Kept by the POWER of God

1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

Kept by the power of God.

Through faith.

Unto salvation.

Ready to be revealed.

In the last time.

We are ONLY kept by the power of God.

We have to believe this- and THIS is our faith.

Our Salvation by faith.

That salvation fully realized in the last time.

A promise can be believed, and a promise can be kept, and a promise can be realized and fulfilled. The promise we must believe is that we DO have salvation as our reward, salvation a gift given to us, a promise made to us by our Savior. We must believe in that promise, we must believe in the eventual fulfillment of that promise.

That there are TWO deaths seems so strange to people but the Bible tells us there is a FIRST and a SECOND death.

Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

There is first resurrection- to be resurrected mustn't you first be dead?
The first resurrection.

Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

This speaks so plainly doesn't it? People are in their graves. People are NOT in heaven and being resurrected from the dead from heaven. IF people are in heaven already there is NO need of any other resurrection, right? It would make NO sense to have a first resurrection, a resurrection of life, if there is already life.

We are promised a resurrection from the dead - those who die in Christ will be called to the resurrection of life. They will be raised from the graves, resurrected to LIFE.

Those who are alive when our Savior returns and raises those that are His to life, do NOT taste even of the first death.

1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

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1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

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There is an inheritance waiting for us in heaven, but we MUST be kept by the power of God - through faith, to receive salvation. If we die before our Savior returns we will be raised from the dead when He returns- this is a promise. If we are alive when our Savior returns we will be raised from the earth still living to receive salvation.

We have to believe we are kept by GOD'S power, not ours, but HIS POWER. We MUST BELIEVE this is the faith we must have, all by the grace of God.

All in His love!

Amen.

If any do err...

Jas 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.

Erring from the truth.
We find the truth in Jesus.

Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

If any of us err from the truth we find in our Savior and another person brings us back to Jesus- to the truth then they will hide a multitude of sins. The ONLY way that is possible is because the ONE who reveals the truth to the erring one is living in the truth of our Lord's grace and forgiveness.

We can't go about thinking that we are saved- hiding our own sins when WE bring another to the knowledge of Jesus. We are only EVER saved by Jesus' forgiveness, by Jesus' spilled blood covering our sins. We can understand that our Savior is what matters most in life, truly what matters more than anything. Our Savior matters more than the favor of ANY man! We cannot deny Jesus to keep face with those around us and have hope in Salvation. We must live Jesus- and in living Jesus we - by His grace will be able to share His love. We CANNOT preach Jesus and despise those around us- the worst of sinners does NOT need our shunning, but our LOVE! You can convert no one to the truth by showing hatred. You can convert no one to Jesus' love and salvation by hating and despising them. We have to SEE everyone as Jesus sees them. Not as one to be despised but one to be forgiven. Even the pharisees that sought to kill Jesus more than once were loved.

Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

And those who nailed Him to the cross- they were LOVED.

Luk 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

When we reveal this love to others and those erring from the truth return to the truth, we truly do hide a multitude of sins because we are immersed in that amazing love that brings us forgiveness.

The truth.
Jesus.
The truth.
Salvation only found in Jesus.
The truth.
The kingdom of heaven come down to us in Jesus.
The truth.
Our Savior's amazing love towards us, His unending love!
The truth.
Our King, Jesus!
The truth.
Our Advocate Jesus.
The truth.
Love of God.
The truth.
Love of our fellow man.
The truth.
The Truth, the Way, the Life.
The truth.
Jesus.

Amen.

Earnest Prayers Answered! PRAISE GOD!

Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.

Prayer.

Praying earnestly.

Today an earnest prayer of mine was fully realized in the birth of my great niece, Lyla Rose Myers!

ALL GLORY, HONOR, and PRAISE UNTO GOD! This was HIS miracle! This was by HIS grace! Through HIS love!

Back in May 2011 my niece found out she was pregnant, her seventh or sixth pregnancy, all the others having failed through miscarriage. She was resigned to losing this baby too- feeling all the same familiar, horrible pangs of a miscarriage wracking her body. She went to the hospital emergency room and I was asked to go be with her. When I got there I could see the heartache written all over her face, she was devastated already but trying to steel herself for the inevitable outcome of the hospital visit. Doing my best to comfort her, it was only when her mother and husband arrived a short while later that she gave into the tears and heartache full force. With my heartbreaking for her I PRAYED EARNESTLY for a miracle to our LIVING GOD! To a God who hears, to a God who sees, to a God who knows, to a God who LOVES us, and OUR MOST AMAZING WONDERFUL GOD answered that prayer, a prayer that MANY were praying the day. Our LORD answered our prayer! Our living God blessed the womb of my niece and the baby had a heartbeat. In spite of having all the signs of a miscarriage my niece miraculously carried a living child. After nine months- that beautiful miracle baby was born today! PRAISE GOD! PRAISE OUR LIVING, LOVING, WONDERFUL GOD! Our God who answers earnest prayers as ONLY HE CAN!

Do all earnest prayers get answered? Yes. Maybe not the way we always desire because the earnest prayer includes first and foremost God's will to be done, not ours. We can't see the big picture, we just can't, but God can! God sees the end from the beginning and He knows. This miracle blessing of this successful pregnancy is proof. Yes, a thousand prayers might go unanswered in the manner we'd like but all it takes is one prayer to be answered as we earnestly beseech our most HOLY GOD, and we can truly comprehend that our LIVES are in the hands of a living, loving, amazing, and wonderful God.

Yes, our heartaches might out weigh our joys by a million to one, but we need to have faith that HE, our GOD, knows better than we do what sort of refining fires we need to pass through to be His, wholly His!

Thank You GOD! Thank You for this most wonderful of miracles! Please Lord, please continue to bless little Lyla Rose and her parents and keep them IN YOU, in YOUR LOVE!

ALL PRAISE to GOD!
ALL GLORY to GOD!
ALL THANKSGIVING to GOD LORD OF THE SABBATH, OUR CREATOR, OUR SAVIOR, OUR KING!

Amen!

Fervent Prayer

Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

The power of prayer. You've heard it said before that there is power in prayer and there really is. We are told to pray.

If we are afflicted. Pray.
If we are sick. Pray.
If we are repented and seeking forgiveness. Pray.
If we have faults. Pray.

We must pray!

Prayer is instantly recognizing God as our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer. At least sincere prayer is all that. Too many pray without sincerity. Too many pray repetitive prayers that lose all their power because they are prayed without any real meaning. When we talk to someone they know whether or not what we are saying is sincere- at least most of the time they do. People can tell when we are speaking from the heart can't they? You can see the interest, or lack of it in another as you are speaking. Have you ever been talking and seen the one you are talking to just lose focus in what you're saying? Have you gotten mad because what you were saying was important- to you at least? When we talk to people it is very seldom just to hear ourselves speak, right? We want the other person to listen to what we are saying and respond as one that has heard. It is NO different with God. When we speak with God it has to be sincere speaking, not passionless, but filled with passion. We can't expect God to hear our prayers if we are praying but NOT really speaking to Him at all. We can't drone on and drone and expect God to listen to us.

The effectual FERVENT prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

Fervent- 'having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; ardent: a fervent admirer; a fervent plea.'

Pasted from

Intensity of spirit. Enthusiasm. Great warmth. Are our prayers fervent? Do we pray with passion? Seriously, do we?

We need to.

Our righteousness is found ONLY in Christ Jesus our Savior. And we can pray fervent in His name knowing He hears, knowing that He cares.

We can choose to pray softly, silently even, and still do so with great intensity.

We need to pray. We need prayer in our lives and it must be a big part of our lives.

All through the grace and mercy of our Savior!

Amen!

Swear not....any oath

Jas 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

How easy it is for us to 'fall in condemnation' because we enjoy talking. Our tongues enjoy wagging. Where would most of us be if we didn't have wagging tongues? We love the sound of our own voices, don't we? Can we go a month without talking? A week? A single day? Seriously, can we willingly- not medically induced, keep from talking for a single day. What do you think would happen if you tried it? Do you think you'd succeed? You say you have to talk, that family, friends, co-workers and such are dependent upon your talking. Then ask yourself if you did have laryngitis how would they survive without your speaking? That's different you say? No, it's really not. Unless of course you result to writing, which people can do when they can't speak- but in truth it's still a form of communication and don't we need to just see what it's like NOT to speak for a bit?

This verse in James talks about us no swearing by heaven or earth or anything really. We need to speak plainly. What is more than yes and no leads to confusion a lot of times. We want to say more than yes and no we want a lot of leeway.

We do NOT want to fall into condemnation. We should not make any oaths because we have power over NOTHING. We have to realize our place and that is as a creature and as a creature we have no power, our Creator has the power and it's to Him we have to bow down and worship. We have to realize that He has the control we have none.

We are condemned when we believe we have power, when we believe we have control. As long as we believe more in ourselves and less in God we are lost. People have to believe this because it's true.

Our God is so awesome, He is all powerful!

The mercy of God is beyond our comprehension.

God is our all in all, so far above us and we are blessed, blessed to be able to worship Him.

We really do have to consider how we speak much more than we do and James has been paramount in trying to teach us this.

Please Lord help us to take Your words to heart, let us realize our place, You are our all in all forever and ever.

Amen.

Endure

Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.

Endure.
Persevering.
Continuing in spite of wanting to give up.
Carry on, regardless of circumstances.

Having faith, enduring.

We bring up Job as an example all the time and why? Because we need to. We need to understand life at it's possible worse for us and even in that believing in God.

Satan wants us to blame God.
Satan wants us to give up.
Satan does NOT want us to endure.
Satan does NOT want us to have patience.
Satan does NOT want us to have faith.

We have to keep the patience of Job in our lives always when it's the hardest to do so, when it seems impossible to do so. When tragedies strike we CAN'T blame God! We CAN'T give up! We MUST endure!

Our Savior is very compassionate, our Savior's mercy in unending. We have to endure… we have to and by the GRACE and RIGHTEOUSNESS of our SAVIOR we will.

Only through Him, only by Him, always in His love!

Clean my heart, Lord, please!

Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.

This goes along with the tongue being an evil member doesn't it? Seriously, it's what comes out of our mouths that defiles us.

What we speak. The things we say.

How can we even dare to open our mouths when so much evil is ready to spill forth? It's so easy to sin when we speak, so incredibly easy.

You hear of monks and such taking vows of silence, how amazing it must be for them to be forced by their own vow to NOT defile themselves with their mouths. If we would just follow the Word given to us and be 'SLOW to SPEAK', how much sin would be averted? If only we'd think before we speak and yet we are so quick to JUMP in and just say anything that comes to our minds. We don't take time to think, we speak because we want to, because we feel we have to voice our opinions. We feel we have a RIGHT to our opinions. I've said that so many times- I have a right to my opinion, it's just my opinion and what I'm doing is using 'my opinion' as the supposed right to say what I please and I expect no consequence from what I say because it's just my opinion and I'm entitled.

WE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO HURT OTHERS WITH OUR WORDS- opinion or not.

We are not entitled to create fuss and arguments because we just have to speak. We DO have the option of NOT SPEAKING.

So many of us have issues with our mouths, it's not limited to those with thinking problems. I know I have a BIG problem and I know the defiling stuff that comes from my mouth abhors me! I don't want to have a mouth that defiles me.

Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

I don't want to have an evil heart! I don't want to have a defiling heart! I want a CLEAN heart and a mouth that doesn't defile.

Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Only by the grace of God can I have a clean heart. I need God to create a clean heart in me. Please LORD
CLEAN MY HEART!

Please!