October 23, 2012

 “Pure Victory”

Scripture:

If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil God can use for His purpose. Your life will be clean, and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:21) NLT

Observation:

Christ’s sacrificial death was the final and complete atonement for mankind’s sin and rebellion against the LORD God (Colossians 2:13-15). For when you confess your sins to God, asking for forgiveness, and hence, accept His authority over your life, and you do this with humility and conviction, the Lord will personally cleanse you, giving you a new life and a new beginning in Him. The old sins from the past no longer have control over you and the fear of death looses its power. But in return for God’s incredible gift of salvation, we must keep ourselves pure (1 Timothy 5:22) in repentance, by continually bringing any new sins before the Lord, because although the power of sin has been broken, our nature to sin remains.

Application:

Until Christ’s return we cannot fully escape our weakness to sin—we will always fall short of God’s standard and in the interim, we need to rely on God’s amazing grace for forgiveness and His strength to fight the war against sin and the goodness of God. No human being can successfully fight the enormous evil power that Satan and his forces possess. Without the Lord we are weak and vulnerable to the dark forces of evil that has its grip on this war torn world that is screaming for peace and pleading for truth. We are borne into a world that is consumed in both physical and spiritual warfare; a world where the battles of good and evil are fought 24/7. From the moment we are conceived in our mother’s womb the battle for our existence begins, and with our first breath of life they continue to rage on, but not only for our physical survival, but for our hearts, our minds, and eventually for our eternal souls. Although Satan is the Prince of this fallen world for now, Christ Jesus is King (1 Timothy 1:17). Our God and Savior is in control of all goings on in this world—nothing happens that He does not know about, or allow, for Satan is but a mere puppet in the scheme of God’s glorious plan for His creation. The Devil knows what his fate will be, and make no mistake about it, my friends; he will go down fighting hard and he will take many with him. But God is preparing His people well by giving us the two greatest gifts of this age; His Word and His Church. Both of these incredible gifts from our Sovereign God provides the courage, strength, comfort and most importantly, the Truth, so that we, the Church, can go out into the world spreading the Good News of God’s victory through Christ Jesus, our Lord—a very sweet victory for all those battle weary saints whose Commander in Chief is the Son of God, the One who will return one day soon with fire in His eyes and a very sharp sword to clean up the mess and bring us into His pure victory!

Prayer:

You are to be praised, O Sovereign God, for the victory we find in Your Son, Jesus Christ. For Christ’s victory will prevail and not even the powers from Hell are a match for You. For all it takes is a word from Your mouth and it will be done immediately without delay. You are the Great I Am!

                                                                                                                                                 October 23, 2012

                                                            Soap

                                         “Pure Victory”

Scripture:

If you keep yourself pure, you will be a utensil

God can use for His purpose.  Your life will be clean,

and you will be ready for the Master to use you for every good work. (2 Timothy 2:21)  NLT

Observation:

Christ’s sacrificial death was the final and complete atonement for mankind’s sin and rebellion against the LORD God (Colossians 2:13-15).  For when you confess your sins to God, asking for forgiveness, and hence, accept His authority over your life, and you do this with humility and conviction, the Lord will personally cleanse you, giving you a new life and a new beginning in Him.  The old sins from the past no longer have control over you and the fear of death looses its power.  But in return for God’s incredible gift of salvation, we must keep ourselves pure (1 Timothy 5:22) in repentance, by continually bringing any new sins before the Lord, because although the power of sin has been broken, our nature to sin remains.

Application:

Until Christ’s return we cannot fully escape our weakness to sin—we will always fall short of God’s standard and in the interim, we need to rely on God’s amazing grace for forgiveness and His strength to fight the war against sin and the goodness of God.  No human being can successfully fight the enormous evil power that Satan and his forces possess.  Without the Lord we are weak and vulnerable to the dark forces of evil that has its grip on this war torn world that is screaming for peace and pleading for truth.  We are borne into a world that is consumed in both physical and spiritual warfare; a world where the battles of good and evil are fought 24/7.  From the moment we are conceived in our mother’s womb the battle for our existence begins, and with our first breath of life they continue to rage on, but not only for our physical survival, but for our hearts, our minds, and eventually for our eternal souls.  Although Satan is the Prince of this fallen world for now, Christ Jesus is King (1 Timothy 1:17).  Our God and Savior is in control of all goings on in this world—nothing happens that He does not know about, or allow, for Satan is but a mere puppet in the scheme of God’s glorious plan for His creation.  The Devil knows what his fate will be, and make no mistake about it, my friends; he will go down fighting hard and he will take many with him.  But God is preparing His people well by giving us the two greatest gifts of this age; His Word and His Church.  Both of these incredible gifts from our Sovereign God provides the courage, strength, comfort and most importantly, the Truth, so that we, the Church, can go out into the world spreading the Good News of God’s victory through Christ Jesus, our Lord—a very sweet victory for all those battle weary saints whose Commander in Chief is the Son of God, the One who will return one day soon with fire in His eyes and a very sharp sword to clean up the mess and bring us into His pure victory!

Prayer:

You are to be praised, O Sovereign God, for the victory we find in Your Son, Jesus Christ.  For Christ’s victory will prevail and not even the powers from Hell are a match for You.  For all it takes is a word from Your mouth and it will be done immediately without delay.  You are the Great I Am!    Amen

October 13, 2012

“Harbinger”

Scripture:

“This is My warning to My people,” says the LORD Almighty. “Do not listen to these prophets when they prophesy to you, filling you with futile hopes. They are making up everything they say. They do not speak for the LORD! They keep saying to these rebels who despise My Word, ‘Don’t worry! The LORD says you will have peace!’ And to those who stubbornly follow their own evil desires, they say, ‘No harm will come your way!’” (Jeremiah 23:16-17)

Observation:

This warning from thousands of years ago, from our merciful and gracious God to His people Israel, is also a message of warning for His Church and all peoples in America. Much like in Israel’s final days God’s Word is being misrepresented and misinterpreted by many false prophets in our churches, in our schools, through books, television, radio, and now through the internet. The ungodly hope that is found in manmade religion, government intervention, and promised entitlements are leading this great nation down a very dangerous path I call complacent secularism—thinking that everything will be just fine because this is America, and although it’s governing is not always the best, it will always survive.

Application:

This is not so, my friends! For just as Israel turned their backs on God and He allowed them to be destroyed because of their ungodly, detestable sins, so, too, is the Lord’s anger burning against the detestable sins of His American Nation. How can He not be? We are loosing our morality by turning our backs on God and His righteousness to do whatever our sinful natures crave. We have, as a nation, legally sacrificed millions of our unborn children to be thrown away like garbage. We have slowly removed God’s Word from our homes, from our schools, from our governing, and sadly the truth of God’s Word is even being removed from our churches as well. Many people will never really know the truth because their minds are being poisoned with lies and false hope from an evil world engulfed in a darkness that is also consuming this great nation. But those who belong to the LORD God know the Truth and with His Truth comes an enduring peace that comforts our burdened and weary souls until that day when God’s glorious restoration is complete. The future for this country and the world looks rather bleak in the eyes of mankind and even bleaker yet for those who live in darkness without the Hope of Christ. Can God save this country? Of course He can! Will He save this country? His Word tells us not! So what can American Christians do for God, our country, and this dark world? We can live godly lives in our homes, in our schools, in our work place, in our communities, but most importantly in our hearts, for by living as true disciples of Christ the world will see the powerful hand of God graciously at work. And amidst all the bad news that consumes the airways and media, we must not only spread the Good News of redemption and salvation that is found only in Christ Jesus our Lord God, but we must also sound the trumpet of warning (Ezekiel 33:3-6). We must not hide ourselves in the Truth we know. Instead, we must reach out to the lost and misinformed, helping them understand God’s plan and what the future holds for mankind. We cannot afford to hide our faith from the world, my friends, we must let our voices be heard by voting for men and women who walk the walk with God and not just talk the talk for votes. We must return to the Lord our God (Malachi 2:7). We must return to the American Covenant that our founding fathers made with the Lord God and once again become a self-governing Christian people under God.

Prayer:

Help Your people, O God, to let our voices be heard in a world that needs Your Hope. For without Your Truth so many will fall victim to the lies of the Enemy and then perish into Hell unaware of their fate. Amen

October 6, 2012

“The Makers Plan”

Scripture:

“My people are foolish and do not know Me,” says the LORD. “They are senseless children who have no understanding. They are clever enough at doing wrong, but they have no talent at all for doing right.” (Jeremiah 4:22) NLT

Observation:

Much like God’s chosen nation of Israel and the Jewish people (Jeremiah 10:16) is the United States of America; a Christian nation made by God for God. America was founded in His Name and became the richest and most powerful nation the world has ever known—a nation that would stand strong in defending freedom and the Truth of God’s Word; a nation that would help millions of oppressed people who would have otherwise lived in hunger, hopelessness, and without ever knowing the True and Living God; a Christian people that would lead the way in spreading throughout the world the Good News of salvation in Christ—a nation that would help bring the scattered Jewish nation back into the land that God had given them. And just as Satan, the prince of this fallen world, poisoned the Jewish people and its leaders with lies and deception, leading the nation away from God and His protection, so, too, is Satan poisoning the peoples of America and attacking God’s Church, leaving them both misinformed and unprotected.

Application:

The prosperity gospel’s and many other false doctrines that are being preached in the Church today are not only leading people to worship themselves and other gods, but they are also spreading lies that there are no eternal consequences for sinful behavior—that Hell does not exist—that “all good people” go to Heaven and what’s left just ceases to exist. The only problem with this teaching is that God’s Word tells us different; that no one does good (Psalm 14:2-3); that we all sin and fall short of God’s glorious standard (Romans 3:23). We need God’s glorious plan to make us right, and Christ Jesus is that plan (Romans 3:25). No matter what the leaders of this fallen world promise, only Christ can fix the problems we face. Only Christ will create perfect living conditions—a world without wars, without famine, and without disease and death. Only the Creator can create the perfect utopia here on Earth. And only the LORD our God and Savior can save us from the burning consequences of sin that lead into the Lake of Fire. There are dire consequences for living apart from God, my friends, because He did create a place called Hell just as He created a place called Heaven. Both are very real. Heaven or Hell are the only eternal choices we have to choose from. There are no others. If you want to escape the horrors of Hell and live eternally with the Living God who loves you, you must have faith in the Cross of Christ. If you want to be fully sanctified and holy, you must live in obedience to God. Don’t be one of the many that will be left behind. Instead, escape the coming darkness of God’s terrifying wrath by returning to your Maker, and live according to His Plan.

Prayer:

I pray, dear Lord that you would open the eyes of the blind so that they can see the Truth; that they would return to You. Help us to always know what path to follow; that we would return to trusting Your Word. For our eternal life depends on it. Amen

September 29, 2012

“Saving Peace”

Scripture:

“I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts.” “There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God. (Isaiah 57:15, 21)  NLT

Observation:

When people choose to live their lives apart from the Lord God, they will selfishly live according to the lusts of their sinful flesh—doing as they please, whenever they please, and use this fallen world and its self-centered ways as their justification. And when a person lives out their life in this manner they are walking a path that seems right and good for them, but in reality when their earthly life is over it will end in an eternity of darkness, forever separated from God and His Light—a dark and lonely place—a place without end, without God, and without hope (Proverbs 14:12).

Application:

But for those who choose to put their lives fully into God’s care and control, He gives them the Way, the Truth, and a life that is worth more than anything we could ever dream of asking for. When you have the Father of Life as your Provider, the Savior as your Protector, and Holy Spirit as your Power, you have a Sovereign God that will give you the courage to stand strong in your faith and a saving peace when you fall short (Deuteronomy 31:8). Those who turn away from God to live as the world lives will live in fear of death, uncertainty about the future, and will never experience the peace of God that suppresses the anxiety in which this dark and dying world brings to every living soul. Having God’s peace in this unbalanced and violent world will comfort any weary and battled scared soul (John 14:26). Having the Lord leading the way will send you boldly into battle knowing the victory is yours. With God on your side, not even the powers of Hell can keep you down, for when God is with you He is all you need, for His power and greatness has overcome this dark world and given us His Light, His Truth, and His everlasting Hope. When we bow down before God’s Authority and submit to His righteous ways, He provides us with the strength to win our battles with sin so we can live a righteous life that honors, glorifies, and pleases our God in Heaven. So walk with God and live humble and brave, my friends, and as you walk through your life-journey, the Lord God will fill your heart with His amazing Peace; Peace that not only saved your eternal soul, but the same Peace that saved the world as well.

Prayer:

Thank You dear Lord, for Your amazing peace. Thank You Lord for the courage You give us. But most of all I want to thank You for saving this world from total destruction and death. Your promises give us hope and joy. There is no other God but You! Amen

September 23, 2012

“Most Holy One”

Scripture:

But now, O Israel, the LORD who created you says: “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are mine. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you. For I am the LORD, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:1-2, 3) NLT

Observation:

Although the LORD is speaking to His people Israel through the prophet Isaiah, these Living Words from God are also speaking to His Church today. This incredible, life changing truth is God’s promise to everyone who belongs to Him.

Application:

When we become a part of the Body of Christ, His Church, we are no longer like a lone wolf hungrily searching to satisfy its instinctive animal appetites to survive. But unlike the wolf that is driven by survival, we choose to consciously feed on the worldly things that bring pleasure to our sinful flesh, rather than feeding on every word of God in order to nourish our eternal souls (1 Peter 2:2). As sinful human beings we tend to spend more time feeding on the things that are spiritually unhealthy and lead us away from the Savior. But when we give our lives to God, He breaks the chains that hold us captive to the pleasures of sin that lead to Hell. Instead, we are adopted into God’s family, receiving everything we need to satisfy our spiritual hunger and thirst for God and eternity. And once we accept Christ’s sacrificial death on the Cross as the price paid for our sin-filled rebellion against God, we become His very own possessions—our lives are no longer our own, for we have not only been set free from our bondage to sin and death, but we are also made a new creation in Christ Jesus, our Lord (2 Corinthians 5:17). The price for your redemption has been paid in full, my friends. Your life has now been purchased by God and all He really wants in return is your love and obedience (1 Peter 1:14) and to live your life in ways that bring Him glory. One of the most incredible sensations you will ever experience is when you realize that you now belong to the Kingdom of God—you are now a citizen of Heaven. You will feel such an awesome sense of belonging to Something and Some One that is so incredibly greater than anything this fallen world has to offer. You will find yourself joyously praising the LORD Almighty—the Living God who saved you, for He will begin immediately rewarding you with an everlasting peace amidst the chaos, an everlasting joy in your deepest sorrow, and the unshakable confidence in knowing that you are a child of God. Realizing these amazing things about our Most Holy God allows you to be bold and unafraid, for He will give you both the Wisdom and Power to not only live righteously with the unrighteous, but to tell other lost souls about their desperate need to surrender to the Savior—the Most Holy One of Israel.

Prayer:

Thank You O God, for paying the price for our redemption. Thank You for setting us free from the power of sin and death. Thank You for giving me another chance to live righteously for You.  Amen