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The Day of Pentecost

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
Ezekiel 36:26‭-‬27 NKJV

When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven. And when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because everyone heard them speak in his own language. Then they were all amazed and marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? And how is  it  that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? Parthians and Medes and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own tongues the wonderful works of God.” So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “Whatever could this mean?”

Others mocking said, “They are full of new wine.” But Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. For these are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams. And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord . And it shall come to pass That  whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’
Acts 2:1‭-‬21 NKJV

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/rom.15.13.NKJV

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The Mind of Christ

But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” – I Corinthians 2:9 NKJV

This scripture is referencing part of a penitent prayer to God by Isaiah in the Old Testament:

For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. – Isaiah 64:4 NKJV

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians,  he is talking about Spiritual Wisdom – about how God reveals the things of God to us through the “Spirit of Truth”, through the “mind of Christ”.

And Spiritual Wisdom is different than knowledge. The Word of God tells us that knowledge puffs people up in their self righteousness and hypocrisy (as they think much of their own knowledge) – while wisdom humbles us before a righteous God.

In fact, this reference to Isaiah is wonderful in demonstrating that Spiritual Wisdom and the “Fear of God” are tightly integrated, because Isaiah chapters 63, 64, and 65 lay out truth about the judgement of God,  about the unworthiness of men, and about how repentance allows for the mercy of God.

Unworthiness of Man

I looked, but there  was no one to help, And I wondered That there  was no one to uphold; Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me; And My own fury, it sustained Me. – Isaiah 63:5 NKJV

[The Lord acknowledges that none, not even one, was worthy – and that He alone would bring salvation, not the works of men.]

Rebellion against God

But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them. – Isaiah 63:10 NKJV

[Yes,  the Lord is an enemy of wickedness and fights against it. He chastens and disciplines the ones that He loves.]

Judgement

I have trodden down the peoples in My anger, Made them drunk in My fury, And brought down their strength to the earth.” – Isaiah 63:6 NKJV

[There is judgement and destruction for His enemies.]

Repentance

Doubtless You are our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O Lord , are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting is Your name. O Lord , why have You made us stray from Your ways, And hardened our heart from Your fear? Return for Your servants’ sake, The tribes of Your inheritance. Your holy people have possessed it but a little while; Our adversaries have trodden down Your sanctuary. We have become like those of old, over whom You never ruled, Those who were never called by Your name.
Isaiah 63:16‭-‬19 NKJV

[We are the ones who know and love the Lord,  who aren’t acknowledged by Abrahams bloodline, but who are established by the Blood of the Lamb, and are called by His name. We are the children of God.]

Mercy of God

“I was sought by those who did not ask for  Me; I was found by those who did not seek Me. I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ To a nation that  was not called by My name. Thus says the Lord : “As the new wine is found in the cluster, And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, For a blessing is in it,’ So will I do for My servants’ sake, That I may not destroy them all. “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. They shall not labor in vain, Nor bring forth children for trouble; For they shall  be the descendants of the blessed of the Lord , And their offspring with them. “It shall come to pass That before they call, I will answer; And while they are still speaking, I will hear.
Isaiah 65:1‭, ‬8‭-‬8‭, ‬17‭, ‬23‭-‬24 NKJV

[We are a new creation. Reborn as children of God. He has called us, touched us, taught us, and He sends us out. He hears us, guides us,  and loves us.]

Yes, Spiritual Wisdom comes from knowing and believing and understanding these things about God and about man. Yes, Spiritual Wisdom,  discernment and revelation – these things are from God. What “wise” man wouldn’t have foolishly told Abraham that he was wrong in going to slay his son upon an altar? What “wise” man wouldn’t have foolishly told Hosea he was wrong in choosing a prostitute as his wife? What “wise” man wouldn’t have foolishly called Christ a liar when he said that he would raise “this temple” in three days?

These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. – I Corinthians 2:13‭-‬16 NKJV

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Be diligent, our heart testify not our mouth

Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is  living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are  naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
Hebrews 4:11‭-‬13 NKJV
http://bible.com/114/heb.4.11-13.NKJV

Nothing is hidden. Everything will be revealed. Best to reveal it today, best to lay down those chains of bitterness, unforgiveness, guilt, shame, anger, hatred, disobedience, rebellion – and receive grace renewed each day – the forgiveness that washes your garments free from the stain of sin.

Yes, He is the high priest and advocate for those who are called,  for those who hear, for those who recognize His voice,  for those who believe, for those who repent from their old ways and know Him as both Savior from their sin and Lord of their lives. Yes, those who seek Him diligently will find Him. Yes, He loves those who humble themselves and seek His face.

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The mouths of the deceitful and wicked

It is dangerous to speak lies against a man of God and is best to extend mercy and love if he has only offered you grace, mercy, and Good News. Read the Word of God and may conviction fall heavy upon the hearts of the divisive, the contentious, and the mockers – that they might come to repentance. Forgive me, Lord, for once walking in their shoes. Walk with me, Lord, and establish my steps, today and forevermore.

Do not keep silent, O God of my praise!
For the mouth of the wicked
and the mouth of the deceitful
Have opened against me;
They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And fought against me without a cause.
In return for my love they are my accusers,
But I give  myself  to prayer.
Thus they have rewarded me evil for good,
And hatred for my love.
Set a wicked man over him,
And let an accuser stand at his right hand.
When he is judged,
let him be found guilty,
And let his prayer become sin.
Let his days be few,
And  let another take his office.
Let his children be fatherless,
And his wife a widow.
Let his children continually be vagabonds, and beg;
Let them seek their  bread also from their desolate places.
Let the creditor seize all that he has,
And let strangers plunder his labor.
Let there be none to extend mercy to him,
Nor let there be any to favor his fatherless children.
Let his posterity be cut off,
And in the generation following let their name be blotted out.
Let the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord ,
And let not the sin of his mother be blotted out.
Let them be continually before the Lord ,
That He may cut off the memory of them from the earth;
Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the poor and needy man,
That he might even slay the broken in heart.
As he loved cursing,
so let it come to him;
As he did not delight in blessing,
so let it be far from him.
As he clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
So let it enter his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
Let it be to him like the garment which covers him,
And for a belt with which he girds himself continually.
Let this be the Lord ’s reward to my accusers,
And to those who speak evil against my person.
But You, O God the Lord,
Deal with me for Your name’s sake;
Because Your mercy is good, deliver me.
For I am poor and needy,
And my heart is wounded within me.
I am gone like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off like a locust.
My knees are weak through fasting,
And my flesh is feeble from lack of fatness.
I also have become a reproach to them;
When they look at me, they shake their heads.
Help me, O Lord my God!
Oh, save me according to Your mercy,
That they may know that this is Your hand—
That You, Lord , have done it!
Let them curse, but You bless;
When they arise, let them be ashamed,
But let Your servant rejoice.
Let my accusers be clothed with shame,
And let them cover themselves with their own disgrace as with a mantle.
I will greatly praise the Lord with my mouth;
Yes, I will praise Him among the multitude.
For He shall stand at the right hand of the poor,
To save him from those who condemn him.
Psalms 109:1‭-‬31 NKJV

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It’s Monday again.

It’s Monday. And it matters whether I see myself as “putting on my slave clothes” to go out and work for “the man”, or whether I get to go out and be a bearer of Christ’s spirit and nature even in my workplace.

When we slip into an attitude of not being grateful, we can begin to grumble and complain and not bear the light of the Lord in our workplace and in our lives. We can sometimes find ourselves compartmentalizing our joy – bring thankful for one area of our life but dissatisfied with another. This dissatisfaction is a signal that something needs to change.

Many times it is our own attitude that needs to change – not our circumstances or surroundings.

Bondservants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh, not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done, and there is no partiality.
Colossians 3:22‭-‬25 NKJV

Bondservants, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in sincerity of heart, as to Christ; not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men, knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive the same from the Lord, whether he  is a slave or free. And you, masters, do the same things to them, giving up threatening, knowing that your own Master also is in heaven, and there is no partiality with Him.
Ephesians 6:5‭-‬9 NKJV

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain. Yes, and if I am being poured out as  a  drink  offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.
Philippians 2:12‭-‬18 NKJV

Lord, we thank you for the opportunities that we have to provide for our families and help others. We thank you that we can be one who rises early to prepare for the day and who can diligently work for you,  whether it is in the ministry of a cubicled office, a field of crops, building and repairing things for others, or service unto others that is more visibly recognized by others as self sacrifice. Help us to endure the trials,  to stand firm in our service to others – whether it is the business owner and authority, or whether it is the needy and helpless. Help us to serve faithfully and diligently in all circumstances, without grumbling and complaining – but gratefully bringing you honor and glory. Amen.

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Friends of Christ

You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.  No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.  You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you.  These things I command you, that you love one another. – John 15:14‭-‬17 NKJV

You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.

Instead of putting on the title of Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, Methodist, Protestant, etc – or wearing the name of “Such and Such” Church – what if we just identified ourselves as “Friends of Christ” and then lived up to that statement?

These things I command you, that you love one another.

What if we stepped past the religion and stepped right into the deep waters of loving and helping and serving people who won’t always love us back?

Are you bearing fruit that will last forever?

Are you a friend of Christ?

Are you friends to one another?

Lord, teach us to love you by teaching us to love others – love that isn’t just a concept in our minds, but that is action and evidence in our daily lives of your presence.

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Go, Baptize, Teach

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. – Matthew 28:19‭-‬20 NKJV

Christian, you are purpose built and newly created to fulfill that purpose. And it is in your weakness that you are strong. God did not use the army to defeat Goliath,  but a young boy. God repeatedly shows His power through those who are just willing to say “Speak Lord, your servant is listening” – and “Send me, I will go”.

God uses words of action and purpose in His directions – He isn’t satisfied with the learned thinking man’s prayer for deep knowledge and understanding of the Word of God that is never put into practice. He isn’t satisfied with the religious who want to be powerful by their own knowledge that puffs up, He wants people that will humble themselves and ask Him for the wisdom that comes from the Holy Spirit.

He is interested in our walking close with Him, becoming more like Him. He wants our sin to make us aware of our need for repentance. And our reliance upon Him for the synthetic to truly repent to reveal grace. And our grattitude for grace to reveal the opportunity of a life of discipleship. And our reliance on His Holy Spirit to be that faithful disciple and servant to reveal sanctification.

The walk of a Christian is in God, in this body that He has given us to be a vessel for His Holy Spirit – not just in a religious practice where we tithe to Him a piece of our time. Not just in a check we give to a hireling to tithe a piece of our money. Not just in generous gifts to family and friends a few times a year to tithe a piece of our generosity. Surrender to Christ is meant to consume our lives like a roaring fire – both freeing us from the chains of our sinful past and burning away those things that don’t bring Him honor and glory – refining us to be more like Him.

So, Christianity is not whether or not you’ve said a prayer with your mouth, but whether you’ve believed in your heart.

So, Christianity isn’t whether you talk about Him and hear about Him on Sunday,  but whether or not He lives in you and His will is being done in your life each day.

So, Christianity is not about your church membership or religious pedigree,  but whether or not you love Him and His ways.

If you love Him and His ways, Go, Baptize, and Teach.

If you do not yet love Him and His ways, Repent, Believe, and Prepare yourself.

If you will not love Him and His ways – if you insist on your own way,  go and chase your desire for sin,  and He will give you your heart’s desire,  but do you know what you are giving up? Is there anything in this world worth your eternity?

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Conformed? Or Transformed?

And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. – Romans 12:2 NKJV

The word conform means things like abide by, follow, accept, obey, go along with, fall into, fit in, age with, be like, and be consistent with. The original Greek word is συσχηματίζω (syschēmatizō) is used only twice in scripture and gives a very similar message in 1 Peter 1:1

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
I Peter 1:13‭-‬16 NKJV

Yes, Romans 12 as a chapter is about “Being a Living Sacrifice”(v1-2), “Serving God with Our Gifts”(v3-8), and “Behaving like a Christian”(v9-21).

In fact,  verse 9 tells us what Godly love looks like –

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. – Romans 12:9 NKJV

The world would ask us to be accepting, tolerant, and conformed to its evil ways – it would say that wickedness is love, because that enemy is a liar and there is no truth in the father of lies.

True, Godly love is to see the good and cling to it and encourage it in people,  and to resist the evil. It is to conform to the ways of Christ. Christ did not leave people in their same broken and sinful lives – His touch and His words changed lives. It either pushed the hard hearted enemies of truth and love into a deeper fury against Him – or it transformed and healed and delivered people’s life to something radically different than before and they grew more and more in His way.

Christ does not say,  come accept my religion,  say a prayer, get baptized in water,  and then go back to fitting in with the ways of the world. He doesn’t say,  keep doing evil and coming back again and again for forgiveness once a week or on holidays to hear about me.

He says,  come, surrender your whole life to me, turn away from evil,  and be transformed to be like me.

He says, come, be set apart for holy use, by the Lord God Almighty,  who loves you enough to pay an ultimate sacrifice to bring you into His family.

He says, I have a purpose today, for the world to see something quite peculiar and different in your life – because they will see Me, My ways, reflected in your transformed life.

A transformed heart and mind produces a different life – a sober, obedient, holy life. And if this type of life seems distasteful to you, then I encourage you to ask yourself who it is you are really deciding to serve today with your life. If you want to serve the Lord,  if you want to call upon His name, if you want Him to hear your prayers, do not remember that sinner of your past, repent, turn to Him, and walk in righteousness, you saints, you children of God. You are freed, your chains are broken. You need not walk powerless,  but strong and bold.

Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Isaiah 58:8 NKJV

I encourage you, do not doubt in the strength of the Lord to deliver you from the flesh to walk upright in the Spirit. Do not put on that old title of Sinner unless you have become a proud hypocrite. Put bear the title of Saint, Child of God, boasting only in what He has done for you. Stand tall,  not in your own power, but humbled by His mercy and His Godly love that is alive in you.

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Two paths – it makes all the difference

I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 NKJV

I love you, friend. But I hate your sin. I hate my sin. I see what it has done in our lives, the tricks that it plays – offering sweet promises while providing sickness and wickedness and death and harm to ourself and others. Most importantly, it dishonors the name of the Lord when we say we are His with our mouths but deny Him in our lives, when we are a stumbling block – hindering others from recognizing the true spirit of Christ alive in His children.

Yes, I believe that everything the Lord calls sin IS SIN. Yes, I am more confident in the truth of His Word than in the lies of my own deceitful heart and opinions. I trust in God’s divine wisdom over my own feelings and justifications about what is right and wrong, because I have proven to myself that my way is foolish and lands me in unexpected consequences for myself and others. I survey my life and it is clear that obeying His guidelines is the best life both now and for eternity.

And I expected it to be heavy and burdensome like before when I found that I was a rebellious law breaker. But the Lord sent me the Helper that He promised, and when I have my eyes set firmly upon demonstrating His way to the world around me – when I am bold enough to walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and long suffering – when I walk in the Spirit, I no longer break the law and I’m no longer under the law.

This is because I’m not longing to fulfill my own will, but I’m longing to fulfill His will. Yes, He gives me a new hunger – a hunger for His ways, His righteousness. And when we hunger for righteousness we do not hunger to be involved in sin – we love righteousness and hate sin.

This does not mean that we only love people who act or want to appear righteous – No! There is not a one of you (especially not in you arrogant and religious ones) who is righteous of his own works. And if you stand with the testimony of your own works as righteous, you are both a liar and an abomination before God because of your pride and arrogance.

Such an abomination, such a blaspheming of the work of the Holy Spirit as being their own – I fear that it will bring desolation to many who would not give all the praise and honor to God for the opportunity to walk as a new creation. And the same can be said for those who turn away from such a blessing as grace,  and blaspheme it as a license to sin freely and openly,  with no love for God or His ways. Lord, save us!

Help us, Lord! Come live in us and guide us so that it will be you living out these days in our vessel – quickening our lives as you take over and abide with us and walk with us. Let them see you more and more and us less and less.

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He chose YOU to come OUT. No excuses.

If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first.  The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you.  Do you remember what I told you? ‘A slave is not greater than the master.’ Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you.  They will do all this to you because of me, for they have rejected the one who sent me.  They would not be guilty if I had not come and spoken to them. But now they have no excuse for their sin.  Anyone who hates me also hates my Father.
John 15:18‭-‬23 NLT

“you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you”
Almost daily, I see a backlash from “carnal Christians” (who know the name of the Savior but who have only themselves as Lord of their lives) towards those who would share truth and warn others about the dangers of sin. I hear things like “you’re being judgemental” when someone speaks about sin, repentance, discipleship or sanctification from the, same people that sing proudly of grace as if it is a license to sin.

Wake up and hear the truth. If you are a slave to sin, see what the Word of God says:

Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin.  A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.
John 8:34‭-‬36 NLT

If we are currently a slave to sin, but we know that we are called to be a child of God, the solution is simple – repent (turn away from your sin), believe in your heart,  confess with your mouth, and He will send the Holy Spirit to convict you against sin, to teach you, to guide you, so that you will walk in the Spirit of Christ, following His example and demonstrating Him to the world.

So we are either a slave to sin, or we are a new creation in Christ – and the two types of desires are so different from one another that the two are at war with each other. One desires sin and the things of this world as treasure and reward and the will of man,  while the other desires only Christ and the will of God.

“now they have no excuse for their sin”
Yes, many hate to hear the whole message of Jesus Christ – that He calls us to no longer be a part of the world,  to no longer live like the world. Many are satisfied with the idea that their sins might be forgiven,  but they have no real interest in giving up their sin. And when He says that we are free indeed,  and that He has given us the power to see evil flee from us – it really bothers those who no longer have any excuse for remaining in their sin.

It bothers those who are either:

A) deceived and confused because they can’t reconcile their own opinions about God with what the Word of God actually says

B) aware that their claims about being a Christian are nothing but outward lies

The Good News is that salvation is just a turn away. But it does take deciding to love Christ more than our sin.

And for many, the broad path seems so attractive when we can’t see and touch what is behind that narrow gate. The broad path seems so much easier when we can only see the struggle and strife and trial of those poor,  sacrificing Christian missionaries who are willing to give it all up to serve the Lord. The broad path seems so much more friendly and crowded when we can only see those “judgemental Christians” who are isolating themselves by standing firm upon the truth of the Word of God.

The broad path of finding a compromising “church” that will speak what I want to hear and won’t expect me to change or grow as long as I show up,  volunteer,  and tithe seems so much easier than actually picking up my cross and following Jesus,  making disciples, baptizing them,  and walking like Christ. People will say,  “Isn’t there someone else who will go? Isn’t there someone else who is better qualified? Can’t I just give my money to them and maybe God will leave me alone?”

Do you love your life,  or do you love Christ?

If you cling to your life, you will lose it, and if you let your life go, you will save it.
Luke 17:33 NLT

Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”
Revelation 12:10‭-‬12 NLT