Tune and Prepare!

You are right when You pass sentence; You are blameless when You judge. Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. Surely You desire integrity in the inner self, and You teach me wisdom deep within Ps 51:4-6 That is a little bit tricky for people to understand that we are already born in sin. As David says in one of the Psalms, “In sin my mother conceived me.” So that, to us, it may not appear fair that when the first people sinned, somehow sin was passed on and spread to all of humanity. But, in the end, the cross is not fair either. And so I think ultimately we sin because we’re sinners, and so we need to accept that we’re born … Just like we’re born into a certain family, certain parents, certain culture, race, gender, and so forth, we’re also born with this sinful nature. And so what the Bible says is that we need to be reconciled to God. So, when I was a college student, I like to think of myself as ...

Being able to help people in such an extraordinary way has given you a certain satisfaction, I suppose. I was very, very happy to see that some people were cured. But I never forgot who the Helper was. Whenever a letter like that came to me about healing, I would kneel down with those words: 'Look, My Saviour, this is for You, the thanks are for You,... but I can rejoice in this too, can't I? Were you also a pastor of the sick? I suppose praying over the sick and caring for the sick go hand in hand. If I was called to see a patient, that was the first question before prayer: "Is everything okay between you and the Savior?" In many cases, confession followed, clearing the way for a prayer of faith. James did not write in vain: "...even if he has sinned, he will be forgiven" (James 5:14-17) ... I am thinking here of the story of the healing of the man with a stroke (Matthew 9:2), who was first freed from his sins and then heal...

My little children, I am writing you these things so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ the Righteous One. He Himself is the atoning sacrifice {propitiation} for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for those of the whole world. 1Jn 2:1-2 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1Jn 1:9 The Faithful Who Stands in the Gap When we drop our guard and we sin (which the Apostle John knows will happen & we should confess), praise God that our saviour Jesus faithfully stands in the gap,* defends us, and is the one who forever states our innocent plea before God the Father. Indeed, from His fullness we have all received grace after grace (grace *upon grace: in place of grace already given) for the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. John 1:16-17 Through Moses came the Law. The ...

Tim Maton – Everyday Church, Wimbledon (Thoughts on 1Cor 5 - Some of the details ) If I had a title for my sermon, it would be “Holiness is a whole church responsibility”. What comes across in Paul’s letters, including this one, is his passion: his passion for Jesus, the Gospel, for people and the Church. It’s because of these passions that Paul desires a holy Church; one that honours Jesus, that proclaims the Gospel, and sees many people saved and transformed by it. Today I want to highlight three ways in which we can take collective responsibility for the holiness of God’s Church. Recognise the destructiveness of unchecked sin Don’t you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of your old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch - as you really are. (verse 6b-7) Yeast is a type of fungus that’s been commonly used for millennia to make bread rise and alcohol ferment. Despite its amazing properties, the many mentions of yeas...

From the book: "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan I saw then in my dream, that he went on thus, even until he came at a bottom, where he saw, a little out of the way, three men fast asleep, with fetters upon their heels. Te name of the one was Simple, another Sloth, and the third Presumption. Christian then seeing them lie in this case, went to them, if peradventure he might awake them, and cried, "You are like them that sleep on the top of a mast, for the Dead Sea is under you — a gulf that hath no bottom." Prov 23:34 "Awake, therefore, and come away; be willing also, and I will help you of with your irons. He also told them, If he that “ goeth about like a roaring lion ” comes by, you will certainly become a prey to his." 1Pt 5:8 With that they looked upon him, and began to reply in this sort: Simple said, “I see no danger”; Sloth said, “ Yet a little more sleep ”; and Presumption said, “Every fat must stand upon its own botto...

From the book: "Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan And as he (Christian) was troubled thereabout, he espied two men come tumbling over the wall, on the left hand of the narrow way; and they made up apace to him. Te name of the one was Formalist, and the name of the other Hypocrisy. So, as I said, they drew up unto him, who thus entered with them into discourse. CHRISTIAN. Gentlemen, whence came you, and whither go you? FORMALIST and HYPOCRISY. We were born in the land of Vain-glory, and are going for praise to Mount Sion. CHRISTIAN. Why came you not in at the gate, which standeth at the beginning of the way? Know you not that it is written, that he that cometh not in by the door, “but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber?”. Jn 10:1 FORMALIST and HYPOCRISY. They said, that to go to the gate for entrance was, by all their countrymen, counted too far about; and that, therefore, their usual way was to make a short cut of it, and t...

We all went astray like sheep; we all have turned to our own way; Is 53:6 ..a woman named Martha welcomed Him (Jesus) into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what He said. But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.” The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

"Put These Glasses On" Reading the Bible - to see what God sees "The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." Psalm 19:8 ...by nature we don’t see well. We don’t see ourselves as others see us, let alone as God sees us. Reading the Bible is like putting on a pair of glasses. You begin to see what God sees. You get to know what grieves and offends him. Reading the Bible will open your eyes to the sins that lurk in your life. How does reading the Bible open your eyes to see the sins you must avoid? Look, for example, at 1 Corinthians 13: “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth” (1Cor 13:4-6). These two verses draw attention to at least seven sins that grieve the Spirit of God: (1) Impatience – love is patient (2) Envy ...

(our spiritual and mental hygiene) This article is part of the "Vitalize" pack Our salvation and our adoption has been prepared in advance (Eph 1:4-6) by His love, but our lives continue to go on in this disordered, ungodly world. The Lord Jesus and his apostles take great care to maintain the hygiene of our lives. They never confuse salvation with sanctification . 2Cor 7:1 Therefore, dear friends, since we have such promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit, completing our sanctification in the fear of God. Let's start with the well-known scene: Remember that Jesus Christ washed the feet of his disciples. During supper,... Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,... rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel t...

Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel. Pro 25:4

Pre We have left 2020 behind us. Everyone has probably seen and heard fake and untrue news on TV, on the internet or from people they know in the immediate vicinity. The time has come when not only images but also video material can be created almost completely altering the original information or character. Different words than the original are put into people's mouths in the media, different gestures are made, small differences, big differences, not conveying quite the same original thinking. Not quite the same & almost the original. This is the alchemy of the liar. Since the Scriptures are the Word of the Everlasting God, it is not surprising that they prophetically foretell the events that are to come. Therefore, we can anticipate that the lies of the evil one will spread in many new areas and in new ways. John point to this in the Revelations: A mouth was given to him to speak boasts* and blasphemies. He was also given authority to act.. ...

Guilt or Throne? spiritual, mental hygiene, mutual need, purification, confidence, etc. This article is part of the "Vitalize" pack Dear saints and beloved! I recently visited a church which has a beautiful family life but suffers from a typical 21 century sickness. The guilt. Interestingly, leaders have told me that members are not as eager to come and get their lives back on track when they commit sins. They simply do not confess them openly. Since it is pastoral responsibility first - I really don't understand, why... The place we came from I believe that guilt is one of the most serious attacks on the humankind. People, nations can do "amazing" things to get rid of guilt. They walk thousands of miles, they squeeze themselves, they oppress themselves and unfortunately they oppress others just to see their own lives as superior and better. In fact, we see whole networks promising "grace" without any chanc...

"Catholicism" in the Protestantism pre When we talk about the "Catholic person" we should see the original definition which refers to a diverse spirituality, not some religious tradition and trend contrary to Protestantism but the attitude of a person, based on his culture, family and community. Definition of the Catholic Catholicism is a rich and diverse reality... The word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective, katholikos , meaning "universal," and from the adverbial phrase, kath' holou, meaning "on the whole." The term was first used by St. Ignatius of Antioch (d.c. 107) in his Letter to the Smyrneans.. Ever since the Reformation, the word has commonly been used in opposition to Protestant, but its real opposite is sectarian, which pertains to a part of the Church that has separated itself off from the worldwide Church.. {Catholicism. ©1994 by HarperCollins Publishers.} From the non-religious, Bible centered sta...

Jézus egyik jól ismert példázata a Máté evangélium 13. részében található. Ez a tiszta búza között talált konkoly története. De vajon értjük-e az eredeti üzenetet? Jézus egy másik példázatot is hozott: "A mennyek országa ahhoz hasonlítható, mint aki jó magot vetett a mezején; amíg azonban mindenki aludt, jött az ellenség és gyomot vetett a búza közé,... Amikor tehát a búza felnőtt és kalászt hozott, megjelentek a gyomok is... ekkor eljöttek a földesúr szolgái és azt mondták neki: - Mester, nem-e jó magot vetettél a meződre? Akkor honnan jöttek ezek a gyomok? - Egy ellenség tette ezt. - Azt akarod tehát, hogy menjünk és szedjük össze őket? - Nem. Mert ha összeszednétek a gyomokat, azzal együtt a búzát is kitépnétek. Hagyjátok mindkettőt együtt nőni az aratásig; és az aratás idején megmondom az aratóknak: "A gyomot gyűjtsétek össze először, és kössétek kötegekbe, hogy elégessétek, a búzát pedig gyűjtsétek be a pajtámba." Mt 13:24-30 Jézus péld...

Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. Gal. 5:16 if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these... the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.

A well-known parable of Jesus is found in Matthew 13. It is the story of the weed /darnel /tares found among the pure wheat. But do we understand the original message? Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat,... So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well... the slaves of the householder came and said to him: ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy has done this.’ ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ‘No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers: Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn‘ Mt 13:24-30 Jesus' par...

Arm yourselves! Recognizable influences, habits False or wrong models The following Scripture passages provide an opportunity for a meditation exercise without commentary. The subject is the Christianity: not an "all-inclusive religious philosophy" but knowledge of the apostles' teaching and life model. 1Peter 4:1 Since ...Christ suffered in the flesh, [for us, for you] arm yourselves also with the same intention (for whoever has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin), so as to live for the rest of your earthly life [rest of the time in the flesh] no longer by human desires but by the will of God. You have already spent enough time in doing what the Gentiles like to do, living in licentiousness, passions, drunkenness, revels, carousing, and lawless idolatry. They are surprised that you no longer join them in the same excesses of dissipation, and so they blaspheme. Ephesians 5:1 ..be imitators of God, as beloved children, and li...

"Faithful to Christ – A Challenge to Truly Live for Christians" A book by Charles Spurgeon T  here is nothing the human heart falls into as easily as pride, and yet there is no sin that is more frequently, more emphatically, and more eloquently condemned in Scripture. Pride is unjustified. It stands upon the sand, or worse than that, it puts its foot upon the waves of the sea that give way beneath its step — or worse still, it stands upon bubbles that soon must burst beneath its feet. Of all things, pride has the worst foothold. It has no solid rock on earth on which to place itself. We have reasons for almost everything, but we have no reasons for pride. Pride is something that should be unnatural to us, for we have nothing to be proud of. Pride is foolish. It brings no profit with it. There is no wisdom in self-exaltation. Other sins might have some excuse, for people might seem to gain by them. People might make excuses and find temporary worldly benefit in...