God's True Grace to Us

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who 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.” (Titus 2:11-14 ESV)

 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. We are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers, and not drunkards. We are to be those who are living morally pure, upright, and godly lives, and who lead by example in teaching others to follow suit. And we are to be people of integrity who live what we teach and who are not hypocrites.

 

Sadly that is not the case with many who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Even many who call themselves “pastors” are not living morally pure and godly lives. Many are living in addiction to sin, especially in sexual immorality which is running rampant in today’s “church” here in America. And so many who are sexually addicted have no conscience and no compassion for those they are sinning against, so no true remorse, either.

 

They are like what is described to us in Revelation 18 about Babylon. They are a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit. They are those who also lead others to commit sexual immorality with them. And their sins are heaped high as heaven. And they have all this history of evil stored up in their hearts and they won’t let go of it because of their pride, and because of the stronghold that this addictive sin has on their lives.

 

So, they have left the door open wide to keep adding to this pile of sin because they will not unload all the evil which is stored up in their hearts. And all this evil stored up in their hearts has to do with pride and lust and hate and unforgiveness and being contemptuous and disdainful of others who are walking in holiness and in righteousness. So they are a lot like many of the Israelites who sinned against the Lord in the wilderness and who died.

 

For in their stubbornness, and in their rebellion against the Lord, they will not let go of what is stored up in their hearts, but they keep adding to it, instead. And in the case of the Israelites in the wilderness who maintained their sinful practices and would not repent, and would not change, the Lord had them put to death. And they did not enter into his eternal rest, because they wanted their sin more than they wanted God.

 

But sometimes the Lord will strip away the facades, and he will expose to others what is stored up in the hearts of those who will not yield control of their lives over to the Lord but who continue to sin against the Lord and against other humans. And when this then comes out into the open and is revealed, then the Lord uses that to move them to repentance and to getting rid of all that is stored up in their hearts. But they still have the choice to say “Yes!” to God or to still tell him “No!”

 

But this is where we need to understand the true nature of God’s grace. For many people today are teaching and preaching a false grace, a diluted and altered grace message which is not biblical grace. For they are teaching that you can make a mere acknowledgment (profession, confession) of Christ as your Savior and Lord, and now all your sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), heaven is now guaranteed you, and nothing can take that away.

 

But God’s grace is not a free ride into heaven regardless of how we live our lives on this earth. God’s grace trains 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 (cf. Ephesians 2:10).

 

So we need to understand that how we live will impact where we spend eternity, regardless of what some people are teaching you to the contrary. For all throughout the New Testament we are taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles that we must die with Christ to sin, and we must now live to him and to his righteousness. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, and not righteousness, then we’ll not inherit eternal life 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]

 

Broken Cord

 

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

 

Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior

And your testimony is separate from Him.

Your words not matching your actions today.

Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.

Live what you testify in truth always.

 

Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,

For you profess one thing, but other you do.

Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.

Not living in truth to what you confess.

Lying about it puts you in a mess.

 

Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.

Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.

Your heart is not given to your Lord God.

Because of how you live, you are a fraud.

Turn from your sin and give your life to God.

 

https://vimeo.com/287303934

Straight Paths for Your Feet

Hebrews 12 begins with an encouragement to us who believe in Jesus Christ in truth and in righteousness, that we are to lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and to run with endurance the race that God has set before us to run, which is a spiritual race (walk of faith), looking to Jesus who is the founder and perfecter of our faith, a faith which dies with Christ to sin and is raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but to God and to his righteousness (see Romans 6:1-23).

We are to consider that Jesus was tempted to sin but that he resisted that temptation to sin to the point of shedding of his blood for us on that cross in order to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery (addiction) to sin so that we can now live holy lives in walks of obedience to our Lord, in the power of God. And we are to follow his example to us. For if we don’t, and we continue in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, and we don’t walk in obedience to him, we don’t have eternal life in him.

“Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint but rather be healed. Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no ‘root of bitterness’ springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.”

“See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.” (Hebrews 12:12-17,25 ESV)

Now, this is not assuming here that all who hear this or read this are of legitimate faith in Jesus Christ. For the passage lets us know in several places that if we do not resist sin, and if our lives are without discipline, and if we are not pursuing holiness, but if we remain defiled in heart, and so we don’t truly repent of (turn from) our sins to follow the Lord in obedience, then we are illegitimate children of God, and we will not see the Lord, and we will not obtain the grace of God, and we’ll not inherit eternal life.

So, we need to take this seriously. For our salvation is not secured for us on the basis of lip service only. So, if you are still wandering in the wilderness, still living in sexual immorality, dishonesty, faithlessness, lying, cheating, stealing, and committing adultery, etc., in practice, you will not enter into the “Promised Land,” i.e. into the kingdom of heaven (of God/Christ). Even claiming faith in Jesus Christ is not enough, and making promises to change is not enough. For the same patterns will produce the same results.

So the encouragement here is to change and to do something different, but not just anything, but what the Scriptures teach that we must do. So, if you have been slothful about your relationship with the Lord, still wandering in the wilderness, still habitually giving into your sinful cravings, regardless of who you hurt in the process, that has to stop! But we have to realize where this all comes from, for it comes from what is stored up in the heart, which is where the “root of bitterness” is being stored and is leading to sin.

But there are a lot of people, like Esau, who want the blessing but without having to have the heart alteration. They want to enter into the “Promised Land,” but they find the river too hard to cross, which is the narrow gate that leads to life eternal. So they go the way of the wide gate, which is the easy way, instead, thinking that will be enough to please God, even if they know differently. So they always stop short of where they need to go, and they look for other ways that seem similar, but that are not the narrow way.

But we are to make straight (honest, upright, decent, moral, trustworthy, and righteous) paths for our feet. And honesty begins with facing the truth of what is stored up in our hearts and getting those evil things out of our hearts so that we can walk in purity of devotion to the Lord and in loving others instead of sinning against them. But this can only be done in the strength of the Lord as we, in truth, yield control of our lives over to him and we let him change us from the inside out. But we must do what he says.

The moment we refuse the Lord and what he is speaking to our hearts and we decide to go the “easy way,” instead, then all progress that could be made stops. And then we have sealed our fate. For we can’t do “faith” our way. We must do it God’s way. For the faith that saves comes from God, it is perfected by Christ, it is gifted to us by God, it is persuaded of God, and it is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of man. So we can’t decide what that faith looks like. God does, and his Word does.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Ephesians 2:8-10]

And 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 him in obedience, then we have eternal life in him. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God the Father in heaven (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, don’t be like Esau. Don’t sell your birthright for what is of this world that you hunger after. And don’t think that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ is enough to assure you heaven as your eternal destiny but regardless of how you live. Don’t believe the lies that tell you that your sins no longer matter to God and that they won’t be held against you. For we are all going to be judged by our works. Those who obey the Lord, in practice, have eternal life. Those who sin in practice, 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]

Broken Cord

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior

And your testimony is separate from Him.

Your words not matching your actions today.

Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.

Live what you testify in truth always.

Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,

For you profess one thing, but other you do.

Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.

Not living in truth to what you confess.

Lying about it puts you in a mess.

Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.

Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.

Your heart is not given to your Lord God.

Because of how you live, you are a fraud.

Turn from your sin and give your life to God.

https://vimeo.com/287303934

The Foolish Will Refuse This

“How great are your works, O Lord!

    Your thoughts are very deep!

The stupid man cannot know;

    the fool cannot understand this:

that though the wicked sprout like grass

    and all evildoers flourish,

they are doomed to destruction forever;

    but you, O Lord, are on high forever.

For behold, your enemies, O Lord,

    for behold, your enemies shall perish;

    all evildoers shall be scattered.” (Psalms 92:5-9 ESV)

Yes, great are all the works of the Lord, especially his working of salvation from sin in the hearts and lives of all who are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ. For God the Father sent his only begotten Son (Jesus Christ) to the earth to be born as a baby to a human mother but conceived of the Holy Spirit, and not of man. So when Jesus lived on the earth he was fully God and fully man. He suffered like we suffer, and he was tempted in like manner as we are tempted, yet without sin.

The purpose for which Jesus came into the world was to die on a cross, taking upon himself the sins of the entire world, putting our sins to death with him so that by faith in him we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, in daily practice. So he died that we might be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but to God and to his righteousness. And now we are to no longer walk in sin but in obedience to our Lord.

Now Jesus Christ, when he lived on the earth, made the message of the gospel of our salvation crystal clear. We must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow him in obedience if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to the Lord, then regardless of what our lips profess, we will not inherit eternal life with God. For Jesus died to free us from our slavery to sin so we would now obey him with our lives.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Hebrews 10:23-31; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10]   

But, even though the Scriptures make the message of the gospel of our salvation abundantly clear, there are many stupid (foolish, senseless, irresponsible, impulsive, reckless, childish, and self-indulgent) people professing faith in Jesus Christ who are ignoring what Jesus taught and what his NT apostles taught, in full context, and they are altering the character of Christ and of his gospel message by abbreviating it in order to leave out the parts about dying to sin and obeying our Lord’s commands, et al.

For they are living by their feelings, and they are not walking by genuine faith in Jesus Christ. So they have obscured the truth of the gospel message in order to appease human flesh and to not offend the ungodly who they are trying to attract to their gatherings. So this is a man-created gospel message which is largely permeating the American church, and it appears it is the message that most people are accepting, which does not require us denying self, dying daily to sin, and walking in obedience to God.

So, those who are believing in this altered and abbreviated version of the character of Christ and of his gospel message never make him truly Lord of their lives, but they continue to be lord of their own lives. Although they portend genuine faith in Jesus Christ and to be in genuine relationship with him, they are still the lord over their own lives. They are still deciding for themselves right from wrong and what they are allowed to do and not. For they have this notion that they can still live in sin and go to heaven. Lie!

So, they are a lot like the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years who did not get to go into the Promised Land because of their deliberate and habitual sinning against the Lord and because of their refusal to submit to God as Lord and to give control of their lives over to him. For they are those who are always searching for things to gratify the sinful cravings of their flesh who are continually wandering and who are not submitting their lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. 

Thus, they are indeed doomed to destruction forever unless they repent in truth and in righteousness and they make that spiritual U-Turn away from living in sin and for self to now walking in obedience to the Lord in holy living. For we can’t make sin our practice and still have eternal life with God. We cannot live in sexual immorality, dishonesty, deceit, faithlessness, wickedness, hate, and disobedience to our Lord and still inherit eternal life with God and eternal salvation from the control of sin over our lives.

“The righteous flourish like the palm tree

    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

They are planted in the house of the Lord;

    they flourish in the courts of our God.

They still bear fruit in old age;

    they are ever full of sap and green,

to declare that the Lord is upright;

    he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.” (Psalms 92:12-15 ESV)

And the righteous here are not the self-righteous who try to earn their salvation by the works of their flesh. Those who are righteous in the eyes of the Lord are those who make the righteousness of God their practice and who cease to do evil in practice, by the grace of God, in his power, and strength, and wisdom. And they flourish in the wisdom and in the counsel of the Lord in doing what our Lord commands and in ministering his love and grace to others, bearing fruit for God’s eternal kingdom.

And what our Lord commands is that we walk with him in truth and in righteousness and that we cease from walking in sin. And he commands that we obey his New Covenant commands and that we share the truth of the gospel with the people of the world and that we encourage and exhort and speak the truth in love to one another so that none of us are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness and so that none of us are led astray by the false teachings of man in their cunning, craftiness, and deceitful scheming.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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Teach Us to Number Our Days

“Lord, you have been our dwelling place

    in all generations.

Before the mountains were brought forth,

    or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

    from everlasting to everlasting you are God.”

“So teach us to number our days

    that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Return, O Lord! How long?

    Have pity on your servants!

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

    that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,

    and for as many years as we have seen evil.

Let your work be shown to your servants,

    and your glorious power to their children.

Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

    and establish the work of our hands upon us;

    yes, establish the work of our hands!” (Psalms 90:1-2,12-17 ESV)

The following song speaks of us dwelling in Beulah Land. And the word “Beulah” means “thou art married.” And, it is often considered a symbol of our heavenly dwelling with our husband, Jesus Christ. We are his bride, and he is our husband. The word is found in Isaiah 62:4, which says, “Thou shalt no more be termed Forsaken; neither shall thy land any more be termed Desolate: but thou shalt be called Hephzibah, and thy land Beulah: for the LORD delighteth in thee, and thy land shall be married.”

So, who is this speaking about under the New Covenant? It is speaking about all who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, who have been crucified and buried 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. We are those who are pursuing our Lord daily, who deny self, who are dying to sin daily, and who are following our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).

[Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-32; Luke 9:23-26] 

For when we believe in Jesus Christ, we enter into a marriage covenant relationship with him. He becomes our husband and we become his bride (male and female), and now we live to please him and no longer to please our sinful flesh, in practice. And now he lives within us in the person of the Holy Spirit and we are to be in fellowship with him. Sin is to no longer be our practice, but righteousness and godliness and obedience to our Lord are to be what we practice, as his followers. For this is the life of a Christian.

[Matthew 7:21-23; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 5:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]

So we want the Lord to teach us to number our days that we may get hearts of wisdom. We must not take God and his word lightly, but we must take every promise, and every condition for every promise, and every warning given to the church seriously and to act accordingly. We are to consider that none of us knows how long we will live or if tomorrow will ever come for us. We can’t just assume that we will live to our old age and then die. And I am getting up there, for I just turned 74 years of age the last day of the year.

We must accept the disciplines of the Lord in our lives as for our good, even though painful. For when he disciplines us with trials and tribulations, they are ultimately for our good to teach us wisdom, and to teach us his ways, and to train us in righteousness and holiness and to 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). For we were created in Christ Jesus for good works God prepared for us to walk in (Ephesians 2:10).

So, we are to walk in the ways of the Lord in obedience to his commands. And we are to be the people of God he created us to be, and in good times and in bad times. We must not let our faith falter just because we are called upon to suffer for the sake of righteousness. For through our suffering we learn obedience and patience and steadfastness. And we learn to rely on God and not on ourselves. And we grow to maturity in Christ and we develop godly character and wisdom so that we can walk in his ways and not in sin.

For God called us to himself so that we will serve him with our lives and not self. He has an assignment for each one of us to fulfill who have trusted in him as Lord and as Savior of our lives. And we are to be fulfilling that God-given assignment in his power and strength and wisdom. And all of us are to be sharing the truth of the gospel with other people, and we are all to be encouraging one another daily in our walks of faithful obedience to our Lord, and we are to caution one another against falling back into sin.

[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]  

Dwelling In Beulah Land

By Miles C Austin (1911)

Far away the noise of strife upon my ear is falling;

Then I know the sins of earth beset on every hand;

Doubt and fear and things of earth in vain to me are calling;

None of these shall move me from Beulah Land.

Far below the storm of doubt upon the world is beating,

Sons of men in battle long the enemy withstand;

Safe am I within the castle of God’s word retreating,

Nothing there can reach me, ’tis Beulah Land.

Let the stormy breezes blow, their cry cannot alarm me;

I am safely sheltered here, protected by God's hand;

Here the sun is always shining, nothing there can harm me;

I am safe forever in Beulah Land.

Viewing here the works of God, I sink in contemplation;

Hearing now His blessed voice, I see the way He planned;

Dwelling in the Spirit, here I learn of full salvation,

Gladly I will tarry in Beulah Land.

I'm living on the mountain, underneath a cloudless sky,

I'm drinking at the fountain that never shall run dry;

Oh, yes! I'm feasting on the manna from a bountiful supply,

For I am dwelling in Beulah Land.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mob1aWZfApo

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My Heart's One Desire

“Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel

    and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts:

‘I am the first and I am the last;

    besides me there is no god.

Who is like me? Let him proclaim it.

    Let him declare and set it before me,

since I appointed an ancient people.

    Let them declare what is to come, and what will happen.

Fear not, nor be afraid;

    have I not told you from of old and declared it?

    And you are my witnesses!

Is there a God besides me?

    There is no Rock; I know not any.’” (Isaiah 44:6-8 ESV)

We who live on the planet earth live in flesh bodies, and the flesh has a tendency to desire all sorts of things which may not be good for us. And then we are bombarded with all sorts of messages coming from TV and movies and videos and music lyrics and social media and advertising, et al, which are constantly pulling us this direction or another trying to convince us that we need this or that in order to be happy and to be fulfilled.

And then, like me, some of us as children through adulthood were raised to put hand over heart and to pledge (vow) our allegiance (loyalty, devotion, passion, and worship) to the government of the USA. And we were raised to sing patriotic songs of worship to our government and to honor our military as our heroes who they claim keep us safe and who they say protect us from evil. But God alone is to be all that to us, not the government.

And now so much of these modern-day “churches” which are being market-driven are trying to get us to give our undying loyalty and devotion to the preacher and to the marketing schemes for growing “the churches” into businesses of human origin which are being marketed to the world. And many of these preachers are like cult leaders who want us to worship them over and above our true worship of God.

And then there are all sorts of other things and people out there vying for our attention and affections and worship and praise and honor and passion. And so we are being pulled in all these different directions by people and by advertising and by social media memes, trying to convince us that if we just go this way or that way, or if we get in this relationship and out of that one, that we will be happier, and that we will be fulfilled and have joy everlasting.

But this world is still the world. And flesh is still flesh. And people will fail us and disappoint us. And the grass is not always greener on the other side. Sometimes you just trade one bad situation for another if you look to another human being to be your “knight in shining armor.” And things don’t last. And all this is temporal and could be all gone in an instant, and then what do you have left? Yourself. And? Who gets your heart then?

Bottom line here is that our God – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – is to be our only God. And a “god” can be a preacher, a teacher, a politician, a government head, a musician, an actor, somebody famous, or entertainment, sports, games, movies, videos, possessions, husbands, wives, and children, etc. For a god is anything and anyone who gets our hearts, time, passion, desires, loyalty and devotion above God.

And the way that we know if we have any other gods above God is when we look at how much time and passion and worship and service we give to our Lord compared with how much of our hearts, passion, time, and desire goes to other people or the things of this world. Who or what are we looking to in order to meet our needs and our desires? God? Or the flesh? Or other people? Or entertainment? Or fantasy world? Or the government, etc.?

So, make sure that God is your only God to whom you give your worship and undying loyalty and devotion. Yes, love other people. Care about them. Minister to them. Meet their needs. Desire Christian fellowship. Have friends. But don’t make other humans your gods. Don’t depend on them to make you happy and to meet your needs and to fulfill all your desires. And don’t desire them above God or you are not worthy of the Lord, he said.

Video Talk

https://youtu.be/SL_kUzXBEgM

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As the Deer 

By Martin J. Nystrom

Based off Psalm 42:1

As the deer panteth for the water

 So my soul longeth after You

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

You alone are my strength, my shield

 To You alone may my spirit yield

 You alone are my heart's desire

 And I long to worship You

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70

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Watch Out for the IF Clauses

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21 ESV)

The Bible uses this word “if” on purpose, for it means that what follows is a conditional clause. It is saying, “on the condition that…”. So we need to pay close attention to these “if” clauses. For this is not assuming that everyone reading this truly is “in Christ.” It is saying, “if anyone is in Christ” then the following is true. But not everyone who thinks he is “in Christ” is truly “in Christ,” for not everyone who professes Christ meets the conditions.

For the old to truly pass away and for the new to come, we must cooperate with God’s work of grace in our lives in dying with him to sin so that we can be resurrected with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Then we must cooperate with him in no longer allowing sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it ends in death.

For Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. He died that we might now live for him and no longer for self. He shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we can now serve him with our lives in walks of obedience to his commands and in holy living; so that we now live morally pure, honest, and faithful lives in surrender to his will for our lives.

[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23]

For to be reconciled to God means that I decisively change, exchange, as when two parties reconcile when changing to the same position; usually used in a redemptive sense of a sinner reconciling to the Lord; to change from enmity with God to friendship, fellowship, and partnership with God. It is about exchanging the old life for the new life in Christ Jesus. For we die with Christ to sin and now we walk in his holiness in obedience to him.

[Ephesians 2:16; Ephesians 5:20-21; 2 Corinthians 5:11-20; Romans 5:10-11; Romans 11:15; Colossians 1:22]

So, when this says that the old has passed away and that the new has come, this is not automatic based on a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And it is not merely a status that we wear. It means that we have literally left our old lives of living in sin and for self behind us so that we can now follow Jesus Christ in walks of obedience to his commands. It means we are no longer walking in sin but in holiness, moral purity, honesty, and faithfulness.

So, if we are still walking in sin, still deliberately and habitually sinning against the Lord and against other humans, and if we are not walking in obedience to our Lord’s commands (New Covenant), in practice, then we are not “in Christ.” For the Scriptures teach that if this is our condition that we are not in fellowship with Christ, we don’t even know God, we are not born of God, but we are of the devil, and we will not inherit 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]

But it is true that is not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of man. This is of God. Even the faith to believe in Jesus Christ comes from God and is gifted to us by God and is not of our own doing. And this faith is persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness and of our sinfulness and of our need to forsake our sins to follow our Lord in obedience. But we have to cooperate with God’s work of grace in our lives, in his power.

So, when Paul said that he and Timothy, as ambassadors for Christ, implored the Corinthian church to be reconciled to God, he was speaking of their need to forsake their sins, to deny self, to die daily to sin, and to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. For that is the essence of the gospel message. For Jesus became sin for us on that cross in order to put our sin to death with him so that we will no longer live in sin but for righteousness.

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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Making it Our Aim to Please God

“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

“So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” (2 Corinthians 5:1-10 ESV)

Who is the audience here? It is all who believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, in truth and in righteousness and not in lip service only. We are all who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and who have been 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 righteousness, in obedient walks of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and in holy and righteous living, by the grace of God.

For all of us who love the Lord Jesus, and who are walking in his ways and in his truth, although right now we live on the earth in these fleshly bodies, one day we will be received into God’s eternal kingdom either by death or by him returning and taking his faithful bride to be with him for eternity. But while we are still living in these bodies of flesh we groan, because we long to be in our glorified bodies and with our Lord for eternity. 

So, why do we groan? Because life on this earth is hard. In this life we go through trials and tribulations which test our faith. We go through pain and sorrow and loss of loved ones. We are persecuted for the sake of righteousness and for our walks of faith. We have people who turn against us who hate and mistreat us. And we have people we know who abandon us and who do evil to us and who lie to us and who betray us. And it hurts!!

And so sometimes we just want to go home to be with the Lord forever and to not have to suffer any longer. But we may not be prepared, though, for how that is going to take place. It would be nice if we would all just die in our sleep, but not everyone does. Many people throughout the world are dying physically in much pain because they have been shot or partially blown up or have been in a fire or they are starving to death.

So dying and going home to be with the Lord may sound nice, but the path to get there may be even harder than what we are presently facing. For the Scriptures teach that the closer we get to the end that the worse things will get. And they are pretty bad now, but they are getting worse by the minute. So, we need to prepare our minds and our hearts with the reality that, before our Lord takes us home, our suffering could massively increase beyond comprehension.

But we must not give up just because things got much harder, for they are only going to get much harder. So we need to keep our courage, in the strength of the Lord, and keep pressing on, and keep moving forward, and keep doing the will of the Lord despite how we are treated in return. But we are not going to understand it all. And this is where we have to walk by faith and not by sight, for we can’t look into the future and see everything.

So, our goal (aim) must always be to please the Lord regardless of our present day circumstances, and despite what is inevitable in our future. And don’t believe the lies that tell you that you don’t have to do anything to please the Lord. Absolutely not true! For the Bible clearly teaches us that we must live to please the Lord in all that we do, that works are required of us, and that we must obey him and his commandments to us (New Covenant).

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 5:9; 2 Co 9:8; Gal 5:6; Gal 6:8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 5:10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:9-14; 1 Thes 2:4; 1 Thes 4:1; 2 Thess 1:11-12; 2 Tim. 2:4,21; Tit 2:11-14; Tit 3:8; Heb 11:6; Heb 13:6; Jas 2:17; 1 Jn 3:22] 

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. Jesus will render to each according to his works. So we are to abound in the works of the Lord which he prepared in advance that we should walk in them. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness and obedience to our Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what we say.

[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]

Near the Cross  

Hymn lyrics by Fanny J. Crosby, 1869

Music by William H. Doane, 1869 

Jesus, keep me near the cross; 

There a precious fountain, 

Free to all, a healing stream, 

Flows from Calvary's mountain. 

Near the cross, a trembling soul, 

Love and mercy found me; 

There the bright and morning star 

Sheds its beams around me. 

 

Near the cross! O Lamb of God, 

Bring its scenes before me; 

Help me walk from day to day 

With its shadow o'er me. 

Near the cross I'll watch and wait, 

Hoping, trusting ever, 

Till I reach the golden strand 

Just beyond the river. 

In the cross, in the cross, 

Be my glory ever, 

Till my raptured soul shall find 

Rest beyond the river.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5gong-PNmY

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