Tag: born again

JESUS

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 1:21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.”

Being in pursuit of holiness is simple but oh so hard to keep up. It is the process of sanctification that continues the blessing of our salvation from sin. Jesus cam to save sinners and whoever believes in Him will be saved.

The hardest thing for most to do is to shake off the guilt of sin For some reason we feel we still must be punished for our sin even though we know in our heads that Jesus took our full punishment on the cross. If you feel guilty about nay sin you have committed, you have not repented of that sin. Take a dump and flush your toilet!

Sin has no power over you. The devil can’t make you do it. He can only set up the circumstances whereby it appears to you that you can sin and get away with it. Just think of yourself soaked in lighter fluid and I think you will think twice before you play with a lit match!

Our Lord also saves you from the presence of sin because darkness has no fellowship with light. When I came to Christ I was afraid that I would lose all my friends. Well, thank you Jesus, I lost all my friends! And to my surprise to this moment, the Lord has filled my life with new friends who walk in the light with only the shadow of their old ways following them.

You soon not only forget how to sin you forget what sin is because your whole being; heart, mind and soul are focused on Him alone. I just sing hymns in my head and I don’t even notice the temptations that surround me. I would no more cheat on Jesus that I would my soul-mate wife.

Now with all these pursuits of holiness going on, we are saved from the consequence of sin which may include physical illness, divorce or incarceration to name a few.

Finally, it sinks in that we don’t deserve any punishment because He took it all. Guilt flees and smiles and joy triumphs. What a wonderful name the name of Jesus is! He died our death. Death stung Jesus and died so that we might enjoy eternal life with Him which begins right now in the name of Jesus.

JESUS WHO?

By Rick Mathes

Mark 14:72 And immediately a cock crowed a second time. And Peter remembered how Jesus had made the remark to him, “Before a cock crows twice, you will deny Me three times.” And he began to weep.

How could any believer ever even consider denying Jesus as their Lord? I can’t even conceive of the circumstances I would curse and insist that I didn’t know Him or can I? Given this possibility further consideration I realized that I deny Him more often than I want to think about much less admit to. I’m quite sure you do too. Consider a few possibilities and then add your own. Recall your transgressions for a moment with me.

Let’s begin with resisting the Holy Spirit. He’s convicting you of sin; hounding your conscience and accusing you and you are locking yourself up into denial and making yourself the victim of outside and circumstantial causes.

Take a look at your small progress in the process of sanctification. You are dragging your wheels in the mud when it comes to repentance, submitting to Him and obedience to His Ten Commandments. Your backsliding has become blatant and defiant at the foot of His Cross. How soon you forget who it is you are shaming and whose character you are defiling. Remember Him?

Jesus died on the Cross for you. He healed your spiritual cancer and you are keeping it a secret. How can you go about your business day in the day out knowing full well that those who don’t believe will spend eternity in that fiery furnace of hell? Your neglect of lost souls, especially in your own family is not defensible. You have no excuse for hiding the cure and letting the virus of sin go viral.

You haven’t taken time with Jesus and you claim you know Him? Your personal actions, your lack of witnessing speaks volumes about what is going on inside of you. The truth, if it be known, is that you don’t love Jesus or you wouldn’t deny Him as Peter did. Jesus who?

We only have one time around and you need to learn from Peter when the Holy Spirit came upon him. Thousands were saved and baptized from his first sermon. God only knows what will happen if you make known to all who will listen that Jesus is your Lord and you have accepted Jesus as your Lord. Jesus who?

JESUS HEALS

By Rick Mathes

Acts 9:34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; arise, and make your bed.” And immediately he arose.

One of my pet peeves is when someone says, “I am trying.” I’m trying to quit drinking. I’m trying to stop using drugs. I’m trying to avoid pornography. I’m trying.

I learned in a Greek language class that a moving “ing” is called “continuous action.” Alone, it is none ending. Jesus never had a “You will get better” cure. Whenever He showed up, you were healed: ed not ing. The healings were always complete and final.

When Jesus says to you a believer, “Stop that” or “It is finished” or “you are healed”, it is a done deal. Don’t give me the “I don’t drink hard liquor anymore” when you are getting drunk on beer. Or “I haven’t used heroin for a year, when you are smoking crack. Do you get the message?

He spoke a word and the blind saw, the deaf heard, the lame walked and the dead sat up in their casket, got out and went home alive; Amazing days to be following along with the Great Physician! All it took was a touch and the power of the creative will flow through you and regenerate every cell in your body.

Another annoyance is when someone says, “I am getting better.” If you study the Lord healing experiences, the healing was complete and instantaneous. There wasn’t any “getting better.” You always get His best right on the spot, no second visit to the doctor.

One of the greatest alleged faith healers of our day was Katherine Kuhlman. She would have the sick and infirm lined up for healing a block long. When the TV cameras went off, she would leave them all standing in line and go home. They did a 10 year study on those that she healed and found that they all died of what she healed them of.

More recently we had our Oral Roberts who put the majority of his ministry money into a hospital that went bankrupt. Go figure: why would a faith ministry have a hospital? It’s laughable.

Jesus healed everyone. Today’s faith-healer performers prey on the four-percent that were psychosomatic (illness was imagined). He even healed organic disease such as blindness and leprosy. The final illness, death, stung Jesus and died so that we migh have the ultimate cure of eternal life in Him.

Don’t look out to the merchandising of Jesus. Look only upon Him and be healed!

JESUS AS LORD

By Rick Mathes

Colossians 2:6 As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,

The Word teaches that many perish for lack of knowledge. We need to be taught and that also puts a responsibility on us to hear, listen, learn, apply and evaluate. Knowledge is the handmaid to wisdom and there is no better place to begin but to go back to the beginning from time to time to refresh ourselves in the Lord.

Walk as you did when you first received Jesus as your Savior and Lord. Your knees were close to the ground and your cheerful and tearful praises were heard in heaven loud and clear. Keep a close look out here. Satan will do all he can to trip you up and have you fall. It’s easy to be a Christian when it’s easy. We will learn how deep your love is when you are under temptation and persecution from every direction.

Be rooted deep in good soil. It’s interesting to learn the secret of the California Redwoods that have lived for so many hundreds of years. They are not only rooted in good soil but they are rooted together. By holding on to each other some have held up in good health from the time when Jesus walked the earth. So it is with the Body of Christ. By having deep faith and holding on to each other, we will cross the finish line and be trophies of the Lord on His showcase in glory.

The building of believers into a powerful church isn’t measured by numbers, power or money. We are built up in each other living brick by living brick. Each of us is placed exactly as the Lord would have us. He also shapes us and that is sometimes very painful. He just keep chipping off those parts that are not in His image and likeness and that makes us go “Ouch!”

Were we are rooted and built up we are out front for all to see that we are born again Christians. Everyone I come into contact with each day knows for sure I am a Christian. I enjoy asking them, “How is your walk with the Lord?” This establishes me solidly as His and all know it.

The biggest flashing yellow light along this journey to glory is the devil’s deceptions. Satan is only a created creature that trembles at the mention of Jesus. Darkness cannot overcome the light. Remember that and then you will understand that when Jesus is your Lord, the light within you will light the universe!

JESUS

By Rick Mathes

Matthew 1:21 “And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.”

Being in pursuit of holiness is simple but oh so hard to keep up. It is the process of sanctification that continues the blessing of our salvation from sin. Jesus cam to save sinners and whoever believes in Him will be saved.

The hardest thing for most to do is to shake off the guilt of sin For some reason we feel we still must be punished for our sin even though we know in our heads that Jesus took our full punishment on the cross. If you feel guilty about nay sin you have committed, you have not repented of that sin. Take a dump and flush your toilet!

Sin has no power over you. The devil can’t make you do it. He can only set up the circumstances whereby it appears to you that you can sin and get away with it. Just think of yourself soaked in lighter fluid and I think you will think twice before you play with a lit match!

Our Lord also saves you from the presence of sin because darkness has no fellowship with light. When I came to Christ I was afraid that I would lose all my friends. Well, thank you Jesus, I lost all my friends! And to my surprise to this moment, the Lord has filled my life with new friends who walk in the light with only the shadow of their old ways following them.

You soon not only forget how to sin you forget what sin is because your whole being; heart, mind and soul are focused on Him alone. I just sing hymns in my head and I don’t even notice the temptations that surround me. I would no more cheat on Jesus that I would my soul-mate wife.

Now with all these pursuits of holiness going on, we are saved from the consequence of sin which may include physical illness, divorce or incarceration to name a few.

Finally, it sinks in that we don’t deserve any punishment because He took it all. Guilt flees and smiles and joy triumphs. What a wonderful name the name of Jesus is! He died our death. Death stung Jesus and died so that we might enjoy eternal life with Him which begins right now in the name of Jesus.

IT’S TIME

By Rick Mathes

John 17:1 These things Jesus spoke; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Thy Son, that the Son may glorify Thee,

There was a defining moment in the life of the Lord while studying the Book of Isaiah; it dawned on Him that the prophet was writing about Him. There was a time in the carpenters shop when He knew it was the right thing for Him to give His mom a warm hug and leave. And when His 10 day seminar for the Apostles completed He know that now was the time to lift from the ground and go home: mission accomplished!

What can we learn and apply from all of this?

First and foremost is the renouncing of the world. If you love the world more than Him, the love of the Father is not in you. You must always love the Creator more than the creation. He is a jelous God and He commands us not to love anything more than Him. This includes possessions, friends, family and even life itself. This requires an incredible commitment and faith in Christ.

Second is the faith that Jesus gifts us with. Let me define biblical faith. In short, it is believing beyond our grasp. True faith in Christ exceeds all the bounds of understanding. It begins where reason leaves off: beyond the end of the rope. Any faith you might have within your grasp is just extraordinary ability, an exercise in self-confidence. The abandonment of self into all Christ is is the ultimate spiritual service. It is the apex of grace without any work except submission and obedience.

Third is the self-sacrifice I alluded to in becoming exchanged in Him. It really is a metamorphosis: He died that you and I might live so you die to self and live in Him. You become a self-less Temple of God. You are standing on Holy Ground with every step you take.

Lastly it is time to search the Word for the knowledge of God we need to desire truth s we must have oxygen to breathe. It is only in doing spiritual push-ups tht we are strengthened and empowered to sow to the Spirit of God on the barren fields and dr deserts we find in religion and denominations that are infiltrated by Hell. It’s time for the Body of Christ to implode with the dynamite of Creation: a God-breathed revivl!

The Holy Spirit is just waiting for us to have the will and the faith to accomplish all the primitive church enjoyed in Him: it’s time”

IT’S ALIVE

By Rick Mathes

John 4:10 (NASB) ¹⁰ Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.”

To thirst and to drink from the well of the Living Water can only be experienced by those the Holy Spirit inhabits. No one can adequately explain this to you; only a believer would sense and enjoy this refreshment. The Water of the Word gives life to a dead spiritual corpse in a powerful way that is not soon forgotten. The rush of His truth through our veins guarantees an eternal life in Him as oxygen does to our lungs in this moment of reflection and meditation on Living Water.

This surge of vitality is not a fleeting moment but rather an enduring lifetime that is overflowing in righteousness, good will and wholesome living that is pleasing to Jesus.

Indeed the well is deep and the water is endlessly waiting for us to explore in spirit and in truth.

Practically speaking, Hs Living Water is thirst removing; as we hunger and thirst for righteousness, this Living Water is always abundantly available at our finger tips.

It is also filth purging. There is no better way to do your spiritual laundry but to immerse your soul in the Psalms. They are your spiritual MRI and will disclose the real you, your essence.

There is a softening effect in anyone who soaks in this Living Water. A hardened heart will weaken and soon beat with His.

It guarantees your fire insurance because the Word puts out the flames of Hell and opens up a clear blue sky of hope and pleasant expectations.

Once this Living Water finds depth, it will fill you and overflow in living springs within you. The Holy Spirit knows just the right time to drop the bucket and draw up just the amount you need right at the moment you need it.

The fruit your tree of life produces will assure you and those around you that prayers and the mist of your praises bless the Lord and ascend into the highest places in glory. You can’t live without the Living Water surging up and heavenward in the depth of your soul, the Holy Well.

IT IS WRITTEN

By Rick Mathes

Romans 15:4 (NASB77) ⁴  For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.

The Bible is sixty-six books, written by forty authors in three language, in three continents, written over 1,700 years, seamlessly and without error or contradiction. Only God could have spoke this perfection into existence through the pens of His chosen authors.

C.H. Spurgeon: “Never be afraid of your Bibles. If there is a text of scripture you dare not meet, humble yourself until you can. If your creed and scripture do not agree with this Book, if there be anything in the church to which you belong which is contrary to the inspired Word, leave the church!”

What you don’t know you can learn.

The ancient manuscripts of the Word confirm that the Bible we hold in our hands is an accurate communication of God to man. The Dead Sea scrolls proved this completely with a full script of Isaiah a thousand years before Christ is the same as we have now. This could only have been done with the protection from above. So it’s antiquity speaks loudly as to its relevance to the youth of today.

All other books pale in the glorious light of God’s breathed Word. It is obviously superior to the Koran and Mormon Pearl of Great Price publications. Just a light reading makes it head and shoulders above and writing of mankind God’s finger-prints are all over it!

It’s been said that the Word of God is shallow enough for an infant to splash in but deep enough for an elephant to drown in. Believe me, after over three decades of hard, daily study and two doctorate degrees. I am not exaggerating when I say that I’ve just scratched the surface. I’m standing on the infinite shore with a teaspoon of knowledge.

However, in God’ infinite understanding of our needs, it is that “manufacturer’s handbook” in the writing of the Creator to the created. It’s Devine origin is a wellspring of truth flowing endlessly in truth and healing. God breathed a love letter to His beloved so when in doubt, remember its power: It is written!

IT IS FINISHED

By Rick Mathes

John 19:30 When Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, He said, ” It is finished!” And He bowed His head, and gave up His spirit.

Tetelestai! This was the one word that dropped me to my knees. I had always prayed, “Dear Lord, bless my wife and children. I deserve the punishment for my sins so bring it on! I understand I have it coming.” I had been a token Roman Catholic and had that “balance sheet” mentality that if I do more good than bad, I’ll be ok. So the revelation that His right to punish my sins was laid on His Son, was too much for me to resist.

In that one word, Scripture was fulfilled and Satan was defeated right where he stood. The veil of the Holy of Holies was torn open from top to bottom and God’s answer to sin’s assault was open to all. Everyone with a breath that moment on had direct and immediate access to Jesus and salvation from sin and God’s judgment.

Death stung Jesus and died.

The rein of death came to an end when He stepped from that tomb three days later as He said He would. I would have loved to have seen the Satan’s face when He learned that he did not kill God’s Son. The devil is a created being. Neither he his demons nor even the angels in glory know any more that what we do in the written Word and life of Christ. We all know that the power of sin is broken and the punishment of sin will be inflicted on unbelievers only.

Our sin infested imperfect lives have been exchanged for His perfect life that certainly includes the salvation from our sins. The Dove has landed on your shoulder and peace has come to mankind. There is no price that can put on the freedom except the price God’s Son paid on that Cross: paid-in-full!

The death penalty we deserve was paid by Him and His sacrifice. The freeing of man through Christ demonstrates the incredible wisdom and justice of God the Father. Therein is the healing for every nation whose knee bows to the name of Jesus. This then releases the fullness of God the Holy Spirit as has never happened since nor will happen again. The old government is about to collapse and the new is on the horizon. I can hear the hoof-beats, the Lord is near; nearer that you think because, It is finished!