Forgiveness, that’s an order

5/10/2019 Update: The Holy Spirit had told me this additional important information regarding forgiveness….it’s towards the end and marked with a star.

Happy Resurrection Day!

It’s all about forgiveness and love. We were forgiven and our sin was paid for on the cross by the Son of God and we thank god for that every year around this time.

I was struck by a showing of Sid Roth It’s Supernatural a couple weeks back by a woman who said she had gone to hell and got a real shock.  It was regarding the idea of “super grace”. That’s what some Christians believe . It’s the thought that simply having said a prayer out loud, declaring Jesus died for you sins and rose again is all you need to do and then go on your merry way.  Some call it the “fire insurance” version of Christianity.

There’s just a little more.  Here’s the link:https://sidroth.org/television/tv-archives/laurie-ditto/?src=banner_tv

I was a bit disturbed by it to say the least.  Laurie Ditto said the she saw Christians in hell for unforgiveness.  Oh boy.  Is that scriptural? So I asked God to show me if this was right information or not. He woke me up that night and I opened to the book of John Chapter 3 verse 36 which specifically says, “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life, but the one who disobeys the Son will not see life. Instead, the wrath of God remains on him.
” – That’s from the International Standard Version.

Here’s a stronger evidence.  When Jesus was asked by His disciples to teach them to pray He spoke what’s known as the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6 verse 12: ^:And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” That was from Jesus Himself. It is assumed to be a daily prayer, so obviously He knows we’re not going to be stellar examples off the bat for sure.

Well there’s more…From the Apostle Paul to the church at Corinth he wrote in Corinthians Chapter 6 verses 9 through11 : 9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.  (Here’s some hope! 11And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.…)

I was convicted for sure by this. Now, don’t misunderstand me.  NO ONE will get to heaven  but through believing in Jesus.  Do I believe he washed me clean of my sin and iniquity? Yes. I’m still a work in progress. I’ve been known to not speak well of others, and be judgemental.  Jesus did the work and He said it is finished. But what kind of example am I to others if my behavior isn’t changed? I believe this is why He said to obey him. How will I be a decent witness to others if I’m exactly the same as unsaved people?

Here’s the other commandment. “Love one another, as I have loved you. ” That’s John 13 verse 34. I’m no fool….this is the hardest one of all. How do I love other people as HE did?

Forgive others…..I had a hard time with this as well. There was a woman who was daily backstabbing me at work, as well as a number of other things. A major snake….and she was never going to stop. So I asked Jesus, how am I supposed to forgive her when she keeps on doing it? Jesus said “I forgave them when they were killing me”. Mmmm okay, got me there.

So what’s to be done? Repenting when you catch yourself doing these things. Talk to God about it and ask for His help. Say, Hey Father, I don’t know how to love like you did. This looks impossible to me. Ask Him to help you change.

We also have weapons to use. Don’t forget that Jesus said,  “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” Speak the verses aloud to the situations causing the trouble instead of gossiping. Try to be loving when you speak those verses. Speak better behavior over yourself. There is power in speaking His word. For instance: Psalm chapter 29 verse 11; “‘The Lord gives strength to his people’ and ‘blesses his people with peace’ ” Say it out loud, but replace “his people” with “me”.

Jesus said in the book of John Chapter 14 verse 21: Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

Just another note as further evidence. In Revelation chapter 2 verse 4 and 5, Jesus said in a vision to John:  “But I have this against you: You have abandoned your first love. 5Therefore, keep in mind how far you have fallen. Repent and perform the deeds you did at first. wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.” That message was to a church in Ephesus. That means they were saved AND were even born again.

This can be a tough message. But we all want to be with the Lord in heaven one day don’t we?  Yes, he saved us, but we need to work a little harder on being true disciples. God help us to do so.

* When I was talking to God about this, He said that the evil things that go on are part of the tricks of the Devil. When terrible things happen, it’s very hard to forgive.  The devil is actually behind these awful events to cause unforgiveness and thereby keep us from going to be with our Father in heaven.  He wants to hurt us, and he wants to hurt God by hurting us. Food for thought. Me myself, when I heard this, thought the last thing I want is for that evil creep to keep me out of heaven.

If you would like to invite Jesus into your life, say these words out loud:

Dear Lord Jesus, I’m asking you into my heart and my life.  I know I am a sinner. I ask your forgiveness for every sin I’ve ever committed.  I believe you died on the cross for my sins, that you stood in my place and took all the punishment that was due to me when you were there. I believe that you rose from the dead and are alive. I thank you for forgiving me and cleansing me of sin with your blood. Thank you for making me right with our heavenly Father. Please come and live within me and fill me with your Holy Spirit as You promised. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Who Do You Say that I am?

There’s the big question that Jesus had gotten around to asking his disciples after they had traveled the country witness miracles of healing and provision. And your very soul depends on the answer you give.

Jesus was obvious and specific about who He is and repeated himself over and over again about who He is and His mission and purpose. So let’s see for ourselves what He said.

In John chapter 10 verse 14-15 “14 I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me, 15just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father. And I lay down My life for the sheep.” Earlier in the same chapter verse 9, He says “⁹ I am the door: by me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.“. He says He is THE door to eternal life, there are no other doors.

In John chapter 14 verse 6 Jesus says “⁶ Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Again, he’s very clear He is the only way to eternal life. When we repent and declare Jesus is our Lord and savior we are agreeing with God that Jesus is the only way to eternal life.

He said He is the vine. In John chapter 15 verses 4 and 5 Jesus says”⁴ Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.⁵ I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”  This describes how Jesus and the Holy Spirit come to stay within us and when we focus on Him and are receptive to the way he communicates with us, by reading His word and asking for His direction, we will produce good works for Him.

At the last supper, when Jesus was speaking about what was about to happen to him to his disciples, he said in John chapter 14 verse 9: “Jesus said unto him, “Have I been so long a time with you, and yet hast thou not known Me, Philip? He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father; …”

Jesus was in the temple and the Jewish leaders gathered around Him demanding a plain answer about who He is. In John chapter 10 verses 24 – 30 Jesus responds: ²⁷ My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:²⁸ And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.²⁹ My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.³⁰ I and my Father are one.”  This really got to the leaders and they began to plot as how to kill him.

Jesus said “I AM” during the first trial in the house of the high priest Caiphas  in Mark chapter 14 verses 61-62 also referencing His soon return. 61…Again the high priest questioned Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?” 62“I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” This statement has a double meaning because this is the name that Moses was told to say when he went to lead the Jews out of Egypt in Exodus chapter 3 verse 14 God said to Moses, “ I AM WHO I AM.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘ I AM has sent me to you.’” That’s when Caiphas freaked out and accused Jesus of blasphemy.

IN John chapter 12 verse 47 Jesus said”…For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.”

Again in the book of John, chapter 9 Jesus had healed a blind man who had been blind since he was born.  Jesus healed him on the sabbath. The former beggar was questioned at length by the temple authorities and then tossed him out of the temple! Nervy to say the least. But check it out, Jesus went looking for him! Verses 35-37say 35Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, he said, Dost thou believe on the Son of God? 36He answered and said, And who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him? 37Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and he it is that speaketh with thee.

When Jesus was about to raise His friend Lazarus from the dead, He spoke to Martha in the book of John chapter 11: 25-26,²⁵ Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:²⁶ And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

Do you believe this? Do you know He is seeking you out like he did the blind man? (otherwise the Holy Spirit probably wouldn’t have prompted you to be reading this)

Make it official. This is what to do to declare Jesus as your saviour and be saved.

If you would like to invite Jesus into your life, say these words out loud:

Dear Lord Jesus, I’m asking you into my heart and my life.  I know I am a sinner. I ask your forgiveness for every sin I’ve ever committed.  I believe you died on the cross for my sins, that you stood in my place and took all the punishment that was due to me when you were there. I believe that you rose from the dead and are alive. I thank you for forgiving me and cleansing me of sin with your blood. Thank you for making me right with our heavenly Father. Please come and live within me and fill me with your Holy Spirit as You promised. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen!

Now go and enjoy Christmas!

 

FAITH

This one subject has had more difficulty, fear, and even meaness (out of ignorance) than so many other biblical subjects, that God moved me to write this and give hope to people who are struggling with their ‘faith’.  So I’ll try to keep this simple, as it really is.

What is faith?  The answer, plain and simple is TRUST.  I lots of theologians will go bananas trying to give a long, confusing complicated explanation of what they think faith is, but the simple answer is TRUST. Trusting that God hears you, trusting that He IS watching over you, trusting that even though times may be very, very hard, He is with you, He knows you, He is listening to you, He is even helping you, though things appear otherwise.

TRUST, TRUST, TRUST, TRUST, TRUST!!

Jesus told us in Luke chapter 17 verse 6 that “”If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”  Now I know that folks who are new to believing in Jesus can really have a hard time psyching this out.

The Holy Spirit finally let it dawn on me one day that Jesus meant it as an encouragement….mustard seeds are well, teeny weeny little dots….you could hold a few hundred of them in your hand easily.

So do you have faith? Guess what!  The bible says you already do! In Paul’s letter to the Romans, (chapter 12 verse 3) He said “think soberly, according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith.” Now Paul was saying in earlier parts of this verse that people shouldn’t get puffed up about themselves, but he was also saying in this verse that God has already given us FAITH!! Tah dah! There you have it.

Here’s a better example.  Do you believe that Jesus died on the cross, forgiving us and taking our sins upon himself so that we would have eternal life with him?  If you’ve answered yes, then you have FAITH/TRUST!  This wonderful faith is the gift of God.  Ephesians chapter 2 verse 8 says the same thing this way…”For by grace you have been saved through faith (/trust, my own interjection). And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God”. In other words,  if you believe in Jesus, then God has given you the grace to believe.  What a mighty gift!  

So what is faith in Jesus supposed to do for us?  Well, our FAITH/TRUST in him gives us eternal life with him for starters.

You may have also heard the scripture in Hebrews Chapter 1 verse 1…”Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”.  This means that faith/trust is the building material of your healing, of your deliverance, and receiving every promise that God has made to us.

Now here’s something that will really build you up.  It’s a short excerpt from a minister in Colorado about the quality of faith/trust that every one of us as believers have:

“We also have the same faith that Paul had. Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Paul did not say that he lived by faith IN the Son of God but by the faith OF the Son of God. The measure of faith that Paul had was the same measure that Jesus had. It was Jesus’ faith. If there is only one measure of faith (Rom. 12:3), then we also have the faith of Jesus.” http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/faith_god

Shazam!!! We have the same faith that Jesus has???

How is that supposed to work?  By faith/trust in his word.  That is the written word, which is the bible. This is actually kind of fun.  And some folks have some difficulty with it.

For those of you who may have read in earlier blogs that God SPOKE and our world came into being, (Genesis 1 verse 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.) Jesus SAID arise and walk, Jesus SAID be healed, Jesus SAID Lazarus come forth….   Now Jesus said in John chapter 5 verse 19 that ” “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.
he only did what God told him to do.”

For us, it takes some practice.  For instance, if you have been praying for healing, find a scripture in the bible.  “By his stripes we are healed and made whole”  That’s from Isaiah chapter 53 verse 5, or perhaps you would like to use google to find “healing scriptures”.  Then SPEAK THEM OUT LOUD….and put your FAITH/TRUST into it.  IT IS GOD’S WILL THAT YOU ARE HEALED.  You may even say, “I believe what God says, I thank You for it, and I believe I already have it. ” Add a visualization of it, or draw a picture of it. FAITH/TRUST, FAITH/TRUST, FAITH/TRUST.  And read the bible often.  That’s what Paul called renewing your mind. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is–his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans chapter 12 verse 2) That helps you to find out what God’s will really is for you. You’ll find out He wants you to have a good job, He wants you to live in a nice home, He wants you to be a blessing.  Speak His scriptures in faith.  You’ll be following Jesus’ example of doing what the father does.  Speak His scriptures while praying for others too!

There is a case in the book of  Mark chapter 9 verse 23 – 24 where a man was asking Jesus to deliver his son from a demon.  23And Jesus said to him, “‘If You can?’ All things are possible to him who believes.” 24Immediately the boy’s father cried out and said, “I do believe; help my unbelief.” This was before Jesus went to the cross, before a blood covenant was made for us with Jesus’ own blood.

What if you think you don’t have enough faith, or if someone told you your faith isn’t strong enough? Well, stuff and nonsense to that.  Satan and his forces of darkness would certainly like you to believe it.  And I think that anyone who tells you that needs to examine their own faith/trust.  What a cruel thing to say, and heaven knows that line has been used many times before. Folks, if you believe that Jesus died on the cross 2000 years ago for your sins, your forgiven, and rose from the dead and is coming back soon, then you definitely have the faith that will move mountains. If you believe that you’ve “faithed/trusted” into eternal life. Totally great news!

It takes time, it takes practice, and it takes patience. And TRUST/FAITH…same word, easy peasy. Now send that stress mountain on it’s way in the name of Jesus!!