conqueror

September 2, 2016

“I Wasn’t Called to _____.”

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5 “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. — John 15:5 NLT
John 15:1-5 NLT
In Romans, God tells us that He called us to Himself and He has called us for a purpose Romans 8:28-30 NLT .  He has called us into fellowship with Himself  1 Cor,1:9 NKJV.  He has called us to be His saints. 1 Cor. 1:2 NKJV.  He has called us with a holy calling for His works, not our own 1 Tim 1:8-9 NKJV.  He has called us and given each of us special abilities to serve others 1Peter 4:11 NKJV.  He has called us to be witnesses, conquerors and over-comers.  How long will we keep using the excuse, “I wasn’t called to _____”.?   We were called to follow Jesus, When we follow someone, we do what they do and we say wht they say.  Isn’t that what Jesus said?  “I do what I see my Father doing and I say what He says to say” (paraphrased).  When God calls us, we are no longer spectators, we are called to be participants.  We are called to produce fruit and we can only produce fruit, if we are attached to the vine and do what the vine instructs us to do.  If we are apart from the vine, we have no power to produce fruit that is like the vine.
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April 2, 2015

The Battle is Not Ours

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

8 Formerly, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those who by nature are not gods. 9 But now that you know God—or rather are known by God—how is it that you are turning back to those weak and miserable forces? Do you wish to be enslaved by them all over again? 10 You are observing special days and months and seasons and years! 11 I fear for you, that somehow I have wasted my efforts on you.—Gal. 4:8-11 (NIV)
​Before we​ accepted Jesus as our Savior, we were enslaved by our sinful flesh, just as the Galatians were back then. Before Paul came into Galatia, they worshiped idols made by men and were in bondage to all sorts of immoral acts. Once, they accepted the Good News, they were free from that bondage. Paul had started churches in the area earlier. After he left the area, the people started to fall back into their old worldly ways, practicing useless traditions of men. Eat this , don’t eat that, do this on this day and not any other day, etc. Paul was writing to them to encourage them to continue on their new Spiritual journey. We see the same thing still happening today when the founder of a new church retires or moves on. We have to focus on Jesus and the Gospel message, not on the messenger. Except for Jesus, there never has been, isn’t now, and never will be a perfect man. We all fall and come up short. Just don’t make falling a lifestyle. Ask for the forgiveness that Jesus has already paid for and move on. Let’s learn to be “Jesus conscious” and not “sin-conscious”. If satan can keep us focused on our failures, he has won the battle and we will live defeated lives, Focus on Jesus, our Champion and our Defender. We can be more than conquerors.
He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.—2 Chron. 20:15 (NIV)

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February 16, 2015

Take Heart

God is waiting to show you the Way.

God is waiting to show you the Way.

​2​9 Then his disciples said, “At last you are speaking plainly and not figuratively.30 Now we understand that you know everything, and there’s no need to question you. From this we believe that you came from God.”​ ​ 31 Jesus asked, “Do you finally believe? 32 But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when you will be scattered, each one going his own way, leaving me alone. Yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. 33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”—John 16:29-33 (NLT)
​As Jesus spoke plainly to His disciples, they found it easier to understand the things He was telling them. Now they understood and believed that Jesus was the
Son of God. Now Jesus tells them that each one of them will abandon Him in His time of suffering. But He assures them that He will not be alone, even when they all leave Him. Jesus explains to them that they will have trials and sorrows in this world, but they can still have peace because He has overcome the world. We will have our times of trials as well. But we have someone now that the disciples didn’t have until later. When Jesus left, the Holy Spirit came to take His place. The Holy Spirit is not another god, He is the same God in a different form to perform a different function. We should not fear the trials and temptations that will come our way, because we have someone inside us who is more powerful than anything in the world.
4 But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.—1 John 4:4 (NLT)
​How can we be called “over-comers” and “more than conquerors”, if we never have any pro​blems to overcome or battles to win?
Post 02-16-2015