King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: The Whole Armor of God
Date: Saturday October 22, 2011
Chapters: Luke 4-5
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-22
Hello My Friend/Guest,
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;” - Ephesians 6:11-18.
The word armor is defined as defensive arms, any habit (clothing) worn to protect the body in battle, formerly called a harness. The second a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Savior they are at war with Satan and the battle begins. Since we are under constant attack it is important that we put on the whole armor of God, leave any part off, even for a second and the devil will creep his way in and before you know it you are doubting yourself and sometimes even God. As we place each part of His armor upon us, the breastplate of righteousness, the Gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, Jesus clothes us with His protection, only then can we be armed and ready for Satan's attack and be able to defeat him.
Everyone is subject to Satan, in fact, the closer you get to God you can be sure Satan is right there too. The good news is that God only allows Satan to mess with us so much and it only happens periodically, God will never allow Satan to tempt us beyond our capabilities. Yes, even Satan lives in subjection to God, but that does not stop him from trying to get us to wreck our relationship with God. Jesus was no exception, Satan even tried to get Him to sin against God. How did Jesus overcome Satan? He put on the whole armor of God, every time Satan tempted Him He fought with His Sword..
“And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread. And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God. And the devil, taking him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it. If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him on a pinnacle of the temple, and said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: For it is written, He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee: And in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. And Jesus answering said unto him, It is said, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.” - Luke 4:3-13.
Of course, Jesus had to have been reading the Bible to know how to answer Satan, but guess what? Even Satan knows Scripture. The only way Jesus was able to resist temptation and overcome Satan was not only reading His Word, but living it. Not one person on earth has not had to face some kind of consequences because they trusted someone who knew Scripture and got burned from it. Our only defense is to get in the Bible ourselves and live it. You think it was easy for Jesus because He is the Son of God? It was not, while He was not born with the sin nature that we are, He still has the flesh we have and is just as capable of committing sin as we are. In fact, until He received the Holy Ghost after being baptized He had the human nature that we all had. Every person born of flesh and blood is capable of committing sin, but God always gives us a way to escape temptation. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” - I Corinthians 10:13.
During His earthly ministry, every Sabbath Jesus would go into the Synagogues and preach. Can you imagine having Jesus as your preacher? This time He was in His home town of Nazareth, He read and preached from the Book of Isaiah (Esaias).
“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read. And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. And all bare him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?..And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong.” -Luke 4:16-22,28,29.
Jesus was rejected by the very people He grew up with as a child, teenager, and young man. Why was He rejected? God's Word. Jesus was speaking the truth and they did not want to hear it. God's Word, when spoken truthfully, is so powerful that no weapon can defeat it. It cuts right through the flesh and goes deep down into the soul to convict and put every sinner to shame. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” - Hebrews 4:12.
While many rejected His preaching some followed Him just to hear it, this time Jesus got into a ship and began to preach off the shore of the lake of Gennesaret. “And it came to pass, that, as the people pressed upon him to hear the word of God, he stood by the lake of Gennesaret, And saw two ships standing by the lake: but the fishermen were gone out of them, and were washing their nets. And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's, and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake...When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord...And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.” - Luke 5:1-6,8,11.
Those who gladly receive Christ gladly receive His Word, amazingly, some Christians do not want to receive His Word. I came across this website to join a Christian community forum, one of the rules was that you were not allowed to speak of current disasters/events as if they were of God. Everything is of God, and everything in the Bible will come to pass, much of it already has, pretending that these things are not coming to pass and silencing those who do know the prophecies will not keep Jesus from returning. Jesus said Himself, “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” - Matthew 24:6-8. Wake up people! We can not keep ignoring God's Word! It is truth and it is coming to pass and if we do not put on God's whole armor we are deceiving ourselves and opening ourselves up for a lot of sorrow. While no one knows the hour that Jesus will come, we need to know that much of what we are facing in the world today is coming to pass.
Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, there are a lot of rumors out there, so many that we do not know what to believe, while we can not predict the return of Your Son we can be prepared. We can be prepared by putting on Your whole armor, we can walk in righteousness, we can live by faith, we can tell the Gospel to all we know, we can be assured of our salvation, and we can be armed by the truth of Your Word as we hear and receive Jesus Christ in our lives. Lord, prepare us, lead us, guide us, and give us Your power to withstand Satan and every other evil device that tries to pull us away from You. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Saturday, October 22, 2011
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Servants of God
King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Servants of God
Date: Tuesday October 18, 2011
Chapters: Mark 12-13
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-18
Hello My Friend/Guest,
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” - I Peter 2:11-16.
The Word of God is the proper and necessary food for the soul, which, if rightly used, does not leave us as it finds us, but improves us, strengthens us, and empowers us to live in the will of God no matter where we are, work, home, or play. The duty of patient and Christlike submission is necessary in every area of our lives, we are not to be pushovers, but respectful servants of God. As Christians it is important to read and study all of God's Word, it amazes me whenever a person tells me that the Old Testament is not significant for us today because we are to follow the New Testament. You know, the New Testament was taken from the Old Testament, in fact, it is a reflection of the Old. While we are not bound by many of the laws that were given through Moses, the same principles still apply. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” - II Timothy 3:16. It is important that we know all the Scriptures so we can be servants of God in His will.
The Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees were very religious, but they were determined to destroy Jesus. Why? They did not want anyone proving them the liars that they were and would do anything necessary to keep the truth from being revealed. Jesus explained this further in a parable.
“And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country....But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.' And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others....And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.” - Mark 12:1,7-9,12.
These men were determined to kill Jesus, they thought themselves to be righteous and God fearing, but the reality was they made up their own religion. Instead of studying the Scriptures and learning the truth they did what they learned by bits and pieces of what they heard of God's Word, not by what they read. Religion is what destroys God's Word and it was religious people who killed Jesus. Piece by piece false religions remove God's truth and create their own image of who He is and what His truth is. The right knowledge of the Scripture and the foundation on which it is built, is the best prevention against error and being deceived by false religion. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” - Romans 1:21,22.
The Sadducees believed in God, but not in resurrection, trying to catch Jesus off guard, they questioned Him about the resurrection using an example about a widow woman who married seven men. Jesus responded, “Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.”- Mark 12:24-27.
It is absurd to think that the living God should be the portion and happiness of those who are dead, therefore, it is certain that Abraham, Issac, and Jacob's soul exists just as every believer's soul exists in heaven when it separates itself from the body for a time when all will be reunited with their glorified bodies. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” - Philippians 3:20,21.
The scribes, whom although knew a bit of Scripture, represent men and their traditions. They are the ones that put their own thoughts down, and call it "of God". They are the ones that think more of themselves and how they appear to others, than how God looks down upon them. Jesus is watching them as they cast their money into the treasury. “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”- Mark 12:41-44.
This woman loved God so much that she cast all she had into the treasury, depending solely on God to provide for her. Christian's have nothing to fear when we put our faith and trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and if anyone questions your loyalty to Him all you have to say is, “I am a forgiven child of the Living God, saved by the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for me.” “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” - Romans 5:9-11.
Jesus is returning and when He does all the false prophets and religious leaders will see God's wrath. However, in the mean time, God is trusting His faithful servants to keep telling the truth and setting ourselves as the examples that we need to for all we know to come to the acknowledgment of Christ. “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;” - Colossians 2:2.
Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, You have given us the greatest example of a servant in the person of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Others in this world may earn titles and win prizes for worthy earthly pursuits, but the greatest prize that I will ever obtain is my entrance into heaven where I will see you face to face. And amazingly it is not because I earned it, but because I put my faith and trust in Your Son to get me there. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Message Title: Servants of God
Date: Tuesday October 18, 2011
Chapters: Mark 12-13
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-18
Hello My Friend/Guest,
“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” - I Peter 2:11-16.
The Word of God is the proper and necessary food for the soul, which, if rightly used, does not leave us as it finds us, but improves us, strengthens us, and empowers us to live in the will of God no matter where we are, work, home, or play. The duty of patient and Christlike submission is necessary in every area of our lives, we are not to be pushovers, but respectful servants of God. As Christians it is important to read and study all of God's Word, it amazes me whenever a person tells me that the Old Testament is not significant for us today because we are to follow the New Testament. You know, the New Testament was taken from the Old Testament, in fact, it is a reflection of the Old. While we are not bound by many of the laws that were given through Moses, the same principles still apply. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” - II Timothy 3:16. It is important that we know all the Scriptures so we can be servants of God in His will.
The Pharisees, scribes, and Sadducees were very religious, but they were determined to destroy Jesus. Why? They did not want anyone proving them the liars that they were and would do anything necessary to keep the truth from being revealed. Jesus explained this further in a parable.
“And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country....But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.' And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others....And they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for they knew that he had spoken the parable against them: and they left him, and went their way.” - Mark 12:1,7-9,12.
These men were determined to kill Jesus, they thought themselves to be righteous and God fearing, but the reality was they made up their own religion. Instead of studying the Scriptures and learning the truth they did what they learned by bits and pieces of what they heard of God's Word, not by what they read. Religion is what destroys God's Word and it was religious people who killed Jesus. Piece by piece false religions remove God's truth and create their own image of who He is and what His truth is. The right knowledge of the Scripture and the foundation on which it is built, is the best prevention against error and being deceived by false religion. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,” - Romans 1:21,22.
The Sadducees believed in God, but not in resurrection, trying to catch Jesus off guard, they questioned Him about the resurrection using an example about a widow woman who married seven men. Jesus responded, “Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven. And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.”- Mark 12:24-27.
It is absurd to think that the living God should be the portion and happiness of those who are dead, therefore, it is certain that Abraham, Issac, and Jacob's soul exists just as every believer's soul exists in heaven when it separates itself from the body for a time when all will be reunited with their glorified bodies. “For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” - Philippians 3:20,21.
The scribes, whom although knew a bit of Scripture, represent men and their traditions. They are the ones that put their own thoughts down, and call it "of God". They are the ones that think more of themselves and how they appear to others, than how God looks down upon them. Jesus is watching them as they cast their money into the treasury. “And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.”- Mark 12:41-44.
This woman loved God so much that she cast all she had into the treasury, depending solely on God to provide for her. Christian's have nothing to fear when we put our faith and trust in the Lord, Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and if anyone questions your loyalty to Him all you have to say is, “I am a forgiven child of the Living God, saved by the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for me.” “Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” - Romans 5:9-11.
Jesus is returning and when He does all the false prophets and religious leaders will see God's wrath. However, in the mean time, God is trusting His faithful servants to keep telling the truth and setting ourselves as the examples that we need to for all we know to come to the acknowledgment of Christ. “That their hearts might be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;” - Colossians 2:2.
Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, You have given us the greatest example of a servant in the person of Your Son, Jesus Christ. Others in this world may earn titles and win prizes for worthy earthly pursuits, but the greatest prize that I will ever obtain is my entrance into heaven where I will see you face to face. And amazingly it is not because I earned it, but because I put my faith and trust in Your Son to get me there. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Monday, October 17, 2011
Take Up Your Cross
King James Daily Bible Study Devotional
Message Title: Take Up Your Cross
Date: Monday October 17, 2011
Chapters: Mark 10-11
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-17
Hello My Friend/Guest,
"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” - Mark 8:31-35.
Jesus suffered many things on the cross He carried as every sin of every person, past, present, and future was placed upon it. Although He was sinless, He died for sin, He gave His life for sinners, He was selfless, unselfish, and denied Himself the pleasures of the world in order to save those in the world. It is the will of God that every person deny themselves, take up their own cross, and follow Jesus. In other words, if we want to be saved from hell we must give ourselves to Jesus, take all of our sins to Him, and follow Him, trusting only in the Gospel, His death, burial, and resurrection, to save us.
If you asked anyone if they know who Jesus is, most people will say they know He has something to do with God. Many do say that He is God's Son, but very few understand that they need Him to get to heaven. Most people who believe they will be in heaven think that they will get there by how good they are, this is false teaching, yes, I was taught the same thing most of my life too. However, it is false and if I died before I got saved I would have ended up in hell for trying to be good as well as everyone else that has been taught this false doctrine. Jesus explains how we get to heaven.
“And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” - Mark 10:13-16.
To be childlike is being pure, trusting, humble, and submissive as a child would be to their parents. When we stand before God our Father, humbling ourselves, and embracing Him as a child, we open our heart to receive His Word, thus receiving His Son, only by our faith in Jesus can we get to heaven, the Kingdom of God. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;” - Titus 3:5,6.
Many people do believe in Jesus, I remember growing up, being taught about Jesus, that on Christmas we celebrate His birth, on Good Friday we observe His death on the cross, and on Easter we celebrate His resurrection. The one vital thing I was not taught was how to receive Him. Many religions are very good at telling us about Jesus, but leaving out that vital piece of information we need to keep us out of hell. However, even more astonishing is the fact that people will deny Christ even upon learning that vital piece of information. Why? They do not want to give up their worldly life. A rich young man came to Jesus asking Him how to receive eternal life (how to get to heaven), Jesus, knowing that the man did follow the laws of Moses tells Him what was missing.
“Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” -Mark 10:19-24.
No one can buy their way to heaven, that is why no amount of good can get you to heaven. Why? God knows that the flesh is wretched and wicked and no matter how much good one tries to do, it can never measure up to the bad. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one...There is no fear of God before their eyes...For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” - Romans 3:10-12,18,23.
What is the key to denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Jesus? Having faith in God. We must have faith in God, if we do not have faith in God we get no where with God. Ignoring God, pretending that He does not exist, or trying to eliminate Him from existence will never save you. However, having faith in Him, in His Son, and in His Word will save you. Jesus explains this further.
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” - Mark 11:22-26.
When we go to God like a child, admit that we have sinned, and ask Jesus to save us, believing, He will save us and guess what? All our sins that were taken up on the cross that He bare for us are removed, we are forgiven and get to go to heaven too. God will give us anything we desire if we have faith, which means to believe.“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” - Romans 10:9-13. Praise God!
Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, it is amazing that we can simply come to You through Your Son, Jesus and get to be a part of Your Kingdom. We do not have to work our way to heaven or pay our way to get there, because Jesus paid the price for us, we just need to simply have faith in You. Lord, I offer myself to You as a living sacrifice, I am trusting in Your Son to help me endure every trial and every temptation as I follow Him. Even if I fail I know that You are always with me and will help me when I humble myself before You as Your child. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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Message Title: Take Up Your Cross
Date: Monday October 17, 2011
Chapters: Mark 10-11
Click Here to Read Them or Go to: http://imfollowingjesus.com/bible-october-17
Hello My Friend/Guest,
"And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men. And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it.” - Mark 8:31-35.
Jesus suffered many things on the cross He carried as every sin of every person, past, present, and future was placed upon it. Although He was sinless, He died for sin, He gave His life for sinners, He was selfless, unselfish, and denied Himself the pleasures of the world in order to save those in the world. It is the will of God that every person deny themselves, take up their own cross, and follow Jesus. In other words, if we want to be saved from hell we must give ourselves to Jesus, take all of our sins to Him, and follow Him, trusting only in the Gospel, His death, burial, and resurrection, to save us.
If you asked anyone if they know who Jesus is, most people will say they know He has something to do with God. Many do say that He is God's Son, but very few understand that they need Him to get to heaven. Most people who believe they will be in heaven think that they will get there by how good they are, this is false teaching, yes, I was taught the same thing most of my life too. However, it is false and if I died before I got saved I would have ended up in hell for trying to be good as well as everyone else that has been taught this false doctrine. Jesus explains how we get to heaven.
“And they brought young children to him, that he should touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them, and blessed them.” - Mark 10:13-16.
To be childlike is being pure, trusting, humble, and submissive as a child would be to their parents. When we stand before God our Father, humbling ourselves, and embracing Him as a child, we open our heart to receive His Word, thus receiving His Son, only by our faith in Jesus can we get to heaven, the Kingdom of God. “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;” - Titus 3:5,6.
Many people do believe in Jesus, I remember growing up, being taught about Jesus, that on Christmas we celebrate His birth, on Good Friday we observe His death on the cross, and on Easter we celebrate His resurrection. The one vital thing I was not taught was how to receive Him. Many religions are very good at telling us about Jesus, but leaving out that vital piece of information we need to keep us out of hell. However, even more astonishing is the fact that people will deny Christ even upon learning that vital piece of information. Why? They do not want to give up their worldly life. A rich young man came to Jesus asking Him how to receive eternal life (how to get to heaven), Jesus, knowing that the man did follow the laws of Moses tells Him what was missing.
“Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.” -Mark 10:19-24.
No one can buy their way to heaven, that is why no amount of good can get you to heaven. Why? God knows that the flesh is wretched and wicked and no matter how much good one tries to do, it can never measure up to the bad. “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one...There is no fear of God before their eyes...For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” - Romans 3:10-12,18,23.
What is the key to denying yourself, taking up your cross, and following Jesus? Having faith in God. We must have faith in God, if we do not have faith in God we get no where with God. Ignoring God, pretending that He does not exist, or trying to eliminate Him from existence will never save you. However, having faith in Him, in His Son, and in His Word will save you. Jesus explains this further.
“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” - Mark 11:22-26.
When we go to God like a child, admit that we have sinned, and ask Jesus to save us, believing, He will save us and guess what? All our sins that were taken up on the cross that He bare for us are removed, we are forgiven and get to go to heaven too. God will give us anything we desire if we have faith, which means to believe.“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” - Romans 10:9-13. Praise God!
Today's Prayer:
Dear God,
Lord, it is amazing that we can simply come to You through Your Son, Jesus and get to be a part of Your Kingdom. We do not have to work our way to heaven or pay our way to get there, because Jesus paid the price for us, we just need to simply have faith in You. Lord, I offer myself to You as a living sacrifice, I am trusting in Your Son to help me endure every trial and every temptation as I follow Him. Even if I fail I know that You are always with me and will help me when I humble myself before You as Your child. In Jesus' name. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
Are You 100% Sure That You Are Going To Heaven? You Can Be: http://www.godsprice.com
Missed A Devotional: http://www.imfollowingjesus.com/daily-bible-study
Subscribe To This Devotional: King James Bible Study
Visit: I'm Following Jesus
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