May 9, 2022                                         DEATH  ABOLISHED
2 Timothy 1:9-10 “who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our own works, but according to Him and His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,”1 Corinthians 15:55 “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?”
John 11:25 “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even he dies.”
1 Corinthians 15:55 “O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is the victory?”
Because man has an inborn survival instinct, death appears to be an enemy, something to be dreaded and feared. Death came as a result of the sin of Adam and Eve; death was not a part of God’s plan for mankind. For certain, when a loved one dies, there is sadness and grief-and that is normal; however, the resurrection of Jesus sheds new light on death. We may see death as being final, or the end; but the resurrection meant that death was no longer final-Jesus abolished death! Jesus brings “life and immortality to light through the gospel.”  Man has a narrow view of what life is; he believes that our physical bodies-living and breathing-is life. However, we are spiritual beings; we are not a body with a spirit, but a spirit with a body. Our temporary, physical body will die, BUT the real us-our spirit will live on. The sting of death is taken away when we come to believe that even though we die physically, we live on. The good news that we must not miss is that Jesus gives life; not just when we die-but gives life while we live. Romans 6:11 tells us “And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, He will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” When I read this verse, I am reminded that even though we are alive physically, we can in a sense be dead. The life that Spirit of God, the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead, is life indeed. The life that He gives is unlike the life of those who do not know Christ; His life is abundant, full, joyful, optimistic, and peaceful-and the list goes on. Experiencing His life takes away boredom, aimlessness, depression, doubt and fear. His life does not exempt us from trials and difficulties, BUT His life causes us to overcome whatever adverse circumstance we face. So, Jesus has abolished death; both the finality of physical death, as well as the type of death one can experience even though he lives physically. If we are in bondage to the fear or death, or if we are not experiencing life to the fullest, let us come to know in our spirit that God is the giver of life; death is not a part of the kingdom of God. When Jesus walked out of the tomb, He conquered death not only for Himself, but for you and I as well. No longer does death have a sting and no longer is the grave the victor.
1 Corinthians 15:53 “For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
2 Corinthians 5:1 “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
May 7, 2022                                          THE  HOLY  SPIRIT  GIVEN
John14:26, 16:7,13,16a “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”      “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”      “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.”    “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another advocate to help you and will be with you forever-the Spirit of truth.”
Galatians 5:2-23,25 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”     “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
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 indwells you.”
Enough books could not be written to exhaust the subject of the Holy Spirit and His role in the life of believers. The disciples were saddened once they came to understand that Jesus would soon be leaving them when He returned to the Father; knowing this, Jesus encouraged them by telling them that God would send them the Helper, Holy Spirit, who would be with them forever; and He would be their counselor and comforter, and He would bring to remembrance all that Jesus had said to them, and He would lead them into all truth. The coming of the Holy Spirit to dwell the lives of believers is no small issue; in fact, Jesus said it was to their advantage that He go away so that the Spirt might be sent to them. It is clear in the scriptures that everyone who trust Jesus as Savior is given the Holy Spirit. For us, we must be sensitive to the work of the Spirit in us and learn to recognize His voice and be able to discern how He is leading us. The Holy Spirit is always directing us to the Father and it is the Spirit who reveals the truth of God’s word to us. It is amazing how as we are reading the scriptures, the Holy Spirit makes them alive and applies God’s word to us personally. One major work of the Spirit is that of revealing to us our true identities as sons and daughters of God. It is important that we read God’s word with an open mind and heart, without preconceived opinions and without personal preferences of what we want the word of God to say; let the word say what it says. We are not to try to change the word or interpret the word so that it agrees with our theology, but are to let the word change us. Much more could be said, but let us thank God for sending us His Holy Spirit to be with us forever, and let us be guided, equipped, empowered, taught, comforted, and inspired by the Holy Spirit who is always at work in us.
Blessings,
Buddy
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May 5, 2022                                          READY  FOR  HIS  COMING
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and your soul and your body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.”
2 Thessalonians 1:7-8, 10-11  “and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.”    “when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among whom all have believed-for our testimony to you was believed. To this end we always pray for you always that our God may count you worth of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power;”
It matters greatly how we live; how we live now determines what our response will be when Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire. We can live in a way that when that awesome day comes-when He comes again-we will have no fear or shame, but will marvel at His return. If we truly believe what the scriptures say, then we will live with an expectation of His return and will live in a state of being ready for that day. In this life, we experience various afflictions, trials and difficulties; but He will give us relief-help is on the way! When a returns, He will deal out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus. (I do not fully understand the part of retribution to those who do not obey the gospel; I assume that there are Christians who do not obey the gospel-food for thought; for sure, we should have a healthy fear regarding being ready for His return.) Our duty is simple; die to ourselves, love God, and live according to His ways. Day by day, hour by hour, we can choose to walk by the Spirit and do all we do as unto the Lord. The good news is that we have someone to help in the process; the Holy Spirit is given to us to guide and empower us to obey and to live according to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have a part to play, but it is God who will bring it to pass. When He comes, may God count us worthy of our calling.
Revelation 22:12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with Me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.”
1 John 2:28 “And now, dear children, continue in Him, so that when He appears we may be confident and unashamed before Him at His coming.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
May 3, 2022                                          TEST  YOURSELVES
2 Corinthians 13:5 “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you-unless indeed you fail the test?
Paul asked a question that may be the most important question ever asked; and it is a question addressed to us as well as to those early believers. Do you and I recognize this fact about ourselves-that Christ Jesus is in us? Sure, we may have a head-knowledge and a mental agreement that Jesus is in us; but has it penetrated the deepest part of our being that Jesus, the Son of God is in us? Paul is asking what impact the presence of Jesus is having in our lives. There are several scriptures that tell us that Jesus lives in us; one is John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.” Also, we read in 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” Truly recognizing and believing that Jesus lives in us has to have a great impact on our lives. The presence of Jesus in in us takes us out of ordinary life where one is left to simply do the best he can; because He is in us, we now have the wisdom, the knowledge, the truth, and the power of God at work in us. We must understand that God does not force Himself upon us; God draws us to Himself; thus it is our part to seek Him and to yield to the work of the Holy Spirit who is always drawing us to God. Paul instructs us to examine and to test ourselves to see if our life is reflecting the presence of Jesus in us; His presence impacts everything about us-our thoughts, our words, our attitude, our action, and the very heart of who we are. Unless we are resisting Jesus being our life-the work and the promptings of the Holy Spirit-the presence of Jesus in us will be evident to all.
Galatians 6:15, 2:20 “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”      “I am crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me.”
2 Timothy 1:14 “Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”
Psalm 16:11 “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
Blessings,
Buddy

May 1, 2022                                       FIGHTING  THE  GOOD  FIGHT
1 Timothy 6:11-12 “But flee from these things, you man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness. Fight the good fight the good fight of faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called, and you make the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”
Life for the believer is not sedentary; the one who knows God is called to action. There is a way that we wait on God, but while we are waiting on God to do a certain thing, we are to be about the things that He has clearly called us to be about. When Paul instructed Timothy to “flee these things”, he was referring to all things that were not in keeping with the ways of God; there are things that we must flee, and there are things we must pursue. We are to flee all things that are not pleasing to the Lord and that are not becoming of a follower of Jesus; such as being argumentative, dishonest, lying, unfaithful-and etc.; some things we are to flee are internal, such as wrong thoughts and attitudes, beliefs that are contrary to the truth of the scriptures, wrong motives and desires, etc. Paul addressed Timothy as ‘man of God’; we should see ourselves as men and women of God-that is our true identity. As people of God, we are to naturally pursue the things of God. We are righteous in Christ, but at the same time, we are to pursue righteousness; our life-the things we do-are to be expressions of the righteousness we have in Christ; we are righteous people of God-so we live righteously. To be godly, is to resemble God, to do the things that are in keeping with His nature. We are to exercise faith even in face of adversity; to believe the promises of God, and to continue trusting Him even though we may not understand how He is using our circumstances for good. To persevere means that we do not give up when the way is difficult; it means that we do not consider other options to what God has called us be or what He has called us to do. In our dealings with others, we are not to be harsh, not to insist on having things our way, but are to be gentle in spirit. We are all in some fight in life; let us make sure we are not wasting time and energy on fighting the wrong fight; let our fight be about having the courage and the wisdom to flee the things that are not pleasing to the Lord and to pursue those things that are pleasing to Him. God has given us His word, and in His word we get to know Him and to learn of Him, and to learn the things and the ways that are pleasing in His sight. Let us take hold of the things God has called us too.
2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Philippians 3:12 “Not that I have already obtained it or have become perfect, but I press on so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid of by Christ Jesus.”
Blessings,
Buddy