A Sword Will Pierce

Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,

“Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,

    according to your word;

for my eyes have seen your salvation

     that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,

 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,

    and for glory to your people Israel.”

And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” Luke 2:25-35 ESV

Salvation for All Peoples

Jesus Christ, God the Son, was and is the promised SEED of Abraham, the Christ, the Messiah, the Savior of the world, of whom the prophets of old foretold was to come. He came to save the people from their sins.

Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to God the Father except through him. He is the only way to God and to heaven. There are no other ways. Not all roads lead to heaven, and not all religions believe in the same God. Not even Jews, if they don’t believe in Jesus, believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, for HE is Father, Son (Jesus Christ) and Holy Spirit. And, not all “good” people go to heaven, either. Not even all those who profess to believe in Jesus Christ, or who call themselves Christians, truly believe in the One True God, and are going to heaven.

Now, it was the will of God that the Son of God (God the Son) should be born into this world as a baby to a virgin, who was conceived of the Holy Spirit. So, when Jesus walked the face of this earth, he was fully man, but he was also fully God, and he never sinned. He grew up, became a man, and at around the age of 30 he began his earthly ministry.

I believe his first message was, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” And, he continued to preach that we must leave everything to follow him, and that we must die to self and to sin and to follow him in obedience. If we do not, he said we are not worthy of him (Matt. 4:17; Matt. 10:34-39).

For, you see, Jesus didn’t come to this earth to die on a cross just so we could be delivered from the punishment of sin and just so we can go to heaven when we die. The whole purpose of his death on that cross is that we might die with him to sin and live with him to his righteousness; that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us.

For, you see, he came to deliver us out of our slavery to sin and to make us slaves of his righteousness. He came to transform us; to change us, and to make us, to mold us into his likeness. He called us to be a holy people, and he called us out of darkness (sin, wickedness) into his light (truth, righteousness). And, as holy people we are to live lives which are separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being made into His likeness (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

The Fall and Rising

Jesus Christ was appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel. For, not everyone believed in him. In fact, the vast majority, when he walked this earth, did not believe in him, but they rejected him. But, there were those who had faith in him, though they were few in number before He died. But, after his resurrection and ascension to heaven, and after he sent the Holy Spirit to indwell his followers, then the numbers of followers increased.

And, it is the same way today. Not everyone truly believes in Jesus Christ. Not even many who profess faith in him truly believe in him. For, to believe in Jesus Christ is not merely to acknowledge his existence or even that he died on the cross to save sinners. It is not merely to make some momentary decision to believe in him, either. For, to believe in Jesus we must leave our lives of sin behind us to follow him in obedience to his commands. And, this is not momentary. It is continuing until the day we die.

So, for those who refused to believe in him, which includes all those who refuse to forsake their sinful lifestyles to follow him in obedience, they have fallen and they will fall, i.e. they will not have eternal life with God but they will die in their sins without God, without hope, and they will spend eternity not in heaven but in eternal flames (Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 5:3-6).

Yet, for those who truly put their trust in him to be their Lord and Savior, who have been crucified with him in death to sin, and who have been resurrected with him to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, they have the promise and the hope of eternal life with God if they continue in him in his righteousness. For, we must walk (in lifestyle) according to the Spirit of God if we want eternal life with God.

[Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Rom. 2:6-8; Eph. 4:17-24; Eph. 5:3-6; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Co. 6:20; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Jn. 14:23-24; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Jn. 8:31-47; Rom. 11:17-24; 1 Jn. 2:24-25; Col. 1:21-23; Jas. 1:19-25; Jas. 4:7-10]

A Sword will Pierce

When Jesus lived on this earth, during his years of ministry, he was hated mainly by the religious leaders within the temple of God. They opposed him vehemently, and they did everything within their power to try to trip him up with his words and to try to discredit him in any way that they could. They hounded him at every opportunity, but he did not give in to them.

When they could not stop him and his influence over the people, then they plotted his death, which they then carried out. And, it was a horrible death, too, for first they beat him beyond recognition and then he had to carry his cross to Golgotha, and there they nailed his hands and his feet to the cross and they left him hanging there to die, and he did die.

And, his mother stood by and watched his death, so that sword did pierce through her, for any mother who truly loves her children will suffer with her children when they suffer. I know, for I am a mother of four and a grandmother of fourteen, and I do feel it when any of them truly suffer.

But, Jesus said that we, as his followers, will also suffer in like manner as he suffered. If he was hated, he said we would be hated, too. If they hounded him, they will hound us, too. If they tried tripping him up with his words, we will have people who will try that with us, too. If they accused him falsely, they will do that to us, too. If they said he was of the devil and that he was crazy, we should expect that to happen to us, as well, if we are truly following him in obedience to his commands.

And, Jesus did have all those things happen to him and much more. So, he said we should expect to be treated as he was. So, it should not come as a surprise to us when people in the institutional church and leaders within the church, too, come against us, hate us, reject us, and persecute us for righteousness’ sake. For so many of them are not true followers of Christ, or they are living in spiritual adultery against their Lord, and they are following after men and the flesh, instead.

All Through the Night  

An Original Work / December 7, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

Blessed are you when you’re persecuted

Because of your faith in Jesus Christ.

Blessed are you when people insult you,

And falsely say what leads folks to doubt.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is

Great in the heavens. You’re not alone.

When you are persecuted in one place,

Flee to another. God will be there.

You will be hated by all the nations

Because you testify of God’s grace.

Many will seize you and persecute you,

And put to death the foll’wers of Christ.

Yet, do not fear what humans may do to you,

For I’m with you all through the night.

I tell you, love your enemies with my love,

And forgive as I forgave you.

Pray for those who do evil against you.

Rest in my love and grace from above.

https://vimeo.com/379481617

Christmas, Santa and More

The following is a collection of writings the Lord Jesus has given to me on the subjects of Christmas and Santa Claus, primarily, but also including other subjects, as well. All of these are subjects that can be considered controversial in nature, in that we don’t all agree on them, but they are all supported biblically and are handled honestly, and in love, and with great care. And, I am sharing them with you for your prayerful consideration. 

Pagan Revelry 2012

Please Don't Hate Me 2017

Christ's Dismissal 2018

It’s Christmastime 2018

Cards on the Table 2018

That Time of Year 2019

Life Before Santa 2019

Wonderful Counselor!

The people who walked in darkness

    have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness,

    on them has light shone.

Isaiah 9:2 ESV

What or who is that light? It is Jesus Christ. It is truth. It is righteousness and holiness. It is the opposite of darkness, which is evil and wickedness. So, it is purity, honesty, faithfulness, integrity, and uprightness, etc. It is all that is of God and is of his divine nature and of his will for our lives. And, it all comes to us through the life of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.

For, we all once dwelt in darkness. We were born into this world with sin natures, separate from God, and incapable within ourselves to be acceptable to God and to share in his holiness and righteousness. We had no hope. There was no healing for our sin-sick souls that we could muster up for ourselves. Nothing of this world could satisfy the deep longings of our souls or fill the emptiness – that God-void inside each and every one of us.

But, thanks be to God the Father, he sent His only begotten Son into the world to save sinners like you and me. Glory to God! And, his light did shine on us so that we could see the glory of the Father in his Son. And, he revealed to us his righteousness and holiness. And, his light, too, shone on our sin and it exposed our weakness and our need of Christ to save us from our sins and to deliver us out of our slavery to sin.

The light revealed to us that we were lost in our sins, without hope, and that we were living in addiction to sin and headed for hell. And, it showed us the way to true freedom in Christ Jesus, but not just from the punishment of sin, but freedom from our slavery to sin. Amen! And, the Light taught us that we must die with Christ to sin and live with Christ to his righteousness – all in the working and power of God’s Holy Spirit at work within our lives.

And, the light showed us that we must, thus, forsake our lives of living for self and in sin, and that we must then turn to God to follow our Lord in truth, in righteousness, and in obedience to his commands. And, then we can have the hope of forgiveness of sins, of salvation from our slavery to sin, and the hope and assurance of eternal life with God in heaven (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14).

You have multiplied the nation;

    you have increased its joy;

they rejoice before you

    as with joy at the harvest,

    as they are glad when they divide the spoil.

For the yoke of his burden,

    and the staff for his shoulder,

    the rod of his oppressor,

    you have broken as on the day of Midian.

Isaiah 9:3-4 ESV

When we accept God’s invitation to receive Jesus Christ into our lives, to be our Savior and Lord (owner-master), and we die with him to sin that we might live to him and to his righteousness, by the Spirit of God, we are set free from our burden (slavery, addiction) to sin. Amen! That is awesome!

And, there is no greater joy than this that Jesus set us free, not just from the punishment of sin, but from our addiction to sin. For, this is why he died, that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness; that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15; Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

But, it doesn’t end there. Now we must walk (in lifestyle, in practice) in agreement with the Spirit of God. Daily we are to die to sin and self. Daily we are to resist the devil, and flee temptation, and draw near to God. And, daily we are to put on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil attacks against us (Rom. 8:1-17; Lu. 9:23-26; Eph. 6:10-20; Jas. 4:7-10).

For, the Christian life is not based on a one-time decision we made to believe in Jesus. It must be continuous, on-going, and persevering, etc. For, our salvation from sin was not just to get us out of hell and into heaven. It was to give us new lives, new lifestyles, no longer to be lived for self and the flesh, but now to be lived for God and for his glory, praise and honor.

And, the Christian life is to be a life that is dedicated to the Lord and to his service, but not just part time, and not according to what we want or desire. It is to be a life surrendered to Jesus Christ, holding nothing back from God, but giving him our all. And, in that is where you will find true peace, joy and freedom in Christ Jesus, your Lord, when you give him your ALL.

For to us a child is born,

    to us a son is given;

and the government shall be upon his shoulder,

    and his name shall be called

Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,

    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and of peace

    there will be no end,

on the throne of David and over his kingdom,

    to establish it and to uphold it

with justice and with righteousness

    from this time forth and forevermore.

The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

Isaiah 9:6-7 ESV

Jesus didn’t die on that cross for us just so we could be delivered from hell and go to heaven when we die, as has already been stated. He died that our lives might be hidden in him, and that he might truly be our Lord, our Sovereign over our lives, and that we might do his bidding. For, truly he is God, and he is the King of kings, and the Lord of lords over all.

And, it isn’t just that he wants to rule over our lives, which he does, but he wants to have an intimate relationship with us, too, like a husband should want to have with his wife, and I am not speaking here of sexual intimacy. For, we can’t have true sexual intimacy in a marriage if we are not truly united in heart and mind with Christ and then with one another in love.

So, the intimacy I am referring to here is of the heart, the mind and the emotion. And, it is based on true agape love which prefers what God prefers, which is what is pure, holy, righteous, honest and faithful, etc. For, if we are still living to please our flesh, and not the Spirit, we are not going to have true intimacy with God or with our spouses or anyone else.

So, if we want to have intimate fellowship with our Lord, and him with us, we need to make him our Sovereign Lord and allow him to rule and to reign over our lives. And, then we need to listen to his counsel, his Word, and abide by it, doing what it says, and not just talking about what it says.

For, in a marriage relationship, which is what we have with Jesus, by faith in him, if all we do is talk “love” but we don’t act in true love, then that isn’t love. Saying “I love you” to God or to spouse needs to be followed up with action. For, the Word of God says that to love God is to obey him, and that if we don’t obey him, then we don’t love him, so true love is putting action to our words. And, it is being honest, pure and faithful, in practice.

So, if we tell our spouse “I love you,” and then we habitually and willfully and even premeditatedly sin against our spouse, and we do not change course, but we keep recycling the same behaviors, then that isn’t love. That is pure selfishness. And, God sees it the same way when we tell him we love him but then we go our own way and we do what we want and we willfully disobey him and turn away from him and we cheat on him and lie about it, too. He doesn’t see that as love (Jn. 14:23-24; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; Jn. 8:31-47).

So, to have true intimacy with God we need to walk in the Light as He is in the Light, and then we will have true fellowship with him and with the body of Christ who are also in true fellowship with him. And, then his blood cleanses us from every sin (1 Jn. 1:5-9; Lu. 9:23-26; Jn. 10:27-30).

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387

Hypocritical Oaths

The Lord is having me look this morning at the subject of hypocrisy, and he is leading me to read Matthew 23. But, it is a very long passage of scripture, so I am going to summarize it in a list of the characteristic traits of hypocrites, and then I will share Jesus’ words of correction and rebuke to them, too. They:

·       Preach, but do not practice

·       Do their deeds to be seen by others

·       Love the place of honor and distinction

·       Like the praise of men for their accomplishments

·       Shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces

·       Are not bound for heaven nor do they allow others to enter

·       Make their followers twice as much a son of hell as they are

·       Are blind guides to the people because they are spiritually blind

·       Are blind fools! Are blind men!

·       Tithe, but neglect justice and mercy and faithfulness

·       Clean outside but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence

·       Are like whitewashed tombs – appear beautiful outwardly, but within are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.

·       Outwardly appear righteous; within are full of hypocrisy & lawlessness

·       Are snakes, a brood of vipers who won’t escape hell

·       Kill and crucify the Lord’s true servants and messengers

·       Abuse and persecute the Lord’s true servants and messengers

·       Stone those that the Lord has sent to them with His words

·       Are NOT WILLING to come under the authority and protection of God

So, these are people who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but who do not follow that profession of faith with repentance or obedience to Jesus Christ, nor do they submit to his Lordship over their lives. Their profession of faith is, thus, lip service only, for their hearts are still given over to their flesh to do what their evil hearts desire.

They are also people who sometimes preach to others about how they should live, but they do not practice what they preach. But, they mainly believe, live and preach a cheap grace gospel which soothes the sinful heart with all kinds of notions of how God looks at them, which are not biblical at all, but which are made up in the minds of hypocritical liars.

So, they think that God smiles on them when they are living in open rebellion against him, and they feel comforted by his grace which they believe covers over all their sins. They feel they have a special kinship with God, even though they deny him as Lord of their lives by how they live.

But, the Bible says if we say we have fellowship with God, but we walk (in practice) in darkness (sin) that we are LIARS who do not live by the truth. And, it says if we walk according to (in agreement with) the flesh, we are going to die in our sins, not live with Christ for eternity. And, it says if we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we are going to reap decay (death). It is only those who sow to please the Spirit, who from the Spirit will reap eternal life (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 6:7-8).

So, this is how they make their followers twice the son of hell as they are, because they convince them that they can live hypocritical lives and still go to heaven when they die. They teach them that they can profess faith in Jesus Christ, but that they can continue in their sinful practices, and that God still smiles on them, comforts them, cuddles them and even forgives them and gives them hope, although that is a false hope because it is based in a BIG FAT LIE! The lie says you don’t have to repent of sin or obey Christ.

They believe that if they make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ that they are now saved from their sins and heaven is their eternal destiny. But, they forget what the Bible teaches about salvation from sin. The Bible says we must die with Christ to sin and live with Christ to his righteousness. It says we must walk (in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. It says we must leave our lives of sin behind us, be transformed in heart and mind, and we must follow our Lord in obedience (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Pet. 2:24).

These who are hypocrites are good at looking good on the outside, though, because they want people to think well of them. They want to impress people that they are on the right path. So, they will fake righteousness, and they will fake repentance, and they will lie about where they are, or they will smooth it over and make it sound like it’s not as bad as it really is. Or, they will make themselves out to be the persecuted when they are the persecutors, or they will have a hundred excuses for why they are still in the sinful mess that they are in even though they have known the way out.

So, they will give off an impression of righteousness while they still continue in their secretive sinful practices. So, they can’t lead others to salvation from sin or to changed hearts and lives because their hearts and their lifestyles have not changed. And, because they are trying to hold on to their sinful lifestyles, while they are claiming God’s blessings upon their lives, they will go after and they will persecute those who are teaching the truths of God’s Word and his true gospel of salvation, and they will chide them for holding to the truth and will accuse them falsely of not being loving like God is.

So, let’s now look at what Jesus told these hypocrites with regard to how he viewed them and how he viewed their relationship with him, too. And, look at what he told them, too, with regard to what that meant for them for eternity. They:

·       Will not enter heaven

·       Need to clean the inside of their lives, that the outside might be clean

·       Will not escape being sentenced to hell

·       Are sons of hell, of the devil, not sons of God

·       Are hypocrites – meaning that they profess what they don’t live

And, let me take this one step further. If a hypocrite is one who professes faith in Jesus Christ but lives the opposite, and so continues in sinful practices willfully, knowingly, blatantly, habitually and sometimes even premeditatedly, even to the destruction of others, what do the scriptures teach should be our response to that, in the church?

It says we are not to tolerate it. We are to grieve over it. And we are to put out of the church the one who does this so that the church, as a whole, will not be infected with this sinful rebellion against God, thinking that God is ok with that. But, it doesn’t stop there. It says we, as the church, should not associate with those who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are knowingly living in rebellion against God without true repentance. We are to purge the evil person from among us, not coddle him in his sins.

[2 Thess. 3:6-14; 1 Co. 5:1-13; Eph. 5:1-21; Rom. 16:17-19]

We, as the body of Christ, need to start holding people accountable for unrepentant sinful practices which go on and on without change. And, we, as the body of Christ, need to stop coddling them in their sin, too.

And, now let me define repentance here. It is not sin, confess, sin, confess, recycle all the same sins, the same attitudes, the same lies, the same behaviors, the same abuse, the same fakery, and the same manipulations repeatedly over and over and over again. The Bible does not call that repentance. It calls it living and walking in (making a practice of) sin.

True repentance is leaving our lives of sin behind us to follow our Lord in obedience. It is a walk of daily putting to death the deeds of the flesh and daily taking up our cross and following Jesus in obedience to his commands. It doesn’t mean we will never sin again, or that there won’t be occasional bumps in the road. But, it means we stay the course, and we are being changed into Christ’s likeness, and we aren’t repeating the same old sinful practices over and over again. So, don’t be fooled by the lies!

For Our Nation  

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Trust Him with your life today.

Make Him your Lord and your Savior.

Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.

He will forgive you of your sin;

Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.

On our knees to God we’re praying,

Seeking God to give us answers

That are only found in Him.

God is sovereign over all things.

Nothing from His mind escaping.

He has all things under His command,

And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling

You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: we’re believing

In our Lord, and interceding

For our nation and its people

To obey their God today.

He is our hope for our future.

For our wounds He offers suture.

He is all we need for this life.

Trust Him with your life today.

https://vimeo.com/379406352

An Enemy of God

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions.” James 4:1-3 ESV

Not all disagreements have at their root that all parties involved in the disagreement are following after their own fleshly passions and desires. For, Jesus certainly had strong disagreements with the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, as did Paul, John, Peter and the other apostles. And, we are going to have strong disagreements with people who are doing what the Pharisees did, too, but that is because we are standing on truth.

Yet, we should never be hateful or nasty or lower ourselves to name calling, etc. We can disagree civilly, but passionately, with those who are in error, and especially with those who have the potential of leading others astray. Yet, in all fairness, Jesus did use name calling with the Pharisees, as did Stephen and Paul, that I know of, but the names were their character.

Yet, it is certainly true that worldly and fleshly passions and desires, which are at war with the Spirit of God, will lead people to contend with God and with others, and especially with those who are sharing the truth of the gospel. And, those who are fleshly and who are chasing after the passions and desires of the flesh will fight with each other, too, out of rivalry, jealousy, and greed, because they want what other people have that they don’t have.

It is also true that those who are Christians or who profess faith in Jesus Christ, if they are yielding to the flesh, and not to the Spirit of God, will have a war raging within them, because they know that they are doing wrong. They know that they are disobeying God. But, they do it anyway. For, the flesh will never satisfy the deep longings of their souls. It will always leave them empty and craving for more and then fighting against God in order to get what they want. And, so they will never truly be at peace.

They don’t ask God to meet their needs, most likely because they want to do it themselves, and probably because they do want to fulfill the lusts of their flesh. Or, if they do pray and ask God, they don’t ask in the sincerity of their hearts because they know what they want, and they plan to go after what they want anyway, and so asking God is just a show or a formality, in many cases, because their hearts are not honest with God.

“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, ‘He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us’? But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’” James 4:4-6 ESV 

“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” 1 Jn. 2:15-17 ESV

In the gospels we have the parable of the seed and the sower, and four types of soil are mentioned. There are varied opinions on what these four types of soil represent, but I believe there are four categories of people, in general, that would fit with that parable (Matt. 13:1-23).

There are those who clearly have never made any profession of faith in Jesus Christ at all. They rejected Jesus Christ without question. Then, there are those who have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but it was shallow, surface only, so it never took root in their hearts, for they never walked in obedience to the Lord, but they deserted the faith early on, even though they may have continued to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

Then, there are those who did truly repent of their sins and who did turn to walk in obedience to their Lord, and they followed the Lord for a while, but then the trappings of the world began to choke out the Spirit of God and the Word of God from their lives, and then they became unfruitful in their walks with the Lord because they were now following after the flesh, instead. And, I believe this passage in James covers the two middle types of soil.

And, then lastly is the fruit-bearing follower of Jesus. This is the one who hears the Word of God, who understands it, and who follows the Lord in obedience and bears fruit for God’s eternal kingdom. This person, though, could have initially been one of the other three, but then he or she repented of their sins and they left that shallow or unbelieving or adulterous life behind them to truly follow Jesus in full surrender to his will for their lives.

I believe there is a fine line between number two and number three types of soil, but here is what the scriptures teach on that subject. Not only do we become enemies of God when we turn away from him to follow after our own flesh, instead, but if we love (agape) the world of sin, then it says here that we don’t have the love of God within us. And, it says that God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. And, it is whoever that does the will of God who will have eternal life with God. And, we need to get this.

For scripture also teaches that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk (in lifestyle) after the Spirit and not after the flesh, and it is only such as these who have eternal life with God. For, if we walk (in practice) after the flesh, we will die in our sins, not have eternal life with God. If we make sin our practice, and godliness is not what we practice, then we will die in our sins and not have eternal life with God (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

So, it isn’t what we profess with our lips which determines our eternal destiny, but it is our lifestyles which determine our eternal destiny, whether we live for the flesh or whether we walk by the Spirit of God.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” James 4:1-10 ESV

So, this is what we must do if we want to have a relationship with Almighty God and if we want to spend eternity with God in his glory. We have to submit ourselves to God and make him Lord of our lives. We have to resist the devil, not play footsie with the devil on a regular basis. And, the way we resist him is to remove from our lives everything which is leading us into sin, too. These must be cut out of our lives, or we will keep going back to sin.

And, then we have to make it our practice to say “NO!” to Satan every time he roars his ugly head, and then we have to say “YES!” to God and obey him, instead. And, we have to keep doing this every time we are tempted. And, just know that the devil may not flee the first time we resist him. He is a fierce opponent and he will work us over, but we have to keep putting on that armor of God and we have to keep fighting him off and submitting to God if we want to gain the victory over the flesh and Satan.

We have to leave our lifestyles of sin behind us. We can’t toy with sin. We can’t take things into our minds which may lead us into sin, either, no matter how “innocent” they may seem. For, sometimes it is just the slightest hint of immorality which may send our minds the wrong direction if we are not making it our practice to guard our minds and hearts against all evil.

We can’t be double-minded, professing one thing while doing the opposite, or being swayed back and forth by various waves of doctrine depending on how we are doing in the resisting of the devil any particular day. We have to grow up! We have to take responsibility for our lives and not remain childish and self-indulgent whenever the mood strikes us.

And, we truly have to mourn over our sins, but not with fake tears. The Bible says there is a difference between worldly sorrow and godly sorrow, for only godly sorrow leads us to repentance. And, remember the scripture that says,

“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.” Hebrews 12:15-17 ESV

Living Water

An Original Work / November 21, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

My people have forsaken Me,

Their Savior, who died on a tree;

Made idols, and they worshipped them;

So empty, they will ne’er fulfill.

Lord, You are the hope of Your chosen ones.

Those who turn away from You will be shamed;

The Spring of Living Water left behind.

Living Water satisfies.

The thirsty, let them come and drink;

Believe in Jesus as their King;

The gift of Jesus given them,

So they will never thirst again.

Indeed, the Living Water flows within.

It springs up like a fountain cleansing sin.

Eternal life in heaven promised them.

Living Water glorifies.

Oh people, won’t you come to Him?

Obey Him and repent of sin.

Let Jesus come and live within.

Surrender all your life to Him.

My people, won’t you turn your hearts to Me?

Forsake your idols and then you’ll be free.

Won’t you come now to Me on bended knee?

Living Water sanctifies.

https://vimeo.com/379511565

Pleasing to The Lord

“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears? For he is like a refiner's fire and like fullers' soap. He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, and they will bring offerings in righteousness to the Lord. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years.” Malachi 3:1-4 ESV

Jesus Christ, our Lord and Messiah, came to the earth, took on human flesh, suffered as we suffered, and died on a cross for our sins so that we could be delivered from our slavery to sin and walk now in the power of His Spirit in holiness and righteousness (Phil. 2:1-11; 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15).

But, then he rose from the dead in victory over sin, Satan, death and hell. And, after he had appeared to many, he went back to the Father in heaven (1 Co. 15:1-9; Jn. 3:13; Jn. 20:17).

But, one day he is coming again to judge the earth, and the people of the earth, and to take his bride home to be with him forever. And, that judgment is not just the final judgment, but it is the time of tribulation on the earth that the scriptures talk about when true followers of Jesus Christ will be severely persecuted for their walks of faith in Jesus Christ. And, we are already experiencing some of this across the globe.

But, this isn’t just a time of judging the non-believer in Jesus Christ, but it is a time when our Lord will purify his adulterous church, too, which is living in immorality, sexual sin, idolatry, and the like. And, the purpose of this judgment will be to revive her and to bring her back into a right relationship with Almighty God to where her offerings to the Lord will now be pleasing in his sight.

For, the book of Revelation was written to the church and it begins with letters to the complete church of all ages, in which Jesus chastises the majority of them for ways in which they are failing to honor God as the holy God that he is, and where they are failing to obey his commands and to reject the lies of Satan and to embrace the truth of God’s holy Word. And, then he calls on them to repent or to face his judgment.

And, then what follows are declarations of judgment and a description of the time of tribulation, during which the saints of God will be persecuted and killed for their testimonies for Christ and his gospel, and during which a beast will rule the world for a short period of time predetermined by God.

“Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the Lord of hosts.” Malachi 3:5 ESV

This description is not just of those who have verbally rejected Jesus Christ as Savior of their lives. This includes many who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who deny him by their lifestyles. For there are many professers of faith in Jesus Christ today who are living immoral lifestyles, who are addicted to sinful practices, who are liars, adulterers, haters, and abusers and the like.

And, they are among some of the fiercest opposition to Jesus Christ, and to his gospel, and to his messengers who are bringing them the truth of the gospel. And many of them are persecuting God’s holy ones who are bringing them the truth of the gospel of our salvation from sin. And, it is because they don’t want to hear the truth, because they want to continue in their sins unhindered and without guilt or remorse.

Yet, they profess outwardly that they are followers of Christ, so they swear falsely such devotion to our Lord while they live the opposite of what he has called his followers to do. They will fake righteousness, too, in order to cover up their sinful lifestyles, hoping that they will fool people and that people will think well of them while they are still living in habitual sin in secret.

And, rather than submit themselves to Jesus Christ as truly Lord of their lives, they hide their sins inside and then put on a false front on the outside. Rather than getting rid of their sins, they hold on to them. Rather than getting rid of hate, anger, bitterness and unforgiveness, they just suck it up, and they internalize it, but it never goes away. It just eats away at them inside. And, eventually it does come out in abuse or in habitual sin.

“For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. From the days of your fathers you have turned aside from my statutes and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, says the Lord of hosts. But you say, ‘How shall we return?’ Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you. Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.” Malachi 3:6-10 ESV

I believe the Lord is giving me a picture here of the tithe, not in the sense of a monetary offering, though it is that, too, but as having to do with what is owed the Lord. It is his portion. And, his portion of us is the whole.

He wants it all – our all on his altar, living holy lives pleasing to God, which is our spiritual service of worship to him. And, he wants us no longer conformed to the sinful patterns of this world, but he wants us transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God away from sin and to obedience to Christ (Rom. 12:1-2; Eph. 4:17-24; Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 6:1-23).

But, so many professers of faith in Jesus Christ today are not willing to give him what is his due, but they withhold their lives from him and will not yield to his Lordship over their lives, because they want to continue in their sinful lifestyles unhindered and without guilt. So, they are, in essence, robbing God of what is due him even though outwardly they may give an appearance that they are his followers.

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” Rom. 8:12-13 ESV

So, Jesus Christ is calling out to his adulterous church, and he is using human beings to get out those messages, too, and he is calling them “to bring the full tithe into the storehouse,” i.e. to give their lives totally to Jesus Christ, fully surrendered to our Lord and to his will for our lives, not holding anything back. He is calling them to forsake their pride, their sinful practices, their idolatry and their secret sins to follow him in obedience to his will and to his ways for their lives. And, if they do, he will pour out his spiritual blessings upon them, and he will revive their hearts.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Co. 5:17 ESV

Jesus Christ wants to make us all new in him. He wants all of us to forsake our lives of living for sin and self to follow him in obedience to his will and to his ways. But, this is not optional. It is not just a suggestion or a recommendation. It is a command of God that we walk, no longer according to the flesh, but that we now walk (in practice) according to the Spirit, if we want to have our sins forgiven and to have eternal life with God (Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

So, if you are holding back from the Lord what is his due, then give your all to Christ Jesus today, and he will bless you. But, if you hold on to your sin in your pride, and if you refuse him and his Lordship over your life, then know that heaven is not what awaits you, but that you will die in your sins.

And, if you are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake, especially by others who profess to be followers of Christ but who are still living in sin, be encouraged that God is on your side, and he will never leave you or forsake you. Forgive those who have sinned against you, and love them with the love of Christ, and pray that they will turn their hearts over to Jesus Christ before it is too late, so that they will have the hope of eternal life with God.

All Through the Night  

An Original Work / December 7, 2013

Based off Various Scriptures

Blessed are you when you’re persecuted

Because of your faith in Jesus Christ.

Blessed are you when people insult you,

And falsely say what leads folks to doubt.

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is

Great in the heavens. You’re not alone.

When you are persecuted in one place,

Flee to another. God will be there.

You will be hated by all the nations

Because you testify of God’s grace.

Many will seize you and persecute you,

And put to death the foll’wers of Christ.

Yet, do not fear what humans may do to you,

For I’m with you all through the night.

I tell you, love your enemies with my love,

And forgive as I forgave you.

Pray for those who do evil against you.

Rest in my love and grace from above.

https://vimeo.com/379481617

The Journey

When we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we begin what is to be a journey with Christ, a walk of faith of a lifetime. It begins with us dying with Christ to sin and with us being resurrected with Christ to new lives in him to be lived to him and to his righteousness (Rom. 6:1-23).

By God’s grace, through God-given faith in Jesus Christ, we put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and we are renewed in the spirit of our minds, and we put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (See Eph. 4:17-24; cf. Acts 26:16-18).

And, then we begin our journey with Christ. And, that involves daily dying to sin and self, and daily taking up our cross and following Jesus, and daily by the Spirit putting to death the misdeeds of our flesh (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 8:1-17).

And, it means walking (in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, and walking in the Light as Christ is in the Light, and daily cleansing of sin. And, it involves daily putting on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s evil schemes against us, too. For our salvation is a process of a lifetime (Eph. 6:10-20; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Heb. 9:28; Rom. 13:11).

The Apostle Paul explained the process in this way. He said he had not already obtained being like Jesus in his death, and he was not already perfect, but he pressed on to make it his own, because Christ Jesus had made him his own. So, what is of the past he put behind him, and he strained forward to what lay ahead, and he pressed on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. It was a daily walk of faith – maturing, learning, and experiencing Christ (See Phil. 3:12-16).

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God. Phil. 1:9-11 ESV

We don’t “arrive” the moment we trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives. We don’t have all the right answers for everything or understand everything. We don’t have this Christian life all figured out. The moment we begin walking in the fear of the Lord we don’t know everything there is to know about the Bible, or the doctrines of the Christian faith and practice. So, we begin a learning journey, and we learn through experience.

We aren’t “saved,” BAM! and that’s it until one day we go to be with our Lord forever. We are saved (past), we are being saved (present) and we will be saved (future) when Jesus Christ comes back to take his own to be with him forever (Ro. 8:24; 1 Co. 1:18; 15:1-2; 2 Co. 2:15; 1 Pet. 1:5, 8-9).

So, as we grow in our walks of faith in the Lord, we also grow in his love and grace, and in the knowledge of him, and in spiritual discernment. In the process of our walks of faith with Christ, thus, we test, we examine, and we scrutinize what we see, experience, read and hear against the truth of God’s Word and against what we know and understand of his divine character and will for our lives, too.

If what we were believing turns out to be wrong, via testing and discernment, then we discard it, and we follow what we now know to be the truth. If via testing and discernment the Lord shows us anything we didn’t see before, we are to follow what he shows us, but we need to test it to make sure it is the Lord speaking to us, by comparing it to the teachings of scripture. And, then we need to follow the truth that we now know.

And, we should be continually maturing in our walks of faith, continually learning what we didn’t know before, continually growing in his love and grace and knowledge and discernment so that we don’t fall into error and so that we do follow after the ways of holiness and righteousness. But, this is a process of a lifetime as we walk with the Lord, and especially as we are presented with new things we didn’t see before. We need to keep testing and examining to make sure that what we are following is the truth.

But, so many people today fail to grow in their walks with the Lord, or to even examine their own hearts to see if truly they are in the faith. And they fail to test what they hear against the Word of God, for they are content with status quo and with whatever they have always believed or been taught. And, so they never truly come to know the Lord at all, or they stagnate for a time until something happens in their lives to get their attention.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Rom. 12:2 ESV

There is a cheap grace gospel which is permeating the church right now, at least in America. And, it teaches not only that you can be saved by a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but that you are guaranteed heaven as your eternal destiny based on that profession of faith alone.

And, not only that, but many who are teaching this cheap grace gospel are going so far as to tell prospective followers that they don’t have to repent of their sins or obey Jesus Christ or follow the Lord in submission to his will for their lives. They call that “works of the flesh.” And, this is blatant rebellion against our Lord, and against His Word, and against His holiness.

And, what that cheap grace gospel does is it gives free license to its adherents to continue in their sinful practices without guilt and without remorse. For, it makes no demands that believers in Jesus leave their sinful lifestyles behind them to walk in obedience to Jesus Christ, and it makes no demands for submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, either.

But, even some versions of the gospel, which do teach repentance and obedience to Christ, do not teach them as required for salvation and for eternal life with God. They teach them as part of our walks of faith, but they deny that to omit them is to not have eternal life with God. It is more recommended that we walk in holiness, but even if we don’t, they still assure all professers of faith in Christ eternal life with God in heaven.

So, what we need to realize here is that Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness, not so we can continue on in our sinful lifestyles without guilt or punishment. He died to transform us in heart and mind away from sin to walks of obedience, and to conform us to his likeness.

So, we are to no longer be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. We are no longer to live like we did before we believed in Jesus, but we are to walk in his holiness and righteousness, and we are to cooperate with his work of grace in our lives in transforming us and in conforming us to himself. And, when we do that, we discern and we prove and we approve what is the perfect, good and acceptable will of God, which is evidenced by our lifestyles.

In other words, the Christian life is a process of being conformed to the likeness of Christ and of being made holy and of discerning and proving what the will of God is. For daily we die to sin and self, and daily we put on Christ and his righteousness. And, as the Lord speaks to our hearts about anything, and/or as he brings new situations into our lives, we need to be discerning of his will, and we need to test everything to make certain we remain in conformity to his will and purpose for our lives.

But, the fact that the Christian life is a process, and that we are growing, maturing, and discerning, etc. continuously, is NEVER to be used as an excuse for remaining in sinful addiction, claiming you just haven’t gotten to that place of maturity yet. Honestly, that is hogwash! The Bible says that we have all been given knowledge of God and of his divine purpose for our lives, and it isn’t that humans don’t know right from wrong, but that they choose to reject what is right and to do wrong, so they are without excuse (Rom. 1:18-32).

So, walk with the Lord in obedience to his Word, do what he says, and do what you know is right, and don’t do what you know is wrong. Walk in the fear of the Lord and you won’t fulfill the desires of your flesh.

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387