Tag: believer

Receive and Accept One Another

Receive and Accept One Another

Do you realize that the Lord Jesus has made every believer ‘accepted in the Beloved’?  That means that you and I are:

  • Acknowledged,
  • Recognized and known,
  • Received,
  • Established, and
  • Understood—in Jesus, our Savior and Redeemer.

Let’s see what else the Bible has to say on this subject.

Those who receive you are also receiving me, and those who receive Me are receiving the one who sent Me.  (Mt 10:40 CEB)

Whoever received and welcomes a believer, receives and welcomes the Lord Jesus as well as God the Father, who sent Jesus to earth.

 I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too are to love one another.  (Joh 13:34 AMP)

Jesus has commanded all believers to ‘love one another.’  This is not a suggestion.  It is very clear that believers should accept one another, and try to help and bless one another. We should never put any type of stumbling block in front of a brother or sister in Christ.

Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.  (Rom 15:7 NKJV)

Just as our Lord and Savior has received and established each one of us, we should also do the same with one another in order to bring glory to God.

. . . having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, 6 to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.  (Eph 1:5-6 NKJV, emphasis added)

It was the Lord’s good pleasure to make each one of us ACCEPTED IN THE BELOVED, who is Jesus Christ our Savior. Hallelujah! 

Now, turn with open arms and be a welcoming committee to others!

Pursue the Spirit of Wisdom

Pursue the Spirit of Wisdom

In this day and age, it’s more important than ever to pursue the Spirit of Wisdom.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah, the most glorious Father, would give you a wise spirit, along with revelation that comes through knowing the Messiah fully.  (Eph 1:17 ISV)

Wisdom accomplishes many things in the life of a believer.  Among its many blessings is revelation insight which is a result and a fruit of knowing the Savior entirely and fully.  This is talking about an experiential knowledge of the Lord.

But the wisdom that comes from above leads us to be pure, friendly, gentle, sensible, kind, helpful, genuine, and sincere. 18 When peacemakers plant seeds of peace, they will harvest justice.  (Jas 3:17-18 CEV)

Familiarity with the Spirit of Wisdom leads us to acquire these precious character strengths named in James 3:17-18.  We who serve the Prince of Peace plant seeds of peace—which in turn harvest JUSTICE!  Praise the Lord! 

Justice means integrity, righteousness, and honesty.

. . . for His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.  (2 Pet 1:3 NASB)

Through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence (Jesus), we receive the blessings of EVERYTHING that we need for a safe and good life as well as for our spiritual blessing (godliness). 

Study the Bible and read through the book of Proverbs regularly.  Reading one Proverb per day will take you through the book of Proverbs every month.  Add to that study, reading other Bible verses pertaining to wisdom throughout the Bible.  This is how you may pursue the Spirit of Wisdom. 

Add to that your prayers asking the Lord to teach you spiritual wisdom, and He will hear and answer your prayers.  Glory to God! 

Self-Control Is Ours: Use It

Self-Control Is Ours: Use It

The dictionary definition of self-control is ‘the ability to control oneself, in particular one’s emotions and desires or the expression of them in one’s behavior, especially in difficult situations.’    Another explanation of self-control is ‘restraint exercised over one’s own impulses, emotions, or desires.’

The Word of God talks about self-control and how important it is in the life of a believer.

Better a patient person than a warrior, one with self-control than one who takes a city.  (Pro 16:32 NIV)  The Bible says that a person with self-control is better that a person who conquers a city!  Wow!

Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks self-control.  (Pro 25:28 NIV)  The Scriptures compare a person without self-control to an unprotected and broken-down city.  This is a small insight into how critical our need is for self-control.  We leave our souls unprotected and open to assault and harm without self-control.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.  (Gal 5:22-23 NKJV)  This is a list of the fruit of the Spirit available to all who have accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Self-control is one of the gifts provided to us by the Holy Spirit.

But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness . . . (2 Pet 1:5-6 NKJV)  This passage of the Bible teaches us how to diligently build upon our faith in Jesus Christ, which is the foundation for our lives.  There’s an order and a method to the process which the Lord wants us to know.  Each and every part of this process is important and very necessary to our spiritual lives.

One of the greatest points to remember about the gift of self-control is that its ultimate goal is to choose Christ over everything else!  Hallelujah!

Shine as a Light

Shine as a Light

Because of the indwelling Holy Spirit within each and every believer (1 Cor 6:19), we are expected to shine His light into the earth and upon all people.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.  (Mt 5:14 NIV)

Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”  (Joh 8:12 NKJV)

For you are all children of light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness.  (1 Thes 5:5 ESV)

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world . . . (Phil 2:14-15 ESV, underscoring added)

From these Bible passages, we are reminded again and again of the truth of the first statement in this article.  We are called to be blameless and innocent children of God living within a crooked and corrupt world.  Because of the life of the Lord dwelling within each one of us, we cannot help but SHINE as lights in the world.

Our light comes from Jesus—the Light of the World!  Allow His light, love and mercy to be evident in you. Go ahead and be a brave and bright beacon right where you are!  Hallelujah!

Servants of Christ

Servants of Christ

When we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, a number of things occurred in our lives.  Here are just three things that took place:

  • We became children of the Living God.  (Rom 8:16; 1 Joh 3:1-2)
  • We became bondservants of Jesus Christ.  (Eph 6:6; 1 Pet 2:15-16)
  • We passed from darkness to light.  (Col 1:13)

The Scriptures show a number of apostles and disciples who identify themselves as “bondservants” of Christ.  Every believer should identify with this claim.

Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God . . .   (Rom 1:11 NKJV) 

For he who was called in the Lord as a bondservant is a freedman of the Lord. Likewise he who was free when called is a bondservant of Christ.  (1 Cor 7:22 ESV)

. . . not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart . . .  (Eph 6:6 ESV)

A bondservant is a person who willingly becomes a slave to another person.  The Mosaic Law allowed an indentured servant to become a bondservant voluntarily: “If the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life” (Exodus 21:5-6).  Source:  GotQuestions.org. 

You were bought with a price; do not become bondservants of men.  (1 Cor 7:23 ESV)  The Bible warns us NOT to become bondservants of human beings.

But we do need to settle it in our hearts that we are servants of Jesus Christ and of the Kingdom of God.  We need to be submitted to God’s will and plan for each one of our lives.  It’s important to remember that the Lord can see the end from the beginning.  He knows every possible outcome of our own, human decisions; but if we allow Him to direct our paths, we will fulfill His will for each and every believer.

Set aside some time to spend in meditation and prayer about this important concept.  Determine what yielding to the Holy Spirit will mean for your life.  God bless you.

We Were Washed & Sanctified

We Were Washed & Sanctified

God’s Word has given us great and precious promises which belong to every believer.  We need to study and comprehend all of the priceless treasures that we have been given.

“On that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity.”  (Zech 13:1 NIV)

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.  (Ps 51:7 NKJV)

And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.  (1 Cor 6:11 NKJV)

Jesus suffered at the hands of His enemies; shed His blood on Calvary; died a shame-filled death; and was resurrected on the third day and ascended into Heaven.  By fulfilling His calling on this earth, He not only purchased salvation for every person who accepts Him as their Savior and Lord.  He also is our source for continuous cleansing, washing, and sanctification.

Jesus is the living Word of God. 

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  (Joh 1:1)

He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.  (Rev 19:13)

Jesus is the fountain spoken of in Zechariah 13:1.

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’  (Joh 7:38 ESV)

Jesus cleanses us from unrighteousness.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  (1 Joh 1:9)

Through Christ we are justified.

. . . and by Him everyone who believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses.  (Ac 13:39)

Through faith in Christ we are sanctified.

. . . to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.  (Ac 26:18)

Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.  (Rom 3:28)

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ . . .  (Rom 5:1)

Let us rejoice and praise the Lord for the benefits and blessings of our mighty salvation!

The Kingdom of God

The Kingdom of God

Jesus told us that the kingdom of God has come upon us, and that the kingdom is within each and every believer.  Let’s look at the Scriptures.

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.  (Mt 12:28 NIV)

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit . . .  (Rom 14:17 NIV)

Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”  (Lk 17:20-21)

He sent them to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.  (Lk 9:2)

‘The very dust of your city which clings to us we wipe off against you. Nevertheless know this, that the kingdom of God has come near you.’  (Lk 10:11)

The Kingdom of God arrived on earth in the person of Jesus, and was established in the hearts of all believers when Jesus imparted the Holy Spirit to His disciples.  This is described for us in Acts 2:1-5.

Since then, all who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord have also received the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit.  We are told in the Word of God that we are the very temple (house, dwelling) of the Holy Spirit.  (1 Cor 6:19) Glory to God!

The gift of the Holy Spirit is referred to in Scriptures as:

  • The promise of the Father (Lk 24:49; Ac 1:4)
  • The Helper (Joh 14:26; 16:7-16)
  • The Spirit of Truth (Joh 14:16-17; 15:26)
  • The Breath of the Almighty (Job 33:4)
  • Advocate (Joh 14:16 NIV; 1 Joh 2:1)
  • The Eternal Spirit (Heb 9:14)
  • Lord (2 Cor 3:17)
  • Intercessor (Rom 8:26-27)
  • Teacher (Joh 14:26)
  • Spirit of the Living God (2 Cor 3:3)
  • Spirit of Glory (1 Pet 4:14)

We are temples of the Living God.  We are highly blessed and favored, and we need to meditate upon that truth more frequently.  It’s almost too monumental of a concept to grasp with our human intellect.  The Kingdom of God dwells within you and me!  Rejoice!

Our Lives Are a Message

Our Lives Are a Message

Would it surprise you to learn that the life of each and every follower of Jesus Christ is an epistle (letter) to the world?

. . . clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.  (2 Cor 3:3)

The word epistle means:  letter, communication, or message.  Every person who has accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord is a message to the world!  The Holy Spirit, who has sealed us for the day of redemption (2 Cor 1:22; Eph 4:30), has been given to us as our guarantee or promise that we are born-again.

I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart.  (Ps 40:8) 

The verse above teaches us that every human being [saved or unsaved] inherently knows the moral law of God. (Rom 2:14-15)  One reason that this is true is that all mankind has been created in the image of God. (Gen 1:27)

Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart . . . (Pro 3:3) 

Mercy and truth are bound up in the Scriptures.  When we memorize and meditate upon God’s Word, we are cooperating with “writing” them upon our hearts.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.  (Heb 8:10) 

The Holy Spirit will bless every believer with grace to enable us to memorize passages of the Bible, thereby putting God’s laws in our minds and sowing it into our hearts.  Only the Spirit of the Living God has the necessary power to “write” God’s moral laws upon the heart of a believer.  This Bible passage says that God has made a covenant with us to do these things, and also to be our God. 

The Lord calls us His people, and what an awesome blessing that is.  God bless you!

Treasures

Treasures

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  (Mt 6:19-21)

Treasures of wickedness profit nothing, but righteousness delivers from death.  (Pro 10:2)

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.  10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.  (Ps 19:9-10)

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.  (Mt 13:44-46)

. . . that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, and attaining to all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the knowledge of the mystery of God, both of the Father and of Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.  (Col 2:2-3)

We may think that wealth and riches profit us in this life.  In some ways, that is true.  However, we should remember that any so-called treasure that is a result of dishonesty or sinful pursuits will not bring us the joy that truly satisfies.  Such treasures will never profit us in eternity. 

But the righteousness that is born of faith in Jesus Christ will deliver us from many evils in this life as well as from eternal death in the next.

The Bible is packed full of precious promises (treasures) for the believer.  There are promises concerning health, healing, prosperity, the blessings of children, and the joy of relationships.  There are promises about every area of life; and all we need to do is to study them, meditate upon them, and to claim them for ourselves.  Here are several examples:

  • Children are a blessing from God.  (Ps 127:3-5)
  • Great wealth is in the house of the righteous . . . (Prov 15:6a)
  • Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.  (Ps 103:5)
  • Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the Lord your God, Who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go.  (Isa 48:17)
  • For I am the Lord who heals you.  (Ex 15:26)
  • . . . who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.  (1 Pet 2:24)

These are the true treasures of life and of eternity in Jesus Christ.

Union With Christ

Union With Christ

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.  (Rom 6:5-6 NIV)

. . . always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.  (2 Cor 4:10 NKJV)

. . . even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus . . . (Eph 2:5-6 NKJV)

These Bible passages are discussing a believer’s union with Christ.  Union with Christ refers to the relationship between the believer and Jesus Christ.  It also refers to a willing loyalty of Christ to the believer, as well as a loyalty of the believer to our Lord Jesus. 

The first 14 verses of Ephesians, chapter One, explain some of the blessings that we receive from being united with Christ.  These passages reinforce our understanding that we are blessed and highly favored by God. 

Unity in Christ—a result of our salvation—brings about an ongoing redemptive work in a believer’s life and conduct.  As we come to know and understand our Savior, and through the Bible learn about our untold blessings, we yearn to live in a manner that is completely pleasing to the Lord.  This is understandable. 

Even as a small child who is loved, valued and protected by their parents will choose to please and obey those good parents—so also does a believer desire to please and to obey our loving and merciful Savior.  From His hand we receive forgiveness, favor, health, prosperity, protection, provision, and the gift of grace to enable us daily. 

Our God is a good God.  He blesses people and nations, whether they acknowledge Him or not.  He places people in governing positions for the sake of giving people order and safety in the world.  He blesses believers individually as we love, obey, and serve Him.

In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness. (Hos 3:5b NLT)  As this Scriptures states, in the end times we will tremble with awe because of the Lord’s magnificence and His unimaginable goodness to mankind.  Glory to God!