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Done Day 5 Unbreakable

May 10, 2024 by Deborah Rutherford Leave a Comment

Done Day 5 Unbreakable

Deborah Rutherford

May 10, 2024

Alive,church,Faith,Freedom,Handiwork,Identity

Read His Words Before Ours!

Ephesians 1:13-16
Romans 8:38-39
John 16:7-13
Proverbs 3:5-6
Psalm 23

It is a lovely moment when we first believe; lyrics in Amazing Grace, which always pull my heartstrings, describe this moment:

“‘Twas grace that taught my heart to fear
And grace, my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear
The hour I first believed.”

When we place our faith in Jesus’ redemption, we are also sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. This seal, the Holy Spirit Himself, indicates God has adopted us and guarantees our eternal inheritance. (Ephesians 1:13-14) Jesus said in John 14:16, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever.” To help us, Jesus sent the Holy Spirit, who lives within us and never leaves us.

Once saved and sealed, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Paul so eloquently writes in Romans 8:38-39, “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Furthermore, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3) God secures our spiritual blessings in heaven. No identity thief, robber, or storm can damage, steal, or trick us out of them.

But if we already have spiritual blessings, why do we often live like spiritual paupers? Our walk with Christ is meant to be one of continuous personal encounters with Him; as such, we flourish in our spiritual blessings when we delight in God’s presence. We can delight ourselves in the Lord, as the psalmist writes in Psalm 37:4, “Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you your heart’s desires.”

As we lean into God, the Holy Spirit begins to work our lives, bringing conviction, drawing us to repentance, and leading us into righteousness. Our gracious Father knew we would desperately need the Counselor to guide us in truth just as Jesus guided His disciples during His time on earth. In fact, Jesus promised, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.” (John 16:13a)

Additionally, the Holy Spirit, sent by the Father in Jesus’s name, will teach us all things and remind us of everything Jesus tells us. When we have invested in meditating on and memorizing Scripture, the Holy Spirit can bring it to mind when we most need it. When I suffered hearing loss, the Holy Spirit brought Jeremiah 29:11 into my mind, giving me the strength, guidance, and comfort I needed.

Recently, I had anxiety as I drove to a new job. The Holy Spirit used Proverbs 3:5-6 to quiet my concerns and remind me to trust God. With a clear head, the Spirit helped me realize I still had some preparation work to do for the upcoming job; He provided clarity and purposeful direction.

Sisters, when we invite the Holy Spirit to search our hearts for any strongholds of sin and to direct us as we seek to follow God, we become familiar with His gentle leadership.

I have come to hear the Holy Spirit quite well. At His gentle nudge, or when I feel restless, I know to turn to the Holy Spirit as we examine what is happening in my life. He steers me back when I am distracted from God, idols seep in, or when sin encroaches.

One time at work, I was miffed that another co-worker received a job promotion instead of me. While I knew I didn’t want the job, and should be happy for her, I longed to be recognized too.

Kind to come near, the Holy Spirit gave me a beautiful vision of green pastures. Immediately, I desired to walk with Jesus as my Shepherd in His green pastures, rather than the world’s empty pastures holding only striving, bitter ambitions, and jealousies. Psalm 23 became my heart’s song, for Jesus keeps me safe in His green pastures beside still waters.

In Ephesians 1:15-16, Paul prayed, giving thanks for the success of the Triune God’s work in the Ephesians’ lives. Like us, these believers were once spiritual paupers. But now, because of their faith, they were thriving, evidenced by the fruit of the Spirit and their love for each other. Similarly, our faith and love show when we grow in our walk with God.

With our Helper and Comforter, the Holy Spirit,
we too become more Christlike,
loving each other as God loves us!

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forever,Holy Spirit,hope,rescue,sealed

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Paul assured the Ephesians there was no cause to fret over his situation.

Because of his suffering, they were finding freedom in Christ and the gospel message was being spread all the more, as was the common result of persecution of the church.
(Philippians 1:14)

Because he was sitting in prison and not traveling or preaching, he had time and energy to write encouraging, instructive letters that would benefit the global church for generations to come, including our own!

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Worship III, Day 14 Made New: Digging Deeper

June 14, 2018 by Rebecca Adams Leave a Comment

Worship III, Day 14 Made New: Digging Deeper

Rebecca Adams

June 14, 2018

Believe,church,Digging Deeper,Dwell,Faith,Freedom,Fullness,Future,God,Heaven,Hope,Inheritance,Jesus,Life,Power,Safe,Scripture,Sin,Trust,Truth

Discover the original intent of Scripture. Make good application to our everyday lives.
Become equipped to correctly handle the Word of Truth!

Read His Words Before Ours!

Revelation 20:11-15

Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books.

13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The Original Intent

1) What scene is being described in this passage and who is the speaker?

John, one of Jesus’ disciples while He was on earth, is having a vision while on the island of Patmos, where he was exiled for refusing to renounce Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:9) John writes down the vision the Lord God gives to Him for the purpose of encouraging the Body of Christ, the Church. When reading Revelation, despite the things that might confuse us, it’s important to remember that the purpose is encouragement for believers! (Revelation 1:3)

In chapter 20, John is seeing a vision of the Final Judgement. The earth, and all of its elements, have burned away (verse 11, 2 Peter 3:10) and Time as we know it, has ended. All people, Christians and non-believers, dead and still living, are called before the throne of the Almighty Holy God of the Universe to give an account of their lives and receive their just wages for how they have lived. (Matthew 12:35-36)

The Everyday Application

1) What scene is being described in this passage and who is the speaker?

John, a central disciple of Jesus’ ministry, had been captured and exiled for holding fast to Christ, yet he was still using his time to encourage the Church. John would die in exile, but as long as he was alive, he would still surrender to being used by Christ for His radiant Bride. John’s example should challenge us to our core.

With all the resources available to us, our time, our talents, and our financial treasure, we should be among the foremost as we too, like John, are called to encourage the Church as a whole, regardless of our circumstances. We have been made new as believers to do good works which God has planned for us to do long before we were even born! (Ephesians 2:10)

Spend some time right now considering what circumstances you are allowing to prevent you from encouraging the Church? What are some practical ways you can serve those around you? How can you encourage your local church? Consider doing something this week to specifically build up and encourage your church this week!

The Original Intent

2) Are there two judgements described? What is the difference?

This scene in John’s vision is not describing two separate judgements, but rather two parts of the same judgement. All people, across all time, have been summoned by the Author of Life, the Righteous Judge, and the time for Eternal Justice has come. First, “books are opened” and then “another book was opened” (verse 12).

Following verse 12 we get a fuller description of the people and an ever-increasing sense of awe for the Lord God who holds final authority. In both verse 12 and verse 13, we see that the books are providing evidence of “works” that were done while on earth, while souls were dwelling in bodies. Humanity is judged individually based on what each person did with all the opportunities they had on earth.

Works done through the power of the Holy Spirit that led to life, are righteous. Works done in human power are counted as evil. As Isaiah 64:6 reminds, “All our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.” The “second book,” or the “Book of Life”, holds the record for everyone who has trusted in Christ and His righteousness to cleanse them from sin.

The books that record the works, are the evidence of a life that has been surrendered to Christ because Christ’s righteousness will overflow into the actions, thoughts, words, and deeds of a person who has given their whole life to Jesus.

The Everyday Application

2) Are there two judgements described? What is the difference?

While the Book of Life holds the names of all believers who genuinely have surrendered their lives to Christ for safekeeping for all eternity, the other “books” are the proof of righteous living. Our attempt at good deeds on earth is utterly meaningless when it comes to the Final Judgement unless our name is also found written in the Book of Life.

It is only Christ who can bring about truly good works in our lives, not us. If we haven’t fully given Him our hearts, then we remain damned by our own attempt to be “good enough” by doing “good things”.

There is no balance and scale option when it comes to the Final Judgement, only 1 thing matters for eternity, whether or not your name is found among all of those who have also given their everything to Jesus Christ as their Lord.

The Original Intent

3) What is meant by the “second death”?

It’s helpful when thinking about this phrasing, to remember that our “beings” are made up of two parts: soul and body. The body is a “tent” where our soul (that which makes us “us” and encompasses our reason, emotion, abilities, etc) dwells. By definition, if there is a “second” death, there must be a “first” death, which is the separation of the body from the soul.

The body dies, and the soul moves on to its destination either to Heaven or Hell. But at the Final Judgement, where all souls have been forever judged and the day of “second chances” is over, Death itself will Die for eternity.

Those who have lived their lives for themselves, relying on themselves for salvation and on their own ways, will experience the “second death”, receiving eternal and irreversible separation from God in Hell, where only God’s wrath will forever be poured out on them.

For those who chose Christ’s salvation while on earth, they will be welcomed into an eternity with the Savior, where the fullness of life will never again be diminished because Death and Sin have been sentenced to Death!

The Everyday Application

3) What is meant by the “second death”?

No one likes to think about Judgement Day and the End of the World. Neither are the topics of death and dying popular ones, but remember that the purpose of John’s vision and the book of Revelation is to encourage the Church. These few verses are overflowing with Solid Hope for the believer!

Christ is coming, He is Just, and the life He offers us will never be threatened again!

We were created to live a full, abundant life that would never end nor would it be stained by brokenness, pain, and hurt that comes from sin and its consequences. We will finally be free to live the life we were created for!

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Christ,end times,eternity,future,grace,Heaven,hope,judge,Safe,safety,sealed