Faithfulness of God - 2 Timothy 2:13

 

2 TIMOTHY 2:13

If we are faithless, He remains Faithful, for he is not able to deny Himself. 

    To be faithless is to not believe God, to deny God as God. But God cannot deny Himself, for God is not a man that He should lie about Himself (Numbers 23:19; 1 Samuel 15:29; Titus 1:2). 

    God keeps His promises. All other gods are made up from the imaginations of evil men but God is GOD: always has been, is even now and always will be. God is not a fickle God, changing His mind on a whim just to make things unpleasant for people. 

    His laws and precepts within His Word are unchanging, remaining the same. As His Word was in the beginning, so, too, it will be in the end. For His Word is The Beginning and The End. (Revelation 1:8; Isaiah 41:4) 

    The promises of God are Faithful and True, Yes and Amen. (Revelation 19:11; 2 Corinthians 1:20). The promises of God to His people come by their faith in God, to trust God at all times in all circumstances: we are the people of faith in God; we are the seed of Abraham. Hebrews 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. (Romans 9:8). 

    The promises of God are many. According to BibleInfo.com there are over 3500 promises given by God in The Scriptures. And all these promises of God are TRUE and FAITHFUL promises. While many are still ongoing, all are fulfilled in Christ. 2 Corinthians 1:19, 20 "For The Son of God, Jesus Christ, Who was preached among you by us, by me, Silvanus, and Timothy, was not “Yes” and “No,” but has proved to be “Yes” in Him [True and Faithful, the divine “Yes” affirming God’s promises]. For as many as are the promises of God, in Christ they are [all answered] “Yes.” So through Him we say our “Amen” to the glory of God." 

    What God promises to one He promises to all. In The Book of Deuteronomy in The Old Testament (Deuteronomy 28) God outlines who receives His blessings and who receives His cursings. That has not changed. While some of God's blessings are for all, such as rain, only those who remain faithful to God will receive all of His blessings. And they who remain in denial of God, who refuse to believe that GOD IS, will most definitely receive all of His curses. 

    As people of faith, it is our obligation therefore to reach as many people as we can and tell them by our words and our actions of the change which God has wrought in us through the death and resurrection of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We are duty-bound, for we have died with Him and are resurrected with Him: we are a new creation in Christ. That old sinful, sinfilled life we used to live we live no longer. Now we live in Christ and Christ lives in us. 

    We're reaching into the fire (Jude 1:23), we're shining the light of Christ in us into the darkness of this world (Matthew 5:16), that men and women, boys and girls, everywhere may know the LOVE of GOD is in The Promises of God, the Faithfulness of God. 

FAITHFULNESS - Maverick City Music

HEART OF MY HEART - Charlie Daniels

      

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call To Serve God's Purpose

 

    2 Timothy 1:9

He has saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works, but by His own purpose and by the grace He granted us in Christ Jesus before time began.

    GOD's GOOD PURPOSE

John 3:16

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.

Ephesians 1:4-6

For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love He predestined us for adoption as His sons through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the Beloved One.

    Romans 8:28,29

For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.

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

    Philippians 2:13

For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.

FULFILLING GOD's PURPOSE

    God knows you. He formed you, created you. He calls you and I to be one with Him through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. The call, the invitation, still cries out to the lost, the dying, the hopeless, the despairing, the lonely, the homeless. 

    His servants go into the alleys, the streets, highways and the thoroughfares, preaching the gospel of peace through Jesus Christ; teaching holiness and discipleship in the power of The Holy Spirit. We go that His purpose might be fulfilled not only in us but in those who believe and receive the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. 

    The kingdom of God advances every time a soul gets saved. Every time a sinner repents and is baptized into the Name of Jesus Christ, accepting Him as Lord and Savior of their lives, the enemy of our souls-Satan-loses another battle and The Lord gains a faithful follower and friend. 

    Everyone is predestined to salvation but not everyone will accept it. It is such an incredible thing to believe that Someone would die for us! It boggles the mind. But if the seed lands in the heart, then the heart begins the search for the Truth. Jesus Christ is The TRUTH. Therefore, everything He speaks and does is TRUTH. That's a fact that cannot be broken or misconstrued. 

    Paul tells in Romans 10:13 "For whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved." That's me. That's you. 

    THE HOLY CALLING

Holy means set apart, sacred. Calling means invitation. God is giving us a sacred invitation to come near to Him. He calls us to repent of the sins which keep us separated from Him; for He is a holy God and requires His people to be holy as well. This can only happen when we keep a penitent heart, a humble spirit, a loving attitude towards God.

    Isaiah 1:18 “Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD: "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool."

    Diving Love calls us into God's presence, where we recognize and realize that His love exceeds our sins and covers us completely when we sincerely let go of the desire to do that which has kept us separated from Him. As we reach God's presence, we drop all pretence and cry out to God to save us. And He does. 

    I am a sinner saved by grace. God's grace. God's purpose is being fulfilled in me. Who I was before my sins were forgiven is now who I am now that I am forgiven.

Ephesians 2:8-10

    (paraphrased) By grace am I saved through faith; not of myself: it is the Gift of God. 

    Not by works {that I have done}, so I cannot boast {of this miracle wrought in me}. 

    I am God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as my way of life.

FULFILLING GOD's PURPOSE

God So Loved - We The Kingdom

 Don't Let Your Heart Be Hardened - Petra

Have My Heart - Maverick City/TRIBL

 You Come For The Broken - UPPERROOM

God Has His Purpose - ASOP

 Refiner - Maverick City

Fly Eagle Fly - Whiteheart

 All My Hope - Crowder

Whosoever Meaneth Me - classic hymn

 Above All - Michael W. Smith

    

    

    

Guard Your Heart - - Guard Your Faith

 

1 Timothy 4:1, 2

Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons, influenced by the hypocrisy of liars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 868

Abandon: to withdraw oneself from, to fall away

From the Greek word 'aphistémi' (pronounced af-is'-tay-mee): I take up a position away from, repel, leave, abstain from, to lead away from.

LATER TIMES

    The later times, often referred to as latter days, are not the same as end of days. The later times refer to the age in which the church is being built up in the faith, in the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. And we are still in these days, for this age will continue until the church is taken up by Christ when He returns for her. 

    Even in the beginning of the church's growth,  sedition (rebellion) and apostasy (desertion, falling away from) began to rear their ugly heads. Religious groups outside the church began impacting the way the church was being run, inserting their own laws and rules ahead of God's law and rule. 

    In Paul's letter to Timothy, he reminds him of this and to warn the brethren (the brothers and sisters in Christ) under Timothy's leadership to be careful of what is being let into the church and what is to be kept out. 

    Since the Spirit of God never lies we know that then, as now, many have been deceived by their faith leaders into believing what has been presented as truth, but in actuality is false. We are to beware of (be aware of and avoid) false teachings which are delivered by false teachers and false prophets: imposters and evil spirits. 

    And in order to know who is speaking Truth and who is lying we need to know what The Word of God is for ourselves. We need to grab hold of the written Word of God and begin to read and study it out and pray over what we are reading and studying, asking God to reveal Himself in His Word. 

HYPOCRISY 

    Most of us know by now that a hypocrite is a person who says one thing and does the opposite. They are pretenders, snakes. On the outside they appear morally righteous; in their hearts and behind closed doors they are anything but. 

    The born again believer who follows closely the Word of God will be on the lookout for deceivers and heretics who try to enjoin themselves to the church in which the believer participates. It is why we need to remain in a state of prayer, constant communication with our heavenly Father, that we may be able to discern the wicked from the righteous. 

    The Spirit of God has told us how we are to be in these latter days. If we pay closer attention to how we receive The Word then we will be able to tell the difference in the Spirit who is and who is not a Christian. 

    What does the word Christian mean? It is a designation of nationality. Not only are we Christ-followers, but we are living in Christ and Christ lives in us. Perhaps meant as an insult in the beginning, the Christians embraced the title. Therefore, not everyone who calls themselves Christians really are Christians.

TRUTH: GOD DEMANDS OUR WORSHIP

Because God is Creator, only God creates. Genesis 1 and 2 we read that God created all of nature and all of the universes. Exodus 20:1-5 reminds us that God is to be worshiped, not God's creations.

LIE: Making statues of people and animals is fine.

TRUTH: ONLY PRAY TO GOD

Matthew 6:5-7 Jesus tells His disciples to pray in secret to their heavenly Father. Psalm 4:3 God hears the prayers of the godly.

LIE: Praying the name of a saint gets results. Lighting these candles will cause your prayers to enter God's light. 

TRUTH:  GOD IS HOLY, HIS NAME IS HOLY

Exodus 20:7 Taking the Lord's name in vain (swearing) is a punishable offense. Using God's Name as an epithet is not acceptable in any part of the believer's life, especially their tongue.

LIE: Swearing is normal; everybody does it.

TRUTH: OBEY THE WORD OF GOD WHEN HE SPEAKS TO YOU or Suffer the Consequences

1 Kings 13:11-34 is one example of not obeying God's specific words given to one of His prophets. 

Deuteronomy 28:1-14 details the blessings of God when His people obey Him, while Deuteronomy 28:15-68 details the curses of God when His people disobey Him.

LIE: The Bible is ancient history. It is a storybook filled with tall tales and fables. It is irrelevant in today's age.

    Beware, church! You who say you are God's people! God knows who belongs to Him and who does not. Make very sure you know you belong to God. Guard your faith, pay very close attention to what you are reading, hearing and believing.

2 Timothy 2:19

"Nevertheless the foundation of God stands sure, having this seal, The Lord knows them that are His. And, Let every one that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity."

 TRUTH: GRACE IS A GIFT

 It can neither be bought nor sold. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar and a thief. We cannot buy our way into heaven. 

Ephesians 2:8, 9

"For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." 

LIE: Buy (my water, this brick) and your reward will be in heaven. Make your charitable donations public and generous and you will be blessed.

    We beg you now, to return to fold, to repent of your wicked ways and fall on your faces before The Lord God. Do not die with regret in your everlasting shame. For God has made a Way for you to be forgiven. And that Way is to humble ourselves, not just getting on our knees in prayer and praise, but humbling our hearts to submit to the Authority of God's Word. 

    Let us draw near to God that He may draw near to us, as we are so aptly reminded in The Word: James 4:7, 8.

IN CHRIST ALONE

AMAZING GRACE MY CHAINS ARE GONE

I KNOW WHOM I HAVE BELIEVED  

WORD OF GOD SPEAK

GLORIOUS DAY

REDEEMED

 

 

 

     

    

Crown of Life

 

What is this Crown of Life? It refers to a crown received by a person(s) who has run a race and won, as we can see by reading the verses below.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run [their very best to win], but only one receives the prize? Run [your race] in such a way that you may seize the prize and make it yours!

 Now every athlete who [goes into training and] competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things. They do it to win a crown that withers, but we [do it to receive] an imperishable [crown that cannot wither].

2 Timothy 4:7-8

I have fought the good and worthy and noble fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith [firmly guarding the gospel against error].

In the future there is reserved for me the [victor’s] crown of righteousness [for being right with God and doing right], which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that [great] day—and not to me only, but also to all those who have loved and longed for and welcomed His appearing.

1 Peter 5:4

And when the Chief Shepherd (Christ) appears, you will receive the [conqueror’s] unfading crown of glory.

Revelation 2:10

Fear nothing that you are about to suffer. Be aware that the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested [in your faith], and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful to the point of death [if you must die for your faith], and I will give you the crown [consisting] of life.

Escapism Isn't

 2 Timothy 3:1-5 

1. But understand this: In the last days terrible times will come. 
2. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money , boastful, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 
3. unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,
4. traitorous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 
5. having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!

Anything or anyone that captivates a person's attention away from the Word of God is destructive to a person. The word captive can be used as both a noun: 

• A prisoner
• A person who is enslaved or dominated

and an adjective:

• Made or held prisoner
• Kept in confinement or restraint
• Enslaved by love, beauty, etc.

Captive, therefore, means:

• To attract and hold the attention thereof
• To enchant
• To capture, to subjugate (to bring under complete control, to master, to conquer; to make subservient, enslave

     You may say that every decade has its problems and you would be half right. But it has been centuries since Jesus went back to heaven to prepare a place for us and His return is always imminent.           Therefore, since He left people have been living in the last days. These last days are the days leading up to His return. Even the last hour. 

1 John 2:17-18 "The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever. Little children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have arisen, whereby we know that it is the last hour."

     We need to recognize that what separates us from God now will be the very thing that separates us from God then: sin. Everything named in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 is sin; these things separate a person from a right relationship with God. 

     We see the results of such sins even more so as the counting of days ends and the counting of hours before Christ's return draws near. All of these sins have kept people away from God's presence, have kept people away from prayer with Him, have kept people away. Period. 

We are made aware of this immediately: 

• Terrible Times will come: difficult days, dangerous days, furious days; days of weakness and reduced strength
• Lovers of Themselves: self-loving, selfish
• Lovers of Money: avaricious, greedy, covetousness
• Boastful: one who gives one's self airs in a loud and flaunting way
• Arrogant: proud, disdainful, haughty
• Abusive: blasphemous, slanderous, evil-speaking
• Disobedient to their parents: who will not be persuaded, contumacious: willfully and obstinately disobedient, stubbornly perverse or rebellious
• Ungrateful: ungraceful, unthankful, unpleasing
• Unholy: wicked, profane
• Unloving: devoid of affection, hardhearted towards kindred
• Unforgiving: without libation (without truce, without covenant); implacable (unable to please or placate, unyielding)
• Slanderous: accusing falsely, unjustly criticizing to malign and condemn, accuser, backbiter; malicious, false, defamatory statement or report; calumny: a false and malicious statement designed to injure the reputation of someone or something
• Without self-control: powerless, impotent, lacking self-control, inclined to excess: without self-discipline nor self-restraint; unable to have power over one's self
• Brutal: not tame, fierce, savage
• Without love of good: not loving that which is good; a hater of that which is good; someone who is hostile to the things of God
• Traitorous: betrayer; treacherous: faithlessness, untrustworthy, unreliable; perfidious: deliberately faithless, deceitful
• Reckless: headlong: hasty, without deliberation (careful consideration before decision); impulsive, rash
• Conceited: foolish; having a cloudy (muddled) mindset-moral blindness resulting from poor judgment which brings further loss of spiritual perception; having an exceptionally favorable opinion of one's abilities, appearance, etc.
• Lovers of pleasure: strong desire, sensuous pleasure that is pleasing only to self, self-gratification; the satiation of bodily desires at the expense of others. Rather then Lovers of God: God-loving, friend of God
• Having a form of godliness but denying Its power: external appearance, resemblance, looks like the real thing but isn't

     Escaping from God's presence now is escaping from God's presence in eternity. Whether the choice is made to believe or not, it is still a personal choice that each of us makes. There is no one to blame but us.

     When we recognize ourselves, our actions in any one of these descriptions, we must turn to God, repent of our wicked ways and seek His forgiveness, which He will surely give to the repentant heart. His Word will enter into us and begin to change us into the person we were created to be. His Spirit will mold us and transform us by God's power. 

     Nothing we can do will change us. Nothing we say will transform us from sinners to sinners saved by grace except belief in the Name of Jesus Christ, the Living Word of God. 

     What is our defense against God's judgment on sin except Jesus Christ? 

    What is our hope and expectation of God except His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world? 

     The Lord Is My Hope and My Salvation. Is He yours?

     Now is the time to get on our knees and pray. Don't fret about the words coming out of your mouth. God wants to hear our hearts not our words.

Unwrap Me

 

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. John 3:16

For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13

I am a 'whosoever'. You are a 'whosoever'.

God's Gift of His Son to a lost and dying world is for everyone who believes, who is seeking, who is searching for something, someone to hold onto, to believe in, to hope, to be loved and give love to.

Every person ever born is a 'whosoever'. And, we each, on an individual basis, need to Unwrap the Gift of Grace through Jesus Christ which God has given. 

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the GIFT of God: not by works, so that no one can boast.                    Ephesians 2:8-9

GIFT according to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance: Offering, Sacrifice, Present

GIFT something given voluntarily without payment in return, as to show favor toward someone; something bestowed or acquired without any particular effort by the recipient or without its being earned

Every good GIFT and every perfect GIFT is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with Whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. James 1:17

Did you see that last part? no shadows. There are no shadows in heaven, for God is the Father of Lights! I grin and grin and joy floods my soul! 

Do not neglect the GIFT that is in you, which was given you through the prophecy spoken over you at the laying on of the hands of the elders. 1 Timothy 4:14

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the GIFT of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control. So do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, or of me, His prisoner. Instead, join me in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.      2 Timothy 1:6-8

Every GIFT from God needs to be kept alive, not just the GIFT of Salvation through Jesus Christ, but he GIFT of the Holy Spirit, which we also receive from God. If that flame goes out, like the five virgins mentioned in Matthew 25:1-13, then we will lose what we have not gained. 

With the great GIFT of Grace, of salvation through Jesus Christ, comes all the other GIFTS, many of which we might not think are gifts. But when we are called to salvation, we are called to all the pertinences of such a GIFT.

The GIFT of Salvation through God's GIFT of Jesus Christ

The GIFT of Suffering for the Gospel

The GIFT of Service to Others, thereby serving God

The GIFT of Sacrificing what we want for what God wants

The GIFT of Surrendering our will, our desires for God's will, God's desire.

The GIFT of Eternal Life

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:22-23

Let us unwrap this glorious GIFT which God has so graciously bestowed upon us!