AMAZING GRACE!

We’ve all heard the song Amazing Grace. It was written by a former slave ship captain who begged God for mercy during a storm when he thought his ship was sinking. Later in his cabin, John Newton realized that God answered his prayer directly and showed mercy to him and all that were on board his ship. John later became a preacher and a songwriter. His church services became so overcrowded that his church had to be enlarged.

Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see.

In 2007, Chris Tomlin released his hit song Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone), adding the following verses:

My chains are gone
I’ve been set free
My God, my Savior has ransomed me
And like a flood His mercy reigns
Unending love, Amazing grace.

There are several definitions for the word GRACE but the ones I like best are Mercy, Clemency, a temporary immunity or exemption and reprieve. God sent His only Son to die a horrible death to grant you clemency from an eternity separated from Him. But the problem here is that we humans don’t want to admit that we are not supreme in the universe and we don’t want to give up control. God has a plan for you, but you have to allow Him free reign in your life and then after you have given God control over your life, you must be obedient to follow Him wherever He leads you. If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior, you are free; your chains have been broken! You need no longer fear death because Jesus has overcome death for you! Your home is not here on earth, so why should you live like it is?

God’s mercy is unending. We go about our daily business, never even thinking about how the Holy Spirit (who is God) came to live in us when we were saved. If you are like me, usually we are thinking about the three people most important to us: me, myself and I. I’m sure that I unknowingly sin countless times a day, but it is because of God’s unending love and mercy raining down on me like a flood, that I am forgiven. The only thing that keeps me going is His unending love. As a Christian, it is the only thing that keeps you going too.

If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Savior, but you do want to be free and you want your chains broken today, then I am asking you to open up your heart to Him....right now! If Jesus Christ is your personal Savior, then I am asking you to consciously make an effort at all times to fully realize that the Holy Spirit is living inside you and has a wonderful plan for you! It is up to you to be obedient, to listen to His voice and to follow wherever He leads you. If God can so totally change a despicable slave ship captain, lead him to preach the gospel to thousands and to write a song that millions have heard and loved....what can He use you to do? But, you must listen to Him and you must be willing to let Him use you for the great things He has planned for you!

“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.” Eph 2:4-9 (NIV)

To find out more about receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior please read our blog titled New Life in Christ (April 2, 2010).

@copyright 2010 LVC Ministries, Inc

John Newton (1725-1807) Amazing Grace
The story of John Newton - http://www.anointedlinks.com/amazing_grace.html

YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN

Against my better judgment, I was watching the news the other day and all I could think about was “Lord, what are we going to do?” Every story was depressing and demoralizing. How and when did we allow our country and the world to become like it is right now?

In Ezekiel chapter 34 we read how the shepherds quit taking care of the flocks that God had given to them, instead they began to feed off of their flocks. The shepherds no longer strengthened those who were weak, they no longer healed the sick and they no longer bound up the injured. The shepherds were so busy taking care of themselves, seeing to their needs and making sure that they had the best that life could offer, that they no longer went out in search of the sheep that were lost.

Maybe, just maybe that is why this country has gotten off track. Somehow, the sheep have allowed some shepherds to teach things in the church that is of the world and not of God. When it comes to God, there is no gray area, it’s always follow me and obey my commands, or pay the consequences. The law of physics tells us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Maybe, right now, today this country (and the world) is reaping the reaction of our past actions.

I know that it is not “politically correct” to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, that is, Jesus is the only way to salvation (Matthew 14:6) but, yes, He is the only way to salvation and apparently many of our churches today have forgotten that. It seems that some parents have forgotten to teach their children that also. Call me old fashioned, but a child’s foundational knowledge of salvation and the Bible must begin at home. So, really, we can’t actually blame it all on the church, we all must take some of the responsibility.

So now what do we do? Matthew 9:37-38 says “Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. 38 Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (HCSB). As Christians we are told by Jesus to pray to God that He will send out people to witness to those who are lost. Jesus also tells us “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you...” Matt 28:19-20 (NIV). These two verses tell me that not only is there an abundance of people in the world that need to hear about the Gospel, and not only are we supposed to pray to God to send workers out into the field, but we are the workers! We are to go out into the fields and reap the harvest of lost souls for the Kingdom of God and where the church is concerned we must be “like the Bereans” (Acts 17:11) and examine the scriptures with eagerness to see if our shepherds are leading the flock in the direction that the Lord has commanded.

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last...” John 15:16 (NIV).

@copyright 2010 LVC Ministries, Inc

CHASING AFTER THE WIND

The book of Ecclesiastes is written by a person who is close to the end of his life. He is trying to make sense of life as he looks back over it from the beginning to the fast approaching end. While thinking about our lives while we are here on earth, he concludes that God has our path already laid out for us and He is in complete control. “This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes." Eccl 7:29 (NIV).

The word upright when used in this context means that God made mankind righteous. In the Garden of Eden, God walked and talked with Adam and Eve and these two perfect humans had a complete and total relationship with Him. He was in complete control and he had their path laid out in front of them. But, Eve decides that there must be a better way and well.....you know the story.

When I read verse 29 in Ecclesiastes, I knew immediately what the verse meant, because that is exactly what I do all of the time. God has told me what my purpose is and He has shown Himself to me on so many occasions in order to increase my faith in Him so that I would KNOW that He has the perfect plan for me.....but what do I do? I go chasing after a scheme! I think “well, maybe, I should really be doing this, instead of that!” Am I the only person that does this, or are you also guilty? Am I the only one that thinks that I can choose a better path to follow than the one that God has set before me? Time and time and time again I think that I know what is best for me when all I really should do is just let go and give God complete control. Wouldn’t life be so much easier if we just accepted the simple fact that God really is in control and that God really does have the perfect plan for each of us?

How about if you and I start a journey together and from this moment forward we turn control of our lives over to God? We promise to set aside some quiet daily time reading the Bible and praying and asking God to give us the strength that we need to trust Him with everything in our lives. When I say pray, I don’t mean our daily SOS prayers that we send up to God, I mean spend time in our prayer closets pouring out our hearts to God and actually listening quietly for Him to answer us! When we sincerely do this and truly listen, He will respond and then it is up to us to become obedient and to follow where ever He leads. If you feel like your life is going nowhere fast....trust God and be obedient to His calling on your life....don’t go chasing after schemes.

The writer of Ecclesiastes ends the book with this passage “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. 14 For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. Eccl 12:13-14 (KJV).

According to verses 13 and 14, we only have two jobs and those are to fear God and keep His commandments. How hard can that be? Well, actually if you’re like me, it’s pretty hard. Whenever we wander from the path that God has set for us in order to pursue our own schemes, we might as well be “chasing after the wind”. The time is now, open your eyes and realize that you have been given a wonderful gift. God has the perfect plan for you and in all things God is in control. “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.” James 4:8-10 (NIV)

@copyright 2010 LVC Ministries, Inc.

Broken Walls - Part 3

The book of Nehemiah is so rich with applications to our own lives that I couldn’t help but continue to glean from its wisdom for one more week.

In Nehemiah 4, the people had “a mind to work”, and had connected the wall and built it up halfway. They had some victory, but they were still only halfway there. This is when the enemy became very angry and conspired to attack Jerusalem and create confusion. Take this as a lesson for yourself… The enemy doesn’t want you to succeed and he will ramp up his attack and try to create confusion. This is when you’ve really got to get serious and be on the lookout for the enemy. The enemy sent word that they were going to beef up their attacks and kill the Israelites in order to stop the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The workers felt like their strength was failing and the enemy was causing the people to fear. This is an important time for the Israelites. Would they stop halfway in discouragement and fear, or would they continue on and finish in victory? Are you halfway through to the finish line? Are you discouraged and fearful? You can finish in victory!

Don’t give up and don’t fear the enemy! You can make it to victory if you keep with the plan God gave you! God will show that He is able to defeat the enemy. The Israelites spoke out, “Our God will fight for us.” Nehemiah 5:20b (NKJV), and you should speak that out too. The Israelites worked on constructing the wall with one hand while they held a weapon in the other hand. “Those who built on the wall, and those who carried burdens, loaded themselves so that with one hand they worked at construction, and with the other held a weapon. Every one of the builders had his sword girded at his side as he built.” Nehemiah 5:17-18 (NKJV) In a spiritual war like we are in, we don’t fight as the world fights, we use spiritual warfare.

To fight off our spiritual enemies, we carry the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Eph. 6:17). When we speak the word of God, it sends the enemy running. So it’s your job to create your own arsenal by memorizing Scripture that you can use to refute the enemy when you are attacked. Don’t agree with the enemy, but tell him the truth from the word of God. The enemy is a liar and will try to make you afraid saying that you won’t be able to do what God has called you to do.

For Nehemiah and the people, the wall was rebuilt in only 52 days. When the enemy found out that the Israelites were successful in completing the walls, they were very disheartened because they perceived that the work was done by God (Nehemiah 7:16) Let’s let God do the work of rebuilding the crumbling walls in our lives and dishearten our enemy! We don’t have to fear the enemy or be discouraged because we have a God that is stronger than the enemy. Keep fighting the good fight of faith and you too will succeed because your God fights for you! Before you know it, your walls will be standing tall and strong, and the enemy will be disheartened and defeated!


@Copyright 2010 – LVC Ministries, Inc.

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?

“Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?" 28 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets." 29 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ.” Mark 8:27-29

In the above verse, the disciples spent 24/7 with Jesus for 3 years and they believed that Jesus was the Christ. In John 8:58, Jesus states emphatically that he is God. "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" Other instances of eye witness accounts concerning the deity of Jesus Christ are:

1. The Roman centurions who nailed Him to the cross. “When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!" Matt 27:54

2. The fallen angels that He created, who served Him and actually saw Him sitting on His throne in Heaven before their rebellion and expulsion. “Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, "You are the Son of God!" But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Christ.” Luke 4:41

3. God Himself along with the incarnation of the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove. “When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased." Luke 3:21-22

Not only does the New Testament proclaim the divinity of Jesus Christ, but the Old Testament is full of prophecies about Him. The Old Testament prophets foretold of His birth, his death and his resurrection thousands of years before they occurred.

Who do you say that I am? When I was a child growing up, whenever I was asked this question, I would automatically say...Jesus is the Son of God. Later, as I grew into adulthood and completely got away from church, I would still tell you that Jesus is the Son of God. When God in His infinite grace chose to call me into a total relationship with Him, I came face to face with Jesus. My sins were laid bare before me and all I could do was fall on my face and repent of those sins to God. I realized with a breaking heart that Jesus was much more than just the Son of God. I realized that my life was nothing without Him in the center of it. Over the past 10 years or so, I have come to realize more and more exactly who Jesus is.

Who do you say that I am? That is a question that only you can answer for yourself.

*If you don’t know who Jesus Christ is or what salvation means, I urge you to read our blog entry titled “New Life in Christ.”




ALL VERSES FROM THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION

@copyright 2010 LVC Ministries, Inc.

Broken Walls - Part 2

Last week I mentioned that there are some areas of my life that feel a little out of control. Now I’ve decided that it’s really not wise for me to voice that, because I don’t want to give Satan a foothold and be in agreement with him. Instead, I’ve decided to ask God to take control and rebuild my crumbling walls of self-control. (Remember Proverbs 25:28 (NIV), “Like a city whose walls are broken down is a man who lacks self-control.”)

We saw in Nehemiah 1 that Nehemiah prayed, fasted and confessed his sins because the broken walls of Jerusalem reflected badly on God. In a similar way, our broken and crumbling walls of self-control reflect badly on God. As Nehemiah prayed, God gave him a detailed plan of how to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Like Nehemiah, we can receive clarity from God as we pray, and yes, even fast if that’s what God calls us to, in order to hear from Him. When God gives you a plan, He will help you work through it as you rely on Him.

Our walls won’t be rebuilt on hopes and dreams -- it’s going to require some hard work. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. So, does this qualify you as being insane? Are you doing the same things but hoping for different results? You’re going to have to change what you’re doing. Remember that God is not responsible to bless your mess. Find out what He’s calling you to do in order to rebuild your broken walls. When He calls you to do it, He’ll help you through it.

After Nehemiah got the “OK” to rebuild the walls, he took the time to view the walls personally. So have you taken a good look at your broken walls? Perhaps by looking closely you can gain some insight into what caused the wall to crumble in the first place. For the Israelites, it was disobedience. Is there an area of disobedience that you need to bring into submission to Christ?

As you work on rebuilding your broken walls, be aware that the enemy will attack. The enemy attacked Nehemiah and the Israelites, and he will attack you. Be prepared.

1 Peter 5:8 (NIV) – "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Nehemiah set up watchmen to keep an eye out for the enemy and so should you. You can do this by asking the Holy Spirit to give you discernment and make you aware of the enemy’s schemes. You can also ask your Christian family and friends to be watchmen for you by praying on your behalf. Ask God to cover you with a hedge of protection, knowing that if the enemy does attack, then God is allowing it for a very good reason, even if you don’t understand what that reason is. God is only going to allow those things that are for your good and that will make you stronger. But God’s ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). You may just have to wait until you’re in heaven to ask why He has allowed some of the things that He’s allowed in your life.

Nehemiah 4:6 (NIV) – “…and the entire wall was joined together up to half its height, for the people had a mind to work.”

As you have a “mind to work” on rebuilding your broken walls you will see milestones to success as what was once crumbling walls begin to be joined together, strengthened and built up higher and higher into a mighty fortress that will be used greatly by God!

@Copyright 2010 LVC Ministries, Inc.

ASLEEP TOO LONG!

Here I am again, early morning, sitting outside watching the world wake up. This is my time to spend quiet time with God. Sometimes, I read God’s Word sometimes I sit quietly talking to God and listening intently to see what He has to say back to me. Prayer is a two-way conversation. To hear God we have to give Him a chance to talk back.

Sitting there thinking about how awesome it will be to one day kneel before His throne and see all the wonders that God has planned for us, I was saddened to think that many people will never see the amazing home that God has freely given us to spend eternity in, simply because they have chosen not to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.

This in turn got me to thinking about how Satan works so hard to keep lost people lost and how he tries so hard to thwart Christians from doing the only true mission that God has planned for us, and that is telling lost people about Jesus.

While I was sitting there thinking about God and Satan, I started thinking about how our only enemy (yours and mine) is not flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12). In 2 Kings 6:15-17 Elisha and his servant woke up one morning and saw their city surrounded by an army with many horses and chariots. The servant was terrified and asked what will we do? Elisha said don’t worry, “those who are with us are more than those who are with them!” Then Elisha prayed and asked God to open his servant’s eyes and the Lord did open his eyes. When the servant looked, he saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire.

As I thought about this, I was comforted to know that surrounding me always is God’s ministering angels, protecting me from the unseen spiritual battle that is going on around me. As you read this, it is important that you realize there is a battle going on around you at this very moment. The last thing in the world that Satan wants is for this to go out and for you to read it. Satan has worked very hard to become a “myth”. In an April 2009 Barna Survey, 4 out of 10 self-described Christians (40%) agreed with the statement “Satan is not a living being, but is a symbol of evil.” An additional 2 out of 10 self-described Christians (19%) agreed somewhat with that statement.

In John 8:44 Jesus tells the Jewish people “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me!” John 8:44-45

Satan is a master liar and manipulator, he knows your hot buttons and he knows how to push them. You also know what your hot buttons are and when you feel Satan pushing them, as a follower of Jesus Christ, you are free to say “NO” to Satan’s antics.....he has no authority over you! Of course, he doesn’t want you to believe this, but, you are set free in Christ! Romans 6:18 tells us “You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.” You do not have to be a puppet on a string any longer; you are free because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Savior is the only way that you can break free of Satan’s influence and if you don’t know this freedom, please see our blog titled “New Life in Christ.”

Father God,
I know that this is a strange entry today, but it is one that You have placed upon my heart. So many of Your children are hurting and in pain because of the devil. Because of the sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus Christ, we are no longer slaves to his lies. Open our eyes Father so that we might see the lies and manipulations for what they are and from whom they come. Your Word tells us that Satan is a liar and a deceiver and Your Word also tells us that we have overcome and are no longer slaves to the father of sin! All honor and glory goes to You because of Your merciful grace. You have given us life through Your precious Son and because of his sacrifice and death on the cross, Satan has no hold on us....we belong to You....thank You! In Your precious Son’s name, Jesus Christ, I pray! Amen



RESOURCES:
http://www.barna.org/topics/faith-spirituality

ALL VERSES FROM THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION