Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the Ancient Paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. Jeremiah 6:16
19 Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. 20 Do not scoff at prophecies, 21 but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good. 22 Stay away from every kind of evil. 1 Thes 5:19-22
I have no comment in reference to this man in sackcloth, I’m speechless on it. I’m just observing and posted for those of you who are watching also. This is from source’s site :” I feel urged to warn you not to slander this man whether he is who we suspect or if he is not. Do not speak evil of this man.”
Be Strong and Courageous! You are special in the eyes of the Lord.
There is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved- and there is salvation in no one else. Acts 4:12
I was reading through the book of Acts and collected some of the teachings of Paul on Salvation and put it together- Act 10-28.
CHOSE TODAY WHO YOU WILL FOLLOW
FOLLOWING THE FLESH LEADS TO DEATH
BUT FOLLOWING THE SPIRIT LEADS TO LIFE
ETERNAL SALVATION- AN UNDERSERVED GIFT FROM GOD
1-BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST- FAITH
2-CONFESS YOUR SINS AND REPENT
3-TURN BACK TO GOD– He wants you to SEEK HIM
4-BE BAPTISED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST-WASHING AWAY YOUR SINS
5-PROVE IT BY THE WAY YOU LIVE
6-GET RID OF ALL SIN AND WICKEDNESS
7-WATCH OUT FOR FALSE TEACHERS AND WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING
STRENGTHEN YOURSELF IN THIS MESSAGE OF GRACE, FOR IT IS ABLE TO BUILD YOU UP
Through the name of Jesus Christ, whosoever believes in Him shall receive forgiveness of sins. We now have the privilege to repent and receive eternal life through Jesus Christ. You see, through this One Man Jesus Christ, there is forgiveness of your sins. EVERYONE who believes in Him is DECLARED RIGHT with God. God knows your heart and He accepts you by giving you the Holy Spirit. There is no longer any distinction between Jew and Gentile. He cleansed our hearts through FAITH. And this grace the Lord has given us is not something we have deserved, for it was undeserved grace – and He wants the rest of humanity to Seek him- “all those who I have called to be Mine” the Lord says.
For the Lord is not far from any one of us. It is in Him that we live, move and have our being. We are His offspring. The Lord God has commanded all men everywhere to REPENT. One day He will judge the world in righteousness. You were created to be Holy for He is Holy. Confess your sinful practices. Get rid of all sin and wickedness. Throw out anything to do with sorcery or witchcraft.
Never shrink back from telling others what they need to hear – to Repent from sins and turn back to God, having faith in our Lord Jesus. Tell others the Good news about the wonderful grace of God. You must guard yourselves and God’s people. Feed and shepherd the sheep of God’s flock- his church, purchased in His own blood. Beware of false teachers, like vicious wolves will come into your churches, not caring about the flock. Some others will even be from your own groups and will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following, so WATCH OUT! Remember this message of grace, it is able to build you up and give you an inheritance with all those he has apart for himself. Gather together in prayer, encouraging others as Paul did “and he knelt and prayed with them.”
The Lord God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will so what are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved and PROVE it by the way you live. The Lord himself will change you and transform you to be more and more like Him every day. You can be confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
New believers should be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul laid his hands on them and the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied.
“if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved”
Do you ever feel unsaved? The promises written in the bible are true and trustworthy. There was a time I felt unsaved, unsure and said the sinners prayer at every chance I had. I think, at that time in my life, I knew I believed and accepted Christ yet I walked my own walk. I walked in step with the World, it’s ways, and it’s beliefs. I was not walking in step with the Holy Spirit of God. I would go to church each sunday and I would attend weekly bible meetings. I remember reading the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13 and I identified with the seed that the sower threw that landed on rocky soil :
“When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown”
I had made up my own excuses, my own ways and walked my own walk. I loved the message and the bible, but I went back to my old ways during the week. I knew that I had to give up the desires and lures of the world if I really wanted eternal life. I decided to turn my face to Seek Him. When I did, as the scriptures promise, I found Him. I no longer doubted my salvation. I no longer have the desires I had. It took time- and God is patient – still working day by day making us more like Him.
Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 2 Corinthians 13:5
Hear the Word of the Lord
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 john 2:15-17
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. John 3:16-18
I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. John 10:28
Romans 10:13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
3 We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, love for God[a] is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did,Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. 8 Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and in you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. 10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. 1 John 2:3-11
Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit[b] gives birth to spirit John 3:5
Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God John 1:12
We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them.We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one 1 John 1:5
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do Ephesians 2:8-9
If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. romans 10:9
9 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder James 2:19
This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,] through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.Where, then, is boasting? It is excluded. Because of what law? The law that requires works? No, because of the law that requires faith. For we maintain that a person is justified by faith apart from the works of the law. Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, 30 since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. 31 Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law. Romans 3: 20-30
Things I’m pondering
1- Paul spent a lot of time debating, arguing, persuading, and reasoning with people and used “powerful” arguments. Are we prepared with enough scripture knowledge to defend our beliefs? Is it better to debate an issue or let it go? Sometimes I think – whatever, let them think their own way – but should we reason and debate for the sake of the Truth or pipe down in peace? Some issues could become an all out war in the family if I mention it.hmmmm
2-Considering Lot’s day, Noah’s day, the battle of Jericho, and the 12 sons of Joseph—I noticed that the entire family was saved even though only one was righteous. Noah was a righteous man, but there is no mention of his family- the same with Lot and Rahab’s family. I also came across this verse in Acts 6:31 “And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” . It gives me hope as I continue to pray for the unsaved in my family.
3-Did anyone notice that Obama is going to Middle East on the Festival of Iran’s new year- the symbolism and history behind it are significant. This day was obviously thought out very well.
4-Mobs- a tactic of the devil. Used many times in Acts against Paul and the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ- almost in every city he visited. Scripture says that even though the mobs cried out against them, many standing with the mob of protesters didn’t know what was going on. It was usually a very small group that incited the mob, but the Lord always carried them through”Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. Acts 18:9-10 and We all fell down, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is useless for you to fight against my will Acts 26:14- This verse is comforting to know – that it is useless for anyone to fight against the Lord will. Victory is only found in Him.
5- The importance of Encouragement: Paul taught salvation, debated truths and the rest of his time was spent encouraging believers. He didn’t stop at the first step of salvation. He continued to go out his way to check on others, offer encouragement and make sure they stayed on the right path. He spent months and even years with people, giving up his own life – a living sacrifice to God the Father, Jesus His Son through the workings of the Holy Spirit. He didn’t go after gold or silver – or even nice clothes. I still want nice clothes hmmmmm
6-“I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers. Acts 23:5 -ooookay then
Ancient Paths 