sharborr

WHAT IS YOUR TRUTH?

I want to encourage you to take what I am saying, very seriously.

If you truly humble yourself before God, confess and repent of your sins and accept His free gift of forgiveness by FAITH in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for your sins and their penalties and you have a desire to love Him and serve Him, read His Word, and pray to Him and have a personal relationship with Him, then your faith in TRUE.

Just saying some words when you were a child or adult because you thought it was “the thing to do,” doesn’t impress God! He requires a person to have a humble heart that confesses his/her sins directly to Him, wants to repent of those sins and does, and sees themselves as unworthy of forgiveness without Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. If you think you are worthy without Jesus, you have a pride problem.

FAITH WITHOUT WORKS IS DEAD

James 2:14-17 says, “What good is it my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 15Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith, by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead. 18 But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”

James 2:26 “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.”

Faith, without works/deeds, is indifference to what you claim you have done. Works cannot buy you salvation, but once you have salvation, works prove your faith.

If we have true faith, when we get to Heaven, we may not see some family or friends we were expecting to see there. That’s a depressing thought. That is why we need to make sure to pray for people’s true salvation, whether they claim it or not. Pray that Jesus will put them in a place where they are confronted with the Truth, personally, and the Holy Spirit can convict them.

If that is YOU, I pray for your TRUE salvation very soon! Don’t let pride get in the way!!!

SALVATION WITHOUT REPENTANCE IS NOT SAVING FAITH

Jesus said in Luke 5:32, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Jesus said in Luke 13:5, “…But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”

You need to confess to God and repent of thinking that you do not need God in your life and that you yourself have been god.

THE HOLY SPIRIT

If you have true faith, that means God has placed His Holy Spirit inside of you to help you to grow in your faith and to make you more like Jesus.

It says in Galatians 5:16-17, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”

Galatians 5:22-25 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

SUMMARY

True Faith shows itself by good works/deeds. True faith includes confession of sins directly to God and repentance of those sins. True faith exhibits the fruits of the Spirit. Are these things a part of your life?

Now, a new Christian’s faith will not exhibit all of these things immediately, because their faith needs to grow. The picture, below shows an attitude of humility.

Sharon

SEEING GOD’S GLORY

Photo by Tobias Bju00f8rkli on Pexels.com

The title is of a teaching sermon by Pastor Tony Evans. I had asked Jesus to help me to better understand the Glory of God. I Googled God’s Glory and there it was…on YouTube…Seeing God’s Glory, a wonderful teaching sermon by Tony Evans. I thanked God for answering my prayer.

As I watched the sermon, I grabbed paper and pen and began taking notes. I hope you will also watch this sermon because it will grab your heart and mind and as a true believer in Jesus by FAITH as your Savior from sins, you should be drawn to knowing more about God and Who He is! As an unbeliever in Jesus as your Savior, this should still pique your curiosity.

The following are a few of my notes, but you will need to watch the teaching in its entirety to realize God’s Glory much better.

— “When God shows us His Glory, you see things you’ve never seen before. We need to be hungry for His Glory.”

— “God doesn’t have to depend on anything or anyone to be Glorious. His Glory is intrinsic.”

How does God show us His Glory? You’ll have to go to the YouTube video, below, to find out!!! If you don’t watch it or you don’t pay enough attention to it, that is your loss. It helped me to take notes. I suggest you do the same.

God bless,

Sharon

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rTb2IfOzNg&ab_channel=TonyEvans

“If you don’t live for the Glory of God, but live for your own glory, you don’t know your purpose!!!”

You don’t know what you are missing. It’s time to wake up true believers in Jesus!

OUR BEHAVIOR AND BEING

When we are a true child of God, our desire should be to be more and more like Christ Jesus. The picture above shows a beautiful reflection as we should be of Jesus Christ’s love.

Ephesians 5:1-2 says, “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”

What does that mean? How can we do that? Because we are His children, by God’s grace and power in us, His traits should be showing up in us as we grow stronger in our faith.

We need to read and study God’s Word, the Bible, thinking about who Jesus is and praying to Him, and also, being a part of God’s family of believers in a local church. When we do this, we experience, through the Holy Spirit, the power to imitate Jesus. When we begin behaving more like Jesus, that brings glory to God!

Ephesians 5:8-9 says, “For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true).”

Galatians 5:22-24 says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”

Our prayer needs to be, “God help me to become more like Your Son, Jesus, by being filled by and able to walk in Your Spirit. Help me to be obedient and bring You glory. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”

Sharon

THE HELPER-THE HOLYSPIRIT

This is a follow-up to my last blog post that said that true Christians are sinners who have been forgiven by faith in what Jesus did for them by dying on the cross for their sins and also in His resurrection that conquered death so they could have Eternal Life. I said they should get off their pedestals and look in the mirror, so they still realize that they ARE sinners, only forgiven ones.

So, do these true Christians have to continue sinning as much as before their salvation? The answer is a big NO. How can they get help to not sin all the time? The answer came after Jesus rose from the dead and before His ascension back to Heaven. Jesus told His disciples that He was sending His Holy Spirit to live inside of each of them to help them live their lives for God. Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the third Person of the Trinity of God. God is three Persons . . . God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. Three Persons, yet only ONE God. Since Jesus had to go back to Heaven soon, He said to the disciples He was sending them the gift of the Holy Spirit to give them power to proclaim the message of the Gospel all over the world. The disciples experienced this power as the Holy Spirit came upon them. Since then, every true believer in Jesus has received the Holy Spirit at their time of salvation so they can live their lives for God.

The Bible says the Holy Spirit is our Helper, Teacher, Reminder of Truth, Comforter, Convicter of sins, Guide, Encourager, Caller into ministry (which shows the character of Christ through believers), our Interceder, and Gifter of Spiritual Gifts.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit indwelt people temporarily to accomplish tasks and purposes.

In the New Testament, the Holy Spirit’s ministry became people driven. He gave a person the ability to live their life for God, pleasing Him. It is the believer’s responsibility to be obedient to Christ. That happens by paying attention to and following the Holy Spirit’s leading. He is also the Convicter of sins in non-believers to encourage salvation in them.

So, yes, a true Christian is still a sinner who has been forgiven of his sins, but he doesn’t have to be overcome by sin like before he received salvation/forgiveness IF he follows the Holy Spirit’s leading in his life. That’s great news!

Those who do not truly know Jesus’ forgiveness, will NOT experience the Holy Spirit or His power.

That’s why we, true believers, must tell them about Jesus and His saving Grace. They have no idea what they are missing out on and the horrible, awful judgment they will receive without Jesus’ forgiveness.

We, true believers in Jesus, MUST TELL THEM!!! No one else will! This is the Great Commission Jesus gave to us.

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Sharon

JUDGMENTAL AND EASILY OFFENDED ‘TUDES

As a true believer in Jesus, it is JESUS who has paid for and forgiven our sins and penalties. JESUS has given us eternal life.

Then why do some Christians look at other Christians with disdain and judgment when they see sin in their lives? (By the way, the meaning of disdain is: to look upon or treat with contempt; despise; scorn. To think unworthy of notice, response, etc.; consider beneath oneself.) We need to look in a mirror because our judgment of others is sin.

Have you forgotten about their sinful nature (or your own) or have you never considered what in their lives from the past or present may have encouraged them to do what they did? Or, have you put yourself up on a pedestal, forgetting why you need Jesus’ forgiveness yourself? Or, don’t you even care about Christians who are struggling with sin? Have you become that cold?

Psalm 40:15 says, “May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” be appalled at their own shame.”

As far as easily taking offense to what a person said or did, it boils down to our own security. The following paragraph gives light to this problem:

* “As long as feelings of security are rooted in ourselves, the tendency to take offense, even at the little things, will exist. If, however, our feelings of security are not rooted in ourselves or our performance, our perspective will change and our response to the actions and comments of others will become more balanced.”

Our security needs to be rooted in Jesus. Instead of judging people, or being easily “ouchy”, we should do what Jesus would do. He would love and forgive them. We should give an ear if they decide to open up, to receive help. Even if they don’t open up, we need to pray for them daily, asking Jesus to heal their hearts and minds so they can do the will of God in their lives and restore their close relationship with God. They never lost their salvation, but they did temporarily lose their closeness to God.

So, do you understand my point? Allow people to sin and be imperfect and be restored instead of looking down on them like that never happened to YOU!. Be forgiving, and for sure, don’t gossip about them. That’s another sin. Mirrors do come in handy!

With a judgmental and unforgiving attitude, how are non-believers ever going to see Jesus in us and want what we have? We’re supposed to be a light to the world!

Proverbs 19:11 says, “A person’s wisdom yields patience; it is to one’s glory to overlook an offense.”

How easily we forget where we came from and Who healed us and how much more we have to learn and how much farther we need to grow in our faith. We need to throw away our pedestals!…but keep our mirrors!!!

Fortunately, because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us on the cross and His resurrection to defeat death, we have the opportunity to be forgiven from our sins and live forever in Heaven, BUT not before we humble ourselves before God and believe by, FAITH, that Jesus died for us, and not before we confess and repent of our sins.

1 John 1:8-9 says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

By the way — no one can be without sin in this life, just forgiven. Only in Heaven will we be without sin. God the Father sees us without sin now by looking at us through Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins that we have trusted in by faith. That’s the only way!!!

Sharon

* Paragraph taken from “How can I learn to not take offense at little things?” www.GotQuestions.org

WITHOUT JESUS’ RESURRECTION, WE WOULD HAVE NOTHING!

If Jesus had not risen again, His death on the cross to pay for our sins and their penalties would have been a waste. His death would have meant nothing and could have done nothing for us. We would still be accountable for our own sins and need to pay for them eternally in hell. There would be no salvation available to mankind.

Jesus died on the cross on a Friday, BUT when Sunday arrived, He got up and came out of the tomb. He conquered death for mankind so that if we humble ourselves and confess and repent of our sins, and put our trust in Him by FAITH in His death and shed blood for us on the cross for our sins and His resurrection, He will give us forgiveness of sins and Eternal Life instead of eternal death, which is punishment in hell. Since God is Perfect and Righteous and will not allow any sinful thing in His Heaven, this sounds like a perfectly awesome gift to mankind, to me.

I have put my faith in Jesus, and I have forgiveness and Eternal Life. I pray that you, too, will realize that you are a sinner in need of a Savior like I did.

I no longer have a fear of dying or of my eternal destination, because I know I will not endure eternal punishment, but instead receive Eternal Life and pleasure in God’s presence.

Jesus did this for me and for you. Are you going to accept by faith God’s gift to you OR pay for your own sins for an endless eternity? It will never end!!!

Your choice! Don’t make the foolish one.

Sharon

THE ARMOR OF GOD

How does the Armor of God protect a child of God – a true believer in Jesus? Below is a list of the weapons in the Armor of God.

— The Belt of Truth holds all things together and protects you from temptation and self-doubt.

— The Breastplate of Righteousness protects you from temptation.

— The shoes of The Gospel of Peace let God guide your steps as you obey Him.

— The Shield of Faith helps you trust God when you are being spiritually attacked.

— The Helmet of Salvation protects your mind from evil or sinful thoughts.

— the Sword of the Spirit is God’s Word, the Bible, that helps keep away evil.

Each of these weapons is essential for spiritual battle for a Jesus believer. If they are ignored, your spiritual attacks will be successful and you will be overcome with defeat, resulting in guilt and grief. If you do not see evil in this world, you must not be reading newspapers or watching the news on TV.

To overcome spiritual attacks, everyday you must ask the Holy Spirit to equip you with the full Armor of God. Make sure you remember what each piece is.

I must admit that it is easy for me to forget what each weapon of the Armor does and how it can help me. I am SO glad that God has given me these weapons to protect me. Now, I must be in touch with the Holy Spirit each day and ask Him for His help, as should you.

As you grow in your faith, these things will become more and more important to you. Do not ignore them. Embrace them!

Sharon

JUDGMENT DAY – WHAT WILL YOU RECEIVE…OR LOSE?

FOR NON-BELIEVERS

If you do not believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord by faith in what Jesus did on the cross to pay for your sins and their penalties and His resurrection from the dead to conquer death so you can have eternal life in Heaven, you will receive the harshest of judgments by God on Judgment Day. The outcome for you will be hell for all of eternity. Also, any works you have done on earth without being forgiven of your sins and having a relationship with Jesus, will count as nothing! They will be burned up.

FOR BELIEVERS IN JESUS

If you have believed in Jesus as your Savior and Lord and in His resurrection by faith, you will be judged by your relationship with Jesus, which God has already judged the moment you believed. However, you will be judged on your works if they are based on your faith in Jesus. If you did works to bring attention to yourself, they won’t count. They will be burned up.

FOR THOSE WHO THINK THEY ARE TRUE BELIEVERS

If you think you are saved from your sins because you attend a Christian church, think again! Church attendance will not save you. God requires a humble, repentant heart who sees himself or herself as a sinner, in need of a Savior – Jesus, and by faith believes in what Jesus did for them by dying on the cross for their sins and His resurrection for eternal life.

So – we’ve got three categories of people, but only one category has been forgiven and has received eternal life.

Which category are you in?

Humble yourself before God today and confess and repent of your sins and believe in Jesus by faith. This is your ONLY hope of salvation and eternal life.

Sharon

John 13.34-45 says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

GOD’S DESCRIPTION OF LOVE

In 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, God gives us a list of the characteristics of love. They are:

Is Patient
Is Kind
Does not envy
Does not boast
Is not proud
Does not dishonor others
Is not self-seeking
Is not easily angered
It keeps no record of wrongs
It does not delight in evil
It rejoices with the truth
It always protects
It always trusts
It always hopes
It always perseveres
Love never fails

As believers in Christ Jesus, we are to preach the Gospel with not only our words, but also our lives. In this list of love characteristics, where do you see yourself? Which ones are yes’s and which ones are no’s?

We are to be a light to people of God’s grace and mercy. Is that light bright or is it dim?

We are to be living with the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our lives:

Love
Joy
Peace
Patience
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control

We will never be perfect in this life. However, we need to be steadfast in our efforts because those who don’t know Jesus as their Savior by faith, look to those who do and they need a good example of how believers should live their lives.

There is a quote by someone who wants to remain anonymous that says:

“You are writing a gospel, a chapter each day,

By the deeds that you do and the words that you say.

Men read what you write – distorted or true;

What is the gospel according to you?

~ Anonymous

If you are a believer in Jesus, I hope and pray that you will take the Great Commission to tell people about Jesus and His gift of salvation and eternal life by His dying on the cross and rising again, very seriously.

The things of this world do not compare to the perfection of Heaven. Keep looking upward toward Heaven and to seeing Jesus Face to Face. Oh, what a day that will be!!! We will experience our own perfection and inability to sin ever again. No more tears and no more sorrow. I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to that day. Many of my family have passed on that knew Jesus. I will also see them again!!!

In the meantime, let’s also be focused on helping others, down here, to find Jesus as Savior from their sins so they can also experience seeing Jesus in His Heaven, forever and ever.

Sharon

ARE YOU COMMITTED TO JESUS OR NOT?

I have a purpose for the explanations of these 7 passages of Scripture. Please read them all.

In John 15:16, when Jesus was still on earth, but after His resurrection, He told the eleven disciples that HE chose THEM and not the other way around and that He appointed them to go and bear fruit that will last by making disciples of Jesus. In verse 17, He told them to love each other.

(Judas, the 12^th disciple, had sinned by selling (for 30 pieces of silver) Jesus’ whereabouts to the Chief Priests and leading them to Jesus. Shortly thereafter he committed suicide, realizing his terrible sin.)

In Luke 14:26, Jesus said that if we love anything more than we love HIM (including our families) then we cannot be His disciples.

In John 14:25, Jesus said that the Father would send the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, after Jesus goes back to Heaven, and the Holy Spirit would teach the disciples all things and remind them of everything Jesus has said to them.

In Mark 16:19-20, after Jesus was done speaking to His disciples, He was taken up into Heaven to sit at the right hand of God the Father. Then His disciples went out and preached everywhere. The Lord worked with them and confirmed His Word by the signs that accompanied His Word.

In Acts 1:15 it says there were now about 120 believers.

In Acts 1:26, the eleven disciples added a 12^th disciple, Matthias, to replace Judas Iscariot.

In Acts 2:1, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came when all the disciples/believers were together. All of a sudden a sound, like the blowing of a violent wind, came from Heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit so they could tell others about Jesus, spreading Truth and bearing fruit.

NOW, my point to all of this is: What are Christians doing with their lives today regarding what Jesus said…spreading the Gospel to others and bearing good fruit? A true believer in Jesus has the Holy Spirit within Him. It seems to me, most of us are just living our lives how we want and ignoring Jesus’ Great Commission to us. Are we truly His disciples? Back in Jesus’ day, they took Him seriously.

There are signs today, regarding Bible prophecy, that Jesus’ return for His true believers is near.

Are you truly ready? If not, be prepared to be left behind and experience 7 years of terrible tribulation that the Bible describes in the Book of Revelation. This terrible tribulation will occur shortly after Jesus returns for His believers. I really don’t want any of us to have to go through that. You will have an opportunity to put your faith in Jesus during those years, but why wait? You’ll still have to go through the whole tribulation if you do not get killed first. Go to Jesus in prayer today to humble yourself, confess and repent of your sins and put your faith in Jesus’ sacrifice to pay for your sins on the cross and his resurrection. This is the most important decision you can ever make. Do that today! If you need help, email me at sharborr@comcast.net.

Praying for you.

Sharon