Give Me That Old Time Gospel

[islandboy]

When we are happy or when we are blue,
God is aware of whatever we do;
All of our sorrows He takes as His own--
And He will never leave us alone.                Hess

[Soldier4Christ]

Confession

Biblically we confess our faith and we confess our sins.  Both are declarations.  To confess our faith means to publicly declare our belief in Christ.  To confess our sins means to admit them.  Of course, our confession is properly accompanied by a request of forgiveness.

When we confess our sins to the one against whom we have sinned, we are humbling ourselves and becoming vulnerable.  Our confession before God is the same.  It is an act of humility, a necessary attitude when we approach the infinitely holy God of the universe.  Confession is a sweet release and welcome healing to the soul.  Once completed, confession restores relationships and often brings blessing.  Confession is good.  It is sometimes hard, but it is always good.

Have you ever committed a sin that you have tried to hide?  Have you ever tried to bury a sin in your heart?  Have you ever sinned against someone and not asked forgiveness because to do so would mean to face the person and admit your sin, risk the shame and embarrassment of such an admission, become vulnerable, and show humility?  Have you ever confessed a sin to God only but not to the person you've sinned against?  After all, it is easier to confess our sins to the God we can't see than to the person we can.  Have you ever done this and struggled with trying to get by with confessing to God, but not to the one you've offended?  If so, if you have ever hidden your sin and not followed through in the confession that God desires, then you know the ache of the Holy Spirit who gentle and persistently calls you to repentance.

The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin (John 16:.  He indwells our hearts and requires that we not harbor sin.  He lets us know that we have an obligation to be vulnerable, admit our wrong, ask for forgiveness, and receive it.  He desires our purity and we cannot be pure by harboring unconfessed sin in our hearts.  Therefore, He calls us to confession and restoration.  He is persistent.  Finally, when confession is made Jesus is glorified and your fellowship with God is restored.  Nevertheless, if you do not confess your sins, then the loving work of the Spirit will gently, constantly, and persistently call you to confession.  When the Holy Spirit wants you to admit your sin, He will not leave you alone.  He makes His presence felt.  He doesn't give up.

It is both a pain and a blessing to be convicted by the Spirit of God.  It is painful because that is what conviction is, painful.  It is unpleasant and the longer you resist, the more He persists and the more our discomfort is felt.  On the other hand, the Spirits conviction is a blessing because it means you belong to God and He is actively working in your heart.  It means He has not given up on you and that He desires what is best for you -- even though that means doing something that may not be pleasant.  It is good to be convicted by the Spirit of God.  It is very good.

Confession is also good.  We need to not harbor sin in our hearts.  We need to openly declare our sins before God and, if need be, before others.  Jesus died to remove our sin and to grant fellowship with God.  He did not die so that we could hide sin in our hearts.  You see, God, who is holy, is too pure to look upon evil (Hab. 1:13).  Therefore, He gently and persistently calls us to confess our sins, to be cleansed, and to walk in fellowship with the Son (1 Cor. 1:9).

"In Victor Hugos great Les Miserables Jean Valjean, the ex-convict, under a new name, had buried his past and became the prosperous mayor of a provincial town. But one day he learned that in a neighboring village an old man arrested for stealing apples had been identified as the notorious and long-sought ex-convict, Jean Valjean. That news precipitated a crisis in the soul of the real Jean Valjean. Should he keep silent, or should he reveal his identity and be sent back to the gallows? Should he remain in paradise and become a demon, or go to hell and become an angel?

His first impulse was to say nothing and do nothing. Out of a secret closet in the wall he drew a blue linen blouse, an old pair of trousers, an old knapsack, and a huge cudgel shod with iron at both ends. These were the last ties which attached him to the old Jean Valjean. He threw them into the fire, and then seized the candlesticks which the Bishop had given him and flung them into the flame. But a voice said, Jean Valjean, there will be many voices around you which will bless you, and only one which will curse you in the dark. All those benedictions will fall back before they ascend to God. This made him take the candlesticks out of the fire and replace them on the mantel. All through the night he fought his awful battle, until, in the morning, his servant told him that the carriage he had ordered to take him to the town where the old man was on trial waited at the door.

The next day as the president of the court was about to pronounce sentence, the true convict stood up before the court and said, I am Jean Valjean. Some thought that he was mad, and others pitied him for the sacrifice he had made. As he left the courtroom, he said: All of you consider me worthy of pity, do you not? When I think what I was on the point of doing, I consider that I am to be envied. God, who is on high, looks down on what I am doing at this moment, and that suffices.

[islandboy]

How oft in the conflict, when pressed by the foe,
I have fled to my Refuge and breathed out my woe;
How often, when trials  like sea-billows roll,
Have I hidden in Thee, O Thou Rock of my soul.        Cushing

[Soldier4Christ]

Conviction of sin

Conviction can be a powerful thing in the life of a Christian. As followers of Jesus we are indwelt by the living God who is holy and righteous. The Lord himself purchased us with His blood (Acts 20:28), and we are no longer our own. We belong to the Holy One of Israel. Since we are no longer our own and since we belong to God, He has taken up residence in us. As Jesus said in John 14:23, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him." God lives in us.

Sometimes in our Christian lives we sin. Such acts of rebellion against God brings us to the place of conviction in our hearts were the Holy Spirit sometimes gently, sometimes with strength, prods our hearts, pricks at our innermost being, nudges at our soul, and brings us to the place of confession and repentance. This persistent and sometimes gnawing conviction of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful thing, no matter how unpleasant it is at the time.  But that is the nature of many good things; they sometimes are best gained through discomfort.

God loves us enough not to leave us alone. He has our best interest at heart. He does not want to us to participate in that which grieves Him and harms us. This is why Jesus said that He would not leave us alone but that He would send the Comforter who would help us and guide us (John 14:26; Acts 9:31). This Comforter is the one who grants us the assurance of our salvation so that we might know we possess eternal life (1 John 5:13).  He also anoints us and teaches us (1 John 2:19).  And, He also consistently and lovingly convicts us of our sins.  Why does he do this? Again, to bring us to confession and repentance.

How are you with God? Do your sins result in conviction in your soul? Is your relationship with the Lord such that even your minor sins brings an uncomfortable awareness of conviction? If you do not experience this, then you are either not saved, hardened of heart, or are in need of repentance. If you do not experience a conviction of due to your sins perhaps you are perfect.  Or, perhaps you are so sanctified in your walk with the Lord that you rarely sin. Perhaps, it is possible. But in my life, I have yet to arrive at such a place. In my life the Holy Spirit is active in a wide variety of ways.  Conviction is simply one of them by which He ministers holiness to me, and I'm thankful. Are you thankful? Does your conviction bring you to repentance and confession?

"Lord, thank you for forgiving me of my sins and thank you for continuing to work in my heart to make me more like you. Please convict me of my sins so that I might know from what I need to turn so that I might not grieve you, and so that I might bring glory to your name. Do with me as you wish Lord."

[islandboy]

O God, my heart is the altar
And my love for you is the flame;
I'll keep the fire burning for You, Lord,
And I will rejoice in Your name.             Hess

[Def]

O God, my heart is the altar
And my love for you is the flame;
I'll keep the fire burning for You, Lord,
And I will rejoice in Your name.             Hess

I am going to sleep in the burning bush....."SHHH"goodninght the Lord God is Here.........in Jesus Def.xx

[Def]

I am going to sleep in the burning bush....."SHHH"goodninght the Lord God is Here.........in Jesus Def.xx

[Soldier4Christ]

Dying with Christ

Here is a trick question.  Have you died yet?  I am not talking about a near death experience.  I am talking about a theological statement made in the Bible and what it means.  In short, if you are a Christian, you have died.  Please consider the following scriptures:  "Now if we have died with Christ..." (Rom. 6:; "If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world..." (Col. 2:20); "For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God," (Col. 3:3); "It is a trustworthy statement: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him," (2 Tim. 2:11).

Our death in Christ is a death to the old self, the old ways, the sinful life.  It is a reality and a hope.  It is truth as well as life.  Jesus so completely represented us on the cross, that when He died, it is said that we died.  This is why Paul says in Col. 3:5, "Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry."  You are to mentally reckon, intellectually acknowledge, meditate on, think in such a way as to consider yourselves dead to sin.

Of course, we Christians know that we struggle with sin, that it is not dead in us, that we fail, and continually come to the Lord Jesus and ask for forgiveness.  We Christians, know what we are inside.  We know we are not perfect and that many of the thoughts of our mind would terribly embarrass and shame us if they were publically spoken.  Such is the reality of our fallen selves.  Yet, we are to consider ourselves dead to sin.  We are to think of ourselves as dead to sin.

The reason we can do this is because of Jesus and what He did on the cross.  Only through Jesus can we be delivered from sin.  Only through the shed blood of God the Son, can our lives be made right before God the Father.  The reality of the crucifixion and of Jesus' bearing our sins, all of them, in His body, is realized in the acknowledgement of our deadness to sin.  This is an important truth that God wants us to understand.  But, understanding it isn't enough.  You must practice it.  This does not mean, however, that you ignore your sins, or say you have none, or claim perfection.  Rather, it is an admission that you are saved by the sacrifice of Jesus and that you are "in Christ" and reckoned as dead to sin because of Jesus.  Your mind is an important battleground in the war of sanctification and it begins with your own death.  If you are a Christian, then you have died to sin because of your relationship with Jesus.  Therefore, consider yourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ.  Turn from the deeds of the flesh and seek Jesus.

[islandboy]

He is coming! "Star of Morning",
All the faithful caught away,
When the trumpet, in a moment,
Ushers in the glad new day.           Dimmock

[Soldier4Christ]

Discipleship

What do you think of when the word discipleship comes to mind?  Do you think of discipline, or following Jesus, or helping others, or memorizing scripture, etc.?  When I think of discipleship, of being a follower of Jesus, one common theme always comes to mind.  It is found in Jesus' words in Luke 9:23, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  To me, this is the essence of discipleship.

The cross was a place of great pain and humiliation, but it is also a place of great love.  Jesus' endured the scorn and ridicule of so many in order to  buy life for us.  He allowed Himself to be led to a place where He would suffer greatly.  He humbled Himself so that He could die.  He did not boast in Himself.  He did not seek His own. He did not remember a wrong suffered. Instead, He loved.  He taught.  He healed.  He forgave.  This is what He meant when He said pick up your cross and follow Him.  He wants you to follow Him to the place of where you die to yourself, where you live humility, where you do not boast, where you are forgiving and loving, and kind -- and where you bring glory to God.  This is what He is asking of us because this is what He exemplified. We cannot serve two masters.  Either Jesus is Lord or our lives, or we are.

To be a disciple of Jesus means that we follow Him.  It means that we are trying to become like Him in many ways.  This is a very difficult thing to do because He is so good and we are sinners.  So much of it is left up to ourselves and our responsibility.  God lets us choose our way, our needs, our disciplines.  Of course, He desires that we seek Him first; He desires that we love Him first.  But, He will not force us into this.  He lets us grow and learn from our success as well as our mistakes.  He allows us the opportunities to die to ourselves and thereby grow in Christ.  He provides the means for us to put others first.  He arranges things so that we can make godly choices or choices that suit our fleshly desires and needs.  In this, He is discipling us by providing choices to make in our lives.

Every opportunity of every day can be a place of turning.  Whether or not someone else knows you are a Christian, or knows the motives of your heart, you are to "walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace," (Eph. 4:1-3).  It is a high calling this thing called Christian discipleship.  But it is a worthy calling.

Nevertheless, when I compare myself to Jesus, I find myself falling short.  To be honest, I don't like bearing the cross daily.  It is heavy.  I am not particularly fond of disciplining myself to read His Word, not to mention actually applying it to my life.  Being humble is something I struggle with and considering the welfare of others means that I have to be less selfish.  All of these things are difficult -- and all of these things are unChristlike.  Therefore, I cling to the cross, confess my sins, and yet again ask for forgiveness and the strength to continue to walk in a manner worthy of my calling.  I will choose to follow Him regardless of the difficulties, the humiliation, and the suffering.  Why?  Because that is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus.  That is what it means if I claim the name of Christian for myself.

How about you?  Do you claim the title of Christian?  If so, are you living as though that were true?

[islandboy]

Thy Word is a lamp to my feet,
A light to my path always,
To guide and to save me from sin
And show me the heavenly way.      Sellers

[Soldier4Christ]

Enslaved

Are you a slave?  There are two kinds of slaves we can choose to be according to the Bible.  First, 2 Pet. 2:19 says, "...by what a man is overcome, by this he is enslaved."  Second, 1 Cor. 7:22 says, "For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lords freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ's slave."

Before we were Christians, a great many of us followed the lusts of our heart, indulging in our flesh, our egos, and our desires.  We were slaves to these lusts and answered their call, all the while thinking that it was us who was in control.  But, what benefit were we deriving of those things that we are now ashamed of?  I see no benefit.  Rom. 6:21 says, "Therefore, what benefit were you then deriving from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the outcome of those things is death."  The truth is that being a slave to sin brings nothing but bondage, suffering, and sin.

But now, by the grace of God, we are set free from the enslavement of our passions.  We are called of the Lord, freedmen, the slaves of Christ.  I would rather be the slave of Christ than a slave of my flesh.  The former brings joy and peace.  The later brings pain and anguish.

Which are you?  Which do you want to be?  It is a good idea to periodically sit back and analyze your relationship with God.  First of all, are you saved?  Have you trusted in the sacrifice of Christ alone, who is God in flesh, for the forgiveness of your sins.  Are you are justified by faith (Rom. 5:1)?  Have you received Jesus (John 1:12)?  Do you rely in no way on your own effort to be saved (Rom. 4:5)?  If so, then praise God.  But, if you have not done this, then you are still a slave to your sins -- whether you believe it or not -- and are on your way to eternal damnation.

However, if you are a Christian and still struggle with some of the sins of your past, there is comfort for you.  First, you must understand that God still loves you and forgives you -- because of Jesus.   Second, you must realize that you are not saved by your "staying good."  You are saved by grace, not by your sustained goodness and obedience.  Third, you must continue to war against your sin and confess it to the Lord -- each and every time you fall.  Fourth, you must, by faith, receive the forgiveness of Jesus and not guilt-whip yourself into a false sense of "penance" in a morbid attempt to appease God by making yourself suffer so as to be found worthy to be with God.  There is nothing you can do to be found worthy to God.  All your worth is found in Jesus.  You must look to Him and to Him alone for your salvation and your sanctification.  You must throw yourself completely upon Jesus and trust Him alone -- for everything.

Jesus is the one who you must seek.  Spend regular time with Him in prayer asking for strength, for deliverance, and faith.  Remember that Jesus is gentle and kind.  He loves you and is desiring fellowship with you.  Go to Him in all things.

[islandboy]

Lord, let me be a shining light
In all I say and do,
That Your great love displayed in me
May lead someone to You.                 Sper

[Soldier4Christ]

Lord, let me be a shining light
In all I say and do,
That Your great love displayed in me
May lead someone to You.                 Sper

Amen. A prayer that we should all be doing daily.

I love the posts that you have been making in this thread.

[Soldier4Christ]

Facing Ourselves

In light of two Christian friends suddenly discovering they have terminal cancer, I have been forced to face some issues in my own life.  As a Christian who defends the faith, who teaches about God's love, and who seeks to have the ministry of Jesus spread as far as possible, I find that my own heart is cold, dark, and selfish.  I do not liked what I see.

My two friends are facing death and one of the first things I think of is that I am glad it isn't me.  I hate to admit it, but it is true that I am more concerned about myself than them.  How selfish I am in my heart.  My wife, who can cry compassionately for her friend who has terminal cancer, shames me by the demonstration of her kindness and empathy.  My own heart does not weep as easily as hers.  Instead, I am glad that I am "okay."  Don't be mistaken.  I feel for my friends and I am sorry that they have cancer and I pray that God will heal them both.  But, I am not broken inside over their plight.  I am not so empathetic as I should be because the compassion in my heart is wedded to my desire for personal safety and comfort.  Somehow, I feel as though I am betraying Christ and what He stands for.  Have I not learned what I need to learn in life so that the woes of others move me to a greater compassion?  Have I become so comfortable in my life and patterns, that my heart has grown cold?  Is God trying to show me something through the suffering of others?

In John 11, we read the story of Lazarus.  Verses 2-5 say, "And it was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.  3The sisters therefore sent to Him, saying, "Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick...5Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus."

We know the story.  Lazarus dies and Jesus raises him from the dead.  But what is interesting is that Jesus waited. He tarried.  He did not rush to Lazarus to heal Him after He finds out that Lazarus is ill.  Instead, the Bible says in verse six, "When therefore He heard that he was sick, He stayed then two days longer in the place where He was."  Why did Jesus wait two days longer?  It seems to that one of the reasons was so that Lazarus could die so that Jesus could raise Him from the dead and glorify God and so that the disciples would believe in Him (John 11:15) and know that Jesus is the "resurrection and the life" (John 11:25).  But, please take note of what Jesus does as He approaches the place where Lazarus has died.  "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled, 34and said, "Where have you laid him?" They *said to Him, "Lord, come and see." 35Jesus wept. 36And so the Jews were saying, "Behold how He loved him!" (John 11:33-36).

I am always impressed by the compassion of Jesus.  Here He is, God in flesh, a man of men, the living Word of God and yet, Jesus weeps -- in public.  His compassion was so true that He was not ashamed to cry before other men.  He loved dearly and truly and His love moved Him to compassion.  His compassion led Him to action.

Whenever I study Jesus and His life, I invariably feel uncomfortable because in so doing I am forced to see myself in light of His kindness, compassion, goodness, truth, sacrifice, and love.  I always fall short and I always WILL fall short.  So, I find that I like to hide in the corners of my own comfort and self righteousness and say "Well, at least I go to church, don't lie, and help people understand God better.  I mean, I'm not THAT bad."  But the truth is, I AM that bad.  I AM selfish with an underdeveloped sense of love and compassion.  But, as long as it doesn't have to be tested, I can stay comfortable and secure.

Isn't that just like us to find a comfortable level of spiritual existence where we don't have to face ourselves the way we should?  I don't know about you, but that is definitely a problem I have and the cancer in my friends has forced me to realize just how sinful I am in my heart which, as the Bible says, is desperately wicked and deceitful (Jer. 17:9).  Again, I do not like what I see.

What about you?  How is your heart doing?  Are you so comfortable that your heart isn't being stretched?  How is your compassion for others?  How is your love for them?  Are you led to action, to prayer, to help, to minister to others when they are in times of need or do you brush it off because to face the needs of others means that you have to face yourself?

We all have issues to deal with before God.  But, one thing I know is that Jesus' compassion for us is infinite and holy.  He knows our weaknesses, our selfish desires, and our sins.  Yet, the amazing thing is that He still loves us -- in spite of what we are.  He loves us not because of what we are, but because of what He is.  He said He will never leave us or forsake us (Matt. 28:20).  He knows us all too well and yet, He loves with an infinite love.  Let us look to Jesus and learn how to be more like Him. To Him be the glory.  To Him be the praise.