Please Teach Me to Abide in You, Christ Jesus My Savior.

Joh 15:3  Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 

Joh 15:4  Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 

Joh 15:5  I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. 

Joh 15:6  If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned. 

Joh 15:7  If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. 

Joh 15:8  Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. 

Joh 15:9  As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. 

Abide in Christ.

What happens to a branch of a vine, if that branch is no longer attached to that vine? Seriously, what happens? Picture it, you have a vine growing outside and you go to that vine and a branch of that vine falls off. What is going to happen to that fallen vine? It truly is going to wither and die, right? If we do not abide in Christ in a very real spiritual way, then we will wither and die spiritually.

Christ's words HAVE to abide in us!

We need to bear fruit to the glory of God and the only way we can do that is by abiding in Christ.

We have to CONTINUE in Christ's love.  The Father LOVES His Son, Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ LOVES us. We must continue in that LOVE.

Abiding- continuing without change, enduring, steadfast.

ENDURING.

We have to STAY IN CHRIST!

God help us to abide in Christ! Satan would rip us from our Savior. Satan doesn't want us living in Christ. When we live in Christ we get out spiritual sustenance from Him, we live spiritually because of Him. Please Lord, help us to live in You, teach us to live in You!

Help Me Learn What You Are Trying to Teach Me.

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. 

People love to believe if they are blessed by God that means they aren't to suffer. WRONG. They'll suffer through being purged. God purges us. We are purged and we will grow spiritually through our purging. Our spiritually growth will produce more fruit in us for the glory of God. Our purging can take many, many forms. We are tried in the fire of purging.  If your life is hard and your faith strong, know that you are being purged, you are being tried. NO trials are pleasant….

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.

NOTE this… 'unto them which ARE exercised thereby.' We can be purged, tried, chastened and it yield nothing if we aren't exercised by all we go through. If we don't let God work His refining in us, His pruning of us, His purging of us, but refuse to let the work be done, our suffering is for naught. We can through the SPIRIT recognize God's refining, and plead for our comprehension, our understanding of whatever it may be He is trying to teach us. 

My Shepherd.

Joh 10:1  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 

Joh 10:2  But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. 

Joh 10:3  To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 

Joh 10:4  And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 

Joh 10:5  And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers. 

Joh 10:6  This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them. 

Joh 10:7  Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. 

Joh 10:8  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them. 

Joh 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. 

Joh 10:10  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 

Joh 10:11  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 

Joh 10:12  But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 

Joh 10:13  The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 

Joh 10:14  I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 

Joh 10:15  As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 

Joh 10:16  And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. 

Joh 10:17  Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 

Joh 10:18  No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 

Joh 10:19  There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. 

Joh 10:20  And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? 

Joh 10:21  Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? 

Joh 10:22  And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 

Joh 10:23  And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. 

Joh 10:24  Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 

Joh 10:25  Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. 

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: 

Joh 10:28  And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 

Joh 10:29  My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 

Joh 10:30  I and my Father are one. 

Joh 10:31  Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 

Joh 10:32  Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 

Joh 10:33  The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. 

Joh 10:34  Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? 

Joh 10:35  If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; 

Joh 10:36  Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? 

Joh 10:37  If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 

Joh 10:38  But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him. 

Joh 10:39  Therefore they sought again to take him: but he escaped out of their hand, 

Joh 10:40  And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. 

Joh 10:41  And many resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake of this man were true. 

Joh 10:42  And many believed on him there. 

*******

Most Christians know that our Savior is the Good Shepherd, and most can recite the Lord's Prayer which begins--- 'The LORD is my Shepherd…'  We comprehend that a shepherd cares for sheep which are helpless without him. Sure, there are sheep that don't have shepherds and they survive. Before sheep were bred to keep their wool growing year round they would lose their coat naturally every year and grow it back. They didn't need sheering. Wild sheep stayed in herds and their predators - like predators worldwide- would pick off the weak, the young, the old, the sick. They survived. Once sheep became domesticated and used in herds and became a great commodity they needed shepherding they couldn't be left to the wild to wander on their own, to face predators by themselves. The shepherd made sure the sheep had food to eat, pastures to graze in. They made sure they had water to drink, and that they were kept as safe as possible. When the Lord tells us He is the Good Shepherd He is telling us that HE is the one that can protect us, feed us, make sure have water - all SPIRITUALLY. Being HIS sheep we have to recognize Him as our Shepherd. When we recognize HIM s our Shepherd we can KNOW without DOUBT that He will care for all our spiritual needs. I say spiritual needs because too many people get caught up in the physical things believing that if God is for them they'll never hunger, they'll never thirst, they'll never be without proper clothing, but that's not true. A lot of people, God fearing people, Christians who love the Lord with all their hearts will go hungry and such. If we judge God's love for us based on what we receive in this life - even life sustaining things- then we are going to be very disappointed when we don't receive things we may truly need to live.  If we judged God's love by His giving us good health, good food, good clothes etc, by His taking care of our loved ones then we will find God on the wrong side of things and not a good Shepherd at all.  Yet, HE is our Good Shepherd and He will care for ALL our spiritual needs. He will make eternal life available to us no matter our existence in this world now. Our Spiritual Shepherd, we must HEAR His voice, we must listen to our Shepherd and follow wherever He leads. Following the Good Shepherd, knowing He leads us to eternal existence down a spiritual road is what we must do as His sheep.  All by His love, His grace, His mercy now and forever!!!!!!!

There Are No Righteous.

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

There are NO righteous.

Rom 3:23  For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God

ALL have sinned.

ALL come short of the glory of God.

Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus

The only way we sinners can ever be justified is NOT through our righteousness, but through our Savior's grace. We ONLY have redemption through Christ Jesus but we try so hard to be righteous on our own. We love to pat ourselves on the back for our goodness. We do something good and we stroke our ego with that goodness. Some of us even do that as we try to counterbalance the hopelessness we feel if we aren't stroking ourselves with the little bit of good we do. Others of us love to downplay any good we do wanting others to stroke us for it. That desperation of recognition that we have good in us somewhere is what truly can destroy us, because we are so focused on ourselves we aren't looking to our Savior! We need to LOOK for our Savior every single time we are trying to find good in ourselves. We can only find it in HIM. If as a byproduct of loving Him we are used by Him to do any good, all glory goes to Him!

Rom 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 

Rom 3:26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Rom 3:28  Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law. 

Rom 3:29  Is he the God of the Jews only? is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also: 

Rom 3:30  Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith. 

Rom 3:31  Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.

The law is fulfilled in faith. By faith we believe and through faith we live the law of the LORD, the moral law. All the rudiments of the law before Christ- the ceremonial, the feasting, the many rules and regulations, all of those were truly nailed to the cross as people were given the ONE true sacrifice for all. Being uncircumcised, not following the Jewish traditions and Jewish rules would no longer keep people from belonging to God. All both Jew and Gentile would have an opportunity to belong to God through faith through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.  It is through GOD we live and if we keep His law because it is established, we are keeping the moral law that is summarized in loving God and loving others.

May we be HIS, may we believe in HIM and His righteousness always! All in His LOVE! His perfect, perfect love now and forever!!!!!!!

Temptation-Joy.

Jas 1:1  James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. 

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 

Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 

JOY- count it JOY when we fall into different temptations.  Why? Because of this--

Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.

Yet, do we stop as the temptations come and count them joy? Or do we fall victim to the temptations allowing them to become conceived in us and therefore sin? Do we take the temptations and count them as sins already- dooming ourselves when we haven't quite yet given into the temptations. Do we note the temptations assaulting us and let our hearts be filled with the joy of the Savior, knowing that somehow having to face that temptation and choosing Christ over the sin, we are letting the temptations work patience in us, patience that we need to be fully ready for our Savior.

We know the closer to the return of our Savior, our adversary the Devil, will be working unceasingly to get every single person he can. Satan would have us look upon temptations as signed, sealed and delivered sins, but they aren't! The temptations aren't sin! We flail against the temptations as soon as they start interrupting our spiritual walk - thinking they are awful, miserable beasts to be despised. How can we despise something we are to call joy? We need to comprehend that temptations to sin will NOT cease, but by the GRACE of GOD through the HOLY SPIRIT we will be able to count the temptations joy- recognizing that they are but opportunities to grow ever closer to our Savior.

And, if we do fall into sin, we must quickly repent and seek forgiveness- NOT GIVE INTO DESPAIR!  Satan would have us give in to despair so we no longer live for our Savior

Jas 1:4  But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. 

Jas 1:5  If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. 

Jas 1:6  But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. 

Jas 1:7  For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. 

Jas 1:8  A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. 

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. 

Ask God for wisdom, in faith. Our belief in God as a reality must be steadfast. We can't believe in God one day and not believe in Him the next. I mean ACTUALLY not believe in Him as if He doesn't exist. Our belief in God being very real beyond a doubt real is something we cannot deny and if we do allow ourselves to be tossed about believing one day but not the next then we can't have hope in the Lord, not truly. God is a REALITY and even when we are mad at our lives and in a bad place, we can't stop believing God exists and all that God stands for is truth. He is truth and He is forever no matter what.

We have to always remember this-

Jas 1:2  My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; 

Jas 1:3  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. 

And this isn't just temptations for things we enjoy but  know are sinful, but the temptations of ANYTHING that would cause sin, of anything that would take us from the love God. The temptation to leave the love of God can be found in our day to day life, in distractions, in friendships, it can be found anywhere. And we truly do need to count it ALL JOY when we are placed in any situation that will cause us to choose God over self and all the evils that would keep us from Him. Every choice we make for God over sin, over temptations to sin, can only make us stronger in Him giving us the patience we need to endure, all through the Holy Spirit.

In A Moment...

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 

Who shall be raised at the last trump?

The dead.

Why? For what purpose are they raised? Aren't they already incorruptible? Haven't they already been changed? Seriously, haven't they? The majority of Christians believe there are no dead people in the grave. I'm not talking physical bodies, because no one can dispute the fact a lifeless body is left and begins the process of decaying instantly upon death. We take those bodies and bury them or dispose of them in other ways- and people console themselves by saying the thing that made that person who they were in personality has now taken on spirit form and is invisible, and heaven bound. Very few Christians believe that the personality of that person who has died is now sleeping- knowing nothing at all.

The Bible does say this--

Ecc_9:5  For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.

Psa 6:4  Return, O LORD, deliver my soul: oh save me for thy mercies' sake. 

Psa 6:5  For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks? 

Psa 115:17  The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence. 

Isa 38:18  For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. 

Isa 38:19  The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. 

God's word tells us- the 'dead know not any thing', 'in death there is no remembrance of thee', 'in the grave who shall give thee thanks?', 'the dead praise not the LORD,' , 'for the grave cannot praise thee', 'death cannot celebrate thee', 'they that go down into the pit cannot hope…'

Curiously- if you believe upon death a person in spirit-personality goes to heaven don't you think they'd be praising God, celebrating God? I'm being serious, we need to ask ourselves these types of questions because if for some reason Satan wants to deceive people and he uses death to do this on a very grand level, then people need to know, don't they?

What was so miraculous about our Savior rising from the dead, if all humans who die are raised from the grave in spirit? Our Savior's body was raised unlike all those who die, but why does it matter if people already inherit heaven upon death? What will be raised at that last trump?  I know I've talked about this many times, but it bears repeating.

If you believe your loved ones who have died are in heaven, what will be raised at the last trump? Will their personality, spirit empty bodies rise up? If those empty bodies are being called from their graves what happens? I can't find a single verse that says our spirits will be reunited with our bodies at the last trump.

I do know this…Jesus said Lazarus was sleeping- and clarified that he was dead, and then Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. What was he raising, a body without personality, without spirit? Or did he snatch Lazarus' personality/spirit from heaven where he'd been (supposedly) rejoicing with his previously deceased loved ones, and put it back into Lazarus' body, and if so how awful that must have been for Lazarus to have been in heaven in personality/spirit only to be taken out of heaven and put back upon this earth only to have to face eventual death once more.  However… if Lazarus was sleeping death's sleep the sleep his personality, his mental faculties, and every cognitive means he possessed was sleeping- how awful would it have been to simply wake up again?  When a person falls asleep the next thing they know is waking up. When a person dies and falls into death's sleep all their brain function ceases- it doesn't slip into spirit form and take off for heaven. They will remain sleeping death's sleep where they can no longer praise or worship God, where they will know nothing at all, until that last trump sounds and they are raised- their bodies changed in the blink of an eye.  Called from that sleep they will wake to new bodies- putting incorruption- never to have their bodies decay again in their new form. The joy they will experience as they meet their Savior in the air will be unimaginable!  Yet how could it be that they raise up to meet their Lord in the air- if they've already met Him, lived with Him for who knows how long, what is the point? If they've already put on incorruption and immortality, how does it make the least bit of sense that they'd need to put it on again?  Exactly what DEAD are there to rise, if they are already risen? 

I think people don't want to face the truth because they want to imagine their loved ones still living, still filled with their personality, in a form no longer subject to any pain. People want to skip the death's sleep part and jump right to the heaven home with our Savior. And some may say there is no harm at all in believing that way, it hurts no one. But it does and therein lies the deception. Eve was told by Lucifer that she would not surely die, and guess what? Eve didn't die instantly upon biting the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, forbidden by God. She did however- die. She ceased to live. And if ceasing to live only means exchanging one sort of life for another sort of life the she never really dies- right? There is never a true death to be raised from when that last trump sounds.

Act_13:36  For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption

Hundreds of years later and Paul talks about David- beloved of God- died- fell to sleep, and he was laid in the grave with his fathers and saw corruption. David wasn't raised from the dead. And I ask again- if David were alive in heaven in any form at all don't you think there would be a mention made of that fact? Wouldn't there be at least a couple of books, or even chapters in a single book on the wondrous spirit form we take on after dying and how we love being with others who died before us, and how we are living a new existences in heaven? You'd think there would be a lot more confirmation of this life after death, so much so there would be no doubt whatsoever. There certainly was A LOT written about Jesus and His life after death- which truth be told wouldn't be all that spectacular if people just never died at all regardless of their beliefs. We are told that the angels witness a lot, but not told a thing about all the dead people in heaven witnessing things as well.

If we want truth, we'll believe what the Bible says and not opinions, not fables concocted by taking bits and pieces of scripture, using parables with meanings totally not related to what it is being explained.  We won't follow the crowd, we won't be duped.

May the Holy Spirit open hearts and minds to this important truth!

All through Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior, now and forever!!!!!!!

Awake to Righteousness.

1Co 15:30  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? 

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 

1Co 15:32  If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. 

1Co 15:33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 

1Co 15:34  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. 

AWAKE to righteousness.

SIN NOT.

We die daily.  Our lives mean NOTHING, or rather very little when we live only for this life.

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. 

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

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. 

2Co 4:7  But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 

2Co 4:8  We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 

2Co 4:9  Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 

2Co 4:10  Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. 

2Co 4:11  For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. 

2Co 4:12  So then death worketh in us, but life in you. 

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

2Co 11:23  Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 

2Co 11:24  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 

2Co 11:25  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 

2Co 11:26  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 

2Co 11:27  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 

I repeat--

1Co 15:30  And why stand we in jeopardy every hour? 

1Co 15:31  I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 

1Co 15:32  If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die. 

1Co 15:33  Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners. 

1Co 15:34  Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. 

AWAKE to righteousness.

SIN NOT.

We die daily.  Our lives mean NOTHING, or rather very little when we live only for this life.

God help us! God help me learn to live for my Savior and the kingdom.