Jesus speaks truth!

Jesus was crucified for His truth. He spoke with the authority of God and pointed out the fallacies of the current teachings. We see so many examples of fallacies in the teachings of the Sanhedrin. The Pheresis constantly condemned those that did not follow the Law, give regular tithes, and practice good works to gain salvation. They ridiculed and blatantly disregarded anyone that were lesser in society. They held themselves so high in stature, that they saw themselves as mediators between people and God. We see the major issues with this. Good works do not gain us credit or secure our spot in heaven. There is only one mediator and that is Jesus Christ! See, Jesus came and spoke to the masses, healed many, provided sanctification, and gave sermons of validation to those seeking truth. Jesus grasped the attention of people far and wide coming for the renewal of their spirit and receive healing. They travelled to hear the Son of Man and the Son of God. His words of inspiration rang throughout the land that even the great Nicodemus, teacher of teachers, questioned his own beliefs of faith. 

Redemption

Redemption and miracles were the primary wants of the masses. They wanted the signs and wonders, and the teaching was just a bonus. Our human nature is ignorant of what we truly need, and our desires and wants come first. They were no different in those times. They heard they didn't have to pay for a ticket to heaven.  They didn't have to bow to the religious leaders or do good deeds to work off a debt. Jesus came to us in his 30's. A man of purity and love. He knew that His time on earth was going to be short from the time He began preaching to His final breath when His spirit lifted. His teachings were so astonishing and powerful that those who followed Jesus, left it all for Him. In the end Jesus gave His blood, every last drop, to remove our sins and redeem our eternal soul. Now, it is not just something that occurs. We have to work very hard as Christians to repent and live in the way of Christ. We will never be perfect! we will never be without sin! We will always have to repent and turn away from our human nature and give ourselves to God. That is redemption! We know Jesus died for our sins, we must believe that He was the son of God, and we must believe that this happened for us. God is merciful and full of grace. We have to be willing to accept it!

Misconception of the devil

Do not think for one second that you are off the hook. Just because you recited a simple phrase and attended a church for a month, that you are out of the frying pan. Too often, people think they do good and ask for God to save them, that they become saved and can continue to do things as they have. I know so many that love the idea of drinking and doing wrongful things, then going to church on Sunday and feel they have been forgiven just to turn around and do it again next weekend. Am I saying that is wrong? No, but repentance is the act of turning away from our sins and using conviction to stay on track. We can have great weekends without drinking or partying. We can be so productive in the word of Christ and still enjoy weekend festivities. There are so many addictions that distract us from serving God. The devil loves playing with many different things as his toys. That is all we are, toys for his destruction. Anger and temptation are his playgrounds to grab a hold of you and remove you from your path. He uses deterrents to draw you away from God and loves the idea of Christians turning away to do his devilish deeds. Don't let the devil complete his work! stay away from the deceptions of the prosperity teachings.

Redemption is bittersweet.

Redemption and salvation are not just fruit of ripe sweet succulence. The bitterness of the sin we carry, and the wretchedness of our ways cannot be fixed by our own attempts. We have to have Jesus mediate. We have to have Jesus enter us into Heaven, as no one goes to Heaven except through Jesus. All the human nature, wrongful acts, sinful lusts, and foolish hearts cannot be restored unless we live for Jesus and serve our God the Father. All the bitterness in our lives stems from the serpent, in which Eve was deceived by. The redemption of our eternal is sweet through the blood of Jesus, like grapes used for new wine. 

God, thank You for Your son! Thank You for Your Holy Spirit and the opportunity to grow closer to You through reading and studying the only word that matters; the truth of Christ Jesus, and the plan laid out by You! In Your Holiest name, we pray. Amen!

Written by: C.D. Lake