Inseparable, Unchangeable, Irrevocable – The Magnificent Love Jesus Christ Has for Us

Do you know Christ has always loved you?

His love is the most powerful force in the universe.

He loved us so much that He came to us to pay for our sins on the cross.

He loved us so much that He defeated death for us by dying and then coming back to life.

Now Christ gives life to all who choose to receive His love.

Simply ask Him.

He is listening now.

The following passage is from the Bible, God’s Holy Word.

“What then shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can  be against us?

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,

how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

As it is written: “For Your sake we are killed all day long;

“We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers,

nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth,

nor any other created thing,

shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

(Rom 8:31-32 ) ( Rom 8:35-39 )

Watch “The Cross – Billy Graham’s Message To America”

Witness the power and reality of a man who knows Christ to such a degree that he became God’s prophet to the nations of the world.

Millions have come to know Christ through the ministry of the Reverend Billy Graham.

Watch this video and see how God has used and is still using Billy Graham as His instrument to bring life through Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world.

” For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John 3:16

Bee-lieve

Like a Bee to the sweet nectar of a flower, come to Jesus, taste and see that the Lord is good!
Cast off all your heavy burdens and believe in Jesus, for He bore our burdens on the cross.

He paid the price of the penalty of our sins.

Ask Jesus to save you and He will.

Only believe.

Mark 1:15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.”

Mark 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

John 1:12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:

John 3:15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

John 3:36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.”

John 6:35 And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.

John 6:40 And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

John 6:47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.

John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 11:26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

John 14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

John 20:29 Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

John 20:31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.

Acts 10:43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

Acts 13:39 and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.

Romans 4:5 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness,

Romans 10:4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
1:17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

Romans 10:9 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.

Romans 10:10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 10:11 For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it  is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

I John 3:23 And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.

I John 5:13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue  to believe in the name of the Son of God.

Come to Jesus and Obtain the Fullness of Love and of Grace

“The best way to come to Christ is to come meaning to get everything, and to obtain all the plenitude of grace, which he has laid up in store, and promised freely to give. Some poor souls who come to Jesus Christ seem as if they wanted a little relief from fear, a hope that they may just get saved, and a fair chance of going to heaven when they die. Pray do not come in that way, my dear friend. Come intending to obtain the fullness of love, the uttermost of grace.” C.H.Spurgeon

Ephesians 1:13,14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

The Many Facets of Jesus’ Love – The Gospel of Jesus in Verse – 80 Ways To Know Jesus Loves Us

 

Jesus loved us before we knew Him

Jesus loved us when He came down to us.

Jesus loved us by associating with the most humble.

Jesus loved us by doing without.

Jesus loved us by garnering lowly sinners to follow Him.

Jesus loved us by being bold for the truth.

Jesus loved us by fearlessly facing moralism.

Jesus loved us by enduring rejection.

Jesus loved us by standing up to oppression.

Jesus loved us by giving warnings.

Jesus loved us by showing the way.

Jesus loved us by speaking the truth.

Jesus loved us by fasting 40 days and nights.

Jesus loved us by allowing himself to be tempted by the devil.

Jesus loved us by not giving in to the temptation of the devil.

Jesus loved us by living the life we should have lived.

Jesus loved us by telling stories that make us think.

Jesus loved us by being one of us, only He lived a sinless life.

Jesus loved us by praying often.

Jesus loved us by praying for us.

Jesus loved us by being gentle with real seekers of truth.

Jesus loved us by being hard on leaders who thought they knew it all.

Jesus loved us by enduring unjust shame, accusations, and insults.

Jesus loved us by enduring being despised and rejected by men.

Jesus loved us by publicly railing against corruption of God’s house.

Jesus loved us by doing miracles.

Jesus loved us by challenging our lack of faith.

Jesus loved us loved us by becoming the Bread of life.

Jesus loved us by warning us about hell.

Jesus loved us by telling us about heaven.

Jesus loved us by accepting His reason for coming down to us.

Jesus loved us by enduring the rejection and unbelief of family.

Jesus loved us by going to Jerusalem even after being threatened.

Jesus loved us by riding a lowly donkey instead of a horse.

Jesus loved us by washing the disciples feet as a leadership example.

Jesus loved us by loving everyone even though Judas was there.

Jesus loved us by devoting himself to even more prayer.

Jesus loved us by waiting for His capture.
.
Jesus loved us by allowing Himself to be betrayed by Judas.

Jesus loved us by not calling His father to send Angels to his rescue.

Jesus loved us by suffering being forsaken by all His disciples.

Jesus loved us by His silence before His own people and captors.

Jesus loved us by withstanding beatings from His own people.

Jesus loved us by being disrobed and whipped.

Jesus loved us by enduring a crown of thorns.

Jesus loved us by suffering mockery.

Jesus loved us by allowing His beard to be plucked from His face.

Jesus loved us by not defending Himself against lies and false accusations.

Jesus loved us by enduring more whips and beatings from Pilate.

Jesus loved us by facing an angry,merciless crowd.

Jesus loved us by enduring rejection by His own.

Jesus loved us by submitting Himself to angry cries to crucify Him.

Jesus loved us by carrying the cross that He would die on.

Jesus loved us though the heavy load of the cross made Him stumble.

Jesus loved us by letting soldiers nail His hands and feet to the cross.

Jesus loved us as He was crucified between two thieves.

Jesus loved us as He watched them cast lots for His clothing.

Jesus loved us as He endured pain and physical suffering.

Jesus loved us as He continued ongoing mockery and accusation.

Jesus loved us as He watched His mother agonizing for Him.

Jesus loved us as His mouth was to dry to speak.

Jesus loved us as He refused Gal, a drink with a sedative in it.

Jesus loved us they gave Him vinegar instead of water.

Jesus loved us He carried the sins of all mankind.

Jesus loved us as the Father turned away from Him.

Jesus loved us as He agonized over why God had forsaken Him.

Jesus loved us as He cried out,”it is finished!”

Jesus loved us as He passed from life to death for us.

Jesus loved us as His side was pierced and blood and water flowed down.

Jesus loved us as His body was placed in a tomb and a stone was rolled over the doorway.

Jesus loved us as He died our death so He could give us life.

Jesus loved us as He conquered death and rose from the grave.

Jesus loves us as He went back to Heaven to prepare a place for us.

Jesus loves us as He freely gives life to all who believe in Him as Savior.

Jesus loves us as He comes into the believer and changes us.

Jesus loves us as He promises He will make all things new.

Jesus loves us as He promises to never leave or forsake us.

Jesus loves us as He gives us The Comforter, His Spirit in us.

Jesus loves us and He promised to come back for us.

All I really know in life is…

Jesus loves us…

Eternally Secure In Christ – “I Shall Lose None of All”

These are the Words of our Great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

^“All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”

 (John 6:37-40 ,NIV 84,The Holy Bible)

The above words of Christ settle every conceivable scenario a person could imagine for loosing one’s salvation.

ALL the Father gives Jesus Will come to Him.

Jesus will NEVER drive you away.

Jesus SHALL LOSE NONE OF ALL, so that means that if you really know Him you won’t want to leave Him either. NONE of ALL.

EVERYONE who looks to the Son AND believes in Him SHALL have ETERNAL LIFE

Anyone who can see that God has loved them completely is now free to also love God completely in return for His matchless, incomparable love!

href=”https://christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com/2012/06/02/the-secret-ingredient-to-eternal-life/” target=”_blank”>The Secret Ingredient To Eternal Life (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

The Secret Ingredient To Eternal Life

“For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”(Hebrews 4:2)

Many have stumbled to their doom attempting to comprehend the “how” of the saving power of the Blood of Christ.

Faith is that secret ingredient that when mixed with God’s truth in the heart of the sinner results in salvation.

“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.”

(Ephesians 2:13)

Natural means cannot grasp the supernatural truths of God’s supernatural ways.

Faith is the means to grasp the supernatural truth of God’s salvation for us.

Related articles

• The Cross – The Eternal Passion of God (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

” I believe it is without exaggeration to say that the cross, and the passion of God that is bound up with it, are more immense and profound than anything we have ever imagined them to be.” David Bolton

Christ-Centered Christianity

[Listen to post here.]

~ ~ ~

Have you ever woken up from a vivid nightmare in a cold sweat, your heart beating out of your chest, and your mind and emotions reeling from the intensity of the ordeal you just “lived” through?  I have, and it is one of the worst experiences in life.

For some people who have lived through real traumatic life experiences, this can happen somewhat regularly.  The nightmares they tend to have, however, relate not to some subconscious fantasy but to what they have actually lived and suffered through.  This is especially traumatic as they emotionally and mentally “relive” actual events they had previously endured.  How powerful dreams can be in creating and recreating experiences, and to bring us into genuine emotional and mental engagement with them as though they were real.

Memories also work this way, though often they are not quite so…

View original post 1,861 more words

An Unutterable Sigh In The Depths of The Soul

“Come to Me” – Jesus Did All the Heavy Lifting

 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Jesus Christ, from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 11 verses 28-30

Jesus paid it all.

He did all the heavy lifting for us.

He bore our burdens and our sins on the cross for us.

Burdens we would could never have borne ourselves.

Then He gives us His Holy Spirit in our hearts to comfort and guide and as seal of Promise for Eternal Life.

All these are gifts Christ gives to anyone who will receive Him as Lord and Savior.

Now that’s an easy yoke and light burden!

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed.”

1 Peter 2:24

 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.”

 Ephesians 2:8,9

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit,  who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”

 Ephesians 1:13-14,

The Gift – Eternal Life – John 3:16

Eternal Life – Christ Paid For it

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

(John 3:16 )

Eternal Life Is His Gift to whoever believes and asks Him

~The Gift He Gives Because He Loves Us So~

Related articles

• Greater Love Has No Man Than This (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

A Reason For Living – An Audio Sermon By Dr. Tim Keller – Redeemer Presbyterian Church- Manhattan, NY- Keller Answers The Big Question- “What Is The Reason,Meaning, And Purpose For Life?”

What is the reason for living?

All the big thinkers, atheist , agnostic, and believer, have written about the reason for our existence and the meaning of life.

In this sermon, Keller does what many big thinkers refuse to do, and that is to honestly and logically examine the premise, or basis on which to answer the big question.

If God does exist and we can know Him, then we have hope in this life because we know this is not the end, the best is yet to come.

This view also gives hope to all who suffer in this life because they too can say they have a ,”future hope”.

Keller exposes that the typical atheist view is built on the premise that if God does not exist then the individual experiences ,

“Freedom”, but that view is not enough reason for living.

The problem is that ,”freedom”, as the sole reward in life ,robs us of any hope for a future beyond this life,

and results in a lack reason, purpose and meaning, and results in a loss of hope.

But the answer to life’s big question is that God does exist, we do have a future hope, and we have a reason  for living.

His name is Jesus.

————————————————-

How I Post Sermons

I typically listen to a sermon 6 or more times before I recommend, comment and post them ?

This is especially true of Keller’s sermons.

I do this in part because I’m following Keller’s own example of how he studies the great early American revivalist, Jonathan Edwards.

Keller has mentioned that he reads, and re-reads Edward’s books and sermons over and over again.

Re- reading Edwards, Keller says, allows the benefit of learning how Edwards thought, and gives the benefit of applying that kind of thought to all of life,

as if to anticipate how Edwards would have answered any question himself.

Since I can’t listen to Edwards audio sermons,( since none exist), but Keller studies Edwards,

then I figure Keller’s audio sermons are the practicle choice for the student of deep theological issues.

This Sermon – In Summery

Keller answers the big question by dwelling on the basis for question, for most of sermon.

At one point in the sermon Keller receives applause for one of his comments, to which he replies,”that has never happened to me before, no wait,

I should say , that has never happened to me in a white church before.”

Another great sermon by Keller.

Free online. Click on the link below.

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/reason-living

Enjoy.

“The Bible – End Or Means ?” – Is The Bible Simply A Set Of Laws, Morals and Principles From God, Or The Means To A Relationship With Him ? An Audio Sermon By Dr. Tim Keller , Redeemer Presbyterian Church , Manhattan NY.

Many people believe that the Bible is simply at set of rules and guidelines from God for acceptable behavior.

But being Biblically right does not in and of itself make you right with God. That happens in our heart, not our head.

 “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 it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”  (Romans 10:9-10)

God came down to mankind in the form of Jesus Christ to both show us His great love for us and to make a way for us to once again be in relationship with Him. 

Belief in Christ as the God sent Savior starts with the heart, and the love of God is the finishing mark of genuine conversion.

In this Rare and doctrinally beautiful sermon, Dr.Keller addresses a subject that many will not face until they stand before thier maker on judment day.

Do we simply know about God, or do we genuinely know God? 

“The Bible – End or Means” will serve as a “Truth Filter “, for your heart and head on this subject. Listen to it at least 6 or 7 times.

(Click the link below)

http://sermons2.redeemer.com/sermons/bible-end-or-means

Free online.

Enjoy!

God Loves Us More Than We Love Ourselves-An Anchor For Hope

A Sure Anchor for Hope

We may give up on ourselves.

God loves us more than we love ourselves because He never gives up on us.

Life can be tough and sometimes people give trying.

Hope is the basis for much of this life and also for our eternity.

When people lose hope they stop believing in themselves and those around them.

The outcomes of hopelessness can be devastating to families and relationships, and even end in tragedy.

But if hopelessness leads to disillusionment and disbelief, then hope leads to faith and belief and life.

God, who spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all will not forsake us.

“if we are faithless, he will remain faithful, for he cannot disown himself.” ( 2 Timothy 2:13)

“He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”(Romans 8:32)

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”(Deuteronomy 31:6)

Place your faith in the anchor of your soul, and nothing in this life can touch your hope for eternity.

“while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ,”(Titus 2:13)

 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Believe in Christ as your Savior.He will come into your heart and will never leave you or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5)

And if He will never leave you then you will never loose all hope.

No matter what happens in this life, even death will only hasten your reward of your eternal hope.

Jesus in you will become Jesus with you.You will be in His presence forever.

 

The Key to Loving God With All Your Heart

God is love, and He created us for a relationship with Him.
He also made us the reason for the greatest expression of love that has or will ever take place.
God came down from heaven in the personage of Jesus Christ to save us Himself from eternal separation from Him and eternal suffering in Hell.

It all began when Satan tried to over throw God and take His throne for himself.
God banished Satan to Earth from heaven and created Hell as a place of eternal suffering for Satan and the legions of angels that he led away with him in his rebellion to God. Isaiah 14:12-17

Then , perhaps to try to get back at God, Satan tempted Eve in the garden of Eden to do what God had forbidden.
Satan used the same thing against mankind that was his own weakness, Pride!

“For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened,and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”Genesis 3:5
Satan wanted to be ,”like God”, and he temped Eve to sin with the notion that she could be ,”like God”.

God could no longer dwell with His creation. Mankind was banished from the paradise that was Eden and the presence of God.
God also promised that He would restore mankind to Himself and gave a clue as to how He would accomplish our redemption.

“He will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:15

When Christ, the promised Messiah came to save us, he suffered, died , was buried and rose again to defeat death.

He died our death and then defeated death in order to give life to all who believe in Him as Lord and Savior.
Satan was defeated and eternal death was defeated.

Now Jesus offers eternal life to all who believe in Him as savior and ask Him to come into their heart.

For with the mouth confession is made and with the heart man believes and is saved.”Romans10:9-10

He loved us before we ever knew Him. John 4:10,14

His love is infinite and as we experience His presence in us, our hearts will expand and grow to become more like Christ and less about ourselves.

No matter how much we currently love God, we can always grow to love Him more.

Jesus revealed what is probably the best way to set a direction for continuous growth in love for Him when He told this story to a dinner host. The story is found in Luke 7:40-47.

The story has three characters.

A master and two people who both owed the master more than they could pay.

One owed slightly more than he could pay.

The other owed the master a great deal more than he could pay.

Jesus said the master forgave each his debt.

“Which do you suppose loved the master more?”

The dinner host responded, “The one whom was forgiveness the greater debt.”

“Rightly so.”, answered Jesus.

He continues to tell His host that those who have been forgiven much love much and,”He who has been forgiven Little loves little.”

We know the characters in the story represent the dinner host, the former prostitute who washed Jesus’s feet with her tears and wiped then with her hair, and Jesus himself.

But the key truth contained in this story that Jesus wants us all to get is the one that sets our hearts on fire and burns away all competing passions.

This happens when we realize that no one could pay what was owed and all faced the same fate, and the Master’s grace was all that made the difference.

We are also in this story by application. We all owe to God what we can’t pay and Jesus paid it for us.
Only believe He did that for you and receive His gift of eternal life.

One perceived his indebtedness more, the other one perceived his sin less, and they loved in proportion to their perception of themselves. But God is the standard of true perfection.

Here is the answer;”There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:22-23

Whether by little or much, we are all imperfect.
None of us are worthy to dwell with our Perfect Creator God after we leave this life unless we receive the sacrifice of Jesus the Perfect One as our own and we put our faith in Him as our Savior.

When we realize He died for all our sin, not just some of our sin, we will be free to love God with all our heart, not just some of our heart.

He that has been forgiven much loves much.

We all owe everything to God.

Our perceived need is little or much , but the reality is there is no difference.
All fall short.

But this needs to be said also,
We don’t all believe Once Saved Always Saved.

If you currently think you have to maintain a certain measure of works to feel secure in your salvation, you may not be fully trusting Christ’s sacrifice alone as the means to pay for your sins.

You have been forgiven little, and no matter how much you love God, you will always be able to love Him more if you trust Him for all of what He did for you that you were unworthy to do for yourself.

When you FULLY believe and know Jesus paid ALL your sin debt, then you can begin to love God with ALL your heart.

And when you trust God with ALL your life, then you will have tapped into the source of all faith.

Whether little or much, He alone is worthy to settle our debt.

Remember, there is no difference, we all fall short.

All have been forgiven much, and all can love God much.

Life After Death – We Can Know Our Final Destination

 

One day our journey will end.
Our life as we know it will end.

But we can know where we are going after this life is over.

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” 1 John 5:13

What are we saved from?

“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” romans 3:23

God is perfect, we are not. Therefore we cannot live with him when our journey is over unless He makes us perfect.
He promises to change us into perfection and give us eternal life with Him if we let Him save us from our current path.

The following Bible references have helped me to know my final destination beyond any doubt.
The rest and assurance that results from knowing and no longer fearing death is that I now love Him more than my own life.

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.” Ephesians 1:13,14

If then God puts His Spirit in those who believe, these next verses are also true.

“And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.” 1 John 4:16

God is love. He warms the hearts of those who truly know Him, and we feel His presence in us.

“We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” 1 John 4:13

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” Romans 8:16

Do you know Him…? You can know Him, and you can know your final destination for certain and forever.

“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 it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile–the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13

Heaven is my final destination.
I hope to see you there!

Saved and Sealed for Eternity – God Cannot Lie

God keeps His promises.

“… it is impossible for God to lie…” (Hebrews 6:18).

God made a promise to all of us who believe and have accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. This particular promise is found in Ephesians 1:13-14.

“And you were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory.”

For those who believe The Good News of Christ, there is a “promise” that cannot be broken and a “seal” that cannot be taken away.
This ‘promise” and ‘seal’ is not a ‘what’, but a ‘who’ as stated in verse 14, God Himself in the believer.

He is the ultimate fulfillment of the greatest longing of every soul. To feel His presence in your heart, is to be changed forever. None who experience His presence can find fulfillment to this degree in anything else that can be desired.

“He has made everything beautiful in its time, He has also set eternity in the hearts of men;” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

We are created by Him to have a relationship with Him. We are ‘hardwired’ to know God and once you do, if you really do, you would never want to leave Him….ever!

God Himself is the deposit who guarantees our inheritance.
We, who placed our faith in Christ, The Gospel of our salvation, are now “God’s possession”. He bought our lives with the life He gave in the personage of Jesus Christ on the cross, His life for ours. When you trust Him to save you owe Him everything.
You are God’s possession. And no one can take us from God. Nor would any who experience Him want to leave.

“They went out from us, but they did not belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.” (1 John 2:19)

The arms of God hold us in an embrace that possesses our deepest longing. Our free will chooses God because He made us for Himself.

God cannot lie.

His promise cannot be broken.

His Spirit in us is the seal that cannot be taken away.

None who ever genuinely know Him would ever want to leave Him.

Jesus Did All The Heavy Lifting

“Come to Me all you who are burdened and heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you shall find rest for your souls, for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11: 28-30

Jesus fully paid our debt to God by His suffering and death on the cross as a sacrifice for our sins.

He was buried and rose from the tomb three days later to defeat death for us.

He gives salvation as a gift all who ask Him and believe.

He gives us His righteousness.

He then comes into the heart of the believer to stay.

He makes us a new creation, the old is gone and everything is made new.

He gave us His Word to live by.

He then teaches us by His indwelling Spirit.

He then empowers the believer for service and personal victory.

He also went to prepare a place for all who believe so we can be with Him.

He promised to come back for us to take us to the place He prepared for us.

No wonder He said, My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Related articles

• An Invitation from Jesus (Reflections on Matthew 11:28-30) (markconner.typepad.com)
• Take My Yoke Upon You (revdrotimi.wordpress.com)

 

He Will Be Called Mighty God , Everlasting Father

Isaiah 9:6 ” For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

Isaiah 9:6 was written about 700 years before God came down in the personage of Jesus Christ.

The verse foretells the birth of a child whom Christianity celebrates at Christmas time every year. The child’s birth is hailed as the coming of a savior who would save mankind from the curse of sin and death.

Our sin nature had taken us far from God. He came to us. He became one of us. He lived like one of us. He suffered and died in our place. Then Christ rose from death to prove He is the author and creator of life and offers life to all who choose to receive Him as Lord and Savior. He will not force us, He made a way for us and beckons us to receive Him.

At Christmas time we celebrate the ultimate act of love and humility performed by God for us. May we all remember the gift of eternal life was bought with pain and suffering, shame and rejection, and Christ’s own blood that He gave to pay our debt. God personally paid the debt we owed Him. He did not send another to do His work for him.

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For it is by grace you are saved, through faith – and that not from yourselves , it is the gift of God – not by works , so that no one can boast.”

To receive God’s gift of Eternal Life you need only to ask God to save you and receive Him as your Savior and God.

We were created for fellowship with our Creator God. Our fulfillment is met only through a relationship with God through the personage of Jesus Christ our Savior.

He promises to live in you and to never leave you or forsake you. His Spirit living in the believer will grow our love for Him and for His desires in place of our own.

Remember, Christ is also part of this gift. He is our , “Wonderful Counselor”, and He is love. We are created for a relationship with Him, therefore He alone can fulfill mankind’s greatest desire.

He is love. And it is by His indwelling Spirit of love that we are changed.
So don’t worry about old habits. If you really mean it when you ask Him into your heart, He will live in you forever and will never leave you.

Related articles

• Revisiting the Trinity (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

The Only Sin God Will Not Forgive

 

 

God came down in the personage of Jesus Christ the Man/God, to live a perfect life, and offer a perfect sacrifice for our sins. All our sins great and small were paid for by Jesus on the cross when He freely laid down His life for you and me.
Here are Christ’s own words as recorded in Matthew 12:31;

“Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.”

No one is beyond God’s forgiveness but those who attribute the miracles by the power of God’s Spirit to the Devil. That is blasphemy against the Spirit. That is the only sin that God will not forgive.
The sacrifice of God’s One and Only Son, Jesus Christ, is more powerful than the deepest darkest sin. God eagerly welcomes all who repent and seek Him by taking Jesus, the Savior, as their very own. He knows the thoughts of all who live. He will hear your prayer of belief in Him as Savior.

Don’t wait. Do it now.

 ^“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 it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile —the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,  for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:9-13)

Jesus Said He is the Great, “I AM”

John 8:58 “Very truly I tell you.” Jesus answered,” before Abraham was born, I AM “

This verse has twice as much truth that Jesus is God when taken with Exodus 3:14.
God also said He is,” I AM.”
God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites:”I AM has sent me to you.”

TIme is one of the most explored and least understood realities of science today. Yet thousands of years ago God spoke of Himself in only the present/ eternal state. God’s name ,”I AM” evokes an image of timelessness. “I AM”, means God is always in the now. Time has no hold on the one who created time. God is always in the now. He is eternal.

The Jews who heard Jesus make this statement about Himself knew what He was saying, and they tried to stone Him because Jesus said of Himself, “I AM.”, (Verse 59).

The One and Only Son

 “For God so loved the world that he sent his one and only son, that whoever believes in him should not parish but have everlasting life.”John 3:16 

God did not create another God when he had a son.

Jesus is the one and only son , but not a son in the sense of created by God, for he is God and is therefore eternal as is God.

He is the one and only son because…

God came down as man.

God humbled himself to became one of us in order to defeat sin by living a sinless life and then offer himself as a sacrifice worthy to take our punishment , by the crucifixion, death, and then to show he can defeat death by raising from the dead.

Christ did for us what we cannot do for ourselves so that he could offer freely to all who believe the free gift of eternal life to all who believe.

Humble is our God, in that he became one of us in order to save us.

God so loved the world. He was the one that sin offended and he is the one who satisfied the requirements for justice for the offense.

God became one of us in the person of Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man.

He said , no man takes my life, but I freely lay it down.

Therefore, Christ’s death on the cross was the ultimate expression of humility, because it came from the highest place, the very throne of God himself.

Mankind is enslaved to pride, God is the master of humility.

Jesus living in our hearts is the answer.

Related articles

• Greater Love Has No Man Than This (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)
• Legalism, License, and The Love of God (christcenteredteaching.wordpress.com)

God Came Down -The Greatest Expression of Humility Ever – Bible Passages That Support The Claim That Jesus is God

Whereas selfish pride is the downfall of mankind, God’s ultimate expression of humility has provided for our restoration.

God came down to us to save us.

This act of love and humility traveled the greatest distance anyone can imagine.

God came from the highest place in Heaven to Earth as the man Jesus Christ.

Then He died in our place and went to death for us.

He paid our debt when He sacrificed Himself for our sins by allowing Himself to be tortured, crucified and gave His perfect life for our imperfect lives.

He went to the grave, yet rose in victory over death three days later.

Jesus is now worthy to offer new life to all who believe in Him and ask Him by faith to save them.

John 8:58
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”

“I am”, is the name God gave Moses when asked ,”they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?”

Exodus 3:14
And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

He is the Image of the Invisible God

Colossians 1:15-20

(speaking about Jesus)

“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,…all things were created through Him and for Him. He is before all things and in Him all things consist.”verse 19, “For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”

Jesus is the Same God the Prophet Isaiah Saw on His Throne in All His Glory

“Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about Him.”

John 12:41 

Equal With God

Philippians 2:5-8

“who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God.”

verse 8- ” And being found in appearance as a man,He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

He Who Has Seen Jesus Has Seen God

John 14:7-11

” If you would have known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him”.

“All the Fullness of the Godhead Bodily”

Colossians 2:9

“For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”

Our God and Mediator Are One in the Same, The Man Christ Jesus

1 Timothy 2:5,6

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.”

God Reconciling the World to Himself

2 Corinthians 5:19

“that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.”

Jesus is the true God and Eternal Life

1 John 5:20

“And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.”

Christ Shared in God’s Glory Before Creation

John 17:5

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

“I and the Father are one”

John 10:30-38

” Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,(vs.31)
…”you, a mere man claim to be God.”
(The Jews knew that there can only be one God,and to claim that you are God’s son is to claim to be God for there can only be one eternal, divine, all-powerful Holy God.)

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.

Hebrews 13:8

Jesus Christ did not earn the right to be God as a result good works and exaltation, as if being God was a position to be earned, for Jesus Christ is God.

Jesus Christ is God and always has been the same, always will be the same, yesterday today, and forever. (Eternal)

To Hate Jesus is to Hate God.

John 15:24

“If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father.”

2 Corinthians 4:4

“;Christ, who is the image of God,“

“Christ came,who is over all, the eternally blessed God.” Romans 9:5

“He made the worlds.“

Hebrews 1:2

Hebrews 1:2-3

(Jesus),”who being the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power,when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,”

Hebrews 1:6

“Let all the angels of God worship Him.”

Hebrews 1:8

“But to the Son He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever,”

Hebrews 1:9

“Therefore God, your God has anointed you”…

Hebrews 2:8

“You have put all things under His feet.” ( Speaking of Jesus).

God Became One of Us in Order to Save Us.

Hebrews 2:14-18

(Speaking of Jesus from verse 9) , “He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is , the devil.” vs 17 ” Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in all things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people”
“For in that He Himself has suffered being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”

Luke 10:18

” I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.”(Jesus speaking to the Jews).

Who is Himself God

John 1:18

“No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.”
This verse says Jesus is God in two ways. First it states that Jesus is the one and only Son. This is also stated in John 3:16 where Jesus is called ,”One and Only Son.” God did not create another God because there can only be one All Powerful, All mighty, All Knowing , Most High God. So Jesus is the One and Only because, as this verse also clearly states,”…the one and only Son, who is himself God,”.

John 10:38

“...the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” (Speaking of oneness).

The Jews in Christ’s day knew what Jesus was saying when He claimed to be one with the Father

John 10:30,33

” I and my Father are one.” vs 33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied,”but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”