Ixtheus Christian Devotionals

The Bible is full of wonderful assurance 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 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 God says that we are not saved by our good works......

For by grace you are saved, and that not of yourselves...
it is the gift of God, not of  works, 
lest any man should boast.
 (Ephesians 2:8-9)

The wages of sin 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 are as filthy rags; 
and we all do fade as a leaf; 
and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
(Isaiah 6: 46)

CONFESS that you can not save yourself...in 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 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 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 all unrighteousness.
(1 John 1:8-9) 

              
" What happiness for those whose guilt has been forgiven! 
What joys when sins are covered over! 
What relief for those who have confessed their sins 
and God has cleared their record.

There was a time when I wouldn't admit what a sinner I was. 
But my dishonesty made me miserable 
and filled my days with frustration.
All day and all night your 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 confess them to the Lord." 
And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone.

Now I say that each believer 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 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 save all those who 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 finish by faith. As the Scripture says it, "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 on him. 
(John 3:36) 

He that believes on the Son of God has the witness 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 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 written unto you 
that believe on the name of the Son of God;
that you may 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. Talk to God, just like you would talk to a good friend, and yet reverence Him because of the Almighty and 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 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 contrite ones.
(Isaiah 57:15)

Thus saith the LORD, 
The heaven is my throne, and the 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, 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 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 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 fellowship with him, 
and he with me.
(Rev 3:20)

The door Jesus is talking about is the entrance to 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 guide you and give you comfort for life's difficult journey, and to give you a purpose for living. 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 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 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 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 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 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 spiritual growth occurs.

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)

And so, dear brothers, I plead with you
to give your bodies to God.
Let them be a living sacrifice, 
holy--the kind he 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 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 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 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 all the nations,
 baptizing them  into the name of 
the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

and then teach these new disciples 
to obey all the commands 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 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 necessities of life and 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 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 and doesn't recognize him.
 But you do, 
for he lives with you now and 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 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 is the one who loves me; 
and because he loves me, my 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 only reveal myself 
to those who love me and obey me. 
The Father will love them too, 
and we will come to them 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 Father 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 much, 
as well as remind you of everything 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 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 before they happen 
so that when they do, you will believe in me.
 (John 14:15-29 LIVING BIBLE)

May your life and your family be blessed as you decide to live for Jesus..............

in Christ....brother bob.......<><
 

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 IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN DEVOTIONALS 
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God Bless You.....brother bob.......<><
 
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