If we let Him, God will be our victory

How would you like to know the key to overcoming anything? This post will show how victory over sin is needed first. Then, however, it'll discuss how we must seek repentance and God's favor over worldly things, but that He can still provide revival. Even with our current political situation.

They say love conquers all. Can it? The question is, which love? There are four kinds in Greek. The right kind of love - agape, God's love - can, because only God loved us unconditionally while we were against Him, before we knew Him. While we were yet sinners Christ died for us.(Rom.5:8)

God values us in a special way, each of us special to someone, especially God - as Psalm 139:14 says, we are each "fearfully and wonderfully made." God is a much better way than even the most individualistic of the world's systems does.(After all, giving someone the freedom to do anything also means that anyone is free to do anything to you.) So, part of this involves God's system versus the world's system(peoples'), a battle discussed more in a post from this ministry blog I've mentioned that has some similar content at times.

Here, though, there is plenty new. For instance, we'll tackle a few things - violence, bullying, etc. - and then political points and how God is the best solution over anyone, along with how to choose and even how to pray for God to change hearts of leaders, too. We can trust Him to - and know He must solve them - because the world's system comes from sin and a desire to defeat God and His perfect system. Because involves His caring for each of us personally, because He is a personal God, as I discuss elsewhere in this blog.

1. Victory Over Sin Needed First

The system people create will never be perfect because of our sin nature. "By one man sin entered into the world and death by sin, so that death passed unto all men, for that all have sinned.(Romans 5:12) So, it doesn't matter if you like Trump, Hillary, Bernie, or Cruz, or any other candidate, they can't measure up to God, who works in peoples' hearts.

Sure, you could argue that people know this and voters don't expect perfection, but that doesn't matter - God does, and He has a way to change hearts. That change in hearts is needed for us to have true national healing, which is what will give us victory over the worst problems. We can't legislate it out - there will always be people doing evil no matter how much we try to stop them or no matter how much we reason with them

God's love is perfect. it is unconditional. He loves each of us even those who do that evil, but He hates sin, and must justly condemn sin. However, He also must lovingly save us when we call on Him for salvation.

So, what did He do? He came to this world as a man, Jesus Christ - He was fully God and fully man. He then lived a perfect, sinless life. Then, perfect justice was meted out in that all of the world's sin was placed on Jesus Christ - He was made sin for each of us, even though He Himself knew no sin.(2 Cor.5:21) He bore our sins in His own body.(1 Pet.2:24) So, when he died, he took the punishment for your sins, my sins, everyone's sins. Then, He rose triumphantly from the dead!

 Many other verses can be used to show this, but the important thing is, along with that perfect justice - every single sin every committed being punished - we see perfect forgiveness, because every one of our sins is forgiven if we simply trust Jesus Christ to save us.

Here is God's simple plan of salvation - you can also see it on the ministry I mention's website, where even the front page has a simple ABC's of salvation - Admit you're a sinner, Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died to take the punishment for your sins and rose from the dead, and Choose to Call on Jesus by faith to forgive you. You can talk to God right now and receive His forgiveness for your sins and invite Him to save you and live in you through the Holy Spirit. You are only a single, sincere prayer of repentance away from eternal life - life that begins the moment you trust in Jesus to save you.

This radio show page features many good shows on the simple fact that we must trust Jesus Christ by faith to forgive us, and everything else is world, God made it so that it is "by grace are ye saved

 through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast."(Eph.2:8-9) it is only after we are saved we can truly do works for the Lord, when we are in Christ Jesus.(Eph.2:10)

Once this happens, however, it's just the beginning - we don't have to serve Him, but we get to - it is our reasonable service(Rom.12:1) given all He did for us.

So, God considers each of us as individuals. he knows we each miss the mark of perfection. However, he provided a way for each of us to get to His perfect Heaven - where nobody has seen, heard, or even imagined the wonders He had prepared for us.(1 Cor. 2:9) He has a mansion for each of us(John 14:1), he has a perfect Heaven where there will be no suffering or pain or any bad stuff(Rev.21:3-4), and so on. We know all these things and yet it will be even more wonderful than anything we can imagine. Just the snippets are wonderful.

And, His system also provides for each of us a wonderful life here on Earth - He came that we might have life and life more abundantly.(John 10:10) He wants to heal each of us from the pain we've felt, the heartache we've been through, and use us on His team to help others sense His love and receive His forgiveness and salvation.

What follows shows how to have victory once that victory over sin has occurred

2.. Victory over bullying, violence, oppression comes through God

We've done a great job of talking about problems, and sometimes have come up with good laws. At other times, we have been too much like Pharisees. Let's look at the good things God provides to deal with these problems to see how we can have victory.

God's word gives us many great things such as the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5 22-23 and some great things to focus on in Philippians 4:8. The Bible also tells us to look on the heart of a person, not the outward appearance, as 1 Samuel16:7 and Psalm 139 show; we are each fearfully and wonderfully made.

Those things - fruits like meekness(power under control), longsuffering(patience), temprance(self control), and so on aren't in abundance int he world's system, because people try to make all those things fit only their own desires instead of realizing that others matter. Those things of Philippians 4:8 - truth, loveliness, etc. - aren't even accepted at times, as some people scorn truth, virtue, purity, etc. - often so they can have their own selfish way. Yes, there are people that are like Pharisees and try too hard - but when you think of it, legalism is just another of the ways people try to control things with their own system instead of relying on God. After all, Jesus saved His toughest criticism for the Pharisees.

Why? because they didn't consider the individual the way God does. He understands what each person has gone through and wants to lovingly help them out of that pain, to heal them like the woman at the well in John 4 who tried to hide in physical relationships(she'd had 5 husbands and was with yet another man) till she found the unconditional love of Jesus that could heal whatever problem she'd had.

That concern that God has for each individual shows He can provide the victory for us, knowing each of our needs. He knows us better than we do ourselves.

So, He provides us with vast amounts when it comes to gifts, fruit, and so on. I have said often before that repentance revival must begin with us. However, it is easy to see how that can spread if we trust God to send His Holy Spirit to really take hold in this country. That is something He can do if we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways.

As one example, if people simply had a Godly attitude of love, compassion, understanding, etc. regarding others, there would not be bullying. However, it would also be harder for someone to be intimidated, which is a very good thing. After all, that person would realize that they are special in God's eyes just as we all are.

This does bring up an important side point. I touched on it in the post about the need for context, and that is that we should be less defensive about everything in general. But, even that is just as much about realizing that others matter and therefore having a civil discourse and not just putting others down - we are called to build others up and encourage them. Kindness, compassion, etc. are Godly virtues which we need to return to, turning away from our present sinful ways. There is a spirit of anger, frustration, etc. that is part of our human nature but which we must trust the Lord to replace with the common sense we used to have, including ability to understand context. This is what lets us try to grasp others' views in a constructive way..

  Of course, some ways of doing things are mean, abusive, etc. on their face, and shouldn't be done, such as bullying. As a example, a man and woman in a relationship must be partners, and one should not try to control the other, and certainly should never use physical force to make the other do something. Such things are clearly spelled out in the Bible as being ungodly - men are to love women as they love their own bodies and to treat them with respect, love, and so on. In fact, "there is neitehr...male nor female, but all are one in Jesus Christ."(Galatians 3:28) It is explicitly stated that a pastor or other leader must be "no striker" - meaning not one to lash out violently.(1 Tim.3:3, titus 1:7) And, of course, the fruits of the Spirit include self-control(temprace), gentleness, etc..

God's way is the only way to Salvation because it is by Grace we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works lest any man should boast.(Esp.2:8-9) All other ways are of works. This is something that is clear from the Bible. It is a fact like that of 2+2=4. One is free to say 2+2=5, but one must deal with the consequences - if one does that on their taxes they are likely to get in serious trouble. As John Adams said, facts are stubborn things.

So, we must trust God to give us victory through us changing our own hearts and turning back toward the common sense compassion, forgiveness, self-control, etc. we used to have, and treat all people with these virtuous things. Our nation as a whole has had 400 years of evil, not just 50, starting with our focus so much on greed that we didn't care one bit about other races. However, there is forgiveness at the cross.

Not only that, but through this civil discourse, when we seek forgiveness, others can grant it and we could have national reconciliation. Which leads to the final point.

3. Victory in Election Comes Through God

All the leading contenders have serious flaws. They are all looking at things from man's perspective. So, when I mentioned certain ones, remember that this is true of all of them, it is just they do it in different ways.

Remember, God cares about us. He doesn't require a Godly leader to heal a nation. He merely requirees His people, called by His name, to be humble and pray,seek His face, and turn from their wicked ways.

Briefly, as discussed in numerous places here, that means to realize we're not perfect and need God's help and honestly seek HIm, turning away from sinful ways and to Godly ones. We can't do this ourselves becasue of our sin nature, even once we trust Jesus Christ as Saviour we must constantly rely on Him for help in avoiding sin.

So, you may ask, why do we need a good leader?

It's not to "make America great again," at least not in the way people mean it. Remember, people are focused on worldly things. They seek worldly office. Are there followers of Christ in office? Yes. However, they aren't necessarily going to call America to prayer and repentance like King Hezekiah and King Josiah did in the Old Testament when the land was filled with evil and violence. In fact, some are part of a group that preaches a dangerous doctrine which says we can produce the Millennial Kingdom ourselfs. That is wrong. Only Jesus can usher int he Millennium. Shows 59-63 here explain very clear that the Jews are still God's chosen people and He and he alone will usher in the Millennium.

So, how do we vote? Let the Holy Spirit guide, not our wallets, not our anxiety. Focusing on the thigns of this world is one thing which can cause God to not hear our prayers, as are others Some candidates try to play on peoples' fears, but if they don't follow a Godly path, it will be much harder for God to bless us because He will be fighting against the ruler himself. He still could, but why make it harder? The Holy Spirit lives in each believer.

Instead, we need to pray certain people repent. I have tried to begin a hashtag "PrayTrumpRepents," and perhaps it will become popular enough to trend - social media is great for getting the word out about needs. However, we can't just be hearers (or readers) of the Word, we have to be doers.

In other words, pray that he turns his heart toward God and receives His forgiveness, which he admits he's never done. While he later backtracked on this, the fact he uttered it at first shows he is - as one mministry friend put it - a Nebuchadnezzar at best.

However, notice that the Babylonian emperor did eventually accept God was sovereign over him, and it's important for evangelicals to realize he still appears to support more Godly positions than his opopnents and vote for him. Each of the other candidates has issues, and did during the primaries, too. Ted Cruz is influenced by worldly thigns and that "Kingdom now" movement I warned against," John Kasich has Common Core, the Democratic contenders want government control of a different sort while totally ignoring God - they almost didn't mention Him in their 2012 platform, and if they do this time it will be mere lip service. They want man's system to prevail, not God's perfect plan for each of us.

That plan, as noted above, involves a major heart change. We can pray for America to have a Godly leader, but if we're not willing to take the lead ourselves in turning from our wicked ways, the Godliest leader in the world won't help one bit.

So, to have victory, we must focus on God's perspective. Pray that leaders and candidates repent, and retweet hashtags like that PrayTrumpRepents - you can do it with any candidate's name. however, most importantly, take the lead in praying for revival.

Remember, the world's system does not give people freedom. As we get closer and closer to the End Times - and as these prophecy updates, among others, show we are very close - we will see more and more movement toward the world's system trying to take over completely. However, God will one day descend and place His feet upon the Mount of Olives and usher in the Millennium. In order to make it there, though, you have to be ready by knowing Him as your Saviour now. Global media Outreach's sites like this are one tool to find out how and talk to Christians who will help you grow in your faith.

Forgiveness - for selves, others, and country - just a sincere prayer away

 I want to start this by making a distinction brought to mind by a contact's question with Global Media Outreach.

All sin causes us to fall short of God's perfection. It all had to be atoned for, nailed to the cross, for us to receive God's free gift of eternal life. As Ravi Zacharias says, “The four absolutes we all have in our minds: love, justice, evil, and forgiveness." These are absolutes that we try to imagine for ourselves, but God's Word tells us the real definition of each. And, all were present at the cross; God in His absolute love defeated the absolute evil which led people to sin by meting out upon Himself, Jesus Christ, absolute justice for our sin so that He could give us absolute forgiveness.

However, once we confess to God that we're sinners in need of a Saviour, and trust Jesus Christ by calling on Him to forgive and to save us, we don't need to pray Psalm 51 after every little sin. Our prayers for forgiveness can usually be along the lines of a child whose loving father comes into the room and tells the child kindly, "You left the cottage cheese out of the refrigerator." The expected reaction is just a "Sorry, Dad" and then going to put it away (repenting - turning from that sin).If we keep our hearts right, we'll keep those little ones from growing into bigger ones.(Such as how so many sins were committed, leading to that Psalm 51 prayer, because David didn't look away from Bathsheba and control himself.

Forgiveness is there if we just receive it by faith in three types - our own, others', and then as a part of that our country.

For Ourselves

Why repentance? I've mentioned this elsewhere on this blog; this post is a good example. We all have a sin nature. The song The Power of the Cross by Stuart Townend speaks much more powerfully and I encourage you to listen. However, suffice it to say that "every bitter thought, every evil deed" has been placed on our Savior, and He has borne all the wrath, the full weight of the world's sin.

If we're not careful it can become easy to forget that among all those people was each one of us. No, we haven't all committed every type of sin. But, all our bitter, wrathful, uncaring, prideful, and others types of thoughts, along with all the evil acts we commit, were paid for on the cross. Without Jesus Christ taking our place and bearing our sins, the just for the unjust(1 pet.2:24), we could not be forgiven and could not get to God's perfect Heaven, because there can't be any sin there. So, we must trust Jesus to save us and make us new.

This is why I began the way I did. Each of our past, present, and future sin is paid for on the cross. It was all an affront to God and His perfect righteousness, but it has all been paid for. Once you trust Him to save you and forgive you and invite Him to be your Saviour and to make you new inside, you stand forgiven at the cross. We who are forgiven have a relationship with God that wasn't present before we called on Him to save us. If you've never done that, you need to, and your are only a single, sincere prayer of repentance away.

Remember, of course, that while those little sins may not be as big as others, they are still sin  - all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.(Rom.3:23) The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.(Rom.6:23) False pride, being mean, lying, and so on all those bitter, spiteful, vengeful thoughts, pile on top of each other and all add up to the reason Jesus Christ came for you. if you'd been the only person ever in this world He still would have come to die for you and rise from the dead.

You can go here if you'd like to make a profession of faith because you just trusted him as Saviour right now or you would like to know how, or you can ask questions to one of the numerous online volunteers.

For Others

Did you ever notice Jesus never says not to remove a mote from another's eye? He only says to first remove the beam from one's own eye.

The Bible says that with whatever judgment we judge, we'll be judged.

That can be both comforting - we can stand up for the truth - and scary if we aren't living that truth. When we pray, we must have our hearts right with God, as I remarked here. In other words, not entertaining thoughts of evil like revenge, hatred, bitterness, and so on. These are the kinds of things we should get rid of fast by going to someone and discussing the hurt right away, as the Matthew 18 principle shows. "Be ye angry and sin not - let not the sun go down upon your wrath"(Eph.4:26) means it's okay to have righteous anger, but that anger should never be used as an excuse to sin. "let not the sun go down..." means don't let anger fester and become worse and worse, go to the person and get things right before the day ends if possible.

Sometimes, that forgiveness must be extended decades after something happened. Corrie Ten Boom had an experience like this. It was only a couple years later, but her story of seeing a former concentration camp guard who was so clearly a new person is quite amazing. However, either way, we must be willing to put that behind us and not keep punishing that person; even if, as she did, we must ask the Spirit in us to be the one to extend that hand of forgiveness..

Forgiveness isn't the same as forgetting, as she recognized. Traumas come in many forms, and sometimes it is a struggle with PTSD to avoid having a flashback when certain triggers are present or mentioned. The devil makes us recall those traumas. It's not something God wants. He wants us to successfully move onn. In such cases, it's important to trust and pray God will help you avoid such triggers and give you good ideas for how to cope - based on your own individual makeup - which will help you not have them. Remember that flashbacks are the devil's way of trying to make you think you are still in that place; so, for instance, if you were being terribly bullied perhaps you can envision it stopping somehow. You know that it is merely a mechanism to keep you from thinking that the evil is still happening. 2nd Timothy 2 1 says to be strong in the Lord. That is a continual strengthening from the outside, which only God can provide. And, it shows that he understands it is hard for us to deal with some things.

However, you can still forgive and pray that God help the person become more like Christ and to receive Christ as Savior if they haven't. You can still choose not to hold it against that person, though of course there are consequences to sin. Sometimes those mean separation, such as when Paul and Barnabas agreed that the problem between them was not something that allowed them to remain together. This is where if a person is being abused, they have every right to stay away from that abuser.

All that being said, most things brought to mind are not PTSD-related but simply things we must get rid of by forgiving, letting go and letting God handle it rather than continuing to be bitter.

God calls us to forgive just as Christ did. Those extreme examples might even be compared to King David, who when King Saul sought to kill him didn't just stop in his tracks, go up to Saul, and let him kill him. (Although, being God's anointed, I suppose God would have raised him from the dead - which might have given Saul a fatal heart attack on the spot!) However, when David had a chance to harm Saul, he refused to take revenge.(1 Sam. 24)

David's example of sparing Saul's life is the perfect picture of how we should be. David trusted God to handle things, just as are told to in Romans 12:20. Indeed, when we love our enemies it is as if we heap burning coals upon their heads. After all, if someone else will not receive that forgiveness it can constantly haunt them that they didn't when we were so loving. But, we must give them the chance to do so because God can make them new inside so they're not like that.

And, that's the biggest thing. "Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."(Eph.4:32) God has forgiven each of us for every sin we have ever committed. I'm sure there are some who have been very mean and cruel, but not every sin they ever committed was against one person the way we have offended God with our sin.

God's Heaven is perfect. There can no sin there. it will be impossible to be sinned against, but it will also be impossible to sin. That's why God must make us new creatures.(2 Cor.5:17). this can only be done by putting your trust in Jesus Christ to save you and calling on Him to forgive you of your sins.  If you have been made new, there should be a desire in your heart to do what's right to glorify Him. We will still sin, but we should do it less and less as we give more and more to Him.

And, as we learn to love others more, we can see great things happen. Our country, as bad a shape as it's in in many areas, still can be forgiven, but we must seek God now.

For Our Country

2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "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 shall I hear from Heaven, and I will answer their their prayers, and I will heal their land." While this verse is meant for Israel, we Gentiles have been grafted in, receiveing the spirit of adoption by God. In addition, Jeremiah 18:5-10 proves this promise is also for Gentile nations.

So, God is willing to forgive us. We see through personally receiving forgiveness and sharing it with others  that God forgives people; He'll forgive our nation, too. But, it's up to us. And, it's a choice we should make for a few good reasons.

First, forgiveness wipes out the sin debt which we have. Our national debt is horrible, but it is really nothing compared to our sin debt. The judgment which would come down upon this country if we didn’t seek god’s face and turn from our wicked ways is huge – remember that absolute justice requires that sins be paid for somehow.

Some might argue that our nation doesn’t deserve forgiveness, but remember, neither do any of us. Jesus didn’t come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance. That may sound confusing at first because there is none righteous, no not one.(Rom.3:1) however, what He means when he says this is that He isn’t going to grant forgiveness to those who don’t think they need to be forgiven. He won’t force us to trust Him. He lovingly woos us.

In the same way, this nation was self-righteous and didn’t feel it needed forgiven for a long time.People were only Godly when they chose to be - in other words, not against minorities or poor people or whatever other people they didn't like.

Such an evil attitude is why I often emphasize that repentance means turning away from sin.it's agreeing with God that one's sin separates one from a perfect and holy God and letting God take that sin upon Himself.

Therefore, we must - as a nation - seek forgiveness recognizing that this means turning away from our sins and turing to a Biblical way of treating others with love, kindness, compassion, etc. regardless of what they look like or where they are from.

We can't just pick and choose what of God's tenets to follow, but we can simply turn back to God and trust Him to heal this land by trusting Him to reveal to us what our stances need to be on certain things to be right with HIm. This, of course, understanding that it's important to focus on what we stand for, not jsut against.

That verse in 2 Chronicles calls for God's people to do these things, not a leader. He wants moral, Godly leadership, but first we have to want it, too. The way to get it is not by following the establishment - which is man-made and filled with sin - but it is also not with forsaking the establishment with a totally unGodly person, either. (More on that problem later.)

Instead, the solution is for us to call on Jesus in prayer and urge others to as well, turning from our sins and trusting in God to heal our land.

He still can. He takes no pleasure in punishing the wicked.(Ezek.33:11) however, time may be short. We don't know how long we have, but we do know that God's love is waiting for us to call on Him to forgive. And, he will remove our sins as far as the east is fromt he west and restore us. Maybe not to the worldly standard of superpower, but remember, we should build our treasures in Heaven, where moth and rust cannot corrupt and thieves don't break forth and steal. For where our treasure is, there will our hearts be also.(Matt.6:20-21)

A personal God who loves you, will guide you; the key to change for the better

What does it mean that God is personal and not transcendent? For one thing, it means He wants us to share personally what is on our hearts and talk with Him, never just repetitions. How does it tie in with how to change our country?

It just takes a single sincere prayer of repentance to Him to have that relationship. You just need to put your faith in what He did for you on the cross as having taken the punishment for your sins, and call on Him to save you. Creation questions such as about dinosaurs can be answered - many helps are here. However they are not the focus of this, though it helps to recognize God made this world perfect with no pain, no suffering, etc., but He gave people free choice so we wouldn't be mindless robots, so people chose to sin and turn from Him. You don't have to believe that to trust Jesus Christ to save you from your sins and get to Heaven.

Salvation is the key; the links are merely to help you if others ask. However, it is important to believe God is personal so you can talk with Him and let Him be your guide, helper, comforter, etc.. It's that personal relationship which will let God change things and use us to help through our prayers and our actions and attitude. (Prayer is vital before telling others about Him, too; as for other helps, they're in the last section.)

This post sharing a push for revival in Los Angeles will be featured through part of April 92016) for two good reasons. It encourages prayer for a known goal to glorify God. And, it shows how the devil can counterfeit things if we're not careful, thus sharing a great prayer need, that the devil not be able to counterfeit this revival, that only God be at work.

God Is Personal and Loves You - Why Some Reject Him and How To Help

One trick the devil uses is to make us think God is only transcendent. That means the devil makes people think God is too far above people to care. However, that is a lie. God cares deeply about us even though we go astray so much. God wants us to invite Him into our lives as a guide, comforter, helper, friend, and so much more. He gave each of us gifts, talents, etc. and wants to help us each use those to benefit us and others and glorify His love as much as possible. We don't have to do any work to earn His love - we just have to receive it by faith, just like a little child trusts a loving parent.

Many don't realize how much God cares. Some were taught false doctrine like transcendence growing up, so they believed the wrong thing. Shows 72-75 here give a good description of the errors of the Catholic Church, for instance. And, that doesn't mention some things, such as their teaching that the Church has replaced israel. On the contrary, God still loves the Jewish people and will soon deal with them as His chosen people again; it's like they're "grounded" right now, with individuals still trusting Christ and getting saved but in the Age of Grace Gentiles are being grafted in.  So, if people claim to not trust Christians, make sure they understand that true Christians love everyone and understand that the Jews are still God's chosen people and love and respect them for that.

Some reject God because something specific bad happened in their lives or someone else's. They need to learn God can make good come out of it, like my grandpa and World War Two. He trained for over a year and was all ready to make his first training flight with his crew in World War Two. He got deathly sick with pleurisy. While he was in the hospital,t he flight took off and crashed in New Mexico, with all on board dying. Being very sick let him live another 54 years.  His sister-in-law couldn't have children but becasue of that they adopted two wonderful kids who might not have had such good homes otherwise.

Others chose to reject God's perfect, unconditional love,  though that can be because they never understood how God was protecting and guiding them away from things that could harm them.

Sometimes awful things are done to people. Such victims need told first they did nothing wrong in the situation, nothing to deserve such trauma. Then, they need to see how God can heal them of the pain. He wants to, because He is personal. They might need to keep giving stuff to Him because it is so hard, but he will help them.  Sometimes they wind up medicating themselves with things that won't last, just like the woman at the well (John 4) who kept looking for love in guys rather than trusting God to save her. When Jesus came and showed who Him was, then she trusted Him to save her from her sin.

All need God to heal them, forgiving them from their own sin and making them new on the inside.

Who Is God? Trust the Creator, not the Creature

Okay, so back to personal vs. transcendent, true repentance means that a person is a new creature in Christ(2 Cor.5:17) and that God will keep making them new as more parts of their life are turned over to Him. this is the importance of that personal relationship, a Friend who guides, heals, etc. to be more like the loving, compassionate Christ we see in the Bible who loves all and yet who also takes stands for moral standards. (This post shared what we believe; it's important to stay positive when we can and not just say what we're against.)

 Romans 1:25 is part of a sad, downward spiral that talks about how people worshiped the creature more than the Creator. This is what happens when "professing themselves wise, people become fools." This causes people to mix Eastern thought in with the Word of God - although as this show shows, it's really just another way for people to try to work their way up to God when we can't because our sin nature causes us to always fall short of His perfect love, forgiveness, truth, etc.. Sins aren't just big ones, they are ones like lying, being mean, etc.. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.(Rom.3:23) The wages of sin is death (eternal separation from God), but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.(Rom.6:23) So, God (the Creator) reached down to us (the creature) in His love to save us so we could have that personal relationship with Him.

Why is it important to keep them straight? If a person was a baseball pitcher, and everyone started worshiping the ball they threw, reporters started to interview it - or even the guy's arm - and so on, you'd think they were crazy. But, that's what happens when people worship the creature - the ball, in this case, that gets thrown - more than the creator - the one throwing it.

When people worship the creature - including self - more than the Creator, often they are falling for a doctrinal error called New Age; an error quite a few in Hollywood and elsewhere follow. It's a problem because it makes people think they can make themselves perfect when they can't. And, bits can creep into good churches, too. In short, it is imagining a world where there are no consequences for actions and people just naturally get along; New Age often denies that there is a sin nature.

What it boils down to is that people in New Age worship demonic spirits. This is why yoga should never be done in the way that most people do it, where they allow their minds to be empty and the evil spirits can get into it. Stretching and other exercises are fine if done with God in mind and to glorify Him, but with so many choices like zumba one can easily ignore things like yoga. If one is to focus on something, focus on Jesus.

(The Bible tells us to meditate on God, His Word, His law, and so on; so, it's okay to meditate, just never totally clear your mind and invite bad spirits in.)

While there are evil forces in the world, people don't need to fear them; God hath not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.(2 Timothy 1:7) Yes, god has given us a spirit of power, the power that lets people say, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."(Phil4:13) However, it is not of our own strength, it is only through God working through us we can have that power.

This is why it's so important to have that personal relationship with God and to stay away from crystal balls, ouija boards, and many other things which the devil uses to control us. The devil was a created being with untested creature holiness, but he chose to rebel against God(Isa.14:12-15,Eze.28:11-19,Luke 10:18,Rev. 12) and led 1/3 of the angels with him. That's where demons come from.

Thankfully, we have a personal God who manifests Himself in three ways - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and 2/3 of the angels on our side. And, God is all-powerful and will one day destroy all the evil in this world anyway. It is that relationship with God that is vital. that and our sin nature that explains why New Age ideas don't stand up to the great power of God.

Let's look at how a personal walk with God improves things in ways New Age - and any works-based religion - can't.

Only Personal Walk With God Makes Revival Possible

If you need a ride somewhere because your car broke down, you call a person who can help. You don't rely on a car appearing out of the blue somehow, right? (And hopefully you're on speaking terms with them - it wouldn't help if you just called a friend you fought with and didn't speak to for 5 years.)

In the same way, we need a personal relationship with God to get the things we need. And unlike that friend, God wouldn't hang up - once you have that personal relationship with Him, you just need to confess and forsakw sin to restore that relationship to its full potential - nothing can separate us from His love.(John 10:28-30,Rom.8:36-39,Jude 24, Eph.1:13-14,etc..) Here is a great link explaining about why and how God answers prayer, though a few posts in this blog also tell it effectively, too.) Some might say those things are inside us, but that is putting the creation ahead of the creator.

Look at the courage some people have  - far above others. They can run through a burning home to save someone. Such a person may think they did it themselves, but they actually used something they were born with that was given by God for that purpose. Perhaps they trained hard as a fireman, but that was just building their talents the way an athlete will works their muscles till they are as good as they can be, or an entertainer learns to improve their skills.

That same God who gives great things like perfect wisdom(James 1:5) gives physical and mental talents, too. We rely on Him just like that person who needs a ride. He doesn't give that's some gifts to everyone for the same reason He doesn't make everyone a superstar baseball player or fireman with tremendous courage. We all fit together as a team. This is why Paul, inspired by God, compared people to parts of the body. The eye, ear, foot, lungs, and so on all perform wonderful purposes that they are best suited for. When verses like 2nd Timothy 2:1 speak of being strong, they mean a continual strengthening from the outside, by God.

Also, consider what would happen if it was only forces of nature. People would be able to think they could do anything and get away with it, because they would all be doing what was right in their sight. That would mean they could do mean things to each other and others could do mean things to them. Our personal, loving God wouldn't want that, so he established moral laws so you can be protected. People just choose to disobey them because of that sin nature, but God will judge them someday if they don't repent. And, even if they do, they must live with the consequences of their sin.

God wants us to stand for Godly, moral behavior. We don't act good so we can get to Heaven, of course. We get to Heaven only through the finished work of Jesus Christ and calling on Him, trusting Him to save us. It is done so we can make the world a better place, glorifying God in the process. (The fac it is only through the finished work of Christ is why children who die below the age of accountability always go to Heaven)

This brings us back to the New Age error. I won't judge whether a particular person is following it because they don't want to think about the consequences for sin, or because they don't understand. I will simply explain one other main problem.

Movements like this are often based on feelings, not fact. If A and B are friends, and A wants to do something really dangerous, then B - as a friend - should try to convince them not to. A might be a real risk taker and not listen to B. However, the fact is that person A is likely to end up in he hospital or worse. Of course, a good friend like B, while they won't do something bad with A, will comfort you when you suffer the consequences of the action.

God is the same way. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned each one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)  God has a series of rules that govern the world, such as honesty, faithfulness and commitment to one spouse, kindness, and many other things. These are the moral laws, they are different from the other ones in Leviticus which were merely to set the Jewish people apart from those around them. We turn away from those moral lawsbecause of our sin nature. That separates us from God. However, God loves us more than we can imagine. Therefore, all we have to do is trust Him to save us from our sins. Call on Him by faith to forgive and save you.

 When you do, He seals you with the Holy Spirit of promise.(Eph.1:13-14,John 14-16 with numerous verses, etc.) That is His promise that you have a permanent relationship with Him, one which we don't have till we trust Him to save us from our sin. Sometimes we might feel far away from God after that, just like if there is something between you and a BFF but you still love each other. However, that is another reason why feelings aren't a good measure. Even John the Baptist felt this. In John 1:29 we see the great prophet proclaim Jesus as "the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world." Yet in Matthew 11 h's in prison and sends people to make sure Jesus is the promised Messiah. Jesus tells them to go back and show John the Baptist all the miracles Jesus had done - in other words, facts.

Importance (and Ways) of Sharing God With Others

Since this is already somewhat long, I won't take too much time here, but I want to exhort you to share God's love. I'm sure many readers do, but there will likely be young and old reading who don't know how or who need encouragement.

Starting a conversation can be tricky, but you can always share a website if nothing else. The ABCs of the Gospel I mentioned earlier can be found on the front of this youth ministry site, which has another page with God's Simple Plan of Salvation and a tract link.

Speaking of tracts, the American Tract Society and Child Evangelism Fellowship have very good ones for low cost, and Fellowship Tract League lets you order free ones. These are little pieces of paper telling about God's love and salvation with different themes. CEF also has different clubs a faithful Christian adult can lead; see the CEF site for details.AWANA also has great clubs at churches, Google search for an AWANA club and you can find one.(Because - partly due to my nearsightedness - I couldn't find the club locator right on the site, though it is there.) Evangelism Explosion is also very good. GMO has sites with basics of living as a Christian that you will enjoy if you just click to indicate a decision.

To share the Gospel yourself, in addition to the ABCs I mentioned, here are a few quick keys.

1. Be humble. Don't be someone you aren't. People want to see you're genuine. Admit you're a sinner in need of a Saviour, too, just as I am - we're all just sinners saved by grace and relying on that grace and relationship with God to help us grow more like Jesus.

Remember something like the Romans Road or even just John 3:16 can be used - it's God the Holy Spirit that convicts of sin. Our job is to be his mouthpiece - and, of course, we can't be if we aren't believeable ourselves. And, He speaks best through his Word, which is swift and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword.

You can refer tough questions to ministries from the largest like Global Media Outreach to the smaller oens like the Youthquake one above with the ABCs of salvation. But, you do have ones like this to show the Bible is real and reliable. Youthquake's radio show has a number of topics dealing with different religions, etc..Along with GMO, this can be a good starting point for discussing with Muslims. Here are some great resources on that in this blog.

Be forgiving. People need unconditional love, especially if they are struggling with something. It's our job to point them to Jesus to heal them from their pain. That kind of love is what lasts; others are either just physical or temporary(eros) or not quite as deep, though they can come close.(Phileo,storge) God's love, agape, means he loves us even though we can't possibly repay Him for all He's done for us. The four types of love are discussed here.

Offer to pray with the person if they want to trust Christ, but they let them pray in their own words if they can. Make sure they understand the specific words aren't what's important. Them trusting Jesus Christ to save them from their sins, believing He died on the cross to take their punishment and rose from the dead for them, are what's important.

You can probably come up with a shorter one. the point is, the Holy Spirit will work in lives if we let Him. This post shares what such a revival would look like with the Spirit leading people.

Most importantly, though, remember that just like any relationship, communication is key. Keep up your relationship with God through prayer, reading the Bible (check the shows for why the King James is the right one), and growing closer to Him each day.Because God still wants to save people and help this nation. He never takes any pleasure in the punishment of sinners(Eze.33:11); He would that all would come to repentance so he can make them new inside. Those people are just waiting for us to share His love.