Greek Translation: “And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother, behold, this child is laid for a foundation for the fall and the resurrection of the body from the grave of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against; (yea, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also): that the thoughts and reasoning of many hearts shall be revealed what was hidden.” Comment: Simeon prepared Mary for many things to come! Even the miracles Jesus would do would be spoken against? Even today many speak against our Christ? The sword would pierce Mary’s own soul as she watched the Crucifixion! Jesus would expose the thoughts of many hearts! Jesus came to expose our sin! Then to save us from our sin! Christmas is all about the Salvation of humanity! Something we could never do on our own! Christmas is a solid case against our guilt and then an unearned acquittal of our guilt! However some like King Herod, Judas and many today thought that by their own efforts they can hide their sin from God! So foolish as to get rid of the only one who could save them! Sin is a strong addiction! It brings out the worst in us! It compliments evil! Confession is difficult because people are in love with themselves but not God! It is all about making yourself God! You decide who lives or dies rather than dying to self and let God live in you! All false religion is about making yourself God! God became a human to make us fit for Heaven! Without Christ no amount of human effort will ever make us fit for Heaven! It will only prepares us for Hell. No one can forgive you except God himself! Just like a negative film it takes light to expose the true image! We were made in the Image of God but only His light can expose and correct the imperfections in our image! Let God see you through the blood of His Son! Merry Christmas! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com
Tag: addiction
What Did Jesus Say About Following Him? Matthew 7:13-14
Jesus had a radical message! You can only enter in at the narrow way, narrow passage or narrow gate to follow me. A narrow gate would only be about the width of your shoulders. You cannot carry any baggage with you when you go through it. Following Jesus through the narrow gate requires focus with no distractions in the way. The broad road or gate leads to destruction. Jesus does and did not go this path. It is a dead end road. Few people choose the narrow gate. American culture is more Christ resistant than anytime in our history. To follow Christ today is more costly than in previous generations. We are considered radicals by our culture and ridiculed. We are considered on the outer fringes like space cadets. Did you ever notice the on-line surveys always give you a way out. You are never committed to a yes or no answer. Kind of like politics today. Christ gave His disciples no third choice. It was either Heaven or Hell. The same holds true for us today! Yes or no? Easy or difficult. Matthew 5:1-2. Jesus real audience was more than the crowds it was His disciples. They had already made up their minds to follow Him but their trust level was low. It takes time to figure out if you can trust someone. Jesus told them the Kingdom of God is right now! It was not yesterday or tomarrow. Living right now is Monday through Saturday working, school and difficult schedules. Jesus said let Heaven break into your boring day to day world. Jerusalem has 12 gates. The wide gate is the most used gate. Examples today are convenience stores, shopping malls, fast food, ect. We like the best paved roads with the fewest traffic lights. They even have drive through churches today. Just hear a message on the internet or television. Why go to church? Studies have found that women like to shop on the internet after 9:00PM. Why? Convenient! We like to choose the easy way over the difficult. Going through the wide gate we can take along as much baggage as we want. No constraints, no sacrifices, easy choices, no boundaries, no commitment applies to all who travel the wide gate. Taking this path leads to ruin. Jesus took a narrow path from The Judgment Hall to Calvary. It was also a steep climb carrying your Cross! He took your unforgiveness, hurt, pain and all your sin. Jesus was a teacher of virtue. Creativity exits between boundaries. Whether it be inventions, music, poetry, sciences, discoveries or even the work of a humble farmer. All great work is done within constraints and boundaries. Jesus had to be sinless to fix your sin. Because of the discipline of constraints and boundaries we have very few great people. People do not like boundaries. Live together why get married? Why study? Why work? Get on welfare. Pregnant? Get an abortion. Vote for the political party that offers you no constraints or boundaries. Revelation 7:9. Heaven is not sparsely populated but has a great multitude. Salvation belongs to our God! It is a free gift like a Christmas gift under a tree and is easy to find. Jesus is easy to find but very difficult to follow. Weddings are exciting but then the couples have to learn to live together. Marriage goes from easy to difficult. The wide gate is to get a divorce or just live together unmarried. To remain in covenant is a miracle from God and requires His Grace. To stay married is hard work and a challenge. Getting pregnant is easy but raising children is hard work. The family under the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman is God’s only plan and design for relationships and for the security of future generations. Worship even requires constraints and boundaries. All people will make one of the following four choices in their life. 1. Secularism- autonomy, it’s my life, live for yourself, no boundaries, no restraints. Not Jesus way. No! 2. Moralism- Follow the rules and get the life I deserve. Entitlement. Steeped in religion that says it is all about me. I deserve to be rich and famous because I am a moral person. 3. Religion- I owe my life to God. Obligation. Things better go right with me because I am serving God! Bad exchange. Problems come! Death and disease comes to all! 4. Grace- Jesus says your life for my life! Wonderful exchange! Great Exchange! My nothingless for His everything. Give God your life and He gives His life back to you! Stop living for yourself. It is a dead end. Let Christ come in. Welcome the Holy Spirit! You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you. What needs constraint in your life? Do you eat food for comfort? Do you have a drug or sex addiction? Do you feed your senses to no avail. Let Christ increase and you decrease. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and He will add to your life that will help you to victory. Source: Pastor Brady Boyd, New Life Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado. Message given Sunday September 1, 2013.
Drugs take down Elvis, Michael and Whitney!
Yes and along with millions more in the earth! Why? The pop star life does not satisfy! So reality of its failures is blurred with drugs to escape the emptyness it produces! The Bible has strong warnings against drug abuse. Particularly in the Book of Revelation Chapter nine, verses 20-21, Chapter 18, verse 23, Chapter 21 verse 8 and Chapter 22 verse 15. The english word used in these scriptures for drugs is sorcery. The greek root word is pharmakeia. We get our english word pharmacy from this greek word. Whether prescription or non-prescription or whether legal or illegal drugs can be abused! Alcohol is another drug that destroys millions of lives! Bible has alot to say about this drug also. If you have any of these addictions God can deliver you from them! Turn your life to Christ and ask Him to forgive you and give you the power to overcome this bondage! Get help from your local pastor! Ask him to pray for you! Money cannot save us! Only Christ can! Christ went to the cross for you! Go to your knees for Him and He will forgive you. After He has removed your guilt and shame you will be enpowered to live for Him! God will never turn His back on you! Turn your back on drugs and rush to the Cross! In Christ’s Love. James Sasse GodWhoisGod.com