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June 13, 2018

A New View

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17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!– 2 Cor. 5:17 NLT​

2 Cor. 5:14-17 NLT


Our human, finite minds cannot fully grasp the height, depth and width of the kind of love that would cause God to send His only Son to die on a cross for our sins.  But, when we accept Jesus as our Savior, we are allowed  a glimpse into the depth of that love.  If we are truly convinced of that love, it should be more than enough to compel us to share His love and His story with others. He died for all of us and was raised again for our salvation.  If we truly believe this, then we no longer see others through our eyes but through the eyes of Christ. Once, before we accepted Jesus as our Lord, we saw Him as the world sees Him, just a good man and teacher, but when we received the Holy Spirit, we began to see Jesus in a whole new way. Everything and everyone around us looks different because we are or should be looking at those around us just as Jesus sees them.  As C S Lewis said:  “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it, I see everything else.”   Thus everything has become “new” to us.  But, in reality, what has become truly new is us. We are a new creation!  

23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. — 1 Peter 1:23 NIV
 

So, let us turn from our old, wicked ways and walk in the newness of life led by the Holy Spirit!

 
“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous
Post 06-13-2018
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November 7, 2016

Turn On the Light!

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6 So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. — 1 John 1:6
On the first day of creation, God spoke the natural light into existence. He created the light to dispel the darkness. He called the light day and the darkness night. Later, He created the sun for light in the day and the moon and stars for light at night.

But God is greater than natural light, He is the spiritual light that illuminates the darkness of our hearts and exposes our sins. He does not do this to embarrass us, but to show us that we are unable to dispel the darkness for ourselves. Just as we need fire, electricity, or batteries to dispel the natural darkness, we need help dispelling the spiritual darkness in our hearts. He is that Light and He has come to do that for us. Once, we have been made aware of our spiritual darkness and the fact that Jesus can provide us Light, we must make a choice to walk in God’s Light or continue to walk in the darkness. After the exposure, if we say that we are not in darkness. we are liars and only fooling ourselves. God has provided the Light, but we must decide to turn on the switch. It is not a decision that can be delayed. Refusing to turn on the Light is a decision and it will lead to deeper darkness.

12 Jesus spoke to the people once more and said, “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”
— John 8:12 NLT

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 11-06-2016

August 22, 2016

Water Regularly and Profusely

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7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow.
— 1 Cor. 3:7 NLT
 
 

Paul  compares our salvation to a seed that is planted.  When a seed is planted in dry ground, it must be watered regularly and continually.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, He plants a seed of His love in our heart. For that love to grow, it needs to be watered by the washing of the Word on a regular basis. The soil needs to be exposed to the sun so it will be warm enough for the seed to germinate.  The seed that is planted in us must be exposed to the Son for it to germinate. If we spend time in the Word, God the Holy Spirit will cause that love to grow.  Our hearts will become more tender toward God and our fellow human beings.  How fast this change takes place depends on how much time we spend taking in the food and the water of the Word. If God is the one who makes the seed sprout and grow, then doesn’t it make sense that the seed has to be exposed to God on a regular basis. We do that by spending time alone with God.  While the names of the people that we allow to plant and water the seed are not important, their words and messages are very important.  Be sure the seed is good (only the name of Jesus) and that the water does not contain impurities that will hurt the young plant.

Post 08-22-2016