Category Archives: Salvation

Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Gifts of the Spirit, Healing, Inspiration, Salvation, Sin, Testimony, Wisdom

Overcoming by Faith

clouds in sky with sun shining through

As I continue my series on the fruits of the Spirit, I would like to discuss another fruit of the Spirit which is, faithfulness. Previously I have discussed joy, kindness, and gentleness. I am not going in any order, I am simply going in the order in which the Holy Spirit guides me. The listing of the fruits of the Spirit can be found in Galatians 5:22-23 which says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.”. So, what is faithfulness? And how should we apply faithfulness to our daily lives?

John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”. Notice John 3:16 does not use the word faith it uses the word believe. Looking at Ephesians 2:8-9, it says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”. Unlike John 3:16 this scripture uses the word faith. By accepting the message of salvation through Christ as true, we can be saved by grace through having our faith in the Lord. However, we cannot become saved or born again by just our works alone, many religious people will argue with that. I believe doing good works is important, by walking in the fruit of the Spirit. Having faith in someone involves trust. One of the ways we build a relationship with others is through a foundation of trust. This applies the same with faith, by having faith we trust in Christ as our savior. Therefore, by becoming saved through faith we must begin and maintain a personal relationship with Him. Titus 3:5-6 says, “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,”. Again, this confirms we are not saved by our own works, but by the work of Christ. When we accept Him as our savior with full faith, we are washed clean of sin.

When we are dealing with sickness we are to turn to God for a healing. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds, we are healed.” Notice this scripture says, ‘we are healed’, NOT ‘we might be healed’. How do you apply faith to receive a healing from Christ our healer? Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”. Often when we receive a bad diagnosis, our initial understanding of the situation is what the doctor tells us, because it is the first thing we hear when we receive the bad news. Right before my nineteenth birthday, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. When I was admitted to the hospital the doctor came into the room and explained to me what Type 1 Diabetes is, which is an autoimmune disease in which the body makes antibodies that perversely attack the insulin-making cells in the pancreas. The doctor explained to me that I would daily insulin injections for the rest of my life along with frequent blood sugar monitoring and very careful meal planning. In this situation, the first thing I was learned how to inject myself with insulin, check my blood sugar, and count carbs. I was more busy learning how to manage this disease than what the word of God has to say about my situation. Over time I have learned if I want to beat Type 1 Diabetes, I must understand the promise of healing and apply faith to the situation. Right now, I am still battling this disease, but I know what the word of God says, and God has the final say. After applying more faith to my situation my insulin need has decreased by almost 50% in the last year. I have to speak with authority to my body that all my hormones and immune cells will be in perfect alignment, and that there will be a full resurrection of my pancreas.

Much of condition is based off my blood sugar levels on what my glucose meter tells me. Even though I might see some high and low numbers, I know one thing is true and that is 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”. I know I see where my levels are and what the doctors report shows, but with faith, I know what the word of God says. Even though the blood work shows I am a Type 1 Diabetic by antibodies and pancreatic levels, I know that God’s hand is at work in this situation. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”. I might not have seen a report stating I am no longer a Type 1 Diabetic, but by my faith, I am expecting one. I also know Isaiah 53:5 says ‘we are healed’. Jesus never said we would be healed instantly, but we will be healed. A healing might be instant, or it might take time, therefore we must apply Hebrews 11:1. You might know someone who recently died of cancer who had strong faith but still died. One verse I would like to remind you of is Job 1:21, “And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”. Though we might experience a loss or a troubled time, God is still with us and blessed is His name.

Walking in faith can be challenging, therefore we must always be in the word and seeking God daily. Knowing the word of God prepares us for when trouble comes our way. When you are struggling in faith, I would like to remind you of two scriptures which are 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”. We often let fear decrease our faith, therefore we must let our faith overtake the situation and not let our fear overtake us. Also, one of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”. Turn to God in full faith for strength for whatever you are going through in life and remember nothing is impossible with God.

Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Gifts of the Spirit, Inspiration, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom

Walking in Gentleness

person walking in wheat field.

Previously, I have been discussing the nine fruits of the Spirit. Recently I discussed both joy and kindness. Today I would like to take a closer look at the Fruit of Gentleness. Gentleness is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, “ But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.”. I found a great list of synonyms for the word gentleness in The Collins Dictionary, which are tenderness, compassion, kindness, consideration, sympathy, and softness. The word gentleness can also be translated into the term meekness. Meekness is defined as, a kind, gentle, and humble spirit.

 

So how do we apply gentleness in our lives so that we may walk in the Spirit? First off we must apply all nine fruits of the Spirit together, we cannot pick certain ones we like. A good example of gentleness is when we are courteous to others. This could apply to both people we know and people we simply pass by during our busy day. You might have a co-worker or family member who did you wrong, whether they apologize or not you should first forgive them, and also you must not seek revenge. Seeking revenge would conflict with gentleness and the other eight fruits of the Spirit. Titus 3:2 says, “To speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people.”.

 

Another aspect of gentleness comes when we witness to non-believers. At some point in your walk with Christ, you will come across a family member, friend, or co-worker who is a non-believer and you might have the perfect opportunity to share the Gospel with them. The outcome can be unpredictable, they might accept it, totally reject it, or the might be on the fence. Mark 16:15 says, “And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation.”. When sharing the Gospel with anyone we must be gentle about it and respectful, this is written in 1 Peter 3:15 which says,  “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”. We will have witnessed to people who totally reject the message of the Gospel, we must remember 1 Peter 3:15 to be both gentle and respectful. Just remember when you cannot get the message of salvation through to a particular person, pray that they will come to salvation. Romans 10:1 says, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.”.

 

At the beginning of this article, I listed some of the synonyms for the word gentleness, one of them was softness. Proverbs 15:1 tells us, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”. I think this is a verse that every one of us needs to hear, and seek God to help us with daily. With our busy and hectic lives we can become quick to anger, I myself can be guilty of this. Whether you feel under the weather or received an unexpected bill in the mail, or your car won’t start, turn to the Lord first before turning to anger. If you forget and turn to anger, seek God to help you with being gentle. Romans 8:26 tells us, “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”.

 

I challenge you to find parts in each day of your life to find an area where you can apply gentleness. If this is something you are struggling with seek the Lord. We must apply gentleness in our character along with the other eight fruits of the Spirit. The fruits of the Spirit are a package deal, you can’t have one of them without the others. Galatians 5:16-17 which says, “ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”.

 

  1. Ray, Rayburn W. “Barbour’s Bible Dictionary & Concordance.” Barbour’s Bible Dictionary & Concordance, by George W. Knight, Barbour Books, 1998, pp. 206–206.
Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Inspiration, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom

The Fruit of Kindness

bible

In my last post, I talked about one of the nine fruits of the Spirit which was joy. In this post, I am going to discuss a different fruit of the Spirit, which is kindness. We are told in Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.”. So we know that kindness is one of the fruits of the Spirit. In order to walk in the Spirit, we must be kind to others, even when it can seem difficult. We must also be reminded of Galatians 5:16-17 which says, “ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.”. God does not want us to pick and choose from the fruits of the Spirit, he wants us to apply all of them.

 

Being kind can be both easy and hard to do. If it means being kind to someone you love, then it should be easy. We often find it difficult to be kind to those who give us a hard time. 1 Peter 3:9 says, “Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”. We will have people in our lives who might annoy us or make our job difficult. When dealing with these people we must remind ourselves that God loves that person just as much as he loves us. The same Jesus that died for you died for them also. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”.

 

The fruits of the Spirit are characteristics that followers of Christ should apply to their lives. The opposite of a kind person is a cruel person. Proverbs 11:17 says, “A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.”. There are many ways that we can be kind to others, and there are many opportunities to accomplish this. Galatians 6:10 tells us, “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”. Additionally Proverbs 19:17 tells us, “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed.”. God will repay us for our good deeds and even our bad deeds. Galatians 6:7 tells us, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”.

 

As you go through your day try to take one opportunity to be kind to someone and act on it. It can be a simple gesture of kindness. By applying kindness and the other eight fruits of the Spirit, we avoid ourselves from walking in the flesh. I don’t know about you but I would rather walk in the Spirit with God, than of the flesh of this dark world. There will be times that we fall short of kindness and the other fruits of the Spirit.  When this happens we must turn to God who is our strength to help better us in our weakness. 1 Chronicles 16:11 says, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”. If you are struggling to be kind to others, seek God more every day, and try simple deeds of kindness each day.

Christianity, Fruit of Spirit, Healing, Inspiration, Salvation, Wisdom

Filled with Joy

Christmas ornament imprint the word joy

As Christmas approaches very quickly we often become to busy with shopping, cooking, parties, and family gatherings to realize the true joy within our lives. While spending time with loved ones important this season as it should be all the time, let’s take a deep look into the term joy. As you read this article of mine, list some of the struggles you are going through in life whether it be health, family, financial, or emotional, and see how you can apply joy to that particular situation.

 

Galatians chapter 5 discusses the nine fruits of the Spirit which help us walk in the Holy Spirit. The nine fruits of the Spirit are characteristics one should have that is a true follower of Christ. Galatians 5:22-23 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law.”. Joy is happiness from the consistent promises of God within His word. We have joy when God gives us provisions according to His word. This can come from anything from a healing to a financial need that is supernaturally met. If you are a true born-again Christian then you already have one thing to be joyful for, and that is your salvation. Psalm 21:1 says, “O Lord, in your strength the king rejoices, and in your salvation how greatly he exults!”.

 

So why should we always be joyful? Since joy is one of the nine fruits of the Spirit we must apply joy to our character. When we apply the fruits of the Spirit to our character, we are walking within the Spirit and not the flesh. Galatians 5:16 says, “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”. You might be weak in one of the nine fruits of the Spirit if so turn to God to help you with your weakness. We must remember our strength comes from the Lord. 1 Chronicles 16:11 says, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”.

 

So why must you apply joy even when going through a rough patch in life? First Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”. Notice the scriptures uses the word abound which has the following synonyms listed in the Webster’s dictionary: be plentiful, be abundant, be numerous, be full of, and overflow with. Also, Romans 12:12 says, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”. The more time we spend rejoicing and in prayer, the less stressed out we will be. Spending time worrying is just wasting time that you could be praying. We are to continue our joy even in trials, and our perseverance during our trials will be dependent upon our joy. James 1:2 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds”.

 

When we get distracted by things of the flesh we walk out of the Spirit. This can make our circumstances worse for us because when we walk by flesh and not Spirit it opens the door for the enemy to work. John 16:22 says, “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”. While we will have our trials here on Earth, we must remember that if our hearts are right and if we are walking in the Spirit we have eternal life. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  The scripture of John 3:16 is one reason every believer should be filled with joy. Many secular views tell us that heaven will be a place of partying and a good time. This secular view is completely wrong and will hinder one from walking within the Spirit. Heaven will be a place of praise and worship to our creator. Romans 14:17 tells us, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”. I believe that God wants us to walk in the Spirit as much as possible when we are here on Earth so that we can rejoice in heaven.

 

I challenge you to be filled with joy during times of struggle and seek God for strength. By walking in the Spirit and not the flesh, we can expect to see more of God’s promises in our lives. Also by spending less time worrying, and more time in prayer, we will have more hope. As Christmas approaches quickly, be joyful for at least one thing, if not more, and that is the birth of our Savior.

 

Christianity, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom

Revelation 21:8 In-Depth

brown rock formation (hell)

In my previous post, I did an in-depth look at sin and what a sinful life leads to. One of the scriptures I used is Revelation 21:8. I promised at the end of my previous post that my next post would be an in-depth look at the scripture of Revelation 21:8.

 

Looking back on Revelation 21:8 it mentions the sins that lead to one going to the lake of fire. Many of the items listed in this scripture of items that we have adopted into our society and even Christians view some of these as okay. There are many churches and preachers who lack correcting sin and preaching on sin in churches today. If you ever go into the Christian section at Barnes and Noble you will see many good Christian books by great authors. However, we must be careful of what is true and what matches God’s word. There are many ‘feel good preachers’, who get you to listen to them by telling you what you want to hear rather than the entire word of God. These types of preachers and teachers are cowards for not giving the full message of God. We are warned of this in Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”.

 

In Revelation 21:8, it also mentions the faithless will be in hell. We are warned of this in Romans 14:23, “But whoever has doubts is condemned if he eats, because the eating is not from faith. For whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.”. We also have mentioned the murderers, idolaters, and liars, you simply just need to look at the ten commandments for these and know they are wrong. 

 

The scripture also mentions sexual immorality, we have such a culture war over this one in our world today with what is now acceptable. We have many books and movies coming out that are sexually immoral. I will blast one that got a good bit of popularity very recently and that is Fifty Shades of Grey. This book was so popular in bookstores everywhere, and the movie was even more popular. I was a senior in high school when this book came out, I saw many people, glued to this book. Many were talking with each other about this book. I was even surprised to see middle school students reading the book, I was shocked that any parent in their right mind would allow their child to read that book.  The enemy is setting up camp in the entertainment world to make immoral content appear interesting to people of all ages. There is a video clip from Paul Harvey regarding this that was recorded many years ago and I encourage you to listen to it. I will link the recording at the end of this post. Imagine how much of a better world we would live in if people would have got excited about the Bible and talking about that Bible, instead of Fifty Shades of Grey. Aside from a current event perspective, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God”. Additionally, 1 Corinthians 7:2 says, “But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband.”.

 

One last item that was mentioned in Revelation 21:8 that I would like to discuss is the term sorcerer. It is defined as ‘a person who claims or is believed to have magic powers’. Some of the synonyms for sorcerer are a wizard, witch, magician, warlock, enchanter, enchantress, magus, and several more. I believe I could count four occasions during my K-12 experience when a magician was brought into school. Many people might look into tarot card readings or horoscopes or see a witch to tell them their future. We are warned that people that practice sorcerer is false and are of the devil. Though they might not seem evil we must be so careful. 2 Corinthians 11:44 says, “And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.”. Additionally, Leviticus 19:31 says, ““Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God.”. Our children are also exposed to learning witchcraft everytime they go to the library or bookstore. You will often see the very popular Harry Potter series. There is an excellent video of a former witch who gave her life to Christ, she discusses how the Harry Potter series teachers and exposes children to witchcraft. I will also link that video below.

 

There is so much more of how the devil works around us in this dark world that we are exposed to every day. As followers of Christ we must be careful of what we do, think, read, watch, and listen to. I would like to challenge you to assess what you expose yourself to daily in this dangerous world. Do any of the things I listed in this article apply? As followers of Christ we must not become devoted to things of this world, but the Word of God and serving God with our unique purpose. Psalm 37:4 says, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”.

 

Paul Harvey Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Brmpv2D-xk

Ex-Witch Video Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZccQTMdqQ10

Christianity, Inspiration, Salvation, Sin

Are You a Slave to Sin?

chains

As Christians, we must live according to what God commands us to do in His word. Even after becoming saved, we will still have imperfections on this earth. But what happens when you are living in sin every day? Are you seeking God to help you break that bad habit? Are you going to church every Sunday to just go through the motions? Do you want to go by your desires or God’s will for your life? We often make decisions quicker than we should and this often leads us to troubled times.

 

Maybe you know you are in sin, but it almost seems like it is just a part of your normal routine. John 8:34 says, “ Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.”. Notice this verse says ‘a slave of sin’. Jesus is not referring to a physical slavery, but one who practices sin habitually. Sinning inhabit is a spiritual bondage to sin, and we know that sin is of evil, not righteousness.

 

We have a choice to make, we can either be children of God, or children of the devil. You cannot be both at the same time. 1 John  3:8-10 says, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.”

 

How do we become children of God? First, you need to be born again, if you want to go to heaven after your time on earth. Jesus said in John 3:5-6, ““Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”. Notice Jesus mentions being born of both water and Spirit. He is not referring to actual water but the need for cleansing, renewal, or spiritual cleansing. This cleansing is also mentioned in Ezekiel 36:25-27, “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you.  And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

 

John 3:15 says, “that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.”. What happens if you aren’t born again and don’t believe in the one and only Son of God Jesus Christ?  Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”. If you are living in sin and are not born again, then your paycheck will be spiritual death. However, if you believe in the Son of God, then you receive everlasting life. We might be undeserving of everlasting life but God loves us, and He sent His only son to die for our sins. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”. The opposite of everlasting eternity in hell, which is the paycheck for living a sinful life and for not believing in Jesus Christ. Matthew 10:28 says, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”. Furthermore Revelation 21:8 says, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”. Also Jude 1:7 says, “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire.”.

 

I could go much more on with the topic of sin. However, the key lesson to take away is to make your heart right. Ask Jesus into your heart today and to forgive you of your sins. Claim that you will give him your best. Make him your Lord, the King of your Heart today. Once you do this read the Word of God every day. Live as much of a sin-free life as possible, and when you make a mistake admit it to God in prayer and seek forgiveness and guidance on improving. By reading the Word of God daily you can transform your mind. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”.

 

My next blog post will be an in-depth look of Revelation 21:8.

Christianity, Inspiration, Salvation

Staying in the Word

Bible opened up to Psalm, with cup of coffee

So where do you stand right now with the Lord?  If you have already accepted Jesus as your savior that is great. But there is so much more to your walk with the Lord, other than saying the sinner’s prayer sincerely. We have been given a very great tool to help us in our walk with the Lord, and that is the Bible. With the great advancement of technology, you can literally carry the Bible in your pocket anywhere you go!

 

The Bible is a large book to read, it can seem overwhelming to anyone to read. The Bible has been translated into many different languages. In English, we have many options available to us. We have a word for word translations, such as the King James Version or the English Standard Version. Additionally, we have a sentence for sentence translations, such as the New International Version. So there are many different options in the English language you can pick from for what is right for you.

 

Why must we read the Word of God daily? Psalm 119:9 (NKJV) says, “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.” The NIV version translates this as, “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.”. The word pure means: genuine, real, true, incorrupt, unadulterated, from guilt, guiltless innocent, and chaste. James 1:22 says, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”. Living your life according to the Word of God, will bring you success in your life in the eyes of the Lord. Of course, you will have obstacles in life, and when troubled times come you must know what His Word says, and accept His promises. It is one thing to hear and read God’s word, but we must also act on it, including his promises to us. Matthew 7:24 says, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.”.

 

The Bible is about 2,700 years old, you might question why you should apply something to your life if its thousands of years old. This is also answered in scripture several times. Matthew 24:35 says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”. No matter what, God’s word is still alive today, if it was true yesterday then it will be true today and forever. Furthermore, in Hebrews 4:12  it says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”. As we live in a dark and fallen world, we need something to guide us, and that is the Bible. Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”. By having a personal relationship with Him and putting his Word to practice he will keep us protect and provide for us. 2 Thessalonians 3:3 says “But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.”

 

Only by the Word of God and His grace, by Him sending His only son to die for our sins,  can you be saved, James 1:21 says, “Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you.”. I challenge you if you haven’t already to do the following to get closer to God (along with regular church attendance):

  1. Accept Jesus as your personal savior. Read John 3, regarding The New Birth.
  2. Find out which translation works best for your daily reading.
  3. Read the Bible Daily, there are many great tools to develop a reading plan the works best for you. Here are several good resources to help…
    https://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/https://www.biblegateway.com/reading-plans/?version=NIV

    https://www.mybibleplans.com/

  4. As you read the Bible, live your life accordingly and accept God’s promises (healing, provisions, strength, etc.).
  5. After you read it entirely read it again and study deeper into it.

 

Christianity, Healing, Inspiration, Salvation, Sin, Wisdom

What You Tolerate, Will Dominate

chain links

What is it that you tolerate in your life? Do you tolerate bondage, depression, sickness, pain, or even poor circumstances? These are all things that are of our world, but are they of God? No, they are not of God. God made this world for us to enjoy our time on, to have a purpose and mission, however, this is a dark world full of sin. If we continue living lives by our flesh, we will be dominated. If we live our lives by Spirit we will have eternal life.

 

In John 3:3 Jesus said: “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”. Further, in this same chapter, Jesus explains what born again means, along with differentiating flesh and Spirit. In reading verse six, Jesus said: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”. If you jump down to verse sixteen, Jesus said, “ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”. So by being born again which makes us new of Spirit we have eternal life, through the one and only Son of God.

 

So in being born again, how are we to live our lives? Are we to live according to our flesh?  No, Paul said in Romans 8:12, “Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.”. Okay, you cannot live by flesh, so how must you live? If you read the next verse it says, “For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.”.So we are to live by our Spirit, our Spirit brings us closer to God in our personal relationship with him by being born again. By living in Spirit, God protects us because we are his children. This is supported in the next verse Paul wrote (Romans 8:14), “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.”.

 

So how about if you are already born again and have a strong relationship with God, and down the road, you get struck by a horrible disease for which there is no cure, and you can only manage the symptoms for the rest of your life, what do you do? You might begin to question God, become depressed, and turn away from God. Sickness is not what God intended for anyone. There is no sickness or pain in heaven. But we live in a world of darkness, so we will encounter times of trouble in our lives. This is when we have to put our faith in God’s Word into action. If God’s Word promised us something, then we need to be steadfast, ask for it and believe we will receive it according to his will.

 

If you are dealing with an illness remember Isaiah 53:5, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes, we are healed.”. Notice it uses ‘we are healed’. Not we might be, but we are healed. Having faith for healing is like planting a seed, you plant it and water it and make sure it can get sunlight where you plant it. Do you take your seed out of the ground and check on it? No, no farmer would do that. It is the same thing with faith, we often are led by how the flesh feels with our natural five senses, we forget we need to act in Spirit with our faith. James 2:17 says, “So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”.

 

We will encounter many challenges on earth even if we are born again. Remember Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”. Isaiah 54:17 says, “No weapon formed against you shall prosper,”. So we will encounter weapons, but according to God’s will, they will not prosper. We might go through a hard time, such as a disease, job loss, or bad circumstance but, we must remember God’s will for us in His Word and live our life to it. We must pray to expect with faith according to His Word. By going through trials in life, if we act in faith according to His will we will come out stronger in the end.

 

2 Corinthians 11:20 says, “You put up with it when someone enslaves you, takes everything you have, takes advantage of you, takes control of everything, and slaps you in the face.”. This talks about when one is the slave of another, but if you put this into perspective this is the same when you are a slave unto your sickness or poor circumstances. Should you tolerate your sickness? No, it is God’s will to heal you. Should you tolerate your poor circumstances? No, God has plans for you, not against you. This is a concept other preach on and is true, what you tolerate, dominates you. If you tolerate a sickness, instead of applying the healing scriptures of the Word to your life, it will dominate you. If you tolerate poor circumstances, instead of applying God’s Word regarding his plans for you, your poor circumstances will dominate you. We might have to change course at times to get on track with God during these times, but we should not tolerate times of trouble, we should turn to God and overtake the situation with our faith.  Even in the darkness of the world, remember Deuteronomy 31:6, “ Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”.

 

Christianity, Inspiration, Salvation, Sin

Forgiving Others

flowers

As followers of Christ, we must know and apply the word forgiveness every day of our lives. We all should know that our sins are forgiven by our savior Jesus Christ. By knowing him as your personal savior your sins become forgiven and you are made new in Spirit, as written in John 3. We all can be forgiven by the blood of Jesus, Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace”. This is confirmed in Colossians 1:14, “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”. God loves everyone even the sinner, this is why he sent his only son to die for us, John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”. If you read further to the next two verses, “ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”. By God sending his son to Earth to die for our sins and to heal us of our infirmities this confirms God’s love for us. Looking at 1 John 4:9 it says, “In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.”.

So we know that God’s Word says Jesus was sent to die for our sins so that we can be forgiven. But what about when others do us wrong? What about when someone cheats you, lies to you, or just plain out hurts you? Whether this is done intentionally to us or not, God’s Word provides us with very clear instructions on handling this. Luke 6:37 says, “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.”. Further, Matthews 6:14-15 says, “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins might find it difficult to forgive others when they wrong us.”. God commands us that we forgive others who do us wrong.

If we cannot forgive others then how can God forgive us? Holding a grudge against someone else doesn’t accomplish anything, it is not what God wants us to do either. Job 5:2 says, “For anger slays the foolish man, And jealousy kills the simple.”. Also, Proverbs 20:22 says “Do not say, “I will repay evil”; Wait for the LORD, and He will save you.”. We must remember that God will deal with those who do us harm for it is written. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”. Additionally Romans 12:17-21 says, “Never pay back evil for evil to anyone Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord.”.

By looking at God’s Word we know that he commands us to forgive others and not to seek revenge. When you are dealing with someone that is giving you a hard time or just being annoying to you it can be difficult to forgive them. But by forgiving them and treating them kindly you show them God’s love by example. We must remember that God didn’t just send his son Jesus to die for your sins, but the sins of those who have harmed you and annoy you. By living your life as an example you can show them God’s love and will give an opportunity for them to know Jesus as their savior.

Christianity, Inspiration, Salvation, Testimony

God is Love

cross

Love is a very strong word that we use in our everyday life. We love someone or something, you love your spouse or you love that fresh meal. Love is defined as an intense feeling of deep affection or a person or thing that one loves. Other words that go with love are warmth, attachment, devotion, worship, passion, desire, and many more. Did you know God loves everyone, even the sinner? God does not like when we sin, but he still loves us. The saying, “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner”, can be backed up in Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”.

 

God is love. 1 John 4:7-8 says “ Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”. You might ask, how did God show his love to us? What action did God do, that represents his love for us? If you read the next verse in 1 John 4:9, “ In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” Jesus was sent to earth so that he could live and experience life like we do, but die on the cross for everyone’s sins. The next verse says “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”.  In addition to Jesus dying for our forgiveness of sins, all those who believe in him by being born again are promised everlasting life as mentioned in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”.

 

So God did his part in loving us by sending his son to die for our sins, what is our part in loving God? Deuteronomy 6:5 says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”. You must live your life for God and his kingdom, what can you do to serve God? We all have different talents and abilities such as, caring for others, leading, teaching, cleaning, music, computers, and many more. We all have at least one talent that you can use for God’s kingdom. If you have the ability to teach, maybe you can teach a Sunday School Class. Maybe you have the musical talent, maybe you can join your church choir. Maybe you are a computer science student, why not make a website to share the Word of God to people all around the world? God appreciates any deed we do big or small, as long as we do it with our best. Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”. Peter Marshall once said, “Small deeds done are better than great deeds planned”.

 

Another important aspect of love is loving one another. If you go back to 1 John chapter 4 and continue to verse 11 it says, “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”. There will be people in our lives that we cannot stand to deal with, whether it be at work, school, church, or even our own family, we must still love them. The same Jesus that died for your sins, died for their sins also.

 

So how can you show your love to God and to others? How can you plan going forward to do good deeds for God’s Kingdom? Do you show love to everyone in your life, even the people that get on your nerves? These are all important questions to ask, along with making sure our personal relationship with our savior always remains fresh, by staying in the Word, and living our lives accordingly.