Strength From The Lord

Strength From The Lord

      “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all , to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, and watching there unto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints...”. Ephesians 6: 10-18

      Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Be a true believer. Put on the whole armor of God. Take the confidence you have in the word of God, and hold it up in front of you whenever you are deluged with doubts and fears, and attacks thrown at you by Satan. Claim your salvation, always see Christ on the cross, bleeding and dying, but remember his resurrection on the third day, and realize that the price of your redemption is paid in full. The cross is empty and the tomb is empty. Therefore, it is impossible for you to be mortally wounded and destroyed if you have on the helmet of salvation.

     Let us fight a good fight as soldiers of Christ. Let us pick up our weapon and march off to war in the army of our Lord Jesus Christ. The word of God is the weapon of our warfare.

God's Promise Of The Holy Spirit

God's Promise Of The Holy Spirit

      When Jesus, after his resurrection, left the earth and ascended into heaven, he promised the apostles and other disciples who were present and witnessed his ascent, that in the manner as they saw him go into heaven, he would one day return and receive them unto himself, and while they waited for his return, he would send to them another comforter, the third person of the Godhead, the Holy Spirit to be their comforter, teacher, and guide. He commissioned them to go into all the world and preach the gospel, but to wait in the city of Jerusalem until they received the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit.

     “If ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more, but ye see me, because I live, ye shall live also.” John 14: 15-19

      “Then opened he their understanding that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things, And behold I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. Luke 24: 45-49

     “And being assembled together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the utermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have see him go into heaven.” Acts 1: 4-11

      “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were confounded, because that every man heard them speak in his own language. And they were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, behold are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born?” Acts 2: 1-8 “And they were all amazed and in doubt, saying one to another, what meaneth this? Others mocking said, these men are full of new wine.” Acts 2: 12,13 “But Peter standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: for these men are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel.” Acts 2: 14, 15, 16.

      “And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.” Joel 2: 28, 29

     Unless we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, we cannot know God, and we are not saved. We can know when we are truly saved because the Holy Spirit which dwells within each believer, bears witness with our spirit that we are indeed the children of God.

      “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2: 14. When we are born into the world, we are born naturally – dead to the spirit of God because of an inherited sin nature. Jesus said: in order to know God and be saved and have the holy Spirit of God dwelling within us we must be born again .

     “There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered , verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, ye must be born again.” John 3: 1 -7.

     If any one is to be saved it must be the work of God alone to draw that person to himself, not by the mere choice of the person's will, or of his good works, or good intentions, or the will of others.

     “Jesus said: Murmur not among yourselves. No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, and they shall all be taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.” John 6: 43-45. “And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Acts 2: 21.

     To be saved means to be born again by the power of God when we are willing to confess to God that we have sinned and want his forgiveness, and believe that Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins by his death on the cross, and that we are justified before God by his resurrection. When this happens, we become new born babes in the family of God, and his Holy Spirit enters our lives, and we become spiritually alive to the things of God. When we are saved, we are saved forever and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and we are promised eternal life – that is as long as God lives, and that is forever.

     “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1: 12-14

     “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” Hebrews 2:3 – Please don't neglect your salvation.

Wise Children Maketh A Glad Father!

Wise Children Maketh A Glad Father!

      “A wise son maketh a glad father, but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother. Proverbs 10:1. God compares our relationship to him as a father and son relationship. When we do wisely as his children, we please him, and make him glad. Walking in our own ways, and doing our own thing, and storing up treasures for the pleasure of the flesh will profit us nothing; but giving ourselves completely to God and living righteously delivereth from death.

When we give God less than our best, whether it be our time, or our money, or our abilities, or our very selves, we become poor. Psalm 10:4 says: “He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand, but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.”

      If we want to make our heavenly father glad, as verse one says that a wise son should do, and if we our selves want to be enriched, then we ought to be willing to go to work in our father's vineyard while it is yet summer, and we have the opportunity to do so. Verse 5 says: “He that gathereth in summer is a wise son, but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.” “The labor of the righteous tendeth to life; the fruit of the wicked is sin.” Psalm 10: 16

      Jesus said in John 4: 35-38 “Say not ye, there are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? Behold I say unto you, lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And here is that saying true, one soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that on which ye bestowed no labor; other men labored and ye are entered into their labors.”

      Babies cannot work in the fields, they must remain behind in the nurseries and be breast fed, and nursed with the milk of the word; but we are grown children, and no longer feed on milk alone, but we ought to be able to eat and digest meat of the word and gain the strength we need to go to work in the fields. If not, we are retarded children “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. For everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” Hebrews 5: 12-14

God's Promise Of Salvation

God's Promise of Salvation

      A cry for help is heard from a lost and dying world. A world engrossed in sin and evil, shrouded in darkness, and seemingly without hope, clamors for answers, and gropes at the nearest floating straw which has no anchor.

      For centuries, since the beginning of time, and when disobedience to God entered the scene, evil has had dominion over the lives of men and women, causing them to murder, steal, lie, and commit all manner of cruelty and atrocities toward one another, and to blaspheme the Holy God who is their creator, and their source of life and well being, although wicked men and women may not recognize him as such. God's laws are ignored, his Holy word desecrated, and his appeal to the lost to accept his mercy and loving kindness ridiculed, yet a lost world cries for help, but refuses to recognize it when it is offered.

      Whenever we have a physical emergency, or a life threatening situation, we send a call to the nearest aid station, such as to 911, the coast guard, the police, the firemen, the national guard. We welcome the sound of the siren, and the first responders when they arrived on the scene.

      The inner soul of all mankind is in a life threatening state called sin, a state which we are all aware of because we have been given inherent awareness of our state of affairs. God has declared all to have sinned and come short of his glory, and consequently, all are lost and without hope in the world, being separated from God, and trying, by our own efforts to save ourselves. The world while sinking deeper in the mire of sin, cries peace! peace! when there is no peace, help! help! when there is no help but that from God.

     The desperate man cries for help -”From whence cometh my help? The wise man who has discovered his source of help answers - “My help cometh from the Lord who has made heaven and earth.” God has promised to help and save the lost if they will call upon him in truth and by faith, believing his promises. God is not willing that any should be lost, but that as many as will call and trust him, he will snatch from the pits of hell and the miry clay, renew a right spirit within them, clothe them with the garment of Christ's righteousness, and guarantee them a place in his kingdom, and give them eternal life.

    When the first responders come to save our physical possessions, and our physical lives, many times they risk and lose their own lives for the sake of those whom they are trying to rescue. Jesus said: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man should give up his own life for his friend.”

      When a loving heavenly Father responds to the call of a lost sinner, he responds immediately to the call. Rescue from sin and damnation is sure to the lost, and it is free to the one who receives it, but it was truly expensive to God who gave his only begotten son to leave his riches and glory in heaven to come to a sin cursed world to save the lost. No one need to be lost forever and spend eternity in hell. God has promised salvation to all who will believe and receive.

      Christ is the answer. He is the first responder to the cry of our soul for salvation. “Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.:” Hebrews 7: 2,5. “But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; he is their strength in time of trouble, and the Lord shall help then; he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them because they trust in him.” Psalm 37: 39, 40. “And it shall be said in that day, lo, this is our God; we have waited for him , and he will save us; this is the Lord; we have waited for him; we will be glad and rejoice in his salvation. Isaiah 25: 9. “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and broken down the middle wall between us.” Ephesians 2:14

      “For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2: 8.9

      God has promised salvation to a lost and dying world, but how shall we be saved? “And they said: believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16: 31

God's Promise Of Forgiveness

God's Promise Of Forgiveness

      The question is asked - “Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord?, Or who shall stand in his Holy place?” Psalm 24: 3 Since the fall of mankind in Eden, no one has been found to be qualified to stand, in his own righteousness, before God, because the answer to this question, and requirement is - “He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity; nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.” Psalm 24: 4, 5.

      Only one person has ever qualified to enter the gate of God's holiness, and he alone is righteous among men. He alone has clean hands and a pure heart, and has not lifted up his soul to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. His name is Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Messiah who came down from God. He alone may enter, in his own righteousness, into the presence of God the Father.

      For God has declared that there is none righteous. “For as it is written, there is none righteous, no not one.” Romans 3: 10. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Romans 3: 23

      All of mankind carries a heavy burden on his shoulders, and that burden weigh him down, and causes him shame, and degradation, and if not removed, will send him to hell. That burden on the shoulder of all mankind is sin. Those who continue to carry that heavy burden of sin in their heart, can have no fellowship with God. And since God created man to enjoy his fellowship, and when a man's fellowship with his creator is not a fact of his life, then man is like the beast of the earth that perish. God is not willing that any should perish. He has provided a way by which all men and women, boys and girls, can have the burden of sin removed from them, and their fellowship with him restored.

      Without God's fellowship, men and women, boys and girls, perish; families fall apart; nations and empires crumble. It is almost impossible today to turn on the television or log on to the internet without seeing someone with a gun or weapon in his hand ready to kill, or to witness someone in bed with another person's wife or husband, committing adultery, or hearing filthy blasphemous words being broadcast for all to hear. How could a Holy God have fellowship with that kind of trash?

      I fear for our nation that it may be on the edge of collapse and annihilation, if it's people do not turn from their wicked ways and get back to the business of fellowship with God. Our country, as well as the rest of the world is sick, and may be ready to experience the judgment of God, which has been true of all other nations that have tuned their back on God, But even so, God is merciful and slow to wrath, and he has made provision for all who will accept his offer of salvation. God is more willing to forgive than we are to be forgiven. God has promised us forgiveness and restoration to fellowship with him if we will only accept his terms.

      What are God's terms? They are – to humble ourselves; pray; turn from our wicked ways; seek God; Then God is faithful to keep his covenant with men. God hears; forgives sin; heals; the Lord is merciful, gracious, slow to anger; plenteous in mercy; he remembers sin no more; the lost are found and restored to fellowship with him. God has provided forgiveness to all who will call upon him.

and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

      A well known promise from the word of God which has been repeated and quoted and preached many times, but is truly valid for the salvation of our nation - “If my people which are called by my name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.” 2Chronicles 7: 14

     “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all

unrighteousness.” 1 John 1: 9

     “The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide; neither will he keep his anger forever. He hath not dealt with us according to our iniquity. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”. Psalm 103: 8 -12

      “And they shalt teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, sayeth the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity; and I will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31: 34

      How wonderful for us to have God remember our sins no more! God has provided a way that his promise of forgiveness may be fulfilled through his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, he was buried and rose again the third day, according to the scriptures, he ascended into heaven-and is now our high priest interceding for us. He will come again at God's appointed time to restore all kingdoms and nations to himself.

      Confess, believe, seek God and God's promise of forgiveness will be a reality in each of our lives.

The Awesome Power Of God's Love And Mercy

The

Awesome

Power

Of

God's

Love

And

Mercy

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The Awesome Power Of God's Love And Mercy


      The raging sea, with its' resounding roar, battering the rugged, rocky, coastline; the roll of the thunder echoing across the valleys, lending a message of impending danger to man and beast, and warning them to seek cover; and the fearsome lightning streaking across the heavens, and striking where it may and destroying all in its' path, as well as the mighty force of wind, hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes which tear up forests and make havoc of homes and property, speak to us of the mighty power and omnipotence of our awesome God and creator.

      When we observe the rage, anger, and power being displayed in these forces in the natural world, we are reminded from the scriptures, that God is exceedingly angry over sin every day; and if he chose to pour out his rage and anger on us as sinners, we would most surely be without hope and most miserable. “God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.” Psalm 7: 11.

      But God is loving, kind and merciful, and is not willing that any should perish. He could, if he chose to to do so, in his exceeding wrath and anger over sin, use his power to destroy the world and cleanse it from all sin; but instead, as he restrains and limits the forces of nature, and sets the boundary of the raging seas, and allows it to come thus far and no more; and as he controls the thunder and lightning, and earthquakes, and natural disasters, so as to preserve man and beast, that men and women, boys and girls, might come to repentance and learn of him and be saved, he withholds from us his rage and anger, and pours out his mercy upon us. “The Lord is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger. and of great mercy.” Psalm 145: 8.

      We see the great wrath and anger of God poured out on his only begotten son, the Lord Jesus Christ, on Calvary's cross for our sins, that he might pay our sin debt for each of us. We see his great power revealed in the resurrection of Jesus as the first begotten from the dead for our justification, and we see his everlasting love and care for us in his ascension into heaven, and even now as our great high priest.

      We, the inhabitants of earth become severely angry at times, with each other, and with our circumstances, and sometimes our anger turns into rage, and when this happens, we lose control, unless we are walking closely with the Lord. When anger turns to rage, this can lead to murder and gross sins.
      “Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath, for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.” James 1: 19, 20.
 
      “Be ye angry, and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Ephesians 4: 26,27.

      “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a     sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor. Ephesians 5: 2.

      May we, as Christians,, strive to walk In love, and with the help and grace of God avoid extreme anger and rage that will lead to sin.

God's Promise Of Love

God's Promise Of His Love

      A few days ago we celebrated Valentine's day, a day dedicated to expressions of love. Many cards were sent, many gifts were purchased and given. Many tokens of love were undoubtedly received, and many commitments of love promised at the altar. When you sent that card, or letter, or gift to your sweetheart, your wife, your husband, your children, or parents, to say I love you; when you made that commitment at the altar, just what did you mean when you said, “I love you”? How do you define love? What is love?

      The dictionary defines love as - a strong, complex emotion causing one to appreciate; delight in; and crave the presence or possession of another; and to please or promote the welfare of the other; direct affection or attachment, specifically, such feeling between husband and wife; or lover and sweetheart; sexual passion or the gratification of it; a very great interest or fondness. This seems to be the worldly definition of love commonly known among us who live in a materialistic society; but there is a much more abiding form of love than we can ever imagine – that is, God's definition of love.

     What is God's definition of love? We find it expounded to us in the holy scriptures – charity, or another name for love. The apostle Paul explains the way of love: “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing; and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself; is not puffed up; doth not behave itself unseemingly; seeketh not its' own; is not easily provoked; thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things; believeth all things; hopeth all things; endureth all things. Charity never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail, whether there be tongues, they shall cease, whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.” 

     1 Corinthians 13: 1-8 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity.” 1 Cdorinthians 13: 13.

      This is God's kind of love, and this is the kind of love we ought to be exhibiting one to another. This is truly a Godly kind of love that we ought to have for one another, whether it be our brothers and sisters in Christ; our husbands, wives, sweethearts, children, or parents. God's promise of love for his children far surpasses anything that we could ever know here on earth. To love the way God loves us, we must completely crucify ourselves, and think only of the object of our love.

      Christ our Savior allowed himself to be crucified for us, having us completely on his mind, that we might be saved and have everlasting life. God has promised us that, no matter how much we have sinned, no matter how far away from him we have wandered, he loves us with an everlasting love.

     “For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kingdom shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee.” Isaiah 54: 10.

     “The Lord hath appeared of old unto me saying, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.” Jeremiah 31: 3 -4a

     “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; continue ye in my love. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” John 15: 9, 13. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3: 16. “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him.” 1 John 4: 9.

     “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or disasters, or persecutions, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us., For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, not things present, nor things to come, nor height, not depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8: 35-39.

     God has loved us, and will love us forever with an everlasting love; therefore, let us seriously consider what an offer of love God has presented to each of us, and if we have not already done so, let us accept it with praise and gratitude.