As Jesus said in Matthew 7:16-17, ” By their fruit you will recognize them.” It’s not good enough to just talk the talk…we must also walk the walk. We can preach all day to our friends, neighbors, or co-workers, but it’s how we act and the things we do…or don’t do, that they’re really watching. Our faith…our obedience, is shown by who we are, and our actions towards others.
Tag: christianity
II Corinthians 4:4 ” The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
Satan is a liar and the author of all corrupted half-truths. So it’s no wonder that today’s world system has been conditioned by his lies. For the unbeliever, hearing the Gospel message is foreign…with farfetched concepts, and ideas that are just too bizarre to be taken seriously. Their minds have been made dull by the world’s perception of truth, and they feel no need for the Gospel in their life. It’s only when the penetrating light of God’s truth breaks through, that the blind can then see.
Proverbs 29:11 ” A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.”
Any blockhead can work themselves up into a frenzy of rage and anger when things don’t go their way. But it takes real Herculean restraint to remain in control of your emotions when things get heated around you. What spills out when you’re jostled by someone else’s anger or when you don’t get your way? Violent fury or restraint?
Romans 15:13 ” May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may over flow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
That deep inner psychological sense of hope, confidence and expectation can only be reached and fully satisfied when we allow the Lord to fill that “God shaped” void inside us. And that wonderful transformation then allows us to “spill over”….for the God of all hope fills us to over flowing so that we might give that hope to others.
Ephesians 2:12 ” Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.”
The deepest abyss a human can know is to be without hope…and separated from God. For the unbeliever, all hope ends at death…there is nothing else to cling to. And fear manages to erode away at what little time they do have here on earth. Without hope there is only dread and despair…without God there is only emptiness.
Psalm 27:14 ” Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
Our hope rest solely in the Lord and nothing else. And when we abide in Him and His mighty power, (Ephesians 6:10), that courageous side of us comes out and we’re able to persevere under tremendous pressure…because our strength comes from Him.
Matthew 14: 26-27 ” When the disciples saw Him walking on the lake, they were terrified. ‘It’s a ghost!’, they said, and cried in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: ‘Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.’ “
Fear will throw us into confusion…but the calm reassuring voice of the Lord can penetrate any chaos and be heard above any thunderous storm in our lives. But just listening to His voice is not enough…we need to then activate our faith. Because for a moment we might have lost our courage, but with the Lord’s encouraging words, we can find it again.
Hebrews 3:6 ” But Christ is faithful as a son over God’s house. And we are His house, if we hold on to our courage and the hope of which we boast.”
It is a special exercise of our faith when we face fear and doubt head on. At that moment, we need to hold fast to the truth with confidence and boldness that no matter what – God is still there and in control.
Hebrews 13: 20-21 ” May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing His will, and may He work in us what is pleasing to Him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. “
Everything you need to live a victorious, righteous life…every detail, every means of accomplishment, every plan and procedure, the Lord has not only prepared, but also provided for you. He is constantly working in our lives to bring out the very best in us. The Lord desires you to succeed…and He equips you with everything to do so.
Romans 3:20 ” Therefore no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the Law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.”
The writer of Romans, Paul, reasoned that obedience to the Law cannot justify one before God – because no one can keep the Law perfectly. For the very nature of the Law was to prove to us that we’re sinful…and the purpose of the Law was to lead us from our futile attempts at keeping it to putting our trust in Jesus instead.
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