Ephesians 6:11-17 "Put on the whole armour 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 armour 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."
Life is simple and yet we make it complicated(Ecc.7:29). Why? Because we want to justify our fleshly desires. We make the wrong seem right. There are laws and yet it is so difficult for us to follow. Just like how God gave us all the admonitions and guidance through His commandments found in His Holy Word. We are easily tempted to speak and act according to the standard of this world that is why it is so important to keep in mind this whole armour of God lest we fall.
We start by knowing what is the truth. Truth can be attain by asking for the Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom to know what is right from wrong. The truth is simple. That God sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins and on the third day He rose from the dead and ascended in heaven. Having said this, we can affirm when the Bible says: "I am the way, the truth and the life, no man cometh unto the Father but by me" This is the truth that we protect and should never sell. That is why we should always be wearing the breastplate of righteousness. Humbly asking the Lord to come and abide in our heart and to repent of our sin is a starting point living for Jesus. Knowing and accepting that our righteousness is in our Lord Jesus. Being justified by His blood. It is only when we walk right with God that we can talk and act right with men. Having said this, it is then our duty to share this gospel of peace to people who have not heard the Good News who is Christ Jesus. So wherever we go always remember who we represent. Your life testimony reflects your walk with God. Along with this we should always have the shield of faith with us. When things don't go right we tend to forget that God has a better plan for our lives. So we stand fast where we put our faith. When in doubt we should remember who we put our trust in. It is not our might, our money, our job, etc that would protect us from the diverse temptations. How we handle challenges says so much of our beliefs. So if you put so much faith in your religion, good works or friends, all of these are not built on a solid rock. There is only one solid foundation on which we should stand, and that is Jesus. The helmet of salvation is altogether part of how we live life. Our salvation is a grace from God. Men is not perfect but that doesn't mean we lose our salvation when we fall short. On the other hand that doesn't give us the liberty to sin (Gal.5:13). When we are discouraged, disappointed just go back on how Jesus must have felt when His disciples abandoned Him on the time that He needed them most and yet Jesus did not condemn them. Think of how God must feel when we go astray even though all that He wants us to know is that He loves us unconditionally. Think of His great sacrifice on the cross to redeem us from our sinful nature. Lastly, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. When we walk in Spirit we don't fulfill the lust of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). But how do we live right? That is where the reading of His Word comes in. The Word of God is our guide, comforter and beacon of truth that we might know His will in our life. So, when the devil tries to accuse you, just quote Bible verses. Claim God's promises. Keep God's Word close in our hearts that we might not sin against Him (Ps. 119:11)
Monday, October 17, 2011
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Follow Thou Me
"Jesus saith unto him, if I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Follow thou me." John 21:22
There are little things in our life that engulfs us big time. Our troubled minds has corrupted our way of thinking. Then it becomes our way of life. The world is against us now, especially when we are in our deepest pit. But then that's how this world operates. We live in this world but we shouldn't be of this world.
How then must one be free from all these unimportant little things that beset us easily? How can we attain peace in every situation?
I for one am guilty of being greatly affected by little things in life. Sometimes this little things become the gigantic monster in my life that rubs off the joy in me. I worry about this and that. I get frustrated and disappointed when things don't hapen as I planned them to be. But as always I find answers to these hows in the Word of God. It never fails.
Being a Christian poses so much challenges. But one, among other things that I find such a challenge is the bewildering fact of a person who rejects the good news of salvation. We are commissioned to spread the good news of salvation to all mankind. This is not exclusive to religious people or people in ministries, but to all who have opened their eyes to the truth and there is no exemption. It boggles my mind why people reject to accept that Jesus paid it all (our sins) when He died on the cross and was buried and on the third day rose up from the dead. But as the Bible says, it is hid to them that are lost.
I was sharing a passage in the Bible one time and the person whom I am sharing it with disagrees in almost all what the Bible says, saying that I have interpreted the passage wrongly but what I was doing was merely reading the passage and just reiterating what was said. He has a different interpretation of what it means and it was interpreted in such a way that it will not contradict with how he practices his religion. Not accepting the fact that once we have compromised the Word of God to suit our way or our religion we have lowered God himself to our level of understanding. The Creator to merely as one of the creature.
This has somehow saddened me. It bugged me. And it burdened me that a man of intellect has refused to listen and learn and change. But as the Lord has said, what is it to me if he doesn't listen, or change or accept His free gift of salvation, the kind that secures us of an eternal life in Him? A gift that no man, and most especially God, can take back once given and accepted. Otherwise it should not be called a gift. The most important reminder that God reveals to me in this passage is "to follow Him" instead of being absorbed in my disappointment and frustration of not being able to lead them to Christ and of their situation, for "what is that to thee?" as Jesus said. I now realize that it is not for us to convert them but to share Jesus and to pray that they will be convinced and be persuaded by the Word of God to repent.
I am to follow Jesus and not the man-made ways of following His footsteps. How? As I have said before, the answers are in the Word of God.
(July 16, 2009 2:37pm, bedroom)
There are little things in our life that engulfs us big time. Our troubled minds has corrupted our way of thinking. Then it becomes our way of life. The world is against us now, especially when we are in our deepest pit. But then that's how this world operates. We live in this world but we shouldn't be of this world.
How then must one be free from all these unimportant little things that beset us easily? How can we attain peace in every situation?
I for one am guilty of being greatly affected by little things in life. Sometimes this little things become the gigantic monster in my life that rubs off the joy in me. I worry about this and that. I get frustrated and disappointed when things don't hapen as I planned them to be. But as always I find answers to these hows in the Word of God. It never fails.
Being a Christian poses so much challenges. But one, among other things that I find such a challenge is the bewildering fact of a person who rejects the good news of salvation. We are commissioned to spread the good news of salvation to all mankind. This is not exclusive to religious people or people in ministries, but to all who have opened their eyes to the truth and there is no exemption. It boggles my mind why people reject to accept that Jesus paid it all (our sins) when He died on the cross and was buried and on the third day rose up from the dead. But as the Bible says, it is hid to them that are lost.
I was sharing a passage in the Bible one time and the person whom I am sharing it with disagrees in almost all what the Bible says, saying that I have interpreted the passage wrongly but what I was doing was merely reading the passage and just reiterating what was said. He has a different interpretation of what it means and it was interpreted in such a way that it will not contradict with how he practices his religion. Not accepting the fact that once we have compromised the Word of God to suit our way or our religion we have lowered God himself to our level of understanding. The Creator to merely as one of the creature.
This has somehow saddened me. It bugged me. And it burdened me that a man of intellect has refused to listen and learn and change. But as the Lord has said, what is it to me if he doesn't listen, or change or accept His free gift of salvation, the kind that secures us of an eternal life in Him? A gift that no man, and most especially God, can take back once given and accepted. Otherwise it should not be called a gift. The most important reminder that God reveals to me in this passage is "to follow Him" instead of being absorbed in my disappointment and frustration of not being able to lead them to Christ and of their situation, for "what is that to thee?" as Jesus said. I now realize that it is not for us to convert them but to share Jesus and to pray that they will be convinced and be persuaded by the Word of God to repent.
I am to follow Jesus and not the man-made ways of following His footsteps. How? As I have said before, the answers are in the Word of God.
(July 16, 2009 2:37pm, bedroom)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Let go and let God
Isaiah 6:9-10 "And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make theirs ears heavy, and shut their eyes: lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."
I have heard many people admit to me that they sometimes have difficulty understanding the Bible or that it is just not the book that is likeable to read. It seems like it is not natural to pick up the Bible and read it as to picking a bestseller novel out of a bookshelf. It is because the Bible is no other like any book out there. In order to understand and love the Word of God, one must be saved. Then there will be an innate desire for us to know God intimately and thus the Holy Spirit have a place within that individual's heart to convict him. But that should not be the end for the unsaved one. We, as saved Christian, must witness and share to them the Word of God. Just like the Ethiopian who asked Philip to guide him with the Scriptures (Acts 8:26-35)
It is sad when an individual, after having heard the truth and answered most of his questions, still fails to follow the truth that is revealed. It is because during those times of having heard the Word of God, he still chooses to shut his eyes, turn a deaf ear or simply try not to understand with his heart. He is so afraid that he might be converted and be healed if he chooses otherwise. There is a fear to admit that all along he is wrong. The hardness of his heart does not allow the light to illuminate because he wills it not to and he is lost.That is precisely what the god of this world wants them to do. He blinded them (2 Cor. 4:3-4). If there is a willing heart to seek the truth, then ultimately you will find it.As Jesus said, "ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" (Matthew 7:7). If you will let go of that guilt and stubbornness that rest in your heart, you will see light.If you will let go of your humanistic ways of following Jesus, then you will see the real Jesus and what He can do with your life. It takes an open and willing heart with a thirst for the truth to find it. The truth will set you free from your present bondage. Let go and let God.
If you say that you believe what the Bible says and yet you put your religion and its practices above the teachings of the Bible then there is hypocrisy in your heart. If religion keeps you from seeking and following the truth then you must see that as a warning signal. If your life is lived like those scribes and Pharisees described in the Bible, that doesn’t bear fruit and leads people to damnation then the wrath of God is upon you at the day of the judgment for we are without excuse on the day of the judgment to say that we have not heard of the gospel and the teachings of the Word. If you are like them who are hearers of the Word and not doers of the Word then all that you believe in is vanity.
Nowadays, there are still so many of this people who are so stubborn to follow Jesus. They are so comfortable doing what they are used to that seeking the truth is too much work and it is not innate in them to go in the light since they have been in darkness far too long that they can't differentiate one from the other. They are lost. Still they have an option. Still they can choose. Still they can will it. It is never mentioned in the Bible that God wants partials of us but it is either all or nothing. So, it is either you want to follow Jesus' teachings or your religious books. It is either you love Jesus or your religious rites and rituals. But it can never be the both.
You have the option to choose and get save and follow Jesus.
(original:September 23, 2008, 9:37pm)
I have heard many people admit to me that they sometimes have difficulty understanding the Bible or that it is just not the book that is likeable to read. It seems like it is not natural to pick up the Bible and read it as to picking a bestseller novel out of a bookshelf. It is because the Bible is no other like any book out there. In order to understand and love the Word of God, one must be saved. Then there will be an innate desire for us to know God intimately and thus the Holy Spirit have a place within that individual's heart to convict him. But that should not be the end for the unsaved one. We, as saved Christian, must witness and share to them the Word of God. Just like the Ethiopian who asked Philip to guide him with the Scriptures (Acts 8:26-35)
It is sad when an individual, after having heard the truth and answered most of his questions, still fails to follow the truth that is revealed. It is because during those times of having heard the Word of God, he still chooses to shut his eyes, turn a deaf ear or simply try not to understand with his heart. He is so afraid that he might be converted and be healed if he chooses otherwise. There is a fear to admit that all along he is wrong. The hardness of his heart does not allow the light to illuminate because he wills it not to and he is lost.That is precisely what the god of this world wants them to do. He blinded them (2 Cor. 4:3-4). If there is a willing heart to seek the truth, then ultimately you will find it.As Jesus said, "ask, and it shall be given you; seek and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:" (Matthew 7:7). If you will let go of that guilt and stubbornness that rest in your heart, you will see light.If you will let go of your humanistic ways of following Jesus, then you will see the real Jesus and what He can do with your life. It takes an open and willing heart with a thirst for the truth to find it. The truth will set you free from your present bondage. Let go and let God.
If you say that you believe what the Bible says and yet you put your religion and its practices above the teachings of the Bible then there is hypocrisy in your heart. If religion keeps you from seeking and following the truth then you must see that as a warning signal. If your life is lived like those scribes and Pharisees described in the Bible, that doesn’t bear fruit and leads people to damnation then the wrath of God is upon you at the day of the judgment for we are without excuse on the day of the judgment to say that we have not heard of the gospel and the teachings of the Word. If you are like them who are hearers of the Word and not doers of the Word then all that you believe in is vanity.
Nowadays, there are still so many of this people who are so stubborn to follow Jesus. They are so comfortable doing what they are used to that seeking the truth is too much work and it is not innate in them to go in the light since they have been in darkness far too long that they can't differentiate one from the other. They are lost. Still they have an option. Still they can choose. Still they can will it. It is never mentioned in the Bible that God wants partials of us but it is either all or nothing. So, it is either you want to follow Jesus' teachings or your religious books. It is either you love Jesus or your religious rites and rituals. But it can never be the both.
You have the option to choose and get save and follow Jesus.
(original:September 23, 2008, 9:37pm)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith
Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Do you consider your life here on earth as temporary? If so, are you living your temporary life here on earth to do God’s will, which are eternal, or that which are temporal? Where is your eyes focused? Is it towards the dreams that you hope to accomplish to fulfill men’s happiness or is it towards Godly things that you may fulfill His will for your life? Do you look unto Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith? As a Christian, do you seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God? (Colossians 3:1)
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Your ambitions, talents and abilities are meant to be improved, honed and not to be pursued in place of God. For if that is so, then we are embarking onto idolatry. It is sad to think that most of us actually find fulfillment in life by pursuing things that we thought would please God but in reality it only fulfill our fleshly needs. What if God wants you to do otherwise but with your persistence that this is the will of God for your life you do everything in your will power to be a success in what you do. So, with your busy life in pursuing it you actually don’t see Him being on the curb of your road in life. Have you ever thought of it in that perspective? But you may ask, well, why would he give me all these talent and ability if it is not to fulfill His will? Well, have you diligently seek His will in your life? Have you taken yourself aside and let Him take over your life for you? If not, then you must know that whatever you do will never bring contentment and success in your life. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2).
This is where faith comes in. When you practice faith in every area of your life you would know what it is to be in God’s will. You see it is like being in a car where God is the driver and you as a passenger. You must trust that he will bring you to your destination unharmed and much more than that, he will make sure that on the way towards your destination, you will get all the peace, confidence and contentment of having traveled with him where it is promised that all things that are good cometh from him. So, how do I know? The Bible tells me so. His precious word gives you all the assurances you need. It is not like what people say, you just take that leap into the world of unknown and that’s where it ends. If you know Him well enough, it is a leap towards the unknown and uncertainties in life with a promise of eternal joy and security. We may not see the big picture of God’s plan for our life, as how it should be, for He will no longer be called our Creator if we know what’s at the end of this life. This is the mystery where we should put our faith in Him and Him alone. And I have the full confidence, as my Creator, that all His intentions for me are all good and will bring glory to His precious name.
So, where do you place your faith? Is it with men and their man made teachings or is it in the most precious name of Jesus and His Word?
And so at the end of this life, when judgment day comes, I would rather have Him say, “well done, my child” for I have stayed faithful to Him as the author and finisher of my faith rather than having men praise me for the legacy I have left behind because I have pursued my talent and ability for the world to consume.
August 28, 2008 12:03am
Do you consider your life here on earth as temporary? If so, are you living your temporary life here on earth to do God’s will, which are eternal, or that which are temporal? Where is your eyes focused? Is it towards the dreams that you hope to accomplish to fulfill men’s happiness or is it towards Godly things that you may fulfill His will for your life? Do you look unto Jesus as the author and finisher of our faith? As a Christian, do you seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God? (Colossians 3:1)
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Your ambitions, talents and abilities are meant to be improved, honed and not to be pursued in place of God. For if that is so, then we are embarking onto idolatry. It is sad to think that most of us actually find fulfillment in life by pursuing things that we thought would please God but in reality it only fulfill our fleshly needs. What if God wants you to do otherwise but with your persistence that this is the will of God for your life you do everything in your will power to be a success in what you do. So, with your busy life in pursuing it you actually don’t see Him being on the curb of your road in life. Have you ever thought of it in that perspective? But you may ask, well, why would he give me all these talent and ability if it is not to fulfill His will? Well, have you diligently seek His will in your life? Have you taken yourself aside and let Him take over your life for you? If not, then you must know that whatever you do will never bring contentment and success in your life. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth (Colossians 3:2).
This is where faith comes in. When you practice faith in every area of your life you would know what it is to be in God’s will. You see it is like being in a car where God is the driver and you as a passenger. You must trust that he will bring you to your destination unharmed and much more than that, he will make sure that on the way towards your destination, you will get all the peace, confidence and contentment of having traveled with him where it is promised that all things that are good cometh from him. So, how do I know? The Bible tells me so. His precious word gives you all the assurances you need. It is not like what people say, you just take that leap into the world of unknown and that’s where it ends. If you know Him well enough, it is a leap towards the unknown and uncertainties in life with a promise of eternal joy and security. We may not see the big picture of God’s plan for our life, as how it should be, for He will no longer be called our Creator if we know what’s at the end of this life. This is the mystery where we should put our faith in Him and Him alone. And I have the full confidence, as my Creator, that all His intentions for me are all good and will bring glory to His precious name.
So, where do you place your faith? Is it with men and their man made teachings or is it in the most precious name of Jesus and His Word?
And so at the end of this life, when judgment day comes, I would rather have Him say, “well done, my child” for I have stayed faithful to Him as the author and finisher of my faith rather than having men praise me for the legacy I have left behind because I have pursued my talent and ability for the world to consume.
August 28, 2008 12:03am
Monday, August 18, 2008
Your Heart, The Center of Your Soul
Proverbs 4:23 Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
God sees your heart. More than anything else, God cares what is in your heart. We can’t hide anything from Him. He sees what’s in our heart. You may appear right outwardly (you wear the right clothes, wear your hair right, walk the right way, speak the right lingo) so people will think you are spiritual. But when it is all about appearances you can only go as far and it doesn’t last long. There will come a time when covering for the bases and keeping up the act will be too complicated to follow through. Christian life will then be a process of outward conformity. We are cheating ourselves but most importantly God. So, put off the pretensions and be genuine with God and others. For in 1 Samuel 16:7 it says …for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Proverbs 4:4 He taught me also, and said unto me, let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
God sees every intentions of our heart. It is important to take note that outward changes only happen when there is a sincere inward transformation. The inward transformation far outweighs our outward conformity. Conformities are not God’s way of changing lives. We should guard our heart for out of thy heart flows the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). Your heart will determine the way you think and feel. The unseen influence in every choice and decisions you make. So it will either guide you into God’s will or away from His will. That is why it is very important how and what we feed our minds with for it shall influence the desires of our hearts. Are we feeding it with the Word of God or the ways of this world?
Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth you hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
I have learned as I study the Word of God that God has no gray areas in all issues of life. It is either good or evil, Heaven or hell, righteous or unrighteous. I have learned that God wants me to surrender to His will and what He wants is what’s in my heart for I believe that the heart is the seat of my will and more than anything else I’d rather pursue His will than my own will. Now I see that more than anything else, God wants my heart for out of it flows the issues of life. I would like to focus on the issue of heart. There two kinds of hearts: the impure and the pure heart.
IMPURE HEART
A person with this kind of heart makes decisions as they move forward into spiritual danger and never seeing that black hole. Their warning device to alert you of spiritual danger doesn’t function properly. It is distorted. It is unreliable. It becomes as such because you don’t have the Holy Spirit as your warning device. And the only way for the Holy Spirit to work in your life is when you are saved. With every decision comes a lifetime consequence and when we make wrong decisions we live with it for the rest of our life.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
PURE HEART
A person with a pure heart sees God’s warning and sees the spiritual danger before it comes. Why? Because the Holy Spirit who is our guide gives us the wisdom that we needed thus with sound and sober mind we will be able to determine the right decisions. If you will come to your senses, a person with a pure heart sees God at work in every situation and every decision. How can you go wrong if you choose to follow God’s way? In that way, you are at peace in whatever situation you are in. Your heart is being used by God to help you see things that others won’t and understand things that other miss. Your heart is completely pliable and flexible to see and follow God’s purpose and will in your life no matter what.
Only with an obedient heart can you get right with God. Get saved! Does Jesus Christ lives in your heart? Is Jesus Christ your personal Saviour? Do you believe that He is the ONLY way to Heaven? Get your heart right with God!
APPLICATION: What does God see in your heart today? What are you allowing others to see that you know you cannot hide from God?
Scriptural passages to ponder from the Word of God:
Psalm 44:21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
Jeremiah 17:10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
God sees your heart. More than anything else, God cares what is in your heart. We can’t hide anything from Him. He sees what’s in our heart. You may appear right outwardly (you wear the right clothes, wear your hair right, walk the right way, speak the right lingo) so people will think you are spiritual. But when it is all about appearances you can only go as far and it doesn’t last long. There will come a time when covering for the bases and keeping up the act will be too complicated to follow through. Christian life will then be a process of outward conformity. We are cheating ourselves but most importantly God. So, put off the pretensions and be genuine with God and others. For in 1 Samuel 16:7 it says …for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.
Proverbs 4:4 He taught me also, and said unto me, let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live.
God sees every intentions of our heart. It is important to take note that outward changes only happen when there is a sincere inward transformation. The inward transformation far outweighs our outward conformity. Conformities are not God’s way of changing lives. We should guard our heart for out of thy heart flows the issues of life (Proverbs 4:23). Your heart will determine the way you think and feel. The unseen influence in every choice and decisions you make. So it will either guide you into God’s will or away from His will. That is why it is very important how and what we feed our minds with for it shall influence the desires of our hearts. Are we feeding it with the Word of God or the ways of this world?
Luke 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth you hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
I have learned as I study the Word of God that God has no gray areas in all issues of life. It is either good or evil, Heaven or hell, righteous or unrighteous. I have learned that God wants me to surrender to His will and what He wants is what’s in my heart for I believe that the heart is the seat of my will and more than anything else I’d rather pursue His will than my own will. Now I see that more than anything else, God wants my heart for out of it flows the issues of life. I would like to focus on the issue of heart. There two kinds of hearts: the impure and the pure heart.
IMPURE HEART
A person with this kind of heart makes decisions as they move forward into spiritual danger and never seeing that black hole. Their warning device to alert you of spiritual danger doesn’t function properly. It is distorted. It is unreliable. It becomes as such because you don’t have the Holy Spirit as your warning device. And the only way for the Holy Spirit to work in your life is when you are saved. With every decision comes a lifetime consequence and when we make wrong decisions we live with it for the rest of our life.
Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
PURE HEART
A person with a pure heart sees God’s warning and sees the spiritual danger before it comes. Why? Because the Holy Spirit who is our guide gives us the wisdom that we needed thus with sound and sober mind we will be able to determine the right decisions. If you will come to your senses, a person with a pure heart sees God at work in every situation and every decision. How can you go wrong if you choose to follow God’s way? In that way, you are at peace in whatever situation you are in. Your heart is being used by God to help you see things that others won’t and understand things that other miss. Your heart is completely pliable and flexible to see and follow God’s purpose and will in your life no matter what.
Only with an obedient heart can you get right with God. Get saved! Does Jesus Christ lives in your heart? Is Jesus Christ your personal Saviour? Do you believe that He is the ONLY way to Heaven? Get your heart right with God!
APPLICATION: What does God see in your heart today? What are you allowing others to see that you know you cannot hide from God?
Scriptural passages to ponder from the Word of God:
Psalm 44:21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
Jeremiah 17:10 I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.
Saturday, August 16, 2008
The Living Word of God
If you are a saved and born again Christian you will love the Word of God! Have you read your Bible lately? Have you opened the Bible more than any other books? Have you spent time with God and meditated on His Word? Or have you been spending more time doing things of this world? Maybe you have spent more time with all the distractions that this world has to offer by allotting more time watching what is on the television, or surfing the Internet or reading magazines or books or listening to worldly music?
I am privileged, unlike people in other countries where Bible is prohibited, to be able to open and read God’s Word. And with this privilege I just want to share to you that there is also a responsibility that goes with it. My responsibility is to heed the voice of the Holy Spirit in my life that I may fulfill His Word in my life. I say responsibility because I as a child of God want to do that which is good in His sight that will bring honor and glory to His precious name. But take note, I do not do things out of my own righteousness but I am able to do His will through Jesus Christ which strengthens me. And it is my responsibility to witness to other unsaved souls and win them to Christ.
I know God is not the author of confusion but of peace (1 Cor. 14:33). The Word of God is not hard to understand if you are a child of God. If you read the Word of God and words merely swim in front of your eyes and seems like you want to give up because you can’t understand what it means, pray that the Lord may send His Holy Spirit to guide and teach you for He says that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).But first you must get save in order for the Spirit to quicken you, meaning from a dead spirit you become alive through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. For we know that the gods of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believeth not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ Jesus should shine unto them (2 Cor. 4:4). Don’t give up. Just keep on reading His Word and in time the devil will flee from you and tempt you not to fulfill your flesh and instead you yearn of spiritual things.
Religion says that we are not supposed to read the Bible and interpret it on our own. But that is just how Satan works and men are not aware of his devious works. You should ask yourself, why is the Word of God given to men if they are not supposed to read it? There is really no logic in it. But that is just the way the devil tries to manipulate us away from knowing God and His will in our lives. They may quote 2 Peter 1:20-21 that says: Knowing this first that no prophecy on the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. In order to better understand the context of this chapter, you must understand that what Peter was talking about was that the prophecy on the scripture was not made up by man and not by the will of man but that some were a living witness to this prophecy which is all about Jesus Christ. You must read 2 Peter 1:16 that says: For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
I truly believe what 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,(there is no other book or books other than the Bible that is given to men that is inspired by God, so the Bible is the book unlike other religions that believes that there is the Bible and other books that they live by) and is profitable for doctrine,(the true doctrine by which we believe and live for e.g. salvation, baptism, holy trinity, that brings glory and praise back to His precious name) for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. And that is how I know when I am not in the perfect will of God for the Bible is there for me to search and study and to know what the Lord wills for His child.
It is so true how sometimes we don’t want to hear what the Bible tells us because we don’t want to be corrected. We don’t want to give up our flesh so we can be filled with the Spirit. Or, sometimes we thought that what the preacher is teaching God’s people is wrong (not being well verse yourselves with the Word of God as what Matthew 22: 29 says, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God) then why don’t we heed the advise given in the Bible in Acts 17:11 that says, These were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so and John 5:39 that says, Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
So, it is my prayer that someday, if not now, that we lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save souls (James 1:21). Don’t wait for somebody to interpret what you should believe in. You have the Spirit that lives in you to guide and teach you.
Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path
I am privileged, unlike people in other countries where Bible is prohibited, to be able to open and read God’s Word. And with this privilege I just want to share to you that there is also a responsibility that goes with it. My responsibility is to heed the voice of the Holy Spirit in my life that I may fulfill His Word in my life. I say responsibility because I as a child of God want to do that which is good in His sight that will bring honor and glory to His precious name. But take note, I do not do things out of my own righteousness but I am able to do His will through Jesus Christ which strengthens me. And it is my responsibility to witness to other unsaved souls and win them to Christ.
I know God is not the author of confusion but of peace (1 Cor. 14:33). The Word of God is not hard to understand if you are a child of God. If you read the Word of God and words merely swim in front of your eyes and seems like you want to give up because you can’t understand what it means, pray that the Lord may send His Holy Spirit to guide and teach you for He says that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).But first you must get save in order for the Spirit to quicken you, meaning from a dead spirit you become alive through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. For we know that the gods of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believeth not lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ Jesus should shine unto them (2 Cor. 4:4). Don’t give up. Just keep on reading His Word and in time the devil will flee from you and tempt you not to fulfill your flesh and instead you yearn of spiritual things.
Religion says that we are not supposed to read the Bible and interpret it on our own. But that is just how Satan works and men are not aware of his devious works. You should ask yourself, why is the Word of God given to men if they are not supposed to read it? There is really no logic in it. But that is just the way the devil tries to manipulate us away from knowing God and His will in our lives. They may quote 2 Peter 1:20-21 that says: Knowing this first that no prophecy on the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. In order to better understand the context of this chapter, you must understand that what Peter was talking about was that the prophecy on the scripture was not made up by man and not by the will of man but that some were a living witness to this prophecy which is all about Jesus Christ. You must read 2 Peter 1:16 that says: For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
I truly believe what 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says, All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,(there is no other book or books other than the Bible that is given to men that is inspired by God, so the Bible is the book unlike other religions that believes that there is the Bible and other books that they live by) and is profitable for doctrine,(the true doctrine by which we believe and live for e.g. salvation, baptism, holy trinity, that brings glory and praise back to His precious name) for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works. And that is how I know when I am not in the perfect will of God for the Bible is there for me to search and study and to know what the Lord wills for His child.
It is so true how sometimes we don’t want to hear what the Bible tells us because we don’t want to be corrected. We don’t want to give up our flesh so we can be filled with the Spirit. Or, sometimes we thought that what the preacher is teaching God’s people is wrong (not being well verse yourselves with the Word of God as what Matthew 22: 29 says, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God) then why don’t we heed the advise given in the Bible in Acts 17:11 that says, These were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily whether those things were so and John 5:39 that says, Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.
So, it is my prayer that someday, if not now, that we lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save souls (James 1:21). Don’t wait for somebody to interpret what you should believe in. You have the Spirit that lives in you to guide and teach you.
Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Interesting Link
I was surfing and reading some entries over the net and I have found this entertaining but with so much truth entry entitled 17 Ways No-One Will Go To Heaven (And Why Not). Click on the link and read on. I hope you will see truths in it and be able to search your hearts.
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