This article is for those who are desperate for the presence of God in your life? Are you growing in your relationship with God or have you lost Him along the way? If you have lost a sense of the presence of God in your life or if you don't have a desire for the things of God such as reading your bible daily or praying or attending church you must go back to where you lost interest and find it again. If you don't you will stay a miserable person. At this point of going back and revisiting the past, find where you lost interest in God and then develop a new desire for God that will change your life. Desire means-a longing or craving, as for something that brings satisfaction or enjoyment:
The writer of Psalm 42 had this desire for God.
Psalms 42:1-4 (NKJV) 1. As the deer pants for the water brooks,So pants my soul for You, O God.
2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?
3 My tears have been my food day and night, While they continually say to me, "Where is your God?"
4 When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude; I went
with them to the house of God, With the voice of joy and praise, With a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.
David here is in the wilderness running for his life and he misses the times he had with God when he could go and worship in the temple of God. In those days the Temple was considered the only place to worship God and be assured your prayers would be answered.
He remembered what good times he had in God's presence. Today we can experience the presence of God where ever we are.
Nothing will fill your longings and cravings like the fullness of God's Spirit. If you have been born again by the Spirit of God, His presence is within you. But it could be you have quenched God's Spirit by sin in your life, or through neglect of reading His word, or through the lack of prayer and church attendance or all of these things. God word says He wants to richly bless you. But you must be desiring -(longing-craving) God as the most important thing in your life. Have you ever stopped and thought about how much of the things of God you are missing out on and what you could have if you had a close relationship with Him? Our relationship with God is like a marriage in the respect that it can either be a good or bad relationship determined by how much both love and desire to be with each other. A good marriage is one where both desire the best relationship they could possibly have. God desires a very intimate relationship with you. The question is, do you have that same desire for Him? So how do we have this intimate relationship with God as He desires for us? The word of God has the answer!
James 4:8 (NKJV) 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts,
you double-minded.
We are to draw close to God first as it says here by cleansing ourselves of sin or in other words, stop sinning.
We are to purify our hearts by not having a divided loyalty to the world and God. We must give up the things of the world that take our attention away from God and the things that pertain to Him. We are to give God first place in our lives. He must come before anything else. We must stop changing our minds about our relationship to God and it's importance. We must stop this one minute we want God, next minute we want the worldly things.
When we make up our minds to do these things, we are in for the blessings of God and the sweetness of His presence in our lives. I have been a Christian follower of God for a long time and I can honestly say there is nothing to compare to a very intimate relationship with God. I ask you to truly consider where you stand with God at this point in your life.
If you are not a born again follower of Jesus Christ, you will never have the peace and blessings of God on your life, but you can change that right now by asking Jesus to forgive your sins against a Holy God. Tell Jesus you are sorry for your sins and you invite Him to live in you and take charge of you. Then be baptized in His name and begin to live for God and watch your life change. You will become a new creation in Jesus Christ and you will begin to desire more of God in your life.
Christian, if you truly belong to the Lord why would you not want to draw as close to Him as you can. I pray you have a desire for God like you have never had before and you will seek Him with all your heart. He says in His word that if you seek Him you will find Him.Jeremiah 29:13 (NKJV) 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. We truly need God in our lives like never before to face the challenges of today. My pray is for you to experience the presence of God in your life every day as you draw close to Him.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
Power and Provisions of Jesus
As we look at Matthew chapter 5 we can see what all Jesus has provided for us who belong to Him and for those who will receive Him as their Lord and Savior. We have much to thank Jesus for. Let's look!
Matthew 5:3-12 (NKJV)
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
First in verse 3, Jesus makes it possible for us to inherit the kingdom of God.
Second in verse 4,Jesus turns our mourning over our sin and it's consequences into comfort that we are forgiven.
Third in verse 5, Jesus made it possible for us to inherit the earth. We will rule and reign with Him when He sets up His Kingdom here on earth.
Revelation 20:6 (NKJV)
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Fourth in Verse 6, Jesus made it possible for those of us who hunger and thirst to see righteousness done to be filled, or in other words He will provide these things for us eternally.
Will you receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord right now? If you will, He will give you the right to become a child of God and when you die and leave this earth you will be with Jesus and God forever. Every need taken care of through out eternity.
Matthew 5:3-12 (NKJV)
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.
12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
First in verse 3, Jesus makes it possible for us to inherit the kingdom of God.
Second in verse 4,Jesus turns our mourning over our sin and it's consequences into comfort that we are forgiven.
Third in verse 5, Jesus made it possible for us to inherit the earth. We will rule and reign with Him when He sets up His Kingdom here on earth.
Revelation 20:6 (NKJV)
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
Fourth in Verse 6, Jesus made it possible for those of us who hunger and thirst to see righteousness done to be filled, or in other words He will provide these things for us eternally.
Fifth in verse 7, Jesus made it possible for us to be merciful to others. We could never do this in our own strength. He also made it possible for us to receive His mercy forever.
Sixth in verse 8, Jesus made us pure in heart by His sacrifice for us on the cross, so we could see God and live with Him through out all eternity.
Seventh in verse 9, Jesus has made us peacemakers toward all mankind and has made us sons of God.
Eighth in verse 10, Jesus has made it possible for us to endure persecution because He has given us the kingdom of heaven and no one can take it away no matter how much persecution.
Ninth in verses 11-12, Jesus rewards us for withstanding persecution and reviling of mankind. These rewards will be great He said and will last through out all eternity.
What a great Savior and Lord we have in Jesus Christ.
Do you know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord? If not none of these wonderful things will be yours and you won't be able to live this kind of life. Jesus is waiting for you to ask Him to forgive your sins against God. When you are sincere and you ask for Jesus' forgiveness the bible says He will not turn you away.
John 1:12 (NKJV)
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.Will you receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord right now? If you will, He will give you the right to become a child of God and when you die and leave this earth you will be with Jesus and God forever. Every need taken care of through out eternity.
Stop right now and ask Jesus for His forgiveness of your sins and receive Him into your heart to take charge of your life from this day forward. Then to show you are sincere, got to church and be baptized. Worship and praise God there. May God give you the grace to do this.
And Christian, give praise, honor, and glory to Jesus Christ, God's only Son for all these things He has so graciously provided for you. He is worthy of all praise. Hallelujah forever!
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Top Priorities In Life?
The title of this article is to get you to think about what your life is all about. What is important to you? Have you ever thought about why you are here? What are you to accomplish in this life? Where you are going when this life is over? God has put eternity in the heart of man. Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NKJV)
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
If God has put eternity in our hearts then it was for a reason. I believe the reason is for us to live our lives on this earth with a constant thought about our final destination when this life is over, so we could have ample time to prepare for that eternity. So knowing this we should take action to prepare for that eternity which we will all face. That should be top priority in life. Most people go through life with little if any thought about eternity. Yet from this scripture God does want us to not only think about eternity but to make plans for our final destination. Even if we are Christians, we must live our lives with eternity in mind so that we will avoid a lot of sin in our lives knowing we will have to give account of what we have done in this life. Romans 14:10 (NKJV)
10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Unbelievers will stand before the great white throne judgment of God and then sentenced to Hell.
Revelation 20:12 (NKJV)
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Anyone not having received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord will not be in the Book of Life.
John 14:6 (NKJV)
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
They will be judged according to their works and found to be guilty before God. God says no work can give you eternal life. Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV)
6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. So should not our eternal destiny be the main thing we hope to accomplish in this life? What is man's duty in this life according to the bible? What's the top priority in this life?
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NKJV)
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.
The one commandment of God we must all keep is to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.
If God has put eternity in our hearts then it was for a reason. I believe the reason is for us to live our lives on this earth with a constant thought about our final destination when this life is over, so we could have ample time to prepare for that eternity. So knowing this we should take action to prepare for that eternity which we will all face. That should be top priority in life. Most people go through life with little if any thought about eternity. Yet from this scripture God does want us to not only think about eternity but to make plans for our final destination. Even if we are Christians, we must live our lives with eternity in mind so that we will avoid a lot of sin in our lives knowing we will have to give account of what we have done in this life. Romans 14:10 (NKJV)
10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
Unbelievers will stand before the great white throne judgment of God and then sentenced to Hell.
Revelation 20:12 (NKJV)
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
Anyone not having received Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord will not be in the Book of Life.
John 14:6 (NKJV)
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
They will be judged according to their works and found to be guilty before God. God says no work can give you eternal life. Isaiah 64:6 (NKJV)
6 But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. So should not our eternal destiny be the main thing we hope to accomplish in this life? What is man's duty in this life according to the bible? What's the top priority in this life?
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 (NKJV)
13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all.
14 For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil.
The one commandment of God we must all keep is to receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
John 3:16-18 (NKJV)
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
So this should be the priority in our lives. Nothing else matters if we gain the whole world and lose our souls. Mark 8:36 (NKJV)
36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? So the top priority in life is to make sure you ask Jesus to forgive your sins and then invite Him into your life to take charge of you. Then go to church and be baptized. Make your decision public as Jesus asked us to do. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
So this should be the priority in our lives. Nothing else matters if we gain the whole world and lose our souls. Mark 8:36 (NKJV)
Those who are Christians should make sure your main accomplishment is to live for Jesus. This should take priority in our lives. Remember that previous scripture that we all will stand before the judgment seat of Christ to give an account of our lives as Christians. We will either be rewarded or there will be a loss of rewards. 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NKJV)
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Should not this be our top priority in life? Make sure you have your priorities right in this life. Eternity depends on it! Your place in God's kingdom depends on it. Truly without question the things of God should have priority in our lives.
Monday, September 5, 2011
Assurance and Peace
How many Christian's do you know who are unsure of their relationship with God? They do not have that peace in their hearts about their relationship with God. Assurance that every Christian needs is a gift from God. The world would call it peace of mind which means all is well for the future. The bible sets forth the gift of assurance as a certainty, a knowledge concerning one's personal relationship to God. For the believer, assurance is something that God wants each Christian to possess. It is a gift from God to you.
1 John 5:13 (NKJV)
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. This scripture plainly says that we can know that we have eternal life if we believe in the name of the Son of God. His name is Jesus Christ. This fact brings assurance and peace to the believer. So assurance is an inner consciousness and confidence that we have a right relationship with God through our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. As I said at the beginning so many that call themselves Christian's or believers do not have the assurance of salvation.
It is not honoring to God for us to doubt and have a lack of assurance. You will always be miserable and be a poor witness for Christ. The word of God clearly explains that: Romans 10:9 (NKJV)
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:13 (NKJV) For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." If we doubt this word from God then we make Him a liar. He says whoever believes in the Lord Jesus' resurrection from the dead and calls on His name will be saved. [This is God's promise to you.]
To ever have the peace of mind and soul, assurance is an absolute necessity. In every area of life you must have assurance of your abilities to do work, assurances of others love for you. Assurance that you have good health brings peace of mind. God wants you to have joy in your assurance of His salvation of your soul.
God in His word has promised that nothing can separate us from His love.
Romans 8:31-39 (NKJV)
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you still have doubt, ask Jesus to forgive you and save you for heaven. Then invite Him into your life to take charge of you. If you are sincere, then believe His word.
1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You have been cleansed from all sin. Now begin to live your life in the assurance and peace that God intends for you to have. You are now right with God. Live for Him, go to church and be baptized if you have not done that, and begin to worship and praise God there. Then over a period of time you will want to serve Him in that church.
1 John 5:13 (NKJV)
13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. This scripture plainly says that we can know that we have eternal life if we believe in the name of the Son of God. His name is Jesus Christ. This fact brings assurance and peace to the believer. So assurance is an inner consciousness and confidence that we have a right relationship with God through our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord. As I said at the beginning so many that call themselves Christian's or believers do not have the assurance of salvation.
It is not honoring to God for us to doubt and have a lack of assurance. You will always be miserable and be a poor witness for Christ. The word of God clearly explains that: Romans 10:9 (NKJV)
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
Romans 10:13 (NKJV) For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved." If we doubt this word from God then we make Him a liar. He says whoever believes in the Lord Jesus' resurrection from the dead and calls on His name will be saved. [This is God's promise to you.]
To ever have the peace of mind and soul, assurance is an absolute necessity. In every area of life you must have assurance of your abilities to do work, assurances of others love for you. Assurance that you have good health brings peace of mind. God wants you to have joy in your assurance of His salvation of your soul.
God in His word has promised that nothing can separate us from His love.
Romans 8:31-39 (NKJV)
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
33 Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
36 As it is written: "For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter."
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,
39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
If you still have doubt, ask Jesus to forgive you and save you for heaven. Then invite Him into your life to take charge of you. If you are sincere, then believe His word.
1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV)
8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You have been cleansed from all sin. Now begin to live your life in the assurance and peace that God intends for you to have. You are now right with God. Live for Him, go to church and be baptized if you have not done that, and begin to worship and praise God there. Then over a period of time you will want to serve Him in that church.
Then you will have assurance and peace of mind that you didn't think you could have. You will experience joy unspeakable and full of glory. Hallelujah!
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