I want to first apologize to my readers (if there are any left) for not posting on my blog in the past 5 months. It is a “death nail” to not keep up posts on blog sites. 5 months is way too long.
I want to pick up where I left off with the “Bakers Dozen” of bible verses that can help a Christian in his daily walk. Please read the past few posts in May to refresh your self with the current theme.
Thank you for your continued support and readership,
Dale Adamson
Philippians 4:13 (ESV)
“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
This is a very important verse in these troubling days that surround us. But as hard as it is, Christ gives us the strength to not only pursue Him, but to also persevere in our Christian walk.
It’s not on our strength that we can do the will of God, but the strength of the Lord. Christ’s power is made perfect in our weakness. Paul goes on to say, “I boast in my weakness.” Why? why boast that we are weak? So, that Jesus’ power will rest upon us and to bring Him glory (2 Corinthians 12:9).
This power is given to us through the Holy Spirit and gives us the strength to endure life challenges for the glory of God. We are to be thankful for the work that the Lord has entrusted to us (1 Timothy 1:12).
2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV)
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
This second verse in this series is one that helps me remember not who I was, but who I am. Satan loves to come along and remind us of who we were. He loves to try and bring us down from the celebration of the victory that we have in the cross. This victory is not of our selves but the sovereign work that God provided through His Son Jesus.
I am a new creation in Christ. My old nature has passed away and the new has come. I am a child of God. I have the power of Christ living in me through the holy spirit. The only victory that Satan has is the ones that I give him. He has no power in my life. The chains have been broken.
I am to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in righteousness and holiness. Ephesians 4:24
Through the power of Christ, I am to pursue righteousness and the holiness of God and its on His power and for His glory that I live.
Matthew 6:33 (ESV)
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
This is the first verse on my list of life verses. Matthew 6:33 is a verse that I have covered in a previous post but it bears repeating here. It is a verse that I claim on a daily basis.
It starts with 2 key words that are vital in everyone’s walk with the Lord. The 2 words are “seek” and “first.”
Seek
Dictionary.com defines seek as: “to go in search or quest of: to seek the truth.” This is true for all Christians. To seek or pursue. This takes definite intention of the believer. The second word is –
First
This word indicates priority that we should pursue (seek) the Kingdom of God which is the next part of this verse –
The Kingdom of God
God’s righteous and sovereign reign over all creation.
His Righteousness
His holiness, perfection.
Added Unto You
All these things – our needs according to God’s sovereign plan – will be met.
When we seek God and to live a holy life, which can only be accomplished through the power and grace of Christ Jesus, God blesses us. I am not talking about prosperity gospel that is so prevalent today, I am talking about God working in us His sovereign will and giving us what we need to live for God and bring Him all the glory.
Bible Translations
I thought it might be good before I begin to share the 12 life verses from the bible, to talk about which translation I use. There are 4 translations that I like – King James Version (KJV), New King James (NKJ), New American Standard (NAS), English Standard Version (ESV). There are other versions but they seem to be more of a paraphrase of these translations. For me, I try to stick to translations rather than paraphrases.
This is the order I use these 4 versions: 1) NKJ, 2) NAS, 3) ESV, 4) KJV.
The first 3 were translated from the Greek and Hebrew word for word in todays english while the KJV was translated using old style english.
Of course, there is much study that can be done in just researching which translation is best. I would encourage you to study for yourself concerning these translation and develop for yourself the standard by which you use your translation.
The next chapter of “Foundations” will contain 12 life verses that I am using in my life. There is no doubt that I need to read all of my Bible daily, but I do believe there are 12 or so verses that I count on that will continue to strengthen my faith.
I will go through these 12 verses one at a time and I pray that this concept may help others grow in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior and the power of the victory of the cross.
This concept of finding 12 verses is not my idea. My prayer partner (a retired pastor who is still serving the Lord by ministering to all those whom he comes in contact) in one of our meetings gave me this bit of advice. It has not been an easy road. My flesh desires to wallow around in self-pity. What I want more than anything is to walk in the Spirit and continue to find all my joy in Christ Jesus. These verses, coupled with prayer, is a major weapon in the battle against the flesh and the father of all lies – Satan.
The Certainty of Final Judgment
Though this is the 7th principle in this series that we have covered, it is not the end. These 7 principles are foundational for any discussion in Christian Doctrine. There however, many other doctrines that are vital in defending the Christian Faith. But, in order to discuss anything else, it is vital to agree on these 7 or nothing else really matters.
Many people believe that we live in a world where we can choose to participate the “religion” game. You may have heard people make comments like: “I don’t believe in God or the Devil.” The truth is whether you believe in God or not, without the free gift of salvation through Christ Jesus, you are already condemned to die an eternal death in Hell. There is a final judgment and it is certain. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that “it is appointed once for man to die and then the judgment.” This final judgment is also confirmed in Matthew 25. All those without Christ will perish.
This 7th principle should stir our hearts with compassion for all those around us to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As we stated in the 6th principle, it is a free gift and as we also know, judgment is certain and final. We need to remember that someone else was moved by the spirit to share the Gospel with us and so should we be willing to share with others.
It is my prayer for you (and for me) that we become the fragrance of Christ and to bring Him all the glory!
Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Salvation as a Free Gift.
The one question that all other religions struggle with is the fact that there is only one way to heaven and that’s through Jesus. There is no other way into heaven but it is a free gift from God. You cannot earn your way into Heaven. The only way is through faith in Jesus Christ. Romans 6:23b tells us that “the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We all must appear before the judgment seat of Jesus and will suffer the eternal punishment of God without the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ. But, one must receive this free gift before death – before the judgment. And this free gift – it is from God through Jesus and not of our selves. In other words, you can do nothing to save yourself except through grace and faith in Jesus Christ.
This free gift is for everyone. Romans 10:9-13 “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” 12For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. 13For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
No other religion in the world offers a free gift. You always have to work your way into heaven, which of course is false in every sense. But, that’s religion – mans attempt to show God he can do good and no one is good, no not one.
The Depravity of Man
One only has to look around today and see how man has lost his moral compass. Politicians compromising their integrity by selling out their principles of what is right, famous people having extramarital affairs and the list goes on. Evil is on the rise in this perverse generation.
Paul tells us in Romans 3:12 “…that no one is good, no not one” and that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23. Man is evil. However, as Christians we do have an advocate with the Father – Jesus. Romans 6:23 tells us that we can have the free gift of God which is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Jesus is our example of Holiness. We are to put on the mind of Christ and grow daily in our sanctification becoming more like Jesus everyday.
The depravity of man is essential to understanding our need for a Savior and His willingness to step out of Heaven and come to this earth and live a perfect life to pay the price for our sins. Other religions try to state that people are good. In fact, religion is mans attempt to show God that he can do good – “no one is good, no not one.”
The Inerrancy of the Bible.
Dictionary.com defines inerrancy as; 1 – “lack of error; infallibility.” 2 – “the belief that the Bible is free from error in matters of science as well as those of faith.”
There have been many people who have set out to prove the bible wrong since it was written by man stating that since man is not perfect, then the bible is not perfect. Some of those people have to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and turned their lives over to God and now become some of the best in Apologetics. Most notable, Josh McDowell and Lee Strobel.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 tells us that all scripture is God breathed, that is, God gave us His word to man through His Holy Spirit. God has chosen to reveal himself through creation – all that is – and the Bible which is His revealed word.
If the Bible is not true, then nothing in Christianity is true. This is the point that agnostics try to make. The reality is that people who try to prove the Bible wrong really are only hiding the fact that they are sinners in need of a Savior. The truth is that mankind cannot live up to God’s standards and through man’s pride he tries to bring God down instead of submitting themselves to the love and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ who came to this earth and become the sacrifice for the sins of man and make a way for us to come back into fellowship with God.
2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us that no prophecy comes by mans own interpretations but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
The Bible is the infallible word of God. Anyone who will read the bible will find God through His Son Jesus Christ.
Alētheia: Truth 