The Spirit is Strength

Here’s The Word;

Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

What is this “Spiritual” strength for? Acts 1:8 starts with “But you shall receive power…” from the Holy Spirit and goes on to talk about the disciples being ‘witnesses’. Are we to assume that this power is just to calm our fears about evangelizing and sharing our testimonies?
Not exclusively. Being a witnesses doesn’t only require the boldness to go and speak – witnesses LIVE according to the Truth they’ve been exposed to. They live ‘altered’ lives which have more of an apparent impact. Our lives need to synchronized expressions of personal disposition, walking the walk AND talking the talk.

Is this strength to overcome the tough issues of sin in our lives that we can’t seem to finally put to death? Definitely part of it, but still, that’s only part of the bigger picture.
It’s got to be more than something that simply falls easily out of our mouths as a remedy for ‘trials and tribulations’, right?
Just like when Christ promised the delivery of the Comforter to help DO what we’re supposed to do - to act accordingly when it comes to spiritual matters you NEED the Spirit and you must USE the strength of the Spirit to accomplish those things that we’re supposed to do.

Here’s The Word;

Galatians 5:22- 25 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.

See the relationship between the gifts (fruit) of The Spirit and our commitment to appropriating and applying them.

2 Peter 5:5 - 9 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.

Use The Spirit's Love

– Indeed, this is the easiest one to counterfeit because our lives are literally bombarded daily with contemporary displays of ‘loving’. We love everything! But we know that this is not the Spiritually empowered, divinely expressed, sacrificially displayed LOVE that we’re to walk in spiritually.

1 Peter 1: 22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:

Use The Spirit's Joy

– Colossians 2:5 - 7 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith in Christ. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him: Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.

The joy of the Spirit has a wonderful way of overlooking immediate circumstances to finding happiness in the reality of applied deliverance and future promises.

Use The Spirit's Peace

– Did you kind’ve raise an eyebrow when I mentioned ‘personal disposition’ earlier? As Christians we need to be joyful, peaceful people. So many are geared toward dispensing hard truth like a 'brick to the head' that even though some can overlook it for value sake, not everyone can and it’s no accident – weak people aren’t somehow NOT worthy of the truth. The Bible emphasizes how a gentle answer turns away wrath and we need to be ambassadors of peace as empowered by The Spirit.

Use The Spirit's Longsuffering

- (also called patience) This is probably the hardest one for most people and this is why I’m most glad that it’s included. The other aspects have a worldly expression that easily masks itself as the genuine article. Not going off on someone is not the same as peace. Giving someone stuff they want with a smile is not the same as love. However, longsuffering touches us more personally and most of don’t do lasting pain or unhappiness (or discontentment) well. This is how you can know that The Spirit’s influence is becoming stronger in your life: you can be content in whatever state you’re in (lack or plenty) Phil 4:11 - and it’s not just in a tolerating (refusal to complain) mode….you can have true peace about it.

Use The Spirit's Gentleness

– Galatians 6:1 Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently.

Living by the Spirit IS the prerequisite for the ability to restore gently, as gentleness is an expression of the fruit and strength contained IN the Spirit. Related to peace and meekness, this is a calm understanding of the process people are in, since we're in it ourselves. We can't shy away from giving messages of truth that may be hard to receive, but the delivery of those messages should always be with compassion. It's a gracious thing to be right, gently.

Use The Spirit's Faith

– Faith is fundamental and can often be hard to understand since the word can be used as a verb, noun and adjective. If you are a ‘believer’ – Faith is the first ‘Spiritual’ thing you’ve been given; the ability to believe. It’s then a partnership of our surrender and Christ’s work to finish(strengthen and perfect) our faith.

Hebrews 11:5 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

"faith" without the strength of The Spirit has NO substance - it's just wishful thinking easily given to chance.

Use The Spirit's Meekness

– 2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;

Often times, WE want to convince someone to change their behavior, and if they do – WE want the credit for telling/helping them. The Spirit helps us live in the truth that one plants, another waters, but GOD gives the increase and therefore deserves all the glory – but feel free to take pleasure in the fact that He uses us as the method He uses to provide it. Realize that we were once in dark places that we are now able to help others out of and it’s not that we were ever able to save ourselves….God is merciful.

Use The Spirit's Temperance

– (Self control) Another one that isn’t easily disguised over time. When entrusted to our own devices, things build up to breaking(or boiling) points all the time. Not so with The Spirit. In the Spirit’s strength we can control our tongues, our flesh, and the pull of those old ‘less than commendable’ desires that mar our ability to be sincere witnesses for Christ.

In closing, it’s pretty clear cut – you either have the Spirit, or you don’t. If you do; yes, it is a process of growth but the evidences are not to just convince others, it should comfort you as confirmation to the genuineness of your conversion and to give you boldness to USE the power that God used to speak all created things into existence, the power that ripped the vail of the temple from top to bottom and that same Spirit's power that raised Christ from the dead - it's meant to be at work in you.(Romans 8:11)

Philippians 2:13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.


In Him,
Cros

Repent!

Here's The Word;

Ezekiel 18:32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

Luke 5:32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Luke 15:10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Father, forgive us. Our eyes have gone blind
We only seem to seek after pleasure.
The cares of this world suffocate our minds.
Empty things have replaced You as treasure.

Too eager to defend our particular sin;
And who really has a right to say?
We can’t comprehend the error we’re in.
Or how far we have strayed from your Way.

We've silenced the mouths of rebuke and warning
Calling them judgmental and cruel.
Yet, we’re not ashamed and we're not alarmed
At the fact that we seek our own rule.

We’ve closed our ears to The Spirit of Truth
In pursuit of a comfortable place.
Even assuming that somehow You approve,
That everything's covered by grace.

Politicians and pundits’ promises of change
Make us all want to embrace a new vision.
Yet the word repent sounds foreign and strange.
We’re turned off that it reeks of religion.

Your desire for us is that we would be blameless.
But is that what we want for ourselves?
No real desire for Christ who is righteous.
Just overly concerned with our ‘feels’.

Father, we really haven't denied ourselves,
nor taken up crosses to follow
In arrogance, we keep trying to save our own lives
As though we've been promised tomorrow.

We've paid lip service, claiming Jesus as LORD
Yet, have not done things that He's said.
We've gone after the world's 'delectable meats'
Disregarding The Heavenly Bread.

As you are The Way, The Truth and The Life,
our efforts for 'good' can't redeem.
If we haven't received your cure for our curse,
We're nowhere near good as we seem.

So God hear our pleas as we fall to our knees
Please clean our hands and our hearts.
We need Divine help with our unbelief
And repentance is where we must start.


In Him,
Cros

God's Personality

Today’s post isn’t really difficult to write, but it’s definitely one that I wish could be a discussion as I know it will probably raise more questions than it will provide answers. However, I’m okay with anyone who wants to reach out and talk about it…I’m also okay with discussions that aren’t necessarily directed at providing concrete answers. All I’m going to do is present is an idea that may be bothersome, yet has more than enough support biblically.

God’s Personality.

I think the fact that we all have personalities at all, is a direct inheritance of “Imago Dei” – The image of God. He made us all so distinctly unique that even if it’s not unfathomable, it’s still downright impressive. Many people have similar personality types and if you’re interested enough to “Google it” you’ll see that the current measuring method says that there are 16 types. If you’ve ever taken a personality test, you realize that not everyone fits into a rigid definition of their type, some borderline others and still others are hybrids of two or more types.

So what about God’s personality – suffice it to say, He’s definitely the best of every good thing that exists in our own personalities. I think it’s difficult to discuss because while we easily recognize and confess the ‘good’ things about personality, we know that there are darker personality traits and it is a smart thing to know not to attribute those traits to the Almighty. We rob God of His right to be Himself when we begin to redefine what it means to have personality. God is not bi-polar or unsure of Himself, He doesn’t have anxiety issues and He doesn’t flip-flop – Everything He does is in His choosing according to His plan and pleasure. That’s the nature of expressed personality.

I think it does us well to see and embrace God in the totality in which He’s presented Himself. He’s not a computer that will always do what He’s done. Many times in Scripture we see God only do a thing once…just look at Gideon or Hezekiah. This is where the problem lies for quite a few people: Can I not rely on God to do what I expect? Well, as long as you expect Him to be Good according to His plans in His time, you most certainly CAN. If you expect Him to NOT visit your sin, shield you from the effects of a fallen world and bless you the way He blessed someone you know because you did what they did or prayed what they prayed…probably not so much. Ten “Amen”s, shares and likes on a Facebook post does not compel God to give you a HUGE financial blessing in a week’s time.

Here’s The Word;

Deuteronomy 29:29 The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.

Genesis 6:6 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

Psalm 95:10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways:

Isaiah 1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood!

Romans 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.

Zephania 3:17 The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.”

Romans 9:20 But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? "Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, 'Why did you make me like this?'" Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use?

Often times we read Bible verses looking for promises. There are too many to list here but next time you’re searching the Scriptures – look intently at God’s personality.

Colossians 2:9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

We you look at Christ, you’re are indeed seeing THE PERSONALITY – the first personality contained in, and equally present in The Father, Christ Himself and The Holy Spirit. The world who neither understands nor knows God (because they don’t have His Spirit 1 Cor 2:14) says things against God’s personality like – He’s insecure and needs people to worship Him, He’s malicious for making people burn in Hell just for not worshipping Him, He’s outright mean for not saving everybody and He’s pompously arrogant; unconcerned about human suffering (human trafficking, atrocities against children, evil regimes, etc.)
These issues are hard but we must not blame God. Not just because it seems like a bad idea to blame an Omnipotent God, but really because the falleness of this world is not God’s blame to take. Nor is its immediate intervention or relief a responsibility that can be hung on some kind of ambivalence in God. His plan has already remedied our most crucial condition (separation, death and slavery under the power of sin) , He also has a plan to take care of the consequences that have grown and gotten worse because of it.

We don’t know what God will do or allow from one day to the next and this is not a reason to fear or have our trust affected – His promises are “Yea and amen” 2 Cor 1:20 and the generous and compassionate aspects of His merciful personality have been broadcasted louder and clearer than any other in the sacrifice of His son at our hands, for our deliverance.
So keep in mind, God IS trustworthy and longsuffering but not in ways that are under our control – in the same way that we choose to do or not do (conceptually) – He chooses according to His individual, Sovereign personality.


In Him, Cros

...If

Something so crucial.

When we discuss the resurrection of Christ, we’re talking about an idea so imperative, the Son literally rises or falls upon it. There are many well-known theories surrounding what “could’ve” happened in regards to Christ rising from the dead. None of these can be given any real credibility without bringing the infallibility of the Bible into question which deals with the aspects of Jesus’ crucifixion matter of factly.

From the Roman soldier who WOULD’VE broken Christ’s legs, except he saw he was already dead (there goes the swoon theory), down to the more than 500 brothers and sisters who saw Him after His resurrection.
Ultimately it boils down to one of two choices; either something DID or absolutely DID NOT happen.

Falling to the DID side of this big IF, the ramifications are incomparable. For this single figure in all of human history not only accomplished what no one else did, He did it as He predicted. Many people make claims, I guess it’s just something we do. However, we know that not all claims made are carried out. I think of magicians as they often make claims that are meant to ‘amaze and astound’ – to do the impossible!

David Blaine is an amazing magician, but Criss Angel has done some of the same or at least equally mind-blowing feats. Fact of the matter is, although they’re going after a “WOW” moment, not many people believe that what they’re doing is NOT a trick – and for those who believe the illusion, they immediately credit a spiritual possibility; hyper-spiritual sensitivity or worse - in league with dark spiritual forces. Isn’t that interesting? We see things as either impossible, or only possible if there’s a spiritual element at work.

Christ not only made claims but also affirmed that his death and the taking up of his life again would be according to the Scriptures. His death would be carried out by people who wasn't in on helping Him to fulfill His WOW moment. The people who did what He predicted either had absolutely no knowledge of it or such a compromised understanding of the Scriptures that they were just as blind to the truth of who He was.

This is the same predicament were in today, people either have no idea whatsoever, or what limited understanding they do have is so marred by contemporary issues that they don't afford him the proper honor and reverence He's due. Pascal's Wager, named for the famed Frenchman Blaise Pascal, published an interesting and compelling argument. It’s the idea of hedging your bets: Better to act as if Christ’s claims are true - the consequences of error being kindness wasted and a sacrificial life unrequited. Rather than assuming Christ is not true and incurring a much more severe eventuality.

Here’s The Word;

1 Corinthians 15:14 And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.

1 Corinthians 15:17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins.

1 Corinthians 15:19 If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

For those of us who believe that our hearts have been genuinely touched by the reality of the risen LORD, we know that this new life is much more than a hopeful ‘safety net’.
For us, this is the most provocative and only matter that matters.
Christ’s resurrection affirms everything about who He said He was, as well as His attestation to the truth of The Scriptures. This puts us at a point of serious declaration; how important it is to receive the rest of the story in full and total commitment to walk worthy. The Lord deals seriously with those who are aspiring to ‘believe’ – how He evaluates active dedication over impressing words and superficial display.

Matthew 15:8-9 These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules

In closing, words can’t express just how important and imperative it is to know AND follow Christ. For what we do here in this life, in response to His way, His truth and His life matters, but it matters more in the mindset of what He’s preparing us for. So then…for us,
      if it’s really no longer about IF, then it’s most certainly about WHEN.


In Him,
Cros

Whose Cross?

Here’s The Word:

1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.

Galatians 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Philippians 3:18 (For many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ:

Colossians 1: 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

I believe it’s good to develop an appreciation for discussion that doesn’t yield quick and easy answers. Although we mostly tend toward clear, concise direction, there’s also deep value that comes from serious consideration and meditation. Many people have a strong aversion to employing due diligence in trying to make sense of the Scriptures. From what I’ve seen, these people generally fall into two camps; the ones who believe, and for them, they've accepted the simple fact that Christ IS LORD...and that's enough – they don’t have to know nor do they have a desire to search it out. Others, those who don't believe and don't want to involve themselves in rigorous discovery, see the Bible as full of contradictions, not worthy of being taken seriously.

So, the Cross. How do we reconcile the idea of what it is and whose it is?

Here’s The Word:

Luke 14:27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.

Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Matthew 10:38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.

This looks like we’re faced with two ideas – two Crosses. It begs the question:
    What is Christ’ Cross? What is our cross? How are they different?

Here’s a profound revelation: The Bible is a big book. (I thought you’d enjoy that). However, my point is this, in studying the Bible, we have to know when and how to zero in on certain particular verses with a magnifying glass and still see the consistency - just as we need to be able to step back and see that the Bible is still a singular idea of God’s revealing of Himself, His nature, His heart toward mankind and His plan to glorify The Son and the preparation and presentation of His Bride – evident from Genesis to Revelation.

Revelation 3:18, as part of the culmination of the plan of God in regards to man, sin, redemption and glorification of The Son, states that Christ is the Lamb who was slain before the creation of the world. This means, Christ’s cross – God’s method of reconciling was part of God’s plan all along – this of course, raises more reasons to ponder and meditate, yet nonetheless true.

If we are called by His name, and are seeking to know and be known by Him, we also have our own cross to bear. Our intent and affectionate desire to forsake any and everything (of obvious lesser value) internal or external, to attain to reverence of Christ in His proper place as Lord and Savior. His position as Word and eternal God already merit this but the reality of His Cross has now doubly earned it in that it humiliated and made a public scorn of the power of sin that prevented us, blinding us from seeing truth and glory in Him.

Colossians 2: 14 - 15 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

I close with this: Make time and see value in meditation. Read the Scriptures, seek clarification and ponder them and what it could look like to embody those truths into your daily walk with Christ. Have a passion for the progression of your process. As a result, Christ will be glorified more and you will find deeper joy and more of a rich intimacy in Him. We carry our crosses while preaching His!

1 Corinthians 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.


In Him,
Cros

Happy

How about that meme for a title picture?
Not speaking against positive thinking but It's easy to push thoughts forward without having much substance in reality or sensibility - why? because it resonates with people's desires. We WANT to be happy, so more often than not, we'll "LIKE" and jump on board with whatever we think will get us there fastest. The pic is probably more worthy of a discussion than outright ridicule, but if the source of your happiness is you, then I have a few ore more questions.
How’s your day going so far? Busy, boring….maybe a little bit of both? Seems we’re constantly categorizing our moments, days or seasons in life. Furthermore, it’s usually in an effort to apply the label of “Happy” or a having “good time.” Of course, it’s sensible and right to desire happiness when the alternatives are stress, conflict, disappointment, hostility, irritation….the list goes on and on.
When things aren’t happy or good, we can quickly switch gears into various combinations of anxiety, depression or flat out ‘fix-it’ mode.

Have you ever thought of the connection that exists between what you value and what you do in response to the situation if you don’t have it?
Some things are easy – if you don’t have a job that pays you according to the life you’re striving for, you may feel that the situation is futile or fruitless and you either handle this by sucking it up or putting a change plan in motion. Thing is, we have to be careful with what’s important to us - things that make us happy.

According to the world….meaning Facebook, most people’s concerns of happiness are centered on things like a comfortable life, romantic relationships, fun experiences, pictures of kids & pets, food, etc. I don’t have many friends who discuss money on Facebook, but I’m sure that having enough is still a pretty big deal to most people.
However, when these things are removed or otherwise affected to the point of ‘unhappiness’ our ship of satisfaction crashes horribly against the rocks of reality.

This speaks to the main point, which is our priorities. Here’s a sobering question we need to pose to ourselves on occasion – Are my priorities and the things that make(or keep) me happy as such in order to sustain (or boost) my own feelings of belonging, importance, relevance, esteem, etc. or am I concerned with things that matter most?

Here’s The Word:

Deuteronomy 8: 17 – 19 You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed.

Luke 12: 19 - 21 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

So of course, I’m not calling the things that make us happy ‘evil’. The Bible calls God the giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17) so even financial wealth can be good and proper when prioritized rightly – just like all of the other good gifts our Father gives (comfortable life, romantic relationships, fun experiences, pictures of kids & pets, food, etc. ) ….that is, if we’re His children.

I think one of the most tragic things that occurs on earth is that unregenerate people prosper in almost every way imaginable. This fact can be very confusing to Christians who think that only good deserves good. Again, it’s a matter of rightly prioritizing. Unless they be converted, benefits to the ungodly are nothing but evidence testifying to their refusal to acknowledge a benevolent God, but they hold to our reward of greater eternal rewards and promises for us who are being saved. Now that’s a reason to be HAPPY!

James 5:1 - 3 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten. Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire.

I'll close with these wonderful lyrics from an old hymn highlight the source of true happiness!

But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.


In Him,
Cros

Jeopardy

Close to 300 years ago, Connecticut preacher, Jonathan Edwards delivered his famous sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”. It was riddled with horrific imagery of Hell and firmly founded on proper exposition of The Scriptures in regards to the well-deserved culmination of sin and everything unholy - Ultimately pointing to the reality of the richness of God’s merciful grace and work of Salvation on the Cross.

Today, it seems we’ve entered a peculiar time: You don’t hear much about the reality of hell and the full deservedness of all mankind to be discarded there due to our fallenness. On the contrary, having retreated from such an ill-received perspective, we inadvertently reimage God according to what’s left.
This “new” kindler, gentler God, Whose anger with wickedness has been ‘lessened’ is not the God we all will meet in judgment. It is then of ultimate importance that we return to Scripture and let God be who He says He is, rather than what we’ve remade Him to be. This is the sort of thinking that puts us in jeopardy.



Here’s the word:

Psalm 7:11 God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day.

Proverbs 6:16 These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him

Isaiah 13:9 Behold, the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.

Matthew 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

Luke 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

I can’t even begin to imagine without tearing up what it cost the Father to ‘shed His grace on thee’: Just look at the fact that The Father had to experience Jesus leaving Heaven and witnessing His brutal torture on the Cross, innocently at the hands of evil and wicked men.
Yet, He did that for us.
Again, I know the common comeback “None of us are perfect”, but that old argument loses its footing when held up to Scripture. God Himself is providing us the strength through His spirit to actively work toward perfection – since that’s true; why should our desire to live appreciatively and walk in the strength of the Spirit provided, look any less “committed” than all He did to provide it? This isn’t about being perfect, it’s about where our affections are set and a true understanding of how sin affects God. If there's any question, look at how God feels about "lukewarm" (commitment) - Revelation 3:16.

Here’s where we need to be exceedingly careful: Often times we see things in extremes: We’ll see a known figure like Adolf Hitler, or something as heinous as atrocities against children and we know for certain “Oh, that person is going to hell”, but The Bible doesn’t reserve hell just for the worst of us. We're quick to remove the idea of works when judging ourselves but it's the first thing we see when judging others. Do you think that everyone who died in the flood in Noah’s day was as bad (or worse) than Hitler? We need to look at our lives and be concerned that we are really doing (or as is written “Giving every effort”) to do what’s expected of us…. If we don’t, it stands to reason that our situation may not be as ‘safe’ as we think it is; we may be in jeopardy.

It's not personal - I'll close with this little story:

Have you ever had an MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging)? If you have, then you know – but if you haven’t, the MRI technician always gives a briefing that goes something like this; Do you have any reason to believe or suspect that you may have even the smallest shard of metal in your body? Maybe an accident or workshop environment where metal or metal filings may have found their way into your body. If so, I need to know now and we cannot proceed as this machine is a huge magnet and it will indiscriminately pull the metal out of you via the shortest distance, likely causing severe damage as it passes through bodily tissues on its way to the machine.

What if that’s JUST the nature of Heaven, and sin is the metal? As “nice” as you think God will be in excusing you, He and Heaven are just SO holy that any sin in the presence simply destroys your body as reacts to and is repelled by extreme holiness. That’s why what we do here is so important. Jesus came here to set up the purification station – now all that needs to happen, needs to happen here. Think of sin being 'metal' in your eye or hand


Matthew 5:29 - 30 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

When you think about it, it actually does make pretty good sense. I mean, Adam could walk with The LORD in the garden (face to face) until sin entered.
You may not be able to be perfect, but it’s not about YOUR efforts, it’s about your surrender. In this life as Christians, we let Christ search us out and “find if there be any wicked way in us” (Psalm 139:24) and to purge us (Psalm 51:7). And that should be our concern. A concern that solidifies our position in Him, rather than being in jeopardy.


In Him,
Cros