All Glory to God!

Today I listened to a sermon on How Men Are Saved, and we know that it is through JESUS CHRIST and His sacrifice, His righteousness, it's all through Him. So how do we live a Christian life after we've accepted Jesus as our sole source of salvation? How do we put the actions of living a Christ life with the fact none of those actions earn us 'points' towards salvation? How do we not - DO the RIGHT things- out of a selfish desire to be good? I mean common sense tells us that we are to love Christ and in loving Him accept Him, living our lives for Him.  Why then are there so many people who believe that it doesn't matter at all how you live because living the perfect life will still not gain you salvation? 

Satan has taken the pure message of our Lord and perverted it yet again.

Our Savior does NOT want us to sin. Is there ANYTHING in the word of God that gives the remotest hint that Jesus didn't care if someone sinned, that sin didn't matter at all? 

He was accused of associating with blatant sinners, did that mean He condone and accepted their sinning?

Luk 19:2  And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.
Luk 19:3  And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.
Luk 19:4  And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.
Luk 19:5  And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.
Luk 19:6  And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.
Luk 19:7  And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

Luk 19:8  And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

Zacchaeus KNEW he was a sinner and immediately in the presence of the Son of God he wanted to right that which he'd done wrong. He no longer wanted to be that sinner. 

And Jesus responded to this man's change of heart with this--

Luk 19:9  And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.
Luk 19:10  For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

THIS DAY is salvation come to this house.
The SON of Man came to SEEK and SAVE that which was lost.

And Zacchaeus a known sinner repented in the presence of Jesus.
Zacchaeus made a promise to LIVE as he knew was right- giving to the poor and righting his previous wrongs. He wanted to live this way because He knew that Christ, His Savior desired this of Him.

Jesus desire right living from us all, doesn't He?

Joh_5:14  Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.

Joh_8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Sin no more.
Sin no more.

Saved and admonished not to sin.

So why is it so hard for us to believe that we are to live uprightly as we KNOW our Savior desires, even while KNOWING that none of those actions have the consequence of earning us salvation, or bring us any merit in the eyes of God?

We are caught up in wanting our actions to earn us things. We want that PAT on the back. We WANT to be able to say WE did this, it was OUR action, it was OUR goodness, OUR rightness, OUR specialness, that made us able to do that good stuff.

The truth is NONE of our goodness means anything at all when it comes to salvation.

We can be 'good' because we know that our LOVING LORD desires us to live within His commandments given out of love to us, but do so knowing none of those actions are being put on a tally sheet towards our earning the salvation crown.

We aren't to be 'good' in order to gain anything- not even the slightest commendation, especially not to pat ourselves on the back. Focusing on our own goodness is the last thing our Savior would want us to do. 

Our focus is to be OUTWARD, not INWARD.

It's easy to get depressed and sink down into despair when we feel as if we are falling short of the mark- remember that verse I quote very often-

Rom_7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Paul an apostle felt this way too!  He lamented his inability to be the perfect man he knew that was desired of Him.

Did he stop doing good, did he give up the good fight? No. It was because HE knew that His salvation was in Jesus Christ alone not within his own ability to be sinless. He didn't give up, he engaged in the spiritual battle every day of his life from the point of his salvation. He knew it was a battle too, and not some strange belief that his actions no longer mattered because He been saved. He knew he was going to be in this fight until the end. He also knew that all the armor and the weapons we had on our side were from Jesus Christ. He knew that everything we had to fight with came from the source of all good, and none of that armor was of his own making.  Every victory in the battle, every single dart reflected off the shield, every wicked attack thwarted by the slicing of the sword, was a result of JESUS and JESUS alone!

The fight to acknowledge that we can't of our ourselves do anything good is a very real fight all it's own and the fight Satan wants all of us to wage.  He wants us convinced that we can do good all on our own. Remember with Eve, He wanted her to believe that she didn't need God, that God was trying to keep good things from them.  He was, and is a perverter of truth in every way. If we aren't interested in keeping God's moral laws because they won't let us earn points towards salvation, then Satan is THRILLED. If we are interested in keeping God's moral laws because was believe they do let us earn points towards salvation, then Satan is equally THRILLED.  If we ARE interested in keeping God's moral laws because we know they are the guidelines of love given to us by our God, and we know that it is through His power alone that we are able to keep any of those laws, and that we are not saved by keeping them, but through the same power of Christ we are given eternal life, then Satan is very, very unhappy!  Satan does NOT want us to live spiritual lives! Satan wants us caught up in all the things of this world and a very big thing of this world is selfishness and earning points for good behavior on some level.   How often have you done something around the house and wanted acknowledgement for all your hard work?  What about the work you've done on your job? You want the accolades even the tiny ones because they make you feel good, they make you feel as if you've are good for having done good and you deserve at the very least the recognition of your good actions.  This is the life Satan wants us consumed with. 

Being good by the GRACE of our LORD and SAVIOR earns us NOTHING, but it does something very, very special- IT GIVES GLORY TO GOD!

Yes! It GIVES GLORY TO GOD! Yet Satan would have us want to steal that glory for ourselves.  He's conditioned us to steal the glory, to in all our graciousness accept the praises that come and let them wash over us, filling our cup of self-gratification.

The glory belong to GOD, not to us!

All glory to GOD, this is something we truly need to comprehend.

All glory to GOD!

Less of us and way more of HIM!

Please LORD, help us to comprehend that living Spiritually in You means giving you ALL the glory, not just some of it!

Rom 4:16  Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
Rom 4:17  (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
Rom 4:18  Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
Rom 4:19  And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:

Rom 4:20  He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God

STRONG in FAITH - in believing in GOD, the unseen, the spiritual - giving GLORY to GOD!

Strong in faith - giving glory to God.

Rom 7:24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Rom 7:25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Mat_6:13  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

The glory is GOD'S.

Act 12:21  And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
Act 12:22  And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.
Act 12:23  And immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

The glory is GOD'S!

Rom 4:2  For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God.
Rom 4:3  For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

All glory to GOD!

Rom 4:20  He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God

Giving glory to GOD!

Rom 5:1  Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Rom 5:2  By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Glory of God!

Rom_8:18  For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

CHRIST'S GLORY!

Rom_11:36  For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever.

Glory for ever!

Rom_16:27  To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever.

AMEN!

1Co_1:31  That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

Glory in the LORD!

TRUTH- 1Co_10:31  Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

His word teaches us, by His grace may we learn and live what we learn all through Him, all glory to Him forever and ever, and ever!

All in the love and grace, the mercy, the righteousness, of CHRIST!

Glory to God in the Highest always!

Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ, nothing!

Rom 8:35  Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Can ANYTHING separate us from the love of Christ? NO!

Not a single thing has that power, only WE have that power. Only we choose to let things interfere, only we choose to separate ourselves from our Savior.  There isn't a single tribulation that can force us from Christ.  There doesn't exist any distress that can tear us from the love of our Savior.  Not one bit of persecution in any form is able in and of itself to take Christ's love from us.  No nakedness, no peril, no sword can remove Christ's love from us, it's just not possible!

When we make the choice in our grief, in our pain, in our agony, in our torturous existence to stop believing in the love of Christ it isn't any of the outside forces weighing upon us that cause that to happen. We make the choice to believe that we are no longer loved, or no longer want to love because our lives are not going the way we want them to, the way we expect a loving God to allow them too. And while we choose to stop believing it's not Christ choosing to leave us, not at all. He will never stop loving us, never. 

We have to comprehend that if we choose to love our Savior that we've made ourselves an enemy that will try to do all he can, in any way he can, to get us to separate ourselves from the love of Christ. 

So while we may say that God abandoned us when He chose to let someone we love get hurt or worse, or when our lives fall apart financially, it doesn't matter the calamity, we love to blame God for it all and it's NOT true, HE CAN'T ABANDON US, not if we choose to LOVE HIM.

NOTHING can separate us from the love of Christ, nothing.

Rom 8:36  As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

We are killed all the day long.
Accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

For the SAKE of God.

Shall our persecution separate us from God, from the love of Christ?  NO. Nothing, not even being killed will separate us from the love of Christ!

We are followers of our Savior and as such we will suffer for that. We will suffer, and if not by living in a place where people outright persecute us then the spiritual persecution will be just as intense, our suffering is the price we pay by angering the prince of this world- Satan.

Yet NO persecution can take Christ's love from us and this is something we MUST believe.

Rom 8:37  Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

We are MORE than conquerors through Christ! 

More than conquerors!!!!!!!

Those suffering- 

-tribulation
distress
persecution
 famine
nakedness
 peril
sword-

are  more than conquerors through Christ who loves them!

The world, Satan, would have us believe that those who suffer such things are suffering the displeasure of God being rejected by Him, not loved by Him. The world, Satan, would have us believe that we are LOSERS not conquerors when we suffer.  We will be laughed at, ridiculed, despised if we dare believe that we are CONQUERORS (winners) when we are so obviously suffering.

The world, Satan, have convinced people to believe that winners are not those who suffer.  That prosperity should cover the followers of Christ, the righteous of God should not be among those who are afflicted constantly, but the TRUTH is the followers of Christ will suffer all manner of afflictions even to death.  The followers of Christ are not those who aren't afflicted but those who choose to believe in the LOVE of Christ no matter what they are called to suffer.

We are MORE than winners THROUGH CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD and SAVIOR, WHO LOVES US!

PRAISE GOD!

Spiritual conquerors, not flesh conquerors.

The Spiritual cannot be afflicted to the point of being able to force a separation from the love of CHRIST.

Rom 8:38  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39  Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

NOTHING can take Christ's love from us, not one single thing in existence.

Neither Death
Nor Life
Nor Angels
Nor Principalities
Nor Powers
Nor Things Present
Nor Things to Come
Nor Height
Nor Depth
Nor Any Other Creature

SHALL BE ABLE TO SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF GOD WHICH IS IN CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD!

What amazing love!

PRAISE GOD!

Christ makes intercession for us.

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.

God alone justifies.
God alone has that right, that power to judge rightly without any of our sinful traits coloring His judgment.
God alone can condemn, yet you'll find Satan and those who are his constantly seeking to condemn us. Constantly Satan will bring to our recall our awful past acts. He'll tempt us with sins that EASILY beset us. Satan will do AL L in his power to get us to condemn ourselves because that condemnation leads us to hopelessness and hopelessness leads us far, far away from salvation. Hopelessness refuses to believe that there is any hope at all- even a hope outside ourselves.  Hopelessness takes away salvation by it's very nature.  Our hope must be in our Savior who will JUSTIFY us by HIS OWN BLOOD.  Our Savior has TAKEN our rightful place in death everlasting. He's taken that place and by the victory of His sinlessness He was RAISED to new LIFE. Our Savior truly DIED for US, for YOU, for ME, for us ALL.  This isn't some flippant fact, this is the most amazing, most wondrous, most astounding fact. We can't talk of Jesus' death without realizing the DEPTHS of that sacrifice to the best of our ability to comprehend.  Our HOPE is in Christ Jesus and we will be justified only by HIS intervention in our lives.

Jesus makes INTERCESSION for US!

Without His interceding we would have NO hope, we'd be unjustified, we'd be condemned and rightly so.

Those who become God's elect are those who believe in the hope of our SAVIOR, in the love of our GOD.

Remember this…

Luk 10:25  And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Luk 10:26  He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou?
Luk 10:27  And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.
Luk 10:28  And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

THIS DO- and thou shalt live.

Jesus did not say to forget about all that stuff and just believe in Him.  Jesus reaffirmed the truth of the moral law- Loving GOD and loving each other.

Those who LOVE GOD with all their heart- will love others as God would have them be loved; those who love others as they would like to be loved themselves in the pureness of truth and no deceit, no guile whatsoever, these will all LIVE.

God's elect cannot be condemned by anyone because they are covered under the blood of Christ, by the intercession of a Savior.

Rom 8:33  Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34  Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.


Our Savior alone has the right to condemn and He will do so with a heart grieving.

Mat 18:11  For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.
Mat 18:12  How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

The lost that our Savior can save will be amazing, but there will be many that will not be saved and solely by their choice.

Mat 13:37  He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
Mat 13:38  The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
Mat 13:39  The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
Mat 13:40  As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
Mat 13:41  The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
Mat 13:42  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 13:43  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Truth.

There will be children of the wicked one and these will consist of all those who choose NOT to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

It sounds harsh, because it is harsh. It is TRUTH and people want lollipops and gumdrops, things that please them rather than truth that convicts them of their own sinfulness.

There will be those that are condemned and it will be a JUST condemnation, a DESERVED condemnation beyond any doubt at all whatsoever.

By the grace of our LORD alone will we be among those who are righteous in CHRIST'S righteousness.

He spared NOT His own SON

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

He spared NOT His own SON.

Most people cannot fathom the idea of sacrificing any child of theirs and that's a GREAT thing. We aren't supposed to find it easy to sacrifice our children.  God does not WANT us to sacrifice our children.

Eze 23:39  For when they had slain their children to their idols, then they came the same day into my sanctuary to profane it; and, lo, thus have they done in the midst of mine house.

Lev 18:21  And thou shalt not let any of thy seed (((CHILDREN)))) pass through the fire to Molech, (((FALSE GOD)))) neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD.

Deu 12:31  Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.

Lev 20:1  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Lev 20:2  Again, thou shalt say to the children of Israel, Whosoever he be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn in Israel, that giveth any of his seed unto Molech; he shall surely be put to death: the people of the land shall stone him with stones.
Lev 20:3  And I will set my face against that man, and will cut him off from among his people; because he hath given of his seed unto Molech, to defile my sanctuary, and to profane my holy name.
Lev 20:4  And if the people of the land do any ways hide their eyes from the man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and kill him not:
Lev 20:5  Then I will set my face against that man, and against his family, and will cut him off, and all that go a whoring after him, to commit whoredom with Molech, from among their people.

Jer 7:31  And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.

The idea of sacrificing a CHILD is abhorrent to God, He despises it!

God SPARED NOT HIS OWN SON. 

The difference being HIS SON OFFERED HIMSELF and GOD ALLOWED it.  God allowed His Son to sacrifice Himself for humanity!  God allowed His Son to SAVE HUMANITY by repairing the breach made by SIN.

God had to watch HIS SON die a horrific death, and He didn't have to.

Just imagine having to watch your child, adult child, sacrifice themselves. God spared NOT His own Son!

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

God delivered His Son up for US ALL.

If God could sacrifice so much how can we believe that He doesn’t love us enough to care for us as we are needed to be cared for?

How can we doubt God because things don't go as we want them to, as we expect them to, as we believe they should go according to our way of thinking? How?

He delivered HIS SON up for us!

We understand in a different way the idea of having to watch your adult child go through horrors, some understand the horror of having to watch, or deal with having a young child go through unimaginable pain and suffering.  We do understand this, some more personally than others who haven't been touched by such depravity, such horrendous misfortune.  We do comprehend this on some level and we are heartbroken by it. 

God- had to watch every bit of His Son's suffering, the suffering of One he'd known since everlasting to everlasting.  God had to watch, when He DIDN'T HAVE to watch. God had the power to stop it all, to keep His Son from suffering. It was within His power to stop it all and yet His love and the Son's love for us was so powerful, so intense, so beyond our real comprehension that He chose not to use that power.

Can you imagine having it within your power to stop the suffering of someone you love (not by killing them) but by healing them, and you choose NOT to use that power because there is a greater purpose going on?

We can hardly comprehend such love.

So when we doubt our God's love for us we need to delve into this selfless act of sacrifice and what is all means.

Rom 8:32  He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

God will give us ALL THINGS without any compunction at all, without holding back for a moment, but He will only do this if it is ultimately for our GOOD. Remember? 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

ALL THINGS work together for GOOD- to THEM that love GOD.

God will give us ALL THINGS for our GOOD if we LOVE HIM.  And we don't have to understand how the horrible things are working for our good, we just have to have faith that they will work that way, because our GOD who spared NOT HIS OWN SON, who DELIVERED HIM UP for US, will not keep us from salvation-- the very reason HIS SON was SACRIFICED.

Please LORD, help us to understand! Please LORD, help us to believe and HELP our UNBELIEF!

Please help us LOVE YOU MORE!

All in Your amazing love.

All glory, honor, and praise to YOU!

AMEN!

God is for us!

Rom 8:29  For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
Rom 8:30  Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

This verse from yesterday--
Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Called according to 'God's' purpose.   All who choose to believe in our Savior Jesus Christ are called according to God's purpose. It is God's purpose that all believe, so ALL are called. 

1Ti 2:3  For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
1Ti 2:4  Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

Who will have ALL Men to be saved.

God WANTS us ALL to be HIS!

It is God's purpose that we all be saved. He is calling all of us and not leaving a single person out. People believe that God isn't calling them but the truth of the matter is they aren't answering His call. He will NOT force anyone to respond to Him.

IF we answer the call of our GOD we will be justified by our God, and glorified by HIM.

This is TRUTH!

Answering the call of God, living according to HIS purpose is to believe in His Son Jesus Christ. We have to believe that our Savior came to preach the gospel- the good news of SALVATION in HIM, through HIM. 

God's purpose is that we believe. That we have faith in HIS love and all that comes from that love.

Truly--

WHAT shall we say to these things?
If GOD be FOR US WHO can be against us!

This is TRUTH!

We know who is against us, but he is POWERLESS against God! He has NO power when it comes to our SAVIOR, none!   Our Savior faced the evil one and He Satan was POWERLESS against HIM!

God has defeated Satan for US!

When we are aligned with our God, when we are ON HIS side, when we answer HIS CALL then we have GOD FOR US and NONE can be against us, none can take us from HIM, NONE!

When we believe that we are being assaulted relentlessly, when we feel as if we are the farthest thing from having God for us we are allowing ourselves to be led into despair.  Satan will take every opportunity to get us to believe that we are on our own, that God does not care about us. Satan wants us to believe that we are without any help and he'll do everything to convince us of that. 

With GOD on our side truly NOTHING can take HIM from us! NONE! And having God in our lives, having God's LOVE in our life, having the SAVIOR as our personal SAVIOR is something that cannot be stripped away from us unless we make the choice to no longer believe.

God is for us!
Satan would have us believe that He is far from us, uncaring, unloving. Satan wants us to believe God does not care whether we live or die. Unfortunately he succeeds all too often. 

God is FOR US!

How can we convince ourselves of this in our darkest hours when Satan is attacking us so severely we can scarcely breathe?  When our faith is being tested that is when we must, by the grace of God, holdfast to the promises we know, the promises we read in God's Word.

GOD IS FOR US!

In HIS love!

All Things

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD.

Think about that, ALL THINGS.

What does that include, logically. You don't get much more clearer than that do you? ALL. Nothing is left out, there isn't a single solitary thing that is left out when you say ALL.

If I say I want ALL of those shelled peas in the bowl you wouldn't leave out any, right? If I say I want ALL the cake in the fridge does that mean I don't care if someone else takes a piece, I would care.

All.
Everything.

All aspects of our lives, everyone of them is included in the ALL THINGS WORKING TOGETHER.

That means every part of our lives the good, the bad, the great, the awful, the wonderful, the horrific, all of it is working together and that's a few words we have to really think about.  Working together.

When things work together there is action taking place.  Our lives are a culmination of events that take place. A lot of those events aren't good things and can even seem as if they'd are going to destroy us, quite literally.  And you know what, the very sad truth is, sometimes peoples lives are destroyed by the things that happen to them. 

We need to see beyond the terrible things and to the whole of everything.

Seriously.

We can't let ourselves live our lives believing that one awful event should define us. Or even a series of awful events. The temptation to be swallowed up by the horrors of our lives can be very great. Satan wants us hopeless and HE knows how to work the things in our lives so that he gets us to that place.

Our God has given us HIS WORD, HIS HOLY WORD and in HIS WORD we read this--

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

All thing work together FOR GOOD.

For good.

So how do we equate that with the things we suffer through? How do we believe this when we suffer daily, some of us live our lives in physical pain day in and day out, some do so in emotional pain that makes life so hard.

How do all the horrible parts of our lives work out for ultimate good?

We can't know, can we? We are called to have FAITH, to have HOPE in our SAVIOR, our CREATOR, our FATHER GOD, the HOLY SPIRIT.

We are called to have hope and Satan would have us hopeless.

We are asked to have faith and that faith means believing that even though we cannot fathom how our suffering, how our lives can all work together for good.

By our reckoning, by our way of thinking and believing we cannot begin to comprehend how it works.  When we insist on trying we  run into all sorts of problems.  When we begin to lack faith it can make us lose hope and when we begin to lose hope we lose everything.

Our Savior speaks the truth.
The Word of God speaks the truth.

Everything and HE means EVERYTHING will work for good IF we LOVE GOD and are called according to HIS PURPOSE.

LOVING GOD!

Eph 3:9  And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
Eph 3:10  To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
Eph 3:11  According to the ETERNAL PURPOSE which he purposed in CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD
Eph 3:12  In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.

LOVING GOD.
LOVING OUR SAVIOR.

Having FAITH in our LOVING GOD this is what matters. All things will work together for good, and we must have faith in this!  WE do not have to comprehend, we don't! We have to TRUST. 

All by the GRACE of our GOD we will trust, we will love our LORD, our SAVIOR.

The Spirit Helps

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

The SPIRIT helps our infirmities.

We are infirmed, aren't we? Sin has infirmed us. We aren't able of ourselves to be right with God.  Our Savior came to do what we could NEVER do. Our Savior came and when He left, He didn't leave us without a force, without the ability through another to be HIS. That force, that ability through another, is the SPIRIT, the COMFORTER we are given by our SAVIOR. And it is a GREAT comfort to know that we have the SPIRIT interceding for us. We are NOT left without a very REAL being, a very REAL SPIRITUAL Being who is GIVEN to us by our SAVIOR.

The SPIRIT-   A REAL BEING.

Mar_1:10  And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon him

Mar_1:12  And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.

Luk_2:27  And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law

Luk_4:1  And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness

Luk_4:14  And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee: and there went out a fame of him through all the region round about.

Luk_4:18  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised

Joh_1:32  And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him.

Joh_7:39  (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Joh_14:17  Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

Joh_15:26  But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:

Act_8:29  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.

Act_8:39  And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.

Act_10:19  While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, three men seek thee.

Act_11:12  And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the man's house

*******

A VERY REAL ENTITY.

Rom 8:26  Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

The SPIRIT helps us!
Where we fall so short the SPIRIT will help us.
As we pray the Spirit will join with us in our prayer and do so in such a way that our earnest, sincere prayer is heard. 

Rom 8:27  And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

Jer 17:10  I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.

The LORD searches our hearts, and the LORD knows the MIND of the SPIRIT because the SPIRIT will be making intercession for us according to GOD'S WILL.

Receiving the comforter, receiving the Holy Spirit is a gift from our Savior, a very special gift. We can know that when we fall so very short, and we often do even in our finest hour, our finest prayers, that the Spirit will guide our prayers to God in a very special way.

This is a reality.

The Spirit is REAL.

A guiding, a comforting, an interceding force for US.

By the grace of our LORD may the SPIRIT be REAL to us in all things! May we listen for the SPIRIT'S leading. May we TRUST in the Spirit who will forever and always do the WILL of GOD.

Please LORD let the Holy Spirit live a very real life in us!