Posts Tagged ‘forgiveness’
To Whom Do You Give Thanks?
When something good happens and you want to give thanks for what it is, who is it to whom you give thanks?
All that we have has not come from our own doing, nor has it come from what ever riches – though little or much – we may have at any given moment in our lives. If, then, what we have that is counted as something for which we give thanks, has not come from our own abilities or wealth, from where has it come? In 1 Timothy 6:17 we read:
“Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy.”
In this verse, the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit tells us that anything that we have that is considered good and is something in which we can enjoy has not come from anything we have done but from God. Even the wealth, no matter what level of wealth it is, also comes from God through what ever means that He chooses. In Deuteronomy 8: 11-14 & 17-18 we read this:
11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments, His judgments, and His statutes which I command you today, 12 lest—when you have eaten and are full, and have built beautiful houses and dwell in them; 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold are multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; 14 when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God…
17 then you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’ 18 “And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth…
It is not by your might or power by which you have all that you do. It is by God’s hand that you have what you do for it is from Him that we receive all things to enjoy. And since we receive these gifts from God is it not right to give Him thanks for what we have? In prayers always should we give thanks because it is pleasing to God so to do.
In 1 Thessalonians 5: 16-18 we read:
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
So, give thanks with a grateful heart, for all good things come from God and it is to God to Whom we should give thanks. Even if you are not a child of God, that is a disciple of Jesus – one who is called a Christian – you should also give thanks for God brings good on all people. However, if you want to feel the full “love” of God, to understand, know and be given forgiveness for our sins so that we can experience the love of God personally then you must become a child of God. Otherwise, you may receive from God but, without becoming a child of God, you will never know the why of God through His love.
In 1 John 3: 1 we read:
“Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.”
You may not be a child of God and you still may want to give God thanks, but what good is it to do so without knowing the love of God? As a child of God you can give thanks with love to the one who loves you as being one of His children. One who has believed in His Son Jesus and has submitted to Him not only as Lord but has received Him as Savior; being forgiven for your sins and given welcome access to knowing the love of God. Only then will you be able to know what manner of love God has bestowed upon you.
This then is the answer to the question of “To Whom Do You Give Thanks?” It is to God to whom we should give thanks. To God be the glory…
Be Reconciled To God
A new year has come and with it comes the continuing promise by those of us who are Ambassador’s of God that forgiveness of sins is offered to all who will heed the call to be reconciled with God.
In 2 Corinthians 5: 20 we read the following:
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
All too often, people believe that everyone who dies will go to Heaven. Nothing is further from the truth. You see, sin in our lives have separated us from God, and in that separation God does not see us nor does He hear.
Isaiah tells us in his writings the following in 59: 1, 2
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear.
We are all sinful people. Just one sin, even just one little lie makes anyone a sinner who has been separated from God. Any wrong doing on our part has created a rift between us and the Creator of life – the Creator of you. But you have forsaken Him and have gone your own way to do your own thing and have walked away from God. You have created this separation and God, in His justice, has become angry with you and is hiding His face from you so that He cannot see your sinfulness.
In Palm 7:11 the writer has told us:
God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day.
Think about that for a moment… God is angry with you because you have turned away from Him and have sought to do what “you” believe is right in your own eye instead of living in obedience to Him. Your sin has separated you from Him. You need to be reconciled to Him, to have your sins forgiven, in order to be made righteous in His sight and be given the right to spend eternity in Heaven.
Do not be deceived in your thinking that you are not a wicked person. For anyone who has sinned and done a wrong of any kind has committed a wicked thing before God. That is why God is angry with you and has turned His face and ear from you so that He cannot see nor hear your wickedness. You have separated yourself from God and have placed yourself on the path to spending eternity in Hell.
Please… do not refuse the hand of God in offering you salvation! In your sinfulness you cannot do anything to deserve forgiveness nor be given the right to enter Heaven. But God has done this for anyone who will obey the call to be reconciled to Him. You see, He has offered Jesus to us, to suffer the punishment that we deserve, to die for sins and to be resurrected from the grave to overcome death in order to provide eternal life for all who will call upon Him to be Lord of their life.
The Apostle Paul writes in Romans 10: 9, 10 the following:
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. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Being reconciled to God is as simple as confessing your sinfulness in proclaiming Jesus as Lord of your life, and by faith you must also believe that God the Father has raised Jesus up from the grave to provide eternal life for all who call upon the Lord. By proclaiming Jesus as Lord and believing in the resurrection brings you into a right standing with God. In short, whoever will call upon the name of the Lord Jesus for forgiveness will be reconciled to God.
Faith is a simple word, but only by faith can one be saved and be reconciled to God. It is in trusting in Jesus for salvation that provides forgiveness for sins; God hears and turns His face back to you. His anger against you is kindled and God will clothe you in the righteousness of Jesus to keep you safe from your sins and will give you peace in His love until He calls you home – to spend eternity in Heaven.
In Romans 5: 1 we read:
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Imagine how glorious it must be to have peace with God. Only by being reconciled to God can anyone know this peace. Why would you not want to have this peace? I implore you to heed the call of God and cry out to Jesus for forgiveness. Proclaim Jesus as Lord and by faith believe that He has died for your sins, and that He has been raised from the dead to overcome death in order to provide you with eternal life in Heaven.
I emphatically implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. Make peace with God now through our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever calls upon the Lord Jesus will be saved.
Why A Savior?
It is December and, of course, it is time to celebrate Christmas. Well, most of us do anyway. But, have you ever wondered why there was, or is, a need for a Savior?
In the Christmas story, where we find the babe lying in a manger because there was no room at the Inn, an angel of Lord came to some shepherds to announce to them about the birth. The story goes like this:
8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2: 8-14)
In verse 11 we read about the angel telling the shepherds that a Savior had been born. A Savior? Why a Savior? In short, a Savior is needed to save us from ourselves, because of what we are unable to do for ourselves.
To begin, we need to go back all the way to the book of Judges, to the very last chapter – Chapter 21 – and to the very last verse of the chapter – verse 25:
25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.
Look where it says, “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” It does not say they did what was right in God’s eyes but in their own eyes. Very much like today.
The Old Testament is a story, albeit a true one, about God choosing a people for His own, and giving them the opportunity to prove that they could be obedient to Him and, by doing so, earn a place in Heaven. However they continued to show that this was not possible and they constantly sought to do their own will and not God’s. They could not be completely obedient to the Laws that God had given them; basically the Ten Commandments which was part of the covenant that God had made with them. In doing so, that is in doing what they saw was right in “their” own eyes, they gave evidence to God that they could not do anything to earn forgiveness for their sins and to be found worthy of acceptance into Heaven.
They would not do what God wanted of them, they desired to do what they felt was right in their own eyes; regardless of what God wanted.
In Hebrews 8: 8, 9 we read:
8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord.
If God’s chosen people could not continue in the agreed upon Covenant with Him, then how could anyone do so? The answer is they can’t. No one can. No one has and no one will ever do so. For that reason mankind, based on the continued disobedience of God’s chosen people, proved that because of their sin nature they would never be found acceptable in God’s sight and could never fulfill the righteous requirements of this same Covenant. Thus mankind was condemned to spend eternity in hell. Unless someone would stand in their place and fulfill the requirements of God so that we could be forgiven and find a place in Heaven for us.
In short, mankind needed a Savior!
In Romans 8: 1-4 we read:
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,[a] who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
For what the Law “could not do” Christ did for us in our place. Jesus fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law and because of that all who put their trust in Him will receive forgiveness for their sins and be found worthy of being accepted into Heaven based on what Jesus has done for us.
This is the Savior that we are told about in the Christmas story. “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”
That is why we were sent a Savior. Without one there would be no way to Heaven; we would all stand condemned before God for our sins. Jesus is the only way. He is the gate by which we must pass through in order to go into Heaven and go out into eternity with Him.
So, this Christmas be as the shepherds and believe in the miracle of the virgin born Savior. Come to Him with praise and thanksgiving and receive Him as your Lord and Savior. Be as the shepherds and hear the Heavenly multitude say:
“Glory to God in the highest, and peace on earth, and toward men good will.”
Why a Savior? Because we can do nothing to save ourselves. Jesus is that Savior. Come to the manger now and receive Him into your heart.
The Bible ……. Only For Christians
The Bible is the number one best-selling book of all time. It is also on the list of the least read books, and there is reason for that.
Anyone can take the Bible and read it for the literary and poetic aspect. Many will also take it and read it for the varied stories and historical information that it has. Then there are those who will try to read it for spiritual guidance and in the end get nothing from it. Interestingly, the reason they cannot do so is because they are not true-born again Christians. Even the Bible will state that non-Christians will not understand its spirituality.
In 1st Corinthians 2: 14 we read the following:
“But the natural man perceives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Now I know that the Holy Spirit can take any verse and cause anyone, even non-Christians, to understand the spirituality of any verse but why would He? For if that person is not a child of God the spiritual information would basically be of no use to them as they would not truly understand what it is that God is saying.
Also, Jesus made references to this same thing. In John 8: 42 – 47 Jesus, in talking to the Jews while teaching in the Temple, said the following:
42 Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of Myself, but He sent Me. 43 Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 Which of you convicts Me of sin? And if I tell the truth, why do you not believe Me? 47 He who is of God hears God’s words; therefore you do not hear, because you are not of God.”
Jesus tells them from where He came and they just could not understand what He was saying. He even asks them why is it that they do not understand what He is saying. Then right away He explains that it is because they are not able to listen to Him. Not only that but He also plainly says that the reason that they cannot hear and understand what He is teaching is because they “do not” belong to God. Only they who belongs to God will hear what He is saying and they also will understand what He is saying.
Again, the unsaved or “natural” man, the one who is not “born again” of God, will not be able to understand what the Spirit of God is saying because it needs to be spiritually understood and that is something that they simply cannot do.
Then, in John 10: 24 – 30 Jesus is asked a question and He gives a simple answer to what they ask:
24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”
The Jews asked Him if He was the Christ and the answer that Jesus gives is simple – Yes. He said, “I told you, and you do not believe” Then He goes on and tells them “why” they do not believe. It is because they do not belong to Him. They are not true-born again followers of Christ and they do not have the ability to believe in the spiritual aspects of what Jesus is teaching. He is the Messiah but only they who belong to Him not only will “hear” His voice, what He says, but will also “follow” Him where ever He goes. He gives them eternal life and He will never lose any of those who follow Him.
You see, it takes someone who is “born-again” of the Spirit of God to be able to understand the teachings of the Spirit of God. The non-Christians, that is “natural” man cannot hear God’s word in a spiritual sense and he cannot understand the spiritual aspects of God’s word, and he will not receive nor obey the spiritual things of God because he does not belong to the family of God.
So, you can read the Bible for its poetry and literary characteristics and anyone can read the Bible for its historical details, but only they who are true “born-again” followers of Jesus can read and understand the Bible for the spiritual guidance that God gives through His written word.
How about you? Do you understand the spiritual side of the Bible? If not then the possibility that you may not be a true “born-again” follower of Jesus exists. It may be that you are not one of His sheep and that you cannot hear nor understand what He says to those who belong to Him.
If that is the case then your only recourse is to throw yourself on the mercy of God and cry out for forgiveness and for the ability to believe in and confess that Jesus is the only Lord and Savior of your soul, and that Jesus is the Christ Who can save your soul from suffering eternity in Hell.
Only God, by His grace, can give you the faith as His gift with which to confess that Jesus is Lord and to believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead. If you will but just do this then you can be assured that you will be saved from facing God’s wrath, and that you will spend eternity in the loving hands of God Who forgives sins upon those who ask.
Why would you not do this now? In 2nd Corinthians 6: 2 we read:
For He (God) says:
“In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.”
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.
Begin The New Year With Joy In The Lord!
A Psalm of Thanksgiving.
Psalm 100:
Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing.
Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.
Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting,
And His truth endures to all generations.
Only those who belong to Jesus can sing such praise. For it is He who died for sins and it is only by Him can any of us enter into Heaven. There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be, or can be, saved.
Bow before Jesus and proclaim His Lordship over you and believe in Him as Savior and you, too, can sing these praises unto the Lord our God. So, make a joyful noise, come before the Lord of the universe and sing His praises. It is God Who has made us for Him and we are to be His joy, but only if we belong to Jesus.
Come into His courts with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise. The Lord is faithful. He will keep us for all eternity. Thank Him for His mercy and forgiveness. Come, now, kneel before the King of Kings and cry out for mercy and forgiveness of your sins and submit to the Lord of Lords to receive salvation that is offered to all who will come.
Begin the New Year with a new heart and a new song. Love the Lord and be thankful to Him. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth does, indeed, endure to all generations.
Begin the New Year with joy in the Lord!
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So You Think That God Loves You?
I can hear you now. Of course God loves me. Isn’t that what the Bible says? Seriously, does it really?
This will be one of the shorter essays I have done because the verse that I will quote says it all. It’s found in the Gospel of John and it is in chapter 16. In verses 26 and 27 we read:
In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say to you that I shall pray the Father for you; for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I came forth from God.
So, let me ask you one question. Do you love Jesus and believe that He came forth from God the Father?
Before you answer here’s what Jesus said in John 14: 21 about those who say they love Jesus:
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
Do you follow Jesus and obey Him? Not looking good is it? Well, here’s one more thing that Jesus said about following him. In Luke 14: 33 we read:
So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.
In short, unless you are a born again follower of Jesus, God does not love you. In fact, well, here’s what we read in 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.
Do you really want to face the wrath of God? I can understand that you do not want to come to Jesus. You see, it is because of your sinfulness that you don’t want to come to Him. In John 3: 18 – 20 we read:
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. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
Basically you are ashamed of the person you are. You do not want to give up your sin and you would rather stay in your sinfulness than come to Jesus and be cleansed and forgiven. The problem is, if you do not come to Jesus and submit to Him as Lord and believe that God has raised Him from the dead you will stay condemned to face the wrath of God.
And you will “never” know the Love of God.
God knows that you are a sinful person and in this sinfulness you can do nothing to be worthy of receiving forgiveness of your sins. That is why God, as Jesus, came to earth to do for us what man cannot do for himself.
Jesus has satisfied all of the demands of God the Father for receiving salvation and it is the work of God that you believe on Jesus and to come to Him for forgiveness. When you do, when you confess your sinfulness and submit to Jesus as Lord, you will then know the full love of God. The love that He has for those who love Jesus. There is no other way.
for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me,
You can stay in you sinfulness and never know the love of God or you can come to Jesus, be forgiven and cleansed of your sin, and experience the greatest love that man will ever know. Now, in this life, and for eternity.
Why would you not do so now? If you want to be loved by God, if you want to know what true love really is, then you must love Jesus. Come to Him now, submit to His Lordship over you and be saved.
Then you can answer the question, “So You Think That God Loves You?”, with a resounding… YES!
Riff's Christian Journal 