God is the God of the living

God is the God of the living

BY Argie Simonis  

"I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?  God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." (Μatthew 22:32) 

Jesus said that " he that loses his life for my sake shall find it." (Matt 10:39)
We need to be conformed to the death of Christ, which means that we should follow Christ's example who is dead to sin and all its effects upon Him.  Many people focus on dying to sin, but being alive unto God comes second. It is assumed that if we will just die to sin, then life with Christ comes automatically. Physical death does not  automatically produces physical resurrection. God doesn't need dead people. He needs people who have risen from the dead spiritually. People who know who they are "In Christ." Being a victorious New Testament believer comes not out from just living for the Lord, but from letting  Christ live through me!

Grace: A license to sin?

Grace: A license to sin?

BY Argie Simonis  

"What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid." Rom 6:15 

Paul is not arguing for us to continue in sin because God loves us by grace instead of performance. But he did bring up this question because it would be a logical question from his teaching. In fact, he answered this question three times in his book (Romans 3:8; here; and 6:15). Paul had stated God’s grace in such a way that it was inevitable that someone would ask, 

                           "Can we just keep on sinning, since we are saved by grace?" 

If no one ever asks us this question then we haven’t preached the Gospel the way Paul preached it. Paul spoke this revelation of God’s grace under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost with perfect balance, yet he was still misunderstood. Therefore, those who are teaching grace but do not encounter the same arguments causing them to explain that they are not advocating a life of sin have not preached grace the way that Paul did. 

• One of two reasons why Christians don’t is because it gives the author of sin (Satan) control over us. If we sin, God still loves us, but Satan will only come into our life to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10). 
• The second reason Paul gave for holiness in our lives as believers is that when we obey sin, we yield ourselves to Satan, the author of that sin (Rom 6:16). Yielding to sin is yielding to a person: Satan.  Our actions release in us either the power of Satan or the power of God.

Praise God for His grace!

Gospel:The power of God to salvation

Gospel:The power of God to salvation

BY Argie Simonis  

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God to salvation to every one that believes." Rom 1:16                                                                                                                          

The word "Gospel" which has become a clichés today comes from the Greek word "EVAGGELION". It means "the good message" or "good news". But it actually means more than that.                                                                                                                                                           

                                             It is the "too good to be true" news!                                                                                                                                                                                              

This Greek word, as used in the Bible, highlights the means by which we receive the great benefits of our salvation. This all comes by faith in God’s grace. Any teaching that doesn’t emphasize grace as the way of receiving what Jesus provided isn’t the true Gospel. As Paul phrased it in Galatians 1:7, trying to receive from God by our own efforts is a perversion of the Gospel. Sadly that’s the condition of a great part of the church today. The Gospel is the power of God that releases the effects of salvation in our lives. Salvation is much more than just being born again. This refers to every benefit that the believer is entitled to through Jesus.                                                                                

Do you need healing? It’s in the Gospel.                                                                                                  

Do you need deliverance? Ιt’s in the Gospel.                                                                                          

Prosperity, answered prayer, joy, peace, love? They are all found through understanding and believing the Gospel. Praise God!

Plug into Jesus!

Plug into Jesus!

BY Argie Simonis  

"Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,to him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." Eph 3:20-21  

The Lord doesn’t work independent of us.If the Lord was accomplishing His will without the power that’s working in us, then things would be much better than they are. We limit what God can do, because of our unbelief (Psalms 78:41; Matthew 17:20)

It is not true that God will do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, period. He has that power, but this verse ties the use of His ability to the power that works in us. No power working in us means there will be no power of God coming through us (= no manifestation of God’s power).

Jesus told us in Acts 1:8 of the power that we would receive when the Holy Ghost comes upon us. Romans 1:16 says the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation. However, Christ is called the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:24), and in context (Christ dwelling in our hearts, Ephesians 3:17), this is Paul’s probable meaning here. 

You want power? "Plug into" Jesus today!

Is there anything too hard for God?

 Is there anything too hard for God?

BY Argie Simonis  

From birth we are trained to know our limitations. You can't have this. Don't touch that...

                                                 But God has no limits.                                       

We have an awesome God whose power is too great for our brain to understand. When we enter into the realm of the supernatural, we have to take off all the limits. We have to renew our minds with the truth that God is not a man. He can do anything. Yet many times we find ourselves wondering if our situation is too hard for the Lord. We can't see how even God can pull us through. The Lord said to Jeremiah, "Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?" (Jer. 32:27). Today, let's honor God by believing that nothing is too difficult for Him!