perseverance

PERSEVERANCE

 

We don't hear this word used much these days, when the normal attitude is that "anything goes", and whatever feels good, just "do it". But scripture does not agree with this type of thinking or actions, even a casual reading of

(Heb 12:1-13) should make that clear. As I understand the word, it means to keep doing something although it is very difficult, just because you know it is the right thing to do. In our so-called "post-modern" society that has for their motto "there are no absolutes", I can see why this word is not popular. We need a value system that firmly establishes the difference between what is "right" and what is "wrong". The Word of God (the Bible) makes a clear distinction between these two words, and reveals Jesus Christ as the "Truth". See (John 14:6) "Jesus told him I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me". For a longer discussion on the topic of truth, read (John 8:31-59) for a discussion between Jesus and a group of Pharisees who did not believe in Him.

 

I was reading the devotional this morning from ODB by Dennis Fisher and he mentioned "perseverance" that prompted this article. He told about a new battleship that was built for the Swedish navy in 1628 that sank one mile out from land on its maiden voyage because they built so many cannons on the deck that the excessive weight caused it to sink to the bottom of the ocean. Our lives can become like this battleship, if we have too much baggage of sin and unforgiveness or other things in our lives. We need to be like the writer of (Heb 12:1) which states "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin that does so easily ensnare us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us". People who run long distance marathons always strip off any unnecessary clothing that might hinder their chances of winning. And we should do the same thing in our race of life. And we probably all have certain "things" that we should have gotten rid of long ago, but for whatever reason they are still part of our life. Like the battleship mentioned above, we must clean up the inside part of our lives that are hidden to friends, but clearly visible to God. This inward baggage can easily be dealt with by simply relying on God's Holy Spirit to point out the things that need to be changed, and then allowing Him to change them. All He needs for our load to be lightened is our permission, He has the power to deal with anything that stands in the way, and forgiveness and grace are always available to the "spiritual traveler", Praise His Name!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                   20/02/15

The Word of God Among Us

THE WORD of GOD AMOUNG US

 

The Word of God comes to us in many different ways; Bible-centered preaching, personal scripture reading, small Bible study groups etc. There are 2 passages of scripture that come to mind that bear on this topic, in the OT (Deut 5:6-21) which is the second recording of the

"10 Commandments". And of course we also have (Matt 5:3-12) which is commonly referred to as "the Beatitudes". The 10 commandments give us the "Law of Moses" which is the basis of the "Old Covenant", often referred to as the "Law" God wanted His people to follow. While the beatitudes show us how Jesus came to fulfill the "Old Covenant" and establish a "New Covenant" which frees us from the burden of the Law. When we are "born again" by the Spirit of God when we accept what Jesus did for us on the cross, and receive Him as Lord and Savior, Father "adopts" us into His family and gives us the gift of the Holy Spirit to abide with us forever! Then we have this same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead abiding within our life to be our Comforter and Guide.

 

Our Creator God has thought of everything we would ever need long before we were born. He had it all written in a book called the Bible, which has been translated into more languages than any other book. So most literate people in the whole world have access to God's written Word. In (2 Tim 3:16-17) we read about His purpose in having it recorded. The written Word of God was given to us so that the Holy Spirit, who indwells us as followers of Jesus, always has the Word to instruct and guide us into the truth. It also can prevent us from being led into deception by the many false prophets that Jesus warned would come into the church in these "last days", (Matt 24: 11), and we are already seeing this happen. The Theologian Philip Jacob Spener wrote: "The more at home the Word of God is among us, the more we will bring about faith and its fruits". Let us pray the words of the psalmist in (Ps 119:18) "Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your Law". From ODB devotional on February 13, 2015 we read "Heavenly Father; we bow in Your presence. Let Your Word be our rule and guide. Your Spirit our teacher, and Your greater glory be our supreme concern, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen". This quote was from John R W Stott, then the author David Egner closed with "When the Word of God is within us, it flows out from our life".

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                         18/02/15

 

For Sale--As Is

FOR SALE—"AS IS"

 

We often see an article for sale with this sign attached, whether it is a used car or an old house. It usually means the present owner does not want to spend the necessary cost of repairing the item. What it really means is for "the buyer beware", it will probably cost more to repair it than it's worth. Aren't you glad our Creator doesn't feel that way about us when He calls us to come to Himself through His Son Jesus? He receives us "As Is" in our sin and darkness, knowing that His Holy Spirit has the power to clean us up from whatever condition we may be in. All He needs from us is a decision to believe by faith what Jesus did for us on the cross, and accept Him as Lord and Savior. Then Father does the rest by adopting us into His family and gives us the gift of His Holy Spirit to abide with us forever. This is the "Good News" of the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and is available to anyone who chooses to receive it.

 

As believers in Jesus, and committed followers of Him as members of the "Body of Christ" we have the privilege of sharing this good news with everyone we meet. All we need is to know Jesus as Savior through the "New Birth" experience, and a desire to share Him with others. Jesus tells us clearly in (John 14:6) "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me". And the Apostle Paul explains in  (2 Cor 5:17) "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old is gone, a new life has begun". NLT Then if we read verse 18-21 we are told that "God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, no longer counting people's sins against them. And He gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ's ambassadors. God is making His appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, come back to God! For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Him". NLT

 

This is certainly good news, that God can take us "As Is", and make us into a completely new person by His marvelous grace. All by a simple choice on our part have you done that yet? and if not why not? God always leaves the choice up to us, so I would suggest you take Him at His Word!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                  01/12/14

 

 

 

A Closing Door

A CLOSING DOOR

 

This was the title of the devotional article in ODB for today Jan 31, 2015 that challenged me to put together this article. The author started by mentioning the doors on commuter trains, that always give a warning sound before closing, so people will not be harmed. There is a far more important door that we must enter before it closes; it is the "door of God's mercy". The Apostle Paul tells us "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation", (2 Cor 6:2). The Bible is very clear that the death of Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary some 2000 years ago as the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29) opened up the door of salvation to anyone who will put their faith and trust in what He did for us on that cross. The choice is always up to us to make, but one day this door will be closed by God. That is what Paul is warning us about in the above mentioned scripture, and once this door is closed all hope of being saved is gone. That is why this is the most important decision anyone can make. And of course it must be made before we die, and we have no guarantee as to when that might be.

 

So yes, today is "that day" for anyone who is not yet a follower of Jesus. But as long as you are still living it is never too late to receive Him as Lord and Savior. And then as Jesus said in (Matt 25:31-34) He will say "Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world". But read verse 41 "Then the King will turn to them on the left and say; away with you, you are cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons". This is the actual truth of God's Word from the lips of Jesus. Another interesting but scary scripture is found in (Rev 21:1-8) the first 7 verses tell about the holy city of New Jerusalem that John saw coming down from heaven to be the eternal abode for the redeemed. But read verse 8 "But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death". So take notice, those who don't believe in a "literal hell", God believes in it and Jesus mentioned it more often than He did heaven, when He lived here on earth for the 33+ years of life as a human. It is very unfortunate that many people don't really know what the Bible teaches us because they just read what they want to hear!!

Sincerely submitted.

Dave Jamer                                                                                                                  31/01/15