Get freedom by turning to God for salvation, strength

I promise not to discuss how much better the world seemed when I was a kid. You've heard - or told - all the stories. (The world changes so fast a grade schooler might tell them to a preschooler. :-)

Rather, I encourage everyone - especially those going to school, who can relieve their stress with God's unconditional love- to be specially bold in the Lord's love, just as I urged youth early in this blog to take back their inner cities, and in this free blogged book to take the lead in families or with friends where there's no spiritual leadership. I've blogged about all the freedom we have in Jesus to help, care for others, be kind without worry, and so on, and how that freedom is so much different than what the world has to offer. You can read these posts at your leisure.

You can claim God's promises and let Him provide you freedom from all of the problems and then declare independence from this world's system of corruption, evil, hatred - Jesus says we are all equal with no distinction between races - and so on. Yes, that system that ignores God is to blame, as several posts here show.

First, claim God's promise of salvation and a relationship with Him

It's hard to find lifelong commitments today. Thankfully, God will give you one. He will give you perfect peace, comfort, strength, and so much more. whenever you turn to Him, because He promises to come live inside you. This relationship will free you. Some call this relationship dangerous, but that's because they don't have your best interests at heart. In fact, only God can have your best interests at heart because He knows all things. Take a baby who wants to put something poisonous in their mouth. Obviously, you say, that child doesn't have their own best interests in mind.

It can be true of adults, too. Just by not following a map, you can end up in a totally different part of the world, or where you don't know the language.

Sin is not following that map God created for our lives - it also offends God, too, of course. Look how lying, for instance, can hurt others, lead to anxiety (what if it's found out?), lead to bigger sins to cover it up, etc.. Sins like racism, cruelty to others, etc. aren't done by everyone the way lying ot selfishness are, but the point is, we've all sinned, we've all acted agaisnt that map God has for us.

There is a penalty of sin, a price Jesus paid when He died on the cross for our sin and rose from the dead. Of course, we have freedom to reject Him, but like with anything else, we must understand the consequences of rejection of His free gift of salvation.

Accepting His free gift of salvation is as easy as ABC. 1. Admit you are a sinner in need of a Saviour, that you can't save yourself becasue your sin separates you from God so you can't get to His perfect heaven on your own; 2. Believe Jesus Christ, God in flesh, died for your sins and rose from the dead to take the punishment for your sins; and, Call on Jesus to save you, Choosing to trust Him completely to forgive you and make you new inside, to change your "want to." You can do that right here reading this blog, as can anyone you share this with.

Rejection of God's free gift of salvation means separate from Him forever in a horrible place that He doesn't want to send anyone. It was created for the devil and his fallen angels. In God's great love, He clearly spells out that He doesn't want anyone to go there and how they can avoid going there.

Because God loves us, He wants us as His followers to share that love and salvation with others You can share it like above, use the Gospel here or in a tract on another page on the site, send them to abundantlife.godlife.com, etc.. But, for it to work, remember they must believe you, so don't be a Pharisee.

I'll share some other ways we can have freedom, and joys through it, in the last segment of this post, but read all of it to help you grow in the Lord once you know Him, or just to understand more.

Drawn to God's love to gain freedom

He wants to draw people to that love so they can have freedom.

This is where those who call a relationship with Jesus dangerous are wrong. They do not have your best interests at heart. They have their own. Sometimes, it is for selfish reasons such as wanting to have control of you. Other times, they don't want to have consequences to their actions, even though there will be no matter what they want. Just like that baby who wants to put poison in his or her mouth. It will hurt them even if they don't want it to.

God tells us in His Word - which we know is fully reliable - how much He loves you. He draws you to His love by giving you that comfort, perfect peace, nurturing, understanding, and so on. However, he alsoshows it by letting you know that sin has consequences and how to let Him take those consequences on Himself. It has consequences even  if someone doesn't want or believe in them.

So, there is freedom from the penalty of sin. There is also freedom from the power of sin.

This is a wonderful promise. It means we can withstand all the evil of this world, though only through the power of the Holy Spirit in each believer. Yes, we are flesh, too, so we will still sin, and we must put our full trust in Jesus to be our strength so we don't.  However, the Word of God is a valuable tool in doing this, because it is the major way the Lord speaks to us. The Spirit teaches us how to apply it to our lives. He will show us how to avoid sin.

This avoiding of sin is needed because sin is what enslaves us. Sin can only be escaped through God's mercy, through what Jesus did for us. This is why the Bible says the truth will set you free - Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. John 14:6.

Indeed, Jesus will one day save is from the very presence of sin. That just shows, though, that all that sin will be somewhere else. A place you want to avoid if you're looking for your own best interest.

It's not just in Heaven we can have that great peace, though.

Life More Abundantly Here, Too

I've posted before about how we can have life more abundantly here on Earth(John 10:10) and indeed that there is a even a verse speaking to those who would love life, 1 Peter 3:10-11.

This can't be done on our own, of course. We can't bring the Kingdom in ourselves, as discussed on shows 115 and 116 here. That's because some aspects are impossible for mankind to create in the Millennium, such as all animals being peaceful or no more war occurring. It's also because in Heaven, nothing will grow old or wear out.

 The way we have life more abundantly here is through the joy the Lord gives each of us when we are clsoe to Him, and the tenderness with which He treats us when we wander , being slow to anger and rich in mercy.

Being strong in the Lord in the Bible is from a Greek verb meaning a continual action from the outside. We need Jesus to work in us to provide that strength, because we can't fight the intense spiritual warfare ourselves.

It may seem rough because this world has so many problems. There is so much injustice. There are so many charities that need support, so many spiritual needs people are trying to fill on a shoestring, especially because inner city ones like this don't get church support.

It's pretty silly to say to imagine something with what I'm doing next: Quoting part of 1 Corinthians 2:9 - "eye has not seen, nor ear heart, nor has entered into the heart of man" the wonders that God has prepared for those who love Him. His mercies are new every morning. He loves to make all things new, and He will create a totally new world one day. Imagine the incredible beauty of colors that are much more dazzling than anything we have ever seen.

 But, we can have joy in other things, too. It's not just in looking forward to what is to come.

Other joys God gives when we receive His freedom

Sharing that message of God's free gift of salvation with othersgives great joy when we know we have a part in God's plan. It's vital to pray first, of course, nd let Him guide us, since as noted He knows what's right in each situation. WHen we mess up, we must admit our wrong right away and confess and forsake it to God, but even that shows growth just like a batter who sees and corrects a flaw in his mechanics so he can improve.

Knowing God will make everything right and end injustice helps so much; our sin nature is such we always make things more of a mess when we try to fix things, as numerous posts here show. We can't hope to re-create the awesomeness which will come.

However, the devil will try to seduce us, which is why I've noted before we also must avoid the great deception which will come on the world. that's SO vital I made this which should be spread everywhere if millions disappear. If you put your trust in God, though, you'll be safe, and just imagine what's in store.

You can have joy in good, wholesome entertainment. You don't have to do evil or mean or raunchy things or even tell such jokes. You're free from having to tear others down; you can work to build them up, as Jesus tells us to do.

 You can enjoy the freedom of knowing whatever life brings - even the frustration and pressure of tests and grades, and all the popularity stuff that is just false pride - it doesn't have to define you.

Instead, you can trust in what God says about you - that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, and that He is a personal God who desires a relationship where he shares with you His unconditional love, no matter who you are, no matter what happened on some day in school.

You can stay away from those bullying sites, for instance that tear you down, and you can lead others away, too, by helping them realize they are special to God and to you. You can be an encouragement, you can be someone for whom other people matter.

There are so many other joys and promises, but just get alone with God and pray each morning that He will use you to impact lives for His honor and glory, to bring them to salvation. (There are many good tracts you can hand out if you don't feel comfortable talking as well, search for them on the Ineternet or ask your local church - oens with itles like the above "God's Simple Plan of Salvation" which was linked, or "Amazing Love," or "Who Can Enter," ones that minister to others and can be ordered in some cases for free. Just be sure you use the King James version if you can, becasue it's fromt he original Antiochan Greek, as mentioned elsewhere in this blog and here.)

Above all, remember to make much of the Lord Jesus, and He'll make much of you. Becasue, He truly wants you to know Him and to be a great force for change in your world, to reach out to the hurting and share that message of His hope and salvation.

Healing a divided America with revival, respect for life

People call it a divided America, we have such big problems. I give a few ideas below on how to improve things, but it requires a heart change, not just an outward one; we need leaders who won't be Pharisees, and they can come from anywhere - you can be one. Because, if we move forward trusting God, things can improve.

God made each of us special. As Tony Evans said recently, we have too much division, and God's people must lead the way in showing how to heal the many rifts we face. And, that fact is one of those major Biblical facets we must unite in. While each of us is special, we must also realize that means, logically, that others are, too.

Accepting that others are important as living human beings is a big part of starting the healing process, as I've stated numerous times like here, and someone else mentioned in this blog post I found on the importance of teaching kids God made them special. Instead of doing that, though, we tear others down more and more. About the only thing Americans agree on is they are tired of the election, even if Google searches find things better if they contain Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump - or Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton if you want them in that order. :-)

Don't worry. This is the last you will hear in this post of the name Trump or Clinton (or Clinton or Trump) or any world leaders. That's because imperfect people can't create a perfect world the way God can.  Although, the Cubs and Indians making the World Series, the Cubs for the first time since 1945 and the Billy Goat game, may have made some feel a lot better.

We can, however, start the healing process by valuing others the way God does. Only by following God's ways can we truly be victorious, as we trust Him for a Repentance Revival.

Repentance means turning from sin. While people have trouble agreeing on anything, I imagine most would agree that the very destructive climate in our world is sinful. Reconciliation - with repentance both personal and national - needs to take place, because our prayers for revival won't work without us repenting not just for 50 years of sin but for the 400 our nation has done since the colonies were founded. As the last link mentioned, we've all sinned. That leads to things like that example I often used early in this blog, the person who hates and screams at someone for cutting them off in traffic, not bothering to think that the person may have only done so because they were rushing to see a loved one in the hospital - something many of us would do ourselves.

We each struggle with that sin nature, so the world won't be perfect till Jesus returns. However, we e can each begin with ourselves by following the Lord with all our hearts, turning to Him for renewal.

Here are things we can do to unite and end this horrible division.

Why Are We Here? Uniting in God's love

We are here, fearfully and wonderfully made by God, for a reason. No, you are not an accident - in fact, many have said DNA is so complex it proves there was an intelligent designer.

God is many things. He is Holy, He cannot come in contact with sin. He is just. That means he must punish sin. However, He is also mercy and grace. That means that He doesn't want to punish the wicked but wants to offer them that grace and mercy. He has no joy at the punishment of the wicked.(Ezekiel 33-11.) So, God had to make a way to punish our sin that didn't cause us to also be condemned.
 

So, because of the above, God chose to come Himself. Jesus was fully God and fully man. Because He was fully man, He could die for the punishment of each of our sins. Because He was fully God, He was perfectly sinless and therefore didn't have to suffer for His own sins. He could suffer for each of our sins. Also because he was God, after He died on the cross for your sins He rose from the dead.

Knowing the facts isn't enough of course if you don't trust Him to do anything for you.

That trust is all you need, though, just calling on Him by true faith to forgive you and save you from your sins: Admitting that you're a sinner in need of His salvation, Believing when he bled and died He took the punishment for your sins and then he rose from the dead, and Calling on Him by faith to save you and forgive you, choosing to turn from your sins and let Him make you new inside. You are only a single, sincere prayer of repentance away from eternal life. You can even go here and talk to an Online Mentor who will help you grow in faith or answer any questions.

Once we trust Him by faith and are reconciled to Him, we need to show others that love so they can see there is that unconditional love out there.

 Repenting and Returning in Our Hearts

Of course, we've had major problems in our history. I have said numerous times that we must repent not just for 50 years but for 400 years of evil. We have problems with priorities even now, problems which can be corrected by looking at what the Bible, which can be shown easily to be the Word of God - says is important. Sure, we failed int he past because people selfishly wanted to see themselves as superior (still the main problem today in many places) but that doesn't excuse us from our need to avoid that problem now.

This nation must return to the great love God has for each of us. This is the Love which allowed us to disagree without hating each other. It allowed us to overcome barriers and triumph over anything.

This is why in 2 Chronicles 7:14 (and, if you think that only applies to Israel, Jeremiah 18:5-10) talks of the people repenting  (turning from their wicked ways) and then God healing their land. Think about it: You can't just say, "Give me a cure for this disease if you are running away from the doctor at the time. You have to actually go up to that doctor and receive treatment.

Of course, that doesn't mean we have to do everything right and then God blesses us. That return means a change in our hearts and actionst hat show a genuine willingness to change will follow as God gives us strength to do so.

As an example, a person who has been an alcoholic might go to Reformer's Unanimous and make Christ (not just a generic deity but the One who has the Power) the center of their lives. They still have to work day by day to trust God to keep them free those problems, but he gives them strength to avoid the peoplew ho dragged them down, the places that tempted them, etc.. One woman in our churchw as saved out of that and for the last 44 years of her life never entered a restaurant with a bar in it for fear she would return. her friends could but they knew not to do it with her since that would tempt her more. (The mark of a true friend, understanding the other's needs and taking action.)

She trusted God to be her victory. He knew the way she was built and what alcohol had done to her - a logical consequence. There, by the way, is something else we must return to, accepting as common sense that our actions have consequences we can't avoid, something that was easily understood before.) He gave her a way to overcome it that may be more drastic than others saved out of that, but that is something that can ruin the body and casue such problems it is best never to start.

Anyway, the point is that we must trust the Lord to bring us victory by being our victory. We can't bring Victory ourselves because there is a spiritual battle here, and it must be won with spiritual weapons.

Ironically, at times we seem to recognize that it is a spiritual battle. However we are actually on the opposite side of what we should be.

How to fight the enemy, and not fight ourselves

You may guess that forgiveness is a big part of it. That is certainly true. We must fight the enemy by not opposing each other so fiercely, and one reason we do is we don't have that forgiving attitude. It's true that the vicious nature of society today is one of the problems. However, we must also not be united in the wrong things, as mentioned before, such as here and here.

Forgiveness isn't saying something is right. Forgiveness is saying "I love you anyway." Remember, God forgives us by saving us from our sins, but he is also just in that He had to punish sin and took it upon Himself. He still allows us to face the consequences of our sin on Earth, though, it's just that His mercy nd grace give us more chances.

Not only that, but His justice, like anything else, is better than ours because he knows the priorities which matter most, such as described above. the terrible injustice of this world comes about becasue people don't hold to those priorities.

So, you can see how that heart-mind decision to trust Jesus to forgive and sve us and then turning to Him with the intent of correcting such things - and letting Him be our strength in doing so - is cricual.

Ephesians 6:12 says, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but agaisnt powers, against principalities, gaainst the rulers of the darkness of thhis world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." So, when someone opposes us, we should - instead of reacting harshly - say, "We're on the same side against this evil." And, of course, be willing also to work with that person to help them.

Communication with each other, then, is vital, but of course, as noted and linked before, it's still vital to stand for the absolute truth of God's Word. That same devil who tempts us so much 9though we also have our own sin nature)  can also mislead us by getting us to unite in the wrong things. There is great deception coming, according to the Bible; here is how to be prepared not to fall for it. The only way to do that is to know Him personally now, though there may be a chance during the Tribulation it's not safe to presume one will make it alive, so many bad thigns will happen. This discusses that Tribulation and gives other links about it in more detail which you can copy for others.

AS for now, though, we are still here and have a chance to unite in God's perfect love and peace. So, after doing that, what else can we do?

Further Healing the Divide

What are some other things we can do to heal this divide?

1. Proper priorities are needed. As noted above, God sees each person as important. Those priorities, then, should include valuing human life and having a concern for everyone.

2. Build the fruits of the Spirit. Gentleness is mandatory, for instance, God wants us to have it. That's why it's one of the Fruits of the spirit of Galatians 5:22-23. Our treatment of others, especially those who are weaker, must be with the Godly compassion we are called to have. Of course, the fruits of the Spirit can only come if the Holy Spirit lives in you, which he will if you have trusted Jesus to save you. People can have such a deliverate attitude without it, but only God can perfect it, and the Spirit will increase it and will give it to those who don't have it. Especially in families, it's vital to have these fruits. (Note that I've mentioned in other posts about the King James Version's superiority - here is a good show discussing the fruits in depth.)

3. Have meaningful conversations. Try to understand each other's perspectives; when they don't conflict with sound Biblical doctrine, like the Bible says in Philippians 4:2-3, we should be of one mind in the Lord. Some people have been through horrible thigns, and need others to show understanding and compassion.

4. Commit to building meaningful relationships. instead of focusing on social media, we should be trying to talk with each other and not using sound bytes all the time. Our society has a short attention span and we may need to work to lengthen it, but God can do that when we trust Him and turn our hearts toward Him.

5. Give of yourself. Don't just talk about how others matter and pray for others, but be willing to put feet to those prayers and get out and work with others. This isn't just protesting and letting words be heard, this is actively trying to find solutions to problems.

6. Have patience. It will take a long timeand the Bible says things won't be perfect till the lord's return. But, we can improve things for some, at least.

7. Keep the Gospel at the center. Remember that being nice and friendly and all the other thigns are good, but we must ensure that the saving of souls is our top priority.

After all, each of us will some one day, and go to either heaven or Hell. The Lord will return for His people. It's why I've done posts sharing about how to reach Muslims, for one thing, and indeed witnessing to them and anyone.

We must start by uniting, as noted above, in sound doctrine and turning toward the Lord and away from the bitterness which has plagued us int he past as we've let our free will make us think we can do anything. In reality, though, common sense xisted for so long because people knew that with freedom came responsibility.

So, let's all take more responsibility for our own actions and establish that right and wrong as fundamental to our society once more, united as one nation and not a bunch of individuals who don't have any common goal. After all, we were never meant to be just a great big mess of individuals. We were meant to be a melting pot of peoplew ho worked together with a respect for liberty and expected others to respect that absolute right and wrong which we knew had been established since the foundation of the world by the Lord Himself in His Word, including the freedom to accept or reject HIm and the freedom to follow Him and the importance of respecting thsoe who do; something in past times that nonChristians consistnetly did.

In this day and age, we face spiritual battles which are increasingly fighting believers in Christ (but, note, not other religions, because the devil only has to fight the truth). However, God will prevail in this. We just have to make sure we're on the winnings ide.

Honesty, kindness, compassion, etc. - Use freedom to return to God's standards

The last post came quickly, first thoughts after hearing of a crisis. That first thought was to go to God for help, knowing we are not fighting for victory, we're working from a point where we already *have* victory.

Now, that is an important thing to do when we face a problem, go to the Lord for help. But, with more time, when the world is between acute crises, s Paul Harvey used to say, what should we be doing?

Absolute right and wrong have existed since the foundation of the world. This world was made perfect, with no sin, disease, death etc. Once sin came into the world, such kindness, compassion, respect, etc. was not universal - to say nothing of all the other sins that were occurring. So, God provided a way to cover that sin, with all the sacrifices made up until Jesus being symbols of what Jesus Christ, God in flesh, would do for us. This is why John the Baptist sees Jesus and instantly cries out, "Behold the Lamb of God which take us away the sin of the world."(John 1:29)

We, as one human race, were meant to communicate and fellowship in a caring way without any interference by outside differences. What differences there were in personality were meant to be celebrated and not be hindrances to communication..More importantly , we were meant to be honest, kind, caring, respectful, and many other things to everyone, regardless of who they were. We were not meant to be selfishly uplifting ourselves at the expense of others, or putting others down needlessly. Certainly, we were meant to tell the truth in love (like, "Honey, you're a great cook, but Brussels sprouts in ice cream just doesn't seem like it would taste good.)  And, we were meant to be able to laugh at our own foibles. (Such as , you'll never believe what flavor ice cream I tried to make - it was so silly!")

While we weren't perfect, we insisted upon those attributes of honesty, kindness, self-control, etc.for much of our history. It is only in the last decades that we have ignored such things, and that has been to our great hurt. It's true that in numerous ways years ago our hearts were far from the Lord. But, we shouldn't throw it all out, because there were many great attributes we insisted upon as normal for a civilized, God-honoring society.

Why we stopped honoring those time-honored truths is very complex. At times, we were too legalist, and rather than sorting out which rules were appropriate people decided they didn't want any rules. There was no desire for a relationship, it was all about rules, and where there is no relationship there is no feeling of wanting to follow those Godly values; it's not true love when you follow rules because you have to, there needs to be that want to do so. In fact, one way that change of heart upon repentance has been described is that one's "want to' changes, their desire for certain things changes.

Where do we fit in?

 First, we shouldn't expect the world to act like the Bible says true followers of Christ should act. It used to more often, though even then there were of course exceptions. Crime occurred in the 1950s and 1960s, but not with the frequency of today, for instance. Now, however, it should be easier to tell the difference between followers of Christ and the world

Sadly, it isn't always.

So, the first step is to be in the world but not of it. Follow those Godly rules of honesty, decency, compassion, and so on, while building a relationship with Jesus Christ so He will help you to draw people to Him.

And, so when yo pray for this country, He will hear you, as He will be a faithful friend, but like a true friend, He will say in a loving way, "Hey, you know this situation, here's a better way to do it where you'll show a more Godly example." And, of course, we know that Jesus Christ set the ultimate example. He won't try to keep you from making Brussels sprout ice cream, of course; His leadership will be in the areas of decency, courtesy, etc.. This is not so he can stop our fun but so we can have even more fun, so He can help us to have that life more abundantly He promises in John 10:10. After all, He gives us things such as in Philippians 4:8 we can focus on that are wonderful and fulfilling becasue they are much deeper than the oftentimes shallow things of today that don't last.

When people see our relationship with Jesus and how abundant our lives are, they will want to follow. That means those who have trusted Christ as Saviour and see you taking the lead, it also means those who hve never trusted Christ as Saviour.

The Holy Spirit's part

God plays a part, too. The Holy Spirit lives in each person who has trusted Christ, but His job is also to work int he lives of the unsaved and woo them to Christ. Here is a great article on the Spirit's work there, but to sum it up, the Holy Spirit is not there to convict people of the need to behave morally, he is there to convict people of the fact they fall short of the glory of God and need the Saviour; they need Christ's righteousness imputed to themselves becasue they can't stand on their own.

But, notice that this still requires us to work at not being like the world. Becasue, if people don't see a difference in us, they may say, "Wait, where's the fruit of this salvation you speak of?"

God understands that we all struggle at times. But, that's why He calls the Spirit the Comforter, so He can guide us in a loving way to follow Him, as we are comforted that He is there with us. We are commanded to be filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:17; that means a continual filling, a total control by the Spirit. It's how we can more easily flee from temptation(James 4:7-8) and take that way of escape God promises when we face temptation.(1 Cor. 10:13)

Of course, one can try to explain that just because someone says they are Christian doesn't mean they are, and that one should look to God's Word, but understanding that would require a common sense that is lacking in many today.  So, how do we get that common sense back to restore America?

Restoring common sense will require God healing our land

There is a delicate balance between legalism and liberalism. It could be argued that the body of Christ has rarely had the right balance throughout history. But, what can't be argued is that a society founded on moral principles such s decency, fairness, compassion, mercy, etc., held those standards because they believed them to be right - common sense, really. it wouldn't be unusual to hear a person say, 100 years ago, "Well of course we need to be honest and have self-co0ntrol and..."

Where our culture has gone, though, we need God to heal us. But, the good news is that He is a God of second chances. We may face some major battles, but He can do it.

He needs us to take the lead, though.

That means he needs you, as a prayer warrior, as a spiritual leader no matter what age, gender, etc., as discussing at takethespirituallead.blogspot.com.

To encourage such things without seeming too preachy may be difficult, but look at the impact social media has on culture. It has been a part of some major positive and negative things. If you just keep tweeting this post and urging others to read, though, jsut that will be a major step. In fact, this should be done to any post in this blog as we must urge people to come to know the Lord. Because, only then will we see a change.

We can certainly be inclusive within the rules - we are all one race, of the same blood, and we know that your young people need help. Not everyone had a stable, two-parent home but everyone has access to Jesus Christ to guide and direct them if they just call on Him. They can also go to sites like Jesus2020.com (en Espanol, jesucristo2020.com) and click to talk to someone about the Lord. Young people can get organized, women can get organized, to take a stand against the meanness and oppression of the streets even without men present. Because, if God be for us, who can be against us, as the Bible says.

Our inner cities but also our suburbs and everywhere else need revival. It starts with you. And, that starts with knowing the Lord. So, I ask, have you come to the place in your life where you know if you died today, you would go to Heaven? And, what are you basing that on?

Salvation is by grace through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.(Eph.2:8-9) God doesn't want us to be able to boast we were somebody special to get there, just as here on earth He doesn't want people to be puffed up in their own pride. It is so simple, each of us is only a single, sincere prayer of repentance away from eternal life.

And, while it is not the words that save, but Jesus who saves when you put your trust in Him, something like this in your own words as a simple heart-mind decision is all it takes... "Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. I believe you took the punishment for my sin when you died on the cross and then you rose from the dead, becasue I can't save myself by my own good works. But, Lord Jesus, I believe you did all that was needed to get me to heaven, because you are God in flesh. Lord Jesus, today I choose to call on you to save me, I call on you to please forgive me and invite you into my heart and life, to make me a new creature. I repent, I turn away from all my sin and I trust you to save me. And, I believe by my simple faith that you have saved me and come into my heart and made me new inside. In Jesus' name,A men."

It could be short than that - Admit, Believe Call/Choose is a common way I've heard, as is Confess, Believe, Accept.

What matters is that God wants to save His people . He wants to hear our prayers. he wants to protect the children but nobody is stepping out in faith and praying for Him to do so and doing what they can, such as by spreadign the word and by sharing the Gospel.

Won't you please join in the movement to declare this our Independence Day, to be free to return this country to common sense - not on our own strength but with God's Holy Spirit leading the way. And, of course, being those Christlike examples, following the whole counsel of God, so that the world can see a difference and see, "Wow, those Christians love each other with an unconditional love, they care about others, they're so full of the joy of their relationship with Jesus Christ and not hung up on the outward appearance They aren't overwhelmed by lusts. They're not vulgar and mean sounding. I want what they have."

Because, when it comes down to it, we're just beggars telling other beggars where to find bread.

Ending violence; what to do with repentance for God to heal our land

 I wrote earlier how riots were not the answer and prayer was. This is, as noted, a spiritual battle. here is evidence for sure.

I had a long post deleted because, being legally blind, I couldn't see what the computer was doing and somehow the whole post got erased. This is *major* spiritual warfare! Your enemy, the devil, doesn't want this to get out! So, be ready, and with that heartfelt prayer of repentance, let's end the devil's hold on our people and get the word out on ending the horrible violence, and encourge people to be spiritual leaders as I say in the free blogbook for all I mentioned.

This speaks to violence in general on all sides. As I said, we must repent not only for the last 50 years, but for the last 400. Just as the Civil War was allowed to take place because God had removed his protective hand because of the evils of slavery, today we see an increase in crime and violence because of problems which were not corrected when they should have been, some of which extend back centuries. To before the Wild West was even West of the Mississippi, when the devil riled up mean and drunken people to terrorize famiies and communities.

"Okay," you may say, "all are responsible to end violence.  What are you saying different from everyone else?"

The heart of the problem is.the heart. While others speak on some level of working from the outside in, we must work seek God to work from the inside out as only He can.

What we can do

There is, of course, something we can do when it comes to avoiding such violence. It can seem hard in certain environments, but it is clearly doable.

Just as I mentioned how members of tribes in remote places which receive Christ must determine what things in their culture are Godly and what must be gotten rid of, so too must we. They deal with such things as terror over false gods who supposedly cause disease and rejecting people over such little things as being left handed. Those in our inner cities and elsewhere in our culture deal with terrible violence.

In each case, the solution is repenting and turning to God while also getting rid of certain things.

So, what do we do that is similar to how they will burn idols and destroy objects of witchcraft like we see them do in Acts 19:17-19?

First, there are still objects like that nowadays. We should get rid of anything that can bring evil spirits, because one should never desire to invite demons to anything. They will be on the losing side, and indeed have already lost the spiritual battle. God is just waiting for the final judgment and giving people time to repent. 

By that same notion, anything that is leading one into sin in should be gotten rid of if they cannot avoid that sin otherwise. I am reminded other woman I knew saved out of alcoholism. The last 44 years of her life, she would not enter a restaurant with a bar in it, because she knew she would be tempted to much to start drinking and become drunk again. Her friends could still do it, but they would not go into a restaurant with a bar if they were going out to eat with her, because that was the right thing to do to help her avoid that temptation.

Getting the heart right

It is all about mindset. What is our mindset toward violence and mean behavior? Just as she earns rewards today, years after her death, for her testimony of how God changed her, so too we must be a witness to how God works on the inside, and yet how we should show our faithfulness to him and thankfulness for his work. Her situation involved addiction, yes, but we must still avoid certain things while not becoming too legalist. Some people saved from alcoholism stop drinking and are never bothered by entering restaurants with bars in them. Each one of us is different. But, there are certain things we all must do, when we repent of the violence that has been such a part of our society.

 1. Flee from music/entertainment/images glorifying it

I can't stress this enough, because this point was just about finished when Satan kicked it over and wrecked (deleted) it. "Mine eye affecteth my heart"(Lam.3:51) has never been more true. Like that woman above, some are more lured in than others by what they see, but when we entertain images that glorify violence against the more vulnerable, we don't have the right heart for God to heal us of violence when we pray. Sure, there are men who are abused, that's why I say the more vulnerable, but women are the victims many more times than not.

The problem is compounded by an attitude that glorifies power to the point of idolizing it. We must repent and forsake that, and recognize that sex isn't the only youthful lust out that that we should flee from.(2 Tim.2:22, etc.) We should not make plans to fulfill the desires of the flesh, but instead be servants who put others first and recognize that others have a right to live free from oppression. And, by the way, that does include porn as well. God made sex to be a wonderful thing within marriage to be saved and savored with that one true love.(Ge.2:24-25,Heb.13:4) Anything that makes one think of another person s an object and not a human being is sin, because each of us was created in God's image.(Gen. 1:26) We should get rid of all images in our lives that promote seeing other people as objects.

Notice I accept that others are free to produce it - this is a free country. But, there were far fewer producers of it decades ago. We need to pray with a repentant heart for God to heal our land of this attitude, and when He moves His Spirit will impact hearts and people will stop consuming and producing such things. Or, at least, it will no longer be mainstream the way it's become. It will take a true Holy Spirit Heaven sent repentance revival, but if we turn with our hearts toward God and repent of this, then He will bring calm.

But, we can't end this on our own. This world was made perfect, with no sin, violence, etc., but then sin ws brought into the world and death by sin.(Rom. 5:120 We must repent and turn to Him because of that sin nature we all have. However, thankfully, God has a home for us in Heaven if we trust Him, one where there is no sin, no pain, etc.(Rev.21:3-4) and where nobody has seen, heard, or imagined the wonders that await us.(1 cor.2:9)

This is crucial when we look at what else is needed.

2. Respect others' things as theirs/no coveting

When we respect others' persons, we need to also respect their property. The mindset that needs to change here is one where we are jealous of others because of what they have. A lifetime of "keeping up with the Joneses" has caused so much envy and jealousy among others in every culture. (As I noted, as are all one race - the human race, so i use culture. Besides, inner city culture is different from suburbia no matter who you are.)

James 4 speaks of why there is war, be4cause people want and can't have. God has a different plan for each of us, and that's okay. We are all special, and each of us is called to use what he or she is given for the Lord and for the good of society. If a person has a nicer house or car or owns a store, that's fine. We have no right to harm someone else's stuff. God actually created private property - think about it. he said "Thou shalt not steal." The idea something can be stolen means it belongs to someone, right? Same with "Thou shalt not covet."

But, in the very next verses, God through james chastises the rich for criticizing the poor by putting them in the worst seats instead of treating them as equals.

It's easy to see how this mindset of worrying about how much one has can cause strife and and bitterness. this is why we must repent and seek God's forgiveness for a mindset that puts our minds on thigns and not on people. It doesn't matter if someone has less than us, and also doesn't matter that someone has more than us. This country was founded with the notion that "all men are created equal," which means no noble birth makes anyone better than anyone else. The richest peson should be as respectful tot he poorest as the poorest should be to the richest. Becasue, God is no respecter of persons.

That's one that should be easy to see how we've blown it and need to repent for over 400 years of meanness.

3.Realize you - and everyone - are fearfully nd wonderfully mde and dserve respect

This goes along with other poitns. Instead of gangs, let's get together and hve fun doing thigns for each other. While God did create the idea of property, we shouldn't be trying to defend our "turf" and then feeling slighted by all the little thigns that happen. Gang violence should never happen.

Yea, the inner city and even suburbs have families where kids grow up nd need a sense of belonging. That's why I've urged others - and the church in general - to bring these people in and give them a sense of hope, and sense of the love God shows them. Check out the many resources in a place like Answers in Genesis and don't just call on jesus Christ for forgiveness but see how the truths of Psalm 139 rapply to you - and to everyone.

God knows each of us, He knows our thoughts afar off and how He made each of us special. When we see ourselves and others as fearfully and wonderfully made, we can see we are part of God's family - or can be if we haven't yet trusted Jesus Christ for salvation. (And you can see how easily at a place like Jesus2020.com or, in Spanish, Jesucristo2020.com)

It's also why I write takethespirituallead.blogspot.com, so young people could get a sense of accomplishment and belogning away from gangs, so taht they could wake up each morning,a nd walk each day, with a sense of belonging to God's loving family. In His hosue are many mansions, so no matter how poor one is here, it doesn't matter, one can be fabulously rich in Heavenly rewards. Remember that Jesus that that a poor widow who put in two mites had put in more than a rich man who had put a lot in.

God can head the land, it'll just take time

I hope this reaches the many inner cities of our land, nd other areas, so people will start turning away from violence. This violence has hurt so many people, and it must stop. Baltimore just finished a horrible May crime-wise which led some to call it akin to the Wild West.

When we repent, God see it and the Holy Spirit can move as we ask Him to heal the land. Let us seek God and continue to pass the word along about the need to repent and seek God's face and turn from our wicked ways, so he can hear from heaven and heal our land.

Let's work together to end the problems through prayer, trusting God

I know I can't understand exactly what its like in certain parts of the United States, but I know what being bullied is like, and that my handicaps (including physical ones and bits of cerebral palsy and Dandy-Walker Syndrome) made it worse. And, given that I can't read nonverbal cues well, I even know how it is to feel concerned about what others in authority could do.

And, I know the Lord sees me through and can do the same for you when you trust Him.

These words may still feel hollow to some, but it's not like when Booker T Washington made his famous speech in 1895 which said to go along with all of the terrible discrimination which was going on then. Many of our police and other authority figures are wonderful. They truly want what is best for everyone, including African Americans, and including those who may be struggling to stay on the straight and narrow. It's just that a few bad eggs spoil the whole bunch. (I know, ouch, bad mixed metaphor. But, hopefully it helps keep your attention.) 

But, just as a few teachers who didn't care to help a handicapped child did not mean the rest were bad, a few bad people who use the police badge for evil do not mean that everyone is bad. You still follow a sport like the NFL even with the evil doings of a few players like Ray Rice, right?

What I did was I wrote my junior high school years later and essentially said I no longer consider myself to have been a student there. I became a student of a rival school. I asked them, giving the information of how they had discriminated, to change my records, and give me better grades that I would have gotten had I not been harmed, and they agreed.

Wait, you may say, that is nice and easy for you in your situation. I can't exactly say I am no longer a member of the human race. That is true; you must overcome it some other way. God has given you the ability to do just that though.

Romans 12:20, for instance, tells us that by forgiving, loving, and praying for those who persecute us we heap burning coals of fire on their heads. We also see that Jesus tells us not to overcome evil with evil, but to overcome evil with good. This is why I discussed the armor of God in my last post.

That is also why I made the point to share how the devil was using the forces of evil to stir things up. In fact, I pointed out that ISIS may very well be behind all the police brutality itself, since they are in all 50 states, and the devil is just using them to stir things up with all of us. But, we don't have to let this happen. Race relations have worsened because of the devil's lies and hypocrisy.

In fact, it is such lies and hypocrisy that caused them to be bad in the first place.

We are all one race, the human race! The only reason people ever thought of different races was because the devil wanted to put in their minds the idea that one group was better than the other. This is a lie that is throughout Darwin's theory of evolution, the survival of the fittest. We survive because we work together, because we are one race, the human race. We were created as human beings with the truth that all people are created equal, and as Ben Franklin said during our revolution, we must all hang together, or we shall assuredly all hang separately.

We are, of course, all sinners and have come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Romans 6:23. It was while we were yet sinners that Christ died for us. Romans 5:8, and if we simply call on the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive us of our sins, repenting and turning to him to save us, then whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Romans 10:13.

So, let us unite first under the Cross, where we are all equal, where there is...neither Jew nor Greek...but all are one in Christ Jesus.(Galatians 3:28)

And then, let us unite in prayer, turning from our own sins, confessing and forsaking those times we fall short of his perfection, I'm seeking his spirit to point them out so that we can forsake them.

Then, let us pray, pleading with the Lord to change the terrible demonic oppression that is in this nation, pleading with Him to pour out His Spirit in this land, to change the hearts and minds of those who would do evil to his people, and to the innocents. Pleading with Him, to protect the children and all of us from the terrible wrath Satan has for them. Seeking God's face, to change the hearts and minds of leaders, and to bring us out of this terrible oppression.