Now the God of Hope fill you with all Joy and Peace in believing, that you may abound in Hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13
I pray you would see, and would soon say, "Jesus I love you. Thank you for loving me for your own name's sake. "
There are 2 parts to Romans 6:23 that each person must grasp before an appreciation of the Gospel (Good News ) about Jesus can really take shape in your heart. It says, "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
".... but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord:"
God is all knowing, nothing is hidden from him in eternity past or future, yet he causes himself to forget our sin....Isaiah 43:25 says, “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins."
"For his sake" profoundly means God can not be unloving at any time. Because he is LOVE he always demonstrates it in various ways, and in ways that are very deep and therefore hard to believe....nevertheless true. Because he does it for His names sake we get the choice to benefit from his Way of doing things.
"Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. BUT he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. YET IT WAS THE WILL OF GOD THE FATHER TO CRUSH GOD THE SON; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:4-6, 10-12)
What you just read is how eternal life becomes possible to you. God made a way for you to escape the 2nd death once you die in the body. This transaction isn't automatic though. The wage of our sins remain upon each of us until we believe in Jesus and become Born Again (God the Holy Spirit coming to live inside of you). Dealing with your sins, facing them, confessing them and wanting to change and repent becomes so much easier when you come to finally realize who God is and that the outcome of who he is SAVES YOU. It is a blessing to believe in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob because He SAVES YOU. HE IS LOVE. Thinking about this is good. Why did God create humanity when he knew doing so would be like a building crashing on his head, that doing so would bring his Son Jesus so much pain and suffering? To understand why we need to grasp a new perspective. Amazingly, 1 Peter 1:19-20 and Ephesians 1:3-4 reveal that God the Son was foreordained before the foundation of the world to ransom humanity from sin...to take the nails in his hands and lashes on his back that we deserved...and that there would be people who would trust in the blood he shed to save them. His death was no accident, nor was it unplanned. The nails that were driven through Jesus' hands at the cross were actually there in the purpose, intention and heart of God BEFORE he created us out of the dust of the earth. He decided to die and live for you first because he knew you would sin and die even before you were born. The implication of this is really important to grasp. HE WANTS A RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU. RO ENJOY LIFE WITH YOU FOREVER!
Isaiah 49:15-16 says that it is possible even for a mother to forget her nursing child, and to not have compassion on the son of her womb, but it is IMPOSSIBLE for God to forget those who trust in his name because he has engraved them upon the palms of his hands. At Creation, in Genesis 2:7, we see these hands forming us out of the dust of the earth, and almost 2000 years ago in Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, Luke 23:33, and John 19:18 we see these same hands being crucified.
The big deal is that God the Father really loves you. He can not overlook your sin so he warns with , " the wages of sin is death". He knew your sin would be a problem between you and him and that it would destroy your relationship together. So he decided to destroy sin through sacrificing his own perfect and Holy life ( His Son Jesus) so you could have a way to escape the wage of your sin through a relationship with Jesus. God the Son, Jesus, is your Mediator before God the Father. If you don't believe and confess Jesus as your Savior, Mediator, Or Lord then he is not, and when you stand before God there will be nothing to redeem your soul from the 2nd death. With the faith you practice now in the blood of Jesus, you will be justified then by that same faith. But if you do not put your faith in Jesus now, you will not have the faith that saves and death will be the just wage, verdict.
I believe that most people would confess that they have sinned: used God's name as a cuss word, stolen , lied, hated someone, lusted after someone.....at least once in their lifetime. But I don't believe that most people understand how God feels about righteousness and the real consequence of breaking God's law , nor the truth about how God feels about them to save them from the consequence of breaking the law. People perish for lack of knowledge about God and people live because they come into the knowledge of God. Saving knowledge and faith only come by hearing the Bible and learning it and then believing it.
I pray with all my heart that you would believe that God loves you and that you would put your faith in Jesus Christ to wash away your sins....primarily with the 1st motive that you love him, the Obedient One, and the 2nd motive because you want to live with him.
The message from God about Jesus to humanity and you personally for all creation and BEFORE creation has been the same:
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love Ephesians 1:3, 4
"...but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you." 1 Peter 1:19, 20
"I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live." Deuteronomy 30:19
"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 3:23
Remember, God redeemed this world by his choice to die through Christ. Satan, his demons, and human choices corrupt this world. That's not Gods fault. The world is getting darker because people are not seeking after The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. But the cool thing is that no matter how dark it gets God promises you will find him when you seek him with ALL YOUR HEART...
Much Love for you,
Hank
Saturday, March 01, 2014
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Contend For Truth
When a society abandons the moral, spiritual, and intellectual standards instilled through Divine Authority, it forfeits it's common sense as well. Accepting that every person is allowed to concoct his or her own standards, using self as the supreme relevant factor, is a prescription for disaster. BUT, thankfully, that isn't the way the world was designed to work, and Jesus has promised to return to set things right. We know this because it's in the Bible...the one Book with standards that will endure forever. For example, " love one another as I have loved you," is a command that will never cease to be a standard! Jesus is commanding this. BUT things go awfully wrong when biblical standards are not taken to heart and followed.
When 5 year olds are expelled from class for pointing, bystanders refuse to intercede while teenagers pummel and bully children and the elderly, and the Pledge of Allegiance and patriotic assemblies are banished from schools, to name a few, it's time to ask, "Whatever happened to common sense?" The problem is way beyond political correctness.....and we are well into a pandora process which has produced disastrous results....fatal consequences.
Most share a universal lack of awareness concerning the eminent threats on this country from within and without and that it is time to position one self on rock solid truth. Serious threats lead to serious consequences. Vulnerability, apathy, ridding of morality, redefining sacred and divine institutes, believing in whatever, are gateways to fatal consequences.
For example, progressive ideology which claims is designed to "liberate" actually produces doubt, disillusionment, division, religious futility and frustration. It presents a gateway for ideologies to enter that no one would ever want for a community, a nation, a people....a world. Think about how America has changed over a few short decades. Now, it is nearly unrecognizable to those looking on from the inside and those looking from the outside.
On the contrary, The Blessed Hope that is desirable, is always the result of living by rules and standards of conduct that are based on Biblical values, but a people cannot live biblically unless it is surrendered to the will of God through the Holy Spirit. The Ten Commandments, truth, respect for others, and a love of God and country result when people yield their wills to God's. However, trusting in and living by alternatives produces a Banished Hope, which has nothing to answer our need for real redemption from our rebellion problem (sin) or our need for an eternal relationship with God.
He who stooped down to pick us up, save us, sustain us, and usher us into eternal glory when we die as true believers in Christ is always ready to bless those who trust and follow him, but he can not protect and bless if he is shunned, or ignored, or hated. Casting aside virtue, self sacrifice, absolute truth, repentance, that God ( not our own created gods , but God who created us) is worthy of our worship leaves a void at every level of humanity between personal and global interaction. Sadly, in the wake of personal or national spiritual emptiness and hopelessness comes an inevitable.....fatal consequence. Instead of people being filled by God the Holy Spirit which results from reading and trusting in the Bible, and from hearing correct teaching and interpretation of the Bible through God ordained Teachers, a vacuum appears in the soul, and someone or something else fills it....that's the fatal consequence that gives birth to endless misguidance. We now live in a world where false teaching and believing in those false teachings is rampant. False hope, false teachings, and False ideologies are the result of people thinking up and doing what they want and what they think is right.
There is a real God and there is a real Devil, there is a real war raging for the souls of man. I pray you would somehow see the real battle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, against cosmic powers that are over this present darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The Devil will do everything he can to bring you with him to Hell. If he can keep you from knowing and understanding the Love of God for you through the Gospel of Jesus Christ he will succeed.
Take note below at some of the lies that the real enemy, Satan, is seizing and deceiving people with. Do you believe in any of these lies? If so, look to the side of that lie in parenthesis. In the parenthesis are the verses in the Bible that refute that lie. Ask God to help you believe what us true:
- There is no God ( Psalm 14:1, 19:1, 10:4)
- The Bible is merely myths written by men (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21)
- I'll get to heaven my way (John 14:6, John 3:36)
- I'm not a sinner, I'm a good person (1 John 1:8, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23)
- Jesus is just a man, no more and no less (Philemon 2:9-11, John 20:28)
- I don't need to go to church (Hebrews 10:25, Acts 2:42)
- I'll live my life as I please. I'll do things my way (Proverbs 14:12, Matthew 7:13-14)
- I don't believe in heaven or hell (Hebrews 9:27, Revelations 20:12-13,15)
- We are the result of evolution (Psalms 139:13-14, Mark 10:5-6)
Believing in these lies results in all types of false teachings. Here are some examples of belief systems that arise that are based upon lies. Do you believe in any of these? If so, take a look at what the Bible says about these belief systems in parenthesis and ask God to help you believe in what is true:
- Theistic Evolution- Evolution is true and was used by God. (Genesis 1:27, 31, Mark 10:5-6)
- Emerging Church - There is no absolute truth ( Psalm 25:10, 100:5, 119:160, John 8:32, 17:17)
- Prosperity Gospel - God wants you rich and happy ( Acts 9:16, Hebrews 11:35,37, 1 John 2:15)
- Universalism - Everyone goes to heaven - ( Psalm 9:17, Luke 12:5, Revelation 20:15)
- Preterism - All prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD (unfulfilled prophecy soon to occur: Zechariah 14:4, Matthew 24:29-30)
- Open Theism- God does not know the future ( Isaiah 45:21, 46:9-11)
- Social Gospel - The church's first priority is to help the poor (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8)
- Dual Covenant - Only Gentiles need Jesus (John 3:36, 14:6)
- Sinless perfection is possible (Psalm 14:3, Ecclesiastes 7:20, 1 John 1:8)
- Jesus was not born of a virgin ( Matthew 1:18, Luke 1:30-31,34)
- God doesn't mind a sinful lifestyle ( Romans 6:13, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)
- Jesus is not God ( Isaiah 44:6, Revelation 1:17-18)
- The Bible is only Gods word when it speaks to you ( 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21)
- Salvation can be attained by works (Genesis 15:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5)
- Replacement Theology / Christian Anti-Zionism - The Church has replaced Israel; God has no special plan for Israel in these times/ Israel has no divine right to the Holy Land. ( Ezekiel 28:25-26, 34:13 Ezekiel 35-39, 47:21, Amos 9:15, Acts 7:5, Genesis 17:8, 48:4, Romans 11:18, Jeremiah 2:3, 23:7-8, Zechariah 14, Deuteronomy 4:40, Psalm 105:8-11 too site a few)
The purpose of this note is to encourage you to contend for The Faith, and to not distort the Gospel of Jesus Christ or believe those who do. The Gospel calls sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32) and to not take advantage of God's grace (Titus 2:11-12). The book of Jude is a warning to false teachers and an encouragement to those who love what is true. Jude was Jesus' half brother who at first did not believe in Jesus, but opposed Jesus' message about sin, repentance, the Kingdom of God, and eternal life, but when Jesus appeared to him specifically after he rose from the grave (1 Corinthians 15:7) Jude changed and became a true believer in Christ. You can hear the zeal and passion in the book of Jude proclaiming the realization that every other religious path is a road to deception and eternal condemnation, and that Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life.
When 5 year olds are expelled from class for pointing, bystanders refuse to intercede while teenagers pummel and bully children and the elderly, and the Pledge of Allegiance and patriotic assemblies are banished from schools, to name a few, it's time to ask, "Whatever happened to common sense?" The problem is way beyond political correctness.....and we are well into a pandora process which has produced disastrous results....fatal consequences.
Most share a universal lack of awareness concerning the eminent threats on this country from within and without and that it is time to position one self on rock solid truth. Serious threats lead to serious consequences. Vulnerability, apathy, ridding of morality, redefining sacred and divine institutes, believing in whatever, are gateways to fatal consequences.
For example, progressive ideology which claims is designed to "liberate" actually produces doubt, disillusionment, division, religious futility and frustration. It presents a gateway for ideologies to enter that no one would ever want for a community, a nation, a people....a world. Think about how America has changed over a few short decades. Now, it is nearly unrecognizable to those looking on from the inside and those looking from the outside.
On the contrary, The Blessed Hope that is desirable, is always the result of living by rules and standards of conduct that are based on Biblical values, but a people cannot live biblically unless it is surrendered to the will of God through the Holy Spirit. The Ten Commandments, truth, respect for others, and a love of God and country result when people yield their wills to God's. However, trusting in and living by alternatives produces a Banished Hope, which has nothing to answer our need for real redemption from our rebellion problem (sin) or our need for an eternal relationship with God.
He who stooped down to pick us up, save us, sustain us, and usher us into eternal glory when we die as true believers in Christ is always ready to bless those who trust and follow him, but he can not protect and bless if he is shunned, or ignored, or hated. Casting aside virtue, self sacrifice, absolute truth, repentance, that God ( not our own created gods , but God who created us) is worthy of our worship leaves a void at every level of humanity between personal and global interaction. Sadly, in the wake of personal or national spiritual emptiness and hopelessness comes an inevitable.....fatal consequence. Instead of people being filled by God the Holy Spirit which results from reading and trusting in the Bible, and from hearing correct teaching and interpretation of the Bible through God ordained Teachers, a vacuum appears in the soul, and someone or something else fills it....that's the fatal consequence that gives birth to endless misguidance. We now live in a world where false teaching and believing in those false teachings is rampant. False hope, false teachings, and False ideologies are the result of people thinking up and doing what they want and what they think is right.
There is a real God and there is a real Devil, there is a real war raging for the souls of man. I pray you would somehow see the real battle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, against cosmic powers that are over this present darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. The Devil will do everything he can to bring you with him to Hell. If he can keep you from knowing and understanding the Love of God for you through the Gospel of Jesus Christ he will succeed.
Take note below at some of the lies that the real enemy, Satan, is seizing and deceiving people with. Do you believe in any of these lies? If so, look to the side of that lie in parenthesis. In the parenthesis are the verses in the Bible that refute that lie. Ask God to help you believe what us true:
- There is no God ( Psalm 14:1, 19:1, 10:4)
- The Bible is merely myths written by men (2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21)
- I'll get to heaven my way (John 14:6, John 3:36)
- I'm not a sinner, I'm a good person (1 John 1:8, Ecclesiastes 7:20, Romans 3:23)
- Jesus is just a man, no more and no less (Philemon 2:9-11, John 20:28)
- I don't need to go to church (Hebrews 10:25, Acts 2:42)
- I'll live my life as I please. I'll do things my way (Proverbs 14:12, Matthew 7:13-14)
- I don't believe in heaven or hell (Hebrews 9:27, Revelations 20:12-13,15)
- We are the result of evolution (Psalms 139:13-14, Mark 10:5-6)
Believing in these lies results in all types of false teachings. Here are some examples of belief systems that arise that are based upon lies. Do you believe in any of these? If so, take a look at what the Bible says about these belief systems in parenthesis and ask God to help you believe in what is true:
- Theistic Evolution- Evolution is true and was used by God. (Genesis 1:27, 31, Mark 10:5-6)
- Emerging Church - There is no absolute truth ( Psalm 25:10, 100:5, 119:160, John 8:32, 17:17)
- Prosperity Gospel - God wants you rich and happy ( Acts 9:16, Hebrews 11:35,37, 1 John 2:15)
- Universalism - Everyone goes to heaven - ( Psalm 9:17, Luke 12:5, Revelation 20:15)
- Preterism - All prophecy was fulfilled in 70 AD (unfulfilled prophecy soon to occur: Zechariah 14:4, Matthew 24:29-30)
- Open Theism- God does not know the future ( Isaiah 45:21, 46:9-11)
- Social Gospel - The church's first priority is to help the poor (Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 1:8)
- Dual Covenant - Only Gentiles need Jesus (John 3:36, 14:6)
- Sinless perfection is possible (Psalm 14:3, Ecclesiastes 7:20, 1 John 1:8)
- Jesus was not born of a virgin ( Matthew 1:18, Luke 1:30-31,34)
- God doesn't mind a sinful lifestyle ( Romans 6:13, 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5)
- Jesus is not God ( Isaiah 44:6, Revelation 1:17-18)
- The Bible is only Gods word when it speaks to you ( 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21)
- Salvation can be attained by works (Genesis 15:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5)
- Replacement Theology / Christian Anti-Zionism - The Church has replaced Israel; God has no special plan for Israel in these times/ Israel has no divine right to the Holy Land. ( Ezekiel 28:25-26, 34:13 Ezekiel 35-39, 47:21, Amos 9:15, Acts 7:5, Genesis 17:8, 48:4, Romans 11:18, Jeremiah 2:3, 23:7-8, Zechariah 14, Deuteronomy 4:40, Psalm 105:8-11 too site a few)
The purpose of this note is to encourage you to contend for The Faith, and to not distort the Gospel of Jesus Christ or believe those who do. The Gospel calls sinners to repentance (Luke 5:32) and to not take advantage of God's grace (Titus 2:11-12). The book of Jude is a warning to false teachers and an encouragement to those who love what is true. Jude was Jesus' half brother who at first did not believe in Jesus, but opposed Jesus' message about sin, repentance, the Kingdom of God, and eternal life, but when Jesus appeared to him specifically after he rose from the grave (1 Corinthians 15:7) Jude changed and became a true believer in Christ. You can hear the zeal and passion in the book of Jude proclaiming the realization that every other religious path is a road to deception and eternal condemnation, and that Jesus alone is the way, the truth and the life.
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