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Have you heard?

Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. – Isaiah 40:28 NLT

This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
1 John 1:5‭-‬10 NLT

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.
Romans 8:1‭-‬2 NLT

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years! Then, when he prayed again, the sky sent down rain and the earth began to yield its crops.
James 5:16‭-‬18 NLT

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Fruitful

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! – Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NLT

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What is truly offensive?

God sent a man, John the Baptist, to tell about the light so that everyone might believe because of his testimony. John himself was not the light; he was simply a witness to tell about the light. The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn—not with a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan, but a birth that comes from God.
John 1:6‭-‬13 NLT

Jesus gives light.

I saw a meme recently that was based on a quote from Roger Biden, who was apparently a professor at Oxford (from what I read about him in this article that Google provided about some pretty sad charges of oppression and racism): https://www.theguardian.com/education/2005/apr/08/highereducation.raceineducation I can’t be 100 percent sure that this is the accurate source of the quote, but that is who the Internet appears to attribute it to. So here it is:

Jesus. Mocked and rejected then, mocked and rejected now.

But what is worse than the lost and the unbelieving mocking something they cannot understand because it has not yet been revealed to them? Someone who knows the truth of the gospel and still denies Christ as the way to righteousness — by rejecting the command they were given to live a holy life.

And when people escape from the wickedness of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and then get tangled up and enslaved by sin again, they are worse off than before. It would be better if they had never known the way to righteousness than to know it and then reject the command they were given to live a holy life. They prove the truth of this proverb: “A dog returns to its vomit.” And another says, “A washed pig returns to the mud.”
2 Peter 2:20‭-‬22 NLT

So there are those who will be shocked and offended by this meme and quote put out by an atheist — who should instead be shocked and humbled before God because they have been rejecting God’s command to live a holy life.

And don’t think that I’m standing high claiming innocence myself. No, I’m convicted by this and I’m compelled to examine closely and honestly in this area as the Word says “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the Faith, test yourselves…”

And to this, I say thank you God for the good news of the gospel so that we might repent while there is time — from any foolish, prideful stance as if we know it all and could mock the justice and commands of God.

If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts. – 1 John 1:8‭-‬10 NLT

Let’s be aware of how we can recognize these false teachings and avoid them. If teaching allows for shameful immorality, we see in 2 Peter chapter 2 that these teachers are false and are slandering the truth. If they are making up clever lies to get a hold of your money, they are liars like their father the devil. If they follow their own twisted sexual desires, if they resist authority, if they are proud and arrogant, and indulge in evil pleasures in broad daylight, the Lord opposes them, in fact His curse is upon them. Read 2 Peter chapter 2 for yourself. These are not my words, but are the Word of God. Be careful little ones, stay close to the truth and do not veer off the path.

‘May the Lord bless you and protect you. May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’
Numbers 6:24‭-‬26 NLT

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Filled or Fooled?

Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. – Colossians 3:16 NLT

Time after time again in scripture, the anointing of the Holy Spirit is compared to anointing oil. Oil. This oil is not consumed, but it covers and spreads out, and clings to, and fills each little crack and crevice of what it touches. It transfers itself to everything it comes in contact with. It’s aroma was undeniable, and it even changed the way that things felt when they were touched. What was once rough and ragged now felt smooth and soft. Yes, this is how the presence of God in our lives, close and personal and present, changes us and our interactions with everything around us as well.

Oil. What happens if we further to put gasoline in our car and we run out and the car stops? We can walk to the store and buy some more gasoline and be back on pour way, right? But what if pour car runs out of oil and the engine stops because of no Oil? That’s a different problem altogether, and the car is probably headed tho the trash heap and we are probably looking for a new car altogether, right?

There are things we can go without and still survive, but this oil, this anointing presence of the Holy Spirit of God, without it filling our lives, we are headed to a 6 foot deep, worm invested scrap yard ourselves. But if we are filled, we habe much to tell about, much to teach about, much to sing and shout about, don’t we?

After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.” Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the Kingdom of God.” “What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?” Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.” “How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked. Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man has come down from heaven. And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life. “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. “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. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants. ” – John 3:2‭-‬21 NLT

Maybe this doesn’t make much sense to you at the moment, but you’re curious because you’ve heard “religious people” talk about things like good, bad, law, rebellion, grace, godliness, etc. But all you’ve heard is talk, you just haven’t yet seen anyone actually walking out their lives in any real similarity to how they speak (or how you know the Bible says people should live if they indeed love God). Maybe you’ve wondered to yourself, “I love this Christ you speak of, but not this ‘twice the child of hell’ that some seem to testify to by their lives even as they call themselves by the name above all names.” Maybe you’ve seen the tares amongst the wheat wherever the religious gather. Maybe you’ve seen the synagogue of Satan intermingling amongst the children of God and you’ve longed for the true children of Abraham, the true church of God, the truly Holy Spirit filled and loved by God to “come our from her”, to be separated from the hypocritically and circumstantially and mockingly religious who are a stench in the nostrils of a holy and righteous God because they clearly never knew Him and He never knew them — He no more abided in them and supped with them than they ever loved and forgave and prayed for “their enemies”.

Yes, I understand. And I’m not calling you to join in with that sort, with that type, with those who seek the honor of men and who long to serve themselves and their own pride. No, let them have their religious ceremonies and dogma with God far away from their actual lives and safely boxed into a Sunday morning time slot, and let us have the Lord present and real and close and intimate in our moment to moment, because TODAY is the day of salvation, we are walking and living it.

Let us pray not just with our mouths, but from our thankful hearts, in spirit in truth. Yes, Lord, come fill us today to overflowing with that oil of yuppie presence that perseveres us to the end — by your power in us, which is greater than any enemy that dare oppose the army of the Lord. The victory is won, ordained before the creation of the heavens and earth, revealed in Jesus Christ, and testified to in the lives touched, healed, changed, redeemed, and restored by grace through Faith in Jesus Christ as both Savior and Sovereign Lord over our surrendered lives, as we die to self, sin and worldliness to live by the Holy Spirit, not by the flesh.

Some will say that we are foolish and “full of it” — and if we are fools, like Paul said, let us be “fools for Christ” — and if we are full of something, let us be “full of Christ”.

My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide. So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due. Dear brothers and sisters, I have used Apollos and myself to illustrate what I’ve been saying. If you pay attention to what I have quoted from the Scriptures, you won’t be proud of one of your leaders at the expense of another. For what gives you the right to make such a judgment? What do you have that God hasn’t given you? And if everything you have is from God, why boast as though it were not a gift? You think you already have everything you need. You think you are already rich. You have begun to reign in God’s kingdom without us! I wish you really were reigning already, for then we would be reigning with you. Instead, I sometimes think God has put us apostles on display, like prisoners of war at the end of a victor’s parade, condemned to die. We have become a spectacle to the entire world—to people and angels alike. Our dedication to Christ makes us look like fools, but you claim to be so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are so powerful! You are honored, but we are ridiculed. Even now we go hungry and thirsty, and we don’t have enough clothes to keep warm. We are often beaten and have no home. We work wearily with our own hands to earn our living. We bless those who curse us. We are patient with those who abuse us. We appeal gently when evil things are said about us. Yet we are treated like the world’s garbage, like everybody’s trash—right up to the present moment. I am not writing these things to shame you, but to warn you as my beloved children. For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you. So I urge you to imitate me. That’s why I have sent Timothy, my beloved and faithful child in the Lord. He will remind you of how I follow Christ Jesus, just as I teach in all the churches wherever I go. Some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will not visit you again. But I will come—and soon—if the Lord lets me, and then I’ll find out whether these arrogant people just give pretentious speeches or whether they really have God’s power. For the Kingdom of God is not just a lot of talk; it is living by God’s power. Which do you choose? Should I come with a rod to punish you, or should I come with love and a gentle spirit?
1 Corinthians 4:4‭-‬21 NLT

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100%

“Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” – Matthew 6:21 NLT

“It’s obvious, isn’t it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.” – Matthew 6:19‭-‬21 MSG

We desire what we truly treasure. We desire what we truly believe is of value.

Is it that hard to understand why so many end up fashioning a personal concept of God in the image of what is comfortable and easy for them too accept without having to change anything in their lives? Doesn’t it speak to the value they place on their own opinions, feelings, thoughts, in comparison to the value they place on God, on His Word, on His commandments, and on His promises?

And we say this as if we are holding up any outstretched pointing finger to point at a far away “them” as if it hasn’t been us who have forgotten what is truly valuable, precious, and eternal. But no, we too have to admit that we have fallen short in this area, because if we truly believed the truth about heaven and hell, about the wicked and the lost facing damnation and eternal separation from God, about Faith coming by hearing the Word of God, and about Faith being the only way that we can please God, and about God coming to live in us and through us to carry this Good News to the end of the earth to see the captives set free — wouldn’t we be a quite peculiar and different type of person than the rest who are content with piling up treasures and pleasures from this world?

What an interesting study that would be, to examine how much focus and effort and attention is spent chasing after things of this world rather than things of an eternal, spiritual, godly nature! Could we gain some insight into what it is we truly treasure? And thereby gain some understanding about what it is that we truly BELIEVE is valuable — in essence, where we have placed our Faith.

What an insightful endeavor that might prove to be, to measure and examine our Faith in God not by our knowledge or understanding, not by our denominational membership, not by our participation in religious ceremonies, but by an examination to seek out the evidence of God where we say out is that He lives – IN US. At least, that is the claim that Christians must make of they say they are saved, right — “raised to new life in Christ” we PROCLAIM. “Born again as a new creation, alive in the Holy Spirit of God” as Jesus Christ told Nicodemus in John 3 that must be true for anyone to ever enter into heaven, into eternal life.

Yes, this has been the claim of many mouths throughout the ages, but lying tongues cannot hide what confessing hearts reveal, right?

Let’s look at where our money is invested – in the things of God or in the things of the world?

Let’s look at where our time is invested – in the things of God or in the things of the world?

Let’s look at the content we consume – books, movies, radio, television – Is it equipping and preparing us for the purpose and calling God has for each of us to glorify His name and reach the lost with the Good News of Jesus Christ?

Let’s look at what comes out of our own mouths — is it blessing, or is it cursing — is it praises, or is it grumbling?

What can we say we have truly treasured today with this day given to us freely to spend as we see fit? Can we say that we have spent wisely or foolishly based on what we PROFESS is truly valuable to us?

If a man says that He sees no value in God and He lives like hell, there is no reason to doubt his convictions — but what about a man who says the Lord is his prize and portion but who loves and chases and lays in His sin time and time again? We might say that a man like this had the hope of one day seeing the value of the Lord, but if his desire is continually for the things the Word of God says are not only worthless and fading, but are a dangerous and deadly distraction from what truly is valuable — what can be said about what such a man really believes is valuable in this very moment.

Oh, I pray that we rrepent while there is still time. And let’s don’t think that trying to change our outward behaviors to give stronger evidence to our verbal claims is the way. No, that might last for a moment as we strive in our weakness and fail time and time again — but we need that wisdom that comes from above, that gift of a measure of faith that overcomes our disbelief, that spirit and nature of God poured out upon His people, that new heart with new desires because the law of Christ is written on it, that life sealed by the healing and redeeming touch of Christ.

Yes, we need something supernaturally so far beyond theological study or debate that it dumbfounds the wise just like it dumbfounded the religious teacher, Nicodemus. Yes, we need a teacher and guide and priest way above the likes of mere men.

Do you know this teacher today?

Do you value Him?

Do you treasure Him?

Do you desire Him so deeply that all else seems as dust and ashes being burned away?

Ask truly, answer truly, examine truly.

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Now, Grow

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
Colossians 2:6‭-‬7 NLT

Have you accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and as the master of your life, or does that seem burdensome since it might require “giving up” some things? I’m just asking real questions, because these are the questions that will reveal what kind of “belief” exists. And there has to be true, “saving Faith” for growth to continue. The seed of the Word of God needs to have not only been planted, but it must have burst through the shell in that good soil to grow up, and continue to rise above the weeds, and bear much fruit for the glory of God.

Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one: “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’ “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it. “Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
Matthew 13:1‭-‬23 NLT

The good news is that even if you have backslidden, even if you have never yet had Faith in your heart that empowered you to walk in a new way, even if you are just now for the first time realizing that you truly need God in control and leading you in the way of righteousness, salvation is available to you today. I don’t care what religious rituals you have been through in the past — because I don’t want you to set your Faith in some past religious ceremony or ritual. I want you to trust God, be restored to a right relationship with Him, follow Him, and grow in His way. He tells us to call on the name of the Lord and we will be saved. He tells us that today is the day of salvation and that we must die daily to ourselves so that we can walk with Him in spirit and in truth. He tells us that He will come and live in us and guide uggs in all things, convicting us against sin and growing us up in truth and in love. He tells us that He has a purpose and calling for our lives to send us out to a world in need of Hope, Faith, and Love.

Rise up, you who were once dead in your sin and know life abundant in Christ.

Rise up, you who had fallen asleep by the wayside, and receive the breath of life that fills you up and makes you whole.

Rise up, army of the Lord, children of God, to see the battle already won by Jesus Christ, the mighty warrior, the consuming fire, the one true and living God, God come in the flesh to live among His people, the only name by which salvation comes.

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Transform Us

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Romans 12:2 NLT

Today, let’s drop any concern for how the world might expect us to act, speak, think, or behave. Let’s leave out those old ways of pandering to each other to gain acceptance, or honor, or envy, or jealousy, or attention from our fellow men and women — and let’s fall headlong into a radical love for the one who loved us first. Let’s resist those temptations, and feelings, and opinions that we once held such a high regard for, and let’s walk in this new way by the power of Christ who lives in us!

You say, “But I have no power, how can I walk in victory?” And I say, “Come and drink from the well, the fountain is still overflowing, the river still runs with water that was bitter but is now oh so sweet. Have you taken up your tree to follow Christ and share in the sweet sufferings and persecution of a life walking against the natural flow of this carnal world? Have you seen how it turns what would seem foolish and burdensome into a pleasure and a you? Have you seen sadness, distress, anxiety, bitterness, depression, sickness, rebellion and all kinds of vain pursuits overcome by the Blood of the Lamb? By the touch of the Savior? By the spoken promises of the Word of God received and believed?”

I proclaim this day, “Come, call upon the name of the Lord and be saved! TODAY is the day of salvation! Thus says the Lord God, the one true God, the only way, the only truth, the only life, and the only hope for a lost world in need of Him, the only prize worth winning, the only gift worth receiving, the only one width of receiving all praise and glory and honor, forever and ever. Amen.”

I PROCLAIM THIS DAY, “Come and know your purpose and calling set ahead of you before the foundation of the heavens and the earth — to bring glory and honor to God. Step out of that dying man who needs to go under the cleansing flood and walk in spirit and truth! Rise up, army of Christ, for the Kingdom of God is close at hand, His face is close and His breath is upon you. Will you be consumed or refined by the presence and glory of our God?”