Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Add to Your Faith Virtue

(2 Peter 1:2) " Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:" It is the calling of every born again believer to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The "knowledge" spoken of above, has been given to us very clearly in the Word of God, but it takes "faith" to practice it. We have been called to the glory that we will one day have with Christ, but we still need to add to our faith today the grace of certain perfecting virtues.  (2Peter 1:3-7), "…add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity." Therefore, we must diligently work on each virtue individually because each of them in time will lead to the next maturing grace"For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

 

Monday, June 8, 2015

Fear or Faith, It’s Our Choice

(Judges 6:2) "And the hand of Midian prevailed against Israel: and because of the Midianites the children of Israel made them the dens which are in the mountains, and caves, and strong holds." Fear is common to all men, even the saved. Therefore as Christians we need to have faith in God and His promises lest we become like the Israelites here in the book of Judges and hide in fear, rather than live victorious through faith. Fear will never accomplish the will of God, but rather it causes you to give up, succumb to the enemy, quit, and hide. How many Christians today believe that the enemy is too strong, or that the battle is no longer winnable? Be careful Christian, fear leads us to defeat and ruin, unless it's overcome by faith. During this time in Israel's history, God raised up a judge named Gideon to deliver his people from the oppression of the Midianites. When God found Gideon, he wasn't a super hero but rather he was a super chicken, but as God proved Himself to Gideon over time, he became one of the most faithful, courageous men in Israel's history. Brethren, God loves taking the unknown, the untalented, and even the most weak to accomplish His will. There is nothing in this world that cannot be overcome by our faith in God's Word and through His power.

Don’t Ride This World’s Rollercoaster

(Judges. 2:6) " Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them. And yet they would not hearken unto their judges, but they went a whoring after other gods, and bowed themselves unto them: they turned quickly out of the way…"  The "way" of the Lord is the "way" of His Word and will. When we like Israel decide not to listen to God or His preachers we fall out of the way of the Lord onto a path that leads us down to the place of His judgment. The book of Judges covers a time period of about 350 years where Israel six different times fell into sin and had to be rescued out of it by God. Each time Israel fell away from the Lord, God in His righteous anger caused them to be persecuted which resulted in their crying and returning back to Him. Why is it that so many Christians today ride the same rollercoaster ride as Israel did, instead of learning to abide in Christ, & stay on His path? Obedient Christianity is not up and down, but rather a consistent hearing and obeying of the known will of God.