January 2020 "Dearly Beloved" Articles
Dearly Beloved 1/31/20 "Governed by the Children of Wrath"
Governed by the Children of Wrath
Dearly beloved and highly favored by God, we can thank God that He saved us from this crooked and perverse age and from the wrath to come. We are no longer the children of disobedience, who are by nature the children of wrath. We no longer walk according to the course of this world run by the prince of this world, the adversary.
The world is insane; if you don’t believe it, just turn on the news. Evil men and seducers get worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.
Beloved, “ideas” that people embrace originate from either the One True God, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, or the god of this world, the devil. God's Word teaches us the difference between the two gods and what they teach. It enables us to separate the truth from error.
By His Divine power God gave us all things that pertain unto life and godliness through the knowledge of His will, furthermore He gave us exceeding great and precious promises that by these we could be partakers of His divine nature by being born again of His spirit.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/30/20 "We Are Truly Blessed"
We Are Truly Blessed
Dearly beloved and highly favored by the Father, you are God’s dear child, the object of His affection.
As parents we go to great lengths when we have children; we should realize the great lengths our Heavenly Father took to demonstrate His great love for us.
In love, He determined beforehand for us to have sonship to Himself through Jesus Christ in accordance with the good pleasure of His will. As Jesus Christ was His beloved firstborn, we are dearly beloved by the Father also.
He planned, prepared, willed, and desired to bless us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm. He went to extraordinary lengths to prepare the blessings we have today as well as the ones we will enjoy throughout eternity.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/29/20 "Think About It"
Think About It
Dearly beloved of God, have you ever thought about where the Apostle Paul was when he wrote the books of Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians? He was in prison when he penned the greatest revelation ever given to the Church.
The four gospel records reveal what Jesus Christ did. The Church Epistles that the Apostle Paul wrote [the book of Romans to II Thessalonians] explain what Jesus Christ’s work accomplished and what his accomplishments mean to us.
In II Timothy, which the Apostle Paul while in prison at Rome before his death wrote, “This thou knowest, that all they which are in Asia, be turned away from me; of whom are Phygellus and Hermogenes.” Quite an epitaph for the man that God worked in mightily as His apostle to the Gentiles.
Think of what it was like for this faithful man of God. The Apostle Paul was a human being the same as we are. He had thoughts and feelings, but he led them captive to the obedience of Christ.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/28/20 "The Prison Bars of Ignorance"
The Prison Bars of Ignorance
Dearly beloved of God, apart from the Word of God we know nothing of God, Christ, the gospel of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ, salvation, or our hope of glory. Apart from God’s Word we know nothing of the purpose of the ages that God purposed in the Christ. The prison bars of bondage are forged with ignorance.
When the Lord was tempted by the adversary, his response to him was “It is written.” He said, “It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
He further said that the words he spoke were not his personally, they were the Father’s. He said, “My doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me.”
The Lord Jesus Christ said ”…the Scripture cannot be broken,” yet many today find no value in it; the Lord staked his life on it.
The Lord said, “For verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.”
The Lord said that we would be judged by the words he spoke.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/27/20 "Think Like God Thinks About You"
Think Like God Thinks About You
Dearly beloved of God, the revelation of the Scriptures of truth concerning the Lord Jesus Christ’s return for the Church was given for our comfort. God gave it to encourage us.
When the Lord returns for the church, both the dead in Christ and those who are yet alive will be received up in glory to meet the Lord in the air. From that point on we will be with the Lord. Rejoice and again I say rejoice!
The Lord Jesus Christ has the power to transform us when he comes so that we have glorious bodies like his glorious body.
Those who confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead will be saved. We have the victory our sin and death. We will receive the everlasting life which we are sealed for today by the gift of holy spirit.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/26/20 "Is There Any Justice?"
Is There Any Justice?
Dearly beloved of God, we are hit by attack after attack by the adversary, but remember, his prime target is God. He wants to hurt you to hurt God.
The old serpent operates the same today as he did in Genesis 3; he goes after the integrity of God’s Word so that people will not believe what God says.
Once he convinces a person that God’s Word is not important enough to stand on it, they are left open for whatever he throws at them.
Jesus Christ said, "It is written..." when the adversary tempted him. The Word of God was important to him when the adversary attacked him. The devil had to flee when he stood on God's Word.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/25/20 "The Power of God's Word"
The Power of God’s Word
Dearly beloved of God, the power of God to perform His Word is set forth at the very commencement of revelation. God spoke and so it became. God’s Word always accomplishes His purposes. Heaven and earth move at His Word. Nothing is too hard for Him because He is all-powerful. God is infinitely capable of performing His Word. Nothing can keep Him from His purposes.
The gospel of John draws our attention to this truth, also.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men.” John 1:1-4
When He speaks, that settles it. All from here to eternity hinges on God’s ability to perform His Word. You cannot separate God from His Word any more than I can separate you from your word.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/24/20 "Sons of God"
Sons of God
Dearly beloved, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. Beloved, now we are the sons of God and it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when Christ appears, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is. [See I John 3:1 and 2]
This revelation from God says that “now we are the sons of God.” How does one become a son of God?
Jesus Christ said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” [See the record in John 3:1 and following.]
Jesus Christ is speaking of a birth; a birth that enables a person to see the kingdom of God.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/23/20 "Speak the Truth in Love"
Speak the Truth in Love
Dearly beloved of God, the first revelation addressed to the Church of the Grace of God is the book of Romans. It is foundational doctrine that lays out what Jesus Christ’s accomplishments mean to those who believe in him.
Doctrine is teaching that sets the standard for what we are to believe. Faith [Greek: pistis: believing] comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God [see Romans 10:17].
The doctrine is given from Romans 3:21- 8:39.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/22/20 "Coping or Believing"
Coping or Believing
Dearly beloved of God, once you realize that the Bible is the Word of God – it is God speaking – you have information that you can trust, and you will never have to back off of it.
When you have God’s Word you can hear from the mouth of God Himself; you are standing in the presence of God the same as Moses was when God spoke to Him out of the burning bush.
The Word of God teaches us to be confident in God because God has the power to perform His Word. He is not only able; He is willing to perform His Word for those who trust in Him.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/21/20 "First Things First"
First Things First
Dearly beloved of God, the first thing we must know concerning spiritual matters is what is available to us from God. There is only one source we can trust if we are to find this information, the Word of God.
How could we possibly know these things if God chose not to reveal them to us? The Word of God reveals the Will of God. God declares in Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge….”
He did not say that unbelievers were destroyed for a lack of knowledge; He says that His people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. The first thing we must know is what God made available to us so that we are not destroyed for lacking this understanding.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/20/20 "A Judge's Bench or the Throne of Grace?"
A Judge’s Bench or the Throne of Grace?
Dearly beloved of God, the show trial of our President starts tomorrow by the House presenting its accusations against him to the Senate.
At one time we stood trial before God. We were guilty before God. We all had sinned and come short of the glory of God. We stood before Him dead in sin and deserving of the sentence of death. We were guilty, ungodly, sinners, and enemies of God. We had no hope; we were by nature the children of wrath.
Instead of our guilt and the sentence of condemnation against us, God showed His justice by sending His Son to save us from the condemnation against us.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/19/20 "From Grace to Glory"
From Grace to Glory
Dearly beloved of God, God’s calling in Christ Jesus begins in grace and it will end in glory.
We are the called in Jesus Christ. God did the calling in Jesus Christ. He called us through the gospel concerning His Son Jesus Christ. If we confess Jesus as Lord and believe that God raised him from the dead we have the hope of salvation.
The hope of His calling is yet future. The Father of glory wants us to know the hope of His calling, and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. Our hope begins with the coming of Christ for his Church, which is his body.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/17/20 "Nothing is Free"
Nothing is Free
Dearly beloved of God, nothing is free. Our salvation cost Jesus Christ his life. We were saved by confessing Jesus as Lord and believing that God raised him from the dead.
This salvation was not from us; it was the gift of God and we received it by the grace of God. It was not of our works, but by Jesus Christ’s. We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus on the basis of his good works that God previously prepared, so that we could walk in his accomplishments.
Salvation came to us by the grace of God. We were bought with a price, the price of Jesus Christ’s life. Our life is not our own. As we have received Christ Jesus the Lord we are to walk in him.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/16/20 "Understanding the Will of the Lord"
Understanding the Will of the Lord
Dearly beloved of God, our God is the God of peace, the God of love, the God of patience and consolation, the God of the hope; He is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, the God of all grace, the God of glory. This God is our God and He does not change.
The will of this God concerning those who are in Christ does not change either.
“In love, He determined beforehand for us to have sonship to Himself through Jesus Christ in accordance with the good pleasure of His will unto the praise of the glory of His grace [favor], by which He highly favored us in the beloved one [Jesus Christ].” Ephesians 1:5 and 6 WT, Rev. Cummins
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/15/20 "Campaign Promises"
Campaign Promises
Dearly beloved of God, the answers people are looking for are not in themselves, and they will not find them in campaign promises; they are only in the promises of God that He reveals in His Word.
Isaiah wrote: “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!”
This could have been written today, couldn’t it? News flash; only God has the solutions that man is looking for. People scream for equality, yet they reject the equality that God provides them.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/14/20 "The Victory is Yours"
The Victory is Yours
Dearly beloved of God, in the face of the situations and circumstances against us, we are more than conquerors through him (Jesus Christ) who loved us. In the face of the accusations levied against us, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. In spite of our past and regardless of what the future holds, we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. We are in Christ and nothing can separate us from God’s love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Knowing this is a good start, but believing it is what takes you from victimhood to living in the reality of being more than a conqueror through him that loved you. Believing comes by hearing, by hearing the Word of God.
We overcame the world the moment we confessed Jesus as Lord and we believed that God raised him from the dead. We were born of God’s spirit, and we have the victory that overcomes the world.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/13/20 "Where is this Coming From?"
Where is This Coming From?
Dearly beloved of God, our adversary the devil can no longer impeach us before our Heavenly Father, or have us removed from the position that God gave us in Christ Jesus. The best he can do is get us to doubt who we are in Christ; to question who God says we are in Christ.
The adversary marshals the forces and workers of evil to attack us day after day to believe his lies instead of the truth from the One True God. He is behind “the fake news” in every situation we face. He tempts us to not believe God at His Word, but to believe the senses information he plants in circumstances and situations and by what others say to persuade us otherwise.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/11/20 "What Kind of Access Do We Have?"
What Kind of Access Do We Have?
Dearly beloved of God, the Lord Jesus Christ provided us with boldness and access to the Father with confidence by his accomplished believing. It is a shame that so few believe this wonderful truth.
Jesus Christ made this tremendous reality available to us by accomplishing the mission God gave him to accomplish. As he hung on the tree dying, he said, “It is finished,” then he died.
Jesus Christ is the only one to begin and to finish the job of believing God. He came to fulfill the law, and he fulfilled the law for righteousness by believing God at His Word. He came to be the Passover Lamb, and by believing what God said he gave his life as the Lamb of God. He came to justify us, and by believing he did justify us. He came to redeem us, and by believing he did redeem us. He came to save us, and by believing he did save us. He not only began believing God, he finished believing God to fulfill His Word and Will. Jesus was the author and finisher of “the faith.”
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/10/20 "Stand in the Presence of God"
Stand in the Presence of God
Dearly beloved of God, how would you like to stand in the presence of the Lord?
“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord . . . .” I Thessalonians 4:15
You just stood in the presence of the Lord and heard him speak.
That which follows is “the word of the Lord” and it reveals the will of God to us concerning our hope and release from death.
“Who [God] will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” I Timothy 2:4
You just stood in God's presence and heard Him speak to you again and reveal His will.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/8/20 "The Lord of lords"
The Lord of lords
Dearly beloved of God, God made Jesus both Lord and Christ. Jesus Christ was the only begotten Son of God. God, His Father, is the only one above him and He is the one that empowered him and gave him the authority to do His Will. That should be enough for credentials, but there’s more.
God raised Jesus Christ from the dead,validating that he was the Son of God. He ascended into heaven 40 days later and God seated him at His right side. God made Jesus the Christ, Lord both now, and in the ages to come. He made him Lord in heaven and on earth. There has never been anyone else given this kind of power and authority; it was not something a person could take to himself.
Jesus Christ is the Lord of salvation. After God made him both Lord and Christ, the Lord Jesus Christ poured out the promised new birth spirit on Pentecost to those that believed that he was the only begotten son of God and that God raised him from the dead; he is the Lord of salvation.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/6/20 "What is God's Will for Me?"
What Is God’s Will for Me?
Dearly beloved of God, when it comes to spiritual matters, God does not want us ignorant; He says so.
If He does not want us to be ignorant about these matters then He must reveal the truth about them so that we have His instruction.
How else could human beings gain an understanding of matters that exist in a realm that we cannot see, hear, smell, touch, or taste? These realities are spiritual matters, God determines these realities.
For example, how could we know “the mystery of His will” had God not revealed it to us? God is Spirit and no man has ever seen God, much less known one of His secrets.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/4/20 "The Good Pleasure of His Will"
The Good Pleasure of His Will
Dearly beloved of God, the Word of God instructs us to ardently wait for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ from heaven. Our hope is one of confident expectation, and we are promised that we will not be disappointed in our expectation when he comes.
To wait does not mean to have a vague longing, but to wait with assurance and have the persuasion of the nearness and reality of his coming.
We through the new birth spirit patiently wait for the hope of righteousness by believing.
We confessed Jesus as Lord and we are to walk in the new birth reality by believing the Word of God until he comes.
God made Jesus both Lord and Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at His right side in the heavenlies. We are to walk in his lordship by believing until he returns to gather us up to him.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/3/20 "Our Hope of Coming Glory"
Our Hope of Coming Glory
Dearly beloved of God, look up and lift up your heads, for our redemption draws nigh. The Lord is coming! We are waiting for our calling on high. We are sealed by the spirit of God for the day of redemption.
Our inheritance is incorruptible and undefiled; it does not fade away; it is reserved for us in heaven. We are partakers of a heavenly calling, and our hope is laid up, preserved, held in store for us in the heavenlies.
Since we were raised with Christ we are to seek those things which are above where Christ sits at the right hand of God. Set your affection, your thinking on things above, not on things on the earth.
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/2/20 "Three Heavens and Three Earths"
Three Heavens and Three Earths
Dearly beloved of God, the Word of God speaks of three heavens and three earths.
“Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished:
But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” II Peter 3:6 and 7
The first heavens and earth were the ones spoken of in Genesis 1: 1 and 2. Something cataclysmic took place and the earth became without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” We are told here in II Peter that “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished.”
Read more ...Dearly Beloved 1/1/20 "Happy New Year Dearly Beloved of God!"
Happy New Year Dearly Beloved of God!
The world is busy making New Year’s resolutions that often fade with time and carry no lasting results. What about God’s people; what will we be resolved to do in this new year?
Let us decide to believe what God says. Belief or unbelief is manifested by our confession; let us hold fast to our confession of the truth of God’s Word. Let us hold fast the confession of the hope without wavering because the Promisor is faithful!
Dearly beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ said that the Word of God cannot be broken, and he proved it to be true. He gave his life for us and God raised him from the dead as He said He would.
The Word of God does not return void; it accomplishes what God sent it to accomplish.
Read more ...