H.O.P.E.: April 2013

Monday, April 22, 2013

What is Sin?

What is Sin?

It is the glory of God not honored.

The holiness of God not reverenced.

The greatness of God not admired.

The power of God not praised.

The truth of God not sought.

The wisdom of God not esteemed.

The beauty of God not treasured.

The goodness of God not savored.

The faithfulness of God not trusted.

The commandments of God not obeyed.

The justice of God not respected.

The wrath of God not feared.

The grace of God not cherished.

The presence of God no prized.

The person of God not loved.

That is sin.”

– John Piper

Everyone has sinned...

There is no difference between Jew and Gentile,

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 3:22-23

There is a price to pay for our sins...

For the wages of sin is death,

but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

Jesus paid the price for our sins...

He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours

but also for the sins of the whole world.

1 John 2:2

God hates sin. He will never allow sin to enter His heaven.

He knew for us to enter heaven the price had to be paid for our sin.

Jesus, speaks up to God the Father and says, "I'll pay the price!"

Nowing the price was death Jesus was still willing to leave the splendors of heaven and come to this earth to die. To die for you and me. Jesus paid the price for our sin so we would not have to!

God hates sin but Oh, how He loves us!

Father God in heaven, I thank You for the amazing love you have for us. That while we were still sinners Jesus died for us, paying the price for our sins. I pray for those reading this blog. Father, will you reveal Yourself to them in a personal way, right where they are. Let them feel the love you have for them.

In Jesus name, Amen.

All Scripture used in my blogs comes from

the Word of God which is the Holy Bible

426 Laurelwood Road

Pottstown, PA 19465

610-323-0480

www.calvarychristian.info

Feel free to e-mail me:

Cindy Mckinley at:

mckinleyclm@gmail.com

Check out some of my other blogs:

Go Away Jesus! http://cccenterhope.blogspot.com/2012/11/go-away-jesus.html

It's All God's Fault! http://cccenterhope.blogspot.com/2012/08/its-all-gods-fault_13.html

How Did I Miss That? http://cccenterhope.blogspot.com/2012/10/how-did-i-miss-that.html

I Am Free! http://cccenterhope.blogspot.com/2012/07/i-am-free.html

Transition vs. Transformation http://cccenterhope.blogspot.com/2012/04/transition-vs-transformation.html

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Looking For God

Isaiah 55:1,2,4,6 "Come all you who are thirsty...Listen, listen to me and eat what is good...See I have made him a witness to the peoples...Seek the Lord while He may be found.”

Did you ever stop to think that the God who created the universe wants you to spend time with him and that He has something to say to you?

Through the prophet Isaiah God gives us five steps to coming to truly knowing Him.

Step 1 ~ Come
For those who are truly thirsty and hungry for more of God, He has given us an open invitation to come into His presence. And once we come He says, “Listen, listen to Me eat what is good.”

Step 2 ~ Listen
Not once, but twice God says, “Listen, listen to Me”. He has given us His Word, the Bible, which is full of instructions of how to live and walk this journey on earth.

Step 3 ~ Eat what is good
King David said, “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Psalm 34:8

In the natural we must eat and drink to keep our bodies alive.
To keep our soul alive within us we must eat and drink in God's Word the Holy Bible.

Have you ever found a food that you really like and you don’t think twice about going back for seconds maybe even thirds. How many times have you said, “This is so good, I just can’t get enough.”?

This is what God is asking us to. To open His Word and take in what He has to say. Once we start, we will keep coming back for more. We will soon find that when we start applying what He has written to us will change our lives forever. We will have tasted and found that having hope for the future is good.

Step 4 ~ See
He wants us to take a look into His Word and see His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus is our witness of what is to come and since He has enter eternity. Jesus said in John 18:37 ... “I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” One who testifies is a witness.

Step 5 ~ Seek
We are all told to ... “Seek the Lord while He may be found.” There is a day coming when the presence of God will no longer be upon this earth. Many will cry out to God only to find He is no longer there. It is vital that we all seek Him while He may be found. We can’t give up. We must keep on seeking, every day. Not once in awhile but continually.

The prophet Hosea tells us, “Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers righteousness on you.” Hosea 10:12

Every day I choose to Come to God. I choose to Listen to what He has to say and Eat what is good for my soul through reading the Bible. I choose to search out the testimony of Jesus for He is an eye-witness from the beginning till the end. I choose to Seek the Lord while He may be found.

Oh, there have been many times I have had to break up the unplowed ground of my heart, areas that have become hard because of circumstances in my life. But that is something God helps me to do. He loves us so much!

I leave you with this verse from Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart.”

Father God in Heaven, there may be some who have tried to come to You in the past and for some reason have not felt Your presence. You have promised that those who seek You will find You, if they seek You with all their heart. Be with each one who reads this blog. Let them feel Your presence in a personal way and find HOPE that can only come from You. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!

A good place in the Holy Bible to read and learn about Jesus is the gospels, which are the first four books of the New Testament ...Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Before you start reading ask God to open your mind to understand the scripture and to reveal His Son, Jesus Christ to you. He will answer your prayer!