He is All Things

 Rev. 4:11
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Revelation reveals Christ in all of His glory. He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end of all things. “And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.”(Col 1:17). He is our all in all. All things for every circumstance in life. We wake up in the morning and breathe in all that Jesus has given us. We go through our day and submit our will to the one who will work all things for good so that He will receive glory, honor and praise. We end our day with thanksgiving for all the things He has done and will do. He is worthy today and into eternity to be praised and glorified. Who can stand before Him and not bow the knee and worship Him? We worry about many things in life. He knows our frame, that we are weak and need Him to make the impossible happen. We can do all things through Christ, who gives us the power to do what is needed. In return, we give Him all the glory for all the things He has done and will do. We don’t have to wait till we get to heaven to cast ourselves before Him as John saw the 24 elders do. We live each day knowing that He is in control of all things in our lives, and we give Him praise. He is worthy as we lift our voices to Him in praise. We are His creation and worthy of our worship in word and deed.

Living without Sin

 1 John 3:6
Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.

I am not a Greek scholar, but I desire to read God’s word with an open heart.  Sin takes place when we break God’s law. It is a willful transgression against the known will of God. We are born into this world with a sin nature, and we come to realize that we are spiritually lost without a Savior. Christ, who knows no sin, came to earth to give His life as the supreme sacrifice to forgive us of our sin. This is salvation in a nutshell. By confessing our sins to Christ, we have acknowledged that we are sinners. We now abide in Christ and have turned away from our sinful way. We no longer willfully commit sin when we abide in Him. A person who willfully goes against the known will of God is ignorant of God and God’s will to set them free from the bondage of sin. We realize that we are human and born into a world where sin is ever before us. Temptation is real and Satan is relentless in his attempt to cause a follower of Christ to violate one of God’s commandments to live holy and righteously in this present world. Many Christians have fallen for the traps of Satan and have fallen into sin. Many have made shipwrecks of their lives and have left the Way for whatever reason. It is not God’s will that any person be lost, but His will that we live in fellowship with Him. God’s word is full of dos and don'ts, and keeping track of every law leads one to live in bondage and fear, but Jesus simplified it all by telling us that the law can be wrapped up in two statements. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. So how does one live a life without sin? Are our words and actions pleasing to Jesus? The Holy Spirit came to dwell in us and to guide us in all we do. We sin not, because we know Him, and because we know Him and love Him, we desire to please Him.

God is Ready to Pardon

 Neh 9:17b
.. but thou art a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and forsook them not.

The children of Israel historically wavered in their faith. Any time things started to get bad, they would turn from trusting God and relying on the gods of the world around them. We find over and over again that God would deal harshly with their sin, but would always make a way to turn back to Him. Nehemiah recalls the days they were set free from Egyptian slavery, and it was not long after they were complaining about the prospects of dying. Because of their unbelief, they were made to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, the consequence of their disobedience. But God did not cast them away, He would not forsake them. We serve a God who is merciful and full of grace. If any man wavers, or falls into sin, we can go to Christ, who is our advocate to the Father, and be forgiven. Like the story of the prodigal son, God’s arms are wide open, ready to pardon. He is a God of second chances, and extends His mercy to any who will turn to Him with a sincere heart of repentance. God does not tolerate sin and will not abide by it. Through the blood of Christ, He has provided a way of escape. We don’t have to succumb to the temptation of Satan and fall into sin. Our faith does not have to waver in times of temptation. He will not forsake us in our time of need. We can overcome temptation with the help of the Holy Spirit and the power of God. But it is possible that one could fall from fellowship and communion with God, but one does not have to despair, for God is slow to anger, and of great kindness, and will not forsake His own. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Keep The Sabbath

 Ex 20:8-10
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy… Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:..But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work.

A lot has been written concerning the keeping of the Sabbath day. There are many who feel very strongly that the Sabbath should be kept to the letter of the law as described in the Old Testament, and others who feel it is no longer relevant to the dispensation of Grace. That Christ's death made the OT law obsolete.  I do find it relevant that the Ten Commandments include this law as part of God's standard of holy living. We know that Jesus says that, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” It was not to be a law that was a burden to keep. It was meant to provide a time of rest from the labors of life, a time set apart to focus our attention on worshiping God. A holy day to focus our time and energy on resting in the presence of Jesus. This law is different from the ceremonial laws given to us in the OT. The sacrifices required by God in the OT were fulfilled when Jesus died on the cross, once and for all. But, Jesus said to keep His commandment if you love Him. What laws were we to keep? The Ten Commandments were not done away with, but Jesus summarized them into two: “Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, and your neighbor as yourself.” To keep the Sabbath day is to rest in Jesus, and make Him Lord of our life.  The commandment to keep the Sabbath day holy is fulfilled in Christ, who is the Lord of the Sabbath. If He is the Lord of our life, we have perfect rest in Him. We set aside this 7th day to put aside the labors of life and the cares of life to rest in Christ. I don’t pretend to know in our current culture what labor is and not labor, and I will not judge people in regard to this, but I know that God is pleased when we take time to rest from the labors of the week and praise and worship Him, and to break bread with other believers. I believe that it is good to keep the Sabbath day special and use it to administer good works towards our neighbors and those who are needy. For those that need to work to provide income, I trust that God will open the doors and provide a way to meet your needs and let you take time to rest in Christ. He is the Lord of our Sabbath, and daily we can rest in Christ to meet our needs.

Living Fearless

 Matt 26:35
Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee.

Bold words from the mouth of Peter. I believe he meant it with all of his heart. That was Peter’s personality. He was not afraid to step out. He was the one who stepped out of the boat into the water when Jesus called out to Him. He was the one who drew out his sword and whacked off the ear of Malchus, a servant of the high priest. Impetuous, acting quickly and without thought or care of the consequences. Here he is again, in the heat of the moment, speaking out without really thinking. Jesus, who knows our hearts better than we do, looks at Peter with a heart of compassion and says, “Peter, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me three times”. What a blow that must have been for Peter, but when the rubber hit the road, Peter gave in to his fears. Our humanity is so prone towards self-preservation. When the going gets tough, we take the road of least resistance. This proneness is made more evident without the help of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. We see a different Peter after Pentecost. Peter at Pentecost experienced the power of the Holy Spirit in His fullness.  (Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost…Acts 4:8)   Filled with the fire of God, Peter’s fear was gone as he spoke with boldness about Jesus. As newborn Christians, we have become a follower of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us into all truth. The Holy Spirit will lead us to a place of full surrender. To a place where we give everything to God and allow the Holy Spirit to remove the proneness to sin. Being filled with the Holy Spirit does not dehumanize us, but it does empower us to live victorious and fearless where we are not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. When we are tempted to fear, we can stand up to our adversary and truly say, "Though I should die, I will not forsake my God.”

Jesus is Praying for Us

 Luke 22:32
But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not...

Jesus, speaking to Peter, knew that Peter would deny Him when the going got tough. But he also knew that Peter had a tender heart and a desire to serve Him. The fullness of the Holy Spirit and the work He was to do had yet to be released. Jesus said, when the Holy Spirit comes, He will purify, fill, and empower the followers of Jesus to be a witness that would turn the world upside down. As determined as Peter was, fear gripped his heart, and he feared for his life when the pressure was on. Jesus knew that Peter would “drop the ball” and his faith would falter. Our humanity, without the grace of God, is so prone to fail. Jesus prayed for Peter that even in times when trails come, and we fail, that we do not have to quit and give up. Jesus, who sits at the right hand of God, is interceding for us even now. When Satan is doing all he can to shake us up and cause us to cast our faith away, Jesus is praying that we hold on and trust God who will find a way of escape. We sometimes come through the battle beaten up and sometimes wounded, but our faith in Jesus can remain true. It is good to have friends pray for us, and we are encouraged that our brothers and sisters in the Lord are praying, but to know that Jesus is praying for us, and His prayers are sure to reach the throne of God. If the cock crows in your life, don’t give up; turn to Jesus, who is praying that your faith will not fail.

Run the Race to the Finish Line

 Heb 12:1
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us

The metaphors used by the writers to the Hebrews can be interpreted and translated to convey different meanings and applications. Words such as cloud, weight, run, and race were all used to help the reader to connect and apply the truth that was given. It is always my intention as I read the Bible to understand the meaning and the relevant application to my daily walk with God. The Holy Spirit is able to take what I read and apply it directly to my life. It may not be what was implied by the writer as they penned the words, but it is what the Holy Spirit takes and writes to my heart.
 Much has been written about the cloud of witnesses that surround us. Many believe the witnesses are those who have gone before us in death and are now looking down from heaven, cheering us on to keep the faith and don’t give up. That application of scripture encourages the heart to keep pressing on. We all need encouragement not to give up when life gets hard. 
The writer says that we are in a race. A race implies that there is a finish line, a goal that is desired. Running the race means that we are not spectators, but participate in this race. Winning the race is not necessarily being the first one to cross the finish line, but to win is to complete the race to the finish line. Making it to the finish line is what every Christian seeks and desires, but too often there are weights, things in our lives that keep us from being all that God wants us to be. I don’t know what those weights are. They are different for each person, but the Holy Spirit is able to show us what weights we need to lay aside. What keeps us from being all that God wants us to be? Is it a besetting sin of unbelief that hinders us? The sin that keeps us from running could be that the carnal nature is still in control of our lives. A failure to fully surrender to the will of God. The sin of pride and self-will, not letting go and letting God take full control of our lives. John Wesley calls this entire sanctification, a full consecration to the will of God. The Holy Spirit is able to cleanse our heart from the sin that hinders us from finishing the race. It appears that there will be those that will start the race, but will not finish it. Many have quit running, not willing to lay aside the weights and trust God. It is God’s desire that all that start this race finish to the end. Let us run the race with all diligence, and let the Holy Spirit give us the strength and endurance we need to make it to the finish line.