Live As a New Creation

I don’t know if you are a Christian or not but if you are and you are reading this you are instructed to put off the old man, or old self, and to put on the new self.  

As a non-believer you have the old nature, or the old man, which stands against the things of God.  You have conformed to the world’s pattern and the worldly ways of thinking, which I relate to as stinkin’ thinkin’.  If you are an unbeliever, or you are not born-again, that way of thinking is natural.  You naturally conform to the world because you can do nothing else.  You are basically powerless to think any other way.  

Before anyone becomes a born-again believer they are in the same situation letting the old nature run their lives.  But when a person becomes born-again he or she is a new creature, or creation, in Christ and has the power to resist conformity to the world.  The Word says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ he is a new creature, old things are passed away behold all things are become new.” (KJV) 

When you become a Christian the seed of God has been placed in you plus the Holy Spirit dwells in you and you have the power to be transformed instead of being conformed to this world.  The Word says in Romans

12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God!” (KJV)

How do we start to non-conform to the world?  By getting into the Word of God, studying it and putting the things we read into practice.  This will take sacrifice and good choices.  Also finding a church that preaches the Truth and not the watered down, user-friendly word that will not change your life but just entertain you.  And don’t just take somebody’s word for it, get into the Word yourself and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you.  The Holy Spirit is the greatest teacher.  The Bible says this in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman who needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (KJV)  

This is what is says in Ephesians 4:17–34 about living as a new person, “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:  who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.  But ye have not so learned Christ; if so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: that ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.  Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor:  for we are members one of another.  Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:  neither give place to the devil.  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.  Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.  Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” (KJV)

Well I think that says it all, so put on the new man walking in the Spirit and you will not gratify the flesh and you will put to death the old man and its sinful desires and be a victorious Christian, praise the Lord!  God bless and have a great day.  And don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord!!  

    

Sins ~ Forgiven and Forgotten

Greater words have never been spoken then these, your sins are forgiven and forgotten.  Think about these words in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now and let us reason together says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.”  And these words in Psalms 103:12, “As far as the East is from the West so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

I wrote about these things in yesterday’s blog and how it took the blood of Jesus to cleanse and purify our sins.  Oh the power in the blood of Jesus and the power in the name of Jesus.  Did you ever just think about how blessed you are to be one of the blood washed saints?  Do you realize that you have been snatched from the very fires of Hell?  This is something to rejoice about, but it seems like many believers have no joy, is it because they don’t believe this or that they just don’t appreciate what the Lord has done for them?  

Jesus suffered horribly to buy our pardon.  Jesus was beaten, whipped and spit on, then He suffered the pain and humiliation of being crucified, men driving spikes through His hands and feet.  Crucifixion wasn’t for honest upright law abiding people, it was for thieves and robbers and the evil people of that day.  Jesus wasn’t in this category of people, He was kind and gentle, loving and caring.  He never had a sinful thought or committed a sinful act.  He was obedient to His heavenly Father and brought Him glory while He walked the earth.

Some might think because He had the power to perform many miracles that somehow He wasn’t human, Jesus was fully human and He felt pain and suffering just like we do.  The Word says, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin”  in Hebrews 4:15. (NAS Bible)  But even though He never sinned He became our sin barrier which was in obedience to His Father.  He not only was tempted, but like I said, He felt pain and suffering like we do.

Remember when He was in the garden before His crucifixion?  This is what it says in Luke 22:41–44, “And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, ‘Father if thou art willing remove this cup from me, yet not my will but Thine be done.’  Now an angel of the Lord appeared to Him, strengthening Him.  And being in agony He was praying very fervently and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” (NAS Bible)  Jesus definitely felt every bit of pain and suffering but He came to give His life for a ransom for us and for all who would believe in Him, he never forgot His purpose for being here.

So if you are a born-again believer you have something to shout about, praise the Lord.  I don’t know where you are in your walk with the Lord and I don’t know your situation, but I do know that God is worthy of our praise.  So do your best to thank and praise Him, may God bless you, and have a great day!!           

Sacrifice of Praise

This reminds me of the animal sacrifices in the Old Testament and, of course, the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who is my Savior and Lord.  In both the Old and New Testaments, animals were acceptable sacrifices for sin until Jesus was resurrected from the dead.  

Before the death, burial and resurrection of Christ men were separated from God because of their sin and the wrath of God was their portion.  It says in Romans 1:18–20, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.  For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

This tells us that we, being born in sin, are all under God’s wrath and His judgment at the time of our birth with no exceptions.  The Bible says in Romans 3:23, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (NIV Bible)  The Bible also says in Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (KJV Bible)  So all of us were born with a death sentence on our lives and totally separated from God because of our sin.  

The Bible says in Hebrews 9:22, “Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin.”  So for mankind to ever be able to stand before God there had to be a sacrifice for their sin.  The sacrifice for man’s sins had to be a perfect sacrifice, it could not be an animal sacrifice because the animal sacrifice was just a covering over of sin and had to be done over and over again because there wasn’t enough power in the blood of animals to completely erase man’s sins.  It says in Hebrews 10:4, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.”  

But there was a problem, man couldn’t shed his own blood because he was a sinner so man needed a perfect sacrifice.  God knowing our dilemma made a way for us.  God sent His only begotten Son to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins, praise God!  

Going back to Romans 6:23, after it says the wages of sin is death it says but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  It says in Hebrews 9:24–28, “For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence.  Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own.  Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world.  But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.  Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (NIV Bible)  This is great news for fallen man, something to get excited about and to stay excited about.  If the Lord never does anything else for you this is enough for you to thank and praise Him forever.  

Just think, without the power in the blood of Jesus to cleanse and purify our sins we would be the most miserable people.  So no matter where you find yourself today, in whatever circumstance or situation, whether you feel like it or not, if you have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus give Him a sacrifice of praise!!  The gift of salvation is the greatest gift you will ever receive.  People get excited about so many things and none of them can top this one.  God loves it when we praise Him, so what are you waiting for, get your mind off everything else and give the Lord praise!

If you are not born again there is room at the feet of Jesus for you.  Repent of your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you for them.  Then ask the Lord to come into your life, to be your Lord and Savior.  If you truly mean what you say the Lord will forgive you.  Then you will also be excited and start praising and thanking the Lord and so will all the heavenly host, praise the Lord.  Have a great day and God bless!!              

Hostile Toward God

Jesus said, “Where your treasure is there will your heart be also.”  Matthew 6:21 and also in Luke 12:34.  I want you to really think about this verse and what it means to you.

Now I am going to ask you some questions; what are you seeking, and what is your main interest, is it the things of the world or the things of the Kingdom?  If someone was to check out the place you live, because they wanted to write a book on your life without really knowing you or anything about you, what would they say about you?  Think of this, whatever the person saw in your home the Lord has already seen.  If this person saw all the things you own would they think you were seeking God’s kingdom or the world?  If this person knew about your finances and what you do with your money could they tell which kingdom you are seeking?  Would this person know what you hold nearest and dearest in your heart?  And what about your friends what would they say was the most important treasure in your life?  

People say they love the Lord and they want to go to heaven all the time, but I wonder how many of them really do.  Jesus said in Matthew 6:23, “But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.”  Most of the things that the Lord says depend on our response or our actions.  Jesus didn’t say we would just receive all these things, no, He said if we would seek His Kingdom first and His righteousness then we would receive all these things.  If we say we love the Lord and want to be with Him in Heaven, don’t you think our lives should show it here?  You might look at the world as a testing ground so we and the Lord can really see what our priorities are.  Are we so worldly minded that we are no heavenly good, only we can answer that.

If we love the things of the world, we will experience God’s wrath.  I don’t think this means that we shouldn’t love the people of the world because the second commandment says, “To love your neighbor as yourself.”  I think it means if we are more focused on the things of the world and it’s theology than we are of the Lord and the things of the Kingdom.  

There was a man that followed Paul in the New Testament called Demas, the Bible doesn’t say a lot about him but in 2 Timothy 4:10 it says this, “For Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica, Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.”  Why Demas deserted Paul we don’t know for sure.  Maybe it was because of the pressure he was experiencing serving God or maybe persecution, the Bible doesn’t tell us, but whatever it was it caused him to desert and go back into the world.  

Think about these verses in Mark 8:35–37 Jesus speaking, “For whosoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whosoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall save it.  For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his own soul?  For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”  Think about these verses, don’t just skip over them, we may find ourselves in this situation someday having to make this choice, laying down our lives for the Lord or denying the Lord to save our lives.  I hope if it ever comes to this choice we will make the right one.

It seems that Christians get pulled in one direction and then the other. There is temptation everywhere you turn so we need to keep our feet on the narrow path that leads to God’s kingdom.  Our eyes and mind need to be focused on the Lord seeking Him and His kingdom above all other things or interests.  We need to be filled and walking in His Spirit every day.  We need to be prayed up with the whole armor of God in place leaning not on our own understanding but in all our ways acknowledging Him that He would guide our steps.  Then we will be victorious in the faith, praise God!  Then we will never have to worry about loving the things of this world and turning God‘s hostility towards us.  God will be pleased with us and someday we may hear those words, “well done my good and faithful servant enter into your rest,” praise the Lord!  God bless and have a great day.           

Harvest Time

I remember a time when the church went out and got involved in harvesting souls.  Going out and witnessing was a regular practice and was very much on the minds of some believers.  Teaching about witnessing and putting it into practice was the norm in many churches.  Today the Mormons and those who call themselves Jehovah Witnesses seem to be the ones that evangelize by knocking on doors and pedaling their wares and their groups are growing.  

Think about what Jesus said to His disciples when he was in Samaria in John 4:35–38, “Say not ye, there are yet four months and then cometh harvest?  Behold, I say unto you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal, that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.  And herein is that saying true, one soweth and another reapeth.  I sent you to reap that whereon you bestowed no labour: other men laboured and ye are entered into their labours.”  These words of Jesus give a believer no excuse for not witnessing to their loved ones, their friends and others they may come in contact with.

Today the fields are still ripe for the harvest.  In those days the sowing and planting were done by the Old Testament Prophets and John the Baptist who labored and paved the way for the gospel.  In our day there have been many who have labored and sown the seeds of the gospel and we have the opportunity to water those seeds so that the Lord will give the increase.  

Another thing I want to mention here is no matter how bad you think the person is, God loves them and wants them to repent and be saved.  

Jesus was a Jew and so were His disciples.  At the time when Jesus spoke to the disciples about the fields being ripe for the harvest He was in Samaria with the Samaritan woman at the well talking to her.  The reason I mentioned this was because at the time the Jews hated the Samaritans. So Jesus was also teaching His disciples to love their enemies as well as their friends, and He demonstrated this by His love for the Samaritans, to the disciples shock and amazement.

Another lesson you can take from this story is that when you win a soul with the Lord’s help it doesn’t have to be complicated, sometimes just telling the person what the Lord has done for you will be enough.  But don’t be afraid to show your excitement, your excitement will be contagious.  This Samaritan woman was excited about what Jesus told her and she went into the city and spread the news.  This is what it says in verse 39, “And many of the Samaritans of that city believed on Him (Jesus) for the saying of the woman, which testified, ‘He told me all that ever I did.’”  Like I said, get excited and tell people what Jesus has done for you.  And don’t forget to always witness by your example like Jesus did.  So get excited and go and do likewise.

If you are privileged enough to have someone pray the sinner’s prayer with you, you will definitely be excited and all Heaven will rejoice with you, praise the Lord.  God bless you and don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord!!