September 27, 2014                          TOO  GOOD  TO  BE  TRUE?

The more I learn about the gospel, I sometime find myself thinking that “this seems too good to be true”, even though it is absolutely true. What God has done for us is incredible to say the least and what He has done is based on His love for us. In Ephesians, chapter one, Paul list some of the ways in which the Lord has blessed us. In this chapter we find that we have been -blessed with every spiritual blessing- chosen by Him before the foundation of the world – holy and blameless before Him – adopted by Him according to His kind intention – His grace freely bestowed us – redeemed through His blood – forgiven –given the knowledge of the mystery of His will – obtained an inheritance – predestined according to His purpose and sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.  The gospel, when received and believed, has a tremendous positive impact on our lives here on planet earth. Also, in many other scriptures we find that we have been given a new mind, a new heart and a new spirit. We have also been made overcomers in life, we have been given joy and peace, fear has been taken away, the power of sin has been broken, the love of God has been “shed abroad in our hearts”, our sins are forgiven, God is our real Father and Jesus is our real brother.   However, all of the blessings we have here are merely pictures or introductions of what is to come. God has given the Holy Spirit as the “earnest” for our full redemption. I remember as a young person making a down payment on something I wanted and having it put on lay-a-way. What I had on lay-a-way was mine but I did not have possession. This analogy is not perfect in comparison but it does illustrate the fact that God has not taken full possession of His people, but He has made the down payment. Ephesians 1:13-14: “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory.” God has indeed showered His blessings on us in this present life and He will continue His blessings in the life to come and this is all because He loves us. Beginning to understand the results of knowing God’s love for us affects our view of life and it affects how we live. Knowing what He has done on our behalf because He loves us is a life-changer for us. When we begin to understand His love, we read the scriptures through different lenses and instead of seeing the scriptures as “rules to keep”, we see the scriptures as revealing our true identity as sons and daughters of God who have been redeemed. The question for us is to what degree do we believe what the scriptures have to say regarding what God has done for those who belong to Him. It was the passion of Paul to make known the extent of God’s love for His people as we see in the prayer he prayed in Ephesians 1:18-19: “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 toward us who believe…”

Blessings,

Buddy

September 24, 2014                          ALWAYS   ABOUNDING

1 Corinthians 15:58  “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain the Lord.”                                                                        In chapter 15 Paul is discussing what takes place once our physical body dies and our becoming “imperishable” and “immortal”.  Paul says that our physical body is like a seed in that it must die before it comes to life. The point is that what God has in store for the believer is beyond our imagination and what the future holds for us brings hope to this present life. Not only does this truth bring hope, it also brings a mandate for us that we must not overlook. Because of what is in store for us, we must be “steadfast and immovable in the work of the Lord.” No matter what comes our way in life, no matter what trials and test we face, no matter what disappointments come, we are to be steadfast and immovable. Also, we must know that the Lord has work for us as long as we live. (Even when we are facing death, we can pray-that is a work of God.) It is important for us to know that non-believers “work”, but they are not doing the work of the Lord. God has work for each of us that has our name on it and we should make sure we are about our work. I would surmise that some believers do not know what work the Lord has for them to do. However, if we read and study the scriptures, we see what works Jesus did, we see what the New Testaments writers did and what they instructed the believers to do, plus we have the Holy Spirit to guide us- so just begin to do the same works. We don’t have to wait for God to “zap” us or wait until we hear a voice out of heaven before we engage in His work.  In scripture, we find many types of the “work of the Lord” including all of the “one another” commands, we find instructions about visiting the sick, being  generous, showing compassion, studying the word, being honest, being hospitable, rejoicing, praying, training, blessing others and the list could go on. We will discover that there is no lack of work for the believer.  Just as we are faithful to show up for work at our regular job or we being about keeping our house in order, we must not neglect reporting for the “work of the Lord.” Certainly, the place we work or the home, provide  great opportunities to be about the work of the Lord. We are not to be about the Lord’s work begrudgingly but as the verse says; we are to “abound” in the work of the Lord. Being faithful in His work brings blessings in this life as well as the one to come as we are told that our labor is not in vain. Even when we may not “feel” like it, we can still choose to be about the works of the Lord and be blessed in the process and in most cases, the “feelings” line up with our actions. We must know that the “work of the Lord” is not reserved for those in “full time ministry” but the works of the Lord are for all believers. It is a basic truth in scripture that those who are faithful in the work that God calls them to will be rewarded. As always, we are not to work to earn rewards or earn His approval; we do the works we do because we have experienced God’s love for us and we want to share that same love with others. If by chance you are one for whom the “works of the Lord” are not a priority at the present, I encourage you to meditate on the love that God has for you and then simply choose to be about  the work of the Lord in some fashion no matter how you feel. I suspect that as you (and I) engage in the “work of the Lord”, we will be glad we did!

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared  beforehand, that we should walk in them.”

Blessings,  Buddy

September 20, 2014                        LIFE   AND  IMMORTALITY

2 Timothy 1:7-10: “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline. Therefore, do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me His prisoner; but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God, who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”                                                                                                                                                                                    This is another one of those passages of scripture that gives more insight as to just how magnificent and far reaching is this salvation that we have inherited through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus. Perhaps the greatest mistake we could make in life is to live life believing that salvation is simply a ticket to heaven. The salvation that we have impacts all of life and we can spend the rest of our lives discovering more aspects of our salvation. We are warned in Hebrews 2:3: not to neglect our salvation: “…how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” From the scriptures above we see that God “gives”- the fact that we have a God who gives to you and me is awesome. It is our part, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to understand and believe what God has given us and act on it, or live it out. He does not give us timidity, but he does give us power, love and discipline for living. In life, there will be times when we find ourselves at odds with the culture because of our faith in God and His word. Paul reminds us not to be ashamed of the gospel or of Jesus but to be willing to suffer for the gospel. We must remember that we have been called “with a holy calling” to His own purpose by His grace; not by our works. What makes the birth of Jesus and the New Testament so crucial and so wonderful is because the plans and the grace of God that had been hidden were made known when Jesus came to earth and was crucified. When Jesus “appeared”, everything changed! For the believer, Jesus took away the fear of death, and in fact abolished death. It is true that it has been appointed once for man to die, BUT the death of the physical body is simply a doorway to a far superior life. Jesus’s “appearing” brought LIFE-life with purpose and fulfillment-life without end!  AND, Jesus’s “appearing” brought to light immortality. Can you think of yourself as being “immortal”? May the life we live be the life that comes as a result of embracing  all that took place by Jesus “appearing.” May we hold in highest esteem the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us dare not neglect this great salvation, but rather, let this salvation transform us and have its full impact on our lives.

Romans 15:13  “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

Blessings,

Buddy 

September 16, 2014                         COMMANDMENTS

1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” Throughout 1 John and 2 John you find the word “commandment”.  We live in a culture that places a high value on “independence” and the fulfillment of self, so the idea of “commandment” or someone else telling us how to live or what to do is not well received. Sad but true, many who claim to be Christians have to some degree bought into this culture of independence. Independence is a good thing in its right place; however, we are not to be independent minded when it comes to our relationship with God and with the body of Christ (the Church). It sounds so simple, but over and over throughout the entire Bible we find the relationship between loving God and keeping His commandments. I John makes it crystal clear that if we love God, we will keep His commandments and in fact, our keeping His commandments proves our love for Him. 1 John 2:3 “And by this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.” The great news for you and me as seen in verse 5:3 above is that His commandments are not burdensome. Life becomes a burden if we don’t keep His commandments. All of the commandments of God are for our good and they in no way diminish our life. The scriptures, particularly the New Testament, give us many instructions or commands for living as His sons and daughters. We are commanded to  love one another, pray for one another, give, bless, encourage others, be truthful, be faithful, be kind, show mercy, forgive others, confess our sins, bear the burdens of others, study scripture and the list could go on. More good news is that we don’t have to keep a long check list of commands that must be kept because God has given us a better way. The key is love. When we experience God’s love we will in turn love others and even without thinking about it, we will be keeping His commandments. If I love others, I will show mercy, I will give, I will bless, etc. This is not to say that we never need to be reminded of His love for us and there will be times we will need to be refreshed by His love. Godly love lifts us to a new plateau, a new way of living. One other benefit of love is that it cast our fear according to 1 John 4:18. The love of God frees us to be who we were designed to be. I John says that if I say I love God but do not love my brother, I am a liar. If we hear what John is saying, the only logical conclusion is that if we are not keeping His commandments, we don’t know Him and we don’t love Him. I realize that that sounds rather rash, but that is what John is saying. I John 2:4-6 are amazing verses: “The one who says, I have come to know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in Him; but whoever keeps His word, in Him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” Note that whoever keeps His word has been perfected in the love of God.

1 John 3:22-23 “and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.” (See verse 1 John 5:14)

Blessings,

Buddy

September 12, 2014              MOTIVATION  FOR  PURITY

The early believers were instructed to live their lives in purity in order that they would have no shame when Jesus returned. Expecting, anticipating and looking forward to the Lord’s return affects how we live life daily. The key is that we do indeed eagerly await for His return. 1 John:2:28-29 and 3:2-3: “And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him, purifies himself, just as He is pure.”              We often use the word “believe” in a not so sincere fashion. We may say that we believe it is going to rain today but we do not take the umbrella, etc. However, “belief” is powerful and it directs our thoughts and actions. To say we believe something and yet not live it out is a contradiction. If we believe that the Lord will return at any time, it’s only natural to be ready for His return. If I knew that a famous person that I admired was coming to my house tomorrow, I assure you that I would have a clean house! Also, our main focus should be that of looking forward to His return and the idea of His appearing should bring a sense of excitement and anticipation. Because Jesus may come tomorrow, it’s only natural to live today in such a way that it pleases the Lord, and to be pure in motive and action.  I had rather be able to say “yes” to the Lord’s appearing than to say “oh no, I’m not ready, I’m ashamed.” Also, we see in the verses above that abiding in Him results in confidence and it eliminates shame at His return.  We have every reason to look forward to His return, to welcome Him as His return ushers in such a fantastic life that we can’t fully comprehend what it will be like. When the Father signifies that the time is right, Jesus will come for His bride, the church. When Jesus came the first time, He came in meekness but this time He is coming triumphantly in glory and power and all of His enemies will be defeated. Truth and justice will reign at last! Jesus has made atonement for all of our sins and He gave us new heats and new minds whereby we can live life today in such a way that it honors Him. As in my last blog, if we do sin, we have an Advocate, Jesus Christ and forgiveness is extended when we confess our sin to the Father. May each of us adjust our lives as needed in order that we may be ready for His return and let us be found looking for His soon return.

Blessings,

Buddy 

September 9, 2014                     “THAT  YOU  MAY  NOT  SIN”

If we are to live this life in a way that pleases our Father, our core beliefs must be in line with what the scriptures teach. At times, we may find what we read in scripture challenges our core beliefs and we may discover that we need to adjust our thinking and change what we believe if need be. In 1 John we find a passage that may be somewhat hard to digest as it may sound contrary to what we have believed. Personally, what I was taught by well-meaning teachers contradicts the passage we will look at in 1 John. “My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” Let me say upfront, I am not talking about “sinless perfection.” Simply put, we must know that we can live without sin as the dominion of sin has been broken. I have heard many times such statements as: “I’m a Christian, but I still have a sin nature” or “I’m not perfect”, etc. If we sin, it is because we chose to sin. The passage above confronts us as it forces us to either dismiss the emphasis of scripture that teaches that we are new creations with new hearts, or we have to come to grips with the fact that we don’t have to sin. It is humbling for us to realize that we sin by choice and that we can’t blame our “old nature” any longer. Believers have been given new hearts and this new heart no longer has a desire to sin. As said above, when a Christian commits a sin it is by choice, however, Jesus is our Advocate and forgiveness is extended when we confess our sin to the Father. If a professing believer has a desire to sin, then perhaps there is a need to examine their salvation.  The fact that we do not have to sin is a huge issue and it has a tremendous impact on our lives. If we don’t believe this truth, then we can’t say we have been freed from sin. Most Christians do not struggle with overt sins such as murder, stealing, etc. but it is in the area of thought life, not expressing love, apathy, not fulfilling the “one another” commands and other sins of omission where the struggle takes place for some. It seems that we can become comfortable with what we consider a “small” sin. It is essential for us to believe in the deepest part of our being  that we have been made new and that it is now possible, the new norm, for us to walk in newness and not sin. All of the commands and directives of our Father we can do and they are doorways to abundant life. Again, if and when we sin (omission or commission) we have an Advocate who assures forgiveness for our sin. We don’t have to live in fear of sin and we don’t have to analyze every action we take when we are in tune with God. The Holy Spirit guides us and if we err, He will convict us of any sin we may commit and then we simply agree with Him that it was sin and if our sin was against others, we need to ask their forgiveness and make restitution if need be. One point to clarify; if our sin, for example, was having a wrong thought toward someone but we never expressed that thought, then it may not be necessary to go to that person to ask their forgiveness-just confess it to God.  The main point is for us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and follow His leading. May we continue to examine our lives and our understanding of scripture so that we can continue to discover just how great our salvation is.

I John 3:7: “Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;”

I John 3:21-23: “Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.”

September 5, 2014                       ASSURING  OUR  INHERITANCE

Hebrews 6:10-12: “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints. And we desire that each of you show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope until the end, that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and practice inherit the promises.”  As is true with all of the scriptures, we find a lot of “meat” in the above verses if we just dig a little. (There is an old song: “I just want to dig a little deeper in God’s love”…) First, we see that God is paying attention to our lives and He does not forget. This fact alone should serve as a great motivator for us to live our lives in such a way that it pleases Him. Second, we learn that we show our love to Him as we minister to others-particular, other believers. As we see in many scriptures, our love for Him is demonstrated by our actions. Others will know we are His disciples if we keep His commandments and He has commanded us to love one another. Third, there is a connection between our ministering and loving others, and having a hope that endures to the end.  Third, we find that we avoid becoming “sluggish” when we practice loving and ministering to others. The cure for being sluggish is to actively minister to others in Jesus name. Fifth, there is also a connection between our being faithful in ministering to others and our “inheriting the promises.” Some may disagree, but all believers don’t inherit all the promises. Salvation is assured for all believers, but some will be saved “as though by smoke” and will lose some rewards that could have been theirs.  Also, we know that if a believer lives a life that is contrary to what God desires for him, he will not realize many of the promises made to those who “walk in the Spirit.” A clear example is that as long as a believer allows sin in his life, he will not experience the peace of God. Repentance and turning from sin restores peace in the believer. Perhaps we need to adjust our thinking and realize that if we want to experience all of the promises that God has made, we need to be faithful in aligning our lives with the desires of our Father. God has not left us powerless but has given us new hearts and new minds whereby we can live life as He designed. Let each of pay attention to the verses above so that we do not become sluggish, but rather let us minister to others by which we demonstrate our love for the Father and inherit the promises.

Hebrews 13:20-21: “Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Blessings,

Buddy

September 1, 2014                                    HOW  SHALL  WE  ESCAPE?

Hebrews 2:1 “For this reason we must pay close attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.”                                                                                                                                                                           In Hebrews we learn of the supremacy of Christ and we see Him being honored by the Father.  We also see that it is because of sacrifice of Christ that we inherit salvation. The death of Christ and the sacrifice of the Father was for our benefit  as this was the only way that our sin could be forgiven and salvation assured. Our salvation is no small issue-a great price was paid to redeem us. Hebrews chapter one tells us that God made man a “little lower than the angels” and in chapter two we see that God has “appointed him (man) over the works of Thy hands.”  As we read Hebrews and all of scripture, we begin to see more clearly just how fantastic and far reaching our salvation is. As we begin to better understand this “so great salvation”, we can see why the New Testament writers’ passion was to make this salvation known.  For sure the scriptures deal with how we are to live daily on planet earth, but as we begin to see the extent and vastness of our salvation, our view of life on earth is put into the right perspective. When Jesus was born, the angels rejoiced because the Savior was born-good news indeed. All of life now can be filtered through this salvation. Salvation is the door to eternal life, a life without end and a life of purpose-for now and forever! We do face trials and difficulties in this life and God gives strength for those times, but we need to remember that these trials and difficulties serve a purpose and they are temporary in nature.  According to the verse above, we are to “pay close attention to what we have heard” because if we do give thought, reflect on, pay attention to the salvation that we have inherited and all of its implications, we will “not drift away from it”. In Hebrews, we see the benefit of paying close attention to our salvation, but we also find a warning about not paying close attention. Hebrews 2:3b ask a sobering question; “how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” The salvation that we inherit is all inclusive, it not only guarantees heaven, it also has great impact on our present life. Our eternal life has already begun. May we always remember what Christ has done on our behalf.

Hebrews: 2:14: “Since then the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil: and might deliver those who fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. For assuredly He does not give help to angels, but He gives help to the descendent of Abraham.”

Blessings,

Buddy