The Truth Is Our Salvation! Part 2

The Truth is our salvation! 1 Timothy 4:16, “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” Paul had left Timothy to shepherd the Church at Ephesus. Now he is writing to him to warn of the troublesome teachers there. These teachers were apparently Jewish Christians who wanted to enforce the Old Testament Law in the Church. They wanted to be teachers of the Law though they did not understand it. 1 Timothy 1:7, “Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.”

In the First Century as in the Twenty-First, some teachers denied that the dead are raised. Others said that Jesus never really was human, and still, others said He was not divine. But, it seems that the teachers which Paul spoke about spent much time with genealogies, perhaps to exalt themselves as priests or as descendants of David.

It doesn’t matter who our ancestors are if we fail to seek out and embrace the Truth of God’s Word, we will be lost! We may have spent our whole lives in church but if we have not been born again (born from above) with the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives, we cannot live in the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  Ephesians 5:9, “...the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;) 10Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord. 11And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.”

There is Life in the Truth! All else is vain and fruitless! The Old Covenant Law was so mixed with tradition and fable that their teaching produced confusion instead of enlightenment. The result was questions and vain jangling. 1 Timothy 1:4, “Neither give heed to fables and endless genealogies, which minister questions, rather than godly edifying which is in faith: so do. 5Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 6From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;” The revelation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will not cause confusion! 1 Corinthians 14:33, “For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.”

1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;”

Paul is dealing with some questions that had arisen in the Church at Ephesus. He was inspired by the Holy Ghost to deliver a warning for that present time but also equally as relevant to today. Some followers of Christ had already turned aside. (see 1 Tim. 1:6) Unless Timothy could counteract these “soldiers of deception,” more would depart from the faith in the time just ahead. They would give in to seducing spirits and be deceived! They would accept and teach doctrines of devils instead of teaching and living the Truth of God.

Paul also describes what will happen to these soldiers of deception. They will follow after lies having their conscience seared over and being non-responsive to the Spirit of Truth. It is easy to go from an honest mistake to an outright lie. The carnal man will justify a half-truth to benefit selfish goals. But, such a lifestyle will move a person from attempting to follow Christ to being deceived and deceiving others. (continued)

Bid Me Come, Lord! by Myra Boozer

Lord, seeing you, having my focus on you doesn't always make the circumstances disappear. But, my focus and faith rise to a different level. There I can regain my knowledge of who you actually are and realize how you have every detail in your Book. You know the beginning from the end. You are in control of all that is going on in this world today.

You Lord, are greater than my mind can conceive. I only get a glimpse of your greatness when I turn my eyes toward you. When Peter walked upon the waters, the winds and waves didn't cease for his delightful experience. They continued to roar! However, He was not looking at them! His focus was upon the one who called him to "come." He rose above them, but they were still there.

We must not be overtaken by the circumstances around us, and yes they seem to be quite out of hand. We wonder what will happen tomorrow? We may question the stability of everything we have ever trusted in. But, just like Peter, we can say, Lord, bid me come to you. Call me, Lord! Lift me up out of this ship of confusion that is no longer my refuge. I trust you to be my safe haven.

Lord help my focus to be on you, not on the things that are crumbling under my feet. Help me, Lord, to step out in faith and realize that you are all I need. You are my hope, my everlasting consolation.

You are calling all who are heavy laden to come unto you! One day you will, "with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God" call us to come up to where you are to be with you forever. That is the call we long to hear. Bid Me Come, Lord!

The Quest For Truth!

John 8:31, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; 32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 33 They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? 34 Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. 35 And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. 36 If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

We are engaged in a full-scale spiritual war! Satan has equipped his army with every measure of deception possible in an attempt to deceive the very elect if it were possible. As the battle unfolds before us, we find ourselves desperately and almost frantically seeking to find that most essential element of our spiritual liberty which is Truth.

Truth is a precious treasure! It is so valuable that Jesus said that when we find it, we will utilize all our resources to obtain it. Matthew 13:44, “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: 46Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” Jesus compared the revelation of His Kingdom to finding a treasure hidden in a field or discovering a valuable jewel. Upon such a discovery a prudent man would sell or give up all that he may possess in order to obtain them. That is the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and worth the investment of a lifetime to secure. Our goal is to be free and Truth is the doorway to our release! (continued)

Time To Look Up! by Myra Boozer

Just thinking about how Satan works to paint a picture of horrible, no-win situations in the lives of those who may be going thru a dry valley. A place where you are thirsty for a drink of spiritual waters, a place where you seem to be all alone and no one seems to have time to give you an encouraging word...a time when the wall just won't come down and the Lord seems to withhold the ladder for you to climb over and then with everything else it's time to pay those bills and the money is low...the tears seem to flow and the heart breaks. But, you find that the Lord is standing in front of you holding out His hands to you...wanting to lift you from the valley and sit you on the mountain of Hope where the sun is shining and the birds are singing the song of deliverance.

It is up to you, after you pour out your heart and rid yourself of all the doubt and the fear, reach up to the One who can change that picture and give you the best drink of water you have ever had. Tear down those walls and open those doors that have been closed. This is for you if you are looking down instead of looking up. God loves you...love Him back and watch things begin to change. Time To Look Up!

A Christ Centered Message!

There are many issues in our world that could warrant our participation to alleviate the suffering all around us. Our world is in full-blown crisis and needs an intervention. We need the intervention of the Lord Jesus Christ. We will never be able to do enough to address all the needs but Jesus can and will heal the hurt of all mankind if we will allow Him. What does He require? A repentant heart and a submitted life. Jesus Christ would have us to give our all to Him that He can draw all men to the cross. John 12:31, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. 32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” Our message must be centered on Jesus Christ!   

Christ-centered ministry is built upon the foundation of selflessness. Jesus' example was that of total selfless demeanor in word and deed. His concern was for the wholeness of the human race rather than His own comfort and gratification. Consequently, our future is predicated upon the delivery of the Gospel message, the message of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross for the sins of all mankind. The Gospel is the solution for the present human condition. The Gospel is what the world needs to hear. Any other message is of little effect. What the world needs now is to experience the love of God in Christ. Only the blood of Jesus can deliver from the chains of sin and death. We must approach this divine mandate in total surrender asking God the question “What would you have me to do.” It is necessary for self to die if we are to answer Him honestly. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you. Give Him your plan and allow Him to include you in His! 

Lord, Deliver Us From Evil! by Myra Boozer

Dear Lord, I ask that YOU help all Christians to stand strong against the evil in our world. Help us to not be shaken by what is coming and already here. We desire that nothing hinder us as we seek YOU.

May we trust YOU in these evil days. We desire to stand in the power of YOUR might against the enemy of our soul and the souls of our families. Lord may we receive wisdom to know how to share YOUR Gospel Message effectively.

Evil is on every hand trying to destroy every good work, especially the work of the righteous. Lord may we seek to be filled and overflowing with YOUR Spirit so that no evil spirit can enter our hearts.

We must rise up like Daniel and proclaim YOUR Word because it is the power unto salvation. God, Your Word tells us that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. We stand on that truth! It tells us that we are made over-comers by YOUR blood and the word of our testimony.

We proclaim YOUR Word is truth! We cast our cares on YOU and delight ourselves in YOU. May faith continue to arise in our hearts as we send praises to YOUR throne. Deliver Us From Evil for thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory...Forever...Amen

Why Is Our World In Such A Chaotic State?

Joel 1:1, “The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. 2 Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in the days of your fathers? 3 Tell ye your children of it, and let your children tell their children, and their children another generation. 4 That which the palmerworm hath left hath the locust eaten; and that which the locust hath left hath the cankerworm eaten; and that which the cankerworm hath left hath the caterpiller eaten. 5 Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth. 6 For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion. 7He hath laid my vine waste, and barked my fig tree: he hath made it clean bare, and cast it away; the branches thereof are made white.”

Joel viewed this plague of locust as an invading army descending upon the nation of Israel as the judgment of God. The call had been given to repent and return to the theocratic rule of the Lord God Jehovah. Israel had refused and rebelled against God and God’s messengers.

Our world is descending into this pit of darkness at an alarming pace. We are now observing disorder and dissension at every level of governance. It began at the national levels and is bleeding down into the regional and local levels. It is affecting the small communities and individual families. 

The calamity and chaos will not stop! It will not go away! It will invariably come to your house and to mine unless the problem is addressed. As a people, we have a deep-seated spiritual problem! It goes down deep into the soul, embedding itself in the very heart of every human being. The root of the issue is SIN and an unwillingness to REPENT and TURN from that SIN. This plague and every plague of darkness draws its strength from SIN and REBELLION.

No person or group of people is immune from this disease of indifference, hatred, and darkness that has invaded our land. This is like the plague of locust described in the book of Joel. This plague will continue moving deliberately, methodically, and with absolute certainty unless it is challenged by the Power of Heaven.

Jesus placed His power and authority within the Body of Christ to address every ill of our ailing society. We must rise up in the power and authority of Jesus Christ and address the chaotic state of our world! We must rise up in prayer in the Holy Ghost and pray against this darkness. In the Name of Jesus, the Body of Christ has power over every demonic power and the very power of Satan himself. He can do nothing but cower in the darkness when we invoke the Name of Jesus. Jesus’ blood has conquered him and he knows he is defeated. Philippians 2:10, “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;” Hell and the depth of everything in it will be cast down and give way for the Mighty Lion of Judah. Thanks be unto God who always gives us the victory over all things in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Praise God forever!