HELP!

“Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.” (Psalm 130:1)

“Help me God!” is a familiar phrase to many Christians, so much so we often incorporate it into our testimonies. These believers will go on to tell you that after crying out to God they discovered, either immediately or later on as they matured in their faith, that the help they needed was always there – Jesus provided it 2000 years ago and all that was required was to lay claim to it.

What must we say to take ownership?

“I believe.”

Of course it’s just not uttering those two little words, it must be a truthful confession and it must be all encompassing – in due time you must believe Jesus, His account and commands, as they are recorded in the Bible – the whole Bible. When you desperately call to God for help, you’re agreeing to surrender your ways of doing things for His way of doing things, despite not knowing or understanding all that that means. That is the essence of faith. Some key things you may grasp initially (or will eventually):

1) I’m a sinner and I’m going to hell.

Many folks have difficulty accepting that. They’re not yet in the ‘depths’ (sometimes referred to as ‘hitting bottom’) and life appears to be good; they enjoy their sin and it doesn’t seem to be hurting anyone. They laugh at those who tell them their path is the way of destruction, but then it happens: their habitual sin begins to hurt, causing pain to themselves and to others. In time it brings them to a place where they cannot escape. It’s from these ‘depths’ they eventually cry out, “Help me God!”

2) There’s NOTHING I can do to save myself.

a) You want to reject sin; turn away from it, but you can’t. You may stop for a season, but it always draws you back. You’re desperate.

b) Your sin-history prevents you from going to Heaven and there’s nothing you can do to change that. You can’t ‘do good’ to counteract the bad. Entrance to Heaven requires perfection and our sin (just one sin) makes us all imperfect. Once again, you’re desperate.

3) Jesus is your only help. He is perfect and He paid the penalty for our sin.

It’s not required to understand all the doctrine behind Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, at least not initially, not when you’re crying out to Jesus from your depths of despair. Just accept the fact by faith that He did it and He’s the only one who can help you. Later on, when the bonds of sin have been broken and you’re free from satan’s grasp, you’ll desire to know more about the Jesus who saved you. You’ll come to realize that He wants a relationship with you and you’ll want a relationship with Him. In so doing, your faith and knowledge of Jesus will grow, and you’ll desire to share Him with others.

4) God will help you even if you don’t believe.

Can that be true?

Yes, but it’s not a wise course to take. I have heard countless stories from folks who, in the depths of despair cried out to God for help and He helped them. Myself included. Promises were made and promises were broken, not by God, but by us. We may have uttered that we believe, but there was no truth in those words. God knew, but He helped us anyway. But our words were empty and the bonds of sin were not broken, therefore our reprieve was temporary. We were pulled out of the quagmire and given a chance to repent; to keep the promises we made, but instead we rejected God. As a result we wound up in a worse place. Sometimes it took several trips before realizing Jesus way is truly the only way.

5) You don’t have to hit bottom

It seems most people take the hard way to faith, but some people actually discovered that there is an easier way. The path is essentially the same, but without having to endure all the pain and suffering caused by self-inflicted sin. They simply believed the testimony of Christians (many of whom took the hard way) or opened their Bibles and learned (and believed) for themselves. God spells out the path very clearly in His word:

• Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” 
• Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” 
• Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
• Romans 10:9, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
• Romans 10:13 “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

That’s it in a nutshell. Believe it and you’re saved. Repentance, ie turning away from your sin and turning to Jesus, is implied in the text and explicitly recorded elsewhere in Scripture. Turning away from sin is not a work, it’s a choice. Besides, good works (deeds) are not needed to be saved. Actually, they’re useless. However, you will develop good works as a result of having been saved. If you’re truly saved, good works are inevitable and you will enjoy doing them.

Please share.

Read Full Post »

God’s Will: 101

“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

The verse is explicit: our minds (our will; our thinking) should line-up with God‘s will. The only question that remains is,

What is the will of God?

The first clue comes directly from the Ephesians passage. When the Apostle Paul instructs us, “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others,” he is effectively saying, “As it pertains to God’s will, don’t be selfish.” 

However, we’re still left with the question of God’s specific will for the individual. On that issue we turn to Second Peter.

“The Lord is…not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

Before we go any further, do you believe the truth revealed in John 3:16-17?

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.

If you do, and if you want your will to be aligned with God’s will, then do as I have done and reverently insert your name into the 2 Peter 3:9 passage:

“The Lord and (Dave) are not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”

Let this mind be in you!

These articles may or may not be related:

• The OSAS Doctrine: can I lose my salvation? (growup318.com)
• Let Me Explain That For You, Oprah (compassiondave.wordpress.com)
• John 3:16. For God So Loved The World (bummyla.wordpress.com)
• The written will of God (straight from the bible)…. (waynetay.wordpress.com)
• The People who Pleased God and their Thanksgiving (idkh.org)
• Eternity (steveatwood.wordpress.com)

If you enjoyed the post please like, share, subscribe, or comment

Read Full Post »

Millie, Joe, and Mario

And I say to you that many will come from east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven….But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also…For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ…Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. Matthew 8:11, 6:20-21; Philippians 3:20; John 14:1-3

I didn’t feel like going to the train station today. I shot-up one of those quickie prayers and asked God to guide me in what I should do. I was kind of hoping He would tell me to go back to bed because I needed more rest. He didn’t. I was however drawn to His word and opened it to my Psalm reading for the day; Psalm 81. Verse one read:

Sing aloud to God our strength; Make a joyful shout to the God of Jacob.

To the Train Station I Go!

I stopped to pray before I left and asked the Lord for some divine appointments (as usual), and added, “It would really be cool if I could lead a person to Jesus today.”

I drove the five miles or so to the train station, took up my usual spot, and began to play my guitar.

Mario

I was playing an hour or so before I saw Mario. He was talking to another fellow on the bench next to mine. When I looked up at him our eyes met and he said hello. I stopped playing and said to him, “You’re a pastor, aren’t you.”

He said yes and asked how I knew.

I said because he was wearing those hip eyeglasses that most pastors are wearing these days.

He laughed, but I sensed something about him that wasn’t right. Oh, he was smiling, and seemingly happy, but I felt this negativity. When he spoke again the pieces fell into place. “I’m a pastor and a Jehovah Witness.”

He caught me a little off guard, so I reached into my coat pocket, pulled out one my ‘Trillion Dollar’ tracts, and handed it to him saying, “How would you like a trillion dollars?” When he reached for it, I teasingly pulled it back and said, “But first you have to answer the trillion dollar question.”

“What’s the question?” he asked.

“Are you going to heaven?”

“No”

That of course set off our Biblical discussion. Mario didn’t have his fake bible, but I had my real one with me. When I (lovingly) told Mario why his bible was bogus, he replied, “There are many Bibles written today where men have changed the words or have taken words out.” As he spoke the words it seemed he realized that the negative tone of his remark cast a dark shadow over his JW translation, so he changed the topic.

We probably spoke about 20 minutes. I brought him to places in the Bible, but Mario wasn’t going to budge off his false doctrine, so I told him it was probably best we end our discussion. It was a friendly separation, but nevertheless I was saddened by how deceived this man is and also that he is leading sheep astray in the same station as me. The Bible montage (above) about Heaven is for Mario–If he continues down his path, his remark about not going to Heaven will be quite prophetic.

Millie

I played about another hour before packing up my guitar and leaving. As I walked to my car I was drawn to the bench where Millie was sitting. “Wanna answer the trillion dollar question,” I asked as I handed her and the guy sitting next to her, one of my tracts.

“Sure,” she said, “What’s the question?”

So I asked her if she was going to Heaven and she replied that she probably was not. Joe said he probably was because he was a good guy. Meanwhile, Millie told me the gospel message from memory, but she hadn’t yet received Jesus as her Lord and Savior. By the time we had parted ways, Millie did receive Jesus – praise be to God.

Then Things Got Ugly

As we chatted some more I revealed that I used to be a cop in the town where she lives. “Oh, what’s your name,” she asked. When I told her, her countenance dropped.

“I remember you now. You once arrested my son; you tackled him in the street and held a gun to his head. I’ve got it on tape.”

Umm…

I told her I didn’t remember doing that, but if I did I was sorry it happened.

“Anyway,” she said, “I forgive you; I am a Christian now!”

Praise be to God!

Joe

“So Joe, how bout you, do you wanna accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,” I asked?

He said that he wasn’t ready, but he would read the other tract I gave him (with the Romans Road on it) when he got to work.

The bus came and Millie and Joe had to leave to catch it.

Please Pray

Please remember Mario, Millie, and Joe in your prayers — Mario is deceived, Millie is a new believer, and Joe is somewhere in the middle.

Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few: Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. Matthew 9:37-38

Read Full Post »