WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? 1/18/15

RECENTLY my attention was drawn to a scripture in Isaiah 42. I love reading Isaiah, some of my favorite versus are in Isaiah but this one I had to ask the question; "what does that mean?" So I read the whole chapter and concluded that God was talking about Jesus and the Church. "I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to graven images." in Verse 8 God sort of repeats this verse as follows; "For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another." Isaiah 48:11

GOD will not share His name or His glory with anything or anyone else. He made it clear when He chose the Israelites to be His children, and He has made it clear to the Church. We are to have no other gods before Him and Him only are we to serve. Why is it we listen to man and neglect His Word?

I TOO LISTENED to my preacher, and my Sunday School teachers, but when I was a child, and had so many more questions than I do today, my Pastor said to me; "Janie, no matter what I teach and preach, it is up to you to check out what I have said, in your own bible, to understand the truth! God wants our full attention! God wants us to pay attention to His Word! God gave us His Word so that when we listen to others telling us what we need to do to be saved we can check it out in His Word and know the truth.

OUR GOD is faithful and true! Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever! Our God’s Word is still the same as it was before it was written. From the time that God gave Moses the 10 Commandments, His rule of thumb has never changed. Oh, the Law, that was given to the Israelites, has passed away, but God’s rule of thumb is still alive and well through His plan of Grace, and the way to Salvation has never changed since the beginning of the Church.

MANY preach that belief is all you need for Salvation; but I ask the question; "what about repentance, forgiveness, confession, baptism? They are all in the Bible as necessary for salvation also! I tell people it is a process. Each scripture given that declares you will be saved is part of the process. I grew up with the five steps of salvation. It was an easy way to understand the process. Hear, believe, repent, confess and be baptized! So simple and yet so controversial. "It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe!"   1 Corinthians 15:1-4

WE MUST hear the Gospel in order to believe. From all the methods God could have chosen to reach the world, He chose preaching. "Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12    Those who hear the message and believe it, are beginning the process of being saved! Romans 10:9 says "Because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved!"     Keeping it to yourself doesn’t work according to God’s Word. Believing in your heart brings justification but saying it with your mouth is what saves you here. "And Peter said to them, "Repent, and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!" Acts 2:38    Without baptism you forfeit forgiveness of sin and the greatest gift of all; the Holy Spirit! Process is finished with baptism! That is according to God’s Word not me or any preacher!

THE preacher says only believe and you will be saved! If that was the case why did Jesus walk about sixty miles to be baptized in the Jordan? God was pleased with what Jesus did and the angels rejoice in heaven every time a soul is saved! When making plans for your future; consider asking Jesus into your heart, and being baptized! By Jane Ann Crenshaw 1/17/15