Fine Art America

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Celebration of Life



Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace.
For my eyes have seen your salvation,
which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
a light for revelation to the Gentiles
and for glory to your people Israel."….Luke 2:29-32

The words of Simeon as he takes baby Jesus into his hands.

My experience with the Christmas season has always been valued on what I have to give to those whom I love. I never considered the real value in the celebration of the Lord’s birth concerning the gift presented to each of us from God himself. When I removed my gaze from my natural experiences I began to realize that what God has presented at Christmas is life giving . If I only see Christmas from my natural experiences I will loose the effect of what He has given to me for an eternity. Life. Those experiences produced by the natural worlds interpretation of the celebration can only leave me with a half truth and not the full effect of God’s love. Unless it is founded in the truth of our Lord’s birth my experiences are nothing unless they are valued in the source of the truth, the Lord Jesus the Christ.
If I try to deny the truth of it then my circumstances and challenges result in death. Christmas day should be a celebration of life. . When the truth is lived by virtue of the Holy Spirit then the meaning of the celebration becomes alive and as a result victories are born in our relationships, giving, faith, and so on. The scriptures come alive as it relates to why Christ was manifested and what the result of it is. (1 John 3:8). The result will come in an abundance of life in every aspect of it... Allow the true spirit of the season to compel your heart towards the life presented at the cross of Calvary. One indebted in service, love and obedience to the will and word of God which is the Lord Jesus the Christ.

This Christmas truly examine your heart to minister to the true reason for the season. It is a gift that celebrates life instead of death. For God so loved us that this day resulted in the birth of a sacrifice that will stand throughout eternity. It was the love of God that took the tree at Calvary in order for us the have eternal life. That is truly the reason for the season.Love someone today that eternity may be presented to them through the love of Jesus Christ. Amen

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads………………….Revelation 22:1-4

Thursday, December 10, 2009

According To Your Faith


And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment:
For she said within herself, if I may but touch his garment, I shall be whole.
But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.
Matthew 9:20-22

Let’s examine these statements. When I first encounter them they do not offer any sense of truth when examined from the contents of our natural environments. Here’s why, from a natural perspective there is no power available in the hem of a garment that can resolve my most pressing issues. I just can not comprehend it. When I visit this story in the book of Matthew from the natural it has no life. Come on this woman has been sick and bleeding for 12 years. To encounter it for one year would be extremely challenging.

Notice what she says to herself. “If I can touch the hem of his garment” It is in this piece of the statement that she becomes free from the fallen or natural state of her condition. In her heart she becomes convinced, by faith that the power of God had rested in His presence. Of course we know who is wearing the garment. If you don’t know it is Jesus the Christ.
It is according to our faith weather of not we will overcome the challenges that are present in our daily lives. I chose this particular piece, even though there are many witnesses to choose from, this one kind of lines up with the statement Christ makes in Matthew 19 starting in verse 24. It reads; and again I say unto you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, who then can be saved? But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, with men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Believing in the power of God outside of the state of our natural realm presents enormous challenges. This so called faith can only present itself in the context of which God intended for it to be. Unfortunately in our fallen state it becomes challenging because of our inability to touch the tangible aspect of what is hoped for. This is the key element used by Satan to hinder us from receiving the gift of God through our Lord Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit of God. The power of God begins with the blood of Jesus and rests at the right hand of the Father in the presence of Jesus. If there is failure in receiving this truth then the power of God can’t and will not work in our lives.
Often the breath of our experience can only be born from what we believe in our hearts. Lets not get it twisted the power of God is available to us. Our belief in the presence of God can only be manifested by our faith. It is what it is. If we suppose the theological arguments and religious tangibility of the existence of God then we begin to rob ourselves of His power. There is no coincidence that the world centers all of its religious activity from Jerusalem. It is there where the King of Glory will assume His eternal Kingdom. (Revelation 21; 10) and reign for ever and ever.
Our hardship occurs when we become more accustomed to believing what is interpreted by those who are anti Christ. Take for instance the statement by Ms Oprah Winfrey that suggests there are many ways to heaven. This insinuates that the word of God from the bible concerning the Christ is not true. It is foolish to present this as valid because it was only one way out of the presence of God and there is only one way in. Remember by witness of the universe our God and creator. Has order. He shows us by way of scripture what He has intended for man to be redeemed back to him. The order is predicated on His sacrifice. Of His only begotten son. That’s it. Nothing else can substitute it. Nothing. This can only come by faith.(Romans 5:15)
As believers we must rely on the promises of God. It is by faith that our lives become whole and complete as we return back to the creator. It is foolish to present the notion that when we live in this natural state that we are succumbed to that state forever. The reality is by faith, which encompasses the power of God, can we benefit from all that he has made and present it as glorious in His sight. He wrote the script. In order for it to be played out in the fashion of what he intended we have to enter into his presence by faith. As he witnessed to the women with the impossible challenges let it be done According to your faith. Without it we become less than what God had intended for us to be. Remember that His intentions were for us to be complete in him. (Colossians 2:10)
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.
Mark 10:52

Thursday, December 3, 2009

Salvation Is Eternal




He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.


I John 5:12,13

Here is the question. Can you loose your salvation?

First I like to say as a believer, you are assured that your eternal destiny is secure in Christ. (1 John 5:13). There is this notion channeling through the body of our Lord that believes that salvation can be lost. Some fear that there salvation is lost. Many of them carry on through life uncertain about there eternal status by virtue of some religious discourse that presents this mistruth. There are many reasons we can assume a lost of this gift but the number one reason is centered on sin. In violation to the word of God sin diffuses our assurance. How can this be?
In our choice to sin against God we feel a sense of estrangement. We feel that we have left the presence and as a result we don’t feel as close. It provides us with a feeling of unworthiness and rejection. As a result it presents the challenge with doubt concerning God’s love for us. It is disobedience and rebellion that send us catapulting into repeated sin. Those who are misinformed eventually come to the notion that they have lost there salvation. This is untrue.
Actually it is very selfish to think that we can override the sacrificial payment of our Lord Jesus the Christ with our actions! I don’t think so. There isn’t anything we can do to cancel the tremendous debt paid by our Lord at Calvary. (Hebrews 9:12)) This is not a license to sin. Rather it is the opportunity to motivate us to champion the virtue of the cross and become more Christ-like. His sacrifice provides us with the opportunity to love Him. It is His action on the tree that provides us the opportunity to be saved. (Galatians’ 3:13)
Our hardship occurs when we become more accustomed to sin instead of developing a relationship with Jesus the Christ. On many occasions sin provides us with a view of salvation based on feeling and emotion. Feelings and emotions change. My point is that salvation is not based on feeling and emotion: it is based of the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus the Christ. You may feel indifferent because of sin, but once you have accepted Christ you can never lose your salvation. (John 10:27-30)
How then can we as believers be certain that we are saved without a shadow of a doubt?
As believers we must rely on the promises of God. From the beginning of the Word and throughout God assures us as to what the result is when we believe His word. It presents us with the certainty that when we hear His Word and believe on His sacrifice of His only begotten and confess our sin salvation is the gift afforded to us. (John 3:16; John 4:24; John 6:37) No one can separate us or snatch us from it. (John 10:28) (Romans 8:33-35)Another point that secures this is centered on God’s unconditional love for us. Who can charge us otherwise (Romans 8:33, 39)
The finished work of Jesus on the cross solidifies our salvation. Hebrews 7:25 vows that Jesus “is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him. Our Lord’s sacrifice wasn’t intended upon being a quick fix. It is the eternal answer to the fallen state of man away from God.
Through the Holy Spirit we are assured our salvation through the witness in our hearts. Remember the heart is the instrument and vessel used to play out the virtue of the cross. As a result it is the Holy Spirit that replenshises the truth of Calvary with your soul. Nothing else. .
Many of us who believe have experience this doubt at one time or another. Fear is not the arbiters of our eternal destiny. Any question about our salvation must be examined in our hearts and reassured through prayer, fasting and consecration. Ask God to shed a light on the challenges that present this untruth and eradicate it from your soul. If there is still uncertainty revisit Romans Chapter 10 starting in verse 8 and repave that uncertain road unto the pathway to eternity with God. Remember salvation is eternal. Amen.


I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

Isaiah 61:10