Bible Studies 14 (Newest Bible Study: see "Bible Studies 19")
Need to Get Right If ... (added 7-7-17)
* If you allow your children to be disobedient and disrespectful to you and other people, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok to steal from your company, or anytime or from anyone else, you need to get right with God.
* If you always put yourself first and others second, you need to get right with God.
* If you don’t feed the poor, the widows, and children, you need to get right with God.
* If you don’t do what you can, even if it’s hard or inconvenient, to help your neighbor or a stranger, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok to flirt with other people when you're married, or to have intimate relations with someone who is not your spouse, you need to get right with God.
* If you take the Lord's name in vain and use it as a curse word, you need to get right with God.
* If you revile, curse, and profane that which God calls holy, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok to lie, or you justify lying, you need to get right with God.
* If you think you don't need God or that God does not exist, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is a woman's right to choose to murder her unborn baby, you need to get right with God.
* If you think gay marriage and homosexual relationships are natural and good, or you support Gay Pride, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok for a man and woman to live together and not be married, you need to get right with God.
* If you think pornography and explicit sexual content is ok, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok and acceptable to subject your children to anything or anyone who is not a wholesome influence (such as Gay Pride parades and “Drag Queen Story Hour” for children), you need to get right with God.
* If you think that all paths lead to heaven, you need to get right with God.
* If you put anyone or anything else above your relationship with God, you need to get right with God.
* If you believe only the parts of the Bible you like, you need to get right with God.
* If you follow, or submit your mind and your children to anyone who does not preach and teach the Bible as God wrote it, you need to get right with God.
* If you have bitterness or hatred in your heart for another person, or group, you need to get right with God.
* If you have anger, and refuse to forgive someone who wronged you, you need to get right with God.
* If you are always causing trouble for others, you need to get right with God.
* If you boast of your own accomplishments and puff yourself up because you are so important and powerful, you need to get right with God.
* If you do not love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you need to get right with God.
* If you do not love your neighbor as yourself, you need to get right with God.
* If you tell lies, badmouth, and slander others, you need to get right with God.
* If you are hooked on drugs or alcohol, you need to get right with God.
* If you practice witchcraft or Satanism, you need to get right with God.
* If you allow evil thoughts to control you, you need to get right with God.
* If you have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are damned to hell for all eternity. You need to get right with God.
* If you made it all the way through this list I imagine at least one of these made you pause and think. As I was typing this out, quite a few said “Hey Jim! Gotcha!” Drove home to me how much I NEED to get right with God.
For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Let’s face it. Not one of us live perfect lives and does not sin. But the beautiful thing is God knows this and He loves us anyway. As a matter of fact, He loves us so much He made a way out for us. A way out of the hatred, anger, depravity, immorality, loneliness, selfishness, addiction, resentment. A way out of being lost. He gave us Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Every sin. EVERY ONE OF US. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and trust in Jesus.
Basically anything you do that God would not approve of, or if He would not be able to say to you “Well done my good and faithful servant” is what WE all need to ask forgiveness for and turn away from those things.
Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).
Will you turn to Jesus now? Or perhaps, like me, you need to recommit to Him again. In your own words just tell Him you are sorry for your sins and you know you need Him as the focus point of your life. Then ask Jesus to be your Savior and to guide you in His truth. Then start reading your Bible (again). I recommend starting with the Gospel of John (that’s the 4th book in the New Testament). And find a church that preaches and teaches the Bible as written. A church that preaches about repentance, salvation, forgiveness, the Blood of Jesus, and living holy lives. Don’t go to a church that only wants to entertain you. You will not grow in the Lord there.
And please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, need help, or just need to talk.
I am an Addict (added 8-27-17)
I have a VERY addictive personality. I smoked 1½ - 2½ packs a day for 18 years and enjoyed cigarettes through the day I quit (Dec 7, 1996). I was addicted to them not only physically, but mentally as well. Some people can smoke or not smoke at their will. I HAD to smoke. My mind and my body craved them. Even today I have an urge, a craving to smoke from time-to-time, but I know better. I know with me even just one puff (I would inhale!) and I would be hooked again. So, I never dwell on the desire for a cigarette.
I am also an alcoholic. I know this will probably come as a total shock to everyone who reads this. (Pastor Patsy I am sorry.) No one would have ever guessed this about me (except Patty). I do not drink very often at all. I never drank daily or started drinking early in the day. I never woke up and had a drink, or drank before (or during) work. And when I do drink, I very rarely have more than a six pack. In fact, I have not had a drop of alcohol in about 2 months. But I crave it from time-to-time. And when I allow myself to start thinking about getting a six pack the thought can consume me.
Why am I telling you this? Because I think it is something I am being compelled to share. As most of you know, I am an ordained, licensed minister. I am a Preacher and I write Bible studies. You might think a man such as me should not have these issues. But I do. And I would venture to guess most (all?) struggle with some kind of deeply hidden secret they never want to share with anyone else. I really did not want to share this. But I am reminded of James 5:16 which say “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” So, the reason I am sharing today is to reveal this secret to my Brothers and Sisters in Christ to ask for prayer, but more importantly to encourage each of you to find someone you can confide in. Someone you can trust to help you through your struggles. It may be some kind of addiction (pornography, alcohol, smoking, drugs). Or perhaps you hate yourself: you have no sense of self-worth or you loathe yourself for how you’ve lived or acted and you cannot forgive yourself. Perhaps you cannot find it in your heart to forgive someone else for a wrong they did to you, or they have treated you badly for a long time – and you just CANNOT forgive them. Or perhaps you are full of pride in what YOU are doing FOR God. I don’t know what you struggle with, but God does. His Holy Spirit does. And that brings me to my next point.
You see, the Holy Spirit has been working overtime on me on allot of different levels lately (not just the alcoholism). AND I WELCOME AND CRAVE His complete unravelling of me. I ask Him to open me up and reveal every sin, every flaw, every aspect of my life and my spirit which is keeping me from COMPLETELY surrendering to Him. I want! I crave! I desire! I need to completely surrender to God. I want to be so completely His that there is nothing I won’t do for Him or for His Kingdom. So, I ask Him to break me down like the Drill Instructors do to the New Recruits in Basic Training: They break down the boys and girls to train up Warriors! I want to be a Warrior for God who will be victorious in every battle for the Glory of God!
How does this transformation happen? How does it work? Well first you must honestly, sincerely want to change. Then you confess your sins to God and ask for forgiveness. Then ask Him (God) to have His Holy Spirit reveal those areas in your life that need changed and to give you the desire, strength, determination, and victory over these areas. And you continue to pray and seek and knock (Jesus said in Luke 11:9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”)
Don’t give up and don’t become weary of the struggle. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Don’t become discouraged and give up - Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
When Satan reminds you of your sin, of your addiction, of your weakness immediately rebuke him in the name of Jesus! The name of Jesus is powerful (Acts 4:29-30, 16:18; Philippians 2:-11; 1 John 3:23). Satan and his demons flee before Him!
Read/study/absorb/consume the Bible
Two books I cannot recommend highly enough are “The Pursuit of God” by A. W. Tozer and “Crazy Love, Overwhelmed by a Relentless God” by Francis Chan.
Don’t dwell on evil/bad thoughts – rebuke those thoughts in Jesus’ name.
Think on these things - Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Spend time alone with God and think about His power, might, strength, love, security – He is here right now for you! Trust in Him and call on the name of Jesus. Trust in Him and His Holy Spirit to help you be victorious in your Walk with God.
“And David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord’” 1 Chronicles 28:20.
Dear Father I ask you to reveal anything I am trying to hide from you or that I have buried deep within me – reveal it to me and I ask you to forgive me of that sin. Father God, I ask you to guide each person who may read this. Help them to seek your help, your love, your wisdom, your counsel, your strength. Help them to call on the name of Jesus and put their whole trust and self into you - to depend wholly and completely on you. I ask you Father to have your Holy Spirit to reveal to them just how much you long for an intimate, frank, personal relationship with them. Help them to love you with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. And finally Father I ask you to help each of us to one day stand before our Lord, our King, our Savior and hear Him say “Well done my good and faithful servant.” In the mighty, loving name of Jesus. Amen and Amen.
Why We Need God (added 5-15-18)
The American Christian has it backwards. You see, we’ve got it wrong. We hear about Jesus dying on the cross for us and we might feel a little sorry He went through that for us. We think He suffered because the Roman soldiers beat Him with a savage whip, pounded a crown of inch-long thorns into His head, and nailed Him to a rugged, splintered tree which caused unbearable pain as He slowly died. We believe when He was praying in the garden (Luke 22:42) and asked His Father God to take the cup from Him He was so worried and afraid of the physical torture and humiliation of the manner in which He would soon be murdered that He was sweating big drops of blood and begged God to not let Him die like that. But we’ve got it wrong. Jesus was not concerned about His body and the pain He was prepared to endure. Jesus knew the only way to secure our salvation was if He drank the cup of God’s divine wrath. All of God’s holy wrath and hatred toward sin and sinners (us), stored up since the beginning of the world, was soon to be poured out on Him. The cup of judgement was the sins committed by every single person and the consequences of those sins. When Jesus allowed Himself to be hung on that tree every sin you and I ever committed, or will commit, was charged to Him. And because of that sin, God turned away from Him and Jesus died alone in humiliation and separation from God. That is why Jesus was in anguish and sweating big drops of blood. He knew the price He was to pay for you. For me. And He paid it anyway.
“One preacher described it as if you and I were standing a short hundred yards away from a dam of water ten thousand miles high and ten thousand miles wide. All of a sudden that dam was breached, and a torrential flood of water came crashing toward us. Right before it reached our feet, the ground in front of us opened up and swallowed it all. At the Cross, Christ drank the full cup of the wrath of God, and when He had downed the last drop, He turned it over and cried out, ‘It is finished.’
This is the gospel. The just and loving Creator of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful people and sent His Son, God in the flesh, to bear His wrath against sin on the cross and to show His power over sin in the Resurrection so that all who trust in Him will be reconciled to God forever” (David Platt “Radical”).
And we believe God needs us. We think we are doing Him – God, the Sovereign Lord of all things – God, the Creator of all things – God, on whom we rely for our very next breath – God – a favor by condescending to “come to Him” and to “accept” Jesus as our Savior. We believe we are doing Him a favor by saying a prayer, pretending to do what He wants us to do, and by pretending to follow Him. “We have taken the infinitely glorious Son of God, who endured the infinitely terrible wrath of God and who now reigns as the infinitely worthy Lord of all, and we have reduced Him to a poor, puny Savior who is just begging us to accept Him” (David Platt “Radical”).
Once we look at the true meaning of the price Jesus paid for us don’t you think our response should be more? More than a prayer, or an hour on Sunday, or a “thank God” thrown up when we think He helped us some way? More? More? More?
“We have been told all that is required is a one-time decision, maybe even mere intellectual assent to Jesus, but after that we need not worry about His commands, His standards, or His glory. We have a ticket to heaven, and we can live however we want on earth. Our sin will be tolerated along the way. Much of modern evangelism today is built on leading people down this road, and crowds flock to it, but in the end it is a road built on sinking sand, and it risks disillusioning millions of souls.
Biblical proclamation of the gospel beckons us to a much different response and leads us down a much different road. Here the gospel demands and enables us to turn from our sin, to take up our cross, to die to ourselves, and to follow Jesus. These are the terms and phrases we see in the Bible. And salvation now consists of a deep wrestling in our souls with the sinfulness of our hearts, the depth of our depravity, and the desperation of our need for His grace. Jesus is no longer one to be accepted or invited in but one who is infinitely worthy of our immediate and total surrender.
You might think this sounds as though we have to earn our way to Jesus through radical obedience, but that is not the case at all. Indeed, ‘it is by grace you [are] saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast’ (Eph 2:8-9). We are saved from our sins by a free gift of grace, something that only God can do in us and that we cannot manufacture ourselves.
But that gift of grace involves the gift of a new heart. New desires. New longings. For the first time, we want God. We see our need for Him, and we love Him. We seek after Him, and we find Him, and we discover that He is indeed the great reward of our salvation. We realize that we are saved not just to be forgiven of our sins or to be assured of our eternity in heaven, but we are saved to know God. So we yearn for Him. We want Him so much that we abandon everything else to experience Him. This is the only proper response to the revelation of God in the gospel.
This is why men and women around the world risk their lives to know more about Him. This is why we must avoid cheap caricatures of Christianity that fail to exalt the revelation of God in His Word. This is why you and I cannot settle for anything less than a God-centered, Christ-exalting, self-denying gospel” (David Platt “Radical”).
We act as though God needs us. But don’t you think we need Him? I have come to the conclusion that God does not need me any more than He needs a watch to tell time or a television to see current events. God does not need me. But I NEED Him! I need Him more than my next breath. I need Him more than I need food or water. I need God! I need Jesus! I need the Holy Spirit!
“The revelation of God in the gospel is good. I invite you to receive it. Maybe to trust in the Christ of the gospel for the first time and for the first time to receive a new heart, a new heart that is not only cleansed of sin but that now longs for Him. Or maybe simply to recover a passion for God’s Word-His radical revelation of Himself-and discover once again the reward that is found in simply knowing and experiencing Him” (David Platt “Radical”).
God loves me and He has called me to Him. And God loves you and He is calling you. If you’ve read this far it is time to put your whole faith and trust in Jesus. No gimmicks, no part-way, but all of you – right now.
Still Standing – the Armor of God (added 5-15-18)
Most us know about the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17) and we try to remember to put it on sometime before we face our day. When we “put on our armor” we are ready for WAR! OohRah!!! Military Guy ya know. :-) But most of us stop there.
Unfortunately we quickly forget we’re wearing it and that we are Warriors for Christ. We get off track right out of the gate most mornings and then we are trying to battle Satan, temptation, and our mind in OUR OWN power. If you’re like me – that does not work - Ever. We are at war with the enemy! 1 Peter 5:8 says “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Read that passage again. Know this: the attacks can (and usually do) come from people we know and trust. Satan will use anyone or anything to defeat Christ’s Warriors.
What we need to realize, embrace, and trust in is God’s Power. Look at Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and the power of His might.” Hmm, doesn’t say “be strong by yourself in your might” or “I am strong in my might,” but “Be strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might.” We need to remember we aren’t in this alone. We have the POWER of the Lord God Almighty indwelling us in the person of the Holy Spirit. He gives us strength when we are week. He makes us strong in battle through His Power.
The Armor of God:
The Armor of God is not just about surviving and getting through our days. God’s Armor is designed to protect the Mighty Warrior of Christ from the host of Satan and anything they can try to do to us. We are sanctified and set apart to be Warriors and to take the battle to Satan. The Armor is our protection from all attacks, and with all of the pieces fit perfectly together and through continued prayer and supplication in the Spirit, we not only fight the enemy, we CONQUER the enemy. We do not cower, afraid of what the enemy may do to us next. We take the battle to him! As Paul so wonderfully describes it “That you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” We remain standing after every battle victorious and we remain standing ready for the next battle. Ever vigilant, ever ready, ever victorious!
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Amen and Amen! THIS is our endgame!
From Whom? (Added 5-23-18)
God is love. God is merciful. God is gracious. God is great. God is good. God is kind. God loves me. God love you. God loves everyone.
God is perfect.
God’s grace is perfect.
God’s mercy is perfect.
God’s love is perfect.
Almost every preacher or person who talks to you about God or Jesus will tell you that you must be saved or you will go to hell. But they (we) almost never tell you from whom you must be saved.
When man fell (Adam ate the fruit that God told him not to eat) original sin entered the world. From that day forward every single person born was/is born with a sin nature. But it goes much deeper than that. Every single one of us is born into total depravity. Because of the fall, every part of us: our mind, our emotions, our flesh, our will is corrupt to our very core. Ephesians 2:1 tells us that we are all dead in our sins (we are already dead and sentenced to hell for all eternity). Jesus said in Luke 18:19 that no one is good and in Romans 3:12b we read “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” We are completely depraved (morally corrupt and wicked). Our entire nature is against God and His justice and against His rule and sovereignty. Everything we do, and everything we strive for, is for ourselves. Isaiah 64:6 says “…All our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” And in Romans 3:10-11 Paul tells it like it is: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Because of this total depravity men do not fear God or have any inclination or desire to seek God or His forgiveness.
But we should fear God and seek forgiveness because God is also just.
AND God’s justice is also perfect.
God is all of those things I wrote above AND He is also a Just God. God’s justice is perfect. Here’s the answer: You (we) must be saved FROM God! God’s perfect justice, which we so richly deserve, is complete and total destruction. WE DESERVE to be sentenced to hell and suffer unbearable, unimaginable pain for all time because of our total depravity and separation from Him.
“But God!” Ephesians 2:4 starts with “But God.” There it is. God’s justice is perfect and we deserve to be sentenced for our sins, BUT GOD does not desire for anyone to face His perfect justice (2 Peter 3:9). If you have read this far, God is calling you to Him right now. If you will humble yourself and put your trust in Jesus alone you can be saved FROM God’s perfect justice. The whole passage in Ephesians 2 tells us we are dead already “BUT God” is calling us (has called us) out of our sin, out of our death into His life: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Verse 8 again “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” The ONLY way to salvation is through God’s grace and by putting your trust, your faith in Jesus alone. God created man to glorify Him. That is why He made us in His image. When we put out trust in Jesus we then desire to glorify our creator God and to submit and serve Him. Not ourselves.
If you do not put your trust in Jesus you will get what you deserve: God’s Prefect Justice.
* If you allow your children to be disobedient and disrespectful to you and other people, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok to steal from your company, or anytime or from anyone else, you need to get right with God.
* If you always put yourself first and others second, you need to get right with God.
* If you don’t feed the poor, the widows, and children, you need to get right with God.
* If you don’t do what you can, even if it’s hard or inconvenient, to help your neighbor or a stranger, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok to flirt with other people when you're married, or to have intimate relations with someone who is not your spouse, you need to get right with God.
* If you take the Lord's name in vain and use it as a curse word, you need to get right with God.
* If you revile, curse, and profane that which God calls holy, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok to lie, or you justify lying, you need to get right with God.
* If you think you don't need God or that God does not exist, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is a woman's right to choose to murder her unborn baby, you need to get right with God.
* If you think gay marriage and homosexual relationships are natural and good, or you support Gay Pride, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok for a man and woman to live together and not be married, you need to get right with God.
* If you think pornography and explicit sexual content is ok, you need to get right with God.
* If you think it is ok and acceptable to subject your children to anything or anyone who is not a wholesome influence (such as Gay Pride parades and “Drag Queen Story Hour” for children), you need to get right with God.
* If you think that all paths lead to heaven, you need to get right with God.
* If you put anyone or anything else above your relationship with God, you need to get right with God.
* If you believe only the parts of the Bible you like, you need to get right with God.
* If you follow, or submit your mind and your children to anyone who does not preach and teach the Bible as God wrote it, you need to get right with God.
* If you have bitterness or hatred in your heart for another person, or group, you need to get right with God.
* If you have anger, and refuse to forgive someone who wronged you, you need to get right with God.
* If you are always causing trouble for others, you need to get right with God.
* If you boast of your own accomplishments and puff yourself up because you are so important and powerful, you need to get right with God.
* If you do not love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, you need to get right with God.
* If you do not love your neighbor as yourself, you need to get right with God.
* If you tell lies, badmouth, and slander others, you need to get right with God.
* If you are hooked on drugs or alcohol, you need to get right with God.
* If you practice witchcraft or Satanism, you need to get right with God.
* If you allow evil thoughts to control you, you need to get right with God.
* If you have rejected the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are damned to hell for all eternity. You need to get right with God.
* If you made it all the way through this list I imagine at least one of these made you pause and think. As I was typing this out, quite a few said “Hey Jim! Gotcha!” Drove home to me how much I NEED to get right with God.
For ALL have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23).
Let’s face it. Not one of us live perfect lives and does not sin. But the beautiful thing is God knows this and He loves us anyway. As a matter of fact, He loves us so much He made a way out for us. A way out of the hatred, anger, depravity, immorality, loneliness, selfishness, addiction, resentment. A way out of being lost. He gave us Jesus. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Every sin. EVERY ONE OF US. All we have to do is ask for forgiveness and trust in Jesus.
Basically anything you do that God would not approve of, or if He would not be able to say to you “Well done my good and faithful servant” is what WE all need to ask forgiveness for and turn away from those things.
Jesus said “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29).
Will you turn to Jesus now? Or perhaps, like me, you need to recommit to Him again. In your own words just tell Him you are sorry for your sins and you know you need Him as the focus point of your life. Then ask Jesus to be your Savior and to guide you in His truth. Then start reading your Bible (again). I recommend starting with the Gospel of John (that’s the 4th book in the New Testament). And find a church that preaches and teaches the Bible as written. A church that preaches about repentance, salvation, forgiveness, the Blood of Jesus, and living holy lives. Don’t go to a church that only wants to entertain you. You will not grow in the Lord there.
And please feel free to contact me if you have any questions, need help, or just need to talk.
I am an Addict (added 8-27-17)
I have a VERY addictive personality. I smoked 1½ - 2½ packs a day for 18 years and enjoyed cigarettes through the day I quit (Dec 7, 1996). I was addicted to them not only physically, but mentally as well. Some people can smoke or not smoke at their will. I HAD to smoke. My mind and my body craved them. Even today I have an urge, a craving to smoke from time-to-time, but I know better. I know with me even just one puff (I would inhale!) and I would be hooked again. So, I never dwell on the desire for a cigarette.
I am also an alcoholic. I know this will probably come as a total shock to everyone who reads this. (Pastor Patsy I am sorry.) No one would have ever guessed this about me (except Patty). I do not drink very often at all. I never drank daily or started drinking early in the day. I never woke up and had a drink, or drank before (or during) work. And when I do drink, I very rarely have more than a six pack. In fact, I have not had a drop of alcohol in about 2 months. But I crave it from time-to-time. And when I allow myself to start thinking about getting a six pack the thought can consume me.
Why am I telling you this? Because I think it is something I am being compelled to share. As most of you know, I am an ordained, licensed minister. I am a Preacher and I write Bible studies. You might think a man such as me should not have these issues. But I do. And I would venture to guess most (all?) struggle with some kind of deeply hidden secret they never want to share with anyone else. I really did not want to share this. But I am reminded of James 5:16 which say “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” So, the reason I am sharing today is to reveal this secret to my Brothers and Sisters in Christ to ask for prayer, but more importantly to encourage each of you to find someone you can confide in. Someone you can trust to help you through your struggles. It may be some kind of addiction (pornography, alcohol, smoking, drugs). Or perhaps you hate yourself: you have no sense of self-worth or you loathe yourself for how you’ve lived or acted and you cannot forgive yourself. Perhaps you cannot find it in your heart to forgive someone else for a wrong they did to you, or they have treated you badly for a long time – and you just CANNOT forgive them. Or perhaps you are full of pride in what YOU are doing FOR God. I don’t know what you struggle with, but God does. His Holy Spirit does. And that brings me to my next point.
You see, the Holy Spirit has been working overtime on me on allot of different levels lately (not just the alcoholism). AND I WELCOME AND CRAVE His complete unravelling of me. I ask Him to open me up and reveal every sin, every flaw, every aspect of my life and my spirit which is keeping me from COMPLETELY surrendering to Him. I want! I crave! I desire! I need to completely surrender to God. I want to be so completely His that there is nothing I won’t do for Him or for His Kingdom. So, I ask Him to break me down like the Drill Instructors do to the New Recruits in Basic Training: They break down the boys and girls to train up Warriors! I want to be a Warrior for God who will be victorious in every battle for the Glory of God!
How does this transformation happen? How does it work? Well first you must honestly, sincerely want to change. Then you confess your sins to God and ask for forgiveness. Then ask Him (God) to have His Holy Spirit reveal those areas in your life that need changed and to give you the desire, strength, determination, and victory over these areas. And you continue to pray and seek and knock (Jesus said in Luke 11:9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”)
Don’t give up and don’t become weary of the struggle. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Don’t become discouraged and give up - Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
When Satan reminds you of your sin, of your addiction, of your weakness immediately rebuke him in the name of Jesus! The name of Jesus is powerful (Acts 4:29-30, 16:18; Philippians 2:-11; 1 John 3:23). Satan and his demons flee before Him!
Read/study/absorb/consume the Bible
Two books I cannot recommend highly enough are “The Pursuit of God” by A. W. Tozer and “Crazy Love, Overwhelmed by a Relentless God” by Francis Chan.
Don’t dwell on evil/bad thoughts – rebuke those thoughts in Jesus’ name.
Think on these things - Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”
Spend time alone with God and think about His power, might, strength, love, security – He is here right now for you! Trust in Him and call on the name of Jesus. Trust in Him and His Holy Spirit to help you be victorious in your Walk with God.
“And David said to his son Solomon, ‘Be strong and of good courage, and do it; do not fear nor be dismayed, for the Lord God—my God—will be with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you, until you have finished all the work for the service of the house of the Lord’” 1 Chronicles 28:20.
Dear Father I ask you to reveal anything I am trying to hide from you or that I have buried deep within me – reveal it to me and I ask you to forgive me of that sin. Father God, I ask you to guide each person who may read this. Help them to seek your help, your love, your wisdom, your counsel, your strength. Help them to call on the name of Jesus and put their whole trust and self into you - to depend wholly and completely on you. I ask you Father to have your Holy Spirit to reveal to them just how much you long for an intimate, frank, personal relationship with them. Help them to love you with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. And finally Father I ask you to help each of us to one day stand before our Lord, our King, our Savior and hear Him say “Well done my good and faithful servant.” In the mighty, loving name of Jesus. Amen and Amen.
Why We Need God (added 5-15-18)
The American Christian has it backwards. You see, we’ve got it wrong. We hear about Jesus dying on the cross for us and we might feel a little sorry He went through that for us. We think He suffered because the Roman soldiers beat Him with a savage whip, pounded a crown of inch-long thorns into His head, and nailed Him to a rugged, splintered tree which caused unbearable pain as He slowly died. We believe when He was praying in the garden (Luke 22:42) and asked His Father God to take the cup from Him He was so worried and afraid of the physical torture and humiliation of the manner in which He would soon be murdered that He was sweating big drops of blood and begged God to not let Him die like that. But we’ve got it wrong. Jesus was not concerned about His body and the pain He was prepared to endure. Jesus knew the only way to secure our salvation was if He drank the cup of God’s divine wrath. All of God’s holy wrath and hatred toward sin and sinners (us), stored up since the beginning of the world, was soon to be poured out on Him. The cup of judgement was the sins committed by every single person and the consequences of those sins. When Jesus allowed Himself to be hung on that tree every sin you and I ever committed, or will commit, was charged to Him. And because of that sin, God turned away from Him and Jesus died alone in humiliation and separation from God. That is why Jesus was in anguish and sweating big drops of blood. He knew the price He was to pay for you. For me. And He paid it anyway.
“One preacher described it as if you and I were standing a short hundred yards away from a dam of water ten thousand miles high and ten thousand miles wide. All of a sudden that dam was breached, and a torrential flood of water came crashing toward us. Right before it reached our feet, the ground in front of us opened up and swallowed it all. At the Cross, Christ drank the full cup of the wrath of God, and when He had downed the last drop, He turned it over and cried out, ‘It is finished.’
This is the gospel. The just and loving Creator of the universe has looked upon hopelessly sinful people and sent His Son, God in the flesh, to bear His wrath against sin on the cross and to show His power over sin in the Resurrection so that all who trust in Him will be reconciled to God forever” (David Platt “Radical”).
And we believe God needs us. We think we are doing Him – God, the Sovereign Lord of all things – God, the Creator of all things – God, on whom we rely for our very next breath – God – a favor by condescending to “come to Him” and to “accept” Jesus as our Savior. We believe we are doing Him a favor by saying a prayer, pretending to do what He wants us to do, and by pretending to follow Him. “We have taken the infinitely glorious Son of God, who endured the infinitely terrible wrath of God and who now reigns as the infinitely worthy Lord of all, and we have reduced Him to a poor, puny Savior who is just begging us to accept Him” (David Platt “Radical”).
Once we look at the true meaning of the price Jesus paid for us don’t you think our response should be more? More than a prayer, or an hour on Sunday, or a “thank God” thrown up when we think He helped us some way? More? More? More?
“We have been told all that is required is a one-time decision, maybe even mere intellectual assent to Jesus, but after that we need not worry about His commands, His standards, or His glory. We have a ticket to heaven, and we can live however we want on earth. Our sin will be tolerated along the way. Much of modern evangelism today is built on leading people down this road, and crowds flock to it, but in the end it is a road built on sinking sand, and it risks disillusioning millions of souls.
Biblical proclamation of the gospel beckons us to a much different response and leads us down a much different road. Here the gospel demands and enables us to turn from our sin, to take up our cross, to die to ourselves, and to follow Jesus. These are the terms and phrases we see in the Bible. And salvation now consists of a deep wrestling in our souls with the sinfulness of our hearts, the depth of our depravity, and the desperation of our need for His grace. Jesus is no longer one to be accepted or invited in but one who is infinitely worthy of our immediate and total surrender.
You might think this sounds as though we have to earn our way to Jesus through radical obedience, but that is not the case at all. Indeed, ‘it is by grace you [are] saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast’ (Eph 2:8-9). We are saved from our sins by a free gift of grace, something that only God can do in us and that we cannot manufacture ourselves.
But that gift of grace involves the gift of a new heart. New desires. New longings. For the first time, we want God. We see our need for Him, and we love Him. We seek after Him, and we find Him, and we discover that He is indeed the great reward of our salvation. We realize that we are saved not just to be forgiven of our sins or to be assured of our eternity in heaven, but we are saved to know God. So we yearn for Him. We want Him so much that we abandon everything else to experience Him. This is the only proper response to the revelation of God in the gospel.
This is why men and women around the world risk their lives to know more about Him. This is why we must avoid cheap caricatures of Christianity that fail to exalt the revelation of God in His Word. This is why you and I cannot settle for anything less than a God-centered, Christ-exalting, self-denying gospel” (David Platt “Radical”).
We act as though God needs us. But don’t you think we need Him? I have come to the conclusion that God does not need me any more than He needs a watch to tell time or a television to see current events. God does not need me. But I NEED Him! I need Him more than my next breath. I need Him more than I need food or water. I need God! I need Jesus! I need the Holy Spirit!
“The revelation of God in the gospel is good. I invite you to receive it. Maybe to trust in the Christ of the gospel for the first time and for the first time to receive a new heart, a new heart that is not only cleansed of sin but that now longs for Him. Or maybe simply to recover a passion for God’s Word-His radical revelation of Himself-and discover once again the reward that is found in simply knowing and experiencing Him” (David Platt “Radical”).
God loves me and He has called me to Him. And God loves you and He is calling you. If you’ve read this far it is time to put your whole faith and trust in Jesus. No gimmicks, no part-way, but all of you – right now.
Still Standing – the Armor of God (added 5-15-18)
Most us know about the Armor of God (Ephesians 6:11-17) and we try to remember to put it on sometime before we face our day. When we “put on our armor” we are ready for WAR! OohRah!!! Military Guy ya know. :-) But most of us stop there.
Unfortunately we quickly forget we’re wearing it and that we are Warriors for Christ. We get off track right out of the gate most mornings and then we are trying to battle Satan, temptation, and our mind in OUR OWN power. If you’re like me – that does not work - Ever. We are at war with the enemy! 1 Peter 5:8 says “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” Read that passage again. Know this: the attacks can (and usually do) come from people we know and trust. Satan will use anyone or anything to defeat Christ’s Warriors.
What we need to realize, embrace, and trust in is God’s Power. Look at Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and the power of His might.” Hmm, doesn’t say “be strong by yourself in your might” or “I am strong in my might,” but “Be strong in the Lord and the power of HIS might.” We need to remember we aren’t in this alone. We have the POWER of the Lord God Almighty indwelling us in the person of the Holy Spirit. He gives us strength when we are week. He makes us strong in battle through His Power.
The Armor of God:
- The Belt of Truth is the Holy Word of God. We should be encompassed, or encircled, by God’s truth. His truth protects us and strengthens our backs to walk uprightly in His counsel through His Word. And don’t miss how beautifully this ties together: Jesus is the Word of God and He is the Truth (John 1:1, 14:6).
- The Breastplate of Righteousness protects us and reminds us to be holy and righteous because the Lord our God is Holy and Righteous (Leviticus 11:44, 1 Peter 1:15-16). Proverbs 11:4 says “Riches do not profit in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death.” Sin will prevent us from being holy. We need to surrender all of our “private indiscretions” (the sins we know and love) to God. And when we commit any sin, ask God for forgiveness and turn away from it.
- The Sandals of Peace allow us to have a firm footing regardless of our trials or conflicts. We have total assurance of the peace that passes all understanding supplied to us by God. God says He will give us peace in all things (2 Thessalonians 3:16).
- The Shield of Faith carried in our hand is used to “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” We have the faith in God. However, we must lift up our Shield through our continued reliance and belief that everything God says in His Word is true and that His Word does not return to Him void, but it will accomplish everything He wants it to (Isaiah 55:11).
- The Helmet of Salvation protects our mind from any thought that causes us to stray mentally from the battle and it gives us hope and comfort by reminding us our salvation is already secured through the Blood of Jesus and our trust in the Savior. We are assured that we are Children of the Most High God (Galatians 3:26) and He will protect us (Psalm 121:7-8).
- The Sword of the Spirit is the Living Word of God as it is spoken by God’s children. When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert, Jesus did not attempt to defeat him in His own power, but instead spoke the Word of God with authority and He rebuked Satan. When we face a challenge, temptation, or attack if we know the Word of God, and speak it, we rebuke, silence, and defeat the father of lies, Satan (John 8:44). When God’s word is used, Satan and his legion can do nothing but flee “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
The Armor of God is not just about surviving and getting through our days. God’s Armor is designed to protect the Mighty Warrior of Christ from the host of Satan and anything they can try to do to us. We are sanctified and set apart to be Warriors and to take the battle to Satan. The Armor is our protection from all attacks, and with all of the pieces fit perfectly together and through continued prayer and supplication in the Spirit, we not only fight the enemy, we CONQUER the enemy. We do not cower, afraid of what the enemy may do to us next. We take the battle to him! As Paul so wonderfully describes it “That you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” We remain standing after every battle victorious and we remain standing ready for the next battle. Ever vigilant, ever ready, ever victorious!
The Apostle Paul wrote to Timothy “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8). Amen and Amen! THIS is our endgame!
From Whom? (Added 5-23-18)
God is love. God is merciful. God is gracious. God is great. God is good. God is kind. God loves me. God love you. God loves everyone.
God is perfect.
God’s grace is perfect.
God’s mercy is perfect.
God’s love is perfect.
Almost every preacher or person who talks to you about God or Jesus will tell you that you must be saved or you will go to hell. But they (we) almost never tell you from whom you must be saved.
When man fell (Adam ate the fruit that God told him not to eat) original sin entered the world. From that day forward every single person born was/is born with a sin nature. But it goes much deeper than that. Every single one of us is born into total depravity. Because of the fall, every part of us: our mind, our emotions, our flesh, our will is corrupt to our very core. Ephesians 2:1 tells us that we are all dead in our sins (we are already dead and sentenced to hell for all eternity). Jesus said in Luke 18:19 that no one is good and in Romans 3:12b we read “There is none that doeth good, no, not one.” We are completely depraved (morally corrupt and wicked). Our entire nature is against God and His justice and against His rule and sovereignty. Everything we do, and everything we strive for, is for ourselves. Isaiah 64:6 says “…All our righteous acts are like filthy rags…” And in Romans 3:10-11 Paul tells it like it is: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.” Because of this total depravity men do not fear God or have any inclination or desire to seek God or His forgiveness.
But we should fear God and seek forgiveness because God is also just.
AND God’s justice is also perfect.
God is all of those things I wrote above AND He is also a Just God. God’s justice is perfect. Here’s the answer: You (we) must be saved FROM God! God’s perfect justice, which we so richly deserve, is complete and total destruction. WE DESERVE to be sentenced to hell and suffer unbearable, unimaginable pain for all time because of our total depravity and separation from Him.
“But God!” Ephesians 2:4 starts with “But God.” There it is. God’s justice is perfect and we deserve to be sentenced for our sins, BUT GOD does not desire for anyone to face His perfect justice (2 Peter 3:9). If you have read this far, God is calling you to Him right now. If you will humble yourself and put your trust in Jesus alone you can be saved FROM God’s perfect justice. The whole passage in Ephesians 2 tells us we are dead already “BUT God” is calling us (has called us) out of our sin, out of our death into His life: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience - among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ - by grace you have been saved - and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
Verse 8 again “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.” The ONLY way to salvation is through God’s grace and by putting your trust, your faith in Jesus alone. God created man to glorify Him. That is why He made us in His image. When we put out trust in Jesus we then desire to glorify our creator God and to submit and serve Him. Not ourselves.
If you do not put your trust in Jesus you will get what you deserve: God’s Prefect Justice.
