Jesus is Lord!

Colossians 3:12-17
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13 You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful. 16 Let the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and make you wise. Use his words to teach and counsel each other. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, let it be as a representative of the Lord Jesus, all the while giving thanks through him to God the Father.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Love is not just a feeling it is a decision to meet the need’s of another. Paul is saying we are to “put on” love. We are to act love to the people we come into contact with. It starts with our thinking and then leads to actions of love and then we “feel” love. This is true with any relationship you have and even with casual contact with strangers. The rule is to give love and you will then live in peace with all those around you. This does not mean that suddenly all differences of opinion disappear, but it does require that you work together despite your differences. To love does not mean you agree with everything someone else does. But you continue to offer loving acceptance and giving in spite of their weaknesses. Isn’t this what Christ offered to you? How can we give any less than what He gave to us? Living in love is truly letting the words of Christ, in all their richness, live in your hearts and makes you wise.

Have a God Day!

Romans 3:21-28
21 But now God has shown us a different way of being right in his sight-not by obeying the law but by the way promised in the Scriptures long ago. 22 We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. 23 For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. 25 For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. God was being entirely fair and just when he did not punish those who sinned in former times. 26 And he is entirely fair and just in this present time when he declares sinners to be right in his sight because they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on our good deeds. It is based on our faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

When by faith we believe in the work done by Jesus Christ, we are declared not guilty by God. He then gives us the righteousness of Christ. Only by faith do we receive the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is available to all and there is not one person who is not able to receive what God has given us. But all will not receive, only those who believe, only those who have faith in God’s plan laid out in His Word. Living in this world of sin and darkness it is hard to “feel” this righteousness. Even as Christians we struggle against our old nature and turn to our own ways and sin against God. Sometimes, we “feel” so far away from God, it is difficult to believe it is so easy to be forgiven. It never ceases to amaze me how the faithfulness of God holds true. No matter how far we have turned from Him, no matter what our sin, His love is always available for us. Jesus Christ stands in the gap and takes the punishment for our sin. The pure wonder and joy of the simple truth of the Gospel is truly amazing.

Have a God Day!

Luke 16:19-31
19 Jesus said, “There was a certain rich man who was splendidly clothed and who lived each day in luxury. 20 At his door lay a diseased beggar named Lazarus. 21 As Lazarus lay there longing for scraps from the rich man’s table, the dogs would come and lick his open sores. 22 Finally, the beggar died and was carried by the angels to be with Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, 23 and his soul went to the place of the dead. There, in torment, he saw Lazarus in the far distance with Abraham. 24 “The rich man shouted, ‘Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in these flames.’ 25 “But Abraham said to him, ‘Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish. 26 And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. Anyone who wanted to cross over to you from here is stopped at its edge, and no one there can cross over to us.’ 27 “Then the rich man said, ‘Please, Father Abraham, send him to my father’s home. 28 For I have five brothers, and I want him to warn them about this place of torment so they won’t have to come here when they die.’ 29 “But Abraham said, ‘Moses and the prophets have warned them. Your brothers can read their writings anytime they want to.’ 30 “The rich man replied, ‘No, Father Abraham! But if someone is sent to them from the dead, then they will turn from their sins.’ 31 “But Abraham said, ‘If they won’t listen to Moses and the prophets, they won’t listen even if someone rises from the dead.’”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Before Christ died on the Cross and rose again, the righteous dead still went to Hell. Before Redemption, Satan still held dominion over man. There is a place in Hell call Paradise that the righteous dead went to and stayed until Jesus Christ went to Hell and freed them. Now believers go directly to Heaven, but this place is still there and is empty. Before the Cross, people were saved by their faith in looking forward to the Cross, now we are saved by our faith in looking back to the Cross. The Law could not save us it only showed us our sin. But there were many righteous before the Cross and it was their faith in what God was going to do at the Cross that saved them. When they died, as shown to us in this event, they went to this place in Hell call Paradise. This is not a parable, as Jesus uses real people and tells us about this place as it actually was. Abraham and Lazarus and the rich man are all real people. Abraham and Lazarus were part of the group that Christ took to Heaven with Him when He went to Hell and took the Keys of Hades and of Death from Satan. As stated in Revelation 1:18, “And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” There is no question about the torment the rich man was in from this event. Hell is a real place and without faith in the Cross of Jesus Christ, you will go there. Don’t wait any longer, believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and receive the Gift of salvation from God the Father and you can know today that you will be with God forever in Heaven.

Have a God Day!