Come Now ...

Argue your case in God's court.

Isaiah 43:25-26 ...  I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.  Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

Isaiah 1:18 ... Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. ❤

Change of Thinking!!

In the Interlinear Greek New Testament, Mark 11:22 is properly translated "...Have faith from God," not "...Have faith in God." Similar translations have Jesus calling us to "...have the faith of God." But what does that even look like?

As New Covenant believers, this means resting in the finished work of Christ on our behalf. (Galatians 2:20) It's embracing what God believes to be true about each one of us. It's seeing things from the Lord's perspective and agreeing with Him about His Kingdom. This requires a change of outlook, and this is what "true repentance" is all about!

The Greek word for "repentance" (metanoia) means "a change of thinking." It's not about "re-penance!" (penance on steroids) It's not about self-abasement or proving our devotion to God by our religious performance! "Metanoia" is all about letting Holy Spirit change our way of thinking to embrace all Father has given us in Jesus and acting accordingly.

We are sons and daughters; we're the bride of Christ! It's time to live like it and live loved!!

[Stephen S.J. Hill]

Romans 12:2 ... And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Acts 2:38 ...  Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. ❤

Doggie Still Went!!

Dear friend, if you have been praying for a long time for the salvation of one who is near and dear to you, and your prayer has not been answered, and that person has even gone from bad to worse than I want you to never give up praying. Remember that Jesus can save any man, while he is yet out of Hell. No case is absolutely hopeless, while Jesus lives.

We sometimes meet with amazing instances where prayer is answered at last. I have read of a woman who prayed long for her unsaved husband. She used to attend a certain meeting-house in the north of England, but her husband never went with her. He was a drinking, swearing man, and she had much anguish of heart about him. She never ceased to pray, and yet she never saw any result. She went to the meetinghouse alone, and her dog always went with her. This faithful animal would curl himself up under her seat and lie quiet during the service.

When she was dead, her husband was still unsaved, but doggie still went to the meetinghouse. Curiosity made him follow the dog one Sunday. The dog led him down the aisle to the seat of his dear old mistress. The man sat on that seat, and the dog curled himself up as usual. God guided the minister that day; the Word came with power, and that man wept until he found the Savior.

Never give up hope for your loved ones; for the Lord may even use a dog to bring them to Jesus, when you are dead and gone. Never give up praying, hoping, and expecting.

Others have been converted to God under very extraordinary circumstances. Two vile fellows planned to rob the house of a minister, who was accustomed on Sunday evenings to gather people together in his parlor, and preach the gospel to them. The thieves thought that if they could get into the house with the people during the evening and hide themselves away then they could rob the house easily during the night; and so, they snuck into the room next to that in which the Word was being preached. But they never robbed that house, for through the godly minister's sermon, the Lord Jesus conquered their hearts, and they came forth to confess their sin, and to become followers of the Savior!

Let the same truth be fully believed as to yourselves. O my dear reader, you may think you have gone too far into sin to be saved, but you have not. You may imagine that your case is altogether hopeless; but you are just the sort of person that Jesus saves.

[Charles H. Spurgeon]

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1 Timothy 1:15 ...  This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.

Luke 5:32 ...  I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. ❤

False Faith!

There is a false faith in which multitudes are confidently resting. There is a false faith by which multitudes are deceived and will perish forever in Hell. 

A false faith may be greatly enlightened and knowledgeable in gospel truth. (Hebrews 6:4) 

A false faith excites the affections. (Stony Ground Hearers)

A false faith reforms the outward life. (The Pharisees)

A false faith may speak very well of Christ. (The Jews) 

A false faith confesses sin. (Saul) 

A false faith may humble itself in sackcloth and ashes. (Ahab) 

A false faith may repent. (Esau - Judas) 

A false faith may diligently perform religious works. (The Pharisees) 

A false faith may be very charitable and generous. (Ananias) 

A false faith may tremble at the Word of God. (Felix) 

A false faith may experience much in religion. (Hebrews 6:1-4) 

A false faith may enjoy great religious privileges. (Lot's wife) 

A false faith may preach, perform miracles, and cast out demons. (Matthew 7:23) 

A false faith may attain high office in the church. (Diotrephes) 

A false faith may walk with great preachers. (Demas was Paul's companion) 

A false faith may be peaceful and carnally secure. (The Five Foolish Virgins) 

A false faith may even persevere and hold out until the day of judgment (Matthew 7:22-23). 

If you have the faith of God's elect, it will bear examination. If you do not, if you are resting in a false faith, you need to be awakened so that you may flee to Christ in true faith.

[Don Fortner]

Isaiah 55:7 ...  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Joel 2:13  ... And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Acts 3:19 ... Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. ❤

OFF Must They Come!!

It is impossible to serve both sin and Jesus. How can a man continue to live in sin and yet be saved from sin? Oh, sirs, be not deceived! Your sins and you must part or Jesus will have nothing to do with you. Do you think so badly of my Lord, as to dream that He will pander to your passions by giving you liberty to live in sin and yet go to Heaven? Has Jesus come to play the lackey to your lusts, and let you do the work of Satan and then receive the wages of the godly? 

Though you never can attain perfection yet in your desires, you must aim for perfection. You must from your heart, strive against every single sin whatever shape it may be, and however pleasurable or profitable it may appear. Off must come the right hands and out must go the right eyes! It would be better for you to go through life maimed and blind, than that you should perish in your beloved sins. There must be the full assent of your will to the reigning power of Jesus in your soul, or else He does not reign at all. 

What do you say? Are you willing that Jesus should henceforth rule and reign over your entire nature, as your heart's supreme Lord? Until Jesus is received by you as your sovereign King, then you are still under the reign of self, sin and Satan. Whatever you may think of it the devil is your master! You say you do not like him, but he is your master and lord for all that, since he leads you captive at his will. Until Jesus truly reigns in your heart, you are also in the utmost danger in danger of damnation and eternal punishment. 

Let your breath go the wrong way or let your heart cease beating just for a little and you will be in Hell. My friends, you will be in Hell! Every man in the world has a master of some kind. Some principle or another has dominion over him. The worst tyrant a man can serve, is himself. Self is the hardest and most contemptible of all despots. Seeing then that you must have a king, can you have a better king than King Jesus, who is incarnate love? Think of His wondrous character, and of the love He has shown to sinners, and then tell me if you could have a better King? 

[Charles H. Spurgeon] 

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Romans 6:1-2 ... What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

Matthew 6:24 ... No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Revelation 19:16 ... And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.  ❤

Low Views of Yourself?

What are you to yourself? worthless? vile? empty? 

What is Jesus to you? precious? lovely? all your salvation? all your desire? 

What is sin to you? the most hateful thing in the world? 

What is holiness to you? most lovely? most longed for? 

What is the throne of grace to you? the most attractive spot? 

What is the cross to you? the sweetest resting place in the universe? 

What is God to you? your God? your Father? the spring of all your joys? the fountainhead of all your bliss? the center where your affections meet? 

Is it so? Then you are a child of God! 

Those low views of yourself that brokenness, that inward mourning, that secret confession, that longing for more spirituality, more grace, more devotedness, more love, does but prove the existence, reality, and growth of God's work within you. Cheer up, precious soul! That soul never perished, that felt itself to be vile, and Jesus to be precious! 

[Octavius Winslow]

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Psalm 51:17 ... The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Psalm 138:6 ... Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

Isaiah 1:18 ... Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.❤

Repent!!

Man cannot be righteous in God’s sight until he repents of his own expectation that he can be righteous in his own sight. God is not mighty toward man until man is weak toward God. 

[Edward Carnell]

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Joel 2:13 ...  And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

Isaiah 1:18 ... Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Job 33:26 ...  He shall pray unto God, and he will be favourable unto him: and he shall see his face with joy: for he will render unto man his righteousness. ❤

Repentance ~

 Repentance is not a once and for all issue.

Repentance is a lifestyle.

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2 Corinthians 7:10 ... For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

Philippians 2:12 ...  Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.

Acts 26:20 ... But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. ❤

Conviction...

 You are in a very dangerous place if you lose the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

God is most angry with someone when He no longer corrects them. 

Repent.

Psalm 7:11 ... God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Romans 1:28 ...  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Job 4:9 ... By the blast of God they perish, and by the breath of his nostrils are they consumed.

Deuteronomy 31:17 ... Then my anger shall be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them, and I will hide my face from them, and they shall be devoured, and many evils and troubles shall befall them; so that they will say in that day, Are not these evils come upon us, because our God is not among us?

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The Harlot in Your Bosom!

There is usually one sin that is the favorite: the sin which the heart is most fond of. A godly man will not indulge his darling sin: "I kept myself from my iniquity." (Psalm 18:23) "I will not indulge the sin to which the bias of my heart more naturally inclines." "Fight neither with small nor great, but only with the king." (1 Kings 22:31) A godly man fights this king sin. If we would have peace in our souls, we must maintain a war against our favorite sin, and never leave off until it is subdued.

Question: How shall we know what our beloved sin is? 

Answer 1. The sin which a man does not love to have reproved, is the darling sin. Herod could not endure having his incest spoken against. If the prophet meddles with that sin, it shall cost him his head! "Do not touch my Herodias!" Men can be content to have other sins reproved, but if the minister puts his finger on the sore and touches this sin their hearts begin to burn in malice against him! 

Answer 2. The sin on which the thoughts run most, is the darling sin. Whichever way the thoughts go, the heart goes. He who is in love with a person cannot keep his thoughts off that person. Examine what sin runs most in your mind, what sin is first in your thoughts and greets you in the morning that is your predominant sin. 

Answer 3. The sin which has most power over us, and most easily leads us captive, is the one beloved by the soul. There are some sins which a man can better resist. If they come for entertainment, he can more easily put them off. But the bosom sin comes as a suitor, and he cannot deny it, but is overcome by it. The young man in the Gospel had repulsed many sins but there was one sin which soiled him, and that was covetousness. Mark what sin you are most readily led captive by that is the harlot in your bosom! It is a sad thing that a man should be so bewitched by lust, that if it asks him to part with the Kingdom of Heaven he must part with it, to gratify that lust! 

 Answer 4. The sin which men most defend, is the beloved sin. He who has a jewel in his bosom, will defend it to his death. The sin we advocate and dispute for, is the besetting sin. The sin which we plead for, and perhaps wrest Scripture to justify it that is the sin which lies nearest the heart! Answer 5. The sin which a man finds most difficulty in giving up, is the endeared sin. Of all his sons, Jacob found most difficulty in parting with Benjamin. So, the sinner says, "This and that sin I have parted with, but must Benjamin go! Must I part with this delightful sin? That pierces my heart!" A man may allow some of his sins to be demolished, but when it comes to one sin that is the taking of the castle; he will never agree to part with that! 

That is the master sin for sure! The besetting sin is, of all others, most dangerous! As Samson's strength lay in his hair, so the strength of sin lies in this beloved sin! This is like a poison striking the heart, which brings death. A godly man will lay the ax of repentance to this sin and hew it down! He will sacrifice this, Isaac. He will pluck out this right eye, so that he may see better to go to Heaven! 

[Thomas Watson] 

Hebrews 12:1 ... Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

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Grace or The Flesh?

 Religion teaches that repentance demands you change.

Grace teaches that repentance is trusting God to change you.

Religion wants you to trust your flesh.

God wants you to trust His grace.

The choice is yours.

[Christopher Gregory]

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John 6:63 ... It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

2 Corinthians 7:10 ... For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

1 Peter 5:10-11 ... But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. ❤

New Begininngs ...

When God gives you a new beginning, don't repeat the old mistakes.

Joel 2:12-13 ...  Therefore also now, saith the Lord, turn ye even to me with all your heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning: And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. ❤

Be Not Conformed!!

In the face of those that will try to bully you into tolerance: 

Boldly Shout ... REPENTANCE!!

[Corey Reynolds]

Ephesians 5:11 ... And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.

Romans 12:2 ...  And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

Mark 1:15 ... And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. ❤

The Month of June

See June as a time of ‘fresh repentance.’ Leaving those old habits that you have hated for a long time. God is going to give Supernatural power and grace for each of us to move in greater freedom both from sin and capacity to ‘work properly.’  Take that first step to show God you truly mean business! 

We will trade dysfunction for function. We will trade disorder for order. We will trade the lies of broken mindsets to walk in fresh revelation and Truth that sets free. God has not called us to static religion, but to dynamic, productive, responsibility. Not by our own strength, but by His Holy Spirit. We no longer think like caterpillars. We think like butterflies. Let us go deep in fresh humble repentance, even as the world celebrates Pride Month (June,) we know that pride comes before the fall. (Proverbs 16:18) God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. (James 4:6) 

See June as a fresh opportunity to break for good anything and everything that would keep us from our butterfly destiny. Our repentance is required for the experience. 

Can I get a witness?? 

[Troi Nelson Cockayne]

 

Proverbs 1:23 ... Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.

Acts 3:19 ...Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. ❤

Make Time for God!!

He who cannot find time to study his Bible will one day find he has time to be sick.

He who has no time to pray must find time to die.

He who can find no time to reflect is most likely to find time to sin.

He who cannot find time for repentance will find an eternity in which repentance will be of no avail.

He who cannot find time to work for others may find an eternity in which to suffer for himself.

[Hannah More]

Matthew 6:33 ... But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 ...  Pray without ceasing.

Hosea 10:12 ...  Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Mark 1:15 ...  And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

Colossians 4:5 ... Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

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Grace From God

Repentance is a grace of God's Spirit whereby a sinner is inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.

[Thomas Watson]

Ephesians 1:3-6 ... Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:  According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:  Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,  To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Matthew 9:13 ... But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

2 Corinthians 4:16 ... For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. ❤

"Closed"

We have an intimacy problem. I’m convinced one of the most severe consequences of sin is the ability to experience open intimacy. It’s why many marriages suffer creeping separateness. It’s the same reason many go to church their entire lives yet don’t know God or His intimate voice. Closed hearted marriages, closed hearted church attendees, closed hearted relationships to both people and to God. 

I still marvel that I spent 20 years attending Church and had virtually no intimacy with God. No one had ever really taught me how to connect or recognize His voice and His loving presence. My preoccupied compromised desires and sins left me fragmented and closed off from the beautiful gift of true intimacy with my wife at the time, God and other relationships. God is after the quality of our love, which comes from a pure heart, from a clear conscience and from a sincere faith. This comes in a greater degree when we repent of defiling sin and the lies that separate us from experiencing intimacy with True Love(God). 

Sin taints the quality of our connection to God, our spouse and others by distorting our motives and desires. Often, many of us get stuck in a closed off ‘protection mode’ because of past wounds. We need the healing hug of intimacy. True intimacy. The greatest part about the gospel, and in my opinion, the deeper meaning of it is that Jesus came, died and rose, not so much that we would attend church every week, but to restore each one of us back into intimacy with True Love.  Daily, moment by moment. To be closed is to be in a posture of resisting that True Love. 

Repentance is an exchange program where we give up anything that blocks, breaks or defiles true intimacy with God. Repentance is the main requirement for this heavenly miracle. Jesus is the safest place to open up and give our full heart because His love is pure with no shadow of turning. He will never hurt you, leave you or forsake you. But we must open to His hug to experience this miracle of true intimacy and restoration to healthy function. From this point, He is able to heal us from the inside out and make us true lovers of people. Leading others to the same heavenly experience. 

That’s the true gospel. 

 [Troi Nelson Cockayne]

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Bouyancy in The Cross

Cling to the cross though your sins rise up before you like mountains for their size; like the sands on the seashore for their number and glowing like scarlet and crimson, in color!

For no sins, however great, or however numerous should tempt us to despond, or to let go of our hold on the cross seeing the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses from ALL sin.  There is a 'buoyancy' in the cross which will never let anyone sink, who clings to it!

If our sins were as ponderous as the globe, or as numerous as all the particles of created matter yet embracing the cross of Jesus they are all forgiven and forgiven forever!

They are all blotted out like the dark clouds, which obscured the sun for a little while on the summer's morning!  They are all blotted out like a stone cast from an angel's hand into the depths of ocean!  They are all forgiven and forgotten forever!

Cling to the cross!

[James Smith]

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Isaiah 1:18 ... Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

Colossians 1:14 ...  In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Galatians 6:14 ... But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.  ❤

Repentance!!

Repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ always go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. This is the only way that sinners obtain eternal salvation. Both are necessary. Both are vital. Both are gifts of God's grace.

[Don Fortner]

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Acts 20:20-21 ... And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 2:4 ... Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

1 John 1:9 ... If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Jeremiah 31:18 ... I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God.

Lamentations 5:21 ... Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned; renew our days as of old. ❤

Crucify Your Sins!

Crucify your sins, which have crucified your Savior. Did the rocks rent, when Christ died for our sins? And shall not our hearts rent, who have lived in our sins? Oh, that the nails which pierced His hands, should now pierce our hearts. Oh, that they should wound themselves with their sorrows, who have wounded Christ with their sins. Oh, that they who have grieved His heart, should be grieved in their hearts. Oh, that I should be such a bad a child to Him, who has been such a good a Father to me. My sins have been my greatest terror, and my Savior has been my choicest helper. Oh, put sin to death, for sin was the cause of Christ's death. 

[William Dyer] 

Galatians 5:24-25 ... And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

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