Tell you plainly

John 16:25  “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father.  In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf;  for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.  I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”

Acts 1:9     And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.  And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes,  and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

Luke 24:51     While he blessed them, he parted from them and was carried up into heaven.

Hebrews 1:1  Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets,  but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,

Zephaniah 3:17    The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.

Can you imagine what it would have been like to have been there with Christ at the time of His ascension .  Many scriptures come to my mind when I think about His last minutes on earth; “I have come to give you life more abundantly,  I have come to set the captive free,  I have come to give sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, I have come to give light unto the world, I am the way the truth and the life, I do what the Father tells me, I free the demon possessed, I love you, I give my life freely, I forgive you, I am the spring of living water,  I go prepare a place for you so that where I am there you will be also, I am coming again, You have believed in the Father believe also in me, Father forgive them they know not what they do,  I will send a helper to you…..  Being mindful of His death, and resurrection for salvation to all who trust in this redemptive sacrifice but, there is more to life than salvation.  Salvation is the corner stone of our faith and from this we grow (or at least we should.  Our purpose on earth is to humbly serve, honor, follow, and obey Him.  Growing needs the flow of living water found in His word.  Apart from it we are prone to wonder and follow diluted truth.  Our culture tries to pull and direct our efforts towards things of this world that certainly do not last.  The only thing that lasts is that which is given and done in honor and glory of Him alone.  There is not room for complacency and neglect in our walk with God.  His word is a light to our soul and a beacon to lead our way through this life.  Leave no room for Satans lies to filter in and essentially make your life meaningless in God’s work this side of eternity.  There is not much spoken of anymore about sin and a Holy God.  God’s word is able to divide our thoughts and intents.  It convicts us of sin and leads us into His arms.  It gives us peace, strength, power, courage, hope, joy, and assurance of eternal life.  Commit to spending time in His word and growing in understanding and knowledge of Him and His plan and purposes.  He speaks whispers of guidance through it.  Give time each day into His word and speak of His work in your life.  Bring Hope to the lost and dark world.  Be a light shinning in the darkness.  He is coming again.

Belief is just the beginning

“And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.”

John 7:31  Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, “When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?”

John 4:39    Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me all that I ever did.”

John 2:23     Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.

John 8:30    As he was saying these things, many believed in him.  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,  and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

John 12:42     Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue;

John 3:2     This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

John 9:16     Some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for he does not keep the Sabbath.” But others said, “How can a man who is a sinner do such signs?” And there was a division among them.

John 10:41    And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.”  And many believed in him there.

Matthew 11:3    and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see:  the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.  And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

It is one thing to believe but there is so much more than belief.  Believing that Jesus was the Anointed One from God is the beginning.  Trusting in, relying on, and clinging to His redemptive work on the cross for the forgiveness of your sin is when belief turns into faith and a live changing path that has eternal rewards.  At the point and time He sends the Holy Spirit to indwell and lead you on this walk to eternity.  This heart, mind, and soul deep conversion takes place creating a new person with a single purpose – to honor and glorify our heavenly Father.  Let the roots of this conversion continue to grow deep into your life.  Choose and commit to humbly serving, honoring, following and obeying Him.  Start each day with this commitment.  For those that do, He will be their rock, fortress, help in time of trouble, power, strength, hope, and ever present in their lives to lead them into eternity.  For those who do not believe, trust in, rely on, and cling to Him there is a promise of eternity in hell where there is no future hope, only total separation, destruction, pain, and suffering forever.

Commit to Know Him

“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, declares the LORD, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile.”

Psalms 57:2  I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

Psalms 136:2  Give thanks to the God of gods, for his steadfast love endures forever.  Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his steadfast love endures forever;

Isaiah 57:15     For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

Psalms 138:8    The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me; your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Philippians 1:6   And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Philippians 2:12    Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,

Hebrews 13:20  Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,  equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

We can cry out to God, but do we? We can claim His promise of having a plan and purpose for our life,  plan of welfare and hope, but do we believe it?  He will be found if we seek Him, but do we seek?  His word says that He will equip us with everything good so that we may do His will.  Do you wonder how He equips us to do His will?  If we seek Him with all our heart He will be found.  This seeking begins with believing in Him, His promises, and desiring to want to know Him and choosing to humbly serve Him above self, to honor, follow and obey Him above all else.  All of this requires us to spend time in His word, thinking about it and what it is saying to our heart mind and soul, seeking to and wanting to be led by Him in ways that honor and glorify Him.  This desire is from the moment we wake until the moment we lay down.  We keep our eyes focused on Him with our heart and mind open and with our ears open to hear His quiet small voice speaking to and leading us.  Spend time in His word and praying to Him.  How sad will it be if at the end of your life when entering eternity you hear “Depart from Me for I never knew you”

Secret Places in Your Heart

“Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

“For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

Psalms 51:6  Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.  Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

Psalms 5:9    For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction;

Psalms 125:4   Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts!

2 Kings 20:3   “Now, O LORD, please remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.”

1 Chronicles 29:17   I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. In the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things, and now I have seen your people, who are present here, offering freely and joyously to you.

2 Chronicles 31:20  Thus Hezekiah did throughout all Judah, and he did what was good and right and faithful before the LORD his God.  And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.

Proverbs 2:21   For the upright will inhabit the land, and those with integrity will remain in it,

Jeremiah 5:3   O LORD, do not your eyes look for truth? You have struck them down, but they felt no anguish; you have consumed them, but they refused to take correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to repent.

1 Peter 3:4   but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

What is knowing the “intent of our heart” based upon?  In our culture, some leaders and teachers would say: 1. if it makes you feel good and does not have intent on harming others then the intent is good.  2. if it is socially accepted it is good.  3. if it benefits you it is good.  We must be careful on how we look at that secret place in our heart and what is used to judge it.  If we use the culture around us as the guide to understand our heart intent, we are on a path leading away from God.  How can using a cultural norm ever replace God’s word.  Many times in scripture we are reminded of those who looked intently into God’s word, meditated on it, and desired to be lead by God through His word on a life path that honored and glorified God.  It is only through His word and with a desire to be lead by God will we ever understand the intent of our heart.  Lack of knowing His word is not an excuse.  I am convinced we will have to give account for the neglect we give toward this.  God’s word will search out and expose the secret places in your heart inline with that which humbly serves, honors, follows, obeys and glorifies God. David said it this way: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

The Blind, Deaf, and Mute

Can you imagine what it would be like to be blind and then be able to see?  or deaf and able to hear? or mute and able to speak?  The joy and thankfulness you would have could not be explained in words.  Imagine if you were the friend or brother or parents of one of these and you saw the miracle happen.  The thankfulness you would have and how you would not be able to stop talking about it.  You might even tell others with great belief they too could have healing.  How thankful would you be if you were saved from eternity in hell, or if you were given peace, joy, love, hope…..Wouldn’t you want to tell others about gospel????

 

Matthew 11:4
And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me

Isaiah 35:5
Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
then shall the lame man leap like a deer,
and the tongue of the mute sing for joy

Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted