FROM THE HEART
Relevant blogs about living as a Christian in the world today.
The prayer of the apostle Paul for the “the saints and faithful brethren in Christ” who were in the city of Colosse is perfect for all of us who love God. Christians who are filled with the knowledge of God’s will no longer have room in their hearts and minds for their own will or the will of someone else. They no longer seek to do what the desires of the flesh dictate, what those around them demand of them, or what the devil likes. It is not just about fully knowing God’s will as an abstract notion, but “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” When we know what God wants in everything we think, in every reasoning or decision we make, we can live without regret, remorse, guilt, or condemnation. This is the recipe for victory over temptations and everything that can harm us, as well as for the happiness that comes from living an abundant life. And the next verse shows where this filling with the knowledge of the will of the heavenly Father leads to.
Only when the way we think is centered on the will of God, is our behavior worthy of the name of children of God and can we be pleasing to the Lord in everything we think, feel, say and do. Such behavior produces the most wonderful fruits, which are all good and help us to know the Lord of our lives more intimately. Getting closer to God transforms us into becoming more like the One we follow. The strength that comes from knowing our Creator and spending time in His presence equips us with patience and in time, even with long-suffering. Our transformation can be so radical that we may even rejoice while waiting for the fulfillment of our requests, because we know the One we trust in and we believe that He will do everything we have asked according to His will. Because we know our heavenly Father, we truly know that He loves us unconditionally, and we are grateful that He has given us the same inheritance that He has given to all His children, as we are sanctified through the sacrifice of Christ Jesus, the Light of the world.
Let us not forget that through Jesus Christ we have been freed from the power of sin, because He died for the sins of all mankind once for all, and when we received the new birth, through faith in Jesus we also died to sin that we might live for righteousness (Romans 6:5-10,18). We no longer belong to the kingdom of darkness, sin no longer reigns over us, therefore we can choose not to sin. God has brought us into the Kingdom of His beloved Son. This perfect love that the Lord has for us is not based on our performances but on the eternal truth that God is love. Precisely because He has such a great love for people, Jesus paid the price for our sins. He redeemed us, so that we can be the children of God and sin no longer be a wall of separation between us and Him. The blood shed by Jesus on the cross forgave our sins and reconciled us with God, because He was the perfect sacrificial lamb for all the sins of mankind. Let us never forget how great God’s love is and how much sin cost Him. The Lord has prepared everything we need so that we can overcome the evil of this world and rejoice that we are His. It is up to us to know and believe what belongs to us through Jesus so that we can benefit from the blessings of the Lord’s promises. Let us focus our attention on the truth of Scripture, on what pleases the heavenly Father, and as we know the truth, we become truly free. Christians who are free from the fears, condemnations, and lies that come from the evil one are strong in faith and the more they do the will of the heavenly Father, the happier they are. The most common causes of sadness and anger are caused by what we think, feel, or say contrary to Biblical truth, by the lack of confidence that God loves us no matter what we go through, and by false feelings of guilt. Sometimes we suffer because of the decisions, words, or actions of those around us, and since we cannot change these situations, we must learn to change the way we relate to them. If we learn to take every thought a slave into obedience to Christ, we can more easily overcome the consequences of the wrong actions of others. When we think only about the negative aspects of the situation we are going through and especially how we think it affects our loved ones, we cannot have the firm faith that the Lord is working for us and will use all things together for our good. No matter what we are going through, in the Word of God we find the perfect guidance to know how to react to overcome evil with good, to find peace and balance in faith in our Lord and not give in to the pressures of the evil one. The Word of God has the power to calm our minds, take away our pain, and restore our peace. When we come before the Lord in prayer and honestly acknowledge before Him how we feel, what we struggle with and need, the Holy Spirit enlightens us and reminds us of the verses that give us the solution or puts in our mind what we have to do. By knowing the Word of God, which shows us what His will is, we can live to please our heavenly Father, doing deeds that make us worthy of the name of children of God. And this is the path to victory and true happiness!
0 Comments
Have you ever wondered how King Solomon could be such a wise man and yet finish so poorly? Most of us know the story. David passed the throne to his son through Bathsheba named Solomon. He really was not very old when he began his reign. And as most of us know, the Lord gave Solomon the gift of wisdom and knowledge. And further blessed him with riches, wealth and honor because of his humble request.
Solomon was renowned in his lifetime for his great wisdom and is still highly regarded as such to this day. But Solomon's disobedience in regard to marrying wrong and choosing their gods, hence forsaking the Lord, has also been recorded on the pages of history.
King Solomon had such great wisdom and yet had at least 700 forbidden marriages with daughters of foreign kings and numerous illicit concubines. One might say, well that is how it was back then. But God expressly forbid such marriages and relationships. How could someone be the wisest man in the whole world, and forsake God in such a way? It is written in verse 4, “his heart was not loyal to the LORD his God, as was the heart of his father David.” In Ecclesiastes chapter 2, Solomon wrote of what his heart went after.
Even with all of Solomon’s wisdom, wealth and achievements, it happened just as the Lord said in 1Kings 11:2, if you intermarry with them, surely they will turn away your hearts after their gods.
Solomon forsook the Lord to serve his fleshly nature and the gods of his wives. And toward the end, he said it was all vanity (Ecclesiastes 2:11). He could have led his people to serve God with a reverent fear of the Lord. Instead, even with all his wisdom, he led the people in evil ways. And sin is expensive.
In 1 Kings 11:7, it says that, “he built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab on the hill that is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the abomination of the people of Ammon.” The worshipers of Molech would sacrifice their babies by burning them alive. We are to serve one God and one God alone. It is a dangerous thing to keep people in our inner circle who do not fear the Lord or worship other gods, for in time we may become like them. Fame, international recognition, power, wealth and great possessions, professional success and the greatest wisdom and knowledge have no real value if the one who possesses them does not have a heart totally surrendered to the Lord. In chapter 2 of Ecclesiastes, Solomon confessed his discouragement after realizing he had had everything. There was nothing left for him to desire, because he had focused only on himself, everything was for him, and he was even bothered by the thought that his descendants would inherit the fruit of his efforts. Jesus was the perfect model of selflessness, and lived a life in total obedience and love for the Father and for people. Jesus' life is the greatest example of success, because He fulfilled the Father’s plan for Him. And Solomon, even though he had great achievements, confirmed in his writings that everything a person does for selfish reasons does not bring lasting joy or real satisfaction. In Matthew 6 it says that if we seek the kingdom of God first and His righteousness, that all our needs will be taken care of. We must choose the Lord and remain in Him. Only then do we have true life now and a secure eternity with the Lord. There is nothing in this world worth forsaking the Lord for. Without Jesus, there would be no Christmas. Jesus Christ is God’s gift to mankind. Many today have no idea what Christmas is really about and of those who know, some do not even care. The truth is that Jesus is the reason for the season: literally. It is more than social events, lights, parties, trees and ornaments, time off, food and gifts. One can have that anytime if wanted. Or take a winter holiday. But Christmas is about Jesus Christ. We celebrate our Savior, who was born humbly as one of us, who never sinned and gave His life so that we can live. He sacrificed Himself so that we could be born-again and be free from the dominion of the carnal nature, so that we can have true communion with Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus left the splendor of heaven and brought the light to us. Let’s take a moment to appreciate how valuable and important light is. Light draws us. There are certain things in life that just draw us. A sweet baby cooing, beautiful water like a stream, lake or ocean and light, as in a fire. How many people can just sit and watch a fire burn? If you are in the dark, and you even see a shimmer of light, you will head for the light. Light compels us to it. We did not choose the Lord, He chose us and drew us to Him.
Light brings warmth. There is nothing like warmth when you need it. It is currently winter, and I put a heat lamp in our well-house to protect it from freezing temperatures. How wonderful is a sunny day with warm sunshine in the middle of winter? Or the warmth of the sunshine bringing the water temperature up so we can swim in a pool or at the beach?
Light dispels darkness. It is a fact. Depending on the strength of the light, darkness has to flee from it. Much of what is evil in the world, waits until the sun goes down to come out. Things really do creep in the night. But God. When His light enters a situation, no darkness can prevail against it.
Light illuminates. Who wants to stumble in the dark? Hallelujah for the illumination that light brings, whether it is physical light, mental light or spiritual light, light illuminates. Thank You Lord for Your light that shines in the darkness and keeps us safe. And how Your light, teaches us how to walk on the right path and shows us what agape love is and how to receive it and pass it on.
Without light, there is no life. This world could not go one second without light. The light of the sun is responsible for more than I could write in a book, how much more than I could put here. Everything on earth needs light to exist and live. Without the Lord, people just exist. But with the Lord, light and life come and the glory of the Lord comes upon us as His children.
Light is life. Darkness cannot produce life, and true life is only found in the light. Jesus is the light, and He is life. He came to deliver us from all darkness and bring us into His marvelous light. Truly.
The Light of the world is a person. And His Name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, Son of man, Emmanuel, Jehovah, Yahweh, Adonais, Lord God, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, El Shaddai, Jehovah Jirah, Creator and Keeper of all life and without Him there is no life.
From the Garden of Eden until today, for all of us, God has provided. We were bound in sin, lost and in dire need of a Savior. And Father God saw our need and made the way by sending His own Son, to become the Lamb that was able to take away the sins of the world. There was no other way, for none of us could ever be totally righteous on our own. We all fall short of the holiness required of the Lord and deserve the consequences of sin. But Jesus came as Redeemer and brought His glorious light into a dark world. Jesus, we celebrate Your birth and delivering us from darkness. You are the Light of Life and Light of the World. Outside of You, there is no light or life. Thank You for being our Light and our life. Lord Jesus, we adore You. No matter what we are going through or how long we have been struggling with serious problems, the truth of the Bible never changes, and God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His goodness does not vary depending on our circumstances. God showed us His perfect love on the cross when He gave His Son to die for us, so that we could be His. For all of us who love Jesus and are “called according to His purpose,” He causes everything that happens to us, good or bad, to work together for our good (Romans 8:28). In the Bible we find countless evidence of the goodness, faithfulness, mercy, and compassion of our heavenly Father for all of us.
The psalmist David wrote that the Lord’s goodness and mercy are always available to us, because “all the days of our life” means that every day is included. The goodness that God has for us represents everything that God wants us to experience. And mercy is, “kindness, compassion, piety.” But do we manage to enjoy what the Lord has for us every day? These terms have been so distorted by the world we live in that we have come to believe that they can rarely be part of our lives. But if we believe that the truth of God’s Word is absolute, this verse says that our heavenly Father has done everything in His power for us to enjoy His goodness and mercy. This means it is up to us to make the right choices and benefit from all that the Lord has for us. God has made His blessings available to us, and when we take possession of them by faith, we dwell in the presence of the Lord forever. Much of the time we are sad and unhappy because we worry about something that may never happen, or we feel offended by things that have no real importance. The more often we choose to feed ourselves with verses that speak of God's goodness and faithfulness, the sooner we may give Him our worries, problems and pains, and choose to be fully satisfied because the goodness, mercy and patience of our heavenly Father accompany us every step of the way. If we know the truth, we will no longer believe the lies of the enemy that he tries to slip into our minds through thoughts that seem to be ours. The Lord wants us to focus our attention on Him and on everything He tells us in His Word, while the devil wants us to look at everything that happens to us in this world and fear everything that is bad.
God made His Son, “who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (1 Corinthians 5:21). We are the righteous ones who by coming to the Lord have received the righteousness of Jesus. God's favor for us surrounds us like a shield, but the Lord does not force us to receive His protection. If we believe the lies of the enemy or continue to think according to the thought patterns of the evil one, because we have not renewed our minds through the Word of God, we give him power to harm us and thus we leave our Father God’s protection. The apostle James wrote very clearly that God cannot do anything evil, nor can he be tempted to do evil.
God is good. He is also love, and every good and perfect thing we receive comes from Him. And if verse 13 didn't convince us of what our heavenly Father does for us, verse 17 tells us that the Lord does not change over time. He is the same at every moment in time, just as Jesus is.
We can be sure that God does what He promises, He never changes, and He loves us unconditionally, no matter our performances.
Let us meditate on what the Bible says about us, so that we may understand how great God's goodness is and be sure that He wants the best for us. It is important that we visualize the Lord’s promises fulfilled in our lives. Let us see ourselves joyful, healthy, and fulfilled, so that we truly know and trust how good our Lord is so that we “may reign in life through the One and Only, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17b). Carmen Pușcaș
Our spoken words show what is in our hearts. When we use beautiful words that build and encourage, from pure and grateful hearts, we bless others and glorify God. On the other hand, dirty words, curses, insults and criticisms certainly do not come from the Lord and are evidence of unclean hearts. God is not the source of evil. We must fight to keep our clean hearts clean and ask the Holy Spirit to help us. Everything we think, say or do has eternal implications. This statement may seem exaggerated, but if we think about it for a moment, we will realize how true it is. Our words and reactions to everything that surrounds us are based upon what we think. If we allow the thoughts from the enemy to develop in our minds and produce negative feelings in our hearts, then when we are taken by surprise, or caught off-guard, we will find ourselves saying things that we should not say, because “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” By stopping all negative thoughts such as criticism, judgment, or condemnation we can avoid many problems and hurts. If we want to think and speak in a manner that pleases the Lord, we must change our worldly way of thinking with the biblical one and get used to “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,” (2 Corinthians 10:5b) and to declare its opposite, according to the Bible. The words we speak have the power to create good or evil, life or death, as the next verse shows.
This is a most valuable truth pertaining to speech that we find in the book of Proverbs. People who love their tongue, talk a lot, and their words may produce life or death for themselves, as well as for those who hear them. The more we talk, the more we reveal what is really in our hearts to those who hear us. Quiet people are the most mysterious and difficult to classify. Those who speak a lot may cause themselves many problems. Even if they unintentionally say bad things, or what they say is good, it may still seem offensive to the person who hears them, because of their own problems or thoughts. Have you noticed that when we have pleasant conversations on biblical subjects, with other Christians full of the Holy Spirit, who love the Lord, we feel much better not only emotionally but also physically? This is because godly talk produces life. On the other hand, any conversation with critical, unhappy or evil people who have nothing good to say, leave us with a bitter taste and many other unpleasant effects that produce death instead of life. If we ask the Lord to help us be careful about what we say, we can control our speech. Following the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we can speak wisely so that those around us may be encouraged and learn something good from us. The more time we spend studying and meditating on God's Word, the more biblically correct our speech will be. In conclusion, we can be happier if we say what is right to edify and uplift those who listen to us, because we please God and avoid many problems and frustrations. For any true believer, the fact that light and darkness do not mix could hardly be more evident than today. Every day as believers, we are forced to deal with an influx of evil around us in our lives. What does the Bible have to say about it and how do we deal with it in our personal situations on a daily basis?
The Bible may be over 2000 years old, but it is still totally relevant today. Dealing with the push of evil is not a new thing. Noah had to deal with it over 4000 years ago. And not only did Noah have to deal with it before the Flood, but he was alive when his descendants had the rebellion at the Tower of Babel. We learn from that era, that man, after the fall in the Garden, became inherently evil.
Noah was mocked but he held on to his faith. Thankfully, he was spared of God’s wrath, even if those around him thought he was crazy. Over and over throughout history, God’s people have had to deal with times where evil was in power or the righteous outnumbered. That is why we need to understand what the root of evil is and how to overcome the situations when people hurt us directly, or indirectly by their decisions. Knowingly or unknowingly, evil people are directed by the father of lies, the deceiver, who motivates and manipulates unbelievers into doing his will.
The kingdom of darkness has a hierarchy, and they use the people who do not have Jesus as their Lord and Savior. We were all born as sinners and only by the new birth through Jesus Christ can we be reconciled with God. Every human being has to deal with the lies and deception of the enemy but for unbelievers without godly discernment, they usually do not even realize where those thoughts and impulses come from. And even when they do, they may fight against it for a while, but eventually they give in, because they do not have the authority that comes from the lordship of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit within them, to overcome sin. It takes the transformation of the inner-man to become a good, loving person. There are unbelievers that seem to be moral and nice people, but only they know how many things they keep secret, because they could not overcome and fell into sin. True victory comes only from the Lord living in us and ruling our lives. This is why unbelievers’ decisions, words and actions can be so evil and hurt us so deeply. But when we realize that the devil and his demonic forces are behind people, it is easier to forgive them and pray for their salvation. Realizing that we have an unseen enemy and how he works, can help us deal with others daily, by seeing the bigger picture. There is no real communion with light and darkness. We interact with each other because of work, school, family and many reasons, but who we serve truly determines how we handle life’s issues. When possible, Christians should choose other believers to marry, do business or work with, etc. because sooner or later, conflict will arise and there will be no real unity. Sadly, many churches do not bring this subject up, but it is of the most utter importance. 2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” - Matthew 24:3-6 The disciples asked Jesus about His return and the end of the age. The answers and exhortation that Jesus gave them are helpful to us too. And today, almost 2000 years later, many of us believe we are on the threshold of the coming of the Lord.
As Christians, living in the age we are in, we cannot do it being lackadaisical or half-hearted. This is a time in history like no other. This is a time where the enemy knows his days are numbered.
To be victorious over an “unseen enemy,” who uses demons and manipulates people under his direction, that has great wrath, requires diligence of us.
Those who will overcome and endure victoriously to the end, will do so by, 1) the blood of the Lamb 2) the word of their testimony and 3) not loving their lives unto death. Many overlook the third part of the verse. Jesus said that those who try to save their life will lose it and those who lose their life for His sake and the Gospel’s, will gain it (Mark 8:35). We have to lay our lives down to the Lord to be saved and also when enduring through the worst of circumstances. Those who think only about physical preservation, will not save their souls (Galatians 6:8). Also, remember Lot's wife. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it (Luke 17:32-33). Is it enough just to be saved by the blood of the Lamb? Is that what the first part means? The blood of the Lamb is all powerful. The devil cannot even handle one drop of Jesus’ blood. We must be cleansed by it and covered by it and live in the power of it. That blood has bought us kingdom authority. Many misunderstand what it means, but in studying God’s Word, we can see the authority Jesus has given us over the enemy. Does it mean that we never suffer because we have such authority? Look to Jesus, who had all authority. There were times He did not let the enemy do as desired and there were other times, when He did. We need the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us and show us about such things. They will have been victorious through the word of their testimony, not their parents or grandparents testimony. It will have to have been their own personal testimony. This means that they were able to speak victoriously and not back down. There is a huge factor needed to make this possible, and that is to have the Word of God working in them, and spoken by them without fail. This is not done by shallow believers or Christians in name only. This is the result of strong faith by determined believers, knowing their God and knowing His Word, and having it applied and working in their hearts and lives. The testimony of the Word of God in us will save us. And there is nothing else that can. Our bodies can be killed, but the eternal us will never die. And those who stay true to His Word, do not have to fear. And they did not love their lives unto death. As mentioned before, remember Lot’s wife. How deep is your commitment unto the Lord? Do you love Him even if it costs you your physical life? There are many in the world today, in the Middle East and China for example, that becoming a true believer can cost them their livelihood and even their life. And yet they come to the Lord wholeheartedly. History shows that people were fed by the Romans to hungry lions and other beasts, for not backing down and denying Jesus Christ. What gave them the strength? Why not just give them lip service and still claim the Lord in their hearts? Because that is not how it works.
It is only “wishful thinking” that a person would think they could deny the Lord and still make it to heaven. It says that he who endures to the end shall be saved. Never deny the Lord, not by works or speech. In our daily walk and entire life, Jesus must be our Lord.
In conclusion, as we see and hear of wars and rumors of wars more often, and the other signs spoken of happening before Jesus comes to take His bride away, we must be determined believers, living the kind of life Jesus died for us to have. Let us not just be casually good people who randomly read the Bible as a duty, but the kind of diligent believers who study the Word of God and apply it, having the truth of it set us free and keep us free, sharing our faith with others by word and deed and not being entangled by the cares of this world, but rather being eternally and prayerfully minded, living life to the fullest under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In so doing, we will endure to the end, and we will make it!! Happiness is the state of mind that many people desire to have all the time. How many times have we started the day happily, but how long did it last? Until we remembered something unpleasant, or what a hard day was ahead of us, or it was enough to see or hear something unpleasant and our happiness was replaced with frustration, annoyance, disappointment or even anger. The Oxford dictionary defines happiness as “the state of pleasurable contentment of mind; deep pleasure in or contentment with one's circumstances." Deep contentment is very difficult to achieve, and looking back we remember having such moments. But how many of us can say that we have had long periods of intense and complete contentment, without dissatisfaction or other negative feelings? Without the Lord and continuously choosing to be happy, no one can have the abundant life that we have through faith in Jesus.
We are urged to consider it all joy while going through various trials. These verses do not tell us to rejoice because we are suffering, but because of what the results will be. No person with a right mind can rejoice in suffering, nor does James 1:2 tell us to do so. The original Greek adjective translated "all," is "pas" and means even more than all, “it signifies the highest degree, the maximum, of the thing which the noun denotes" (according to "Strong" Dictionary). While happiness is a more fleeting emotion, joy is a more long-lasting state of being, characterized by contentment and satisfaction with life overall. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit and when we have a deep relationship with Jesus, we fully trust in the Lord's help and the fruit of the Holy Spirit manifests freely in our daily lives. Joy as a fruit of the Holy Spirit is constant, it does not depend on circumstances, nor fluctuates according to the successes or failures we have nor because of what those around us do. But we have to choose to allow the joy that we have all the time in our spirit united with the Holy Spirit to manifest in our soul. When we are happy, we smile, we forgive easier, we seek peace and through our words and actions we positively influence those around us. When we have a positive attitude and we sincerely trust our Lord, the trouble does not seem so big or without solution anymore. The original word translated “testing” is "dokimion" and means "that by which something is tried or proved, a test." In other words, when we decide to grow in faith, to live according to the Lord, to trust in His love and help, the devil does not believe that we are sincere, and he tests our faith through trials. Unfortunately, many Christians begin to doubt God's love when they go through suffering of any kind. Even though we've reacted this way in the past, it doesn't mean things can't change. As many times as the enemy provokes us with various troubles, if we know that they are only tests and we trust that the Lord is on our side, we will not only pass the test, but we will also experience spiritual growth. Whatever the enemy intends for our harm, through firm faith in Jesus, we can change it for our good. The verse goes on to say that the testing of our faith works patience. Actually the original word "hupomoné" means more than being patient. "Strong" dictionary explains it by "steadfastness, constancy, endurance; in the New Testament the characteristic of a man who is unswerved from his deliberate purpose and his loyalty to faith and piety by even the greatest trials and sufferings." So when the source of our joy is the relationship with our Lord and we choose to set our minds on things above, not on things on the earth,” because we know we died and our lives are hidden "with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:2-3), we pass the tests and experience spiritual growth.
We already know that the word translated “patience” is more complex and so are the words for "perfect, complete and lacking nothing." By explaining the words in more detail, we can see how wonderful and profound verse 4 is, which we can paraphrase as follows: But steadfastness, and ability to endure and not be diverted from the purpose and loyalty to faith and piety even by the greatest trials and sufferings, must do its work completely, totally, perfectly, that we may be perfect, whole, free from sin, as man was created before the Adamic sin, and to lack nothing, to have everything complete, being as God created us to be. So why should we consider going through various trials as great joy? This is valid for various attempts, of many kinds, so not of a certain type. This means that all trials we are going through meet the conditions of this verse. No matter what the cause of our suffering, if we keep our hearts pure, choose to trust in the Lord, and keep our peace instead of despairing, we will overcome. When we have thankful hearts and choose to rejoice in Jesus and in what perseverance and firmness of faith work in us, we change and become more like Jesus. We are in a continual process of change while we live in these bodies. Therefore, let us choose to spend as much time as possible in the presence of the Lord, to seek His face, and to want to change what He shows us that He does not like in us, so that we can become as our heavenly Father created us to be. Living in this way, the joy that faith gives can be a constant, and gives us the strength to overcome trials more easily. Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. - Romans 15:13
You may have heard the following verse quoted many times, 1 John 1:10, "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." Unfortunately, most of the time it is misquoted and out of context, by claiming that it is normal to sin, because a Christian is only a forgiven sinner. But what is the true contextual meaning of this verse? Upon closer analysis of the verses above and below this verse, we see that it does not say that we are helpless sinners who cannot stop sinning. John was the apostle of love, but he was also one of the sons of thunder (as Jesus called him in Mark 3:17). He loved people enough to be firm in correcting them. And because he also loved those who deceived themselves thinking that they were Christians, the apostle harshly corrected them. This correction also applies to Christians today who think they are righteous when in fact they are living in sin. Because God is light and in Him there is no trace of darkness, whoever lives in sin does the works of darkness and cannot say that they have fellowship with the Lord. The original Greek word translated fellowship is "koinonia," and it means "contributory help, participation, (b) sharing in, communion, (c) spiritual fellowship, a fellowship in the spirit” (according to Strong's Concordance"). So our relationship with God is one of sharing and communion in spirit, a relationship with the participation of both sides. The Lord wants us to open our hearts completely before Him and reveal to us who He is, because He wants us to want to know Him intimately and to be known by Him in the smallest details. Our heavenly Father knows everything about us, but only after we are willing to give Him all our emotions, thoughts, feelings, experiences, dreams, desires, all our past, present and future can He step in to heal, restore and guide us. Why? Because our Lord does not override the free will He gave us. Let us look closer to verse 1 John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.” The original word "allēlōn" can be translated as singular or plural, and its meaning in this context is singular, that is, "one with another," meaning “one person,” and not "one with another," meaning “others.” It is about fellowship with God, not with fellow believers. How could fellowship with other believers lead to the washing away of our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ? But fellowship with God, which takes place in the light, that is, in pure living, pleasing to the Lord, means intimacy, communion in the spirit and this close relationship gives us righteousness, cleansing us of every sin we have committed, through the sacrifice of Jesus. When we enter into the presence of God, who is holy and pure, we feel urged to ask Him to forgive us for every sin we ever committed. We may seem clean compared to those around us, but compared to the Lord, none of us is righteous. Every person needs to realize that they need Jesus and the forgiveness that can be received only through faith in Him and His sacrifice. God knows how weak our fallen human nature is. That is why He sent His own Son to pay for our sins, so that we can be reconciled to Him and be saved. If we admit that we have sinned and sincerely ask for forgiveness, the Lord "is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." The following verses show the motivation behind what was written:
We are called to stop sinning, and to be holy in all our conduct, as we also read in 1 Peter 1:15. This means to be "set apart for God," separated from the world, to be people of integrity with a pure heart. Only by separating from the values and works of the world can we fully belong to God and live in His light. Holiness is the result of being born-again and continuing the process of being transformed through the renewing of our minds through the Word of God. We cannot be holy by our own strength, no matter how hard we try. Holiness comes only by sincere faith in Jesus and in His sacrifice by which He freed us from the power of sin and death. This means that we live by having the righteousness of Jesus. But it is up to us to reckon ourselves "dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:11b). To know Jesus, we must spend time with Him. And in order to enter into His presence, we must have His righteousness, that is, asking for forgiveness when we sin, so that we can benefit from the effects of His sacrifice. When we come to really know Him, to understand how much He loves us, how good, merciful and just He is, we want to be like Him and obey Him. As we get to know Jesus better, we understand more deeply how much He loves us and our love for Him grows also. When we know the dimensions and depth of His love, we become filled with all the fullness of God (Ephesians 3:19) and know that we are fully His. That is why when we sin because of the pressures of those around us, the suffering or the problems we go through, we quickly ask for forgiveness and we want to return to being in right-standing with our Lord. In 1 John chapter 4, it is abundantly clear that if we know Jesus, we love one another and when we love God and others, we are free from sin. When we seek to grow in God’s love, we become more caring of others and sin less. And if we choose to do the works of the light and hate the works of darkness, we become more and more free from ourselves. As a result we seek to spend time with God's children in spiritually clean environments and avoid those who live in sin and the places they prefer. Let's take the time to study the Word of God and analyze the verses in the context they are written, in order to believe the truth. If we base our faith only on what we hear or read from other sources, without verifying what the Bible says, we do not have a firm foundation and may not even believe the truth. God wants to reveal the mysteries of the Scripture to all of us who love and follow Him, but in order to receive His revelation, we must spend time studying the Bible and seeking His presence. Only in this way can we truly believe that we are no longer under the bondage of sin but are free and saved through the righteousness of Jesus. Hallelujah! We are meant to grow more and more in the likeness of our Lord. Our heavenly Father wants us free to make right choices and live fulfilled lives through the righteousness of Jesus. He made His Son “who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21). Thank You Lord for Your forgiveness, for the new life we have in You. Because You have loved us, we can love You in return and even love others. Through the Holy Spirit we became born-again and because we died with Jesus, we were also raised with Him and we no longer live, but Christ lives through us, if we let Him do it. It is up to us to stop following the lead of the lusts of the flesh, and let Jesus truly be on the throne of our hearts. Carmen Pușcaș Even though we don't like being discouraged, oftentimes we expect it to happen to us. Some have been through so many disappointments that they find it is easier not to expect anything good, so that they don't suffer when things don’t go right. But the Bible teaches us to strive to be like Jesus Christ, to follow His perfect pattern of faith and behavior. Nowhere in the Bible do we read that Jesus woke up upset, that He was having a bad day, or that He expected something bad to happen. If it would have been so, He could not have always comforted the broken-hearted, healed the sick, raised the dead, nor given the teachings He did. And Jesus didn't just help people occasionally, or when He was having a good day. People were constantly coming to Him wherever He was, and He took the time and helped them.
Scholars who have carefully studied the four Gospels say that of the 3 1/2 years of the Lord's ministry, we only have information of about 50 days. If from such a few days, we learn about so many miracles of the Lord, how many did He really do in total? Especially since many times large crowds of sick people came to Him and He healed them all. The truth is that Jesus' life was full of healing miracles. Jesus could not be discouraged or depressed. He is the God of all comfort and hope! Discouragement is most often the result of our unrealistic expectations. When we imagine that someone or something must be a certain way, or that a certain situation will be resolved as we wish, without a biblical basis, and without the Lord having spoken something specific to us, we are prone to discouragement. When faced with reality, we are discouraged. But if we choose not to give time to negative feelings and pray to the Lord to show us what we should do, we can quickly free ourselves from discouragement and learn to be more realistic about the future. It is mainly up to us to start our day right. If we make rigid plans that we believe cannot be changed, we may face many disappointments. Those around us also have their own plans and most of the time they involve us as well. As a result, we often end up doing what they want and very little of what we had wanted. If we let this trouble us, or make us angry, we have little chance of having a good day. But if we choose to see the good side of what has intervened and changed the course of our day, we can still have peace and even get done some of what we have planned to do. Let's choose to be thankful from the time we wake up, so that we start our day well. By doing so we can have the hope and joy that come from believing that the Lord is doing something good for us. If we don't expect good things to happen to us, it is more than likely that they won’t. Why? Because the enemy is just waiting for us to believe his lies and be discouraged, so he can accomplish his evil plans. Unfortunately, some Christians are so pessimistic that the devil and his minions that are assigned to torment them, can take days off. Why? Because the pessimists keep themselves in the pit of hopelessness and depression by their own will and choices. When it is hard for us to rejoice, it is time to analyze our hearts. Why are we sad, what is stressing us, what is the cause? What direction is our life going? Are we still in God's plan, on the narrow path that leads to heaven, or have we strayed from the right direction? What do we build upon the foundation of faith that we have in Jesus Christ? Gold, silver, precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw? Whenever our thoughts, motives, decisions, and reactions are opposed to the fruit of the Holy Spirit, we know that our hearts are not right with God. Then we must analyze what we feed our hearts with. If whatever we read, watch, or think about is of demonic origin, we have given the enemy access into our lives. The Bible calls Satan, "the prince of the power of the air," in Ephesians 2:2, and we should not be surprised that he has so much influence through television programs, Internet, publications, applications, or social media such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, etc. When we realize that what we are chasing is polluting our hearts, keeping us discouraged, and causing us to sin, it is time to do some true "house-cleaning." We must remove from our lives everything that is not pleasing to God. Let's stop saying, "God why do you allow this in my life?" This question does us no good because it is wrong in itself. We have free will and we are the ones who open the door to the enemy through our actions and the choices we make. God wants to help us change and get rid of what hurts us, but we must want to change and ask God for help. Only then, the Lord will light the fire of purification and help us to become free and happy. Let us remember the three young Hebrews from the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego (Daniel 3). Because they refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue, they were thrown into the fiery furnace. Did God stop the fire? No. The furious king even demanded that the fire be seven times hotter than normal. He had his mightiest soldiers bind the faithful young men and thrown into the fire that was so hot that those who threw them in were burned alive. As most of us know, the king even saw the three Hebrews walking free from any bonds and unharmed together with a fourth man, "and the form of the fourth was like the Son of God!" (Daniel 3:25). Even though the Lord did not stop Nebuchadnezzar from throwing them into the fiery furnace, He was with them in the fire, protected them from its effects and they were loosed from their bonds completely unharmed. And all those present "saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them." (Daniel 3:27). Jesus was with them in the fire. He does the same for us when we trust in Him and live according to His will. When God is truly Lord over our lives, He is Lord over the fires we go through, and if we allow Him, He will do what is best for us, no matter how hot the fires may get. Fiery trials expose our motivations and true colors. The devil knows that at the slightest pressure he can coerce us to show the truth of how real our faith truly is. Trials reveal the truth of who we really believe the Lord is and if we are really living for Him or not. And if the trials make us lose our confidence that the Lord loves us, is with us and will do what is best for us, we will end up being discouraged, unhappy, frustrated, or depressed and some might even forsake the Lord. But we can learn from our mistakes and choose to truly believe and live out our faith that the Lord is in the fire with us and will see us through. Let us not forget that it is up to us to make the right choices, study the Word of God desiring to know Him and spend as much time as possible in His presence, so that we become more like Him. Only by doing so will we be able to live the abundant life that Jesus wants us to live (John 10:10b) and overcome discouragement with true godly encouragement. Here are some verses that teach us to rejoice. If we meditate on them, we can make the right choices and be happier. Psalms 32:11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart! Psalms 33:1 Rejoice in the Lord, o you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Psalms 68:4 Sing to God, sing praises to His name; extol Him who rides on the clouds, by His name Yah, and rejoice before Him. Psalms 97:12 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name. Isaiah 44:23a Sing, O heavens, for the Lord has done it! Shout, you lower parts of the earth; break forth into singing, you mountains, o forest, and every tree in it! ... Isaiah 49:13 Sing, O heavens! Be joyful, O earth! And break out in singing, O mountains! For the Lord has comforted His people and will have mercy on His afflicted. Romans 12:12 Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; Philippians 3:1a Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord… Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! |
Archives
January 2025
Categories |