One weird thing is that most, or I actually think all other religions around the world will teach salvation is by works. They say if you do good deeds for others you can work your way to a "paradise" or heaven. Some religions go so far as to say that you can become a god, this appeals to man's pride. Just as when pride entered into Satan and he said, "I will be like the Most High G-d", became a fallen angel, and he became G-d's enemy "on a leash," though.  Even in the Garden of Eden satan tempted Eve by telling her if she ate the fruit that she would become like G-d, or like a god.
Only through Yeshua we are offered grace, a free gift.
Yeshua says yes I gave you life and I gave you power to choose, it is your choice. So we choose love and give our life to Yeshua and rest in Him, or we choose pride and don't really experience grace, trying to work and climb up to heaven another way besides through Yeshua.

(John 14:6 NKJV) Yeshua said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

The deeper I get into knowing and experiencing G-d one thing becomes more and more clear. That is, all that I am, have ever been, and all that I ever will be is totally one hundred percent a result of G-d's grace. Every sin I do causes me to become more dependent upon G-d's grace, causing me to decrease and Yeshua to increase in my life (but that's not a reason to sin). Every success of  mine is really G-d's. I can't add to His grace or take away from it.

(Ephesians 2:1-10 NKJV) And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, {2} in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, {3} among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. {4} But G-d, who is rich in mercy (compassion), because of His great love with which He loved us, {5} even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Yeshua  (by grace you have been saved), {6} and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ), {7} that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ). {8} For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of G-d, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast. {10} For we are His workmanship, created in Christ for good works, which G-d prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The "works" that we do for G-d are the works that He has prepared in advance that we should walk in them, they are not because of our efforts. They are G-d's works that we move in being guided by His Holy Spirit of Love. This is why G-d made you and me and put us where we are.

 

 

Remember here as you read this that G-d's promises to Israel were conditional upon them following and keeping His commandments and accepting Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ) as their Savior. Take a look at the following Bible verses:

 

Exodus 19:5-6 ...'Now therefore, IF ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, THEN ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.'

 

1 Kings 6:12-13 ...'Concerning this house which thou art in building, IF thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them, THEN I will perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father.'

 

1 Kings 9:6-7 ...'BUT IF ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: THEN will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people.'

 

Do you see now? IF you obey me, THEN I will keep my covenant with you. Conditional!

 

And we all know that the Jewish nation continued to sin against G-d and rejected Yeshua as their savior! Therefore BREAKING the "everlasting covenant" which would only remain as an everlasting covenant through obedience.

 

Now there is something that Yeshua told the Jews through one of His parables which also helps us to understand what would happen to the Jewish state.  Read the parable of the vineyard in Luke 20:9-16. Here you will see Yeshua giving a story about a vineyard owner (G-d) going away and leaving his vineyard (G-d's kingdom on earth) to 'husbandmen' (the Jews) to take care of it and 'bare fruit' (expand G-d's kingdom). And while the owner was away, he sends 'servants' (prophets) to see how things are and collect the 'fruit'. But the husbandmen beat the servants and sent them away empty handed (The Jews mostly then rejected the prophets). The  owner (G-d) sends his son (Yeshua). And the husbandmen KILL the son (Jews have Yeshua Ha'Meshiach killed). And what did Yeshua say would happen to the husbandmen (the Jews) after doing all these things? They would be destroyed (destruction of Jerusalem in AD70) and the vineyard (kingdom of G-d) would be GIVEN TO OTHERS (the Gentiles, or anyone who accepted Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ) as their Savior).

Now look at how the Jews reacted to this parable. Acts 20:16 ...'And when they heard it, they said, God forbid.' ... Meaning they KNEW that Jesus was saying THEY would be destroyed and the kingdom would be TAKEN OFF THEM AND GIVEN TO ANOTHER PEOPLE. And this is EXACTLY what happened!

This is so important, because you will not get the whole truth about the "end times" until you understand the role of "Israel" in "end time" Bible prophecy.

 

Remember how the Jews did not understand Bible prophecy and thought that Yeshua was going to come the first time as this mighty warrior who would setup a "physical" kingdom on earth and rule over the nations? Well, we have it all over again with end time prophecy many people today believing the exact same thing! But this time with the second coming of Christ. They believe that Yeshua is going to return, after a secret rapture of the church and setup His kingdom in Israel and rule there for the thousand year millennium. The Bible prophecy teachers today are so focused on war and destruction in Israel, that they are missing the great spiritual application of G-d's kingdom, just as the disciples did during Yeshua's first coming.

Luke 17:20-21 .....'And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of G-d should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh NOT with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of G-d is within you.'

 

Do you see what Yeshua is saying in the above Bible verse? He's explaining in clear words that the kingdom is a "SPIRITUAL" one. And yet the disciples were still clinging to the belief that Christ would setup a physical kingdom to rule from on earth, just like the prophecy teachers of today ...
 Luke 24:21 .....'But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel.' ...

They were still holding on to that idea, and when Yeshua died on the cross, their hopes were crushed! They just didn't understand the spiritual application of Israel and the kingdom of G-d, until the day of Pentecost.

The idea here is the Jewish people (Judah) will not have Israel back (if the Bible means the literal land) until Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ) returns.  The idea is that G-d is El-Shaddai, the Almighty G-d, so no human can do, or come close to doing His job and filling His cause.

One way or another Israel is in exile until Yeshua Ha-Meshiac returns, regardless of what Judah believes.  Only 'THE LION OF THE TRIBE OF JUDAH' (Yeshua Ha'Meshiach) can "clean their mess," and save them now.

 

 

 

It is a gift from G-d, can you lose it?

 

 

Salvation is a gift that is meant to be permanent and eternal.

The apostle Paul writes about Christians that, “Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, Who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are G-d’s possession." (Ephesians 1:13-14)

"He that began a good work in you will carry it on until the return of Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ)."

If an Almighty G-d, ElShaddai, started something in you, a good work at that, do you really think an He is going to just stop or say "forget it."

Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.                   - James 5:19-20

So it is actually impossible to lose your salvation - however, the New Testament makes mention of the unlikely possibility that someone who is really saved would throw away his or her own salvation by permanently rejecting the Holy Spirit, by turning his or her back on Christ permanently, or by turning his back on the gospel in favor of Old Testament law, like Torah. Hebrews 6:4-6 reveals the possibility of this actually happening.  (Other than that the Bible really doesn't mention a "loss of salvation" as much as I can see, anyway.)

While we do not focus on this very much, and while we certainly do not pass judgment on those who have “backslidden,” we do take very seriously that Scripture does tell us to "Stand firm to the end," “not put out the Spirit’s fire,” and “bring back those who have wandered from the truth.”

"You will be hated by everyone because of me.  But stand firm until the end and you will be saved"     - Matthew 10:22

  

13:27 People of Jerusalem,   I have seen your adulterous worship,

your shameless prostitution to, and your lustful pursuit of, other gods.

I have seen your disgusting acts of worship  

on the hills throughout the countryside.

You are doomed to destruction!  

How long will you continue to be unclean?’”

 

A Lament over the Ravages of Drought  

14:1 The Lord spoke to Jeremiah about the drought.

14:2 “The people of Judah are in mourning.

The people in her cities are pining away.

They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow.  

Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem.  

14:3 The leading men of the cities send their servants for water.

They go to the cisterns,  but they do not find any water there.

They return with their containers  empty.

Disappointed and dismayed, they bury their faces in their hands. 

14:4 They are dismayed because the ground is cracked  

because there has been no rain in the land.

The farmers, too, are dismayed

and bury their faces in their hands.

14:5 Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn in the field

because there is no grass.

14:6 Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops

and pant for breath like jackals.

Their eyes are strained looking for food,

because there is none to be found.”

14:7 Then I said,  

“O Lord, intervene for the honor of your name

even though our sins speak out against us.

Indeed,  we have turned away from you many times.

We have sinned against you.

14:8 You have been the object of Israel’s hopes.

You have saved them when they were in trouble.

Why have you become like a resident foreigner in the land?

Why have you become like a traveler who only stops in to spend the night?

14:9 Why should you be like someone who is helpless, 

like a champion who cannot save anyone?

You are indeed with us, 

and we belong to you.

Do not abandon us!”

14:10 Then the Lord spoke about these people.

“They truly love to go astray.

They cannot keep from running away from me. 

So I am not pleased with them.

I will now call to mind the wrongs they have done 

and punish them for their sins.”

 

Judgment for Believing the Misleading Lies of the False Prophets

14:11 Then the Lord said to me, “Do not pray for good to come to these people!  14:12 Even if they fast, I will not hear their cries for help. Even if they offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them.  Instead, I will kill them through wars, famines, and plagues.

 

I know the Jewish people today aren't the same as they were then, but they do follow the ways then - as in the commandments in the Torah, the Tanakh (the rest of the O.T., the Hebrew Bible).

In fact, I recently met someone who was very strict on following every single, what she thought was a commandment in the Tanakh (which is 685 commandments), if that gave her satisfaction than so be it but it was not what G-d wants for her.  G-d wants His followers, Jews in this matter, to abide by His commands, not the Torah or Tanakh.  That is why the Jewish people were punished to begin with.

The Jews don't really know G-d unless they read the whole Bible.  They must read the  Bible in entirety to really know who G-d is, and even what He commands.

The Apostle Paul writes: “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with G-d through our Lord Yeshua Ha'Meshiach (Jesus Christ)." (Romans 5:1). We have peace with G-d.   That means we were never at war with G-d. But Paul does say to his readers, “Therefore, since we are justified . . . we have peace” Why does he say that?  Maybe the question doesn't really occur to you today.  Then again perhaps it should? That's for you to decide.

When we think about the many ways that people today avoid being close to others or try to relieve their problems with using sexual relationships wrong, alcohol, drugs, or some other addiction, we begin to see how, but turning away from G-d occurs. Paul, even though he wrote nearly two thousand years ago, speaks to us today about our need of peace with G-d.

This part, the opening of Romans shifts a little but both ends are equally important here. It moves from Paul’s writings of the importance of Abraham to the Christian faith, and then shifts into Paul’s talk on how the Christian life should be. This passage helps us understand the importance for peace with G-d. As sinners, elsewhere described as “ungodly,” we are not even worthy of Him.

Most people want to live in some kind of love or cooperation with their neighbors. When we come to a crossing point, it bothers us. How many times have we had a falling-out with someone because of something relatively minor that happened? Because of our pride - and also because of the other person’s pride - getting back together, to say, or seeing things the same way again is difficult. Most of the time, we just make enemies because we do not really know how to make peace.

 

Maybe the same is true of our relationship with G-d. We want to live in harmony and peace with G-d, walk with Him, but somehow we have an uneasy feeling that something is not well in our relationship with G-d. Look at it, though,  Paul make it clear to us how it is possible between G-d and G-d’s creatures in this passage to be together.

 

I want to note two of many important lessons the Romans text teaches us. The first is pretty simple. Paul wants the readers to understand that G-d starts our peace with Himself even before we supply anything to the relationship.

What does that mean? Let me tell you.  Paul wrote, “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. . . . But G-d proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6, 8).

The second important aspect of this passage is that there is a "circular effect" in what Paul writes. Paul starts with the hope in G-d and continues through suffering, then he talks about endurance, then character, and back to hope, where he started. Just like peace does, hope begins in G-d and ends in G-d. We can go through a whole lot of things and different ages will pass by but we end with hope and peace (Jer. 29:11).

Because of Yeshua's death on the cross we can be at peace with G-d, not be ashamed or ungodly like, and can walk with Him - And when we fall, G-d will pick us right back up again!

God is Love: How do we Define Love?

 "G-d is Love", but how do we define it? Dictionary.com defines love as "an intense affection for another person based on familial or personal ties". Often this "intense affection" comes from a sexual attraction for that other person. We love other people, or we say we love other people, when we are attracted to them and when they make us feel good. Notice that a key phrase in the dictionary definition of love is the phrase "based on". This phrase implies that we love conditionally, in other words, we love someone because they fulfill a condition that we require before we can love them. How many times have you maybe said, "I love you because you, because you are  so cute," or "I love you because you take really good care of me," or "I love you because you, you're fun to be with"?

Our love is not only conditional, it is also based on emotion. We love based on feelings and emotions that can change from one moment to the next. The divorce rate is really high in today's society because husbands and wives supposedly stop loving one another-or they "fall out of love". They may go through a rough patch in their marriage, and they no longer "feel" love for their spouse, so they call it quits. Evidently, their marriage vow of "till death do us part" meant absolutely nothing at all to them.

Can anyone really comprehend "unconditional" love? It seems maybe the love that parents have for their children is as close to unconditional love as we can get without the help of God's love in our lives. Parents continue to love their children through good times and bad, and they don't stop loving them if they don't meet the expectations we may have for them. Parents make a choice to love their children even when them consider them the worst creature on earth or just unlovable; their love doesn't stop when they don't "feel" love for them. This is similar to God's love for us, but as we will see, God's love is different, than the human definition of love to a point that is hard for us to  ever understand.


G-d is Love: How does G-d Define Love?
 
The Bible tells us that "G-d is Love" (1 John 4:8). But how can we even begin to understand that? I know I can't. 

There are many verses in the Bible that give us G-d's definition of love. The most well known verse is John 3:16, "For G-d so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." So one way G-d defines love is in the act of giving, but what G-d gave (or should we say, "who" G-d gave) was not like a Christmas present but G-d sacrificed His only Son,Yeshua, so that we, who put our faith in His Son, will not spend eternity separated from Him. This is an amazing love, because we are the ones who choose to reject G-d, yet it's G-d who fixes, and turns the separation through His personal sacrifice, and all we have to do is accept His gift.

Another great verse about G-d's love is found in Romans 5:8, "But G-d commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." In this verse and in John 3:16, we find no conditions placed on G-d's love for us. G-d doesn't say, "as soon as you clean up your act, I'll love you; " neither does He say, "I'll sacrifice my Son if you promise to love Me." In fact, in Romans 5:8, we find just the opposite. G-d wants us to know that His love is unconditional, so He sent His Son to actually die for us while we were still unlovable sinners. We didn't have to get clean first, and we didn't have to make any promises to G-d before we could experience His love. His love for us has always existed, and because of that, He did all the giving and sacrificing long before we were even aware that we needed His love.


G-d is Love: It's Unconditional

G-d is Love, and His love is very different from any love we have. G-d's love is unconditional, and it's not based on feelings or emotions. He doesn't love us because we're lovable or because we make Him feel good; He loves us because He is love. He created us to have a loving relationship with Him, and He sacrificed His own Son, who died for us, to restore that relationship so we can walk with G-d and call him Father now.

 

G-d's Love

 

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,  so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,  and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.    -Ephesians 3:14-19 (NIV)

 

 

I know I just did a page about G-d's love for us but there is so much to add, or say about it that I cannot just leave there and call it done.  I am sure that even after writing this a whole lot more will come to me, even concerning this topic, but I try to keep these shorter so they are easy to be read like devotionals.

 

The Bible says that G-d loves us, and the cross proves it. Something pretty sad, though, this is a truth for many believers, but that is where it stops, instead of a truth they really experience. The problem is not with the Lord, but with the believer's ability to feel G-d's love for us.

 

One thing may be the tendency to measure G-d's love by life's circumstances. When the Lord allows tragedies and pain, some consider Him uncaring. The age-old question then becomes very personal, "How could a loving G-d allow me or those I care about to suffer?" We'll never fully understand His ways, but we can know that His compassion and concern are bigger than the suffering of the whole world, and if you just wait, He will make all things right.

 

A sense of personal unworthiness and failure can also keep you away from the acceptance of God's love. Focusing on past sins and moral failures or comparing yourself with others will lead to guilt and hopelessness. Satan always promoting these self-condemning thoughts and feelings. The Lord never says, "Straighten up, and then I'll care about you." Remember that G-d's for all His people, Jew, Greek, and Gentile, is based on His character, never what we do.  We have been set free of the law.

 

G-d is love.  In other words, you are loved whether you feel it or believe it.  But that is a wall, G-d wants every Jew, Greek, and Gentile to feel his love. When we deny His interest and concern for us, we doubt the truth of scripture.

 

The Lord wants each of us to experience His great love in a personal, intimate way. Don't let the Enemy's lies or life's hardships steal the enjoyment and security of this great blessing. When doubts come to us, rely on the truth of G-d's Word. He loves you. Believe it, and eventually you will feel it!