The Death of The Saints

    

    King Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes, "To everything there is a season....a time to be born, a time to die...". We celebrate the births and mourn the deaths. Yet when a saint dies, we should celebrate that death, for they have been called home. Coming home after a long journey is always cause for happy times.

~It is a time of rest; of laying aside the cares of our days.

~It is a time of peace, never to know pain, sorrow, anxiety again.

~It is a time of joy; of being received into the everlasting arms of Jesus and God.

~The death of the saints is a time of temporary sorrow, grief and mourning on our part (though it may feel as if it will last forever), for we will miss them during our lifetime here, but it is with great joy that we know that we will see them again in heaven.

~Psalm 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His saints."

    The births that get celebrated in the kingdom of God are the new births in Christ: the adoptee into God's family through the blood of His only begotten Son, Who died on the cross to pay for our sins. For it is only through the blood that the adoption process can begin.

1. We need to believe that Jesus Christ died for us. That He conquered/overcame, death, hell and the grave when He walked out of the tomb in which He was buried.

2. We need to acknowledge our sins to God, repenting of them (turn away from them and never do them again). It's not enough to have a changed life, we need a changed heart, as well.

3. We need to ask for God's Holy Spirit to come into our lives, to make us the holy people God commands us to be. For we cannot be made holy by doing anything mere man tells us to do: it's all God.

4. We need to be baptized publicly: making a bold statement to the world that we believe that Jesus Christ is Lord of all and now He is Lord of the one who has been baptized.

5. We need to follow the lead of The Holy Spirit of God: not just reading our Bibles every day, but studying The Word, as well. Knowing that when we understand what we have been studying, we can then apply it to our lives. Without The Holy Spirit it is impossible to live a God-filled life, a changed life. A life that is lived for Jesus must have Jesus in it.

    This is how we come into God's family. This is our adoption process. We are the lineage of Abraham: children of righteousness, people of faith and trust in God. Not only are we grafted into The Vine, but we are now in God's family tree. We are the planting of The Lord, trees of righteousness.

Believe it. Receive it. Live it.

I WILL RAISE IN LIFE TRIUMPHANT

by Mary Barker Spencer

1. The tree of life’s still standing and all who will may eat.

Come and dine is still the call. The place is Jesus' feet.

The crimson cleansing fountain yet is flowing from His side.

His holiness still beckons us to heed His humble cry.

-chorus-

I will raise in life triumphant!

I will let hosannas roll!

I will drink that Living Water that shall ever flood my soul!

I will worship crying, "Holy"!

For worthy is The Lamb

Slain from the foundation of the world

Just so I can. 2. Oh grave, where is your victory? Oh death, where is your sting?

For the God of all creation has swallowed you to bring

My life to me immortal back with Him from Calvary.

In the valley of the shadow there’s a brilliant light for me!

-chorus-

I will raise in life triumphant!

I will let hosannas roll!

I will drink that Living Water that shall ever flood my soul!

I will worship crying, "Holy"!

For worthy is The Lamb

Slain from the foundation of the world

Just so I can.

Thanks Be To God -- For His Restoration

 

Isaiah 51:3

For the LORD will comfort Zion and will look with compassion on all her ruins; He will make her wilderness like Eden and her desert like the garden of the LORD. Joy and gladness will be found in her, thanksgiving and melodious song.

Psalm 51:12

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and sustain me with a willing spirit.

Isaiah 61:3

To console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 7725

Restore: to turn back, return

From the Hebrew word 'shub' (pronounced shoob), which means, in Psalm 51:12, to rebuild, to bring back home again, to cause to turn again. 

It is the LORD God who causes restoration to be upon His people. It is God who creates and tears down only to restore and build up better His people (Deuteronomy 32:39). We are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10), modeled on His Potter's wheel (Jeremiah 18:1-10 [in the potter's house]). 

We are His planting (Isaiah 61:3), His field (John 4:35). In Him we are brought from destruction and death to restoration and life, for He is the God of Restoration, the One who brings Life back to His people. And He gives us everything we need to be sustained in this new Life in Him. 

Therefore, we give Him what we have to give Him.

JOY 

Romans 14:17

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. 

Galatians 5:22, 23

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 
AND GLADNESS

Psalm 16:11

You will show me the path of life: in Your presence is fulness of joy; at Your right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is the thank-offering given to God by a choir of adoring worshippers. It is a confession of thanks rendered to God from a grateful heart. Thanks-Giving is sung, it is a sacrifice of praise given to God by a restored people, a delivered people. 

2 Chronicles 29:31

Then Hezekiah said, “Now that you have consecrated yourselves to the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings to the house of the LORD.” So the assembly brought sacrifices and thank offerings, and all whose hearts were willing brought burnt offerings.

Romans 10:8, 9

(8) 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: (9) 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.

Exodus 15:1, 2

(1)Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for He has triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider has He thrown into the sea. 

(2) The LORD is my Strength and Song, and He is become my Salvation: He is my God, and I will prepare Him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt Him.

Revelation 15:2-4

(2) And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.

(3) And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are Your works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are Your ways, thou King of saints.

(4) Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? for You only are holy: for all nations shall come and worship before You; for Your judgments are made manifest.

We give God praise in songs combined with musical instruments, even if that musical instrument is us clapping our hands, 

MELODIOUS SONG

Psalm 81:1, 2

(1) For the choirmaster. According to Gittith. Of Asaph. Sing for joy to God our strength; make a joyful noise to the God of Jacob.

(2) Lift up a song, strike the tambourine, play the sweet-sounding harp and lyre.

Having been restored (by His grace) and replanted (by His righteousness), we begin to bear fruit (see souls saved) and prosper (be profitable) in God's kingdom (Psalm 92:12-15; Psalm 1:3), which is where the born again believer lives and thrives. 

Dear God,

I am so very thankful for all that You have done for me and in me that I may glorify Your name for all eternity.

Thank You for saving me. Thank You for restoring me to You and planting me in Your garden. 

Please help me to tell everyone I know and everyone You place in my path, about Your Amazing Grace and Forever Love, with Your love; give me words to speak that they may hear.

Make me to be a profitable servant in Your house, that I may not be found wanting, but be a joy and a treasure to You. Cause me to grow where You have planted me, that Your Name would be glorified by the words and actions of my heart. 

To God be the glory.

In Jesus' name, I pray,

Amen

Word of God Speak by Mercy Me

This Is The Kingdom by Elevation Worship

Seek First by Jason Upton

 

The Planting of The Lord

     I am the captive of The Lord. When He has performed that which He says He will do in me, then I will be set free in Him. For whom The Lord sets free is free indeed as stated in John 8:36. I am free to do that which I have been given the privilege to do in Jesus' Name. You know, I will forever have those studies in my mind and my heart now. Every time I say or hear someone say "in Jesus' Name", a smile lights across my face and I remember Jesus' Names. Before I became aware of who I am in Jesus' Name, I would hear myself be referred to as 'just a mom' or 'just Steve's wife', as if I was a second class person. But whom God calls to serve in whatever capacity He puts them in to serve, is not a less than person to any degree. We are all the planting of The Lord, when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior; when we believe that He is the only begotten Son of God; when we call on Jesus' Name to be freed from the bondages of our sins and enslavement.

     We have become new people. You know us by our names. God knows us by the names which He has given us. You know us by our previous histories. God has washed away those histories and completely forgotten them. You know us by the things we used to do and the words we used to say. God knows us by our words and our actions. It is in His sight that I pray to remain blameless and without blemish. GOD is GOOD.

The Sower Sows The Word

Mark 4:14 "The sower sows The Word." 

Mark 4:3-9 is The Parable of The Sower, while Mark 4:10-20 is the explanation of the parable presented. 
A heart that is not ready to change will not be changed. Soils that are hardened ground or rocky territory will not allow the Seed of The Word to take root. When that happens, false teachers and false doctrines come along and swoop down on a person's thoughts and heart, taking away the topsoil, where The Word lay, but did not enter. 

A heart that is ready to change cannot do it on its own. Any effort made to be a better person will soon fail on some level. You and I can be good according to this world's standards of goodness and still fall short of God's definition of good. Way short.
It is only when we want what God has to offer that we turn to Him and ask for this change to happen. We cannot stumble or fall into grace; we must make a conscious informed decision to receive salvation through God's plan of salvation: Jesus Christ.
"Believe on The Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your house." Acts 16:31 (HCSB) See, The Promise of Salvation is not just for us, but for our households, our families and our helpers. "If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9 (ISV)
It is only then, when The Seed is in our hearts, that the change we have desired to see in ourselves begins to take place.