God can see through our motivations, and He will ultimately judge each and every action.

Our job as brothers and sisters in Christ, is to speak the truth in love. We seem to be good at speaking the truth (as long as it is negative or critical), we might need a little help remembering the love part.

We need to take a moment and pray, and ask God if we are on the right side of Him. Because as we draw closer to Him, we begin to experience a purity and how we see things, our interpretation of events and how we see other people. Not that we see other people as perfect, but we start seeing them MORE as God sees them, and LESS as how Satan wants us to see them. 

But, we should make no mistake, God is FIRST interested in fixing us, BEFORE we can really be a blessing to the world around us. 

See things as they truly are… A beautiful creation, from a loving, and perfect Creator.

The Bible tells us that we don't battle against flesh and blood, but the principalities of the spirit world. 

But how should we handle the world we live in day to day, when the battlefield isn't isn't so obvious? 

And for those that follow Jesus and claim him as their personal Savior, your future is completely secured. But it's still our job to work as scouts on this earthly battlefield. 

It is our job to provide forward position intel to those trusting in us, and those they're looking to us, to help them discern.

Therefore, we should wake up every morning, and put on the whole armor of God. Because, from the moment we get out of bed, to the moment we lay down again to rest, there is a VERY REAL ENEMY that is watching, plotting, and attempting to implement our utter, and complete destruction. 

Forward scouts in God's army must recognize the role we have been given, and engage the enemy, fully protected by His hand, and fully trusting in His salvation. 

And ONLY by God's grace through Jesus Christ, will we succeed.

700 years before the birth of Christ, the Book of Isaiah was written. 

The Book of Isaiah is very popular among religious scholars, because it contains many of what we call “Messianic Prophecies” - Many, many promises of what the Messiah will look like, what He'll be like, and what to look for.

Jewish scholars call these particular scriptures, “The Scriptures of the Suffering Servant.” 

The words have not changed in almost 3000 years. 

They're well known, they're well traveled, and religious scholars, as I said, historians and kings have poured over these words since they were first pressed to a scroll, long before Mary carried Jesus in her in her womb. 

Let's revisit some of these words now, as we remember the death and resurrection of Jesus the Savior, Jesus the Christ, and our personal Messiah.

During this Easter Season, I'm praying that each of us that hears and reads this, will surrender our hearts to the ONLY ONE WHO SAVES, the ONLY ONE WHO RESTORES US, the ONLY ONE WHO REDEEMS, and OUR TRUE KING, in the name of The Father, The Soon, and The HOLY SPIRIT, be His, and be saved.

We don't have the right to define God. We don't have the right to build a god in an image that we're comfortable with. And His ways are higher than our ways, and we can't possibly understand them all.

But, would it be possible for God to blind me in such a way, that I could no longer see the truth of Him, or come to His salvation? 

So many of us on the journey to coming to Christ, have resisted or stalled for many reasons, but, mostly because Satan has an amazing way of reminding us of just how unworthy we truly are.

Every sin we have ever committed, we allow to come flooding back into our minds. We become acutely aware of how undeserving we are of a Savior.

The truth is, there’s not one of us that deserves salvation. There's not one of us that deserves to be forgiven.

BUT… because of the price that Jesus paid, WE CAN HAVE IT.

If God can do what He chose through someone like Rahab, then what do you think He can do with us?

The Bible tells us that that all have fallen short of the glory of God, and ALL need a Savior. 

We're sick. We're broken. We need someone to mend those wounds.

And those wounds… Those deep wounds… can only be mended by one… And that is JESUS himself. 

If we have not yet come to Christ, we need to recognize that we are sick. We will die in our sins, and we will be condemned forever. 

Unless, we get to the ONLY doctor that can truly heal. 

Come to the doctor who heals and saves, and be truly released from the eternal sickness that plagues all of mankind. 

In Jesus’ name. AMEN!

What does it mean to, “Work out our salvation with fear and trembling”?

Jesus was/is patient and loving and kind, but also, and maybe even more importantly, ZEALOUS, and STRONG, and FIRM. Jesus IS NOT our homeboy. He probably had a pretty big dose of what the world today might call, “Toxic Masculinity.” 

As the modern Christian Church, at least in our rush to embrace a Doctrine of Grace, we have become really comfortable attempting to making Christ like us, and a lot less comfortable making US LIKE CHRIST!

God is not interested in a social club that we call church. God is interested in real change that occurs in the deepest, deepest parts of our hearts.

Jesus is the one who loved us so much, that in spite of our love of darkness and sin, He still chose to die in the most horrible way possible, to be the perfect sacrificial lamb, to atone for our sin, and to deflect God's righteous wrath, so that I can be saved, and you can be saved. 

When we recognize that THAT perfect man, God incarnate, chose a horrible death, chose to be the perfect sacrifice, that a perfect and righteous God demanded so that we could be saved, when we understand that, THEN we will get on our knees, and work out our salvation with fear and trembling. 

When you've been in a relationship with God for a long time, you've most likely experienced some amazing examples of His presence.

He's answered prayers for you. You've watched Him move into people's lives, and people literally have become different people, and you've been amazed to witness it.

But, what happens when the answer is “NO!”? What happens when we pray and fast and beg… When we know our motives are right, and our heart is right, and the answer is still “NO!”?

God knows everything that must happen to fulfill His perfect will. And lots of the time, some of these things might end up being extremely painful, in the short term.

But always, our delivery and salvation is coming, and the pain of this life is quite temporary. Even when He says “NO!”, He is saying “YES!” to the joy that He is bringing with Him, for each and every one of us that believe.

We must trust Him in the pain, as we trust Him in the joy.

#jesus #love #truth #truth #obedience

I talk way too much.