Newsflash: There is NO PEACE Without JESUS!

I recently made a website, Youtube, Facebook Fan Page, and Twitter for our church. We were WAY BEHIND times, haha. Our church has always been a ‘down home’ little hole in the wall-type of church where everyone grew up there, but we finally want to “get out there”… so we are dipping into cyber world to spread the word that there is a good church in our area that preaches Christ and Him Crucified!

We stay away from that watered down gospel that will pat you on the back and tell you that you are ok in your sin. We preach the whole truth: You are a sinner in need of a savior, Jesus IS that savior, He sanctifies and justifies through His death on the cross, and we teach how to live for Him after salvation takes place.

Anyway, I got a message this morning that our church twitter has a new follower. This follower is a “universal” teacher. He teaches that there are “bridges” that lead from all religions to God.

This made me angry!

There is only ONE WAY to God! And it’s through JESUS!

Jesus said,

“I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE: No man comes unto the Father (GOD) EXCEPT THROUGH ME” – John 14:6

This man was speaking of helping people find peace ‘within themselves’ and building a ‘bridge’ to peace.

THERE IS NO PEACE WITHOUT JESUS!!!!!! That bridge IS JESUS!

Why do people not understand this?!?

Reading this made me angry/ I began to read… 

and I stumbled upon this passage:

ROMANS 5:1-11

¹Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

²By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

³And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

⁴And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

⁵And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

⁶For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

⁷For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.

⁸But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

⁹Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

¹⁰For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

¹¹And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.

If you get a chance, drop by our church Facebook Fan Page or our Twitter and follow us… Help me build up our followers!

OH!

And if you get a chance, check out our new website too!

God Bless!

Your Jesus is NOT My Jesus! PART 1

I have been very angry. So angry that I want to tell the whole world. I have been doing a lot of reading and studying lately on a certain topic, and what I have come across makes me sick to my stomach!

One of my ‘pet peeves’ is false doctrine. This is something that makes me want to stand on a sky scraper and yell to the whole world that it is a lie!

2nd Cor. 11:4

⁴For if he that comes preaching another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, you might well bear with him.

*** Paul is telling the Corinthians that they have tolerated these false apostles who had preached another gospel. Preaching another Jesus will bring forth another spirit! This spirit will bring forth another gospel!

I refuse to tolerate this willful ignorance!

I am so angry that you can show someone the truth and point out false doctrine and they do NOT care! WHY don’t they care?!? They are perverting MY JESUS!!!

If you change just a small portion of the scripture – then you are preaching ANOTHER JESUS. If you are speaking of another Jesus – then you are NOT speaking of MY JESUS.

So I am apologizing now – just in case I get too hyper. I am sorry if I get hyper and offend you, but I refuse to be sorry for pointing out the error in doctrine.

False doctrine is such an important thing to point out to me that I have made a tab up at the top of this page for it. So far, this page is empty. I just do not have the time to post here on this blog as I would like. I wish this was my full time job. I wish I had time to write all day long. But I don’t. I do plan on getting more posted.

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The Cross is a Place of Defeat?!?

•  NO!  The cross is a place of defeat for Satan, but not for Jesus or believers. Jesus purposely went to the cross and He purposely laid down His life. Nobody TOOK it from Him! He laid it down voluntarily and willingly:  “They” say that Jesus was the biggest loser of the bible! This is sickening!

John 10:17-18

¹⁷  because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

¹⁸No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Jesus satisfied the demands of the broken law on every human being and He did it through His death on the cross. “IT IS FINISHED” = PAID IN FULL! His blood on the cross atoned for all sin. Jesus nailed the charges against us to His Cross. Satan had legal power to hold all men in captivity – but Jesus defeated him by His death on the cross.

Col. 2:14-15

¹⁴ having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵ And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

If you truly believe that the cross is a place of defeat for Jesus, than you are following another Jesus. You are not serving the same Jesus I am. MY JESUS defeated Satan on the cross. MY JESUS fulfilled the law on the cross. MY JESUS took the keys to death, hell and the grave away from Satan through His death on the cross. There is POWER in the name of JESUS. There is salvation in the name of Jesus. There is healing in the name of Jesus. There is answered prayers in the name of Jesus. Bondages are broken in the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus, Satan and his demons have to flee.

The Resurrection is a Place of Victory?!?

• So the cross is a place of defeat and the resurrection is the place of victory? Ummm, NO!
• Paul said this:

1 Cor. 1:18

¹⁸ The teaching about the cross is foolishness to those who are being lost, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

Paul did NOT say, “For the preaching of the resurrection…”

Gal. 6:14

¹⁴ But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

Again, Paul did NOT say, “save in the resurrection…”

So WHY do “teachers” and “preachers” do this? They throw the cross in the dirt while bragging of the resurrection. When Jesus died on the cross He said, “It is finished”. It was all completed at the cross!

Eph. 4:8

When He ascended on high,
He led captivity captive,
And gave gifts to men.

Jesus liberated these people before the resurrection.

Jesus Died Spiritually?

• “They” teach that Jesus become a sinner on the cross (hence, ‘a place of defeat’) – THIS IS UNSCRIPTURAL!
• “They” teach the Jesus, as a sinner, went to the burning side of hell where He suffered horribly for 3 days and 3 nights. Along with Satan and his demons celebrating the defeat of Jesus. – THIS IS UNSCRIPTURAL!
• “They” teach that at the end of the 3 days & nights, Jesus said, “It is enough", and that is when Jesus was then “born again” and resurrected from the dead. – THIS IS UNSCRIPTURAL! 
• I read a book this past week where one of these “teachers” is saying that on the cross Jesus became a homosexual, a thief, a murderer, a drunkard, and so much more. – THIS IS UNSCRIPTURAL!
• One of these “teachers” made this statement regarding these statements:

“You won’t find it in the bible; it has to be revealed to your spirit”

***If I can not find this in the bible, I REFUSE TO ACCEPT IT AS TRUTH!

Jesus Died Physically, NOT Spiritually!

• Peter said,

1 Pet.3:18

¹⁸ For Christ also suffered once for sins (ON THE CROSS), the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit

Jesus was “put to death in the flesh” – He did not die spiritually. To die spiritually, one has to have unbelief in God which separates that person from God eternally (Jn. 16:8-11)

“They” will argue and say that they do not teach that Jesus became a sinner on the cross – but a person does not need to be born again unless they are a sinner. MY JESUS WAS NOT A SINNER! YOUR Jesus may have been a sinner, but MY JESUS was Holy, harmless, undefiled, without spot and blemish, perfect and who knew no sin.

Heb. 7:25-26

²⁵ Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
²⁶ For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens;

In the Old Testament, the animal for the sacrifice had to be perfect, without spot and blemish (Ex. 12.5). God could not accept a polluted sacrifice. Jesus was made to take on our sin penalty, which His physical death on the cross. He offered Himself as a sacrifice. He did not become become a sinner. He was perfect, holy, without spot and blemish! He became a sin OFFERING.

2 Cor. 5:21

²¹ For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him

Isa. 53:10

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
      He has put Him to grief.
      When You make His soul an offering for sin, 
     

Jesus could not have been an offering for sin, had He been a sinner. God could not accept a polluted sacrifice.

HELL?

Jesus did not go to the burning side of hell to suffer for His sins. He went to Paradise.

• Paradise: (Lk. 16:19-31;  23:43) This was the non-burning place where the righteous people (including the Old Testament Saints) went when they physically died (before Christ died).
  • The righteous souls  were held captive by the devil against their will until Christ conquered death, hell and the grave. When Christ died he went down there & captured these souls & took them up to heaven with Him. Paradise is now empty! Righteous souls go  directly to heaven now at the time of their physical death.
  •  Before Christ’s death, righteous souls were held captive in hell. After His death righteous, saved, born again people are free to go immediately to heaven with Him!! 

Firstborn?

These “teachers” claim that Christ was born again in hell. THIS IS BLASPHEMY!

“They” teach this by using Rom. 8:29,

²⁹ God knew them before he made the world, and he chose them to be like his Son so that Jesus would be the firstborn of many brothers and sisters.

The word ‘firstborn’ here means that Jesus was the One who made it possible for all men to be ‘born again’. NOT that He was the first be be born again!

Col. 1:18

¹⁸And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

“Firstborn from the dead” means that His resurrections has made it possible for all believers to also be resurrected.

The Veil in the Temple

When Jesus died on the cross, the veil of the temple was torn in half (Mt. 27:51) meaning that redemption was now complete. From that time of His death, all people could come directly to God for salvation through Jesus instead of through the Old Testament sacrificial law. If Jesus had become a sinner and needed to become ‘born again’ – then that veil of the temple was torn in half prematurely.

When Jesus died, he spoke the words, “It is finished: Father, Into Your hands I commend My Spirit” (Jn. 19:30; Lk. 23:46) – If Jesus had become a sinner, He would not have used the word “Father”. Sinners don’t call God, “Father”.

To suggest that Jesus had become a sinner is not only stupidity, but it is blasphemy!

My God, My God, Why Have You Forsaken Me?

• When Jesus spoke the words, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Jn. 19:30, Lk. 23:46) “There was a darkness over all of the Earth” (Lk. 23:44).

During this 3 hour period of darkness – these “teachers” claim that Jesus became a lost sinner.

• THE TRUTH? During this 3 hour time period, Jesus was bearing the sin of the world and taking the sin penalty (which was physical death). God could not look upon this. When Jesus died, this sin penalty was paid in full. This sin debt was finished & taken care of once and for all! And God could once again look at Him and help Him when He said the words, “Father; Into Your hands I commend My Spirit”
• Again, Jesus could not have referred to Him as Father if He had become a sinner.

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And now I want to know:

How have people been so ignorant to believe this junk?!?

The Word of God is SO CLEAR. HOW do people fall into false doctrine?

I am so angry that people take this lightly.

IGNORANCE!

WILLFUL IGNORANCE!

There is only ONE ABSOLUTE TRUTH and anything else is “another Jesus”.

Hosea 4:6

⁶ My people will be destroyed,
       because they have no knowledge.
    You have refused to learn,
       so I will refuse to let you be priests to me.
    You have forgotten the teachings of your God,
       so I will forget your children.

• This ‘knowledge’ is the bible. The word of God.
• The ‘lack of knowledge’ is not speaking of ignorance or not understanding the bible. This is speaking of WILLFUL REJECTION of the Word of God.

It wasn’t that they didn’t know –

It was that they didn’t want to know!

Monday’s Life In Him–Hope

Happy Monday Everyone! Who wants to join in “Monday's Life In Him”? It’s easy… Just grab this button below & post it somewhere either on your blog post or on your main page. Then… Write a post about HIM (Jesus) Sometimes I just post a verse, sometimes I share a short story or sometimes I write a short study.Either way… Let’s spread His Word and His Love! <a border="0" href="http://wedonthaveitalltogether.blogspot.com/search/label/Life%20In%20%27Him%27" target="_blank"><img src="http://i845.photobucket.com/albums/ab13/jacquiblogger/danielle/buttonlifeinhim1.jpg" width="125" height="125" /> </a>

^{Here is what I have for today:}

^{More random thoughts…}

^{If you are a reader here, you know that I have been standing some trials lately… and I thank GOD for my friends that have kept me going. I sometimes feel at the very end of my rope until I open my email and get an encouraging message from you readers.}

^{I thank you all for that.}

^{Today I am going to share a few of these encouraging messages from the last few days that have really helped me.}

^{This morning I read from Katie @ On The Banks of Squaw Creek said,}

“Things don't always turn out the way WE think they are supposed to, but God has a plan for us, right?”

RIGHT. And I keep telling myself this. Maybe the house that ***WE*** really wanted was not as perfect as ***WE*** thought it would be. I don’t know how that is possible, but God does. I will trust that God has a better plan for us.

Jazmin from Happily Ever After told me to rebuke the devil from my home… WHY didn’t I think of this?!? Most of the time I am aware of this, but I have been so overwhelmed lately – it just slipped my mind. Thanks for the reminder that,

“greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world”

And then there is my bloggy friend Janet from Homeward Bound… I can’t say enough good things about Janet. She has really helped me lately. She is full of wisdom that I hope to have one day. Her emails I have kept in my inbox and I open her emails numerous times throughout the day to read the verses she has sent me. She even wrote about me here and titled it “Hope”. She used Romans 5:3,

“Rejoice in your suffering, suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and character hope”

Here are some other verses Janet has sent me over the past week:

Hebrews 11:6
And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Psalm 35:27-28
Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication;
And let them say continually, "The LORD be magnified,
Who delights in the prosperity of His servant."
And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness
And Your praise all day long.

Psalm 5:12
For You, O LORD, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

Psalm 84:8-12

⁸O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
         Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah.
⁹Behold our shield, O God,
         And look upon the face of Your anointed.
¹⁰For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
         I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
         Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
         The LORD gives grace and glory;
No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.
¹²O LORD of hosts,
         How blessed is the man who trusts in You!

And probably more of what I need to hear:

1 Tim 6:17
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy.

 
3 John 2
Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers.

These are important for me to realize that as long as I have my family, our health, a roof over our head and food on the table… we are beyond blessed!

Thank you Janet. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. You have helped me more than you know this past week.

And thanks to all others who have sent me encouragement this past week. You know who you are and I appreciate you all!

Much Love,

“Post-It Note” Tuesday

 

We Are Not Our Own

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (New King James Version)

¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? ²⁰ For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Oh this is a good one!!

If we are children of God, born again, saved by the blood of Jesus… then the Holy Spirit is living in us.  We are not our own because we were bought & paid for. We  were bought for a price: The precious blood of Jesus was shed for our eternity with Him. We belong to God!

Considering we ‘are not our own’ – do we do whatever we want with our bodies? In reality, I could write a list of ways that we abuse our bodies… but let’s just be simple.

If they Holy Spirit is living in us from the time of our conversion, I look at it this way:

• The Holy Spirit is taking part in  what we are taking part in.
• The Holy Spirit is seeing what we are seeing.
• The Holy Spirit is hearing what we are hearing.
• The Holy Spirit is in us when we are saying what we are saying.
  • So… what are we doing everyday with our bodies? Over eating? Smoking? Getting Tattoos? Cussing? Dragging someone’s name through the mud? Lusting?
  • What are we watching? Would we watch the same TV show if Jesus was sitting next to us on the couch?
  • What are we listening to? Would we listen to the same radio station if Jesus was riding shotgun in the car with us?
  • Would we be listening to gossip or taking part in dragging someone’s name through the mud if Jesus was in the conversation?

Romans 6:13

¹³ Do not offer the parts of your body to serve sin, as things to be used in doing evil. Instead, offer yourselves to God as people who have died and now live. Offer the parts of your body to God to be used in doing good.

¹⁹In the past you offered the parts of your body to be slaves to sin and evil; you lived only for evil. In the same way now you must give yourselves to be slaves of goodness. Then you will live only for God.

So what is so hard about this to understand? We are not to be the way we used to be, now that the Holy Spirit is living in us. We are not our own anymore. When we are going about our day… do we stop to think, “What am I doing?” or “What am I saying?”

Why don’t we stop & think:

• “Would I be taking part in this activity if Jesus was standing by my side?”
• “Would I be saying these things if Jesus was sitting here listening to me?”
• “Would I be thinking these things if Jesus was right here beside me?”

Well He IS!!! We really need to realize this through out our day. We need to glorify Him in all we say and do! There are only 2 spirits in this world… if we are not serving one, then we are serving the other.

We all need to examine our daily walk. Do we glorify Him in all we say and do? Do we even take this into consideration? Or do we go about our day with out even thinking about this?

I know God has a lot of work to do with me, that’s for sure :)  

“I'm not what I should be, I'm not what I want to be, but praise God I'm not what I used to be.”

~C.D. Brooks.

Ghosts!

Satan, Demons, ‘Ghosts’… OhMy!

Let’s talk about the spooky stuff! Why not?

Everyone falls into 3 categories on this topic: 1) Don’t believe at all & probably don’t want to hear about it, 2) Believe it but don’t know much… but have lot’s of their own theories, or 3) Believe it & know the truth. If you are in another category, sorry. I didn’t mean to leave you out.

{This topic is one of my pet peeves. It bothers me that there are so many that don’t know the truth about “ghosts”. People want to believe that these ‘ghosts’ are long lost loved ones that will watch over them like angels. Or they believe that their house is haunted by a ‘nice ghost’… so it’s ok. This drives me NUTS! The bible is very clear: When we take our last breath here on earth, we close our eyes & die & open our eyes in eternity. This is a fact. The bible is also very clear on the fact that once we wake up in eternity (whether heaven or hell) we STAY PUT & do NOT COME BACK for any reason! (Luke 16)  UNDERSTAND THIS PEOPLE!!! Ghosts are NOT dead people that come back to earth for any reason!!!}

Ready? Let’s get started!

The Greek words daimonion and daimon means “evil spirits” or “devils”. These words are used 77 times referring to demon spirits (‘ghosts’). There is also the Greek word diamonizomai which means “to have or be possessed by a demon”

The Greek word diabolos means “Satan” (The Devil), which means adversary, false accuser, slanderer. It is used 34 times regarding Satan.

There is a HUGE difference between these two different things: Satan & demon spirits. There is only one prince of devils but many demons.

Satan in an angel. He has an angelic body & can NOT enter bodily into anyone. Demons are DISembodied spirits & are not able to operate in the material world except through possession of the bodies of men & animals.

Other words used in the bible meaning “demon” (same Greek word, just different translation): familiar spirits, unclean spirits, evil spirits, seducing spirits.

Some general information about demons: They are subject to Christ and made subject to believers by the atonement, the name of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit (Mt. 8:16-17; 12:28; Mk. 16:17; Lk. 10:17; Acts 19:15; 1Pet. 3:22) This means that IN THE NAME OF JESUS demons have to flee. Now don’t misunderstand – YOU MUST BE A CHRISTIAN in order to use the name of Jesus. The demons KNOW if you are saved or not!! {Acts 19:13-16  - ¹³Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." ¹⁴Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵(One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" ¹⁶Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.} You don’t mess with demons unless you are covered in the blood of Christ because the demons KNOW who belongs to Him!

Here’s the kicker: Demons have been roaming this earth since BEFORE Adam & Eve! Yes, yes… Adam & Eve were NOT the first beings on the face of the earth. Before Adam & Eve there was a whole kingdom here on earth! Lucifer (aka Satan) was created by Christ along with other beings, principalities and powers in heaven and earth (Job 38:4-7; Ez. 28:11-17; Col. 1:15-18) Lucifer fell through pride over his own beauty (Ez. 28:11-17; 1Tim 3:6) and trying to exalt himself above God (Isa. 14:12-14). Anyway… Lucifer had a kingdom on earth long before the 6 days of Gen. (1:3-2:25) and the creation of Adam. These passages reveal that he fell, led an invasion into heaven and was defeated. At that time the earth was cursed and all life destroyed by the first flood, (as in Gen. 1:2… whole other story), NOT Noah’s flood. 

Soooo…. demons were roaming around before Adam & Eve between earth & hell… they know everything that has ever happened here on earth! They have seen every person who has ever lived. They have seen every person die.

Above I mentioned one of the names of demons is “familiar spirit”. This is what we call “ghosts”. We may see a ‘ghost’ that resembles our long lost great-grandpa that died in the attic. This ‘ghost’ looks like great-grandpa…it MUST be great-grandpa! NOT!! This is a “familiar spirit”!! These demons are so devious, they can make themselves look like any person who has ever been on this earth. People fall for this in other ways too. They see this ‘ghost’ that looks like some person who has lived back in the 1800’s or some other far away time period… and they look it up in history & find out this ‘ghost’ was a real person! Yes, demons CAN do this.

What WE need to do… is NOT BE IGNORANT to this! Don’t think these evil things are innocent ‘ghosts’ of dead nice people. The dead nice people are either in heaven or hell… and can NOT come back!!! Regardless if these things are scaring us or not – harming us or not – THESE THINGS ARE DEMON SPIRITS! No matter HOW you want to look at it – THEY ARE EVIL!! You do not want these things around! I think one reason for this is people want to hold on to some kind of hope that their loved one is coming back to visit or something. But this is impossible. It is impossible that our loved one comes back from eternity. This is the Word of God in scripture!

I really want people to understand how powerful the name of Jesus is. Demons know their destiny! In James 2:19 it says the demons know God and TREMBLE! They know that Christ has ALL POWER over them. They know their fate… that at the end of time they will be cast into hell for all eternity!

Demons also know who belongs to Christ. Us believers have the power over demons THROUGH CHRIST! Jesus gave us His permission to use His name to cast out demons, to heal the sick! 

Hollywood (and a lot of regular people) think you need to call in a priest or minister to pray over your haunted house or to do an exorcism… NOT TRUE! Jesus gave us His permission to use His name to do His work!! You just have to be a Christian. A believer. A born again, washed in the blood, child of God!

Luke 9

¹Then He called his twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases.

²And He sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

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Are YOU a child of God? A believer? Are YOU washed in His blood?

You have to believe that Jesus is God’s only son who died on the cross for your sins… and He was raised from the dead on the 3rd day. (Romans 10:9)

If you believe this, then talk to God. Tell him you are sorry for your sins & you want to be saved. Tell Him you believe in His Son Jesus, that He died for your sins & you believe He has risen!

After you have done this…

YOU ARE SAVED!

You are a child of God!

You are washed in the blood of Christ!

“Shall NOT Inherit The Kingdom Of God”???

WHO will NOT inherit heaven?!? ME?!? YOU?!?
Consider these verses:
Galatians 5:19-21 (King James)
¹⁹Now the works of the flesh (sins of the flesh) are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness (lewdness), ²⁰Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance (quarreling, disputes), emulations (jealousies), wrath, strife (selfish ambitions), seditions (divisions, disorder), heresies (distorting the truth), ²¹Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
So? What do you think?
“They which DO SUCH THINGS shall NOT inherit the kingdom of God”? Which translates into: We won’t go to heaven if we do any of these things?!?
Oh Man… I do some of those things, yeah I’m not perfect. No I don’t drink. I’m not into witchcraft. I don’t cheat on my hubby. No I’ve never murdered anyone. But wait… ‘murder’ could be considered ‘murdering’ someone’s name. When you talk about someone you can slander their name. Envy? Oh I might have been there before. Strife, jealousy, variance? Maybe at some point or another. Like I said, I’m not perfect.
So what does this mean?
{This is an important verse to me because of my recent past. We were going to a church that preached the “holiness” doctrine. Meaning this: Once you get saved, you should be perfectly holy. IF you sin then there is something wrong with you & you can not possibly be saved. It also taught that WHEN you DO sin… you are no longer saved. You need to repent and once you do repent – you are saved again. So forget about struggles, battles, falls. If you fall to temptation you are UNSAVED. Whew!! That is exhausting just thinking back to it. I guess they didn’t understand sanctification or justification. Sanctification is the process of becoming ‘Christ-like’. The growing process. The process in which the Holy Spirit cleans you up. Prunes your branches. Takes away the bad (works of the flesh) & instills the ‘Fruit of the Spirit’. We won’t be perfectly sanctified until we reach heaven.}
Ok. So where was I?
I am going to focus on the words “they which DO SUCH things”.
First of all this tells us that a person cannot have sin & God at the same time. There are people who think that their lifestyle does not matter. Some people think only their faith matters & not their actions. However, if we have the proper faith in Christ then our actions will match our faith. Now this doesn’t mean that the believer is perfect. None of us are. The bible does not teach sinless perfection.
Now on to the good stuff.
The word “do” in “they which do such things” is the Greek word “prasso” which means “to practice”.  This word is a present tense verb. (A continuous action.)  The Holy Spirit (through Paul) is speaking of the character of the person. The habitual practice of the person shows their character.   The person is either a habitual sinner or a habitual believer.  Paul’s statement does not mean that if a believer falls to a sin then he loses his salvation. He is speaking of a habitual continuation in sin with every intention to continue in this lifestyle. A believer is practicing a habitual lifestyle of a believer who slips & falls to a sin. This Greek word for ‘sin’ is a past tense verb. Meaning when we believers commit a sin – it is ONE SIN that we committed. PAST TENSE. It is a one time occurrence that happenED and is over. Not the same Greek word as here in this verse which is a present tense verb meaning continually going on.
God will forgive the individual seeking forgiveness. However this person seeking forgiveness should want these sinful situations to stop. To repent means to turn away from the sin. The person should not be seeking forgiveness just to continue in the sin.
Sin has no place in a believers life. “Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid” (Rom. 6:1,2) In other words: shall we continue sinning because God’s grace is big enough to forgive us? God forbid!  “How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?” (vs.. 2) In other words: Once we get saved we are dead to the sin nature. The sin nature is still IN us, but it has no dominion over us anymore.
To read more on the sin nature & victory over the sin nature read my post "Battles/Struggles & The Sin Nature".

Life With Him

This is a verse that I would have my little one’s in Sunday School memorize. They were pre & kinder’s. Very easy verse & very important to know!


Romans 10:9 (New International Version)

"That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."

So basically… similar to the famous John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”. Of course everyone knows this one.

The jist of it all? If you have faith that Jesus is The Only Son of God, He died for your sins, and He rose on the 3rd day… you are saved eternally. You will spend your eternal life with God in heaven.

Condemnation vs. Justification

Romans 8:1 says, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit"

What does this mean? What is your standing in Christ? Are you a Christian? Are you "In Christ"? There are only 2 classes of people in this world: Christian and non-Christian. Sooo if you are a Christian you are "In Christ". If we are saved, washed by the blood, living & walking with Him then you are NOT living under condemnation. No matter what anyone says - God's Word says otherwise. God's Word says we are free.

Condemnation is not a feeling. Condemnation is a standing. The opposite of condemnation is justification.  Justification is also a standing. We are either condemned to hell or we are 'justified'.  Condemnation = GUILTY!  Justified = INNOCENT of all charges!!

Imagine two chairs sitting across from one another. One one side you have the seat of "Condemnation". On the other side you have the seat of "Justification".  IN the middle between these two chairs is THE CROSS OF CHRIST. To get from the seat of "Condemnation" to the seat of "Justification"... the person needs to go through the Cross of Christ!! Thank you Jesus for shedding your precious blood so we can live eternally with you!!

However we are imperfect, and apart from the grace of God, all we do is sinful and falls short of God’s glory - we are not condemned. The Christian who falls & commits a sin...  This is when the Holy Spirit will make us feel 'conviction' for the wrong we have done against God. This IS a FEELING. And a feeling we should be thankful for! Thank God He sends His Holy Spirit to convict us of our wrong doing and set us on the right path again. Again this conviction is a feeling - unlike condemnation which is NOT a feeling. No Christian should feel condemnation. We are free!! We are JUSTIFIED!! We are INNOCENT of all charges!! Thank you Jesus!!

Romans 8:2 goes on to explains this: Paul writes, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.” He explains that because of the certainty of this awesome reality of life in Christ by God’s grace, the condemnation of sin that brings death no longer holds us captive. We are free. When we grow in grace, the grip of fear has less and less hold upon us.

It makes me angry when 'preachers' tell a whole congregation they are on their way to hell because they slipped up & sinned. For years I feared every move I made during the day. I was in prayer 24/7 repenting 'just in case'. I was living in fear and had NO JOY in my life. I was no taught about God's love & His grace. My kids were taught the same. They were taught that they would miss the rapture if they had a sin unrepented of. They also were not taught about God's grace. I have seen so many poor souls walk in church, get saved, and walk back out into the world - never to be seen again. That life is a miserable life. It is a life of constant condemnation. No joy. No peace. Why bother? It's too hard? No one can live under law. When living under law we are living under the death penalty. No one has successfully lived under law except Jesus. He came to fulfill the law. Put an end to it. We are now under His grace. I do not take sin lightly. Sin has no place in a believer's life. However, we do have Jesus. He will never leave us or forsake us. We can always call on Him!!

Battles/struggles & the "sin nature"

When Adam and Eve 'fell' they fell from the level of total God-consciousness ... down to the lower level of sin-consciousness. They were then controlled by the "sin nature". And then the entire human race became one of sin. Every single unredeemed person is controlled by the sin nature. No matter how you want to argue this fact - it is a FACT that the unsaved are ruled by the sin nature. US before we got saved were also ruled by the sin nature. The sin nature has POWER OVER us if we are unsaved. Our own WILL POWER is not strong enough to fight the sin nature. We may win at times. But ultimatly the sin nature has complete dominion over us. From the minute a baby is born the sin nature is in control. Do you need to teach a child how to lie? No. If you put two infants in a crib together along with one bottle... what happens? They fight over it. THIS is the SIN NATURE. (Eph. 2:1-3) Born in original sin, mankind is controlled by the sin nature, which is the cause of all war, strife, and man's inhumanity to man.

So how does a Christian STOP SINNING? If you take a poll and ask, "How do you stop sinning?" (I will use some big examples here: alcohol, drugs, sex, cheating, gossiping) - The answer you get will probably be the WRONG ANSWER! This saddens me. It is sad and depressing to battle something in your Christian life. It is sad and difficult to see someone else battle something in their Christian life when you don't know how to help.  If you have ever battled something in your walk that is similar to an addiction - then you have probably wondered the same thing: "HOW DO I STOP DOING THIS THING THAT I REALLY DON'T WANT TO DO...but I can't help but DO?" This answer can be found in Romans chpt. 6 & 7.  However the answer you will get from most ministers, teachers, fellow brothers & sisters in Christ... "DO" something. Read your bible more. Pray more. Stay away from the things that may lead you to be tempted to sin. Go to the preacher and have him lay hands on you. Stand in the prayer line. All these things are wonderful things to do in your Christian life, but they are not the answer to your struggles. My personal favorite...GIVE IT TO GOD! My answer to that one...HOW?!?!? Have you ever had a battle and sat there and talked to God and said, "Ok God - take this battle from me. I am giving it to you." How has that worked for ya? You have probably slipped to the battle not long after you asked God to take it from you, right? The reason that will not work is this: The believer who talks to God and says, "Take this from me"...is NOT putting his faith in the right area.

Unfortunatly this stuggle with the sin nature happens more to the believers who are the most consecrated. They love the Lord and to fail the Lord is a burden almost too heaye to bear. This make a Christian - a MISERABLE Christian. Not understanding how and where to get the victory, they are constantly failing the Lord. These people are lead to believe that the Christian experience is a daily struggle. IF a Christian is struggling with sin then he is fighting a battle which he can not win. Christians are to "Fight the good fight of faith" (1Tim. 6:12) but that should be the extent of our stuggle. Scripture says: "But this Man (Jesus), after He had offered one sacrafice for sins forever, sat down on the right hand of God; from hence forth expecting till His enemies be made His footstool. For by one offering, He has perfected forever them who are sanctified" (Heb. 13:20) In other words: Our Lord totally and completely defeated sin at the Cross of Calvary. His sacrifice of Himself was so perfect, so total, so complete, and so finla that it will never have to be repeated. Paul refers to this at "The everlasting convenant" in Heb. 13:20.

THE  ANSWER...
When a believing sinner comes to Christ, the sin nature is then made absolutely dormant. The sin nature has NO HOLD on the person anymore. The sin nature has NO CONTROL over the person anymore. The chains of sin fall off. The only way for this to happen is for the believer to register his faith totally and completely in Christ and the cross - and then MAINTAIN that faith. FAITH that when Jesus died on the cross and rose 3 days later... HE BROKE THE DOMINION that the sin nature HAD on us!! THIS IS WHERE OUR FAITH MUST BE!!! JESUS and the CROSS!!!! Jesus did so much more than just die on the cross!!! HE BROKE the POWER of the sin nature when He died!!! So the only answer to our sin 'battle' = Jesus and Him crucified!!!! FAITH in what HE DID on the cross!!! "FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH" (1Tim 6:12) We don't have to fight the sin nature - JESUS ALREADY DID!!!! That is exciting!! !!! There is NOTHING we can 'DO' except have FAITH in Jesus and His FINISHED WORK on THE CROSS

Here is a little formula regarding the sin nature and victory:
FOCUS:  The Lord Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:6)
OBJECT OF FAITH:  The Cross Of Christ (Rom. 6:3-5)
POWER SOURCE:  The Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:1-2, 11)
RESULTS:  VICTORY!! (Rom. 6:14; Gal. 2:20)

Now - this is the formula that most Christians will tell you to use:
FOCUS: Works (Rom. 4:2)
OBJECT OF FAITH: Performance - try harder (Gal. 2:21)
POWER SOURCE: Self (Gal. 5:2)
RESULTS:  FAILURE! (Gal. 5:4)

WANT HELP FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT?
 IF a believer continues to place his faith in Jesus & His finished work at the cross, then the Holy Spirit will work mightily in the heart and life of such a believer, bringing about righteousness, holiness, Christlikeness, and the Fruit of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit can not work any other way. The Holy Spirit is the 'dispenser' of the GRACE of GOD. Paul said, "For the LAW of THE SPIRIT of LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS has made me FREE from the LAW of SIN and DEATH" (8:2) The Holy Spirit works ONLY within the parameters of the Atonement.  It is the CROSS which makes it possible for HIM to live permanently within our hearts and lives, and to carry out HIS ministry as The Dispenser of GRACE on our behalf. HE ONLY REQUIRES FROM US FAITH IN CHRISTAND WHAT HE DID AT THE CROSS!!!!  However if the believer places his faith in anything other than the finished work on the cross... (for example: pray more. read more...) the Holy Spirit can not function. The Holy Spirit will not help that believer function under works & law. The Holy Spirit only functions under GRACE & FAITH in what Jesus did at the cross.

To sum it all up:  ALL the believer has to do is to understand that everything that comes to us from God has all been made possible through Christ and what He did at the CROSS. This is why Jesus said, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself (deny his own ability & strength), and take up his cross daily, and follow ME.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for My sake, the same shall save it" (Lk. 9:23-24) The "Cross" is so important that Jesus said we must take it up ON A DAILY BASIS. This is the only sucessfull way to follow Christ. When we do this, the Holy Spirit then works within our hearts and lives... to be sure the sin nature will then REMAIN DORMANT causing the believer no problems whatsoever.

It's all a matter of faith.

To read more about the sin nature I recommend this study guide:
"The Sin Nature"

WARNING: THERE ARE NO **GOOD** PEOPLE IN HEAVEN!!!!!!!!

There are only 2 classes of people here on this Earth. Christian & non-Christian. Saved or unsaved.

Being a "good" person is NOT a qualification to enter into heaven. The ONLY QUALIFICATION to be accepted by God into heaven is FAITH IN HIS SON JESUS! NOWHERE in the bible does it say you have to "do this" or "do that". Attending church won't get you there. Paying tithes won't get you there. Getting baptized won't get you there. Reading your bible won't get you there. Saying the same prayer a hundred times won't get you there. Telling your sins to a man in a booth won't get you there. Dipping you finger in a bowl of water won't get you there. Living by "the golden rule" won't get you there. Being "good" will not get you there.

Jesus said this: "I am the way (to heaven) the truth and the life, NO MAN can enter the kingdon (of heaven) except THROUGH ME" (John 14:6)  Meaning the ONLY WAY TO GET TO HEAVEN is to have FAITH IN JESUS.  Romans 10:9 says, "If you believe in your heart the Lord Jesus and confess with your mouth that God has raised Him from the dead, THAN YOU SHALL BE SAVED"  It doesn't say "be a good person, and God will let you in." Ephesians 2:8 says, "You are saved by grace through faith; and NOT of YOURSELVES: it is the GIFT OF GOD". In other words... there is NOTHING you can DO to "earn" your spot in heaven - It is a GIFT. Gifts are FREE. You can not purchase a gift. You can ACCEPT a gift though.

So that leaves us with this: Do you believe that Jesus is the only son of God and will you accept Him as your Lord and Saviour? If this is what you want, then pray a prayer similiar to this: "Father God I am a sinner in need of a saviour. I do believe in your son Jesus. I believe He died on the cross for my sins and arose from the dead and is living right now sitting next to you in heaven. Please save my soul and teach me how to live for you." This is where you become a child of God. Saved. Christian. Your name written in The Book of Life. Born again as a new creature. This is when your life changes.

I think most of the time a person thinks to themselves, "I have to stop doing 'this' or 'that' before I accept Jesus and become a Christian. That is not what God has asked of you. God has asked that you have faith in His son. God is the one who cleans up our life. Slowly-but-surely. Not instantly. It is a life process. We sure can't do it. How many New Years Eve 'promises' do we make to ourselves in our lifetime? Do we ever follow through? Nope. But God does. All you have to do is accept Jesus... and God will do the rest. Have an open heart and that is the first step. You are SAVED through FAITH in JESUS...BY HIS GRACE!!