It's Enough

Will my mouth declare your praise, when the salt starts to lose it's taste..

Will my heart be contrite, when I'm standing in Your light..

If pride didn't come before a fall, would I even seek you at all?

 

How can I forget, it's not about how I walk

but what you've done to cause me to

How can I think it's by these hands that I've been given rest

when all I do is fall on my knees in forgiveness.

 

I'm sorry it took this long to see, how far I am from who you want me to be

In the distance are the mistakes I've made, in Your forgiveness I'm saved

pardoned and redeemed by a grace that's finished and complete.

 

How can I forget, it's not about how I walk

but what you've done to cause me to

How can I think it's by these hands that I've been given rest

when all I do is fall on my knees in forgiveness.

 

I wake from a sleep of being broken, blessed to be forgiven

In silent confession I find, that I was walking blind

May I hold to what you love, and know it's enough...

 

R3TURN to Me

I always hear this or something like it said;

"God was a tyrant/unloving/unmerciful in the

Old Testament, and yet He was full of Grace/Love/Mercy in the New."

This, and statements like it, is nothing more then biblical ignorance. First and foremost God doesn't change..

"And also the Strength of Israel will not lie nor relent. For He is not a man, that He should relent." 

[-1 Samuel 15:29-]

"For I am the LORD, I do not change"

[-Malachi 3:6-]

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever."

[-Hebrews 13:8-]

God not being full of love and grace in the "old" is absolutely false. This statement that He has changed or was any different then He has always been can be proven false in so many different ways. For instances, do you think God was oblivious to the fact that the Israelites would backslide? Do you think He was surprised when they started worshipping idols and false gods?

Do you think He was like: "…hmmm…I did not think they would turn from me, I totally didn't see this coming."

If you think so, well you are wrong..check out Deuteronomy 31

And the LORD said to Moses: "Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land, where they go [to be] among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them.

"Then My anger shall be aroused against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide My face from them, and they shall be devoured. And many evils and troubles shall befall them, so that they will say in that day, 'Have not these evils come upon us because our God [is] not among us?'

"And I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they have done, in that they have turned to other gods.

"Now therefore, write down this song for yourselves, and teach it to the children of Israel; put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for Me against the children of Israel. "When I have brought them to the land flowing with milk and honey, of which I swore to their fathers, and they have eaten and filled themselves and grown fat, then they will turn to other gods and serve them; and they will provoke Me and break My covenant.

"Then it shall be, when many evils and troubles have come upon them, that this song will testify against them as a witness; for it will not be forgotten in the mouths of their descendants, for I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land of which I swore [to give them]."

Deuteronomy 31:16-21

"For I know the inclination of their behavior today, even before I have brought them to the land which I swore to give them." hmm..doesn't sound like God is oblivious to the fact that the Israelites would turn away from Him.

God knew before they even set foot in the land He promised them, that they would eventually turn away.

Yet God still fulfilled His promise to His chosen people, and knowing they would turn away still showed mercy and forgiveness. In Deuteronomy 30 The LORD says;

"Now it shall come to pass, when all these things come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call [them] to mind among all the nations where the LORD your God drives you,

"and you return to the LORD your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, that the LORD your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the LORD your God has scattered you.

Deuteronomy 30:1-3

Return to ME, God was willing and is willing to forgive because He is loving and merciful. Look at Jeremiah chapter 3

"They say, 'If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man's, May he return to her again?' Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me," says the LORD.

Jeremiah 3:1

If a man divorces his wife and she becomes another man's, there is no returning back to the first man,

She is considered unclean. Israel had turned to so many different idols and gods, she had many "lovers"…like a whore….YET God being as loving and merciful as He is simply says "Return to Me"

The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: "Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.

"And I said, after she had done all these [things], 'Return to Me.'

Jeremiah 3:6-7

Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say: 'Return, backsliding Israel,' says the LORD; 'I will not cause My anger to fall on you. For I [am] merciful,' says the LORD; 'I will not remain angry forever.

Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the LORD your God, And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,' says the LORD.

"Return, O backsliding children," says the LORD; "for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

Jeremiah 3:12-14

What a tyrant God is…so unmerciful He is, to forgive an adulterous nation who turned their backs to Him, but not their faces. God had and absolutely has mercy, he asks you to return to Him, even after all of Israel's backsliding, all their abominations and idolatry God wanted them back! and He still does! Even after all your backsliding all your abominations and idolatry and sinfulness God still wants you, Yeshua Hamashiach-Jesus Christ the son, God in the flesh coming and taking the wrath we deserve is the ultimate proof of that.

Thank God for the breath of life in your otherwise dead lungs, each day amongst this completely wicked world He holds back the return of the SON is a testament of His mercy. Each day we wake is a chance of repentance, every time a non-believer wakes God is showing His mercy! seeking repentance He simply says "Return to me!" 

"We have acted very corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.

"Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, '[If] you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;

'but [if] you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, [yet] I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.'

Nehemiah 1:7-9

The Gospel of Tolerance

Before I get into just how unbiblical this worldly gospel of tolerance is, I'm going to hammer home the real gospel first.

How are we saved? Is it by our goodness and our good works? no…we have only sinfulness apart from Christ, anyone who claims to be without sin is a liar and the truth is not in him(1 John 1:8) and it is by God's grace that we are saved not by works (Ephesians 2:12)

Are we saved for OUR glory? think about that for a moment, "saved for our glory"…what possibly could we offer God? God creator of the universe and EVERYTHING in it, who is all righteous and glorious! does He need us? like He is bound by some kind of law that's above Him where He has to forgive us of all our wickedness, does he seriously need us? need our approval, need our glory? of course He doesn't, it's not for our glory that we are saved BUT for HIS..

Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.

Isaiah 43:7

Paul said:

"God forbid if I should glory in anything except

the cross of Christ."-Galatians 6:14

"For My name's sake I will defer My anger, And for My praise I will restrain it from you, So that I do not cut you off. Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tested you in the furnace of affliction. For My own sake, for My own sake, I will do it; For how should My name be profaned? And I will not give My glory to another.

Isaiah 48:9-11

That makes it pretty clear God doesn't share His glory.

It is by His grace, and for His glory that we are saved.

We should rejoice in this fact and present our bodies as a living sacrifice Holy and acceptable to God, as it says in Romans 12:1.

The question becomes are we living out this testament? are we living for His glory or are we living for ours? Does the word transform us to recognize its not about us or do we transform the word to be about our glory?

Romans 12:1 says by the mercies of GOD..present your bodies as a living sacrifice. So because of what God did to save you, I.E sending His son, God himself coming in the form of man and living a Holy un-sinful life, the perfect man/unspotted lamb and then being the sacrifice for our sinfulness! He took the wrath that we deserve! Because of all this, and because of who God is we surrender ourselves fully to Him, to give Him the honor and glory that is due to Him.

This is why fruit should be produced if we claim we know Him, to know Him means we know all glory is His and His alone and we seek only His will. This is why sin was and is dangerous! 
This is why the word of God says;

"The wages of sin is death"-Romans 6:23

Sin takes all focus off God and puts it on us, it becomes about what we want and desire in our fleshly nature,

OUR Desires

OUR Needs

OUR Will

Sin chokes us and intangibles us consuming our every action and purpose robbing us of the Holiness that cost Christ everything and making it all about OUR glory.

This is why daily we are called to mortify our nature, to put to death our flesh and put our focus on Christ who has overcome death, He has taken sin and overcome it for us once and for all. ALL GLORY TO HIM!

Now remember what I said the question is…

The question becomes are we living out this testament? are we living for His glory or are we living for ours? Does the word transform us to recognize its not about us or do we transform the word to be about our glory?

The gospel of tolerance isn't about God's glory period.

You see the world wants you to believe that tolerance=love, that Jesus was tolerant of sin..and if you are a Christian then you are suppose to just show tolerance and not open your mouth about what is wrong or right, for there is no right or wrong.. per say, the only wrong there is is to tell someone else they are doing something wrong and that's very "unchristian".

This is the world we live in people. You know the funny thing about tolerance is that it's not very tolerant to those who hold to the bible being absolute truth, Ironic is it not? Lets tackle issue number one

"Tolerance=Love" and well Christians are suppose to love..right? so hence we are suppose to be tolerant of wrong doing.

First of all, lets say I am married and my wife who I love is sleeping around, if I love her I should just tolerate her wrong doing right? I mean, it's just her life style she chooses to live…if I truly love her I would tolerate it right?

Or 


how about if I have a child, and he is you know living his chosen life style of being a terror by breaking things and stealing other kids toys and what not, you know normal kid stuff…if I love him I should just tolerate his choice to do so..right? I have no right to say what he is doing is wrong do I? I mean I "love him" so tolerance must be shown..

The fact is tolerance doesn't equal love like the world wants you to think, what is love? well 1 corinthians sums it up pretty nicely;

Love suffers long [and] is kind; love does not envy; 

love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 

does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, 

is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 

bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Oh look at that, none of that looks like "Tolerance" to me. We as Christians are called to love, yes absolutely..but love doesn't mean no correction, no standing firm on solid truth and no warning of wrong doing. We should correct, we should stand on biblical truth and we should warn of wrong doing and all of this we are called to do in a loving way. 

Drugs lead to a broken life and death, so if I had a friend or a son who was doing drugs would it be loving for me to just ignore their destruction and just act like what they are doing is their prerogative and it doesn't matter? or would it be loving to warn them that what they are doing isn't healthy and what they are doing leads only to death..

The answer is obviously the latter, that is actual love, which is why in a loving manner we warn that the wages of sin is death(Romans 6:23)

The gospel and Christ's message isn't a gospel/message of tolerance, if Christ was tolerant of sin then why did he say things like "Repent"(Luke 13:3) and go and sin no more (John 8:11). The fact is if Christ was so tolerant of sin then why did He come to die because of it?(Romans 6:10) and don't even say the typical liberal answer of;

"Well Christ died and it is by grace I am saved so I can continue living in sin"

That's complete garbage, Matthew 16:24-25,Romans 2:4,Romans 6:15,Galatians 2:20, the whole bible debunks such thinking. It took a cross and the wrath of God on His Son to forgive us of sin…how is that tolerance of sin?

My whole point is this…the gospel is about surrendering to Christ, it's about His glory and not ours…the bible doesn't allow for personal opinion and tolerance it's plain and simple…. believe and follow or don't.

I realize the world and the way it's going , and I know the world is going to say I am a bigot and even say I am un-christian because I am not "tolerant of sin"…but I am not accountable to the world, I'm accountable before God.

The world will rip Kirk Cameron for saying being gay is unnatural, and isn't what God wants for us on Piers Morgan. and the world, and people like Piers, will confuse "Love" with "tolerance" and ironically be intolerant of gospel truth. We were warned in the bible about  people who call evil good and good evil(Isaiah 5:20)…and warned in revelations about the Lukewarm so this is all just a sign of the times.

I'll continue to stand by God's word un apologetically, and because I do that doesn't mean I hate gay people. They have the same opportunity of eternal life as I do and it is ONLY through surrendering to Jesus Christ. 

A homosexual might say "well it's easy for you to be saved and stand by the bible because it is heterosexual and doesn't say what you do is wrong"

Actually, it isn't "easy" specially in this oversexed generation to live a surrendering life to Christ. Just because I'm straight doesn't mean it is "easy" for me, I struggle all the time with lust, after all I am not married and if I were to have sex outside of marriage with a woman I would be just as wrong as a homosexual,

sin is sin…sexual immorality is sexual immorality it doesn't matter if I'm straight or gay. 

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.- 1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Only by the grace of God can we be saved, Only by what was done for us on that cross are we saved. We have to put to death our self-interests,our will. our flesh and fully rely on and surrender to Christ because ONLY He saves us.

Oh America...how far you have fallen...the world replaces love with tolerance and it's only a sign of the end...

with that being said....

BEWARE THE MARK OF THE BEAST!

Does God want good for us?

God say's do not worry about food or clothing or about your life period. 

[Matthew 6:25]

Why? because He promises to take care of us

if we put our trust in Him. This doesn't mean we wont

struggle or have tribulation it simply means God has our back and we are ultimately not in control, but our Father who is:

All knowing

All powerful

and seeks our good is.

Since there is struggle and tribulation in this life,

does that mean God doesn't want any good for us?

This probably sounds like a dumb question, it is however a question that has been brought to my attention that I struggle with. 

Don't get it twisted; I don't question if God is good or

if He watches out for us, this is kind of hard for me to explain, so let me try and explain it this way.

When tribulation comes I'm prepared to not turn my back on God, not going to blame or curse Him for troubles that come my way. However, when things are relatively fine it seems my focus is on the upcoming struggle/tribulation, like I am waiting for when trouble comes around so I can give it to God and show that I wont rebuke Him for it. My reasoning for doing such I believe is for two reasons

Reason #1

Because of in the past how when I was going through 

a kidney transplant(at 17 if you haven't read my testimony) I refused to believe there was a god,

and I cursed the only god I was exposed to at that time, which just happened to be the Only ONE true GOD

there is. I've realized my error in cursing God and feel

such shame and sorrow for ever doing so that now I wait for any tribulation to come so I can try and make up for my cursing of Him and prove that I love Him.

Now in a sense I am in the right, we should absolutely

praise God even if we are going through struggle( no matter how big or small the struggle is) As Christ says;

"In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good

cheer; I have overcome the world."-(John 16:33)

So we should put all our faith in Him to pull us through!

However we should not be waiting for tribulation or trouble with a negative mindset, further more my mistakes in the past are just that.. in the past, I can not 

make up for what i've done, in fact… Christ has already made up for it, and Only He could rectify my wrong doing in the first place.

Reason #2

Simply put…"The name it…claim it…prosperity gospel"

nothing upsets me more then blasphemy against God, He is everything to me, so hence this false gospel I abhor. Not only is this gospel of "God wants you to have all the desires of your heart" leading millions to hell, I also believe it is robbing the very goodness of God.

"And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you;

seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened

unto you. For every one  that asketh receiveth; and he 

that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall

be opened."-( Luke 11:9-10 )

A verse that gets twisted by the prosperity gospel to mean "whatever we ask for we shall get". So when it is spoken or I come across it I ignore it, because I don't want to hear about asking for things or God wanting good things for me, because it's about His glory, and I only care about HIM, not what He can do for me.

Now again with reason #2 for struggling with God wanting good for us, I am in a sense in the right. It is absolutely about God, and everything is for His glory and I better not dare think that He is some kind of genie in the sky thats there to grant my every desire. But at 

the same time it please God to bless His children

Luke chapter 11 after verse 10 continues with..

"If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if [he ask] a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, 

will he offer him a scorpion?

If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall [your] heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?"

Luke 11:11-13

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

John 15:7

And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do [it].

John 14:13-14

And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give [it] you.

John 16:23

If we ourselves being as corrupt sinful and wicked as we are know how to do good to our children, then how much more our Father in heaven? GOD is the ultimate good, the biggest blessing we will ever receive is Him opening our eyes to His existence, drawing us closer with Himself, why would we want anything more? creator of the heavens and earth who actually wants a relationship with us? of course God wants good for us He wants Himself for US does He not?

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:

1 John 5:14

God is good, this isn't about wealth this isn't about having all that we desire, it's knowing that we have a God who listens to us, who wants to bless us, who wants to work through us and it is still all for His glory!

But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that

wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind

and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall

receive anything of the Lord.

James 1:6-7

Ask in Faith, you want wisdom? you want knowledge?

you want God to help you with something? Then ask in

FAITH! Full Assurance In The Heart! that what you ask of Him He hears you and wants nothing but the best for you! Don't ask with doubt! If you do, then don't be surprised when God doesn't answer your prayers, if you expect Him not to answer you then why would He?

God doesn't work through those with lack of faith.

Ye lust, and have not: 

ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: 

ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.

Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume [it] upon your lusts.

James 4:2-3

Do I even need to explain this verse? If you are asking something from God, and you are not getting it…it may very well be because what you ask is not to glorify Him, it's for your own pleasure. If you want to be of the world then be of the world, you can't serve God and be worldly it doesn't work like that, that's why the American gospel of prosperity is abhorrent and a gospel of demons.

God wants the best for us, so He gives us Himself,

even though we don't deserve it…

He heals

He answers prayer

He lifts us up

He helps us walk

He is the end goal

Matt Chandler brought this up while he was going through a brain tumor,and he said he believes that God can heal him, and He will heal him, and even if He doesn't he knows whats awaiting him, and I think it is quite relevant to this whole topic of does God want good for us?

Chandler got "God can, and will, and even if he doesn't" 

from the book of Daniel.

Remember Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego?

(specifically in Daniel 3:14-20) King Nebuchadnezzar

had them in front of him and ordered them to worship a golden image, they refused to do so and the King said if they don't he will throw them into a fiery furnace.

They all still refused to bow down and said; 

"even if you throw us in this furnace

1.Our God is able to save us

2. He will save us

3. even if He doesn't we still wont bow down.

Our God is good and able, He will answer our prayers

but even if He doesn't it is all just a part of His glorious plan.

The †GRACE† you don't deserve.-[PART-2]

Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned

Romans 5:12

All have sinned, all fall short of the Holiness required.(Romans 3:23)

Sin entered the world/our human lives by one man(Adam) and sin was defeated and conquered through one man(Romans 5:15) that being Yeshua Ha'Mashiach(Jesus Christ)

We are not all punished because of one mans sin,  we are punished for what Adam brought into Gods perfect creation, the disposition that we all hold on to, and that is we have a right to ourselves and we are our own god. We either realize that we are not our own (Romans 14:8, 1 Corinthians 6:19) and fully surrender to who we ultimately belong to (Christ) or we just continue living in our natural state, our natural disposition which is ultimately selfishness.

Now to fully grasp forgiveness, to understand who Jesus Christ was, His purpose, and why His sacrifice means anything, we first have to understand the need, we need to understand what we are forgiven from right? We say God is a loving God, we say He is fully of mercy, and make no mistake about it.. He is. However at the same time we also say He is a Holy and Pure and a righteous judge.

"The LORD is righteous, For I rebelled against His commandment. Hear now, all peoples, And behold my sorrow; My virgins and my young men Have gone into captivity.- Lamentations 1:18

We see through out the bible that He is completely both. Holy and pure beyond what we could ever comprehend, He is absolutely a God of justice. The question you should be facing is; 

How can a Holy Pure Righteous God look at us with anything but wrath and anger?" and rightfully so! His word says several things about us that should make us understand just how undeserving of Grace we are…

"the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth"

Genesis 8:21

"Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me."

Psalms 51:5

"[There is] none who does good, No, not one."

Psalm  14:3

"The heart [is] deceitful above all [things], And desperately wicked; Who can know it?

Jeremiah 17:9

"For You [are] not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness, Nor shall evil dwell with You."

Psalms 5:4

By our fallen nature we all want what Adam & Eve wanted, and no it's not some fruit from a tree, it's what Satan tempted Eve with back in Genesis 3:4-5.

We want the knowledge of good and Evil, we want to be our own god to decide for ourselves whats right & whats wrong. It's selfishness thats what sin is in a nut shell.

So once again we come to the question;

"How exactly can a righteous God who abhors sin, after all how can God be Holy & Pure/ Righteous if he tolerates Evil, how can He show us mercy? Grace? Love?

remember what Romans 3:23 says..

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

1 John 1:8

"But the Scripture has confined all under sin"

Galatians 3:23

Maybe we can please God by works, earn His Grace & Mercy? a noble concept except for the fact that how can one who is born wretched & Evil a sinner (as the bible plainly states we all are) even begin to do a work that would please a Holy Just & Righteous God? Like the fantastic story "Pilgrims Progress" My iniquities are over my head, they are too heavy for me to carry(Psalm 38:4)

But we are all like an unclean [thing], And all our righteousnesses [are] like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

Isaiah 64:6

So we can't ourselves follow Gods laws and commands because we are wicked and want to be our own god, our works are like filthy disgusting rags in Gods Holy sight and to top it all off we are living in a world that's fleeting and will soon pass away, all it's pleasures are meaningless under the sun(read Ecclesiastes).

Sounds like we are screwed, and WE ARE! this is what I want you to see, more importantly it's what God and His word wants you to see, that on your own BY YOURSELF YOU ARE SCREWED. 

That's not what you want to hear is it? and let's be absolutely honest it's not pleasant sounding, and it drives us crazy that we are not in control. This is not something the world is going to advocate, because the world is a self fulfilling place. The world wants you focused on constantly fixing YOU, selling you empty promises of fulfillment and false ways of ultimately fixing yourself, wether that's by giving into selfish desires or taking pills to mask the suffering and struggle you are in. There's no hope and peace in hiding and masking what you are through pills and self help. Again, the fact is YOU  can't help you.

Once again we are stuck with where does Gods grace come in? how can we be saved from our enemy(ourselves)/our very nature(sin). 

Want to know where Gods grace/mercy comes in? His love and grace you don't deserve? Jeremiah 23:6 says "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" He is our righteousness(LORD here meaning The Lord Jesus Christ) and lets remember Isaiah 53

"But He [was] wounded for our transgressions, [He was] bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace [was] upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5

Grace you don't deserve is God sacrificing the undeserved, the spotless ultimate lamb Yeshua Ha'Mashiach (Jesus Christ).

"Who is the image of the invisible God"

Colossians 1:15

"For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."

Colossians 2:9

Jesus Christ Himself said if you know Him you know the father, He also said;

 He didn't come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:28)

Christ came to be a sacrifice and through Christ we not only see the justice of God(His wrath), but we see His mercy and love too. Justice and wrath in the fact that because of our sinfulness it pleased God to sacrifice His son Jesus Christ(Isaiah 53:10), and   mercy and love in the fact that He was willing to cast all our sinfulness onto Him on the cross instead of giving us all what we deserve.

This and ONLY this is an amazing Grace….a Grace you DONT DESERVE!

All glory to God for His righteousness, His Holiness, His Mercy and Love!

Gods grace, when we ultimately understand it, drives us to want to please Him.

This is a good thing , but it's absolutely insulting when we put "us pleasing Him" above His Grace. Our performance above His sacrifice does nothing but place us above HIM, and it becomes about what we do not what He did.

"Souls are not made sweet by taking [ill tempers] out, but by putting something in - a great Love, a new Spirit, the Spirit of Christ. Christ, the Spirit of Christ, interpenetrating ours, sweetens, purifies, transforms all. This can only eradicate what is wrong, renovate and regenerate, and rehabilitate the inner man. 

Will-power does not change men. Time does not change men. Christ does. Therefore "Let that mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." "

Henry Drummond

Do..YOU..Love God?

Quick question for you, Do you LOVE God?

Now for those who are brothers in sisters in Christ,

I'm sure you are thinking "Sure do!", even unbelievers

might even say "Sure, why not". This might, at first glance,

seem like an easy question, HOWEVER, if this question

is so easy and if every self professing brother and sister in

Christ would answer "Yes, I sure do" without hesitation,

Then why may I ask do we not ACT like it?

Maybe we don't know what LOVE really is? Just maybe

we have a inadequate view of the meaning of LOVE?

Perhaps we have a "World View" of what love is.

Now if we want to know what true Love is, the easiest place to look

is Jesus Christ. John 15:13 says:

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's

life for his friends."

Jesus Christ took the wrath we deserved, loving what didn't deserve to be loved, forgiving what didn't deserved to be forgiven.

I think this is, as it says, a stumbling block for most…because you see a lot of us don't think we are underserving,( some of us do

and that also can create a problem of not accepting what Christ's

has done. ) A lot of people treat God as if

He has some obligation to love us, as if He had to forgive our sins.

So they miss the big picture, and they don't see how evil they are,

and they don't truly see God's LOVE because they just blow it off

like He is required to.

We tend to look at love like "What's in it for us" but that's not love at all. Love is a surrendering of SELF, of doing something

for someone else not out of requirement or to GET something in

return. I'm going to type that out again:

Love…IS…NOT doing something for someone else out of requirement! Are we not saved by THE GRACE of God?

God didn't have to create the human race…wasn't required too..

God didn't have to forgive our WICKEDNESS…wasn't required too

But God did create the human race and He did forgive our sins!

AMEN! glory be to Him alone!

Now this brings me to this overall point, Why don't

we LIVE and Act like we LOVE God? sin is conquered,

let it go MOVE FORWARD in Christ! Jesus says in John

14:15

"If you love me, keep My commandments."

Then why is it many claim to Love Christ, but yet not want to listen

to what He said? I'm not talking about works, I'm not talking about people falling in sin as it will always(while on earth) be

something we have to continually make war against, DAILY

we have to Die to our Flesh! Many say they love Christ,

but refuse to die daily! many say they love Christ and say

they have no need for His commandments or at least they act

like they don't need to be changed by Him.

The fact of the matter is, if you TRULY and honestly LOVE Christ

then you will surrender yourself. AND AGAIN Love is not doing something out of requirement, if you love Christ you wouldn't want to do anything else but FOLLOW and hang on His every word.

"For this is the will of God, that by doing good you may put to

silence the ignorance of foolish men- as free, yet not

using liberty as a cloak for vice, but as bondservants of God."

1 Peter 2:15-16

This my brothers and sisters goes hand in hand! We see Gods

grace His overwhelming mercy and forgiveness and how we

are free from sin,(NOT Free to sin…Free FROM sin)

but we don't take our freedom lightly…

we know how evil we are without Christ and we know the price!

we don't use our freedom as a means to sin MORE..NO!

we see our freedom and we hold it tightly we see our forgiveness

and we see how undeserving we are of it, we see Gods power and love and we surrender as servants looking for Him to work through

US! looking to please God and follow His commands not for

our Glory…but HIS GLORY the only place Glory can be placed!

Blessed [is] the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight [is] in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

The ungodly [are] not so, But [are] like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

Psalms 1:1-6

I want to share something with you, ready? I'm not the best

example of a follower of Christ, each day I must remember

to die to this selfish-flesh of mine. I seek to be that shinning light,

not for my glory but Gods, and I know He needs to shine through

me, it's not me working for God and me taking credit, it's

God working through me and giving Him all glory for it.

There's no good in me, I can't create good, I can't save myself..

if I rely on me i'll only disappoint. God's love is amazing the more we realize how undeserving we are of it, His love should bring us to the point of surrender, it should bring peace and faithfulness.

Sometimes we lose sight of what's important, and we claim

we love God but our actions say otherwise…we must

be convicted of our weakness and we must give it to GOD,

because only He can bring the change needed.

What we can not do is get to a point where we think change

can not come, that the new creation that we are suppose to be

can not come. We can't say we love God and then live a life

of blatant contradiction. It's like saying you love your wife

but then you continue to sleep with someone else on the side.

Listen, I know we all struggle in certain areas of our walk,

and we fall down BUT

1. we can't stay down

2. we can't expect to change if we rely on ourselves to

do the changing.

Here's the overall point i'm getting at; We will be tempted,

but it's what we do in times of temptation that matter.

If you think that you can stay strong, if you think that you

can ever change you, then you are going to end up in a never

ending cycle of failing yourself. The only way you will ever change

is through Jesus Christ, giving up and surrendering to Him

is the only way change can come. Are all things possible with God?

Then look to Him not yourself! the only thing possible with you is

FAILURE

Be thankful that God doesn't give up on you, that you are

indeed forgiven and through HIM you can be remade new.

If we love God, then we must surrender to Him, we must

repent and ask Him to bring the change we can't bring ourselves..

the more you try to save you with your own power the more

you will fail.

This doesn't mean a life of surrendering to our sinfulness,

This is about living like we truly love God and surrendering

to Him to save us from ourselves, it's the only way we can be saved.

Don't say "Oh well, this is who I am…I'm a sinner..I cant change

who I am" that's actually true, but that should drive

you to Christ not into stagnation.

I write this to all those who read, but not just to you, but to myself…

for I know I am no better and need to place all hope for change

in Christ not myself, and I need this change of living a life of sin

to living a life of Holiness. I need to surrender who I am, surrender

this body and let the Holy spirit guide and work through me…

there is no other way.

I pray God would work in you, reveal Himself and renew you..

that when temptations come whatever it may be that you

would run from temptations to Christ and rest in His Holiness.

That He wold bring the change that needs to come,

Ezekiel 36:27 says:

"I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."

This is what I ask for, and this is what God can and WILL do!

take our lusts our pride our selfishness our hard hearts and

change them to do YOUR will oh God! too walk in your statutes..

to love you as we claim we do! We don't need to defend

ourselves or attack others back who physically or verbally assault

us, you will vindicate us LORD, our strength lies not in our flesh

but in you God!

1 Peter 2:19-21 says;

"For this [is] commendable, if because of conscience toward God one endures grief, suffering wrongfully.

For what credit [is it] if, when you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this [is] commendable before God.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: Amen..