April 20, 2022                                                      JUSTIFIED
Romans 4:25 “He who was delivered up because of our transgression, and was raised up because of our justification.”
Today, we do not often hear messages and sermons dealing with justification; yet, justification is a key element of the gospel. If we do not understand what it means for us to be justified before God, we will live with a wrong view of who we are as believers. Obviously, the subject of justification is a deep and broad; perhaps we can ‘scratch the surface’ a bit in this brief blog. I read an article on line (could not find the authors name) and found the following definition of justification. “(1) The act by which God moves a willing person from the state of sin to the state of grace. (2) The change in a person’s condition moving from a state of sin to a state of righteousness, or (3) the act of acquittal whereby God gives contrite sinners the status of the righteousness.” Jesus paid the price for our sin; now God sees us as righteous because the sin issue has once and for all been dealt with; we have been acquitted before God.  We may see our sin and conclude that we are not righteous; the idea of being justified before God even though we sin seems contradictory. Yet-that is the case. We are not justified by our works; it is the grace of God that justifies us. One could come to a wrong conclusion and say that since God see us as justified and righteous, it does not matter that we sin. That view would be far from the truth. Because we are justified and have been made righteous in His sight, we are to walk in righteousness and justification and to make no provision for the flesh. Believers can and do sin but they do so by choice; when a believer sins, he is to confess it as sin and turn from it. The subject of justification is not just for the seminary class room or for theological discussion; it has very practical application for believers. How we view our standing before God is crucial; we are not sinners who must relate to God from a distance and we need not fear God. We are sons and daughters of God who have been made clean-and have been justified-and have been acquitted from all sin; our relationship with our Father has been restored. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross dealt with the sin issue, and gave us direct access to God. Let us live with the correct understanding of who we are as children of God and let us live and conduct ourselves according to who we are in Christ.
Colossians 2:13-14 “And when you were dead in your wrongdoings and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.”
Blessings,
Buddy  

 
April 18, 2022                                       SANCTIFIED  IN  TRUTH
John 17:17-22 “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth. As Thou didst send Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one; even as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. And the glory that which Thou has given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as we are one.”
John 17 is often referred to as the ‘high priestly prayer of Jesus.’ Jesus saw the believers as being a gift to Him from His Father-and He loves the gift; in fact Jesus gave everything, even His life for those given to Him. Jesus knew He was about to return to the Father when He prayed this prayer; and this prayer  came out of the heart of Jesus for the well-being of His followers-including you and I-after He returned to the Father. Even from a human standpoint, one can understand that Jesus certainly understood the dynamics of Him leaving the ones He loved here on earth-thus He prayed this priestly prayer for His followers. Jesus used the word ‘sanctify’ several times; it means to ‘set apart.’ We are to be sanctified in truth-and His word IS truth. We must know truth that is found only in the word of God if we are to live in the truth of who God is and who we are in Him; learning of Him and the truth of His word sets one apart for living according to the ways of God. Jesus often spoke about unity; Jesus and the Father were one; and He desires that we be one and be in Him and the Father as they are in us. Jesus is saying that when we are in the truth that comes from God, we have the blessing of being in unity with each other and with Jesus and the Father. This unity that Jesus is referring to is a super-natural unity; even though each of us are unique and have often have different perspectives, we can nonetheless be in unity; there no longer has to factions and divisions. I do not fully understand it, but the glory that God gave to Jesus, Jesus has given it to us. When the world sees this unity among believers and the unity they have with Jesus and the Father, they will know that God sent Jesus. So, the lives we live, the way conduct ourselves, and believing the truth is super important because our lives are a picture of the relationship we have with our Father and a picture of God at work in us. We have been sent into the world to be living, walking, talking pictures of what it looks like to live in Christ-in unity with each other and with our Father; and to live in the truth of God.
John 17:25-26 “O righteous Father, although the world hast not known Thee, yet I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou didst send Me; and I have made My name known to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou didst love Me may be in them, and I in them.”
Blessings.
Buddy
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April 16, 2022                                I  AM  THE  RESURRECTION  AND  THE  LIFE
John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?
Romans 6:4-6 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in  newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, that our body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin; for he who has died is freed from sin.”
It is the resurrection of Jesus that changes everything. Jesus being raised from the dead two thousand years ago was not an isolated event. All that Jesus endured-the false trial; being beaten beyond recognition, mocked, nailed to a cross and hung there to die a cruel death-He did ON OUR BEHALF! Today, we celebrate His resurrection for good reason; His resurrection means that we are resurrected! Our death is not a physical death on a cross, but a death to our old self where we are freed from the power of sin-the old us died with Him. (From previous blogs, we see that if we sin, we do so because we choose to do so; the power of sin over us has been broken.) When Jesus walked out of the tomb, it was not only a victory for Him, it was a victory for us. We can rightly say that when Jesus walked out of the tomb, we walked out with Him! And that is not all; even if we die-we live! The resurrection put an end to death for those who believe in Him. The point is not about physical death, for all will die a natural death unless He returns before that time; it is about dying to ourselves and presenting ourselves alive to God; our spirit-the real us- will never die! Yet, His resurrection impacts our natural life-the here and now; because Jesus was raised from the dead, we can “walk in newness of life!” No longer must we live in a mundane way, or in worry, doubt or fear, or in a hopeless way. We all like the idea ‘newness;’ and that is what we have if we know Christ as Savior and we have died to ourselves. It may sound like one of those ‘pipe dreams,’ but yes, we can walk in a sense of newness, a sense of vibrant life, a sense of purpose and excitement, and a sense of what lies a ahead. That is not to say that we will not experience trials, because we will; it does say that we are overcomers in the trials and that we know God is present with us, giving us all we need in difficult times. For these, and other scriptures to be experienced and lived out, we must know in the deepest part of our being, our true identity as sons and daughters of God; we must believe we are who God says we are. May we celebrate this Easter for what it is-resurrection and new life. “Christ is Risen, He is Risen Indeed!”
Matthew 28:6 “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said. Come see the place where He was lying.”
Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”
Blessings,
Buddy

April 14, 2022                                          WORDS  AND  MEDITATION
Psalms 19:14: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my rock, and my Redeemer.”
 
What a great prayer! This is a wonderful prayer in that it gets to the root, or foundation of our life. The words that proceed from our mouth and the meditations of our hear reflect who we are. There is nothing higher or greater than having a desire to live our life in a way that is pleasing to the Father. We can say words that we really don’t mean, but generally speaking, our words come from our heart. We know that words are powerful-they have the power to build up or tear down. Proverbs 18:21 points out the power of words: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”  Because of the power of words, we must be on guard in regards to what we speak, and like the psalmist, we should desire that our words be pleasing to God. The meditations of our heart refers to the things that we think about, or meditate on. Our heart has a basic mode of thought, or perspective that is dominant. This basic heart condition or perspective is the crux of our lives. If our heart is right- if the “meditations of our heart” are pleasing to the Lord- then our life will be right. At salvation, God gives us a new heart, a new spirit, and a new mind; however, we must choose to walk in the Spirit-to follow the leading of the Spirit-if we are to live out of our new heart. It is possible to choose not to walk after the Spirit, and in such a case, we live according to our own dictates. The new heart we get at salvation can and should be nurtured so that we grow in the Lord. We nurture the heart by reading God’s word, by obeying what He says, by giving expression to what God is saying to us, by relating to other believers in the body of Christ (the Church), by prayer and by worship. As in the verse above, we can meditate on God and His word, and all of His attributes, and on how the word of God impacts our life. It is possible to meditate on how to please ourselves, to become jealous or envious, become bitter, or whatever; but to do so produces bad fruit and it is not pleasing to the Father.
We must remember that God made us, and He has made provision for us to experience life to the fullest. The unregenerate human nature is at odds with the new nature that God gives to His followers. However, even in a culture that is at odds with God, we can, out of the meditations of our new heart, speak words that build up and words that are pleasing to our Father. Let us not be overcome by the world, but let us be overcomers who live life as God designed.
 
Ezekiel 36:26: “Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.”
 
Proverbs 23:7: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
 
Blessings,
Buddy

 
April 12, 2022                                               HE  IS  NOT  HERE
Mark 16:5-6 “And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting at the right, wearing a white robe; and they were amazed. But He said to them, ‘Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; see, here is the place where they laid Him.’”                       
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      The Christian faith centers around the resurrection of Jesus from the dead; there is no greater event in all of history. I am in awe as I try to imagine being there on resurrection morning-when Jesus walked out of the tomb! The resurrection of Jesus from the dead validated all that He had said and all that He had done-He was the Son of God! His resurrection fills our deepest longings; it settles any doubts we may have; it brings life to the mundane; it means all of our sins are forgiven; it means that we have been fully restored to our Father; and it assures us that we will receive the inheritance awaiting all those who love Him. No matter what our current circumstances may be, let us find hope in the fact that Jesus is alive! Jesus told us that we would have trials in this life, but He also said to ‘take heart’ because He overcame the world. Not only was death overcome that Easter morning, the power of sin and darkness was also overcome. Awesome news for us is found in Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” So, let us lay aside anything that defeats us or brings discouragement, and celebrate Jesus walking out of the tomb-alive and well!
Matthew 14:27 “But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ‘Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid.”
1 Peter 1:3 “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Blessings,
Buddy                                                                                                                 

 
April 10, 2022                                         MYSTERY  REVEALED
Colossians 1:26-29 “that is, the mystery which has been hidden from past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to His saints, to who God willed to make known what is the riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. And we proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, that we may present every man complete in Christ. And for this purpose I also labor, striving according to His power, which mightily works within me.”
There was a time when the mystery was hidden; no one, including the angles, knew how or when this mystery would be revealed. Before this hidden mystery was revealed, those who believed in God lived under the law of God which they could not keep, no matter how dedicated or how hard they tried. You might say, they were in a real predicament; they wanted to keep the law of God, but could not, and they sinned before God; surely it seemed like a hopeless situation; they had a will not to sin, but lacked the power not to sin. During the times before this mystery was known, the only way to find forgiveness for sin was through animal sacrifice. Also, the believers of that day did not have a personal, intimate relationship with God; the Holy Spirit did not indwell them. But thanks be to God, we live in a day when the hidden mystery of God has been revealed; no more sacrifice, and at last, freed from the power of sin-no more sacrifices. This awesome mystery that changes everything can be summed up in three words; “Christ in you.” We often hear about Christ being in us, but I fear that we may sometimes forget what a dynamic, life-changing reality it means for the Holy Spirit of God to dwell in us. We may have difficulty grasping the fact that at a particular time in all of history, God chose to send the Holy Spirit to live inside of every one who believes in Him. What is more awesome than having the Spirit of the Creator God Himself living in us? The presence of Christ in us takes us out of mere human experience; His presence makes us new creations-the old things passed away; we are not who we use to be! Now, because of His presence, we have a personal relationship with Him and no longer does sin separate us form Him; we have been restored to our Father. We can enjoy God and walk in fellowship with Him and be guided by Him and empowered by Him to live a life that is pleasing to Him. The Spirit of God in us transforms us from the inside out-He is continually at work in us. We must be alert to the fact that we can quench and resist the work of the Holy Spirit by choosing to live according to our flesh; but even if and when we do, the Spirit is drawing us back to Him. Choosing our way does not lead to life; only as we live according to the Spirit do we find life.
Galatians 2:12 “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Do you not know that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
April 8, 2022                                              A  HIGH  CALLING
Colossians 1:9-12 “For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.”
You might read this passage and think “This must be reserved for special people like Paul or it must be talking about how life will be in heaven.”  No doubt, this prayer that Paul prayed for believers is  staggering; yet, this prayer expresses what is available to us as children of God-it reflects the heart of God for His people. This prayer goes beyond human reasoning and it is beyond our grasp apart from the Holy Spirit bringing it to fruition. To begin, how awesome is it, or would it be, to be filled with the knowledge of Gods will and to have all spiritual wisdom and understanding! In this life, we need that for sure. Yes-we can walk, or live life on planet earth in a way that is worthy of the Lord; we do not have to think or live according to the ways of the world. In the nitty-gritty of life, in the everyday routine of life, we can please Him in all we do; and, the things we do will bear good fruit-we do not have to live a wasted life and a life without impact. Let us know that we can increase in the knowledge of God; no matter how long we have been a believer, there is more to discover of God. Rather than being weak and discouraged in life, we can be strengthened with all power in His glorious might! Think about it-we can experience all steadfastness, not being driven by circumstances; and we can have all patience in a world where impatience seems to be the norm. The really good news is that we do not have to work at having these traits; but rather, it is a matter of coming to understand our new identity in the Lord, to understand that these traits are what the Holy Spirit makes a reality for us. It’s true that we may not experience all of what Paul prayed for us at the present, and it is true that being transformed into His image is a process or a journey; but, as we as we increase in the knowledge of God and as we increase in the knowledge of who we are in Him, we will be experiencing just what Paul prayed for us.
Ephesians 1:18-19b “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the surpassing greatness of His power to all who believe.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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April 6, 2022                                                             BUT  IF                                                                               
Romans 8:5-6, 10-13,  “For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,”         “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the Spirit is alive because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, the live according to the flesh-for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”
The word flesh as used here refers to “affections and desires that run contrary to God.” Martin Luther. Throughout the New Testament we find the terms ‘flesh’ and ‘Spirit.’ As we read the scriptures, it becomes evident that believers have the choice of setting their minds on the flesh, or on the Spirit-and the choice they make has huge consequences. At the core of this subject is death to self-to our ways, or being alive to the Spirit; there is no middle ground. It may sound a bit confusing, but we are to consider our body as being dead to sin or dead to the flesh: that is where our mind set comes into play-that’s where we have a choice; we are to reckon, or consider bodies as dead to sin. Romans 6:11. We are not to make provision or allowance for sin; we are to quickly reject any temptation to sin. As the passage above instructs us, we are to be ‘putting to death’ the deeds (fleshly) of the body; that denotes an ongoing process.  We are to have a desire and a mindset to do things that are pleasing to the Lord-that mind set is powerful and it keeps us from ‘compromising’ with sin. This mind set will determine what we watch on television or on our smart phone, it may effect where we go, and it will cause us to guard our words and our attitudes. If we think that the mind set on the Spirit will rob us of fun or somehow reduce our quality of life-we could not be further from the truth. The truth is that the mind set on the flesh leads to death while the mind set on the Spirit leads to life. It is interesting to see in the above scriptures that God will give life to our mortal bodies; our physical body is created by God; the problem is when we yield our physical body to sin. Contrary to the philosophy of the world, when we put to death the deeds of the body (the sins), we will live! One thing to note: whether it is a ‘small’ lie, or murder, it is still the flesh. I say that to make sure we understand that wrong attitudes, ungratefulness, impatience, greed, and etc. or all deeds of the flesh-and we must be on guard against such things. For a list of the deeds of the flesh, see Galatians 5:19-25. Let us daily, even hourly, be setting our minds on the things of the Spirit, and not on things of the flesh. When we live and when we make decisions according to the Spirit, we will experience life to the fullest.
Galatians 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that he will also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
PS: In the verses above, when it says “you must die,” that means that we must die to ourselves, to the desires of the flesh.
       

 
April 4, 2022                                      INSTRUCTIONS  FOR  DAILY  LIVING
Romans 15:1-6 “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength, and not just please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. For even Christ did not please Himself, but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached Thee fell upon Me.’” For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus; that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Wherefore, accept one another, just as Christ also accepted us to the glory of God.
The written word of God challenges the greatest minds, and yet it gives clear and easily understood practical insights on daily living. The life of the believer should be an expression of the life of God at work in the believer; the nature of God-what He is like-is to be reflected in the life we live. Jesus humbled Himself and came as a man to bear our sins and to reveal the love of God and to demonstrate to the world the character of God. Jesus is our example. We know from the scriptures, and from our own experience, that we are not capable of living up to the example of Jesus in our own strength; only through the working of the Holy Spirit in us can we live according to the ways of God. The passage above is a beautiful example of some of the practical instructions on how believers are to conduct themselves. Instead of complaining about or looking down on someone who is weak, lend them a hand and bear their weakness; we are not to focus on pleasing ourselves. Concerning our neighbor, we are to bless them and edify them; our neighbor is not limited to those who live beside us. Sometimes we may think that the Christian life should be smooth sailing-but if that was the case, we would not need to persevere and would not need to be encouraged. In this life where we face difficulties, we need hope, and hope is found in the scriptures. Also, God is about His people being in unity; we are to pursue unity and peace with other believers and we are to accept one another-even though they may not be like us and even though we may not be naturally drawn to them; our acceptance of others is based on each of us belonging to the body of Christ; we accept others just as God accepted us. God has been gracious to give us the Holy Spirit to guide us and empower us to live life according to the ways of the God-even in this fallen world. Let us read God’s word with the mindset of receiving instructions for daily living.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
April 2, 2022                                                   USELESS   FAITH
James 2:14-20 “What use it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and is need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled, and yet do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, ‘You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless?
James does not mix his words; there is no way one could not get the message that James is conveying. James drives the point home very clearly; the faith that is of God is evidenced by works. Of course, we know that salvation does not come by works, but by the wonderful, undeserved grace of God. There has been an misunderstanding regarding grace that opens the door to sin. I have heard it said that “It does not matter what you do because we are under the grace of God.” That belief surely leads to shipwreck. As I read the passage above, I am compelled to examine my faith; do I just claim to have faith and yet not show my faith by works? Am I to busy or too unconcerned to put my faith into action; or too busy to even see a brother who is in need? We must understand, as James says, that faith without works is useless. The faith of God that we have is empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit-that is key. God is a God of action and a God who cares; and that same nature of God has been put into us-He has given us a new nature like His. As we go about life, we must be alert to the work of the Spirit as He leads us to be expressions of our faith. Ephesians 2:10 tells us “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Let us be on the look-out for the good works that God has prepared for us. Often, the good works we are called to do are very practical in nature; such as giving food and clothing, helping with a project, sharing a word, praying with someone, writing a letter or a note to someone, visiting the sick---and the list goes on. God has already equipped us to do the works He calls us to do. As we go about expressing our faith by our works, we will discover that that is what we are designed to do, and we will be blessed in the process. Hebrews 10:24 is a verse that the body of Christ needs to embrace-“And let us continue to consider how to motivate one another to love and good deeds.” Again, we are not to do good works as a way of trying to earn God’s approval; we do good works because faith is active and faith expresses itself through works. As James makes so clear; faith without works is a useless faith. May we be alert to the opportunities that would allow us to express our faith.
2 Thessalonians 1:11 “To this end we also pray for you always that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, in order that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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