Walking in Truth

Psalm 86:11 Teach me thy way, O Lord; I will walk in thy truth: unite my heart to fear thy name.

Walking in truth assumes we know what truth is. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and  the life, no man can come the Father except by me” Walking in truth is to walk in Christ, to live in the Vine and to live a life that reflects the teaching of the Savior. The world says that what is truth to one person, may not be truth to another person. That there are different ways to find God. God does lead people in different ways, but ultimately, we all must enter through the cross. Straight is the gate, and narrow is the way, and few be that find it. Walking in truth is finding that God, through Christ, desires us to live a life of praise and do all things to glorify His Name. Someone who walks in truth will not live carelessly without regard to His commandments. Temptation may come, and in a time of weakness, Satan may cause us to fall. If we walk in truth as God desires us to, we can overcome the wicked one and stay in perfect fellowship with the Father. We all have a choice to walk or not walk in truth. The Psalmist said, “I will”, he made a choice to do the will of God. may we always call out to God for help to say “I will”. He will never leave us or forsake us.

The Joy of the Lord

John 16:22  And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you.

“The world did not give it to me, and the world cannot take it away” The joy of the Lord is not the making of anything this world has to offer. There will be days of sorrow and sadness as we live in this world, but we do not live for this world, we live for another world. Joy comes knowing the every sin is under blood of Jesus, joy comes knowing the Holy Spirit lives within our heart leading and guiding our lives. Joy is knowing that are names are written the lambs book of life. It time for us to just more than survive, it time for us to thrive in the joy of the Lord. We overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. We testify that our happiness and contentment comes by doing the will of God and living in the presence of God. It is joy unspeakable, and full of God’s glory. 

Temptation is Real

Heb. 2:18  For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Temptation is real and everyone born into this world faces them. Our faith in God is often tested when we face temptation. It is seen as a time of trial and hardship. We are tempted to give up and cast our faith away when it appears that God has forsaken us or does not care for us. Why would God allow such tragedy to come into my life? Then there is the temptation to give into our fleshly desires. Desires that are selfish and are forbidden in God’s word. A man is tempted to look upon a women and lust after her, fulfilling the sexual desires of the flesh. A person is tempted to take that which is not there, coveting possessions of others, and one is tempted to lie to avoid unwanted consequences or to get something they want. Whatever kind of temptation or test we face, we are not able to handle it on are own. We need a Savior who Himself has faced temptation and knows what we face. He is able to come to our aid and rescue us in the hour of our need. To overcome temptation, we must practice the presence of God, we need the Holy Spirit in our lives to give us the power to overcome our weaknesses. We our just earthen vessel, but God has promise to be with us and fill us with His presence. In the face of temptation, let us depend on His grace and the blood of Christ to give us the victory. 

Behind the Veil

Matt. 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Behind the veil in the temple was the Holy of Holies. It was the sacred place know to the Jews where God’s presences was known. Only the high priest entered into this place, and only once a year. On the wondrous cross, in a spring day of the holy land, Christ was put to death by the people and the rulers of that day. Jesus, the God-Man, He who was without sin died to take on the sin of the human race. From the creation of Adam and Eve, to the birthday of a new born child in 2017, He died for you and me. The veil that separated man from God’s Glory was rent in two from top to bottom giving all access to the throne of grace. He paid the price that we may come boldly into His presence without fear of condemnation or judgment. He who believes that He died and rose from the dead is given power to be called the sons of God. Let us now walk through the rented veil and give Him glory, honor, and praise!

Living Forever

John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Living forever and ever and never dying is hard to grasp living in these bodies that are corruptible. Surely, this earthy body will pass away and return to the dust of the earth. The words of Jesus give us hope that even tho this earthen vessel will one day vanish, that the essence of who we are will live on eternally. The conditions given to us by God is that we live and believe that Jesus is the way, the truth, and life. He is the source of eternal life and those who believe that He is, God will reward them that will seek after Him. For in Him, is the resurrection of life from the dead. Once dead in our trespasses and sin, He has quicken us in our spiritual essences to be alive unto God. Death in this human body is certain for all of us, but life is just as certain to whosoever will believe in Him. Not only do I desire to believe in Him, but I also desire to live in Him. “I’m crucify with Christ, nevertheless, it is not I, but Christ that lives within me” We see through a glass darkly, but one day, we will see clearly, and we will live eternally with the One who saves us by His grace.

Go, and Sin No More

John 8:11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

Christ came to fulfill the law to perfection that through His life and death, He enables us by His grace to sin no more. The concept of living a life without sinning is foreign to many who see themselves struggling with life’s temptations and fleshly desires to please self. The carnal nature of man is enmity against God and is not subject to His holiness. Without grace, man is helpless to live a life that is sinless. The heart of man is desperately wicked, even a person trained to be good will stand before God naked and see the uncleanness of his heart. What is man to do? All have sinned and come short of pleasing God, we have only one remedy, flee to the cross, confess our sins, ask Him to forgive us of our transgression, and to clean our hearts of all that is unlike Him. His love and grace without fail will speak,”Neither do I condemn thee, go and sin more” He promise to them that would believe in Him that He would send a Comforter, the Holy Spirit will come as we seek more of Him. The Holy Spirit, as in the day of Pentecost will come to them that seek Him and He will give us power to live a life that can love God with all our hearts, mind, body and soul. Without Him, it is impossible to fulfill this commandment. But with God, all things are possible.

Follower of the Lord

1 Thess 1:6 And ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost.

I became a follower of the Lord on this day 43 years ago. This is my story. I grew up in a religious home. Went to church every Sunday, taught to respect the sacred things of God. The church was my religion. I had a sense of security knowing I went to a church that promised that as long as I kept the tenants of the church and was faithful to its teaching, that I would have a place in heaven when I died. I never recalled anyone telling me that I could have a personal relationship with God and know Him through Christ. Yes, there was a lot of symbolic rituals that pointed toward having communion with Christ, but I was never told that I could go personally to Christ and asked for forgiveness and that the Bible taught that He and He alone is able to forgive. I never was encouraged to read the Bible for myself. We had a large  Bible in our home, but it was never opened and read in our home. We were sent to church school to learn about the teachings of the church, but I never recalled ever opening a Bible. So at the age of 15, I began my quest to learn what the Bible taught. A whole new world was opened up to me. I thought I knew a lot about God and His love, but His Word opened my heart to truths that went far beyond the teaching of the church. It was in the Word that I learned about the life of Jesus, how He lived and how He wanted me to live. Reading the writings of Paul opened my eyes about human nature and how we overcome the flesh and the temptations of life. I found that stories in the OT held truths and life applications that were invaluable. Being a follow of the Lord was more that going to church on Sunday, it was a life style that I would seek to live to this very day. I don’t claim to be perfect, and I have made my share of mistakes in life, but this one thing I know, once I was blind, but now I see. Thank God, I became a follower of the Lord and received His Word in much affliction, but with joy in the Holy Spirit.