Saturday, December 20, 2008

Shalom,

Today we are going to look at some Scriptures that you can use for yourself or for ministering to others. They concern having assurance of our salvation through Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One and His Anointing! First of all, why do we NEED a Saviour? The Bible says this:

Rom 3:10-12 (KJV)
10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:
11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
12 They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.


The word "righteous" here is the Greek word, dikaios, which means: innocent, holy, just, meet, upright, virtuous, keeping the commands of God, of him whose way of thinking, feeling, and acting is wholly conformed to the will of God, and who therefore needs no rectification in heart or life. The Word of God tells us that there is NONE righteous! NO, NOT ONE!!! That means that not one of us is good enough on our own to even stand in the presence of our holy God! The Amplified Bible says this:

Rom 3:10-12 (AMP)
10 As it is written, None is righteous, just and truthful and upright and conscientious, no, not one. [Ps 14:3.]
11 No one understands [no one intelligently discerns or comprehends]; no one seeks out God. [Ps 14:2.]
12 All have turned aside; together they have gone wrong and have become unprofitable and worthless; no one does right, not even one!


What is the result of our "lack of righteousness" or in other words, our sin? The Word of God says:

Rom 6:23 (KJV)
23 For the wages of sin is death


The result of sin is death. Not just physical death of our human bodies, but eternal separation from God. But the REALLY good news (the Gospel) is this:

Rom 6:23 (KJV)
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.


The Amplified bible says:

Rom 6:23 (AMP)
23 For the wages which sin pays is death, but the [bountiful] free gift of God is eternal life through (in union with) Jesus Christ our Lord.


Now that's what I call GOOD NEWS! Do you want to hear some more Good News! Try this:

1 John 5:11-13 (KJV)
11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
13 These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.


These things found in the Word of God were written for the purpose of our ASSURANCE of Salvation! THAT YOU MAY KNOW!!! Have you received Jesus of Nazareth as your Lord and personal Saviour? If you answered yes, then you now possess the very nature of God! You HAVE eternal Life. Zoe. Life as God has it in Himself! If you did not answer yes, then is there any reason you can't receive Jesus as YOUR Lord and personal Saviour right now? Do you believe that God the Father sent God the Son to the earth? Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross for you? Do you believe that He rose again? If so, then pray this prayer, believing in your heart and speaking with your mouth (Romans 10:9-10) and you will be saved!

Almighty God, I am a sinner. I believe that Jesus Christ came to this earth, died on the cross for me, was raised from the dead, and is now seated at Your right hand. I accept and receive Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour and I invite Him to come into my heart and become Lord over my life. I thank You now Father, for welcoming me into Your family. You are my Father. I am Your child. Jesus is my Lord! Amen.

Now you ARE a child of God! Now you need to get into the Word of God to find out what belongs to you as a member of God's family and what He wants you to do with your life! You need to get into a good local church where they teach the Word of God. If you want to know about good churches in your area, please go to The Spoken Word Church link at the left of this blog. Go to the contact page and let us know where you live and we will help direct you to a church in your area where you can learn and grow in the things of God!

If you didn't pray, for whatever reason, please contact us with your questions and concerns so that we can help you find the answers. God truly does Love YOU with an everlasting Love, but He is leaving the choice entirely up to you! Don't miss out!

Have a wonderful Christmas everyone!

Shalom in Him!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Shalom,

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We need to keep a grateful, thankful heart at ALL times in order to walk in the fullness of the Word of God and all that He has promised us. The word thankful appears 3 times in the King James translation of the Bible. We will look at those three Scriptures today. First we have:

Rom 1:21 (KJV)
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.


One of the results of NOT keeping a grateful, thankful attitude is that we are in danger of becoming like the people mentioned here. In fact, it is even more graphic in the Amplified Bible:

Rom 1:21 (AMP)
21 Because when they knew and recognized Him as God, they did not honor and glorify Him as God or give Him thanks. But instead they became futile and godless in their thinking [with vain imaginings, foolish reasoning, and stupid speculations] and their senseless minds were darkened.


I certainly don't want to end up in that frame of mind! Another verse in the New Testament that mentions the word "thankful" is found in the book of Colossians:

Col 3:15 (KJV)
15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.


The Amplified Bible is a little more clear in this verse, too:

Col 3:15 (AMP)
15 And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ's] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].


The word "thankful" here is the Greek word, eucharistos, which means: well favored, grateful, mindful of favors, thankful. If we are "mindful of favors" we will have always in our mind the things that God has done for us. We need to remind ourselves daily of who we are as believers (in Christ, in Him, in Jesus) so that we continually appreciate this blessed life we have and so that we never take for granted the wonderful Giver of that Life! Keeping a thankful heart will also keep our hearts AND minds tender and open to the things of God and help us to be more sensitive to the Holy Spirit as He leads and guides us. This last "thankful" verse, found in Psalms, tells us how to do it:

Ps 100:4 (KJV)
4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.


Again, the Amplified Bible gives us a clearer understanding:

Ps 100:4 (AMP)
4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!


The word "thankful" here is the Hebrew word, yadah, which means: to use the hand, to revere, to worship with extended hands, intensively, to laud (where we get the word, applaud!), to praise, to give thanks. And the next verse tells us why we should have this attitude and be doing this Word:

Ps 100:5 (AMP)
5 For the Lord is good; His mercy and loving-kindness are everlasting, His faithfulness and truth endure to all generations.


BECAUSE He IS good, we should always be in an "attitude of gratitude"! Nothing should be able to get us down or depressed! All we should have to do is to remember where we came from, who we are in Him, why we're here, where we're going when we leave this earth, and what God wants us to be doing right now! Then be about our Father's business! We WILL be most blessed!

Shalom in Him!