Tag Archives: Son of 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, 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

Always Thankful

thanksgiving harvest food

Since today is Thanksgiving, we all have a lot to be thankful for. Whether it be friends, family, health, financials, and many more. One of the most important things to be thankful for is our salvation through Jesus and Gods great love. Psalm 118:14 says, “The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation.”.  Furthermore Colossians 3:16-17 tells us, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.  And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”.

Thanksgiving is a time of year when we give thanks for what we have. Many people focus on giving thanks during this period when we should be giving thanks for all we have every day of our lives. This is true when giving thanks to the Lord.  We must be thankful every day for what Christ did for us. As the scripture tells us we must let His Word dwell in us.  His Word provides us wisdom, 1 Corinthians 1:24 tells us “but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”.  One of my previous blog posts was on seeking God for wisdom, it is so important to seek Him for wisdom every day with the many decisions we make. When He gives us wisdom on what to do or say, we are to give Him thanks.

His Word also provides us hymns and spiritual songs, which we are to be thankful for.  We have many traditional and modern songs to worship with today, many new songs come out regularly. While being careful of which songs are genuine spiritual songs, we should praise the Lord and give thanks to Him by singing songs of joy. Psalm 71:23 says, “My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to you; my soul also, which you have redeemed.”. Praising God and praying to God can go hand in hand. When you are praying to God for a healing or provision start worshiping him, Psalm 95:2 says “Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!”.

In times of trouble, we must remember Gods promises and give thanks for those promises, even before breakthrough occurs. I am thankful for Isaiah 53:5 for His will on healing, “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.”. He also promised that He would never leave us, there are many times we feel alone when the things of this world crush in on us. I am thankful for His promise in Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”.

When we are waiting for a breakthrough, we must have faith. God never promised that we would be healed instantly, or that provisions would happen instantly. A healing from God could happen instantly or gradually. The important thing to do is have a steadfast faith, be consistent in your faith. We get too focused on what the enemy has done or is doing, instead, we need to focus in on God word. You might have a sickness you have been battling for years that is incurable by man. The doctors might tell you that you will have this disease all your life, and you will have to take medication all your life to live. While what the doctors are telling you is true in the natural part of life, we must remember that God is in the supernatural or spiritual. By holding onto His promises in a steadfast faith the spiritual can overturn the natural by God’s will. Matthew 19:26 says, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”. So, seek God with thanksgiving in advance for what man says is impossible or that there is no way and be steadfast about receiving it according to His will. Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”.

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, Wisdom

Seeking God in Choices of Life

split pathway

Every day we make many choices in the day whether we realize it or not Some are quick decisions, such as what to wear or what to eat. Other times we have greater choices to make, for example: deciding on a job offer, buying a car, enrolling at a college, and many more. Making life changing choices is not going to be an easy task, whether you are a Christian or not. God’s Word offers great advice on making good choices. Although they won’t be a direct answer to your specific situation all the time, it is important to seek God when making important choices in life.

 

I think many of us have been at a point in our life when we have to choose between two roads. This could be a job, college, car, or home. Sometimes there are more than two options. One verse to turn to is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”. Often we tell ourselves we know exactly what is best for ourselves, but we must remember that God has a unique plan for each of our lives. Sometimes what we think the best path, it turns out to be the exact opposite of where God wants to take you. This is why we must seek God continually as said in 1 Chronicles 16:11, “Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!”.

 

In life, we will face trials and have to make choices while dealing with trials. While going through a trial you might ask, why did God let this happen to me? You might be sick with a new condition, or lost a job, or have a major car repair. Whatever it may be we must remember Isaiah 54:17, “No weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall confute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.”. God never promised the weapons wouldn’t form, he just promised that they would not prosper. In any situation, you must cast your care to the Lord and continue to seek him with guiding you. Psalm 55:22 says, “Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”.

 

When you become born again by accepting Christ into your heart as your savior you must remember to make decisions by the spirit and not flesh. Making decisions of our flesh will often lead to sin, Galatians 5:16-17 says, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want.”. By being born again is the only way to see the Kingdom of God, as mentioned in John 3:3, “Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”. If you read further you will see flesh and spirit differentiated by Jesus in verse six, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”. By being born again all the old in your life passes away, while it becomes a new beginning for you in your walk with Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new.”. If you are born again, I encourage you to make sure you seek God in the decisions you make, so you can avoid making decisions based on your flesh rather than of your spirit.

 

There is so much more you can study in the Word of God when making decisions, Psalm 119:105 says, “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”.  As always remember the Lord is with you in all your go through and all the choices you make in life. One of my favorite verses that others share with me also is Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”. So seek God in all you do and remember he is always with you and has plans to prosper you!

 

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.

Christianity, Healing, Inspiration, Salvation, Testimony

Rejoice All the Time, Even in Hard Times

flower in pile of trashLet’s face a simple fact, life is not and will never be easy. Often people will ask followers of Christ, ‘why are you not healed?’, ‘why are you still suffering?’, and many more to question your beliefs. When faced with anything that causes us suffering in life we can often get discouraged, often we can let our mind get the best of us. In times of suffering, we can have many thoughts race through our head while dealing with whatever the situation is. But we need to remember what God’s word says.

James 1:2-4 says, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”. This verse clearly explains to always be joyful no matter what. An important word in this scripture is steadfastness, synonyms for the word steadfast are loyal, faithful, committed, devoted, dedicated, true, solid, and several more. So even in times of trials, we are to be faithful and must be steadfast, so that we can continue to grow both personally and in our relationship with Christ.

If you read further, James 1:12 says “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.”. Those who go through hard times and keep their faith and trust in God will receive “the crown of life”. Jesus even told us in John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”. By Christ dying on the cross and rising from the dead,  he has overcome the world, like James 1:2-4 says we must be joyful during times of tribulation.

If you read in Romans 8:28 it says, “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”. If you have a loving personal relationship with God, all things work together under God’s purpose. Part of having a loving personal relationship also deals with being steadfast. Are you committed, devoted, and dedicated to staying in God’s Word and living your life accordingly? An important part in receiving the promises of God’s word is living your life accordingly and not just believing in your mind but in your heart.

If you read further in the Book of Romans, you will see in Romans 12:2 it says, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”. God does not want us to be conformed to follow things of the world. Following the trends of the world we live in, leads to sin, which will draw us further away from God. To stay close to God we must accept his son as our savior, stay in the word daily, and do our best part in living our life according to his word and will for us individually.

 

Some other important verses to remember during struggles are:

  • Psalm 27:1, “A Psalm of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?”
  • Isaiah 41:13, “For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’”
  • Ecclesiastes 7:9, “For I, the Lord your God, will hold your right hand, Saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’”

There are many other scriptures I could go on about for times of struggle, but let’s remember to have faith in the Lord, and be steadfast, and all things for those who love Him work for the God of His purpose.

Christianity, Inspiration

We Have a Purpose

In Genesis chapters 1-2, you will find the ‘The Story of Creation’. For years this has always been debated on whether it is true or not. Science tries daily to defend that there is no God and that we are here on earth by accident. Our society imposes on our youth to be taught the Big Bang and Evolution in school. If you are a follower of God’s Word, you will most likely be questioned at one point in your life about Creation vs Science. This is why it is so important for us to know what God’s Word says.

Throughout high school and college writing courses, I have been taught the key to making a successful argument is to know both sides. While you know a lot about your perspective on the argument, what about the other sides perspective? If we are ever questioned about our belief in God’s Word we not only need scripture to back it up but also other data to back it up. You can find so much valid data to back up the Bible.

One argument of Charles Darwin is that the Bible does not give an accurate world history. Dr. Henry Morris said, “In 1810, about one billion people lived on earth. In less than 200 years, the population hit six billion. This fits the biblical chronology perfectly as the current population started about 4,400 years ago with Noah and his family after the Flood. An evolutionary timeline would require not only a nearly non-existent growth rate but also three trillion deceased humans within the last million years.”.

Dr. Michael Denton from the University of Otago in New Zealand, who is a senior research fellow in human molecular genetics said, “All the evidence available in the biological sciences supports the core proposition that the cosmos is a specially designed whole with life and mankind as its fundamental goal and purpose, a whole in which all facets of reality have their meaning and explanation in this central fact.”. The Bible also backs this up in Isaiah 45:18, “For this is what the LORD says– he who created the heavens, he is God; he who fashioned and made the earth, he founded it; he did not create it to be empty, but formed it to be inhabited– he says: “I am the LORD, and there is no other.”.

Another common argument is where did God come from? First off, God did not have a beginning, he always existed, and he always will. We can reference this in Isaiah 40:28, “The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.”. Secondly, God does not grow old or change, this is why we depend on God. Malachi 3:6 says “I the Lord do not change”.

We all have a purpose in our life that God had already planned out before our birth. Why believe that we are from some accident of events or started life from a warm pond? Colossians 1:16 says “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him.”. Without God and his Word, life is meaningless. This is even confirmed by Bertrand Russell, who is an atheist and stated, “Unless you assume God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless.”. Do you want a meaningful life or a meaningless life? I believe the choice is clear, and this is why we must seek God’s Word, and accept his Son as our savior.

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