The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend

Ro 5:3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
Ro 5:4 perseverance, character; and character, hope

___________________________

www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSEMAL4OknM
I just watched this movie tonight on TBN. I had a conversation today with a friend of mine about how important encouragement can be to others. Pete Maravich would not have become the basketball player that he was, without the daily encouragement of his loving Dad. His Dad taught him to go for his dream, knowing that he would achieve it. At one point in this movie, his Mother wanted to pull him from the team, because the coach was not playing him, and the other kids on the team resented the fact that he was playing on a varsity team in the 8th grade. She was tired of seeing her son sit on the bench, and the pain that was in his heart. Instead of giving up, his Dad had a talk with the coach. Not only did he encourage him but he stood behind him. He went out of his way to do whatever he could to back his son. He looked at his son's dream as if he were a partner at making it happen. This movie is an excellent example of the encouragement and support that we need to give to each other. The way that we should stand by one another and offer that postive word. The extra push to help someone see their dreams come true. All too often, we stand by and become a willing participant in creating the perfect excuse with another, as to why they are unable to follow through on something they are trying to accomplish. I say, let's push them harder when they seem like they are going to fall, instead of protecting them out of fear. Stand behind them and cheer them on to victory! What a world with Faith would look like! Winning isn't everything, it is playing the game that counts.

Pete Maravich was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in May 1987. At age 39, he was one of the youngest players ever inducted.

THERE IS NO CONDEMNATION IN CHRIST

Jn 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Jn 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
________________________________

Jesus is more than a great teacher. He is more than a prophet. He is the only Son of the Living God! God sent His Son to save us. He loves us that much that He does not want to pour His wrath on us for our sins. He gave us a way out of condemnation, we just need to choose the Way the Truth and the Life, Jesus. The only way that we can get to Heaven is through our BELIEF in Him.

GOOD NEWS? THAT'S GREAT NEWS!!!

Ro 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Ro 5:10 For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Ro 5:11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
________________________________________

I think of the words Good News or Gospel all of the time when I read a verse like this above. I look at it an entire different way now. I know see the Good News or rather AWESOME NEWS!! and why they were running around trying to get this message out. Really think about what the Good News is. You turn to Jesus and BELIEVE that you are covered in His blood, and you are free from the wrath that God will in fact pour out on this Earth. So many people are afraid of the year 2012 and how the end may be here. I am at total peace with it. In the end, I know I am saved. I am 100% sure that I am going to Heaven when I die. I know that I will not face the wrath of God, because I am covered in the blood of Christ. It states through whom we have now received reconciliation. That means it's already there over and done with for the BELIEVER. We are so conditioned to this world that we live in where someone promises something and does not deliver, or when they give us a gift they must expect something in return. I feel that is why some even though having read these verses in the Bible, refuse to BELIEVE it could be that easy and when you refuse to BELIEVE, you are not saved. Let's say a person walks up to you to hand you a gift. You look at them politley and say, ummm no I cannot really accept that from you, but thank you so much anyway. They keep offering but you keep saying no, I am sorry but I just cannot BELIEVE that you want to give that to me free and clear so, I won't accept it. Finally, they walk away hoping you will change your mind. Who has the gift at that point? I mean they told you it was for you right? The problem is that you are sitting there empty handed of your own doing. You refused to accept the gift. It's still there there with your name on it. All you have to do is BELIEVE the promise that it is your Gift to take.

There must be a catch! It cannot be that easy! Friends if someone is preaching fire and brimstone to you and Jesus Christ, think twice about staying at this church. If someone is teaching works as a way of salvation, move on. There is no condemnation in Christ.

Don't believe me? Ask your Father. Seek Him with all your Heart and you will find Him.

FLYBOYS?

In my quiet time with the Lord today, He laid it opon my heart to give an analogy from the movie Flyboys. If you have not seen it, I encourage you to make it your next movie. In my mind, I was shown a people that think they will be safe at the end of times, if they are standing on neutral ground. Basically, if they are not picking a side in this spiritual war, that we are battling on this Earth. They are not choosing Jesus or satan. These people I am speaking of, are choosing to go this battle on their own. Friends, there is no doubt that Jesus is coming back to claim what is His. God has provided a way for us to enter into His glory and be saved from this war. It is through His Son as we have been reading in Romans. Our only part is to realize that we cannot fight this battle on our own any longer. We need to BELIEVE the promise that God sent Jesus to die in place of us, so that we can be justified before God on judgment day. We need to be heartfully sorry for the things we have done that were not of God’s best for us (sin). If you have broken relationships, anger issues, addictions, etc. You can be sure that there is sin reigning in your life that you are struggling with. You are in bondage to something that only Jesus can free you from. All you need to do is come to Him with a heart set on making your wrongs right. BELIEVE that He can change your life, and He will. Surrender your will to His. Trust that you are forgiven and forgive yourself.

This is a scene from Flyboys. Beagle's plane comes apart and he crash-lands hard in the middle of a battlefield where infantry from both sides fire at each other, and the enemy shoots at Beagle whose hand is stuck under the wreckage, making him unable to flee. Blaine ends up landing and darting through the battlefield. With no alternative, Blaine uses a shovel to cut off Beagle's hand because it is pinned under his plane. They then run over to their side, avoiding gunfire, with Beagle's plane being hit and then exploding.

Wow, this is a powerful scene to me that speaks to this situation of thinking we are safe going things alone! If you see the movie, please let this scene stand out in your mind and think about what I am saying. There is Beagle (us) pinned under his plane. What is your plane (sin) that is pinning you down? Here comes the main character Blaine (Jesus) coming to our aid. During this entire scene Beagle keeps telling Blaine to just leave him there (we tend to refuse the help of others out of pride). They are in the middle, stuck in the crossfire of the two sides. What a dangerous place for us to be! We have the enemy shooting at us, and some of our own side because they cannot tell through the smoke and commotion which side we are on (our actions). Eventually, Blaine had to make a decision that he knew was going to be very painful for Beagle of cutting his hand off. There is Beagle knowing his life depends on this, but screaming NO NO NO! He would have rather stayed there pinned under his plane, which would have eventually led to his death. Sometimes Jesus has to take things or people out of our life that we are comfortable with, that are catering to our sin in order to transform our lives. Sometimes it is a temporary time off and sometimes, we will have to say goodbye forever. The good news is that He does not take anything away without giving you something in return and that He knows what is best for us. We need complete trust in our one and only true savior, Jesus Christ for life.

There is only one thing that is different about this story. Beagle did not need to ask Blaine to come and get him. They were on the same side of the war. Jesus needs to know which side we want to be on. He will not force us just as they do not force you to choose a side in war. We need to choose. I choose life! I choose Jesus!

REJOICE IN YOUR SUFFERINGS

Ro 5:3 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;
Ro 5:4 perseverance, character; and character, hope.
Ro 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
__________________________

It stinks to be in pain. There is no doubt about it. It hurts when someone hurts us. It hurts when a prayer is unanswered. It hurts when someone dies. It hurts to realize that we have messed up things and have to wait on God to fix them. If we can remove ourselves from the feeling of pain long enough, there is much growth to be had. I challenge you to look back on your biggest points of pains that you have had in your life, and test this scripture to behold it's Truth. This is one of the many reasons why it is so good to keep a journal. It allows you to look back on past happenings and learn from them. Our minds have a strange way of forgetting, especially if we do not particulary want to face the truth of any given circumstance. If you do not have a journal, I invite you to sit in silence for a bit and recall some of this past pain. After you walked through it, did it not strengthen your character? How about lesson? Did it teach you something that you may not have learned if you had not experienced the pain? Sometimes the pain is a result of our own poor choicces and we just learn from them. There are times however that God is using the pain to get us out of our comfort zone and onto the narrow path of life. Sometimes it takes something radical to force us to make appropriate changes in our life in order to secure a better future for ourselves. We will not always know the reason for our suffering but we can rest assured that God is in control and He will use even the worst of things for our best (ROM 8:28). How hopeless life would be without believing that promise God has made to those of us that love Him. Walk through whatever you are going through with full Faith that God can and will use the situation for the best of all involved. Know that this too shall pass, and someday you will have back double of whatever the devil has stolen. If you BELIEVE.

I never Saul such a conversion

Saul’s Conversion
Ac 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest
Ac 9:2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
Ac 9:3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
Ac 9:4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
Ac 9:5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied.
Ac 9:6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
Ac 9:7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.
Ac 9:8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.
Ac 9:9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
Ac 9:10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered.
Ac 9:11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying.
Ac 9:12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
Ac 9:13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem.
Ac 9:14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
Ac 9:15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.
Ac 9:16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Ac 9:17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”
Ac 9:18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized,
Ac 9:19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength
_______________________________

When we hear His Word and truly BELIEVE, we will become obedient and follow His instructions through His Holy Spirit, and let them guide us into His Kingdom. Saul, heard the word of God and was Obedient to God's instructions to go to the town he needed to in order to receive his sight back. Another believer, Ananias had to be obedient to God and meet Saul. This had to be humbling for each one of them. Saul had been killing believers. Why would Ananias want to help Saul gain his site? How humbling it had to be for Saul to ask a BELIEVER for help. Ananias was instructed to meet Saul in a vision and was informed that Saul would regain his sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit (ACTS 9:13). When he received his site back, the Bible states that something like scales had fallen off Sauls eyes and that he regained his sight and was baptized. There are two baptisms in Christ. One of Water (repentance) and one of Spirit (Belief). I believe that Saul's baptism at that time was one of Spirit. The seal that he received by BELIEVING the words God had spoken to Him. I feel The scales that had fallen off his eyes, were symbolic to viewing the word differently after he became a true believer. When I hear the words scales, it brings the following to mind because a snake and a dragon have scales:
Rev 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with himIt is written that our eyes are the lamps of our body (MAT 6:22). I feel that satan distorts our vision just as he warps our minds with his lies. This causes us to see the worst in others rather than the best. When we receive the Spirit of Christ, we see through the eyes of Christ because he is living in us (GAL 2:20). This is all a part of the transformation process. We begin to see others through the eyes of love rather than the accusatory eyes the devil would have us look through. (REV 12:10)

Although the next story in ACTS is speaking of Saul's ministry, Luke does not mention that Saul spent three years after his initial conversion in Arabia. That’s right the desert (GAL 1:11). It seems the Spirit leads us into the wilderness right after our baptisms. This is because Jesus has a work that He wants to complete in you, before you are ready to soar with the Eagles and further advance His Kingdom. I say this tonight as an encouragement. I was baptized on April 23Rd, 2006. Only recently was I sealed with the Holy Spirit by a true BELIEF that I am a sinner in need of a Savior, because I was so tired of trying to do things my way and trying to lead a good life by my own works. I humbly came to Him because I had no other place to go. I never had the joy that everyone speaks of when they speak of receiving Christ. I had all the Biblical knowledge, that is for sure but it had not made its way to my heart. Now I do! I feel it all the time! If you have been following Christ for some time and do not feel this yet, keep pressing on. You will get there. Nothing is wrong with you. Some are saved immediately, some take more time. Everything is in God’s perfect timing. He knows when you are ready to truly BELIEVE. Just keep abiding in Him. He who began a good work in you will see it through to completion (PHIL 1:6).

ps: In case you do not know, Saul was later re-named Paul by God. That is right! God chose a person who killed many believers and was out to destroy the church, to be one of the biggest proponents of Christ. If you feel you are unworthy to be transformed by God, think again. God uses the biggest sinners to make the biggest changes. If you are looking down on someone because their sins seems worse than yours, do be careful for one day they may have more crowns on thier head in heaven than you.

COME TO THE CROSS

Ro 4:18 Against all hope, Abraham in hope BELIEVED and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, “So shall your offspring be.”
Ro 4:19 Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old and that Sarah’s womb was also dead.
Ro 4:20 Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God,
Ro 4:21 being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised.
Ro 4:22 This is why “it was credited to him as righteousness.”
Ro 4:23 The words “it was credited to him” were written not for him alone,
Ro 4:24 but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness—for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead.
Ro 4:25 He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.
_________________________________

The wages of sin is death (ROM 6:23). We all have a sinful mind and heart(ROM 3:23). God cannot stand in the presence of sin. Therefore God would have to condemn everyone of us to death for our sins. Knowing this and loving us enough to not want this to happen, he sent His Son to die on a Cross so that we would not have to face our well deserved death (JOHN 3:16). When you come humbly to the Cross, when you come to a place where you know that you are unable to live a blameless life of your own works, you will realize that you are in need of the saving Grace that is offered to you when you truly BELIEVE in the promise God has given to you. Confess your sins before the Lord, invite the savior into your heart. He will come and He will save you and forgive you. All you need to do is BELIEVE. Once you make this decision, walk forward with your head held high with bold assurance that you are saved! You must BELIEVE this in your heart. Christ does not want religious theories at His Cross. He wants your heart and He wants to have a relationship with you. It is the relationship that you have with Christ and the trust you have in His Word and promises that will save and transform your life. There is nothing else you can do for eternal life. Put your salvation in God and not in man. Don't be a follower of anyone but Christ. Once you cultivate this relationship, Christ will show you the way to go from there. It is the Belief in His Promise of His blood covering your sin that will seal you with the Spirit. The Spirit will lead you down the straight path. This will not be of any work of your own but only the Grace of God. All you have to do is BELIEVE.

Do you have a broken relationship with someone because of your pride? Are you in financial crisis because you have tried to live outside the means that God has provided to you? Are you lonely because you have a void inside of you that you refuse to fill with God? In your quest for perfection, have you lost your friends because they were unable to live up to your impossible standards? All of these are forms of sin playing out in your life. God can make you whole again through Christ. Christ will transform your heart and make you into the person that you long to be. Christ in your heart will restore the unity you long for. IT IS A PROMISE WORTH BELIEVING!

WE ARE WHAT WE ARE ...OR ARE WE?

Ro 4:17 As it is written: “I have made you a father of many nations.” He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were.
______________________________

God brings us back to life by allowing the Spirit of Christ to live in us, if we choose to BELIEVE. While we are still walking in darkness before we turn to Christ, our Heavenly Father calls us to something great in this life as if we are already that something great. It may be the many gifts and talents that He is giving us, or knowing that even though we are struggling with many sins, He is going to deliver us from them and we are going to become beautiful butterflies in Christ. The point is that He is looking at the beauty in us before it is even a thought in our mind. He knows who we will become in Christ. We are unable to see it but the good news is that He does. If we could only do this same thing for others. Perhaps we should choose to see potential in someone today. Give them a word of encouragement. Make it a task to pick a person to lift up in Christ. Speak blessings fourth on their lives. See them as God sees them. Whatever you see in someones life that is not the best for them, see them living it to God. Whenever we are living to God, we are living our best. In order to do this, we must see this in ourselves first. We must see who we are in God's eyes. We cannot give something we do not have. We need to give ourselves, grace, mercy, and patience. God does. God also expects us to freely give to others what He has freely given to us. Whatever measure you use, it will be measured to you (LUK 6:38). Might as well start measuring with a God sized measuring cup! :)

UPHOLDING THE LAW THROUGH CHRIST

Ro 3:27 Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.
Ro 3:28 For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.
Ro 3:29 Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too,
Ro 3:30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith.
Ro 3:31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law.
__________________________________

up·hold \(")əp-'hōld\ vt, -held \-'held\ -hold·ing (13c)
1 a : to give support to b : to support against an opponent
2 a : to keep elevated b : to lift up support
— up·hold·er n

_________________________________

Jesus brought a new covenant of love. The work of Jesus on the Cross began because of God's love for us (JHN 3:16). We needed the Commmandments in order to physically understand what sin is. It gave us a place to start. As humans, we need this tangible information in order to understand the spiritual nature of Christ. We need to sometimes physically act things out in order to understand them. Someone can explain something new to you. You may pick up a lot of what they are saying but there is nothing like hands-on training. This is why I feel Jesus spoke in parables, so that He could compare his spiritual teachings and lessons with something their mind could relate to. The problem is that when Jesus came to show the new covenant, the Jewish leaders were more in love with their religious customs, and the security and power that it brought to them. In the days of Christ, the scribes, Pharisees, etc. earned their living by being spokespersons for God and explaining the observations of the law and upholding them to it. They were also using this law to create bondage for the people and slavery to sin. They were making them feel as if they needed to be perfect in order for God to love them. All the while they were doing this, they knew in their hearts that they were not upholding the law themselves. Instead they were being hypocritical. I feel bad for them. That is what they had been trained their entire lives. They were trying to be who they thought they were supposed to be in God. The only thing that I see that Jesus was upset with is the fact that they knew they were holding the people accountable but in their hearts and by their actions, they were not doing it themselves. I am sure they were also running with teachings that man decided to throw into what Moses had originally said. This happens still today. Most likely a lot of them doing it for their own gain whether it be egoic or financial gain, or power. So imagine this scenario in your head with me. We have groups of people who have lorded it over to others for many years. Everyone came to them for all answers about things that were very important to the people. They were secure in their positions and comfortable with their way of life. Does this sound familiar to any of you? Jesus came to reveal a new covenant of love. One of thinking from your heart and doing what is right for that reason. When someone commands that you to do something, what is your first gut reaction? Of course, the answer is NO! As a matter of fact, you will go to great lengths sometimes to assure that you will do what was commanded not to and maybe even worse. This is a sinful human nature of a fallen world. Even if something is right, we have so much pride and evil in us, we don't want to do it simply because we were told to. Especially if it is connected to a long-standing belief that we have held. Jesus knew that if we had His Spirit in us, one of love, we would naturally want to do things for the good of all because we love one another, and in taking this approach we would uphold the law out of love. This is no longer an action born of obligation but of the heart. Doesn't it always feel better when you are doing things out of your heart? These religious sects had only known of serving God in these ritualistic and non-heart committed actions in most cases. They were used to it, it was comfortable and no one was going to come and tell them otherwise. Even though I believe they had to know in their hearts that they themselves could not live up to the practices they had been preaching and they had to feel the bondage it was creating inside of them. Still they were going to make sure that everyone else did and no one was going to come around there and change things. No way, not on their time. Their hearts were hardened to letting the people out of their bondage of needing them and to the laws, just as Pharaoh's was to letting his slaves free. Jesus came to free us from this bondage just as God had freed the Israelites from Egypt. They knew His Truth would set them free. It is funny how our human nature would rather sit in bondage to something rather than make a change. We are so comfortable where we are even if it is bad for us. Like a baby that cries when you change his dirty diaper. It was warm and familiar sure it stinks and causes a rash, but who wants to go through the seemingly uncomfortable and cold diaper change? Jesus is not looking to change our diaper, He is looking to change our heart. There are very many uncomfortable moments that will happen to us through the transformation but in the end, we will be free.

I challenge you to exam your life. I bet there is at least one thing you can say that you are in bondage to. Is it what someone else thinks of you? Is it your appetite? Is it your job/money? Is it your false sense of freedom? If you have not already, make your starting point turning to Christ. Accept His gift of His blood poured out for you on The Cross. BELIEVE this in your heart and receive His Spirit. Read your Bible and keep communion with Him and community with other BELIEVERS. He will make radical changes in your heart if you choose to let Him. Seek Him with all your heart and you will find Him. Seek His Kingdom first and the rest will be given. His Truth will set you free.

WHY DID CHRIST COME ?

Ro 3:20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law (10 COMMANDMENTS); rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
Ro 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Ro 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Ro 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
Ro 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished
Ro 3:26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
____________________________________

The Spirit of Christ is the fulfillment of the law that we have written on our hearts. This same Spirit convicts us if we are not living properly and guides us into living the life that God has meant for us to live. The deeper the connection with His Spirit, the deeper the conviction to a point where breaking the commandments(LAW) is something we will not want to do. It becomes a reverent fear of God coupled with the love of Christ, through the BELIEF of His promise of salvation that transforms our hearts/minds. We begin to come to a place in this transformation, of fulfilling the law from a sense of loving others rather than through obligation. These are the laws of Christ, To love the Lord your God will all your heart soul and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Loving the Lord your God must come first. We love Him by creating a relationship with Him and BELIEVING the promise He gave us through Christ. We cannot have a relationship with someone if we do not get to know who they are as a person. We get to know the Father's Word by reading it in our Bible. We cannot relate to God by reading mere words alone. He knew this so He sent his Son to show us the Word living and active. Jesus is the Living Word. Communication is essential to a relationship. Communication is tough because we are all coming from different backgrounds, we have learned that certain words mean certain things and we use some words in different contexts than another would. Words alone cannot cultivate communication. We need to observe some one's actions and mannerisms. We need to hear their tone of voice when they speak. We need to know who they are as a person. Have you ever noticed that someone can be speaking to you and they use a word that is out of context, but you knew what they meant to say because of the tone of their voice or mannerisms, or because you know who they are as person? Ever tried this reading a e-mail or text, or speaking with someone you don't know that well? Sometimes, we can figure it out but more often than not, we get confused and can read all kinds of things into what they meant. This is one of the reasons that Jesus took on the earthly form of man and kept daily fellowship with His apostles. To be an example of the Word lived out in flesh. So that the people that were sent to record His Word, had access to the physical attributes that came along with it in Jesus and knew Him as a person. This was done so that they would record the meanings of the Words properly. After this, He sent His Spirit to live in the hearts of HIS BELIEVERS(GAL2:20). This is why there are many people that have written the new Testament that were not initial Apostles, but were still writing the inspired Word of God. He lived in them. Be sure to read my story of Saul that I will be posting soon on this.

Jesus was divine however in the way that he never sinned. He is the only one that was or ever will be capable of that in all of history. There is not one person on Earth that will be perfect as Jesus is perfect. Everyone of us even after being saved will sin (ROM 3:23). We cannot be a part of His Kingdom as a sinner. They knew this therefore, He came to die on the Cross so that we could become perfect in the eyes of the Father, through the belief of His death on the Cross to provide a way of life with His Spirit living in us. We enter the Kingdom through the door of Christ's Spirit. We open this door when we BELIEVE. There is no other way to become righteous, fulfill the law, or gain salvation(JHN 14:6). There is not one of us that will be saved because we upheld the law. Jesus fulfills the law for us by the GRACE He gave us, through Christ taking the hit for all of our sin now and forever by dying on the cross. The wages of sin is death. Jesus experienced this death even though He was the perfect Lamb without blemish to justify our sins without the penalty of our deaths. When we make the choice to follow Christ and have a relationship with him, we partner with Him in this death. It is a statement that we want to die to things of this world and follow the ways of Christ through His Holy Spirit, that springs to life when we make this decision to BELIEVE, that Christ died for our sins and that in His death, we are promised salvation. Once we truly BELIEVE this GOOD NEWS, we are marked with the Seal of His Holy Spirit(EPH 1:13) and this Spirit lives in us and guides us down the narrow path towards the Kingdom He promises us. This seal of the Spirit is irrevocable. We are marked with the signet ring of God. We are His and no one can take us away from Him (ESTHER 8:8). -SELAH-(pause and reflect on this).

WE WORK FOR WAGES NOT A GIFT

Ro 4:4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation.
Ro 4:5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.
Ro 4:6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works
Ro 4:7 “Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Ro 4:8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
________________________________________________

Faith=Righteousness, they are one in the same. Anyone who has Faith in Christ is declared righteous in the eyes of the Lord. The blood of the Lamb covers our sins. When we stand before God, we stand in full confidence that we are justified in the name of Christ our Savior. The way of a righteous man is to BELIEVE in the Son of God crucified for our sins. The Gift of God is Christ crucified. We do not work for this Gift, it is as any other gift given freely. We just need to RECEIVE it.

Walk in confidence that you are saved as a BELIEVER in Christ, for the Lord promises it is so and our Father cannot tell a lie. Let this create a joy inside of you that makes you want to run out and tell the world the GOOD NEWS!

REMEMBER ME? GOD

Ro 1:21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
______________________________________________

In the days of the prophets, no one was able to speak directly to God. They had to speak through the High Priests. When Jesus died on the cross, He gave us full access to the Father. We are no longer separated from Him. We have this option yet so many times a day can pass and we may not speak to the Father because of our busy minds that are focused on everything else. How many times we take our ability to have a relationship with the Father for granted, or forget to praise Him for all He has given us. It is like the people that live on the beach. After a while, they can pass by the windows of their house, that overlook the waves without looking at the breathtaking ocean. So many of God's many miracles can be overlooked because we have grown accustomed to them. I am amazed sometimes when I see a rainbow that one could just look at it once and say that is nice and walk on. I like to look at them until they totally fade away. Every time I see one, it is like the first time. Another one is a beautiful sunset. An awesome parking spot at work. The beautiful songs of the birds, especially right before sunset. They sing a distinct song at that time. The smell that takes you back in time. The taste of food. A baby laughing. The breath of a puppy. Friends and loved ones. The ability to read these words. The ability to love. A rad song on the radio. Learning new things. A hug. A word of encouragement from a friend at just the right moment. Butterflies that land on you. A beautiful autumn day in a colorful forest. A brisk hike up a hill or laying out on a beach. finding a cool feather on the ground. God gave us all of these things for our enjoyment.

What are the things that make you happy? What consumes your time? Do you know Him like you know your best friend? Do you thank Him for blessings? Do you thank Him for your trials? Does your heart sing a song of Praise to the Lord daily? Let us meditate daily on the Lord, for in Him we will bear much fruit.

fu·tile \'fyü-təl, 'fyü-"tī(-ə)l\ adj [MF or L; MF, fr. L futilis brittle, pointless, prob. fr. fu- (akin to fundere to pour) — more at found] (ca. 1555)
1 : serving no useful purpose : completely ineffective ‹efforts to convince him were ~›
2 : occupied with trifles : frivolous
— fu·tile·ly \-təl-(l)ē, -"tī(-ə)l-lē\ adv
— fu·tile·ness \-təl-nəs, -"tī(-ə)l-nəs\ n
syn futile vain fruitless mean producing no result. futile may connote completeness of failure or unwisdom of undertaking ‹resistance had proved so futile that surrender was the only choice left›. vain usu. implies simple failure to achieve a desired result ‹a vain attempt to get the car started›. fruitless comes close to vain but often suggests long and arduous effort or severe disappointment ‹fruitless efforts to obtain a lasting peace›.

GOOD NEWS IF YOU BELIEVE IT

ROMANS 1:1-6 and 1:16-17

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle(SENT TO PREACH THE GOSPEL) and set apart for the gospel(GOOD NEWS)of God
2the gospel(GOOD NEWS) he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures
3regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David,
4and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord.
5Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace(UNMERITED DIVINE ASSISTANCE) and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the OBEDIENCE that comes from FAITH.
6And you(US)also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.


16I am not ashamed of the gospel (GOOD NEWS), because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who BELIEVES: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
17For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by FAITH from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by FAITH."
________________________________________________

Salvation by who's power? The power of God! What do we need to do in order to access Salvation? BELIEVE! Who is righteous? Everyone that BELIEVES!

All words in parenthesis are my own.

THE PROMISE OF SALVATION

1 JOHN 5:11-13
11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
13 I write these things to you who BELIEVE in the name of the Son of God so that you may KNOW that you have eternal life.
_____________________________________________________________________________________

John does not say, "so that you may hope or wish to have". He uses the word KNOW. All we need to do in order to be saved is to BELIEVE Christ was sent and is able to save us. This first step needs to be in place before we can even begin to cultivate a relationship with Jesus. God wants to know that we TRUST His promises. One of His greatest promises to us, is that we are saved by the death of His Son on the Cross. Who are we to tell Him that He is wrong or worse that He is a liar? There is nothing in our power that we will ever be able to do or not do in order to enter Heaven. Once we BELIEVE the Holy Spirit is sent to us. Once we begin to walk in the Spirit, we will have a natural desire to be OBEDIENT to the Word of The Lord. We will still fall short of His Glory but we will repent and learn from it and move forward knowing that we are forgiven:

ROMANS 3:23-28
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.
25God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement,† through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished–
26he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
27Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. On what principle? On that of observing the law? No, but on that of faith.
28For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from observing the law.

It is choice that we need to make. BELIEVE the promise and be saved or try to do it on our own without the GIFT of Christ on Cross. When you give someone a gift, doesn't it kind of take away from the excitement of it, if they do not feel like they are worthy enough to receive it? Oh, you did not have to do that, you should not have that costs way too much, or worse let me give you the money for this. I imagine that our Heavenly Father feels the same way when we won't accept His gift to us without trying to explain it away.

Make the choice to accept the Gift of Jesus cheerfully today. Leave the rest up to Yeshua/Jesus

A NEW HEART

Eze 36:26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Eze 36:27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
____________________________________________________________________________________

I have been on a journey towards Christ the last five or so years of my life. The journey has been a rough and broken road to say the least. For the last couple of years, I have been praying that the Lord change my heart, heal my Faith and give me patience. I had come to a place where I felt like my heart had become hardened. My past has been riddled with heartache. My fears from this pain were beginning to form me into a person that was afraid to love and have hope. There was a lot of bitterness and resentment inside me from these past pains. I would ease the pain by going out and drinking and partying and distracting myself with Earthly pleasures. This would numb the pain for a night or a weekend, but the hangovers and regret were worse. As any addiction, it was a short lived reprieve. A false escape provided by satan no doubt. There was a void in my heart and soul that I was unable to fill. I had realized a few years ago that drinking was doing more harm for me than good. I started to get into Bible study groups, going to church, and reading my Bible with the desire to know Christ. I read my Bible almost daily for about a year even though I did not understand the passages. It was a frustrating process but I stuck with it. I was seeking the Lord. Actually, He was pursuing me. One day, I was reading a book of the Bible (Romans) that had previously caused my head to spin and aggravate me. Something was very different this day. I understood everything the passage was saying. There was a Truth to the Words that resonated with soul like none other. It was one of those AHA! moments. The chapters came to life like never before. It did not stop there. Every single book of the Bible that I was reading, started to reveal the hidden Truths that He speaks of that nothing else had ever revealed to me. I started to be more passionate about reading the Bible than anything in my life. The only problem was that while some of it was touching my heart, my thirst for knowledge of Biblical facts was becoming stronger than that of forming a relationship with Christ, and being Obedient by changing my lifestyle. It was all in my head and was not moving into my heart. I knew the promises but my past and my disobedience were still affecting my ability to believe them, and be transformed by the love of Christ. If you could peer into my heart and soul, I believe you would have seen a physical wall around my heart that it seemed nothing could penetrate. I recently experienced more pain in my heart than I had in a long time.

Heb 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

I am now realizing that this is God's way of answering my prayers for patience, a new heart and to strengthen my relationship with Christ. Being jetted out of my comfort zone, I am learning to be obedient and trust in God. In being obedient I'm seeing promises fulfilled,and the pain is somehow causing my heart to come alive a little more every day. I am being shown to see through Spiritual eyes rather than the eyes of this world. I am learning to focus on Christ, the only person that can transform me and make me into the person I am meant to be for His Kingdom. I would not have chosen the pain but God always knows the best way to answer a prayer. It usually will not come in the package that we imagined, but still a wonderful gift from our Creator. Thank you Lord for the pain for I know it is producing the Gifts of the Spirit I have longed for and transforming me into the image of Christ.

Thank you for delivering me from things of this world that will never bring me happiness.

BELIEVE

Lk 1:45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”
________________________________________________________________________________

In reading Luke one night, I had noticed something about the way chapter one begins. He compares the birth announcement of John and Jesus back to back. It appears that he is comparing the different reactions of the people that are made a promise of the birth of their sons, as well as the background of the people that God chose to bless. It is interesting to me that it states that John and Elizabeth were descendants of Aaron and were both upright in the sight of God, observing all of His commandments (the Law). He states that Joseph is a descendant of David and that Mary has simply found favor with the Lord. Now let's take a look at their reaction to this news. Zechariah asked the angel, "how can I be sure of this? Mary asked, "how will this be? Zechariah did not believe what the angel had said to him and he was a priest before God that observed all of His laws. Mary only wanted to know how He was going to carry out His promise. She believed what the Lord had said would come to pass. She had Faith.
________________________________________________________________________________

Ro 3:21 But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify.
Ro 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
Ro 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Ro 3:24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus
__________________________________________________________________________________

If God has whispered a promise to your heart and you are not receiving it, for fear that you are not good enough. Please remember that Mary was not noted as righteous because of anything besides believing what the Lord had promised her. It had stated that the Lord had highly favored her. What does the word favor mean?
friendly regard shown toward another especially by a superior
approving consideration or attention, gracious kindness; also : an act of such kindness, effort in one's behalf or interest.
Do you see anything in there that says anything about anything that Mary has done to deserve this blessing? God knew Mary's heart and knew that she believed in His promises in her heart.

All we have to do is BELIEVE His promises in order to receive them. It is never too late to BELIEVE something the Lord has spoken to you. Make the choice to BELIEVE today.