 The life we live with Jesus IS WONDERFUL! We receive salvation as a free gift, because our Lord paid for it in full, totally, forever for all our sins, past, present and future. BUT to keep our salvation, it costs us everything. We are required to live pure lives, fully committed in total obedience to our Heavenly Father.
God never requires anything of us that we cannot do or that He has not not equipped us for first. The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, suffered so much because He loves us and wants to have us with Him in Heaven for eternity, so that we can say as Paul said:
If Paul is calling the tribulations that he faced, “small and temporary trouble,” we truly have no excuses to bend under the trials of every day life. And we know that no matter how tough the troubles are that we face, none could be worse than what our holy and innocent Lord suffered in our place! And He did it all from love for each of us.
What could be more wonderful than knowing that: - Jesus is the true shepherd, who knows us way better than we know ourselves and tells us that we can learn to know and grow in Him. We get to closer to God as we dig deeper into His Word, trying to learn more about Him and His will toward us, the less we will doubt His love, power and desire to bless us.
- Jesus knows us and we can follow Him:
- Christ gives us eternal life and no one can snatch us out of His hand, as long as we are willing to stay there!
- God the Father is sovereign, omnipotent, the greatest over all and we are in His hand. No one can snatch us from there!
- Jesus and the Father are one and they live in us, through the Holy Spirit. What else could we want?
In conclusion, I think we can agree with Paul:
C. Pușcaș
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 God's answer to our prayers, begins the spiritual world. Renewing of our minds is the key to bringing in the physical world, what we have already received in the spirit. Faith is reflected by our way of thinking. Our mind is the place where doubts arise and still there is where we start to build the strong, firm faith. With our mind we choose to believe. A mind that isn't renewed by the word of God through the Holy Spirit, can't believe what doesn't see.
We will bring into being what God has already done for us in the spirit, if we don't doubt, whatever we see with our physical eyes. When we know in our spirit that what we are asking for, is consistent with the will of God, we are already in the possession of what we prayed for, even if we don't see it with our physical eyes, yet.
Carmen Pușcaș  We communicate with God through prayer. We are called and created to pray uninterrupted. Through prayer, we are connected with the Holy Spirit, we ask advice and He is giving it to us. Only then, can we make good decisions, think in a Biblical way, renewing our minds which heals our brains and keeps us close in the presence of Jesus. The world of science proves over and over the truth that man is created to communicate non-stop with his "source" (The Creator). Even if the studies would not admit the whole truth, we know that “the source” is God.
Paul urges us to pray without ceasing, at any time, without discrimination and to do it persistently! He also urges us to do something very important - to live in a state of joy. Joy and prayer are very good friends. We can find the true joy, sincere, full, lasting only through the Holy Spirit, when we enter the presence of God. We enter in the presence of God only through prayer and worship. Sincere, persistent prayer that is praising the Lord and giving thanks for all that He is and has done in our lives, brings us into God's presence.
If we do not feel the need to pray, to communicate with God our Father, it's time to ask ourselves what is wrong. As Christians it is normal to want to communicate with the Lord and Creator, as we feel the need to communicate with our loved ones. The desire to tell God about our problems or our victories, our worries, needs or achievements is the essence of the Christian life. Without this fellowship, we can not be God's children. Dear Lord, please increase our passion and desire to spend time with You, to know You more through studying the scripture, prayer and worship and to become more and more like You. Thank you Lord! C. Pușcaș  Paul was in prison while he wrote the epistle to the Philippians. Over and over he exhorted believers to rejoice. It is not known for certain which prison Paul was at the time, but we know that he was imprisoned for about six years total; in the jails of Ephesus, Caesarea and Rome. When Paul, and Silas with him, were locked in a prison cell in Philippi, God interfered as they chose to pray and praise God in the midst of a nasty situation.
What follows in the next verses is stunning, too. The jailer passed from despair (he was ready to kill himself as he believed all prisoners had escaped) to huge joy, as he and his household received Jesus as Lord and Savior and were all baptized! Paul was writing to the Philippians to be happy, no matter what they were facing. Even if the circumstances he was facing were terrible, Paul urges God's children (from Philippi at that time and all Christians of all times, including us), to rejoice! If we look more carefully at our lives, we see that the most frequent causes of our sadness and lack of peace are rarely major issues, but more commonly the minor ones. The Bible teaches us to repent (to admit we did sin, to regret we did, and ask God to forgive us) quickly of every sin, of every wrong we commit. Whether we realize it or not, when we choose sin over obedience to God, then we are giving place to the devil, which opens us up to attack and hurt. Jesus warned us of Satan's evil ways in John 8:44b “He (the devil) was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.” Does it seem to you that a life lived mainly being sad, with an unsatisfied attitude, complaining all the time and with little or no joy is an abundant life? I am sure it doesn't. Also, it is very important to not believe the lies that the enemy brings in our minds to keep us "under the weather," full of sorrows, making us believe we are weak, unworthy, big sinners with no hope that God cannot love. Our heavenly Father is teaching us step by step, how to fight to win and have real joy, continuous joy in Him, to live with the joy that comes from the security of salvation in Jesus Christ, as long as He is our Lord! The more we learn to hear and obey His voice, the happier we'll be! Yes, there are problems and troubles that sadden and upset us, but we have no reason to camp there... our sadness is not solving the problem and does not undo the damage or hurt, and can even ruin our health.
For those who love God, we know that we belong to Christ, who paid for our sins by dying in our places. We live with the desire to please the Lord and trust Him that He will even turn our troubles into something good. Why? Because God changes the evils that the devil and even people did and uses them for good.
As Joseph told his brothers, who had sold him as a slave:
God even changed Balaam's curse into a blessing for the people of Israel.
Spiritual warfare is not occasional, but continuous, as the enemy is in attack-mode at all times. That's why we need to be alert, online with the Lord at all times (prayerful) and recognize enemy attack from its first signs and not falling into his traps. How much better it is being aware that we have authority and power through Jesus, who dwells in God's children and to know how to fight. The Christian life was for too long, considered to be a life of pain, suffering and false humility. Apostle Paul, faced many very tough trials and tribulations (if you want to find out more about it, read 2 Corinthians 11:23-28, where Paul shares what he faced in those 22 years of ministry, approximately from 36 AD to 68 AD and ending when Nero ordered his execution). The words joy, glad, happy appear about 330 times in the Bible... For sure God loves joy. He created it, and it defines Him. Heaven is the place of joy, gladness, peace and full truth! Our heavenly Father wants us to learn to rejoice in Him and to stop focusing on our problems and needs. He wants us to learn to know and trust His heart, to enjoy what we have, even the little things. In so doing, bitterness and worry will not find place in our hearts. When we allow the negative it separates us from the joy of being in God's presence. God wants us to know Him and how much He love us and for us to love Him back for who He is, not for what He gives us. The result is a greater relationship with God and being greatly blessed Him. Our carnal nature and spiritual enemy if left unchecked, would have us focusing on material things and daily problems which is not God's plan for us. If allowed, it comes between us and the Lord. On the contrary, the Lord wants us to seek Him, His kingdom and righteousness first and in so doing, the Lord will see our needs met.
We read in the book of Nehemiah, how God touched the hearts of the people of Israel, while they listened to the reading of the Law. The people were crying, understanding how far they were from what God expected from them... Likewise today, when the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, God does not want us to continue to be sad after we admit our sins and we sincerely ask Him to forgive us. His desire is for us to enter into His presence and rejoice!
May the Lord our God help us overcome quickly the hard times and remember this big truth: THE JOY OF THE LORD REALLY IS OUR STRENGTH! C. Pușcaș  Our Father God wants us to know His power, authority and glory; with Him we can accomplish anything and everything required of us. He is the One who acts and ensures the victory in any battle. He will get us through any bad or tough situation that comes, as He always has in the past. Our Lord has never let us down. Let's get this deep in our hearts to remember always: all that God has done for us in times of need and despair, so it can strengthen our faith and get us through any tough times ahead.
True strength is not of ourselves.
Also, our Heavenly Father wants us to know the truth and use the authority we have in Him and not have low self esteem, saying such things as we are too young, too old, too weak, etc. We are not to despise the small things in our lives as they have their role and all is under God's control. Each of us, have a calling over our lives (even those who did not discover what is it yet; and we are all called to share the Gospel and make disciples) and it is up to us to accomplish it. Why? Because He cannot do it for us as He has created us with free will. God wants us to love and trust Him, have faith in Him and to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Why? Because anything we place ahead of God, will cause us to miss the right path and keep Jesus from truly being Lord over our hearts and lives.
There are hundreds of verses that talk about the need of a Christian to know God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit), deeper and deeper. One can not know the truth about The Truth, and stay the same. The Truth transforms, changes, brings life and passion, brings love and all that Jesus is. The Lord told us:
How? He tells us in the previous verse:
If His Word abides in our hearts, we will become free of all past lies, of all misconceptions and wrong ideas and we learn to recognize the lies of the devil, that he tries to sneak in with thoughts and impressions.
Wisdom, revelation and true light come only through the Holy Spirit. Without which, we cannot understand how huge the hope is that we have in Jesus Christ, how valuable is the inheritance that we have in salvation that has come through the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has all authority over all things. Everything that exists is inferior to and under the lordship of Jesus Christ. And this is the same Jesus Christ that is the Lord of our lives and dwells in our hearts through Holy Ghost!! Hallelujah! Glory to You Lord God! Our Heavenly Father wants us to learn to let Him lead in all areas of our lives. He wants nothing to be left unsurrendered unto Him; in so doing He can transform us more into His image, keeping us filled with His presence and blessing our lives. We all have lost many blessings in times past, because of having not given Him our all. Many times there have been things, people or situations that were way too important to us, that we did not want to fully surrender to the Lord and those things, people or situations became strongholds of the enemy in our lives. Jesus wants to unlock all the doors that we have in our hearts and lives. He wants us to give Him all our sorrows, our wounds, and even our pleasures that have become way too important to us. He wants us to step out from under the load of our wrong choices that given power to the enemy in so doing. He wants to be empowered as the true authority so He can help us get things right. We need to repent of our hard-headedness and commit to spending time with the Lord and allowing Him to heal us. Father God has beautiful things for us and a place at Jesus' bosom for every single one of us; but we are not be able to receive if we are remain as we are, not willing lay it all down and unlock all the doors of our hearts and lives. If we are not willing to tear down the very walls we built ourselves over our past, then we will not be able to be closer to the Lord and have the abundant life that Father God longs for us to have and share with Him. Let's open up our hearts, so Lord can fill them up with His presence, so we can be equipped for the ministry He has called us each to. When the Holy Spirit is allowed to flow freely, then we will know our God more and wonderful changes and transformations will take place in our lives. It is the only way to have real life in Jesus. Father God will lead us in victory and we will receive and convey the fragrance of heaven, blessing us and those around us.
The Lord wants us to listen for and follow the leading of His voice. He is the good shepherd, so we need to be vigilant and pay attention to His guidance. He told us that from our hearts will flow rivers of living waters. This comes from His presence on the Thrones of our hearts and lives just as living water flows from the Throne in heaven. As He is “true Lord” in our lives and we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us with His presence, then the overflow from the Lord will truly touch others as God moves and works through us. The Holy Spirit is the One who fills us with righteousness, peace and joy.
Let's not quench the river of the Holy Spirit, when He flows in and through us; then we have the joy of the Lord and we know the joy of the Lord is our strength. In this strength there is also power. In Christ we have joy, light, victory, strength and fulfillment. We need to decrease so the Lord can increase! If we say that Jesus is our Lord but we hold back and keep Him from having His way in certain areas that we refuse Him Lordship, then we are allowing something to come between He and us. In a sense, we are allowing the enemy to rob both the Lord and us of what is right. We must run this race to win and let the Lord transform us completely. To be half-hearted or even 90%-hearted is not “whole-hearted.” We need to know God more, by spending more time in His presence, searching more in His Word, loving Him more and asking Him to reveal more of Himself to us! The more we know Him, the harder it will be for the devil to use his bag of tricks on us with his lies, deception and condemnation. We need to remind ourselves that God has chosen us to be with Him now and also forever. There is much comfort and strength in this truth! Our heavenly Father wants us to have pliable hearts so that we can become more and more like Jesus. We need to keep our spiritual ears tuned to the Lord's frequency. If we will hear and obey His voice, He will help us fight against sadness, fear and all the negativity of the devil and this world... Our heavenly Father wants us to be 100% in Christ and Christ 100% in us, because in Jesus Christ, there is all we need including victory and joy! C. Pușcaș  We need the presence of God because in His presence we rise above the problems. When Jesus becomes our focus more than our problems or frustrations and we let it all go, allowing the Holy Spirit be our problem solver; everything changes. We need to get to where God's Word, which is Jesus, is more real and more believable for us, than what we see in our problems with our physical eyes, because we have the promises of Scripture to stand on in our lives. “True worship” means “honest praise” to God. As we focus on the Lord; the reality of His heavenly presence takes over our hearts and we slowly forget about ourselves and the world around us. The deeper we are in His presence, the smaller our issues become. Being more in the presence of the Lord, means less of our surroundings and selves. Miracles manifest in atmospheres when the Lord is allowed to move freely in.. In His presence, our faith is built and strengthened; In His presence our faith increases to the levels of being the mountain movers the Lord wants us to be. When we pursue the Lord and are vertical in the presence of God, blessings and wonders happen. When we seek the Lord first and His heart, the Holy Spirit in return helps us with the answers and even miracles we need. Healing happens when Jesus becomes more real to us than the physical illnesses that we suffered from. We are healed when loving and trusting Jesus is truly more real than the issues. Entering into the presence of the Lord is not a fad and requires no ritual. Entering into the presence of the Lord is accessing the essence of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He longs for quality time with us His children. God's presence is always with us... But we need the desire and to take the time to access it. We need to slow down the thoughts of our minds. We need to surrender our issues and concerns to the control of the Holy Spirit and to enter deeper into the presence of our Lord. Sadly many songs sung in churches today are not worship focused which would take us closer in the presence of the Lord but are more about what God can do for us or some form of what is in it for “us” instead of true worship. The Lord should be praised for who He is; the praise of our hearts should focus on the Father, Son and Holy Spirit; not us. The worshiper with the sincere heart who gives their love and adoration to the One who deserves it in return, the One who has loved us with all His heart, this worshiper will access the deeper place in the presence of the Lord.
Jesus was with the disciples and said He will be in them (and us) through the Holy Spirit. Before our conversion, the Holy Spirit came to show us that Jesus is real, that He is the truth, that the Bible is true, that we are sinners and we need a Savior. The Holy Spirit actually helped us have faith in God; He convicts us of sin, leads us in all truth and keeps us in right relationship with God. When we are born again, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us, He is the presence of God in us. The Holy Spirit doesn't need temples made of bricks and stone, we are the temples of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in each of us, the Lord's born-again children. The same power that literally raised Jesus from the dead, is residing in every child of God who is born again! If we live daily close to the Lord, worshiping Him and seeking His presence daily then we are sure that we remain in Him and He will stay in us. In the end, we will end up safe and secure in our Heavenly Father's arms.
The presence of God is evident in the fruit of our lives. It comes from living sincere lives unto the Lord which includes true worship, honest fellowship and by studying and applying God's Word into our lives. After we receive the blessing and power of the anointing of the Holy Spirit, we realize how much we need Him and are glad to surrender to the Holy Spirit. The greater the “level of our surrender” is, the greater the anointing is and through it the Lord can, and will use us more. The anointing is the power of God, it is His presence. It cannot be copied or faked, we just have to receive it! The anointing is what breaks the chains of oppression:
By this it means that the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which is the presence of God, will destroy every yoke of oppression of life for the children of God.
The abundant life and fullness of joy, the peace that passes understanding, the victorious life are all found in the presence of the Lord; when we keep His commandments, abide in Him and He abides in us and worship Him in Spirit and truth.
C. Pușcaș  Many people see God as very harsh, merciless, recording even the slightest error of His children, so He can punish them accordingly. Such an image of God is not who He is at all, and far from what the Bible says about Him. God is fair and just, He hates sin and in His justice, He cannot deny the consequences of sin. So, God who is also love and in His perfect love for man, He sent His only begotten Son; to take upon Himself on the cross, the sins of all mankind and paying our penalty with His own death, in our place. Jesus Christ paid the whole price for all sins. No one can add anything to His sacrifice.
So if Jesus Christ paid for the sins of the whole world through His sacrifice, shouldn't everyone go to Heaven? This is the heart's desire of Father God. But because He created man with free will, the choice is up to man. God does not force anyone to go to Heaven. God created man in His image and likeness, but the sin of disobedience started the process of deformation and degradation of His perfect creation. God is spirit and He created the man to be as He is, a spirit being. He gave him a soul with his own free will, a mind with self thinking and a sensitive heart with the ability to rejoice, to love, be thankful... Then He covered it all in a physical body. The soul and the body, were given to the spirit man to be able to relate to the physical world and subdue the Earth. So man is a spirit, who has a soul and lives in a body. The Holy Spirit was to lead man, to keep him anchored in truth, by union with God through the Holy Spirit. In Genesis chapter three, we read that at the beginning, Adam and Eve obeyed the Spirit's leadership, as they were hearing the voice of God in their spirits and were conversing with Him, having a sincere relationship while in the Garden of Eden. But, from the moment, they both decided to listen to their soul ("the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" - 1 John 2:16), the devil's lie became the truth to them.
The Bible teaches us that the separation that came between man and God can only be removed through Jesus Christ. When Jesus paid the price for our sins, He made it possible for the wall of separation to come down. He paid the price for our sins, all that we will ever need and He overcame the devil.
Disease, destruction, hatred, murder and all that is evil invaded the world. The soul is not connected to God, but to the surrounding world, which is led by the devil and therefore the mind started to think negatively and destructively, the heart started to feel hatred, malice, envy and all the negative emotions and the human will to make personal, detrimental decisions. Sin has destroyed trust and unity between man and God and caused a separation wall between them. The man driving the soul must fight to get back where spirit is united with the Holy Spirit and hears the voice of God. God created man with free will and gave him the choice between obedience and perfect living or disobedience to Him with the destructive consequences that sin has brought. God knew that man would choose wrong and in His great mercy, offered him the chance of forgiveness of sins through the blood of sacrifices. Through Moses, God gave His law to His people, instructing them what to do when they sinned and how to live righteous lives. Then when Jesus Christ came to be crucified, the perfect sacrifice was made once and for all, not only for sins of the people of Israel, but for the sins of the whole world. The shed blood of Jesus Christ continues to have the same power today, to forgive the sins of those who love Him, trust Him, and seek His forgiveness. Once a person renounces the bondage of sin, which also means having been under the dominion of the devil, and then decides to follow Christ, then his spirit is united with the Holy Spirit the restoration process begins. The "inner man" which is the human spirit, when born again becomes perfectly clean, but for the soul to be transformed, man must renew the mind by studying and assimilating the Word of God (Romans 12:2). This is the process by which the Holy Spirit will change the man from the inside out. The Holy Spirit leads us into all Truth, teaches us to pray, guides us and teaches us. The more we listen to his leadership, the faster we change and we become more like Christ, as God created us to be. C. Pușcaș  The true meaning of following Christ; denying self and taking up our cross daily. Jesus let people know up front “the way and the cost” to be a true disciple.
Let's take a closer look of the meaning of this verse by reading it also in the Gospels of Mark and Luke:
"If anyone desires to come after Me" shows that only those who are willing to follow Christ can do it. ”Coming after Jesus” means to live a life in obedience to Him. That is the only way to follow Him and walk into His footsteps. We follow The One we love, adore, respect and honor. "Deny" is the Greek word, "aparneomai" which means to completely disown, to utterly separate oneself from someone. We all, as believers should utterly separate ourselves from our old carnal nature. When we came to Jesus, we renounced to the old sinful life and decided to live a new righteous life. So, Jesus is telling us to deny what our flesh would like to do and obey the direction of the Holy Spirit. We still live in earthly vessels, so we will not achieve perfect holy lives, but the desire of our heart is to obey God in every way. As we continually have the Holy Spirit to help us to live right and please God in all that we do, think, feel and say; and the more we focus on who we are in Christ Jesus, than on our failures, we will grow and become more like Jesus. God created man into His image. His desire is for us to be more like Him. The more we know Jesus and the more the anointing of the Holy Spirit increases in us, the more we will do better. This process will continue until the Lord takes us home. Because we love Jesus, we come to a place of surrender to Christ where we no longer reserve the right to do as we will, but only as He wills in all the areas of our lives. The more we let Him rule in our lives, the closer to complete denial of the carnal nature we are. "Take up the cross" had a very clear meaning to the disciples time. In the cultural context of the time, the Romans had the convicted criminals carry their own cross, as an act of tacit acceptance that their death sentence was just. So, for believers, taking the personal cross daily, means that we accept that our carnal nature has to be put to death daily and crucifying it is an act of justice, in order to live in obedience to Christ and not our own self. Christ died in our place, to pay for our sin. The only way we can live holy lives is in total love and obedience to Him. "Whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it" shows clearly that the redeemed one, is the one who gives up his former life before knowing Christ, renouncing his former ways and chooses Jesus Christ with His ways and plans for his life; loosing this earthly life in favor to eternal life. What a great exchange! We are not all called to die as martyrs to glorify Jesus, but we are all called to lose our old life style and live as the gospel tells us to, honoring our Lord. As Paul said in:
Our Lord God knows what is best for us and He has the perfect plan for every single one of us. By obeying His will and word, we do ourselves a huge favor, knowing what is best for us. Our Father God loves us way more then we or any human being can. Obeying Him is not something that God needs but it certainly is what we need. This is the kind of life that God had in mind for His creation, a life of obedience that will keep us all under His protection and grace and will allow Him to remain in us and us in Him. This is our ticket to Heaven. And not only that, it is the life that is greatly worth it to be lived! Hallelujah! Thank You Lord Jesus for making it all possible! C.Pușcaș  In reading our Bibles, we as Christians have read much about the power of the word of God and also heard much about it in sermons and messages. So why don't we hear more people telling about the power of God working in our lives?
In order for the power of the word of God to really manifest in one's life, a person truly needs to believe the Bible in its entirety, that it truly is the word of God, given by the Holy Spirit, through the people God chose. Paul wrote to Timothy:
And to the Thessalonians:
The Lord clearly stated that the word of God cannot be abolished:
In addition to believing and trusting in the power of God's word, for a person to truly see the power of the word of God working in their life, they need to desire to read and study the Bible, not because we were told to, but because we want to understand the word, getting it deep into our hearts, as the Psalmist said (Psalms 119:11). Only after we know what the Bible says, can we live pleasing to God.
The third requirement, which applies to all the promises of scripture, is living in obedience to God and keeping a pure heart, full of love for God and for people. In a heart full of love, there is no place for hate, sin, malice, bitterness, selfishness or negativity. Every day we must live disciplined, faithful lives, pleasing to the Lord and not quenching the Holy Spirit. Let us consider what the Bible says about the effects of the word of God in the life of God's people, the body of Christ. God's word produces faith in our hearts when we receive.
When we need the faith that God can and wants to do something for us and we seek the Lord to show us which verses will work for our situation. Then we soak on and meditate on the specific verses daily, even saying them out loud. It is a fact, acknowledged by psychologists, that the human mind thinks easier and more quickly when a person hears something from their own voice. The Holy Spirit came to lead us into all truth and and help us discover the hidden things of God, so He is the best Teacher to call on to help us understand scripture (John 14:26). To read more about the Holy Spirit, you can see the article, Who The Holy Spirit Really Is. The word of God is the seed that produces the new life in us for salvation. The nature of the seed determines the nature of the results. When the seed of the word of God, comes alive in our spirit, and unites with the Holy Spirit inside of us, we become alive for eternity.
The word of God is life and brings health for the whole body for him that finds it.
God's word makes us wise and gives us strength to live clean lives.
The word of God illuminates our mind as we study it.
Scripture also serves as a spiritual mirror, through which we look at the state in which we find ourselves and find out what we need to change or improve.
When we find pleasure in the teachings and fulfill scripture in our lives, we prosper and are blessed.
The word becomes alive and working in us, when we believe the Lord and let him do His work in us.
By studying the Bible, we are able to distinguish between what is the carnal nature of soul or righteousness of the spirit. God created us to be led by the spirit, to be united with the Holy Spirit. When Adam and Eve chose to be led by the soul, the carnal nature, (“lust of the flesh, the eyes and the pride of life " - 1 John 2:16), by ignoring the spirit, that was made to communicate with God, in the garden of Eden, then mankind became soul-led, carnal nature led, being interested in and led by one's feelings, thoughts and will, ignoring the voice of the spirit which is where we were once able to be led from. Jesus came to make it possible to be born-again in the spirit, by the Holy Spirit, for all those who want him as our Lord in our lives. Christians' lives are led by the spirit not the soul, the carnal nature. For more on this subject, you can read in the article, God Will Never Forsake His Children.
The word of God brings us joy and delight in your heart, when we feed our souls upon it.
The words of the Bible are spirit and true life comes only for us when we believe them.
The word of God is clean, holy and life-giving truth.
The word of God is food for the children of God, as natural food is to the natural body, so the word of God is to the spirit man.
By the word of God we come to know Jesus and to be truly free.
The word of God is forever.
The Lord made the same claim as addressed the disciples about the end times.
What a wonderful God we have! He gave us his word so we can learn to know Him, to know His will for us. He has given us His word to show what he approves and disapproves of and in so doing, we find true life. The Word of God contains everything we need to know and is the perfect guide for living a clean and well-equipped life pleasing to God.
In the book of Hebrews we read about the importance of the truthful confession of the word, i.e. "homología" ("Common confession" in the original Greek). This term refers to the collective agreement of Christians about what the Lord loves and hates - and the courage to proclaim it out loud.
In other words, when we proclaim Bible verses, we agree with what God says, and as a result, the benefits of the word of God become real in our lives. God is faithful and gave us His promises. For who? To all those who love him and live in obedience to him. C. Pușcaș  I have heard many sermons over the years about the inability to oppose sin and what bad sinners, we Christians are. The verses used as the base are what Paul said in Chapter 7 of the Epistle to the Romans. Praise God this is not the truth in Christ, but just another attempt to make the audience feel good ... even if listeners do not live according the Bible.
So, is there a way to live pure and sinless lives? I mean, can we really overcome temptations and sin? God is just and fair. He did not claim anything from us, before he equipped us with what we need so we can accomplish. If we could not live free from sin, we would not be asked to do it. We know that His Son, Jesus Christ came to live on earth in our likeness, so that we have the perfect life model, and the necessary tools to live righteously. The more we understand who we are in Christ, the less we sin. The more we want to please God, the more we will overcome temptations. Now, let's look closer to what Paul says.
The law which Moses received from God for His people, can not be accomplished by merely flesh which is enslaved by the law of sin. This is what Paul is actually talking about. It's not possible to live the Christian life without the power and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. If we analyze only this chapter, we conclude that Paul was a great sinner. And then, how could he write to the Corinthians to imitate him and his way of living? "Therefore I urge you, imitate me” (1 Corinthians 4:16) or "Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Actually Paul identifies with the Christians that are desperate by their incapacity to give up to their sinful old way of living, just to give them the solution to their problem.
If we plan to follow Christ only by the power of our mind and decisions, we have no chance. But if we live following Holy Spirit's instructions, which after our new birth in Christ is united with our spirit and indwells us, we will live! We know He is in us, because we are no longer drawn and led away by our old sinful desires, and on the contrary, we are free from the bondage and desire of sin that once had us.
We are no longer slaves to sin, but the adopted children of God. But our fight does not end here. We are struggling daily with the flesh, to keep it under submission to the Holy Spirit, as Paul says in:
The more we study God's Word, asking the Holy Ghost to help us understand it and cause it to become "living and powerful" (Hebrews 4:12) in us, the more we will know what God expects of us, and what must we do to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. When we identify what must change in us, or a sin that we could not renounce to, what can we do? After we recognized that we have a problem and admit that we need to change, we pray for the Holy Spirit to help us and give us the determination to fight to victory. Then we need to find out what Scripture says on that subject, so we seek verses on the matter. It is essential that we agree with what God says on the subject, so we will work on changing our mind and way of thinking. We write the verses, and we meditate on them daily, forcing our brain to admit the new truth about the problem and escape the wrong way we were seeing it. Would that work? Oh yes, it will work because God's Word has power. The Lord told us in John 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you." His Word, the Bible, transforms us, by revealing to us, who we are in Christ Jesus, and how to become who we are in Him. Living in the sinful world, got us far away from who we were created to be. Studying passionately the Word of God and meditating on it until Holy Spirit will reveal it to us and bring it to life, is the only way for us to get back to what God wants us to be. He created us to be His children, to live under the direction of the Holy Spirit and radiating the light of Christ. We are in a constant struggle, but we don't fight alone. God the Father has provided us the power and anointing of the Spirit that make His Word to come alive and to bring transformation in those who abide in it. While Jesus Christ is Lord over us and we live in total surrender to Him, we know that we are "more than conquerors" and we will become more like Him, sinning less and less. C. Pușcaș |
AuthorsSince we became Christians, the authors of this site, over the decades, with the help of the Holy Spirit, have learned deeper biblical truths and how to have a closer walk with Christ. Through the websites that we are writing on, we try to share with the readers who might be interested, messages about living life with Jesus Christ as Lord. BLOG LIST BY DATE
(THE DATES ARE LISTED IN FORMAT DD/MM/YYYY) BENEFITS OF THE BIBLE 28/11/2022 THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART 22/10/2022 THE SURRENDERED LIFE 18/9/2022 I WOULD HAVE PULLED JOSEPH OUT 13/8/2022 THE LORD IS OUR REFUGE 27/06/2022 LET US PRAISE THE LORD AT ALL TIMES 16/5/2022 VICTORIOUS OR DEFEATED 18/3/2022 CHANGING WITH THE TIMES 2/22/2022 CONSIDERING THE PAST AND THE FUTURE 1/1/2022 THE BIRTH OF JESUS CHRIST, OUR SAVIOR 14/12/2021 VICTORY IN SUFFERING 10/11/2021 HOW MUCH DO WE UNDERSTAND OTHERS? 8/10/2021 "LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH..." 10/9/21 CONSTANTS AND VARIABLES 19/08/2021 HOW DO WE HANDLE SUFFERING? 17/6/2021 FORGIVE US LORD, AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS 26/05/21 WHEN THE ANSWER TO OUR PRAYER DOES NOT COME AS WE ASKED 06/05/21 GOD'S WORD WORKS 26/3/2021 GOD WANTS US TO SUCCEED 15/2/2021 "PEACE TO THIS HOUSE" 26/1/2021 OUR CHOICES MAKE THE DIFFERENCE 5/1/2021 "COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY-LADEN" 8/12/2020 BEING THANKFUL 22/11/2020 WHAT DEFINES OUR LIVES AND US? 31/10/2020 IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD 18/09/2020 "THE REST" WE FIND IN THE LORD 13/08/2020 HOW WE CAN FILTER OUR IN-TAKE 24/07/20 JESUS IS OUR ANCHOR IN STORMY TIMES 9/07/2020 CHOOSING TO REJOICE 23/06/2020 STRESSFUL TIMES AND OUR EMOTIONS 26/05/2020 BIRTH PAINS OF A ONE WORLD ORDER 12/5/2020 TEST ALL THINGS 22/04/2020 IN STRESSFUL TIMES 31/03/2020 STANDING FIRM IN UNCERTAIN TIMES 15/03/2020 GOD SENDS HIS ANGELS TO HELP US 28/02/2020 GOD KNOWS! 14/01/2020 OUR SAVIOR HAS MADE THE WAY 23/12/2019 FALL IS IN THE AIR 30/09/2019 WHY IS IT SO CHALLENGING TO REMAIN CONSTANTLY VICTORIOUS IN OUR CHRISTIAN WALK? 18/7/2019 LITTLE THINGS 01/07/2019 IT MIGHT BE THE RIGHT TIME FOR SOMETHING TO CHANGE 17/5/2019 FULL JOY 6/3/2019 HAVE YOU EVER BEEN UNEQUALLY YOKED? 1/2/2019 LIFE AND LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY 15/1/2019 FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT 4/12/2018 THE PRODIGAL SON 11/10/2018 WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE 9/19/2018 HOW JESUS ANSWERED TEMPTATION 26/1/2018 GOD'S LOVE IS IMMEASURABLE 6/6/2018 THE DEVIL HAS NO AUTHORITY OVER CHRISTIANS 18/5/2018 THEN THEIR EYES WERE OPENED... 26/3/2018 ENDURANCE! 15/02/2018 CHRIST IN US THE HOPE OF GLORY 25/1/2018 THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 12/19/2017 OUR JOY IN THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH 6/12/2017 MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN TODAY 15/11/2017 THE SEAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 18/9/2017 IS BAPTISM BY WATER A COMMAND OR NOT? 26/8/2017 THE DANGER OF UNHEALTHY FEAR 26/6/2017 HEALING IS GOD'S WILL 26/6/2017 WHAT DO WE TRUST IN? 13/6/2017 "NO ONE AND NOTHING CAN SNATCH US OUT OF THE HAND OF JESUS OR FATHER GOD!" 11/4/2017 "BE WATCHFUL AND STRENGTHEN THE THINGS WHICH REMAIN..." 7/3/2017 "GRACE UPON GRACE" 24/2/2017 TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, FROM HIM MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED 6/2/2017 WHAT MAY HARDEN THE HEART? 31/1/2017 WHO PAID MORE? 30/1/2017 IT IS HARD KICKING AGAINST THE GOADS 30/1/2017 JESUS SET ME FREE... AGAIN! 10/1/2017 LIVING TO PLEASE GOD! 6/12/2016 NO ONE IS ABLE TO SNATCH US OUT OF GOD'S HAND! 2/12/2016 WHY DO WE HIDE GOD'S WORD IN OUR HEARTS? 9/11/2016DON'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE 24/10/2016 TRULY BELIEVING - ELIMINATING DOUBT 15/10/2016 ARE THE OLD TESTAMENT PROMISES FOR US, THE GENTILES, TOO? 14/10/2016 CHOOSING FAITH INSTEAD OF DOUBT 11/10/2016 LORD GOD IS MY REFUGE! 6/10/2016 GOD'S PROVISION FOR THE AGED 17/9/2016 DOES IT MATTER HOW WE LIVE? 7/9/2016 PAUL'S THORN IN THE FLESH 26/8/2016 "WALKING ON WATER" 23/8/2016 WHATEVER IS TRUE... 5/8/2016 LIFE WITH JESUS IS WONDERFUL 29/7/2016 ANSWER TO PRAYER 23/7/2016 WHY PRAY? 22/7/2016 HAPPY OR SAD? 21/7/2016 THE IMPORTANCE OF TRULY ”KNOWING” GOD 21/7/2016 WE NEED GOD'S PRESENCE 21/7/2016 GOD WILL NEVER FORSAKE US! 21/7/2016 THE TRUE MEANING OF FOLLOWING CHRIST 21/7/2016 THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD 21/7/2016 FLESH OR SPIRIT? 21/7/2016
CATEGORIES BIBLE, THE WORD OF GOD ARE THE OLD TESTAMENT PROMISES FOR US, THE GENTILES, TOO? 14/10/2016 BENEFITS OF THE BIBLE 28/11/2022 GOD'S PROVISION FOR THE AGED 17/9/2016 GOD'S WORD IS POWERFUL 1/11/2016 THE POWER OF GOD'S WORD 21/7/2016 WHY DO WE HIDE GOD'S WORD IN OUR HEARTS? 9/11/2016 CHRISTIAN LIVING "BE WATCHFUL AND STRENGTHEN THE THINGS WHICH REMAIN..." 7/3/2017 BEING THANKFUL 22/11/2020 DOES IT MATTER HOW WE LIVE? 7/9/2016 DON'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE 24/10/2016 FLESH OR SPIRIT? 21/7/2016 FULL JOY 6/3/2019 GOD WILL NEVER FORSAKE US! 21/7/2016 HAPPY OR SAD? 21/7/2016 HOW MUCH DO WE UNDERSTAND OTHERS? 8/10/2021 HOW WE ARE MADE AND CHOOSING HOW WE RECEIVE 24/07/20 IN THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD 18/09/2020 IS BAPTISM BY WATER A COMMAND OR NOT? 26/8/2017 IT IS HARD KICKING AGAINST THE GOADS 30/1/2017 LIFE WITH JESUS IS WONDERFUL 29/7/2016 LITTLE THINGS 01/07/2019 LIVING TO PLEASE GOD! 6/12/2016 LORD GOD IS MY REFUGE! 6/10/2016 "LOVE THE LORD THY GOD WITH..." 10/9/21 "NO ONE AND NOTHING CAN SNATCH US OUT OF THE HAND OF JESUS OR FATHER GOD!" 11/4/2017 NO ONE IS ABLE TO SNATCH US OUT OF GOD'S HAND! 2/12/2016 OUR JOY IN THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH 6/12/2017 OUR CHOICES MAKE THE DIFFERENCE 5/1/2021 PAUL'S THORN IN THE FLESH 26/8/2016 THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 12/19/2017 THE DEVIL HAS NO AUTHORITY OVER CHRISTIANS 18/5/2018 THE PRODIGAL SON 11/10/2018 THE SURRENDERED LIFE 18/9/2022 THE TRUE MEANING OF FOLLOWING CHRIST 21/7/2016 TO WHOM MUCH IS GIVEN, FROM HIM MUCH WILL BE REQUIRED 6/2/2017 WHATEVER IS TRUE... 5/8/2016 WHAT DEFINES OUR LIVES AND US? 31/10/2020 WHAT MAY HARDEN THE HEART? 31/1/2017 FAITH & TRUST CHOOSING FAITH INSTEAD OF DOUBT 11/10/2016 CONSIDERING THE PAST AND THE FUTURE 1/1/22 CONSTANTS AND VARIABLES 19/08/2021 DON'T WORRY ABOUT YOUR LIFE 24/10/2016 THE LORD IS OUR REFUGE 27/06/2022 TRULY BELIEVING - ELIMINATING DOUBT 15/10/2016 THE DEVIL HAS NO AUTHORITY OVER CHRISTIANS 18/5/2018 "THE REST" WE FIND IN THE LORD 13/08/2020 "WALKING ON WATER" 23/8/2016 WHAT DO WE TRUST IN? 13/6/2017 WHY IS IT SO CHALLENGING TO REMAIN CONSTANTLY VICTORIOUS IN OUR CHRISTIAN WALK? 18/7/2019 FEAR THE DANGER OF UNHEALTHY FEAR 26/6/2017 THE LORD IS OUR REFUGE 27/06/2022 FORGIVENESS FORGIVE US LORD, AS WE FORGIVE OTHERS 26/05/21 GOD, FATHER, SON & HOLY SPIRIT CHRIST IN US THE HOPE OF GLORY 25/1/2018 "COME TO ME, ALL YOU WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY-LADEN" 8/12/2020 GOD SENDS HIS ANGELS TO HELP US 28/02/2020 GOD KNOWS! 14/01/2020 HOW DID JESUS ANSWER TO TEMPTATION 26/1/2018 MIRACLES STILL HAPPEN TODAY 15/11/2017 THE ANOINTING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 12/19/2017 THE IMPORTANCE OF TRULY ”KNOWING” GOD 21/7/2016 THE SEAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 18/9/2017 WE NEED GOD'S PRESENCE 21/7/2016 GRACE "GRACE UPON GRACE" 24/2/2017 WHO PAID MORE? 30/1/2017 WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE 9/19/2018 HEALING HEALING IS GOD'S WILL 26/6/2017 JOY, HAPPINESS CHOOSING TO REJOICE 23/06/2020 FULL JOY 6/3/2019 HAPPY OR SAD? 21/7/2016 OUR JOY IN THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH 6/12/2017 MISCELLANEOUS THE ABUNDANCE OF THE HEART 22/10/2022 PERSEVERANCE AND STRENGTH STANDING FIRM IN UNCERTAIN TIMES 15/03/2020 "BE WATCHFUL AND STRENGTHEN THE THINGS WHICH REMAIN..." 7/3/2017 CHAINS OF SMOKE 11/11/2019 CHANGING WITH THE TIMES 2/22/2022 ENDURANCE! 15/02/2018 HOW DID JESUS ANSWER TO TEMPTATION 26/1/2018 I WOULD HAVE PULLED JOSEPH OUT 13/8/2022 IN STRESSFUL TIMES 31/3/2020 THE DEVIL HAS NO AUTHORITY OVER CHRISTIANS 18/5/2018 THE LORD IS OUR REFUGE 27/06/2022 VICTORY IN SUFFERING 10/11/2021 VICTORIOUS OR DEFEATED 18/3/2022 PRAISE AND WORSHIP LET US PRAISE THE LORD AT ALL TIMES 16/5/2022 PRAYER ANSWER TO PRAYER 23/7/2016 WHEN THE ANSWER TO OUR PRAYER DOES NOT COME AS WE ASKED 06/05/21 WHY PRAY? 22/7/2016 SALVATION THE SEAL OF THE HOLY SPIRIT 18/9/2017 WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE 9/19/2018 TESTIMONIES, DREAMS, ETC JESUS SET ME FREE... AGAIN! 10/1/2017 VARIOUS GOD WANTS US TO SUCCEED 15/2/2021 FALL IS IN THE AIR 30/09/2019 HAVE YOU EVER BEEN UNEQUALLY YOKED? 1/2/2019 IT MIGHT BE THE RIGHT TIME FOR SOMETHING TO CHANGE 17/5/2019 OUR SAVIOR HAS MADE THE WAY 23/12/2019 "PEACE TO THIS HOUSE" 26/1/2021 Archives
November 2022
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