Don’t Walk On By

 

Don’t Walk On By

 

Share what you have with others. God takes particular pleasure in acts of worship that take place in the kitchen and workplace and on the streets.

 

Hebrews 13:16 NAS95

 16 And do not neglect doing good and sharing, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.

 

It is a small price to pay for a huge blessing that touches so many.

 

What if we had just walked on by?

 

May I encourage you to keep an eye out for those you can help as you go throughout your day? Maybe it won’t be as obvious, or as dramatic. But it will nevertheless be as meaningful if you stop and help.

 

Sacrifices today would include thanking Christ for his sacrifice on the cross and telling others about it. Acts of kindness and sharing are particularly pleasing to God, even when they go unnoticed by others.

 

God will notice, and the blessing will surely be yours for a good deed done in love. Please, don’t walk on by.

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Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. 

 Jude 1:24-25 NASB 

 

Grove Oak Church

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Counterfeit Christian Confusion

Counterfeit Christian Confusion, Many people today identify themselves as "born-again" Christians, but regularly manifest characteristics that are not Christian. The result is they confuse the world about what Christianity is. One of the main confusions is people who claim to be Christian and believe they will get to heaven based on their good deeds. A true Christian is not in the process of trying to earn his way into heaven because he knows he cannot.

Paul said,

 

Romans 3:20 NASB

 20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.

 

No one except Christ ever kept or could keep God's law perfectly.

 

There is only one way to heaven, and that is through faith in Christ. The true Christian simply believes in Christ for his salvation. His good works are the results of his faith.

 

Ephesians 2:8-9 NASB

 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;

 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.

 

When someone gives you a gift, do you say, how much do I owe you? No, the appropriate response to a gift is "Thank you." Yet how often Christians, even after they have been given the gift of salvation, feel obligated to try to work their way to God. Because our salvation and even our faith are gifts, we should respond with gratitude, praise, and joy.

 

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"to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

 

Grove Oak Church

 

  

Knowledge

 

Knowledge

 

2 Peter 1:5 NASB

 5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge,

 

It’s a frightening thing to realize the extent to which our culture downplays knowledge in favor of emotions. These days people are more likely to ask, “How will it make me feel?” instead of, “Is it true?”

 

Sadly, the church has bought into the spirit of the age. Many people go to church, not to learn the truths of God’s Word, but to get an emotional high. The focus of theological discussion also reflects the contemporary hostility to knowledge. To a shocking extent, truth is no longer the issue; the questions being asked today are, “Will it divide?” or “Will it offend?” To ask if a theological position is biblically correct is considered unloving, and those who take a stand for historic Christian truth are labeled as divisive.

 

But knowledge is inseparable from moral excellence and Christian growth. It should be obvious that people can’t put into practice truths they don’t know; we must first understand the principles of God’s Word before we can live them out.

 

Peter knew well the importance of knowledge in developing a stable Christian walk and the assurance of salvation that accompanies it. He urged his readers to add knowledge to their moral excellence.

 

Knowledge refers to insight, discernment, and proper understanding of truth. Lacking such knowledge, believers become “children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine”

 

Ephesians 4:14 NASB

 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming;

 

The resulting turmoil is not conducive to spiritual growth or the development of a settled assurance of salvation.

 

The Bible commends child-like trusting, humble faith, but not childish faith. Paul exhorted the Corinthians,

 

1 Corinthians 14:20 NASB

 20 Brethren, do not be children in your thinking; yet in evil be infants, but in your thinking be mature.

 

Hosea 6:3 NASB

 3 "So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth."

 

Philippians 1:9-10 NASB

 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

 10 so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;

 

2 Peter 3:18 NASB

 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

 

Philippians 4:8-9 NASB

 8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

 9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

 

What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions. Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and worthy of praise.

 

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"to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

 

Grove Oak Church

 

 

Gray Areas

Gray Areas

 

How we live in the gray areas shapes how the world evaluates us, our faith, and ultimately, our Savior.

 

"to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

 

Grove Oak Church

 

 

Eternal Security

 

Eternal Security

 

When people come to know Christ as their Savior, they are brought into a relationship with God that guarantees their eternal security. Jude 24 declares,

 

Jude 1:24 NASB

(24) Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,

 

God's power is able to keep the believer from falling. It is up to Him, not us, to present us before His glorious presence. Our eternal security is a result of God keeping us, not us maintaining our salvation. God keeps believers from falling prey to false teachers. Although false teachers are widespread and dangerous, we don't have to be afraid if we trust God and are rooted and grounded in him.

To be sinless and perfect will be the ultimate condition of the believer when he or she finally sees Christ face to face. When Christ appears and we are given our new bodies, we will be like Christ

 

1 John 3:2-3 NASB

(2) Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.

(3) And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

 

Coming into Christ's presence will be more wonderful than we could ever imagine!

 

The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed,

 

John 10:27-30 NASB

(27) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

(28) and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

(29) "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

(30) "I and the Father are one."

 

Both Jesus and the Father have us firmly grasped in their hand. Who could separate us from the grip of both the Father and the Son?

Just as a shepherd protects his sheep, Jesus protects his people from eternal harm. While believers can expect to suffer on earth, Satan cannot harm their souls or take away their eternal life with God. There are many reasons to be afraid here on earth because this is the devil's domain

 

1 Peter 5:8-10 NASB

(8) Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

(9) But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

(10) After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.

 

But if you choose to follow Jesus, he will give you everlasting safety.

 

Ephesians 4:30 tells us that believers are sealed for the day of redemption.

 

Ephesians 4:30 NASB

(30) Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

 

If believers did not have eternal security, the sealing could not truly be unto the day of redemption, but only to the day of sinning, apostasy, or disbelief.

 

John 3:15-16 tells us that whoever believes in Jesus Christ will "have eternal life." 

 

John 3:15-16 NASB

(15) so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.

(16) "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

 

If a person were to be promised eternal life, but then have it taken away, it was never "eternal" to begin with. If eternal security is not true, the promises of eternal life in the Bible would be in error.

 

The most powerful argument for eternal security is Romans 8:38-39,

 

Romans 8:38-39 NASB

(38) For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

(39) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Our eternal security is based on God's love for those whom He has redeemed. Our eternal security is purchased by Christ, promised by the Father, and sealed by the Holy Spirit.

 

 

"to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

 

Grove Oak Church

 

 

 

 

 

Standing in Grace

  Romans 5:2 ESV

(2) Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

 

It is God’s grace, not the believers’ faith, which enables them to stand firm in their salvation. 

 

In Old Testament times, the notion of having direct access to God was unthinkable because if anyone was to look at Him they would surely die. After the tabernacle was built, only the high priest could enter the holy of holies, where God would manifest His divine presence, and only once a year for just a brief time.

 

But Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross ushered in a New Covenant that made access to God possible for any person, Jew or Gentile, who trusts in His sacrifice. All of us who believe now have direct access to God.

 

Hebrews 4:16 ESV

(16) Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

Because of our faith in Him, we stand firm and immovable. Certainly, faith is necessary for salvation, but it is God’s grace and not our faith that has the power to save us and maintain that salvation. What God did initially through grace, we cannot preserve through our efforts. That would be a mockery of God’s grace and an indication of our lack of trust in His desire and power to preserve our salvation. Paul said,

 

Philippians 1:6 ESV

(6) And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

 

In spite of our effort to avoid it, all of us will fall into sin, but our sin is not more powerful than God’s grace. Jesus paid the penalty for all our sins. If the sins we committed prior to our salvation were not too great for Christ’s atoning death to cover, surely none of those we have committed since then or will commit are too great for Him to cover.

 

The God who began a good work within us continues it throughout our lifetime and will finish it when we meet him face to face. God's work for us began when Christ died on the cross in our place. His work within us began when we first believed. Now the Holy Spirit lives in us, enabling us to be more like Christ every day. Paul is describing the process of Christian growth and maturity that began when we accepted Jesus and continues until Christ returns.

 

Do we sometimes feel as though we aren't making progress in our spiritual life? When God starts a project, he completes it! As with the Philippians, God will help us grow in grace until he has completed his work in our life. When we are discouraged, remember that God won't give up on us. He promises to finish the work he has begun. When we feel incomplete, unfinished, or distressed by our shortcomings, remember God's promise and provision.

 

Don't let the present condition rob us of the joy of knowing Christ or keep us from growing closer to him.

 

Romans 5:9-10 ESV

(9) Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

(10) For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

 

The love that caused Christ to die is the same love that sends the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide us every day. The power that raised Christ from the dead is the same power that saved us and is available to us in our daily life. Be assured that, having begun a life with Christ, we have a reserve of power and love to call on each day for help to meet every challenge or trial. We can pray for God's power and love as we need it.

 

Romans 5:11 ESV

(11) More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

 

God is holy, and he will not be associated with sin. All people are sinful and so they are separated from God. In addition, all sin deserves punishment. Instead of punishing us with the death, we deserve, Christ took our sins upon himself and took our punishment by dying on the cross. Now we can rejoice in God. Through faith in Christ's work, we become close to God rather than being enemies and outcasts.

 

A dying Savior ushered us into God’s grace; we all need to depend on the fact that a living Savior will keep us in His grace.

 

 

Grove Oak Church