Knowing the True - Rejecting the False

1 John 5:18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him.
19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.
20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life.
21 Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.

It is difficult to live in this world without committing a sin but the Spirit of God helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26) so that we may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom we shine as lights in the world (Philippians 2:15). Proverbs 1:23 says, Turn at my reproof; Surely I will pour out my spirit on you, I will make my words known to you.

Sins unwillfully committed are pardonable and we have this confidence that when we ask for forgiveness, our most gracious Father will hear our prayer and forgive us.

1 John 5:14 Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
15 And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.
16 If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that.
17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.

If you commit a particular sin over and over again, you are crucifying Jesus for the 2nd time and defiling the Holy Spirit which could tantamount to unpardonable sin leading to death.

Lying to the Holy Spirit also proved fatal to both Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, in Acts 5:1-11. But who can escape condemnation? Those who accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour, subjected themselves to God...and follow God's perfect will on earth till the end.

Romans 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
7 For he who has died has been freed from sin.

Hebrews 10:36 For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
37 "For yet a little while and He who is coming will come and will not tarry.
38 Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him."

Hebrews 12:5 "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;
6 for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives."
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.
9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?
10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may partakers of His holiness.
11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but grievous; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and feeble knees,
13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed.
14 Pursue peace with all men, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord.

God's promise to us who keep his commands:
Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you nor forsake you." ...provided we fulfill the following condition in the same verse: Let your conduct be without covetousness, and be content with such things as you have. 6 So we may boldly say: "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?"
15 Let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is , the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.

Grace be with us all...Amen.

Jesus Sets Us Free

John 8:32 You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Galatians 5:1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

When Jesus died on the cross, we all died with Him including our sins and inequities. We are now new persons with His Spirit inside us...free to follow His footsteps and walk in the Spirit.

Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, licentiousness,
20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outburst of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies,
21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,
23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
24 And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Galatians 5:13 For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
15 But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!

We always wanted to be good yet sometimes found ourselves unable to shake off the chains of bad habits. Simply turn in faith to Jesus so we can be set free from the bondage of sin. He alone can break the shackles of sin in our life. Receive Him as your Saviour, and "the truth shall make you free".

We must place our faith in Jesus and trust in Him alone to save us (Ephesians 2:8-9). We must show our faith by being willing to repent from our sins and accepting Jesus Christ and His gift of eternal life (1 John 5:11, 12; Revelations 3:20).

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, I need you. I confess that I am a sinner. I believe that you died on the cross to pay for all my sins. With Your help, I will turn away from sins. Please come into my life and be my Saviour and my Master. I accept your gift of eternal life. Make me the kind of new person you want me to be. Thank you for coming into my life and giving me eternal life. Amen.

In Tagalog: Panginoong Jesus, ako ay makasalanan. Nananalig akong ikaw ay namatay sa krus para sa aking mga kasalanan. Tinatanggap kita bilang Panginoon at Tagapagligtas. Baguhin mo ako. Salamat sa pagdating mo sa aking buhay at sa kaloob mong buhay na walang hanggan. Amen.

Are you free?

Luke 21:34 Be on guard lest your spirits become bloated with indulgence and drunkenness and worldly cares. The great day will suddenly close in on you like a trap.

Are you always in a hurry? ...no time to pray nor even read the Bible? not even the time to speak to your fellow Christians? nor to your heavenly Father? ...too busy acquiring wealth or trying to pay off your bills? In doing so, you will save enough but not your soul.

Matthew 6:33 Seek first His kingship over you, His way of holiness, and all these things will be given you besides.

If you give priority to God, you won't lack anything, even TIME! He will give back to you the hours you spent for Him. How can He do that? He is GOD! He can make things happen for you and for all those who love Him more than anything else in this world.

You spent hours making yourself presentable...the ladies even spent more time for manicure, pedicure and make-up. But the inner man is more important than the outward man and should be well taken cared of more than the outward man.

1 Peter 3:4 Your adornment is rather the hidden character of the heart, expressed in the unfading beauty of a calm and gentle disposition. This is precious in God's eyes.

2 Corinthians 4:16 We do not lose heart, because our inner being is renewed each day even though our body is being destroyed at the same time.

I recently took care of my husband at a hospital in Manila where he underwent his 2nd surgery removing his gallbladder and several stones inside. He was confined in a ward of 5 beds...one was a breast cancer patient, the other one scheduled for leg surgery to allign his knee cap, the third also underwent gallbladder surgery while the 4th bed was vacant. One thing is certain...when a person undergoes surgery, he or she is venturing into the unknown where no one knew the outcome.. In the middle of the surgery, something may go wrong...a cardiac arrest, too much anesthesia, a different type of blood inserted into the IV of a patient, switched of medicines...any surgical patient is now at the hands of the surgeon and his supporting staff. In fear, most patients turn to God for protection and comfort...something that they don't normally do when all is well and no problem is in sight. Will God hear them at this very last minute?

Ecclesiastes12:1 Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years approach of which you will say, I have no pleasure in them; 2 Before the sun is darkened, and the light, and the moon, and the stars, while the clouds return after the rain; 3 When the guardians of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, And the grinders are idle because they are few, and they who look through the windows grow blind; 4 When the doors to the street are shut, and the sound of the mill is low; When one waits for the chirp of a bird, but the daughters of song are suppressed; 5 And one fears heights, and perils in the street; When the almond tree blooms, and the locusts grow sluggish and the caper berry is without effect. Because man goes to his lasting home, and mourners go about the streets; 6 Before the silver cords is snapped and the golden bowl is broken, and the pitcher is shattered at the spring, and the broken pulley falls into the well, 7 And the dust returns to the earth as it once was, and the life breath returns to God who gave it.

Do not wait for a bad thing to happen before you turn to God. While still young and able, do the right thing and submit yourself to God.

James 4:7 Therefore submit to God; resist the devil and he will take flight. 8 Draw close to God, and He will draw close to you.

When you have a strong connection to God, one sigh of prayer will bring more than what you expect and ... much, much more because you have been pleasing God all your life. You are connected to THE POWER SOURCE much like an appliance to the electric outlet...one turn of a knob and the power is already within reach.

Psalm 34:7 When the afflicted man called out, the Lord heard, and from all his distress He saved him. 8 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, and delivers them.

It is better to put our trust in God than in men who are just mortal beings like us. We need physicians and surgeons but God has a much better understanding of what He created and He can very well guide these doctors in treating whatever ailment we may have.

Even when we do not know how to pray and what to pray for, God intervenes for us. Romans 8:26 The Spirit too helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself makes intercession for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in speech. 27 He who searches the hearts knows what the Spirit means, for the Spirit intercedes for the saints as God himself wills.

And when our time to leave this earth comes, we can be sure of where we are going. 1 Corinthians 15:54 When the corruptible frame takes on incorruptibility and the mortal immortality, then will the saying of Scripture be fulfilled: "Death is swallowed up in victory."

Paul's advice to the Corinthians and to us as well: 1 Corinthians 15:58 Be steadfast and persevering, my beloved brothers, fully engaged in the work of the Lord. You know that your toil is not in vain when it is done in the Lord.