Forgiveness

Ephesians 4:30-32 (King James Version)


And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

See God in Everything

1 Samuel 3:18 (King James Version)

And Samuel told him every whit, and hid nothing from him. And he said, It is the LORD: let him do what seemeth him good.

No matter how difficult our circumstances become, no matter if the trial refuses to abate, Christ is the Master of our life, and to see Him, to recognize that His power cannot fail, His love will never change, and that all works to glorify Him, is true faith. Seeing God's hand in everything will increase our faith, making us loving and patient with those appearing to have stake in our trials. Those that assist in bringing storms upon us are nothing more than intruments in God's wise purposes in our lives. Those tribulations are blessings brought upon us, for it is through those toughest times that He makes us stronger.

Happy Thanksgiving

Psalm 92:1

It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High.

John 16:33

. . .In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

No matter how difficult it becomes, be it life, or the world situation, remember that God has it all under control, and it will all, in the end, work to glorify Him. Through the storms, our faith grows stronger.

Proverbs 10 (King James Version)

Proverbs 10

1The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.

2Treasures of wickedness profit nothing: but righteousness delivereth from death.

3The LORD will not suffer the soul of the righteous to famish: but he casteth away the substance of the wicked.

4He becometh poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.

5He that gathereth in summer is a wise son: but he that sleepeth in harvest is a son that causeth shame.

6Blessings are upon the head of the just: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

7The memory of the just is blessed: but the name of the wicked shall rot.

8The wise in heart will receive commandments: but a prating fool shall fall.

9He that walketh uprightly walketh surely: but he that perverteth his ways shall be known.

10He that winketh with the eye causeth sorrow: but a prating fool shall fall.

11The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.

12Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins.

13In the lips of him that hath understanding wisdom is found: but a rod is for the back of him that is void of understanding.

14Wise men lay up knowledge: but the mouth of the foolish is near destruction.

15The rich man's wealth is his strong city: the destruction of the poor is their poverty.

16The labour of the righteous tendeth to life: the fruit of the wicked to sin.

17He is in the way of life that keepeth instruction: but he that refuseth reproof erreth.

18He that hideth hatred with lying lips, and he that uttereth a slander, is a fool.

19In the multitude of words there wanteth not sin: but he that refraineth his lips is wise.

20The tongue of the just is as choice silver: the heart of the wicked is little worth.

21The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.

22The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.

23It is as sport to a fool to do mischief: but a man of understanding hath wisdom.

24The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted.

25As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.

26As vinegar to the teeth, and as smoke to the eyes, so is the sluggard to them that send him.

27The fear of the LORD prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

28The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

29The way of the LORD is strength to the upright: but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

30The righteous shall never be removed: but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.

31The mouth of the just bringeth forth wisdom: but the froward tongue shall be cut out.

32The lips of the righteous know what is acceptable: but the mouth of the wicked speaketh frowardness.

This is not only for the world, but for the Christian as well. Our witness as Christians may determine whether or not someone commits their life to Christ. If we claim to be a Christian, and our faith is not dead, then our works will follow accordingly.

Mark 8:34

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Too often we don't realize very well the consequences of following Jesus. We praise those who make public profession as though they have already crossed the finish line; in fact, they are only at the beginning of the race.

Following Jesus is not like a walk around the block or a stroll through the park; instead, it is more like a battle royale! We tend to forget or ignore stuff like this.

What is the Cross? What does Jesus have to say about being one of His disciples? He says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Mark's audience knows exactly what these words mean. They know the cross means persecution, pain, suffering, and death. We know that Mark's gospel was written to Christians living in Rome during the time of Nero's reign as Caesar. During Nero's reign, Christians were persecuted and killed for their faith.

We must walk the same path as He. In fact, the Apostle Peter encourages us to be like Jesus:
(1 Pet 4:1) Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

(1 Pet 4:13) But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.

Denial and cross-bearing is very real. This is what happens when people believe in and identify with Jesus. They become like Jesus.

The worldly man or woman interprets the words of Jesus literally. When they hear Jesus speak of taking up one's cross they think of a piece of jewelry, an ornament, or a decoration. Those Roman Christians knew what He meant: the electric chair, the gallows, the most cruel punishment the world has devised, a form of horrible torture used only for the worst of criminals.

Some Christians fail to understand what Jesus says here. They talk glibly about some physical pain, ache, or deformity as the cross they have to bear. The Apostle Paul, for instance, speaks a couple of times about the thorn in his flesh – some sort of physical affliction that tormented him. But that was not Paul's cross. His cross was the humiliation, the pain, the suffering he endured for the sake of Christ. He talks about this cross when he says:
(2 Cor 11:24-27) Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. (25) Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, (26) I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. (27) I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.

All of this suffering the apostle went through for the sake of Christ and the Gospel.

The cross we are called to bear is not arthritis, poor eyesight or hearing. It is not cancer, diabetes, a cold or flue. It is not a personal disability or a disabled child. It is not an unhappy marriage or a sick marriage partner. Instead, what is meant is suffering that has to do with our relationship to Christ. Let me emphasize this: the cross we Christians are called to bear is suffering because of our relationship to and with Christ.

Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

"Who bears this cross? Was it, is it, only a select few? We know Jesus was talking to His disciples. Consider, for a moment, what happened to them: Matthew suffered martyrdom by being slain with a sword at a distant city of Ethiopia; Mark perished at Alexandria, after being cruelly dragged through the streets of that city; Luke was hanged upon an olive tree in the land of Greece; John was put in a pot of boiling oil, but escaped death in a miraculous manner, and was afterward branded at Patmos; Peter was crucified at Rome with his head downward; James, the Greater, was beheaded at Jerusalem; James, the Less, was thrown from a lofty point of the temple, and then beaten to death with a club; Bartholomew was whipped to death; Andrew was bound to a cross, from where he preached to his persecutors until he died; Thomas was run through the body with a lance in the East Indies; Jude was shot to death with arrows; Matthias was first stoned and then beheaded; Barnabas of the Gentiles was stoned to death at Salonica; Paul, after various tortures and persecutions, was beheaded at Rome by the Emperor Nero.

Each of the apostles had to deny himself and take up a cross.

Jesus was talking not only to His disciples but also to the crowd. We are told that "Jesus called the crowd to him along with his disciples." You and I and those who confessed their faith are considered part of that crowd. To you and me and everyone who professes their faith Jesus says, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." Usually we aren't told this when we first become a Christian. When first faced with the Christian religion we are told that Jesus died for our sins and that we are to believe in Him; but no one may have told us that following Jesus means denying ourselves and taking up a cross.

Christianity will not enhance your life as some may preach. Jesus makes no such promises; He wants people to follow Him, but He also wants them to know that following Him means self-denial and a cross.

To our self-indulgent culture this sounds odd, something that happens overseas or in a third-world country. It doesn't happen to us here in America, does it?! Jesus' point is that it does. Everyone who has a relationship with Jesus – the disciples, the first century believers, you, and me – can expect and should expect this.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.

It is so important that we provide a strong foundation for our children. Even, as they get older, when they depart from you and experience tumultuous times, their conscience will eat away at them. The teaching you gave them as a parent, through your faith in Christ, will have them return to their foundation.

God Bless.

Isaiah 30:18

And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD is a God of judgment: blessed are all they that wait for him.

God works out his purposes for our lives in time, working on us, molding us, reaching His will in our lives in His timing. True faith is being willing to wait for God. Blessed be the Lord, His will be done.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

God promises that when a new believer begins his new spritual life He will give us a new heart. Nonetheless, we still have the capacity of sin. The penalty for sin has been broken, but sin's potential has not been fully removed. Even after we accept Christ, our old nature battles within us. Sin comes naturally to humans. Our new nature will prevail every time we obey God and resist sin.

Unidentified

Tonight I watched a movie called UNIDENTIFIED, which is a Christian movie taking an interesting look at the UFO phenomenon. The movie reiterated a lot of what I have been saying for years in reference to demonic influences, as well as how the UFO interest of late is just creating an excuse for the anti-Christ when it comes to explaining the disappearance of all the Christians when the Rapture comes. Great movie, and it is playing in selected theaters. Find out more at http://www.unidentifiedthemovie.com/

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 1John 1:8

Pride is a sin in its self. None of us are perfect, righteous, or sinless. When we received Christ, however, we were no longer under the control of sin. We became new creations in Christ. We still struggle with the temptation of sin, and it is only human to have lapses. In fact, Scripture clearly teaches that we will sin even after our conversion. But the difference is, as a Christian when we sin we feel shame, and work to correct ourselves. We desire to please Him. Those lost without Christ do not feel what we feel. They sin habitually, persistently and continually. True conversion, accompanied with true faith, results in good fruit. We are not saved by our works, but surely our works should reflect our salvation. And through it all, our pride should melt away, and humility ought to replace it.

It is easy for us to sin. Every time we obey God and resist sin, our new nature in Him builds itself stronger.