by The Monahans

Life Goes On

Life Goes On 4  My life prior to the day I came to Christ was a train wreck of sin, addiction, and self-centeredness. I have written some of the details about this phase of my existence previously and won’t recount them again here (but feel free to read through my older blogs, maybe start with This is Real). In Luke 7, when the woman comes in and anoints Jesus’ feet with perfume, he uses the opportunity for this teaching moment: “Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven; that’s why she loved much.” (Luke 7:47) I can tell you that I truly identify with this, for I know I have been forgiven a lot. I love Jesus because he has forgiven me for so much!

But what, then, about my life after that day I came to Christ? Was I suddenly perfect, never to sin again? The Apostle John wrote these words: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.” (1 John 1:8) And certainly, this is the case for me. In fact, in many ways my life after I came to Christ could also be described as a train wreck. While my conversion had a profound effect on me – the change was surely dramatic – but I could not escape the very thing that caused my need for Jesus in the first place: self!

In his first letter to Timothy, Paul described himself as the worst of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15). This is a Bible verse with which I can truly identify. I have been a Christian for nearly 30 years and I am still sometimes surprised God hasn’t just cast me into the lake of fire.  But that is just the thing: when our dependence on Christ is genuine, we can’t be so bad as to out-sin God’s grace.  Paul wrote these words in Romans 7, verses 21-25: “I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin.”

So what can we understand from this? Indeed, this has been something I have struggled to comprehend. Let me take a shot at summarizing: when we are saved through grace, and we are forgiven much, the Holy Spirit comes into our very soul and we start to be recreated. This is very well-stated in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” So at the moment of our salvation we start a journey called “sanctification” in which we grow more and more Christ-like. We seek His truth in the Bible and we start making earnest effort to please him by the way we live, but we are not yet perfect.

I suspect for some, this journey of sanctification proceeds more quickly than it does for others. I wish I could profess that my journey took the fast track, but it did not. My battle with self-will often sent me spiraling backwards, and there surely have been times in my Christian walk where my life may not have looked that much different than the unsaved. This is something for which I am certainly not proud, quite the opposite; but it reminds me daily just how much I have been forgiven and just how deep and wide the grace of God truly is.

This principle is also summarized nicely in Paul’s prayer for our spiritual growth: “When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3:14-19)

And this grace of God can be yours, too. If you are already a believer, I encourage you to study the Word of God daily, to regularly attend a strong, Bible-preaching church, and to be active with other believers in a small group or Bible study setting. And if you have not yet made the decision to place your faith in Jesus, why not do so right here, right now. Just admit to God you are a sinner, and ask for his forgiveness. It is that simple!

The Bible tells us that all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.” (Romans 10:9-10) Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart!

May God bless you richly as you seek Him. For all those who earnestly seek, shall find.

To learn more, please click here: KnowGod.org

Here at Reign Drops, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
by The Monahans

The Narrow Road

Narrow Road 2 Jesus said, “You can enter God’s Kingdom only through the narrow gate. The highway to hell is broad, and its gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.” (Matthew 7:13) This is a definitive statement from our Lord and clearly indicates not all roads lead to heaven. Indeed, to have assurance of heaven we need to enter through the “narrow gate”.

So how do you know if you’re on the wide road that leads to destruction or the narrow road that leads to life? It’s actually a pretty easy question to answer. We can start with a broad statement: if you are adhering to any religion or spiritual path (or no religion at all) that is not Biblical Christianity, then you are on the wide road and your destiny is not good. The Bible says, “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)

Easy enough, right? But, you say, “I was raised in a Christian home” or “I’ve been a Christian all my life” or “my parents were Christians” or “I go to church every week”. What then? Is that assurance you have entered through the narrow gate and you’re on the right road? In a word: no! Jesus said, “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.” (Matthew 7:21) So we better dig a little deeper to see if we’re on the narrow road.

Paul instructed us this way: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test?” (2 Corinthians 13:5 NIV) And Jesus went on to say, in Matthew 7:21, “Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter.” We can know we are on the narrow road, and I believe there are some simple questions we can ask ourselves to help us know.

  • Do I hold the Bible as the highest authority in my life?
  • How often am I opening the Bible and reading and studying it?
  • Do I believe God’s Word is absolute truth?
  • Can I remember a specific time I repented and trusted Jesus?

There are certainly many more questions we could ask ourselves or reflect on, but these would be a good starting point. And please know that the Christian life is not always an easy one. Jesus said “the road is difficult” and in John 16:33 Jesus said, “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows.” So, especially in these days, if your current path is comfortable, that in itself could be a sign you’re on the wrong road!

Jesus went on to say, in John 16:33, that we should “take heart, because I have overcome the world.” And that is great news for those of us who have entered through the narrow gate. And for those of you who want to enter through the narrow gate, it is not too late! “If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” (Romans 10:9-11)

May you find the narrow gate and enter through it, if you haven’t already. God bless.

To learn more, please click here: KnowGod.org

Here at Reign Drops, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
by The Monahans

Understanding Grace

Grace 1   “Until we come to that point of understanding what wretches we are; we will never understand the amazing grace of God. It takes a wretch like me to experience the amazing grace of God.” (A.W. Tozer)

Grace. We talk about it, we sing about it, pastors preach about it, writers write about it, but do we really understand it? Do we truly appreciate how amazing God’s gift of grace really is? “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.” (Ephesians 2:8) There is no more valuable nor miraculous gift we will ever receive than the gift of God’s grace and, as Tozer noted, to fully appreciate it we must recognize why we need it.

Paul wrote in Romans 7:24, “Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?” The word translated in the NLT as “miserable” is the Greek word “talaiporos” which means enduring trials, afflicted, wretched. When we grasp the definition of the word in the original Greek it helps us understand the terrible condition Paul was writing about; and it makes clear his words that follow: “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Ephesians 7:25a)

The other thing we should understand, to fully grasp God’s gift of grace, is the holiness of God. The believer understands his or her own wretchedness in direct proportion to how clearly he or she understands the holiness of God. “No one is holy like the Lord! There is no one besides you; there is no Rock like our God.” (1 Samuel 2:2) “Who is like you among the gods, O Lord—glorious in holiness, awesome in splendor, performing great wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)

Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, “But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” This is an impossible standard, one we can never attain, but God is holy and can set no lower standard, because he is perfect. So it is the marvelous wonder of the Gospel that Jesus met this standard for us! And that was what Paul was pointing to when he exclaimed, “Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Chris our Lord.”

Paul teaches us plainly that we cannot attain God’s standard of perfection, “For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are.” (Romans 3:20) So it is by understanding this principle that we can see ourselves in stark contrast to God’s holy perfection. And from there we can find the generous gift of grace he offers us: “We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.” (Romans 3:22-24)

And that, friends, is grace. Praise be to God! “For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people.” (Titus 2:11) “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9) Truly the Lord is full of grace and he longs to offer you his gracious gift. I pray that today will be the day you accept it, if you haven’t already.

“Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do?’ And Peter said to them, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:37-38)

To learn more, please click here: KnowGod.org

Here at Reign Drops, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
by The Monahans

CANCELLED!

Cancel Culture3You have almost certainly heard the term “virtue signaling” by now; it is a term that has received quite a bit of attention in the media as of late. According to Wikipedia, the term was coined by James Bartholomew, a British journalist, who defines virtue signaling as a “public act with very little associated cost that is intended to inform others of one’s socially acceptable alignment on an issue.” In today’s tumultuous social environment, we may see corporations, public figures, and even individuals noted for various acts of virtue signaling.

Running parallel to virtue signaling, and possibly even more notorious, is the term “cancel culture”. This is the practice of thrusting someone out of social acceptance because of some negative action or statement, that may be either current or deep in one’s past. The cancel culture hit close to home for me recently when a group of individuals decided my old high school should be renamed because something negative was discovered in the history of its namesake. Apparently, if someone discovers anything untoward about your past, it can negate all the good one may have also accomplished.

So what are we to make of all this? Do we fall in line with popular culture and engage in virtue signaling of our own? Do we look for reasons to cancel someone or something so as to purify our surroundings? What if someone discovers something in our past and makes a public spectacle of it? Could that ever happen?

As with all questions we may have, the first place we turn is to the Bible. In regards to virtue signaling and the cancel culture, we shall see that God has much to say! Let us start with this verse: “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.” (1 John 1:8) Also, the Bible explicitly tells us: “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23) So, we see, that no one is perfect. Each and every person has something in their past (and/or present) that could be brought into the public eye at any time.

Let’s take a look at the capitol city in my home state as an example. St. Paul is named after a seemingly exemplary individual (the Apostle Paul) who wrote most of the New Testament and helped start the Christian church at great personal cost. Surely if there is a man worthy of having a city named after himself, it would be the Apostle Paul, right? Or could Paul be canceled?

If we go by the modern cancel culture, I think the Apostle Paul would definitely have a high potential for cancellation. Paul referred to himself as “the worst of sinners” in 1 Timothy 1:16. Prior to his conversion to Christianity, Paul was a persecutor of the church. He pulled people out of their homes and had them arrested for no reason other than their religious beliefs. Many of these people were beaten, tortured, or even killed. Paul stood by and watched while Stephen was stoned to death in complete agreement with the proceedings. Should a modern city, a capitol city no less, carry his name with a track record like this?

If the standard is perfection, then we need to recognize that the only perfect person to ever live on this earth was Jesus Christ. The rest of us, all of us, have sin in our history. So if we are going to start canceling people because of their past, we MUST cancel everyone not named Jesus Christ!

But in God’s economy, sin does not have the last word. He sent his only Son to live among us, to teach us, to heal us, to die for us, and to rise again that we can be forgiven. And when we accept God’s free gift, then, like the Apostle Paul, we become new creations. “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17) And in Romans 8:1 we read, “So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.”

Before we can participate in canceling others, we first must look at ourselves. Realizing we, too, are imperfect and sinful before a Holy God, we can understand that even our heroes were sinful, too. We never forget what Jesus taught us, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:1-4)

And with this in mind, rather than canceling others, let us share the Good News of the Gospel with them in hopes that they, too, might be saved. In the process we shouldn’t shy away from sharing our own personal failures in the hopes of leading another to salvation. Because, rather than signaling our virtue to others, we boast in the Lord, the only perfect One. “Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:31) Remember, Christians aren’t perfect, they are forgiven!

The Apostle Paul, when he shared with Timothy that he considered himself the worst of sinners, said this, “But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life.” (1 Timothy 1:16) This should also be our attitude! For “If I must boast, I would rather boast about the things that show how weak I am” (2 Corinthians 11:30) and how gracious our Lord God is!

If you would like to know more about a relationship with Jesus Christ, please contact us or check out this link:

KnowGod.org

Here at Reign Drops, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
by The Monahans

True Love

What's Love 4  There can be no doubt that God loves us. After all, the Bible says God is love. No matter where you find yourself at this moment, even if maybe you don’t feel it, you can rest assured that God loves you. More than you can imagine. And if you want to explore this love that God has for you further, please read our previous blog on the subject:

There’s A God In Heaven Who Loves You

In this blog, however, we’re going to look at things from a slightly different perspective. Here we will accept that Jesus loves us (and teaches us to love others) as a given; so as Paul Harvey used to say, we’re going to look at the rest of the story. The Bible clearly teaches us that we should not “just pretend to love others” but to “really love them.” (Romans 12:9) But just how do we do that? How do we show true love?

In the world today it is not uncommon to hear someone say something along the lines of “Jesus is all about love and tolerance”. And when they say such a thing, what they are usually trying to convey is that true love is defined as accepting a person living in one sin or another just as they are without ever addressing the sin itself. But this position is only partially correct; yes we should treat all people with love, right where they are. After all, even if they disagree with us, Jesus did tell us we should love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). To the extent possible, we should show love to everyone, regardless of their present condition or spiritual state. But that is not the whole story.

You see, loving someone often means telling them the truth. So, if someone is, for example, caught in sexual sin, the loving thing is to tell them the truth. In fact, to tell them it is OK, to encourage them to remain in their sin, is actually damaging and unloving. Why? Because you may actually be preventing them from turning from their sin and receiving the eternal life that Jesus promises those who repent of their sins. The Bible says “Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves.” (1 Corinthians 6:9a)

Jesus came to Earth to live and die for us so that our sins would be forgiven; and to rise from the grave that we could have eternal life. So if we do not call out sin for what it is, and then encourage the sinner to repent and accept the grace of Jesus, we are robbing them of the very loving act that Jesus performed for them. Yes, we are very possibly keeping them from eternal life! So while some may decry that we are being hateful for not accepting others in their sin, in reality, we are being most loving when we tell them the truth!

Of course, we tell them in a loving and caring way. The Bible says: “Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted.” (Galatians 6:1, CSB) So the loving thing, the Christ-like thing, is to gently point people to the truth of God’s Word, to encourage them they can change, they can escape the sin in which they are trapped, and to tell them what Jesus has done so they can be forgiven and have eternal life. And all the while, as we share this love of Christ, we are careful that we don’t fall into sin ourselves (for that is a real possibility!).

You can think of it this way: is it more loving to give an alcoholic another bottle or to speak the truth about their condition and point he or she to the nearest recovery center? Paul taught the Corinthian church, “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” (2 Corinthians 5:20) Jesus, himself, showed his love by pointing out our need to turn from our sins: “From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17)

God is very patient with us. But his patience and kindness has a purpose: “Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?” (Romans 2:4) He did not come to Earth to accept us in our sins as some would have you think, rather, he came to die for us that we might be forgiven of our sins: “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) So, Jesus called us to repent from our sins that he might show his love to us by forgiving us.

Therefore, the most loving thing we can do, and the way to show true love to one who is caught up in sin, is to share the Gospel with them. We tell them that “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23) and that they should “Seek the Lord while you can find him. Call on him now while he is near. Let the wicked change their ways and banish the very thought of doing wrong. Let them turn to the Lord that he may have mercy on them. Yes, turn to our God, for he will forgive generously.” (Isaiah 55:6-7)

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.” (1 John 4:10)

To learn more about becoming a Christian, or if you just have questions, please check out KnowGod.org.

If you are trapped in sin and want help, or if you just want to share your thoughts, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave a comment or drop us an email at: ReignDropsBlog@gmail.com

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.