By Benjamin H. Liles
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints ~ Ephesians 1:18
Paul always
sought out giving his best arguments while witnessing and evangelizing.
He thought things out before he spoke. Only if we could also be that
way. I always have a problem myself with measuring my words. I have
several points I’m going to make and quickly.
1) A brother verse to the daily verse is, “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18).
2) Jesus makes that statement to Paul in Acts 26:18 in order to make others aware of the true darkness that is within Satan.
3) Enlightenment isn’t a means that Satan truly holds at all. God reveals things to men and mankind, Satan perverts and destroys – trying to overwork the saints, thus making it all the more hard to offer salvation to a dying and decaying world.
Okay, all that said, here’s the point, the big picture if you will: we have an inheritance. We can forfeit it by denying ourselves the right to be called God’s children. In doing so, denying yourself, you refuse to see yourself as God’s workmanship made in His image. Yes, we’re tainted by sin from our birth to the grave, but the best news is we don’t HAVE to live out our lives not only under condemnation, but receiving the gift of eternal life.
Again repent means having a change of heart, a change of mind. Having a heart change means seeing who and what we really are WITHOUT the grace of God in our lives. We believe, from the outset, God isn’t there or that He’s far off aloof and uncaring. If we so desire to know the truth and be set free in it, we need to be far more open to the truth as well as thinking critically for ourselves.
I can give the best argument, lay out the best case for Christianity, and show why we need Christ. The problem isn’t me. And I’m not saying it’s you either. I’m saying allow yourself the right to have the blinders come off. See that you are hindered by the powers that be – of the angel of darkness – and allow God to reveal Himself to you. He sent His One and only Son, to bear our sin.
He chose the nails, death on a cross, in order to prove He has the power to defeat sin and death. We all heard the story. “Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God!” It’s the same statement we see being hurled at Christ in His forty days of wilderness before the start of His ministry. Jesus knew His power came from God, and that’s why we have that same power as He does.
Also, Christ has ALL authority as He defeated Satan at the cross, because God, the Father, said, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Christ’s feet were nailed also to the cross, thus taking care of the part where He bruised Satan’s head. In that process Satan struck His heel. So, if you want what’s rightfully yours, meaning belonging to a just and loving God, allow Him to enlighten you, thus knowing He called you out from sin and death. Otherwise, you are in danger of slipping away and forever being lost.
1) A brother verse to the daily verse is, “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:18).
2) Jesus makes that statement to Paul in Acts 26:18 in order to make others aware of the true darkness that is within Satan.
3) Enlightenment isn’t a means that Satan truly holds at all. God reveals things to men and mankind, Satan perverts and destroys – trying to overwork the saints, thus making it all the more hard to offer salvation to a dying and decaying world.
Okay, all that said, here’s the point, the big picture if you will: we have an inheritance. We can forfeit it by denying ourselves the right to be called God’s children. In doing so, denying yourself, you refuse to see yourself as God’s workmanship made in His image. Yes, we’re tainted by sin from our birth to the grave, but the best news is we don’t HAVE to live out our lives not only under condemnation, but receiving the gift of eternal life.
Again repent means having a change of heart, a change of mind. Having a heart change means seeing who and what we really are WITHOUT the grace of God in our lives. We believe, from the outset, God isn’t there or that He’s far off aloof and uncaring. If we so desire to know the truth and be set free in it, we need to be far more open to the truth as well as thinking critically for ourselves.
I can give the best argument, lay out the best case for Christianity, and show why we need Christ. The problem isn’t me. And I’m not saying it’s you either. I’m saying allow yourself the right to have the blinders come off. See that you are hindered by the powers that be – of the angel of darkness – and allow God to reveal Himself to you. He sent His One and only Son, to bear our sin.
He chose the nails, death on a cross, in order to prove He has the power to defeat sin and death. We all heard the story. “Come down from the cross if you are the Son of God!” It’s the same statement we see being hurled at Christ in His forty days of wilderness before the start of His ministry. Jesus knew His power came from God, and that’s why we have that same power as He does.
Also, Christ has ALL authority as He defeated Satan at the cross, because God, the Father, said, “And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel” (Genesis 3:15).
Christ’s feet were nailed also to the cross, thus taking care of the part where He bruised Satan’s head. In that process Satan struck His heel. So, if you want what’s rightfully yours, meaning belonging to a just and loving God, allow Him to enlighten you, thus knowing He called you out from sin and death. Otherwise, you are in danger of slipping away and forever being lost.
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