My four children gave me this Bible as a gift in December of 1993. I had been going through a pretty rough period of my life and that gift really turned my life around and sent me back in the right direction. So this particular Bible has a special place in my heart.
Hebrews 12:2 NIV says: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
In 2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV we read: “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
When we lift our eyes to the heavens and/or we fix our eyes on Jesus, this is not speaking merely of the use of our physical eyes, but this is speaking of our whole being – thoughts, attitudes, heart, emotion, and will. This means that the central focus of our lives, in all we do, think, are and speak, is centered in Jesus Christ and his divine will for our lives, because of all that he has done for us in saving us from sin. We look to God, not to man, and not to the things of the world for our help, for all that we need, and for the strength and courage to live each and every day of our lives for Him and for His glory.
And, God is faithful. “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3 NIV ’84).
I Will Lift My Eyes
An Original Work / December 12, 2012
Based off Psalms 121-125
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
He will not let your foot slip, and He who watches will not sleep.
Our Lord watches over you, and your life He will keep.
I will lift my eyes to my Lord Most High.
My help comes from Him, who saved me from sin.
I give thanks to Him.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n.
Because of His great love for us, He made us alive with Christ.
Through the kindness of our Savior, He gave us new life.
I will lift my eyes to my God in heav’n.
I look to the Lord. My sins, He’s forgiv’n;
My home, now in heav’n.
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
Those who trust will ne’er be shaken. God will supply all we need.
Our Lord has done great things for us. He’s our friend, indeed!
Praise be to the Lord, who is on our side.
Our help found in Him. He gives peace within.
I can count on Him.
https://vimeo.com/379508241
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” (Romans 10:14-15 ESV)
Now, I am going to be talking about this in relation to how things are in our world, and in the church, and among the people of God today. For, as those of us who are of genuine God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, we are to be his witnesses. We are to be making disciples of Christ of the people of this world. We are to be the light in the darkness and the salt of the earth in preserving and in sharing the truth of the gospel. For as his holy people we are called to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness (sin) into his wonderful light (Christ, truth, righteousness).
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; 1 Peter 2:9]
But we are to be sharing the truth of the gospel that Jesus and that his NT apostles taught, and not what is popularized in our culture today. And they taught that by faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we are no longer to allow sin to have reign (power) in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if we obey obedience to God, its end is eternal life (Romans 6:1-23).
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
“But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?’ So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
“But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for
“’Their voice has gone out to all the earth,
and their words to the ends of the world.’
“But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says,
“’I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation;
with a foolish nation I will make you angry.’
Then Isaiah is so bold as to say,
“’I have been found by those who did not seek me;
I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.’
“But of Israel he says, ‘All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.’” (Romans 10:16-21 ESV)
And sadly this appears to be where the majority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ are today. They have not obeyed the gospel, for most are not even being taught the true gospel of Christ, and it appears that the majority are not even interested in hearing the truth of the gospel. They prefer the watered-down and altered gospel presentations today which do not require death to sin and living to righteousness for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God. But God’s word does require these. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not have eternal life with God.
But it isn’t as though they don’t know or that they have not heard. At least from my experience, it is that they don’t want to hear the truth, and they will fight against the truth if presented to them, for they prefer the lies. For the lies allow them to continue living in sin and for self and to live worldly, not godly lives, while they claim Jesus as Lord and heaven as their eternal destiny. For the lies do not require self-denial, dying daily to sin (in God’s power) and walks of obedience to the Lord Jesus and to his commands. So while they claim faith in Jesus they still live for self and for what they want.
And so it is true what is said here about Israel of Paul’s day, but of many who profess faith in Jesus Christ today. All day long God is holding out his hands to a disobedient and contrary people who will not accept him as Lord (Owner-Master) of their lives, and who will not surrender their lives to him, and who will not forsake all their sins to follow him in obedience to his will for their lives. For they still want to be in control over their own lives and to determine their own course and to choose their own choices and to do what brings them pleasure even if it means giving God the ‘back seat.’
Here is Your God!
An Original Work / July 18, 2012
Based off Isaiah 40:9-31 NIV
You who bring good tidings to Zion,
Lift up your voice; raise with a shout,
And do not be afraid of the people.
Say, “Here is your God!”
See how the Lord God comes now with power.
His arm rules for Him; His reward with Him.
He tends His flock just like a shepherd,
His lambs in His arms.
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been told you from beginning?
Our Lord sits enthroned above all things.
None to Him compare.
Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens.
Who made all of these? Who calls them by name?
Because of His great power and strength,
All accounted for.
Why do you say, “My way is hidden
From the Lord, and my cause forgotten”?
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord, He is your God.
He will not weary. He gives us power.
Those who trust in Him will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings just like eagles;
Walk and do faint not.
https://vimeo.com/125488095
“Brothers and sisters, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.” (Romans 10:1-3 NIV)
Under the Old Covenant that God had with his people Israel, the Jews had to obey all sorts of liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, and dietary laws and restrictions, including the requirement for circumcision. All of that was done away with when Jesus Christ was crucified on that cross for our sins for when we believe in Christ as Lord and Savior and we enter into the New Covenant relationship with God. So, we are not required to obey all those liturgical laws and customs the Jews were required to obey.
Now this was written about the Israelites of Paul’s day, so that does not necessarily translate into the Israelites of today’s world. For the Jewish nation of today is more political in nature, I believe, rather than particularly religious in nature, as they were in the time of Jesus and of the NT apostles. But the majority of those born as Jews still do not accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Messiah (the Christ), and so the majority of them do not even believe in God. Many are atheists. Yet I do not have statistics on this.
But we do have a parallel situation today in the “Christian” world that fits with what Paul was saying about the Israelites, not necessarily that they all have a zeal for God that is misled, but that the majority appear to not be intimately acquainted with the true righteousness of God but they have sought to establish their own. And it appears that the majority of those calling themselves “Christians” are not in the practice of submitting to God’s righteousness, for they are being taught that they don’t have to.
So, what is the righteousness of God? Basically, it is the divine approval of God, his judicial approval, and it refers to what is deemed right by the Lord after his examination, i.e. what is approved in his eyes. And what he approves is submission and obedience to him as Lord, self-denial, dying daily to sin, and walking in obedience to him and to his commands in holy living, in daily practice. And what he prefers is all that is godly, morally pure, upright, honest, faithful, and obedient to his New Covenant commands.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Yet many people professing faith in Jesus Christ are not intimately acquainted with the righteousness of God through genuine God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, but they have sought and they are still seeking to establish their own righteousness, and their own gospel of Christ, and their own plan of salvation which do not agree with God’s righteousness and his gospel message and his plan of salvation. And so they do not submit to God’s righteousness which requires death to sin and living to God.
Therefore, many of them are now teaching the following two Scripture verses as the gospel message, but taught out of context and misinterpreted to say that all that one has to do to believe in Jesus and to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God is to say with their lips, “Jesus is Lord,” and to claim that they believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. But Jesus said that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING God’s will (Matthew 7:21-23).
“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10 NIV)
And Paul taught in Romans 6 that true faith in Jesus Christ culminates in us being crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. So we who are of genuine faith in Jesus Christ are no longer to let sin reign (be in control) in our mortal bodies to where we obey its evil desires. For if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death. But if we obey obedience to God, its end is eternal life with God (Romans 6:1-23).
And he taught in Romans 8 that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk (in conduct, in practice) not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the flesh, and that results in death, not in life eternal with God. “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:7-8). And we are to live to please God in what we do.
“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:12-14 ESV)
And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For when Jesus took up his cross it was to put our sins to death with him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we deny self, die daily to sin, and walk (in conduct) in obedience to our Lord, then we have eternal life with God (see Luke 9:23-26).
And Peter said, “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
https://vimeo.com/379406352
“When Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am. So let no one despise him. Help him on his way in peace, that he may return to me, for I am expecting him with the brothers.” (1 Corinthians 16:10-11 ESV)
This is how we are to treat those who, in earnest, and as being led by the Holy Spirit, are doing the work of the Lord in sharing the truth of the gospel of our salvation, in refuting the lies of the enemy, in ministering to the needs of the saints, and in loving God and the people of the world. These should also be those people who are following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands, who are not living in sin, who are not worldly, but who are living holy lives, pleasing to God, in surrender to Jesus Christ as Lord of their lives.
If they are doing the work of the Lord, especially full-time, according to the teachings of the Scriptures, and not according to human thinking and reasoning, and not according to human business plans and marketing schemes, then we should honor them for their work, and we should not despise them, for they will get despised. Rather we should encourage them in the work of the ministry, for it is hard to work for the Lord full-time in a day and age when so many professing Christians are more worldly.
But please make certain that their work is truly for the Lord and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and not of the flesh of man. And please make certain that what they are doing and teaching is biblical, in context, and that they are not teaching Scriptures out of context and twisting them to say what they do not say if taught in their appropriate context. For not everyone claiming to be a minister of the gospel is a true servant of the Lord. Many are con men and liars and deceivers who are feeding the people lies.
“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:13-14 NIV)
So, we are to be on our guard, and we are to be watchful, for not everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ and who claims to be working for the Lord is a true servant of God and a true follower of Jesus Christ. So we are to test what we read and hear against the Scriptures in context to make certain that what we are reading or hearing is the truth and not the lies that so many charlatans are spreading these days. And then we need to be those who are walking in the truth, in obedience to God, and no longer in sin.
And we are to stand firm in the faith that Jesus taught and the NT apostles taught. And they taught that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. They taught that we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to his commands. And they taught that God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ results in us being crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with God to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.
[1 Peter 2:24; Luke 9:23-26; Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 6:1-23]
And we are to teach the same, even though this message will not be well received by the majority, not even by the majority of those professing faith in Jesus Christ, at least here in America. For so many are teaching that we can profess faith in Jesus Christ and now all our sins are forgiven, and we are on our way to heaven, and nothing can take it away from us, but regardless of how we live. But the Scriptures teach that if sin is our practice, and not obedience to our Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
And if that is the message that you are giving out, and not the feel-good messages that so many are spreading today, you have to stand strong in the faith, and you have to be courageous, and you must “set your face like flint” (Isaiah 50:7) and be very sure of the truth, and be very determined to not waver from the truth, for you will have many who will oppose you and who will fight against you and who will try to convince you that you are wrong and that their diluted version of the gospel is right. So be of courage!
VOICE OF TRUTH
By Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman
II Corinthians 12:7-10/I Corinthians 1:20-24
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they’d have had the strength to stand
But the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CsiBjc0UIA
Caution: This link may contain ads
Your Word, Lord,
Is my delight.
By it I learn
Day and night.
Watchfully
I pray to You,
Now abiding
In Your truth.
Gently You speak
Words to me,
Open my eyes
So I see,
Tell me what
I need to hear,
Help me know that
You are near,
Comfort me when
I am down,
Help me smile and
Not to frown.
Thank You, Jesus,
You’re my friend.
Life with You
Will never end.
An Original Work / November 26, 2018
“What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.’ Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company ruins good morals.’ Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.” (1 Corinthians 15:32-34 ESV)
The discussion that Paul was having with the Corinthian church was on the subject matter of the resurrection of the dead. Some believed in the resurrection, but some did not, so he was making a case for the belief in the resurrection from the dead, as Jesus Christ had been raised, and as all of Jesus’ followers will one day be raised when Jesus Christ returns for his faithful ones and he takes us to be with him for eternity. But I am not going to enter into that subject in detail as he did, so please read chapter 15.
“For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (1 Corinthians 15:16-19 ESV)
“I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” (1 Corinthians 15:50-52 ESV)
So, what is the overall message being taught here? It is that we cannot just believe part of the gospel message and not all of it. We cannot pick and choose what we want to believe and accept while we reject the rest. And that is what is largely happening today, at least here in America, and perhaps in other nations, too. So many people are just picking out the parts of the gospel that they like, those which give them comfort, while they choose to ignore anything that does not agree with their human theologies.
But what is the result of that? Many indeed have this mindset of “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.” And this isn’t just about whether or not they believe that the dead will be raised, but it is about whether or not they believe that they will die in their sins and that they will not have eternal life with God if they continue in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord and if they do not surrender their lives to Christ as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, in walks of obedience to his commands and not in sin.
For this really is the BIG issue plaguing the church here in America today. And it is the one that I must, by the grace of God, bring to the attention of those professing faith in Jesus Christ, in order to let all know that true faith in Jesus Christ results in us dying with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and it results in us walking in obedience to his commands (New Covenant) in holy living. But if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of obedience to God, then we will not inherit eternal life with God.
But a lot of people dismiss that as “works salvation” even though it is what Jesus clearly taught, and it is what his NT apostles taught. And so the Lord is saying to the American church today: “Wake up from your drunken stupor, as is right, and do not go on sinning. For some have no knowledge of God. I say this to your shame.” For Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23; 1 Corinthians 15:34).
So, don’t be deceived. “Bad company ruins good morals.” Many are they today who are preaching an altered gospel message absent of God’s requirements for dying with him to sin daily and us walking in obedience to his commands in holy living, in practice, if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. So the Lord is indeed calling out to the adulterous church here in America (and perhaps elsewhere), and he is telling them to wake up from their drunken stupor and to not practice sinning.
For, if you do not die with Christ to sin, and if you do not walk with him in obedience to his commands, in practice, then your faith is futile and you are still dead in your sins. For if we don’t die with Christ to sin we are still of the flesh, and the flesh cannot inherit eternal life with God, only those who are born of the Spirit who are walking in obedience to the Lord and who are no longer making sin their practice. For flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to what is spiritual and is of God.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV)
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
The Lord’s Anointed
An Original Work / December 16, 2011
Based off Isaiah 61
The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;
Anointed to preach the Good News;
Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;
Proclaim freedom for the captives.
He sent me to preach release for pris’ners
Who are walking in sin’s darkness;
Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;
And tell them about God’s judgments;
Comfort all who mourn;
Give crowns of beauty;
Oil of gladness and thanksgiving.
They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,
A planting of our Savior, God,
For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and
They will rebuild God’s holy church.
God will renew them, and will restore them,
And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.
You will be ministers of our God, and
You will rejoice in salvation.
The Lord loves justice;
He is faithful to
Reward those who are seeking Him.
I delight greatly in the Lord;
My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.
He has clothed me with His salvation,
And in a robe of His righteousness.
He has given me priestly garments to wear,
As the bride of Jesus Christ.
As the garden of our Lord and Savior,
He causes us to grow in Him.
He makes righteousness,
Praise, and thanksgiving
Spring up before all the nations.
https://vimeo.com/114836524
