This morning, a beautiful text was sent to me by a dear sister. She was sharing a story about a woman she knew who was deep into sin and how she prayed for help, but didn't leave the sin.
She was tormented until finally she was delivered when she made the decision to trust in Christ as she walked away from that which was comfortable and familiar to her. Then Christ delivered her, and her heart and life were changed forever.
My response to the story was one of sheer delight, because it was so familiar to my life. Here was my response.
"Wonderful, these words could have been written about me 50 years ago. It's even harder when we are surrounded by people who are not godly and want us to remain as we are. The real miracle and the real challenge is in surrendering so completely to Christ that it doesn't matter if you have any support from people."
"Praise God the Holy Spirit is greater than anyone around us. We can't blame anybody but ourselves, and when we finally fo come to Christ in earnestness, the beauty of our joy is so much greater than what we thought we would lose." Unquote
I think about this often when family members or old friends attempt to accuse me of my past that has been expunged from God's books.
Perhaps everyone should have a story like this that they have been delivered from while walking in victory now.
Our life is changed forever and often our friends change because our hearts have changed. We cannot walk with those who attempt to keep us down to avoid looking at themselves.
Unbelievers hate that our life is full of joy and purpose in Christ because they do not want to turn from their pleasures.
James 1:7 "…7 That man should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8He is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
When we hang onto sin while begging God to save us from the trouble we have caused ourselves, we cannot expect God to lift a finger to save us from the consequences. Often, it is the consequences that motivate us to seek Christ. It is God's love to allow us to wallow in what is miserable for us.
Praise God for all the trials He allows so that we will ultimately repent and become saved from hell and gain heaven.
James 1:2-8 "2 Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For that person ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord,
8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."
Sunday, April 19, 2026
God Has Not Forgotten Israel
Jews came into the nation in unbelief as the Bible said they would in the end times, but at the end of the tribulation, the whole nation will trust in Christ and will take the salvation message to the rest of the world.
Many Jews are coming to Christ now; the stage is being set, it won't be long now. 1948 was a milestone for believers, seeing the prophecy unfold.
Romans 11:1-2 "The Remnant of Israel
11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,[a] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?"
Psalm 94:14 "For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage."
1 Samuel 12:22 "Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own."
Isaiah 49:15-16 "“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you! Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me."
Many Jews are coming to Christ now; the stage is being set, it won't be long now. 1948 was a milestone for believers, seeing the prophecy unfold.
Romans 11:1-2 "The Remnant of Israel
11 I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham,[a] a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel?"
Psalm 94:14 "For the LORD will not forsake His people; He will never abandon His heritage."
1 Samuel 12:22 "Indeed, for the sake of His great name, the LORD will not abandon His people, because He was pleased to make you His own."
Isaiah 49:15-16 "“Can a woman forget her nursing child, or lack compassion for the son of her womb? Even if she could forget, I will not forget you! Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; your walls are ever before Me."
Some people suck all the joy out of a room just by entering, and others:
Some people suck all the joy out of a room just by entering, and others:
Pray for them!
Saturday, April 18, 2026
Transformed and Sealed Forever
Why those who have been transformed into a new creation by Christ will never lose their salvation and why they are loved by the Father and entrusted to the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:10-12 "But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."
John 15:15 "15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you."
Luke 12:4 "I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more."
Romans 8:15 "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Galatians 4:6-7 "And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” / So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God."
Not only are we sealed with the Holy Spirit we can know His Heart and Mind.
1 Corinthians 2:10-12 "But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of man except his own spirit within him? So too, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us."
John 15:15 "15 No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you."
Luke 12:4 "I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more."
Romans 8:15 "For you did not receive a spirit of slavery that returns you to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption to sonship, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
Galatians 4:6-7 "And because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba, Father!” / So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, you are also an heir through God."
Not only are we sealed with the Holy Spirit we can know His Heart and Mind.
Confession, Forgiveness and Reconciliation is Possible
For those who believe we should forgive those who are not sorry, this passage may bring clarity.
John 20:22-23 "And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Luke 17:3-4 "3Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
Our relationship with God cannot be reconciled without admitting we are sinners and in need of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our relationship with others is not fully restored unless we admit our offenses against them.
Matthew 5:23-24 "…23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."
1 John 4:20-21 "If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well."
Perhaps it would be good for us to ask ourselves these questions; "Do I love my brother enough to go to him with his offense against me so that he can repent." and "Do I love my brother enough to go to him and tell him my offense so that our relationship can be reconciled."?
Forgiveness is not about making ourselves feel better, even superior to those who have offended us. Confession and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin, both must be present to reconcile a relationship.
Today in our culture I see far too many people saying things like; "Just let it go" as though it is the higher road to take, elevating themselves. Yes, there are things that are irritating but not the level of a sin. This is not what we are talking about, it is sin that causes damage to others and often continual and persistent.
There are many things we can "just let go", such as someone who took our parking space at the store, or someone who ate the last cookie. These are not necessarily sins, just oversights or innocent acts. These are not worthy of a discussion about offense.
Relationships are becoming complicated and petty over silly things because anything that was done that irritated us is being treated as though it were a personal offense.
We have two problems going on in our culture today, those who are hyper sensitive to criticism and those who will not take a look at anything to resolve irritatioins out of fear of someone being offended. So what we have is a culture that walks around on egg shells without the ability to be honest and open and little is resolved in relationships.
We are living in the 2 Timothy 3:1-5 generation.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."
Colossians 3:13 "Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
How did God forgive? He forgave when there was confession of wrong and a desire to reconcile. There must be love to desire reconciliation and there must be denial of self.
John 20:22-23 "And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Luke 17:3-4 "3Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
Our relationship with God cannot be reconciled without admitting we are sinners and in need of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Our relationship with others is not fully restored unless we admit our offenses against them.
Matthew 5:23-24 "…23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift."
1 John 4:20-21 "If anyone says, “I love God,” but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well."
Perhaps it would be good for us to ask ourselves these questions; "Do I love my brother enough to go to him with his offense against me so that he can repent." and "Do I love my brother enough to go to him and tell him my offense so that our relationship can be reconciled."?
Forgiveness is not about making ourselves feel better, even superior to those who have offended us. Confession and forgiveness are two sides of the same coin, both must be present to reconcile a relationship.
Today in our culture I see far too many people saying things like; "Just let it go" as though it is the higher road to take, elevating themselves. Yes, there are things that are irritating but not the level of a sin. This is not what we are talking about, it is sin that causes damage to others and often continual and persistent.
There are many things we can "just let go", such as someone who took our parking space at the store, or someone who ate the last cookie. These are not necessarily sins, just oversights or innocent acts. These are not worthy of a discussion about offense.
Relationships are becoming complicated and petty over silly things because anything that was done that irritated us is being treated as though it were a personal offense.
We have two problems going on in our culture today, those who are hyper sensitive to criticism and those who will not take a look at anything to resolve irritatioins out of fear of someone being offended. So what we have is a culture that walks around on egg shells without the ability to be honest and open and little is resolved in relationships.
We are living in the 2 Timothy 3:1-5 generation.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 "But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.
2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, slanderers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,
3 unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good,
4 treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
5 holding to a form of godliness although they have denied its power; avoid such people as these."
Colossians 3:13 "Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
How did God forgive? He forgave when there was confession of wrong and a desire to reconcile. There must be love to desire reconciliation and there must be denial of self.
Confessing is the Key to Spiritual and Emotional Maturity
I feel sorry for people who have to live with those who think a believer can lose their salvation after Christ transformed them into a new creation.
It is not possible to ever admit we have a flaw or need to tell a loved one we are sorry for something we said or did when we think we never sin.
I have seen many people walking in pride at how good they think they are because they keep all the rules, rarely, if ever, apologizing to anyone.
When there is a spirit of pride that defends sinful attitudes to avoid having to confess to others their need for Spiritual growth, there will never be such growth.
James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
Confessing our sins, even the smallest ones, has two purposes: the first is to reconcile a broken relationship, and the second is to cause emotional and spiritual maturity in ourselves.
No one will be reconciled to God without confession of a sinful nature with the desire to be cleansed of it. The Christian life is one of a continuation after salvation to grow in holiness.
Without confession, holiness is abated. Holiness can only grow when there is a desire to know our flaws to admit them; only then can there be consistent development of character.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Proverbs 28:13 "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."
We are not likely to confess sins and forsake them if we do not believe we sin after salvation. Those who do not confess are either not saved or they are saved and remain spiritual and emotional infants until they learn to admit their flaws.
Psalm 32:5 "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah"
James 4:17 "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
James 4:7-10 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."
It is not possible to ever admit we have a flaw or need to tell a loved one we are sorry for something we said or did when we think we never sin.
I have seen many people walking in pride at how good they think they are because they keep all the rules, rarely, if ever, apologizing to anyone.
When there is a spirit of pride that defends sinful attitudes to avoid having to confess to others their need for Spiritual growth, there will never be such growth.
James 5:15-16 "…15 And the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick. The Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power to prevail."
Confessing our sins, even the smallest ones, has two purposes: the first is to reconcile a broken relationship, and the second is to cause emotional and spiritual maturity in ourselves.
No one will be reconciled to God without confession of a sinful nature with the desire to be cleansed of it. The Christian life is one of a continuation after salvation to grow in holiness.
Without confession, holiness is abated. Holiness can only grow when there is a desire to know our flaws to admit them; only then can there be consistent development of character.
1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Proverbs 28:13 "Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy."
We are not likely to confess sins and forsake them if we do not believe we sin after salvation. Those who do not confess are either not saved or they are saved and remain spiritual and emotional infants until they learn to admit their flaws.
Psalm 32:5 "I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah"
James 4:17 "So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin."
James 4:7-10 "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you."
Friday, April 17, 2026
False Preachers and Their False Doctrines
There are false preachers who would tell you that Christ went to hell after He died to suffer some more for our sins in hell. This is ridiculous and blasphemous.
Christ went to the paradise portion of Sheol, where the Old Testament saints went after they died. He preached the gospel to them and took them out. The Old Testament saints were looking to the Messiah, not knowing who He was, but when Christ went there, they met Him, trusted in Him, and went to heaven with Him.
Beware of those who take scripture out of context and make their own meaning to fit their own ideas. These people are devils sent by him to destroy the faith of many.
Matthew 7:15 "“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world."
Matthew 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect."
Some of the lies showing up in every church gathering today are so clever that many people will defend them as though they are the truth without knowing what God said in His Word or having a short passage snatched out of its context that sounds good. They depend on traditions rather than the Holy Spirit to guide them.
Christ went to the paradise portion of Sheol, where the Old Testament saints went after they died. He preached the gospel to them and took them out. The Old Testament saints were looking to the Messiah, not knowing who He was, but when Christ went there, they met Him, trusted in Him, and went to heaven with Him.
Beware of those who take scripture out of context and make their own meaning to fit their own ideas. These people are devils sent by him to destroy the faith of many.
Matthew 7:15 "“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves."
1 John 4:1 "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world."
Matthew 24:24 "For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect."
Some of the lies showing up in every church gathering today are so clever that many people will defend them as though they are the truth without knowing what God said in His Word or having a short passage snatched out of its context that sounds good. They depend on traditions rather than the Holy Spirit to guide them.
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