Sinner or Saint

 

If Christ dwells in our Born Again spirit, our body and soul cannot live in a lifestyle of sin, because it grieves God's Spirit to be a part of anything remotely sinful.

What is a sin? Sin is missing the mark of God's perfect holiness. The main sin is that of unbelief (John 3:18). We condemn our self to hell by our unbelief. No one sin is more grievous to God, than unbelief (Romans 14:23).

The Bible gives us several lists of other particular sins, such as fornication, witchcraft, strife, envy, murder, alcoholism, homosexuality, backbiters, disobedient to parents, proud, unmerciful, covenant breakers, profane, whoremongers, liars, divorcing one's mate, thieves, foolish talk, jesting, covetousness and blasphemy to name a few (Galatians 5:19-21; Romans 1:26-32; 1 Timothy 1:9-10; Revelation 21:8; Matthew 19:18-19; Ephesians 5:3-7, 18; Mark 7:21-22; 2 Corinthians 12:20).

The Body of Christ will welcome most sinners into the ministry with carte blanche forgiveness, except someone who has been divorced. They act as if divorce is the unpardonable sin; even if the otherwise qualified man did not want the divorce.

Yet, we see that there are other characteristics which should exclude someone from the ministry. Consider an alcoholic, a murderer, a liar, a permissive parent, or a sex addict. These are all equal qualifications, and yet often ignored (1 Timothy 3:1-13).

The good news of the Gospel of Christ is that while we still lived in a lifestyle of sin, Jesus died for us all (Romans 5:8, 11). Jesus became sin for us all, so that we all could become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The only unpardonable sin is to blaspheme the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31). All other sins are forgiven and covered by the blood of Jesus for everyone with the courage to call on His name to be saved.

Prayer:

Father God, You consider anger just as sinful as murder, and lust as hateful as fornication. There are no mortal and venial sins in Your eyes. One sin is as disgusting to You as another (Matthew 5:22, 28,32). Thank You for Your sanctifying work in our life, which sets us free from sin and death (Romans 8:2).

Remind us that if we say we are Born Again, and yet we sin with immunity and no negative side effects, we are deceiving our self (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8). A Born Again Believer may dabble in sin for a season, or carry a sin with us into our Born Again life, but we cannot tolerate sin for very long. This is because Your holy presence within us cannot dwell in a sinful environment.

Thought for the Day:

The sanctification process takes us through our season of unrighteous living, and changes us step by step to exhibit more Godliness than unrighteousness; we live as an example of a Godly Believer, full of love and spirituality.

Salt and Light

 

God made His Saints as salt and light in our world (Matthew 5:13-16). As light, we reveal the hidden wounds in a sinner’s life; and as salt, we create a thirst in their soul. Sinners resent being reminded of their sin, and despise those who keep them accountable. Unbelievers often criticize Christians when we tell them the truth. As ungodliness increases with the growing apostasy in our world (2 Timothy 3:12-13), these people attempt to extinguish our light in order to hide their darkness.

When salt sits in the box, it clumps together and loses its usefulness (Matthew 5:13). It is only as we allow Jesus to pour us out, that we are any good to His Kingdom. Speaking God’s truth will season, cleanse, heal, preserve and prevent decay in the life of those who will listen and believe. Hopefully, those whose thirst we amplify will want to quench it with Living Water (John 7:37-39), which only comes through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (Mark 1:14-15).

Salt also enhances sweetness, such as bringing out the natural sweetness of melons. Expecting Christians to be sweet as pie, sinners resent the salty truth of God’s word. It is actually those preachers who dilute and sugar-coat the gospel of Christ that steer people in the wrong direction. They falsely imply that life in Christ is all about health, wealth and success. They disguise sin, calling it a weakness or saying it is biologically predestined; therefore, Jesus accepts it.

These lies lead people down the eternal path to destruction, rather than the narrow way of truth. Eternal joy comes from living in the presence of God for eternity. Although Authentic Believers all over the world are persecuted more and more, just like Jesus was during His lifetime (John 15:20), we are not deterred from sharing the truth of God’s Word. We do not merely listen to the Word and deceive our self, but we also obey God’s Word is Spirit and sincerity (James 1:22-24).

Prayer:

Father God, Your Word is truth and shall never pass away (John 17:17). Help us to be lights, which shine into this dark world, illuminating the way for whosoever will to come to salvation in Jesus’ name (Revelation 22:17). Until we walk in and share Your Truth, it simply remains a thought in our mind and does no good for anyone (2 Timothy 3:7). Your Spirit leads us into all truth (John 16:13). Give us the courage to continue to share it.

Thought for the Day:

The power of Christ working in us can accomplish more than we could ever imagine. – Ephesians 3:20

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Happy Jesus' Birthday 2012

Read: Matthew 1:18:25

“I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth.” – Psalm 89:27

The fledgling church of the New Testament did not consider the birth of Jesus as significant as His resurrection. In fact, only Matthew and Luke wrote about it briefly. We have no exact date for Christ’s birth. Therefore, the first recorded celebration did not transpire until a few centuries after His birth. Then, in the year 336 AD, the Catholic Church enmeshed the celebration with a Pagan holiday occurring on the date of December 25^th.

No matter what date we choose to celebrate His birth, the fact remains that Jesus, who is the Word of God, and who was with God and was God, came to live on the earth (John1:1). He took on the nature of a servant, and lived a humble life (Philippians 2:7). He dwelt among us, and eventually willingly gave His life to pay the penalty of our sins and to allow us to live with Him now and for eternity (John 1:1,14). One day, possibly very soon, He will return as the King of kings and the Lord of lords (Revelation 19:16).

Christmas is the day to remember the Nativity of Christ. The commercialism, which puts families in debt and makes them desperate to provide the latest toys for their children, detracts from the joy of the day. Stringing popcorn and cranberries, making gifts for one another – no matter how impractical or unattractive, spending time as a family to read the Christmas account (Matthew 1:18:25; Luke 2:1-19), sharing a special meal with family and friends, taking a walk in nature, playing a board game as a family…these are treasures that will remain in our memories forever. The gift of our time is the most valuable commodity our children need from us.

Jesus never told us to celebrate His birth, but to remember His death. We commemorate His sacrifice for our sins by regularly observing communion (1 Corinthians 11:24). Since His death, our focus is now on His imminent return. Due to the fact that Christians heralded the return of Christ for centuries of time, people now dismiss it as irrelevant and impossible to ever happen. Atheists adopt slogans such as “Keep the Merry. Dump the Myth" and "You know it's a MYTH. This season, celebrate reason."

However, all of their unbelief does not negate the fact that Jesus did come and is coming again. The false prophets who claim to know the date of His return anesthetized the world into unbelief, so that people actually scoff at the thought that He will ever return. Jesus said, “No man knows the hour or the day” (Matthew 24;36), but the fact remains that He is certainly coming again, on a day and at an hour when we least expect Him. When He does, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).

If you are interested, here are a multitude of verses proclaiming His eminent return (Matthew 16:27, 23:39, 24:27-42, 26:64; Mark 8: 36-38, 13:26-37, 14:61-62; Luke 9:26-27, 17:28-30, 18:8, 21:25-28; John 14:1-4; Acts 1:11, 3:19-21; 1 Corinthians 1:7, 4:5, 11:26, 15:23-24; Philippians 1:10, 3:20; Colossians 3:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 2:19, 3:13, 4:15-5:4, 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 2;1, 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:13-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-2, 8; Titus 2:12; Hebrews 3:7, 9:28, 10:25; James 5:7-9; 1 Peter 3-5,13, 2:12, 4:13, 5:4; 2 Peter 1:16, 3:3,8-10; 1 John 2:28, 3:2; Jude 1:14, 21; revelation 1:4,7, 3:11, 16:15, 22:12, 20-21.)

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, Your mother Mary cherished the events of your life and pondered them in her heart (Luke 2:19). May we do the same thing, especially at this season of the year. We will rejoice with the angels and shepherds (Luke 2:20) over your first advent to the earth and look forward to your soon return for Your Bride. May everyone we love and cherish come to this saving knowledge in their lives as well, so they too will join us in Your presence for eternity.

Thought for the Day:

Celebrate Christ in Christmas with a heart full of gratitude for all He does for us every day.

 

The Reason for the Season

There is an unusual point to this message; but first, bear with me as I build a foundation.

Did you ever notice that Jesus did not tell us to celebrate His birth? In fact, for most of the church’s history, Christmas was a minor holiday, if celebrated at all. Maybe this is because Jesus told us to commemorate His death, burial and resurrection. This is why we have communion services in our churches. I believe He did this because He wants the focus of our Christian message to center around salvation through faith in Christ’s blood atonement, rather than on his nativity.

I am not proposing that we stop celebrating Christmas or that we should do away with the nativity set. I collect unusual nativity sets. Some I even keep out all year around in order to praise God for sending Jesus to save us from the penalty of our own choices and for giving us His resurrected life. In fact, I love the festivity and anticipation in the air at this time of the year. People smile more often, have a song on their lips, and act more generously toward one another. St. Nicholas was a kind and giving man and I love that people always focus on sharing with one another, especially with those less fortunate.

For most people, however, Jesus is no longer the reason for the season - if He ever was. Christmas is more about getting than receiving. It emphasizes a secular Santa, rather than Jesus, our Christ and Savior. Even some Christians put more emphasis on Santa and presents than on Christ.

Let’s face it, in reality most of the aspects of the season are pre-Christian. In order to make Christ more relavant to their world system, the Catholic church used the December 25th Roman holiday of Natalis Invicti, which is the festival of the birth of the invincible sun, as well as Saturnalia. The German mid-winter festival celebrations actually used evergreen trees and holly as symbols of eternal life. This is where we get that famous song, “O Tannenbaum.” 

The most central and recognizable symbol of Christmas today is the Christmas tree —and it has nothing to do with Christianity or Jesus. It is purely a symbol taken from the ancient German mid-winter festivals. Some people even claim that the practice of cutting down trees and taking them home to decorate them is actually condemned by God in Jeremiah 10:1-10.

When we insist on putting Jesus back as the reason for the season, today’s society thinks that we are seeking to assert our cultural superiority over everyone else. They resent us for hijacking their ancient celebrations and for pushing our views on an America that has moved toward religious pluralism. They even mock us, because we insist that Christmas is Christ’s birthday, when everyone knows that December 25^th was probably not the exact date.

Every year Jesus recedes further into the background of human consciousness. At best, in their thinking He was a good man, a prophet or historical teacher. So, this is what I want to suggest. Let us make Jesus the reason for EVERY season. Make Him the focus of every day in which we live. Share, without apology or fear, what He did for us with His life, death, burial and resurrection.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we often make causes out of issues that You do not even care about. Teach us to live our lives in such a way that everyone will see our faith in and love for You. Move in their hearts so that they will join us in glorifying You with their lives.

Thought for the Day:

Make Jesus the center of your focus every day of the year.