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Scripturally, how do any of us know we are saved? Because we "feel saved"? Because we feel love for Jeus and still cry at great worship services? Nope. The heart.... our emotions, can deceive us. according to the word of God e say we accept as the real truth, they are not the acid test. Is it the fact that we believe Jesus rose from the dead? Sorry, the devils believe and tremble.
There is a way, however. The question is, are we willing to throw caution to the wind and be willing to accept what the Bible tells us.... no matter what? OK then, here it is.
"And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."
1John 2:3
Ouch. No, not yet. There is a bigger ouch to come. Our minds want to rebel, to say "but, but....." and to begin quoting fall back scriptures that will ease our minds and guilty accusing consciences, but God has more to tell us and it be hooves us to listen. I promise, whatever fears may arise from these next words is not meant to harm us, but to awaken us from our slumber. Ready?
"He that sayeth 'I know Him' and keepeth not His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him"
1John 2:4
Brothers and sisters, the enemy has fed us a lie, and we have swallowed it. We now have an altered gospel where obedience.... following His leadings and not our own... is not necessary to be saved. The devil has whispered that such talk is "working for our salvation" and that grace assures us that no matter how we live, our prayer makes it all a moot point. Guys, it is a false grace. It is not grace at all. It has tasted pleasant to our lips, But I pray you believe me, if we do not relent and let the word of God correct our thinking, no matter the cost, then the path we are on will lead us away from God, and the enemy of our souls will claim another victory, for we well could be the very ones spoken of who were shocked to learn on the day of judgment that we might have thought we knew Him, but He never knew us.
I know that if any reading this really opens their hearts to receive, it will surely shake them to their core, but it needs to. Our core must be changed, from old us to new us. The old us cannot fully obey, nor does it even want to. Heaven is its sole goal, not possessing a holy nature. But the new us? Praise God, it can. But it is imperative if we are to ever experience the life more abundant, the "free indeed" our Jesus promised us, we must first want more than our next breath to be obedient children, even if at present, we do not see how that is possible.
Let us accept the above words that John gives us and let them cut deep, regardless of how they make us temporarily feel. God wants to bless us in ways we cannot yet even imagine. He has told us that He must be the potter in our obedience, that without Him, we can do nothing. Let us bow low, so that He can live in us and cause us to walk in full obedience, just as He promised.
God has far more for us than endless church services and a long ago emptied prayer closet. The early disciples did not know what to expect when Jesus said "Wait." What they experienced shook the known world in one generation. They literally turned the world on its ear. Satan finally saw what God could do through broken but faith filled children. The early rain the firstw disciplesmakes what we are content with pale in comparison. The early rain was breathtaking, but it ended as the grievous wolves entered in, not sparing the flock. Nineteen hundred years later, here we sit, a product of religious Christianity. We have just enough of the real thing to be inoculated from having our eyes opened to what is about to overtake us.... the latter rain. And praise God, the latter shall be greater than the former.
In Ezekiel 36, God speaks of us... you and I, right here, right now. We are the target. There are some hard words spoken to us. I pray we accept them, trusting that His love for us will win in the end, even if they bring us low to begin with. They that sow in tears will reap in joy.
And in this amazing chapter, our 'personal' prophecy, we are told of our impending and fully undeserved awakening, our awakening to righteousness, our awakening to the truth that salvation and obedience are one in the same, and above all, our awakening to how it all can happen when failure has followed us our whole lives.
We are about to come to understand that the pressure to obey has never been on our shoulders... never. You see, without new hearts, actual new natures, we cannot, not as long as we live in our old natures. But the glory of the gospel is that what we cannot do, no matter how hard we try, He can and will do in us. He will make us holy, not in theory, but for all to see. And this miracle.... the second half of the gospel, it will boggle our minds.
I especially pray we hone in on the last words of our word from God, for it is here where we can be changed from religious but defeated to fully alive and victorious, overcomers of the world, the flesh and the devil. Ears open? Hearts hungry? God has a blessing for us.
"I shall yet be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them."
Ezekiel 36:37
Do it for us, Lord. Have mercy on our sin hardened hearts. Awake us from our Laodecian contentment in this critical hour. Forgive us for limiting you and not believing your promises to not only forgive us but to also cleanse us from the very power of sin. Deliver us, Father, from the lies of the enemy, and let overcomers hearts replace the ones who have cowered and accepted a powerless Christianity as all you have for us. There is more, and we are ready for it. Not deserving. But desperately ready.
We are not worthy to be forgiven, dear Lord. As you have spoken, we who have been called to represent your name have blasphemed it with our religious its, our worldliness and our hypocrisy, and above all, our unbelief that you can do in us what we cannot, free us from the power of sin. We come to you with no strength, Father... none. All our hope rests in your mercy and grace, for you have promised to give us new natures, and we so need to put them on. Fill us with faith in you to do exactly as you have promised as we empty ourselves of all love for our old self and world loving lives. Change us into children who love others more than ourselves. Make us true living sacrifices. Free us from the power of the world around us where we walk as blind men with no purpose, no calling. Teach us to fight the lies of the enemy with truth as we stand our ground as new creatures, as sojourner st as citizens of the world to come and not of this world that is soon to end. If all is to be shaken, O Lord, shake us first, no matter the cost.
We know you will not fail us, Heavenly Father. Do it for us, amazing God. Do it for us.
Amen and amen.
Blessings,
Gideon[/QUOTE]
There is a way, however. The question is, are we willing to throw caution to the wind and be willing to accept what the Bible tells us.... no matter what? OK then, here it is.
"And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."
1John 2:3
Ouch. No, not yet. There is a bigger ouch to come. Our minds want to rebel, to say "but, but....." and to begin quoting fall back scriptures that will ease our minds and guilty accusing consciences, but God has more to tell us and it be hooves us to listen. I promise, whatever fears may arise from these next words is not meant to harm us, but to awaken us from our slumber. Ready?
"He that sayeth 'I know Him' and keepeth not His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him"
1John 2:4
Brothers and sisters, the enemy has fed us a lie, and we have swallowed it. We now have an altered gospel where obedience.... following His leadings and not our own... is not necessary to be saved. The devil has whispered that such talk is "working for our salvation" and that grace assures us that no matter how we live, our prayer makes it all a moot point. Guys, it is a false grace. It is not grace at all. It has tasted pleasant to our lips, But I pray you believe me, if we do not relent and let the word of God correct our thinking, no matter the cost, then the path we are on will lead us away from God, and the enemy of our souls will claim another victory, for we well could be the very ones spoken of who were shocked to learn on the day of judgment that we might have thought we knew Him, but He never knew us.
I know that if any reading this really opens their hearts to receive, it will surely shake them to their core, but it needs to. Our core must be changed, from old us to new us. The old us cannot fully obey, nor does it even want to. Heaven is its sole goal, not possessing a holy nature. But the new us? Praise God, it can. But it is imperative if we are to ever experience the life more abundant, the "free indeed" our Jesus promised us, we must first want more than our next breath to be obedient children, even if at present, we do not see how that is possible.
Let us accept the above words that John gives us and let them cut deep, regardless of how they make us temporarily feel. God wants to bless us in ways we cannot yet even imagine. He has told us that He must be the potter in our obedience, that without Him, we can do nothing. Let us bow low, so that He can live in us and cause us to walk in full obedience, just as He promised.
God has far more for us than endless church services and a long ago emptied prayer closet. The early disciples did not know what to expect when Jesus said "Wait." What they experienced shook the known world in one generation. They literally turned the world on its ear. Satan finally saw what God could do through broken but faith filled children. The early rain the firstw disciplesmakes what we are content with pale in comparison. The early rain was breathtaking, but it ended as the grievous wolves entered in, not sparing the flock. Nineteen hundred years later, here we sit, a product of religious Christianity. We have just enough of the real thing to be inoculated from having our eyes opened to what is about to overtake us.... the latter rain. And praise God, the latter shall be greater than the former.
In Ezekiel 36, God speaks of us... you and I, right here, right now. We are the target. There are some hard words spoken to us. I pray we accept them, trusting that His love for us will win in the end, even if they bring us low to begin with. They that sow in tears will reap in joy.
And in this amazing chapter, our 'personal' prophecy, we are told of our impending and fully undeserved awakening, our awakening to righteousness, our awakening to the truth that salvation and obedience are one in the same, and above all, our awakening to how it all can happen when failure has followed us our whole lives.
We are about to come to understand that the pressure to obey has never been on our shoulders... never. You see, without new hearts, actual new natures, we cannot, not as long as we live in our old natures. But the glory of the gospel is that what we cannot do, no matter how hard we try, He can and will do in us. He will make us holy, not in theory, but for all to see. And this miracle.... the second half of the gospel, it will boggle our minds.
I especially pray we hone in on the last words of our word from God, for it is here where we can be changed from religious but defeated to fully alive and victorious, overcomers of the world, the flesh and the devil. Ears open? Hearts hungry? God has a blessing for us.
"I shall yet be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them."
Ezekiel 36:37
Do it for us, Lord. Have mercy on our sin hardened hearts. Awake us from our Laodecian contentment in this critical hour. Forgive us for limiting you and not believing your promises to not only forgive us but to also cleanse us from the very power of sin. Deliver us, Father, from the lies of the enemy, and let overcomers hearts replace the ones who have cowered and accepted a powerless Christianity as all you have for us. There is more, and we are ready for it. Not deserving. But desperately ready.
We are not worthy to be forgiven, dear Lord. As you have spoken, we who have been called to represent your name have blasphemed it with our religious its, our worldliness and our hypocrisy, and above all, our unbelief that you can do in us what we cannot, free us from the power of sin. We come to you with no strength, Father... none. All our hope rests in your mercy and grace, for you have promised to give us new natures, and we so need to put them on. Fill us with faith in you to do exactly as you have promised as we empty ourselves of all love for our old self and world loving lives. Change us into children who love others more than ourselves. Make us true living sacrifices. Free us from the power of the world around us where we walk as blind men with no purpose, no calling. Teach us to fight the lies of the enemy with truth as we stand our ground as new creatures, as sojourner st as citizens of the world to come and not of this world that is soon to end. If all is to be shaken, O Lord, shake us first, no matter the cost.
We know you will not fail us, Heavenly Father. Do it for us, amazing God. Do it for us.
Amen and amen.
Blessings,
Gideon[/QUOTE]
