Ever since our fall in Adam we’ve been running - running away from God. Yet the further we run the more we come to experience that without God there is no hope, without God the only thing that awaits us is eternal death and despair.
Instead of running away from Him, God is calling us to turn around; to return to Him and look to Him to be saved.
Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22
He Himself has made a way for us to be saved by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus, to pay the price for our sins.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:16-17
Jesus is the only way back to the Father.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me. John 14:6
And because of His perfect obedience and sacrificial death on the cross we can return to God.
Return unto Me, and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. Malachi 3:7b
Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto Me, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
Zechariah 1:3
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7
We return to God by turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness.
Another word the Bible uses for this turning is to repent.
In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judaea,
And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Matthew 3:1-2
Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark 1:14-15
When we turn to God we don’t come with our own righteousness or our own good works – for we have none.
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; Isaiah 64:6
When we come, we come as the prodigal son.
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto Him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before Thee, Luke 15:18
And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. Luke 15:20
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: 1 John 3:1a
Saturday, February 24, 2018
Wednesday, February 21, 2018
The Love of God
This morning I was walking around my kitchen feeling out of sorts. The house was messy, I felt rushed, flustered and tense, and things weren’t going according to plan – my plan that is.
As a matter of fact, the whole week I had felt like I couldn't seem to catch my breath - or my footing.
Just at that moment, God brought the song to mind 'His arms are open'. Grabbing my cell phone off of its customary spot on the microwave I searched for the song until I found it and turned it on.
As I listened to the words of how God’s arms were open, that the chains were broken, and that we weary and ashamed could lay our burdens down, I was overwhelmed by God’s great love for me. And not only for me but for all the lost, broken and hurting people in the world.
The Bible says:
Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30
I (God) have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; Isaiah 65:2
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7
For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? Ezekiel 18:23
And he arose, and came to his Father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. Luke 15:20
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: 1 John 3:1a
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelations 21:4
Return to Him. Come to Him. Run to Him. His arms are open.
Just at that moment, God brought the song to mind 'His arms are open'. Grabbing my cell phone off of its customary spot on the microwave I searched for the song until I found it and turned it on.
As I listened to the words of how God’s arms were open, that the chains were broken, and that we weary and ashamed could lay our burdens down, I was overwhelmed by God’s great love for me. And not only for me but for all the lost, broken and hurting people in the world.
The Bible says:
Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30
I (God) have spread out My hands all the day unto a rebellious people, which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; Isaiah 65:2
Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:7
For God so loved the world, that he gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16
Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should return from his ways, and live? Ezekiel 18:23
And he arose, and came to his Father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. Luke 15:20
Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: 1 John 3:1a
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. Revelations 21:4
Return to Him. Come to Him. Run to Him. His arms are open.
Monday, February 19, 2018
The Only Way
The only way into the presence of God is through the mediator Christ Jesus.
For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Timothy 2:5
The gospel is good news. It is good tidings of great joy!
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11
And it’s not just good news for us, it’s good news for our children, and for people all around the world.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts 2:39
And He (Jesus) said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:15-16
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7
He (Jesus) came unto His own, and His own received him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: John 1:11-12
“The command is, “Believe and live;” attend to that, whatever else you do.”” (C. Spurgeon.)
Behold, I (Jesus) stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. Revelations 3:20
While it is said, To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. Hebrews 3:15
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; Hebrews 2:3
For there is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 1 Timothy 2:5
The gospel is good news. It is good tidings of great joy!
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:10-11
And it’s not just good news for us, it’s good news for our children, and for people all around the world.
For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts 2:39
And He (Jesus) said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:15-16
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth! Isaiah 52:7
He (Jesus) came unto His own, and His own received him not. But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name: John 1:11-12
“The command is, “Believe and live;” attend to that, whatever else you do.”” (C. Spurgeon.)
Behold, I (Jesus) stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. Revelations 3:20
While it is said, To day if ye will hear His voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation. Hebrews 3:15
How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard Him; Hebrews 2:3
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Forgiveness
Forgiveness has been on my mind this past week.
It’s easy to mentally agree with a concept but then another thing entirely to actually put it into practice - trust me.
But this past week God has given me an opportunity to practice forgiveness.
Now, before you start mentally analyzing my personal life, wondering who in the world I need to forgive, I will stop you right there. This was actually a business transaction that involved only non-Christians. (The situation is not yet completely resolved but I feel like God is teaching me perseverance as well so I will continue on trusting in Him and obeying what He teaches me in His Word.)
As I was mulling over the situation I found myself in, I quickly realized that although the circumstances were completely out of my control, my response to it wasn’t - and that’s what mattered. And if in our responses we strive to reflect our Savior - that makes all the difference. Then a bad thing can even turn into a good thing.
What does the Bible teach us about forgiveness?
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
We don’t forgive other people who sin against us because on our own we are such good, wonderful, gracious, forgiving people - because we're not. We don’t forgive because the people who sin against us are so repentant or so deserving of our forgiveness.
We forgive because HE first forgave us.
We forgive because in Christ, God has forgiven us for every bad thought, word and action that we have ever done in our entire lives.
Think about that for a minute.
To have every bad thing you have ever done or ever will do completely forgiven.
Isn’t that just incredible!
Psalm 103:12 says: As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.
You know that if our sins were written on a list, that list would be miles long. And much to our shame we don’t even remember a tiny fraction of them. Psalm 130:3 says: If Thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? and in 1 John 1:10 it says: If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Whatever people have done to us cannot compare to our lifetime of sin against God.
Yet, because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross on our behalf He forgave us and so we are called to forgive.
And then as we share His forgiving love with others something beautiful happens.
We reflect Him.
And direct other to Him.
And that is a beautiful thing.
It’s easy to mentally agree with a concept but then another thing entirely to actually put it into practice - trust me.
But this past week God has given me an opportunity to practice forgiveness.
Now, before you start mentally analyzing my personal life, wondering who in the world I need to forgive, I will stop you right there. This was actually a business transaction that involved only non-Christians. (The situation is not yet completely resolved but I feel like God is teaching me perseverance as well so I will continue on trusting in Him and obeying what He teaches me in His Word.)
As I was mulling over the situation I found myself in, I quickly realized that although the circumstances were completely out of my control, my response to it wasn’t - and that’s what mattered. And if in our responses we strive to reflect our Savior - that makes all the difference. Then a bad thing can even turn into a good thing.
What does the Bible teach us about forgiveness?
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Matthew 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
We don’t forgive other people who sin against us because on our own we are such good, wonderful, gracious, forgiving people - because we're not. We don’t forgive because the people who sin against us are so repentant or so deserving of our forgiveness.
We forgive because HE first forgave us.
We forgive because in Christ, God has forgiven us for every bad thought, word and action that we have ever done in our entire lives.
Think about that for a minute.
To have every bad thing you have ever done or ever will do completely forgiven.
Isn’t that just incredible!
Psalm 103:12 says: As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.
You know that if our sins were written on a list, that list would be miles long. And much to our shame we don’t even remember a tiny fraction of them. Psalm 130:3 says: If Thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? and in 1 John 1:10 it says: If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Whatever people have done to us cannot compare to our lifetime of sin against God.
Yet, because of Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross on our behalf He forgave us and so we are called to forgive.
And then as we share His forgiving love with others something beautiful happens.
We reflect Him.
And direct other to Him.
And that is a beautiful thing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)