Saul was Knocked to the Ground! Forced Dismount from a Horse?

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EVER heard the saying “Get off your high horse!”? Where do you think that came from? … Do You Still Need Him?

“GET OFF that high horse” – Some believe there was a horse or donkey involved and yet there is no mention of such in the text. Saul was knocked to the ground, that’s for sure and yet such does not require riding a beast. The road from Jerusalem to Damascus covered over 135 miles (220 kilometers), so he would have wanted to ride a horse to get to Damascus faster, and yet there is no indication he was on a horse. It seems some early “Christian” art depicts Saul on a horse in his conversion account on the road to Damascus. We do know from the text, as we read it in a moment, that Saul definitely knocked to the ground at there appearance and hearing of the voice of the LORD. So, for the sake of example, let’s know he was knocked down and if you wish, one can imagine that Paul was riding a horse or donkey in his mission to stamp out Christianity. EVERY true disciple has the divine Person of the Holy Ghost living in them and so EVERY disciple is anointed! YES, every believer needs a fresh infilling and to be more anointed, but stop acting as if you are superior to other believers. You simply aren’t and fooling no one but yourself and the gullible you seek to look up to you as you rob glory from the One who bled to redeem sinners like us! It’s all about Jesus, not you! Dismount or you will be abased into the bowels of hell by Christ, the anointed One (Matthew 23:12). Drop the flesh-flattering title, cease drawing attention away from Christ, and just be Jesus’ disciple and servant – which we do not deserve to be!

LIKE SIMON THE SORCERER IN ACTS 8, THOSE WHO FLASH AND WIELD THEIR TITLES AND POSITIONS OVER YOU SEEK TO BRING YOU UNDER THEIR WITCHCRAFT SPELL SO THEY CAN EXERCISE CONTROL OVER YOUR LIFE WHICH IS SOMETHING GOD ALONE IS DUE. BY REASON OF CREATION, THE LORD OWNS ALL SOULS AND ALONE RESERVES THE RIGHT TO RULE OVER EACH HUMAN BEING (EZEKIEL 18:4; REVELATION 4:9-11, ETC.).

Of course you still and will always need the LORD and His saving mercy, and yet, do you realize this great need for Him?

Listen to the very one who was ousted from his proverbial high horse and blinded (knocked down) by the LORD for his arrogance and murderous rage against the Christ and His beloved people. Listen to what Saul of Tarsus, now Paul, had learned since being blessed to be brought low:

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead: ¹⁰Who delivered (past) us from so great a death, and doth deliver (present): in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us (future).” 2 Corinthians 1:10

Saul of Tarsus went from his self-elevated position on the high horse to being brought low in humility by the Savior. Let’s peek into this monumental event.

Acts 9

“And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, ²And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. ³And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: ⁴And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁵And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. ⁶And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. ⁷And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. ⁸And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. ⁹And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.”

Jesus abruptly interrupted Saul’s crusade to destroy His Gospel and His people. Saul of Tarsus was mercifully granted repentance unto everlasting life as participated with his own free will.

The whole of the world received the Gospel of Jesus Christ largely due to this man Saul/Paul. What would have happened if Saul of Tarsus has not been found by Christ and brought low in humility?

Saul was a Jew among Jews, extremely accomplished in his religion (Philippians 3:4-8). As he was humbled in repentance and regenerated, only then could God use Saul who was renamed Paul. The same is the case for you and I – As we are brought low in humility, and only according to the depth of that brokenness, can we be used of the LORD.

Are we truly saved? Do we not know that salvation is His gift and that we truly merit His wrath? (Romans 3:10-26; 5:17-19; 6:23) If so, just WHAT boasting have we? What iota of self-boast still remains in our hearts? Our only boasting should be exclusively in the saving mercy of Jesus Christ Himself!

“…that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. 7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” 1 Corinthians 4:6-7

Someone has wisely stated that:

“There’s not a saint without a past or a sinner without a future.” unknown

With the LORD, this statement is so true. Oh and this is no license to live ungodly after He finds and saves us! Never. Yet, somewhere in each life, our eyes must be placed upon the nail-scarred, risen Savior and LORD Himself and not mere men who are all faulty.

Paul said he did not preach himself but rather Christ.

“We preach Christ crucified.” 1 Corinthians 1:23

Showing people Jesus – preaching Jesus and Him crucified – is what Paul did and he also said that “no good thing” except Christ dwelled in Him (Romans 7:18). We must announce our own utter and perpetual need for Christ and God’s grace which is truly what being “poor in spirit” means (Matthew 5:3). Preaching Christ should include our own testimony of His saving grace in our own lives – both in the past, in the now/present, and future.

“Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God.” 2 Corinthians 3:5

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead.” 2 Corinthians 1:9

He’s the only Savior and we are His servants – “For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Corinthians 4:5)

ALL men need God – severely and perpetually!

NO mere man ever ceases the desperate need for the LORD and His saving mercy!

Some in Christ realize this and some don’t yet understand this, due to their spiritual immaturity.

Personally, as a soul saved by the mercy of Jesus Christ, I do not wish to act or pretend as if I live in some zone that is not penetrable or that there is the slightest goodness in and of myself. Remember how David let down his guard and found out that without Christ reigning presently, he was susceptible to the enemy and sin (2 Samuel 11). We must learn from this and that’s exactly why God has this in His blessed Word (Romans 15:4). The believer should remain in a posture of desperate need – hungering, thirsting, and in great need of God, every minute of the day. The things this man after God’s own heart (king David) cried out in Psalms is our example (Ps. 42:1-2; 57:7; 62:8; 63:8, etc.). Perhaps we need a real trust in God that makes us vulnerable to and dependent upon Him and not try to put up some pious, religious facade, a mere act, as if we have no more need of God’s saving mercy. Such a disposition is under girded with pride and arrogance which God hates (Proverbs 8:13). His saving grace in salvation is given to us in the past, present, and future and yet that grace of His salvation is contingent upon our current humility (2 Corinthians 1:10; James 4:6-10; 1 Peter 1:9, etc.).

Are we not instructed to be open and transparent?

“Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16

Perhaps there is a time when each of us would do well to readily and publicly admit what God already knows – that we all have “faults,” are nothing without Christ, and are desperately in need of His present and perpetual mercy and saving grace.

We must rid our minds of the falsehood that salvation is only something of our past. We must understand that God requires genuine faith and repentance both initially and ongoing (Hebrews 3:6, 12-14; 10:26-39).

There’s a great breakthrough in this honesty. We are not self-sufficient and by ourselves we are totally nothing, even when at our “best.” Grab this:

“LORD, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is: that I may know how frail I am. 5Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee: verily every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah.” Psalms 39:4-5

What did the Bible just tell us that man is, even “at his BEST state”? – “altogether VANITY.” Any questions?

Saul was Knocked to the Ground!

The LORD knocked Saul of Tarsus “off his high horse” of pride and unwarranted religious arrogance. Does the LORD need to do the same to us?

Jesus said that “without me ye can do nothing” and so it’s time that we admit that we need God and stop hiding behind the farce that we have arrived (John 15:5).

THERE IS SO MUCH EXCUSE-MAKING IN MUCH OF WHAT PRETENDS TO BE CHRISTIANITY. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE FOR SIN, PERIOD. YET, IN ORDER TO BE DELIVERED, EDIFIED IN CHRIST, AND EMPOWERED BY HIS DIVINE GRACE TO OVERCOME, VICTORY BEGINS WITH HONESTY – BEING HONEST ABOUT WHO WE ARE AND WHO HE IS AND ANNOUNCING HOW DESPERATELY AND PRESENTLY WE NEED HIM.
JESUS SPEAKS OF THE “HONEST AND GOOD HEART” BEING THE ONLY TYPE HEART THAT GLORIFIES HIM (LUKE 8:15). CATCH THIS. MEMORIZE THIS TRUTH.

ANYone still holding a stone of condenmation in their fist? – “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7) The quicker we own up to what God said about all men – that without Him we are ALL utterly corrupt, depraved, have grossly sinned against Him, and are desperately wicked – the quicker it is that we will be broken and humbled with contrite hearts before Him (Genesis 6:5, 12; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-23, etc.). That’s exactly what pleases God (Psalms 34:18; 51:17; Isaiah 66:1-2, etc.).

JESUS WAS THE ONLY ONE WHO QUALIFIED TO CONDEMN THE WOMAN TAKEN IN ADULTERY AND HE DIDN’T. IN LIGHT OF THIS SIMPLE FACT, JUST HOW ARROGANT AND BLINDED WE WOULD BE TO RENDER UNDUE, SINFUL CONDEMNATION TOWARDS ANOTHER PERSON IS OUR ATTITUDES OR WORDS! BE AWARE THAT GOD IS WATCHING AND HE SEES THE VERY THOUGHTS OF OUR HEART ATTITUDES.

Concerning those in our midst who render undue judgments on others who have fallen, one sister writes:

“That’s true. We do have a past, but thank God we been forgiven. BUT, some people won’t let you live it down!”

Can you sense her pain? Can you relate? Have you also been beat over the head with a sin you have long ago repented of?

Those people who wrongly condemn are controlled by their own sin and therefore the accuser of the brethren himself, Satan (Revelation 12:10). But look at how readily Jesus forgave vile sinners. Think about the mercy the unchanging Savior bestowed upon the thief on the cross in his last moments (Luke 23:41-43). Think about how uncondemning HE was to the woman at the well who previously had 5 husbands and was living with another man (John 4) … then, did God not use her to go into town and tell everyone she had just met the Jewish Messiah!!!! put that in your pharisee pipe and smoke it (as the saying goes)… how about how merciful JESUS was to the woman caught in the very act of adultery …. notice that the only people He condemned were those self-righteous devils who threw her at His beautiful feet (John 8)….when the smoke cleared, that women was forgiven, told to go and sin no more and those unrepentant religious devils were sent packing on their way to hell …. go figure … we don’t have a clue yet about how loving and merciful God is to those who turn to Him ….. memorizing these 2 verses from HIS Word changed my view of God (Ps 86:5, 15)…. also, the whole chapter of Lk 15 is all about the restoring grace of God! Somebody should shout Thank YOU JESUS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Now that You Know You are Totally Washed, Forgiven, and Cleansed, Let’s Ask: Can God Use You?

“Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was old,… and Lazarus was dead…. Now, what’s YOUR excuse? Can God use you or not? God doesn’t CALL the QUALIFIED, He QUALIFIES the CALLED.”

Paul wrote “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” 1 Corinthians 15:10

Do you want to get deeper into God’s Word? If so, send a reply requesting the “Moments with My Master” email that is sent out to edify Christ’s body. Sign up Here.

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A PLACE CALLED HELL [podcast]

How does God’s Word describe hell?

A PLACE CALLED HELL ….. Below is a detailed list of the unending realities of eternal damnation!

Hell is the ultimately judgment of God upon all who refuse to repent and receive Christ and therefore die in sin.

“Let death seize upon them, and let them GO DOWN quick (alive) into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.” Psalms 55:15

Details about hell revealed in God’s Word, the Bible:

A place of complete consciousness (all feelings)…..Lk. 16:25
Torment with fire and brimstone…………………………Rev. 14:10
Weeping and gnashing of teeth……………………….…..Matt. 8:12
A place of eternal remorse (devastating regret)…..Luke 16:25
A place of torments…………………………………………..…Luke 16:23
No rest day or night forever (eternal misery)……….Rev. 14:11
A furnace of fire with wailing…………………………..….Matt. 13:42
A place of everlasting burnings…………….…………..Isaiah 33:14
A lake (ocean) of fire……………………………………..…….Rev. 20:15
Unquenchable fire (ferocious flames)………..…….……Mark 9:45
Outer darkness (blinding loneliness)………………….Matt. 22:13
No 2nd chance to escape (utter hopelessness)……Luke 16:26
A place of sorrows (seething remorse and despair)….Ps. 18:5
A place of everlasting destruction……………………..2 Thess. 1:9

Even though sinful man is still looking for life on mars and the moon….. there’s only 3 places, locations that men exist:

“And no man in HEAVEN, nor in EARTH, neither UNDER THE EARTH, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.” Revelation 5:3

1. “in heaven”
2. “in earth”
3. “under the earth” which is where hell is (Matthew 12:40).

Jesus used the words “eternal damnation” to reveal to us that hell if forever, unending (Mark 3:29). The fires of eternal damnation shall feed upon the eternally conscious helpless souls of all who die in sin (Mark 9:43-49).

The reason people preach hell fire and brimstone is because they’re trying to save your eternal soul from hell fire and brimstone. Love!

PREACHING the biblical doctrine of hell, which is the eternal judgment of God, puts a fire behind believers, convicting them to forsake their lives in this world, to deny self, take up the cross and to follow Jesus, to press toward the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, to “lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2) Are YOU preaching hell – the eternal judgment of God in the domain of the damned reserved for all who die in sin? Please hit share. | Hell

“The way of life is above to the wise, that he may depart from hell beneath.” Proverbs 15:24

Heavenly Father, please grant to Your children an eternal perspective, in Jesus’ name. Amen dear LORD.

If you don’t think hell is divinely designed to be a loving deterent (motivator) from a merciful God, go read the words of the only Savior recorded in Mark 9:43-49 in the King James Bible. Satan’s new “bibles” removed this all-important passage.

ALL who don’t slow down, take the time to seek and listen to God’s Word, to hear His voice, will have all eternity in hell to burn in conscious misery, in utter fury and remorse to sulk on how they sinned away their day of grace. Going to hell is a choice. It’s irrevocable. There are no do-overs. If you sinned your whole life away, sinned away your day of grace, you will pay for your own sins in hell forever. If you reject the only sacrifice for your many sins – the blood of the LORD and Savior Jesus Christ – the domain of the damned will be your eternal abode. If you aren’t washed in the blood of Jesus and presently serving God, abiding in Christ, you are going straight to hell if you die today. …Don’t you dare share this, unless you want people to be saved…. from eternal hell.

“And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.” Luke 16:23

“And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.” Revelation 14:11

“And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.” Matthew 25:46

“The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish (in hell), but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

You soul is eternal and will be conscious for all eternity – either in the bliss and comfort of Heaven or in hell.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? 37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” Mark 8:36-37

What’s more important to you than the LORD? Who? What? What organization? What affiliation? What religion, religious affiliation? What family member? What friend? Is it really worth your eternal soul? Is Your Sin Really Worth Going to Hell for?

“So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:33

Denying that hell exists changes nothing….

MESSAGE RECEIVED:

“Rational and educated people realize that our sun will not last for ever and will self destruct at the end of it life. When that happens it will most likely also destroy all of the planets in our solar system. Sense Hell has always been considered to be located deep within the bowels of the Earth….yeah, right…. it too will be destroyed. So Hell really isn’t for ever. And you’re just making stuff up.”

REPLY:

Hell is forever. Jesus died for our sins. Rational and educated people know basic science reveals that a molten mass is in the middle of the earth which only confirms that God’s Word is truth. God’s Word repeatedly speaks of this reality.

How to be forgiven and saved:

“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” Romans 10:9-10

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13

Hell | Making Peace with God – Now, before it’s too Late

ALL who seek to hide/cover their sins instead of repenting and forsaking them, will perish. (Proverbs 28:13).

“He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.” Proverbs 28:13

There are no “secrets” with God because He sees all.

“In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.” Romans 2:16

“The secrets of men” are hidden from other men and yet nothing is hidden from God.

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Following the Faith of Abraham [podcast]

“There failed not ought of any good thing which the LORD had spoken unto the house of Israel; ALL came to pass.” Joshua 21:45

The LORD Keeps His Promises to His People

God could trust Abraham:

“For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.” Genesis 18:19

Of Abraham who lived by faith, the LORD says “For I know him” and if we love God, like Abraham, we are known of the LORD also.

“But if any man love God, the same is known of him.” 1 Corinthians 8:3

Does the unchanging God ever tell His people to leave where they are and go to another place? Yes.

“Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 4 So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him…” Genesis 12:1-4

Abraham met the condition and God fulfilled His promise. Could the LORD have blessed Abraham had Abraham not trusted and obeyed Him?

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

“The key is to say ‘Here I am.’ Abraham responded 3 times to God in Gen 22, when God called His name. It was an immediate response of obedience. Did he know exactly why God was calling him? No! It was the posture of his heart. Because of his faithful obedience the Lord knew Abraham was a God fearing man, who only cared about doing God’s will.” Karen Cochran

“And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:6

“And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” James 2:23

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.” Hebrews 11:8

“And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith.” Luke 17:5

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, please forgive my unbelief, which is a sin. Please wash this heart afresh in Your precious blood dear LORD Jesus. Fill my heart with faith, with love, joy, and peace. Please order my every step and be glorified in this life You gave. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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The Flesh will Never be Reformed it Must be Crucified [podcast]

The Divine Prescription is Clear and there are No Shortcuts

“And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.” Galatians 5:24

The law brings repentance, salvation while thereafter the crucified life, the cross keeps us from that sin which once separated us from the LORD, who now has saved us (Psalms 19:7; Romans 6).

There are lots of people peddling the lie of “self care” which is ultimately nothing more than absolute selfishness. Pure evil. We need SAVIOR care! Such “self-care” only perpetuates the prey, the victim, in their misery. The only way to deal with the wicked iniquitous nature, is to crucify it, not pamper it (Luke 9:23-24). It’s your time to get into God’s Word and follow Jesus (KJB). Repent, deny yourself, lay down your life and serve God and others, not yourself. Loving your wicked self IS your problem and so all “self care” is accomplishing is to make your problem bigger, to fortify the evil within (Galatians 5:16-24). Crucifying that evil by the power of the Holy Spirit who is then raising your upward in His grace, glory, and power, is the divine prescription (Romans 8:13; Colossians 3:3, etc.). Read Philippians 2:3-5 each morning this week. Jesus commands you to love God. Worship God. Obey God (Matthew 22:37-39).

All whom Jesus has saved make a decision every day, including this day. All who were initially saved and yet aren’t searching out and taking up the cross daily, prove they do not love Him, even though they may claim such. Each of us prove who we really love by who reigns in our lives, and by who dies. See Matthew 6:24.

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?” Romans 6:16

WHO we yield ourselves to today, proves who we truly love – either the Savior or self.

“But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead:” 2 Corinthians 1:9

We must declare and establish “the sentence of death in ourselves” so that our trust is in God who raised Christ from the dead and raises up all of His saints as they are crucified with Christ.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

Tired of sinful self and wanting it out of your way? Here’s the divine prescription: “But I keep under (subdue) my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27).

The fact that Jesus is coming back for a church, a people who are holy, let us peer into what the Bible tells us concerning overcoming the flesh, sin (Romans 6-8).

Jesus never said to try or try harder. no, Jesus says you must die to follow Him (Luke 9:23-24; John 12:23-25, etc.).

Jesus is sanctifying and cleansing by His Word a people, a church “a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25-27).

Times of fasting and prayer are doing yourself a favor and not God. Yes. You are crucifying self, getting self out of God’s way so that Christ is reigning in your life in place of sinful self! This should be viewed with absolute delight! (See Psalms 37:4; Hosea 6:6; Matthew 9:13, etc..) You are crying, you are driving a stake in the ground and declaring: “LORD, You must increase but I must decrease!” (See John 3:30.) That’s the “daily” operation of the cross God has ordained to be transpiring in our lives (Luke 9:23-24; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12; Galatians 2:20, etc.).

What’s your plan for a special time of fasting and prayer this week? There’s no mystery – you will not overcome the flesh, sin, without being crucified with Christ and there’s no better way than fasting and prayer. It’s the most direct route to being dead, buried, and raised up in the victory Christ alone can grant. Lay it all down, now. Memorize Colossians 3:3 and walk it out.

We simply can’t know just how deep we are buried in pride until we begin to obey God in fasting and prayer. Isaiah 58

Overcoming the flesh, walking in victory requires continually delighting in the LORD, worshipping Him “in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).

“Seek the LORD and his strength, seek his face continually.” 1 Chronicles 16:11

HOW many of us know that the flesh is never going to behave itself, never going to be tamed …. until it’s slain by the cross, crucified?

The flesh IS going to rage, be bent toward and do evil. That’s a given (Romans 7). This is why the cross, the crucifying of the “old man” and putting on “the new man” are essential to God bringing the victory in our lives! (Romans 6-8; Ephesians 4:23-25; Colossians 3:5-10, etc.)

Doesn’t the fact that our flesh does not like the cross, only confirm the need for it? What are the “works of the flesh” that will separate a once saved Christian from God? (Galatians 5:16-21) Though it’s never heard in the apostate modern church world, Jesus commanded the cross in the life of each and every person who would follow Him (Luke 9:23-24). The fact that our flesh hates the cross in no way changes God and what He said concerning the severity in which we are to deal with the flesh, with sin – and the eternal damnation that awaits all who don’t crucify the deeds of the body (Mark 9:42-49; Romans 6; 2 Corinthians 7:1; 1 Peter 1:15-16; Revelation 21:8, 27, etc.). When’s the last time you read the words of Jesus recorded in Mark 9:42-49 and took Jesus at His Word? IF you truly love Him, you will obey Him (John 14:15).

God fully expects for His people to induce, to participate in the crucifixion of our flesh, putting the self-life to death (Isaiah 58; Matthew 6:16; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Galatians 2:20, etc.).

Holiness is not the way to Christ but rather Christ is the way to holiness. Abiding in Christ IS abiding holy – in the divine definition of holy. The key is that holiness is NOT the way to God but rather Christ is the way to holiness, His way, His definition – which is the daily cross (Luke 9:23-24). Abiding fellowship with Christ, on HIS terms, is holiness – being set apart to the LORD, in the LORD (Psalms 4:3; John 15).

Sin is man’s master until Christ is man’s Master (Matthew 6:24).

No one overcomes by accident. Those who love the LORD, truly, not just in mere profession, will seek Him diligently and obey Him and therefore are brought into His victory by Him (Matthew 7:21; 22:37-39; Titus 1:16; 1 John 2:3-6; Revelation 2-3, etc.). The disciple must truly repent and cease all excuses for the sin that displeases God and walk as “MORE than conquerors through him that loved us” (Romans 8:1, 5-6, 13-14; 37, etc.).

Jesus came from Heaven to earth and successfully confronted evil, sin, death, and the devil by going to the cross and defeating them! Read Colossians 2:14-15; Hebrews 2:14-15 and 1 John 3:8. In Christ, with Christ, we defeat death by dying, laying down our lives (Hebrews 2:14-15). And Jesus, who conquered death, hell, sin, Satan, and the grave, sends us to the cross – co-death with Him to defeat all of our sin and Satan also (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 6; 8:29, 37; 2 Corinthians 4:10-12, etc.). His precious blood alone atoned for our sins positionally, and yet to enforce that victory in defeating sin and Satan in our daily lives, Jesus prescribed to us the cross life (the practical).

The only thing we can do about this reality – about the iniquitous fleshly nature – is to crucify it (Galatians 5:16-24). There can be no negotiation.

“Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 6:11

The one way to master sin is bow to Heaven’s Master and let Him master sin! The cross.

BECAUSE JESUS CHRIST ROSE AGAIN, ALL WHO ARE BORN AGAIN IN HIM ARE RAISED UP SPIRITUALLY IN THIS LIFE TO OVERCOME ALL SIN, SATAN, AND THE WORLD, AND WILL SOON be RAISED UP INTO ETERNAL GLORY WITH HEAVEN’S KING.

Rhetorical Question: What’s your fasting and prayer plan beloved? Your answer to this important, prompting question is before you and your LORD….

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:1-2

You are not serious about overcoming sin if you’re not yet setting apart regular times of fasting and prayer. The fact that you don’t want to fast is the clear proof that you need to fast. Currently, your flesh is in control! Once you are broken, you will delight in, you will look forward to those times of regular fasting! Read Isaiah 58. | The Amazing Benefits of Fasting and Prayer

Times of Fasting and prayer get YOU out of the way so Jesus can reign supreme! Isaiah 58

“For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.” Romans 8:13-14

“He must increase but I must decrease.” John 3:30

FASTING IS STARVING THE FLESH AND FEEDING THE SPIRIT IN ORDER TO BE BROUGHT BY THE LORD INTO FULL ONENESS WITH HIM AND THE FATHER, AND INTO THE COMPLETE VICTORY AND FRUITFULNESS HE’S ORDAINED YOU TO WALK IN (ISAIAH 58).

Read Romans 6-8.

I am not a good person. Neither are you. “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). Admit it. The Bible and our own failing experience in this life clearly reveal such to be the case. The sooner we become HONEST with that which is more than obvious, announcing freely and transparently that there is “no good thing” in us except CHRIST, the sooner God will begin a fresh, deeper work in us! See Romans 7:18, 24—the cross!

“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.” Romans 7:18

“Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds;” Colossians 3:9

The SINNER, the vile wretch I must first and foremost confront, is myself! See Job 19:28; Rom 7:18, 24; Ps 39:4-5 and Eccl 7:20. It’s essential to begin to understand the flesh, the fallen man, the iniquitous old man, in order to realize what we’ve been saved from and what must be crucified daily. The cross is God’s solution, His prescription to “put off the old man with his deeds.”

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;” Ephesians 4:22

The cross subdues the flesh, it separates us from being held captive to the dictates of the old man, the carnal fallen nature.

The Root of the Matter is in Me! | The Daily Cross

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