Confident Faith

Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

 

The Thru the Bible program is a five-year production to read through the entire Bible with commentary to explain. I used to listen to Dr. J. Vernon McGee unpack the Scriptures verse by verse on the radio. I purchased the CD sets of specific books of the Bible to listen to in my truck, and most recently bought the entire 5-year program on a little thumb-drive memory stick that plugs into any USB port on any device to hear the teachings. The broadcasts are now heard around the world in hundreds of languages. I highly recommend that you listen too.

 

Did you know that God created the soul of every human being in three parts that make up who we are? (1) Your mind - where you think and reason, (2) Your emotions – Where your heart speaks and feels,  and (3) Your Will – where you decide and act. Faith shows up and speaks in all three parts. The Greek word for faith is “pistis” meaning the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation in the kingdom of God through Christ; a belief with the predominate idea of trust (or confidence) whether in God or in Christ, springing from faith. 

 

The 1828 Webster’s dictionary defines faith as: the assent of the mind or understanding to the truth of what God has revealed. Simple belief of the scriptures, of the being and perfections of God, and of the existence, character and doctrines of Christ. The faith of the gospel is that emotion of the mind, which is called trust or confidence, exercised towards the moral character of God, and particularly of the Savior. Evangelical, justifying, or saving faith, is the assent of the mind to the truth of divine revelation, on the authority of God's testimony, accompanied with a cordial assent of the will or approbation of the heart; an entire confidence or trust in God's character and declarations, and in the character and doctrines of Christ, with an unreserved surrender of the will to his guidance, and dependence on his merits for salvation. In other words, that firm belief of God's testimony, and of the truth of the gospel, which influences the will, and leads to an entire reliance on Christ for salvation.

 

Pastor McGee explains that the simple definition of faith is found in 1 John 5:14a, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him.” Faith is a personal confidence in God. That confidence touches everything that we are. First, faith speaks to our mind’s intellect. Faith is not blind, but rest upon the tangible. God gives us evidence for our minds to consider. Romans 1:19-20 explains that what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Feeling come and feelings go, so feelings are deceiving. Believe God. 

 

Secondly, Pastor McGee states that faith speaks to our emotions. God made us with emotions. It is in our hearts that we live and move and have our being; not in our heads. Proverbs 4:23 instructs us, “Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.” Our hearts need to be stirred. Thirdly, faith speaks to our will. God appeals to the volitional part of mankind – to our will. Faith is more than mental assent. Faith is something that we act upon. Faith is a choice and belief is action.  

 

Affirm these truths in your heart, your mind and your will. Affirm your confident faith in God.

 

In Christ, Brian

Faithful Belief

Acts 5:38-39 “And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone; for if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing; but if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it—lest you even be found to fight against God.”

 

I’ve read plenty of surveys taken that had revealed the decline in Christian church attendance over the past few decades. The refusal of our government to stand by the National Motto of our country and the abandonment of biblical morality has contributed to this historical falling-off the charts in what is being called the post-Christian era. It is as the Lord Jesus said in Luke 8:11-14 “Now the parable of the Sower means this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 

 

The term is apostate, and is defined as: One who has forsaken the church, sect or profession to which he before adhered. In its original sense, applied to one who has abandoned his religion. We are seeing one of the greatest departures from the faith in the history of the church. I have brought this issue up with my pastors in order to identify the root issue and form a plan of action by the church to halt and reverse this trend. Protestant Reformer John Calvin stated, “Since no man is excluded from calling upon God the gate of salvation is open to all. There is nothing else to hinder us from entering, but our own unbelief.” The darkness of unbelief cannot help but make every effort to extinguish the Light of the Word of God which exposes its depravity and rebellion.

 

It has been from the beginning of the Fall of Man, a battle between faith and unbelief. The unholy trinity has always been (1) the Fallen Flesh with its sinful desires, (2) the God-rejecting world system, and (3) the Tempter, the Deceiver, the devil. John Wesley stated: “As no good is done, or spoken, or thought by any man without the assistance of God, working in and with those that believe in him, so there is no evil done, or spoken, or thought without the assistance of the devil, who worketh with strong though secret power in the children of unbelief. All the works of our evil nature are the work of the devil.” The Christian church, the body of Christ, have been called to be Salt and Light in this world. The faithful born-again Believers have been commissioned to “go and make disciple of all nations”. When the light fails to stand firm and retreats, darkness advances. As Anglo-Irish statesman, economist, and philosopher Edmund Burke said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Don’t let it!

 

As the late Pastor J. Vernon McGee declared, “We can still be intelligent and believe in the Word of God, that Jesus Christ nearly 2000 years ago intruded into history and died on a cross, that He rose again on the third day boldly, ascended back to heaven, and that He is alive today. He has sent His Holy Spirit into the world, and the Holy Spirit has made Him real to multitudes in every walk of life. Jesus came to seek and save the lost. This is our message, it is changing lives, and it is still pertinent for this hour to meet the needs of the human heart. Jesus will always be the Way to salvation and eternal life. 

 

In Christ, Brian

The Gospel of Salvation

 

Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

 

We were discussing together in our Bible Study group this last week, how the Gospel means “good news”. The word “gospel” is the Greek word “euangelion”, meaning the glad tidings of salvation through Christ. But, as we said in our Bible Study, this good news is good for us because there was first bad news. The late Pastor Dr. D. James Kennedy explained that the two most famous moments in human history are (1) the Fall of Man by sin in the Garden of Eden, and (2) the atoning death of Jesus Christ on the Cross at Calvary for sins of the world. The late Pastor Dr. V. Vernon McGee stated that we must begin by seeing mankind on our own as ruined creatures without God, helpless and hopelessly lost. The only remedy for our sin is the perfect remedy God provides in Jesus Christ for a lost humanity. 

 

Romans 6:23 proclaims, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Dr. McGee continues that the apostle Paul says that the gospel of Christ is the power of God to save everyone who believes. You cannot work for or buy this righteousness from God; you only can accept it by faith. That is why Ephesians 2:8-9 declares, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Justification by faith means not only subtraction of sin, but the addition of righteousness in what Reformer Martin Luther called “the great exchange”, all so you might stand before God blameless and complete in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:21 clarifies, “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This message is God’s good news. 

 

But like any gift, it must be accepted and received. In John 3:3 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” What does that mean? Well, Jesus goes on to say in John 3:16-17 “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. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” Believing that God sent Jesus from heaven of earth, God incarnate, to pay the debt of sin which He didn’t owe, because we had a debt of sin that we couldn’t pay. 

 

Romans 3:22-25 affirms, “even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness.” Our sin must be paid for; either by Christ our Savior or by us. The bottom line is given in John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” And this is repeated in 1 John 5:11-13, “ And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 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.”

 

Good news in Christ, Brian

Praying to God

 

Ephesians 1:17-23 “Pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

 

Last night in our Bible Study, our small group read and discussed this incredible passage above. One method of prayer in to pray through a passage of Scripture line by line, humbly be open to the Holy Spirit teaching, and meditate on each godly element, think about the value, the implications and the applications for your life,  then give praise and thanksgiving to God. Try it.

 

Our dear and heaven Father. You created the heavens and the earth; everything that exists, lives, breathes and has its being. You are the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, who you sent from heaven to earth to be the Savior of the world, to make an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world unto Salvation, and to be the Lord of all. You are the Father of glory, for you are the bright and shining splendor; the magnificence in manifest power and infinite knowledge. 

 

We desire and ask for your Divine spirit of wisdom, imparted far beyond the wisdom of the world. We also request the revelation in the knowledge of the Lord by directly revealing the truth from our Almighty God in order to discover what was before unknown and our eyes be opened to godly understanding, so that we can know Christ more and make Him known. The finished work of Jesus Christ on the Cross is the very gate to heaven and is our eternal hope. Reveal to us and teach us that we may fully know the hope of Jesus, God incarnate, God with us, and fathom His calling to us to give us a hope and a future; that we comprehend the riches that He of the glory which He experienced of the heavenly inheritance through those of us who repent of sin, accept and receive Him as our Savior and Lord, are given the Holy Spirit as an indwelling counselor, teacher and helper in life, and are blessedly sanctified are Your perfect purposes in our time. 

 

Though we are finite, may we perceive and grasp His exceeding greatness in the Holy Spirit’s eternal power towards born-again Believers, regenerated and transformed from the inside out through the same ultimate, mighty and supreme power which he worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come.

 

Father God, thank you that you have given all authority on earth to Jesus Christ, God the Son, our Creator, Savior and Lord. The body of gathering Believers making up the Christian church have Christ as their head. May us prayerfully listen, learn and obey, for Jesus told us: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32). Help your children grow to know you and to know you more daily. Amen.

 

In Christ, Brian

Cool

 

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.”

 

I dropped by our church office this morning to have some copies made for my Small Group Bible Study, and there was one of our Worship and Youth staff members wearing a baseball cap backwards on his head. I jokingly asked him why he was doing that and he replied that he has heard that wearing a cap backwards was a “cool” thing to do. The Webster’s dictionary defines the slang term “cool” as fashionable or hip; having or showing awareness of or involvement in the newest developments or styles; Trendy, up-to-date and marked by ephemeral, superficial, or faddish appeal or taste. It started a discussion on who defines what is considered “cool”, does a Christian need to be “cool”, and to what extent or cost? 

I know that Romans 12:17-18 says, “Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men”, but does that mean that a born-again, transformed, converted, consecrated, sanctified, Holy Spirit-indwelling Believer must conform to the latest trends of the world, to be cool and blend in to the point that nobody can outwardly tell the difference between the natural man (led by the fallen self and the desires of the flesh) and the repentant, saved by the Gospel, Bible-believing, God fearing, Christ-following, kingdom of Heaven citizen (led by the Holy Spirit)? Sounds like there should be. And granted, times change, styles switch and the latest fad or craze is the contagious practice or excited interest followed for a time with exaggerated zeal. It seems that the human race gets bored with life remaining the same for any long period of time. The word “secular”, by definition, means relating to the worldly or temporal; of this day and age and not overtly or specifically religious; not of or relating to a church especially as an established institution, and not bound by monastic vows or rules. What are we mirroring? 

 

Romans 12:2 “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.”

 

There is a point were being cool in the world and the secular interests of unsaved non-believers is uncool to the Lord. We are in the God-rejecting world, which is lost in sin and destined for eternal damnation, but not of that world; by repenting of sin, accepting God gift of grace of Salvation and receiving Christ as Savior and Lord, we were saved from all that inequity and regenerated to new life with a new heart. The old flesh is still desiring the works of the flesh, but the Holy Spirit, our Helper and Counselor lives within us and battled the sinful temptations of the flesh, the world and the devil. We just need to walk in the Spirit daily, pray without ceasing, and be about our heavenly Father’s business here until glory. What is cool with the Lord is what really matters.

 

Jesus said in John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.” Darkness hates being exposed by light (John 3:18-20), understood. 

 

In the world, but of the world; that’s cool!

In Christ, Brian

Forgotten God

 

Psalm 51:10-12 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”

 

Tomorrow, our small Bible Study group starts a seven session video series on the Holy Spirit from the best-selling book by Pastor Frances Chan. We previously completed the video series titled “Crazy Love” and found ourselves examining our commitment to Christ and discovering challenging area of our faith to grow and mature in. The holy Trinity is made up of the eternal Father, Son and Holy Spirit (aka Holy Ghost), and this series focuses on the person and work of this largely forgotten member of the Divine Godhead, His transformational effect in our life and our response as born-again Christian to our indwelling Helper. 

 

John 14:23-26 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.

 

The Word of God tells us that (as a transformed Christian) life with the indwelling Holy Spirit should be radically different then life without the Holy Spirit. But, when Christians are out in culture, do you think anyone can tell the difference between Christians who have the Holy Spirit in them and non-Christians who do not? The secular world of the natural man, fallen in sin,  tempts the Christ-follower to be self-focused consumers of fleshly desires rather than self-sacrificing servants of the Lord attuned to the Holy Spirit speaking meaningfully and insightfulness into the culture. Where is our fellowship?  

 

Romans 8:9-11 “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.”

 

The Holy Spirit is the power in regeneration living inside every Believer. But, who does our life say that the Lord is? Do we live in the flesh or in the Spirit? We’ll see in Galatians 5 that there is a battle going on there for our soul. Do we live for the creation or the Creator? We have seven weeks to learn and see, as we once again examine ourselves, our faith and our commitment, showing that the Holy Spirit is not the “Forgotten God”. 

 

Ephesians 3:14-16 “ For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man.”

 

In Christ, Brian

Doers of the Word

James 1:21-24 “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was.”

This week, Michael writes that when Jesus preached the sermon on the mount in the Gospel of Matthewchapters 5, 6, and 7, he concluded with three parables. One was the illustration of the narrow way through the narrow gate. Then he told them the parable about good fruit and bad fruit. He finished with the parable of the house built upon the rock.

Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a former physician and renown British preacher and pastor of the Westminster Chapel of London, wrote a commentary on the sermon on the mount. Leaders need to keep the vision in front of the people for proper understanding and life-application. A leader reminds the flock of God, who they are in Christ. The purpose of preaching is to remind us not only who we are, but more importantly, “whose” we are. According to Lloyd-Jones, in Jesus’ parable about the narrow way and the narrow gate, Our Lord established a new kingdom in the midst of the kingdoms of this world. Jesus called out His chosen people out from the God-rejecting world to conform them to His heavenly kingdom which is not of this dark and fallen world. The kingdom of light, the kingdom of heaven, is unlike any other kingdom. The subjects of the kingdom of light will be hated by those of the kingdom of darkness. Jesus told His followers that they would be persecuted for following Him. He said His followers would need to be above reproach. Therefore, bless those that persecute you and despitefully use you, and say all manner evil against you falsely for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven. He said to go the second mile beyond the call of duty. If someone steals your cloak, don’t sue him. Instead offer him your coat.  

Jesus said to the crowd at the sermon on the mount, “You’ve heard the sermon. Now, what are you going to do about it?” What is the purpose of following in Jesus’ footsteps unless you do that which he’s called you to do. One of the major themes of the book of James is, “be doers of the word and not hearers only.” As followers of the Way of Jesus, our challenge is to stand in the midst of the persecution of this world. This is a test. The sermon on the mount is practical ... it’s meant to be lived “where the rubber meets the road.” As one of our brothers prayed, “may our bibles be wrapped in shoe leather.”

The fleshly sense of human pride will well up in our hearts when we feel wronged, offended, and despitefully used. As husbands, how do we react when we’re offended by our wives? Jesus said, “husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her.” As Christian husbands and priests in our own homes, we’re called to represent our wives, interceding on her behalf before God. The outstanding principle to which Jesus has called us is narrowness. In John 14:5, Jesus said to his disciples, I’m going and you can’t follow me yet. Then He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. If you believe in God, believe also in me. If you’ve seen me you’ve seen the Father. The Father’s characteristics are evident in my life. I always do my Father’s will. According to 1 Timothy, there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus [fully God and fully man].

God’s way is the exclusive way. Jesus is the only way in God’s Plan of Salvation. We’re saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Unlike worldly false religions who think that everyone has a “spark of the divine,” Jesus said, “I am the way ... no man comes unto the Father except by me.” The world’s politically correctness will argue that God wouldn’t condemn anyone to death who doesn’t accept Jesus Christ as Lord. They think that God would allow people into heaven because of their good works. However Jesus said, “There is none good, (in the flesh), no, not one.”

Jones says that the narrow gate is like a turnstile that limits what you can bring in. Diagnostic questions screen people to determine if they are bound for heaven. The first question is, “if you are standing at the gate of heaven, why should Jesus let you in?” The answer to this question will determine the person’s heart. Are they aware of the way of salvation? Have they confessed “Jesus is Lord” and have they believed that God raised him from the dead? Jones says that when we enter the narrow gate, we become exceptional. The Christian way of life is not popular. It is contrary to the way of the secular world. Only God can call a person that He bound for heaven. We who are born-again are the result of God’s election. A Christian has changed Lords from self to Jesus. He’s no longer lord of his own life. When a man or woman becomes a Christian they begin to see themselves apart from this world of darkness. They must separate themselves from the fallen in sin world’s direction.  

The small gate to the narrow way leads to life but the wide gate to the broad way leads to destruction. Jesus said, why do you call me Lord and yet do not do what I have commanded you? He did not call us to a program of behavior modification. He called us to heart modification. As David prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” He called us to defeat the kingdom of self. He’s called us to our own “white funeral” where we die to self in order to live for him. According to Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.”

When Jesus spoke to the people at the sermon on the mount, He connected with those who were ready to accept His holy word. According to 2 Timothy 2:24-26, “And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.”

As men and women of God, and servants of the Lord, we’re called to gently correct those who oppose the nature’s God, their Maker. To correct means to restore to an upright position. In fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ, our Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit and one with another in the household of faith, there is fullness of joy. We’re sanctified, set apart for the purpose for which God has called us. We’re separated as lights shining through the darkness to call God’s people from the darkness of this world into the glorious light of His gospel of truth so that we may live to the praise of the glory of His grace and be doers of the Word!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

Grandchildren

Proverbs 17:6 “Grandchildren are the crown of aged men, And the glory of children is their fathers [who live godly lives].”

 

Just about every evening, we receive a FaceTime video call from our priceless granddaughters, who want to know what we did that day and shared what happened in their day also, what their thoughts and dreams were, and just spend some time with their grandma and papa. What a blessing our grandchildren are? 

 

They say that children do not come to their parents with an instruction manual, meaning the parenting is greatly a growing experience where you learn as you go. You take what you learned from your parents’ raising of ourselves and family history, then apply it to our precious own babies and adjust accordingly, based upon trial and error. Then when you finally  learn, master, or understand; get parenting down pat, then it seems that they are grown and gone, hoping that we instilled all of our faith and loving knowing for their life ahead. 

 

1 Timothy 5:4 “if a widow has children or grandchildren [who are adults], see to it that these first learn to show great respect to their own family [as their religious duty and natural obligation], and to compensate their parents or grandparents [for their upbringing]; for this is acceptable and pleasing in the sight of God.” Respect your elders and remember that blood is thicker than water.

 

But, then came the grandkids and the incredible, pure joy of unconditional love and undying trust in you that they have. To spend time with our children’s children is truly longed for and cherished. They are just a blast to be around! God created family and grandchildren are a gift from God. You cannot help but love them with all your heart. This blog is for you Mia.  

 

In Christ, Brian

Friends

John 15:9-17 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 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.”

 

The term friend is used pretty loosely lately. It seems that for most people, a stranger is a friend that they haven’t met yet. My granddaughters go to the beach or a playground and immediately run over to the other kids around their age and ask if they would like to be friend with each other; which really means “Would you like to play together” in a temporary bond of friendship, because they will most likely never see each other again. Since I come from a pre-computer/smart phone/electronic table era, I am not linked to social media as much as most people today. Television was in “black and white” with only 13 channels on the dial for Pete’s sake. I heard that the phrase Pete’s Sake essentially uses Pete a mild substitute for God or Christ in this expression of annoyance or frustration. One speculative theory is that someone replaced Jesus or God with another religious figure—St. Peter. We shouldn’t be using God’s name in vain anyway, but that’s another post topic.

 

The word “Friend” is defined by the 1828 Webster’s dictionary as: One who is attached to another by affection; one who entertains for another sentiments of esteem, respect and affection, which lead him to desire his company, and to seek to promote his happiness and prosperity; opposed to foe or enemy. As kids, we actually played outside with our neighborhood friends and it was great times. Today, I have a Facebook account, but could not tell you off the top of my head how many “Friends” that I have on that social media, and I only connect with a small number of them. There was even a hit TV Sitcom called “Friends” that ran from 1994-2004. Seriously, this “friend-trend" has been taking true friendship a bit vainly. 

 

But, Jesus clearly commands His believing Followers to love one another and quantified this godly love by stating: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” The Greek word used throughout this passage is “agape”, not “phila” (brotherly love), not “storge” (familial love), or “eros” (romantic love), not “pragma” ( practical love, grounded in duty, commitment, and practicality), not “ludus (playful love), not “philautia” (self-love), not “mania” (obsessive love), but God’s pure, selfless, compassionate, Divine and unconditional love. The love above all other loves. 

 

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ calls us His “friends”, if we do whatever He commands us. He died for your sins so that your sins are forgiven and salvation is yours by God’s love and grace through your faith. By this justification through Christ’s atoning sacrifice, we are saved from God’s wrath on sin, adopted into the family of God, given citizenship in the kingdom of Heaven, and eternal life. Jesus chose us and calls us his friend, and what a friend we have in Jesus! He’ll be there for you. Amen.

 

In Christ, Brian

Joyful Happiness

 

Nehemiah 8:10 “For this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

 

The late Rev. Billy Graham once wrote: Many people think that being happy and being joyful are the same thing, but there is a difference. We experience a sense of happiness when our circumstances are pleasant and we’re relatively free from troubles. The problem, however, is that this kind of happiness is fleeting and superficial. When circumstances change—as they inevitably do—then this kind of happiness evaporates like the early morning fog in the heat of the sun. Even when our outward circumstances are seemingly ideal, we still may be troubled inside by a nagging hunger or longing for something we cannot identify. We say we are “happy” but down inside we know it is only temporary and shallow at best. Even from time to time, we may think we have found a degree of happiness, but it eventually vanishes.

 

Psychologies Rachel Fearnley writes: Joy and happiness are wonderful feelings to experience, but are very different. Joy is more consistent and is cultivated internally. It comes when you make peace with who you are, why you are and how you are, whereas happiness tends to be externally triggered and is based on other people, things, places, thoughts and events.

 

Ligonier Ministries adds: There is a difference between happiness and the joy of which Scripture speaks. The term happiness tends to be broader than the term joy. Happiness tends to include a notion of contentment and satisfaction along with, perhaps, feelings of joy. Joy suggests something more intense—a exceedingly strong feeling of gladness. The difference between joy and happiness is substantial. We often assume that the fleeting feeling of happiness, giddy laughter and contentment in the comforts of life is akin to the joy we experience in Jesus. But joy supernaturally sustains our souls in seasons of heartache, injustice, and sorrow. Enduring the valleys of life is nearly impossible without the life-giving fuel of joy in Christ. There is a big difference between joy and happiness. Happiness is a reaction to something great. Joy is the product of someone great – it is a fruit of the Spirit. Let us never forget the difference, nor fail to enjoy both happiness and joy fully on this earth. Jesus died to forgive sin, erase guilt and shame. Every day we come to Him for grace, and He is faithful to give us grace upon grace upon grace. When we are quick to confess, repent and forgive, we can move forward in the freedom of a repentant life in Christ.

 

Rev. Graham concludes: The kind of happiness that’s lasting is an inner joy and peace, which endures in any circumstance no matter what comes our way. It may even grow stronger in adversity. This is the kind of happiness to which Jesus summons us in His sermon of the Beatitudes. He alone has the answer to our search for lasting happiness. “He who heeds the word [of God] wisely will find good, … happy is he” (Proverbs 16:20). Such happiness for which our souls ache is one undisturbed by success or failure, one that dwells deep within us and gives us inward contentment even in despairing circumstances; it needs no outward stimulus. “Count it all joy,” the Bible says, “when you fall into various trials” (James 1:2), because happy is the person who has learned the secret of being content with whatever life brings and then to share this secret with others who need encouragement.

 

Joy in Christ, Brian

Anything Your Heart Desires

 

John 15:7 “If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” 

Last Sunday, the Pastor of our church preached on the Gospel of John chapter 15 and the verse above stuck out as something that could be understood wrong, if taken out of context. Jesus wants to give me the desires of my heart, but the Lord is no genie in a bottle granting wishes. Just earlier in John 14:14 Jesus stated, “If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” But there are qualifiers for the born-again disciple of the Lord to consider. (1) If you abide in me. In Christ are all supports and supplies for strong, healthy followers to have fruitful lives with a God’s kingdom heart and mindset. Commentator Matthew Henry points out that the branches of the vine are many, yet, meeting in the one vine; thus all true Christians meet in Christ. In order for fruitfulness, we must abide in Christ; must have union with Him by faith. 

 

(2) If my words abide in you. The word of Christ is spoken to all believers; and there is a cleansing virtue in that word, as it works grace, and works out corruption. In John 8:31-32 Jesus said to those who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” The word “abide” is defined as: to be or exist, to continue; to dwell, rest, to tarry or stay; continue permanently or in the same state, stand fixed and firm, or be stationary and immovable. Christ the Lord’s word is our word and we live by His word. 

 

(3) Our will aligns with Christ’s will, which aligns with God’s will. 1 John 5:14-15 clarifies, “And this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him.” When our will is the same as Christ’s will, then our desires and associated requests will be of kingdom affirming values and objectives that are pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. That is why Jesus says in Mark 11:24. “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.” In the sanctification of believers, the brethren are growing and maturing into the likeness of Christ and His purposes. 

 

James 4:3 “You ask [God for something] and do not receive it, because you ask with wrong motives [out of selfishness or with an unrighteous agenda], so that [when you get what you want] you may spend it on your [self-indulgent, pleasure-seeking, hedonistic] desires.” They would not wish their requests to be granted to their own hurt, the hurt of others, or God’s dishonor. Galatians 5:16-17 instructs us, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” Galatians 5:22-25continues that, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.”

Psalm 37:3-4 encourages us to, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” When your heart is aligned with God's heart, He'll give you anything your heart desires.

Produce much good fruit.

In Christ, Brian

A Clear Conscience – Part 2

 

Michael continues: 1 Peter 3:16-17 says, “keep a clear conscience so that those who do evil against you will be reproved. It’s better to suffer for doing good than to do evil.” In the last beatitude Jesus said, “blessed are they when men shall revile you and persecute you and say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake, for great is your reward in heaven.” Romans 12:17 says, “Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” It’s not the wrath of God but the goodness of God that calls a men and women to repentance. Too reconcile others to Christ, we do not bring them a declaration of war, but instead we offer them a peace treaty from the Prince of peace [Jesus Christ]. John 3:17 says, Jesus “came not into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved”.

The greatest victory is the great surrender. In order to defeat the enemy, we must surrender to God. Therefore, make me a captive Lord, and then I shall be free. Force me to render up my sword and I shall conquered be. I sink in life’s alarms if by myself I stand. Imprison me within thine arms, and free shall be my stand. Without God, men and women have their conscience “seared with a hot iron.” Conscience means “with knowledge.” A healthy conscience operates “with knowledge” of the Word of God. God will guide us and direct us according to the knowledge of His living word. Wisdom is acting upon God’s revelation He reveals to us in His holy Word.  

There is such thing as healthy guilt that acknowledges and mourns over wrongs done. This type of a guilty conscience leads to repentance ... to turn away from sin that separates our heart from God’s heart and to return back into the presence of the Lord. According to 1 John 1:9, “if we confess our sins (of having broken fellowship with God) then he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Then when we return our hearts to the Lord, we can walk in the light and the blood of Jesus Christ will (continue to) cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Blessed are they that mourn, for Godly sorrow works repentance unto salvation, not to be repented of. When God opens the eyes of our spiritual understanding so that we can see the contrast between the sin nature that we inherited from Adam, and the spiritual nature that we received when we were born again of God’s Spirit, then we can change our minds and follow our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ. Then we are no longer a slave to sin. We become bond-slaves, servants of Jesus Christ to serve Him from a heart of love.

It’s important to keep a clear conscience, free of the condemnation of guilt, worry, and the fear that separates our heart from God’s heart. This is the theme of Romans chapter 8. Instead of condemnation, we have been made the righteousness of Christ. Romans 8:35-39 concludes: “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”... that we may have a clear conscience and ever live to the praise of the glory of His grace!

Your brother in Christ, Michael

A Clear Conscience – Part 1

This week Michael writes: The Apostle John said in 1 John 1:7, “If you walk in the light as He is in the light, we will have fellowship one with another and the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The cleansing is in walking in the light of Christ. The blood of the lamb cleanses us from the sin of the world. Jeremiah 17:9 says, “the heart is deceitful above all things. Who can understand it?” Our hearts often deceive us into thinking according to the world’s standards. However, the light of Christ dispels the darkness and deception of this world. The world says that we should condemn ourselves when we sin.

Romans 8:1 says, “there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. According to 1 John 4, If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. Even if our heart condemn us, God does not condemn us if we have been born again of His Spirit. For Jesus Christ who was without sin was made the perfect sacrifice for sin on our behalf that we may be made the righteousness of God in him.

The heart is the Greek word “kardia”. Biblically speaking, the heart is the heart of our physical being. It is the seat of our soul-life, where our thoughts and emotions reside. Soul life is our biological life. However in our soul, we cannot do what God has called us to do. We need both soul and spirit to do God’s will. The spirit is the nature of God Himself that we received when we were born of God’s spirit, not of corruptible seed that we inherited from Adam, but of incorruptible by the word of God which lives and abides forever. The church is the called-out of God’s people ... those whom God has called to gather together as a body of like-minded born-again Believers. When we assemble together in the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace, called according to the spirit of God we can fellowship together, worship together, edify and encourage one another as individual fittings within church, the body of Christ.

Jesus said in John 8:31-32, “if you continue in my word then shall you be my disciples indeed. And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free”. Jesus Christ came to set the captives free from the bondage of sin and iniquity of this world. As disciplined followers of Jesus Christ, we are witnesses of the Holy Spirit. We manifest God’s nature of mercy, grace, love and compassion in a world of darkness. Jesus said in John 8:36, “if the son has set you free you shall be free indeed”. Not only are we freed from the bondage of sin, but we are freed to do the will of the Lord. How do we use the freedom we have in Christ? The answer is in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made you free and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage”. And Galatians 5:13, “Only use not liberty as an occasion to sin, but in love serve one another.” True freedom is in serving the Lord by serving one another in the church which is the body of Christ.

Let's continue Michael's message on our spiritual life in the next post.

In Christ, Brian

Abiding Fruit

 

John 15:1-6 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 

 

I have an old Anaheim Avocado and Valencia Orange tree in my backyard which bloom and bear fruit yearly. Old branches die back and new branches grow out of the main limbs off the trunk of the tree. The new fruit always comes forth on the new shoots annually. I lived in the Central Valley of California for a decade and watched the grape vineyard go through their seasons and the vine-dressing that the farmers performed, trimming off the old branches which died back and pruning of the remaining branches or cordons off the head of the truck for optimum growth and good fruit produced on new canes or shoots in the following Spring and Summer. 

 

The people of Jesus’ time understood the analogy. Jesus is the main truck, the true vine, from the roots to the head that supplies the water and nutrients for the vine branches (cordons) to grow, spouts canes and bud to bear fruit. God trims and prunes the branches accordingly for healthy growth and fruit production. This grape vine metaphor was an illustration of the repented, born-again Believer in kingdom work and life. John the Baptist referred to this also in Matthew 3:8-12 stating, “Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance, and do not think to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather His wheat into the barn; but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

 

John was explaining that God has no grandchildren. It doesn’t matter what your human parents believed, every individual must repent of sin and make a conscious and sincere decision to believe, receive and cleave to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord on their own to be saved by God’s grace through a sure faith unto regenerating transformation and conversion of the heart as a Christ-following, Holy Spirit-indwelling, child of God, each involved in the kingdom business of bearing useful good fruit. There are no pretenders of the faith; only contenders of the faith. The Lord Jesus explains in Matthew 7:17-19 “Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” The Christian must abide [remain] in Christ and obediently obey Him, following His teachings and executing His commandments. The student conforms to the Master’s perfect decrees. 

 

The fallen world is full of pitfalls, potholes, obstacles and hurdles to trips the Christian sojourner up in their walk with the Lord and kingdom work on earth. Jesus further illustrates this in Matthew 13:22-23 saying, “Now he who received seed [representing the Word of God] among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

 

Psalm 92:13-15 proclaims, “Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, To declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.” May we, the branches, stay grafted into the Vine by abiding in Christ, receiving our nourishment from the Word of God and flourishing through the commandments and teachings of our Lord as we go through this glorious life, producing good fruit and lots of it.

 

In Christ, Brian

Christ's Commandments

In John 15:9-11 Jesus said, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”

 

Our church is going through a sermon series through the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Chapter 15 of John includes Jesus’ metaphor of the grapevine and the branches representing our life-giving relationship with the Lord, our Maker. We’ve heard the term “abide” and that the Greek word for “abide” is “menō”, meaning to remain, to sojourn, tarry, not to depart; to continue to be present, continually, to last, endure and to wait for. We abide in our humble abode, meaning that “we live there”, “we love there” and our “daily life routine” is lived out in Christ. Earlier, in John 8:31-32 Jesus said to those who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” This means that If you keep Christ’s commandments, you will abide in his love as disciples, which is freeing from the sin nature of this fallen world.

 

The Apostle Paul proclaims in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 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.” The Greek word for “Lord” is “kyrios”, meaning he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord, the owner, the sovereign; a person possessing supreme power and authority. To abide in Jesus’ word is to faithfully keep and obey His commandments. The Greek word for “commandment” is “entolē”, meaning an order, command, charge, precept, injunction; universally, of the commandments of God, especially as promulgated in the Christian religion, and collectively, of the whole body of the moral precepts of Christianity. 

 

Just as Jesus Christ kept His Father’s commandments and abided in His love, we are to keep Jesus’ commandments, then we will abide in His love, that that the Lord’s joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. That is the fruit that every branches desires to produce.

 

In Christ, Brian

GO

Matthew 28:19-20 “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.

 

It is coming on towards one completed year since we started leaving our church campus each Saturday morning to walk the neighborhoods of our city, one door at a time, to distribute packets filled with a DVD of the Jesus Movie, a Gospel Tract and a personal invite to our local church. After hand-delivering tens of thousands of gifts of love and hope provided by the nationwide ministry of Saturate USA, we have experienced why the Lord Jesus Christ commissioned His church to leave the four walls of the Sanctuary and go make disciples of all nations. 

 

Speaking with fellow citizens, we hear their concerns and fears for the declining morals and values of the nation, along with their desire for community stability, ethical unity and national peace. Many have told me that we were doing what the Christian church is supposed to be doing. Because evangelism is an expected ministry to the community and looked at as a vital function of all Christ-followers, because disciples make disciples that make disciples. The Great Commission was not the Great Suggestion.

 

It is always our prayer that the Holy Spirit go before us to each person that received  our Gospel packet at their door. And even though there is an invitation to our local church, it is our desire that the people watch the Movie, read the Gospel tract and a desire to seek Christ happen at any Bible-believing church leading to salvation, love, joy and peace in their life. It is a blessing that, though the total number is not known because not everybody tells us, our church has gained new members who came because they received one of our evangelistic door-hangers and/or talked to us at their home. Lives are being changed for the better and eternally because Jesus said to get off your pews and hit the streets to bring the message of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world. Go!   

 

In Christ, Brian

Seek First

Matthew 6:30-33 “If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

 

We all need the necessities of life [food, water, clothing, shelter]. Each of us have life dreams, ambitions, desires, goals and objectives. Children play, learn and grow as they transition into working adults contributing within communities, then transition into our knowledgeable elderly sector of society. The seasons of life are natural steps and phases that pass from generation to generation. Work and family was designed by God. In both Genesis 1:28 and Genesis 9:7 God said, “Be fruitful and multiple. To provide for yourself and your family, your church and charitable contributions to those less fortunate are honorable attributes in society. But, everything is to be taken righteously in the context of the kingdom of Heaven and Heaven’s King. 

 

Israel’s King Solomon was the richest and wisest man in the world in his day but reflecting back on his life, he stated in Ecclesiastes 2:10-11 “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my labor, and this was the reward for all my toil. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” Why is this life, from a human perspective meaningless? Solomon reasons in Ecclesiastes 2:14 that “The wise have eyes in their heads, while the fool walks in the darkness; but I came to realize that the same fate overtakes them both. Solomon concludes in Ecclesiastes 2:16b, “Like the fool, the wise too must die!” You cannot take it with you when you go; not anything from this life goes with you when you die. The question isn’t how much we can acquire and do before we can. When asked: “How much money is enough money?” The richest man in America at the time, John D. Rockefeller’s answer was “just a little bit more.” He is dead now and money, power, position, prestige, pleasure and pampering mean nothing to him. Jesus said that in this life, “For the pagans run after all these things. Money cannot buy you Heaven.

 

The word “pagan” in Matthew 6:32 means the human race not worshipping the true God - pagans, heathens, unregenerate sinners at enmity with God. The real question is: “If you were to die today, would you know for certain that you would be going to Heaven?” It’s a question, not of your temporal existence on Earth, but your eternal existence after this life. There is no distinction, this is true for everyone, no matter who we are because all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, the human family was destined to spend eternity in Hell because of sin - Revelation 20:11-15. The wise, the fool, the rich, the poor, the nobility and the commoner all die one day and stand in front of the Great White Throne in Heaven to be judged by the Lord. John 3:18 tells us that all of mankind stands condemned of their sin and Ephesians 2:1 explains that we all are, not sick, but dead in our transgressions and sins against God. 

 

But, Romans 6:23 proclaims, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” John 3:16-17 declares, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus Christ is God’s Plan of Salvation to those who repent of their sin, believe, receive and cleave to the Savior of the World with saving faith. Ephesians 2:8 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.” The eternal perspective of the born-again Christian Believer is why you seek first His kingdom. When you settle the ultimate question of eternity under the authority of the Lord of Heaven, then priorities and goals in this life are in the “right” perspective. Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” 

 

In Christ, Brian