Are You Believing In the Jesus Who Saves?

Scripture: Galatians 3:2-5

I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law,or by believing what you heard?  Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard?

Scripture Commentary: Whoever lives believing in Jesus will never die

Do you walk with Christ because you believe your deeds will save you from damnation? Or, does your life in Christ come from faith that Jesus died for your sins and was raised from the dead to save us all? If you believe your works will save you, you are wrong. Having faith and believing in Jesus are the keys to the kingdom of God.

Before faith, we did not have salvation. We were all prisoners to sin, and God recognized this. We were beaten down by past mistakes and choked by desires that we knew were wrong. God gave us a way out through his only begotten son, Jesus Christ.

Without Jesus, everyone is held in the clutches of sin. When you put your life in Jesus’ hands you are free. Alone, we are weak. The law of the flesh is weak and we should not work so hard to keep it. Trust Jesus.

We can only grow spiritually if we let God work in us by His Spirit. God remains constant and does not break his promises.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Galatians Chapter 3

 

Have Mercy on Me, O Lord

Scripture: Psalm 6: 1-3

O Lord, do not rebuke or punish me in Your anger, Nor discipline me in Your wrath.  Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak (faint, frail); Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed and anguished.  My soul [as well as my body] is greatly dismayed.  But as for You, O Lord—how long [until You act on my behalf]?

Scripture Commentary: David asks God to have mercy on him

This is the first of seven “penitential” psalms, where David humbly realizes his predicament, expresses sorrow over it, and demonstrates a fresh commitment to remain close to God.  He implores God to have mercy on him.

The secret to a close relationship with God is to pray to him earnestly all the time, day and night. We don’t know the cause of David’s pain. We do know that he sought God for the remedy. As in David’s case, we must be willing to accept God’s punishment, knowing God’s discipline will be out of love for us, not out of anger.

Humans would not exist if God corrected us out of anger alone. Mercy is the reason we are on this earth, and it is the reason we can have a close relationship with God. God knows your anger and despair already. Do not hide the truth from him. Put it in his hands. God knows us thoroughly and wants the very best for us.

David poured his heart out to God and was completely honest. He was open to the consequences, understanding that God loved him.

Our merciful God forgives us instead of giving us what we really deserve. He will never leave or desert you.

Read the Entire Chapter:
Psalms 6

The Lord’s Glory Is Revealed

Scripture: Isaiah 53: 1, 5-6

Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? (1) But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.(5-6)

Scripture Commentary: To whom is the Lord revealed?

Isaiah wrote this scripture long before Our Lord Jesus Christ came to earth to save the Israelites. The Lord was revealed to them.  Even with the knowledge of his coming, the Israelites still didn’t receive the Messiah.

The Lord is revealed to you

Today we stand in a different position. We have the hindsight of Christ’s prior coming as proof of his identity and his purpose. However, some of us continue not to recognize him. Our sin is much greater than that of the ancient Israelites. Our understanding is greater also, yet we still reject Jesus Christ.

Why do we live a godless lifestyle when we have the knowledge of Christ? Does your life follow the path Jesus asked you to walk? Do you love your neighbor as you love yourself? Do you talk to God, and have you given your life to Jesus Christ?

Read the Entire Chapter:
Isaiah Chapter 53

Other recent posts from the Book of Isaiah:
The Pit of Corruption is Dug for the Wicked
Here I Am, Lord; Send Me
Pray Unto the Lord – He Will Respond

God Is Light, in Him Is No Darkness

Scripture: 1 John 1: 5,7

This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.(5) But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.(7)

Scripture Commentary: God is light that brings us out of darkness

Light represents what is good and pure. God is light because he is perfect, holy, and true. Darkness represents sin and evil. God alone can guide us through darkness and out of sin.

Truth is like light. Sometimes the truth is good, and sometimes it is bad. Similarly, light exposes both what is pretty and ugly. In the light, good and evil are easily distinguishable. The dark is deceiving because good and evil look alike.

The light exposes the darkness in our soul

Darkness cannot exist in the presence of light, and sin cannot exist in the presence of God. If we want to have a relationship with God, we must put aside our sinful ways of living. If we claim to walk with Jesus, but then set out on our own paths, we are hypocrites. Christ will expose and judge such deceit.

Walk in God’s light … do not be blinded by darkness

The soul has your record. The soul is God’s gift to  you. You cannot be a christian and still live in evil and immorality. We have a choice of living in sin or living in our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Lamb of God who died for our sins. You can either walk in the light and recognize the truth, or be blind in the darkness.

Read the Entire Chapter:
1 John Chapter 1

How Do You Use Your Worldly Goods?

Scripture: Luke 12: 19, 46

And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.(19)  The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.(46)

Scripture Commentary: We should work to make sure our worldly goods benefit more than ourselves

I have worked all my life to acquire worldly goods for myself and for my family. This is true for most of us. God gives us the ability to do many things, and we use his gifts to survive. But we cannot use the gifts he gives us solely for our own progression. We must use them for the glory of God.

When you accept Jesus Christ in your life, you become a servant to God. God tells us not to worry because he has provided for us and for our foul, cattle, and fields. We do not have to be anxious about tomorrow.

Our faith in Christ sets us free from the anxiety of our worldly life. Do not be the rich man, and die before you use your gifts for the work of God. Jesus challenges us to use our gifts, not for earthbound goals, but for God’s kingdom.

Read the entire chapter:
Luke Chapter 12

The Symbolism of the Linen Girdle

Scripture: Jeremiah 13: 1,4,5,7

Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Eu-phra’-tes, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. So I went, and hid it by Eu-phra’-tes, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

Scripture Commentary: What is the lesson of the linen girdle?

The linen girdle was the garment worn closest to the person and it represented how close the people were to be to God. When God told Jeremiah to remove and hide it, that represented how we distance ourselves from God.  The marred linen girdle, which has no value, represented how a people guided by their own earthly interests are useless to God.

God gave us life so that we may worship him and create his kingdom on earth. He placed us here for a purpose.  There are those among us who ignore that purpose. If we go about our lives living for ourselves then we are living in denial of God’s gift. What good are you without that gift? Without that purpose?

Pride clouds your eyes to the truth

What Jeremiah is conveying in the passage above still applies today. The people had once been close to God, but their pride made them useless. Pride will not let you see the truth; that God placed us on this earth for him and not for ourselves.

Proud people may look important on the outside, but their pride rots their hearts and decreases their value to God. In this chapter, the threat of captivity didn’t even move the people to repent. The lesson of the linen belt illustrates the destiny of Judea.

What is your destiny?  Are you living for God or for yourself?

Read the entire chapter:
Jeremiah Chapter 13

Other Posts on the Book of Jeremiah
God’s Compassion Never Fails
We Must Acknowledge Our Wickedness and Change Our Ways
Woe To Leaders Who Scatter God’s Flock

 

The Pit of Corruption is Dug for the Wicked

Scripture: Isaiah 38: 17-19

Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth.

Scripture Commentary: Only God can lift us from the pit of corruption and despair

Hezekiah realized that God answered his prayers. God delivered him from the pit of corruption, and forgave him.  How do you respond when God answers your prayer? Do you thank him but continue with your life as if nothing happened, or do you live your life for our Lord?

Isaiah 38: 17-19 have three important messages:

  1. God answers prayers
  2. We should go into the world and spread his word
  3. You can not talk from the grave

The time is now to live a life for God

Hezekiah expresses the significance of passing the joy of the Lord from father to children, from generation to generation. We have the Word of God because of faithful men and women who passed along the message through the centuries.

We exist for a moment in time, but the time that we have is the time that God gave us. When we enter the grave we cannot work for God, we can only do that for him while we are living.

Live today and the rest of your earthly life for God!

Read the Entire Chapter:
Isaiah Chapter 38

Jesus Is the One and Only

Scripture: John 8: 19, 21, 24

Then they asked him, “Where is your father?” “You do not know me, or my father,” Jesus replied. “If you know me, you would know my Father also.”(19) Once more Jesus said to them, “I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come.”(21) I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins.(24)

Scripture Commentary: Jesus is the one true light

Jesus is “the one.”  He is who he claimed to be.  Rejecting him is rejecting our only salvation. Christ died for our sins and recognizing that, and living by that, is what saves us from our sins. People live by the values of this world and ignore the gift Christ gave us.

Where is your focus; on the values of this world or on the priceless gift of an eternal life with God? Jesus is the truth that sets us free, and rejecting him means lying to yourself. He is the standard for what is right and he is a model for how we should try to live.

The truth can free you from the consequence of your sin. He is the truth that will break down your self deception, and deception by Satan. You have a choice to know the truth or lie to yourself. Do not leave here without Jesus Christ in your life.

Read the Entire Chapter:
John Chapter 8

One Day Is as a Thousand Years

Scripture: 2 Peter 3: 8-9

But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some men count slowness; but is longsuffering to toward you, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Scripture Commentary: Live one day at a time doing your best for God

When we decide to put our struggles in God’s hands, there is often an expectation that he will help us in the near future. People often desire instant gratification, but what is one day to us, is as a thousand years to God.

Have you ever found yourself in a troubling situation and considered how you got there? Often, we (ourselves) are the cause of our own struggling. If God cleared up our obstacles immediately, then we wouldn’t have the opportunity to learn something and grow stronger.

God seems slow, but he is not; God is on a different time table

Jesus is waiting for more sinners to repent and turn to him before he returns. We cannot sit around and wait for Jesus to return. We must live with the realization that our earthly time is short, and there is important work to be done for the Kingdom of God on earth.

Live in eager expectation of the coming of the Lord, and know that God has provided you with all that you need to survive.

Read the Entire Chapter:
2 Peter Chapter 3

God Breaks Down Stubborn Pride

Scripture: Ezekiel 2: 4-5

The people to whom I am sending you are obstinate and stubborn. Say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says.’  And whether they listen or fail to listen—for they are a rebellious people—they will know that a prophet has been among them.

Scripture Commentary: A stubborn nature drives us backward, not forward

God gave Ezekiel the difficult responsibility of presenting His message to ungrateful and abusive people.  God called the people “obstinate and stubborn” because they refused to admit their sin.  Even when God pointed out their wrongdoing, the people ignored the truth. Are we turning a blind eye to our sins?

As Christians, we are an example of God’s Word. We must live as He tells us to live. The Lord told Ezekiel not to be afraid, but to speak His words even if the people would not listen.

God will not judge us for how well others respond to our faith, but for how faithful we are

We do not have to fear rejection or ridicule when God’s spirit is within us. He does not give us a task too large to handle, and He is always watching over us when we go onto the battlefield for him. God’s strength is powerful enough to help us live for Him even under the heaviest criticism.

God always gives us the strength to accomplish what He asks us to do. When God talks, we must listen.

Are you ready to hear the Word of God?

Read the Entire Chapter:
Ezekiel 2