Before I gave my life to Jesus, I was in big trouble in my marriage. I remember waking up one morning and knowing in my know-er that only God could save us. And I began to search in that direction to find Him. I also had a medical problem. I believed that God could heal me; I just didn’t know if He would, because I did not know about the promises in His word and I didn’t know much about His character.
Continue readingFaith is the Substance, Part 1
Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the SUBSTANCE of things hoped for, the EVIDENCE, or the confidence… of things not yet seen.” (emphasis mine)
I believe word studies are crucial for expanding our understanding, so I consulted a dictionary to gain a more precise definition of the word substance, and I found these clarifying thoughts:
Substance is…the most important or essential part of something; the real or essential meaning; the quality of being important, valid, or significant, dependable or stable; having a solid basis in reality or fact.
Continue reading
Posted in God's Power, Relationship with God, The Will of God
Tagged bible, christianity, faith, God, Jesus
Leave a comment
The Purpose of Adversity
One of my favorite authors, Paul E. Billheimer, states in his book Destined for the Throne, that…“The bride (of Christ) must learn the art of spiritual warfare of overcoming evil forces in preparation for the tasks that await her following the marriage supper of the lamb.” (Page 49)
Since reading that statement, it has been going through my mind… Why does the Bride need to overcome evil forces when she will preside with Jesus over a kingdom where there is no devil? It’s a valid question, I think. According to the Bible, in the millennial reign of Christ, there is no devil. He is bound for that time period. His activity on the earth is done; it is paused. (He is released at the end of the 1000 years for a time, but that is for another discussion.) There is no deception being caused by him of any human being. He is not able to tell lies to human beings. The reign of Jesus Christ on the earth will be mostly a time of peace and righteousness as Jesus and His people will be in charge. Jesus comes back with His people and sets up His kingdom on the earth. They will teach the ways of God to the people.
Continue reading
Posted in Position of Man in the Plan of God, Relationship with God, The Will of God
Tagged bible, christianity, faith, God, Jesus
Leave a comment
Body of Christ, We Have a Problem
We have an identity problem.
Can you not see it manifesting in the earth, as sexual identity among unbelievers is now up for grabs? If human beings cannot grasp even the crystal clear evidence of the simplest thing such as what a male or a female is, we as a people are truly in dire straights. As the United States grapples with this insanity, the Body of Christ also has their own identity crisis: many do not know who they are as regenerated human beings, born anew in Jesus Christ, and elevated spiritually to sit in the heaven-lies with Him, above all spiritual powers and rulers. (Ephesians 2:6.) I submit to you that a great portion of the Body of Christ is not convinced in their hearts of who God has made them to be and the restoration that is available to them.
Continue reading
Posted in God's Love for Man, Position of Man in the Plan of God, The Will of God
Tagged bible, christianity, faith, God, Jesus
Leave a comment
Jesus Is a Yes Man
His yes button was and is always ON! Want to know how I know?
The story of the woman with the issue of blood in Mark 25:25-34 tells me so. I have written about this woman before in Dogtags and Pearls #7, but this morning I was reminded that God responds to faith. This story is the perfect picture that Jesus is a yes man.
“Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, ‘If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well.’
Continue readingThe God Who Notices You
Luke 12:6-12 (Matthew 10:29-30)
“Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
The passage reveals the insignificance (to men) of the value of sparrows. Jesus elevates the worth of sparrows here in Luke and Matthew by announcing they are not forgotten by Him. His pronouncement shines a light on the fact that God places higher value on living things than men do. We do not see as God sees. We do not assign value as God does. If the very hairs of my head are numbered, that means that God knows that number and that fact alone is extremely significant. If I wanted to know how many hairs fell from my head today, the Spirit of God could give me that information.
Continue reading
Posted in God's Love for Man, What God Sees
Tagged bible, faith, God, Jesus, zacchaeus
Leave a comment
Agreement With God’s Word
The main aspect of experiencing and enjoying the benefits of new covenant blessings (which were also promised in the Old Testament) is being in agreement with the word of God. Many people say, oh yes, I believe the word of God, but if I were to quote a particular passages of scripture to them, they would say they did not believe that. Or they would say, “well our church doesn’t teach that.”
Do you believe what Romans 10:9 says….”that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved,”? Do you believe that? I think most people would say they do. The verse goes on to say, “For with the heart man believes unto righteousness and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” I think most people would agree with this verse, that this is how receiving salvation happens.
Continue readingMy Yoke is Easy, My Burden is Light…
Jesus made a statement about being yoked with Him in Matthew 11:30. The complete passage Is “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Most people think obeying God is hard and it is if you are not relying on Him and don’t know His promises. We are full of misconceptions about Him because we are ignorant of His word. I would like to make the case that it is much easier to follow and obey God than we think. That’s because He has done all of the work. The passage above is not only a statement, it is a promise we can take to the bank! God cannot lie. Once you settle this fact in your heart, everything gets easier.
Continue reading
Posted in God's Power, Relationship with God, Trusting God
Tagged bible, christianity, faith, God, Jesus
Leave a comment
The God of This Age, Part 3
In order to “give the devil no place,” (Ephesians 4:27) it is vital that we practice loving others. 1 John 3:10 says, “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” We are also instructed to pray for our enemies (who are ruled by him) and those who want to do us harm.
Final judgment is coming for the god of this age
The final judgment of the devil is talked about in Matthew 25:41, which also speaks of the final judgment of ungodly men, “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
Continue reading
Posted in Position of Man in the Plan of God, The Will of God
Tagged bible, christianity, God, Jesus, satan
Leave a comment
The God of This Age, Part 2
In Part 1, we established from the scriptures that Satan is the god of this age, how he got that authority, and how Jesus came to get the authority back and has now delivered it again to men who have been born on the earth who will come out of the darkness and embrace the light of God..
The New Testament is full of references to the devil and how to deal with him, because we now have the ability, through our salvation and submission to Jesus, to reject his temptations and his activities. Just as Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, the church has the same commission. First we destroy the works of the devil in our own lives. Then we can preach the gospel, set people free, pray for the sick, and make disciples of the nations. We are to demonstrate the reality of the spiritual realm just as Jesus did. He even said we are to raise the dead. He said we would do greater works than He did. Many of His people today do not believe these things are even possible. They reject what He has said we could do.
Continue reading
Posted in Position of Man in the Plan of God, The Will of God
Tagged bible, christianity, faith, God, Jesus
Leave a comment
Dogtags and Pearls...the plain and the precious 