Tuesday, June 2, 2015

When we say we believe

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 at the right hand of God making intercession for us.
Christ who died so we could have the hope of life.
Who needs intercession?
*
(Dictionary)
Intercession. 1: the act of interceding. 2: prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another
verb  interceded, interceding.1.to act or interpose in behalf of someone in difficulty or trouble, as by pleading or petition 
2. attempt to reconcile differences between two people or groups;mediate
*
We NEED intercession.  We need our Savior to pray for us, to petition for us, to entreat for us. We need our Savior to interpose for us because we are in trouble. We need to be RECONCILED to God through our Savior.

We can understand this because we have been blessed to have the knowledge of what it means to intercede for others. Even if we don't have personal knowledge of interceding for someone who doesn't deserve intercession, we know of situations where people have.  We can comprehend. Through Christ we can know our need.  And we need to comprehend our need. If we don't know we have this need how can we seek help?   Do we ever seek help without knowing what we need help for?  How can anyone ask for help if they don't know they're in need of help? As soon as we ask for help we are comprehending we cannot help ourselves.

When we say we believe, we are admitting our need of a Savior. We are saying we believe in being saved and that Christ our Savior is the One who can save us.  When we say we believe we are saying we believe in the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. We are believing in the message of the gospel. We believe in the kingdom of heaven. We believe in life everlasting. We believe that our Savior will return and when the last trump sounds all the dead in Christ shall rise, and all the living will rise as well to meet Christ in the air!  When we say we believe...we have HOPE.

We believe that we have an Intercessor with the Father. We believe that our Savior intercedes for us, letting His spilled blood and murdered body pay the death for our sins!

By the grace of God may we believe and allow our Savior to intercede for us!

All by HIS LOVE!


Amen!  

Monday, June 1, 2015

Our Greatest Need- Eternity in Christ Jesus

Rom 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?
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?

Freely give us all things.

Only, the 'all things' pertains to eternal life.

God is not a genie who grants wishes, not even the most sincere, solemn, heartfelt wishes. If our hope is life eternal then we have been freely given all things that matter, a SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. 

We can't think of the temporary things as eternally important. 

We can't take our desire to have a pleasing life now and make it more important than our eternal life.

Each day truly has enough evil in it all its own and a lot of that evil has its roots in our selfish, self-serving desires.  And we can try to convince ourselves that our particular desires aren't selfish at all, but we'd be lying to ourselves. 

Our needs should first be our eternal life.

This  life and all its needs are secondary to eternity.

By the grace of God may our lives here be lived for eternity.

All in the love of Jesus Christ our LORD.



Saturday, May 30, 2015

According to His Purpose

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.

This is a very special verse. I hesitate to say this because so many people, me included, don't comprehend how it could be true but it is true. God's word is truth.

Are we called according to His purpose?

Do you love God?

What's it mean to love God?

Do you give your allegiance to God? 

Do you trust God?

These are all very valid questions. 

If we LOVE God, we trust God.  If we trust God, we believe God.  We KNOW beyond doubt that even when the worst of the worst is going on in our lives, that some how beyond our comprehension it will be for good as God accounts good in the realm of eternity, not in this temporary time we have here and now.  This is TRUTH!

God's purpose is love, and for us to believe in that love, for us to trust in that love.

We are called according to His purpose, we love God. We know that in this temporary life we will  have extreme hardships- possibly physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, or all of these.  All of what we are called to endure no matter what it is, all of it will somehow far beyond our ability to comprehend, work together for good.

Please, Father God, we would love You and be Yours in all things!

Please.  Let us be Yours now and forever.


Amen.

Friday, May 29, 2015

The Spirit- Believe

Infirmities.

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.

Our infirmities….

From G772; feebleness (of body or mind); by implication malady; moral frailty: - disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness.

Moral frailty.

Who among us isn't afflicted greatly with moral frailties?

Continuing from yesterday….

We are infirmed. We are diseased. We are sick. We are weak. We are so incredibly infirmed- spiritually, morally infirmed.

The SPIRIT alone can help us with our infirmities.
The SPIRIT makes intercession for us.

Truly in our sin sickness we don't really know what we need to pray for. We have to trust in the Spirit to intercede for us and pray for us.

I love when Jesus prayed for me.

Yes, for ME.

JESUS, our Savior prayed for me!

Joh 17:1  These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee

Joh 17:20  Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word

That's ME! I'm believing on Jesus through the word!  Jesus prayed for me!

And He did this too--

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

He sent the SPIRIT of Truth to me!

The Spirit that was sent to us is to be all that we cannot be through our infirmed weakness, not able to even know what we need to pray for.

We KNOW our need. We recognize our infirmed state. We believe in our Savior, we believe in the Father, we believe in the Spirit.  

We are Christ's.

We must believe!

By the grace of God we must believe!

Joh 6:28  Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
Joh 6:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

BELIEVE.

The SPIRIT will pray for us.

We believe, help our unbelief.

By the mercy, love, the grace of our SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST!

Now and always!


Amen!

Thursday, May 28, 2015

Our Infirmities

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.

Our infirmities….

From G772; feebleness (of body or mind); by implication malady; moral frailty: - disease, infirmity, sickness, weakness.

Moral frailty.

Who among us isn't afflicted greatly with moral frailties?

Tonight I'm afflicted with a sinus headache so hopefully, prayerfully, tomorrow we'll study this much more in-depth.

In the name of our Savior, by His grace and mercy always!


Amen.

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

Saved By Hope

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Saved by hope.

Hope.

FAITH- the SUBSTANCE of things HOPED for, the EVIDENCE of things NOT SEEN.

Things HOPED for.

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.

Who AGAINST hope BELIEVED in hope.

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.
Rom 5:3  And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
Rom 5:4  And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
Rom 5:5  And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Hope of the GLORY of GOD.
TRIBULATION works PATIENCE.
PATIENCE works EXPERIENCE.
EXPERIENCE works HOPE.
HOPE makes us not ASHAMED.

Rom_12:12  Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer

REJOICING in hope.

Rom_15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

We through PATIENCE and COMFORT of the SCRIPTURES might have hope.

Rom_15:13  Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

GOD of hope.

1Co 9:10  Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.

PLOW in hope.
THRESHETH in hope.

1Co 13:13  And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.

Gal_5:5  For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.

Through the SPIRIT wait for the HOPE ---- of RIGHTEOUSNESS by FAITH.

Col_1:27  To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory

Hope of GLORY-  CHRIST in US.

HOPE- more tomorrow on HOPE by the grace of our LORD and SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!


AMEN.

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Waiting to be adopted

Rom 8:22  For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
Rom 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Waiting for the adoption.

Some people know as children what it means to wait to be adopted.  It is common knowledge that people prefer newborns and very young children to adopt. It's less common to adopt older children. In fact, the older children get the least likely they are to be adopted.  Older children realize this and yet they still hope.  Most of those children grow up in foster homes, or orphanages and when they are of age they are set out into the world to continue their lives parentless.

Those children who wait to be adopted have a hope, an expectation, a desire to have parents.

We who wait for the adoption by our Father God can be assured this adoption WILL take place.

The waiting isn't easy, no one said it would be easy. We are told it would be hard. We are told this--

Joh 15:1  I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Joh 15:2  Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.

Every branch that beareth fruit- he purgeth.

Rev_3:19  As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

Rebuked, chastened.

Heb 12:5  And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him:
Heb 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
Heb 12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
Heb 12:8  But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.

1Co 11:32  But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

So why do we think the waiting for our adoption- the redemption of our bodies that will occur when our Savior returns- should be easy for us?