Month: November 2024

The topic of my Wednesday affirmation blog series is, “studying God’s word.” The two things every Christian must do daily if they want to please God is to pray and read their Bible. Every manufacturer on the planet who makes a product for sale that is complex or difficult to understand will always provide an owner’s manual so the buyer can derive the most benefit from its purchase. That’s a reasonable thing to do. It’s the common sense thing to do. The Bible says man is manufactured by God. We are God’s masterpiece of creation. Man is comprised of thirty trillion specialized cells organized into organs, tissues, and complex body systems. Man is a bio-mechanical marvel equipped with the greatest computer in the universe; our mind. Don’t believe all that crap about man evolving from apes or one-cell organisms from an ancient sea. Our humanist world had to come up with something to hide the truth of God from man and that’s the best they could come up with. Unfortunately, most of the world believes this lie because our education system has been indoctrinating us all our lives. There’s not a shred of evidence to support the theory of evolution. It’s all make-believe and wishful thinking.

God made us with his own hands and he put us on this earth he created for us. God has put us here to make the free will decision to serve either God or Satan. Choose rightly. God has given us seventy-plus years to do the “good works” he has planned for us to do. The only good work we do for God that has eternal consequences is “witnessing for Christ” to save nonbelievers to the kingdom of heaven. I think we can agree that man is both complex and difficult to understand. I think we can agree God is reasonable and he has common sense. Isn’t it obvious to you by now that our God needs to provide an owner’s manual for man, his masterpiece of creation? Otherwise, God is just wasting his time and ours! If we cannot understand where we came from and what we must do then we’re walking around blind and we’ll never see heaven. Not to worry. God has thought of everything. God has indeed provided an owner’s manual for man, so we can find all the answers to life we seek. God’s word, our Holy Bible, is our owner’s manual and we need to read it daily and study it for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom to reach our full potential.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

Colossians 3:10 – (Believers) have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.

Romans 12:2 – And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of god.

MY AFFIRMATION:

When I was a nonbeliever I was conformed to this world. That’s no longer the case. I’m now conformed to heaven. I’m a “new” man because God has given me a “new” spirit. I have been saved unto eternal life in heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. I’m still in the world but not part of it; my citizenship is in heaven. I’m constantly renewing my mind by studying God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. As I absorb God’s wisdom every day I’m transformed into an obedient servant of Almighty God, and I emulate Jesus Christ in everything I do. I will “witness for Christ” and save many nonbelievers to the kingdom of heaven for it is the acceptable, perfect will of God.

NOTE: Most people reading the Bible don’t have a clue what God is talking about in the two verses listed above. Many see the renewing of our minds as something God does to us or for us. The word renew means, “to replace something broken or worn out.” We do the replacing not God. Our thought patterns are what’s broken and we have to change the paradigm. We need to stop thinking only about the world from our perspective and start thinking about the world in the spiritual sense; from God’s perspective. In Colossians 3:2 God says, “Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” That is what happens when we renew our minds. Don’t confuse “sanctification” with “renewing.” We do the renewing and God does the sanctification. Sanctification is an ongoing process whereby God makes the believer more holy during our life on earth so we become more like Jesus Christ. Justification is the act of salvation; a one-time event. Sanctification I’ve already covered. Our “glorification” is from God and it occurs once we go to heaven and stand before the bema judgment seat of Jesus Christ. The Lord will shower us with honor, glory, and riches, based on how many souls we save to heaven. If you save at least one person to heaven you become a warrior for Christ. The Bible, the sword of truth, is the only weapon you’ll ever need to prevail against the evil in this world.

The word conform means, “to be similar in form or type.” That means everyone is born with a basic understanding of our physical world through our five senses. We all “conform” to the world we live in. We see the world pretty much the same way. Renewing our minds is an individual thing; a personal thing; and it’s something each of us has to do ourselves at a pace that suits us as individuals. Some Christians will renew their minds faster, some will be slower, and some won’t renew their minds at all. How on earth do we renew our minds? We reprogram (renew) our minds one day at a time as we read the Bible daily and study God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. We start thinking about heaven more and more while thinking about our physical world less and less. We pray to God for his revelation of things to come. It’s a labor of love for me and a task that will take me a lifetime. As believers renew their minds through Bible study they will come to understand that we’re to obey God’s commandments, especially the number one commandment of God which is to, “witness for Christ” to save nonbelievers to the kingdom of heaven.

It’s our primary mission on earth and the “good work” that is dearest to God’s heart. If we witness for Christ effectively God will shower us with honor, glory, and riches on the last day. Everyone who is born in this world has an eternal spirit from God that is tainted by the original sin from Adam’s fall from grace in the Garden of Eden. Since all of us descend from Adam his sin has been imputed to each of us. We are all headed to hell for all eternity unless God forgives us of our sins. We cannot enter heaven with the “spirit man” we were born with because of that sin. God doesn’t allow sin in heaven. Because of the blood Jesus Christ shed on the cross in our place, God can forgive our sins and give us a new spirit that is without sin; if we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. This is what God means when he says believers have, “put on the new man.” Jesus died for all our sins, but it’s up to each person to individually accept God’s grace by “putting on the new man” by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. A brand new spirit from God that is sin-free is our, “new man.” Remember, our spirit is the real us and not this temporary tent we live in.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

Proverbs 4:20-22 – My son, give attention to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; keep them in the midst of your heart; for they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh.

MY AFFIRMATION:

Holy God, Lord of heaven and earth, I will read my Bible every day so that my fellowship with God remains strong. I will continually study God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. The Bible is God’s truth and it will endure forever. The Bible is God’s wisdom and I will seek God’s wisdom every day through the pages of my Bible and also through prayer. O Lord, I will memorize and internalize your holy scriptures until they are locked within my heart and become an indivisible part of who I am. Lord, the promises contained in your word are health and healing to all my flesh. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

NOTE: Proverbs 4:20-22 is God’s clearest message to man that we are to abide in God’s word. One of the definitions of the word abide is, “lasting a long time.” After our salvation, we’re to immerse ourselves in the Bible for the rest of our lives so we keep our fellowship with God strong. By using the words, “my son”, God is acknowledging we are his children. God is telling us he loves us and he has some advice for us that will lead to a successful life. God is also telling us to read the Bible every day. God is telling us to hear the word of God spoken as much as possible. God is telling us to commit Bible verses to memory so we keep them in our hearts and they become an integral part of who we are as Christians. In times of trouble, I can recall a few Bible verses that helped me get through some difficulties I was facing. God is always with us and faithful to help us in our time of need if we ask him in prayer. God promises an abundant life and good health to all believers who pray daily for his blessings, read their Bible often, and obey the commandments of God.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

John 16:13 – (Jesus) – However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; For He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

James 1:5 – If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit since I was twelve years old. I was saved unto eternal life in heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior by my confession of faith and baptism before the congregation of the First Baptist Church in my hometown. I pray that the spirit of truth will guide me into all truth as I read God’s word daily and study my Bible for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Daily I will pray to God for his wisdom so that the Holy Spirit will tell me things to come. O Lord, make me healthy, wealthy, and wise!

NOTE: The Holy Bible is the truth of God. The Bible is the wisdom of God. The Bible is the key to understanding everything on earth and in heaven. It contains all the answers to every question we seek the answers to. The Bible is worth more than all the accumulated wealth of the whole world combined, and God is giving it to us for free. However, there is a catch. The Lord doesn’t let just anyone access the mysteries of God. Only those Christian believers who have been saved unto eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are allowed to know the mysteries of God. Those who claim to be Christians but don’t know Jesus personally don’t have access to the wisdom of God. Nonbelievers also have no shot. Giving the Bible to a nonbeliever is a little like giving a monkey a computer and telling him to go surf the internet. James 1:5 contains an important promise from God. Believers should be praying to God every day for his wisdom as they read their Bible. God will reveal the mysteries of heaven to believers if they ask him in prayer. God cannot lie.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

Psalm 1:1-3 – Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in season, whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper.

MY AFFIRMATION:

Holy God, Lord of heaven and earth; you have blessed me with eternal life in heaven and given me an unquenchable thirst for your word. The Holy Spirit has given me the ministry of reconciliation, which is to study God’s word and give my testimony. Lord, I will meditate in your law day and night and I ask for your blessing as I abide in your word and you abide in me. I will fellowship with other believers and pray daily before the throne of grace for you to bless me. I will be wise and seek the advice of other believers on important matters so God will bless me with wisdom. Lord, I’m grateful for the many blessings in my life that I have received from your hand. Lord, I thank you for making me prosperous.

NOTE: God doesn’t hear the prayers of nonbelievers. God will only bless believers. As we read our Bibles we should be on the lookout for Bible verses where God promises to bless us if we do something revealed in the verse. Whatever that “something” is, do it and keep doing it until God delivers on his promise to “bless” us. The word “blessing” means, “God’s favor and protection.” That sounds pretty good to me and God cannot lie. In Psalm 1:1-3, God offers us five blessings and three promises. When God uses the word “shall” it’s a promise from God. God says to not take advice from nonbelievers because they are fools and we are, therefore, blessed when we listen to the advice of other believers. God also says don’t keep company with sinners because you’ll be tempted to sin with them. The book of Proverbs has a lot to say on this subject. On the flip side, our blessings from God will come when we hang out with fellow believers, because we support and encourage one another in our faith. God says don’t be scornful (which is to say, a nonbeliever) or we’ll wind up in hell for all eternity in pain and agony 24/7. Our blessings from God come when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.

We are blessed by God when we love his word, and doubly blessed as we read our Bible every day for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. The five things I’ve covered that God will bless us for are all pretty easy to do. Become a believer who prays to God every day. Love God’s word. Study the bible. Save nonbelievers. Avoid sinners. Seek advice only from fellow believers. How easy is that? The great thing about Psalm 1:1-3 is that God tells us what blessings we can expect if we obey him. God uses a metaphor comparing us to a tree to explain the blessings we’ll receive from him for our obedience. We’re planted next to water so we’re nourished. We’re fruitful because we’re fulfilling God’s intended purpose. We have no disease or infirmity. It sounds like a blessed life for a tree, and it should be the same for us so we’ll have a long and successful life. Just in case we missed what God is saying, God makes his meaning very clear with the last statement in the verse when he says, “And whatever he does shall prosper.” The key to all the blessings God has to offer to believers is to study our Bible, pray without ceasing, and witness for Christ. The destiny of every saved Christian is to be in the presence of Jesus forever. The Lord will shower us with honor, glory, and riches on the last day if we’ve been obedient to his commandments, especially when we witness for Christ to save nonbelievers to heaven.

Tuesday Affirmations (continued):

God created us so he could fellowship with us forever in heaven. The word fellowship means, “friendliness and companionship based on shared interests.” We can’t share our interests with God and vice versa unless we can communicate with each other. In our time, God has chosen to communicate with us through his word, our Holy Bible. That’s why it’s vitally important we read our Bible every day and also we need to invest time in studying God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. For our part, we talk to God through prayer so it’s just as important that we pray to God numerous times a day to keep our fellowship with God strong. Look, you can’t read the Bible too much and you can’t pray to God too much. The more we talk to God the stronger our relationship is with our creator.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

Proverbs 3:5-6 – Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

Psalm 138:8 – The Lord will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy O Lord, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.

MY AFFIRMATION:

Lord, thank you for saving me unto eternal life in heaven. I go where the Holy Spirit leads me because the Holy Spirit directs my footsteps to fulfill God’s pleasure. I’m a disciple of Christ and I walk in obedience to the commandments of God. I work in God’s harvest field to fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus gave to his disciples, which is to witness for Christ to all nations and all people. My trust is in the Lord. I will obey my God always!

NOTE: Our mind believes what it sees and we cannot see God because he’s invisible. Yet we believe in God through faith and we trust in our salvation from God. We do this by not believing, or leaning on, what our eyes tell us or what the humanist world may tell us. That’s a bridge too far for some people so they deny God exists at all or they are fooled by Satan into following one of the fake religions and false gods the devil has sponsored throughout history. I have a hard time understanding how a person could reject the true God Jehovah because they can’t see him yet they’ll go follow after a false god that also can’t be seen. Praise God in prayer and ask him to direct your life and he will do it.

If you want to know if the Christian God Jehovah is the one true God I have the solution for you. For those of you who cannot see the truth of God because Satan has put blinders over your eyes, there is a simple way to ascertain the truth that our God Jehovah is the one true God of creation. I hereby challenge you to seek the truth. Read God’s word, our Holy Bible, in its entirety with an open mind and see what happens. There’s a 95% chance you’ll come face to face with God. When you do you’ll be dumbfounded. Gather yourself; fall on your knees and pray the sinner’s prayer to God and you’ll be saved. In December 2019, I posted blogs containing lists of physical proofs of God, Bible proofs of God, and Jesus proofs that he is the Messiah, the prophesied son of God. I created them as witness aids, so use them.

PRAYER AFFIRMATIONS:

Philippians 4:13 – I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Mark 11:24 – (Jesus) – Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask for when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I pray for God to strengthen me through his Christ and Holy Spirit who indwells me so that I can bear much fruit by my witness for Christ. I abide in the word of God and the Holy Spirit abides in me. I pray that together we will save many nonbelievers to heaven. I thank God for answering my prayers. I thank God for the honor of working alongside my King in his harvest field to help save many nonbelievers to heaven through my witness for Christ.

NOTE: I have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit since the age of twelve (I’m 72 now). I gave my profession of faith before the First Baptist Church in my hometown and then I was baptized as a public demonstration of my inner faith. I was saved by faith and my inner spirit was then washed (or baptized ) by the living water that is the Holy Spirit of God. My outer baptism was just to show everyone I belonged to God. I’ve been a Baptist all my life. Baptists aren’t baptized to become saved. Baptists are baptized because we are already saved and want everyone to know about it.

In my teenage years, I became a backslider and that lasted for forty years. Once you belong to God his Holy Spirit will never leave you. During all that time apart from God the Lord pursued me relentlessly. He kept reaching out to bring me back into fellowship with my creator. In my soul, I could feel God stalking me; never willing to let me go. God was gentle, longsuffering, and patient toward me until I returned home to my Lord. That my friends is true love in action! I will praise the Lord forever for his love, mercy, and grace toward his servant!

PRAYER AFFITMATION:

Matthew 9:37-38 – (Jesus) – The harvest is truly plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I bless God for allowing me to participate in his salvation plan for man. I will work beside the Lord in his harvest field sharing the gospel of Christ to save one more for Jesus every day as long as I live. I pray for more workers in God’s harvest field because the need is great and the workers are few. I will continually worship God with the praise of my lips and give my testimony because God is good and God is great and this my spirit knows very well.

NOTE: The “harvest” refers to all those people out there in the world who aren’t saved unto eternal life in heaven. The only path to heaven is through personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. It’s common sense that there can be only one true God and Jehovah is that God. The evidence is overwhelming. Satan is the god of this world and he has sponsored fake religions and false gods throughout history. Satan has put blinders over the eyes of nonbelievers to hide the truth of God from man. There is no proof of any God other than the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To the nonbeliever, our Christian God Jehovah is just foolishness and our Holy Bible is just a book. There are eight billion people on the planet, and only 2.5 billion claim to be Christians. Probably 60% of those who claim to be Christians aren’t saved. Most Catholics expect the church, the Pope, and their priests to save them to heaven but they’re sadly mistaken because Jesus Christ is the only way to get there and the Catholic church has turned Jesus into a cookie used only during mass.

Talk is cheap and if you haven’t given your life to Jesus you’re going to hell with all the other nonbelievers, even if you call yourself a Christian. So roughly there are seven billion people today who need saving and they’re all going to hell when they die, and they don’t even realize it. In the above verse “laborers” refers to believers who are witnessing for Christ in this vast field of nonbelievers (the world). Catholics don’t witness. Out of approximately one million Christians who are Protestants only about 300,000 belong to an evangelical denomination that stresses sharing the gospel of Christ with nonbelievers. Only about 10% of these evangelicals (30,000) have read the entire Bible and are actively witnessing for Christ with regularity and persistence. 30,000 trying to save seven billion is why God says the harvest is plentiful the laborers are few, and why we are commanded to pray to God for more workers. I pray for more help every day. It’s like trying to swim upstream against a raging river. It’s hard but it must be done until God calls us home.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

Matthew 16:19 – (Jesus) – And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Matthew 18:18 – (Jesus) – Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

MY AFFIRMATION:

Jesus has given me the authority to use his name in prayer and I will pray every day in Jesus’ name. And that which I bind on earth through prayer is bound in heaven by God. And that which I loose on earth through prayer is loosed in heaven by God. The Lord says we can have whatever we ask for in prayer if we believe God will answer our prayers and we pray continually. I believe what God says. Therefore, through prayer, I bind the principalities, the powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, and I render them all harmless and ineffective against me, in the name of Jesus. I loose the blessings of God from heaven upon me here on earth through daily prayer, in Jesus’ name, and also by my continued obedience to the commandments of God.

NOTE: The two verses above are confusing to most people. Even believing Christians often don’t have a clue what God is talking about. All the “binding” and “loosing” that Jesus is talking about in the book of Matthew is about prayer. The word “you” in the scriptures means all believing Christians who are saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and therefore holy and righteous before God. Believers don’t get a set of physical “keys” to heaven through the mail. Keys is a metaphor for prayers. The word “bind” means to restrain or tie up someone or something. The opposite of bind is loose. Then the word “loose” means to “not” restrain or tie up someone or something. Look, Satan is the god of this world and he hates our guts. Without God’s protection, Satan and his demons would kill every man, woman, and child on this planet within thirty days. Read Ephesians 6:12 to learn what we’re up against.

So yes, we need to restrain (bind) Satan if we want to fulfill the salvation plan God has for our lives. So yes, we need to release (loose) the blessings God has in store for those who love him. In our physical world, the only way we can reach across into the spirit world is by prayer. God says he will do what we ask in prayer if we’re in fellowship with him and we’re obedient to the commandments of God. In addition, we must pray continually and believe we are going to receive what we pray for. Faith is the secret ingredient that makes prayer work. It’s also important to approach the throne of grace showing the proper respect for our creator. You also need to pray for things that align with God’s will and nature. For example, you can’t pray for a million dollars and expect God to cough it up. But you can pray for wisdom from God because he wants to prosper us and help us lead productive lives. Jesus said he came so that we may have life more abundantly. When you pray to God ask for him to protect you from the evil in this world (binding). Ask for God to bless you (loosing) from heaven so that you’ll receive God’s blessings here on earth.

In summary, the fifteen scriptures in my Tuesday prayer affirmations all have a common theme. They tell us God hears our prayers and he will act on them for our benefit because we are God’s beloved children. God loves us and wants the best for us always. As believers, we have 24/7 access to the throne of grace. Therefore, go boldly before God and talk to him about anything and everything. Our mission on this earth is first, to find God and salvation unto eternal life in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ. Our second task on this earth is to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with all nations and all people to save some of them to heaven. We cannot be effective and fruitful with our witness for Christ on our own. As we share the gospel message we must also pray to God before, during, and after our witness to be successful. Prayer is the “key” to heaven so use it to save many nonbelievers to heaven.

The topic of my Tuesday affirmation blog series is prayer. Our prayers to God are the currency of heaven. Prayers are the grease that lubricates the machinery of heaven. Nothing gets done in heaven or on earth without prayer. If you want to know how important prayer is to God just look at the life and 3 1/2 year ministry of Jesus Christ, the son of God. If you’ll notice, Jesus was always praying; and praying about everything. We’re talking about God the Son praying to God the Father. The life of Jesus Christ was meant to be an example to all men of how we should lead our lives. Jesus always prayed and so should we. Keep praying until God answers our prayers, no matter how long it takes to receive an answer, even if it takes twenty years. We’re not privy to God’s timeline so we just have to trust God because he loves us. God is glorified when we pray to God and also when he answers our prayers, but God’s not going to give us anything until we ask for it. One thing is certain; once we get to heaven you’ll never hear any saint say to you that they prayed to God too much on earth. Every believer in heaven will regret that they didn’t pray to God more often. It’s impossible to pray to God too much or too often.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 – Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

Psalm 5:11 – But let all those rejoice who put their trust in you; let them ever shout for joy, because you defend them; let those also who love Your name be joyful in You.

Pslam 40:16 – Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, “The Lord be magnified!”

MY AFFIRMATION:

Daily I will rejoice that the Lord is my God. For you have made me O Lord and saved me unto eternal life in heaven in your presence. I will pray without ceasing, giving you the praise of my lips for your love, mercy, and grace toward your servant. Lord, I thank you for your guardian angels who watch over me. My gladness and joy is complete because the Lord’s presence is inside me. Before the throne of grace, I will continually say, “The Lord be magnified always; ever forever.”

NOTE: One type of prayer believers rarely engage in is a prayer of rejoicing. Why is that? Most believers don’t know they should be rejoicing in the Lord and if they do know they don’t know how to go about rejoicing in the Lord. People tend to pray to God only when they want something from God or when they’re in trouble. It’s more important to pray to God to show your joy and love for the Lord. When we speak our feelings to God in this way it becomes a prayer of rejoicing. Take a step back and look at this logically. God made you and put you on this earth to live your life. Every heartbeat and every breath you take is because God wills it to be so. You were born on the road to perdition (hell) for all eternity but God in his love, mercy, and grace called you to salvation and pulled you up to heaven to be in his presence forever. The Lord will shower his children with love forever and give them honor, glory, and riches beyond our wildest imagination. It doesn’t get any better than that. We should be doing cartwheels before God. But the Lord will settle for a little rejoicing.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

1 Timothy 2:8 – I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.

Ephesians 6:18 – Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.

MY AFFIRMATION:

In obedience to your word O Lord, I will pray often before the throne of grace. Early and often will I seek your face O Lord; seeking your wisdom and guidance. By the praise of my lips, I will worship the Lord my God every day, offering up love, honor, and glory to my King. Praise the Lord for his kindness toward his servant.

NOTE: God doesn’t hear the prayers of nonbelievers. That all changes once you are saved unto eternal life by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit changes the believer’s eternal destination from hell to heaven the instant they are saved and the Holy Spirit indwells our body forever as our helper. Even when we get to heaven the Holy Spirit stays with us. As believers, Jesus gave us the right to have an audience before God 24/7, so when we pray God listens. God tells us this in his word and God cannot lie. As believers, we are holy vessels with holy hands, and we are to pray everywhere and at all times. We are to never stop praying and God promises to answer our prayers at some point as long as we don’t doubt God will give us an answer to our prayers.

You can’t pray too much for God; the more we pray the better it is for us. To be effective all our prayers must be addressed to God the Father in Jesus’ name. In the Bible, God tells us how to approach the throne of grace in prayer and if you do it differently your prayers are falling on deaf ears and you’re sinning against God. That means you can’t pray to Mary, the mother of Jesus, because she’s just a human being like us and she can’t hear your prayers to God nor can she help you. You also can’t pray to a Pope, priest, or Catholic saint for the same reason. Our God is jealous of his glory, and he will not give his glory to another!

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

Psalm 37:4 – Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I delight myself in the Lord through prayer and he gives me the desires of my heart. I will work diligently in God’s harvest field to help save many lost souls for the kingdom of God through my witness for Christ. I desire to serve the Lord for forty years like God’s prophets of old; or until Jesus Christ comes to rapture me and all saints in the air to receive our glorified bodies before returning to heaven. I desire to please God by my “good works.” I desire to stand before the bema judgment seat of Jesus Christ on the last day and hear him say, “Well done good and faithful servant.” Help me Lord because I desire to save many nonbelievers for the kingdom of heaven.

NOTE: The word “rejoice” means to feel or show great joy. The word “delight” means to, “take great pleasure in doing something.” God wants believers to show the great joy they feel in their hearts through prayers of rejoicing to Almighty God. God wants believers to delight, or take great pleasure in, our prayers to God the Father. I take great pleasure in witnessing for Christ to save nonbelievers to the kingdom of heaven. I delight in my ministry of reconciliation given to me by the Holy Spirit, which is to study God’s word and give my testimony. God has said in his word that he’ll give us the desires of our hearts as expressed to God in our prayers to him if we continue in our prayers until God answers and we don’t doubt that God will answer us when he is ready.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

James 4:2 – Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss.

James 5:16 – The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I pray that my witness for Christ will save many nonbelievers to the kingdom of heaven. I’m indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God and I ask my Helper to take my prayers before the throne of grace and present them to God the Father in such a way that my prayers are pleasing in his sight. I pray that Jesus Christ, my Mediator, will present my case before the court of heaven for a favorable decision. I pray that the Lord will answer my prayers and use the gospel seed I’ve cast before God to save many lost souls for heaven.

NOTE: I fear in the past that I’ve prayed too little to God and left meat on the bone. For a long time, I prayed that God would return to me one-tenth of one percent of the gospel seed I cast before the throne of grace. For every case of 1000 Christian tracts I sent to one of my seven prison ministries I was asking God to give me credit for one saved soul; to make one tract fall on good ground and save a soul to heaven or move the person along the path toward salvation. For every 1000 people who read my blog, I asked God to give me credit for one saved soul. I don’t do that anymore. God says we can have what we ask for and I came to the conclusion I was asking for too little.

I now pray for a 10% return on the gospel seed I cast before God in the form of my blog and Christian tracts. When I send out Bibles, Christian books, and gospel comics I ask God in prayer for a one-to-one return or credit for one saved soul for each gospel seed. In Isaiah 1:18, God says we should reason with him and that’s what I’m doing when I ask God to save many more nonbelievers by my hand. God is not offended by my asking for his help. God can always say no. It’s always better to ask for too much from God rather than too little because God just might give us what we ask for. I assure you God won’t get mad if we ask for too much because God wants all his creatures in heaven with him forever.

Whenever I update my Bible affirmations things never go as planned. In the case of my Monday affirmations, I thought I’d only be making minor changes but it ended up being a major overhaul. I ended up going from twelve affirmations down to seven affirmations. My new affirmations are now more substantial and comprehensive than before and they tend to focus more on one aspect of my service to God, which is obedience. When you’re a “hammer” every problem winds up being a nail. When your number one priority in life is “witnessing for Christ” then most Bible scriptures are seen as commandments from God to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ. If you look at the fourteen verses that make up my Monday Bible affirmations they all either directly or indirectly command believers to witness for Christ. I have all these verses posted above my desk (plus the Lord’s Prayer) so obviously I’m consumed by them. I love these Bible verses because they exhort me to save lost souls for the kingdom of heaven. I read them all every morning for spiritual energy as I drink my pot of coffee, and before speaking to God in prayer.

We are God’s masterpiece of creation and the Bible is God’s love letter to us. The entire Bible from start to finish is the revelation of Jesus Christ, the son of God, coming off his throne in heaven to take on flesh and die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. God loves us that much. The Old Testament is Jesus prophesied and the New Testament is Jesus fulfilled. There are over sixty prophecies about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and they were all fulfilled while Jesus walked the earth. The Old Testament is good because it helps us understand who God is and the history of God’s relationship with man. But as believers, we’re under the blood covenant of Jesus Christ and we need to live in the New Testament (the epistles). If we live in the Epistles, we live in victory! I try to read the entire Bible every year and I don’t always succeed. However, I do read the New Testament every year without fail. Bible affirmations are prayers and confessing the word of God and our obedience to it creates the reality of salvation in our hearts, our minds, and our spirits. When we align with God and his word we’re saying yes to Almighty God; we will be obedient and witness for Christ.

MONDAY AFFIRMATIONS (continued):

Micah 6:8 – He has shown you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?

Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I will emulate Jesus Christ in all my actions through obedience to the commandments of God. I will read the Bible daily and pray to the Lord often to maintain my fear of God. I will witness for Christ all the days of my life. I rejoice in my ministry received from the Holy Spirit and my salvation from God!

My NKJV Bible (large print) is 1,678 pages long. It takes me all year to read it and then I just start all over again. Only 10% of Christians who attend church regularly have read the Holy Bible in its entirety. Make sure you’re not one of them. As believers, we’re commanded to read God’s word every day to stay in fellowship with the Lord. God talks to us through the pages of the Bible and we talk to God in prayer. We’re commanded to study God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. It’s the only way we can find out who God is and what he requires of us. I’m old school. I love to read and study and I’m always reading multiple books at the same time. However, a lot of people aren’t like that. Many people today aren’t very patient. Everyone is in a hurry and they have places to go. Many people today also don’t like to read very much, and everyone wants the answers to life’s questions without having to search for them. You’re in luck. I’ve studied God’s word for twenty years and I’ve included in this Bible affirmation two Bible verses where God very succinctly tells us exactly what he requires of us. I read Micah 6:8 and Ecclesiastes 12:13 every morning over coffee so I’m crystal clear what God expects of me as I begin my day.

MICAH 6:8:

The prophet Micah wrote his Old Testament book around 700 BC. Micah spoke of a Messianic ruler over Israel coming for Bethlehem (Micah 5:2) and as far as I’m concerned Micah 6:8 is also a prophetic verse about Jesus Christ. Let’s look a the first statement of this verse:

“He has shown you, O man, what is good;”

The word “He” in this verse refers to the Messiah (i.e., Jesus). “O man” means God is addressing mankind in general. The word “shown” is the act of showing, and show means to make someone understand something by explaining it or doing it oneself (in person). “Good” means morally right or of a high standard. Jesus said only God is good. If we apply all our definitions to the first statement in Micah 6:8 it can be restated as follows:

“Jesus Christ has come down to earth from heaven, in person, to show or demonstrate to man what is morally right.”

God has demonstrated what is good by providing us with his written word, the Holy Bible, which is full of stories that show God doing what is morally right as an example for us to follow. God has shown us what is good through the 3 1/2 year ministry of his son Jesus Christ. Jesus is God in the flesh. All we have to do as believers is study God’s word and apply the wisdom God shares with us. As believers all we have to do is study the life of Jesus, where he went, what he said, and what he did. We need to absorb the teachings of Jesus: Life is not futile; failure is not fatal; and death is not final. Jesus Christ led a sinless life and we need to emulate what Jesus did in his life to the best of our ability. We can’t come close to duplicating Jesus’ sinless life but if we try our best to obey God we’ll live a life that will be pleasing in his sight on the last day.

“And what does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?”

The second statement of Micah 6:8 gets down to the nitty gritty by telling us what God expects from us in this life he’s given us. Just is defined as, “morally right and fair” so justly is acting in a manner that is morally right and fair. God created us with an inbuilt sense of knowing the difference between right and wrong. If we lose our way we can always fall back on God’s word as our guide to determine right from wrong. The Bible is God’s wisdom so use it. To love mercy means to show compassion to those less fortunate than ourselves. The Bible says God is love and one of God’s greatest commandments is that we love one another. God often uses the words, “humble” and “walking with God”, to describe someone who is obeying his commandments. “To walk humbly with your God” means we are to accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and obey the commandments of God. You can’t walk with God in fellowship if you’re not obeying the number one commandment of God which is to witness for Christ; sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ with all nations and all people. In summary, God says we’re to emulate Christ by saving nonbelievers by our witness, we’re to love our fellow man, and we’re to obey God.

ECCLESIASTES 12:13:

The other Bible verse where God tells us what he expects is from the Old Testament book of Ecclestiastes, written by King Solomon around 935 BC. King Solomon was the wisest man who ever lived and probably the richest. After a long life, King Solomon came to the conclusion that everything in life is meaningless apart from a right relationship with God. A right relationship with God is where man lives in fear of God just like it says in this verse and where man also obeys the commandments of God. The word “fear” in the biblical context means to look upon God with awe, reverence, and deep respect. If we pray to God and read our Bible every day we maintain our “fear” of God. There are 129 direct commandments from God in the Bible (many are redundant). The only commandment from God that matters is sharing the gospel message of Jesus Christ with all nations and all people. That’s why it’s called the Great Commission. Saving nonbelievers to heaven through our witness for Christ is how we receive honor, glory, and riches from God on the last day. It’s worth noting that in both Micah 6:8 and Ecclesiastes 12:12 God stresses that we are to be obedient to the commandments of God; primarily witnessing for Christ to save souls to heaven.

As I wrap up the blog series on Bible affirmations I can’t stress enough how important it is to confess with our lips God’s word, and our obedience to the commandments of God. That’s what Bible affirmations are all about. It’s what we confess with our lips over and over that dominates our inner man. In the Bible, God says we can have whatever we ask for if we believe God will grant our prayers and we keep praying until God answers us. Our confession is the spiritual battleground where we meet God and also where we fight the devil. We saw that with the temptations of Jesus in the New Testament. We’ll never achieve the salvation plan God has for us unless we confess it before the throne of grace. So confess greatly and largely, to do “good works” before the Lord by persistently witnessing for Christ. Our Bible affirmations are how we confess largely and do great things for God. Our Bible affirmations are how we say yes to God. Our Bible affirmations are how we say “yes” to God. Our Bible affirmations are prayers of rejoicing!

MONDAY AFFIRMATIONS (continued):

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 is the most famous verse in the entire Bible and virtually every Christian knows it by heart. Why is that? Christians love this verse because it tells us what we want to hear and it brings great joy. Everyone needs to be loved and to give love in return. John 3:16 lets us know without a doubt that God loves us dearly. God not only tells us he loves us; God proves it by sending his son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross so our sins might be forgiven by a loving and merciful God. One of the spiritual truths of heaven is, “the wages of sin is death.” Somebody had to pay our sin debt and God chose Jesus to die in our place. In the Garden of Eden Adam sinned against God by his disobedience. Adam was evicted from the Garden of Eden and God changed Adam from being an immortal man into a mortal man who would die both a physical death and a spiritual death in hell because of his sins. Adam and Eve were headed to hell before God forgave their sins. We’ll see Adam and Eve in heaven. All men who came after Adam have inherited Adam’s original sin and we’re also all born on the path to perdition, and therefore we all need God’s forgiveness to enter heaven.

However, God in his love, mercy, and grace also decided to save us to heaven by forgiving our sins. Another spiritual truth of heaven is, “without shedding innocent blood there can be no forgiveness of sins.” God is just. God cannot lie or change his position. There had to be a shedding of innocent human blood before God could forgive the sins of man. All men are born into sin from Adam’s fall so there was no sinless human sacrifice available to save man from eternal death in hell. God had to come off his throne in heaven and come to earth as a man, in the flesh, as the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born of a human mother like we all are so he was fully human so he could qualify as a sacrifice for us before God. At the same time, Jesus Christ was also fully God because his father was the Holy Spirit. Jesus was a God-man with both natures in his body at the same time, but separate from each other. Jesus was the only person who could save us from hell and he did so voluntarily. Jesus could have halted his crucifixion at any time and called down a legion of angels if he wanted to. When we say Jesus is our Lord and Savior we’re not saying empty words. By his sacrificial death, Jesus saved us from hell and saved us to heaven. When we call Jesus Lord we’re acknowledging Jesus is God and saying yes we will obey the commandments of God.

The problem with John 3:16 is people think that verse by itself saves them to heaven and they don’t have to do anything else. They are wrong. Notice that God didn’t say whoever believes in Jesus “shall” be saved. Instead, God says whoever believes in Jesus “should” be saved. That means salvation unto heaven is a two-step process contingent on man taking a second step to complete the process. Just believing in God and Jesus won’t get you to heaven. Even Satan and his demons believe in God and Jesus because they know them. The difference is Satan and his demons haven’t repented of their sins. They haven’t declared Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life whom they’ll obey because they can’t and they won’t. However, it’s not too late for us. Jesus already took the first step by dying on the cross for our sins. All we need to do is repent of our sins and accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior to complete the process. Google “sinner’s prayer” and then pray to God in faith and you’re saved.

Let’s restate John 3:16 in such a way that it’s still true but it reveals what’s at stake for our eternal souls:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever does not believe in Him should perish and not have everlasting life.”

This statement is the mirror image of John 3:16 and is therefore also true. God is putting a positive spin on the truth of God in John 3:16 to exhort nonbelievers to come to God while at the same time bringing the peace of God to believers. People need to look beyond the obvious and understand that doing the opposite of what God says to do in the Bible will also cause an opposite result. I love John 3:16 like everyone else. But as a warrior for Christ who has dedicated his life to witnessing for Christ to save many nonbelievers to the kingdom of heaven, I look at John 3:16 and ask myself, “What about those who don’t believe because they don’t know the truth of God?” “Shouldn’t somebody tell them?” “I should tell them!”

Every day roughly 16,000 believers die and go to heaven. Around 160,000 nonbelievers die every day for lack of a witness for Christ and go straight to hell. That’s a ten-to-one ratio. The sad thing is many of these nonbelievers think they’re going to heaven when they die but they’re all going directly to hell within the earth where they’ll be in pain and agony 24/7. On the last day, they’ll all be resurrected bodily to stand before the Great White Throne judgment of Jesus Christ. Jesus is the only way to heaven and if you don’t accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior before you die your ultimate destination and your fate is decided by Jesus. If you find yourself before the Great White Throne you aren’t going to heaven. After your judgment, an angel of God will throw all nonbelievers into the lake of fire and brimstone for all eternity. God’s salvation plan for man calls for nonbelievers to be saved to heaven by believers witnessing for Christ, and if you want to please God you’ll go save someone.

MY AFFIRMATION:

God, I thank you for making me and loving me. Lord, I thank you for sending your son Jesus Christ to die on the cross in my place so my sins could be forgiven by a loving and merciful God. Thank you Holy Father for calling me and saving me unto eternal life in heaven in your presence through my confession of faith in Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savior. I will share the gospel message of Christ with nonbelievers all the days of my life.

In summary, yes John 3:16 is a wonderful Bible verse worthy of being the favorite verse in the Bible. For me, John 3:16 is also not the end of the road on my walk with God but the beginning. God leaves us here on earth after our salvation so we can work alongside our King in his harvest field helping to save lost souls for heaven by our testimony about God. 90% of the saints in heaven are there through faith in Jesus alone, never having saved even one soul to heaven through a witness for Christ. These are the worker bees of heaven because they have no fruit. Some believers will save one person to heaven, some thirty, some sixty, and some even one hundred souls to heaven. A harvest of one hundred souls to heaven is a good harvest according to God. I’ve accomplished that already. My goal is to save at least 1000 nonbelievers to heaven. God has confirmed to me that saving 1000 lost souls to heaven will qualify as “many” in the eyes of God and the person who does this will shine like the stars in the heavens as promised in Daniel 12:3. I don’t know what that looks like but I know it’ll be good because only good fruit can come from God.

Man has no idea of the honor, glory, and riches God has in store for those who believe in him, for those who love him, and for those who are obedient to his commandments. Because of Adam’s original sin in the Garden of Eden, man’s fellowship with God was broken. Because God made us and loves us, he sent his son Jesus Christ to die for our sins so that our fellowship with God could be restored. God did his part 2000 years ago by sending Jesus and he’s still waiting for us to do our part to restore our fellowship with him. God has shown us the way to salvation in the Bible, which is God’s wisdom. If you don’t believe in God there is a cure. If you read the Bible in its entirety, with an open mind, there’s a 95% chance you’ll come face to face with God and believe. If you ever start to doubt your faith the same cure applies.

When we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior through faith we’re saved unto eternal life in heaven. This is our part to restore our fellowship with God. God doesn’t hear the prayers of nonbelievers. However, when we become saved children of the Most High our prayers are heard. Our prayers come from our lips and pass through the spirit world into the very throne room of God; into the ears of God himself 24/7. Even the angels don’t have the access to God that we have. Praise God! If you want to keep your fellowship with God strong, pray to the Lord daily and read your Bible every day. I know I repeat myself a lot in my blogs you need to remember that repetition is good. the more times we read something or hear something the more likely it is that our mind will accept it as the truth. If you’ll notice, God uses repetition a lot in the Bible for this reason. I’m not ashamed of emulating God.