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Dying to self

27 May

Dying to self

John 15:13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Hopefully Memorial weekend you will spend some time reflecting on those who paid the ultimate price for your freedom with their lives. In that same respect we know that God gave us His Son as a sacrifice to pay for our sin with His life. 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. In the scripture above, Christ is asking us to lay down our lives for Him. He is not asking us for martyrdom necessarily (but that may come), but asking us to forsake the lusts of the world, and live a life for Him seeking eternal and not temporal pleasure.

Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. What is a living sacrifice anyway? A sacrifice is thought of as a death to bestow honor correct? Matthew Henry said, “A living sacrifice, that is, inspired with the spiritual life of the soul. It is Christ living in the soul by faith that makes the body a living sacrifice.” The world and the lusts of it are Satan’s tactics to draw you away from Christ. The list would be long of the idolatry he uses today in our world that places so much value on self pleasure and stuff. But we can move in our relationship with Christ to the point that the “stuff” just does not matter anymore, and what matters is what we feel led to do in honor of Him, and share the joy He brings with those that do not see yet.  Paul said in Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. You can place honor on the one who died for you for eternity, by dying to the lusts of yourself, and placing yourself at His feet for service.

 
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Posted by on May 27, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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The Perfect Word

23 May

The Perfect Word

2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Yesterday I listened to a “self proclaimed” leader in a large denomination refute the Word of God as infallible. Later in the day I heard one of my favorite pastors defend the Word of God. I have shared how I love to spend time with my boys in His Word; teaching them the Word of God. Why would I jeopardize my sons lives leading them possibly astray with false teaching? Everything you need in your life, all the answers to life, are found in God’s Word. You cannot spend time there and not see God, for they are words written by God. There is no other book throughout eternity that can compare. It was given to us for teaching, conviction, correction, comfort, leadership, peace, hope, faith, joy, and LOVE. Romans 15:4 For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

The Bible was not written by the mind of men, period. If it had been written by the mind of men it would have been an opinion and not the Word of God. These men were inspired, or directed by the Holy Spirit to put the Words down on paper. We cannot seem to grasp that idea, but God spoke to the authors and they wrote what they were told to write. 2 Peter 1:20-21 knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. God has written all we will ever need in His Book of Life for all generations. It is called a Living Word for no other book will stir your soul, or even save your soul as this one will. He has nothing to add or nothing to take away for eternity from this Book. In the last sentences in Revelation we are warned against adding or removing from it. Revelation 22:18-19 For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. I trust and believe every word in this Book, enough to trust my children’s lives with it also; and I urge you to spend some time there and pray that you will trust it as I.

 
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Posted by on May 23, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Grace and Mercy allow us there

20 May

Grace and Mercy allow us there

Hebrews 4:16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

I was discussing with my best friend the other day of how it must have been so hard living before Christ with a heart and the desire to pursue God. All of the Law,  and the rulers of the Law, consistently pointing to the inability to fulfill it’s requirements. It simply would have caused incredible mental strain at “the tasks”. But Christ has come to redeem the world and we can approach God at the Throne of Grace in awe and reverent fear; for Christ sits at his right hand to intercede for us. In the scriptures prior to this the author is speaking of the “rest” that we have in Christ, or even peace and assurance I might add that give us rest.

This scripture is speaking of approaching God in prayer. Matthew Henry said, “Mercy and grace are the things we want, mercy to pardon all our sins and grace to purify out souls.” I believe it was Adrian Rogers who put it, “Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Grace is God giving us what we don’t.”  Hebrews 10:19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus. When you are truly needing, truly seeking God, humble yourself and realize how Christ has provided you the pathway to enter into His presence. That humility and reverent awe allow your prayers to be heard, and your heart to be felt when approaching God. There is nothing hidden from God, He knows and sees all, even discerns your heart and thoughts It is through the “lens of the gospel” (Ed Gravely) that you begin to understand your intercessor in Christ, and the ability only He provides to approach God. When you accept Christ, that peace and rest will come with an understanding of your security and ability to approach God.

 

 
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Posted by on May 20, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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On Track

17 May

On Track

2 Timothy 2:3-4   You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier.

If we are not to become side-tracked, then are we able to say we are focused? If we are focused we should have a sole purpose, a goal we are trying to attain. If we are focused on that goal, anything that doesn’t pertain or help us accomplish that goal is a deterrent and side tracks us from stepping closer. The apostle Paul writes much in analogies of the focus of our Christian life using many metaphors. The verse above is the relationship of a soldier to his commander and the focus it demands. So much of our Christian life is warfare and our enemy provides all the distractions here to draw our focus away from Christ.

Our focus could be a measurement of our faith. Our faith is the hope of things unseen, and the enemy desires to draw our focus away with things we can see, and even feel we can attain. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Paul was spending much time encouraging Timothy in his faith, for Paul knew he was surrounded by those who could deter, or side track him from his faith and purpose. 2 Timothy 3:10-11 But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra–what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. The ability to remain focused, the ability to have great faith, is gained through time spent with God in His Word and prayer. These daily times of preparation allow you to remain focused, to strengthen your faith, and to remain on track with the sole purpose you have for the day. Your sole purpose for the day is wherever Christ has you at that time; to represent Him and reflect Him to those surrounding you. That is where you show the great faith that you possess in your Risen Savior and your ability to share Christ with others.

 
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Posted by on May 17, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Please……

09 May

PLEASE……

John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

I awoke this morning with the service call I shared on Twitter & Facebook still fresh in my mind. I came the closet I have ever been to being killed at work. Only by God’s grace was I not electrocuted. I really can’t accurately express how close it was. Here is a link and a little more background:
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1461145004

My heart just aches from the reality of how I was for many years. Of telling my parents I would “come to Jesus” when I was ready, when I was done living my life as I wanted to – partying and seeking all the pleasures of this world. If this event happened not so long ago and I was electrocuted; I would have ended up in Hell paying for my decision for an eternity. Do you truly think you are promised tomorrow, or even your next breath? James 4:14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. That day could be very soon, or even today.

John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” There is much more to life than your temporal time here. This time in your life is preparation for your eternal life and how you will spend it. There is no attainable pleasure this world can offer that can compare to the glory of Heaven. Streets paved of gold and mansions built for you by Christ! My heart aches for those of you who may be like I was chasing those temporary pleasures of this world; and yet they always seen just out of reach and driving us to seek the next one. There is another life through Christ that will give you what you can never obtain here, and He is within your grasp. Humble yourself and truly seek the One who came and paid your eternal debt through His blood, and has provided you a way to Heaven and the Kingdom of eternal paradise. It is never too late, until it is. Make today the best day of the rest of your life for eternity. Please……..

 
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Posted by on May 9, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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No doubt!

08 May

No doubt!

Matthew 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

How do you know, that you know, that you really know you are saved? If you have repented of your sins, asked Christ for His forgiveness of them, and for Him to be the Lord of your life, you are now a child of His and eternally secure. Has your life changed as a result? Did you immediately return to sin or have the desire to change? That desire to change inside you is His Spirit that wants to live a life glorifying God, not in rebellion any longer. The doubt that you are feeling is from Satan. The more time you spend with God in prayer and His Word, the stronger your assurance is of your Salvation. If you continually seek God and the things of God, you will attain the peace of God and the assurance is a by-product. This assurance if a promise from God – Titus 1:2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

This below is from a resource at GotQuestions.org that was so good I had to include it here.

Question: “How can I have assurance of my salvation?”

Answer: How can you know for sure if you are saved? Consider 1 John 5:11-13: “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Who is it that has the Son? It is those who have believed in Him and accepted Him (John 1:12). If you have Jesus, you have life. Not temporary life, but eternal.

God wants us to have assurance of our salvation. We cannot live our Christian lives wondering and worrying each day whether or not we are truly saved. That is why the Bible makes the plan of salvation so clear. Believe in Jesus Christ and you will be saved (John 3:16; Acts 16:31). Do you believe that Jesus is the Savior, that He died to pay the penalty for your sins (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21)? Are you trusting Him alone for salvation? If your answer is yes, you are saved! Assurance means “having been put beyond all doubt.” By taking God’s Word to heart, you can “put beyond all doubt” the fact and reality of your eternal salvation.

Jesus Himself affirms this regarding those who have believed in Him: “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand” (John 10:28-29). Eternal life is just that—eternal. There is no one, not even yourself, who can take Christ’s God-given gift of salvation away from you.

We hide God’s Word in our hearts so that we do not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11), and this includes the sin of doubt. Take joy in what God’s Word is saying to you, that instead of doubting we can live with confidence! We can have the assurance from Christ’s own Word that our salvation will never be in question. Our assurance is based on God’s love for us through Jesus Christ.

 
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Posted by on May 8, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Who is He?

07 May

This morning in prayer I just could not get the gospel of John out of my head. I was praying of thanksgiving mainly while on my front porch enjoying the stillness and the peacefulness of the early morning. I love John’s gospel and I was unclear why it felt so heavy on my heart. I have spoken much recently of Salvation, and the ideas of grace and works, but God was clearly pointing me to John. If your heart is being stirred by God, you need a better understanding of Who is doing the stirring. You need a better understanding of Christ, and the assurance that God came to earth to save your soul. If He had not, there would have been no choice for you, you would have died in your sin and gone to Hell. John presents the facts, and John presents the answers to show you the way from damnation to eternal paradise by the Way of the blood of Jesus Christ who came to redeem the world.

 

 

Who is He?

John 1:1-2  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

I love how my study Bible puts in the forward of John “Read This First”. The gospel of John clearly states how to find eternal life and presents a powerful presentation of the facts of Christ as the Son of God. John 20:30-31 And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name. If you are a person looking for answers, or better yet the evidence of Christ, the gospel of John is the place to find them and Him. John presents his gospel much like the evidence you might find in a court of law.

John presents seven of  Christ’s “I Am” statements in his gospel. He even shows the relationship of what I believe is one of the most powerful statements in the Bible when God spoke to Moses at the burning bush. Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ “ Christ was being questioned by the Jewish leaders and He showed them His deity by speaking of Abraham; who they all held in high regard of his great faith. But Christ was speaking of being with Abraham, claiming to be God. John 8:56-58 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

Do you want to find out and know more about Christ? Are you willing to have an open heart and accept what you find? Pray for God to open your eyes and your heart and try spending some time reading it. I pray somewhere in there, your heart is stirred, your eyes opened, and your soul saved for eternity.

 
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Posted by on May 7, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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One Way

06 May

One Way

John 14:6  Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.

Christ was with His disciples at the last supper and speaking of the future events about to begin to take place. He spoke of going to Heaven and the mansions built there for us. He spoke of returning to get us. Thomas had asked how to get there and John 14:6 above was Christ’s answer to his question. The disciples had been with Jesus, yet at so many times it seemed as though they just didn’t ‘get it’. But yet after Christ arose and the gift of the Holy Spirit came to us, the wisdom and understanding did also. This gift, this wisdom the Spirit brings only comes with humility of accepting Christ. James 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

When God is pursuing you, the weight of your sin begins to weigh upon your soul. Many times we try to improve ourselves by changing our ways, living a better life. Although the idea and results may be good by our actions, they do not lead to eternal rewards. This feeling better about yourself is from Satan, for it is a works based faith alone. But when you feel that depravity or weight of sin, you can turn to God. 2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. The desire you have to live a better life not only here, but for eternity, was placed in you upon Creation. But the was is stated in John 14: 6 and Acts 4:12 There is salvation in no one else! There is no other name in all of heaven for people to call on to save them. You can change nothing in your life until you accept that true change only comes through accepting Christ. Pray and repent, accept Him into your heart, and rest on the assurance of Salvation as a free gift of God for eternal paradise. It will be the best day of the rest of your life.

Here is a great link to a short detailed explanation of the Gospel:

http://www.gotquestions.org/true-gospel.html

 

 

 
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Posted by on May 6, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Cause & Effect

05 May

Cause & Effect

Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

When from deep within you begin to realize your sin, your depravity, your desire to know God and live for Him, your life changes. The Gospel teaches us that the first step into that change is the realization of that sin, and the acceptance of the free Grace that God has provided through His Son, and the desire to live for Him. Once you accept Christ as the Redeemer of your soul, your faith in Him has assured your Salvation. It is by no work or good deed that you can accomplish, it is only through that humble realization of your sin, and the debt Christ has paid for you. You now are truly seen “not guilty”, or justified in the eyes of God who demands perfection. Romans 3:27-28  Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

True faith should and will produce good works. They go hand in hand, but the works are not the key to Salvation. The works are the product of Salvation and the proof of Christ that resides in you. Luke 6:43-44  “For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. James 2 speaks of these works that are a product of the great faith that resides in us. James is speaking of how they prove our faith, but we are not justified by them. James 2:22 speaks of “works faith made perfect” and this is where James is speaking of mature and complete faith. The closer you draw to God, the stronger your faith becomes, and many times even unknowingly, you are producing good works that are evident to those around you. These works are the proof or maturity of your faith in the One whom saved your soul.

 
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Posted by on May 5, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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Works based Faith vs. Faith based Works

04 May

Works based Faith vs. Faith based Works

Hebrew 6:10-12    For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

I came upon this scripture a few days ago, and it has taken me down many roads of study. At first I was thankful for the encouragement that it gave me for my “labor of love.” But as a read of how Paul was writing to argue against apostasy (the falling away of religion or belief in Christ), I have seen God take me elsewhere. As a Christian we are called to obey the commands of God. The spine is the Ten Commandments (The Law), and we are bound with faith, hope, and love as Paul preaches much. 1 Thessalonians 1:2-3 We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father. The desire to attain the law is a labor of love from deep within our soul. We cannot obtain to perfection the Law directs, but we can reside in the Grace that God has provided through the acceptance of Salvation through Christ.

Do you believe that your good deeds or even the denial of certain sins will attain you a key to Heaven? Do you believe that “at least I don’t do that”; or repentance of that earns your way into heaven? Your faith cannot reside in your works alone to earn your way into heaven. James 2:17-18 Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. The Gospel teaches that the only way into Heaven is the repentance of sin, the acceptance of Christ as the only way, and the desire to let Him lead your life. This life will produce change, and that desire will produce good works by which others will see your faith. The works are simply living a life of following Gods Will and directions for your life. The commands of God are revealed to you in His Word and prayer. These produce the good works, strengthen your faith, and give you the perseverance to endure. This circle of life begins at Salvation and lasts an eternity.

 
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Posted by on May 4, 2012 in Daily Devotions

 

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