Category Archives: Abundant Life In Jesus

Glory To God In The Highest??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #391

06 Wednesday Sep 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Confidence, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Praise God Today!, Salvation, The Only Way, The Word, TODAY, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs  #391   Glory To God In The Highest???

 

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:14

I know it’s just September, but any time is the time to praise God for the gift of HIS Son Jesus, who came that we might have salvation and abundant life; but “peace on earth”? And what about “good will toward men”? What about the “glory”? We see strife, hatred and conflict on every hand, and unequalled disasters going on all about us. Where’s the “peace”? Where’s the “glory”? Where’s the “good will”?

Well, the answer is simple—it is all found IN Jesus! He is the “glory” of God; He is the “peace” of God; He is the “good will” of God toward a lost and sinful people! He is all of this and more; it is why Jesus came, to purchase eternal life for man at Calvary, to offer the ‘new birth’ to all who will believe! Let’s peruse just a few of the scriptures that remind us of HIS glory, grace and love toward us, so you can rejoice with me today!!!

“God, who at sundry times

and in divers manners

spake in time past

unto the fathers

by the prophets,

2 Hath in these last days

spoken unto us

by his Son,

whom he hath appointed heir

of all things,

by whom also he made the worlds;

3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things

by the word of his power,

when he had by himself purged our sins,

sat down

on the right hand

of the Majesty on high;”    Hebrews 1:1-3

This very Son of God, came and took on flesh to pay the penalty for sin, for all who will come to Him in repentance and faith—trusting to His finished work on the cross to not only pay our ‘sin debt’, but also to impart to us the new birth, new life IN Him! Jesus came that we might “….have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (See John 10:10) This one, who IS God, came to die for you and me. Even the prophet Daniel foretold of His position and glory, this ‘Son of Man’ and ‘Son of God’ who was promised by God The Father.

“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”   Daniel 7:13-14

He has the glory, and He shares His ‘glory’, His ‘peace’ and His ‘good will’ as ‘God with us’—with all who will believe and receive Him and His sacrificial, atoning death for sin.

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you

through the knowledge of God,

and of Jesus our Lord,

3 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:

4 Whereby are given

unto us

exceeding great

and precious promises:

that by these

ye might be partakers

of the divine nature,

having escaped the corruption

that is in the world

through lust.”     2 Peter 1:2-4

Amen and Amen! What glorious gifts of grace and love The Father has bestowed upon us through The Son. But there’s even more—He gives us peace. Not only the peace ‘of’ God, but peace ‘with’ God, the restoration of relationship and fellowship of fallen mankind with The Holy God Almighty of the universe!

“Therefore being justified by faith,

we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access

by faith

into this grace

wherein we stand,

and rejoice in hope

of the glory of God…

…5 And hope maketh not ashamed;

because the love of God

is shed abroad

in our hearts

by the Holy Ghost

which is given unto us.

6 For when we were yet without strength,

in due time

Christ died

for the ungodly.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man

will one die:

yet peradventure for a good man

some would even dare to die.

8 But God

commendeth his love

toward us,

in that,

while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:1-2, 5-8

Oh what a glory! Oh what joy we ought to have in our hearts and on our faces—Jesus has given us new life, the ‘hope of glory’, He has given us ‘peace with God’ and He has given us the ‘good will’ of God Almighty in His love:

“toward us,

in that,

while we were yet sinners,

Christ died for us.”

So friends, I rejoice again today and will repeat it endlessly, regardless of the season!!!

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace,

good will toward men.”

Amen and Amen. Won’t you rejoice with me today?

Where Is Your Sanctuary??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #388

25 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Confidence, I Will Never Leave You, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Sanctuary, Strong Tower, The Only Way, The Word, The Word Or The World?, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs  #388   Where Is Your Sanctuary???

 

Just a few minutes of our time today, to consider a question; ‘Is your sanctuary Jesus, or a building?” It seems we often forget that Jesus IS the sanctuary NOT the building where we assemble together to worship Him, fellowship and grow in His grace, truth, and love together into mature believers.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25

While it is a biblical imperative that we are to gather with our fellow believers—for our good, and Christ’s glory in HIS church—we are not to worship the ‘gathering place’! It’s not the building that saves and delivers from sin; it’s Jesus Christ our Lord, Redeemer, Savior and friend. Jesus came to ‘seek and to save’ the lost, and give us “life…..more abundantly”! He wants to be our sanctuary—the One who is there with us all the time, not just on one day a week when we are gathered together!

“The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe. 11 The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and as an high wall in his own conceit.” Proverbs 18:10-11

It is The Lord who is our “strong tower”, not a building, or something as fleeting as wealth, or ease, or security in worldly things, and we certainly shouldn’t rely on our “own conceit”! So the thing I want us to consider today is, “Is our confidence in The Lord Jesus and our Father God (through the power of His Holy Spirit!)?” “Or is your confidence in a ‘brick and mortar’ building, or any other earthly substance or thing?” Instead we ought to run to our “strong tower” in every situation, for He is The One who has promised to walk with us, assuring us that He will not forsake or leave us—ever!

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. 6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.”   Hebrews 13:5-6

I love this passage of scripture; it is the conclusion of a list of instructions for successful Christian living, and it reminds me so clearly that “contentment” is a key element in the life of effective believers. Even as Jesus Himself told us:

“No man can serve two masters:

for either he will hate the one,

and love the other;

or else he will hold to the one,

and despise the other.

Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

25 Therefore I say unto you,

Take no thought for your life,

what ye shall eat,

or what ye shall drink;

nor yet for your body,

what ye shall put on.

Is not the life more than meat,

and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air:

for they sow not,

neither do they reap,

nor gather into barns;

yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.

Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought

can add one cubit unto his stature? ……..

31 Therefore take no thought, saying,

What shall we eat?

or, What shall we drink?

or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things

do the Gentiles seek:)

for your heavenly Father knoweth

that ye have need

of all these things.

33 But seek ye first

the kingdom of God,

and his righteousness;

and all these things

shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow:

for the morrow shall take thought

for the things of itself.

Sufficient unto the day

is the evil thereof.”     Matthew 6:24-27 & 31-34

So take sanctuary IN Jesus, seeking first His Kingdom, for He is able to keep His own! We can run to Him, we can rest in Him, we can depend on Him—but we must let go of the world! Consider wisely, there is a test at the end—and Jesus IS the answer, always—and a sanctuary for His children!

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6

“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:2

Check your perspective, you have a true sanctuary-Jesus!

Time Is Grace, Don’t Waste It!!! Bible Ballistics: BBS #387

23 Wednesday Aug 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Faithful is He that has Promised!, Salvation, The Word, Time Is Grace!, TODAY, Walking With Jesus, Wasting Time

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Bible Ballistics: BBs  #387   Time Is Grace, Don’t Waste It!!!

 

Today I’d like to remind us all that ‘Time Is Grace’, not “money”! While the old adage called us to work diligently and earn all we can (And a good work ethic is a good thing to have!) but I’d like to remind us today that ‘Time Is Grace’! What I mean by that is that we all have only 24 hours in each day, 7 days in any week, and 12 months in each year—we can’t create time—either time to come to God and be saved, or as believers to obediently serve the God that we claim to love and follow. Good people, bad people, lazy people, productive people all have that same 24 hours credited to their ‘time bank’ each day; but it’s what we do with that ‘time’ that matters.

God is a God of grace and mercy; He extends opportunity after opportunity to us—whether it’s to you to come to Jesus (as the Holy Spirit pricks your heart to repent and believe), or to those of us who have already come to Jesus, to obey. God’s desire is for all to come to Him, and for all who come to grow and flourish—to have life “more abundantly”!

“The thief cometh not,

but for to steal,

and to kill,

and to destroy:

I am come that they might have life,

and that they might have it

more abundantly.” John 10:10

One of Satan’s greatest tools for causing his havoc of “stealing….killing and destroying” is to cause us to think that we have ‘forever’—that we can do it ‘tomorrow’! But my friends, ‘tomorrow’ never comes; when today’s clock rolls over past midnight, then it is ‘today’ again—no tomorrow! And if the enemy of our souls, can cause us to delay and put off trusting Jesus, or to delay living an obedient life for Him, then he has robbed us of the ‘abundance’ that Jesus has for us; he will have robbed you of the opportunity to trust Jesus, for in this life is the only opportunity we have to be saved; and he robs believers of the best that God has for us in obeying Him to make a real difference for Jesus in this world! Today is all that any of us have, and God want’s all of His creation to know Him. The choice is yours, today!

“But, beloved,

be not ignorant of this one thing,

that one day is with the Lord

as a thousand years,

and a thousand years

as one day.

9 The Lord is not slack

concerning his promise,

as some men count slackness;

but is longsuffering

to us-ward,

not willing that any should perish,

but that all should come

to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:8-9

We must be careful with this passage, for it is not telling us that God’s ‘time’ is 1,000 to 1 to our time, rather Peter is simply telling us that we can’t measure God’s working in human time! God has his own time schedule, and while it may seem ‘late’ to us, God is an ‘on-time’ God! But Peter doesn’t stop there, he goes on to tell us that we can be assured that God has it all in control, and His purpose is ‘grace’—“Time Is Grace”; for God is “not willing that any should perish”, but He is ever “longsuffering to us-ward”, giving people time to respond to Him in repentance and faith! It is God’s pleasure to extend grace and mercy to give us yet another opportunity.

“This I recall to my mind,

therefore have I hope.

22 It is of the LORD’S mercies

that we are not consumed,

because his compassions fail not.

23 They are new every morning:

great is thy faithfulness.”    Lamentations 3:21-23

Praise God for His “great….faithfulness“ —but while you have “time”-don’t procrastinate away the opportunity that you may only have today. God won’t wait forever.

“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man,”              Genesis 6:3a

This refers to men in the days of Noah, the same subject that Peter was talking about in our passage above—isn’t God’s Word amazing, it’s all about His amazing grace IN Jesus! So as we think about utilizing our days wisely, and not wasting them, let’s keep eternity in mind; for none of us will live forever in this body of flesh (And believe me, at my age, I’m looking forward to a new body—with parts that work!) so we must live today with purpose and focus on our Lord, with our hope firmly in Jesus’ perfect will and plan!

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:”   Hebrews 9:27

“(For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)” 2 Corinthians 6:2

Today IS the day—it’s all we have for sure, right now. So, what will you do with your 24 hours today? Will you come to Jesus if you don’t know HIM? And if you already belong to Jesus, will you serve and obey HIM today? Join me in seeking to serve our King, making a grace-difference today!

Less IS More??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #386

18 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Confidence, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Jesus SinLESS Son of God, Less IS More?, Let You Light So Shine, Salvation, SIN, The Word, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs  #386 Less IS More???

 

“Now then we are ambassadors

for Christ,

as though God did beseech you

by us:

we pray you

in Christ’s stead,

be ye reconciled to God.

21 For he hath made him

to be sin

for us,

who knew no sin;

that we might be

made the righteousness

of God

in him.”    2 Corinthians 5:20-21

God grants salvation to those who come to Jesus in repentance and faith, and He does that on the basis of the substitutionary (in my place), atoning (paying a debt due) sacrifice (The offering made to satisfy the payment due.) of Jesus. His blood not only cleanses us from ‘sin’, but also gives us new life in HIM! The sinLESS Son of God paid the price for my sinFULLness!

“Therefore if any man be

in Christ,

he is a new creature:

old things are passed away;

behold, all things are become new.”    2 Corinthians 5:17

Jesus can make us new because He came, God in flesh, to deliver us from the penalty for SIN, through His sacrifice, making us a “new creature” with abundant life IN HIM!

“I am the door:

by me

if any man enter in,

he shall be saved,

and shall go in and out,

and find pasture.

10 The thief cometh not,

but for to steal,

and to kill,

and to destroy:

I am come

that they might have life,

and that they might have it

more abundantly.

11 I am the good shepherd:

the good shepherd

giveth his life

for the sheep.” John 10:10-11

Jesus came that you and I might have abundant life—more—in HIM!!! He paid the price for me and for you; for in His sinLESS deity, He sacrificed His life for mine!

“Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;

but was in all points tempted

like as we are,

yet without sin.

16 Let us therefore come boldly

unto the throne of grace,

that we may obtain mercy,

and find grace to help

in time of need.”   Hebrews 4:14-16

He came as the sinLESS Son of God, and paid for our sinFULness with His own body on the cross, giving more than HE owed (which was nothing) that we would owe, not only “less”, but nothing; all because He loves us and wants us to know Him and real, abundant life—MORE than we could ever comprehend!

“For even hereunto were ye called:

because Christ also suffered for us,

leaving us an example,

that ye should follow his steps:

22 Who did no sin,

neither was guile found in his mouth:

23 Who, when he was reviled,

reviled not again;

when he suffered,

he threatened not;

but committed himself to him

that judgeth righteously:

24 Who his own self

bare our sins

in his own body on the tree,

that we,

being dead to sins,

should live unto righteousness:

by whose stripes ye were healed.”    1 Peter 2:21-24

This sinLESS Son of God came and paid the price for me—for you. The choice is mine/yours—will we receive HIM and have ‘more’ through His blood, or will we settle for ‘less’ by refusing the only payment for our sin debt; for sin has a price—you can pay it yourself or open the door to the Son of God and receive His grace gift of salvation!

“For all have sinned,

and come short

of the glory of God;”   Romans 3:23

“But now being made free from sin,

and become servants to God,

ye have your fruit unto holiness,

and the end everlasting life.

23 For the wages of sin is death;

but the gift of God

is eternal life

through Jesus Christ our Lord.”    Romans 6:22-23

Will you choose more in the sinLESS Son of God? The choice is yours, but choose wisely, there is a test at the end! And if we are following Jesus, then we ought to reflect HIS life “more abundantly” and:

“Let your light so shine

before men,

that they may see your good works,

and glorify your Father

which is in heaven.”     Matthew 5:16

And we can only do this by HIS power and His Spirit’s presence and work within our hearts, as we die to ‘self’ and “live by the faith of the Son of God”! Less or More?

“I am crucified with Christ:

nevertheless I live;

yet not I,

but Christ liveth in me:

and the life which I now live

in the flesh

I live by the faith of the Son of God,

who loved me,

and gave himself

for me.”   Galatians 2:20

 

The Faithful Promisor!!! Bible Ballistics: BBs #384

11 Friday Aug 2017

Posted by in Abundant Life In Jesus, Confidence, Faithful is He that has Promised!, Knowing God's Word, Salvation, Showers Of Blessing, The Word, Trials, Troubles, Walking With Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: BBs  #384 The Faithful Promisor!!!

 

As I sit here praising God for the wonderful ‘August’ rain here in Oklahoma, my mind goes to the scripture that God has given to us as a shower of His love, His Spirit and His truth into our lives, if we will but avail ourselves of it. The Word reminds us endlessly that God is our anchor in the storms. And God’s Spirit will open our hearts to receive and understand the truths of The Word. So let’s spend a few minutes together this morning rehearsing God’s goodness as He reveals truth in The Word, and He keeps every promise! (Always practice integrity toward The Word and don’t take specific promises out of their normal, natural context!! There are general promises for all, specific promises for particular individuals/groups, and specific promises for particular times or events. Remember—Context Is King!)

“All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.

28 Come unto me,

all ye that labour and are heavy laden,

and I will give you rest.

29 Take my yoke upon you,

and learn of me;

for I am meek and lowly in heart:

and ye shall find rest

unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy,

and my burden is light.”    Matthew 11:27-30

Jesus calls us to come to Him for every need, and our greatest need is His saving grace! And He has promised to give us rest, in fact total release, from the burden of sin that weighs us down. And He keeps His promises, and we can rest assured of His faithful provision as HE brings us to maturity, to be all that HE has created and gifted us to be.

“Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6

And we can take that confidence with us through every day and every difficulty or trail that we may encounter, and not only for ourselves, but also to share our confidence, hope and encouragement with one another as we go!!!

“Let us draw near

with a true heart

in full assurance of faith,

having our hearts sprinkled

from an evil conscience,

and our bodies washed

with pure water.

23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering;

(for he is faithful that promised😉

24 And let us consider one another

to provoke unto love

and to good works:

25 Not forsaking the assembling

of ourselves together,

as the manner of some is;

but exhorting one another:

and so much the more,

as ye see the day approaching.”    Hebrews 10:22-25

So, take heart today, for faithful is HE that has “promised”!

“In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began;” Titus 1:2