We are not alone - the Holy Spirit, part 1

Jesus told his disciples He was going away, but they were confused by what He meant. We have the advantage of seeing what took place soon after He shared this prophecy with them, along with His explanation for why He had to leave (be crucified).

Here is what Jesus said in John 16:5-14, “But now I am going away to the one who sent me, and not one of you is asking where I am going. Instead, you grieve because of what I’ve told you. But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world’s sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me.”

How absolutely incredible and amazing is it that we can 100% know what our baseline for identifying truth is, as follower’s of Christ?! When Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth, He literally means in every area of our lives! It’s unnecessary to be ambiguous, or doubtful, or uncertain, or indecisive, or conflicted, or reluctant, or vacillating, or unsure, or inconclusive, or undefined, or skeptical, or cynical, or unconvinced surrounding how we process the world around us, and how we go about making daily moment-by-moment decisions.

Jesus told His disciples in John 14:16-17, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you.”

Paul says in Ephesians 1:13-14, “In Him, you also, when you heard the word of truth, the good news of your salvation, and believed in Him, were stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit as owned and protected [by God]. The Spirit is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of God’s own possession [His believers], to the praise of His glory.”

Our responsibility as believers is to follow the dynamic leading of the Holy Spirit! He’ll never force us to receive and act upon His guidance, or counsel, or accept His comfort … as it’s entirely up to us to trust that He knows what’s best, and then to act upon His promptings.

We’ll look at some of the Holy Spirit’s more specific ways in which He’s eager to help us in part 2 … but for now, let’s celebrate that we literally are never ever left alone to figure out how to live this life in such a way that will glorify our Lord and Savior!

So much noise!

I’m not sure about everyone else, but I’m probably not alone when I acknowledge my daily challenge of facing the multitude of voices, distractions, opinions, and just flat out noise. I call it, “Managed chaos!”

I told a friend recently that if I neglect to start my day with a quiet time in devotion to the Lord, then the rest of the day is pretty much a wreck. It’s not impossible to salvage, but it’s super difficult to get passed all the ‘noise’ that zaps my time and energy at that point moving forward.

Unforced errors lead to unnecessary negative outcomes. By simply paying attention to what’s within my control, I can mitigate the temptations that I may otherwise succumb to by starting every morning talking with Jesus, and spending time in His Word, before anything else!

Jesus is our perfect example here in Mark 1:35, “Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray.” He too, knew His day could be ‘ambushed’ by busyness if He neglected to go to the Father first thing in the morning.

My time in God’s Word this morning mirrors Paul’s prayer for spiritual growth in Ephesians 3:14-21 for anyone who happens to read this post, “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from His glorious, unlimited resources He will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.”

I love how Jesus responded when Satan tempted Him! Matthew 4:5 says, “But Jesus replied, “It is written and forever remains written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes out of the mouth of God.”

In order to be prepared for the daily attacks of the devil, we need to know how to respond like Jesus did by knowing His Word. Joshua 1:8 is a terrific reminder for all of us when he said, “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

The Bible is truly God’s love letter to a lost and dying world. At the same time, He’s not going to force anyone into His kingdom. It’s entirely up to each one of us to either reject or receive the truth that is clearly communicated throughout the Scriptures.

To judge or not to judge, that is the question?

Here’s what Jesus says in Luke 6:41-49, “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying, ‘Friend, let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thorn bushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart. So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. But anyone who hears and doesn’t obey is like a person who builds a house right on the ground, without a foundation. When the floods sweep down against that house, it will collapse into a heap of ruins.”

Jesus makes it clear that we’re not to be hypocrites as we consider the lives of those around us. We’re never to be critical, condemning, or come from a holier-than-thou perspective whenever we’re tempted to point fingers at the shortcomings of others. After dealing with ‘the log in our own eye,’ then ‘we’ll see well enough to deal with the speck in our friend’s eye.’ Which won’t come from a critical, condemning, or holier-than-thou, mean spirited attitude.

Also, Jesus doesn’t mince words as it relates to identifying who truly are His followers. And I think it’s a good reminder for all of us who claim the name of Christ to be our Lord and Savior to first look inward. We would be wise to pay attention to the things we say and do, for “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.”

Jesus’ words bring a strong sense of conviction to me (even right now as I’m reading it!), to avoid thinking out loud. Rather than saying the first thought that may come to my mind, like a negative opinion I may have about someone else.

James 1:19-20 says, “You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires.”

Based on my personal life-experiences thus far, almost every time I think out loud … I regret it, and wish I would have simply taken it to the Lord and trusted Him with what to do with my thoughts.

Our battle is not against flesh and blood

From a Biblical perspective, we need to start with who has authority over everything, including spiritual warfare.

The following passage takes place after Jesus was resurrected here in Matthew 18:16-18, “Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain which Jesus had designated. And when they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. Jesus came up and said to them, “All authority (all power of absolute rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.”

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.”

James 4:4-6 says, “But He gives us more and more grace [through the power of the Holy Spirit to defy sin and live an obedient life that reflects both our faith and our gratitude for our salvation]. Therefore, it says, “God is opposed to the proud and haughty, but gives grace to the humble .” So submit to [the authority of] God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Resisting the influence of the devil is certainly easier said than done.

We would be wise to have a rock solid plan for responding to the daily temptations that our spiritual adversary throws at us! Here’s what Jude 9 says, “But even Michael, one of the mightiest of the angels, did not dare accuse the devil of blasphemy, but simply said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

I’m grateful that our life-long enemy is not all-knowing, all-powerful, and always present like our Heavenly Father is! Even though he can’t read our minds, he does have the capability of reading our actions, as we give away many of our weaknesses. He knows how to strategically ‘bait the hook’ for each and every one of us, and he doesn’t play by any kind of fair rules when he relentlessly attacks us and tries to bring us down.

Our responsibility in the realm of spiritual warfare and how to overcome the evil one, is to walk so closely with the Lord that we too can do what Jude did whenever we recognize the severity of the battle, and ask Jesus to rebuke devil! It’s not some kind of magical prayer or a silver bullet, as much as it is the life-saving power of truth on our side … and personally knowing the One Who is ultimately in control.

Why is reconciliation such an important Biblical concept?

At some point in our lives, most of us have unfortunately experienced estranged relationships. Regardless of the negative circumstances that lead to such broken relationships, there’s true Biblical hope to be found through Biblical reconciliation.

It literally all started when Adam and Eve broke their close fellowship with God in Genesis chapter 3. A good definition of what being reconciled means could be, “Restoring a relationship, the act of making amends with someone or a group after a disagreement or conflict. It can involve forgiveness, understanding, and a willingness to move forward.”

God’s call for reconciliation is the major theme of the Bible, as we see here in 2 Corinthians 5:16-20 when Paul says, “So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So, we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

Paul says in Romans 5:9-11, “Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

Jesus says in Matthew 6:14-15, “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Remembering that the Lord has forgiven us of our sins whenever we’re offended to the point of estrangement by someone and refusing to forgive them, should be motivation enough to immediately forgive them and to seek reconciliation.

It’s incredibly freeing to choose to no longer count people’s sins against them when they’ve wronged us, as well as to truly forgive like Jesus does! I once heard it said, and it bears repeating in the context of this conversation … “Situations like these don’t build character, they reveal it.”

If we’re honest, we all have aspects of our lives in which we would prefer were different, as well as some things we hope will get better

No doubt you’re running through a list of things in your mind right now that you wished would change. But rather than wishful thinking, wouldn’t it be more helpful to grasp a Biblical frame-of-reference surrounding what real hope for a better future could look like?

Hebrews 11:1 says, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for (divinely guaranteed), and the evidence of things not seen.” Faith in Jesus is a prerequisite of Biblical hope as facts that can’t be experienced by our physical senses.

Salvation precedes a confident reality of hope. 1 Peter 1:3-4 says, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance—an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay.”

Paul says in Galatians 5:4-5, “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace. But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us.”

Paul also says in Romans 8:24-25, “We were given this hope when we were saved. If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.”

Titus 3:4-7 says, “But When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.

1 Timothy 4:8-10 says, “ For physical training is of some value, but godliness (spiritual training) is of value in everything and in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and for the life to come. This is a faithful and trustworthy saying worthy of full acceptance and approval. It is for this that we labor and strive, because we have fixed our hope on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.”

The God of the bible is not like a genie in a bottle who grants our every wish at our every whim. When we choose to put our faith, and trust, and hope entirely into Jesus, then and only then will we experience what Paul says here in Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

I personally can’t imagine anything better than that! Can you?

The joy of the Lord is our strength!

What if it’s difficult to muster up any joy at all due to the horrible circumstances you may be facing?

Joy is both a gift of God as well as a response to the gifts of God. We all can become easily distracted and ungrateful for the gift of the Lord’s presence in our lives. However, it’s a choice! The reality is it’s impossible to be both grateful and ungrateful at the same time. If we choose to be ungrateful, and a complainer, and negative all the time, then it’s impossible for the joy of the Lord to shine through us. Regardless of circumstances that we’d prefer were different, we can and should be over-the-top grateful that the Creator of the universe is living within us to both comfort and guide us through every storm that comes our way.

Paul wrote the following from prison in Philippians 4:4-8, “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

It’s up to us to discipline our thought life! The consequences of paying attention to what & how we think are played out in what we say, and how we act, and ultimately what our character is.

Try choosing joy next time you’re tempted to fall into the ‘woe is me’ trap as you challenge the Lord to come through for you by experiencing His strength, and ultimately His joy.

What does God have to say about pride?

Identifying the truth about what words mean really matters! Here’s a definition of ‘good’ pride as the Apostle Paul was addressing a group of people who he had some difficulties with in 2 Corinthians 7:4, “Great is my confidence in you; great is my pride and boasting on your behalf. I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in spite of all our trouble.”

However, here in Proverbs 16:18 we’ll see a far different meaning, “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.” Context is always king, as we need to use great discernment when studying what the Bible teaches us.

Satan was cast out of heaven due to the ‘bad’ kind of pride here in Isaiah 14:12-15, “How you are fallen from heaven, O shining star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High. Instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, down to its lowest depths.”

We can learn a good lesson from our adversaries’ actions and the consequences that followed his pridefulness, as there is guaranteed to be nothing but disaster ahead for us as well if/when we selfishly try to pridefully replace God.

Another word for pride is arrogance, and the frame-of-reference when used in the Bible is always one in which God detests it as a behavior or attitude, like here in Proverbs 16:5, “Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”

Jesus said in Mark 7:20-23, ““It is what comes from inside that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, lustful desires, envy, slander, pride, and foolishness. All these vile things come from within; they are what defile you.”

Proverbs 4:20-22 says, “My son, pay attention to my words and be willing to learn; Open your ears to my sayings. Do not let them escape from your sight; Keep them in the center of your heart. For they are life to those who find them, And healing and health to all their flesh.”

I was blessed to have been taught by a world-class golf instructor, PGA Member Rudy Duran, who hammered into me to always, “Pay attention to those things that were within my control.” It not only works well in learning how to play your best golf, but it’s absolutely imperative to identifying truth from God’s word as well.

My favorite acronym for BIBLE is; Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. Seems like we could all benefit from paying more attention to God’s love letter to us, eh?!

Does God literally forgive and forget all our sins once we repent and put our trust in Him?

The evidence found in God’s word surrounding how He deals with our former sins, is a statement of complete and utter forgiveness. Once we say “Yes” to Jesus, our sins will have been permanently removed! We don’t have to worry about them ever coming back to haunt us.

1 John 4:7-10 says, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Psalm 103:10-12 says this, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins [as we deserve], nor rewarded us [with punishment] according to our wickedness. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His loving kindness toward those who fear and worship Him. He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

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

Have you been freed from the power of sin in your life that leads to death? If you’d like further evidence of God’s love for you and His desire for you to know Him and to spend all of eternity with Him, please don’t hesitate to reach out, as it would be my pleasure to continue this conversation at your convenience.

Being a “Good” person or a “Bad” person isn’t the determining factor of whether someone goes to heaven or to hell

Wherever we ultimately spend eternity is entirely up to each one of us to decide, and will be based on (from a Biblical perspective) whether we’re “Guilty” or “Innocent,” not “Good” or “Bad.”

Here’s what Jesus said to the religious leaders of His time in John 8:42-45, “If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don’t believe me!”

Jesus also said in John 14:6, “I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”

It boils down to who do we believe … God or Satan? Satan is the one who whispered in the first place the lie, “That all roads lead to heaven.” He didn’t say there isn’t a heaven, he just wants us to believe that Jesus isn’t the only way to get there.

Jesus said in John 3:18-19, “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil.”

I hope you won’t take this decision lightly as you consider you’re eternal destiny. May I encourage you to follow the evidence as you seek the truth.

Finally, Jesus says in John 3:16-17, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”

My sincere prayer is that you’ll be found innocent here now! Not because you’re a “Good” person, but because you’ve accepted the free gift that Jesus offers everyone to have their sins paid for by His sacrificial death on the cross, and then being resurrected on the third day as definitive proof for being exactly who He said He is!!

What would you do if you were told a cure was discovered with a 100% success rate for the worst disease the world has ever known?

A couple of wise responses to that question might be, “How do I know if I have that disease?” And, “If I do have it, what do I need to do to be cured?”

According to the Bible, the reason every human being will die is because of sin. Genesis 2:15-17 says, “The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden to tend and watch over it. But the Lord God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Romans 5:12 says, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”

If the Bible is true, then it’s clear that no one is exempt from being born with a sin nature which ultimately leads to our death. So what’s the cure according to the Scriptures? Here’s what John the Baptist said in John 1:29, “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

Isaiah 53:6 says, “All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the sins of us all.” Jesus took on the sins for every human who has ever lived, in order to pay the price on the cross for the sins of ALL who believe and put their trust in Him!

God is always faithful, and He offers this promise in Acts 2:20-21, “The sun will become dark, and the moon will turn blood red before that great and glorious day of the Lord arrives. But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

In order to receive the cure for the terminal diagnosis resulting in eternal separation from God, we need to get right with Him. Which means we all have a choice to make in how we respond to what He has done on our behalf by sending Jesus and providing the sacrifice necessary to take away our sin.

Revelation 1:17-18 says, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as if I were dead. But He laid His right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:53-55, “For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

Here are the Biblical conditions for you to consider if you have not yet received payment in full for your sins, by accepting Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life:

1.) Ephesians 2:8-10 says, “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

2.) Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”

Prayer is simply talking and listening to God. When you put your trust in Him, and invite Him into your life, He will literally be with you 24/7 to help you every step of the way, from now through all eternity!!

The unexpected death of a friend or a loved one

The reality that our loved one (for those who are born again) is in heaven, certainly brings a measure of comfort for believers who are left behind! However, the pain of their absence can be overwhelming.

Even Jesus wept and was deeply moved when his friend Lazarus died. But thankfully the story didn’t end there!

Because of what Jesus said to Maratha after her brother Lazarus died in John 11:25, we too can experience a hope that will help carry us through that giant hole in our heart & feeling of emptiness in our soul after the death of someone we deeply loved … “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying. Everyone who lives in me and believes in me will never ever die.”

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4, “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14, “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.”

Finally, may we all be encouraged by what Revelation 21:1-4 says about every Christian’s eternal destination will be, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”

What does Scripture mean when it says we’re to “test the spirits?”

1 John 4:1 says, “Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God.” Unfortunately, there are many ‘wolves in sheep’s clothing’ who try to lead Christians away from God’s truth.

So, we need to compare what is being taught with the clear teaching of the Bible. The Bible alone is the Word of God, and not only is it reliable, it alone is inspired and inerrant! Our responsibility is to test whatever is being taught from a Biblical baseline in order to identify what is actually true.

Paul says in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval. Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” It should be a labor of love as we make studying God’s word a top priority throughout our entire lifetime. It’s extremely consequential that we’re able to discern truth from error!

Psalm 119:104-106, & verse 11 says, “Your commandments give me understanding; therefore I hate every false way. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. I have sworn and I will confirm it, that I will keep Your righteous judgments. Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”

May we go to God’s word daily, and trust His Holy Spirit who lives within us to guide us through ALL of our decisions, in order to glorify Him to the max!

God desires a real-life literal relationship with us!

A good definition of what a real relationship means could be, “A connection between two or more people, typically based on trust, mutual respect, love, and support.” Our heavenly Father has always desired to be close to us, and prior to man’s fall in Genesis 3, both Adam and Eve knew God and had a very personal relationship with Him. Scripture says they talked directly to Him as they walked in the garden together. In the beginning they truly had a very real and very close relationship with the creator of the universe.

Here’s what Paul said in Romans 4:25 & 5:1-2, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification. Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”

I don’t know about you, but I just about ‘come out of my skin’ with gratitude after reading these Biblical truths! And the joy & peace I have in realizing I’ve been justified (just-as-if-I’ve-never sinned) from God’s perspective, in order to be redeemed and have the kind of closeness Adam & Eve experienced with the Lord because He paid for my sins on the cross.

How about you? Are you in a real-life relationship with God? If not, why not? It’s the most important decision you’ll ever make in your lifetime, and I would love to connect and discuss further what the Bible has to say about God’s desire to be in a close intimate relationship with you.

Our source of joy should be in the reality of Christ being victorious over the world, the flesh, and the devil

In John 16:33 Jesus says, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Whether it’s a physical ailment, relationship troubles, financial hardship, or perhaps the unexpected loss of a loved one … we can take heart as we continue to trust God and what He tells us here in 1 John 5:4-5, “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Paul provides us with a very specific way to respond to our moment-by-moment battles here in Ephesians 6:10-18, “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

We all can be over-comers and have nothing to fear because of Christ in us! Be encouraged, motivated, and secure by 1 John 4:3-4, “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.

Why do bad things happen to good people?

In other words, why does a good God allow suffering at all? The short answer is, God loves us so much that He gives us all a free will. He won’t force anyone to spend an eternity with Him in heaven, or force us to choose Jesus as Lord and Savior of our lives and have our sins forgiven. That’s all entirely up to each one of us to decide!

A good question to ask (pun intended) is, “What do you mean by good people?” Ecclesiastes 7:20 says, “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.” And Romans 3:23 says, “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” Also, 1 John 1:8 says, “ If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.”

Author Peter Kreeft said, “The point of our lives is not comfort, security, or even happiness … but training. Not fulfillment, but preparation. This world is a lousy home, but it’s a fine gymnasium.”

We falsely think that if we never ever had to deal with any sort of hardship, or troubles, or suffering, then we’d be totally content and fulfilled. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says, “In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Here’s what Paul says in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned.” And in verse 19 he said, “For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous.”

The Biblical reality is we’re all born into sin, and the only way we can be ultimately redeemed is by saying “Yes” to Jesus and accepting His free gift of eternal salvation because He paid the price on the cross in order for our sins to be removed.

Share your testimony and God’s love with those around you!

Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4:18, “Therefore comfort and encourage one another with these words [concerning our reunion with believers who have died].” What words? The context seems to indicate the comforting and encouragement coming from what Paul says in verses 13-17,  “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.”

Ray Comfort once said, “What if we could see on people's foreheads the word 'forgiven' or 'unforgiven?' Since death is such a fragile yet undeniably evident for all of us at some point in the future, wouldn't it be great to know if our loved ones, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, etc. had accepted the free gift of salvation offered to everyone by Jesus … or not?”

Would it change our response to people if we knew they were headed for an eternity apart from Christ, in a place of torment and solitude forever? Would we be bolder in sharing the truth in love with them while there's still time? Do we take for granted being forgiven of our sins due to the surrender of ownership of our lives we made, and the promise of an eternal future in a perfect place that is no longer under the curse of sin, and no longer subject to the relentless and ruthless attempts of our adversary Satan and his demons to distract us from God's plan for our lives?”

May our gratefulness for being saved encourage others to consider their own eternal destination!

Saying the gospel is just ‘Good News,’ could be the biggest understatement in the history of understatements

When we accurately identify what the gospel truly is, we honestly couldn’t come up with enough words to express what it means.

Here are just a few of the 1339 synonyms for Greatest I found at Thesaurus.com: Complete, entire, perfect, outright, foremost, highest, preeminent & finished.

According to the Bible, the good news about Jesus means the forgiveness of our sins to all who believe.

In Acts 10:43 Peter tells a crowd some ‘good news’ about Jesus when he said, “All the prophets testify about Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”

1 John 4:10 says, “This is real love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”

Titus 3:4-6 says, “When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

In Romans 10:9-11 Paul says, “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

It’s my prayer that if you have yet to say “Yes” to Jesus and have not accepted Him as your Lord and Savior, that you would consider the truths found in God’s Word and do what Paul said at the end of 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation.”

What truly matters according to the Bible?

Paul says in Philippians 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained it or have already been made perfect, but I actively press on so that I may take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me and made me His own. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider that I have made it my own yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the [heavenly] prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Paul is making the point that no matter what we may accomplish throughout our lifetime, none of it compares to knowing Christ and trusting in His righteousness alone for salvation! He emphasizes this in Ephesians 2:8-9 when he says, “For it is by grace that you have been saved [actually delivered from judgment and given eternal life] through faith. And this is not of yourselves [not through your own effort], but it is the gift of God; not as a result of [your] works, so that no one will boast or take credit in any way [for his salvation].”

Ecclesiastes 3 has a lot to say about God’s perspective surrounding our lives, like; “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.” And, “God has made everything beautiful and appropriate in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart.”

Perhaps a good question for all of us to consider if God truly has put eternity in our heart, is what are we going to do about it? I believe it’s our responsibility to hold ourselves accountable for our thoughts, our words, our actions, our habits, as well as for our character.

Jesus says in Luke 6:44-45, “For every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

What does Scripture mean when it says keep seeking things that are above?

Paul says in Colossians 3:1-4, “Therefore if you have been raised with Christ, keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth. For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.”

If we as believers continually don’t discipline ourselves to focus on eternal things, we could easily become deceived and drawn away by the temptations of this world.

Paul goes on to say in verses 5-7, “So put to death the sinful, earthly things lurking within you. Have nothing to do with sexual immorality, impurity, lust, and evil desires. Don’t be greedy, for a greedy person is an idolater, worshiping the things of this world. Because of these sins, the anger of God is coming. You used to do these things when your life was still part of this world.”

The Lord wants what’s best for us, and we would do well to heed His specific instructions surrounding where we put our attention. As 2 Corinthians 4:18 directs us, “So we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are unseen; for the things which are visible are temporal, but the things which are invisible are everlasting and imperishable.”