LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, July 17, 2025

I honestly don’t know where to start. I am overwhelmed by the magnitude of mercy and grace God continues to shower upon me.

My weaknesses do nothing to hurt Him or His work, for it is in my weakness that He is shown to be strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)  

My inabilities do not hinder me, for I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)

The forces of evil around me have no authority over me, for greater is He that is in me than He that is in the world. (1 John 4:4)

I do not have to surrender to the world and its influence on me. My faith in Christ gives me the same ability to overcome the world as Jesus had. (1 John 5:4-5)

As I read through the twenty-sixth chapter of Isaiah this morning, I was reminded of the truth that God spoke to us when He said that in Christ we are overcomers.

Isaiah 26:12  “LORD, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us.”

In this verse the people of God are given hope that the Lord Jesus is doing a great work in us which will result in peace. But there are days when we feel like crying out in pain as the pressures of the world and the temptations of our flesh surround us and oppress us. But in the presence of the Lord there is hope. It is there that we realize the truth that we are not in control; that we are not able to save ourselves; that we are not able to give birth to the solutions for our problems; that we are spiritually dead and progressing towards physical death. It is in the presence of the Lord that we are given the hope that the dead will rise just as Jesus did. It is in the presence of God that we are assured that all things are in God’s hands and what man has intended for harm God will turn and use for His good and His glory. It is there, where Jesus has lifted us to our rightful place of authority with Him that we find that all that has been done has been God’s work to bring us peace.

Whatever is oppressing you; whatever is overwhelming you; whatever is discouraging you; whatever is defeating you; take hope in this – you can overcome the enemy by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of your testimony if you love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, your soul, and your strength.

Let the words of this song remind you of the price Jesus paid for your deliverance, and of the victory that is ours as overcomers!

Seated above, enthroned in the Father’s love
Destined to die, poured out for all mankind
God’s only Son, perfect and spotless one
He never sinned but suffered as if He did

Power in hand speaking the Father’s plan
You’re sending us out, light in this broken land

We will overcome by the blood of the Lamb
And the word of our testimony, everyone overcome

Savior, worthy of honor and glory
Worthy of all our praise, You overcame
Jesus, awesome in power forever
Awesome and great is Your name, You overcame

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, July 16, 2025

It was not level and smooth. I thought I knew the shortcut to my tree stand, even though I had only taken it once before from the opposite direction as I left the woods two days earlier. But in the dark it was different. I ended up in the middle of a tangled mess of downed trees and branches, being far noisier than I ever wanted to be. Every step cracked a branch. What should have been a silent approach that took 3 minutes ended up being a loud and potentially deer-frightening approach that took me 15 minutes. It was not a good way to start the day.

What went wrong? Well, I was being pretty arrogant to think that in this new location my skills and senses were so finely honed that I could travel 100 yards through the woods in the dark without getting off course. I needed to be humbled, and I was. No more shortcuts. I will follow the path marked out for me.

As I read Isaiah 26:7 this morning I thought of that hunting adventure.

“The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth.”

I wondered why so many of the paths of life weren’t all that level and smooth. Sure, I’m not completely righteous – who is? But there doesn’t seem to be a consistent connection between the times in my life when I’m faithful and the smoothness of life. In fact, some of the toughest times have occurred when I am the closest to God. Has God made a promise that isn’t true?

As I contemplated all of this, I remembered to read the rest of the context of Isaiah 26. Here it is in verses five through nine. The footnote numbers are not verse numbers but reference the application points below.

“₁ He humbles those who dwell on high, he lays the lofty city low; he levels it to the ground and casts it down to the dust. ₂ Feet trample it down—the feet of the oppressed, the footsteps of the poor. The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, you make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, LORD, ₃ walking in the way of your laws, ₄ we wait for you; ₅ your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. ₆ My soul yearns for you in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. ₇ When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness.”

Here’s what I learned, with each point referenced to a verse above:

1. Pride causes bumps and potholes in the road of life.
2. God smooths out the road of our life using the footsteps of other people, especially those people we have considered to be somehow sub-standard and beneath us. We are humbled when suddenly we are beneath them.
3. The path God has chosen for my life is already level and smooth, but I may be on the wrong path. I may be walking according to my laws or the laws of the world and not God’s law.
4. I may be on God’s path, but I’ve gotten ahead of Him and He hasn’t prepared that part of the road yet.
5. The road isn’t level and smooth because I’m travelling it for my own benefit and not for the glory of God.
6. Am I really so in love with God that I long for Him more than I long for anything else? Is my relationship with Jesus the single most important thing in my life?
7. Every bump and pothole in the road is placed there by God so that I become more righteous.

I choose to begin each day walking God’s path of righteousness. I will not complain about the bumps and potholes but will allow my Lord to use them to humble me and make me more like Him.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, July 15. 2025

Fifteen years ago I went through a time of humbling by the Lord. For over two weeks I cared for my dad following surgery and a major flair-up of his arthritis in his knees. For 7 days he was immobile, unable to walk or rise to a standing position on his own. He needed to be lifted so he could move from one place to another. We had to move him into our home.

During that time I had to listen and watch – and I might add suffer – as God dissected my heart. I was so unaware of my selfishness. I was so blinded to the way I had built a life of comfort for myself. I was so distressed to discover that I had been in control of what I did and when I did it. God used my dad’s physical needs to humble me, and boy did I need humbling.

Near the end of the two weeks, I renewed my surrender of myself to the reality that at any time God is able to interrupt me and invite me into His work without negotiation. There can be nothing in this life that is so important that it would cause me pain to surrender it for the sake of the King. There can be no possession so precious that I grieve over its loss. There must be no activity or pursuit so significant that the thought of not be able to do it causes me to even think about shedding a tear. I must and I will be able to say with the Apostle Paul that “I consider all things rubbish compared to the excellency of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”

One night, as I prepared my dad for bed, we both noticed that his feet smelled. We laughed about it, but it was bad. His special elastic support socks he wears to prevent swelling and cellulitis had not been changed for a week. So as he sat in his wheelchair I carefully removed his socks. Then in a warm basin of water and gentle soap, I washed my dad’s feet and legs. As he sat there he simply said, “You are doing a very Biblical thing, just like Jesus.”  At that moment there were no thoughts of anything else I could have been doing. I was doing the work God had prepared for me to do, and I was doing it with a heart that He had also prepared.

The next morning, dad woke up early. When I walked into the room there was a gleam in his eyes and a smile on his face. As I pulled back the blankets, he lifted his legs. He rolled to a sitting position all by himself. When I put the walker in front of him he grabbed it and stood up. He took a few steps to the center of the room and stood there the whole time I helped him get dressed. Then with his walker he walked all the way to the living room and got into his lift chair unassisted.

When I arrived at my office that morning my devotional Bible was opened to these words in Isaiah 25.

“O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago…You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat…On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations;he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.”

When we allow God to humble us, we will be filled with praise as we see Him do His work. Our work no longer gets in the way, and we cease to exalt ourselves but rather exalt the only One who is worthy.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, July 14, 2025

Malachi 3:3   “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

Here’s a stupid question (with apologies for using the word stupid) – have you ever experiencing a trying time in your life? Of course you have. You may be going through one right now. Our tendency is to want an explanation of how we got into this mess. Was it our fault for a sinful choice we made, or was it someone else who sinned against us? Maybe it is just God working on us to make us more like His Son Jesus.

Instead of analyzing how we got here and how to get out, we should be focusing on Who’s with us while we’re here. Some time ago a friend sent this story to me, and I was really blessed by it. I hope it helps you to maintain your focus as well as you go through whatever trial or test you are currently in.

“A group of women was studying the book of Malachi and they came to the verse, “He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver.”  They wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

“That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn’t mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver. As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

“The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: “He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver.”

“She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined. The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

“The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, “How do you know when the silver is fully refined?”

“He smiled at her and answered, “Oh, that’s easy – when I see my image in it.”

God is holding on to you. Trust Him to refine and purify you until He can see His image in you.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, July 11, 2025

Have you ever been in a hospital room filled with family members right after a baby has been born? Everyone wants to share their thoughts on why the baby is so perfect and so unique. “Ooooh! He looks just like his older brother.” “His hair is darker than the other kids’.” “His eyes are so blue already.” “His hands are so big!” And my favorite, “He looks a little like his grandpa.” And on and on it goes.

Someday, maybe very soon, we will hear such talk from the ends of the earth as people unite to sing the praises of Jesus Christ when He comes to the earth as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

After all the prophecies of man’s judgment have been pronounced by Isaiah, the Lord announces one final victory against man’s pride and the political system he created to perpetuate it. In Isaiah 24 the Lord Jesus Christ destroys anything and everyone that stood opposed to Him and sets up His Kingdom on earth. As the people of the earth are brought to submission, suddenly a song breaks out from the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 24:16a  “From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.”   

Jesus is being given honor and glory for His victory.

What a day that will be – the birth of the political Kingdom of God on earth in fulfillment of the spiritual kingdom that began when Jesus was on earth the first time. The glory of the True King will be seen in all the earth. Peace will arrive in the Prince of Peace. The Name of Jesus will be exalted throughout the earth. I can hear it now…

“He’s so powerful!” “He’s so righteous!” “He’s so just!” “He’s so faithful!”

But let’s hear it straight from God’s Word…

 “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!”

 “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!”

“Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,   for true and just are his judgments.”

“Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty. Just and true are your ways, King of the ages. Who will not fear you, O Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.”  

“To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.”

“Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!”

Let the singing begin!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Thursday, July 10, 2025

Several years ago we outgrew the church facility where I was the Lead Pastor. We were cramped in there as we waited for God’s timing on a new building. We  decided to make some changes that temporarily helped. The first thing we did was to rent additional office space and move our administrative offices out of the church. God directed us to a wonderful landlord who gave us an incredible deal on an office complex that not only served as our administrative hub but also as our youth center.

There were decisions to be made when we moved into that building, not the least of which was who would get which office. The welcome area was sufficient for the office administrator, and there was one small office that was perfect for the part-time staff. But which of the two large offices would the two pastors get?

As my Associate Pastor and I surveyed the two rooms, there was discussion about the pros and cons of each. The larger office had two windows on the front corner of the building. But it was located down a narrow hall right across from the restrooms. The smaller office was on the other side of the wall from the restrooms and had only one window. It was located right off the coffee break area and next to the youth center. Decisions, decisions.

As we looked at the offices, I regretfully remember my pride filtering to the top of the logic column. I am the Lead Pastor. I deserve the best office. Which one is the nicest? Which one matches my status? I fought those prideful urges. In my heart I wanted what was best for everyone so they could serve effectively for the Lord. But how would we decide?

At the same time we were looking at the new offices, a businessman from our church came to me and said that his company had some desks and chairs to donate and wondered if we could use them. The desks we had were very old metal things that were functional but not very professional. I said yes. He had the desks and chairs delivered to the new location while the decorating team from the church freshened up the place with new paint and accessories.

When we saw the desks for the first time, we began to evaluate how they would fit into the offices. The desk designs actually made the decision about offices for us. The desk I needed for the work I do would only fit in one office. That would be mine. The Associate Pastor got the office with the view. I got the office with the sounds of the bathroom through the wall. The decorating team recognized the problem and had sound panels built that were beautiful. They even let me pick out the fabric, which of course is covered with deer. We both loved our offices.

The spiritual point I want you to see today is observed as we compare the story I just told with the one in Isaiah 22. Shebna, an Egyptian, had been appointed the chief steward of the palace under the reign of King Hezekiah. He had high ambitions. He decided to make a name for himself and promote himself. He decided that his position in the King’s palace was worthy of special recognition – historical recognition. So he had a tomb built for himself in the palace of the King. He wanted to be remembered, and he figured the best way to do that was to be buried with royalty. He was all about enhancing his own position. (See Isaiah 22:15-16)

What a contrast to the story of Joseph in Genesis, who as a Jew served in the palace of the Egyptian King yet never sought to enhance his own position. He even went to prison to maintain his integrity. But not Shebna. He was all about self-exaltation. But God saw his attempts at honoring himself and declared that it would end in humiliation. And it did. A short time later he was demoted to a secretary and replaced by Eliakim who served humbly as a follower of God.

We are all tempted to promote self. We are all urged by our fleshly desires to enhance our position in the eyes of people. We all struggle with pride that drives us to make decisions based on the benefits it will bring to us and the enhancement of our image. But we must fight those desires and be humble before God, considering others better than ourselves. Jesus said, “If any one of you wants to be first in the Kingdom of God, he must first become the servant of all.” After all, if we truly believe that in Christ our position has been fully established, then what else is there to enhance?

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Wednesday, July 9, 2025

Yesterday we began a study of how we should respond to the corruption of sin in the world. We were challenged to think about responding with compassion rather than anger. But that can be very difficult when the people who are sinning are doing everything they can to defend their situation so they can continue in it. Here’s how Isaiah describes the siege of Jerusalem in chapter 22.

• The Babylonians have surrounded them.
• Their choicest valleys are filled with chariots of the enemy.
• The cavalry is at the gates of the city.
• The defenses of the city have been destroyed.
• There are breaches in the walls.

The response of the people is interesting. They are destroying anything and everything they had built in the city to reinforce the walls. They are doing everything they can to protect the lifestyle they love. But that is not the response God wanted from them. He did not ask them to defend the city – it was futile for them to attempt it because He had brought it upon them as a consequence of their sin. There was only one way they could avoid the punishment – repentance. God’s message to them was clear. “The Lord, the LORD Almighty, called you on that day to weep and to wail, to tear out your hair and put on sackcloth.” But they only wanted to protect the little world they had built for their own enjoyment.

I see that played out every day in the media and in the lives of people all around me. They do everything they can to defend their positions so they can enjoy their lifestyles. Now they have turned to attacking anyone who speaks out against what they are doing. We truly are living in the last days when the messengers of truth from Jesus Christ will be persecuted as people defend their ungodly positions.

But the people did not repent. Instead they planned one final party to satisfy the desires of their flesh. Isaiah 22:13 describes it. “But see, there is joy and revelry, slaughtering of cattle and killing of sheep, eating of meat and drinking of wine! “Let us eat and drink,” you say, “for tomorrow we die!”  

They had a chance to turn from their wicked ways and surrender to God in brokenness and humility. Instead they chose to pursue their passions one last time. When they did, they sealed their fate. God says, “Till your dying day this sin will not be atoned for.” How sad. There is a point in man’s rejection of God when God declares them to be eternally rejected by Him. They have refused to surrender to the call of the Holy Spirit for forgiveness, and for this they cannot be forgiven.

My friends, this is the culture in which we live today. But beware lest you think it is only “them” who are doing it. Let’s all check our lives as well and make sure we are not defending any positions in our lives that are not of God. Let us be holy and blameless before Him at His appearing, which I believe is coming soon.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Tuesday, July 8, 2025

I try to avoid it. I intentionally stay away from it. I have found other things to meet my need for information without turning to it. I’m talking about the national media. I made the mistake of watching a little of it this morning and now I regret it. It made me angry because there is no honor anymore, and there certainly is no moral compass.

Day after day we are bombarded with news that is intentionally slanted to promote man’s agenda over God’s authority. Then on top of it our intelligence is attacked by the preposterous political misinformation that dominates conversations. I am once again so very thankful that God is in control no matter how much man thinks he is and attempts to prove he’s worthy to be. “Praise be to Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you with great joy and without fault before His glorious presence – to the only God our Savior be glory and majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! AMEN!” (Jude 24-25)

As I read through the book of Isaiah, I can almost begin to feel about it the way I do about the media. Here we are in the twenty-second chapter already and the news is still gloom and doom: chapter after chapter of man’s rebellion against God and His coming judgment of their sin. But with careful reading there are great truths to be discovered that can help us in our daily lives. Let me share one with you from today’s passage.

This chapter is a prophecy about the fall of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonians. It would take place in 586 B.C., some 125 years after Isaiah wrote it. I want you to notice this first point about what is written. We will look at two more tomorrow.

Isaiah is heartbroken over the sin of the people and the knowledge that God has every right and intention to discipline them. In verse four he writes, “Therefore I said, “Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people.” Our first response to the tragedy of sin in people’s lives must be like Isaiah’s and like God’s – one of grief rather than anger. Anger in this case is prideful, plain and simple. When we respond with anger at another person’s sin we are essentially judging them to our own prideful advantage. Think about that carefully. There is a place for anger against sin, but not until we have sufficiently wept over their Christ-less condition that has caused it.

We must evaluate the condition of our heart in this area. Is our response to the corruption of sin in our culture, our government, or in people’s lives one that reflects the compassion of Christ?

It should be.

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Monday, July 7, 2025

Someday. We use that term in a variety of ways. “Someday I’m gonna get around to that.”  “Someday it will turn around for me.”  “Someday they will get what they have coming to them.” “Someday I’ll be able to retire.” I’m sure there are literally hundreds of other applications of the word someday. But there is a someday coming that will be like no other day. It will be some day!

Attention is drawn to that someday over 100 times in the Old Testament. Generally it is referred to as that day. And what a day it will be!

The first third of the book of Isaiah closes with several chapters of oracles against certain countries and peoples of the world who have rejected God and followed the ways of the flesh. Chapter nineteen deals with the nation of Egypt.  There are prophetic warnings in chapter 19 about their sin and there is also prophetic attention drawn to the someday that is coming. Isaiah 19:19 says, “In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border.”

There are six specific things God will do in that day:

• In that day the Egyptians will be like women. They will shudder with fear at the uplifted hand that the LORD Almighty raises against them.(Isaiah 19:16)  There is a day coming when all the sins of the nations will be judged and punished, and it will be a terrifying day.
• In that day five cities in Egypt will speak the language of Canaan and swear allegiance to the LORD Almighty. (19:18) In that day the culture will be influenced by the people of God, rather than the culture attempting to eliminate the influence of God’s people.
• In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the heart of Egypt, and a monument to the LORD at its border.(19:19) Just think – when Jesus comes in that day, the nations of the world will be politically and socially centered on Jesus Christ. Anyone who enters at the border will have their attention drawn to the Lord, and anyone who lives there will be under the authority of the Lord.
• So the LORD will make himself known to the Egyptians, and in that day they will acknowledge the LORD. They will worship with sacrifices and grain offerings; they will make vows to the LORD and keep them.(19:21) In that day there will be far more than just political allegiance to the Lord. There will be worship. The people will not be captives in their own land forced to follow an unwelcome conqueror. They will be in love with the Lord who set them free from the tyranny of sin. They will worship Him.
• In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria. The Assyrians will go to Egypt and the Egyptians to Assyria. The Egyptians and Assyrians will worship together. (19:23) In that day there the Lord will bring reconciliation between enemies. Nations and people will be brought together in the love of God and will worship the One True Living God, Jesus Christ. They will cooperate politically and socially, and there will be an end to all war.
• In that day Israel will be the third, along with Egypt and Assyria, a blessing on the earth.   The LORD Almighty will bless them, saying, “Blessed be Egypt my people, Assyria my handiwork, and Israel my inheritance.” (19:24-25) There will no longer be any aggression towards God’s chosen people Israel. All of Israel’s enemies will surrender to the power and authority of Jesus Christ and He will unite them as one. He will call those who are not Jews His people. He will reveal how He has been working in and through His enemies to fulfill His handiwork. He will affirm Israel as the people of promise and bring all the nations into His inheritance.

Someday! Let that day come soon!

Pastor John

LifeLink Devotions for Friday, July 4, 2025

Happy Independence Day!

Today we celebrate our nation’s birth. Much has been written and spoken about the Christian foundation of this nation, and much of that context is being lost in today’s abuse of the term Christian. It has become a generic term that defines anyone who believes that God and Jesus are real. But there are some facts about being a follower of Christ that are taught clearly in Scripture, and we can use those truths to determine the reality of a person’s claims.

First, no one can claim qualification for entrance into eternal life with God the Father unless they have come through Jesus Christ. John 14:6 – Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Christianity is not one of the ways to heaven, it is the only way. Any reference to revering other religions as equal options is ultimately authored by Satan himself.

Second, it is imperative to know who Jesus is. What value is faith in anything or anyone that is not worthy of faith? Secular culture has minimized Jesus to something only slightly higher than man, when in reality He is God Almighty, equal in every way with the Father. Yet through His incarnation, Jesus became God in the flesh, dwelling on earth as both God and man in their absolute fullness at once. The person who claims to be a Christian and yet denies that Jesus is the One and Only God-Man is not speaking under the influence of the Spirit of God and is under the control of Satan. First John 4:2-3 says, “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God,   but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.”

Third, anyone who uses the word Christian to define their “religious” affiliation must be able to speak clearly and truthfully about the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross. They must be able to clearly, and I might add boldly without fear of personal or political ramifications, proclaim these truths and state their unconditional belief in them:

• All people are guilty of sin before God and deserving of death by nature from the moment of their conception – Psalm 51:5 – Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Romans 3:23 – All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Romans 6:23 – The wages of sin is death…
• Jesus Christ, who knew no sin and was never guilty of sin, became our sin for us and died on the cross to pay God’s judgment of death on our behalf.  Second Corinthians 5:21 – God made him (Jesus) who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. Hebrews 9:26 – But now Christ has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. 
• Jesus rose from the dead to conquer death forever for all who believe on Him. First Corinthians 15:19-22 – If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.   But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.   For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man.   For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. Second Corinthians 4:13-14 – It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak,   because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 
• All who repent of their previous belief system and now believe in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will be transformed and no longer live according to the principles of this world. Romans 10:9 – If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Second Corinthians 5:17 – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! Colossians 2:8-10 – See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Colossians 3:1-3 –  Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 

Only if all these things are true in one’s life can they be called a Christian. Please do not be deceived by the improper use of the term “Christian” by so many today. Make sure you know what they believe and that their life and political positions reflect the truth of God’s Word.

Pastor John