Month: December 2024

I’m amazed that every single person on the planet doesn’t understand that we’re here to find God and then give our testimony to help nonbelievers find the way to heaven too. It’s just so obvious to me. I understand Satan has put blinders over the eyes of nonbelievers so they cannot see the truth of God. That’s the reason but it’s not a good excuse in the eyes of God. God expects every person to use their mind and find their way back to heaven. We’re all creatures made by the hands of God and he has put eternity in our hearts, so we would seek out our creator. Some people just get lost along the way. When we look up at the moon, the sun, and the stars in the night sky we see God’s handiwork, which is confirmed in Psalm 19:1. We know deep down in our souls there’s a God in heaven whether we want to admit it or not. I’m amazed that Satan and his fallen angels (demons) have been successful at hiding the truth of God from man. Satan has put blinders over the eyes of nonbelievers so they cannot see God without the help of believers witnessing Christ to them. Every day roughly 16,000 believers are dying in the arms of God and returning to heaven to be in the presence of Jesus Christ forever. On the flip side, approximately 160,000 nonbelievers are also dying daily and going straight to hell for the lack of a witness for Christ. Nonbelievers in hell will be in the presence of Satan where they’ll be in pain and agony 24/7 forever.

There are approximately eight billion people on Earth, and 2.5 billion of them claim to be Christians. How many of these Christians are saved unto eternal life in heaven? All of them think they are because they know Jesus, but I’m guessing maybe only 50% are truly saved to heaven by a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I’m amazed that most self-proclaimed Christians do not read God’s word regularly. How can they be in fellowship with God if they aren’t immersed in his word? Only 10% of Christians who attend church regularly have read the Bible in its entirety. That is a travesty! Even fewer Christians than that have taken the time to study God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. Those believers who do abide in God’s word know that to please God they must obey the commandments of God contained in the Bible. You cannot “do” until you know what to do. The number one commandment of God is for believers to witness for Christ to save lost souls to the kingdom of heaven.

Believers become saints in heaven through faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Believers still go to heaven even if they don’t save a single soul to heaven. 90% of the saints in heaven are in that category. You have to understand that if you don’t witness for Christ and save at least one person to heaven you won’t please God and you’ll be on the lowest rung of heaven forever. You might be okay with disobeying God by not saving anyone to heaven but I’m not. You might be okay with being a worker bee in heaven for a billion trillion years but I’m not. My mantra every day is to, “save one more for Jesus” by my witness for Christ. My goal is to save a minimum of one thousand lost souls to heaven during my lifetime. Is that going to be difficult to achieve? You bet it is. Is it going to be impossible? No, it isn’t. With God’s help, nothing is impossible. Pick a goal that works for you and run your race before God to achieve it. Dream big because you can do it. Never forget God is inside you as your helper. In 1 Corinthians 9:24, the Apostle Paul says believers are to run their race before God so they receive the prize. What is the prize? It can’t be eternal life because we already have that. Our prize from Jesus Christ on the last day can only be honor, glory, and riches based on how many people we save to heaven.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

2 Corinthians 5:20 – Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God was pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.

Matthew 13:23 – (Jesus) – But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

MY AFFIRMATION:

The purpose of my life is to witness for Christ to the nonbeliever in obedience to the commandments of my God. As a disciple of Jesus Christ, I’m a representative of God on this earth. I’m duty-bound to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with all nations and all people. My goal is to produce much fruit for God by saving as many lost souls to the kingdom of heaven as I can during my lifetime. Lord, I ask that you guide me in this task, and strengthen me so that I have the wisdom, determination, and perseverance to finish the salvation plan you have for my life. Praise God for his love, mercy, and grace toward his servant!

In Corinthians 5:20, when God begins the verse with the words “now then” it indicates something has to happen before the verse is applicable. God means that after believers have been saved unto eternal life in heaven by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior; at that very moment; God appoints them as ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador is defined as, “a diplomat sent by a state as its representative in a foreign country.” The kingdom of heaven is a state not of this world ruled by God. God made us and put us on this earth (a foreign country) and the moment we’re saved to heaven we return home spiritually to the God who made us. God makes it clear in the Bible that believers are in the world, but not of the world. Furthermore, believers are strangers and aliens on the earth. Those are God’s words, not mine. Philippians 3:20 tells us, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” The second part of this verse indicates believers are waiting for Jesus to come in the air to rapture his saints to himself, so they can receive their glorified bodies in the air, before returning home to heaven.

Ambassadors for Christ are saved believers and they have just one job, and that job is to witness for Christ to save nonbelievers to heaven. In Matthew 13:23 Jesus uses the metaphor of “fruit” to represent nonbelievers saved to heaven. Jesus makes it clear all believers are to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ, but some believers will be more successful than others. Obedience to God is more important than how many people you save for heaven. Everyone who saves at least one person to heaven will receive honor, glory, and riches from God on the last day. The more you save the more you receive from God. One of the spiritual truths of heaven is, “You reap what you sow.” Only 10% of the saints in heaven will have saved at least one other person to heaven. Some believers will produce much fruit by saving 30, 60, and even 100 people to heaven. The Lord says a hundred lost souls saved to heaven is a good harvest. Only 1% of the saints in heaven will have saved at least one thousand nonbelievers to the kingdom of heaven and they will shine like the stars in the firmament on the last day; like it says in Daniel 12:3. I plan to run my race before the Lord so that I save “many” nonbelievers to heaven (at least a thousand) so that I’m in the top 1% of the saints in heaven when all is said and done.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 – Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own. For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.

Acts 1:8 – (Jesus) – But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

MY AFFIRMATION:

Holy God, Lord of Heaven and Earth; at my conception, you gave me a part of your divine essence, my eternal spirit, so that I might fellowship with you forever in heaven. You knit me in my mother’s womb. Help me find my way back to the God who made me. I have accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. As a result, your Holy Spirit indwells me. My body has become God’s temple. The blood shed by Jesus Christ on the cross at Calvary has made me a slave of Christ and my body is not my own. Lord, I give my body back to you as my reasonable service. I will glorify God by praying continually before the throne of grace. I’ll continually witness the gospel message of Jesus Christ to all nations and all people to save nonbelievers to heaven, in obedience to the commandments of God.

NOTE: In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 God tells us that as believers, we belong to God because we were purchased by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross. When we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior God sends his Holy Spirit to indwell us as a sign of his ownership. God has set his seal on us and nothing can separate us from God or keep us out of going to heaven one day. The Holy Spirit will never leave the body of a believer. When we die the Holy Spirit will take our eternal spirit back to heaven and when we receive our glorified body from God the Holy Spirit will indwell that body too, for all eternity. The Lord reminds us that our body and spirit came for God and we are slaves of Christ through his death on the cross. God tells us our primary mission on earth is to glorify God through continuous prayer and by using our bodies to go forth into the world and share our witness for Christ with nonbelievers so that they might be saved from hell and saved to heaven.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus commands his disciples to witness for Christ to all nations and all people. Jesus is not just talking to his original disciples; he’s talking to every believer from that moment in time until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to the earth on the last day. I’m a believer and a disciple of Christ, so I’m being personally commanded by God to give my testimony of him to the nonbeliever. Shall I disobey the God who made me? Certainly not! Shall I make a weak attempt to share the gospel message and then back off when I feel rejected? The answer is no! God tells us in his word that following him won’t be easy. If it was easy everybody would be witnessing for Christ. God says many are called but few are chosen. Make sure you step forward when your name is called. God doesn’t let you go into battle for him alone. 1 Thessalonians 1:5 tells us the gospel goes forth not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit and much assurance. The gospel is the power of God unto salvation and we are simply the messenger. We see this confirmed in Acts 1:8. You cannot effectively witness for Christ unless you have the Holy Spirit inside you and with you, as you witness to the nonbeliever. Only the Holy Spirit can save someone to heaven.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

1 Corinthians 15:58 – Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain.

Matthew 6:19-20 – (Jesus) – Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I can do nothing on my own, but I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I will obey the commandments of God as I keep my eyes on Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. My trust in God and my love of God will never wane. I will seek to please God always by my good works. Lord, bless me as I sow the gospel seed of Christ bountifully so that I will reap bountifully on the last day. My goal in life is to please the God who made me by my work on Christ’s behalf. When I stand before the bema judgment seat of Jesus Christ on the last day I long to hear him say, “Well done good and faithful servant.”

The word “vain” means unsuccessful. So if what we’re doing is “not” in vain that means we’re being successful. In the Bible, our work for the Lord, our labor, is defined as sharing the gospel message of Christ with all nations and all people. That’s what we mean when we say “witnessing for Christ.” God is speaking only to those who believe in Jesus (believers) in 1 Corinthians 15:58 because he refers to us as his “beloved brethren.” Immovable means, “not able to be changed or persuaded.” The word steadfast is defined as, “completely unwavering in one’s attitude or aims.” God is making it clear in this verse that if believers witness for Christ often (abundantly) they will save nonbelievers to heaven abundantly. How could it be otherwise? Two spiritual truths of heaven are, “You reap what you sow” and “If you sow bountifully you will reap bountifully.”

Every day we need to remind ourselves why we’re here and what our job is. “One more for Jesus” is my mantra and I say it every morning while I’m drinking my pot of coffee. Our job as believers is to be unwavering in our determination to serve God by witnessing for Christ at every opportunity for as long as we’re able. We’re the bearer of “good news” and it’s up to God to save whomever he will through the gospel seed we cast before him. If we do our part God will do his. On the last day, when we’re in heaven, we need to make sure we have no regrets and that we have given our all in service to our God. God is fair and just to all. God will remember us and our work. God will shower us with honor, glory, and riches in heaven. We can’t take our money with us to heaven but we can pay it forward by using our time and money to help save nonbelievers to heaven. God will bless us tenfold when we do this. I witness for Christ because I love God and my fellowman, and not for a reward. If no rewards were forthcoming for my service to God my witness for Christ wouldn’t change one iota because every soul is precious in the eyes of God. I love what God loves and I hate what God hates. God is generous to a fault and if he wants to give me anything on the last day I’ll graciously accept it and so should you.

The topic of my Thursday affirmation blog series is, “witnessing for Christ.” God’s salvation plan for man calls for believers to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with those who are nonbelievers so they too can be saved unto eternal life in heaven. That’s how God plans to populate heaven with his saints. When God refers to “good works” in the Bible he’s talking about witnessing for Christ. Every human being was made by the hands of God with the intention that they might fellowship with God in heaven forever. God never made anyone with the express purpose of sending them to hell. Everyone has an equal shot at heaven and the free will to choose to serve either God or Satan. We’re all equally loved by God and we’re all equally priceless in his eyes. There is no partiality with God. Therefore, witnessing for Christ to save lost souls to heaven is the thing dearest to God’s heart. How could it be otherwise? Jesus Christ is the son of God sent from heaven to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. There’s no greater proof of God’s love than that. Jesus rose from the dead on the third day to show that we too will be resurrected if we believe in his name. Before Jesus ascended back to heaven from the Mount of Olives he commanded his disciples to fulfill the Great Commission, which is to share the gospel message with all nations and all people. All believers are disciples of Christ and the Great Commission falls on us as well. It’s the number one reason why we’re here. Otherwise, our lives have no real purpose down here and we might as well go home to heaven once we’re saved.

The word redeem has a couple of definitions that are important to us. Redeem can mean to, “save someone from sin, error, or evil.” This definition applies only to God because only God can forgive our sins. One of the many names of Jesus Christ is “Redeemer” because he is the one sent from God to, “save us from our sins.” Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden was imputed to all men who came after Adam, so all of us are sinners destined to suffer eternal death in hell the day we’re born. One of the spiritual truths of heaven is, “the wages of sin is death.” Somebody had to die because we sinned. God, because of his love, mercy, and grace, sent his son to die on the cross in our place; so our sins could be forgiven. The words Savior and Redeemer mean the same thing. The death of Jesus Christ on our behalf was the “act of redeeming” us, which we refer to as redemption. Jesus is our redemption.

PRAYER AFFIRMATIONS:

Hosea 13:14 – (God speaking) – I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death.

Luke 1:68 – Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.

Colossians 4:5 – Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time.

Ephesians 5:15-16 – See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

Galatians 3:13 – Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I bless the Lord my God for allowing me the honor of working alongside my King in his harvest field. And I pray for more workers because God’s harvest field is great and the workers are few. I will redeem my time on earth by diligently spreading the gospel message of Jesus Christ to all nations and all people. I will sow the gospel seed bountifully so that I will reap bountifully; by saving many lost souls to heaven through my testimony. My time is short and there is much good work still to be done on Christ’s behalf. My mantra every day is to save, “one more for Jesus.” I desire to harvest as much fruit for God as possible, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, I will run my race before the Lord with fear and endurance.

NOTE: The entire Bible is the revelation of Jesus Christ coming from heaven down to earth to save (redeem) us from our sins. Variations of the word redeem appears 162 times in the Bible; sometimes about Jesus and sometimes about man. A second definition of the word redeem means to, “repay or clear a debt.” This definition applies only to man because God cannot owe a debt to anyone. Jesus has redeemed us to heaven if we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior (i.e., Redeemer). Believers are supposed to emulate Christ on this earth by redeeming nonbelievers, by witnessing Christ to them. That’s what “redeeming the time” means in the Bible. It’s very simple. Someone once helped save us and, as believers, we owe a debt to God and other nonbelievers to help them find salvation unto eternal life in heaven. Once we become believers, it’s our sacred duty to repay our debt to God by witnessing for Christ during our brief life on earth. The Bible says we need to diligently pursue this “good work” while we are able to work because the day will come when we’re no longer able to work.

In Hosea 13:14, God is saying he will save us from eternal death but not physical death. Our frail physical bodies will die because they are full of sin but when we become saved our original sin-filled inner spirit from God is replaced with a new spirit without sin. Our inner man is the real us and the one who will go to heaven in our new glorified bodies and live forever with Jesus. The exception is those people who are still alive when Jesus Christ comes in the air to rapture his saints to the clouds to receive their glorified bodies before returning to heaven. Those individuals will never suffer physical death. The dead in Christ will rise first to meet Jesus in the air, followed by those who remain alive at his coming. God refers to believers as being “inside” the family of God; which means those not saved (nonbelievers) are considered to be “outside.” We see this reference in Colossians 4:5. God uses the term “wise” to describe believers who witness Christ to save lost souls to heaven. In Colossians 4:5 God is making it clear all believers should be actively sharing the gospel message with nonbelievers because our lifetime is short and there is much work to do.

I chose five examples from my index card file of scriptures containing the word “redeem.” I usually use no more than three scriptures to illustrate my point but I couldn’t help myself this time because there are so many good examples to choose from. God makes it pretty clear what we must do with our life. If you’re a nonbeliever God considers you to be a “fool”, and if you’re a believer, who also witnesses for Christ then God calls you “wise.” Go be wise before God! In Ephesians 5:15-16 God is again commanding believers to share the gospel because his harvest field is great and the workers are few. The days are evil because the world is full of demons and nonbelievers going to hell. Satan is trying his best to hide the truth of God from man so he can drag them down to the pit with him. In Galatians 3:13 we know that the curse of the law is eternal death for man; but Jesus Christ died for us, so God could forgive our sins if we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You would be wise to take God up on his offer of eternal life in heaven while you yet live.

PRAYER AFFIRMATIONS:

Mark 16:15-16 – (Jesus) – Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.

2 Corinthians 9:6 – But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.

MY AFFIRMATION:

Before ascending back to heaven, Jesus commanded his disciples to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ, the good news of our salvation, with all nations and all people. As a believer, I’m a disciple of Christ so I’m also commanded to fulfill the Great Commission. I will give my testimony of Jesus one-on-one when the opportunity arises. I will continually witness for Christ “passively” through my Christian blog sites and my Christian tract ministry. I will sow the gospel seed of Christ bountifully all the days of my life so that I’ll also reap bountifully on the last day.

NOTE: The word gospel means “good news.” And what is this good news? Jesus Christ, the son of God, came off his throne in heaven and died on the cross for our sins; before rising from the dead on the third day and returning to heaven. If we believe that the shed blood of Christ paid our sin debt to God then we are saved unto eternal life in heaven. That’s what it means when we accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. We acknowledge Jesus is God and he saved us from hell. In the Bible, God often refers to us as his creatures because he made us. When believers are saved they’re baptized by the holy water of God, which is just another way of saying we’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Nonbelievers are” “condemned”, which means they’re going to hell when they die. One of the spiritual truths of heaven is, “you reap what you sow.” If you witness for Christ a lot you’ll save a lot of people to heaven, and vice versa. That’s just common sense. God makes it clear in his word that believers who save lost souls to heaven are “wise” in his eyes and they will be rewarded on the last day with honor, glory, and riches based on how many people they save to heaven.

PRAYER AFFIRMATIONS:

Romans 12:1 – I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

Hebrews 12:1 – Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

MY AFFIRMATION:

Lord, you gave me an eternal spirit at conception. You have given me my body, this tent, as a temple for the Holy Spirit. By your presence inside me, you have made me holy and acceptable to God. Therefore, I present my body back to you as my reasonable service to the God who made me. I will do good works before the Lord in his harvest field by witnessing for Christ to save lost souls to heaven. I will run my race before God with endurance, trying to save, “one more for Jesus”, every day of my life. Lord, bless me with forty years in your service; if you are willing and there is time before the rapture comes. O Lord, help me to save many as I fulfill the salvation plan you have for my life.

NOTE: God’s salvation plan for man calls for believers to share the gospel message of Jesus Christ with nonbelievers so they can be saved unto eternal life in heaven. If you happen to be a nonbeliever, you’re of no use to God because you still have your original sin-filled spirit, which means you’re still on the path to hell where you’ll be in pain and agony 24/7 for all eternity. Sin cannot enter heaven. On the other hand, believers are saved unto eternal life in heaven because they’ve accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Once believers are saved they’re given a new sin-free spirit by God and they’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit from that point forward, for all eternity. At this point, the believer’s body is deemed to be holy by God and a fit vessel for his use. As believers, we’re slaves of Christ and our bodies belong to the God who made us. Nonbelievers are slaves of Satan whether they know it or not.

Believers are expected to use their bodies to witness for Christ. It’s their reasonable service expected by God. God often refers to our reasonable service to him as our “race” before the Lord. Notice in Hebrews 12:1 that God says our race is, “set before us.” That means God has an individual salvation plan for each of us and it’s up to each one of us to find out what that plan is and then go out and fulfill it to the best of our ability. 90% of the saints in heaven are there through faith in Jesus Christ alone; never having saved even a single person to heaven by a witness for Christ. These are the worker bees of heaven. However, believers who save at least one person to heaven will please God because every soul is priceless in God’s eyes.

Those who save at least one person to heaven will be rewarded on the last day. How could it be otherwise? There is a pecking order in heaven and your rank will depend on the number of nonbelievers you save to heaven. How do I know this? One of the spiritual truths of heaven is, “You reap what you sow.” Scripture also says, “Those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly and those who sow bountifully will reap bountifully.” Furthermore, the honor, glory, and riches each believer will receive at the bema judgment seat of Jesus Christ will be directly proportional to the number of people we have saved to the kingdom of heaven. It’s as simple as that. Our good works for God can only occur here on earth and not in heaven. Whatever we receive from God in heaven will be based entirely on our body of good works done on earth. In heaven, we get to keep what we earn down here forever.

This is the second part of my revamped Wednesday affirmations exhorting believers to, “study God’s word.” Every believer talking to God knows we’re to pray for solutions, the end result, without whining about problems. To do otherwise is just giving Satan a foothold in your life. Remember, praying for the solution and thanking God for it, even if it hasn’t occurred yet, exhibits faith in God and faith is what makes prayer work. No faith (unbelief) will result in unanswered prayers and it’ll give Satan power over you. God can do anything he wants to do and the Bible assures us that God hears the prayers of believers. God promises to answer our prayers and God cannot lie. The secret ingredient in all prayers is we that must “believe” in God and that he will answer our prayers. I’ll tell you another secret. The cure for unbelief is prayer, studying God’s word, and obedience to the commandments of God. Affirmations are prayers of rejoicing to God. The more we say our Bible affirmations out loud to God in prayer, the greater will be our belief in God and our fellowship with him. Our brains are a funny thing. We have to be careful what we feed our minds. Our mind believes what we say if we say it over and over long enough.

It’s what we confess with our lips that dominates our inner being, which is why our Bible affirmations are so effective and why they’re important to keeping our faith strong. If you pray continually to the Lord your fellowship will automatically become stronger which will also please God. Our confession (prayer) is the battleground on which we fight Satan. Our prayers are the only thing we have that reaches across time and space and into the very throne room of God. The Bible is the sword of truth and the only weapon we need to resist and defeat Satan in our lives because we can bring God on the scene to protect us. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was in the wilderness for forty days and he was tempted by the devil three times. Each time Jesus defeated Satan by quoting the holy scriptures. That’s the perfect example for us to follow when we’re dealing with Satan. When Satan oppresses us we need to cry out to God in prayer for his protection. The Bible says if we resist Satan he will flee from us and God cannot lie.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 2:6 – For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Proverbs 23:23 – Buy the truth, and do not sell it, also wisdom and instruction and understanding.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I live in fear of the Lord my God. The Lord talks to me through the pages of his word and gives me knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. God has given me his wisdom and his truth. It will not depart from before my eyes because it is health and healing to all my flesh. I will read my Bible every day and meditate on the magnitude and majesty of Almighty God. I will worship my God daily. I will always give the Lord the praise of my lips in prayer. I will continually offer up honor and glory to God in heaven because he is worthy of worship. God is good and God is great and this my spirit knows very well.

NOTE: There are dozens of holy scriptures where God commands all men to study the word of God for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. This is especially true in the books of Psalms and Proverbs, which are classified as wisdom literature of the Old Testament. I just pulled the verses shown above from my index card file because they are good examples of how important it is to study the Bible. The word “fear” in Proverbs 1:7 means we are to look upon God with awe, reverence, and deep respect. You can’t even begin to know God without that frame of mind. Nonbelievers are fools according to God and they “despise”, or look down upon, the Bible because they think it’s just a book. Nonbelievers fail to see the wisdom and instruction in God’s word.

The Bible is God’s wisdom and there’s no other source of wisdom that compares to it in the entire universe. Not even close. The amazing thing is this; God gives away his wisdom free to all who come to him and read his word. God wants us to know him and what we must do to enter heaven. God wants to share his commandments with us so we can accomplish the “good work” he has planned for us to do (i.e., witnessing for Christ). God wants us to understand that we must turn from sin, reject Satan, and choose God so we end up in heaven instead of hell. God wants us to have the wisdom to obey God and emulate Jesus Christ in our daily lives. God encourages us to purchase the truth of God (wisdom) by studying God’s word continually. We’re to never let the word of God depart from our eyes for any length of time for any reason. It’s our protection from the evil of this world.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

Proverbs 23:12 – Apply your heart to instruction, and your ears to words of knowledge.

Proverbs 8:34 – Blessed is the man who listens to Me, watching daily at My gates, waiting at the posts of My doors.

Psalm 119:105 – Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I have an unquenchable thirst for God’s word which was given to me by the Holy Spirit as part of my ministry. I blog because God wants me to give my testimony of him. I will listen attentively to what the Lord has to say so that I can obey his instructions. My heart yearns to please my God. I want to know God and his salvation plan for my life. Daily I will seek out knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from God through the pages of my Bible. I will speak to God continually in prayer and ask him to reveal his truth to me. I am truly blessed by Almighty God because of my obedience to his commandments. Lord, your word shows me the way to heaven and what I must do to please you. With the help of God, I’ll save many lost souls to the kingdom of heaven through my witness for Christ.

NOTE: In Proverbs 23:12 God makes it very clear to all men that we’re to attack, or devour, God’s word with intentionality and purpose, whether we read the Bible or hear it spoken. Approach God’s word like a hungry man would a steak dinner. We’re to absorb the wisdom of the Bible as if our life depended on it; because it does! In Proverbs 8:34 God says he’ll bless those who obey his commandments in the Bible. If you don’t read the Bible you can’t obey God. You have to know what to do before you can do it. Look, we’re all born into this world in total darkness. And by that I mean we don’t know where we came from and what we’re supposed to do. The theory of evolution has been debunked. We also have no idea where we’re going and how to get there. Everything is pitch black.

And then suddenly, we see a point of light. And, as we approach the light out of curiosity what do we see? We see God’s word, our Holy Bible, and out of its pages shines forth the light of God that gives us knowledge, understanding, and wisdom. The brightness of God illuminates the way back home to heaven where we’ll be in the presence of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ forever. If you abide in God’s word you’ll have the flashlight (or torch) that’ll light up your way to heaven. In Matthew 7:13 Jesus says, “Enter by the narrow gate; because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Jesus has a message for all the leaders of the fake religions in the world in Matthew 15:14, when he says, “Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.” Make sure you don’t fall into a ditch.

There is only one true God, which is Jehovah, and only one true word of God, which is the Christian Bible. Jesus Christ is the son of God and the only way to heaven is through faith in him. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” God can’t be any clearer than that. Therefore, all other gods are false and all other religions and their holy books are fake. Let me be clear, if you’re not reading your Bible daily or hearing God’s word spoken regularly you’re probably not going to find your way to heaven. If you’re not earnestly studying God’s word for knowledge, understanding, and wisdom you’re probably going to stumble around like a blind man all your life, never knowing how to please God and accrue honor, glory, and riches in heaven on the last day from the hand of God.

PRAYER AFFIRMATION:

Proverbs 13:13 – He who despises the word will be destroyed, but he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.

Ephesians 1:17-18 – That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory on His inheritance in the saints.

Colossians 1:10-11 – That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with you.

MY AFFIRMATION:

I thirst for the word of God and I’ll be rewarded on the last day for my obedience. I read my Bible daily and I thank you for the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom it contains. I bless you Lord for opening the eyes of my understanding so I can see the truth of God, the salvation of your calling, and the honor, glory, and riches that you will give me on the last day. I pray that you will strengthen me Lord so that I may walk worthy of you; saving many lost souls for the kingdom of heaven.

NOTE: In Provers 13:13 God says those who look upon the Bible with awe, reverence, and respect (i.e., fear) will be rewarded. If you fear the Bible you’ll read it, study it, and do what it commands us to do. At which time God will bless you on this earth and later on in heaven God will shower you with honor, glory, and riches. You would be wise to abide in the word of God. Notice that God refers to the entire Bible as his commandment (singular). Every positive statement in the Bible should be viewed as a commandment from God if it makes plain sense to do so. When I see the word “rewarded” in Proverbs 13:13 I think of salvation unto eternal life in heaven in the presence of Jesus. That’s God’s greatest reward to man.

I love Ephesians 1:17-18 because in these verses God tells us exactly what’ll happen to us if we study his word. God will give us wisdom. How good is that? God will reveal his truth to us. God will open our eyes so we can see him and our salvation unto eternal life in heaven. And lastly, we see the honor, glory, and riches the Lord will give us on the last day. When we look at Colossians 1:10-11, we see that God gives us a different twist to studying his word. God is promising we’ll be fruitful in every good work, which is another way of saying we’ll save many lost souls to heaven by our witness for Christ. On the flip side, if you don’t study your Bible you will not be fruitful and probably won’t save anyone to heaven. If we’re fruitful we’ll please God and if we’re not fruitful we won’t please God. I don’t know about you but I desperately want God to be pleased with me.

Another thing I noticed in Colossians 1:10-11 is that when we study God’s word he promises to strengthen us with the power of God when we share the gospel message of Christ with the nonbeliever. We see this confirmed in 1 Thessalonians 1:5. We know the Holy Spirit is inside us as we witness Christ to the nonbeliever. If we pray for God to strengthen us before, during, and after we witness for Christ it will make us more fruitful. We will save more people to heaven with God than we will without God. You can have God’s strength but you must ask for it in prayer. In James 4:2, God says, “Yet you do not have because you do not ask.” By using the expectant word “yet” God is telling us he’s still waiting patiently for us to ask for what we need in prayer. God is glorified when we pray to him; so what’s stopping you? When God answers our prayers God is also glorified which should tell you that God wants to answer our prayers. Start asking and start receiving.

In my twenty years of serving the Lord, I’ve saved well over 100 lost souls to heaven and my ultimate goal is to save 1000 people during my lifetime. I can’t save anyone unless I’m sharing the gospel message while also praying for God to strengthen me and help me. Believers do 20% of the work of saving a nonbeliever to heaven while the Holy Spirit does the other 80%. The heavy lifting. Only the Holy Spirit can convict a nonbeliever of their sin if their heart is ready to receive God. Only the Holy Spirit can change a person’s eternal destination from hell to heaven and put their name in the Book of Life. God doesn’t need our help to save someone. There’s nothing God can’t do. God allows us to help with his salvation plan for man for our benefit because he wants to bless us with honor, glory, and riches on the last day. Praise God!