God’s Priceless Gift


Now that Christmas is over many of you received all kinds of gifts – expensive, inexpensive, thoughtful, thoughtless, etc. – which you are now getting accustomed to having. For example, someone got a new coat and is getting used to it being in their closet. Now he can include it in his selection of outerwear choices or, more simply, she now has a coat to wear as opposed to not having one prior to the gifting. Anyway you look at it, the coat is a blessing and its new owner continues to receive the benefits of the blessing every time he/she wears it and it actually protects her from the elements of the world – the cold, rain, snow, high winds and stormy weather.

gift_box_red_bowGod‘s priceless gift, Jesus Christ, who’s birth we are to celebrate on Christmas day, is a far better gift than any earthly gift we can receive. But once Christmas is over, and the earthly gifts have lost their splendor, many people are still uncertain about the reason for the season. They go on living life, trying to be righteous in themselves, doing the best they believe they can to get on God’s good side. Many are attending all sorts of religious assemblies to manifest a sense of spiritual praise that is heavily influenced by human practices that ease God (who created the Heavens and the Earth) out and allowing for the God of this world – Satan – to have his way. Others are maintaining some appearances of goodness which they feel is their reasonable service to get to Heaven, when all the while they live in  fear, terror, and absolute abandon to the truth of their spiritual salvation and their place in eternal life.

The idea of Heaven seems to be a potential place of arrival often overshadowed by the fantasy of alternative ideas made possible by human imagination. Ecumenical ideas exist -brought about by devout, scholarly theologians – which offer competing approaches to reaching Heaven that are based in worldliness rather than God’s Word. Furthermore, the denouncement of Hell as being a real destination in God’s Word continues to have a growing audience.  it is much more comfortable to assert that Hell is here on Earth. Once the Word of God is challenged as one of many sources for man to understand the future, all kinds of human approaches to Hell become viable alternatives.  Human hope purports Hell as an uncertain aspect of the future that won’t be as bad as it is described. The worldwide deception of the existence of Hell is obviously winning as people are more focused on getting their Earthly wealth and prosperity, and living their best life now rather than getting ready for Judgement Day when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ, the priceless gift of God, is Lord.

Thankfully, God’s grace is still making ways for His priceless gift to save lives. You may know someone, or you yourself may have found this “shot” in order to be a recipient of God’s gift to humans. Let any and all know that this good news is available. Here is how His priceless Gift can be yours too:

By faith you can receive His gift – which has 2 parts!
By faith, believe that Jesus Christ was born to die on the cross for your sin- past, present & future – and He was buried and rose up from the grave and now sits on the right hand of the Father making intercession for you daily.    ***He loves you unconditionally.***    As you trust Him daily in your prayers to Him  (end your prayers “in Jesus name Amen.”)  your faith will mature & your life will be enriched more than you can possibly imagine. That’s Part #1 – forgiveness of sin.
Part # 2 is the best one – you are GUARANTEED Eternal Life IN Heaven.  By faith you know that you will spend your life after this life with Him in Heaven.


Here are some verses to help u in your developing faith:
Romans 10:9– because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
 10 For with the heart one believes and thus has righteousness and with the mouth one confesses and thus has salvation.                       Rom 10:17 Consequently faith comes from what is heard, and what is heard comes through the preached word of Christ.
Romans 12:1-2

Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice — alive, holy, and pleasing to God — which is your reasonable service.
12:2 Do not be conformed to this present world,but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God — what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4.
Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand,
2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you — unless you believed in vain.
3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received — that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures,
4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures


Galatians 2:20&21 20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God,who loved me and gave himself for me.
21 I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!


Ephesians 2:8-10 (gift part #1) 8 For by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 it is not from works, so that no one can boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, having been created in Christ Jesus for good works that God prepared beforehand so we may do them.


Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of (faith) witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,
:2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.

I John 1:8-10 8 If we say we do not bear the guilt of sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
9 But if we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous, forgiving us our sins and cleansing us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word is not in us.

 

1John 5:13 (gift part #2) Assurance of Eternal Life    I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

May the grace of God wrap you in His everlasting care from this day forward. If we never meet in this Earthly life we will praise God together eternally in Heaven.
God bless you & Happy New Year.


Conqueror Ministries is always available for you to experience getting the “more” in Romans 8:37 on a daily basis.

The Lie and The Truth Personified


Merry Christmas to you all. On this Christmas Eve of 2014 we must acknowledge the many examples of the presence of evil in this world we live in. It is everywhere! Evil is defined as morally bad or causing harm or injury to someone; arising from actual or imputed bad character or conduct, according to Merriam-Webster dictionary. Every fire that takes lives, every murder, every abduction, assault, robbery, attack, etc. depicts the  continual onslaught of evil exposing the consistent pattern of the father of lies – Satan – having a field day in this world. There is something inherent about the holiday season where he turns up his displays of evil as we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Uncle Ralph has something to say about this that exposes us to the person of Christ as “The Truth” and the person of Satan as “The Lie.”  These evil events require a spiritual outlook comprised of truth relative to the Word of God, not more human opinions, outlooks and explanations. Be enlightened, be blessed, be more than a conqueror through Him that loved us.

 

What is happening to our deteriorating society? If you are 40 years old and younger, you probably cannot see it. But if you are 45 years old and older, you quite possibly know what I am refering to.The deterioration is causing a breakdown in how people treat one another. There is an increase in disrespect for our fellow human beings demonstrated in our speech as well as our actions towards each other. When we fail to realize who is represented in the overall demise of mankind, we have in fact fallen for the deceptive tactics perpetrated by the father of “The Lie.”

Jesus Christ says,”You are of your father the Devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He (the Devil) was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with [The Truth], because there is no Truth in him. When he speaks [The Lie], he speaks out of his own character (or his own nature), for he is a liar and the father of lies.”John 8:44 ESV Ask yourself, “who was Jesus talking to?” Was it, thieves, murderers, liars, prostitutes, drunkards, or maybe fighters against Christ. Not at all. You will be amazed to know He was talking to the religious intelligence of His day: the CHURCH GOERS (the Pharisee’s, the Scribes, and the Sadducee)! The religious world today still represents a great deal of the evil deception that is so cunning that people are driven away from The Truth to be in connection with The Lie.  truth and liesWe need to personally acknowledge what we find in this verse: we have {The Truth} and {The Lie}. The Truth personified in the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Lie personified in the Devil.

Now you must ask yourself, “What is THE LIE?” The answer to that question is found in Romans 1: 25,  Because they (man) exchanged ‘The Truth’ about God for ‘The Lie’ and worshiped and served the creature (man) rather than THE CREATOR, who is blessed forever!  This lie is universal.  Ask yourself, “Where did this lie originate?” Look to scripture for the answers and read in Isaiah 14:12-14 that the King of Babylon is spoken of, but Satan is the unseen energizer who is really being spoken of. And there are 5 “I Wills” that Lucifer declares. I believe this is when “sin ” i.e. “The Lie” began. So the Lie originated in the spirit world, when a created being made the blasphemous claim of Deity, attempting to usurp authority over the Creator! You will get a clear introduction to the personification of The Lie via Scripture.

Isaiah 14:12-14 KJV How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! (13) For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: (14) I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

The Lie continues to manifest in man today. In short, the lie is comprised of the following statements:

 “I don’t need God.”

“I am a god unto myself.”

“I can create my own destiny.”

“My future is up to me.”

“I can speak my blessing into existence.” 

“If I believe it I can be it.” 

“No one tells me what to do!”

 

The Lie was used to introduce sin into the world. All of the evil that was pronounced in the Enemy now becomes manifested in man through sin as found in Genesis 2-3. Adam, in his created body absent of sin, is given a command by the LORD not to eat of the “Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” But in Genesis 3:1-6 we read “the Serpent”(The Lie =The Devil/Satan/Lucifer)  approaches Adam’s wife “Eve,” entices her through the use of The Lie to eat of the tree. The manifestation of evil or sin occurred when she gives the fruit to Adam and he (willfully) eats, having been told by the LORD that if he eats he will surely die! Adam is the cause of evil existing in every human being on this earth as it is established in Romans 5:12 KJV, Wherefore, as by ‘ One Man‘ sin entered into the world (of men), and death by sin (transgressing God’s Holy Law-“thou shalt not eat”), and so death passed upon all men, for all have sinned. “The Lie” entered the human race, and has been and will continue until the fullness of time is come. Mankind in his/her human condition, a foreigner of The Truth, is capable of all forms of evil based on the innate presence of sin.

This is why we have a holiday known as Christmas. The birth of Jesus Christ, was first announced in Genesis 3:15. The Lie knew that The Truth would come and bruise the head of the serpent – The Lie. The Enemy did his best to thwart the plan of God to redeem mankind back into right relationship with Him as it was originally with Adam. Yet no man knew of the entire plan of the prophecy told throughout the Old Testament. The birth of The Truth was not only a fulfillment of prophecy it was the beginning of a new round in the war between The Truth and The Lie.

When Jesus was about to begin His earthly ministry he went into the wilderness to fast for 40 days. There The Truth came in direct contact with The Lie. After a series of proposed temptations to Christ, all of which were combated against with the quoting of The Truth – The Word/The Bible -The Lie leaves and The Truth is ministered to by angels from above. The Lie showed up as opposition to The Truth’s very existence throughout the three and one half years of His walk among the Jews exposing The Truth. At the apex of His ministry – when Jesus Christ raised Lazarus from the dead – he declared in John 11:25 I am the resurrection, and the life, he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. He later declared to Thomas in John 14:6 I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. Jesus Christ would go on to be crucified, buried and then resurrect from the grave. These predetermined acts demonstrate God’s Eternal plan for the redemption of mankind by way of His Son – through the shedding of the blood for forgiveness of sins and the resurrection. His fulfilling of the Law and completion of the plan gives man the option of being renewed/regenerated/revived in his/her spirit and mind. This blessed gift is made available to all mankind through the Spirit of Christ taking up residency, living in them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Man can now, BY FAITH, believe in the finished work of the Cross and receive the gifts of Salvation and Eternal Life.

In the midst of all the Heavenly benefits of salvation at work in mankind who by faith believe in the power of the Cross and the resurrection of The Truth, there is also many who are not willing, totally disinterested in The Truth and who have an Eternal attachment to The Lie. The World view of this warfare is so inundated with deception that is often overlooked. We, who have experienced the gift of spiritual regeneration and a renewing of the mind, and who no longer live to fulfill the flesh but instead live to fulfill the Spirit in us daily, will always be in the presence of those who are attached to The Lie until we get to Heaven. It is good to know that the warfare is already won. Jesus Christ defeated Satan at the Cross. The upcoming events to fulfill this prophecy is yet to come. In the meantime, the Apostle Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit to pen this account for us to know why all of the manifestations of Evil are present in the world today. We must wait for the Day of the Lord in which The Lie’s will no longer be of any significance on this Earth. Until then we have The Truth of God’s Word teaching us how to prepare for this blessed Day.

2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 NET
(1) Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters  

(2) not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here.

(3) Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.
(4) He opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, and as a result he takes his seat in God’s temple, displaying himself as God.
(5) Surely you recall that I used to tell you these things while I was still with you.
(6) And so you know what holds him back,so that he will be revealed in his own time.
(7) For the hidden power of lawlessness (The Lie) is already at work. However, the one who holds him back (The Truth) will do so until he is taken out of the way,
(8) and then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will destroy by the breath of his mouth and wipe out by the manifestation of his arrival.
(9) The arrival of the lawless one will be by Satan’s working with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders,
(10) and with every kind of evil deception directed against those who are perishing, because they found no place in their hearts for the truth so as to be saved.
(11) Consequently God sends on them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false.
(12) And so all of them who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evil will be condemned.

I pray that you will be a proponent for The Truth and make known the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to whomever you can. Through the grace of God currently presiding over us all we can know just how real He can and will be to us when we have faith in Him daily. He is the best gift you can ever give to anyone – Jesus Christ, The Truth.