Renewal & Hope in Christ

 

2 Corinthians 4:16

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, yet our inner self is being renewed day by day.

2 Corinthians 5:1

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.

2 Corinthians 3:18

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of The Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from The Lord, Who is The Spirit.

    Life is not permanent. Youthfulness fades. Hairs gray. Skin wrinkles. Muscles weaken. Bodies soon succumb to death and decay. But the soul is eternal.

    How sad that so many who could live eternally in glory with God and Christ choose not to make that decision while they still draw breath in this life.

    Time is moving faster now. Days are not as long as they used to be: there are less than 24 hours in a day now. God has shortened the days for His people, His church.

    But, O how lovely to know that just a step away from death and the grave is our eternal home in Christ with God our Father! The inner self that gains strength from a daily, personal relationship with and in Christ Jesus will finally be at home with Him!

Have you chosen to believe that Jesus Christ is Lord? Is heaven your eternal dwelling place? Why do you linger? why do you wait? Are you hungry for something you feel is lacking in your life? That something is the knowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior of your life and your soul.

    Remember: Scripture tells us, "It is appointed unto man once to die, and then the judgement." Hebrews 9:27. Which means that if you are not living in Christ while you are alive on this side of death, then you will not be living in Christ on the other side of death. There is no heaven, no paradise, for you.

    I encourage you, my current brothers and sisters in Christ, to remain steadfast and faithful in your walk with Christ Jesus in His Spirit. And to those who are contemplating this life in Christ which Christ lives in us, come to Jesus and live.

    Ephesians 3:16-19

I ask that out of the riches of His glory He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

Then you, being rooted and grounded in love, will have power, together with all the saints, to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Names of God - Zao Theos- The Living God

 

ZAO THEOS

(pronounced zah'-o theh-os')

LIVING GOD

2 Corinthians 6:16

What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of The Living God; as God said, “I will make My dwelling among them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people." 

    This verse is a reminder to the born-again believer to not be unequally yoked with a non-believer. That Christ-followers cannot, nor should not want to, mingle what we believe with what other religions believe. 

    Chrislam is a pagan religion, as it is impossible to be a faithful and obedient Christian when one has aligned itself with a non-Christian religion and unbiblical belief system. Christian Nationalism is also a comingling of two ideological platforms where it becomes neither. 

    Christianity begins in the heart of a person. Here in our hearts is where we believe that Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, is Lord. It is through the power of God's Holy Spirit that God's Holy Son takes up residence within us. It is after we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord that The Holy Spirit immediately begins to change us inwardly, transforming us from unrighteous sinners into righteous saints. Christianity puts Christ first, above all else. Even above national pride and promotion.

    Nationalism on the other hand begins in the mind. It promotes the nation's values and strengths above all others, even religion and Christianity. Britannica defines nationalism as "an ideology (social and political philosophy that hopes to describe the world and make changes to it) based on the premise that the individual’s loyalty and devotion to the nation-state surpass other individual or group interests." Knowing that Christianity is an individual interest, the faithful born-again believer chooses to put Christ first, while the faithful nationalist puts his country first. 

    We are the temple, the dwellingplace, the residence, of  The Living God. No other god can be defined in this manner. All other gods were created by mankind in rebellion to The Living God and will end in eternal death for their followers. The Living God died for His people, conquered death, conquered hell and conquered the grave by walking out of it, giving all of His followers eternal life through Jesus Christ His Son. No other god has done that. Nor will they ever, for they do not exist, except in the imaginations of mankind. 

    When we become Christians, not only do we become God's dwellingplace, but we become His servants. Not in a mean sort of way, but in humility and loving sacrifice, placing God's needs above our own. We choose to serve The God Who Loves Us With An Everlasting Love. We opt-in to dedicate our lives to His service: doing what He wants us to do, going where He wants to go, saying what He wants us to say. 

    We choose to love The Living God with all of our hearts, our souls, our strength. We choose to worship The Living God, just as His prophets and His disciples have before us, for this Eternal God alone is worthy of our praise. Let us enter now into His Eternal presence and surrender our hearts and our lives to Him, that The Living God may seal us into His covenant Word. Let us lift our hands and raise our voices in praise and worship!

HE LIVES  - Acapella choir rendition 

     

   

Where Does Life Begin? Part One

 A life lived without God in it, is a life lived in the arms of death. But a life lived with God in it is a life lived in the shadow of death. 

The psalmist writes in Psalm 23:4, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil, for You are with me." He wasn't talking to himself, he was talking to God, for the psalmist knew God on a personal level and was thus able to say confidently that he only walked 'through' the valley, he didn't live there. His confidence came from knowing God, not knowing about God or of God, but knowing who his God is and that His God walked with him.

There has been much discussion on the origin of life, the beginning of life, per se. Since God creates all life, God is the origin of life. When God created Adam, God breathed life into Adam.  But what about babies? Where does life begin in a baby? 

Where do we go for the beginning of life? Conception? Heartbeat? Intelligent awareness? This is not enough. We must go further back to than mere conception. Jeremiah 1:4-5 speaks of when 'the Word of God' came to Jeremiah and spoke to him, saying "before I created you in the womb, I knew you'. And, 'before you were born, I knew you'". What do we learn from this verse? Life begins with God. 

A life lived with this knowledge is the beginning of a life lived with God. Mere knowledge is not enough. To knowledge must be added faith/belief. Belief that God not only Is, but also Was and Will Be. God is the Creator of all life at all times in all ages (eras). God is Preserver of life. Apart from God there is no life, physical or spiritual. 

John 1:1-4 asserts this knowledge to us who not only read, but believe: (1) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He was with God in the beginning. (3) Through Him all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made. (4) In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. Therefore, in the beginning is The Word and that Word is Life. We accept this knowledge of  the origin of Life because we believe God's Word to be Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11). Life begins with God.

Life & Health

The Anatomy of Being A Christian

Proverbs 4:21, 22

"Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thy heart. For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh."

As we can read here, The Word of God belongs in our hearts. The Word of God is life to all that find. The Word of God is health to all the body. Remember John 1:1 tells us that The Word of God is real and alive and for ever: "In the beginning was The Word, and The Word was with God, and The Word was God". And when we scan further to John 14:1 "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".

And who is the only begotten of The Father? John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe on Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 1:29 "The next day John sees Jesus coming unto him, and said, 'Behold, The Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world."

The Word of God is Jesus Christ and He belongs in our hearts. When The Word of God is living in our hearts, we are made whole, perfect, complete: 1 John 2:5 "But whoso keeps His Word, in him verily (truly) is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him." Psalm 119:11 "Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against Thee."

The heart of a Christian is the home of The Word of God. As the heart beats in our natural bodies, pumping blood through it and into our veins, feeding strength and life to our natural bodies, so, too does The Word of God work in our spiritual bodies. The blood which flowed from the slain Lamb of God washes away the sins committed by the natural body. It is in believing this that our heart is cleansed and made free from the bondages of sin. Sin kills; Jesus saves.

Reading in Acts 1:8, 9, we see that Jesus went back to His Father in heaven, but first left us a promise of a coming Comforter, who would give us power to witness (testify on Christ's behalf). And that Comforter is The Holy Ghost, aka The Holy Spirit. He is known by both names but they mean the same thing: Spirit of God. It is The Holy Spirit who leads us into and through The Word of God which gives us strength to live the life God wants us to live in Him.

                                                                                        

Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you."

Psalm 34:4 "I sought The Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from my fears."

Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart."

Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

What is the first thing that The Holy Spirit does? He leads us to Jesus and reveals Who Jesus Christ Is. When we go to God's Word and look for directions, it is The Holy Spirit who guides our hearts and our minds to seek out The Truth of God's Word; setting the decision before us: do we believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and that He died on the cross for us and rose from the dead, thereby washing away our sins and giving us eternal life? It is our decision to make. And it is the most important decision we could ever make: it affects not only our life here, but eternity after we die. What is your decision?

Crown Him with Many Crowns

CROWN HIM with MANY CROWNS

CROWN of LIFE

Revelation 2:10  Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer : behold , the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried ; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

James 1:12  Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried , he shall receive the crown of life, which The Lord hath promised to them that love Him. 

2 Timothy 2;12  If we suffer , we shall also reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us:

CROWN of LOVING-KINDNESS

Psalm 103:4 Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies;

Psalm 63:3 Because thy loving kindness is better than life, my lips shall praise thee.

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

Hosea 2:19 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies.

Jeremiah 32:17-19 Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee:Thou shewest loving-kindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is his name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:

CROWN of GLORY & HONOR

Psalm 8:4,5  What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?  For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor.

CROWN of ANOINTING OIL

Leviticus 21:12  Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him: I am the LORD. (regarding the high priest)

CROWN of KNOWLEDGE

Proverbs 14:18 The simple inherit folly: but the prudent are crowned with knowledge. (all of Proverbs is a discourse on wisdom, defining what is wise and what is foolish. Prudent means "mentally putting together". [love that], which is the definition of learning. Therefore, the prudent person is the one who learns wisdom and puts it into action)

CROWN of RIGHTEOUSNESS

2 Timothy 4:8  Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which The Lord, The Righteous Judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love His appearing.

CROWN of ROYALTY (Grace & Favor)

Esther 2:17  And the king loved Esther above all the women, and she obtained grace and favor in his sight more than all the virgins; so that he set the royal crown upon her head, and made her queen instead of Vashti. 

CROWN of GLORY (the LORD IS)

Isaiah 28:5  In that day shall The LORD of hosts be for a Crown of Glory, and for a Diadem of Beauty, unto the residue of his people. (The Lord is our Crown of Glory. How cool is that?)

CROWN of SOUL WINNER

Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

Proverbs 11:30  The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that winneth souls is wise.

("dearly" implies at great cost) Jude 3 says we are to 'earnestly contend' Ephesians 6:12 we 'wrestle against' 

We are not passive Christians. We are fighters. We fight for the salvation of  our families and friends. They are our crown, also. Our knees bow only to The Most High God and none other. We fight our battles on our knees with our hands clenched in prayer; our hearts are set on the deliverance of our moms and dads, sisters and brothers; strangers, friends and enemies. We are immovable in our desire to see the Salvation of the Lord reach those who are lost and wandering in the darkness of sin. And we encourage each other in this goal. 

At great cost. What is it worth to you to see someone saved? It cost Jesus His will and His life. He surrendered His will and His life, that we might have salvation. How much are you willing to give up? With Jesus it was 

                                                           ALL OR NOTHING

                    

In All These Things

The painting shown here is a Spanish galleon. These ships were built to withstand great travelling distances, carrying not only the crew required to keep her afloat and moving, but also great treasures: heavy wooden chests filled with gold coins, precious metals and a king's ransom in jewels and gems. In the shipyard, this galleon may have been referred to as a three-master, because she has three sails on each sail mast, giving her the ability to take on and direct wind, which would carry her from port to port.

You and I are a ship designed by the Master Creator, built in the manner of this ship was. The Architect of our Souls sees our beauty and our weaknesses. And still, He loves us. But before we can reach the safety of our final port, we need to get through these waves we call 'life'.

Some waves are light and bounce across our hulls just enough to keep us buoyant. We laugh and rejoice at the sight of sunlight reflected off waves cresting. We are children, we have children. We grow, we learn; we cry and are cried for. We pray and are prayed for. We love and are loved in return.

Sometimes the babies we long to love die in the womb and we never get to know the joy of seeing them face to face. Or of holding them in our arms, feel their breath on our breasts, hearing their laughter in our ears. This is life.

Sometimes we get to watch our children grow into fine young men and women. Sometimes we don't. On their ship's journey, they have turned their backs to the storm clouds brewing on the horizon, and their ships falter. As parents, it is our job to keep them prayed for, that their ships not founder on the rocks, but steer towards the port of safety, the port of salvation. This is life.

Sometimes our young adults turn their back on their training, their upbringing in the Word, and strike out on their own, into treacherous waters. Waves that seem clear and fine on the surface, but which will actually threaten to overcome and drown the wayward soul. These, too, must be prayed over and for daily. This is life.

Sometimes we get to see our sons and daughters grow up and sometimes we don't. Some parents get to see their children have children of their own. Some of us don't. Some bury their child, while some children bury their parents. This, too, is life.

And the waves crash against the ship. She creaks, she groans. The waves crash across her bow. The storm threatens to bring her under. And still she rides it out. For on the horizon there is a light. It appears to be small from such a distance as we are, so tiny. The wind rips the sails from her masts; some shredded, some torn. But still the ship sails. Through the storm.

There is light behind the clouds, dark though they are. Not quite pitch black the sky above us. We can see each other. We can hear if we listen for the sound of our loves. We work together, bound with cords of love to each other and to our Designer. We see with hearts of hope. We stand precariously on the crested waves, as we ride the storms within life, just to come out on the other side. Not entirely the same as we went in, but perhaps, a little bit wiser, a little bit stronger, a little bit humbler than when we first set out on our journey.

We left our first port, mother's womb, kicking and screaming. There was a light ahead of us there, too. It was the light of a new world, a new day, a new beginning. We left our second port, our parents' home, in much the same way. Some of us at least. Wanting our independence, to do things our own way, to sail our ships. We should not have been surprised when our children left us the same way we left ours. But we were. Life.

In all these things we are more than conquerors. What things? Life.