Do you know who you are? Do you know what you are made of?
Well, I am a United States citizen.
I am a follower of Jesus the Christ (Yeshua the Messiah). I want to follow Him. I want to obey and observe God's commands. I want to live a respectable life.
It doesn't matter where someone is from when you are only looking at whether a person is saved or not, and that is what matters.
So, when identity is stripped away, do you know who you are?
I can say I am circumcised (and I am) but it avails to nothing. I can say I observe God's Law, and I do minus one point (I do keep the Ten Commandments, however). I can say I observe the law of the land, and I do (though I am mindful of what it is, knowing I am rarely perfect in all things). But for all these failures, what is my life about?
When a person endeavors to keep the law we can only say that it is a good thing!
God's Law is about love of God and love of our neighbor, and so should be the law of the land (and it is, safety in keeping the speed limit at all times, etc...).
Let's see the good in what is good. Our lives should be lived in honor of God and for God and we should always recognize the priority of life in the law, that is what love of our neighbor is about.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. I was not born a Jew. I love Jews. I love God's Law. I was born a Gentile. I am circumcised and I keep the Law, but in that I don't keep one point (wearing tzit-tzit) I am reminded that I am not a Jew. Is it my identity as a United States citizen that matters to me? It does. But my identity in Christ is something different. It pertains to my citizenship in heaven.
Do you know you belong to God? Do you find your identity in Christ? It is He who died for you and purchased you, that you would be redeemed and brought back to God. For all have sinned. But Christ died for sinners, to save them from sin and the consequences of sin, both theirs and that of others.
Do you belong to God? Regardless of your national identity or what you do for a living, your vocation and what not, you can find your identity in Christ. Perhaps you know what I am talking about and your identity is already found in Christ.
Do you love God? Do you love others? Share the good news of Jesus with those you meet, when the opportunity that God gives to you is right. Step out in faith and allow Him to use you. In Jesus Christ and His death you can have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Repent and believe, putting your hope, trust, and faith in God. I desire that you would be born again by the Spirit of God. I desire that you would have eternal life and resurrection from the dead among the righteous (I am wanting to understand resurrection and heaven and the new heavens and the new earth) rather than among the wicked who will experience the second death, the lake of fire.
Shalom. God Bless.
Well, I am a United States citizen.
I am a follower of Jesus the Christ (Yeshua the Messiah). I want to follow Him. I want to obey and observe God's commands. I want to live a respectable life.
It doesn't matter where someone is from when you are only looking at whether a person is saved or not, and that is what matters.
So, when identity is stripped away, do you know who you are?
I can say I am circumcised (and I am) but it avails to nothing. I can say I observe God's Law, and I do minus one point (I do keep the Ten Commandments, however). I can say I observe the law of the land, and I do (though I am mindful of what it is, knowing I am rarely perfect in all things). But for all these failures, what is my life about?
When a person endeavors to keep the law we can only say that it is a good thing!
God's Law is about love of God and love of our neighbor, and so should be the law of the land (and it is, safety in keeping the speed limit at all times, etc...).
Let's see the good in what is good. Our lives should be lived in honor of God and for God and we should always recognize the priority of life in the law, that is what love of our neighbor is about.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. I was not born a Jew. I love Jews. I love God's Law. I was born a Gentile. I am circumcised and I keep the Law, but in that I don't keep one point (wearing tzit-tzit) I am reminded that I am not a Jew. Is it my identity as a United States citizen that matters to me? It does. But my identity in Christ is something different. It pertains to my citizenship in heaven.
Do you know you belong to God? Do you find your identity in Christ? It is He who died for you and purchased you, that you would be redeemed and brought back to God. For all have sinned. But Christ died for sinners, to save them from sin and the consequences of sin, both theirs and that of others.
Do you belong to God? Regardless of your national identity or what you do for a living, your vocation and what not, you can find your identity in Christ. Perhaps you know what I am talking about and your identity is already found in Christ.
Do you love God? Do you love others? Share the good news of Jesus with those you meet, when the opportunity that God gives to you is right. Step out in faith and allow Him to use you. In Jesus Christ and His death you can have the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Repent and believe, putting your hope, trust, and faith in God. I desire that you would be born again by the Spirit of God. I desire that you would have eternal life and resurrection from the dead among the righteous (I am wanting to understand resurrection and heaven and the new heavens and the new earth) rather than among the wicked who will experience the second death, the lake of fire.
Shalom. God Bless.
