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.

Prosper and Success

 Gen 39:23
The keeper of the prison looked not at anything that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.

To prosper or have good success is a subjective word in our language and culture. We would say that a person who has obtained a good paying job, saved money for his/her retirement and was able to provide for their family has had prosperity and success for life. One would not think that ending up in prison for something they did not do would be prosperous. Joseph was such a man. He was mistreated by his brothers, falsely accused, and thrown into prison for what appeared to be for a very long time. Yet, the Bible says that the Lord made him prosper. 
This is where the world view and the Christian view are viewed from different perspectives. Joseph lived a life of surrender to his God. He no doubt had his time of discouragements, and questioned his circumstances, but his life was not his own, it belonged to God. Even in the dark times of our lives, we can trust God that all things will work together toward a prosperous and successful journey. Knowing that we are in the will of God on our pilgrim journey, we can be confident that He is in control and will use our circumstances for the good. 
In the case of Joseph’s journey, God turned evil into good, and Joseph’s attitude and spirit demonstrated the fruit of righteousness and holiness. He did not become bitter or resentful, he trusted God to make him prosper and have the success that was planned for his life. 
It is good to have goals and aspirations, but all is for nothing and of no success if we are not following the will of God for our lives.

Ambition to Serve

 Mark 10:44
… Whoever would be first among you must be a servant of all.

Ambition is a good trait to have. Setting goals and discipling yourself to work toward those goals. But Jesus warned us about having ambitions that were totally self centered. James and John had ambitions to be seated next to Him when Jesus set up His kingdom. They had ambitions to be in charge, to have power over others. Power is one of the P’s that destroy the soul. Along with pleasures of this world, pride of Life, and prosperity. History tells the story of those who sought power to rule kingdoms and nations. Such ambitions never come to a good end. Being a ruler or leader is not an easy task when it also requires being a servant. You must be able to take charge, have vision, know how to delegate, and be willing to listen to others. A good leader will demonstrate leadership by being an example of what needs to be done. Pauls says, “Follow me, as I follow Christ.” Jesus, the Son of God, lived a life of servanthood, and made the ultimate sacrifice by giving His life that we might be saved. Ambition to be like Jesus, to serve others, and be a servant of all is not done by human efforts. It requires a daily submission to God and His will and purposes. “All of my ambitions, hopes and plans I surrender these into your hands.” from the hymn, Jesus, All for Jesus, should be the prayer of our heart. Let us walk carefully, that we keep our ambitions in the center of God’s will.

God's Purpose

 Acts 9:36
 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and alms deeds which she did.
Tabitha was known for her ministry in making clothes for those in need. Her life was spent helping others and giving herself to make life easier on others. When she passed away, many gathered to mourn her passing. Upon hearing that Peter and his disciples were nearby, they sent messengers to have him come. It is unclear if they just wanted Peter to come and pay respects, or if they hoped for a miracle. It was God’s will that a miracle happen. Miracles don’t always happen just because we pray they will. God always has a purpose to manifest his power. God was not done with Tabitha. The miracle from death to life brought many to believe in Christ. Tabitha was not a preacher, she was a woman who demonstrated Christ in her life through her good works and giving her life to the service of helping people. No doubt, after God raised her from the dead, she continued to be faithful in making garments and giving to others who had needs.

Asking God

 Luke 11:9
And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.

We don’t always get what we want, but God always gives us what we need. In His goodness and love, He knows what is best for us. He does not take pleasure in seeing his children suffer, but reasons only known to Him, He does not give us everything we ask for. For in our asking, we put God’s will before our earthly desires. We pray like Jesus, “Not my will, but your will be done” He delights in us asking, and He will fulfill it in such a way that works out for our good. For we know that all things work together for good to them that love Him and are called (follow) His will.

Here Am I

 Exodus 3:4
God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here Am I.

It has been said that God does not want your money, He wants you! If He has you, then He has everything you possess, including your money. Some people are OK with just giving their money, but are not willing to say, “Here Am I.” When Jesus asked the rich young ruler to sell all he had and follow Him, He did not ask to give all his money to the synagogue, but wanted the heart of the rich young ruler. Yes, the young man was sad because He was not willing to sell out completely to the will of God. The call of God is made for every man, woman and child to listen to the voice and God to heed and do His will. When we say, “Here Am I”, we are surrendering everything to Him. The songwriter writes “All of my ambitions, hopes and plans I surrender into your hands.” This is the response that God desires to hear. Are we willing to open our hearts and say, “Here Am I”

Second Change

Jonah 2:1,7-   Then Jonah prayed unto the Lord his God out of the fish's belly… When my soul fainted within me I remembered the Lord: and my prayer came in unto thee, into thine holy temple.

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The life of Jonah demonstrates that serving God sometimes requires us to make hard choices, choices not always to our liking. When we avoid making the right choice we often find ourselves in the “belly of the fish” praying for another chance. Jonah was a man in earthen vessel, his heart wanted to do right, but the flesh was weak to do what God wanted him to do. The story is not given to us to show the imperfection of man, but to show the mercy and grace of God. For even in our weakness, we can be made strong to do the will of God. Doing the will of God is at the heart of full obedience and surrender to God. Just because we love and serve Him, does not mean that it will be easy to follow His will.  Jonah realized that not doing God’s will led him to an undesirable situation and circumstances. But, Jonah was given a second change. He is a God of second changes.

He Must Increase

John 3:30  He must increase, but I must decrease. 

John was truly a man of humility. Human nature would have him focus on himself and seek to be someone great. He knew His calling and was willing to accept his place in the Kingdom of God. We all have a place in God’s Kingdom, and it is to His purpose we live or die. John died a young man, dared to speak the truth and point others to the Lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. God has a plan for each one of us. How long we live is in the hands of God. We don’t always understand His purpose, and why life is sometimes cut short. We live and die to do God’s purpose. Finding God’s will for our life is what will bring meaning to life. The life God has given us is a vapor in time, it will come to pass, and only that done for Christ will last. We must live each day in mind that He must increase, and we must decrease. 

Deliverance from Suffering

Hebrews: 1135b, 39 “…and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. -And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise,”-

Deliverance from God is not always escaping trails and difficult situations. When we pray for deliverance and still suffer hard times, does God still answer prayer? No doubt, many who suffered persecution for their faith, prayed that God would answer their cry for deliverance. There were some that were saved and their were others that still were tortured. These are questions that I truly don’t have a good answer. Accepting God’s will in all matters of prayer is submitting to His sovereign will. God is able, but it is not always His will. I don’t know why God chooses some to suffer and others to be delivered, but believing God is in control and He knows best is to demonstrate a faith beyond seeing a deliverance from pain and suffering. By faith, we can trust God that all things are working according to His will and purpose.

By Their Fruits

Matt. 7:20, 21 “Therefore, by their fruits ye shall know them. “Not every one that saith unto Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, but he that doeth the will of My Father who is in Heaven.

The teaching of Jesus astonished those who sat and listen to the words He spoke from this mount in Judah. He told them to judging not, and to make sure that their own heart was right with God. After we take care of our own problems we can then discern how to best judge, or when to help others, We must seek Him to help us discern truth. He promised if we ask, we will receive discernment. No one likes to be judge by someone else who also has shortcomings, we need to show others the same respect that we would like to receive when they look at our lives. There are those who have no love for the truth or desire to follow it. These are the ones that we must not let other be influence by, we must warn others not to follow someone who is using truth for their own gain. There are very few people willing to look in the mirror of God’s Word and follow it. Following it requires self denial and doing His will.  We only need to look at the fruit of their lives to see that they are not following Him. The fruit of Spirit is missing.  All who profess to follow God are not necessarily doing the will of God.  They that do God’s will are building their lives on the Way, the Truth and the Life, and living out His truth. 

Life Happens

John 9:3 “Jesus answered, “Neither hath this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”-

Life Happens! Things happen in our life that we don’t have any control over. We wake up in the morning to a new day and life is good, but life happens, and by the end of the day, the world has changed around us. Our human emotions cry out to God asking, why? We don’t have answers, and in the moment we don’t see how God will use our circumstances for good. When things go wrong, it is easy to blame others and even blame God. As Christian, we endeavor to do our best to do what is right and live according to the word, but then life happens and God begins to work something new in us. God has a purpose for all that happens, even if we don’t understand. “All things work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purpose” Rom. 8:28. The purpose of this man being born blind was to demonstrate the power of Christ to heal the blind and show that Christ is the light of the world. He came to open the eyes of sinners that they may see the light of God. God used this blind man that the works of God would be manifested. God’s plan is to use the things that happen in our life to serve a greater cause. At the time of distress and discouragement, it is not easy to accept this. We call on God’s help and grace to help us see that through it all, we can trust the Lord to use it for His glory. When life happens, God is in control and His will is all we want.