Not As The World Gives

 Not As The World Gives

God is not like this world. 

 

Jesus said. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."---John 14:27  (John 14:1-31--in context)

When God calls us, and we turn to Him, confessing Jesus is the Lord, asking Him to save us and putting our faith in Him.

 
He saves us, and fills us with His Holy Spirit, washing us clean.

This brings us peace. Not our peace. But HIS peace. This must be understood. Because we do not nor cannot maintain this Peace ourselves. He does it as we continue to turn to Him and grow in Him, and know Him. The Word He gives us is Jesus. The Word He gives us are His Promises.

The second part of the verse is what I want to focus on.

"Not as the world giveth, give I unto you"

Because God doesn't give as the world gives. (You've lived in this world long enough to know how this world and the people of it give.)

When God gives, it's free to you. He paid for it.

It's a gift not a loan. There is no interest and it doesn't have to be repaid.

He doesn't take it away from us if we fail.

He doesn't use it against us.

He doesn't use it to guilt trip us.

He doesn't hold it over our head.

He doesn't give us something cheap and shoddy.

He doesn't give us a hand me down.

He loves us. He understands us. He works with us. He knows us, if we choose to know Him.

 

He fixes us and helps to grow us. He doesn't cast us aside.

He is with us always even till the end of the world.

And that's why we have the peace that defies all understanding. (Phil. 4:6-7)

Praise Jesus.

So what do we do?  We remind ourselves of his promises. We speak them aloud to hear them and drive the enemy away. We remind our selves of the great things God has done for us. We thank and praise Him for it. This brings peace as the Holy Spirit works in us.

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Photo by the author 

Does God Feel Distant?

 Does God Feel Distant?

He is with you, believe it. 

 

 

There are times in our lives when we feel that God has abandoned us. It seems that He doesn’t hear and we don’t feel His presence or see His movements in our lives.

I have experienced the same.

God has opened my eyes to the reality of it, and I have listened to Him and grown in Him.

The matter is an issue of faith.

I want you to read this verse.

“But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.”—Matt. 12:36

Now a lot of preachers want to use this verse to impose fear.

But, I want you to see that Jesus is telling us that God hears every word. God is so close to us and so interested in us, that every word we say will be shown back to us when we see Him.

If you are saved and know Him, then this is not a scary thing. It spurs us to greater things.

So, read this verse and believe it. Believe it like God is standing before you telling it to you.

We are made righteous and our faith comes when we believe the Word God has given us. (Rom.10:17, Rom. 4:3)

So, when we think God is not listening or doesn’t hear, we can stand on this verse and say.

“No! God hears every idle word!” And believe it.

It’s not like sending a text message to a friend and we don’t hear back. So, we think “Did he get the text?”

God got it. We can KNOW he got it, because of this verse. We put our faith in it and Him.

Daniel prayed and heard nothing back. Till finally an angel came and said. We got your prayer the minute you started praying. And I came to answer but had to fight through the Enemy to get here. (Dan. 10:1-21)

Trust God. Trust His Word.

Our relationship with God is based upon faith. Our faith grows when we trust his Word and stand on it, and see Him move in our lives

Satan is working to keep you from trusting Him. To keep you from knowing Him. He seeks to destroy you and keep your faith weak. To keep you from the battlefield.

This why we cannot trust our feelings. We are flesh. We have a corrupted nature. We live in a world that is full of distraction, and we have an enemy trying to destroy us.

“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

When everything tells us God has abandoned us and is not listening. When the enemy whispers into our mind that we sin too much for God, or that God has left us or even that He is testing us.

We can stand on the promises of God. We can rely on His Word and the things He has done for us in the past. That is our testimony. (Rev. 12:11)

So we say “No! I trust in the Lord. I’m leaning on Him and the Word says He will direct my paths!”

Believe it. Faith is the oil for our lamps.  (Matt. 25: 1-13)

Why do I say that you must say it out loud?

Have you seen movies where two armies oppose each other and a general rides on a horse in front of his men and gives them great words of encouragement?

He is building faith. He is building encouragement. He is trying to drive out fear and stir up morale for the coming battle.

“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” —(Rom. 10:17)

When we speak the Word, we also hear the Word and it stirs up our faith in us if we are willing to believe it. Speaking the Word causes things to happen in reality. God says “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”—(Isa 55:11)

God’s Word says “I will never leave you nor forsake you”—Heb. 13:5

He is with us. Believe it. Say it to yourself.

“God will never leave me nor forsake me.”

Believe it. Drive the fear and doubt away.

Will the Shepherd abandon the Sheep? ( Psalm 23)

No. He leads us to still waters. He protects us with his rod. His staff comforts us.

Because He is with us. We believe it and know it. He is here.

Do you know the Shepherd?

None of this matters if you’ve never turned to Him and asked Him to save you. It’s the same faith. He calls us and we realize that we need Him.

Then, we hear the Word He gives us and we believe it and turn to Him. Asking Him to save us. Then, He washes us clean in the Blood of Jesus Christ and we are saved and begin to grow in Him. Just ask Him to save you. (Rom.10:9-10)

This world is tough. But, the toughness of this world is designed to cause us to turn to Him. Because He is our only Hope.

He is with us.

Believe it. No matter what things look like.

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Saving Faith

 Saving Faith

 What is it really?

 

 

 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;

² Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

³ Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

⁴ But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,

⁵ Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)

⁶ And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

⁷ That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

⁸ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

⁹ Not of works, lest any man should boast.

¹⁰ For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.— Eph. 2:1-10

These verse in Ephesians Chapter 2 give us great insight into what happens with Grace and Faith and Works, in relation to our salvation.

Understand that the word “Quickened” means to bring to life.

The word is used because we are considered dead, before we get saved. We are utterly depraved. We are walking with Satan. We do not know God or have anything to do with Him or care. We are dead, which means separated from Him.

The verse above shows that ALL humans are in the same boat. Except for babies and young children before they reach the age of accountability. They do not understand Law, or Sin or anything else. They face death; like all humans, but not Hell. They have not committed the first sin, knowing it is a sin which condemns them and us.

We suffer Death, enslavement to Satan, a Corrupted Nature and the potential for Hell/Lake of Fire because of Adam’s sin. BUT… We actually go there because we commit the first sin, knowing it is a sin.

We all commit that first sin. We all have walked in sin, and face Hell. We all face eternal death. Which is separation from God in the garbage dump of Hell/Lake of Fire. The Bible wants us to understand this.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,“

God came to save us from this. That is Grace.

He calls us. That is Grace.

He helps us to see our need for Him. That is Grace.

He holds back the forces of darkness for moments in our lives so we can see clearly to run to Him. That is Grace.

He gives each of us the faith to be saved. That is Grace.

Because we are saved by Grace THROUGH Faith.

This is important because there are false beliefs on the matter.

We are not saved by Faith. We are saved by Grace THROUGH Faith.

God who created us gave us this faith at birth. (Rom. 12:3)

He gave a measure of faith to every human.

Enough to be saved.

Jesus says that faith the size of a mustard seed can move mountains. (Matt. 17:20)

There is a false belief that says that God gives us faith to be saved, just before we get saved. If this is true, then God is deciding who goes to hell and who doesn’t. This flies in the face of the idea that He died for all of us and seeks to save all of us.

He gives us faith, when He knits us together in our mother’s womb. (Jer. 1:5)

That faith is what gives us hope that the sun will rise. It lets us have faith that a chair will support us when we sit down. It is faith that helps us trust that we have a job every morning we get up to go out.

That is natural faith.

That faith, as little as it might be is enough for us to believe God, and hear His call, and turn to Him. It is enough to confess Jesus as our Lord and be saved.

We can put that faith in whatever we want. Religion. Work. Money. Politics. Family. or the Eagle that lives on the yonder mountain.

But, none of those things will save us. Only Jesus Christ saves.

When we put our faith in Jesus He saves us and gives us His Holy Spirit.

From that point, the Lord starts growing us and building a relationship with us.

That is when our faith grows.

Like exercise builds the body. Seeing the movements of God, and seeing Him respond to the Truth of His Word, builds our faith.

Trusting God and seeing Him move builds our faith.

Like exercise, we build muscle by going to muscle failure. Where we cannot lift the weight but need help.

Faith is the same. God will often wait till we are spent, and cannot go any more. Then, He shows up in power, and our faith grows.

So, what is “Saving Faith?”

Saving faith; is the faith you put in the Lord to believe and trust in Him, at His call.

We can look at the Parable of the Sower in Matthew Chapter 13 to get some idea.

The sower goes forth to sow, the Word of the Kingdom.

This is the Gospel or the Word of God. It is the promises of God or a Word he gives us to wake us up to Him.

Some people get this Word, and do not understand it or believe it. The devil immediately comes and wipes it away. Demons whisper into the mind. “That’s not true.” “What about this…” “Those people are hypocrites, remember what they did to you…”

This does not mean God quits trying. He never quits. Love doesn’t quit. But, that doesn’t mean you have time to hear again.

Some people hear the Word, and agree. They like what is said, and they try to live it. But, it is by their own flesh. They did not really give themselves to the Lord and put their faith in Him alone.

So, when trouble comes or people make fun of them or punish them for trying to live right, they quit. Remember, this is a heart issue. This is a truth issue with God. It is not about appearances.

There are people living their whole life at church, in this state of half-belief. They have the “appearance of Godliness but deny the power thereof,”. They believe, but have never really accepted.

Next in the parable are people who hear the Word. They hear the call. They believe, but again never really accept it. They never confess Jesus as Lord. They try to save themselves, but “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.”

A person who knows the Lord, cannot lose their salvation. Once you have it, you are saved forever. The Lord will protect you, hold you and grow you. The person above never really had faith in the Lord. They believed, at some point but that belief did not push them beyond this life. They never really accepted or confessed Jesus is the Lord.

This matters in these last days. Because as things get worse, and persecution comes knocking, these are the people who will fall away. They have claimed Christ. They attend church. But, have never really known Him. So, when the Anti-Christ rises up, they will turn from God and join the Apostate Church.

Last, is the person who hears the Word, believes it, and moves forward to accept Jesus as their Lord and receives the Holy Spirit. This person “heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The “Understanding” is not total understanding of all things Gospel. It is an understanding of their need. It is a light shining into the darkness of their fallen state, and they leap for the Lord.

It is not a “I’m going to become a Christian” kind of faith. It is a “My life is ruined and I need God,” kind of faith.

It is a faith that God sees. It is the faith of a child to believe things, no matter what the world tells you. (Matt. 18:3-4)

Saving faith, is faith that is real. It is faith that God accepts.

This faith hears the Word, and really believes and accepts. This faith grows in the good ground prepared by God by His grace.

God prepares us to hear, by whatever means will best serve the purpose.

But, it is our faith, and where put that faith, that leads to salvation.

That salvation brings us the Holy Spirit, and He grows us and changes us. He leads us into serving God and Serving others. He grows the fruit in us. He Walks in the Spirit with us. These are the works we do.

Works from God, and through God. Works God shows us to let us know we are saved and walking with Him. (Rom. 8:16)

It doesn’t matter what anyone says.

It only matters what God says.

Listen for Him, and let your faith flow to Him.

And you will grow in the good ground of His grace, mercy and love.

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Elder Brother, Younger Brother

 Elder Brother, Younger Brother

A Word on Acceptance

 

In the parable of the prodigal son, we see many truths about our spiritual lives. But, there is one aspect that I would like to point out here. (Luke 15:11-32) First we have the prodigal son who goes into the world and lives for himself. He lives a riotous life, that mirrors what a rock star might live. You get the picture. He took the blessings of the father and went into the world and partied with it.
      

We also see in the parable that there is an elder brother, who stays at home with the father. He obeys everything the father tells him to obey. He lives a humble, austere life at home. He never ventures out into the world very far. He grows bitter, resentful, and judgmental. He feels he is owed a blessing for obedience.
      

We can see these two characters played out today in our churches. You have the person who grew up living in the world and went full tilt in it. Then trouble comes into his life and God uses that time of trouble to draw him to be saved. Then, the person starts trying to live right and do what they are being led by God to do. But, they are still very rough around the edges, and know it. They then come to church where they encounter the elder brother.
      

This is the person who grew up in church. The elder brother never strayed too far from the laws of God. Oh sure they “sinned”.  They missed church that Sunday, and kissed a boy behind the woodshed. They went to that party and got drunk and had to call their parents from jail that one time. “Never again!” they promised God, and they kept it. But, they did other things secretly, or unknowingly, or unadmittedly.
      

The Elder Brother thinks, whether they know it or not, “This guy comes to the church, because he’s in trouble. He took the life, and the gifts, and the image of God and then wallowed in the mud with the pigs. He’s not well churched. He doesn’t talk right. He’s rough, and he doesn’t fit in. He will never totally fit in. He still smokes, he cusses, he has a woman he meets, he drinks, and he just tries to hide it all. He won’t last long.”
      

The younger brother feels it. He can feel that some people in the church will never accept him because of who he was. He can tell by how they look at him and exclude him, that he is not one of them. Oh sure they invite him. But, it feels like charity or pity. He hears the sermons and listens to the teachings and knows he doesn’t measure up. He knows that he never will. But, they all seem to. They seem to be perfect, even though he knows they aren’t. Next Sunday he’ll just sleep in.
      

This scenario plays out in churches all across this land. Someone wants to change their lives, but the perfect people become a stumbling block to them. The person who has been involved in church their whole life cannot understand that the person who has been in the world, has many layers of things that God must remove over time. It doesn’t happen overnight.  A person gets saved the minute they confess Jesus as their Lord, but it takes a life time to get totally healed of the damage that has been done to them.

Don’t let the elder brother drive you away from God or from church. Church is a place to learn, and to grow. It is a place to serve and reach out to others. It has great value in your spiritual walk. Seek people in your church who have a similar background, or who are more understanding. They are there. Pray and ask God to show you. Likewise, Elder brothers need to realize this occurs and figure out ways to make it easier for folks to integrate into the Body.   

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Photo by the author.

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. 3, 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. (1 Cor 2:6-8)

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

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Cover photo by pexels/Guillaume Hankenne

The Battle of Our Souls

 The Battle of Our Souls

 The Spirit battles against the flesh

 

This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

¹⁷ For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

¹⁸ But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.—Gal. 5:16-18

When we get saved, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us and starts working to grow us and sanctify us. He teaches us and helps us. He comforts us.

This creates change in our life. It brings brokenness and correction. It brings blessings. We see God moving and it strengthens our faith.

The Enemy does not want to let us go. Satan and his demonic forces have built relationships with us. They have built tunnels through our hedge of protection, where they can attack us and keep us in bondage. They have attached themselves to our backs and our minds.

These connections are severed at salvation, but the enemy quickly works to reestablish them. They attack and draw us through our flesh, eyes, desires and pride. Consider an addict who is constantly tempted to re-use and get addicted again. That is how the temptation looks in all the various ways. It is a lure to draw us into a trap. ( 1 John 2:16)

BUT… if we are saved we now have the Holy Spirit. He does the battle for us. Notice in the verse above, the word Spirit is capitalized. That means the Holy Spirit. Not our spirit. Our job in this battle is to abide in the Lord. Our job is to Walk in the Spirit.

Do not let the battle drive us away from Christ. (John 15:3-8)

The Holy Spirit is moving and things are happening in our lives. We are being tempted to run from God. Like the Israelites wanted to return to Egypt. We want to go back to our old ways. We want to quit, because we fail and it’s hard and things are scary.

But, it is part of the spiritual battle behind the scenes to grow us and correct us and get us to a better place in life where we can serve. Like the Israelites through the desert to the promised land.

We must remember that we are fallen. We are corrupt. This is very important because it explains why we cannot save ourselves or help in the battle. God gives us His grace and we cannot help. He has saved us and is waging the battle. There is no way we can do it without making matters worse. Look at the end of verse 17 above. “You cannot do the things that you would.” No matter how hard you try to do good, you will fail. You will sin. But, it’s ok. The battle is the Lord’s, not yours. You are already victorious in Christ. We are not under the law, if we are Walking in the Spirit.

We are to Walk with the Lord in the Spirit. We abide in Him.

The verse above says that if we Walk in the Spirit we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh, and we are not under the law.

What does this mean?

Well, when we are saved the enemy will attack us and tempt us to get us to fail. He will try to re-open those pathways into our lives. The Holy Spirit will point out the temptation often times, and we might struggle to resist. We might succeed. But, the temptation will return. It’s never a one and done.

We might fail next time.

But, the battle is not ours. it is the Holy Spirit’s battle.

So, we Walk in the Spirit. Which means, we pray for help. We pray God’s Word against the attacks of the enemy. We wear the armor of God, and when we fail we confess our sin to Him, and He forgives us and cleanses us. (1 John 1:8-10, Eph 6:10-18)

It is not our battle. We are saved. We are to just abide and remain in relationship with the Lord.

That is walking in the Spirit. We stay focused on the Lord. Abiding in Him, and not letting the enemy drag us away.

The enemy is a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. The demons tempt us and tempt us and whisper lies into our minds, and when we sin they speak condemnation and fear into our minds. (1 Peter 5:8)

This is designed to chase us from God.

When a lion roars in the jungle it scares the young ,old and sick. It causes them to run away from the safety of the herd. Likewise, Satan seeks to drive us from God. Not to lose salvation, but to get us trapped in more sin, and keep us from turning to the Lord and confessing to Him.

Like Adam and Eve hid, when they sinned.

Like the parable of the sower. The things of this world will drive us from God. Whether good things or bad things. We are tempted to forget God or hide from Him, or turn from Him, back to our old life. (Matt. 13)

God is our only hope. He is our Rock. When we turn from Him, we are like the prodigal son who will face trouble we cannot fix until we return to God. God is our only source of Life. Abiding in Him, is walking with Him in the Spirit. (Luke 15: 11-32)

Remember, ” All things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”– Romans 8:28

When we are saved, God is working in our life. The Holy Spirit is working in our life. He is with us and He is fighting the Battle. That means that all victories, all failure, all attacks, all sins, all correction, all of it, is working for our good.

It is being used to mold us into the finest soldier for the Lord.

Like silver being boiled to remove the dross, to make it pure. We face the fires of this life, and attacks of the enemy, and grace of God and it all is used by the Holy Spirit to grow us. (Mal. 3:2-4)

If we abide in Him. If we Walk in the Spirit. If we are saved.

James said, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.“– Jas 1:12

It doesn’t say “overcomes temptation”.

It means endures or remains with God in the temptation. Enduring means to Walk in the Spirit. The Bible does not contradict itself. So, we compare this verse with Walking in the Spirit.

James goes on “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

¹⁵ Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”

The enemy tempts our flesh. He tempts our minds. He seeks out the things that he knows are already there because he has known us from birth. He and his demons have worked to create and build those lusts in us. Those are the tunnels and attachments spoken of earlier.

All of us have sins that we are more apt to commit than others. Some people are drawn to theft. Some people are drawn to sex. Some are drawn to violence. Some have many things mixed.

The enemy works to draw us away from God through these means. Not for a loss of salvation, but to keep us down and unable to fight the fight of faith.

Notice the steps James gives for sin and death. We decide to do it. Then, we do it. Then, it leads to death.

But, When we walk in the Spirit sin is not FULFILLED and we are not under the Law. (See the verse at the top)

This path to death is never fulfilled. If we sin, we confess it and we are forgiven and washed clean.

That is part of Walking in the Spirit. That is how we abide in Him and not run away because we believe the lies that God is mad at us or can never forgive us. We instead turn to Him. We confess it to Him. We make no promises, because we cannot keep them. We give it to Him in truth.

The Holy Spirit fights the fight. We turn and confess, and keep turning and confessing. We pray and wear the armor, and speak the Word. And we discover over time that we are no longer doing the things we once did. We discover we have been blessed and God fought the battle for us while we just endured and remained in Him.

We are called to be soldiers bringing light into the dark world. We cannot do that if we are constantly worried about our sins or trying to resist temptation. It is not our battle. It is His.

We just abide in Him. Walk with Him. Love others and serve Him.

That’s a big battle in itself.

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Why Do We Study Prophecy?

 Why Do We Study Prophecy?

 So, we know the seasons.

 

The Bible is 30% prophecy, as some have stated. But, when you consider that the whole thing is about Jesus Christ, and that all the stories and pictures speak of Him, His First Coming and Second Coming, I think its more like 100%.

God has called all believers to be prepared, serve the Kingdom and occupy this world till His Second Coming. We follow the Great Commission telling others about Jesus, and the Gospel. We teach the things Jesus has said, and we love God and others in this work.

When we get saved, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us.

Jesus said,

“Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.“— John 16:13

That means the Holy Spirit in us will guide us into ALL truth regarding spiritual things, God’s Word and life. He is the voice of the Lord and will repeat the the things the Lord says. He will also shew us things to come. That means prophecy.

If you are saved you have the Holy Spirit and He will open your eyes to things. He will teach you and lead you to teachers. He will bring the Word to life.

He has gifted some saints to have the gift of prophecy. Now, this does not always mean that they give prophetic utterances. But, that they see things. They see what the Spirit is showing them, and are called to tell others.

Why?

Why does this matter? Why is it needed?

Because Satan is the deceiver.

We are in a spiritual war, and in war deception is dangerous. But, one of the methods of defeating deception is proper communication.

We communicate with God through prayer. We communicate with each other through preaching the Gospel, teaching the Word, keeping sound doctrine, and knowing what the mission is and where we are going. Which is prophecy.

Remember, prophecy is not prophecy to God. God is outside of time. His days are as a thousand years. So when He created everything it was only 6 days ago. Jesus died and rose two days ago, to God. He already knows how it ends and He knows everything that will happen. (2 Peter 3:8)

Prophecy is for our benefit. It let’s us see God’s Work. It lets us see the workings of the enemy. Because Satan has done the same things over and over since the Fall.

It helps us to encourage each other, with the promise of His coming.

It helps us to be prepared and not deceived.

It builds our faith as we see God’s Word coming to life and His promises being fulfilled.

It helps us to endure and abide in these last days of deception.

When we know what’s going to happen, we know the truth when Satan and his human slaves lie to us.

We know Satan, the spirit of antichrist, fallen angels, demons and unclean spirits are using their human slaves to build the New World Order Kingdom of the Anti-Christ.

So, when we see globalism spreading. When we see certain ideologies and technologies coming into being we can know that Jesus is coming soon. We can be encouraged.

There will come a time when things get harder and harder for the Saints. Prophecy will help be a source of encouragement. There will be a time when people in the church who have been on the fence; Wavering between two opinions, Double minded, will be tempted to leave Christ and join the Apostate Church of the False Prophet.

Prophecy will be a sign for them to know God’s Word is true, and to finally accept Jesus for real. They have seen signs of the Lord and tasted the good Word. They have been enlightened and seen the Holy Spirit working. But have never really confessed Jesus as their Lord. They just thought going to church was enough.

Seeing God’s Prophetic Word fulfilled will wake some up. But, will drive others into the arms of the enemy. They never knew the Lord. They have no oil of faith in their lamps. The light of the Spirit does not shine in them.

It is the great falling away. The tares and wheat. The scriptures speak in many places about these “False Brethren”. They will betray the saints unto death.

Prophecy is an attempt by the Lord to save them, and show the saints what season it is.

The time is drawing near. Satan uses all sides. Right wing. Left Wing. Churches. Ministries, Government, Non-profits, Protestors, everything. He uses all tragedies and victories to push his agenda. To build his kingdom.

His kingdom seeks to make him like God, with more and more control and power. He wants worshipers and followers. He twists the minds of his slaves. We are seeing some of this. With lies in the media, and leaders calling good evil, and evil good. With AI and deep fakes, the age of deception is upon us. The enemy will go to all lengths to build his kingdom.

Seeing what we see today and where we are going is why we study prophecy and learn of it. It keeps us from joining the forces of the enemy. It is impossible to avoid all occurrences of helping the enemy. We vote. We pay taxes. We sit back while evil occurs, or we get involved and create more evil.

All of it is used by the enemy to build his kingdom.

Except, the preaching of the Gospel.

The enemy will seek to stifle the free speech which allows the Gospel to be spread.

We wage war by loving others and telling them about Jesus. Even evil governments are not an enemy to the good works of helping others. Satan himself pretends to be an angel of light. Helping the masses and giving them things, in order to enslave them and keep them from turning to God.

But, we know and have been told of these things before hand. We know where we are headed and should be prepared.

The Lord is coming quickly.

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What Is Godliness

 What Is Godliness

Can we be like God? 

 

 

Godliness, in a nut shell, is being like God.

Now this explanation can bring up some problems, because who can be like God?

No one.

But, it’s about trying to be like Jesus. He is God.

It’s about trying to be like our heavenly father.

Jesus is an image of our heavenly father. (John 8:12-59)

We can see His traits and know Him, through Christ.

It’s not about being omnipresent or ruling over everything.

It’s not about hellfire and brimstone.

But, it’s about His character.

Jesus said, ” He let’s the sun rise on the evil and the good.” ( Matthew 5:45)

He is good, and does good things.  He doesn’t destroy people every time they fail. He is long suffering.

He is kind. He seeks a relationship. He seeks to teach and to grow us.

God is Love.

He cares about His creation. He cares for the sparrow.

Jesus said, “what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?” (Matthew 7:7-12)

Godliness is not about obeying rules. It’s about character. It’s about doing the loving thing. The fatherly thing, and thereby obeying the rules as a by product.

God provided for Adam and Eve’s needs in the Garden. They had everything they needed. 

Even when they fell, God showed up and set them on the right path.

He told them, “on the day you eat of it you will surely die.” ( Genesis 2:17)

But, made His days, a thousand years long. (2 Peter 3:8)

Adam lived 930 years. He died on that day.(Gen. 5:3-5)

And when he died he went to Paradise above.

Clothed in those skins God gave Him. Like God gives us Jesus.

God is good.

That is Godliness.

To know Him and be like Him.

It is to comfort those in need. 

To give a drink of water. 

To cloth the naked. 

When He returns He will ask

“What did you do with the least of these?” Matthew 25:31-46)

What are you doing?

When we turn to Him and Confess Him as Lord. 

When we are saved and Know Him. 

When we walk with Him, like Adam in the coolness of the day. 

We will desire to be like Him. 

And He will work in us and through us to mold us into His likeness. (Romans 8:28-39)

In everything ask yourself, “What Would Jesus Do?”  WWJD.

That is Godliness. 

We cannot do it without His Spirit in us. We cannot do it without His salvation and sanctification.

Love people and be good to people. 

That is Godliness.

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The Coming Persecution

 The Coming Persecution

A Look at Mathew 24 

 

“Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.“—Matt. 24:9-13

The Lord tells us here that there will be great persecution of the Saints, at some point in the last days before His return.

I do not use the term, “believers” or “Christians” here. I use “Saints” to separate those who are saved and know the Lord, from those who are not. I do this because it seems that scripture teaches that there are many who claim to be Christians or think they are believers, but find out they are not. They betray the saints. They sell their fellow Christians into bondage.

The saints are really saved and know Him. They will stay with Him till the end, despite everything the devil throws at them. Not because of their own will or power, but because God will protect them, strengthen them and keep them.

I want you to understand that I am not giving you a prophecy. I am just pointing out what the scriptures seem to teach on this subject.

It appears that there will be tough times to come, and that the persecutions will begin after that tough time.

It seems that the tough times, will be the four horsemen of the seal judgements. (Rev. 6)

Jesus says:

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

 All these are the beginning of sorrows.“— Matt. 24:7-8

This matches the four horsemen, who bring deception, conflict, economic collapse, and wide spread death.

Many teach that the white horse, is the Anti-Christ. I do not believe that to be the case. COVID showed me that the white horse could be some kind of deception. It might even be another alleged “Global Pandemic”, which leads to nations and kingdoms fighting. This leads to economic collapse and vast levels of death.

The first time nations submitted. The second time, many will not.

That is just an example of a possibility.

But after this comes the persecution. In Revelation it is the 5th seal. After the four horsemen has created havoc. It is quite possible that Christians are blamed for what occurs during the ride of the horsemen (Matt. 24: 9-13, Rev. 6:9-11)

When we read Matthew 24, we see that this persecution leads to the greatest preaching of the Gospel in the history of the World.

Persecution has always worked to spread the Gospel. (Matt. 24:14, Rev. 7)

This persecution and killing of the saints will also lead to the great falling away as false brethren leave the church and reject Christ, in order to avoid persecution.

This persecution will also lead to the rise of the Anti-Christ, as the saints are overcome, and the Holy Spirit or restrainer in them is taken out of the way through this persecution. (2 Thess. 2, Rev. 13:7, Daniel 7:21, 25)

According to the scriptures, the Abomination of Desolation will occur at this time. Which is the Anti-Christ sitting in God’s temple in Jerusalem and declaring Himself God. (Matt 24:15, Dan. 9:24-27, 2 Thess. 2)

This is when all hell breaks lose.

My focus is on the coming persecution, because it is what will impact the Saints during these last days.

Revelation, Daniel, and many other places give more details of what will occur. We can see that there will be a temple built in Jerusalem, which the Anti-Christ will sit in. We see that the Anti-Christ will make war with the Saints and over come them. We see that the saints will be removed, giving freedom to the Anti-Christ to do his work. We know he will institute the Mark of the Beast and control all buying and selling.

We do not know the exact timing of these things or the exact order. But, we do know it will happen.

My purpose is to prepare the Saints for the persecution to come. The second cleansing of the temple.

When Jesus was on the Earth the first time He chased out the money changers twice. Once at the beginning of his ministry in the Gospel of John and once at the end, after the triumphal entry in Matthew. (John 2:13-17, Matt. 21:12-13)

I think this is showing the persecutions at the beginning of the church and in these last days.

This coming persecution will drive out all those who are not really saved. Those who use the church for money or power or position. Those who have never really known Him or had a relationship with Him. Those who have not grown. They have no oil of faith in their lamps, because they never really believed.

Turn to the Lord. Do not trust the pre-tribulation rapture lie. There will come a time when the deception, will be so bad that it will be impossible to turn to Him. There will be strong delusion. There will be persecution and death.

If you cannot turn to the Lord in the good times, how will you do it in the bad? (Luke 23:29-31)

There will be a global religion from the false prophet which the entire world will flock to. It will be perfect and answer every question, even science will agree. Christians will join this church in droves to escape persecution and tribulation. This is the Great Falling Away and they will reject Jesus Christ as the Lord. (2 Thess. 2)

Jesus said,

“ Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:

 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors.

 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.

 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.“— Matt 24:32-36

Do not believe false teachers or prophets who try to claim when the Lord is coming or tell you He is in the desert or He is over there. This includes people who teach pre-tribulation rapture.

The Lord will come when He comes, and it will be quick and a surprise. But, there is no indication that He will come twice. Once to get His Church and once to set up His Kingdom. He only returns once, and that is in glory, and all eyes shall see Him. (Rev. 1:7, Matthew 24:29-31, Matthew 25,)

The false teaching of the pre-trib rapture will lead to many falling away, when the Anti-Christ rises and the persecutions begin.

“But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;

Why would a Christian say “My Lord delays His coming?” Because they never really knew the Lord and believed the Lord would come and get them before tribulation and the Anti-Christ. So, the only answer for them will be that He is “Delaying”.

 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;

This will lead them to betray the saints and to turn them in to the authorities, delivering them to death.

The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,

And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.“–Math 24:48-51 (compare to the parable of the foolish virgins and all the parables of Matthew 25)

The coming persecution will weed out the people who do not know Him. The people who do not have the Holy Spirit.

There are those who will claim that these verses refer to believers who will rise up after the pre-trib rapture. Do not trust this view. Do not let anyone trust this view.

There is a time coming when strong delusion and deception will keep people from being saved. There will come a time when as in the days of Noah, and Lot, the door will be shut and those outside, will be struck blind. They will not be able to find the door or get saved.

Do not wait. Turn to the Lord now.

The coming persecution will be the time when the Gospel will be spread, greater than any time. It will be a last chance to receive the Lord. But, it will also be a witness. A final witness to those who have rejected. (Matt. 24:14)

Jesus speaks of it,

“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

 But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues;

 And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles.

But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak.

 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.

And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death.

 And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.“–Math. 10:16-22

The Saint’s own children, educated in Luciferian controlled schools and colleges; taught to hate Christ and all things Christian will turn their own parents in to be killed during the persecution to come.

Your own family will betray you. Your pastor, and even your friends, will turn you in to be killed.

The Saints will move from place to place to survive, spreading the Gospel and worshiping in hiding. Destitute; unable to buy or sell because of the Mark of the Beast. (Matthew 10)

Those who abide to the end shall be saved.

This persecution is coming. Look at the hate of this present day. It will only grow until the forces of hate and murder are unleashed. Satan and his demons are building the system, and preparing their slaves.

Do not be deceived. Do not wait. Turn to the Lord today, and let Him grow you and build your faith.

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How Do I Turn To God?

 How Do I Turn To God?

 What does that look like?

 

 

It’s so simple anyone can do it. That is how God designed it.

I’m going to avoid magical theological words and just give it straight.

As we go through life things happen to us. Good things and bad.

We have excitement over good things. We celebrate victories and enjoy time with family or friends.

We also suffer through hard times. Terrible tragedies, that destroy our lives or lead us into dark places.

If it’s good, we might feel led to thank God.

If it’s bad, we might feel led to call out to God for help.

No matter what it is, if we feel or think about God at all, it is because He is calling us.

Humans in our natural flesh filled state do not seek God. We seek food, sex, money and freedom from pain. We do not seek spiritual things. (Rom. 3:10-18)

So if we start to wonder about God, or get interested in spiritual things, or find ourselves in trouble, and God is our only hope. He is calling us. You might hear a preacher preaching and it speaks to you. You might read a Gospel Tract and it opens your eyes. If you are reading this, God brought you here to read it. He is calling you.

It’s like when Jesus called to the disciples. He just said “Follow me” and they turned and followed Him

When you realize God is calling you. Just pray and talk to Him plain. He knows you and loves you. (Rom. 1:6, Rom. 8:30, Rom. 9:24, 1 Cor. 1:9)

Just ask Him to save you. (Matt. 7:7, Acts 2:38, John 5:24, Acts 2:21, Acts 16:30-31)

“Lord, please save me and help me. I make Jesus the Lord of my life and I believe in Him. Please change me and show me what to do. For it’s in Jesus name I pray. Amen.” (Rom 10:9-10)

These aren’t magic words. Try the best you can to mean them. He is real and He is listening and He will move. Trust Him.

Believe He hears you. Watch Him move.

The same guidance you got that led you to pray will guide you in other ways. You’ll be led to start reading your Bible. You will be led to certain people or church. You will see your life changing. Things will be removed and other things brought into your life.

Keep believing and keep praying. Turn to God in everything. It’s not just one prayer. It becomes a relationship. He becomes your life.

This is salvation. God has saved you, if you turned to Him and called out to Him. The Holy Spirit will come to dwell in you, and change you and grow you. He will lead you in Sanctification. (Acts 2:38, John 14:26, Luke 11:13)

That is the work God does on us throughout our life.

You have to understand. We are saved the instant we turn to Him and ask. But because of the fall and our own sins, we are so corrupt, that it takes time to fix us in this life. God does it in the proper way so it does not ruin us. He is a master builder. He is The Great Physician, and He is healing us. (Gal. 5:16-18, Prov. 3:11-12)

Read the Word of God, and believe it. No matter how crazy it makes you look to the world, friends, family or co-workers. Believe the Word. God takes this belief and makes us righteous. Nothing else can happen if we do not first believe. Nothing. We can hear the call and turn to Him, but if we do not believe what He tells us it will die on the vine. (Rom. 4:3, Matt. 13, )

Our belief or faith leads us to seek more of Him and to serve Him, as the Holy Spirit leads us. We learn that we should love God and others. We learn about baptism and communion. We learn about giving and helping others. We desire to tell people about Jesus, so they can be saved. We want other people to experience the great things God has done for us. (Mark 5:1-20, Matt. 10:32-33, Mark 16:15-20)

We pray to the Lord in Jesus name, and bring everything to Him. We see Him move in our lives and our faith grows with the relationship. (John 14:13-14, Prov. 3:5-6)

We find our life is changing. We find that we are changing. The things we used to struggle with are gone, and we have new things we struggle with. We have stories of how God has helped us and those stories encourage us and others.

God works to break us and correct us and change us as we confess our sins to him and let Him cleanse us. We walk in the spirit as we confess our sin and work these things out. He heals us of our trauma and destroyed lives. He brings us new hope and abundant life.

All of this is part of knowing Him. Knowing Him is the most important thing in our life. That relationship is really all that matters. He becomes our first love. (Mark 12:30-31, Matt. 10:37)

That doesn’t mean we don’t get angry, or hurt or question, or say things we shouldn’t. But, we turn back to Him. All relationships have friction. As He helps us get lined up with what He desires for us, we will face friction. We will endure trouble. We will face an enemy who seeks to drive us from God. (1 Pet. 5:8)

But, we abide. We keep turning to Him and letting Him grow us. We seek to build the Kingdom and get others saved. We let God work through us and love others and love Him.

It seems hard. But, its not because He is with us the whole way, and actually does it all Himself, if we let Him. (Heb. 13:5)

Just turn to God and ask. He will save you, grow you, teach you and open your eyes to things you never knew.

Then, you will be with Him forever.

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