Word

September 27, 2022

“I Saw This Happen to Jesus”

34 I saw this happen to Jesus, so I testify that he is the Chosen One of God​. – John 1:34 NLT

​John’s Testimony

This is the faithful witness of a faithful servant. He saw all the things that he would testify to come to life in one Man/God.

​1 ​In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.–John 1:1 (NLT)
14 So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.​–John 1:14 (NLT)​

Not only do we have the witness of John the Baptist, but we have the witness of God Himself.

16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17 And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”—Matt. 3:16-17 (NLT)

Let us use these examples as an inspiration to be faithful witnesses. We do not need to worry about what we will say or do, if we are questioned about our Christianity. God has promised us over and over that He will never forsake us nor leave us. He goes before us, He is with us, and He is our rearguard. He has also promised to give us the words to say.

19 But when they deliver you up, do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak; 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.—-Matt 10:19-20 (NLT)

Although these words were spoken to the twelve disciples as Jesus sent them out to witness, I believe they are just as true for us today when we make ourselves available for God to use. We need to store the Word in our heart by meditating on the Scriptures. Then whenever and wherever we go, we should remember God’s words to Joshua.

9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”—Joshua 1:9 (NLT)

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

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March 19, 2021

“Through the Living and Enduring Word of God”

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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

1 Peter 1:22-25 ISV

Having received Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are being purified by His grace and His love. He has placed His Spirit within us to teach us to love others as He loves us. This change will not come overnight, but it will come if we practice listening to and following the Holy Spirit. Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit to guide us and to teach us all truth.  As we obey that voice of truth that is within us, we will learn to appreciate the love that Jesus has for us and we will reciprocate by showing that love to others.  At first, it may just be words that we speak, but as we allow the Holy Spirit to be a bigger part of our life, we will find that we really do love and care for others.  With humility and patience, that love will evolve into something similar, but not nearly as great as the love that Jesus shows to us.  As John the Baptist said about Jesus “He must increase, I must decrease”. so, it must be true in our lives as well.  We must think of ourselves less and less and of Jesus and others more and more. The flesh perishes and decreases while the Spirit is imperishable and increases.  This is the Word that was preached to us and is alive and living in us.  Everything will perish except the Word of Jesus, it will stand forever. Just as Jesus was determined to go to the cross knowing that glory awaited Him on the other side, we need to be firm in our stand regardless of the personal cost knowing the hope that we have to spend an eternity with Him in His glory.

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. — Luke 9:51 NIV

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

April 28, 2020

“He Saw It and Was Glad”

56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of  seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”- John 8:56 NIV

I AM

Jesus explains to the people that they don’t really know God even tough they claim God as “our God”. If they really knew God, they would accept Jesus and be excited that the Messiah had come in their lifetimes. Jesus says that even Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to the birth of the Messiah. The people really didn’t accept this. Since Jesus is not even fifty years old, how could He possibly have seen Abraham? Then Jesus makes a statement that really gets the crowd worked up. “I existed before Abraham was even born”. The truth is more than that, Jesus existed before _______ and it doesn’t matter what you put in the blank, Jesus already existed.

1 In the beginning the Word already existed.
​ ​The Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He existed in the beginning with God.
3 God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him.—John 1:1-3 (NLT)

​The crowd became so angry that Jesus had to slip away or be stoned to death. The name of Jesus still causes that kind of reaction today. When the name of Jesus is spoken, there is no neutral ground and there is no procrastination. You either have to accept Him or reject Him. What choice have you made?

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

Post 04-28-20

January 23, 2020

“The Word Was God”

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.- John 1:1 NKJV

John 1:1-5 NLT

The Word existed in the beginning. The Word was with God and the Word was God. This Word of Life was revealed to us in human form as Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Hundreds, no, even thousands witnessed His walk here on earth. Biblically and historically, there is no doubt that a man named Jesus lived and walked on this earth approximately 2,000 years ago. He was seen, He was heard and we have read the reports. It is now up to each individual to accept or reject this truth. Those who accept it can have a real relationship with the Living Word. The Word is God is Light is life is Jesus is the Holy Spirit. If we have one, we have Them all. We cannot choose to have One without accepting them altogether. How much of each we access and the effect they have on our lives is up to each of us. The fullness of our joy and the absence of fear in our lives is the measure of how much of All of Them we have accepted. Walk in the Light and there can be no darkness, walk in Love and there is no fear. 

1 John 4:16-19 NLT

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

Post 01-23-2020

April 6, 2019

God’s Word Is Our Weapon

6 If your sinful old self is the boss over your mind, it leads to death. But if the Holy Spirit is the boss over your mind, it leads to life and peace.— Romans 8:6 New Life Version (NLV)

 Romans 8:1-6 NLV
Spiritual battles are fought in our minds.  The thoughts that we allow to linger in our minds long enough will turn into words and actions.  That is why the mind must be guarded at all times.  In the early days of computers, there was an acronym that was used quite frequently when computers spit out garbage or nonsense.  That acronym was “gigo” , garbage in, garbage out.  Our minds are the most fantastic computers imaginable.  It is said that most of us never even use ten percent of the capacity of our brains.  So, if we feast on visual and oral garbage for hours every day, then that is what is going to come out of our minds.  We need to be God-focused, not sin-focused.  Don’t fall into the enemy’s trap of remembering and rehearsing your sins and mistakes.  Rather, focus on what you know to be true.  God fulfills every promise.  He forgives us every time we fail.  When satan tempted Jesus, Jesus responded with scriptures. We must fight evil the same way.  That is the example we are to follow. If satan whispers in your ear that you are not forgiven, just quote

1 John 1:9 to him.
9 If we tell Him our sins, He is faithful and we can depend on Him to forgive us of our sins. He will make our lives clean from all sin.

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

Post 04-06-2019

October 20, 2018

“I Am Watching”

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11 Then the Lord said to me, “Look, Jeremiah! What do you see?”And I replied, “I see a branch from an almond tree.”12 And the Lord said, “That’s right, and it means that I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.” — Jeremiah 1:11, 12 NLT

The almond tree is particularly significant in the Holy Scriptures.  It is a sign of hope because it blossoms in the middle of the winter on a leafless tree.  It reminds us that there is life even in our darkest hours.  It is connected with charity in the book of Numbers because Aaron’s rod was from an almond tree and it blossomed and brought forth fruit overnight.  Charity because the Levitical tribe lived on the gifts of the people, they had no earthly possessions.  In the original KJV, the branch was called a “rod” which symbolizes power or leadership.  In Old Testament times, the fruit of the almond tree was believed to be the external expression of the goodness that is in all of us.  Here in Jeremiah, the branch or “rod” of the almond tree is associated with God watching over His word and His people with power to perform.  It means that He will carry out His plans and nothing nor anyone can stop Him from doing so.  Our part is to spread His word among the people.  Just as Moses told Aaron to take the incense and go between the dead and the living to stop the plague, we are to take the Word and stand in the gap to stop the advance of sin.  We speak the Word and stand, God’s Word accomplishes and produces the fruit.
11 It is the same with my word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to,
 and it will prosper everywhere I send it. — Isaiah 55:11 NLT
“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous
Post 10-20-2018
September 29, 2018

Cleaned and Filled

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10  Create in me a clean heart, O God,And renew a steadfast spirit within me. — Psalm 51:10 NKJV

What is a clean heart, how do we get it and why is it important to be sure that we have clean hearts?  An unclean heart is a heart that contains bitterness, hatred, deceit, lust, envy, covetousness and the list goes on and on to including anything that would cause us to sin.  The opposite of that would be a heart that contains only love. It is impossible for us to clean our hearts.  We need the Holy Spirit, who is love, to do that for us.  We can make all the resolutions and follow all the self-help programs we can find, but in the end, without the Holy Spirit, we will still have unclean hearts.  Those programs may remove the filth from the heart but they will leave it empty.  An empty heart is what the evil spirits are searching for.


24 “When an evil spirit leaves a person, it goes into the desert, searching for rest. But when it finds none, it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ 25 So it returns and finds that its former home is all swept and in order. 26 Then the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they all enter the person and live there. And so that person is worse off than before.”– Luke 11:24-26 NLT
 

Our hearts must be filled with love and that only comes from the Holy Spirit. Once we accept Jesus and His Spirit abides within us, He will keep our hearts clean, if we allow Him to do so.  Clean hearts are necessary because it is “out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks”.  It is also where our thoughts come from, so we must be sure that the source is clean or our thoughts, words and actions will be displeasing to God.

 
“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” – Anonymous
Post 09-29-2018
June 28, 2017

The Living Word

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2 He existed in the beginning with God. John 1:2

John 1:1-5 NLT

The Word existed in the beginning. The Word was with God and the Word was God. This Word of Life was revealed to us in human form as Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Hundreds, no, even thousands witnessed His walk here on earth. Biblically and historically, there is no doubt that a man named Jesus lived and walked on this earth approximately 2,000 years ago. He was seen, He was heard and we have read the reports. It is now up to each individual to accept or reject this truth. Those who accept it can have a real relationship with the Living Word. The Word is God is Light is life is Jesus is the Holy Spirit. If we have one, we have Them all. We cannot choose to have One without accepting them altogether. How much of each we access and the effect they have on our lives is up to each of us. The fullness of our joy and the absence of fear in our lives is the measure of how much of All of Them we have accepted. Walk in the Light and there can be no darkness, walk in Love and there is no fear.
 
1 John 4:16-19 NLT
 

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

Post 06-28-2017

March 29, 2017

Faithful Talk and a Faithful Walk!

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16 Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you. – 1 Tim. 4:16 NLT
1 Timothy 4:11-16 NLT

We should not only teach the Word, we should live the Word, so that those around us will want to know Jesus. Our age, be it young or old chronologically, should not be a handicap to our living a Holy lifestyle. There are people who accept Jesus Christ as their Savior but they make little or no progress from that point. We are to focus on studying the Scriptures and using the spiritual gifts that God has given to each one of us. If any of us refuse to do our part as a member of Christ’s body, then the body is not whole and it is weak. As Paul told Timothy “give your complete attention to these things and throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see our growth”. For our own sake and the sake of those around us, we must stay true to what we know to be the truth. Our walk and our talk should be holy. As Francis of Assisi said “Preach the Gospel, even if you have to use words.”

James 1:22-25 NLT


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

Post 03-29-2017

March 14, 2017

Seed-Time and Harvest

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8 And now the word of the Lord is ringing out from you to people everywhere, even beyond Macedonia and Achaia, for wherever we go we find people telling us about your faith in God. — 1 Thess. 1;8a NLT

Paul, Silas, and Timothy had planted the church in Thessalonica and it had stirred up the Jews there, as well as the Thessalonians. Paul had been concerned about the young church and wanted to know how they were doing. Because of the unrest there, Paul had sent Timothy to visit with them and Timothy brought back a good report. This was the reason Paul wrote this letter complimenting them and encouraging them to continue in their work. The people that Paul, Silas, and Timothy had witnessed to received the Gospel with joy and were eager to spread the Good News. Their missionary work was reaping quite a harvest as the church there carried on the work of spreading the Gospel in Macedonia and Southern Greece. Are we being faithful in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to others? Are we blooming where we are planted? Are we laboring in the fields that are white with harvest? Each one should disciple one. That is our part in keeping the Word going and God’s church growing.
 
 2 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.  –Luke 10:2 NLT

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

Post 03-14-2017