Jesus is of infinite importance!

"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important." ~ C. S. Lewis

"He who believes in Him (Jesus) is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:18 (NASB)

What you do with Jesus is the most important decision you will ever make!
God provided the way out of judgment and the way to eternal life with Him.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16 (NASB)

This is the reason He came to earth... because He loves YOU.

"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him." John 3:17 (NASB)

Jesus came and provided the only way to come into a relationship with God.
What decision will you make?
If you say you are His then love and obey Him and walk in what He has for you!

"For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." Ephesians 2:8-10 (NASB)

If you are not obeying God, check and see if there is a relationship! If there is NOT a relationship then place your faith and trust in Jesus and let Him give you a new life. If there is, then work on it, let your love grow and keep away from sin. Spend time praying and reading your Bible and growing spiritually. Relationships take time spent with each other and if you love Jesus, you will get to know His will and want to obey it.

"If you love Me (Jesus), you will keep My commandments." John 14:15 (NASB)

If you want to be in control of your life instead of God that is not loving Him, it is not obedience and it is time to change your mind and believe in Jesus; either for the first time or to get right with God; repent and begin to be who you really are in Christ.

 

Need protecting from Bible truths?

Have you ever felt you needed protection from the Bible and from Christian values?

Seems many in today’s society feel that they need protection from what God says. They try to drown it out or make it illegal in public. They say, “Keep it hidden away in your home or church, but your beliefs are not valid in public”; only their view is valid in public.

One example is abortion. Many today think that dismembering children is fine as long as all or part of them at least is still inside the mother. Then they want protection from the Bible and those awful things it says about God giving life. One of the sins of the people of Cana was sacrificing their babies to their god, but we are so clever we can do it before they are even born. My country has certainly changed in my lifetime! God said these people were to be wiped out, completely destroyed, so that they would not corrupt His people, but today they are accepted.

Look at the sexual perversion that is accepted today even in churches. There are so many living together who are not married that it is not even raising an eyebrow among many in the church. Yet these same people will rise up and denounce some sinner with a different sin. It is time to say “here is what God says” and believe it and obey it!

Both these groups and others are not only involved openly in sin, but are saying it is fine and condoning and even celebrating their sin.

Today, this verse from Isaiah is again very true!
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; Who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20

The only way to make a difference that will last is to change human hearts and only God can do that. Pray for revival in your heart and that God will use you to bring those to Jesus who accept and applaud evil. Only God can give them a new heart and a new life.

Then they can repent and join in the fight against our true enemy – the god of this world.

The world needs protection from the lies of the devil, not the truth of God. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me” and if we “know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32). Let Jesus use you to shed light in this dark world that is “exchanging the truth of God for a lie”! (Romans 1:25)

Has God made you new?

"God can't give us peace and happiness apart from Himself because there is no such thing." ~ C.S. Lewis

The question is not have you made peace with God, but has God made peace with you through Jesus?

Do you know for sure if you are a Christian?

 Is that belief based on "what you think" or
 Is it based on what you know for sure from reading it that the Bible says?
 God says,
 "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
 2 Corinthians 5:17

 Are you new and different not because you changed some behaviors, but different because someone outside of time and space - God - changed you?

 Do you dislike or even hate sin rather than enjoy your sin, or do you want to keep doing it? If so, what is radically new about that?

 Some sins are fun, but you really as the new person don't want to have anything to do with it since God changed you.

If you want to be sure take a real look at what God says and if I can help any with finding things in the Bible, feel free to message me.

Model or Disciples Prayer

Model Prayer

Not the Lord’s Prayer for what did He need forgiveness?

 

9  "Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in Heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10  'Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
11  'Give us this day our daily bread.
12  'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13  'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'] Matthew 6:9-13 (NASB)

Pray this way, not pray this.
This prayer is short & to the point – 3 to God & 3 to human needs

OUR – not just Jesus’ Father but He is now our – mine and yours who are in Christ

Father – one of the big problems today with people knowing and trusting God is the lack of godly fathers being an example of the unconditional love of God to their children.
in Heaven – The dwelling place of God

Hallowed or kept holy or honored as holy (3^rd commandment), Set apart – may our words and behavior honor His name

Kingdom come – His Kingdom coming with Him ruling & reigning on Earth
Luke 1:32-33 – Gabriel’s promise to Mary, Rev 19:11-16, Acts 1:11 – 2^nd Coming
Not the snatching out of the Church in 1 Thess. 4:16 & I Cor. 15

Will be done here on Earth as in Heaven – let His will be done in our life and cooperate with Him in being used by God.

The three things toward God we just looked at & now 3 toward human needs –

1. Daily bread – He promise us food, shelter & clothing and that we have been given everything we need for life and godliness. (2Pet 1:3) Anything else is ‘extra’. Don’t worry about tomorrow.

2. Forgive (spiritual debts – sins) if we are saved, we have judicial forgiveness
            “in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:14, so not taking about being totally forgiven or Justified but sin causing a break in fellowship or walk with God.

Here was where there was some question so I’m putting in this commentary:
Matt. 6:5-15 (Luke 11:2-4). Jesus then spoke about the practice of prayer, which the Pharisees loved to perform publicly. Rather than making prayer a matter between an individual and God, the Pharisees had turned it into an act to be seen by men—again, to demonstrate their supposed righteousness. Their prayers were directed not to God but to other men, and consisted of long, repetitive phrases (Matt. 6:7).

Jesus condemned such practices. Prayer should be addressed to your Father, who is unseen (cf. John 1:18; 1 Tim. 1:17) and who knows what you need (Matt. 6:8); it is not "to be seen by men." But Jesus also presented a model prayer for His disciples to follow. This prayer is commonly called "the Lord's Prayer," but it is actually "the disciples' prayer." This prayer, which is repeated by many Christians, contains elements that are important for all praying: (1) Prayer is to begin with worship. God is addressed as Our Father in heaven. Worship is the essence of all prayer. (In vv. 1-18 Jesus used the word "Father" 10 times! Only those who have true inner righteousness can address God in that way in worship.) (2) Reverence is a second element of prayer, for God's name is to be hallowed, that is, revered (hagiasthētō). (3) The desire for God's kingdom —Your kingdom come—is based on the assurance that God will fulfill all His covenant promises to His people. (4) Prayer is to include the request that His will be accomplished today on earth as it is being accomplished in heaven, that is, fully and willingly. (5) Petition for personal needs such as daily food is also to be a part of prayer. "Daily" (epiousion, used only here in the NT) means "sufficient for today." (6) Requests regarding spiritual needs, such as forgiveness, are included too. This implies that the petitioner has already forgiven those who had offended him. Sins (cf. Luke 11:4), as moral debts, reveal one's shortcomings before God. (7) Believers recognize their spiritual weakness as they pray for deliverance from temptation to evil (cf. James 1:13-14).

Jesus' words in Matthew 6:14-15 explain His statement about forgiveness in verse 12. Though God's forgiveness of sin is not based on one's forgiving others, a Christian's forgiveness is based on realizing he has been forgiven (cf. Eph. 4:32). Personal fellowship with God is in view in these verses (not salvation from sin). One cannot walk in fellowship with God if he refuses to forgive others. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.

I shared all that in case others might have confusion with being forgiven for sin but still having the need to confess sins to keep a close walk and fellowship with God!

We have been shown grace and we should show it to others; forgive because we are forgiven not because others deserve it – they may not, but neither do we deserve any forgiveness from God.
Our sanctification process as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord.

3. Don’t lead- this one is negative. Don’t lead us into temptation.
Strongly worded to implore God to keep temptation, hence sin, away from us. We also have the responsibility to flee sin. We are to not put ourselves in places and positions we know we may be tempted to give in to some thought or behavior we know we have a problem with.

I know this was long, but I hope you have enjoyed this look at the Disciples or Model Prayer.

Know your enemy but keep your focus on God!

Part 3 of 3 – Trust by Knowing your enemy and keeping your focus on God.

We have looked at several contrast between God and Satan and seen that God is the creator while Satan is a created being with limited power. Also, that God cannot lie but that Satan is the father of lies who wants to destroy you, while God love you enough to send His Son to provide the only way for you to be saved from the penalty of sin and made a part of the family of God.

Jesus is your advocate or attorney whose shed blood and death and resurrection covers your sin that Satan accuses you of. “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night".’” Revelation 12:10

Knowing all this about God, people still refuse to return His love and accept the forgiveness He provides because they believe the lies of the devil not only for salvation, but for their daily walk with God and spiritual growth.

For example, Do you believe lies of the devil that try to make you feel guilty for sin you have confessed (1Jn 1:9), or do you claim the promises of God such as “there is now no condemnation or judgment for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1)?

Look at the character of God and that of Satan and decide who you will follow. Trying to follow God in some areas but not others will not work and God calls it disobedience.

There will be a judgment one day, a final one where God will judge Satan and his followers. Satan has lost and he knows it. but he wants to keep people from Heaven and from being obedient loving Christians. He wants to take as many as he can with him to judgment. You can be with Jesus as Satan is judged or with Satan being judged. You can accept the payment Jesus made for your sin and live in freedom and know that one day you will spend eternity with God in Heaven or pay for your own sin. You can live in freedom as a Christian or listen to the lies of Satan and try to live a rules based life and miss out on the inner peace and joy of walking in what God has for you.

The fate of the devil and his followers is real; “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever… And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:10-15

Give your life to Jesus and let Him live His life through you. Teach others how to do the same and enjoy your now and your eternity with Him! Trust in Him and love and obey Him. Don’t be fooled by the enemy who really does want to steal your joy now and to kill you eternally; all he has to offer is some very short term pleasure and an eternity of suffering separated from God and all that is good.

If you have believed in Jesus, keep your focus on God. Know that in Christ you have victory over the power of sin now as well as having been forgiven and given the righteousness of Jesus. Keep your eyes on your eternal future and enjoy preparing for it and telling others and training them how to prepare too!

Changing your perspective & knowing your enemy

Part B from yesterday’s post – could your fear be from not knowing the goodness of God enough and not knowing enough about your enemy?

We need to change our perspective from scared to TRUST. After all, "doesn't the world getting darker mean there is actually a greater opportunity for light to stand out?" ~ Perry Noble

B)  Here is a look at who God is and who Satan is and their attributes – what they are really like and the power each has.

1. God is Creator – “In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God, and the Word was God….All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” John 1:1-3 & “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
Satan was created by God – “Now the serpent (satan) was more crafty than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made….” Genesis 3:1 Rather than create his aim is “to steal and kill and destroy;” John 10:10a, Also, “his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon (which mean destroyer).” Revelation 9:11

Would you trust God who creates or one who seeks to destroy not only your joy, but your soul?

2.  God is Almighty – He is all powerful, all knowing, everywhere present and is love, BUT
Satan is limited in his power to what God allows. See passages like here in Job 1:12 where he gets limited permission from God; “Then the LORD said to Satan, "Behold, all that he has is in your power, only do not put forth your hand on him." So Satan departed from the presence of the LORD.”

3.  God is truth and cannot lie – “in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago,” Titus 1:2 and Jesus said in John 14:6 that He is the TRUTH, “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” BUT,
Satan is the Father of lies and has been a liar since his fall; Talking about Satan, Jesus says, “…(Satan) does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” John 8:44

Would you trust God who can’t lie or the one who is the originator of lies?

4.  God is LOVE – True love originates with God. That type of love in 1 Corinthians 13 that is selfless and seeks the good of others is impossible apart from God. In 1 John 4:7-10 John tells us that, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation (die in our place, our substitute) for our sins.” God loves you enough to die in your place. Satan on the other hand is a murderer. Jesus said in the same verse where He called him a liar that, “…he was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him…”John 8:44

Can you trust someone who would die in your place and love you when you were a sinner and against Him and who provided for you to live with Him in a place better than anything you can imagine (Heaven on a New Earth) or the one who made Jesus death necessary by murdering Adam and Eve by getting them to sin?

Trust in God to keep His promises and watch Him be faithful; look at Him, His character and trusting in Him will get easier as you grow in your faith. Don’t trust the devil or your sin nature, but instead trust God!

(Tomorrow we will look at a couple more comparisons and the conclusions each provides)

Scared of what might happen?

Are you afraid? Does the news scare you as you see the evil of this world?

“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” 1 John 4:18 (NASB)

There is a good fear that protects us and a respectful fear that we should have of God, but I’m talking about the type that steals your joy; fear of what might happen or what we imagine. If fear is stealing your joy, consider why and what that says about your trust in God.

God is good and God is sovereign and He loves you enough to remove all fear of punishment, so if you have fear issues, here are a couple of causes.

A)  You might not be sure of your eternal future.

This is where we all need to start and know for sure if we are Saved and a Child of God. Your salvation is based on the finished work of Jesus on the cross and what you have done with the payment Jesus made that day. As John wrote in 1 John 5:11-13, “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who BELIEVE in the name of the Son of God, so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.

Jesus said in John 3:16-18 that anyone who has not believed is already judged for not believing in Him, but that God sent Jesus to save the world by believing in Him. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” If you have believed you need have no fear of punishment and you know for sure that you have a certain future with God in Heaven based on the trustworthiness of God Himself and His Word.

Perhaps you know that you are saved, but you don’t always feel like it. If so, that is the result of listening to the devil or one of those that speak his lies. Tomorrow we will look at what God is like and what Satan is like and see if that won’t help choosing to walk by faith rather than feelings. Your salvation is affirmed by the Word of God and confirmed by the changes God makes in you and the thing He does through you. Believe what God says, not your feelings or fears.

As a Christ follower you have certainty because of the relationship you have with God through Jesus Christ. You can be confident God is in control rather than fear what might be. You know He can be trusted.

(Tomorrow we will look at God & Satan and some things about them)