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WHAT WE CANNOT AFFORD TO NEGLECT

7/13/2022

July 13, 2022 WHAT WE CANNOT AFFORD TO NEGLECT
Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
1 Peter 2:2 “like new born babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”
2 Timothy 3:16-17, 2:15 “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.”
The most costly thing we could neglect is the word of God. Other than the word of God, there is nothing that can penetrate to the deepest part on our human makeup; and no other book reveals the truth of God. The word of God is inspired by the perfect, all wise God who created us; He knows us completely-He knows us much better than we know ourselves. The word of God is unlike any other book ever written or ever will be written; His word is THE truth; it reveals the nature of God, it gives wisdom, it guides, it reproves and corrects, it reveals our new identity, it gives hope and comfort, and it reveals our destiny as His sons and daughters. His word never fails and it never returns to Him void. Isaiah 55:11. The word of God trains us in righteousness and equips and enables us to live according to the ways of God. If we see reading God’s word as a duty, or something we are supposed to do as Christians, we have not yet discovered that in His word, we find life. As mentioned in a recent blog, it is good and proper for us to receive the word of God as our instructional manual for life. Finally, we are not just to read the word of God, then go our merry way; not only are we to read the word, we are to do the word. May we “long for the pure milk of the word, that by it, you may grow in respect to salvation.”
Luke 11:28 “He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”
Psalm 119:130 “The unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.”
Matthew 4:4 “Jesus answered, ‘It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’”
Blessings,
Buddy

NOT OUR OWN

7/11/2022

July 11, 2022 NOT OUR OWN
1 Corinthians 6:19-20, 8:6 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” “yet but for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and we exist for Him; and one Lord, Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we exist through Him.”
John 1:12-13 “But to all who did receive Him, who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or the will of the flesh nor for the will of man, but of God.”
It’s a red-letter day-it’s life changing-it’s a major adjustment-it’s a new mind-set-when we come to realize that we are not our own but have been bought with a price. To believe that we are not our own is not just a mental agreement and is not theory, or just something to talk over at coffee. It’s the real deal. The issue of ownership is important; the one who owns has authority over what he owns. If one works for the owner of a business, he is expected to follow the directions of the owner. Man tends to resist being owned-the heart of man is to pursue whatever he wants. As believers, we must from our hearts and minds, understand this major truth that we are not our own; we have been bought with a price and we belong to another. Knowing, and accepting the fact that we now belong to God, impacts every aspect of our lives. There is no compartmentalizing of what is spiritual and what is not; or what part of my life is mine and what part is God’s. Slavery has a bad connotation, but Romans 6:22 tells us that we are ‘slaves of God.’ Another absolutely amazing part of not being our own is that we were born of God-not by the decision or will of our earthly parents! God knew us long before our physical birth; we exist because God created us! As we see in the verses above, we exist for Him; we do not exist for ourselves. Our place is to bow our Father, thanking Him that He created us and bought us out of sin, redeeming us to Himself. Existing for Him means that we live life knowing that He is our Lord and we do the things that are pleasing to Him; we exist to bring honor to Him and to do His bidding. As His sons and daughters, we are stewards who go about being His ambassadors, demonstrating the nature of God our Father. Let us make decisions and go about daily activities, knowing that we belong to Him-that we are not our own. The good news is that knowing we are not our own but that we belong to Him leads to life. Our Master is a good Master!
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
Psalm 100:3 “Know that the Lord, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture.”
Romans 14:8 “For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s.”
Blessings,
Buddy

MARCHING ORDERS

7/9/2022

July 9, 2022 MARCHING ORDERS
1 Thessalonians 4:1, 5:15-21 “Finally, then brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that, as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God (just as you actually do walk), that you may excel still more. For you know what commandments we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.” “See that no one repays another with evil for evil, but always seek after that which is good for one another and for all men. Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine yourselves carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Christian life is a call to action on our part. God reached down to man, and through the sacrifice of His Son, He opened the door for man to be saved and joined to Himself; God initiated our great salvation; we can take no credit for being born again as new creations. However, our part is to embrace and respond to the work of God in our lives. You could rightly say that the word of God, the bible, is the book that introduces us to God, and a book that instructs us how we are to conduct ourselves in life on this earth. The word of God is not the wisdom of the world, but the wisdom of God; most, if not all of the teachings and instructions found in God’s word are in opposition to the wisdom of the world. The passage above is just one of many passages that gives specific instruction; but understand that only by the work of the Holy Spirit in us can we live out the instructions of God’s word. We also must understand that when we discover our new identity as new creations in Christ with new minds, new spirits, and new hearts, walking in, and keeping God’s word becomes our pleasure and our desire. From the verses above, we see that we have received instructions as to how we ought to walk and please God. Paul prayed that God would completely sanctify the believers he was writing to. To sanctify means to set apart for service, to be made holy. There is no room for being luke-warm when it comes to living out the gospel; we must see that God is our life and everything we do is to flow out of our relationship with our Father. His words are life. Let us not be guilty of reading God’s word and not living out His commands that lead to life. To keep the ways of God, His commands, is to experience life indeed; His commands are not burdensome. Another blessing of walking in God’s word is that it eliminates doubt and uncertainty about how we are to live; and by following His word, we have peace and hope. May we thank God that He has revealed Himself to us and has given us clear instructions on how we are to live.
1 John 2:5 “But whoever keeps His word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in Him.”
Blessings,
Buddy

LIFE

7/7/2022

July 7, 2022                                                              LIFE
John 6:35, 8:32 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”     “When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”
1 John 5:12, 4:9 “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”   “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.”
Matthew 10:39 “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for My sake will find it.”
Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
If you read the entire New Testament, you would conclude that one of the main points is that life is found only in Jesus; you would also find that one being alive physically does not necessarily mean that they have life. Before Adam and Eve sinned, they enjoyed life with God; however, when sin entered the world, the life they knew with God suffered. The good news for us is that Jesus came to restore us back to the Father; He dealt with the sin issue that had plagued man up until Jesus came. The one that does not know Jesus as Savior does not have life. I do not know how to define or describe the life that we have in Christ, but it has to do with our deepest longings be filled and experiencing Jesus in a personal way. Jesus said that all who come to Him find life; it is implied that one who ‘comes to Jesus’ is turning from all others and from all things and is trusting all that Jesus is and believing all that He said and that He is the only one who can save. When one ‘goes to Jesus,’ it is because Jesus is drawing that person to Himself. Jesus also said that whoever believes in Him will never thirst. We over use the word believe, but to believe means to count it as so; believing in Jesus is to accept as totally true everything that Jesus says and then acting or embracing the gospel as a way of life. The life that Jesus gives does not disappoint; it overcomes; and it fills and satisfies our deepest longings. We were created in the image of God, and it was and is His desire that we live according to His design where we experience true life. Jesus came that we might be delivered from bondage and life that was unfulfilling; He came to give us abundant, over-flowing life. The life that Jesus offers is about trusting Him and believing that He holds to keys to life and that only in Him can we find salvation. A part of experiencing the life that Jesus offers is to turn from our ways and to seek His ways. As said above, it is difficult to define the life that Jesus offers, but it is a fact that life is found only in Jesus. When Jesus is our life, then all we do flows out of the life He brings. The wonderful thing is that living His life has no regrets-it’s life indeed.
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”
Blessings,
Buddy

LIFE

7/7/2022

July 7, 2022                                                              LIFE
John 6:35, 8:32 “Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.”     “When Jesus spoke again to the people, He said, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’”
1 John 5:12, 4:9 “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”   “By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.”
Matthew 10:39 “Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for My sake will find it.”
Romans 8:2 “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death.
If you read the entire New Testament, you would conclude that one of the main points is that life is found only in Jesus; you would also find that one being alive physically does not necessarily mean that they have life. Before Adam and Eve sinned, they enjoyed life with God; however, when sin entered the world, the life they knew with God suffered. The good news for us is that Jesus came to restore us back to the Father; He dealt with the sin issue that had plagued man up until Jesus came. The one that does not know Jesus as Savior does not have life. I do not know how to define or describe the life that we have in Christ, but it has to do with our deepest longings be filled and experiencing Jesus in a personal way. Jesus said that all who come to Him find life; it is implied that one who ‘comes to Jesus’ is turning from all others and from all things and is trusting all that Jesus is and believing all that He said and that He is the only one who can save. When one ‘goes to Jesus,’ it is because Jesus is drawing that person to Himself. Jesus also said that whoever believes in Him will never thirst. We over use the word believe, but to believe means to count it as so; believing in Jesus is to accept as totally true everything that Jesus says and then acting or embracing the gospel as a way of life. The life that Jesus gives does not disappoint; it overcomes; and it fills and satisfies our deepest longings. We were created in the image of God, and it was and is His desire that we live according to His design where we experience true life. Jesus came that we might be delivered from bondage and life that was unfulfilling; He came to give us abundant, over-flowing life. The life that Jesus offers is about trusting Him and believing that He holds to keys to life and that only in Him can we find salvation. A part of experiencing the life that Jesus offers is to turn from our ways and to seek His ways. As said above, it is difficult to define the life that Jesus offers, but it is a fact that life is found only in Jesus. When Jesus is our life, then all we do flows out of the life He brings. The wonderful thing is that living His life has no regrets-it’s life indeed.
John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.”
Blessings,
Buddy

LIKE MERE MEN

7/5/2022

July 5, 2022 LIKE MERE MEN
1 Corinthians 3:1-3 “And I, brethren, could not speak to you as spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealously and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?
Jude 3: Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”
Some passages of scripture challenge us, even correct us when needed-this is one of those passages. Paul was writing to believers who were not growing in the faith, but had remained as ‘babes in Christ;’ Paul had to give them milk to drink, not solid food. I wonder about many of us believers today; are we getting a diet of milk, or solid food when it comes to our spiritual health. The believers Paul was addressing were still fleshly; fleshly refers to that part of us that is in opposition to the Spirit of God-that part of us that wants to live according to our own dictates and preferences. Living according to the flesh always produces bad fruit such as jealously, strife, dissentions, unrest-and the list goes on. The point of these passages is to encourage us to contend for the faith; strong healthy faith does not happen automatically-we must contend for it. 1 Timothy 6:12 admonishes us to “Fight the good fight of faith,” and in the verse above in Jude, we are told to “contend earnestly for the faith.” If not alert, we become spiritually lazy and become as ‘babes in Christ.’ I do not have a clear and concise definition of how we are to contend for the faith and how we are to fight the good fight of faith, but we can identify some aspects of doing so. Ephesians 4:23 instructs us to be renewed in the spirit of our mind; we are to continually be setting our mind on the ways of the Lord-to make choices that lead to spiritual growth. Certainly we are to routinely read the word of God and to be increasing in our knowledge of Him. There are times when the pull of our flesh is strong, encouraging us to go our way instead of His way; in such times we must deny the flesh and make the choice to ‘yield our members as instruments of righteousness’ and walk in His way and do the things that are pleasing to Him. Also, we find strength and encouragement when we spend time with other believers as we experience the Lord together and as we encourage one another. Much could be said about contending for the faith, but I trust that we are being reminded to continue to grow in our faith and be able to receive the meat of God’s word. Let us not live like mere men and women, but live in the power and the love of God, growing in the faith which was ‘once for all delivered to the saints.’
2 Peter 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever.”
Blessings,
Buddy

HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED

7/3/2022

July 3, 2022 HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED
Romans 5:1-5 “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we also have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Our salvation is much more than a ticket to heaven once we die. From the moment one accepts Christ as their Savior, they receive a salvation that is complete and permanent, impacting every facet of their life. Of course, after one is born again, he or she is to be growing in regards to their salvation and to be maturing in their faith; even though it is complete, there is a growing process. Those who are saved, have been justified; simply put, they have been declared righteous by God as a result of their faith in Christ. Because God views us as righteous or justified, we have peace with Him-don’t take that lightly-we are at peace with God! God sees us as righteous, even though we at times sin; that’s why we may have difficulty seeing ourselves as righteous. We must remember that we are in Christ, and He is righteous, thus we are deemed righteous. That truth is what makes the death and resurrection of Jesus so amazing; He redeemed us and became the sacrifice for our sins. At salvation, we are introduced to the grace in which we stand; we can spend a life time discovering more about the grace and greatness of God and of the inheritance reserved for those who know God. Jesus told us that we will experience trials and difficulties in this life, but He said to take heart, because He had overcome the world. As believers, we do not escape trials; but God uses the trials we go through to work good things in us. We may not like to exercise, but the fruit of exercise is good-so it is with trials. Another awesome truth that makes all of these things possible is that the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. No longer are we limited to human love; NOW we have the love of God in us, and we can now live in a way that is pleasing to God and a way that is like God! We can relate to others in a way that reflects the very nature of God. For example, instead of responding with impatience, we can be patient; instead of being selfish, we can be givers, and etc. If we let it, the love of God in us controls us. The verse above says ‘having been;’ Christ HAS redeemed us; we HAVE been made complete; we HAVE been justified; and we HAVE peace with God. Let us continue to explore and learn more about the grace that we have been introduced too.
Colossians 2:9-10 “For in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form, and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over every ruler and authority.”
Blessings,
Buddy

LIVING BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT

7/1/2022

July 1, 2022 LIVING BY FAITH, NOT BY SIGHT
2 Corinthians 5:7 “for we walk by faith, not by sight
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Romans 1:17, 5:1 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 16:13 “Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.”
1 Timothy 6:12a “Fight the good fight of faith.”
There is a tendency for us to live by what we see, by logic, and by human understanding. However, one of the core teachings of the gospel is that of living by faith; not blind faith, or faith in our own ability, but faith in God and all that He has said. This is not to say there is no place for logic or reasoning, but it is saying that our faith in God is to be the guiding principle we live by; if logic contradicts our faith in God, then we are to live by faith. Faith is not something we muster up; Romans 10:17 tells us “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.” For many, faith is a very broad term and the word faith is used lightly; but true faith in God is specific and well defined. One gains faith as he hears and receives as true the words of Christ. The obvious point is that for our faith in God to be strong, we must be hearing and or reading the words of Christ and embracing all that He has said. The words Jesus spoke are not up for debate; His words are unalterable and they stand forever. In this world in which we live, there are many voices and many forces calling us to live according to our own dictates or according to what others say. Our battle is to stand firm in our faith. There is a warning for us; we cannot take pride in our faith as our faith is not something we produce; faith is a gift from God as we see in Ephesians 2:8. In the Hebrews verse above, we are told that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen.” If we are focusing on what we ‘see,’ then we will find many things to discourage us, frustrate us, and defeat us. Faith looks beyond what we see; faith believes that God is at work in our present circumstances. And we can be assured that our hope in Christ and the plans He has will come to pass. Faith sees beyond; faith gives us peace in the present; faith overcomes fear, doubts, discouragement, confusion, and hopelessness. Living by faith does not happen automatically; we must “fight the good fight of faith;” we must exercise our faith. Let us ask God to cause us to be people who live by faith in Him, and not by sight.
Matthew 7:24-26 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock. And the rain descended, and the flood came, and the wind blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
Blessings,
Buddy

June 29th, 2022

6/29/2022

June 29, 2022 A GOOD CONSCIENCE
1 Timothy 1:5 “But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”
Acts 24:16 “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before man.”
Hebrews 13:18 “Pray for us, we are sure that we have a good conscience, desiring to conduct ourselves honorably in all things.”
Colossians 3:17 “whatsoever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by Him.”
There is great value in having a good conscience. It’s very simple: a good conscience is the result of doing the right things, thinking the right thoughts and having pure motives. A bad or guilty conscience continually nags at us and robs us of peace and joy. The good news is that we can gain a good conscience even though we have done wrong and have sinned against God and others. When our conscience is bad, when we have that feeling of ‘I was wrong,’ the way to regain a clear conscience is to confess we were wrong, and if we wronged another person, ask their forgiveness. (If we wronged someone years ago and we no longer have contact with them, we do not necessarily need to try locate them and ask their forgiveness-but if we cross paths with them, then be willing to deal with it; how you deal with the wrongs you may have committed way in the past is a personal issue between you and the Lord.) Often, a bad conscience is a result of thoughts and internal desires that do not involve others. If and when a believer neglects the Lord and turns to their own way, they will experience a bad conscience. It is a blessing to have a conscience; suppose people had no sense of right and wrong and could do evil with no remorse. God placed within man a conscience to serve as a guide-its part of our human make-up. However, in addition to a conscience, God gives believers the Holy Spirit to guide and equip us. I cannot give a clear definition of the difference of how the conscience works and how the Holy Spirit works, except that the Spirit of God reveals to us the ways of God and enables us to walk in His ways. (1 Timothy 4:2 gives a sobering warning concerning the conscience, saying that the conscience can be seared.) One may debate the difference between the conscience and the work of the Holy Spirit, but the critical point is that we live and conduct ourselves in such a way that we have a good conscience before God and before man. A worthy goal to set each morning is to live the day in such a way that we can go to sleep that night with a clear conscience. It’s all about making right choices and doing what is right moment by moment. Let us thank God that He has placed within us a conscience and has also given us the Holy Spirit; even the weight of a bad conscience is a blessing-it is God’s way of calling us back to Him.
1 Peter 3:15-16 “but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who ask you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing to which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”
Blessings, Buddy

SUPPRESSING THE TRUTH

6/27/2022

June 27, 2022 SUPPRESSING THE TRUTH
Romans 1:18-21 “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks to Him; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” God is a God of love, compassion, grace, and forgiveness; but we also learn in the scriptures that He pours out His wrath, He judges, and He takes vengeance. There is a lot of talk and council about the love of God; but little talk about the ‘uncomfortable’ attributes of God. If we do not think the wrath of God is evident today, we are in denial. The above verse reveals a truth we often overlook; God has made Himself known to all, but some suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Man is without excuse; he has a knowledge of God, but he suppresses the truth. The results of not honoring God as God and not giving thanks to Him, but instead suppressing the truth of God is tragic. In Romans 1:28 we read “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper.” Rejecting the truth of God puts one in a downward spiral that has no good ending; how horrible to be given up to a depraved mind. One obvious sign of a depraved mind is that of calling what is evil good, and what is good, evil; sad to say, we see that currently taking place in our culture. We have been talking about those who reject God; but what about us who believe? Certainly we are to embrace the love and mercy of God, but we also should have a healthy respect and fear of God-the right kind of fear. We must live with the realization that we can choose to live according to our flesh, and not according to the Spirit; we must be spiritually diligent. And, we must always be willing to speak the truth of God with our words and with the life we live. We are instructed in Ephesians 5:11 “And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them.” We are to walk in the light in a dark world-to let our light shine. Let us give honor to God and continually give thanks to Him and continually be seeking to grow in our knowledge of Him.
Romans 1:22 “Professing to be wise, they became fools,”
Hebrews 10:39 “But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but are of those who have faith and preserve their souls.”
Blessings,
Buddy