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Obey God By Yielding to Him as an Instrument of His Righteousness

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Obey God By Yielding to Him as an Instrument of His Righteousness

God has always wanted you to obey him. His 613 Laws demand it but only FAITH can produce the kind of obedience that God really wants.

Obedience from the heart pleases God. Obedience that is the fruit of a responsive heart to his love is what God wants. God is pleased with the kind of obedience that seeks to preserve the freedom he offers in Christ. God is n0t impressed with obedience that is rooted in rule-keeping, his heart is after those who have been transformed by his love and now only desire to bring glory to his name.

The good news is, God gave you a new heart that has the capacity to actually obey him in this way, by faith.

Faith is this - God said it, I believe it, now I’ll make decisions in agreement with it.

Faith says…
”God said sin produces death, God said I’m dead to sin in Christ, God says there is more grace available than opportunities for sin, so I believe it. Now I yield myself to his inner strength, as an instrument in his hands. I receive his life-giving love in my heart and rise above the lure of sin.”

That pleases God much more than the kind of obedience that says, “God said I must obey, if I don’t he will punish me, therefore I must obey.”

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Jesus Went Through Hell and Back For You

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Jesus Went Through Hell and Back For You

Did Jesus go to hell after he died on the cross?

King David, Peter and the Apostle Paul confirm he did. King David prophesied about it, Peter clarified those prophecies and Paul addressed it in his teachings.

Let me clarify what I mean by “hell.”

Jesus did not go into the Lake of Fire, he went into a place called Hades, which is typically translated as “hell.” The place or realm these three men referred to is called several things in scripture.

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Kanye West and Evangelism

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Kanye West and Evangelism

Kanye is forcing the conversation, and he’s doing it with the Gospel. Kanye isn’t telling the world they’re sinful and they need to repent, he’s telling them who Jesus is. He’s telling the world that Jesus was sent by God to die for them because God loves them. Believe it or not, millions of people still don’t know that. Their only encounter with Jesus has been through judgmental Christians that give them condemnation rather than mercy.

Think about how many celebrity Christians are radical for Jesus. Not many right? We see lots of public figures profess their faith or acknowledge Jesus when they win a football game, but how many high profile people are radically evangelizing the world for Jesus?

Most people that are famous walk their faith back a bit. They'll acknowledge Jesus but make concession for other beliefs. Especially politicians, most of them don’t want to offend people or lose votes so they don’t use their platform to encourage people to receive Jesus and be born again.

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The Little Things Build A Legacy

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The Little Things Build A Legacy

You don’t get to decide your own legacy. You set your goals, you live your life but history will judge your legacy. Funny thing is, your legacy is less about what you’ve done and more about how you treated people. Even if you’re known for what you do, it’s still judged by how what you did affected people.

History will judge your legacy but God will judge your works. Your deeds and actions matter. God will judge your works at the resurrection. The good news is your salvation is determined by your faith in Christ alone, but your works determine your rewards.

1 Corinthians 3:11 For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— 13 each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. 14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

We’re not 100% sure what the rewards are but I think it’s safe to say God will still get all the glory for what you allowed him to do through you.

By the way, don’t forget about this passage when reading about the judgment of your works…

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Feeling Each Other's Pain - How to Carry Mercy and Grace from God's Throne to the Hurting

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Feeling Each Other's Pain - How to Carry Mercy and Grace from God's Throne to the Hurting

Have you ever been through something so difficult it felt like no one understood how bad you were hurting? I just lost my mom and it hurts, it’s hard to explain to people the emotional and mental struggle of losing a mom you’re very close with. I know where she is, I’m thankful she’s out of pain, I know I’ll see her again, but it still hurts.

One of the more reassuring things people did in this process was share their stories of losing their mom. There’s something comforting about knowing you’re not alone. Lots of people say nice things trying to help, but the most meaningful support came from people who have lost their mom. Those who have been through this knew what I was feeling and could specifically speak to and do things that were helpful because they’ve been there.

This lesson made me think of how Jesus is there for us and how we can be there for others. Jesus can empathize with our pain and suffering because he’s been through it as well. We can go to him for mercy and comfort when we’re hurting. And then we can help others experience mercy and strength from God in the things we’ve been through. He comforts and strengthens so we can in turn comfort and strengthen others with the love God has shown us in our weakness.

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You SHALL Inherit the Promises of God

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You SHALL Inherit the Promises of God

The children Manasseh had a giant problem, literally. They had seen God’s deliverance from Egypt’s oppression, daily experienced God’s provision, crossed the river into the land promised their father Abraham but there was still one problem…giants. They were in the promised land, it was under their feet, they could see it but it didn’t quite look like what they were expecting. Have you ever felt like you were where God wanted you to be but it was full of problems? Maybe those problems even caused you to question if you’re in the right place. You’re not alone.

The nation of Israel had the promised land in reach, all that was left was to take the land. We are in a similar position yet under a new covenant. We have been translated into the Kingdom of Jesus, delivered from the power of darkness with all spiritual blessings within our grasp yet our outer world may be full of problems. Let’s check back in with the tribe of Manasseh and see how they handled this issue.

Does Prayer Do Anything?

Does Prayer Do Anything?

Have you ever felt like prayer doesn’t make much of a difference? Over the years people have confessed to me they don’t pray much. They don’t pray much because they feel like it doesn’t do much. People know they’re “supposed” to pray as Christians but often feel like it doesn’t change anything. Ever been there?

We pray and then carry on as if we don’t expect anything to change. That may sound a little harsh but if you’re honest with yourself, you know it’s true. You have probably felt this way at times. I want to give you some good news about prayer. Whether you understand it or not, something is happening when you pray. You might not see immediate results, you may never see results, but if you believe what you pray, something is definitely happening.

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Have a Swig of Righteousness for Your Thirsty Soul

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Have a Swig of Righteousness for Your Thirsty Soul

How does righteousness satisfy your soul?

Your soul craves emotional and spiritual drink. The body craves physical drink. When your soul is thirsty and you try to quench it with physical or emotional drink from the world, you’ll always be unsatisfied. But if you drink of spiritual drink when your soul is thirsty, you will always be satisfied.

The world has plenty of physical and emotional stuff to drink, water, wine, juice, whiskey, as well as fear, worry, temporary relief, and possibly even temporary happiness. But the thirst always comes back. Righteousness is the only thing that can satisfy a soul.

What is the Difference Between Grace and Mercy?

What is the Difference Between Grace and Mercy?

Grace and mercy are not the same thing even though most Christians use the words interchangeably. Knowing the difference is important for theological integrity as well as practical life application. Let’s look at the definitions of grace and mercy.

Definitions from Strong’s Concordance

GRACE
Greek 5485 charis - graciousness of manner or act (abstract or concrete; literal, figurative or spiritual; especially the divine influence upon the heart, and its reflection in the life): acceptable, benefit, favor, gift, grace, gracious, joy, liberality, pleasure, thanks, thank worthy.


MERCY
Greek 1656 eleos - kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, that of God toward sinners, joined with a desire to help them; of men towards men: to exercise the virtue of mercy, show one's self merciful; of God towards men: in general providence; the mercy and clemency of God in providing and offering to men salvation by Christ the mercy of Christ, whereby at his return to judgment he will bless true Christians with eternal life.

Understanding the Gospel has Miraculous and Freeing Benefits

Understanding the Gospel has Miraculous and Freeing Benefits

The Gospel of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is that God became like us to conquer and remove all the issues keeping mankind from being worthy of His presence. He became our sin so we could become righteous, He delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of Jesus. He forgives us freely, we simply believe in the power of Jesus' finished work to qualify for everything God has for us. We are no longer servants but friends of God. The list can go on and on.

The power of God's inner influence, otherwise known as grace, becomes effective in your life when your mind and heart understand the Gospel. When you understand that Jesus is LORD, that he is preeminent over all creation and that he has shared his authority over all creation with you, you will allow God's spirit to have its way in your life, and you will believe that nothing is more powerful than Jesus.

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