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September 27, 2020                                  DRAW  NEAR
James 4:8 “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double minded.”
John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me, and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love Him and will disclose Myself to him.”
It’s possible that if you read just the two verses above, you may reach the conclusion that one is saved by his works. However, it is only through the grace of God that we are saved, and not by our works. The goal of this blog is that we might come to know, or either be reminded, that God desires for us to be near Him and to enjoy a relationship with Him; He is not a distant God somewhere up in heaven looking down on us. James is very direct in his writhing and some may take offense to what He says-but He is writing the words of God and we must hear what he says. If you read all of James, you will see that he is calling followers of Christ to ‘step up to the plate’ and order their lives according to the ways of God. As seen in verse 4, James is addressing certain believers who were living according to the ways of the world and he rebukes and corrects them as the Spirit leads him. There are times when the word of God corrects or rebukes us, and when it does, let us receive it as from the Lord and adjust our life accordingly.  James makes the point that God is jealous; He does not want anything or anyone to disrupt our fellowship with Him and His fellowship with us. “Are do you not think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: ‘He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us?’” James 4:5. The power of sin has been broken, enabling believers to live without sinning as they walk according to the Spirit. It is also true that believers can succumb to sin by choosing to walk according to the flesh, thus the rebuke and the correction. Remember, the rebukes are from our loving Father who wants nothing to hinder our relationship. God extends the wonderful open invitation to draw near to Him. Whether we are cold or indifferent spiritually, discouraged, and not enjoying the Lord, God invites us to draw near to Him. It’s a no-brainer, but if we need to draw near to Him, then we must not be near Him now. What causes us not to be near Him is us; allowing sin to have its way in us breaks our fellowship with Him. One form of sin is allowing other things to become more important to us than walking with the Lord. Let us thank God for the standing invitation to draw near to Him. If we need to, let us confess our sins, purify ourselves, and run to the Father-He is there with open arms.
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”
Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”
Blessings,
Buddy   

 
September 24, 2020                        LAY  ASIDE  AND  PUT  ON
Ephesians 4:20-24 “But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Jesus, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
To understand, to embrace and to put into practice the admonitions of the above verses is absolutely necessary if we are going to live the Christian life as God has designed-they are non-optional. Some may wait on God to ‘zap’ them, believing that everything is up to Him; God is for sure reigning and ruling, but He has given us responsibility in the process of living according to His plans. The crux of this section of the scriptures is that of laying aside our old way of life-our flesh- and putting on the new self. That sounds simple enough, but it requires us working with the Holy Spirit if we are to live according to the truth of these scriptures. I think that the biggest obstacle that prevents many from living out the truth of these verses is that they do not know or do not believe that they have been made a new creation, and that this new creation that God has made them to be “is in the likeness of God, has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” (We made need to meditate on that truth for some time and let that soak into our spirit.) It is a stretch for us to believe, but nonetheless true, that our new self is in the “likeness of God.” Yes-you and I can live in this world in a way that is like God (not God but like Him), expressing His character and His nature to all. But some would disagree saying that our sin nature makes this an impossibility. That’s the very point-because part of being a new creation is that we now have the power to ‘lay aside’ the old self (the sin nature) and the power to ‘put on’ our new person. Our old life is of the flesh and contrary to the ways of God. Here is the ‘big’ deal of it all: we have the power to choose whether we lay aside the old man or whether we put on the new self-the new creation. God does not force us to walk in the new. If we do not know in our spirit our new identity as sons and daughters of God, we will not experience the life God has made available to us. To believe with our mind only our identity is not enough; we need the Holy Spirit to reveal this truth to us the deepest part of our being. There are no three easy steps to getting revelation from God, but we can be assured that if our heart is turned to Him, if He is our chief desire in life, and if we read His word in order to learn of Him, He will reveal truth to us about our new identity. Being tempted to sin is not sin; only when we act on the temptation does it become sin. The liberating truth is that we can say no to temptation, we can reject thoughts and actions that do not please the Lord, and we can live out of our new heart, new spirit and new nature. Let us lay aside our old self and put on our new self-sounds simple, but that’s what it’s all about.
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Romans 6:4 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
Blessings,
Buddy

 
September 21, 2020                             THE  CHOICE  IS  OURS
Romans 6:4b, 6-7, 11-12 “so we too might walk in newness of life.”  “ knowing this, that our old man 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 died is freed from sin.”     “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lust,”
Its real simple; but we have made it complicated. The common perspective among what I think is the majority of professing believers is that we are sinners save by grace (still ‘sinners’)-that our sin nature is alive and well-that we are constantly drawn to sin-that we cannot live very long without sinning, and etc.  If I’m right-and I think I am-that is a huge problem for the body of believers in our day. That viewpoint is in conflict with the teachings of scripture. The alarming thing is that that perspective has been taught in the seminaries and preached from the pulpits for several generations. Misunderstanding Romans 7 has caused many to come to the conclusion that they cannot help but sin on a regular basis. Briefly, Romans 7 is not Paul’s testimony, but is describing life lived according to the flesh. Living according to the flesh led to Paul cry out in verse 24 “Who will set me free from this body of death”, and he then begins his next sentence with “Thanks be to God….” When you read the writings of Paul, it becomes crystal clear that we no longer have to live under the power of sin; the glorious good news of the gospel is that we have been set free from the power of sin! We no longer have to sin! 1 Corinthians is a refreshing, often overlooked verse: “Become sober minded as you ought, and stop sinning;” How simple-stop sinning. Viewing our self as one who is prone to sin is an indicator that we do not yet know our true identity in the Lord-that we have been made new and given a new heart, mind, and spirit and we no longer desire to sin-our disposition changes. The point is not that we get to a place of ‘sinless perfection.’ However, if we walk according to the Spirit, we will not fulfil the desire of the flesh. If and when we sin, the Holy Spirit quickly convicts us, we confess the sin, turn from it and continue to walk in the Spirit. (See 1 John 2:1) The main point is that we do not have to live being prone to sin; we are no longer ‘sinners’ but are sons and daughters of God who have been made new and set free from the power of sin. Knowing the truth about who God says we are and knowing that sin no longer has power over us is a life changer! Satan would have us believe that we are sinners, not sons and daughters of God and he would keep us ignorant of the fact that Jesus broke the power of sin over believers. In summary, we must know that we can choose to walk according to the Spirit and not sin, or we can choose to walk according to the flesh and sin-it’s that simple. The choice is ours. When we read the New Testament with the understanding that we have been set free from the power of sin, we then begin to see that we have indeed been set free to live according to the ways of our Father.  Ephesians 4 begins with the admonition for us to walk in a way worthy of the Lord. The good news is that we can do just that! (Read the entire chapter of Ephesians 4 with the view that the power of sin has been broken.)
Romans 6:12 “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lust.”
Ephesians 4:22-24 “that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is be corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which is in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
Blessings, Buddy
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September 18, 2020                               RIVERS  OF  LIVING  WATER
John 7:38, 4:14 “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.”    “But whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become within him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
Isaiah 55:1 “Ho! Everyone who thirst, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk. Without money and without cost.”
Jesus did not tell us that we ‘should’ have rivers of living flowing from our innermost being; He said we ‘would’ have rivers of living water. We cannot produce a well of water in us; the well that produces a continual flow of water in us is a result of the work of God in us. Jesus could make this astounding promise that living waters would flow in us, not because of our self-effort, but because He knew the impact of the truth of the scriptures and He knew the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. . There is one proviso to this magnificent promise of living water flowing; we must believe in Jesus according to the scriptures. There are many who define Jesus according to their own preferences, and many interpret the scriptures to fit their own likes and dislikes. (Revelation 22:18-19 has a stern warning for anyone who adds to or takes away from the word of God.) Since the promises of Jesus are sure, if we are not experiencing rivers of living water, the only conclusion is that we are not believing in Jesus according to the scriptures. That may sound shocking to us, but it’s true. It must be said that having rivers of living water flowing in us does not mean that we will live a life free of troubles and trials-but it does mean that even in the difficult times, the life of Jesus flows in us and causes us to be overcomers. I must admit, the idea of us having rivers of living water flowing in us and a spring of water welling up in us may seem like a stretch for us to buy into-maybe too good to be true. However, what Jesus says about us having this river of life flowing in us absolutely true and it is for every believer to experience. I think there are two problems that can prevents us from experiencing this flowing river. One is that we do not really believe the scriptures-even though we are quick to say we do. We may see the bible as more of a history book and a book of good ideas and we pick and choose the ones we like. The other problem is that we may believe the scriptures with our mind, but not with our spirit.  The scriptures are the words of God-and that in itself is awesome-to have the recorded words of the CREATOR. Do we believe that His word is the only source of true life, or do we try to blend what He says with our preferences and views of what life is? It’s not complicated. God loves us and He desires we experience life as only He can give. Only when Jesus is truly Lord of our lives, only when we love Him with all of our hearts, and only when we seek to Him with all of our hearts, will we experience a well of water and rivers of life flowing deep within. The fact that God reveals Himself in His word should motivate us to read His word; if we do not have a desire to learn from His word, or if we think we already know His word sufficiently, that should be red flag for us. It’s not about knowing ‘about’ Jesus, but about knowing and experiencing Him personally. Let our beliefs, our thoughts, our attitudes, and our actions be based on and flow out of what the Scriptures say. The scriptures tell us that God loves us, that He alone is the source of true life, that He has made us new creations, and that He has transferred us from darkness to His marvelous light. In Him we move and have our being. Even in the routines of life, even when things are not going like we desire, we can experience rivers of life flowing deep within. Let us be ones who believe in Him as Scriptures hath said.
John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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September 15, 2020                              A  MIRACLE  TO  EXPERIENCE  DAILY
Romans 5:5 “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.”
1 John 4:7-9, 11, 16 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 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.”  “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  “And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
John 13:34 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another even as have loved you, that you also love one another.”
To love as God loves us is indeed a miracle that we can experience daily. We hear and we use the word ‘love’ so often, we easily lose the meaning and the impact of love. The love that the above verses portray and the love that God has poured out into our hearts is the love of God, and it is a love unlike human love. Human love is self-centered; it is focused on what makes us happy and what is best for us. (One may out of human love serve in some way, but the motivation to serve is that he or she likes the way it makes them feel, etc.) God did not one day ‘decide’ to love-God is love. His love is a giving love that desires the well-being of others. A great understatement, but God is secure in His love; His love being expressed is not based on the actions of others; His love initiates. God loved us before we even knew Him and while we were lost in sin; God’s love reached into the darkness and rescued us-not because we deserved it, but because He loved us. The miracle is that He has poured His love into our hearts! We are no longer limited to human love; we can now love with the love of God. What a miracle! We can now share in and be expressions of this love that God has poured out into our hearts. We are free to love others and have their best interest in our hearts and look for ways to bless-no matter their response and no matter whether or not they ‘deserve our love’-that’s real freedom! God’s love is a serving love; now we can consider the needs of others more important than ours. Here is more good news: contrary to human logic, as we go about expressing and demonstrating this love that God has poured into our hearts, we find that we are fulfilled in the process and we make the great discovery that it is God’s design for us to be instruments of His love! The love of God is an extravagant love-it has no bounds. And, God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:6-7) and giving and expressing His love is the ultimate gift we can give. Christ in us is a continual fountain of love-a fountain that never runs dry. May we get beyond human love and even as flesh and bones, be expressions of the love of God.
Ephesians 3:17-19, “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up with all the fullness of God. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Blessings, Buddy
 

 
September 12, 2020                                        MINDSET
Colossians 3:2 “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on the earth.”
Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trust in you.”
Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for man.”
Proverbs 3:6 “In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
It is a sobering, and perhaps a frightening thought to be aware of the fact that we choose our mindset. We have two choices; we can set our mind on the things of the Lord, or on the things of the world. Having our mind set on the things above-on God and His kingdom-does not in any way diminish our responsibility here on earth, but it does give us a new perspective and a new motive in what we do. Sad to say, some believers claim to be ‘spiritually’ minded, but fail to be good stewards and good representations of the kingdom of God here on this earth. Our primary desire and focus in life as believers is to be on growing and maturing in the faith, increasing in our knowledge of God, fulfilling the mission that we have from the Lord, and to do and to be about the things that please Him. Our life, the choices we make and the things we do, and the things we think about, reflect our mindset. We can be spiritually minded, or we can be worldly or fleshly minded-the choice is ours. There are many things that would draw our minds away from the things of the Lord, but we must make the choice to have our mind set on Him. Here is what we must understand: we can try to have our mind set on Him and we can try our best to keep His commands, but if our efforts come from our own strength, we will fail. The key factor is that we must experience His love personally and we must know our true identity as His children-that He has made us new creations with new hearts, new spirits and new minds- and we must walk in these truths daily.  Colossians 3:2 should serve as our daily reminder to ‘set our minds on the things above.’ In our goings about, in fulfilling our responsibilities, in living life in general, we can do so with a mindset that is focused on doing whatever we do in a way that pleases Him and is in keeping with His kingdom. I forget who it was, but some saint of years past said that he discovered that even washing the dishes could be an act that pleases the Lord and could be an act of worship. Having a mindset that is on the Lord brings life to all we do. We must make the connection: the work of God in us should be reflected in all we do. The blessing is that when our mindset is on Him, not only are we blessed, but those around us are blessed as well. The awesome good news is that when we discover who we are in Him, it becomes our nature to live and to walk in His ways; no longer do we have to depend on our own strength and determination.
Romans 8:5-6 “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.”
Blessings, Buddy

 
September 6, 2020                                   THE  WAY  THAT  SEEMS  RIGHT
Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”
Isaiah 55:8 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, declares the Lord.”
Isaiah 30:21 “Your ears will hear a word behind you, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ whenever you turn to the right or to the left.”
Apart from Christ dwelling in the heart of a man, man does not have a chance; he is totally separated from God and lost for now and all eternity. The one who does not know God is convinced in his heart that he is going the right way, but his way leads to death-spiritual death and possibly physical death. Even as believers, the possibility of us walking in a way that seems right, when in reality we are walking in a way that is wrong and in a way that leads to death, should serve as wake-up call. The good news for us is that we do not have to live in fear or doubt about whether or not we are walking in the way that leads to life. In God’s grace, He has given us the Holy Spirit to direct our steps, to enable us and equip us to live in harmony with the plans and purposes God has for us. In the world in which we live is constantly inviting us to live and make decisions according to its ways and customs. It always goes back to our hearts; is it our heart to know God and learn of Him, to obey His every command, or is it our motivation to do the things that please self. As is often the case, we can go about trying to do what we think pleases God and yet miss the main point, or go about it the wrong way. If we believe that we can ‘earn’ the blessings of God by dutifully obeying His word, we are depending on self works and our good works fall short of what God has for us. It’s a paradox so it seems; we are called to obey God’s word, but if obey His word with the wrong motive, we are in error. God desires to bless His people and He has made every provision for us to know Him and know His ways. Everything that God is and everything He does flows out of His love; we are the recipients and the objects of His unconditional love. When we come to experience His love in the deepest part of our being and when we learn of our new identity in Him, when we realize what great price He paid to redeem us, it becomes natural for us to love Him and walk in His ways. In the course of life, we can be assured that the Holy Spirit will lead us in the way that leads to life; it is our part to be alert and sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit and be quick to obey. Know that the ways God always leads to life.
Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
Galatians 5:25 “If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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September 3, 2020                               WALKING  IN  NEWNESS
1 Peter 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
Romans 6:4 “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.”
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
Ephesians 4:23-24 “and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness of the truth.”
Even though it is necessary for us to do repetitive task such as go to work, clean the house, mow the lawn, take the kids to various activities, participate in church, and etc., we can do all the things that life requires of us with a sense on newness. The natural man, the one who does not have a relationship with God, is not able to walk in newness of life because he or she does not have the Holy Spirit at work in them revealing the new life we have in Christ. As Believers, we may over-look one of the central truths of the gospel-that we have been made new creations who have been given new hearts, new minds, and new spirits, and that the ‘old has passed away and new things have come.’ Those who know Jesus as their Savior, have been transferred from darkness into His marvelous light and have been joined to Him and made a citizen of His kingdom. Many believers perceive that His kingdom is something we will experience once we get to heaven; however, His kingdom is here, and we can experience life in His kingdom on a daily basis. Living in the light, in His kingdom, gives us a total new viewpoint of the world and the things taking place all around us, including the necessary routines of life as discussed above. There are times when we may find ourselves not ‘walking in newness’; in such times, we must be renewed in the spirit of our mind. See Ephesians 4:23-24 above. At the core of our being and what must be our anchor, is the knowledge and the awareness that our sins have been forgiven, that we have been made new creations, that God is always faithful, that God will complete His work in us, that He keeps His promises, that we have been joined to Him, that He is our Father, and that we have been given the Holy Spirit who empowers us for life in His kingdom. The warning for us is that it is possible for us to choose to live according to the flesh rather than living according to the Spirit and that is the key point for believers; are we living according to the world’s standards or according to the ways of God. So, let us see life and the day-to-day routines from the perspective of His kingdom. We have every reason to be full of hope and joy because of who God is and who we are in Him-NEW THINGS HAVE COME. Live in newness today-even when difficulties come our way. Represent His kingdom in all we do. Put on your new self-the new you.
1 Peter 2:9 “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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