Temptation To Do Or Not Do

James 1:12-18; KJV; 1st Sunday of Lent; There are times when I cannot tell if it is a temptation to do my will or a call from God to do His will.

Clothes Washed In The Blood Of The Lamb

Revelation 7:9-17 KJV; All Saints Sunday; There will be no more tears!

The Beloved Son Forgives

Genesis 50:15-21 KJV; 16th Sunday after Pentecost; The beloved sons forgive. Joseph forgave his brothers. Jesus forgives us.

Warn With Grace

Psalm 32:1-7 KJV; 15th Sunday after Pentecost; We are to warn those who are falling away for their sakes and ours.

Confess And Be Forgiven

1 John 1:5-10 KJV; Confess and step out of the darkness and into the marvelous light of Jesus the Christ.

Truth Shall Set You Free

John 8:31-32; John 14:6 KJV; Jesus Is The Truth That Sets You Free.

Freed Indeed!

John 8:31-36 KJV; Reformation Sunday; We shall know the truth, who is Jesus the Christ, and we shall be freed indeed!

Sin Liveth In Me!

Hebrews 10:14-18; Romans 7:14-25; I do not do what I want to do for sin lives in me. Yet, it is by Christ's sacrifice on the cross that I am forgiven my sin.

Ill-gotten Riches And Reputations

Proverbs 22:1 KJV Ill-gotten riches and reputations are nothing compared to a good name.

Our Father Not Just My Father!

Reading from Luke 11:1-4 KJV We pray daily as Jesus taught us to pray to glorify our Father in heaven and for all people.

Walk In Christ; Live Life In Him!

Reading from Colossians 2:6-13 KJV As we have been buried with Christ in baptism; we are also risen with him in new life.

New Wine In New WIneskins

Reading from Psalm 3:1-8 KJV for 2nd Sunday of Pentecost. We can be our own worst enemies. Put aside all anger, jealousy, greed, all malice and live life in love and peace through Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.

Forgive As God Has Forgiven You

Ephesians 4:30-32

Unworthy

Forgiven And Forgotten

Forgiven Much

St. Paul was forgiven much and so are we

Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;

By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:

After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.

After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.

And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.

For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.

                                                     (1 Corinthians 15:1-10 KJV)

By the grace of God I am what I am. By the grace of God we are what we are. We have not loved God with our whole hearts. We have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We have sinned against all. Yet, we  are saint. We are children of our heavenly Father. We have been cleansed of our sin through and by faith alone through by the blood of Jesus the Christ!

Paul declared himself a horrible sinner; a persecutor of the church of God. Although, he was the least, after meeting Jesus on the road after  Jesus' ascension, he became most ardent in proclaiming Jesus as the one who died in declaring that Jesus' died for our sins and that he rose again from the dead for us.

There is not one of us who is without sin. No matter how hard we try we cannot save ourselves by any good works so we turn to the only one who can and has saved us. We turn to our loving savior Jesus in faith. We turn to the one who saved us by his work on the cross for us.

Do not let your sin overwhelm you. Repent and believe that your sins have been washed away for in Christ you have indeed been cleansed.  You have been forgiven!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The One Sacrifice Of Love

Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:

In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.

Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;

Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.

By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 

                                                                  (Heb 10:5-10 KJV)

Yes, of course, we strive to do God's will. We strive not because it will save us but because we love him who was willing to sacrifice his only begotten Son to save us from the consequences of our sins. That is the only sacrifice that is needed for the cleansing of our sins.

In Christ we have been made whole. In Christ we have been forgiven.  

God's Peace - Pr. J.

The Sign

Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above.

But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord.

And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 

                                                                       (Isa 7:13-15 KJV)

The king of Judah refused to weary God by tempting Him to ask for a sign for a sign indeed would be given. The sign pointing to our salvation was the conception and the virgin birth of Jesus. Although the people of Judah and we ourselves would weary God by our evil ways, Jesus would not ever succumb to sinning against our Father in heaven. He would do His will by living to glorify God. He would do His will by sacrificing his life on a cross so that we could be forgiven our sins and reconciled to our Father in heaven.

The birth; the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus is the sign given to us by God. He is the reason for our hope. He is the reason for this season.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

One Sacrifice

One sacrifice for sins for ever!

And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:

But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;

From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.

For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 

                                                                (Heb 10:11-14 KJV)

That one offering was the life of Jesus the Christ. The offerings of sheep or goats or birds no matter how unblemished they appeared to be could never atone for all of our sins. Those sacrifices had to be repeated over and over again. But, the sacrifice of the life of the only begotten Son of God could and it did. Jesus willingly sacrificed himself that we might be forgiven our sins and reconciled to our Father. The promise of the Lord as revealed to Isaiah has been fulfilled in the Christ. Our sins are wiped away by faith in his loving sacrifice for us.

Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. (Isa 1:18)

It is good to consider ones sins and to repent of them. But, all too often the devil and the world around us will remind us of our pasts. The devil will cause us to wonder if we have been truly forgiven. Do not let him cause you to doubt what Christ has done for you. 

In Christ you are forgiven!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Forgiven and Reconciled

Psalm 51:1-12 KJV

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.

Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.

Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.

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We, through our own sins, have separated ourselves from God. The Good News is that through Jesus the Christ our sins our blotted out. There is nothing we can do to erase them. Because Jesus was willing to pay the penalty for our sins we who turn our backs on God are forgiven and are reconciled to Him. As forgiven children of God the Holy Spirit creates in us clean hearts and renews a right spirit within us.

The Psalmist prays that the Lord will not take His presence from us. Rejoice for through Jesus Christ he has not! He is with us always; for all of eternity. Thanks be to God!

God's Peace - Pr. J.