Archive for the ‘ Religion ’ Category
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16, ESV
Our love for each other, care for others, and commitment to Christ will show people who He is, and they can only give glory to God if they are saved.
That means God uses you to reach the lost.
Continuing our journey through the songs and hymns that have had an impact on my spiritual life, we now turn to another of those famous Christmas carols.
O Come All Ye Faithful
Joyful and triumphant,
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem.
Come and behold Him,
Born the King of Angels;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.O Sing, choirs of angels,
Sing in exultation,
Sing all that hear in heaven God’s holy word.
Give to our Father glory in the Highest;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.All Hail! Lord, we greet Thee,
Born this happy morning,
O Jesus! for evermore be Thy name adored.
Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing;
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
O come, let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord.
In all of the hustle and bustle of the holiday season, it can be too easy to forget to stop and worship our King.
We must remember that this is a time of joy. Our Savior has come!
Some may get caught up in the materialism. Get past it.
Some may get caught up in the idea that angles do not sing. I like what some teach, that they did sing at Creation (Job 38:7) but stopped singing at the Fall. However, perhaps they did sing at the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:13-14), for God joined His Creation to save sinful humanity.
Regardless, let us come together and adore our Savior and King!
But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:3-4, ESV
We are to do good things for others, but it is out of love for God and others. If we do good things to look good in front of others, then we are loving ourselves only.
The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; he knows those who take refuge in him.
Nahum 1:7, ESV
Trust in God. When times are bad, He knows your need and holds you.
But trust Him in good times, too. Those are times to draw near in comfort and get to know Him.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9, ESV
Stop trying to earn your salvation. It is an undeserved gift given freely to those who believe in the saving work of Christ through the cross.
Just believe it.
(Then do good works out of love.)
For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
Romans 10:10, ESV
We can know that Jesus is Lord, but unless we believe in our innermost being and are willing to tell others, we are not saved and justified.
Move past mere head knowledge. Even Satan knows Jesus is the Son of God …
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Jeremiah 33:3, ESV
Some claim we will all prophesy, based on such passages.
Rather, the Father wants to share salvation and sanctification with us. Call on Him, and the Son will be revealed to you through the Holy Spirit.
And now we thank you, our God, and praise your glorious name.
1 Chronicles 29:13 ESV
We must always – ALWAYS – remember to thank God and give Him praise for all He has done and is doing and will do.
In fact, get in the habit of thanking God before asking God.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1, ESV
We do not have a blind faith. We have the historical, prophetic, and biblical evidence, with the ultimate proof of our faith being the real and physical death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.
2 Corinthians 7:1, ESV
This is sanctification.
Let the Father change you through the Holy Spirit ever more to be like Christ. Repentance literally means “change your mind”. It takes a changing of the way you think to change your actions.
a simple man of God 