Don’t abuse grace!

“What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭15‬-‭16‬ ‭

What this is saying is…so I can just go on and sin because Jesus saved me right? NO! Since Jesus saved us by dying for our sins we are now slaves to righteousness not sin. So with the power of the Holy Spirit we live righteousness lives instead of sinning purposely! 

Be like Christ!

Tom

Peace or no?

 ““There is no peace,” Says my God, “for the wicked.””

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭57‬:‭21‬ ‭

“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.””

‭‭John‬ ‭16‬:‭33‬ ‭

Reread those two verses again…what can we conclude? True peace can only be found by the true follower of Christ. Notice you will still have difficulties as a follower but you still have the peace knowing you are right with God and will dwell with Him forever!!!

Tom

He lives to God

 “For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭

Jesus did all the work. Took all sin to the cross. He lives to please God! Then in says “likewise” meaning we are to do the same by putting our faith in Jesus the One who did the work and then we are to live to God as well!!!

Are we? If not no better time to start than now!

Tom

Value

Read this in my devotional and wanted to share:

Khamara was a thief in Russia and arrested and jailed with some Christians who had been arrested for their faith.

 One of the Christians, with a smile, asked Khamara, "If somebody loses a gold ring, what is the value of that gold ring when it is lost?"

"What a foolish question! A gold ring is a gold ring. You have

lost it, but somebody else will have it."

"A very good answer," said the Christian. "Now tell me, what is the value of a lost man? A lost man, even a thief, an adulterer, or a murderer, has the whole value of a man. He is of such value thạt the Son of God forsook heaven for him and died on the cross to save him.'

The Christian said to the robber, "You may have been lost, but God's love can find you," Hearing this, Khamara gave his life to Christ.

You are of great value and so are others to God! Share Jesus!

Tom

A Savior!

Thank you Lord!

 “For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭2‬:‭11‬-‭14‬ ‭

Make sure….

 “And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world.”

‭‭I John‬ ‭4‬:‭14‬ ‭

The greatest gift of all…Jesus!!! I was reading the other day and the author made a statement I wanted to share. He said many will gather for Christmas and the name of Jesus will never be mentioned even though His birth is the reason they are gathering!!! Wow! Make sure that isn’t your house!!!! Or any house you gather at! How ridiculous when you think about it!!! We have many lost at our gatherings so be sure to share the gospel!!!! 

Have a great week and tell folks about our glorious Savior!

Tom!

David served!

 ““For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God,”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭13‬:‭36‬a

David knew his purpose in life was to do the will of God. He served his generation and other generations too. We have the same purpose…to do the will of God and serve others.

So ask yourself…are you?

Tom

The great exchange

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

‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭21‬ ‭

The verse above is called “the great exchange” by many. Jesus exchanged His righteousness for our sin so we can be right with God.  

Just chew on that today. We are so unworthy but oh so thankful.

Tom

Ambassador

 “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.”

‭‭II Corinthians‬ ‭5‬:‭20‬ ‭

Ambassador-an accredited diplomat sent by a country as its official representative to a foreign country.

As a follower of Jesus you are His Ambassador. He has given you the task to share the gospel in hope of reconciling the lost to God.

Are you doing your job?

Tom

True joy!

 The third week of Advent is joy. As I was studying for the sermon for Sunday I found this interesting. The definitions for joy according to the dictionary and according to the biblical definition.

Dictionary-a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.

Biblical-a deep, lasting inner gladness and spiritual delight, distinct from fleeting happiness, stemming from one's relationship with God, salvation in Jesus, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, enabling believers to rejoice even amidst trials as a gift and fruit of faith, not just circumstances.

So the worldly definition can come and go by circumstances. But by the biblical definition the follower of Jesus has joy because of their relationship with Jesus in which nothing can take that joy away!!!

Think on that today!

Tom

Do you value others?

 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬ ‭

Really chew on this one today. We are told to value others. I believe it means all others. And not only that but above ourselves!!! Most of us can admit we are not doing this on a regular basis. We better get to it…we are told to do so by God’s Word!!!

Tom

Complete the task

 “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭20‬:‭24‬ ‭

If you are a follower of Jesus you are called to share the good news of Jesus. Just like Paul said in the verse above we are to finish the race of life by completing the daily task of sharing Jesus to a lost world.

Are you completing that task? May we all be obedient servants and do so!

Tom

God wants worship!

 Something to chew on today I read yesterday in a chapter called Discipline of Worship by R. Kent Hughes.

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭

“Nowhere in the Holy Scriptures do we read of God’s seeking anything else from a child of God.”

“God desires worship above all else”.

So let me ask…did you give God what he wants yesterday, today, or will you tomorrow?

Tom

Remain teachable!

 “Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; 

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭9‬:‭9a

As a follower of Jesus you will never know it all. Be humble and know there are still things to learn and apply!

Tom

Our home with him.

 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭23‬ ‭

Jesus tells us here that God will make His home with the one who loves him and obeys His Word. So the question is…are we fulfilling both of these requirements? Better chew on that one!

Tom

Within you

 “Now when He was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, He answered them and said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.””

‭‭Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭21‬ ‭

Interesting what Jesus reveals to us here. The Kingdom of God will first be in you! What does that mean? It means when you put your faith in Christ you are now a part of the Kingdom of God as the Holy Spirit now dwells in you. You don’t wait til a later date it is immediately after faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior! 

Are you a part of the Kingdom of God? What are you waiting for?

Tom