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 

Hope In Christ

 

Hebrews 2:6

But Christ is faithful as The Son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold firmly to our confidence and the hope of which we boast. 

    Hope in Christ is the great expectation of the Christian. It is not for nothing that we have followed Christ this far, this long. We are the born again through the blood which Christ shed for us on Calvary. We are the saved, the uncondemned, saints of God, who wear the righteousness of Jesus Christ: the wedding garment He clothes us with when we accept His invitation to come to the cross, confess our sins to Him and receive the forgiveness which He proffers to us. 

    Hope in Christ is the hope of every believer who believes not only that God is, but that God's Word is True and Faithful. It is more than a doctrinal declaration: salvation through Jesus Christ is a way of life when we have His Holy Spirit leading us and guiding us along The Way of Holiness. This third Person in the Trinity is The Spirit of God. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to save us and He sent His Holy Spirit to transform us. It is The Spirit Who writes The Word of God on our hearts when we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He died for us. 

    Not all religious paths lead to The One True God. There are many false prophets, false teachers and false witnesses out in the world. The enemy of our souls has sent them to speak his lies, to trick and deceive anyone who listens to their lying tongues and follows them blindly. They are the darkness of this world and the darkness is increasing. 

    But God. But God made a Way, a Light, that shines the Love of God into the darkness. The darkness of men's' minds and hearts; the darkness of prisons. The Love of God is brighter than the noonday sun and pierces farther than the eye can see, faster than the heart can imagine. God did what no one else can ever do no matter how hard they try. 

    God took The Word that He had spoken and wrapped it in flesh and through the power of His Holy Spirit, God placed His Word in a young virgin's womb to be borne by a woman and born of a woman. Jesus Christ is The Son of God, The Son of Man. It is in Him that we have placed our hope of salvation. It is in Christ that all must be found. For those not found in Christ, there is no more hope. Death is final and a person cannot leave hell and enter heaven after death. 

    Now is the time to make your decision of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ. All decisions must be made by us on this side of life. I have my decision. My hope is in Christ alone. Have you made yours? Come, The Spirit says to your hearts. Come to Jesus, Come to the cross. Let the Light draw you out of the darkness and into God's arms. Please, we urge you to come and see Jesus. 

    He isn't in the manger any more. He's not on the cross, nor is He in the tomb. All those places are empty. He's in heaven and He's in the believers' hearts. Is He in yours? He wants to be, but you have to open the door of your heart and ask Him in. It's an amazing grace that God would allow this feat to happen, but it happens every time someone comes to Jesus and believes in Him for salvation. 

ALL MY HOPE IS IN JESUS - Crowder

THE SOLID ROCK - Reawaken Hymns

I BELONG TO JESUS - Paul McClure, Hannah McClure 

IN CHRIST ALONE - The Gettys, Alison Krauss

THE RIVER - Brian Doerksen

THE LORD IS = TELEIOTES

 

TELEIOTES

(pronounced tel-ah'-ee-tee-os) 

THE AUTHOR OF ETERNAL SALVATION

Hebrews 5:8-9

Though he was God's Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. And being made perfect, He became The Author of Eternal Salvation unto all who obey Him. 

    Now that we, too, have become the children of God, we must learn obedience through suffering as well. For those who follow Christ must follow Him all the way to the cross if they want to rise out of the grave in new bodies. 

1 Peter 2:20, 21

How is it to your credit if you are beaten for doing wrong and you endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in His footsteps. 

    He is our example, the First of us to follow this pattern of obedience which God has set from the beginning, but now has revealed in His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. -- Hebrews 9:26, 27 - And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for Him shall He appear the second time without sin unto salvation. 

Isaiah 53:5, 12

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. 

Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.

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. 

    Where is Jesus now? He's in heaven with His Father interceding on behalf of His people. And one of these days He's coming back to get those who have been obedient to God. 

Acts 1:9

Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.

1 Thessalonians 1:10

And to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come. 

Romans 8:34

Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God--and He is interceding for us. 

    And one of these days, when God tells Him to go and get His people, Christ Jesus will return and bring all of us with Him: we who have died and we who are waiting and watching for His return. 

    But He will not return with a blazing star in the night sky. He will not return, yet, with trump and fanfare. He will come and get us like a thief in the night: quietly and swiftly. 

    Now is the time to get ready. Accept Christ as Lord and Savior, receive The Holy Spirit into your life and be obedient to His leading, walking out our salvation by living The Word daily: by walking God's Way of Holiness, that we may see Him and live. Live a life of (agape) love now. There's not much time left.

BY HIS WOUNDS - Mac Powell

NOTHING BUT THE BLOOD - Jars of Clay 

REDEMPTION DRAWETH NIGH  

    

I Will Sing of My Redeemer

 

Psalm 96:1

O sing unto the LORD a new song: sing unto the LORD, all the earth.

Psalm 40:3

He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

Isaiah 42:10

Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who dwell in them.

Revelation 5:9

And they sang a new song: "Worthy are You to take the scroll and open its seals, because You were slain, and by Your blood You purchased for God those from every tribe and tongue and people and nation."

    What New Song is this which everyone is singing? The Song of Redemption. The Song of The Redeemed. The Song of Redeeming Grace, of God's Love Exemplified. 

I AM REDEEMED - Big Daddy Weave 
AMAZING GRACE - Chris Tomlin

    While the angels in heaven can worship with song and with music, only the redeemed of The Lord can worship from a sinner saved by grace standpoint. 

I'M JUST A SINNER SAVED BY GRACE - Gaither Vocal Group

    How did we get to be the redeemed of The Lord? By believing the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. He is our Redeemer, our Savior. Let me show you the Way. 

Nobody is good enough  to go to heaven on their own merits- Romans 3:10

Everyone is a sinner - Romans 3:23

But God loves us so much He sent His Son to die in our place - Romans 5:6; John 3:16

We deserve death for our sin but God's plan of salvation is a Gift to those who believe - Romans 6:23

When we speak out loud that we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in our hearts that this is true, God saves us, redeems us - Romans 10:9-10

Everyone who calls on Jesus' Name for their salvation is saved - Romans 10:13

I'M JUST A NOBODY - Casting Crowns 

The Lord Is Mine

 

THE LORD IS MINE 

Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The Lord shall be saved.

I am a whosoever. 

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want (lack). 

Isaiah 40:11  He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.

John 10:11  “I am The Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep."

I am His sheep because I am a whosoever. The Lord is Mine. Is He your Lord? Are you a whosoever? Do you want to be a whosoever? 

It's really very simple. 

A=Acknowledge that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son, that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, that He was buried and then rose on the third day. 

B=Believe that Jesus Christ is Lord. Read The Word every day and study it for yourself. Never take it for granted that what someone is telling you is in the Bible is really in the Bible: people lie to benefit themselves and to keep others from knowing the valuable Truth that is found in God's Word. 

C=Confess our sins to God and ask His help to stop doing those things He says not to do and to do the things He wants us to do. This is called repentance. Continuing to trust God every day and being faithful in our daily walk is a process called The Holiness Way. For us to grow in Christ everyday we need God's Holy Spirit. We need to ask Him for guidance on how to live a righteous life now while we have breath that we may see God and live when we die. 

This is the basic alphabet of salvation in Jesus Christ. Acts 4:12 "Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” 

These are the verses we read and understand to know that we are sinners who need saving. Make no bones about it: we are ALL sinners. If someone says they have never sinned, they are a LIAR, for God's Word is Faithful and True and He tells us that we are ALL sinners, we ALL need Jesus to save us. Would you rather be a fool or a saint?

Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. 

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

Romans 5:6 But God commendeth His love His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the Gift of God is Eternal Life through JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD.

Romans 10:9-10, 13 That if you confess with your mouth The Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. ~ For whosoever shall call upon The Name of The Lord shall be saved. 

Isn't it time for you to be a whosoever? 

NO OTHER NAME 

BELONG TO YOU 

The Lord Is My Light

 

Psalm 27:1

The LORD is My Light and My Salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is The Strength of My Life; of whom shall I be afraid? 

    God reminds several times in His Word (the Holy Bible) that there is no one and no thing to be afraid of. In fact, He encourages us to remain in Him and in His Word, for therein is our safety and our salvation. 

    God is, after all, our only means of survival if we want to make it out of this world alive. Even if my bones turn to dust before The Lord returns to get me, I will live. Live eternally with Him, forever in His home. 

    Fear not. Words to live by. He told Joshua several times to "Be strong and courageous". To do this Joshua would have to push past fear and walk into God's blessing. So, I'm pushing past fear and doubt and walking into God's blessing for me.

    The Lord is MY LIGHT and MY SALVATION. His Word guides my steps and shows me where to walk on this Way of Holiness in which His people live out their daily lives. As My Salvation, He is My Savior, My Kinsman Redeemer. My Deliverer: The ONE Who purchased my soul from death, hell and the grave when He died on the cross in my place. The ONE Who rose from the dead and walked out of the grave restored and so much more. For He was unrecognizable to His closest friends until He revealed Himself to them. 

    The Lord is MY Strength of Life. Without Him I have no life. Without Jesus I am nothing. As the song says, "Like a ship without a sail". I would just be drifting in a life without purpose. But with Jesus in my heart and The Holy Spirit in my life, the wind has shifted me from a downward spiral up to the heavenly portal where He waits for me and intercedes for me to His Father. I am His and He is mine. 

    The Lord is My Light that shines in the darkness. He searches out the deep roots of sin and pulls them out, sometimes gently, sometimes not so much. But sin must go that I might be found without stain and without blemish when Christ returns to bring me home with Him. 

PSALM 27:1

A Crucified Life - - Answers The Call To Be Born Again

 

    John 3:14,15

Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up; that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 

    Here in this passage of Scripture in John 3:1-21 we have the remembrance of Jesus' private visit with Nicodemus, a respected religious leader of that time. Every interaction with Christ is private, intimate, requiring only the individual and Jesus for the revelation of Truth to be imparted to the heart. 

And what is this Truth which only comes from Jesus Christ? Truth IS Jesus Christ. He is The Word of God come in the flesh (John 1:14 "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of Grace and Truth.").

He is The Truth (John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, "I am The Way, The Truth and The Life: no man comes to The Father, but by Me."").

    The Truth of Jesus Christ is the key to eternal life that unlocks the prison doors of our heart (John 8:32 "You shall know The Truth and The Truth shall set you free."). This Truth frees us from sin and death (Romans 8:2 "For in Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death."). 

    Romans 5:6-11

 (6)For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. (7) For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. (8) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (9) Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. (10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. (11) And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

    So say I now: Look to the cross of Christ and believe that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son, Who suffered and died for us that we might be saved from death, hell, the grave and the second death. Repent and be baptized and receive The Holy Spirit according to the promise of The Word of God. 

CALLED TO SALVATION 

When I Survey The Wondrous Cross - Keith & Kristyn Getty

The Way, The Truth, The Life - Celebration Music

Create In Me A Clean Heart - Keith Green 

You Saved Me - UPPERROOM

When I Lock Eyes With You - Maverick City Music

Abide In Me - Andrew Marcus

A Crucified Life - - Prepares The Way

 

    Mark 1:3

"The voice of one crying in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight'."

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No.

Prepare: make ready

From the Greek word 'hetoimazó' (pronounced het-oy-mad'-zo): I make ready.

    Yes, Christ Jesus came to die for all of us. His once-and-for-all decision impacts each and everyone who hears of such wonderful news. Yet, it is the each that disturbs people. 

    For each one of us must prepare our hearts and our minds to receive Jesus Christ into it. Believing on Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior is paramount to entering into God's kingdom. It is the most important decision any of us will ever have to make. 

    Though this verse in Mark refers to the prophetic conclusion referred to in Isaiah 40:3, the many of us who have believed in the Name of Jesus Christ for our salvation have been proclaiming to the not yet believing that Christ is returning soon. 'Soon' is just a not-yet-determined time that lies in the near future. Don't be discouraged if it hasn't happened yet. Everything happens in God's timing, for God is over all, even time. 

    Matthew 24:36-51 tells us to be ready for His return. Isaiah 40:3 tells us to prepare His way. As roads were made passable for visiting kings, so, too must we prepare ourselves to receive our King. 

    We prepare our hearts to receive Christ when we acknowledge we are sinners and repent of our sins against God. 

    We prepare His way when we believe that He is The Way, The Truth and The Life. The Way of salvation and righteousness. The Truth in every aspect of God's Word. The Life Eternal, having resurrected from the dead and walking into newness of life.

    We prepare the Way of the Lord by living holy, blameless lives under the direction of and in the empowerment of The Holy Spirit. Seek His direction now. I seek His direction at every step of my life, especially when preparing these studies. For I have no desire to lead you astray: I don't want to make any mistakes when sharing, proclaiming, God's Word with you.

    We call you now, all around the globe, in every corner of this earth, to prepare your hearts to believe on the Name of The LORD Jesus Christ, that you may receive His salvation through repentance of sins and be baptized. Baptized in water as a public confession of your faith in Christ. Be baptized in God's Holy Spirit that you may receive power to live your newly birthed faith and spread the Good News of God's saving grace with all of God's people. 

    Isaiah 43:1

But now thus says the LORD, He who created you, O Jacob, He who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are Mine."

    Revelation 2:17

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who overcomes, I will give the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone inscribed with a new name, known only to the one who receives it. 

Jesus Culture Greatest Hits

A Crucified Life - - Has A Heart for The Lost

 

    Romans 10:14

How then can they call on the One in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach?

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No.

They Have Not Believed: non-directional not-yet-believing faith, not yet persuaded to believe

From the Greek word 'pisteuó' (pronounced pist-yoo'-o): I believe, have faith in, trust in; pass: I am entrusted with. 

    In order to believe in the One God and One Savior, a person must first hear of God and Christ. IF I had not heard of the life-giving, soul-saving Christ from a faithful preacher of the full gospel Word, I could not have come to the cross to see Jesus and believe that He is God's only begotten Son Who died for me. 

    Now I am compelled in my spirit by God's Spirit to share the good news that I have received. There is an urgency in my spirit to reach as many as I can with the gospel of Saving Grace through Jesus Christ. 

    Though many call themselves Christians, not everyone who states thus is a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ. They are still lost in the darkness of this world; they refuse to recognize that sin is sin, and so continue on their foolish ways. But a day of reckoning is coming.  

    We want to see everyone in heaven. But heaven is not everyone's destination, though we strive to bring them all with us. Unbelief keeps the Door closed, the Gate locked. 

Matthew 7:23; Matthew 25:41

    I'm here to let you know that I want you in heaven with me. Though I email this to but a few, many more are reached whom I will never meet in my lifetime or theirs. My hope is that I will see them all in heaven one day. We will rejoice together. 

    I am surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who encourage me by their faithful faith: my believing family members, my believing friends, the solid gospel preachers of whom I read and listen to, the expressive worshipers whom I have been encouraged by when I listen(ed) to their music and songs.

    The U.S. Army had a saying back in the day, "I want you!" with Uncle Sam pointing his finger at whoever saw the poster with this imprint. The Bible says, "For God so loved the world (you) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever (you) believes in Him, should not perish but have everlasting life." Then Jesus Christ stretched out His arms and died with the weight of our sins on Him. 

    More than a pointing finger, the Spirit of God directs our gaze to the cross to see, really see, Jesus. It is up to us to decide if we believe and then what we will do with that belief. We need to make a decision for Christ, not against Christ. 

    Not believing that Jesus Christ is God's only begotten Son and that He died on the cross for you will be the worst decision you will ever make. And you will have only yourself to blame. Please come to Jesus and be made new, changed, clean. 

    Let us go to The Book of Romans and see what God wants to make known:

Righteousness Comes From God Through Faith in Jesus Christ

Romans 3:22-23

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.

No One Is Righteous On Their Own

Romans 3:10, 18

10. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one. 

18. “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Wages of Sin=Death, Gift of God=Eternal Life in Christ

Romans 6:23

23. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

While We Were Yet Sinners, Christ Died For Us

Romans 5:8

8. But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Everyone Who Calls On His Name Receives Salvation

Romans 10:13

13. For, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

No Condemnation In Christ

Romans 8:1

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

    Hear the Word of The Lord. Let us turn our hearts to God and tell Him we believe in the Name of His only begotten Son for our salvation. Let us repent (acknowledge and turn away from) the sins we have committed against God's Word. Let us confess out loud that which we have believed in our hearts: JESUS CHRIST IS LORD.

    Reaching The Lost

Rooftops - Jesus Culture

I Speak Jesus - Here Be Lions

First Things First - Consumed by Fire

Run To The Father - Cody Carnes

O Come To The Altar - Elevation Worship

Come To The Well - Casting Crowns

Yes I Know - Gaither Vocal Band

I Have Decided To Follow Jesus - Lydia Walker

The River - Brian Doerksen

Jesus, Keep Me Near The Cross

Softly & Tenderly 

Alive In You - Jesus Culture

Only Trust Him - Alan Jackson

A Crucified Life - - Speaks With Confidence

 

2 Corinthians 7:4

Great is my confidence in you, great is my pride in you: I am filled with encouragement; in all our troubles my joy overflows. 

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 3954

Confidence: freedom of speech, openness, boldness

From the Greek word 'parrésia' (pronounced par-rhay-see'-ah).

    The KJV reads like this:

Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.

    It is speaking plainly and honestly and factually all at the same time. To make known publicly, as the disciples began to do in Acts 2 after the Holy Spirit came upon them and endued them with power to speak in other tongues, languages, that they might make known the mystery of the gospel of salvation to all nations.

    There are currently 7,168 known spoken languages in the world today ( ethnologue). That does not include the languages no longer in existence. But when the Spirit fell on the waiting disciples, each one received a language that made it possible for them to witness Jesus to everyone to whom they were sent. 

    In that Spirit of speaking plainly, let me now say:

    God is Love and He speaks the language of Love. In His Love created He the whole world, including men and women. Time and again we have let Him down but those who love Him in return get picked back up by Him in His Love. 

    In His Love He sent us a Savior to atone for all of our sins, Someone Who could pay the price for sin once and for all. Someone Who could conquer death, hell and the grave. Someone Who could represent God's Infinite Love to the people He loves. Someone Who could save God's people from death, hell and the grave. Someone God called His Beloved Son.

    Know this: it is not the denomination which saves. It is not the good works, good deeds, acts of kindness which saves. Nor does growing up in a Christian family save us. Only the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. Only believing on His Name for our salvation saves us. 

    Only the blood which Christ shed on the cross washes away our sins. Only the stripes He received on His back heal us in every way; not just physically, but spiritually as well. 

    No one is good enough to go to heaven. No one is good enough to enter Christ's kingdom and live under His kingship (Romans 3:23). We must all go through Him to enter the kingly city in which He will reign. He is, after all, the Door and the Gate.

     But it's a narrow Door and a narrow Gate which require a small key. That key is faith. Jesus tells us if our faith were the size of a mustard seed, which is 1-2 millimetres in diameter, we could move mountains. Our faith starts out smaller than that when we first begin to believe in Him. 

    Putting that into perspective: mustard seed size faith is smaller than a postage stamp, tinier than the widow's mite. But that's all it takes to enter the Door and the Gate. 

    If you have the key, you can enter the Door and the Gate. The key:

    Romans 10:9, 10

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.

SOAKING WORSHIP (listened to this while I studied)

    

A Crucified Life - - Lives In The Now

 

2 Corinthians 6:2

For He says: "In an acceptable time I have heard you. And in the day of salvation I have helped you." Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 

Now: the present time, the time at hand, at this moment, even now, at this instant

From the Greek word 'nun' (pronounced noon).

    There is no guarantee that we will have another day to make the wisest decision we will ever make. There is only now, there is only today. The word 'behold' means "to see, pay attention now and listen to what I have to say to you". God is calling our attention to what He is about to disclose to us. 

    Now Time. Now is the accepted time. Now is the day of salvation. Now. Not yesterday, not tomorrow; just today. 

    Hebrews 3:15 "While it is said, Today if you will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation." What provocation? The time referred to is when the hearts of the people provoked God by refusing to hear what He had to say. It's a warning to us even today to pay attention, hear Him speak and make that decision to listen, trust and obey Him.

    Psalm 81:8 "Hear, O My people, and I will warn you: O Israel, if only you would listen to Me!"

    Psalm 95:7 "For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice:".

    Hebrews 4:7 "God again designated a certain day as “Today,” when a long time later He spoke through David as was just stated: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”

    A crucified life recognizes that there is a window of opportunity to turn from wickedness and embrace holiness. Jesus Christ is The Door, The Gate, The Entryway into the eternal presence of The Eternal God. This Door stands at the doors of our hearts, knocking patiently, waiting for the hearts who believe to allow Him entrance. (Revelation 3:20 "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with Me.)

    A crucified life has answered the persistent knocking and allowed the Christ to be their Savior. I opened the door of my heart and invited Jesus Christ into my life and my heart. I made the decision to listen to God's voice in His Word and obey His Spirit. Even now, I am more aware than ever that there is only 'Today'. There is only 'Now'. 

    For God has shortened the days even more. There are no longer 24 hours in a day, though our lives are still regulated under Greenwich Mean Time. Mere seconds have vanished from the clock.  The Now and the Day are disappearing even as we speak. 

     Being aware of this, a crucified life is compelled even more so to preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We are so filled with the joy of our salvation that we want everyone we know and all we meet to know this joy, too. It is a hunger within us. 

    Is today your day of salvation? Have you come to Jesus for His cleansing power today? Have you believed on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb of God? Has Christ made His home in your heart?

Today, we who believe, implore you by the Love of God,  to believe, "Come to Jesus. Come to the Cross of Christ. Come to the Lamb of God Which Takes Away the Sins of the World." John 1:29 "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world!"

    

    

Informed Decision

An informed decision requires an informed platform. For instance, let’s talk about God. All religions have one. But that’s religion. Let’s talk about Jesus. Only one religion recognizes Jesus Christ as God’s only begotten Son who died on the cross and rose from the dead to save the world from eternal damnation through Adam’s sin in the garden. That religion is Christianity.

While there are many doctrines in place within the religious realm of Christianity, who is to say who is right and who is wrong? The place to go to make that decision is the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, the Living Word of God. Yep, you heard me right. Only by reading and understanding God’s Word can we learn God’s intentions towards us.

If we begin with Genesis, we read that God created our world and everything within it. He creates the stars, the moon, the sun and all the universe above us. God creates all animals and people. And He doesn’t do this alone. His Son and His Spirit work with Him to create.

And when we go to the Book of John we read that The Word of God has always been, just as God has always been. We read that The Word became flesh, that He let God wrap His glorious Son in the frail body of flesh and gave Him to the world to become the sin offering once and for all.

Reading Romans we see that while Christ died for all of us, it is up to each of us, on an individual level, to make a decision to choose and believe that Jesus Christ is LORD. An informed decision. Each one of us, every person who ever lived and is capable of making their own decision, is responsible for choosing to be saved or condemned by God. No one else can make this decision for us but us.

As soon as Adam and Eve disobeyed God, God knew. For He came to the garden and could not see them, as sin covered them. So God asked Adam, "Where are you?" And when Adam responded, "I hid because I was naked.", God asked, "Who told you you were naked?"

The two basic questions God asks every person. Where are you? and Who told you you were naked?

Naked means more than unclothed. It is to be without proper covering. Without a proper covering God could not see Adam, nor Eve. He cannot see us without a proper covering. In the beginning in the garden, God had to kill an animal and use its skin to cover Adam and Eve that they might be properly covered. {While the Bible does not tell us then which animal died, when we read Exodus and Leviticus we see that an unblemished, spotless lamb was used for the sin offering, as a substitute for a person who had sinned (disobeyed God's Word). }

In the Book of John we learn that Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son came to us as The Lamb of God which takes away the sin of the world. And that believing this Truth covers us who believe with the blood of this Lamb, making it possible for God to see us.

So, what must I do to be saved? A cry made from the heart and echoed by the lips. First we must recognize that we are sinners. Romans 3:10 There is none righteous, no not one. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. This is repentance: Recognizing that we are sinners and have sinned and choosing not to keep living in the state of sin. It is more than remorse or sorriness: it is abject recognition of being apart from God and making an Informed Decision to be near Him through His Son and under the guidance of His Holy Spirit.

Realizing I am a sinner I understand the penalty of sin is death. Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. There is hope now, because the believer is given a gift from God: eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 5:8 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Whereas before, we had only an eternity of death and separation from God standing before us, now we have Hope and Peace by faith in Christ.

A new word has been introduced to us: faith. It is the act of believing God. Believing that He Is and that His Word Is Truth. Believing that what God promises, God delivers. As He has for so many people for thousands of years God’s Word is Faithful and True (Revelation 19:11 and Revelation 22:6). See also Hebrews 11 to learn what a few folks accomplished by their faith.

Seeing now that I am a sinner and am saved by Christ, what now must I do? Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart, that is the Word of faith, which we preach, that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus Christ 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.” Words to rejoice and shout! I believe that Jesus Christ is Lord! Do you?

You can. Romans 10:23 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. I am a whosoever. You are a whosoever. Yes, you, the one reading this page. You can be saved. You can believe. Let no one tell you otherwise. It is simple and easy. It is the faith of a child believing her father will catch her if she jumps, lift him up when he falls. And now that you and I have called upon the name of the Lord for our salvation? Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

I have made an Informed Decision for Christ. Have you?