Jesus is Lord!

1 Corinthians 6:9-14
9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 12 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

Sanctification, do any of us really know what this means? Is it something that can be achieved in this world? Paul tells the Corinthians that they were sanctified. And we are sanctified through the blood of Jesus. The question is do we walk in our sanctification. It means separating yourself from that which is evil. It is really all of God or nothing. We can not have one foot in the world and one foot with God. There is no such thing as a little bit of sin. If you add one drop of contaminated water to a bucket of clean water, it all becomes contaminated. But if you add one drop of clean water to bucket of contaminated water, it is all still contaminated. We are called by Christ to abstain from any appearance of evil. We must confess our sins and then turn from them. We can do this only through the power of the Holy Spirit. We are justified at the point of accepting through faith what Christ did on the cross for our sin and we are sanctified (made pure) through the blood of Christ by His power alone. When you are tempted with sin, remember your justification and claim your sanctification by rebuking the enemy using the power of the Holy Spirit in you!

Have a God Day!

Romans 8:31-39
31 What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32 Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else? 33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. 34 Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us. 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? 36 (Even the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. 39 Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

When ever you are feeling lost or confused, turn to Romans chapter 8 and let the Word of God soak deep into your mind and heart. This is where you will find peace no matter what is going on in your life. Even in your darkest moments God is at work bringing about restoration in your life. And it is all for your good. When you are facing the harsh consequences of the decisions you have made or the decisions that others have made, you can know that God is in control. He has told us that nothing will ever separate us from His love. This knowledge is always a reason to worship and praise Him. And when your sins are covered by the Blood of Jesus Christ, there is no one who can accuse you. Right now, Satan is before the throne of God trying to state your sins before Him. But he has nothing to say for those of us covered by the Blood. This is reason to praise Him! So no matter what is troubling you today, remember why you can still have peace, joy and comfort. Because of His love for you!

Have a God Day!

Ephesians 4:17-24
17 With the Lord’s authority let me say this: Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused. 18 Their closed minds are full of darkness; they are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds and hardened their hearts against him. 19 They don’t care anymore about right and wrong, and they have given themselves over to immoral ways. Their lives are filled with all kinds of impurity and greed. 20 But that isn’t what you were taught when you learned about Christ. 21 Since you have heard all about him and have learned the truth that is in Jesus, 22 throw off your old evil nature and your former way of life, which is rotten through and through, full of lust and deception. 23 Instead, there must be a spiritual renewal of your thoughts and attitudes. 24 You must display a new nature because you are a new person, created in God’s likeness-righteous, holy, and true.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.) 1996.

As Christians, we all have the desire to surrender to the will of God, sometimes a very strong desire. But what does it really mean to throw off the “old nature” and put on the new nature of Christ that is now within you? How do we do this? It starts with a heart that has been restored. We come to Christ with many past events that have happened to us. We all have “baggage.” Most of it is not good and from these events we have learned how to deal with life. And most of what we have learned is contrary to the Word of God. We do this to protect ourselves from further pain. We have learned how to think and have learned different attitudes and patterns of behavior from these events. All of this is not done consciously and most starts in childhood. Someone said something to us and now we think this is who we are. Everyone has set patterns of thinking and behaving when they come to Christ from past experiences. He has to come in and restore your unresolved pain and unmet needs that come from your way of dealing with life. Your way of thinking, behaving and reacting has to be stripped away and Christ needs to be allowed to come in and place within you His way of thinking, His way of behaving and His way of reacting. Most Christians are not willing to be stripped naked of their “old nature” in order for Christ to do this. There is no room for Him to work because we hold onto what we know. If you can related to this scripture, God is talking to you about letting Him come in to renew your mind to the mind of Christ. Start by going before Him and telling Him you do not know how to do this, but are willing to let Him show you. Then bind your mind to the mind of Jesus Christ daily and loose your old way of thinking, behaving and reacting. Ask God to come in and make Himself at home in your heart and your mind, as you submit to taking on His nature.

Have a God Day!