The statue of Liberty is a representation of Libertas, the ancient goddess of freedom. Sadly, freedom to do and be anything
America wants is being worshiped and has been since the beginning of this country. Like everything else in "Christian America," many pagan and false ideas have been worshiped while adding God to them to make us sound Christian.
Why do Americans love that statue so much? My guess is that Freedom has become their god, above Jesus Christ.
Those of us who are free in Christ are free in our Spirits even when we are imprisoned. Freedom for believers isn't about physical freedom; it is about Spiritual freedom that no one can take from us.
We have been set free from the guilt and power of sin because Christ lives in us. These are things we cannot see with our physical eyes but are seen by believers with Spiritual eyes.
Have you ever felt the sense that someone was "off" who claimed to be a Christian? Your Spirit was just not connecting with them; no matter how much they do that sounds Christian, you just had no bond or relationship with them?
Have you ever felt the sense that someone you are meeting for the first time connected with you so fully that you believed they must be a Christian, and later you found out they were?
I have experienced both of these things, and it is undeniable that when we meet with an authentic believer, the same Spirit that is in them is the One Who lives in us too.
I experience this much more rarely now than ever before because most people are living a superficial, feelings-oriented religion rather than an authentic walk with Christ.
Many came to the Christian church to marry someone or to join a club that made them feel better about themselves, but they have never had a born-again experience.
Matthew 7:21-23 "I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
Sadly, many people in our day who attend churches are going to hear these frightening words, even those who don't think they pertain to them.
Luke 13:25-27 "After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’ Then you will say, ‘We ate and drank with you, and you taught in our streets.’ And he will answer, ‘I tell you, I do not know where you are from. Depart from me, all you evildoers.’"
John 6:40 "For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
Saying we believe is far different from having been transformed by Christ because of our brokenness, knowing we need a Savior and can do nothing ourselves that will gain us heaven.
Even the devil knows the Bible and will quote it out of context to justify His disobedience, while fostering this in others.
2 Corinthians 13:5-6 " 5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Can’t you see for yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you— unless you actually fail the test? 6 And I hope you will realize that we have not failed the test."
Examine yourself!!!! If you have trusted in Christ fully, you will not follow the traditions of men, but love the Word of God.
Saturday, September 12, 2026
The Claim is not the same as Doing
Christians today in all the churches are violating more of Scripture than they obey while saying, "I am a Bible believer." One cannot claim that unless they seek to obey God's Word, but they claim it anyway.
The Rituals of Man are a Distraction From God
Can you tell me one good Biblical reason for Christians to hold hands when they pray collectively? Where did this practice come from? Why do so many people do it?
The only place I see this practice is in paganism, when pagans "complete the ring" in order to summon the spirits.
Has modern Christianity once again added to its thinking one more practice from paganism?
The only rituals God gave born-again believers were baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the head covering for women and no head covering for the men.
Why must believers add rituals to God's Word that He never endorsed- traditions that man brought with them from paganism when they converted to Christianity?
The answer is that man always seems to think they can make up their own practices that they ultimately end up trusting in but have no value in their walk with Christ. And even more frustrating, expecting others to do it under penalty of judgment if they refuse to participate.
The hand-holding ritual is so entrenched now that if you decline to do it, others will judge you as petty and picky; after all, they are convinced it is harmless. If it is harmless, then why judge others who choose not to do it?
If it is harmless, then why are some people not allowed to choose not to do it without pressure from the group?
There were also no collective prayer meetings mentioned in the Bible except the Lord's Supper gathering, when everyone is there to edify one another with the Word of God. Their prayer is led by the Holy Spirit, their singing is led by the Holy Spirit, when they speak it is from the Holy Spirit.
Man-made rituals tend to place undue pressure on people, causing them to think something is wrong with their walk with God if they do not do what man has devised.
Because man judges those of us who do not practice these man-made rituals, we are avoided and judged because our decision to not follow them causes them to feel like we are judging them. Group-think has always placed pressure on those who don't obey the collective.
Mark 7:13 "13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”
Notice God said, "And you do so in many such matters." There are many things Christians practice and require of others that God never commanded, endorsed, or even practiced Himself.
Isaiah 29:13 "Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men."
When I pray, I want my prayers to be entirely focused on Christ, not on those around me in the room.
Matthew 6:5-6 The Lord's Prayer
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Many years ago, I questioned this practice of collective prayer because it distracted me from God. It focused me on what others were saying, with the expectation that I would agree with the words of others. But what if I didn't agree with the words of others? Was I then supposed to interrupt the prayer of another to correct them?
When the disciples asked Jesus Christ how to pray, He never once told them to be sure and be with others in a collective setting. We do pray in the gathering when we edify one another in the word. But this is not a command to make sure we gather with others when we pray. There is also no mention whatever in Christianity of holding hands as though there is some sort of special power in it.
Notice something interesting: when we pray in a group setting, we are allowing others to pray on our behalf rather than speaking to God ourselves. The ritual has become that only the pastor prays for you as a mediator. He knows how to do it, and you must agree with whatever he says.
Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."
Luke 11:1 "One day, in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Matthew 6:9-13
9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
I know that down through the centuries, many pagan practices and traditions were adopted by Christians as though they were necessary to be heard by God. The idea that our prayers are seen as more powerful when holding hands than if we obey God in our private closets is a ritual, but worse may actually be pagan in nature, adopted from ungodly practices.
When we place pressure on others to do what God never commanded, we are adding to His Word, frustrating those who see no need or cannot bring themselves to do something concocted by man and his own idea to summon demons.
When we question all things as God commanded, we are going to be pressured and judged as stubborn for not taking on something that does not make sense to us, and perhaps worse, may be emulating what the pagans do.
Modern Christianity is full of unbiblical traditions that people cling to as though anyone not doing them is rebellious and superior acting if they do not go along.
One thing God has done for me in the past 30 years is expose all the rituals in Christianity that God never commanded and that people have made a standard for judging others if they do not practice them.
I was once asked what I was doing for Christmas this year. My reply was, "I don't observe it because I am a Christian." There was shock on the person's face because have been convinced by man's tradition that this holiday was all about Christ, when in fact it is not about Him at all. It's all about the rituals, decorations, and practices man devised to add to Christianity what the pagans do.
Notice something important about the holidays that people say are Christian? The seculars love them too. Wouldn't it bring us to pause and ponder why secular people would love anything that elevated God and Jesus Christ?
Every year I hear the same rhetoric from Christians: "put Christ back in Christmas", but what they don't understand is that the Christ of Christmas is not Jesus Christ of the Bible; it is a different Jesus entirely.
The same is true of Easter, Halloween; all of it was human traditions that promote rituals God never commanded and ideas that the Bible never speaks about, distracting the people from the real Christ. Notice, too, that many people who hold fast to these human traditions never speak of the Lord's supper that He did give and command.
Luke 22:19-20 "19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood."
1 Corinthians 10:16 "Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?"
1 Corinthians 11:24-25 "and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
John 6:53-58 "53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread that came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
God's symbolism in the Bible that He commanded us to do is all about Him only! The rituals man does is a mixture of the desires and pleasures of man, ultimately making them almost entirely about man.
I don't tell others what to do when I choose not to follow these rituals; I just want the freedom to follow my heart concerning obedience to God's Word and being careful not to practice things that came out of paganism.
When our focus becomes the ritual to such an extent that it becomes a benchmark for our devotion to God, then perhaps it is the ritual that is the problem, not the one who chooses not to indulge.
The only place I see this practice is in paganism, when pagans "complete the ring" in order to summon the spirits.
Has modern Christianity once again added to its thinking one more practice from paganism?
The only rituals God gave born-again believers were baptism, the Lord's Supper, and the head covering for women and no head covering for the men.
Why must believers add rituals to God's Word that He never endorsed- traditions that man brought with them from paganism when they converted to Christianity?
The answer is that man always seems to think they can make up their own practices that they ultimately end up trusting in but have no value in their walk with Christ. And even more frustrating, expecting others to do it under penalty of judgment if they refuse to participate.
The hand-holding ritual is so entrenched now that if you decline to do it, others will judge you as petty and picky; after all, they are convinced it is harmless. If it is harmless, then why judge others who choose not to do it?
If it is harmless, then why are some people not allowed to choose not to do it without pressure from the group?
There were also no collective prayer meetings mentioned in the Bible except the Lord's Supper gathering, when everyone is there to edify one another with the Word of God. Their prayer is led by the Holy Spirit, their singing is led by the Holy Spirit, when they speak it is from the Holy Spirit.
Man-made rituals tend to place undue pressure on people, causing them to think something is wrong with their walk with God if they do not do what man has devised.
Because man judges those of us who do not practice these man-made rituals, we are avoided and judged because our decision to not follow them causes them to feel like we are judging them. Group-think has always placed pressure on those who don't obey the collective.
Mark 7:13 "13 Thus you nullify the word of God by the tradition you have handed down. And you do so in many such matters.”
Notice God said, "And you do so in many such matters." There are many things Christians practice and require of others that God never commanded, endorsed, or even practiced Himself.
Isaiah 29:13 "Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men."
When I pray, I want my prayers to be entirely focused on Christ, not on those around me in the room.
Matthew 6:5-6 The Lord's Prayer
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you."
Many years ago, I questioned this practice of collective prayer because it distracted me from God. It focused me on what others were saying, with the expectation that I would agree with the words of others. But what if I didn't agree with the words of others? Was I then supposed to interrupt the prayer of another to correct them?
When the disciples asked Jesus Christ how to pray, He never once told them to be sure and be with others in a collective setting. We do pray in the gathering when we edify one another in the word. But this is not a command to make sure we gather with others when we pray. There is also no mention whatever in Christianity of holding hands as though there is some sort of special power in it.
Notice something interesting: when we pray in a group setting, we are allowing others to pray on our behalf rather than speaking to God ourselves. The ritual has become that only the pastor prays for you as a mediator. He knows how to do it, and you must agree with whatever he says.
Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."
1 Thessalonians 5:17 "Pray without ceasing."
Luke 11:1 "One day, in a place where Jesus had just finished praying, one of His disciples requested, 'Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
Matthew 6:9-13
9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
I know that down through the centuries, many pagan practices and traditions were adopted by Christians as though they were necessary to be heard by God. The idea that our prayers are seen as more powerful when holding hands than if we obey God in our private closets is a ritual, but worse may actually be pagan in nature, adopted from ungodly practices.
When we place pressure on others to do what God never commanded, we are adding to His Word, frustrating those who see no need or cannot bring themselves to do something concocted by man and his own idea to summon demons.
When we question all things as God commanded, we are going to be pressured and judged as stubborn for not taking on something that does not make sense to us, and perhaps worse, may be emulating what the pagans do.
Modern Christianity is full of unbiblical traditions that people cling to as though anyone not doing them is rebellious and superior acting if they do not go along.
One thing God has done for me in the past 30 years is expose all the rituals in Christianity that God never commanded and that people have made a standard for judging others if they do not practice them.
I was once asked what I was doing for Christmas this year. My reply was, "I don't observe it because I am a Christian." There was shock on the person's face because have been convinced by man's tradition that this holiday was all about Christ, when in fact it is not about Him at all. It's all about the rituals, decorations, and practices man devised to add to Christianity what the pagans do.
Notice something important about the holidays that people say are Christian? The seculars love them too. Wouldn't it bring us to pause and ponder why secular people would love anything that elevated God and Jesus Christ?
Every year I hear the same rhetoric from Christians: "put Christ back in Christmas", but what they don't understand is that the Christ of Christmas is not Jesus Christ of the Bible; it is a different Jesus entirely.
The same is true of Easter, Halloween; all of it was human traditions that promote rituals God never commanded and ideas that the Bible never speaks about, distracting the people from the real Christ. Notice, too, that many people who hold fast to these human traditions never speak of the Lord's supper that He did give and command.
Luke 22:19-20 "19 And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body, which is being given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” 20 And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup, which is poured out for you, is the new covenant in My blood."
1 Corinthians 10:16 "Is not the cup of blessing that we bless a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?"
1 Corinthians 11:24-25 "and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”
John 6:53-58 "53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him. 57 Just as the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, the one who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread that came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died; the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
God's symbolism in the Bible that He commanded us to do is all about Him only! The rituals man does is a mixture of the desires and pleasures of man, ultimately making them almost entirely about man.
I don't tell others what to do when I choose not to follow these rituals; I just want the freedom to follow my heart concerning obedience to God's Word and being careful not to practice things that came out of paganism.
When our focus becomes the ritual to such an extent that it becomes a benchmark for our devotion to God, then perhaps it is the ritual that is the problem, not the one who chooses not to indulge.
Friday, September 11, 2026
Share with those who love Christ
Be careful with whom you share your joys; not everyone is on your side or the side of the Lord. Some hate your peace and freedom.
Anger at Correction is Irrational and Unproductive
What are you angry at: that you sinned against God, or that someone told you you were sinning against God?
Galatians 4:16-17 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them."
Psalm 55:12-14 "For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend. We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God."
John 8:45-46 "But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me! / Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?"
Amos 5:10 "There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity."
Our desire is to help others find the peace God has given us; the only way that is possible is through facing the truth, repenting and trusting in Christ.
We had to do it; everyone has to do it. Only pride makes it seem hard. When we remove the pride from our hearts through trusting in Christ, then we can be free, truly free. Pride is bondage! Humility and confession release that arrogance, freeing our spirit.
From Webster's Dictionary:
Arrogance: enslavement to an unearned sense of superiority.
Vanity: Excessive pride in your appearance or achievements.
Hubris: Extreme and dangerous pride or self-confidence.
Conceit: An excessively high opinion of yourself.
These character flaws keep people in bondage and a lack of inner peace. When we trust in Christ, He cleanses us of this, replacing it with great joy and purpose. His love is greater than we can ever explain.
Galatians 4:16-17 16 Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth? 17 Those people are zealous for you, but not in a good way. Instead, they want to isolate you from us, so that you may be zealous for them."
Psalm 55:12-14 "For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide. But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend. We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God."
John 8:45-46 "But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me! / Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?"
Amos 5:10 "There are those who hate the one who reproves in the gate and despise him who speaks with integrity."
Our desire is to help others find the peace God has given us; the only way that is possible is through facing the truth, repenting and trusting in Christ.
We had to do it; everyone has to do it. Only pride makes it seem hard. When we remove the pride from our hearts through trusting in Christ, then we can be free, truly free. Pride is bondage! Humility and confession release that arrogance, freeing our spirit.
From Webster's Dictionary:
Arrogance: enslavement to an unearned sense of superiority.
Vanity: Excessive pride in your appearance or achievements.
Hubris: Extreme and dangerous pride or self-confidence.
Conceit: An excessively high opinion of yourself.
These character flaws keep people in bondage and a lack of inner peace. When we trust in Christ, He cleanses us of this, replacing it with great joy and purpose. His love is greater than we can ever explain.
Looking Forward to Our Homegoing
Ecclesiastes 7:1-2 "1 A good name is better than fine perfume, and one’s day of death is better than his day of birth. 2 It is better to enter a house of mourning than a house of feasting, since death is the end of every man, and the living should take this to heart."
I doubt that I could count the number of times, over the years after becoming born again, I thought about my homegoing. The day that I leave this life and find myself in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, where I will spend eternity.
All the cares and trials of this life are gone, experiencing perfect love with the Lord Jesus Christ in a place I cannot even imagine, which has been promised to me because of His sacrifice on that cruel cross. I have a touch of this sense in this new and flawless life because He lives in me, but it is not fully realized until He takes me from this body and carries me to my eternal home.
Several of my Facebook friends have left this life and gone on to glory; I miss them but know one day soon I will meet them for the first time at my home going.
Proverbs 10:7: "The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. And yet I sense excitement that one day I will see them. I have not met them in this life, but I will know them when I see them for the first time in eternity.
Philippians 1:21-23 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.
A part of me envies those I love who have passed from this life into the glory of God's presence. They are already where I want to be, looking into the Face of Jesus Christ, knowing blessed perfection and love beyond measure.
1 Peter 1:3-12 "1 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,
11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look."
There is no greater joy than knowing that God has a purpose in all that we encounter and endure in this life, not only for us but for all those in our lives who love Him as we do.
1 Peter 1:23-25 "…23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you."
Our hope and joy is beyond human understanding and inexpressible; too great or intense to put into words. Only those who have been transformed by Christ into a new creation can understand this, and yet anyone who wants to place their trust in Christ can have it.
May those who are trusting in themselves, proud of how good they think they are, repent of their vanity, knowing that they will never have what it takes to save themselves without Christ.
It is Christ Who saves without our works; it is He Who keeps us, guides us, and eventually takes us home when He decides.
Ephesians 2:9-10 …9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life."
I doubt that I could count the number of times, over the years after becoming born again, I thought about my homegoing. The day that I leave this life and find myself in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, where I will spend eternity.
All the cares and trials of this life are gone, experiencing perfect love with the Lord Jesus Christ in a place I cannot even imagine, which has been promised to me because of His sacrifice on that cruel cross. I have a touch of this sense in this new and flawless life because He lives in me, but it is not fully realized until He takes me from this body and carries me to my eternal home.
Several of my Facebook friends have left this life and gone on to glory; I miss them but know one day soon I will meet them for the first time at my home going.
Proverbs 10:7: "The memory of the righteous is a blessing, but the name of the wicked will rot. And yet I sense excitement that one day I will see them. I have not met them in this life, but I will know them when I see them for the first time in eternity.
Philippians 1:21-23 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know. I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.
A part of me envies those I love who have passed from this life into the glory of God's presence. They are already where I want to be, looking into the Face of Jesus Christ, knowing blessed perfection and love beyond measure.
1 Peter 1:3-12 "1 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
5 who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
8 Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,
9 obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully,
11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories.
12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look."
There is no greater joy than knowing that God has a purpose in all that we encounter and endure in this life, not only for us but for all those in our lives who love Him as we do.
1 Peter 1:23-25 "…23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord stands forever.” And this is the word that was proclaimed to you."
Our hope and joy is beyond human understanding and inexpressible; too great or intense to put into words. Only those who have been transformed by Christ into a new creation can understand this, and yet anyone who wants to place their trust in Christ can have it.
May those who are trusting in themselves, proud of how good they think they are, repent of their vanity, knowing that they will never have what it takes to save themselves without Christ.
It is Christ Who saves without our works; it is He Who keeps us, guides us, and eventually takes us home when He decides.
Ephesians 2:9-10 …9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance as our way of life."
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)