He gives hope to the hopeless

So you think you're immune from self-centeredness? Do you think you are safe from going your own way? Do you think that you'd never turn away from your Savior?

Peter thought he would never deny Jesus- he was wrong, very, very wrong.

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

ALL of us have gone astray!  Sheep wander it's in their nature. Sheep need a shepherd. Sheep need a sheepdog. Sheep left to their own devices will definitely go astray.

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?

Mat 18:13  And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

Mat 18:14  Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Rom 3:10  As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:

Rom 3:11  There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Rom 3:12  They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

Rom 3:13  Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips:

Rom 3:14  Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

Rom 3:15  Their feet are swift to shed blood:

Rom 3:16  Destruction and misery are in their ways:

Rom 3:17  And the way of peace have they not known:

Rom 3:18  There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Rom 3:19  Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.

We NEED a Shepherd, and CHRIST is that Shepherd.

Christ is the Shepherd who died to save His sheep.  Our  lives meant and mean so much to Him!  Can we even begin to comprehend this? Can we?!

We've been given HOPE.

We don't have to live HOPELESS!

So many choose hopelessness, so many cling to this world, to THIS life refusing to believe in the HOPE of a better world, a better life.

Over and over our God has shown us in His word through history, that HE lives, HE loves!

Our CREATOR did not have to die for us, but He did! He ransomed us. He paid the price for us.  He could have shoved us aside, He could have destroyed us and created something entirely different, but He didn't because we were worth that much to Him.  We have PART of Him that can connect to a part of US.  Made in HIS IMAGE.

Isa 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all

We need our SHEPHERD!

We are guilty, He is innocent!

We deserved death eternal, He died that death so we could live.

Daily we die.

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.

Daily we must die to self and live for HIM. We are sheep for the slaughter, but sheep who have a Shepherd. Sheep who have been given the promise of everlasting life in Christ our Savior. Sheep whose Shepherd sacrifice Himself for us, to give us hope in ETERNAL LIFE.  This pasture we are living in is corrupt and there are wolves every which way we turn. The wolves may kill us in this life but the wolves can never take eternal life from us. The wolves cannot take our HOPE from us.  Our Shepherd HAS SAVED US ALREADY and the wolves cannot take HOPE from us, they cannot take our Eternal Life not ever, we are saved by GRACE…

Eph_2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God

1Jn_5:13  These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

By the grace of GOD! We believe on His name, Jesus Christ our Savior now and forever!

AMEN.

We stay and have hope

We have hope not only for ourselves but for our loved ones who choose not to believe-

1Co 7:14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy.

Choosing to believe in our Savior doesn't mean everyone around us will choose to believe as we do.  I can remember well the newness of my walk with Christ, the JOY. Anyone who has ever been in love with another person knows this feeling, this love. The world around you seems different, so many things seem amazing that were only ordinary before.  And the joy is something you want all around you to experience. Unlike falling in love with someone, you do want others to fall in love with Jesus. You want others to have the joy you have in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  You want others to have the hope of eternity that salvation brings. You can't understand why others don't want this joy, this hope, but all too often our loved ones sadly, tragically don't. 

Whereas lingering about unbelievers is something we aren't supposed to do, especially after they've outright rejected the gospel, we aren't to leave our spouses even if they reject the gospel.

We must stay and have hope.

Hope.

We can't know the heart of ANY other, not fully, not as God can know it.  We can't even know our own heart.  We can't judge ANY one's eternal life, not even the worst of the worst in our way of thinking. We might WANT to judge another, a monster who tortures others, we may want to judge their eternal life, but in truth we still cannot judge that.  We can judge actions, we can comprehend right from wrong. We can condemn another's actions without condemning their eternal life.

We must all seek forgiveness and repentance in Christ Jesus our Lord. We must all look to Christ's righteousness, not our own. We must all follow that which we know is of God. When we know to do good and do it not, then we are guilty of knowing and not doing.  When we don't know to do good we aren't guilty for that ignorance. God will not leave us in ignorance of salvation. We are liable for rejecting the opportunities to know to do good. We make choices and we are responsible for those choices.

God doesn't ask us to hate anyone! God doesn't want us to brow beat anyone! God doesn't want us to shove salvation down anyone's throat, in fact if we are trying to shove salvation down the throats of others then it's not really salvation we are teaching at all.   There is no salvation void of love.  And if people believe they are loving another when they try to force them to believe as they do, they are deceived. Jesus didn't force a single person to believe Him, not one!

We all need to pray for Salvation.

We all need to seek after our God.

We all need to pray for those who choose not to believe, not to seek God.

May God bless us, all of us as we seek HIM, to know Him and be known of Him.

Please, God, please.

All through Jesus Christ our LORD, our SAVIOR!

Amen.

Heavenly Inheritance

You HAVE an inheritance.

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.

We have an inheritance. The poorest of the poor has an inheritance.  The best inheritance a person could ever have is ours.

Are you earthly poor? Are you possession poor? Are you a son or daughter of the poor? In death will your parents leave you absolutely nothing, but perhaps their debts? None of that negates your true inheritance, an inheritance worth more than any amount of money or possessions any earthly parent could leave you. Your treasures are HEAVENLY. Your riches are HEAVENLY. Your inheritance is HEAVENLY.

A lively hope!

An inheritance incorruptible!

An inheritance undefiled!

An inheritance reserved in heaven!

Kept through the power of God through faith unto salvation!

Revealed….

…in the last time.

Blessed be GOD the Father of our LORD JESUS CHRIST! 

Jesus Christ rose from the dead and HE is our HOPE, the good news of the Gospel is eternal life in Jesus Christ. 

NO PAIN!

We all know pain, every single one of us knows pain in some form. Some of us know a lot of pain- emotional, physical we know pain. We often fear pain, we despise pain, we go to great lengths to rid ourselves of pain. That's not to say there aren't deviants who enjoy pain- physical and emotional, there are. But the majority of people invest in a great number of pain killers to rid themselves of pain. Some take pain relievers daily!  Pain is a part of us in so many ways. We hate to see people suffering. We hate to see people in pain. Pain is something we cannot wait to be rid of entirely!  The inheritance we are promised is an inheritance towards the freedom from pain.

NO TEARS!

I don't need to tell you what this means- you've cried, you've cried tears of the deepest anguish. You've held back tears of anguish out of shame, out of pride, but you've cried them internally until it's ripped you apart inside. You've cried and you've seen others cry. The tears of those you love breaking your heart, you know these tears, you have memories of those tears. The inheritance that will be ours promises us NO MORE TEARS.

The inheritance- the good news of the gospel of our Savior, of our Lord Jesus Christ!

HOPE!

We have HOPE and that HOPE is in our SAVIOR who promises us eternity- painless- tearless- eternity!

All by HIS amazing GRACE, HIS LOVE, now and FOREVER AMEN!

We are rich- possessing nothing

Ministers of God-- YOU, ME, all who claim CHRIST!

2Co 6:4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

2Co 6:5  In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

2Co 6:6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

2Co 6:7  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

2Co 6:8  By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

2Co 6:9  As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

2Co 6:10  As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

In MUCH patience.

In afflictions.

In necessities.

In distresses.

In stripes.

In imprisonments.

In tumults.

In labors.

In watchings.

In fastings.

By pureness.

By knowledge.

By longsuffering.

By kindness.

By the Holy Ghost.

By love unfeigned.

By word of truth.

By the power of God.

By the armor of righteousness.

By honor.

By dishonor.

By evil report.

By good report.

As deceivers.

As true.

As unknown.

As yet well known.

As dying.

As chastened- not killed.

As sorrowful- always rejoicing.

As poor- making many rich.

As having nothing- yet possessing all things.

I'm still caught up on having nothing - yet possessing all things.  We possess ALL things when we have nothing.

Mat 6:19  Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

Mat 6:20  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

Mat 6:21  For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also

As ministers of God, as those who have Jesus Christ as their Savior, we will PUT our treasures in HEAVEN.

Name one earthly material possession that moths and rust won't touch, name a single possession a thief won't steal.  You might be able to name lots that moths won't bother, and rust never tarnishes, but a thief can steal absolutely ANYTHING material, anything tangible.  If our treasures are not where a thief can get them they have to be in heaven and they have to be of things not tangible, or not reachable by anyone.

Where are the things we would hate to lose? Where are the things we would not want stolen?

Where does our heart lie?

Our lives reveal the truth. How we behave reveals the truth. And honestly how others see us reveals the truth. I'm not saying everyone can know everything about us so the way we see others and they see us is only a small part of who we are, but it matters.

We know good from evil and we choose to follow one or the other in a lot of ways.

Only by the GRACE of God may we choose good- choose GOD over evil in ALL things!

May we have NOTHING, but POSSESS all things through our SAVIOR, having HIM, having eternal life IN HIM, through HIM, by HIM!

Please Father, please help us be YOURS as the world and the prince of this world fights against this in so many ways.

In Jesus' name always!

Amen.

Having nothing yet possessing all things

How can you have nothing but possess all things?

2Co 6:4  But in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,

2Co 6:5  In stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in fastings;

2Co 6:6  By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,

2Co 6:7  By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,

2Co 6:8  By honour and dishonour, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;

2Co 6:9  As unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;

2Co 6:10  As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.

How can we who place our worth upon the things we possess be worth anything at all?

Why is it a rich man with great possessions has more value placed upon him than those who are poor and have little to nothing?

How can we deem another person worthy or unworthy based upon the part of their life we view?

We know so little about each other when we pass our judgements.

Not all wealthy people are cheats and not all the poor are innocent victims.

We all have to ask ourselves if we possess the most precious of gifts? The poorest of the poor can possess the most precious gift, a gift that is priceless. The gift cannot be bought by anyone, yet it is available free for all. We can't work for this gift.  We can't take this gift by force, there is no way to steal this price less gift. So how can such a priceless gift be available for all? 

If we had a gem that we considered priceless it would be so incredibly priceless because of its rarity.  You often hear about people paying huge amounts of money for things like a dress, or shoes, some will even pay millions for them and it won't be because the material that makes them up is rare, but rather their previous original owners will increase the value. Something that was Elvis Presley's, Marilyn Monroe's, George Washington's, Lincoln's, JFK's, Babe Ruth's and so on, something that these people possessed is rare and in great demand because of the notoriety it has, not because it is made of gold or diamonds. 

What determines the pricelessness of something is also an individual belief. I might think having my mother's wedding gown a priceless gift, irreplaceable and unique yet a stranger would toss it away as trash or sell it without a thought very cheaply. The price of that dress, it's value to me is endless because of the sentiment involved.

Having nothing yet possessing all things. 

TRUTH!

More on this tomorrow by the grace of God!

In Jesus' love always!

Amen.

Corrected by God

Forgive Me.

Heb 13:2  Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.

Heb 13:3  Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body.

Forgive Me.

1Jn 3:17  But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?

How?  God's love cannot dwell in a heart that is closed to compassion.

1Jn 3:18  My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.

Love in DEED.  It's better than saying you love. It's easy to say you love someone with your Christian love, but is your love revealed in action?

1Jn 3:19  And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.

Loving in ACTION.  This is TRUTH!  All my words mean NOTHING! NOTHING! I must love in my actions!

1Jn 3:20  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.

THANK YOU GOD for being GREATER than my heart!

1Jn 3:21  Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.

Truly IF we confidence toward GOD when our hearts are not condemned. Truly we cannot have confidence towards God if our heart is condemning up beyond any shred of hope. GOD is our hope! We CANNOT have hope outside of GOD. GOD will do all things, we can do NOTHING to save ourselves. Our confidence is sorely misplaced if it is with ourselves.

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.

We make the choice to KEEP GOD'S COMMANDMENTS.

We make the choice to DO THOSE THINGS THAT ARE PLEASING IN HIS SIGHT.

Keep and Do- two actions we must choose, and will choose if our CONFIDENCE is towards GOD.  He will work through us.

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.

Do we keep the commandment to believe on the name of God's Son Jesus Christ?

Do we keep the commandment to love one another?

Believe and Love.

Keep and Do.

He abides in us by the SPIRIT He gives us.

Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

Joh 14:27  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

The Holy Spirit will bring ALL things to our remembrance.  The Holy Spirit will bring our need to believe God, Believe in God's Son Jesus Christ, and our need to love one another.  When we might be tempted to be unloving, the Holy Spirit will convict our hearts! The Holy Spirit will teach us, and as we know in the realm of the flesh sometimes learning lessons isn't easy and we need to learn them over and over again constantly studying, constantly taking refresher courses, constantly being tested.  We are being taught by the Holy Spirit and we cannot DESPISE the chastening of the Lord!

Job_5:17  Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty

Pro_3:11  My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction

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_12:7  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?

Heb_12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby

A teacher often corrects a student, why? Because the student doesn't have all the answers but must be taught the answers.  Sometimes we learn better through mistakes we've made, they bring the lesson home harder than if we'd not made a mistake.  Being corrected by God through the Holy Spirit sent to us by the Savior Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son - this is what we need and should NOT despise.

Perhaps rather than being upset because of our error being pointed out to us, rather than being upset because we are shown our sinfulness more and more we need to praise God, look outward away from our self to the God who is correcting us so wonderfully.  No, our chastening isn't joyous, it is grievous, but we must ENDURE it as we are sons of GOD. We cannot get tired of being corrected as we are prone to do if we look at God's correcting as our just being shown over and over again how awful we are, and we don't want to recognize our awfulness. We need to recognize our unworthiness, knowing our worth is ONLY found in GOD.  We would have the peaceable fruit of CHRIST'S righteousness!

By the Grace of our LORD, by HIS mercy, His everlasting love now and always in His name, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior now and forever!

AMEN.

Our faith stands in the power of God

Enticing words of man's wisdom…. 

We get so caught up in the words of mankind and their supposed wisdom.  I couldn't speak eloquently not even if my life depended upon my doing so. I have little to NO charisma, that special charm some people seem to ooze so that others are drawn to liking them even if logic tells them they've no real reason to do so. I've met eloquent people and for the most part they intimidate me because of their ability to speak in ways I can't fathom ever speaking. I've met people that by a mere glance I'm all but captivated by their charisma and it amazes me. We all know these sorts of people, and some of us are those sorts of people but bottom line- that ability to speak eloquently and the ability to charm people in a special way is not necessarily from God.  We like to believe the pastors, preachers, ministers, priests and so on and so forth who have been blessed with these gifts all have them from God and are being used for His will, but the truth is, the majority are probably NOT using their gifts for God's will but for their own.  No, I will NEVER judge them ALL or condemn ANY of them, that's not my place. What I think I'm trying to say here is we that we need to be very, very careful of falling into the trap of eloquence and charisma thinking these men and women are God's just because they have those qualities in abundance.  There are preachers who gain great followings preaching FALSE religion. Their untruths are so sugar coated that people don't even want to think for a moment they could be following someone who is deceiving them.   Do we WANT truth?  If we want truth and not someone to sooth our ears, and make us feel good then God will give us truth. If we simply want to hold fast to something that will appease our conscience the devil has all sorts of lies set up to do just that. 

Paul said this…

1Co 2:1  And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

1Co 2:2  For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

1Co 2:3  And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.

1Co 2:4  And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power:

1Co 2:5  That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.

He was with them in WEAKNESS, he was with them in FEAR, he was with them in much TREMBLING, he spoke NO enticing words of man's wisdom, this is the truth. 

The SPIRIT and POWER OF GOD- this is truth, not our wisdom, not in our attributes whatever they may be!

Our faith needs to stand ONLY in the power of GOD and no other.

Our faith needs to stand when we have NO man to preach to us of worldly wisdom.

We need to hear the words of the SPIRIT not man's words!

The power of GOD.

Mat_22:29  Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.

Luk_22:69  Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.

Rom_1:16  For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

1Co_1:18  For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

1Co_1:24  But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

2Co_13:4  For though he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God toward you.

2Ti 1:8  Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to 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.

THE POWER OF GOD- JESUS CHRIST-THE GOSPEL-SALVATION IN OUR SAVIOR!  The power of GOD- JESUS!