CHRIST, THE ONLY WAY

John 8:39-41  "Our father is Abraham, " they declared.  "No," Jesus replied, "for if you were children of Abraham, you would follow his good example.  I told you the truth I heard from God, but you are trying to kill me.  Abraham wouldn't do a thing like that.  No, you are obeying your real father when you act that way."  NLT

       Abraham lived a simple life.  He believed God, trusted Him explicitly, and did what was right before God.  God was pleased with him and declared him to be righteous.  He honored Abraham's faith and promised that through him all the nations of the world would be blessed and that his descendants would be so great in number that they could not be counted.  It was through Abraham's lineage that Christ came into the world to be our Savior.

      Jesus was addressing the religious elite of His day who depended on their own righteousness for their salvation.  They were a very proud people who insisted on others looking up to them and obeying them.  They were set in their ways and would not consider any other way but their way.  They depended on what they did to make them acceptable to God.

       Jesus stopped them in their tracks.  He made it very clear that self-righteousness will never make us children of God.  God was not their Father, Satan was.  We need to examine ourselves as well in light of what we are depending on for our salvation.  It's not about what we do or try to be; it's about our relationship with God through Christ.  Only Christ can make us righteous, acceptable to God.  He is the only way to God.  No one can please God apart from living life through Christ.  Salvation is found nowhere else but in Christ who died for our sins.

A SLAVE NO MORE

John 8:34-36 Jesus replied, "I assure you that everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave in not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free."  NLT

      You cannot be in Christ and a slave to sin. It is impossible to live in sin and follow Christ. Why, because Christ is holy, just as God, our Father, is holy. There is no difference in the way God despises sin and Jesus despises sin. There is no allowance for sin to rule the heart of a believer. Jesus came to take away our sin, not tolerate or excuse it. If you are living a sinful life you are a slave to sin and not a child of God. You can't have it both ways. Either Christ is changing the way you think and live or He is not your Savior and Lord. It is way too easy to excuse sinful behavior under the guise of eternal life. We must be careful. God is holy and does not excuse or justify sin.

      Jesus sets us free from sin. Indeed, when Jesus rules the heart He frees us from the death grip on our souls that motivates us to sin against God. He changes our desires so that we no longer are comfortable when we sin. We begin to understand that sin is not appropriate for the child of God and seek to keep our hearts pure before Him. When we do sin, we become convicted of it and seek His forgiveness and help so that we will do it no more.

       He who has eternal life in Christ breaks away from the sinful life he once knew. He begins to think and act like a child of God.  If Jesus has set you free from the life of sin, you are indeed free and your life shows it.

SET FREE

John 8:31-32 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  NLT

      You are not a disciple of Christ if you are not obeying Him.  A disciple is one who follows Him, one who lives for Him.  Notice Jesus said that His disciples keep on obeying His teachings.  It is not good enough to start out following Christ; we must continue to follow Him.  If we are serious about the state of our souls, we will live like it every day. 

       If you are living in Christ, you will know the truth and it will set you free.  Living in Christ opens up to us the Word of God so we can understand it and live by it.  It frees us up from our sinfulness so we can enjoy living in the presence of God.  It sets us free from our selfishness so we can live for Christ. 

       If what you profess to be in Christ is not backed up by your daily living in Christ, you are not a disciple of Christ.  You cannot be a disciple of Christ without deliberate effort.  It takes work to continue to live in Christ.  We must daily search in the Scriptures for greater understanding and we must daily fellowship with the Lord in prayer so we can better live out what we learn.

       Sin binds us to a life of self-destruction.  It drags us down and keeps us from reaching our potential.  It dulls our senses to the point where God becomes irrelevant to us.  It blinds us so that we can no longer see the truth or want to live it.  Sin alienates us from God and robs us of the joy of living and hope for the future.  Sin clouds our perspective and we wander aimlessly through life.

       Jesus in us sets us free and He makes life worth the living.

A DISCIPLE IS

 

John 8:31-32 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, "You are truly my disciples if you keep obeying my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."  NLT

        It's one thing to claim to be a disciple of the Lord, but it's another thing to actually be one.  The litmus test of discipleship is obedience.  If a person is not living by God's Word and following His commands, then one is not a true disciple.

       A disciple is knowledgeable about the Word of God.  He consistently and regularly reads and studies it.  He waits before the Lord so that he can understand what he reads.  He makes it a point to find ways in which he can apply to life that which the Lord helps him to understand.

       A disciple lives a godly life.  He does not excuse his sins, but seeks the Lord's forgiveness whenever he needs it.  He does not try to alter the Word to suit himself.  He does not compromise it in any way.  He does not argue with God over what it says.  He simply submits himself to the Word's authority over his life.

      A disciple knows true freedom in his soul because he knows the life that obedience to the Lord brings.  He lives in the grace of Christ and seeks to honor Him in all he does.  He does not live in bondage to sin.  Instead, he lives a life truly blessed by the Lord.  He lives knowing that when life is over on earth he will live eternally with the Lord.  He has peace and joy and does not fear what tomorrow may bring.  He confidently faces whatever life brings him because he knows the Lord is with him and will help him live in victory.

      A true disciple does not give up in his faith walk.  He does not stop obeying the Lord.  He lives life always seeking to please the Lord.

JESUS, OUR FATHER

 

JESUS, OUR FATHER

John 8:19  "Where is your father?" they asked.  Jesus answered, “Since you don’t know who I am, you don’t know who my Father is. If you knew me, then you would know my Father as well.”  NLT

       Is God a mystery to you?  Let Jesus unravel the mystery.  God is way too much for our understanding, but He has allowed us to know enough about himself to satisfy all that our souls need for life and eternity.  Jesus is God in human flesh.  God chose to limit himself by our humanity in order to help us find Him.  He mysteriously was able to live within the confines of our humanity and still remain in heaven.  He came and personified himself for us.  We are able to understand God in a new light as we observe the life of Jesus.

       Like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day, so many people try to find God in other ways.  Man tries to reach God and discover who He is without Jesus.  It is impossible to know God without Jesus in the heart.  It is impossible to really have any kind of a right knowledge of God apart from Jesus.  It is impossible to understand the workings of God in the world without Jesus.

       There is only one way in which God will make himself known to us and that is through a personal relationship with Jesus.  If you want to know more about God, you must know Jesus as your Savior.  If you want to know Him better, you must let Jesus be your Lord.  God wants all men to know Him and has done all he could do to make it happen.  If you are trying to find God some other way, you will fail.  Jesus is the only way God can be known on a personal level. 

TO KNOW JESUS

John 8:19  "Where is your father?" they asked.  Jesus answered, "Since you don't know who I am, you don't know who my Father is. If you knew me, then you would know my Father as well."  NLT

       Do you know who Jesus is?  Do you really know Him?  All knowledge of Jesus begins in the heart.  Without Jesus being your Savior and then Lord, you may know about Him, but you won't know Him.  To know Jesus is to embrace Him and commit to living a surrendered life to Him.

       To know Jesus is to experience Him working within you, changing you, and using you for His purposes instead of your own.  To know Him is to desire what He wants more than what you want.  To know Him is to lean on Him for understanding and to trust Him in whatever He does in your life.  To know Him means that you are faithfully into the Word of God so that you can hear what He has to say to you.  To know Him means that you spend time alone in fellowship with Him.

      When you really get to know Jesus, you really get to know God.  Jesus is God in human form.  When you know Jesus you discover just how personal, yet powerful God is.  You discover how amazing God is in every way.  You discover that God is holy and that we are like Him in holiness through Christ.  There is no way to comprehend God apart from Jesus.  There is no way to please God apart from Jesus.  There is no way to make it to God apart from Jesus.

       Is God a mystery to you? Let Jesus unravel the mystery.

JESUS, THE LIGHT

John 8:12 Jesus said to the people, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't be stumbling through the darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life."  NLT

       Jesus is THE light of the world. Some people have the idea that they are the light. They are bent on drawing attention to themselves. They get so wrapped up in their accomplishments and popularity that they forget that they are not the light of the world. It is so easy to forget that Jesus is our light source.

       Any light that we are able to shed in the world flows from Him. We can do nothing apart from Him. We are not worthy of the credit we often take for what is done through us. Each of us is a servant, and nothing more. We live to bring others to Christ who is the light, not to ourselves or our ministry. Our egos are easily stroked and we must fight the urge to stroke them.

       In order to stay properly connected to the Light, we must never neglect our connecting times. We must diligently seek Him out and let Him search us out to make sure that there is nothing in us that would cause us to take upon ourselves the glory that is His alone.

       Read your Bible faithfully, spend time in your prayer closet daily, and listen to those who would warn you of your slipping away from the Lord.

       Follow Jesus alone and you won't be led into the darkness of self-deceit and glory and stumble your way through life.  Live in Christ and you will see clearly your way to heaven.

THE FIRST STONE

John 8:7-8 They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, "All right, stone her. But let those who have never sinned throw the first stone!"  Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.  NLT

       A woman had just been caught in the act of adultery. Several things come to my mind. What about the man involved in this? Wasn't he equally as guilty? Shouldn’t they have him stoned too? 

        It was the religious elite who were sitting in judgment of this woman. They already were ready to stone her for what she had done. They brought her to Jesus thinking they could use her to trap Jesus into saying something they could use against Him. If He were to agree with them, then it would go against the spirit of love and mercy He preached about. He would then be accused of being a hypocrite, just like they were. Their real goal was to condemn Jesus, not the woman.

      If the religious leaders were really wanting to stone the woman, they would have done it without asking Jesus. They had the authority to do it and would normally have exercised it, but that was not what they were after. Jesus was a problem for them and they saw this as an opportunity to get rid of their problem.

       Jesus gave them permission to execute judgment on her, after first examining their own hearts. He told them they were qualified to be the judge of her heart if they themselves had never sinned. I wonder how many judgments we make would be made if we were to first examine our own hearts.

       Jesus did not hide His emotions. He told them emphatically what they needed to do.  He then left them to their thoughts and stooped down to write in the sand. We aren't told what He wrote, but whatever it was, it must have given the woman's accusers pause to think. They weren't used to seeing sin in their own lives. They weren't used to feeling the shame and guilt of their own hearts. They had an agenda, but Jesus changed it. One by one, they left until she was all alone standing before Jesus. Guilt and shame followed them each step they took away from Jesus and the woman.

       It's interesting how much Jesus changes our agendas when we stand before Him starkly aware of the sin in our hearts and be honest about them.  When our sins are exposed, we can no longer be self-righteous. 

       Forgiven, Jesus told the woman to go and sin no more. 

THE WORD IN THE WORD

John 5:39,40  “You search the Scriptures because you believe they give you eternal life.  But the Scriptures point to me!  Yet you refuse to come to me so that I can give you this eternal life.”  NLT

       Many search the Scriptures with their own agenda.  They are looking for things to verify what they believe to be true.  They interpret the Word in such a way that what they want to see will be seen.  They are not open to the possibility that they may be wrong in their understanding.  They have been taught a certain way and their minds will not accept any other way of thinking.

       When we search the Scriptures, there is only one thing that we should be looking for, Christ.  All of the Word speaks clearly of Christ.  He is the reason why we look to the Scriptures for guidance and help in life- Jesus is life.  There is no eternal life apart from Him.  What we know will not save us.  No matter how well versed we may be in the Scriptures, if we do not know Christ as Savior and Lord, we will not make it to heaven.

      Reading the Scriptures for any other reason than to find Christ is a waste of time and effort.  He is the living and written Word of God.  When you read the Word in order to support what you have embraced as truth, you are not reading it right.  Our only desire should be to hear from God about God and how He impacts life.  We need to read the Word expecting to hear from God.  And, if we read things that go against what we believe to be true, we must be open to changing our thoughts.  Study carefully the Word and let it always point you to Christ who is the Word, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

JUST DO YOUR PART

John 4:37-38  ‘You know the saying, ‘One person plants and someone else harvests.’ And it’s true.  I sent you to harvest where you didn’t plant; others had already done the work, and you will gather the harvest.  NLT

        Our egos can often be our own worst enemy.  We like, and often, crave for recognition.  We want to be appreciated for what we do.  We like to be seen in an admirable light.  We see ourselves as being very important people in the grander scheme of things.  We take pride in our accomplishments.

      What we tend to forget is that no one can accomplish anything without the input of others.  We depend on others to do what they are supposed to do in order for us to be able to do what we can do.  If others fail to perform their role, we are not able to do what we do.  As much as we like to think that we are special and have accomplished much, we are just doing what we do because others have done what they did.

       In the Kingdom of God, this is especially true.  It takes everyone doing what God gives them to do in order for a soul to make it into heaven.  We each have a part to play in preparing a soul for being receptive to the Gospel.  We may or may not see the fruit of our labors, but God does.  It's important that we remain faithful and just serve the Lord.  When the time is right, a soul is harvested.  It may happen quickly, or it may take years. 

       Don't concern yourself about being in the limelight and getting recognition for what you do.  Do what God has given you to do and be satisfied with that.  God knows the part you play in the harvest.  Rejoice in what God is doing through you and others.  Rejoice that He is being glorified in the souls of man. 

DON'T PUT IT OFF!

John 4:35-36  “Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now?  Look around you!  The harvesters are paid good wages, and the fruit they harvest is people brought to eternal life.  What joy awaits both the planter and the harvester alike!”  NLT

      Procrastination, we all do it.  There are tasks that we put off simply because we either know we don't like doing them or because we would rather be doing something else at the moment.  We usually assume that time is on our side and that we will have ample opportunity to get done what we know we should do.

       Sadly, many of us are spiritual procrastinators when it comes to being witnesses for Christ and serving Him.  We believe that we have lots of time to do it, so we put it off for another day.  What we don't stop to consider is that tomorrow may never come.

      We don't know when the Lord is coming again.  We don't know if we will live another day.  We don't know if someone we need to witness to will live another day.  We don't know if the door of opportunity for us to serve will be open another day.  Today is the day the Lord has given us and we need to be about His business while we have today.

       There is probably no greater joy than to know that we have made a difference in someone's soul.  We may be instrumental in leading them to the Lord.  We may come alongside of them when they need someone the most.  We may plant seed in their minds that will bear fruit later.  However the Lord wants to use us, it brings great joy to the soul knowing that our life has made a difference in someone else's eternal life journey. 

       Don't be a procrastinator and miss out on the wondrous blessings God has in store for those who serve Him while it is still today.

READY FOR HARVEST

John 4:34-35 Then Jesus explained: "My nourishment comes from doing the will of God, who sent me, and from finishing his work. Do you think the work of harvesting will not begin until the summer ends four months from now? Look around you! Vast fields are ripening all around us and are ready now for the harvest."  NLT

      What feeds your soul? What do you crave for more than anything else in life? For Jesus, it was to do the will of God and to finish the work God had given Him to do. Each of us is here for a reason. God has made you the way you are because He knows that He can best use you the way you are. No one else can be used by Him in quite the same way you can be. He has equipped you and given you opportunity to serve Him. Do you know what God's will is for your life?

       The will of God for all of us is to first love Him with all of our capacity to love and then to love others in the same way we love ourselves. God's desire is that we would be engaged in Him and in the lives of those around us. We may be called upon to do it differently, but we are all to do it. Are you doing it?

       Are you determined to finish the work God has given you to do? Jesus knew exactly what He came to do and He would let nothing keep Him from doing it. Serving the Lord is a lifetime endeavor. There is no vacation from our engagements. We cannot wait for some other more convenient time of our lives to give ourselves over to Him. The need for our service is NOW. The opportunity to make a difference in the world for eternity is now. The harvest field is plentiful and ready for the harvesting. There are plenty of people who need your engagement. People who are ready to receive Jesus into their lives. Will some of them fall by the wayside, rot, and go to hell because of you?

IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH

John 4:24  For God is  Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.  NLT

      Like most preachers, I have used this verse a lot.  I believe that it is especially relevant in the Church today.  We do church, but we don't do it all that well, at least not by God's standards.  We vary on some of our understandings of truth, but for the most part, we do pretty well about preaching and teaching the Word of God.  It's the living part that we struggle with the most.  Most of us probably have a fairly good workable knowledge of the truth.  It's just that we don't do well with making it work for us the other days of the week when we aren’t in church.

      Another problem we run into is that we usually go through the motions of worship instead of actually being in the spirit of worship.  Many things go through our minds when we are in worship services and most of them are not related to our relationship with God.  So often, we leave our spirit out of the church.  We go through the motions, but we are not connecting with the Lord like we could and should be.

       Is it really worship that we are doing?  Not according to what Jesus is saying in our text today.  In order for true worship to happen we need to be engaged with the Lord both in His Word and in our spirit.  We need to quiet our hearts before the Lord, wait before Him, and expect Him to speak to us.  We need to focus on our souls and not all the other stuff that may fill up our days or our surroundings.  We need to come before Him knowing we need a word from Him and stay engaged until we get it. 

      Jesus said that we MUST worship Him in spirit and truth.  Let us strive to do a better job of bringing our spirit with us when we come before Him in worship, whether it's in public or private worship.

WATER THAT SATISFIES

John 4:13-14  Jesus replied, “People soon become thirsty again after drinking this water.  But the water I give them takes away thirst altogether.  It becomes a perpetual spring within them, giving them eternal life.”  NLT

      Thirst is a natural part of life.  Whenever there is a lack of necessary water to sustain life, thirst comes into play.  God gave every living thing a natural thirst mechanism so that sufficient water to sustain life will be provided.  When there is no water for a prolonged period of time, the body shuts down and will die if water is not provided.

      The same thing holds true for the soul.  God gave us a natural need for Him.  Every human being ever born has it.  When our need for God is not provided for, we spiritually die.  The reason why so many people are so bad is that their need for God was never provided for.  Somewhere along the way their souls were denied the necessary food to make their soul grow or sustain it.  They were not brought to the Spirit of God who fills the soul with God's presence and satisfies its longings.  Or, they chose not to take advantage of the food that was provided for them and they starved their soul to death.

      The only way that the thirst of the soul can ever be quenched is for the soul to turn to Christ and let Him dwell within.  When Christ lives in the soul, there is such a deep and abiding satisfaction that there is no more searching, no more desperately trying to find the peace and joy every soul needs and longs for.  When Christ lives in the soul, the soul is more alive than ever thought possible.  Christ so energizes the soul that  he is forever changed. 

       Jesus satisfies every longing of the heart.  Only in Christ does one find that which satisfies.  The world promises a multitude of things will satisfy and make one happy, but only Christ can deliver on His promises. 

A DIVINE APPOINTMENT

John 4:4  He had to go through Samaria on the way.  NLT

     What strikes me about this statement is that this was not a trip without a purpose.  Jesus and the disciples purposely went by way of Samaria.  Why?  As we read on we discover that there was a woman in Samaria who needed to see Jesus.  Jesus knew she was there and He wanted to give her an opportunity to get to know Him.  We are led to believe that the disciples did not know about her.  They were just traveling with Jesus learning all they could about Him and eternal life.

       It reminds me that Jesus knows those who are lost and will go out of His way to confront them.  He knows those who are lost and open to being found.  He knows that all they need is be presented with the truth of the Gospel.  Because He is love, God reaches out to us when we need Him the most.  No matter how unlovable we may be, He comes to us to offer us eternal life.

      The woman He went to see was an immoral woman.  She had been married five times and was then living with a man without being married to him.  Yet, she was open to the truth.  Scripture does not tell us what brought her to the point where she was open to the Gospel.  Perhaps she had discovered just how unfulfilling her life of sin was.  She knew she was not happy living the life that she was living.  She needed something better; she needed God in her life.

     We need to be careful that we don't shut out those whom we think are not "Gospel material."  We need to share the truth with everyone whom the Lord brings our way.  We don't know the heart of others.  Perhaps, that one who others would avoid and consider hopeless may just be the one who is ready to hear the truth and be saved.  Don't judge others because of what they have done.  God puts people in our paths to be a light to.  Don't hide your light from them and perhaps be the one who causes them to slip into hell because you did not give them one more opportunity to be saved.

GOD'S PLAN FOR YOU

John 3:27 John replied, “God in heaven appoints each person’s work.”  NLT

      You are important to God.  He created you with a purpose in mind.  All that you have experienced in life has helped to mold you into the person you are today.  God has allowed you to live the life you have lived to bring you to this point in your life.  He has done this so that you can now do what He has ordained for you to do.

      You are gifted and equipped to serve the Lord.  God knows what you can do best and is now expecting you to do it.  You have a vital role to play in the work of the Kingdom.  Do not minimize your role and do your very best at what you do.  If you never get recognized or noticed for what you do, don’t let it bother you.  God blesses those who are faithful in doing what He has given them to do.

      I just want you to know today that your labors are not wasted.  You are of great worth to God.  What you do matters to Him.  He has uniquely made and gifted you to serve Him the way you do.  Accept your role with thanksgiving and praise.  The Lord makes no mistakes about what He gives each of us to do.  And, He does give each of us work to do. 

      God does expect you to obey Him and do what He has given you to do.  If you don’t know what to do, consider what you are good at and find a way to channel that into service.  Often we are good in those areas that interest us the most.  Explore how you can serve the Lord with what you can do and with what interests you.  If you are stumped, ask the Lord to show you how to do it.  He will gladly show you how you can be used of Him.

LIGHT: HATE IT OR LEAVE IT

John 3:20-21 "They hate the light because they want to sin in the darkness. They stay away from the light for fear their sins will be exposed and they will be punished. But those who do what is right come to the light gladly, so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants."  NLT

       When you are living in sin you do not want your sins to be exposed. We instinctively know right from wrong and try to hide or cover-up our wrongs. We find a lot of ways to do it. We may do our sinning behind closed doors where no one can see us. We may do it with a group of people so that our sinning will not stand out.

      We may condition our minds to think that what we are doing is not sinning. We may condition our souls so that sinning becomes a natural part of who we are and no longer an issue with us. We may learn to convince ourselves that sinning does not matter since God is not who He is claimed to be by the Scriptures. We can find a lot of ways to hide in the darkness so that our sins will not be exposed.

     When you live in the darkness you want to stay there. You don't want to know that what you are doing or thinking is sinful. You want to dismiss from your thinking altogether that what you are doing has consequences. You will find ways to justify yourself and not face up to the truth.

       But, let me be very clear about this; by not accepting the truth, you are rejecting it. There is no middle ground here. Either you are living in the darkness or you are living in the light. You can't have it both ways.

       If you are living in the light, you are gladly seeking to do what God wants you to do. You are not seeking to justify sin in your life; you are seeking to gain victory over it in order to please God. Period.

TRANSPARENT RIGHTEOUSNESS

John 3:21  But those who do what is right come to the light gladly so everyone can see that they are doing what God wants.  NLT

       Doing what is right is doing what is right before God.  There are things which seem right to man that are not right with God.  God's Word is always our standard for what is right.  We cannot be or do what is right before God without it being based on the Word of God.

       It's a heart issue.  Those who do what is right do it because they know that it is God's way.  They know that what pleases God is what matters.  They dwell in the light because they know that God is light.  It is in the presence of God that we discover what we need to do in order to please Him.

       Those who do what is right before God do it so that others can see that what they are doing is what God wants.  The goal is always to bring honor and glory to God.  The desire is for God to be seen in us and not ourselves to be seen before man.  This is perhaps one of the biggest battles most face today.  So much attention is placed on the individual.  So much stress is placed on being noticed as a measure of one's success and acceptance. 

       In order to be and do what is right with God, we must remain humble before Him.  We must spend time in His Word and on our knees in prayer.  We must keep constant vigilance over our souls.  Our greatest need is to always seek to let God be seen in and through us.  It should always be our goal to bring God honor and glory and not ourselves.  We should always strive to live in such a way that the Lord is seen in a positive light, that others would be attracted to Him because of how we reflect Him.

       Do what is right before God gladly so others will see that what you are doing is what you enjoy doing and what God wants you to do.  Our attitude says a lot about what we really think about our life in the Lord.

NO JUDGMENT

John 3:18 "There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God."

      If you have put your trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, there is now no more judgment hanging over your soul. God accepts you as His child on the basis of the righteousness of Christ. When God peers into your soul He does not see beyond Christ. Behind Christ lies your sin-infested heart, but Jesus protects you from God's wrath. As far as God is concerned, you are holy in His eyes. The more we live in Christ, the freer we become from sin. The freer we become, the more we are at peace with God and the more we experience the joy of our salvation.

       If you do not trust in Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins, you stand guilty before God. God's judgment is absolute. If we don't believe that Jesus takes away our sin, our sin will haunt us. If you do not accept Jesus as your Savior, you have no hope of escaping God's wrath and condemnation to hell. You will never be free from the consequences of sin.

      If you do not believe that Jesus has forgiven you after you are saved, you will be plagued by a false guilt and shame. You will never be free to enjoy the joy associated with forgiven sin. Forgiveness is not just a word; it's a reality for those who would believe and receive it.  Don't let Satan haunt you with forgiven sin!  What's under the blood stays under the blood.  God will never remind you of your forgiven past.  It is no more.  As far as the east is from the west He has removed our sins from us.  In other words, “Gone, gone, yes my sins are gone!”

      Dear friend, if you are a child of God today, believe it! Believe that Jesus has forgiven you and given you victory over your sin. Believe that there is no condemnation hanging over your soul. Believe that you can now resist the temptations to sin. Believe that Jesus can and will help you if you will only let Him. To those who believe He gives not only life, but life more abundantly.

        Jesus took the punishment you deserved for your sins upon himself at Calvary.  He has set you free, and you are free indeed!

CHOOSE TO BE CONDEMNED

John 3:17 "God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it."  NLT

      Many people have the idea that because God is holy, He is more like a tyrant who is always on the lookout for sin and immediately judges it when He sees it. God is seen as one who is harsh and unbending in His judgment of us. Such thinking is wrong. Yes, God is holy and judges sin. He will never compromise on His justice and will condemn sin. But, He sent Jesus not to exercise judgment. He came to exercise mercy. Mercy is the natural outcropping of His love. God does not have any desire to condemn us for our sins. He is not willing for anyone to go to hell because of their sinful heart. He sent Jesus here to do something about the judgment that would send us to hell. Jesus came to save us from God's wrath, not put us under it.

       If anyone falls victim to God's wrath, it is by choice. We choose to live under condemnation or victory and will be judged accordingly. If you are not living in a personal relationship with Christ today, you better be afraid for Judgment Day is coming. If you are living in Christ, don't believe the lie of Satan that you are doomed because of your inability to live a sin-free life. We all sin and fall short of God's glory and standards, but there is mercy, love, and forgiveness in Christ. He whom Christ sets free is free indeed.

      The Lord will not overlook sin.  He will not take away sin that is not given over to Him.  He never has and never will condone sin.  If the heart is right with God, and God knows, then forgiveness is freely given.  However, if the intent of the heart is to sin in defiance of God, one must repent before the sin can be forgiven.  We cannot mock God's grace by taking liberties with it and do whatever we want instead of what God wants.  He will hold us accountable for such an attitude.  Humility before God will always move us to repentance and holiness of heart.

IN GOD'S HOUSE

ohn 2:14 In the Temple area he saw merchants selling cattle, sheep, and doves for sacrifices, and he saw money changers behind their counters.  NLT

      What does the Lord see when he looks into the Church today? I wonder what kind of a reaction He would have to what goes on in many churches. Would He be pleased with what we do in His house?

      Most of us would say that our church is the Lord's house. We proclaim that it is a place where we, God's family, gather together for worship, edification, and fellowship. We like to think that when we are together the Lord is right there with us. And yet, are our surroundings conducive to the Lord being there? Are we focused on Him or those around us? Are we focused on worshiping Him or being entertained by others? Are we content with letting others do our thinking for us, or do we meditate on God's Word also?

       Are we as concerned about the appearance of our souls as we are our surroundings? Would the Lord be pleased with what he sees in His house of worship? I wonder. Jesus said that His house was a house of prayer, yet where has our altars and prayer meetings gone? When was the last time your church family gathered together on bended knee and prayed for a revival? I wonder sometimes just how comfortable Jesus is when He enters into His house to have fellowship with His people.

       You may not be able to change the surroundings in which you worship in, but you can choose whether or not you will be a part of what you know displeases the Lord. You can be an example for others to follow by the way you conduct yourself in His house and the way you approach the worship service. The Lord honors those who worship Him in spirit as well as in truth.  We will not get more out of worship than what of ourselves we put into it.

SPREAD THE WORD

John 1:40-41 Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of these men who had heard what John said and then followed Jesus. The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother, Simon, and tell him. "We have found the Messiah" (which means the Christ).  NLT

      What would have happened if Andrew had not listened to John when he spoke of Jesus and followed Him?  Would Andrew ever had found the Lord?  What about those whom Andrew had brought to the Lord?  What about the impact he had on the other disciples?

      Andrew heard what John said and took it to heart and followed the Lord.  We then see what happened because Andrew chose to believe in Jesus instead of rejecting Him.  He did not keep his new faith to himself; he went and told his brother, Simon Peter.

     What would have happened if Andrew had not gone and told his brother, Simon, about Jesus? Simon (Peter) later on became the leader of the early church. It was Peter who stood up and preached Jesus to the crowds after Pentecost. It was Peter who God used to convince a multitude of people to believe in Him. If Andrew had decided that his faith in Jesus was his and had chosen to keep it to himself, his brother may never had become a follower of Christ.

       I wonder how many people we fail to share the Gospel with could play an integral part of the Church someday if only we had cared enough to share it with them. How many souls will be lost because of our letting one soul slip through our lives without telling them? We can never know what a difference could be made in people's lives if only we would be faithful witnesses for Christ. Don't minimize the importance of the encounters the Lord brings across your path. Perhaps you will be the one who will lead the next Billy Graham to the Lord.

THE WORD BECAME FLESH

John 1:14  So the Word became human and lived here on earth among us.  He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness.  And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Son of the Father.  NLT

       This is one of the most profound verses in all of the Bible.  Think about it; the Word (that is, God) became human and lived here on earth.  God in His infinite wisdom knew that He had to become one with us in order for us to understand Him and His love for us.  He knew that there was no other way for us to be able to reach out to Him and embrace eternal life. 

       God became human, which tells us so much about how He loves us.  He loves us so much that He wanted to communicate with us on a heart level.  He wanted us to experience His life on a much deeper level than duty.  He wanted to fellowship with us.  He wanted to teach us how to live close to Him.  Not only that, He loves us so much He wanted to experience the life we live so that He could help us on our level. 

       God became human and we are able to see what unfailing love and faithfulness was all about.  Jesus lived a faithful life to God.  No one could honestly find any fault in how He lived life.  He never disowned or disobeyed God.  He never backed down from being a witness for Him.  He taught and lived righteousness all the days of His life on earth, even to His very last breath. 

       Everything Jesus did was out of love.  He loved those who responded to His teachings and followed Him.  He loved those who would not commit to Him and longed that they would change their minds.  He loved those who put Him on the cross and nailed Him there.  He even asked God to forgive them while they were doing it.

       We look upon Jesus and we see the glory of God in the flesh.  We see God showing us the way to Him.  We see love at its finest; God becoming human so that we humans could become one in heart with God.  We see God doing for us what we could never do, getting rid of our sin problem so that we can be made holy, a people after God's own heart and acceptable to Him.

        God not only told us that He loved us and wanted to help us with our sin problem, He showed us His love and did something about our problem.   He did what was impossible for us to do; He satisfied His own wrath against our sin and no longer condemned us for our sin; He adopted us into His family through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

       Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!

CHILD OF GOD

John 1:10-13 But although the world was made through him, the world didn't recognize him when he came. Even in his own land and among his own people, he was not accepted. But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God. They are reborn! This is not a physical birth resulting from human passion or plan---this rebirth comes from God.  NLT

        Isn't it ironic that the world does not recognize her Creator? Don't ever underestimate the power of sin to deceive and blind the soul. It so darkens the mind of man that he can't even see He who made him.

        To all who recognize Jesus and believe in Him as the Savior of life, He gives them the right to become children of God. We have no right to claim to be children of God apart from a personal relationship with Christ. He alone has the authority and ability to make us children of God.

       No one can become a child of God through human effort. We are not children of God as by-products of human passion. We are not born Christians and we do not become Christians as a result of our efforts, no matter how sincere we may be.

       Our acceptability by God is solely determined by Him. He alone can save us. He alone can forgive us and purify our hearts and make us acceptable to Him. He alone can impart the righteousness of Christ upon our souls and make us a part of His family. He alone can change us from slaves of sin to servants of God. He alone can open the doors of heaven and let us in.

       You are a child of God if Jesus is your personal Savior.  You are born into God’s family through the blood of Jesus shed for you at Calvary.  There is no other way that you can belong in God’s family.  He is THE way, THE truth, and THE life.  No one can come to the Father except through Him.