"Jesus said unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes unto the Father, but by me." John 14:16. kjv
Those are the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."Through Whom He created the worlds", Hebrews 1:2 nkjv. This is the One who has been exalted above the heavens and the earth and that which is beneath the earth. "'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending', saith the Lord, 'which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.'" Revelation 1:8 kjv.
"Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." Hebrews 1:3-4 nkjv. It is by His, (Jesus Christ), stripes we were healed.
As offensive as some will find the above picture, this is how many view Jesus. Their conduct shows that this is the Jesus who was here and is expected to return, but that person in that picture isn't Jesus!
There is only one Jesus, no other. Yet there are people preaching and teaching another Jesus. Preaching and teaching abominable heresies about Jesus being merely a prophet, or that God will let every single human into Heaven regardless of how they have lived their lives, these false teachers deny the power of the true God. Who is this other Jesus? One who is weak, one who is dispensable, one who is willing to let those who have not denied themselves of vices and many works of iniquity and taken up their cross to follow Him, enter into heaven willy-nilly. There are many false teachers out there saying that there are many ways to get to God, but there is only one way to the Father and that way is through Jesus Christ. There are those, "Spiritual Gurus" who teach things like reincarnation and all you need is to trust in yourself and follow your heart, or one of the most popular ones that's going around, "live your truth". Can truth be found outside of God? No. Still these doctrines are lauded over things like, trust in God, justification by faith, deny yourselves and repentance. We are taught through the Holy Scriptures not to follow our hearts because, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9 kjv.
So many have become accustomed to the prosperity preaching, the gospel of inclusionism, and other doctrines of men, that things like, "take up your cross and follow Jesus", sound practically alien. Many wonder, "Deny myself of what?" For the most part, it's pleasures we refuse to deny ourselves of. Unlawful things, things that we have trying to fill a void, that truly only God is able to fill. Many don't want to let those go, and those that do, don't know how and are confused and end up listening to persons that are teaching that they can remain as they are and enter into heaven.
It can be quite confusing for a person who is struggling with something to know who is right and wrong if they do not know Jesus. There are persons who say they are Christians that preach God's grace and mercy and repentance and God's wrath and then there are people who also call themselves Christians that preach about reaping blessings freely without having to make any changes in your life, and they also teach that money is the key to solving all problems, and that homosexuals won't be punished because they are only loving one another, calling good evil and evil good. Then you have the persons who call themselves Christians who teach about Jesus but their conduct is not worthy of the Gospel. Hot, cold, lukewarm, it's only a matter of which one are you? All the different beliefs among those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ, no wonder it is very confusing to those who are non-believers. Of course the bulk of their confusion is because of the veil over their eyes, because many exchange the truth of God for a lie, Romans1:25. Although we are called to be of one accord, it seems as though there is more division among the members of the Christian faith, than there is in the many false doctrines out there, that isn't good.
There is a very famous pastor that said gays will get into heaven, just as they are, gay and everything, but this is a lie. Instead of teaching the truth, that God is a God who prefers mercy rather than sacrifice, and that He prefers for you to come clean, i.e. confess your sins; denounce former lusts and follow Him, and only after you have done the will of God you can receive the promise, not after you do what you will, many preach of another God who can fellowship with darkness, who's grace and mercy begins on the Day of Judgement, not today while it is still called today. Many believe they can take things up with God when they see Him face to face, or on the Day of Judgement, God will read off of a really long scroll all that a person has done wrong and give everyone a pardon who has lived their lives however they pleased. The time to receive grace is now, today. When Jesus returns He will be returning to receive those who have thankfully received Gods grace and mercy and the truth. He will be returning for those who have done the will of God, who have served God in Spirit and in truth. The just live by faith. We are justified by faith. If you believe in the things that are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you're going to receive your portion with the workers of iniquity. Jesus told the disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, Matthew 16:6, meaning to beware of their doctrine. Many have disregarded this warning and decided to satisfy their itching ears with teachings that feed their flesh, while their Spirit becomes malnourished.
It is written that, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." 1 John 4:1-3. "...and is NOW already in the world", ruminate on that.
It's rare these days to find anyone admonishing and exhorting the bretheren to beware of those who are not of Jesus Christ but appear as though they are. Most are teaching about blessings that one can gain from following Jesus, but perhaps inadvertently or not, forget to mention that one must deny themselves of many things if they want to be a follower of Jesus Christ, if they want to be a child of God, they must have faith. "Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works." Matthew 16:24-27 nkjv. Denying yourself anything is hard for many. Denying yourself that piece of cheesecake whilst on a diet is hard, but many cheat on diets, but you cannot cheat in your walk with the Lord. You won't be in it alone my friend, God is there to provide you with self-control, one of the fruits of His Holy Spirit, which is issued to all those who believe in Jesus Christ, to those who remain in the True Vine, Jesus Christ. "My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness..." 2 Corinthians 12:9 kjv.
It is amazing how easy it is for people to deny the Truth. Many are hastening into the strong delusion we were warned about. The wool is being pulled over many persons eyes. How? There are people who come as though they represent Jesus, but in fact are agents of the devil, and many who are unable, even unaware, of the importance of testing spirits, fall into the snares set by the enemy. "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. We must be careful of those persons who are not teaching of the true Jesus. There are many anti-christ's who are with us now. To protect ourselves during this time, we must arm ourselves with the armor of God. "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints..." Ephesians 6:14-18 nkjv.
Those are the words of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."Through Whom He created the worlds", Hebrews 1:2 nkjv. This is the One who has been exalted above the heavens and the earth and that which is beneath the earth. "'I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending', saith the Lord, 'which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.'" Revelation 1:8 kjv.
"Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they." Hebrews 1:3-4 nkjv. It is by His, (Jesus Christ), stripes we were healed.
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| Image from Google.com and Funnyjunk.com |
There is only one Jesus, no other. Yet there are people preaching and teaching another Jesus. Preaching and teaching abominable heresies about Jesus being merely a prophet, or that God will let every single human into Heaven regardless of how they have lived their lives, these false teachers deny the power of the true God. Who is this other Jesus? One who is weak, one who is dispensable, one who is willing to let those who have not denied themselves of vices and many works of iniquity and taken up their cross to follow Him, enter into heaven willy-nilly. There are many false teachers out there saying that there are many ways to get to God, but there is only one way to the Father and that way is through Jesus Christ. There are those, "Spiritual Gurus" who teach things like reincarnation and all you need is to trust in yourself and follow your heart, or one of the most popular ones that's going around, "live your truth". Can truth be found outside of God? No. Still these doctrines are lauded over things like, trust in God, justification by faith, deny yourselves and repentance. We are taught through the Holy Scriptures not to follow our hearts because, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" Jeremiah 17:9 kjv.
So many have become accustomed to the prosperity preaching, the gospel of inclusionism, and other doctrines of men, that things like, "take up your cross and follow Jesus", sound practically alien. Many wonder, "Deny myself of what?" For the most part, it's pleasures we refuse to deny ourselves of. Unlawful things, things that we have trying to fill a void, that truly only God is able to fill. Many don't want to let those go, and those that do, don't know how and are confused and end up listening to persons that are teaching that they can remain as they are and enter into heaven.
It can be quite confusing for a person who is struggling with something to know who is right and wrong if they do not know Jesus. There are persons who say they are Christians that preach God's grace and mercy and repentance and God's wrath and then there are people who also call themselves Christians that preach about reaping blessings freely without having to make any changes in your life, and they also teach that money is the key to solving all problems, and that homosexuals won't be punished because they are only loving one another, calling good evil and evil good. Then you have the persons who call themselves Christians who teach about Jesus but their conduct is not worthy of the Gospel. Hot, cold, lukewarm, it's only a matter of which one are you? All the different beliefs among those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ, no wonder it is very confusing to those who are non-believers. Of course the bulk of their confusion is because of the veil over their eyes, because many exchange the truth of God for a lie, Romans1:25. Although we are called to be of one accord, it seems as though there is more division among the members of the Christian faith, than there is in the many false doctrines out there, that isn't good.
There is a very famous pastor that said gays will get into heaven, just as they are, gay and everything, but this is a lie. Instead of teaching the truth, that God is a God who prefers mercy rather than sacrifice, and that He prefers for you to come clean, i.e. confess your sins; denounce former lusts and follow Him, and only after you have done the will of God you can receive the promise, not after you do what you will, many preach of another God who can fellowship with darkness, who's grace and mercy begins on the Day of Judgement, not today while it is still called today. Many believe they can take things up with God when they see Him face to face, or on the Day of Judgement, God will read off of a really long scroll all that a person has done wrong and give everyone a pardon who has lived their lives however they pleased. The time to receive grace is now, today. When Jesus returns He will be returning to receive those who have thankfully received Gods grace and mercy and the truth. He will be returning for those who have done the will of God, who have served God in Spirit and in truth. The just live by faith. We are justified by faith. If you believe in the things that are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, you're going to receive your portion with the workers of iniquity. Jesus told the disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees, Matthew 16:6, meaning to beware of their doctrine. Many have disregarded this warning and decided to satisfy their itching ears with teachings that feed their flesh, while their Spirit becomes malnourished.
It is written that, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world." 1 John 4:1-3. "...and is NOW already in the world", ruminate on that.
It's rare these days to find anyone admonishing and exhorting the bretheren to beware of those who are not of Jesus Christ but appear as though they are. Most are teaching about blessings that one can gain from following Jesus, but perhaps inadvertently or not, forget to mention that one must deny themselves of many things if they want to be a follower of Jesus Christ, if they want to be a child of God, they must have faith. "Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works." Matthew 16:24-27 nkjv. Denying yourself anything is hard for many. Denying yourself that piece of cheesecake whilst on a diet is hard, but many cheat on diets, but you cannot cheat in your walk with the Lord. You won't be in it alone my friend, God is there to provide you with self-control, one of the fruits of His Holy Spirit, which is issued to all those who believe in Jesus Christ, to those who remain in the True Vine, Jesus Christ. "My grace is sufficient for you: for my strength is made perfect in weakness..." 2 Corinthians 12:9 kjv.
It is amazing how easy it is for people to deny the Truth. Many are hastening into the strong delusion we were warned about. The wool is being pulled over many persons eyes. How? There are people who come as though they represent Jesus, but in fact are agents of the devil, and many who are unable, even unaware, of the importance of testing spirits, fall into the snares set by the enemy. "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve. 2 Corinthians 11:14-15. We must be careful of those persons who are not teaching of the true Jesus. There are many anti-christ's who are with us now. To protect ourselves during this time, we must arm ourselves with the armor of God. "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints..." Ephesians 6:14-18 nkjv.
13 comments:
Sateigdra,
I love the amount of scripture you have contained in your post. The lovely thing is that the Word of God is not condemning, but is always encouraging to those who are truly seeking Him because He does not want us to fall and miss out on the blessings contained in Him. We are told that there are wheat and tares in the Kingdom, but if we seek the Lord daily for wisdom then He will give us the Spiritual food necessary to sustain and protect us. There are many things that I would have called 'pleasures' in my 'worldly' years, but I can truly say that nothing I did or had in those thirty five years could possibly compare with what I have in Jesus, and the thought of no more tears, no more death is a bonus far above what bankers could ever receive. God bless you Sateigdra.
This is an excellent post Sateigdra, full of personal insight and all backed up by relevant scripture. The Gospel has been twisted for the gain of many who have no interest in Jesus but are in it for personal gain alone. It is better to be poor and right with God, than rich and alienated from God. I would rather be poor and doing God's will, than rich and be estranged from God. Of course, to have a few bob as well as being a Christian would be nice too! But seriously, we must always refer back to scripture and we must be willing always to be active in our faith, to do good to people and when we can preach the Gospel.
You wrote: 'Denying yourself anything is hard for many. Denying yourself that piece of cheesecake whilst on a diet is hard, but many cheat on diets, but you cannot cheat in your walk with the Lord.' I'm on a diet, and never was a truer word spoken!!! ;~)
Dear Sateigdra,
I have come across your blog page as I was browsing Tim Child's Christianity blogger page.
Your blog post is well written, full of Scripture references.
As for denying myself, taking up the cross and daily following Jesus, I have read blogs, articles and books, and listened to sermons on this subject over the years, and I came to the conclusion that many have unwittingly put the cart before the horse.
Why not read my latest blog post:
"Lordship Salvation - Fact or Fallacy" - and I welcome any comments.
God bless,
Frank.
Thanks Brenda, and you're right the word of God is not condemning it is encouraging. I think only believers see that though, non believers think it's condemning and they want nothing to do with it and they hate it when believers refer to scripture in a conversation
I just had a discussion on facebook a few days ago and a lady commented on a friends note about gay marriage, she was for gay it an dthe guy against it. The guy started sharing scripture with her she started getting defensive. Just like the Lord said, those who belong to Him hear Him and those who are of the world hear the world. God Bless you too Brenda, thanks for dropping by again.
Hey Tim, thanks for the feedback, I always appreciate it. "It is better to be poor and right with God, than rich and alienated from God." one of my favorite scriptures. The honest truth is that nobody really and truly wants to be poor, but God through His great wisdom has shown us how to find contentment even when we are in the most dire straits.
Good luck on your diet, lol. I'm pretty sure the one thing I may never be able to be faithful in, is a diet. lol.
Frank thanks for dropping by, I appreciate your response. I will be heading to check out your latest post right now.
I always got to remember to give all the Glory to God.
Hi Sateigdra,
just thinking about you and hoping that you are well. Haven't seen you around the blogs for a while. Hope to see another interesting post soon from an excellent writer. God bless you.
Hey Brenda, Thanks for thinking of me.I think of you often as well. I keep you and my other blog friends in my prayers. I wasn't on for a while been keeping busy a bit over the past several days. I always say I'm going to take a day and catch up on everyone's posts soon. Thanks so much for checking up on me, it's nice to know somebody think's of ya. God bless you Brenda. :-)
Hi Sateigdra again,
I hope you are ok. I was thinking about you this morning, and I know it is not for me to say, but I was thinking 'What a lovely testimony Sateigdra's recent experience of a trial would make and how it would encourage others who go through the same thing. We are all of us only learning to defeat the enemy and our trials are wonderful encouragement to others who may give up. Please forgive me if I have intruded where I should not have, it's just that I think that the Lord has brought you to write your blog and the enemy is trying to stop you. God bless you whatever you do.
Hey Brenda,
You didn't intrude at all. I am feeling a bit better now. I write on my computer occasionally, If it's lengthy I don't blog it, but I might write something on here soon, I'm not sure. Thanks for checking up on me, and thanks for your encouraging words it means a lot. God Bless you Brenda for your kindness :-)
Hi Sateigdra,
just popped over to say 'Have a lovely day'
Brenda
Thank you so much Brenda. I hope you have a lovely day too. A lovely week even.
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