How many times today have you caught yourself talking to yourself? Are you rehearsing the words of the accuser of the brethren? He says “you cannot be assured of your salvation.” You are not alone my friend. Before David was crowned king he faced many difficult and challenging circumstances and often if truth be known, they came about because he was blameshifting, not taking ownership of his own sin of unbelief in God. We too often go this route and fail to see God’s graciousness in spite of ourselves. It is important when God reveals this to us that we stop and testify to who God is and who we are.
Jesus reminded us “the mouth speaks what fills the heart.” [Matt 12] Therefore, we must fill our hearts with the inspired Word of God that we might resist the devil and tell him to “Go away.” His desire is to make you doubt but God’s word is true: NO ONE or NOTHING can snatch us from the Father’s hands where our names are engraved upon his palms. Speak the words of Jesus and Satan will flee from us and in that moment, the Illuminating Holy Spirit will come and refresh our spirits.
If you want assurance, hold fast to your confession. Confidently approach the throne of grace. Cling to that which is good. “STAY, PRAY and WATCH.” It is then that you will see the truth of John 3:36 “The one who believes in the Son “HAS,” eternal life.
the Savior, the heir of all things, the very Word of God who spoke the word creating all that has life and breath and even now is sustained by the word of his power. As Savior, they saw him as the very radiance of the Father’s glory and the exact representation of His nature who was given up by the Father for their sins. They saw the nail prints in his hands from being the purifier of sins by his sacrifice on the cross and then ascended into the heavens where he sits at the right hand of the Majesty on high interceding. They loved him and looked for his appearing. Because he is the Resurrection and the life, he lives, and they live also. (Rom 8; Heb 7Jn 14) We mourn but rejoice in their heavenly gain.
After the Sabbath, three women arrive at the tomb of Jesus as the sun was rising. They had come to anoint the body of Jesus and along the way had discussed and questioned: “Who will roll the stone away for us?” Upon their arrival, their discussion was abruptly ended for with eyes to see and ears to hear the scene before them brought several emotions to the surface. The stone was already removed and on it sat an illuminating man, an angel, brilliant like lightning, in snow-white garments. He had been dispatched from heaven to roll the stone away not to release Jesus but to proclaim Jesus.
The high priest of Israel, Caiaphas, had prophesied; “it is expedient for you that one man die for the people, and that the whole nation not perish.” Yet as Caiaphas prophesied these words he had not known that before him, sat at least one who had become a secret believer. Joseph of Arimathea was a good and righteous man waiting for the kingdom of God and had not consented to the plan of the council to condemn Jesus.
A recent movie reveals the spiritual battle that all believers face, but the original War Room was in Heaven and played out on the screen of the Garden of Gethsemane. The screenplay revealed the tool of temptation, the submission of our Savior and the power of prayer.
Tumbleweeds are a strange phenomenon.These are plants that seem to have no root and just seem to have lost their anchor. In fact, it is true that once they have matured and dry, they detach from the mother plant and blow away. Throughout the Bible, we are forewarned to stay close to the source of life, God Himself. But, sometimes the tumbleweeds of life, the trials, come tumbling across our path. Which brings us to the question of the day. What kind of theology do you have when the tumbleweeds come floating across your path? Is it the armchair theology where you are comfortable with God as long as you are safely in your recliner letting the world go by? Or do you have an ivory-tower theology where you think of yourself in privileged seclusion from the real world?