Archive for the ‘Bible Study’ Category

Sanctification: What is it?

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, Faith, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , on January 29, 2010| 1 Comment »

Many times in church or when we are listen to Bible teaching we hear words that we don’t really understand. I believe some pastors and teachers simply take it for granted that we all know them.  Sanctification is one of those words.  Do you know what it is?

According to Webster’s Dictionary:

“Sanctification

SANCTIFICA’TION, n. [See Sanctify.]

1. The act of making holy. In an evangelical sense, the act of God’s grace by which the affections of men are purified or alienated from sin and the world, and exalted to a supreme love to God.

God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation, through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. 2 Th 2. 1 Pet 1.”

Sanctification is very important for us to understand.  You will see that word, and also sanctify, and sanctified in the Bible and we need to know what they mean so we can understand the scripture.

In my own words:

Sanctification is a process which begins when we get saved. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us right then and sets us apart as something different from what we were.   When we are saved we are actually made a new person by the Holy Spirit.  But, that is not the end of it. All during the time we are alive here on earth we are continually shaped and molded into the image of Christ. This is God’s desire for us. This is a process which continues on until we reach Heaven, and reach perfection.  So, if you are a Christian you are somewhere on the road of sanctification.  You are being sanctified.

Let’s look at some scriptures that show us that:

1Co 6:11 NASB Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.

Here we see right from the Word of God that we were washed, sanctified, and justified when we were saved. 

2Co 5:17 NASB Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

One of the first things we must get a hold of is the fact that now that we are believers we are actually and truly a new person.  We are not the person we were when we were born.  Then we were dead (spiritually) in trespasses and sin.  We were dead because of Adam and Eve’s sin of disobedience which was passed down to us.  We could not please a holy God. A holy God cannot look upon sin.

I don’t think I realized at first after I was saved that I was actually a new person.  It wasn’t until I read the verse above that it sunk in.  It doesn’t matter what has gone on in your past, what your life was like, you are now a NEW person inside.  Do you get that!  It is so important and wonderful.  You don’t have to live like you did in the past.  You don’t have to continue in the old habits that dragged you down. God in His mercy has given you a second chance. You have been set free! 

Joh 8:36 NASB “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

Gal 2:20 NASB “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

You see we died (our old person) when we accepted Christ and were saved.  Then the Holy Spirit came to live inside us.  He gave us a new spirit (new person inside us) so now we have the ability to live as God would want us to.  We could not please God before. We live this new life by faith in Christ.  He loved us enough to take our sin penalty and die for us, therefore, we can love Him as we give our lives to Him.

So, how does this sanctification process work in our everyday lives? 

We must die to our old self.  You may say, I thought you said we died with Christ when we were saved.  That is true our old person did die and we were recreated a new person inside.  But, we still live in this old physical body with it’s desires, and it can and does influence us. 

See what Paul says in, 1Co 15:31 NASB I affirm, brethren, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.

He said he dies daily.  He had to die to his flesh everyday, and so do we.  Otherwise, we will be tempted to follow the desires of the flesh and live in disobedience to God.  When we were saved we were made alive spiritually, but we still do have our same minds and memories.  We still can stray away from pleasing God.  I think you will agree with me on that.  We are far from being perfect.  And where does temptation to sin start?  In our minds.  That is Satan’s playground.

Mat 16:24 NASB Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

Jesus said to deny self and take up your cross and follow Him.  The cross speaks of death and to deny self is to die to our old selfish desires.  We are naturally self-centered.  We need to take our eyes and mind off from self and get them on things above. 

We are a work in process.  God has given us the Word that tells us how to live a Christian live.  We need to keep in the  Word and obey what it tells us.  When we do, we grow in Christ.  God has told us to renew our minds.  As we do we can resist the devil and he will flee from us.  We do not have to live in sin as a Christian.  Sure there will be a constant battle, but we can overcome by God’s grace and power.

Rom 12:2 NASB And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

As we renew our minds we become transformed, and we know God’s will for us.  We can only renew our minds by our study of the Word of God.  When we read the Bible and obey it, we become transformed.  We change.  Again this is a process.  Look back to the time you were saved and compare yourself to now. Do you see any change for the good?  If so, you are being transformed.  If not, you should revisit whether you are truly saved.

So, we die to ourselves and our selfish desires, we renew our minds and become transformed.

Rom 8:28-29 NASB And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (29) For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

“to become conformed to the image of His Son.”  That’s God’s goal for our lives. 

If you always wanted to know what God’s will is for you, well there it is.  He is now, right now, working in your life to make you more and more like Jesus.  You have a choice.  You can obey God and grow in grace toward that goal, or you can disobey God and live a miserable Christian life, always fighting it, not wanting to die to self.  Yield to God and let Him live His life through you.

Now we are being sanctified as we live the Christian life according to God’s will, and finally we will be totally sanctified when we get to Heaven and see that we are like Christ.  Rom 8:29 “…He would be the firstborn among many breathern;” Just think how wonderful that will be!  All true Christians will be fully sanctified, and we will have the same kind of bodies as He has, we will have the same kind of mind and attitude that He has.  We will be joint heirs in all that He has. Oh, it is more than I can comprehend!  All I can say is “Thank you dear Heavenly Father, that you chose me to be a part of this great eternal adventure!

“

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Relief or Victory?

Posted in American culture, Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, inspirational, Panic Attacks, Panic Disorder Support, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , on January 9, 2010| Leave a Comment »

As I listened to a sermon this past week something stuck in my mind.  The speaker talked about how we think, and said, “Today the focus is on self, which is all about relief, instead of victory in spite of their circumstances.”  He also mentioned the fact that we are today a medicated society.

I’ve pondered that for a few days now.  “relief instead of victory.”  At first, I didn’t get it.  I thought relief would be victory.  Then, I thought deeper, and realized what he said is actually true. 

We are a society who want quick fixes.  We take a pill for just about everything that ails us.  And, we don’t want to wait for anything.  We have fast food, instant coffee, microwaveable meals, instant soup, phones on our ears, fast cars, instant news, the Internet, instant messaging, and fast texting. 

Everything is speeded up in our lives today, and when we have problems we want quick fixes.  We don’t think we should suffer at all.  We look for that magic bullet that will fix everything.  We buy the latest self-help books, videos, tapes, CD’s and DVD’s.  We go to the latest guru or therapist.  We simply want quick relief.  We pop whatever pill is in vogue. Have you noticed all the television ads for prescription drugs lately?  It seems there is a pill for every thing imaginable that could happen to us.  But, you’d better not listen to the disclaimers or you will not take anything. 🙂

We have problems with relationships, and we want things to be instantly fixed.  But, it doesn’t work that way.  So many times people turn to the wrong things for relief. 

I know a girl who lost her fiance in an accident.  This girl is in her 30’s I believe.  She took it very hard, and rightly so.  It is not bad to grieve, but how you handle it is another thing.  Two years have gone by.  

She desperately wanted relief from the pain of losing the person she loved and  was about to spend the rest of her life with. So, she began drinking even more and did not get the relief she desired so began medication for depression.  Alcohol and anti-depressants are a bad and dangerous mix.  She still hasn’t found the relief she wanted. 

What this person needs is victory.  But, how can she find that?  First, she needs to become a Christian.  Then, as she studies and learns from the Bible she will find that God will comfort her and give her a supernatural strength to get through the tough times. 

1Co 10:13 NASB  No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

This verse is talking about trials and temptations that come into all our lives.  If we are Christians God will be in control of the situation and will not allow it to overwhelm you.  He will provide a way for you to endure.  Isn’t that a wonderful promise?  I loved it when I first found that verse.

Now, that would be victory for this girl!  We are not to eliminate the bad circumstances that come our way in life, but instead learn how to live through them with Christ at our side.  I’m sad to see this poor soul suffer when she could be praising God, and get on with her life.  God has something for her if she would only realize she needs to turn to Him.

Another example of how people want relief instead of victory is of a Christian married couple who have had many problems and they end up with a divorce.  Why does that happen?  They want relief from the misery they live in.   Relief instead of victory is not the answer. 

Victory would be if that couple who are Christians would get into the Word and apply it to their lives.  They could change how they see and treat each other.  They could fall in love all over again.  They could with God’s help have victory if they would only do it God’s way.  The man needed to become the leader in that home and the woman needed to step back and be submissive to her husband instead of trying to run him and bad mouth him all the time.  You see there is a difference between relief and victory.

Eph 5:22-25 NASB  Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.  (23)  For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body.  (24)  But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.  (25)  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,

God knows everything.  Nothing happens to us that He doesn’t allow.  Everything that comes our way is passed through God’s grid.  Nothing happens by chance.   God is Sovereign, and He can allow bad things to come into our lives.  But, there is always a reason.  He is either teaching us or chastising us.  He wants us to grow more in the likeness of Christ as we mature in the faith. 

Rom 8:28-29 NASB  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  (29)  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

Well, I guess it comes down to this.  We have a choice.  Do we want to live our lives our own way, living by emotions and feelings.? If we do we will find ourselves full of stress and anxiety and looking for relief, not victory. We will turn to medication, or something to numb our brains, perhaps alcohol, or illegal drugs.  We will say, “God, please just take these horrible feelings away.  I’m tired of the suffering.”  Instead we should say, “God, you know how I feel.  Please give me the wisdom to learn how to live in a way that I can handle adversity with you at my side. Help me Lord to see the lessons in this that you want me to learn.  Help me to judge my own heart and expose any unconfessed sin so that I may confess it and repent of it.”   

Or, do we want to live our lives God’s way.  Obeying everything He commands us to do in the Bible.  If we choose God’s way we will have victory in all our trials and tribulations.  God truly is good and I’m so thankful that He has given us the Bible as a standard to live by.  We live in an age where people want to say the Bible is out-dated, and that it is too hard for any of us to really understand.  Yes, we hear that. But, that is not true.  God is not a God of confusion, but of logic, and reason.  He is rational. 

The key to not merely find relief but to gain victory is when we choose God’s way and our focus is turned from ourselves and toward Christ.  Do you see that?

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God’s Christmas Gifts!

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, Holidays, inspirational, Praise, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , on December 17, 2009| 2 Comments »

nativity62 

It’s Christmas time again and we focus on the babe in the manger.  Yes, that baby, Jesus, came to die on the old rugged cross. He sacrificed His life so that spiritually dead sinners could have new life.  Jesus was truly God’s gift to us. 

edxmas32

Sometimes that is about as deep as our thoughts go.  I would like to unwrap some other gifts that are under God’s Christmas tree.

I’ve thought the last few days about the greatness of God.  He is absolutely gigantic, humongous, and so huge that I cannot fully comprehend it.  God is enormous.  Just take a minute right now to stop and think about how big God is.  Doesn’t it boggle your mind?  He is out there and has been out there forever.  He created everything and everyone and is in complete control of it all.  He is Sovereign!

1Ti 6:15a NASB …He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords.

And He can do whatever He wants in any situation.  It certainly does boggle my mind.

Then, think about how huge He is in comparison to us.  That is truly amazing! Dump out a few grains of salt from a salt shaker into your hand.  Then pick out one of those tiny grains and really look at it.  From God’s perspective we must look something like a grain of salt.  We are so teeny tiny compared to Him.  We can simply blow on that little grain of salt in our hand and it will fly away never to be found again.  God could just blow us away in an instant too.  That is sobering!  We are at His complete mercy.  And, he is a merciful God! 

With that in mind, the Bible teaches us how much God loves us. Actually, He is Love.

1Jn 4:16b NASB …God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

We are His own creation and are fearfully and wonderfully made! 

Psa 139:14 NASB I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well.

How intricate our bodies are.  It’s amazing how all the different parts of our bodies work together to make us stay alive.  That is all God’s doing to this tiny grain of salt.  Amazing!

Now, do you think this huge God can keep us?  Do you think He can take care of us?  There is no question about that.  His Word is full of promises about how he will provide all our needs. 

Php 4:19 NASB And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

He tells us not to worry or be anxious about anything. 

Php 4:6 NASB Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Do you think that is harsh of Him to tell us to not be anxious about anything?  I say no, because when we are believers He has promised to carry the load for us.  We do not have to worry or fret about anything.  He is truly in control, even when we feel out of control.  You see He is never out of control.  Our problem is that we go according to our feelings, and forget He is there.  That is our downfall!  We have to rise about our feelings and look at the facts.

When we were saved along with the promise of forgiveness of sins and a future home in Heaven came many other gifts that we can unwrap.  In fact, I’ve written about a few of them in the past few months.  Just as a reminder I’ll list some of them here.

cgift7

1.  We are forgiven all of our sins.

2.  We are a new creation.  (inside)

3.  We are adopted into God’s family

4.  We are citizens of Heaven

5.  Our Father will take care of all of our needs.

6.  We are more than conquerors because we now have God’s power of the Holy Spirit living within us.

7.  We will have peace of God, and peace with God.

Those are just a few of the gifts that God has so graciously provided for believers.  They are not for the people of this world, only His special children.  Those who have the family resemblance. 

I believe that we need to take a step back from ourselves.  We need to see ourselves the way God sees us.  When we do we realize all of our problems are really very small even though they don’t seem like it.  If we get our eyes off our circumstances and focus our minds on God, we allow Him to flow through us, and we have the power to make it through our problems.  We will still have trials, but they will not overwhelm us.

We can still be defeated Christians even with all those gifts if we fail to unwrap them use them. We can’t continue to live our lives the way the people of the world do.  Those ways don’t apply to us anymore.  Unbelievers only have themselves to work for them.  I remember before I was a Christian how “I” had to figure everything out, every detail, and I wasn’t always right in my decisions either. I messed things up a lot of the time.  Now, we don’t have to control every situation.  We don’t have to control others. We don’t have to be perfect.  We don’t have to please everyone, only God.  We can relax and know that God is taking care of things for us.  He IS big enough you know! 

I praise God for the wonderful gift of that little baby in the manger.  And I thank Him for all the other gifts under God’s Christmas tree that He has lavished upon us.  Unwrap them for yourself this year.

Eph 1:7-8 NASB In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace (8-a) which He lavished on us.

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You Can Overcome!

Posted in Agoraphobia, Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, Faith, Health, inspirational, Panic Attacks, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Do you have problems?  Does fear and worry seem to follow you around all day long?  Does the future seem scary?  Do you face trials that seem overwhelming?  If you answer “yes,” to any of these questions I want to encourage you today that you can overcome!

How do I know that?  Well, I know because of the written Word.  Yes, the Bible clearly states that we will have trials and temptations.  Look at James.

Jas 1:2-4 NASB Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, (3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. (4) And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

God tests our faith by trials to see if we are genuine. We get through them and as a result we have more endurance and our faith grows which helps us to work toward perfection and completeness.  Of course, we will not be perfect and totally complete until we are in Heaven. 

When anxiety and fear raise their ugly heads in your life, God gives you choices. What do you do?  Do you give in to it? Or do you resist the temptation to sin and set your mind on things of the Lord? 

Col 3:2 NASB Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

When you are worried, stop doing that, and think about Bible verses.  Meditate on them.  Read some of the Psalms.  Get your mind on things above and off from your feelings, and fears.  This needs to become a new habit.

We can take comfort in the fact that God will not allow us to undergo a trail or temptation that is too great for us.  He is still there, Sovereign, and in control.  He is our Heavenly Father, loving and kind.  He only allows anything into our lives that will be good for us in the end.  It may not seem that way now, but someday we will see the purpose.

1Co 10:13 NASB No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.

“As a ground of encouragement to those who are in temptation and trial. God knows what they are able to endure; and he will sustain them in their temptations. It matters not how severe the trial; or how long it may be continued; or how much they may feel their own feebleness; yet He who has appointed the trial is abundantly able to uphold them. They may, therefore, repose their all upon Him, and trust to His sustaining grace.”  (Barnes commentary)

Remember, that others have survived the same trials and temptations that you are experiencing.  You are not different.  You are not the only one who feels the way you feel. It might not seem that way, but it is true.

God still loves you no matter how you feel.  We sometimes get caught up in our feelings and forget the facts.

Rom 8:35-39 LITV Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? (36) Even as it has been written, “For Your sake we are killed all the day; we are counted as sheep of slaughter.” Psa. 44:22 (37) But in all these things we more than conquer through Him loving us. (38) For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, (39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.

No matter what we go through God is there with us and His love sustains us.  That allows us to be “more than conquers through Him loving us.”  That means to over-conquer, to conquer completely without any real threat to personal life or health.  NOTHING can separate us from the love of God in Jesus Christ.  That is an amazing statement. 

Whatever is going on in our life right now we know that God is totally in control. He is raising us up because we are His own children.  Sometimes He allows bad things to come our way in order to test and train us.  We are slowing becoming more and more like Christ as we journey through this life.  We face our trials and we grow in Him.  We learn many lessons and depend on Christ alone to sustain us.

1Jn 4:4 LITV Little children, you are of God and have overcome them, because He in you is greater than he in the world.

Yes, we can be overcomers!  God is greater than the evil one who is in this world.

Again, I ask, “Are you overcome by the trials in your life?”  Seek God and obey the things you learn in the Word.  You will overcome!  You have God on your side!  What a Wonderful Savior!

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When is Sin not Sin?

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, Faith, Scripture, tagged , , , on November 8, 2009| 2 Comments »

When is sin not sin?   I’d like to read your comments on this question.  What do you think?

Update: Nov. 13, 2009
I have only had one comment so far on this. I’m wondering where is everyone? Maybe I didn’t write it correctly. What I’m asking is: When do you think it is okay to sin? Is there any time or circumstance when it would be okay?

 

 

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Sin is a Choice!

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, devotional, inspirational, Panic Disorder Support, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , on November 6, 2009| 5 Comments »

1Jn 3:5 NASB  You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.

So many times I’ve thought about how Christ died on the cross to forgive me of my sins.  What a wonderful thought it is to know that the God of all creation would actually forgive ME an unworthy, selfish, rebellious sinner.  It has always boggled my mind that he would do that for me.

But, the above verse tells us He actually not only came to bear our sins on the cross and forgive us of our sins, but to “take away sins.”  Did you get that?  He came to take them away!  That means we don’t have to sin any more!

Wow! What a revelation that was to me!  When we become a Christian we become a new creation in Christ.  Our old self is recreated.  We are brand new.  Yes, we still have our old bodies, but we are new inside, in our spirit.  

Sometimes, I’ve written a long email to someone.  I’ve spent an hour or more and looked up scripture and pasted in several quotes.  Finally, I’m almost finished and I either hit a wrong key, or my computer acts up, and in a blink of an eye that email that I’d spent so much time on completely disappears.  Something has taken it away, and it can never be found or recovered again.  I simply have to start all over again! 

I think when Christ takes away our sins it is something like that.  He actually takes them away never to come back to us.  Those sins are gone!

In the Old Testament there is a good example of the meaning “take away sins.” 

Lev 16:21 LITV  “then Aaron shall lay his two hands on the head of the living goat, and shall confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel, and all their transgressions, and all their sins, and shall put them on the head of the goat, and shall send it by the hand of a chosen man into the wilderness.”

This sin offering was laid upon the head of the scapegoat.  The goat then was sent away forever with the sins upon him.  Get the picture?  That is what Christ did for us on the cross. He took our sins away forever.

But, you say, “Wait a minute, I still find myself sinning at times.  I thought you said our sins were taken away.”

Those sins were taken away when we became a born-again Christian.  We were sanctified, made righteous and holy in God’s sight.  But, we still have our old flesh that we live in as long as we are in this world, and our righteousness will not be complete until we get to Heaven.  In the meantime, we are striving to become more and more like Christ.  We do not have the disposition to sin anymore.  We really don’t want to sin, but sometimes in a weak moment we do.

Yes, we do fall and sin at times, but it is not our way of life now.  If you are a true Christian you will see that your life has been transformed.  You are not the same person as you were before.  When you do sin, you will feel it in your spirit and not be able to live with it.  You will confess it and repent of it and get right with God.  That is what a true Christian does.

On the other hand if you call yourself a Christian but you still live your life the same way as before you got saved then you need to question if you are truly a Christian.  It is impossible for a true believer to continue to live in sin.  Your conscience won’t let you do that.  You are a NEW creation. 

2Co 5:17 LITV  So that if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!

Here again the scripture says, those old things have “passed away.”  They are gone, “taken away,” by Christ. 

The bottom line is this:  Once we are a true Christian we do not have to live in sin anymore!  Isn’t that great?  Sin does not have to control us anymore!  Now, we have a choice.  Before it wasn’t up to us as the devil controlled us, but now, God has given us a choice.  We can choose to reject sin in our lives! 

The way we do this is by living close to God.  We obey the scriptures.  We ask God to allow the Holy Spirit to give us the courage, and strength we need to overcome any sin that keeps us from living the way we should.

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Citizens of Heaven

Posted in Bible Study, Christian, devotional, inspirational, Religion, Scripture, Worship, tagged , , , , on September 16, 2009| Leave a Comment »

Friends, we are different when we become Christians.  God in His mercy and love has given us such great benefits that we need to learn what they are so we can appreciate what we got.  Sometimes, it is as if we’ve been given a gift that we’ve never opened to see what is inside.

When a person becomes a believer they also become a citizen of heaven.  What a privilege this is!

Php 3:20(a) NASB “For our citizenship is in heaven,…”

The Greek word, “politeuma”, means citizenship; “is” in the Greek means, “has it’s existence.” So, we can see that our citizenship is right now in heaven.  We are God’s children!

Isn’t it a huge thought to ponder the fact that our true (spiritual) citizenship is in heaven?  Here we are on this little earth.  We did not ask to be born.  Have you ever wondered why you were born? Or why you were born in a certain country and to a certain family?  I have.  I’ve never figured out the answer to that except that I know God is sovereign and it was in His sovereignty that I was born who I am and where I am.  I was born a citizen of the United States of America.  And, I’m happy with that. But, I’m also a citizen of heaven! That is amazing!

My life could have gone on, and I could have died and only been a citizen of the USA. Then, I would have been buried in the grave and that would have been the end of anything good that had happened up to that point.  Then, in the future I’d go before the Lord and be judged for my unbelief and would have been sentenced to live eternity apart from God in a place called Hell.  That would have been a horrible existence.  I’m so grateful that the Lord allowed me another way, even though I am a sinner, saved by grace, and don’t deserve it.

But, now that I’ve been born again by the Holy Spirit of God and am adopted into His family, God has made me a citizen of heaven.  Praise the Lord!  This is wonderful news!  My future is glorious.  I will be living in the New Jerusalem and serving along with Jesus Christ for eternity.  That boggles my mind!  You can read about the New Jerusalem in Revelation Chapter 21.  I love that section.  It shows us what our new home will be like. It’s very exciting and gives us something else to look forward to.

Php 3:20(b) NASB “… from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;”

Heb 9:28 LITV so Christ having been once offered “to bear the sins of many,” Christ shall appear a second time without sin to those expecting Him for salvation. Isa. 53:12

It gets even better. Christ is coming again for us.

Php 3:21 NASB  who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Mat 17:2 NASB And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

When Christ comes for His own at the Rapture, we will be caught up to meet Him in the air and our bodies will be transformed into a glorious body like His. (If we are still alive at that time, otherwise, we will rise out of the graves and meet Him in the air.)

As for me, I’m really looking forward to that day when I get rid of this old worn out body that has given me so much trouble through the years, and I’ll put on a body of glory, perfect in every sense, without sin, and beautiful beyond belief.  No more sin, dieting, exercise groups, aches, pains, surgeries, diseases, blindness, panic attacks, anxiety, agoraphobia, or any of the other things that haunt us today.

Yes, it is true right now we still live in this fallen world.  But, God has told us we should set our affections on things above.  We should be consumed with thoughts about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the Word.  We want to think about what it’s going to be like there and how we will praise God and worship Him. We want to live our lives in a way that is honoring to Him.

Col 3:1-4 NASB Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. (2) Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. (3) For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (4) When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.

What a marvelous promise this is!

Can you see what a difference there is in us from unbelievers?  Can you see why it is sometimes hard for us as we travel this world?  Can you see how others do not understand us?  We ARE different!  We have been born from above by God’s grace and mercy, and we are very different then we were. 

In light of that fact, ask yourself this question:  How have I changed in my own life since I became a Christian?  There must be a transformation because when we are truly saved we are changed on the inside.  We will still be tempted to do things that are not honoring to God, but He has given us the strength and courage to resist and turn from those things.  We may stumble once in a while, but we are not seeking perfection, but the right direction toward being more like Christ. 

Sometimes even for true believers the pressure from the world around us draws us to it.  There are times when we are in the certain company and we are uncomfortable because the Holy Spirit who lives in us pricks our conscience.  We don’t always recognize that as the reason for being uncomfortable.  There are places we shouldn’t go anymore.  There are friends that are not good for us anymore.  Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you.

Because we are different, and because we have been chosen by God, we need to stand up for God as a citizen of heaven and be a witness of the goodness He has bestowed on us.

Psa 73:24-26 NASB With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. (25) Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. (26) My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

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Our Father Takes Care of us!

Posted in Anxiety & Stress, Bible Study, Christian, devotional, Faith, inspirational, Praise, Religion, Scripture, tagged , , , , , , on August 1, 2009| 1 Comment »

God, our Father, has given us a new relationship with Himself.  He has actually adopted us into His family. 

“If you want to judge how well a person understand Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father.  If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.”  (Knowing God, by J.I. Packer, pg. 201)

We need to grasp what kind of new relationship God has given us.  We need to take time and meditate on what this actually means to us.

Here is a definition of adoption taken from the Westminster Confession (Chapter 12).

“All those that are justified, God vouchsafeth, in and for His only Son Jesus Christ, to make partakers of the grace of adoption: by which they are taken into the number, and enjoy the liberties and privileges of the children of God; have His name put upon them, receive the Spirit of adoption; have access to the throne of grace with boldness; are enabled to cry, Abba, Father; are pitied, protected, provided for, and chastened by Him, as by a father; yet never cast off, but sealed to the day of redemption, and inherit the promises, as heirs of everlasting salvation.”  (Taken from Knowing God, by J.I Packer, pg. 205-206.)

That is awesome! When we’ve been given and promised all of that, what can we complain about?  It is a certainty that our Father will take care of us no matter what is going on in our lives.  Try to get that ingrained into your mind.  God will take care of you no matter what!

Where do we run for help and direction when things are going bad in our lives?  We’d better run to Abba, (daddy).  This shows me that when things go wrong I’d better get in prayer with my heavenly Father and talk to him.  It won’t do me a bit of good to call  friends and hash something over, or complain to them about whatever it is. It might make me feel better temporarily, but it won’t last and it could be sinful if I’m talking about another person. God has all the power and the provision we need.  Not only that, He loves us and wants to help us.

I’m writing this today as much for me as for you.  I had to have a special time of prayer with my Father this morning.  You see I got caught in the trap of worry.  My husband pointed it out to me last night and I really didn’t want to hear that and tried to rationalize it.  But, this morning when I woke up I realized that he was correct. 

We are contemplating moving to a different location and it is not nearby.  It will be a big undertaking from my point of view.  One part of me wants to go forward with it and the other part of me wants to stay put.  So, I struggle and worry about all the many details this move would involve.  And, there are many. 

Finally, I see that these thoughts really boil down to “fear of the future.”  I did not leave the future in God’s hands, I have tried to figure it all out myself.  Actually, when I think about it now, I realize that God already has it all figured out. 🙂  It’s a waste of my time and energy to stew about it in my mind.  Today I prayed and talked it over with God.  I confessed my sin of worry, and repented of it.  I will go forward now, and think of this as an adventure and watch how God is going to work things out.  It may be that we won’t move in the end. We will take the next step and take a trip to look the area over and see if we think we would like it. I pray God will guide and direct our decisions.

Psalm 23-28 NASB. (23) Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand. (24) With Your counsel You will guide me, And afterward receive me to glory. (25) Whom have I in heaven but You? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth. (26) My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (27) For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You. (28) But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.

Isn’t that a wonderful Psalm?  God is our refuge and strength, and over our present and future.  We are nothing without Him.  We need Him!

Here is another powerful Psalm that tell us where to look for our help and counsel.  It also tells us of some more of the wonderful benefits our Father has given us. 

Psa 121:1-8 A Song of Ascents. I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? (2) My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth. (3) He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. (4) Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. (5) The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. (6) The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. (7) The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. (8) The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.

In this next scripture we see that once we’ve been adopted into the family of God that we have eternal, everlasting life, and we will never, ever perish.  Also, that no one can ever snatch us out of His hand.  God is greater than he who is in the world.

Joh 10:28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

Here is another important portion of scripture that gives us the confidence we need to know that we know, that our heavenly Father is all that we need.  He will take care of us in every situation.  Again nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Rom 8:31-39 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? (32) He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? (33) Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; (34) who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. (35) Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? (36) Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED.” (37) But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. (38) For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, (39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In summery, after reading and meditating on all of these marvelous holy scriptures we can rest assured that our Father in heaven will truly take care of us in every way.  There is no reason for us to worry, fear, or be anxious about the past, present, or future.  He loves us and will make sure we are cared for.  No other love is greater than His.  So, as the scripture says we are too cast (throw) all our anxiety (worry, stress, fretting) on Him, (our heavenly Father. Why should we do that?  It is simple really, because He honestly cares for us and has told us to do that.  He knows that it is not healthy for us to carry all the burdens in life so He has made a way that is better.

I Peter 5:7 Amplified Bible “Casting the whole of your care–all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all–on Him: for He cares for you affectionately, and cares about you watchfully.

Psalm 55:22 Amplified Bible “Cast your burden on the Lord (releasing the weight of it) and He will sustain you; He will never allow the (consistently) righteous to be moved — made to slip, fall or fail.”

I pray this article will truly bless you as you realize what an awesome Father we have!

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