Tag: Are You In Need of Cleansing?

¹⁵ They cried out, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” ~ John 19:15

The Pharisees were undoubtedly some of the most anti-Jesus people to ever live. They called for His crucifixion. They even wanted Lazarus to be killed because he was alive again by the power of Jesus. They even became so anti-Jesus that they became anti-God as a whole. They declared boldly and loudly that they only had one king, Caesar. God is our king, yet they rejected God because they wanted nothing to do with Jesus.

God came in the flesh, but they didn’t recognize Him. They didn’t realize that being anti-Jesus was being anti-God. There is only one way to the Father. There is only one way to eternal life. There is only one way to God, and that is through Jesus. You can’t be anti-Jesus, but pro-God. They are one. They can’t be separated. Jesus is the door that all must walk through in order to get to God. Have you walked through Him because you can’t go around Him?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Walk Through Jesus.

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¹⁵ I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! ¹⁶ So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷ For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. ¹⁸ I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. ¹⁹ Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. ²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me. ²¹ The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on His throne. ²² He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ~ Revelation 3:15–22

Jesus is counseling us to repent and be zealous for Him because He will soon be back for us. Oftentimes, when we think we’re doing so much and doing so good, we are literally wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked just going through the motions.

So, Jesus is warning us. He’s giving us time to repent. He’s trying to get us to return to the basics of life. To go back to the foundation and rebuild. Tear down strongholds that have woven in between the Rock. We have to get back to putting Jesus first because nothing else matters in the whole world. No profit, no success, and no amount of money will be able to purchase eternal life apart from Jesus and His salvation because none of that can save you. You can’t even take it with you into eternity.

The days are getting harder, and the world is getting more and more evil, but even though there seems to be no hope, even though all the sky is grey, and life seems hopeless, there is still always hope as long as we have breath. Hope is lost when we put our hope in the wrong thing or the wrong person, and that’s usually when we take our eyes off of true hope. Jesus! So, remove all false hope from among you, and strive to hope only in Christ Jesus, our LORD and Savior.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Hot.

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² I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. ³ I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. ⁴ But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵ Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶ Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. ~ Revelation 2:2-7

In this life, we have two choices. We can choose to spend eternity in any one of the two. It’s our choice where we spend eternity, and we choose through our daily decisions. When we choose God and the things of God, we are spiritually saying that we want to spend eternity with Him in a place of peace, joy, and blissfulness.

The city, the New Jerusalem, is so beautiful that the foundations of the wall of the city are adorned with every kind of jewel, while the wall itself is built out of jasper, and the city is pure gold, like clear glass. The streets also are made of pure gold, so pure that it looks transparent. The twelve gates each are fashioned out of one single pearl. In eternity with God, there will be no more tears because God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more. No more dying there. Neither shall there be any more mourning, nor crying, nor pain, for the former things, have passed away.

The other choice is quite the opposite. The Bible describes it as a place of eternal destruction away from the presents of God (2 Thessalonians 1:9). A place where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:47-48). A fiery lake of burning sulfur (Revelation 21:8). Eternal fire (Matthew 25:41). A place of outer darkness; where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 8:12). A furnace of fire where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:41-42). A lake of fire and brimstone, where they will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Revelation 20:10). These things all await those who become discouraged and give up.

So, what is the solution? The solution is simple. We need to get back to the basics. We need to practice self-denial. We need to get excited about the things of God again. We need to believe the promises of God again. The Scripture says we must return to our first love.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Return To Your First Love.

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¹⁷ But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! ¹⁸ I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. ¹⁹ I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ ²⁰ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. ²¹ And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²² But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. ²³ And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. ²⁴ For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. ~ Luke 15:17-24

God loves everyone, but not everyone returns to the Father to receive their free gift of eternal life. So, His love for us is Eternal (Psalms 136). It’s unconditional (Romans 5:7-8). But His love can only do so much. His love is what allows us to return to Him and receive salvation, but His love for you won’t save you if you don’t come to Him. Just as the Prodigal Son couldn’t receive food, shelter, water, and life without returning to his father, neither can we receive Eternal Life without returning to our Heavenly Father.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Run Home.

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⁹ After listening to the king, they went on their way. And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. ¹⁰ When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. ¹¹ And going into the house, they saw the child with Mary His mother, and they fell down and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they offered him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. ¹² And being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed to their own country by another way. ~ Matthew 2:9-12

The wise men were diligently seeking a sign for the birth of the Jewish Messiah. When they saw it, they packed up and traveled a long distance to where He was. Bearing gifts, they fell down before Him and worshipped Him, even though He was only a young child. He wasn’t what you would expect. He didn’t come in His Heavenly form but in the form of a helpless child. If the wise men didn’t know who they were looking for, they would have missed the Messiah altogether.

Today, so many people miss out on Christ Jesus because they don’t know who they’re looking for. They’re strayed away by false teachings and prophecies about a man that the world doesn’t know nor could ever understand. The wise men weren’t distracted by the world or even the kings of the world. The wise men held tightly to the prophecies told of the Messiah and followed His star. This is the only way we will find the one true Messiah. We’ve been given an entire book from God filled with His Word describing who He is and how to recognize Him. And He’s sent us something greater than a star in the sky to guide us to Him. He sent His very Spirit to not only guide us but to dwell in us.

The Messiah has come. We have His Spirit dwelling among us. What more are we waiting for?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Follow His Spirit.

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⁷ And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. ~ Luke 2:7

Imagine if the Christ was born in our time. Would you be able to recognize Him? Let’s put this into perspective. Approximately 385,000 babies are born every day around the world. That’s approximately 140 million every year. Would you be able to recognize which child was the promised Messiah out of 140 million? The majority of people missed the birth of Christ. They missed the promised Messiah when He was born. Matter of fact, the innkeeper had the opportunity to give the Messiah a room to be born in, but instead gave Him a stable to be born in.

The birth of a tiny baby in the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, and laid in a manger sounds so insignificant. What is that in the scheme of things? 140 million babies are born every year; what’s the significance of this one? This one just so happened to be the promised Messiah. The importance was that without the birth, we couldn’t have the death. Without the death, we could not have eternal life. Just because it doesn’t seem significant to us doesn’t mean it’s not significant to God and His plan.

If the Messiah was born in our world today, would you be able to recognize Him? Here’s the point of that question. Things don’t always seem important to us, but if we knew the heart of God, then we’d see the importance in the little things we overlook. The Messiah already came 2000 years ago, but He’s coming back again. Do you know God enough to recognize the Messiah and the little things that makeup God’s plan?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Know God To Recognize Him.

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⁴ But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, ⁵ to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. ~ Galatians 4:4-5

Jesus gave us the first Christmas present. It is the gift that keeps on giving because it’s the free gift of life. From the very beginning, God had in mind what He would do to redeem mankind. Though it was dark and gloomy, though it was hopeless and without light, and yet a light shone in the darkness. The light of Jesus Christ.

In the words of the old beloved Christmas carol “O Holy Night”:

Long lay the world in sin and error pining
‘Til He appeared, and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn
Fall on your knees; O hear the Angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born

That is the true meaning of the promise of Christmas. The salvation of the world was born. God Himself came to redeem all of mankind. He came at the perfect time. He wasn’t late. He wasn’t early. He came at the exact perfect time. But the world wasn’t prepared for Him. So on that night when Jesus the Christ came as a little helpless baby, born in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.

The same is true today. Jesus is knocking at the door of our hearts, but there’s no room for Him in our busy lives. There’s no room for prayer or for devotions. There’s no room for Bible reading or meditations. There’s no room for church. In other words, there is no room for Him in the inn of our lives. Little do we realize that without the Light of the World, our world will remain in sin, error, and darkness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Make Room For Him.

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³³ Don’t be fooled by those who say such things, for “bad company corrupts good character.” ³⁴ Think carefully about what is right and stop sinning. For to your shame I say that some of you don’t know God at all. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:33–34

Even though God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, He still punishes the guilty and does not just let them go free. So, don’t let anyone tell you that you can live and do whatever you want because their god will never send anyone to hell.

People who say such things do not know the one true God. They think they know God, but to their own shame, they do not! Because everyone will be called to give an account of all, they’ve said and done. Don’t be confused because God blesses the righteous and the wicked alike. He will let both the moral and immoral dwell together on this earth until the time of the Judgment, and then He will separate them.

On that day, it won’t matter how much good you’ve done. It won’t matter how much evil you’ve done. It won’t matter if you were an upstanding citizen or a useless street bum. The only thing that will matter on that day is whether or not you followed Christ while on this earth. All other things will be irrelevant when the LORD separates mankind between believers and nonbelievers. Between actual followers of Christ and those who just speak of Him.

Don’t let the Day of Judgment hold you in fear or catch you unawares. Prepare for this day in Christ Jesus so that you won’t fear the Judgment. So that you will be able to stand before the LORD in full confidence of who He is and who you are in Him.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Fear That Day.

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Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. ~ 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Paul said the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God. Then he made a list of offenses that were separated by the word “neither.” Did you notice that? I believe by inserting the word “neither,” he was making a distinction between the wicked and someone else. So why did he make a distinction? What exactly did he mean by that?

I believe when he referred to the wicked, it was those who openly and outrightly rejected Jesus, so to be sure, he said not only those who will not enter in but those who may believe, who may call them Christians, who break down the church door every Sunday. In other words, those who disguise themselves as sheep yet still indulge in then he listed a string of offenses, including Sexual immorality, Idolaters, Adulterers, Male prostitutes, Homosexual offenders, Thieves, Greedy, Drunkards, Slanderers, and Swindlers.

And then there are those who claim holiness and love for God yet throw their lot in with those who support, celebrate, and encourage this kind of wickedness against God. Let me suggest something to you, if you support it, vote for it, or deny it when you know it is going on, you are a part of it, and you are just as guilty. According to Scripture, Christians are not even to eat with those who say they are Christians, yet willfully do all these disgraces against God. They even support the shedding of innocent blood, something that God hates totally and will swiftly bring His judgment.

Everything you do in this life will have a consequence in the next. Whether the consequence is good or bad will be determined by your actions. Don’t let something that seems important now keep you from an eternity of peace and joy with your Creator because, in eternity, it won’t matter.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Flee Sin.

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³⁸ Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in Him.” ~ John 18:38

Pilate was confused about the meaning of Truth, at least knowing how to recognize it. He lived in a time when the pagan gods were worshipped as truth. Their world was centered around religion, but they were still bound up in their sins. Today, we are in the same dilemma as Pilate. We’re living in a society where we’re constantly trying to get to the bottom of Pilate’s question, what is Truth?

Today’s society is hard-pressed against answering this question. We no longer seek Truth, but instead, we now only want our own truth. Jesus said He is the Truth. Jesus said that the Truth will set us free. Right now, we no longer seek the Truth because we no longer want to be free. In our society, we’ve normalized slavery. Slavery to darkness. Slavery to lies. Slavery to sin. Why? Because in the darkness, we don’t have to change. We don’t have to accept that we are flawed and we need a Savior.

This is how the enemy keeps us bound up in chains. This is how the enemy keeps us from the freedom of Jesus. The enemy convinces us that our chains are actually freedom, and our freedom is actually chains. The only way to overcome these lies is to step out of the darkness into the light that is Christ Jesus. The only way to do this is to accept the one and only Truth. And that Truth is the LORD Jesus Christ.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Choose Freedom Over Slavery.

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