Saving Grace

 

People today are so turned off by legalism that they pervert the truth that we are forgiven of all sins - past, current and future - and allow sin to grow in their life. They feel no remorse for breaking God's heart.

They sit around drinking beer, wine, cocktails and even hard liquor discussing the Word of God. They smoke their cigars and pipes in church fellowships, and they allow their language to digress to that of a drunken sailor.

They feel this is spiritual, because they are breaking the bonds of legalism. They claim that the current church emasculates men and say that the "letter of the law", in the current evangelical church, prevents them from having a living relationship with our mighty God.

I agree that living only according to the "logos" - written Word of God - can mask the sinful desires within a person's heart. I also agree that a 'rhema' - the living Word - relationship is the most important aspect of our salvation.

Legalism does kill the spirit, and relationship is more important than religion. However, I also believe that when we actually see the living Jesus, we shrink from living with a license to sin (1 John 2:15).

We forsake alcoholism, pornography, gay pride, abortion, adultery and all the other sins, which humanity explains away in our current Laodicean society.

The teachings of today's so-called pastors mirror the gospel taught by the Nicolaitans, whom God hated (Revelations 2:6). These modern men are purporting old age deception cloaked in New Age Lies.

Add this to the gnostic element creeping back into the church through Satanic influence and deception, and the post-modern church has a stench that makes God want to vomit (2 Corinthians 11:4; Revelation 3:16).

Whatever happened to the holiness that Jesus exemplified for us in His life, calling us to emulate Him in our every thought, word and deed? His Spirit transforms us with the mind of Christ and fills us with His fruit to replace our carnality (Romans 12:2; Galatians 5:15-25).

Prayer:

Father God, You make it very clear in the Old and New Testament that You are a Holy God. You call Your Saints to walk in holiness and not to fulfill the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:15-25). You are the righteous judge, and sin grieves Your Spirit (Ephesians 4:30). We do not abound in sin, so that Your grace may abound in us (Romans 6:1).

Sin, in any form, is destructive and You protect us from its destruction by Your commandments and directives. If we compromise Your Word, we compromise our own success and blessings. We realize that our sin is already paid for by Christ's crucifixion, but this fact drives us to a dedication to Your Word, rather than to participate in crucifying Jesus afresh by our lackadaisical dabbling in sin without honest remorse (Hebrews 6:4- 6).

Thought for the Day:

Modern "reformed" preachers reject solid Biblical principles and replace them with lifeless, liberal mysticism; they ignore the draw of God's Spirit to walk in holiness just as our Father God is holy. He is the same yesterday, today and forever.

- Hebrews 4:12, 13:8; 1 Peter 1:16. 

 

I do not Feel God's Presence - The Main Reason

 

There is a big difference between Conviction and Conversion in a person's life. I want to explain the difference to you in case you may have been convicted, but never converted.

If we say that we are saved, but our life is not transformed, and we do not feel His Spirit within us or see a difference in our thoughts and behavior, we were convicted, but not converted.

Believing in our mind is not enough, because even Satan believes and trembles” (James 2:19).

There are many examples of good people in the Bible who thought they were saved, but they never had a personal relationship with Jesus. (Matthew 7:21, 25:11; Luke 6:46, 13:25). 

Satanic strongholds in our life may keep us struggling with our walk with the Lord. Maybe God told you to stop doing something that grieves His Spirit, but you are still doing it. Then, you will not feel God's presence (Psalm 32:3-5).

Possibly, you are more interested in what God can do for you, rather than what you can do for God. Your motive in believing may be to change your circumstances, but God calls us to first change our heart and obey Him (John 14:15, 23).

We cannot save our self, we need God to save us through Jesus' sacrifice on Calvary's cross. God is not our servant, but we are His servants.

He is not the granter of our wishes or requests, we serve Him whether He gives us what we ask for or not, because He is God and He is worthy.

Prayer:

Sincerely pray, giving ALL of your life to God and holding nothing back for yourself:

"Lord Jesus, I do not want to live my life as a slave to myself, sin or Satan. I ask You for Your forgiveness and that You save me completely. I relinquish my sinful nature to You.

"I dedicate my life to You. I submit my life to Your Holy Spirit to live within me, to change me from the inside out and to direct me through each moment of my day. Please keep me away from anything, which might take Your place in my heart. In Jesus' name and for Your glory. Amen."

Though for the Day:

If we are double-minded in our prayer for salvation, and not sincere, nothing will change; we are still lost in sin for eternity. - John 3:18, 5:24; Hebrews 3:19

Admitting Faults

"I was wrong" is the hardest sentence in the English language to say. Due to perceived, as well as legitimate wounds in our past, we are afraid to admit that we have faults.

We think that we have to be perfect in order to be loved; and that we must earn the love, which we need, by making other people happy and proud of us.

We fear rejection so much that we will make excuses or lie to cover up our faults and mistakes. We wear masks so that people do not know who we really are.

If we admit that we did something inappropriate, we may fall into the black hole of condemnation and shame, which nips at our toes and plots ways to swallow us whole.

If we agree that we are wrong, we will topple over the edge of the dark abyss of shame, and we will be trapped, hopeless, useless and totally rejected forever.

In order to escape the bottomless pit of shame, we either do our best to become invisible, or fight tooth and nail to retain some semblance of order in our life, or hide behind a wall of pride and arrogance.

Bullies are motivated from their fear and insecurity. They surround themselves with controllable people who have qualities, which they feel they lack. When they hurt others, they feel powerful and in control of at least one part of their life.

Once we come to Christ for forgiveness, He exposes Satan's lies and frees us from the evil task master of shame. Then we no longer experience the devil's condemnation (Romans 8:1).

If we could be perfect, Christ would not have suffered that horrendous crucifixion. Through His sacrifice, we enter His rest and are able to breathe unhindered by stress, fear and insecurities.

If one person abandons us, or turns against us, we have a whole family of Believers who will love us for who we are, even with all of our faults, insecurities and over-reactions (Ephesians 4:32).

Prayer:

Father God, often another person's wounds expose our wounds and weaknesses, and we fear rejection. Therefore, we walk away from them, before they get a chance to reject us. We dispose of them from our life, rather than working out our issues together.

Help us to look deeper, beneath the surface of a person's words and actions, to see the real person, which they are hiding behind their false facade. Remind us to show mercy and grace to everyone, and not to reject someone just because they are wounded.

Thought for the Day:

Make allowances for one another's faults and idiosyncrasies; so, that if someone offends you, you can forgive them time and time again, as you help to strengthen them to feel secure through God's love within you. 

- Matthew 18:21-22; Colossians 3:13

Our Identity in Christ - Part 1

Our identity in Christ comes when we totally surrender to God's love in our life, we allow God to fashion us into a new creation and as we have faith in His faithfulness, which gives us assurance (2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 4:19).

God chose us for the praise of His glory, and uses us as a spiritual blessing (Ephesians 1:3, 1:11-12). We can always approach the throne of God with confidence (Ephesians 3:12).

At salvation He forgives our sins and wipes our slate clean (Ephesians 1:7; Psalm 103:12). With our identity in Christ, we have no shame or condemnation, because we love Him and keep His commandments (Romans 8:1).

God replaces our negative personality traits with His fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). As we live in the moment and keep our focus on Him, He replaces our destructive, stress-filled thoughts with His peace (1 Corinthians 2:16; Isaiah 26:3).

We are in Christ and Christ is in us (1 Corinthians 1:30; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:3). We have the wisdom of God and our labor is not in vain, because we follow His Holy Spirit’s leading through each moment of our day (1 Corinthians 15:58).

God gives us the incomparable riches of His grace and the guidance, which we need to minister in His name (Ephesians 2:7; 1 Corinthians 1:30). We can perform anything He calls us to do, because He dwells within us (Philippians 4:13; Ephesians 2:10).

God seats us in heavenly places and makes us His light shining in this dark world (Ephesians 2:6, 5:8). He causes us to walk in holiness and faithfulness to His calling on our life, until we come into maturity in Christ (Colossians 1:2, 28).

He takes individuals and forms us into His Body (Romans 12:5). We are also His church, His children and His bride (Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:22, 5:25-27). We look forward to living with Him for eternity (2 Corinthians 5:1).

Prayer:
Father God, thank You for supplying all of our needs with Your glorious riches (Philippians 4:19). You hold all things together and we cling to our hope of sharing eternal glory with You (Colossians 1:17, 27). 

You are beautiful beyond description, the worthy Lamb and our alpha and omega. Our life rises and sets in Your Son.

Thought for the Day:

In Christ, we have everything we ever need to live a fulfilled life, and nothing can ever separate us from His love. - Romans 8:38-39