June

At first I believe-- Paul was talking about himself. Then soon realized that others were in the same position of wanting to do good but not able to because of the flesh and Satan. Because of the mind games it is hard to always keep the body for Christ if not under the law. You can not serve (2) two masters--- so Christ is the only choice to make.

It means we are a mixture of good & evil. Even the good is corrupted and can't be trusted. The mouth speaks evil from the heart and out of the heart comes more evil making the human unclean. Every aspect of man is flawed. We are blinded to the degradation of sin we tolerate in our lives. We can not allow any sin to invade our lives and be oblivious to it 'cause any sin will fester and cause us to fall.

The law shows us our sins and makes us aware of what is right and wrong. However the law does not take away the desire to have more or to have what we can not. It doesn't keep us from sinning. Only a life filled with Jesus can do that. We can not save ourselves. We must surrender all to Jesus. He is the only way to salvation.

We wouldn't know it was sin without the law. It was an unkind act but after the law it was considered a sin against God. The flesh & tthe spirit are at war constantly. The flesh is the enemy of our souls, thus always at war with each other. We must let the spirit control our thoughts, deeds, and words. The flesh likes to control, so we must die out to sin.The human is rebellious against God. We still have a sinful nature, and being told not to do something we do all the more. We struggle with the flesh daily. We can not do what only God and The Holy Spirit can do, so we need to pray for intervention and allow Them to work in us and through us. Die out to sin and be grateful for what we have. Greed is a sin also.

Doing what we desire and in rebellion against God. Not in compliance with The Holy Spirit. The whole human body not in line with Christ, having a desire to sin and not under the Blood, but dominated by sin.

There is no middle ground. You choose to sin or choose to do good deeds. It is a way of life. You have your mind set on doing good deeds and have no desire to fall from grace. If you are following Christ, your desire is always to do the right thing and following the lead of the Holy Spirit. You will be in obedience with Christ. You won't have to think twice if you are in line with Biblical teaching, you will automatically do what Christ would do. We hesitate because we let our pride take over. We don't want to hurt any feelings or we want to keep the peace rather than have turmoil. We need to stand up and be counted for what we believe no matter who doesn't like it.

We follow a pattern or a teaching of the way Christians should live. Live as the Bible teaches not as others may live. They may have interpreted it differently. We need to pass on what we know about sound doctrine without making any changes to it. Tell it like it is as it never changes Biblically. Be accurate and faithful to pass on the Word even when it is uncomfortable for non-Christians to hear as you will be planting a seed and later someone will water it and it will gradually grow. We should avoid the defeatist attitude. We do not have to sin. Again that is a matter of choice.

If you keep doing the same sin you are enslaved. If you keep doing good things whish please God you become righteous. You are slaves to whom you obey. Breaking the pattern of sin & by making the right decision, you can break the bondage that it has on you. When you make a heart decision it is usually from God. Follow your heart not your mind.

By watching T.V. or by reading the Bible. When our eyes look upon things that are not from God or we listen to tainted things.We can turn off the television-open the Word and study God's Word. Serve one another with Godly Love, give praise instead of ridicule, look only on good things, and put yourself in places/situations that are not of the enemy. Stay away from places that are of the enemy. Set your mind on things of the Lord. Resist the urges to turn on T.V. Pray for strength to overcome bad habits. Always put God First.

Before we knew Christ, the enemy reigned in our lives, ans we were part of his dominion. We were slaves to sin. Now that Christ rules our lives we are no longer slaves to sin. Sin no longer has dominion. We are slaves to righteousness, obedient to God's Word and serving in God's Kingdom.

Christ died once for all and we just need to have the faith to consider it done. We can not die over & over to sin. Death is once. Whatever is Christ's is mine also. With faith I have the same power if I only believe. We will live a more sinless life if we simply accept the truth of Christ's death and realize that every sin was nailed to the Cross with Christ for our sake. He did it for us so we wouldn't have to go through the torment that He did. We just have to call on Him and be forgiven not nailed. He has transferred power to us, so we only need the faith to believe and tap into it and make it work. Alive in Christ Jesus!!

ONCE FOR ALL!! When Christ lives in you your old self is gone by God's power. We can't do what Christ doesn't represent once we are crucified in Christ. I no longer live but Christ lives in me so the Holy Spirit does the work through me. Christ caused the sin to evaporate. I say evaporate because it was a process of work over time. We no longer have to follow our fleshly nature, we need only to rely on Jesus to fulfill all our desires. The power & bondage of sin is broken through our crucifixion in Christ. Oh yes, we will be tempted, but we don't have to give in to it, Christ is right there to help so we don't/won't be slaves to sin any longer.

Paul is talking about the actual death of Christ. When we get baptized we are saying that we accept Christ and His ways for our lives. We unite as one in Him, both in death & resurrection. It is reality and without the faith our spiritual being is deprived. We must put on our spiritual being rather than physical being and unite to see Christin the spiritual realm.What a glorious reunion that will be when we meet Jesus face to face! The only way for that to happen is to believe & accept Christ as the ONLY way.

In total immersion we are buried when we go under and when we come up out we are resurrected with Christ. We were buried with Christ through baptism, therefore we will be resurrected like Christ. Being our representative, Christ died for us, so when He died we died also. Coming up out of the immersion is symbolic of the resurrection, rising from the grave to the New Life in Christ.

When we die to sin and live for Christ our desire is to please only Him. One with Christ. Grafted in truth. We can not live worldly any longer-- put aside things of old and desire Christlike things. Unite with Christ. Burying our sins. Not thinking of the past life and forging ahead. Sinning no more. By immersion, we will be resurrected on the Last Day and be united with Christ.

When we are baptized. We must accept Christ as ruler of our lives. Believe that Christ died for our sin, was crucified, died and was buried but rose three days later just as He said He would and is now at the right hand of The Father interceding for each of us. When we turn our lives around and stop sinning, we try to live godly lives. Put on the new and off with the old, not doing the things we use to do. Having a conscience that lets us know when we are sinning. Show the Love of Christ to all you come in contact with...

By being the first human and condemning all men by one sin. By being the Son of God and giving grace to all. He died for ALL- not just Adam. Christ died for ALL so we have a choice to either follow or go on our own, but by following we are made righteous in our repentance.

I believe Paul is saying that there was sin but it was not recognized because there was no law against it. When the commandments were made then the sin was made to be seen. By repentance, then God's Grace was seen by the forgiveness of those sins. The more righteous, the more Grace was shown.

Democratic & Republican Parties-- Each have a candidate speaking out for what they & others think they believe. By voting for that candidate says that you agree with them. Our President- acting for the whole country , sending troups off to war to keep our freedom. Jesus Christ-- dying on the Cross for everyone so we could be forgiven.

Reconciliation means we have given up being ugly, hostile, and hating God and that we have become a friend, developing a friendship with our Lord. Our salvation was made when He was nailed to that Cross, and The Holy Spirit was released into our lives to sanctify us in the character of Christ. Jesus is interceding on our behalf on a daily basis with Our Father. He hears our every cry.

Before The Holy Spirit ever entered us Christ died for us that had no power. When we were in our deepest sin God loved us so much that He sent His ONE & ONLY SON to atone for our sin. Our sin, not His, because He was without sin. When we were at our worst, He showed His Love. The devil can say anything, but we must remember that he is the father of lies, and we know that God is love and He is ready to forgive us at ALL times. We will sin because we are not a perfect people, but God is quick to forgive. There is no sin that God will not forgive!!!!! Just ask!!!

Any trials & tribulations tend to make us stronger in our faith. It also gives God the opportunity to show His favor, grace and love toward us. GLORY!!! Perseverance-- strength to hold up & endure the hardships gives us patience. Tried Character-- special testing to see how we hold up against adversity. Gives us a testimony & hope to walk in The Spirit. Hope-- gives us the ability to know who we are in Christ and where we are headed. Without one or the other we are headed for disaster. God is the only Way. We must go through each to grow in The Lord and to experience the works of The Holy Spirit.

By believing, Abraham had faith and was accepted by God. We have peace with God when we accept what God has done for us through His marvelous Grace and has made us righteous through faith as our means of justification. Justification means we have accepted God Word and that we are in a right state of understanding of His Word for our way of living. Accept, Believe, and Control your actions as Christlike. I call this the ABC's for righteous living God's Way.

You are only a disciple when you obey God's word. Hypocrites act like they are godly and faithful but are deceivers when closely observed. They are living a lie and will be revealed somewhere down the road. They have no fear of God and do not possess the Holy Spirit. We are saved because of the gift of God and only by His grace and mercy can we get through each day. We do absolutely nothing unless the Holy Spirit gives us umption. Faith and Grace gets us through each day. Believing in our heart, repenting and doing God's will are inclusive of our gift of salvation. All have been given a measure of faith and grace, but it is up to us to pursue it. Go for it or resist it is a choice... God does not push anything onto us, we are given a choice in everything in today's society and it is up to us to make the right choice. I choose Jesus, the One and only way..

We must do God's will. Obedience is a must in our relationship with Christ. We need to always be doing what God commands us to do. By the grace of God we are given the gift of obedience and can choose to obey or deny His will. We must be totally committed to the truth and not consider ministry a way of judging our relationship to Christ. Satan performs as an angel of light and his servants will masquerade as servants of righteousness. God will honor Biblical truth and those who accept it in faith as long as they are committed to Christ. False teachers WILL NOT enter the kingdom of heaven... I never knew you.