The Salvation Message in a Nutshell

Confess your sinfulness and that you are without hope to save yourself.

Realize that Christ paid your sin debt and all you have to do is place your trust in Him.

When you have confessed and trusted, then He will come to live in you and change you entirely. You will be a new person.

Proverbs 28:13 "Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper,

but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy."

Hebrews 9:12

"He entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption."

2 Corinthians 5:17

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."

After Christ changes you, you will have the desire to know His heart and to obey Him, knowing that He is the One Who made you and knows the very best for you. You no longer look to yourself for answers, you will look to Him.

Romans 12:2

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."

1 John 5:18

"We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him."

1 John 3:9

"No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God."

For pretenders who want to appear saved but don't love God's Word or Christ, stop the pretense and become broken over your sinfulness to become saved for real.

Many "Christians" came through the back door!!!!

Many people over the years have decided to become Christian for various reasons.

One reason is their friends were Christians, or the person they planned on marrying was Christian.

Young children "accepted" Christ because of the pressure of their parents to do what their parents suggested they do. They wanted the approval of their parents so they decided they should become a Christian to be loved by man. These children learn all the verbiage of the parents but have never trusted Christ and were never changed by Him.

Another reason people become Christians is that they believe they will make good spouses. Since obeying God's word is not essential to both parties the "Christian" marries the non-believer hoping to change them. The non-believer doesn't want to be changed by anyone so they remain rebellious and pretend to go along with what the believing spouse wants.

The real reason for the marriage on the part of the believer is physical attraction, if we were to be honest. If character mattered more than anything else the believer would not be attracted to the unbeliever.

Over time the desire to get along with the believing spouse is reduced and even goes away completely, the marriage is a disaster. Remember the unbeliever cannot sustain godly ways because they have never been changed into a new creation by Christ, they are merely pretending. It doesn't take long for the pretense to be exposed, the unbeliever becomes weary of the game and gives up entirely.

God requires a contrite heart to become born again. That word "contrite" means "crushed" by the sin they no longer love within them. The unbeliever changes their mind about their sin because of the gospel and desires to be changed by Christ into a new creation.

Acts 3:19

"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."

To repent means deep regret or remorse over sinfulness.

1 John 1:9

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Those who decide to become Christians without ever repenting or are never crushed under the weight of their sin, cannot be born again. Sadly, many people came to Christ thinking all they had to do was be a better person, follow a set of rules and their in like flynn. Expecting to be very successful very quickly at this "Christian thing."

I know many Christians who think they are saved because they were born into a family that went to church every week and because they did all the right things expected of them.

Did you know a person can "do all the right things" and still go to hell? The reason is because they attempted to be good in their own strength and according to their own thinking. They tried to follow Christ in their own effort developing pride at how good they think they are. These people never self-reflect to keep close accounts with God because they are their own god.

When we become contrite (crushed) under the realization that we are sinners without hope, then we can come to Christ desiring to be changed by Him.

2 Corinthians 5:16-18 "…16 So from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. Although we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:…"

Unless Christ does the changing in us, we cannot be saved. We cannot change ourselves, or trust in ourselves and go to heaven. We must trust in Christ, confess our sinfulness and desire to be changed into a new creation by Him in order to be changed and saved.

When Christ changes us our mind is changed too. We no longer desire the things of the world as we loved before. We have a new nature that desires to know the heart of God. A new nature that desires holiness while avoiding sin. If our flesh causes us to sin we want to be disciplined by God to be brought back into fellowship with Him. We never lose our salvation but we can lose fellowship with God until we confess to be cleansed. The Holy Spirit in us will go silent until we confess. When we confess He will once again fellowship with us. The following verses were given to born-again believers.

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."

Psalm 66:18 "If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear:"

Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take the discipline of the Lord lightly, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?"

God does not throw away His children over sin, but He does discipline them so they will learn to grow in holiness.

Our flesh is sinful and must be resisted, it is the Spirit of God Who lives in us Who helps us to resist the sin that tempts us. If we ignore the Holy Spirit He will stop speaking to us or helping us until the consequences of the sin help to drive us back to Him to confess and turn from the sin. Do not think that a born-again believer will get away with sin merely because they are under the grace of God.

It is because they are under grace that God will punish them, they do not escape His spanking. If a believer persists in sin refusing to hear the Holy Spirit until death, they will lose rewards in heaven.

1 Corinthians 3:14-16 "…14 If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss. He himself will be saved, but only as if through the flames. 16 Do you not know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?"

Those who do not have the fruit of the Spirit but call themselves Christian cannot be saved until they are contrite and desire to be changed by Christ. Those who defend their sin and refuse to confess will not be saved.

Galatians 5:22-23

"22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law."

Every born-again believer has all this fruit, they are not acts of kindness they are character qualities. They do lead to right living but many unbelievers can fake this in right living, but they do not possess the quality itself. Unbelievers will not be forgiven of their sin even if they confess them, if they have not first trusted Christ. God wants them to realize it is their "nature" that is sinful and must be redeemed through confession and change of the nature by Christ.

When we have the fruit of the Spirit we don't have to pretend kindness, it is a part of who we are, we do this without thinking because it is our new nature. The same with all the other gifts.

If a person is kind to those they like and mean to those they don't like, this person does not have the fruit of the Spirit. a born-again believer is kind to everyone all the time, it is not in their character to be anything else.

When we are born-again we recognize others who have the fruit, it is the Spirit of Christ in us that connects with the Spirit of Christ in another born-again believer.

Too many people take out of context the verse that says we cannot know the heart of another man. While this is true that "we" cannot know, the Holy Spirit in us does know and He imparts to us the discernment and wisdom to be able to see the character of a person.

Matthew 7:15-20

You Will Know Them by Their Fruits

15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them."

Satan will try to deceive you by making you doubt the discernment of Christ in you by using Scripture out of context and intimidating you into feeling like a bad person for the wisdom God has given you.

The apostate church became apostate by using scripture out of context and intimidating people into doubting what the Holy Spirit has told them. Do not be surprised when you are rejected for telling the truth that God gave you. Christ was rejected too and all His apostles.

Keep looking up all the time every day, this will keep you strong and confident when Christ directs you into truth.

And lastly; Fear no man!!!! Many will try to intimidate, mock, exclude and demean you, let them and then ignore them and keep obeying Christ.

Satan is using these people to intimidate you into silence and even entice you into sin, don't let him.

Luke 21:28 " 28 When these things begin to happen, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

Hallelujah!!!!

How a Covert Narcissist Controls You Through Disorientation - Day 10

What is Your Whole World?

O.K. so we struggle daily with the attacks of the devil through illness, people and circumstances, are these things bigger than Jesus Christ Who lives in us? NO!!!!

All the things we encounter teach us valuable lessons that bring us great joy when we learn them.

If anyone is looking for a comfortable safe life they will miss many lessons and many wonderful Spiritual blessings!

This life is a vapor passing very quickly, we only have a few years compared to eternity to learn the lessons and share the good news of the gospel with others.

Mark 16:15

"And he said to them, “Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

When God spoke collectively to the apostles He told them to "go into all the world", not all the apostles would go to the whole world, they went where the Holy Spirit led them, just as we can be where God wants us even if it's just our own small communities.

Our world sometimes is unsaved family, when they reject us we go to our neighbors. If God leads we meet someone on trips who we speak to about the Lord.

One time I encountered someone at the hardware store, I spoke the gospel to him in the parking lot. Our world could not possibly be the entire world, but it's our little world where we encounter people every day.

And, on Facebook, we truly can reach the world from our living room. Even an invalid who is in a wheelchair can meet people and speak to them about Christ.

There are those who would say this is dangerous, but it's only dangerous if you do it without the Holy Spirit, leaning on your own understanding and through selfish pride that places you in danger.

When we depend on the Holy Spirit we can be safe, He will not allow us to be scammed if we pray over everything. Our ego must get out of the way and our dependence on Jesus Christ Who lives in us must be full.

Do not miss the opportunity in these last days to follow the great commission in whatever way and from wherever God leads you. We might be surprised one day to find out how much more far-reaching the internet was than if we had traveled thousands of miles.

Seek Christ and you will not go wrong. Do not make any moves until Christ tells you!

Go Into Your World And Preach The Gospel… Romans 10:14, 1 Corinthians 1:21

Thank you, thank you!!! God has given many of us an opportunity through social media. I am an older lady without the ability to travel around the world or even preach on street corners. However, Christ has given me Facebook to connect with people all over the world from my little home office. I cannot express the joy of meeting other believers through the internet, hearing encouraging talks like this one as well as actually being able to meet some of my Facebook friends. I have even had unbelievers watching, that didn't reveal they were looking for years and I didn't know it. I shut down Facebook four times after my daughter introduced it to me, because of the foolishness I saw on there. I kept going back to reactivate it four times asking God what is the pull here, why am I doing this? His answer was unmistakable on the fourth time, He clearly said in that still small voice; "Use it for Me." I have had a desire for years to share with others but our cultural Christian families wanted nothing to do with seeking the Bible or the Holy Spirit. Then the Lord introduced me to my Spiritual family and life took a wonderful turn for the best. I praise God for the internet, for the ability to be able to type and write to share with others and to receive their shares too. Hallelujah!!!!

Finding Brothers and Sisters You never knew you had!

Yesterday I was looking through the newsfeed on Facebook and found two separate people expressing what I have been experiencing for many years. They found the source of joy and peace in Christ and no longer fit into the mold of their "Christian" churches or families.

The more we seek Christ and His truth the more we realize how little that is done in the modern church that is in obedience to Christ.

Many claim to believe in Christ, but seem to have no desire to search Him in prayer and read His word to learn from Him. They merely want a sugar daddy who gives them comfort and bails them out when they can't get themselves out of trouble. Its not about worship or dedication to Him, it is using him like an amulet to get their own way.

Matthew 7:7

"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you."

So many use the Matthew 7 verse to justify expecting God to do for them when God commanded that we follow His will.

John 14:15-17

New American Standard Bible

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

The Holy Spirit

16 I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, so that He may be with you forever; 17 the Helper is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him; but you know Him because He remains with you and will be in you."

Born-again believers are looking for direction from God, they dare not direct God.

My comment on one of the news feeds was as follows. I though that probably others are encountering what I have and would be encouraged that they have their own family to belong to that does not follow the world. That is the family of Christ.

The comments

"I just saw another post addressing "being an outsider." Interesting two in one day minutes apart for me. I wrote the following in response to it;

"This is the story of my life, and I see it now as a blessing. When I have always been on the outside I was free to develop my real personality and talents given by God. Those who remained in the "group-think" never seemed to grow emotionally or spiritually. I wanted to grow but knew if I remained with the group I would not be able to grow. We were all expected to be the same, if anyone stepped out of the group think they were intimidated to come back as long as they changed their thinking to fit with the group."

Never feel left out when cliques ignore or reject you, count it joy and peace to your soul that you remain free in Christ to follow Him, His way!!!! Hallelujah!

Resisting the World

When we resist the challenge to be like everyone else, when we desire to develop and grow spiritually and emotionally we will be excluded and rejected for daring to be different.

Most people want to be accepted and will change their thinking to fit into the world. If they have a rational thought that differs from the world they will set aside the rational to embrace the irrational merely to be accepted by the culture around them.

Christ was on the outside of every culture, and even though He brought love and emotional and Spiritual healing to those who trusted in Him, the onlookers who loved their traditions hated Him.

Notice too that the religious leaders hated Christ, they feared loss of their power over the people. People have a tendency to follow a hierarchy system so they don't have to think for themselves. This is the reason the religious leaders could intimidate others into following them instead of an unseen God. It is a weak faith that follows men instead of the Holy Spirit they cannot see.

Those who follow a system or men depend on those things to do their spirituality for them. Little do they realize that no one and nothing else can be a relationship with God on our behalf.

We will stand before God all by ourselves. If we obey the culture, a husband, parents, or the culture in disobedience to God then we alone will be held accountable for our sin of idolatry.

Whenever a person attaches more authority to a person or thing than they do to God, they have an idol in their heart.

Isaiah 44:6

"Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god."

1 Timothy 2:5

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,"

When a husband, a priest, or a preacher becomes the first person we go to for counsel, then we have a false mediator between us and God.

1 Timothy 2:4-5 "…4 who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, "

Jesus Christ Who lives in us is the only mediator we need and hates that we turn to anyone else first. It is not a problem to listen to good counsel based on the word of God, but ultimately our search for truth must be toward the Holy Spirit.

Many "Christians" almost never pray unless they are in deep trouble they cannot get themselves out of, often these people do not pray because they do not have the Holy Spirit.

When we love God we talk to Him all day long and desire to hear from Him for His will, not our own. Those who have a laundry list of things for God to grant, do not understand a relationship with Christ Who lives in believers.

Sadly some people treat their friends the way they treat God. They only call on their friends when they want or need something. In their minds friends are to be used and things and events are to be loved more than people. In fact, many people who refuse to hear from God except when they are getting their own way, are people who use friends and love things.

Psalm 7:17

“I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.”

Psalm 9:11

“Sing praises to the Lord, who sits enthroned in Zion! Tell among the peoples his deeds!”

Psalm 18:3

“I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.”

Psalm 21:13

“Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength! We will sing and praise your power.”

Spend a day just praising and thanking God without any requests or any self-focus, you will be amazed at the peace and joy that returns.