Living In Love

How can anyone always live in love?  If I was asked this question I would say that you would have to be connected to the One that is the source of love because He is love.  Read John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

God is love, and He always works from that position, in other words that is always His starting point.  Think of this, even when it comes to His enemies, He loves them also.  He not only loves them, but He also says that we should love and pray and do good to our enemies.  When God’s word says that He gave his only Son that whosoever believed in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life, that meant everyone including His enemies.  Now think of this, we were all God’s enemies because we were all born in sin and because of our sin nature we were separated from God with no way of getting right with Him.  God loved us so much that He made a way through His Son and His Son became the sacrificial Lamb, one who had no sin took on himself the sins of mankind.  

Now read John 3:17, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”

There is only one way to be saved and that is to be forgiven of your sins and to be washed by the blood of Jesus!!  There is but one way to get to God and that is through Jesus His only begotten Son. Please read John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’”

Now read Romans 5:6-8, “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.”  

Now read Ephesians 2:4-7, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

I think that we can only live in love, like I said, through a relationship with God; so, if you would like to experience true love, and not the kind that is all talk and no action, then you will need to have a personal relationship with God.  I am not saying that non-believers can never show love or do good things, not at all, what I am saying is this, to experience and understand true genuine love you must be connected to the author of love which is God Himself!!  I don’t think this can happen without being genuinely sorry for your sins.

Read what it says in 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.”

If this is the way you feel ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins and cleanse you from all unrighteousness and to be your Lord and Savior, then start growing in your newfound faith.  Start fellowshipping with other believers, read the word of God and start praying and praising the Lord daily.  I hope this has been a help and encouragement.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a super day!!

Can You See

There are many people that had a problem with seeing in the word of God, being blinded to the truth; take the Pharisees for instance and keep in mind that I am not talking about physical blindness I am talking about spiritual blindness.   

Read John 9:28–, “Since the world began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him. And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.”

They were not physically blind, but they were spiritually blind.  There are many religious people today, along with the non-believers, who are spiritually blind today also.  Many seem to be taken in by someone they trust regardless of what they say.  And, many times it is not by anyone trying to lead them astray, but they have been taken in by someone they trusted.  God’s word says this, “The righteous perish for lack of knowledge.”  Is it because we don’t have the Word of God accessible to us today?  I don’t think so.  We have all kinds of Bibles and resources, but we are not taking the time to read them and study them and pray and seek the Lord and the help of the Holy Spirit to teach us and to lead us into all truth.  After all, He is the real teacher, plus the Bible relates to this; in a multitude of counselors we find wisdom!!  I don’t believe that anyone has all the Bible knowledge they can possess.  

Please read 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, “Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 

Who is the prince or god of this world, the enemy of our souls, who blinds the minds of the non-believers?  I think I said this in my last blog, that the truth is so important, I heard it said, that it is guarded by a body guard of lies.  You can live in the dark or come out of darkness into the light.

Please read John 12:44-50, “Then Jesus cried out and said, ‘He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him—the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak.’”         

The choice is up to you.  If you want to come out of darkness and into the light, you will have to acknowledge the fact that you are a sinner and be willing to leave your sinful ways behind you and turn from them and turn to God, which is called repentance.  Ask the Lord to forgive you and to cover you with His precious blood and be the Lord and Savior of your life!!  If you are sincere, I believe you will be a new creation in Christ.  Then start growing in your newfound faith!!  I hope this has been a help and encouragement to you and that you will make the right choice and be set free, praise the Lord!!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!

The Lord Is Our Refuge

Jesus said this, “In this world you will have tribulation,” so when the trials and the storms of life beat against us, how should we respond?  We all know that these things will happen sooner or later in each of our lives whether we are believers or not, it is a given.  I believe our response will determine what the outcome will be.

Now think about how Jesus ended this verse by saying this, “But be of good cheer for I have overcome the world”.  So, should we respond with negativity which in the end will just make things worse or should we respond positively which will put a better spin on whatever the situation is?  I am not saying that we should deny whatever the problem is, no, I think we need to be realistic and face the truth and call it what it is.  It seems, at least in my case, I respond more negatively than positively when I am going through trials and tribulations which I am working on, so I can overcome the negativity.  I believe a believer should be able to handle the storms in their life to a greater degree than a non-believer.  A believer has the Lord on their side and they can go to Him for help and encouragement and deliverance through prayer.  

There are many positive responses in the word of God for the believer also, like this one, “All things work together for good to those who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose”.  And there are many more, here is another example, “We know that the Lord came that we might have life and have it more abundantly”.

If these things are true, then why will we have tribulations?  For one thing, we live in a fallen world, so we are affected by many different things.  Now think of this, we also can learn by trials and tribulations.  We can also help others that are going through different trials if we have been through them already, plus they can even help strengthen our faith.  I have struggled with things in my Christian walk over the years and the Lord has helped me get through them all which I praise the Lord for.

I was just delivered from three heavy trials that I never thought I would ever get through and get peace about and the reason I was delivered is because I kept praying and listening to people who know far more than I do and reading my Bible also.  Then finally I heard the truth and I was set free, praise the Lord!!

Like my title says the Lord is our refuge, if we are truly believers.  So, if we don’t give up and throw in the towel, so to speak, and trust the Lord He will always come through for us because He loves us and He doesn’t want us in bondage.  I hope this has been a help and encouragement to whoever reads it.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!