Be Encouraged Today!

I'm doing a nine (9) part mini-series on Law vs Grace. Many believers struggle to understand the difference between law and grace . We know both concepts are in Scripture, and we know both come from God, yet we often confuse their purpose. When I speak of “law,” I’m referring to biblical law —the commandments, statutes, and regulations given through Moses. But I’m also referring to the laws we create for ourselves: the rules, habits, and personal systems we rely on to feel righteous, safe, or spiritually stable. The truth is simple but often misunderstood: The law was never given as a means of salvation. It was given to define sin and reveal our need for God’s mercy (Romans 3:20). Grace, on the other hand, is God’s answer to our inability to keep the law. Grace is His unearned favor, His covering, His mercy, and His power working in us through the Holy Spirit. Grace is not permission to sin—it is the divine strength that helps us walk in obedience without condemnation (Roma...

I am studying the Book of Galatians, and while reading in my Jimmy Swaggart Commentary, he begins discussing how God sees us. This brought to mind a previous blog post entitled “Our Position in the Cross of Christ.” Knowing and understanding your position In Christ Jesus (Romans 6:3–4) is so very important, and remaining in this position is imperative. Please excuse the repetition, but I am doing it for a specific purpose. Jesus is the Head of the Church, and the Church is the “body” of Christ — a Head and a body. When God looked down upon the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, He saw Jesus, The Head, with a spiritual body. Jesus’ spiritual body consisted of individual members — The Church! So we, who are In Christ Jesus , hung on the Cross with Him. When The Head, Jesus, was taken down, His spiritual body — The Church — was taken down. We died with Him. On that third and glorious day, The Head, Jesus, with His spiritual body consisting of individual members — The Church — arose...

I want to talk a little bit about Christians and the sinful nature because I don't think a lot of Christians, or Believers, really understand what it is. Yes, I've mentioned this before,but want to revisit it again. This so important. We often look at the individual things we do—lying, gossiping, backstabbing, refusing to help someone, or other sinful acts—but we don't always look at the root cause behind those actions. The sinful acts are the fruit. The sinful nature is the root. Many Believers continue to fail because they never address the root. They allow certain sins to become habits. They become habitual liars, habitual gossipers, habitual backstabbers, and so forth. Sometimes we don't even recognize these things as sin, so we never address them. We may even tell ourselves, "Well, I got saved, so Jesus took care of my sins. I'm covered. Once saved, always saved." But that is not the answer. "A little leaven leavens the whole lump....

School is off to a good start. The devil tried to throw a monkey wrench in the first couple of weeks, but he is a liar and a defeated foe. Period! Okay... Right now, I am studying the book of Galatians, and it is no wonder why God has me studying Galatians. Every time I’m led to do a study on a book, I know that God is trying to show me something. Just in these first couple of verses in the first chapter, the one thing that I got was that the Apostle Paul, whom God gave the revelation of the New Covenant, had to stand up for what God had called him to be, even when people tried to tell him who he was. Paul had done a lot of bad things in his life. He even killed people because of his beliefs. But God got a hold of his heart. And when God got a hold of his heart, Paul still struggled. He said, “The things that I don’t want to do, I wind up doing. And the things I know I ought to do, I don’t do.” If this wonderful, strong man of God struggled in his walk with God—if, in his past,...

In 2 Thessalonians 3:2, Paul asks believers to pray: "And that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all men have not Faith." At first glance, Paul appears to be speaking of people with evil intentions. Yet a closer look at the language he uses may reveal something deeper. The Greek word translated "unreasonable" is atopos , meaning "out of place," "misaligned," or "not in proper order." This suggests more than open hostility; it points to a condition of being spiritually misplaced. Throughout Scripture, one of Satan's most effective strategies is not necessarily to make people openly oppose God, but to subtly shift the object of their faith away from God's appointed provision. His greatest victories often come not through obvious rebellion but through misplaced trust, our faith. Misguided Devotion Rather Than Malicious Intent Many who opposed Paul's message were not irreligious people. In f...

One of the greatest gifts God has given humanity is the power of choice. Every day, we make decisions that either align with God's Word or move us away from it. As Believers in Christ Jesus, the issue is not merely whether we commit an obvious sin, but whether we choose to obey what God has revealed to us through His Word and by the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle James addresses this very issue: "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." (James 4:17) Most Christians understand what are commonly called sins of commission —the things we do that are clearly forbidden by God's Word. However, Scripture also teaches about sins of omission —failing to do the good things God has commanded us to do. Sins of Commission and Sins of Omission There are two ways a person can miss God's will: Sins of Commission Doing what God has forbidden. Lying, gossiping, stealing, adultery, hatred, and other acts that viol...

"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the Power of God." — 1 Corinthians 1:18 "But to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the Power of God and the Wisdom of God." — 1 Corinthians 1:24 "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom; all who follow His instructions have good insight." — Psalm 111:10 As I was reading Psalm 111:10 and reflecting on Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 1, a beautiful connection began to emerge. If the preaching of the Message of the Cross is the manifestation of the Power of God and the Wisdom of God, could it be said that the Message of the Cross is the Wisdom of God and the starting point for understanding and following the Lord's instructions? I believe the answer is yes. When we connect these passages together, we discover a clear spiritual progression that reveals how God brings His children into Wisdom, obedience, and sp...

In Ezekiel 47:1-5 (AMP) states: Then he [my guide] brought me back to the door of the house [the temple of the LORD]; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house (temple) toward the east, for the front of the temple was facing east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar. 2 Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate by the way of the gate that faces east. And behold, water was spurting out from the south side [of the gate]. 3 When the man went out toward the east with a measuring line in his hand, he measured a thousand cubits, and he led me through the water, water that was ankle-deep. 4 Again he measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water that was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand [cubits] and led me through the water, water reaching the hips. 5 Again he measured a thousand [cubits]; and it was a river that I cou...

When we came to Christ and accept what He accomplished on the Cross of Calvary for us, we were imputed His Righteousness. In Christ… Romans 6:3-4 (recommend you read the whole chapter) states: Or are you ignorant of the fact that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We have therefore been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory and power of the Father, we too might walk habitually in newness of life [abandoning our old ways]. In what Jesus has accomplished, for those who would believe, is everything we will ever need in life. We have been given Salvation, redemption, reconciliation, The Word of God and His righteousness. Now when God sees us, He no longer sees a sinful person, but the Righteousness of He who was slain – The Lamb of God. To be able to walk in the righteousness daily, we must have our Faith in the very thing that afforded us that righteousness. It was ...

I don’t think we know or will ever know the full ramifications of the disobedience (sin) in the Garden of Eden. Yes, they disobeyed, but it was so much deeper and more harmful than we tend to think. Let’s look at it a little. Yes, they ate of the fruit that they should not have eaten. A lot could be said about this, but that’s not why we are here. I will say that God does test us all, not only to see if we will obey or disobey what He has said, but I believe He also tests our Faith so that we can see if we are indeed operating in Faith and trusting Him. Sometimes we think we are in Faith and trusting Him, when we are actually looking to ourselves and trusting what we can do. But like said, that’s not why we are here. Yes, Adam and Eve disobeyed by eating the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Some would think “Yeah, they ate something they shouldn’t have; just forgive them”. But it was so much more than that. When Adam disobeyed, he also gave away all of God’s Creation....

On Salvation and Present Condition A lot of people think that they can't lose their salvation. A lot of people believe that old adage, “once saved, always saved.” They believe in eternal security, but we can indeed lose our salvation. We can go from living a righteous life to living a life of sin, and we can lose our salvation. Now, I want to come from the book of Ezekiel, chapter 33, verses 12 through 20. I know a lot of people think that the Old Testament is not relevant—that it’s not something we need to be looking at or reading—but you definitely need to be reading the Old Testament. The Old Testament does have things that are specific to the Jewish people, because they are Jewish and we are Gentiles. However, the lessons they went through—when God told them to repent or to change and they didn’t—are lessons we need to learn so that we don’t repeat them and go through the same judgments they did. So, in Ezekiel chapter 33, verses 12 through 20, this is ...

I have greatly enjoyed and have learned a lot from studying The Message of the Cross . The studying indeed continues, and I believe that I may never know the full extent of what He accomplished for me (us) on the Cross. That which I have been privileged to know and understand I do believe. I am grateful for the opportunity to hear The Truth, know and understand Truth, and to have the Holy Spirit working at 100% of His Power, in my life. I do not and will not hinder His work. All that God has for us is in Christ Jesus, meaning His Finished Work (Death, Burial and Resurrection). Jesus is our EVERYTHING, and we get everything through the Cross. This means we need to be looking to the Cross which is the means to receive everything from our Lord and Savior! Once we exclusively believe, have our Faith, in the Jesus’ Finished Work, the Holy Spirit can begin the work that only He can do. John 7:37-39 states: Now on the last and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out ...

Ok, so I’m taking out my broken record again. I cannot express the importance of the Message of the Cross, the Cross of Christ, His Finished Work – His Death, Burial and His Resurrection. This is where our Faith should be placed. It is the Faith that Jesus will be looking for when He returns. The Cross of Christ is the one thing that began this life of Salvation in Christ Jesus for us. It is the sole reason for our Justification which is by Faith in His Precious Sacrifice on the Cross. Our Faith in what was accomplished for us on the Cross allows the Holy Spirit to help us live sanctified lives before God. Jesus’ Finished Work on the Cross is the foundation of our Salvation, Justification and Sanctification. We need to get back to the root – Jesus and Him Crucified. I believe that, for such a time as this, that the Message of the Cross is “resurfacing”. Satan has, unfortunately, been very successful in moving the Church’s Faith from the very object that ushered it into existence. Ha...

Jesus said in Luke 18:8 , “When the Son of Man returns, will I find Faith on the Earth?”   He did not say faiths as in more than one, but Faith – singular.  This tells me that we must have the right Faith or rather our faith in the right thing.  Faith is another word for trust, confidence, hope, and belief among many others.  So, this Faith that Jesus will be looking for must be something that we trust and can have confidence that it is ours and more importantly; that it worked/works.  Think about it...  What is the one thing, as far as our righteousness is concerned, that gave us right standing with God and that had to work for us to receive said righteousness?  The answer is Jesus dying on the Cross of Calvary.  What the Word of God says that He accomplished on the Cross for us HAD TO WORK!  We must trust and have confidence (Faith) that what Jesus died on the Cross for worked for us (personally).  In more simpler terms, you mu...