Category: John

  • Celebrate your identity in Christ

    Fireworks against an urban skyline

    My goal today is to provide you with a small taste of who you are in Christ, no matter what comes.

    If you belong to Jesus, you are safe in His hands.

    I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. John 10:28-30 ESV

    You are sealed.

    In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guaranteeof our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory Ephesians 1:13-14 ESV

    You are an overcomer

    For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 1 John 5:4 ESV

    You are a new creation.

    Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV

    You are being made complete.

    I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6 ESV

    You are loved and adopted into the family of God.

    Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love, He predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will. Ephesians 1:4-5 ESV

    We may stumble and fall, but in Him, we are secure. Nothing can take us away from him.

    Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39 ESV

    Times might get hard, and the world might turn its back on us. We might face struggles or persecution. Whatever comes, my dear friends, we will remain victorious in Christ.

    As we celebrate the coming New Year, let’s remember the one who stepped out of glory to reconcile us to the Father. Through Him, we have the victory. That’s worth celebrating.

    May you come to truly understand who you are in Christ and give Him the praise and honor due His name.

    Be blessed

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

    Have you considered?

    God never changes – our immutable God

    The local church needs you

    Even one knows the truth – even if they deny it

  • The Church – Who’s in?

    quaint white country church

    The word “church” is interesting in that it can have  various meanings depending on the context.

    We can go “to church,” which is a common way of referring to gathering in a building for worship. Sometimes, the church means the building itself.

    The church can refer to the people gathered together for worship and instruction. It is often a mixed bag of believers and non-believers. Some people don’t yet know Jesus but are seeking truth. Some people claim the name “Christian” for any number of reasons but don’t have a relationship with Christ.

    This gathering is called the visible church. It’s what the world sees as the church.

    Then, there are all true believers worldwide. They can differ in theology and practice, but the Holy Spirit seals them all. They can vary by denomination, affiliation, and confession. This is the invisible church, the true church.

    In North America, at least, a Christian can be a member of the invisible church, part of a visible church, and meet in a church building.

    Some advocate that Church gatherings be comprised only of true believers. This begs the question, “Who decides whether someone is a believer or not?” Only God knows our true hearts; you and I cannot know the state of someone else’s salvation.

    We can get some hints from their conduct and the fruit of their lives. We can get clues from what they profess to believe.

    When we get to glory, I think we will be surprised by the absence of some people we expected to see and the presence of some we didn’t. There won’t be any mistakes. Jesus knows his own.

    So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He, who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd. John 10:7-16 ESV

    Our role isn’t to decide who is and isn’t a believer. We are called to love and minister to everyone and let God do the sorting.

    Sheep and goats can be present on any given Sunday (or at special times like Christmas and Easter). Let’s welcome and love them all.

    Hallelu Yah / Praise God 

    Kevin

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