Those Who Follow Christ

Capture the Rapture: The Ultimate Good News – Pastor Mark Henry

Belief Leads to Repentance

Yep, few preachers explain the "believe" and "repentance" as being a realization of our own sinfulness and God's holiness and a change of mind toward those facts, resulting in a change of behavior. 

Gwendolyn Wehage

Alan Brayshaw shared this: 

" God hates the LUKEWARM GOSPEL OF HALF-TRUTHS that is now spreading over the Globe. This gospel says, 'Just believe in Jesus and you'll be Saved. There's nothing more to it.' It ignores the Whole Counsel of God, which speaks of Repenting from former Sins, of Taking up your Cross, of being conformed to the Image of Christ by the refining work of the Holy Spirit. It is totally silent about the Reality of Hell and an After-Death Judgment."
David Wilkerson

Depending on God Alone!

This virus has managed to divide the church causing people to snark at one another over something that is questionable. No one can know for sure about this virus or the vaccine. Most opinions have been formed based on internet hype on both sides.

Each person must seek God for their own decision. Fighting over this matter, accusing, mocking, pressuring others, is not acceptable no matter which side one takes. I am perfectly alright with attempting to influence someone if we are convinced but not rudeness ever. Any arguing or fighting over it is not displaying the fruit of the Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, gentleness, kindness, self-control.

It is also arrogance to think we can know about this virus or the vaccine when all we have is the testimonies of people we don't know and have never met.

Since we have no clear mandate from God about this vaccine, each one is free to decide for themselves.

Since no one can know for sure let's be kind to one another allowing each to seek God on His own.

It's time we set aside our pride, demonstrate faith that God knows what He is doing, trust in Him and stop judging the decisions of others over this matter that God never mandated one way or another in His Word.

No one can find any scripture that handles this matter of diseases and their cures specifically, except to say that there will be pestilences in the last days. There is no clear direction what to do about them, except to trust Christ.

God can tell one person to do one thing and another person to do the opposite for His own purposes and to glorify Him. We need not pressure or demean anyone else over this matter.

Anyone who claims to know exactly what everyone should do is full of pride depending on the internet hype more than they are on God.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Seeking God to Learn Our Own Heart

Authentically born-again believers can love the way Christ loves because He has replaced their own spirit with the Spirit of God.

John 13:34-35 "…34 A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also must love one another. 35 1

John 3:14

"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death."

1 John 4:20

"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. By this everyone will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.”

Love is the first and main gift given to all born-again believers. None of the other fruit of the Spirit can operate without this very first fruit in the list. We all have this fruit of love if we are born again, then all the other fruit are present because of this first fruit.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Without love, none of the other fruit can be present.

Matthew 22:34-40

"34 But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together.

35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him:

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”

37 And He said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’

38 This is the great and foremost commandment.

39 The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

40 Upon these two commandments hang the whole Law and the Prophets.”

When we encounter someone who, as a lifestyle, shows lack of love we have met someone who is not born again.

1 John 3:10

"10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother and sister."

Self-reflecting in prayer is the best way to find out if we are demonstrating our heart having been changed by Christ through a lifestyle of Spiritual fruit.

We need to keep seeking God to learn our own heart.