Overlooked

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Overlooked
 
6 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:12

It has become common to preach and advocate the second part of this verse while ignoring or overlooking the first. We need to be honest with each other and the world. The first part of this verse has not been invalidated or eradicated. "For the wages of sin is death" this is still the promise for the unforgiven. It will be their reality at the return of Christ. Both parts of this verse will be realized in the future. We need to be aware that this is a reality for those who sin. Life with Christ will be a reality for those who receive God's gift. They are both concrete future realities. Let us not gloss over or misrepresent the reality that the separation from God will be a hideous existence. Let us not perpetuate the ideology that death is the cessation of life. Death is the complete separation of the living from God. We are not going to cease to live. We are going to cease to live with God which is death. Or we can accept "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  As wonderful as the expectation of living with God is we must also be aware and conscious of the utter sorrowfulness of living totally without God will be.

Leia Mais…

Repent Revival

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Repent Revival

17 From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” Mathew 4:17

I have repented. Yes, I'm still working on it. I am still in the process of receiving all that is associated with repentance. This commandment of Christ still haunts me. It rattles me to my core because it is still a valid call. There are those around me that have not repented. I am not talking about those in Hollywood or in politics or business. Nor any other category of people, I am talking about my brother, sisters, nieces, nephews in short my family. There is an entire world living all around me that have not repented that have not accepted Christ. I pray for revival in this country, state, and city. I need to start praying for revival in my family.  Is it possible that we have not seen a great revival in this country because we are praying for someone else? The next great revival needs to begin at home. The great field of harvest is not in some far away city or country. It is within our homes. With the people, we break bread with. With those that will no longer listen to our message. If they won't listen how can we reach them? We need to pray for them. We need to stand in the gap for them. What that means is we need to chase after God on their behave. We need to cry out to God for their salvation. We need to get into the battle for their souls. They may not listen to us, but God has the resources to reach them He has the means to touch their hearts. 

Have we given up on our families? Have we written them off as unreachable, unworthy, hopeless unforgivable? Have we become blase about their eternal destination. Have we accepted them as a lost cause? Have we turned them over to eternal death? If we are to see revival it needs to start at home. If we have written off our families do you really think we will care about the lost of the world? This is a call to action to pray for your family to begin a revival in your home.

Leia Mais…

Shrink Back

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Shrink Back 

39 But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. Hebrews 10:39

To which do you belong? Seems like a silly question. If you've shrunk back, you probably wouldn't be reading this.  And if you belong to those of faith you would not need this.  Why then is it in the bible? Because there are those of us, who are teetering on our faith.  Those who are standing at the door of belief, not fully committed to entering. This is for those who are struggling to completely commit to the truth. I would like you to notice there is not a third option. You shrink back you will be destroyed, you believe you will be saved. This is not a profound theological concept, it is straightforward, believe and be saved doubt and die. Not making a choice is a choice that will lead to death. You cannot straddle the fence on this one. God does not allow it. 

Leia Mais…

Piercing The Veil

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3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. 2 Corinthians 4:4 NLT

The Good News of Jesus Christ is veiled by the deception and distortion of Satan. It can't be heard by the ears of those "who are perishing." Yet, we were all deceived before we believed. We all had a distorted ideology before the light of Christ came into our lives. Not all the lost need to remain lost. Not all who are presently deceived must remain deceived. Not everyone needs to perish. Not all are deaf, blind or permanently deceived. We must present the light of Christ which pierces the veil. Offer the Good News that clears distortion that afflicts the mind of Man.  We must be after the "lost sheep."

Leia Mais…

Slave to Sin - Righteous to Life

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Slave to Sin - Righteous to Life 

16 Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Romans 6:16

You can't live in limbo land. In a place free safe from consequences. There will be consequences for your actions. The consequences will either be beneficial to you or detrimental to you.  If you don't know it, you are eternal because the spirit of God in you is eternal. You cannot cease to exist.  The consequences of your action are not limited to this side of your existence.  The results of your actions will have permanent repercussions on your life. Which will continue after the end of this consciousness.  Death is not the cessation of life it is the permanent separation from God.  The slave you choose to be will determine your destination for eternity. Either you will live with God or separated from God. Where nothing good or perfect can exist.

Leia Mais…

Number Our Days

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Number Our Days

12 So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom. Psalms 90:12

Do you know when you will die? Obviously, the answer to that question is unknown. So this verse at first glance may not make sense. What would be the point in numbering our days? As I get older and realize there are fewer days in front of me than those behind. I now understand this verse.  The point of this verse is to remind us that our days are numbered that our life has an expiration date. From that knowledge, we can then set out to live a life of value, joy, and purpose. Wisdom in this sense refers to making your life count for you, not anyone else, you. Are you living a life of joy, meaning, purpose? It is your life and your days are numbered.

Leia Mais…

Resistance

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Resistance

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  James 4:7-8

I always related this verse to common sins like adultery, hate, child abuse,  robbery, and the like. Though it definitely applies to those crimes, the last words in verse eight are double-minded.  The term double-minded in this sense refers to the person who believes he can live in both worlds the world of righteousness and the world of secularism. The sin this verse relates to is the sin that says we can comingle righteousness with the desire to be inclusive or included in the bosom of man. Do not champion the sin of man as righteousness and do not celebrate sin as glory.  In other words, do not propagate, foster, validate a position of sin because you want to make it acceptable, or you want to be accepted. Sin is sin regardless of our attempts to justify it intellectualized it rationalize it or humanize it. Irrespective of the skillful efforts of the spin doctors to hide it, it is still sin, and it will still cost you your eternal life.

Leia Mais…

Cry Out

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Cry Out

4 The pangs of death surrounded me, And the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; The snares of death confronted me. 6 In my distress I called upon the Lord, And cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, And my cry came before Him, even to His ears. Psalms 18:4-6

Have you been there? When life seems to be hopeless when everything is aligned against you when death seems to be the only relief. Have you done like me froze, panicked, grasped at straws and made terrible decisions? Or have you done like David and cried out to the Lord with the confidence and the assured knowledge that God will hear your cry.  

 

 

 

 

Leia Mais…

Eternal Life?

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Eternal Life?

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Have you stopped and pondered this first? This verse is the reason I became a Christian. Eternal Life that is what we are promised have you ever thought about eternal life? I definitely would not like to live eternally under the rules of the world's societies. I would not like to live, and eternal lie where the most I can hope for is more of the same. I don't want to live forever having to fight the never ending battles of this life. I don't have it within me to struggle for that long I would prefer to die and cease the struggle. However, I look forward to the eternal life God has planned for me. A life lived in His perfect peace, His joy, and His provision. I want to live forever but only if I live with God.

Leia Mais…

A Different Life

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A Different Life

⁴ And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.” Revelations 21:4

No more tears, no more death, no sorrow, no crying, no pain, for life as we know it will cease. This is the promised hope of Christianity.  You really have to sit back and contemplate on what this verse says to fully appreciate what's  in store for us in the future. I have not seen, heard or have been offered a better life. Humanity has not come up with a better offer. The life God promises is what we are seeking a life of peace, joy, love and happiness.  

Leia Mais…

The Chosen

The Chosen

As a Christian and in the interest of civility I have restrained myself from commenting publicly about the upcoming election, but I cannot any longer. I am writing to Christians, because the secular world will not comprehend what I am writing about.  The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. Corinthians 2:14 (ESV)

“Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”( Genesis 2:7) I don't know how many of you appreciate the significance of this verse. God formed man from the dust of the earth. Man is not alive after he is formed. He is laying, I suppose on the ground in a lifeless body. Do you realize every other creature on the earth was spoken into existence, but not man! God breathed the breath of life into man. The essence of man's existence is not his wonderfully made body. The spark that began life was the very spirit of God that He “God” breathed into man. God did not speak man into existence. He formed him with His own hands and breathed His life into man.

There was, and I suppose there still is, within some circles an argument about when life begins. God answered that question in Genesis 2:7. Life began when God breathed life into Adam. The practical means by which life is propagated on this earth is the blessing God has allowed us to experience through the birth of a child. But make no mistake; life began when God breathed into the lifeless, perfectly designed body of Adam. The amazing reality of this breath of life is, it never dies. The breath of God that he breathed into Adam is part of the essence of God and therefore will never cease to exist. Humanity does not continue to exist because of sexual copulation. Humanity continues to exist because the spirit that was breathed into Adam is the eternal spirit of God. All of humanity exists because of the living breath of God, the Spirit of God sustains humanity.

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  John 1:1-3 John says all things were created through Him and without Him nothing can exist. That unborn child is not something that can be created without Christ.

What does God say about the beginning of life?

5 “I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb.

    Before you were born I set you apart

    and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)

The only way God could have selected Jeremiah before he was born was if He already knew everyone else. You cannot make a selection without having others to select from.  And, if He knows everyone before they are born, it must be He knew us before we were born. 

 David says:

14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

    your works are wonderful,

    I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14 (NIV)

    

David is talking about How God made Him. He is not just talking about himself because we are all made the same way we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

Look at what Job says:   

                            

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life. Job 33:4

Job understands that the breath of life that was breathed into Adam now gives him life. Job was not brought into existence directly from God as Adam was.

Jeremiah, speaking on God's behalf said: “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you;“I Appointed you a prophet to the nations.”

Jeremiah 1:5 (ESV)

God is no respecter of persons. If He formed Jeremiah in the womb and He knew him before he was born, God knows every unborn child, and God has chosen each one of them to receive the same breath and spirit He gave Adam.

    The standard, the call of defiance is women have a right to chose. That is a lie! God chooses that woman to have that child. Regardless of the condition, socioeconomic, poor, or rich and everything in between God has chosen to give that child His breath of life. No one, no woman or man, has the right, authority or moral superiority to tell God He made the wrong choice.

The choice of life was made by God long before the creation of the world. He knew, and He knows the condition of all humanity, and he has predetermined, pre-chosen to give life to every unborn child in the world.

Who are you Hillary Clinton to decide that the creator of the world was wrong and to condemn His chosen ones to death? Who will we be if we chose to side with her? Will we stand with her in defiance of the choice of God? If we do so, we are openly sacrificing our children on the altar of self. We are no better than those who in the past sacrificed their children to wood and metal gods. The one and only God has been replaced by the god of self. We have determined that we have the right to exterminate life on the basis of our own selfish desire.

If you are a Christian and believe in the biblical narrative, how do you justify the unrelenting genocide we are committing against the unborn. Consider this for a moment. What happens to the spirit of the unborn child? That same eternal spirit that is in you exists in that unborn child. The breath, yea, the Spirit of God that gives life has been discarded as a piece of trash by an ideology of selfishness.

And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27 ESV) Christians, we will all stand before God on the day of judgment. What will you say when God asks you what did you do when America was killing my children? I voted for Hillary!!! Will that be your answer? This election is not about economics. It is not about an ignorant buffoon. It is not about foreign policy. It is not about free education. All of these issues will continue to be debated and addressed throughout the existence of the United States. This election is about the continued sanctioned murder of the unborn.

You might try to say I never supported abortion but I can not stomach Trump and all he stands for. All he stands for can be fixed. The dead unborn child can't be fixed. Don't be a fool! Do not be misguided! God will not allow us to prosper if we as a nation continue to defy Him. The continued unjustified assault on His life will not go unpunished. We will reap the rewards of spiritual adultery. God will judge us not only on judgment day, but also today. We are powerless to prevent His judgment against this nation and on us as individuals. 

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14 KJV)

God is talking to you, not to the rest of the world. He is talking to all who believe they are His people. This is our responsibility.

               

               

Leia Mais…

After All Is Said and Done

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After All Is Said and Done

13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Ecclesiastes 12:13 (ESV)

After everything's said and done, when we come to the end of our lives, when we bring to accountant all we have done, the only aspect that will matter is our relationship with God. Will you come to the end of your life and find you neglected the most important thing. The goal, the purpose of your life, the reason you exist is to know God.

Leia Mais…

Author of Life

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Author of Life

15 and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from the dead. To this we are witnesses. Acts 3:15 (ESV)

In one verse Christianity is defined. Jesus Christ, the “Author of Life, ” was killed and resurrected by God, and by faith and belief in the word of God “we are the witness” of this.

Leia Mais…

The Life to Come

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The Life to Come

1 A good name is better than precious ointment, And the day of death than the day of one’s birth; Ecclesiastes 7:1

The day of my death will be the best day of my life, for only then will I meet my saviour face to face.

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From Death to Life

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From Death to Life

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. John 5:24

Have you heard Him? Do you believe Him? Do you have eternal Life?

Leia Mais…

Wages

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Wages

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23 (ESV)

We have earned death because we have sinned, we have been offered eternal life in Christ. Why do so many of us choose death over the glorious life Christ offers?

Leia Mais…