This Calls for Wisdom

Revelation 13:15-18 ESV

 

“And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.”

 

Mass Deception

 

We live in an age of massive deception. Deceiving spirits are everywhere. Liars abound. Anything can be faked. Just think Hollywood. Videos, news stories, pictures, etc. can all be faked and/or altered. Even if we see something, if it is in a video or a picture or on TV, or on the internet, it can all be faked and/or altered. Anything can be a stage production.

 

So, why is it that so many Christians are just believing everything they are told from their pulpits, from the media, and from their government officials? Just because someone says it, or we see it in writing doesn’t mean it is the truth! People do lie! And the Bible told us these days would come. So, why do so many Christians act as though that is not true?

 

What happened to testing the spirits to see if they are of God? This isn’t just about testing prophets and teachers and preachers, but we should test everything we are being told, in prayer and in discernment. And we should question what is going on and what we are being told and not just get in line like sheep being led to the slaughter.

 

Try backing up and rewinding history for yourself and begin asking yourself and God if everything you have believed is true. If you live in America and you pledge allegiance to the flag of the USA, is that biblical? Do you know what a pledge is? It is a vow. And what is allegiance? Loyalty, fidelity. So, you are vowing your fidelity to the US government with hand over heart.

 

Is there anywhere in Scripture that warns against this? Yes! Try reading Revelation 13 where it says that they worshiped the beast and its image. What is a flag of a nation? Its image? And then we read in Revelation 13 about a second beast who deceives those who dwell on the earth, and who makes the earth, and its inhabitants worship the first beast.

 

And what is worship? It is loyalty and fidelity. It is allegiance. And what is faith? Is it not, at least in part, a declaration of allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ? And what about the hand over heart? What is our heart? It is the very core, the very essence of who we are. So, we are giving that to our government when we pledge allegiance. Is that biblical?

 

Worshiping the Beast

 

So, we are being convinced to worship our government and to vow our fidelity to our form of government with our whole being. Doesn’t that sound like “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength?” Yet, we are giving this allegiance, this worship to our government. Why? Because the church taught us to do that.

 

By doing so, we end up trusting them without question, and we believe whatever they tell us, and whatever the media tells us, which then brings me to another “image.” TV is an image, as is the internet. And TV and the internet and social media, etc., can all be very deceiving and mind controlling, and I believe they are all feeding us with what the beast wants us all to hear and to believe. And many are buying into it all.

 

So, what is a beast? Besides the usual, it can be something formidably difficult to control or deal with. It can also be something very large and/or powerful. It also means to have a savage nature or characteristics and/or to be brutal and uncivilized and filthy. It appears in Revelation that this is speaking of a conglomerate of people of enormous power, like a one world government. Did you know the USA is party to this?

 

The second beast is synonymous with the false prophet, so this could be the false church and/or the one world religion. It has two horns, and a horn is symbolic of power and rule and authority. I see this as the institutional or the state church, i.e., the church in bed with the government, which is teaching government worship, too, via the pledge to the flag. So, it is teaching the people to worship the first beast.

 

The False Prophet

 

Do you ever question why the church, which via the 501c3, became a state church and thus altered the meaning of church, and how the church operates, and what the church teaches? They, for the most part, have so diluted the gospel of Jesus Christ that they have totally emptied the cross of Christ of its power to save human lives.

 

For, so much of the institutional “state” church has now gone the way of big business and is marketing their gatherings just like any product of any business with very similar or the same types of marketing schemes and techniques. They want to draw in large crowds of people from the world into their gatherings, so they have patterned much of their gatherings now after the world to attract the world.

 

Thus, they also altered the gospel to make it more acceptable and appealing to human flesh and to the people of the world. Most have removed God’s requirements for submission to him as Lord, forsaking our sinful lifestyles, and for obeying our Lord’s commands (New Covenant).

 

Instead, they teach “easy believism” or a “cheap grace gospel” which indulges the flesh, and which does not put it to death. They are promising people eternal life with God, though, while they are leaving them still dead in their sins, making sin their practice.

 

So, we must stop believing everything we hear from people we think should be trusted to tell us the truth. And we must be people of God who test what we hear or see or think we see in prayer and in the study of the Word, seeking God for wisdom and counsel to discern truth from lies, and to point us in the right direction so that we are not deceived and led astray.

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

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

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

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

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

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

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Are We Ashamed of Jesus?

The Gospel Simplified

Luke 9:23 ESV

 

“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me’.”

 

If someone would ask you to tell the gospel message in one verse or in one sentence, to me, this would be it, for it has all the components of the gospel message contained within it, just without all the details of how everything happened historically.

 

Jesus, here, is telling us what it means to believe in him as our Lord and Savior. First off, we have to deny self. We have to die to sin and to the flesh with Christ and be raised with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).

 

Then, we have to die daily with Christ to sin and to self. The apostle Paul reiterated this when he said that if we walk according to the flesh that we will die in our sins, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, then we will live with Christ for eternity (Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

Then, we have to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his will and to his ways and to his commands (New Covenant). For, if we do not obey him and his commands, then we don’t know him, and we don’t have eternal life with him, and we will die in our sins (1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10).

 

So, the three steps here are 1. Deny self, 2. Die to sin daily, 3. Obey God.

 

Saving and Losing

Luke 9:24-25 ESV

 

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”

 

If we try to save our own lives, meaning we hold on to living for sin and self, and we don’t deny self or die daily to sin, then we are going to lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives for Jesus’ sake, i.e., if we deny self and die daily to sin and to self, and if we walk in obedience to his commands, then our lives will be saved for eternity.

 

And this isn’t the only place in Scripture where this is taught, either. When Jesus taught what it meant to be a follower of him, he taught self-denial, death to sin, obedience to his commands, and living to righteousness.

 

He said that his sheep (his followers) listen to him (adhere his teachings) and they follow (obey) him. And they will never perish. He said that anyone who keeps (obeys) his word will never see death. And He said if anyone loves him, he will keep (obey, preserve) his word.

 

He said that if we don’t participate with him in his death to sin and in his suffering that we don’t have eternal life with him. He said, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” And He said if anyone does not abide in him, he is thrown into the fire and burned.

 

Jesus said that if anyone comes to him and does not hate his own family members and his own life, he cannot be our Lord’s disciple. This he meant figuratively, not literally, for he taught against hate. So, this goes back to self-denial and surrender of our lives to Jesus and putting him above all else.

 

For, he also said that “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” And this is the essence of all that he taught.

 

[Lu 9:23-26, 57-62; Jn 10:27-30; Jn 8:51; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Lu 14:25-33; Matt 10:37-38]

 

Ashamed of Jesus

Luke 9:26 ESV

 

“For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.”

 

Have you ever been ashamed of Jesus and his words? Were you more concerned with what people thought of you than you were with their salvation and eternal life with God? Were you more concerned with being liked or with not being rejected than you were with honoring Jesus as Lord?

 

I admit, there were times when this was true of my life. There were times when I hesitated to talk about Jesus and to share his word and it was out of concern of what people would think of me, and that was wrong. It wasn’t all the time or in all circumstances, but there were those times, nonetheless.

 

But this goes much deeper than us just being afraid sometimes to talk with strangers about Jesus. This has to do with us misplacing our confidence and support, and not putting it in Jesus, but us believing the “Big Lie,” instead. This has to do with deserting our Lord to follow after a “different” gospel and “another” Jesus other than the one true Jesus Christ.

 

But this also has to do with us holding on to our old lives of living for sin and self and us being unwilling to deny self, to die daily to sin and to self, and to follow our Lord in obedience. This is us denying Jesus as Lord and as Savior of our lives, and it is a refusal to leave our lives of sin behind us in order to go with God where he wants us, doing what he has called us to do.

 

For being ashamed of Jesus and his words is not a mere embarrassment to speak of him or to share his word, but it is being ashamed to surrender our lives to him, and to truly make him Lord (owner-master) of our lives. It is shame to even be associated with him or to even acknowledge him before others. For, it is a denial of him by everything we are and do and say.

 

For, if we refuse to bow the knee to Jesus in humble submission to him as Lord of our lives, and if we refuse to forsake our sinful lifestyles in order to walk with him in obedience to his commands, then when he returns one day to take his bride to be with him, he will be ashamed of us, as well, and we won’t be spending eternity with him after all.

 

[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]

 

Seek the Lord 

 

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

 

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

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

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

 

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

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

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

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

 

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

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

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

The mountains will burst into song… before you,

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

 

https://vimeo.com/379408296

 

 

 

We Just Have to Trust Him

1 Samuel 16:7 ESV

 

“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart’.”

 

The truth behind these words goes beyond just judging someone by outward appearance. The deep truth here is that we, as humans, don’t judge things in the same way God does. We don’t see the things that he sees, and so we may not understand why he does things the way that he does.

 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we have been given the mind of Christ, and the Spirit of God lives within us teaching us all things, and we have been given wisdom from above and insight that we would not naturally have in ourselves, but we still only see in part.

 

But, as we grow in our walks of faith, we also grow in wisdom and understanding, and we get to know how God thinks and what he loves and what he hates and how he works. It doesn’t mean we are going to know everything that he is doing, but we know his character and his word.

 

And one thing that we should know is that God is working in situations where we can’t see him work, and in ways we are unaware of, and he is doing things that we are not capable of seeing, and so we just have to trust him, especially when we can’t see what is going on.

 

Sometimes we get in our heads that things ought to go a certain way, for we think that is the best way, but sometimes it isn’t. Sometimes what we may think is a tragedy is actually a blessing. We may not see it at first glance, but the Lord will help us to understand if we are willing.

 

For example, on the morning of 9/11/01, there were people in New York who were late for work or had their flights delayed or called in sick or whatever, but not everyone was where they thought they were going to be when that first plane hit the World Trade Center building. And because of that, some lives were spared that day, even though many were lost.

 

We don’t understand it all. It was a great tragedy, but we don’t know what God has done in people’s lives as a result of that. We don’t know the lives which were changed for good because of what happened to them that day. For, God’s ways are higher than our ways, so we just have to trust him.

 

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

 

Words by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907

Music by George C. Stebbins, 1907

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Search me and try me, Master, today!

Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,

As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Wounded and weary, help me I pray!

Power, all power, surely is Thine!

Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Hold o'er my being absolute sway.

Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see

Christ only, always, living in me!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z11avpKNLsA

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Ask in Faith, No Doubting!

Lacking in Wisdom?

James 1:5-8 ESV

 

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

 

Wisdom is defined as good sense, good judgment, discernment, insight, perception, reason, prudence, and understanding. To me it is doing the right that you know to do, i.e., it is applied (not head) knowledge. And the wisdom from above is “first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (Jas 3:17).

 

So, if we are lacking in wisdom, we are lacking in good judgment or insight or understanding, or we need direction and guidance in a particular area. We have a dilemma, and we don’t know which way to turn, and so we need godly counsel from God to know what to do next, and to know what to say or how to pray in this particular circumstance.

 

But if we are going to ask God for wisdom, we need to be prepared to do what he shows us to do or to say. We shouldn’t ask God for wisdom and then wait to hear what he has to say first before we decide if we are going to do it or not. Now, we need to make sure what we are hearing is from God. And if the wisdom comes from his word, then we need to do what it says.

 

For, if we doubt that God is going to give us the correct wisdom, or if we question his counsel to us, or if we wait for it before we decide if we are going to obey it (apply it), then that is doubting. It is like wanting righteousness but not at the same time. It is like believing in God but not at the same time, which the Bible calls unbelief.

 

Doubting is Double-Minded

 

And then let me say this here, too. The Bible is filled with all kinds of words of wisdom for us to follow. If it is from the Old Covenant but it is repeated for us under the New Covenant, then it still applies to our lives. So, we already have much wisdom spelled out for us. So, if we are asking God for wisdom but the Bible already tells us what to do, then I think that is doubting, too, for it is asking hoping for a different answer.

 

Anyway, if we ask God for wisdom, but we don’t know if we are going to accept it or not until we hear what it is, or if we ask God for wisdom but we already know what to do, because the Bible already tells us what to do, and so we are asking hoping we’ll get a different answer that we like better, then that is not asking with faith, but that is doubting God and his counsel.

 

And the Scriptures have a name for that. It is called “double-minded,” which has to do with trying to go two different (opposite) directions at the same time. It literally means to be of “two souls” or of “two selves,” kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is the same person but with two different natures. He (or she) is trying to hold on to the old sin nature but be in relationship with Jesus Christ, too, and they don’t mix.

 

I have heard people like this say that they pray about something, but they already know the answer, but they don’t want to do what they know to do, and so they will say that God isn’t answering them. Well, at this point, God probably isn’t answering them because they aren’t listening, because they are double-minded, but that is just an excuse to not do what is right.

 

Anyway, what this says here is if we are double-minded that we should not expect that we will receive anything from the Lord. If we want him to answer our prayers, we have to pray in faith, but it isn’t just that, but we can’t be claiming to believe one thing while we are living the opposite. For that is being double-minded, too. For, if we say we have fellowship with God, but we walk in darkness, we are liars who don’t live by the truth (1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

The Implanted Word

James 1:19-21 ESV

 

“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”

 

First of all, we need to be quick to hear the Lord, and slow to speak to him. If we do all the talking and we don’t listen to what he has to tell us, then there is no relationship there. Also, in our talking with him in prayer, it shouldn’t be all supplication, either. It can’t just be a list of things that we want which we hope he will supply. That is a one-sided relationship.

 

We should be seeking out his will and purpose for our lives. We should be desiring him and to hear his voice speak truth to our hearts. And we should be developing an intimate relationship with him like newlyweds getting to know each other, for he is our husband, and we, the body of Christ, are his bride. So, our relationship with him is also to be like a marriage.

 

Then, we should practice good listening skills with other humans, too, and be slow to speak and quick to listen and slow to anger. Now, not all anger is wrong. God gets angry. So, we should love the things he loves, and hate the things he hates, and thus have righteous indignation over the things he has righteous indignation over, too.

 

For, we read in Ephesians 4 to be angry and sin not, so not all anger is sinful. It has to do with what is in our hearts, and what kind of anger it is, and it has to do with how we handle that anger, too, so that we are angry, but we don’t sin, but that we use that anger as motivation to do and to say the right things in order to try to resolve a difficult situation.

 

The Righteousness of God

 

Since, as followers of Jesus, we want to produce the righteousness of God, the fruit of our walks of faith in Jesus Christ, we must therefore put away all wickedness and all filthiness (immorality, impurity) from us. We must forsake our sins and turn to the Lord to follow him in obedience. And the implanted word is the word of God living within us, so we must receive it.

 

If we read both the Old Testament and the New Testament of the Bible (Genesis-Revelation), we will find a common message throughout. What the prophets taught in the Old Testament Jesus also taught as did his New Testament apostles. And the message is fairly simple, and concise, and can be summarized in a sentence or two.

 

What God demanded of his people then is the same thing he demands of us now, that we should leave our lives of sin behind us, be changed in heart and mind of God, and now walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit, in obedience to our Lord, and in righteousness and holiness to the glory and praise of God, and only by his grace and in his power and strength.

 

The implanted word is able to save our souls only if we receive it, embrace it, and do what it says. For, if we live according to the flesh, doing what our flesh desires, we will die in our sins. But if we live according to the Spirit, in walks of obedience, holiness, and righteousness, then we have eternal life with God. So, please know this, and please take it to heart.

 

Seek the Lord 

 

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Based off Isaiah 55

 

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

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

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

 

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

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

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

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

 

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

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

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

The mountains will burst into song… before you,

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

 

https://vimeo.com/379408296

Your Face in a Mirror

James 1:22-24 ESV

 

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.”

 

Discerning the True Word

 

If we are going to be doers of the word of God, and not hearers only, we need to make certain that the “word” we are hearing is the truth of God’s word and not a lie, not a twisting of truth. And we do this by studying the Scriptures in their context, and by comparing Scripture with Scripture on the same subjects, such as grace, salvation, faith, and eternal life.

 

We listen carefully to the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking his words to our hearts, as we pray for wisdom and understanding. And we open up our hearts and minds to receive from him what he wants to teach us from his word. But what we believe is coming from the Spirit must not be contrary to God’s divine nature and will and must not be in opposition to the gospel.

 

For, there are many deceiving spirits out there twisting the Scriptures to their advantage, confusing and convincing naïve and fleshly minds to follow after a perverted gospel of grace which is not true to the whole of teaching in the Scriptures on salvation, grace, faith, and eternal life with God. But it is based off Scriptures taken out of context and twisted to say something else.

 

For, the word of God teaches that faith in Jesus comes from God, and therefore it submits to the will of God and to his purposes. Thus, those who are believing in Jesus Christ with God-given faith are going to surrender their lives to Jesus Christ, forsake their lives of living for sin and self, and they are going to follow our Lord in obedience, in his power and strength.

 

They are going to live holy lives which are separate from the world because they are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus. Thus, they will no longer unite themselves with the pleasures of this sinful world. They will no longer be enslaved to sin, living out of control lives, and living in self-indulgence, but they will be honoring Christ as Lord and living to please him.

 

[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; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 4:1-16; Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2]

 

Doers of the True Word

 

So, step one is making certain that “the word” you are hearing is the truth that is in Christ Jesus. You should have been taught “to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Read Eph 4:17-24; cf. Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Lu 9:23-26; Tit 2:11-14).

 

Then, step two is to believe on Jesus Christ with all your heart, repent of (turn away from) your sins, and follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands. For, Jesus Christ gave his life up for you on that cross, not just to forgive you your sins, but to deliver you from your slavery to sin so that you would now be slaves to God and to his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23).

 

What you are to forget and to walk away from is not the truth of God’s word, but it is the lies, the twisting of truth, the perversions of grace which give people free license to continue in deliberate and habitual sin against God without conscience, without remorse, and with no requirements for repentance, obedience, or submission to Christ as Lord (owner-master).

 

For the true word of God does serve as a mirror in our lives to reveal to us what we are doing that is in error, that is sinful, and that is displeasing to God so that we can turn away from those things and obey the word of God planted within us. But many are being taught that they can ignore that mirror and walk away and forget what they look like, and that it is okay.

 

So, there are many professers of faith in Jesus Christ today who are still enslaved to sin and headed to hell but on the promise of forgiveness of their sins and heaven as their eternal destiny. They are being lied to, and they are believing the lies, because the lies appease the flesh, and they give them permission to walk away from the mirror and to do whatever they want.

 

But God’s grace, which brings salvation, trains us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly passions and to live self-controlled, godly, and upright lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. And it teaches us that if we walk (in practice) according to our flesh that we are going to die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God (Tit 2:11-14; Gal 5:16-21).

 

So, we need to be people of discernment who listen to our Lord, and who study his word, seeking truth, and then who obey the truth of God’s word.

 

James 1:25 ESV

 

“But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”

 

The perfect law is the gospel of our salvation as Jesus taught it, and as the New Testament apostles taught it, in its fulness, as a whole. We must die with Christ to sin and live to Christ and to his righteousness, for if we live to the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if we live to please the Spirit, we will have eternal life with God (see all previous Scripture references).

 

It is the “law of liberty” not because it frees us to live however we want now that we are under grace. For, it is not liberty to continue living in sin only now without guilt or remorse. It is freedom from our slavery to sin so that we can now becomes slaves of God and of his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23).

 

This is what we are to seek after and to follow with our lives. This is the word of God that we are to be doers of and not hearers only.

 

For, Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For, if we hold on to our old lives we will lose them, but if we lose our lives for Christ’s sake, we will have eternal life with God (Lu 9:23-26).

 

So, believe the true gospel, walk in it, do what it teaches, and surrender your all to Jesus Christ and make him truly Lord (master) of your lives.

 

I’ll Go Where You Want Me To Go

 

Lyrics by Mary Brown, 1891

Music by Carrie E. Rounsefell, 1894

 

It may not be on the mountain’s height,

Or over the stormy sea;

It may not be at the battle’s front,

My Lord will have need of me;

But if by a still, small voice He calls,

To paths that I do not know,

I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine,

I’ll go where You want me to go.

 

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,

O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;

I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,

I’ll be what You want me to be.

 

Perhaps today there are loving words

Which Jesus would have me speak;

There may be now in the paths of sin,

Some wand’rer whom I should seek;

O Savior, if Thou wilt be my guide,

Though dark and rugged the way,

My voice shall echo Thy message sweet,

I’ll say what You want me to say.

 

There’s surely somewhere a lowly place,

In earth’s harvest fields so white,

Where I may labor through life’s short day,

For Jesus the Crucified;

So trusting my all to Thy tender care,

And knowing Thou lovest me,

I’ll do Thy will with a heart sincere,

I’ll be what You want me to be.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS17lrLxxrg

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He Sustains us to The End

To the Church of God

1 Corinthians 1:2-3 ESV

 

“To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours:

 

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

 

The church is the body of Christ comprised of all who believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given faith which submits to Christ as Lord, leaves our sinful lifestyles behind us, and walks in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

 

The church is not a building called “church.” It is not a church denomination. The building called “church” is not God’s house. It is not holy ground. The church is also not a business of men incorporated under the state, though that is what many have made it out to be. And it is not to be marketed to the world like any other product of human-based businesses.

 

The church is comprised of those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints. And to be sanctified is to be made holy, to be set apart for God and for his service, to do his will, and to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being made into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

 

And “called to be saints” is not about being a “good deed doer.” It is the same as being made holy, separate from worldly influences, and set apart for God for his will and purposes. It has to do with us having the likeness of the nature of the Lord and living lives which are different from the world.

 

The Grace of God

1 Corinthians 1:4 ESV

 

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus.”

 

There is much confusion these days regarding the grace of God. Many are teaching God’s grace as a free license to continue living in deliberate and habitual sin against God while operating under the notion that Jesus has forgiven all their sins so that how they live from this moment forward doesn’t matter in light of eternity, for they believe their eternity has been sealed and settled.

 

But God’s grace is not free license to continue in habitual and deliberate sin against God. God’s grace, which brings salvation, trains us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s soon return.

 

God’s grace delivers us from our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin so that we can now become slaves of God and of his righteousness. For, Jesus died on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now be God’s possession and so we would honor him with our lives. Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross so that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us.

 

For, he died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. God, by sending Jesus to die for us, condemned sin in the flesh in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For, if we live (walk in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God.

 

[Eph 2:8-10; Tit 2:11-14; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8]

 

Not Lacking in Any Gift

1 Corinthians 1:5-9 ESV

 

“…that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.”

 

This is speaking to those who believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given faith which submits to Christ as Lord, leaves our sinful lifestyles behind us, and walks in obedience to our Lord’s commands. This is speaking to those who are set apart for God and for his service, to do his will, to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being made into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

 

This is not speaking to everyone who makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. This is not speaking to those who give lip service only to Jesus while refusing to leave their lives of sin behind them, while refusing to honor Jesus as Lord (owner-master) of their lives, and while refusing to walk in obedience to his commands.

 

If we are genuine in our walks of faith in Jesus Christ, and we are not living to please ourselves, but to please God, we are enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us speaking God’s words to our hearts, and speaking through us who are his willing vessels to bring forth the truths of God’s word to others.

 

We are also not lacking in any gift from God, not that we all have the same gifts, but that God will supply all that we need to do his will for our lives. We are not without resources. We have everything we need in Christ in order to do his will, so we are without excuse if we refuse.

 

Our Lord is the founder and the perfecter of our faith in him. This means that all that we have that is good and is of God comes from him and not from our own flesh. So, if our faith comes from him, it will submit to his will and purposes. And if he is the perfecter of our faith, he is the one deciding how we live our lives, not us.

 

So, when this says that Jesus will sustain us to the end, this is not saying that he does it all and that we do nothing. And it is definitely not saying that we can continue in deliberate and habitual sin against him while he sustains us to the end, i.e., while he makes sure we still get to go to heaven.

 

We have our part that we must do, but we do it in the power of God, in submission to him as Lord, under his guidance and direction, and according to his will and purpose. We must obey our Lord and live the life he has called us to if we want to have the promise of salvation from sin and inherit eternal life with God. The fact that he sustains us to the end means we only do this in his power and strength.

 

[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; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 4:1-16; Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2]

 

The Great Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Francis Foster, 1915

Music by Samuel W. Beazley, 1915

 

How I love the great Redeemer

Who is doing so much for me;

With what joy I tell the story

Of the love that makes men free.

Till my earthly life is ended,

I will send songs above,

Then beside the crystal sea

More and more my soul shall be

Praising Jesus and His love.

 

He has purchased my redemption,

Rolled my burden of sin away,

And is walking on beside me,

Growing dearer day by day.

That is why I sing His praises,

That is why joy is mine,

That is why forevermore

On the everlasting shore

I shall sing of love divine.

 

Glory be to Him forever!

Endless praises to Christ the Lamb!

He has filled my life with sunshine,

He has made me what I am.

Oh, that everyone would know Him,

Oh, that all would adore!

Oh, that all would trust the love

Of the mighty Friend above

And be His forevermore.

 

He is everything to me, to me,

He is everything to me,

And everything shall always be;

I will never cease to raise

A song of gladness in His praise;

Here, and in the world above,

My soul shall sing of saving love;

Life and light and joy is He,

The precious Friend who died for me.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD-LJGRnUZY

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He is Our Hiding Place

The Double-Minded

Psalms 119:113 ESV

 

“I hate the double-minded,

    but I love your law.”

 

The Double-minded are those who are trying to go left and to go right at the same time. They are trying to be righteous while at the same time they are living in deliberate, habitual, and premeditated sin against God. They want God to do for them what he says he will do for his own, but while they are not willing to submit to him as Lord of their lives and to be his own.

 

But the Scriptures teach we can’t go both ways at the same time. There is no middle ground. Either we are walking (in conduct) according to the Spirit, or we are walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh. We either are sowing to please the flesh, or we are sowing to please the Spirit. Either sin is our practice or righteousness is our practice.

 

This is not saying we can’t ever sin against God (See 1 Jn 2:1-2), but that sin is not to be what we practice. We are not to sin against our Lord deliberately and habitually, as a matter of lifestyle. For, if we keep repeating the same sins over again, over a long period of time, with no apparent change in direction, that is considered making sin our practice.

 

And repentance is not this “sin, confess, sin, confess” thing, either. True repentance turns away from the sin and it turns in the opposite direction to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his ways. True repentance will result in genuine heart and lifestyle change in the life of the believer in Jesus. He or she won’t be the same as he or she was before they believed in Jesus.

 

My Hiding Place

Psalms 119:114-115 ESV

 

"You are my hiding place and my shield;

    I hope in your word.

Depart from me, you evildoers,

    that I may keep the commandments of my God.”

 

There are evildoers in this world (and within the gatherings of the church) who are opposing the truth of the gospel of our salvation, and thus they are also opposing those of us who are teaching or sharing the gospel message with others. Some of them appear to be those who are just looking to stir things up and to pick a fight, because they want to silence us.

 

Others who know the truth of the gospel but who are wanting to continue living in their sins will also oppose us if we are teaching the truth of the gospel, and for most of the same reasons they hated and opposed Jesus, because they didn’t like his message. They didn’t like being confronted with their sins and told that they must repent.

 

But the Lord is our strength and our support. He is our stronghold and our help in times of trouble and distress. He gives us all that we need to endure unjust suffering, and he gives us the words we need to say, too, to all who oppose his gospel. We don’t have to fear any opposition or unkind words or attacks against our character. Our God will help us!

 

Hold Me Up!

Psalms 119:116-117 ESV

 

“Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,

    and let me not be put to shame in my hope!

Hold me up, that I may be safe

    and have regard for your statutes continually!”

 

Sometimes we may get a lot of opposition in a short period of time, and it can be overwhelming. It may weigh in on us. Satan will be fiercely attacking us in order to try to silence us and to shut us down so that we will stop sharing the gospel and so that we will stop exposing all the wickedness that evil people do, too.

 

The devil may send all sorts of people our way to try to bait us, to try to trick us, and to try to trip us up with our words so that he may have cause to accuse us. And if this comes hard and fast and furious, it may be more than we think that we can bear. And so, we may cry it all out to the Lord, and he will lift us up so that we don’t get discouraged.

 

Their Cunning is in Vain

Psalms 119:118-120 ESV

 

“You spurn all who go astray from your statutes,

    for their cunning is in vain.

All the wicked of the earth you discard like dross,

    therefore I love your testimonies.

My flesh trembles for fear of you,

    and I am afraid of your judgments.”

 

God allows evil to exist in the world, for if he didn’t, he would have to remove all humans from the face of the earth, for we all have the propensity to do evil and to sin against God. So, we will always have people on this earth who willfully and deliberately do others harm.

 

God will judge evil doers according to the evil that they do, but it may not be in our lifetime that we see this. Sometimes he just hands them over to their own fleshly desires and they just pay the natural consequences for their rebellion against him and against his commands.

 

Sometimes they seem to go on in their evil ways for a very long time and it appears that nothing is stopping them, but that everything continues to go on just like it always has, and there are no obvious signs of remorse or any apparent desire to change course.

 

But God will judge them one day for their unwillingness to submit to him as Lord and to do what he says, for he calls that unbelief. So, even though, for now, they seem to be going from evil to evil, with nothing stopping them, one day it won’t go so well for them when God condemns them.

 

So, we need to be those who surrender our lives to Jesus Christ to do what his will commands. We need to be those who forsake our sins and who live for Christ and to his righteousness. For then we will have the hope of eternal life with God, and we will have no fear of judgment.

 

[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]

 

Have Thine Own Way, Lord

 

Words by Adelaide A. Pollard, 1907

Music by George C. Stebbins, 1907

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Thou art the potter, I am the clay.

Mold me and make me after Thy will,

While I am waiting, yielded and still.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Search me and try me, Master, today!

Whiter than snow, Lord, wash me just now,

As in Thy presence humbly I bow.

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Wounded and weary, help me I pray!

Power, all power, surely is Thine!

Touch me and heal me, Savior divine!

 

Have Thine own way, Lord! Have Thine own way!

Hold o'er my being absolute sway.

Fill with Thy Spirit till all shall see

Christ only, always, living in me!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z11avpKNLsA