A hill to die on

There is a battle that rages around us, a battle so intense that from the very beginning of creation it has been going on.

Most don’t even know it is happening, the weapons are mostly silent the agents are covert and it is fought in a realm we know about but in our foolishness refuse to acknowledge or talk about.

The spiritual realm is just as real as what we see around us right now, it is a realm where angels tread and demons dwell, it is a place where the prayers of God’s people make there way too His throne, and a place where even the bravest of mankind fear to go.

God’s word says this “Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by his vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens. For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit — which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints. Pray also for me, that the message may be given to me when I open my mouth to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel. For this I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I might be bold enough to speak about it as I should.” Ephesians 6:10-20 CSB

We are in this battle, we are born into it and in no way can we avoid it, ignoring it only helps the enemy for their powers are taken from fear, ignorance and apathy.

God never abandoned us, or intended for us too go at it alone and fight this battle, He fights this battle for us. He sent Jesus to defeat the enemy and He did. On the cross Jesus said “ it is finished” and struck the enemy a death blow.

God’s word says this; “For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by him, who is the head over every ruler and authority. You were also circumcised in him with a circumcision not done with hands, by putting off the body of flesh, in the circumcision of Christ, when you were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.”

Colossians 2:9-15 CSB

Jesus chose to take the hill called Mount Calvary , it was here that the battle raged for mankind’s soul, and Jesus took that hill for us. He abandoned His humanity, His Deity and surrendered His life for ours. But three days later He rose from the dead and once and for all ended the reign of sin and death.

By doing so He set the captives free, those who were held captive and those of us who would be held captive. He did this so we would see the love of God, the truth of God and so the enemy of God would be exposed for who and what he is, a liar, a thief and deceiver.

God’s word says this; “Now grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. For it says: When he ascended on high, he took the captives captive; he gave gifts to people. But what does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower parts of the earth? The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, to fill all things.”

Ephesians 4:7-10 CSB

“For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit, in which he also went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison who in the past were disobedient, when God patiently waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared. In it a few — that is, eight people — were saved through water. Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you (not as the removal of dirt from the body, but the pledge of a good conscience toward God) through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.”1 Peter 3:18-22 CSB

This battle we are in is already won, we must choose what side we will line up with.

Just as Jesus chose to die on a hill called Mount Calvary and rise again from the dead, we must choose to die on the hill of self. A hill where this battle rages daily for how we will live. When we choose to die on this hill, Christ lives in us and in Him we have the victory over sin and death, we can walk through the spiritual realm in Christ and be not afraid for His rod and staff comfort us as He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies.

God’s word says this; “Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1 John 4:7-10 CSB

Are you ready to walk in victory? We are more than conquerors when we surrender our lives to Christ, let’s walk in complete victory by surrendering all of our lives to Him today and die to ourselves so He may live in us.

“What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He did not even spare his own Son but offered him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:31-39 CSB

For more on spiritual battles read Genesis 3: Daniel 10: 2 Kings 6: Matthew 4: Acts 19: these are just a few examples of how real this battle is.

Walk into the light, no run into the light!

Have you ever watched a sunrise over the horizon?  Did you notice how the darkness of night retreats when the light appears? 

It's magical, breathtaking and is a reminder that darkness has no place in our lives, We may be overcome for a moment by the darkness , but it must flee in the presence of the Lord. 

The Lord reigns over all the earth, everything is subject to His will and way, darkness only exist because of the absence of His light, this absence is because of our sin, or our choices, the light is always there it is us that like the rotation of the earth that has moved, we can choose to walk in darkness or we can choose to walk in the light.

I have come out of the darkness and by God's grace will never return. 

How about you are your days dark? Are they filled with emptiness, fear, anxiety, sadness, loneliness, anger, bitterness, depression or addictions, come out of the darkness into the presence of my Lord, Jesus Christ and see what happens when He reigns.

“The Lord reigns! Let the earth rejoice; let the many coasts and islands be glad. Clouds and thick darkness surround Him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne. Fire goes before Him and burns up His foes on every side. His lightning lights up the world; the earth sees and trembles. The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the Lord — at the presence of the Lord of all the earth. The heavens proclaim His righteousness; all the peoples see His glory. All who serve carved images, those who boast in idols, will be put to shame. All the gods must worship Him. Zion hears and is glad, and the towns of Judah rejoice because of Your judgments, Lord. For You, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; You are exalted above all the gods. You who love the Lord, hate evil! He protects the lives of His godly ones; He rescues them from the power of the wicked. Light dawns for the righteous, gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in Yahweh, you righteous ones, and praise His holy name.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭97:1-12‬ ‭HCSB‬

“I will exalt You, Lord, because You have lifted me up and have not allowed my enemies to triumph over me. Lord my God, I cried to You for help, and You healed me. Lord, You brought me up from Sheol; You spared me from among those going down to the Pit. Sing to Yahweh, you His faithful ones, and praise His holy name. For His anger lasts only a moment, but His favor, a lifetime. Weeping may spend the night, but there is joy in the morning. When I was secure, I said, “I will never be shaken.” Lord, when You showed Your favor, You made me stand like a strong mountain; when You hid Your face, I was terrified. Lord, I called to You; I sought favor from my Lord: “What gain is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your truth? Lord, listen and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper.” You turned my lament into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, so that I can sing to You and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise You forever.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭30:1-12‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from Him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.

The true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was created through Him, yet the world did not recognize Him.

But to all who did receive Him, He gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.”

‭‭John‬ ‭1:1-5, 9-10, 12-13‬ ‭HCSB‬‬

The dark hours

The hour is late. Our nation is, in the the clutches of the days of Noah. We can no longer sit back comfortably and say, "There's always been a crisis in the world. Today is no different. Our society will go on, and our country is basically strong." Those who do so are only kidding themselves. 

We are at a late hour in our history. We are nearer to the coming of our Lord than we have ever been before. His return is the last great event yet to come before the curtain of time is brought down. In this world of darkness, we are to be a light to those around us. Only God knows the hour, and His return is certain and irreversible.

As in the days of Noah God is leaving the door of the Ark open, He let it stay open 7 days after it was completed and the animals and Noah and his family were on board. None entered , none believed until God shut the door and the water fell from the sky and rose from the earth. Then they all believed but it was too late. Don't wait another day, to enter into the glory of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Genesis 7:4-5, 7, 10 HCSB

Seven days from now I will make it rain on the earth 40 days and 40 nights, and I will wipe off from the face of the earth every living thing I have made.” And Noah did everything that the Lord commanded him. So Noah, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives entered the ark because of the waters of the flood. Seven days later the waters of the flood came on the earth.

Luke 17:22-27 HCSB

Then He told the disciples: “The days are coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you won’t see it. They will say to you, ‘Look there! ’ or ‘Look here! ’ Don’t follow or run after them. For as the lightning flashes from horizon to horizon and lights up the sky, so the Son of Man will be in His day. But first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man: People went on eating, drinking, marrying and giving in marriage until the day Noah boarded the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.

The life we live

One of the greatest hindrances to the peace of God for Christians is learning to walk according to the word of God, we are to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. Most never understand what this means, we have a habit of dividing our lives into two areas, the spirit and the flesh and try to live in both.

These two areas were created to exist apart from each other they are morally and spiritually incompatible.

Romans8:1-11 NKJV - [1] There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. [2] For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, [4] that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. [5] For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. [6] For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. [7] Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. [8] So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. [9] But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. [10] And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. [11] But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

We are told to walk by the spirit, not the flesh we are easily persuaded by life to go back and forth from one to the other and we live a divided instead of a victorious life. We try live in two worlds, the spiritual and the natural. We are not immune to the things of the world, such as the ills of life , we do live among men but we are not to let them influence our lives.

1st John 2:15 HCSB Do not love the world or the things that belong to the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.16 For everything that belongs to the world — the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes,and the pride in one’s lifestyle — is not from the Father, but is from the world.17 And the world with its lust is passing away, but the one who does God’s will remains forever.

In direct contrast is the way we are to live by the Spirit. Here we have peace with God, and the peace of God, we learn the ways of God and how to live among men and be the salt and light we are called to be by enjoying an intimate fellowship with Christ. When we are walking by the Spirit , our lives are an aroma and are pleasing to God. We pray, read our Bibles, are faithful in our church attendance, we bring our praise and worship with us wherever we go, I love walking in the Spirit, but it is something I do not do 100% of the time.

While living here there are things we do like eat, sleep, work, pay bills, and just try to make that seem mundane and uninteresting, how do I make my life a living sacrifice to God, while I am doing these meaningless task?

God's word says a lot about how we are to live,

Romans 12:1 HCSB Therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your spiritual worship. 2Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.

1st Corinthians 15:33 HCSB Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”34 Come to your senses and stop sinning, for some people are ignorant about God. I say this to your shame...50 Brothers, I tell you this: Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and corruption cannot inherit incorruption. 51 Listen! I am telling you a mystery: We will not all fall asleep,but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the blink of an eye,at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound,and the dead will be raised incorruptible,and we will be changed.53 For this corruptible must be clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal must be clothed with immortality. 54 When this corruptible is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. 55 Death, where is your victory? Death, where is your sting? 56 Now the sting of death is sin,and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!58 Therefore, my dear brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the Lord’s work, knowing that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The dilemma we have is false the devil has easily swayed us into believing that we have to live and compromise our faith in this world, we don't when you look at the life of Jesus Christ, we see that all He did to live He did as a man, not as God and all though He was fully God, He was also fully man, He overcame temptations, and life as a man to give us the example of a Spirit filled life.

Philippians 2:5 HCSB Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God,did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage.7 Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form,8 He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death —even to death on a cross.

Jesus Christ is our perfect example, He did not live a divided life. From His birth to His death on the cross, the life of Jesus was a total offering to God the Father, the first words recorded that Jesus spoke are these found in

Luke 2 :41 HCSB Every year His parents traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover Festival. 42 When He was 12 years old, they went up according to the custom of the festival. 43 After those days were over, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but His parents did not know it.44 Assuming He was in the traveling party, they went a day’s journey. Then they began looking for Him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find Him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for Him. 46 After three days, they found Him in the temple complex sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 And all those who heard Him were astounded at His understanding and His answers. 48 When His parents saw Him, they were astonished, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for You.” 49“Why were you searching for Me? ”He asked them. “Didn’t you know that I had to be in My Father’s house? ” 50 But they did not understand what He said to them.

Jesus was in His Fathers house teaching, He was always going about doing the Father's business, and He made it a point to live that way, we can do this to.

JOHN 3:5 HCSB Jesus answered, “I assure you: Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.6 Whatever is born of the flesh is flesh, and whatever is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again. 8 The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” 

When we became born again, our flesh was crucified and we are born again into the Spirit of God, now we must learn to walk by the Spirit, it really is not as hard as it sounds, it takes a simple act of surrender daily.

Galatians 5 16-25 NKJV - [16] I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. [17] For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. [18] But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. [19] Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, [20] idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, [21] envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. [22] But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, [23] gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. [24] And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. [25] If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

1st Corinthians 6:9 HCSB Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters,adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, 10 no thieves,greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. 11And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

Life is about choices, we can chose to walk in the Spirit by living according to the word of God, or we chose to walk in the way of the world our flesh by going about doing things our way, but make no mistake we can not live both ways. We can do this by living with an aggressive faith. Not a passive faith.

Colossians 3:1 HCSB So if you have been raised with the Messiah, seek what is above, where the Messiah is, seated at the right hand of God.2 Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with the Messiah in God. 4When the Messiah, who is your life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory. 5Therefore, put to death what belongs to your worldly nature:sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, God’s wrath comes on the disobedient, 7and you once walked in these things when you were living in them. 8 But now you must also put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator. 11 In Christ there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian,slave and free; but Christ is all and in all.12 Therefore, God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, put on heartfelt compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, 13 accepting one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another. Just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you must also forgive. 14 Above all, put on love — the perfect bond of unity. 15 And let the peace of the Messiah, to which you were also called in one body, control your hearts. Be thankful. 16 Let the message about the Messiah dwell richly among you, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, and singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, with gratitude in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

Through the power of Jesus Christ we have already overcome the world, and it is He who lives in us, so why don't we learn to offer all our acts to God and believe He accepts them whether we eat or drink, work or play live or die do it all for the Lord.

Galatians 2: HCSB 16 know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ. And we have believed in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. 17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not! 18If I rebuildthe system I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker.19 For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ 20and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. 21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.

We must hold firmly to this position and live making every act of every hour of the day and night be an offer of praise, thanksgiving, and total sacrament to God in our times of private prayer in our continual prayer a thousand times a day as we live we must seek God out in everything, when we do this we will discover that He is always with us, and in our simplest deeds we can acknowledge Him.

Romans 14:5 HCSB One person considers one day to be above another day. Someone else considers every day to be the same. Each one must be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 Whoever observes the day, observes it for the honor of the Lord. Whoever eats, eats for the Lord, since he gives thanks to God; and whoever does not eat, it is for the Lord that he does not eat it, yet he thanks God.7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.8If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.

We can live every moment for Christ if we take the attitude of Christ, by making our lives a living sacrifice to God, we must learn to worship Him in Spirit and Truth and put away the flesh everyday by taking our thoughts captive and applying the word of God to our lives. God's word gives no room for compromise we must be immovable when it comes to living as we are called, we can do this, if we ask for the Lord's help and learn to do all things for His glory.

Colossians 3:17 And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

In Christ

brian

Do you have Hope today?

Hope, these 4 letters can make or break us. Those who have no hope, have no zeal for life. Those who have hope, are filled with a consuming fire for life, that encompasses their very being.

We look around today and the majority of people in the world, are lost without hope they do not know where hope is, what hope looks like, they know no hope. Not only are they dying without hope, they are existing without hope also.

But when you look at the child of God, you see hope deep in our souls, through our eyes. It is a consuming fire within, we know where our hope is, it is found in the person and Lordship of our Savior Jesus Christ, it is in Him we find the meaning of Hope, of Life, and of Eternal Love we can face each day, because we know the one who holds it, we don't die we just leave one place and go to another, and greater yet we live each day with the power of Jesus Christ in us, and He has conquered sin and death, and they have no power over us.

One of my favorite hymns is On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand by Edward Mote, 1797-1874

1. My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

2. When darkness veils His lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace;
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

3. His oath, His covenant, and blood
Support me in the whelming flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
He then is all my Hope and Stay.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

In God's word we find hope, the Bible is filled with hope from beginning to end. In the Garden of Eden man lost hope when we sinned against God, and in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus gave us hope again as He gave up His life so we could live.You see God loves man so much He became flesh so He could give hope to mankind through Jesus Christ.

Paul writes in Romans 8: 18-26 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.

Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations 3: 19-27 Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gall! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD. It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.

If you have this hope, this love this promise you cannot keep it too yourself, we must share that Hope we have with others, our hope can not be silenced, our hope resignates through out eternity and demands to be shared, Jesus says that if we are silent, the very rocks will cry out!

 When is the last time you shared your hope within anyone?

Romans 15:1-7 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me." For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

Hebrews 10: 19-25 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh,
and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

Is your Hope real? Are you living as you are called? Are you living a victorious life, no matter what comes your way?

If you do not have hope, I urge you to get in contact with me or a Pastor that teaches the word of God, if your trying to find hope outside of Jesus Christ or His word you will never find it. You may find a momentary minute of hope, but eternal hope does not exist without Jesus.

 If you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then the hope that is in you should stir your soul, and inspire you to reach others with the joy you have, everyday more and more people slip into eternity without hope, don't let them slip away without knowing the hope of Glory, Christ in you.

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17 
In Christ
brian

God vs the devil

You hear it all the time, people say that the great battle in the Universe is good versus evil, that the devil is rising up and challenging the Lord God to battle.

That is so far from the truth, but many including Pastors have bought into this lie. But you and I don't need to buy this lie, because there is NO truth in it at all.

The devil has no power over God, or His Kingdom. God cast him and his followers out of heaven, and there is none equal to God. The devil is a created being, and there is only one Creator. The created has no power against it’s Creator.

Isaiah 43:7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him." 9 Let all the nations be gathered together, And let the people be assembled. Who among them can declare this, And show us former things? Let them bring out their witnesses, that they may be justified; Or let them hear and say, "It is truth." 10 "You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "And My servant whom I have chosen, That you may know and believe Me, And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, Nor shall there be after Me. 11 I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior. 12 I have declared and saved, I have proclaimed, And there was no foreign god among you; Therefore you are My witnesses," Says the LORD, "that I am God. 13 Indeed before the day was, I am He; And there is no one who can deliver out of My hand; I work, and who will reverse it?" 15 I am the LORD, your Holy One, The Creator of Israel, your King."

God has no equal, the power the devil has is against us, NOT God, we are weak and walk in the flesh, that is why Paul tells us to make no accommodations to the flesh,

We must remember this that " For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Ephesians 6:12

Do you notice it is not God who wrestles, it is US.

Jesus Christ in one death dealing blow lowered the boom on the devil and his minions, and disarmed him and them, the only power the devil has over us is deception. And just as he deceived Adam and Eve in the garden, he does mankind today and this is only because we do not know who we are in Christ. The Spirit is strong, but the Flesh is weak, is what Jesus said in the garden of Gethsemane. We don't study enough on our own the very words of God that He has spoken and recorded for us today. We don’t pray enough to God almighty, because we act like we are defeated by the world, or believe we don’t need God’s help.

Colossians 2:6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. 8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. 11 In Him you were also circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. 13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. 15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. 16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

That is powerful, it is over! Don't you think we should live as we are called, we are conquers. We serve the Conqueror, not the conquered, everyday we should read God's word and learn to walk in that victory, it is already yours. When Christ gave up His Spirit and said " IT IS FINISHED" He meant for all time.

1 Corinthians 15:55 "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

Today is the day the LORD has made, will you join Him in Victory over things in your life, or will you bow your knee to defeat, and be like the fallen world.

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. Colossians 3:17

In Christ
brian

Where is your Hope?

There is a common ground on which all walk, that is life itself. From conception to the end, life’s paths are a constant act of perpetual motion. We may seem like and say we go three steps forward and two steps back, but we are in a forward motion, heading towards end times. Ours or The End of Time, we do not know.

I stood at a brother’s showing today, I watch people, and take mental notes on how they act and move about, and carry themselves in general. Not for judgmental purposes, but I like observing how people are, I do like studying the human condition.

My friend and brother took a path I don’t understand, but God does He took his life, left behind young children, a Dad and Mom, that loved him, along with the rest of his family. The parking lot was full, the guest register was filling up fast and people huddled together to watch pictures of his life. His mom said, that he always told her he had no friends.

But there they where, coming to give condolences, reminisce about the good times.

Christians and Non-Christians that would talk about their friendship with him. He was a young man, who fought with demons from mistakes, mistakes we all make. But he could not shake them, they dogged him and eventually won the battle for his mind, but they lost the war for his soul. He had given his life just recently to the Lord, and was searching for answers, answers that only God could give him, and hope only God could give him, some answers God allowed us to share, and we got to see the heart of a child beating in a young man.

Life is to short as it is, it seems to end so quickly. Our decisions we make have huge impacts, we can’t think our decisions won’t effect others. Every decisions will effect someone. Some of those eternally, we need to make the right choices daily. As I looked at his friends, I say in their faces, a lack of hope, a despair that is seen in the eyes of a lost world, no future, just gloom and doom because they have no hope for what the future holds. But we do, our hope is in Christ. He is foolishness to them.

1^st Thessalonians 4:13-18 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.

The world does not have a promise of our tomorrow. The world cry’s out love you brotha, but does that mean anything to someone who does not know what love is? The world cry’s out this one for you man, he would have enjoyed that. Because the world has no point of separation from our old selves, when we choose to stay where we are, We need to live that hope, our hearts should cry out and share this hope. We Do have that hope, His name is Jesus Christ. We need to introduce Him to everyone we meet, in the way we live our lives.

Romans 12:1-5 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

God’s word is filled with broken men, and women who have struggles. Struggles that some of us may never know, but struggles that others know very well. But are all known to God. We face some of these by choice, because of our lack of belief, or faith in Christ and the Word of God. We face others because they are consequences for our choices.

We all have doubts, worries, concerns, thoughts, anxieties, lost dreams, crushed hope, etc but life is not about making easy choices. Life for men and women of God is a long line of bumps, bruises and blood. We might as well get used to that now, and expect life to keep coming at us, whether we are up or down.

To the men and women of God I ask this, what in the world is more important to you than Jesus Christ,? nothing or no one should be. What can be next in line, your family, your spouse, your children, their needs? Then others, then yourself. If we use this formula for everyday living, life gets a little bit easier to handle, because we Love Jesus Christ, and that means that we are obedient to Him, and all He says and does. That is what is required of us.

If our hope is in ourselves, if our faith is no more than words that leave our lips, if we do not participate now in the world we live in, then is that hope in us? Is Jesus Christ our hope, our joy our everything? Do we trust Him, call upon Him, follow Him?

Hebrews 10:23-25 , 31-39 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But recall the former days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings: partly while you were made a spectacle both by reproaches and tribulations, and partly while you became companions of those who were so treated; for you had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and an enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: "For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul.

My friends life is over, his choice was final, so was his decision to ask Christ in his life. I do not condone what he did, I hate what he did, and the way it has impacted his family already, but I have a hope that Jesus Christ's arms will reach out hopefully through the years to come to everyone who attends his funeral, he will have a funeral where the word of God is taught, the hope and love that Christ gives us, I pray every time someone remembers my friend, that the name of Jesus Christ be burned into their heart, that they can not have a thought or memory that is not filled with the message of the cross.

If life is getting at you, stop and fall to your knees, call upon the one who made you, ask Him for His forgiveness, His mercy, His grace, He alone is our hope, the hope for all mankind. He is like no other, and once you meet Him, your life will never be the same. His name is Jesus Christ, and without Him alone, you can have no hope.

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

In Christ
brian