In These Times - Test Your Own Faith...

It has been said, that one of the darkest hours in history, was when The Great I AM, had to turn HIS back on HIS Holy Son...  For that moment on the Cross when HE took on my sin, it darkened and blemished HIS Holiness in the sight of GOD...   Jesus, took every disgusting, vulgar, horrendous, foul, wretched sin of ALL Humanity upon Himself so that NO MAN; that's right, so that NO MAN would have to be judged by The Just and Righteous God...   BUT; NOT Every Man chooses to accept this priceless eternal gift of Almighty God…  That CHOICE; is then their eternal damnation…  HE Took It For All, but in all of Humanity counted since Adam, only a FEW have & will actually accept…

To truly understand read beyond verse 16 !!!

John 3

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. ¹⁹ This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. ²¹ But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

The GIFT is FREE; BUT, the cost is huge…  You must be willing to carry the Cross of Christ, in the broad, searching and revealing LIGHT…  In obedience, out of Love, Humility and Thankfulness, we are to FOLLOW Jesus, following HIS Example,  HIS Righteousness,  HIS Service to others and HIS Love & Compassion for the needy and low in Spirit…  We are to die to self, becoming more like HIM, in that process becoming less self focused, and HE becomes more of our focus in life, in our walk and in our Witness to WHO HE IS…  THIS ALL – comes from God thru the Holy Spirit, it can NOT be imitated in any sustained manner…  THUSLY; we know the Fruit of the Spirit and can discern it…  We must constantly examine our own Hearts prior to offering any counsel to a Brother or Sister in Christ…  When offering a word of Counsel, we are well advised to speak the TRUTH in LOVE…  We are not The Judge, we are simply to be an encourager, to build up the brethren and further the Kingdom of God…

The Word instructs us to test ourselves for the authenticity of the Holy Spirit that is to dwell in us… 

Do you Possess the Correct Spiritual Attitudes?

The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes

Matthew 5 When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. ² He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying,

³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴ “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵ “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹ “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Do you Possess the Fruit of The Spirit?

Walk by the Spirit

Galatians 5 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.

¹³ For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. ¹⁴ For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word, in the statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ¹⁵ But if you bite and devour one another, take care that you are not consumed by one another.

¹⁶ But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. ¹⁷ For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. ¹⁸ But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. ¹⁹ Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, ²¹ envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ²⁴ Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

²⁵ If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. ²⁶ Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.

THIS IS VERY,  VERY,  HELPFUL:                          rchall

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http://counselingoneanother.com/2011/09/01/10-tests-of-genuine-faith/

10 Tests of Genuine Faith
September 1, 2011 

by Paul Tautges

By God’s grace,   I’m a husband,  father,  grandfather,   and one of the pastors at Cornerstone Community Church east of Cleveland, OH.   I love Christ because He first loved me.  

Romans 8:16 says, The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. In other words, part of the Holy Spirit’s ministry to believers is to give assurance of salvation. Since the Holy Spirit is the divine author of Scripture, and since He wrote at least one New Testament book just for the sole purpose of helping believers discern the reality of their faith, the tests of genuine faith found in the book of First John must be seriously considered.

Scripture exhorts us to test our faith (2 Cor. 13:5). The reason is that our hearts are naturally deceitful and, therefore, we can even deceive ourselves. Jesus said that on the Day of Judgment there will be many people who thought themselves to be Christians, but are in the end condemned (Matt. 7:21-23).

Many years ago, I created a 2-page worksheet for use in counseling, personal Bible study, and small group discussion. It draws out of the book of First John ten tests of genuine faith and suggests questions for self-examination.

 1.   The Test of Conscience: Is my conscience sensitive to sin? (1 Jn 1:5-10) 
 2.   The Test of Obedience: How obedient am I to God’s Word? (1 Jn 2:3-6; 5:2-3)
 3.   The Test of Worldliness: Where do my affections lie? (1 Jn 2:15-17; 5:4-5)
 4.   The Test of Anticipation: Deep down, do I long to see Jesus? (1 Jn 3:1-3)
 5.   The Test of Holiness: Am I progressing away from sin toward holiness, or am I still in bondage?  (1 Jn 3:4-10)
 6.   The Test of Love: Do I love other believers and long to be with them? (1 Jn 3:11-18; 4:7-12)
 7.   The Test of Prayer: Does God answer my prayers? (1 Jn 3:21-22)
 8.   The Test of the Holy Spirit: Do I experience the power of the Spirit in my life? (1 Jn 4:13)
 9.   The Test of Persecution: Have I ever suffered because of my testimony for Christ? (1 Jn 3:10-13)
10.   The Test of Confessing Christ: Do I have Jesus Christ as my own? (1 Jn 4:1-5; 5:1, 10-12)

Pray before looking up the Scriptures and filling in your chart. Ask God to confirm the genuineness of your faith through the passing of these tests, or to confront counterfeit faith is that is indeed the case.

Fear IS A Liar - When Standing Firm In The Life & Light of Christ

The whispers of the enemy has from time to time run thru my head, heart and soul…  I have heard the words you are a terrible husband, a rotten dad, a lousy person, you will never amount to anything…  IF I tried to find my value in those words and the opinions of those around me – I would most likely end up a statistic in some police blotter somewhere…

Well, the fact is, my name is written in a book somewhere; thank goodness it is in a set of statistics that will live on forever.  Since I met HIM, He has placed NEW Words in my Heart that cast shadows on those old hateful words, and HE has carried me over and thru all the hardest times of my life, assuring me ⁽¹⁾ “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  God LOVED me, me – a kid that would not amount to anything, a man that in the past a woman committed herself to before God & witnesses for eternity; just walked away.  A dad that was too strict and used the word NO too often, the guy with no value to this world, a lousy excuse for a human being – He Loved me enough to sacrifice HIS ONLY SON that I might live on?  Yes – even for the likes of me…

Then as I accepted that fact, that HIS Son Jesus, came to this miserable corrupted world to live, serve, sacrifice, endure cruel criticism, physical beating and then the Cross, ⁽²⁾ “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  The part that blew my mind, I was convinced that I was rotten to the core, and that by the world’s standards – I was not only worthless and unredeemable, but I was bound for an eternity of Hell & Damnation.  ⁽³⁾ “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  So in that terrible condition and state of mind – HE still loved me enough, that even if I were the only one here – HE would have still paid my debt and freed me from Sin and eternal death.

I have always been a hard head to learning – I need to practice it a few times till I get it right.  So; I am prone to mistakes, miscommunications and misunderstandings – but GOD in HIS Amazing knowledge, power, wisdom and sovereignty – he made allowance for this simple minded soul of mine.  He built into HIS Love for me a safety net in HIS Righteous attributes; ⁽⁴⁾ “But You, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.”

So where I was once most fearful of failure, what my failures would look like to my spouse, children, family, co-workers and friends, was all dispelled by HIS Spirit in my Heart; fed thru the reading and storing away of HIS Word in my Heart…  (I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you Psalms 119) So the more I learned, the more I read and studied, realizing that there needed to be a balance between the knowledge of salvation and the Love, Compassion and Tenderness that needed to fill the Heart as a result of KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING the Cost of God’s Sacrifice to pay for our salvation…  He wants our HEART knowledge to open the doors to other’s Hearts so that we can show and prove to the World that our Testimony and Witness of Him is real and genuine.  ⁽⁵⁾ “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other.  Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.  Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” 

You know, the Apostle Paul said ⁽⁶⁾ “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”  For Love to be Sincere, there must be a depth in that relationship to allow trust to be formed and walls to fall down around one’s Heart.  Sincere in Loving those HE places on our path, while HATING that which is evil in the site of GOD as revealed to us in HIS Word.  We are to LOVE one another in the brotherhood and sisterhood of Christianity, and that Love and Honor is to go beyond anything we would reserve for ourselves.  Sacrificing our wants, desires and needs for those HE has entrusted the stewardship to us with.  Sometimes – most times that takes more internal discipline and uprightness than any of us can stomach on our own in this day and age.  We are conditioned as Americans to look out for “number one” first and foremost.  Jesus said he that is first will be LAST, and he that is last will be FIRST…  Think about it…

⁽⁷⁾ “He has shown you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  So folks – NOT ONLY is my value, worth and identity defined by Almighty God – and HE has told HIS People – HIS Children that HE holds the same regard for you too.  Therefore, to be obedient to HIS authority in my Life I must practice what HE has revealed to me thru HIS Word, and understand that HE Died to YOU too…  Therefore; the same LOVE, MERCY, FORGIVENESS  &  GRACE  HE has so abundantly shown and poured out over me, I must share with YOU and those around me, regardless as to whether you are a Follower of HIS or NOT…

My Heavenly Father – my “Abba Father” shows His gentle and tender Love for His children; fore HE Loves them and encourages them to call upon HIM as a child calls upon their “Daddy”.  HE Alone has the Sovereign Authority to determine our Value, Worth and Identity…  NO Man, Woman or Child has the right to assign any of those attributes or properties on anyone else in this world.  GOD and GOD ALONE has that Authority

GO in Peace Brothers and Sisters; spread the Gospel to everyone that you meet & greet.  For we are NOT to judge the soil that we sow HIS seeds upon, we are simply to trust the Quality and Significance of the Seed that we freely and sacrificially cast upon the soil that HE has prepared before us.  For HE shall send the Reapers to gather up the Fruit when it is time.

Here a few other passages that speak of HIS Great Love and that which Lives in US…

^(a)      “Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.” 

^(b)      “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters.  But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.  Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.  For the whole law can be summed up in this one command:  ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”   

^(c)       “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” 

^(d)      “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.” 

^(e)      “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

References:

⁽¹⁾      John 3:16

⁽²⁾      John 15:13

⁽³⁾      Romans 5:8

⁽⁴⁾      Psalm 86:15

⁽⁵⁾      John 13:34-35

⁽⁶⁾      Romans 12:9-10

⁽⁷⁾      Micah 6:8

^a)        Psalm 107:8-9

^b)        Galatians 5:13-14

^c)        Galatians 5:22-23

^d)        Romans 13:8

^e)        Romans 8:28-30

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Guard Your Heart - Satan provides numerous opportunities each day for us to get LOST in the multiple shades of Gray in this world…  Because He knows all too well that Almighty God’s world and reality is a non-negotiable Black & White…  Walk in The Light of Love & Obedience...  KEEP GOING...