It’s a known fact that one cannot walk with God and live a life of darkness. And that no one can claim to be a Christian and still live in evil and immorality; and there’s no way that one could love God and court sin at the same time. We see this thought revealed in 1 John 1:6 where John says: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:”.  When we walk in the light as the Bible tells us we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sins (1 Jn. 1:7).  Also, God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all, and God’s Word is true, for He leads us out of the darkness and into His marvelous light. Light brings clarity, reveals truth, and dispels darkness, where light exist no darkness can remain. In darkness, good and evil look alike, but in the light, truth is revealed. So, it is with sin for it cannot exist in the presence of a Holy God. 

Understand that “if we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jn. 1:8). “Because you say, I am rich and increase with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind and naked:” (Rev. 3:11); for self-sufficiency is the fatal danger of a lukewarm attitude.  If one desires a relationship with God, they must put aside their sinful ways of living. And to claim we belong to Him but then to live out our lives for ourselves is hypocrisy and we are no more than liars. All sin breaks our fellowship with God, it interferes with our worship, it hinders our prayers and it can stop the ears of God. It can be difficult, however, for many people to admit their faults and shortcomings even to God.  It takes humility and honesty to recognize that we have weaknesses and shortcomings but most of us would rather pretend that we are strong and are never seen as weak. You see, God already knows all about our sins, so we don’t need to fear telling Him anything about us. But humbly come to Him with a heart of repentance, God will never push us away – no matter what we have done.  

Throughout the Bible, God instructs us to confess our sins, to acknowledge our iniquity which we have transgress, and confess and forsake them. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful, and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 (Wesley NT). Also to “rend your heart and not your garments." Now return to the LORD your God, For He is gracious and compassionate, Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness And relenting of evil” (Joel 2:13 (NASB). Now, do you think God is trying to tell us something?  

Confession is supposed to free us to enjoy fellowship with Christ. But many Christians do not understand how it works. It should ease our conscience and lighten our cares, but there is still a feeling of guilt, so we continue confessing the same sins over and over.  There are even those that believe that God forgives them when they confess, but if they died with unconfessed sins they believe that they would be forever lost. These do not understand that God has already forgiven them even the present and future sins. We do not need to confess old sins and add to it sins of today, He allowed His Beloved Son to die just so He could offer us a pardon and free us from the bondage of darkness.

When we come to Christ, He forgives all the sins we have committed or will ever commit. His precious blood has washed us clean “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:” (1 Peter 1:18-19). So, we don’t need to confess the sins of the past all over again and there is no need to fear that God will reject us.  Our relationship with Christ is secure. Now when it is true confession it is also a commitment not to continue in past sins again. There must be a complete turning away from the old and walking a new walk. We wouldn’t be genuinely confessing our sins to God if we were planning to commit them again and we just wanted temporary forgiveness. So, pray for strength to defeat the temptation when sin arises.

So, don’t let darkness hold you or keep you in bondage, “We grope for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no eyes: we stumble at noonday as in the night; we are in desolate places as dead men (Isa. 59:10), “But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11).  He who hates is not following Christ, therefore he walks in darkness and are subject to demon spirits controlling them.  The result of darkness is, God’s presence is absent, spiritual forces of evil are all around, it hides our evil deeds, depression and sadness dwells there and all hope seems lost.

Remember that “…God is light, and in him is no darkness at all” (1Jn. 1:5). And as Jesus said “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12).  Father, I ask that you search our hearts, try us and know our thoughts and Lord, if there be any wicked way in us, please lead us in the way everlasting. Lord, speak to us of any hidden sins that we may have forgotten or that we may not know is sinful in your eyes. Wash us and make us clean as you help us to walk in the light. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray, amen.

Chosen2Prayer

The Power of Love

How many of us have ever stop to think about this statement “God is Love”?  if you think about what love is and all the goodness that you feel about love, that IS God. To understand the depths of His love for us would take an eternity and even then we would come to no end. Are we capable of loving the way God has loved us and are we willing to love as Jesus has shown us?  Well, let’s see what the Bible has to say of love.

In the Song of Songs 8:6-7 (NLT) “Place me like a seal over your heat, or like a seal on your arm. For love is as strong as death, and its jealousy is as enduring as the grave. Love flashes like fire, the brightest kind of flame. Many water cannot quench love, neither can rivers drown it. If a man tried to buy love with everything he owned, his offer would be utterly despised.” This heart of a young bride who eagerly awaits her mate sends her to contemplate the depth of her love. One that is strong as death; that cannot be destroyed by time or disaster; and it cannot be bought at any price. The intense power of love affects the heart and mind of those in love. Love is freely given and it is priceless, there is no price in all the world that can buy true love. You must accept love as a gift from God and shared within the guidelines that He provides. Love is strong, quenchless, indestructible and invaluable.

In the Lord’s teachings of the guidelines of love, we must remember most of all that “love is an action” word; “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. Whoever hits you on the cheek, offer him the other also; and whoever takes away your coat, do not withhold your shirt from him either. Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Treat others the same way you want them to treat you” Luke 6:27-31 (NASB).  Jesus was telling the people to love their enemies, but such words were hard to hear especially since the Jews despised the Romans for the oppression of God’s people. In our own strength, we can’t love as Christ instructed, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us love our enemies. Most of us can’t even begin to love our enemies, because the things of the past are still fresh on our minds. Some of us consider another race their enemies, then, there are those who would not be obedient to the words of Christ because of unbelief and harden hearts. Love cannot grow as it should in darken, harden, rebellious hearts.

What Jesus was teaching is that, love is an act of your will, to do what God has commanded, and this kind of love takes a conscious effort and a yieldedness to the Holy Spirit. If you remember the mess of your own life and how God loved and forgave you, then loving our enemies means acting in their best interest. And the way we can do this is that, we can pray for them, we can ask God to forgive them and bless them and we can treat them the way we want to be treated. Jesus said; “You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Mat. 5:43-44 NKJV).  We need the Holy Spirit to guide us as well as help our understanding of God’s will. Even though some of us would like to get revenge on our enemies, it’s not necessary for God says, “…avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord” (Rom. 12:19).  God did not instruct us at any time to get revenge on those who have wronged us. He knows just how to deal with those who have hurt us, so what we must do is follow His command.

Think of how Jesus was treated the time He spent here on earth, He knew that men’s hearts were evil, yet He loved them, He gave His life for them and He wants all men who believe to be saved. Now we are not Jesus, I know this, but we have put our faith in Him, we have surrendered our lives to Him and now we must conform our lives to walking in the Spirit. For He says; “That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mat. 5:45). By loving and praying for our enemies, we can overcome evil with good, and by loving our enemy as Christ loved us and treating them well, we will truly show that Jesus is Lord of our lives. For Romans 12:20 says it so clearly: “therefore if thine enemy hungers, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.”  If we loved as Christ loved us, we will be willing to forgive our enemy, we will be willing to pray and we will be willing to show compassion. “Be ye therefore perfect, even as you Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Mt.6:48).

Again, loving our enemy is not easy, our task is not to please self, nor hold others in condemnation, but it is to do God’s will. Look again at Luke 6:27-31 above, for our instructions are:

1.       Love your enemies

2.       Bless them that curse you

3.       Do good to those that hate you

4.       Pray for your persecutors

As believers, we are all call to excel, to rise above our weakness of living in this flesh, and become strong in Spirit by much study of the Word, and walking in obedience to the will of God. The true test of love is when your enemy becomes your friend, when you can see your enemy through the eyes of Christ, their need to know a Savior who can love them and forgive them. Now, you have that opportunity to deliver the gospel of Jesus Christ to them, to share the love that was shed on you. Because we choose to walk in love, and in forgiveness by giving our enemy a drink, we’re not excusing their misdeeds we’re only recognizing their need for Christ, their need for forgiveness, and their need for love in spite of their sins – just as Christ did for us. Our hearts must be changed from vengeance, anger, malice, and even hatred, love was given to us while we were walking dead in this flesh. He came and taught us God’s ways, He showed us God’s mercy, and love gave His life for all people, and all who now and will believe, have been cleansed by His atoning blood. Love has redeemed us from the grip of death, and love has given us eternal life.

Love and forgiveness was given to you when you accepted Christ, then, who are we to deny showing God’s love even to our enemies? You are the light of the world, allow God to use the light in you to draw desperate, hurting, despondent soul to your light. Don’t let the enemy steal from you any longer, your peace, your joy or your love for God. Rise above your feelings and allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in your life, through teaching, guiding, humbling you and showing you how to love your enemy.  “And now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Cor. 13:13)

Father, help us to love as you love us each and every day. Help us to forgive our enemies as we show compassion and love towards them and as you have shown to us. Let us not dwell on past hurts and injustice, but we choose to dwell on your goodness, your love and your mercy.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Chosen2Prayer

Let go of the pain of the past

There are things in life that hinder us from achieving goals, moving to new areas, taking chances in love or even having a fruitful and bless marriage, all because our past has grown destructive hindering roots within us. The past has also affected our present situations and has kept us hostages from reaching our future. Many of us can’t seem let go of the past in our own strength, we need God to help us, we must let Him shine His light on what we are holding onto and when it is revealed, we have to release that into His hands. Release the pain, the torment, the abuse, the lies, the deceit, release it all to Him, so that peace can flood your soul. We do not need to be walking in the pain of the past but in the love of God, in the freedom of what Christ gave to all. There may be some reluctance to dealing with the past, the memories seem to be still fresh and the pain still hurts, but as you learn to let go with each step God’s light within get brighter and brighter.

 You see, when God reveals things to us it is for our benefit to finally let it all go, facing the past will free us from emotional pain, psychological issues, and physical distress. Forgiveness is the key to getting past the past, we must forgive all who have hurt us, we need to forgive ourselves for our part and we must ask God to forgive us and those who were the perpetrators. To get free of the pain we must face the truth, as hard as it may be. The Word says: “agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him… (Mt. 5:25)”. It is vital that we resolve as much as we can in the strength and power of God, make things right at this present time, for when we stand before God it will be too late.

Chosen4God

He understands the pain…

There is nothing that God does not know and understand.  His ways and His thoughts are infinite and should never be compared to man. Many of us struggle daily in keeping the faith, we struggle in keeping our flame of hope burning and we struggle in keeping our focus on the things of God.  Why is it that we struggle, why is our flame not as bright as it used to be?  Let’s just say it’s because of disappointment, pain, discouragement, frustration, helplessness and guilt, jealousy, false burdens, murmuring, unforgiveness, and so many other influences of today.

Is it because we can’t get past the abundance of strongholds that has bound our spirit, soul and mind?  We dwell on the negative because that is what we see daily, we are unable to look to the hills from whence cometh our help. To have a glimmer of hope in a sea of negativity is like finding a needle in the desert.  In truth, that’s all we need – just a glimmer of hope to help us to keep going, to keep us striving for the prize and to help us to keep our minds focus on God and His promises.

God knows the truth, He understands the true cause/reason for the pain in our hearts, He sees the reasons for all the disappointment we have faced, yes, God knows the truth behind everything.  We cannot hide, deny, contradict or hold back anything from Him; we can only try to hold truth from ourselves and others.  When you know that He (God) is the only one you can be totally truthful with then go to Him no matter the hurt, the pain you feel, the unforgiveable act or of the disappointment, God is the only one you can be completely truthful with. 

You don’t have to worry about your business getting out in the street, He won’t point an accusing finger at you, nor will He call you names for wrong decisions that you made.  God loves you in spite of all the failures, in spite of all the wrong moves you made, in spite of the confidence you lack, He wants you to keep drawing closer to Him. We must remember that God is in control, we must let go of all negativity, wrong thinking, and wrong speaking and we must remember where we have placed our trust in and in whom we do trust. As you begin to let go of the many hindrance’s just know that God is there with you in the process, even when it becomes too difficult to let go of the unforgiveness or the shame, He is right there next to you encouraging you, letting you know that He loves you.   

Be encourage my friends, know that there is no sin that God can’t forgive, there is nothing that we can do to tear His love away from us, as He was merciful to Israel He will be merciful to you. 

God bless

 

Nina

Chosen4God