Mercy + Grace = Salvation!

Luke 1:50  Greek Translation: “And his mercy or the relief from the misery and consequences of sin is on them that fear or reverence God from generation to generation.” Comment: This verse is part of Mary’s song of praise! We lived on mercy before grace came! His mercies endure forever! Jesus said blessed are the merciful for they will obtain mercy! Mercy is given to everyone! Mercy is a holding pattern until grace rescues us! It rains on the just and the unjust! We cannot earn the rain it is just there for us! Mercy does not require a response but grace does! Judgment only comes when we reject his grace! Mercy held me until the time when I received his grace through Jesus Christ! When I graduated from high school back in 1967 two of my classmates were killed in accidents before the year ended! Does that mean I was better than them? No! Mercy stayed me until I came to Christ! Mercy handed me off to grace! Remember after Jesus was crucified he went into the heart of the earth and preached to the captives! Mercy had held them there until Christ came to save them! You can reject mercy but not grace without consequences! The Old Testament Saints were secured by mercy until grace came! To reject Christ is judgment the opposite of grace! People reject the mercy of God everyday but not his grace! By grace you are saved and not of yourselves! Everyone gets mercy but the expiry date comes when you reject his grace! When you reject Christ! Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever! That is good news for the saved and the sinner! You cannot do the math without both factors! You already have the mercy so what are you going to do with his grace? James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Sir Winston Churchill on Islam (Written in 1899)

At the time of this writing Churchill was a Officer in the British Army fighting in the Sudan of Africa. This is a quote from his book, “The River of War”. Quote as follows; “How dreadful are the curses which Mohammedanism lays on its votaries! Besides the fanactical frenzy, which is as dangerous in a man as hydrophobia in a dog, there is this fearful fatalistic apathy. The effects are apparent in many countries. Improvident habits, slovenly systems of agriculture, sluggish methods of commerce, and insecurity of property exist wherever the followers of the Prophet rule and live. A degraded sensualism deprives this life of its grace and refinement; the next of its dignity and sanctity. The fact that Mohammedan law that every woman must belong to some man as his absolute property, either as a child, a wife, or a concubine, must delay the final extinction of slavery until the faith of Islam has ceased to be a great power among men. Individual Muslims may show slendid qualities, but the influence of the religion paralyzes the social development of those who follow it. No stronger retrograde force exists in the world. far from being moribund, Mohammedanism is a militant and proselytizing faith. It has already spread throughout Central Africa, raising fearless warriors at every step; and were it not that Christianity is sheltered in the strong arms of science, the science against which it had vainly struggled, the civilization of modern Europe might fall, as fell the civilization of ancient Rome” Source; Sir Winston Churchill, (The River War), 1st Edition, Vol II, Pages 248-250, London, Longsman, Green & Co. 1899.

Christmas & Grace!

Luke 1:28  Greek Translation: “And the angel came unto her and said Hail, you are the direct result of God’s grace! You cannot do on your own what I am about to do for you! Thou art highly favored! Favored by the whole favor of God’s grace! The Lord is with you: blessed are you among women for I have spoken well of you and will follow with my actions for you.” Comment: All three of the Greek translated words in this passage Hail, Highly Favored and Blessed are all related to the Greek word for Grace! Grace is simply God doing for you what you cannot do for yourself! So Mary was not able to earn this blessing by works! She was not better than the rest of the women! In my own life after coming to Christ I could not do on my own what God has done for me! I could not have saved myself! Works is trying to save yourself! The blind Jews mocked Jesus on the Cross and said he saved others let him save himself! What they did not understand was by going to the Cross Jesus was saving them! By faith you are saved and not of yourselves! We must surrender all our will to God! Jesus before the Cross prayed not my will but thy will be done! Jesus had a will just like us! Our surrender of our will to God means a victory for us and others not achievable in our own will! I can do certain things based upon my own ability yet I cannot raise myself from the dead! I cannot save myself! I am not able to forgive my own sins! I am able to forgive others if I understand God has forgiven me! Mary by faith received what she could never achieve by her good works! Favor with God is what Christmas is all about! The Savior born for you and me! Born and died to save us from ourselves! To save us from sin! Raised from the dead to raise us from the dead! Born again! Born to live for him and others! If you receive Jesus just as he is he will change you to what he is! Love! Merry Christmas! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Salvation & Grace! 1 Peter 1:13

“Wherefore gird up your procreative power of your mind with imagination, understanding and deep thought, be sober and hope to the end complete without wavering for the grace with divine influence, benefit and gratification that is to be brought unto you at the revelation with the appearing and disclosure of Jesus Christ.” Comment: Salvation and grace! You cannot have one without the other! All of our benefits are found within Jesus Christ! That is in relationship to him! Just like in a marriage! His love and power overshadow all of my sin! No one else can offer you eternal life! No one else can raise you from the dead! No one else can heal my soul, mind and body! He washes me white as snow! When Christ appeared unto me the door of grace was opened unto me! I did not deserve it but he gave it to me as a gift! The world always demands you earn what you get! However God earned this gift for you and paid the price for it! Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved! When Jesus found Peter the fisherman he was an emotional wreck! He pulled out a knife and whacked a guy’s ear off! When the rooster crowed thrice Peter had denied Jesus twice! At Jesus crucifixion Peter fled and went back to fishing! After his resurrection Jesus found Peter along the shore! Jesus told Peter I will make you fishers of men! Peter became the leader of the Jerusalem church! He was later martyred in Rome and asked to be crucified upside down not to be considered equal to Christ! Jesus told Peter upon this rock I will build my church! Centuries later Rome became the headquarters of the Christian Empire and Peter designated as the first Pope of Rome! After Peter got a revelation of Jesus Christ he became bold as a lion yet willing to suffer and sacrifice himself to further the Gospel! Without faith it is impossible to please God! Trust Christ whether in the palace or in the lion’s den! Your position right now will not determine your outcome! Your position in Christ will bring an outcome greater than anything you could ever achieve on your own! By grace you are saved and not of yourself! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

First & Last! Isaiah 44:6

Hebrew Translation: “Thus says the King with Divine authority giving statutory laws to frame moral character. This is the King of Israel. I am the Redeemer a deliverer paying a ransom for your sin. I am the Lord of hosts directing my army of troops in Heaven who are in military service to me. I am first in place, time and rank. I am last concluding everything. Beside me there is no God.” Comment: Remember the words of Jesus in Revelation 22:13? I am the Alpha and the Omega! The first and the last! Why is he first? He is the cause of creation! Jesus was before all things! Very opposite to Darwin and evolution where he believed there was no God so with him everything began with man! When Jesus said he is the end it does not mean his extinction! Jesus meant his goal is reached redeeming men from death, Hell and the grave! Jesus is last for the conclusion of everything! He concludes with grace and judgment! You cannot have one without the other! You either let Jesus take your judgment on the Cross or you take your own judgment condemned to Hell.  Remember Matthew 20:16? Jesus said the last shall be first and the first shall be last! Lazarus the beggar was last in this world and the rich man was first! Then after the judgment Lazarus was first and the rich man was last! Jesus being first in time, order and rank will pass out rewards and punishments! If you have ever been in the military service you know the highest ranking military officer determines the rank of the rest of the unit! He will promote who he will. He will demote who he will. One day every knee will bow and every tongue shall confess Jesus Christ is Lord! You will do this from either Heaven or Hell. James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Messianic Prophecy? Isaiah 54:17

Hebrew Translation: “No weapon that was created against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment with judicial verdict that is rendered by the godless and lawless guilty shall fail. This is the possession and inheritance of my laboring servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the voice of God.” Comment: What stands out to you in this verse? Righteousness is not earned! It is a gift from God! Righteousness was earned by God on the Cross for us! By grace you are saved not of yourselves! Who creates weapons against us? Satan! Our own sin is used by Satan as a weapon against us! That is why Salvation removes Satan’s case against us! This weapon is an inside job! That is why we need a Savior outside of ourselves to save us! A judicial judgment whether by Satan or a human working for him is not the final verdict! The godless and lawless render a verdict against the righteous! That is what happened at the Cross when we all railed against Christ! Crucify Him! Our inheritance and possession is this! As guilty we are rendered righteous by the fulfilling of the law as Jesus took our punishment in death for our sin! What is more priceless than this? The Old Testament confirms the New Testament and the New Testament confirms the Old Testament! We need both because God wrote them both! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com

Fear or Faith? Isaiah 51:12

Hebrew Translation: “Even I, am he that has compassion on you. I have repented that I have made man and have changed my heart and attitude to console you. You can take a deep breath of relief. Why should you fear man when you have reverence for me? Man’s weakness of the flesh shall lead to his death. His descendants are made as the grass that will perish.” Comment: The fear of man is what leads to all wars! The fear of death is what leads men to cause the death of others! Religions are formed out of the fear of death! Islam is a prime example! Martyrdom they believe is their only way to God? So suicide is their means to salvation! Faith is just the opposite of fear! God has made the way for our salvation not by any effort of mortal men! The God/Man Christ God’s only Son provided the sacrifice for our redemption! It is not attained by my own efforts but by God’s grace! So my future is not dependent on me but on what God has already done for me! If we will rest in this promise peace will follow! Jesus has promised to those that trust in him he will raise from the dead! Not to cause death but to deliver us from it! Sin is our real enemy with death it’s consequence! To defeat our last enemy death is what God has done for us! If you cannot get excited about this truth then nothing will excite you! When Christ delivered me from my death bed 45 years ago I have a passion for him that no fire can put out! James and Hamsa Sasse, GodWhoisGod.com

Grace Alone! Ephesians 2 : 8-10

While the soul is in mortal sin, nothing can profit it; none of it’s good works merit an eternal reward, since they do not proceed from God as their first principle, and by Him alone is our virtue real virtue! Saint Teresa of Avila (1515-1582 A.D.) Comment: Jesus said we must be born again! Not just born once but twice! Do you celebrate your second birth? You should know the date if you have had the second birth! James and Hamsa

Does God Create Evil? Isaiah 45:7

“I form the light and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil.” Comment: God created the light and time came into existence! God created the night. God makes peace for us with health, security and welfare. And he created evil. God is not evil but when he created people they have the potential for evil. We have the potential for evil because God has given us the freedom of choice and free will. Love always demands a choice! Jesus chose the Cross for you! The truth is God is good and we are all evil. If we reject our creator evil will follow us! Lucifer the Praise Angel in Heaven rebelled against God and he and 1/3 of the Angels were cast out of Heaven! Angels are created beings! Lucifer became Satan! God made a way of escape for all of us in the sacrifice of His only Son Jesus Christ! God overcame evil with good! What we do with Christ determines our future here now and eternally! Christ living in you empowers you to overcome evil. God slew evil on Calvary! God knew if He created a family on earth Satan would try to destroy them! That is why Christ pre-dated creation! Men are evil because they hate God! God is good because he is love and sacrificed His Son to deliver you from evil. We can rest in Christ because he has defeated in us what was impossible for us to do on our own! Grace and Grace alone! James and Hamsa Sasse. GodWhoisGod.com