Devotion: The Wages Of Sin

Recently we talked about how deadly sin was.  We found in scripture that, “…the wages of sin is death …” (Romans 6:23).  In that discussion we mentioned that just as we expect to receive “compensation or a wage” for working in any job, be it full-time or part-time, we should expect to receive “compensation or a wage” for working or living in sin, be it full-time or part-time.  Although the “compensation or wage” for employment is usually some type of monetary benefit, the compensation or wage for sin is “death.”  We noted that this passage was really telling us “the wages, the salary, the pay, the income, the take-home pay” of sin, no matter the amount of sin, is “death.”  Working in sin, playing in sin, living in sin, or just existing in sin pays a benefit, which according to scripture is death.

Devotion: The Gift of Righteousness

Not long ago, we spoke about sin and its definition.  In that discussion, we gave a definition for the word “sin” as it applied to the passage “For all have sinned, and come (fall) short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and we mentioned that we believed the phrase; “All have sinned” referred to a point in time when everyone sinned.  We found that the only time this could have be referring to, had to be back in the beginning, in the beginning of God’s creation.  The phrase actually points to the very moment when all were in one man, Adam.  You see, when Adam fell, the entire human race was “constituted or formally established as sinners.”

“…by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners” (Romans 5:19).

Because of Adam’s disobedience, many were made sinners.  So you see, the thing that made us “a sinner” was not something that we have done nor is it something that we are doing, but it was something that Adam did.  It was Adam’s sin that caused everyone born into this world to be made a sinner.  We want to restate this fact one more time.  We are “a sinner” because of something Adam did and not because of something that we did or do.  Us being “a sinner” was inherited from Adam and the reason we go out and sin is because we were born with a sin nature.  It is our nature to sin.  Now we know that all of this may seem unfair to many of you, but there is more to the story.

“…so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).

Because of the obedience of Jesus Christ, many can be made righteous.  Just as the disobedience of one man, many were made sinners, the obedience of one man, many will be made righteous.  Now we want to restate this fact again.  We can become righteous because of something Jesus did and not because of something we have done or something that we do.  In the same way we received or inherited our sin nature from Adam, you can receive or inherit our righteous nature from Jesus Christ.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new” (II Corinthians 5:17).

Scripture tells us that if we be in Christ, then we be a new creature or a new creation.  The passage goes on to say that the old things that are, which be our old sinful nature, be passed away and that all things that are left, which is includes our spirit, becomes new.

“For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:17).

Because of what Adam did, his sin brought death to all.  In the same token, because of what Jesus Christ did, his obedience brought forgiveness to many through God’s mercy.  The sin of Adam cause death to be king over all mankind, but the obedience of Jesus Christ gives every man the opportunity to receive God’s gift of grace, God’s gift of forgiveness and God’s gift of righteousness.  Adam’s sin brought with it death and punishment, but Jesus’ obedience brings with it righteousness and acceptability with God.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (II Corinthians 5:21).

We know that this may be a hard concept for many to accept, especially since many of you have been taught that we have to do something to earn our righteousness or our right standing with God.  But here is the thing, if you can accept the fact that you were born with a sin nature, inherited from Adam, then based on scripture, you should be able to accept the fact that when you are born again or born from above, you are born with a new nature, a righteous nature passed on from Jesus.  Adam’s disobedience caused many to become sinners, but it was Jesus’ obedience that causes many to be made acceptable to God.  It was God who made Jesus sin for us, so that through him, we might become “the righteousness of God.”  All we have to do to receive this “abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness” (Romans 5:17) is to make Jesus Christ our Lord and savior.  Now how awesome is that.

As you read today’s inspirational message, we pray that it will be a blessing to you and that you will share it with others that they may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

Devotion: God's Covenant of Words

Recently we talked about the most powerful system in the world, and we said that we had been given “the power” to control and “the authority” to command this very system.  We mentioned how important the words were that we spoke and how they do control the things that happen to us.  We found that we choose between life and death, blessing and cursing based on what we say because we discovered that “death and life rest in the power of the tongue” (Proverbs 18:21).  We found where Jesus told the disciples that if they believed the things that they spoke would come to pass and not have any doubt in their hearts, that whatsoever they spoke would come to pass (Mark 11:23-24).  We even found where salvation required us to speak with our mouth and to believe with our heart (Romans 10:9-10).  We know that some of you are not convinced that there be a system that hinges on what we say, be it saying something good or saying something bad, much less that you have been given “the power” to control and “the authority” to command such a system.

“You brood of snakes.  How could evil men like you speak what is good and right?  For a man's heart determines his speech.  A good man's speech reveals the rich treasures within him.  An evil-hearted man is filled with venom, and his speech reveals it.  And I tell you this, that you must give account on Judgment Day for every idle word you speak.  Your words now reflect your fate then:  either you will be justified by them or you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:34-37 The Living Bible).

Jesus says that whatever is in our heart will come out through our mouth.  Both blessings and curses come out of the same mouth, but this all depends on what is in the heart.  Therefore, if the mouth “ain’t” speaking then there must be nothing in the heart.  Our tongue, our mouth, our words have the power to choose life or to choose death, to bring blessings or to bring curses into your life.  Did you know that the law of the Spirit of life in Christ and law of sin and death are subject to our mouth (Romans 8:2)?  This means that with our mouth, we can turn on either the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus or the law of sin and death.  Did you know that our mouth gives us authority “on earth, in heaven, and in hell?”  With our mouth, we can “command” the forces of heaven, we can “change” the situations of earth, and we can “bind” the forces of hell.

“Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 18:18).

According to this passage, we have the authority to bind and loose things on earth, which in turns will bind and loose things in heaven as well.  Nevertheless, we need to take hold of this authority to bind and loose things on earth and in heaven.  We have God’s spirit dwelling inside of us and the angels of God surrounding us.  They are there with us in the midst of all of our needs, in the midst of our wants, in the midst of our desires, and in the midst of our darkest problems.  However, God’s spirit cannot do anything, neither can the angels do anything until we open our mouth and “say” what we need to “say” to employ the forces of heaven.

“Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation.  There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.  For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.  They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.  Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet” (Psalm 91:9-13).

“Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that excel in strength, that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word” (Psalm 103:20).

“Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14)?

We see from these passages, God has ordered his angels to protect us wherever we may go.  They will protect us in all of our ways and keep us wherever we go.  These angels will steady us with their hands so that we will not dash our foot against any rocks.  They will hold us up in their hands to keep us from stumbling.  The angels will even protect us so that no evil will happen or come to us.  These same angels will protect us so that no disease or plague will come near our dwelling or house, which is our body.  These angels are there to protect us because God has given them charge over us to protect and to keep us in all our ways.  These mighty angels carry out his orders and do all of his commands because they are not only spirit-messengers but are also ministering spirits sent out to minister to those who have received salvation.  But so few know what is needed to enable these angels to come forth.  And so few know what to say that will get these angels to act.  Do you still think or believe that your words are not important?

We again give thanks to God for this avenue that he has given us to share his word through our inspirational messages.  We continually pray that God’s grace will be upon you and that these devotionals will be a blessing to you.  If you are blessed by them, please share so that others may be blessed as well.  Amen.

Enjoy your blessings - KW

It Is All In The Tense – Post 3

In life, there is but one divided highway, with two directions on which you can travel.  One direction is on the path where you choose to listen to the voice of the Lord and do all that he has commanded.  For simplicity sakes, let us call this direction north.  The other direction is on the path where one chooses not to listen to the voice of the Lord and not do all that he has commanded.  Let us call this direction south.  Along this divided highway, there be many median crossings that allow you to change directions any time you choose.

Now to understand the concept of something coming upon you and overtaking you, image yourself traveling north on this highway.  You look in the rear-view mirror and see this tractor-trailer coming up the highway.  As you drive further up the highway, you notice that this tractor-trailer has now come upon you and is about to overtake you.  As the tractor-trailer overtakes you, the rear doors of the trailer open up and all of these blessings begin to pour out upon you.  And as long as you drive on this road in this direction, these blessings will continue to pour out upon you.  You see the only way for this tractor-trailer, these blessings, to come upon you and overtake you is for you to be going in the same direction as it is going.  If you are going in the other direction, this particular tractor-trailer will never come upon you and overtake you.

Please understand that you can cut through the median and change directions any time that you choose.  This is totally up to you.  God allows you to make that decision, that choice.  But keep this in mind that once you start traveling south on this highway, the only tractor-trailer that can come upon you now is the one that that is traveling in that direction, which is the one that contains the curses and you know what happens when it overtakes you.  As long as you drive on this road in this direction, the curses will continue to pour out upon you.  The direction that you go will always be yours to choose and yours alone.  Now that you have this knowledge, we pray that you will choose your direction wisely.

It Is All In The Tense – Post 2

And while we have never been one to suggest or advocate changing anything that is written in the Bible, there are a few terms we want to introduce to you that just may change your mind, as it did ours when we discovered them.  However, we would like to caution you and give you fair warning that every word of God has been established as truth, therefore, do not add to or make any additions to his word, for you will be rebuked and found to be a liar (Proverbs 30:5-6).  And definitely do not take anything away from his word.

The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times (Psalm 12:16).

But here is the thing, if you be one who believes that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, then you may want to stop reading here.  What we are about to share with you will go against all that you believe the Bible to be and our intent is not to offend but to inform.  However, if you believe differently, then please continue.

The first thing you need to do is to determine what is the word of God.  Then, you will need to be able to tell the difference between the words of God and the words of others.  And by the words of others, we are referring to the original writers of The Scriptures.  We would also like to include all of the interpreters, all of the scholars, all of the translators, and anyone else, who has had a hand in putting together the words of old in the format that we use today called the Bible.  While the Bible says that all scripture is given by inspiration of God (II Timothy 3:16), it does not mean that every word in the Bible is that of God.  God inspired men to write all that is recorded but not every word recorded is that of God.  And while we believe that God would not allow his words to be misrepresented, this does not mean that the men who were given the task of interpreting and translating those inspired words did not interject, at times, some of their beliefs, some of the things that they were taught, or their own interpretations of what they were translating.  We believe this is why God tells us to study to show ourselves approve unto him, that we may righty divide the word of truth (II Timothy 2:15).  With that being said, let us move forward.

It Is All In The Tense – Post 1

There are many people who have been taught and lead to believe that God is responsible for all the tragedy in the world.  They believe he is responsible for the earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, tidal waves, volcanic eruptions, and all the other natural disasters that take place.  Most often in those situations where such disasters occur, you will quite often hear the phrase, an act of God associated with them.  In legal terms, the phrase, an act of God is defined as any extraordinary interruption caused solely by the effect of nature or natural causes that no one can reasonably foresee or prevent; it is a natural catastrophe caused without any interference by humans whatsoever.

Then there are those who believe God is responsible for the daily struggles that so many go through every day, such as depression, fear, worry, anxiety, confusion, doubt, discouragement, low self-esteem, poverty, sickness, and death.  They have been taught and truly believe that everyone suffers these things because this is the will of God.  That old cliché, God will not put more on you than you can bear, appears to fall in line with the old teachings that God is responsible for the things that happen to us.  They also believe that God uses these things so that he can chasten his children.  They are convinced that there is some type of life lesson that God wants his children to learn through these experiences.