James 1:22 Be a doer of the Word.

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. " James 1:22. It is not enough to just read God's word and to know what it says. Satan knows all of that too. You have to live out God's word in your life, making it a living and active part of your life. "Faith without works is dead." James 2:14. Works won't save you, but works prove you. They show that you not only believe in God, you believe God. Your life is your testimony more than your words are. Live it, breathe it, drink it in and then give it away.

What would you do to save the world?

That is an interesting thought and one that has plagued many for a long time. What would you do to save the world? Well, actually, I can't save the world. Nothing that I can say or do will ever accomplish that feat. Besides, it has already been taken care of by someone who lived about 2000 years ago. Yep, Jesus. He did it. He did what needed to be done to accomplish the task of saving the world. Now all that has to be done is for us to carry it the task He left for us to do. Matthew 28:16-20 New International Version (NIV) The Great Commission 16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” What do you think would happen if we lived the Word of God everyday in our lives, so vividly before a dying world that they would look at us and wonder, "What is it with her?", "What does she have that I don't, that she can live like that while life is so.....yuckk? And how do I get it?" What if we lived a life of love towards our neighbor who lived to make life difficult for us? What if we returned words of love to those who gave words of hate? What if we gave of ourselves to others although no one ever gives to us, with no complaints? What if we shared with others the reason that we can live like this and that they can too? What if we stopped railing about the government and how evil it is and started praying for it? What if everyone stopped harangued their representatives and senators and started praying for them. Can you imagine how this country would turn itself around if lost people started giving their hearts to Jesus? Wow! Jesus didn't tell us to picket or boycott. He told us to pray! He didn't tell us to speak out cruel and nasty things about other people. He told us to love. He didn't tell us to hide our light under a bushel because it might offend someone. He told us to share it. And let it light up the world. Do you want to do something to save the world? Then start with you. First, let Jesus Christ BE your LORD. Then live like He lived. Pray for the lost, seek out the lost, reach out to the lost, love the lost with the love of Jesus. Jesus will save them and then they will pray, seek, reach out, and love. And little by little, like the ripples on a pond, the love of Jesus will change this world, one soul at a time.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 We are going to break this verse down and take a look at it a little bit at a time. It will give, I hope, a little deeper concept of the verse. God’s Word is a living thing. It breeds life to those who read it, study it, contemplate it. It becomes food to a starving soul, water to a thirsty mind, and air to the suffocating heart. You can take one verse and turn it all kinds of different directions and glean new truth from it every time. FOR GOD.... Who is this person we call God. The bible tells us in so many places. We did our first bible study on some of the names of God. Can you remember any? and what they mean? Yahweh/Jehovah - I am that I am, the self existent one. Elohim - the Creator, El-Elyon - the soveriegn God, El Shaddia - the God Almighty, El Roi - the God who sees me, Adonai - Lord, master of me, and many more. He is omniscient - all knowing, omnipresent - always present an everywhere, omnipotent - all powerful. This is the God we serve and this is the God who loves us. FOR GOD SO LOVED..... Some of the biggest and mightiest words in the english language are the smallest words. Only two or three letters: but their impact is incredible. The word “so” emphasizes the next word “love”. You have heard teenagers talk and say things like, “ I so wanted to go to that.” or “ I so need to have that.” “He is so good looking.” “ I just so hate that.” In essence, it couldn’t be any worse or better or wanted or needed. It is the ultimate. If the verse had simply said, For God loved, it wouldn’t have had the added dimension of how much God loved. So, what does this tell us about how God loved? Let’s look at this for instance, The depths of God’s love cannot be fathomed. It is beyond our comprehension, really. How deep does He so love us? How do you measure the breadth of it? You cannot. For God so loved us that even before He created the heavens and the earth: he saw a hill called Golgatha. Before He scooped out the valleys and thrust up the mountains: He made a cave that would one day be a tomb. Before He formed man from the dust of the ground: He knew man would reject Him. Before He breathed immortal life into the man, He knew man would choose his own way over God’s way. He knew the pain, humiliation, degradation, and rejection that He would Himself suffer because man would deny Him, but He still said, “Let there be light.” He loved us SO much, He created us anyway. FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD......... What is the world? Who is the world? It is everyone and everything. No exceptions, no exclusions. You may think that there are people in this world that God could absolutely not love but there are not. It is clear from the words of this verse that God so loved everyone. No exceptions, No exclusions. All mankind. It does not mean any particular part of the world, but man as man. He loved Adolph Hitler as much as He loved Corrie Ten Boom. He loves the Dahli Lama as much as He loved Mother Theresa. He loves Charlie Manson as much as He loves Billy Graham. He loved Jeffery Dalmer as much as He loves you and me. We are all on the same footing. No one person has sinned, in God’s eyes, worse than another. James 2: says, “Anyone who keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one part, is guilty of breaking all of it.” So, the one who tells a little white lie to keep from hurting someone’s feelings is just as guilty of sinning as one who has committed a very dastardly crime. That may seem a little too hard to take but they are as much a part of the world as we are. From the most heinous criminal to the sweetest old lady, God so loved them all. "He hates the sin, but loves the sinner." A parent may love his child and desire his welfare, and yet be strongly opposed to the conduct of that child. 2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Ezekiel 33:11 Say to them, 'As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live. Turn! Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, O house of Israel?' 1 Timothy 2:4 who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man 2 Corinthians 5:15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again. 1 John 2:2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. John 6:40 For my Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." Is there anything in these verses that would lead anyone to believe that there are only certain people that God So Loves? God wants all of us to choose Him, to choose life. He loves every soul that has come to this earth and will come to this earth and each soul has the opportunity to respond to God’s love for them. When we think of some of the most heinous of criminals in this world, we cannot understand how God could possibly love them, but here again is the depth of His love that we cannot possibly fathom, His mighty love for mankind. FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE........... His love for the world and everyone in it, is so great that He gave..... Sacrificially, willingly, completely. In His love He held nothing back from us. He gave all. FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON....... How many of us would sacrifice the life of our child so that another would be saved. Suppose the life of your child hung in the balance with the life of someone who didn’t know you. And you had the choice to save your child or save the other person. This is something I would never want to face because I wouldn’t be able to do it. But God did. He loved us so much that........ Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us Romans 8:32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Clarke's Commentary on the Bible For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son- Such a love as that which induced God to give his only begotten son to die for the world could not be described: Jesus Christ does not attempt it. He has put an eternity of meaning in the particle οὑτω, so, and left a subject for everlasting contemplation, wonder, and praise, to angels and to men. FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER........... Who is whosoever? We can go right back to all of those we mentioned in the section about “who is the world”. Whosoever means everyone, without exception, without exclusion. Any man who turns from his wicked ways and repents of his sin and calls upon the name of Jesus, will be saved. No matter what those sins were. His sacrifice was for all. FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM.......... That word “believed” has a wealth of meaning. And, who are we believing in here, God or Jesus? The word used for “believe” in this verse is pisteuo. It means: 1) to think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in a) of the thing believed 1) to credit, have confidence b) in a moral or religious reference 1) used in the NT of the conviction and trust to which a man is impelled by a certain inner and higher prerogative and law of soul 2) to trust in Jesus or God as able to aid either in obtaining or in doing something: saving faith 3) mere acknowledgment of some fact or event: intellectual faith to entrust a thing to one, i.e. his fidelity to be intrused with a thing. Looking at this definition, can you see what it really means to believe in Jesus? It really means so much more than just believing He existed. The demons and Satan know that and it isn’t saving them. But to believe in Jesus is putting your trust and faith in Him, believing that He is everything that God and Jesus Himself, says that He is. It is believing that He is who He says He is, and living like it. Believing that you are who He says you are, and living like it. It is believing that He can do whatever He says He can do, and living like it. It is believing that you can do all things through Him, that gives you strength, and living like it. Believing in Jesus above and beyond anything else and all else, that is the belief of a believer. That is saving faith. FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM, SHOULD NOT PERISH........ What is the consequence of unrepentent sin? Death Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death. God doesn’t want us to perish, He wants us to live. He wants us to live in the light of His love. His whole reason for creating us was to share with us His love for us. He has done everything He can do to show us the way. He has provided the sacrifice for our sin so that we do not have to live under condemnation. It is not His will that any should perish but that all would be saved. But we have to choose it. The rest of Romans 6:23 states, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE GAVE HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON, THAT WHOSOEVER BELIEVETH IN HIM SHOULD NOT PERISH BUT HAVE EVERLASTING LIFE. What is meant by everlasting life? That we live forever? Whether we choose Christ or not, we are going to live forever. From the moment God breathed life into Adam’s nostrils, man’s soul became an eternal being. We do not have to choose Christ to live for ever. But in order to have everlasting life, we must choose Christ. There are two deaths, physical, the one we all will experience, and the spiritual, the one those who have chosen Christ will never experience. I have heard hell described by Billy Graham as eternal separation from God. Eternal darkness separated from eternal light. Can you imagine an existence with out the presence of our Holy God? To me, that would be hell. Separation from God is what I would suggest to you is everlasting death. That is what Jesus has saved us from. He has given to us the gift of everlasting life, which is life in the presence of our LORD and King forever. So I don’t see living forever as the promise of this verse as we will all assuredly live forever. It is up to man’s choice to decide where.

God has been speaking intently to me about prayer for the last several months: about six to be exact. Ever since I picked up a book by Evelyn Christensen entitled “What Happens When Women Pray”. That book grabbed me by the heart and has not let me go. The Holy Spirit used the those words that He gave to Evelyn, to influence an entirely different way to pray in my life; And, I believe, a more powerful way to pray. James 5:16 says, “ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. “ This is what kind of pray-er I want to be; powerful and effective. I have learned that if this is the kind of pray-er I want to be then there are some things about my prayer life I am going to have to change, and my life in general. I have to remember, for one, just who I am talking to. This is the Almighty God of the Universe, the one who created it all. And he is also my Heavenly Father, the one who cradles my heart and soul in His loving arms. Prayer is also more than just rattling off a list of “I want”, “I needs”, “She/He wants”, “She/He needs.” This is about relationship, believe it or not. My relationship, first, with my LORD and then with my neighbor. Before I can pray for my sisters and brothers powerfully and effectively, I have to have my relationship with my Father in good working order. Prayer is one of the most important and life changing experiences with God that a christian can have. It is through the power of the Holy Spirit within us that prayer brings change in our hearts. You have heard it said that sometimes prayer doesn’t change the situation as much as it changes the person in the situation. That is very true. I want to be a 24/7 pray-er as well. You think that is unrealistic? I did too. Until I heard it explained as not so much constantly being in a talking or word uttering state to God as much as being available for conversation with Him at anytime, at the drop of a hat. Praying as we walk, as we drive, when we have a few spare minutes during a break at work, the opportunities are there if we would just take the time to see them. I find the more time I spend in conversation with Him, the more opportunities to do so appear, until it is happening without my even thinking about it. I just start talking with Him. Praying with others is another facet of effectively and powerfully praying. Jesus said, “For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Matt 8:20. When two or more get together in the name of Jesus, He is there too. Here, among us, right beside us, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. How awesome is that? The Almighty God of the universe who created all things and has all things in His power comes to be with little old unimportant us! I never before realized the power of that. In the name of Jesus, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, our God is with us. 1 John 5:14-15 “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” This verse is awesome. And whatever we ask according to the will of the Father, we will have. If we pray according to His will, we will be denied nothing! But did you catch the condition? ACCORDING TO HIS WILL. How do you pray according to His will? Well, first you have to get to KNOW Him. NOT “know about Him” or just who He is or just what He has done but KNOW Him. Just like you “know” your kids, or your spouse, or your parents, or your best friend. You “know” them so well that you know what they think about certain things, how they will react to certain things. You can almost speak for them in the confidence that you know their thoughts. That’s how you have to get to “know” God and then you will always pray according to His will. You will know if what you are praying for or about is in His will. Romans 12:2 “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Each new day brings new insight. Not only am I talking to God but He is talking to me. Psalm 46:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God” We have to remember to be still and let Him talk too. He has a wealth of information to share with you. Treasures you cannot imagine. Truths that are hidden to you now but He will reveal to your heart and mind. Be still and know that He is God. He was then, He is now, and He will always be. Get to know Him and discover and whole new way to pray.

God’s Chosen Ones

I was reading my bible lalst night and started in Ephesians chapter one and come across a verse that just jumped right out at me and I wanted to share this with you so you could see it too.

Do you want to know how special you are in God’s eyes? Read this.

“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holey and blameless in His sight.” Ephesians 1:4.

“FOR HE CHOSE US..........”!

Those four words grabbed my heart and mind. He chose me, and He chose you!

Did you ever play a game when you were a child where team captains chose sides? Do you remember how wonderful and special you felt when you were among some of the first to be chosen or maybe, like me, your were simply taken.

Well, in this case, God chose you to be on His team right from the very beginning.

“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.” Ephesians 1:4.

Do you hear that? Before the creation of the world! He hadn’t even said, “Let there be light” yet and we were already on His mind. CHOSEN, it says. Before there was any light or darkness, before there were any planets or stars, before nay kind of creation, including our own, HE CHOSE US!

That is something to get excited about!

He chose us before the foundation of the world to be His people, His holy priesthood, His pure and blameless bride. And we would be all o this in Him and In Him Only.

Do you feel special now? You should. Not only are you special to God, you are special to me too.

Living Stones

In 1 Peter 2:5, Peter says, "You also, like living stones,are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

He calls the believers "living stones" and we are being built up, one upon another to create a spiritual house, the church. And we are established upon THE Living Stone, the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 2:4)

And what is the mortar that binds each stone, one to the other, and keeps us strong in the face of the fierce, gusting winds of the enemy? May I suggest to you that it is PRAYER and LOVE!

Love binds us together and Prayer keeps us strong, making us able to withstand the gale force winds that Satan would send our way.

Our spiritual sacrifice is our prayer life, the time we spend in God's presence interceding for one another. This is the essential maintenance to our spiritual house that will keep it strong.

So let each one of us spend time in prayer, lifting up our brothers and sisters in Christ that we may all stay strong and know the peace of our Lord.

Love

What does it mean to be a christian? What is being a christian all about? What is it that sets us apart from the rest of the world? There are many answers but they can all be summed up in one word. LOVE And Jesus gave us all kinds of examples of it during his life here on earth. The most compelling example; the most awe inspiring example, was what he gave up, what he suffered for us because He loved us so much. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.“

Jesus showed us that love was not only a noun, it is not passive. It is also a verb and it is an action verb. It is something that we, as Christians, are compelled to do, even commanded to do. “Love one another as I have loved you.“ “Love your enemies.“ “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and with all your might.“ “Love your neighbor as your self.“

In fact, the theme that runs through the entire bible, from beginning to end, from Genesis 1:1 to Rev 22:21, is love. God's love for sinful man. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have life everlasting.“