Ixtheus Christian Devotionals

What is IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN MINISTRY Ixtheus Christian Ministry is an evangelical, non-denominational, Christ-centered, Bible-honoring Christian service which provides evangelistic and christian growth resources to those who want them. These resources are provided at no charge, and there is never any appeal for donations. We have been providing christian devotionals to our friends via e-mail on the internet since mid-year 1998. If you wish, you may pass them along to your friends any way you want. If you know someone who may also benefit from a subscription, Reply to the email address ixtheus@execpc.com and write "start" in the subject line and we will include them in the mailings. You may cancel your subscription at any time by sending an email message to ixtheus@execpc.com with the word "cancel" in the subject line of the email form. May your life and your family be blessed by the Lord Jesus Christ as you seek to serve Him. In His service.....brother bob.Lifes most important choicesAre you prepared to stand before God ?An invitation from JesusAdvice to a new ChristianWhat is a Quiet Time ?Victory in the Christian LifeSeeking and FindingMy Heart Christ's HomeHow to find a good churchSpiritual Gifts Assessment ToolSeeking God's will for ministryIf you can't find a good church- Start oneIf you can't find a good church- Start one (Part2)Public proclaimation of the GospelThe offense of the GospelThe God who is really thereLook to Jesus for salvationOvercoming opposition to prayerGathering up the scrapsOur Daily Conflict - The Spirit versus the FleshThe Fellowship of the UnashamedWitnessing for ChristA closer look at witnessingJesus defines the meaning of discipleshipSeven choices for successful livingWho is this "Christ" that we worship ?Who is this Jesus whom you serve ?God - The Great Promise KeeperWe never talk anymoreWhen God seems far awayLIFE'S MOST IMPORTANT CHOICES by Brother bob...<>< The Bible is full of wonderful Good Newsassurance and promise for all who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. But each person must accept Jesus as his or her own personal saviour before he can claim these promises personally. How can these promises be yours? The Bible tells us that each of us Gospel must..... RECOGNIZE that you cannot be saved by trying to be good, or by doing the best you can, or because you are a member of a social group or religious organization.......for Good News God says that we are not saved by our good works...... For by grace you are saved, and Christian that not of yourselves... it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should Gospelboast. (Ephesians 2:8-9) The wages of sin Good News is death, but the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord (Romans 6: 23) But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses Gospel are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, Christian have taken us away. (Isaiah 6: 46) CONFESS that you can not save yourself...in Good News fact there is nothing you can do to undo any of the sins you have already commited, or change their consequences. You need to be forgiven for commiting these sins, and for rebelling against the will and holiness of the Living God. The forgiveness you need must Gospel be a divine act of God, because of His mercy which He extends to us. The Bible says... If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the Good News truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from Gospel all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9) " What happiness for those Christian whose guilt has been forgiven! What joys when sins are Good News covered over! What relief for those who have confessed their sins and God has cleared their record. There was a time Gospel when I wouldn't admit what a sinner I was. But my dishonesty made me miserable and filled my days with Christian frustration. All day and all night your Good News hand was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water on a sunny day, until I finally admitted all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide them. I said to myself, "I will Christian confess them to the Lord." And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Now I say that each believer Good News should confess his sins to God when he is aware of them, while there is time to be forgiven. Judgment will not touch him if he does. (Psalm 32:1-6 THE LIVING BIBLE)... BELIEVE the good news that Jesus Christ, God's Son, died Gospel to pay the the penalty for your sins. He therefore died for you and settled your debt from sin by His death on Calvary's cross. Believe the blessed news that Christ was raised from the dead, and now lives in eternity to Christian save all those who Good News will come to Him by faith. All promises and spiritual powers are released to a christian through our response of believing the revealed Word of God. This Good News tells us that God makes us ready for heaven-- makes us right in God's sight-- when we put our faith and trust in Christ to save us. This is accomplished from start to Good News finish by faith. As the Scripture says it, Gospel "The man who finds life will find it through trusting God." Rom 1:17 (TLB) He that believes on the Son of God has everlasting life: and he that believes not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God remains Christian on him. (John 3:36) He that believes on the Son of God has the Good Newswitness in himself: he that believeth not God has made him a liar; because he does not believe the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God has given to us Gospel eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that has the Son has life; and he that does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things have I Good News written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that you may Christian know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son of God. (1 John 5:10- 13) HUMBLE YOURSELF before God in prayer. Gospel Talk to God, just like you would talk to a good friend, and yet reverence Him because of the Almighty and Christian Holy God that He is. See Him as the Creator and Lord of the universe, the sovereign King over all.... and yet He is kindly and forgiving to the person who will turn away from pride and self-involvement, and submit himself to the safekeeping of God. For thus saith the high and lofty One Good News that inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a bruised and humble spirit; to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the Gospel contrite ones. (Isaiah 57:15) Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the Good News earth is my footstool: where is the house that you build unto me? and where is the place of my rest? For all those things has mine hand made, and all those things have been, Gospel saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word. (Isa 66:1-2) CALL on Jesus Christ, Himself, to save you and to Christian come into your soul, and to make you a new person. The christian life is not a list of do's and don'ts, of religious rituals or observances..it is Gospel rather a personal, living, eternal relationship between you and Jesus Christ. Jesus says.... Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will Christian fellowship with him, and he with me. (Rev 3:20) The door Jesus is talking about is the entrance to Good News your innermost being... your soul or heart..the real you. It is the crossroads of acceptance or refusal. On the one hand, do I accept the free offer of eternal life and fellowship with God, that He is offering, or do I refuse His kindness and go my own way and continue in my sinful behavior? Jesus Christ wants to live inside your soul with you, in the person of the Holy Spirit, to Gospel guide you and give you comfort for life's difficult journey, and to give you a purpose for living. Christian Where there was only confusion and aimless drifting before, now there will be peace and purposeful activity. What is your response? For I know the thoughts that I think Good News toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall you call upon me, and you shall go and pray unto me, and I will listen and Gospel respond to you. And you shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the LORD: (Jeremiah 29:11-14) . RELY upon God's promises in the Bible, not on Good News your feelings or worldly teachings. Your life is new from this point forward...the old things must be thrown out and forsaken....Old sinful habits must be done away with by the power of Christ Who now lives inside you. You Gospel may never have had the power to overcome these things before, but Christ in you can overcome them by the Power of the Holy Spirit who lives in you now... Old opinions and ways of thinking must be Good News replaced by God's Words and instructions from the Bible. You must consciously choose to do things God's way, and to leave behind old opinions and ways of thinking and acting when the Bible tells you that your way is wrong. This is how Christian spiritual growth occurs. Therefore if any man be in Christ, Gospel he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17) And so, dear brothers, Christian I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living sacrifice, holy--the kind he Good News can accept. When you think of what he has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but be a new and different person with a fresh newness in all you do and think. Then you will learn Good News from your own experience how His ways will really satisfy you. (Rom 12:1-2 LIVING BIBLE) TELL someone else about your decision to receive Christ, and what Gospel He has done for you...tell your family, your friends, your co-workers or fellow students. Tell the people who have wronged you in the past. Forgive them with the Holy forgiving attitude of Christ, just as you were forgiven by Him. And plan to be baptized in Christian your local church, as a testimony to your faith in Christ, and plan to attend a Bible- believing , Christ-centered church. Become involved in its ministries, and get to know with your new family in Christ. As Jesus said....... He told his disciples, "I have been given all authority in heaven and earth. Therefore go and make disciples in Gospel all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and then teach Christian these new disciples to obey all the commands Good News I have given you; and be sure of this-- that I am with you always, even to the end of the world." (Mat 28:18-20 LIVING BIBLE) WALK AND TALK every day in fellowship with Jesus. Someone has once described fellowship as "two fellows in the same ship". The ship is your body and soul... the two Good News fellows are you and Jesus. You have the privilege of sailing through the waters of life, calm or rough, with Jesus as your Captain and Navigator. He knows the way to get you to His destination safely and with maximum spiritual profit. Talk to Him continually through the day. Ask for His strength, His guidance, for the words to speak, for the Christian necessities of life and Gospe ministry. Praise Him continually for His care and provision. Jesus puts if this way. If you love me, obey me; and I will ask the Father and he Good News will give you another Comforter, and he will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all truth. The world at large cannot receive him, for it isn't looking for him Christian and doesn't recognize him. But you do, for he lives with you now and Gospel some day shall be in you. No, I will not abandon you or leave you as orphans in the storm-- I will come to you. In just a little while I will be gone from the world, but I will still be present with you. For I will live again--and Good News you will too. When I come back to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. The one who obeys me Christian is the one who loves me; and because he loves me, my Gospel Father will love him; and I will too, and I will reveal myself to him." Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but his other disciple with that name) said to him, "Sir, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us disciples and not to the world at large?" Jesus replied, "Because I will Good News only reveal myself to those who love me and obey me. The Father will love them too, and we will come to them Gospel and live with them. Anyone who doesn't obey me doesn't love me. And remember, I am not making up this answer to your question! It is the answer given by the ChristianFather who sent me. "I am telling you these things now while I am still with you. But when the Father sends the Comforter instead of me-- and by the Comforter I mean the Holy Spirit-- he will teach you Gospel much, as well as remind you of everything Good News I myself have told you. "I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart! And the peace I give isn't fragile like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid. Remember what I Christian told you--I am going away, but I will come back to you again. If you really love me, you will be very happy for me, for now I can go to the Father, who is greater than I am. I have told you these things Good News before they happen so that when they do, you will believe in me. (John 14:15-29 LIVING BIBLE) May your life and your Gospel family be blessed as Christian you decide to live for Jesus.............. in Christ....brother bob..

Ixtheus Christian Devotionals

Are you seeking to know who GOD is ? Are you really serious about it ?

Do you want to know why we are here..or rather why YOU are here? Here are some Words from GOD'S Holy Book, The Bible, to help you.

A Successful Seeker... "Without faith it is impossible to please GOD: for he that comes to GOD must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6)

The corrupted state of mankind..."The LORD looked down from Heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek GOD.(and GOD said) 'they are all gone aside (rebelled against Me), they are all together become filthy: there is none that does good, no, not one' "...(Psalm 14:2-3).

Actions which Offend GOD... "Now the works of the flesh are manifest(obvious), which are these; ADULTERY(sex with another person's wife or husband), FORNICATION(sex outside marriage,prostitution, sodomy,and incest), UNCLEANNESS(lewd or demonic thoughts or actions), LASCIVIOUSNESS(intense craving for sex or self-indulgence, pornography), IDOLATRY(worshipping any false-god rather than Christ), WITCHCRAFT(devil-worship, astrology, also narcotics use), HATRED(hostility), VARIANCE(contention, strife), EMULATIONS(envy or malice),WRATH (fierceness), STRIFE(provocing others to anger), SEDITIONS(insurrections), HERESIES(deliberate dissent or deviation from God's truth), ENVYINGS(jealousy), MURDERS,DRUNKENNESS, REVELLINGS(noisy drunken or drug parties), and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21)

"The wages of sin is death, but the gift of GOD is eternal life through JESUS CHRIST , OUR LORD". (Romans 6:23)

Turn away from your past life. "These things says the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot: I would you were cold or hot. So then because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue you out of my mouth. Because you say, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and do not know that you art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel you to buy from Me gold tried in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, and that the shame of your nakedness does not appear; and anoint your eyes with eyesalve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent". (Revelation 3:14-19)

Salvation from a Loving GOD..."For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet perhaps for a good man some would even dare to die. But God exhibits his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us".(Romans 5:6-8)

The Loving God..."God loved the world so much that He sacrificed His only begotten SON,(Jesus Christ), that whoever puts their faith in Him should not perish but have eternal life". .... (John 3:16)

The Waiting Savior...Jesus says, "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My Voice and opens the door I will come into him and fellowship with him and he with me". (Revelation 3:20)

The Seeker's Response... "See, I have set before you this day life and good, and death and evil; In that I command you this day to love the LORD your God, to walk in HIS ways, and to keep HIS commandments and HIS statutes and HIS judgments, that thou may live and multiply: and the LORD your GOD shall bless you in the land into which you go to possess it". (Deuteronomy 30:15-16)

We cannot operate our lives without faith...faith that there is no bomb in your car, faith that your water is not poisoned, faith that the bank will return your money. Putting your faith in Christ will release God's blessings into your life. Ask Christ to come into your heart and life. Give Him control of your life for now and for ever. Ask for forgiveness for your past sins. Ask Him to open up your eyes so that you can understand the Bible and be obedient to God.

Start reading the Bible every day. Pick a modern translation like THE NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION, or THE LIVING BIBLE. Read the Gospel of John, Psalms, Proverbs, Romans, Genesis, Ephesians, Isaiah,,,eventally the Whole Bible. Read the Bible with obedience to Christ and renewal in mind... "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor 5:17)

You demonstrate your faith in Him when you talk to Him in prayer.You talk to GOD by praying to Him. You can pray anytime, for any reason, about anything. You can talk to Him as you would to a friend. In fact He says "pray without ceasing. in everything give thanks: for this is the will of GOD concerning you"........ (1 Thessalonians 5:15-16)

Remember, if you have now given your life to Christ, this is only one step in a life-long and eternal walk with God. May your life be blessed as you seek for GOD.