Can you believe the crazy thoughts we think sometimes? Imagine if we did not have the grace of God to keep us restrained, and therefore followed through with our evil intentions. Where would our life be? We so easily judge others putting expectations on them when we know we are far from perfect and if others could read our mind we would look no different than them. We are all capable of doing wrong, if not for God who get's all the credit, we would not be who we are.
Ephesians 2:2 says the "devil is at work in the hearts of unbelievers," so we should expect therefore his nature regarding their character. Why are we so shocked then when people behave a certain way, how else should we expect demonically influenced people to act. Humanism teaches that all people are basically good as long as they are in the right environment. Wrong, we are all prone to do evil, it is in our Adamic nature, we are born that way.
Have you ever gotten something you did not deserve? Often, I spoil my sons with what they want even when they didn't earn it. We haven't earned anything, yet God who is so rich in mercy because of His love for us (Ephesians 2:4), has blessed us with an incredible wealth of grace and kindness in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:5-7).
Why are we so blessed? So we can take the gift of salvation that we don't deserve and therefore cannot take any credit for, or ownership of, and use it to do the things He has planned for us.
Have you ever given a gift to someone and wish you hadn't because they did not use it for what it was intended? This happens often with my kids, what I give them becomes idols, an object of selfish obsession, my wife got so upset the other day, she rightfully destroyed one.
When we take salvation and don't pass it on to others, just enjoying it for ourselves, God's blessings have become idols. Salvation was given not just for our sake but for the world. To love God is to walk with God, to walk with God takes obeying His commands, the greatest of which, is to go into all the world and make disciples.
As Romans 12:1 says "considering the mercies of God let us present ourselves to Him as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to Him."
Ephesians 2:2 says the "devil is at work in the hearts of unbelievers," so we should expect therefore his nature regarding their character. Why are we so shocked then when people behave a certain way, how else should we expect demonically influenced people to act. Humanism teaches that all people are basically good as long as they are in the right environment. Wrong, we are all prone to do evil, it is in our Adamic nature, we are born that way.
Have you ever gotten something you did not deserve? Often, I spoil my sons with what they want even when they didn't earn it. We haven't earned anything, yet God who is so rich in mercy because of His love for us (Ephesians 2:4), has blessed us with an incredible wealth of grace and kindness in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:5-7).
Why are we so blessed? So we can take the gift of salvation that we don't deserve and therefore cannot take any credit for, or ownership of, and use it to do the things He has planned for us.
Have you ever given a gift to someone and wish you hadn't because they did not use it for what it was intended? This happens often with my kids, what I give them becomes idols, an object of selfish obsession, my wife got so upset the other day, she rightfully destroyed one.
When we take salvation and don't pass it on to others, just enjoying it for ourselves, God's blessings have become idols. Salvation was given not just for our sake but for the world. To love God is to walk with God, to walk with God takes obeying His commands, the greatest of which, is to go into all the world and make disciples.
As Romans 12:1 says "considering the mercies of God let us present ourselves to Him as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to Him."
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