New Life For The Nations

God makes everything come out right!  

Psalm 103:13-18   Message Bible

GOD makes everything come out right;  He puts victims back on their feet.  He showed Moses how He went about His work, and opened up His plans to all Israel.  GOD is sheer mercy and grace, not easily angered. He’s rich in love.  He doesn’t endlessly nag and scold, nor hold grudges forever.  He doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve, nor pay us back in full for our wrongs.  As high as heaven is over the earth, so strong is His love to those who fear Him.  And as far as sunrise is from sunset, He has separated us from our sins.  As parents feel for their children, GOD feels for those who fear Him.  He knows us inside and out;  keeps in mind that we’re made of mud.  Men and women don’t live very long;  like wildflowers they spring up and blossom, But a storm snuffs them out just as quickly, leaving nothing to show they were here.  GOD’S love, though, is ever and always, eternally present to all who fear Him.  Making everything right for them and their children as they follow His Covenant ways and remember to do whatever He said.

 Abiding in LOVE, how do I know?

One of the ways you know you are abiding and existing in God’s love–Is your heart is always seeing and expecting God’s mercy.  People who lose sight of God’s mercy are people who don’t abide in God’s love.

“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”  Jude 21     Ed Eliott

       You were created in the image of LOVE.

The Bible tells us mankind was created in God’s image.  This means that we are designed to function and exist in His identity.  Since God is love, our life is directly connected to knowing and believing in the love He has for us.  If you read I John 4:19, your existence will make perfect sense.

“We love Him because He loved us FIRST!”            I John 4:19                                   Ed Eliott

HOW DO MIRACLES HAPPEN?

Many people prevent the miraculous from happening in their lives because they believe a miracle is earned or a reward for godly behavior.  Paul answered this question in his letter to the Galatioans.

“Was it because of their self-effort and obeying the law?  Or did they happen because of what they heard that gave them faith?”  (Galatians 3:5)

“Judaizers” came to town and convinced the followers of Jesus that trusting in Him wasn’t enough if they wanted to stay saved and be blessed by God.  So these new believers took their eyes off Jesus and started keeping the old covenant law.  As a result, the miraculous they had been experiencing went away, and so did the peace of God that comforted them…They had convinced the Galatians to mix law with grace, which produces a false gospel.  Legalism always nullifies the power of God’s grace.

“O foolish Galatians!  Who has bewitched you that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified?  This only I want to learn from you:  Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?  Are you so foolish?  Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?”  Galatians 3:1-3

The miracle of the new birth was by faith, and every miracle we will ever get again from God will be received the same way.  Miracles don’t come as rewards for good behavior.  They come because Jesus bought and paid for them in His death, burial, and resurrection.

Don’t lose your focus; keep your eyes on Him.  He is the source of all we will ever need.

                                            Ed & Laura Elliot

–DID YOU KNOW-                                                                                            The full Bible has been translated into 532 languages.  It has been partially translated into 2,883 languages                         The King James Bible contains 788,258 words, 31,102 verses, 1,189 chapters, and 66 books.     

The longest book in the Bible is Psalm 119.                          

The shortest book in the Bible is Psalm 117, with just 2 verses.                     

How many verses are there in the Bible?  In the Old Testament, there are 23,145 verses.  In the New Testament, there are 7, 957, for a total of 31,102 versus.             

Who was the first author of the Bible?  Moses wrote the first five books of the Bible.                 

How many Bibles have been sold?  The Bible is the best selling book in history, with over 5 billion copies sold.    

What is the most common word mentioned in the Bible?  The most commonly used word in the Bible is “Lord,” followed by God, Man, Israel, and People.

You are Priceless in God’s Eyes!

The Bible teaches that all people are unworthy, but being unworthy does not mean you are “worthless.”  God paid a great price to redeem mankind.  The value of something is always determined by the price one is willing to pay.

We use the term “priceless” today to illustrate that there is no amount of money on the earth that could buy or purchase what one considers priceless. All the gold, diamonds, and wealth of the earth could not purchase man’s redemption.  It took something of far greater value to pay the price.  All the gold, precious stones, and the pearly gates in heaven could not pay what was required.  Something of far greater value was needed, so God sent the most valuable and precious gift He had to pay the price for man’s salvation:  His dear son, Jesus.  Therefore, in God’s eyes, we are “priceless.”  Nothing on the earth could purchase us, but the value God saw in His son is the value He sees in us.

“For you are bought with a great price.  Glorify and bear God in your body”  (I Corinthians 6:20).

                                                                       Ed Elliot

KNOWING HIS NAME

“I will protect those who trust in my name.”  Psalm 91:14

Our Lord Jesus came to reveal the name, “Father.”  Father speaks of family and of closeness and intimacy.  You can know God as Elyon, the Most High.  As  El Shaddai, God Almighty.  As Yehovah, the Lord, the covenant-keeping God.  As Elohim, mighty Creator of the heavens and the earth.  Every name is so significant as each one reveals a wonderful aspect of our God.  But when you know God as Father, all His virtues, attributes, and power work for you to set you on high and deliver you.

Our Lord Jesus prayed, “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You, Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are” (John 17:11).  The Greek word for “keep” here is the word tereo, which means to attend carefully, to take care of, to guard, to watch, and to preserve.  What is the name through which you will be kept guarded and protected?  FATHER.  Beloved, I want you to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have a heavenly Father who loves you, who gave up His all for you, and who is vigilantly watching over you!

That is the n;ame by which He wants you to call HIm. When my son, Justin, has a nightmare, he doesn’t call out, “Pastor Prince!”  He just cries out, “Abba!” and I am there, ready to take on any monsters hiding under his bed.  In the same way, you can have complete assurance that when you call upon your Father, He will answer you.  You can have full confidence in your Father’s protection and deliverance for you and your family, not because of your love for Him, but because of His love for you.                                                   Joseph Prince

The Danger of Seeing Yourself as a Victim

Most,  if not all people, have had to face difficulties in life.  Some have been mistreated; others have experienced tragic situations.  Though we can do nothing about our past, how we view it can determine our future.

The Bible says much about who we are to God and who He is to us.  One of the many beautiful things about faith is how it turns hopeless situations into hopeful events.  Faith also helps us embrace our true identity in Christ.  This one fact alone can change almost everything about us and our destinies.

It is very important how we see ourselves and how we hear what others have to say about us or to us.  If our ears have a victim filter on them, then we will hear things that support our belief we are victims when, in fact, we are not hearing the truth at all.  Rather, we are hearing a version based on being overly sensitive or having offended hearts. 

“A brother offended is harder to win over than a fortified city. And contentions (separating families) are like the bars of a castle.”  Proverbs 18:19) 

Seeing yourself as a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17) is the only cure for our past.  Why?  Because being in Christ gives us a new future that is ordained by God.  Add in the fact that God Himself tells us He is for us.  Therefore, nothing or no one can be against us (Romans 8:31).

We all come with scars, bruises, and flaws, but the wonderful news is that they don’t define who we are.  Our identity is defined by who God created us to be in His Son.              Ed Elliot 

The Gift of a New Heart Changed     EVERYTHING!

Jesus didn’t come to Earth so we could give Him our hearts.  He came to give us His heart.  Religion teaches people to give their hearts to the Lord but nowhere in the New Testament do we read that people gave their hearts to the Lord.  What we do read over and over is they received the Lord or the Word.  Salvation isn’t based on what you give to God but on what you receive from Him.

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you.  I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart”  (Ezekiel 35:26).                  Ed Elliot

JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD IS THE GREATEST!

Jesus Christ our Lord is the greatest man in history.

He had no servants, yet they called Him Master.

He had no degree, yet they called Him Teacher.

He had no medicines, yet they called Him Healer.

He had no army, yet kings feared Him.

He won no military battles, yet He conquered the world.

He committed no crime, yet they crucified Him.

He was buried in a tomb, yet He lives today.

 JESUS IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR YOU!

Keep on believing, Jesus is nearby;

Keep on believing, there is nothing to fear but fear itself.

Keep on believing, for Jesus Christ, Adonai Yeshua is on the way;

Faith in the night as well as the day for victory assured.                                                     Bishop OC

Barna’s 7 cornerstones of a Biblical Worldview:

–God is eternal, omniscient, omnipotent and just Creator.
-Humans are sinful by nature.
-Jesus Christ grants forgiveness of sin and eternal life when sinners repent and profess their faith in Him alone.
-The Bible is true, reliable and always relevant.
-Absolute moral truth exits.
-Success is defined as consistent obedience to God.
-Life’s purpose is to know, love and serve God with all one’s heart, mind, strength, and soul.

Franklin Graham asserts that an individual with a Biblical worldview looks at the world and sifts all information through the lens of God’s Word.  “Scripture informs his thinking and behavior, guiding his intellect and moral determinations,” he said.  The Bible is the bedrock that undergirds his entire life.

Over and against every competing worldview, the Bible forcefully declares, ‘Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind.’ (Romans 12:2).  In other words, the only way to see all of life accurately is through the transforming lens of Scripture.”