Tag: faith

A Life of An Encourager

We all need hope and encouragement brings hope and the courage to press on. Discouragement means that we have lost our courage. There are times in a person’s life when they want to quit. If you are an encourager you will never lack friends or a ministry. The Christian and the nonChristian will always need encouragement.

I Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build up one another,  just as you also are doing.

The Lord is the One who gives encouragement so that we might persevere and not give up. He wants us to be of the same mind with one another, that is, to have the mind of Christ.

Romans 15:5 Now may the God who gives perseverance and encouragement grant you to be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus,

Today, when you have the opportunity, encourage someone. You may not get the chance tomorrow. Sin deceives and we need one another to keep from being deceived and falling. Encouragement to someone who is downcast is like giving a cup of cold water to one who is thirsty. Their soul is quenched and encouragement refreshes their soul.

Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Daniel was an encouragement to the one he worked for and was a blessing to him.

Daniel 11:1 In the first year of Darius the Mede, I arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him.

Barnabas was an encouragement to the Christians.

Acts 4:36 Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement),

Acts 11:22-24 The news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. Then when he arrived and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord.

Jonathan encouraged his best friend, David. Encourage your friends so that they might thrive.

I Samuel 23:16 And Jonathan, Saul’s son, arose and went to David at Horesh, and encouraged him in God.

Encourage the exhausted. Those who are in the battle for the Lord get weary and exhausted. They need you. New mothers need encouragement and young wives need it also. We all need encouragement.

Isaiah 35:3 Encourage the exhausted, and strengthen the feeble.

Encourage your leaders who lead you spiritually that they may be strengthened  in the Lord.

Deuteronomy 1:38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; encourage him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.

The Scripture was given to us to encourage us and give us hope. Read the Old Testament as well as the New Testament.

Romans 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

When we take refuge in the Lord then we come away with encouragement.

Hebrews 6:18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

The Lord gives us encouragement so that we also might give encouragement to others. When you look to Jesus then He will show you those around you who need encouragement. The world is filled with hungry and thirsty souls who need the encouragement and refreshment that you can give them.

Proverbs 11:25 The generous man will be prosperous, And he who waters will himself be watered.

If the Lord calls you to be married then your husband will desperately need your encouragement and so will your children. Learn now how to encourage others as a way of life. Learn from others who are an example to you in this area. As you learn to encourage your friends, family and leaders then all of you will be built up together in the Lord.

 

A Life that Pleases God

There is only One whom we can please all of the time if we will only trust Him. The righteous person shall live by faith. The most fulfilling life is a life of faith. A life of faith is what pleases the Lord and you can not please Him without faith.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

A lack of faith is the only thing the Lord reproved His disciples for when He spent time with them.

Matthew 8:26 He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.

To increase their faith is what His disciples requested from Him.

Luke 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

What is faith? Faith is believing what you can not see. A conviction means that it defines your life.

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Faith comes through God’s Word. If you want to increase your faith then increase your time in His Word. Ask the Lord to increase your faith as you spend time with Him in his Word.

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

There are degrees of faith. The Lord talks about great faith and little faith. If faith is what pleases the One who loves you more than you can comprehend then don’t you want to have great faith?

Matthew 15:28 Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

However, even if you have little faith then He can increase it if you come to Him. Faith can grow, it is like a mustard seed.

Matthew 17:20 And He said to them, “Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

Faith is believing what the Lord said. It is not wishing something will happen and if you wish hard enough then you have faith that it will happen. Faith comes from hearing the Lord speak to you through His Word. It is based on His promises. You must spend time in His Word and then your faith will grow. Faith is believing the Lord and believing that what He said is true. You will be blessed if you believe in Him and His Word.

John 20:29  Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.”

It is through faith in Jesus Christ that we receive the righteousness of God and are declared “not guilty” because Jesus Christ has justified us because of His righteousness.

Romans 4:5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,

Jesus lived by faith more than anyone. He lived a life of perfect faith. He never doubted the Father. He laid aside His God powers and trusted the Father completely. Jesus went to the cross trusting the Father to raise Him from the dead according to the Father’s promise.

Colossians 2:12 in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the  working of God, who raised Him from the dead.

Faith is not a passive intellectual assent to the claims of Christ but a dynamic living out of obedience to His Word believing that one day He is coming again and is a rewarder of those who seek Him, as was mentioned earlier.

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

A Life that Has a Refuge

A refuge is a safe place. We all need a refuge. The Lord has a refuge for the Christian lady where she will always be safe. It is very important for a young lady to understand this truth. The Bible says that the Lord keeps us and the devil can not touch us.

I John 5:18 He who was born of God keeps him, and the evil one does not touch him.

If a young Christian lady is any danger it is very important that she runs to the Lord. She must speak the name of Jesus Christ in her situation. People have to block out God in order to do evil.

Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe.

Pour out your heart to the Lord. He will come to you. Seek refuge in Him.

Psalm 62:8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us.

He will be a shield to all who take refuge in Him. Don’t go where you should not go but if you find yourself being attacked in your thought life or by the accusations of others then go to the Lord and call on His name. He will help you and be a shield for you to extinguish the fiery darts of the evil one. If you are in physical danger He will be a shield for you. Nothing can touch you unless it first comes through Him.

Psalm 37:40 The Lord helps them and delivers them; He delivers them from the wicked and saves them, Because they take refuge in Him.

He is a very present help in trouble.

Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.

There are many verses in the Bible about the Lord being a refuge for the Christian. However, unless we believe them they do not help us.

Hebrews 4:2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.

If we take His Word and believe what He says then we will possess His promises. They will become ours and we will have faith, hope and courage.

Hebrews 6:18 so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.

The book of Hebrews was written to the Christians whose homes had been taken from them and they had to flee Rome during the times of the early church. They were able to persevere under very trying circumstances only because they put their hope in Him.

James 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

We are not to shrink back in the day of trial but we are to take refuge in Him and persevere so that we shall not be ashamed. It is the little trials that prepare us for the bigger trials. The Lord is a present help in time of trouble but you must call on Him.

Hebrews 10:37-39 For yet in a very little while,
He who is coming will come, and will not delay.
But My righteous one shall live by faith;
And if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him.

But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul.

Faith is taking refuge in Him and believing what He says is true. When our faith is strong then our courage is strong and we are able to persevere. Discouragement means that we have lost our courage. The Lord says to be strong and courageous. He is coming again and His reward is with Him and for all who were faithful.

 

A Life that Lives Above Circumstances

There is a promise in the Bible that is an amazing promise and it is one that says if you do a certain thing then you will ride on the heights of the earth. This means that you will live above the circumstances of every day life. However, as with many of His promises, there is a condition. What does the Lord require of you to live this incredible life?

Isaiah 58:13,14 “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot
From doing your own pleasure on My holy day,
And call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the Lord honorable,
And honor it, desisting from your own ways,
From seeking your own pleasure
And speaking your own word,
Then you will take delight in the Lord,
And I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
And I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

The Lord established the Sabbath commandment at the beginning of creation when the Lord Himself rested on the seventh day of the week. Was He tired? No, the Bible says that the Lord God does not get tired.

Isaiah 40:28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.

The Lord was setting the pattern for work and for life by His example. He does not only teach us but He shows us how to live life. He gave us a day of rest because He is good. He did not make man for the Sabbath but the Sabbath for man.

Mark 2:27 Jesus said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

Often people will say that they wish they had a day where they did not have to do anything. He has given us a day every week to rest and become refreshed in our relationship with Him. It is not “family day” or a day that we can do things we want to do and because we enjoy them then it is not considered work. No, rather He makes it very clear that we are not to do our own pleasure or live life our way. We are not to seek our own pleasure or speak our own words but we are to honor Him by honoring His holy day. He says that if we do this then we will ride on the heights of the earth.  Holy means that it is set a part for Him.

Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,

This is the Apostle John speaking. Since Jesus Christ rose again from the dead on Sunday, the first day of the week, Sunday became the Sabbath day for the Christians after the resurrection. Sunday became the day that was set a part from the other days of the week so that they might get together and worship the Lord and rest.

Deuteronomy 5:12-14 ‘Observe the sabbath day to keep it holy, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant or your ox or your donkey or any of your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you, so that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you.

The Lord considered the setting aside one day a week and not doing any work so important that He made it one of the Ten commandments. You will find that if you will keep this commandment then the quality of your life will become much better and you will also “take delight in the Lord”, as He promises.

Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.

One of the beautiful characteristics of the Lord is that He does not make you do anything. You don’t have to obey any of His commandments. However, because He is so incredibly good He promises a reward if we delight ourselves in Him. He will give us the desires of our heart.

 

 

 

 

A Life that is Moral

Morality and immorality are opposites. Immorality is exchanging eternal values for  temporal values. Esau was immoral by trading his birthright for a meal. His birthright was his so why was his action immoral? His birthright was what had eternal value and the meal had temporal value.

Hebrews 12:16 that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal.

If we do not wait for God’s timing then we are also godless. Esau would have gotten some food but he could not wait.

Isaiah 64:4 For from days of old they have not heard or perceived by ear,
Nor has the eye seen a God besides You,
Who acts in behalf of the one who waits for Him.

The Lord has far more for you than what you can see or have heard of if you will only wait for Him.

Ephesians 3:20 Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us,

He can even do more than what you can think of if you will only trust Him and wait for Him.

James 1:16,17 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.

Do not be deceived and listen to the lies of the devil that come out of the world or that even come into your thoughts. The Lord wants to give you good things and perfect gifts.

Isaiah 55:8,9 “For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways
And My thoughts than your thoughts.

Learn to think His thoughts and learn His ways. His thoughts are revealed to us in His Word and that is also how we learn His ways. He has given His Word to us. It is His revelation of who He is. It is the only way that we know the only true God. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us through Jesus Christ.

Deuteronomy 29:29 “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever, that we may observe all the words of this law.

He wants to teach us His ways and He wants us to observe His Words, by observing He means to study, know and obey them.

Psalm 25:4 Make me know Your ways, O Lord; Teach me Your paths.

Are you thinking His thoughts and learning His ways. It is a lifelong process and the more we know His ways then the more we will know Him and experience His good gifts. That is why the Lord says over and over again in His Word that the ones who keep His commandments and follow His ways are blessed. Morality is keeping His ways and being obedient to His Words, which are eternal values. Immorality is doing what you want to do and satisfying your flesh, which are temporal values.

A Life that Responds Correctly to Anger

Anger is such a destructive force in relationships and in families but if it is responded to in the correct way then it will dissolve much more quickly before the damage in done. Often, for a young lady, many of her relationships are ones that she did not choose, for instance, she may have a relative or a boss that has an issue with anger. Anger causes men and women to do things that they would never have done in their sane mind.

Genesis 49:6 “Let my soul not enter into their council; Let not my glory be united with their assembly; Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen.

If you have a choice, then choose friends who do not have an issue with anger. The Lord says to not go with a man given to anger. A person who is slow to anger is like the Lord, for He is slow to anger.

Exodus 34:6 Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;

Even though the Lord is slow to anger He still is a just God who will render judgment and recompense to all men. Slow to anger does not mean that you are passive, rather it means that you are God controlled.

Numbers 14:18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations.’

However, how do you respond to a person in authority over you when they become angry? First, be sure of your position, that it is the position of what the Lord stands for in His Word. Check your attitude and make sure that you are entirely dependent on the Lord and that you have no will of you own but only to do His will. Then, once you know that you are doing what is right, do not give in or be intimidated. Stand firm.

Ecclesiastes 10:4 If the ruler’s temper rises against you, do not abandon your position, because composure allays great offenses.

If you must respond then make sure that your gentleness speaks louder than your words. The Bibles says that a king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion. It is frightening.

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

What if you are the one who has been defeated by anger in your own self? If anger is something that you struggle with then you must give it to the Lord. Basically, most anger comes when we do not get our way. Anger is the opposite of self control. Self control is part of the fruit of the spirit. Do you feed your flesh with worldly passions and desires for that quenches your spirit and you will not be able to have self control when you need it. All men and women respect someone who can control his own spirit.

Proverbs 16:32 He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.

Only a fool allows his anger to take control of him.

Ecclesiastes 7:9 Do not be eager in your heart to be angry, For anger resides in the bosom of fools.

If you find yourself angry then get away from the situation and through it all call upon the Lord to help you. Ask the Lord for wisdom and prudence so that you will know how to respond to the situation in a way that will cause people to respect you rather than lose respect for you.

Proverbs 12:16 A fool’s anger is known at once, But a prudent man conceals dishonor.

Never let the sun go down on your anger. The more that you can learn to do this then the happier your life will be and the healthier your relationships will be. This also is great preparation for marriage, where the closer you live with someone, the more your selfishness and anger will come out, if you have not learned to walk with the Lord.

Ephesians 4:26 do not let the sun go down on your anger,

Finally, ask the Lord to forgive you and also the person with whom you were angry, if you said or did something. Asking someone to forgive you and meaning it is one of the best ways to stop doing something and to change because if you are really sorry for what you did then you will not want to do it again. It also helps clear the air and bring about healing to the damage that has been caused in a relationship.

Proverbs 28:13 He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes themwill find compassion.

Finally…put it away from you.

Ephesians 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

We all have struggled some time or other with anger but our response, if done correctly, can change us and can change those around us. The Lord wants to give us victory in this area. If you learn to conquer anger then it will save you much grief.

A Life that Lives Out Love

The Lord is perfect in all of his ways. He is so good to us because He always gives us a free choice. When we become a Christian we do not have to love Him. However, when we experience His unfathomable love for us why would we not want to love Him with all of our heart, soul and mind?

I John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

When we become a Christian the Lord sets us free. He does not set us free to do what we want but He sets us free to do as we ought. We can still become enslaved again or we can live in the freedom that He paid for with His blood.

Galatians 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

When we live according to the flesh then we become a slave again to sin.

Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

God’s grace is what enables us to live in obedience to Him and to remain free. God’s grace became available to us through the cross. Do not allow the free choices you have to turn the grace of God into licentiousness.

Jude 4 For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Don’t allow your freedom or liberty in Christ, which is your freedom to choose, become a stumbling block because you want to indulge your flesh.

I Corinthians 8:9 But take care that this liberty of yours does not somehow become a stumbling block to the weak.

If you love someone with the love of Christ then you will be more concerned about their relationship with the Lord than your own pleasures and indulgences. If you love the Lord then you will love His children.

I John 3:16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

It is by our love for one another that the world will know that we are His disciples.

John 13:34.35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

 

A Life with a Great Love

The Lord offers us in His Word a great peace, a great reward and great goodness to be bestowed on us, but first we must receive His great love. His great love is available to all but only those who receive His Son will ever know the privilege,honor and gift of experiencing His great love by becoming His child.

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

Not only do you become His child but your Heavenly Father will love you with the same love with which He loves Jesus Christ. Unbelievable! We understand how He could love Jesus. Of course He loves Jesus because Jesus Christ is perfect but does He really love the rest of us the same way? Yes!!!

John 17:23 so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.

Once you belong to Him there is nothing that can separate you from His love.

Romans 8:38,39 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Once you have His great love then He promises to give you all things. You no longer have to work for God’s favor or hope that your good will outweigh your bad. His love is a gift and everything that you receive after His great love is a gift. He wants to give to you and give to you some more.

Romans 8:32 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?

God’s incredible great love is available to all. There is no one who has sinned too much or has done anything too horrible to be rejected by His great love. All have been disobedient to God. We have all sinned.

Romans 11:32 For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.

God has loved everyone, every single person ever born, the Lord has and is offering His great love to them.

Romans 8:5 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

The Lord talks about a “time of visitation”, which means that this is the time that He is coming to you and calling to you to come to Him. Do you hear Him calling to you to come to Him or if you have strayed, calling to you to come back to Him?

Luke 19:44 …because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.

The Lord works through His children so that the world might come to Him and be saved. The world is looking for the “real thing” and observing your life to see if you are genuine or a hypocrite. Are you a real Christian or are you pretending to be something that is not really real in your life. Are you ever afraid to be transparent? The Lord wants our lives to be transparent so that others might see Jesus in us. The only way that you can be transparent is if you have a clear conscience.

I Peter 2:12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.

If you want to experience the greatest love ever known and want to live a life in His great love then you must receive Him as your Lord and Savior.

John 1:12 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,

Once you receive Him you will also experience His great goodness in your life. The Lord loves to show the world how good He is and He does it by showing His great goodness to His children, for those who fear Him and to those who take refuge in Him.

Psalm 31:19 How great is Your goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have wrought for those who take refuge in You,
Before the sons of men!

 

A Life that is declared “Not Guilty”

No one wants to be judged but it is inevitable. There are two kinds of judgment. One judgment declares one “guilty” and the other judgment is when one is declared “not guilty”. The Bible says that a “guilty” judgment brings condemnation and we were not made to be condemned but to be accepted and loved. We have become guilty on our own and by our own doing. How do we deal with God’s judgment? Whether people want it or not a Judgment Day is coming. However, the Bible says God has a provision for us so that we will be ready to face the One who will judge.

Hebrews 9:27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,

If you will judge yourself now then you will not experience the judgment of God that brings condemnation when Jesus Christ comes again. You will experience the judgment of being declared “not guilty” because Jesus Christ took your condemnation on the cross.

I Corinthians 11:31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we would not be judged.

How do you judge yourself? Judging yourself is speaking the truth about yourself and agreeing with God’s Word on His standard, in other words, confessing that you have are a sinner and have sinned. We are a sinner by wanting to run our own life and have sinned by falling short of His standard, which is the Ten Commandments.

Exodus 20:3-14 (The Ten Commandments)

You shall have no other gods before Me.

“You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.

“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain.

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath of the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day; therefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day and made it holy.

“Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

“You shall not murder.

“You shall not commit adultery.

“You shall not steal.

 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

Jesus Christ is God’s provision for your sin so that your judgment will not be “guilty” with the result of condemnation on Judgment Day. When you judge yourself then Jesus Christ receives you and you become “in Christ”.

Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Jesus Christ receives you when you trust in Him and call upon Him to become your Lord and Savior and to forgive you of your sins. Then you become His child according to His promise.

John 1:12 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,

Are you ready for Judgment Day? You can be ready. God wants you to be ready. Once a person dies then it is too late. There is nothing they can do to change their eternal destiny once they die but there is something that can be done now. The Bible says that if you will judge yourself and acknowledge that you deserve hell but that God in His kindness took your sin and guilt so that you would not be declared guilty and then call upon Jesus Christ you will be saved from the eternal punishment that we all deserve. No one is better than anyone else. Jesus did not have to die more for one person than He did for someone else. He died for all so that all might have the opportunity to be forgiven and become His child. He says that He does not want anyone to go to hell. The choice is yours.

Romans 2:4,5 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

God’s wrath will be poured out on those who did not receive Jesus Christ but He will come as a Savior to those who belong to Him, to save them from all of the horrible things that will happen to those who chose to go their own way.

Hebrews 9:28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.

A Life Filled with Truth

Truths are like diamonds. These diamonds really are a girl’s best friend. The more truths that you have in your heart then the richer your life will be. Just like diamonds, truths have many facets to them. You can live your entire life and still be able to learn more about His amazing truths. So realize when you hear something about a truth that it is one or more aspect of that truth and not the truth in its entirety. Often when people argue they are discussing different aspects of the same truth. Truths never change and they are the character of God expressed here on earth.

Proverbs 23:23 Buy truth, and do not sell it, Get wisdom and instruction and understanding.

The Lord says to buy truth and not to sell truth and to also get wisdom and understanding. It will cost you but the value far outweighs the price. They are a package deal. They all go together. If you have truth then you will receive wisdom and get even more understanding. For whoever has truth…then more truth, wisdom and understanding will be given to him.

Matthew 13:12 For whoever has, to him  more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

There is only one source of truth and that is the Lord Himself. He said that He is the truth so if you want to know the truth then you must know Him.

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.

We are all deceived until we come to know the truth. Deception means that we have believed a lie in some way and we are not even aware that we are deceived, otherwise it would not be deception. When we are deceived then we actually believe the “lie” that is deceiving us is the truth.

II Thessalonians 2:10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved.

The truth is the only thing that can set you free. It will set you free from the lies, from sin, from depression, from guilt, from bitterness and from anything else that you can think of that you might struggle with or be overcome.

John 8:32 You will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.

Repentance leads to the knowledge of the truth. Repentance is turning away from the lies that you believed and acted on and turning to God.

II Timothy 2:25 if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth,

The Lord desires that you come into the knowledge of the truth.

I Timothy 2:4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

God’s Word is truth and it is what sets you apart from the world.

John 17:17 Sanctify them in truth, God’s word is truth.

The Lord wants you to build your life on His truths. Words of truth are the only correct answer that you will be able to give to the Lord as an explanation of why you did the things you did on earth, how you spent the money and time He gave you and an account of your obedience. You will give an account of your life in terms of stewardship and obedience.