God is True and Faithful

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In these last days, there are many deceiving spirits, which are traversing the world and weaving their deception in the hearts of men and women who are not grounded in the Word of God (2 Timothy 3:13).

The devil keeps his demons busy looking for gullible people whom he can deceive with his lies and vain philosophies (Colossians 2:8). He is the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9).  

Satan sends false prophets who convince people that they are the Christ or that they come from Christ, but who are actually lawless and have grown cold in their love for the things of God (Matthew 24:4-12).

Although God’s invisible attributes are revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, these with their false doctrine, suppress the truth and keep people from believing what God reveals in our conscience and in nature (Romans 1:18-22).

Those of us who are deceived have no valid excuse not to believe in God, because He reveals His glory to everyone who ever lives; and we condemn our self to hell by our choice not to believe in Jesus (John 3:16-18; Obadiah 1:3; Proverbs 28:26).

This occurs because of our stubborn pride, lustful desires and our trust in what our foolish heart tells us is true. We allow these deceivers to draw us away from the simplicity of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:3).

Yet, those of us who forsakes evil company and withstand this temptation will receive the crown of life and every good and perfect gift, which the Lord promises to those who love Him (James 1:12-17; 1 Corinthians 15:33).

Prayer:

Father God we know that You will not be mocked. If we sow to the flesh, we will reap corruption (1 Corinthians 6:9-10); but if we sow to the Spirit, we will enjoy the fruit of Your righteousness and reap everlasting life (Galatians 6:7-8).

Those of us who sell our soul to the flesh, the world and the devil will inherit our part in the brimstone lake of fire and the second death (Revelation 21:8). Even those of us who trust in our own goodness to get to heaven will end up deceived and disappointed (Matthew 7:21-23). It is only as we trust in Your Son, Jesus, that we find the ultimate way, truth and life (John 14:6).

Thought for the Day:

God is true and faithful and His promises remain forever.

- Romans 3:4

A Yielded Life

 

The cross is an instrument of death, like the guillotine, a firing squad or a lethal injection. At Salvation, our old nature literally dies, and God births His life within us (Colossians 3:3). If we do not take up our cross every day, we are not worthy of Christ (Mathew 10:38). We are slackers and we are showing contempt for the sacrifice Jesus made for us (Luke 14:27).

God challenges us to live as His disciples, mirroring the life of Christ in our thoughts, words and actions. We have no desire left to participate in sinful activities or to entertain unholy thoughts. We cannot even be around people, vote for candidates, or watch TV or movies, which portray ungodliness. Jesus’ holiness is all that is left once His sanctifying work is complete (Galatians 2:20).

There is a paradox here. Christ lives in us (Colossians 3:4). If we surrender our life to Christ, we find it more fulfilling and successful than if we continue to attempt to live by our own direction (Matthew 10:39). God is love, but He is also righteous, just and holy. He has a standard of living, which He requires from all of us. Of course, He does not expect us to reach this standard by our self.

He is the one who actually does the work in us (Philippians 2:12-13). As we take up our cross, God's Spirit crucifies our old, carnal nature until we walk in His holiness (Luke 9:23). We no longer sit on the throne of our life, but we yield to His Lordship and wisdom, as we follow the leading of His Holy Spirit. We no longer dictate to Him, but we submit to His will for our life (Ephesians 2:10).

The more our soul walks in the holiness of this completed work, the more peace and fulfillment we enjoy. We no longer struggle with sin, because it is no longer a part of our nature. We have no desire to partake in the base, carnal aspects of this world. We draw near to God, resist Satan and He must flee from us. We live and move and have our being in Jesus Christ, our Lord, Savior, Master and King (Acts 17:28).

Prayer:

Father God, we no longer abide in this temporal world, even though we remain in it physically. We focus on the eternal, immortal aspects of life in Christ and find our righteousness, peace and joy in You (John 16:33). We follow Christ as He followed You. We believe in, trust in and cling to Him for every thought, provision and emotion in our life (2 Corinthians 4:16-17).  We confidently approach Your throne as we greet each new day, and we walk in Your Spirit as we focus on each moment of our day in You (Galatians 5:15-26).

Thought for the Day:

Every authentic Born Again Believer finds the secret to contentment in total surrender to the will of God for our life. – Philippians 4:12

Sin No Longer Tempts Us

 

Human beings are born with a body, a soul and a spirit. At birth, our spirit is dead in the sin of the first Adam (Colossians 2:13; Romans 5:12). It remains that way throughout our life until we come to Christ, the second Adam, for salvation (1 Corinthians 15:45). This keeps us from experiencing the second death in hell (Revelation 21:8), because our spirit is Born Again through the blood of Jesus (1 John 3:9).

God’s Holy Spirit within us conforms us into the image of Christ through sanctification (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:18). This is a process in which we can cooperate and participate in order to have our mind renewed more quickly (Romans 12:2). If we fight the work of God in our life through our carnal nature, then we suffer longer from the effects of our pride and rebellion.

The good news is that God works in our soul – our mind, will and emotions - on several levels. Jesus delivered us from a life of carnality and death (Romans 7:24-25). He gives us both the desire and the power to surrender fully to God’s will and way (Philippians 2:12-13). His truth sets us free indeed (John 8:32-36). What we find impossible, Christ in us makes possible (Matthew 19:26; Philippians 4:13).

Once the Spirit of God does His regenerating work in us (Romans 7:17), we can face the sin that tempts us, without the need to give in to it (1 Corinthians 10:13). Over time, our desires are renewed, and sinful pursuits no longer have any value for us. The Holy Spirit renews our mind and sets us free from the need to live in sin (Romans 8:13). We walk in victory over both sin and death through Christ in us (1 Corinthians 15:57).

If you are still living a lifestyle of sin, and making excuses for it, then your spirit is still dead in sin (1 John 3:9). You have not been truly Born Again, even if you go to church and work for God. You simply need to choose to turn away from sin and to totally surrender your entire life to God (1 John 1:9). Yield your body, mind, will and emotions to God rather than to sin (Romans 6:13). 

Prayer:

Father God, thank You for not leaving us as orphans on this earth (John 14:18). Your Holy Spirit within us leads us into all truth (John 14:26, 16:13); so that we will despise sin as much as You do, and we will not follow deceiving spirits and lies taught by demons (1 Timothy 4:1). We are no longer blinded by the deceitfulness of sin, but we walk in newness of life (Hebrews 3:13; Romans 6:4). You cause us to die to sin and to live, move and have our existence only in Christ (Romans 6:8; Acts 17:28).

Thought for the Day:

Due to the anointing of the Holy One within us, we walk in the truth and no longer fulfill the lusts of our flesh. – 1 John 2:20; Galatians 5:16-25

The Wisdom of Believing

God knew that because of the wisdom of the world, people would not believe in Him. Therefore, He used the absurdity of preaching to bring eternal life to those humble enough to listen and to believe (1 Corinthians 1:21; 1 John 5:13). The law could not justify anyone, but those who believe that Jesus Christ is God who came in the flesh, will be justified through this truth (Acts 13:39). Despisers of God sometimes wonder about the truth; yet they will perish in the end, because they were not humble enough to believe God’s Word declared to them by God’s Saints (Acts 13:41).

The idols of greed, lust, worry and addiction blind the minds of those who do not believe in Jesus. They prevent them from seeing the light of the gospel of Christ, even though the image of our God through the life of Christ should illuminate God’s Truth to them

(2 Corinthians 4:4). It is only by the grace of God that we can believe, and by this belief are saved (Acts 15:11; 16:31). When we accept that God raised Jesus up from the dead, His spotless purity is imputed into our account (Romans 3:22; 4:24). Now, we are dead in Christ, but also live in Him as He lives within us (Romans 6:8; Colossians 3:3).

Many Believers not only live in Christ, but also suffer for His sake (Philippians 1:29). They received the Word of God, not as if it came from any person, but straight from God Himself. God’s Truth worked in them so effectively that they believe God even if they have to die for this belief (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Through their example of holy, just and righteous behavior, people everywhere know without a doubt that they sincerely believe that Jesus died and rose again (1 Thessalonians 2:10; 1 Timothy 1:16). They have the assurance that they will also be with God for eternity, even if they have to pass through the veil of death first (1 Thessalonians 1:7, 4:14).

Without faith, no one can ever please God; but if anyone comes to God, it is because they believe that He is and that He rewards everyone who diligently seeks Him (Hebrews 11:6). These authentic Believers do not draw back from living and proclaiming God’s truth; and their belief is what saves their soul (Hebrews 10:39; John 3:16-18). God’s exceedingly great power is given to everyone who believes in Jesus (Ephesians 1:19). Jesus is glorified in all of His authentic Believers. People admire and believe in Christ, because they see Him living in and through us (2 Thessalonians 1:10).

We are living in the end times. God is sending strong delusion into the world, so that people who turned their hearts against Him will now believe Satan’s lie (2 Thessalonians 2:11). They disdain the marriage vows and forbid people to eat certain food, which God created for every one to enjoy. God is the Savior of all men, and especially those who believe in Christ and trust in the living God as we labor and suffer reproach in His name (1 Timothy 4:10). Those who believe and who know Jesus as the truth receive His good and perfect gifts with gratitude filling our hearts (1 Timothy 4:3). 

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, many people reject You; but to those who believe, You are our precious corner stone of the building, which God is making without hands (1 Peter 2:7;2 Corinthians 5:1). Believing and hoping in the one God, who raised You from the grave, is the first step in the salvation process, but even the demons believe in You and tremble at Your greatness (James 2:19; 1 Peter 1:21). God also calls us to surrender our will to His and to love Him with all of our heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke 10:27). Then, we will dwell as Your Body in the earth. By our love for one another, others will see and believe in You as well (1 John 3:23; John 13:35).

Thought for the Day:
Don’t believe everything you hear, but align it with God’s Word first, because many deceiving spirit’s are rampant in our world today.  - 1 John 4:1





Thank you, Vickie Liu, for the use of your photo.

The Wisdom of Mankind

Read: John 3:16-18

“For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” -

1 Corinthians 1:25

When people attempt to understand the things of the Spirit with their human mind, they have no success. People without God’s Spirit dwelling within them do not accept the Truth that comes from God, because it sounds foolish to them. They cannot understand God’s Truths, because it is spiritually discerned and cannot be received by an unregenerate mind (1 Corinthians 2:14). Unbelievers look at the various points of the Gospel and ridicule it as ludicrous. It makes no sense to them at all. They think they are wise, but the Bible calls them fools (Psalm 14:1, 53:1).

These atheistic people divide the world, because they follow mere natural instincts and they do not have the Spirit of God within them (Jude 1:19). They say that if there is a God, He is an omnipotent being who is playing a game with humanity through an elaborate scheme, which to them does not make any sense at all. God designed the message of the cross this way. It is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). What they fail to take into consideration is that their spirit is dead in sin. They cannot possibly understand the Gospel, because they cannot see it from its spiritual perspective. They are not willing to surrender their life to God.

They live by a worldly philosophy derived from a perception without Christ dwelling within them. Therefore, they cannot receive Jesus, because they are not looking for Him and they do not recognize Him or His work in the world. Only Born Again Believers know Him, because He lives in us through His resurrection from the dead and ascension into Heaven (John 14:7). We actually preach Christ crucified, and this is a stumbling block to Jews, as well as to every other culture, which foolishly cling to unbelief (1 Corinthians 1:23).

The Holy Spirit clearly states that even some people who were taught the Truth will abandon their beliefs and follow deceiving spirits (1 John 5:19). They consider the Gospel to be idiotic, and they are too smart to waste time with religion. These unbelievers are controlled by their sinful, unconverted nature. They do not have the Spirit of Christ, because they have not repented of their sins and they do not believe in Christ as their Savior. They do not belong to Christ. Their thinking does not come from heaven. It is secular, unspiritual and from the devil (James 3:15).

God is pleased through the foolishness of the Gospel of Christ to save those who choose to believe (1 Corinthians 1:21). We belong to Christ and live by His Spirit, because the Spirit of God lives in us (Romans 8:9). The Spirit of Truth came into the world at Pentecost, and He guides us into all truth even now. The Spirit will not speak about Himself, but He speaks only what He hears from the Father, and He even tells us about what is yet to come (John 16:13). Our Heavenly Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him for salvation shall have eternal life. He will raise us all up at the last day to live with Him in the New Heaven and the New Earth for eternity (John 6:40; Revelation 21:1). Unfortunately, unbelievers condemn themselves to spend eternity in the torments of hell (John 3:18).

Prayer:

Father God, those who obey Your commands live in You, and You live in them. And this is how we know that You live in us: We know it by the Spirit, which You gave us (1 John 3:24; John 8:47). We are from You, and whoever knows You will listen to Your Gospel message and repent and be saved. Whoever is not from You will not listen to us and will hard-heartedly reject Your Truth and believe Satan’s lie instead (1 John 4:6). We offer a prayer right now for our friends, relatives, associates and neighbors to come to a saving knowledge of Your existence and to personally experience Your love for them through Jesus Christ.

Thought for the Day:

“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.” - 1 Timothy 4:1