Author: Hank

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Ever since the Garden of Eden, guilt has battered humanity.

I am sure you have felt guilty at times. For stuff you did. Or maybe did not do. How about when you did well but felt you could or should have done better? Yikes! None of us can win against guilt.

When I was saved, the church I was in didn’t fully understand a person is saved, not kind of saved or partly saved, and it is by God’s GRACE — a gift. And, that we are JUSTIFIED — declared NOT GUILTY — by the blood of Jesus shed at Calvary. I was told my heavenly father was looking down on me and expecting me to get things right. Talk about pressure! Worse than the world in fact.

But what does Scripture say? Here is Hebrews 10:22; “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.”

Or Galatians 2:16, “Nevertheless, knowing that a person is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, …since by works of the Law no flesh will be justified.”

To be justified means we are NOT guilty. Jesus became our sin bearer, assuming responsibility for ALL OUR SINS.

If we are righteous and justified, we cannot still be guilty of sin. 2 Corinthians 5:21 reads, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Thank God for the cross of Calvary where all our sins have been nailed, where the Divine exchange took place.

God in His grace never says we are not doing enough, giving enough, praying enough. We who have faith in Jesus Christ are not guilty. Forever not guilty. We are never out of fellowship with God. Consider the blood of Jesus, and rejoice!

As you begin to understand the FINISHED work of the cross, it changes the way you view your mistakes and failings. You no longer dwell on your weaknesses – there’s no power there. Instead, you fix your eyes on Jesus who was “delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Romans 4:25.

Sure, the accuser may bring a case against us. Even an excellent case! However, the issue is not whether we have stumbled but whether Jesus has been raised. And if He has been raised then we have been justified. Case dismissed.

It takes no faith to look at our mistakes and condemn ourselves. But it does take faith to look at Christ and say, “Because of you, I have been judged not guilty for all time. Thank you, Jesus!”

Yes, don’t look at your mistakes but look at Jesus and thank Him that the guilty verdict against you has been thrown out. Take another look, and COME ALIVE!

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Last week I began sharing about being led of the Spirit. It sure is better than trying to predict the future! We have God’s unbreakable promise to lead those who believe in Him by His Holy Spirit and show us things to come. John 16:33.

Asking the Lord to speak to you about something is an awesome way to pray. Praying in the Spirit, in tongues, is praying directly to God. Do so, and expect a reply dear friend.

As I said, Scripture doesn’t give us much detail about being led of the Spirit. God’s not limited how He leads. But we do find some more instances in Scripture to gain wisdom.

In Acts 10:19-20 Peter was awaiting lunch when he suddenly fell into a trance and saw unclean animals in a sheet. He heard the words “Kill and eat.” And “what God has cleansed do not consider unholy.” Three times. Then the Spirit told him to accompany the gentiles at the door asking for him. And off went Peter, to the home of a centurion named Cornelius and the rest is glorious history for Jews and gentile.

Luke 2:27 says an old man named Simeon came in the Spirit into the temple, and blessed the baby Jesus and His parents. But again Scripture doesn’t reveal how he entered the Spirit nor give us an idea of what being ‘in the Spirit’ is like. Acts 8:29 records the Spirit simply speaking to Philip, telling him to go up and join the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch.

Paul and Barnabas went on their first missionary journey after the Holy Spirit spoke during a time they were ministering to the Lord with fasting, Acts 13:2. Audibly? Inner voice? We don’t know.

In Acts 16:6-7 Paul and Silas were forbidden to enter certain regions with the Gospel. Not sure how the Spirit got that across to them. Paul in Acts 20:22 declares he is bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. How did he know? We not given insight.

In Revelation John is suddenly, immediately, “in the Spirit” and seeing things in visions.

I recall one time before cell phones and map apps that my wife and I set off to the next town to meet someone for prayer. We could not find their house. Time went by. We prayed. Drove around. No success. More prayer. More driving. Finally we asked a passerby if they knew where such and such number house on such and such street was. He replied, “Is this some kind of joke? You are parked in front of it!”

Conclusion: if you desire to be led of the Spirit, there’s a good chance you ARE being led of the Spirit even if you don’t it!

Friend, be willing to be led. Desire to be led. Ask to be led. Pray to be led. Pray in the Spirit. You WILL be led of the Spirit!

And, you’ll — COME ALIVE!

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Are you living life trying to figure out the best way to go? Making the best or worst decisions? Trying to predict the future? That’s a lot of work! And even the best decisions can be shipwrecked by unforeseen issues, circumstances, events, politics and such.

Thankfully, God has provided believers with a better way of living life. He has given us His Holy Spirit to lead and guide us into His best for us and show us things to come. John 16:33. Have you experienced this Holy Spirit leading and guiding and showing?

Well, it’s always good to ask God. Psalm 143:10 reads, “Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Even if we don’t specifically ask Him, because we are His children, God may impress us with guidance or revelation.

As we look to Scripture for understanding, we don’t find much detail or instruction. To me that indicates it’s not so much what WE do but what GOD is doing. And what He does is without limitation!

Matthew and Luke record Jesus being led up by the Spirit into the wilderness, but Mark 1:12 says “… the Spirit impelled Him to go out into the wilderness.” It is the same word later used of Jesus when He cast out devils. What was that like? Well, I suggest to you that it was an irresistible drawing by God. Has there been a time in your life when the Spirit was beckoning and all you knew was that you MUST GO?

It has happened to me. The first time I was about 4 months in Christ Jesus. During one night I suddenly found myself wide awake in bed, with the presence of the Lord all around, and I heard a voice in my spirit say, “I want you to preach My word to My people in all the lands.” Hesitatingly I asked, “Is that you Lord?” Something like young Samuel when God was calling him. No reply. I said, “Lord if that is you, can you repeat it?” No reply. I went to sleep and a short time later the exact same experience unfolded! I responded to this upward call of God to preach the Good News; it felt, well, irresistible, what I was made to be!

Four years later a missionary was speaking in our church and an offering for his travels was being taken. I prayed, asking the Lord how much to give, and heard the Him say, “He is My man, and I’ll take care of him. I want YOU.” I knew immediately, perhaps like Peter in his little fishing boat after the great catch of fish, that this was God calling, NOW. And like Peter, I left off my gainful employment to follow Jesus wherever He led. God was calling and I had to go! It wasn’t loud, it wasn’t controlling. It was sweet, inviting, and irresistible!

Dear friend, if God is calling, pick up the phone! If God is calling, answer! Whether it is a gentle prompting or impelling word: answer! You’ll COME ALIVE!

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“Rob” Evans is a Christian children’s songwriter and performer best known as The Donut Man. Perhaps you have heard of him? I had the joy of working with him some 40 years ago in a VBS in New Kensington, PA as he was just starting out. He wrote a song about life: “Life is like a donut, like a donut; like a donut, life is like a donut, there’s a hole in the middle of your heart. You might be okay for a while, then the truth will wipe away your smile….”

Here in Florida, filled with retirees, I see unhappy faces, a great many unhappy faces.

We know only Jesus can fill that hole. God created us. With purpose, with a destiny. With Jesus, we can fulfill His destiny for us. Without Jesus, it’s just not the same fulfillment. Even for the successful by this world’s standards, even for famous scientists without Jesus. Who knows what further, greater, discoveries, what destinies they may have had had they known Jesus.

There’s something more than just knowing Jesus, and that is to live our lives as though He is coming back soon. The blessed hope of our salvation. We find that in several places of Scripture. Like the faithful servant of Matthew 24:45-51 versus the evil or faithless servant recorded there.

The faithful one lives as though his master may return that day. For us, we might say being faithful to put off the old, put on the new, allowing the fruit of the Spirit to grow in us, shunning the works of the flesh, walking worthy of the Lord, growing in grace and knowledge of the Lord.

The unfaithful one is a believer but in name only. That one today may even go to church every Sunday but live like an unbeliever the other 167 hours of the week. You know what? That person is wasting their life! Forsaking true life, they are squandering the precious gift of life, hurting themselves, hurting others, and accumulating a world of — regret.

“Don’t be that person,” says Jesus. “Don’t lose sight of me and waste your life.”

No one sets out to waste their lives, but this is what happens when we live independently of the Author of Life. As Paul Ellis notes, when we try and write our own story, without input from Jesus, we write inferior stories. Even if our lives have the appearance of success, they leave us empty and unfulfilled.

We were not made to live disconnected from Jesus. Stay connected dear friend, live IN Him; give Him full reign in your life. You’ll truly — COME ALIVE!

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Matthew 22:39 records Jesus’ words, that we are to ‘love our neighbor as ourself.’

Yikes! What if you suffer from self-rejection? Hate who you are? Where does the strength come from to love one’s neighbor despite what they have done to you?

If you go to church, I’m sure you have been told to love your neighbor as yourself, since Jesus said it in Matthew. Ah, be careful there my friend. Remember, I’ve told you before to take a look at who is speaking, and who the audience is before you assume the words of the Gospel are for you to obey. Why? Because the New Covenant did not come in until Calvary. Most of the Gospel accounts record the time prior to Calvary, where Jesus spoke the Law to the legalists and grace to the humble.

In this case we find the Pharisees have banded together and sent one of their own, a lawyer, to question Jesus in an effort to trap Him. If we read it and think it is for us, we may believe we have to come up with the inner strength to love others. If we are even partially successful, it will likely feed our pride but more likely it will minister condemnation (that’s what the Law does) as we realize we cannot love that sinner.

And if you’ve been badly hurt by someone, being told you have to love the one who hurt you is well, next to impossible. You may try to forgive them, but find it is just too hard.

Thanks be to JESUS who ushered in a better way. The New Covenant way. At first it may sound even more impossible. John 13:34 reads, “I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” Jesus repeats this in John 15:12, saying, ““This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.”

Yikes! Jesus loved us to the uttermost, the guttermost as preachers may say. He surrendered His innocent life to rescue us.

So what can we do? How about admitting we cannot love according to the new commandment. Then ask Jesus to help us to love others as He did. And ask Him to heal the hurts of our own heart. And that we may know the Father’s love for us.

As we receive the Father’s love, we will be healed, made whole, and empowered to love others, even those who have wronged us.

Yes, receive His love, then share it with others so they may — COME ALIVE!

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Paul Ellis in his Escape to Reality series, made the pithy observation,
“Religion says, “Make promises to God.”
But the Good News says, “Trust God’s promises to you!””

Awesome! In Deuteronomy 5:27 the people said to Moses, “Go near and listen to everything that the Lord our God says; then speak to us everything that the Lord our God speaks to you, and we will listen and do it.” You could say the Old Covenant was — quite religious. Man was given rules to obey. Man promised to keep the rules. Man broke the rules. Repeatedly. Religion sets the framework for failure, for there is nothing in religion that empowers a person to fulfill its demands.

In Deuteronomy 5:28 and 9 the Lord responded, saying of the Israelites, “They have done well in all that they have spoken. If only they had such a heart in them, to fear Me and keep all My commandments always, so that it would go well with them and with their sons forever!” God knew outward rules do not affect the heart, and what Israel needed was changed hearts. And that would only come later through Calvary and what Jesus did there — for us!

Thank God for the Good News! Jesus our sin bearer, punishment taker, heart transformer, new creation maker, and so much more!

Some of the ‘so much more’ is that God has made promises to us — our part is to believe God will KEEP those promises. That’s faith! Promises like eternal life, never to forsake us, to dwell in us forever, to give us an eternal home in heaven, to answer our prayers.

Here’s another promise: to keep us from the ‘hour of testing.’ That’s found in Revelation 3:10. The entirety of the Good News speaks of patient endurance in the face of trials. Even the coming of Jesus “in the fullness of time,” Galatians 4:4, implies patient endurance of sinners by God. And consider the patient endurance shown by Jesus in every step of His earthly ministry where He experienced opposition, resistance, rejection.

The Philadelphians continued to believe the Good News in spite of opposition and rejection. They ‘kept the word of His perseverance,’ continuing to persevere, trusting in Jesus regarding their salvation. No going back to avoid difficulties.

My friends, Jesus keeping us from that hour of testing is a powerful promise! Keep believing Jesus continued through and purchased salvation — for you!

Yes, continue in the faith — you’ll COME ALIVE!

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Paul begins Romans chapter 8 with a revelation about the grace of God. “THEREFORE” he begins, “there IS NOW – NO CONDEMNATION – AT ALL – for those who are IN Christ Jesus.”

Talk about the Good News of God’s grace toward us, my dear friends! And it is all thanks to Jesus; not our feeble efforts to please God. Not us walking right or getting things right. Paul says it is for all who are IN Christ Jesus. That’s important. Since God the Father does not condemn Jesus, neither does the Father condemn those who are IN Jesus. Believers. You and me. We are not condemned by God; we will not be condemned. We just cannot be condemned for we’ve been placed IN Him.

In chapter 7 Paul described the predicament that came with being told the right thing to do. Even if he wanted to do right, he found he could not. His flesh successfully resisted. In himself he stood condemned, and so do we. We all have need of a Savior! And our Savior has placed us IN Himself.

That first word, “Therefore,” speaks of a logical conclusion. And that is, if we are IN Christ Jesus, then we are ONE with Him. He is the head of the body, we fit in the body. Since He is not condemned; neither can we be condemned.

Notice Paul writes “NO condemnation,” not “less condemnation.” That’s where many believe they are – thinking their standing has improved in Jesus. It has not been improved, it’s been COMPLETELY TRANSFORMED, changed to a status of “no condemnation.”

This place of confidence and peace with God comes after the confusion and conflict we found in Romans 7. Notice that our position in Jesus Christ is the reason for no condemnation. We believed in Jesus, He forgave our sins, took our punishment, made us Come Alive to God with new natures. If we walk according to the Spirit or waver according to the flesh, it does NOT affect our status of “no condemnation.” The blood of Jesus has taken care of us, not our walk.

Verse 1 shows we are free from the GUILT of sin. And what about verse 2? It tells us we are free from the POWER of sin. It reads, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”

The law of sin and death was a strong and seemingly absolute law. Every sin we commit and every graveyard proves it. But the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus is stronger still, and this law of the Spirit has FREED US from the law of sin and death. Although we may sin, we don’t have to sin; we have been freed from sin’s dominion. We are also free from the law of death; death no longer has any lasting power against the believer.

My believing friend, see today that God has placed you IN Christ Jesus where there is no condemnation. You are free from the law of sin and death. So rebuke that spirit of condemnation that’s been hounding you, or hovering over you — and COME ALIVE!

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Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 writes, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty IN GOD for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, bringing every thought into captivity to the OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST.”

This is really awesome dear friends. Paul is writing to Christians, Christians who, like us, are tempted to think in a worldly manner and to employ worldly methods in an effort to accomplish God’s purposes. Paul reminds them, and us, that we are different; we live in a different kingdom, God’s kingdom, ruled by King Jesus, and that our weapons are NOT like those of the world. We have spiritual weapons — and it is those spiritual weapons that are needed for the spiritual warfare that surrounds us all.

Most people think of carnal worldly weapons as things like guns and swords, but Paul was referring to the world’s manipulative and deceitful practices.

In Ephesians 6, Paul listed the spiritual weapons he used: the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. When the voices around us all shout “Do something! Act! Smear your opponents! Tell lies, bully, coerce, manipulate,” we instead rely on these spiritual weapons — and that takes faith in God. Paul reminds us they are mighty in God; they work!

David Guzik, author of the Enduring Word Commentary, points out that Christians often rely on and admire carnal weapons for the Christian battle.
The belt of truth? Nope. Use manipulation.
The breastplate of righteousness? Nope. How about the image of success.
Shoes of the gospel? Nope. Use smooth words.
Shield of faith? Nope. How about the perception of power.
The helmet of salvation? Nope. How about lording it over others.
The sword of the Spirit?Nope. Use human schemes and programs.

Remember, these Corinthian Christians had the strongholds in their own minds. They made the arguments against God’s mind and methods. They held on to every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We miss it if we think the love of manipulation, the image of success, smooth words, the perception of power, lording over authority, and human schemes and programs are just problems among unbelievers.

The carnal, human way is to overpower, dominate, manipulate, and out-maneuver. The spiritual, Jesus way is to humble ourselves, cease being “I” centered, and let God demonstrate His resurrection power through us.

When we fight with our spiritual weapons, we cannot be defeated; in fact we — COME ALIVE!

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Recently I’ve been thinking about LIGHT and ETERNITY, SPACE-TIME, Albert Einstein’s theories of general and special relativity. And the BIBLE — and GOD. While not a science book, everything the Bible has to say scientifically — is true. God authored the Bible, and God does not lie.

Let’s take light. God did. Genesis 1 says He first created the heavens and the earth. Perhaps that means space-time and placed the earth in it. Then He commanded light to be, and light was. And light was — that means instantly. From earth we measure light at a constant 186,282 miles per second. Nothing can exceed the speed of light, even light. If you were moving at nearly the speed of light and turned on a flashlight in the direction you’re heading, the light from the flashlight would still be measured at 186,282 miles per second.

Back to Genesis 1. In verses :14-17 God placed the sun, planets, moons into the great expanse. And I love how simply Genesis 1:16 states, “He made the stars also.”

The James Webb space telescope is finding hundreds of billions of galaxies beyond what we could measure before. Stars beyond our ability to count, but God even calls them out by name. Scientists claim the far distant galaxies are over 13 billion light years away, and claim therefore the earth and this universe cannot be a mere 6,000 years old. A slam dunk, right? Not so fast….

Perhaps you have seen science fiction movies where space travelers go far away at near the speed of light and return to earth a short time later by their clocks, to find the earth has aged decades, even millennia. The movies are relating a true, proven phenomenon. As an object’s speed increases toward the speed of light, an external observer will measure that object’s time clock as slowing down, although if a person were on that object they would not be aware of that. Time dilation it’s called. Time slows down as you approach the speed of light. Isn’t that fantastic? There’s something else, called the Lorentz–FitzGerald contraction, where the apparent length of an object, or distances between objects, shrink as the speed of light is approached. The foot long ruler in the spaceman’s hand still measures a foot by him, but an external observer finds it shorter.

What’s this got to do with far away galaxies? Their light, moving at the ACTUAL speed of light, is getting to their destinations, planet earth in this case, INSTANTLY, for there is NO TIME and NO DISTANCE at the speed of light. This agrees with Genesis 1:15 where God placed bodies in the heavenlies to serve as lights in the expanse of the heavens — to give light on the earth; AND IT WAS SO says verse :17. Distant starlight reached earth instantly, not in billions of years.

We believers in Jesus are children of the light. One day He will catch us up to be with Him. Snatched away. How long will it take? The speed of light: instantly, no time at all. One moment we are here, the next we are with God. We dwell in the light, a different place from any place in space and time. Our mortal bodies put on immortality as we fully become citizens of heaven, of eternity, eternally!

Think of it, living at the speed of light, with no time, no aging, seeing Him just as He is. WOW – at that moment, truly, we’ll have fully COME ALIVE!

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Is the Great Commission getting you depressed? Do you see yourself as pretty wimpy when it comes to sharing the Good News? You’ve barely gotten a Good News sentence or two out in the past week? Month? Year?

Well, you might just need a reminder on what it is you are sharing. Words from GOD. Mark in the 4th chapter of his gospel records Jesus’ words when He’s drawing farming parallels to the word of God and people’s hearts. There we find 3 parables, that of the sower and the soils, the seed sprouting, and the mustard seed.

Jesus explains that the seed in these parables is the word of God. Jesus makes clear that the word of God itself is both ALIVE and POWERFUL! In one parable, the farmer sows his seed. Then in ways mysterious to the farmer, the seed takes root, sprouts and grows. The farmer doesn’t make it grow; he sows it and the seed, being alive, takes root and grows. 

We sow God’s word. ALIVE words. These ALIVE words are able to take root and sprout and come to maturity in the lives of those who hear it. We don’t have to understand how, for this is God’s doing – and it is marvelous!

And how about the mustard seed parable? It shows that even if what we share is tiny, almost nothing, what counts is not the amount we shared but WHAT it is: the LIVING and ACTIVE word of God. The parable shows that that little bit can grow hugely in a person’s life!

Feeling better? How about the sower and the seeds? That parable begins with “Listen!” and ends with “If anyone has ears to hear….” How important it is for us to listen for what God is speaking! The soils make that clear. 

‘Why speak in parables?’ asked the disciples. In response Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:12, where it sounds like God doesn’t want people to understand Kingdom truths lest they repent and He will begrudgingly have to forgive them. 

Confused? Don’t be. Isaiah penned those words when Israel was in great rebellion against God. If God spoke clearly, in black and white to them at that time, say with a few lightning bolts and singed bodies, they would have turned back to God, outwardly, to avoid judgment, but their hearts would not have changed in the least. And God would have had to forgive them. 

But — with parables, those refusing to listen, and learn, would continue their rebellious way, while those who did listen would learn, understand, repent from the heart and be forgiven. Clever, hmm? 

So dear friends, share some Good News. Perhaps you are planting a seed. Or seeds. Or watering. Even one seed can change lives! So share. You’ll be helping others — COME ALIVE!

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