Verse For Today

I Peter 2:2-3

(Amplified)

Like newborn babies you should crave (thirst for, earnestly desire) the pure (unadulterated) spiritual milk, that by it you may be nurtured and grow unto [completed] salvation, since you have [already] tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord.

Why does it say completed salvation?  You see, this is a process.  First you are justified, then sanctified, then glorified.  Read more here.

John 17:17 tells us that we are sanctified by God's Word, so then shouldn't we be craving more of God's Word all the time?  I don't know about you, but I could use some more sanctification!  None of us will be fully sanctified until Christ returns.  (Phil. 1:6)

Too Funny!

I love reading the Bible to my kids.  First, they have a fresh perspective on things, they haven't had years of man's opinions clouding their thinking.  Second, they come up with good analogies, and third, they often (especially the younger they are) come up with funny comments!

We were reading the story of Noah this morning and got to the verse where God tells Noah to take 7 of every clean animal onto the ark, and 2 of every unclean animal.

My 3 year old daughter said, "That mole in the backyard is dirty!"  (She saw a mole digging in the dirt a couple evenings ago.  To her, that is unclean, digging in the dirt!)  This made me laugh out loud!

Now, question for all you adults.  Why did God tell Noah to bring extra "clean" animals AND how did Noah know the difference between "clean" and "unclean?"  The law wasn't given for, at the very least, 500 more years (it was 400 years from Abraham and Abraham was many years from Noah).

Book of Romans

I hope someone gets something out of this--I am bursting to share!!!

Here is a note from today's Bible study - 

Can you imagine someone giving you a gift and you reach into your pocket to pay for it?  That's what some are doing with salvation--they are trying to work for it!  That is an insult to God!  Rejection of the intent of the giver.

Book of Romans

I am continuing in my afternoon Bible study of the Book of Romans and listening to commentary by Dr. Chuck Missler.  Click here to listen to audio.  I'm currently in Romans 4, if you care to read the verses that accompany these notes.

These are my notes from today:

God HATES your trust in good works (as your basis for salvation) because you thus neglect all that God is, all that He has done, and His plans and desires for you!  All that God is, all that He has done, and His plans and desires for you are based on Him, not you!  Trying to add to God's work is ingratitude!

What did it cost God to give Christ?

What did it cost Christ to put away your sin?  That cost Him, it didn't come free!

When you sin next (when, not if, none of us are perfect), think about what Jesus had to go through to pay for that sin, to pay for each and every one of your sins!

We refrain from sin, not because of the law, but for what it cost Christ, out of our love for Him.  Did you know He still bears the marks?  (See John 20:24-29)  That's why we need to grieve over sin, because it cost Him, more than we can every fully realize!

We need to come to Him on His terms, not ours.  We can't come to Him and say we're better than Joe or Jane or with a list of our deeds--I go to church and I give money and I read my Bible, etc.

We are ONLY justified by the work that God did, we need only to believe!  Then our actions should demonstrate our love and and faith in Him!

Why?

We are finishing up our reading of the Book of John at dinnertime.  Tonight we read about Mary coming to the tomb and finding it empty.  

It is very important, to me, that my children know why they believe what they believe.  The more they know why, the better they will be able to defend their faith.  (I Peter 3:15)  So tonight I asked my son, "Why did Jesus have to die?"

Jesus was not a martyr that died because He was arrested and then miraculously rose from the dead.  He willingly gave up His life, but why?  The obvious answer is to save the world.  But why did He have to die to save the world?  I think this is something many of us take for granted, but can you answer why, and know why you believe it?

I would like to hear your thoughts.

Verse For Today

I came across this verse in my reading this morning.

Jeremiah 9:23-24

Thus says the Lord:

Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,

Let not the mighty man glory in his might,

Nor let the rich man glory in his riches;

But let him who glories glory in this,

That he understands and knows Me,

That I am the Lord, exercising lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth.

For in these I delight," says the Lord.

Verse For Today

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord,

And He shall sustain you;

He shall never permit the righteous to be moved (also shaken).

Comforting words.

Book of John

We are reading through the Book of John at dinnertime, as a family.  This verse really stuck out to me the other night.

John 15:5b  Jesus is talking here, "...without Me you can do nothing."

So why is it that we so often try to do things in our own power?

If you're anything like me, you're an independent person that doesn't ask people for help.  It's not in my nature to ask for help and I often forget to lean on God for help and ask for His wisdom.  I am getting better at it, but it's a process.

Remember Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean NOT on your own understanding.

Are You Putting Yourself Under The Law?

There are so many scriptures that tell us that God tests our hearts, He knows the secrets of our hearts, He is concerned with the state of our heart.  (Psalm 7:9, 44:21, Proverbs 15:11, 17:3, 21:2, 24:12)

I ask you today to examine your heart.  Look inside and see if any of these statements describe you.

Do you go to church because you have to?  Do you read your Bible because you have to?  Do you worship because you have to?  Do you tithe because you have to?

Does your mind weigh your actions on a balance sheet?  A column for wrong actions and a column for right ones and you try to make sure the right ones outweigh the wrong ones?  Going to church, for example, cancels out the fact that you cussed someone out the other day.

Do you ever question whether you are worthy of God's love?  Do you question whether you will make it into heaven?  Do you feel guilt and condemnation?  Do you lack peace?

How many of these things can you answer yes to?

If this describes you, you are putting yourself under the law.  I say to you, that you do not have a true revelation of God's grace and love!  You do not truly understand the work of the cross.

"But," you say, "we must obey God's Word!"  

It comes down to your heart's motivation.  Ask yourself, "Do I do these things to be on God's good side, to attain His love?  Or am I responding out of gratitude of His love for me?"  You see, there is a big difference.  It is the difference between life and death, peace and misery.

You see, God loved you first.  (Please read I John 4:7-19)  God loved you while you were a sinner.  He sent His Son to die in your place, for your sins!  How many of your sins were yet future when Jesus died?  All of them!  Christ died for your past, present, and even future sins!  Until you wrap your brain around that one, you won't stop trying to attain His forgiveness and love through your works.

It is our human nature to try to work things out ourselves, to work out our own salvation.  The first humans on earth, Adam and Eve, tried to work it out themselves.  They covered themselves with fig leaves, but God came and showed them that it wasn't enough.  Our works will never quite be good enough.  The blood of an innocent animal had to be shed to cover their sin.  Jesus' blood had to be shed to cleanse our sin.

Christ came to fulfill the law.  The requirements of the law were death to those that broke it.  You and I were born law-breakers.  Christ took our place, He died so we don't have to.  Paul tells us that we were crucified WITH Him!  Let that sink in.  If we were crucified with Him, then we are dead!  Dead to the law and dead to sin.  Can the courts condemn a dead man?  Certainly not!  If you are saved, the law can't touch you.  But the good news is that if you are dead to sin, you are alive in Christ!

Where you full of joy when you got saved, but now are finding the "burden" of the Christian life too much to bear?  All the things you do aren't bringing you peace?  This is the trap of legalism.  Legalism brings bondage and death.  You have just traded your bondage in sin for a bondage to the law.  But the law was given so that we would sin even more!  Sound crazy?  Read Romans 5:20.  The law was to show us that there is NO way we could ever be justified on our own merit and that we have need of a Savior.

Jesus came to fulfill the law, He has actually called us to a higher law, the law of love.  He said His burden was easy and light to bear.  However, we can only walk in His way if we totally and completely depend on His strength, His grace, and truly have a full understanding of His unconditional love, grace, mercy, and redemptive work!

You see it comes down to the motivations of your heart, that is what God looks at.  Are you going through the "Christianity" motions to work for God's love OR do you truly love to worship Him, truly love to go to church, truly love to give the tithe?  And when you slip up, are you confident of God's unconditional love for you?

This is the real difference between Christianity and all other religions.  The other religions of the world tell you what you must do to be right.  God says, you can do nothing, I have done it all.  And it is blasphemy to try to add to that work!

The good news is that forgiveness is available for you and you can start fresh.  Start by studying this concept.  Study this until the light bulb comes on for you.  Here is a list of references to get you started:

Romans 8

Ephesians 2:1-10

Book of Galatians (yes, the whole book, it's a short one!)

Study commentaries on Galatians and Romans, Dr. Chuck Missler's are great.

I also recommend listening to some teaching by Andrew Wommack on the subject.  He has free downloads on his site, here.

Above all, pray and ask God to reveal His truth to you, to give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, that the eyes of your understanding will be enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling.  (Eph. 1:17-18)

Faith

I just had to post my notes from my study of the Book of Romans today, since it ties in with this article I wrote, here.

These are notes from chapter 2, verse 13.  Paul is laying out the principles on which God judges us.  We are up to principle #5--according to obedience, not knowledge.  (In order to explain how we can be saved, Paul must explain what our predicament is first, so we realize we are in need of a Savior.)

So we are judged based on our obedience, NOT our knowledge.  It is NOT how many Bible verses we have memorized, how many times we have read our Bibles cover to cover, NOT how much we KNOW about the Bible!  The question is, do we obey?  What we know doesn't count, it's what we obey that counts.

All of us are in jeopardy of being in a false comfort of knowing God's truth, but the gospel speaks of the obedience of faith.

We can believe something but we don't have FAITH in it until we show ACTION.  You can believe that a chair will hold you and do the mathematical calculations and everything, but you don't have faith in that chair until you sit in it.  Faith is belief in action.

It IS possible to believe in vain.  The devils believe and tremble.  Disobedience and unbelief are interchangeable words.

Now, this is NOT talking about being saved by our works.  Paul is explaining in the first few chapters of Romans how EVERY single one of us has fallen short of the glory of God, we ALL have sinned and so we ALL need a Savior.

In this passage, chapter 2, verses 11 through 16, Paul is showing that it is the habitual conduct of a person that reveals the condition of their heart, and THAT'S what God's is really after.  Our deeds demonstrate where our heart is really at.  Eternal life in NOT rewarded for good living, that would contradict so many other scriptures that CLEARLY explain that salvation is not by works, but by faith, faith in the work that Jesus did.

So, I had to share today, because I always get excited when revelation is confirmed for me.  We can't build doctrine on single verses alone.  In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word in established.  Confirm scripture with scripture.  (Deut. 19:15)