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When we receive Jesus Christ into our heart, When we ask God to place our sins on His Son's Cross, When we accept God's substitutionary death in our place, When we ask God to fill us with His Holy Spirit that we would live for Him forever and always - God forgives us our sins and God makes us His Child. God puts His Spirit into us and seals us. ...And God expects and wants us to continue in our relationship with Him. God saves us not just for ourselves to be freed from Hell, but for our life on Earth to be filled with joy and purpose!! God has designed for our relationship with Him to be fulfilling and wondrous. In order for this to be so, we must relate to God as one who is deeply grateful for being snatched from certain hell, eternal death and separation from God and as one who yearns to know more about the One who saved us! As we grow to know more about Him, we learn more about just how strongly, personally and deeply God truly loves us! If we do not do this, God warns us "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." Ephesians 4:30 To grieve the Holy Spirit means to make God sad, filled with heartache, pain, misery, and anguish. Yes, God can be deeply grieved! Grief comes from a death, or a separation from someone you love. If you have ever been separated from someone you loved, you know this emotion. And God has emotions. God is personal, and loves you personally. If you ignore His Voice, If you do not heed what He is saying to you within your mind/heart, If you disobey Him, you are separating yourself from God and you are grieving Him. If you continue grieving the Holy Spirit, you are willfully choosing to separate yourself from God. God is not pushing you away, but you are pushing Him out of your life. It is Very Important Not to do this. Instead, keep short accounts with God >> If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1John 1:9 Jesus is always saying to you, "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 (See also Jeremiah 29:11 and Jeremiah 31:3.) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ God warns us again and again ... "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." Matt 3:8, Lk 3:8 To produce fruit means that the fruit of the Holy Spirit (The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22,23) is to be displayed in your life without phoniness or by your own "works". This Fruit is to be a natural outflow of the Eternal God moving through you by His Holy Spirit. Repentance means to turn away from your sinful ways and to turn toward God with your full heart, mind, soul and strength. So to produce fruit in keeping with repentance means to be so "facing" God, that your life displays your fervent love for Him, for Who He is, and for moving out of gratitude, love and obedience to Him. In that way what His desires for you, which are the desires of your heart, will be given to you. God promises this to you through His Word, the Bible - Delight yourself in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart. Ps 37:4 And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:19 But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matt 6:33 I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength. Phil 4:13 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jesus describes your life in Him like this - 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the Word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me. Jesus speaks of the closeness that He wants with you. The intimacy that enables you to be used as a powerful tool of His. - 5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing. Jesus warns what happens if you do not stay close to Him. - 6If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. Jesus says what happens if you do stay close to Him - 7If you remain in Me and My Words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be My disciples. Jesus explains that it is out of His Love for you that He wants you to be close and obedient to Him. - 9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father's commands and remain in His love. 11I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My Name. Jn 15 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jesus told of the choices that some people make. Jesus said that some people's hearts are like a hardened path, others like rocky ground, others are land with many thorns, and others are fertile soil. Just like the Lord said above, be fertile soil. Jesus reiterates it here as well. 1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then
he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his
seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and
the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it
did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But
when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they
had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked
the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a
crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has
ears, let him hear." 18"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The evil one is real and wants to destroy you and your joy. Don't listen to him or give him any control over you. "the devil... was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." John 8:44 20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, he quickly falls away. Don't give up on what God has done for you. Consider it well, and cling to God's Truth. Value it more than any other experience and commitment you have ever made. 22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the Word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. Don't
worry about anything (Matt 6:25-34), but take every thought captive to the Word
of God. "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself
up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it
obedient to Christ." 2Cor 10:5 "Do not conform any
longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—His good,
pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 "be clear
minded and self-controlled so that you can pray." 1Peter 4:7 "
'Well done, my good servant!' his master replied. Lk 19:17 Which
soil are you? Will you allow the enemy to sow disbelief in your heart? Will you allow yourself to fall away from what God has already given you by your asking Him? Will you become rocky soil? Will
you worry about what others think? Or
about the things you want… Will you become soil with thorns… and choke God
out of your heart and life? Those
on the rock are the ones who receive the Word with joy when they hear it, but
they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they
fall away. The
seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their
way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not
mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the Word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. Luke 8:11-15 Mature
in Christ Jesus!! Bear Fruit in keeping with your repentance! Love
the Lord God with all of your heart, mind, emotion, will and soul (Deut
6:5)!! And reach the heavenly goal, the
prize!! I
press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward
in Christ Jesus. Phil 3:14 |
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Copyright © 2004 Billboards for Christ, Inc. P.O. Box 27, Chester, Maryland, USA 21619-0027 All Bible verses are from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright© 1973,1978,1984 by International Bible Society®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Last modified: May 31, 2005 |
