The sign of Christ in you is not that you work to quit sinning.
It’s not that you pretend to be sinless, and go to your church every time the doors are open.
The sign is that you confess that Jesus came in the flesh, and confess Him as Lord. (1 John 4:1-3, 1 Cor. 12:1-3, Rom. 10:9-10)
The sign is that you love God and love others. (Matthew 22:36-40)
The sign is that you believe the Word. And you believe it so much
that you become a fool for Christ. You believe things that this world
rejects, and that makes us fools. (Rom.4:3, 1 Cor. 3:18-23)
The sign is that you believe so much that you do not want people to
suffer or perish. If you really believed you would be telling people
about the great things God has done for you and them. You would be
getting the Gospel out. (2 Peter 3:9, Matthew 10:32-33, Luke 8:38-39)
The sign is that you want to help people because you love them. You
want to go feed the poor, and clothe the naked. You want to visit the
prisoner and comfort the sick. You want to set the slaves free. (Matt. 25:31-46)
The sign is that you desire a relationship with Him, and things are
removed in your life that distract you from that relationship. You watch
for Him and grow in Him and will bear fruit. (John 15)
The sign is that you take all the bad that has happened to you, and
you turn it around for good. You use it to grow and to help others
overcome. You don’t bury it in the soil. (Matt. 25:1-30)
You use the gift God has given you to save and help others. You don’t
wrap it in a napkin and keep it in your pocket. (Matt. 25:1-30, Luke
19:12-27)
The sign of Christ in you is a focus and an urgency to build the
Kingdom. To seek His face. To let Him guide you and abide with Him.
(Matt. 6:3, Proverbs 3:5-8)
You endure hardness. Your endure molding as a potter molds clay. You
endure refining like a smith removing the dross from the silver and
gold. ( 2 Timothy 2:3, Jeremiah 18:1-6, Malachi 3:1-4)
And because of this, you won’t have the desire or time to sin.
But, you will sin. We all sin. If you say you don’t sin, then you lie
and Christ is not in you. When we sin we confess it to Him daily, and
He washes our feet. He cleanses us of all unrighteousness and works to
help us to overcome. And to Him, it is as though we never sinned.
Period. (1 John 1:5-10, 1 John 3:9, Psalm 103:12)
We do not sin because He does not hold it against us. When God says something doesn’t exist. It is gone.
He overcame Sin. He overcame Satan. He overcame Death. (John 16:33)
It’s all gone. That’s a fact. We are over comers in Him. (1 John 4:4)
Our faith grows in Him. As we know Him. Our lamps are full of the oil of faith because we have seen Him moving in our lives. (Matt. 25:1-13)
If you spend your life focusing on not sinning, your focus is on yourself. Not Christ.
Just let it go. Let Him remove what He sees fit. Let Him break you
and remold you. Trust Him. You will see yourself, sinning less. It will
just happen, as you focus on Him and let Him work. Remember, it’s about
you and Him. It’s not about what others think. (John 21:21-22)
What is written above is hard. But, its also easy because you cannot
do it. You just turn to Him and let Him do it. It’s not a checklist of
things you do. It’s a relationship that grows in you and you gradually
see yourself doing more of these things. Remember, dead things do not
grow. Are you growing in Christ, or are you dead?
This life is but a breath. This world passes away. Just turn your focus to Him.
He has overcome the world. He is eternal. And He is in you.
In order to understand the Gospel. We must accept God's power and
authority. God has awesome power and can save whoever He wants. However
He wants.
1. God calls us. No one is saved without
first being called by Him. If you are saved. Then you are called. God
calls everyone. If you are reading this, then you are being called. God
uses many methods to call us and draw us to Himself. He might call us many
times in life. He calls everyone.
God speaks into our mind and hearts. When He calls we hear it and we know it's Him. We can either accept or reject.
We
might not understand. We might not want to hear Him. We might put it
off, or reject, but we cannot say He didn't call, and we didn't hear. He
is God. He knows. Be real.
But what about the
guy in the jungle somewhere? Yes. God has called him somehow, and he
has heard. Perhaps he looked at a starry night and thought someone made
this, and God spoke to him and said "I made it" and the man believed and
wanted to know more.
Whether he accepted or not is between him and God. Not all saved people will look like you.
God is working. Trust Him.
2.
Belief! A person hears the call and believes it's from God (
Full understanding is not required) and the person turns to God (repent)
God knows, God sees, God understands. Whether we do or not is
irrelevant.
The picture in the scriptures is
Jesus calling His disciples. He said, "come follow me" and they knew
they should listen and they followed. They did not know the cost. They
just heard and followed. Jesus did not require anything else.
Another
picture is the prodigal son. He "comes to himself" and goes home in
humility to the father, and the father comes running. The father
demanded nothing. When the son woke up, that is what happens when we
hear the call. We realize the Truth.
Another
picture is the thief on the cross. He was guilty. He knew it. He was one
step above death. And he realized who Jesus really was. He heard the
call in his heart and woke up. He called Jesus "Lord" and put his faith
in him. Nothing else.
Just turn to God and trust in Him. Be real with Him. Just ask.
3.
God will bring you to Jesus Christ. It might happen immediately or it
might happen later. But, God will show you that Jesus Christ is the
Lord. When we see it, we confess Jesus is the Lord and believe God
raised Him from the dead. ( Roman's 10:9-10)
When
you hear the call, then turn to God and confess Jesus is the Lord,
putting your faith in Him for salvation you are saved. You cannot lose
it or give it away. God holds it. He owns you. Your salvation is totally
on God. Not you.
4 What about works? Faith
without works is dead? Well, confessing Jesus is Lord with your mouth
is a work. And that's all God requires. Your faith and confession of
Christ.
When you get saved The Holy Spirit
comes to dwell in you and He teaches you. He grows you. He helps you in
your relationship with Jesus.
He leads you into
works. He leads you into Baptism which is a work.. He leads you into
Communion which is a work. He leads you into Fellowship with
other believers . He gives you a hunger to read God's Word..
The Holy Spirit helps you to Love God and others. He gives you a
ministry to serve God and others
5. Sin and sanctification. Notice I
said nothing about sin so far. Because before we are saved we do not really
know how fallen We are. We do not know how wicked we are. Sure we might
realize something is wrong. Or that we do things wrong. But we do not
fully know.
And we are not required to. God
knows. He calls us, and loves us anyway. He wants us to turn to Him and
confess Jesus is the Lord, so He can save us and cleanse us.
But
we are not required to understand all that. We might know we sin. We
might know we fail. We might know we need Him. But, we might not
understand. We just know He called us. And we need Him.
After we get saved. God washes us in the Blood of Christ. This cleanses us of all sin. Forever.
It is finished.
Then
as we walk through our lives, the Holy Spirit teaches us and grows us.
He molds us and shapes us and we become different people. We sin less
and less as He sanctifies us. But, we were already forgiven the day we
were saved.
When we sin we confess our sins to
God. This is a work. This brings it up between you and Him. And as you keep confessing
over time, the Lord changes your mind and heart and you find that you no
longer do those things. Confessing sin to God and growing and abiding in
Him is a work. But you were saved the minute you turned to Him.
It's all totally God. Not you. We are to turn, believe, confess and abide. All of which He helps us to do.
Praise Jesus. God does it. He has made it as simple as possible. We have no excuse.
-----
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
“Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing
ye are dull of hearing. For when for the time ye ought to be teachers,
ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of
the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of
strong meat. For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the word of
righteousness: for he is a babe. But strong meat belongeth to them that
are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses
exercised to discern both good and evil.”— Heb. 5:11-14
God’s Word teaches us that there is a difference between milk and meat when it comes to our growth in Christ.
There comes a point when we have read the Word, over and over. When
we have sat in all the bible studies and read commentary books. When we
have heard all the sermons for years. There comes a point when we are
supposed to be ready to serve Christ.
There comes a point where we step into our gift and start using it
for the Kingdom. When Church is no longer about sitting in the same pew,
listening to the same music, and the same sermon series, from the same
guy who gives only milk to drink.
The burden is on both the leader and the church member to grow.
If all a church member ever gets from the pastor or preacher is milk, then how are they supposed to be ready to consume meat?
If the pastor never hears from the Holy Spirit, or even talks about
the Holy Spirit, then who is guiding this man? Who is giving him his
sermon notes? Does he get his ideas from other preachers in books who
never spoke of the Holy Spirit? Men who never spoke as unto the Oracles
of God themselves?
The preacher is to tell the flock what the Holy Spirit tells him to
preach. It’s not about what the preacher thinks. It’s not a scholarly
task. If he says “I was thinking about this”, he is glorifying himself.
He should be teaching what the Spirit has told him. If he can’t “Speak
as the Oracle of God” meaning that he is speaking what God has told him
to say, then he needs to go sit down. He is too afraid to acknowledge
that he heard from God, because certain members of his congregation
would label him as crazy or false. The congregation should never think
that hearing from God is crazy. We are supposed to converse with God,
and we are supposed to be crazy for Jesus. (1 Peter 4:11)
That
doesn’t mean that a preacher cannot express his own opinion or tell
what his own understanding of the Word is. There are lots of places
where that’s needed. But, his view point must really be from the Word
and the Holy Spirit.
The congregation gets the preacher they deserve. If they are not
ready for meat, then they get a preacher who never preaches meat, and
the congregation will not grow in Christ. If the congregation doesn’t
read the Word, or spend time in prayer or service, fighting the fight of
faith how can they be ready for meat?
If all they know is from Bible classes and sermon series, then they
are babes. They have never been broken or know Christ. They have never
really learned from Him. They are like baby birds sitting in a nest
eating regurgitated food from their parents.
Have you ever read the Word? Have you ever really studied it? Not
cherry picked sermon series, but actually read and studied the Word? If
your pastor started teaching false things, would you really know?
If you get enlightened things from your pastor, and you have never
read or studied the Word for yourself, how do you know you are not just
getting really good milk? How do you know that it’s not just a good
speech? Good speeches can elicit emotions as well. It doesn’t mean the
sermon is from God.
The writer of Hebrews goes on to speak of what Milk is.
“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us
go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance
from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms,
and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of
eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.”—Heb. 6:1-3
If you do not know the basic doctrines of Christ well enough to go
out and teach others and preach the Gospel, then you are still a babe.
Have you asked the Holy Spirit to teach you? Do you realize your
teaching comes through getting up and serving? Do you read the Word? Do
you have real faith in God? Do you only get your doctrines from one man
teaching milk?
Does your pastor feed you milk, because he wants to keep the flock in
the pen so he can fleece them of tithes? Perhaps, you’re not growing in
Christ because the leader you keep following doesn’t really know Him?
Is he too afraid to preach the meat of the Word because he doesn’t want
to upset the rich people of the church who pay his salary?
We are called to be soldiers in Christ. We are supposed to be serving
God. That means that our pastors, preachers and teachers are supposed
to be letting the Holy Spirit, speak through them for the purpose of
getting people saved and preparing them to go forth and fight the true
fight of faith. They should be leading and providing means for them to
really serve. Not just waiting on tables or doing tasks, but exercising
their gifts for real out in the world. Not just sitting on committees
and doing bible studies.
We are supposed to be telling people about Jesus. Not bringing them
to church so that someone else can tell them about Jesus. The time we
waste between inviting a person to church and them showing up, is the
time Satan draws them away. We are supposed to be prepared to give the
Gospel at the moment Jesus brings someone to us. Not force them to wait a
week to come to church and hope the preacher happens to give the Gospel
that week. Are you really ready to serve? Can you not present the
Gospel? If not, then are you really saved? Do you understand it enough
to really know it? (1 Peter 3:15)
We are supposed to be taught by the Holy Spirit, and listen to his
guidance as He leads us to serve and learn from teachers who really
speak the Word. ( 1 John 2:27, John 16:13)
But, are we “dull of hearing” because we are lazy and sitting in that
same old pew? We have been lulled into a stupor and need woken up? Like
the writer of Hebrews says “For when for the time ye ought to be
teachers, ye have need that one teach you again “
They
had fallen into false doctrine. They had never grown. They did not
really know Christ because they were never taught by Him. They had left
the basic doctrines.
This is why the writer goes on to say some of the most terrifying words in the scriptures.
“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. For the earth which drinketh in
the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them
by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God: But that which
beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose
end is to be burned.”—Heb. 6:4-8
He is warning them. They had heard the Gospel. They had woken up with
joy. They had been partakers of the Holy Spirit’s work, and seen Him
move. But, they were still babes. They still consumed milk. They never
grew. This should be a red flag, that they never really got saved.
Since they never grew, they turned away into false things. They
turned from God and his salvation unto their own self-righteousness. You
must understand these are people who are sitting in the church reading
this letter.
They had turned away from the basic teachings of Christ. They had
turned to thinking they were saved by obeying the Law, and by doing good
works, instead of grace
by faith. This is why the writer speaks of relearning the basic
doctrines, when they should be teachers of it. Because they never really
got it.
These people did not lose their salvation,
they never really had it. They never really knew Christ. They just saw
the truth, but never really moved to accept it and become a part of it.
They just sat in their pews and ate the food, clapped to the music and
enjoyed the story telling from the pulpit. But, it never changed them.
It never led them to be saved. It never led them to grow in Christ.
These people are like the folks in the parable of the sower. The
tares among the wheat. They are birds in the tree, stealing the seed.
(Matthew 13)
They never really knew Him. The devil snatched the Word from their
heart. Persecutions and tribulations kept them from trusting God. The
flesh, the cares of this life and the deceitfulness of riches kept them
from really turning to God. They were never saved.
These folks are the foolish virgins. They are the ones who say “have we not done marvelous works in thy name?“.
They are the ones at the wedding feast in the wrong clothes, because
they never really put faith in God for salvation through Jesus Christ.
They trusted in their own works and their own name to save them. They
thought that living a life resisting temptation and not sinning was
knowing Christ. Ignoring the fact that Christ died for those sins, and
giving it all to Him and following Him. (Matthew 22, Matt 25)
They “crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an
open shame” because they never really accepted the salvation from Jesus
the first time. They did not accept the salvation Jesus gave them. They
are like Moses who hit the Rock twice, because his flesh did not allow
him to realize that all he needed to do was speak to the Rock, and get
water. It was his work, he thought, that brought out salvation, not the
finished work of Christ. ( Exodus 17:1-7 ,Numbers 20:1-12, 1 Cor. 10:4 )
We confess our sins and He cleanses us and changes us. That’s the relationship. We don’t change ourselves. Sinners cannot change their own sinful ways, for all they do breeds more sin.
Do you know Him? Are you ready for meat? Are you following the Holy
Spirit? Are you serving in your gift from God? Are you fighting the
enemy, helping and serving others?
Or are you sitting in a pew for years, getting milk from someone who probably should not have been a preacher?
Ask God to save you and grow you.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
Ok, so it’s obvious that when a Christian prays they pray in Jesus name. But, why do we do that?
Well, it comes from this verse. Jesus said,
“If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”— John 14:14, (John 14:13, John 15:16, John 16:23,24,26)
Jesus told us to do it. That should be enough. But, let’s dive deeper.
In the spiritual realms who you know and who you are, matters more
than what you’ve done and how much money you have. Your earthly position
or name does not matter in the spirit.
It is not like this world. It’s based upon truth, and your name. It’s based upon who you know.
Why do I say this.
Read this passage in Acts Chapter 19
“Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call
over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We
adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth. And there were seven sons of
one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil
spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame
them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house
naked and wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also
dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord
Jesus was magnified.”
Some religious people tried to cast out a demon. They did not use
Jesus’s name. They tried to cast out the spirit “by Jesus whom Paul
preacheth”. Not because they knew Jesus, but they wanted the power.
The spirit said. “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? “
This demon did not recognize their authority because they had none. They were not known.
This matters and will be explained.
Understand that these sons of Sceva, were professional exorcists in
Judaism. They had standing in their nation and religion. They had
standing in their blood. They were the sons of a chief priest, they had
standing in this world.
But, not in the Spiritual Realms.
You must understand that humans are fallen. We are totally depraved.
Our standing is less than dirt. We are sitting in the camp of Satan,
just waiting for Judgement, Hell and the Lake of Fire. We are sinners.
We have a corrupted nature. We do not know God. Until we turn to Him.
(Romans 3:10-18)
God calls us to be saved. (Romans 1;1, 1:6, Romans 8:28-30)
When we hear that call we turn to Him and ask Him to save us. (Repent) (Acts 2:38)
The picture is when Jesus came to the disciples, and said “Follow me”.
They dropped everything and left it behind and followed Jesus. ( Matt.4:17-23)
So, we confess “Jesus is THE Lord”. (Romans 10:9-10, 1 Cor. 12:3, 1 john 4:1-3, Matt. 16:13-19)
We give ourselves to Him, and we are born again, washed in the blood.
We die to this world and are now known BY Him. We are in Christ. We are
no longer our own. We are bought with a price. He died to purchase us
from Satan who is the god of this world. (John 3:1-36, Romans 5:9,
Romans 6, 1 Cor 6:20, 2 Cor. 4:4 )
Jesus is God. He is Lord. He is equal to the Father and the Holy Spirit. They are God.
So, we become known by Jesus. We are in Him, and what we do is by HIS name. Not our own.
The idea is a servant who does his Masters work. He does it in the name of the Master.
Without Jesus, we can do nothing.(John 15:5)
God the Father, and all things spiritual do not recognize our
position and authority. We have none. But, they recognize that we are a
servant of Jesus’s.
Now, we become known because we are in Christ. This is why Paul was
known. Not for his deeds, or righteousness or good works, but as a
servant of Christ.
When we know Jesus, and have a relationship with Him, we become known in Him.
On Judgement day, we stand before Christ and it matters whether He knows us or not.
Did we climb up some other way? Did we not have on the proper wedding garb? Did we have the oil of faith in our lamps? Did we really know Him? (John 10:1-18, Matt. 22:1-14)
We are acknowledging our fallen status and our submission to Him as our Lord.
We are showing that our name means nothing, it is by his name that we receive anything.
We are showing that we are His servants, and put our faith and trust in Him for our salvation and for everything.
It is a sign of who owns us and who we worship.
It is a witness to the saints, that you are truly in Christ.
Any prayer given, that is not in Jesus, name does nothing.
Do you know Him?
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
Yes, it is the modern equivalent of the Tower of Babel from the days of old.
It is a picture of the same battle that has been fought between good and evil since the Fall of man. Since the enemy rebelled against God. Since the Lord ascended and the promise of His return was given.
We can see throughout history, the struggle between forces.
We can see the common tongue, in Jesus day was Greek, and the violent Roman empire ruled the known world.
And it was through Greek, Latin and the roads of the Roman empire
that the Gospel was spread, and the saints grew in number, till the
Church became the religion of Rome.
Then, Satan used false leaders in the Catholic Church to suppress the Word, excommunicating and killing anyone who opposed them.
But, the Word was printed and translated into other languages so the
truth and the Gospel could spread. But evil spread with it, and tried to
stop it.
Kings of Europe, rose up and fought wars, colonizing, and spreading
their power around the world. Satan’s servants enslaving, murdering,
worshiping money, and annihilating entire people groups. Putting the
whole world in debt to the fallen ones.
But,
within it the Gospel and God’s Word spread around the world using The
Spanish, French and British languages and empires, as a tool.
Till the world broke free from the Kings, and formed new governments,
and Constitutions promising free religion and free speech to spread the
Gospel and God’s Word around the world.
But a new last days empire has arose, and was taken over by the same
desire to grow, and kill and exploit the world and create a New World
Order Kingdom of the Anti-Christ.
In the midst of it, the Gospel is spread globally, even in restricted countries.
Then the internet came into being. The new Tower of Babel, to unite the world.
But, it allows the saints through social media and websites to spread
the Gospel so the Word can be published in every nation, till the end
comes. (Matt. 24:14)
As governments, corporations and religious leaders work to quell
rebellion and to control free speech on line, working to silence
opposition, and to prepare for the coming of the Mark of the Beast. The saints continue to work.
While things move towards the final persecution of the saints when the Anti-Christ over comes them. (Daniel 7:21, Dan. 7:25, Rev. 13:7)
Till the Lord returns and sets up his ever lasting kingdom.
Are you working?
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
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!”
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.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
“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
You’ve seen the slogan
“Know Jesus. Know Peace. No Jesus. No Peace.”
But, what does it really mean and how do you obtain it?
It’s about having a relationship with Him.
It’s not about Faith, or Trust or Believing.
These things matter and are the first steps needed. They are important.
But, you can put your faith, trust and belief in a rock, and it won’t save you. It won’t bring you real peace.
You must have a relationship with Him. A relationship is give and take.
Faith, Belief and Trust is not. It is one way.
“O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.”—Psalm 34:8
You are “Blessed” when you trust, believe and have faith in Him. That
blessing is the relationship that comes from it. All the treasures in
the world is nothing compared to the relationship.
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh
to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that
diligently seek him.”—Heb. 11:6
When we put our faith in Him He rewards us when we diligently seek Him.
That’s relationship. We don’t stop at faith. We don’t stop at trust
or belief, we move forward into knowing Him and having a relationship
with Him. Our faith must lead to relationship.
We believe God’s Word, and stand on it in times of trouble. Then we
see God move and we grow in faith and relationship with Him. This brings
peace as we remember how He has been with us in the past. We have seen
Him move.
Remember, the demons of hell believe and tremble, because they do not
confess Him as Lord, they are in rebellion. They do not have a
relationship with Him. Many people pray to receive Christ, but never
really know Him. They never grow in Faith or have a relationship with
Him. (James 2:19)
God calls us. When we hear. When we believe, and turn to Him. Putting
our faith and trust in Him, confessing Jesus as our Lord. Trusting Him
alone for salvation. God places us IN Christ Jesus. (Romans 10:9-10)
Jesus died for us. When we ask to be saved and confess Him as Lord,
God places us within that salvation. He puts us on that Ark of
protection. He washes us with His Blood. We die with Christ, and are
born again with Him. That’s what it means to be IN Christ Jesus. Our
peace comes by being IN Him. It comes through Him, not us.
But, if you do not have a relationship, can you really say you are in
Him? Can you really expect to get anything like peace, through Him?
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves:
it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God
hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”—Eph. 2:8-10
We are saved by God’s Grace. Not works. We are saved through faith so
we can do good works IN Christ Jesus. The good works are based in our
relationship with Him. We are yoked together with Him in relationship
and service to God and others.
Ok, so what about Peace?
Well, when we are saved we receive the Holy Spirit.
God’s Spirit comes to dwell with us and in us. He comforts us and teaches us.
He helps us in our relationship with God (Himself).
He brings us gifts and develops fruit in our life.
If we do not quench His work. (1 Thess. 5:19)
“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is
no law.”—Gal. 5:22-23
When the Holy Spirit works in us He develops this fruit if we do not fight Him, or do things to stop it.
Remember, we are fallen beings. So we must develop the fruit because it is not natural for us.
Think of an adult who suffers an injury and must go to rehab to
relearn the most basic things. How to walk. How to eat. How to use their
hands.
It’s tough. It’s painful. It takes time. This is how the Holy Spirit develops His fruit in us.
This develops the relationship.
Understand
that the Fruit is the Fruit of the Spirit. It’s not ours. It’s not our
flesh. It’s Him in us. This is why we fail at times. We fall back into
our old self. Our flesh.
So, if we are really saved, and really seeking Him. Then, things will
come into our lives that will cause us to turn to Him, and the Holy
Spirit will use it to grow fruit in us.
We learn to love because God has shown us that He loves us.
We have peace because God has shown us a thousand times that He is there with us and everything will be fine.
We have joy because we see Him again.
We have patience because we know Him and can wait on Him forever, because he has taught us to.
We know goodness, gentleness and faith because we have learned it by
seeing Him working in our lives, and how he treats us and others.
We have temperance, because we need nothing but Him.
We learn Meekness through brokenness and being rebuilt by Him.
All of this is the relationship, and because of the relationship.
We confess our sins to Him and trust Him. (1 John 1:9)
We pray to Him and trust Him.
We see Him move, over and over again. And know Him.
Now we look at the verse in Philippians, and rightly divide it based upon relationship.
“Be careful for nothing; “…Because we know Him. We know He is with us and loves us.
“but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let
your requests be made known unto God.”…We can discuss anything with our
Father. He is on our side. He is with us and knows how best to help us.
We give thanksgiving because we believe His promise “Whatsoever you ask
in my name I will do.” (John 14:14) So we thank Him, knowing He is
moving.
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep
your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”… We have peace because we
know Him and we have his Holy Spirit. That peace is greater than
anything in this world, because God is greater, and we know Him and are
known of Him. He is with us and in us. Remind yourself of this. But,
remember it’s because we are IN Christ Jesus. It’s because we pray in
His name. It’s through Him that we have life, salvation and everything.
This is our peace.
We trust that whatever God does with our prayer to Him will be fine.
He loves us, “And we know that ALL things work together for good to
them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.” —-(Romans 8:28)
If you are saved, then you are called. If you have the Holy Spirit then you have love for God, and it is being developed in you.
So, why do I not have peace? You might ask.
When you exercise or lift weights you come to a point of muscle
failure. A point where you can’t lift anymore. A point where you strain.
But if you keep working you will eventually lift that weight with ease.
The Holy Spirit is developing fruit in you. It is like exercise. You will be pushed and grow from it.
We turn to God and He helps us, and we see Him moving and our faith grows, our peace grows, our love for Him grows. See?
That’s relationship. He is with us and nothing else matters.
Always turn to God, and He will be there and comfort you and help
you, and you will grow from it. Like a spotter in the Gym who puts his
hands on the bar. He’s got you. He shouts encouragement. You are ok,
just tough it out and trust the one who has your back.
And you will have more peace.
Remind yourself of His promises as you watch Him move in your life.
We encounter something in our life. We lean on the promises God has
given. We speak them out loud and faith grows. We see God move and we
grow to trust Him more, and this brings peace.
Trust Him. Study His Word. Trust His Word.
He’s got you. And that brings peace.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
There are some verses in the Bible which speak of predestination and
have led to many false and confusing beliefs in regards to it.
“Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,”—Eph 1:5
“In
whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated
according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel
of his own will:”—Eph. 1:11
There are folks who have used these verses to justify and teach the
belief that God; being sovereign allows people to be born, who are
predestinated to be thrown into hell. There is nothing to be done by
them to change it.
Likewise some people are born to be saved, they claim.
I have never believed this. Something in this doctrine causes my
spirit to reject it. It makes the idea of preaching and spreading the
Gospel, or trying to follow God, pointless.
I know those people who believe in predestination have their arguments and verses.
But, I’d like to show what I perceive to be true, from the Word. Of
course we cannot prove for a fact any of these things. But, I’d like to
get as close to God’s character and the Word as I can.
ALL humans are predestinated before and at birth to be saved. They
just don’t all make it through. Don’t fly off the handle, I’m not
speaking of a general salvation here. keep reading.
“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count
slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Pet. 3:9)
This
is Peter talking. He walked with the Lord. If everyone is predestinated
at birth to Heaven or Hell, then whats the point of this verse? What’s
the point of God desiring for all humans to turn to Him, if they are
already doomed or saved from birth?
What I’m going to teach here will probably be different than what
you’ve heard or been taught. But, we are called to avoid false teaching.
This subject has a lot of false doctrine around it.
Look in the Bible. When God created the Earth He predestinated that
all humans would be with Him. He made everything “Good”. All humans
would be in the Garden of God with God forever. But, the fall came and
corrupted humans. It destroyed the original plan. God’s original intent
is that we would be with Him.
Now apply this same concept to each of our lives. We are created in
the womb and born in a right standing with God until we fall personally.
We are all subject to death because of Adam, but we are only subject to
Hell because of our own personal fall. Just like the creation story. It
is a picture of our own spiritual life.
Adam and Eve, and all of creation has Free Will,
but God made everything as though humans would never fall. He still
treats us as though we will be with Him. Even though He knows the
future. That’s love.
Even though God knows the future and knew Adam and Eve would fall.
And He knows each of us will fall. He does the good, loving thing
anyway.
God is Love. He does Good, no matter what. All things work for the
good of those who love God. But, His good turns to bad in those who are
opposed to Him.(1 John 4:8, Romans 8:28)
Have you ever heard of the Book of Life? (Phil. 4:3, Rev. 3:5, Rev. 13:8, Rev. 17:8, Rev. 20:12-15, 21:27, 22:19)
This is a book that holds the names of all the people who are saved.
It’s my belief that God put every humans name in the Book of Life.
All humans are predestinated for salvation.
Do babies go to hell?
No. They have a right standing with God.
They face death because of Adam’s fall, but they do not face eternal
separation until they reach the age of accountability and willfully,
knowingly choose to Sin. They do not understand law and consequences.
(Rom. 5:13)
When a person reaches the age of accountability and chooses to
willfully sin, their name is blotted out of the book. They die
spiritually and are headed for hell and the lake of fire. This is
eternal separation from God, because they have become corrupt and
defiled by Sin. That’s what death is. Separation. Eternal death is a
quarantine. (Ex 32:32-33, Psa. 69:28, Rev. 3:5)
All humans sin, fall and face Hell. Until they hear God’s call and
turn to Him, for salvation, confessing Jesus is The Lord. (Romans
10:9-10, Romans 1:6-7, Rom. 2:4, )
The moment a person’s name is blotted out of the Book of Life, God
immediately starts to pursue them in Love. Seeking to save them. Calling
them to turn to Him.
If they hear, and turn, God saves them. Then, they can see the
predestination. They can see that God originally had them, then pursued
them and woke them up.
Once saved a person can see this. They can see how God worked in
their life and that He was always with them and trying. Then God, guides
them into the life He predestinated for them. (Eph 1:5, Eph. 1:11)
They
receive a new life. They are a new person. They are born again. They
have a new name written in the Lambs Book of Life. (John 3:3-5, 2 Cor.
5:17, Isa 66:2, Rev. 2:17. Rev. 3:12, Throughout scripture the Lord has
given the Saints new names.)
BUT…
Many people refuse to accept God’s call. All people hear it. But, not everyone turns to God. (Matt. 13:3-23)
God keeps trying. But, not everyone makes it. Not everyone turns to Him. (repent)
God predestinates everyone to salvation. But not everyone accepts it.
Why does this matter?
Because people need to know that they have free will.
They have a choice and can choose God and be saved and set free.
Many of the teachings of predestination, lead people to believe that
there’s no way to change things. They are just doomed, or a loved one
was just condemned, with no hope.
That is not the case.
God calls everyone to turn to Him and be saved.(2 Pet. 3:9)
Have you called on Him? (Rom. 10:13)
What I’ve told you here is what the Bible seems to teach on
Predestination. It is based in God’s character. He loves us and acts in
such a way to assume we will not fail and will be with Him. He pursues
us and works to save us. Then, when we turn to Him we can see how He has
worked in our lives and we know He was always there, trying. That is
what Paul means by predestination. That is what I’m speaking of here.
(Eph 1:5, Eph. 1:11)
Turn to God. He is there.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
God is working, even when it doesn’t seem like it.
Verse: “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
I failed in my life; and like so many others I had asked God to save
me when I was young. I went to church and I asked God to save me as a
child, but then life happened, and I got worse and worse. I’m not the
only one. I have spoken to so many people who have asked God to save
them, and help them. But, then they failed; and they could not keep
right, not even for a day. They could not measure up to the standards
the church people or family or friends put them under. I was the same.
We start going to church and we see the people who pretend to be
perfect, and we don’t measure up. Our life is rough. We don’t have all
the church boxes marked, so we feel judged. We feel that we cannot do
what God wants us to do. We hear sermons, where we are constantly beat
down and fail. So, we quit. We just give up and go back to living. We
can't do the church thing.
But, God did not give up on me. Every tough time in my life, was God
working in me trying to get me to listen to Him. Every good time, was
God showing me He cared. He was with me, even though I ignored Him until
I really needed Him. There are so many people walking around who think
God has cast them out. He hasn’t. If you asked Him to save you, He has,
and He is working.
Now, imagine you hired a contractor to save your crumbling house, and
make it great. But, you forgot you hired someone. Yet, you come home
and trip over boards lying around. You step in wet concrete. You get mad
because of the noise, and cannot figure out what’s going on. Your roof
is gone one day, and some unexpected rain gets in the house. Another
day, you feel nice and warm because all the drafts have been sealed, and
you have new windows, and new insulation. You never see someone
working, but something is up.
You can’t figure out what’s going on because you forgot that you
made a contract with a Master Builder. He comes and works every day.
But, even when he leaves the project to sit for a while, it’s for a
purpose. The concrete is drying. The drywall mud is drying. The
landscaping is growing. But, the Contractor is still working.
This
happened to me, I prayed to receive Christ when I was young, and I got
worse. I never realized the truth of it. But, I knew that He answered my
prayers. Finally, He woke me up, through life’s breaking power, and I
threw myself on Him. Then I started to learn of Him, and grow in Him.
Now I see the boards on the ground, and the wet concrete. I enjoy seeing
the landscape grow; because I’ve let Him teach me, and wake me up. I’ve
studied The Builders Manual. I’ve been taught by the Spirit.
Now I can look back at my life and see that He was there, and working
all along. No matter what family said, no matter what the church said,
no matter what friends and enemies said. God was there working, and He
never abandoned me. No matter how bad I am, He is there working as He
promised. Even still today, He is there. Everything that happens to me
is Him working in some way. Turn to Him, and learn of Him. Ask Him to
save you and teach you His ways. Listen to His still small voice and
follow Him. I know it’s hard. Tell Him it’s hard, and that you need Him
to do it. Then, watch Him move.
He works on us. He grows us. He does not cast us aside.
Bio: Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
“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 Jesusis 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.
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. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ a collection of dystopian short stories.“The Future is Coming” and his latest book “The Latter Days‘ is a book on Bible Prophecy and avoiding the deceptions to come.
There has been a debate since the days of the Apostle Paul, regarding salvation by faith versus works.
I'll give you a hint. It's neither. It's Grace. Both Faith and Works rely on human power in some way
But, I want to talk about sanctification, and I'm going to use an analogy to do it.
Sanctification comes after salvation.
We get saved by hearing God calling us, and turning to Him (Repent) and confessing Jesus as Lord.
Let me break it down.
Everyone who is saved was called. That is grace. We realize that God is real and he is there for us and wants to save us. We believe what He has told us in our heart. That is faith. We turn to Him and ask Him to save us, confessing that Jesus is our Lord. That is faith and works. (Romans 10:9-10, James 2:26)
Salvation and sanctification are kind of like getting a job.
You need a job so you fill out an application. The human owner decides whether he needs you and if you can make him money.
But,
God wants you. He made a way for you, before you even knew you needed one. He doesn't care about your
background or skills or college or attitude. He just wants you to come.
So if you want Him, you are hired. God trains you and gives you everything you need to serve HIM. He is the boss. Remember this.
So, now comes sanctification. Which is where God works in our lives to change us. A lot of changes occur when we first get saved. But, there are things that we need to work on our whole life.
Let's continue with the analogy.
So, let's say you show up late to work.(sin)
A human boss warns you and threatens to fire you. (Punish you and throw you in hell)
But. God is not like that. He forgives you and looks into your life to see
what's up. He might change your mind. Or make some adjustments to your
circumstances so you can be on time, without a rush or hurting yourself
or others. He works to correct us or solve our problem, or set us free from some bondage. he does not cast us away.
That's how it works. God works in us and with us to fix us.He saved us already, now He continues to work. That is sanctification. The Holy Spirit helps us to grow, if we are willing to listen.
Too many people believe their heavenly father is like the boss or their earthly father. He is not.
God is not a slave driver. He doesn't need to be. When He speaks something, he knows for a fact that it will happen. There is no doubt.
Sometimes sanctification leads to correction or brokenness. When we get saved we are basically giving ourselves to God, because we need Him and He knows whats best. So, we have given Him permission to work on us as He sees fit. (Prov. 3:11-12)
In our lives we often find that we have gone the wrong way or that we have become entangled with some problem. Perhaps a hurtful lifestyle or addiction.
In order to grow us and help us, God must sometimes take drastic measures to set us free from bondage. We might be at what we call rock bottom and lose everything and everybody. We might become broken. It's terrible and painful, but He is there with us to protect us.
Like a refiner's fire.He controls the heat to melt the precious metal and remove the dross or crud. All of this works to make us of greater use by Him. (Malachi. 3:1-3)
We often find ourselves broken by this process of correction or setting us free.
This brokenness leads to meekness.
People think meekness is weakness. It's not.
Brokenness is like a powerful horse being broken by his master. He does not lose his power, but he becomes usable. This is meekness.
This is sanctification.
This is why some folks have their lives torn apart after they get saved. God is setting them free. He has saved them, now He is working to remove things that are bad for them.
The temptation at this point is to fight what is happening, or run away. But, that only makes things worse.
Remember Jonah.
God spoke to Jonah and Jonah refused. He ran away. All kinds of bad stuff started happening to Jonah; storms and even getting swallowed by a fish, till he was broken and accepted God's will.
Prison or a hospital bed could be your fish.
Turn to God. Read His Word. Listen to the Holy Spirit.
When you turned to God and asked Him to save you, He promised He would. Sanctification is a part of that. We never really know how bad we are and how much God must remove from us. We sometimes, need a lot of pruning in order to bear fruit for the Kingdom.
Remember, God is with you. You have turned to Him and He is there, no matter what you are facing.
Remember ALL things work together for good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. (Rom 8:28)
Everything that happens in our life can be used by God to grow us and serve Him. The key is to turn to Him in everything. Suffer in Him. Do not run from Him.
Not everything bad that happens is caused by God. We have an enemy. We live in a fallen world. We also do things to cause problems for ourselves. But, EVERYTHING can work for our good, when we turn to Him and give it to Him.
I have had terrible things happen in my life. Most of it was my fault. Most of it was because I listened to the enemy.
But, I love those terrible things because God used them to set me free.
Would I change it?
I wish I had not been so foolish. But, it all drew me closer to God, and made my life better. So, I would not change it for the world.
When we know Him, He becomes more valuable than this world, this life, family, or anything we can think of.
That is how sanctification works.
It works to build the relationship. If you really know Him.
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Bio:Chris Bunton is a writer, poet and blogger from
Southern Illinois. He has published in several magazines, and has
written a poetry eBook called “Against the Man” and an Addiction Recovery eBook called “Made Free: Overcoming Addiction“ His newest book is called “The Future is Coming” and is a collection of dystopian short stories.
