Pastor Stephen Dedman

Category: Salvation

Holy, Holy, Holy

Encouragement, Salvation, Trust

Holy, Holy, Holy

The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”
‭‭Revelation‬ ‭4:8‬

Worship Around The Throne

If we could get a personal glimpse of Heaven it would change the way we worship.  As the Scripture says, worship will never cease in Heaven.  In Heaven we will be worshipping around the throne of God for eternity.  It will be a worship experience that we have never witnessed before.

John was given a glimpse into Heaven and a vision of the throne of God.  The central focus of Heaven is the throne.  As well as our central focus of worship should be the throne of God.  God’s holiness drives us to worship Him.  Worship often includes words and actions but most importantly worship is from the heart.  If our heart is not right, we cannot worship right.  Worship is the God-centered focus and response of the soul.  So no matter what you say or sing you are worshipping only when your attention is on God.  And when your attention is on God you cannot help but only envision the holiness and worthiness of Him.

A profound statement about worship is found in John 4:23-25 as Jesus said, “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”  Before we can worship in spirit and in truth we must have within us the Holy Spirit.  Without Him true worship will not happen.  If you have no desire to worship there is something missing in your life.

Prayer

Lord, Holy is Your Name and Holy You are.  I praise You and honor You with my heart and soul.

Hidden With Christ

Encouragement, Faith, Salvation, Trust

Hidden With Christ

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:3‬ ‭

New Life

Before we were saved by the grace of God, we lived for ourselves.  It was self-merit and self-righteousness that brought us what we thought was justifiable.  As long as we were good people and as long as we did good things, we were ok.  But that was not the truth.

When our eyes were spiritually opened to the things of God, we were changed. As Scripture says, “For you have died.”  When we come to Christ we die to our old ways and to our old self.  No longer do we live for ourselves but we live for Christ.  He is our Lord and Master and we submit to Him in all of our ways.  Our actions and words reflect who we belong to.  You may be thinking… “But sometimes I say and do things that are not aligned with Christ-likeness.”  Just because we are Christians does not mean that we will never sin again.  We all sin and come short of God’s glory.

The difference is in the next part of the verse… “and your life is hidden with Christ in God.”  What this means is we are justified by the blood of Christ.  When we come to Jesus through faith, we die to ourselves.  We take up our cross and follow Him. We are born again.  We are reborn into the likeness of Christ.  When God looks at us He sees the righteousness of Christ and not the righteousness of ourselves.  When we believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior we take on a new life and new characteristics.  The Holy Spirit comes to our rescue and gives us power to live as Christ would have us to live.  In other words we require the Holy Spirit to live holy and acceptable to God.  Romans 12:1-2 gives us great insight of how we should live everyday.  As we live holy lives we no longer live according to the world but according to the Word of God.

Prayer

Lord, I submit to you and live today for You.  Show me what You want me to do for You today.

 

What Does The Lord Require Of You

Salvation, Trust

What Does The Lord Require Of You

He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
‭‭Micah‬ ‭6:8‬

It’s More Than Being Good

Some people think all you have to do is live a good and moral life and you will go to Heaven.  That is far from the truth of God’s Word.  That is a lie that Satan wants people to believe.  There will be a lot of good people die and go to Hell because they believed this lie.  Faith and belief in Jesus Christ is how you receive eternal life in Heaven. We live good and moral lives to glorify God for sending us His Son.

The prophet Micah gives us three ways to glorify God in our daily life. First, do justice.  This means we should be fair to all people and don’t judge them.  God is the judge so we must not judge others lest we be judged.  Second, love kindness.  We are not only to be kind to others but we are to love kindness.  We are to show mercy to others even if they have wronged us.  Third, walk humbly.  As Believer’s we are to put others first.  Just as Christ was a humble servant, so we are to be Christ-like.

But are these the only requirements?

When asked what was the greatest commandment of the law, Jesus replied, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:35-39)  We will never fully satisfy the requirements of God but we can be justified through the works of Jesus Christ who did fulfill all His requirements.

Prayer

Thank God for His mercy and grace and then show others how thankful you are.