Tag Archives: Hebrews 12:1-8

I Love Jesus, But…??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #236

05 Friday Jul 2024

Posted by in A Witness--Good or Bad???, Abiding In Jesus, Abiding IN Jesus or the World?, Almost But Lost, Amazing Grace, Believe God?, Believe IN Jesus, Biblical Boundaries Matter!, Blessed by God, Choices And Consequences, Confidence, Fixing Our Eyes On Jesus, Flesh-vs-Spirit, Following Jesus or the World?, Fruit of the Spirit, Full Of what?, Jesus Is The Only Way!, Salvation, Serving God or Using God?, Sowing and Reaping, Speaking The Truth In Love, Spiritual Hacking???, The Word, Who's Listening?, Who's Your Father?, Whose Sheep are You?, Whose Side Are You On?, Wisdom, Wise As Serpents, Wolves in sheep's clothing!

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I Love Jesus, But…??? A Word from THE WORD!!! #236

Sometimes what we say, doesn’t’ match what we live; so today I’d like to challenge us to examine our lives and consider what God’s Word says.  Then decide if we really love Jesus, or someone or something else more than Him?  Are we His child?  His sheep?  Or are we dressed up to look like a sheep?  It’s your call, and I pray we will each hear from Jesus!

“Jesus saith unto them,

Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.

11 Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land

full of great fishes,

an hundred and fifty and three:

and for all there were so many,

yet was not the net broken.

12 Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine.

And none of the disciples durst ask him, Who art thou?

knowing that it was the Lord.

13 Jesus then cometh,

and taketh bread,

and giveth them,

and fish likewise.

14 This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself

to his disciples,

after that he was risen from the dead.

15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter,

Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me

more than these?       

He saith unto him,

Yea, Lord; thou knowest

 that I love thee.

He saith unto him,

Feed my lambs.

16 He saith to him again the second time,

Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?

He saith unto him,

Yea, Lord; thou knowest

that I love thee.

He saith unto him,

Feed my sheep.

17 He saith unto him the third time,

Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me?

Peter was grieved because he said unto him

the third time,

Lovest thou me?

And he said unto him,

Lord, thou knowest all things;

thou knowest that I love thee.

Jesus saith unto him,

Feed my sheep.”  John 21:10-17

While many Bible scholars, teachers, and preachers comment on what “more than these” might mean, for our purposes we’re going to try to apply it to our lives!  Now, for Peter, Jesus could have been talking about the ‘going fishing’, or the ‘other disciples’, or the ‘weakness’ that he displayed when he denied his master, Lord and Messiah’!  But the important thing is that we let Jesus’ words sink into our hearts and ask God to search us and be sure that we really do belong to Jesus.  Are we one of HIS sheep or are we just wearing a sheep costume and going around saying the right ‘Bah…Bah…Bah”.  Truthfully, I was one of the fake sheep until Jesus came and spoke right to my heart, “You are not mine!”  And after much wrestling and arguing with Jesus, I fell on my face, repented of the sin in my heart and life (even though I had tried so hard to hide my sin and imitate a genuine believer—but Jesus knew, and that day so did I, finally) and asked Jesus to forgive my sin and save me!  And He did—gloriously He did!

The question that we each must hear from God is, are you mine?  And no matter who else we may fool, God knows, and He will save us if we will but face our sin, repent and trust in Jesus’ substitutionary, atoning sacrifice to save!  Yet even when we do that, we may stumble like Peter did, but Jesus will never leave His own in failure, rebellion and self-will for long.  He will discipline His own.  What do you love more than Jesus?  Do you know the pleasure of His sweet presence or are you running as fast as you can to not hear His voice.  Has the hand of discipline fallen into your life?  Stop running and receive the restoration into the sweet fellowship of our Lord; even as Peter was forgiven, restored and in a few weeks, would be filled with The Holy Spirit to preach with a bold power that he had never known.  We can know and walk in that same power—not in the same way as Peter, but in the way that God wants to use us—to HIS glory not our own!

“For whom the Lord loveth

he chasteneth,

and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.

7 If ye endure chastening,

God dealeth with you as with sons;

for what son is he whom the father

chasteneth not?

8 But if ye be without chastisement,

whereof all are partakers,

then are ye bastards,

and not sons.”  Hebrews 12:6-8

Are you a true son?  Are you walking in the power of Jesus’ precious gift of The Holy Spirit?  Or are you loving something else more?  Are you a fake sheep trying to fool God and man? Have you lived your own way, and never known the discipline of Jesus? You can fool man, for a while, but Jesus proclaimed that the tree would bring forth the fruit of its nature in Matthew 7 (check it out, read all of Matthew 7, it may surprise you!). Jesus promised that The Holy Spirit is the evidence that we belong to Him, and His fruit (no ‘s’) will show to one degree or another. Are you hearing His voice?  What’s He saying?  Will you heed and obey?  It’s your choice, but choose wisely there is a test, with eternal consequences.

“So then they that are in the flesh

cannot please God.

9 But ye are not in the flesh,

but in the Spirit,

if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.

Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,

he is none of his.

10 And if Christ be in you,

the body is dead because of sin;

but the Spirit is life

because of righteousness.”  Romans 8:8-10

How can this be?  Paul makes it clear for us; have you come to Jesus and received His gift of salvation and the indwelling Holy Spirit.  Whose Spirit does your life reflect; Jesus or the world (Satan’s)?

“Therefore if any man be in Christ,

he is a new creature:

old things are passed away;

behold, all things are become new.

18 And all things are of God,

who hath reconciled us to himself

by Jesus Christ,

and hath given to us

the ministry of reconciliation;

19 To wit, that God was in Christ,

reconciling the world unto himself,

not imputing their trespasses unto them;

and hath committed unto us

the word of reconciliation.

20 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 5:17-21

Are you that “new creature”?  Have you been born again by the power of the cross?  Only you can answer that question; so, rather than making a long list for you to compare your life to, I’ll simply let Paul do that, and ask that each of us will lay our hearts open before God to do the restorative work in us that He did in Peter; or if you’ve never come to Jesus, that He will convict your heart and bring you to the cross.

“Search me, O God,

and know my heart:

try me,

and know my thoughts:

24 And see if there be any wicked way

in me,

and lead me

in the way everlasting.”  Psalm 139-23-24

Jesus is not only the great physician, He is also the great restorer of His own sheep, even if He has to discipline us to ‘get our attention’, so to speak.  Don’t waste time serving the enemy of not only your soul, but the souls of all those whom you/we love.  Who is watching you?  Will you lead them to Jesus or lead them to the enemies’ bus stop!  What fruit is your tree yielding? Remember that what you sow, you will reap; and as the old saying says, “You’ll reap more than you sowed, later than you sowed, costing you more than you wanted to pay!”  And often that cost in seen in the lives of those we love the most! (And if you don’t know the meaning of some of these words, look them up, you may be alarmed!)

“This I say then,

Walk in the Spirit,

and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit,

and the Spirit against the flesh:

 and these are contrary the one to the other:

so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

18 But if ye be led of the Spirit,

ye are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest,

which are these;

Adultery,

fornication,

uncleanness,

lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry,

witchcraft,

hatred,

variance,

emulations,

wrath,

strife,

seditions,

heresies,      

21 Envyings,

murders,

drunkenness,

revellings,

and such like:

of the which I tell you before,

as I have also told you in time past,

that they which do such things

shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is

love,

joy,

peace,

longsuffering,

gentleness,

goodness,

faith,

23 Meekness,

temperance:

against such there is no law.”  Galatians 5:16-22

I pray that you find this post helpful, enlightening and life changing by the power of The Holy Spirit and The Word of God!  I’ll simply close with Jesus’ own words given to His disciples just before His death.  They are still true for us; and we never have to walk alone or in doubt if we will but listen to His voice—it’s all about Jesus, not me/you!

“And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name,

that will I do,

that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name,

I will do it.

15 If ye love me,

keep my commandments.

16 And I will pray the Father,

and he shall give you another Comforter,

that he may abide with you for ever;

17 Even the Spirit of truth;

whom the world cannot receive,

because it seeth him not,

neither knoweth him:

but ye know him;

for he dwelleth with you,

and shall be in you.

18 I will not leave you comfortless:

I will come to you.”  John 14:13-18

 Amen and Amen!!!

Are You In Focus??? Bible Ballistics: Vol. 13 No. 03

03 Sunday Mar 2019

Posted by in Crucified With Christ, Faithful is He that has Promised!, Follow Jesus

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Bible Ballistics: Vol. 13 No.03     Are You In Focus???

 

“Now faith is

the substance of things hoped for,

the evidence of things not seen.

2 For by it the elders

obtained a good report.

3 Through faith

we understand that the worlds were framed

by the word of God,

so that things which are seen

were not made of things

which do appear…….

6 But without faith

it is impossible to please him:

for he that cometh to God

must believe that he is,

and that he is a rewarder

of them that diligently seek him.”   Hebrews 11:1-3 & 6

There is a lot of talk about “faith”, but the thing that we often miss, is that ‘faith’ doesn’t save and keep, but the object of ‘our faith’ is our only security!  I may ‘believe’ that a stone will save and keep me, but the truth is that it has no existential power.  God on the other hand, is all powerful (omnipotent), all knowing (omniscient), and omnipresent (all present).  It’s not so much that God is everywhere, but that wherever anyone is, God is already there.  The Psalmist reminds us of God’s power, pre-imminence, and provision.

“Whither shall I go

from thy spirit?

or whither shall I flee

from thy presence?

8 If I ascend up into heaven,

thou art there:

if I make my bed in hell,

behold,thou art there.

9 If I take the wings of the morning,

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;

10 Even there shall thy hand lead me,

and thy right hand shall hold me.

11 If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me;

even the night shall be light about me.

12 Yea, the darkness hideth not

from thee;

but the night shineth

as the day:

the darkness and the light

are both alike to thee.”  Psalm 139:7-12

We learn so much about the character of God from the Psalmists, as well as all of scripture, for those who come to HIM. The author of Hebrews reminds us that we “must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him”.  God loves us and calls us to trust Him—Him who is worthy of our trust and faith—and faith placed in Him will never be insufficient.  Only Jesus can and will save—HE is the only way to God, for HE paid the price for our salvation on the cross!  Peter reminds us that we can come to Him with confidence!

“To whom coming,

as unto a living stone,

disallowed indeed of men,

but chosen of God,

and precious,

5 Ye also, as lively stones,

are built up a spiritual house,

an holy priesthood,

to offer up spiritual sacrifices,

acceptable to God

by Jesus Christ.

6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture,

Behold, I lay in Sion

a chief corner stone,

elect,

precious:

and he that believeth on him

shall not be confounded.

7 Unto you therefore which believe

he is precious:

but unto them which be disobedient,

the stone

which the builders disallowed,

the same is made the head of the corner,

8 And a stone of stumbling,

and a rock of offence,

even to them which stumble

at the word,

being disobedient:

whereunto also they were

appointed.

9 But ye

are a chosen generation,

a royal priesthood,

an holy nation,

a peculiar people;

that ye should shew forth

the praises of him

who hath called you

out of darkness

into his

marvellous light:”   1 Peter 2:4-9

Jesus is the “corner stone” and we who come to Him in repentance and faith, are built upon Him.  As we compare the contrasts in Peter’s warning above, we see that there are those who “stumble at the word”—those who refuse to believe, and hence are “being disobedient”, and yet Peter tells us that “ye” (we, those who have come to Jesus and have been born again) have answered the call and placed our faith in the only One who saves.  The point being that we are given the free will to choose whether we will believe in the Gospel or go our own way.  When we choose to follow Jesus, we are to yield ourselves to His Spirit and walk in His ways—the way of the Holy Spirit.

“This I say then,

Walk in the Spirit,

and ye shall not fulfil

the lust of the flesh…

24 And they that are Christ’s

have crucified the flesh

with the affections

and lusts.

25 If we live in the Spirit,

let us also walk

in the Spirit.”  Galatians 5:16 & 25

We can only do this by pursuing the crucified life—Jesus calls us to it, and Paul describes it beautifully.

“Then said Jesus unto his disciples,

If any man will come after me,

let him deny himself,

and take up his cross,

and follow me.

25 For whosoever will save his life

shall lose it:

and whosoever will lose his life

for my sake

shall find it.

26 For what is a man profited,

if he shall gain the whole world,

and lose his own soul?

or what shall a man give

in exchange

for his soul?”   Matthew 16:24-26

There is no other offering/sacrifice for sin but Jesus, and as He said, “what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”.  The only payment for sin, is death and hell, or Jesus’ sacrifice, it is only Jesus who gives life—eternal life.  And when HE gives us life, we have victory in Him—not only victory over death and hell, but victory in everyday living; all by dying to self and living unto Him, led by His Spirit.

“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

This is how we walk by faith, with confidence in the veracity and dependability of God and His Word.  Yet if I don’t know His Word, I may fall for the lies of the enemy, and they are abundant around us.  There are two choices—a life lived in the fleshly lusts or a life lived in the Spirit of Jesus, and the works or fruit will reveal our choice!  What do your works/fruit reveal?

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit,

and the Spirit against the flesh:

and these are contrary

the one

to the other:

so that ye cannot do

the things that ye would.

18 But if ye be led of the Spirit,

ye are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these;

Adultery,

fornication,

uncleanness,

lasciviousness,

20 Idolatry,

witchcraft,

hatred,

variance,

emulations,

wrath,

strife,

seditions,

heresies,

21 Envyings,

murders,

drunkenness,

revellings,

and such like:

of the which I tell you before,

as I have also told you in time past,

that they which do such things

shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is

love,

joy,

peace,

longsuffering,

gentleness,

goodness,

faith,

23 Meekness,

temperance:

against such

there is no law.

24 And they that are Christ’s

have crucified the flesh

with the affections

and lusts.”  Galatians 5:17-24

Did you notice that Paul lists the “works of the flesh”, but then he contrasts this to the “fruit of the Spirit”!  We don’t “work” our way to heaven, but when Jesus saves us, He imparts His Holy Spirit to dwell within us, and we simply have to live for HIM, to bear fruit—and notice it is “fruit” (singular) and not ‘fruits’ (plural).  The “fruit” is God’s not ours, we simply need to fix our eyes on JESUS, and “walk in the Spirit”, abiding IN Him, and He will lead our every step and be glorified in our lives as we abide IN Him!

“I am the vine,

ye are the branches:

He that abideth in me,

and I in him,

the same bringeth forth

much fruit:

for without me

ye can do nothing.”  John 15:5

And that’s why Paul could say:

“I can do

all things

through Christ

which strengtheneth me.”   Philippians 4:13

I can only ‘do’ because I “be” born again (not good grammar, but a great example) and have the Holy Spirit within!  So, I am determined to keep my focus on Jesus!  I long to hear that “Well done, thy good and faithful servant” when I face Him!  In the mean-time, we are to run our race (no one else’s race, but the one that Jesus has set before ‘you/me’)!  And whether my race includes ease, or pain; joy or sorrow; lack or abundance, I/we can proclaim with Job, “though He slay me, still will I trust Him”!

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about

with so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us lay aside every weight,

and the sin

which doth so easily beset us,

and let us run

with patience

the race

that is set before us,

2 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.

3 For consider him

that endured such contradiction

of sinners

against himself,

lest ye be wearied

and faint in your minds.

4 Ye have not yet resisted unto blood,

striving against sin.

5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation

which speaketh unto you

as unto children,

My son, despise not thou

the chastening of the Lord,

nor faint

when thou art rebuked of him:

6 For whom the Lord loveth

he chasteneth,

and scourgeth every son

whom he receiveth…

 8 But if ye be without chastisement,

whereof all are partakers,

then are ye bastards,

and not sons.”  Hebrews 12:1-6, 8

Do you know Jesus the Savior? Are you focused on YOUR race for and with Him?  Jesus gives “abundant life” IN Him, so may you have a blessed week keeping your eyes on Jesus, focusing on HIM, and run your race faithfully before The Lord, that others may see HIM!

Amen and Amen!