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The Devil's Goal!

Satan's biggest goal is to make us act as badly as he acts. He uses people to poke and prod at us to cause us to sin. Don't let his tricks cause you to become like him, or the people he uses.

When we are mistreated we will become stronger as Christ works in us. The trials are tests to cause growth in us.

James 1:2-8

Profiting from Trials

2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; 8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways."

Used as Doormats?

Sometimes we are used as doormats by others but we do not become like them in defense of ourselves.

2 Corinthians 4:8-10

"8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying around in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body."

When we are walking in the Holy Spirit we are strong no matter what others are doing to us.

Spiritual Healing is far better than Physical Healing!

Healing must come from the inside. If there is merely superficial outward change it is not real and will not last. Healing comes from Jesus Christ.

Physical wounds work this way too, the healing begins on the inside. Nothing is truly healed if only on the outside.

Spiritual healing is far better than physical healing. This body is dying, it is temporal and cannot see heaven, but our spirit leaves the body behind and continues to either heaven or hell.

When someone becomes born again they will leave their corrupted body and go to heaven. If they are not born again and leave their corrupted bodies they will go to hell.

The choice is ours and it is so simple. Trusting in what Christ did for us in paying for our sin on the cross is all we must do to be saved from hell. After we have trusted Him, He does all the work of transforming us. Our desires are changed completely, our hope is greater and our joy-full.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:8

"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."

Don't wait until it is too late trust in Christ today!

Forgiveness and Cleansing are Conditional!!!!

God still expects born-again believers to obey Him. The difference from OT to NT is that before the cross people of God did not have the Holy Spirit as we have. We have all the power necessary to obey God because of Christ in us. Sometimes we are stubborn and disobey, we are still saved but that does not make the sin alright with God.

Sinning as a born-again believer will bring us discipline, sometimes life-long devastating consequences. God commanded us to confess our sin to be cleansed 1 John 1:9, the only way to be cleansed, but that does not always remove the consequences we created for ourselves. They are often reminders of what sin causes and that we should avoid it.

We cannot grow in holiness without confession of the sin with the desire to stop it. The condition to be cleansed is to confess. Those who refuse to confess will not be forgiven.

1 John 1:9

9 IF we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Did we notice that "IF", many people ignore this as though we don't have to confess. YES, it is true that God has conditions for our forgiveness and so do our relationships with others.