Stand Firm!

"Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God" (Philippians 1:27,28 NIV).

In Paul's letter to the church at Philippi, he encouraged believers to stand firm in the knowledge that no matter who preached the Gospel or what happened; their faith would all work for the good of those who love Jesus.

The message is still relevant today--no matter what happens in the world, we should always conduct ourselves in a manner that is worthy of the gospel of Christ (nothing done that we need be ashamed of). With the turmoil and chaos in the world--immorality and total negation of God's Word, we who know the truth must stand firm--even in the midst of ridicule and scorn from those who have no clue. We know and we must stand firm in our belief--Jesus came, died, was buried, and rose again--that we might have eternal life.

Stand firm in your convictions of faith and don't be moved by the scorners because we know what their end will be. Don't allow the liars to convince you that your belief in God is misplaced. They do not know Him, have no clue as to what His plan for humanity is, and they certainly do not understand the influence they follow--the father of liars.

Don't be afraid of what the enemy attempts to do for he has no power over you as long as you remember that "no weapon formed against shall prosper" and that "we can do all things through Christ Jesus!" If the Lord reigns in your life, let Him lead you in all things and let no one cause you a moment of doubt. "For he who doubts is double-minded and shall receive nothing from God." But "no good thing shall be withheld from those who love the Lord." 

Let the unbelieving go their way, if they will not hear and adhere to Truth. Their end has already been established and their behavior should in no way affect what you do. Stand firm, united by Holy Spirit, promoting the Gospel until the day He returns, without fear or doubt, knowing our mansions await us!

Who The Smart Ones Are!

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” (I Corinthians 1:18,19 NIV)

Paul understood how those who "did not understand" the salvation message relied upon their "intellect" to scorn and mock those who received the message of salvation with gladness. While the scoffers laughed and called people who believed the message foolish, and those who preached the gospel, "foolish and unlearned", those receiving the message and those preaching the message knew who was truly wise.

In the 21st Century, the scoffers are still with us, thinking that they are more intelligent that those preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and those receiving the message with joy! Some things just never change. The scoffers are those who openly refute God's existence and certainly the idea of a virgin birth and mock those of us who receive and believe. They can be found all over the Internet. Wherever a Believer is found glorifying God, a scorner can be found mocking them. If they are so intelligent, why don't they have something more intellectual to do with their time other than seeking us to mock us? That doesn't really sound like a smart use of time. 

We who promote the gospel understand the importance of sharing the Good News while we have an opportunity to do so because time is winding down for all. For those of us who believe--we are not concerned for ourselves, but for others who have yet had opportunity to hear and receive Truth. For those who mock and scorn us--they have made their decision and their end has already been determined. There is nothing we can for those who persistently defy God.

When we have a relationship with God, we have access to Him directly to receive all the wisdom He has to offer and we have no need to depend on "man's wisdom" that is contrived for their own purposes. We know who we are and another--who does not know God--we will not believe. For those who perish as  scorners and mockers they will have an eternity that we shall never know. For those who leave this realm to spend eternity with the Most High, we have no need to fear our end, but to look forward to it. Hallelujah!

Every day we are awakened, we are given another opportunity to share the Good News with others. We are the ambassadors for Christ, spreading the salvation message so all will have the same opportunity for eternity in Heaven as we do. Let's do the "smart" thing. Let's live our responsibility to The Lord today and with great joy, share His love.

We Can Ask Anything?

"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us" (I John 5:14 NIV).

I just came to a conclusion about expounding upon scriptures, verse by verse. If I wrote about any "one" scripture a day, I would probably not live long enough to address all of them. Therefore, I try to explicate those that encourage confidence in our belief and promotion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, remind of instructions given and rewards for obedience, and warn of the consequences of disobedience.

Verse twelve and thirteen of this same passage provide us with a foundation for our beliefs. John says that "whoever has the Son of God has life (hope for eternal life) and whoever does not have Him, does not" and then he explains why he's writing to the churches.

If we believe that we have Jesus in our lives, and we have given Him authority over our lives, we have access to heaven and our mansions. If we don't believe, we won't have. But with the belief comes the confidence that we can go to God, on our own, and ask Him anything, and we know He hears us. If He hears us, will He not respond to us?

There are many who do not believe in God, and certainly don't have conversations with Him, but for those of us, who do--we know-we can talk to Him any time, expect Him to hear us and respond to our requests. When we ask of Him anything that aligns with His Word (His Word is His will), we can expect to receive it. John knew there were those who scorned believers and tried to make them feel foolish because of their beliefs and he wrote to them to remind them--they knew Truth and they could count on Truth to do all He said He would do.

So, go ahead, ask God--anything--in Jesus' name--and see for yourself that He will respond. For believers, you know what I mean.

For scorners who don't believe--don't believe! Asking God for anything foolish or evil will not happen, but then if you don't believe, why ask Him anything?

Father, in the name of Jesus, I ask You to strengthen the faith of believers everywhere so they will develop confidence in You and know that whatever we ask of You in Your Son's name, will be given. Amen!