Monday, December 26, 2005, 08:10 PM
Two thousand years ago Christ was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit (Mt.1: 18-25; Gal.4: 29;John 14:17). God became flesh in Mary’s womb. The very same flesh that we are except for one thing, Christ was not born with a sinful nature as we are (Ps.51: 5). The miracle of Christ is totally contrary to all things of this world (I Cor.2: 14). The Holy Spirit is tireless and relentless in His pursuit of all unbelievers. No one can believe without the Holy Spirit (I Cor.12: 13; II Cor.2: 10: John 6:63). The same Holy Spirit that placed Christ in Mary’s womb also places Himself in our hearts (I Thess.4: 8;II Thess.2: 13). How awesome is that!! And when we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts we have faith to believe in the virgin birth of Christ. Christians are not from an earthly source they are from a divine source. They are not of this world. Every Christian is a walking talking miracle from God. Enemies attack Christians because we threaten their evil and sinful way of life.
The Holy Spirit exposes the sin of man. And man does not want to be exposed. He wants to attack Christians because they threaten their evil and selfish way of life. And He hates the light (John 3:19,20). Christians are the reflection of the light of God exposing their sins.
Sinful man wishes to continue to live in their sins (Prv.10: 23;Prv.11: 19). But when sinful man sees how evil they are by the conviction and the power of the Holy Spirit he then comes to repentance and no longer desires sin above Christ (II Cor.3: 16-18). But we do not play any part in the transformation (II Thess.2: 13). After we have come to the knowledge of the truth the Holy Spirit then starts His work in us to change us to be like Christ (Rom.8: 29).
There are two kinds of unbelievers in the world. There are the ones that are extremely evil and show intense hatred for God and Christians (Is.5: 20; Mt.15: 19). And there are the tightrope walkers that want to please everybody. They are the ones that try to live the good life and do the right thing. They may even believe that they can walk that tightrope right into heaven. Which one is the worst? According to God neither will be saved on judgment day (Heb.11: 6). The Holy Spirit gives life and the flesh counts for nothing. Both will parish. Neither one understands because neither one has the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sins and to show them how Christ took all of their sins on the cross (Heb.9: 23-28). Without faith in Christ there is no solution to the sin problem. They will have to face the punishment that we all deserve. Without the Holy Spirit we cannot even see our need for new life (John 63:65). This is what makes Christ so very personal. He also must give us the ability to respond to Him. All of mankind would be doomed to hell without Jesus Christ. No one is righteous, no not one (Ps.14: 3). And no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit (I Cor.12: 3). The Spirit gives birth to spirit (John 3:6; Rom.5: 5; I Thess.4: 8). The Holy Spirit has moved in (II Tim.1: 14; I John 3:24; Luke 17:21). We no longer have to be good enough to be saved because we will never be good enough. Our spirit is joined with God’s Spirit and we know that the Law no longer has a hold on us (Gal.2: 16-21; Gal.3: 14-25). We are free at last (Rom. 8:1-27). And all truth lives in us because the Holy Spirit is Truth (I John 5:6; 16:13).
How will we know if we have the Holy Spirit living in us? We cannot base it on a feeling (Rom.5: 1;Rom.14: 23). It is faith (Heb.4: 2;Rom.1: 17;Gal.3: 14;Eph.2: 8;Luke 7:50). We know it because He has put the knowledge in our hearts. But here is a way we can tell if we have the Holy Spirit working in our heart. If we always seek to bring attention to ourselves instead of to Christ we are very immature Christians or we do not have the Holy Spirit living in us (John 16:14,15). The Holy Spirit will change us (I Thess.1: 5). He will give us the mind of Christ (I Cor.2: 16; James 4:5; Eph. 2:22). We will be sure of our salvation.
If we do not have faith, Christ is just another man. All prayers and worship to God are meaningless without the Holy Spirit giving us the faith (John 4:23,24; Phil.3: 3,4) The Bible would be boring. Church would be boring. Anything spiritual would be a waste of time. Only the Holy Sprit can give us the desire, drive, excitement and the knowledge of this very unique faith called Christianity. There is no other like it on the face of the earth. All other faiths are mans idea and inventions (Heb.7: 25-28; Heb.5: 9; II Tim 3:15; John 10:28; Rom.10: 9-13; Ps.34: 22). Christianity is the only faith where it is all done for us. God created us. Jesus Christ paid our sin doubt in full. And the Holy Spirit gives us the faith to believe it. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Have a very blessed New Year.
You can reach Nancy at:
PO Box 384
Marshall, IL
62441
art@nancysgallery.com
Monday, December 19, 2005, 07:08 PM
“The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not understood” (John 1:5).Nothing can survive without sunlight. If you have a plant in the window and never turn it, it will become very lopsided because the side that sees the sun will grow and reach for the sun and the side that does not see the sun will not be healthy and may die. It is the same with man. Our physical bodies need sunshine to survive. And if this is the law of nature for our physical bodies doesn’t it stand to reason that our spiritual bodies also require Sonshine? We live in the dark of night when we do not know Christ. We have rejected the light. Without the light we do not know who we are. We are stumbling through life.
But what if we do know Christ and still seem to live under a huge dark cloud? Where is the Light of Christ then? The light of Christ never leaves us. We leave it. Or maybe we never had it to start with. Our cloud is our sins or our unrepentant sins. Unrepentant sin will dampen our spirits and it will sap our strength. Some of the sin’s that will destroy the light is stubbornness, resentment, disobedience, un-forgiveness, revenge and complacency. Light and dark cannot exist in the same area. So, if there are these problems in the heart then we will be under the cloud of despair. You will not experience the light. So, we cannot be a light to others. We cannot be a witness for Christ under a cloud. (Mark 4:21) We are to reflect Christ’s light. (John 1:8)
When we live in the dark good and evil look alike. Light is truth. Light exposes everything. If we claim to live in the light but live in the dark we are exposed as hypocrites. But if we live in the light there is hope, peace, joy and comfort. There is love, championship, friendship and a helping hand that is always outstretched to others.
If we stop rejecting the hand that is always stretched out to us we will experience the most beautiful light that there is. This light was born in a dirty dark manger. The light was born into the world and the world would hate it. The world would persecute it and kill the light. The world wanted to remain in the dark. The light is Jesus Christ. Born to Mary, born to the world, for the world. The world did not recognize Him due to the dark.
God became a man to save the world. The creator of all things lived in the womb of Mary for 9 months. The one that cannot be confined was confined in the flesh. The one that has always been was born in the flesh. The all knowing took his knowledge and put it away for 33 years so that he could be a man. He came only for the good of man and man only saw His goodness as evil.
He came to fulfill the law in mans place because man could not live the sinless life that God demands of us. He came to destroy sin and the guilt of sin. He came to defeat Satan. He came to defeat death. He did everything He came to do. He lived the perfect life we could not live in our place. He who had never sinned became sin. He who lives forever died. He who had never experienced sin became sin for us. He became the thief, murder, child molester, rapist, and drug addict. He became every evil thing that man is. That is the only way we can be saved. He paid the price. God must turn away from His only begotten Son because He cannot stand sin. And Christ is separated from the Father for the first time in all of eternity. And He cries out in anguish, “My God, my God why have you forsaken me.” He suffered hell in our place. Only God could stand to take the sins of the world. Only God could suffer hell in our place and not have to remain there forever. On the third day Christ was raised from the dead in victory over sin, Satan and death.
When we proclaim the message of salvation to someone we are giving them the most precious gift that there is. This gift is forgiveness of sins, release from the guilt of our sins and eternal life. And there is nothing we can do to acquire it on our own. The only person responsible for not having salvation is you when you do not believe His message and you decided you know more than God does. He will not force you but He will not give up calling to you either. Listen when you hear this message. God will come into your heart and the light will be so bright after being in the darkness so long that you will experience a glow to your whole being. People will see the glow and know that there has been a dramatic change in you. You do not hate Christ anymore. You love Him far beyond your understanding. You are full of joy, peace, comfort and His glory. To come out of midnight into glorious sunshine is such a beautiful experience. What a glorious and Beautiful Savoir we have. Come to the manger and experience the Light of the World (John 9:5; John 8:12). You will never be the same. You will truly come to Life. This is the Christmas gift that surpasses all Christmas gifts (Col.1: 13,14).
May you have a blessed Christmas and a great New Year filled with the peace and the glory and the love of God.
You can reach Nancy at:
Crossing the GAP
PO Box 384
Marshall, IL
62441
art@nancysgallery.com
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