In Christ is our Salvation -2-

Continued from yesterday.  This is such a grand study, there is so much hope and power  when we are in Christ, so much.  I don't know what I would do without this hope and the power He gives us when we are in Him.  It's amazing what He has done in my life, I am totally amazed how He has given me the power to overcome obstacles that seemed impossible to overcome.  Sometimes several days go by and all of a sudden I realize what He has done and I really am amazed how it all happened.  Then there are days I can't seem to make the grade but He is always there to give me strength and help me when I can't help myself.  WhenI fall, He shows me what it cost me and I get back up and in His strength I keep going.  What an amazing God we have, so loving and kind and helpful in so very many ways.  Let's get some more Bible in this study, shall we.

Romans 8:1-4  "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.  For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."

Romans 5:9  "Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him."

2 Thessalonians 3:3  "But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.."

Ezekiel 36:25-28  "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh.  I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."  He will do all these things for you when you are In Christ!!

Galatians 2:20  "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."

2 Corinthians 5:17  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: old things have passed away; behold all things have become new."

Some thoughts on this subject, In Christ.

In Christ Jesus you were chosen before the world began.  Ephesians 1:4
In Christ you are loved by God with a inseparable love.  Romans 8:38,39
In Christ you are redeemed and forgiven all your sins.  Ephesians 1:7
In Christ you are justified before God and the righteousness of God is imputed to you. (Just as if you had never sinned).2 Corinthians 5:21
In Christ you have become a new creation.  Galatians 3:26
In Christ all the promises of God are 'yes' for you.  2 Corinthians 1:20
In Christ you are being sanctified and made holy.  1 Corinthians 1:2
In Christ, everything you really need will be supplied.  Philippians 4:19
In Christ the peace of God will guard your heart and mind. Philippians 4:17
In Christ you have eternal life.  Romans 6:23
In Christ you will be raised from the dead at His coming.  1 Corinthians 15:22

To be In Christ, we must be surrendered to Him in all things and live His life, through His strength.

In Christ Is Life Everlasting -1-

If you are searching for a sure way to live and be ready to meet Jesus either at death or when He comes again in the clouds of glory, there is a way and that way is In Christ.  Let's study this out to be sure that we are on the right track.  We do not want to trust in man as our guide for this very important journey, we must have faith in Christ above anything else.  I have learned that In Christ is my only safe path to eternal life, there is no other.  Don't let someone tell you there is any other way, there is not.

In Christ we are Complete

Hebrews 13:20,21 "He will make us complete in every good work to do His will, working in you through Jesus."

In Christ we can do it

1 Thessalonians 5:24  "He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

In Christ we will be delivered

2 Timothy 4:18  "The Lord will deliver me from every evil work."

In Christ we can be confident

Philippians 1:6  "Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ."

In Christ you will be safe in your walk

2 Peter1:10  "If you do these things you will never stumble or fall." Read 2 Peter1:1-10 to see what 'these things' are.

In Christ we are perfected

1 John 2:5,6 "Whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him, By this we know we are in Him.  He who says he abides in Him, ought himself also to walk just as He walked."

In Christ we are presented faultless to the Father

Jude 24  "Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling an present you faultless before the presence of His glory."

In Christ His Word will save us

James 1:21,22 "Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.  But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

In Christ we are healed

1 Peter 2:2,25  "Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we having died to sins, might live for righteousness - by whose stripes we are healed.  For you were like sheep going astray, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your soul."

There is so much to this study, I will have to continue it tomorrow, so stand by.  I hope this has helped you as it has helped me.  In Christ we can do all things, without Him we can do nothing to save ourselves. Theres more, much more.  Stay by.  Grandma Joan

The Temple of God - 1 -

I'm sure that most of you know what the Temple of God is, but just in case there is someone that doesn't or if we are not that acquainted with the subject, I thought, as for me, it would be a good idea for me to give it some serious thought.  So let's investigate the Temple of God and see what we can learn.
1 Corinthians 3:16  "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?     We are God's temple.

1 Corinthians 6:19  "What! Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
              And we are not our own, we belong to God

2 Corinthians 6:16  "And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols?  for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
               God has said that He would dwell in us and walk with us and will be our God.

Ephesians 2:20,21,22  "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together grows unto  a holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit."
             Jesus Christ is the chief corner stone of our temple, the body, it fits together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord and we become a place for God to dwell in through His Holy Spirit.

1 Peter 2:5  "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

             We are like living stones built into a spiritual house and a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.  We can be a holy priesthood for God too.  If He dwells in us we will do His will, and our body will be a temple He can dwell in and we will demonstrate to the world His attributes and our life will shine forth as a light in a darkened world.
We also must treat our bodies as the temple of God, and not destroy it by the way we treat it.  He cannot dwell in a temple of sin or uncleanness.  Wow!  I must remember this study every day.  I want to be a temple that He can dwell in every day, not just here and there.  Don't you?  Grandma Joan

Some Verses to Help Us Resist Temptation

I believe we need all the help we can get to get us through this world of sin.  Do you agree?  It is very difficult and really impossible to resist the devil without God's help, we are no match for his subtlety.
He knows exactly where we are weak and we know exactly where we can be strong if we are willing to call for help.  Here are some verses to help us.

Proverbs 1 :10  "My son, if sinners entice thee, consent thou not."  Do not give in.

Proverbs 4:14  "Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men."  We know that when we go where sin is, we will be overcome.  The Bible says 'not to go into the path of the wicked and not in the way of evil men.  We are warned.

Romans 6:13  "Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God."  Yielding ourselves to God, is the same as, Resist the devil and draw near to God.

Ephesians 6:13  "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand."

2 Peter 3:17  "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own steadfastness."  This verse tells us we are never safe from Satan's temptations except we are connected close to our Savior.

This was a short study, but full of direction and hope.  I conclude with this thought.  The whole victory against Satan's assaults is staying near to God and asking Him to help you be victorious over them.  It's so easy to say, out loud, 'Jesus save me', He knows what we mean and He also knows how to save us from them. I have done it and need to do it more.  I'm as guilty as anyone in forgetting to call for help.  We need to be on our toes all the time.  Grandma Joan

Resisting Temptation - Biblical examples of -

I Would like to share some examples from Bible characters who resisted different types of temptations.  It should give us courage in our temptations.

Abraham by Refusing a Reward

Genesis 14:23  "That I will not take from a thread even to a shoe latchet, and that I will not take any thing that is thine, lest thou should say, I have made Abram rich."

Elisha for Refusing Payment for Healing

2 Kings 5:16  "But he said, As the Lord lives, before whom I stand, I will receive none.  And he urged him to take it but he refused."

Job by Rejecting Evil Counsel

Job 2:9,10  "Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God and die.  But he said unto her, Thou speak as one of the foolish women speaks. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, an shall we not receive evil?  In all this did not Job sin with his lips."

The Rechabites and Daniel, by Refusing Wine.

Jeremiah 35:5,6  "And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabities pots full of wine, and cups; and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.  But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:"

Daniel 1:8  "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the kings meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself."

Christ by Refusing Worldly Honor

Luke 4:5,6 ,8 "And the devil, taking Him up into an high mountain, showed unto Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  And the devil said unto Him, All this power will I give Thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will, I give it.  If Thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and Him only shalt thou serve."

Peter by Refusing a Bribe

Acts 8:20  "But Peter said unto him, thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money."

We can always answer Satan with 'It Is Written' or we can just say, 'Jesus save me' when we are tempted beyond our control.  we can always resist him and draw near to God.  He is helping me and He will help you.  Grandma Joan

The Many Ways Satan Lures Us into Temptation - 2

The Temptation of the Forbidden Fruit

Genesis 3:6  "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree to be desired to make one wise she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat."

The Temptation of Fertile Fields

Genesis 13:10-13  "And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt, as thou cometh unto Zoar.  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan, and Lot journeyed east; and they separated themselves the one from the other.  but the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the Lord exceedingly."

The Temptation of Appetite

Genesis 25:29,30 & 33  "And Jacob sod pottage; and Esau came from the field, and he was faint:  And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.  And Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him: and he sold his birthright unto Jacob."  

The Temptation of Silver and Gold

Joshua 7:21  "When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it." (Gave in to temptation)

The Temptation of Women

1 Kings 11:1 "But king Solomon loved many strange wormen, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites:"

1 Kings 11:4  "For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God; as was the heart of David his father."

The Temptation of Ambition

Mark 10: 35-37  "And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto Him saying, Master, we would that thou should do for us whatsoever we shall desire. and He said unto them, What would ye that I should do for you?  They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit , one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand in thy glory." (Wanting a high position)

These are some of the ways, not all, that we can be led away into temptation.  It might be that all sin comes under one of these headings.  I don't know, but it might be something to think about.  You can categorize your own headings.  The main thing is that we understand the different ways Satan can lead us astray.  We must resist, 'Jesus Save Me' is the way to resist, in my opinion. You can form your own solution to resisting the devil, but don't forget to 'draw nigh to God'.  Grandma Joan

Encouragement to Those in the Midst of Temptation - 1

Are you discouraged because Satan won't leave you alone and is always hounding you to do something that you know is wrong?  I have been there and I am still being tempted to spend time on keeping up on the news, which is horrible these days and I could be spending time with Jesus in His word. Time is all we have in this world and it is important that we use it wisely.  What is your temptation?  I have had many temptations in life and because I am up in years and pray for God to send His Holy Spirit to help me, He has delivered me and protected me from Satan's temptations that I could never overcome on my own.  It is impossible for us to fight evil powers on our own. We don't have the power to resist or the strength.  Because of this, I want to study some texts of encouragement for us as we battle this spiritual evil power.  I need this and I'm sure others do too.

1 Corinthians 10:13  "There hath no temptation taken you but such  as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." ( I think of this verse ever so often, because Satan is so subtle that he will stoop to any length to get us in a trap of his and we need this encouragement and power to escape and we can escape if we are willing to let God control the situation. He will make a way of escape.)

Hebrews 2:18  "For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succour them that are tempted."  (Succour means, someone who gives help, relief, aid)

James 1:2,3  "My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations.  Knowing this, that the trying of your faith works patience." ( Divers meaning, diverse, different)

James 1:12  " Blessed is the man that endures temptation; for when he is tried he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to than that love Him,"

2 Peter 2:9  "The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptation, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished."

Revelation 3:10  "Because thou has kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth."

Life is so short and the reward that is waiting for those that resist temptation through the power of God is so great, eternal life with God and Jesus and the Holy Spirit and all the host of Angels that have been with us and guarded us through our life.  Temptation doesn't amount to much here compared to eternity with our Savior and Friend.  "Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh to you."  This is the solution, to resist the devil and he will flee.  Draw nigh to God, and He will draw night to you.  If you can only think of these three words that Peter used when he was sinking in the waves, 'Jesus save me', at the name of Jesus Satan will flee, I know, I've had to do that and it works wonders.  Jesus is always there.  Never doubt His presence.  Grandma Joan