A Manner Worthy of The Lord

Colossians 1:1-3 ESV

 

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.”

 

This letter is to the saints, to those who are called of God to be holy, set apart (unlike, different) from the world and set apart to God, to Jesus Christ, for him and for his service.

 

Thus, they are believers in Jesus Christ who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin that they might walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 1:6-7; Rom 6:1-23; Gal 2:20; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Thess 4:7; 2 Tim 1:9).

 

They are the faithful of God in Christ Jesus, who are believing in Jesus Christ, who have been persuaded (convinced) of God as to his will for their lives. Thus, they have surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ, and they are following his will for their lives in obedience to his commands. They aren’t perfect, but they are committed to Christ and to obeying him.

 

Colossians 1:4-8 ESV

 

“We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.”

 

Here we have a partial description (a partial model) of those who are the saints of God who are the faithful in Christ Jesus. They are:

 

·       Those who are known for their faith in Jesus Christ

·       Those who have a reputation for loving their fellow saints

·       Those who are full of hope, who believe God’s promises

·       Those who are bearing fruit for the gospel of Christ

·       Those who understand the grace of God, in truth

 

If their faith is in Christ Jesus, their faith will agree with the teachings of Scripture regarding what it means to be a believer in Jesus Christ and with regard to what is required of us who believe in Jesus for salvation of sin and eternal life with God (Lu 9:23-26).

 

They will have forsaken their former lives of living in sin, they will have been transformed in mind of the Spirit of God, and they will be walking in obedience to the Lord and to his word as a matter of life course, by faith in Jesus Christ (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

If they are bearing fruit for the gospel of Jesus Christ, they not only will not be living in habitual sin, but they will be doing whatever it is that God has called them to do. They will be loving others with Christ’s love, even loving their enemies, and they will be sharing the truth of the gospel with others so that others may come to know Christ, too.

 

And if they understand (not just intellectually, but in practical application) the grace of God, in truth, then they will know that the Scriptures teach that the grace of God instructs (or trains) us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit 2:11-14).

 

They will also understand that God’s grace is not free license to continue living in sin without guilt, but that it provides the way for us to be delivered from our bondage to sin so that we can now become slaves (bondservants) of Christ and of his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23).

 

Colossians 1:9-14 ESV

 

“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

 

The goal of our salvation is not just so we can escape hell and so we can go to heaven when we die. And it definitely is not so we can now continue living in sin guilt-free. The goal of our salvation is that we might walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God, etc.

 

For, Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. And he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God so that we would now honor God with our lives (1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Co 6:19-20; 1 Jn 2:3-6).

 

In Jesus’ death on that cross, he who knew no sin became sin for us so that when he died our sins died with him. And, in that way, he provided the way for us to die with him to sin and to live to him and to his righteousness, all because of God’s grace, and only by faith in him, and in his power.

 

So, coming to faith in Jesus Christ is not just a decision we make to believe in Jesus for salvation. It is a decision we make to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, to die with him to sin, and to live to him and to his righteousness. We choose to deny self, to daily die to sin, and to follow our Lord in obedience to his will for our lives. This is what it means to have faith (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

For, God the Father delivered us from the domain of darkness, and he transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Amen!

 

Near the Cross 

 

Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869

Music by William H. Doane, 1869

 

Jesus, keep me near the cross;

There a precious fountain,

Free to all, a healing stream,

Flows from Calvary's mountain.

 

Near the cross, a trembling soul,

Love and mercy found me;

There the bright and morning star

Sheds its beams around me.

          

Near the cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring its scenes before me;

Help me walk from day to day

With its shadow o'er me.

 

Near the cross I'll watch and wait,

Hoping, trusting ever,

Till I reach the golden strand

Just beyond the river.

        

In the cross, in the cross,

Be my glory ever,

Till my raptured soul shall find

Rest beyond the river.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5C9FfVA-OI

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Enemies at Home

Summary Matthew 10:1-33

 

Jesus had just sent his twelve disciples out to the lost sheep of Israel. They were to proclaim, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And he told them that he was sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so they were to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.

 

Then he cautioned them against men who would deliver them over to courts and flog them in their synagogues. They would be dragged before governors and kings for the sake of Jesus, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. But when they were delivered over they were not to worry about what to say, for the Lord (the Spirit) would give them the words to speak.

 

He went on to tell them that brother would deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children would rise against parents and have them put to death, and that they would be hated by all for His name’s sake. “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt 10:22).

 

And then he let them know that as he was treated and as he was persecuted so they would be also. If Jesus was called “Beelzebul,” they would be maligned, too. They would be accused of being of Satan, as well.

 

But they were not to fear their persecutors. What Jesus told them in the dark, they were to proclaim in the daylight. They were not to fear those who could kill their bodies but who could not kill their souls. Rather they were to walk in the fear of the Lord, who could destroy both soul and body in hell.

 

He also told them that everyone who acknowledges him before men, he would also acknowledge before the Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies him before men, he would also deny before his Father in heaven.

 

Matthew 10:34-39 ESV

 

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

 

Many people today are painting a picture of Jesus different from the Jesus of Scripture. The man they describe was easy going, carefree, seeker-friendly, and he just went around loving on everyone and blessing everyone in sight.

He was a good deed doer who was well liked by the people who just wanted to forgive everyone of their sins so they could live carefree lives, too.

 

Oh, and they say he demands nothing of anyone. He did all the giving, they say, and he expects nothing from us at all. As long as we are happy and having a good time, he is happy, too. For it is his goal just to please us for our good pleasure and that is why he died on that cross just so we could be free and be able to live how we want, now guilt-free, so they imply.

 

But that is not Jesus the Son of God they are talking about, but that is a “another Jesus” they created in their own minds according to their own flesh for their own sinful pleasure so that they could continue living in sin and not have to feel guilty about their sin or to be fearful of judgment.

 

Not Peace, A Sword!

 

But Jesus didn’t come to the earth to bring peace to the earth. He does not give peace as the world does. He is not looking for absence of conflict and for all the people of the world to unite together and to be one big happy family holding hands across the globe singing “Kumbaya.”

 

Jesus came to turn family members against one another so that members of our own households would be our enemies. Wow! That doesn’t sound like the Jesus they talk about. Why would Jesus who just loves on everyone want to turn people against each other? Isn’t he a God of love? Yes! He is!

 

Those who believe in a Jesus who merely forgives their sins and promises them heaven when they die, but who demands nothing of them – no repentance, no obedience, and no submission to Christ as Lord – have a distorted view of who Jesus really is.

 

For, Jesus says that if we love our family members more than we love him, because we would choose their acceptance of us over obedience to our Lord, that we are not worthy of him. And if we will not die with him to sin daily and follow (obey) him with our lives, we are not worthy of him.

 

For, we, as Jesus’ followers, are called to a life of suffering for the sake of Jesus and his gospel, first in dying with Christ to sin and in surrendering our lives to Jesus to do his will, and then in being persecuted unjustly for righteousness’ sake by those who oppose Jesus and his gospel message.

 

What he told his disciples would happen to them, he said not only to his followers of that time, but also to those of us who would be following him in the last days before his return (see Matt 24).

 

Sheep in the Midst of Wolves

 

He is sending us out as sheep in the midst of wolves, too. These wolves are liars, manipulators, deceivers, and abusers, who want nothing more than to destroy Jesus, his gospel, and his followers. So, they teach a false gospel which promises salvation and eternal life with God absent of repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord.

 

And we will be hated, too, and rejected and persecuted, and we will be called names, accused falsely of what we did not do (or say), and we will be mocked, ignored and forsaken by those who are supposed to love us, and by some who are supposed to protect us, too.

 

But we are not to be afraid. We are not to fear rejection, false accusations, being hated, being cast aside, being alone, and having people fiercely oppose us, etc. God is watching over us. He will take care of us. He will provide all we need to endure, too. He is our strength and support.

 

So, this we must know. If we acknowledge (not just give lip service to) Jesus by giving our lives over to him, by doing what he commands, by taking his gospel to the ends of the earth, and by exposing lies and speaking the truth against strong opposition, he will acknowledge us before the Father.

 

But if we deny him by our lifestyles and by not taking up our cross daily and following him, out of fear of men and what they might do to us, or out of a desire to be loved and accepted by others, especially our family members, and so we don’t tell people the truth, then he will deny us before the Father.

 

For, if we find our lives in this world, we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives in this world, i.e. if we die with Christ to sin and self in order to follow him in obedience to his will and commands for our lives, then we will find our lives in Christ Jesus and we will have life everlasting with him (See: Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

Jesus, Be Near to Me

 

Words and music by Tommy Walker

 

Jesus, be near to me

Let me know You are here

How I need You, how I need You

To reveal Yourself to me

 

Through Your unchanging truth

Through the breath of Your Spirit

In my questions and pain

Whisper words of Your love

Always the same

 

https://youtu.be/9QGErOg2Erw

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How to Remain Pure

Psalm 119:1-8 ESV

 

“Blessed are those whose way is blameless,

    who walk in the law of the Lord!

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies,

    who seek him with their whole heart,

who also do no wrong,

    but walk in his ways!

You have commanded your precepts

    to be kept diligently.

Oh that my ways may be steadfast

    in keeping your statutes!

Then I shall not be put to shame,

    having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

I will praise you with an upright heart,

    when I learn your righteous rules.

I will keep your statutes;

    do not utterly forsake me!”

 

When we believe in Jesus Christ, with God-given and divinely persuaded faith in Christ, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Rom 8:1-17).

 

We are reborn of the Spirit of God to newness of life in Christ Jesus via dying with Christ to sin so that we can live with Christ to his righteousness. Now by the working and power of God’s Spirit within us we are able to walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh (Rom 8:1-17).

 

But this walk according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh, is not optional. It is required for our salvation from sin and for our eternal life with God. We must no longer live in sin, making sin our practice. For the grace of God trains us to say “No!” to the flesh and “Yes!” to the Spirit (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Tit 2:11-14).

 

So, obedience to our Lord and submission to his Lordship are also required. We must be obeying our Lord as a matter of practice or we don’t know Jesus. If we say, “I know Jesus,” but we are not obeying (keeping) his commandments, then we are liars, and the truth is not in us (1 Jn 2:3-6).

 

As followers of Jesus, we are to truly follow (obey) him and to go where he leads us and to do the things he commands us to do.

 

And we are to seek him with our whole hearts, with the core of our beings, with our minds, emotions, intellects, wills, and strength. This is submission. This is surrender. We are no longer in the driver’s seat of our lives, but Jesus is now King over our lives. Our lives are truly given over to him.

 

Another thing God requires of us is that we continue in him, that we abide in him, and that we are steadfast in faith and in our walks of obedience to him until the day that we die, or until he returns for us his bride. Then we will not be put to shame, but we can have confidence that we will have eternal life with God. We will not be forsaken.

 

[Jn. 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-11; Rom. 11:17-24; I Co. 15:2; Col. 1:21-23; II Tim 2:10-13; Heb. 3:6, 14-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; I Jn. 2:24-25]

 

Psalm 119:9-16 ESV

 

“How can a young man keep his way pure?

    By guarding it according to your word.

With my whole heart I seek you;

    let me not wander from your commandments!

I have stored up your word in my heart,

    that I might not sin against you.

Blessed are you, O Lord;

    teach me your statutes!

With my lips I declare

    all the rules of your mouth.

In the way of your testimonies I delight

    as much as in all riches.

I will meditate on your precepts

    and fix my eyes on your ways.

I will delight in your statutes;

    I will not forget your word.”

 

If we want to keep our way pure, it begins with everything discussed in vv. 1-8. If we don’t first have that foundation, then we are trying to be pure in the flesh, and the flesh is not opposed to the flesh, so it will likely win out. We can’t defeat flesh with flesh. We can only defeat flesh by the Spirit.

 

So, the only way we can remain pure is by safeguarding our walks (our conduct, our habits, our practices) according to (in agreement with) God’s word. So, we have to be those who study the Scriptures and who are walking in obedience to the word of God, or we won’t walk in purity.

 

For, there are many people today who are claiming faith in Jesus Christ who are living in sin, living according to the flesh, addicted to various types of sin, who are willing and eager to depart from what they know is right to follow after what they know is wrong and then to excuse it away under the guise of God’s grace.

 

But to live like that, and to claim faith in Christ, is outside (apart from) the teachings of Scripture and God’s divine purpose and will for our lives. It is outside God’s moral boundaries he set down for us to abide by. So, to live like that is to depart from faithfulness and purity of devotion to our Lord.

 

Yet, they will claim that they are in right relationship with the Lord solely because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, and that nothing is required of them. So, they give a false impression of what it means to be a follower of Christ, all the while the lusts of the flesh are raging within them.

 

But they are living by the flesh, going after what feels good, without regard for the Lord or for what he wants from them, and with total disdain towards him and his commandments. And this is because their “faith” is totally based on self, not on God, for it leads them to do what their selfish hearts desire, regardless of the consequences or who gets hurt by them.

 

Approval and Acceptance

 

They want God to approve of them, to accept them, and to be faithful to them, but they are not willing to live holy and godly lives, presenting their bodies to God as living sacrifices, which is what is acceptable and pleasing to God (Rom 12). So, it is all about them and it has nothing to do with Jesus.

 

So, in order to justify their sinful lifestyles but to still claim salvation from sin and eternal life with God they have altered the gospel to make it more appealing and acceptable to the flesh, which then gives them permission to live however they want without guilt and without conscience.

 

And this is exactly where many people are today who call themselves Christians. Some of them blatantly state that they don’t have to obey the Lord, that they don’t have to repent of sin, and they don’t have to submit to Christ. Others will make a pretense of doing all those things, though, while still living to the flesh and secretly following the cheap grace gospel.

 

So, they will profess faithfulness, love for God, and the desire to obey him, while they cheat on him in secret (not secret from God) and they live closet lives of the lusts of the flesh, adultery, deception and unfaithfulness. So, even though they say they hate sin, their actions speak the opposite.

 

They, too, may make many promises or false commitments to change course, to leave their lifestyles of sin behind them, to be faithful to God and to spouse, only to continue living the same way, committing the same sins many times over, as a matter of habit, while willfully choosing to cheat, lie, deceive, betray, and to be unfaithful.

 

But the only way to come out of that slavery to sin is by faith in Jesus Christ which dies with Christ to sin and lives to Christ and to his righteousness in the power of God’s Spirit, and by the Spirit makes it a practice to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and to live a self-controlled, upright, and godly life while one waits for Christ’s return (Tit 2:11-14).

 

A Believer’s Prayer

 

An Original Work / July 31, 2012

 

With my whole heart, Lord, I pray

To be Yours, and Yours always.

Lead me in Your truth today.

May I love You, and obey.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

When I sin, may I confess;

Bow before You when I pray;

Live for You and You always.

 

Love You, Jesus, You’re my friend.

Life with You will never end.

You are with me through each day,

Giving love and peace always.

You will ne’er abandon me.

From my sin You set me free.

You died on that cruel tree,

So I’d live eternally.

 

Soon You’re coming back for me;

From this world to set me free;

Live with You eternally.

Oh, what joy that brings to me.

I will walk with You in white;

A pure bride, I’ve been made right

By the blood of Jesus Christ;

Pardoned by His sacrifice.

 

https://vimeo.com/114796263

You Can't Afford to Ignore This

I Peter 2:1-3 ESV

 

“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation — if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.”

 

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are to rid our lives of all hatred, spite, meanness, cruelty, wickedness, evil, deceit, lying, fakery, hypocrisy, envy, greed, resentment, bitterness and jealousy (except for being jealous for the church like Paul was). These are not to be a part of our lives.

 

We are not supposed to be like newborn infants, unless we are newborn in Christ Jesus, but we are to crave (thirst after) the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk (sustenance, nourishment) of God’s word, like newborn infants crave their mother’s milk. And, that is some powerful craving, indeed!

 

And the purpose of this is so that we may grow up into salvation and become mature in our walks of faith, not that we should remain infants in immaturity, living childishly in self-indulgent lifestyles. For, we don’t get a “pass,” just because we may be new to the faith, permitting us to live in sin.

 

I like it that many Scriptures include “if” clauses, for it helps clarify what is intended. For one, these are used sometimes to let the readers know that the writer is not presuming that everyone reading his letter has, indeed, come into genuine faith in Jesus Christ.

 

For, some people have this idea that they can grow in their walks of faith when genuine faith in Jesus may not even exist in their lives. They think if they prayed a prayer to receive Christ that means they are saved. It may, but it may not. So, if we are going to grow to maturity in Christ, we have to first have the correct foundation.

 

The gospel, in a nutshell, is that Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (1 Pet 2:24; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Tit 2:11-14).

 

I Peter 2:4-8 ESV

 

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:

 

‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,

    a cornerstone chosen and precious,

and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.’

 

So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

 

‘The stone that the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone,’

 

and

 

‘A stone of stumbling,

    and a rock of offense.’

 

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.”

 

The church is not a building. It is not a church denomination like Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Charismatic or Presbyterian. It is not an institution of men or a corporation under the government. And it is not a business created by humans marketed just like any other business, although it is treated as such, and it is promoted as such.

 

The church, the body of Christ, comprised only of those having genuine faith in Jesus Christ, via death to sin and living to righteousness, is a spiritual building, not a physical one. So, we are living stones that make up this church, not brick and mortar. And Jesus, who was rejected by men, but in the sight of God is chosen and precious, is our cornerstone on which this spiritual building is built.

 

We are not spectators in a building, though. We don’t come to a building to sit in a chair and to listen to a cool band play and to hear a gifted orator speak and then go home and do whatever it is we do. We are this building. And we offer up our lives to the Lord Jesus as spiritual sacrifices on his altar in submission to his will to do whatever it is he has called us to do.

 

We don’t just “go to church.” We are the church! We don’t turn it off as soon as the service is over. It is 24/7 church all the time. And Jesus is maturing us in him to be a spiritual house, not a physical one that focuses on entertaining the masses. And we are called to be holy, set apart from the world and unto God, not to blend in with the world so they’ll like us.

 

And biblical Jesus, and his biblical gospel (the whole counsel of God) is an offense to those who are perishing and who are just “playing church,” but who have never given their hearts and lives to Jesus Christ. And that is why the vast majority of today’s “church” has rejected the gospel of Christ in favor of a cheap grace gospel, for it allows the “old man” to still live.

 

I Peter 2:9-12 ESV

 

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

 

“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”

 

So, we aren’t here for ourselves. Jesus didn’t die on that cross just to forgive us our sins and to promise us heaven when we die and then tell us we can now continue living in sin, only now without guilt, and that we can ignore him, reject his commands, and that we can still be ruler of our own lives.

 

We are for God’s possession. We died, remember? We are not our own. We were bought back for God with the blood of Christ shed for us on that cross that we might now honor God with our lives (with our bodies). I am crucified with Christ so that “I” no longer live but Christ lives in me and I now live by faith in him (1 Co 6:19-20; Gal 2:20).

 

And as his possession, what are we supposed to be doing? We are to be proclaiming the excellencies of our Lord who called us OUT OF DARKNESS INTO HIS marvelous LIGHT. Jesus called Paul to turn people from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they might receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those sanctified by faith in Christ.

 

And what else are we to be doing? We are supposed to live like we don’t belong here. We are to come out from the ways of the world and live holy lives unto God. And we are to ABSTAIN from the passions of the flesh which are at WAR against our SOULS, and we are to have honorable conduct.

 

How can anyone read the New Testament, thus, and come away with the false notion that faith in Jesus Christ requires nothing of them at all, and that they don’t have to submit to Christ or obey him or forsake their sins?

 

Great is The Lord 

 

Ward, Asaph Alexander

 

Great is the Lord

He is holy and just

By His power we trust

In his love

Great is the Lord

He is faithful and true

By his mercy he proves

He is love

 

Great is the Lord

And worthy of glory

Great is the Lord

And worthy of praise

Great is the Lord

Now lift up your voice

Great is the Lord

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ocmCTU_rEeI

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We are His House If

Hebrews 3:1-6 ESV

 

“Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession, who was faithful to him who appointed him, just as Moses also was faithful in all God's house. For Jesus has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses—as much more glory as the builder of a house has more honor than the house itself. (For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.) Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, but Christ is faithful over God's house as a son. And we are his house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.”

 

It brought tears to my eyes reading this today, and the tears have not stopped. So, why am I crying? Why am I weeping over this passage of Scripture? Because my Lord, my Savior Jesus Christ is not being treated with the honor and the glory that he deserves by so many people who call themselves Christians today.

 

So many professing followers of Jesus just want what they can get out of Jesus, or they just want the free ride into heaven, but they don’t want to or they don’t feel that they have to honor Jesus with their lives. They feel that what Jesus did was for them, not for his praise and glory.

 

But we, as followers of Jesus, are to give him all our praise. We are to honor him, submit to him, show him respect, worship him, and surrender our lives to him. We are to bow before him in all humility, thanking him for all that he has done. But this is not in words only. We do this by how we live.

 

I believe the worst insult to Jesus of all is when people say they have faith in Jesus Christ for salvation of sin and for eternal life with God, but they believe that they don’t have to surrender their lives to Christ, that they don’t have to turn away from their sin, and that they don’t have to obey him.

 

For, Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God so that we would honor God with our lives (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Co 6:19-20).

 

Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross to put sin to death in our lives so that we would no longer be slaves to sin, but so we would now be slaves of his righteousness. For if we obey sin, we are slaves to sin, and that will end in death, not in eternal life with God. For, we must walk (in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, if we want salvation from sin and eternal life with God.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Tit 2:11-14; Jn 10:27]

 

Our salvation and our eternal life with God, thus, are conditional. We are not guaranteed eternal life with God because we prayed a prayer, or we invited Jesus into our hearts, or we made some public confession of faith in Christ.

 

We are his house, IF indeed we hold fast (continue in) our confidence (faith) and our boasting in our hope. And this confidence and hope are based on all the teachings in the New Testament with regard to our faith in Jesus Christ. For many passages say we must repent, obey, and submit to Christ, and we must continue in that if we want to have eternal life with God.

 

[Jn. 8:31-32; Rom. 11:17-24; I Co. 15:2; Col. 1:21-23; II Tim 2:10-13; Heb. 3:6, 14-15; 2 Pet. 1:5-11; I Jn. 2:24-25; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 8:1-17]

 

Hebrews 3:7-14 ESV

 

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

 

“Today, if you hear his voice,

do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

    on the day of testing in the wilderness,

where your fathers put me to the test

    and saw my works for forty years.

Therefore I was provoked with that generation,

and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;

    they have not known my ways.’

As I swore in my wrath,

    ‘They shall not enter my rest.’”

 

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”

 

Our faith in Jesus Christ was gifted to us by God. It is divine persuasion as to the will of God for our lives. For, we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless the Father first draws us to Christ. So, not one of us can be saved by our own effort. But we have to appropriate that faith to our lives.

 

Our faith is also obedience, it is submission to Christ as Lord, and it is leaving our lives of sin behind us to follow Jesus wherever he leads us. By faith in Jesus Christ we die with Christ to sin, we are delivered from our slavery to sin, and we are given new lives in Christ as slaves now to his righteousness (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24).

 

And our faith is continuous, as was already discussed in the previous section. We must walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, and we must walk in the light as Jesus is in the light. So, this has to do with lifestyle. Also, we are saved (past), we are being saved (present), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns.

 

So, this warning here is written to the church, to believers in Jesus Christ, who are the holy ones of God, who share in the heavenly calling. Remember, we are his house (his church, his body) IF we hold fast to our faith until Jesus returns, or until he takes us home.

 

If we hear the Lord speaking to us through his word, through his Holy Spirit, we are not to harden our hearts and refuse to listen to him and refuse to do what he says. We are not to go astray in our hearts. We must guard our hearts and minds against deceiving spirits who would turn our hearts away from our pure devotion to Christ back to living in sin and for self.

 

For, if we refuse Him, and we turn back to unbelief through disobedience, as the Israelites of old did in the wilderness, we are in danger of falling away from the living God. So, we must encourage one another daily to walk in purity of devotion to Christ and to abide in Christ and in his word, and we must honor Christ with our lives, and glorify our Lord by how we live.

 

Great is The Lord  

 

Ward, Asaph Alexander

 

Great is the Lord

He is holy and just

By His power we trust

In his love

Great is the Lord

He is faithful and true

By his mercy he proves

He is love

 

Great is the Lord

And worthy of glory

Great is the Lord

And worthy of praise

Great is the Lord

Now lift up your voice

Great is the Lord

 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ocmCTU_rEeI

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The Hope to Which He has Called us

Ephesians 1:15-23 ESV

 

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.”

 

Distortions of Truth

 

If the eyes of our hearts are to be enlightened so that we may know the hope to which he has called us, and the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, then we need to be made aware of the counterfeit hope which is being spread far and wide to which the majority of the church has fallen prey, so that we are not deceived.

 

We need to understand that this counterfeit hope (cheap grace gospel) was put in place on purpose to deceive the church and to lead them astray from their pure devotion to Jesus Christ. They call it the gospel, but it is not the gospel of Jesus, but a fake, a phony, a cheap substitute for the real thing.

 

This didn’t just happen, though. This was well planned out in advance, and it was taught to seminary students and to pastors of churches who wanted to grow their churches. So, they became convinced that this was what they should teach if they wanted to grow their congregations.

 

This cheap grace gospel came from high up in the “food chain,” with regard to the institutional (state) church. It was a coordinated effort among multiple church denominations to market the church like any other product or business and to alter the gospel to make it more acceptable to the world and to the flesh so as to draw in large crowds of people.

 

But this wasn’t just to draw large crowds of people. It had a very diabolical purpose, which is, as already stated, to deceive people’s minds and hearts so that they reject the true gospel of Jesus Christ and so they believe the cheap substitute, in order to lead them away from Christ, and to hell, basically.

 

So, what is their message? It varies, but essentially it is to claim that faith in Jesus Christ is saying some magic words, or giving an assent to what Jesus did on the cross, or making a public statement of belief in Jesus whereby that person is now forgiven all sin and they are guaranteed heaven when they die, and that it can never be taken away from them, no matter how they live their lives from that moment forward.

 

There is no death to sin that takes place, so no resurrection to new life in Christ, and no obedience to Christ taught as essential, so no surrender of one’s life to Christ taught as necessary, either. Much of what is being taught today is so watered down it barely resembles the true gospel at all.

 

Many are taking it to the extreme to where they are saying that if we repent of our sins, if we obey Jesus, and if we submit to him as Lord, that we are trying to earn our salvation by works, and we are not saved by works but by God’s grace and faith alone.

 

While it is true that we are saved by God’s grace, through faith alone, and not of ourselves, but it is a gift from God, not of works lest any of us should boast, it is not true that repentance, obedience and submission to Christ are works based salvation, and so we are to reject them, or that they are not part of believing faith in Jesus Christ.

 

So, what this cheap grace does is it gives people free license to continue living in sin, it discourages them from repenting of sin, obeying Jesus, and submitting to him as Lord, and it gives people a false hope of salvation from sin and a false hope of eternal life with God based on a lie from hell.

 

The Spirit of Wisdom

 

So, this is why we need to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened, and why we need to be given the Spirit of Wisdom, so that we can discern error and so that we can discover the truth, and so we can reject the lies and embrace the truth and live the truth to the glory and praise of God.

 

So, what is the truth? What is this immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe?

 

Jesus Christ died on that cross to put sin to death in our lives, not to give it full reign. He died to deliver us from our slavery to sin, not so we would continue living in our sin now that we are under grace. He died that we might die to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (Rom 6:1-23; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Co 6:19-20).

 

We are not to continue living in sin. We are not to obey its passions and desires. For sin will have no dominion over those who are truly the Lord’s. We are not to be slaves to sin, but slaves to God and to his righteousness. But if sin is what we obey, we are slaves to sin, and it will end in death, not in everlasting life with God (Rom 6:1-23).

 

We must walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh if we want salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For, if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins (Rom 8:1-17).

 

If we don’t obey the Lord, we don’t have a relationship with him and we don’t have eternal life with him (Lu 9:23-26; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6). And if we make sin our practice, we will die in our sins, not have eternal life with God (Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10).

 

But we don’t obey God in our flesh. It is impossible to do God’s will in the flesh, in fact, because the flesh is opposed to the Spirit. All holy living is only possible because of God’s grace, and the faith he gives us, too, and because of the Holy Spirit living within us empowering, guiding and directing us in the way we are to go (Tit 2:11-14; Eph 2:10; Gal 2:20; Gal 5:16).

 

And we can only live holy lives pleasing to God because of God’s power and dominion and sovereignty over all, so that nothing comes into our lives but what God allows it, and he will give us everything we need to endure, to persevere, and to learn from what he allows us to go through. And he has given us that escape from all temptation, too (1 Co 10:13).

 

So, just know that God is holy, he is righteous, and in him no sin exists, so he is not going to provide a salvation that gives sin free reign in our lives or that denies him as Lord of our lives, or that refuses to obey him.

 

He saved us from our sins so that we would honor him by our lives in all our conduct. If we refuse, we will die in our sins. We will not have eternal life. So, please take this to heart, for we are all going to have to give an account to God for what we did with him and his salvation, and we will be judged by our works, indeed (Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

 

Jesus, Be Near to Me

 

Words and music by Tommy Walker

 

Jesus, be near to me

Let me know You are here

How I need You, how I need You

To reveal Yourself to me

 

Through Your unchanging truth

Through the breath of Your Spirit

In my questions and pain

Whisper words of Your love

Always the same…

 

https://youtu.be/9QGErOg2Erw

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Chosen in Him

Ephesians 1:1-6 ESV

 

“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

To the saints who are in Ephesus, and are faithful in Christ Jesus:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”

 

Blessed of God

 

This letter of Paul’s is written to the saints (the holy ones) of God, the set apart by and for God, who now have the likeness of nature with the Lord, by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ. They are also the set apart (unlike, different) from the world, for Jesus called us out of the world.

 

These saints of God are also the faithful in Christ Jesus. They are the trustworthy, believing, and faithful saints (holy ones) of God, by God’s grace and through genuine faith in Jesus Christ. They believe God and his word, for they have been divinely persuaded (convinced) as to God’s perfect will for their lives. So, they submit to that purpose.

 

These are those who are blessed of God in Christ Jesus with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. We are blessed with God’s love, his mercy, his grace, his forgiveness, his salvation, his deliverance of us from our bondage to sin, and with empowerment of the Spirit to live godly lives. And we are blessed of God with eternal life.

 

And we are also blessed with his comfort, encouragement, hope, healing, nurturing, teaching, counsel, guidance, protection, and the like.

 

We still live in flesh bodies, though. So, we still have the propensity to sin, and we are still capable of sinning against our Lord. But we are no longer under the control (power) of or slavery (bondage) to sin. Sin no longer has dominion over our lives, for Jesus set us free. We now have empowerment of God’s Spirit to say “No” to sin and “Yes” to God and to his will.

 

According to His Purpose

 

I don’t know about you, but this just “blows me away,” i.e. it absolutely amazes me. God the Father chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. Before he created the world, he already had chosen us in him. He had planned for us to be his before he even made the first man and woman.

 

And he chose us, not just so he could forgive our sins, and not just so we could go to heaven when we die. He chose us to be holy, set apart for God and apart from the world, to be conformed to his likeness, and to no longer be conformed to the ways of this sinful world.

 

Before he created the world, he already had planned that Jesus Christ, God the Son, would be the sacrificial Lamb to take away the sins of the world. For, if God chose us before the foundation of the world, then he already planned on Jesus dying for our sins before the creation of the world, too.

 

And why did Jesus die? He died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. His gave his life blood up for us on that cross that we might honor him with our lives (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Co 6:19-20).

 

When we believe in Jesus with God-given faith, we die with him to sin that we might walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. 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 (Rom 6:1-23; Lu 9:23-26; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

For, his plan was that now we would walk (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God and no longer according to the flesh. For if we walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins. But if we walk according to the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the flesh, then we have eternal life (Rom 8:1-17).

 

Ephesians 1:7-10 ESV

 

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

 

To be redeemed means to be bought back for God, which is what Jesus did for us when he shed his blood for us on that cross. He bought us back for God so that we would now honor God with our lives (1 Co 6:19-20).

 

He forgave us our sins so that we would no longer be under condemnation but that we would now walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh.

 

But this is not merely a suggestion or a recommendation, but it is a command of God. For if we continue in our sin, and if we walk according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, we don’t have eternal life with God. Instead, we will die in our sins because we did not die to our sins.

 

Therefore, not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ has God-given faith which results in repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord. Not everyone who says they are saved and bound for heaven are saved and bound for heaven. For, if we don’t repent, and we don’t obey, and we continue living how we want, then we don’t have eternal life with God.

 

But, yes, all that God has provided for us, and everything he has done and is doing for us, and all the blessings we have from God are all because of his grace and not from ourselves. There is not one thing we can do in our flesh to ever be good enough or to earn God’s approval. Even the faith to believe and the repentance necessary are gifted to us by God.

 

We just have to appropriate to our lives what the Lord has provided for us, and this only comes through surrender to our Lord’s will and via submission to his Lordship over our lives. If we try to go it in the flesh, we will fail. We must yield to the Holy Spirit’s control and follow our Lord wherever he leads us. Then, it is Christ in us who gets the glory, and not ourselves.

 

In Truth

 

An Original Work / January 10, 2012

 

Fellowshipping with my Lord, Savior, King.

He is Lord of all; Lord of ev’rything.

He is with me through ev’ry hour of day,

List’ning to me speak, as I humbly pray.

He cares for my needs,

and He intercedes for me,

‘cause He loves me in ev’ry way.

 

Obey His commands, and do all He says.

Sitting at His feet, daily in His word,

Let His word speak to me in ev’ry way,

Giving comfort and healing through each day.

Oh, how Jesus loves,

And He cares for you,

Which is why He died for our sins, in truth.

 

Love our Lord God, Savior, and King of kings.

Worship Him in truth, for He reigns supreme.

He created us with a plan in mind

For us to be His servants, and Him mind.

Follow Him in truth;

Go where’er He leads.

Share His love with others, and their needs meet.

Others: their needs meet.

 

https://vimeo.com/125738283