Statements of Faith - Chosen In Him

 

EPHESIANS 1:4

I am chosen in Him before the foundation of the world. 

Ephesians 2:10

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

Romans 8:16

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 

John 1:12, 13

But to all who did receive Him, to those who believed in His Name, He gave the right to become children of God--children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God. 

    The born again Christian is created in Christ Jesus; believing on His Name for our salvation, it is the only way to become a child of God. Taking communion, participating in the remembrance of Christ's sacrifice (the bread and the wine/juice) will not save a person's soul. Only Jesus can save us. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away a person's sins, iniquities, transgressions. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can remove our shame and regret. 

    And only The Holy Spirit can tug at our hearts, calling us to come to Jesus and be born again into His Name, through His Name and His blood. Only The Holy Spirit can prick our consciences, convicting us of sin, rebellion against God--against His Way, His Will and His Word--and bring us to our knees crying out to God to forgive us, save us and make us clean and holy. Now is the time to listen to what The Spirit and The Word are saying to us. Now is the time to be forgiven and set on the road to change, to holiness. 

    [God's plan of salvation began before recorded time. There was a war in heaven. Satan rebelled against God and declared war on Him, persuading one-third of heaven's angels to follow him. That's what he does: he is persuasive, cunning, deceitful, tricky and evil. But God won that war and declared Lucifer (Satan's God-given name) to be persona non grata: he was no longer welcome in heaven, nor in God's holy presence and had to be removed permanently. So God sent him to Earth before there were people there.

    He worms his way into people's minds and hearts by manipulating and questioning God's Word and Authority. He is a devil and he lies and deceives people into believing things that are not true. (If a thing is half-true, it is still a lie. If a statement is omitted, it is still a lie, for the truth was not in it.).]

    But God had a Plan and His Plan is Jesus, His only begotten Son, Who took our punishment, died on the cross, rose from the dead and walked out of the grave! God won another war against Satan. And all who believe on The Name of His Son become God's sons and daughters: we are the children of faith. For it takes faith to believe the impossible or even the improbable. 

    Too many people have died in their sins and gone to hell. They died believing lies about their gods. They died not believing on The Only Name that could save them. They died unforgiven. And as such they condemned themselves to eternal death. They died not knowing their Creator, not knowing that He loved them, not knowing that there was a Way to heaven that they deemed improbable, for some doubted the existence of God and therefore denied His Son Jesus Christ's existence. 

    But God still loves us and His Spirit is still calling us to Come To Jesus and be Washed By The Blood, for Nothing But The Blood of Jesus can cure this disease called sin and be cleansed by His blood which washes away the sins of the world (John 1:29; John 3:16). Come today and see this Jesus Who washed away my sins. Come and see how God is changing me as I walk by faith this journey called life. Come and walk with me and Jesus, for He walks with me and wants to walk with you, too; as God has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. 

    

    

Guard Your Heart - - Guard Your Marriage

 

Malachi 2:15

Has not the LORD made them one, having a portion of the Spirit? And why one? Because He seeks godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 898

Break Faith: to deal treacherously with, betray, deceive

From the Hebrew word 'bagad' (pronounced baw-gad'): to be unfaithful, to depart.

    Before the flood the sons of God, the men who followed God, turned from God's ways and God's Word to go after the daughters of men, men who worshiped gods they had created. They polluted themselves and their worship was unacceptable to God. They brought destruction on themselves and their families by bringing idolatry into their tents, their homes. 

    They were unfaithful to both God and to their wives. For it is God who ordains the marriage covenant having set it up from the beginning. God created Adam. Then from Adam God created Eve. This joined them together: bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh. Created from a rib near Adam's heart was Eve. Her he would love forever. He loved her so much he disobeyed God when he, too, ate from the forbidden tree. He was unfaithful to God and by disobeying God, Adam was unfaithful to Eve, as well. Who knows how God would have reacted had it been only Eve who disobeyed. 

    We, as God's peculiar people, set apart for Himself, set apart in His love by His love, are to be faithful to God, to His Word in His Spirit. We, the born again believers, the church, the saved Gentiles and the saved Jews, are created in Christ to be the bride of the bridegroom. And in this union we are to create godly offspring: by our witness and our testimony other people will hear the Word we speak, see the works which we do, and glorify God by coming into this union as well. What a miracle of Life that is! Life Eternal. 

    Unfaithfulness begins in the eye. Genesis 6:2 "That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose." Men of God, men who were serving the Lord, took their eyes off of the God who chose them to be His people and turned their eyes to women who served created gods, gods created by their fathers; they married them and had children with them. They broke faith with the God of their people and whored themselves out to the gods of other people. 

    As God's people, faithfulness is required of us. In our hearts, in our homes/families, in our churches/sanctuaries we are to honor God. We are meant to be different from the world, separated from the way in which the world works (1 Peter 2:9). We are created to worship God and Him only (Exodus 20:1-6). We worship with our hearts, with our spirit, with our bodies (Romans 12:1, 2). 

    Our eyes are to be focused on His Word. Our ears are to be open to His voice. Our hands are to do His work. Our feet are to walk in His way. Our hearts are to be filled with His love, to operate in the Love of God: forgiving even when forgiveness is not asked for or seems to be beyond the scope of forgiveness: for we who know we have been forgiven much by our God must genuinely forgive those who have sinned against us. 

    We worship God with everything we have within us for HE IS OUR GOD and there is no room for any other in our hearts. The LORD joys over His people with singing (Zephaniah 3:17). The LORD delights in the people who fear (revere) Him. We take refuge in The LORD GOD (Psalm 91:1, 2). 

    Psalm 128 tells us that a man who fears the Lord will be blessed in honoring and loving his wife. Their children will be many and the LORD will bless them from Zion, from the hill of His sanctuary, from the mountain of blessings God will bless the man who fears Him and remains faithful in his heart and his life to his God and his wife. 

    Let our eyes not wander, nor our hearts, that we may be found of the LORD in His Word, walking in the Way of Holiness and living a righteous life in His Spirit. 

LET THIS HEART NOT WANDER by Young Oceans

MADE FOR JESUS by John Mark Pantana

I AM YOUR BELOVED by Jonathan David Helser, Melissa Helser

MY REFUGE by Rivers & Robots

IN YOUR MIDST by Allie Paige

ABIDE IN ME by Andrew Marcus