Putting on God's Full Armor

Ephesians 6:10-13 NIV

 

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

 

We have an enemy. His name is Satan (or the devil). He is out to defeat all that is of God. And he is continually scheming against us, trying to trick us into forsaking our pure faith and our devotion to Jesus Christ in order that we might follow after the flesh and the world, instead.

 

So, as true followers of Jesus Christ, we are going to be opposed on a regular basis by the devil via humans who are listening to him and who are doing his bidding.

 

Some of them, perhaps, are unaware they are being used of Satan, like when Peter tried to persuade Jesus that he didn’t have to die on that cross and so Jesus had to rebuke Satan, but he was also rebuking Peter for not having the mind of God, but for setting his mind on the things of man.

 

So, since we have this powerful enemy who is out to bring us down any which way he can, we must stay strong in our faith in the Lord and in his mighty power. And we must not give the devil any kind of foothold in our lives.

 

Therefore, daily we must put on the full armor of God, so that we can take our stand against the devil’s schemes, for they are many. And we must resist the devil, flee temptation, and draw close to our Lord Jesus.

 

Yes, our true struggle (battle) is not against flesh and blood (against humans), for this is a spiritual battle, not a physical one. So, we are at war against the devil and he is at war against us who are following Jesus with our lives. But he uses human beings to do his dirty work.

 

And just because our true enemy is Satan, this does not excuse anyone who sins against us. They don’t get off the hook just because they are being used as a tool of the enemy to come against the Lord’s servants. For we are all responsible before God for what we do in this life (Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).

 

And just because Satan is our real enemy, that doesn’t mean we don’t confront sin in sinful humans and call for repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord. And it doesn’t mean we don’t speak the truth to other Christians who we know are living in sin, in hopes they will repent.

 

We must stand our ground. We must set our faces “like flint” (Is 50:7), with resolution, courage, and determination, so that we are not overcome by the enemy but so we can remain pure and steadfast in our faith until Jesus returns. We can’t budge at all in any areas of moral purity, especially.

 

Ephesians 6:14-17 NIV

 

“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

 

So, what is this armor of God, and how do we put it on? It is not something we just repeat and say, “I put this on.” It is not a mere mental exercise or a religious ritual. Putting on the armor of God means applying all that is of God and of his truth and righteousness to our lives daily.

 

When confronted with lies or when tempted to tell a lie, we choose to tell and/or to believe the truth, instead. When we hear things that others say, especially if they are saying that God said it, we need to test it to see if it is true. And we need to test it in prayer and in the study of God’s word (in context). For many false teachings stem from Scriptures taken out of context.

 

Our chest is where our physical heart is and the protection for our heart is righteousness if it is in place. And righteousness is not just a state of being because we believe in Jesus. We must live to his righteousness. So, our hearts are protected from going astray if we are practicing righteousness.

 

Feet are often symbolic of those who are spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ to others, but our feet need to have the proper covering, too. We need to be students of the word of God who study it in context, who compare Scripture with Scripture and who seek out the Lord for truth.

 

Then, when we share the gospel with others we will be sharing the gospel as Jesus and his NT apostles taught it and we won’t be guilty of spreading a false gospel of men which is deceiving many people these days by promising them heaven while they leave them in their sins, sending them to hell.

 

Our faith, if it is the kind of faith that saves, comes from God. We can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless the Father first draws us to Christ; unless he first persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sin, and of our need to turn from our sin and to obey Christ Jesus.

 

So, taking up that faith daily means drawing on that God-given faith, and in the power of God’s Spirit, we walk by faith and not by sight, and we believe God, and we follow Jesus with our lives, and we forsake our sins daily, and we surrender our lives to his will.

 

Our salvation is death to sin and living to righteousness daily. It is no longer living for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. And it is walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh in the power of God’s Spirit now livening within us.

 

So, if we walk by the Spirit, we won’t fulfill the lustful cravings of our flesh. If we follow Jesus Christ with our lives, we won’t walk (live) in darkness (sin). And when Satan throws lies or temptation our way to try to trip us up, we get out the word of God and we fight his lies with the truth of God’s word.

 

Ephesians 6:18 NIV

 

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

 

Yes, we need to pray for one another. The enemy is out in full force with his army and they are fiercely coming against us, and it is going to get much worse in the near future. We need to pray for and encourage one another in our walks of faith so that none of us are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.

 

He Lifted Our Burdens

 

An Original Work / February 15, 2014

Based off Isaiah 9:2-7

 

People walk in darkness.

They abide in their sin.

It has power o’er them.

True belief escapes them.

 

Jesus Christ came to save them.

He gave His life up for them;

Crucified; died for our sin,

So we might be forgiven,

And have life up in heaven.

 

Many come to know Him.

God’s love now o’erflows them.

They rejoice in vict’ry.

Their sin is but hist’ry.

 

We were once bound in slav’ry.

Jesus lifted our burdens;

Set us now free from Satan,

So we now walk in freedom.

Sin has no more dominion.

 

Praise be to our Savior!

He showed us His favor.

He took all our burdens;

Cast them all upon Him.

 

He is our mediator;

The Light which shines in darkness.

Counselor in our troubles;

He gives peace now in our hearts;

Joy which is everlasting.

 

https://vimeo.com/86854416

We Need to Encourage Each Other

Ephesians 5:11-14 NIV

 

“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.’”

 

Wake up, Sleeper

 

There is so much evil going on in our world and in the organized church today. It is hard to imagine it getting much more evil, but the Scriptures teach that it will, so we need to be ready spiritually for when it comes.

 

The Lord Jesus began opening my mind and heart to see what is going on in the world and in the church some sixteen years ago. I was beginning to see some of it before then, but he opened my eyes so much wider than I would have ever imagined.

 

I knew the Scriptures fairly well, for I had been teaching them since I was a teenager, so it wasn’t so much in that area that my eyes needed to be opened, but it had to do mostly with unlearning what I was taught in the church with regard to our nation, our government, and our military.

 

As well, the Lord opened my eyes to see all the evil that was going on within the organizational (or institutional) church and the plot that was there to take down the church and the gospel of our salvation and to bring us all into a one world religion and a one world order of government, too.

 

There is not the time or the space here to go into massive detail regarding all that the Lord taught me, and all the research he led me to when the truth was still somewhat available on the internet. Suffice it to say, I had been brainwashed into believing my government, but no more!

 

Reality vs Fakery

 

The Lord opened my eyes to see that the US government is not our real government, but that the de facto government of the US is a group of elite, wealthy, and powerful people who run the world, basically. And our government, as we know it, serves them.

 

There is no right and left, i.e., there is no Republican or Democrat. They are just two sides of the same whole, working for the same people, just play acting their differences in order to confuse, distract and to get even Christians fighting among themselves over which leader is the best.

 

But, even if you are not willing to consider that reality, know what the Scriptures teach regarding our associations with the world, regarding these last days before our Lord returns, and regarding our loyalties and where they should lay.

 

For, we are to be separate (unlike, different) from the world. We are not to get involved in civilian affairs. But we are to live to please our commanding officer, who is Jesus Christ, our Lord. We should be about his business, not be about supporting a leader who may be part of the antichrist beast.

 

For, the things we are seeing take place in the USA and in the world today are what were prophesied would take place in the Scriptures, in particular in Revelation 12-14 (especially chapter 13). For kingdoms of men are being conquered, and there is a global effort to bring us all together as one.

 

Hope in God not in Man

 

Also, we are not to put our trust and our hope in humans who cannot save us. No man or woman is our savior. No military is our savior. And no nation is our savior or our hope. We are to give our worship and our undying loyalty to God and to God alone!

 

And this goes for the church, too. We are not to put our hope or our trust in preachers or in church denominations or in specific church groups. We are not to follow the teachings of men but of God. We are not to get our truth from books written by mere mortals, especially when they dilute and they twist the Scriptures to teach what is false in order to deceive people.

 

So much of today’s church has gone the way of the world and it is barely distinguishable between the world and the church anymore. Many have unequally yoked together with the ungodly and have turned God’s house into a marketplace to be marketed to the world.

 

And they have also altered the gospel of Christ to make it more acceptable to the flesh of man, too, teaching that how we live on this earth will not impact our eternal security. Many are teaching that we don’t have to submit to Christ or obey him or forsake our sinful lifestyles.

 

But Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness and that we might live according to his Spirit (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Co 6:19-20; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Lu 9:23-26).

 

Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV

 

“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.”

 

As we look around us, and we observe what is going on in the world and within our nations, and we see the downfall of the church, too, and we witness the adulterating of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must look to Jesus for our hope, and we must follow his teachings.

 

We must most certainly be careful how we live because we are all going to be judged by God according to our deeds (our works). Yes, we are not saved by works, but our salvation is not absent of works, but they are the works of God that he has called and empowered us to do (Eph 2:8-10; Tit 2:11-14).

 

So, we must not be foolish and get caught up in what is going on in the world, some or much of which is fake. We must not get involved in civilian affairs (including politics), but we must live to please God in all that we do. And we must not buy into the cheap grace gospel.

 

Jesus died and rose from the dead so that we might die with him to sin and be resurrected with him to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. But if we continue living in sin, and if sin is what we practice, we don’t have eternal life with God (Rom 6:1-23; Gal 5:16-21; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8).

 

Ephesians 5:18-20 NIV

 

“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.”

 

Compare to this similar passage of Scripture in Colossians 3:16:

 

“Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.”

 

What is needed right now is for Christians (or those who profess faith in Jesus) to separate themselves from the world and to be separate unto God living holy lives, pleasing to God, sharing the truth of the gospel with as many people as possible before things get worse and before Jesus returns.

 

And this involves first dying with Christ to sin so you can live holy lives unto God. And this dying to sin is daily, as is surrendering our lives to Jesus. And included in this is encouraging one another in our walks of faith, too.

 

So many “Christians” are so caught up in the political realm that they are not doing what God has called them to do in the way of living for him, sharing the gospel, and encouraging one another in walks of holiness, purity, honesty, integrity, and in the fear (honor, respect) of the Lord.

 

We are to speak to one another using songs of the Spirit, hymns, and psalms in order to encourage, counsel, instruct, exhort (strong urging), and correct one another so that we don’t fall into error, and so that we believe and follow the truth. And this is needed so much right now in this time.

 

He Lifted Our Burdens

 

An Original Work / February 15, 2014

Based off Isaiah 9:2-7

 

People walk in darkness.

They abide in their sin.

It has power o’er them.

True belief escapes them.

 

Jesus Christ came to save them.

He gave His life up for them;

Crucified; died for our sin,

So we might be forgiven,

And have life up in heaven.

 

Many come to know Him.

God’s love now o’erflows them.

They rejoice in vict’ry.

Their sin is but hist’ry.

 

We were once bound in slav’ry.

Jesus lifted our burdens;

Set us now free from Satan,

So we now walk in freedom.

Sin has no more dominion.

 

Praise be to our Savior!

He showed us His favor.

He took all our burdens;

Cast them all upon Him.

 

He is our mediator;

The Light which shines in darkness.

Counselor in our troubles;

He gives peace now in our hearts;

Joy which is everlasting.

 

https://vimeo.com/86854416

Living Lives Pleasing to God

Ephesians 5:1-2 NIV

 

“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.”

 

We read in the previous chapter that we, as believers in Jesus Christ, were created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:24).

 

We were predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29). We are being transformed into His image (his likeness) with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord (2 Co 3:18). And, having taken off our old self with its practices, and having put on our new self, we are being renewed in knowledge in the image of our creator, Jesus Christ (Col 3:9-10).

 

And as God is holy, so are we to be holy in all our conduct (1 Pet 1:15-16). We are to be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord (Heb 12:14). Jesus saved us from our sins and called us to a holy life (2 Tim 1:9). And we are to offer our bodies to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our true and proper worship of him (Rom 12:1-2).

 

Basically, we are to walk (conduct our lives) in like manner as Jesus walked when he lived on this earth (1 Jn 2:3-6). Jesus lived an unselfish life. He cared about the legitimate needs of the people. And he sacrificed himself, not just in his death, but in his life on the earth, too, to meet those needs.

 

He brought healing into people’s lives, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He had mercy and compassion on the people. But he never coddled them in their sins. He never placated or tolerated sin in order to make people feel good about themselves. He always spoke the truth in love.

 

But he didn’t just preach righteousness, holiness, purity, honesty, integrity, uprightness, and godliness. He lived it. And that is how we are to live, too. But we don’t do it in our own flesh or in our own strength, but we do it in the strength of the Lord, as empowered by God’s Holy Spirit.

 

Jesus lived a holy life, separate (unlike, different) from the world, and that is why the world (including the worldly religious people) hated him. He wasn’t like them. He didn’t join in with them in their wickedness and in their idolatry, so they hated him, persecuted him, and eventually they put him to death on a cross, even though he had done no wrong.

 

And this is how we should live, too. The world should not love us as its own. But they should hate us. And this includes the worldly Christians, too, who will despise, reject, ostracize, slander, ignore and abandon us because we aren’t like them, and we don’t do the worldly things that they do.

 

Ephesians 5:3-6 NIV

 

“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.”

 

If we are living like Jesus, there will be no hint of impurity or sexual immorality in our lives. If we are walking in obedience to his commands, in the power of the Holy Spirit, none of these sinful behaviors mentioned here should be part of our lives, not one little itsy bit!

 

And this includes the things we entertain ourselves with such as TV shows, movies, music, games, videos, sports, social media, and the like. There should not be a hint of impurity or sexual immorality in anything we choose to listen to or to watch or to participate in in any way.

 

Also, the friends we choose for ourselves to hang out with should not be those who are (to our knowledge) living in sexual immorality, especially if they profess faith in Jesus Christ. They should not be ones who tell off-color jokes or who make lewd or suggestive remarks, etc.

 

This doesn’t mean we avoid all such people, though, for Jesus sent us out into the world to be a light to the world to spread the good news of the gospel, to call people to repentance, to obedience to God, and to surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives.

 

He also sent us out to show people love, as he loved the people of this world, in all purity, and in full submission to the will of God the Father. Again, he never once compromised with the world to win the world. He was always a straight shooter. And He loved them by telling them the truth.

 

And the truth is that those who make sin their practice have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. So, don’t let anyone deceive you with empty words of comfort, for the wrath of God will come on those who are living in disobedience to God, no matter what faith they profess (Gal 5:16-21; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10).

 

Ephesians 5:6-10 NIV

 

“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.”

 

I love the wording of this! You were ONCE darkness! That means that part of your life is supposed to be in your past, not still in your present. Yet, many people today are teaching a diluted gospel message which gives free license for “believers in Jesus” to continue living in the darkness.

 

But if we walk (in practice) in the darkness (in sin) while we profess faith and fellowship with Christ (with God), the Bible says we are liars who do not live by the truth. And it says we have no inheritance in God’s kingdom, but we will die in our sins (1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Gal 5:16-21).

 

So, we are to no longer live in sin, making any sin our practice. Now we are to live our lives on this earth as children of light (of truth, holiness, godliness, righteousness, purity, and of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ).

 

And we are to find out what pleases the Lord and do it. And what pleases him is that we walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit, and no longer according to our flesh, that we leave our lives of sin behind us, and that we follow our Lord in obedience and in surrender to his will.

 

Being Made Right

 

An Original Work / September 8, 2019

 

Jesus, lover of my soul,

Cleansed and saved me,

Made me whole;

Purified me, now new within.

By His grace, I’m free from sin.

 

Holy Spirit lives within,

Teaching me to walk with Him,

Guiding me each step of the way.

Living for my Lord each day.

 

Father God, He is my Lord.

Walk with Him in one accord.

Follow Him wherever He leads,

Living holy, Him to please.

 

Witnessing for Him each day,

Loving others in His way,

Telling them about Jesus Christ,

And how they can be made right.

 

https://vimeo.com/358879480

Chosen to Be Obedient

1 Peter 1:13-16 NIV

 

“Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’”

 

We who are in Christ, by faith in him, have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be OBEDIENT to Jesus Christ (See vv. 1-2).

 

For, Jesus Christ gave his life up for us on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died, in fact, 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 we would now glorify God with our lives (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Co 6:19-20).

 

God’s grace, thus, is not free license to continue living in sin without guilt and without consequence. His grace, which brings salvation, trains us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts (passions) and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await Christ’s soon return (Tit 2:11-14).

 

We who have been delivered from our slavery to sin, and who have been born anew of the Spirit of God, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, are not to live like we did before we believed in Jesus. We are not to conform our lives to the evil desires we had before we met Jesus.

 

[Eph 4:17-24; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Gal 5:16-21]

 

Therefore, we are to have minds (thinking) that are alert (vigilant, aware) and fully sober (self-controlled and serious-minded about God). We have to do so, in this world of ours, or we won’t survive the onslaught against us. We have to do so if we want to see Jesus face to face one day, too.

 

For, when this says to set our hope on the grace to be brought to us when Jesus is revealed at his coming, this is talking about when our salvation is complete and we go to be with our Lord. But to make it to the end we have to continue in Christ, in obedience to him, abiding in him and in his word.  

 

[Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 11:17-24; 1 Co 15:2; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 3:6, 14-15; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 1 Jn 2:24-25]

 

For, as followers of Jesus Christ, we aren’t called to believe in Jesus just so we can have our sins forgiven, escape hell, and just so we can go to heaven when we die. We are called to be holy as God is holy, and not just positionally, through faith in Jesus Christ, but in ALL YOU DO.

 

For, to be holy means to be set apart (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ. So, sin is not what we practice. Righteousness is what we practice. We no longer walk (in conduct) according to the flesh, but now according to the Spirit of God.

 

[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Phil 4:9; Gal 5:16-21; 1 Jn 1:6; 1 Jn 2:29]

 

1 Peter 1:17-21 NIV

 

“Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.”

 

This is how we are to live our lives during the time God has given us to live on this earth. Our lives are not to be spent just doing what we want to do. Our lives are to be lived for the glory of God in accordance with his will for our lives. He is now to be Lord (owner-master) of our lives, and we are to follow him wherever he leads us.

 

But notice with me here the clause preceding this description of how we are to live our lives here on the earth. It says, “Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s WORK impartially…” So, this has something to do with why we are to live on this earth as foreigners in reverent fear of God.

 

What is this saying? It is saying we are going to be judged by our works.

 

[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 15:1-12; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10]

 

If we make sin our practice, and righteousness is not what we practice, we are not going to inherit eternal life with God. If we obey sin, it will lead to death, but if we obey obedience, it will lead to righteousness, and it will end in eternal life with God. Eternal life is conditional upon how we live our lives.

 

So, what this is saying here is that since God is going to judge us all by our deeds (our works), we must live out our time on this earth as foreigners (holy, separate from the world) in reverent fear (honor, respect) of God and in obedience to God.

 

1 Peter 1:22-23 NIV

 

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

 

Our obedience to the truth is essential to our walks of faith in Jesus Christ. We can’t have genuine faith in the Lord Jesus absent of obedience, repentance, and submission to Christ as Lord. If we didn’t die with Christ to sin, and if we haven’t lived to him and to his righteousness, then we are not true believers in Jesus Christ (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

The result (fruit) of us being in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, via our obedience to the truth, is that we will have sincere love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. If we hate them, instead, then we are not true believers in Jesus (Jn 13:34-35; 1 Jn 4:19-20; 1 Jn 5:2-3; 1 Jn 2:9-11).

 

So, walk in the truth. Follow Jesus with your life. Obey his commandments (New Covenant). Love your fellow believers and all other people, including your enemies. Hate sin. Hate evil. But don’t hate people. Love them as God has loved you and gave himself up for your freedom from bondage to sin.

 

Jesus, Rescue Me  

 

An Original Work / September 18, 2011

Based off of Romans 7:7-8:39

 

Jesus, rescue me today.

Listen while I bow and pray.

I need Your help to obey You;

Live for You always.

Meet me in my hour of need, Lord,

As I pray to You.

Help me walk in fellowship, Lord,

Living in Your truth.

Jesus, how I long for You to

Change my heart anew.

 

Father, God, my heart’s desire

Is to live for You this hour

In Your Holy Spirit’s power

Living in me now.

Teach me to walk in Your love, Lord,

Guiding me each day.

Help me to show love and kindness

To the lost, I pray.

Father, teach me to love others

As You love always.

 

Holy Spirit come in pow’r.

Revive our hearts in this hour.

Change our hearts to be like You, Lord;

Live for You each day.

Help us to forsake our sins, Lord,

As we humbly pray.

Teach us how to live for You, Lord,

Obey You always.

Holy Spirit come in power,

Revive us today.

 

https://vimeo.com/126092919

Hope for the Future

1 Corinthians 15:1-2 NIV

 

“Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.”

 

What is the gospel that Paul preached? First of all, it was to tell of how Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on a cross for our sins, according to the Scriptures, how he was buried, but how he was raised on the third day, according to the Scriptures. After his resurrection, he appeared to over 500 people (Vv. 3-8).

 

Then, he went on to explain the importance of the fact that Jesus Christ didn’t remain dead, but that he was raised from the dead. He said that if Christ was not raised from the dead that our faith is useless, we are still in our sins, and those who have died are lost (Vv. 12-18).

 

“If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (v. 19).

 

So, how does Jesus’ resurrection from the dead give us hope? How does his resurrection impact our lives?

 

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

 

“For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

 

“Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him” (Rom 6:4-8 NIV).

 

When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given (God-persuaded) faith, we are baptized spiritually into his death, we are buried with him through baptism into death (death to sin), and we are raised with him to new lives in him to be lived for his glory and praise.

 

This is what our water baptism symbolizes, which is why immersion is the preferred mode of baptism, for it symbolizes us dying with Christ to sin, being buried with him, and then being raised with him to new life in him.

 

But this isn’t some religious ritual we go through so that we can join a “church.” This has to do with us giving public testimony of us having spiritually died with Christ to sin, meaning that we chose to forsake our lifestyles of sin so that we will no longer be enslaved to sin, but so that we can now, by God’s grace, be slaves of his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23).

 

Paul wrote to the Ephesians and he told them that the truth in Christ Jesus is that, with regard to our former way of life, we are to put off our old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, we are to be made new in the attitude of our minds, and we are to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph 4:17-24).

 

So, the gospel that Paul preached to the Corinthian believers was the same gospel he preached to the Romans and to the Ephesians, etc. And it all comes back to the fact that Jesus died for our sins, he was buried, and he was resurrected from the dead.

 

Belief in him, thus, means we die with him to sin, we are buried with him in death to sin, and we are raised with him to newness of life in him, which is to be lived to him and to his righteousness – all for the praise and glory of God! (1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15, 21).

 

This is the gospel on which we are to take our stand. And this is the gospel by which we are saved IF we hold firmly to the word preached to us (by Jesus and the Apostle Paul). This means we must die daily to sin and to self, and daily we must live to the Lord and to his righteousness, in his power, or we have believed in vain (Lu 9:23-26; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

1 Corinthians 15:31-32 NIV

 

“I face death every day—yes, just as surely as I boast about you in Christ Jesus our Lord. If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus with no more than human hopes, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised,

 

“’Let us eat and drink,

    for tomorrow we die.’”

 

Because Jesus died, was buried, and was raised from the dead, we are to die with him to sin, be buried with him in death to sin, and we are to be raised with him to newness of life in him to be lived to his righteousness.

 

Because he was raised from the dead, in victory over sin, death, Satan and hell, we can live in victory over sin, no longer under the control of sin and Satan, but now under the control of the Holy Spirit of God. We can live in freedom from slavery to sin because Jesus set us free! Amen!

 

But our hope is not just for this life alone. When we die, if we are holding firmly to the truth of the gospel, if we are walking according to the Spirit, and no longer according to the flesh, we will live with Christ for eternity. But if we continue deliberately living in habitual sin, we will die in our sins. We will not have the hope of eternal life (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Lu 9:23-26; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10).

 

If we have not surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ, we have not died with him to sin, we have not been buried with him in death to sin, and thus we have not been resurrected with him to newness of life in him to be lived to him and not to ourselves, then we have no hope. We live and then we die, but then we face eternal punishment in the fires of hell.

 

1 Corinthians 15:33-34 NIV

 

“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God—I say this to your shame.”

 

Many people today are being misled by master manipulators who are convincing them that belief in Jesus is more like a feeling or an acknowledgment of Christ which then guarantees them heaven when they die, not matter how they live their lives on this earth.

 

Don’t be misled by them! That is not the gospel taught in the Scriptures! Jesus didn’t die so we would go on living in sin without guilt. His grace to us is not free license to continue living in sin without conscience. His death and resurrection gave us freedom from slavery to sin so we can now walk in his holiness and righteousness, in his power, under his control.

 

So, come back to your senses! Stop living in sin! Stop making sin your practice (your habit). For, if you continue living in sin you will die in your sin. You will not have eternal life with God (Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

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

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

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

*Caution: This link may contain ads

Who's in Control of Your Life?

Isaiah 1:4 NIV

 

“Woe to the sinful nation,

    a people whose guilt is great,

a brood of evildoers,

    children given to corruption!

They have forsaken the Lord;

    they have spurned the Holy One of Israel

    and turned their backs on him.”

 

The nation, in this case, is a spiritual nation, not a physical one, for this is speaking of God’s adulterous people. Today this is speaking about the adulterous church who has turned her back on the Lord and who has chosen to follow after the flesh, instead.

 

How has the church turned her back on the Lord? In so many different ways. She has unequally yoked together with the world and has turned the house of God (his temple) into a marketplace. And she has diluted the gospel message to make it more appealing to the flesh of man.

 

Thus, she is teaching and believing a cheapened form of God’s grace which makes no demands for repentance, obedience, submission to God, holiness, righteousness, godliness, honesty and/or moral purity. This cheap grace gives free license, instead, to keep on deliberately living in sin.

 

Thus, so many people in today’s church, at least here in America, are following this cheapened form of God’s grace, and are living in spiritual adultery against God, doing whatever they feel they have the freedom to do with regards to giving into the passions of their sinful flesh.

 

The lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life have overtaken so many people who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ to where they have no fear of God. They do not respect the Lord or give him honor, and they don’t believe they have to obey him.

 

Isaiah 1:5-6 NIV

 

“Why should you be beaten anymore?

    Why do you persist in rebellion?

Your whole head is injured,

    your whole heart afflicted.

From the sole of your foot to the top of your head

    there is no soundness—

only wounds and welts

    and open sores,

not cleansed or bandaged

    or soothed with olive oil.”

 

Many of these people who profess faith in Jesus Christ today are living defeated Christian lives because they persist in rebelling against God. Many of them are double-minded, trying to live “Christian” lives all the while they are still deliberately walking in habitual sin.

 

This is like trying to drive east and trying to drive west at the same time. You can’t go in opposite directions at the same time. For, if you obey sin, it leads to death, but if you obey obedience, it leads to righteousness, which then ends in eternal life with God (Rom 6:16-23).

 

It is a lot like someone using parental controls on his/her internet device to help him/her not to get on to pornography, only he/she is both the parent and the child, and so he/she maintains control over what gets reported and the reports only go to him/her who is also the one being monitored.

 

It is self-defeating because there is no accountability, for he/she is still the one in control, and he/she has the power to turn off the controls or to alter them at any time to his/her benefit. So, it is a false sense of security. For, in a moment of weakness, he/she can just bypass the controls.

 

And that is what it is like when people professing faith in Jesus Christ maintain control over their own lives. They are bound to fail time after time because the flesh can’t put the flesh to death, for flesh gives birth to flesh. Only as we yield control of our lives over to God can we live in victory over the flesh and over sin.

 

Isaiah 1:16-17 NIV

 

“Wash and make yourselves clean.

    Take your evil deeds out of my sight;

    stop doing wrong.

Learn to do right; seek justice.

    Defend the oppressed.

Take up the cause of the fatherless;

    plead the case of the widow.”

 

The only solution there is to sin is the cross of Christ. Jesus died on that cross, taking our sins upon himself, so that we can now die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23; 1 Pet 2:24).

 

For, when Jesus died on that cross, it was so we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. When he shed his blood for us on that cross, too, it was to redeem us, i.e., it was to buy us back for God so that we would now belong to God, and so that we would now glorify him with our lives, with our bodies (1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15, 21).

 

Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self and take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For, if we hold on to our former lives of living for sin and self, we will lose them for eternity, but if we die with Christ to sin, for his sake, we will have eternal life with God (Lu 9:23-26; cf. Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6).

 

As long as we maintain control over our own lives, it doesn’t matter how many safeguards we think we have put in place. The addict knows many ways around those safeguards, especially if he/she is the one putting them in place. Behavioral modification only goes so far before it fails.

 

So, our only hope is found in surrender of our lives to Jesus Christ, but not just once, but daily, moment by moment. For the grace of God, which brings salvation, trains us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives (Tit 2:11-14; Eph 4:17-24).

 

Also, we must understand what the Scriptures teach if we opt out of God’s plan of deliverance from slavery to sin, and if we decide to continue controlling our own lives. Jesus and the NT writers taught us that if we live to sin we will die in our sins. We won’t have eternal life with God.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Heb 3-4]

 

Do You Love Me?  

 

An Original Work / July 24, 2013

 

Do you love Me now?

Will you seek My face?

I have given you

My love and My grace.

Will you walk with Me

Ev’rywhere I lead?

Will you find in Me

All of what you need?

 

Won’t you meet with Me

Down upon your knees?

Will you obey Me,

And do what I please?

Will you hear My voice

Speaking now to you?

I am couns’ling you

To abide in truth.

 

I have died for you;

Taken all your sins –

Crucified with Me,

You have been forgiv’n.

I have set you free

From your slavery,

So that you can now

Live in victory.

 

https://vimeo.com/115908408

May I Love You and Obey

Psalms 27:1-3 NIV

 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—

    whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life—

    of whom shall I be afraid?

 

“When the wicked advance against me

    to devour me,

it is my enemies and my foes

    who will stumble and fall.

Though an army besiege me,

    my heart will not fear;

though war break out against me,

    even then I will be confident.”

 

When we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, and we are committed to him and to his service, and especially if we are holding fast to the truth of the Scriptures, and we are proclaiming the gospel that Jesus taught, and that Paul taught (the whole counsel of God), we are going to have enemies.

 

And some of our fiercest enemies and opposition may well come from within the gatherings of the church, not from out in the world, for the world is within the gatherings of the church, and many people who call themselves Christians are living not much different from the world.

 

But we are not to fear their opposition against us, or their personal attacks against our character, or their cruel and unjustified cutting remarks, or their trickery, their gossip, their false accusations, or their turning others against us, too. For, the Lord is the stronghold of our lives.

 

We just have to stand strong on the word of the Lord and remain steadfast in our faith, and in our trust in our Lord and in his sovereignty over our lives. And we must commit our ways to him, and continue to do what he says to do, trusting him with the people in our lives.

 

Psalms 27:4-6 NIV

 

“One thing I ask from the Lord,

    this only do I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the Lord

    all the days of my life,

to gaze on the beauty of the Lord

    and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble

    he will keep me safe in his dwelling;

he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent

    and set me high upon a rock.

 

“Then my head will be exalted

    above the enemies who surround me;

at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy;

    I will sing and make music to the Lord.”

 

If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in surrender to his will for our lives, and in walks of obedience to his commands, we have the hope of eternal life with God. And we have a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ. We are his body, his dwelling place (Rom 6:1-23).

 

Jesus Christ is living within us in the person of his Holy Spirit, so we are God’s house, his temple. He lives in us, and we live in him. So, the beauty of Jesus is within us. And we can come into his presence any time of day or night, on any day of the week, and no matter where we are.

 

By his grace we are saved through faith, and this not from ourselves. It is a gift of God, not of our works lest any of us should boast that we somehow earned or deserved our own salvation. But we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared that we should walk in them (Eph 2:8-10; Tit 2:11-14; Phil 2:12-13; Jas 2:17).

 

So, repentance, obedience and submission to Christ as Lord are essential elements of God’s gift of salvation to us. For the Scriptures make it quite clear that if we don’t turn away from living in sin, and if we aren’t obeying the Lord, and if we don’t submit to his Lordship, we don’t have eternal life.

 

[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21]

 

The Lord does protect us from the influences of evil on our lives. He doesn’t necessarily protect us from evil forces coming against us, but he has made the way of escape for us out from underneath temptation to sin so that we can walk in holiness, purity, and righteousness in his power.

 

So, he will keep us safe from evil, so that we don’t yield to evil, but we have to cooperate with him. We have to take the way of escape which he has provided. He will protect us spiritually from all forces of evil which would come against us, but we must surrender our lives to him.

 

And we will be able to rejoice in the victories that he gives us over our enemy Satan and over the flesh when we submit to his Lordship and we yield control of our lives over to him and we do what he says to do.

 

Psalms 27:7-14 NIV

 

“Hear my voice when I call, Lord;

    be merciful to me and answer me.

My heart says of you, “Seek his face!”

    Your face, Lord, I will seek.

Do not hide your face from me,

    do not turn your servant away in anger;

    you have been my helper.

Do not reject me or forsake me,

    God my Savior.

Though my father and mother forsake me,

    the Lord will receive me.

Teach me your way, Lord;

    lead me in a straight path

    because of my oppressors.

Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,

    for false witnesses rise up against me,

    spouting malicious accusations.

 

“I remain confident of this:

    I will see the goodness of the Lord

    in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

    be strong and take heart

    and wait for the Lord.”

 

If we want to have open communication between us and the Lord, we must remain submissive to him and obedient to what his word teaches and what he shows us regarding our own lives. We must desire to be taught by him, in truth, and not in outward shows with no follow through.

 

And if we want to have victory over the flesh and over Satan, and over all evil, then the same thing applies. We can’t live victorious lives over the enemy if we are playing with fire, i.e., if we are playing with sin or with temptation to sin because we refuse to throw off those weights that weigh us down which keep us from running the race God has for us to run.

 

And if we want to be confident that we have salvation from sin and eternal life with God, and that we will spend eternity with the Lord, then we must not live in sin, willfully and deliberately doing what we know is contrary to God’s design and purpose for our lives.

 

For, if we walk in sin, according to the flesh, in deliberate disobedience to the Lord, habitually, making sin our practice, we will die in our sins. We won’t have eternal life with God. But if we walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit in obedience to our Lord, then we have the hope of eternal life.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8]

 

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