Life and Death
About Life and Death
When Adam and Eve sinned, their carnal eyes opened. Sin had caused them to lose that spiritual bond they had with God. When they were living a spiritual life, death had no hold on them. It wasn’t until they sinned that death would come upon them. God allows death to the flesh so man won’t live forever in the misery of sin.
Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden so they would not partake of the Tree of Life and live for ever in their sins. We all know that one day we are going to die, it’s inevitable. The one thing we don’t know is “when”. Many people are afraid of death, but why? Could it be that this life is all that they have going for them? Could be that this is where they set their hearts, on the world, instead of Jesus Christ. If you don’t know Jesus, you should be afraid to die. Revelations 3: 3 ‘Repent. If you do not wake up, I shall come to you like a thief, without telling you at what hour to expect me.’
Satan is the author of death. He tries anything and everything to keep us apart from God. By living the ways of the world, you will see death. 1 Corinthians 15: 56, 57 ‘Now the sting of death is sin, and sin gets its power from the Law. So let us thank God for us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. ‘So by living in sin, one will be living under the Law of God, in which you will be judged by. (Read Romans about the Law) It’s similar to commiting a crime and going before a judge to be sentenced. That is why it is so important to purify ourselves through the blood of Jesus Christ.
One of the things we need to do to purify ourselves is to make a confession. Please read “Confession”. His blood which represents life, was shed as a sacrifice so that we can be cleansed of our sins. That is why He is the way, the truth and the life. Without accepting Jesus and following Him to the cross, The way He has already laid out for you, you will see death. 1 John 5:11, 12 ‘This is the testimony: God has given eternal life and this life is in His Son; anyone who has the Son has life, anyone who does not have the Son does not have eternal life.’ Jesus will lead us to eternal life, but it is you who has to desire it by giving up your life and this passing world.
As we travel the road with Christ, we will have to go through suffering and tests and trials. We will suffer as He did. 1 Peter 4:1, 2 ‘Think of what Christ suffered in this life, and then arm yourselves with the same resolution that He had: anyone who in this life has bodily suffering has broken with sin, because for the rest of his life on earth he is not ruled by human passions but only by the will of God.’ 1 Peter 5: 10 ‘You will have to suffer only for a little while: the God of all grace who called you to eternal glory in Christ will see that all is well again: He will confirm, strengthen and support you.’ It will make us strong, so that we can overcome our flesh and purify ourselves. In this way we can receive the Spirit of Truth, and be connected to God forever. This is life that Jesus will give us.
(John 14:15-17) If you are still living for the world and by the world and the ways of the world, then you are still of the world. Romans 8:6 ‘It is death to limit oneself to what is unspiritual: life and peace can only come with concern for the spiritual. So, basically to be carnally minded is death. God did not create us for us to die. He created us for companionship and to be able to share His glory and everything He has including His love. All we have to do is His will and we will have life after death. We will eat from the Tree of Life.
It’s hard to fathom that someone would reject His love and all He is offering for the misery of this temporary life and world. Jesus came here to teach and preach the word of God. He also came here for other reasons, but one of the things that He said that He would do for us is written in John 14:1-4 ‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God still, and trust in me. There are many rooms in my Father’s house; if there were not, I should have told you. I am going now to prepare a place for you, and after I have gone and prepared you a place, I shall return to take you with me; so that where I am you may be too.’ Jesus has prepared a place for those who believe (be and live) in Him. Anyone can say they believe in Jesus, but can they prove it?
False Prophets – Teachers – Preachers
Who Are You Listening To?
There’s a lot to be said about this topic. First off, almost anyone can fall prey to these people. Jesus said in Matthew 7:15,16 ‘Beware of false prophets who come to you disguised as sheep but underneath are ravenous wolves. You will be able to tell them by their “fruits”. (If you do not know what they mean by “fruits” read Galatians 5:22).
You have good orators for one. They know how to hold your attention which is very important to them or no one would listen. Most of them are taught how to do this. Let’s ask ourselves a few questions. Am I looking for someone to tickle my ears? Why did I choose the church I am now attending? What about the bible study I am now in? Take a moment before reading on and think about it……….
2Timothy 4:3,4 ‘ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables’. This scripture is so true! People flock to these so-called men of God. Why? Because they put up a good front and they say what people want to hear, and the sad thing about it is that they are being sooo misled.
I have heard some of the most abominable things come out of preachers and teachers mouths and people believe it. I’ll tell you from experience that they do not like being refuted. Pride and closed mindedness have control over them and that’s deadly. I’ve seen their faces glow with pride and it is ugly. Now, I’m not trying to tell you that all preachers and teachers and even people are corrupting God’s Word and that everything they say is a lie or misinterpreted. Just be careful what you hear and believe. When a man is taught solely by another man, how can one know truth? I’ve know people who have been going to church and bible study all their life and still don’t know truth. Not a good thing.
Read Mark 4:15-19. When you hear God’s Word or even when you study it yourself, talk to Jesus about it. He’ll give you the answer you need. Maybe you won’t receive it right away, but when you do receive it, you will know it. And the nice thing about it is, He’ll give you a conformation on it. Sometimes two, three or more. If you do not receive an answer right away, put it on the shelf and come back to it later. Don’t get discouraged because you don’t understand, the Lord knows what you need and when you need it.
It took 2 years of contemplating off and on on one subject before the Holy Spirit revealed the whole truth to me. And once He did, I could look back and see the things I had to learn first before I could understand the whole truth. Be Patient! We have a tendency to to get impatient because we want to understand it all right away. Rushing into things can be harmful to our spiritual growth. For example: Take however old you are and think about everything you know. You couldn’t possibly take all that knowledge and experience and learn it all in say a month, a year or even in half the years you are old.
Follow Jesus, He is The Way, The Truth and Life! Everyone has a different path to travel on. No two people travel the same path (although many people travel the same highway) that is why it is so important to put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ. He will take you to the cross, and you will enter into the tomb and emerge reborn into a new creation. And Jesus will as He says in John 14:15-17 ‘ If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you a another Advocate, that He may abide with you forever. The Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, nor knoweth Him; but you shall know Him; because He shall abide with you. ‘ This is one of thee most beautiful gifts God gives us.The Holy Spirit in our hearts and souls forever.
Praise God and Bless His Heart and Soul. He will teach you the truth, help you discern the truth (another wonderful gift from God-discernment), guide you to spiritual maturity and comfort you in your sufferings. But first, before this can happen, you’ll need to follow Jesus to the cross – YOUR CROSS.
Humility and Pride
Humility Is The Opposite Of Pride
Luke 2:7 And she gave birth to a son, her first-born. She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn. This is a true act of humility. God could have provided all the comforts of home for Joseph, Mary and Jesus, but He didn’t. Reason: God had to show the world that He loves us just as much as He loves His son. Also, Jesus wouldn’t be able to preach and teach about humility, if God didn’t practice it Himself. By this act, God showed us that He didn’t place His son above all of us.
We see what it looks like for a person to exalt themselves above others. We don’t seem to like them very much do we? Practicing humility is a difficult thing to do. It means shutting down our pride. Being humble doesn’t make one a wimp. It actually makes one stronger, because they can handle anything that comes at them. We have to place ourselves lower than everyone else. We are not better than the next guy or even holier, no matter how spiritual we become.
It’s not a good idea to interfere with the affairs of others in such a way that you become overbearing. To think one knows what’s best for someone is like you wanting to control their life at that time. We can’t think that we know what’s best for others. We could hurt them or even steer them in the wrong direction. We have to humble ouselves and depend on the Holy Trinity to show us what to do to become righteous people. If we don’t even know what’s best for us, how could we even know what’s good for others? We need to lower ourselves enough to give up our will and let God’s will take over. You may not see these things now, but if you keep practicing humility, you will.
One of the things that really hurts our pride is being accused of doing something wrong that we know we didn’t do. We are quick to get upset, possibly even to the point of rage. We need to be calm and patient. We know that we didn’t do what we were accused of. There’s no sense in stirring ourself up inside. We will become like a stormy ocean. It disrupts that inner peace we had. It can cause resentment towards the accuser. We will carry this accusation and resentment around with us until it is resolved.
Don’t let these things bother you, it’s one of satan’s handy works. He wants you to be disrupted and without peace, it clouds your mind, so you can’t dwell on God. We don’t need to worry about what people are saying about us or what they’re trying to do to us. It’s always a good thing to be persecuted in the name of the Lord. It brings glory to God when you show people what a good and strong soldier you are of His. God will set things right, have faith.
Don’t ever think that because you work harder than everybody else or you’ve been somewhere (chuch,work,etc.,) longer, or your position is higher that you have special rights. Be humble and don’t cause a fuss. You might think that whatever the situation is, is that you deserve recognition more then anyone or that you have special rights. Remember that you gave your will over to God, (or maybe you took it back) and He is in charge of your life, so maybe He just doesn’t want you in that position. It very well could prove to be disastrous for you. God probably has other plans for you. Did you stop and think that God might be putting the other person there for a reason? We have to stop looking at things with our own carnal eyes and start or even try to see them through God’s eyes. If we really trust God, then let’s TRUST HIM!!!
We need to drop the I, the me, the mine, it’s not about us. We have to keep a low profile, almost like we’re non-existent. Don’t push our interests on others, be a good listener. You might find that by listening to others they might open the door for you to be able to talk about God with them. Also, by listening to others, they might say something that might help you. Chit-chat has no value to it at all. It’s a waste of time, time that we need to use to pray, to be with God or to work on ourselves. So don’t talk unless you are asked to or unless you have to. You can judge for yourself the difference between talk with value and idle chit-chat. Same with excessive laughter. Restrain yourself from laughter, it’s foolish merriment.
Authority is one of the things we don’t like. Reason: because they can controll us and or we have to do as they say whether we like it or not. The Lord controlls all authority. Don’t resent any kind of authority, they’re there for a reason. Do as Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:1-3 ‘My advice is that, first of all, there should be prayers offered to everyone – petitions, intercessions and thanksgiving – and especially for kings and others in authority, so that we may be able to live religious and reverent lives in peace and quiet. To do this is right and will please God our Saviour.’ To be in conflict with another, is not a happy experience. It makes one miserable and unpleasent. So let it go don’t add fuel to the fire. Keep silent and the Lord will fight for you.
Prayer is the answer. Let the Lord do what He needs to do and don’t butt into His business, we have enough business of our own to tend to. It seems like when we do our will (which is our way of thinking) it’s just full of the things God despises. If we want to clean ourselves up we need to do a confession (please read “Confession”) so that we can learn about ourselves and see the things we are doing that offends God. Once we learn about sin and see its ugliness, we will be able to work on ourselves, to overcome our will and take on God’s will. It’s not a verbal thing, it has to come from your heart. Jesus will show you your sins if you are willing. You can see them now or later. It would be better that you clean yourself up now. It’ll be too late later.
Once we have made a confession, we will need to keep an eye on ourselves constantly, so that we don’t fall backwards. Be really careful not to get to comfortable with where you are spiritually. Your soul will be like a place without a watchman, robbers and thieves will steal you blind. Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself for us in order to set us free from all wickedness and to purify a people so that it could be His very own and would have no ambition except to do good.
The only one we need to be concerned about pleasing is God. He is our Father and our Creator. He can give us life or He can give us death. He would much rather give us life or He wouldn’t have sent us His blessed son Jesus Christ. So let us ask the Lord to help us remove our pride and clothe us with humility. Be Humble. It’s not what others can do for you, it’s what can you do to help others.
Materialism – Treasures Of The Heart
Good Master, what have I to do to inherit eternal life?
Matthew 6:19-21 ‘Do not store up treasure for yourselves on earth, where moths and woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. But store up treasure for yourselves in heaven, where neither moth nor woodworms destroy them and thieves can break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
What treasure is stored up in your heart? What’s attached to my heart?, worldly things?, things of the flesh?, people?, places? You could find a number of things if you look. These things are what keep God out of your heart. God is a jealous God and loving someone or something above Him is not loving God. You can test yourself to see what’s attached to your heart by seeing if you can live without whatever you have. All the different things you do, people you love, and things you have.
Luke 18:18-23 A member of one of the leading families put this question to Him, ‘Good Master, what have I to do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, ‘Why do you call Me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments : You must not commit adultery ; you must not kill ; You must not steal ; You must not bear false witness ; Honour your father and mother. He replied, ‘I have kept all these from my earliest days till now. ‘And when Jesus heard this He said, ‘There is still one thing you lack. Sell all you own and distribute the money to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven ; then come follow me.’ But when he heard this he was filled with sadness, for he was very rich.
It’s that attachment thing, his heart was full of temporary love. Not the everlasting love of God. Rich doesn’t always apply to people with millions. If you have more than someone else, you are rich. Detachment is the way to a spiritual life and true spiritual love for God and your neighbor. Luke 18:24, 25 Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for those who have riches to make their way into the Kingdom of God! Yes, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.’
In Jerusalem there was a gate called “the eye of the needle”. It was only big enough for one person at a time to pass through. It was the only gate open at night, in case of enemy attack. If a person wanted to bring his camel into the city at night he would have to unburden the camel. Removing all items attached to the camel. Then he would have to get the camel down on all four knees and have him crawl through the gate willingly.
Now, we know that camels are pretty stubborn animals, probably the most stubborn. In this scripture Jesus is using a camel to describe us. We can be pretty stubborn when it comes to giving up our petty little lives. When we follow Jesus and in our walk with Him, we need to unburden ourselves, by lightening the load we carry.
How about your mind? We constantly occupy our minds with meaningless thoughts. Things like, how much better things would be if you had a lot of money or a better job, daydreams, things we lust for, etc., etc. Our life is supposed to be in Gods hands and we are supposed to do His will. But how are we supposed to find out what Gods will is for us if we keep our minds occupied with frivolous things? Our minds should be occupied on spiritual things, like proving God’s promises and fulfilling the laws of righteousness. How corrupt is your soul?
John 2:13-16 And pasch of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. And He found in the temple them that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting. And when He had made, as it were, a scourge of little cords, He drove them all out of the temple, the sheep also and the oxen, and the money of the changers He poured out, and the tables He overthrew. And to them that sold doves He said : take these things hence, and make not the house my Father a house of traffic.
The body is a temple and it houses your soul. What you bring in can corrupt your soul. Your eyes are the windows to your soul. Your other bodily senses can corrupt your soul. Just like the Jews corrupted the temple of God. They’re scales were not true, they sold blemished animals (like buying a lemon). They were con artists and thieves. The things of the world and also your carnal self will rob your soul of the love of God and everything He promised us. We need Jesus to come into our temple and clean house(Colossians 2:11 circumcision of the flesh).
Love God with all your strength. God loves people that are strong and brave, ones that can cut it. Ones that are not afraid of tests and trials. He does not want a kingdom full of wimps. God wants people who can stand up to satan and everything he can dish out. (read Job) Not people as in the parable of the sower.
Mark 4:14 What the sower is sowing is the word. Those on the edge of the path where the word is sown are people who have no sooner heard the it than satan comes and carries away the word that was sown in them. Similary, those who receive the seed on patches of rock are people who, when first they hear the word, welcome it at once with joy, but they have no root in them, they do not last ; should some trial come, or some persecution on account of the word, they fall away at once.
God will give you the strength you need to face tests and trials, provided you have faith. God will never give you more than you can handle or give you a way out. Overcome your weakness’. Don’t gloat on your victories or satan will have the last laugh. Keep your gaurd up. Satan will be back and he will hit harder. Be Strong!
Jesus says in Matthew 6:24-34 ‘No one can be the slave of two masters : He will either hate the first and love the second, or treat the first with respect and the second with scorn. You cannot be the slave of both God and money. That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and how you are to clothe it. Surely life means more than food, and the body more than clothing!
Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns ; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are? Can any of you, for all his worrying, add one single cubit to his span of life? And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields ; they never have to work or spin ; yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his regalia was robed like one of these. Now if that is how God clothes the grass in the field which is there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will He not much more look after you? you men of little faith.
So do not worry ; do not say, “What are we to eat? What are we to drink? How are we to be clothed? It is the pagans (worldly people) who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all. Set your hearts on His kingdom first, and on His righteousness, and all these other things will be given you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow : tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
You have a choice of two lives to live, one is worldly and the other is spiritual. Problem with the worldly life is that when you die, it dies also and you are left with nothing. The nice thing about the spiritual life is that when you die only your flesh dies and you keep on living because you stored up your treasures in heaven. No more tears or sorrow. We will finally be home with God , Jesus and the Holy Spirit, also with all those that made the choice of life. The ones that decided to love God over the world and their own self.
We spend to much time for ourselves, and self is pride. Pride is the root of all evil. Pride is the root of the tree of death. All sin comes from pride. Give up yourself, your life, pick up your cross and follow Jesus to the tree of life. Too many people believe that there is nothing wrong with enjoying life’s pleasures. And that God wants us to. And they say, ‘He made all this for us to enjoy.’ Well, Jesus says in John 18:36 ‘My kingdom is not of this world.’
Go back to the beginning before the fall, and read what God created. 1John 2:15-17 ‘You must not love this passing world or anything that is in the world. The love of the Father cannot be in any man who loves the world, because nothing the world has to offer – the sensual body, the lustful eye, pride in possessions – could ever come from the Father but only from the world, with all it craves for, is coming to an end; but anyone who does the will of God remains for ever.’
So for the pleasure seekers, the ones that say, ‘There’s nothing wrong with this or that,’ Have a nice trip! But for those that follow Jesus and die in Him for the sake of loving God, and gives up their life for His love, see you soon.
Test Your Teachers & Preachers
Preachers and Teachers Need To Be Tested
“Be Careful Of The Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing”
Be very careful these days. There are a lot of nonspiritual preachers out there and ones that speak half truth. You have to remember that many, many preachers were taught by man and not by God, not by Jesus and not by the Holy Spirit.
Preachers need to be tested to see if he/she is worthy to seek spiritual advice from. It’s not enough to have credentials hanging on the wall. They need to be guided by the Holy Spirit and also Faith. One thing you might want to look at is, “What works of faith can they produce?”
Ask yourself this, “Does my church teach confession?” if not, then, “Why not?” I don’t know of any Christian churches that teach confession. All the ones I have attended in New Jersey and Florida haven’t. When I’ve inquired about it, they just seem to want to avoid the subject. I can understand that nobody wants to look inwards at themselves and see the rotten garbage that accumulated over the years.
In James 5: 16 it says, “So confess your sins one to another, and pray for one another, and this will cure you.” ( Read Confession ) So I ask you, “Does your church practice confession?” Could be that they don’t know how. Confession and making amends is a deep cleansing and it is what will lead you to repentance.
One church I started to attend, I spent almost a month observing and listening to the preacher before I had a one on one meeting with him. I enjoy talking with people about the Lord, but anyway I was trying to figure out how spiritual he was. Well, the Lord showed me.
One night I was in my bedroom sitting in a chair contemplating on the Lord when the Holy Spirit took me into a gaze and showed me a vision. I saw complete darkness, and in the darkness was this preacher nailed to a cross. The cross was spinning slowly, and every time I saw the preachers face, it was full of horror. His mouth was opened what seemed like three times bigger than normal.
Over the few years of attending this church, the Lord also gave me confirmations that this was not the man to be seeking spiritual advice from. As a matter of fact, I thought I was going to pass out from some the teachings that he spoke.
I called on Jesus just over 20 years ago. I have never been taught by man, only by God, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. I could never put something so important as my salvation in the hands of any man. I trust God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit only. When you pray, pray for two things, Love and the gift of discernment.
Jesus As Your Savior
You Did Accept Jesus As Your Personal Savior?
When we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, did we not do this to save ourselves from damnation? Some of us chose Jesus because our life was a mess from trying to live it our way. But, for whatever your reason was for accepting Jesus, we all hope to meet together in Heaven. But for some reason, a lot of us tend to have a problem, and that is giving up our independence. We say to ourselves, “I call the shots” or “Nobody’s going to tell me how to live my life”. Yup, that’s how we are.
One of the things Jesus taught about was what it takes to get into the Kingdom of God. Jesus said in Mark 8:34-36 ‘If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the lose of his soul? It may seem strange at first that one would give up his entire life to someone he can’t even see. But you knew something drew you to call on Jesus and that would be God.
John 6:44 ‘No one can come to me, unless he is drawn by the Father, who hath sent me.’ So by a knowing, you felt a presence in your heart, you knew something was missing and you found Jesus who came into your life. So, like many others you probably wondered what to do next. Like most people they start going to church and bible studies, but there’s a matter more important than that.
Who are you trusting this new found life with? Do you let the church and bible studies and the people who go to the church teach you? Of course not. Your probably saying, “HUH!” Let me explain. They don’t know you or your needs and putting your life in their hands is like playing Russian roulette with 5 bullets. Jesus was sent by God to show us the way back to God.
Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. When you trust God, that’s where your heart is, but put your trust in man and that is where your heart will be. Also it says in Luke 12:29-31, ‘But you, you must not set your hearts on things to eat and things to drink; nor must you worry. It is the pagans of this world who set their hearts on these things. Your Father well knows you need them. No; set your heart on His kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well.’
When you truly give your life and will over to the Lord and you build that relationship with Him, you will not want to have anything to do with being taught by man. Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what’s best for you and He certainly can manage your life better than you can. All you have to do is trust Him and do not try to do things your way. One of the things you do have to understand is that it is a long and lonely road to travel, but it is one amazing journey. And at the end of the road, there is an unspeakable peace and joy waiting for you.
I am in no way telling you not to go to church or bible studies or even to talk to people, what I am saying is don’t become dependant on anyone of them. Keep an open mind, ask questions if you need to, then ask the Lord to help you sort things out, and pretty soon you’ll be able to listen and know that Jesus is a part of your life. You’ll be able to know when He is talking to you and when He isn’t. Anybody that misses out on this experience is losing so, so much.
Jesus wants you to give Him your burdens and He wants to give you His, which is LIGHT! There will be a lot of tests and trials (these will build up your faith and make you stronger) but you have to trust in Jesus, He’ll guide you through them. You will learn about yourself and what God’s will is for you. God loves you so much you just can’t imagine. He wants you to come home.
One thing you have to do is be willing enough to accept His son Jesus Christ. Follow Jesus, not man or your own mind.You’ve been deceived long enough, let the Lord teach you truth. Luke 11:9 ‘So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.’
Your carnal life is as temporary as this world, follow Jesus and your life will be everlasting and eternal light. There are many who believe and have tried to get me to believe that you can have God and take pleasure in the things of this world together, you can’t. Find God and His will first, then see if you can take pleasure in the things of this world.
John 18:36 Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.’ Bless you Jesus. Always remember what Jesus said, John 5:30 ‘I can do nothing by myself; Ican only judge as I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because my aim is to do not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.
May God Bless You Dearly
Growing Spiritually
Face Life One Day At A Time With God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit
After following Jesus and working the past 11 lessons, one should have gained a lot of knowledge about oneself. Such things as the way you think and act, how you treat people and the way you treat them. You should have learned a great deal about sin, like pride, greed, envy, sloth, impatience, jealousy, anger and gluttony. One should have gained a lot of humility as one looked deep within their self and saw what a wretch you really are. We’re not perfect, but we sure can work towards spiritual perfection.
We can’t learn everything about ourselves overnight, it takes time. We need to take our life and live it one moment at a time. Each moment of thought could lead you in one direction or the other. It’s your choice whether to abandon that thought because it is leading you into darkness or make your thoughts productive in producing good fruits. It takes time to change oneself and we need to do this a little bit at a time, patiently, but not in a way where one would procrastinate.
This is what Jesus says about not keeping constant guard on ones house, ‘When an unclean spirit goes out of a man it wanders through waterless country looking for a place to rest, and cannot find one. Then it says,” I will return to the home I came from”. But on arrival, finding it unoccupied, swept and tidied, it then goes off and collects seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they go in and set up house there, so that the man ends up by being worse than he was before. This is what will happen to this evil generation.’
The journey is a long, lonely and laborous road. People are going to have a hard time trying to understand the spiritual awakening that took place in you. Your life has changed and it’s not easy to explain what happened. Even if you could, they wouldn’t be able to understand. So don’t let it get you down, have faith, the Lord is in control and He will help you through it.
One has to experience the walk with the Lord, as well as faith in order to be able to see and understand. Don’t ever be too hasty to push your experiences on to others. They may not be ready yet. It is OK to talk to people about the Lord, just don’t be overbearing. Remember always, that you are on your own road and you can’t put others on your road, they have to travel their own road, by themself with Jesus as their guide.
You will experience spiritual dry periods, just hang in there and keep the faith. God is not all about feelings. Don’t get hung up on the good feelings you get, some are spiritual and pure, while others come from pride. Be very, very, very careful of pride, it could lead you in the wrong direction. Welcome suffering and tests and trials, they’ll make you stronger.
Things are not always going to go YOUR way, they’re not supposed to. Why? Because they’re going to go God’s way, the way He has it planned out for you. Remember, you denounced your life and you agreed to do it His way. You can take your will back, God’s not going to stop you, He’s just going to let you see what happens when you want to do it your way.
Help out others whenever you can. Don’t expect even a thank you in return. Give thanks to God for putting you in a position to help your brothers and sisters out. This is how people see a true Christian in action. 2 Corinthians 9:7 ‘ Each one should give what he has decided in his own mind, not grudgingly or because he is made to, for God loves a cheerful giver.’ Some people use this scripture to try to make you feel guilty and extract money from you. This scripture is about giving from the heart, all sorts of giving, not just money.
If you get a little disturbed or riled because someone asks you for help or you feel that you have to help or even have to give money, then it’s not coming from the heart and what you would be doing would be in vain. So when you give, give from the heart and you will be storing up treasures in heaven. Practice everything you’ve learned on a daily basis and you will grow stronger spiritually. Pray constantly, it’ll help keep your mind from wandering.
God Bless You All
Your Will and Your Life
You Did Accept Jesus As Your Personal Savior?
When we accepted Jesus as our personal Savior, did we not do this to save ourselves from damnation? Some of us chose Jesus because our life was a mess from trying to live it our way. But, for whatever your reason was for accepting Jesus, we all hope to meet together in Heaven. But for some reason, a lot of us tend to have a problem, and that is giving up our independence. We say to ourselves, “I call the shots” or “Nobody’s going to tell me how to live my life”. Yup, that’s how we are.
One of the things Jesus taught about was what it takes to get into the Kingdom of God. Jesus said in Mark 8:34-36 ‘If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life, shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel, shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the lose of his soul? It may seem strange at first that one would give up his entire life to someone he can’t even see. But you knew something drew you to call on Jesus and that would be God.
John 6:44 ‘No one can come to me, unless he is drawn by the Father, who hath sent me.’ So by a knowing, you felt a presence in your heart, you knew something was missing and you found Jesus who came into your life. So, like many others you probably wondered what to do next. Like most people they start going to church and bible studies, but there’s a matter more important than that.
Who are you trusting this new found life with? Do you let the church and bible studies and the people who go to the church teach you? Of course not. Your probably saying, “HUH!” Let me explain. They don’t know you or your needs and putting your life in their hands is like playing Russian roulette with 5 bullets. Jesus was sent by God to show us the way back to God.
Jeremiah 17:5 Thus saith the Lord: Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. When you trust God, that’s where your heart is, but put your trust in man and that is where your heart will be. Also it says in Luke 12:29-31, ‘But you, you must not set your hearts on things to eat and things to drink; nor must you worry. It is the pagans of this world who set their hearts on these things. Your Father well knows you need them. No; set your heart on His kingdom, and these other things will be given you as well.’
When you truly give your life and will over to the Lord and you build that relationship with Him, you will not want to have anything to do with being taught by man. Jesus knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what’s best for you and He certainly can manage your life better than you can. All you have to do is trust Him and do not try to do things your way. One of the things you do have to understand is that it is a long and lonely road to travel, but it is one amazing journey. And at the end of the road, there is an unspeakable peace and joy waiting for you.
I am in no way telling you not to go to church or bible studies or even to talk to people, what I am saying is don’t become dependent on anyone of them. Keep an open mind, ask questions if you need to, then ask the Lord to help you sort things out, and pretty soon you’ll be able to listen and know that Jesus is a part of your life. You’ll be able to know when He is talking to you and when He isn’t. Anybody that misses out on this experience is losing so, so much.
Jesus wants you to give Him your burdens and He wants to give you His, which is LIGHT! There will be a lot of tests and trials (these will build up your faith and make you stronger) but you have to trust in Jesus, He’ll guide you through them. You will learn about yourself and what God’s will is for you. God loves you so much you just can’t imagine. He wants you to come home.
One thing you have to do is be willing enough to accept His son Jesus Christ. Follow Jesus, not man or your own mind.You’ve been deceived long enough, let the Lord teach you truth. Luke 11:9 ‘So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.’
Your carnal life is as temporary as this world, follow Jesus and your life will be everlasting and eternal light. There are many who believe and have tried to get me to believe that you can have God and take pleasure in the things of this world together, you can’t. Find God and His will first, then see if you can take pleasure in the things of this world.
John 18:36 Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. But my kingdom is not of this kind.’ Bless you Jesus. Always remember what Jesus said, John 5:30 ‘I can do nothing by myself; I can only judge as I am told to judge, and my judging is just, because my aim is to do not my own will, but the will of Him who sent me.
May God Bless You Dearly
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