Category Archives: Time Is Grace!

My God IS Sufficient!!! Bible Ballistics: BBs #400

06 Friday Oct 2017

Posted by in Confidence, Faithful is He that has Promised!, I Will Never Leave You, Made like Jesus!, My Grace Is Sufficient, Praise God Today!, The Word, Time Is Grace!, TODAY

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Bible Ballistics: BBs #400       My God Is Sufficient!!!

 

Just a brief word this morning to wrap up our day. Regardless of the trials that we may be facing I just want us to remember that our GOD is able, and sufficient to any task that we may face. I pray that this word will speak to our hearts and encourage us all on this Friday.

“And now, brethren,

I commend you to God,

and to the word of his grace,

which is able to build you up,

and to give you an inheritance

among all them

which are sanctified.”   Acts 20:32

 

“I commend you to God” because while I may not have the answers that you need—our God does!!! He knows and allows nothing to come into our lives that HE isn’t using to conform us into the image of Jesus Christ His Son.

“And we know

that all things work together

for good

to them that love God,

to them who are the called

according to his purpose.

29 For whom he did foreknow,

he also did predestinate

to be conformed

to the image

of his Son,

that he might be the firstborn

among many brethren.”    Romans 8:28-29

We can trust it all to God—“He never says ‘oops’!”! Even as the Apostle Paul sought God in prayer for an infirmity that was plaguing Him and God gave Him assurance that HE had it all under control.

“And lest I should be exalted above measure

through the abundance of the revelations,

there was given to me a thorn in the flesh,

the messenger of Satan to buffet me,

lest I should be exalted above measure.

8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice,

that it might depart from me.

9 And he said unto me,

My grace is sufficient for thee:

for my strength is made perfect

in weakness.

Most gladly therefore

will I rather glory

in my infirmities,

that the power of Christ

may rest upon me.

10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities,

in reproaches,

in necessities,

in persecutions,

in distresses

for Christ’s sake:

for when I am weak,

then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:7-10

And that same is still true for you and me! Even as the Doxology says, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow!” I pray that God will encourage each of us as we press on in His “grace” which is always “sufficient for thee”! Blessings on your day! Amen and Amen!

 

 

Believing A Lie??? Bible Ballistics: BBs #396

22 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by in Choose You This Day!, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Let You Light So Shine, Salvation, Sharing Our Faith!, SIN, The Only Way, The Word, Time Is Grace!, TODAY, Wasting Time

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Bible Ballistics: BBs  #396  Believing A Lie???

 

I usually write on lighter issues on Fridays, but feel really burdened and compelled to write on a more serious topic today. I truly believe that the coming of Jesus Christ is eminently near, and it grieves me to know that there are those who don’t know Him, those who have willfully rejected Him, or even more tragic (if that’s possible), those who have simply chosen to put off following Jesus until another day. Paul also saw people made poor decisions as he shared the truth about the Gospel of Jesus to those he had the opportunity to reach.

“And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered,

Go thy way

for this time;

when I have a convenient season,

I will call for thee.”   Acts 24:25

Paul encountered the Governor, Felix, and shared the Gospel as his defense against the accusations for which he had been placed in custody by the Romans. Felix was compelled by the truth of the message he heard, but chose to wait for a “convenient” time. My friends, if you are waiting on a convenient time to come to Jesus, it will never arrive! We can only come to Jesus when His Spirit pricks and convicts our hearts and minds and reveals our personal sin to us, as Jesus knocks on our hearts door! If He is knocking at the door of your heart, you need to respond today—He may not come again.

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:

if any man hear my voice,

and open the door,

I will come in to him,

and will sup with him,

and he with me.”   Revelation 3:20

“No man can come to me,

except the Father which hath sent me

draw him:

and I will raise him up at the last day.” John 6:44

Contrary to popular opinion, you cannot be saved whenever you want. Only when the Holy Spirit of Jesus convicts your heart of sin, and calls you to repent and be saved, can you come to HIM! We know that God wants all to repent and believe, but the choice belongs to each individual whether they will respond in repentance and faith and receive Jesus, or reject Him, or delay until it’s too late. It’s your choice, but you don’t know how often God will call you.

“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 3:9

“And the LORD said,

My spirit shall not always strive with man,

for that he also is flesh….” Genesis 6:3a

Don’t wait to respond to the call of God to your heart—it could be too late. Don’t reject the message of salvation, and the convicting tug of the Holy Spirit. You might come “One Day Too Late” (An old Gospel song written by Lanny Wolfe!)! Don’t be like King Agrippa, another official who heard the Gospel from Paul, and make a poor choice.

“King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know that thou believest. 28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul,

Almost thou persuadest me

to be a Christian.

29 And Paul said, I would to God,

that not only thou,

but also all that hear me this day,

were both almost,

and altogether such as I am,

except these bonds.” Acts 26:27-29

Another false perception that people have bought into today, is the hope that if they reject Jesus, and the rapture occurs, they will recognize the event and come to Jesus, after rejecting Him and His call to them in the past. Paul told the Thessalonians that this was not the case then, and it isn’t the case now. Let’s see what he had to say about some of the events of those last days.

“And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

9 Even him,

whose coming is after the working of Satan

with all power

and signs

and lying wonders,

10 And with all deceivableness

of unrighteousness

in them

that perish;

because they received not

the love of the truth,

that they might be saved.

11 And for this cause

God shall send them strong delusion,

that they should believe a lie:

12 That they all might be damned

who believed not the truth,

but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”    2 Thessalonians 2:8-12

Without going into a lot of background, this is a picture of the time of the coming “Anti-Christ”. The one who will come and claim to be God, Messiah and deliverer, but who in reality will be the “imitation” Messiah, the deceiver who will draw almost the whole world to pursue and follow him—including those who have willfully rejected Jesus before that point in time. While there will be many saved during that time, it won’t be anyone who has already heard and rejected the Gospel to the time referred to as “The Great Tribulation”.

Why am I addressing this issue without going into detail about the “end time” events? Because it’s not the timing of the events, or the biblical account of those things that I want to share today; I simply want to urge those of you who don’t know Jesus to respond to His convicting Holy Spirit who may be speaking to your heart today, because you may not have another opportunity to hear His voice. I am so concerned for those who are counting on things other than Jesus to save them, and give them eternal life with The Father and The Son! It’s not church membership that saves, it’s not being baptized that saves, it’s not doing great works in “Jesus’” name that saves, it’s not having parents or grandparents that love God and pray for you that saves (although many of us have come to Jesus because of those who have prayed for us!), and it’s not being a good person. The blood of Jesus, and faith in His substitutionary, atoning, sacrifice, is the only way to salvation and heaven. It is only HIS blood that ‘cleanses us from all sin’! And my friends I don’t want anyone who is reading this post to miss Jesus, and hear the dreaded words that no one wants to hear. What will you hear when HE comes, or when you face HIM in death? Will you hear ‘enter in’ or “Depart”? Today is all we have!! What will you do with Jesus TODAY??

“Not every one that saith unto me,

Lord, Lord,

shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;

but he that doeth the will of my Father

which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day,

Lord, Lord,

have we not prophesied in thy name?

and in thy name have cast out devils?

and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them,

I never knew you:

depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”    Matthew 7:21-23

Won’t you come to Him in repentance and faith today, and experience that wonderful loving invitation that He extends to all who are His own?

“His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.” Matthew 25:21

I pray that you will hear the Spirit’s voice today—and respond accordingly.

“And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”   Mark 4:9

And for those of us who already know Him, may we be faithful to share the good news while we have the opportunity! The time may be shorter than we think!

 

 

 

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!