The average person is guilty of committing tens of thousands of crimes against God in his lifetime. He has no justification. With the voice of his conscience, he knows it is wrong to lie, steal, commit adultery in his heart, etc. He knows intuitively that God gave him life (see Rom. 1:18–20), but instead of showing any gratitude, he uses His holy name as a cuss word to express disgust. Hell is therefore his just reward, if God is “fair.”
But God is “unfair.” He offers the sinner a complete pardon for his sins. Jesus paid his fine 2,000 years ago, and that means God (as Judge) can legally dismiss his case upon his repentance and faith in Jesus. None of his transgressions will be remembered. Because of God’s great mercy, He does not give us what is “fair” and just: “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities” (Psa. 103:10).
Ezekiel 18:25 Yet you say, The way of the Lord is not fair. Hear now, O house of Israel, is it not My way which is fair, and your ways which are not fair?26 When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity, and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies.27 Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he committed, and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive.28 Because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die.29 Yet the house of Israel says, The way of the Lord is not fair. O house of Israel, is it not My ways which are fair, and your ways which are not fair?
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Life changing Power
I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
–Galatians 2:20
One day, by a simple act of faith, I decided to take Jesus Christ at His word. I could not come by way of the intellect alone; no one can. That does not mean that we reject reason. God has given us minds and the ability to reason wherever reason is appropriate, but the final and decisive step is taken by faith. I came by faith. Does
it work when a person comes, repenting of his sins, to receive Christ by faith? I can only tell you that it worked in my own life. Something did happen to me. I didn’t become perfect, but the direction of my life was changed. I found a new dimension to life. I found a new capacity to love that I had never known before.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
The day I received You, Lord, it was a childlike act of faith. My whole life was changed!
–Galatians 2:20
One day, by a simple act of faith, I decided to take Jesus Christ at His word. I could not come by way of the intellect alone; no one can. That does not mean that we reject reason. God has given us minds and the ability to reason wherever reason is appropriate, but the final and decisive step is taken by faith. I came by faith. Does
it work when a person comes, repenting of his sins, to receive Christ by faith? I can only tell you that it worked in my own life. Something did happen to me. I didn’t become perfect, but the direction of my life was changed. I found a new dimension to life. I found a new capacity to love that I had never known before.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
The day I received You, Lord, it was a childlike act of faith. My whole life was changed!
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
As far as the east is from the west
Often the godly remind the Lord of His promises, as an act of faith on their part rather than forgetfulness by God. The only thing He truly forgets is the sins that are covered by the blood of Christ. According to Scripture, He has cast them as far as the east is from the west (see Psa. 103:12).We can locate “north” on the earth, and say that it is a certain distance from “south” (there are approximately 22,000 miles between the two poles). However, we can’t locate “east” or “west” and define how far they are from each other. East is an infinite distance from west.
Nehemiah 1:8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.
Nehemiah 1:8 Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;9 but if you return to Me, and keep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest part of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name.
Examine Yourself - Paul Washer
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you!-Walking In The Way
Under Siege? Spain Resists Islamic 'Invasion'
But Muslims want to turn the most famous arena, the Coliseum, into
a giant mosque.
In fact, some cities in Spain
now look more like the Middle East . Muslims,
who once ruled most of nation, are returning in large numbers.
In the city of Salt
But the city government has pushed back, placing a one-year hold
on a large mosque project funded by radical Wahhabis in Saudi Arabia
For good measure, someone cursed the ground at the building site
with a pig head that was still there when CBN News arrived. Islamic law forbids
the building of a mosque on ground soiled by pigs.
But the number of Muslims in Salt is increasing so rapidly, it is
now only a matter of time before Muslims will be running the city.
"When the first Muslim political party presents itself, all
the Muslims will vote for it, and we'll all end up wearing headscarves. We're
in a really big problem," Salt city councilwoman Maria Osuna told CBN
News.
Immigration
or Invasion?
In the 7th century, Muslim armies conquered most of Spain Columbus
Now Muslims are
returning, and polls suggest they are not returning to be Spaniards. A Pew survey found that 7 out of 10 Muslims in Spain
"Plataforma x Catalunya," or Platform for Catalonia Spain , which celebrated the 1,300-year
anniversary of the Muslim invasion as a good thing, Platform for Catalonia
Platform leader Joseph Anglada said his party is not against
immigrants. They're against uncontrolled immigration and what they say are
immigrants who do not want to be a part of Spain
"Muslim immigrants are not here to adapt," Anglada said.
"They're here to conquer."
"First the husband comes as the head of the family," he
explained. "Then the wife and children, and later he comes with his
parents, in-laws,and grandparents, and it has turned into an invasion."
'Mysterious'
Dog Poisonings
In the city of Lleida
Before the poisonings, Muslims were trying to get city government
to ban dogs from public transport and public areas because they consider dogs
unclean.
"What happened was, all of a sudden, one day, 12 to 14
animals showed up dead. They had eaten something or been given something. We
don't know," Josep Ortiz I Llleida told CBN News.
Lleida, which is about one-quarter Muslim, was the first Spanish
city to ban the burqa. Then the mayor shut down the city's mosque because it
was overflowing with Friday worshippers.
CBN News went to see where the Muslim men are praying now, and it
is a large open air pavilion. Filming with a hidden camera, we saw more than
500 men listening to a sermon in Arabic.
"We don't know what the Muslim leaders are telling their
people," Moises Font with Platform for Catalonia
Spaniards
Disappearing
There are reportedly more than 100 radical Wahhabi mosques in Spain Spain
And just as Muslim immigration is surging, the native Spanish are
slowly disappearing. Their birth rate is below the replacement number.
Also, large numbers of college age Spaniards are fleeing the
country to escape a 50 percent unemployment rate for young people.
Meanwhile, the Muslim birthrate is at least twice the native birthrate,
and the number of Muslims has increased tenfold in the last 20 years.
A secret report by Spanish intelligence leaked to the media found
that radical groups from the Middle East are pouring large sums of money into Spain
"The greatest threat for Spain ,
Catalonia , and Europe
is Muslim immigration," Anglada told CBN News.
"We know they are coming here to conquer what, according
to Muslims, used to belong to them," he said. "We have a moral duty
so that in the future they can say that at least there was someone, one party,
that was not willing to surrender the West to Islamization."
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
Samaritan's Purse Bible School Bombed in Sudan
A Christian school built
by Franklin Graham's charity Samaritan's Purse was bombed in Sudan
Eight bombs were dropped on the Heiban Bible
College in South Kordofan state near
the border with South Sudan .
Two school buildings were destroyed in the
attack. The group called it a miracle that no one was injured.
Graham said Sudan
"They're targeting civilian areas. It's not
just our Bible school, but they go after hospitals, they go after food
distribution centers. Anywhere that civilians are gathered," Graham told
CBN News.
"They're wanting to put panic into the
hearts of the civilian population to make them flee," he continued.
"It's ethnic cleansing, that's what the Serbs did, we saw in Bosnia
The White House released a statement calling the
attacks "unjustified and unacceptable."
According to Samaritan's Purse, at least four
churches have been gutted in the past six months.
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
Ex-Muslim Boy Clings to Faith Despite Beatings
Nadin Khoury said the assault occurred because he's small for his
age and his family is African. Khoury made the rounds on television talk shows
like the CBS' "The View," which are often eager to highlight the
victims of bullying in America
But what about Christians in other countries who are attacked and
sometimes even killed because of their faith, especially if they're converts
from Islam?
Assaults like the one against Khoury occur regularly in Muslim
countries around the world and the American mainstream media is unlikely to
tell you about it.
Stories like that of a former Muslim named Hussein. The
12-year-old publicly professed his Christian faith in Turkey
"It's not the physical cross. It's the meaning of the cross
that is important. It is a beautiful thing," he explained. "I wanted
people to ask me about it and then I could tell them about Christ."
Hussein was 9 years old at the time. His father, Hakeem, was once
an Islamic scholar who had studied the Koran in Iran
and Syria
After he became a Christian, Hakeem decided to take Hussein and
his other children to church.
"I felt so alive hearing the hymns and singing in the church!
I felt I had to learn more about this. I was so joyful," he recalled.
After the boy accepted Christ, Hussein wanted to share the good
news with others. He was unaware of the potential dangers he faced for leaving
Islam.
His sister saw him wearing the silver cross necklace and anxiously
told her parents that Hussein was telling everyone that the family had become
Christians.
Because they feared persecution from militant Muslims, Hussein's
parents prohibited him from wearing the cross.
"We referred to it as Hussein's problem. We were trying to
prevent conflicts with others, but we came to realize that we were the ones
with the problem, not Hussein," Hakeem said.
"We decided to be like Hussein, more open about our
Christianity," he said.
His Muslim classmates taunted Hussein in school. They spat on him
and called him names. He often suffered attacks similar to the one against
Khoury.
Hussein threatened to report one of the bullies to the principal.
"The boy grabbed me by the arm, squeezed my hand, and yelled,
'I'm going to shoot you if you tell about this!'" Hussein said.
Hakeem described what happened when he confronted the bully's
father.
"I thought the father would be concerned about his son's
action. But instead, he called me names, threatened me, and said he would shoot
me himself if I pursued action against his son," he said.
Some of the worst beatings endured by the boy didn't come from his
classmates.
"Hussein refused to attend school, so I asked him if he was
still getting beat up by those boys. He said, 'No, by my religion
teacher,'" Hakeem told CBN News.
Like in most Islamic countries, students of all faiths are
required to attend Islamic studies in school. Those who refuse to recite the
Koran and Islamic prayers are often beaten by the teacher.
And so it was for Hussein. He said he was punished regularly with
a two-foot long rod because he wouldn't say the Islamic Shahada.
"I don't like saying it. It isn't in my heart. It is just
meaningless words to me," Hussein said.
Hakeem went to the school and asked why his Christian son was
beaten for refusing to recite Muslim prayers.
"The religion teacher said it was allowed. That the principal
and parents agreed that he should do this," Hakeem recalled.
The teacher's beatings, the bullying, and the assaults from
classmates took a toll on young Hussein.
Stressed and traumatized, he started to experience grand mal
seizures. He now takes medicine to treat the condition.
Hussein also attends a new school where he suffers fewer attacks.
He insists he will never return to Islam even if he is forced to endure worse
abuse.
"Christ said, 'You would suffer for me.' So it's okay to
suffer and we should be happy to suffer for Him. The Lord is with me," the
boy said.
Hussein said he will continue to tell others about Jesus, with or
without that silver cross necklace.
Make sure to 'like' us on Facebook, and become a 'Follower' here, or sign up for email notifications on the bottom right of this page. As always, thanks for stopping by, and may God bless you! -Walking In The Way
Strength from Christ
Those who belong to Christ have nailed their natural evil desires to his cross and crucified them there.
–Galatians 5:24 (TLB)
The strength for our conquering and our victory is drawn continually from Christ. The Bible does not teach that sin is completely eradicated from the Christian in this life, but it does teach that sin shall no longer reign over you. The strength and power of sin have been broken. The Christian now has resources available to live above and beyond this world. The Bible teaches that whosoever is born of God does not practice sin. It is like the little girl who said that when the devil came knocking with a temptation, she just sent Jesus to the door.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord Jesus, I need Your power continually. You know how many times I am tempted.
–Galatians 5:24 (TLB)
The strength for our conquering and our victory is drawn continually from Christ. The Bible does not teach that sin is completely eradicated from the Christian in this life, but it does teach that sin shall no longer reign over you. The strength and power of sin have been broken. The Christian now has resources available to live above and beyond this world. The Bible teaches that whosoever is born of God does not practice sin. It is like the little girl who said that when the devil came knocking with a temptation, she just sent Jesus to the door.
PRAYER FOR THE DAY
Lord Jesus, I need Your power continually. You know how many times I am tempted.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
A Christian Prayer of Confession
Catholic Prayers of Confession are very different from Christian Prayers. This particular Prayer of Confession is geared towards one of the Christian ways to pray.
God is close to those whose hearts are willing to turn back from sin and run to Him. He never gets tired forgiving His beloved and giving them another chance — a clean slate to begin once more. A Prayer of Confession is an essential part of getting your prayer answered.
(Psalms 66:18-20)
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
Many times, our hearts become calloused because of repetitive sins and we are deeply inundated by negative mindsets, attitudes, habits, addictions, and bondages. But, in our heart of hearts we long to break free from them permanently but fail to know how. God has engraved the natural law, His commandments, in our spirits and hearts and no matter how depraved or sinful we become, there is this inner prompting within telling us this is not the right way, traverse this other road.
God will relentlessly call us back to Him, no matter how far we have gone. If God is already prodding your heart right now, reminding you of any secret or hidden sin or disobedience, open your heart now to His voice saying, “My child, come back to me now. My arms are open to you. Repent and leave this sin and choose Me.”
You may now confess with your mouth whichever area God is bringing to your remembrance. Is there any thought, emotion, speech, action that violates God’s instructions in His Word? Is there any disobedience, or sin of omission (failing to do what should have been done) or any meditation of the heart that could have displeased God? Is there anyone or anything that displaced God in your life or took precedence over Him?
Here is how to pray to God. Let me pray for you now –
Our Abba Father, I pray for anyone reading this that you meet him or her at their deepest need. May Your Holy Spirit continue to minister to him and convict him of things that have been holding him back and drew him away from You. Go deeper, our God and search his mind, heart, spirit and his entire being for all traces of sin. Do a mighty cleansing over him right now. You said in Your Word, that if we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9) Uproot those things that are unlike you God and do an overhaul—spirit, soul, and body. Cleanse his mind and eyes from any images and his ears from any ungodly sounds. May the Living Water wash away all the filth, uncleanness, and any perturbations in his soul. Affirm him of his identity in Christ and who You are in his life. Make him open to the work of the Cross, of Jesus’ sacrifice to save him from sin, sickness, and hell. Nourish him with the Word of God and give him a hunger for You, Your presence and Your Word. Cancel all the effects of his sins upon his life and his destiny. Thank You, Father God for this opportunity to pray with and for him. Seal everything that You have done today in his life. This we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer, be assured that God has already begun His wonderful work in your life and He will bring it into completion. (Phil. 1:6) Our prayers to God are being heard in heaven. Do not be afraid of coming to God in prayer, He listens to you and will always be there for you. Meditate on Scriptures and declare them out loud daily, believe and act on them. When you are fully saturated on His Word, He will put His laws in your heart so that you might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11). But if you fail, always seek Him and ask for forgiveness again and invite the Holy Spirit to empower you to say NO to sin and say YES to God. Remember that even as a saved individual we still sin as long as we are in this sinful fleshly body and therefore we do need to confess our sins. You can always return to this Prayer of Confession at anytime that you feel you need it.
God is close to those whose hearts are willing to turn back from sin and run to Him. He never gets tired forgiving His beloved and giving them another chance — a clean slate to begin once more. A Prayer of Confession is an essential part of getting your prayer answered.
(Psalms 66:18-20)
If I had not confessed the sin in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
But God did listen!
He paid attention to my prayer.
Praise God, who did not ignore my prayer
or withdraw his unfailing love from me.
Many times, our hearts become calloused because of repetitive sins and we are deeply inundated by negative mindsets, attitudes, habits, addictions, and bondages. But, in our heart of hearts we long to break free from them permanently but fail to know how. God has engraved the natural law, His commandments, in our spirits and hearts and no matter how depraved or sinful we become, there is this inner prompting within telling us this is not the right way, traverse this other road.
God will relentlessly call us back to Him, no matter how far we have gone. If God is already prodding your heart right now, reminding you of any secret or hidden sin or disobedience, open your heart now to His voice saying, “My child, come back to me now. My arms are open to you. Repent and leave this sin and choose Me.”
You may now confess with your mouth whichever area God is bringing to your remembrance. Is there any thought, emotion, speech, action that violates God’s instructions in His Word? Is there any disobedience, or sin of omission (failing to do what should have been done) or any meditation of the heart that could have displeased God? Is there anyone or anything that displaced God in your life or took precedence over Him?
Here is how to pray to God. Let me pray for you now –
Our Abba Father, I pray for anyone reading this that you meet him or her at their deepest need. May Your Holy Spirit continue to minister to him and convict him of things that have been holding him back and drew him away from You. Go deeper, our God and search his mind, heart, spirit and his entire being for all traces of sin. Do a mighty cleansing over him right now. You said in Your Word, that if we confess our sins, You are faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9) Uproot those things that are unlike you God and do an overhaul—spirit, soul, and body. Cleanse his mind and eyes from any images and his ears from any ungodly sounds. May the Living Water wash away all the filth, uncleanness, and any perturbations in his soul. Affirm him of his identity in Christ and who You are in his life. Make him open to the work of the Cross, of Jesus’ sacrifice to save him from sin, sickness, and hell. Nourish him with the Word of God and give him a hunger for You, Your presence and Your Word. Cancel all the effects of his sins upon his life and his destiny. Thank You, Father God for this opportunity to pray with and for him. Seal everything that You have done today in his life. This we pray, in Jesus’ name. Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer, be assured that God has already begun His wonderful work in your life and He will bring it into completion. (Phil. 1:6) Our prayers to God are being heard in heaven. Do not be afraid of coming to God in prayer, He listens to you and will always be there for you. Meditate on Scriptures and declare them out loud daily, believe and act on them. When you are fully saturated on His Word, He will put His laws in your heart so that you might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11). But if you fail, always seek Him and ask for forgiveness again and invite the Holy Spirit to empower you to say NO to sin and say YES to God. Remember that even as a saved individual we still sin as long as we are in this sinful fleshly body and therefore we do need to confess our sins. You can always return to this Prayer of Confession at anytime that you feel you need it.
Strong in the Lord
Despite the popular notion today that it is more spiritual to remain weak, struggling, and vulnerable, God desires to build us into valiant, valorous, fortified warriors who fear none but Him alone and are vulnerable to none but Him alone. The chief word that characterizes the Proverbs 31 woman is strength. And all throughout the New Testament, we are constantly exhorted to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might!
Christ has already conquered the enemy of our souls. The only thing Satan can do is put on a magic show, using smoke and mirrors to trick us into taking him seriously and letting him have his way in our lives. But if we stand firm in the power that Christ has given us, “no weapon formed against us can prosper” (see Isaiah 54:17).
How do we gain that kind of unshakable confidence? We must become fortified Christians! A fortified Christian woman has an impenetrable barrier between her and the enemy. She has put on the full armor of God and is able to resist the devil, no matter what fiery dart he tries to throw at her.
The book of Nehemiah paints a vivid illustration of the fortification process. At the beginning of the story, Nehemiah is in mourning because the wall around the city of Jerusalem has been destroyed, leaving the children of Israel utterly defenseless against enemy attacks. “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3).
What a perfect description of our spiritual lives! Most of us live in a state of distress, hounded on all sides by the enemy. And with only our defeated walls around us, we are defenseless against Satan’s attacks. We go around nursing anger toward God for allowing bad things to happen to us, all the while forgetting that we have an enemy who is hell-bent on destroying us. And he will succeed as long as we leave our battle weapons untouched on the ground and the walls around our cities in shambles.
But the good news is that God is ready and willing to help us build walls of fortification around our lives and to give us every weapon needed to not just defend ourselves against Satan’s schemes, but to storm the very gates of hell…and win! In Hebrews, Paul describes the heroism of God’s faithful servants throughout the ages. “Who through faith subdued Kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:33-34).
Notice that all of these men and women “out of weakness were made strong.” They went from being weak and frail to being so strong in God’s power that they could stop the mouths of lions and put armies to flight. It is that very same strength that God desires to work in each one of us. You may feel weak, frail, and vulnerable, but He is ready to make you stronger than you ever thought possible. Remember the valiance of David? He was only a lowly shepherd boy - the very least of all his brothers. But God gave him such mighty valor that he killed loins and bears with his bear hands, slew a fierce giant with only a slingshot, and destroyed the most powerful armies in the world. What God did for David, He wants to do for me and you!
- Leslie Ludy
Christ has already conquered the enemy of our souls. The only thing Satan can do is put on a magic show, using smoke and mirrors to trick us into taking him seriously and letting him have his way in our lives. But if we stand firm in the power that Christ has given us, “no weapon formed against us can prosper” (see Isaiah 54:17).
How do we gain that kind of unshakable confidence? We must become fortified Christians! A fortified Christian woman has an impenetrable barrier between her and the enemy. She has put on the full armor of God and is able to resist the devil, no matter what fiery dart he tries to throw at her.
The book of Nehemiah paints a vivid illustration of the fortification process. At the beginning of the story, Nehemiah is in mourning because the wall around the city of Jerusalem has been destroyed, leaving the children of Israel utterly defenseless against enemy attacks. “The survivors who are left from the captivity in the province are there in great distress and reproach. The wall of Jerusalem is also broken down, and its gates are burned with fire” (Nehemiah 1:3).
What a perfect description of our spiritual lives! Most of us live in a state of distress, hounded on all sides by the enemy. And with only our defeated walls around us, we are defenseless against Satan’s attacks. We go around nursing anger toward God for allowing bad things to happen to us, all the while forgetting that we have an enemy who is hell-bent on destroying us. And he will succeed as long as we leave our battle weapons untouched on the ground and the walls around our cities in shambles.
But the good news is that God is ready and willing to help us build walls of fortification around our lives and to give us every weapon needed to not just defend ourselves against Satan’s schemes, but to storm the very gates of hell…and win! In Hebrews, Paul describes the heroism of God’s faithful servants throughout the ages. “Who through faith subdued Kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:33-34).
Notice that all of these men and women “out of weakness were made strong.” They went from being weak and frail to being so strong in God’s power that they could stop the mouths of lions and put armies to flight. It is that very same strength that God desires to work in each one of us. You may feel weak, frail, and vulnerable, but He is ready to make you stronger than you ever thought possible. Remember the valiance of David? He was only a lowly shepherd boy - the very least of all his brothers. But God gave him such mighty valor that he killed loins and bears with his bear hands, slew a fierce giant with only a slingshot, and destroyed the most powerful armies in the world. What God did for David, He wants to do for me and you!
- Leslie Ludy
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