Religionated or Regenerated?

Most people today have been religionated by man, not regenerated by the Holy Ghost. The religious man must have some righteousness or other, he knows he's a good-for-nothing rascal, he knows he doesn't have a moral righteousness, so he tries to get a religious, ceremonial one. The Roman Catholic that swears and drinks all week is very often the most superstitious and reverent man at mass. He will take off his hat and speak reverently immediately when he enters the church building.  But he will cuss and swear and smoke as soon as he steps outside in the parking lot, and his conscience never bothers him because it is seared. But he is frightened to do so inside a religious building or in front of his priest. He feels he will be lost forever to speak a wrong word in a sanctuary. He will never forget to tithe or go to confessional, and he feels so much better about himself after he has completed his weekly religious activity.

A religion of ceremonies and garb is so much easier than true and pure religion. To say your Hail Marys, eat your wafer, and sip your wine is easy enough; it is soon over, and it doesn't check your conscience. Turning to the Lord with full purpose of heart is much too hard for someone delighting in sin. Since outward religion is so easy, people like it better. Self-salvation through religiousness flatters a man's pride - he thinks he can get rid of his own guilt in his own way. Human nature loves working for its own forgiveness. The more religion binds a man up, the better he likes it. If the religion doesn't touch the heart, the better people like the religion. Empty religion pleases human nature, because the Gospel is too pure, too simple, too humbling.

Trusting in Christ alone casts down self-righteousness and man's high looks. Man will turn to anything rather than to the pureness of Christ. The religion of ceremonies does not require the giving up of your favorite sins. The lost man will take the sacrament from the priest when it comes time to die. He can drink, swear, smoke, lust, cheat and cuss as much as he likes. He just has to get confirmed, and then get a little holy oil on his deathbed, and sometimes go to church on Christmas and Easter. Take a nice Bible with you, be very attentive and observant, and the priest will think you are all right. This type of religion suits most men, he has no trouble with this kind of religion. They can keep on with their sins and think they are going to heaven with them. With the Gospel, sin and the sinner must part. Without holiness no man shall see the Lord. Ye must be born again. And let every one that nameth the name of Christ, depart from iniquity.

The pure Gospel that goes after a man's sins is never palatable to human nature. Human nature doesn't care what you tell it to do, as long as you don't tell it to Repent and Believe on Christ. The main problem with human nature is that it is always trying to find a means by which it can earn the Salvation that the Lord Jesus Christ wants to give away. If you are a sinner, you can't do good deeds. *Romans 3:12* Nobody could buy Salvation but Jesus, and He paid for it with His own life's blood. You can tell a man to observe this thing or the other, and he will do it. The harder it is, the better he will like it. But if you tell him, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. *Acts 16:31; Matthew 1:18-21* His pride is all up at once, for he hates the pure and simple Gospel, and seeks to drive the very thought of it from his soul. If you die without Christ, you will be held responsible before God for all your sins. If you think you deserve Salvation, or that you can earn eternal life, or that you can pay for the forgiveness of sins, you are lost, that's for sure.

You go to church regularly, and act so piously, you've been confirmed and baptized, you dress modestly, and never do anything wrong that people know about. You say the Gospel is for harlots, blasphemers, thieves, and drunkards, but not for good people such as you are. You think you can save yourself. But if you try it, and you will perish in the doing of it. The same free grace that saves a degraded prostitute must save you, or you can never be saved. Come along to the Cross with the rest of us sinners. We are all guilty, some more, some less, but we are all hopelessly guilty.

You've never been converted, you don't fear God. You love your sin and your drunken companions. You must go down into the pit of hell with the harlots and the profane. You are careless and thoughtless and Christless. You could do as well without a God as with one. Where are you going when you die? Without Christ, you are going to dwell the devils and fiends. They will be your companions forever. You are going to make your bed in hell and abide in everlasting torment. Ye must be born again. Don't reject Christ again like you've done in the past.

The thought of God and the world to come strikes you with terror, and with no delight. You are not reconciled to God, you have not the Spirit of adoption, your sins are not forgiven, you must become a child of God by grace through faith in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ. Seek Jesus with all your heart, and He will found of you. Your proud nature will not stoop. You will not bend the kneed, and come down among us common sinners. Only the Spirit of God can bring you there. Only Christ's bleeding love can save you from your sins. Your past sinful life deserves the wrath of God. If you ever get to Heaven, you will have to get there through the Righteousness of Another. You must be rewarded for what Another man has already accomplished for you.

Come now and receive Christ's mercy, trust to His Precious Blood. You will die soon, and face the Judgment, all your deeds laid bare in the sight of your Maker, and all your sins will be punished for Eternity.  You have a debt to pay if you die in your sins. Only Christ Jesus' Precious Blood can offer you an escape from the wrath to come.  Seek to know Christ personally. Jesus promised and He can deliver to you eternal life freely, only He can deliver the goods, He is able and willing, He is dependable, He always keeps His word. Cleave to Him with purpose of heart. Go directly to the only place of mercy, the bloody foot of Calvary's Cross. Lie down in the dust and cry to God - Lord, have mercy upon me a sinner for Jesus' sake. Come now, I beseech and entreat you, have mercy on your poor soul.

Instantaneous, Irreversible

You won't hear this great truth taught or preached in hardly any churches anymore, but its still in the old Holy Bible. The Free Forgiveness of Sins from the Lord Jesus Christ Himself is an instantaneous, irreversible miracle. All of man's religions teach that salvation is a gradual process that you play a part in, and that you can lose your salvation after you have earned it by quitting and starting this or that. But Bible Salvation is given freely to the sinner instantaneously the moment he trusts to Jesus, and that Salvation is irreversible. The plan of Salvation doesn't require weeks, months, or years. A split second is enough to receive Christ, and in that instant the guilty man is saved. *John 1:12* When the sinner looks to Christ's Blood, it is all done, all of his sins are gone in nothing flat. The wisest thing for you to do is to place immediate faith in Jesus alone.

God's Salvation is Irreversible - the sinner who is once justified is justified irreversibly. As soon as a sinner takes Christ's place, and Christ takes the sinner's place, there is no fear of condemnation. This is an extraordinary Scriptural fact - God's Salvation is Irreversible, period. If Christ has paid your sin debt, the debt is paid, and it will never be asked for again; if you are pardoned by Christ, you are pardoned once and forever. God has punished Christ, and now I go free. My Advocate who forgave all my iniquities has won me an irreversible acquittal in Heaven's courtroom.

Only Jesus can absolutely, irreversibly, immediately, perfectly and eternally forgive you. Believe in Jesus, simply trust in Him, and receive from Him at once the forgiveness of your sins - a complete and irreversible forgiveness. You can be forgiven of all your sins in half the tick of a clock, and pass from death to life quicker than you can say the words. If you continue to neglect Christ and wind up dying in your sins, your condemnation will be irreversible and eternal.

Some men believe in temporary eternal life, but you cannot lose *eternal* life, for it is Eternal. Religion makes men go crazy, so they don't understand English anymore. Eternal means forever in every dictionary on the earth, and Eternal Life means Forever in the Bible too. This is the Good News - God now freely offers to you Everlasting Salvation and Irreversible Pardon though Jesus' Atoning Blood. *John 3:16* *Romans 6:23* The royal pardon of Heaven is irreversible. Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. *Romans 8:33-34* The sinner whom the LORD forgives, He never condemns. God doesn't forgive today, and condemn tomorrow. Thanks be unto God, His Great Salvation is Irreversible.

Christ Jesus gives sinful men a complete, full, free, irreversible pardon of all their sins at once, He changes their inward nature, He gives them a new life, and puts them into the family of God by His grace and mercy. The moment any man trusts to Christ Jesus alone, not some of his sins, but all of his sins are gone forever. *I John 1:7* You cannot be un-born again. Religious men will teach that you can lose your salvation so they can keep you in spiritual bondage to their false teachings and cult. There is perfect pardon to be had by the vilest sinner; immediate and irreversible pardon is freely given by God's mercy to the worst of sinners, that means you. Confide in the grace of God through the precious blood of Christ and you will find immediate pardon, instantaneous salvation, sonship through Christ, change of heart, forgiveness of sins, acceptance in the Beloved, safety on earth, glory in heaven, and all for nothing, all for nothing - the free gift of a gracious God to undeserving sinners.

The Free Forgiveness of your sins through the Precious Blood of Jesus Christ is a matter of the very highest importance. Your immediate business is to cast your lost soul on the precious promises of God - Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved; because Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Christ is perfectly able to save you immediately. Trust Him, trust Him, only trust Him now. When a man passes from death to life, it is done at once. *John 5:24* The moment a man's sins are forgiven, his sins cease to be his friends, his sins quickly become his obnoxious enemies. The truly forgiven man begins to strive against his sins.

God's Instantaneous, Irreversible Salvation puzzles self-righteous human nature. Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit imparts His Righteousness and Forgiveness to the believing sinner's soul who places his faith in Christ's Atoning Blood alone. Faith, faith, faith - nothing but Faith in Jesus' Blood. No works of yours or religion is required whatsoever. The New Birth takes place instantaneously, in the twinkling of an eye; that is, all of your past, present, and future sins are put away forever for Jesus' sake. It is a blessed fact that any man can instantaneously receive a perfect free pardon from Christ through childlike faith in His blood the very moment that sinner truly looks to Christ's Great Atoning Sacrifice.

Jesus can save any sinner on the spot. The act of God in forgiving human sin is instantaneous. The moment a sinner believes, and trusts to the Crucified God, that sinner at once receives a free pardon, salvation in full through Christ' Precious Blood. Sin is only pardoned for Christ's sake, and the pardon is irreversible since there is no change in Christ. This is what every sinner needs - Free Forgiveness, Instantaneous Regeneration, Full Redemption, Irreversible Acceptance, Infinite Love, Everlasting Justification and Boundless Grace for all who repent of sin and lay hold on Christ by faith.

Jesus bore your sins in His own body on the tree, and He suffered personally for your sins and paid the full Ransom price, so you could be freely justified instantly. Just as blind Bartimaeus saw instantly when Jesus healed him; likewise, you can be given spiritual sight instantly the moment you call upon the name of Jesus for mercy. The Holy Spirit regenerates the sinner causing him to pass into the blessed condition which is called the state of Salvation. The New Birth is supremely supernatural. Religious men pretend to be regenerated without the Holy Spirit, but they cannot be regenerated without the Holy Spirit's work. Salvation is God's highest glory and miracle, and man can have no part in it.

Consecration to God is a fruit of Regeneration. Consecration is the work of the Holy Spirit which occupies the rest of our life, but Regeneration itself happens in an instant. By nature a man hates God; but the Holy Spirit's work causes a man to love God. The natural man doesn't give a flip about his soul, he is opposed to Christ, he hates the Gospel, and will not receive it; but the new creature in Christ has the mind of Christ, and loves what Christ loves. Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit over the span of man's whole life, but the Holy Spirit gives a man a new heart in one solitary second. Salvation is a miraculous change of your inward nature causing you to love holiness and hate your sins. The free pardon of sin from the hand of Jesus Christ is instantaneous; it is not a matter of minutes or even seconds. Flee to Christ for mercy now.

The highest attempts of man can never reach the state of Salvation. Men cannot reason, meditate, or work themselves into the New Birth. Ye must be born again by the power of the Holy Spirit alone, you or your religion cannot help you one iota. The simple faith that trusts to the Lamb of God is an instantaneous gift of God, and the sinner who believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, is that moment saved from divine justice, without anything else whatsoever. O how simple is God's way of salvation. Regeneration is an instantaneous work, and Justification is an immediate free gift. Satan destroyed man quickly in the Garden of Eden, but Jesus can save a man even quicker. Man fell at the tree in the garden of Eden in a moment, and now man is saved at the tree of Calvary in a moment. The moment a sinner believes and trusts to the Crucified God for free pardon, at once that sinner receives everlasting salvation in full through Jesus' Blood.

God help you to trust Jesus Christ right now, for it is now or never with your soul. After you trust Jesus, in gratitude to Him, seek to exalt and honor Him in your daily living. Be a dear lover and careful servant of Jesus, love Him too well to disobey Him. Let this be your theme - Here I go for Jesus and His Cross, for the truth of the Bible, for the laws of God, for Holiness, for simple trust in Jesus, and by the grace of God, I will never go back, come what may.

Winter is Approaching

Winter is now approaching us again.  The harvest is past.  The corn and wheat are harvested, the summer heat has declined, the flowers began to fade and died, the leaves start to turn and fall, and then the winter of the year is here. All of the seasons are a picture of what happens to every person in this brief life.  Spring is our childhood, Summer is our 20-30's, Fall is our 40-50s, and then Winter comes in our 60-70-80s.

Creation itself speaks and warns us that there is a harvest and a death for us all, and we all fade and fall as a leaf.  The grass of our physical strength withers, the flower of our natural beauty fades, and then death comes and takes us away.  Nature quietly but clearly preaches to us every year as well as the Scriptures -- Summer is ended, and the harvest is past; be wise and prudent, prepare to meet your God in Eternity!  Life is so short, Eternity is Forever, Plan Ahead.

Death will soon come up into all of our windows. Death will set its axe to every tree. Our strength soon begins to depart, and then we are not. Death honeycombs the earth with graves. Death beds, the grave, and the Judgment throne of God are solemn subjects. We need to become familiar with the world to come before we enter it. We must all take the inevitable journey into Eternity, every one of us. All men are mortal, but we always make an exception for ourselves and put off the evil day. We admit we are mortal, but do not expect to die anytime soon. Even the old man looks forward to a continuance of life.

Men spend thousands of dollars just to extend their earthly life a few months or years. But as surely as you live, you will die one day. You will lie on a death bed before long. There will be very little hope for you to recover. The doctors will begin to whisper in your room and shake their heads. The doctors all know your end is near. Your loved ones begin to weep and pray for you.  People tread softly in the room where there is a dying man. Death is an awesome thing. You must go to your long home. Where will you spend all of Eternity?  No one on earth can delay the departure. All the gold in Fort Knox cannot bribe Death's cruel hand. One day soon, you will not be able to buy yourself another hour of physical life; your time will come, and you must go the way of all the earth.

Your spouse will want you stay, but you will torn from their embrace. No friend can take your place and die for you, there can be no proxies in death. You must do your own dying all alone. It is appointed unto all men once to die, and die you must. The hour will come! Your pulse will begin to slow, your eyes will begin to glaze, and then you will flatline, and your soul will depart your body. Every individual must do his own dying and giving account to his Maker.

Salvation and character become very important as death approaches. Your life is now put into the balance, you begin to look back over all your years. It will be the most important thing in the universe to you. Your sickness is now a small matter compared to Eternity, your soul is your main consideration. Did you live a righteous or wicked life? Were you a fearer of God or a despiser of Christ's grace? The best physician, the softest bed, and finest medical care will not be able to comfort you then. It is the man himself, the man's soul, and the man's personal character that is now seen in its true light; death demands your whole thought.

Whether you be a prince or peasant, a king or pauper, we are all the same at death. You have to face for yourself the great things of Eternity, and you cannot hand these things off to another to handle for you. You used to hear others speak of Eternity, but now you must experience it alone. Into the cold river of death your own feet must step, death bony hand will touch your body, and into the unknown future you must plunge all alone, you must pass through tracks unknown. You must believe in the Risen Savior for yourself, and you must have a good hope through grace in your own soul, or death will be the king of terrors to you. Men never think of these things till it comes time for them to die.

You may have made plenty of money in your life selfishly and sinfully. But all men at death come to a level. In death, finances will mock your lost soul and become contemptible. Moral and spiritual issues are most esteemed at death. How you lived, your thoughts, your heart towards God, repentance of sin, real belief in Jesus, resting upon the finished work of Christ or no - these are the things that will really matter. You must now look to what you did, and what you were, and what you are. Now is reckoning time, and the sum total will be added up. It will matter very little what you were before men, but the solemn question will be, what were you in secret before the all-searching eye of the Almighty? You will have to render an account.

Death tests all things. You will be past the time for pretenses and shams. The salvation you professed must be truthful now, you must be really regenerate, or you must perish forever. You will need the sweet and sure Promises of Scripture at death: "Him that cometh to Me, I will in no wise cast out." "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." "The blood of Jesus Christ God's Son cleanseth me from all sin." God Incarnate's Atoning Blood is your only way of peace with the God you have offended with your sins.  You will need the plain truths of the Gospel to rest your soul upon. You must come face to face with Eternity. Are you ready? You may think yourself to be somebody in the church, but that will be of small account in your last moments. No man can die on stilts.

Death finds out the truth of our condition and blows away all the chaff which we thought to be real wheat. You must look to the mercy of God, trust to the Blood of Calvary's Lamb, the Promises of the Gospel, you must cling as a poor, needy, and guilty sinner to the free and rich and good grace of God, or else your soul will sink into the firepit of Hell. When life is ebbing, nothing will do but the Grace and Blood and Promises of God in your last moments. You will need Christ Himself to get you past death's terrors. You will have to come to God as a needy sinner, and find in Jesus all your hope. Dying men want realities, they need a sinner's Savior, they desire an Atonement for their guilt, so they can pass out of this world with real hope. Dying sinners want a real living Savior, no one else can help you when it comes time for you to die.

You must go the way of all the earth, there is no alternative. You will not be able to resist the power of God's summons for you to depart this world and come before His bar of Judgment. Willing or unwilling, it matters not, you must go and meet your Maker. Be wise - prepare to meet God now. Nevertheless, whether you are ready or not, it makes no difference, you will have to leave all and take your solemn journey and face God. Your family and necessities will not be able to detain you. You may not have a will and your business affairs may all be tangled, but still you must go. The clock will tick next to your bedside in the silence of your last night. The doctors will consult with each other, and they all will have to admit that there is no remedy for you. It is clear that your hour has finally come; you must go. This must happen to you, lay it to heart.

You will breathe your last, and the medical examiner will come and take your body to the morgue. Your loved ones will weep a while, and then they will all come to view your body and gaze once more upon your face, and say their final goodbyes. Your family and friends will all gather at the funeral home, the minister will say a few choice words, and then the cars will proceed to the graveyard. You will take your last ride. All the cars stop and pay respects while your funeral procession passes by. Face it - this funeral will soon be yours.

The obituary will soon have your name there in black and white. Your corpse will be hauled out by the pall bearers and carried to your grave. Within a very short time each one of us must lie within a coffin, and then will come the open grave, the gathering of the mourners, the minister's final words, and then the lowering of your casket. The dirt will begin to fall upon the coffin lid. Earth to earth, dust to dust, and ashes to ashes. A mound of dirt will cover your body, and maybe a flower or two, perhaps a headstone, to this end you must come. Do you realize that this is so near?

Your soul will leave your body at death. You will be stripped of this house of clay, and you will die, but you will live again, live forever. You will be judged, to be justified or condemned by your Maker. You will live forever either in happiness or torment. You will go where you shall not return, there will be either endless bliss and joy, or ceaseless woe and torment for your soul. Your soul's real state immediately after death will be known beyond question. Whether you are accepted before God, or whether you are reprobate, condemned, and beyond all hope, this will be known in a moment. It will be either happiness or misery.

Death is filled with hope for the Christian, but it is a terrible dread for the ungodly. Your soul will never return to this world's cares. You will stand before the Judgment and receive the final divine verdict from the lips of Christ Jesus, the appointed Judge of all mankind. You will either be accepted or condemned based on what you did with the Man Christ Jesus. It will be bliss unspeakable or misery unutterable, you will either be blessed or cursed.

Life is so short. At the commencement of life, it looks like an endless road, but as we advance along the path the end seems very near, and we begin to perceive how very short our time is here on earth. Your age is descending, and your time for lingering here is certainly short. Your lease has almost run out. In a short time, you must set sail for the land which is afar off. Life is so short, that we have scarce begun to live before we are called to die.

Any work to be done for Jesus, let us do it at once, or else it will never get done. If your salvation is to be sought, seek it now, for you shall soon be where salvation is no more preached. If you possess worldly goods, hold them very loosely, for in a short time you must leave them all behind. Give your goods to God's glory, your stewardship will not last for long, and you shall soon give an account. Always be prepared to die.

Who'll be the next? No one knows. The cemetery's gates open every day and the funeral procession passes through. Who'll be the next to go? To be ready to depart this world is wisdom. Look ahead, be not as the fool, be prudent, consider your latter end. It is the mark of the blinded worldling that he confines his thoughts within only a short period of time. Look out into the everlasting future as an immortal being should do. Don't perish with the careless and thoughtless worldlings. To be prepared to die is an immediate duty. Don't neglect your soul's deep need - the Forgiveness of Sins through God's Blood. To be unprepared for death, and to know it may come at any moment, must keep your soul in fear and dread. To be prepared to die is to be prepared to live; to be ready for Eternity is in the best sense to be ready for time.

You need to unload your sins at the Cross today, and find mercy through the Blood of Christ, and be reconciled to God by the bloody death of His Son. See to your soul's needs at once. There is no time to spare, the end is drawing near, every flying moment is hastening on our last hour. It is high time to awake out of your sinful, suicidal slumber and in earnest seek and trust the Savior's Blood.

Your occupation, your home, your family and friends, the pleasures of life, hopes and fears, joys and pains, you shall never return to these after death. To spring's flowers, the summer's sun, the fall's colors, the winter's snows, you shall not return to these. To your brothers, children, spouse, you shall not return. To the preaching of the Gospel, to the Bible, to opportunities to be Born Again, to space for repentance, and to the mercy of God in Christ, you shall not return, you will never hear any more invitations to be saved. He which is filthy, let him be filthy still; and where the tree falls, there it must lie. Once you pass the threshold of life unsaved, you cannot return to be saved, you die is cast.

If you were at this very instant to leave your body, where would your soul be? You will go and dwell with the people you loved to be with here on earth. Yes, you will keep the same company forever. What you have chosen on earth shall be your portion hereafter. The scoffer, the drunkard, the infidel, the liar, and the unchaste shall be your companions in hell, if they were so here on earth. If you really like the earth, you will get to go live right in the middle of the earth in Hell, where you belong. If you loved sin, you shall be steeped up to your throat in it in Hell's fires. Sin will be everywhere in Hell, Sin will all around you there like liquid fire.

The wages of sin is still eternal death. But if your glory, trust and delight has been in God and His Son, you shall dwell in Heaven. If you have believed and rejoiced in Christ Jesus' blood and righteousness, you shall abide with Him forever. Your disembodied soul shall dwell with Christ and His people, or with Sin and lost sinners forever and ever - Either in paradise with Jesus, or in Hell with Satan. If you die in Satan's family, you have to go and live in Satan's house forever - Hell. If your sin is not put away forever by the Lamb of God Himself, then you can be sure your will find you out at the Judgment. Lay it to heart!

If you are Born Again, seek to mend your matters now, avoid the doing of evil in private and public. Forsake and stop all known sinning. Keep to the truth of Scripture and the good old Gospel. Live surely, honestly, and thoroughly. See to the bringing up of your children in the fear of the Lord, the conversion of your neighbors, give your talents for Christ, be grateful, honor God where you are each day, consecrate all your substance to God. The curfew of life is sounding for you.

The God of The Bible?

And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before My face. The LORD shall send upon thee cursing, vexation, and rebuke, in all that thou settest thine hand unto for to do, until thou be destroyed, and until thou perish quickly; because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou hast forsaken *ME*. And it came to pass, when the judge was dead, that they returned, and corrupted themselves more than their fathers, in following other gods to serve them, and to bow down unto them; they ceased not from their own doings, nor from their stubborn way. Talk no more so exceeding proudly; let not arrogancy come out of your mouth: for the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by Him actions are weighed.

Now the name of the man was Nabal; and the name of his wife Abigail: and she was a woman of good understanding, and of a beautiful countenance: but the man was churlish and evil in his doings. Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before Mine eyes; cease to do evil. For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the LORD, to provoke the eyes of His glory. Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest My fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart. Thoroughly amend your ways and your doings.

Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men. They have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind. Behold, I know your thoughts, and the devices which ye wrongfully imagine against *ME*. There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.

I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you: return ye now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good. Thus saith the LORD; Execute judgment in the morning, and deliver him that is spoiled out of the hand of the oppressor, lest my fury go out like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings. I will punish you according to the fruit of your doings, saith the LORD. Behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.

Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings. If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent *ME* of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings. Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you. The Great, the Mighty God, the LORD of hosts, is His name, Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for Thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings. Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto *ME*.

To *ME* belongeth vengeance and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste. A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth: and the recompence of a man's hands shall be rendered unto him. But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Who will render to every man according to his deeds. God is jealous, and the LORD revengeth; the LORD revengeth, and is furious; the LORD will take vengeance on his adversaries, and He reserveth wrath for His enemies. According to their deeds, accordingly the LORD will repay, fury to His adversaries, recompence to His enemies. I will recompense them according to their deeds, and according to the works of their own hands.

The LORD God of recompences shall surely requite. Now is the end come upon thee, and I will send Mine anger upon thee, and will judge thee according to thy ways, and will recompense upon thee all thine abominations. And Mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD. I will recompense thee according to thy ways and thine abominations that are in the midst of thee; and ye shall know that I am the LORD that smitten. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

And as for *ME* also, mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity, but I will recompense their way upon their head. But as for them whose heart walketh after the heart of their detestable things and their abominations, I will recompense their way upon their own heads, saith the Lord GOD. Their own way have I recompensed upon their heads, saith the Lord GOD. And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. Vengeance belongeth unto *ME*, I will recompense, saith the Lord.

So that the LORD could no longer bear, because of the evil of your doings, and because of the abominations which ye have committed; therefore is your land a desolation, and an astonishment, and a curse, without an inhabitant, as at this day. And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled; and ye shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for all your evils that ye have committed. Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Because ye have made your iniquity to be remembered, in that your transgressions are discovered, so that in all your doings your sins do appear; because, I say, that ye are come to remembrance, ye shall be taken with the hand. I the LORD have spoken it: it shall come to pass, and I will do it; I will not go back, neither will I spare, neither will I repent; according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, shall they judge thee, saith the Lord GOD. Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations. I will punish them for their ways, and reward them their doings.

They will not frame their doings to turn unto their God: for the spirit of whoredoms is in the midst of them, and they have not known the LORD. Surely thou wilt fear *ME*, thou wilt receive instruction; so their dwelling should not be cut off, howsoever I punished them: but they rose early, and corrupted all their doings. In that day shalt thou not be ashamed for all thy doings, wherein thou hast transgressed against *ME*. Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto *ME*, saith the LORD. They returned and said, Like as the LORD of hosts thought to do unto us, according to our ways, and according to our doings, so hath He dealt with us. And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before My face.

Beware of Sin!

Many people put up a "Beware of Dog" sign to warn you to not enter their yard. The Bible warns us and cries out to us all, "Beware of Sin!" Your sin is your biggest problem. Sin and this evil world is a cancer to man's soul. Sin is the most awful thing in the universe. What is sin? It’s insubordination to God’s Law and to right. The man who lives and dies insubordinate will carry to Hell with him the spirit of disobedience that defies God, and he would rather lie down in the flames of hell that burn his soul, before he will submit to Christ. Insubordination is the curse of this world. It is the spirit that defies God’s divine Law, the spirit that tramples Christ’s blood under foot, the evil spirit that will drag you down until your soul is burning in Hell.

 Sin is the spirit of disobedience – this is the spirit that makes you a sinner, it makes you turn a deaf ear to God and forget His word and reject His Son, and will eventually put you in Hell forever. The spirit of insubordination will wreck and ruin you forever, it will make you a lawless and miserable wretch. Surrender to Christ, and He will come to you, He will bring the bread of heaven to feed you, and the water of life to quench your thirsty soul.

If your wife knew your thoughts and private life like God knows it, she would spurn you in contempt. Guilty, should be your only plea! If your mother knew your life like God knows it, you could never hold your head up in her presence again. You are guilty before God. Turn your back forever on your favorite sins. Get away from sin as quickly as you would remove your hand from a hot stove. Sin is a dangerous disease just as AIDS is. Sin kills you slowly and eternally.

Sin is the moral and fatal disease of man’s soul. It is the outward eruption of a terrible inward disease. Turn your back really and actually on the things that are wrong in your life. Seek a better and higher life with God. Heartily turn from your sins with your heart, soul, mind, and body. The heart is the seat of your affections. Turn from the wrong toward the right with all your heart. Ask God to blow out all the candles of sin in your soul. Hate the wrong; love the right. *Ecclesiastes 12:14*

How can I get out of this dilemma call Sin? Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts: let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him, and to God, for He will abundantly pardon. Prepare to meet God now. Turn from sin practically and immediately. The terrors of damnation await you if you continue to love your sins. The devil has you blindfolded with unbelief and bamboozled with lustful distractions. The Lord Jesus Christ may be passing by your soul for the last time today. Don’t let the time of grace slip by you. Death and the grave is drawing nigh for you. You don’t have any time to lose. You may say, “I’m not ready yet.” The devil is very satisfied with that kind of answer from you. He wants to damn your soul. Give yourself to God at once, give up your soul to Christ once and for all. Christ died for the ungodly.

Many people today are trying to wash themselves up so that they come to Christ respectably. The hardest thing for a sinner to do is to give himself to Christ just as he is. You cannot do yourself any good; you’re a sinner through and through, you’re in a flat-footed mess. Throw down your deadly doings, and leave your imaginary self-righteousness behind. Stop trying to get yourself cleaned up, so you can come to Christ decently. You may think you are about as good as anyone you know, but you will have to be perfectly Perfect to enter God’s Heaven. You have already sinned, you are condemned already by God's Law. The wages of sin is eternal death. The sinner that the Lord Jesus is looking for is the sinner that realizes he is filthy and bankrupt and helpless. This could be the last time you read and hear the truth of the Gospel.

Many lost people are like the man sitting at the table filled with food, yet he is starving. He is sitting there waiting for his appetite to get appeased before he eats. He comes to the table and won’t eat. He is waiting for his hunger to depart before he eats. This man says, “I want to get all right so I can go to Christ all right.” You will be waiting a million years. God alone can make a sinner right. No sinner ever made himself right with God. How many more days are you going to spend in rebellion against God?

Your only safety is an immediate turning away from sin and a fleeing for refuge to Christ Himself at the Cross. If you only will, you can surrender to Christ right now, and quit your sin. The Holy Spirit will help you, if you ask Him. It must be an immediate and a thorough turning from sin. Surrender to God Himself, give up all your favorite lusts. Down with all your sins. Throw them all overboard. Stop quibbling and procrastinating. Turn away from all that is wrong and give up your foolish pride. Forsake all known sin in your life. Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good, both now and forever.  You must give up your sin, or go to Hell– one or the other. Give yourself to God and Christ right now. Sin has bankrupted your soul, only Christ can bail you out.

Eternity, Eternity, Eternity! You know its meaning, and yet you toy with it? You are immortal, no flame shall ever devour your soul; your soul shall outlast the sun, and when the moon turns to dust, your soul shall live on; and will you continue to tempt God’s anger so as to live forever beneath his frown? When a simple trust in Jesus will secure for you a happy immortality, shall you through carelessness suffer your soul to drift down the stream of carelessness, to the river of unbelief and misery, and then finally off into the dark ocean of damnation and despair?

Veteran's Day Thoughts

A Few Thoughts on Veteran's Day -- Freedom in America is not enjoyed by accident; there's no such thing as evolution when it comes to Freedom. American freedom is being enjoyed right now due to the blood, sweat and tears of 498,642 soldiers, 327,862 sailors, 308,016 airmen, and 202,516 marines on active duty presently serving, deployed and fighting around the world. This is a total of 1,337,036 active duty members. The entire population of the United States of America (318,900,000) is relying on a small percentage of .042% of self-sacrificing, patriotic individuals. That's less than one half of one percent of our population keeping our entire country free. The population keeps growing, but the number of active duty military keeps decreasing thanks to obama and ebt cards. Think about that! How often do you remember the active duty military, pray for them, thank them, or encourage them?

By the way, spiritual freedom is not enjoyed by accident either - The Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, bore our sins in His own body and endured blood, sweat, and tears, and laid down His own life on Calvary's Cross, so we could be freely rescued from Sin's tyranny. When's the last time you thanked *Him* for that?  It is Finished, Through His Blood, Worthy is the Lamb, End of Story!  Career religionists ($$$-cha-ching) will never tell you this.

Real Freedom is never Free; it always costs someone behind the scenes a great deal for you to be Free. Don't ever forget that, and be thankful and thoughtful of those separated from family in harm's way today.A Few Thoughts on Veteran's Day -- Freedom in America is not enjoyed by accident; there's no such thing as evolution when it comes to Freedom. American freedom is being enjoyed right now due to the blood, sweat and tears of 498,642 soldiers, 327,862 sailors, 308,016 airmen, and 202,516 marines on active duty presently serving, deployed and fighting around the world. This is a total of 1,337,036 active duty members. The entire population of the United States of America (318,900,000) is relying on a small percentage of .042% of self-sacrificing, patriotic individuals. That's less than one half of one percent of our population keeping our entire country free. The population keeps growing, but the number of active duty military keeps decreasing thanks to obama and ebt cards. Think about that! How often do you remember the active duty military, pray for them, thank them, or encourage them?

By the way, spiritual freedom is not enjoyed by accident either - The Lord Jesus Christ, God manifest in the flesh, bore our sins in His own body and endured blood, sweat, and tears, and laid down His own life on Calvary's Cross, so we could be freely rescued from Sin's tyranny. When's the last time you thanked *Him* for that?  It is Finished, Through His Blood, Worthy is the Lamb, End of Story!  Career religionists ($$$-cha-ching) will never tell you this.

Real Freedom is never Free; it always costs someone behind the scenes a great deal for you to be Free. Don't ever forget that, and be thankful and thoughtful of those separated from family in harm's way today.

AS A LITTLE CHILD

Jesus said, "Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein." A child is marked by helplessness, that is, total helpless dependence on another. No child can survive without the assistance of others. They have nothing to show for themselves. They cannot count on their own achievements. They are little beggars. They have no preconceptions of God. They have no prejudices, superstition, or falsehoods. They are absolutely, completely, totally, actually helpless. Children of the kingdom of God must enter the kingdom helpless.

And Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child, and set him by Him, and said unto them, Whosoever shall receive this child in My name receiveth Me: and whosoever shall receive Me receiveth Him that sent Me: for he that is least among you all, the same shall be great. *Luke 9:47-48*  The way to rise in the ranks of Christ, is to go down. The way to the top is down.  Sink into the highest place; in sinking, you rise. Think only of the Lord Jesus Christ's glory.  Be willing to do the least thing, and then you are growing in Christ. When you are great, then you are little. When you are nothing, then you are great. The Lord must take away from us carnal pride that makes us stand up on our dignity, and think we must be Somebody! God will not use you as long as you are "somebody"; but when you are nobody, then will God greatly magnify you, and use you in His kingdom and service. Carnal ambition, self-seeking and religious pride reeks in the nostrils of God.

My help comes from the Lord Jesus Christ, which made heaven and earth; and what you need the most today is some Divine Help, but you will not get any at all, unless you become as a little child in heart and mind and humble yourself before your Maker and ask Him for His mercy and the forgiveness of your sins. 

Convert - the turning of the soul from sin to the Savior. The Holy Spirit turning a bad life into a godly one, to change the heart and moral character, from enmity to God and from vicious habits, to the love of God and godly habits and living. *Psalm 19:7; 51:13; Isaiah 6:10; Matthew 13:15; 18:3; Luke 22:32; John 12:40; Acts 3:19; Acts 28:27; James 5:19-20*

A child is transparent, trusting, frank and free from care. They completely and sincerely trust another for their food, clothing, lodging, and protection. A child thinks no lofty thoughts of himself, they are not even aware of themselves. They don't consider if they deserve things, or whether it's important enough to merit such attention. A child is ready to receive and act upon the Truth. Children are not proud of their virtues. They do not battle self-righteousness. Little children see no need to dispute over preeminence or selfish suspicion.

Children are free from the pride of knowledge. They have no learning, no degrees, no intellectual conceit. They are teachable, lead-able, open-minded, and submissive. A child is not important or sophisticated or wise in his own eyes. Children are conscious of their own weakness. They don't propose amendments to the Gospel. Children are transparent, forgiving, quickly penitent and contrite, and cry over a wrong done. They are miserable over theirs sins. They are open to receiving gifts humbly and thankfully, not pretending to merit anything. They know how to receive a gift - they simply take it. They are open to the unmerited favor of God. A child easily returns love for gifts - hugs, kisses, and many thanks. We must grow down until we become like a child. A child has no ambition for great things or titles, they crave not worldly honor.

We need a childlike faith in Jesus, but not a childish faith. Children are humble and have a modest opinion of themselves. They are not envious of others. They drop all contentions over preeminence. They have no ambitious views of being greater than another. We must lay aside pride, ambition, envy, vanity, and prejudice. *I Kings 3:7* No affectation of worldly honor and power. We should be careful for nothing, void of malice, harmless, merciful, gentle, kind, dutiful, flexible, eager, yielding, governable. Children have no great aims of position, or thoughts to raise themselves, little in his own eyes. Children have a clear conscience. Come to Christ before you grow too old to understand the Gospel with your heart.

The mind of a child is a blank piece of paper. Our minds must be open to the pen of the Holy Spirit. A child has no preconceived notions, opinions, or notions that they cannot give up. The child believes what Jesus says. He is affected to Christ, easily influenced and touched. A child is inquisitive, always wanting to learn. Children are under others' control. They depend upon someone else's wisdom, guidance, provision, and care. Children never seek greatness. Quickly take what is provided them. A child soon forgives and forgets. He has humble resignation and easy dependence to parents. Simplicity of belief. Children are weak, helpless, and unimportant. Grow smaller, not bigger; get less, not greater. Children are at the bottom of the social order. They are not asked about significant decisions. They are without claim or merit.

Children are needy, entirely dependent on another. Children are always hungry, they are lonely at bedtime, when they are sent to their room by themselves, that is the worst punishment for them. They love fellowship. They have no claim or merit in themselves. They have no obvious importance, zero status. The child believes in all humility, looking up to his teacher, and receiving the teacher's words as truth. Say, "Lord, I am a know-nothing, I come to You to be taught, I am nothing, be my All in All.

A child believes sincerely and in simplicity with all its heart. A child has no sinister motives, or formality. The child's faith and repentance are genuine. Don't play at religion any longer. A child is not ashamed to talk as your heart feels - speak openly about Jesus and His bleeding love to others around you. Trusting to Christ alone now is the way of safety. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as a little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

Children are willing to receive; they are broke and needy. Kids desire to make others happy. A little child believes Jesus is a real Person near at hand. There is an absence of boasting or selfish desire to be greater than others. They are not achieving, but accepting. Little children have a sense of wonder that makes life exciting; they are filled with potential. Children are simple in their wants, have expectant attitudes, and depend completely (conscious clinging trust) on their fathers to meet all their needs. A child has no pride in who, or what they are, or what they have achieved; they possess no self-ambition. The entrance gate into the kingdom of God is very low; we must go through on our hands and knees with our head held low. There is no place in the kingdom for those who trust in themselves. Humble yourself or Jesus will leave you in your pride and lostness. Jesus only gives His free forgiveness of sins to those sinners who don't deserve it.

Believe exactly what Christ says, and trust all that Christ has done. Children believe that God hears their prayers. Honest simplicity and trustfulness of a little child. Humble, but not aware of it. A child is grieved when others are in distress. A child seeks to please his father, and seeks his approval and smile. A child loves peace and joy, they cannot endure arguing and fighting. A child is troubled to hear anyone speak evil of their parents. A child is grieved when his father is upset with him. A child will strive to imitate his father and follow in his steps. They have n0 duplicity or hypocrisy, and without partiality. They instinctively choose the low place. They are simple, not careful about the future. A child clings close to their parent, sincerely esteeming their father the biggest and best man in the world. Follow Jesus humbly, diligently, joyfully, wholly.

Trust Jesus for everything to do with salvation and life. You know so much, that you knowtoomuch. Human nature wants to alter or amend the Gospel. Christ is not received by the brain, but by the heart. The best receiver is the empty sinner (John 1:12). Jesus is your main need. You must have Christ, or die in your sins. Trusting, not thinking and reasoning, is the way to Christ. Simply believe what Jesus says in the Bible.

There is nothing in you can do to make you fit for the kingdom of God. Just be nothing, the less you are, and the weaker you are, the better. The devil tempts you to become as gods (Genesis 3:5), but Jesus leads you to become as little children, just the opposite. Seeking to become gods, men become devils; but seeking to become as little children, you will partake of the divine nature. The path to true happiness is becoming little. Take Christ at His word, trust His finished work. A child is not trouble about not being prepared to come to Christ - he is a sinner and he know it, so he just comes to Christ. Jesus calls me, so I come; Jesus died for me, so I trust Him.

Conversion is an absolute necessity. We can only do righteously after we are made Righteous in the sight of God by the grace of God. If a ship is headed for hidden rocks, scrubbing the decks won't do any good, the ship's course must be changed; the ship must be turned. Self-improvement cannot help the sinner; your soul is headed for eternal shipwreck, your course must be turned, our you will sink into Hell. You must invite the Pilot onboard your soul, and let Him have the helm of your heart. Only Christ can turn you away from your iniquities. Jesus paid the full Ransom to release you from the slavery and love of your sins. You can't do good, until you are first made good, by receiving Christ's Goodness. You must be converted, your mind and thoughts must be changed by the Holy Spirit. You've made up your mind, but the Holy Ghost must unmake your mind and then transform it.

Celebrate the Crucified Creator's goodness. You are nothing else but sin. Simply seek Jesus Christ, trust His precious blood, and you are saved. To be converted means to be turned around in your thinking by the working of the Holy Ghost. Conversion is a turning from self-confidence and self-rule to the rule of God. Conversion is being turned from your self-made plans to God's plan for your life. To do less than "be converted" by Christ Himself is to miss the kingdom of God altogether. Children are a pattern for us to follow: in their humble dependence on others, their openness, their acceptance of themselves other their low position in life. Children live by faith, by faith they accept their lot, trusting others to care for them and see them through. We enter the kingdom of God by admitting our helplessness, inability to save ourselves, and becoming totally depending on the mercy and grace of God in Christ.

Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein."