Do You Really Know?

"For this is the message you have heard from the beginning:  You should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.  And why did he murder him?  Because his own actions were evil and his brother's righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.  We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers.  Anyone who does not love remains in death.  Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.  This is how we know what love is:  Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?  Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.  This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his  presence whenever our hearts condemn us.  For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.  Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command:  to believe in  the name of the his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  And this is his command:  to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.  Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us:  We know it by the Spirit he gave us. "  I John 3:11-24

 

Have you ever wondered if you were truly saved?  I guess we all struggle from time to time with feeling unsaved, condemned and apart from God. But it is so important as Christians that we walk in confidence before the Lord about our salvation.  If we do not, we fail to pray faith-filled prayers and we leave ourselves open to the enemy of our soul to fill us full of doubt.

Thank the Lord (!) his spirit dwells in us and testifies to us that we are God's children.  We need the witness of the Spirit and the witness of the Word in our lives.  We need to have a clear conscience before the Lord that we are carrying out his commands and obeying his decrees.  Doing as he instructs us to do, allows us to have assurance of our righteousness and confidence before a holy God. 

Our society is  really big on tolerance and not judging anyone.  In fact, that seems to be the main scripture that the world knows.  But the truth of the matter is, there are many things that we can judge.  If a person claims to be a Christian, they have to line up their lives and conduct with the Word of God.  Just as a person who wants to play baseball must play by the rule book to stay in the game, we have to live by the Bible to stay on the straight and narrow path.

Is there anything in your life that is a departure from what the Scripture teaches?  Let the Spirit talk with you about that today. 

Dear Lord, thank you for the presence and work of the Holy Spirit in my life.  Help me to live true to your Word.  In Jesus' Name.  Amen.

Sherri

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Restored.

“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12

 

 

Have you ever lost your joy? Sometimes life has a way of zapping every bit of happiness and joy that we possess.  It is a dangerous place to be, however, when we lose the joy of our salvation.  When we forget who we are and where we came from; when we forget who He is and what He has done for us… We are on dangerous ground.

Sometimes we have to come before the Lord and ask him to restore that joy to us. The Bible talks about the joy of the Lord being our strength.  Joy in God is so much more than feeling like life is going our way.  It is so much more than the thrill we feel when our flesh is temporarily satisfied.

The joy of our salvation is one of the main things that make salvation attractive to others.  When we get down on life; lose our joy and smile, we render our testimony ineffective.  Today, begin to seek the Lord to help you get back to that first-love feeling.  You know, the feeling you had the day you first came to Christ and knew your sins were forgiven.  Pray until that becomes foundational in your walk with God.  And when that begins to slip; seek Him once again to do a work of restoration.

Dear Lord, I have lost the joy of my salvation.  Restore that to me. Reset my perspective.  Help me look at life through Your eyes and in the wonder of all Jesus purchased for me when He was crucified.  In Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

Sherri