Archives for August 2016

MY FRIENDS, DO WE REALLY UNDERSTAND THE BEAUTY OF GOD’S GRACE?

Aug. 18, 2016

MY FRIENDS, DO WE REALLY UNDERSTAND THE BEAUTY OF GOD’S GRACE?

FreeGift“So here is all my praise Expressed with all my heart Offered to the Friend who took my place and ran a course I could not start. And when He saw in full Just how much His would cost He still went the final mile between me and heaven So I would not be lost. Were it not for grace” (Larnelle Harris, Were It Not For Grace) My friends, He still went the final mile between me and heaven So you and I would not be lost.” Its must become personal to each of us as we look at our life and where God has brought us from.

Love and grace in regards to our salvation are interchangeable. God’s love and grace, that “undeserved, unearned and unmerited favor From God.” And because it is undeserved, unearned and unmerited it was extended to the thief on the cross. It was extended to David a man after God’s own heart but still a thief, an adulterer and a murderer. It was extended to Judas who felt grace was too much of a burden.

If he would have just not killed himself, he would have discovered the burden was all on Christ shoulders who died so even the one who betrayed Himgrace would receive this undeserved favor. My friends and most important it was extended to you and I. And no matter how rough the terrain or the storms of life or how high the mountain or how good life gets or how much money we make or how much education we have if it was not for grace we would all live as those who have no hope.

Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 12:7-10 (AMP) that because of the great work given to him by God. To keep him focus on the journey, while never thinking it was about him instead of God’s will. A thorn in the flesh was given to Him, “a messenger of Satan, to torment and harass him to keep him from exalting himself instead of God!” So he pleaded with the Lord three times to please take this pain away.

God’s response was. “My grace is sufficient for you [My lovingkindness and My mercy are more than enough they are always available regardless of the situation or circumstances]; for [My] power is being perfected [and is completed and shows itself most effectively] in [your] weakness.” My friends, when we are at our weakest point and realize only God can get us through the storm is when we begin to listen to that still small voice of the Lords.

Our salvation and the salvation of others now depends on whether we can understand “God’s grace is sufficient” and it is during this time we must thmaintain a “deep and living experience in the things of God” that are centered in His word. My friends, God’s Spirit awaits a commitment from us so then He can instill within us all of God’s power that we seek. And with that commitment we then begin to eliminate self and the life we live we will live totally committed to the will and  needs of Christ.

And like Paul in (v, 9-10) we will then be able to say. “Therefore, I will all the more gladly boast in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ [may completely enfold me and] may dwell in me………. for when I am weak [in human strength], then I am strong [truly able, truly powerful, truly drawing from God’s strength].” My friends, Love and Grace stands at the door of our heart and knocks, seeking a total commitment, will we respond?

 

MY FRIENDS, THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, BUT!!!

Aug. 17, 2016

MY FRIENDS, THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, BUT!!!

15133-armor-of-godStruggle by definition is “to contend with an adversary or opposing force” And my friends that opposing force is not flesh and blood, but principalities, and powers, and rulers of the darkness of this [world] Eph. 6:12 (NKJV) And now it’s personal because our struggles are personal and it now becomes our choice in which we can affirm or deny.

Yes we do affirm the struggle is real But because we are a Child of God we will deny that struggle has any power over us because we “are of God, His children who have overcome [Satan by the blood of the Lamb] “because greater is He that is in you [and I,] than he who is in the world.” 1 John 4:4 (KJV) But we must believe in that greater power and what that power is willing to do to save us.

And once we understand this war from within is not with flesh and blood it will require fasting from one’s self-indulgence or our own desires, andcapture passions, of what we see with our eyes and where we go with our feet and what we say with our mouth that is not in accordance to God’s plan for us as we take the “shield of faith with which we will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” 

In addition, we must be absorbed in communion with God through our daily prayers. The three Hebrew Boys tells Nebuchadnezzar, “[THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, BUT] our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we [will] not serve your gods” Daniel 3:17-18 (NKJV)

My friends, our faith statement on this journey must be the same, yes THE STRUGGLE IS REAL, BUT our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the “principalities, and powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world” But if by some reason God decides to test our faith to see if we are “safe to save” by allowing Satan to stretch our faith to the breaking point through our jobs, children, spouses, health issues, finances and just life itself.

We will still serve the Lord our God with all our heart and soul. My friends we are too close to Christ second coming to become complacent about our Salvation, Christ tells us in John 14:30 (NKJV) [THE STRUGGLE IS REAL,] “for the ruler of this world is coming, [but] he has nothing in Me.” And he had nothing in Christ because Christ stayed focus on His goal which was His Fathers will and our salvation.

Jesus-Christ-Praying-Wallpapers-16-300x225My friends, THE STRUGGLE IS REAL and the path is unique, designed for our character by God. It is also a narrow path and very few will continue on it because it means they must “walk by faith, and not by sight.” But Satan lays the world at our feet and the same offer he made to Christ he makes to us, “all these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” Matt.4:9 (NKJV)

After forty days of fasting and prayer, Satan “had nothing in Christ.” Can we say the same? Remember, God knows the powers we battle each day, but with [any] temptation [He] will also make the way of escape, that we may be able to bear it” and then “when He is revealed [in the clouds above], we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” 1 Cor. 19:13 (NKJV) 1 John 3:2 (KJV)

 

MY FRIENDS, ITS ALL IN THE CLOUD SO IT MUST BE OK IN GOD’S SIGHT?

Aug. 16, 2016

MY FRIENDS, ITS ALL IN THE CLOUD SO IT MUST BE OK IN GOD’S SIGHT?

Innovation-in-the-cloudI was talking to someone yesterday about my devotional two days ago, Aug. 14, 2016. The title was; can we distinguish between the black, white and grey areas of our lives. I spoke of our socially acceptable sins which are those hidden sins beneath the surface that we are not ready to accept or not willing to accept they are sins and one of them were the illegal pirating of movies and other Prime time videos.

There response was it’s all in the cloud. To most of us this cloud is an unknown or a figure of space and time unless you worked in Silicon Valley where the high-tech establishment resides. But my friends, it’s bigger then the cloud. We must understand it is not flesh and blood that has allowed that cloud to establish those grey areas within our lives that tells us it’s OK because everyone is doing it. “But it is principalities, and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this age….” Eph. 6:12 (NKJV)

And it is these forces that have allowed every situation and circumstances of our lives to become blurred. But we must remember there is a urlcontinuous movement in our lives, and that movement are two forces, both operating simultaneously with each other, but both moving in opposite directions with different agendas and different outcomes.

One force representing everything changeable, unpredictable, and whats distressing in our lives where all hope will be lost one day in a state of final spiritual ruin. The other force, a much more powerful one representing the sure movement of God’s wise and sovereign purposes forever transcending a deep flow of His unchanging love within us, along with the power of his Spirit transforming our lives.

And that same Spirit is also preparing our character to live in that place “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which He hath prepared for [each of us] that love him.” 1 Cor. 2:9 (KJV) My friends, the cloud must become personal to each of God’s children because it represents that thin line between destruction and life eternal.

In addition, that is why we must maintain an attitude of passion, passion and more passion that keeps us on our knees seeking God’s Spirit to guide us in all truth and understanding. We are now at the threshold of the promise land, changeable and unpredictable cannot be an option. James tells us “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” James 1:17 (ESV)

cac9e677f28494f056d1e7cc31f6ae5eMy friends, the “physical sources of light vary in intensity from sunrise to sunset and from season to season.” The grass withers, the flowers fades. Of old [God] laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of [His] hands. They will perish, but [God] will remain; they will all wear out like a garment, God will [even]change them like a robe, and they will pass away, but [Jehovah remains] the same. [His] years have no end, [and His word stands forever]” Is. 40:8 (ESV) Psalm 102:25-27(ESV)

“His word stands forever,” and will never change. As Paul went before the emperor Nero he tells us “no man stood with me, but all men forsook me” “The greatest want of the world is the want of men [and women] who will not be bought or sold, who in their inmost souls are true and honest, who do not fear to call sin by its right name [even if it is in the cloud, because God’s word never changes]” (E.G. White, Education p 57)

MY FRIENDS, WE ARE GUILTY BUT IS THERE A LEGAL ARGUMENT FOR OUR DEFENSE?

Aug. 15, 2016

MY FRIENDS, WE ARE GUILTY BUT IS THERE A LEGAL ARGUMENT FOR OUR DEFENSE?

pitb“A covenant is a binding agreement or contract. God makes one with Abraham in Gen. 15 (KJV) He tells Abraham He will give him the promise land “as an inheritance.” Then Abraham ask God in (v, 8) “Lord God, by what [proof] will I know that I will inherit it?” My friends, Let us become Abraham and ask that same question “Lord God, by what [proof] will we know that we will inherit Your kingdom and receive life eternal?” In the old testament there was what was called a blood covenant between two parties.

Then God presents a visual of His presence as He tells Abraham in (v,9-10) to “Bring him a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.” Then he brought all these to Him and cut them in two, down the middle, and placed each piece opposite the other“ leaving a path through the center. “God now makes a blood covenant with Himself or a self-maledictory oath or curse between Himself as God and Himself representing mankind.

In other words the visual is two entities and “God representing both would now walk the path between the slaughtered animals and, while given His http://www.dreamstime.com/-image11185544oath, “what was done to these animals may it also be done to Me if I will not keep this oath. Then in (v,12-15) a deep sleep fell upon Abram and God gives him a visual that takes his descendants through 400 years of bondage into the promise land.

In (v, 17) now when the sun went down and it was dark, a deep sleep fell upon Abram and behold, there appeared [God] “as a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces [of animals.]” In other words “while we were still sinners” [Christ appeared as a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces, of animals cut in half which represented a mirror image of itself.”

And this visual also tells a child of God that Christ “would walk the path between the slaughtered animals, and “what was done to those slaughtered animals may it be done to Me Christ the lamb of God slain on one side and may this be done to Me, a mirror image to Me which He is also our substitute The Lamb of God slain for our sins on the other side where we should be, “if it were not for grace.” “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.

images3But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom. 5:7-8 (NKJV) My friends, praise God from whom all blessings flow. It’s personal now because that blood covenant that God has with Himself on our behalf tells us once again the love, grace and mercy of God makes it a win, win situation for you and I. Sinners who were shapen in iniquity; and in sin did our mother conceive us.” Psalm 51:5 (NKJV)

Christ paid the price for our sins on Calvary with an oath. But it is only binding with you and I if we have given it all to the Master and established a personal relationship with Christ. If not, “what was done to those animals will be done to us” because we did not keep our oath with God to “Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our strength and with all our mind and, also to Love our neighbor as ourself.” Luke 10:27 (NKJV)

 

 

MY FRIENDS, CAN WE DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE BLACK, WHITE AND GREY AREAS OF OUR LIVES?

MY FRIENDS, CAN WE DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE BLACK, WHITE AND GREY AREAS OF OUR LIVES?

landmineThe journey is long. In addition, along the way there are many land-mines. In regards to our Salvation land-mines would be our “socially acceptable sins” which are those hidden sins beneath the surface of our lives that we feel are acceptable in the sight of God because they do not spell out, thus says the Lord. Case in point, God never said it was illegal to stream pirated movies from Netflix, Hula or other Prime video establishments. A free app is even “available for our Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari browser’s.

This app will allow users to play and stream just about any video format “smoothly and with stunning quality.” Now my friends, how could that be a sin, the one who created the free app for our convenience should be held accountable to God in that day of His judgement, not you or I. Remember It’s free, with only a simple download. In addition, I want try and explain what makes that simple download a sin because God has given us all the power of discernment.

But what I will try and explain is why it is important to “recognize that Christ [second coming] is near, right at the door.” Matt. 24:33 (ESV) and there will be no grey EZ2NH7my_400x400areas when it comes to sin because all sin is an abomination to God even our “socially acceptable sins.” Christ Himself says “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell.” Matt. 5:29 (NKJV)

My friends, that text warns us if we have to steal in-order to watch something with our eyes then we may need to pluck our eyes out rather than “our whole body to be cast into hell.” But the question we must ask ourselves. Would it not be better than going through the process of gouging one’s eyes out to just have a personal relationship with Christ? Because without that personal relationship with Him it really doesn’t matter whether we gouge our eyes out.

Or cut our hands or legs off. Or cut our sexual organs off, because none of these extreme measures will matter if there is no personal relationship with Christ, which is the only thing that will last. We have come to a very serious time in prophecy right here before the second coming of Christ. “And events in our world today call upon every follower of Christ to be totally in earnest in our relationship with God. [And] to strengthen this relationship and satisfy our emotional and spiritual needs, we must learn the power of prayer.” (E.G. White, Prayer, p 1)

16e263ce45673c650f9dbf62b4deb139And along with that power we must study God’s word with “intensity of spirit and enthusiasm,” while allowing God’s Spirit to guide us in all truth and understanding as it relates to our best friend our Savior and our advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ. Advocate meaning one who pleads for or in behalf of you and I. while at the same time guiding us on this journey, a journey that will take us from this world and beyond.

Beyond being throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity where “sin shall not rise up the second time.” Consistent with this, our friend, Jesus Christ also needs us to tell the world; “To all who will receive [him as a friend, and who will] believed in his name, [He will] give the right to become children of God [and heirs to His kingdom and joint heirs with Him] John 1:12-13 (ESV) Oh what a friend we have in Jesus!!!!

MY FRIENDS, WE ARE BLIND BUT DO WE REALLY WANT TO SEE?

Aug. 13, 2016

MY FRIENDS, WE ARE BLIND BUT DO WE REALLY WANT TO SEE?

jesus_heals_helps2“As He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great multitude, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the road begging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Mark 10:46-47 (NKJV) “It is only when the sinner feels the need of a Saviour, that his heart goes after the One who can help him. When Jesus walked among men, it was the sick that wanted a physician.

The poor, the afflicted and distressed, followed after Him, to receive the help and comfort which they could not find elsewhere. Blind Bartimeus is waiting by the wayside; he has waited long to meet Christ.” (E.G. White, Sons And Daughters Of God pp 126) My friends, Blind Bartimaeus was desperate and “miracles are reserved for the desperate,” that is what makes it personal because God’s blessings are reserved for you and I, because “they that are in health have no need of a physician; but they that are sick.” Luke 5:31 (ASV)

We are blind and sick, But we must realize the consequence of our sickness no matter how small it has on our Salvation, that is why we must cry out up-60NK78KPS70RPTU2daily “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us!” for we are sick. “But Satan also never sleeps nor slumbers,” and he will be right there given us his remedy for our sickness and that is to “be quiet” I have all you will ever need if you will “bow down and worship me.”

And at that point we must “cry out louder, and all the more, “Son of David, [please] have mercy on me!” Luke 10:48 (NKJV) My friends, we are desperate and we need a miracle performed in our life, the type of miracle that only the Great Physician can perform and then and only then will we realize it was self all along when the Light of Christ tried to enter our life through our hearts, and it would keep our minds focused on earthly things and not on the things above.

And my friends without that image of things above and the saving grace of Christ on the cross, we begin to call evil good, and good evil; [and we begin to] substitute darkness for light and light for darkness;”……Is. 5:20 (AMP) Mark 10:50-52 (NKJV) tells us the disciples “called the blind man, saying to him, “Be of good cheer. Rise, [The physician] is calling you.” Bartimaeus throws aside his garment, rises and comes to Jesus.

013-jesus-blind-man-phariseesJesus then says “What do you want Me to do for you?” Bartimaeus responds, “Rabboni, that I may receive my sight.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus on the road.” My friends, we are blind men and women who are sinking deep in sin who must also throw off the things of this world “and come to Jesus.” And without hesitation and with a sincere and contrite heart cry out for Jesus to heal us and make us whole again.

But my friends, understands there is no doctors fee to be healed by Christ for the price for our sickness was paid on Calvary. But we need to understand, like blind Bartimaeus when Christ said “Go your way; your faith has made you well. But, when he realized he was no longer blind, but could now see, “he followed Jesus on the road.” And so we must do the same as we follow Christ on this journey He has placed us on, we must tell the world we “once were blind but now we can see”

YOUR DAILY CLIMB (DEVOTIONAL) AUG. 11, 2916

Aug. 11, 2016

MY FRIENDS, ARE WE READY FOR THAT AND THEN MOMENT?

imgres8The curtain is partially open and we see that the god of this world has blinded the minds of many. Even those who claim to know God have become complacent about the seriousness of where we are in prophecy. As I study God’s Word and as that curtain is partially open it reveals we are just about at that time in prophecy when the “gospel of the kingdom has been preached to all the world for a witness unto all nations; AND THEN, [time will cease as we know it]” Matt 24:14 (KJV)

Those two words my friends says it all “AND THEN.” In this fast pace high tech age we live in, what moment in the next few days will we not be aware of when the good news of the gospel would have reached everyone, “AND THEN.”  “It took radio broadcasters 38 years to reach an audience of 50 million, television 13 years, and the Internet just four. Information and communications technology (ICT) have changed the face of the world.

Cell phones , Computers, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the many other methods of communication allows everyone on this planet toa0a25-godiswatchingus communicate the good news of the gospel with just a press of a button to family, friends colleagues and even strangers around the globe instantaneously. “The Internet is the fastest growing instrument of communication in the history of civilization, and it may be the most rapidly disseminating tool of any kind ever.

The convergence of information technology and the Internet may well become as trans-formative as the industrial revolution.” So my friends we have to make this personal because it is my salvation and your salvation that we have to look at and ask at what moment in the next few days will we not be aware of God’s word reaching the entire world, “AND THEN.”

While many continue to look for some catastrophic event to happen like Hollywood portrays the end time events, God says, “remember, therefore, what you have received and heard: hold it fast and repent. but if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you” Rev. 3:3 (KJV) “AND THEN” “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel and with the trumpet of God.

“AND THEN,” the dead in Christ will rise first. “AND THEN,” we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. “AND THEN,” we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16-17 (KJV) Oh the loving grace of God who has given us today, for tomorrow is not promised to allow the Holy Spirit to transform our lives as we allow self to die in Christ.

repentanceBut as self-dies daily our life can no longer be what self wants but what Gods plan is for our life. And what God plans are for us today is to be a-part of “the good news of His gospel being preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations,” AND THEN, He who is coming, will come and will not tarry.” Heb. 10:37 (NKJV)

But if we have more pressing plans then to serve God, remember, “the stones have begun to cry out,” and those stones even have a name and they are called (ICT) Information and communications technology, and any day now the entire world would have heard the good news that Jesus saves, “AND THEN,” only those who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb will be saved.”

 

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YOUR DAILY CLIMB (DEVOTIONAL) AUG. 10, 2016

Aug 10, 2016

MY FRIENDS, WHAT WILL OUR RESPONSE BE AT THE TRUMPET SOUND?

When we are least expected, we will hear this sound of a mighty rushing wind and it will be closer than it has ever been in the past and through the wind and virgins9turbulence of the noise of this world, somehow we still ” will hear the trumpet as Gabriel sounds the call at midnight with a cry, it is time to go home.” But some begin to cry out to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!” Rev. 6:16 (NIV)

But then the redeemed cry out also “Behold, this is our God; We have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for, [who we allowed through His word and Spirit to give us a new heart and put a new spirit within us [and He took the old] heart of stone out of our flesh and gave us a heart of flesh. [One that forsaked all others but Christ. And loved just like He loved] Now we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation.” [throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity] Is. 25:9 (NKJV paraphrased) Ez. 36:26 (NKJV paraphrased)

My friends like Christ parable of the five foolish and five wise virgins, “all became drowsy and fell asleep” but when the “sound of a mighty rushingphoto3-300x173 wind seemed closer than it had ever been. And all could hear the trumpet as Gabriel sounds the call at the midnight cry, its time to go home,” only five were ready. And only five had given it all to God. And only five had developed a personal relationship with Christ. And only five cried out daily with a sincere and contrite heart Lord not my will but thy will be done.

My friends, Satan failed in every way possible in drawing Christ attention from His goal and His father’s will to save mankind, to the things of this world. And it was not possible because Christ forever prayed without ceasing, while allowing His knowledge of the scriptures to defeat the enemy in every situation and Circumstances throughout His life.

So “we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Heb. 4:15-16 (NKJV) And we can all say with no reservation “if we ever needed the Lord before we sure do need Him now.” Yes, today is our time of need.

blessed-hope-jesus-return-4_n1-300x198Even though Donald Trump is saying, “he can bring peace and security, [to our world]” and Hilary Clinton is saying let’s stay the course things are great and will get better. If  we are children of God we know prophecy. And we know “one day [soon] sudden destruction will come upon us like labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and we will not escape.” Jer. 30:7 (NIV)

But, if we “count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus [our] Lord, for whom [we] have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that [we] may gain Christ.” Phil. 3:8 (NKJV) then our faith and endurance through Christ will take us beyond those “labor pains” all the way to a placed prepared for us that “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” 1 Cor. 2:9 (NKJV)

YOUR DAILY CLIMB (DEVOTIONAL) AUG 9, 2016

Aug. 9, 2016

MY FRIENDS, ARE WE SETTLING FOR A FLEETING MOMENT IN TIME?

e5b8c6e4-5df9-46a1-8063-42a37147e84dOur narrative begins with Jacob cooking when Esau comes back from the field tired and very hungry. “And Esau said to Jacob, “Please feed me with that same red stew, for I am weary…….But Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright today.” And Esau said, “Look, I am about to die; so what is this birthright to me……So he swore to Jacob, and then sold his birthright……And Jacob gave Esau bread and stew of lentils; then he ate and drank, arose, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright” Gen. 25:29-34 (NKJV)

Esau despised or regarded with contempt, distaste, disgust, or disdain his Birthright which was “his right or privilege he was entitled too by birth” but to Esau it was a “yoke of bondage” to what he wanted most, which were the things of this world, a “momentary satisfaction” or a fleeting moment in time. My friends, our focus today is not on Esau’s lost opportunities but on how many of us are selling our birthright because it has become a “yoke of bondage” for what we desire of this worlds pleasures?

And how many of us are willing to give this right along with life eternal for a fleeting moment of satisfactions of Satan’s offer to give us “all the thingsimgres4 [our heart desires] if we will only fall down and worship him?” Matt 4:9 (NKJV) But then, how many of us with a passion, have a desire to “receive Christ” “the only name under heaven given among men or women by which we can become children of God?” Acts 4:12 (NKJV), John 1:12 (ESV) My friends, salvation is our right by birth because we are “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,” Rom 8:17 (NKJV)

And “if [we] have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead, then we must], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. [We must also] set our mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on [momentary] things that are on this earth [which have only temporal value]. [So we must die to this world], and our [new, real] life is [then] hidden with Christ, in God Col 3:1-3 (AMP)

My friends, we live in a face pace got to have it now generation where everything is focused on “momentary satisfactions” and not on a lasting and personal relationship with Christ. So we must overcome the desires of the heart that are not Christ centered because “everyone who has been born of God [can] overcome the world. And this is the victory that [we can] overcome [through] our faith.” 1 John 5:4 (ESV)

maxresdefaultBut we must also understand along with our birthright is our responsibility of discipleship and the cross that we must carry with a passion while at the same time telling the world that Jesus saves and they also are children of God with the same rights and privileges that we have to life eternal. We are at the end of God’s timeline that goes from Genesis to Revelation and then to that place prepared for the redeemed.

But we must choose this day whom our allegiance is to because the right given to us by God tells us to accept our birthright and salvation. But it is our choice to “Enter by that narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Matt 7:13-14 (NKJV)

YOUR DAILY CLIMB (DEVOTIONAL) AUG. 7, 2016

Aug. 7, 2016

MY FRIENDS, DO WE HAVE THE FAITH AND ENDURANCE TO REMAIN ON THE SHIP?

boat-237x300“And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the Centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” Acts 17:30-31 (ESV) Today my friends we are going to make the saving grace and mercies of God and His Spirit the ship that we all must stay on to receive our just reward that will be “rendered to every man [and woman] according to what they have done.” Rev. 22:12 (KJV)

Today it becomes personal, because you and l have some decisions to make as we move deeper and deeper out into the open waters of life, and the end of time as we know it as the love of many continues to grow colder and the rain and storms seems to never cease. My friends, Satan knows his “stature of limitation” has just about run out, so he entices God’s chosen with great intensity like never before to leave the safety of the ship into the “primal chaos” of this world.

But we must realize we are only Safe when we stay in the ship and keep our eyes focused on the one who Paid it all for our salvation. Because it is “His desire to show to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable nature of His purpose, intervened and guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things [His promise and His oath] in which it is impossible for God to lie.

And we who have fled [to Him] for refuge would have strong encouragement and indwelling strength to hold tightly to the hope set before us. This images7hope [this confident assurance] we have as an anchor of the soul [it cannot slip and it cannot break down under whatever pressure bears upon it]—a safe and steadfast hope that enters within the veil…….in which the very presence of God dwells],” Heb. 6:18-19 (AMP)

My friends, with a sincere and contrite heart, focus on the veil. Because it is that veil that divides Christ and what was accomplished on Calvary through His death and resurrection from the forces of evil, the “seen from the unseen, the earthly from the heavenly,” the darkness from light and the bitter from the sweet.”

In addition, when the ship is tossed in the raging storms of life, and the tempest is raging and all seems lost, “God’s promises and oath tells us that He is our hope, and he is also a strong and trustworthy anchor which keeps the ship from drifting because there are “times when the anchors slip. But not so with the anchor of hope” which is the very presence of God.”(SDA Bible Commentary)

imgres8Friends “the curtain has been pulled back by God’s holy angels” “And we see that lawlessness continues to abound. And we see nation continue to rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. and famines and pestilences, and earthquakes continue in various places. But, Christ tells us that these are only the beginning of sorry for all who decide to leave the safe and secure arms of our Savior who is our only anchor and “hope in times of trouble.”

And for each of us who stays in the ship one day soon that hope will anchor in a safe place, not in this world, but a place prepared for the redeemed that “Eye have not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. [and stay on the ship] 1 Cor. 2:9 (NKJV)