Somethings Have To Die

Today at my church, Free Chapel, Pastor Franklin spoke on the urgency of letting go of harmful habits and sins that will hinder our Christian life; he said "it's better to respond to the mercy of God than face His judgement".
He used scripture's from the Old Testament to illustrate( Psalm 51:17 & 116:15). I also like the New Testament verse in the book of Galatians 2:20- "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Pastor Franklin said we must allow the Holy Spirit to draw a line separating what lives and what dies. The Spirit will kill the things in your soul that were a part of your old nature before you accepted Christ. God's word is the sword of the Spirit and it says- "For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4: 12" "

As a Christian you will feel convicted when your soul (flesh, old nature) starts pulling you back in the direction of sin, self centered living. This is your spirit telling you to let the Holy Spirit give you the power to mortify these unclean things of your old nature.

They must die or they will kill everything good in your life- eventually. My Pastor emphatically stressed that you can not compromise and keep some hidden addictions or fleshly desires. God's word is the life line. Harboring and coexisting with compromises is like playing with fire, you will get burned, and the smoke will choke the life out of you. The death will start in your spirit life and begin to spread like a cancer into your marriage, in your family, in your relationships with others. It will kill everything. He emphasized the danger of alcohol, drugs, anger, pride, lust, adultery, pornography, lying, gossip, slander, judging, hatred, and any behaviors you allow that compromise the word of God. Pastor said we can not excuse our behavior by saying, it hasn't hurt me yet. He says, refuse to accept this excuse. It's a lie, whispered to you by the master deceiver. He wants you spiritually dead. Just as he did Adam and Eve.We must not compromise and squelch the The Holy Spirit, and fall victim to the numbing effect of sin- the trap will snare and you will have a harder time getting free. If your under conviction now for something in your life it is no accident you are reading this. God wants you to live the abundant life, not captive to misery and pain. He is telling you to kill these sins right now. God's message today for all those attending, or streaming live, or who hear this word from any other source is this. You can not wait to deal with these convictions on your own time. If God is telling you to do something now, to refuse is very dangerous. We must take this seriously. Sin will need to be feed constantly, that's it's nature- like a cancer, sin will grow bigger and eventually take over and destroy all good things in your life. If you are not a believer and need this new life to save you from loosing everything, then you have to let go and let God inside your heart.

Pray right now for God to save you from this life. You must believe that God's words are true when He said in the book of Romans - that everyone has sin and needs a savior; and through Jesus death, your sins are taken away. Confess your sins and believe in Jesus and you will be a joint heir with Christ in God's kingdom. He said the truth is inside you, and you must believe in this resurrection power to be free. God's grace (favor) and love requires faith and trust. Acceptance of grace will allow your spirit to speak the truth, that you do not need, or want this old sinful lifestyle. This is not a one time thing however; you must daily take up the sword of God's dividing Spirit.for these old habits to die.- Pray, read God's word, connect with other believer's, and most importantly- Believe that you are set free. Free, indeed!

To Worship You

A prayer from my Journal written a few years ago.

Dear Lord,

I have been standing firm in the truth that you are God and you have loved me from the beginning. You desire only good things for me- like I do for my daughter Rose. At times I have disappointed you- but your love for me never changed. 

This disappointment is only of a loving nature- because you desire only good for me- it hurts you to see your children miss the opportunity.

I pray for you to reveal to me my purpose within the purpose "to glorify you". Today you told me my purpose is to worship You- in worship I receive your love.

And that's what I love to do at my church Free Chapel ! Watch and be blessed as I was that Wednesday night this was recorded. We so often will spend the whole service singing and praising  our Lord Jesus.

Rich in Mercy

The Book of Ephesians

Some theologians consider this book in the Bible to be the "Queen of the Epistles". It is so rich in the spirit and purpose of God's plans, through Christ, for all mankind. Paul wrote this letter in a Roman prison with a purpose to unite, comfort and encourage the believer's in Asia Minor. 

The time frame dates backs to around 62AD, over 2000 thousand years ago. I can't imagine any manuscript written by man has, or will ever have a following of such magnitude as the timeless messages penned by God through his disciples. This book is magnificently inspired from the gallows of what man sees as failure- but that's the beauty of knowing and trusting God- the eternal plan of God will work through any situation. Any!

God's purpose, as always, in this letter is to share the good news that salvation is obtainable, and available to everyone, through believing in Christ. Paul shares the plan right from the beginning of Chapter 1:

The Living Bible Translation

"Long ago, even before he made the world , God chose us to be his very own, through what Christ would do for us; he decided then to make us holy in his eyes, without a single fault- we who stand before him covered with his love. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to!

Awesome comes to mind; God saw me holy, even before I was conceived, or breathing on this planet, even still while I was lost as an unbeliever (2:4), even when I turned my back on him as a believer and fell in bondage to the trappings of the world. He still saw me through mercy's eyes.(3:8)

God loves everyone but he can't save everyone from the battle that rages in the unseen. You have to sign up in God's army to have safety and the power to withstand. (6:10-17)

 Read the rest of this letter to know how to prepare for this battle dear ones; you can't wait another minute. Time here on earth will end. Not all will perish, but many will- if the enemy of God has his way. He wants you just as much as God loves you. Don't take this lightly. Be prepared.

Read the book of Ephesians