"Don't Keep It To Yourself!"

“Don’t Keep It To Yourself!”

 

In the assembly of all your people, LORD, I told the good news that you save us.   You know that I will never stop telling it.   I have not kept the news of salvation to myself; I have always spoken of your faithfulness and help.  In the assembly of all your people I have not been silent about your loyalty and constant love.       Psalm 40:9-10

 

Whenever a person falls in LOVE with someone, they can’t STOP talking about them.  They CONSTANTLY tell of ALL the ATTRIBUTES of the one they LOVE.  This is because, that one, they fell in Love with made an IMPACT on their life.  They CHANGED that person, into who they wanted them to be.  And now the one who was changed, is no longer saying or doing, what they USED to SAY and DO.  I guess you could say, that they were like a totally different individual, you know, like a NEW person.  This kind of reminds me of 2^nd Corinthians 5:17, where the Apostle Paul tells us that, “Anyone who is joined to Christ is a new being; the OLD is gone, the NEW has come.” 

 

Those who are TRULY in LOVE, will tell the GOOD NEWS!  They want EVERYONE, EVERWHERE to KNOW!  Isn’t that the way it should be when we enter a RELATIONSHIP with Jesus Christ?  I mean here is One, who LOVED mankind SO MUCH that He was BEATEN beyond recognition then NAILED to an OLD RUGGED CROSS, to die a CRUEL, HORRIBLE death, in order for MANKIND to ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS.  He provided SALVATION, FREELY to ALL who would TURN AWAY FROM their sinful lifestyle and TURN TO GOD with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART. And CONFESS their sins to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  Then BELIEVE, with ALL their HEART that JESUS died for them, and is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for them, before God.  And to ACCEPT GOD’S FREE GIFT of SALVATION, and to become a NEW BEING.  ALL THEY have to do is fall DEEPLY in LOVE with JESUS. 

 

And NOT KEEP IT to THEMSELVES, but to SHARE IT with EVERYONE, EVERYWHERE.  GO TELL SOMEBODY; “JESUS LOVES THEM and wants to SAVE THEM FROM an ETERNITY in HELL.  He really wants them to fall DEEPLY in LOVE with Him and His FATHER.  Will you do that, if you haven’t already?  Do it NOW, while you still can.   He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"Declare Me, Examine Me, and Test Me"

“Declare Me, Examine Me, and Test Me”

 

Declare me innocent, O LORD, because I do what is right and trust you completely.  Examine me and test me, LORD; judge my desires and thoughts.   Your constant love is my guide; your faithfulness always leads me.         Psalm 26:1-3

 

 

King David was a man after God’s own HEART.  Yes, there were times when he grievously SINNED against God, but David REPENTED and was brought back into a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with the Almighty God.   Therefore, he could, with a CLEAR conscious, ask God, the ONE TRUE JUDGE of ALL MANKIND, to DECLARE him INNOCENT.  David knew that he was striving to live a godly life, by doing what was RIGHT in the eyes of God.  And he TRUSTED GOD COMPLETELY.

 

David was so sure of his CLEAN HEART that he asked God to EXAMINE him.  In other words, he was saying to God; “Take and dissect my HEART and EXAMINE, or to look at EACH PART, CLOSELY and CAREFULLY and see that there are NO HIDDEN SINS or UNCLEANNESS, that has been tucked away in a corner.  More than likely, he CONFESSED ALL of his iniquities, and was CONFIDENT that NOTHING was there, that shouldn’t have been there.   

 

Then David asked God to TEST him, again he was CONFIDENT that whatever came his way, he COULD OVERCOME IT, because of his RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God.  And after the TESTING, God could KNOW that David’s FAITH was STEADFAST, and he was CONSISTENT in his OBEDIENCE to God.

 

David then sums it all up with; “judge my desires and thoughts.”  I believe that David KNEW that the ALMIGHTY, OMNISCIENT, GOD already KNEW what David’s DESIRES and THOUGHTS were.  But David was SO ASSURED of his RELATIONSHIP with God that he was WILLING to OPEN up his whole being, and then be JUDGED from the contents of his HEART.   David KNEW of God’s CONSTANT LOVE and FAITHFULNESS towards him, and TRUSTED them to be his GUIDE.  Are you, like David, SO ASSURED of your RELATIONSHIP with God that you are WILLING for Him to DECLARE you INNOCENT, and to EXAMINE your HEART, then to let Him put you to the TEST?  Do you have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with Him?  Do you have any HIDDEN or UNCONFESSED SINS in your HEART that is tainting your RELATIONSHIP with Him? 

 

If you are TRULY His Child, and this is the case, you NEED to get things RIGHT between YOU and HIM, so you too, like David, can say; “DECLARE me INNOCENT. “  However, if you have NEVER given your HEART and LIFE to God, you have NO RELATIONSHIP with Him, and after He JUDGES you, He will DECLARE you GUILTY, and sentence you to an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY of ESCAPING.  So, in order for you to ESCAPE HELL, you MUST TURN AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST CONFESS ALL your sins to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  Then you MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART that, Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with Him, and HEAR Him DECLARE you INNOCENT.  Then spend your ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"Righteousness and Cleanness"

“Righteousness and Cleanness”

 

The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands He has rewarded me.

I have been blameless before Him and have kept myself from sin.   The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

Psalms 18:20, 23, 24

 

This Psalm is a song that David sang to the Lord, because He DELIVERED David from the hands of ALL his enemies, to include the hand of Saul.  David was WORSHIPPING and PRAISING God for ALL that God had done to DELIVER him and PROTECT him.  God had RESCUED David from the hands of his enemies, and He can RESCUE US from the hand of our ENEMY, the Devil.

 

In verses one through nineteen, David describes his deliverance by the Lord.  In the following verses, twenty through twenty-four, David speaks of his FAITH.  He KEPT the ways of the Lord, he did NOT TURN AWAY from God nor His laws and decrees.  David kept his integrity and kept himself from his sin.  And because of his FAITHFULNESS, God DELIGHTED in DAVID, and He RESCUED him from ALL His enemies. 

 

God DEALT with David according to his RIGHTEOUSNESS or RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with Him.  He RESCUED David from ALL of his enemies.  And when we are RIGHTEOUS or have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God, He will DELIVER us from our MOST DANGEROUS of all enemies, the Devil, the one who can DESTROY our soul and send it to an ETERNITY in HELL, the place of EVERLASTING HORRORS, and NO WAY of ESCAPING, once you are there. 

 

David stated that God REWARDED him because of the “CLEANNESS of his hands.  David wasn’t talking about having dirt or mud on his hands, but he was alluding to LIVING a CLEAN LIFE.  David kept the ways of the Lord, he did NOT TURN AWAY FROM God, but he turned to God and God HEARD David’s CRY and RESCUED him, all because of David’s RIGHTEOUSNESS or RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God.  Do YOU have a RIGHT RELATIONSHIP with God?  Has He RESCUED you from the Devil?  Or are you CAPTURED by the ENEMY, and destined for an ETERNITY in HELL?

 

God wants to RESCUE and REWARD you too.  This is what you MUST DO to be RESCUED and REWARDED.  You MUST TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL LIFESTYLE, and TURN TO GOD, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  Then you MUST CONFESS your sins to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  Then you MUST ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION and be RESCUED and REWARDED, because of your RIGHTEOUSNESS and CLEANNESS.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"Looking Forward"

“Looking Forward”

 

So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with Him.         2 Peter 3:14

 

I find the older I get the MORE I LOOK FORWARD to the RAPTURE of God’s Children, the SECOND COMING of the Lord, and spending ETERNITY in Heaven.  It seems like, here lately, EVERY NEW YEAR, I ask:  “Will this be the year that ALL of this takes place?”  I KNOW it WILL take place, because God says it WILL.  

 

The Apostle Peter, tells us that the FINAL scenario of the END will be when the Day of the Lord will come like a thief.  The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare. (V10)   That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens, which is the earth’s atmosphere and the starry skies.  This will be done by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. (V12)  So in keeping with God’s promise, we, who are TRUE BELIEVERS, should be LOOKING FORWARD to a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH, where RIGHTEOUSNESS dwells. (V 13).

 

In the meantime, what should the TRUE BELIEVER do?  Well, our Scripture today, tells us that we should WORK HARD, make EVERY EFFORT to be found SPOTLESS, BLAMELESS and at PEACE with God.  In verses eleven and twelve we see that as TRUE BELIEVERS, we SHOULD LIVE HOLY and GODLY LIVES as we LOOK FORWARD to the Day of God and SPEED its COMING.   The way to SPEED its COMING, is through LIVING GODLY LIVES, PRAYING and WITNESSING, bringing others to SALVATION. 

 

Our Lord is PATIENT and wishes that NONE will PERISH, but on the other hand, He KNOWS that MANY will REJECT Him and His gift of SALVATION.  Are you one of those, who is REJECTING Jesus Christ and God’s gift of SALVATION?  I MUST TELL you that TIME is RUNNING OUT! The Lord Jesus could come to RAPTURE ALL of God’s Children, those who have ACCEPTED Jesus Christ and will live in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS, for ALL ETERNITY, and this could happen at ANY MOMENT.  If you have REJECTED GOD and His gift of SALVATION, you are headed for an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY of ESCAPE once you are there. 

 

However, God doesn’t want that for you.  So He has provided a plan to RESCUE you from HELL and ALL its HORRORS.  This is what He wants you to do:  TURN AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle, and TURN TO HIM with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST CONFESS your sins to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS. Then you MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and start LOOKING FORWARD to your FINAL DESTINY.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON, it could be TODAY!!!

"The Resolution of a True Believer"

“The Resolution of a True Believer”

 

I will be careful to lead a blameless life---when will you come to me?  I will conduct the affairs of my house with a blameless heart.  I will not look with approval on anything that is vile.  I hate what faithless people do; I will have no part in it.  The perverse of heart shall be far from me; I will have nothing to do with what is evil.        Psalm 101:2-4

 

Well, we are several days into the New Year, 2019, and I would venture to say that some people are ALREADY breaking their NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS.  In one sense, it is USELESS to make a RESOLUTION ESPECIALLY one, which you KNOW, full well, you won’t carry out.  I was taught NOT to promise something you can’t deliver. 

 

Notice, in our Scripture, King David, a man after God’s own heart, makes a vow, a RESOLUTION of sorts, but he clearly states that he will be CAREFUL to lead a BLAMELESS LIFE.  In essence David was saying that he would be CAUTIOUS to LEAD a BLAMELESS LIFE.  BLAMELESS does NOT mean a SINLESS LIFE, living a SINLESS LIFE is IMPOSSIBLE for mankind.  There WAS and IS ONLY ONE who has ever lived a SINLESS LIFE, and that is JESUS CHRIST.  The word BLAMELESS means the same as, INTEGRITY.  So David was saying that he would be CAREFUL to LEAD a LIFE of INTEGRITY.  The kings in David’s time were generally evil and wicked in their lifestyles.  But David was RESOLUTE to DO what he KNEW God would want him to do.  And NOT just for himself, but for his WHOLE HOUSEHOLD.

 

He would NOT APPROVE or CONDONE ANYTHING of a VILE nature.  David sinned against God, not just once, and he paid DEARLY for the consequences of those sins.  But David’s HEART was still turned towards God and His laws.  He sought after the things of God, and LED his people to do the same.  

 

MAKING a RESOLUTION is EASY, but KEEPING ONE is HARD, especially if it is of a spiritual nature, one that would bring you into a CLOSER RELATIONSHIP with God.  David RESOLVED to NOT be around, VILE, PERVERTED, FAITHLESS people, and to NOT PARTAKE in their EVIL activities.  In doing this, it would help him to KEEP his RESOLUTION to be BLAMELESS, or a man of INTEGRITY, and to LEAD others to be the same.  What is your RESOLUTIONS, are you WORKING HARD to surround yourself with things that will HELP you KEEP them?

 

IF you are a TRUE BELIEVER, DON’T make promises to God that you won’t WORK HARD to KEEP.  If you are an UNBELIEVER, the VERY BEST RESOLUTION you can MAKE and KEEP, is to GIVE your HEART and LIFE to GOD, and to ESCAPE an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS.  The way to do that is to TURN AWAY FROM your SINFUL lifestyle, and TURN TO God with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  Then you MUST CONFESS your sins to Him and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  You MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in Heaven, making intercession for you, before God.  Then ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and BE RESOLVED to LIVING for Him and GAINING an ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

 

"A POWERFUL New Year!"

“A POWERFUL New Year!”

 

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being.  So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.  And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge---that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.           Ephesians 3:16-19

 

This is a prayer of the Apostle Paul, for the TRUE BELIEVERS in Ephesus.  It was the desire of the Apostle that they would be STRENGTHENED with POWER in their INNER BEING, through God’s Holy Spirit.  Unfortunately, we allow our WEAKNESSES to control our FAITH and TRUST in God’s ALMIGHTY POWER.  Could it be because we have never really experienced His POWER, like the POWER of the RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ? 

 

When you really THINK about God’s POWER, and you REALIZE that an individual is GLORIOUSLY SAVED by the POWER of God’s MERCY and GRACE, and they are SEALED and KEPT by the POWER of His Holy Spirit, until SALVATION is made COMPLETE.  By His POWER Christ indwells the TRUE BELIEVER in their HEART, through their FAITH, meaning that Jesus Christ is DEEPLY ROOTED in the life of the BELIEVER, and that He rules over the attitudes and conduct of the TRUE BELIEVER, by His SUPERIOR POWER.  

 

It is Paul’s prayer that ALL TRUE BELIEVERS be ROOTED and ESTABLISHED in LOVE and have the POWER to be able to GRASP the WIDTH, the LENGTH, the HEIGHT, and DEPTH of the LOVE of Christ Jesus.  And NOT to just KNOW with KNOWLEDGE, because the LOVE of Christ SURPASSES KNOWLEDGE.  You MUST EXPERIENCE, His LOVE, in order to TRULY KNOW His LOVE.  Then you may be FILLED to the MEASURE of ALL the FULLNESS of God.  The COMPLETE FULLNESS of the GODHEAD is in Christ, and it is ONLY through Him that a TRUE BELIEVER can EXPERIENCE the MEASURE of ALL God’s FULLNESS.  What a way to begin a NEW YEAR, under the CONTROL of the POWER and LOVE of Jesus Christ.  Will this be the BEGINNING of the NEW YEAR for YOU?

 

If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God, then you cannot EXPERIENCE or TRULY KNOW the POWER and LOVE of Christ Jesus, and you are headed for an ETERNITY in Hell, with ALL its HORRORS.  You have the OPPORTUNITY NOW to TURN AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle, and TURN TO God, with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST CONFESS your sins to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  Then you MUST BELIEVE with ALL your HEART that, Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE in HEAVEN, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, and EXPERIENCE the POWER and LOVE of the ALMIGHTY GOD, provided by His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and spend ETERNITY in HEAVEN, with ALL its BLESSINGS.  Do this NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!

"Enlightenment for the New Year!"

“Enlightenment for the New Year!"

 

Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you, what are the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints and what is the immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His great might that He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.         Ephesians 1:18-20

 

It is IMPOSSIBLE to have a CLOSE RELATIONSHIP with Almighty God, a part from the work of the Holy Spirit.  It is the Spirit of God that gives us a spirit of WISDOM and of REVELATION in the KNOWLEDGE of CHRIST. 

 

Our prayer for the New Year should be one that petitions God for SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING.  That God might give us UNDERSTANDING of His Word, through the work of His Spirit.  ENLIGHTENING us about the HOPE of our SALVATION, which is HOPE that is given to us NOT because of OUR GOODNESS, but because of GOD’S GLORIOUS GRACE.  And to KNOW what are the riches of His GLORIOUS INHERITANCE for those who have TRULY GIVEN their HEARTS and LIVES to Him.

 

We should be ENLIGHTENED to the IMMEASURABLE GREATNESS of His POWER.  The same POWER that was at work in Christ Jesus when He RAISED Him from the dead and then SEATED Him at His right hand in HEAVENLY PLACES.  This POWER is an ENERGETIC POWER or WORKING POWER, it is also available to TRUE BELIEVERS, today, and it provides spiritual VITALITY, POWER and STRENGTH in living the CHRISTIAN LIFE.   

 

As a TRUE BELIEVER, you can have ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY of VICTIORY through God’s provision of GRACE.  Because of Jesus Christ’s DEATH, RESURRECTION, and ASCENSION to the RIGHT HAND of GOD.  He is ABOVE ALL RULE, AUTHORITY, POWER and DOMINION.  His NAME is ABOVE EVERY NAME that is named, NOT ONLY in this age, but in the one to come.  As His Children we have the HOPE of spending ALL of ETERNITY in HEAVEN with God and His Son, Jesus Christ.  Are YOU His Child?  Is this YOUR DESTINY?

 

If you have NOT given your HEART and LIFE to God, then you are NOT His Child, and you cannot have a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP with Him, nor can you spend ALL of ETERNITY in HEAVEN.  Your destiny is an ETERNITY in HELL, with ALL its HORRORS, and NO WAY of ESCAPE.  Your only HOPE is for you to TURN AWAY FROM your sinful lifestyle and TURN TO God with a TRUE REPENTANT HEART.  You MUST CONFESS your sins to Him, and ask Him for His FORGIVENESS.  Then you MUST BELIEVE, with ALL your HEART, that Jesus died for YOU, and is ALIVE, in Heaven, SEATED at the RIGHT HAND of God, making intercession for you, before God.  You MUST ACCEPT His gift of SALVATION, with the HOPE of an ETERNITY in HEAVEN.  Let His HOLY SPIRIT ENLIGHTEN you to the IMMEASURABLE GREATNESS of God’s POWER, and develop a CLOSE RELATIONSHIP with Him.  Do it NOW, while you still can.  He’s waiting and coming SOON!!!