Author Archives: Ron

About Ron

Author of these articles has served in his church for 54 years, as a teacher for nearly 45 years, a deacon, treasurer, and leader of several groups. He has also sung as a bass in the choir for about 60 years. He became a Christian with a profession of faith at the age of 19. He is a veteran of 6 years years in the Air Force (4 on active duty). He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in Quantitative Business Analysis. He has been writing articles and lessons for nearly 15 years. He is now a widower with 2 grown children and four grandchildren.

GOD DESERVES OUR THANKS

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THIS VIDEO IS DESIGNED TO TELL US THAT WE NEED TO THANK GOD AND FOR WHAT MANY THINGS HE GIVES US THAT WE DON’T EARN. TO WATCH CLICK THE ARROW IN THE PICTURE. IF YOU PREFER, YOU CAN READ THE ARTICLE.

           GOD DESERVES OUR THANKS 11-26-23

While it should be easy to say “thank you” to someone who has done you a favor or had some kind words, but there are times when we forget or just don’t take the time. It should be easy to thank God for the tangible things in our lives. After all, they are right in front if us, and we can see them and even feel them. We certainly should thank God for these things, but God’s blessings in our lives extend to spiritual benefits, emotional healing, relational restoration, and more. All these blessings grow out of His love and grace for us. We have so much to thank God for. One of the problems in not thanking God is we don’t recognize them as from God. This is truer than we choose to admit. God has showered us with numerous blessings. As we approach the Thanksgiving season (or maybe as you watch this video, we are in the Thanksgiving weekend) it is the time when there is that nudging of our souls to remind us that God deserves our thanks. We must express thanksgiving to God for His many blessings to us.

                                      Read Psalm 65:1-4

1 Praise awaits[b] you, our God, in Zion; to you our vows will be fulfilled.
2 You who answer prayer, to you all people will come.
3 When we were overwhelmed by sins, you forgave[c] our transgressions. 4 Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.

      Praise is awaiting You, O God, in Zion: The psalmist David described a wonderful picture, the idea that praise was waiting to be given unto God in Jerusalem. The sense is that when God came to meet His people, He would be received in an atmosphere of praise. “The word translated ‘waited’ [awaiting] comes from a root meaning to be silent…. This does not mean that there is no praise, but on the contrary that praise is so complete that at first it can find no utterance.”  “Literally, ‘Praise is silence for thee’…. It may sometimes be the height of worship, in other words, to fall silent before God in awe at His presence and in submission to His will.” “Certainly, when the soul is most filled with adoring awe, she is least content with her own expressions, and feels most deeply how inadequate are all mortal songs to proclaim the divine goodness.”

        To You the vow shall be performed: God’s people would gather together in Jerusalem to thank God for answering their prayers and to give sacrifices and praise in fulfillment of vows made. Believers should take seriously their vows before God. In addition to vows and promises made to God, our baptism is itself a vow to God. Our association with God’s people is a vow. These should be regarded with a solemn and serious dependence upon God. “A vow unkept will burn the conscience like a hot iron. Vows of service, of donation, of praise, or whatever they may be, are no trifles; and in the day of grateful praise they should, without fail, be fulfilled to the utmost of our power.” At Mount Zion the Son of David fulfilled the greatest vow, coming to completely do the will of God (Psalm 40:6-8) and giving His life as a sacrifice and atonement for the sins of the world.

        O You who hear prayer, to You all flesh will come: Praise awaits and vows are performed because God hears and answers prayer. This goodness of God draws not only Israel, but also all flesh. This starts a thought that will be developed later in the psalm. Iniquities prevail against me; as for our transgressions, You will provide atonement for them: This shows a proper understanding of the sacrificial system in God’s greater plan. David understood his personal struggle against sin, and how he sometimes failed in that struggle. He also understood that God’s answer for transgressions is an atoning sacrifice that God provides. David was humble enough to say, iniquities prevail against me. “No man was ever rejected by God for his confessed badness, as sundry have been for their supposed.

         Iniquities prevail against me: “Our sins would, but for grace, prevail against us in the court of divine justice, in the court of conscience, and in the battle of David believed in the system of animal sacrifice established by the Law of Moses, but he also looked beyond that system to a perfect sacrifice that God Himself would provide. In this David looked to the Messiah and His perfect, atoning work on the cross fulfilling the promise, You will provide atonement for them.

        Blessed is the man You choose, and cause to approach You: In the connection between God and man, David knew that God was the cause of the connection. The connection begins when God chooses and then causes a man or a woman to come to Him, that he may dwell in Your courts. Some think that the chosen man in David’s mind is the priest. Yet he mentions the part of the house of God where all were welcome, the courts. “He mentioned courts, because the people were permitted to go no further into God’s house.” If there is a priest in view, then prophetically we can apply this in an ultimate sense to Jesus, our Great High Priest. “Blessed, above all blessing and praise, is the man Christ Jesus, elect, precious, chosen of God to be a high priest for ever.”

        We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house: Once established and enjoyed, the connection between God and man brings satisfaction to men. They experienced God’s house as a place of goodness received. The goodness of Your house gives the image of God as a host for His people. “It happily dwells a guest in the house and is supplied with that which satisfies all desires. The guest’s security in the house of his host, his right to protection, help, and food, are, as usual, implied in the imagery.” 

                           Read Psalm 65:5-8

5 You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds, God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas, 6 who formed the mountains by your power, having armed yourself with strength, 7 who stilled the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves, and the turmoil of the nations. 8 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;  where morning dawns, where evening

fades you call forth songs of joy.

       By awesome deeds in righteousness You will answer us, O God of our salvation: This was an ongoing confidence in the continuation of God’s goodness. God had answered prayer and provided atonement; David expected such awesome deeds in the future also.. You who are the confidence of all the ends of the earth: David again lifted his vision from beyond Israel to the ends of the earth, to the far-off seas. He understood that though Israel belonged to God in a special sense, He was and is the God of the whole earth.

       You who still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples: God’s might is shown in His ability to quiet not only the oceans but also the noise of the peoples of the world. His authority extended far beyond Israel, to the farthest parts of the earth.

i. Stormy and noisy seas put forth enormous energy. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an average hurricane releases energy equivalent to 6×1014 watts of electricity. This is 200 times world-wide electrical generating capacity. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) says that in its lifetime an average hurricane can release as much energy as 10,000 nuclear bombs. Yet God can and does still the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves.

        Knowing this great power of God should build our faith when we see the tumult of the peoples and are concerned for God’s salvation to reach the ends of the earth. We can think of those at the ends of the earth as those who are farthest off, least known, least thought of, most afflicted, and the hardest to reach. “The child of God in seasons of trouble should fly at once to him who the seas: nothing is too hard for him.” “In pagan mythology the ‘sea’ connoted chaotic and life-threatening powers. However, Israel knew that the Lord created everything and established his rule over the ‘roaring’ seas and their waves.”

        Established the mountains by His strength: “Philosophers of the forget-God school are too much engrossed with their laws of upheaval to think of the Upheaved. Their theories of volcanic action and glacier action, etc., are frequently used as bolts and bars to shut the Lord out of his own world. Our poet is of another mind, and sees God’s hand settling Alps and Andes on their bases, and therefore he sings in his praise.”

       You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice: The exercise of God’s authority over the earth does not bring it fear and oppression; it brings rejoicing to the day. Outgoings of the morning and evening: “What is pictured, then, may be either the glory of day and night (cf. Psalm 19:1f.; Job 38:7, 19f.), or the whole expanse of earth from east to west, praising the Creator.”

                                 Read Psalm 65:9-13

You care for the land and water it; you enrich it abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people with grain, for so you have ordained it.  10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges; you soften it with showers and bless its crops.11 You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance.12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow; the hills are clothed with gladness.13 The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.

        It seems that the psalmist is inspired to write about the abundant harvest and give thanks to God. He summarizes the generosity of God’s care of the land (v. 9), and develops the theme of blessing on the land (vv. 10-13).   In the future one of the things Jesus will do when He comes to reign is to bring the weather under His control. The deserts will be banished and no longer will the flash floods scourge the countryside. Often people spend a lot of their time complaining about the weather which is a waste of time. It is something that man has absolutely no control over and besides God knows what is best for us. In Elijah’s day He used it to bring people to their knees and He has the right to do the same today. We are also told that it rains on the just and unjust alike.

       Verses 9-13 sounds like little more than a lovely nature poem, but it is much more.  That’s the problem with cutting it off from the first part of the Psalm.  If we read it in the context of verses 1-8, we’ll discover that it is not so much about the goodness of nature, as about the goodness of God.  Particularly, the point of Psalm 65 is that our God hears and answers prayer.  In Psalm 65, that is the essence of God’s goodness.  “O you who hear prayer, to you all men will come (verse 2)…. You answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas (verse 5)…. ” We enjoy the goodness of God’s creation in green summer and at golden harvest because God hears our prayers.

       This is an important corrective to a purely hedonistic enjoyment of “the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer” and the relentlessly secular focus on the richness of life in our North American celebrations of Thanksgiving Day.  James Luther Mays says it very well.  “This Psalm directs attention first of all to God, away from any preoccupation with secular good fortune.  It insists that thanksgiving is a theological work whose subject is God, not ourselves.  It is an antidote to self-satisfaction and self-congratulation.”

       Robert Davidson looks at the various movements in the entire Psalm and suggests that it was written in a situation like the one described in I Kings 8:33-36. The people’s sin against God had led to a crisis.  Their sin was punished by a drought.  The people needed forgiveness more than anything else.  The people look to God for such pardon, and for rain.  In Psalm 65 the long-awaited rains have come and the people gather in the temple to praise God for his awesome deeds.

       The word “forgave” there is a Hebrew word that means to make atonement by covering sin with blood.  The Hebrews offered bloody sacrifices of atonement, but, as Hebrews 10:4 says, the blood of bulls and goats could never gain the forgiveness of sins.  Those sacrifices were the human side of atonement, the Old Testament way of expressing repentance and faith.  The divine side was to cover those sins with the blood of Christ, says Hebrews 9:11-14.

       As a result of such atonement, God’s sinful and once separated people now have access to God.  “Blessed is those you choose and bring near to live in your courts.  We are filled with the good things of your house.”  By God’s grace, through the atonement God provides, we can now enjoy all the blessings that come with being in the very presence of God.  Forgiveness enables us to enjoy full communion with God.  “It’s all good.”

       By his awesome deeds of righteousness, God our Savior has not only reconciled us to himself but has also reconciled hostile peoples to each other.  So, God is called “the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the seas….”  Those “living far away fear your wonders,” those signs of your power (think of the Ten Plagues, the parting of the Red Sea, and the conquest of Canaan). And even as reconciliation with God brings happiness to God’s people, the reconciliation of the warring human race brings joy to all humanity; “where morning dawns and evening fades you call forth songs of joy.”  By God’s awesome deeds among the nations, “it’s all good.”

       “It’s all good” between us and nature.  He cares for the land and waters it.  The rain that has come is his gift, flowing from “the streams of God.”  The forces of nature are not independent.  They are God’s way of bringing life to the world.  “You crown the year with your bounty.” Life is so good, in fact, that creation itself, the desert and the meadows, the hills and the valleys, and everything in them “shout for joy and sing.”  By God’s blessings upon his creation, “it’s all good.”

        All is well.  Joy flows freely.  Faith is easy.  It’s all good. The problem with Psalm 65 is that life is not all good.  As I write this, the world if filled with people whose sin has separated from God.  They don’t know forgiveness.  They don’t enjoy the blessings of God’s presence.  They don’t have a clue who the Christ is.  And the nations are not in harmony.  From the Middle East to the Far East and from Russia to America, the nations are in turmoil.  My own nation is in constant turmoil internally.  And nature has run amok, as the seemingly intractable Western drought was replaced by rain and flooding of almost biblical proportions.  The earth shakes and the winds blow.  As the weather changes dramatically, crops are in jeopardy.  In my own little life, I need both hands to count the dear friends whose lives have been devastated by nature gone rogue.  It’s not all good, not by a long shot.

       So how do we see Psalm 65 in the real world?  Perhaps we can read it eternally. Maybe this is a picture of the goodness that is coming in the new heaven and the new earth. Note the future tense in verses 1 (“to you our vows will be fulfilled”) and 2 (“to you all men will come”).  The opening words of verse 1 may point in this future direction, though they are notoriously hard to interpret.  The NIV translates it, “Praise awaits you, O God, in Zion,” which could be read as a future reference.  That praise is waiting for the fulfillment of the vision painted in the following words.  It lies silent, waiting to be uttered when “it’s all good.”  But another translation says that “praise is fitting, is due” because of what God has done for us.

       These little hints suggest that we could see Psalm 65 as yet another example of the “already but not yet” of God’s kingdom.  We are reconciled to God through Christ, but God’s work is not done because many have not yet heard of Christ.  God has begun the work of reconciling the nations to each other, having broken down the dividing wall of hostility that divided Jew and Gentile.  But God’s work is not done, because the peacemakers are outnumbered by the warriors.  God does bless his creation with bounty, but there is much work to be done in the spheres of agriculture and medicine and conservation before all will experience the goodness of life.  God has done awesome deeds, but we are still waiting for the new heaven and the new earth in which righteousness dwells (II Peter 3:13).

       We can sing this song of praise today, because God does hear prayer.  It’s not all good yet, but “you answer us with awesome deeds of righteousness, O God our Savior, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea.”  Whatever else Psalm 65 is, it is a Psalm of hope, because God hears and answers our prayers.  “If this is not true, then the whole biblical tradition collapses like a pack of cards, and most of the Psalms [and our prayers] are an exercise in self-delusion.”   The Psalm assures us that our hope is sure.  “O you who hear prayer, to you all will come.” We can thank God for all He has done and the blessings of today, but we must think about and thank Him for what He will do.

WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

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THIS VIDEO WILL HELP YOU TODAY, TOMORROW AND FOREVER, TO WATCH CLICK THE ARROW IN THE PICTURE. OR IF YOU PREFER, READ THE ARTICLE

                          WHO IS THE HOLY SPIRIT?

                                  And What Does He Do For Us?

     Do you recall what you learned about the Holy Spirit when you were a kid? Has that knowledge grown, or has it stayed about the same? I have written a previous Bible article about the Holy Spirit but this one takes a significantly different approach. This article/video is presented from a perspective of a kid or new person just learning about the Bible and that of some one who knows nothing and maybe not even wanting to learn. Think for a minute how much you knew about the Holy Spirit when you first read something about Him or heard someone talk about Him for that first time. What were likely some of the questions you had: 1. Is He a being? 2. Does He have a personality? 3. What is His job? What is His connection to God? What does He mean to me? All of these and more are what a kid or a new person wanting to learn about the Bible may begin to seek. But what about all of those people that know nothing about the Holy Spirit and don’t care- who you may want to witness with about Jesus, God, and also the Holy Spirit? This article/video may offer you a good method to provide that witness to that lost person.

     The Holy Spirit is one of the 3 most important Bible characters. And yet very little is taught about Him. He’s a little mysterious- but not beyond comprehension. When we typically begin teaching or first talk about Him, we most often deal with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. This look into the Holy Spirit is going to take a different view. We are going to discover His true character and how much He means to us.  He is amazing in ways that even kids can understand, and that is true for those who choose to ignore Him. We need to teach all with whom we come in contact that the Holy Spirit is a dear friend and our special helper, even our protector, guide, and comforter. However maybe His greatest role is His direct connection to God and to provide comfort to us.

                  WHO AND WHAT FORM IS THE HOLY SPIRIT

       JOHN 3:8 “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going; so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” In this verse Jesus is comparing the work of the Spirit of God in the new birth to the way the wind moves, and the way the wind causes effects in the world without being seen and without being controlled by us. Here we see that the Holy Spirit is not seen nor from where He comes, but He comes when we are new children of God (born of the Spirit).

       Prior to delving into some details of how the Holy Spirit helps us through messes- if we seek His help- let me share some important facts that will help to prepare the basics. First, the Holy Spirit is a spirit, not a person like Jesus. In fact, the Holy Spirit is the spirit of God and Jesus. He allows us to feel and respond to God and Jesus, He is a personal being. Secondly, He is the third member of the Holy Trinity, with God and Jesus. Matthew 28:19 teaches us to be baptized three times each in the names of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Trinity is three in one. Third, The Holy Spirit does not have a body. There is no Scripture says that the Holy Spirit ever took a human form ever. Fourth, The Holy Spirit was foretold by Jesus to all who believed beginning on the day of Pentecost. However, He was present in many Old Testament circumstances- including the Creation. Remember Genesis’ Scripture said- “and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” Fifth, Paul taught that we receive the Holy Spirit when we accept Jesus into our hearts as Messiah. 1 Corinthians 12:13 “For we were baptized by one Spirit into on body- whether Jews or Greeks,,,” This is baptism one by the blood of Jesus. The Holy Spirit is a gift given with Salvation. Sixth and last thought here, when the Holy Spirit is serving you as the great Comforter (John 14:26) we will feel comforted. However, the Holy Spirit is a gift of grace and not an emotional feeling. The Bible does not instruct us to base our relationship with the Holy Spirit on how or what we feel. Sometimes His presence will be accompanied by feelings- but most often you will just feel like your normal self. This is due to that His gifts belong to Him and we can get other gifts from Him, while not always having the same gifts permanently.

        There are some gifts that are non-permanent by their very nature, such as the gifts of marriage and celibacy (1 Corinthians 7:7). For the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29). That the Jews are participants in God’s salvation is theologically unquestionable, but how that can be possible without confessing Christ explicitly, is and remains an unfathomable divine mystery. After a close analysis of the Word we conclude that there are some gifts that are temporary and some that are permanent. Conservative scholars believe that there are 16 spiritual gifts mentioned in the NT. 9 of these are with us today. 7 were phased out during the apostolic age.

1 Corinthians 13:8: “But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end.”

                    THE HOLY SPIRIT COVERS OUR MESSES

ROMANS 15:13 “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you will abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

       The Holy Spirit is kind of like your smartphone. When we need answers, He can give them to us. The same way we use our phones to connect to others, we can use the Holy Spirit to connect to God and sometimes He gives us answers we need for His Will that we don’t even ask for. I have had that happen many times.  I stop and say thanks to the Holy Spirit. Think- that word comes directly from God.

                     Six Steps Toward Abundant Hope

Let me just say a few things about Romans 15:13. I see six steps in this verse, and they’re each just a couple of minutes. All six of these come out of this verse.

     1. The God of Hope

        May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace . . .

Everything begins with God. If there’s no God, there’s no hope. So, we start with God.

       2. The Word of God

       In believing what? All the promises of God that are “yes” in Christ Jesus. Believe those. So, by implication, the second step is that God has spoken. Listen!!

       3. The Spirit of God

       By the power of the Holy Spirit, you may abound in hope.

If you, right now, are hoping more in God than in money, pension, family, or health, you didn’t create that hope; the Holy Spirit did because it’s a miracle.

God moves in the heart, whether it is 6, 16, or 26, and he does the miracle called the new birth. The new birth is the opening of the eyes to see that Word that’s been spoken to you all along as being real, beautiful, true, satisfying, and glorious. That’s what the Holy Spirit has to do in order for there to be joy and peace.

       4. Faith in God

         Here’s the key question, practically, for us. Some of you are going to live another year, and some might live 30 or 40 more years. During those days, what will connect the Holy Spirit in his power with joy and peace in your heart? What’s the connection? The answer is in that phrase right there: in believing. It says: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. “What a glorious thing that in believing, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we can enjoy peace and joy.  So, collect your promises, believe them, and through that, the Holy Spirit gives you joy and peace.

        5. Joy and Peace

       May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing . . .

Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice (double joy). Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God . . . (Philippians 4:4–7). There you have joy and peace together.

Joy and peace in believing seem to be why Marlys loved these especially. That’s warfare for all of us. Some people have personalities that are chipper, and others of us are less chipper, and we have to work harder. We have to fight for joy and peace.

        6. Abundant Hope

       Step six is a surprise. You can see it at the end: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

What’s the surprise?” The surprise is this: I don’t think in terms of joy and peace yielding hope; I think of it the other way around. In fact, it’s essentially true the other way around. Think back on your conversation and your growth as a Christian. You’re not going to have any joy and peace without hope. If you’re a hopeless person, where would joy and peace come from? So, this is a surprising ending for me.

Jesus said: “In this world, you will have problems.” “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” He overcame through the release of the Holy Spirit just after He ascended to heaven. Write down your problems and give them to God, who really wants to help us become bigger and stronger. The Holy Spirit covers our problems with grace and peace. The Holy Spirit can give us power over our problems. He can put solutions in our head, as I said He has done for me. The Holy Spirit can prevent us from worrying and fill our hearts with peace. He can give us the peace that passes all understanding. He can infuse or fill us with mercy, hope, forgiveness, and all good things. The Holy Spirit puts a layer of God’s peace between us and our problems so that we are not affected in negative ways.                                           Remember Matthew 3:16 “As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. A that moment heaven was opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on Him.” The dove was a symbol of the Holy Spirit and the Spirit performed the third baptism for Jesus. You may say that is only His second baptism, but His first was when He was born of the blood from God. Just as the Trinity is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, Baptism is the blood, the water, and the Spirit.

             THE HOLY SPIRIT CLEANS OUR HEARTS

                            Hebrews 10:19-22

19 Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, through His flesh, 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let’s approach God with a [a]sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

       What does having our hearts sprinkled mean?
The believer is free from the guilt of his sins because Christ paid the penalty for them. The condition of the Christian’s heart is free from a bad conscience. The conscience can move from being defiled (Ti 1:15), to evil (here), and then to seared (1 Ti 4:2). let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Does the Holy Spirit control your conscience?

        The Spirit reveals God’s truth, and God’s truth renews our conscience. As the Spirit educates the believer’s conscience with the things of God, the personal standard formed by the conscience begins to align with the standard of revealed truth. During our times of communion with the Lord, we will rarely hear an audible voice when the Holy Spirit “speaks” to us. What we will sense is a strong leading to do something. Or we might feel strongly about going in a certain direction. The Holy Spirit wants to show us God’s plans and purposes for our lives. How do you know if the Holy Spirit is telling you to do something?’ Holy Spirit prompts you to take action. You will feel prompted to act. There is nothing you can do to stop yourself from taking action in what you are feeling led to do. This is how you know for sure that this is from Holy Spirit and Holy Spirit is speaking to you. “Sometimes the Holy Ghost will warn you of danger, almost like a whistle in your mind.” His still, small voice will prompt you so you will be protected spiritually and physically.” How do you feel when the Holy Spirit is in you? For many people, feeling the Holy Spirit for the first time can feel like intense peace and love. It can also feel like a sense of inner knowing or understanding or being surrounded by light and a holy presence.

        Is there an unforgivable sin in the Bible? In Mark 3:29 Jesus says that “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” Matthew’s account adds that even blasphemy against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but not blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31–32). The person who repeatedly and without repentance rejects the Holy Spirit’s testimony to Christ is the one who has blasphemed the Holy Spirit. This is not going to happen with the Holy Spirit in our heart, as He will clean the heart. According to John 16:13 – “13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.” This tells us that when we have the Holy Spirit, we have some amazing help. He can see the future. He can help us with our choices. We can trust the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into all truth and into the right choices for the rest of our lives, because He can cleanse our hearts.

       CONCLUSION

The Holy Spirit is a guide for us. God can see the big picture and we can’t. If we trust the Holy Spirit to lead us, we will have a better shot at getting things right. Even if it looks like a jumbled mess when we first try, eventually we get used to listening and following – and the pictures become more clear. The Holy Spirit is like a map that will take us to the will of God and Jesus. If we follow the plan that’s laid out in the Bible and listen to the Holy Spirit when He speaks to your heart, you will find yourself walking with Jesus every day!!

IS HELL REAL?                                     

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                  IS HELL FOR REAL?  11-19-23

While the majority of Americans (67%) believe heaven is real, that number drops slightly (61%) when it comes to a belief in hell. The current owner of Twitter, prior to when I heard he changed its name, is quoted as saying: “I’m OK with going to hell, if that is indeed my destination, since the vast majority of all humans ever born will be there.” That statement clearly indicates that he doesn’t know what hell will be like and that he really does not believe the Bible- if he has even read any of the Bible. Hell is an uncomfortable subject for most people, but its reality is a part of the gospel. Eternal condemnation and separation from God are the very reasons Christ died for us. Hell is a reality that no one need fear if faith is placed in Christ. One of our duties to God is to let people know they don’t have to go there. Eternal punishment awaits those who do not follow Christ. So many people ignore, refuse to believe, or just don’t even consider their eternal destination and a real hell is there waiting for them.

                      Read 2 Thessalonians 1:3-7a

3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,[a] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well.

       We are bound to thank God always for you: For Paul, the giving of thanks for God’s great work was an obligation – he was bound to do so, and it was fitting, because of the work God did in the Thessalonian Christians. Paul’s wording here is strong. “Paul has already written a very warm letter, containing some passages of high praise for the Thessalonian church. It is probable that in the subsequent communications that they had had with him (whether by letter, or by word of mouth) that had said that they were not worthy of such praise. Paul strongly maintains that his words had not been too strong.”  “It is your duty to praise him. You are bound by the bonds of his love as long as you live to bless his name. It is meet and comely that you should do so. It is not only a pleasurable exercise, but it is the absolute duty of the Christian life to praise God.”

        Because your faith grows exceedingly: Paul thanked God because the Thessalonians had: Exceedingly growing faith. Abounding love. Patience and faith in all… persecutions and tribulations. This faith and love, thriving in the midst of persecutions and tribulations, made Paul boast of the Thessalonians to other churches. “His verb for ‘groweth exceedingly’ is an unusual one (here only in the Greek Bible) and gives the thought of a very vigorous growth.”

       Spurgeon explained how to get a strong and growing faith: “By that means you are to grow. This is so with faith. Do all you can, and then do a little more; and when you can do that, then do a little more than you can. Always have something in hand that is greater than your present capacity. Grow up to it, and when you have grown up to it, grow more.”

       So that we ourselves: This “is a very emphatic expression, much more emphatic than we would have expected in such a connection. It implies a strong contrast.” (Morris) The idea is that though it was unusual for someone who planted a church to glory in its success and health, Paul was so impressed by what God was doing among the Thessalonians even Paul took the liberty to glory in that work. “By these words Paul shows us that we are under an obligation to give thanks to God not only when He does us a kindness, but also when we consider the kindness which He has shown towards our brethren.”

      The persecution and tribulation of the Thessalonians set the righteousness of God on display.

        Which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,

      Which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God: God’s righteous judgment was at work among the Thessalonians, beginning at the house of God (1 Peter 4:17), and purifying them as followers of Jesus. The good result – showing them worthy of the kingdom of God – was manifest evidence that God was good in allowing them to suffer the persecutions and tribulations described in 2 Thessalonians 1:4.

      We usually think that God is absent when we suffer, and that our suffering calls God’s righteous judgment into question. Paul took the exact opposite position and insisted that the Thessalonians’ suffering was evidence of the righteous judgment of God. Where suffering is coupled with righteous endurance, God’s work is done. The fires of persecution and tribulation were like the purifying fires of a refiner, burning away the dross from the gold, bringing forth a pure, precious metal. The idea behind counted worthy is not “seen as worthy” but “reckoned as worthy” as in a judicial decree. Paul’s prayer was that the worthiness of Jesus may be accounted to the Thessalonian Christians.

        Since it is a righteous thing with God: Many people question the righteousness of God’s judgment. They believe that God’s love and His judgment contradict each other. But God’s judgment is based on the great spiritual principle that it is a righteous thing with God to repay those who do evil. Since God is righteous, He will repay all evil, and it will all be judged and accounted for either at the cross or in hell.  The judgment of God means that there is nothing unimportant in my life. Everything is under the eye of the God I must answer to. “A world in which justice was not done at last would not be God’s world at all.”

       To repay with tribulation those who trouble you: God was also shown as righteous when those who persecuted the Thessalonians were repaid with tribulation according to their evil works. They probably believed they did God a favor when they persecuted the Christians, but the righteous God would repay them and not reward them. “Often retribution is pictured as overtaking men in the world to come, but there are not wanting passages which indicated that it may operate in the here and now (e.g., Rom. 1:24, 26, 28).”

       We can see a statement like 2 Thessalonians 1:6 in much the same context as those passages in the Psalms where the writer happily wishes ill upon his enemies – they are a prayer of entrusting the judgment of these enemies to God, instead of personally taking the initiative. The tribulation upon these persecutors of God’s people is not like a purifying fire. It is like the fire of a pure and holy judgment.

 And to give you who are troubled rest: The Thessalonian Christians were persecuted and had tribulation; and God used it for His glory. But the time of persecution would not last. A day of rest is promised for every believer.

                 Read 2 Thessalonians 7b-10

This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

       From heaven.— Paul seems to delight in calling attention to the quarter from which “the Lord Jesus” (the human name, to show His sympathy with trouble) will appear. With his mighty angels.—Literally, with the angels of His power—i.e., the angels to whom His power is entrusted and by whom it is administered. The angels do not attend merely for pomp, but to execute God’s purposes. 

        In verse 8, In flaming fire.—Most critics agree to change the punctuation here, by omitting the comma after “angels” and inserting it after “fire.” The flaming firehere is not the instrument of the vengeance—i.e., hell-fire—but the common pictorial attribute of the Divine Presence (Exodus 3:2; Exodus 19:18; Daniel 7:9). Taking vengeance.—The expression in the original is one which is said to be found nowhere else in Greek literature, save in Ezekiel 25:14 (though in Hebrew there is an almost exact equivalent in Numbers 31:3), so that it is difficult to assign the correct meaning. It certainly does not mean “taking vengeance” in the sense of “taking His revenge,” as though our Lord had conceived a personal grudge and were wreaking it. What it does mean would seem to be “assigning retribution:” appointing, that is, to each man what satisfaction of justice he must make. The very word for “vengeance” can only mean vengeance exacted on some one else’s behalf. (Comp. 1Thessalonians 4:6, and Psalm 79:10.)

        On them that know not God.—According to the Greek, the word “them” should be repeated also in the next clause. The effect will then be to mark off the culprits into two classes: “them that know not,” and “them that obey not.” A comparison of Ephesians 4:17-18, 1Thessalonians 4:5, shows that by the first class are meant Gentiles; a comparison of Romans 10:16; Romans 10:21 (and many other passages) will show disobedience to be the characteristic of the Jews. The Greek negative particle here is one which shows that the ignorance of the one set and the disobedience of the other were just the points for which they were to be punished: therefore, of course, only those Gentiles whose ignorance was voluntary, who chose (Romans 1:28) to be Gentiles when they might have been joined to the true God, are objects of wrath. Here, as the context shows, St. Paul is thinking chiefly of those Gentiles and Jews who actually persecuted the truth.

         Obey not the gospel.—A noteworthy phrase; see the reference. The gospel, the “glad tidings,” contains not only a statement of facts, but also a call to obey a law which is the outcome of the facts. Even the acceptance of evangelical promises requires a submission. (Comp. Luke 24:47; Acts 11:18; Revelation 22:3.) It is here called specially the gospel “of our Lord Jesus Christ,” because the sin of the Jews (who constitute this class of sinners) consisted precisely in the willful rejection of Jesus as the Christ.

       Then verses 9 and 10  tells: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction — Not the annihilation, but the perversion and utter ruin of all their powers of body and mind, so that those powers become instruments of torment and sources of misery to them in all possible ways. As there can be no end of their sins, (the same enmity against God continuing,) so neither of their punishment: sin and its punishment running parallel through eternity itself. They must of necessity therefore be cut off from all good, and all possibility of it. From the presence of the Lord — Wherein chiefly consists the salvation and felicity of the righteous. What unspeakable punishment is implied even in falling short of this, supposing that nothing more were implied in the punishment here spoken of! But this phrase, destruction from the presence, or face, of the Lord, as Bishop Hopkins justly observes, expresses not only that they shall be expelled from that joy and glory which reigns in the presence of God and of Christ, but that his presence shall appear active in the infliction of their punishment, so that they shall find his wrath issuing forth like lightning to appall and torment their spirits, while his power glorifies itself in their ruin and misery. When he shall come to be glorified in his saints — For his wonderful glory shall shine forth in them, and he will manifest the greatness of his power in rendering them glorious; and to be admired in all them that believe — With respect to the efforts of his almighty power and love for their complete salvation. Or, they shall be filled with wonder at what is done by Christ for and upon them, so far exceeding their most sanguine expectation. Because our testimony, &c. — As if he had said, I reckon you of this number because of the credit which you gave to our preaching.

                        Read 2 Thessalonians 11-12

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

         The prayer we discover in these verses is one of many prayers that the Apostle Paul   offered up on behalf of the churches scattered across the Roman Empire, churches he often helped establish. Let me first read through this amazing prayer, and then we can look for more closely at some of the pieces with which it was composed. Paul writes in verse 11…To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, [12] so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen? Amen! Using the immediate context, as well as some of Paul other’s writings, let’s think together about the different parts of this prayer.

         For example, notice the opening request of this prayer. Paul asks that “God may make [them] worthy of his calling”. Now, if you stop and think about it, when is the last time you prayed that prayer for someone else, or for yourself, or had someone pray that prayer for you? That’s simply not a pray I’ve ever prayed, nor can I recall anyone ever praying it for me. But look! There it is, right there. So, if this is a biblical prayer, why is it such a uncommon prayer? I think the reason that prayer is so rare is that the language seems to ‘rub’ against our theology. Here’s what I mean: one of the foundational ideas of the gospel itself is that you and I are NOT worthy, and we NEVER will be worthy, of God’s deliverance and divine favor. Why? Well, according to Paul in Romans 3:12, because of sin, “all… have become worthless”. Only through the worthiness of Jesus, the Righteous One, can we hope to stand before God.

       .  So, there’s the same idea, but this time, it’s not a prayer. It’s a statement of what God is already doing. But there’s more. In his first letter to the disciples in Thessalonica, Paul reminded them, in 2:12, of how…we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory. Paul urges the Ephesians to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called”. So, in one sense, Paul is simply praying for that which he is prescribing. Let me suggest that a prayer for God to “make you worthy of his calling” is just another way of praying for you to “walk in a manner worthy of [that] calling”. Okay. But… what exactly does it mean?

       I think what would help us with this word “worthy” is to think less about behavior that is deserving and more about behavior that is fitting or befitting. Did you notice how, in all of these examples, the word “worthy” is always used in connection with some other great and glorious reality? “Worthy of…” his calling… of his kingdom… of his gospel… of the Lord Jesus… or… of God himself.

You see, this prayer is not about God making us great and glorious. This is a prayer about God working in and through us, so that our lives reflect his greatness and glory (“Father, make it clear we are living for something great and glorious.”); Paul is asking that they live in a radically distinct way, one that fits (or befits) the radical distinctiveness of Chris and his gospel.

       Now with that in mind, consider how Paul simply expands on the initial request. For example, look again at his second request in verse 11: Paul prays for these disciples, that God “may fulfill every resolve [or, desire] for good”. What exactly does that mean? It means the worthiness for which Paul prays begins with our resolutions, our desires, our intentions, our commitments. How is Paul praying in light of such resolutions and desires? That God might fulfill them! That such resolutions become reality. Do you have resolutions and desires this morning? Resolutions and desires for change in your own life? For change in another’s life? Resolutions and desires for what is true and good and right? For God’s will, for God’s best? If you do, then I want to pray for you as Paul prayed for the Thessalonians. If you do, share those with others in our church family, so that they can also pray this prayer for you.

       But notice how Paul connects that word “fulfill” to yet another request. May God “fulfill every resolve for good AND every work of faith by his power.” Whoa! Do you see how the Apostle is moving here from mere desire to actual deed? Paul mentioned in verse 3 of this chapter how the faith of his readers was “growing abundantly”. And as the prayer indicates, that faith was being manifested in actual works, not just resolutions or intentions. Speaking of works, in his previous letter, Paul wrote about their “work of faith and labor of love” (I-1:3), and in this letter, he goes on to pray (in the very next chapter) that God would “comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word” (II-2:17).

        But wait! There is a greater prayer we could pray. It’s the very next request in Paul’s prayer: may God fulfill your desires and deeds… “so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you”. Now look at what Paul has done. He’s brought us back to this idea of reflecting worthiness, specifically the worthiness of Jesus. But Jesus being glorified assumes our desires and deeds are Christ-centered, right? Remember Paul’s wording here: “that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you”. Paul is talking about others, both believer and unbelievers, giving the credit to Jesus for something they see in us. He’s talking about people being in awe of (or at least, thinking highly of) Christ because of our desires and deeds.

       Now look at how the last part of this prayer explains the previous point. Jesus gets all the glory because… he gives all the grace. The glory is fully God’s because it is God who “fulfills”. It’s all and only possible (v. 12) “according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” That deals with any misunderstandings about worthiness, doesn’t it? Yes, we are saved by grace as Paul stressed in Ephesians 2:8. But we are also empowered by grace. Paul spoke about this clearly in I Corinthians 15:10…

But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

WON’T ALL PEOPLE ULTIMATELY GO TO HEAVEN

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  WON’T ALL PEOPLE ULTIMATELY GO TO HEAVEN 11-12-23

The majority of Americans (83%) believe there is an afterlife. Religions and philosophies may differ on how that afterlife is defined, but most (73%) believe in heaven. Another study shows that 40 %of Americans believe that everyone, regardless of what they believe or do, will be saved and accepted by God. This belief gives a false sense of comfort because it does not line up with what the Bible teaches. Another false belief that many in the world tend to believe is- that people in heaven can look down on and see people on earth. They will say something like “those in heaven are looking down to see the good happening to their friends and relatives.” I will address this in more detail later, but there is nothing in the Scriptures that specifically say or support that. As hard as it might be to face, not all people will end up in heaven and those in heaven apparently are not permitted indiscriminate views of earth. God’s kingdom is reserved for those who obediently follow Him and listen to His Will.

                                  Read Matthew 7:13-14

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

       The important question that we all need to know, and follow is: How can we enter the kingdom of heaven? Many think that they already know the answer and fail to find God’s answer. However, there are so many who simply don’t care about the right answer.                   

        Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Christ taught about the character of those in his kingdom, as seen in his list of Beatitudes. They are the poor in spirit, those who mourn over sin, they are the meek who submit to the Lord’s leadership, they hunger for righteousness, and so on. Ultimately, this leads them to be persecuted (Matt 5:3-10). They practice a higher standard of righteousness than so called spiritual leaders like the Pharisees and scribes (Matt 5:20). While hypocritical leaders are consumed with the outward appearances of religion, true kingdom citizens focus on the inward reality. Their disciplines are done to be honored by God and not by people. They continually confess and rid themselves of sin and seek to help others do the same (Matt 7:1-6).

Here at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Christ gives his conclusion—the application of the sermon. He calls all listening to choose which path they will take, which kingdom they will be a part of. No one is born into God’s kingdom, at least not by natural means. It matters not if one’s parents were Christians, if they were baptized or dedicated as infants, no one enters until they have made a decision to enter.

        Christ’s command to enter does not deny the fact that salvation is by grace alone; it simply affirms the reality that those who choose God have been given grace to be saved. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God; it is not from works, so that no one can boast.” Even our faith—our ability to choose God—is a gift from him.

        At the end of Christ’s sermon, he challenges his hearers because many would be tempted to simply stand in amazement (cf. Matt 7:28-29). They would say to themselves, “No one ever spoke like this. ‘Love your enemies. Bless and don’t curse them!’” Many have admired Christ’s words throughout history. Because of his words, Christ has been called a great teacher or prophet. However, few who have heard these words have truly felt the weight of them and been pressed to make a decision. Which kingdom will we be a part of? There are two rival gates with two different pathways, leading to two rival kingdoms—one is the kingdom of this world, and one is the kingdom of heaven.

       As Christ calls us to choose one of the pathways, he gives us characteristics of each, so we can make an informed and wise decision. This is very similar to the description of two paths in Psalm 1. The Psalmist describes the pathway of the wicked which leads to destruction and the pathway of the righteous which leads to life. The righteous delight in God’s Word and meditate on it all day long. They become like trees which prosper in the various seasons of life. In the beginning of the worship hymnal of Israel, the Psalmist calls worshipers to choose. True worshipers follow the pathway of the righteous and so do true disciples of Christ.

       There have always been but two systems of religion in the world. One is God’s system of divine accomplishment, and the other is man’s system of human achievement. One is the religion of God’s grace, the other the religion of men’s works. One is the religion of faith, the other the religion of the flesh. One is the religion of the sincere heart and the internal, the other the religion of hypocrisy and the external. Within man’s system are thousands of religious forms and names, but they are all built on the achievements of man and the inspiration of Satan. Christianity, on the other hand, is the religion of divine accomplishment, and it stands alone.1

       There are only two possible consequences for each attitude and action. Any decision we make brings either destruction or life. If we decide as the world does and enter by its gate and follow its ways, we will live a self-centered life, following our appetites, and reap the reward of destruction. The destruction will apply to relationships. It will apply to the rewards associated with seeking His kingdom and His righteousness. It will apply to the fulfillment of life Jesus offers if we will “seek first His kingdom” (Matthew 6:33).The wide gate of the world promises life and happiness but delivers destruction. The way of Christ requires that we lay our lives down, but in that sacrifice, we find a reward of life.

       Sadly, the gate that is wide and the way that is broad is the one most people travel. That way leads to destruction. But because people go by appearances rather than by faith, there are many who enter through it. Conversely, few people find the narrow gate that leads to life.

                            Read Matthew 7:15-20

15 “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. 16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

       We grow if we are well tended – in education, in family, in love. We grow when we mind and nourish ourselves with the food and drink that do not ruin the body. Then the fruit is seen, and others can enjoy and benefit from our lives. Additionally, some Christians interpret this passage as referring to not a single false prophet, but any false teachers within the Christian church who preach against the Gospel. The metaphor of ‘a wolf in sheep’s clothing’ has become a common English expression. Jesus calls on His people, those who are on the narrow way, to watch out for those who would teach things contrary to the truth. This is a call and a responsibility that must be heard and obeyed for the sake of those who would be led astray. He describes God as a generous Father eager to give good things to His children when they ask. He commands His followers to enter the narrow gate and walk the hard road to life.

       Jesus gives another warning: Beware of the false prophets. A prophet is someone who speaks on behalf of God. A false prophet is someone who claims to speak on God’s behalf when in reality he is lying. Jesus tells His disciples to Beware of them. Given what Jesus just said about entering through the narrow gate (v. 13), it is natural to assume that false prophets will encourage many to enter the wide gate leading to destruction. Be on the lookout for them and do not listen to what they have to say. Jesus warns that these false prophets will appear innocent and harmless, they will come to you in sheep’s clothing, but they are not harmless. Their appearance is deceptive, and their effect is deadly. Inwardly they are ravenous wolves. These false prophets are looking to take advantage of you. They will destroy and consume your soul to get what they want. Don’t let them.

       Jesus tells His disciples how to recognize false prophets. Jesus uses a clear parable to teach how they can do this. To recognize false prophets, His disciples will know them by their fruits. Fruits are a metaphor for their works or what they produce. It refers to what comes out of their lives. False prophets can be recognized by their fruit, meaning their actions and choices.

       Christ then further explains the metaphor. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? (The rhetorical answer is “No! Neither grapes nor figs come from thorn bushes or thistles. Grapes come from grape vines and figs come from fig trees.”) Assuming this response, Jesus continues with a straight-forward statement. So, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit. The good and bad trees represent good and bad men, prophets and false prophets. Good men and good prophets produce good fruit (good works). Bad men and false prophets produce bad fruit (bad works). Jesus then states the inverse of this truth. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.

       Even though false prophets appear like you, talk like you, pretend to be like you, they are not like you. How can you detect them? Pay attention to their work. You will know them by their fruits. If their works are bad, they do not represent God. Before ending, Jesus adds: every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. The remark informs His disciples that God will deal with false prophets. They will not get away with their lies. God will deal with them. He will not allow them to spoil His orchard. He won’t even let them continue to take up space within His gardens. He will cut them down and throw them into the fire of His judgment.

Jesus closes the parable by repeating its primary point (which He began with): So then, you will know them by their fruits.

       This passage is sometimes used to justify judging whether or not a person is a believer in Jesus. “If they don’t have good fruits, then they are not a Christian.” But this is an incorrect interpretation and application of this scripture. This passage’s purpose is to equip disciples with how to recognize and avoid false prophets and false teachers. The fruit test is given only in this context. This passage does not apply to the general population. It applies to judging teachers, preachers and others who claim to represent or speak on behalf of God. Just a few verses earlier Jesus explicitly condemned judging others (Matthew 7:1-5). He is not reversing Himself here by saying, “Judge others.” He is only saying if someone claims to speak for God, then pay attention to what comes out of their lives before following what they say. Test their fruit to see if it is good. If it is rotten, then do not follow them into the fire of God’s judgement. It is also important to remember that God Himself is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29). And His judgement fire will apply to the deeds of believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3:12-15).

                                 Read Matthew 7:21-23

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

        Of the three verses in this passage this is the most commonly quoted and often debated. Some have taken Matthew 7:21 to mean that you must do good works to earn salvation. But that’s misapplying Jesus’ words. The Bible, and Jesus in the next verse, are clear that good deeds don’t earn salvation. Jesus isn’t saying that we need to do good works to enter heaven. In fact, when someone believes that they’ve actually put their faith in something other than God. Rather Jesus is saying that to do the will of God means to do more than just action; it means to have genuine faith and trust in him. 

      Jesus says that those who do the will of the Father will enter the kingdom. This means we place our faith Jesus, in return he grants us salvation, and our salvation is shown by our submission to God. The problem in Jesus’ day, and today, was that many false teachers would be good at putting on a show. They looked at the part and they said the right things. We will see this more in the next verse. But the problem was they never placed their faith in Christ. Mere words are not enough; we must be doers of the Word not just hearers. This starts with a sincere faith placed in Christ. 

        Jesus gives a picture of people trying to enter the kingdom. We saw in the previous verse that entrance into the kingdom is based on doing the will of God, however these people are trying to enter in on their own merit. Jesus is revealing in verse 22 that many have fooled themselves into thinking that they are good to go based off what they’ve done for God. “Because people are so enamored with the spectacular rather than the spiritual, many are fooled by plastic fruit. By plastic fruit I mean the imitation of the miraculous. Since miracles are relatively easy to manipulate or fake, they are a poor test of God’s approval.

       Some of these miracle mongers are simply charlatans. Others are self-deluded individuals who replaced obedience to God with wooing and wowing the crowds.” Here and in other places we are told no sin or sinners enter the kingdom of heaven. So, if people in heaven were able to see people on earth indiscriminately and their actions, that would bring their sin into heaven. That seems to be the reason that if people in heaven can see people on earth it can only be when God permits it and directs their vision to sinless events, In Revelations 6:9 we can read that people in heaven are rejoicing  when people on earth are saved, but these people in heaven learn that when angels tell them- not when they see it themselves.

       The point Jesus is making is that the heart matters more than the actions. It’s possible to do the right things for the wrong reasons. Our call as Christians is to put Jesus first, to trust in him, and to listen to what he says. Our works will flow from that, not the other way around. The other application from this is a warning to be on the lookout for false teachers. Just because someone is saying the right things doesn’t mean they are righteous. Jesus is warning his followers to pay attention to the fruit they produce, not just the words they say.

      The words -not everyone who says Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven-sound harsh, but they are words we should not ignore. The reality is these people never bothered to get to know Jesus; they weren’t interested in him. Rather they were only interested in their own gain and satisfaction. Really Jesus is giving them what they want. They spent their lives chasing their own desires; they don’t want life with him, so he gives them life without him. The overarching point that Jesus is making is that it’s not our performance that earns us salvation. It’s relying on the saving work of Jesus. Alone. Period. Everything else flows out from what Jesus has done for us. And while many might say the right things and look the part, it’s our heart that matters. We might be able to fool others and even ourselves, but we cannot fool God. One day our true motivations will be revealed. 

        Matthew 7:21-23 is a warning to not deceive ourselves or to be deceived by others. It’s a calling to place our complete trust in Jesus so that we can produce fruit that will last. So, how does Matthew 7:21-23 apply to our lives today? Let’s go back to the beginning of this verse. Jesus states that the kingdom belongs to those who do the will of his Father. If you want to enter into God’s Kingdom this is what you do. 

What is God’s will? Jesus tells us that in Matthew 22:38-40, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

       Jesus masterfully sums up the entire Bible: love God and love those around you. That’s what it means to do the will of the Father. 

Loving God means that we listen to, and follow, what he says. When Jesus says to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, he’s talking how loving God with every single aspect of who we are. No part of our life should be left out. Our love for God should not stop with God; it should flow to those around us. You cannot love God while neglecting those around you. We are to take the love that God has shown us and bring it to the world around us. 

       This is the will of the Father. He has saved us from our sin and in response we are to love God and love those around us. We will all struggle and fail at this, and when we do we take God’s grace and forgiveness and continue on striving toward the calling God has placed on our lives. And if we do that not only, will we experience the blessings God has for us in this life, but we will spend eternity with him. 

IS JESUS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD   

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         IS JESUS THE ONLY WAY TO GOD? 11-5-2023

The world does not like the idea that one particular belief system is better than the others or is the only one that is right. This seems to be more true than ever before in our country. As an 83-year-old, I have seen this attitude and separation grow stronger over the years. From my childhood I was made aware of some political differences in my mother from my father, but they were closer together then, than I see in today’s country. Also, in my childhood there appeared to be more who were closer to God than there is today. Christians are often accused of being narrow-minded even today. Even though I think our country has changed for the worse, there has always been a major problem in the world as a whole when it comes to belief in God. Even in evangelical church today, known for its emphasis on salvation by faith in Christ, 19 percent of churchgoers believe there are other ways to God. I am not sure that the number is that low even with some church goers. I know for those in the world today, the number who belief that there are many other ways to God gets much closer to 100%. That is opposite of what God’s Word teaches. Because Jesus is the Son of God, He is the only one who can bring us to God.

                                        Read 1 John 5:1-5

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

      John’s primaries focus in 1 John was to encourage love for other believers, to stress obedience to God’s ethical demands, and to provide a basis for assurance of genuine salvation through faith in Jesus. Our study stresses the basis for this assurance. The message in 1 John 5:1-5 is for everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. This is John’s method of saying we need to love “the children of God”. The child of God referred to in 1 John 5:1 is first and foremost Jesus, but the author also means to say any child of God, as verse two makes clear. Jesus is born of God, but everyone who believes in him becomes his brother or sister. Whoever loves the parent loves not just one of the parent’s children but all of them.

       The community to whom 1 John was written was facing a crisis. Former members of the community were denying that Jesus was truly the Messiah, God’s flesh and blood, fully human, son. Like many churches facing doctrinal conflict, 1 John’s community seems to have been confused, afraid, and unsure what to do. Whom should they believe? How could they know what was true, and what was not? How should they react? 1 John’s simple, confident response is as relevant today as it was when the letter was first written: You know who you are, you know whose you are, and you know what you have been told from the beginning. God’s own Spirit shows us what is true. There’s no need to panic or argue. Focus on living your faith instead. God has the whole situation under control.

       1 John reminds the community that everyone who believes that Jesus is the Messiah — the anointed Son of God — has been born of God. They have no reason to be afraid, for they belong to God. As God’s children, they can rest assured that they are loved and protected by their divine parent. If they love God, then naturally they will love anyone born of God too, because how can one love a parent without loving the child whom the parent brought into being? The child of God referred to in 1 John 5:1 is first and foremost Jesus, but the author also means to say any child of God, as verse two makes clear. Jesus is born of God, but everyone who believes in him becomes his brother or sister. Whoever loves the parent loves not just one of the parent’s children but all of them. The consequences of this conclusion are enormous: every child of God is linked to Jesus. Every injustice done to a child of God echoes the injustice done to him. Every act of violence committed against a child of God recalls the violence committed against Jesus.

       Loving God, loving God’s children, and keeping God’s commandments form inseparable links in a circular chain. In its depiction of this interwoven reality, 1 John echoes Jesus’ conversation with his disciples on the night before his death: “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15); “They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them” (John 14:21); “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (John 15:14). 1 John reminds its readers that God’s commands are not burdensome. Here again we hear an echo of Jesus, who denounces the religious leaders for loading people down with “heavy burdens hard to bear” (Matthew 23:4). The Greek word that NRSV translates as “heavy” is barus, the same adjective translated as “burdensome” in 1 John 5:2. By contrast, Jesus says, “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens … For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matthew 11:28–30). Like Jesus, 1 John insists that God’s commands are not difficult. In essence, they consist in the call to love, “not in word or speech, but in truth and action” (1 John 3:18). Genuine faith, therefore, is firmly connected with active love.

       Those with true faith also confess that Jesus is the Son of God. For 1 John, confessing that Jesus is the Son of God means believing that Jesus is the one who came through (dia) water and blood (1 John 5:6). The verse goes on to specify, “not in (en) water only, but in (en) water and in (en) blood” (my translations). Scholars argue about the precise meaning of this phrase. Some suggest that it refers to the blood and water that came out of Jesus’ pierced side after his crucifixion (John 19:34). Others see it as referring to the water in which Jesus was baptized and the blood that flowed from him during his crucifixion, or as encompassing his whole life from the breaking of his mother’s bag of waters to his bloody death. Whatever the precise meaning of the phrase, its basic point is clear: Jesus did not simply appear to be human. He was truly flesh and blood. Nor was he God’s Son only during his baptism and ministry. The fact that he was God’s Son did not mean that Jesus somehow escaped the full consequences of being human. He shared the whole human experience of living and dying. He remained God’s Son even in his agonizing death by torture on the cross. Jesus was born, baptized, and crucified to empower all of us to become God’s children, cleansed by his blood (1 John 1:7). This is not some inessential doctrinal point. 1 John insists that this is the heart of our faith.

       Truly Christian faith conquers the world not by military might or doctrinal arguments or coercion, but by love. Christians believe in the Son of God who, rather than shedding the blood of others to prove that he was the Messiah, allowed his own blood to be shed. God’s children triumph not by inflicting suffering on others or by avoiding pain at all costs but by allowing God to work within and through them even in their suffering. What applies to individual Christians applies also to the Christian community. The Church triumphs over false teaching not by force or argument, but because of and through the suffering love of the crucified Messiah. This is the truth to which the Holy Spirit testifies: God’s son was tortured and broken for us. This is the faith that overcomes the world: God’s love brings life even out of brokenness and death. This is the victory to which we are called: loving God’s children, and thus living our faith in the crucified, risen Son of God.

                                  Read 1 John 5:6-10

6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. 7 For there are three that testify: 8 the[a] Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement. 9 We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. 10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.

        Crucifixion of Jesus “not with the water only, but with the water and with the blood.”

– Completion of His Mission — “It is finished”, Paid the full penalty for our sins His Baptism and Death mark the two bookends of His earthly ministry. The Holy Spirit through the inspired testimony of the apostles continues to bear witness to the person and ministry of Christ. “If this is the meaning of these words, then two circumstances arising out of the context support it. First, John is obviously stressing the historical groundings of faith in this passage. And if that is so, then an emphasis upon the earthly ministry of Christ bounded in one sense and on one side by His baptism and on the other by His death is understandable. Moreover, at each of these God intervened in a miraculous way to bear a testimony to Him: by a voice at the baptism (‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased,’ Matt. 3:17), and by various miracles at the time of the Crucifixion. The second supporting circumstance is that throughout the letter John has been opposing the Gnostics, who, significantly enough, are known to have taught that the historical Jesus was not the Christ but rather only a man on whom the Christ descended at the baptism but who was deserted by Him before His crucifixion. If this is in view, then John would be emphasizing that there is only one Jesus, the Christ, who was then present on earth not only in and through the baptism but in and through the Crucifixion as well.”

       Dominant Witness “And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is the truth.” The record in the Scriptures (from the Spirit) speaking of the life and death and resurrection of Christ — especially focusing on His baptism and crucifixion.  “The ultimate One bearing testimony, from whom all the apostles also derive their testimony, on whom their own faith also rests, is the Holy Spirit, none less.”

       Impressive Witness

1. (:8) Impressive Agreement of 3 Witnesses

“For there are three that bear witness, the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.”

2. (:9) Impressive Character of the Witness

“If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for the witness of God is this, that He has borne witness concerning His Son.”

3. (:10) Blasphemy of Rejecting the Witness (which is self-authenticating)

“The one who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the witness that God has borne concerning His Son.”

       “If a person does believe God, he has an internal assurance that what he has believed is trustworthy. This is the work of God’s Spirit, the testimonium Spiritus Sancti Internum, as the Reformers termed it. It is in addition to the assurance provided on other grounds. On the other hand, if a person does not believe God, he makes Him out to be a liar; for in this way he eloquently testifies to his belief that God cannot be trusted. Here the heinous nature of unbelief is evident, for, as Stott writes, ‘Unbelief is not a misfortune to be pitied; it is a sin to be deplored. Its sinfulness lies in the fact that it contradicts the word of the one true God and thus attributes falsehood to him.’”

                            Read 1 John 5:11-13

 11 And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

       Verse 11. – “And the substance of the internal testimony is this – we are conscious of the Divine gift of eternal life, and this we have in the Son of God.” St. John’s ζωὴ αἰώνιος is not “everlasting life:” the idea of endlessness may be included in it, but it is not the main one. The distinction between eternity and time is one which the human mind feels to be real and necessary. But we are apt to lose ourselves when we try to think of eternity. We admit that it is not time, that it is the very antithesis of time, and yet we attempt to measure it while we declare it to be immeasurable. We make it simply a very long time. The main idea of “eternal life” in St. John’s writings has no direct reference to time. Eternal life is possessed already by believers; it is not a thing of the future (John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6:47, 54; John 17:3). It is that life in God which includes all blessedness, and which is not broken by physical death (John 11:25). Its opposite is exclusion from God.

       12. the Son … life—Greek, The verse has two clauses: in the former the Son is mentioned without the addition “of God,” for believers know the Son: in the second clause the addition “of God” is made, that unbelievers may know thereby what a serious thing it is not to have Him. In the former clause “has” bears the emphasis; in the second, life. To have the Son is to be able to say as the bride, “I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine” [So 6:3]. Faith is the mean whereby the regenerate HAVE Christ as a present possession, and in having Him have life in its germ and reality now, and shall have life in its fully developed manifestation hereafter. Eternal life here is: (1) initial, and is an earnest of that which is to follow; in the intermediate state (2) partial, belonging but to a part of a man, though that is his nobler part, the soul separated from the body; at and after the resurrection (3) perfectional. This life is not only natural, consisting of the union of the soul and the body (as that of the reprobate in eternal pain, which ought to be termed death eternal, not life),  but also spiritual, the union of the soul to God, and supremely blessed forever (for life is another term for happiness

         1 John 5:13. These things have I written unto you — The things contained in the former part of this chapter concerning the fruits of regenerating faith, and the water and the blood, and the witnesses in heaven and on earth, and especially concerning the things which they have witnessed, mentioned in the two last verses; to you that believe on the name of the Son of God — With a faith grounded on a saving knowledge of him, and productive of the fruits spoken of 1 John 5:1-4; that ye may know — On the testimony of all the evangelists and apostles, and of Christ himself; that ye have eternal life — That ye are heirs of it, notwithstanding your past sins and present infirmities, and the imperfection of your knowledge and holiness, and the various defects of your love and obedience; and that you may believe — That is, may persevere in believing; on the name of thev Son of God — May continue in the faith grounded and settled, and not be moved away from the hope of the gospel; knowing that the just man shall live by faith, but if he draw back, God’s soul will have no pleasure in him.

      6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. This states clearly that there is only one way to God!!!!

DEALING WITH TEMPTATION

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Click this picture to watch the video or go below to read the article- or do both.

This article shares God’s method to handle temptation and help us through our troubles in life. It also tells us that some these trials – but not all- come from God to show us a better way and leads us to obedience.

DEALING WITH TEMPTATION

Temptation, by its very nature, feels wrong. God’s moral law is written in the heart of every human being (Romans 1:20), and when a sinful temptation is introduced, our consciences immediately sense danger. However, the temptation itself is not the sin. Jesus was tempted (Mark 1:13; Luke 4:1-13), but He never sinned (Hebrews 4:15). Sin occurs when we mishandle temptation.

There are two avenues by which we are tempted: Satan and our own sinful flesh. Acts 5 gives an example of someone tempted by Satan. Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, wanting to appear more spiritual than they really were, lied to the apostles and pretended they were giving as an offering the full price of some property they had sold. Peter confronted them: “How is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”(verse 3). In this instance, Peter knew that the temptation to lie had come from Satan. Ananias and his wife both gave in to that temptation (verses 7-10). The betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot is also attributed to Satan’s influence (Luke 22:3; John 13:2).

Ultimately, since Satan is the “god of this world” (2 Corinthians 4:4) and the father of lies (John 8:44), all evil originates with him. However, our own selfish nature is an ally of Satan’s. We need no prompting from Satan to entertain sinful ideas. James 1:13-14 says, “When tempted, no one should say, ‘God is tempting me.’ For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed.”

Even though we may desire to do good, we are all tempted. No one is above it, even someone like the apostle Paul. He shared his own struggle of flesh against spirit when he wrote in Romans 7:22-23, “For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me.”

Temptation is not of itself sinful. It becomes sin when we allow the temptation to become action, even in our minds. Lust, for example, is sin even though it may never be acted upon (Matthew 5:28). Covetousness, pride, greed, and envy are all sins of the heart; even though they may not be apparent to anyone else, they are still sin (Romans 1:29; Mark 7:21-22). When we give in to the temptation to entertain such thoughts, they take root in our hearts and defile us (Matthew 15:18–19). When we yield to temptation, we replace the fruit of the Spirit with the fruit of the flesh (Ephesians 5:9; Galatians 5:19-23). And, many times, what was first entertained as a thought becomes action (see James 1:15).

The best defense against giving in to temptation is to flee at the first suggestion. Joseph is a great example of someone who did not allow temptation to become sin (Genesis 39:6–12). Although tempted to sin sexually, he did not give the temptation time to take root. He used the legs God gave him and physically fled. Rather than stay in a potentially dangerous situation and try to talk, reason, justify, explain, or otherwise weaken his resolve, Joseph took off. The temptation was not sin for him because he dealt with it in a God-honoring way. It could easily have become sin if Joseph had stayed around and tried to overcome the temptation in his own strength.

Romans 13:13-14 (ESV) gives us a guideline for avoiding situations that can lead to temptation. “Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” If we determine to “make no provision for the flesh,” we will keep ourselves out of situations that may prove too tempting. When we put ourselves in situations where we know we will be tempted, we are asking for trouble. God promises to provide a “way of escape” when we are tempted (1 Corinthians 10:13), but often that way is to avoid the situation altogether. “Flee the evil desires of youth” (2 Timothy 2:22). Jesus taught us to pray, “Lead us not into temptation” (Luke 11:4), but we have a responsibility to pay attention to the direction God is leading us and avoid temptation whenever we can.

12 Ways to Overcome Temptation – From The Bible

1. Avoid and/or flee from it. Sometimes discretion is the better part of valor.

“She caught him by his cloak and said, “Come to bed with me!” But he left his cloak in her hand and ran out of the house.” -Gen 39:12

2. Offer your mind and thoughts to God. He knows better than we do what is good.

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” -Phil 4:8

3. Work on overcoming your selfishness. True Love doesn’t know selfishness. Because, if you love Jesus you don’t belong to yourself

“and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.” -1 Cor 3:23

4. Expect and be ready for temptation. We need to be prepared for Spiritual battle.

“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” -Eph 6:13

5. Remind yourself of the consequences of sin.

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” -Gal5:19-21

6. Memorize God’s Word. Filling our minds with the thoughts of God and having them readily available to us is very wise.

“He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” -Luke 11:28

7. Cultivate a sense of God’s presence in prayer. But don’t just listen – obey.

“Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then tell us whatever the LORD our God tells you. We will listen and obey.” -Deut 5:27

8. Frequent confession heals us and we start over spiritually healthy.

“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” -James 5:16

9. Accountability helps us avoid sin. When we are accountable to both man and God it helps us overcome temptation.

“Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?” “I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?” The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.” -Genesis 4:9

10. Understand who your true enemy is and his tactics.

“Our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” -Eph 6:12-13

11. Think of your heavenly reward and not just of this life.

“Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” -James 1:12

12. Receive the Eucharist regularly. Those who do have Jesus abide in them and they abide in Jesus.

“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me.” -John 6:56-57

Bible Verses About Temptation – Scriptures on How To Resist & Overcome Temptation

1. 1 Corinthians 10:13 – What Does The Bible Say About Resisting Temptation?

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

1 Corinthians 10:13

One of the most important things to remember is that temptation is common to mankind.

It’s not a question of if you will be tempted, just a question of when.

Feeling tempted does not make you a bad person or a weak Christian – it just makes you human.

But the second half of this verse is my favorite – “But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

In the midst of our temptation, we often feel alone, like nobody else could understand the struggle we are dealing with. That’s a lie from the enemy.

God is with us every second of our temptation and knows how hard we are fighting. And, He is a God of grace, so He provides a way out.

Our job is not to avoid all temptation, but instead to remember to look for the way out that God is providing.

This was the Bible verse that was at the core of us creating the 3 Ps to fight food cravings. I have thought, written, memorized, spoken, and sung this verse thousands of times when I was tempted to turn to food to fix a problem that only God could fix.

2. Matthew 6:13 – Lead Us Not Into Temptation Verse

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Matthew 6:13

Even though 1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that we will experience temptation, it’s still a worthy prayer to ask God not to lead us into temptation.

This is even in a section of Scripture where Jesus was telling us exactly how to pray, so you know it’s important enough to ask!

3. Matthew 26:41 – Watch And Pray Verse For Protection

Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Matthew 26:41

This verse is when Jesus is in the garden of Gethsemane with the disciples. He knows He is about to be crucified and He asked them to be on the lookout for Him to give him time to pray.

When He came back after just an hour, the disciples were asleep and He spoke this verse to Peter.

Jesus understands our sinful nature so well. He knows that most of the time, our intentions are good. He also knows that we are not strong enough to fight temptation on our own.

Our responsibility is to be watchful and ask God for His strength to fight temptation because we can’t do it without Him.

4. James 1:13-15 – What Does God Say About Temptation?

When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

James 1:13-15

The enemy is cunning and creative. He doesn’t tend to go straight for obviously sinful things to lure us in.

He starts by teasing us with little desires that seem harmless at the time. Then he continues to grow that desire slowly, almost imperceptibly, until we are all-out sinning, driving a huge wedge in between our relationship with God and others.

As I mentioned, a major sin of mine was food. It started off with “no big deal” things like eating a few extra bites. Before I knew it, I “needed” food so badly that I was waiting until my family was asleep, sneaking into our pantry, stealing food that belonged to everybody, and hiding in my bedroom in the middle of the night eating boxes of Little Debbies and fruit snacks (and then sneaking around again to hide all of the evidence).

My food problem became a character problem.

And that’s how sin so often works.

Be on guard and watch those “no big deal” desires carefully.

5. Luke 4:2 – How Did Jesus Overcome Temptation?

Where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.

Luke 4:2

This Bible verse is talking about when Jesus was in the desert for 40 days of temptation with the devil.

It’s a story I’ve heard since I was a child but when I take the time to actually envision the 40 straight days of temptation Jesus endured, having to battle every human need of his screaming out for attention each day, I am so thankful.

I’m so thankful God sent His Son here to not just know about the devil’s schemes but to experience every temptation that we would be faced.

It’s comforting to know that He understands. He went through it all. It makes me feel not so alone in those tough moments and it gives me hope.

Because He has gone through it Himself, His help is personal and relatable, not distant and disconnected.

6. Hebrews 4:15 – Jesus Has Been Tempted In Every Way

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.

Hebrews 4:15

This is the perfect follow-up for Jesus’ 40 days in the desert.

“…we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet he did not sin.”

He is proof that God will show us a way out.

He is living out the promises of Scripture that we are not alone and that we can fight temptation when we lean into God’s strength.

7. Galatians 6:1 – Watch Your Own Temptation When Helping Others

Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.

Galatians 6:1

We live in a culture that is very accepting of sin. In fact, we are told that if we do not accept a wide variety of sins, we are closed-minded and unloving.

But, really, the opposite is true.

This verse is not demanding that we condemn each other, beating them down or berating them for their sin.

On the contrary, it is encouraging us to restore that person gently. It’s okay to call a sin a sin. Ignoring the severity of a situation doesn’t do anyone any favors. But gentleness and restoration are key in the process.

And this is another important reminder to be watchful. When we get close to another person’s sin, it’s possible to be lured in ourselves.

The temptation to minimize, rationalize, and point the finger of blame at someone or something else when it comes to sin is always there.

Keep your eyes wide open and fight hard against it!

8. Galatians 5:16-17 – Walk By The Spirit

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

Galatians 5:16-17

Do you know those cartoons where the character has a devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other?

I feel that so often – that battle in my soul.

Both characters have a voice in my head but they are in conflict with each other.

“You are not to do whatever you want.”

Those words really stick with me. In our society, doing what we want when we want has become a “human right,” so denying ourselves our momentary desires has become something labeled as cruel.

But God has a bigger plan for us than those momentary desires. He has a bigger purpose than us just simply pursuing what feels good.

And that plan involves us telling that alluring devil’s voice to hush and intentionally choosing to walk in the Spirit in those moments of temptation.

9. James 4:7 – Bible Verse About The Devil Tempting You

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7

This verse in James goes right along with the last Scripture from Galatians.

When we resist the devil, he will flee.

We are children of God. It was not a one-time choice to follow Christ and surrender ourselves to our Savior.

It is a choice we make again and again, every single day, every time temptation creeps in.

10. Hebrews 2:14-15 – The Power To Overcome Temptation

Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

Hebrews 2:14-15

This is where the best news comes in. It’s great that we have Someone who can understand what we are going through, but the best part is that He is also our Savior who cut off the power of the devil in our lives.

It’s because of Jesus that we are free to choose what’s right in the face of temptation and be able to overcome it.

This isn’t a matter of willpower or personal strength. It’s a matter of Who you serve and we have a God who can take away the fear the devil uses when he tempts us (fear of not having enough, fear of not being enough, etc).

11. 1 Peter 5:8-9 – Resist Temptation Bible Verse

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

1 Peter 5:8-9

This is one of my favorite verses on temptation because it creates such a powerful visual that sticks with me.

You respond much differently to temptation when you look at it for what it is – a prowling lion waiting to devour you – instead of what it feels like in the moment (something that will make you feel good).

Most of us would fight for our lives without hesitation but in those moments of “little” temptations, it doesn’t feel like it’s a worthy fight.

Every temptation is a worthy fight, my friends.

Resist and stand firm in your faith.

12. Ephesians 6:12 – Temptation Is A Spiritual Battle

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 6:12

This is the other part of temptation that is tricky. As much as I love the visual of the prowling lion, I’m not fighting an animal for my physical safety.

I’m fighting against evil in this dark world for my soul.

Temptation often comes in the form of physical things – tempting food, a charming man, an irresistible TV show that we can’t miss…but our struggle is not against those things. That’s just the surface level.

Our struggle with temptation is our fight against our selfishness.

13. James 4:17 – A Different Kind Of Temptation – Avoidance

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.

James 4:17

We often think temptation has to look overtly sinful, like the 7 deadly sins.

But that struggle against our selfishness seeps into every decision we make throughout our days.

I can’t even count the number of times I knew I should have chosen differently. I saw an opportunity to love or to serve and I missed it. I didn’t act when I know I could have.

It’s easy not to feel guilty about those because it sure doesn’t feel like sinning when you’re not actively pursuing something sinful.

But that’s the sneaky part of sin! You can sin by missing those opportunities to do good, too.

Another good reason to be on guard and watchful, making the most of every opportunity.

14. James 1:12 – When Temptation Comes My Way…

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

James 1:12

And, remember, this is such a worthy fight.

Every temptation you fight, no matter how small, was a worthy battle.

There is no such thing as a “no big deal” temptation when you are dealing with matters of your heart and soul.

Don’t give up fighting, even when it feels like you fight the same battle 100 times a day (I use these Bible verses on endurance to help when I feel like giving up).

Persevere and the Lord has promised you the most beautiful of rewards.

15. Psalm 37:4 – Delight In The Lord

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

This verse is one of my favorites because it hits temptation at its core – your heart.

When we are taking delight in the Lord, our heart desires good things and our walk with Christ overflows with joy.

When we take delight in ourselves, our heart craves things that destroy us piece by piece and we end up feeling bitter that God is withholding things we love from us.

I don’t know about you, but I want to choose a life overflowing with joy, not bitterness and jealousy.

16. 2 Timothy 2:22 – Flee Temptation

Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.

2 Timothy 2:22

This verse encourages us to, not only run away from those tempting desires we have but to pursue good.

This isn’t about just sitting put and saying no to things all day every day.

It’s about running away from those harmful desires and running into the arms of Christ.

Pursuing righteousness, faith, love, and peace are some of the best ways to fight temptation.

17. Romans 12:21 – Overcome Evil With Good

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Romans 12:21

Which is the same thing this verse emphasizes.

Overcome evil with good.

Your good, godly choices make a difference. It’s one of the best ways to fight this battle.

18. 1 John 2:15-17 – Do Not Love The World

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.

1 John 2:15-17

This verse describes such a clear differentiation – you either love the world or you love the Father.

Continue to challenge your choices, your motivations, and your heart to make sure you continue to stay on God’s path.

19. Ephesians 6:10-17 – Put On The Armor Of God To Fight Temptation

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:10-17

I’ve mentioned the “battle” and “fighting” all throughout this post, but these verses lay out the best way to prepare yourself for this battle.