Like Paul… are you willing to be a prisoner of the LORD?
Scriptures from HCSB – Holman Christian Standard Bible
What is God’s will for you? Are you ready to accept His authority and fully cooperate with Heavenly Father? Do you allow the Spirit of God to lead you and make you lie down in green pastures? Do you walk through this world as an ambassador of Christ? Did you know that in order to follow the will of God and to walk His path, we must strive to be “worthy of God“?
As Paul said:
Ephesians 4:1-2 Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to “walk worthy of the calling you have received”, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love,
Are you ready to answer the calling of the Lord to share HIS GOSPEL?
Do you only seek the Lord’s will according to your own will?
Do you walk in the freedom of your own self-will? The secular definition of freedom is the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.
Jesus tells us in John 8:32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
Like a magnet, are you drawn to things that your “heart and conscious” tell you aren’t good for you or those around you? Do you recognize these warnings are the Holy Spirit attempting to guide you away from harm bodily and spiritually? You truly believe this one time won’t matter when you knowingly choose a path that leads you away from Salvation? After this one time, you’ll do better tomorrow?
WOE! WOE! WOE!
Hebrews 10: 26 For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire about to consume the adversaries.
Has Christ become Victorious in your life?
Have you allowed the crucifixion of the old man in YOU? Do you realize that true freedom is only achieved when Christ lives in You? According to what Paul tells us:
Ephesians 2:1-5 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins 2 in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. 3 We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5 made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!
Hebrews 10:29-31 How much worse punishment do you think one will deserve who has trampled on the Son of God, regarded as profane the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know the One who has said, Vengeance belongs to Me, I will repay,] and again, The Lord will judge His people. 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!
Our daily struggle is with the powers of this world! Satan, Lucifer, that Devil of old – the prince of darkness has been leading this world towards hell from the beginning in the Garden of Eden when he seduced Eve in Genesis 3:4 convincing her that “she surely would not die”. Then Adam being seduced by Eve followed suit and disobeyed God. The first lie on earth brought us sin and more sin and today we can see the rotten fruit of it’s results. Since then, because of his pride and jealousy, Satan has wreaked destruction of mankind in every aspect of our existence; from the lies about evolution and millions/billions of years, the desire for corrupted entertainment (music, movies, etc), to wanton desires such as new cars, new clothes, new house, new husbands or wives -NEW! NEW! NEW! There are prosperity preachers today who preach wealth instead of Salvation! Sexual immorality thrives in an environment of “you have the freedom to do whatever feels good”! Murder of the helpless is accepted by the majority without even a blink! If you go on to YouTube, there’s false teachers and prophets aplenty! The USA probably has more Bibles per capita than any other country in the world and most of them are gathering dust.
For you to overcome, YOU must be willing to be restrained by Christ’s Spirit, start by reading your BIBLE and putting on the full armor of God and then PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!
Please read: https://jesusamazinggrace.com/2020/06/01/spiritual-warfare/
Jesus Messiah – Yeshua Hamashiach revealed His Father to the world through His ministry on this earth. Most assuredly, He revealed to us the Father’s LOVE for His Creation: Mankind. His willingness to allow His Son to sacrifice himself on the cross to save us from our sins it the ultimate gift of GRACE!
1 John 4:7-12 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us.
Romans 12:10-16 Show family affection to one another with brotherly love. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not lack diligence; be fervent in spirit; serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; be persistent in prayer. 13 Share with the saints in their needs; pursue hospitality. 14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. 16 Be in agreement with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Hebrews 13:1-3 Let brotherly love continue. 2 Don’t neglect to show hospitality, for by doing this some have welcomed angels as guests without knowing it. 3 Remember the prisoners, as though you were in prison with them, and the mistreated, as though you yourselves were suffering bodily.
Ephesians 3:1-4 Therefore I, the prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, accepting one another in love, 3 diligently keeping the unity of the Spirit with the peace that binds us. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope at your calling—
Isn’t it awesome that Paul loved Jesus – Yeshua and his fellowman enough to suffer imprisonment and physical pain to share the Gospel. As children of God and brothers and sisters In Christ…sharing the Gospel isn’t a suggestion, it’s a command:
Matthew 28:19-20 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
It’s believed that Paul was a prisoner in Rome when he wrote Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. Although, he was a prisoner of the Roman government, he considered himself a prisoner of the Lord because he was following the “will of God” to preach the Gospel of the Christ to the world.
***My next blog will expand upon Paul’s ministry.
Jesus ~ Amazing Grace! 
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