Offering Ourselves to God Willingly

With a Whole Heart

1 Chronicles 29:9 ESV

 

“Then the people rejoiced because they had given willingly, for with a whole heart they had offered freely to the Lord. David the king also rejoiced greatly.”

 

The people had willingly and freely given to the Lord for the building of the temple of God (Old Testament). So, what is the temple of God today? It isn’t a building built by human hands like it was then. And it is not a church denomination, nor is it an incorporated entity of the state.

 

The temple of God today is us who believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith which submits to Christ as Lord, dies with him to sin, and which lives to him and to his righteousness. It is a spiritual building, not a physical one, and it is built with living stones, which are us, with Jesus as the cornerstone.

 

So, how is the church, the body of Christ, being built today? Again, it is not with brick and mortar. It is through encouraging one another in our walks of obedient faith in Jesus Christ. And it is through speaking the truth in love, one to the other, so that we can all reach to maturity in Christ.

 

It is by exposing lies and proclaiming the truth so that our fellow believers are not led astray to follow after other gospels and another Jesus, and so that they are not led astray to fall back into sinful practices. And it is so that we will all walk in the light of God’s love and grace in obeying our Lord.

 

It is utilizing the gifts of the Spirit we have been given in the specific roles assigned to us by God within his body, in obedience to our Lord, again for the encouragement and the maturing of the body of Christ in our walks of faith with the Lord, with each one of us doing our part.

 

And it is showing love to others through the meeting of people’s legitimate needs, as we are able and as God leads, lending a helping hand, providing food or clothing or shelter, sharing a song or a scripture to encourage, and/or sending a card or flowers or whatever might help lift their spirits.

 

[1 Co 3:9, 16-17; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:1; 2 Co 6:14-16; Eph 2:19-22; Eph 4:11-16; Rom 12:4-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Col 1:24; Jude 1:20-21]

 

It All Comes from God

1 Chronicles 29:14-16 ESV

 

“But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you. For we are strangers before you and sojourners, as all our fathers were. Our days on the earth are like a shadow, and there is no abiding. O Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a house for your holy name comes from your hand and is all your own.”

 

As believers in Jesus Christ, all that we have in the way of spiritual blessings comes from God. Even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ is gifted to us by God, it is God-ordained and God-persuaded, and it is founded in Jesus Christ, who is also the perfecter of our faith.

 

So, what this means for us is that, since this faith originates in Jesus Christ/God, and is gifted to us by God, and that to have such faith we must be persuaded by God to believe in Jesus, this faith is going to be in line with God’s divine character and will for us.

 

Thus, when we believe in Jesus Christ with this faith, which comes from God, we die with Christ to sin, and we are reborn of the Spirit of God, and now we live to Christ and to his righteousness. We no longer walk (in conduct) according to our flesh, but now according to the Spirit.

 

So, our faith and our salvation are the working of God’s Spirit from start to finish. Yes, it involves our cooperation. And yes, it involves us submitting ourselves to the will of God. And it involves us walking in obedience to the Lord, but all of this is done in the power of God.

 

So, all of our obedience, our service to our Lord, the gifts we have been given, the ministries God leads us to, etc. all comes from God if indeed we have been born again of God’s Spirit which is evidenced by us dying with him to sin and us living to him and to his righteousness in his power.

 

So, this is not works-based salvation, because none of this originates with us. We can’t come to faith unless God draws us to faith in Jesus, and we can’t live for the Lord but by God’s grace and in his strength and power, and we can’t persevere in our faith except by Jesus’ perfecting that faith.

 

[Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17]

 

He Has Pleasure in Uprightness

1 Chronicles 29:17-18 ESV

 

“I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you. O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep forever such purposes and thoughts in the hearts of your people, and direct their hearts toward you.”

 

Again, all this comes from God. We can’t be upright except for what Jesus Christ did for us in dying on that cross so that we might be delivered from our slavery to sin and so we might now become slaves of God and of his righteousness. We can’t be upright in our own flesh. Impossible!

 

So, if our hearts are upright, praise the Lord! Do we have a part in it? Yes, we do. We are not to continue living in sin. We are not to let sin rule our lives any longer. We are not to obey fleshly passions. And we are not to present our bodies to sin as instruments for unrighteousness.

 

But we are to walk (in conduct, in practice) no longer according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, and we are to set our minds on the Spirit and not on the flesh, and we are to live our lives to please God. For, if we live according to the flesh, we will die, but if BY THE SPIRIT we are putting to death the deeds of the body, we will live.

 

And we are to die daily to sin and deny self and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. Our lives are no longer to be lived for ourselves, but for the glory of God. And we are to live for Jesus who gave his life up for us, saying “No!” to sin and “Yes!” to righteousness daily.

 

But, again, all of this is only possible because of what Jesus Christ did for us on that cross. And it is only possible as he gives us the strength and the power of God to live holy lives, pleasing to God. But we must surrender our lives to him and let him do his work in and through us.

 

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

 

Praise the Lord

 

Lyrics by John Kempthorne (1775-1838),

Music by Lowell Mason (1841)

 

Based on Psalm 148:1-2

 

Praise the Lord! ye heav'ns adore him;

Praise him angels, in the height;

Sun and moon, rejoice before him;

Praise him, all ye stars of light.

 

Praise the Lord! for he has spoken;

Worlds his mighty voice obeyed;

Laws which never shall be broken

For their guidance he has made.

 

Praise the Lord! for he is glorious;

Never shall his promise fail;

God has made his saints victorious;

Sin and death shall not prevail.

 

Praise the God of our salvation!

Hosts on high his pow'r proclaim;

Heav'n, and earth, and all creation,

Laud and magnify his name.

 

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,

Lord, we offer unto thee;

Young and old, thy praise expressing,

In glad homage bend the knee.

 

All the saints in heav'n adore thee,

We would bow before thy throne;

As thine angels serve before thee,

So on earth thy will be done.

 

Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah!

Amen, Amen, Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu0LGJEcLRU

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Gospel of Man or of God?

Jesus Gave Himself for

Galatians 1:2-5 ESV

 

“To the churches of Galatia:

 

“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

 

Amen! Jesus Christ did not give himself for our sins so that we can now continue living in sin guilt free. He did not give himself for our sins just so we can go to heaven when we die and so we can escape the punishment of our sin in hell. He gave himself to deliver us from our bondage to sin.

 

Yes! 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. By his grace, through faith, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised to new lives in him.

 

For, he gave his life for us on that cross to deliver us from evil, to deliver us from our slavery to sin, that we might now become slaves of God and of his righteousness. He died for us that we might now no longer walk according to the flesh, but that we might walk (in practice) according to the Spirit.

 

[1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Rom 8:1-17]

 

Turning to a Different Gospel

Galatians 1:6-9 ESV

 

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel — not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.”

 

What is a “different gospel”? It is any teaching disguised as the true gospel of Christ which is a deviation from the true gospel. It is any gospel, supposedly of Christ, which is a creation in the minds of humans. And this includes a gospel which is half true but half a lie, and thus is a lie.

 

The “different gospel” which is permeating the church today is often referred to as “the cheap grace gospel” because it dilutes the true gospel of grace, and thus it cheapens it, i.e., it adulterates it, and it makes it into something opposite of the true gospel of grace.

 

For, the true grace of God, as is mentioned above, delivers us from our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin. It crucifies us (self, flesh) with Christ in death to sin, and it raises us with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

 

And the true grace of God instructs (teaches, 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. And it empowers us to live godly and holy lives, which are pleasing to God.

 

But this cheap grace gospel is teaching that faith in Jesus Christ requires nothing of us other than to “believe” in Jesus which is more of an emotional decision or an intellectual acknowledgment to believe in Jesus for salvation from sin on the promise of heaven secured them when they die.

 

For, it requires no dying with Christ to sin, and no living to Christ and to his righteousness, no walking according to the Spirit, no walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands, and no submission to the Lordship of Christ over our lives as essential elements of believing faith in Jesus Christ.

 

For they teach a one-time belief in Jesus which then assures the believer of eternal life with God regardless of how he lives once he professes faith in Jesus Christ. They stress “no obedience” to Christ as necessary, for they call that legalism or works-based salvation.

 

But the Scriptures definitely teach we must die and be dying with Christ to sin daily, and that we must walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, and we must follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands and to his ways.

 

For, the Scriptures say, if we walk according to the flesh, and we continue in sin deliberately and as a matter of practice, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, but that we will die in our sins. It won’t matter what we have professed with our lips. For lip service saves no one.

 

So, if someone is telling you that you don’t have to repent of your sins, or that you don’t have to obey the Lord and his commands, or that you don’t have to submit to him as Lord, they are lying to you. The faith that saves you comes from God, not from yourself, and it therefore submits to God.

 

[Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Tit 2:11-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Gal 2:20; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8]

 

Not Man’s Gospel

Galatians 1:10-12 ESV

 

“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.

 

“For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel. For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

 

So, be wise and discerning about what you are receiving as “the gospel,” for much of what is being taught today in the name of Jesus Christ is not the gospel of Christ, but it is a man-made gospel intended to tickle the itching ears of those who want to continue in their sins.

 

Watch out on social media for “memes” which are purposefully misdirecting people to what is false. They may look good and sound good, but many of them are twisting the gospel and are making it something it is not. Many of them are giving a message of a “do nothing” gospel.

 

And if you are teaching the true gospel, the one taught by Jesus and by the New Testament apostles, be prepared to be fought against, to be derided, to be rejected, despised, mistreated, and lied about, too. For many people are following the cheap grace gospel, and so many of them will oppose you, too.

 

Praise the Lord

 

Lyrics by John Kempthorne (1775-1838),

Music by Lowell Mason (1841)

 

Based on Psalm 148:1-2

 

Praise the Lord! ye heav'ns adore him;

Praise him angels, in the height;

Sun and moon, rejoice before him;

Praise him, all ye stars of light.

 

Praise the Lord! for he has spoken;

Worlds his mighty voice obeyed;

Laws which never shall be broken

For their guidance he has made.

 

Praise the Lord! for he is glorious;

Never shall his promise fail;

God has made his saints victorious;

Sin and death shall not prevail.

 

Praise the God of our salvation!

Hosts on high his pow'r proclaim;

Heav'n, and earth, and all creation,

Laud and magnify his name.

 

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,

Lord, we offer unto thee;

Young and old, thy praise expressing,

In glad homage bend the knee.

 

All the saints in heav'n adore thee,

We would bow before thy throne;

As thine angels serve before thee,

So on earth thy will be done.

 

Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah!

Amen, Amen, Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu0LGJEcLRU

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Those Who Pursue Righteousness

He’s Keeping Watch

Proverbs 15:3 ESV

 

“The eyes of the Lord are in every place,

    keeping watch on the evil and the good.”

 

This is a great encouragement to us! Our God is absolutely sovereign and in control over all things. Nothing escapes his notice, and not anything can thwart his purposes. Even as evil appears to be rapidly increasing in the world, still God is in control, and he has his eye on it all.

 

After all, he never promised us that we would not have troubles in this world. He never said that while we live on this earth that evil will not reign. He said it would, and he said that we would have troubles, heartaches, trials, and tribulations to test our faith.

 

So, no matter what you are going through, no matter what persecutions you may be facing, or what trials you are having to endure, God is not absent, and he is still all powerful, and he knows what is going on, and he will accomplish good through it. Trust him!

 

But He Loves

Proverbs 15:8-10 ESV

 

“The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

    but the prayer of the upright is acceptable to him.

The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord,

    but he loves him who pursues righteousness.

There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way;

    whoever hates reproof will die.”

 

Do you know that this is taught in the New Testament, too? This is not just Old Testament teaching. And in the NT the righteous are described not only as believers in Jesus Christ but as those who make righteousness their practice, their way of life. And it is those who practice evil who are evil.

 

And do you know that this includes those who profess faith in Jesus Christ? We aren’t righteous merely by what we may call “faith” in Jesus, which many times is not biblical faith. But it is us who practice righteousness in the power and strength of our Lord who are righteous in God’s eyes.

 

And the wicked aren’t merely all those who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but they are all those who practice evil (sin), which includes many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ, too. So, a profession of faith in Jesus doesn’t make you righteous or not wicked.

 

So, what this is saying is that any sacrifice, supposedly made to God, by a person who is living in sin deliberately and habitually, in rebellion against God, is not acceptable to God. It is a revulsion to him. He doesn’t like it. He is not pleased with it. God loathes the ways of the wicked.

 

But the prayer of the upright (the one living uprightly, walking in righteousness) is acceptable to God. For, our Lord loves (adores) those who actively pursue (practice, engage in) righteousness (what is right in the eyes of God). And, again, this is what is taught in the New Testament.

 

And know this, too. There is severe discipline for him who forsakes the way of righteousness and who hates reproof, who refuses to be corrected by God and to turn from his/her evil ways. For, if we live in sin, we will die in our sins, but if we live to righteousness, we will have eternal life.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:7; 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]

 

The Ear that Listens

Proverbs 15:31-33 ESV

 

“The ear that listens to life-giving reproof

    will dwell among the wise.

Whoever ignores instruction despises himself,

    but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence.

The fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom,

    and humility comes before honor.”

 

Life-giving reproof is found in the gospel of our salvation which teaches us that we must die with Christ to sin and live to Christ and to his righteousness if we want salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And it teaches that we must walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh.

 

Yes, God’s gift of grace to us did not cost us anything. Jesus is the one who gave his life up for us on that cross. It cost him everything. We can do nothing to earn or to deserve our own salvation. But his grace to us is not free license to continue living in sin without guilt.

 

God’s grace to us delivers us from our slavery to sin so we can now become slaves of God and of his righteousness. God’s grace, which brings salvation, trains us, in fact, to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return.

 

And God’s grace to us empowers us to live righteously, and to obey our Lord in all things, and to submit to him as Lord, and to leave our lives of sin behind us. But whoever will not listen to the Lord’s instructions to us, and who feels he doesn’t have to obey the Lord, will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

So, we must walk in the fear of the Lord. We must conduct our lives in practice according to the Spirit of God in respect, honor, and obedience to our Lord Jesus. For, if we continue going our own way, doing what we want to do, living for sin and self, and not for God, we will die in our sins.

 

So, walk in the fear of the Lord. Do what he says to do. Go where he sends you and say whatever he gives you to say. Don’t fear those who can kill the body but who can’t kill your soul. And don’t be afraid of all the evil going on in the world. Trust the Lord. Surrender to him. Live at peace.

 

[Tit 2:11-14; Eph 4:17-24; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Php 2:12-13; 2 Co 5:6-11; Lu 9:23-26; Gal 6:7-8; 1 Pet 2:24]

 

Forever with Us

 

An Original Work / February 5, 2016

Based off Psalm 46

 

Be still and know

God is over all things.

Throughout the earth,

He’ll be honored as King.

The Lord Almighty,

Forever with us.

He is our refuge

When we’re in distress.

 

Therefore, we have

Not a reason to fear.

Trials will come,

But our God is still near.

He is our helper,

So we do not fall.

Mountains will quake,

But on Jesus we call.

 

Joy to the Church,

Even if sorrow comes.

Enemies rage,

But our faith marches on.

God’s Holy Spirit,

Now living within,

Gives peace and comfort,

And grace without end.

 

https://vimeo.com/154477497

Then He Will Welcome Us

Receiving God’s Grace in Vain

2 Corinthians 6:1-2 ESV

 

“Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says,

 

“’In a favorable time I listened to you,

    and in a day of salvation I have helped you.’

 

“Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

 

What does it mean to “receive the grace of God in vain”? Well, “vain” means useless, abortive, worthless, and ineffective. So, it means that this is a false receiving of God’s grace or an empty (unproductive) receiving of his grace.

 

For, God’s grace to us is not just the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life with God, but it is deliverance from our slavery to sin so that we can live holy lives, pleasing to God. By God’s grace, through faith, we die with Christ to sin that we may live with him to his righteousness.

 

So, this could be referring to someone who received God’s gift of grace intellectually or emotionally, but it never bore fruit in his life. He never did die with Christ to sin, and he is not living to Christ and to his righteousness. But he has continued in his sin, believing he is now bound for heaven.

 

Or it could be that the person, like the second type of soil in the Parable of the Sower, received the gospel at once with joy, but when the reality of what it meant to live the Christian life sunk in, she lasted only a short time because the truth of the gospel never took root in her life (Matt 13:20-21).

 

For, you see, our salvation, again, is not just forgiveness of sins and a free ride to heaven. It is dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ and to his righteousness, not just once, but daily, consistently, until the very end. And it is walking in obedience to our Lord and not living in sin.

 

So, if all we do is just pray a prayer to receive Christ, but then we go on living just like we did before, and we are still the ones on the throne of our lives, doing what we want to do, and we are still living in sin, making sin our practice, then we have indeed received God’s grace in vain.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:7; 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]

 

Be Not Unequally Yoked

2 Corinthians 6:14-16 ESV

 

“Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God.”

 

The picture here is of two oxen in a yoke pulling a plow together. They are working together side by side doing the same job, going the same way. They are partnering together, like in a marriage. They are in close intimate union with each other, headed the same direction, doing the same stuff.

 

We are not to have that kind of union with unbelievers, which includes many people who proclaim faith in Jesus Christ but who are living like the unbelieving – who are living like the world. We are not to be in close intimate fellowship with them for they are likely to lead us astray.

 

This is not to say that we are to have no relationships with unbelievers, for although Jesus called us to come out from the world and to be separate (unlike, different) from the world, he also sent us into the world with the gospel, and we are to love the people of the world.

 

Jesus is our example in this. He lived a pure life separate from the world, and yet he lived in the world among the people of the world, and he loved them, and he spent time with them, and he ministered to their needs, feeding them, healing them, delivering them, and teaching them his word.

 

We are just not to join in with the ungodly in their ungodly acts. We are not to become like the world and to go the same direction as them, doing the same things that they do, watching the same stuff or listening to the same stuff, and talking the same lingo as them, etc.

 

Conditional Salvation

2 Corinthians 6:16-18 ESV

 

“As God said,

 

“’I will make my dwelling among them and walk among them,

    and I will be their God,

    and they shall be my people.

Therefore go out from their midst,

    and be separate from them, says the Lord,

and touch no unclean thing;

    then I will welcome you,

and I will be a father to you,

    and you shall be sons and daughters to me,

says the Lord Almighty.’”

 

Many people are teaching that our salvation is unconditional. That is not true. It is true that we do nothing in our flesh to earn or to deserve our own salvation. Our good deeds will never outweigh our bad deeds. In our own flesh dwells no good thing, so we come up short of God’s approval.

 

But this is not to say that works are not involved in our salvation. It is just that they are the works of God which he designed that we should walk in them by his Spirit and in his strength under his guidance and direction. It is not us trying to be good enough. It is us obeying our Lord.

 

The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that to follow Jesus with our lives means that we die with him daily to sin and to self, that we walk in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), that we surrender our lives to him, submit to him as Lord, and that we don’t live in sin.

 

For, if we continue living in sin, going our own way, being unequally yoked together with the ungodly, doing what they do, living how they live, the Scriptures are clear that we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God unless we repent and follow Jesus with our lives.

 

So, please take this to heart. This is taught all throughout the New Testament. Paul taught this consistently, and Jesus taught this before him. We are not saved by profession of faith only. We must be dying with Christ to sin daily and living to him and to his righteousness.

 

Lead Kindly Light

 

Lyrics by John H. Newman, 1833

Music by John B. Dykes, 1865

 

Lead, kindly Light, amid th’ encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on;

The night is dark, and I am far from home,

Lead Thou me on;

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see

The distant scene; one step enough for me.

 

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that Thou

Shouldst lead me on;

I loved to choose and see my path, but now

Lead Thou me on;

I loved the garish day, and spite of fears,

Pride ruled my will; remember not past years.

 

So long Thy pow’r has blest me, sure it still

Wilt lead me on,

O’er moor and fen, o’er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone,

And with the morn those angel faces smile,

Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3I6WmjLE-w

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The Goal of Our Faith

Teach Me Your Paths

Psalms 25:4-5, 8-10 ESV

 

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord;

    teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me,

    for you are the God of my salvation;

    for you I wait all the day long.”

 

“Good and upright is the Lord;

    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,

    and teaches the humble his way.

All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.”

 

The goal of our faith in Jesus Christ shouldn’t be only to go to heaven when we die. The goal of our faith should be to live for Jesus Christ and to do what he says to do while we still live on this earth. It should be to serve our Lord, and to be who he created us to be, and to live for his glory and praise.

 

God saved us and called us to a holy calling. He gifted us with spiritual gifts, and he assigned each one of us a part (role) within his body. When we believe in him, we die with him to sin that we might live to him and to his righteousness. His Holy Spirit comes to live within us, and now we no longer live like we did before. Now we are under the Holy Spirit’s control.

 

We were bought back for God with the blood of Jesus Christ so that we would now honor God with our lives (1 Co 6:19-20). Now we are HIS possession. And he is our Lord (owner-master). We belong to him, and now he is the one who is to be directing our paths, not ourselves.

 

For, we are now his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which he planned and prepared in advance that we should walk (in conduct, in practice) in them (Eph 2:10). Now we are to live our lives to please the Lord in all that we do and say, and not to please only ourselves.

 

Therefore, our prayers to God should not be all about us and what he can do for us. They should be about him, and what we can do for him to please him in all of our ways. We should be asking him to teach us his ways and for him to lead us in his truth with the intention that we will follow him in obedience.

 

Be Gracious to Me

Psalms 25:16-21 ESV

 

“Turn to me and be gracious to me,

    for I am lonely and afflicted.

The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

    bring me out of my distresses.

Consider my affliction and my trouble,

    and forgive all my sins.

 

“Consider how many are my foes,

    and with what violent hatred they hate me.

Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!

    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

    for I wait for you.”

 

It is a joy to serve our Lord, to walk with him in his ways and in his truth, to listen to him speak truth to our hearts and then to follow him in obedience. It is a joy to be in relationship with him, to know his will, and to do his will for our lives in his power and strength and for his glory.

 

But if we are following Jesus Christ wholeheartedly with our lives in a day and time when that is no longer being stressed in the teachings of his word, and in the teachings of the gospel, in the vast majority of churches, at least here in America, it can lead to a lonely life and to rejection and persecution.

 

For, if the majority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ are going the way of the world, doing the same things the world does, watching and listening to the same things the world watches and listens to, telling all the same stories and jokes, etc., we will stand out like a sore thumb.

 

But we are supposed to stand out. Jesus called us out from the world to be separate (unlike, different) from the world, so that is good if we stand out. But it is lonely if not too many other people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are joining us, but if they are going a different way from us.

 

And it is even lonelier if they are opposing us and are standing against us because they have bought into the lies of Satan which tell them that they can believe in Jesus, have heaven secured them, and yet still live in their sins, and if they are being told they don’t need to repent of sin.

 

But the Lord is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. So, he will comfort us in our troubles, and he will teach us what he wants us to learn through our difficult and lonely times. And he will use these difficult experiences in our lives to advance his purposes for our lives and to advance his kingdom, for these trials serve his purposes.

 

Through them the Lord is strengthening us in our walks of faith, he is maturing us in him, he is pruning us, and purifying us, and he is making us holy so that he can use us for his glory, and so that we will humble ourselves and be willing to be used by him, too.

 

So, we praise the Lord, not just for his blessings, and not just for the good times, but we praise him for the bad times, too, for he is growing us in him, and he is molding us into the people he wants us to be so that we will be his willing vessels to take his word wherever he wants it to go.

 

Praise the Lord

 

Lyrics by John Kempthorne (1775-1838),

Music by Lowell Mason (1841)

 

Based on Psalm 148:1-2

 

Praise the Lord! ye heav'ns adore him;

Praise him angels, in the height;

Sun and moon, rejoice before him;

Praise him, all ye stars of light.

 

Praise the Lord! for he has spoken;

Worlds his mighty voice obeyed;

Laws which never shall be broken

For their guidance he has made.

 

Praise the Lord! for he is glorious;

Never shall his promise fail;

God has made his saints victorious;

Sin and death shall not prevail.

 

Praise the God of our salvation!

Hosts on high his pow'r proclaim;

Heav'n, and earth, and all creation,

Laud and magnify his name.

 

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,

Lord, we offer unto thee;

Young and old, thy praise expressing,

In glad homage bend the knee.

 

All the saints in heav'n adore thee,

We would bow before thy throne;

As thine angels serve before thee,

So on earth thy will be done.

 

Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah!

Amen, Amen, Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu0LGJEcLRU

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The Lord Will Judge His People

Since We Have Confidence

Hebrews 10:19-22 ESV

 

“Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”

 

Jesus Christ is God, and he is the Son of God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It was always God’s plan, from before creation, that Jesus Christ would be the sacrificial offering for our sins. So, at just the right time, God the Father sent his Son to die for us.

 

Jesus Christ was put to death on a cross by the people who hated him. But it was God’s will that he should suffer and die for our sins so that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and so we would be delivered from slavery to sin so that we would become slaves of God.

 

So, by God-given, God-ordained and God-persuaded faith, when we believe in Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, we die with Christ to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

 

[Gen 3:14-15; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Eph 1:3-4; Isaiah 53; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; Jn 1:1-34; Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2]

 

Let us Hold Fast

Hebrews 10:23-25 ESV

 

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

 

So, what is the confession of our hope? It isn’t just that one day Jesus will return for us and that we will get to be with him forever. It is that we are delivered from the control of sin and Satan over our lives so that we can now walk in holiness and righteousness in the power of God.

 

And it is that we are now in relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, and we are in intimate fellowship with him daily, and that we can talk with him and him with us, and that we can know his will for our lives, and that we can do his will in the power and strength of God’s Spirit.

 

It is that our lives now have purpose and meaning and direction. We are not wandering aimlessly anymore, going from this to that, living to please ourselves. But now we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, doing his will, going where he sends us, and saying what he gives us to say.

 

And it is that we are now making a difference in other people’s lives for the kingdom of heaven, and that other followers of Christ are being used of God in our lives to encourage us, and that God is using us to encourage them. And it is that God has gifted us and assigned us each parts within his body.

 

If We Go On Sinning

Hebrews 10:26-31 ESV

 

“For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, ‘Vengeance is mine; I will repay.’ And again, ‘The Lord will judge his people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”

 

Our salvation is conditional, though, for faith in Jesus Christ is not just some words we say. We show that we have faith by what we do in the power of God. Jesus said we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience. Paul said we must walk (in conduct) not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. Sin should no longer be what we practice.

 

So, if after we profess faith in Jesus Christ we go on living in sin, making sin our practice, and righteousness is not what we practice, then Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins does not apply to us. We will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God, no matter what we have professed with our lips.

 

This is not to say that we must live in sinless perfection or that we will never sin against God (1 Jn 2:1-2) but that sin should no longer have dominion over our lives. It should not be what we practice. It should no longer be our “go to,” our habit, i.e., what we deliberately make a point to do.

 

So many people today, though, are buying into a false gospel which is deceiving them into believing that if they just pray a prayer, or if they make a public confession of faith, or if they just accept what Jesus did for them on the cross, that they are now saved, and heaven is guaranteed them.

 

Many are teaching them, in fact, that God’s grace to them requires nothing of them other than some non-descript or obscure “faith” in Christ that does not have to or that should not repent of sin or obey the Lord or submit to him as Lord, for they call that works-based salvation.

 

And so many people are “believing” in Jesus with this human-based faith which does not submit to the Lordship of Christ, so they are continuing to live in sin, doing what they want to do, while claiming that Jesus does it all for them and that nothing is required of them.

 

So, if this is where you are, please know that what awaits you when you die is not heaven, but a fearful expectation of judgment, because you trampled underfoot the Son of God, and you have profaned the blood of the covenant, and you have outraged the Spirit of grace, for you refused to submit to Christ as Lord, to obey him, and to leave your lives of sin behind you.

 

And please know that God will judge his people. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction. But if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life. If we walk according to the Spirit, we will live, but if according to the flesh, we will die in our sins.

 

So, surrender your life to Jesus Christ today. Submit to him as Lord (owner-master) of your life. Forsake your former life of living for sin and self and now follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his will for your life. Then you have the hope of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God in heaven.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

Praise the Lord

 

Lyrics by John Kempthorne (1775-1838),

Music by Lowell Mason (1841)

 

Based on Psalm 148:1-2

 

Praise the Lord! ye heav'ns adore him;

Praise him angels, in the height;

Sun and moon, rejoice before him;

Praise him, all ye stars of light.

 

Praise the Lord! for he has spoken;

Worlds his mighty voice obeyed;

Laws which never shall be broken

For their guidance he has made.

 

Praise the Lord! for he is glorious;

Never shall his promise fail;

God has made his saints victorious;

Sin and death shall not prevail.

 

Praise the God of our salvation!

Hosts on high his pow'r proclaim;

Heav'n, and earth, and all creation,

Laud and magnify his name.

 

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,

Lord, we offer unto thee;

Young and old, thy praise expressing,

In glad homage bend the knee.

 

All the saints in heav'n adore thee,

We would bow before thy throne;

As thine angels serve before thee,

So on earth thy will be done.

 

Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah!

Amen, Amen, Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu0LGJEcLRU

Caution: This link may contain ads

Who Are the Thirsting?

Revelation 21:6 ESV

 

“And he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.’”

 

Jesus Christ is God. He was with God in the beginning, and through him all things were made that were made. So, he is also our creator. Not only is he the Son of God, but he is the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And he is completely sovereign over all that he has made.

 

He is the first and the last, the beginning and the end. And all that he has said that he will do will come to pass. God is always true to his word. What he says he will do will be done. So, the things that were prophesied in the book of Revelation are a sure thing. They will surely take place.

 

Revelation 21:6-7 ESV

 

“To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”

 

The thirsty are those who are hungering for and desiring God/Jesus. They are yearning for him and for his teachings. They long to spend time with him, listening to him speak tenderly to their hearts, and to feed on his Word. And they are eager to obey him and to follow him wherever he leads them.

 

They are not those who have a casual interest in the Lord, especially if it is just so they can be forgiven their sins and have the promise of heaven when they die. They are not those giving lip service only to the Lord or those who are only going through religious rituals, either.

 

You aren’t thirsting for God/Jesus if all you do is pray a prayer to receive Christ but then you go on living your life for yourself, doing what you want to do, watching and listening to all the same junk you watched and listened to before you “believed” in Jesus.

 

You aren’t thirsting for God/Jesus if you feel your life is your own to do with what you want and that God/Jesus is just a small part of it, maybe just on Sunday’s or at mealtime when someone thanks the Lord for the food. Or maybe you spend a few minutes a day having devotions, too.

 

Thirsting for God/Jesus is like what you feel when your throat is parched, and you have to have something to drink, or you will pass out or die. It is a necessity that you quench your thirst. It is imperative that you have something to drink, and so you crave that drink of water.

 

It seems that these days very few people are truly thirsting for God/Jesus and for his word with a desire to make him their all, and for him to truly be Lord (owner-master) of their lives. Too many people are taking God’s grace for granted and are apparently presuming that they can live how they want and still go to heaven.

 

Those who are thirsting after the Lord, though, are those who will be given eternal life with God. The ones who are overcoming, who are prevailing over sin and Satan, and who are walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, will inherit eternal life with God.

 

Revelation 21:8 ESV

 

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”

 

All throughout the New Testament we are given a clear picture of what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and what it means to not believe in him, and it has nothing to do with the words that we say in profession of faith in Jesus Christ or in verbal confession of him as Lord.

 

All throughout the New Testament we have repeated for us the picture of the believer versus the non-believer, and it has to do with their actions, which come from their hearts, which then prove or disprove their faith to be genuine believing faith in Jesus Christ, the kind of faith that saves.

 

We either walk according to the Spirit, to please the Spirit, or we walk according to the flesh, to please the flesh. The one ends in eternal life with God, and the other ends in death and in eternal punishment. And this isn’t works-based salvation for we can’t please the Spirit if we are in the flesh.

 

Therefore, what it teaches here is that those who are thirsting (actively) after the Lord are given eternal life with God, but those who are making faithlessness, murder, sexual immorality, idolatry and lying their practice, their portion will be the lake of fire, not heaven.

 

“But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life” (v. 27).

 

So, if you are living a spiritually unclean life because you are still making sin your practice, and righteousness is not your practice, you will not be in heaven when you die unless you repent and turn to the Lord in surrender to his will for your life and you are now thirsting after his righteousness.

 

So, please take this to heart, for not many people are taking this seriously these days. Too many have bought into a cheapened grace gospel message which tickles their itching ears, and which tells them pleasant things that sound good to their ears, and which fits with how they want to live.

 

And they are rejecting the teachings of Jesus and of Paul (the teachings they don’t like) and of the other apostles which tell them that they must die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and that they must follow him in obedience if they want eternal life with God.

 

Only those whose names are in the Lamb’s Book of Life will enter heaven, and they are those who are walking according to the Spirit, to please the Spirit, and who are not walking according to the flesh, to please the flesh.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

All of Me

 

Author Unknown

 

All of me not a part but all of me

All the heart and soul of me

Jesus, I surrender …

I believe, Lord, help my unbelief

On the altar now I lay all I am today

 

As I am I come to Thee without one plea

Only that Thy saving blood was shed for me

All of me through the ages yet to be

I surrender Lord to Thee

Fully I surrender

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HV4XCyLcqh4

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*I sang this song many years ago with a different but similar tune than this and with slightly different words, I believe. If anyone knows where I can find the original lyrics and tune, please pass them along to me. Thanks!