charisbarak

All of the gospel hinges on Jesus being God in the flesh. Satan doesn't want us to believe that to mislead people & keep them from salvation. Jesus, as God, had the power to come to earth as a human being, and not just a human being, but a perfect, sinless, human being. He could have been crucified, but certainly not resurrected if He weren't God in human flesh. It shows that the plan of salvation was God's idea & God's execution of that plan! I know it's the truth! I'm saved! I will also be resurrected into eternal life with Jesus! Praise God!

I think obedience opens our hearts to God's answers to prayer. When we are disobedient, we put a wall up between God & ourselves. No, we don't "earn" God's favor. Our desire should be an open, sinless relationship with God and He is more likely to answer our prayers when we desire the deeper relationship with Him.

One way to lay down our lives for our brothers is to really love them, putting their needs above our own. Love in action is meeting everyday needs of those around us who are hurting, needy and going through some hard times. Getting into a care group or home study group within the church is a great way to meet others, help meet their needs and perhaps they meet yours.

Anger turns into hatred in our hearts when we let it fester into bitterness and don't deal with it. Anger which turns into hatred & bitterness can overpower us when it is on our minds all the time, and tends to grow into murder. We can get rid of the anger in our hearts by confessing it & giving it up to God. We should actually do this before going to bed at night. We can also deliberately pray regularly for the person offending us.

Cain resented Abel because he knew Abel's sacrifice was righteous & his was not. Cain killed Abel because he was angry with God and his brother. The world tries to put out the light that exposes sin in the world. That's why Jesus was hated and they see Christ in us.

False teaching can be recognized by those who are "born again." Any downplay of "sin" or the denying of it's existence or that "satan" is not a real enemy, waters down the gospel totally. Not understanding that we are a work in process hinders the truth from being taught. We need to know how very bad we are & how very good He is & praise Him for paying for our sins! And we need to see ourselves as God sees us--in Jesus' covering of us. We do have a responsibility to keep our relationship with God clean & pure, recognizing He has & will forgive us when we seek to repent after confessing our current sins to Him.

The presence of God's seed in us heightens our consciences. We can feel the Holy Spirit's leading--away from what is not righteous. The new nature which does not sin is sometimes overtaken by our flesh--the old nature. In this battle the H.S. guides us & we ultimately choose which way we will go. If the Holy Spirit is in us, it is impossible to be a habitual sinner. Acknowledges that we are not slaves to the old nature and that we have a choice we can make to confess & repent & continue in the sanctifying process (completed when Jesus returns!) Also, the H.S. prays for us when we cannot.

Lawlessness shows up in a person's life by the decisions he makes--all against the moral laws of God--or passivity about infractions. He is often self-centered and gives the aura of being self-sufficient--not needing a higher power. That lawlessness shows up in our lives when we rebell against God and wish to have things "our way." It turns to sin because we are trying to fulfil either the **** of the flesh, **** of the eyes or the pride of life.

We want to be totally ready--clean--for when He returns. God wishes us to repent of our evil-doings & welcomes us back to Himself with open arms when we confess. We have the responsibility of acknowledging that we have sinned, wish to repent and have nothing separating us from Jesus at all times. He just lavishes His love on us when we have that mindset. I don't like being separated from Him for very long.

We are the children of God in a spiritual sense. The Holy Spirit actually births us! We desire to be righteous, be honest, follow the Lord Jesus in truth.

We need teachers to guide us into the meanings of scripture. The teacher should be Spirit led. A good teacher will always encourage his students to check on what he has told them to see if it is true. It is a gift that God has given to the church. The anointing gives us the basic truth and shows us Jesus. The gift of teaching builds upon our own study of the Word. In fact, the Holy Spirit will also guide there as well, giving us discernment as to whether or not the teacher is teaching the truth!!

It means to live with eyes on Him, following Him, not turning to the left or right. That Christian who is abiding will show forth the fruit of the Spirit in his/her life. Those not abiding, are often tossed to & fro, carried about with every wind of doctrine, continually falling, compromising, & not fruitful.

The Holy Spirit is a guide, counselor, comforter & teacher for us. He makes known the Truth to us. He teaches us in various ways--always pointing to the truth & bringing it's meaning to us. The Truth always points to Jesus--He is the Way the TRUTH and the Life. My favorite part of this section is that the Holy Spirit will bring to remembrance those things taught us--or verses we have memorized. If we haven't bothered to memorize, what can He bring to remembrance?

We, as Christians, have received the anointing of the Holy Spirit on us when we accepted Christ. In the Bible, Jesus said he would leave His Holy Spirit to take His place & to give us His power. Yes, every true Christian has received the Holy Spirit. Now, the filling of the Holy Spirit depends on what we are doing to grieve the Holy Spirit & block His work in our lives.

John is looking for the ultimate deceiver--the man of lawlessness as written in Daniel. He will usher in the last days. The antichrists in the church are those who have already been deceived and seek to deceive others. They have the spirit of the antichrist who is to come one day soon. The spirit of antichrist is seen today in the flagrant sins against God & His Word. I see it in government all the way down to individuals who are looking to be free to do what they want to--which is not being free at all. I see a few seeking to change the laws of the many to break down our Christian heritage. I see it in the church, as well, as people seek to separate the body.

The three bases are: the **** of the flesh, the **** of the eyes and the pride of life. These can be difficult to recognize sometimes--but the roots are greed, pleasure "have it your way", and worldly possessions and positions. We live in a world that is full of temptations every hour of every day. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit to lead us. Worldliness is harmful to us because whatever minimizes our walk with God also keeps us from storing up treasure in heaven. This is a real battle we're in & we're not in it alone. Praise God!

The world is the entire system which everyone in living in. Anything that we crave in our flesh and takes the place of God in our lives is "loving the world."

Every Christian will need encouragement at one time or another. Each believer has their own special needs according to their spiritual maturity. He was showing us what we should be doing--encouraging those around us too. Sometimes a little thought from an encourager will get us going in the right direction again and give us more energy. If we care about others--really care--love--others, we will be encouragers. He helps them to grown be overcomers and winners of the battle!!

Hate and unforgiveness are like a black cloud hanging over us, keeping God's light from shining through us. We are holding on to the "old man" when we choose not to forgive. Also, choosing not to forgive others means we haven't really experienced & accepted God's forgiveness of ourself. Choose to come out from hate & unforgiveness into His light. Remember what God did for you and how that should reflect what you should be doing. Forgive Forgive Forgive!!

We can be serious about obeying God without becoming judgmental & legalistic by focusing on our love Him and for others. It is hard for me to not look or act self-righteous--I hate it because I know who I really am & know what Jesus has done for me. Love cares for the entire person. Legalism cares that each rule (generally man-made rules) are followed to the "T". I can be more serious about loving others by focusing on Him and His Word daily. I need to digest It & let It have It's spiritual work done in & through me. Conform daily to Jesus, stay close to Him.

God promises that Jesus will be our Defense Lawyer! He pleads for us to God the Father & He has not lost one single trial!! He not only stands up for us, for died for us--paying what we owed because of our sin. Unlike some human relationships, sin does not have to separate forever. If we are His, He will forgive us. Praise Him! I want to please my Father. I want to be used of Him. I want to be a ready vessel for Him and not break our fellowship. I CHOOSE not to sin. But if I do, I know I can confess to Him & He will give me the power to overcome!

Confession is agreeing with God about our sins. It is important that we confess to Him. He already knows; He wants to make sure we know & really want to repent. If we stop confessing, essentially we stop agreeing with God about our sins. That is also a form of self deception. Plus our fellowship with God is hindered. If we confess, He is faithful & just to forgive us our sins & cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Cleansing is taking care of character problems.....another form of sin.

When a Christian walks in darkness, choosing sin, it is questionable whether they're really a Christian. If that person continues in sin, making excuses why he or she is choosing sin--if they think they're a Christian--then they're self-deceived. If we walk (live our daily life) in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with God & each other & His blood purifies us from every sin. If we sin, we confess & He is faithful & just to forgive us our sins & purify us from all unrighteousness. We need to daily confess. (maybe even hourly, sometimes......)

Our fellowship is often on the surface level because we are selfish, self-centered and it is too painful to be transparent. We can have a deeper level of fellowship when our focus is on Jesus and His love fills our hearts. We can care deeply for those around us if God loves them through us. For me, I need to first invest the time in each life to allow fellowship to grow me!

Jesus gave over His spirit to His Father whom He had trusted His entire life to. We can trust the Father with our lives and with our spirit at death. We can rest in the same trust Jesus had.