Updates: January 1, 2018
Jesus said “After this manner therefore pray all of you: Our Father which are in Heaven, Hallowed (Holy) be your Name. Your Kingdom come, Your Will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts (sins), as we forgive our debtors (sins against us). And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For Yours is the Kingdom, and the Power, and the Glory, forever. Amen. For if all of you forgive men their trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if all of you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” ~ Matthew 6:9-15
The Sheep and the Goats
Jesus said “When the Son of Man shall come in His Glory, and all the Holy Angels with Him, then shall He sit upon the Throne of His Glory: And before Him shall be gathered all nations: and He shall separate them one from another, as a Shepherd divides His sheep from the goats: And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on His right hand, Come, all of you blessed of My Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was hungry, and all of you gave Me food: I was thirsty, and all of you gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and all of you took Me in: Naked, and all of you clothed Me: I was sick, and all of you visited Me: I was in prison, and all of you came unto Me. Then shall the righteous answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we You hungry, and fed you? or thirsty, and gave You drink? When saw we You a stranger, and took You in? or naked, and clothed You? Or when saw we You sick, or in prison, and came unto You? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Assuredly I say unto you, Inasmuch as all of you have done it unto one of the least of these My brethren, all of you have done it unto Me. Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, all of you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was hungry, and all of you gave Me no food: I was thirsty, and all of you gave Me no drink: I was a stranger, and all of you took Me not in: naked, and all of you clothed Me not: sick, and in prison, and all of you visited Me not. Then shall they also answer Him, saying, Lord, when saw we You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto you? Then shall He answer them, saying, Assuredly I say unto you, Inasmuch as all of you did it not to one of the least of these, all of you did it not to Me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal. ~ Matthew 25:31-46
Note: Jesus made it clear to His disciples (followers) that we are to forgive one another and that we are to help, encourage and assist one another. It is very much a real concept that in the very and exact way that we treat others even strangers it is in the very same way that God is going to treat us including in the final judgment to come.
by David Anson Brown
Repost - Updates: July 30, 2017
“You can have a personal relationship with God.” We like to pull this amazing declaration out of our evangelism toolboxes, to focus on the fact that a relationship with God is actually possible for human beings. This fact is at the wondrous heart of biblical, evangelical Christianity.
“You can have a personal relationship with God.” We like to pull this amazing declaration out of our evangelism toolboxes, to focus on the fact that a relationship with God is actually possible for human beings. This fact is at the …
However, another word from the above statement also deserves our attention: personal. More than just a modifier of “relationship,” “personal” points to the fact that God Himself must be personal in order to relate to us.
How does Almighty God pull off being personal? According to theologian Millard Erickson, “The Holy Spirit is the point at which the Trinity becomes personal to the believer.”
1. The Spirit is the actual presence of God, active and alive, within Christians. Another theologian wrote, “Though we speak of the Spirit as the third Person [of the Trinity], from the standpoint of experience Spirit is first, because it is the Spirit that enables us to experience God’s … drawing near.”
2. Think about all these ideas regarding God the Holy Spirit: personal, active, alive, experiential, and “drawing near.” As the very presence of God within us, the Holy Spirit does all sorts of things, among them producing [righteous] fruit, giving gifts, and making [us] holy [Christian Sanctification].
Another thought about [Holy] spiritual fruit is worth mentioning. These nine elements — multiple parts of a singular fruit, like a cluster of grapes — perfectly describe life in the [Holy] Spirit. W. T. Conner, long-time theologian at Southwestern Seminary, phrased it perfectly in saying that the Spirit-filled life is moral and ethical, not “an emotional orgy. … Paul was no wild enthusiast. His religion [traditional Christianity] always had at its center the element of rational and moral control. Christian character and conduct were the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit.”
Source: sbclife.net
