Only God.

They shall walk in white; be in Me, made right.

http://originalworks.info/return-to-me/