Category: A new life in Christ

Humility


This is a word that is not heard much in the media today whether it is the news or on social sites. It is a rare word in today’s society period. But what does it say about a person if it is used about them? Do they stay out of the spotlight or never seek fame of any kind? That is a type of humility I suppose. What about the “knowing your limitations” type of humility and not bragging about your abilities? Rather…not bragging at all. That is also a type of humility.

Moses was said to be the most humble man in the Bible yet Jesus was even more so. During his time, Moses was the most humble (meek) man on the face of the Earth. When Jesus came He became the most humble of all because of his humanity but also because of Who He was. He was humble because He needed to be not because He had to be. He was and is the Son of God after all and His humility helped Him to be under the authority of the Father.

God needs people to be meek/humble because our temper sometimes flares up and it can cause all kinds of problems. Meekness doesn’t mean weak, it is strength under control and that is what humility is as well. Your strength and pride under the control of the Holy Spirit and not your own. People who allow God’s Holy Spirit into their lives to change them and use them as the apostles were have to be humble in this way. It isn’t a sign of weakness and it isn’t a “false” humility either.

Being used by God for His Kingdom’s purposes is exactly what we are called to do and to be…useful to Him. So why are there so many who claim to belong to Jesus but never show any fruit of the Spirit in their lives? Only God knows the real truth of that. He is the only Person that knows your heart and whether or not it truly belongs to Jesus. Some people have the gift of discernment but it isn’t accurate enough to see your heart’s condition. God knows who will accept Jesus fully as their Savior and Lord and who will not. Many of those who do not actually think that they did because of their place in the church or their “feelings” but that isn’t how it works.

God loves each of us because He has known each of us since the foundation of the world. He has known your future decisions and Who you will choose to follow and He knows that your decision will be one that will bring Him honor and glory through Jesus Christ. Does that mean that we have to come to Him? Eventually, but there are some who will resist and may even back away from the call of the Holy Spirit and at that point they have committed the sin for which there is no forgiveness. Because once you have felt His touch in your heart and know that you need Him only to turn away there will never be another time that your heart will change that decision. So…make the right one before it is too late.

Jesus washes their feet


Then he said, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You address me as ‘Teacher’ and ‘Master,’ and rightly so. That is what I am. So if I, the Master and Teacher, washed your feet, you must now wash each other’s feet. I’ve laid down a pattern for you. What I’ve done, you do. I’m only pointing out the obvious. A servant is not ranked above his master; an employee doesn’t give orders to the employer. If you understand what I’m telling you, act like it—and live a blessed life. John 13:14 MSG https://bible.com/bible/97/jhn.13.14.MSG

This act of love on the part of Jesus would be considered invasive and possibly a sexual perversion today. God loves you and has always been near you, seek Him while their is still time.

Our Savior…


Sometimes it seems that our world just flies off on a tangent that has no relation to the reality in the world but only in the mind of those who are loudly blasting it on the Internet or in the news media. It especially happens during election years depending upon the “news” that is being shotgunned everywhere.

Although, if you are a Christian, you know Who is in control of it all. God is never on the sidelines and He never loses sight of what is happening here on Earth and in each of our lives. I mean if He keeps up with the little sparrows then He can surely keep up with us as well. Jesus said that “even the hairs of your head are numbered”, so since God’s knowledge of us goes that intimate don’t you think that He truly cares for you? Because He does!

In the book of John, Jesus is referred to as the Living Word and He is. He is also the embodiment of God in human form so that He could come and reconcile us to Himself. Jesus fulfilled every prophecy from the Old Testament about the Suffering servant and the Son of God and every other reference to Himself found there. No other human could do that if He were not God in human form. The celebration of Easter is coming up soon and many people will celebrate it with candy and egg hunts and some will even give presents but this is not the reason we celebrate it nor should it be.

Easter fell during a celebration of First Fruits in Israel since Jesus was the “first fruit” to be raised to life eternal. Read the account of His resurrection in Luke and then His ascension to the Father in the first chapter of Acts. Read these accounts and learn more about our risen Savior because He is coming back!

Your identity is in Christ


There are many scriptures that cover this subject for believers and the list is a little long but each of them tells us who we are in Christ.

  • You are His special possession (1 Peter 2:9, Deut. 14:2)
  • You are chosen, picked by God Who created everything (Jeremiah 1:5, Eph. 1:3-4)
  • You are treasured (Deut. 7:6, 14:2, 26:18)
  • You are irreplaceable (1Thess. 1:4)
  • You are loved (1John 4:19, 4:10, 3:16, Rom. 5:8, 8:35-39)
  • You are worth dying for (John 3:16, Rom. 5: 7-9)
  • You are forgiven (Eph. 1:7, 1 John 1:9)
  • You are His child (1 John 3:1, Gal. 3:26)
  • You are secure (2 Cor. 1:22, John 10: 28-29)
  • You are set free (Rom. 6:18, Gal. 5:1)
  • You are precious to Him (Isaiah 43:4)
  • You have been set apart (John 15:16-19, 1 Pet. 2:9)

Why do I go to the trouble of listing all of these for you? Because it is needed and necessary. Because if anyone is in Christ He is a new creation and you need to know where you fit into His Kingdom. You can’t learn this in Sunday school and many churches don’t teach this to new believers, they just baptize them and put them on the roll for the numbers.

The problem is that most of us never hear about our identity in Christ until many years down the road and we really need to hear it as soon as we are brought into the family of God. The church has dropped the ball, so to speak, in the decades since prayer was taken out of schools and we truly need to pick it up before it is too late. In some areas of our country, it may already be too late.

We have our salvation when we believe in Jesus as our Savior and repent of our sins but we need to be taught about Him and our identity in Him because the more we know about Him, the better we will know Him. In many religions, your identity is in the religion itself but our identity falls in two places. One of those places is that you can claim your Christian identity as a follower of Jesus but your real identity is a bit deeper than that if you are planning on growing into your faith which all of us are expected to do. We aren’t supposed to remain as “babes in Christ”.

If you are a new Christian or if you are curious about becoming one, look these scriptures up online or in a Bible if you have one. Read them and ask God to show Himself to you and show you His love for you because it is found in every Scripture that is listed above. Let me know how it goes and keep seeking because you will find your answers in Jesus Christ.

Do not hinder the children


People brought babies to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. When the disciples saw it, they shooed them off. Jesus called them back. “Let these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These children are the kingdom’s pride and joy. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Luke 18:15‭-‬17 MSG https://bible.com/bible/97/luk.18.15-17.MSG

We should come to know the Lord as a child with humility and faith.

The parable of the workers


One day a wealthy man needed some work done in his fields, so he went to the marketplace and found many men standing around. He offered them “whatever is right”, a penny (denarius) for their day’s work. They agreed and began work at an early hour. He did this again at about the sixth and ninth hours. He even went and found others looking for work at the eleventh hour and offered them the same.

Not long after he called his servants and told them to bring the workers in so that he could pay them their wages. Many of them who were there for most of the day ventured that they would receive more than their agreed pay. He began to pay them from the last workers first. The others saw that he was paying them also with a denarius and grumbled about it. When it came time to pay the first workers they were angry about it but the owner of the field said, “Friend, did you not agree to a denarius for a day’s wages?” Take your pay and go, I will do with my money what is right because it is my choice to do so.

Granted, I paraphrased this parable a bit, but it shows the grace and mercy of God to all of us. Just as the thief on the cross was one of the first to attain salvation by his faith and belief in Jesus Christ, he received the reward of being in Heaven. The very last person on Earth who is saved prior to the rapture (catching away) of the church will also attain entry into Heaven through the blood of Jesus and His righteousness. There will be no real difference in reward save for those who worked for God’s Kingdom in their lifetimes and their rewards will be the crowns that they are given for their faith and their work for His Kingdom. The book of Revelation tells about these crowns and what they represent and that we will cast them at the feet of Jesus because He is worthy to be praised! The book of Revelation is the only book of the Bible which has a blessing in the beginning chapter for all who read it and seek the meaning of it. I pray that you will read it and seek the One Who gives its meaning and purpose to all who believe.

Amen

Perspective


What is your view of the world? That is your perspective, your perception of things and all of the stuff that is happening around you in the world. So, do you look around you with eyes that see a world that God made for us or do you see dirt and grass and bugs and trees that just popped up from a single cell billions of years ago?

To me, it would take far more faith to believe in a naturalistic, evolutionary worldview than it would to believe that God created it all and made it perfectly for humanity to live. But…that’s just my perspective. To give you a perspective of how small we are in the “scheme” of things, take a look at this picture below.

These trees are alive and growing and have been for a very long time. There are mountains and oceans and canyons which also set our perspective in a way that we look very tiny by comparison. The aorta of a blue whale, for example, is almost big enough for a man to stand upright inside it. There are so many different ways to look at the world to see the wonder and majesty of God’s creation.

I pray that you will seek God for your Salvation through His Son, Jesus. Learn of Him, read His Word and become an adopted son or daughter.

What if?


In the story of Job, he went through some terrible hardships because God wanted to show Satan that His servant was faithful no matter what. God blessed Job with twice as much wealth and gave him a good long life after he proved his faithfulness through his trials.

My question is what if we had to endure trials like he did? Could we persevere and last with our faith through the loss of wealth and family the same way? I’m not sure how many Christians could do this. I’m not sure that I could do it. But…God doesn’t require this of us. All that we have to do is seek to be forgiven, realizing that we are sinners and are in need of a Savior. Granted we will not be given over 170 years of life like Job was just because we come to salvation through Jesus Christ but we will be entered in the Lamb’s book of Life. We will be granted a home in Heaven where all believers will be one day. This is a greater reward than anything we could have or imagine having on Earth and worth more than any amount of wealth as well.

Many Christians in America and Europe have never experienced persecution like those in Russia or China and in some Muslim controlled countries but even this will change one day. The Tribulation will soon happen. I can’t tell you when but after the church is taken to Heaven the world that most people know today will change and it won’t be in a good way. It may not be too bad for the first two or three years but not long after that things will turn much worse. Read the book of Revelation if you want to get some idea of what is coming because God’s Word is true!

I pray that whoever reads this post and searches for the Truth will seek Jesus Christ as their Savior before the events of Revelation begins. Seek to know Jesus and repent so that you can be saved from the hell on Earth that is coming.

Rejoice because your name is in the Book of Life


And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father; for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my Father: and no man knoweth who the Son is, but the Father; and who the Father is, but the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him. Luke 10:17‭, ‬19‭-‬22 KJV https://bible.com/bible/1/luk.10.17-22.KJV

God’s Word is a light in a dark world


Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. Psalms 119:105 KJV

In this world that all of us must walk in, it has become darker and more evil in the past few decades. Today it is getting darker because of the time that we are living in. It isn’t necessarily because of one religion or another. It is not because of a political party and their beliefs or even the laws that they pass. It is because the ruler of this world, Satan, knows that his time grows shorter by the day and he is moving and influencing mankind to do things that they would not do in years past. Many in our world don’t believe in God or the Devil and he likes it that way because if you don’t believe then you’ve already made your choice.

God’s light came into the world through the Word but also in the Person of Jesus Christ. He brought the Light of God’s grace and mercy to the world and his disciples wrote of the things which He did and the things that He taught. We have these words and wisdom available to us today in the Bible yet many people in our government don’t care about God’s Word or any wisdom which comes from it. They have turned away from it and they do not walk in His Light.

The church…the people who truly believe God’s Word and in His Son, Jesus, needs to be taking God’s Wisdom to their workplace and into the restaurant and into the street so that others can learn of His grace and mercy. Many people don’t attend church services anymore because this disease called COVID gave then an excuse not to. Many have not come back to church even when there is a vaccine for it. Even if they have been vaccinated, some haven’t come back. Satan is using this to keep the church as empty as possible and in the time that we live in it is not unexpected. God foretold this.

There will be a falling away in the church. In two decades since America was attacked, many have moved away from their faith in God and as society moves away from God, the future of that society will be less of a blessing to the world because we have despised our Creator and our God. We have strayed from His Wisdom and His Light and we are walking in darker and darker places. There is a reason that the West is not mentioned in the book of Revelation and this is likely the reason.

I pray that anyone who listens to or reads this will seek Jesus as their Savior while there is time to do so. In His Service