- Who can be saved? Am I saved? Are you?

Published on: July 12, 2020

NEVER DOUBT GOD

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Luke 1:5-80

The mother of Jesus and of John, the Baptist, both became pregnant after a visit by the Holy Spirit, or God's Messenger.

The angel Gabriel came to Zechariah when he and his wife, Elizabeth, were old. Gabriel told Zechariah that Elizabeth would have a son, and they should name him John. Zechariah doubted Gabriel because they were so old and Elizabeth could not have children. Since he did not believe, Gabriel silenced Zechariah so that he could not speak.

Then, six months later, the angel Gabriel went to Mary, the wife of Joseph and future mother of Jesus, and told her that she would have a son, and that she would name him Jesus. Mary said, how is this possible? I am a virgin. Gabriel told her that Zechariah's wife Elizabeth is already six months pregnant and she is old. That with God anything is possible.

After the angel left Mary, she went as fast as she could to Zechariah's house to see Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard her coming, the baby inside her leapt with joy. Jesus and John, the Baptizer, in the wombs of their mothers, both impregnated by the Holy Spirit. Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then returned home.

The day Elizabeth's baby was born, everyone wanted to name him after his father, Zechariah, but Elizabeth said, no, his name is John. The people asked Zechariah what he wanted, and he asked for something to write on and he wrote, "His name is John." And immediately his mouth was opened, and he could speak.

Zechariah became filled with the Holy Spirit, and he told the people a message from God:

Luke 1

68 “Praise to the Lord God of Israel.
    He has come to help his people
    and has given them freedom.

69 He has given us a powerful Savior
    from the family of his servant David.

70 This is what he promised
    through his holy prophets long ago.

71 He will save us from our enemies
    and from the power of all those who hate us.

72 God said he would show mercy to our fathers,
    and he remembered his holy agreement.

73 This was the promise he made to our father Abraham,

74     a promise to free us from the power of our enemies,
so that we could serve him without fear

75     in a way that is holy and right for as long as we live.

76 “Now you, little boy, will be called a prophet of the Most High God.
    You will go first before the Lord to prepare the way for him.

77 You will make his people understand that they will be saved
    by having their sins forgiven.

78 “With the loving mercy of our God,
    a new day from heaven will shine on us.

79 It will bring light to those who live in darkness, in the fear of death.
    It will guide us into the way that brings peace.”

Published on: July 5, 2020

FEAR GOD, NOT PEOPLE

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Matthew 10:26-42

Fear God, Not People

26 “So don’t be afraid of those people. Everything that is hidden will be shown. Everything that is secret will be made known.

27 I tell you all this secretly, but I want you to tell it publicly. Whatever I tell you privately, you should shout for everyone to hear.

28 Don’t be afraid of people. They can kill the body, but they cannot kill the soul. The only one you should fear is God, the one who can send the body and the soul to be destroyed in hell.

29 When birds are sold, two small birds cost only a penny. But not even one of those little birds can die without your Father knowing it.

30 God even knows how many hairs are on your head.

31 So don’t be afraid. You are worth more than a whole flock of birds.

32 If you stand before others and are willing to say you believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you belong to me.

33 But if you stand before others and say you do not believe in me, then I will tell my Father in heaven that you do not belong to me.

34 Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace. I came to bring trouble.

35 I have come to make this happen:

‘A son will turn against his father.

A daughter will turn against her mother.

A daughter-in-law will turn against her mother-in-law.

36 Even members of your own family will be your enemies.’

37 Those who love their father or mother more than they love me are not worthy of me. And those who love their son or daughter more than they love me are not worthy of me.

38 Those who will not accept the cross that is given to them when they follow me are not worthy of me.

39 Those who try to keep the life they have will lose it. But those who give up their life for me will find true life.

40 Whoever accepts you also accepts me. And whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.

41 Whoever accepts a prophet because he is a prophet will get the same reward a prophet gets. And whoever accepts a godly person just because that person is godly will get the same reward a godly person gets.

42 Whoever helps any of these little ones because they are my followers will definitely get a reward, even if they only give them a cup of cold water.”

Hallelujah! Praise God! Amen!

Published on: July 3, 2020

JESUS CHRIST, THE KING OF KINGS

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Isaiah was a prophet, who was said to have found his calling, when he prophesized about the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, for forgiveness of our sins and eternal salvation, 700 years before Jesus' birth.

Isaiah 53:1-12

1 "Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

Hallelujah! Praise God! Amen!

Published on: July 1, 2020

". . . THE EARTH IS WHERE I REST MY FEET"

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Isaiah 66 ERV

God Will Judge All Nations

66 "This is what the Lord says:

“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is where I rest my feet.

So do you think you can build a house for me? Do I need a place to rest?

2 I am the one who made all things. They are all here because I made them,” says the Lord.

“These are the people I care for: the poor, humble people who obey my commands.

3 Some people kill bulls as a sacrifice, but they also beat people.

They kill sheep as a sacrifice, but they also break the necks of dogs.

They offer up grain offerings, but they also offer the blood of pigs.

They burn incense, but they also love their worthless idols.

They choose their own ways, and they love their terrible idols.

4 So I decided to use their own tricks. I will punish them using what they are most afraid of.

I will do this because I called to them,
    but they did not answer.

I spoke to them,
    but they did not listen.

They did what I said is evil.
    They chose to do what I did not like.”

5 You who obey the Lord’s commands, listen to what he says:

“Your brothers hated you. They turned against you because you followed me.

Your brothers said, ‘When the Lord shows his glory, then we will rejoice with you.’

    But they will be punished.”

Hallelujah! Praise God! Amen!

Published on: June 28, 2020

"BUT YOU ARE SO STUBBORN . . ."

He will reward or punish everyone for what they have done.

Romans 1:28-32

28 "People did not think it was important to have a true knowledge of God. So God left them and allowed them to have their own worthless thinking. And so they do what they should not do.

29 They are filled with every kind of sin, evil, greed, and hatred. They are full of jealousy, murder, fighting, lying, and thinking the worst things about each other. They gossip

30 and say evil things about each other. They hate God. They are rude, proud, and brag about themselves. They invent ways of doing evil. They don’t obey their parents,

31 they are foolish, they don’t keep their promises, and they show no kindness or mercy to others.

32 They know God’s law says that anyone who lives like that should die. But they not only continue to do these things themselves, but they also encourage others who do them."

Romans 2:1-11

Let God Be the Judge

1 "So do you think that you can judge those other people? You are wrong. You too are guilty of sin. You judge them, but you do the same things they do. So when you judge them, you are really condemning yourself.

2 God judges all who do such things, and we know his judgment is right.

3 And since you do the same things as those people you judge, surely you understand that God will punish you too. How could you think you would be able to escape his judgment

4 God has been kind to you. He has been very patient, waiting for you to change. But you think nothing of his kindness. Maybe you don’t understand that God is kind to you so that you will decide to change your lives.

5 But you are so stubborn! You refuse to change. So you are making your own punishment greater and greater. You will be punished on the day when God will show his anger. On that day everyone will see how right God is to judge people.

6 He will reward or punish everyone for what they have done.

7 Some people live for God’s glory, for honor, and for life that cannot be destroyed. They live for those things by always continuing to do good. God will give eternal life to them.

8 But others are selfish and refuse to follow truth. They follow evil. God will show his anger and punish them.

9 He will give trouble and suffering to everyone who does evil—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews.

10 But he will give glory, honor, and peace to everyone who does good—to the Jews first and also to those who are not Jews.

11 God judges everyone the same. It doesn’t matter who they are."

Hallelujah! Praise God! Amen!

Published on: June 21, 2020

". . . YOU WILL COMPLETELY DESTROY EACH OTHER."

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Galatians 5:13-15

13 "My brothers and sisters, God chose you to be free. But don’t use your freedom as an excuse to do what pleases your sinful selves. Instead, serve each other with love.

14 The whole law is made complete in this one command: “Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.”

15 If you continue hurting each other and tearing each other apart, be careful, or you will completely destroy each other."

Galatians 5:19-25

19 "The wrong things the sinful self does are clear: committing sexual sin, being morally bad, doing all kinds of shameful things,

20 worshiping false gods, taking part in witchcraft, hating people, causing trouble, being jealous, angry or selfish, causing people to argue and divide into separate groups,

21 being filled with envy, getting drunk, having wild parties, and doing other things like this. I warn you now as I warned you before: The people who do these things will not have a part in God’s kingdom.

22 But the fruit that the Spirit produces in a person’s life is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these kinds of things.

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their sinful self. They have given up their old selfish feelings and the evil things they wanted to do.

25 We get our new life from the Spirit, so we should follow the Spirit.

26 We must not feel proud and boast about ourselves. We must not cause trouble for each other or be jealous of each other."

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