Hebrews 12: Encourage to Live by Faith

As I was going through a study in Hebrews, I learned a lot about Jesus, who He is, what He did for us, and how we are to live and think.  Jesus sacrificed Himself for us; His blood was shed so that there is no more need for sacrificial offerings, there is no need to go to anyone but Him (He is the only way) to confess sins or to ask for forgiveness.  That is God’s grace.  We are not under the Law.  We are under grace.  Our salvation is based on accepting His grace, for He paid the price.  Salvation is not about following rules and regulations.  It is about following Jesus Christ.  It is about a personal relationship with Him.  It is about faith in what Christ can do, not about what we try to do to earn favor.  Continue reading “Hebrews 12: Encourage to Live by Faith”

God’s Promises: Comfort and Strength

In our weakness, God gives us strength.  When we struggle, He comforts us.  We will go through hardship; we will have times of weakness.  He doesn’t keep us from those times, He helps us to get through them.  He is always there for us, even when we don’t realize it.  The Spirit will guide us and strengthen us and pray for us. Continue reading “God’s Promises: Comfort and Strength”

God’s Promise: You Will Overcome

This week started out with some struggles at work.  I was frustrated and angry.  Someone said some things that really upset me.  It was early in the day, so it put me in a bad mood for awhile and I was flustered.  So, I prayed.  I prayed to clear my head and to not allow this affect my thoughts, my mood or how I treated others.  I prayed that I would have wisdom and that I would do my job well and that I would be a light to those around me.  I think to the most part, I was able to do that.  The Bible says, “be angry and do not sin,” or another version is something like “do not sin in your anger.”  I think I did pretty well, but the person I was most angry at was gone by the time I got back from underground (I am a geologist in an underground mine, so I was away from most of the people in the office).  As I was thinking about that this morning, I was thinking of one of God’s promises, that He is always with me and He will help me to overcome whatever situation I may be in.  As a child of God, I have this confidence. Continue reading “God’s Promise: You Will Overcome”

Grace Abuse

Previously we talked about God’s grace and the promise that through God’s grace we are saved by faith not by the things we do.  It is what Christ did for us, taking our sins and paying for them by nailing them to the cross.  So does that mean if we accept God’s grace and trust in Jesus that we could do whatever we want?  I would say yes and no.  Yes, we are free.  But, we are free from sin and if you have truly accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, you are changed.  You are a new creation.  Your old self has died and you now live for Him.  Your desire should be aligned with God.  You no longer want to do the sinful acts of your previous self.  The Holy Spirit will live in you and will guide you.  Now you can live by the Spirit and not by your flesh.  If you do not see these changes, if your desires remain the same, you have to question the sincerity of your acceptance of God’s grace.  You need to be reconciled to Him.  It does not mean that you will never sin or your flesh will never creep in and tempt you.  It will.  There will be a battle.  But remember that you are victorious because of the blood of Christ. Continue reading “Grace Abuse”

God’s Promise: The Holy Spirit

Anyone who believes in Christ is a new creation.  As one becomes a believer, the Holy Spirit gives him strength as He lives inside Him.  Not sure how this works, but I know the Spirit works in us to guide, us, to pray for us, to convict us to do the right thing and change from doing what’s wrong.  Sometimes He gives us the words to say as we share what God has done for us or when we have conflicts or whatever. Continue reading “God’s Promise: The Holy Spirit”

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