The flesh profits nothing

I was standing at the stove this morning when the Lord had me pray. Looking at the cook top, "The Lord is the master chef, and we are His dish. He deicides what ingredients to put in, not us. He decides when to serve, not us. So if the Lord isn't serving it; a word, a deed, then it's just me." John 6:63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The Spirit alone gives life. God Himself breathed life into us, as He did with Adam, the first man. I can't save, I can't heal, but we know Who can. No matter how hard I work in the flesh, I can never accomplish one thing that the Spirit can. Sometimes our sin doesn't seem to hurt anyone, it's just a nuisance. But what good is a nuisance? It's worthless, it profits nothing. Dead works the bible calls them. “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and a faith toward God.” (Hebrews 6:1) Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? There is nothing He can't do, none He can't save or heal. But there is nothing we can do if we are in our flesh, remember, the flesh profits NOTHING! According to Jesus, and that's my standard, and the only way that leads to life.

Handiwork of the Lord

The imprint of the day should be the handiwork of God, in every way, in every day. If " This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it." then we should see God's imprint on it, and not ours!(Psalm 118:24) A nock off Rolex might look the part, but it will not have the parts of a real Rolex. I don't want a knock off day, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15b) A knock off never has the same look and feel, if you know the real thing really well. I've even been told counterfeit bills are best seen if you know the originals inside and out. Do we know Christ in this way? Do we surrender our days to His bidding? "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:10) Are we allowing God to be Lord master, savior, ruler of the day? Is it our day or His? Again, "...as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” (Joshua 24:15b)

Pride goes before a fall

Pride goes before a fall....Proverbs 16:18 The Hebrew word here is the same used for majesty. Pride is arrogance, which is defined as: having or revealing an exaggerated sense of one's own importance or abilities. Haughty, conceited, self-important, egotistic, full of oneself, superior... Majesty is defined as:impressive stateliness, dignity, or beauty. Royal power. But here is our response: Jude 1:25 to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen. If our righteousness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6) then we should not get any of the glory, and we have no majesty, and we should have nothing to be proud about. Isn't that the basis for satan's own fall, pride, thinking he was something he was not? Seeing how we are tempted, and how The Lord Himself was tempted will help us to say no to the devil. Every time we are tempted, let us look at it like it is from the devil, and say no, every time! Matthew 4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”[a] 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”[b] 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”[c] 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you,[d] Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’”[e] 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. Let us look out, we too are tempted by the devil. 2 Corinthians 10:5 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ... Take every thought captive. Look at every temptation the same way Jesus did, and rebuke the devil, and he will flee from you! James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Remember, it just takes submitting to God! He has all the power, all the authority, all the majesty, and we have Him!

Infant baptism.

It's either a truth or a lie, false or true. Many teach that baptism can save, or that it's essential to salvation. Often times Acts 16 is quoted as proof for infant baptism as well. The problem with infant baptism is there are no infants mentioned anywhere in the bible that are baptized! And as scripture for a pattern, and inspired by The Holy Spirit, we must follow God's pattern, not our own, or tradition, but simply the Word of God. Now back to Acts 16, please, read this for yourselves as well, here is a brief summary. Paul & Silas were thrown in jail for preaching the Gospel of Christ. They sang songs of praise to God, then an earthquake shook the prison and they were loosed from their chains. The jailor came and saw the prison doors opened and thought they had escaped. Paul & Silas told him they were there still. The jailor said, "What must I do to be saved? " "You must believe on the Lord, and you will be saved, you and your whole household." They told him. Nothing about having to be baptized, just believe on Jesus. This is actually a pattern set forth for us to know when to baptize, for when the jailor took them to his home, Paul & Silas spoke the word of God to the jailor and his whole house....an infant mentioned? No. Then they were baptized, after hearing the word. Was it told that baptism was a part of salvation? No. By the way, the word baptized means to be immersed, or brought under the water, not sprinkled. (Strongs Greek 907, greek, baptizo)So we're even doing that sprinkle part wrong! It's sweet to take everything you have, and dedicate it to the Lord, especially something as sweet, and as important as our children. So we dedicate them, not baptize them, until they come to faith in Christ. Ephesians 2: 8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast." Water cannot save, no matter how holy, or who it's anointed by, but grace alone, through faith can save. Whenever the devil comes and speaks doubt to us about God's word, we are supposed to hit him with other scripture, like Jesus did when He was being tempted by the devil. Study the scriptures, make them a part of your life, devour them as if they could save your life, because they can. Here is another great scripture on how and when someone should be baptized, again, the Word of God won't return void, but our trartitions can, and often do: Acts 8: 36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”[c] "If you believe with all your heart..." this should be why we get baptized. There is another baptism, one of the Holy Spirit and with fire. Matthew 3:11"As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire." Jesus Himself promised "power from on high" Luke 24:49 "And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high." Then it came, Acts 2 The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost "1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them."

God deals with us as sons

The Lord is really faithful, so He deals with us as sons. He corrects as, because He loves us, as we fathers are supposed to do with our sons. Matthew 6:19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The Lamp of the Body 22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! You Cannot Serve God and Riches 24 “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. Do Not Worry 25 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 7:24 “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 “But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.” He corrects us, because He loves us. He will never stop correcting us, because He will never stop loving us. It's not the fleshly kind of correction we might see from a human, it's the life saving kind of correction that we all need. A word spoken in right circumstance. He loves us, He corrects us. We cannot receive one, without the other, or expect one without the other.

1 Peter 4

Below you will see scriptures that can effect your life and the way you live it if you choose to believe His word and apply it to your life, and actually live by it!!
Verse 1, "ceased from sin." !!!


1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us[a] in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime[b] in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. 5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit.
Serving for God’s Glory

7 But the end of all things is at hand; therefore be serious and watchful in your prayers. 8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.”[c] 9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling. 10 As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Suffering for God’s Glory

12 Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.[d] On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified. 15 But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters. 16 Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.[e]
17 For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 Now


“ If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?”[f]

19 Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator.

Christmas, for real!

DISPELLING the MYTHS of TIME One of the more recent Christmas traditions has been the repeated assertions, on the internet, in the press and from some pulpits, that the 25th December could not have been Jesus' actual birthday. Examining the Historical Record According to this position, He could have been born on almost any other day of the year, except 25 December. It is asserted that 25 Dec. had originally been the pagan winter solstice festival, which had been taken over by the Christians to promote the new faith. In doing so, many of the old pagan customs crept into this new Christian celebration. Numerous articles, booklets, radio programmes and even T.V. documentaries have been produced asserting this position. Myths However, this opinion is itself based upon historical myths, incomplete research and ignorance of history. Christmas Predates Constantine Christians have celebrated the Incarnation and nativity of the Lord Jesus on December 25 since the earliest centuries. Long before the conversion of Constantine in AD312, and the end of the persecution by the Roman Empire, 25 December was already established as a venerable and tenured tradition for celebrating Christmas Day. Christmas Predates Catholicism The assertion, therefore, that Christmas is a creation of the Roman Catholic church and that it has something to do with the mass, is false. The tradition of Christmas, the Christ Festival, long pre-dates the establishment of what became Roman Catholicism. Pagan Attempt to Hijack Christmas It is true that one Roman Emperor, Aurelian, did attempt to inaugurate 25 Dec. as a pagan festival "the birth of the unconquered Sun." This was in AD 274. Aurelian was attempting to breathe new life into a declining paganism devastated by the advances of Christianity. However, the Roman pagan festival was instituted after the Christians had already been celebrating the birth of Christ on that day for many decades. Their pagan festival was an attempt to create an alternative tradition, which already was associated with the birth of Christ, and of some significance to the Roman Christians. This is not a case of Christians imitating the pagans. The pagans were attempting to imitate the Christians, by celebrating the Sun on the day when Christians celebrated the Son of God. Comparing Calendars Already in the 2nd Century, church councils had attempted to establish the actual time of Christ's birth. This was tied up with discussions over the date of Easter, the commemoration of Christ's Death and Resurrection. Because Scripture identifies Christ's death at the time of the Jewish Passover, the time of year could be known with precision. However, differences in the Jewish, Greek and Latin calendars, and the discrepancies between the Lunar (moon) and Solar (sun) date keeping caused intense debate over whether to observe Easter on a fixed date, no matter which day it fell on, or to ensure that it always fell on a Sunday, the first day of the week, as identified in the Gospels. The Annunciation On the basis of records available to them at that time, the early Church established 25 March as the Feast of Annunciation to mark when the Angel first appeared to Mary, and as the date of Christ’s conception. They also came to consensus that Christ was born 9 months later - on 25 December. 25 March used to be New Year's Day It needs to be noted that, from the earliest days of the Roman Imperial calendar, the New Year was celebrated on 25 March - the first day of spring (in the Northern hemisphere). This is why September, October, November, December derived from the Latin words, Septem (7), Octo (8), Novem (9), and Decem (10). The New, New Year's Day The celebration of the New Year on 1 January dates back to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1600, in Scotland and 1752, in England. From the 17th Century, 1 January began to be celebrated in Christian nations as a day of Renewal - a renewal of vows, vision and vocation. It was on this day that guild members took their annual pledge, that husbands and wives renewed their marriage vows, and young believers recommitted themselves to walk in the Grace of the Lord. In the Darkness 25 December occurs in the northern hemisphere in the darkest time of the year. 25 Dec is during the longest nights, and shortest days of the year. So, the early Church establishing that the Incarnation, when Christ was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit, occurred on the first day of spring, 25 March, and that His Advent occurred when He was born at the darkest time, during the longest night of the year, 25 December. A Light Has Shone "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined… For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His Name shall be called, Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His Government and peace there will be no end." Isaiah 9:2-7 New Covenant 1 January, as the first day of the New Year, follows 8 days after the birth of Christ, on the day when he would have been circumcised and come officially under the Covenant. An Age of Presumption It is remarkable how so many people today, with no historical research, and next to no knowledge of the historical realities and complexities of 2,000 years ago, can assume that they know better than learned men and Church councils convened much closer to the events in question for the express purpose of ascertaining the most accurate dates of Christ's birth, Crucifixion and Resurrection. But then, we live in a world where everything is being questioned - even God's Law and the Word of God. Victory Over Paganism Instead, we should celebrate that Christ's Coming did replace desperation with joy, oppression with celebration, human sacrifices with Christmas Festivals; Christ replaced Baal, Molech, Apollo, Mars, and Thor. At the time of greatest darkness, Christ came. "The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:5 Christmas is a time to celebrate Christ's victory over paganism. New Year's Day is a time to renew our vows, vision and vocation, and the first day of spring to celebrate the Life of Christ. Dr. Peter Hammond