A Life with a Citizenship

This is not our home nor is our citzenship in this world. From the beginning of those who lived by faith they made it clear that their citzenship is not of this world but they are looking forward to their heavenly city and home.

Hebrews 11:16 But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

The Lord has prepared a city for us and He has described what a citizen of this city looks like in His word. He asks what this citizen looks like in Psalm 15.

Psalm 15:1 O Lord, who may abide in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your holy hill?

In other words, what does the person look like who will live with Him in His city?

Psalm 15:2 He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And speaks truth in his heart.

He does what is right and walks with integrity. He is honest in all of His dealings and the way this is done is that he speaks the truth to himself first within his own heart. The only way that he can do this is if God’s word is in his heart.

Psalm 40:8 I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your Law is within my heart.

So, not only does he love the Lord with all of his heart, soul and mind but he loves his neighbor with a Christlike love. His neighbor is every person that he comes in contact with, whether it is in a store or where he lives. The meaning of evil is to cause grief. He does not cause grief through bad mouthing someone or any other way. He is also loyal to his friends.

Psalm 15:3 He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

We are not to hate anyone but what this is saying is that we do not give honor to a reprobate but we honor those who fear the Lord. There are a lot of people who are reprobates and do not seek the Lord. What about the books you read and the songs you listen to…are the authors and composers men and women of God?

Psalm 15:4 In whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But who honors those who fear the Lord;
He swears to his own hurt and does not change;

Also, another big thing to the Lord is that a citizen of His keeps their word even when it hurts. Have you made a commitment and then changed your mind? You keep the commitment. You swear to your own hurt so that you do not bring dishonor to our King.

Psalm 15:5 He does not put out his money at interest,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

The Lord gives those who live according to His laws a promise that they will never be shaken. You will find that there will be an amazing peace that comes over your life on a daily basis as you live according to His ways. When you violate His ways then you have not loved someone and you have brought grief to someone. Do not minimize your sin by saying that “we are under grace”. Grace was never meant to excuse your sin. Confess your shortcomings to Him. He will forgive you and help you learn to do what is right. He did not just save you so that you would become His child and a citizen of His kingdom but He saved you so that you would be able to live as a child of God and a citizen of His country. He wants you to represent Him to the world as His child and His ambassador.

Isaiah 33:15-17 He who walks righteously and speaks with sincerity,
He who rejects unjust gain
And shakes his hands so that they hold no bribe;
He who stops his ears from hearing about bloodshed
And shuts his eyes from looking upon evil;
He will dwell on the heights,
His refuge will be the impregnable rock;
His bread will be given him,
His water will be sure.

Your eyes will see the King in His beauty;
They will behold a far-distant land.

He wants you to see Him before you get to your heavenly home. He wants you to see the King in His beauty and wants you to behold that far distant land just as the great men and women of faith who have gone before us did.

Matthew 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

To sum it up, the child of God and citizen of heaven has clean hands, a pure heart and a clear conscience.

A Life that is Preserved

Everyone wants a life that is preserved and fresh and which is refreshing to others. However, most people feel drained. It is easy to fall into a survival trap and life can sometimes feel like a constant struggle. How do we live a full life and keep from being destroyed by the forces of evil.

For the Lord loves justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off. Psalm 37:28

The Lord promises to preserve His godly ones. The godly are those who live according to His ways and they live in His love by doing His commandments. They are not on a path of destruction but on a path that leads to life. How does the Lord preserve His godly ones? He teaches us to hate evil. The meaning of evil is to “cause grief”. The godly seek to be a blessing to others and not return evil for evil.

Hate evil, you who love the Lord, Who preserves the souls of His godly ones; He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Psalm 97:10

The Lord loves justice and He wants His godly ones to love justice and do justice also.

Guarding the paths of justice, And He preserves the way of His godly ones. Proverbs 2:8

There is a temptation to return evil or to cause someone else grief if they have caused us grief but the Lord tells us to depart from evil. We must watch how we live so that we do not do evil.

The highway of the upright is to depart from evil; He who watches his way preserves his life. Proverbs 16:17

Evil does not destroy the soul of a person unless they do it. We must never do evil. Our soul is who we are on the inside. Our body houses our soul. Our soul is the unique person that each of us are and it is our mind, will and emotions. We need not fear man. Man can never destroy our soul. We are the only ones who can allow our soul to be destroyed and it is by allowing evil to control our thoughts and actions.

Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

The Lord teaches us to fear Him. What does it mean to fear the Lord?

“The fear of the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate. Proverbs 8:13

The fear of the Lord is to hate evil, pride and arrogance and the evil way. It is also to hate having a perverted mouth. Cussing is to have a perverted mouth. Sometimes people will use “slang” cuss words, which they don’t feel like they are actually cussing but in a sense they are. Always ask yourself, “would I use this language around Jesus if He was sitting here with me?” When we make decisions without praying we are being prideful and arrogant. If we think we “know” what is right without reading what the Lord says about something then we are being arrogant.

By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for, And by the fear of the Lord one keeps away from evil. Proverbs 16:16

It is by the fear of the Lord that one keeps away from evil. God’s Word produces in us reverence for God, which is the fear of God. When we fear God then we are protected from evil.

The fear of the Lord leads to life, So that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil. Proverbs 19:3

The ultimate destruction for man is when he rejects Jesus Christ and turns his back on what God has done for him by sending His Son to save him from eternal destruction. Man chooses hell for himself when he refuses to come to the Lord and receive the gift of His Son, Jesus Christ, so as to be saved from present and eternal destruction. Jesus Christ died, was buried and rose again for each person on earth. To fear the Lord is to have the greatest respect for Him and for what He did for each of us. He took our sin and death so that we can have His righteousness and life.

And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people. Acts 3:23

Jesus was the revelation of God and He is God. He was the One who fulfilled the prophecies of the earlier prophets in the Old Testament. He is the Messiah and He is the Prophet who was coming that Moses prophesied about that we should listen to. Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings. Every soul who does not listen to Jesus will be destroyed. Those who listen to Jesus and His Word will be preserved. When we do His commandments and keep His Word then we learn to fear Him. We are preserved by His lovingkindness and truth. Jesus prayed for His disciples that they would be protected from evil.

I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil. John 17:15

It is God’s design to preserve His children. We are preserved from the evil in the world by following the Lord and doing what He says. The Lord gives us this prayer and blessing in His Word.

Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. I Thessalonians 5:23

The wonderful thing that the Lord does is no matter how much we have been destroyed by things in our past, when we come to Him then He makes us into a “new creature” and the “old things pass away”. He gives us a new start.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. II Corinthians 5:17

A Life that is Gentle

One of the most beautiful and powerful verses in the Bible is in the book of Psalms. It says that God’s gentleness makes us great. The word is literally His condescension but some versions use the word gentleness.

Psalms 18:35 You have also given me the shield of Your salvation,
And Your right hand upholds me;
And Your gentleness makes me great.

If you break down the word condescend then it means that He got down with us. He communicated with us on our level. He did not just speak to us on His level but He humbled Himself to communicate with us. A beautiful picture of gentleness is when someone stoops down to speak with someone who is in a wheelchair so that they can be on their same eye level or when someone lowers himself to talk with a child on their level. It is a powerful picture of love and humility.

Psalm 113:5-8 Who is like the Lord our God,
Who is enthroned on high,
Who humbles Himself to behold
The things that are in heaven and in the earth?
He raises the poor from the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,
To make them sit with princes,
With the princes of His people.

The psalmist had it right when he said that there is none like our God. Although He is enthroned on high, He humbles Himself to behold the things that are in heaven and on the earth. Not only does He behold us but when we realize our great need for the Lord then He lifts us up and He will even make us sit with princes!

Isaiah 66:2 “For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,” declares the Lord.
“But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit, and who trembles at My word.

Who is He looking for when He looks down from heaven? Who does He want to behold? He wants to find those who are humble and contrite in spirit and who tremble at His word. He is looking for those who are wanting to be like Him for He is humble.

Philippians 2:3-8 Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

What does a humble person look like? They are not selfish or conceited. They regard others as more important than themselves. They don’t just look after their own personal interests but also for the interests of others. They have a servant heart and attitude and actions of a servant. They are completely obedient no matter what the cost to them even if it is their own life.

Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

The humble person looks life Jesus. The only way we can live a life of gentleness is if we allow Him to live through us in the power of the Holy Spirit for gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22,23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Therefore, let people see Christ in you through your gentle spirit.

Philippians 4:5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.

And again, you are His holy and beloved child through whom the world will see Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:12 So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;

A Life with Good Words

Someone once said that many of the people that we encounter during any given day are going through some sort of crisis. Whether that is true no one can say but we can say that most, if not all, of the people we encounter need a word of encouragement. They need a good word.

Proverbs 12:25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down,
But a good word makes it glad.

Life and death are in the power of your words and you will eat the fruit of the words you say. You will either give life and receive life or your words will give death and you will receive death. How many times have we regretted the words we said and we can never take them back.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.

Your words will give you great satisfaction if you use your tongue according to God’s ways.

Proverbs 12:14 A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words,
And the deeds of a man’s hands will return to him.

You will receive great joy when you give a good word in the right situation. Your words can make a difference in someone’s life. You can influence someone by a word of encouragement or comfort.

Proverbs 25:11 Like apples of gold in settings of silver
Is a word spoken in right circumstances.

When someone strokes you with the a good word that word will go down into your innermost being. If someone believes in you, when it seems that no one else does, and expresses it in words then you will sometimes remember those words for years because they went down into your innermost parts.

Proverbs 20:30 Stripes that wound scour away evil,
And strokes reach the innermost parts.

A word of encouragement does wonders to a person. Your words can destroy or build up. When you have children your words are far more important than you realize and your children will remember nearly every word you say to them. Never speak in anger. Anger will never achieve what is right and will often cause great harm.

James 1:19,20 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

The words spoken in gentleness will often turn away anger.

Proverbs 15:1 A gentle answer turns away wrath,
But a harsh word stirs up anger.

The only way that we can give a gentle answer is if we have a gentle spirit. The mouth speaks from that which is on the inside and the spirit of a man communicates even more than his words.

I Peter 3:4 but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

Finally, the only way that we will be able to give good words to others will be if we listen to the good Words of the Lord.

Joshua 23:14 “Now behold, today I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one word of all the good words which the Lord your God spoke concerning you has failed; all have been fulfilled for you, not one of them has failed.

If you have tasted the good word of the Lord then ask Him to help you give a good word to someone else. You can make a difference for the Lord by refreshing the hearts of those who you come in contact with by your words. Just as a cup of cold water refreshes the body of the quenched one so a good word refreshes the soul of one who is thirsty for encouragement.

Hebrews 5:4 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

A Life of Gratitude

The Lord is good and His lovingkindness is everlasting. We need to thank Him continually. We have a good God.

I Chronicles 16:24 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; For His lovingkindness is everlasting.

You can not ever thank the Lord too much for what He has done for you.The word nations usually refers to all people and not just those who know the Lord. When you publicly give thanks to the Lord you are giving Him the honor due to Him and it glorifies Him.

II Samuel 22:50 “Therefore I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the nations, And I will sing praises to Your name.

Give thanks to the Lord for each step in His work. It is His work and He is the One who does it but He allows us to be a part of His kingdom building.

Ezra 3:11 They sang, praising and giving thanks to the Lord, saying, “For He is good, for His lovingkindness is upon Israel forever.” And all the people shouted with a great shout when they praised the Lord because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

We will spend all of eternity giving thanks to Him.

Revelation 11:17 saying, “We give You thanks,  O Lord God, the Almighty, who are and who were, because You have taken Your great power and have begun to reign.

When we thank Him we are offering a sacrifice of praise to Him.

Hebrews 13:15 Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.

Give thanks to the Lord for other Christians.

II Thessalonians 1:3We ought always to give thanks to God for you, brethren, as is only fitting, because your faith is greatly enlarged, and the love of each one of you toward one another grows ever greater;

And express thanks to the Christians who have helped you.

I Thessalonians 5:12 But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction,

If you have never written them a letter then now is a good time to write them a thank you letter. Your letter will bring encouragement and grace to the one to whom you write and express thanks to for what they have done for you.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

A Life that Calls

From the very beginning the great men and women of God, who lived by faith, called on the Lord. The wicked do not call on the Most High but look elsewhere for help.

Genesis 13:4 to the place of the altar which he had made there formerly; and there Abram called on the name of the Lord.

The incredible privilege of being able to call on the Creator of the universe is what makes Christians so unique. The Lord has made us a people for Himself.

Deuteronomy 4:7 For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as is the Lord our God whenever we call on Him?

The Christian life begins with calling on the Lord and the Christian life is a relationship where we continually call on Him. He says that whoever, which includes everyone, calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

Romans 10:12,13 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

He tells us to call on Him when we are in trouble and He will rescue us. Has He ever rescued you? Did you honor Him by telling others what great thing He has done for you?

Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

Full repentance involves turning from your sin and turning to the Lord and calling on Him, that He might have mercy on you and save you from your iniquity.  Iniquity is  what your sin is called of wanting to be your own lord, by going your own way and making your own decisions. Once you repent from your iniquity then He will save you from your sins, which are all of the foolish acts, words, thoughts and offenses against Him.

Jonah 3:8 But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.

The Lord wants you to call on Him so that He can show you great and mighty things.

Jeremiah 33:3 ‘Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.’

Where are you in your calling upon the Lord? Do you call on Him every morning before you start your day or have you become weary in your walk and no longer call on Him as you did earlier when you first came into your love relationship with the Lord?

Isaiah 43:22 Yet you have not called on Me, O Jacob;
But you have become weary of Me, O Israel.

The Lord longs to hear from you and waits for your call. Just as a parent, who loves their child waits for their calls when they are away, so your heavenly Father is waiting to hear from you.

Psalm 4:1 Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer.

He will answer you and He will hear your call. He loves you and longs to hear from you. You will find strength that you did not have and boldness in your soul.

Psalm 138:3 On the day I called, You answered me;
You made me bold with strength in my soul.

A Life of Thanksgiving

Do you want to live a life filled with joy? Do you want to live in His presence? Do you want your “cup to be half empty” or “your cup half full”? All of us have good things and bad things happen to us.

Matthew 5:45 for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

That is the way life is and the older you get the more good will happen and the more bad will happen. Your attitude is determines the difference in your life. Have you ever noticed that there are certain people that others gravitate towards? They are the ones who are filled with thanksgiving and their cup is always “half full”. After you are around them for awhile you start to think that their “cup of life” is all the way full because of the joy that they have in their life. Their life is not any different from yours or anyone else’s life. They are not more blessed than you. They are thankful people rather than complainers.

Psalm 9:1 I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.

When you give thanks to the Lord with all of your hear then you will see and tell of all of His wonders. His wonders are all around us if we will only give thanks to Him then we will see the multitude of blessings that He has given to us. You have to give thanks to Him with ALL of your heart to see ALL of His wonders.

Psalm 26:7 That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving and declare all Your wonders.

Do you want to honor the Lord. He has given us clear instruction how to do so.

Psalm 50:23 He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;

He wants us to come into His presence through thanksgiving.

Psalm 95:2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.

If He has saved you then should a day go by when we do not thank Him for the precious gift of His Son, Jesus Christ? God’s wrath that you deserved was poured out on Jesus. His anger is turned away and you now have His comfort!

Isaiah 12:1 Then you will say on that day, “I will give thanks to You, O Lord; For although You were angry with me, Your anger is turned away, And You comfort me.

All of your prayers should be filled with thanksgiving.

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Finally, thanksgiving is what distinguishes the Christian from the nonChristian. How sweet it is to see a family bow their heads in a restaurant before they eat and give thanks to the Lord. All of us when we see it we know that they are doing the right thing. They are not ashamed of the Gospel.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

If we don’t give thanks to the Lord then our foolish heart will become darkened.

Romans 1:21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Giving thanks is one of the beautiful ways that we can humble ourselves before God and honor Him and bless Him. Let us give thanks to Him and not forget any of His benefits.

Psalm 103:1,2 Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;

 

 

A Life of Praise

You worship what you praise and you praise what you worship. There is only One who is worthy of all praise and He is to be our praise.

Revelation 4:11 Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

When you praise Him then it is becoming and truly makes you beautiful. This is the meaning of true beauty. If you want to be beautiful then learn to praise the Lord.

Psalm 33:1 Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is becoming to the upright.

A heart full of joy will make a cheerful face. Your smile is beautiful to the Lord and to others.

Proverbs 15:13 A joyful heart makes a cheerful face,
But when the heart is sad, the spirit is broken.

There is none like Him.

Exodus 15:11 “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord? Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in  praises, working wonders?

Has He shown you His favor? Has He poured out His anger on Jesus so that you would not be the recipient of His wrath? Praise Him!

Psalm 30:4,5 Sing praise to the Lord, you His godly ones,
And give thanks to His holy name.
For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

Has His Word been precious to you? Has the Gospel been the power of salvation to you when you believed? Praise Him!

Psalm 56:10 In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,

Are you praising Him to the next generation? Are you telling them the praises of the Lord and His strength and all of the wonderful works that He has done? Is the Lord the only explanation for your life? He should be and if He is then let others know and praise Him.

Psalm 78:4 We will not conceal them from their children,
But tell to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wondrous works that He has done.

Has He brought up your soul from the pit of depression and discouragement? Then praise Him.

Psalm 30:3 O Lord, You have brought up my soul from Sheol;
You have kept me alive, that I would not go down to the pit.

If He has saved you and redeemed your life and paid your ransom then praise Him. If He has rescued you and set your feet on a firm place then praise Him. If He has allowed you to know Him in His goodness and lovingkindness then praise Him. If you are His child then praise Him!

Psalm 107:2,3 Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,
Whom He has redeemed from the hand of the adversary
And gathered from the lands,
From the east and from the west,
From the north and from the south.

He has gathered us from all over that we might be a people for His glory and that we might give praise to Him. Let us say so!

A Life with Love Gives “Good Things”

A question we need to ask is “Why does God give good things to bad people?”. For there is no one good but God and Adam and Eve did not obey their loving Creator who had nothing but good for them in their present and future. God is good and His plans for us are for our good. God loves us. In spite of what Adam and Eve did the Lord still loved them and wanted good for them.

For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Jeremiah 29:11

The Lord has a good plan for all of us. He has a good future and He gives us hope.

Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:12,13

If we will call upon Him and come to Him then we will find Him when we search for Him with all of our heart. He will listen to us when we pray to Him. He loves us and longs to show us His love.

Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. Isaiah 30:18

No matter how “bad” we have been and no matter how far we have run from God He still loves us. He still wants us. He made us to love us. He finds no delight when we fall and when we experience grief.

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil dwells with You. Psalms 5:4

There is no god like the One True God who we know through His Son, Jesus Christ. There is none like Him for He delights in unchanging love.

Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. Micah 7:18

The Lord wants all of us to come to Him. He will pardon and forgive all of our sins when we come to Him. He came to redeem us because He loves us. When we come to Him then He takes all of our sin and gives us all of His love. His love is a gift and there is nothing that we can do to earn it. We must receive it.

For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8,9

When we receive the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ then we receive not only forgiveness but we receive His love. We become His child and everything that is included in being a child of the King of kings and Lord of lords.

But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, John 1:12

We receive Jesus Christ through faith. Faith is coming to Him. It is by grace. Grace is His invitation to come to Him. When we turn away from our sin and come to Jesus Christ through faith by His grace and receive Him as our Lord and Savior then we become His child. We are either going away from God and going toward sin or we are going toward God and away from sin.

See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. I John 3:1a

When we come to Him then He meets us where we are and brings us to Himself.

For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, I Peter 3:18a

When we become God’s child then He pours out His love on us. God loves us with the same love which He loved Jesus Christ when He walked upon the earth.

and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them. John 17:26

The Lord made Himself known to us so that we also may know God the Father. He who knows Jesus, the Son of God, also knows God, the Father.

If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him. John 14:7

The commandment has not changed. The same instruction that God gave to Adam and Eve, He has also given to us. When we become His child then He wants us to live in His love forever. If we will keep His commandments then we will know Him and experience His love.

In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” John 14:20,21

The Lord wants to give us good things. He loves us and wants us to know His love and live in it. The way we live in His love is to obey Him. His commandments are for our good and to keep us from grief that we would bring upon ourselves by going our own way. Love is a choice and again, just like in the Garden of Eden, the Lord has given that choice to man, if man wants to love God and obey Him or not love God and go his own way.

No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. Psalm 84:11

Not only does God give good things to those who do not deserve them but there is no good thing that He will withhold from those who obey Him.

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

God gives us good things because He loves us. He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him for us wants to also with Christ, freely give us all things. There is none like Him who delights in unchanging love. It is only a fool who would not come to Him.

A Life that Knows the Word

If you could only know one book in the world then know the Word of God. It will give you life and teach you how to do life. The Word of God will save you much grief. Man is born for trouble but the less trouble we get in then the sweeter life is.

Job 5:7 For man is born for trouble,
As sparks fly upward.

The Word of God will instruct you in the way you should go. It will correct you when you get off the right path. It will help you get back on the right path. It will help you from making a bigger mess once you are in a mess. It will train you so that you will be prepared for life and the incredible work that He has prepared for you…whether that is ministry, being a wife, motherhood or whatever calling that the Lord has prepared for you. The Bible is God’s inspired Word and it is profitable for you.

II Timothy 3:16,17 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.

The Bible is the only place where you will see the truth about yourself. No one else will be absolutely honest with you to the point that it would bring you great pain but the Lord will through His Word. He will reprove you but He will help you and change you. He will encourage you through His Word and strengthen you when you are doing life right. His Word will clean your wounds so that they can heal properly and He will restore you in your broken relationships so that you will be at peace. The Bible is a mirror that reflects the true nature of our heart.

James 1:21-25 Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.

You must put God’s Word in your heart so that you can do exactly what it says every second of every minute of every day so that you can learn to walk with Jesus in an intimate way. The Word of God is like an invisible mirror that reveals your heart. The Word of God keeps sin from lodging in your heart and taking root. You will become much more sensitive to sin. It will keep you from being merely a hearer of the Word who forgets it once you put your Bible down but you will learn to do exactly what the Bible says. You will not be deluded by your own thinking or current trends that sometimes aren’t Biblical.

Jeremiah 15:16 Your words were found and I ate them,
And Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart;
For I have been called by Your name,
O Lord God of hosts.

Once you learn to put the Lord’s Words in your heart then they will become a joy and the very delight of your heart. You will want to shout for joy to the Lord. You will want to sing a new song to Him. You will want to tell others the marvelous things that He has done for your soul. All of these things come after you put His Word in your heart. Your faith will increase and you will live above circumstances for you will live on His promises. Your love for Jesus will grow stronger and you will long more and more for Him. You will want to magnify Him and exalt His name.

Psalms 34:1-3 I will bless the Lord at all times;
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul will make its boast in the Lord;
The humble will hear it and rejoice.
O magnify the Lord with me,
And let us exalt His name together.