Posts Tagged ‘forgiveness’
Apostle Describes Meeting With Jesus
Back in the 70’s I had started a newsletter called “The Christian Layman”(Insights from a Layman’s Journal). The following was the first article in that newsletter.
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Apostle Describes Meeting With Jesus
I was soaking wet, having waded ashore from the boat. The others, I had left on board, were guiding its rough underbelly onto the cool sand that had been chilled by the night air.
As I sat down, the damp sand crumpled under my weight, and I became conscious of how cold were my clothes, but I did not care. For there, sitting beside the warm fire that He had just made, was my Master – Jesus.
It had been a few days since we last met, and now we were sharing a breakfast of bread and fish. Where the food had come from I did not know and I did not care. Nothing mattered except that Jesus was alive and He was with us once again. I felt great.
We finished off the last of the fish and I turned toward Jesus; He was looking at me. It was as if He was looking into my very soul, the very heart of my existence.
“….. Do you love me?”
The words stung.
“Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”
Two more times he asked me the same question; three times in all. Twice I said “yes.” The third time…
“Lord, You know all things; You know that I love you.”
Feed my sheep.”
I had denied Him three times on the night before He was crucified.
Now, three times He made me tell Him that I loved Him, even though He knew I did before saying so. But, more important, He had said,
“Feed my sheep.”
For three years, He had fed us, not just food but something more. He had told us that man does not live by bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.
We are not to worry about what we are going to eat and drink. We are not to worry about whether or not everyone has physical or material comfort.
No, we are to provide His sheep with the bread that gives eternal life – Jesus.
He knows His sheep we do not. So in order for us to follow His command, we must bring the bread of life to everyone we meet. We must present Jesus to everyone, every time, all of the time. Anything else and we fail.
How about you? Have you been placed in the position of feeding His sheep? When you see Him face to face will He be able to say…
“Well done thou good and faithful servant.”
What Is The Primary Purpose Of Prayer?
Everyone prays at some time or another, but not all prayers receive answers or results in the way that the person who prayed wanted.
Let us get this out of the way before we go one-step further. Unless you are a Christian, a true disciple of Jesus, God does not hear your prayer and it will not receive an answer. The bible teaches that God does not hear the prayers of a sinner. That is a topic for another post.
Now, since that is out of the way we can proceed.
Most Christians, who repent of their sins and receive forgiveness, in one way or another, will always worry when they pray. Maybe it is about how they prayed, was it good enough. On the other hand, it could be they will worry that their prayer will not receive an answer or, if it is, the answer is not what they want.
Do you have peace when you pray? If not, why not? It is because you are not sure if the answer to your prayer will be what you are wanting it to be, even if you receive an answer at all.
The secret to having peace when you pray is simple. Read the following verses:
Eph_1:5 (KJV) according to the good pleasure of his will,
Eph_1:9 (KJV) Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
Eph_1:11 (KJV) according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
1Jn_5:14 (KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:
God is in charge. There is nothing done outside His will. We have an imperfect will. God has a perfect will. Unless we realize that “God’s will” will always be done we will always pray for what we want expecting to get our own way, and be upset if we do not. However, in God’s perfect will, what He wants He will always accomplish.
We cannot change God’s will, never could and we will never be able to do so. Imagine an imperfect, sin infested human, telling God what He should do because it was you who asked Him.
You see, the secret to prayer is just telling God about why you are praying and what it is that you would like to see because of your prayer; there is nothing wrong with that, as long as we trust in Him no matter how He responds to your prayers, and accept His will.
God may not answer right away because it is not time to answer. He already knows what the proper time will be to respond. In addition, the answer may not be what you want, but it will be what God wants, and God only wants you to trust in Him for the response that He gives.
We must realize that God’s timing is always the right time. In addition, the answer that He gives is always the right answer. God always knows what is best as He always does according to His will.
When we finally realize that God always works all things according to His will is when we can start having peace in our prayers. God knows why we pray and what we would like, but our will is not always the best response. God wants us to trust in Him fully, completely and lovingly in His answer to our prayer.
No matter what we pray or what we would like for the answer to be, when we trust in the Lord for His response, no matter what it is, then we can have true peace in our prayers for we know that they will “always” be answered according to God’s will.
Just pray and then trust in the Lord for the right answer. For the primary purpose of prayer is just learning to know God’s will in all things and then trusting in Him for the answer that He gives.
The Real Avenger: Endgame
I am sure that by now everyone either has seen or at least heard about the new movie “Avengers: Endgame”. Well, I have at least heard about the movie. You see, I really do not go to the movies anymore. I am not into fantasy, sci-fi or bloody mayhem. I guess I am just an old-fashioned kind of a guy.
However, there is one Avenger who has a real “endgame” that I am interested in, and it is found in the Bible. Here it is from 2nd Thessalonians 2:
2Th 1:6 Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you;
2Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
There is no one else Who has the power and right to bring vengeance on whom He wills than Jesus. Seeing that we also read the following in John 3:
oh 3:34 For he (Jesus) whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
Joh 3:35 The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand.
Joh 3:36 He that believeth on the Son(Jesus) hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
Imagine being given the opportunity to repent of ones sins and to believe on Jesus or face the wrath of God, why would anyone refuse the offer. In the Gospel of Luke Jesus said the following:
Luk 13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
Luk 13:5 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
It does not matter whether you have little sins or big sins, any sin at all demands repentance of that sin and they who refuse to do so because they like their sin will face the wrath of God.
Why Jesus, you may ask. Here is the answer found in Acts 4:
Act 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.
In fact, in Romans 10: 2, 10 we read the following:
Rom 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Rom 10:10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
All of us commit sins, and we must all pay for them, unless we bow before Jesus and submit to Him as our Lord, and ask for forgiveness. If we do, we will be saved from facing the wrath of God. If we do not, we only have God’s wrath to face.
There is a real Avenger and He has a real “endgame”. His name is Jesus. As we read before:
the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
From Hebrews 10 we read the following:
Heb 10:30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
Heb 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Jesus is the real “Avenger” and he does have an “endgame”. A fearful endgame. One I pray that you do not want to face and will now repent and bow before Jesus as Lord and ask for forgiveness from the only true Savior of us all. For whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.
If you do not, you will only face the Real “Avenger”. That is something you will wish you had never done.
Yet He Opened Not His Mouth
Jesus, at any time in any place knew what to say at just the right time … as needed. Yet, when confronted with His own life in danger, He opened not His mouth in His defense. Why?
From Isaiah 53
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
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 everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, “yet he opened not his mouth”: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
After His arrest, Jesus was brought before the chief priests and elders and, eventually, Pilate.
From Matthew 27
And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing.
Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee?
And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly.
When Pilate heard that Jesus was from Galilee He sent Him to Herod.
From Luke 23
And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.
And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.
Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.
And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.
And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.
When Herod was finished with Him he sent Jesus back to Pilate who had Him scourged and then delivered Jesus to die.
From John 19
Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.
Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
Where they crucified him.
Jesus knew His destiny, and He kept quiet to accomplish what had been given to Him.
From 1 Corinthians 15
Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
He was buried, and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
By His obedience, Jesus became the author and finisher of our faith, to provide for us forgiveness for our sins and to give us eternal salvation.
From Hebrews 12 and 5
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him;
Epilogue:
Mat 26:53 Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?
Mat 26:54 But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?
Mat 26:56 But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.
Yet, He opened not His mouth…
Have You Heard The Gospel Call of Your Salvation
Into the woods though dark & deep, I look for a place where I might sleep.
Through fog & wind amongst the trees, I find myself upon my knees.
A sword swings high above my head, but I awake peacefully and in my bed.
Then out of the shadows Lord Jesus came.
Your salvations’ secured for I have called you by name.
Dead in your sins you could not answer the call, so I made you alive to hear it all.
Not of your own will have you behaved, for by My Grace have you been saved.
Because of My choice do you I forgive, and with me will you eternally live.
1. Romans 8: 30
2. Ephesians 2: 1
3. Ephesians 2: 5
4. Ephesians 2: 8 – 10
5. Ephesians 1: 4, 5
5. John 10; 28, 29
Why There Are Moments of Failure For A Christian
The day starts our just fine. You have your early morning talk with God and you go off to start the day feeling good. You have God’s protection and you feel that nothing can go wrong. That is when it usually happens.
At some point of the day, you have a thought pop into your mind. It is a thought that you have not had for a while and in the surprise of it, you start entertaining the thought. Maybe something crosses your line of vision, the sight captivates you, and you let your eyes linger longer that you normally would have and you enjoy the view before you.
There is always the possibility that someone angers you and you spout salty words that you do not normally use. Then again, maybe something happens that causes you to react in a physical way that causes harm to someone.
As a Christian, we have to remember that we are not perfect. We still have a sin nature and though God promises not to let you be tempted beyond what you can bare and gives room for escape, there are times when you do not want to escape. At this point is when failure as a Christian comes into play. I know, for I have been there myself.
Who is he who temps us? It is not the Lord, as He temps no one. The tempter is Satan himself and, when he is not around, he has many demons to do his dirty work for him. They do not come to temp us during low or weak times. No, they come when we least expect to be tempted, in times when we feel at our best in our relationship with God. It is during these times, when we feel strong, that we forget who it is against whom we fight.
Eph 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
Those are the moments when we are caught off guard and we find ourselves doing the very thing that we do not want to do. The reason for this is very clear as we find in Galatians 5: 17:
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
We forget that we do not fight an outward fight, one that we can see with our eyes. No, we fight a spiritual fight that creeps up on us and catches us at our moment of weakness, which is when we feel at our best. Then they attack and we are neither strong nor prepared for the onslaught that the demons bring on.
It is at times like this that our own lusts or desires over comes us and we are drawn into the trap that has been set for us. As we see in James 1:14:
Jas 1:14 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.
While it is true that any sin that we commit, after having been “born again” by the Spirit of God, is forgiven, when we know that we have committed a sin the best thing to do is to confess that sin and to ask God for forgiveness, and to confess our sorrow for having acted in disobedience to God.
Only in this way can we come back into the presence of God, to feel that forgiveness, to allow us to fellowship with God again so that during our closeness with the Lord the gnawing aspect of our sin will not hinder, nor interfere with, our relationship with God.
The life of a Christian, one who is a true disciple of Jesus, is a lifelong journey. We will never be without temptation nor will we ever come to the point of never giving in to sin. The flesh fights against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh. Most of the time the spirit wins, but when the flesh becomes the victor we must quickly recover, confess our willfulness to sin and to rely on God to bring us back into a right fellowship with Him; to once again feel His love and forgiveness of us.
We all must fight the good fight, walk in the Spirit as much as we can, and look out for those moments of weakness during those times when we feel strong in our faith. Living the Christian life is not easy and was never meant to be, but by looking to God, and not to ourselves, to keep us safe from the tempter, and his demons who constantly lie in wait, do we have any chance of overcoming the fleshly desires when something unexpected comes our way.
In the outcome, the victory is not ours, but the Lord’s. Jesus is the one who picks us up, cleans us off and provides forgiveness for us when we have lost a battle in our spiritual warfare. He will set us back on the straight and narrow and will continue to work in us His will until the time of the end will have come.
Showing You Know God
Do you know God? In 1 John 2: 3, 4 we read the following:
1Jn 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
1Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
If you say that you know God but do not keep His commandments then, basically, you are lying. Giving you the benefit of the doubt it may be that you do not know what are His commandments.
If that is the case then the problem could be that you are in the wrong church or the person who is in the place of leadership and authority does not belong there. Either way you are to blame for what you know or do not know.
Knowing God should make one want to learn more about Him, what He thinks, what He says, what He has done and is still doing. You can only find that out for yourself by taking on the responsibility of reading the bible and studying it.
The importance of obeying God is made known even by what Jesus said to us. In John 14: 21, 23, 24 we read what Jesus says about obeying God:
Joh 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Joh 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.
Joh 14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
If one truly knows God, they will have the desire to be obedient to Him. We will not be perfect at it because of our sin nature, but we will be trying to be obedient as much as possible, asking for God’s help in doing so and acknowledging our failures and asking for forgiveness.
Our obedience to the commands of God the Father and of our Lord Jesus shows that we know and love God. Anything else proves that we are just lying about our profession of faith.
How about you, are you obedient to the commandments of God? Do you show that you really know God the Father and that you love the Lord Jesus by your being obedient to their commands or, maybe you are just living a lie?
You may be able to fool your friends and family, but you cannot fool God. Remember, without proof of your faith your faith is dead, and so are you.
Are You Known Of God?
If someone were to ask you, “Does God know you?” One would imagine that you would say, “of course God knows me. He knows everyone, doesn’t He?” What if one were to answer, “That depends?”
In 1st Corinthians 8: 3 we read:
“But if any man loves God, the same is known of him.”
Being known of God is walking with Him every day, trusting in Him in all areas of your life and being so close to Him that you can talk with Him in a most intimate way. God needs to be first in your life so that everything else plays off that.
So, now the question is this, “Do you love God?” Well of course, “I love God,” you would say, but do you? To say that you love God is one thing but there is only one way that you can prove that you love God.
In the Gospel of John 14: 21 Jesus says the following:
“He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
If you truly love Jesus then you will be trying your very best to be obedient to Him. However, if you have not been born again, and have become a disciple of Jesus, you will have no desire to be obedient to Him, nor even love Him. You will only have the desire to fulfill the lust of the flesh, savor yourself with the lust of the eyes, and be full of pride as you brag about all of your accomplishments in life.
Think about that. Maybe you are “not” known by God,” especially in that most intimate way.
If that is the case, you will be one of them who will face Jesus on that great day of Judgement when you will hear Jesus say:
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity. Mathew 8: 23
How dreadful that will be. It truly is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
You can make sure that you will not hear Jesus say this to you. To everyone who will confess that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God the Father has raised Him from the dead you will have found yourself to have been born again, and are now a disciple of Jesus. That is the only way that one can truly know that God knows them – loves them.
Do you not think that it is better to be known of God so that if someone asks you, “Does God know you?” you will then be able to say in a most absolute way, “Why yes, yes He does!”
In addition, your smile will say it all.
Being Truly Set Free
On July 4, 1776, a country, consisting of thirteen states, began the task of becoming a free and sovereign Nation after declaring its independence. It happened because men wanted to be free and were willing to fight for that freedom. They did and the United States was born.
Ever since time began, man has wanted freedom and to get that freedom he was willing to do whatever it took to secure that freedom. Was there a time when man did not know there was a freedom that he needed; one to which his own self-righteousness made him blind? The answer is yes.
Since man sinned in the Garden of Eden, and fell from grace with God, he has needed to be set free from being a slave to his own sin and self-righteousness. In Romans, we read the following:
Rom 6:20 For when you were the slaves of sin, you were free from righteousness.
Therein is the problem. As slaves to sin, we know it not, and since we do not know we need to be set free from this enslavement, we do not seek this freedom. We trust in our own self-righteousness not knowing that we have none of our own. That is where Jesus comes in.
In the Gospel of John Jesus tells us this:
Joh 8:34 Jesus answered them, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever commits sin is the slave of sin.”
Not only does He tell us our problem but He also gives us the answer as to how we are set free from being slaves to sin. Especially since we do not know, we are such slaves. Only Jesus can set us free.
Joh 8:36 Jesus says, “ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”
Freedom from sin comes not from our own will to be free. No, it comes from the desire and will of Jesus to set us free, and all those whom the Father draws to Him will be set free and saved from our own self-righteousness (sin’s slavery).
Only until Jesus sets us free we will ever know the truth of our sins enslavement.
Man loves his freedom, but this is one freedom, being a slave to sin, about which man knows nothing. Thank God, that Jesus knows and that in Him only, will we be set free.
The question that you now face is this. Have you been set free from being a slave to sin, from your own self-righteousness?
Whoever will confess that Jesus is Lord and believe in their heart that God has raised Him from the dead will have been set free by the Son of God, and they will know that they are free indeed.
The Resurrection Of Jesus Affirms Christianity
The resurrection of Jesus is the most important event in world history. Had this not occurred Christianity would just be a false religion, just like all of the other religions. While I could describe this event, and why it is important to mankind, in my own words, I do believe that by letting the Bible tell it, in God’s own Words, would be a far better thing to do. Therefore, here is what God says as found in 1 Corinthians chapter 15…
1Co 15:12 Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
1Co 15:13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
1Co 15:14 And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
1Co 15:15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
1Co 15:16 For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
1Co 15:17 And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; you are yet in your sins.
1Co 15:18 Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
1Co 15:19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead…..
Yea, indeed, is Jesus risen from the dead and is alive today in Heaven, and He lives in the hearts of those who are His disciples. And, because Jesus is risen, man can be forgiven for his sins and be guaranteed to spend eternity in Heaven. Only they who repent and believe in Him, and who submit to His will and obey His commands, will know the love and forgiveness of God.
Yea, Christ is risen…
He is risen indeed…
Riff's Christian Journal 