Salvation Conversation

God is love you say? I totally agree with you! If we live a sinful lifestyle, God is love, most definitely. I can't, however, tell you that God is pleased with how you behave or carry yourself in public and in secret. He hates, yes He HATES it.

God loves righteousness and he hates iniquity, because He is HOLY! 

1Corinthians 13:6 "Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth" 

If I love that which is good then I must hate that which is evil, to have a pure love, yes?

Does He love the sinner, yes. So much so that He sent His only begotten Son to die for your sins and make a way of salvation for you. [John 3:16 - 21] 

That's a lot of love for a father to give the only child he has, much more with God who sees all our sin and disobedience every single day.

If I love babies, I must hate abortion.

If I take joy in marriage, then I must hate fornication, adultery and homosexuality.

If I love to see a hard working person earn their fair wages, then I must hate that which gains through dishonest means.

So now that He extends the only way to salvation, through Jesus Christ His Son, what will you do with His love.

Will you surrender and submit to His will and receive mercy or would you rather to pay for it yourself, pretending to love Him with words and end in destruction? [Matthew 7:13-27; 15:7-9]

You know that deep down in the heart you love Jesus, you say? [John 15:10; Exodus 20:1-17]

Fascinating...

Did you know that your heart has the amazing ability not only deceive you but justify your actions? [Jeremiah 17:9, 10]
The worse thing you can believe is that you are okay when you really aren't.
If you tell yourself that you can inherit what God has in store for the righteous, and you aren't righteous yourself you have a false hope in something you don't deserve, because you're trying to get in some other way. [Psalm 50:16-23; John 10:1]

But if you just come to Him, He will be a merciful Father to you. He will forgive your transgressions and remember them no more. [Isaiah 1:16-18; 55:1 - 11]

DO NOT try another method, don't pray to anyone else. Jesus alone is more than enough for you.
-------

If anyone says that to become a Christian is easy, it is not. It is not, it has never been and it will cost you EVERYTHING.

We don't go to God on our terms... oh no, we go to God on His terms, his way, according to His Word. The Bible (I trust the KJV more, since other versions seem to be a derivative of it, and I did some research).

We are not going to know God from reading a book about somebody, who knew somebody, who knew God, not from magazines or booklets, or best sellers. It is to just read the Bible. And if you may feel that you cannot understand the Bible without some help from other religious literature that profess that its interpretation is truth, read the scriptures and see for yourself.

Jeremiah 29:13  And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.

If you are given some sort of justification why you do some things, and reject others, consider this; there are many scriptures that warn against doing that.

Matthew 5:17-20

17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

-------
A cathedral in Lubeck, Germany has these words inscribed on its walls:

You call Me master and obey Me not.
You call Me light and see Me not.
You call Me the way and walk Me not.
You call Me the life and live Me not.
You call Me wise and follow Me not.
You call Me fair and love Me not.
You call Me rich and ask Me not.
You call Me eternal and see Me not.

-------

Go through the scriptures. They will make you wise unto salvation.

Repent; turn from your sins.
Accept the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and serve Him. He already is Lord.
Be baptized in His name.
Learn about Him and learn how to love him and how to worship Him.
Draw near to Him and He will draw near to you, and you will learn to be like Him and if you continue walking with Him then He that began a good work in you will finish it.

Righteousness is an Acquired Taste

Today I read this verse and it was today I actually realized what it meant. I read it before and I guess I never noticed. This is why the Bible, the Word of God can never get old.

In this parable Jesus was comparing old wine verse new wine. Or rather making an implication of the old life of sin and worldliness verses the new life in Christ and leaning towards righteousness. The word I want to point out is straightway, another word we can use is immediately. 

Notice he says that no man having drunk old wine straightway desires the new one, but rather he say, the old one is better. I'll start by saying that righteousness is an acquired taste, after all no man was born righteous (Romans 3:10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:), meaning that the life of sin that we would have before coming to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and accepting is one we preferred and were comfortable with. 

Becoming one who is righteous is a process, a growing process... you start somewhere. But you must persist... like I said, its an acquired taste... and once the taste is acquired, you should start to hate the old life.

Matthew 5:44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

This statement speaks to loving your enemies... quite contrary to mankind's heart which is inherently evil... Anyway I was saying the problem with people isn't that we don't love righteousness, the problem is, we don't hate sin... its true. We love good happening to us and we feel good when we do something good, but think about this, do we hate sin? Lets think about it and I don't mean some sin, I mean all of them... No justification, but confession!

Righteousness is an acquired taste... a process, it take renewal of the heart and mind...

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Additional Verses: 1John 2:15; Ephesians 5:17; 1Thessalonians 4:3;

All or Nothing

Greetings my friends, I was looking at this admonition last night and I want us to be very wary of the fact that this walk is not something to take lightly. It isn't something we can just claim to know the saviour and not know what we signed up for. It's not a decision to be taken lightly either. We have to consider the costs.

Luke 14:26-33 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

(27) And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

(28) For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? (29) Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,

(30) Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. (31) Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand?

(32) Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace.

(33) So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

This isn't a man telling us this. Christ himself said that we have to be willing to detach from all things and persons to be His disciple.

One thing we may see now if that there are many now in the evangelical community that invite many people to Christ when the person has little knowledge of who Christ is. Some of those who come to turn there life over to the LORD come and pray a prayer and leave feeling justified or feeling better about themselves, and when they leave they live just as godless as they use to under the banner of Christ (they don't even know they dishonour that saving name).

Praise the LORD for the ones He called to Himself, who follow Him and overcome this world.

I want us to ask ourselves, "Is there anything that's hindering me? What am I still attached to that I haven't given up? Is there something I'm too dependent on that is unnecessary?"

Hey who remembers a certain man that went to the Good Master? What did the Master tell Him?

Mark 10:17-23 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

(18) And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

(19) Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

(20) And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

(21) Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

(22) And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

(23) And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

No doubt this man sincerely wanted to inherit it, but when he was told the cost he was grieved. He turned back...

Luke 9:62 And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

So now I put forward a common sense question:

• Do we lose our stuff, our family and our positions and jobs when we die? Yes!

• We only get to keep these things when we're alive right? Yes!

• Eternal life without pain, suffering, tears, having complete joy and finally being able to see the face of God is totally worth it. Yeah!

What's stopping us? Most people won't come to the conclusion until it's too late.

So my brethren, don't lose out. Know your priorities.

Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

God said to Aaron:

Numbers 18:20a And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them:

Probably sounds harsh, I mean Aaron's a Levite, a priest or all people. We'd probably feel to say "Poor Levites... everyone else is gonna get inheritance but them...."

BUT...

Numbers 18:20b I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

THEY GOT THE BEST INHERITANCE!!!

They got the be in the presence of God, continually. Shall we not also, being a royal priesthood, take pleasure in dwelling in the presence of the LORD.

God Bless