Believe Right!

Romans 3:19-END (NLT) 19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. Christ Took Our Punishment 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrif

Believers, remember 2 Timothy 3:1-5: "But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." At first, one would think vs:1-5 is just about people who are sinning openly and leading outwardly vulgar lifestyles but consider verse 5 which they all have in common: "having a form of godliness but denying its power...." The NLT version says- "They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly." Such people have a form of godliness (righteousness.) On the outside, they preach, look and act all religious, moral, holy and

Believers, did you notice something amiss where the devil quoted parts of Psalms 91 to our Saviour Jesus when he tempted Him in the wilderness (Matthew 4?) It reads: "5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” This quote is from Psalms 91:11-12. The complete verses read: 11 For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. 12 In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. The devil left out "To keep you in all your ways." You see, the devil and his agents cannot quote Scripture completely or in its correct context because it would be counter-productive to do so. People will be saved! Jumping down from the pinnacle of the t

Believers, believe right. Let's not follow after the example of the Galatians who thought they had to "maintain their salvation" by human effort (keeping the law in order to be righteous) after they received Christ as their Saviour. Check out Paul's analogy on law and grace (featuring Abraham’s two children) in Galatians 4: 21-31: "21 Tell me, you who want to live under the law, do you know what the law actually says? 22 The Scriptures say that Abraham had two sons, one from his slave wife and one from his freeborn wife. 23 The son of the slave wife was born in a human attempt to bring about the fulfillment of God’s promise. But the son of the freeborn wife was born as God’s own fulfillment of his promise. 24 These two women serve as an illustration of God’s two covenants. The first woman, Hagar, represents Mount Sinai where people received the law that enslaved them. 25 And now Jerusalem is just like Mount Sinai in Arabia, because she and her children

Jesus saves from sins. Matthew 1:21 says: "She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because He will save his people from their sins.” No amount of trying to get one's act together, fasting, doing good deeds or keeping the Ten Commandments can make anyone righteous, deserving of God's blessings or Rapture-ready. None of these things amount to anything if they are done in order to get into God's good books, " For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:20. There is only one way to be righteous in the sight of God: by Christ's obedience, not ours, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19. In fact, keeping the law in a bid to get right with God has a deathly effect, "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God

Believers, let's take our blessed brains to church! If anyone preaches that you have to keep the Ten Commandments or do certain things (save believe Jesus) in order for you to "maintain your salvation," avoid God's wrath, be free from generational curses or receive His blessings after you are saved by grace, they are preaching the horrid mixture of law and grace- neither cold nor hot. There is a double curse on anyone who does this in Galatians 1:6-9. With Christ, we don't get good to get God's blessings in Christ; we get Christ to get good. His Spirit transforms us to the image of His glory, from glory to glory. We get to live right and reign over sin. Our puny efforts at keeping the law cannot transform anybody. Isaiah calls these efforts "menstrual rags" in Isaiah 64:6. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your sins are not that bad. James 2:10 says "For whosoever shall keep the whole law yet stumble at one point, he is guilty

No amount of trying to get one's act together, doing good deeds or keeping the Ten Commandments can make anyone righteous, deserving of God's blessings or Rapture-ready, "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:20. In fact, keeping the law in a bid to get right with God has a deathly effect, "For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace." Galatians 5:4. But does this mean that we are at liberty to wallow in sin? Certainly not! Christ is the Way out of sin. Christ died to redeem (buy us back) from the lawless deeds that hold us captive. "He gave His life to free us from every kind of sin, to cleanse us, and to make us His very own people, totally committed to doing good deeds." Titus 2:14. Christ changes us; makes us whole. Not our efforts. W

I'd been doing my best to resolve the mosquito issues we'd been experiencing at my home (especially in our living room) for the past few months. This breed of mosquitoes seemed to laugh off Mortein when I used it on them. I'd "Baygon" the whole place and see their dead bodies on the floor afterwards but our relief was always shortlived; they'd be humming all over the place again within hours! But today, I remembered Integrated Science or was it Home Economics😊: mosquitoes need stagnant water to breed! I rushed outside: close to our living room windows were two buckets, both of them half-filled with rain/tap water, and with all sorts floating thereon. Mosquitoes everywhere!  The point being no matter how often I Baygon-ed the house, our respite from mosquitoes would always be temporary; unless their breeding places got destroyed. Plus insecticides have their own discomforts and side-effects and the mosquitoes would eventually become resistant to them too.

Certainly this is John, many of us are thinking right now. We believe that Christ loved John more than the rest of the disciples because of this phrase, even though not once does it say "the disciple that Jesus loved the most."😊 It only says Jesus loved John. But did you know that the phrase "the disciple that Jesus loved" appears ONLY in the gospel according to John? Guess who wrote this gospel: John! This situation is akin to two brothers, let's say Peter and John, diarising their day out with their loving dad- Peter: John and I had a fantastic day out with daddy. John: Peter and the child that daddy loves had a fantastic day out with daddy. Believers, Christ loved all of the disciples but John was conscious of Christ's perfect love for him, the same perfect love with which Christ loves you and I. John reflected this in his gospel account, hence "the disciple that Jesus loved" (remember, not"loved the most") appearing on

Imagine what would have happened to the Samaritan woman at the well if Jesus had yelled His disgust at her. She had had five husbands and the guy she was shacking up with at the time was not her husband. But Jesus never condemned her. No finger-wagging. No accusations as this is the job of the devil the Accuser. Jesus is Saviour. He saves from sin. He does not accuse. He is an Advocate. He defends; took our guilt. He saved the woman and she became an evangelist! Are you sick, depressed, distressed, discontent, in debt, oppressed, lazy, addicted to bad stuff....less than perfect? Of ourselves, we all are less than perfect. Don't make the mistake of thinking that your own sins are not that bad. James 2:10 says  "For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." One man's disobedience brought about all of these things; brought sin into the world. One Man's obedience, Christ's, is what makes us righteous and live in

Believers, let's examine 2 Timothy 3:8-9, which many false doctrine preachers try to twist to their own advantage! See verses 1-5: 1"But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good,4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people." At first, you would think this is just about people who are sinning openly and leading outwardly vulgar lifestyles but consider verse 5:   "having a form of godliness but denying its power...."   The NLT version says  "They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly." Such people have a form of godliness (righteousn