John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."
John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
1 John 1:1 "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life."
1 John 5:7 "For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one."
Revelation 19:13 "And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God."
Jesus IS the Word! Reading the Bible is reading Jesus. We have the privilege of being able to read Jesus whenever we want. How foolish it would be to ignore such a grand opportunity. Thank you, Lord, for giving us the Word, which is "quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12)
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." Romans 1:16
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
How Confident Are You?
You may think that you have a guaranteed spot in heaven. Perhaps it is because of the good deeds you have done or the fact that you have never missed a Sunday at Church or the fact that you tell everyone you meet that Jesus is your Lord and Savior. The truth is that many people on their day of judgement will arrogantly approach the great white throne of Christ only to be thrust away into the worst place imaginable where they will spend all eternity.
Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and cast our demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'" (Matthew 7:21-23) According to Jesus, you cannot prophecy your way into heaven. Nor can you earn a spot in his kingdom by casting out demons or by any great work for that matter. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Jesus is the reason we get to go to heaven. He lived the perfect, sinless life that we could not, and he drank the cup of his father's wrath that was meant for us. He is our way into heaven. We were purchased by his blood and those who believe in him have been made new creations in his image.
So how do you know for sure if you indeed are "saved" and will one day inherit the kingdom of God? Paul says that we are to "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves." (2 Corinthians 13:5) Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit, meaning that Christians should live their lives the way Jesus lived. He was humble enough to wash the feet of his disciples. He was obedient to his father, even to the point of death on a rugged cross. He was sinless. We, however, will never be sinless, but we can certainly sin less! Repentance is the act of forsaking sin for a relationship with God through Jesus and it is mandatory.
Paul paints an amazing picture of what a fruit-bearing Christian life should look like in this amazing passage, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 6:16-24)
Do not forget that salvation is a free gift from God. We did not deserve it. He purchased us with the precious blood of his son, Jesus. Do not be the one who on the day of judgement arrogantly approaches his throne only to be thrust away, but rather be the one who humbly stands before the King of Kings, the one who gave it all. "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)
Jesus said, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and cast our demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.'" (Matthew 7:21-23) According to Jesus, you cannot prophecy your way into heaven. Nor can you earn a spot in his kingdom by casting out demons or by any great work for that matter. "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Jesus is the reason we get to go to heaven. He lived the perfect, sinless life that we could not, and he drank the cup of his father's wrath that was meant for us. He is our way into heaven. We were purchased by his blood and those who believe in him have been made new creations in his image.
So how do you know for sure if you indeed are "saved" and will one day inherit the kingdom of God? Paul says that we are to "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves." (2 Corinthians 13:5) Jesus said that a tree is known by its fruit, meaning that Christians should live their lives the way Jesus lived. He was humble enough to wash the feet of his disciples. He was obedient to his father, even to the point of death on a rugged cross. He was sinless. We, however, will never be sinless, but we can certainly sin less! Repentance is the act of forsaking sin for a relationship with God through Jesus and it is mandatory.
Paul paints an amazing picture of what a fruit-bearing Christian life should look like in this amazing passage, "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Galatians 6:16-24)
Do not forget that salvation is a free gift from God. We did not deserve it. He purchased us with the precious blood of his son, Jesus. Do not be the one who on the day of judgement arrogantly approaches his throne only to be thrust away, but rather be the one who humbly stands before the King of Kings, the one who gave it all. "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." (1 Samuel 16:7)
Friday, October 16, 2009
Can Christians Become Possessed?
After doing a study on Mark 5:1-20 where Jesus heals a man who was possessed by possibly thousands of demons, I pondered the question, "Can Christians become possessed?" I believe that the scriptures make it clear that the answer is no, Christians cannot become possessed. Ephesians 1:13-14 says this, "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory." When I think of the fact that we are "sealed" with the Holy Spirit, I think of a glass jar. Before you put the lid on the jar, contents can be added to the jar and removed from the jar. However, once you put on the lid the jar becomes sealed meaning that nothing can go into the jar and nothing can come out of the jar. This is the same thing that happens when a person chooses to leave their life of sin for a new life with Jesus. They are no longer an open jar susceptible to having unclean spirits enter them, but rather a jar that has been sealed by the Holy Spirit. This also means that once you have received the Holy Spirit, it will not leave you. You are a jar whose contents is the Holy Spirit and whose lid is the Holy Spirit.
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." Jesus said this in John 10:27-28. Once we are a part of Jesus' flock, we will be with him forever. He will not lose any of his sheep. Part of being in Jesus' flock means having the Holy Spirit in you. So as long as you are in his flock, you will have the Holy Spirit and since Jesus said that none of his sheep will be taken from him, we can be confident that the Holy Spirit will never be taken from us.
We read in Hebrews 6:4-6 "For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt." I used to think that this was referring to people who lost their salvation and therefore the Holy Spirit, but since Jesus said that none of his sheep will be taken from him, I have had to reconsider. Now I believe that these verses are talking about people who have heard the gospel and who have seen the power of the Holy Spirit in others, but still choose sin that leads to death rather than repentance that leads to salvation.
As Christians we need to be very aware of the demonic realm, but we need not be concerned about becoming possessed. The Bible makes this very clear. In a sense you could say that we have been "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered" -- Signed into the Book of Life, Sealed by the Holy Spirit, and Delivered from sin!
"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." Jesus said this in John 10:27-28. Once we are a part of Jesus' flock, we will be with him forever. He will not lose any of his sheep. Part of being in Jesus' flock means having the Holy Spirit in you. So as long as you are in his flock, you will have the Holy Spirit and since Jesus said that none of his sheep will be taken from him, we can be confident that the Holy Spirit will never be taken from us.
We read in Hebrews 6:4-6 "For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt." I used to think that this was referring to people who lost their salvation and therefore the Holy Spirit, but since Jesus said that none of his sheep will be taken from him, I have had to reconsider. Now I believe that these verses are talking about people who have heard the gospel and who have seen the power of the Holy Spirit in others, but still choose sin that leads to death rather than repentance that leads to salvation.
As Christians we need to be very aware of the demonic realm, but we need not be concerned about becoming possessed. The Bible makes this very clear. In a sense you could say that we have been "Signed, Sealed, and Delivered" -- Signed into the Book of Life, Sealed by the Holy Spirit, and Delivered from sin!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Atheist Activists
I find it very interesting that atheist activists (atheists that are actively trying to convince people that God does not exist) seem to only be against Christianity. They don't seem to have a problem with Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, etc. In fact, I have never seen or heard an atheist activist talk about the non existence of Allah, the Hindu Gods/Goddesses, Buddha, etc. They say that their reason for doing what they do is to rid the world of a dangerous false belief in a God that does not exist. If they want to rid the world of "dangerous false beliefs", then shouldn't they be focusing on Islam, the driving force behind the terrorist attacks that kill innocent people? Instead, they focus on disproving Christianity, the driving force behind missionaries in third world countries helping the AIDS and poverty striken.
Many of these atheist activists have read the Bible and use it as evidence supporting their belief. I am not sure if they have read the Qur'an, the Vedas, the Tripitaka, etc., but I can say that I have never heard them quote from any of those books during their explanation of why God does not exist. Is it just me or are they not so much atheists as they are anti-Christians? Being a Christian myself and having read the Bible, I find this interesting, but not surprising.
John 8:44 says, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
2 Timothy 2:25-26 says "...God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."
After reading these verses, it makes perfect sense why these atheist activists only seem to be against Christianity. They have been taken captive by Satan to do his will, which is to prevent people from repenting and putting their trust in Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that Satan isn't bothered by Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. because those "religions" were created by him in order to deceive people and prevent them from coming to a knowledge of the real truth, which is found in Jesus Christ.
I used to get bothered and worked up when watching or listening to an atheist activist do their thing, but now I realize that I need to have compassion for them. Just like the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses who come knocking on our doors, the atheist activists are not out there trying to deceive people, they are the ones who are deceived by Satan into thinking that they are doing good. We must look for opportunites to share the Gospel with them "with gentleness and respect" as Peter says (1 Peter 3:15) and leave the rest up to God. Certainly pray for them to be loosed from the bondage of Satan so that they may know the truth and be set free. Lastly, I will leave you with this reminder from Paul, which he writes in Ephesians 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."
Let's live out our Christian lives to the fullest, walking in the fruits of the spirit and not in the flesh. To God be the glory!
Many of these atheist activists have read the Bible and use it as evidence supporting their belief. I am not sure if they have read the Qur'an, the Vedas, the Tripitaka, etc., but I can say that I have never heard them quote from any of those books during their explanation of why God does not exist. Is it just me or are they not so much atheists as they are anti-Christians? Being a Christian myself and having read the Bible, I find this interesting, but not surprising.
John 8:44 says, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
2 Timothy 2:25-26 says "...God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will."
After reading these verses, it makes perfect sense why these atheist activists only seem to be against Christianity. They have been taken captive by Satan to do his will, which is to prevent people from repenting and putting their trust in Jesus Christ. It is no wonder that Satan isn't bothered by Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, etc. because those "religions" were created by him in order to deceive people and prevent them from coming to a knowledge of the real truth, which is found in Jesus Christ.
I used to get bothered and worked up when watching or listening to an atheist activist do their thing, but now I realize that I need to have compassion for them. Just like the Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses who come knocking on our doors, the atheist activists are not out there trying to deceive people, they are the ones who are deceived by Satan into thinking that they are doing good. We must look for opportunites to share the Gospel with them "with gentleness and respect" as Peter says (1 Peter 3:15) and leave the rest up to God. Certainly pray for them to be loosed from the bondage of Satan so that they may know the truth and be set free. Lastly, I will leave you with this reminder from Paul, which he writes in Ephesians 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."
Let's live out our Christian lives to the fullest, walking in the fruits of the spirit and not in the flesh. To God be the glory!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
1 Peter 1:3
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..." I love that Peter says this right off the bat. If you look up the definition of the word "blessed" you will find that it means happy; praiseworthy; bringing pleasure or divine favor. Let's focus on praiseworthy. Again, keep in mind that this letter is being written to a group of people who are suffering severe persecution for their faith in Jesus. In times of suffering, it can be difficult to praise God, but these are times when we should praise Him the most. We must remember that we belong to Jesus now and He sits on the throne. He has a plan for us and even though we don't always understand the reason for some of the things we go through, we can trust that He knows exactly what He is doing. Also, keep in mind that we want others (non-believers) to come to Jesus and one of the best ways to demonstrate His goodness is to praise Him not only when He blesses us, but when we are suffering as well.
Peter then goes on to say "...who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again..." He is reminding the audience that because God is rich in mercy, they have been born again spiritually and are no longer separated from their creator. They are now a part of God's family and will one day inherit His glorious kingdom in Heaven. Peter says that God's mercy is abundant, which means it is of great quantity; affluence; plentiful amount. We can always count on His mercy and in so doing, we should always be merciful to others. This is not always easy, but when you think about the nature of our salvation, how we received mercy when we should have received wrath, we can make the decision to let out the Jesus in us.
"...to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..." Now Peter makes a very encouraging statement. He reassures the suffering Christians of God's promise of eternal life. This hope can bring us joy even in the most difficult times. Although we will suffer, we have confidence in God's ultimate plan, that He works all things for our good and that we will one day live with Him forever in Heaven. Paul says in Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain". We should all live in this mindset. We live for Jesus, that means all the suffering, all the hurt, and all the pain is for His glory and we are blessed to be able to bring glory to the one who sits on the throne.
I hope you have enjoyed my study so far of 1 Peter. I plan on continuing to go through this amazing book verse by verse and posting what the Holy Spirit reveals to me as I read it.
God Bless!
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ..." I love that Peter says this right off the bat. If you look up the definition of the word "blessed" you will find that it means happy; praiseworthy; bringing pleasure or divine favor. Let's focus on praiseworthy. Again, keep in mind that this letter is being written to a group of people who are suffering severe persecution for their faith in Jesus. In times of suffering, it can be difficult to praise God, but these are times when we should praise Him the most. We must remember that we belong to Jesus now and He sits on the throne. He has a plan for us and even though we don't always understand the reason for some of the things we go through, we can trust that He knows exactly what He is doing. Also, keep in mind that we want others (non-believers) to come to Jesus and one of the best ways to demonstrate His goodness is to praise Him not only when He blesses us, but when we are suffering as well.
Peter then goes on to say "...who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again..." He is reminding the audience that because God is rich in mercy, they have been born again spiritually and are no longer separated from their creator. They are now a part of God's family and will one day inherit His glorious kingdom in Heaven. Peter says that God's mercy is abundant, which means it is of great quantity; affluence; plentiful amount. We can always count on His mercy and in so doing, we should always be merciful to others. This is not always easy, but when you think about the nature of our salvation, how we received mercy when we should have received wrath, we can make the decision to let out the Jesus in us.
"...to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..." Now Peter makes a very encouraging statement. He reassures the suffering Christians of God's promise of eternal life. This hope can bring us joy even in the most difficult times. Although we will suffer, we have confidence in God's ultimate plan, that He works all things for our good and that we will one day live with Him forever in Heaven. Paul says in Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain". We should all live in this mindset. We live for Jesus, that means all the suffering, all the hurt, and all the pain is for His glory and we are blessed to be able to bring glory to the one who sits on the throne.
I hope you have enjoyed my study so far of 1 Peter. I plan on continuing to go through this amazing book verse by verse and posting what the Holy Spirit reveals to me as I read it.
God Bless!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Where do you put your faith?
As a Christian, I put my faith in Jesus Christ. Why? Because I have sinned against the creator of the universe. I have violated His law. I am deserving of death and eternity in Hell. However, the creator sent His son, Jesus, to take the punishment that I deserve, which means that I can go to Heaven if I repent and put my trust in Him. There is nothing I could have done to earn my way into Heaven, it is only by God's grace and the sacrifice of His Son Jesus. I know this to be true because it is written in God's word (the Bible).
Many people do not put their faith in Jesus Christ. Why? Because they put their faith in science, which they believe proves that God does not exist and that the Bible is not true. They are choosing to reject God's free gift of salvation based on man's fallible theories that prove over and over again to be wrong. The Bible, however, has shown over and over again to be inerrant and true. Here are some examples of the Bible's accuracy (keep in mind that it was written over 2,000 years ago!):
Bible: Says the sun is on a circuit through space (Psalm 19:6)
Science: Thought the sun was stationary until recent years
Bible: Says the earth is a sphere - about 700 B.C. (Isaiah 40:22, Proverbs 8:27, Job 26:10)
Science: Thought the earth was flat - in 1492 people thought Christopher Columbus would sail of the edge of the "flat earth"
Bible: Says the earth hangs on nothing (Job 26:7)
Science: Did not discover this until 1650
Bible: Says that the stars cannot be numbered (Jeremiah 33:22)
Science: Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) said that there were 1,006 stars. In 1608, Galileo used a telescope to determine that the stars cannot be numbered.
Bible: Says that we should wash our hands in running water (Leviticus 15:13)
Science: Thought it was best to wash our hands in a bowl of standing water
Bible: Says that blood is the source of life (Leviticus 17:11)
Science: Thought that sick people should have their blood drained from their body
Basically, many "scientific discoveries" were not really discoveries because the Bible had said it all along. So my question to you is this, where will you put your faith? Will you put it in the inerrant, infallible word of God or the fallible ideas of man? I pray that God would open the eyes of all who are deceived so that they would know the truth and be set free.
Many people do not put their faith in Jesus Christ. Why? Because they put their faith in science, which they believe proves that God does not exist and that the Bible is not true. They are choosing to reject God's free gift of salvation based on man's fallible theories that prove over and over again to be wrong. The Bible, however, has shown over and over again to be inerrant and true. Here are some examples of the Bible's accuracy (keep in mind that it was written over 2,000 years ago!):
Bible: Says the sun is on a circuit through space (Psalm 19:6)
Science: Thought the sun was stationary until recent years
Bible: Says the earth is a sphere - about 700 B.C. (Isaiah 40:22, Proverbs 8:27, Job 26:10)
Science: Thought the earth was flat - in 1492 people thought Christopher Columbus would sail of the edge of the "flat earth"
Bible: Says the earth hangs on nothing (Job 26:7)
Science: Did not discover this until 1650
Bible: Says that the stars cannot be numbered (Jeremiah 33:22)
Science: Johannes Kepler (1571-1630) said that there were 1,006 stars. In 1608, Galileo used a telescope to determine that the stars cannot be numbered.
Bible: Says that we should wash our hands in running water (Leviticus 15:13)
Science: Thought it was best to wash our hands in a bowl of standing water
Bible: Says that blood is the source of life (Leviticus 17:11)
Science: Thought that sick people should have their blood drained from their body
Basically, many "scientific discoveries" were not really discoveries because the Bible had said it all along. So my question to you is this, where will you put your faith? Will you put it in the inerrant, infallible word of God or the fallible ideas of man? I pray that God would open the eyes of all who are deceived so that they would know the truth and be set free.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
We don't know what tomorrow holds...
...but we know the One who holds tomorrow. We also know that tomorrow is not promised to anybody. With that being said, do you know where you will spend eternity if today happened to be the last day of your life? If you are unsure about where you will spend eternity, then now is the time to give it some serious thought.
God desires that none of us should perish, but because of something that happened in the very beginning with a certain Adam and a certain Eve, we are unable to live up to God's standards and thus many of us WILL perish. The Bible tells us that "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10) and that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). That means that no one is good in God's sight and every single one of us has violated His law. The Ten Commandments give us the standard by which God will judge each one of us. If you have ever lied, God sees you as a liar. If you have ever stolen anything, God sees you as a thief. If you have ever used God's name as a curse word, He sees you as a blasphemer. Many people are deceived into thinking that as long as you are not a murderer you will go to Heaven, but the Bible tells us that God sees hatred as murder. One of the commandments is that you should not commit adultery, but Jesus said that to look at someone with lust is to commit adultery with them in your heart. God will not only judge your actions, but he will also judge your thoughts and the condition of your heart. There is not one sin, whether you get caught or not, that God does not see. So, if you were to die today and assuming that you have done all the things just mentioned, you would stand before God and He would find you guilty of being a lying, thieving, blaspheming, murdering, adulterer.
Since God is perfect, just, holy, and righteous he must punish sin. The Bible tells us that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) and that "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone" (Revelation 21:8). God has prescribed a punishment for sinners and that punishment is eternity in Hell. The Bible says "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). You might not agree that eternity in Hell is a fair punishment, but your disagreement will not excuse you when standing before a judge in a courtroom and it certainly will not excuse you when standing before God. Neither will apologizing or saying that you should be set free because you think you are a good person.
That is the bad news. Here is the good news. About two thousand years ago, God came to earth in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Jesus was fully God and fully man. Unlike us, he never once sinned in his actions or his thoughts. However, he was tempted just was we are. The Bible tells us "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). About 33 years into His earthly existence, He voluntarily went to the cross and His blood was shed for our sins. He took the punishment that we deserved. God made a way for us by pouring out the wrath that we deserved on His own Son! "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities...And by His stripes we are healed...And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all...Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him" (Isaiah 53:5-10). He was the sinless Lamb of God. After being brutally tortured, mocked, spat on and crucified Jesus died on the cross, was placed in a tomb and on the third day rose from the dead forever defeating sin and death. He is now seated at the right hand of God in Heaven and will return for His people at a time of His choosing. What He requires of you is not that you apologize, is not that you confess, is not that you merely "say" that you believe in Jesus. What He requires is that you repent, which means to turn away from sin, to want nothing to do with sin, to hate sin and to put your trust in Jesus Christ alone. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). If you do this you will receive a new heart with new desires. Jesus said "unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). When you sincerely repent and put your trust in Jesus you WILL be born again. It will no longer be you who lives, but Christ who lives in you. You will no longer seek to please yourself, but Him who created you. You will love what He loves and you will hate what He hates. The Bible - the inerrant, infallible word of God will become like food to you. You will hunger for it. It will provide nourishment for your spirit and it will be the method by which God continually reveals Himself and His love for you. Though there will be trials, tribulations, suffering, mourning, grieving and pain there will be an undeniable hope within you of the place which God has prepared for you in Heaven. For "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Salvation cannot be earned. It is a free gift from God. Repent NOW and put your trust in Jesus because the very next breath you take could be your last. Every day 150,000 people die. Don't wait until you are standing before God because by then it will be too late. If you are reading this and you have not yet accepted God's free gift, I pray in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit that today would be your day of salvation. Amen.
God desires that none of us should perish, but because of something that happened in the very beginning with a certain Adam and a certain Eve, we are unable to live up to God's standards and thus many of us WILL perish. The Bible tells us that "there is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10) and that "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). That means that no one is good in God's sight and every single one of us has violated His law. The Ten Commandments give us the standard by which God will judge each one of us. If you have ever lied, God sees you as a liar. If you have ever stolen anything, God sees you as a thief. If you have ever used God's name as a curse word, He sees you as a blasphemer. Many people are deceived into thinking that as long as you are not a murderer you will go to Heaven, but the Bible tells us that God sees hatred as murder. One of the commandments is that you should not commit adultery, but Jesus said that to look at someone with lust is to commit adultery with them in your heart. God will not only judge your actions, but he will also judge your thoughts and the condition of your heart. There is not one sin, whether you get caught or not, that God does not see. So, if you were to die today and assuming that you have done all the things just mentioned, you would stand before God and He would find you guilty of being a lying, thieving, blaspheming, murdering, adulterer.
Since God is perfect, just, holy, and righteous he must punish sin. The Bible tells us that "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) and that "all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone" (Revelation 21:8). God has prescribed a punishment for sinners and that punishment is eternity in Hell. The Bible says "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). You might not agree that eternity in Hell is a fair punishment, but your disagreement will not excuse you when standing before a judge in a courtroom and it certainly will not excuse you when standing before God. Neither will apologizing or saying that you should be set free because you think you are a good person.
That is the bad news. Here is the good news. About two thousand years ago, God came to earth in the form of His Son, Jesus Christ. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:16). Jesus was fully God and fully man. Unlike us, he never once sinned in his actions or his thoughts. However, he was tempted just was we are. The Bible tells us "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15). About 33 years into His earthly existence, He voluntarily went to the cross and His blood was shed for our sins. He took the punishment that we deserved. God made a way for us by pouring out the wrath that we deserved on His own Son! "But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities...And by His stripes we are healed...And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all...Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him" (Isaiah 53:5-10). He was the sinless Lamb of God. After being brutally tortured, mocked, spat on and crucified Jesus died on the cross, was placed in a tomb and on the third day rose from the dead forever defeating sin and death. He is now seated at the right hand of God in Heaven and will return for His people at a time of His choosing. What He requires of you is not that you apologize, is not that you confess, is not that you merely "say" that you believe in Jesus. What He requires is that you repent, which means to turn away from sin, to want nothing to do with sin, to hate sin and to put your trust in Jesus Christ alone. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). If you do this you will receive a new heart with new desires. Jesus said "unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). When you sincerely repent and put your trust in Jesus you WILL be born again. It will no longer be you who lives, but Christ who lives in you. You will no longer seek to please yourself, but Him who created you. You will love what He loves and you will hate what He hates. The Bible - the inerrant, infallible word of God will become like food to you. You will hunger for it. It will provide nourishment for your spirit and it will be the method by which God continually reveals Himself and His love for you. Though there will be trials, tribulations, suffering, mourning, grieving and pain there will be an undeniable hope within you of the place which God has prepared for you in Heaven. For "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
Salvation cannot be earned. It is a free gift from God. Repent NOW and put your trust in Jesus because the very next breath you take could be your last. Every day 150,000 people die. Don't wait until you are standing before God because by then it will be too late. If you are reading this and you have not yet accepted God's free gift, I pray in the name of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit that today would be your day of salvation. Amen.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
1 Peter 1:1-2
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To the Pilgrims of the Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace be multiplied."
Peter starts by reminding his audience of their "foreknowledge of God the Father". When facing a difficult situation, as the Jewish Christians were during the time this letter was written, it is imperative to remember that it is God who has us in that particular situation. We must realize that it is through trials that He conforms us to the likeness of his son, Jesus. During these times, however, temptation to fulfull the lusts of our flesh tends to increase and God knows this. He desires that we would resist our flesh and walk in the Spirit. We experience the most significant growth as Christians when we learn to walk in the Spirit during difficult times. In doing so we make it harder for Satan to hinder our relationship with God, which is what he ultimately wants to do. Additionally, each trial that the Lord brings us through becomes an encouraging reminder during future trials that we WILL face.
The next point that Peter makes is that we are in a process of "sanctification of the Spirit". Sanctification is a lifelong process of becoming like Christ. There are many ways by which God achieves this, but the three that I have found to be most prominent are: the reading of His word, revelation by the Holy Spirit and trials. I believe that all three of these are neccessary components of the sanctification process. We must read His word in order to learn what God is like, what He wants us to do, and what He wants us to avoid. We need the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we read and to show us how to apply it in our daily lives. Trials are neccessary because they give us opportunities to trust in God's promises. The more we learn to trust God during difficult times, the more we become like Christ. It has been my personal experience that when times are good I pray all the time, I read the Bible all the time, and I am loving towards my wife and others. However, as soon as things take a turn for the worst, I find it difficult to pray, difficult to read the Bible, and difficult to be loving towards my wife and others. I believe that this is the result of having the completely wrong perspective. Instead of asking "why, Lord?" we should be saying "thank you, Lord!". For the reason He has us in that particular trial is not to punish us, but to refine us. We tend to pray for deliverance, expecting God to deliver us immediately, but when it doesn't happen we feel defeated and praying becomes more difficult. Instead, we should be praying for God's will to be done and we should thank him for the work he is going to be doing in us. If we have this perspective, then it becomes easier to pray, easier to read the Bible, and easier to love one another. Instead of being miserable, we are rejoicing and Jesus is glorified through that. We need to remember that we are representatives of Jesus and everyone is watching us to see how we react to tough situations. How glorious it is when they see us go through trials completely trusting that God is using it for good. Then when we make it through we give all the glory to Him and demonstrate to our peers that Jesus is faithful all the time! Peter, in making this statement, is trying to give his audience the correct perspective by reminding them that they are being sanctified and that the sanctification process involves suffering. They should feel blessed that God has chosen them and honored to suffer for the one who suffered for them. We too can have this perspective by abiding in God's word and trusting Him with our lives. He will show us over and over again that He is faithful and trustworthy.
Peter then says "for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ". This is so important! Obedience is something that many people overlook. They assume that the sacrifice of Jesus gives us a license to sin. It is true that Jesus has essentially gotten us off the hook for all of our past, present, and future sins, but only if we really believe in our hearts that Jesus is the son of God, that he bore God's wrath on our behalf, and that he was raised from the dead on the third day. Whether or not someone actually believes that is between them and God. 1 Samuel 16:7 says "For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart". Anyone can say that they believe in Jesus, but He is not interested in lip service, He is intersted in our hearts. Repentance (turning away from sin and towards Jesus) and obedience to God's commands are essential in showing God that we really really believe in His son. The willingness to deny ourselves and to seek only to do what is pleasing in the sight of the Lord is what separates the true Christians from the rest. In the case of Peter's letter, he is stressing the importance of obedience especially during trials. We must remember though that our salvation is not because of anything we did. It was a free gift from God, given out of grace. We did not deserve it. Our sins have been freely washed away by the sprinkling of Jesus' blood and it should be our natural response, if we really believe and accept the sacrifice that God made of His only begotten son, that we seek to live holy, righteous, God-pleasing lives. It should be our natural response to repent of our sins and to be obedient to the commands of our all knowing, all powerful Father in Heaven even during difficult times. Paul says in Philippians 1:6 "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ". This good work that Paul speaks of is the conformation to the image of Jesus. Romans 8:28-29 says "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His son". So Peter is absolutely correct in encouraging those who are suffering to continue to be obedient. Paul says in his letter to the Philippians that sanctification is a life long process that will not be completed until we see Jesus again. He writes in his letter to the Romans that ALL things are worked for the good of those who love God and that we are being conformed to the image of Jesus. We can then conclude that our entire life will be a series of trials through which we must learn obedience because the person whose image we are being conformed to was obedient during the biggest trial in history! As Paul said in Philippians 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross". We can rejoice in knowing that the victory is already won. Jesus paid the price, we are free! Now all we have to do is trust that Jesus, who dwells in us, will see us through any trial that we might face.
Lastly, Peter says "Grace to you and peace be multiplied". You will find this greeting, or something similar to it, in the letters of Paul, Peter, John, and Jude, which make up most of the New Testament. I find it very interesting that these apostles make it a point to inform their audience of the grace by which the letter was written. Grace is one of the most important characteristics of God and it should become a dominant characteristic of all Christians. By grace we have been saved therefore by grace we shall live. Hebrews 12:28 says "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear". What does it mean to have grace? I think God demonstrated it perfectly by sending His son to die for the sins which we committed. He sent Jesus to take the punishment that we deserved. He did this even though we had rejected Him and done just about everything that is detestable to Him. He gave us life and we spat in His face. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the worst possible punishment imaginable than us. But God did something that no one else would have done. He showed us GRACE! So let that be a reminder to all of us when we don't feel that someone is deserving of our love or our help or our kindness. If we want to show others the nature of Christ, then we need to live by grace, it is as simple as that. So the next time someone hurts you, offends you, or wrongs you remember God's grace. Don't give them what they deserve, but rather what they are undeserving of and let them see Jesus in you!
The last thing Peter says in the greeting of his letter is "peace be multiplied". He is basically telling a group of people who are being persecuted, tortured, and killed for their devotion to Jesus to have peace about their situation. Not only that, he is also telling them that if they are already at peace about it that their peace should be multiplied. How can you have peace when you are in the seemingly worst situation of your life? Philippians 4:6-7 says "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus". The only way we can have peace about our situation is by asking God for it. This ties in with what I mentioned earlier about praying during difficult times. James 4:2 says "Yet you do not have because you do not ask". If in the midst of a trial you feel defeated and cease to pray, then you are only making things harder for yourself. Instead, approach God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, then you will receive peace that is so amazing it cannot even be described.
I hope this writing has blessed you and has given you a greater understanding of God's powerful word. Please feel free to leave your comments below.
Your Servant,
Jason Kiddoo
Peter starts by reminding his audience of their "foreknowledge of God the Father". When facing a difficult situation, as the Jewish Christians were during the time this letter was written, it is imperative to remember that it is God who has us in that particular situation. We must realize that it is through trials that He conforms us to the likeness of his son, Jesus. During these times, however, temptation to fulfull the lusts of our flesh tends to increase and God knows this. He desires that we would resist our flesh and walk in the Spirit. We experience the most significant growth as Christians when we learn to walk in the Spirit during difficult times. In doing so we make it harder for Satan to hinder our relationship with God, which is what he ultimately wants to do. Additionally, each trial that the Lord brings us through becomes an encouraging reminder during future trials that we WILL face.
The next point that Peter makes is that we are in a process of "sanctification of the Spirit". Sanctification is a lifelong process of becoming like Christ. There are many ways by which God achieves this, but the three that I have found to be most prominent are: the reading of His word, revelation by the Holy Spirit and trials. I believe that all three of these are neccessary components of the sanctification process. We must read His word in order to learn what God is like, what He wants us to do, and what He wants us to avoid. We need the Holy Spirit to help us understand what we read and to show us how to apply it in our daily lives. Trials are neccessary because they give us opportunities to trust in God's promises. The more we learn to trust God during difficult times, the more we become like Christ. It has been my personal experience that when times are good I pray all the time, I read the Bible all the time, and I am loving towards my wife and others. However, as soon as things take a turn for the worst, I find it difficult to pray, difficult to read the Bible, and difficult to be loving towards my wife and others. I believe that this is the result of having the completely wrong perspective. Instead of asking "why, Lord?" we should be saying "thank you, Lord!". For the reason He has us in that particular trial is not to punish us, but to refine us. We tend to pray for deliverance, expecting God to deliver us immediately, but when it doesn't happen we feel defeated and praying becomes more difficult. Instead, we should be praying for God's will to be done and we should thank him for the work he is going to be doing in us. If we have this perspective, then it becomes easier to pray, easier to read the Bible, and easier to love one another. Instead of being miserable, we are rejoicing and Jesus is glorified through that. We need to remember that we are representatives of Jesus and everyone is watching us to see how we react to tough situations. How glorious it is when they see us go through trials completely trusting that God is using it for good. Then when we make it through we give all the glory to Him and demonstrate to our peers that Jesus is faithful all the time! Peter, in making this statement, is trying to give his audience the correct perspective by reminding them that they are being sanctified and that the sanctification process involves suffering. They should feel blessed that God has chosen them and honored to suffer for the one who suffered for them. We too can have this perspective by abiding in God's word and trusting Him with our lives. He will show us over and over again that He is faithful and trustworthy.
Peter then says "for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ". This is so important! Obedience is something that many people overlook. They assume that the sacrifice of Jesus gives us a license to sin. It is true that Jesus has essentially gotten us off the hook for all of our past, present, and future sins, but only if we really believe in our hearts that Jesus is the son of God, that he bore God's wrath on our behalf, and that he was raised from the dead on the third day. Whether or not someone actually believes that is between them and God. 1 Samuel 16:7 says "For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart". Anyone can say that they believe in Jesus, but He is not interested in lip service, He is intersted in our hearts. Repentance (turning away from sin and towards Jesus) and obedience to God's commands are essential in showing God that we really really believe in His son. The willingness to deny ourselves and to seek only to do what is pleasing in the sight of the Lord is what separates the true Christians from the rest. In the case of Peter's letter, he is stressing the importance of obedience especially during trials. We must remember though that our salvation is not because of anything we did. It was a free gift from God, given out of grace. We did not deserve it. Our sins have been freely washed away by the sprinkling of Jesus' blood and it should be our natural response, if we really believe and accept the sacrifice that God made of His only begotten son, that we seek to live holy, righteous, God-pleasing lives. It should be our natural response to repent of our sins and to be obedient to the commands of our all knowing, all powerful Father in Heaven even during difficult times. Paul says in Philippians 1:6 "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ". This good work that Paul speaks of is the conformation to the image of Jesus. Romans 8:28-29 says "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His son". So Peter is absolutely correct in encouraging those who are suffering to continue to be obedient. Paul says in his letter to the Philippians that sanctification is a life long process that will not be completed until we see Jesus again. He writes in his letter to the Romans that ALL things are worked for the good of those who love God and that we are being conformed to the image of Jesus. We can then conclude that our entire life will be a series of trials through which we must learn obedience because the person whose image we are being conformed to was obedient during the biggest trial in history! As Paul said in Philippians 2:8 "And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross". We can rejoice in knowing that the victory is already won. Jesus paid the price, we are free! Now all we have to do is trust that Jesus, who dwells in us, will see us through any trial that we might face.
Lastly, Peter says "Grace to you and peace be multiplied". You will find this greeting, or something similar to it, in the letters of Paul, Peter, John, and Jude, which make up most of the New Testament. I find it very interesting that these apostles make it a point to inform their audience of the grace by which the letter was written. Grace is one of the most important characteristics of God and it should become a dominant characteristic of all Christians. By grace we have been saved therefore by grace we shall live. Hebrews 12:28 says "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear". What does it mean to have grace? I think God demonstrated it perfectly by sending His son to die for the sins which we committed. He sent Jesus to take the punishment that we deserved. He did this even though we had rejected Him and done just about everything that is detestable to Him. He gave us life and we spat in His face. I cannot think of anyone more deserving of the worst possible punishment imaginable than us. But God did something that no one else would have done. He showed us GRACE! So let that be a reminder to all of us when we don't feel that someone is deserving of our love or our help or our kindness. If we want to show others the nature of Christ, then we need to live by grace, it is as simple as that. So the next time someone hurts you, offends you, or wrongs you remember God's grace. Don't give them what they deserve, but rather what they are undeserving of and let them see Jesus in you!
The last thing Peter says in the greeting of his letter is "peace be multiplied". He is basically telling a group of people who are being persecuted, tortured, and killed for their devotion to Jesus to have peace about their situation. Not only that, he is also telling them that if they are already at peace about it that their peace should be multiplied. How can you have peace when you are in the seemingly worst situation of your life? Philippians 4:6-7 says "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus". The only way we can have peace about our situation is by asking God for it. This ties in with what I mentioned earlier about praying during difficult times. James 4:2 says "Yet you do not have because you do not ask". If in the midst of a trial you feel defeated and cease to pray, then you are only making things harder for yourself. Instead, approach God in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, then you will receive peace that is so amazing it cannot even be described.
I hope this writing has blessed you and has given you a greater understanding of God's powerful word. Please feel free to leave your comments below.
Your Servant,
Jason Kiddoo
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