Overcomers Through Christ

Revelation 3:5

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.

In this setting, we have Christ offering encouragement to all believers saying, that if they persevere unto the end then they shall be clothed in white raiment that would have been washed in His blood. Christ is also stating that the overcomer's name will be in the book of life where the believer will live forever in His presence. Christ will also confess before the Father and the angels as to who these overcomers are. They are all those who have withstood Satan's attacks and the persecutions during the tribulation period.

That said, believers in all generations are engaged in a spiritual conflict that began in heaven between Satan and God. All believers are in God's army and are subjected to persecution and these persecutions will increase during the tribulation years. Believers have the help of the Holy Spirit to aid in our fight against Satan and persecution as well as being dressed for battle in God's battle gear.

What a blessing it is to live eternity in the presence of the Lord dressed in white robes and having glorified bodies like Christ our Savior where there will be no more persecutions, pain and suffering.

Believers take heart, Christ has overcomed the world; therefore, we are overcomers.

Comments are welcome

Author's contacts

http://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com

white3285@sbcglobal.net

Healing Of A Nation

2 Chronicles 7:14

If My people, which are called by My name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

In light of the current evil conditions in our country and the world I was led by the Holy Spirit to call for intercessory prayer as many of us prayer warriors are currently praying for the healing of this nation.

The news is filled with grim news of murder and mayhem; young children killing innocent babies. What has a baby done other than be born? We have young children plotting to kill their siblings and the entire family; what have our society come to?  Then there are people killing one another without any remorse what so ever?

My answer is that we as nation as a whole have put God on the back burner. Many are compromising our faith on moral issues we know that is against God's moral laws. The family structure is being turned upside down. The family is an institution established by God and will remain as He implemented regardless of man's definition or efforts to redefine marriage.

God will take His rightful (first) place in our lives one way or the other because He said; thou shall have no other gods before me, nor make any graven imagines of Him (Exodus 20:3-4).

The question now becomes, how do we heal our land? Our scripture text provides the answer and whatever God promises will come to pass because He is true to His word. If we turn back to Him He will heal our land.

Join me in praying for a healing of our land. We need a spiritual healing of this nation.

Comments are welcome

Author's contacts

white3285@sbcglobal.net

http://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com

Ten Commandments God's Guidance

Exodus 20:3-17

Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery.

The Ten Commandments are God's instructions to man for holy living which begins with the first instruction as it relates to other gods and the holy God of this universe. The first of the Ten Commandments tell how God feels about other gods as He is the one true God who is to be worshiped, praised, and honored. He is worthy given His sovereign powers. Also, God forbids the creation of any graven images unto Him because no man has ever seen God and lived. Even Moses wasn't allowed to see God face to face; he could only look at God's hind part.

God's instructions further outlines for mankind how and when if obeyed leads to holy living. Obeying God's Ten Commandments indicates humanity's love and gratitude to God for what He has done and continues to do in life of all men. Obeying God's Ten Commandments reverberates from one person to another and then to the entire community.

The Ten Commandments are manifestations of His love for man and how we are to live. This is also evidence of God's provisional care for humanity.

The Ten Commandments are given to benefit humanity.

 

Comments are welcome

Author's contacts

white3285@sbcglobal.net

http://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com

Christ's Blood Did It All

Hebrews 9:14

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot of God, purge your conscience even from dead works to serve the living God?

Our lesson text asks a profound question that begs an answer by looking at what Christ's blood did atoning sin.

Therefore, let us look at what Christ's blood accomplished: (a) it forgives sin of all believers (Matthew 26:28). (b) Christ's blood bought back all believers from Satan and eternal separation from God to a life of righteousness in God (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:18-19; Revelation 5:9; 12:11). (c) Christ's blood justifies all believers (Romans 3:24-25). (d) Christ's blood cleanses all believers' conscience so that they might service God with full assurances of one's faith (Hebrews 9:14; 10:22; 13:18). (e) Christ's blood sanctifies all believers, which is being set apart as God's people. (f) Christ's blood opened the door so that all believers can now come boldly to God where they will find peace, grace, mercy and help in the time of trouble and most importantly salvation (Hebrews 7:25; 10:19; Ephesians 2:13-18). (g) Christ's blood assures all believers of the promises made under the new covenant. (h) Christ's blood reconciled all believers back to God the Father as it is the purifying agent which cleanses us from sin and shame to holiness.

From the above answers, Christ's blood did what animal blood could not do; it forgave sin instead of covering over sin.

Comments are welcome

Author's contacts

white3285@sbcglobal.net

http://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com

We Are Special To God

Today's message taken from October's devotional, Heavenly Bread published on Amazon CreateSpace.com. Thanks for your support and allowing me to share inspiring messages with your.

1 Peter 2:9

But ye are a chose generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should shew for the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

All mankind is special to God in that His Spirit lives in us because He breathed the breath of life into man and he became a living soul. God created man to be in fellowship with Him. Sin broke that fellowship; thank God for Jesus who restored that fellowship and all who accept Christ's atoning work have become members of His royal family of priests who have been called out from among the unbelievers of this world.

Believers are special to God in that we heard and accepted God's spiritual invitation to be His son and daughters. Believers are no longer living in the darkness of sin and shame, but in the righteous light of God's glory.

Collectively believers are God's holy nation of people who shine the brightness of His righteousness. Individual believers are God's dwelling place in that we are temples of God. The faith community-the church are God's dwelling place as well.

Being the special people that we as believers are, we are called into righteous living as we have yielded control to the indwelling Holy Spirit as He serves as our moral compass.

Believers we are the apple of God's eye, so live like His special people.

Comments are welcome.
Dr. Willie White
Good Shepherd Writing and Publishing LLC
white3285@sbcglobal.net
http://willie-writing.blogspot.com

How Is Our Stewardship?

1 Corinthians 4:1-2

Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful.

In yesterday's discussion our focus was man being honored by God that He gave man dominion over His creation, but today's focus is our stewardship over God's creation being that He left man in charge. The Bible records examples of God using godly and faithful stewards to manage what God had blessed them with. Joseph come to mind when he was sold in slavery and then rose to a position of power and in doing properly managed what was under his care to the point that there was enough to provide for another nation. Adam and Eve was left in the Garden of Eden to care for God's creation, but disobedient destroyed everything and open the flood gates for all manner of evil.

God blessed man with a will and the ability to make decisions and provided His wisdom to aid in our decision-making. Following God's management plan, then there is always enough with plenty left over. Christ fed thousands with two fishes and five loaves of bread with twelve baskets left over.

However, when man feels that he knows more than God and can manage better than God, then the results are confusion. Our world is influx, man is at odds with one another, and some are failing to give God His ten percent as outlined in scripture. What we have is poverty and starvation throughout the land; many churches are closing due to a lack of funds and declining membership and many are turning to the government for its social programs for sustainability. God can and will sustain His house just as He sustains everything else.

Therefore, the question now becomes, how is our stewardship? Are we managing God's creation-this earth and all that is within according to His will?

Comments are welcome

Author's contact information

white3285@sbcglobal.net

http://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com

Honored By God

Psalm 8:4-6

What is man, thou are mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visited him? For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crown him with glory and honor. Thou makest him to have dominion over the works to thy hands; thou hadst out all things under his keep.

Our discussion text tells how God our Father, creator and sustainer has honored man by giving him dominion over all of His creations. More importantly, God breathed the breath of life into man and he became a living soul. This breath is God's Spirit; therefore, part of God lives in us. This makes humanity special to God and even more special when we first believe that there is a God who created both seen and unseen.

God honored His prized creation-man by making man a little lower than His angels who are spiritual being that serve at His call. God crowned us with wisdom, knowledge, a will and emotions as well as with a desire to follow or reject Him for who He is and what He does in our lives. God honored man by giving him dominion over all His creation.

It is noteworthy to say that Jesus Christ is the embodiment of humanity as He represented deity and humanity as man's propitiator. He is given full dominion over all God's creation as He is God, but in the meantime mortal man is to take care of God's creations.

Reflect on man having dominion over all God's creation, and ask this question, why didn't God make animals the ruler over man being that animals were created first? This speaks to God's love for man and how man was created, and then asks, who else but man has God's Spirit living in them?

Humanity, we are special to God and this is shown in how He honors us.

Comments are welcome

Author's contacts:

white3285@sbcglobal.net

http://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com

 

Blessed And Highly Favored

Luke 1:28

...Thou are blessed and highly favored, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou are among women.

The scene for today's lesson study is the Mary the mother of Jesus being visited by the angel of the Lord informing Mary of her very important assignment as it relates to the promised Messiah's birth. Mary had found favor with God the Father and was chosen to be the human gateway for Christ's birth to fulfill the mission of paying man's sin-debt.

Believers have found favor with God the Father in that we are chosen to be His peculiar people set apart from this world and be the lit candles shining the light of Christ our Savor. Believers collectively are the city that is set upon a hill calling all unbelievers to come and join the family of God as His sons and daughters.

Believers being blessed and highly favored as God's elect, we wear the righteous garment of salvation because all believers have been washed in the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Being blessed and highly favored, believers will spend eternity in the presence of God and will have glorified bodies like Christ. Being the blessed and highly favored of God we were chosen from the foundation of the world as God knew from the beginning who would accept His salvation invitation to live with Him forever.

Believers, we are the blessed and highly favored of God as His special people.

Comments are welcome

Author's contacts:

white3285@sbcglobal.net

http://willie-writing.blogspot.com

www.goodshepherdwritingandpublishing.com