Ridgeway Church of God

Lately I have been burdened for some very special friends. Seems that some are confused on the redemption of the cross and just what the true meaning of why Jesus came to die on the cross is.  Seems that they are accepting their sinful nature as just the way they were born and nothing can be done about that. “It’s just the way I am” they say. They do understand that Jesus loves us, but they don’t get that even though He loves us, He plainly tells us in His Word that we can not continue in our sin. He says “God forbid” and the consequence of sin is death!—an eternity separated from a God that loves us so much, and cast into hell. No He doesn’t want to cast us into Hell, that’s why He sent Jesus and made a way for us to escape. But we must repent–do we understand what that means? it means to turn from; to correct ones ways;to feel sorrow for the way we are. It means there will be a change from the way we were before and will be transformed into a new creation. The old things will pass away and behold all things will become new.  Salvation doesn’t stop at just the sinner’s prayer, it is just the beginning of a transformational life.

You see He died for a reason, He gave up the Ghost–the Holy Ghost, He sent the comforter that will come into your life and give you the power to accomplish the change that will take place in your life. You can’t change on your own, you need His power. Ask the Holy Ghost to help you, ask Him to show you the way out of what has you bound. He has given you the power to overcome through the death and resurrection. You will die to your ways and be raised a new creation.

Someone made a very interesting point, they said what if my sinful nature was a murderer? would it make sense to you that I should be delivered from that? why would any of our sinful nature’s be acceptable to God. From the drunkard to the covetous –we can not enter Heaven if we don’t change our heart and repent for our sin. Again repent means to change, not to just say I am sorry and keep doing it, it means to change.

⁹ Do you not know that sinful men will have no place in the holy nation of God? Do not be fooled. A person who does sex sins, or who worships false gods, or who is not faithful in marriage, or men who act like women, or people who do sex sins with their own sex, will have no place in the holy nation of God. ¹⁰ Also those who steal, or those who always want to get more of everything, or who get drunk, or who say bad things about others, or take things that are not theirs, will have no place in the holy nation of God. ¹¹ Some of you were like that. But now your sins are washed away. You were set apart for God-like living to do His work. You were made right with God through our Lord Jesus Christ by the Spirit of our God.
I Corinthians 6: 9-1

FORT MYERS -

Sunday night’s Bronco-Steelers’ game had quite the effect on the web. Many people were left to wonder whether the number of Tim Tebow’s total passing yards was just a coincidence, or if it was divine intervention.

Tebow threw for 316 yards, averaged 31.6 yards per completion and when the touchdown pass was thrown, the national TV rating peaked at 31.6.

“I don’t know if it is necessarily an act of God, but I don’t think anything happens by accident either,” said Next Level Church Pastor Matt Keller.

The Bible verse John 3:16 is no stranger to Keller. But as far Google searches go, the verse has never done as well as it did after the big game.

Monday, “John 3:16″ was the number one Google search.

“I think it’s great that Tim Tebow has captured the imagination of the next generation,” Keller said.

Twitter reported there was an average of 9,420 tweets per second after Tebow’s 80-yard touchdown pass in overtime.

That number crushes the royal wedding and Osama bin Laden’s death.

And while the “Tebow Effect” holds some interesting numbers, not everyone is sold.

The phone lines at the Miller and Moulton Show on Sports Radio 770 were tied up with Tebow talk Monday.

Moulton says he isn’t sold that Tebow’s acts are divine, but that could change.

“It’s a coincidence and it’s funny,” said Moulton. “If they beat New England in New England, a team that’s already beaten them soundly, then I think you are going to have some believers.”

The title of today’s reading is A Psalm of Fearless Trust in God. It talks about seeking one thing. During this time of seeking, it’s easy to focus on seeking things from God instead of just seeking God–to seek His hand and not His face. Think of the difference between approaching a king to kiss his hand and approaching a loving father to kiss his face. God is both our King and Father. He is capable of meeting your needs and answering your prayers. But He also loves you more deeply than you can ever know. When you seek His face, you end up in a much closer posture to Him. Pray today that you will seek God’s face and get closer to Him than you ever have before.
Psalm 27

Scripture Reading
Esther 6:1, we read, “On that night , could not the king sleep.”

Some things seem to please God more than others. King Saul, for instance, discovered too late in his life that God does have a preference when presented the choice between our obedience or our sacrifice to make up for our disobedience.

The Bible says, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Esther’s bold decision to seek the King’s face before she asked for favors or emergency actions from the power of his hands perfectly illustrates this Bible principle.