We are His Workmanship

Ephesians 2:10 “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

God does all things well.   Even when He made me. I am a sinner, but He has saved me; yes, even me.

Now that I am born again; He creates me in Christ Jesus. For we are His workmanship.

This comes from the pouring in of a mold.

We are to be molded in the same likeness as Jesus.

We are His workmanship from eternity past to yet eternity future.

In other words He has been molding us; in His plans, before we even were.

By natural circumstances to lead us to Himself.

And since we have been born again,  He has been molding  us by the Holy Spirit, in every situation. 

This is the reason entire of our existence:  to be molded into Jesus likeness, so we may do good works.

“Which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

To ordain is to prearrange by His Authority, and to provide before all we need in the circumstances.   And with the people; and especially with ourselves.

What are these good works?

They are Obediences to Christ in our world (the situations of our life); those things which the Lord would have us to do, which show us standing with Him, against the World, the Flesh and the Devil.

Ephesians 2:8-10 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

Not of works, lest any man should boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

Paul, here, is not showing the Ephesian Christians how to be born again; they are born again.

But He is speaking of one of God’s Eternal Decrees.

This, Paul says, is what God Purposed for us :

To be saved by grace–the unmerited favor of power; God’s power.

Through faith–which is given to us by the Holy Spirit so we may come and believe.

Not of yourselves–Of course not,  we can never please God in our own righteousness;   For we have none.

It is the gift of God–and a gift is freely given;  and either received or rejected.

Not of works–those works which we could come up with, to try and make us acceptable to God.

Lest any man should boast–Which is what we all would do, if we had anything to do with our being born again,   besides to receive it.

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus–molded, and still being molded; since our purpose is not done till we stand in His presence.

Unto good works, which God hath before ordained–these are the how and what we should do in our lives to please Him, personally.     

For it is a person to Person life with Jesus

That we should walk in them–It is a walk with Jesus; in that purpose and doing those works which show we stand with Him.

A Scribe which can be Instructed

Matthew 13:52 “Then said He unto them,  Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven,  is like unto a man that is a householder,  which bringeth forth out of his treasure  things new and old.”

We mostly consider scribes as wicked men;  they certainly were to Jesus.  Some of them only sought to discredit, or mock Him. 

But there were others who sought to know the truth: 

Matthew 8:19  “A certain scribe, came and said unto Him, Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest.”

Mark 12:28,34 “And one of the scribes came,  and having heard them reasoning together,  and perceiving that He had answered them well,  asked Him,  Which is the first commandment of all?

                           And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly,   He said unto him,   Thou are not far from the kingdom of God.  And no man after that durst ask Him any question.”

But scribes (they were usually Levites, the family of the priests), were assigned at the beginning of their history, for good:  They were to write out the law and teach it to the people who might not come to the Tabernacle or the Temple.   

                      All were to know God’s law, and they were assigned the job, to write and pass it out,  by teaching it.

Jeremiah was assigned this job by Josiah, the last Godly king of Judah, who led a revival there. (2 Kings 23:25)

Also Ezra was a “scribe in the law of Moses” (Ezra 7:6), and led many of his countrymen back to the land after the Babylonian captivity. 

He led a revival there (Ezra 9-10), and also helped Nehemiah with the first reading of the law to those returned (some of them had never heard it before.  Nehemiah 8:5-6, 8).

Scribes were given, so the people would understand what God wanted them to do, using His Word to show them.

Though some corrupted this;  yet Jesus said, “…every scribe instructed unto the kingdom of heaven, is like”:

                   He said that if you know the scriptures,  My words,  then you can bring out of them, things new:  that which you have discovered by the experience of them,  and share them.

                   And things old:  what others have written or testify from them.

Both are food for us, as Christians. 

We need to know what Jesus has said:

John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give unto you,  that ye love one another;  as I have loved you,  that ye also love one another.

                        By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples,  if ye love one another:”

John 16:33 “These things I have spoken unto you,  that in Me  ye might have peace.  In the world ye shall have tribulation:  but be of good cheer,  I have overcome the world.”

1 Thessalonians 5:8 “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love;  and for a helmet,  the hope of salvation.”

1 Timothy 6:6-7 “But godliness with contentment is great gain.

                         For we brought nothing into this world,  and it is certain we can carry nothing out.”

We need to remember the examples taught us in the Old Testament,  for they are lessons to us. (1 Corinthians 10:6)

And we need to awake to the warnings of His Word, against the enemies within us and around us in this world:

John 7:24 “Judge not according to the appearance,  but judge righteous judgement.”

Ephesians 4:26 “Be ye angry, and sin not;  let not the sun go down upon your wrath:”

Galatians 5:24-26 “And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.   

                        If we live in the Spirit,  let us also walk in the Spirit.  

                        Let us not be desirous of vain glory,  provoking one another,  envying one another.”

1 John 5:21 “Little children,  keep yourselves from idols.  Amen.”

These are some of the verses the Lord has dealt with me about through the years (there are lots more),  and I share them with you,  letting the Holy Spirit speak to you about them, as He will.

God has given us His Word.      Let us hear what the Word says to us, and be instructed unto the kingdom of heaven.

And pass it on.

God is Nigh unto them with a Broken Heart.

Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart:  and saveth such that be of a contrite spirit.”

This is a promise from our God to Christians.

Often the broken heart thinks that God is far away….but not so.  He is near.

This broken heart is found in all places.  We are broken in heart by our sin and many failures to such a Good God.

We are broken in heart, often, when we are in troubles and afflictions.

We are broken in heart as we go through this weary world.

Isaiah 32:2 “And a man (and that man is Christ) shall be as a hiding place from the wind and a culvert from the tempest;  as rivers of water in a dry place,  as a shadow of a great rock in a weary land.”

We are broken in heart by people’s cruelty,  and circumstances which seem like repeat offenders.

But we have a promise:  The Lord is near us.   I don’t know about you, but the greatest joy of my life, has been His Presence.

I’ve know it since being born again,  and though I have wavered (often),  He has not.  He has loved me (and let me tell you what a big chore that is!); and helped me.

Yes, I can say it has not been always the way I wanted.   But I can also say, it has been what I needed.

My broken heart, (by loss, by hate, by hurt feelings, by money troubles, by other troubles)  was not always miraculously healed,  but always mended.  

Ezekiel 34:16a  “I will seek that which was lost,  and bring again that which was driven away,  and will bind up that which is broken,  and will strengthen that which was sick:..”

And it has taught me to be more sensitive to other broken hearts.

“And saveth such that be of a contrite spirit.”  When we are broken in heart by our sins, and contrite (or bruised) to remember that we have rebelled against our Loving Lord;  then God is well pleased.   For sin is the evil which crucified Christ.

Psalm 51:14, 17 “Deliver me from bloodguiltiness,  O God,  thou God of my salvation:  and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:  a broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.”

It brings God near to us, and opens the soul to God’s grace, and peace.

(Grace is the unmerited favor of power for our lives;  Peace is peace with God, and peace with ourselves.   Peace “surrounds” us)

Isaiah 57:15 “For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,  whose name is Holy;   I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit,  to revive the spirit of the humble,  and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

Jeremiah 30:17a  “For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds,  saith the Lord;…”

Jesus quoted this promise when He was here on earth, (Isaiah 61:1)

Luke 4:18-19 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor;  he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted,  to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Christ Jesus was sent to do this very thing to all who would receive Him.

This was His work.  

He has promised.  He will give it.  Ask for it.  Look to Jesus, and He will heal your broken heart.

Reality, is it for you?

Hebrews 4:16 “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,  that we may obtain mercy,  and find grace to help in time of need.”

This is a real invitation to us from the Almighty God.  “Come boldly”: to obtain, or get for us, mercy and grace to help in this time of need.  Whatever that need is.

Christianity is an ideology (a body of ideas reflecting the social needs and goals of a group or people).

To a great many people, it is nothing more than that, for they have never been Born Again.   It takes the element of faith in Christ Jesus our Lord to make these things of the Bible, real to us.

               If it is only an ideology,  then we are left up to our own means and power to bring His Will to pass in our lives.   That is impossible.  

Only by God’s enabling, can we do His Will.

God’s plan for us is the fullness of the Spirit:  The Holy Spirit of power.

Matthew 6:10 “Thy kingdom come.   Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

This is how we have the fullness of the Holy Spirit.  And His kingdom must first be set up in our personal heart.

                If we are citizens of His Kingdom,  God is honored and obeyed by us.  And that can only be done as we voluntarily submit to His Rule over us, in His personal direction for our lives.

Jesus said, “ If ye love Me, keep my commandments.” (John 14:15)

Hebrews 4:1 “Let us therefore fear, lest,  a promise being left us of entering into His rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.”

Every promise in the Word, and every promise given to you personally is there: ready for you to enter into it by faith.     (The Holy Spirit gives you hope: or the confident assurance that God will do what He says.  We feel it!  Hallelujah!)

There can never be true faith without obedience. 

                  Faith takes us by the hand and guides us to do what we believe.  

God may have given you this promise, and this…and this, but until you have these promises in your experience,  they are only promises.

                  True and Sure;  but like money in a bank, sometimes, not used.  

The writer says “fear” coming short of the promises God gives us.    

                   Fear means to be alarmed!  To wake up to what you have in God’s Word, and reach out for it.

In praying, “Thy Kingdom come.” 

(And notice it is a complete sentence, all by itself.   It is not a part of God’s Will.   It is God’s Will:  that His Kingdom should come to each and every child of His, and that by it,  they will enjoy communion and fellowship as they come into all that God has for them.)

We are to pray for His Kingdom to come within us, and submit to Him.  We are praying for the Power and blessing of the Holy Spirit upon the Word;  when we hear it, read it, and on the preaching of it.

We are praying that we may understand and know His Will;  and willingly do His Will. (Philippians 2:13)

We are praying that the Word of God will be spread abroad by believing ministers, and that their lives will show forth God’s praise. (Matthew 5:16)

We are praying that His Kingdom which has come within us, may go on and influence those around us.  That we might be a sanctifying influence to those we come into contact with.

This is the furthering of Christ’s Kingdom here.     It always begins with us: getting by faith what God has for us, and sharing Christ and His Word to others.

For this we should come boldly to the throne of grace,  God’s Throne, and get mercy (that help to sinners in need) and grace (the power that we need) for this time,  and the next time,  and the next time….onward. 

Whom shall He teach knowledge?   

Isaiah 28:9-10 “ Whom shall He teach knowledge?  And whom shall He make to understand doctrine?  Them that are weaned from the milk,  and drawn from the breast.

                              For precept must be upon precept,  precept upon precept;  line upon line,  line upon line;  here a little, and there a little.”

If we would go on to maturity in the faith of Christ,  this is the way we will go.

1 Peter 2:2 “As newborn babes,  desire the sincere milk of the word,  that ye may grow thereby:”

The Lord Jesus would teach us knowledge:  about Himself,  and about ourselves (who can really see the way we are without His truth?), and about the world around us (the snares, and phonies there).

Teach means to point out;  like the Lord pointing His finger and saying,   “Look,  this is the way things really are.”

Psalm 32:8 “I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go:  I will guide thee with mine eye.”

And the Lord “shall make us to understand doctrine”.  In other words,  what we hear, we will understand with our minds:  we will not be confused about what He is saying to us.  The Holy Spirit will give us understanding.

For precept must be upon precept;  line upon line.

Growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord is by steps.   Putting one foot in front of the other.   A little victory here,  a larger one next.     There are falls,  but He is ever ready to pick us up.

And at every forward step, He celebrates with us, giving us joy and peace;  giving us His grace for the next step.

We can go on till our affections have reached maturity.  For the walk of a Christian comes down to:   Lord,  what is next?

1 Corinthians 13:11 “When I was a child,  I spake as a child,  I understood as a child,  I thought as a child:  but when I became a man,  I put away childish things.”

Paul is talking about charity, or love here.  Putting away our natural anger, and jealousy, and fear;  we are to go on and yield to the love God puts in our hearts.   Love to Him and others.     The more we love Him, the more we trust and obey Him.

Obedience does not save us;  the Lord Jesus Christ does that.  But we will never know Him in power, till we obey Him.

1 John 3:18 “Little children,  let us not love in word,  neither in tongue;  but in deed and in truth.”

1 John 2:5 “But whoso keepeth His word,  in him verily is the love of God perfected:  hereby know we that we are in Him.”

We are to be children of light, and shine that light:

1 Thessalonians 5:5, 8 “Ye are all the children of light,  and the children of the day:  we are not of the night,  nor of darkness.

                                          But let us,  who are of the day,  be sober (serious about doing God’s Will),   putting on the breastplate of faith and of love;  and for a helmet,  the hope of salvation.”

The Lord teaches us little by little; pointing out to us:   the way to go,  how to use the means of grace He gives us,  and giving us His light and love all along the way with Him.

The Everlasting Covenant 

Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace,  that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus,  that great shepherd of the sheep,  through  the blood of the everlasting covenant,

                                   Make you perfect in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight,  through Jesus Christ;  to Whom be glory for ever and ever.  Amen.”

A covenant is an binding agreement where one agrees to give something, if the other agrees to do something.

God the Father agreed to draw and give all the elect to God the Son:

John 6:37 “All that the Father giveth Me  cometh to Me;  and him that cometh to Me  I will in no wise cast out.”

God the Son, agreed to become the man, Christ Jesus and die for all the elect at the fullness of time:

Galatians 4:4-5 “But when the fullness of the time was come,  God sent forth His Son,  made of a woman,  made under the law,  

                               To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.”

John 6:40 “And this is the will of Him that sent Me,  everyone that seeth the Son,  and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life:  and I will raise him up in the last day.”

God the Holy Spirit, agreed to be the agency by which faith is produced within us,  and to stay with us, as our Comforter:

John 6:63 “It is the Spirit that quickeneth;  the flesh profiteth nothing:  the words that I speak unto you,  they are spirit and they are life.”

John 14:26 “But the Comforter,  which is the Holy Ghost,  Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things,  and bring all things to your remembrance,  whatsoever I have said unto you.”

The triune God made this Everlasting Covenant before they even created the earth.

For They saw, by their Omniscience, that sin would enter into the world by the man they would create.   And that by that sin,  man would have to be separated from God, the greatest Good.

All was lost to God.   He showed me once, just what a great loss it was to Him.

So They made full provision for  the salvation of man:  through the blood of the everlasting covenant.

That blood was shed on Calvary by our Lord Jesus Christ.  He paid the price to redeem us from every sin, for all who come to Him.

Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

And to make us perfect (complete) in all the works we are to do, by the merits of Jesus.    Changing us into the character of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

They made this covenant before the world was created;  so that we might be saved. For God loved us before He even created the earth. Hallelujah!

The Blind Man   

Mark 10:46-47 “And they came to Jericho:  and as He went out of Jericho with His disciples and a great number of people,  blind Bartimaeus,  the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.

                            And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,  he began to cry, and say,   Jesus, Thou Son of David,  have mercy on me.”

Going up to Jerusalem, going toward the end of His ministry here, Jesus goes through Jericho.

On the side of the highway, where he could be seen, sat Bartimaeus.  He was a blind man.  He was a beggar, and he did not want to miss an opportunity for some to give to him.

He heard the crowd passing, and eager to get a coin,  he asked what the procession was.

It is interesting to note,  that after three years of ministry,  Jesus’ name is well known.

As soon as Bartimaeus hears Who is passing by, he knows this is his opportunity for healing.

This is belief.  He believed that this Jesus,  Who he had heard about, could heal him.   He called Him “the Son of David”,  for this was one of the titles of the Messiah to come.

The Savior would come as the Son of David, and Bartimaeus believes that Jesus is He.

Mark 10:48 “And many charged him that he should hold his peace:  but he cried the more a great deal,   Thou Son of David,  have mercy on me.”

“Quiet!  We are going up to Jerusalem.  We have important things to do,  we don’t have time for a blind beggar.”

Mark 10:49 “And Jesus stood still,  and commanded him to be called.  And they call the blind man,  saying unto him,   Be of good comfort,  rise;  He calleth thee.”

But Jesus did have time.   Jesus had waited to answer Bartimaeus, and given others the opportunity to mention him;  to show kindness to a blind Israelite.    But they only told him to be quiet. (Which he wasn’t.  He yelled even louder for Jesus to hear him.)

Mark 10:50-51 “And he,  casting away his garment,  rose,  and came to Jesus.

And Jesus answered and said unto him,  What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?     The blind man said unto him,   Lord, that I might receive my sight.”

Notice how the blind man, when he knows Jesus calls him;  how he throws away his garment (his outer cloak).    

He wanted nothing to hinder his step to Jesus.    He was sure that the old garment of a beggar,  he would wear no more.

“What do you want me to do for you?”  (How many times, when we have come to Jesus in prayer, do we believe He will hear, and act for us?)

“Lord” (one of the most important Names of Jesus Christ.  Lord:  when you say it, it is almost like you are bowing before Him).  “That I might receive my sight.”

Mark 10:52 “And Jesus said unto him,  Go thy way;  thy faith hath made thee whole.    And immediately he received his sight,  and followed Jesus in the way.”

“Go thy way;”.   You can go home,  you can stay here in Jericho.   But Bartimaeus  chose the best way:  he followed Jesus.

“Thy faith hath made thee whole.”  Jesus healed because of his faith in Him.  What the blind man had heard of Jesus, caused him to believe that He was the Son of God, so he put his trust in Him to heal.

And that faith led him to cry out to Jesus, and be healed;  but also led him to follow Jesus.  

The blind man was blind no more;  not in eyes,  or in heart.  

Will we come to Jesus, and have our eyes and heart opened to Him?

Reality, or Virtual Reality;  Which?     

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal,  but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;  

                                       Casting down imaginations,  and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God,  and bringing into captivity ever thought to the obedience of Christ;”

What is the difference?  They both have reality in them, don’t they?

Reality (and we are talking about Spiritual Reality, here) is truth. 

(We have come to believe that truth for me,  is what I believe.   No,  truth is what really is…..whether I believe it or not.)

Spiritual Reality is to have in your experience, what you think you have.

We are born again.  We are growing in grace, and in the love of Jesus; both to Him and His people.  We are denying ourselves, and picking up our cross.   We are being obedient to His Will.

Imaginations plague everyone.

We dream about doing great things;  but never do them. (Or perhaps we begin, with great enthusiasm, but never finish)

We speak about doing great  things;  but we put them off, for “a while”. 

Paul is encouraging these Corinthians to finish what they started:

2 Corinthians 8:9-11 “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,  that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor,  that ye through His poverty might be rich.

                                      And herein I give my advice:  for this is expedient for you,  who have begun before,…

                                      Now therefore perform the doing of it,  that as there was a readiness to will,  so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.”

(Here, Paul is speaking about a gift for the poor brethren;  but I have had the Lord use these verses on me about a job I needed to see done.  Like I spoke of:  I had started,  then just put the rest off.   I needed to finish it.)

 

Virtual Reality is everywhere.  People say, “Believe in yourself!”       We want to, so we pretend that we do,  but we don’t; so our life becomes a life of standing taller, smiling bigger, etc.    But it is not real,  and we know it;   because we never bring ourselves to Jesus Christ, as we are.

Virtual Reality is to believe you have something,  you do not.  

This is to believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ,  but never submit to His power to bring me into obedience to His teaching.

2 Timothy 3:5, 7 “Having the form of godliness,  but denying the power thereof:  from such turn away.

                               Ever learning,  and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

How do they “deny the power thereof”?

Certainly, it can be unbelief at work.

Many people believe in God, but not a personal God which has fellowship with His people.  A God that probably is up there somewhere,  but would not take any notice of things here,  especially specific people, especially them.

But it can also be  an deliberate choice to keep God away from “interfering” in their lives.

They sit and hear the Word of God, and let it flow over them;  thinking that if they ignore Him long enough; He will leave them alone to do what they want.

(This would be a terrible end)

They hear the doctrine;  but never let it take root in their hearts.

They let one lesson, push out the other.  “Ever learning”,  and yet never coming to the place that they have in their experience what the Lord Christ has for them.

Usually this type of decision is made because the heart is “taken up” with something else.   There is no room for Christ Jesus,  and they choose to continue in this life of Virtual Reality. (No this is not the video games;  but it is the “games” people play in their minds.)

2 Timothy 3:14-17 “But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of,  knowing of Whom thou hast learned them;

                                   and that from a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

                                   All scripture is given by inspiration of God,  and is profitable for doctrine,  for reproof,  for correction,  for instruction in righteousness:

                                    That the man of God may be perfect (complete) throughly furnished unto all good works.”

Paul wrote Timothy, encouraging him to continue in the Word of God, because God will make it profitable to those who truly choose to follow it.

Reality is having what God has for you:  He paid the price to save you to “the uttermost”.

Hebrews 7:25 “Therefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him,  seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.”

Won’t you have it of Him?

Settle You

1 Peter 5:10 “But the God of all grace, Who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus,  after ye have suffered a while,  make you perfect,  stablish, strengthen,  settle you.”

Life is full of ups and downs, people who are friends and people who are enemies.

Yet the way of the Lord for you is life.  Life is not a dream,  or an illusion of some feeling. 

Though all of us have, one time or the other,  followed illusions, mostly to our hurt.  

The Lord gives us truth and reality.  

We think of that as hard;  but to yield to the truth is freedom.  Freedom from darkness or shadows into light.  Freedom to know and move on.

Life in Christ is a action-packed adventure in reaching forth in faith;  and then obtaining what you reach for. (Hebrew 11)

To “settle you” is to put in order and establish on a permanent foundation.

Our foundation is Christ Jesus.  He is the Rock on which we can build our life.

Matthew 7:24-25 “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of Mine,  and doeth them,   I will liken him unto a wise man,  who build his house upon a rock:

                                  And the rain descended,  and the floods came,  and the winds blew,  and beat upon that house,  and it fell not:  for it was founded upon a rock.”

To “settle” things, we need to bring them out into the light of God.  We need to tell Him exactly what we think,  and let Him tell us what He knows.

Then we can become grounded upon His Truth, upon Him for us.

David said that he poured out his complaint before the Lord:

Psalm 142:2-3a “I poured out my complaint before Him,  I showed before Him my trouble.

                              When my spirit was overwhelmed within me,  then Thou knewest my path…”

Why did he need to do this?  He felt completely deserted by true friends.  Only God could help.

Psalm 142:4-5 “I looked on my right hand and beheld,  there was no man who would know me:   refuge failed me;  no man cared for my soul.

                            I cried unto Thee,  O Lord;  I said,  Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.”

Peter wrote “settle you”;  but he started the verse with:  “The God of all grace”.

Grace is the unmerited favor of power, which God gives us.

Power to help us get honest with God.

Power to hear the truth.

Power to build on His Word to us.    

And Freedom to enjoy the adventure ahead,  with Him.

A More Convenient Season

Acts 24:25 “And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgement to come,  Felix trembled,  and answered,    Go thy way for this time;  when I have a convenient season,  I will call for thee.”

Felix was the Roman governor of Israel.  He lived in Caesarea, near the sea.

Paul had caused a riot in Jerusalem, when he preached that the gospel of Christ was given to the Gentiles also. (Acts 22:21-22).     He had then been taken by Roman soldiers, and though there was no charge, he was kept in the jail house; because they did not know what to do with him.    They were afraid to let him go, to cause another riot.

Normally they would never send a prisoner to the governor, except under extreme conditions:  but this seemed to be one.

Paul’s nephew had come and told the Roman chief captain, of a plot to kill Paul, even under Roman guard. (Acts 23:16-22).       This would have caused the captain a lot of trouble,  maybe even death, so he sent Paul to Felix the governor,  for review.

Felix had heard both sides of the accusation by the chief priests against Paul.

He understood that it was about this new way of religion;  about Jesus Christ.

Realizing that there was really nothing to judge,  Felix held off judgement.

He knew that Paul had done no harm,  that it was really a matter of who believed what.

But he also wanted to pacify the chief priests;  so he kept Paul in prison,  but let him have visitors. (Acts 24:22-23)

On one occasion, he called for Paul to come and talk to him and his wife concerning the faith in Christ.

Acts 24:24-25 “And after certain days,  when Felix came with his wife Drusilla,  which was a Jewess,  he sent for Paul,  and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.

                            And as he reasoned of righteousness,  temperance,  and judgement to come,  Felix trembled,  and answered,   Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season,  I will call for thee.”

But when is a “convenient season” to be born again?    When could be a better time, than now?  

Was Felix afraid of believing in Christ because his wife was there?  Or in front of his soldiers?

Or was it because he was “someone” of importance, and was afraid to submit to God?

Though Felix often heard Paul,  the more convenient season never came.

Acts 24:26-27 “He (Felix) hoped also that money should have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him:   wherefore he sent for him the oftener,  and communed with him.

                            But after two years Porcius Festus came into Felix’ room: and Felix,  willing to show the Jews a pleasure,  left Paul bound.”

How many times we have heard the gospel message:  Christ Jesus came to earth to save sinners. 

Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death;  but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Born of a virgin,  born under the law to redeem us; that we might receive the adoption of sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

We are to believe and receive Him into our hearts and lives. 

John 1:12 “But as many as receive Him,  to them gave He power to become the sons of God,  even to them that believe on His name:”

We have heard, let us also confess Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Romans 10:8-9,13 “For what saith it?  The word is nigh thee,  even in thy mouth and in thy heart:  that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

                                  That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,  and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead,  thou shalt be saved.

                                    For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

For Felix,  the convenient season never came.  He left:  afraid to confess Christ, afraid to let Paul go,  afraid to anger the chief priests.

Have we received Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  Have we come to that convenient season to believe?

(God be merciful, to me a sinner, and save me for Jesus sake. Amen)