A neighbor, who was a very close friend of our family; she and her husband lived a few doors from us and they visited often to play cards. His wife was able to foresee the future. She would tell my mother what was going to happen and it did. I could relate a number of examples. It was just plain spooky how accurate she was! I am completely convinced that there are psychics that can tell the future. I believe it could be of the devil. One thing I believe: the devil or anyone else, other than God, can’t tell our future unless we allow it. And neither can you be hypnotized unless you allow it. Scripture teaches we must not allow anyone to tell our future as it is not pleasing to God. There are people who can prophesize and I believe that comes from God. If some humans can see into the future, God knows from the very beginning, they will be in the Lamb’s Book of Life.

Many believe that you cannot be saved unless God chooses you. Yet, Scripture tells us that God wants everyone to accept Christ as their Savior. How do we explain the “elect” or God’s foreknowledge? If God knows prior to a person’s birth who will become a Christian, is it He who chooses or the individual who He knows will not accept? We are also told that there will be no excuses not to accept God. Therefore, should we not conclude that everyone will be given the opportunity to accept but most will refuse? Is it difficult to understand God chooses only those who He foreknows who will accept Christ as their Savior and they become the elect?

Deuteronomy 7:6 – 11 – “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh King of Egypt. Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands. But those who hate him he will repay to their face by destruction;
he will not be slow to repay to their face those who hate him. Therefore, take care to follow the commands, decrees and laws I give you today.”

Christians, as God’s new chosen ones, were also given rules to live by and in most cases similar to the requirements that were given to the Jews who refused to be obedient and rejected God. I Thessalonians 4:8 – “Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.”

1. We are to live according to God’s Will and live to please Him.
2. We are to fulfill the purpose we were put on this earth to do.
3. We are to be responsible and accountable by living a life of service.
4. We are to share the gospel with everyone. Israel had been unwilling to spread God’s Word.
5. We are to actively witness for Christ.

These are just examples to show that what the Israelites were unwilling to do, Christians have been given the mission. Christ came to confirm what God expected.

These are important goals for people, especially if they find themselves in troubling times being tested and going through life’s trials. We are to have an attitude of prayer at all times. How else are we to develop a relationship with God? As Evil tempts, the bad decisions we make or problems coming from others never come from God. However, God allows what happens in our lives. But no matter the circumstance we find ourselves in, as believers, the Holy Spirit is with us to encourage and guide us through it. We are to give thanks that God’s Spirit is there with us. His Spirit can give us peace and joy. God’s WILL can be fulfilled by each of us. We must learn to trust God completely and in all things. We must believe, if we are committed, God will continue to open and close doors in our life to keep us on His plan. I have experienced this many times in my life. However, I did not realize His purpose for me until years after becoming a Christian. I always had the attitude: God whatever you want me to do open that door and He has.

I turned to a Christian friend and asked: “How much do you rely on prayer and the Holy Spirit?” I was talking to a person who has been a Christian for many years about the world problems in general. It didn’t take long before I asked him about how the Holy Spirit was working in his life. It was kind of like: “Well I have the Holy Spirit, but what do you mean?” I replied: “Do you realize the power that is within you having God’s Spirit to direct and check you?” He answered: “I know the Holy Spirit is in me because the Bible is very clear about that. But what are you getting at?” I told him: “What do you think the Holy Spirit is in you to do? Don’t you believe that God’s Spirit wants to help you just as much as you would want to help your own children? The Bible is very clear that salvation allows us to become adopted into God’s family and a part of God comes to live within us and help us live by God’s plan.”

There is a term called “The doctrine of election”. God gives salvation to whomever He pleases. For example, God chose Abraham and his descendants as His special people. He then indicated that the earth will be blessed through Abraham’s people. They were given land, they received His Word and were to convey that Word to the entire world. God knew, before He chose them, they would be a disobedient nation and fail to present His Word to the world. John 4:9 – “The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?’” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) Jews would not associate with most gentiles. How could God spread His Word without human help? Therefore, He sent His Son to establish a New Covenant in which followers of Christ would spiritually change the world by spreading God’s message of grace. We are part of God’s plan and each may be given a different direction.

This is why we have sent missionaries throughout the world to accomplish what others were unwilling to do. The supernatural experiences many of these missionaries have, has confirmed that this is what God has expected of Christians. But there were times when Christians stopped spreading the Word. The vacuum allowed the spread of pagan religions. If Christians refuse to spread the Word, the devil will fill the gap.

Don’t ever think God doesn’t know who we are and what we are doing every minute. Is God seeing us focused on the world and ourselves or on Christ and eternity?

Years ago before children had the toys that are available today there were soap box derbies. Dads and sons would build racing carts and enter them in the soap box races. They may be made out of orange crates on short two by fours with axles and wheels. They had a steering mechanism and brakes. That was the total racer.

Most of the contestants were eager youngsters who leaned forward or hunkered down in their carts hoping to decrease wind resistance thereby increasing speed. One youngster was visibly frightened at the prospect of going too fast down a long hill and compensated by riding the brake to keep his speed under control. He finished last.

In my younger days, some of our relatives would go to the Pacific Ocean for a weekend and would dig clams and have clam chowder. To this day it is my favorite soup. I remember wading out into waist deep water, standing mesmerized as a huge wave approached, broke and knocked me flat in a swirl of sand, saltwater and tangled arms and legs. My next try resulted in a repeat of my first humiliation.

I use these two illustrations to describe the Christian’s frame of mind when the first few steps of faith are taken. A fully committed Christian is like a youngster who takes his foot off the brake and goes full tilt down the steepest of hills. The committed Christian is also like a person who wades into the surf, dives headlong into the first wave and swims into the vast Pacific Ocean.

The problem that exists is once the initial wave of enthusiasm passes, and it will, there is an inclination to settle into a kind of treadmill mentality. Once the excitement has passed, life returns to dealing with the day to day pressures that surround us. So before any more steps are taken we need to learn how to maintain momentum and stay charged.

If you have been reading my blogs, almost everyone will tell you that you must develop a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit and be tuned into His presence. I use the word “tuned in” because it is not always a conscious awareness. But when something noteworthy happens, whether it is considered a good thing or a not-so-good thing, the presence of the Holy Spirit comes to mind and is cause for celebration. He is your inner partner when someone aims a six-shooter between your eyes; He is present when the roof caves in or the stock market crashes as we have seen or He is with you when oil is discovered in your back yard. Recently, I spent two days in the hospital and prayed without ceasing knowing that God would heal me.

It is His partnership that is energizing. It’s the difference between sitting in a foxhole alone and scared or sitting in a foxhole with the Joint Chief of Staff right there with you. It has been my experience that many Christians, when it comes to stepping out in faith, ride the brakes or only put their toe in the water. If they only knew what God has in store for them and what they may be missing, they will only know when they get to heaven. But what an exciting life we could have if we just put our faith into action.

We as Christians have a tremendous advantage. We have been assured that we can always enjoy beneficial circumstances and it enables us to transform the most hopeless looking position into a favorable position. However, it is all based on the condition of our spiritual heart which determines the kinds of decisions we make.

Every one of us has a worldly nature and a spiritual nature. The two natures are in conflict with each other because the worldly nature is self-serving and the spiritual nature is God-serving. Therefore, the condition of our spiritual heart determines the kinds of decisions we make. Business decisions, job decisions, family decisions and personal decisions are all affected by our true nature or heart.

Countless Scriptures make the point that spiritual health is a direct outgrowth of our spiritual natures winning the conflict taking place within us. Galatians 5:17 – “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want.”

Which nature are we allowing to win? Is our worldly nature saying “Keep your foot on the brake; you may risk losing everything”? Or are we willing as committed Christians to hunker down, with our foot off the brake saying I am willing to let it all hang out that I might fulfill God’s will in my life. And that might require taking a risk! It may even require swimming with the sharks.

Every Christian must know that God’s will is that we continually grow spiritually. His will is that we emulate the life of Christ. This is not possible unless we study the Bible to know why and how Christ lived. Reading the Bible is also for our protection. It provides knowledge that protects us from false teaching that can get us sidetracked from maturing spiritually.

I Peter 1:13 – 16 – “So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.” NLT

Holiness begins with the proper preparation of our minds. Our minds must be holy if our behavior is to be holy. For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. (Proverbs 23:7) – Our minds must be under the control of the Holy Spirit. We are to live a life of hope by faith. We are not to be negative, pessimistic, judgmental or even fatalistic. We must live our lives as God intends: We are to have a life of joy with the knowledge that our rewards in heaven will be determined by our deeds.

A holy life is based on a lifestyle of active obedience. If we are disciples of Jesus, we must overcome our self-centeredness and follow Christ’s teaching. We are told that we must not let our prior desires control who we are and our behavior. We must recognize the source of holiness comes from God’s love. Scripture specifically points out that we can only become holy as we become more like Christ and we cannot be holy on our own. It comes by allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us.

God wants to develop a relationship with us. He cannot do so if we lack knowledge. Yet, many Christians fail to read and study the Bible. Chances of developing a relationship will not happen if you do not know Him or have the faith to believe His promises. Without knowledge you may be led astray by false prophets. There are those who will lead you to believe there is nothing wrong with worldly pleasures. If these influence you, it could cause a Christian to doubt God and you then may disobey Him.

Is there any god that comes before the true God? Do you allow money, prestige, power or other worldly pleasures to become your god? The more I learn from the Bible the more I become aware of my weaknesses and achieve a desire to overcome them. I know how important it is to have a heart that is quick to repent and ask for forgiveness.

Earth is only a temporary place where we live. When we become a Christian we are given a citizenship in God’s kingdom and it is eternal. So we are actually asked to live as strangers in this world but under the rules and regulations specified by the Bible. That does not mean we ignore our U.S. citizenship requirements.

II Peter 1:4 – “And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”

Christ has given us the power of life. Christ gives us this promise: Believers can participate in the divine nature. Christ promises that we can become Christ-like with a divine nature. It is with our divine natures that we build our relationship with God. However, we are not divine in the way God is divine. The promises encourage us to take action to grow spiritually. Participation in the divine nature enables believers to escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. He tells us how this can be done in the following Scripture:

II Peter 1:5 – 7 – “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.” NIV

Believers are to use God’s power and every ounce of determination to add goodness to their faith. Christ gives us the divine nature and power but it is up to each of us to make every effort to set aside our sinful desires and actively seek the qualities the Bible describes. Goodness means we are to be generous and be cooperative. Knowledge is to lead us to salvation and enable believers to live a godly life. Self-control strives to obtain complete mastery over sinful human desires in every aspect of life. Perseverance is the ability to endure suffering of evil without giving up one’s faith. We are to face adversity at all times with the knowledge that God’s Spirit will assist us. Godliness is an awareness of God is in all of life and a lifestyle that exemplifies Christ and is empowered by Him. Brotherly kindness is an intense love to brothers and sisters who are Godly believers. Love is to be unconditional. It is to love with no strings attached. It is the love that God gives to believers.

Examine yourself! Are you growing spiritually as a Christian? The more we grow the more we want to give of our time, talents and resources. As we grow we should sense more of God’s love. Watch and see God will prepare us for greater tasks once we can be trusted to do His will.

Central Christian Church, LV a small traditional church was concerned about the many lost souls in Las Vegas. For months we prayed, asking God how do we reach those lost. We received the commission to spread the Gospel as described in Scripture. We changed our entire worship service and the unchurched came in large numbers. As many were becoming saved, there seemed to be little change in how some lived. Church leaders recognized that salvation was more than just forgiveness. It means a new life. More than that, John 10:10 told us: “The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”

It seemed too many were becoming saved to stay out of hell. Salvation is more than an insurance policy. Unless we understand our nature and purpose we will not understand salvation. It is more than taking away the risk of being lost forever. New converts needed to be taught how to live a Christian life. Matthew 28:18 – 20 – “Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We were to teach new disciples to obey all the Commands Jesus instructed the Apostles to live by.

We encouraged them to become a part of a Sunday Bible class that would teach them how to live a holy life. When we ran out of room, we started small Bible groups that met in homes. Too often, more time was spent socializing than Bible study. We continued to see too little change in one’s lifestyle taking place. Here is what we learned in helping new converts mature spiritually:

Man was created in the image of God and God is a Spirit. Man is a spirit inside of a body that has inherited a self-centered nature with a disobedient will. He was given freedom of choice. He could follow the purpose God created Him for or do his own thing. He is capable of loving and obeying His Creator or loving himself and rejecting God. We know that one must be born again. We had a choice of who we allowed to control our mind, which controlled our life. Was the body going to be in charge or would our spirit? Since we were made in the image of God, God wants us to reject the bodies control and allow our spirit to be directed by His Spirit that He places within the body of a new convert. Do you think this is as easy as it sounds? Who wants to start life all over as new people giving up control of themselves to a Spirit they do not know or cannot converse with? Who, initially, has that much faith?

Christ tells us we cannot serve God unless we love Him. We cannot love Him unless we know Him. We cannot know Him unless we have faith to believe in Jesus Christ who, as His Son, represents the nature and character of God. Jesus, very carefully, stated that to satisfy the total law, we are to love God with everything we have and others as ourselves. It is also implied that we are to love ourselves and God requires self-acceptance, self-esteem and respect. We must not fear that God will diminish our individuality. Love ends bondage and fear. It is the love of God and others that becomes a part of our new spiritual nature. Keep in mind that we were created to be a shadow of God. He has given us His Spirit that we might become what He planned for us to be.

When we are told to live a holy life it means to have a pure love, a personal and mutual love between God and man. It also requires we have the same love for others. Love is the most powerful motivation that man has. Therefore, we are told that sin is a distortion of love.

To help prepare a person for spiritual maturity it can best be described in the 13th chapter of I Corinthians as follows:

I Corinthians 13:1 – 3 – “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

If we possess all the spiritual gifts but do not have love the gifts are useless. We may understand all mysteries, have all knowledge and faith to move mountains but do not have love, it may prevent our ability to produce results. We may have the gift of giving but, if we give out of duty and not out of a passionate love for the cause, our treasures in heaven may be less than we expect.

I Corinthians 13:4 – 7 – “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”

Scripture defines love as being unconditional and expecting nothing in return. Love is having patience with people but not necessarily with normal events of life. A Christian who is unkind lacks love. Love does not envy. Envy can means, if we can’t have it we do not want others to have it either. A person with love will not boast. Love keeps us humble and it never offends. Love looks for the good in people.

I Corinthians 13:12 – 13 – “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

When all the thing we take pride in pass away we will still have love. The one thing that Satan can never take away is God’s love for man and man’s love for God. Without love we will never know the mysteries of God or live with Him eternally. Faith without love can be cold. Hope without love is the potential to missed opportunities. Love is the passion that gives us faith and hope. For those who ask: After salvation what is next and were instructed in knowing the importance of love had a complete life change. It is too bad; more Christians did not realize that it is primarily love that will help us become what God intended for us. They are the ones who struggle being a Christian. In eternity, God wants people who will be obedient to the lifestyle Christ lived while on earth. Love is MANDATORY!