by Max Aplin
The subject of hell is not one that we are inclined to spend time thinking about. The concept of people suffering endlessly after death is certainly a deeply unpleasant one. And it is therefore perfectly natural for us not to want to dwell on it.
I think it would also be true to say that it is fairly uncommon to hear Christian teachers referring to this topic. Most pastors will refer to it briefly from time to time. But it is unusual for much emphasis to be given to it. And I think many pastors, even of Bible-believing churches, often go for months at a time, perhaps longer, without making any reference to it at all.
The big problem with this, however, is that the New Testament contains a lot of teaching about hell. Most NT books refer to it either explicitly or implicitly. And importantly too, the person who can be found teaching most often about it is Jesus Himself.
The Gospels
The Gospels include a great many references to hell.
In Matthew 5:22 Jesus says:
‘I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. And whoever says, ‘Raca’, to his brother will be liable to the council. And whoever says, ‘You fool’, will be liable to fiery hell.’
In Matthew 5:29-30 Jesus teaches:
‘If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. For it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go to hell.’
He can also be found making similar comments in Matthew 18:8-9 and Mark 9:43-48.
No fewer than seven times, in Matthew 8:12; 13:42, 50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; and Luke 13:28, Jesus, referring to punishment after death, states:
‘In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.’
In Matthew 10:28 Jesus teaches:
‘Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.’
He says something very similar in Luke 12:4-5.
In Matthew 25:31-46, in His teaching about the sheep and the goats which represent the saved and the unsaved, Jesus states:
‘Then He will also say to those on His left, “Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire that has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” ’ (v. 41)
And:
‘These [evildoers] will go away into eternal punishment . . .’ (v. 46)
In Mark 9:48 Jesus refers to hell as a place ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not extinguished’.
In Luke 16:19-31, in His account of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus paints a graphic picture of torment in hell.
And in John 15:6 He says:
‘If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown out like and branch and dries up. And they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.’
There are numerous other direct or indirect references to hell in the Gospels, mainly from Jesus but also from John the Baptist. See Matthew 3:7, 10-12; 7:13-14, 17-19; 11:20-24; 12:32; 13:30, 40; 23:13, 15, 33; Mark 3:29; Luke 3:7, 9, 16-17; 10:10-15; 12:10, 42-48; John 3:16, 36; 5:29.
The letters of Paul
In the letters of Paul hell is also mentioned quite often.
In Romans 2:5 Paul refers to those who are not saved by faith in Christ, when he says:
‘Because of your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourselves on the day of wrath and revelation of the just judgment of God.’
Then in v. 9 he says a little more about what this experience will involve:
‘There will be suffering and distress for every human being who does evil, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.’
In Romans 5:9 Paul says:
‘Much more, then, since we have now been justified by His blood, we will be saved from wrath through Him.’
In Galatians 6:8 he states:
‘The one who sows to his own flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit.’
In Philippians 1:28 Paul refers to the ‘destruction’ of those who are hostile to the Philippian believers.
He also describes the end of evildoers as ‘destruction’ in Philippians 3:19.
In 1 Thessalonians 1:10 Paul says that Jesus ‘rescues us from the wrath to come’.
In 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 he states that when Jesus appears from heaven, He will ‘punish those who do not know God and those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus’ and that they ‘will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power’.
See also Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 3:17; 2 Corinthians 2:15-16.
The rest of the New Testament
The theme of hell is found in other parts of the NT too.
In Hebrews 10:26-27 the author warns his readers:
‘If we go on sinning wilfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire that will consume His enemies.’
And then in v. 31 he says:
‘It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.’
In 2 Peter 2:9 Peter tells us that ‘the Lord knows how . . . to keep the wicked under punishment for the day of judgment’.
In Jude 13 Jude refers to certain people ‘for whom the gloom of darkness has been reserved forever’.
In Revelation 14:9-11 John states:
‘Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he will also drink of the wine of the anger of God, which is mixed at full strength in the cup of His wrath. And he will be tormented with fire and sulphur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. And they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” ’
Later, in Revelation 19:20, John refers to the beast and the false prophet being thrown into the lake of fire which burns with sulphur.
Then in 20:10 he refers to the devil being thrown into this fire and says that the devil, beast and false prophet will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
And then in 20:15 he asserts:
‘If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.’
Finally, in 21:8 John sees Jesus continue the theme by saying:
‘For the cowardly and unbelieving and detestable and murderers and the sexually immoral and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.’
A number of other NT passages referring to hell, mostly indirectly, also exist. See Acts 3:23; Hebrews 6:4-8; 10:39; James 4:12; 5:1-6; 2 Peter 2:1, 3-4, 17; Revelation 2:11; 18:5-6; 20:13-14.
The reality of hell should be taught often
The list of references that I have given is not exhaustive. There are others that could be added to it. My aim has simply been to show that in the NT there is a lot of teaching about hell, especially from Jesus.
It is therefore wrong for Christian leaders to ignore this topic or give minimal attention to it. Similarly it makes sense that it should feature in evangelism.
It is true that we should be sensitive about how we refer to hell. At times the Bible describes it quite graphically. But at other times it is much more subtle, for example when it refers to hell as ‘destruction’. Often when teachers or evangelists refer to it, there will be no need to paint a vivid portrait of the sufferings involved.
Nevertheless, the reality of this awful prospect after death for those who die without being saved from their sins by faith in Jesus Christ should be taught and taught frequently.
Hell does not conflict with God’s love
You will often hear people saying that belief in a loving God is incompatible with belief in hell. Some of those who say this see the supposed incompatibility as proof that the Christian faith is false. Others claim to be Christians who don’t believe that hell exists.
In fact, there is no need to see the love of God as conflicting with the existence of hell. Christian truth and biblical revelation contain much more tension and paradox than we are used to in the modern West. And the reality of both a God of love and eternal punishment in hell is an example of this.
We must remember that as well as being loving, God is just. And deeply ingrained within us all is a sense that justice is a good thing. We feel that it is right that an action that is morally wrong deserves to be followed by punishment, i.e., suffering of some sort as a consequence of that action. Hell simply has to do with the just nature of God being expressed.
It is certainly difficult for us to understand why God will punish people eternally rather than in some lesser way. However, because God is infinite, there is a sense in which any sin that a person commits is an infinitely serious offence against Him. And so perhaps it is not so strange for those who commit infinitely serious offences to be punished forever.
Warnings to avoid hell
Of course, there is an escape route from punishment in hell through faith in Christ and what He accomplished on the cross. As well as being just, God is also merciful. And the Bible reveals Him as having a preference for showing mercy over punishing.
Nevertheless, although God prefers to show mercy, Scripture makes it clear that only a minority of people actually choose to receive His mercy. For example, in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus can be found urging people to take the rarely-travelled, narrow road that leads to life instead of the well-populated, broad road that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13-14).
So it is crucial that Christian leaders and evangelists warn people of the terrible danger of hell. Those who are unsaved should be warned that they need to be saved to avoid it. And those who are saved should be warned that they need to remain in the faith to avoid falling away from salvation and ending up there.
I have been a Christian for over 30 years. I have a Ph.D. in New Testament from the University of Edinburgh. I am a UK national and I currently live in the south of Scotland. Check out my blog, The Orthotometist, at maxaplin.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS
Tuesday, February 28, 2017
Monday, February 27, 2017
A Debt Paid In Full
by Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Colossians 2:13-14
Mankind has a debt problem. In the physical world, our desire for a higher standard of living and more stuff has led to burdensome credit card balances and unwieldy mortgage payments. The weight of what we owe can cause restless nights and the feeling that we’re trapped. We long for someone to rescue us from the mess we have made.
However, material indebtedness isn’t our biggest problem; our sin debt is. All of us were born with a flesh nature that prompts us to rebel against the Lord. Our rebelliousness is an affront to His holy nature, incurring a debt that we owe to Him. Until this penalty is paid, we are under God’s righteous judgment and remain spiritually separated from Him (Eph. 2:1-2). The trouble is, we are unable to pay what’s due. No amount of good works, self-sacrifice, or religious devotion will lessen what we owe.
So God, in His great mercy, sent His Son to rescue us. Jesus Christ left heaven and all of its glory so He could come to earth to live and die for us (Phil. 2:6-7). Although the cost to our Savior was enormous, He willingly paid the price we owed. He took our sins upon Himself, bore them to the cross, and discharged our debt in full. Hallelujah!
When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, His atoning work is credited to our account. We become children of God and co-heirs with Christ as we’re changed from debtors to inheritors. (See 1 Peter 1:3-4.) Let the knowledge of His sacrifice on the cross permeate every aspect of your life—your thinking, attitude, and choices.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
Colossians 2:13-14
Mankind has a debt problem. In the physical world, our desire for a higher standard of living and more stuff has led to burdensome credit card balances and unwieldy mortgage payments. The weight of what we owe can cause restless nights and the feeling that we’re trapped. We long for someone to rescue us from the mess we have made.
However, material indebtedness isn’t our biggest problem; our sin debt is. All of us were born with a flesh nature that prompts us to rebel against the Lord. Our rebelliousness is an affront to His holy nature, incurring a debt that we owe to Him. Until this penalty is paid, we are under God’s righteous judgment and remain spiritually separated from Him (Eph. 2:1-2). The trouble is, we are unable to pay what’s due. No amount of good works, self-sacrifice, or religious devotion will lessen what we owe.
So God, in His great mercy, sent His Son to rescue us. Jesus Christ left heaven and all of its glory so He could come to earth to live and die for us (Phil. 2:6-7). Although the cost to our Savior was enormous, He willingly paid the price we owed. He took our sins upon Himself, bore them to the cross, and discharged our debt in full. Hallelujah!
When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, His atoning work is credited to our account. We become children of God and co-heirs with Christ as we’re changed from debtors to inheritors. (See 1 Peter 1:3-4.) Let the knowledge of His sacrifice on the cross permeate every aspect of your life—your thinking, attitude, and choices.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Sunday, February 26, 2017
The Prayer Of Hope
We all come to a point in our lives when we need prayer, not just regular daily prayers that we say for ourselves and our loved ones; sometimes we need to go up a few notches, with prayers that not only go to the throne room of God, but prayers that touch the heart of God, so that He starts to move heaven and earth for His little one. Every prayer we send to God is listened to, and He does respond, even if your circumstances don't change right away. There are many reasons for this, so don't be afraid to ask Him what is His will for the situation you find yourself in. He will answer you, and then you must trust Him to do the right thing ; he will never let you down.
The type of prayer that I am speaking of is, the power prayer, the prayer you pray right before you go out into the battlefield, the prayer of intercession and victory, the type of prayer that asks for protection, peace, joy, victory over the enemy; the type of prayer that states its case in God's throneroom, His court of justice and mercy. When you know how to pray like this, your words are specific and powerful, and you will see results right away. The enemy will not be able to stand against the power of your faith and your mouth, declaring His Word into your circumstance.
Here below is a powerful prayer, speak it over your situation, and let God's Love and Mercy transform your life:
BATTLE PRAYER
The type of prayer that I am speaking of is, the power prayer, the prayer you pray right before you go out into the battlefield, the prayer of intercession and victory, the type of prayer that asks for protection, peace, joy, victory over the enemy; the type of prayer that states its case in God's throneroom, His court of justice and mercy. When you know how to pray like this, your words are specific and powerful, and you will see results right away. The enemy will not be able to stand against the power of your faith and your mouth, declaring His Word into your circumstance.
Here below is a powerful prayer, speak it over your situation, and let God's Love and Mercy transform your life:
Saturday, February 25, 2017
A Knock In The Night
by Toni Babcock
"Behold I stand at the door and knock…" ( Revelation 3:20a KJV )
Most of us have experienced an unexpected knock at the door. Perhaps it was an annoying knock, a persistent knock, or an unsettling knock in the night. My guess is it may have been all three for the innkeeper in Bethlehem on the eve of Christ's birth. I imagine he spent his day haggling with vendors, dickering with patrons, or managing unruly kids - maybe even contending with a lazy servant, or an exasperated spouse. Then came the urgent knock.
It was Joseph and his wife Mary, desperate for a place to stay. Mary was soon to give birth to Jesus, and there was no time to lose! Unfortunately Bethlehem was packed with people that night, and all the local rooms were taken. The innkeeper didn't have a presentable room to share - nothing but a smelly stable outside with an open stall - but here is the blessed truth: All he had to offer is what he was willing to give. God didn't expect anything more.
Put into spiritual terms - when God comes to call, we need to make room too. We can't say "I'm not ready to receive Christ. I need more time to fix what's broken and clean myself up." That's Jesus' job! He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, (Luke 5:31-32 KJV). Repentance involves a change of heart and mind in response to the good news of the gospel, allowing Jesus to be all and do all in terms of our salvation. It is a fundamental of faith and being "born anew". Has it happened to you?
Copyright 2016
Toni Babcock is author of The Stone Writer, Christian Fiction for Young Readers and Teens
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS
"Behold I stand at the door and knock…" ( Revelation 3:20a KJV )
Most of us have experienced an unexpected knock at the door. Perhaps it was an annoying knock, a persistent knock, or an unsettling knock in the night. My guess is it may have been all three for the innkeeper in Bethlehem on the eve of Christ's birth. I imagine he spent his day haggling with vendors, dickering with patrons, or managing unruly kids - maybe even contending with a lazy servant, or an exasperated spouse. Then came the urgent knock.
It was Joseph and his wife Mary, desperate for a place to stay. Mary was soon to give birth to Jesus, and there was no time to lose! Unfortunately Bethlehem was packed with people that night, and all the local rooms were taken. The innkeeper didn't have a presentable room to share - nothing but a smelly stable outside with an open stall - but here is the blessed truth: All he had to offer is what he was willing to give. God didn't expect anything more.
Put into spiritual terms - when God comes to call, we need to make room too. We can't say "I'm not ready to receive Christ. I need more time to fix what's broken and clean myself up." That's Jesus' job! He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, (Luke 5:31-32 KJV). Repentance involves a change of heart and mind in response to the good news of the gospel, allowing Jesus to be all and do all in terms of our salvation. It is a fundamental of faith and being "born anew". Has it happened to you?
Copyright 2016
Toni Babcock is author of The Stone Writer, Christian Fiction for Young Readers and Teens
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS
Friday, February 24, 2017
Breastplate Of Righteousness
Ephesians Ch 6 13-14
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place...
We are given a choice in life, to live for good or to strife for evil; some people are not aware that these choices have a deeper and permanent consequence for the future of their existence. We are raised to do good things, and to be good citizens of our country. Our first teachers were our parents, and the importance of having wise and patient parents that care enough to teach the basic principles of love, sharing, and humility cannot be stated enough. They share the responsibility of raising their children with the Lord; those parents who are close to God rely on His strength and they ask Him to guide them on how best to raise their children into Godly adults. Lets face it, the job of raising a child in this world is not easy.
That is why for everything that we do in life, we need to seek His guidance and to trust in His strength. We are limited to what we can do on our own; some people are very competent when it comes to what they do in life. They studied, practiced, learned the process of their career from the bottom up; they never gave up, they sacrified many things to get to the top, and we admire them for their courage and persistence. We need to be just as persistent when it comes to the things of God.
We need to pray, to study the bible, to meditate on and memorize the scriptures, praise and worship alone in His presence, and seek His face on a daily basis. This also takes practice, sacrifice, and persistence. When we decide to live for God completely because of our love for Him, these tasks become easier, as we are filled with His love, and peace in our hearts. We are overcomed with joy.
Nothing really valuable in life comes easy, and the results are always worth the effort. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, He promised to love us, take care of us, guide us, transform our hearts and minds, cherish us, and give us the strength to live in a broken and dark world. He also forgives us, because He knows that we are not perfect; He has already provided a way out of every situation we get ourselves into. He will be very kind, patient, and tender with us if we listen and heed His guidance through the Holy Spirit, who lives in our hearts and who teaches us what true love is. When God looks at us, He sees holy and righteous children.
How is that possible, that God can call us a 'righteous generation'? When God looks upon us, He sees the precious blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, on us and all around us. His seal of approval, in the form of the Holy Spirit was planted in our hearts when we believed in His Son , it guarantees our salvation, and our love for Him, our willingness to live for Him, trust Him, and obey Him gives us the right to be called the sons and daughters of God, His chosen generation, His royal priesthood, the future kings and queens of this world, destined to rule and reign with Him and His son, Jesus Christ.
This is His eternal gift to those who are bold enough to love Him, and who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. So, in the spirit, when God or the devil looks as you, you shine with the love and power of His Name, the seal of the Holy Spirit, the protection of His Blood, and you are covered with the breastplate of righteousness. This is not your personal righteousness; none of us are righteous. It is God's own righteousness that He gives to us because we are willing to believe in Him. We are justfied because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Without this faith, we would be lost and defeated in this life, and none of the promises of God would apply.
It may not seem like there is victory in your life right now, but know that God has a plan for you and for your life. We must be patient and surrender our hearts and minds to His, and give Him the chance to defeat the devil in our situations; speak the word of God into your circumstances and believe, and watch God change everything around and in your favor. Yes, we have favor with Him when we trust in Him, and allow Him to guide us; it is undeserved favor, and the gates of hell have no power against it.
Thank You Lord, For Your Undeserved And Precious Favor In My Life; Thank You For Joy, Peace, Your Understanding, And Your Patience, And Most Of All, I Thank You God For YOUR LOVE - GLORY BE TO YOUR NAME FOREVER AND EVER!
If you would like to live with the favor of God on your life, and worship in His presence forever and ever, repeat this prayer:
Prayer of Salvation
Lord,
I repent for trying to be master of my own life. I change my mind about who I want to be in charge of my life. I turn from my useless and unproductive thoughts that I am the center of my universe and choose to believe in the living God who created everything, including me (Acts 14:15). I have lived without a purpose but now I will live to hear and obey You, God (Jn. 5:19, 20,30).
I confess with my lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I believe that God so loved the world He sent His only Son Jesus to shed His blood to wash away the barrier of sin (Jn. 3:16)
I receive You, Jesus as MY Lord and Savior (Jn. 1:11,12).
I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into my life to rescue and empower me and to restore me to intimacy with my heavenly Father (Acts 2:38).
If you just confessed this prayer, you are saved! I welcome you into the family my (brother/sister) I pray for peace, joy, and happiness in your life as you allow the Lord to love you and bless you and give you assurance of everlasting life with Him forever and ever......PRAISE GOD!
May the Lord keep you and Bless you this day....AMEN
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place...
We are given a choice in life, to live for good or to strife for evil; some people are not aware that these choices have a deeper and permanent consequence for the future of their existence. We are raised to do good things, and to be good citizens of our country. Our first teachers were our parents, and the importance of having wise and patient parents that care enough to teach the basic principles of love, sharing, and humility cannot be stated enough. They share the responsibility of raising their children with the Lord; those parents who are close to God rely on His strength and they ask Him to guide them on how best to raise their children into Godly adults. Lets face it, the job of raising a child in this world is not easy.
That is why for everything that we do in life, we need to seek His guidance and to trust in His strength. We are limited to what we can do on our own; some people are very competent when it comes to what they do in life. They studied, practiced, learned the process of their career from the bottom up; they never gave up, they sacrified many things to get to the top, and we admire them for their courage and persistence. We need to be just as persistent when it comes to the things of God.
We need to pray, to study the bible, to meditate on and memorize the scriptures, praise and worship alone in His presence, and seek His face on a daily basis. This also takes practice, sacrifice, and persistence. When we decide to live for God completely because of our love for Him, these tasks become easier, as we are filled with His love, and peace in our hearts. We are overcomed with joy.
Nothing really valuable in life comes easy, and the results are always worth the effort. When we surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, He promised to love us, take care of us, guide us, transform our hearts and minds, cherish us, and give us the strength to live in a broken and dark world. He also forgives us, because He knows that we are not perfect; He has already provided a way out of every situation we get ourselves into. He will be very kind, patient, and tender with us if we listen and heed His guidance through the Holy Spirit, who lives in our hearts and who teaches us what true love is. When God looks at us, He sees holy and righteous children.
How is that possible, that God can call us a 'righteous generation'? When God looks upon us, He sees the precious blood of His Son, Jesus Christ, on us and all around us. His seal of approval, in the form of the Holy Spirit was planted in our hearts when we believed in His Son , it guarantees our salvation, and our love for Him, our willingness to live for Him, trust Him, and obey Him gives us the right to be called the sons and daughters of God, His chosen generation, His royal priesthood, the future kings and queens of this world, destined to rule and reign with Him and His son, Jesus Christ.
This is His eternal gift to those who are bold enough to love Him, and who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. So, in the spirit, when God or the devil looks as you, you shine with the love and power of His Name, the seal of the Holy Spirit, the protection of His Blood, and you are covered with the breastplate of righteousness. This is not your personal righteousness; none of us are righteous. It is God's own righteousness that He gives to us because we are willing to believe in Him. We are justfied because of our faith in Jesus Christ. Without this faith, we would be lost and defeated in this life, and none of the promises of God would apply.
It may not seem like there is victory in your life right now, but know that God has a plan for you and for your life. We must be patient and surrender our hearts and minds to His, and give Him the chance to defeat the devil in our situations; speak the word of God into your circumstances and believe, and watch God change everything around and in your favor. Yes, we have favor with Him when we trust in Him, and allow Him to guide us; it is undeserved favor, and the gates of hell have no power against it.
Thank You Lord, For Your Undeserved And Precious Favor In My Life; Thank You For Joy, Peace, Your Understanding, And Your Patience, And Most Of All, I Thank You God For YOUR LOVE - GLORY BE TO YOUR NAME FOREVER AND EVER!
If you would like to live with the favor of God on your life, and worship in His presence forever and ever, repeat this prayer:
Prayer of Salvation
Lord,
I repent for trying to be master of my own life. I change my mind about who I want to be in charge of my life. I turn from my useless and unproductive thoughts that I am the center of my universe and choose to believe in the living God who created everything, including me (Acts 14:15). I have lived without a purpose but now I will live to hear and obey You, God (Jn. 5:19, 20,30).
I confess with my lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I believe that God so loved the world He sent His only Son Jesus to shed His blood to wash away the barrier of sin (Jn. 3:16)
I receive You, Jesus as MY Lord and Savior (Jn. 1:11,12).
I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into my life to rescue and empower me and to restore me to intimacy with my heavenly Father (Acts 2:38).
If you just confessed this prayer, you are saved! I welcome you into the family my (brother/sister) I pray for peace, joy, and happiness in your life as you allow the Lord to love you and bless you and give you assurance of everlasting life with Him forever and ever......PRAISE GOD!
May the Lord keep you and Bless you this day....AMEN
Thursday, February 23, 2017
Seeing Christ In Our Circumstances
by Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Philippians 1:12-25
If you had the power to change your circumstances, would you? Since no one has a life without problems, most of us would immediately say yes. However, the reality is that we must learn to live with some of our difficult circumstances, because only God has the power to alter them—and in His providence, He’s allowed them to remain.
Take the apostle Paul, for example. He had a desire to go to Rome and preach the gospel but didn’t anticipate the route God would use to bring him there. It began with false accusations in Jerusalem, an appeal to Caesar, a rough sea voyage, and a shipwreck and eventually included time spent in a Roman prison. This was probably not what Paul had envisioned, but as he sat chained to a Roman guard, he wrote the following words to the church in Philippi: “My circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel” (Phil. 1:12). The very circumstance that may have seemed like an unfair misfortune became the avenue for fruitful service.
What looks like a shipwreck or detour in our plans could actually be God’s ordained path for our lives. It may include financial challenges, health issues, relational conflicts, or any number of other hardships, but there is one certainty to which we can cling: Jesus Christ is our life, and He never changes.
Conditions around us will fluctuate, but if we belong to Christ, He’ll use every situation to accomplish His will in and through us. Even when we face matters of life and death, we can share Paul’s desire—that Christ would be exalted in us, whether through life or death.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
Philippians 1:12-25
If you had the power to change your circumstances, would you? Since no one has a life without problems, most of us would immediately say yes. However, the reality is that we must learn to live with some of our difficult circumstances, because only God has the power to alter them—and in His providence, He’s allowed them to remain.
Take the apostle Paul, for example. He had a desire to go to Rome and preach the gospel but didn’t anticipate the route God would use to bring him there. It began with false accusations in Jerusalem, an appeal to Caesar, a rough sea voyage, and a shipwreck and eventually included time spent in a Roman prison. This was probably not what Paul had envisioned, but as he sat chained to a Roman guard, he wrote the following words to the church in Philippi: “My circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel” (Phil. 1:12). The very circumstance that may have seemed like an unfair misfortune became the avenue for fruitful service.
What looks like a shipwreck or detour in our plans could actually be God’s ordained path for our lives. It may include financial challenges, health issues, relational conflicts, or any number of other hardships, but there is one certainty to which we can cling: Jesus Christ is our life, and He never changes.
Conditions around us will fluctuate, but if we belong to Christ, He’ll use every situation to accomplish His will in and through us. Even when we face matters of life and death, we can share Paul’s desire—that Christ would be exalted in us, whether through life or death.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Wednesday, February 22, 2017
How Love Strengthens You
One of my favorite songs is 'God Favored Me'. When I listen to the words of the song, I realize they are telling my story. Love is wonderful, when it is genuine. Some use it to get their way, some abuse you it to get people to do what they want, and often its strength is misused. You will know someone truly loves you when they give from their heart and expect nothing else in return.
Well, you might ask, how does God loves us? The answer is, with every fiber of His being! He made this world, created us, gave us a purpose for being, and even though adam and eve made the wrong choice, and the world has never been the same, He still decided to treat us all with mercy and incredible, awesome, selfless love. Jesus Christ is our example of true love; His life, His words, His acts of love and kindess, and His sacrifice upon the cross to atone for our sins. He is the greatest lover of our souls : God, Father, Friend, Comforter, The Great Provider, Savior and Master, The Father, Son, And Holy Spirit, God expressed in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity.
Do you know that every time God expresses His Love for you, you grow stronger? This is a transitional time in my life, where I have to depend on God more than I have ever had to in my entire life. I have always had to function with the 'I just have to make do' mentality. I always had to navigate life by my own strength, and I always tried to make do with what I had. So, it was very hard to let go and lean on the Lord. I was willing in my heart, I loved Him and He showed so much love to me. I was starving for that kind of love, and so I never wanted to shut God out of my life, but it is so hard to let go when you have been holding on to fears, insecurities, and anxieties for such a long time.
You have to function in life as best you can, and the wounds that hurt us are also the wounds that bind us. You cannot truly feel the strength and the power of God's love when you are holding on to a warped perception of who you are; it will keep you from loving yourself and from loving the Lord in a way that pleases Him. That is when you need to ask the Lord to show you how much He loves you, and to show you how He sees you in His heart; you will be amazed!
You see, God sees you through the lens of love; He knows who you are and what you will become. He doesn't care that you are not perfect, He doesn't care what other people think of you. He knows you, and He can wait patiently while He works on you, to transform you into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ; He does have afterall, all the time in the world and beyond to work on you! He is not afraid of what is to come, and so we ourselves don't need to fear. 'Perfect Love Casts Out Fear' - that is His goal, to get us to a point where we can love without fear, and that love becomes a powerful force in our lives and strengthens us. When we have the love of the God of this universe on our side, there is nothing that we can't do or accomplish in Him!
It is a daily process to learn to love with a power that trancends our thoughts, issues, and problems, and I have learned to give Him the benefit of the doubt, to listen to what He is saying in my heart and obey Him. It is scary to walk out on that ledge with just His love, seemingly without a net, but He tells me not to look down or around at my circumstances, but look up to Him, who is the author and the finisher of my faith. I must focus on Him to get the best results for my life. Those achievements may not necessarily be about wealth, fame, power, or prestige. These are things many people try to achieve; but what about love, peace, joy, faith, obedience, and good moral character? These things can only be achieved by focusing on Him, and meditating on His word.
When I allow the Lord to do His work in me, I become a better person, a stronger christian, a better friend and a blessing to everyone around me; then I will have the strength to live for God and to love who I am in Jesus Christ. He will give me the good things in life that everyone desires and I will be able to handle the pressures of life and not give in to my weaknesses. He has a plan for your life and for mine, so lets keep on focusing on Him, so that our day to day struggles become a blessing for someonee else and He will get all the glory!
Well, you might ask, how does God loves us? The answer is, with every fiber of His being! He made this world, created us, gave us a purpose for being, and even though adam and eve made the wrong choice, and the world has never been the same, He still decided to treat us all with mercy and incredible, awesome, selfless love. Jesus Christ is our example of true love; His life, His words, His acts of love and kindess, and His sacrifice upon the cross to atone for our sins. He is the greatest lover of our souls : God, Father, Friend, Comforter, The Great Provider, Savior and Master, The Father, Son, And Holy Spirit, God expressed in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity.
Do you know that every time God expresses His Love for you, you grow stronger? This is a transitional time in my life, where I have to depend on God more than I have ever had to in my entire life. I have always had to function with the 'I just have to make do' mentality. I always had to navigate life by my own strength, and I always tried to make do with what I had. So, it was very hard to let go and lean on the Lord. I was willing in my heart, I loved Him and He showed so much love to me. I was starving for that kind of love, and so I never wanted to shut God out of my life, but it is so hard to let go when you have been holding on to fears, insecurities, and anxieties for such a long time.
You have to function in life as best you can, and the wounds that hurt us are also the wounds that bind us. You cannot truly feel the strength and the power of God's love when you are holding on to a warped perception of who you are; it will keep you from loving yourself and from loving the Lord in a way that pleases Him. That is when you need to ask the Lord to show you how much He loves you, and to show you how He sees you in His heart; you will be amazed!
You see, God sees you through the lens of love; He knows who you are and what you will become. He doesn't care that you are not perfect, He doesn't care what other people think of you. He knows you, and He can wait patiently while He works on you, to transform you into the likeness of His Son, Jesus Christ; He does have afterall, all the time in the world and beyond to work on you! He is not afraid of what is to come, and so we ourselves don't need to fear. 'Perfect Love Casts Out Fear' - that is His goal, to get us to a point where we can love without fear, and that love becomes a powerful force in our lives and strengthens us. When we have the love of the God of this universe on our side, there is nothing that we can't do or accomplish in Him!
It is a daily process to learn to love with a power that trancends our thoughts, issues, and problems, and I have learned to give Him the benefit of the doubt, to listen to what He is saying in my heart and obey Him. It is scary to walk out on that ledge with just His love, seemingly without a net, but He tells me not to look down or around at my circumstances, but look up to Him, who is the author and the finisher of my faith. I must focus on Him to get the best results for my life. Those achievements may not necessarily be about wealth, fame, power, or prestige. These are things many people try to achieve; but what about love, peace, joy, faith, obedience, and good moral character? These things can only be achieved by focusing on Him, and meditating on His word.
When I allow the Lord to do His work in me, I become a better person, a stronger christian, a better friend and a blessing to everyone around me; then I will have the strength to live for God and to love who I am in Jesus Christ. He will give me the good things in life that everyone desires and I will be able to handle the pressures of life and not give in to my weaknesses. He has a plan for your life and for mine, so lets keep on focusing on Him, so that our day to day struggles become a blessing for someonee else and He will get all the glory!
Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Working Out Your Salvation
by Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Philippians 2:12-13
What does it mean to “work out your salvation”? Many people mistakenly think Paul was telling us to work for our salvation. But the apostle was saying something completely different—that your salvation experience isn’t the end of your spiritual journey. Rather, it’s the catalyst that turned on your “operation mode.”
Once you have trusted Jesus as Savior, you can begin living out what He’s given you, which is His abundant life. If you’ve given your heart to Him, the Holy Spirit now indwells you—He is with you forever. It is God’s Spirit working in and through you that empowers you to live out your salvation. The degree to which you yield to Him impacts the work He’ll achieve through you and the changes He will effect in your life.
Let’s say you start reading the Bible and learning. As your faith and relationship with the Lord develop, you will begin to notice Him moving in your life. When you share your faith and your blessings with others, you’ll notice God working through even more avenues. Keep following Him, and you will see the seeds He’s planted within you flourish (Isaiah 55:10-11). So when Scripture says we’re to “work out [our] salvation,” it means we need to reverently live out what’s already been given to us—and allow the life of Christ to come fully to fruition.
Your salvation should become an expression of Jesus’ life wherever you are. As you work it out among your friends and family, on the job, in school, and even with strangers, God’s Spirit will energize you to make a difference and impact others—in other words, to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16).
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
Philippians 2:12-13
What does it mean to “work out your salvation”? Many people mistakenly think Paul was telling us to work for our salvation. But the apostle was saying something completely different—that your salvation experience isn’t the end of your spiritual journey. Rather, it’s the catalyst that turned on your “operation mode.”
Once you have trusted Jesus as Savior, you can begin living out what He’s given you, which is His abundant life. If you’ve given your heart to Him, the Holy Spirit now indwells you—He is with you forever. It is God’s Spirit working in and through you that empowers you to live out your salvation. The degree to which you yield to Him impacts the work He’ll achieve through you and the changes He will effect in your life.
Let’s say you start reading the Bible and learning. As your faith and relationship with the Lord develop, you will begin to notice Him moving in your life. When you share your faith and your blessings with others, you’ll notice God working through even more avenues. Keep following Him, and you will see the seeds He’s planted within you flourish (Isaiah 55:10-11). So when Scripture says we’re to “work out [our] salvation,” it means we need to reverently live out what’s already been given to us—and allow the life of Christ to come fully to fruition.
Your salvation should become an expression of Jesus’ life wherever you are. As you work it out among your friends and family, on the job, in school, and even with strangers, God’s Spirit will energize you to make a difference and impact others—in other words, to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16).
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Monday, February 20, 2017
Does John's Gospel Teach Salvation Without Repentance?
by Max Aplin
If there is one thing that especially marks out evangelicalism, it is surely the belief that Christians don’t earn their right to be saved from hell. Instead we evangelicals believe that salvation is an undeserved gift from God that we accept by faith in Christ.
The Reformers in the 16th century strongly opposed the Roman Catholic view that Christians partly earn their salvation. And ever since, evangelicals have stressed that Christians are saved by faith and not by doing good deeds. Good deeds will always accompany saving faith
Evangelicals, however, are crystal clear too that if someone has saving faith, that faith will always be expressed by doing good deeds. It is the faith that saves, but where there is genuine faith, good deeds will always, so to speak, tag along.
This means that when someone first receives salvation by faith, they will always repent of their sins. And as they continue through life in a state of salvation by faith, their life will be characterised by performing good deeds.
That is not to say that any Christian is able to live even close to a morally perfect life. But it does mean that if someone who claims to be a Christian is not even trying to live in a way that pleases God, that person does not have saving faith. Instead, their faith is a kind of fake, dead faith that doesn’t save.
James refers to this dead sort of faith several times in chapter 2 of his letter. He says:
‘So too, faith by itself, if it has no deeds, is dead.’ (James 2:17)
‘You believe that God is one. Very impressive! Even the demons believe that – and shudder!’ (James 2:19)
‘Do you want evidence, you foolish person, that faith without deeds is useless?’ (James 2:20)
‘For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is also dead.’ (James 2:26)
According to James, then, saving faith will always be accompanied by good deeds. And a multitude of other biblical passages say the same. This is what the Bible teaches, and it is what evangelicals believe.
Free Grace Theology
Around the beginning of the 20th century a heresy developed out of evangelicalism, which has come to be known as ‘Free Grace Theology’. Adherents of this movement rightly agree that people are saved by faith and not by doing good deeds. But they claim that as long as someone makes a decision to accept Christ as their personal Saviour, they will be saved regardless of whether they repent of their sins and make Jesus Lord of their life.
It is true that those in this movement don’t say that morality is unimportant. They say that people should make Jesus Lord of their lives. But they claim that this is not necessary for salvation. All that is necessary is to believe that Jesus is the Saviour and choose to accept Him as such.
Those who take this view are making a terrible mistake. They have failed to recognise that if someone never repents of their sins, it is always a sign that their faith is a kind of fake faith that doesn’t save.
If the 16th century Reformers were around today, there is no doubt that they would all be completely horrified by Free Grace Theology. Their writings make this abundantly clear. And evangelicals today should be equally horrified.
We need to very clear too that Free Grace Theology stands not just outside evangelicalism, but outside anything that could be called orthodox, i.e., non-heretical, Christianity. The idea that people can be saved without turning away from their sins is heresy, pure and simple.
The Free Grace argument that uses John’s Gospel
One of the arguments that is commonly used by those in the Free Grace movement concerns John’s Gospel. The argument goes in this way:
John’s Gospel teaches repeatedly about the need to believe in Jesus for salvation. However, it never uses words meaning ‘repent’ or ‘repentance’. This omission can hardly be accidental. Therefore we can infer that according to this Gospel, turning away from sin is not necessary for someone to receive salvation.
It is true that John’s Gospel never uses words meaning ‘repent’ or ‘repentance’. Nevertheless, this argument is naively simplistic and fundamentally flawed, as I will show in what follows. The word – concept fallacy
To begin with, those who argue in this way have fallen into what we could call ‘the word – concept fallacy’. The error here is to think that if a certain word which is commonly used to refer to a concept is not present, then that concept itself cannot be present.
However, this is a big mistake. For example, suppose I come into a house and say to someone there, ‘I’ve been outside for one minute and I’m soaked! If you go out, make sure you take an umbrella.’
Here I have not been explicit that it is raining, since I have not used the words ‘rain’ or ‘raining’. But I have clearly implied that it is raining nevertheless.
Similarly, there are times when a biblical author clearly implies a concept without using a word or phrase that refers to it explicitly.
For example, it is interesting to note that John’s Gospel itself never uses the Greek word pistis, the standard New Testament noun meaning ‘faith’. Nor does it use any other Greek noun with this sense.
If you look up pistis in a Greek concordance of the NT, you will find that this word is used over 240 times in the NT as a whole but never in John’s Gospel. And if you look up ‘faith’ in an English concordance, you will find hundreds of NT entries but none in John’s Gospel. Instead, when John wants to express the concept of having faith, he always makes use of the verb pisteuo, which can be translated into English as ‘believe’. The concept of having faith is very much present in John’s Gospel, even though the word ‘faith’ is never used.
As another example, take the Greek word charis, which is the standard NT word for ‘grace’. It is interesting that in the Gospels we never find Jesus using this word with the meaning ‘grace’. Nor do we find Him using any other Greek word with this meaning.
If you look up ‘grace’ in an English concordance of the NT, you will not find Jesus using this term. But that, of course, in no way means that Jesus’ message was not a message of grace. Rather, in the Gospels the grace in Jesus’ message is strongly implied rather than made explicit.
The first grave error, then, of those who say that John’s Gospel doesn’t teach the necessity of repentance, is that they have been caught out by the word – concept fallacy. Just because words meaning ‘repent’ and ‘repentance’ are not found in this Gospel in no way has to mean that these concepts are not present.
Taking 1 John into account
Free Grace teachers who use the argument based on John’s Gospel have also failed to take the letter of 1 John into account.
No one disputes that the theology and thought-world of John’s Gospel and 1 John are very similar. Yet, crucially, 1 John is a part of Scripture that is especially strong in its teaching that those who unrepentantly practise sin will not finally be saved.
1 John 3:8 states:
‘The person who practises sin is of the devil.’
1 John 3:14-15 says:
‘14 Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.’
In 1 John 3:9 we are even told:
‘No one who has been born of God practises sin, . . . and he cannot sin . . .’
And 1 John 5:18 says:
‘No one who has been born of God sins . . .’
In saying that those born of God cannot sin, and that no one born of God sins, 3:9 and 5:18 are surely using hyperbole, i.e., deliberately exaggerated language. In light of the rest of Scripture, we cannot say that born-again Christians are actually unable to sin or that they do not sin. Nevertheless, these verses, along with others in 1 John, teach us plainly that those who live unrepentantly sinful lives are not God’s children. And only God’s children will avoid hell in the end.
Passages in John’s Gospel itself
Most importantly, we find that on a number of occasions John’s Gospel itself strongly implies that those who come in faith to Jesus for salvation will only be saved if they repent of their sins.
We should carefully note the following texts:
John 3:19-21
In this passage Jesus says:
‘19 This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who performs bad deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. 21 But the person who practises the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds might be shown as having been done in God.’
The first point to note here is that in v. 20 the Greek word phaula, which I have translated as ‘bad deeds’, is a plural. The reference therefore cannot be to the single bad deed of failing to believe in Jesus. If that had been intended, a singular word would have been needed. Rather, phaula refers generally to the bad deeds that a person performs.
So Jesus is teaching that everyone who performs bad deeds in general hates the light and does not come to the light. But if someone hates the light and does not come to the light, it is surely not possible that such a person could have saving faith. How could they have faith in Jesus, when they refuse to come to the light? Therefore, according to this passage, everyone who performs bad deeds in general does not receive salvation.
It is true that this passage, in line with much else in John’s Gospel and 1 John, uses a simplifying dualism when it contrasts those who perform bad deeds with those who practise the truth. It would be a serious misinterpretation to understand Jesus to be saying that those who practise the truth live perfect lives and do not perform any bad deeds.
Nevertheless, it is not possible to reconcile this passage with the idea that those who don’t repent of their sins can receive salvation. Jesus clearly implies that those who unrepentantly perform bad deeds hate the light and do not come to the light in saving faith.
John 5:28-29
In these verses Jesus states:
‘28 . . . an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice 29 and will come out, those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, and those who committed bad deeds to a resurrection of judgment.’
Again, the first point to make here is that in v. 29 the Greek words agatha and phaula, which I have translated as ‘good deeds’ and ‘bad deeds’ respectively, are both plurals. So it is not possible to understand the doing good to be simply about having faith in Jesus and the doing bad to be simply about failing to have faith in Him. If that meaning had been intended, singular words would have been used. Therefore agatha must refer generally to the good deeds people do. And phaula must refer generally to the bad deeds they do.
Jesus is therefore saying that those who do good deeds generally will experience a ‘resurrection of life’. And He is saying that those who do bad deeds generally will experience a ‘resurrection of judgment’.
Importantly, ‘resurrection of life’ can only be referring to the eternal life that those who reach heaven will experience. Similarly, ‘resurrection of judgment’ can only be referring to the punishment that those who end up in hell will experience.
This passage therefore describes people who get to heaven as those who have done good deeds. And it describes people who arrive in hell as those who have done bad deeds.
The passage, then, clearly teaches that those who live unrepentantly sinful lives are on track for hell. And this must mean that anyone who has not repented of their sins does not have saving faith.
John 8:42
In this verse Jesus says to His Jewish audience:
‘If God were your Father, you would love Me.’
The first point to note here is that to be saved, people surely need to have God as their Father. There is no warrant at all for thinking that there are two kinds of Christian, one of which involves having God as Father, and one of which doesn’t.
Second, although Jesus is speaking only to Jews in this verse, He implies that if anyone is to have God as their Father, that person will love Jesus.
Third, loving Jesus surely involves more than just believing in Him. This is confirmed by what Jesus tells us in John 14:15:
‘If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.’
According to John’s Gospel, then, those who love Jesus also obey Him.
So the argument here can be summed up in this way:
Every Christian, i.e., every person on track for heaven, has God as their Father. Everyone who has God as their Father loves Jesus. And everyone who loves Jesus keeps His commandments. John 8:42 teaches, then, that those who live unrepentantly sinful lives are on the road to hell.
John 10:27-28
In this passage Jesus states:
‘27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of My hand.’
First, we must note that the text is explicit that Jesus’ sheep represent those to whom He gives eternal life. These people are on the road to heaven.
Second, to suppose that there is another group of Christians on the road to heaven who believe in Jesus without becoming His sheep is completely implausible. Nothing in John’s Gospel leads us to believe in the existence of such a group.
Third, Jesus’ sheep are said to follow Him. This must mean following Jesus in obedience.
This passage strongly implies, then, that those who live unrepentantly sinful lives are not on track for heaven. John 12:25
Here Jesus says:
‘Anyone who loves his life loses it, but anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.’
In this verse, keeping one’s life for eternal life must involve either reaching heaven or being on track for heaven. Therefore, since losing one’s life is set in contrast to this, those who lose their lives in this text must be those who arrive in hell or are on track for hell.
Jesus is teaching, then, that those who love their lives will end up in hell, but those who hate their lives will end up in heaven.
Importantly, hating one’s life cannot possibly just mean believing in Jesus. The words must imply the hardship that is involved in Christian discipleship with its renouncing oneself, resisting temptation, etc.
This text is therefore another which plainly implies that only those who repent of their sins receive salvation.
Summing up
The above five passages show clearly that John’s Gospel teaches that those who do not repent of their sins will not be saved from hell. There are other passages which also point in the same direction. But I have listed the ones where this is taught most obviously.
The idea that people can have saving faith in Jesus without repenting of their sins therefore sharply contradicts John’s Gospel.
It is true that this Gospel stresses the theme of repentance less than other parts of the NT do. But we often find that portions of Scripture emphasise some things while teaching more lightly on other things. The various books of the Bible are in no way uniform, although they complement each other beautifully. John’s relative lack of stress on repentance is made up for in other books. And, in any case, as we have seen, there are several passages in John where it is made clear that those who are saved will always turn away from their sins.
Motivation for Free Grace teaching
I think one reason why some of the Free Grace teachers say that people can be saved without repenting of their sins is because they can’t understand how two biblical truths fit together. The Bible teaches that people are saved by faith and not by doing good deeds. And it also teaches that those who are saved repent of their sins and do good deeds. Some Free Grace teachers apparently find these truths contradictory, so they deny the latter.
What they do is similar to what others have done when they have been unable to understand how two biblical truths fit together. For example, the Bible teaches that Jesus is fully God and fully human, yet one person. However, throughout the last 2000 years, many, not understanding how this can be so, have denied either His deity or humanity. They have exalted their own ability to understand above biblical revelation.
If the Bible teaches two themes, however, we should always accept both of them. And we should do so regardless of whether we can figure out how they fit together.
A warning to Free Grace teachers
Let me finish with a warning to teachers of the Free Grace movement. In Luke 17:1-2, the Lord Jesus warns:
‘1 . . . It is inevitable that causes of stumbling will come, but woe to the one through whom they come. 2 It would be better for that person if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.’
I would suggest that the Free Grace teachers are doing something very similar to what Jesus condemns in this passage. They are telling people who don’t know much about the Christian faith that they will arrive in heaven as long as they make a decision to accept Jesus as their Saviour, regardless of whether they turn away from their sins.
This is false teaching that has always been condemned by the church down through the centuries. Anyone who does not repent of their sins does not have saving faith, as the NT makes abundantly clear in a multitude of places. James 2:19, which I quoted above, even implies that faith divorced from good deeds will benefit a person no more than it will benefit demons on the Day of Judgment. Those who teach the terrible doctrine of Free Grace Theology are therefore helping to send people down the road to hell.
These teachers urgently need to repent of what they are doing. If they don’t, I expect that many of them will pay the ultimate price when they meet almighty God on that Day.
I have been a Christian for over 30 years. I have a Ph.D. in New Testament from the University of Edinburgh. I am a UK national and I currently live in the south of Scotland. Check out my blog, The Orthotometist, at maxaplin.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS
If there is one thing that especially marks out evangelicalism, it is surely the belief that Christians don’t earn their right to be saved from hell. Instead we evangelicals believe that salvation is an undeserved gift from God that we accept by faith in Christ.
The Reformers in the 16th century strongly opposed the Roman Catholic view that Christians partly earn their salvation. And ever since, evangelicals have stressed that Christians are saved by faith and not by doing good deeds. Good deeds will always accompany saving faith
Evangelicals, however, are crystal clear too that if someone has saving faith, that faith will always be expressed by doing good deeds. It is the faith that saves, but where there is genuine faith, good deeds will always, so to speak, tag along.
This means that when someone first receives salvation by faith, they will always repent of their sins. And as they continue through life in a state of salvation by faith, their life will be characterised by performing good deeds.
That is not to say that any Christian is able to live even close to a morally perfect life. But it does mean that if someone who claims to be a Christian is not even trying to live in a way that pleases God, that person does not have saving faith. Instead, their faith is a kind of fake, dead faith that doesn’t save.
James refers to this dead sort of faith several times in chapter 2 of his letter. He says:
‘So too, faith by itself, if it has no deeds, is dead.’ (James 2:17)
‘You believe that God is one. Very impressive! Even the demons believe that – and shudder!’ (James 2:19)
‘Do you want evidence, you foolish person, that faith without deeds is useless?’ (James 2:20)
‘For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is also dead.’ (James 2:26)
According to James, then, saving faith will always be accompanied by good deeds. And a multitude of other biblical passages say the same. This is what the Bible teaches, and it is what evangelicals believe.
Free Grace Theology
Around the beginning of the 20th century a heresy developed out of evangelicalism, which has come to be known as ‘Free Grace Theology’. Adherents of this movement rightly agree that people are saved by faith and not by doing good deeds. But they claim that as long as someone makes a decision to accept Christ as their personal Saviour, they will be saved regardless of whether they repent of their sins and make Jesus Lord of their life.
It is true that those in this movement don’t say that morality is unimportant. They say that people should make Jesus Lord of their lives. But they claim that this is not necessary for salvation. All that is necessary is to believe that Jesus is the Saviour and choose to accept Him as such.
Those who take this view are making a terrible mistake. They have failed to recognise that if someone never repents of their sins, it is always a sign that their faith is a kind of fake faith that doesn’t save.
If the 16th century Reformers were around today, there is no doubt that they would all be completely horrified by Free Grace Theology. Their writings make this abundantly clear. And evangelicals today should be equally horrified.
We need to very clear too that Free Grace Theology stands not just outside evangelicalism, but outside anything that could be called orthodox, i.e., non-heretical, Christianity. The idea that people can be saved without turning away from their sins is heresy, pure and simple.
The Free Grace argument that uses John’s Gospel
One of the arguments that is commonly used by those in the Free Grace movement concerns John’s Gospel. The argument goes in this way:
John’s Gospel teaches repeatedly about the need to believe in Jesus for salvation. However, it never uses words meaning ‘repent’ or ‘repentance’. This omission can hardly be accidental. Therefore we can infer that according to this Gospel, turning away from sin is not necessary for someone to receive salvation.
It is true that John’s Gospel never uses words meaning ‘repent’ or ‘repentance’. Nevertheless, this argument is naively simplistic and fundamentally flawed, as I will show in what follows. The word – concept fallacy
To begin with, those who argue in this way have fallen into what we could call ‘the word – concept fallacy’. The error here is to think that if a certain word which is commonly used to refer to a concept is not present, then that concept itself cannot be present.
However, this is a big mistake. For example, suppose I come into a house and say to someone there, ‘I’ve been outside for one minute and I’m soaked! If you go out, make sure you take an umbrella.’
Here I have not been explicit that it is raining, since I have not used the words ‘rain’ or ‘raining’. But I have clearly implied that it is raining nevertheless.
Similarly, there are times when a biblical author clearly implies a concept without using a word or phrase that refers to it explicitly.
For example, it is interesting to note that John’s Gospel itself never uses the Greek word pistis, the standard New Testament noun meaning ‘faith’. Nor does it use any other Greek noun with this sense.
If you look up pistis in a Greek concordance of the NT, you will find that this word is used over 240 times in the NT as a whole but never in John’s Gospel. And if you look up ‘faith’ in an English concordance, you will find hundreds of NT entries but none in John’s Gospel. Instead, when John wants to express the concept of having faith, he always makes use of the verb pisteuo, which can be translated into English as ‘believe’. The concept of having faith is very much present in John’s Gospel, even though the word ‘faith’ is never used.
As another example, take the Greek word charis, which is the standard NT word for ‘grace’. It is interesting that in the Gospels we never find Jesus using this word with the meaning ‘grace’. Nor do we find Him using any other Greek word with this meaning.
If you look up ‘grace’ in an English concordance of the NT, you will not find Jesus using this term. But that, of course, in no way means that Jesus’ message was not a message of grace. Rather, in the Gospels the grace in Jesus’ message is strongly implied rather than made explicit.
The first grave error, then, of those who say that John’s Gospel doesn’t teach the necessity of repentance, is that they have been caught out by the word – concept fallacy. Just because words meaning ‘repent’ and ‘repentance’ are not found in this Gospel in no way has to mean that these concepts are not present.
Taking 1 John into account
Free Grace teachers who use the argument based on John’s Gospel have also failed to take the letter of 1 John into account.
No one disputes that the theology and thought-world of John’s Gospel and 1 John are very similar. Yet, crucially, 1 John is a part of Scripture that is especially strong in its teaching that those who unrepentantly practise sin will not finally be saved.
1 John 3:8 states:
‘The person who practises sin is of the devil.’
1 John 3:14-15 says:
‘14 Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.’
In 1 John 3:9 we are even told:
‘No one who has been born of God practises sin, . . . and he cannot sin . . .’
And 1 John 5:18 says:
‘No one who has been born of God sins . . .’
In saying that those born of God cannot sin, and that no one born of God sins, 3:9 and 5:18 are surely using hyperbole, i.e., deliberately exaggerated language. In light of the rest of Scripture, we cannot say that born-again Christians are actually unable to sin or that they do not sin. Nevertheless, these verses, along with others in 1 John, teach us plainly that those who live unrepentantly sinful lives are not God’s children. And only God’s children will avoid hell in the end.
Most importantly, we find that on a number of occasions John’s Gospel itself strongly implies that those who come in faith to Jesus for salvation will only be saved if they repent of their sins.
We should carefully note the following texts:
John 3:19-21
In this passage Jesus says:
‘19 This is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone who performs bad deeds hates the light and does not come to the light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. 21 But the person who practises the truth comes to the light, so that his deeds might be shown as having been done in God.’
The first point to note here is that in v. 20 the Greek word phaula, which I have translated as ‘bad deeds’, is a plural. The reference therefore cannot be to the single bad deed of failing to believe in Jesus. If that had been intended, a singular word would have been needed. Rather, phaula refers generally to the bad deeds that a person performs.
So Jesus is teaching that everyone who performs bad deeds in general hates the light and does not come to the light. But if someone hates the light and does not come to the light, it is surely not possible that such a person could have saving faith. How could they have faith in Jesus, when they refuse to come to the light? Therefore, according to this passage, everyone who performs bad deeds in general does not receive salvation.
It is true that this passage, in line with much else in John’s Gospel and 1 John, uses a simplifying dualism when it contrasts those who perform bad deeds with those who practise the truth. It would be a serious misinterpretation to understand Jesus to be saying that those who practise the truth live perfect lives and do not perform any bad deeds.
Nevertheless, it is not possible to reconcile this passage with the idea that those who don’t repent of their sins can receive salvation. Jesus clearly implies that those who unrepentantly perform bad deeds hate the light and do not come to the light in saving faith.
John 5:28-29
In these verses Jesus states:
‘28 . . . an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice 29 and will come out, those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, and those who committed bad deeds to a resurrection of judgment.’
Again, the first point to make here is that in v. 29 the Greek words agatha and phaula, which I have translated as ‘good deeds’ and ‘bad deeds’ respectively, are both plurals. So it is not possible to understand the doing good to be simply about having faith in Jesus and the doing bad to be simply about failing to have faith in Him. If that meaning had been intended, singular words would have been used. Therefore agatha must refer generally to the good deeds people do. And phaula must refer generally to the bad deeds they do.
Jesus is therefore saying that those who do good deeds generally will experience a ‘resurrection of life’. And He is saying that those who do bad deeds generally will experience a ‘resurrection of judgment’.
Importantly, ‘resurrection of life’ can only be referring to the eternal life that those who reach heaven will experience. Similarly, ‘resurrection of judgment’ can only be referring to the punishment that those who end up in hell will experience.
This passage therefore describes people who get to heaven as those who have done good deeds. And it describes people who arrive in hell as those who have done bad deeds.
The passage, then, clearly teaches that those who live unrepentantly sinful lives are on track for hell. And this must mean that anyone who has not repented of their sins does not have saving faith.
John 8:42
In this verse Jesus says to His Jewish audience:
‘If God were your Father, you would love Me.’
The first point to note here is that to be saved, people surely need to have God as their Father. There is no warrant at all for thinking that there are two kinds of Christian, one of which involves having God as Father, and one of which doesn’t.
Second, although Jesus is speaking only to Jews in this verse, He implies that if anyone is to have God as their Father, that person will love Jesus.
Third, loving Jesus surely involves more than just believing in Him. This is confirmed by what Jesus tells us in John 14:15:
‘If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.’
According to John’s Gospel, then, those who love Jesus also obey Him.
So the argument here can be summed up in this way:
Every Christian, i.e., every person on track for heaven, has God as their Father. Everyone who has God as their Father loves Jesus. And everyone who loves Jesus keeps His commandments. John 8:42 teaches, then, that those who live unrepentantly sinful lives are on the road to hell.
John 10:27-28
In this passage Jesus states:
‘27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. And no one will snatch them out of My hand.’
First, we must note that the text is explicit that Jesus’ sheep represent those to whom He gives eternal life. These people are on the road to heaven.
Second, to suppose that there is another group of Christians on the road to heaven who believe in Jesus without becoming His sheep is completely implausible. Nothing in John’s Gospel leads us to believe in the existence of such a group.
Third, Jesus’ sheep are said to follow Him. This must mean following Jesus in obedience.
This passage strongly implies, then, that those who live unrepentantly sinful lives are not on track for heaven. John 12:25
Here Jesus says:
‘Anyone who loves his life loses it, but anyone who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.’
In this verse, keeping one’s life for eternal life must involve either reaching heaven or being on track for heaven. Therefore, since losing one’s life is set in contrast to this, those who lose their lives in this text must be those who arrive in hell or are on track for hell.
Jesus is teaching, then, that those who love their lives will end up in hell, but those who hate their lives will end up in heaven.
Importantly, hating one’s life cannot possibly just mean believing in Jesus. The words must imply the hardship that is involved in Christian discipleship with its renouncing oneself, resisting temptation, etc.
This text is therefore another which plainly implies that only those who repent of their sins receive salvation.
Summing up
The above five passages show clearly that John’s Gospel teaches that those who do not repent of their sins will not be saved from hell. There are other passages which also point in the same direction. But I have listed the ones where this is taught most obviously.
The idea that people can have saving faith in Jesus without repenting of their sins therefore sharply contradicts John’s Gospel.
It is true that this Gospel stresses the theme of repentance less than other parts of the NT do. But we often find that portions of Scripture emphasise some things while teaching more lightly on other things. The various books of the Bible are in no way uniform, although they complement each other beautifully. John’s relative lack of stress on repentance is made up for in other books. And, in any case, as we have seen, there are several passages in John where it is made clear that those who are saved will always turn away from their sins.
Motivation for Free Grace teaching
I think one reason why some of the Free Grace teachers say that people can be saved without repenting of their sins is because they can’t understand how two biblical truths fit together. The Bible teaches that people are saved by faith and not by doing good deeds. And it also teaches that those who are saved repent of their sins and do good deeds. Some Free Grace teachers apparently find these truths contradictory, so they deny the latter.
What they do is similar to what others have done when they have been unable to understand how two biblical truths fit together. For example, the Bible teaches that Jesus is fully God and fully human, yet one person. However, throughout the last 2000 years, many, not understanding how this can be so, have denied either His deity or humanity. They have exalted their own ability to understand above biblical revelation.
If the Bible teaches two themes, however, we should always accept both of them. And we should do so regardless of whether we can figure out how they fit together.
A warning to Free Grace teachers
Let me finish with a warning to teachers of the Free Grace movement. In Luke 17:1-2, the Lord Jesus warns:
‘1 . . . It is inevitable that causes of stumbling will come, but woe to the one through whom they come. 2 It would be better for that person if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.’
I would suggest that the Free Grace teachers are doing something very similar to what Jesus condemns in this passage. They are telling people who don’t know much about the Christian faith that they will arrive in heaven as long as they make a decision to accept Jesus as their Saviour, regardless of whether they turn away from their sins.
This is false teaching that has always been condemned by the church down through the centuries. Anyone who does not repent of their sins does not have saving faith, as the NT makes abundantly clear in a multitude of places. James 2:19, which I quoted above, even implies that faith divorced from good deeds will benefit a person no more than it will benefit demons on the Day of Judgment. Those who teach the terrible doctrine of Free Grace Theology are therefore helping to send people down the road to hell.
These teachers urgently need to repent of what they are doing. If they don’t, I expect that many of them will pay the ultimate price when they meet almighty God on that Day.
I have been a Christian for over 30 years. I have a Ph.D. in New Testament from the University of Edinburgh. I am a UK national and I currently live in the south of Scotland. Check out my blog, The Orthotometist, at maxaplin.blogspot.com
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS
Sunday, February 19, 2017
The Seal Of Love
Ephesians Ch 1 13-14
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
I remember when my former pastor preached about the seal of salvation. He said you are sealed with the holy spirit, which is the guarantee of your salvation and your inheritance. The Holy Spirit only comes into those who truly believe with all their heart, and He lives inside those whose faith is sincere. So, then, the evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person's heart should be enough for everyone to believe they are saved. Is this evidence to prove that you or that I am a true believer?
First of all, if you are reading this, I am going to assume that you are a believer, and you have heard sermons or read commentaries about what it means to be saved. Everyone has their own opinion on how to tell the believers from the fakers; if you confess with your mouth that you believe in Jesus Christ, does that automatically make you a christian?
The Word says:
Romans ch 10:9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Your confession is important, but you must also believe the words that you are speaking from your mouth; belief is essential. There are many people who make confessions of believing in Jesus Christ, but these confessions never come from their heart; they believe with their mind, but not with their heart. That is why they seem to have a form of godliness, but with no manisfestation of the power of God in their lives. They seem to talk the talk and walk the walk when it is necessary to appear to be godly, but when you find them in situations where the power of God is needed to bring a resolution that could only come from the Lord, you will find that they are not equipped for the battle; it is very likely they will be defeated.
The Lord is about to bring about the last great revival, and it is almost harvest time; in fact some people declare that the harvest has begun. This is important, because now we will be able to see who are the true believers and who are the fakers. The true believers will follow His Word, will be able to hear His voice in their hearts, who will follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and they will not give up their faith, no matter how tough the issues and the promblems of life become. This is never easy, but with the power of His Word in our hearts, and the power of the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us, we will persevere.
The Seal of Love is the Holy Spirit, the comforter, the teacher, the Father manifested in our hearts. He will never leave you or forsake you. The only time that you see the Holy Spirit move out of a person's heart, is when that person serves Him an eviction notice! Yes, a believer can grieve the Holy Spirit to the point when in sorrow and grief, He decides to leave, because His son or daughter no longer wants Him around. They decide that they want to do things their own way, live by their own standards and not God's standards. They selfishly declare that they don't need God in their lives anymore, or they will pretend that God doesn't exist at all; this is not backsliding this is total denial of the truth and brings about the persecution of our Lord Jesus Christ; it makes His sacrifice on the cross seem to be of no value.
So, what if you have believed in Jesus Christ and confessed Him as your Lord and Savior, yet you haven't been living a godly life, one that lived for His will and for His glory? Well, that depends. Do you feel convicted in your heart? Are you concerned that you may be one of the fakers because you never felt the power of Holy Spirit in your life, and never heard Him speaking to you in your heart? You might be a faker, I can't really say. No one can, only the Lord knows for certain who His children are, and some some of His children have been living 'good' lives, going to church, doing all the right rituals so that everyone else believes that they are righteous, yet if we could see what they were thinking while the pastor was preaching, or if we could see into their hearts, we would find some dark and shocking things, the most shocking being unbelief. But this isnt the end of the story.
We all have issues that only the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word can cleanse. The real issue is whether a believer is willing to confess that they have issues and allow The Holy Spirit to deal with them. If you know for a fact that you believe in Jesus Christ and that you confessed Him from your heart, yet you still don't have a real relationship with Him, consider the cost of not pursuing Him right now. There will be countless people on judgement day that will come before Jesus and sware up and down that they knew Him. They will state their own case: "I went to church every sunday, gave you my tithes, feed the poor, prayed for the sick and they got well, I was an upstanding citizen in my community; of course I knew about you Jesus, I did everything the pastor said I should do, I helped a lot of people, those people probably would not be standing over there with you if it wasn't for me...ask them, they are my witnesses......where is my advocate who will speak for me?.........."
You see, His own words will convict him, he KNEW ABOUT Jesus, but He did not KNOW Jesus, and He never surrendered his life to God. The pretenders think they know who Jesus is and what he wants, they make a case for themselves everyday when they pretend to believe in Him when in fact they believe that their good works and good intentions will get them to heaven; this is the oldest deception straight from satan's heart. You cannot do anything 'good' for the Lord unless you know Him and believe in His Word, and you cannnot be saved from your sins if you do not repent, confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and decide to live for Him instead of living for yourself.
The seal is the key; you may not be listening to the Holy Spirit when He tries to guide you, you may think that the small still voice you hear sometimes when He is trying to help you is just your imagination. You must open your heart to His presence in your life, and seek His guidance and understanding, The Holy Spirit is a gentlman, He will not force you to obey Him, but you will be very happy if you do. Please dont shut Him out, as long as you are willing to let Him live in your heart, you are sealed with God's approval, declared righteous in His eyes, and you will forever be His child.
If you have never confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to say a prayer for repentance and confess Him now as your Lord and Savior. If you have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior but you know that you don't have a real relationship with Him and you have been pretending to believe in Him, repent now, and confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior right now, and this time you must truly believe with all your heart and soul, and then welcome the Holy Spirit into your heart and wait for His warm answer of love and appreciation - you will never be the same again!
Prayer of Salvation
Lord,
I repent for trying to be master of my own life. I change my mind about who I want to be in charge of my life. I turn from my useless and unproductive thoughts that I am the center of my universe and choose to believe in the living God who created everything, including me (Acts 14:15). I have lived without a purpose but now I will live to hear and obey You, God (Jn. 5:19, 20,30).
I confess with my lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I believe that God so loved the world He sent His only Son Jesus to shed His blood to wash away the barrier of sin (Jn. 3:16)
I receive You, Jesus as MY Lord and Savior (Jn. 1:11,12).
I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into my life to rescue and empower me and to restore me to intimacy with my heavenly Father (Acts 2:38).
If you just confessed this prayer, you are saved! I welcome you into the family my (brother/sister) I pray for peace, joy, and happiness in your life as you allow the Lord to love you and bless you and give you assurance of everlasting life with Him forever and ever......PRAISE GOD!
May the Lord keep you and Bless you this day....AMEN
And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
I remember when my former pastor preached about the seal of salvation. He said you are sealed with the holy spirit, which is the guarantee of your salvation and your inheritance. The Holy Spirit only comes into those who truly believe with all their heart, and He lives inside those whose faith is sincere. So, then, the evidence of the Holy Spirit in a person's heart should be enough for everyone to believe they are saved. Is this evidence to prove that you or that I am a true believer?
First of all, if you are reading this, I am going to assume that you are a believer, and you have heard sermons or read commentaries about what it means to be saved. Everyone has their own opinion on how to tell the believers from the fakers; if you confess with your mouth that you believe in Jesus Christ, does that automatically make you a christian?
The Word says:
Romans ch 10:9
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Your confession is important, but you must also believe the words that you are speaking from your mouth; belief is essential. There are many people who make confessions of believing in Jesus Christ, but these confessions never come from their heart; they believe with their mind, but not with their heart. That is why they seem to have a form of godliness, but with no manisfestation of the power of God in their lives. They seem to talk the talk and walk the walk when it is necessary to appear to be godly, but when you find them in situations where the power of God is needed to bring a resolution that could only come from the Lord, you will find that they are not equipped for the battle; it is very likely they will be defeated.
The Lord is about to bring about the last great revival, and it is almost harvest time; in fact some people declare that the harvest has begun. This is important, because now we will be able to see who are the true believers and who are the fakers. The true believers will follow His Word, will be able to hear His voice in their hearts, who will follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and they will not give up their faith, no matter how tough the issues and the promblems of life become. This is never easy, but with the power of His Word in our hearts, and the power of the Holy Spirit to guide and protect us, we will persevere.
The Seal of Love is the Holy Spirit, the comforter, the teacher, the Father manifested in our hearts. He will never leave you or forsake you. The only time that you see the Holy Spirit move out of a person's heart, is when that person serves Him an eviction notice! Yes, a believer can grieve the Holy Spirit to the point when in sorrow and grief, He decides to leave, because His son or daughter no longer wants Him around. They decide that they want to do things their own way, live by their own standards and not God's standards. They selfishly declare that they don't need God in their lives anymore, or they will pretend that God doesn't exist at all; this is not backsliding this is total denial of the truth and brings about the persecution of our Lord Jesus Christ; it makes His sacrifice on the cross seem to be of no value.
So, what if you have believed in Jesus Christ and confessed Him as your Lord and Savior, yet you haven't been living a godly life, one that lived for His will and for His glory? Well, that depends. Do you feel convicted in your heart? Are you concerned that you may be one of the fakers because you never felt the power of Holy Spirit in your life, and never heard Him speaking to you in your heart? You might be a faker, I can't really say. No one can, only the Lord knows for certain who His children are, and some some of His children have been living 'good' lives, going to church, doing all the right rituals so that everyone else believes that they are righteous, yet if we could see what they were thinking while the pastor was preaching, or if we could see into their hearts, we would find some dark and shocking things, the most shocking being unbelief. But this isnt the end of the story.
We all have issues that only the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word can cleanse. The real issue is whether a believer is willing to confess that they have issues and allow The Holy Spirit to deal with them. If you know for a fact that you believe in Jesus Christ and that you confessed Him from your heart, yet you still don't have a real relationship with Him, consider the cost of not pursuing Him right now. There will be countless people on judgement day that will come before Jesus and sware up and down that they knew Him. They will state their own case: "I went to church every sunday, gave you my tithes, feed the poor, prayed for the sick and they got well, I was an upstanding citizen in my community; of course I knew about you Jesus, I did everything the pastor said I should do, I helped a lot of people, those people probably would not be standing over there with you if it wasn't for me...ask them, they are my witnesses......where is my advocate who will speak for me?.........."
You see, His own words will convict him, he KNEW ABOUT Jesus, but He did not KNOW Jesus, and He never surrendered his life to God. The pretenders think they know who Jesus is and what he wants, they make a case for themselves everyday when they pretend to believe in Him when in fact they believe that their good works and good intentions will get them to heaven; this is the oldest deception straight from satan's heart. You cannot do anything 'good' for the Lord unless you know Him and believe in His Word, and you cannnot be saved from your sins if you do not repent, confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and decide to live for Him instead of living for yourself.
The seal is the key; you may not be listening to the Holy Spirit when He tries to guide you, you may think that the small still voice you hear sometimes when He is trying to help you is just your imagination. You must open your heart to His presence in your life, and seek His guidance and understanding, The Holy Spirit is a gentlman, He will not force you to obey Him, but you will be very happy if you do. Please dont shut Him out, as long as you are willing to let Him live in your heart, you are sealed with God's approval, declared righteous in His eyes, and you will forever be His child.
If you have never confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to say a prayer for repentance and confess Him now as your Lord and Savior. If you have confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior but you know that you don't have a real relationship with Him and you have been pretending to believe in Him, repent now, and confess Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior right now, and this time you must truly believe with all your heart and soul, and then welcome the Holy Spirit into your heart and wait for His warm answer of love and appreciation - you will never be the same again!
Prayer of Salvation
Lord,
I repent for trying to be master of my own life. I change my mind about who I want to be in charge of my life. I turn from my useless and unproductive thoughts that I am the center of my universe and choose to believe in the living God who created everything, including me (Acts 14:15). I have lived without a purpose but now I will live to hear and obey You, God (Jn. 5:19, 20,30).
I confess with my lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I believe that God so loved the world He sent His only Son Jesus to shed His blood to wash away the barrier of sin (Jn. 3:16)
I receive You, Jesus as MY Lord and Savior (Jn. 1:11,12).
I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into my life to rescue and empower me and to restore me to intimacy with my heavenly Father (Acts 2:38).
If you just confessed this prayer, you are saved! I welcome you into the family my (brother/sister) I pray for peace, joy, and happiness in your life as you allow the Lord to love you and bless you and give you assurance of everlasting life with Him forever and ever......PRAISE GOD!
May the Lord keep you and Bless you this day....AMEN
Saturday, February 18, 2017
Unshakeable Faith
By Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Daniel 1:1-20
Daniel had unshakeable faith. His trust in the Lord sustained him when he was uprooted from his home, taken into captivity, and sent to a foreign country. It strengthened him as he served under several kings and faced many challenges.
Knowing God and trusting Him are the two key elements of deep faith. Daniel, who was part of the Israelite nobility, apparently learned about the Lord from a young age. While he was in captivity, his words and actions demonstrated that he knew the Scriptures and wanted to obey God. When offered a meal that was incompatible with the dietary laws, he took a great risk by requesting other food. In verse 9 of today’s passage, we see that God caused the official to show favor to him. Like Daniel, we are to spend our lives learning and carrying out what pleases our heavenly Father (Col. 1:10).
Not only did this young man know what the Scriptures said, but he also trusted the Lord to do as He had promised. Every time Daniel took a stand for godliness, he was demonstrating his confidence in the heavenly Father. And his friends—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—had unwavering faith as well. They did not know for sure that the Lord would rescue them from the fiery furnace, but they believed He could and trusted that He’d do what was right (Dan. 3:16-18).
Barriers to unshakeable faith include pride (I won’t admit I need God’s help), arrogance (I know a better way—I don’t have to ask God), and self-sufficiency (I can do it myself without His help). Which of these is keeping you from becoming a person of strong faith? Confess it and turn toward the Lord.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
Daniel 1:1-20
Daniel had unshakeable faith. His trust in the Lord sustained him when he was uprooted from his home, taken into captivity, and sent to a foreign country. It strengthened him as he served under several kings and faced many challenges.
Knowing God and trusting Him are the two key elements of deep faith. Daniel, who was part of the Israelite nobility, apparently learned about the Lord from a young age. While he was in captivity, his words and actions demonstrated that he knew the Scriptures and wanted to obey God. When offered a meal that was incompatible with the dietary laws, he took a great risk by requesting other food. In verse 9 of today’s passage, we see that God caused the official to show favor to him. Like Daniel, we are to spend our lives learning and carrying out what pleases our heavenly Father (Col. 1:10).
Not only did this young man know what the Scriptures said, but he also trusted the Lord to do as He had promised. Every time Daniel took a stand for godliness, he was demonstrating his confidence in the heavenly Father. And his friends—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego—had unwavering faith as well. They did not know for sure that the Lord would rescue them from the fiery furnace, but they believed He could and trusted that He’d do what was right (Dan. 3:16-18).
Barriers to unshakeable faith include pride (I won’t admit I need God’s help), arrogance (I know a better way—I don’t have to ask God), and self-sufficiency (I can do it myself without His help). Which of these is keeping you from becoming a person of strong faith? Confess it and turn toward the Lord.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Friday, February 17, 2017
How To Avoid An Empty Life
By Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Psalm 16:11
In public, most people appear happy and confident. But beneath the surface, many feel empty. In fact, it is possible to be in a large crowd and yet still feel alone.
A lot of men and women see no meaning or purpose in life. Attempting to overcome the emptiness, some become busy, others turn to drugs or alcohol, and still others strive for more money, power, or love. Though pleasure exists for them, it is usually short-lived.
There’s a reason why life can feel empty: Man was created with a yearning that God alone is able to satisfy. Individuals cannot be fulfilled until they experience His transforming and unconditional love. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). In other words, the Lord wants us to feel complete, which can happen only through a relationship with Him.
However, even a person who is saved can feel empty. This could result from disobedience: A slight detour in one’s walk with the Lord can become a way of life, depriving a believer of deep satisfaction. It’s also possible for Christians to live according to God’s Word without fully surrendering their desires to Him. For example, many believers still try to fill up their own void with achievements, wealth, or relationships. When aspirations like these are given higher priority than the Lord, they are a form of idolatry.
We can live a full life only when we seek God above all else. Pray for His guidance as you search your heart. Confess any sin, and ask God to fill your life as only He can do.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
Psalm 16:11
In public, most people appear happy and confident. But beneath the surface, many feel empty. In fact, it is possible to be in a large crowd and yet still feel alone.
A lot of men and women see no meaning or purpose in life. Attempting to overcome the emptiness, some become busy, others turn to drugs or alcohol, and still others strive for more money, power, or love. Though pleasure exists for them, it is usually short-lived.
There’s a reason why life can feel empty: Man was created with a yearning that God alone is able to satisfy. Individuals cannot be fulfilled until they experience His transforming and unconditional love. Jesus said, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). In other words, the Lord wants us to feel complete, which can happen only through a relationship with Him.
However, even a person who is saved can feel empty. This could result from disobedience: A slight detour in one’s walk with the Lord can become a way of life, depriving a believer of deep satisfaction. It’s also possible for Christians to live according to God’s Word without fully surrendering their desires to Him. For example, many believers still try to fill up their own void with achievements, wealth, or relationships. When aspirations like these are given higher priority than the Lord, they are a form of idolatry.
We can live a full life only when we seek God above all else. Pray for His guidance as you search your heart. Confess any sin, and ask God to fill your life as only He can do.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Thursday, February 16, 2017
Barriers To True Freedom
I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me Philippians 4:13
When you live for God, you find that the mundane tasks of life are easier to bear. It gives you a better perspective, and His love reaches down deep into your soul, where you find rest in Him. You feel happy, maybe for the first time in your life. That is the power of God's love, transforming His little ones with peace and joy. You will never find anything or anyone in this world that will compare to this gift of love and grace. But, in order to enter into this peace and happiness, you must first overcome the barriers in your heart that will oppose it.
You may find that you have obstacles in your mind and heart that are preventing you from feeling God's love for you. After all, everyday, we all try to navigate this messy existence called life; we get up everday, we go to do our daily tasks, we work, raise our children, cook dinner for our family, try to get home at a decent time, get stuck in traffic, or try to find a seat in a crowded bus or train, and everyone else is doing the same thing. We find that life is very busy, we start to get into a routine, a rut, and we forget why any of this stuff was important in the first place.
That is when you need to change your perspective, and do something different. You need to spend time with the Lord and bask in His love. He has been waiting for you all day, to seek His face and His loving kindness. Your boss might have embarrassed you in front of your coworkers, or your spouse may have forgotten to call you to tell you he wasnt coming home for dinner after you made him his favorite meal, or your children just got on your last nerve, and you've got so many bills that you are afraid to go and get the mail...life can be very messy. But take heart, brothers and sisters in Christ, there is a solution to all of your troubles, Jesus Christ.
You need to come to Him, when live becomes a burden, and you don't know why you get up in the morning and get up out of your bed. You may be so focused on doing everything for yourself and your family, that you forget who gave you life, who gave you that family, who has been giving you the strength to endure another day of work at the office. You see, when you take time to pray and worship in His presence everyday, a miracle happens; things don't seem as bad as they look. You feel His presence in your heart, and the fears and the pains go away. Suddenly, the solution for that project you've been working for at your job manifests itself in your mind. Your heart begins to settle, and now you can go back into your life, and deal with your family with patience and kindness, because now, you can love them with the power of God's love in your heart.
We don't always know that we are the obstacles to true freedom, that is the freedom and the power expressed in the heart and mind of Jesus Christ. We are so busy trying to live up to impossible standards, and we learn from a early age to 'fake it until you make it'. The Lord doesn't require us to be perfect; He requires that we be willing to surrender our hearts and minds to Him, so that He can heal our hearts and bodies, and change our worldliness and pride to love and humility. We cannot do it ourselves, no matter how much we desire to change; we need to take our burdens to the Lord and leave them there.
If you would like to live in the freedom of Jesus Christ, repeat this prayer:
Prayer of Salvation
Lord,
I repent for trying to be master of my own life. I change my mind about who I want to be in charge of my life. I turn from my useless and unproductive thoughts that I am the center of my universe and choose to believe in the living God who created everything, including me (Acts 14:15). I have lived without a purpose but now I will live to hear and obey You, God (Jn. 5:19, 20,30).
I confess with my lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I believe that God so loved the world He sent His only Son Jesus to shed His blood to wash away the barrier of sin (Jn. 3:16)
I receive You, Jesus as MY Lord and Savior (Jn. 1:11,12).
I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into my life to rescue and empower me and to restore me to intimacy with my heavenly Father (Acts 2:38).
If you just confessed this prayer, you are saved! I welcome you into the family my (brother/sister) I pray for peace, joy, and happiness in your life as you allow the Lord to love you and bless you and give you assurance of everlasting life with Him forever and ever......PRAISE GOD!
May the Lord keep you and Bless you this day....AMEN
When you live for God, you find that the mundane tasks of life are easier to bear. It gives you a better perspective, and His love reaches down deep into your soul, where you find rest in Him. You feel happy, maybe for the first time in your life. That is the power of God's love, transforming His little ones with peace and joy. You will never find anything or anyone in this world that will compare to this gift of love and grace. But, in order to enter into this peace and happiness, you must first overcome the barriers in your heart that will oppose it.
You may find that you have obstacles in your mind and heart that are preventing you from feeling God's love for you. After all, everyday, we all try to navigate this messy existence called life; we get up everday, we go to do our daily tasks, we work, raise our children, cook dinner for our family, try to get home at a decent time, get stuck in traffic, or try to find a seat in a crowded bus or train, and everyone else is doing the same thing. We find that life is very busy, we start to get into a routine, a rut, and we forget why any of this stuff was important in the first place.
That is when you need to change your perspective, and do something different. You need to spend time with the Lord and bask in His love. He has been waiting for you all day, to seek His face and His loving kindness. Your boss might have embarrassed you in front of your coworkers, or your spouse may have forgotten to call you to tell you he wasnt coming home for dinner after you made him his favorite meal, or your children just got on your last nerve, and you've got so many bills that you are afraid to go and get the mail...life can be very messy. But take heart, brothers and sisters in Christ, there is a solution to all of your troubles, Jesus Christ.
You need to come to Him, when live becomes a burden, and you don't know why you get up in the morning and get up out of your bed. You may be so focused on doing everything for yourself and your family, that you forget who gave you life, who gave you that family, who has been giving you the strength to endure another day of work at the office. You see, when you take time to pray and worship in His presence everyday, a miracle happens; things don't seem as bad as they look. You feel His presence in your heart, and the fears and the pains go away. Suddenly, the solution for that project you've been working for at your job manifests itself in your mind. Your heart begins to settle, and now you can go back into your life, and deal with your family with patience and kindness, because now, you can love them with the power of God's love in your heart.
We don't always know that we are the obstacles to true freedom, that is the freedom and the power expressed in the heart and mind of Jesus Christ. We are so busy trying to live up to impossible standards, and we learn from a early age to 'fake it until you make it'. The Lord doesn't require us to be perfect; He requires that we be willing to surrender our hearts and minds to Him, so that He can heal our hearts and bodies, and change our worldliness and pride to love and humility. We cannot do it ourselves, no matter how much we desire to change; we need to take our burdens to the Lord and leave them there.
If you would like to live in the freedom of Jesus Christ, repeat this prayer:
Prayer of Salvation
Lord,
I repent for trying to be master of my own life. I change my mind about who I want to be in charge of my life. I turn from my useless and unproductive thoughts that I am the center of my universe and choose to believe in the living God who created everything, including me (Acts 14:15). I have lived without a purpose but now I will live to hear and obey You, God (Jn. 5:19, 20,30).
I confess with my lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in my heart that God raised Him from the dead. I believe that God so loved the world He sent His only Son Jesus to shed His blood to wash away the barrier of sin (Jn. 3:16)
I receive You, Jesus as MY Lord and Savior (Jn. 1:11,12).
I welcome You, Holy Spirit, into my life to rescue and empower me and to restore me to intimacy with my heavenly Father (Acts 2:38).
If you just confessed this prayer, you are saved! I welcome you into the family my (brother/sister) I pray for peace, joy, and happiness in your life as you allow the Lord to love you and bless you and give you assurance of everlasting life with Him forever and ever......PRAISE GOD!
May the Lord keep you and Bless you this day....AMEN
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Showing Agape Love
by Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Divine love empowers us to respond calmly to difficulties, demonstrate patience in seasons of waiting, and sacrifice without complaint. We offer God’s love when we can:
Forgive others. The son wasted his money in riotous living and discovered both the empty promises and destructive quality of sin. Upon the boy’s return, his father forgave him completely. Love made it possible to wipe away the past (Ps. 103:12).
Act generously. The son, having just fed pigs, arrived at his father’s estate with few expectations. The forgiving dad greeted him most warmly and dressed him in the finest garments. Godly love, which keeps no record of wrongs, enabled the father to show generosity.
Serve joyfully. What a celebration the father had upon the prodigal’s return! His joy in his lost son’s homecoming overflowed to others. Love expresses itself in willing service.
Restore those who fall. The one who both abandoned his father and squandered his inheritance was again given full rights as a son.
When we mess up, our heavenly Father patiently waits for us to turn back to Him. He accepts our repentance, rejoices in our return, and restores intimacy with Him. The elder brother in this parable missed the point because of his self-righteous attitude (1 John 1:8). He didn’t recognize his mistakes or the many times his father had shown him love and forgiveness.
God calls us to a lifestyle of agape love. To whom could you extend the divine love that forgives, restores, and serves with generosity and joy?
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Divine love empowers us to respond calmly to difficulties, demonstrate patience in seasons of waiting, and sacrifice without complaint. We offer God’s love when we can:
Forgive others. The son wasted his money in riotous living and discovered both the empty promises and destructive quality of sin. Upon the boy’s return, his father forgave him completely. Love made it possible to wipe away the past (Ps. 103:12).
Act generously. The son, having just fed pigs, arrived at his father’s estate with few expectations. The forgiving dad greeted him most warmly and dressed him in the finest garments. Godly love, which keeps no record of wrongs, enabled the father to show generosity.
Serve joyfully. What a celebration the father had upon the prodigal’s return! His joy in his lost son’s homecoming overflowed to others. Love expresses itself in willing service.
Restore those who fall. The one who both abandoned his father and squandered his inheritance was again given full rights as a son.
When we mess up, our heavenly Father patiently waits for us to turn back to Him. He accepts our repentance, rejoices in our return, and restores intimacy with Him. The elder brother in this parable missed the point because of his self-righteous attitude (1 John 1:8). He didn’t recognize his mistakes or the many times his father had shown him love and forgiveness.
God calls us to a lifestyle of agape love. To whom could you extend the divine love that forgives, restores, and serves with generosity and joy?
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
The Power Of Love
by Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Luke 15:11-32
In Jesus’ day, three Greek words were used to express “love”—eros (physical intimacy), philia (friendship), and agape (fruit produced by the Holy Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5:22-23). Our heavenly Father cares for us with agape love, and to bring us into a right relationship with Him, He sacrificed His Son (1 John 4:10).
The parable of the prodigal son gives us a good example of this type of love. Agape is evident in our life when we:
Respond calmly to difficulties. To the son’s untimely demand for his share of the inheritance, the father didn’t reply with angry words about ungrateful children. Though the prodigal’s attitude must have caused pain, the man held his tongue and did not retaliate. In calmness, he could think more clearly and chose to love (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).
Sacrifice without complaint. Though he knew his son was committed to a ruinous course, the father quietly fulfilled the request. In doing so, he chose the way of love, directing his efforts towards preserving their relationship.
Wait patiently. Out of deep affection, the father let his son leave and stay away. What heartache the man must have felt! Yet he remained hopeful and waited for the young man to recognize that sin cannot deliver what it has promised. This patient response is possible only through the power of agape love (1 Corinthians 13:4).
The Holy Spirit’s work in our life empowers us to show selfless and sacrificial devotion to the development of another person. In that way, we become people who respond calmly, patiently, and without complaint. Which kind of emotion do you offer to others—human or divine?
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
Luke 15:11-32
In Jesus’ day, three Greek words were used to express “love”—eros (physical intimacy), philia (friendship), and agape (fruit produced by the Holy Spirit, as listed in Galatians 5:22-23). Our heavenly Father cares for us with agape love, and to bring us into a right relationship with Him, He sacrificed His Son (1 John 4:10).
The parable of the prodigal son gives us a good example of this type of love. Agape is evident in our life when we:
Respond calmly to difficulties. To the son’s untimely demand for his share of the inheritance, the father didn’t reply with angry words about ungrateful children. Though the prodigal’s attitude must have caused pain, the man held his tongue and did not retaliate. In calmness, he could think more clearly and chose to love (1 Corinthians 13:4-5).
Sacrifice without complaint. Though he knew his son was committed to a ruinous course, the father quietly fulfilled the request. In doing so, he chose the way of love, directing his efforts towards preserving their relationship.
Wait patiently. Out of deep affection, the father let his son leave and stay away. What heartache the man must have felt! Yet he remained hopeful and waited for the young man to recognize that sin cannot deliver what it has promised. This patient response is possible only through the power of agape love (1 Corinthians 13:4).
The Holy Spirit’s work in our life empowers us to show selfless and sacrificial devotion to the development of another person. In that way, we become people who respond calmly, patiently, and without complaint. Which kind of emotion do you offer to others—human or divine?
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Monday, February 13, 2017
Down But Not Out
There are times when believing in God and living for God is hazardous to your health. There is the real threat of rejection, and the possibility of being mistreated. In some areas of the world, it can be a death sentence. If you are truly living for the Lord, you may find obstacles that appear suddenly in your life as the enemy, the devil, tries to destroy you and your testimony; if he can destroy your testimony, then he can do serious damage to God's plans for your life and your ability to usher people out of the darkness and into the light. That is why we must stay close to God, to receive His loving care and protection; His love and power are the only answers to your problems when living this life gets you down. You may be down right now, but you are definitely not out!
There is a famous song, sung by Donnie Mcclurkin, called We Fall Down....."we fall down but we get up, we fall down but we get up, for a saint is just a sinner who fell down and got up".........
If you are feeling low right now, it's okay. Everybody has those days, and it doesn't mean that you are a failure or that God has forsaken you. You are His child that He has redeemed from before the foundation of the earth, and He knows how you feel, and how much you can take before you give up. If you feel like giving up right now. know that Jesus Christ is there, right now, in the room with you, and He is waiting for you to come to Him, so that He can strengthen you and give you the courage to get through this situation you find yourself in right now. Don't be afraid to come to Him, He will not condemn you, but He cannot help you if you are unwilling to come to Him.
"No weapon formed against us shall prosper", Isaiah 54:17, if you are a child of God, then you have already won the battle. Give the problem over to Him, and He will fight the battle for you. Lean back and rest in His arms, and then watch and see what the Lord will do for you. He will give you peace and joy while He walks you through to the end, and at the 'end of the tunnel' when everything has beenresolved, don't forget to praise His name and shout for joy!
Thank you Lord, for your grace and mercy, for you will never allow your little ones to fall down and out, but you will pick them up, and brush off their clothes, and give them the power to endure and wait for the victory - hallelujah!
There is a famous song, sung by Donnie Mcclurkin, called We Fall Down....."we fall down but we get up, we fall down but we get up, for a saint is just a sinner who fell down and got up".........
If you are feeling low right now, it's okay. Everybody has those days, and it doesn't mean that you are a failure or that God has forsaken you. You are His child that He has redeemed from before the foundation of the earth, and He knows how you feel, and how much you can take before you give up. If you feel like giving up right now. know that Jesus Christ is there, right now, in the room with you, and He is waiting for you to come to Him, so that He can strengthen you and give you the courage to get through this situation you find yourself in right now. Don't be afraid to come to Him, He will not condemn you, but He cannot help you if you are unwilling to come to Him.
"No weapon formed against us shall prosper", Isaiah 54:17, if you are a child of God, then you have already won the battle. Give the problem over to Him, and He will fight the battle for you. Lean back and rest in His arms, and then watch and see what the Lord will do for you. He will give you peace and joy while He walks you through to the end, and at the 'end of the tunnel' when everything has beenresolved, don't forget to praise His name and shout for joy!
Thank you Lord, for your grace and mercy, for you will never allow your little ones to fall down and out, but you will pick them up, and brush off their clothes, and give them the power to endure and wait for the victory - hallelujah!
Sunday, February 12, 2017
The Miracles Of Love
I heard about a miracle, a man who passed out late last year. He was having a heart attack, and he was rushed to the hospital. The doctors were not able to help him, but he had the prayers and the love of his family and friends, and he survived. The doctors called it a miracle, because they did not know what to do for him, and they know he could have died, but the Lord had a better plan. Isn't it wonderful to know that when no one else can help, the Lord can make a way out of no way? He is always there for you.
Now this person didn't remember what had happened to him. He woke up in the hospital and had to be told what happened to him, so he was not aware to pray for himself. It was the prayers of the people around him that made the difference. No one knows what will happen to them from one moment to the next, and it is sobering to know that we are here, alive and well by the grace of God.
Do you know that the only reason we exist at all is because of God's Love? He wanted to expand His family, and He created us so that He could fellowship with us, and be loved by us; Love always seeks out Love. It hurts Him everytime when the little ones that He loves won't receive His love and they choose to go their own way, but even then He still loves them. He gives them a choice to follow Him and live forever in peace and joy, or to choose the other path, which leads to death and destruction. The choice is a gift from God, and it is not to be dismissed as some type of fairytale.
He would love to save everyone, but He will not compromise His integrity, or revoke His eternal gift of free will; He always keeps His promises. When living in the presence of a Holy God, He expects His people to be Holy and to desire the same things that He desires in His heart, to live for peace, joy, harmony, and selfless love. So, the choice is either, love or hate, peace or chaos, humility or pride, life or death; there is no middle ground. This world may seem to be a middle ground, but that will soon be resolved, as the Lord calls for His people from every corner of the earth, and satan and his devils are defeated, and a new age of peace and prosperity will begin with the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My life, your life, is a miracle of love, for we would not exist without Him. He wanted us, He chose to create this world, He breathed the Spirit of Life into adam, He decided that He would come and be born a humble human being, Our Lord Jesus, and die for us on a cross to atone for our sins, and He is still giving generously to His children everyday, for that is what a loving Father does for His children.
Give thanks to God for your life, for your life is a miracle wrought by Love. If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you are never far from His love, grace, and mercy, Live for Him, as He chose to die for you. If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to seek Him out with all of your heart, and chose to love Him as He Loves you!
Now this person didn't remember what had happened to him. He woke up in the hospital and had to be told what happened to him, so he was not aware to pray for himself. It was the prayers of the people around him that made the difference. No one knows what will happen to them from one moment to the next, and it is sobering to know that we are here, alive and well by the grace of God.
Do you know that the only reason we exist at all is because of God's Love? He wanted to expand His family, and He created us so that He could fellowship with us, and be loved by us; Love always seeks out Love. It hurts Him everytime when the little ones that He loves won't receive His love and they choose to go their own way, but even then He still loves them. He gives them a choice to follow Him and live forever in peace and joy, or to choose the other path, which leads to death and destruction. The choice is a gift from God, and it is not to be dismissed as some type of fairytale.
He would love to save everyone, but He will not compromise His integrity, or revoke His eternal gift of free will; He always keeps His promises. When living in the presence of a Holy God, He expects His people to be Holy and to desire the same things that He desires in His heart, to live for peace, joy, harmony, and selfless love. So, the choice is either, love or hate, peace or chaos, humility or pride, life or death; there is no middle ground. This world may seem to be a middle ground, but that will soon be resolved, as the Lord calls for His people from every corner of the earth, and satan and his devils are defeated, and a new age of peace and prosperity will begin with the coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
My life, your life, is a miracle of love, for we would not exist without Him. He wanted us, He chose to create this world, He breathed the Spirit of Life into adam, He decided that He would come and be born a humble human being, Our Lord Jesus, and die for us on a cross to atone for our sins, and He is still giving generously to His children everyday, for that is what a loving Father does for His children.
Give thanks to God for your life, for your life is a miracle wrought by Love. If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, then you are never far from His love, grace, and mercy, Live for Him, as He chose to die for you. If you have never accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I urge you to seek Him out with all of your heart, and chose to love Him as He Loves you!
Saturday, February 11, 2017
Our Treasure
by Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Matthew 6:19-21
The way we regard our treasure is a personal disclosure of who we are. The issue is: Where is our heart?
No matter how we acquire our belongings—by working, investing, saving, or receiving gifts—the correct perspective about money and property is that the Lord owns it all. We are simply the managers. If we harbor wrong attitudes like insisting, “My treasure is mine,” we may actually find that what we own is much less satisfying than we expected it would be.
Here’s a better perspective on possessions and financial increase: See these things as a means of meeting the needs of others and a way to serve God and further His kingdom (Eph. 4:28; Mal. 3:10). When we give to the needy or to kingdom work, we are immediately transferring our treasure from earth to heaven.
The Lord’s tangible blessings can also be properly used to help us reach God-given goals that are set through prayer. For example, if the Lord has blessed you financially and has made it clear that He wants you to use your musical talent to serve Him, then it could be suitable to purchase a helpful instrument or accessory. When we are walking in God’s will and bringing our requests to Him, even the longings of our heart become good ways to spend our treasure, because our preferences are aligned with God’s desires for us.
Always consider the eternal value of your pursuits. The bottom line is that you should trust God with every ounce of your time, talent, and treasure.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
Matthew 6:19-21
The way we regard our treasure is a personal disclosure of who we are. The issue is: Where is our heart?
No matter how we acquire our belongings—by working, investing, saving, or receiving gifts—the correct perspective about money and property is that the Lord owns it all. We are simply the managers. If we harbor wrong attitudes like insisting, “My treasure is mine,” we may actually find that what we own is much less satisfying than we expected it would be.
Here’s a better perspective on possessions and financial increase: See these things as a means of meeting the needs of others and a way to serve God and further His kingdom (Eph. 4:28; Mal. 3:10). When we give to the needy or to kingdom work, we are immediately transferring our treasure from earth to heaven.
The Lord’s tangible blessings can also be properly used to help us reach God-given goals that are set through prayer. For example, if the Lord has blessed you financially and has made it clear that He wants you to use your musical talent to serve Him, then it could be suitable to purchase a helpful instrument or accessory. When we are walking in God’s will and bringing our requests to Him, even the longings of our heart become good ways to spend our treasure, because our preferences are aligned with God’s desires for us.
Always consider the eternal value of your pursuits. The bottom line is that you should trust God with every ounce of your time, talent, and treasure.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Friday, February 10, 2017
In Jesus Name
I Wait For You Lord, To Show Me The Way,
To Feel Your Loving Presence In My Heart.
I Long For You, Like I Desire Water And Rest;
I Look At My Life Like An Adventure That Has No Resolution
Without You.
I Am At Peace, Because I Have Your Name;
You Name Gives Me Peace And I Can Rest In You.
Your Love Is Deeper than the Widest Ocean,
And I Have Yet To Explore Its Depths.
You Keep Me Safely In Your Arms, And
You Have Placed Your Name Into My Heart.
When I Am Afraid, I Seek Out Your Name,
In My Times Of Sorrow, I Lift Up Your Name
And Speak It From My Lips;
When I Have An Issue, I Remember That I Have You,
And I Begin To Pray And Worship In Your Presence,
And You Come Down To See About Me, You Fill Me
With Your Love, And You Bring Hope To My Heart.
I Know Then, When Your Spirit Swells Within Me,
That You Will Answer My Prayer, And I Will
Wait Patiently For Its Manisfestation, And
While I Wait, I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME.
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When I am Afraid,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When Everyone Else Forsakes Me,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When I Cannot See How I Will Survive Another Day,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When I Feel Your Spirit Moving In My Heart,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When I Am Happy And Filled With Joy,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME!!
To Feel Your Loving Presence In My Heart.
I Long For You, Like I Desire Water And Rest;
I Look At My Life Like An Adventure That Has No Resolution
Without You.
I Am At Peace, Because I Have Your Name;
You Name Gives Me Peace And I Can Rest In You.
Your Love Is Deeper than the Widest Ocean,
And I Have Yet To Explore Its Depths.
You Keep Me Safely In Your Arms, And
You Have Placed Your Name Into My Heart.
When I Am Afraid, I Seek Out Your Name,
In My Times Of Sorrow, I Lift Up Your Name
And Speak It From My Lips;
When I Have An Issue, I Remember That I Have You,
And I Begin To Pray And Worship In Your Presence,
And You Come Down To See About Me, You Fill Me
With Your Love, And You Bring Hope To My Heart.
I Know Then, When Your Spirit Swells Within Me,
That You Will Answer My Prayer, And I Will
Wait Patiently For Its Manisfestation, And
While I Wait, I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME.
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When I am Afraid,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When Everyone Else Forsakes Me,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When I Cannot See How I Will Survive Another Day,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When I Feel Your Spirit Moving In My Heart,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME, When I Am Happy And Filled With Joy,
I WILL PRAISE YOUR NAME!!
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Prayer For The Coming Of Spring
Lord, we give you thanks for your mercy and your Glory,
The Glory that gives us new life and new hope,
for we are so blessed to be in your presence,
there is no one like you.
We give your name all the honor, all the glory, all the praise,
Glory to your name forever and ever.
Lord, I ask that you bless your people,
with your grace and favor,
as we wait for the reawakening in the hearts of men;
we stand ready to accept your plans for our lives,
as we wait for the coming of spring.
We wait eagerly for the the first buds of life,
and the first flowers of spring,
we desire the warm air and the warm sun on our backs, and the
sweet singing of the birds in the trees.
Yes, everyone knows when spring has arrived, and so it shall
be with the great awakening;
when you shall bring life from the dead,
and your ressurection power will show the way out of
the path of darkness. You will bring new life
to every country, region, and corner of the earth,
and everyone shall know your name.
Yes, we wait patiently for the awesome move of the Spirit,
and the power of the Lord's mighty Love,
We will praise Your Name, Sweet Jesus, and
we will wait patiently for your coming, just
as we wait for the coming of spring.
We can feel it in the air, spring is coming soon,
it won't be much longer now, so we give you our hearts
and minds, and we will worship you while we celebrate
the coming of Spring!
AMEN
The Glory that gives us new life and new hope,
for we are so blessed to be in your presence,
there is no one like you.
We give your name all the honor, all the glory, all the praise,
Glory to your name forever and ever.
Lord, I ask that you bless your people,
with your grace and favor,
as we wait for the reawakening in the hearts of men;
we stand ready to accept your plans for our lives,
as we wait for the coming of spring.
We wait eagerly for the the first buds of life,
and the first flowers of spring,
we desire the warm air and the warm sun on our backs, and the
sweet singing of the birds in the trees.
Yes, everyone knows when spring has arrived, and so it shall
be with the great awakening;
when you shall bring life from the dead,
and your ressurection power will show the way out of
the path of darkness. You will bring new life
to every country, region, and corner of the earth,
and everyone shall know your name.
Yes, we wait patiently for the awesome move of the Spirit,
and the power of the Lord's mighty Love,
We will praise Your Name, Sweet Jesus, and
we will wait patiently for your coming, just
as we wait for the coming of spring.
We can feel it in the air, spring is coming soon,
it won't be much longer now, so we give you our hearts
and minds, and we will worship you while we celebrate
the coming of Spring!
AMEN
Wednesday, February 8, 2017
Releasing The Offenses
Everyone has been offended by something or someone. In a 'polite' society, we are taught at a very early age how to react to other peoples' words or actions. When we were children, we reacted to everything; we were not afraid to express our opinions about people and the situations we found ourselves in, and we cared more about what we wanted for ourselves than what we could do for anyone else. You can always tell when children have matured by how well they obey the lessons that they have been taught and if they show concern for other people.
The key to true maturity is to let go of childish selfish tendencies, while keeping a child's ability to be open and loving; a child is willing to believe in you and accept you for who you are, especially if you are willing to show them kindness and consideration. You can only display this type of behavior when you are trained to be like this, and that is why everyone needs loving and wise parents to show them the way.
So, we all have been trained to be polite and to overlook offenses when thy occur, and most people do the best that they can when these situations occur. When you deal with strangers, it is often easy to do so, because the offense is usually minor, and there is a good chance that you will never see that person again. You may laugh about it later, and turn it into a funny story to tell your family and friends. The offense is usually not a serious or deep one, and the feeling that you had when the offense occured fades away. But what happens when these offenses occur with your family, friends, or coworkers, with people you interact with on a regular basis; have you learned to let go of those offenses?
As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are being led daily to live as He would live and as He would react to every situation you find yourself in life, and that is why it is so necessary to read the bible on a regular basis, because it is our training manual. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to be open and loving, and to be willing to follow His lead, to be transformed so that we have the mind of Christ. This doen not mean that we wont feel pain, or anger, or anxiety when offenses occur; when we follow in His steps, we find that it is easier to deal with these issues. He brings comfort to our souls, and we learn how to release these offenses to Him.
Let's face it, when you are offended by the people in your life, it can be very painful, and their actions can impact our own lives; we could hold on to our grevances, and we can interalize these offenses, but the Lord is asking us to surrender those offenses to Him. Once you have obeyed the Holy Spirit and admitted to Him how much that person or those people have offended you, that starts the healing process.
You cannot resolve an issue within your heart if you are not aware that you have the issue in the first place, and it is one of the functions of the Holy Spirit to point out the hurts, the fears, and dark places in our hearts. He will heal you if you can admit that you have these weaknesses and issues in your behavior. and then you must surrender them to the Lord so that He can erase the offense from your mind. No one is immmune to this, because we have yet to be redeemed from our imperfections, and we need the Lord to help us deal with them.
So, when you find yourself thinking about an offense from the past, after you promised yourself you would never think about it again, take this burden to the Lord. admit to Him that you can't deal with it anymore, and that you need His power to overcome it. He will start the healing process, and once He is done, you will find peace in your heart, and a new perspetive will arise about the situation. You will find that you can forgive the person(s) who have offended you, and you will find that it is now easier to love them and everyone else.
That is why we must bring everything to the Lord, all of our faults, issues, and needs. He is not happy when we try to do everything in our own strength. He knows that we need Him, and He is more than willing to help us. Don't be ashamed or afraid to come to Him, He already knows who we are and what we need to become mature christian followers. He is waiting for you to want something more than what the world can do for you. When you have a bigger desire in your heart to be released from your suffering, when you are willing to let go of all these offenses, then He can heal you. You must be willing to live on a higher standard than the world's standards - God's standards are always the best.
Forgiveness and love go hand in hand, and loving others means that we forgive them when they offend us in some way, and then we can act kindly towards them, and be free to love them with the love of Christ. Give yourself over to the healing and tranforming work of the Holy Spirit, and live life to the fullest, according to His will for your life, and you will never be disappointed that you did!
The key to true maturity is to let go of childish selfish tendencies, while keeping a child's ability to be open and loving; a child is willing to believe in you and accept you for who you are, especially if you are willing to show them kindness and consideration. You can only display this type of behavior when you are trained to be like this, and that is why everyone needs loving and wise parents to show them the way.
So, we all have been trained to be polite and to overlook offenses when thy occur, and most people do the best that they can when these situations occur. When you deal with strangers, it is often easy to do so, because the offense is usually minor, and there is a good chance that you will never see that person again. You may laugh about it later, and turn it into a funny story to tell your family and friends. The offense is usually not a serious or deep one, and the feeling that you had when the offense occured fades away. But what happens when these offenses occur with your family, friends, or coworkers, with people you interact with on a regular basis; have you learned to let go of those offenses?
As a believer in Jesus Christ, you are being led daily to live as He would live and as He would react to every situation you find yourself in life, and that is why it is so necessary to read the bible on a regular basis, because it is our training manual. The Holy Spirit gives us the ability to be open and loving, and to be willing to follow His lead, to be transformed so that we have the mind of Christ. This doen not mean that we wont feel pain, or anger, or anxiety when offenses occur; when we follow in His steps, we find that it is easier to deal with these issues. He brings comfort to our souls, and we learn how to release these offenses to Him.
Let's face it, when you are offended by the people in your life, it can be very painful, and their actions can impact our own lives; we could hold on to our grevances, and we can interalize these offenses, but the Lord is asking us to surrender those offenses to Him. Once you have obeyed the Holy Spirit and admitted to Him how much that person or those people have offended you, that starts the healing process.
You cannot resolve an issue within your heart if you are not aware that you have the issue in the first place, and it is one of the functions of the Holy Spirit to point out the hurts, the fears, and dark places in our hearts. He will heal you if you can admit that you have these weaknesses and issues in your behavior. and then you must surrender them to the Lord so that He can erase the offense from your mind. No one is immmune to this, because we have yet to be redeemed from our imperfections, and we need the Lord to help us deal with them.
So, when you find yourself thinking about an offense from the past, after you promised yourself you would never think about it again, take this burden to the Lord. admit to Him that you can't deal with it anymore, and that you need His power to overcome it. He will start the healing process, and once He is done, you will find peace in your heart, and a new perspetive will arise about the situation. You will find that you can forgive the person(s) who have offended you, and you will find that it is now easier to love them and everyone else.
That is why we must bring everything to the Lord, all of our faults, issues, and needs. He is not happy when we try to do everything in our own strength. He knows that we need Him, and He is more than willing to help us. Don't be ashamed or afraid to come to Him, He already knows who we are and what we need to become mature christian followers. He is waiting for you to want something more than what the world can do for you. When you have a bigger desire in your heart to be released from your suffering, when you are willing to let go of all these offenses, then He can heal you. You must be willing to live on a higher standard than the world's standards - God's standards are always the best.
Forgiveness and love go hand in hand, and loving others means that we forgive them when they offend us in some way, and then we can act kindly towards them, and be free to love them with the love of Christ. Give yourself over to the healing and tranforming work of the Holy Spirit, and live life to the fullest, according to His will for your life, and you will never be disappointed that you did!
Tuesday, February 7, 2017
The Second Childhood
by Alan Allegra
Wiktionary.org defines "second childhood" as, "The period or state of cognitive decline of an elderly person, characterized by childlike judgment and behavior. A childlike state in any adult, resulting from mental illness, trauma, or other conditions."
Not a very flattering picture! When an adult acts like a child playing with toys, talking baby talk, not taking responsibility for his or her actions we may excuse it as participation in one's "second childhood."
Adults are expected to act like adults. When the Corinthians were acting irrationally, the apostle Paul encouraged them, "Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature" (1 Corinthians 14:20). He expected them to be mature, or adult, in their thinking, but innocent regarding evil. Paul also used the illustration of mature behavior in chapter 13, verse 11: "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." He made a distinction between childhood and adulthood.
There is an analogy in the spiritual realm. God requires that believers submit to the authority of church leaders so the body of Christ will grow. "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Ephesians 4:11-14). God's children are to gain adult discernment, wisdom, and stability. The source of spiritual nourishment for this growth is the Word of God: "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Peter 2:2).
Now, growth to maturity implies a start in immaturity, or childhood. This would mean a beginning of spiritual life, and this is what the Bible teaches.
When Jesus explained the kingdom of God to Nicodemus (John 3), he told him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (3:3). Nicodemus thought Jesus meant physical birth, but he meant a spiritual rebirth. To be saved, a citizen of the heavenly kingdom, a person must, in the spiritual sense, enter a second childhood.
A physical second childhood may be an annoyance. At one point, the disciples found actual little children to be annoying, unworthy of Jesus' time and attention (Luke 18:5-17). However, Jesus used these children as an example of the innocent trusting attitude needed to become his disciple (Mark 10:13-15). This even involves discipline from our Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:5-11; Revelation 20:6, 14).
To enter that second childhood takes faith. A person cannot turn back the clock and slide down the birth canal again. Just as we play no part in our natural birth, we contribute nothing to our spiritual birth (John 1:12-13). This birth is wrought by believing the Word of God: "[S]ince you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God" (1 Peter 1:23).
The old adage is true: "Born once, die twice. Born twice, die once." Being born physically is one thing; being born again spiritually is everything!
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS
Wiktionary.org defines "second childhood" as, "The period or state of cognitive decline of an elderly person, characterized by childlike judgment and behavior. A childlike state in any adult, resulting from mental illness, trauma, or other conditions."
Not a very flattering picture! When an adult acts like a child playing with toys, talking baby talk, not taking responsibility for his or her actions we may excuse it as participation in one's "second childhood."
Adults are expected to act like adults. When the Corinthians were acting irrationally, the apostle Paul encouraged them, "Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature" (1 Corinthians 14:20). He expected them to be mature, or adult, in their thinking, but innocent regarding evil. Paul also used the illustration of mature behavior in chapter 13, verse 11: "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways." He made a distinction between childhood and adulthood.
There is an analogy in the spiritual realm. God requires that believers submit to the authority of church leaders so the body of Christ will grow. "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes" (Ephesians 4:11-14). God's children are to gain adult discernment, wisdom, and stability. The source of spiritual nourishment for this growth is the Word of God: "Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation" (1 Peter 2:2).
Now, growth to maturity implies a start in immaturity, or childhood. This would mean a beginning of spiritual life, and this is what the Bible teaches.
When Jesus explained the kingdom of God to Nicodemus (John 3), he told him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God" (3:3). Nicodemus thought Jesus meant physical birth, but he meant a spiritual rebirth. To be saved, a citizen of the heavenly kingdom, a person must, in the spiritual sense, enter a second childhood.
A physical second childhood may be an annoyance. At one point, the disciples found actual little children to be annoying, unworthy of Jesus' time and attention (Luke 18:5-17). However, Jesus used these children as an example of the innocent trusting attitude needed to become his disciple (Mark 10:13-15). This even involves discipline from our Heavenly Father (Hebrews 12:5-11; Revelation 20:6, 14).
To enter that second childhood takes faith. A person cannot turn back the clock and slide down the birth canal again. Just as we play no part in our natural birth, we contribute nothing to our spiritual birth (John 1:12-13). This birth is wrought by believing the Word of God: "[S]ince you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God" (1 Peter 1:23).
The old adage is true: "Born once, die twice. Born twice, die once." Being born physically is one thing; being born again spiritually is everything!
Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com-CHRISTIAN WRITERS
Monday, February 6, 2017
Preparation Through Prayer
by Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Acts 1:9-14
The book of Acts is an amazing record of how God worked in and through the early church, and one of their most important activities was prayer. While Jesus was with His disciples, little was recorded of them praying because they could talk directly to Christ. But after His ascension, they immediately gathered in the upper room and “devot[ed] themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14).
Talking to God was their means of preparing for the work He had for them. Jesus had told them the Father would give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (Luke 11:13). Then after the resurrection, He instructed them to stay in Jerusalem until they were “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Without the Spirit, they were not adequate for the Great Commission even though they’d spent time with Jesus. And if they needed the Spirit’s power, so do we.
To the degree we’re willing to admit our absolute helplessness to do God’s work, the Holy Spirit will empower us as we pray. When we are devoted to prayer, the Lord begins to work in our heart, preparing us for service. He gives us the Spirit’s boldness to speak God’s Word (Acts 4:31) and the courage to face any persecutions that might result (Acts 4:29).
God is looking for believers who understand the importance of prayer and realize the only way to fulfill His calling for the church is through His supernatural power. Christ’s church is not grown through programs, seminars, and conferences, but through the humble prayers of saints who gather together in utter dependence upon Him. That’s when God’s power is released and His will is accomplished.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
Acts 1:9-14
The book of Acts is an amazing record of how God worked in and through the early church, and one of their most important activities was prayer. While Jesus was with His disciples, little was recorded of them praying because they could talk directly to Christ. But after His ascension, they immediately gathered in the upper room and “devot[ed] themselves to prayer” (Acts 1:14).
Talking to God was their means of preparing for the work He had for them. Jesus had told them the Father would give the Holy Spirit to those who ask (Luke 11:13). Then after the resurrection, He instructed them to stay in Jerusalem until they were “clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). Without the Spirit, they were not adequate for the Great Commission even though they’d spent time with Jesus. And if they needed the Spirit’s power, so do we.
To the degree we’re willing to admit our absolute helplessness to do God’s work, the Holy Spirit will empower us as we pray. When we are devoted to prayer, the Lord begins to work in our heart, preparing us for service. He gives us the Spirit’s boldness to speak God’s Word (Acts 4:31) and the courage to face any persecutions that might result (Acts 4:29).
God is looking for believers who understand the importance of prayer and realize the only way to fulfill His calling for the church is through His supernatural power. Christ’s church is not grown through programs, seminars, and conferences, but through the humble prayers of saints who gather together in utter dependence upon Him. That’s when God’s power is released and His will is accomplished.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Sunday, February 5, 2017
The Great Awakening
Every morning when I wake up, I know that God has touched me, I know that He is the reason that I have another day upon the earth. Waking up is so routine that many times we forget what a miracle it is, that our lives are a gift from the Lord. Every day, I greet Him, and He answers back with a response to my heart. This is one on the ways I know that I will never be alone.
Occasionally, He will give me a message; just as I began to wake up and before I was completely aware that I was awake, He spoke to me, and I received this message, "this year is the year of the awakening, an awakening will begin at the end of the year, in december". I listened to that message with a sense of happiness, for I know that some prophets proclaimed that this year was the year of the Jubilee, and the year for breakthroughs, so I believe that God was just letting my know that He is going to move in this year in mighty and awesome ways.
I believe that He was letting me know that we are in the last days and that the final harvest will begin. Before the harvest can be done, there must be an awakening, not just in the hearts of unbelievers, but also in the hearts of those who claim to be christians. We all need our hearts to be changed, to be conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
He is asking us now to live for Him, and seek His face every day, so that we may live the life of Christ in our hearts and minds. No one can transform us like the Holy Spirit can, so let Him do His work in you. Be patient and be kind, for no one will believe that you are Christ's child if your are impatient, anxious, and mean spirited. Surrender to the promptings of His Spirit, and let Him clean out the dark places in your heart.
Give praise to Him, who will never leave you nor forsake you, and lean into His presence. Give up the vain things in life to embrace Him with all of your heart. He knows what is going on in your life, He is not surprized, so ask Him what He wants you to do in your situation, and give way to the power of His Name. Call on Jesus, your Lord, Your Savior, Your Deliverer, and watch Him work it all out for you. The most courageous, bold, and humbling thing that you will ever do, is to surrender to His will for your life; it will change you in ways you would never believe could happen to you, and you will never regret it.
Thank you Lord, for the gift of your love and salvation, and for allowing me to be here to see the last final wave of your harvest, to see your miracles and wonders, to participate in your plans for this world and for your children, I Thank You Lord Right Now For THE LAST GREAT AWAKENING!
Occasionally, He will give me a message; just as I began to wake up and before I was completely aware that I was awake, He spoke to me, and I received this message, "this year is the year of the awakening, an awakening will begin at the end of the year, in december". I listened to that message with a sense of happiness, for I know that some prophets proclaimed that this year was the year of the Jubilee, and the year for breakthroughs, so I believe that God was just letting my know that He is going to move in this year in mighty and awesome ways.
I believe that He was letting me know that we are in the last days and that the final harvest will begin. Before the harvest can be done, there must be an awakening, not just in the hearts of unbelievers, but also in the hearts of those who claim to be christians. We all need our hearts to be changed, to be conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.
He is asking us now to live for Him, and seek His face every day, so that we may live the life of Christ in our hearts and minds. No one can transform us like the Holy Spirit can, so let Him do His work in you. Be patient and be kind, for no one will believe that you are Christ's child if your are impatient, anxious, and mean spirited. Surrender to the promptings of His Spirit, and let Him clean out the dark places in your heart.
Give praise to Him, who will never leave you nor forsake you, and lean into His presence. Give up the vain things in life to embrace Him with all of your heart. He knows what is going on in your life, He is not surprized, so ask Him what He wants you to do in your situation, and give way to the power of His Name. Call on Jesus, your Lord, Your Savior, Your Deliverer, and watch Him work it all out for you. The most courageous, bold, and humbling thing that you will ever do, is to surrender to His will for your life; it will change you in ways you would never believe could happen to you, and you will never regret it.
Thank you Lord, for the gift of your love and salvation, and for allowing me to be here to see the last final wave of your harvest, to see your miracles and wonders, to participate in your plans for this world and for your children, I Thank You Lord Right Now For THE LAST GREAT AWAKENING!
Saturday, February 4, 2017
Service Is Not An Option
by Charles Stanley
Intouch Ministries
Titus 2:11-15
Who is a servant of God? Ask average churchgoers that question, and they will most likely point to their pastor or some Christian celebrity. They almost certainly will not say, “We are God’s servants.” The church has a mixed-up idea that believers are separated into servants—that is, individuals in full-time ministry—and laypeople. The Bible contains no such distinction. Instead, Paul reminds the Ephesians that believers are saved so that they might serve (Ephesians 2:10).
If there were no other reason to serve God besides gratitude for salvation, that would be cause enough. We are rescued from torment and given eternal life with the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence. Our service is but a small acknowledgment of the Father sending His Son to be sacrificed in payment of the sin debt we owed. We have no right to withhold our gifts or time.
Many people, believers included, serve the big “I.” What satisfies and pleases “I”? What is convenient for “I”? What makes “I” happy and prosperous? When a pastor appeals for help, most of his parishioners are sure he is speaking to someone else because “I” has insufficient training or a busy schedule. Here is a harsh reality: If “I” is our master, we are committing “I”-dolatry. Anything given first place over God—including selfish desires—is an idol.
Service isn’t an option. God calls us to be servants so we can invest our lives in an eternally valuable purpose: the salvation of unbelievers and their subsequent discipleship for His glory. Our job may seem insignificant or our limitations great, but we are vessels of Christ with a role in the kingdom.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Intouch Ministries
Titus 2:11-15
Who is a servant of God? Ask average churchgoers that question, and they will most likely point to their pastor or some Christian celebrity. They almost certainly will not say, “We are God’s servants.” The church has a mixed-up idea that believers are separated into servants—that is, individuals in full-time ministry—and laypeople. The Bible contains no such distinction. Instead, Paul reminds the Ephesians that believers are saved so that they might serve (Ephesians 2:10).
If there were no other reason to serve God besides gratitude for salvation, that would be cause enough. We are rescued from torment and given eternal life with the Holy Spirit’s indwelling presence. Our service is but a small acknowledgment of the Father sending His Son to be sacrificed in payment of the sin debt we owed. We have no right to withhold our gifts or time.
Many people, believers included, serve the big “I.” What satisfies and pleases “I”? What is convenient for “I”? What makes “I” happy and prosperous? When a pastor appeals for help, most of his parishioners are sure he is speaking to someone else because “I” has insufficient training or a busy schedule. Here is a harsh reality: If “I” is our master, we are committing “I”-dolatry. Anything given first place over God—including selfish desires—is an idol.
Service isn’t an option. God calls us to be servants so we can invest our lives in an eternally valuable purpose: the salvation of unbelievers and their subsequent discipleship for His glory. Our job may seem insignificant or our limitations great, but we are vessels of Christ with a role in the kingdom.
Intouch Ministries Devotions
Friday, February 3, 2017
The Feeling Of Love
What would you do for love? It is a very strange thing about life that love is celebrated openly and vigourously in the mainstream with countless songs, poems, plays, books, movies, dances, etc. We have a holiday to celebrate love, and it is wonderful when people take the time to appreciate the loving relationships that they have in their lives, it means that we still have some understanding of how important love is, and in our hearts we always desire to love and to be loved. The moment that love is taken for granted and no longer valued, is the time we must open our eyes and see the world for what it has become. Is it time to look at the world with a fresh new perspective?
We celebrate the idea of love, yet too many people now and days dismiss love's power. In America, the successful life means pursuing money, power, and fame, and love is almost like an afterthought. It is like when a man gets to that position where he has a great career, money, and recognition, he is suddenly the most attractive and desirable man on the planet. He has everything he could possibly want, but in his pursuit for money and fame, did he take the time to culivate a loving relationship with someone special? We all desire to have that type of connection, to share our heart and our lives with someone who will love us for who we are.
We need a lesson on what true love is, and we need to appreciate its power. If we ask, we shall receive. There is no one more qualified to give us that lesson than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the best example of true love, selfless love that we will ever know. He loved us so much, that He allowed himself to be crucified on a cross, as a sacrifice for our sins, and when He rose again, with all power and might in His hands, He gave the world a powerful demonstration of love. Look, what would you do for the people that you love? Would you die for them? That is great, but what about the way you love them on a daily basis?
Most people have many people in their lives that they love: husbands/wives, friends, children, relatives, and they can say without a shadow of doubt that they love them, and that is great. But how about the strangers in your life, the people you dont know who you pass in the streets, your coworkers, people that you read about in the newspapers, and see on the tv on the news, in your favorite tv shows, people you interact with on a regular basis, such as the people in your church, or the waitress at your favorite restaurant. Do you have any loving feelings for them? Good, that shows you have taken Jesus's example to heart.
His example of love began before the foundation of this world; we were on His mind from the very beginning. He saw you and me, and He knew we would mess up and make mistakes, He knew that we wanted to be good and live up to His standards, but whenever we tried, there would always be this pulling in our hearts to do the opposite, and that we would not have the power or the will to resist it. He knew in order to save us, He would need to sacrifice Himself on a cross, as the highest demonstration of His love toward us, His children, His little ones. That is why He is so pleased when we give selflessly of ourselves to other people, especially to people that we dont personally know, because then He knows that we have learned our lessons and taken them to heart.
Don't be fooled by the naysayers and the critics, love is very powerful. It inspired my Lord Jesus to give His life for us, and without that expression of love, we would all literally be doomed, to live lives forever in darkness, pain and suffering, forever separated from the God who made us, wishing that we had pursued love instead of ignoring it. When God breathes life into something or someone, it is forever, He doesnt call it back to Himself, so we dont have the choice to just disappear from existence; when we die, our spirit lives on, and we have a choice, to live forever in His presence with love, peace, and happiness, or to live forever separated from Him, in darkness, despair, and loneliness.
Choose today to love others, even your enemies. Pray for them, give of our heart and mind, and dont be afraid or offended if you are rejected, used, or abused. Love them with the Love of Christ, not with your own strength. That is why the Holy Spirit is given to us into our hearts, so that we may love them with God's love. The love of Christ is the power to give of yourself even when the circumstances call for you to stand up for your rights, even when the person you are trying to love may be stabbing you in the back. Jesus loved all of His disciples, even Judas, and He knew that love would never be returned by him, not in the way that it was given, but Judas was loved anyway. It is sad that Judas never learned the lesson of love; we must hope and pray that the 'enemies' in our life will come one day to learn that lesson, but they will never learn it, will never know that they need to learn it, if no one demonstrates it in their life.
Trust me when I say, this is a lesson that I am still learning every day, it is a process that we all must go through. And God is patient, and He knows that we cannot be perfect while we live this life, but He does expect us to try. We take the first step, and He does the rest, so dont worry about it, because He will carry you through!
We celebrate the idea of love, yet too many people now and days dismiss love's power. In America, the successful life means pursuing money, power, and fame, and love is almost like an afterthought. It is like when a man gets to that position where he has a great career, money, and recognition, he is suddenly the most attractive and desirable man on the planet. He has everything he could possibly want, but in his pursuit for money and fame, did he take the time to culivate a loving relationship with someone special? We all desire to have that type of connection, to share our heart and our lives with someone who will love us for who we are.
We need a lesson on what true love is, and we need to appreciate its power. If we ask, we shall receive. There is no one more qualified to give us that lesson than our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He is the best example of true love, selfless love that we will ever know. He loved us so much, that He allowed himself to be crucified on a cross, as a sacrifice for our sins, and when He rose again, with all power and might in His hands, He gave the world a powerful demonstration of love. Look, what would you do for the people that you love? Would you die for them? That is great, but what about the way you love them on a daily basis?
Most people have many people in their lives that they love: husbands/wives, friends, children, relatives, and they can say without a shadow of doubt that they love them, and that is great. But how about the strangers in your life, the people you dont know who you pass in the streets, your coworkers, people that you read about in the newspapers, and see on the tv on the news, in your favorite tv shows, people you interact with on a regular basis, such as the people in your church, or the waitress at your favorite restaurant. Do you have any loving feelings for them? Good, that shows you have taken Jesus's example to heart.
His example of love began before the foundation of this world; we were on His mind from the very beginning. He saw you and me, and He knew we would mess up and make mistakes, He knew that we wanted to be good and live up to His standards, but whenever we tried, there would always be this pulling in our hearts to do the opposite, and that we would not have the power or the will to resist it. He knew in order to save us, He would need to sacrifice Himself on a cross, as the highest demonstration of His love toward us, His children, His little ones. That is why He is so pleased when we give selflessly of ourselves to other people, especially to people that we dont personally know, because then He knows that we have learned our lessons and taken them to heart.
Don't be fooled by the naysayers and the critics, love is very powerful. It inspired my Lord Jesus to give His life for us, and without that expression of love, we would all literally be doomed, to live lives forever in darkness, pain and suffering, forever separated from the God who made us, wishing that we had pursued love instead of ignoring it. When God breathes life into something or someone, it is forever, He doesnt call it back to Himself, so we dont have the choice to just disappear from existence; when we die, our spirit lives on, and we have a choice, to live forever in His presence with love, peace, and happiness, or to live forever separated from Him, in darkness, despair, and loneliness.
Choose today to love others, even your enemies. Pray for them, give of our heart and mind, and dont be afraid or offended if you are rejected, used, or abused. Love them with the Love of Christ, not with your own strength. That is why the Holy Spirit is given to us into our hearts, so that we may love them with God's love. The love of Christ is the power to give of yourself even when the circumstances call for you to stand up for your rights, even when the person you are trying to love may be stabbing you in the back. Jesus loved all of His disciples, even Judas, and He knew that love would never be returned by him, not in the way that it was given, but Judas was loved anyway. It is sad that Judas never learned the lesson of love; we must hope and pray that the 'enemies' in our life will come one day to learn that lesson, but they will never learn it, will never know that they need to learn it, if no one demonstrates it in their life.
Trust me when I say, this is a lesson that I am still learning every day, it is a process that we all must go through. And God is patient, and He knows that we cannot be perfect while we live this life, but He does expect us to try. We take the first step, and He does the rest, so dont worry about it, because He will carry you through!
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