God’s provision is Grace

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. — Romans 5:1-2

Peace is more than the mercurial, vaporous, whimsical wish of folks who just want everyone to get along and things to be calm. The peace the apostle Paul is describing her, peace with God, goes much deeper than simply a desire for calm and for a lack of conflict. Jesus, through his sacrificial obedience to God, has made peace with God real for us. Yes, God provided it by grace. Yes, God is the one who insures it because of that grace. But, because this peace is tied to him and his character, we can rejoice and anticipate being caught up in the glory of our glorious God.

Forgiveness

Psalm 103:12
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Godly Families

. Believer’s Family
Acts 16:1
Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. A disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek.

. Baptized Family
1 Corinthians 1:16
(I did baptize also the household of Stephanas. Beyond that, I do not know whether I baptized anyone else.)

Children’s Responsibility 

. Honor your father …
Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.

. Keep … commands
Proverbs 6:20
My son, keep your father's commandment,
and forsake not your mother's teaching.

[Message No: 7532]

Teachings of Christ - 1

Neutrality

Matthew 12:30 
“He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

New birth

John 3:3 
In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”

John 5:8 
Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.”

Noah

Luke 17:26-27 
26 “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man.
27 People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all.

Oath

Matthew 5:33-37 
33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’
34 But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne;
35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King.
36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black.
37  Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

[Message No: 7531]

We are not god-like!

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. — 2 Corinthians 5:21

When was the last time you thought of yourself as "the righteousness of God"? What does that mean anyway? It means that we have the best of qualities, found in the best of beings! But we know we are not god-like! We know our fallibility and flaws! We know our imperfections and our inconsistencies! How can we be "the righteousness of God"? Jesus, the perfect and sinless Righteous One of God, became our sin for us so we could be his righteousness. More than grace, that's a miracle! And a miracle, dear friend of Jesus, is exactly what you are!!

Facts about Obedience

. We are slaves when we obey

Romans 6:16
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

. We are chosen for obedience

1 Peter 1:2
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and for sprinkling with his blood:     
May grace and peace be multiplied to you.

Examples  of Faithfulness

. Moses

Numbers 12:7
Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house.

. Daniel

Daniel 6:4
Then the high officials and the satraps sought to find a ground for complaint against Daniel with regard to the kingdom, but they could find no ground for complaint or any fault, because he was faithful, and no error or fault was found in him.

[Message No: 7530]

Standing in the Storm

 Psalm 62:1-8

   Truly my soul silently waits for God;
 From Him comes my salvation.
  He only is my rock and my salvation;
 He is my defense;
 I shall not be greatly moved.
  How long will you attack a man?

 You shall be slain, all of you,
 Like a leaning wall and a tottering fence.
  They only consult to cast him down from his high position;
 They delight in lies;
 They bless with their mouth,
 But they curse inwardly.

   My soul, wait silently for God alone,
 For my expectation is from Him.
  He only is my rock and my salvation;
 He is my defense;
 I shall not be moved.
  In God is my salvation and my glory;
 The rock of my strength,
 And my refuge, is in God.

  Trust in Him at all times, you people;
 Pour out your heart before Him;
 God is a refuge for us.

What To Renounce?

2 Corinthians 4:2
But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.

[Message No: 7529]

Pull yourself Together

Romans 6:13-22

Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.  For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.
 Slaves to Righteousness

 What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!  Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?  But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed,  and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness.  I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

  For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.  But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.  But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

Questions in Mark

3:4
Then He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they kept silent.

3:23
So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables: “How can Satan cast out Satan?

3:33
But He answered them, saying, “Who is My mother, or My brothers?”

Thought 

. We are mirrors whose brightness is wholly derived from the sun that shines upon us. - C. S. Lewis

[Message No: 7528]

He is Faithful

The Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. — 2 Thessalonians 3:3

The Bible repeatedly reminds us that we are in a spiritual war with forces that are strong, malicious, and evil (Ephesians 6:10-12). We should steer clear of every appearance of evil. We shouldn't involve ourselves in anything related to Satan and his work. But we also need to remember that our Lord is greater than Satan and all of his evil angels. He is faithful. He will not abandon us to our enemy. He will strengthen us and protect us from attack if we will let him!

Completion

Galatians 4:4
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,

Daniel 9:24
“Seventy weeks are determined
 For your people and for your holy city,
 To finish the transgression,
 To make an end of sins,
 To make reconciliation for iniquity,
 To bring in everlasting righteousness,
 To seal up vision and prophecy,
 And to anoint the Most Holy.

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

Persecution

Luke 6:22
Blessed are you when men hate you,
  And when they exclude you,
 And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
 For the Son of Man's sake.

Romans 8:35
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Matthew 5:44
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,

[Message No: 7527]

Difficulties in your Discipleship?

From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him. — John 6:66

This verse haunts me. Not just because of the three numbers in the reference, but because it is a great reminder that many folks simply gave up following Jesus when things became hard to understand. When he shattered their preconceived notions of religious things, when he confronted them about their motives, they went away. What will I do when things get difficult in my discipleship and I can't figure out all the answers to what is going on? I hope, I pray, I trust that I will follow until the way and the will of the Lord become more clear!

When you call, Lord will answer

Hosea 14:8
Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?
 I will answer him and care for him.
 I am like a flourishing juniper;
 your fruitfulness comes from me.”

Psalm 20:1
May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;
 may the name of the God of Jacob  protect you.

Completion

John 1:3
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.

Genesis 2:1-2
the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
    By the seventh day  God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.    Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy,  because on it he rested  from all the work of creating  that he had done.

The Lord’s Servant

2 Timothy 2:24
And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

2 Corinthians 6:4
Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses;

[Message No: 7526]

God’s Creation

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. — Genesis 1:27

We are made in God's image. Not just the man. Not just the woman. Both male and female are made in God's image! Incredibly, this is not just true before the Fall. When God made us in the womb of our mothers (Psalm 139:13-16), he made us in his image (Genesis 9:6). Because people are precious to God, because we reflect something of the character of our Creator, each person is to be valued. None is to be den

Thoughts 

. To be almost saved is to be totally lost. - Unknown

. Choose a suitable time for reflection and frequently consider the loving-kindness of God. - Thomas Kempis

. Lord, make me according to your heart. - Brother Lawrence

God’s kind of Love

Love was when Jesus hung on the cross [Romans 5:8]. Love is self-sacrificing, not self-indulging. If you’re going to abuse, hurt, and take advantage of another person, it’s not love; it’s lust.
God’s kind of loves does not behave unseemly.

 Divine Love in many Aspects 

. Unmerited – not that we loved God

1 John 4:10
So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”

. Unlimited – for God so loved the world

John 3:16
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Beautiful, Broken Jar of Clay

2 Corinthians 4:7-9
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;

[Message No: 7525]