Wonderful! This is why God said, "bless those you curse you." Praying!
Dawn Martin Shared this:
A drunk man called Michael used to harrass us and threaten us every time we preached on the streets in Hammersmith.
Finally after a week of his harassing us, we took him and his friends a homemade dessert and sat down and talked with him. His heart melted.
We were able to share the Gospel with him. Now he shakes our hand and smiles and hugs us. He is still not saved but we are seeing a completely different Michael, a sober, meeker Michael.
We share our faith and he listens. He smiles and waves at us from across the road. We could have been like Michael, lost and confused yet God showed us mercy! God is definitely changing Michael bit by bit. We see the changes in him each time we meet him. Please pray for his salvation.
Thursday, June 25, 2020
Marriage is a Picture of Salvation
One of the misunderstandings about the "exception clause" in the book of Matthew, is that it was referring to marriage, it is not. In the Jewish custom "betrothal" or as we say engagement, is nearly as binding as the marriage with one exception.
The betrothed, (engaged) couple must provide a certificate of divorce from an engagement if one of the parties was found to be unfaithful.
In the KJV of the Bible the words used in Mathew "except for fornication" is properly translated as being before marriage. God was speaking to the Jewish people according to their customs for divorcing from an engagement. Notice that God never has this exception in the other gospels, its because he was speaking to Gentiles who didn't have a custom of divorcing from an engagement.
There is no exception for adultery in marriage in God's Word. In fact, God clearly said He set aside Israel but will be reconciled to her during the tribulation. The marriage of a man to a woman is a picture of Christ and His church. Nothing can dissolve the union of Christ to His believers.
God said in the Word, "let no man put asunder" meaning, "no man can put asunder what God has joined. It does not matter which sin anyone commits they cannot be severed from the marriage.
When God makes someone a new creation they cannot go back and be the old again, the old has passed away.. When a man and woman marry for the first time God makes them one, this is a work of God that cannot be severed by any man, not even the adulterous person. No one can undo what God has done.
There is no sin greater than another sin that cannot be forgiven or that severs the relationship of a oneness union. All sins can be forgiven. Also notice there is nowhere in the word that commands someone to divorce, this is because divorce is not possible.
Christ died for us while we were yet sinners, that is every kind of sin possible was included, He would never give a command that demonstrates a lack of forgiveness or a severing of what He did.
2 Timothy 2:13 "13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself."
Christ said that if we so much as lust after someone its the same as committing the sin of adultery. So do we divorce because someone had a lustful thought? No, there is no sin that can sever or break the marriage oneness that Christ did in the marriage.
Also, this is for unsaved people too, otherwise, they would not be dead in their trespasses and sins. The same sin we repented of to become born again is the same sin the unsaved remain in before they are born again..
Let's remember too that nothing God does can be undone by man. If we love Him we "will" follow His commands, not perfectly but when we sin we hate it and confess to be cleansed. 1 John 1:9
We also have an advocate with the Father because we belong to Christ, non-believers do not have an advocate.
1 John 2:1 "My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous."
God still loves us when we sin and we remain saved, a picture of us and our spouses.
Wednesday, June 24, 2020
The Devil Controlling the Minds of Many
Often, people now believe if they think something it must be true.
The devil is placing evil thoughts in the minds of people to confuse, frustrate, and cause anger when nothing happened to foster these feelings.
Most people do not know the Lord, therefore, they do not understand the spiritual battle going on in their own mind. They have a feeling and determine that it was caused by someone else and then they proceed to vent the anger as though it was rational to do so.
The devil did this with Eve in the garden. He told her God was lying to her, making her disbelieve and disobey Him. His rules for Eve protected her but all she saw was that He was keeping something from her that she might want. The devil is doing the same thing today.
The world is exploding with irrational thinking because the minds of many are twisted up with lies from the devil. He is behind all the actions of the evil people, who seem completely out of control because they are out of control. The devil is working in their minds to make them believe things that are not true.
Ephesians 6:12
"12 For our struggle is not against [a]flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
This is what we are watching now in these end times, the completely irrational thinking and actions of those who have no defenses against the devil.
They think they are free from the influence of others but they are not free, they are in the worse bondage possible, under the control of an unseen enemy who is hell-bent on destroying them and anyone else he can influence them to destroy.
1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
How does someone stop the influence of the devil in their lives? There is only one way, that is to believe in Christ and His finished work on the cross for their sins while asking to be changed into a new creation by Him. Anyone who does this will be changed by Christ and will no longer be under the power of the devil.
1 John 4:3-5 "…3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time. 4 You, little children, are from God and have overcome them because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them."
The devil is placing evil thoughts in the minds of people to confuse, frustrate, and cause anger when nothing happened to foster these feelings.
Most people do not know the Lord, therefore, they do not understand the spiritual battle going on in their own mind. They have a feeling and determine that it was caused by someone else and then they proceed to vent the anger as though it was rational to do so.
The devil did this with Eve in the garden. He told her God was lying to her, making her disbelieve and disobey Him. His rules for Eve protected her but all she saw was that He was keeping something from her that she might want. The devil is doing the same thing today.
The world is exploding with irrational thinking because the minds of many are twisted up with lies from the devil. He is behind all the actions of the evil people, who seem completely out of control because they are out of control. The devil is working in their minds to make them believe things that are not true.
Ephesians 6:12
"12 For our struggle is not against [a]flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
This is what we are watching now in these end times, the completely irrational thinking and actions of those who have no defenses against the devil.
They think they are free from the influence of others but they are not free, they are in the worse bondage possible, under the control of an unseen enemy who is hell-bent on destroying them and anyone else he can influence them to destroy.
1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walketh about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
How does someone stop the influence of the devil in their lives? There is only one way, that is to believe in Christ and His finished work on the cross for their sins while asking to be changed into a new creation by Him. Anyone who does this will be changed by Christ and will no longer be under the power of the devil.
1 John 4:3-5 "…3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time. 4 You, little children, are from God and have overcome them because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them."
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