Newsletter: December 7, 2003 GODISFORUS.COM NEWSLETTER December 7, 2003 Volume I, Issue 7 Greetings to all! I hope everyone enjoyed this past Thanksgiving holiday and that this newsletter finds you standing firm in the grace of God! This is the seventh issue of our bi-weekly newsletter designed to give encouragement for the Christian walk and witness, and to help others better understand the website and how and it be used to evangelize the lost. Please feel free to forward any questions or comments you may have regarding the topics being discussed. You can view previous issues of the newsletter at this URL: http://www.godisforus.com/Archives.htm. OUR WALK AND WITNESS: We have been thinking about how the Holy Spirit uses the written word of God, the Bible, to accomplish the work of sanctification. In our last newsletter we discussed the washing process which takes place as we apply God's word to our hearts and lives taking action to cleanse ourselves from the sin which it reveals. In this newsletter we will look at what the Bible has to say about the renewing of our hearts and minds which also is accomplished by means of God's word. The Gospel offers the hope of forgiveness of sin and reconciliation with God together with a transformed life. Any thoughtful Christian who is observant of our world today is aware of the desperate need for a radical spiritual transformation in the hearts of people everywhere. However, the scripture always calls for the individual to take the log out of his own eye first! Every human being has been affected by sin. The question is not "has sin tainted my life" but, "to what degree has sin tainted my life". Because sin has affected all of our lives we all need to be renewed (to be made new) by God's Spirit and His word. It's my belief that scripture teaches that this renewal starts in the mind which should then lead to a transformed heart and life. Consider Paul's words: (Rom 12:2 NASB) ... do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. The key to spiritual renewal is knowledge. A knowledge of what is right and good in every sphere of life as found in God's word. The Bible teaches us how to love and serve God and others as we should so that His will is done in our lives and we can enjoy the abundant life that He desires us to have. Without the light of God's word man slips into darkness, sin, misery and self-destruction. As Paul says our minds need to be renewed first. A person needs to first know and understand what is right and good before he can begin to change. Take note of what Paul wrote to the Colossians saying: (Col 1:9-10 NASB) ... we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, {10} so that you may walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; Paul prayed that they would be filled with a knowledge of God's will SO THAT they would walk (live out their lives) in a manner pleasing to the Lord. Spiritual growth and transformation do not take place as the result of some mystical or mysterious process that happens while we are sleeping at night but occur when we take the time to learn what Gods will is from His word and then faithfully apply it to our lives over a long period of time. There are no shortcuts to spiritual growth....what you sow is what you will reap. If you want to be faithful in the matter of sanctification and experience a transformed life then you MUST spend time in God's word every day and apply what you learn to every aspect of your life Consider the following scriptures and take note of the fact that spiritual growth and prosperity are the result of a life totally focused on Gods word every day: (1 Pet 2:1-2 NASB) Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, {2} like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, (Psa 1:1-3 NASB) How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! {2} But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. {3} And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, Which yields its fruit in its season, And its leaf does not wither; And in whatever he does, he prospers. Let me encourage us all to make a renewed commitment regarding the daily study of God's word along with its application to our lives. In this way we will be faithful in the matter of sanctification and will continue to take hold of the abundant life which God desires for us to have. THE WEBSITE: Having established the inspiration of the Bible (God's Word the Bible) and learned what it teaches concerning God, this world and sin (A Biblical Worldview) we now turn our attention to God's remedy for sin in the topic "Jesus God's Son". In the introduction to this topic the reader is made aware of the section in "God's Word the Bible" which establishes the fact the Jesus is indeed God's Son in case there is a need to review this information. The three sections presented in the topic "Jesus God's Son" focus on Jesus as our savior from sin. The three sections are: 1) the Savior 2) the Great "I AM" 3) the Invitation. The first part looks at all the biblical testimony from the Old Testament prophets to the Apostles and Jesus' own teachings which establish His identity as the world's Savior from sin. The second part looks at six of the great "I AM" statements which Jesus made along with a brief commentary on how they relate to His identity as our Savior. The last section presents the invitation of Jesus for all men to come to Him and explains in detail that we are called to come into a relationship with Jesus by faith as opposed to joining a church or practicing a religion. Let me encourage you to visit this portion of the site and consider how you might use some or all of the contents as you try to evangelize those around you. http://godisforus.com/information/godsson/intro.htm Because God is For Us! Kevin McGill