Category: Faith

But the Gift of God is Eternal Life (part 2)

Romans 6:23(NLT), “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Last week I wrote about the dangers of sin, the power of the cross, and how sin no longer has rule and reign over us once we accept Jesus as our Savior. According to His promise in 1 John 1:9, He is faithful to forgive us of our sins when we repent. Here is a link to last week’s post if you would like to read it:   But the Gift of God is Eternal Life (part 1)

Even though God forgives us of our sins, we sometimes struggle to forgive ourselves. Guilt and shame may haunt us, making it seem difficult to move on.

So how do we deal with this?

Romans 8:1-2 (NLT), “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death.”

Forgiving ourselves can be a process, and like any other process it takes time. Guilt and shame will always pull us back and leave us feeling like we don’t deserve to have God’s best for our lives. That is exactly what the enemy wants us to believe, that we don’t deserve God’s best and that He could never truly forgive us for the sins we have committed. It helps to remember these verses:

Matthew 27:45-46 (NIV), From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

Although God the Father was One with His Son, He cannot be in the presence of sin. When all went dark and Jesus cried out to God, this was the point when God turned from Jesus because He had taken on the sins of the world. He died for YOU and ME. When we walk in guilt and shame, we are still attempting to carry the sins that our Savior Jesus already carried for us. No matter how much we “punish ourselves” by holding on to what we did, it still can’t top what Jesus Himself already did for us. There are no amount of good works we can do that will compensate for our sins. He already did the “Good Work” that needed to be done while He was at Calvary.

I pray you will rest in His forgiveness and also know that He wants you to forgive yourself. When you feel guilt and shame, pray and ask God to help you. Then remember how Jesus cried out on the cross as He took on our sins. There is no condemnation for those of us who are in Christ Jesus. He does not condemn you, so you do not have to condemn yourself.

You Are Free!

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We Love Because…

HE FIRST LOVED US, (1 John 4:19).

Happy Valentine’s Day!

But the Gift of God is Eternal Life (part 1)

Romans 6:23(NLT), “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”

When we’re in Christ sin no longer has dominion over us. We may struggle with certain sins, but that struggle does not define who we are because through the blood of Christ we are a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). He overcame all sin when He died on the cross. However He didn’t just die, He also rose again showing us even further that He has conquered sin once and for all. We have our flesh that wants to enjoy the pleasures of sin and we also have God’s Spirit who convicts us of sin, because He knows the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life (Roman 6:23). No matter how good sin may feel to us at the time, we are told that sin when full-grown leads to death (James 1:15). It starts off small and keeps growing. If we choose to persist in sin, some type of death is impending rather it be spiritual, emotional, mental, or even physical. When we turn on the TV and see chaos and tragedy on the news,  much of what we are seeing is a result of sin that has become full-grown and lead to some type of death.

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Not one of us is without sin, for all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23). It’s just a matter of how we choose to handle it. I’ve struggled with certain sins like anyone else, but I can remember God telling me, “This is not who you are.” The enemy of our souls (and the society we live in), will work overtime to try to convince us that sin is acceptable or even worse, that it’s just who we are. It’s not acceptable and it’s definitely not who we are. When we have accepted Jesus as Lord of our lives, we have a way out. He will give us strength to resist sin. If we fall into sin, we can repent in the name of Jesus and move on. He has promised us that He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). Unconfessed sin leads to death, but accepting Jesus Christ leads to life (John 14:6).

Choose Life!

Continuing Reading: But the Gift of God is Eternal Life (Part 2)

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Waiting on God Makes Us Strong

Psalm 27:14 (KJV) “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.”

Can you think back to a time or perhaps even multiple times in your life where you had to wait on God to work things out for you? You had to keep trusting that God was in control. As you reflect back to those times in your life, I’m sure you can recall the details of the difficulties you were up against, and you were determined to keep having faith even though things made no sense to you. There were probably even many days where you wondered where God was or if He had forgotten about you and the pain you were feeling as you had to navigate your way through the unanswered questions. But everyday something miraculous happened…your heart had strength to keep believing one more day!

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When God places us in situations where we must wait on Him,  although those situations are not always comfortable for us, He is often using the time to purify our hearts and prepare us for the good things that are ahead. In Deuteronomy 31:6, He promised to never leave us or forsake us so we know He is right there with us as we wait. Through waiting we learn to persevere in faith and be steadfast because we have to stand strong with the strength that God promises to give us. As we read through God’s Word, we can see that many of the people in the Bible waited for long periods of time before they saw the manifestation of God’s promises in their life. But we also know from reading God’s Word, that God is a God who can move suddenly! So as we wait, we should always be ready for things to turn around quickly on our behalf. Waiting equips us to be people who can handle God’s very best. So rather the wait is short or long just know that God always wants what is best for you.

While we wait we can use the wisdom in 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18 to help us through. It tells us to rejoice, pray, and give thanks…

Rejoice – because we already know we have the victory in Christ Jesus our Lord, shouts of victory come from the homes of the righteous (Psalm 118:15).

Pray – without ceasing so we will stay closely connected to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ever ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Give thanks – because thanksgiving is the fruit of a grateful heart that is ready and able to receive God’s abundant blessings. Giving thanks shows humility before God and appreciation for the great things He has done and will do. Being thankful is His will for us (1 Thess 5:18).

Remember God’s past faithfulness to you as you wait. Also remember through your waiting you are an inspiration to others who are inspired by your endurance.

 

What’s Your Idea of Success?

Joshua 1:7-9(NIV)

“Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left,that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

Success isn’t just reaching the final goal, but it’s also the steps you take toward that goal that count. Every bit of progress you make, regardless of how small or insignificant it may seem at the time, is an important part of the process. There is no one way of doing things, and there is no one mold that every individual has to fit into. What may work for some, may not work for others. When you understand that you are unique and have a unique purpose, you can focus on what is best for you without comparing yourself to others. Comparing yourself to others is one of the fastest ways to lose focus and get off track. Society has not been shy about giving us its viewpoint on what success is, and it definitely has not been shy about making sure that viewpoint reaches the eyes and ears of every single human soul that is willing to watch and listen.

I have heard many successful entrepreneurs say that we should never be afraid to question what it is that is being suggested to us, because we actually do have a choice in the matter. We can choose what we will do with our lives. We do have the right to question the things we are told to do and a right to “break from the norm” and choose an alternate route. True success is just simply doing what God, not society, has called you to do. Psalm 37:23-24 (NIV) says, “The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.” When we delight ourselves in the Lord, He promised to make our steps firm. That is a promise that society can never make to us.

As I continued to think about success, Joshua came to my mind. In the book of Joshua, chapter one, we read about Moses dying and Joshua then being installed as the leader. Joshua’s task was to lead the Israelites across the Jordan River and into the land the Lord promised to give them. The Lord gave Joshua some very important instructions about being successful in his new leadership role.

He told him to…

  1. Be Strong and Courageous
  2. Obey the Word of God
  3. Meditate on the Word of God Day and Night
  4. Do Not Be Discouraged
  5. Remember God is With You Wherever You Go

God told Joshua that if he does these things he would be prosperous and successful. Based on the instructions God gave Joshua, we can reach the conclusion that fear, disobedience to God, a lack of spending time in the Word of God and discouragement are all pitfalls that can keep us from being successful and taking hold of the blessings that God wants to give us.  There are times in life that we may even question the things God is asking us to do because of doubt and fear, but God is always patient with us as we get to know Him better and learn to be obedient to Him. I’m learning more and more each day that the wisdom of God can handle our questions and that the love of God can surpass our doubts and fears.

By the way, Joshua and the Israelites did successfully cross the Jordan River. When they crossed, they set up twelve stones to represent the twelve tribes of Israel. They put the stones in place so that when future generations of children question what the stones mean, they could share with them the story of how God allowed them to cross the river on dry ground, just as He had done for Moses when He split the Red Sea. The stones would also serve as a reminder to all the nations of the Earth, that the Lord’s hand is powerful (Joshua 4:21-24).

Don’t be afraid to question the ideas of success that are being presented to you by society, after all it’s your life and you only get one chance to live it. Like Joshua, allow God’s power to work in you and through you so that you too will leave evidence of His power to future generations.

Father,

As we aim for success help us to discern right from wrong and produce fruit that will make a difference, not only now in the present, but also in the future. May the works we do leave evidence of Your love and Your power for generations to come.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

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Embrace the Possibilities by Faith

Matthew 19:26, “Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
What is it that you are believing God for that seems impossible? Jesus said in Matthew 19:26, that with God all things are possible. When we live our lives in the will of God,  the sky is the limit, there is no telling where His love will take us. Living in His perfect will does not mean that we will be perfect people, but it does mean we will live our lives with joy as we overcome challenges, experience victories and see ourselves mature in our faith. Although everyday may not be a breeze for us, His grace is sufficient to carry us through everyday (2 Corinthians 12:9).
Having faith is not believing in what is seen, but what is unseen (2 Corinthians 4:18). Faith is not just trusting God when things are in order, but it’s also trusting Him when things seem out of our control. The truth is that when we surrender our lives to Him, He is always in control. There is never a single moment He is unaware of what is going on in our lives. We are never apart from His love (Psalm 139:8). On our best days, He is there. On our worst days, He is still there. When we put our faith in God, we can embrace the possibilities of what life has to offer us, and then trust Him to make those possibilities a reality in our lives.  God has given us a simple recipe to increase our faith, Matthew 10:17(KJV) says,”So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Reading and hearing God’s Word will increase our faith and empower us to believe.
I encourage you to embrace the possibilities by faith, and then trust God to provide. Don’t be afraid to believe!
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Keep the Faith

Proverbs 16:9 NLT says, “We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps.”

We all have desires for our lives. We build a vision of how we would like for our lives to be, and we hope things go according to plan, but the truth is that sometimes they don’t. That’s just the way life works. There are couples who want children, but have not been able to conceive. There are some who had an idea for a business or an invention, but so far they have not been able to get it off the ground. There are some who have had their lives altered by wrong choices they made, or by the carelessness of other people.

When we find ourselves in a place where we feel we’ve somehow missed out on something, it can be frustrating to say the least. If a dream seems to have faded or a goal seems out of reach, it can leave us feeling as if there is, “a part of us that has not yet lived”. But even if we end up in a dry and unfulfilled place, we still have a choice to believe for the best. We never know when things may suddenly turn around. We can make a decision to keep trusting God to work things out in our favor. Psalm 5:12 tells us that God’s favor surrounds us like a shield. When things don’t go as planned, God may have another plan that is different, yet better suited for us.

It can be tough when we are in a position where we have to reroute and travel a different path or make adjustments to the path we’re on. But there comes a time where we must learn to trust Him to perfectly write out every detail of our story. We can’t see the outcome of our tomorrow’s but He can. As 2 Corinthians 5:7 reminds us, we must keep walking by faith and not by sight, and like David in Psalm 31:14-15, keep believing that your times are in God’s hands. God has a perfect timing for everything in your life. No matter what your struggle, His love will see you through, just keep the faith.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.