They Don't Know Love

“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:8-15 ESV).

So, what is the context here? It is that of self-made religion which has no value in stopping the indulgences of the flesh (v. 23). And it really doesn’t matter what the self-made religion is. The point of it is that it does not agree with God, it is not biblical, it is not of God, but it is of the flesh of man, whatever deviant it is. For if it is not the gospel that Jesus Christ taught and that his NT apostles taught, in full context, then it is self-made, not of God. 

So, what is the most predominant self-made religion that is permeating the church here in America today? It is that which has been coined as “the cheap grace gospel.” But it is not that God’s grace is cheap, but that people are cheapening it by altering it, and twisting it, and perverting it to make it something other that biblical grace. For many are teaching a grace which forgives sins but does not call for repentance nor for obedience to God.

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his ways and to his commands, then we have eternal life. For if we deny him in this life, he will deny us when he returns (Luke 9:23-26).

But that is not what is being taught largely in the American church. What is mainly being taught is that we can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ one time in our lives and now all our sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), heaven is guaranteed us when we die, and it can’t be taken away from us, regardless of how we live. That is a lie from hell! For if sin is what we obey and not God and not righteousness, we will not have eternal life.

And so we have many professers of faith in Jesus Christ who are living selfish, self-indulgent, immoral, worldly, dishonest, and unfaithful lives while they claim Jesus as Lord and Savior and heaven as their eternal destiny. Sexual immorality, in particular, is running rampant in the gatherings of the church (or what is falsely being called “church”). Statistics have it that probably 75% of all males have dabbled in pornography, including perhaps up to 50% of pastors, or that they are somewhat regulars in that area.

So the church in America is on a massive spiritual and moral decline, and the church has become so worldly that there is hardly any difference between the church and the world anymore. For the church in America has largely gone the way of the world and they have adopted the ways of the world and of big business, and so they are marketing “the church” to the world, and so they are altering the character of God and of his church and of his gospel of salvation in order to attract and to not offend the ungodly of the world.

But we who believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-given and God-persuaded faith in Christ were crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we were raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we are not to let sin reign (be in control) in our bodies to where we obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience is what we obey, its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23; cf. Romans 8:1-14).

Yet so many are rejecting that message and they are convincing themselves that a profession of faith in Christ assures them heaven as their eternal destiny regardless of how they live. And so they go on in their fantasy world, believing the lies, twisting the truth, following illusions, altering the gospel, approving what is wicked, evil, and deviant, and doing what feels good to them regardless of how evil or wicked or deviant it is, and regardless of what God says or who gets hurt in the process. For they don’t know love at all.

So, we can’t just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and then claim all of God’s promises he has made to those who will follow him in obedience and in holy living. For God making us alive in Christ is not a status. What Jesus did for us on that cross is not a status that we wear. It is a heart change and a lifestyle change, and it is forsaking our sinful practices to now walk in holiness and righteousness in obedience to our Lord under the New Covenant. Jesus died so we will die to sin and live to righteousness.

So, please don’t take God’s grace for granted. For his grace, which is bringing us salvation, teaches us to renounce (say “NO!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works which God prepared in advance for us to walk in them (Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-24).

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/379406352

That Their Hearts May be Encouraged

“For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving” (Colossians 2:1-7 ESV).

If we are true ministers of the truth of the gospel of Christ to the people of God who believe in Jesus Christ, and to the people of this world, especially in the day and time in which we live, we should be experiencing persecutions and opposition, and we should have our eyes and ears open to what is going on in the world and in the Christian community, and coming from the opposing forces against us and against the Christian faith and against all those who would step out in genuine walks of faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord.

And we should be those who genuinely struggle for the truth of the gospel to get out to the people, for so many people now are teaching lies and/or are believing the lies of the enemy rather than the truth of God’s word. Lies and deception and distortions of truth and mind manipulation abound everywhere you look. And so many people are putting blind trust in those not of God and in those who teach lies, and they are being led astray from purity of devotion to Christ to follow after the gods of this world.

And all of this should grieve us. And we should have great concern for the body of Christ and for the people of this world that they would hear the truth and that they would believe the truth, and that they would walk in the truth and in righteousness and in obedience to the Lord, and that they would not fall prey to the lies of the enemy. And we should be diligent about getting the truth out to as many as who will listen, for the lies are drowning out the truth, for the lies tickle itching ears and they pacify the sinful flesh.

And so it should be our earnest desire to reach as many as possible with the truth, for it is the truth which saves, not the lies. And it is the truth which gives life, not the feel-good messages so many people are preaching today in order to appease human flesh and to not offend the ungodly of this world. For “encouragement” is not just all feel-good stuff, but it is exhortation, and it is holy urging, and it is speaking the truth in love to people and not the lies that soothe their consciences and which give them permission to sin.

It should burden our hearts that so many are being deluded (tricked, deceived, duped) and led astray by plausible arguments which are in opposition to the truth of the gospel and in opposition to the truth of God’s word. And our hearts’ desire should be to get the truth out to as many as possible so that they will reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ and the truth that Jesus taught to the people when he lived on this earth.

For, it is not enough to just profess Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior of our lives, but we are to walk in him and in the truth of his word and in the truth of the gospel which he taught, and which his NT apostles taught, which is not the gospel that is so popularized today, at least here in America. And to walk in Christ is to conduct our lives in practice in honesty, integrity, moral purity, uprightness, faithfulness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commandments under the New Covenant.

Obedience to our Lord and holy living and moral purity are to be how we live, in practice, and not in sin. And we should be seekers of truth and of righteousness who love the word of God and who are following the teachings of Christ and of his NT apostles which are directed to followers of Christ, i.e. to the church, the body of Christ. And then we should be those who are sharing the truth of God’s word with others so that they can also come to know Jesus Christ personally and then walk in his ways and in his truth.

And we should do this even if we are hated and persecuted and rejected and falsely accused and mistreated and lied about, in return, for that is what Paul experienced, and that is what Jesus experienced. For Jesus said that if we follow him with our lives that we are going to be treated in much the same way as what he was treated. But we are to rejoice that we are counted worthy to share in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ, our Lord, becoming like him in his death, and for the sake of the gospel.

[Matt 5:10-12; Matt 10:16-25; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 6:22-23; Lu 21:12-19; Jn 15:1-21; Jn 16:33; Jn 17:14; Ac 14:22; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Rev 6:9-11; Rev 7:9-17; Rev 11:1-3; Rev 12:17; Rev 13:1-18; Rev 14:1-13]

Hear my Voice 

An Original Work / July 9, 2012

Based off Psalm 27

The Lord is my great salvation.

He’s the stronghold of my life.

When my enemies attack me,

My heart will not fear at all.

Though a war break out against me,

Confident in Christ I’ll be.

Of the Lord, I ask that I may

Live with Him eternally. 

Hear my voice, Lord, when I call you.

Merciful to me You’ll be.

Though my relatives forsake me,

My Lord God will receive me.

Teach me Your way, O my Jesus.

Lead me in Your righteousness.

I will sacrifice to my Lord.

I will sing with joyfulness.

I am confident that I will

See the goodness of the Lord.

All the richness of His blessings,

My Lord has for me in store.

He asks me to be of courage;

To be strong and to take heart,

Patiently as I wait for Him,

And from Him to ne’er depart.

https://vimeo.com/119813963

For the Sake of His Body

“Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ. For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:24-29 ESV).

Do you know that all of us who are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ are called of God to be ministers to the body of Christ, his church? This is why we are all given spiritual gifts, that we might use them to minister to the body of Christ for our mutual edification and spiritual growth in the Spirit of God. And we are all necessary to the proper working of the body in order that we might all grow up to maturity in Christ, as each part does its work. And God has a body part assigned to each one of us of genuine faith in Christ Jesus.

And we are to be those who are speaking the truth in love to one another so that we are not led astray by humans in their cunning and craftiness and deceitful scheming who are teaching the Scriptures out of context, and who are twisting the Scriptures to say what they do not say in context, and for the full purpose to deceive and to lead people away from genuine God-honoring faith in Jesus Christ to follow the lies. And we are to speak truth so we can all grow up spiritually in our relationships with Jesus Christ.

And we are to be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. And we are to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom. And we are to exhort one another EVERY DAY so that none of us are hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. And we are to consider how we may stir one another up (provoke one another) to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together wherever God provides a meeting place for us.

[Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]

So, it isn’t just people who are called “pastor” or “elder” who are supposed to be the ministers to the church. All of us who believe in Jesus with God-persuaded faith are to be using our spiritual gifts to minister to the body of Christ, and we all have a part if we are walking in obedience to our Lord in living holy lives pleasing to him, and if we are not walking in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord and against our fellow humans. And we will face suffering, too, when we minister to the church in righteousness.

And all of us should be sharing the Scriptures with one another as an encouragement to one another toward our maturity in our walks of faith in Jesus Christ. And we should be sharing with one another what the Lord is teaching us through his word and how he is working in our lives. And we should be praying for one another, especially that we might all walk in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin, and that we might all serve the Lord Jesus with our lives, and not live for ourselves.

But we must be walking in that truth, not necessarily in absolute perfection, but in practice. And we must be students of the Scriptures who are diligent to read them in their context and to make certain that we are listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit as he speaks to us through the word of the Lord. We must not be followers of man (flesh) but of the Spirit of God in what he has to say to us through the Scriptures so that we are following after the truth and not the lies that so many are spewing forth these days.

And we need to be people of God who do not shy away from sharing the hard lessons and the hard truths of the Scriptures, but who teach the full counsel of God and not just the stuff that makes people feel good. We also must not be afraid to share the many warnings that there are in the Scriptures written to the body of Christ, for there are many warnings and cautions which we must all heed. For the whole goal of our ministry should be that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

And we, too, should be those who toil, struggling with all the energy we have in Christ Jesus, to make certain that what we are presenting is the truth, as best we understand it, and that we are not people who dilute and alter the truth so as not to offend people. For a deliberate half-truth is a lie, if it is truth that must be shared in order to speak the real truth of the gospel of our salvation. For far too many people are altering the truth of the gospel or they are cutting it short in order to not offend the ungodly.

So, we must be people of integrity who are seekers of truth, who follow the truth of the Lord with our own lives and who do not shy away from sharing the whole truth with others. For the gospel message is that we must die with Christ to sin and be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And sin should no longer have mastery over our lives to where we obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, not to life eternal with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

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 

Caution: This link may contain ads

Deception is Huge

 

If You Keep On in the Faith

“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister” (Colossians 1:21-23 ESV).

Jesus Christ, who is God, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – left his throne in heaven, came to the earth, and was born as a human baby to a human mother, but was conceived of the Holy Spirit. So God the Father was Jesus’ birth Father. So when he walked this earth he was fully God and yet fully human, but without a sin nature, for he was conceived of God and not of man, and he never sinned the whole time that he lived on the earth. So he was fully righteous and pure and sinless always.

Well, Jesus Christ came down to the earth for a very specific reason, and that was to die on a cross for our sins. So he became our sacrificial Lamb on that cross to take away the sins of the world. And he died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. And he died so we would now live for him and no longer for ourselves. And he shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery to sin so that we will now honor God with our bodies, and so we will serve him with our lives in obedience.

[John 1:1-35; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23; Ephesians 4:17-24; Titus 2:11-14]

But all of us who are born on this earth as fully human, conceived of man, are born with sin natures in the image of Adam, the first man to sin against God. And so we are separate from God and not able within ourselves to be acceptable to God nor are we able to be approved by God nor to share in his righteousness. And so God had planned all along that he was going to send the Christ to the earth to take on human form and to die on that cross so that we could now die with him to sin and live to his righteousness.

[Rom 3:9-26; Rom 5:12-19; 1 Co 15:21-22,42-49; Eph 2:8-10]

So, by God-given and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is God’s gift to us, if our faith is genuine God-ordained faith, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And so sin is no longer to have power and control over our lives to where we obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death, but if obedience is what we obey, its end is eternal life with God.

[Jn 1:12-13; Jn 6:44; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 12:1-2]

But this is not a one time thing that takes place in our lives, done deal, regardless of how we live. With all of God’s promises are conditions, and his conditions are that we forsake our lives of living in sin and for self, that we no longer walk in sin, that we humble ourselves by surrendering our lives to him, making him Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and that we now follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands in holy and righteous living, and from now to eternity, i.e. to the very end.

We must continue to walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. Sin should no longer be our practice, but righteousness and obedience to our Lord must be what we practice. And we must remain steadfast in faith, not shifting from the hope and the truth of the gospel taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles. So this means that we should not be following after a gospel of man which is altering the truth of the gospel to make it more acceptable to human flesh.

Now this is not saying that we will never sin again or that we will be instantly perfect. And it is not saying that we might not ever fall back into sin and need to be brought back into a right relationship with the Lord. I believe we have examples of professing Christians all throughout the New Testament books who, at one time or another, fell back into sin, or who fell away from their pure devotion to Christ, who needed to repent and to return to the Lord in walks of purity of devotion to him.

Yet, what the Scriptures teach us is that if we walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin, and if obedience to our Lord and righteousness are not our practice, if we continue in that way, and if we do not repent and return to the Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God. In fact, John said that we are not in fellowship with God/Christ, we don’t know God/Christ, we are not born of God/Christ, but we are of the devil if sin is our practice and if godliness, righteousness, and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, we need to take this to heart. Bottom line here is that we cannot just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and then continue to live however we want while ignoring God and his commandments. We must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to him and to his commandments under the New Covenant. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, we have eternal life.

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/379406352

Comfort One Another

“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you. Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the saints greet you. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Corinthians 13:11-14 ESV).

Paul addressed these words to the church, the body of Christ in the city of Corinth, so they were addressed to both male and female. I believe the restoration he was speaking of may have been three-fold. For one, he spent most of 2 Corinthians defending his ministry against the lies of false apostles who had come in among them and who were trying to discredit him and Timothy. So part of this was a restoration back to a right relationship with Paul and with Timothy in a trusting relationship.

Some of the people may have been still living in sin, and some of them were listening to these false apostles who were teaching another Jesus and a different gospel and a different faith than Paul had taught them, and so some of this restoration needed to be back to a right relationship with the Lord Jesus, which was primary. And some of them may have been quarreling among themselves, and so there may have been a need for restoration with one another. And this may be the case with many people today.

Now this is a time of year here in America when people’s emotions may be raw to a certain degree. For this is that time of year when it seems the majority of Americans celebrate the holiday of Christmas. I choose not to celebrate the holiday because I believe it is a combined celebration of false gods and the one true God, which God commands we do not do. I celebrate the life of Jesus every day, seven days a week, all my waking hours. So I don’t need a special day to celebrate Jesus, and he does not require it.

But my point is that it is a very emotional time of year for many people, and we need to be sensitive to people’s emotions, not to the point of ever compromising truth and righteousness but realizing that many people are grieving over the loss of loved ones, especially this time of year, and so they may need extra encouragement and comfort, but honest comfort. For it is not comforting to tell people lies just to make them feel good. And this word comfort also means exhortation and holy urging. So just be loving.

Now, on the subject of agreeing with one another, if this has anything to do with the teachings of Scriptures or moral purity or honesty, etc., we never are to agree with what is against God or what is immoral and dishonest, etc. So first we must be in agreement with God and then we can agree with one another in matters of biblical importance. But we can also agree in areas which are non-essential. We can make compromises in those areas.

And with regard to loving one another, this is agape love which centers in moral preference and which prefers what God prefers, which is what is morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to God. For the believer in Christ it is preferring to live through Christ, choosing his choices, and obeying them in his power. So when we love with this love, we are going to do good to one another, not evil, and we will speak the truth in love to one another, and not lies, and we will not deliberately sin against one another.

And with regard to showing one another physical affection, we must be very guarded in this. For we live in a day and age when sexual immorality in the gatherings of the church is running rampant, and where so many wolves in sheep’s clothing are giving professers of faith in Christ permission to keep on in deliberate and habitual sin, and where the opportunities for romantic and/or sexual extramarital affairs is wide open in the workplace and on the internet. So show love and affection, but in a way that is proper and safe.

And regarding the grace of God, it is not just forgiveness of sins, and it is not permission to keep on in deliberate and habitual sin. The grace of God which is bringing us salvation instructs us to renounce (say “NO!” to) ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return (Titus 2:11-14). God’s grace is freedom from slavery to sin and empowerment to live godly and holy lives to the praise and honor and glory of God, in his power and strength.

And the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is a relationship built on love and trust and truth and righteousness. We cannot be in fellowship with Christ while we still walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin (1 John 1:5-10). We are in fellowship with Christ, and with others who are also in fellowship with Christ, when we walk (in conduct, in practice) in holiness and righteousness, in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant), and when we live morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient lives to God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Video Talk

https://youtu.be/IinzWaw3uis

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The Prayer

Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, 

Alberto Testa and Tony Renis

I pray you'll be our eyes

And watch us where we go

And help us to be wise

In times when we don't know

I pray we'll find your light

And hold it in our hearts

When the stars go out each night

Remind us where you are.

Let this be our prayer

When shadows fill our day

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqFCbtRz1Z0

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For the Truth Only

“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test! I hope you will find out that we have not failed the test. But we pray to God that you may not do wrong—not that we may appear to have met the test, but that you may do what is right, though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth” (2 Corinthians 13:5-8 ESV).

It is not enough to just pray a prayer or to make a profession of Christ as Lord and Savior of your life. The Scriptures teach that faith in Jesus Christ, if it is genuine God-given and God-persuaded faith, which is biblical faith, will result in us being crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26).

So, it is not what we profess with our lips that matters for eternity. It is what we believe in our hearts which will be evident by how we live, i.e. by how we conduct our lives, either as slaves to sin or as slaves to righteousness. For if sin is what we obey, and if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to the Lord and to his commandments under the New Covenant, then the Scriptures teach we do not have eternal life with God.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Jesus taught this as did his NT apostles, and this is taught all throughout the New Testament. True faith in Jesus Christ comes from God, it is gifted to us by God, it is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of man, and it is persuaded of God. And since it comes from God and is persuaded of God it is going to align with God’s will and purpose for our lives, too. And God’s will is for us to die to sin and to live to his righteousness.

[Jn 1:12-13; Jn 6:44; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Peter 2:24; 2 Pet 1:1; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 12:1-2]

So, if you are someone who is professing faith in Jesus Christ, who is relying on that profession of faith to get you into heaven, then please read the above noted Scriptures, and please do this self-examination recommended by Paul to see if you are in the faith or not. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23).

And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), then we have eternal life with God. For if we deny him in this life, he will deny us (see Luke 9:23-26).

Now some of what Paul expressed here was in direct reference to the false accusations that he and Timothy were being faced with, but most especially Paul. But Paul was living an exemplary life, which is why he sometimes told the people to follow his example. But he also faced a lot of criticism and false accusations. And so he frequently had to come to his own defense which was literally in defense of the gospel of Christ, too.

But his encouragement to the professing Christians in Corinth was for them to make certain of their salvation, especially since it appeared that some of them might still be living in sexual immorality, impurity, and sensuality, and were actively engaged in hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder, etc. For Paul taught that if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to the Lord, that we do not have eternal life with God.

Now I like it that Paul said, “For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.” Amen! We should all be those who practice telling the truth and who do not deliberately and knowingly tell lies. This is not saying that we are going to get everything right all the time, but that truth telling is to be our practice, and not lies, and that we must be diligent to make certain that what we are saying is the truth, to the best of our understanding.

The Prayer

Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, 

Alberto Testa and Tony Renis

I pray you'll be our eyes

And watch us where we go

And help us to be wise

In times when we don't know

I pray we'll find your light

And hold it in our hearts

When the stars go out each night

Remind us where you are.

Let this be our prayer

When shadows fill our day

Lead us to a place

Guide us with your grace

To a place where we'll be safe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cqFCbtRz1Z0

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