The Gift of God

Someone once wrote in a comment to justify her tithing, that it is the least she can do for what Christ did for her.  Holy Spirit immediately brought to my mind that what Christ did for us, is impossible for us to pay Him back and that His gift of salvation is a FREE gift!  God bought us back from slavery to sin, not with silver or gold, definitely not with money, but at a high price, the precious Blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son.  We cannot pay anything for our salvation.  We are saved not by our works, but by the Blood of Christ, a free gift.

How do we obtain that free gift of salvation?  We have to receive it by faith!  That's it!  We are saved by grace through faith.

For thus says the LORD:  "You have sold yourselves for nothing, And you shall be redeemed without money."

•~Isaiah 52:3

For you were bought at a price;  therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

•~I Corinthians 6:20

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace

•~Ephesians 1:7

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;  it is the gift of God,

not of works, lest anyone should boast.

•~Ephesians 2:8-9 

"He who believes in the Son has everlasting life;  and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him."

•~John 3:36

Art:  Richard Gunther

Listen

A few nights ago I was praying, asking God about some things that were bothering me.  I was planning on quitting the Internet, Facebook.  A few other things I was talking to God about, like hearing His voice and things the enemy is attacking me with.  God usually answers me through the Bible.  So every evening and morning God would lead me to a scripture that totally spoke to my heart, so much so that I just knew it was God speaking to me.

Until I come, give your attention to public reading, exhortation, and teaching. 

•~1 Timothy 4:13

Then He said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure you use, it will be measured and added to you.  

•~Mark 4:24

You do not delight in sacrifice and offering; You open my ears to listen. You do not ask for a whole burnt offering or a sin offering. 

•~Psalm 40:6

Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among whom the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood. 

29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 

30 And men from among yourselves will rise up with deviant doctrines to lure the disciples into following them.

•~Acts 20:28-30 

You think God is trying to tell me something? :)

After death

I see Christians online who believe that when we die, we "soul sleep", to be resurrected at the second coming of Jesus Christ.

Well, I found a verse that makes very clear what happens to our soul when we die.  When we die, our body goes back to the earth and becomes dust and our soul does not sleep with the body in the grave, it goes back to God immediately after death to be with God our Creator for all eternity.  Yay!

and the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
•~Ecclesiastes 12:7

Art:  Scott Yardley

Be ye Holy

This morning God led me to 1 Peter 3. I've been in tears about the attitude of Christians toward one another online.  The name-calling, the insults, the lack of love, it is shocking.  Yes I am speaking of Christians, because that's what they claim to be.  To think we are accused of being holy.  Do we so easily forget that God calls us to be holy?

What must the world think about Christians when we carry on like that?  May God have mercy on the Body of Christ and forgive us and lead us to repent from this.  Bless your HOLY name Jesus, may we be an example of Christ in us, even online!  Help me Jesus, to always keep this in mind!
We must never forget to be holy, because God tells us to be Holy because He is holy.
 

8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous;
9 not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.
10 For "He who would love life And see good days, Let him refrain his tongue from evil, And his lips from speaking deceit.
11 Let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled."
15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;
16 having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed.
•~1 Peter 3:8-16

Customs

I have been so saddened lately when seeing online how Christians accuse others in Christ of disobedience and punishment in hellfire for having short hair.  I have short hair!  I was the one being accused by another brother in Christ of being disobedient to scripture and that I will be punished for it, basically saying I will go to hell because of my short hair.  No one will know how that made me feel.  It broke my heart.  Here I am, a born again Christian and I always thought that Christ was the one who did it all on the cross to set us free, give us liberty.  My response was that if God was unhappy with my short hair and that I pray to Him with my head uncovered, why has He answered my prayers so many times?  Why has He showered me with His love, comforted me so many times?  I believe it was a custom in Paul's day, that's how they did things then.  He was laying down a guideline for others to do it the same way.  I was told by this Christian that no, it was not a custom and that I am twisting and adding on to the word of God.   Now all this had me very upset.  I cried out to God in prayer about it.  No, I did not cover my head.  Today, after I don't know how many days of asking Him, God leads me in His word to Galatians 5.  One of my favourite books in the Bible. :)   God led me to where Paul talks about circumcision.  The Jewish Christians were trying to drag the Gentile Christians back under the law, under the yoke of slavery, when Christ has set us all free!  So I was reading this and it just became as clear as daylight....women having long hair and having their heads covered when praying, was their custom.  That was how they were used to doing it, how they were accustomed to doing it.  Then Holy Spirit confirmed to me in Galatians 5....that it's not what we do on the outside that matters, it is what Jesus has done for us on the cross and that all we have to do is love God with all our heart, mind and soul and love our neighbour as ourself, meaning love all people, even our enemies! :)  You will never know how much peace I had after this.This does not mean that Paul was wrong!  No, not at all!  That was their custom, it is not a salvation issue!  God led me to Galatians just to show me not to worry so much, to show me that He set us free and that He is not mad at me with my short hair.  It's my heart He cares about.  Please do not take my word for the truth, take this to God in prayer.  This is how I interpret that scripture.  If I am wrong, it is between God and I.  I don't want to lead anyone astray.  I am also just forever learning.
Precious people, enjoy your freedom in Christ, not to sin and indulge the flesh, but just enjoy and do not worry.  Trust in Jesus!  He finished it all for us!  Thank you Jesus for all that you did for us. ♥  Look here what the greek word for custom means in the Concordance: 

Strong's Number:   4914
Original Word Word Origin sunhvqeia from a compound of (4862) and (2239) Transliterated Word TDNT Entry Sunetheia None Phonetic Spelling Parts of Speech soon-ay'-thi-ah    Noun Feminine
Definition
intercourse (with one), intimacy custom a being used to, accustomed

http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/kjv/sunetheia.html   13 Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair it is a disgrace to him, 15 but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her as a covering. 16 But if anyone wants to argue about this, we have no other custom, nor do the churches of God.•~1 Corinthians 11:13-16   1 Christ has liberated us into freedom. Therefore stand firm and don't submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Take note! I, Paul, tell you that if you get circumcised, Christ will not benefit you at all. 3 Again I testify to every man who gets circumcised that he is obligated to keep the entire law. 4 You who are trying to be justified by the law are alienated from Christ; you have fallen from grace! 5 For by the Spirit we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness from faith. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision accomplishes anything; what matters is faith working through love.   13 For you are called to freedom, brothers; only don't use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself. •~Galatians 5:1-6, 13-14

The Lord my stronghold

The LORD is my stronghold, not the devil, not any demon, but the LORD Yahweh!  The Lord keeps my going out and my coming in.  Thank you Lord Jesus for being my deliverer, my fortress, my strong tower, my stronghold, my refuge, my ROCK!  Yes people can have strongholds other than the Lord, but not I.  The Lord said about me: "You are mine!"  Thank you Abba. ♥   The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. •~Psalm 18:2

His Banner over me is Love

He brings me to the banquet hall;
his banner over me is love.
•~Song of Solomon 2:4

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