Thankfulness Reflects Our Faith

 Thankfulness Reflects Our Faith

 Do we believe God provides?

 

 

 

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”— Phil 4:6-7

As we walk with God, having a relationship with Him; we will grow in spirit. Our own selves will become less and He will become more. We realize our own weaknesses and lean on Him more and more.

This is the growth of our faith. We start to transition from flesh to spirit.

Notice in this verse the first phrase. “Be careful for nothing.”

In our flesh we have fear, doubt, worries and concerns. We see with our fleshly eyes and we are impacted by it. Like when Peter walked on water and took his eyes of Christ, because He was distracted by the wind and the waves.

In essence, it is a lack of trust in God. Because if we saw God standing next to us in awesome power, would we be concerned about anything? No. But, the enemy and our flesh distracts us and causes us to doubt or worry.

God has not given us a spirit of fear. It’s from the devil. (2 Tim 1:7)

God gives us power, love and a sound mind through the Holy Spirit.

Through Him we have access to the throne. He intercedes for us. He translates our prayer into the proper format for power. His love is in us. His truth and wisdom gives us a sound mind.

When we pray we trust Him. We put our faith in Him. We believe that He hears us and will respond. We believe it.

The next phrase says, “But in everything”, That means everything. There is nothing too small for God. There is nothing we need to hide from God, even if we could. We can trust Him.

We can boldly come to His throne in prayer.

Jesus said, “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”— (John 14:13-14)

We can believe Him. We can believe His Word.

We pray in His name, under His authority and righteousness. Not our own.

As we grow closer in relationship with Him. We learn His character and His will. We grow less concerned for frivolous things, and trying to put on a front.

So, our prayer takes on a different flavor. We pray what He desires, and we are happy with what He brings us.

Not saying that life is a bed of roses. But, we have God with us, and that is really all that matters in the end.

We pray and cry out to God. We make our requests, and we do it with thanksgiving.

Because if you thank God for what he is going to do in the future, you are manifesting faith in Him and His Word. We trust His promises, so we thank Him ahead of time. It’s the faith that fuels the prayer to the Lord. He responds to our faith.

This faith and thankfulness works to bring peace. Because we have to go back to the original consideration.

Do we really believe?

It’s not easy.

But, when we pray and trust God, and thank Him for what he is about to do, we are exercising faith in the Lord that He moves, and this knowledge brings us peace.

He brings us peace through His Holy Spirit.

That peace is an abiding peace.

I don’t want the devil to use what I’m saying as a tool to beat you. We will have concern in life. We will have fear. But, Jesus is with us and He has overcome. (John 16:33)

Don’t let the enemy think that because you have worries or concerns that God is not with you. Have faith and turn it around to wage war on the enemy, who seeks to distract you and keep you from serving and walking with the Lord.

Our sins are washed away in the Blood of Jesus, there is no reason to fear. God is with us, if you know Him. It is HIS peace. Not our peace. (John 14:27)

His peace, which defies all our fleshly understanding will keep us with Him forever.

And we praise Him, and thank Him. Because of who He is and what He has done, and what we know He will do, because He promises.

Not that we should expect anything from God. He is not required to do anything. But, His character and promises give us faith, that He will move. It is who He is, and when we know Him, we can see it.

Praise Jesus

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois.

Checkout Good Soldier

Checkout Hope In These Last Days

I Die Daily

 I Die Daily

Our Daily Sacrifice 

 

There’s a verse in the Scriptures which says, “I die daily”. (1 Cor. 15:31)

It is a small quote, within the context of a larger concept, but it’s a powerful tool for life improvement and spiritual growth.

We often wake up in the middle of the night, or in the morning, full of anxiety. Our mind races after problems, troubles, worries, plans, goals, mistakes, and depression.

But, if every morning we make the simple act of “dying” a reality, then none of these things matter.

Let me explain. This is not real death, although, in a way it is. When we say ” I die to self today.” And we believe it and accept it, a transformation occurs in our mind.

When we announce to ourself. “I die to self today. I am going to live for God and others.” Our focus moves from ourself to God and others.

We then live that day focused on serving God and others.

How can you serve God and others?

You serve God by being a vessel for Him to do His work through, to save and help others.

Our will. Our selfishness. Our sin, prevents that.

So, where are your hurts at? What has God brought you through? Drug addiction? Health issues? Divorce? Job loss? Prison? Homelessness? Death of a loved one? Suicidal thoughts?

These things are an indication of where we can let God work through us to help others.

When we die daily, we open ourselves up to see the hurt in others. We are not looking at ourselves, but outwards.

By doing this, it also works to heal us of what we struggle with. 

 We are what we think about all day long.

If our thoughts are always on depression, trouble, suicide, drug use, fear, desire, loss or anything else that hurts us, then it becomes magnified, or can manifest into our lives even more.

Dying daily can get our head out of those things.

I am not saying it’s easy. But, if you make a habit of dying daily to self, and speaking positive things to yourself, it can make a huge difference in your life.

In Christian concepts, we turn to God and give ourselves to Him. By doing this we die with Jesus Christ, and are buried with Him, and rise from the dead with Him.

When we believe this, and put our faith in Christ, confessing that Jesus is the Lord, it cleanses us and we are reborn.

Think about it. When we die, nothing can hurt us. Nothing can be against us. Because we are dead.

Imagine the freedom that brings. All the pain, all the rules, and all the evil of this life does not really hurt us.

We are not of this world, and the suffering here ends in death.

Dying daily is a powerful tool for life improvement, it will transform you. Giving yourself to Christ will transform you in ways you can only hope for.

(1 Cor. 15:31)

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer poet and blogger from Southern Illinois.

Photo by pexels, edited by author.

Checkout Chris’s New Book

Checkout Good Soldier

Who Is A Liar?

 Who Is A Liar?

It's not what you think. 

 

“He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”—Rev. 21:7-8

This is a haunting verse at the very end of the Bible.

Let’s rightly divide the word. (2 Tim. 2:15)

First, we must look at the first verse because it basically cancels out the rest. If you really turn to God because you hear His call and Confess Jesus as your Lord. You are saved.

“Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?”—1 John 5:5

That’s what it says.

After salvation, God will work in our lives to change us and sanctify us if we have really turned to Him. Our faith will grow, if we are really with Him.

But, “the fearful and unbelieving” in the verse are those who have been too afraid to give up their life and turn to Christ. People who are too afraid of what people might think. Afraid to lose business and friends or family.

The unbelieving are those who refuse to put their faith in the Lord. They hear the call and refused.

Next we see a list of sinful actions, all of which God warns us about in the Word. But, all of which are sins that keep us from turning to God.

“abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,”

All these can be saved if they turn to God and confess Jesus as Lord. But, these sins make it extra hard for a person to break free.

An abominable lifestyle is hard to stop.

A murderer has refused to forgive. And instead chose to kill. Remember Jesus said, “ For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”—Matt. 6:14-15

This is talking about actual murder and murder in the heart. What we would call 1st degree murder. It’s also talking about people who have absolutely no regard for the lives of others at all.

A whoremonger is a pimp. A person who is a sex trafficker and exploits other people to survive, and for profit. It’s difficult to get out of this life. Like the Abominable there is a demonic presence in this type of thing.

The Sorcerer and Idolater have basically turned to other Gods for help and salvation. They have not turned to Christ. They have never had a relationship with Him.

That brings us to “Liars”.

This terrifies us because we have all lied. We have all told lies in our lives. Whether we want to admit it or not. We try to justify it. We try to make it “White Lies”. We lie because of fear. We lie to save ourselves and others. We share things we have not seen or proven.

We lie.

But, God clarifies in His Word who is a liar.

“Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.”—1 John 2:22

So again, God tells us that the only people who are liars are those who have rejected Christ.

Why?

Because if you have accepted Christ, then your sin is washed away and you are hid in Him.

You do not sin because your sins are no longer held to your account. It’s not about what you do, it’s about your position in Christ.

“Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.”— 1 John 3:9

In chapter one, John tells us to confess our sins. (1 John 1:8-10)

In chapter three, he tells us that those in Christ do not sin. These two ideas do not work together, unless he is talking about something else.

Clearly he is saying “We do not sin in the eyes of God. Because we are saved.” He is not saying we do not commit sins. That wouldn’t go with the need to confess our sins to God.

We are saved. We confess our sins to wash our feet.

John wrote Revelation and First John. When he says “All Liars” in Revelation 21:7-8 he is speaking of those who have rejected Christ. The Holy Spirit ties these together.

The only reason anyone is condemned is because they reject Christ. They have never been cleansed of Sin.

That’s it.

Jesus said, “ Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven.” —Matt. 10:32-33

Do you know Him? Have you confessed Him?

Turn to the Lord and let Him save you and grow you.

-----

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois

 Checkout these books

Checkout Chris’s new book “Good Soldier” A book on discipleship and spiritual warfare.

Checkout Good Soldier

Checkout Enemy Access Denied

Sin vs. Love

 Sin vs. Love

 We are set free, in order to serve.

 

The Bible plainly shows in Matthew 25, what Christ will ask when He returns.

He doesn’t ask, “Did you watch porn?”

He doesn’t ask “Did you have sex before marriage, or did you have an abortion”

He doesn’t ask “Did you vote right, or did you go to church or did you obey leaders and pay what you owe?”

Nope.

He asks if you visited prisoners? Did you help the poor? Did you clothe the naked? Did you give a cool drink to the thirsty? Did you love your neighbor? Did you love at all? Did you show kindness and compassion? Did you reconcile people to God? Did you use your gifts to save souls, spread the Kingdom and help others?

I can hear you squirming in your seat dying to say…”yeah…but”

No.

Jesus died for our sins and rose for our justification. If you are saved then you are in Him and are dead to sins.  It is not held against you. Do the dead sin? No. Paul explains this in Romans.

That means that you have power over it. But, it also means that it is irrelevant to your eternity. You are washed. You are hid in Christ.  Our focus is serving God and growing the Kingdom. Not, in worrying about whether we look like good Christians, but by being good Christians through service. (Col. 3:1-3)

You confess your sins and God forgives you, and works to help you overcome. This is foot washing. God cleanses us of all sin when we confess Him as Lord. But, we get dirty as we walk in this world. Like Jesus said, we have no need but to wash our feet. We do this by confessing our sins to Him. Likewise, when we confess our sins to each other and pray for each other, we wash each others feet. As James said. (1 John 1:1-10, John 13: 4-15, James 5:16, Rom. 10:9-10)

 We are saved, and washed and hid in Christ. Our sins are gone. They are washed away. We are white as snow.

But, the things we do can open doors to the enemy to destroy us and ruin our lives. We can let demonic forces have more access to our lives. Even though we are eternally saved and forgiven. Our life in this world can be miserable because we do not confess our sins and let God work in our lives. Those sins can grow until they destroy us, if we do not let God deal with them. They can become strongholds of demonic activity in our lives. Things that can impact those around us and generations down the road.

But remember, all things work together for our good. God can use that destruction or trouble to help us. God will use it to grow us. He is not trying to hurt us but give a hope and a future. We are saved. We are in Christ, if you know Him. He chastises those He loves. The destruction or rock bottom, works to wake us up and set us free. (Romans 8: 28, Jere 29:11, Heb. 12:6)

And we still are saved forever.

God deals with our sin so we can serve the Kingdom. Knowing God and serving Him is our purpose. That’s our focus. Not our life, but His.

We are being sanctified, and through the sanctification, we endure hardness as we serve. We endure temptation and overcome through the Holy Spirit and service to the Kingdom. (2 Tim. 2:3, James 1:12)

Our willingness to have a relationship with Christ and let the Holy Spirit, love through us is what we are called to do. (Eph 2:8-10)

Our service and our love is a reflection of our relationship with God.

When you read Matthew 25. It’s obvious that the people thought they were saved. But, they never knew the King, so they never did the compassionate loving things God desired. They never grew in faith as the Lord worked in them and on them. They never had a relationship with Him. They thought their works saved them, instead of being saved to do good works. They worried about sin, like pharisees, even though they were dead to sin. Satan will get us focused on quitting sinning and being moral, because that keeps us from getting people saved, or fighting the evil in this world. (Eph 2:8-10, Matt. 7:21-23)

They never knew Him.

It’s not about works. It’s about who you know and who you have a relationship with. And that relationship will get us to serve Him, as He sanctifies us.

Let God take care of your sins. Focus on serving and loving others. Focus on the relationship with God.

And you will find that those sins you worry about, get less and less. We grow. We build faith. We build our relationship with God. We overcome the sin that so easily besets us. By following the Holy Spirit and doing the service God calls us to do. Not by works, but by His power.

Love covers a multitude of sins. God is love, and He works to drive those things out of us through Love. As we love God, serving Him and having that relationship with Him, and serving others. Loving them. (1 Peter 4:7-8)

We find ourselves growing free, to match the spiritual truth that we are already free in Christ. 

---

Cover photo by pexels

The Apostles and 70 A.D.

 The Apostles and 70 A.D.

What happened? 

 

 

 

After Jesus ascended alive into heaven the Apostles were emboldened, because they had seen Jesus die and rise from the dead. They knew He is the Messiah. They knew they could trust Him and God’s Word. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and went forth in power.

They began the work of building a ministry and spreading the Gospel as the Holy Spirit led them.

We can read about it in the Acts of The Apostles.

While they spread the Gospel, Satan raised up persecution upon them. Efforts from the religious leaders and the Roman government to stop this growing faith.

But, the apostles continued on, being beaten and killed for the Gospel’s sake.

Like Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.”— John 12:24-26

The persecution of the church pushed the apostles and other believers onward to spread the Gospel more. As the enemy tries to stop them, it just builds and grows. Because, they have seen the truth. They have the Holy Spirit. They are no longer lulled into the lie that the devil feeds those in this world.

God’s Word says, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.” —Psa. 116:15

Because our death is a witness to those who are lost, as they seek to destroy us and stop us from spreading the Gospel. Our death shows the lost that we trust God, and are convinced of His promises. Our death brings us home to Paradise where we will be forever with Him.

The Father loves to see His children come home.

Death is separation. The Saints never die, we are never separated from the Lord.

We see prophecies of the creation of the Church and the apostles through God’s Word.

First we see the creation of the woman, in Genesis. When God causes Adam to fall into a deep sleep and removed a rib from his side and made a bride for the Man.

Likewise, Jesus died on the cross and He was pierced in the side. Out came blood and water, for the creation of the church. The Bride of Christ, born of the Blood of the Lamb and the baptism in water.

Again, we see Elijah the prophet being taken up alive into heaven, and he leaves his mantle behind to Elisha, who takes up Elijah’s position and does greater things. (1 Kings 19:19, 2 Kings Chapter 2, John 14:12)

Many use this verse of Elijah going alive into heaven as a verse to prove their doctrine of Rapture. But, it is really showing the Lord’s ascension and the Apostles being given His authority and power.

Again, The Apostles felt led to raise up a new Apostle in order to replace Judas.

They wanted to follow the prophecy in God’s Word.

“For it is written in the book of Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another take.”—Acts 1:20

The Apostles cast lots and chose Matthias, to fill the position. But, then we hear nothing else from Matthias.

Why?

Because God fulfilled His own prophecy and chose Saul, who became Paul the Apostle as the successor for Judas Iscariot.

As the Apostles and other Saints followed the Holy Spirit the Gospel spread and the Church grew throughout the world.

But, the prophecy of Jesus was growing as time went on.

The Lord had prophesied over the city,

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. (Matt. 23:37-39)

“And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”— (Matt. 24:1-2)

This prophecy from our Lord before His death, tells us the fate of Jerusalem because of their choice to kill Jesus, while choosing Barabbas, the insurrectionist and murderer. The picture of Satan. The Anti-Christ.

In 70 A.D. The Roman General Titus, who would become Emperor, attacked and destroyed Jerusalem. He destroyed the second temple and plowed the city under. Just as Jesus had prophesied.

The city where He was killed. The city that refused to turn back to the Lord, was destroyed. The city who chose the devil, and probably it was this Barabbas who helped stir up the insurrections which eventually led to the destruction of the city.

Which caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to be sent to wander the Earth in what is called the Diaspora.

But, that was not the first prophecy of this event.

Notice how Jesus referred to Himself as “The Son Of Man”

Who is “Man”?

Man is Adam.

Jesus is referring to the story of Cain and Able.

He is calling Himself “Able”.

Able is a picture of Jesus.

Killed by his brethren for envy.

Then, the brother is sent to wander the Earth.

Like Cain.

Who eventually built a city of trade and learning.

Before the days of the Flood, creating a global empire.

And even today it is being built.

To prepare the world for the Anti-Christ to come, following the spirit of antichrist.

While the Apostles and saints follow the Holy Spirit to build God’s Kingdom.

It all moves quickly toward the last days, and the return of our Lord from the sky, in glory.

The battle has raged from the beginning till now, and will end soon.

---

Cover photo by pexels/Pixabay

He Rose For Our Justification

 He Rose For Our Justification

 We are justified in Christ

 

 

There was only one law in the beginning.

Just one.

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”–Gen. 2:17

People want to act like God is some eternal killjoy, who is just hovering about ready to strike you down with furious wrath and bolts of lightning.

But, in the beginning there was only ONE law.

And Satan in his rebellion used a serpent, which by the way, was not a snake. It was a dragon, or as we like to call them, a dinosaur. (Rev. 12:9)

He used it to tempt the first couple, in order to get them to fall.

He tricked Eve into breaking the one law. But, Adam was not tricked. He knew exactly what he was doing. (1 Tim. 2:14)

He knew it was wrong and chose to listen to his wife instead of listening to God. (Gen. 3:17)

Adam was Satan’s target. Adam had the dominion of the Earth. He was the one who needed to fall. (Gen. 1: 26-28)

Why Adam chose to ignore God’s Law is not given to us. Adam probably explained it away, some how. I tend to think He loved Eve and did not want her to die alone. Or perhaps he did not want to be alone again, if she died after eating the fruit.

It’s hard to say, but when the first couple ate of the fruit they quickly discovered why God had warned them. God’s laws are typically designed to protect us.

Something changed in them. Their eyes were opened. God had created everything good. There was no death. But, now there was evil present. Death and evil, flooded into the world. (Gen 3:6-10)

Adam and Eve had fear, where none had existed before.

Evil was contained somewhere else, and now came upon the humans. It corrupted them and now corrupts all of humanity ever since.

This brought death. Death is separation. Remember, we are eternal beings. Death is not an end. We have no end. We are made in God’s image. We are eternal spirits. Death means separation. We die physically and are separated from our loved ones on Earth. We then die spiritually and are separated from God and our loved ones who are saved, forever.

Why?

In order to contain the evil. Hell/The Lake of Fire is a quarantine. It exists in order to keep evil from destroying all of eternity. It was created for Satan and his angels. It is a garbage dump outside the city of God, where all filthy things are thrown, in order to not corrupt Paradise. (Matt. 25:41, Rev.22:14-15)

Since Adam chose to follow Satan instead of God, He gave up the dominion. That is why Satan is the god of this world. You go into bondage under whoever overcomes you. If you give your authority to another, they own you. (2 Cor 4:4, 2 Pet. 2:19)

And that is the state we live in.

We are born into this world, totally corrupted. Filled with fear and evil, facing eternal separation from God and all things good.

We cannot do right. No matter how hard we try. We are under the control of Satan and his demonic hordes who whisper into our minds and get us to do whatever evil deeds they want. Seeking to rob us, kill us and destroy us, because God loves us, and the demons hate God. They seek to hurt God by hurting us.

And Satan sits and accuses us, day and night (Rev. 12:10)

He accuses us to God.

“Look at these creatures you created. They are filthy. They don’t love you. If they loved you they would have stayed with you. They are scum. Destroy them. Kill them. Punish them. They do all manner of evil, and mock you. Destroy them.”

But God loves us, and He had a plan.

It was a plan started at the foundation of the world.

A plan that grew and spread and remained hidden from the enemy.

It started with Faith, in Abraham.

A way to be righteous. (Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4:3, Gal . 3:6, Jas 2:23)

Then, it moved to the Law, in Moses

In order to show us that we are sinners and cannot obey God. (Rom. 7)

A law that so happened to also allow for cleansing our disobedience through sacrifice.

Then, finally God himself came to Earth in the form of Jesus Christ to save His creation from Satan and the sins that keep us in bondage.

Satan thought that Jesus was here to teach us to obey. He thought Jesus was teaching us to follow the Law, which the enemy had already corrupted with human philosophy, traditions of men and doctrines of devils.

It would be a failed mission. Humans cannot obey. No matter how hard they try. Satan had made sure of that by corrupting us in the Garden. We are totally depraved.

Then, Satan and his demon princes killed Jesus. They used their human slaves in government and religion to do it.

He thought he won. He thought he had finally won.

He might have even accused us before God again. Just like he accused Job. (Job chapter 1 and 2))

“Look at those creatures. They murdered your Son. They obeyed me, not you and killed you. Why do you love them? They spit in your face.”

And God smiled.

Because through His death, He had saved us.

So, that anyone who desires it can be free from the bondage of Sin, Satan and Death.

All they have to do is turn to God and ask Him to save them in Jesus name. (Acts 2:21)

But, that wasn’t the end.

God was not finished.

Because Jesus, was the lamb without blemish. He was not tarnished by evil or sin. He was not worthy of death or separation. He was the perfect sacrifice.

And death could not hold Him.

God Himself died for us and rose from the dead to prove that we are saved and justified. (Rom. 4)

We do not have to answer to the accuser. We do not have to fear death or evil. We do not have to face wrath. We do not have to face Hell or The Lake of Fire or separation from God. We are clean, righteous and justified in Christ.

We are saved by God’s grace, through faith.

Because He, Himself came and set us free in His death and rose to prove it.

All we have to do is turn to Him by faith and ask.

And we are made righteous and justified forever.

We will be with Him in Paradise.

Where “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. (1 Cor 2:9)

He has restored that which was lost. And He will continue to restore all of it, back to what He originally created. (Matt. 18:11, Rev. 21, Rev. 22)

Praise Jesus

---

Cover photo by pexels/Guillaume Hankenne

 

Should We Be Hearing From God?

 Are we crazy?

 

 

People don’t tend to like it when you say “God told me” or that you imply that you hear from God.

They think that this is the realm of the cult.

They think this is what false prophets do to lead people into crazy stuff.

They might ask “Did you hear an audible voice?”

Trying to imply that you are insane if you hear from God.

We’ve all seen the movies and heard the stories of insane people who hear God. Or the mentally ill woman who killed her kids because God told her to.

News flash. That probably wasn’t God. That was a demon.

When we know the Word of God and believe it, we can compare those thoughts to the Word and cast that demon out.

When Abraham was tested to kill his son. He had far more insight into what was going on. He had walked with God and trusted God. It was years of seeing God’s character.

It was not some random thought that drove him insane. He was creating a picture of Jesus Christ, and God stopped him. Abraham even said before hand. “God will provide His own sacrifice.” He knew God would fix it. (Gen. 22)

Why?

Because He walked and talked with God. He heard from God.

That is relationship. That is walking in the Spirit. It is living by faith.

We can trust God.

The Bible says in Proverbs “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”–Prov. 3:5-6

Pray to the Lord about everything. Don’t trust your own fleshly thoughts. Seek Him. Seek wisdom. Seek the truth from the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13, James 1:5)

Talk to God and He shall “Direct thy paths”

That means we hear from God. He speaks to us. He guides us. He does this in many ways, through His Word, through His creation, through our lives, and through His Spirit.

There are some churches who ignore the Holy Spirit working in our lives and directing us. They don’t even mention it. If you talk about hearing from God, or act like God told you something, they will reject you and treat you like you are crazy.

Satan uses this to keep people silent and to cut the communication between God and his saints. The fear of appearing crazy keeps people from speaking on what God has done for them. It silences the testimony they have been given. It impacts the working of the saints.

Every person who God has called to serve Him are really supposed to appear insane to the World. That is kind of the point of it. We are not of this world. It is not our home. We should be a little crazy for Jesus.

But, too many folks want to fit into this world system and cannot have their customers or business contacts thinking they are a crazy religious person. So they stifle the Spirit.

Every preacher is supposed to preach as unto the oracles of God. (1 Pet. 4:10-11)

They are supposed to put forth the message God has laid on their heart, using the Word, the gifts and The Holy Spirit.

They are supposed to be telling people what God has told them.

Every week I pray for the Lord to tell me what to write for my sermon. And something always comes up, or I’m directed to re-do something old.

Does it make me crazy?

I think that in all history, when God touches people they are transformed and cannot go back to normal. They are no longer conforming to this world, but are being transformed as God renews their mind. This makes them seem crazy to those who are still conforming to this world.

Jesus said, “But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.

 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”—John 10:26-28

Do you hear His voice?

Do you hear Him guiding you?

Ask Him.

Read and study the Word, with the Holy Spirit teaching you. (1 John 2:27)

All of the Bible is God-Breathed. It is alive.

Jesus is the living Word. The Holy Spirit will lead you into all truth.(John 16:13)

We are supposed to be fools for Christ.

“For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”— (1 Cor. 1:18-21)

Jesus said, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?”— (John 3:12)

Those who do not know God, do not understand heavenly things. They do not understand the spiritual. It is foolish to them. They do not hear His voice, and they hate those who do.

God has called them. Just like He calls us. But, they have turned away and ignored and let the devil snatch the Word from them. They have let the pleasures and troubles of life, along with the deceitfulness of riches choke out the Word.

He is still calling.

He is calling you if you are reading this.

Don’t let Satan snatch it away. Don’t let the demon get you to think you are crazy for hearing God knocking on your heart.

Turn to God and ask Him to save you.

Turn to God and ask Him to teach you and grow you.

We do hear His voice.

He calls us to Him.

He guides our life.

Listen to His call, and fear not.

(Cover photo by pexels)

-----

 

Checkout Come Unto Me

Checkout Latter Days

Transformed!

 Transformed!

 God works in our lives to change us.

 

 

We often forget that it is God who calls us to Himself.

All humans are utterly depraved. We are so wicked that we cannot even see how wicked we are. (Romans 3:10-18)

We were created good by God. We are flesh covered spiritual beings created to last forever. But, we are fallen. There is something wrong with us. Our minds, souls and spirits became corrupt. We fell in the Garden and Satan took over.

“ There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”

No one seeks God. Therefore, if you are having thoughts of God. If you are feeling led to go to church or learn of spiritual things. If a sermon or the Gospel message of Christ is speaking to your heart. If you are reading this…

That is God calling you.

No one comes to Jesus to be saved unless God calls them. (John 6:44)

This is part of His Grace and part of why He saves us, not by our own efforts, but by His.

When we hear this call we turn to the Lord and ask Him to save us. That is what repentance is. It means “to turn”

Since God is the only way to be saved we obviously turn to Him. Then, He washes us in the blood of Jesus and cleanses us of all sin. We do not need to understand it. We just turn to Him and ask.

We confess Jesus is the Lord and make Him our Lord, believing He rose from the dead. (Romans 10:9-10)

Then the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and work in our lives to help transform us and help us to serve God in building the Kingdom. (John 14:26)

When we first get saved, there are things God will remove from our lives. People will notice we are different. When we give ourselves to Jesus we are free from sin and the the things that hold us down. He has taken all of it upon His shoulders, and when we believe this, we are changed. We are transformed. We are a new creature.

This is believing God’s Word.

God’s Word tells us that He will save us and change us. It tells us He will take our sin and cast them away from us and wash us. When we believe this, we put our faith in Him and it works to change us.

We are saved by grace through faith not by works lest any man should boast. (Eph. 2:8-9)

God calls us. We hear His word, and believe Him. Then, we turn to Him to be saved.

God Himself came to Earth to die for us, to set us free from Sin and Satan, who took dominion when Adam fell. We are slaves to the enemy and the power of our own flesh. Our spirits are dead and our souls are trapped as we go through life being led by Satan and our worldly ways.

But, when we hear God call and turn to Him for salvation we are set free and we begin to transform.

The Holy Spirit comes into us and begins to change us and teach us. We study God’s Word and learn of His promises and His ways.

When we have thoughts that are contrary to God’s Word, the Holy Spirit reveals it to us and we take those thoughts captive and tell Satan to be gone in Jesus name, then we choose to believe and follow God’s Word instead. This is the battle between the flesh and spirit. As we wage this battle we are transformed over time. (2 Cor. 10:5, Gal.5:17)

This is not salvation. We are already saved; if we confessed Him as Lord. But, we can prove our salvation to ourselves by the fact that we struggle with the enemy. Unsaved people do not struggle. This struggle is our sanctification. It is God working on us through His Holy Spirit to help change us and to help us in our lives.

We confess our sins and thoughts to the Lord, and He forgives us and starts working to transform us. (1John 1:8-10)

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”—Rom. 12:1-2

When we read this we might think that we are condemned because we fail and cannot do it. We might think we are such utter failures, and the preacher keeps beating us.

That is the Holy Spirit speaking to you. It is conviction.

The answer is to turn to God, and confess it to Him. Pray to Him about it and let Him get to work. Our salvation and sanctification is God’s work, not ours.

The fact that you desire to change and feel convicted is proof of your salvation. The Holy Spirit in you is calling you to work with God in your sanctification. This is the relationship we have.

We see changes in our lives and in our spirit, as we are renewed in our minds. Our spirit is alive in Him and we are transformed.

We are not perfect. We sin. We fail. But, we are perfect in Him. He holds our salvation in His hand.

When we think wicked thoughts of hate or revenge or fear or doubt or pride, we capture them and rebuke them in Jesus name. Because thoughts work to become actions. The more we do this the stronger we become.

We quote the Word out loud to ourselves, and it builds our faith and drives the demon out.

Because that is what is behind those thoughts. Demons whispering through the hedge of protection trying to get us to open the door. If we fail and listen to those thoughts. If we follow through with sin, we start working to open the door a little at a time. Eventually, the demons can come into our mind and life as often as they want. We have fallen back into bondage. But, through the Lord we can stand up and resist. We can shake them off. We confess it to Him and let Him cleanse us and work to change us.

We can struggle with these things in our flesh but it does nothing to our spirit until God Himself does it. This is why obeying rules does nothing spiritual. This is why no one is saved by the works of God’s Law.

It must be God making the changes and transforming us. Flesh cannot transform spirit. Only spirit can do that. God is a spirit, and those who worship Him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The truth is Jesus Christ. The truth is God’s Word, and Jesus is the living Word. (John 1, John 4:24)

We are transformed when we are saved. Then, we live lives of transformation as we continually turn to Him and abide in Him.

Going to church and obeying rule won’t do it.

It’s a relationship with Him.

It’s a spiritual battle with the enemy who attacks our mind, and life.

No matter what. Always turn to God. Do not let the enemy get you to think that you can’t trust God. Or you failed too much. Or that God is out to get you. Take those thoughts captive and say “begone Satan in Jesus name, God will never leave me nor forsake me. He is my helper.”

Draw closer to God. Praise Him. Read His Word and let the Holy Spirit teach you.

And watch Him transform you.

(cover image by pexels)

---

Read these great books at Charisma House.

Checkout Bait of Satan

Checkout Health Zone

Checkout The Heart That Sees God

Be Ye Holy

 Be Ye Holy

What is real holiness?

 

 

God tells us in His Word “Be Ye Holy for I am Holy” (1 Peter 1:16, Lev. 11:45)

So, let’s rightly divide this verse so that we are interpreting it correctly, Because often times we get told that this verse is about our behavior or not sinning. So, we fight and struggle to try to please God. We fail and fail, then finally give up. Because let’s be real. What human can be as holy as God is?

What human, born with a corrupted nature, surrounded by sin and full of sinfulness can even understand what holiness is, let alone do it?

We can’t. And that’s why God commands us to be Holy. To get us to turn to Him. To get us to see that we need more of Him. We need more of Jesus. We need the Holy Spirit to do it.

Holiness means to be set apart. In the Temple there were tools made of gold. They were set apart for the Temple use. That’s all they were for. But, they were just tools. Their holiness came from God and the dedication for their use.

So, how does that apply to us?

To be holy we must first be saved, by turning to God (repent) and asking Him to save us and Confessing Jesus as our Lord. (Romans 10:9-10, Acts 2:38, Mark 16:16)

Holiness means to maintain the relationship with the Lord and abide in Him. It means that when the devil attacks us or life gets hard, we don’t just throw God away and go our own way. This implies that we never knew Him. Build that relationship with God.

People sin. But when we sin we run back to God. Not run away from Him.

We wash our feet  by confessing our sins to Him. ( 1 John 1:8-10) This is part of Walking in the Spirit. (Gal. 5:22-25)

We grow in Him. We listen to Him as He grows us.

We are totally devoted to His work. This doesn’t mean all of us are in the ministry professionally. But, in our lives we respond when God leads us to do something. In our jobs, in our families we always seek to do what God wants and acknowledge Him  in all our ways.

 Holiness does not mean being a perfect goody two shoes. We are perfect in Him, not ourselves. We are holy in Him. We are set apart for Him. We are golden, because He is refining us. Holiness like God is peace. It’s not worry about whether you are obeying the rules. 

Be ye Holy as I am Holy means that we turn to Him. Because he is the only one who can clean us and teach us. And make us holy.

It is only through His Holy Spirit that we can be Holy.

It is only through the Blood of Jesus and being set apart that we are holy.

Not by works, lest any man should boast.

He Is With Me

 He Is With Me

Do You Know Him? 

 

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”— Heb. 13:5-6

When you turn to the Lord, He saves you and is with you always. His Holy Spirit is in you.

“Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”— 1 John 4:4

We do not need to be concerned with living to gather riches, or desiring to what others have or to be as they are. That is our flesh talking. That is demons whispering.

We can be happy with the things the Lord has provided us, because He is with us and will take care of us. There is nothing anyone can do to us. God will find a way. He will make a way where none exists.

God’s way is perfect, and He has perfect timing. Trust Him.

It’s not about looking good for mankind, with the silly notions of what is valuable.

The streets of Paradise are paved with gold. The true wealth are those things of the spirit. The people you lead to the Lord. The love you show. The people you help. The Kingdom you build, and the time spent with the Lord, learning of His ways.

The rest is chaff, useless waste, burned up in the fire.

God is with us. we have a relationship with Him and have no need to fear. Just “ask, and it shall be given unto you. Seek, and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.”— Matt. 7:7-11

James said “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”

God is with us and will never forsake us. He will not help us destroy ourselves. But, we can trust that He hears and will help us with whatever we need.

I have seen God answer so many prayers. He has taken care of me. When I remember the great things He has done in the past it reminds me that He is with me and will take care of me again. It builds faith.

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”— Phil.4:6-7

We thank God in our prayers because our faith leads us to believe He is with us and hears us and is moving. We trust His Word.

He is with me. We have a relationship.

And I am with Him.

I died with Him, and was buried to self, and the flesh, and this world. To be raised into new life with Him. Born again. (Rom. 6:4, John 3)

And I walk with Him in the Spirit, which is the relationship.

To hear on that last day, “Well done thy good and faithful servant.”— Matt. 25

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from Southern Illinois.

Cover photo by pexels/Pixabay

Can We Lose Our Salvation?

 Can We Lose Our Salvation?

It's an important lesson. 

 

The answer is No. You either have it or you don’t. And You can always turn to God and ask to be saved. That is His grace.

But, there are folks who think you can lose it. This is written for them.

Hebrews 6:4 KJV

“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”

A lot of people use this verse to claim that a person can lose their salvation.

That is not true. I will explain why.

First, if you read the entire chapter context of the verse starting in verse 6:1 and going to verse 6:10 you will see the writer says that as we mature as believers we move away from doctrines regarding salvation, baptisms, etc. Because we rest in the fact that we are saved and can grow in Christ. We know that God’s grace and Christ’s Blood washes us of all sin, so we do not need to keep going around and around bickering on these subjects.

It doesn’t help us to grow and serve in Christ. As mentioned in previous Chapter 5, It’s milk not meat. We should be past these things, and be teachers who understand.

Next in verses, 4-6 he explains what happens to a person who “falls away”.

The first thing to notice is the word “impossible”. That should send up a red flag. Because Jesus said “with God ALL things are possible.” (Matt. 19:26)

This is a direct contradiction. Or is it? If you know your stuff, then you know God’s Word doesn’t contradict itself. Any apparent contradiction is an invitation to pray, listen to the Holy Spirit and dive deeper.

 Remember this because it’s important. We will come back to it.

Next, the writer tells us a list of things that God gives us freely or allows us to experience.

“…who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come“

If you think you experienced these things and then fell away unto a loss of salvation. Then, you probably never really experienced the full measure of these things from God. You experienced something else. You were just going to church.

Once you really know Christ, you cannot speak ill of Him or turn from Him. (1 Cor. 12:3)

I am not talking about committing sin. We are dead to sin. It does not impact our salvation. God holds our salvation.

Like Jesus said, “All that the father gives me shall come to me; and him that comes to me I will in no wise cast out.” —John 6:37

The person described in this verse in Hebrews is someone who has been exposed to Christ and still rejects or tries to climb up some other way. This person was never saved. They never really turned to Him. They had every chance but rejected. They even saw the truth. But rejected. That’s what the verse is saying. (These people will most likely join the Apostate Church of the last days, persecuting the Saints. They tasted spirituality but never really accepted Christ.)

Next the verse says to “restore them to repentance”.

Understand that “Repent” means to turn. It means to turn to God for salvation. It does not mean “to turn from sin”. That belief is false. They can’t be restored to repentance because they never had it. They never knew Him. They were never in a relationship with Christ, or they are heading to chastisement. God chastens His children. He does not cast them aside. (Heb. 12:6)

I want you to consider what Jesus said in Matthew 12:43-45

That when a man is clean. The demon goes to desert places, then returns with 7 others and the last State of this man was worse than the first.

This verse says the same thing as the Hebrews verse. If Jesus sets you free, and you turn back to the world, you will be worse off than before. The enemy will have more access to you and will work on you.

But neither verse says Jesus casts you aside and rejects you. Neither verse says you are condemned. If you think you walk a perfect life after salvation, then you really need to talk with God. If you think you have no sin, you deceive yourself and the truth (Jesus) is not in you. (1 John 1:8)

If you are saved and “Fall Away”, you basically open the doors for demonic activity to harass you. Consider a drug addict who is set free from drugs. But starts using again. The addiction is worse and the person believes they are a failure and everyone else tells them they are a failure. It becomes “impossible” to get back to that state of feeling free in Christ. It’s harder to quit the drugs or sinful behavior next time. It’s talking about a battle with Satan, not a loss of salvation.

BUT…keep reading and remember, we are not saved by works.

Notice it speaks of putting Christ to shame. This person the verse is speaking of never knew Jesus. They were never saved. When God shows you the heavenly gifts, and the truth of the Word, and the Holy Spirit convicts you and draws you. If you then reject Him. You are not saved and you put Christ to an open shame. That’s what the verse is saying, in context. You or this person was never saved. They did not lose it. The thorns and thistles choked out the Word.

Next the writer speaks of God pouring out blessings as rain.  Jesus said “He let’s the rain fall on the just and unjust. ”  That means that God let’s the unsaved see and feel His blessings because He hopes they will turn to Him. But if not, then they reject Christ and put Him to open shame. When God calls us, He let’s us see the Truth. We can choose to reject. And that’s what Hebrews is saying. God revealed truth, and a person rejected. (Matt 5:45)

The verse in Hebrews seems to be referring to a great Saint in Christ, but it’s not. It’s referring to someone who is not saved or has let the enemy back into their life. It’s not a loss of salvation.

Next the writer speaks of the water and says this rain from God waters the ground and brings forth good fruits or thorns and thistles. Is the Holy Spirit working in their life? Are they developing the fruits of the Spirit? If not, then they were never saved. They don’t lose it.

This matches what Jesus said in the parable of the sower. (Matthew Chapter 13)

God sows His truth into the world, and some lands on good soil, While others do not. Some soil receives the word but thorns and thistles grow up choking it out. Again, it never says they lost salvation. We are not saved by works, nor do we maintain our salvation. A person who hears the Word, and let’s thorns and thistles choke out the Word. Never actually got saved. They might have obeyed some rules and went to church for a while but they never knew Him. They turn from Christ, because they never knew Him. A saved person, will cling to Jesus, even in the midst of terrible sin and failure. They will stay with Jesus, because He is their only hope. They become broken and grow in Him.

This again refers to a struggle with this world, the flesh and the demons who fight us.

The bottom line is real simple. A person is either saved or not. They either saw the blessings of God and rejected. Or they saw the blessings of God, received Christ and are saved, but have fallen away, and are having a tough time. They are walking in the flesh, not the Spirit.

Either way the answer is to turn to God. With God all things are possible. Turn to Him. If a person “loses salvation” they were never really saved. They experienced the Word, and saw the kingdom but rejected Christ anyway. Whether unsaved, or a fallen saint or faithful saint, the answer is always to turn to God. (Repent) We confess him as Lord. We confess our sins and He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Confessing our sins is Walking in the Spirit.

At the end of our earthly life, Jesus will say either “well done thy good and faithful servant” or “depart from me I NEVER knew you.”

Because you were NEVER saved. You never had a relationship with Him, because if you had you would not reject Him.  I’m not talking about sin. We all sin. We are dead to sin. Our sins are cast from us. We confess our sins and are cleansed.

I’m saying you NEVER confessed Him as Lord and trusted Him to save you. You try to save yourself and try to obey rules, that is not salvation.

As the writer of Hebrews says in verse 10. “God knows what you’ve done.” But your salvation has nothing to do with that. Jesus said I NEVER knew you. A person cannot lose salvation. They NEVER had it.

It’s all about Christ. Turn to Him. Nothing is impossible with God. We are not saved by works. If we are fallen away or trapped by Satan, God will break us and correct us. He does not cast us out. If we walk away, we never really knew Him.

Just always turn to God. Confess to Him. Pray to Him. Know Him. That is Walking in the Spirit. Letting the Holy Spirit work on you and through you.

---

Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger.

Follow Him on Medium: https://chris-bunton.medium.com/

Follow Him on Free Life Blog: https://myfreelifeblog.com/

Subscribe on Substack: https://substack.com/@chrisbunton

Read His Bible Studies on Blogger: https://chrisbunton.blogspot.com/

Support the work for the cost of a Coffee

Support the work through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=13514235&fan_landing=true&view_as=public

Photo by the author, Bald Knob Cross