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.

Nailed to the Cross

 Col 2:14
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.

We are at the end of passion week. Jesus is living out his final few days on earth. Life on earth is about to enter a new age. Today, over 2000 years ago, Jesus Christ was nailed to a cross. He has suffered humiliation and shame and now hangs on a cross, a spear is thrust into His body, and His blood is spilled for you and me. On the cross, the nails that were hammered into His hands and feet, blotting out the law that condemned us to eternal damnation. The fountain of blood providing eternal life is open for all who will plunge in and be made clean from sin. For all the good reasons that Christ came to earth, this was His ultimate mission. He suffered on the cross to provide salvation, and to give us an example of what it means to give it all to the Father, and follow His steps. As follows of Jesus Christ, He tells us to pick up our cross and follow Him. He did not promise that the journey would be easy. In fact, He said that it would be one of suffering. On this good Friday, we thank God that His Son came to be nailed to a cross and die for our sin and give eternal life. Give Him glory for all He has done, for today, salvation has come.

Let Us Enter

Heb.4:16

Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

The veil has been rented. The curtain, 4 inches thick, 15 feet tall, was torn apart from top to bottom in the holy of holies where the high priest made sacrifices for his sins and for the sins of the people. When Jesus died on the cross, He sacrificed His life once and for all for the sins of the whole world. He is our high priest, the earthly priest no longer needs to make blood sacrifices for the people. We now have access to the Father, through the blood of Jesus. We can now come boldly into God’s holiness. If we have confessed our sin and believed that Jesus paid the price to forgive our sins, we need not fear coming boldly to the throne where God will pour out His grace to meet our needs. It is only through Jesus that we now have access to the Father, “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Act 4:12) Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”) God’s word makes it clear that coming to the Father (God) is only made possible through Jesus, the one who died for you and me so that we may approach the throne of grace with clean hands and a pure heart. Thank God! He is a God of grace and mercy, and as His child, we call Him Abba Father, and He pours out His grace to us in our time of need. Let us enter into His presence.

Winning Souls

 Proverb 11:30
The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

The soul of man is trapped and is held by Satan. From the fall of Adam and Eve, the soul of man has been made captive to sin and darkness. A child, as innocent as it may be, was born with the nature of sin in his heart. The battle to “win” back God’s creation has been fought from the beginning of time. It is the desire of God that souls be brought back into fellowship with Him. Winning souls is to convert others from their sinful ways and win them over to Christ. To win is to teach and persuade others of the claims of Christ in their heart.  Teaching them that the source of life is found in the tree of life. Righteousness and right living is to confess our sins, trust in the blood of Christ to cleanse our heart from sin, and live righteously before Him. As Christians, we are to be ambassadors for Christ, doing what we can to convert others to follow Christ. Our first responsibility to win others to Christ is to live a life that reflects the image of Christ. Our words and teaching are discarded when our lives are not consistent with the teaching. It is through the teaching of the word in harmony with our lives that others can be won to Christ. It is possible to win others to Christ without walking them through the "Roman road to salvation." Our life should be a living Bible, seen and read by all men, but there is power in the spoken word. “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Roman 10:10. Let our fruit be that of righteousness and our lives win others to Christ.

Exceeding Great Joy

 Luke 2:10, Mat 2:10
The angel brought “good tidings of great joy” to the shepherds… The wise men, when they saw the star, “rejoiced with exceeding great joy”

The shepherd’s eyes were amazed as they heard the good news! The Messiah was born, the Savior who will change the world had condensed into the human race. Like  the wise men, they probably rejoiced with exceeding great joy. Their joy exceeded the merriment of being happy. Joy filled their hearts to overflowing. They saw the significance of this historical event. 

Greeting others with, “Merry Christmas” is to wish people a happy holiday season as they gather together with friends and family. Smiles are seen on parents and grandparent’s faces as they watch the children unwrap their gifts, excitement in the air as the child opens the present they have been wanting for days. No doubt, happiness fills the home. The songwriter penned it well:
 “It's the most wonderful time of the year. 
With the kids jingle belling. 
And everyone tells you to be of good cheer.”
But to the believer, Christmas is more than being merry with our loved ones, it is a time of great joy! A celebration and remembering the joy of salvation that Jesus came to save people from their sins. Exceeding great joy transcends human emotion. It is an eternal joy that is sealed in the heart that all is well with our soul. Jesus came to earth that we might have joy and have it more abundantly.  Circumstances in life may not always be filled with happy emotions and merriment, but it can be filled with great joy that we are a child of the king, and he knows us by name. As welook at the star that hangs in the church or in your home, may we also rejoice with exceeding great joy, knowing that Jesus came and died for us. In Him, we have real joy. Joy unspeakable and full of glory!

Nothing Too Hard for God

Jeremiah 32:17
‘Ah, Lord God! It is you who have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you.

It did not seem that there was any hope for Judah. Babylon was allowed to besiege their land, yet God promised that a day would come that Judah would once again reclaim what was theirs. At the time this seemed to be unlikely to happen. But Jeremiah realized that God, who is in control of nations and governments rising and falling, recognized that with God, nothing was too hard. There are things in our lives that look impossible. We recognize that unless God steps in, there is no hope. Jesus said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” The word of Christ was spoken to his disciples when things seem to be impossible to accomplish in the human. Especially when it comes to the salvation of the heart. There is nothing that man can do to achieve salvation with human efforts. Salvation comes only through Christ. The person gone deep into sin or the person who was raised in a well refined culture home all need to be saved. There is nothing too hard that He can do, He can save to the uttermost all who are willing to believe. We need to continue to pray for family, friends, and souls that are lost in sin. No matter their walk in life, Jesus desires to reach down and release them from the bondage of Satan. He has the power and desires that no one perishes, but that all come to repentance.

Lift Up Jesus

 John 3:14-15
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,  that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.

The bronze serpent lifted by Moses was the salvation of the people. The people had greatly sinned against the Lord who just delivered them from bondage. They were still in bondage to their selfish desires. Their hearts of unbelief started to doubt God and Moses. They became impatient with the way God was doing things. For their disobedience and unbelief, God sent poisonous serpents that brought death to many of the people. Death among many brought them to the realization that their sin was the cause. The wages of sin is still death. God in His mercy made a way of escape. We live in a day where sin and unbelief is found among those who profess to be followers of Christ. They have put their faith in religion and self-reliance. Jesus is still the answer. If we only look to Jesus. He is the only one that can bring deliverance from sin. Let us lift up Jesus to a messed up world and exalt Him. He and He alone can give us eternal life.

He is Everything to Me

 Psalm 18:2

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

In summary, He is everything to me. When my life is shaken with uncertainty, He is the rock that will not move, stand firm on His word. When I am surrounded by the pressures of life, He is my fortress, my protector from the evil one.  When I don’t know where to turn and trouble is all around me, He is my deliverer, recusing me from danger. When I am weak, and don’t know how I will take the next step, He is my strength just when I need it. When the fiery darts of Satan are causing me to doubt God’s love, He is my buckler, my shield of faith to trust Him. When temptation to sin oppresses me, He is the horn of my salvation, giving me victory over sin,  And when the storms of life come, and the flood waters of despair flood my heart, He is my high tower. He is everything to me. In Him, I will put my trust.

We Will Not Be Shaken

Psalm 62
My soul waits in silence for God alone; From Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken. 

Earthquakes bring fear and uncertainty. They shake the ground we stand on and the things around us fall into disarray. Our world also shakes around us and life seems to come tumbling down. Loved ones pass away unexpectedly, the loss of work, relationships fall apart, our freedoms in our country are being attacked, and  the cares of life press on us leaving us in distress. We have a rock, a stronghold that will not be shaken. He alone is able to keep us from all that will hurt us. He is our salvation, and in Him we can trust that all will be well, we will not be shaken, we are in the palm of His hand.

Nailed To The Cross

 Colossians 2:14
 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Our sin, our guilt has been nailed to the cross of Jesus. That is why He died for you and for me. It was to blot out our transgression, removing the guilt of sin from our lives. The cross is the emblem of our salvation, the nails put our sins to death and are forgiven, cast as far from the east as from the west. The life of the past is nailed to the cross, we have been born again, made a new creature in Christ. Sin keeps us from having perfect fellowship with God. It is the hindrance that separates us from having fellowship with a holy God. But sin no longer has dominion over us because it has been nailed to the cross. When Satan brings back the pass, point him to the cross and show him the nails. 

Look To The Lord

Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

We have a habit when things start to look bad to look to the Lord for help. Sinners often will partition the Lord when things spiral out of control. Unfortunately, they often forget God after the unfortunately event has past. God is pleased when His sons and daughters cry out to Him in time of need and distress. His desire is for us to look to Him for help. It is our hope that God will not only hear our cry, but will meet our need. It may require us to wait and be still. but He is the God of our salvation and we but need to trust Him. Look to Jesus, and see what He desires to do for you. 

To Know The Father

John 8:19 “Then they said unto Him, “Where is thy father?” Jesus answered, “Ye neither know Me, nor My Father. If ye had known Me, ye should have known My Father also.”

To know the Father, one must know the Son. For the two are the same in One. He who came from heaven was sent from the Father. To know the Father is to know that Jesus came to earth born of a virgin, fully human, yet the conception of this new born was quicken by the Holy Spirit that brought life. Jesus, the God-Man, perfect and without sin. He came to reveal the Love of the Father that we may also know God as our Father. Sin separated us from the Father, but to those who believe in the salvation of Christ have become sons of God and now have access to the Father’s throne. To know the Father, is to know love, grace and mercy. He is a good Father, and every blessing we receive comes from Him. May we find rest in knowing the Father from above. 

My Salvation

Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; He also has become my salvation”-

My salvation comes from God. When I needed to be rescued from the wages of sin, it was the salvation of God that saved me from what I deserved. I was lost and undone without Him. I found my salvation at the cross of Jesus. He who loved me and took my sin and bore it on the cross, died to save me. He became my Savior, my Salvation. I no longer have to be afraid when faced with eternity. My sins have been forgiven, He has put in my heart a new song. I now depend on Him for my strength and help in time of trouble. He is my Salvation, my Rock, I will praise you, for you are my God!

Jesus Only

Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved.”-

Jesus only. Salvation from sin, or having your sins forgiven can only be done by God. Who can forgive sins, except He be God. Heaven is prepared for those who’s heart is clean from all unrighteousness through the forgiveness of sin. Jesus, sent from the Father is one with the Father, therefore is equal in essence. Christ paid the ultimate price for sin. He who had no sin because He was God, died to save sinners. The simple message of salvation. If one is a believer in God’s word, then salvation can come by no other means than through Jesus. All roads do not led to heaven. As Christian, we consciously cannot accept that there are many ways to have eternal life. Others may see us as intolerant, and narrow minded. It is not politically acceptable to say that Jesus is the only way to heaven. We live in a day where people are doing what is right in their own eyes. Doing what is right requires us to look through the eyes of God, through His word. What is right? Believe on the Lord Jesus, and thou will be saved. He said it, I believe it! Debate over!

The Way of Holiness

Isaiah 35: 1-10
The future of the Israelites was foretold by Isaiah the prophet that the enemies that destroyed the land of Israel would be punished and put away. The promise of a new life was given to the remnant of God’s people. The day, in which we live, may be dark and hopeless, but God has promised that all will be set right and vengeance was His. With faith we look for the sweet day of release, when Christ will return with all His glory to reclaim the whole earth.

Solitary Places Revived- made to blossom

· The prediction of enemy destruction- Anti-Christ defeated

· What the enemy destroyed, God will revive

· The work of Christ and the pouring of the Holy Spirit

Singing the Excellency of God- with joy and singing

· A reason to sing

· We rejoice when He becomes our Lord

· Where is your song?

Strength to the Feeble- strengthen ye the weak hands

· Difficulty times still come- We need encouragement

· Those young in the faith need help

· Pray one for another- that we not fall away

· Lift up your eye, redemption draws nigh

Salvation Will Come- He will save you

· He is our deliverer

· He will do might works in our behalf

· Spiritual eyes and hears are open

Streams in the Desert- water shall break out

· Christ- the living water

· Ye who are thirsty come unto Him

Sanctification of God’s People- the way of Holiness

· Only the pure in heart will see God

· Life of Godliness of willful transgression

· A highway for pilgrims, only passing through

Safety on the Highway-no lion shall be there

· Stay on the highway and you will not be harmed

· Detouring off the highway is certain danger

· The shepherd protects His sheep

Sighing Will Flee Away- sorrow and sighing shall flee

· The return to the new Jerusalem with Christ

· All sorrow is gone- He will wipe away all tears

Israel's Sin and Salvation

Judges 2:11-23
January 6th, 2008
The people of Israel stayed victorious as long as they stayed faithful to God’s commandments, but they failed to take heed to the voice of God, and allowed self to take control. There failure to trust God and believe, led them to depart from the living God. This serves as an example for us, to remain faithful to God, and to obey His Word, lest we find ourselves shipwrecked and forsaken.

Conquest of the Land (Josh.ch11:23- land rested from war)
• Johsua’s initial conquest- Not all
• Choose this day- We will serve God
• Cooperation among the tribe
Condition of Israel (vs11. Did evil)
• “They did not drive them out”
• Generation fallen to selfish living
• They played the “Harlot” with other nations
• They did evil in the SIGHT OF GOD
Condemnation of God (vs14. Anger of the Lord)
• God’s anger was “hot” against them
• He gave them up to the enemy (reprobate mind)
• They were always under distress- no peace of mind
Conquering the Enemy (vs16. The Lord…delivered them)
• The faithfulness of God to raise a deliverer
• God loves the backslider
Commandment Disobeyed (vs17 the commandments…they did not)
• Unfaithful to stay true to His commandments
• Forsaking His Word for selfish pleasures
Corruption of Morals (vs17 went a whoring)
• Went whoring after other gods
• Turned quickly out of the way
Compassion of the Lord (vs18. It repented the Lord)
• God hears the cry of those who earnestly seek Him
• God will not turn away a earnest heart
Covenant Transgressed (vs20. Transgress my Covenant)
• Keeping our promises- “Lord, If you will…)
• Honor and integrity is lost- no commitment
Consequences of Sin (vs23. The Lord left those nations…)
• Failure to deal with sin will come back to bite
• God’s help is withheld- Life is without hope without God