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FLESH  OR  SPIRIT

10/29/2019

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October 29, 2019                                FLESH  OR  SPIRIT
Romans 8: 7-9, 12-13 “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so; and those who are in the flesh cannot please God. However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”    “So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to 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.”
I encourage you to read the entire chapter of Romans 8 as we get into the subject for today. I would say that the linch-pin, or certainly a crucial truth of the entire New Testament we must understand if we are to live the Christian life as God designed, is that of dying to self. It’s clear that one who has trusted Christ as Savior, can choose to live according to their own ways and not according to the ways of God. In the scriptures, we often find the word ‘flesh,’ which is a reference our old nature, the part of us who desires and/or chooses to live according to what our ‘self’ wants as opposed to living according to the Spirit of God in us-that is the battleground.  God has made us new creations and has given us a new nature and we can now live out of that new nature; to live out of our newness is not automatic, but is a choice we make to yield to the Spirit within us. Ephesians 4:30 tells us: “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”  We may view as dying to self as something that will rob us of life, or we may view it as something difficult to do. The good news is that once we discover our true identity-- that God has given us a new heart, a new mind and a new spirit—it becomes our hearts desire to walk in the ways of the Lord, to live as new creatures. We are instructed in Ephesians 4:22-24 to “put off the old self” and to “put on the new self.” We have the power to lay aside the old self-who we use to be, and we have the power to put on the new self; we are not under obligation to live according to the flesh. The verse also tells us that if we are living in the flesh, we “must die,”---that is, die to self.  What does all of this mean practically for us? It simply means that when the Spirit prompts us to do a certain thing, to respond a certain way, to do the things that are pleasing to the Lord, to do what the scriptures teach-we do it! Our flesh may resist doing such, but at that moment make the choice to follow the leading of the Spirit. The Holy Spirt gives us the power to put to death the deeds of the body-we can put to death wrong thoughts, wrong actions and any other thing about our life that does not please the Lord; and when we do, we find abundant life. Let us see that we are not a ‘body with a spirit’, but a ‘spirit with a body.’ It is all rather simple; we choose to walk according to our flesh, or we choose to walk according to the Spirit; the choice we make has huge implications.
Galatians 5:16, 24-25 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh.”      “Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
Ephesians 5:8-10 “For at one time you were in darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.”
Blessings, Buddy

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I  HAVE  LEARNED  THE  SECRET

10/25/2019

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October 25, 2019                                  I  HAVE  LEARNED  THE  SECRET
Philippians 4:11-13 “Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,”
Just as I said in the last blog, these verses may sound like a ‘pipe dream’ if we have not discovered our identity in Christ-to know that we are complete in Him and that He is our life. In our culture, we think that it is the norm to seek and to have an abundance of material possessions; and we may even question the work ethic of those who have little in the way of possessions. As you observe our culture, I think you will agree that there seems to be very few who are content in their present circumstance. The good news for us is that if Paul could learn to be content in any circumstance, so can we. How blessed is the one who lives in contentment. Paul had discovered that his life was in Christ and that Christ was in him, no matter what the circumstances may have been. As Paul said, at times he lived with ‘humble means’ and there were times when he lived in ‘prosperity,’ and there were times when he had an ‘abundance’ and there were times of ‘suffering need.’ What is this secret of going hungry and yet at the same time being filled? I think the secret lies in us knowing in our innermost being that we have been made new creations and we have been joined to the Lord; that we are spiritual beings who have eternal life; and that we have tasted of the heavenly and have an understanding of what our future holds as believers. Yet, at the present, we live in flesh and bones in a fallen world. In this fallen world, we have various trials and our circumstances can go from good too bad in a second. But, even in the difficult times, we are remain new creations and we still know that He is with us and is even using the difficulties for our good. Most importantly, we know that the spiritual-the things of God- is far greater than the physical. Once we have tasted of the Lord, once we experience His life in us and our life in Him, and once we know the blessings of walking according to the Spirit, we can and will experience the secret of being content in all circumstances, of being filled and yet going hungry. Let us not overlook this; Paul also learned how to live in prosperity. Wealth and an abundance of material possessions can easily become a spiritual distraction, but wealth in itself is not evil. Perhaps it is a greater miracle to live in contentment in abundance as opposed to living in need-just a thought. The point is, no matter what our circumstances are at the present, we can, just Paul did, know the secret of living in contentment, and we can be filled and yet be hungry-all because He lives in us. Let us not forget that we ‘can do all things through Him who strengthens us.’
Romans 8:37-39 “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angles, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, not any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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FOR  THIS  REASON

10/22/2019

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October 22, 2019                              FOR  THIS  REASON
Colossians 1: 9-10, 13 “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”;            “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred to the kingdom of His beloved Son.”
These verses may sound like a spiritual ‘pipe dream’- too good to be true it seems. What believer would not want to be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding-and be able to live in a way that pleases the Lord-to please Him in all respects-bearing fruit in every good work-and increasing in the knowledge of God? We can be assured that this is not a ‘pipe dream’ but is actually God’s plan for every believer. Paul’s prayer for the early believers is also a prayer for us. All of these blessing Paul is praying for are not achieved or realized or experienced by our own effort; we do not ‘fill’ ourselves. At the same time, we are not robots; we have a will and we have the power of choice-so we have a part to play. Jesus said on numerous occasions that if we seek Him first, we would find Him-that is our part. If it is our deepest desire to know Him, we will naturally read the scriptures in which He reveals Himself to us. As we seek Him first and as we search the scriptures, we begin to discover our true identity and all of the things He has done on our behalf. We learn that we have been transferred from the domain of darkness and transferred to His kingdom- and life in His kingdom is awesome! What may have sounded like a spiritual pipe dream, or what sounded impossible, becomes a reality for us when we discover our true identity. Before discovering our identity in Christ, we live on a spiritual roller-coaster, doing our best to be a ‘good’ Christian, and trying our best to keep the commandments of God. The good news is that God has made us new creations, the old things have passed away-we are new! Now, He has filled us with the desire to please Him in all we do-He does fill us with the knowledge of His will-He does give us spiritual wisdom and understanding-and we do bear fruit in every good work-and, we can keep increasing in the knowledge of God. May it be our deepest desire to learn of Him and to discover our identity in Him-who He says we are. He gave His Son that we might be delivered from darkness and transferred to His kingdom where we live it the light-the light of who He is and who we are in Him. If we hunger to know Him, the Holy Spirit in us makes all of these things a reality. God is faithful; He wants us to know Him and He wants us to discover life in Him.
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 1:18-19b “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will 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

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GOD  HAS  PREPARED

10/19/2019

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October 19, 2019                                    GOD  HAS  PREPARED
Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Being saved and assured of heaven when we die is not the end of the story; our salvation is so much more than a ticket to heaven. Note that we are not saved by our works, but by faith in Christ. Also note that even our saving faith is not of ourselves, it is a gift of God. We are God’s workmanship-just being aware of that fact should have a tremendous impact on us. Our physical birth was not an accident or even a result of our parents ‘deciding’ to have a family. God used our earthly parents to get us here physically-but God knew us long before our physical birth. We were created in Christ Jesus. Even before we were born, God had already prepared ‘good works’ for us to walk in!  We were created with a purpose-even while we were in diapers we had a purpose-we had a destiny. It is critical that our view of life-our world view-is built on the word of God and that we do not drift into the philosophy of the world. It is only in knowing God that we find meaning and discover purpose and find our true identity. (If we find ourselves not being nurtured or feeding on the word of God on a consistent basis, it should a red flag for us that we are drifting from the ways of God. Some view the scriptures as a list of works that we must do or commands we must keep if we are to be a ‘good Christian.’ That view is far from the truth-the scriptures are the doorway to real life.) God does not make life complicated-but rather gives us a clear path and also gives us the power to live life as He designed. In the verses above, we find a super clear instruction that if acted on, not only blesses others, it blesses us beyond measure. That simple truth is to realize that God has ‘good works’ for you and me to be about doing. The opportunities of doing good works will present themselves daily. Be alert for ways in which you can do a good work-it’s real simple. It may be speaking a kind or encouraging word, helping someone that has a need, writing a note of appreciation, etc.-it really is a way of life. So, let us be it tune with the plans God has for us and avoid being caught up in the ways of the world; let us not walk by the flesh, but by the Spirit.
Matthew 7:24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on a rock.”
Luke 6:31 “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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WE  HAVE  COME  TO  KNOW

10/16/2019

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October 16, 2019                                         WE  HAVE  COME  TO  KNOW
1 John 4:16: “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.”
Have you come to know the love that God has for you?  Knowing the love that God has for us is the greatest knowledge that one could ever have. The knowledge of God’s love for us revolutionizes every aspect of our lives-it changes everything. It is not enough to know with our mind only that God loves us; but for the love of God to have its full impact on us, we must know in our spirit-in our heart- that God loves us. God loved us before we loved Him as we see in 1 John 4:10: “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  As we see in 1 John and Romans 5:5; God has poured out His love within our hearts through the Holy Spirit. One evidence of God’s love is that we love God and we love others. 1 John 4:11: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”  In fact, according to I John 4:8: “The one who does not love, does not know God, for God is love”- a sobering verse indeed.  Another evidence that we know the love of God is that we do not live in fear.  1 John 4:18: ” “There is no fear in love; but perfect love cast out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”  If and when we find that we have fear, let it be a reminder that we need to bring our attention and our focus back to the love of God. We can trust and we can rest in the love that our heavenly Father has for us even though we may not fully understand why things happen the way they do.
In our culture, the word “love” has multiple meanings. To understand the love that comes from God, we can get a clear picture of what love looks like in 1 Corinthians 13. In this chapter, we get to see in practical ways love being expressed. Just to mention a few snap shots of love from chapter 13, we see that; love motivates us to give; love is patient; without love we are nothing; love is kind; love is not jealous; love is not arrogant; love does not seek its own; love does not act unbecomingly; love does not take into account a wrong suffered; love rejoices with the truth; love bears all things; believes all things; hopes all things; endures all things; and, love never fails. We must ask ourselves if our life, our relationship to those closest to us, reflect this type of love. The good news is that having this type of love is not something we have to do in our own strength; but as we discover the great love that God has for us has been poured out in our heart, we will find ourselves expressing His love-and it will look like the love we see in chapter 13. The love of God changes us at our core, making us new, enabling us to love. It is possible for us to grieve the Spirit of God in us and thereby not live in the love God has for us. May we continually be being renewed in the love of God and may we be living expressions of His love in our day-to-day lives.
 
Philippians 2:3-4: “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interest, but also for the interest of others.”
 
1 John 4:19: “We love, because He first loved us.”
 
Blessings,
 
Buddy

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OUR  LIFE  IS  A  LETTER

10/13/2019

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October 13, 2019                                   OUR  LIFE  IS  A  LETTER
2 Corinthians 3:2-3a “You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ,
2 Corinthians 5:9, 15 “Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”   “and He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.”
We make choices. We decide what course we take in life. We choose how we respond. We choose to live according to our own preferences or according to the ways of God. These realities remind me of Joshua when he said to the people: “Choose this Day Whom You Will Serve.” Joshua 24:14. We are experts at justifying to ourselves and others, why we do what we do. One of the pivotal points or a crucial awareness for believers is to know that as 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us, ‘we are not our own.’ It is a major deal for us to realize that we are no longer our own-we belong to God. Life is not about ME; life is about fulfilling the purposes and plans that God has for me. We are called to die to our old self-to who we use to be before we knew the Lord as Savior. Galatians 2:20. However, the really good news for us is that when we die to self and see ourselves as belonging to God, we experience life to the fullest. It is a mystery how dying to self brings life-a seed must die before it produces. God is our Creator, and as Creator, He knows us better than we could ever know ourselves and He knows exactly what we need to live a meaningful and fulfilled life. God gave the scriptures and He gave us His Spirit that we might know Him and also know our purposes in life. To hold a copy of the word of God in our hands is a miracle indeed; His word is the ultimate guide book for life. As we read the scriptures, we are able to see life as God sees life, and we are able to come to an understanding as to how God sees us. From the verses above, we see that the life we live is a ‘letter.’ The very life we live day by day is a letter that is read by all we come in contact with. Wow! Our ‘letter’ can be a letter that speaks of the love of God, forgiveness, kindness, gentleness, hope, confidence, peace, joy, fellowship, an all the things that comprise life as a son or daughter of God. We do not write our ‘letter;’ the Holy Spirit in us enables us to live according to the ways of God that are found in the scriptures, and by yielding to the work of the Spirit and walking in the ways of God, we become living epistles. May we choose to live in such a way that when others ‘read our letter’-observe our life, they will see the evidence of God at work in us.
2 Corinthians 5:20a “Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ,”
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Blessings,
Buddy

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A CLEAN CONSCIENCE AND A CLEAN HEART

10/10/2019

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October 10, 2019                              A  CLEAN  CONSCIENCE  AND  A  CLEAN  HEART
Hebrews 10:22 “let us draw near with a sincere heart in full assurance of our faith, having our heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
The book of Hebrews goes into great detail describing how the new covenant is far superior to the old covenant. Christ gave His life and shed His blood that we might be forgiven and restored to fellowship with our Heavenly Father. One of the blessings of the New Covenant is that our hearts and our conscience is cleansed from all the defilements and sins of the past! We all know how miserable it is to live with a guilty conscience and a heart that is impure. We may feel that we have so much garbage from the past that we can never again enjoy a clear conscience. Even though we have all sinned and made bad choices, God has made a way for us to live in newness-what a blessing. We cannot cleanse ourselves from and evil or a guilty conscience; if we are depending on our own effort to do so, there is no hope for us. We must shift our thinking from what we can do to what God has already done. When through faith and believing God’s word, we shift our thinking and awareness to what God has done, we find forgiveness and cleansing; we begin to see ourselves as God sees us. God sees us as His sons and daughters who have been forgiven of all sins and who have been made righteous-all because of the sacrifice of His Son on our behalf; it’s all about what He has done! Our call is to discover all that God has done for us and to align ourselves with His plans and purposes for us. Until we discover our new identity as His sons and daughters, our life as a believer will be at best a spiritual roller coaster. Even though God has done all that is necessary for us to live in wholeness with our conscience and heart being made clean, we have a part to play. We must make the choice of walking according to the Spirit, or according to the flesh; we must choose to be renewed in the spirit of our mind and walk in the new person God has made us. The essential part of this is to learn of our true identity as a believer and then live out of that identity. Be willing to examine what you perceive as your identity and be willing to explore who God says you are according to the scriptures. He has made us new creations with new hearts, new minds and a new spirits-let us receive that amazing truth and begin to live like the new people we are-free from the power of sin. 1 John 1:9 above tells us that if we sin, He forgives us and cleanses us.
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.”
Blessings.
Buddy
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PURIFY  YOURSELF

10/7/2019

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October 7, 2019                                        PURIFY  YOURSELF
1 John 3:2-3 “Behold, we are now 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.”
1 Peter 1:15: but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behavior.”
It’s rather easy to live on auto-pilot. However, to live in such a way is to insure spiritual immaturity and a life far short of what God has made available. Also, there is a viewpoint among some that believes that the primary thing is to trust God for salvation, and ‘wait’ on Him to do whatever He wants to do in us. There is a sense in which we are to wait on God and not pursue our own ways-but that is not the point here. The truth is that we have been called to work with Him as He works in us; we are to work out our salvation. Philippians 2:12 tells us: “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed-not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence-continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” The word of God can and should be seen as instructions for life from our Heavenly Father.  From the verses above, two things we are called to do is to purify ourselves and to be holy in all our behavior. We are ‘holy’ because we are in Christ, but we are also called to live holy-to express holiness. We cannot purify ourselves nor can we be holy in our own strength; it’s only by the power of the Spirit within us. There are many scriptures that tell us that obeying God is a result of loving Him-we do not obey in order to earn His approval. So it is with purifying ourselves and being holy in conduct-we do these things because we love Him; in fact, if we love Him, we will do what He says. We know what God means by purifying ourselves; it means getting rid of what is impure-wrong thoughts, wrong actions, wrong response, living for self, etc. It means having a pure heart, because out of the heart the issues of life flow. To be holy in conduct simply means to do the things that please the Lord. If we believe that Jesus is coming again and if we are eagerly awaiting that day, surely we will want to be found living in purity and holiness. All of this is based not on fear, but on the love that God has for us and the love we have for Him.
Colossians 1:9a-10 “We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God.”
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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DRRSSED  IN  READINESS

10/5/2019

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October 5, 2019                                         DRESSED  IN  READINESS
Luke 12:29-32, 35 “And do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink, and do not keep worrying. For all these things the nations of the world eagerly seek; but your Father knows that you need these things. But seek for His kingdom, and these things shall be added to you. Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Heavenly Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.”     “Be dressed in readiness, and keep your lamps alight.”
This section of scriptures cuts right to the core, exposing our motivation in life as well as exposing where our trust lies. These verses either condemn us, or brings us encouragement and joy. I think the key issue for us is that of who and what do we trust for provision-our self, or our Heavenly Father. We are quick to say that our trust is in God, yet, we tend to live as though our provisions for life is up to us. An acid test to show where our trust lies would be our response to being informed that our job was being eliminated, or that our retirement account or our investments had been wiped out. (You may think at this point I am doing a good job of condemning us-but hang in there.) The good news is that our Father has given us His kingdom and in His kingdom, He is our provider. That is not to say that we have no responsibility or that we do not have to work or be industrious; in fact, the scriptures tell us to work with our hands. 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12. But what is it like to live in the kingdom of God here on earth and how does it affect our responses and how does it shape our view of life? There are only two kingdoms-the kingdom of the world and the kingdom of God. In God’s kingdom, God reigns; He is Lord and He has absolute power over everything. His kingdom is one of love, and out of His love, He provides what His subjects (believers) need. God is not a heavenly Santa Clause passing out gifts-He is a God who is about transforming us into His image. A key element of living in His kingdom is that of a sure trust in our Heavenly Father-even when we do not understand. Rather than focus on the ways of the world, we can focus on the ways of God’s kingdom where love and trust are the foundations. Can we truly believe and confess that God is good and that He has our best interest at heart even in difficult times? Words cannot describe His kingdom, but living in His kingdom is beyond comparison to living in the kingdom of this world. I’m out of space for this blog-but know that we have responsibilities in this life, and even though we work to have provision, it is God who has given us the ability and the opportunity to work as unto Him. His kingdom is real; it can be experienced in this life; it has been given to us; it is secure; and it is life indeed. Let us make sure we are kingdom-minded, living by His ways-AND let us look for, and be ready for His return-may we be “dressed in readiness.” To experience His kingdom, we must seek Him first.
Luke 17:21 “Nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”
Blessings,
Buddy

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EVERYTHING  GRANTED  TO  US

10/2/2019

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​October 2, 2019                                    EVERYTHING  GRANTED  TO  US
2 Peter 1:2-4: “Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is the world by lust.”                                                                                                                                                                                     This is another one of those sections of scripture that may be hard to believe once you begin to digest what is being said and the implications of such a promise.  We know that Peter would not have prayed this prayer or made this statement if it were not from the very heart of God; the God who loves His people and has the best desires for them. Only as we desire to know God in a personal way, as we draw near to Him and as we seek Him first will we experience the blessings and promises we find in this passage. As we come to know Him, the grace of God and the peace of God are multiplied to us because He is a God of grace and peace. We may find life to be a challenge and we may feel like the world around us is out of control and we may face tremendous battles, but the truth is that God has given us “everything pertaining to life and godliness” and we have been given this by His divine power-it’s a gift! This is where being a son or daughter of God, where being a Christian, takes us out of this world so to speak into another reality-the Kingdom of God. In the natural it may not appear to be true, but no matter our circumstances at the present, we have everything we need pertaining to life and we have everything we need to be godly (to be like Him). Again, these promises are real to us only “through the true knowledge of Him who called us”. It is essential that we hear the true message of the Gospel of God as there are many false messages being presented, and sad but true, there are false teachings and false messages coming from some who profess to be ministers of the gospel. The New Testament writers had to constantly warn the followers of Christ not to be derailed by those preaching false doctrines. It is true, that as Peter Parris has said, we have been exposed to a “sub-standard gospel” for many years in the western world, and in light of this, we must be diligent in seeking out the true message of the gospel.                                                                                                                             Another tremendous promise in this passage is that by the promises of God and by the work of God we might “become partakers of the divine nature”!! We all know too well our human frailty, our failures; so to think of ourselves as taking on His divine nature may appear to be out of the question. However, the truth is that God has called us to Himself, and He has, and is making it possible for us to be like Him; He is transforming us, and yes, He has given us a new nature-a new nature that is divine! We sin only when we stop walking in our new identity-when we choose to walk according to the flesh. If we don’t believe, if we do not know that we have been given a new nature, then we settle for living beneath His promises. The passage says that “we may become partakers”, which implies that we have a part in the process-that of believing the promises of God and walking in our true identity. In 2 Peter 1:5-8 Peter gives some details as to what our part is in the process of “partaking of the divine nature” looks like and it includes such things as applying all diligence, having faith, moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, brotherly kindness and love. In verses 8-9 we read “For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless or unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins.” Peter is saying that it is possible for the believer not to have the qualities we see in verses five through eight and as a result be blind or short-sighted.  So, God has made it possible for us to partake of His divine nature, but He does not force it on us, but we do have a part to play in the process of putting on the new nature. The gospel is all about revealing what God has done on our behalf and all about revealing our new identity in Him. God chose to love us, to redeem us, to make us new, to make us like Him. In light of all He has done; what can we do other than love Him and worship Him and live our life in accordance to His plans and His desires?
2 Peter 1:10-11: “Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”
Blessings,
Buddy
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    Buddy Fitzgerald

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