18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. 19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before Him; ~ 1 John 3:18-19
We reassure our heart before God by our actions. God is love; the only way we can abide with God is to follow in His footsteps by loving all people. We must love everyone, including our enemies. Pray for those who hate you. Bless those who curse you.
We can no longer live as the world lives. When we accept salvation, we begin to change from the inside out. We are no longer our old self. We are a new creation being molded into the image of God.
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. ~ Romans 15:4
The world will try to convince you that the Bible is outdated. That it no longer fits our society and culture today, but I’m here to tell you that that is a lie from the Devil himself. This is why Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote that whatever was written in the former days is still relevant today. We can learn and be encouraged by each and every verse because it was dictated by God Himself.
Why? Because Jesus, God incarnate, is the Word of God, so when we read Scripture, we are encouraging ourselves in the LORD. Literally. Don’t let the world fool you; there is hope, life, strength, encouragement, and endurance in the living and breathing Word of God.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Encouraged In The LORD.
7a For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: ~ Proverbs 23:7a
Believing in God isn’t enough to save your soul. Even demonic entities believe in God, but it doesn’t save them. There is more. Much more. You must change your inside. You must clean the inside of the dish, not just the out.
The way you talk
The way you act
Even the way you think
The things you imagine or fantasize about
These things have to change. You can’t continue in the same old way that God found you. You come as you are, but you can’t leave as you came. Change is necessary.
As the Chinese philosopher said:
Watch your thoughts, they become your words Watch your words, they become your action Watch your actions, they become your habits Watch your habits, they become your character Watch your character, it becomes your destiny
Lao Tzu
So, how do you do that? As Paul said, we take every thought and word captive to the obedience of Christ. In other words, you change your thoughts. Only you can control what you think about. Only you can control the words that come out of your mouth. Only you can decide to make a change. So, I beseech you all to train your thoughts and then your words to the obedience of Christ. Because from your thoughts and words comes who you are. So, make a conscious effort to control your thoughts and your words, thus controlling your actions and destiny.
40 And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And He said to Peter, ‘So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ ~ Matthew 26:40-41
The phrase ‘God loves me’ has become overused and has simply lost its true meaning. As the song, Chasing Cars, by Snow Patrol says:
Those Three Words Are Said Too Much They’re Not Enough
They may not be speaking about these three specific words, but the saying is still true. We love to justify our sin with that single phrase, ‘God loves me’ or ‘Jesus loves me.’ Yes, God loves you. Yes, Jesus loves you. But even though you are loved by God, you will still have to stand before Him on Judgment Day and give an account for your life.
Look at Peter. He was arguably Jesus’ best friend. His most beloved disciple, and yet, he’s the one Jesus calls out. Peter, James, and John were all asleep, but it was Peter that Jesus singled out. Jesus didn’t say, ‘I know you’re tired, Buddy. I’ll catch ya next time around.’ He didn’t say, ‘Don’t worry about it, Bro. I know you love me. It’s all good.’ No. Jesus called him out. He singled him out. Why? Could it be that Jesus expected more out of Peter? That Jesus expected Peter, His best friend, would stay awake? Jesus loved Peter, yet He still corrected him. He still warned him. He still disciplined him.
Why? Because He loved him. When you love someone, you correct them before it’s too late. You don’t watch them drive off the side of the cliff because they’re having fun pretending that their car is a flying car. No, you stop them. You try to correct them. You don’t just stand by and watch them kill themselves. We have to stop loving people straight into Hell. It’s time we start calling sin what it really is, SIN. We can’t keep watering down the Bible. If we don’t, it’ll lose all of its power. When you pour water on a flame, it dies down. Even if it’s hard, God gave us the Bible to follow because it is a powerful fire that helps mold us into the image of God.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stop Watering The Flame.
15 If you love me, you will keep my commandments. ~ John 14:15
Love is an action, not a word. You can’t love someone and mistreat them. That’s what the commandments are, God’s way of showing us how to love Him. They aren’t a rule book of what not to do. It’s a guide to know how to love God and how to love people. Therefore, if you don’t keep the commands by following your own wants and desires, you won’t enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Instead, you’ll be thrown into the Lake of Fire, in everlasting torment.
But the saving grace is that even if you committed any sin, you can still be saved. You don’t have to go to Hell. No matter what you’ve done. No matter how far you have run, God is still waiting for you to return to Him as a father waits for his wayward child to return home. The gift of salvation was already purchased for you on the cross by Jesus. All you have to do is repent and turn from your sin.
1 But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. ~ 2 Timothy 3:1
We are in the last days. The Spirit of God has been poured out on all flesh. All can come to Christ no matter their past or their father’s past. All are called to repentance. There is great hope in these last days, but there is also great difficulty. As grace becomes more and more abundant, so does sin.
Look at the world we are living in today. Corruption is taking over. The world is becoming more and more wicked as it fights to stomp out any trace of light. We are running out of time. Here’s a call for the endurance of the saints. Don’t give up hope now. Hold tightly to the faith that you have and build it. Don’t focus on the terrestrial. Don’t focus on everything that’s going wrong in the world. Focus on the eternal. Focus on Jesus. When your focus is on The Storm Calmer, the waves and winds don’t seem so fierce. You walk on water straight to Him.
Peace. Love. Go Forth and Focus on the Storm Calmer.
13 Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. ~ Matthew 7:13-14
The gate that leads to destruction is wide, and many follow it. Therefore, Hell is a place that many go to. Why? Because its way is easy. Its gates are wide. You don’t have to look for it. There’s no searching needed. It’s the road we all start out on. It’s the default road.
This is why we had no chance before Christ came. Because we were all guilty of sin. None of us were innocent. But Christ came, and He made a way for us to find the narrow gate. The narrow road. That road is hard. It’s difficult. There’s obstacles and tests. There’s persecution and tribulation, but at the end of the road, there’s life everlasting. There’s eternal peace and joy like no other.
Life and death have been set before us. It’s up to us to choose. So, choose wisely. The road to death is easy, and many are on it. The road to life is hard, but God is with us through it all, and few find it. It’s never too late to find the road to life. All you have to do is accept His forgiveness.
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. ~ Revelation 3:20
So many have watered down the Scriptures and led others away. We no longer teach that you can’t love God unless you follow His commands. You can’t know His commands if you don’t have a relationship with Him. And you can’t have a relationship with Him unless you seek one. Look at what Jesus said; He’s standing at the door, knocking and calling out to you. He’s waiting for you to answer Him. Why?
Because He already did His part. He gave up everything, including His life, so that you may live. He truly loves you and wants you to have Eternal Life. He took your sin on Himself. It’s now your turn. You have to choose Him. You have to open the door to your heart and let Him in. All you have to do is repent, and you will be set free.
13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. ~ Luke 8:13-14
Did you catch that? Those who fell on the rock are those who heard the word and believed it. In other words, they heard the Gospel, and they accepted it. They received their free gift of salvation. They are now a part of Jesus’ sheep, but when things get difficult. They’re being teased for their beliefs. Their friends are treating them differently. They’re being persecuted. Troubles have come because of their conversion to Christianity; they fall away. They return to their old ways. They give up their salvation.
Now, for those who fell among the thorns are those who hear, but they give in to the temptations of the world that continue to call at them, so their fruit never matures. What does that mean? That means they hear, they believe, they get saved, but they don’t withstand temptation long enough for the fruit of the Spirit to grow in them. They are never able to produce Good Fruit as Matthew 7 says those who are saved will produce. In both cases, according to Jesus, some people will hear the word of God, become saved, but will turn from those beliefs and give up salvation because of one thing or another.
Tribulations, temptations, grief, and pain will come in life. It’s up to us not to lose faith. It’s up to us to press in when things get difficult. It’s up to us to press into God and build our relationship with Him. Sure, there is nothing that can separate us from the love of Christ. Nothing can remove us from His hands, but we can freely walk away. We can freely choose sin or anger over our relationship with Christ.
3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. 4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. ~ Psalms 37:3-4
David, who is described as a man after God’s own heart in 1 Samuel 13:14, tells us to do what is good, dwell in the land, and befriend faithfulness. Delight ourselves in God, and we’ll have the desires of our hearts. In other words, follow God’s commands, fulfill His call for your life, be faithful to Him and His word, seek after Him and His presence, and your heart will be changed. When your heart is changed, your desires change as well. You no longer desire evil, but your spirit will then desire good. And when your spirit desires good, you will receive the desires of your heart, for they will be in line with the LORD’s plan for your life.
When we delight ourselves in the LORD, we are filled with the Joy of the LORD, and we are no longer filled with a desire to be happy. That hole that we had that couldn’t be filled by anything this world has to offer is filled by the Holy Spirit, and as the Holy Spirit fills us, He plants, nourishes, and grows the Fruits of The Spirit within us, including the Joy of The LORD.
