Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Last week God answered an almost 50 year old prayer for America with the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Much more still needs to be done to outlaw abortion in all 50 States. A law by Congress would accomplish that the fastest.
I believe that if we keep praying then that law will be passed as soon as Conservatives take over Congress and the Presidency again. The next 2 elections are extremely important in accomplishing this.
All things are possible if we believe.
Matthew 17:20 “And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”
Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”
Persistent prayer of righteous people prevails!
James 5:16b “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
Therefore, lets just keep praying, believing, and doing our duty to vote in Pro-Life leaders and pushing for legislation banning abortion Nationwide. We will see it happen.
Even if the Devil throws us a curve by this evil Congress passing legislation to legalize abortion, do not get discouraged. The next Congress can just as easily ban abortion. Legislation is much easier to change than Supreme Court decisions. When the pro-death crowd lost Roe v. Wade their days of legalized murder in this Country became numbered.And not only for abortion, but also for infanticide, euthanasia embryonic stem cell research, etc.
Respect is something that is getting lost in our society more and more. Most young people today do not even know what true respect is. They think that an authority disrespects them for disciplining them.
Today we look at what the Bible says about respect (commonly referred to as honour in the KJV Bible).
We are to show basic respect to everyone.
1 Peter 2:17 “Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.”
Notice the Bible does show different levels of honour. It says to “honor all men”, but then it says to “love the brotherhood”, then “fear God”, then “honor the king (any government authority).
We are to show basic respect to everyone
We are to have a deeper personal respect for other Christians
We are to have the deepest respect for God and put Him above everyone else
We are to show a more formal respect to all government leaders than non-christians, but to the lost government leaders we would not have a deep personal respect like we would to other Christians.
All Christians are to submit themselves to each other with the Bible as the standard
Ephesians 5:21 “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.”
Therefore, if it is not unbiblical, don’t fight about it!Churches have been split over color of carpet!
The Bible also says that we are to treat others the way we want to be treated.
Matthew 7:12 “Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets.”
This includes our enemies.
Matthew5:
43 “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.“
Romans 12:20 “Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.“
Furthermore, Children are to respect their parents.
Exodus 20:12 “Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.”
Ephesians 6:2 “Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise;”
This also means that you take care of them in their old age.
Matthew 15:
3 “But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. 5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; 6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition.”
The words father and mother can be figurative (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Greek and Hebrew dictionaries # G3962 and G3384), so if you were adopted this level of respect would be shown to your adopted parents.
This does not mean that you have to put yourself or others at risk by having a relationship with a dangerous parent. Just like a murderer has lost their right to life according to the Bible, a parent who has proven to be truly dangerous has lost their right to receiving the full honour due to most parents.
Ephesians 6:1 “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.”
Notice it says “in the Lord.” Therefore, if a parent tells a child to do something wrong then they are not to obey them in that, but they should still show respect.
The younger are to respect the older.
Leviticus 19:32 “Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honor the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the LORD.”
Husbands are to respect their wives
1 Peter 3:7 “Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.”
Wives are to respect and submit themselves to their own husbands as unto the Lord.
Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.”
It says “as unto the Lord.” If a husband tells his wife to do something wrong she is not to do it.
Also, a wife or husband does not have to stay in a dangerous relationship. God has called us to peace.
1 Corinthians 7:
12 “But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. 13 And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. 14 For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. 15 But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.“
The word pleased in that passage means to “think well of in common” and to “assent to” (Strong’s #G4909). Therefore, If someone is abusive, then they are not truly pleased to dwell with their spouse, because there is not peace. They have also proven by their actions that they are not a truly saved, no matter what position they have in the church or how loudly they proclaim they are saved. Jesus said you would know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16). Therefore the victim can leave.
Christians are to respect their Pastor and other Church leaders
Hebrews 13:17 “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.”
Although Pastors and Church leaders who are found to be guilty of sin are to be rebuked before the whole church.
I Timothy 5:19-20 “Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses. Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.”
If everyone would follow these biblical rules for respect, most of the problems in our society would go away.
1 John 5:13 “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
So we know we are saved if we have believed in Jesus.
Remember though believing in Jesus not only means to believe the facts about Him, but to commit and yield our lives to obeying Him.The word “believe” in the Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance roots backwards twice to a word, which means “obey” (the word believe is Strong’s # 4100 in the Greek, which comes from # 4102, which comes from # 3982, which means obey and also yield).
The Bible says we know that we are saved because we keep God’s commandments.
1 John 3:24 “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”
1John 2:3 “And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.”
This does not mean a Christian is completely sinless, but that they truly strive not to sin. To Learn what to do when you do sin see my post about 1 John 1:9. Furthermore, there are certain evil sins that a true Christian can never do like murder, rape, theft, hate God etc.To learn more about this please read my post “Sins A Christian Cannot Fall Into.”
Whether or not a person truly gets saved when they make their profession of Christ is determined by the quality of the “soil” meaning the pureness of their heart.
In the Parable of the Sower Jesus talks about a few groups of people who “believe,” but only one group truly gets saved: The ones who receive the word into good ground meaning they believe with a pure heart.
Mark 4:14 “The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”
Jesus also said that only the pure in heart will see God.
Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”
The other 2 groups only received the gospel for selfish reasons. They only received it for their own benefit, so as soon as things got hard or they found something else that seemed more beneficial to them they abandoned Christ.
This is why we should never present the gospel to someone by saying something like “Say this prayer and all your problems will go away!”
The Christian life is a life of sacrifice not of self gratification!
Life is full of problems whether you are saved or not, and many times being saved can cause many problems, because the world hates you.
John 15:18 “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. 19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. 20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. 21 But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.”
When a person comes to God for salvation, God can see the motives of their heart, and if it is not pure, He does not save them.A person must come to God in humbleness sacrificing their lives to obeying Him, not in greed demanding earthly things from Him!
The Bible says God gives believers eternal life.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
This means once we have it, we have it forever!
The Bible says no one can pluck us out of God’s hand.
John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.”
Notice it says His sheep follow him.A person can know that they are saved because they have believed the facts about Jesus and they have truly yielded their life as a sacrifice to Him.
The word atonement means to cleanse, cover, reconcile, forgive, and pardon (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Greek and Hebrew Dictionaries #H3722 and #G2643).
Our sins must be atoned for with blood in order for us to have a relationship with God.
and Hebrews 9:22 “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.”
In the Old Testament God established animal sacrifices to atone for sin.
God killed animals when Adam and Eve sinned.
Genesis 3:21 “Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”
After Adam and Eve sinned, God killed 2 animals and made coats to clothe them. It can be inferred here that these 2 animals were also sacrificed to cover their sin, because throughout the rest of the Old Testament animals were sacrificed to cover sin, even before the Law.
Cain and Abel’s offerings were for sin.
Genesis 4:3-5 “And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the LORD. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the LORD had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.”
Cain and Abel’s offerings were meant to be sin offerings, (not tithe offerings as my Dad taught me), because Hebrews 11:4 says they were sacrifices and Able had witness that he was righteous because of his proper sacrifice.
Hebrews 11:4 “By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”
A person is never said to be righteous because they give their tithes. A person is only said to be righteous if they have atoned for their sins through a sacrifice, and it must be a proper blood sacrifice. Vegetables are not accepted.
Job made burnt offerings for his sons possible sins.
Job 1:5 “And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job continually.”
Under the Law of Moses God established a Day of Atonement once a year.
Leviticus 23:26 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD. And ye shall do no work in that same day: for it is a day of atonement, to make an atonement for you before the LORD your God.”
Exodus 30:10 “And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.“
Once every year the High Priest of Israel would kill a lamb and take its blood into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of that lamb onto the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant to atone for the sins of the whole nation of Israel.
Today we receive Atonement through the Blood of Jesus.
John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”
Colossians 1:14 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”
Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
Hebrews 9:12 “Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.”
Hebrews 10: 1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. 3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. 4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins. 5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me: 6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. 7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. 8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; 9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. 10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: 12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; 13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. 14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. 15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, 16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; 17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. 18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. 19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having an high priest over the house of God; 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”
We no longer have to keep all those strict rules of the Day of Atonement and sacrifice animals to receive atonement for our sins (which did not give full atonement because the sins were only covered not washed away and a new sacrifice had to be made every year). We have been set free from that part of the Law, and we now have full atonement through Jesus Christ. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can atone for our sins. God will not accept anything else, not even good works, keeping the law, going to church, or baptism.
Rom 5:8-11 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.”
To learn how you can receive atonement for your sins through Jesus Christ please read the page “How To Get To Heaven.”
Our Country is in some troubled times, and maybe it is beginning to affect you adversely. As Christians we must remember God’s faithfulness and know that He is able to take care of us no matter what is happening in the world around us.
God will supply your needs.
Philippians 4:19 “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Now if you read the few verses above Philippians 4:19 it shows that God would supply their needs because they gave to the Apostle Paul. So giving to God’s work and others in need is a prerequisite to God supplying our needs.
Philippians 4:15-18 “Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity. Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.”
The Bible also says that we will not receive blessings from God if we are covetous.
James 4:3 “Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.”
God will work everything together for your good.
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
Now, this “good” here does not necessarily mean that God will work everything out the way we want Him too. but that He will work everything out to make us more like Him.
Read Romans 8:28 and 29 together:
Romans 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.”
Jesus said to pray that God has mercy on us and does not test us through calamity.
Matthew 6:13 “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.”
The word “temptation” in this verse means to try and roots back to a Greek word meaning to test (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Greek and Hrebrew Dictionaries # 3986 and then #3985 both in the Greek.)
The word “evil” in this verse can mean bad, hurtful, or even “figuratively calamitous; also (passively) ill, that is, diseased.” (Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible with Greek and Hrebrew Dictionaries #4190 in the Greek.)
Therefore, in the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus showed us that we should always pray that the Father has mercy on us and does not test or try our faith by sending us calamity or disease.
Jesus also said to pray we are counted worthy to escape the bad times coming on the earth.
Luke 21:36 “Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
If we judge ourselves God will not judge us.
Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”
1 Corinthians 11:32 “But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”
1 Corinthians 11:31 “For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.”
Trust in God not in yourself.
Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
Proverbs 28:26 “He that trusteth in his own heart is a fool: but whoso walketh wisely, he shall be delivered.”
Be forward looking and prepare for trouble before it hits if it has not hit you yet.
Proverbs 22:3 “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”
God will give you wisdom if you ask for it.
James 1:5 “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
If you are facing financial problems, ask God for wisdom and He will lead you to the right financial advice.
If you are facing health problems, ask God for wisdom, don’t just believe the doctors, and God will lead you to the health answers you need. You may have to go searching for those answers, like I did. God always lead me to the right treatments and to a doctor that helped, until He finally answered my prayers for healing last October.
If you are facing relationship problems ask God for wisdom and He will lead you to the right solutions.
No problem is too big or too small for God. Whatever problem you are facing ask God for wisdom, and He will lead you to the right solutions.
Another good post to read is “Shelter in the Storm.” It expounds more on some things touched on in this post.
