" Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ..."(Philippians 3:8)
I want to speak to you today from my heart. I know we have warned of coming terrible events, and those can be frightening. I know we have spoken of the dangers of sin, and how scary that can be. But I want to speak to you about Heaven, about seeing Jesus Christ face to face, and feeling his embrace and love for us for the first time.
Can you imagine, after going thru all the hard trials of life, after suffering thru pain, loss of friends and loved ones, personal loss of almost everything, persecution because of your allegiance, you pass thru death. And as your passing, you probably feel the pain of death on your mortal body, but suddenly, your eyes begin seeing the world you’ve known peel away to a new dimension. As you stand there even the light that is shining feels different, it makes you feel joy and happiness by itself. You look around and a city stands before you, bright, glittering with color, some you recognize, other colors and the stones it is made of your eyes have never seen before, these colors and stones didn’t exist on Earth. Then, you see outlines in the distance that resemble people, multitudes in the city and without, and you head toward them.
You begin seeing people you had lost contact with because of life’s events or because death took them on, friends and people that were special to you. You see them again and your heart and mind leaps with joy and energy reuniting with them again. Then you see your family, Mom, Dad, a brother or sister, oh how you had grown accustomed to feeling the pain of loosing them, being without them. You see a son or daughter that was taken from you prematurely. They are coming to you now, whole and happy, free of age and pain, with brand new bodies, smiling at you, and you embrace again, feeling their touch and love and the emptiness in your heart melts away.
Suddenly, you are feeling joy and peace like never before, even stronger then you had been feeling moments ago. Tears begin to stream down your face uncontrollably, you can’t stop it, but your heart is pounding and you feel the weight of you life, the cares, the worries, fall at your feet. You didn’t realize how heavy your life had been on your shoulders till just then, and love, powerful, majestic and full of acceptance and forgiveness fills your soul and all around you. A figure, bright like a million stars, begins to coalesce in front of you. It is Jesus, he opens his arms out to you, smiling. You hear a voice that speaks with authority and at the same time gentleness, like a million voices in one saying,” welcome home my child, well done and I love you very much”. You know then, everything has been worth it all. All the pain, trouble and trials cannot compare to what you have now. With this knowledge, you would go thru it all over again to win this moment with Jesus.
I ask you, what could be worth losing this? What could be better in the world to turn back to? What on earth could be worth giving this up for? Don’t quit, don’t give up! Everything will be worth it when you win the prize, Jesus all to yourself. Hang on! He is coming.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Thursday, September 24, 2009
THE TRUTH ABOUT SIN
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? "(Romans 6:16)
We as Christians have erred in our understanding of sin. Although it was originally taught by the Apostles in the right context, somewhere down the line wolves in sheep’s clothing and hirelings crept in and subverted the truth of the matter. Today’s version of what leaders are telling as sin is not only WRONG, but it is pure poison that will damn the believer into a trap, and eventually physical and spiritual death!
Preachers and teachers today expound on sin as a disease, genetically passed, onto every person. This is true, but not in the way they are explaining. You see, their poison states that everything you have done, sinfully, and will do in the future is eradicated or wiped clean when you accept Christ as your saviour, Just like it is a disease, like the cold, that is vaccinated when you kneel at the cross for the first time. And every sin you have ever committed in the past, and will commit in the future, is already taken care of, you no longer have a sin problem.
I BEG YOU; DO NOT BELIEVE THE LIE OF THE DEVIL, SATAN!
Let’s put the truth back into the body of Christ again. When Adam sinned in the garden, what he passed to us all was not sin itself, but the nature to sin. The sin nature or the ability to war in our mind and soul to be tempted to not follow the will and commands of God is what was passed. Until they had both eaten of the forbidden fruit, all they knew and wanted to do was follow what God said, to the letter. Satan, in his cunning craftiness, introduced to the only true “paradise” that has existed the unstable element to the human equation, the ability or temptation to rebel against God. This is all that passed down from human to human.
Now, let’s talk about the word sin. Sin is a word that is itself an action verb. That means it requires action, or movement has to take place for it to come into being. Sin is committed, only after your “sin nature” has been attacked by Satan, or the very “sin nature” itself in you tempts you sin. You receive the temptation by one or both of these two ways, but feeling the temptation is not sin! It is when YOU make the conscious decision to ACT upon that temptation, to do and fulfill what God said not to do, that sin has been committed. Let me break this down a little simpler. By Adam’s transgression, the ABILITY to sin was passed to all men, this gives us the chance to choose which one we want, obey God’s laws or refuse and do what we want to do.
But sin is committed, and counted against you, when you act upon that temptation, when you commit it, when you do it. Feeling the temptation to look at that pretty girl, or handsome guy at work is not sin, you can resist, rebuke the devil, and you have won the victory on that temptation. It is when you feel the temptation coming on, and you look and desire and fantasize for him or her, that you, believer, have sinned. How can a future sin already be forgiven when it has never been committed? This is an excuse and poison these teachers propagate so they can commit sin and feel okay, and think it is alright with God, and receive no punishment. Remember, the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die! (Ezekiel 18:4)
The Bible teaches us that his people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. False teachers and leaders with no understanding have crippled the body of Christ. But, thanks be to God, who has given us the victory. By the power of the Cross and his shed blood and the ensuing gift of the Holy Ghost, we don’t have to give in to temptation; we don’t have to commit sin. Don’t believe the lies, newly committed sin that is unrepented of, is unforgiven sin. Jesus died so we would no longer commit sin, nor be a slave to it, and loose heaven forever. Pray to God to give you victory today over sin, don’t let your past look just like your future; you don’t have to be bound to sin any longer. Jesus is your answer.
We as Christians have erred in our understanding of sin. Although it was originally taught by the Apostles in the right context, somewhere down the line wolves in sheep’s clothing and hirelings crept in and subverted the truth of the matter. Today’s version of what leaders are telling as sin is not only WRONG, but it is pure poison that will damn the believer into a trap, and eventually physical and spiritual death!
Preachers and teachers today expound on sin as a disease, genetically passed, onto every person. This is true, but not in the way they are explaining. You see, their poison states that everything you have done, sinfully, and will do in the future is eradicated or wiped clean when you accept Christ as your saviour, Just like it is a disease, like the cold, that is vaccinated when you kneel at the cross for the first time. And every sin you have ever committed in the past, and will commit in the future, is already taken care of, you no longer have a sin problem.
I BEG YOU; DO NOT BELIEVE THE LIE OF THE DEVIL, SATAN!
Let’s put the truth back into the body of Christ again. When Adam sinned in the garden, what he passed to us all was not sin itself, but the nature to sin. The sin nature or the ability to war in our mind and soul to be tempted to not follow the will and commands of God is what was passed. Until they had both eaten of the forbidden fruit, all they knew and wanted to do was follow what God said, to the letter. Satan, in his cunning craftiness, introduced to the only true “paradise” that has existed the unstable element to the human equation, the ability or temptation to rebel against God. This is all that passed down from human to human.
Now, let’s talk about the word sin. Sin is a word that is itself an action verb. That means it requires action, or movement has to take place for it to come into being. Sin is committed, only after your “sin nature” has been attacked by Satan, or the very “sin nature” itself in you tempts you sin. You receive the temptation by one or both of these two ways, but feeling the temptation is not sin! It is when YOU make the conscious decision to ACT upon that temptation, to do and fulfill what God said not to do, that sin has been committed. Let me break this down a little simpler. By Adam’s transgression, the ABILITY to sin was passed to all men, this gives us the chance to choose which one we want, obey God’s laws or refuse and do what we want to do.
But sin is committed, and counted against you, when you act upon that temptation, when you commit it, when you do it. Feeling the temptation to look at that pretty girl, or handsome guy at work is not sin, you can resist, rebuke the devil, and you have won the victory on that temptation. It is when you feel the temptation coming on, and you look and desire and fantasize for him or her, that you, believer, have sinned. How can a future sin already be forgiven when it has never been committed? This is an excuse and poison these teachers propagate so they can commit sin and feel okay, and think it is alright with God, and receive no punishment. Remember, the soul that sinneth, it shall surely die! (Ezekiel 18:4)
The Bible teaches us that his people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge. False teachers and leaders with no understanding have crippled the body of Christ. But, thanks be to God, who has given us the victory. By the power of the Cross and his shed blood and the ensuing gift of the Holy Ghost, we don’t have to give in to temptation; we don’t have to commit sin. Don’t believe the lies, newly committed sin that is unrepented of, is unforgiven sin. Jesus died so we would no longer commit sin, nor be a slave to it, and loose heaven forever. Pray to God to give you victory today over sin, don’t let your past look just like your future; you don’t have to be bound to sin any longer. Jesus is your answer.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
A DEAD CHRISTIAN
We have been talking about the events of Revelation lately, but I want to focus on an
Aspect of it rarely touched on. Remember, the Bible records it to be the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This is not some man’s revelation, or even a prophet’s, but a vision belonging to Jesus only.
The events swirl around him. Not only do the events foretell about his early life, his earthly life, but they deal with the coming ages after his departure, and what happens to the world and believers because of him. When he came into this world, and accomplished what he did, it forever altered the flow of time and history. We would see a different world and set of future events, much more horrible, than we see now had Jesus not came down into this people planet, and changed the course of history forever. It’s all about him.
You really want to know how to endure the Tribulation? How about just enduring what life brings, and all the troubles we face? It’s all about him. John the revelator made it all about him, because it was his vision, his plan, for the coming ages. It was Jesus that started this plan, it is Jesus who will make sure this plan finishes, and it is Jesus that will carry all who make it about him, thru the tribulation of the world and in our own lives. It is all about Jesus Christ and nothing else. Where we have erred in this last day church, if you can put it all down into one sentence, is we lost focus with Jesus. Instead of him being the center and beginning, he is the afterthought, the by-product, the end result of all our feeble attempts to satisfy God in our own power and good deeds. God accepts nothing but his son. It is his blood that makes us able to stand in a Holy God’s presence and not fall dead like Annaias and Sapphira. Our righteousness is filthy rags, our good deeds no matter how noble, are dirty and wretched before a holy God. What satisfies his Holiness is Jesus alone, nothing else.
A Jesus led, and centered life is what makes God happy and satisfied. All our deeds mean nothing. It is not how many people we lead to the lord, not how many countries we evangelize, not how many radio and TV stations we are on, not how many people hit our website that makes God stand up on his seat and yell, “Good job son”. It is how much you make it all about him, in your life. How much do you look like Jesus? Are you being transformed into the very image and carbon copy of him every day? Is everything you do and say centered on glorifying him and making him smile? We call ourselves disciples, yet we don’t want to do the “discipline” that Jesus asks us to do in our lives. A Christian God is happy with, is a dead Christian. Dead meaning, we no longer live, but Christ, living in and thru us. I ask you, are you dead today? Dead to the world, your wants and desires and alive in Christ, becoming more like him, desiring more of him. If you want to have assurance you will make it thru, become Jesus. I promise you, a life sold out like this will never fail and trial or trouble, they have power and the victory.
Aspect of it rarely touched on. Remember, the Bible records it to be the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This is not some man’s revelation, or even a prophet’s, but a vision belonging to Jesus only.
The events swirl around him. Not only do the events foretell about his early life, his earthly life, but they deal with the coming ages after his departure, and what happens to the world and believers because of him. When he came into this world, and accomplished what he did, it forever altered the flow of time and history. We would see a different world and set of future events, much more horrible, than we see now had Jesus not came down into this people planet, and changed the course of history forever. It’s all about him.
You really want to know how to endure the Tribulation? How about just enduring what life brings, and all the troubles we face? It’s all about him. John the revelator made it all about him, because it was his vision, his plan, for the coming ages. It was Jesus that started this plan, it is Jesus who will make sure this plan finishes, and it is Jesus that will carry all who make it about him, thru the tribulation of the world and in our own lives. It is all about Jesus Christ and nothing else. Where we have erred in this last day church, if you can put it all down into one sentence, is we lost focus with Jesus. Instead of him being the center and beginning, he is the afterthought, the by-product, the end result of all our feeble attempts to satisfy God in our own power and good deeds. God accepts nothing but his son. It is his blood that makes us able to stand in a Holy God’s presence and not fall dead like Annaias and Sapphira. Our righteousness is filthy rags, our good deeds no matter how noble, are dirty and wretched before a holy God. What satisfies his Holiness is Jesus alone, nothing else.
A Jesus led, and centered life is what makes God happy and satisfied. All our deeds mean nothing. It is not how many people we lead to the lord, not how many countries we evangelize, not how many radio and TV stations we are on, not how many people hit our website that makes God stand up on his seat and yell, “Good job son”. It is how much you make it all about him, in your life. How much do you look like Jesus? Are you being transformed into the very image and carbon copy of him every day? Is everything you do and say centered on glorifying him and making him smile? We call ourselves disciples, yet we don’t want to do the “discipline” that Jesus asks us to do in our lives. A Christian God is happy with, is a dead Christian. Dead meaning, we no longer live, but Christ, living in and thru us. I ask you, are you dead today? Dead to the world, your wants and desires and alive in Christ, becoming more like him, desiring more of him. If you want to have assurance you will make it thru, become Jesus. I promise you, a life sold out like this will never fail and trial or trouble, they have power and the victory.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
REDEMPTION THROUGH CHRIST'S BLOOD
God's Word makes it clear that the life touched and tainted with sin is a forfeited life. The soul that sins shall die. The wonder that we will never fully understand is that God wanted to save our forfeited lives. So He allowed the blood of the divine Savior to be offered on our behalf. Notice that there must be a blood atonement because blood and life have a vital, mysterious relationship.
The blood of Jesus Christ is of infinite value. The pouring out of blood indicates the termination of life. Because the blood of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, the Lamb of God, was poured out, our acts of sin may be pardoned.
We need to give this spiritual truth all the reverence and contemplation it deserves. Do we talk too loosely about the price of our redemption? I confess that I cringe just a little when I hear someone speak about Christ paying our debt—buying us back. Sometimes we make it sound like nothing more than a business deal. But I do not like to think of God redeeming us in the way we might redeem a cow or a horse at some livestock show. In God's plan for redeeming us there is something higher and holier, more sweet and beautiful.
By A.W. Tozer
The blood of Jesus Christ is of infinite value. The pouring out of blood indicates the termination of life. Because the blood of Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, the Lamb of God, was poured out, our acts of sin may be pardoned.
We need to give this spiritual truth all the reverence and contemplation it deserves. Do we talk too loosely about the price of our redemption? I confess that I cringe just a little when I hear someone speak about Christ paying our debt—buying us back. Sometimes we make it sound like nothing more than a business deal. But I do not like to think of God redeeming us in the way we might redeem a cow or a horse at some livestock show. In God's plan for redeeming us there is something higher and holier, more sweet and beautiful.
By A.W. Tozer
Monday, September 21, 2009
ALL THAT REALLY MATTERS
Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. (Matthew 25:1-4)
The last few devotionals we have been warning you about the coming storms and persecutions to rock this planet. By the authority of scripture, and yes, by the witness of the Holy Spirit, I must tell you that we are on the verge of Revelation beginning to fulfill itself. The end is beginning.
Now, you might not understand fully what we are saying, maybe you can’t fully realize what we are telling you about the events to come. That’s ok. Understanding the timeline and sequence of events is not as important as what I am about to tell you. Notice our scripture for today; we are all aware of the parable of the 10 virgins. But also notice in this parable, the two things that were most important.
1. The “friend of the bridegroom” sent a warning the master was coming, to get up and prepare.
2. They acquired an extra supply of “oil” to carry them thru the end.
Suppose they didn’t fully understand the “friend’s” message, and what it meant in the grand scheme of things, but they knew enough to know they were receiving a warning, something was definitely not right, and they better do something about it. Because they did take heed, they got an extra supply of oil, and when they needed it, and they would, it was there. Because the other 5 would not listen, they waited to late, unable to get an extra supply, and were left behind.
I ask you, look around, something is not right today. You can see the condition of men, the signs of the times and know something is coming. Even the cult leaders and followers feel something big looming on the horizon, yet why do so many Christians turn their nose up at watchers who cry aloud; “Something is coming, our master is on his way, be ready now”. If you don’t understand fully the events in Revelation, fine, but listen to the warning. Look for yourself in your bible, let the spirit that is within you speak to your soul and prepare. Remember, because the virgins prepared ahead of time, they made it. This is the ONLY way you will stand.
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