When I make the statement “I have
a burden for small churches,” I get a multitude of looks and responses. If the
person to whom I’m speaking is not a member of a small church, or usually any
church, they just don’t get it at all. But if they are a member, their response
depends upon how active and concerned they are for their portion of the body of
Christ. Most are very concerned, and bewildered perhaps, on how to do anything
to get their church motivated and growing. I get that. The struggle is real in
every church regardless of size. It’s very difficult in our apathetic society who
sees no need to arise on Sunday morning with their family and attend their
local church. That is what drives me to be up at the crack of dawn on Saturday
morning to write about it. And my soul stirs within me because I know I’m
called to exhortation of the “little people.” The forgotten church houses in
the hills and hollers of the United States. No, not just Calhoun County, West
Virginia. Although that is my first mission field. But after traveling to New
Mexico and seeing the battle firsthand on that side of the country, my burden
is for everyone from east to west and north to south. That is my mission field.
In reading the book of
Revelation, I see the little churches. Although the churches for which John is
writing may or may not have been little in size. They were notable churches of
the day. But read verses 12-16:
Revelation 1:12-16
12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being
turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son
of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a
golden girdle. 14 His head and his
hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of
fire; 15 And his feet like
unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of
many waters. 16 And he had in his
right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and
his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
First of all, the image of John seeing God should get you
excited. That will be us one day who know the Lord Jesus as Savior! The seven
candlesticks are the seven churches to whom John writes. The seven stars in the
hand of Jesus are the seven angels of the seven churches as written in verse
20.
That thought caught my mind this morning as I began to think
about my own beloved (a very churchy word with a very deep meaning) Victory
Baptist Church and the fact that we have an angel. I have to tell you, with our
tribe, that angel gets a workout. That’s spoken part in fun and much truth. Victory
Baptist has been my training ground for 23 years. The Lord placed me there
because He knew I’d be under great leadership and receive the edification
necessary to make a difference in this world. He allowed me to go through
trouble, strife and anxieties within and without the church. That too was
training ground.
I’ve experienced the power of Jesus in the midst. That’s where
He is. Just like He was in the midst of those seven candlesticks, He’s in the
midst of our churches. No matter what our church faces, Jesus is there with all
power. We lack nothing of what’s necessary to thrive in his world, and yet we
all struggle because the battle is very real. Jesus knows that, and that’s why He’s
there.
Those angels that are with Jesus are also there to remind us
that although Satan and his minions are out there wreaking havoc, we have our own
spiritual realm of defenders. Glory to God! that makes me very happy!
Today I am encouraged in this word. I hope you’re encouraged too! Tomorrow is the Lord’s day and we have a few hours before the bell rings. Let’s do what we can to strengthen the body of Christ by prayer, and an invitation or two! That’s where the growth starts.
Save this meme, and share it with your friends… you don’t know until you ask!
I’ve been on foreign mission fields, and
I’ve been on American mission fields, and the only difference is the cultures
of the people. And that is not only a foreign country issue, but a state to state
issue.
I realized that when I tried to explain
to a hunter in New Mexico that I was in his state singin’ and speakin’. To which
he replied, “What?”
And then I realized that my redneck dialect
had gotten me in trouble again and I had to slow down and annunciate my words. So
I replied in kind to his question. “Singing and Speaking.” And that he understood.
Sometimes I think we forget when we talk
Jesus that that too is another language all together. I realized this when I
spoke to a woman in New Mexico who said to me, “I had to call a friend the
other day and ask her what sin was. I really didn’t know.
That shocked me. Because sin is, well,
sin. But to the lost who are totally unchurched, it’s another one of those
Christian words that goes unexplained and assumed that the world understands.
I understood when I had to explain words
like that in a foreign land. They didn’t understand my language, but in
America. Seriously? A word as simple as sin. It was as crazy to me as the hunter,
(who technically should have spoke redneck) but didn’t understand the word “speakin.”
It caused me to wonder this morning how many times not only my redneck dialect
gets me into trouble, but my Christian dialect.
Churchy words.
Three phrases I throw around too easily
without explanation.
Are you saved?
Saved from what? Am I in danger?
Well, as a matter of fact you are. But
the unsaved truly doesn’t what there is to be afraid of. We speak of things in
the spiritual realm they speak of things in the physical realm. And to talk about the spiritual realm is like speaking
to them of Ghost Busters, Green monsters and perhaps a small concept of Angels.
I’m not so sure that many Christians
understand the spiritual realm and what goes on there.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God:
for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they
are spiritually discerned.
So, it’s clearly saying that the unsaved
cannot understand spiritual things because they’ve yet to receive the Holy
Spirit. And many saved people cannot explain the Holy Spirit because they’re
not in touch with Him themselves. We have Christians who don’t find in
necessary to go to church on Sunday morning, read their bible, or witness to
the lost. Those are three non-negotiable expectations of God.
The best way to explain the word
Salvation is almost always through your testimony. And usually any other
spiritual question. Because it makes it personal.
I knew what I was saved from the second I
got saved. Fear.
My entire life, from the time I was old enough
to be lost, I had a fear of Hell. It was placed inside of me by God and I fully
believe that everyone of us from a child know that there is a God. Because the
Bible says that in Romans 1:20
For the invisible things of him from the
creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are
made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our
spirit, that we are the children of God:
It’s why it’s important to pray before
we speak to the lost. The Spirit has been dealing with them, but we just need
to pray so that we too are in tune with what the Spirit would have us say. So to
answer them Saved from what is an easy answer for me if I just rely on what God
instilled in me as a child. And what I came to know when I did get saved is the
truth about Hell. It is a total darkness, fire and separation from everyone and
everything. Especially the Creator. And though they do not know Him, they will
when they hit Hell and they’ll understand too little too late how wonderful He
is.
Another question that we take under
assumption is:
Do you know Jesus?
I give it very little thought. I assume
everyone has at least heard the name. But yesterday a friend of mine blew that
theory out of the water when he said he ask a person in the prison that he
ministers in and their response was “Who?”
They’d not heard the name. That’s
unbelievable in our day and age. But yet it happens. And although most people
have at least heard the Name, they still do not understand the concept of Who
He is. And if you’re ask that question, how do you answer?
He is God. God in the flesh who wanted
to experience life as we did, so He came to earth as a man and walked in the
body of a man so that He could understand what it felt like to be a man.
He understood temptation, fear, pain,
heartache, betrayal and every other aspect of humanity and yet stayed perfect and
Holy. We cannot. I can’t stay perfect 10 minutes. The fact that God understands
that connects us to Him in a greater way. A way that the lost wants someone to
understand.
It’s why when a Christian stands in
judgment of the lost, the lost cannot experience Christ. Because Christ forgave
and understood the sin of man, His judgement comes in eternity.
If we can help the lost to understand that
first, we’ll be ready to explain Jesus! The lost have to experience Him through
us. And we’re going to answer for how and whether or not they have.
Final Quote
Christ Died for You.
What? Why would He do that and why did
He think it was necessary.
It’s a notion that I have a hard time
comprehending myself on a regular basis and I know it’s truth. Why would He do
that? And if it’s hard for me to comprehend. Imagine what goes through the mind
of a person who’s lost and how do we explain the justification of Old Testament
rituals to them, especially in this critter loving world?
For me the only way that I can explain
that is through the eyes of a parent – child relationship. One that most
everyone understands, even if sometimes it’s from a warped perspective.
I think about Adam’s love of creation.
Imagine the time he spent with all of the critters as he named them and loved
on them. Imagine the horror of having to kill the first lamb when God had them
clothe themselves after the fall in the garden.
I believe God wanted them to understand
the separation of death in the same way He experiences it with a child who
never accepted His sacrifice. It’s a pain beyond description.
If we can understand that, and the fact
that He went from the sacrifice of animals to the experiencing the sacrifice of
His Son and watching Him suffer as no animal ever did, then we’ll have a better
grasp of why He died for us.
It’s not uncommon for my redneck dialect
to get me into trouble. But what I don’t want is for my witnessing to get me
into trouble. I want to know that when I tell people about my life changing
relationship with Jesus Christ, it’s apparent through my life and my words and
it’s done in a way that makes them want what I have.
Who wants what a cranky, judgmental, poor
example of Christ has? No one.
But if we can not only show them the love
of God, but the explain that love of God, we’ll be on the road to sharing in
the salvation of Jesus Christ with them.
My next blog is going to be about my New
Mexico experience. I wanted to wrap my mind around it myself before I tried to
explain it to everyone. I’ll share some of the amazing things that God did and
allow you to come along on the journey, especially those who prayed for this
trip.
“I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea.” Romans 16:1
The
final Chapter/Letter to the Romans by Apostle Paul. What joy it brought to my
soul this morning to read the names of the servants of God that had served with
Paul throughout the churches and the roles they played. I imagined my own name
being written down in the books of Heaven as to the service that’s being
provided in New Mexico in fellowship and service with Gloria Jones and Dewey
Moede.
To
say that my time here is a blessing isn’t enough. From the first step inside
the sanctuary of the First Baptist Church of Magdalena to the final dinner
prepared by Pastor Paul Holt, the Spirit was moving. I wept as my heart was
overwhelmed with the music by their worship leaders. I sang and spoke and
listened to the sermon being delivered by a man of God who was filled with the Spirit
and wisdom of God and thought to myself, “Shari, you are blessed, don’t forget
it.”
To
be in service to the King of the World isn’t something to be taken lightly. And
yet, we do. Or at least I do. Gloria and
I traveled to Silver City, NM for more site seeing of this beautiful State. We
witnessed to the people in the shops and left broken hearted as realized that our
message wasn’t received as we’d hoped.
When
I asked an artist at one local shop about being a Christian, she quickly said, “I’m Lutheran, that means I’m fine, right?”
To
which my reply was “No, being a Lutheran won’t save you, only Christ can do
that. She replied “that’s a personal decision.”
“Very personal I responded.” And went on to explain about my salvation experience. She was kind and took my business card. Perhaps some seeds were sown.
Another young woman in another shop questioned why we were in town. Upon explaining about my speaking and singing, she told us she was of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I questioned her about her belief in Christ alone. She said she believed, but that Joseph Smith was a prophet, not to be worshiped but to be believed. She misunderstood that that statement also meant that she was saying the bible was not the only word of God and that it was incorrect according to their belief. She said that “We were all the same.”
We are not. Apostle Paul was commending people who had laid their lives on the line for what they believed. Not for assumptions or for catering to misguided beliefs. The body of Christ must stand strong in our convictions. Having hard conversations like those and others I’ve had this week may seem like I’m losing the battle, but Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”
We
do not know who may come after us and share the news in a way that turns their
stories into testimonies of salvation. All I can do is be faithful to what I
know as truth.
I
feel the Lord commending my soul today just as Paul commended Phebe and the
other men and women listed in Paul’s letters. And I want to encourage you to
speak Jesus wherever you are. For me, oh
my stars! It’s New Mexico! What a joy and a privilege to be in this place. The
mission field isn’t a foreign land (necessarily). It’s the street you live on,
your home, wherever you are. God has a work for us to do. It’s a very real assignment.
Paul
listed one after another who had ministered with him in various capacities.
Will you be listed? And what will it say? God bless you! We are co laborers in
Christ and I want to hear what’s going on in your world. Write me and let me
know!
That I may come unto you with joy by the will of
God, and may with you be refreshed. ~ Romans 15:32
Not
happenstance that this verse was on my reading plan today, September 28, 2019.
And not happenstance that tonight I’ll fly out to New Mexico to make some new
friends and enjoy the fellowship of the Spirit. I certainly covet your prayers
for our safety and for the will of God to be done. There is much traveling and not
just by plane but by car as well. It will be an adventure and an opportunity to
see a part of the country I’ve never seen. But more important than that, it
will be an opportunity to share the love of Jesus in a place I’ve never been in
hopes of making a difference by encouraging God’s children.
A
thought that I’ve had for weeks tumbling through my mind like a constant tumble
weed is the notion of how many we touch for the Kingdom of God. The teens and I
discussed the number of how many people we think that Apostle Paul may have
touched for the cause of Christ.
I
used the illustration (showing my age) of the shampoo commercial of days gone
by when it talked about “if they tell two friends, and they tell two friends
and so on and so forth, how many people will hear about the product. Well. If we
used that theory believing that Paul preached to 5,000 as a round figure totally
guessing number. And each of those would have told two friends about Jesus,
some more, some less, and there being 30 generations in 1,000 years, and there
being 2,000 years between us and Paul. Now… how many people have been effected?
The answer… I don’t know. Ask a math person… I am not that person. One of my
kids immediately knew the equation. They were not shocked that I did not.
But
all of this is said to make the point, that the reason we do what we do is to get
the word out! Jesus saves. That first. But then once people are saved, the
blessing doesn’t stop! We have the blessing that comes from the fellowship of
God’s people. It’s a little taste of Heaven here on earth.
I’m
excited to share in that this week in Magdalena, Reserve and Glenwood. My
friend Gloria is excited to share in that too!
Please
pray.
And
for those we’ll be joining, get ready! Your West Virginia sisters in Christ are
on the way!
My heart is full this morning as I prepare to head your way with a message that has me shouting the Glory of God in my office this morning. It’s a message that I’ve heard 1,000 times, (well maybe or maybe not so many) but it is a familiar word. But the thing about the God we serve is, though it is familiar text, it is unique to the circumstances of the day, and to this trip.
The picture in this message is one that I drew in my bible this morning as I gloried in what God was speaking to my heart. That’s how He works in my life, through images and outlines of His word. He spoke to me about purpose and plans and I listened… And now it’s time for us to pray.
Pray for my journey (and specifically my guitar) Airports are not musician friendly. I need favor!
Pray for Gloria and I, that we’ll be obedient to everything the Spirit tells us to sing or say.
Pray for your congregation that the Lord will prepare the hearts before the service even starts.
Pray for your church that they’ll be blessed, and that our trip will be an opportunity to exhort our brothers and sisters in New Mexico in such a way that a fire is stirred in their hearts and ours and forever unite us as friends in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Can you tell I’m excited? I don’t take this opportunity lightly. I love you and cannot wait for our fellowship time.
This is how He works: through His people. That’s us!
Brethren, my hearts desire is that Israel might be
saved.
Continuing on in my journaling of Romans, I made
it no further than the 1st verse of Romans 10 today. My heart broke
for the Lord. It broke for Him, not because of Israel’s rejection of the Messiah,
although that was certainly a part of it; but it broke for my own failures as
His child that He so willingly included into His family. Shari Johnson,
gentile, who He willingly allowed the crucifixion of His Son, Jesus Christ for.
So that I could be a part of His amazing family. And what a privilege!
And so now I turn back to Paul’s burden, that is
my burden too, that Israel might be saved.
Dying and end times can be scary . The world would
love it if we’d just ignore it. It’s way easier than facing the reality that eternity
will come to all. The world would have you believe that you should never ever
read the book of Revelation! It’s far too confusing. That’s a lie. It’s not
confusing if you’re in a good bible believing preaching church that teaches the
Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Will you understand every jot and tittle? If
you do, you’re a better bible scholar than I am. But you’ll understand what the
Lord needs you to understand. And while it won’t take all the uncertainty of
our end days away, it will give you peace. And help you to understand that God
has a plan.
It’s a plan that will restore his precious Israel
back to a right relationship with God. God’s desire. It will happen the same
way it happens to a Gentile. Through belief on Jesus Christ. It will not
however come as easy for those who believe after the church has been raptured
(caught up) to be with Jesus. Which could be any day now. There’s going to be a
terrible time of tribulation. Seven years, that those who believe on Jesus
Christ now will be privileged not to have to go through. Something else I’m
grateful and humbled for.
When those who have not read scripture, or been in
church, hear this teaching it sounds insane. That’s what Satan want them to
believe. But get in the book and read the prophecies of the Word of God and
understand what has come to pass already, that was predicted thousands of years
ago and suddenly it doesn’t sound so insane, but rather reality sits in, that
there is a God. And He has a plan, and it’s playing out just like He said it
would.
The end times will play out like no Hollywood
production ever could. There will be a Hero that swoops in from the sky and saves
Israel. There will be heroes on earth that will take a part of the Master’s
plan and set things into motion that eventually put the Devil into the pits of
Hell where he’ll stay. But not until he does some serious damage on earth by
deception (which he already has). And during that time there will be trials and
tribulations that have people crying for the rocks to fall on them.
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on
us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the
wrath of the Lamb:
But it’s not something that anyone has to fear who knows Christ
Jesus as Savior. Jew or Gentile. It’s why I want and desire, as does the Lord,
for Israel to accept what Jesus did for us on the cross.
Have you accepted that? Do you know where you’d be if God decided
today to call His church home? Would you be with Him and your saved family? Or
would you be left here to face those 7 years of tribulation. That you likely
will not survive. That’s not said to cast fear. That’s said to help you
understand it’s not a fairy tale. It’s real.
We do not cross paths in life by happenstance, of that I’m certain.
While we may be there by circumstance, it’s not by happenstance (coincidence). I
look back on my 57 years, with a primary focus on the past twenty-three, those
are the years since salvation; my formative years of serving Christ in the capacity
of me which lead into The Jesus Chick which came to be in about 2005ish. I’m
not very good at dates, but I’m very good at events that made a difference. There are things that happen and people who
cross our paths that leave us saying “I’ll never be the same.”
When my brother was killed when I was ten years old, it
forever changed my outlook of life on earth as to whether or not it was
forever. It was not. At the time however I didn’t understand it all, I only understood
that life was very, very sad and I couldn’t fix it. And I tried in my 10 year
old state of mind to fix it by living in altered realities called my
imagination. It’s what makes me weird and okay in a world that I still can’t
fix. It’s not always healthy. It sometimes leads to not facing reality as one
should. True story. Don’t judge me. 😊
I had another one of those bell ringing moments this morning
as I read a social media post of a friend who just lost her father. One of the
things that made a deep impression on her was the number of people who came up
to her at her father’s service and said “I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for
the fact that your dad never gave up on me.”
We need some more Gene Duerksen’s in the world.
But even in a world where there’s a shortage of Gene
Duerksen’s, and we often miss out on taking advantage of those that we do meet
who encourage us in the battle of life, I was reminded through the word of God this
morning that there is one will forever spur us on! Gene Duerksen now see’s Him
face to face…
Romans 8:37
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors
through Him that loved us.
How many times have I attempted to fly and sometimes crash
landed and other times succeeded but with no witnesses for review? Many. But
how many times have saints of God had faith in me even when I had none and
cheered me on or gave me words of advice and encouragement. Too many to count. I’m still privileged to that.
Lynn Stoneking’s testimony of her dad’s character of encouragement
reminds me that I too have the opportunity to never give up. Not on my kids,
grandkids, friends, family and me. Because God will never give up, so how can
I? Did you need that word today? He doesn’t give up on you either! Share this
post. Tell a friend or family member you believe in them. Shoot me a message
and let me know I’ve encouraged you. We need to share and care for each other.
If
you had to describe your state of mind, pre-salvation what one word would you
use?
I
would use the word “tumultuous.” Meaning unbridled and unrestrained. I wasn’t
connected to anything solid and so I was flailing around like a windsock going
what ever direction the wind blew me in. I didn’t have direction and things
good or bad seemed to jolt me into a new direction without any thought to where
I was going.
So
think about your world pre-salvation for just a second. What did it look like?
Coming
to the knowledge of who we are in Christ is a game changer for the child of God
who happens to be in a place where they can grow in grace and under discipleship
and solid doctrine. But prior to that life seems to be …
Short Circuited
At
birth we have a disconnect from the Creator. The reason I could be jolted in
any direction was because my wires were not connected.
I
thought the definition of “short circuit” was fitting for a person of a lost
nature:
[in a device, an
electrical circuit of lower resistance than that of a normal circuit, typically
resulting from the unintended contact of components and consequent accidental
diversion of the current.]
It was never God’s intention for
mankind to have contact with the low side of life. And once we were, we were diverted from God’s
control. We were severely disconnected. We fell short… as in “for all have
sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23
What happens if you grab ahold of a
short circuited wire? Nothing good, right? We’re shocked. That too is a
reaction to sin. As a child we know when we’ve done wrong. We generally feel bad
about the transgression, even thought we seldom confess. The more we do it, is
like getting shocked by low does of electricity. We get used to it. Maybe our
nerves get seared and no longer feel the guilt that we once did for committing
sin. So in order to get a jolt that makes a difference, usually something drastic
has to take place.
What took place in Paul’s life that
made such a drastic difference?
Acts 9:3-9
And
as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about
him a light from heaven: And he fell to the
earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And
he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou
persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And
he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the
Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what
thou must do. And the men which
journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man:
but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.And
he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
I love reading the story of Saul becoming Paul. That’s what
happens when we reconnect with God. We become an entirely new person!
Romans
6:19
I
speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye
have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto
iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto
holiness.
Apostle
Paul is helping the Romans to understand that he understands. He totally gets
where they came from. Prior to salvation they were following their sinful
fleshly ways, but now, there should be something new that they have a connection
to – righteousness. They should be drawn to it.
John 12:32
says “And, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.”
Praise God
for that drawing.
A great
illustration of drawing electricity is the power between water and static electricity.
It’s in a like manner that we are drawn to Christ. The Water of life! But also prior to salvation, you were not only short circuited there was a
Circuit Breaker
20 For
when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
The
sin that was in our lives is what kept us from coming to Christ. We felt the
draw, but there was a break in the connection. Sometimes ever after the jolt of
reality that we’re lost, it’s years and years before people come to Christ.
Why
do you think that is?
There
are probably as many excuses as there are stars in the sky, but the truth of
the matter is rebellion. It’s the same reason that Satan and the angels fell.
Everybody wants to be in charge. The ol’ “You are not the boss of me attitude.”
It’s
a funny comment when a parent says “I brought you into this world and I can
take you out.” But that’s illegal. Else it might happen more often. But with God
it’s very much the truth! He kicked Satan and his crew out of Heaven, and He
will now allow those who have rejected His authority to be in Heaven.
Praise
God for
Conductors!
Romans
6:21-22
What
fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of
those things is death.But
now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit
unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
Conductors
conduct electrical current very easily because of their free electrons. Insulators
oppose electrical current and make poor conductors. Common conductors and
insulators:
What
would be a conductor of the Christian faith?
Pastors,
teachers, social media posts, evangelists, ministers of the gospel, songs…
So
many! You and I, if we’re doing what we should are conductors of the power of
God. People see it in our lives, we touch people with our actions and words,
just like the wires that carry electricity. We too can jolt people into the
reality that they need Christ. They may break the circuit by rejecting it, but
they can’t stop us from sharing it. Because we are
Hardwired
Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Our
decision to accept what Christ did on the cross creates within us a hardwire to
the Lord. We can’t disconnect from it.
Verses of reminder:
John 10:27-29 – My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
John 6:37 – All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
John 10:28 – And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any [man] pluck them out of my hand.
John 5:24 – Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
John 3:16 – For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Romans 11:29 – For the gifts and calling of God [are] without repentance.
Jude 1:24 – Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present [you] faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
1 John 5:13 – These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
2 Corinthians 1:22 – Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.
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 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: [it is] the gift of God:
Philippians 1:6 – Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ:
It’s important for us to remind
ourselves that God is in charge of the connection. Not us. We might walk away
from God, but He will never walk away from us.
He will continue to call His
children home when they stray. Because that’s how He loves us.
I
feel like it could be the title of a new Dr. Suess book.
From
Genesis to Revelation it is the same faith. But it certainly varies in the way
it’s displayed.
Old
Testament saints had faith the Messiah would come, and they were charged with
setting forth the principles of New Testament Christianity. Speaking went from
a direct line of communication, when Adam and Eve walked with God in the garden…
can you imagine what that must have been like! And then following the fall and
rebellion of men, a priest would have the responsibility and accountability for
God’s children. Not a role to be taken lightly. Handled inappropriately would
mean certain death!
God’s
Spirit would come upon men like Moses, Jacob and others and it was no doubt an awe-inspiring
time. Most likely a little frightening too! It’s from their testimonies that we
can experience Old Testament faith.
What characters of the Old Testament
would you like to question? And what questions would you ask?
What
would have been your reaction if God had showed up in the burning bush to you? Or
wrestled with you as He did Jacob? Have you ever felt like you did wrestle with
God?
Scroll
forward to the New Testament and a whole new line of communication came when
Jesus, the Son of God walked the earth once again. But only for a short time.
Following His crucifixion and resurrection, that act of unconditional love would
humbly allow us, the nobody’s and the somebody’s to speak to God through the
Holy Spirit.
As
I thought on this today, the images of the two different phones came into play.
The old faith and the new faith are still one faith. It’s still the same God on
the line. It’s just the way of communication differs.
Old Faith
Romans
4:1-8
What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to
the flesh, hath found? For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath
whereof to glory; but not before God. For what saith the scripture?
Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now
to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. But
to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his
faith is counted for righteousness. Even
as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth
righteousness without works, Saying, Blessed are they
whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin.
Old
Testament faith was still faith even though they were keepers of the law. Or
attempted keepers of the law. 613 of
them. I can’t keep ten! Nor could they, so a sacrifice was put into place that
would be used year after year. Lamb after lamb. Slain as a picture of the Lord
Jesus Christ on the cross. Did they know that’s what it was? I don’t guess. But
they knew it was God’s design and their only hope at the time; and that it all
pointed, somehow, some way to the coming Messiah that they hoped for.
Every
generation from the days of Adam hoped for.
I
think of that old phone as the Old Testament way of communication with God. There
was a line you had to go through. The Priest would go into the Holy of Holies
and God and he would converse about what the people needed to know. Then he
would deliver the message. We too experience that some through the preaching of
the Word of God. But the difference is we too can receive a word. That should
make you shout! That’s a privilege Old Testament, average Joe’s or Jolene’s
didn’t experience.
When
God showed up on the mountain, the children of Israel told Moses to go and talk
to Him on the mountain. They feared God way too much to want to hear from Him
direct.
Exodus
20:18-19
And
all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the
trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed,
and stood afar off. And they said unto Moses,
Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we
die.
Have
you ever felt that fearful of God? Why or why not?
I
must wonder if some Christians still fear God’s voice. Many don’t even make the
attempt at communication, or at least not very often.
New Faith
The
words of David used in Romans 4 are from the book of Psalms 32:2
Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old
through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy
upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I
acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will
confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time
when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not
come nigh unto him. Thou art
my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me
about with songs of deliverance. Selah. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt
go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Be ye not as the horse, or as the
mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and
bridle, lest they come near unto thee.Many sorrows shall be to the wicked: but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are
upright in heart.
David experienced God in a way few
people did then, or do now.
Why do you think that was so?
It certainly wasn’t because he was
perfect. He acknowledges that he’s a sinner.
Romans 3:23 says
For all
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
David wasn’t
sin free, he was bold in his confession because he wanted a right relationship
with the Lord. He knew his relationship wasn’t right because he felt the heaviness
of God upon him.
Have you
felt that? What was going on at the time? Likely something that shouldn’t have
been going on at the time. It’s not a feeling we like but we should love it,
because it tells us that we’re saved.
Salvation
comes from repentance.
David received
his forgiveness and a renewed relationship with God when he repented,
acknowledged what he did and turned away from it.
We too
should be so bold!
Bold Faith
David’s
relationship with God caused him to take some actions. He trusted God’s
guidance for war, or not having war. He composed writings and songs, he played
music and was a mighty leader when his relationship was right with God. He was
bold!
Are you
bold in the faith? If not why?
Few in the Faith
As time goes on, our churches seem to be dwindling in size and number. I pass empty church houses with grown up lawns everywhere I go. It makes my heart heavy and very sad. Because I know at one point there may have been a thriving congregation in that place. But they lost their zeal and their desire to serve God. They also lost the best thing that ever happened to them.
I love missionaries and consider myself a missionary to the United States. When I see folks with burdens for other countries I wonder… when will some get a burden for our own.
I have
that.
In just
a little over a month I’m traveling to New Mexico to minister in two different
churches, if not more. I’m praying the Lord opens doors for me there to
encourage the believers to be bold in their faith!
For this
trip I ask that you’ll pray too. Pray that God will give me words and songs and
that a great Spirit of revival will come upon that place. Pray for our safe travels
and pray that our expenses are met.
Even
creation awaits it’s turn for redemption. Can you imagine that day?! I think
about it a lot. The more and more wicked this world gets, the more I think
about it. Perhaps you do too, or perhaps you’ve not given it any thought at all.
You may not even know the truth about creation through the Word of God. But
regardless we are all excuseless when it comes to the Creator.
And
unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and
hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat
of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life;
And
there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall
be in it; and his servants shall serve him:
Between Genesis 3 and Revelation 22 is a whole lot of history. A whole lot of sin and praise God! a whole lot of grace for those of us who know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. But one thing there is not, is an excuse.
Romans 1:20
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal
power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
This
morning as I sit in my little office at the back side of my house, I hear the
rain pouring down outside. It’s replenishing the ground, filling the rivers and
doing what nature does. Taking care of us. It’s also making my White Silky
chickens, tan, but that’s a part of nature too, even if I don’t like it.
I’m
not a big fan of Hell either. Neither is God. It was never His design for us.
And yet there it is, looming at the end of a life who denies the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Redemption.
Just like the end of time when the curse will be lifted from off this earth, so
will it be lifted from the souls of men when we spend eternity, forever and
ever in a curse free, perfect place with the Lord Jesus. We can do that because
He redeemed us by His blood sacrifice on the cross. He died for you, and for me
and for all others and that is why we are excuseless.
Think
about it…
If
you gave your child, that you love more than life, for the redemption of a
nation, would you be willing to accept anyone who wouldn’t confess what your
child did?
I
didn’t think so.
Yet, the world expects the Lord to. Even though He gave us not only His Son, but all of Creation that testifies of the Creator. It’s all written in His book, even science can’t deny it. But men can.
We can deny it because unlike creation we’ve been given free will. God wants those who want to be apart of His family. It’s that simple. Why would you invite someone into your home who didn’t want to be there?
I’m
extending an invitation to all who read my blog, to join me in Heaven when it’s
our turn. You have received your invitation. If you don’t come, you’re excuseless.
I’d
like to say you’ll be missed. But truthfully, I don’t think so; because there’s
no sadness in Heaven. But there will be a great sadness, pain and separation in
Hell.
The
greatest road anyone will ever travel: Romans Road of Salvation
ACKNOWLEDGE YOU’RE A SINNER
Romans 3:23 KJV “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God;”
REALIZE THAT SIN DESERVES PUNISHED
Romans 6:23
KJV “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through
Jesus Christ our Lord.”
UNDERSTAND THAT CHRIST HIMSELF TOOK THAT PUNISHMENT ON THE CROSS
Romans 5:8 KJV
“But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.”
BELIEVE THE TRUTH OF THE WORD OF GOD AND CONFESS IT
Romans 10:9
KJV “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be
saved.”
PRAY AND ASK GOD TO SAVE YOU. TALK TO HIM…
Romans 10:13 KJV “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.”
UPON THAT CONFESSION THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL MOVE INSIDE YOUR HEART AND STAY THERE UNTIL ETERNITY. AT WHICH TIME YOU’LL BE WITH THE LORD HIMSELF!
Romans 8:1 KJV “There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
BUT WHILE YOU’RE HERE, YOU’LL NEVER BE OUT OF HIS PRESENCE!
Romans 8:38-39 KJV “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.”
DID YOU TAKE THAT STEP? PLEASE MESSAGE ME AND LET ME KNOW! I WANT TO CELEBRATE WITH YOU 😀
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