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PEOPLE HAVE ASKED ME HOW I CAN SAY THAT GOD LOVES THE SINNER? WELL, BECAUSE HE DOES. HE SAVED US ALL WHILE WE WERE STILL SINNERS. ALSO, IF HE DIDN'T, WHY WOULD HE SEND HIS SON JESUS TO HANG ON A CROSS AND DIE FOR US. HE DID THIS BEFORE WE WERE EVEN BORN AND JESUS DID THIS WILLINGLY. HE KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE BAD AND EVEN ASKED GOD THREE TIMES TO TAKE IT AWAY FROM HIM BUT SAID HE WANTED TO DO HIS FATHER'S WILL AND HE WENT AHEAD WITH IT. THAT IS NOTHING BUT PURE LOVE FOR US, ON THE PART OF GOD, JESUS AND HOLY SPIRIT. IT HAD TO HURT THEM ALL THREE, OUR ONE GOD.
GOD JUST HATES THE SIN, NOT THE SINNER. WE ALL...
God Answers Prayer
Luke 18:7 'And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? '
LUKE 18:1-8
This is not an exact comparison of God to this unjust judge, teaching us that we should badger God until we weary Him and He grants us our request.
Rather, Jesus is contrasting His willingness to answer our prayers with this unjust judge's unwillingness. The parable is a contrast, not a representation.
Not only do we have God who is a just judge who will avenge His elect speedily, but we also have Jesus as our advocate or attorney who is always making intercession for us. However, we have an adversary (the devil) who is constantly accusing us and misrepresenting God (the...
Like A Thief In The Night
Luke 17:24 'For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day.'
LUKE 17:24-31
This scripture and the parallel scripture in Matthew 24:27 make it very clear that the second return of Jesus will be no secret to anyone. In Matthew's account, it is especially clear that this statement about the lightning was made so that we wouldn't be deceived by false Christs. Just as lightning is visible to everyone, so the second return of Jesus will be witnessed by the whole world. That's the reason we don't have to be fearful about missing His second coming and anxiously follow every report that Christ has...
HOW OFTEN DO YOU THANK GOD FOR ALL YOUR BLESSINGS? DO YOU EVER SACRIFICE YOUR TIME FOR HIM AND JUST SIT WITH HIM AND LIFT UP YOUR HANDS AND SING PRAISES TO HIM? HE DESERVES BOTH THE THANKS AND THE PRAISE, YOU KNOW. LOOK WHAT IT SAYS IN HEBREWS 13:15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. SOMETIMES I JUST SING TO HIM AND ALTHOUGH I KNOW I SOUND TERRIBLE TO MYSELF, I THINK HE LIKES IT AND, IF FOR NO OTHER REASON, I DO IT BECAUSE HIS WORD SAYS TO DO IT AND HE WANTS OUR OBEDIENCE.
I HAVE HEARD PEOPLE SAY THAT THEY WISHED GOD WOULD GIVE THEM MORE TO DO FOR HIS KINGDOM. MY QUESTION TO THEM IS, ARE YOU USABLE? IF WE WANT TO BE USED, WE HAVE TO BE PREPARED. DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST TIME JESUS MINISTERED IN JERUSALEM WHERE THE MULTITUDE BELIEVED ON HIM WHEN THEY SAW THE MIRACLES HE HAD PERFORMED? WOULDN'T YOU THINK THAT THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A GOOD TIME TO GET THE PEOPLE TO GO OUT AND START SPREADING HIS GOSPEL. JESUS DIDN'T THINK SO. SEE WHAT IT SAYS IN JOHN 2:23-25 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. HE DIDN'T WANT THE PEOPLE PROCLAIMING HIS GOSPEL IN THEIR OWN ABILITY. THEY WERE NOT...
Give Thanks Daily
Luke 17:18 'There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger.'
LUKE 17:11-18
Relatively few people who receive the goodness of the Lord return to give Him thanks for what He has done. That does not keep the Lord from doing what is right for us. He healed all ten of these lepers according to their request - not just the one who was thankful. However, there was only one out of the ten that was made 'whole.'
The Lord desires that we prosper in spirit, soul, and body. He wants us to be whole - not just healed. Part of the reason God meets our physical needs is to prove to us His willingness and ability to meet our emotional and spiritual needs. The Lord is concerned about our temporal...
I KNOW I WRITE A LOT ABOUT HEALING BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT. IT IS THERE FOR ALL OF US BUT SOME OF YOU DON'T BELIEVE THE WHOLE BIBLE. ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SOME THAT SAY YOU DO, I WONDER. I SAY I WONDER BECAUSE OF WHAT PAUL SAYS IN ROMANS 5:11, "And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement." THE WORD "ATONEMENT" USED HERE, ACCORDING TO STRONG'S CONCORDANCE, MEANS "EXCHANGE".
Focus On The Things Above
John 11:44 'And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.'
Symbolically, Lazarus is like many Christians. The Bible speaks of us passing from death unto new life when we get born again. But it is also true that in the physical and emotional realm, we bring our 'graveclothes' from our old life with us (i.e. habits, attitudes, etc.), and we need to be 'loosed' to fully enjoy our new life.
Our emotions and attitudes follow what we think. When we focus our attention on our problems, they are magnified out of proportion. When we neglect our problems and think on God's provision, the answer is magnified and the...
Groaning In The Spirit
John 11:33 'When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.'
The Greek word that is translated 'groaned' expresses that Jesus was deeply moved, but not necessarily with sorrow. It was more a groan of anger at Satan who had caused all the grief Jesus was seeing around Him. Jesus came to 'destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil' (Heb. 2:14), and He was grieved to see the
This is the type of groaning that the Holy Spirit does for us. It is...