Month: January 2021

God loves the world-He hates sin

God loves the world, He hates sin

John 3:16-21 The Passion Translation 

16 For this is how much God loved the world—he gave his one and only, unique Son as a gift. So now everyone who believes in him will never perish but experience everlasting life.

17 “God did not send his Son into the world to judge and condemn the world, but to be its Savior and rescue it! 18 So now there is no longer any condemnation for those who believe in him, but the unbeliever already lives under condemnation because they do not believe in the name of God’s beloved Son. 19 And here is the basis for their judgment: The Light of God has now come into the world, but the hearts of people love their darkness more than the Light because they want the darkness to conceal their evil. 20 So the wicked hate the Light and try to hide from it, for their lives are fully exposed in the Light. 21 But those who love the truth will come out into the Light and welcome its exposure, for the Light will reveal that their fruitful works were produced by God.”

Romans 1:18-32 The Passion Translation 

God Reveals His Wrath

18 For God in heaven unveils his holy anger breaking forth against every form of sin, both toward ungodliness that lives in hearts and evil actions. For the wickedness of humanity deliberately smothers the truth and keeps people from acknowledging the truth about God. 19 In reality, the truth of God is known instinctively, for God has embedded this knowledge inside every human heart. 20 Opposition to truth cannot be excused on the basis of ignorance, because from the creation of the world, the invisible qualities of God’s nature have been made visible, such as his eternal power and transcendence. He has made his wonderful attributes easily perceived, for seeing the visible makes us understand the invisible. So then, this leaves everyone without excuse.

21 Throughout human history the fingerprints of God were upon them, yet they refused to honor him as God or even be thankful for his kindness. Instead, they entertained corrupt and foolish thoughts about what God was like. This left them with nothing but misguided hearts, steeped in moral darkness. 22 Although claiming to be super-intelligent, they were, in fact, shallow fools 23 For only a fool would trade the unfading splendor of the immortal God to worship the fading image of other humans, idols made to look like people, animals, birds, and even creeping reptiles!

24 This is why God lifted off his restraining hand and let them have full expression of their sinful and shameful desires. They were given over to moral depravity, dishonoring their bodies by sexual perversion among themselves— 25 all because they traded the truth of God for a lie. They worshiped and served the things God made rather than the God who made all things—glory, and praises to him for eternity of eternities! Amen!

26–27 For this reason God gave them over to their own disgraceful and vile passions. Enflamed with lust for one another, men and women ignored the natural order and exchanged normal sexual relations for homosexuality. Women engaged in lesbian conduct and men committed shameful acts with men, receiving in themselves the due penalty for their deviation.

28 And because they thought it was worthless to embrace the true knowledge of God, God gave them over to a worthless mind-set, to break all rules of proper conduct. 29 Their sinful lives became full of every kind of evil, wicked schemes, greed, and cruelty. Their hearts overflowed with jealous cravings, and with conflict and strife, which drove them into hateful arguments and murder. They are deceitful liars full of hostility. They are gossips 30 who love to spread malicious slander. With inflated egos, they hurl hateful insults at God, yet they are nothing more than arrogant boasters. They are rebels against their parents and totally immoral. 31 They are senseless, faithless, ruthless, heartless, and completely merciless. 32 Although they are fully aware of God’s laws and proper order, and knowing that those who do all of these things deserve to die, yet they still go headlong into darkness, encouraging others to do the same and applauding them when they do!

The Fear of the Lord is the Beginning of Wisdom

Proverbs 9:10,11 NKJV

10 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
11 For by me your days will be multiplied,
And years of life will be added to you.

Proverbs 10:3 NKJV

3 The Lord will not allow the righteous soul to famish,
But He casts away the desire of the wicked.

We need to be more Mary than Martha in this hour

We need to be more Mary than Martha in this hour

Luke 10:38-42  (ERV)

38 While Jesus and his followers were traveling, he went into a town, and a woman named Martha let him stay at her house. 39 She had a sister named Mary. Mary was sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to him teach. 40 But her sister Martha was busy doing all the work that had to be done. Martha went in and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are getting worried and upset about too many things. 42 Only one thing is important. Mary has made the right choice, and it will never be taken away from her.”

The Lord spoke to my heart this morning.  He said we need to have the heart attitude of Mary and lessen Martha’s attitude.  Both of these sisters loved Jesus.  In reading the passage above, there is an implication that Martha was the oldest of the siblings.  If that is the case it would explain a lot of why Martha was so “busy” preparing for Jesus and the apostles’ visit to their home.  It was her responsibility to have a meal ready, the home welcoming, and make the guests comfortable.  More than likely, Mary would have been helping her in these tasks.  On this occasion, Mary was so caught up in the presence of Jesus, she ignored all the usual physical responsibilities to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen.

The one phrase from the Scripture above shows the heart of Martha; “doing all the work that had to be done”.  There had to be food prepared, there had to be mats put out for the guests to sit upon, there had to be water to wash their feet upon entrance into the house.  Mary ignored all that to sit with Jesus and hear what He had to say.  We cannot judge Martha, we can understand her and see where she missed her opportunity to be with Jesus also.  She chose to fret about perfecting the home-welcome, instead of welcoming the Lord.

We are in the same place this year.  We have been so focused on survival, on doing the best we can to keep our homes, our families, our ministries, etc… going that we have neglected sitting at the feet of Jesus and hearing what He has to say.  We are missing time with Him, building relationships.  May we resist being too busy to be with Him.

Trusting God = Relaxing in Peace

Looking at this photo gives a lot of us a creepy feeling.  The road seems to narrow and looks dangerous and even scary.  The Lord really spoke to my heart about my reaction to this photo.  He told me very clearly, “If you would trust me, hold my hand and let us just walk down this road, I will show the hidden treasures and secrets hidden on each side of the journey.”

I was startled at that statement and realized, though I thought I was trusting Jesus along my journey, I was holding on too tight to His hand, still really walking in a place of fear.  When I deliberately stopped, breathed deeply and put my trust back into Him, the hidden things in the photo started revealing the truth.

  1. First, there is a road already created that we can walk on.
  2. Someone has already gone ahead and prepared the road.
  3. It looks like it shrinks from the position the photographer took the photo, but as you walk closer, the perspective changes and it won’t be as small as it looks now.
  4. If I am walking this road with the Lord Jesus, there is no need to fear.
  5. If fear is not allowed on the road with us, we can indeed stop along the way and look at the wonderful things hidden on the sides of the road.
  6. I imagined small patches of violets, rabbits, and other small furry creatures wandering there.  The whole photo changed into an adventure instead of a place of fear!

May we all reach a place of trusting in the Lord, kicking fear out of our journey and shift to joy and peace in our personal walk with the Lord Jesus.

Do Not Lose Hope!

Do not lose hope!

January 8, 2021
From Pastor Dennis:

Today, I am writing to encourage you, child of God, “do not lose hope!”  There is only one way to do that, and it is to keep the faith delivered to us through the Holy Scriptures.  Discard all else, but keep the faith!  In Paul’s letters to Timothy  – 1 Timothy 1:18-19 (NCV) – Paul encouraged Timothy to remember the words spoken over him.  Here is what he said: 18)Timothy, my child, I am giving you a command that agrees with the prophecies that were given about you in the past. I tell you this so you can follow them and fight the good fight. 19)Continue to have faith and do what you know is right. Some people have rejected this, and their faith has been shipwrecked.

God has not changed His mind about you!  He loves you and what He has done and still doing in your life is real.  Agree with Him!  His encouragement to us all is to keep trusting in Him with all of our heart and do not lean upon our own understanding.  Acknowledge Him in all we say and do and He will direct our pathway in life.  The power of darkness is surging in the earth as I write.  But, we can fight the good fight and still win the victories that are important to God and to us!

Continue to live life by faith, not sight!  Do what you know is right according to the manual on faith, the Bible.  There may be many who turn from the way of the Lord in all that is happening in our nation and in our world.  But, this will only cause trouble and disaster to come upon those who abandon the principles of faith as presented in the Word of God the Bible.  Here is a final word…

Inasmuch then as we [believers] have a great High Priest who has [already ascended and] passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession [of faith and cling tenaciously to our absolute trust in Him as Savior]. For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize and understand our weaknesses and temptations, but One who has been tempted [knowing exactly how it feels to be human] in every respect as we are, yet without [committing any] sin. Therefore let us [with privilege] approach the throne of grace [that is, the throne of God’s gracious favor] with confidence and without fear, so that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find [His amazing] grace to help in time of need [an appropriate blessing, coming just at the right moment].     (Hebrews 4:14-16 AMP)

May His Grace, Peace, and Love be upon you…in Jesus’ Name!  AMEN
-Pastor Dennis Langford

Godlessness in the Last Days-How do we respond to it?

2 Timothy 3

Godlessness in the Last Days
2Ti 3:1  But you need to be aware that in the final days the culture of society will become extremely fierce and difficult for the people of God.
2Ti 3:2  People will be self-centered lovers of themselves and obsessed with money. They will boast of great things as they strut around in their arrogant pride and mock all that is right. They will ignore their own families. They will be ungrateful and ungodly.
2Ti 3:3  They will become addicted to hateful and malicious slander. Slaves to their desires, they will be ferocious, belligerent haters of what is good and right.
2Ti 3:4  With brutal treachery, they will act without restraint, bigoted and wrapped in clouds of their conceit. They will find their delight in the pleasures of this world more than the pleasures of the loving God.
2Ti 3:5  They may pretend to have a respect for God, but in reality, they want nothing to do with God’s power. Stay away from people like these!
2Ti 3:6  For they are the ones who worm their way into the hearts of vulnerable women, spending the night with those who are captured by their lusts and steeped in sin.
2Ti 3:7  They are always learning but never discover the revelation-knowledge of truth.
2Ti 3:8  History has given us an example of this with the Egyptian sorcerers Jannes and Jambres, who stood against Moses in their arrogance. So it will be in the last days with those who reject the faith with their corrupt minds and arrogant hearts, standing against the truth of God.
2Ti 3:9  But they will not advance, for everyone will see their madness, just as they did with Jannes and Jambres!
All Scripture Is Breathed Out by God
2Ti 3:10  But you, Timothy, have closely followed my example and the truth that I’ve imparted to you. You have modeled your life after the love and endurance I’ve demonstrated in my ministry by not giving up. The faith I have, you now have. What I have hungered for in life has now become your longing as well. The patience I have with others, you now demonstrate.
2Ti 3:11  And the same persecutions and difficulties I have endured, you have also endured. Yes, you know all about what I had to suffer while in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. You’re aware of all the persecution I endured there; yet the Lord delivered me from every single one of them!
2Ti 3:12  For all who choose to live passionately and faithfully as worshipers of Jesus, the Anointed One, will also experience persecution.
2Ti 3:13  But the evil men and sorcerers will progress from bad to worse, deceived and deceiving, as they lead people further from the truth.
2Ti 3:14  Yet you must continue to advance in strength with the truth wrapped around your heart, being assured by God that he’s the One who has truly taught you all these things.
2Ti 3:15  Remember what you were taught from your childhood from the Holy Scrolls which can impart to you wisdom to experience everlasting life through the faith of Jesus, the Anointed One!
2Ti 3:16  Every Scripture has been written by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness.
2Ti 3:17  Then you will be God’s servant, fully mature, and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you.

I shared this Scripture as a warning and a self-check for us all.  We need to be aware of what is going on in our world.  We also need to search our own hearts for any areas we are working evil in us.  Pray for God’s wisdom, revelation, and understanding.  Ask Him to reveal these answers to you personally:

  1. How should I respond to these things?
  2. What is my responsibility in this season of life?
  3. What should I pray for myself, my family, my church, the Body of Christ and the world?

Father God, we ask you to reveal to us the next steps for our lives in response to the world around us.  Help us to know how to navigate the tests and trials ahead.  Show us the path of righteousness in the midst of darkness.  We thank you that you are the Light of the World, and we can trust you to lead us in the Way, Truth, and Light throughout the coming days.  Praise Your Name forever!!