Our Actions Matter

Romans 1:16-17 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

If we are ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it means we are embarrassed by it. For, we are more concerned about what people will think about us than we are concerned about their relationships with Jesus Christ and their eternal salvation.

I know what it is like to be rejected, and I know what it is like to fear rejection, too. But, we need to not give in to fear of rejection, but we need to be willing to lay our lives down for the salvation of others, and even to be thought weird, crazy, or whatever in order to speak the truth in love to others so that they may be truly delivered out of their bondage to sin.

For, the true gospel of our salvation rescues people out of their bondage to sin, and it frees them to walk righteously in the power of God in their lives. God’s true grace, which brings salvation, therefore instructs (demands) us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, godly and upright lives while we wait for Christ’s soon return (Tit. 2:11-14).

If I had to give you one verse to tell the gospel message in a nutshell it would be 1 Pet. 2:24: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

And, what does it mean to be healed? It means to be made sound or whole (healthy, restored). And, to be whole means to be made complete, unbroken.

For, when we are born into this world, we are born with sin natures, separate from God and destined for eternity in hell. But, when Jesus saves us by his grace, he delivers us out of our addictions to sin so that we are free to now walk in his holiness. And, we are now given eternal life in him (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

Romans 1:18-20 ESV

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

So many people today are preaching a gospel which bypasses death to sin and living to righteousness. They give the impression that God’s grace to us is merely forgiveness of sins and the promise of heaven when we die. Many even go so far as to state that God requires no repentance, no obedience, and no submission to him. They reduce the gospel message to give people free license to live in immorality while claiming heaven as their destiny.

But, that is not what God’s word teaches. It teaches us that we must die with Christ to sin and we must be born again of the Spirit of God, resurrected 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).

What God makes clear in this passage of scripture is the intrinsic link between his saving grace and our deliverance, not just from the punishment of sin, but from our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin.

For, God has made himself known to all of humanity so that we are all without excuse. Not one of us can claim ignorance, or say “I didn’t know.” For, God has made known to us all his divine character and will and his purpose for all humankind, and that is that we are conformed to his likeness, and that we forsake our lifestyles of sin to follow him in obedience.

Romans 1:21-23 ESV

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

So many people today are preaching a gospel which demands no change in behavior. In fact, they are even opposing the idea that our behavior needs to change, and so they are counteracting the truth of the gospel with lies, accusing the Lord’s messengers of teaching works-based salvation if they insist that the gospel means death to sin and living to righteousness.

But, if being outside of faith in Jesus Christ means we are enslaved to sin, even basic logic says that faith in Jesus Christ should mean deliverance from slavery (bondage) to sin, not merely just forgiving the sin. For, if you are in jail for a crime you committed, and someone pardons your sin, but he leaves you still in prison, would you even feel you were really pardoned?

We can’t remove our behaviors, our actions, our deeds from the gospel message. Yes, we can do nothing to earn or to deserve our own salvation. No amount of good works on our own will ever win us God’s divine approval or save us from hell. But, this is not to be translated to say that our salvation from sin does not have to result in changed minds and behaviors.

For, although all of humanity knew God, not intimately, but they had knowledge of God, who he is, what he is about, and what he requires, they, in their flesh, outside of faith in Jesus Christ, chose to not honor him. They chose not to show him respect, obedience, submission, and reverence. But, they worshiped created things rather than the creator.

Romans 1:24-25 ESV

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

All throughout the New Testament we are taught that we must put off sin and put on righteousness. This is not works-based salvation. If it was, you would have to discard most of the NT. If our actions don’t matter to God, and if truly all we need to do is just accept Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins, believe he has forgiven us, and believe we are now bound for heaven, then, again, we don’t need most of the New Testament.

For, the New Testament is jam packed with warnings and with instructions about sin given to the church, i.e. to people who claim faith in Jesus Christ. All throughout the New Testament, those who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ are instructed in holy living and are warned against taking God’s grace for granted, thinking his grace gives them free license to keep on in their sinful lifestyles (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Tit. 2:11-14; 2 Co. 5:15; Eph. 5:3-6; Eph. 4:17-24; etc.).

The lie says that we can be saved from our sins, have heaven guaranteed us as our eternal destiny, and that our behaviors don’t matter to God. Some even go so far as to suggest that God no longer sees our sins, for all he sees when he looks at us is Jesus. While it is true that when the Lord forgives our sins, that we are now reconciled to God via Jesus’ blood sacrifice for our sins, it is not true that he now turns a blind eye to continued sin.

For, if he did, we wouldn’t have most of the New Testament, for it would not be necessary. For, most of the New Testament contains instructions to the church, which includes those who make professions only of Christ, for they were among those who gathered with the church. And, those instructions, over and over again, tell us to put off this or that sin and to put on godliness and holiness, instead, and to do what pleases our Lord.

So, don’t believe the lie that your sin no longer matters to God. It does! For, Jesus died and he was resurrected from the dead in order that you might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. But, if we choose to follow after the lie, and we refuse to believe the truth, God will let us go our own way, and the result will be catastrophic! You don’t want to go there!

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/112351857

Monday, April 22, 2019

Make Christ Lord

John 10:1-5 ESV

“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the gatekeeper opens. The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them, and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they will not follow, but they will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”

The problem here, though, is that too many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are following the voices of the strangers, and they are confusing their voices for the voice of Christ. And, that is because these “thieves and robbers” are clever enchanters who are very manipulative, charming, funny, entertaining, and convincing, and so many people are flocking to them.

And, many of these “thieves and robbers” are serving in positions of leadership today within our churches, and within the governments of our nations, and within our community organizations. And, they are leading many people astray. For, they have a way of “charming the socks off people,” i.e. of completely manipulating them into thinking their way, or to go their direction, even in opposition of what they once believed as true.

These are those who have infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Jesus Christ, and to lead us back under slavery to sin, convincing us that what they are teaching us is true freedom, and that the true freedom we have found in Christ Jesus from slavery to sin is legalism and not to be followed. So, they twist the scriptures to their advantage, because they want us in slavery to sin, for they don’t serve Christ, but Satan.

But, Jesus Christ, the true shepherd of the sheep, died on that cross to deliver us out of our slavery to sin, not to leave us still in bondage (addiction) with no way out, or continually “struggling,” i.e. continually yielding to sinful practices and living in persistent moral defeat. He died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, that we might walk in obedience to our Lord. He didn’t just forgive us our sins so that we could continue to walk in sin without guilt or remorse. That is not freedom if we are still under bondage!

So, we need to be discerners of truth so that we don’t end up following these strangers and end up not following (obeying) our Lord, the true shepherd.

John 10:9-13 ESV

“I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.”

The way to salvation from sin and eternal life with God is through faith in Jesus Christ. That word “faith” literally means “divine persuasion.” And, it is a gift from God. Since the faith to believe in Jesus Christ, thus, is not human-based faith, but it comes from God, and is persuaded by God, then it will submit to God’s holiness. We can only come to faith in Jesus Christ, in fact, if God the Father draws us to Christ. And, if he is the one drawing us to faith in Christ, then our faith will be true faith, which will submit to Christ.

For, you see, these strangers, these thieves and robbers, are out to destroy the church, yet they will come to you as wolves in sheep’s clothing, and they will convince you that what they are telling you is the truth, but their mouths are filled with deadly poison. They are blood suckers who want to suck the life of Christ out of your lives and to inject into you what is not of God, but is of Satan, who is the great deceiver who wants us to disobey our Lord.

So, they cut the gospel in half, and the half that is a lie, thus, ends up on top, covering over the truth, hiding it from sight. So, they cherry pick verses out of the Bible which, taken out of context, say what they want them to say, and they make those few verses their gospel message while they ignore the bulk of the teachings in the New Testament on what it means to believe in Jesus Christ and to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God. And, they convince many people to follow their lies, too.

For, what they are telling people is that they can “believe” in Jesus but that it costs them nothing, i.e. they can continue in their sinful lifestyles, basically, and yet still have eternal life with God. They tell them that because they repeated some words after someone, or because they confessed that they believed in Jesus, and in what he did for us on that cross, that they are now part of God’s family, and that heaven is their eternal destiny, and that it can’t be taken away from them. So, how they live doesn’t really matter.

So, again, we must be discerners of these lies and of the truth, too.

John 10:27-30 ESV

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one.”

Here we have a prime example of what I am talking about here. Most people, it would seem, when quoting this section of scripture, leave out verse 27, and they apply the rest of the verses to anyone who makes a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, regardless of their lifestyle.

But, what verse 27 says is that we who are Christ’s true sheep hear his voice, we listen to him, he knows us, and we follow (obey) him. So, the rest of these verses thus apply to those who are listening to Jesus’ words, to his words in the New Testament, but not just the ones he verbalized when he lived on this earth, though, for he is the author of scripture. So, also the words penned by his NT apostles who were preaching his gospel.

This is not saying that we are living in absolute sinless perfection, for if we could, Jesus would not have had to die for our sins. But, what it is saying here is that Jesus’ true sheep are those who make it their practice to listen to the Lord and to follow (obey) what he says. For, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit living within us to live godly and holy lives, pleasing to God. For, this is why Jesus died, that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (2 Co. 5:15; Eph. 4:17-24).

In fact, Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. For, if we hold on to our old lives of living for sin and self we will lose them for eternity. But, if we lose our lives for his sake (die with him to sin) then we have the hope of eternal life with God (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17).

And, we must know here what else scripture teaches us on this subject, for it says that if we walk (in lifestyle, in practice) according to our flesh, i.e. according to sin, that we will die in our sins, not have eternal life with God. For, we are all going to reap what we sow. If we sow to please the flesh, from that flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death). But, if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (See: Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

So, we need to live in harmony (agreement) with God and with his Word, and we need to do what it says, and we need to reject all that is evil.

In Harmony  

An Original Work / September 2, 2012

Based off Ro. 12:9-21; 1 Pet. 3:8-17

Love each other truly.

Cling to what is good.

Hate all that is evil.

Never lack in zeal.

Serve the Lord with fervor.

Joyful in hope be;

Patient in affliction;

Praying faithfully.

Honor one another.

Live in harmony.

Share with all God’s people

Who are found in need.

Do not be conceited.

Sympathetic be.

Love, and show compassion

In humility.

Keep your tongue from evil.

Peaceful you must be.

Honor one another.

Live in harmony.

God sees who are righteous;

Listens to their prayers.

But He’s against evil –

Is His to avenge.

Do not fear what they fear.

Suffer patiently.

In your hearts, make Christ Lord.

Serve Him faithfully.

Honor one another.

Live in harmony.

https://vimeo.com/112832903

Sunday, April 21, 2019

Thanks Be to God!

1 Corinthians 15:50-52 ESV

I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.

When we live on this earth, we live in flesh and blood bodies. Flesh not only represents our physical bodies, but it also is indicative of the fallen state of mankind, i.e. of our sin natures, or our propensity to sin against God. Even those who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of their lives are still capable of sinning against God, because we still live in flesh bodies.

So, as followers of Jesus Christ, when we physically die, our bodies go to the grave while our spirits (heart and soul), i.e. the real us, the essence of who we are in Christ Jesus, go to be with our Lord forever. For, what is of this flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God (of heaven). And, there is both a spiritual and a physical sense to that statement, I believe.

In other words, if we are still operating in the flesh, living to please self, then we are still of the flesh, not of the Spirit, and we don’t have eternal life with God in heaven. For, scripture teaches us that we must die with Christ to sin and live with Christ to righteousness if we want to have eternal life with God. The one who says he knows God, or that he is in fellowship with God, but walks (in practice, in lifestyle) in darkness (sin) is a liar (1 Jn. 1:5-9).

But, for those of us who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and who have been resurrected with Christ to newness of life in Him to be lived to his righteousness, when Jesus Christ returns for us, his bride, we will be given glorified bodies, not like these flesh bodies at all. Whereas these flesh bodies are corrupt, i.e. they can sin against God, have disease, rot, and decay, etc., our new bodies will be pure, wholesome and sinless.

1 Corinthians 15:53-57 ESV

For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”“O death, where is your victory?    O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we truly trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we die with him to sin and we live with him to righteousness in the power of God’s Spirit now living within us. This is the working of God’s Spirit in our lives as we yield to Christ’s Lordship over our lives. For, by God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, by the Spirit of God, we are delivered from our bondage (slavery, addiction) to sin so that we can now walk righteously.

Nonetheless, we still live in flesh bodies, so we still have the propensity to sin against God. Yet, we are no longer under the control of sin and Satan. Sin is no longer our master. But, Jesus Christ is our Lord. And, we are now bond-slaves to Christ’s righteousness. Amen! (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

Yet, because we are still living in flesh bodies, daily we must put sin to death in our lives, by the Spirit, and daily we must submit to Christ’s Lordship over our lives. But, thanks be to God, we can walk in victory over sin, for Jesus defeated sin on that cross for us. In his death and resurrection, he provided the way for us to be free from our chains and to live godly and holy lives.

And, one day we will be delivered out of these flesh bodies, and we will no longer be tempted to sin against God, we will no longer be in pain, and we will no longer have to suffer, praise be to God!

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

So, while we wait our Lord’s soon return, and our going to be with him forever, we are to live our lives on this earth for him for his glory and praise. For, when Jesus died on that cross, his blood paid the price for our sin so that we were bought back for God to be his possession. Therefore, our lives are no longer our own, to be lived how we want, but they are to be lived for our Lord who gave his life up for us (Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Co. 6:20; 2 Co. 5:15).

We are not to go by the name “Christian” in name only. Jesus is not ok with us giving him a few minutes out of our day for us to have “our devotions.” Jesus requires total commitment; complete surrender to him as Lord (owner-master) of our lives. We are to surrender all to him. For, he called us to be holy in all our conduct. And, to be holy means to be set apart from this world of sin, to be different (unlike) the world, because we are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ.

For, this is why he died for us on that cross. He didn’t die merely to forgive us our sins and to give us heaven as our eternal home. He died, and he rose again, to radically change our lives, to transform us from death to life, from darkness (sin) to light (righteousness), and from the power of Satan to God, so that we might receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified (made holy) by faith in Jesus Christ (See: Ac. 26:18).

So, we need to give him our all, fully devoted to him, separate from the world of sin, no longer conformed to the ways of this sinful world, but transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from sin to living to Christ’s righteousness and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

For, if we continue to live for the flesh, doing what we want, without regard for what God wants for our lives, then we don’t have the promise of heaven when we die or of glorified bodies, and we don’t have victory in Christ over sin and death, but a fearful expectation of judgment.

For, we will all reap what we sow. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death), but if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

So, choose today to follow Jesus Christ in full surrender. Let him deliver you from your slavery to sin and give you victory over sin’s power over your life.

He Reached Down  

An Original Work / February 3, 2014

Based off Psalm 18

How I love You, Lord, my Rock and my strength.

My God is my fortress; I hide in Him.

He is my shield and the horn of

My salvation, whom I praise.

I have found my refuge in Him.

He reached down from heaven and rescued me;

Drew me out of waters so deep, I’d sink.

He delivered me from Satan

And my slavery to sin;

Gave me hope of heaven with Him.

My God turned my darkness into His light;

Opened up my blinded eyes; gave me sight.

As for God, his way is perfect.

He gives strength to stand secure.

I have found my vict’ry in Him.

My Lord lives! Praise be to my Savior God,

Jesus Christ, who died on a cruel cross.

He is my Rock and the source

Of my salvation, whom I trust.

I will give praise always to Him.

https://vimeo.com/86346545

Saturday, April 20, 2019

So Also in Christ

1 Corinthians 15:20-22 ESV

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

God’s Divine Plan

When God first created man and woman, they were without sin. They had perfect fellowship with God, which was God’s design for humankind. But, then Adam and Eve sinned against God, and since that time all humankind have been born with sin natures, separate from God, and destined for hell for eternity (See: Rom. 3:23; Rom. 5:12-19; 1 Co. 15:21-22, 42-49).

But, none of this caught God by surprise. For, even before God created the angel Lucifer, who rebelled against him, along with a third of the angels, God knew that was going to happen, but He had a plan for it all.

And, even after Lucifer rebelled against God, and so God cast him down, along with the angels who followed him in rebellion, God allowed Lucifer (Satan, the Devil) to live. God allowed Satan and his evil angels to live, in fact, even knowing that Lucifer/Satan was going to tempt mankind to sin against God, and even knowing that man was going to listen to Satan’s lies, and that he/they would sin in disobedience to God’s commands.

And, not only that, but God created man and woman knowing full well that they were going to sin against him, that he was going to have to banish them from the Garden of Eden, and that he was going to have to put a curse on mankind and on the earth. But, still, God had a plan, even before the creation of the world, for how he was going to save us from our sins.

Jesus’ Life & Death

The plan was for God the Father to send his only begotten Son Jesus Christ (God the Son) to the earth to take on human form, to be born as a baby to a young virgin, to grow to be a man, to suffer as we suffer, and to be tempted in like manner as we are also tempted, yet without sin.

His plan was for him to minister to the needs of the people, too – to heal the sick and afflicted, to raise the dead, to deliver people from demons, to feed the hungry, to comfort the sorrowful, and to preach deliverance from sin via repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Everywhere he went he preached the kingdom of heaven and of our need to turn away from our lifestyles of sin to follow him in surrender and in obedience to his commands (Lu. 9:23-25).

But, he met with much opposition. The religious leaders in the temple of God did not like Jesus. They didn’t like the things that he did, what he stood for, and the things that he taught, too. So, they harassed him at every turn, always looking for a way to accuse him falsely or to trip him up with his words. And, when that didn’t work, they plotted and carried out his death on a cross, treating him as though he was a common criminal.

But, again, this was all in God’s plan. For, when Jesus died on that cross, he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. For, Jesus died on that cross to put our sin to death, so that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. He died, too, that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Pet. 2:24).

Jesus’ Resurrection

But, Jesus didn’t remain dead. God the Father resurrected him from the dead on the third day. So, not only did he put our sin to death with him, in his death, but then he rose from the dead, victorious over sin and the grave. And, all this was so that we might be crucified with him in death to sin, and so that we might live with him in newness of life in Him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

And, this is what our water baptism symbolizes, this death to sin, being buried with Christ into death to sin and self, and being raised with him to newness of life, being born again (spiritually) of the Spirit of God, no longer under the bondage of sin, but now delivered by God’s grace unto eternal life.

Because Jesus died for us on that cross, and because he was resurrected from the dead, not only can we now be free from our addiction to sin, no longer under the control of sin and Satan, but we can now walk (in lifestyle) in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, all in the power and working of God’s Spirit now living within us, to the praise of God. Amen!

For, our eternal life with God doesn’t begin when we die and go to heaven. It begins the moment we truly believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, via this death to sin and living to righteousness, which is a gift from God. For, even the ability to believe is gifted to us by God.

But, the gift is deliverance from bondage to sin, and it is the empowerment to live righteously, and thus it requires that we submit to the Lordship of Christ, and that we surrender our lives to him, and that we leave our lives of sin behind us to follow him in obedience. But, he is the one who gives us the desire and the empowerment to do this, so it is not of ourselves.

Our Death and Resurrection

This, however, is not just for this life. For, one day we will all die physically, but we, the real us, who have died with Christ to sin, that we might live with Christ to righteousness, will be with our Lord forever. Or, we will be alive when he comes back, and we will be taken up to be with Christ when he returns, at which time we will join with those who have gone before us in death in Christ.

But, because Jesus was resurrected from the dead, we will live with him for eternity. And, we will be given glorified bodies, not like our earthly bodies. No more will we have pain, suffering, sadness, heartache, sickness, disease, injuries, abuse, or be tempted or be capable of sinning. But, we will be totally at peace, and have absolute joy, and thanksgiving, for we will now be with our Lord forever, face to face.

But, not everyone is going to be with the Lord forever, not even all who profess faith in Jesus Christ. Only those who have died with Christ to sin, that they might live with Christ to his righteousness, have eternal life with God. So, just know that a mere profession of Christ as Savior is not going to give you the hope of eternity with God. You must die with him to sin if you want to live with him for eternity (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

Jesus, Rescue Me 

An Original Work / September 18, 2011

Based off of Romans 7:7-8:39

Jesus, rescue me today.

Listen while I bow and pray.

I need Your help to obey You;

Live for You always.

Meet me in my hour of need, Lord,

As I pray to You.

Help me walk in fellowship, Lord,

Living in Your truth.

Jesus, how I long for You to

Change my heart anew.

Father, God, my heart’s desire

Is to live for You this hour

In Your Holy Spirit’s power

Living in me now.

Teach me to walk in Your love, Lord,

Guiding me each day.

Help me to show love and kindness

To the lost, I pray.

Father, teach me to love others

As You love always.

Holy Spirit come in pow’r.

Revive our hearts in this hour.

Change our hearts to be like You, Lord;

Live for You each day.

Help us to forsake our sins, Lord,

As we humbly pray.

Teach us how to live for You, Lord,

Obey You always.

Holy Spirit come in power,

Revive us today.

https://vimeo.com/126092919

Friday, April 19, 2019

Shout Out His Word

Romans 10:1-4 ESV

Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Paul’s heart and desire was for the salvation of the physical nation of Israel, i.e. the Jewish people, the people of his own nation, race, and religious heritage. They were his friends, his neighbors, his family members, and the people of his community among whom he lived, and with whom he had once joined together in worship of God. But, the vast majority of them now refused to believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah and Lord. They refused to accept the true gospel of salvation from sin. And, this burdened his heart.

I, too, have that same burden for the people of my nation (the USA), for my neighbors, friends, and family members. I am burdened, too, for the many who profess faith in Jesus Christ, but whose lifestyles speak the opposite. For, they, as well, are ignorant of the righteousness of God and are seeking to establish their own. Theirs, though, is not a righteousness based on legalistic performance, but it is still one based on the flesh of humans. For, it is still in opposition to the gospel taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles.

So, whether we are trying to earn our own salvation via religious performance, being convinced that if we follow a set of religious rituals, and if we do “good deeds,” that we will inherit eternal life with God, or whether we believe that we can continue to live however we want, being convinced that God’s grace covers it all, and so how we live doesn’t matter to God, we are still not submitting to God’s righteousness, but we are following human-based religion, controlled by the flesh, and not by the Spirit of God.

Romans 10:6a, 8b-11 ESV

But the righteousness based on faith says… “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith that we proclaim); because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”

This message here cannot be taken superficially. And, it has to be read and interpreted in the context of the whole of Romans, not just interpreted based on a few verses taken out of context, which is what many are doing.

Many are using these few verses here (vv. 9-10) as the totality of their gospel message. So, they are giving people the impression that if they make a verbal confession of Christ as Lord – which may be merely a title given to his name – and if they have some superficial belief in his death and resurrection, that this constitutes that they are now saved from their sins. And, then they are promised eternal life with God, and that their lifestyles have no bearing whatsoever on their eternal security.

First of all, though, we have to realize that if a Jew verbally confessed Jesus as Lord of his life, this could cost him his life, literally. For, this was no glib confession. This was saying to his fellow Jews that he now acknowledged Jesus Christ to be the fulfillment of the prophecy of scripture with regard to the Messiah (the Christ) who was to come into the world to save them from their sins. And, to acknowledge Jesus as Lord, was to acknowledge him as God of his life, as his owner-master-ruler.

As well, to believe in Jesus’ death on a cross for our salvation from sin, and to believe that he was indeed God, and that he was raised from the dead, that we might have eternal life with God in Him, would have been heresy for a Jew. So, this was no light matter. This was a serious step of faith for a Jew, one that could cost him life, friendships, family ties, and careers, etc. For, it was total commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord (ruler) of his life.

Yet, In America Today

Yet, for many Americans, to confess with our mouths that Jesus is Lord and to believe he died and rose again takes not much faith at all, and little commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord (owner-master-ruler), if at all. And, that is largely because Christianity is the primary religion in the USA, and it is socially acceptable to be a Christian here, at least on a surface level.

But, again, as I said, these verses have to be interpreted in light of the whole of Romans, not just these few verses. The whole of Romans makes it quite clear that faith in Jesus Christ is not some mere verbal confession or some mere intellectual assent to his death and resurrection. What Romans, as a whole, makes clear is that true faith in Jesus Christ means that we die with Christ to sin, and we now live with Christ to his righteousness, as a matter of lifestyle, i.e. that our faith is evidenced by what we practice.

But, it doesn’t stop there. It also lets us know that, if we want to inherit eternal life, we must make righteousness our practice and sin should no longer be our practice. For, if sin is what we practice, then we don’t have the promise of eternal life with God, but eternal damnation to hell is what awaits us, instead (See: Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

Romans 10:14-21 ESV

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth,    and their words to the ends of the world.” But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation;    with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me;    I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”

So, for people to truly be saved from their sins, to have eternal life with God, and to be headed for heaven as their eternal destiny, they need to be told the truth of the gospel, and not fed a bunch of lies which coddle them in their sins. They need to hear that faith in Jesus Christ means death to sin and living to righteousness, and that our lifestyles do matter to God, and, in fact, if we profess to be in fellowship with God, but we are still living to please our flesh, then we are liars who don’t live by the truth (1 Jn. 1:5-9).

But, that message is not going to be met with a lot of support and “likes.” In fact, preaching that message will be met with a lot of criticism, rejection, hatred, abuse, false accusations, persecution, and perhaps even death. Or, we may just be largely ignored and ostracized, and the silence may then speak loudly to us regarding how the message of the cross is being received.

For, we may be preaching to a whole lot of disobedient and contrary people who are holding on to their sinful lifestyles and who have embraced the cheap grace gospel which permits them to continue in their sinful addictions while promising them heaven as their eternal destiny.

So, if you are preaching the truth, don’t be surprised if that truth is rejected by a large majority of people, even in a so-called “Christian” nation. For, many have bought into the lies that their lifestyles don’t matter to God, and all that matters is that they make some verbal confession and have some superficial faith in what Jesus did for us in dying for our sins and in being resurrected from the dead, in order to give us life eternal with him.

In fact, the truth of the gospel is definitely under fire, not just here in the USA, though, but across the world, especially as this one-world religion is being formed, and the preaching of the cross is now being treated as though it is a hate crime. But, don’t lose faith, and don’t give up! If you are preaching the truth, it will be rewarded. People’s lives will be saved. We just have to keep persevering, even in the face of much rejection. And, we have to keep our minds focused on our Lord and not on our circumstances.

Look to God

An Original Work / November 11, 2016

Fear not. Look to God.

He will strengthen you. He is your Rock.

He’ll meet all your needs.

Rest in Him, and be filled with His peace.

When sorrow fills your life, pray to the Lord.

Believe His promises. Trust in His Word.

He’ll lead you each day.

Give your life to Him. Follow His ways.

Lean on Him today.

He will comfort you. Trust Him always.

Read His Word and pray.

Tell the world of His love and His grace.

When trials come your way, be not afraid.

God watches over you. Be not dismayed.

He’ll work all for good,

For the called of God. Jesus, they love.

Sing songs. Praise your Lord.

Lift your voice to Him. Shout out His Word.

He forgave your sins,

Cleansed your heart. You are made new within.

When you are faced with temptation to fear,

Remember God will be with you. He’s near.

He’ll take care of you.

He will keep you in His love, tis true.

https://vimeo.com/191325193

Thursday, April 18, 2019

The Logos of The Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18-19 ESV

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Jesus Christ, God the Son, is the Logos, the Word of the cross, as well as is his gospel message to us. Yet, He and his message are foolishness to those who are perishing, but also to many who think they are saved, too.

So, what about Jesus and his gospel message is foolishness to those who are dying in their sins – even to many who think they have eternal life with God? Truly it is that Jesus died on that cross to put sin to death in our lives so that we might live in him to his holiness and righteousness.

And, this is why so many of Jesus’ followers, when he walked this earth, deserted him, never to return again, because they said his message was “too hard.” And, what they considered “too hard” was that Jesus required that they die with him to sin in order that they might live with him to righteousness, if they wanted to have eternal life with him, i.e. with God.

And, this is why so many people today have altered the gospel to make it more acceptable to humans and to their way of thinking. Thus, they have reduced the gospel to nothing more than forgiveness of sins and their ticket into heaven, but absent of the cross of Christ in their lives.

But, God will destroy the “wisdom” of those who think they are wise in their own minds, and who think they can outsmart God. He will do all that he said he would do in his Word. No matter how much humans do to twist the gospel message to their own advantage, they will not win in the end. For, we will all reap what we sow (Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:19-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

For, words are just words if they are not followed up with action. True faith in Jesus dies to sin and lives to righteousness (Rom. 6:1-23), not in absolute sinless perfection, but as a matter of course (practice, lifestyle). And, this is because true faith in Jesus is of God, it is a gift of God, and it is divinely persuaded by God, and thus it submits to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

So, don’t be fooled by the lies. Believe the truth, the whole truth!

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 ESV

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Human logic, and what we might consider common sense may not jive with God’s wisdom and direction. As human beings, we tend to think more with the flesh, to what seems to make sense to us. And, so, many people try to apply this human logic and reasoning to what is spiritual, and that doesn’t usually work. They try to intellectualize faith, and that doesn’t work, either.

For, we have to come to Jesus Christ with the simplicity of little children, not in childishness, but in sincerity of faith, willing to believe what God’s Word says, and to do what it says, by faith, whether the world approves or not.

An Example

For example, speaking here from personal experience, I graduated high school with a 1.4 GPA (a D- average). I had no confidence at all in my intellectual capabilities. I was a very slow reader, and had really low reading comprehension levels. I think I began college reading on a 4^th grade level, and with help, did get up to a 7^th grade reading level.

Prophecy of scripture and anything having to do with End Times just didn’t stick with me. I just didn’t get it no matter how many times I studied it. I didn’t follow politics, either, because I was convinced I could not understand it. I didn’t read much at all, in fact, because I had such difficulty understanding what I read. But, I did believe God’s Word, what I understood of it, and in all sincerity I wanted to do what it said.

Eventually, when I was in my 50’s, the Lord taught me that I could learn anything he wanted me to learn in his power and strength, and that I didn’t need to fear learning things over my head. But, I was totally dependent on the Lord to teach me, not on my flesh. I knew I couldn’t, but that he could!

And, that has turned out to be a blessing in my life, because the Lord is able to teach me his wisdom, and he doesn’t have to cut through a bunch of intellectual knowledge stored up in my mind that might try to block his wisdom from being accepted in my mind and in my heart. I am able to receive what he teaches me with childlike faith, believing what he teaches me, by his Spirit, because I know it is him teaching it to me, because I know his voice, and because it is consistent with scripture.

When I write each day, it is totally under the direction of the Spirit of God. I don’t choose the scriptures or the subject matter or the songs, etc. The Lord chooses, and I just write what he teaches me. And, he teaches me far beyond my human ability to comprehend so much, too. And, he teaches me subject matters I would never consider approaching in the flesh, too.

But, God chose me, and he called me to this ministry, not because of my own ability, or because of my own skills or intellect, but because in his providence he decided to choose a woman, and an old woman, at that, who is not wise in the ways of the world, to share his messages. And, so he gets all the glory, not me, because I know where this all comes from, and it is not from me, from my flesh, but from God who teaches me in his Spirit.

Be Encouraged

So, if you are feeling inadequate, lowly, ill-equipped, lacking in intelligence or talent or giftedness, God is not limited by that. In fact, that is when he can truly work through us, because we realize we can’t, but that he can. And, thus we don’t fight against him with our own intellect and reasoning, resisting his Spirit because we have decided in our own minds what is truth, when we might be totally wrong.

So, just know that God can use you, and he wants to use you if you are submissive to him and you are willing to learn from him and to do what he says to do and to say what he says to say. Of course, we must be discerning of spirits, and test the spirits to make certain they are of God, though, and we should not believe every voice which whispers into our ears.

And, we must test what we hear against the written Word of God to make certain that what we are hearing is consistent with scripture and that we are not being led astray. For, there are many spirits out there trying to persuade us this way or that, and so we need to be in the Word of God, checking things out against his Word, and not live in ignorance, believing everything that passes itself off as from God, when it may not be.

So, just saying as a word of caution here that, although we need to be led of the Spirit and not by our own thinking and reasoning, we do need to know what the Word teaches so that we are not tossed here and there by every wind of teaching which says it is from God. But, we need to let the Spirit lead us into all truth, and we need to not block the Spirit’s voice via our own intellectual knowledge that hinders us from hearing his voice.

For, we may have learned some things wrong, you know. We all had different upbringings, and we all had things drilled into us from early on, and we tend to believe those early messages and hold on to them tightly, but we need to be willing to reevaluate some of them if the Lord is showing us that what we learned was not right, but again, test it all against God’s Word.

It is just so important that, as followers of Jesus, that our lives are fully surrendered to our Lord, and that we are letting him lead us and to teach us and that we are not going our own way or following our own path of reasoning or traditions that were handed down to us. We all need to have childlike faith that listens to the Lord and that follows him wherever he leads us, and that does what he leads us to do.

The Lord’s Anointed 

An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;

Anointed to preach the Good News;

Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;

Proclaim freedom for the captives.

He sent me to preach release for pris’ners

Who are walking in sin’s darkness;

Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;

And tell them about God’s judgments;

Comfort all who mourn;

Give crowns of beauty;

Oil of gladness and thanksgiving.

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,

A planting of our Savior, God,

For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and

They will rebuild God’s holy church.

God will renew them, and will restore them,

And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.

You will be ministers of our God, and

You will rejoice in salvation.

The Lord loves justice;

He is faithful to

Reward those who are seeking Him.

I delight greatly in the Lord;

My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.

He has clothed me with His salvation,

And in a robe of His righteousness.

He has given me priestly garments to wear,

As the bride of Jesus Christ.

As the garden of our Lord and Savior,

He causes us to grow in Him.

He makes righteousness,

Praise, and thanksgiving

Spring up before all the nations.

https://vimeo.com/114836524

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Examining Our Hearts

Jeremiah 31:18-19 ESV

I have heard Ephraim grieving,

‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,

    like an untrained calf;

bring me back that I may be restored,

    for you are the Lord my God.

For after I had turned away, I relented,

    and after I was instructed, I struck my thigh;

I was ashamed, and I was confounded,

    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’

There are a lot of people in this world of ours who are going through very difficult times in their lives. Some of these difficulties have been self-inflicted, i.e. brought on by their own sinful choices, while other people are suffering unjustly at the hands of liars, abusers, and cruel tyrants.

Nearly daily we hear reports of murders, thievery, slander, abuse, excessive force, terrorism, fires, and natural disasters, such as floods and storms. And, then there are all these wars which are going on continuously, too, where hundreds and thousands of people are dying continuously, it would seem.

And, then there are such things as loss of employment, financial disasters, family crisis situations, spousal and/or child abuse and neglect, deaths in families, and critical illnesses, etc. And, there are also people who are being persecuted for their religious beliefs, or because of the color of their skin, or because they are different in some respect from others around them.

But, God never promised us that life was going to be easy, carefree, and absent of pain and suffering. In fact, for the believer in Jesus Christ he promised us that suffering, as he suffered, is part of the Christian life and experience. And, not only that, but that God allows such suffering in our lives for our good, to make us holy, to conform us to the likeness of Christ, to purify our hearts, to prune us, to mature us in Christ, and to correct us.

For, although we are saved by his grace, through faith, which is a gift of God to us, and not of ourselves, lest we should boast, we still live in flesh bodies. We still have the propensity to sin against God and to wander from our pure devotion to our Lord.

Sin should no longer be our master, though, and sin should no longer be our practice (from beginning to end). But, this is not to say that there may not be a time in our Christian walks when we stray from the Lord and need to be brought back into pure unadulterated fellowship with Him (See: Rev. 2-3).

So, one of the methods God consistently uses to bring his wayward people back to him is through divine judgment (discipline, correction). So, he will discipline us, at times, in order to correct us, and in order to convince us to forsake our wandering ways so that we will return to walking with him in obedience to his commands instead of us just doing our own thing.

Jeremiah 31:20 ESV

Is Ephraim my dear son?

    Is he my darling child?

For as often as I speak against him,

    I do remember him still.

Therefore my heart yearns for him;

    I will surely have mercy on him,

declares the Lord.

Some people consider it hate speech to speak out against what is evil; to speak out against sinful practices, and to call for repentance and obedience to Christ as Lord (owner-master) of their lives.

Granted, some people may do so out of hate. I certainly would not want to say that all people who confront evil are doing so out of love and out of compassion, care, and concern for their fellow humans.

Some people may call out specific sins or perceived sins, too, and be truly hateful in how they go about it, while they are guilty of sins far worse, such as what the Pharisees did. They try to remove a speck from someone else’s eye while they have a log in their own that they refuse to remove. And, that is wrong!

Yet, if we truly care about people with God’s love (with Christ’s love), then we will address the issue of sinful practices in people’s lives because we know that sin destroys people, and not just the ones doing the sinning, but those they sin against, and others, too, who are impacted by their sinful choices.

So, if our hearts are in the right place, i.e. if our hearts are aligned with God, with Jesus Christ, in how we view sin, and in how we view those who are chained to sinful addictions, we will cry out against these practices, and we will call people to repentance and to obedience to Christ, not because we are being judgmental, but because we love them with Christ’s love and we want to see them free from their chains and walking in victory over sin.

Jeremiah 31:21-22 ESV

“Set up road markers for yourself;

    make yourself guideposts;

consider well the highway,

    the road by which you went.

Return, O virgin Israel,

    return to these your cities.

How long will you waver,

    O faithless daughter?

For the Lord has created a new thing on the earth:

    a woman encircles a man.”

There are a lot of people today in Christian circles who are ignoring the process of healing and restoration which needs to take place in the life of someone who has strayed from the right path, for a time, and who needs to be brought back into pure fellowship with Jesus Christ.

If they do acknowledge the need for repentance and restoration, which many these days totally ignore, they may oversimplify the process by merely stating that we just need to confess our sins and now we are good to go.

And, maybe that works sometimes, but not always. And, that is because there are sometimes things deep within our hearts which keep leading us back down that wrong path, and until we deal properly with that, we will keep repeating the same “sin, confess, sin, confess” pattern over again.

A Personal Example

For example, I was abused emotionally, verbally and sexually as a child. Then, I married a user and abuser, although I did not know that at that time. Yet, I had a close relationship with my Lord, not perfect, but consistent and faithful in most respects for many years, even throughout the multiple abuses, which came from other sources, too, and over many years.

But, then one day the weight of it all came crashing down on me, and I caved to the pressure. I truly believed Satan had power over me and that God could not rescue me. I even said to God one day, “But God, you don’t understand!” And, I believe that came from the fact that my Lord did not rescue me from all that abuse over all those years, and so in my mind I concluded that God was somehow limited and that Satan could win!

So, I yielded to Satan and to the flesh for a period of time, while I ignored my Lord and his commands. But, then the Lord brought me back. All glory to God! And, I am so thankful that he did!!

But, what he showed me is that I had unforgiveness in my heart against Jesus because he had not rescued me from all that abuse, and so I had to forgive my Lord for not rescuing me, and I had to accept his sovereignty over my life. I had to accept that he formed me in the womb of my mother (Ps. 139), fully knowing the abuse I would face, but that he had a purpose for it all, to make me who I am today, doing what I am doing for his praise.

And, then I had to realize that Jesus already won this battle against Satan for me, so I had to behave as though that is true. For, I had been trying to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against me like I tried to fight off my father’s advances, with arms crossed across my face, hoping to not get hit, but knowing that I would, and so I was defeated continuously.

So, in order for me to be delivered out of the sin I had fallen into, I had to consider well the path I took in my faithlessness in order to see how I got there, and then that had to be undone, i.e. reversed (vv. 21-22).

So, now I trusted God with my life and with my future. I now accepted his sovereignty over my life, and that bad things as well as good things would happen to me, but that God is with me and that he will fulfill his purposes in my life if I remain yielded to him. Yet, this is a daily process, and sometimes I need to be reminded of this again, because I am still human.

And, I learned that Satan is a defeated foe, he has no power over me, and I can be victorious over him and over sin when daily I die to sin and self, and when daily I put on the armor of God and I fight off Satan’s attacks with the sword of the Spirit, believing the battle is won for me.

And, this, too, is a daily process, for sometimes I begin to forget this, and I get afraid, and then God reminds me, and then I yield to him, and I let him lead.

So, just saying here that if you are in that “sin, confess, sin, confess” state of repeating the same sinful practices over and over again, and you are feeling as though you just can’t escape it, and that it continues to defeat you, that there is a way out which God has provided for you. You just have to take the way out he provided.

And, for some of you, it may mean that you have to examine how you got there, not on a surface level, but deep down inside your heart. For, it is true that how we behave is reflective of what we truly believe down deep in our hearts, which may be different from what we think we believe.

For, back then, if you had asked me if I believed Satan was a defeated foe, or if you asked me if I believed in the sovereignty of God, intellectually I did. But, in the depths of my heart, I did not, which was evident in my behaviors.

So, let the Lord examine your hearts. Let him speak his truths into your hearts and show you what is there that keeps you in bondage, and that holds you back from total commitment to him. And, then obey what he tells you to do, and you will be free!

Return to Me

An Original Work / September 5, 2013

Based off Jeremiah 31; Cf. Rev. 2-3

I have loved you with an eternal love,

Which I give to you, in my faithfulness.

Keep your voice from weeping,

And your eyes from tearing.

You will be rewarded

With much fruitfulness.

There is hope for you that My family

Will return to Me; live in victory!

Though I discipline in My love for you,

My heart longs for you that you walk in truth.

Turn your thoughts to your Lord.

Choose to walk in His ways.

Turn from your sins daily.

Follow Jesus Christ.

Oh, how long will you wander in your sin?

Give your hearts to Me; be restored within.

I will satisfy ev’ry weary soul

Who repents of sin; is renewed within.

Behold, days are coming;

It will surely happen;

Though I discipline them,

They will thrive again.

I will be their One and their Only God.

They shall walk in white; be in Me, made right.

https://vimeo.com/115536688

Tuesday, April 16, 2019