How important is your spiritual life?

Remember.

So incredibly much in our lives depends upon our ability to remember things.  Those far gone in Alzheimer's or other memory robbing dementias lose the ability to take care of their most basic needs. The forget to eat and drink, two vital components to being able to live.  If we had no memory we wouldn't be able to care for ourselves at all. Remembering the things vital for our flesh life doesn't seem to be too much of a problem for most people. Remembering things vital for our spirit life seem incredible hard for most people.  In fact a lot of people refuse to even believe they have a spirit life, and in truth they may not if they have not been born again in the Spirit.  Those who have been born again in the Spirit are taking on the responsibility of having a spiritual life to either nurture or kill. 

Tell me which life is more important- the flesh life or the spiritual life?

Rom_8:1  There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Rom 8:4  That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Rom 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

Rom 8:6  For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Rom 8:7  Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

Rom 8:8  So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Rom 8:10  And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.

Rom 8:11  But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.

Rom 8:12  Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.

Rom 8:13  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Rom 8:14  For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Rom 8:15  For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

Rom 8:16  The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Rom 8:17  And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

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.

Doesn't that say it all? Seriously, doesn't it? The truth is right there for us to see!

The SPIRITUAL life matters more than the flesh life!

Yet which one of us would be willing to give up a meal in order to feed the spirit?

You might quickly say you can do both, you don't need to give up a meal, but that's not the point at all. The point is...how important is your spiritual life to you? Seriously, HOW IMPORTANT IS YOUR SPIRITUAL LIFE!?

Do you even care about feeding your spiritual life?

Do you expect someone else to feed you your spiritual food, making it their responsibility to feed you so you don't have to take on that responsibility yourself?

Do you starve your spiritual life by feeding it only once a week?

We have to feed our Spiritual life.

Going back a moment to yesterday's study, Christ can't know us if we don't have a REAL relationship with Him, a REAL SPIRITUAL relationship.

More on this tomorrow, by the GRACE and MERCY of our LORD and SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST now and forever, amen.  

Jesus' sheep hear His voice and follow Him

It's amazing isn't it how we can take certain words and slang them over time and turn them into something God never intended. What I mean is being a sheep in God's word is a good thing, and the wolf a bad thing.

Mat_7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Mat_10:16  Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Luk_10:3  Go your ways: behold, I send you forth as lambs among wolves.

Act_20:29  For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

Luk_15:6  And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost.

Joh_10:14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

Joh_10:26  But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

Joh_10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me

Today we have the current word "Sheeple"

Definition-

'People compared to sheep in being docile, foolish, or easily led.'

You hear a person called a sheeple and you're implying they will follow anyone anywhere as if that's a bad thing and in that connotation it is a bad thing. Being a sheep to Christ as our Shepherd is an amazingly wonderful thing! Following Christ wherever He calls us to go is desired! I want to be the Lord's sheep! I want to be known by Christ as one of His sheep.  I want to hear my Shepherd's voice and follow Him! 

I don't want to be a wolf in sheep's clothing.  I especially do NOT want to thing I'm a sheep when I'm really a wolf! I don't want to be consumed by self-deceit!

We can be deceived when we DESIRE that deceit in our hearts underneath all the outward stuff we project. If we want our hearts hardened, it will be hardened. We will NOT see if we do not want to see. We will NOT hear if we don't want to hear.  We will be blinded when we choose blindness. People act as if God is causing their blindness, and hard hearts, their deafness, but HE IS NOT. HE is only allowing what a person truly wants in their hearts which HE knows!

No one will be able to say God caused their downfall, not a single person. If we are not known by our Savior when He returns it will be because we did not truly desire Him to know us and we did not truly desire to know HIM.

If someone tells you what you need to do if you love them- and you don't do that, do you really love them?  Your first instinct might be to get all huffy and say if they love me they won't ask anything of me, they're in the wrong. And truly that is our selfish response isn't it? We want to be loved no matter what we say or do, no matter anything we want to be loved. We want to be loved in spite of our faults. It's not wrong to want to be loved in spite of our faults, we need our Savior to love us that way.  But we do NOT spit in the Savior's face by sinning willfully and telling Him He has to forgive us. He loves us, He died for us, something He didn't have to do! He will forgive us if we sin and truly repent of our sins.  If we love HIM we will do all we possibly can to submit to Him and allow Him to work in us enabling us to keep those commandments He died so we could keep.

Please FATHER please bless us, keep us, love us, know us!

In the name of our Savior Jesus Christ!

Amen! 

Will we keep our sheep's clothing on, refusing to be true sheep?

'We've spent so much time twisting the commandments of God around that we fail to see the truth. We strip the moral commandments of their worth substituting ideas of our own and call it good.  Our Savior will NOT know those who do not follow His TRUTHS, HIS COMMANDMENTS.'

I did NOT write these words--

1Jn_2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments

I did NOT write these words--

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

Love God.

Love One Another.

And how do we reveal our love for God and for one another?

We've the perfect moral law that teaches us of this revelation of love. People don't want to see it though. They want to take the moral law and rip it apart as if it were a part of the ceremonial laws- laws of ceremony. The moral law is separate from the ceremonial law. The moral law was reaffirmed by our SAVIOR. Remember this--

Mat 19:16  And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Mat 19:17  And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

Mat 19:18  He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

Mat 19:19  Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Mat 19:20  The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

Mat 19:21  Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

What law is our Savior referring to here?

The MORAL law!

It is guaranteed that the man kept ALL the moral law- all the ten commandments that comprise the moral law.  He kept the commandments but what he lacked was the heart in the moral law and that is what our Savior came to show by fulfilling the heart of the law in the moral law.  Our Savior revealed HOW to keep His moral law, He did NOT do away with that law, He did NOT change that law.  People had forgotten that the moral law was made up of four laws that reveal our love for God, and six laws that reveal our love for our fellowman.  People forgot the moral law was a law of love and kept it without love which makes it null and void. The man talking to Jesus kept all the law and Jesus didn't tell Him that He didn't. Jesus pointed out where the love of the man truly was, and it wasn't with God, the man had an idol- and that idol was money, his earthly treasure. The man wasn't willing to give up his idol and Jesus revealed this to him. For all that he believed he was keeping the commandments he wasn't truly keeping them from his heart.

Our Savior TAUGHT us how to know Him, will we learn from Him? 

Will we keep our sheep's clothing on, refusing to be true sheep? God forbid!

May our Savior help us to be HIS sheep!

In His love!

Amen.

We want to belong to Christ.

Picking up from yesterday--  'How many people wear sheep's clothing. Obviously so many that some of them don't even know they are wearing the sheep's clothing. Imagine that, not knowing what clothes you have on. Of course we are figuratively speaking but the truth is how is it possible we don’t know what we are wearing and in the figurative sense, how is it possible we don't know that we are NOT Christ's?'

How can we know we are Christ's?

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments.

1Jn_2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1Jn 2:4  He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1Jn 2:5  But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

1Jn 2:6  He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Joh 17:3  And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

1Jn 3:14  We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

1Jn 3:22  And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

1Jn 3:23  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

1Jn 3:24  And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.

Joh 14:21  He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Joh 14:22  Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

Joh 14:23  Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Joh 14:24  He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.

Rev 22:14  Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.

*******

THIS IS TRUTH-

1Jn_2:3  And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

So let's all be fooled into wearing sheep's clothing rather than being real sheep by NOT keeping our God's commandments!

We LIE to ourselves! We put on the pretty clothing of pretend following and leave it at that, so is it any wonder our Savior will say He doesn't know us?

We analyze and pick apart things until we make them read the way we want them to so we can ease our conscience.  We'd rather have lies that make us feel good than truth that demands we feel the pain, every pain of our willfulness in sin! We need to feel the agony of our weak flesh and not in some sick, tv movie psycho way, but in the way that brings us to repentance, to seeking forgiveness over and over if need be. 

We've spent so much time twisting the commandments of God around that we fail to see the truth. We strip the moral commandments of their worth substituting ideas of our own and call it good.  Our Savior will NOT know those who do not follow His TRUTHS, HIS COMMANDMENTS.

More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD.

May we know and be known of You, LORD and SAVIOR!

Please Father, may we be known.

All through the grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen.

What Clothes Are You Wearing?

We need to be known by God-

Joh_10:14  I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

God KNOWS those who are His.

Joh_10:27  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me

God KNOWS those who follow Him in all truth.

Rev_2:2  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars

He KNOWS our works. He KNOWS our labor. He KNOWS our patience.

Rev_2:9  I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

He KNOWS our works. He KNOWS our tribulation. He KNOWS our poverty, He KNOWS our blasphemy.

Rev_2:13  I know thy works, and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.

He KNOWS our works. He KNOWS where we dwell.

Rev_2:19  I know thy works, and charity, and service, and faith, and thy patience, and thy works; and the last to be more than the first.

He KNOWS our works. He KNOWS our love. He KNOWS our service. He KNOWS our faith. He KNOWS our patience.

Rev_3:1  And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.

He KNOWS our works.

Rev_3:8  I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

He KNOWS our works.

Rev_3:15  I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

He KNOWS our works.

He KNOWS US!

So when He tells those who think they are His but aren't that He doesn't never knew them it isn't that He doesn't know the things they've done, obviously He must in order to know that He doesn't know them. He doesn't know them to be HIS. They are NOT His sheep! They are NOT of HIS fold! He knows enough about them to know they are pretenders, not truth seekers. 

Mat_7:15  Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

Sheep's clothing.

How many people wear sheep's clothing. Obviously so many that some of them don't even know they are wearing the sheep's clothing. Imagine that, not knowing what clothes you have on. Of course we are figuratively speaking but the truth is how is it possible we don’t know what we are wearing and in the figurative sense, how is it possible we don't know that we are NOT Christ's?

More on this tomorrow by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR, Jesus Christ.

May His will be done.

Amen.

Remember and Be Known

Remember.

Remember. Why? Because there is potential to FORGET. 

Some families make a huge deal about remembering their personal history. Tales are told and passed down generation to generation.  There are things that we don't want to forget, and there are things we'd love to be able to forget.

A sure way NOT to forget something is to have reminders.  Our phones can give us alarm reminders, our computers the same, we can write notes and stick them where we'll see them, and even tie a string around our fingers to jog our memories. We need reminders and often the older we get the more reminders we need. Then again, some people are naturally forgetful while others remember lots of things and seldom forget.

Our Creators did not want us to forget them.

When you don't want someone to forget you, what do you do?

You give them reminders.

If you can you visit them, you talk with them, you make your presence known to them. The surest way for people to forget you is to not have any contact with them. I'm not saying everyone will forget you over time without contact, I still remember people from my childhood. Those people I remember might even remember me, it's possible. However there are many people we forget through the years too. Some of those people remember us even when we don't remember them.

If you want someone to know you how do you accomplish that?

Another person can't know you if you don't communicate with them. You could live with a person for years and not know them if you don't communicate with them, if you don't interact with them. You may thing you know them and they may think they know you, but in truth we aren't known and do not know without interacting and communication.

Our Creators, our Redeemer wants us to remember them and they want to know us.

How we accomplish this is written in God's word to us.

Do we want God to know us?

We should.

Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Yes, we should want our Savior to know us.

More on this tomorrow by the grace of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

In His amazing love.

Amen.

God asks us to remember

Remember….

Today I came face to face with the extreme deterioration of a person's ability to remember. I've seen alarming glimpses into someone losing their short term memory- my mother has Alzheimer's Disease. It's heart breaking. The ability to remember is such an important part of life. When the memory goes so much is lost. 

Our God has asked us to remember. 

When we are asked to remember something we make a determination subconsciously if not consciously, how important that thing is we are supposed to remember.   Such as life or death remembering. If a life depends upon your remembering something you do all you can to remember, don't you? However if it's a matter of remembering to pick up some milk for a snack of milk and cookies later- and you forget- no one dies. There might be disappointment but no loss of life.  Remembering a loved one's birthday is important, feelings get hurt terribly when you are forgotten, but is that life threatening? No.

God has asked us to remember.

Does it matter WHO is asking us to remember? Are we more likely to make sure we remember something if someone we deem important asks? If the President of the United States asked us to do something would we take any chance on forgetting to do it? Some who don't like the president would say, "Sure thing."  So maybe it was your boss and your job is dependent upon it, or your mother or father who asks you to remember.  Would a strangers asking you to remember something be more important to you than a loved ones?

When our CREATOR asks us to remember something what importance do we place upon His request?

When our REDEEMER asks us to remember something what importance do we place upon His request?

Having the ABILITY to remember things is IMPORTANT, and we realize this more when we see people losing that ability. As long as we are capable of remembering things we MUST make it our duty to remember.

If our Savior tells us to do something in remembrance of Him, it is very important we do what He tells us to do.  If our Creator tells us to do something in remembrance of Him we do what He tells us.

Exo_20:8  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy

Luk_22:19  And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.

More tomorrow by the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Amen.