Tag Archives: Following Christ

Who Said That? Jesus or Satan?

As we believe in GOD, we are to believe in JESUS. Jesus is the Son of God. He is the Great I AM, God manifest in the flesh. Jesus is the One Whom God has sent to show us the way of light. When Israel believed in themselves, they lost the Promised Land. God told Israel that every 7th year was to be a Sabbatical Year where Israel believed not in themselves, but in God. God gave Israel numerous Sabbaths where they were to cease their own works, and believe in God. Yet Israel believed in themselves – and lost the Promised Land and their freedoms. We are never to believe in ourselves – but in God and in Christ. Jesus said:

John 12:44-50 (ESV) …. Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me. 45 And whoever sees me sees him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. 47 If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. 50 And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.

We are not to believe in ourselves apart from the power of Jesus…. Continue reading →

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The Dangerous Confusion Of Idolatry

Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Opening: What is the most deadly poison in the world? If you ask scientists, they will tell you that it is not snake venom, nor black mold, nor even radiation poisoning. The most deadly poison they say is not cyanide, arsenic, or strychnine. It is Botulinum toxin. A tiny particle – 1 nanogram, a billionth of a gram … and a gram is 1/30 of an ounce – will kill you.

There is something even more deadly than Botulinum toxin, and what makes it so deadly is that it can creep up on you. No, I’m not talking about Covid or the Flu.

The deadliest thing ever was introduced to our species not by a monkey or a sheep, but by a snake in a garden. This deadly thing is idolatry. Continue reading →

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Man Not Naturally Good – But God Is

Romans 1:17-20 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. [18] For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; [19] Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them. [20] For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse…

The “JUST” or “RIGHTEOUS” Shall
Live By Faith In God

Word Study: The Bible says “The JUST shall live by faith”. The word translated “JUST” is the Greek dikaios (pro. dik’-ah-yos) which means “those who are RIGHTEOUS, JUSTIFIED or in a RIGHT STATE WITH GOD, the HOLY or BLAMELESS”. This statement is used frequently in the Bible – and NOT just in the New Testament. In the Book of Habakkuk God told the Prophet:

Habakkuk 1:6-7 (ESV) … I am raising up the Chaldeans, that bitter and hasty nation, who march through the breadth of the earth, to seize dwellings not their own. 7 They are dreaded and fearsome; their justice and dignity go forth from themselves.

Why? Because Israel had departed from following God. Habakkuk wrote:

Habakkuk 1:12 (ESV) … We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. … Continue reading →

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Be Gracious But Careful

The fruit of the Christian life should be graciousness. We have received undeserved grace from the Lord Jesus Christ. We – in turn – should be gracious to others. When Jesus sent out His Apostles to minister, He told them:

Matthew 10:8 … (NIV) Freely you have received; freely give ..

The Apostle Paul gathered the Church at Ephesus and, speaking to those he so loved, encouraged the Church to live by GRACE. He said:

Acts 20:32-35 (NKJV) So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I have coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 Yes, you yourselves know that these hands have provided for my necessities, and for those who were with me. 35 I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’

God gave grace freely to His Children, and we, in turn, are to give graciously. The mark of the true Christian is the one who shows the fruit of hospitality. The Scripture says “show HOSPITALITY to one another WITHOUT GRUMBLING” (1 Peter 4:9). We are commanded to “Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality” (Romans 12:13). But our generosity is not just to be IN the Church, but OUTSIDE of the Church. We are told: Continue reading →

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We Live By The Gospel

Romans 1:8-17 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. 9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers; 10 Making request, if by any means now at length I might have a prosperous journey by the will of God to come unto you. 11 For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established; 12 That is, that I may be comforted together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me. 13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles. 14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

I was reading an article the other day about the first vending machine ever made. In the article the author stated:

“the first-ever vending machine was utilized all the way back in the 1st century A.D. — by the Christian church. No, it didn’t dispense indulgences, though that would have been awesome, and probably have inspired rampant sinning in a 10-foot radius of the machine. What it did dispense, as if it was Fruitopia or Surge, was holy water. … Continue reading →

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Be Careful What Carries You

I love to watch horror movies. Not the bloody type – that’s disgusting. But the scary type. I watched a movie the other day about a serial killer who drove an Uber. Uber is a company that hires private citizens to pick people up in their cars, kind of like a taxi. The problem is, Uber drivers aren’t checked out like a commercial taxi driver is. You don’t whose car you are getting into. And yes, you could get into the back seat of a serial killer’s car. Or worse! Be careful what you choose to carry you through life, or it may carry you to death. Continue reading →

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Saved vs Lost People

I have heard it said that …

The Righteous person, saved by faith in Christ, fears God so he doesn’t fear the future. However the Wicked person who rejects salvation in Christ has no fear of God, but fears the future.

The Christian need not fear what tomorrow may bring, because we live our lives for the God Who holds tomorrow in the palm of His hand. It’s like that old hymn I rarely hear sung in Church anymore:

I don’t know about tomorrow,
I just live from day to day.
I don’t borrow from its sunshine,
For its skies may turn to gray.
I don’t worry o’er the future,
For I know what Jesus said,
And today I’ll walk beside Him,
For He knows what is ahead.
Many things about tomorrow,
I don’t seem to understand;
But I know Who holds tomorrow,
And I know Who holds my hand.

The Bible says:

Psalm 145:19 (ESV) He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.

God loves His Children, and do not want them living in fear over the things of this world. “Greater is He Who is in you, than He that is in the world” (1 John 4:4). This comes upon us… Continue reading →

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Faith Not Feelings

We are told to be “Looking diligently” lest we “FAIL OF THE GRACE OF GOD”. The word translated “FAIL” is the Greek hystereō (hoos-ter-eh’-o), which means “to fall short of, to fail to reach the goal, to suffer for lack of”. The same word is used in:

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and COME SHORT OF (hystereō) the glory of God.

Because we all have sinned and hystereō the glory of God, we all deserve eternal separation from God. None of us deserve entrance into God’s wonderful Heaven. None of us deserve to be born again, nor to be adopted into the family of God. All of us deserve eternal damnation.

But God offers us GRACE!

Grace is when God gives us what we do not deserve. To receive grace, we must have faith in God. To receive grace, we must TRUST God to be honorable, truthful, and faithful. Grace turns from my ability to God’s ability. Grace looks to the Cross of Christ and the empty tomb. We are told … Continue reading →

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Working For Christ’s Kingdom

As we continue through Proverbs 10, we will continue to see the contrast between the child of God and the lost person. There is a reason for this contrast, as we shall shortly see.

Proverbs 10:14-16 Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction. 15 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty. 16 The labor of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.

Believers In Christ STORE UP The Right Thing

These three proverbs actually work together. They speak of “storing up”. The proverbs are introduced with:… Continue reading →

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The Reason For Suffering

Hebrews 12:5-11 KJV And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: {6} For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. {7} If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? {8} But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. {9} Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? {10} For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. {11} Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

No one likes to suffer. When we go through suffering, our first response as humans is to seek to avoid or repair the suffering. We all do it. When God took Israel out of Egypt, He took His people through a series of water tests.

At the Red Sea, Israel experienced too much water (Exodus 14:10-12).
At Marah, God led Israel to bitter water (Exodus 15:22-26).
At Rephidim, God led Israel where there was no water (Exodus 17:1-7).

At each encounter, Israel responded exactly the same way. They muttered and moaned and complained and blasphemed God and His servants. Israel did not respond to the tests in faith, paying attention to how God saved her each time. Because Israel repeatedly failed the tests and did not turn to God in the midst of their need, their faith never grew. Since their faith never grew, when Israel got to Kadesh Barnea Continue reading →

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