We Say We Know Him.

1Jn 2:1  My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 

1Jn 2:2  And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 

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. 

People love to say they know Jesus Christ, the propitiation for the sins of the world.  They do, they will say it loudly and proudly. They'll proclaim His holy name to all who will hear them. They'll hold their Bibles up and raise their hands in the air. They’ll sing praises to His name and worship Him happily. Yet, people will say they know Him and yet not keep His commandments at all. Their love for others stops at the mirror, and the reflection they see is one glorying in themselves for all their good will. Yes, they'll help others but they do so in order to have it look good on them, they wear their good deeds like an expensive garment proudly for the world to see, and they don't take it off in private. In private they wear this clothing pleased with themselves for all they do. Loving others…loving others… this is one of Jesus' commandments that encompasses six of the ten commandments. Jesus was THERE with Moses and the people led from the wilderness, we can't forget this!

Neh 9:12  Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. 

Neh 9:13  Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments

Neh 9:14  And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: 

Neh 9:15  And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. 

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 

1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 

1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 

Jesus Christ our Lord, our Savior was there as the Ten Commandments were given, He and His Father are one in agreement, so HOW can anyone think the Lord Jesus doesn't want us to keep the Ten Moral Laws that were separated from ceremonial laws, and the many laws of the land? Jesus reaffirmed the moral law during His ministry more than once, yet people want to believe that He did away with the moral law as if it weren't approved by Him, as if it wasn't Him there with the people at Sinai. Jesus' new commandment was an expansion on the moral law expounded upon the LOVE in the law- the love for God and the love for our fellow man.

Love.

We who say we know Christ, do we really? Do we keep His commandments- all of them?!

All by HIS AMAZING GRACE, HIS MERCY, HIS LOVE, always!!!!!!!

Ministers of Reconciliation.

2Co 5:18  And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 
2Co 5:19  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.


The ministry of reconciliation.


To be reconciled-


rec·on·cile
verb
past tense: reconciled; past participle: reconciled RESTORE FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN. "she wanted to be reconciled with her father"
• CAUSE TO COEXIST IN HARMONY; MAKE OR SHOW TO BE COMPATIBLE.
  "a landscape in which inner and outer vision were reconciled"


From <https://www.google.com/search?q=reconciled+definition&oq=reconciled+definition&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.12797j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8>



We are to be MINISTERS of reconciliation.


God has reconciled US to Himself through our Savior and we need to be ministers of this reconciliation. We need to offer this reconciliation to others.


God IN Christ reconciled the WORLD to HIMSELF.
Our sins will NOT kill us!


Sin kills. Sin separates us from God, and God is life, eternal life. Without God there is NO eternal life. The only way our sins will not kill us is if they are forgiven. Reconciliation has to be made through our Savior. Every single sin needs to be forgiven and we have a Savior who DIED so He could forgive ALL our sins.

Without RECONCILIATION we will not have life.


No one will have eternal life without reconciliation. If we are reconciled to God through Christ, we must let others know they too have a chance for eternal life, they too can be reconciled to God through the Savior. 

Please, Lord, please help us to be reconciled to YOU and to be ministers of reconciliation as YOU will!!!!!!!!!

Joy In God.

Rom 5:10  For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 

Rom 5:11  And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. 

When we were enemies.  Enemies of God.  What constitute being an enemy of God? We are all enemies of God until we are redeemed by Him because sin rules us and sin separates us from God, and that separation makes us enemies of God.  Redemption reconciles us with God. Redemption through the death of God's only begotten Son. We are SAVED by the life of our Savior- the fact He was born into humanity, raised to give His message to the world, and subjected Himself to dying on the cross so His Father could raise Him from the dead. Raised from the dead our Savior longs to redeem us from our sins, He longs to save us! Our Savior wants us to JOY IN GOD through HIM. Joy because we've received atonement, we are at one with God, no longer separated by sin, no longer enemies!

We must JOY IN GOD through our SAVIOR!

Redemption, salvation, reconciliation, and atonement ...all through Jesus Christ our Lord and we can JOY IN GOD through Him. 

We don’t joy in our lives except how we are saved, first and foremost. As we joy in the moment of the perfect sunset we can have that joy because we have a Savior. I know there are those who will quickly say that those who deny Christ will still find joy in a beautiful sunset, and they're right- they will have a joy but it is a joy grounded in the present not in eternity. Their joy is fleeting ours is the knowledge that the sunset we are finding joy in is amazing yet nothing compared to the joy of eternity with Jesus Christ.  Our joy is found in the wonder of our Heavenly Father!

All glory, praise and honor unto our LORD and SAVIOR, now and forever!!!!!!!

Precious Blood.

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot

Redeemed.

I think we're all familiar with the idea of redeeming coupons, yes? You clip a coupon from a paper, or you download the coupon on your phone and when you go to the checkout you give the coupon or input your phone info to get your savings. You give something and get something in return, that's how redeeming coupons work.

With our Savior, He gave His life and in return we get eternal life, we are redeemed.

A 25 cents off coupon saves me 25 cents, NOTHING compared to my Savior giving His life for my life.

A life for a life.

The precious blood of Christ was shed- a whipping tore apart His flesh and blood flowed. The crown of thorns was placed on His head and the thorns dug into His flesh and his blood flowed. Nails pierced his feet and hands, blood poured forth.  Our Savior's blood was spilled as He hung upon that cross bleeding down the wood that held Him up. That precious blood was shed to redeem us. How exceedingly precious was that blood of our Savior, that blood of Christ. Innocent blood, pure blood without any corruption at all whatsoever. Godly blood, the blood of God and mankind. Christ took on human form, a form filled with life blood. That blood was royal blood, the blood of God. The blood of the power of God.

Rom 5:9  Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

The power of our Savior's blood JUSTIFIES us!  We are SAVED through the blood of Jesus Christ! Such power! 

We are REDEEMED by the PRECIOUS BLOOD of CHRIST.

Nothing else redeems us, not a single thing!

You cannot be saved by anything else, nothing else exists that offers us eternal life, nothing.

Mat_26:28  For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

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

Eph_1:7  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace

Eph_2:13  But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ

Col_1:20  And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven

Jesus' Joy- Eternal Salvation for Us.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

The joy set before Jesus. What was the joy set before Jesus?

Heb 5:9  And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him

The AUTHOR of ETERNAL SALVATION.

What JOY! Jesus could endure the cross, Jesus could despise the shame because after all He suffered He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God- the AUTHOR of ETERNAL SALVATION.

Had Jesus NOT endured the cross He would NOT have become the Author of Eternal Salvation.

Jesus looked BEYOND the suffering. No one can say He didn't suffer, that He didn't feel pain. Jesus felt every single bit of the pain given to Him. Jesus didn’t live in a magical bubble that made Him feel the horrors of the world less than others. Jesus wasn't given super-human flesh that could bleed yet feel no hurt. If Jesus suffered to obtain Eternal Salvation for us, why do we believe we shouldn't suffer? Did Jesus complain about His suffering? Did our Savior say these words--

Luk 22:41  And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, 

Luk 22:42  Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. 

Is that a complaint? If not a complaint it was a recognition about what was to come, what needed to be endured. The cup Jesus had been given was filled with agony- mental, emotional, and physical torture. Clearly no one would WANT to drink from that cup, and if there were any other way surely they would seek that other less torturous way. Jesus asked His Father to remove the cup from Him if He was willing, but the Father wasn't willing. The atonement had to be made if the humans were to be offered eternal salvation. If that cup had been removed from Jesus as He willed it to be removed, He would NOT have become the Author of Eternal Salvation. More than His own will, Jesus wanted the Father's will to be done.

Joh_10:30  I and my Father are one.

Jesus and His Father were one in agreement- they BOTH agreed on the plan of salvation long before it was implemented.

1Pe 1:18  Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 

1Pe 1:19  But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 

1Pe 1:20  Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you

Before the foundation of the world Jesus and the Father agreed that Jesus would take on flesh and in that flesh He would suffer and die to redeem mankind should they choose to be separated from them through sin. The plan of salvation was one that was made long before Jesus came to earth to suffer. This "cup" Jesus willed would be removed from Him was a "cup" He knew He had to drink from for thousands of years.  Herein again we have to remind ourselves that a day is as a thousand years with God, still, Jesus knew the plan of redemption wouldn't be a pleasant one and He agreed to the plan before the world even had a foundation. Jesus and God agreed on the plan and still Jesus prayed that if God the Father willed, that the plan be stopped.  Jesus' will seemed to have gone down another path away from God's and yet in the same breath of asking, Jesus relented- saying NOT HIS WILL, but GOD'S WILL BE DONE. As much as Jesus asked for something He knew He couldn't receive, He revealed that even HE was subject to the Father's will- even though He and His Father had already agreed as one. Jesus WANTED the Father's will to be done because He knew He agreed with His Father's will. The agony of the beginning of Jesus' end on the cross was terrifying and not something any human should have wanted.

Jesus was looking to the JOY of Eternal Salvation that He could author into existence by His sacrifice.

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

For the JOY SET BEFORE HIM,  HE ENDURED!

For the JOY set before us THROUGH HIM, we must endure!

Eternal Salvation- this wondrous, joyous gift to us came at an incalculable price. One of our three Gods-  God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit- DIED to give this gift to us-- let us never forget.

Suffering For His Sake.

Php 1:28  And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God. 

Php 1:29  For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake; 

Php 1:30  Having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me

Terrified by our adversaries- they view our terror as evidence of our not holding fast to salvation in our Savior.  We know that we will be confronted by our adversaries, flesh and spiritual adversaries. And we know how terrifying it can be when we are under attack. As we fight the very real Christian fight, the spiritual fight, we feel the pain, the horror of the viciousness of Satan. We have to realize as we suffer that it is for our Savior, to believe on Him, suffering for Him.

Why do people tell others they won't suffer? 

Yes, we are to count it all Joy-

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. 

We are to count it joy when we suffer afflictions yet when we are in the throes of suffering it's so hard to do so. Joy in pain, joy in heartache, joy in sorrow, joy in loss, joy in abandonment, joy in sickness, joy in betrayal, and the list goes on and on. Joy- Jesus- salvation-eternity.  This is the joy we have to have. We can't place our joy in things of the here and now as if we can't lose everything.  Yes, we need to be JOYFUL, and our joy must be in CHRIST first and foremost!  We can joy in our family, joy in our blessings, but we have to do so because we've been given these joys by Christ, through Christ. If our family falls apart, our joy still must be in Christ that somehow, some way it will all work for good. We won't be able to comprehend how the awfulness of a torn apart family can work for good, but it's not for us to comprehend. We must trust in our Savior, we must have faith in Him and know that His ways are far above and beyond ours. As our health deteriorates and we feel pain beyond our ability to even think, we still need to find our hope, our joy in Jesus Christ our Lord. Our hope is in eternity with the love of our Lord, not in ANYTHING here and now. Please Lord, bless us with joy in YOU. Help us to find our joy IN YOU, now and always!

Paul- An Example of Suffering.

1Ti 1:12  And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; 

1Ti 1:13  Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 

1Ti 1:14  And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 

1Ti 1:15  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. 

1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. 

Paul's suffering is a pattern for all of us.

Paul who assented to killing Christ followers, Paul who once He was shown the Light of the Savior Jesus Christ and the truth was revealed to Him, followed Christ with His whole heart.

Paul suffered terribly. If you think for one second He didn't suffer horrifically you are deluding yourself.  We read things and sometimes we don't comprehend the full truth of what we're reading.  When we read that Paul was whipped do we feel the pain of each strike across his flesh? Do we feel the skin of his back being split open, blood spraying from the whip as it is yanked back coiling for yet another blow? Do we cry out in agony as the whip cuts through muscle all the way to the bone? Thirty nine vicious strikes with the whip, and what? We don't imagine the true horror of how it felt? What about having stones whipped at you? Can you imagine the pain of that? Paul was stoned, and that doesn't mean a single little pebble was thrown at him. Stones rained down upon him, cutting him, bruising him, making him bleed profusely. These physical assaults Paul endured over and over never stopped him from loving the LORD, it never turned him from his belief in the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Paul was an example to us all.

No, we all may not face physical abuse for our faith, but Satan will assault us viciously with the spiritual weapons he possesses.

Eph 6:12  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 

We suffered as Christ followers. Our lives are NOT meant to be easy, not when we stand for the truth.

1Ti 1:16  Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. 

Don't fool yourself into believing your life should be easy, expect suffering in whatever form it may take and don't be discouraged. Hold fast to our Savior!

1Ti 1:17  Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.