Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves to obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?
But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.
I speak in human termes because of the weakness of your flesh, for just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of of righteousness for holiness.
For when you were slaves of sin you were free in regard to righteousness
What fruit did you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death.
But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God you your fruit to holiness and the end everlasting life
For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Saviour.
THOUGHT TO PONDER
Every day I wake up and I have various thoughts on my mind. Some are good, and some are not. For example I might think of making breakfast for Lucy my house-mate or about how foolish my boss or a person in my life is - knowing full well that everything that I am I was given by God and everything that person was given to them by God and when I actually judge or criticize a person, I am in essence criticizing the One that created them.
So I become aware of my sinful nature. Aware of my own fleshly and carnal nature I naturally - like Adam - want to hide from the light of God. I could do this by justifying my thoughts, making an excuse, blaming someone else for what I am doing, or just slighting the issue and ignoring the word of God concerning the things I should do. This is loving darkness. Or I could as easily say a prayer and confess that I have criticized others and felt that I was better than them. I could ask for guidance not to repeat this or ask God for strength to overcome my own nature and walk in the way He wants me to which in a spiritual language is coming to the light so that our deeds may be seen and that we may receive forgiveness and grace to overcome the sins that seem to so easily ensnare us.
The devil loves lying to us, and he would do anything to prevent you from going back to that light - the throne of grace. He will tell you that you've gone far to many times - but tell Him God's mercies are new each day and His fountain of love and mercy inexhaustible. Or he could tell you it's too late for you and you are too far from God - let Him know that God's arms are outstretched all day long and there is no night or day for God, anytime Papa has His arms open Tell Him about Psalms 138:7-12, . Or he could tell you that your sins are too many too evil - tell Him about what God says that though you sins be as scarlet - I will wash your sins away.
So today - I ask myself this question - Have I found my identity in my Father yet, will I not constantly run to Him with my failings that I may be healed.. I know that nobody could ever separate me from the love of my Father the love of Christ.
The first time I got saved I was 13 years old. A preacher came and I really don't remember what He talked about, but from a Catholic background - somehow what He said wasn't so calm and quiet. There was a power, a passion and something very attractive about his ways. It made an impression on me - it made a personal relationship with a real God seem real. For the first time God seemed very close and getting to Him very simple. So when He made the altar call - I felt silly going infront almost foolish but I was so eager so anxious to experience this God, so eager to experience the rapture and be magically taken to heaven that I really didn't care what people thought. If God was real it would be worth the embarassed.
So I went and I repeated the prayer that was made - and when i was done - I waited and behold nothing spectacular - atleast that I could see happened. There was no thunder. There was no lightning. There was no sensation in my body and no I did not sprout any wings. Slightly disappointed I held on - but I was so full of doubt,. Here I was being told by people that my life would change - and they really believed it, and so I believed them - but apart from a hunger that was burning inside me to see God, or to experience Him and a funny unexplainable peace - nothing else happened. Needless to say - I got tired of praying for God to show Himself to me and it seemed that everyone was having fun doing the things they wanted except me. And the burden of being considered different - wierd by my friends was baggage I could do without. Another thing also greatly hurt me - though I denied it. I felt that if God was real - then He hated me cause He wasn't showing me who He was - His magic - His Power. Either that or all Christians were hypocrites - that they were just people who wanted to make others feel bad - pretending to believe something they clearly cannot prove to exist - acting all self-righteous as for the ones that actually believed in this Jesus - I dismissed them as very shallow minded people; with no ability to think for themselves, unliberated, full of fear, and as for intellect - well I considered that they had no brain even.
I made a decision to ignore all issues that concerned Christians and pursue other things that would had to do with God. He clearly did not exist so why bother. I started to apply myself to learn other things - I developed a love for reading and a passion for philosophy - I engaged in debates and become quite good at it. I worshiped intellectuals, and spent alot of money buying books on the paranormal, the mind over matter -thing - kinetics, astrology, animal magnetism, and coz this is on the internet with all due sensitivity to those that follow these religions I tried buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, bahai's, the worship of art, literature and music as a religion, i worshipped nature and it's beauty - of course in the way it's done in our age - through advocacy for animal rights etc,. i did yoga - one thing I will tell you is that I tried them and then I gave up I decided to stop being so serious about life. To just enjoy the good things - the food, the clubs, the latest music, the latest clothes. To get rich to be a really good dancer - hip hop and the like. To just be good to people and have a clear conscience. I even stopped being so guarded about guys and I loved the feeling of being in demand. I loved that my fone was always coming in with texts from dudes asking me out. I loved the confusion - the thrill of Friday nights just getting wasted all night, and Saturday too. I loved living on the edge - being with it. From a nunlike existence to the devil wears prada from i'm living fast and dying young to investing money from my grandchildren all these lives I have lived them.
Nobody preached to me. Nobody said anything. I was deeply hungry inside - hungry for God but terrified and disgusted at the same time by the prospect of becoming a Christian.
Today I am a Christian. A follower of Christ. If I can describe what this walk is like - I will tell you one thing. I feel like a soldier because it is a soldiering on each day. Sometimes I feel like an alien caught up in a world where I speak a language people really do not understand. They laugh at me. They scorn me. They mock me. I am struggling to reveal the power that is working in me and at the same time desiring for people to accept the reality of God. The reality of Jesus. People do not even believe in Satan. When I talk about the devil I might as well be talking about a witch on a broomstick. And even the witch on the broomstick seems more convincing. People are looking for the TRUTH every where except where it is in Christ Jesus and maybe it's just souds like bigotry or arrogance and how I wish it wasn't so.. for the sake of your receiving salvation but if you read 1st Corinthians 1:18-31. God did this deliberately.
Christ is simple and yet a mystery. He is weakness, where people seek miracles and signs, He is foolishness to those that seek wisdom, logic or understanding and yet in this very weakness His strength has been revealed and in this foolishness i have seen His great wisdom.
It all starts with faith. We first believe that Jesus came to earth and that He was God but He became a human being because He loved us; His creation. Obviously the claims He was making about who He was amongst a people and a culture so zealous about God - He got crucified. They couldn't stand His "blasphemy" The Jews expected something more special a bigger sign a bigger miracle and maybe that is you today - you want a sign but none is given. Then He rose again. This seems even harder to believe and to the Greeks was considered mere gossip and exaggeration. Who saw Him, How sure are you? How come this and this didn't happen? You seek to understand with the mind. But you can't - it's not until you're at your wits end that you choose to surrender. Which is why He says the kingdom of God belongs to such as these - referring to children.
After I believed this - actually I told Him that it's hard to but I would accept it, comes obedience. Because the first thing the devil does when you say that prayer is to tell you that nothing has happened or changed and a host of other lies such as how silly this is. But something more profound also happens the Holy Spirit comes to you and tells you what you need to do. Such as a hunger to read the word of God - which is what happened to me, a desire to fellowship with other believers a desire to pray to seek God's face. So I told the devil to beat it and asked God to help my unbelief, to help me - cause I was struggling. These are the words He whispered to me. and to you. I am passionate about you. I do not want to lose you, my child. Walk in obedience to Me, and seek me first before everything in your life, and I will reveal myself to you and when I do you will never need anything else in your life.
This walk has been an adventure to me. I have cried, in frustration just wondering why God seems so far, and later thanked Him for being so quiet after I understood why. God is Real. Jesus is Real. In this walk with our Lord, I have sinned, I have been angry, I have laughed, I have worshipped, I have adored, I have wondered, I have asked, I have been lost, I have doubted, I have been unsure, I have barely hang on, falling, getting up and one thing I would say is that even unto my death - bed, on that day of our Lord I know I will have lived my life as a soldier that answered His call. I am not better than you are but I have made peace with God, the most important thing any human being needs to do in their life.
And now I need to get those cookies. I am starving. Love you people. Pray for me - I pray for you that we shall continue to press on, and to endure and to teach of these things we have been freely given.
May our blessed , the Savior of mankind, abounding in grace and mercy, perfect all that concerns you. Establish you. Guide and protect His church. amen
He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And He who loves Me will be loved by My Father and I will love him and manifest myself to him.
JOHN 14:22
Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, Lord, how is that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world
JOHN 14:23
Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
JOHN 15: 5
Abide in Me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.
JOHN 15:10-14
If you keep My commandments you will abide in My love just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you that My joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. This My commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this than to lay down one;s life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you.
