Warrior of The Word - Ephesians 6:11

 

Ephesians 6:11

Put on the whole armor of God, 

that you may be able to stand 

against the wiles of the devil.

     The entire armor of God is Jesus Christ. The first layer is the robe of righteousness, our tunic. Once that is on we can don the rest of our armor. 

     Putting on The Armor of God is the one thing we must do for the rest of the Armor to be put on. Each of us, at some point in our lives, made the decision to believe in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ for our salvation. (and if you have not yet done so, we urge you to make a decision for Christ, for the time is short). 

     When we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, we enter into a covenant relationship with Him. He covers us, He fills us. 'In Him we live and move and have our being.' Acts 17:28a

     Romans 13:14 But you put on The Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

      Romans 13:12 The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on The Armor of Light. 

     We are a new creation in Christ, and as such, we have lain aside the 'deeds of darkness' and have put on The Armor of Light, for Christ is The Light, and we must carry that Light within us in order to see where we need to go. We never have to walk in darkness again. Though we go into the dark to reach those who are still in it, we do not walk in darkness because we have The Light to shine the pathway before us. 

     Our Tunic covers us like a wetsuit: it embraces every curve and skeletal structure, but leaves no room for excess. Why would we have need of excess in the flesh anyway, when we can have the abundance which Christ has promised us? John 10:10 "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

     When we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, the battle begins, for along with the rest of our Armor, targets are placed everywhere on us, which our enemy the devil tries to penetrate and knock us down. We must guard our hearts, guard our minds, guard our back, guard our feet, guard our tongue, guard our ears, and guard each other. 

     And now that we have our Tunic on, we can put on the rest of our Armor. Tomorrow we'll start that. 

Warrior of The Word - Ephesians 6:10

 

 

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, my brethren,

be strong in The Lord, 

and in the power of His might.

    Finally. A last word before I sign off. Remember this. 

To my brethren: my brothers and sisters in Christ. 

    Be strong in The Lord. Not just be strong in and of yourselves, but IN THE LORD. How do we be strong in The Lord? 

• Declare our trust in Him - Psalm 28:7; Proverbs 3:5
• Admit He is our Strength, our Shield - Psalm 28:7; Deuteronomy 33:29
• Live according to The Spirit - 2 Corinthians 5:7; Galatians 5:25; Isaiah 42:16

    And in the power of His might. What is the power of The Lord's might? The Holy Spirit of God. It is the active, moving Word of God crossing into and overcoming the thresholds of darkness in cultural warfare and occultism. This power overcomes tradition and ethnicity boundaries (that's how we've always done it). Especially when those boundaries worship a different god than God. 

    This living power of God breaks down the walls of occultism and declares war on the dark spirits who surround the men and women who are stuck in its trappings. We speak with the authority given us against: witchcraft, sorcery and divination. We pray deliverance for those who practice necromancy: communication with the dead. 

    We pray against the spirits who lead people such as mediums, seers and oracles, into divining the future through means other than the prophetic Word of God. And we pray against their manipulation of The Word of God, for that is how the serpent tricked Eve. He questioned God's Word (Did God really say that?) Genesis 3:1. 

    The power of His might is still moving, still active, still living, still going into the darkest recesses of men's and women's hearts and minds. He is reaching out to draw others out of the darkness of this world into "His marvelous Light" by speaking words of love, words of grace, words of mercy, words of peace in Christ through His people. Us. 

    

The Riches of His Glory

 

Ephesians 3:16

God grant you, 

according to the riches of His glory,

to be strengthened with might

by His Spirit

in your inner being.

THE RICHES OF HIS GLORY

Colossians 1:27

To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

 

Romans 9:23, 24 In order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy, which He has prepared beforehand for glory—including us, whom He has called not only from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles?

Ephesians 1:18-21

I ask that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know the hope of His calling, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power to us who believe. 

These are in accordance with the working of His mighty strength, which He exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

2 Corinthians 4:6

For God, Who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made His Light shine in our hearts to give us the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 

John 1:1-3, 14

In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God.

The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was Life; and the Life was the Light of men. ... And The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of The Only Begotten of The Father,) full of grace and truth. 

    In Christ Alone our hope is found [2 Corinthians 5:19]. There is No Other Name given under heaven by which we must be saved [Acts 4:12]. (amazing choir) 

Christ Our Hope In Life or Death is the riches of God's glory. This is our treasure which we take with us when we leave these bodies behind. It is not the only treasure we can lay up in heaven, though.

    We can bring other vessels of mercy to heaven with us, or send them on ahead of us. We pray for their salvation. We pray for their walk with The Spirit. We pray for their journey in Jesus Christ, which will prepare them for an eternity in the heavenly realm. 

    We pray that our families, our friends, our acquaintances, the strangers among us and our enemies (they who come against in for the name of Christ on us) would know Romans 8:38, 39 "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 

Prayer Cards - Pray For My Boldness

 Ephesians 6:19

Pray also for me that whenever I open my mouth, 

words may be given me 

so that I will boldly make known the mystery of the gospel.

BOLDLY GO

Matthew 10:19, 20

But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say. For it will not be you speaking, but The Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

LORD, GIVE ME STRENGTH

Acts 4:29-31

"And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your Word with complete boldness, as You stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” After they had prayed, their meeting place was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke The Word of God boldly.

STRONG IN THE LORD

Ephesians 6:10

Finally, my brethren, be strong in The Lord and in the power of His might.

Colossians 3:1, 2

Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

    The Holy Spirit of God can only draw out of God's people what we have placed in our hearts and minds. Our human bodies are frail, and while we remember but a part of what we read and study in the Scriptures, The Holy Spirit remembers everything.

    There are no good reasons or excuses for not reading our Bibles. The Word of God is precious, whether we hold the written Word in our hands or the spoken Word in our mouths. But even more so, The Word of God in our hearts is the most valuable to the believer, the faithful child of God.

    We are wells of Living Water, cisterns filled with The Living Word of God, if we have The Word of God in us. Now is not the time to back down, nor cease from, devouring as much of God's Word as we can take in. In the morning when we rise and awaken, The Word should be read or heard. In the evening as we prepare to rest, The Word should be taken in by eye or by ear. The Spirit will do the rest.

    The day is coming, and even now is at our doorstep, and near our families and friends, when owning a Bible will be against the law, even here in America. In-home prayer groups are being fought against by local governments in American cities and towns. Are you ready to stand up and be counted for your faith in The Name of The Lord Jesus Christ? 

GIVE ME JESUS - Fernando Ortega
STAND UP FOR JESUS - classic hymn sung by Fountain View Christian Academy

THE LORD WEIGHETH - Evermore Collective (my newest fave group)

Prayer Cards - Pray In The Spirit

Ephesians 6:18

 Pray in The Spirit at all times, 

with every kind of prayer and petition.

To this end, stay alert

with all perseverance in your prayers

for all the saints.

Jude 1:20-21

But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in The Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God as you await the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you eternal life. 

Romans 8:26

Likewise The Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but The Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. 

Galatians 4:4-7

But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive our adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God sent The Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God.

    To pray "in The Spirit" is to have the right desires within us, which can only be put there by The Spirit. It is to pray first for one's self, that the strength of The Lord would be given us to overcome what we are battling. Second, it is to pray--intercede, stand in the gap--for other Christians who are fighting their battles, that they would stand strong against the wiles--the sneakiness--of the enemy, maintain their witness, sharpen their testimony and in so doing overcome the enemy which they are fighting against. 

    Yes, the battle does indeed belong to The Lord, but we must be fully equipped nonetheless that we might disengage ourselves from worldly principles and embrace the spiritual foundation--Jesus Christ--upon which we have built our life. This passage in Ephesians 6:10-18 discusses the armor which the Christian, the born-again believer, must always have on. And praying in The Spirit is part of that armor. 

    It must be used not only daily, but wielded in the right way. When we pray for ourselves, it is that we pray for strength to endure, wisdom to persevere, knowledge and understanding to retain The Word within us. We pray for The Spirit of Excellence (Daniel 6:3) to fill us daily, as life is lived day by day and not all at once. Sometimes we just won't know how to pray for ourselves: it is then that The Spirit of God intervenes for us and speaks to God Himself. 

    When we pray for other Christians, we pray as The Spirit leads us. Sometimes He wakes us up to pray for each other because of some tumultuous battle the other is going through. So, we get up and pray. And when the battle's over, we usually fall back asleep. Sometimes, we pray for each other at the altar, where worship takes place and The Spirit moves freely among God's people, touching first one, then another, to go and pray for this man or that woman, this daughter or that son. 

    Random strangers will cross our paths: sometimes a child of God, most of the time someone seeking God: The Spirit will lead us to pray with that person, if they are so inclined. Some will even ask for prayer. Always be ready to pray. 

    Sometimes the call for urgent prayer lasts all night long, as in Daniel 2:17-23, when the need for both dream and interpretation needed to come from God.  Another excellent example is found in John 17. Jesus praying in the night first, for Himself; then, for His disciples and third, for us who would believe what His disciples had to say concerning Himself. 

   Arm yourselves. The battle is coming and has even now commenced for many. Pray for yourselves. Pray for other Christians. Pray 

*for your families (even the generations to come) 

*for the strangers among you

*for your enemies: for the people who don't like you, who hate you and swear at you, who curse you, who make fun of you for being a Christian, 

 to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He is God's only begotten Son. Pray that they, too, would know the joy of The Lord and be filled with His Holy Spirit.  Pray that they would be ready. 

BY YOUR SPIRIT 

MY GOSPEL

    

EIRENE - PEACE

 

EIRENE 
(pronounced: ay-RAY-nay)
PEACE 

Ephesians 2:13, 14
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our Peace, who has made the two one and has torn down the dividing wall of hostility. 

Colossians 2:20-23
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through the blood of His cross. 
Once you were alienated from God and were hostile in your minds, engaging in evil deeds. 
But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy, unblemished, and blameless in His presence—if indeed you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope of the gospel you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. 

     This Peace, this Christ, is the only peace there is in this world. Though nations rage against nations to put some kind of definition of peace in place, that will never fully happen, for there is always someone who thinks their definition of peace is better, when in reality only God's definition of peace is perfect. 
     The Peace which God has given to us is His only begotten Son Jesus Christ The Messiah. Born in Bethlehem in a stable and laid in a feeding trough, He would die on the cross bearing the weight of the sins of all mankind, be laid in a borrowed grave where He conquered death and hell and the grave, walking out into newness of life. This Peace is my Peace. This Jesus is my Jesus. 
     This Peace can be your Peace. 

Dear Heavenly Father,

I acknowledge I am a sinner and that I have sinned against You and Your Word. I believe that Jesus Christ is Your only begotten Son. That You sent Him to die on the cross in my place and bear the weight of my sins on His shoulders. I believe that Your Word is Faithful and True and that You keep Your promises. 

I believe that Jesus Christ walked out of the grave, having conquered death and hell and the grave, into newness of life; being that resurrected Savior that He might reconcile me to You through His sacrifice and obedience. 

Please forgive me of all my sins against You and Your Word. Lead me and guide me with Your precious Holy Spirit through Your Word and reveal Yourself to me in it. 

Thank You, Father, for washing my sins away with the blood of Your beloved Son and bringing me into Your family. 

I love You so much,

In Jesus' precious Name,

Amen. 

THANK YOU LORD FOR SAVING MY SOUL

THE WAY OF THE CROSS LEADS HOME

Amazing Grace

 Amazing Grace 

Ephesians 2:8, 9

For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, / not by works, so that no one can boast. 

Acts 15:11

But we believe that through the grace of The Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

Romans 3:20, 28

Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.

For we maintain that a man is justified by faith apart from works of the law.

Romans 10:4

For Christ is the end of the law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.

Do you believe?

    We have no power within ourselves to save ourselves from the punishment of sin. Mere obedience to the letter of the law of God will not save us. For the law of God is the love of God explained and extended to God's people. To hear the law, and not obey it, is to ignore the law and the love of God. All day long He calls out our names and extends His arm of righteousness to a people who will not listen. 

    But the day is coming, and even now, is nearly upon us, when He will call some names for the last time. But those names who are written in The Lamb's Book of Life will hear God speak their name again and again for they will live forever with Him, having believed that Jesus Christ Is Lord and received the Salvation which God provided in Him and through Him. 

   Great is God's mercy and lovingkindness and faithfulness to reach out across generations and save as many as will believe Him. Do you believe? 

    Great is God's mercy and lovingkindness and faithfulness to a sinner, a wretch, like me. Once I walked and lived and died in darkness. But The Light of God's Redeeming Love stretched out across the years and called my name. Ashamed and disheartened I came to the cross and told God all my sorrows, all my transgressions: every dark thing in me I laid at the foot of the cross. And Jesus covered them with His blood: my sins were washed away! Amazing. Grace. 

    And a couple years or so after that I was baptized with His precious Holy Spirit and began to sing in a heavenly tongue. I was, and still am, awed that God would be so kind to do that in me. He has renewed me each time since then that I might be able to share the gospel with those He has placed in my path. Even you. Do you believe yet? 

    Just be honest with God: He knows your heart already: nothing is hidden from Him. But He desires that you speak aloud your belief that your salvation be known. 

    Romans 10:8-10

But what does it say? “The Word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, The Word of Faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved."

THE GOSPEL - Ryan Stevenson

HOW GREAT IS OUR GOD - Michael W. Smith

In Christ - I Am Created By God

 

EPHESIANS 2:10

We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance as our way of life.

    It is impossible to live a holy and righteous life without first believing that Jesus Christ is Lord; that He died on the cross taking the punishment of our sins upon Himself, and rising up from the grave to walk out into newness of life. 

Ephesians 2:8-9; John 3:16-18.

    When we believe this, God is able to create us in His only begotten Son into a new creation, a new creature. We have been born again by the blood of God's only begotten Son Jesus Christ. In us God has planted a seed of faith which we are to exercise by trusting in His promises and His Holy Word; by going where God wants us to go, doing what God wants us to do, and speaking the Word which God has set forth for us to speak. 

    In our natural birth, we are created male and female. This does not change when we are created anew in Christ Jesus. Both men and women are called to believe in The Only Name Under Heaven by which we can be saved. Both men and women are called by God to serve in whatsoever capacity God calls us to serve. Ephesians 4:11-13.

    We are called by God, in Christ, to witness to the world around us and to the parts of the world where God sends us. Mark 16:15. For the need to hear the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ is just as urgent as it is to speak the gospel. There are thousands of languages, many with different dialects. Even sign languages are different around the world. The gospel needs to be heard by all. Until the last person hears and then God will begin the next step in His war to defeat Satan once and for all. 

    In Christ there is no fear, no doubt, no wavering. There is boldness to speak, tact to speak with compassion and the love of God. There is a desire to reach everyone we know with the Love of God in Christ. And The Spirit within us nudges, prods, opens our mouths, (or causes our fingers to type), to speak up and speak out against injustice. For what is more unjust than to not know whether or not our neighbors, our families, our friends are saved by this Marvelous Amazing Grace which is alive within us?

    I seldom speak to our neighbors because I remain indoors often, but I have begun to pray for my neighborhood the same way I pray for everyone else, even you. In Christ I am made strong, for He is my Strength. And in His Strength my frail body accomplishes the will of God in my life. Because my life belongs to Christ Jesus. 

IN HIM WE LIVE AND MOVE  

YET NOT I BUT THROUGH CHRIST IN ME

Prepositional Faith - Created In Christ

 

Ephesians 2:10

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,

which God prepared in advance as our way of life. 

    We are created in Christ, when God creates a clean heart in us, upon our belief in His only begotten Son as our Lord and Savior. Psalm 51:10 tells us, "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." The Holy God working in our hearts begins the preparations for His Holy Spirit to change us and make us into the persons He designed us to be. 

    Sin got in the way of that and ruined everything. Everything sin touches it destroys. But God. But God had a plan to destroy sin once and for all: the death and resurrection of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The Innocent died for the guilty. His death mitigated the believer's death. 

    For the righteous, those whose sins are washed away by the blood of God's Lamb, death is but a breath, for Christ has conquered death for us. But for those whose sins are not covered by the blood, death is eternal. Eternal suffering, eternal pain, eternal destruction. 

    Now is the time to repent of the sin that has kept you from receiving God's grace through Jesus Christ, The Gift given to everyone, but received by so few. The Gift that is not opened is not really received at all.  Now is the day you open your Gift; this is the time before time runs out. When we seek God with a sincere and believing heart, then God will hear our prayer, and answer us. 

CREATE IN ME A CLEAN HEART - Steve Green 

DON'T BE AFRAID - The Song of The Lord 

Statements of Faith - Through The Blood

 

Ephesians 2:13

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

   We who are not born into God's elect people, have now been made God's people by the actions of Jesus Christ when He was publicly humiliated: He was stripped of His garments, beaten, tortured, nailed to the cross. And why, being God's Son, would He allow them to do that to Him? Because of His great love for all people. 

    In Romans Paul describes our becoming God's people as being grafted into the olive tree. In John 15:1-4, John describes it as becoming one with The Vine. In John 17, Jesus prayed for the people who had not yet believed in Him that they would believe and become one in Him, as He is in God. John 10:16 calls us "sheep from another flock who needed to be brought in to the original flock". It is a unique and wonderful love that God would want us to exist in Him, not just near Him. 

    It is by our faith in Christ Jesus that we are saved by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:8). How does a person go about obtaining such faith? "Faith comes by hearing, hearing by The Word of God." ( ) We have to hear The Word of God being spoken to us, whether by someone else or reading it aloud on our own. We need to believe that The Word we are speaking IS The Word of God before The Holy Spirit can apply it to our hearts. Memorization is wonderful, but memorizing Bible verses won't save us: only the blood of Christ applied to our sinful hearts can do that. 

  It is the blood of God's Lamb that atones for our sins. It is the blood of The Only Begotten Son of God that removes our sins (Romans 3:25): "God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand." 

    It is wonderful, cleansing blood, flowing from the throne of grace. We see a cross.  We see two beams plus three nails which equals forgiveness. God's mathematics are greater than ours. While it may seem impossible that God would have His only begotten Son go through such torture and death for sinners such as we, it is to fulfill His plan of salvation for all of mankind, from the beginning of time until such time as the plan is complete. We're almost there. 

    It is wonderful to have this beautiful relationship in Christ. It is like no other relationship we will ever have. This one saves our souls AND changes our lives. It is because of God's all-encompassing love that we are able to have this faith-based lovestyle at all. Many people have memorized John 3:16, but have not believed it. I believe it. Jesus died for me and took my punishment. God laid my sins upon His shoulders and He became sin for me. Being my sin, He was judged for it and died for it Being The Word of God, He took back the keys of death, hell and the grave and rose from the grave, raising up in a new body. For us.

    John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes on Him, should not perish but have everlasting life."

    Romans 4:16 "Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all." 

THE BLOOD OF JESUS SPEAKS FOR ME - Travis Cottrell 

    

Statements of Faith - Predestined For Adoption

 

EPHESIANS 1:5

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will. 

Romans 8:14, 30

For all who are led by The Spirit of God are sons of God.

And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.

Ephesians 1:11

In Him we were also chosen as God's own, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything by the counsel of His will,

    You want to know God's will for your life? Pay attention: God loves you and wants you to be in His family, so He formulated a plan of salvation that would apply to all men and women in all nations. His plan of salvation through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ may seem foolish in the sight and understanding of mankind, but to those who believe on The Name of The Only Begotten Son of God, we have become His children by faith: we have believed the evidence without seeing the end result. 

PREDESTINED: To pre-establish boundaries

    God has set in order the things which must be done to accomplish the purpose He has set forth.

    Predestined does not mean that God does want some saved; it means He has chosen all to be saved through His plan of salvation. But not all will be saved, for each of us has a choice to make in this life while we draw breath. Jesus died on the cross to save all of us, and rose from the grave to give each of us eternal life through Him. However, some have found this message of the cross and the empty tomb to be mere fantasy, for they do not believe God is real. Living under false pretenses then, they cannot fathom that God's Word is real and true. 

    But we who do believe pray for those who don't. We pray that God will ahold of you whatever it takes. We pray for your salvation, that you will come to a point of believing on The Name of Jesus Christ, for "There is no other Name under heaven by which men can be saved." (Acts 4:12).

     Buddha cannot save you. Allah cannot save you. Mary cannot save you. Vishnu cannot save you. Shintoism, Taoism, Sikhism, Caodaism cannot teach you The Way of The Lord, which is paramount to living a separated, holy life. None of these can intercede on your behalf with God. Only Jesus saves. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away sins. Only the resurrection of Jesus Christ can give you new life in Him. 

    God sent His Son to save us, and He sent His Holy Spirit to change us, to bring us into a state of holiness that we might see God and live. God sent His Son to give us eternal life, and He sent His Holy Spirit to lead us to Himself. 

    This is God's will for our lives here and now and after death. This is The Gospel of salvation by which all must be saved. Are you in that 'all'? Come to Jesus and be made clean. Come with me to the cross and see my Jesus. Come to the empty grave and see where my Jesus is not. Come and hear what The Spirit has to say. Let God have His Way in you, just as He is having His Way in me. Teaching me to surrender, to let Him lead me all the way home. 

    Let me reiterate here: we are all predestined by God to be saved, but not all of us will be saved, for the established boundaries which God has set forth to be saved are judged by many people to be foolish and delusional. 

    What decision will you make or have you made for Christ? 

I HAVE DECIDED TO FOLLOW JESUS  - Lydia Walker

Statements of Faith - Blessed By God

 

EPHESIANS 1:3

I am Blessed by The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has blessed me in Christ with every spiritual blessing in heavenly realms. 

James 1:17

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from The Father of lights, with Whom there is no variableness (change), nor shifting shadow.

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

1 By our faithful obedience to God's Word, He will set us on high above all nations of the earth.

2 We are to pay attention, be attentive to, God's Word and seek to know (with understanding and spiritual wisdom) and obey His will in every situation and decision.

 3 Wherever we live and whatever our work, it is blessed

4 Our children, our gardens, our livestocks will be blessed

5 God will supply all our needs

6 We will be blessed when we enter our homes and blessed when we leave them

7 We will have victory over our enemies and prosper in all we do; our enemies will fear us and our God, endeavouring to stay in our good graces

8 Our storehouses/barns/accounts will be prosper that we may bless others

9 We will be established as God's holy people, IF we keep His commandments and walk in His Way

10 They will know us by The Name of our God and be in awe of who we are 

11 Reiterates verse four 

12 We will prosper so well that many nations will borrow from us but we will never have need to borrow from them

13 We will rise above our enemies in the power and Promise of God, being the head (wise leaders); moving upward (as one does when mountain climbing, for example) but never downward.

14 As long as we remain in Him and follow Him, not allowing ourselves to be distracted by what tries to draw our attention away from Him, we will obtain every blessing He has herein promised His holy people. 

 In Christ, Who is God's Word in the flesh, I am forever truly blessed, indeed. In Christ, I am forgiven of my sins and redeemed by His blood, which He shed on Calvary. 

 In Christ, I am made whole and complete through His sanctification process through God's Holy Spirit. In Christ, I am not alone, nor will I ever be lonely, for He is my all in all. 

 In Christ, I am blessed beyond measure because He loves me. In Christ, I am God's adopted child because I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

  In Christ I live and Christ lives in me. 

Statements of Faith - I Am Redeemed & Forgiven

 

 

EPHESIANS 1:7

In Whom we have redemption through His blood,

the forgiveness of sins,

according to the riches of His grace. 

GRACE THAT IS GREATER - Don Moen 

    

    Psalm 130:7

O Israel, put your hope in The LORD, for with The LORD is loving devotion, and with Him is redemption in abundance. 

    Acts 2:38

Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of The Holy Spirit."

    Acts 20:28

Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which The Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. 

    Romans 3:21-25

(21 But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, as attested by the Law and the Prophets.

(22)And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 

(23) for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

(24) and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

(25) God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand.

    Acts 17:30

Although God overlooked the ignorance of earlier times, He now commands all people everywhere to repent.

REDEEMED - Big Daddy Weave

    Why do I talk about Jesus so much? Why would I ever stop? It's because of His grace that I am who I am today. Jesus redeemed us with His blood and forgave us with His grace. His redeeming power and transformative forgiveness set me on the path of righteousness and holiness, which I continue to walk in today. 

    It is an old path and a narrow one. Not everyone will choose to walk with Jesus; a mind-boggling thought and a sad one. But the constraints of holiness give freedom in the liberty of The Holy Spirit. Freedom from dark thoughts, freedom from every form of addiction, freedom from the chains of sin. Freedom  in Christ Who died for us. 

    God's people love to talk about their God and how He redeemed us with the blood of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We love to testify, tell about how He changed us from the sinful person we once were into the person He is transforming us into. 

I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY   - Katherine Hankey

Verse 1

I love to tell the story of unseen things above,

Of Jesus and His glory, of Jesus and His love.

I love to tell the story, because I know ’tis true;

It satisfies my longings as nothing else can do.

Chorus

I love to tell the story, ’twill be my theme in glory,

To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love.

Verse 2

I love to tell the story; more wonderful it seems

Than all the golden fancies of all our golden dreams.

I love to tell the story, it did so much for me;

And that is just the reason I tell it now to thee.

Verse 3

I love to tell the story; ’tis pleasant to repeat

What seems, each time I tell it, more wonderfully sweet.

I love to tell the story, for some have never heard

The message of salvation from God’s own holy Word.

Verse 4

I love to tell the story, for those who know it best

Seem hungering and thirsting to hear it like the rest.

And when, in scenes of glory, I sing the new, new song,

’Twill be the old, old story that I have loved so long.

Statements of Faith - Sanctified and Set Apart

 

Ephesians 5:25-27

Husband, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of The Word,That He might present it to Himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.

SANCTIFIED

    When Jesus prayed for you and I in the garden on the night of His arrest (John 17:17), He prayed for God to sanctify us with His Truth, with His Word. It is only with God's Word that we can be saved, sanctified and set apart for Himself. 

    To ignore or disregard The Word of God is to bring condemnation on one's self. To remove any part of The written Word from The Scriptures or to add anything to The written Word is to bring judgment and destruction upon one's self (Revelation 22:19).

    God's Word is powerful:  Hebrews 4:12. It burns:  Jeremiah 23:29; Psalm 97:5 & Nahum 1:5; Malachi 3:1-3; 4:1. God's Word increases and spreads: Acts 12:24. The Word of God is Alive and lives in every believer: 1 John 2:14. 

    The Word of God sanctifies ( purifies, makes holy) the hearts of every believer who has The Word living in him or her. The Word is holy and demands a holy dwellingplace. He cannot live where sin dwells: only in a righteous man or righteous woman or righteous child. The Word of God cannot reside in anyone who declares themselves to be other than what God has made them to be. Be warned: God will not be mocked. 

    You who think you can live any lifestyle you want to and still make it to heaven are only fooling yourselves. The day will come when they who live in sin will be judged by God for their self-centered lifestyles. Everything that is not of God will be burned up by His holy fire. Now is the day of repentance. Now is the time to answer God's call on your lives to turn from sin and turn to God. 

    Today is the day of salvation for someone reading this. Today is the day of reckoning and getting our hearts right with The Word of God. Tomorrow is not promised. We can pray anywhere, so whenever you make your way to the cross where Christ died for our sins, that is the right time to confess our sins and receive forgiveness from God. No man or woman can forgive us. absolve us,  for the sins we have committed against The Word: only God can forgive those who sin against Him. 

SET APART

    Every believer of The Word of God is not only sanctified by The Word but we are set apart by The Word. We are different from the world (John 17:14). We are strange and peculiar people (1 Peter 2:9). We are called by God to listen to Him and to Love like him: (1 John 4:6) and (John 13:34). 

    In this Love of God expresses through God's Word we are able to love like God. We show compassion and mercy and lovingkindness to everyone we meet, even if they don't love us back. We love anyway. We are bold in The Spirit for The Spirit of God is with us. We are fearless for our God is always with us. We are Christians, faithful followers of Christ Jesus, and we serve a risen Savior and coming King. 

    While we pray, Come, Lord Jesus, come, we also pray for the salvation of souls who need Jesus. We pray for the salvation of Israel (Romans 9:33 - 10:1) and the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). We are praying people because we have a God Who hears us and answers our prayers. Especially the prayer that brings us into His kingdom. 

    So we beg you, Come to Jesus. Come today. 

    ANCIENT WORDS

IN CHRIST ALONE

ALL TO JESUS I SURRENDER . 

Statements of Faith - Saved By Grace

 

 

Paul writing to the church in Ephesus to encourage them in the faith. The Word of God is alive and ever calling, ever reaching out to whosoever will.

Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you are saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.

Romans 3:22-24
And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.
 John 3:16-17
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 
For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 

 I am a whosoever who believes. Therefore I am saved by grace. 

I Am Christian's Closet

 

ROMANS 13:14

But put on The Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.

    I am Christian's closet and I am empty. For everything Christian needs to clothe himself or herself is already on the body. It is a conscious decision to choose to clothe one's self in Christ. 

    It is a daily commitment to be arrayed in the salvation of Jesus Christ as outlined in Ephesians 6:10-20. For every piece of armor and equipment is on the body and in the hand. 

    My head covering is a helmet of salvation and I am wearing multiple crowns; not golden crowns, for one gold crown is heavy enough in itself. Christian wears the crowns of victory which are light and fragrant. These crowns do not sit in Christian's closet but on Christian's head:

One crown is imperishable (1 Corinthians 9:25).

One crown is eternal life (James 1:12; Revelation 2:10).

One crown is God's Lovingkindness (Psalm 103:4)

One crown is the anointing oil reserved for the high priest who could enter the holy of holies (Leviticus 21:12).

One crown is God-given glory and honor (Psalm 8:4,5).

One crown is  knowledge given to the wise/prudent (Proverbs 14:18).

One crown is righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8).

One crown is souls won for Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:1; Proverbs 11:30, Jude 3, Ephesians 6:12).

One crown is beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3). 

    I am Christian and my garments are many. 

    The garment which covers my skin is the righteousness of Christ Jesus. This goes on before any other pieces of clothing. Without the blood of The Lamb of God covering Christian's nakedness all other attempts to clothe one's self are vain and destructive. 

Therefore, as Paul writes in his letter to the church in Rome, "Put on The Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the lusts/desires of the flesh." In other words deliberately and with careful thought pursue a life of holiness, following The Spirit where He leads us as we keep near to our Lord and Savior. 

    Atop this garment of righteousness Christian places his vestment of love and righteousness. It is akin to a thick leather tunic,  which protects Christian both on the front and the back. A belt of Truth holds the tunic in place and keeps Christian on balance, unwavering. 

    Knowing that The Word of God is The LORD Jesus Christ we see that Christian has both Sword and Shield, two items one might not ordinarily deem articles of clothing. But since we know that Christian is dressed in Christ, then we now know that Christian's hands are the hands of Christ, as well. When Christian raises his hands, he raises Christ up and God is glorified. When Christian pushes his hands out in front of him, it is Christ defending Christian, it is as if the blood of Christ were pushing back against whatever and whoever is coming against Christian. 

    I am Christian and I wear a garment of praise. I have traded it for the garment of despair I used to wear before the moniker Christian was given to me (Isaiah 61:3). This garment is like a cloak, covering all of me from the neck to the ankle. It is protection in and of itself to me, for in this garment of praise is my GOD. This I know because The Word tells me that GOD inhabits the praises of His people (Psalm 22:3). There are hundreds of verses throughout the Holy Bible and Scriptures which remind us that we are to Praise The Lord God not just every day but throughout our day and even our nights. 

    

    In Christian's closet is an empty shoebox. For on Christian's feet are the only shoes he will ever need to wear: the preparation of the gospel of peace. These shoes strap on to the foot first, then over the ankle and up the calf. To hold the straps in place is a leather greeve which will protect the shin and calf. Now Christian is fully dressed and ready to greet the day. 

    Wherever Christian steps he steps on the lies of Satan. Though the sting of death came through Satan's actions, the victory over death comes only by the death and resurrection of The Lord Jesus Christ. Christian has this victory. Christian will only taste death for death will have no power over him. And so the folly of Christian's antagonist(s) becomes their undoing. For the power of The Living Word of God, which is strapped to Christian's feet and legs has overcome and  destroyed that which has tried to destroy him. 

 

    I am Christian and my closet is empty because I am fully clothed in the garments which my Lord God has given me.  

JESUS MY RIGHTEOUSNESS - John Mark Pantana

COVERED - Planetshakers

OIL OF YOUR SPIRIT - Lindell Cooley

GARMENTS OF PRAISE - Robin Mark

UNDER MY FEET - Zach Williams

YOUR LOVE DEFENDS ME - Matt Maher