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Jesus had just told Peter to follow Him. However, Peter wanted to know what the Lord had planned for John. Instead of Jesus answering Peter's question, the Lord told him that what He had in store for John was none of his business.
Satan diverts many people by getting them preoccupied with what others are doing for the Lord. Comparing ourselves with others, whether we come out better or worse, is unwise (2 Cor. 10:12). We need to be so single-minded following the Lord, that we don't look to the right or to the left to see what others are doing. It doesn't matter if we are doing as much to serve the Lord as someone else. The question is, are we doing all that the Lord wants us to do?
Singleness of purpose and vision is a necessity to victorious Christian living. James said that if we try to...
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE. CHRISTMAS IS A TIME WE ALL ARE GIVING AND RECEIVING GIFTS AND I WAS WONDERING HOW MANY OF YOU THANKED GOD FOR THE GIFT HE GAVE YOU? WE ALL SHOULD BECAUSE IT WILL BE THE BEST GIFT, CHRISTMAS OR OTHERWISE, WE WILL EVER RECEIVE. JUST THINK, HE GAVE US HIS ONLY SON, TO DIE ON A CROSS TO TAKE AWAY ALL OUR SINS, SO WE CAN GO DIRECTLY TO HIM IN FELLOWSHIP. HE LOVES US THAT MUCH AND SOME PEOPLE DON'T EVEN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IT. YOU KNOW, BEFORE JESUS, WE COULDN'T GO DIRECTLY TO GOD WITH OUR PROBLEMS. OUR SINS KEPT US FROM DOING THAT BUT JESUS TOOK ALL OUR SINS AND GOD NOW SEES US THROUGH HIM. WHY DON'T YOU TAKE A FEW MINUTES OUT OF THIS DAY TO SPEND WITH GOD AND THANK HIM FOR THAT WONDERFUL GIFT HE GAVE US. TELL HIM HOW MUCH YOU...
Water baptism is a command of Jesus and is the initial action taken upon believing. Mark's statement could be rendered, "He who believes with saving faith (i.e. faith that produces actions) will be saved." In this sense, water baptism is very important. It is an opportunity to act on your new profession of faith. Anyone who refuses to follow Jesus' command to receive water baptism, may be suspected of not really believing.
However, there are scriptural examples of people being born again before they were baptized in water. Cornelius and his friends were filled with the Holy Ghost and spoke in tongues before they were baptized in water (Acts 10:44-48). John 14:17 records Jesus saying that an unbeliever cannot receive the Holy Ghost, so Cornelius and his friends must have...
WHEN YOU ARE PRAYING AND ASKING GOD FOR SOMETHING, DO YOU THANK HIM WHEN HE GIVES IT TO YOU OR ARE YOU LIKE THE NINE LEPERS THAT JESUS HEALED IN LUKE 17:12-16. LOOK WHAT IT SAYS, "And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan." ONLY ONE OF THE TEN CAME BACK TO THANK HIM AND HE WAS A SAMARITAN WHICH THE JEWS WERE NOT TO ASSOCIATE WITH. I WONDER IF THE OTHER NINE WERE JEWS OR GENTILES (SAMARITANS).
Recognition of our completeness in Christ is a tremendous safeguard against deception. Prior to salvation we are incomplete and constantly strive to satisfy our hunger. But through the new birth, we are complete in Christ and our hunger should only be for more revelation of what we already have in Christ. Total satisfaction with Christ disarms Satan's lies. A big part of all temptation is dissatisfaction.
Adam and Eve would not have eaten of the forbidden fruit if they hadn't been made dissatisfied with what they had. Through Satan's lie they were led to believe that they didn't have it all (Gen. 3:5). The truth is, they did have it all. They were more like God before they ate of the fruit than after they ate the fruit....
Thomas refused to believe what He couldn't see or feel. Our five senses were given to us by God and are necessary to help us function in this life. But if we do not renew our minds to acknowledge the limits of our five senses, they will keep us from believing. Faith can perceive things that the senses cannot (Heb. 11:1).
There is a human faith and a supernatural, God-kind of faith. Human faith is based on physical things that we can see, taste, hear, smell, or feel. God's kind of faith believes independently of physical circumstances. To receive God's gift of salvation, we have to use the supernatural, God-kind of faith...
DO YOU HAVE A FAMILY MEMBER, OR EVEN KNOW SOMEONE, WHO HAS ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE? I DO AND IT IS JUST A TOOL OF THE DEVIL TO STOP YOU FROM THINKING ON GOD'S WORD OR STUDYING IT. DON'T LET SATAN MAKE YOU FORGET ABOUT JESUS AND WHAT HE DID FOR US ALL.
I GOT TO THINKING ABOUT THIS TODAY AND WENT ON-LINE TO THE ALZHEIMER'S ASSOCIATION NETWORK TO SEE IF THERE IS ANYTHING THEY HAVE FOUND OUT THAT MIGHT HELP. THEIR STUDY SHOWS "Mental decline as you age appears to be largely due to altered connections among brain cells. But research has found that keeping the brain...
I BELIEVE THE BASIS FOR FORGIVENESS IS THE LOVE AND GRACE THAT GOD HAS FOR US. 1ST JOHN 4:19 SAYS "We love him, because he first loved us." ALSO, EPHESIANS 2:8 SAYS "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God."
The meaning of this verse has been hotly debated for centuries. One thing is certain, it does not mean we have the power to justify a person from his sins so he can be born again; only God can do that.
Many people have taught that Jesus is saying, that if we fail to witness to others, we are retaining their sins unto them, and if we do share His love with others, then we are remitting their sins. Although there is truth in this statement, it is not what this verse is teaching. Rather, this verse deals with the temporal effects that sin has on a person's life. Not only is there a future death penalty for sin, but sin destroys us emotionally and physically in this life too. It is this present destruction that sin brings into a person's life that Jesus gave us...
THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS IN THIS MESSAGE THAT SOME OF YOU HAVE HEARD ME SAY IN SO MANY OTHER WAYS BUT AS I HAVE SAID, IT IS IMPORTANT. JUST BARE WITH AN OLD MAN AS THERE MIGHT BE SOMEONE THAT HAS NOT HEARD THIS AND REALLY NEEDS IT. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS IN THE BIBLE THAT SO MANY CHRISTIANS DON'T UNDERSTAND. THE REASON FOR THIS IS THAT THEY JUST SKIM OVER THE WORDS AND NEVER REALLY TAKE IN ALL THAT IT IS SAYING. LET'S LOOK AT A FEW THINGS.