Giving Up Rather than Persisting

Giving Up Rather than Persisting 

by David Brenneman 

"For we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, more than once—and yet Satan hindered us." 1 Thessalonians 2:18.

It appears to me that we shake the tree, and no fruit drops from it. And just when one more shake would bring down the luscious fruit, the devil touches us on the shoulder and tells us it is time to be gone, And so we miss the blessing we might have attained, I mean that just when prayer would be the most successful, we are tempted to abstain from it. Alistair Begg Illustration Note.

2:18 "So we wanted to come to you--even I, Paul, time and again-but Satan hindered us." Satan is sure to hinder Christians when they are earnest in prayer. Have we not frequently found that when we have been most earnest in supplication, something or other will start across our minds to make us cease from praying? If Satan possibly can, he will come upon God's people in those times when they are full of thought and ardor and ready for Christian etfort, that he may murder their infant plans and cast these suggestions of the Holy Spirit out of their minds." Alistair Begg study notes, CSV translation. 

When stepping up my study time in the evenings it became easily apparent that honestly this was to be an uphill battle. A fight all the way. A struggle of Biblical proportions. It wasn't going to go as smoothly as it might have gone.  

I keep a laptop nearby, a notepad, pens. If I can't keep the stray thoughts away I write them out, write them down.  

My Dear Reader, the battlefield is out minds. The helmet of salvation is deflecting direct hits only if we're keeping it in place!

Even with it in place we are distracted by the ringing in out minds from the impact.

Think on this from James "What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded." James 4:1-8.

"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” Matthew 21:22.

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened." Matthew 7:7-8.

We are easily susceptible to what Alistair Begg eludes to. Giving up. We are also, as he says, easily distracted.  

Distraction consumed my mind way into the night last night. Working out details of installing some things in our home. What to do, how to do, where to drill. What to do in the midst of installation. Details, details, details. 

This began hours earlier. While trying to go through my studies and Bible readings.  

I am a spreadsheet person. I would rather type than write. If I write a note, details are everything because I need to know why I wrote something in the first place. 

We all face distractions. A sound of an excited television host will override a family conversation. A noise outside the car that sounds like a vehicle out of control will override our music. 

A time of prayer will be interrupted by anything and everything. 

These interruptions will gradually repeat until we forget what we were praying about. Therein is the beginning of this post. We have to fight to gain control of our prayer time. Following Paul's teaching analogy, a soldier becomes one not for participating but for putting their mind and heart into their actions and desire to succeed.  

Boot camp strips the now former way of life from the budding soldier. Boot camp drives home a new way of thinking.  

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

My Dear Reader a soldier graduating from boot camp exits with a far different frame of mind than when entering.

Structure your prayer time to account for distractions. Take precautions.  

A big benefit to me in my studies is that I end up reading the same chapter 4 times before I am done. Different notes but essentially the same Scriptures. I can't memorize like many can. This doesn't mean that I am free to not try. The Bible says of itself that the Word of God never returns void. It always accomplishes what He said that it will do. I just have to keep trying to keep putting it in my heart and mind.  

Lest we forget the Bible also says that every one will be without excuse. All of us will be able to uncover ways to stay in the Word of God. All of us will discover our personal prayers with Jesus and how to pour out our hearts to God. 

We just can't give up. 

We must strive to be doing today as God wants of us in this today that we have. Walling off our minds from the world to learn from the Spirit of God. Fight for what is right in the sight of God. 

As he also said, we will be tempted, quite subtly to give up. To stop. To move on. We have to do this so we have to stop. We have this coming up so stop. We will be talking into quitting the fight before it gets started. 

Pray fervently, pray without ceasing. Isn't that what the Spirit says?

Don't give up on prayer or praying for others. Jesus needed prayer to His Father to get through the cross. How much more do we need prayer to get through our days?

Prepare and pray. Don't listen to anything pulling you from talking to your Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. 

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org 

Your Choice, Your Move

Your Choice, Your Move
by David Brenneman

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.  This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.  For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.  But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”  John 3:16-21. 

In this time in human history there's yet still people who claim that God sends people to Hell.  Some think they are His Agents to send people there.  In no way is this the case by Jesus's own words. 

People reject the free gift of salvation available only through the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and send themselves to Hell.

Those who walk through Heavens gates are able to do so only on the basis of what Jesus did on that cross. 

As Alistair Begg said once in a sermon, if anyone ever says anything in the 1st person about why they should be allowed into Heaven then it's the wrong answer.  Because I believed...because I did this...or I did that.  It's only on the basis of what Jesus did that anyone is saved. 

Jesus did all the work, it was He who said:  "it is Finished!".

Those who are in various places of medical care sometimes do see the beginnings of the effects of the consequences of salvation in Christ or of those who rejected it.  Sometimes people have cried out, just prior to death, that they are burning.  Others are in such peace that they say what they see of being welcomed into Heaven then they pass on from this world.

You, my Dear Reader, are the one who decides your eternal destination.  Jesus's finished work on the cross brought you choice.  Before the cross all who died without what the Old Testament wrote of summarily went to either Hell or Paradise.  Separated by a chasm that nobody could cross.  People deemed righteous separated from those who were not.

When Jesus was crucified and died on the cross, He entered Paradise.  The thief on the cross standing there with Him, a fulfillment of a promise made and kept that he would be with Him in Paradise.  The first of those saved by grace...God's unmeritted favor. 

We live in that age where we look forward to the return of Jesus Christ for His Bride the Church of God.  No particular denomination.  But the true Church made up of people who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.  Those who made Him the forgiver of their sins and the leader of their lives. 

It's very easy to look at your life as either a slow motion train wreck, a model of worldly success or anything in-between.  Truth is that encompasses all of all humanity on Earth.  That's where we find ourselves.  Jesus will come to wherever we are in order to save us.  He has been doing this for several thousand years now.  There is a time set by the Father’s own authority that the Church is deemed complete.  That is when Jesus will return.  There's no warning of when.

The overwhelming majority of people believe that there's no way someone like God could love someone like them.  The real truth is all of your life, sins and all, was future to the cross.  Every second of every single minute. 

It's for you to ask Jesus to be the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life.  Nothing more, nothing less.

Read this: "But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;  for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him;  for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.

No your life isn't too screwed up for Jesus to do anything about it.  If He can create this world, can hold it all together all the time.  Can provide you with all you need to be alive, He can handle the various complexities of your life.

Jesus kept His promise to die for the sins of mankind.  Kept it in rising from the dead.  Kept it in everything He’s doing and has done.  He will keep His promises to you. 

Life might not look like what you expect after coming to Christ for salvation, but you can expect Him to do more than you can ask or think in your life.

Only you decide whether or not Heaven is for you or that Hell is where you'll end up next.  It's not anyone but the person themselves.

Jesus knocks at the door of hearts all the time...asking to come in.  But until those people open up and bid Him to enter...outside He will stay.

No amount of good anyone can do will be equal to what Jesus had to endure on the cross to save the world.  The bar is higher than anyone can achieve.  Jesus says that many will claim to have done a great many things for Him but had never received His free gift of salvation.  He will tell them to go away to their judgment because He never knew them. 

The choice is still yours to make my Dear Reader.  Yours.  After you breathe your last you can't change it nor can anyone change it for you.

Jesus isn't willing that any should perish but that all might be saved.  He said that too. 

Choose life in Christ. 

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.  
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
www.lockman.org

Open Your Eyes

Open Your Eyes 

by David Brenneman 

This excerpt is from a devotional by Alistair Begg:

So many of us are conditioned to believe that if we're in communion with God and if we're really in the place we should be, life will go smoothly. This may be a prevalent

notion, but it's also an unbiblical one. Do we really think we can stand against Satan and not face his fiery darts? Do we think we can invade enemy territory and not meet opposition? We are not called to be people who live complacently in cozy, comfortable Christian communities that know no resistance. It is possible to dampen our witness so much that we're ineffective for Christ, that but that doesn't have to be the case, nor should it be. 

The same conditions that Paul faced surround us today: idolatry, sexual immorality, racism, religious bigotry, and a host of other evils.

You have an opportunity in the midst of opposition, no matter where God plants you, to serve His kingdom. As my dear friend, 

Eric Alexander once told me, "There is no ideal place to serve God -except where He has set you down!" 

‐--‐------------------

We cannot step out into the world with the thinking that since things are going smoothly that we're right where God wants us. 

Alistair said it rightly that we're in trouble if we approach life with that kind of thinking. 

The whole armor of God as spoken of by Paul the Apostle isn't for specific people and only for specific situations.  

This same Apostle Paul wrote of various things with regard to being a soldier of Christ Jesus. Being a Christian isn't at all to be associated with being a part time or in name only soldier.  

We who are in Christ are to fulfill our lives in Christ through obedience throughout our lives. Being aware of the schemes of the devil and not partakers of the darkness of the world.

We have what Christ said to look at. He is the vine, we are the branches.  

"You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." John 15:3-8.

When Paul spoke of the whole armor of God he was speaking to all in several churches and by extension to all churches and people in Christ thereafter.  

We're beyond hip deep in a Spiritual war. We are to grow with respect to our salvation in Christ Jesus. Jesus said that the branches are always being looked at for signs of bearing fruit.  

Would your life be seen by Jesus as one that was prepared for the spiritual battles that are in your path? Would the road between your heart and with the Throne of God show great signs of wear and tear? Would it be that more of the Church would take all such things that are to be aspects of a vibrant growing Christian and put them into action. 

Are you taking your life in Christ for granted? Are you seemingly content with coasting by with no regard to how you're doing in growing in Christ Jesus?

Are you literally living life with your head in the sand hoping to not really be involved until you leave this world? Don't you see that's tantamount to a branch that bears no fruit?

We aren't to stay as we were before coming to Christ and we surely shouldn't fear what changes might be in store for us after trusting Jesus to save us. Our grasp on what's best for us is tainted, flawed, corrupted even. We can't know what's right, good and true for our lives when we have no grasp of the goodness of God towards those who Believe. Do you not believe the passage that says "but just as it is written, “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, And which have not entered the heart of man, All that God has prepared for those who love Him.”" 1 Corinthians 2:9?

In truth...you are still learning how to use the spiritual eyes that are now alive in Christ. You can only begin to gain understanding of how your life ought to be lived by an intentional life that communes with Jesus daily.  

We all become soldiers of the cross when we came to Christ for salvation. The armor of God is your new suit. Permit me to borrow a line from a famous movie, it's the last suit you'll ever wear. We put off the old self with its practices and put on the new in Christ. The new in Christ is the whole armor of God.  

The war is closer than your doorstep. It's going to attack your heart, mind and soul. What you think, how you think, how you feel, what you inevitably do. Anything to take your mind off your walk with Jesus. If we are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit and to love your neighbor as yourself, to pray for those who persecute you, then you know what the battlefield looks like. 

Pray fervently. In the last part of the book of Colossians chapter 4 it almost slips by if unnoticed. "Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God." Colossians 4:12.

We read Paul's prayer at the beginning of this same book in an earlier post.  

We unfortunately have several generations that have found it acceptable to give up on people whom God has not given up on as long as they are breathing.  

We unfortunately have several generations that think that a church that leaves the people warm n feeling good but never challenged in the faith is acceptable. 

We unfortunately have churches who sing great songs that do not reference Jesus at all...and it's acceptable to these people. 

We are seeing generations that are branches without fruit. Never believing that the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places are real or that they're under fire themselves. Getting Believers into a false sense of security is a great place to leave people from Satan's perspective. Getting them to believe that health, wealth and prosperity are the attributes of a life in Christ and if you don't have these you're failing is one of his schemes too.

Be sure of your salvation is what Paul exhorted us all. Then, embrace it with our everything. 

Open your spiritual eyes and seek out the things that your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has for you to be doing. There's no excuse for not praying for our sanctification in Christ. There's no excuse for not having a list of needs for yourself and others that God's caused to cross paths with you to be praying for and about. 

If the Church of Jesus Christ really was being as the Bible exhorts us to all be, Hells gates would be shaking.  

We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. There's an appointed mission for you to accomplish in Christ Jesus. Find it, excell in it and give God the glory for it.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org 

Make it Personal Prayer

Make it Personal Prayer 

by David Brenneman 

"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light." Colossians 1:9-12.

“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’ For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." Matthew 6:9-15.

"And He said to them, “When you pray, say: ‘ Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.’ ” Luke 11:2-4.

“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." Matthew 6:7-8.

In this season of my life I am certainly struggling. Both with the understanding of why as well as the additional physical challenges that are now here. Of this I might ask of you, my Dear Reader, to pray for me. 

This prayer of Paul's for those in the Church at Colosse would well be a prayer for Believers to pray for one another.  

We aren't to just go out into the world unarmed or without the understanding that there too the enemy of God awaits. He awaits us in our homes, our most private of places. He awaits every opportunity he is allowed to concerning the lives of every single Believer. He is opposed to everything that the Spirit teaches. He is committed, within himself, to fight the work of God to save people and to keep Believers from growing in Christ. 

We can pray with Paul the words he used in this prayer or at the very least keep these priorities in mind. 

My own struggles are confusing to me. I know not the why's behind the mental and physical situations that I find myself. I have cried and have prayed and cried and prayed. 

I don't know what's to come or why my situation has to be this way. But I can pray. I can always pray.  

The Bible says that I am not my own, that I was bought with a price, the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  

Whatever befalls me is because of what God allows for me. An old oak tree only gets to be old by the trials, the storms, it faces as well as the sunshine and the rain. 

The Bible says that He sees every tear we cry. He knows all about every broken heart. He knows the truth behind every betrayal. He knows the hidden hurts we all are yet still afraid of turning over to Him.

We can see from this prayer, add to it the model of the prayer Jesus taught, what priorities should be included in our personal prayers.

Not just prayer, but personal prayer. 

We have, after all, a personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our prayers ought to be personal as well.  

What we should see springing up in us is the fruit of the Spirit of God.  

We are going to be living transformed lives as it says as well that we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. We are to make every effort to stand firm in the Lord. We are to be sure to set aside time to renew our minds in reading the Scriptures. Even if, as it is in my case, you can't remember what you read. Read it anyway. God's word says that His word never returns void. It always accomplishes what He said. 

Memorization, in my opinion, is useless if the underlying understanding of what it is has no meaning to a person. 

I say this from experience more than an exhaustive search into the subject. I have probably thousands of songs memorized that are useless to my growth in Christ. I have hundreds of books read that given enough of a subject I can tell you all about. But they are useless to my growing in Christ. I have lost track of how many times I have read through the Bible. There's still days I find something new. In extremely small ways I am finding, finally, some memorization happening. But not just that but the meaning behind it and am able to impart that to others.

It begins with prayer. 

Personal prayer that is our praying for what Jesus, through His Spirit with the Father’s blessing, is wanting for us.  

If you're literally, truthfully, mindlessly, praying words without thinking about what you are really asking for or maybe are doubtful that could come about, stop. Just stop. 

We have a personal Lord and Savior. He personally thought about you on the cross as He paid for your sins. Pray personally to Him. King David was known as a man after God's own heart because his relationship with Jesus was personal!

So go back to the drawing board per-se and cease with talking mindlessly with Jesus and get personal. I certainly relate to where Paul points out that there are times when we pray that the Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep for words because we don't know what to pray. Right now is one of those times.  

Yet also the Apostle Paul says to press on towards the upward call of God for us in Christ Jesus. Regardless of my physical well-being or my life's struggles, I need to keep at whatever God puts before me to be doing. Be it deeper times in prayer or work with my hands or head.  

Make your own prayer life personal. He already knows your heart, yes, but He still wants to hear you say it. He wants to hear you say that you love Him and are thankful for His saving you. He still wants to know what is going on with you. He is, after all, not just your Savior, but your friend.  

Look at this prayer again and look that the Lord’s Prayer. Get personal with Jesus. 

You may understand what's going on in your life or you may not. That's still at His discretion. Job didn't know until after he died. Paul knew enough and kept on as He was told to do. Daniel was given information that he would never understand. 

Make your life in Christ personal and start with your communication with your personal Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org 

To Pray Thus

To Pray Thus

by David Brenneman 

"For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for the attaining of all steadfastness and patience; joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light." Colossians 1:9-12.

Here is a prayer to pray for ourselves and others in Christ Jesus.  

We ought to pray without ceasing and this particular prayer does cover much.  

Many have taken to recitation of the Lord’s Prayer and don't go much beyond that. Jesus doesn't want repetition. He wants people after His own heart.  

Don't get it wrong, the Lord’s Prayer is an obviously fantastic model of what the priorities of a prayer ought to involve. But meaningless repetition is of no benefit when the heart isn't in it. In fact before the Lord Jesus mentions the model for prayer He specifically says this.

“And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him." Matthew 6:7-8.

We are to indeed pray for one another. We are to pray for those who persecute us. We are to pray for healing where needed. We are to pray for our leaders and those in authority over us. 

We need to be in step with the Holy Spirit and not stray off in our own way. 

"Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things." Philippians 4:8.

Prayer also is to be an action. It's our personal communication line with our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. It's personal.  

It's personal in ways we have yet to fathom. He has loved us since before we were born. When He was on the cross we were on His mind. 

We are to bear one another's burdens. "Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2.

"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ,"

Romans 13:14a

We need to lift up one another in prayer to keep our eyes on Jesus.  

To be the light of Jesus Christ in this world is to follow in His footsteps. He prayed quite often to His and now our Father in Heaven. 

Follow His example and conduct. 

The hallmark of a follower of Jesus Christ.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org

What Matters

What Matters
by David Brenneman

"But someone will say, “How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?”  You fool! That which you sow does not come to life unless it dies; and that which you sow, you do not sow the body which is to be, but a bare grain, perhaps of wheat or of something else.  But God gives it a body just as He wished, and to each of the seeds a body of its own.  All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.  There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.  There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.  So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.  So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.  However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.  The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.  As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.  Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly.  Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.  Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.  But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory.  O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”  The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law; [57] but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:35-58.

Much of this world wants to create terms and conditions between themselves and God about the afterlife.  Absolutely absurd!  As written elsewhere in the Scriptures, the thing created will not ask the Creator "Why did you make me this way?" will it?

Much, if not all who are still in this present darkness, don't want to believe in the simplicity of the Gospel news.  They're looking for a catch.  Something that will go wrong in their eyes if they give in to saying yes to salvation in Christ Jesus.

Many, because they cannot understand the things of God because they are spiritually discerned. 

A proud mechanic, working on the vehicle of a famous heart surgeon, was bragging about his accomplishment with getting the engine running perfectly.  Claiming it's not much different than what the doctor does on his fancy operating table.  The Doctor replies...try working on it while it's still running.

Perspective.  Everyone has a perspective.  You walk in darkness your perspective of what light is, is ironically dim.  You who are yet still in this present darkness, this world today, the Bible says that you're just not going to understand the things of God because they take a relationship with Jesus to be understood.

Much of the resistance to coming to Christ can be found in fear more than the perceived rage that comes from them towards the children of God.  Fear that their deeds will be exposed.  What they've come to know and embrace will have been all for naught.  Worthless.  Meaningless.  Empty.

Which is a really good description of spiritual emptiness, a life apart from Jesus.

It's impossible to accurately describe something you've never truly seen or experienced. 

I can see footage of a space walk but can never know all the feelings that simple act brings to the person who's done it.

I can watch the deft hands of a surgeon but can never know his or her years of confidence and experience that brought them to that point.

I can watch skill in the life of people performing wonders but unless I take the right steps I will never become remotely as they are.

"But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised." 1 Corinthians 2:14.

EVERYONE who has indeed come to Christ for salvation has never discovered that their fears were well founded.  EVERYONE has discovered just how foolish their fears once were.  That the true love of God in Christ Jesus has always been way more than they ever had thought possible. 

Forget the what-if's. Forget the what about's. 

Simply put you're never going to know the truth until you ask Jesus to be the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life. 

The Scriptures say that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.  The only cure for this is salvation in Christ Jesus alone for the forgiveness of sins.

Salvation is free to all who would come.  Your past and present do not matter.  The physical consequences of these might still matter but the spiritual consequences are radically different.  Once anyone comes to Christ they became a new creation.  Old things are gone behold new had come.  Jesus forgives their sins and remembers them no more.  Gone. As if they never happened.

But the choice is in the hands and heart of everyone.  The choice to come to Christ is upon everyone who lives and breathes.

It actually IS simple enough that a child can understand it and come to Christ for salvation.  Jesus did all the work.  He paid the price in full.  There's no judgment from God on any who have said yes to Jesus being the forgiver of their sins and the leader of their lives.  God the Righteous Judge looks at any Believer and only sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ.

"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.  For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.

Oh my Dear Reader if you haven't come to Christ for salvation yourself your just not going to know or understand the love that awaits you.  The relief.  The patience.  The joy. 

If you really want to know more on salvation and how to be saved please call 330-264-9459.  There's help in understanding more at your fingertips.

Jesus is waiting at the door of your heart, waiting for you to open up and beg Him to enter.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.  
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
www.lockman.org

The Day is Drawing Near

The Day is Drawing Near 

by David Brenneman 

"For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also." 1 Corinthians 15:3-8.

"Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:51-52.

"But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up." 2 Peter 3:10.

"Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober." 1 Thessalonians 5:1-6.

"But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Many people are taken in by fast talking so-called preaching that does nothing but make them feel good for an hour, brings no conviction, points no one towards the need for a Savior who is Christ the Lord. They aren't told of any need to repent. That what they do wrong are simply mistakes and not sins. That on the scales of good and evil they'll be ok. That they have nothing to fear before God. Again, all the while not mentioning the need for a Savior who is Christ the Lord Jesus. 

There are no scales for good and evil. There's the judgment of God in Christ Jesus.  

There's a definite need for people to receive the free gift of salvation because without it there's no seal from the Spirit of God saying that their sins are forgiven and remembered no more. 

There's sins committed daily and not mere mistakes. Sins against a Holy God not merely against someone else in our lives.  

There's a day of Judgment coming and it won't be Jesus taking anyone's word that they were saved. Jesus Himself will separate those who are saved in Christ Jesus from those who are not. All without saying a word. He is Truth so He need never ask what is right or true. He is all knowing and needs never ask what anyone meant by what they did. He is omniscient and was there when they did what they did and it is He who examines the hearts so in that moment He knows your why's of you doing, saying, or thinking behind your actions. 

Salvation in Christ Jesus is essential to living a life approved by God. Salvation in Christ Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Salvation in Christ is the only way sins are forgiven and remembered no more by the only One who has the power to forgive, Jesus Christ. 

This Day of the Lord is coming. As each day passes we are one day closer to it being that Day.

For a few thousand years we have been waiting so long for Jesus to come back and it's easily nearer now than it ever has been.  

When the last person who is to be saved is saved, that's it. He will arise from His glorious throne and come to receive His Church, His Bride, to Himself. As we read earlier, the dead in Christ will rise first and then those who are alive and remain will join Him in the air and we will forever be with Him. 

If where you go to church isn't teaching at all on repentance, on the need to be saved in Christ Jesus, run, don't walk from that place and find a true church that does.  

Jesus addressed such false churches when they tried claiming that they did all kinds of works in His Name. He told them to depart from Him for He never knew them. 

They had no personal relationship with Jesus that only comes from receiving the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of sins. 

Sins are not mistakes. Sins are thoughts, intentions, actions that are against the Word of God. Rooted in selfishness.  

Those who have never come to the place in their lives where they acknowledged their need for a Savior who is Christ the Lord, will never set foot in Heaven. 

What's necessary? What's needed? First you need to admit to God that He's right about everything. That you're in need of a Savior. 

You need to confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord. Read on.

"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:8-13.

When the Church of Jesus Christ is complete, He will return. You, my Dear Reader, might be that last expected one who will usher in His return to fulfill His promise.

Most have heard John 3:16. Read this personalized version. 

For God so loved you that He gave His one and only Son that should you believe in Him, you will not perish, but will have everlasting life. 

Jesus loved you so much that He died on a cross for you. The wrath, the judgment condemning you to Hell, eternal separation from God, was taken upon Him in your place if you but ask for Him to be the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life. 

I don't know how much more time there is until He returns. Nobody does nor can anyone know.  

We could have maybe a year, maybe a month or so, maybe a few days or hours.  

Only God knows. The Rapture of the Church will happen in the twinkling of an eye. So fast that nobody will be fully ready for it. 

Know for sure this day that you are saved. That you are truly ready. The invitation is given to you this day to receive Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. 

If you've made that decision or want to know more, call 1-330-264-9459 and there will be someone there to help you. You can also text Jesus to that number and receive the same.  

Jesus is tenderly calling to you.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission. 

New American Standard Bible 

(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation. 

A corporation not for profit.   

La Habra, CA All rights reserved 

www.lockman.org