Repent or Perish
Print View(LUKE 5:32) > I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance [KJ]
(LUKE 13:5) > I tell you, No; but unless you repent ([change your mind for the better and heartily amend your ways, with abhorrence of your past sins), you will all likewise perish and be lost eternally [Amplified]]
(ACTS 3:13) > Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, Jesus, Christ. [KJ]
Luke 13:1-5) > 1 About this time Jesus was informed that Pilate had murdered some people from Galilee as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple. 2 "Do you think those Galileans were worse sinners than all the other people from Galilee?" Jesus asked. "Is that why they suffered? 3 Not at all! And you will perish, too, unless you repent of your sins and turn to God. 4 And what about the eighteen people who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them? Were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? 5 No, and I tell you again that unless you repent, you will perish, too." [New Living Translation]
If you have been "born again" your spirit or (conscience) has experienced a revelation. You now have the God given ability to distinguish right from wrong. The ability to recognize sin is now a part of your every day life. How you react to sinful thoughts or temptations determines whether or not you are a repentant saint or a slothful back-slider. To repent is to turn away from the carnal norm of daily life and to grasp the understanding of the ramifications of sin. To repent is to accept sound doctrine and to live up to it.
After studying the word (repentance) I have concluded that it is an (action) word. Not necessarily physical action, although it could result in a physical action such as the way you think about some of your life's indulging weaknesses, which may in turn cause you to give up a bad habit such as smoking or alcohol consumption or over-eating in excess etc., a more accurate definition would be that repentance is a state of mind, where with you change the way you think about moral and spiritual issues.
The word (regret) also appears in certain dictionaries (Webster) > to feel regret for something that has occurred. you commit a sin, say for instance a cashier gives you too much change back on a purchase. Your first reaction is of greed and you take the change leave the store and then later realize that you have been dishonest, so then you return to the store and return the change to the cashier. I had purchased some supplies from a hardware store and the cashier gave me $150.00 more than I was due in change. I thought it was my lucky day but a few days later after being tormented by the Holy Spirit (which prompts my conscience) I returned the change. I felt so relieved to get that guilt off my back. I felt ashamed for what I had done, but I confessed it and made it right. (Why ????) because I changed my mind about right and wrong and lined it up with God's word, that's repentance. I turned around in my mind and did the right thing with my actions.
Repentance is a steady remodel job of your thought patterns. It's a job that will never be completed until you die or Jesus returns. Repentance, in the Christian life is a work in progress from the moment you wake up until you lay down to sleep every day, 365 days per year. You must daily study your bible diligently, pray for understanding and wisdom, then recondition your mind and your perception of spiritual issues. You must renew your mind.
Romans 12:2 -- Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Arrested for Being a Christian
Print ViewChristianity in the First Degree
God made us in His image and I have this strong feeling that God can get His feelings hurt. Could you imagine how you would feel if everyone ignored you, even after you tried so hard to please them, maybe you helped them through a hard time and now they treat you like you don't even exist. I dare say that your feelings would be hurt, I know I would be hurt. Lately I have been trying to get into the habit of talking to Jesus all through the day, especially when I'm alone and working or driving somewhere or surfing the web in my office and I have found that by doing this I am more aware of His presence and I am less likely to yeild to temptation. The appostle Paul wrote this_ But I say, walk and live [habitually] in the [Holy] Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by the Spirit]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (of human nature without God). Galatians 5:16 [Amplified]
Not only do we need to talk to God, but we need to listen as well. But He (Jesus) replied, It has been written, Man shall not live and be upheld and sustained by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. Mathew 4:4 [Amplified]
I am, by no means, a biblical scholar, but it seems to me that Jesus is trying to tell us to consume the word of God with the same vigor that we consume food when we are hungry or even starving. When we go without food for an extended length of time we become weak and we can't perform physically and mentally. If we drift away from the word of God (The Holy Bible) then we will become spiritually weak and it becomes much more difficult to resist temptation. We need to stop eating the poison that our present-day culture puts on our plate every day. We need to push that plate aside and reach for the plate that is heaped with abundant life, The Bread of Life, Jesus Christ .
I will close this post with a question; If you were in a court of law, trial by a jury of your peers and the jury consisted of the eleven desciples and the Holy Spirit being the twelth juror, would they find you Guilty for the charge of First Degree Christianity? [secondsamuel]
STEP INTO THE LIGHT
Print ViewTHE LIGHT OF THE WORLD
John 3:16-30 [The Message]
16-18"This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted; anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it. And why? Because of that person's failure to believe in the one-of-a-kind Son of God when introduced to him.
19-21"This is the crisis we're in: God-light streamed into the world, but men and women everywhere ran for the darkness. They went for the darkness because they were not really interested in pleasing God. Everyone who makes a practice of doing evil, addicted to denial and illusion, hates God-light and won't come near it, fearing a painful exposure. But anyone working and living in truth and reality welcomes God-light so the work can be seen for the God-work it is." [THE MESSAGE]
Isn't it odd how some people are drawn to dark places? Most bars, pubs, and strip joints are dark. Have you ever thought about that? Darkness is not a bad thing, except when it is used to hide something or someone. No, it's not a bad thing, after all it's easier to sleep when it's dark, except for vampires, if you believe in such a thing. There are many people walking around in broad day-light but they are living in darkness. They have not met the true source of light. They haven't met Jesus the Christ, the Son of the God of the universe. He is not hiding in the darkness, no, He's in the light, He is the light, the LIGHT of the world. [secondsamuel]
YOU out there in the darkness. Step into the light. Don't be afraid. He won't scold you, He won't turn you away or turn away from you. He loves you, He died for you. Oh yes He rose again, but He was physically beaten to within inches of His life and then they finished Him off by hanging Him up on a cross where he gave up the ghost. Fortunately for you and He rose again three days later to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that there is life after death. But you have to believe that He died and rose again, you have to believe that He is the only son that God had. You have to believe that He is God and then you have to ask Him to forgive you and set you free from the darkness. [secondsamuel]
I'm sure that there are some that are reading this blog and you think I am a complete idiot. That's OK. God said you would think that way. [secondsamuel]
1 Corinthians 2:14-20 [The Message] 14-16The nonspiritual self, just as it is by nature, can't receive the gifts of God's Spirit. There's no capacity for them. They seem like so much silliness. Spirit can be known only by spirit-God's Spirit and our spirits in open communion. Spiritually alive, we have access to everything God's Spirit is doing, and can't be judged by nonspiritual critics. Isaiah's question, "Is there anyone around who knows God's Spirit, anyone who knows what he is doing?" has been answered: Christ knows, and we have Christ's Spirit. [The Message
Thank You Mom
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It has always puzzled me why my mom tolerated this kind of treatment for so long. Why didn’t she just leave? I asked her this same question not too long ago. Her answer goes something like this; back in those days there were no shelters for battered women and their children. She had no where to go. She had no money. She was afraid for her children and afraid for her life because he would have probably just hunted her down and beat her to within an inch of her life if not kill her. Her fear was what would happen to her children. When I think about it I can understand why my mom did what she did. I also think that she truly loved my dad and she saw beyond all of his misgivings. I can understand that too.
Well after living through all that drama for 17 years my dad found a way to get rid of me by signing me into the United States Navy. After 18 months I talked them into letting me go. I was home sick for my new wife and I was not cut out for the Navy life. I am going to fast-forward a few years and get to the point of my story. I am 55 years old. I am happily married to my 5th wife. I was saved when I was 13 and I am still saved. I have been in and out of jail a shameful number of times, mostly alcohol related and domestic abuse. For years I used my childhood as an excuse before God, for all the trouble I’ve been in. I am currently disabled and so far in debt that I can’t even think about it, but I am alive, free, and happy thanks to my “Mom”.
You ask; How can you thank your mom after all you’ve been through? I’ll tell you why. I don’t believe there has been one single night go by that my mother has not fervently prayed for me. Even through those years when she was under such constant tyranny, I don’t think she failed to pray. I believe in a mother’s intuition. Every time I have been in trouble, or in pain, or lonely, or on the run, my mother has known it within her spirit. I believe to this day if it were not for my mother’s prayers, I would either be in prison or in the grave.. What a blessing it is to have a praying mom praying for me on a daily basis.
Thank you mom for enduring all the abuse that was dealt to you by my father. Thank you for all the sleepless nights that I put you through. Thank you for not giving up on me when I have been so unworthy. Thank you for all the times when you spoke up on my behalf. Thank you for blackberry jam, lemon cherry pie, and the best home-grown tomatoes in the nation and thank you for peeling those tomatoes for our dinning pleasure. And let’s not forget chowchow and doodle soup. Thank you for those nights when I crawled into my bedroom to drunk to remember how I got there and you didn’t even tell my father. Thank you for all the financial help you have so graciously given through the years. Thank you for all the advice I never followed. Thank you for encouragement. Thank you for giving me a big sister I could cling to and a little brother I could pick on. Thank you for clean clothes, fresh bed sheets, and a clean house to live in when I was too young to appreciate it. Mom, I could fill up page after page with all the things that you have done that I would thank you for but there is one single thing that stands out from all the other wonderful things you have done through all the years, MOM, THANK YOU FOR PRAYING FOR ME.
I'M GOING TO BE RICH!!
Print ViewI’m going to be rich
I have discovered a tested and proven way to good health and long life on this planetThe bible says that if we give God the best and the first of everything, then in return, He will give us good health and long life. In the King James version it says that it will be health to your navel and marrow to your bones. It is defined in the vines dictionary as a kind of metamorphosis. I see it like this, we were all born with a cancer called sin and the more we decrease and let God increase the less room sin has to flourish. This is also a guaranteed way to become financially secure simply by thinking of God first, always, and He will make healthy our finances. After all, it all belongs to Him anyway. Real life, real living, is that sold out fully surrendered life. My brothers and sisters let God do the ultimate make-over. Surrender every molecule of your existence to Him and walk in the light as He is in the light.
Proverbs 3
Don't Assume You Know It All
1-2 Good friend, don't forget all I've taught you; take to heart my commands.
They'll help you live a long, long time,
a long life lived full and well.
3-4 Don't lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.
Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.
Earn a reputation for living well
in God's eyes and the eyes of the people.
5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don't try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he's the one who will keep you on track.
Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don't, dear friend, resent God's discipline;
don't sulk under his loving correction.
It's the child he loves that God corrects; it's a fathers love that's behind all this.
God bless You All >>>>>>>>>>>>secondsamuel<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Congratulations!
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