ONCE ENLIGHTENED!

HEBREWS 6: 4

"It is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were ONCE ENLIGHTENED

those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and the power of the age to come, and who turn away from God!"

Do you believe in God.  Did you turn to Him for Salvation?  Has God dwelt in your heart and forgiven you of your sins?  Do you believe that your Salvation is eternal?  Do you know how sweet the taste of Jesus Christ is and do you understand that there is no other place you can go on earth or in Heaven to have anything as sweet?  Do you understand the power of the Word of God and have you been once enlightened by His Spirit?  If all this is true then you have repented to God and have shared in His Holy Spirit.  You have tasted the goodness of the Word of God and His promise of the age to come.  

What will happen to you if you fall away and deviate from your faith in God?  What if you turn away from God and the power of His Word?  What if you now reject the Lord and cast Him from your heart?  The One Truth Today is contained in this scripture and it should bring fear and consternation to a believer's heart.  We are taught that it will be impossible to restore and bring back a person to repentance who has been enlightened once and shared in the Holy Spirit and tasted how good God is, who then turns away from God.  

If you turn away from God you are nailing Jesus Christ upon the cross afresh.  You are holding Jesus Christ in contempt, shame and public disgrace.  Once you have been enlightened you have a duty to hold on to your faith until the very end of this life on earth.  You are under a sentence of eternal judgement and your heavenly resurrection is at stake.  Those who are God's children will be saved and live eternally with the Lord in Heaven.  Those who have never been enlightened and those who have been once enlightened and then turned away from God will spend eternity separated from God.  The justice is perfect because they have made a choice to reject God and His Word and they have condemned themselves.  Once you have accepted Jesus Christ in your life where could you go?  Never turn away from God ONCE ENLIGHTENED! 

THE REQUIREMENTS OF GOD!

DEUTERONOMY 10: 12

"What does the Lord God REQUIRE of you?  He requires only that you fear the Lord you God, and live in a way that pleases Him, that you love and serve Him with all your heart and soul, and that you always obey the Lord's commandments and decrees."

Have you accepted the free gift of Salvation from the Lord Jesus Christ?  Have you repented of your sins and received the mercy and grace of God?  Are  you a new creation in Christ Jesus with a new heart and a new life?  If your answer is yes to these questions, then your next question should be what is it that Jesus expects from me for my remaining time on earth.  What are THE REQUIREMENTS OF GOD?  Our One Truth Today is contained in this scripture and explained by the Word of God.

The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord.  We are fools is we do not know, love and fear Jesus Christ the Lord God.  That is the first requirement to pleasing God.  God expects us to live in a way that shows our reverence toward Him and our path directed toward righteousness.  We show fear and reverence by walking in all of His ways and loving and serving Him with all of our heart, mind, body and soul.  We are to learn and know and then put into action His commandments and decrees.  They are to be a part of our life that can never be eliminated.  

Now that we know the commandments and decrees we must not just be hearer's of the Word but we must be doer's of the Word.  God's instruction is given for our own good both here on earth and for the eternal life to come.  If we fail to keep His commandments and decrees we will suffer here on earth as a natural consequence and we will be separated from God for eternity.  Listen and then learn is the natural order for the Lord's Word.  Put into action all that the Lord has instructed you to do.  That is how we prove that we truly believe in God and intend to meet THE REQUIREMENTS OF GOD!    

REST IN PEACE!

HEBREWS 3: 19

"So you see that because of their unbelief the were not able to enter His REST."

Why do so many gravestones have the inscription, REST IN PEACE?  We all look forward to that day when we will have rest and peace.  The One Truth Today is that some will never have peace or rest because of their unbelief!  The bible tells us that we will seek peace, peace, but there will be no peace here on the earth.  With God and death we will find our peace and our rest.  The Israelites  hardened their hearts and refused to listen to the voice of God.  What was the result of their rebellion?  God has taken an oath that those who disobey Him will never enter His rest.  It is because of their unbelief in God that they are prevented from having rest and peace.  

Here Paul's advice to Christians it to be careful that your own heart is not evil and unbelieving.  This will cause you to turn from the living God and become eternally separated.  Do not be deceived by sin and harden your heart to the truth.  If you remain faithful to the end, trusting God as firmly as when we first believed, we will share all that belongs to Christ Jesus and enter His place of REST IN PEACE!

Do you want to rest in peace, then listen to the voice of God and believe His message for your life.  Accept the Good News about the Salvation of God.  You can obtain the free gift of life by believing Jesus Christ and the Word of God.  You have the choice to accept or reject the Word of God.  You alone will suffer the consequences of your decision.  The consequence of your unbelief is that you will not have peace on earth, and you will not enter His eternal rest and peace.  How about you, are you at peace right now?   Have you been able to REST IN PEACE? 

ALIVE!

HEBREWS 4: 12

"For the Word of God is  ALIVE  and powerful.  It is sharper the sharpest two edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.  It expresses our innermost thoughts and desires."

Agnostics and atheists proclaim that God is dead.  They may even believe that there is no God who ever lived.  What do you believe?  Is God dead or ALIVE?  Believer's prove to themselves every day that God is ALIVE in His Word and kept promises.  God speaks to us so many ways, the heavens declare His Glory, the Word guides our lives and teaches us about Him.  God is full of power and life and has an energizing and activating effect on our every day lives.  The Lord Jesus Christ answers questions about life and gives us peace and contentment no matter what the circumstances of our life might be.  The Word of God shows us the depth and endless knowledge that can be found if we examine His Word closely.  The Word of God penetrates to the dividing line of our very breath and life.  Its immortal spirit is in the deepest part of our nature and helps us analyze our every thought.  

If something is dead it is no longer of any value and is buried and put away.  The Bible, the Word of God is the most printed book in history and has never stopped being translated and reproduced.  It is the most reliable history of man we have.  It is trustworthy and true and has been proven correct over and over again throughout the ages.  It has the answer to any question that man may have.  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us in the person of Jesus Christ.  The Word is God and just like Jesus Christ who overcame death and the grave, it is ALIVE today and forever.  Only fools say in their heart that there is no god.  They will be enlightened at the time of judgement even though it will be too late for them.  

Agnostics and atheists are fools and they do not even have the beginning of wisdom which is the fear of God.  So the truth is that the only ones to be dead and stay dead eternally are those that deny the Christ.  God is not dead, but they are!  When they refuse to accept the living God into their lives they condemn themselves to eternal damnation.  Remember that the One Truth Today is that "the Word of God is ALIVE and powerful.  The real question has to do with each of us personally.  Are you alive or dead?  If you do not have the Lord in your life you are dead and will never be alive until you accept Him into your heart and believe His Word.  Do you want to be ALIVE?

BECAUSE OF HIS MERCY!

TITUS 3: 5

"God saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but BECAUSE OF HIS MERCY.  He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit."

It is part of human nature to want to take credit for the good things that happen in our lives. Sometimes we take credit even if we are not responsible for what occurred.  Most people would like to think that they control their life and destiny.  The truth is that we lack the power to even save ourselves from this world or our inevitable death.  Do  you believe that you can save yourself from this world of flesh and give yourself eternal life?  We all know that we have been foolish and disobedient, thoughtless and even obstinate in our lives.  We have allowed ourselves to be deluded by all kinds of cravings and pleasures.  Many have wasted their lives in malice, jealousy, hatred and envy.  How can things be made right for us and our lives?

When our loving God came and appeared as a man, Jesus Christ, we had the answer to our salvation.  We were saved by God, not because of anything that we had done, but BECAUSE OF HIS MERCY!  When we accepted Jesus Christ into our heart and believed in Him we had all of our sins washed away we were given a new life through the Holy Spirit.  The Lord has taken pity on all who love and worship Him.  When we were Baptized in the Holy Spirit we had all of our past sins washed away and we became a new creature with a born again spirit.  It is not by our works, but by His mercy that we are saved.  No man can boast that they saved themselves.  

No one deserves this free gift of life and salvation.  It is not because of how we lived, but by the choice to accept and not reject the Lord.  New life is poured out so richly and generously by Jesus Christ.  With the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in our lives we have the promise of eternal life in heaven, free from sin.  Let us all bask in the wonder of glory of this good news.  It was the eternal plan of God.  So when you ponder how it is that you have been given the gift of eternal life with the Lord in Heaven, and you ask how or why, it is BECAUSE OF HIS MERCY!

THIS EVIL WORLD!

TITUS 2: 12

"We are instructed to turn from Godless living and sinful pleasures.  We should live in THIS EVIL WORLD with wisdom, righteousness and devotion to God."

Is there any question in your mind that this is an evil world we live in?  The evidence of evil and sin surround us and in some cases overwhelm us.  The One Truth Today is to instruct us about turning from Godless living and sinful pleasures and seeking wisdom, righteousness and devotion to God in THIS EVIL WORLD!  Have you been saved by the grace of God?  Are you looking forward to the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ?  Have you learned to respect and fear God, which is the beginning of wisdom?  Have you turned from ungodliness and worldly lusts?  Have you learned self control and devotion to God and His Word?  You see we are in the world but we are not of it as Christians.

When the grace of God appeared in your life,  you received the Lord's unmerited flavor and blessing.  You were saved, delivered from sin, and received eternal life for eternity.  Now that salvation has changed your life you will reject and renounce evil and worldly lusts.  Grace allows us to live discrete lives with self control and spiritual morality.  We remain upright and devoted to God.  We are no longer of this world.  We seek instruction from the Holy Word of God and then we put it into action in our lives.  We are turning from godliness to God!

We are all waiting anxiously for the fulfillment of the glorious return of our Saviour, Jesus Christ.  He is our Messiah, the anointed one, God with us.  He will save us from this world and death and instead give us life and that eternal and perfect.  Is Jesus Christ on your heart and mind and are you devoted to Him?  If you are attached to this sinful world and its lustful pleasures then you do not have the Lord in your heart.  You should have rejected your old self and welcomed the new creature in Christ Jesus.  You should be living a temperate life of self control.  Your life should be spiritually devoted to God.  We must offer thanks and praise that we were saved from death and THIS EVIL WORLD!

A PURE HEART!

TITUS 1: 5

"Everything is pure to whose hearts are pure.  Nothing is pure to those who are corrupt and unbelieving, because their mind and hearts are corrupted."

Did you ever wonder why one person sees the glass as half full, while another person sees the glass as half empty?  The One Truth Today may explain the reason.  Could the condition of our hearts have a bearing on our attitude and how we view life?  Do you have a pure heart or is it one of corruption and unbelief?  Perhaps this explains why out of the mouths of babes and young children come pure thoughts, ideas and statements.  They have not had enough time to become unbelieving and corrupt.  Perhaps this explains why many adults are so pessimistic and see the bad side of everything and the half empty cup.  It is a matter of the heart and mind. Believers tend to be optimistic because of their inherent faith in God and His Word.  Unbelievers tend to be corrupt and defiled and nothing is pure to them.  

With such a clear distinction between the pure in heart and the corrupted and unbelieving heart you have to wonder why the choice to accept and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ is so difficult for many.  The only way you can clean up your heart and receive a new one is to accept God's free gift of salvation and believe in Him.  Opening your heart to the Lord and believing in His Word will make you a new person with a pure heart.  It is a choice for every person to make and the consequences are so dramatic in this life and in the eternal life to come.  Examine your heart and mind and make your own conclusion as to where you are right now.

If you are tired of being negative and pessimistic and you are never at peace, you can make a choice that will change your life eternally.  You can be given a new, pure, spiritual heart that comes with the new man.  There is only one way to find peace on earth and then eternally and that is to for you to accept the Word of God and ask Him into your heart.  God will do the rest as He changes your heart and mind and makes you a new being in Christ Jesus.  Behold the Lord stands at the door to your heart and knocks, if any man will open the door and invite Him in He will dwell with them and make them a new creature with a new heart and mind!  Every man deserves A PURE HEART, it is up to you, it is your choice!