The beauty of the wonderful Jesus is what attracts us. He is so lovely! Our dear Lord Jesus is a magnet, and by His attracting us, we can look away from everything unto Him.

The beauty of the wonderful Jesus is what attracts us. He is so lovely! Our dear Lord Jesus is a magnet, and by His attracting us, we can look away from everything unto Him.

What Hebrews 12:2 Says About the Source of Faith

The Lord Jesus didn’t say that our difficult situations would change for the better or suddenly be resolved. Instead, His promise to us is if we come to Him, He will give us rest—even rest for our souls.

The Lord Jesus didn’t say that our difficult situations would change for the better or suddenly be resolved. Instead, His promise to us is if we come to Him, He will give us rest—even rest for our souls.

Come to the Lord and Find Rest for Your Soul

At a world-renowned American university, a professor routinely inquired on the first day of class, “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” Usually, students would flippantly say they’d ask God for money or similar things. But on one particular occasion, a student said, “I’d ask God, ‘What’s the purpose of my life?’”

At a world-renowned American university, a professor routinely inquired on the first day of class, “If you could ask God one question, what would it be?” Usually, students would flippantly say they’d ask God for money or similar things. But on one particular occasion, a student said, “I’d ask God, ‘What’s the purpose of my life?’”

The Big Question: What's the Meaning of Life?

In order to contact God, who now is the Spirit, we must know where He dwells. Our human spirit is the residence of the Holy Spirit.

In order to contact God, who now is the Spirit, we must know where He dwells. Our human spirit is the residence of the Holy Spirit.

The Human Spirit: The Residence of the Holy Spirit

It’s not doing things for the Lord that keeps us in a proper relationship with Him. After all, the church in Ephesus did many good things for the Lord, but He had one thing against them: they had left their first love. Loving Him with our first love is paramount.

It’s not doing things for the Lord that keeps us in a proper relationship with Him. After all, the church in Ephesus did many good things for the Lord, but He had one thing against them: they had left their first love. Loving Him with our first love is paramount.

What Kind of Love Does the Lord Want from Us?

We know consistent physical exercise keeps our body fit and contributes to our overall well-being. And we also know mental exercise like reading and solving crossword puzzles helps our mind stay sharp. But did you know that as Christians, we need an additional kind of exercise? For a healthy Christian life, we need spiritual exercise.

We know consistent physical exercise keeps our body fit and contributes to our overall well-being. And we also know mental exercise like reading and solving crossword puzzles helps our mind stay sharp. But did you know that as Christians, we need an additional kind of exercise? For a healthy Christian life, we need spiritual exercise.

Do You Know How to Exercise Your Spirit?

Listen to this inspiring testimony from a BfA staff member who has experienced much joy from sharing the gospel with those around him.

Listen to this inspiring testimony from a BfA staff member who has experienced much joy from sharing the gospel with those around him.

The Joy of Sharing the Gospel

We all go through high and low points in our lives. But when faced with the lows—the puzzling and difficult situations—what do we do? How do we react? Do we wish things were different?

We all go through high and low points in our lives. But when faced with the lows—the puzzling and difficult situations—what do we do? How do we react? Do we wish things were different?

The Secret of Sufficiency

See how praying to God is simply to converse with Him in a genuine, open way.

See how praying to God is simply to converse with Him in a genuine, open way.

Praying by Conversing with God

In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul says, “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.” What is the gift of God in us, and what does it mean to fan it into flame?

In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul says, “I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.” What is the gift of God in us, and what does it mean to fan it into flame?

What Does It Mean to Fan into Flame the Gift of God?

Bibles for America (BfA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to give away free copies of the New Testament Recovery Version and Christian books throughout the United States. The goal of our podcast is to help you to understand the Bible and to know God in a deeper way. To order your free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version visit bfa.org.

Praise the Lord for His rich speaking through this podcast.  It has been such a help to me and my family as we have been brought back to Him.  Amen!

Full of riches

Bibles for America (BfA) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to give away free copies of the New Testament Recovery Version and Christian books throughout the United States. The goal of our podcast is to help you to understand the Bible and to know God in a deeper way. To order your free copy of the New Testament Recovery Version visit <a href="http://bfa.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">bfa.org</a>.

Bibles for America Podcast

One of the authors whose books we give away is Watchman Nee. Have you ever wondered why we chose this author? And who is Watchman Nee? In this podcast, we’ll give you a brief biographical sketch of Watchman Nee. The testimonies of believers can be truly edifying and helpful, and more particularly, the testimony of Watchman Nee can give us a sense of his depth as a believer and thereby increase our appreciation for the ministry in his books. First, let’s consider the backdrop to Watchman Nee’s testimony. Starting in the early 1800s, God put a calling into the hearts of many Western Christians to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to China. Through much sacrifice, these missionaries gave themselves to preach the gospel in a place where it hadn’t gone before. As a result, slowly but surely, people who had previously never heard the name of Jesus were brought to Christ the Savior. Then in 1900, during the violence and upheaval of the Boxer Rebellion, Chinese believers were persecuted and martyred. Many missionaries were also killed. In the aftermath of such sacrifice and loss, Christians in the West persevered in their burden for China and continued to offer up fervent prayers for its people. In the 1920s, the Lord answered these prayers and began to call young people to Himself in China. The gospel reached the educated circles, and many college students were brought to Christ. One hundred years of missionary work and sacrifice, followed by years of desperate prayer, had paved the way for the Lord to raise up a whole generation of young Chinese Christians. It was from among this generation that the Lord called Watchman Nee. Watchman Nee was born into a Christian home in China, but he hadn’t received Christ as his Savior. As an educated young man, he considered Christian preaching to be the lowest occupation on earth. He was very intelligent, very capable, and had big plans for his future. In 1920, when he was 17 years old, Watchman Nee attended his parents’ church where a well-known evangelist came to preach the gospel. Many in the congregation believed in the Lord and were saved right then. But Watchman Nee was not, for though he was moved by the gospel, he also realized that if he received Christ as his Savior, that meant he would also receive Christ as his Lord and serve Him for the rest of his life. For a young man with such capacity and such dreams as Nee, this realization created great inner turmoil. Not long after hearing the gospel preached that day, however, Nee was alone in his room and recognized that he had no peace. Troubled, he was unable to sleep, so he knelt down to pray. One after another, his sins came before him. He saw that he was a sinner. He also saw a wounded Savior on the cross, with open arms waiting to receive him. Overwhelmed by such love, Nee wept. He confessed his sinfulness to the Lord and immediately felt the burden of sin lifted. For the first time in his life he felt real peace and joy. His immediate and willing response was to consecrate himself to the Lord for His service for the rest of his life. After his salvation, Watchman Nee immediately sought to know the Lord Jesus in the Word of God and through classic Christian books and the spiritual writings of other believers. He read voraciously and, blessed with a keen mind, was able to remember what he read. In a short time, he himself began to write on matters of the Christian life in magazines, tracts, and books. He also translated important Christian works from English into Chinese for others’ benefit. In addition to carrying out his ministry through writing and publishing, Nee also gave spoken messages in various places in China. In 1938 he gave messages in Europe that eventually were published as The Normal Christian Life. Nee was manifested as a particular gift from God to the Body of Christ, ministering from the Word in a country that had long been deprived of not only the basic truths in the Bible, but also the deeper truths revealed in God’s Word. Through his ministry, the Lord raised up hundreds of believers and churches in China. Not only so, countless other believers have received light and spiritual nourishment from God’s Word through Nee’s written ministry. Even now, the writings of Watchman Nee continue to have great impact on Christians all over the world. Nee was arrested by the Chinese government for his faith in 1952. He remained imprisoned for 20 years, steadfast in his faith until his death in a labor camp in 1972. In 2009, the United States Congress recognized Nee for his devotion to his faith and his contributions to Christianity worldwide. After Nee’s death, a guard found these words he’d written on a piece of paper in his room: “Christ is the Son of God who died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ.” The books Bibles for America gives away for free were chosen because of the tremendous help we ourselves have received from them and other writings by the authors, Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. We have greatly benefitted from the light and life in their ministry, and our ardent desire is for our fellow believers to have the opportunity to receive the same help that we have. It’s beyond the scope this podcast to get into the full details of the biographies of these two men of God, which are truly edifying. But we hope the few facts brought out in this podcast about Watchman Nee’s life will inspire you, edify you, and lead you into the wonderful ministry found in his books.

One of the authors whose books we give away is Watchman Nee. Have you ever wondered why we chose this author? And who is Watchman Nee? In this podcast, we’ll give you a brief biographical sketch of Watchman Nee. The testimonies of believers can be truly edifying and helpful, and more particularly, the testimony of Watchman Nee can give us a sense of his depth as a believer and thereby increase our appreciation for the ministry in his books. First, let’s consider the backdrop to Watchman Nee’s testimony. Starting in the early 1800s, God put a calling into the hearts of many Western Christians to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to China. Through much sacrifice, these missionaries gave themselves to preach the gospel in a place where it hadn’t gone before. As a result, slowly but surely, people who had previously never heard the name of Jesus were brought to Christ the Savior. Then in 1900, during the violence and upheaval of the Boxer Rebellion, Chinese believers were persecuted and martyred. Many missionaries were also killed. In the aftermath of such sacrifice and loss, Christians in the West persevered in their burden for China and continued to offer up fervent prayers for its people. In the 1920s, the Lord answered these prayers and began to call young people to Himself in China. The gospel reached the educated circles, and many college students were brought to Christ. One hundred years of missionary work and sacrifice, followed by years of desperate prayer, had paved the way for the Lord to raise up a whole generation of young Chinese Christians. It was from among this generation that the Lord called Watchman Nee. Watchman Nee was born into a Christian home in China, but he hadn’t received Christ as his Savior. As an educated young man, he considered Christian preaching to be the lowest occupation on earth. He was very intelligent, very capable, and had big plans for his future. In 1920, when he was 17 years old, Watchman Nee attended his parents’ church where a well-known evangelist came to preach the gospel. Many in the congregation believed in the Lord and were saved right then. But Watchman Nee was not, for though he was moved by the gospel, he also realized that if he received Christ as his Savior, that meant he would also receive Christ as his Lord and serve Him for the rest of his life. For a young man with such capacity and such dreams as Nee, this realization created great inner turmoil. Not long after hearing the gospel preached that day, however, Nee was alone in his room and recognized that he had no peace. Troubled, he was unable to sleep, so he knelt down to pray. One after another, his sins came before him. He saw that he was a sinner. He also saw a wounded Savior on the cross, with open arms waiting to receive him. Overwhelmed by such love, Nee wept. He confessed his sinfulness to the Lord and immediately felt the burden of sin lifted. For the first time in his life he felt real peace and joy. His immediate and willing response was to consecrate himself to the Lord for His service for the rest of his life. After his salvation, Watchman Nee immediately sought to know the Lord Jesus in the Word of God and through classic Christian books and the spiritual writings of other believers. He read voraciously and, blessed with a keen mind, was able to remember what he read. In a short time, he himself began to write on matters of the Christian life in magazines, tracts, and books. He also translated important Christian works from English into Chinese for others’ benefit. In addition to carrying out his ministry through writing and publishing, Nee also gave spoken messages in various places in China. In 1938 he gave messages in Europe that eventually were published as <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/christian-experience-set/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Normal Christian Life</a>. Nee was manifested as a particular gift from God to the Body of Christ, ministering from the Word in a country that had long been deprived of not only the basic truths in the Bible, but also the deeper truths revealed in God’s Word. Through his ministry, the Lord raised up hundreds of believers and churches in China. Not only so, countless other believers have received light and spiritual nourishment from God’s Word through Nee’s written ministry. Even now, the writings of Watchman Nee continue to have great impact on Christians all over the world. Nee was arrested by the Chinese government for his faith in 1952. He remained imprisoned for 20 years, steadfast in his faith until his death in a labor camp in 1972. In 2009, the <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2009-07-31/html/CREC-2009-07-31-pt1-PgE2110-2.htm" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">United States Congress recognized Nee</a> for his devotion to his faith and his contributions to Christianity worldwide. After Nee’s death, a guard found these words he’d written on a piece of paper in his room: “Christ is the Son of God who died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the universe. I die because of my belief in Christ.” The books Bibles for America gives away for free were chosen because of the tremendous help we ourselves have received from them and other writings by the authors, Watchman Nee and Witness Lee. We have greatly benefitted from the light and life in their ministry, and our ardent desire is for our fellow believers to have the opportunity to receive the same help that we have. It’s beyond the scope this podcast to get into the full details of the biographies of these two men of God, which are truly edifying. But we hope the few facts brought out in this podcast about Watchman Nee’s life will inspire you, edify you, and lead you into the wonderful ministry found in his books.

Author Spotlight: Who Is Watchman Nee? 

In Philippians 4:6, we’re given a seemingly impossible command: “In nothing be anxious.” Each of us has a long list of anxiety-inducing circumstances—relationship issues, financial woes, naughty children, pressure at work, no work, and so on. And in addition to our personal life, the world today seems to manufacture large-scale anxiety-inducing events—economic uncertainty, war, social upheaval—delivered to us on a conveyor belt of 24-hour news coverage. Is God’s command outdated or unreasonable, given so many difficulties? God’s Word is unchanging, and its truth stands, uninfluenced by circumstances and changing times. So as believers, we have to take this command seriously. But how can we obey such a command? How is it possible not to be anxious in anything? We need to look at what precedes this command and what follows it. One principle of studying the Bible is to never isolate a verse and interpret it on its own. Context is important. What precedes “In nothing be anxious” is Philippians 4:5, one of the most comforting assurances in the entire Bible: “The Lord is near.” This fact applies to the Lord’s coming back, certainly, but it also applies to His presence with us today. He is near to us right now. In fact, He is as near as can be. He is within us, in our human spirit. It’s impossible to be anxious in nothing under our own power. God knows this and has no expectation for us to carry out this command by ourselves. “The Lord is near” proves that with the Lord’s demand comes His supply to meet that demand. Our tendency, however, is to focus on the demand rather than the supply. We read, “In nothing be anxious,” and we get anxious trying not to be anxious. Instead, we should focus on the supply afforded to us by the Lord to meet His demand, which is His very presence. On our own, we see the command as unreasonable, but when we recognize the Lord’s presence with us, it’s our anxiety that becomes unreasonable, since He is near and ready to help us. If we realize the Lord’s nearness, we’ll also realize there’s no need for us to be troubled. So preceding the command, we have the word telling us that the Lord is near and ready to help us. But what about our list of burdens that cause us to be anxious? How do we transfer these cares to Him? We have to see that what follows the command in Philippians 4:6 is the way to carry out that command: “In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” This verse tells us that in everything—in every matter, every circumstance, every situation—we can pray and petition with thanksgiving, and let our requests be made known to God. The notes in the Recovery Version are helpful in applying this verse: The note on prayer reads: “Prayer is general, having worship and fellowship as its essence; petition is special, being for particular needs.” And the note on thanksgiving says: “Both our prayer and our petition should be accompanied by our giving thanks to the Lord.” The Lord is near, and by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, we can simply tell Him what we’re going through. We can let Him know our needs and specific requests and be saved from our cares. With the Lord nearby, there’s no need for us to carry our burdens by ourselves. Watchman Nee, a Bible teacher and author, once used the illustration of three construction workers passing bricks up some stairs. One man passes bricks from the first level up to the next, and the second man passes them from his level up to the next. All goes smoothly as long as the bricks keep moving. But if the second man stops passing his bricks along, he’ll soon be crushed by the increasing weight of the load. We’re often in this second man’s position. All day long we receive cares, troubles, and burdens. And when we hold on to them, we’re soon overwhelmed by the weight of anxiety. What should we do? As soon as we receive the cares and feel threatened under their weight, we must pass them on to a higher level. We can simply turn to the Lord in prayer at any time in the day to let Him know what we’re going through, and He’ll receive our burdens. What a wonderful provision! How thankful we should be! We can obey the command in Philippians 4:6—“In nothing be anxious”—by fulfilling the conditions that follow—“In everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” The result of such prayer is that we enjoy the promise of peace presented in the next verse, Philippians 4:7: “And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” The notes in the Recovery Version help us see how this peace becomes ours and how it guards us from anxiety: The note on peace says: “The result of practicing fellowship with God in prayer is that we enjoy the peace of God. The peace of God is actually God as peace (v. 9) infused into us through our fellowship with Him by prayer, as the counterpoise to troubles and the antidote to anxiety (John 16:33).” The note on guard tells us: “Or, mount guard over. The God of peace patrols before our hearts and thoughts in Christ, keeping us calm and tranquil.” As we bring our concerns and burdens to God in prayer with petition, we enjoy fellowship with God. The result of such communing with God is that the peace of God is imparted into us, quieting all our anxiety. His peace even patrols over us, standing like a guard before our hearts and thoughts, keeping us from anything that might disturb our calm in Him. The Lord’s command is clear: In nothing be anxious. And His word and promise are also clear: The Lord is near, and by making our requests known to God through prayer and petition, the peace of God will guard our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus. Remembering His nearness, we can fellowship with the Lord in prayer, giving Him all our cares. When we do this, we fulfill His command spontaneously by enjoying His promised peace infused into us through our prayer.

In <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=6304&amp;lvid=6304" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Philippians 4:6</a>, we’re given a seemingly impossible command: “In nothing be anxious.” Each of us has a long list of anxiety-inducing circumstances—relationship issues, financial woes, naughty children, pressure at work, no work, and so on. And in addition to our personal life, the world today seems to manufacture large-scale anxiety-inducing events—economic uncertainty, war, social upheaval—delivered to us on a conveyor belt of 24-hour news coverage. Is God’s command outdated or unreasonable, given so many difficulties? God’s Word is unchanging, and its truth stands, uninfluenced by circumstances and changing times. So as believers, we have to take this command seriously. But how can we obey such a command? How is it possible not to be anxious in anything? We need to look at what precedes this command and what follows it. One principle of studying the Bible is to never isolate a verse and interpret it on its own. Context is important. What precedes “In nothing be anxious” is <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=6303&amp;lvid=6303" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Philippians 4:5</a>, one of the most comforting assurances in the entire Bible: “The Lord is near.” This fact applies to the Lord’s coming back, certainly, but it also applies to His presence with us today. He is near to us right now. In fact, He is as near as can be. He is within us, in <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/what-is-the-human-spirit-in-the-bible/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">our human spirit</a>. It’s impossible to be anxious in nothing under <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/finding-the-power-supply-for-our-christian-life/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">our own power</a>. God knows this and has no expectation for us to carry out this command by ourselves. “The Lord is near” proves that with the Lord’s demand comes His supply to meet that demand. Our tendency, however, is to focus on the demand rather than the supply. We read, “In nothing be anxious,” and we get anxious trying not to be anxious. Instead, we should focus on the supply afforded to us by the Lord to meet His demand, which is His very presence. On our own, we see the command as unreasonable, but when we recognize the Lord’s presence with us, it’s our anxiety that becomes unreasonable, since He is near and ready to help us. If we realize the Lord’s nearness, we’ll also realize there’s no need for us to be troubled. So preceding the command, we have the word telling us that the Lord is near and ready to help us. But what about our list of burdens that cause us to be anxious? How do we transfer these cares to Him? We have to see that what follows the command in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=6304&amp;lvid=6304" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Philippians 4:6</a> is the way to carry out that command: “In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” This verse tells us that in everything—in every matter, every circumstance, every situation—we can pray and petition with thanksgiving, and let our requests be made known to God. The notes in the Recovery Version are helpful in applying this verse: The note on prayer reads: “Prayer is general, having worship and fellowship as its essence; petition is special, being for particular needs.” And the note on thanksgiving says: “Both our prayer and our petition should be accompanied by our giving thanks to the Lord.” The Lord is near, and by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, we can simply tell Him what we’re going through. We can let Him know our needs and specific requests and be saved from our cares. With the Lord nearby, there’s no need for us to carry our burdens by ourselves. Watchman Nee, a Bible teacher and <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/order/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">author</a>, once used the illustration of three construction workers passing bricks up some stairs. One man passes bricks from the first level up to the next, and the second man passes them from his level up to the next. All goes smoothly as long as the bricks keep moving. But if the second man stops passing his bricks along, he’ll soon be crushed by the increasing weight of the load. We’re often in this second man’s position. All day long we receive cares, troubles, and burdens. And when we hold on to them, we’re soon overwhelmed by the weight of anxiety. What should we do? As soon as we receive the cares and feel threatened under their weight, we must pass them on to a higher level. We can simply <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/private-prayer-life/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">turn to the Lord in prayer</a> at any time in the day to let Him know what we’re going through, and He’ll receive our burdens. What a wonderful provision! How thankful we should be! We can obey the command in Philippians 4:6—“In nothing be anxious”—by fulfilling the conditions that follow—“In everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” The result of such prayer is that we enjoy the promise of peace presented in the next verse, <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=6305&amp;lvid=6305" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Philippians 4:7</a>: “And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” The notes in the Recovery Version help us see how this peace becomes ours and how it guards us from anxiety: The note on peace says: “The result of practicing fellowship with God in prayer is that we enjoy the peace of God. The peace of God is actually God as peace (<a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=6307&amp;lvid=6307&amp;ol=on" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">v. 9</a>) infused into us through our fellowship with Him by prayer, as the counterpoise to troubles and the antidote to anxiety (<a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=3615&amp;lvid=3615&amp;ol=on" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John 16:33</a>).” The note on guard tells us: “Or, mount guard over. The God of peace patrols before our hearts and thoughts in Christ, keeping us calm and tranquil.” As we bring our concerns and burdens to God in prayer with petition, we enjoy fellowship with God. The result of such communing with God is that the peace of God is imparted into us, quieting all our anxiety. His peace even patrols over us, standing like a guard before our hearts and thoughts, keeping us from anything that might disturb our calm in Him. The Lord’s command is clear: In nothing be anxious. And His word and promise are also clear: The Lord is near, and by making our requests known to God through prayer and petition, the peace of God will guard our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus. Remembering His nearness, we can fellowship with the Lord in prayer, giving Him all our cares. When we do this, we fulfill His command spontaneously by enjoying His promised peace infused into us through our prayer.

What Philippians 4:6 Teaches Us about How to Deal with Anxiety as Christians

In our podcast on “The Best Time of the Day to Spend with the Lord Jesus,” we discussed the benefits of having a habit of spending morning time with the Lord. In this podcast we’ll discuss some helpful points for building up this healthy spiritual habit. First, being motivated is key to building up any good habit. And knowing the advantages of a particular habit positively motivates us. Likewise, knowing the disadvantages of not having that habit also motivates us. For instance, we know regular—not occasional—exercise helps us feel better, work more efficiently, and even live longer. Keeping these positive benefits in mind motivates us to get off our chairs, get active and moving, and persevere, especially when we don’t feel like exercising. As another example, we know we’ll have dental problems if we don’t regularly brush and floss. So we floss, not because we enjoy it, but because the negative outcome if we don’t encourages us to. Similarly, habitually spending personal time with the Lord Jesus each morning positively affects our spiritual life and our daily living. When we enjoy Him and His Word in the morning, we’re nourished and supplied with His life to face the challenges of the day. And by being nourished, we’ll grow in the life of Christ. But not having this daily habit affects us negatively. Without being nourished regularly, it’s difficult to maintain our vitality and joy. And when we’re weak from a lack of spiritual nourishment, we succumb to temptations more easily. Our personal knowing of Christ and our growth in His life are hindered. Next, a habit is something that’s part of your life; it’s a regular practice. If you do something only occasionally, it’s not a habit. Forming a habit takes time and repeated practice, and in the process, sometimes we fail. But when we remember that it takes repeated practice, our occasional lapses won’t overly discourage us. We’ll just pick up our practice again afterward. To establish the habit of spending time with the Lord every morning is no different. It takes time and repeated practice, and restarting after our lapses. So, here are some practical pointers for developing this habit: First, spend time to pray about this matter. The Lord wants to have a personal relationship with us and will surely answer our prayers about this. He will faithfully remind us of our desire and intention to build this habit. We can pray, “Lord Jesus, I really want to start my day with You, not other things. Lord, supply me with grace in the morning to put everything else aside so I can be with You first.” Praying about this opens the way for the Lord to be the grace we need to build this healthy habit morning after morning. Second, go to bed a little earlier so you can get up earlier in the morning to have time to be with the Lord. Burning the candle at both ends—staying up very late and trying to get up early enough to have this time—usually results in failure and discouragement. But by planning ahead this way, you’ll have specific time carved out to be with the Lord each morning. Third, keep in mind that forming a lifelong habit takes time and practice. When you fail, don’t give up. You can simply start afresh the next day because, as Lamentations 3:22-23 says, the Lord’s mercy is new to us every morning. Just take one day at a time. Next, determine the least distracting way for you to read the Bible. For instance, some find a printed copy of the Bible is better for them than a digital one during this time since email, news, and texts are all just a click away, and we can easily be distracted by things on our digital devices. Especially when starting out, it’s good to minimize distractions where we can. Finally, begin by aiming for a short time each morning. This is easier and more realistic than trying to go from spending zero minutes with the Lord to spending sixty. After you establish a shorter time first, say ten minutes, you can add more time. As you taste the joy of being with the Lord in the morning, you’ll spontaneously want to add more time, building up to perhaps a solid twenty minutes. And as you go on, if you have more time, you can spend more time. It’s up to you. Building up the habit of spending time with the Lord each morning is a worthwhile endeavor that benefits us for our entire life. For help on what to do during this morning time with the Lord, keep an eye out for an upcoming podcast on “How to Spend Time with the Lord Jesus in the Morning.”

In our podcast on “<a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/the-best-time-of-day-to-spend-with-the-lord-jesus/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Best Time of the Day to Spend with the Lord Jesus</a>,” we discussed the benefits of having a habit of spending morning time with the Lord. In this podcast we’ll discuss some helpful points for building up this healthy spiritual habit. First, being motivated is key to building up any good habit. And knowing the advantages of a particular habit positively motivates us. Likewise, knowing the disadvantages of not having that habit also motivates us. For instance, we know regular—not occasional—exercise helps us feel better, work more efficiently, and even live longer. Keeping these positive benefits in mind motivates us to get off our chairs, get active and moving, and persevere, especially when we don’t feel like exercising. As another example, we know we’ll have dental problems if we don’t regularly brush and floss. So we floss, not because we enjoy it, but because the negative outcome if we don’t encourages us to. Similarly, habitually spending personal time with the Lord Jesus each morning positively affects our spiritual life and our daily living. When we enjoy Him and His Word in the morning, we’re nourished and supplied with His life to face the challenges of the day. And by being nourished, we’ll grow in the life of Christ. But not having this daily habit affects us negatively. Without being nourished regularly, it’s difficult to maintain our vitality and joy. And when we’re weak from a lack of spiritual nourishment, we succumb to temptations more easily. Our personal knowing of Christ and our growth in His life are hindered. Next, a habit is something that’s part of your life; it’s a regular practice. If you do something only occasionally, it’s not a habit. Forming a habit takes time and repeated practice, and in the process, sometimes we fail. But when we remember that it takes repeated practice, our occasional lapses won’t overly discourage us. We’ll just pick up our practice again afterward. To establish the habit of spending time with the Lord every morning is no different. It takes time and repeated practice, and restarting after our lapses. So, here are some practical pointers for developing this habit: First, spend time to pray about this matter. The Lord wants to have a personal relationship with us and will surely answer our prayers about this. He will faithfully remind us of our desire and intention to build this habit. We can pray, “Lord Jesus, I really want to start my day with You, not other things. Lord, supply me with grace in the morning to put everything else aside so I can be with You first.” Praying about this opens the way for the Lord to be the grace we need to build this healthy habit morning after morning. Second, go to bed a little earlier so you can get up earlier in the morning to have time to be with the Lord. Burning the candle at both ends—staying up very late and trying to get up early enough to have this time—usually results in failure and discouragement. But by planning ahead this way, you’ll have specific time carved out to be with the Lord each morning. Third, keep in mind that forming a lifelong habit takes time and practice. When you fail, don’t give up. You can simply start afresh the next day because, as Lamentations 3:22-23 says, the Lord’s mercy is new to us every morning. Just take one day at a time. Next, determine the least distracting way for you to read the Bible. For instance, some find a printed copy of the Bible is better for them than a digital one during this time since email, news, and texts are all just a click away, and we can easily be distracted by things on our digital devices. Especially when starting out, it’s good to minimize distractions where we can. Finally, begin by aiming for a short time each morning. This is easier and more realistic than trying to go from spending zero minutes with the Lord to spending sixty. After you establish a shorter time first, say ten minutes, you can add more time. As you taste the joy of being with the Lord in the morning, you’ll spontaneously want to add more time, building up to perhaps a solid twenty minutes. And as you go on, if you have more time, you can spend more time. It’s up to you. Building up the habit of spending time with the Lord each morning is a worthwhile endeavor that benefits us for our entire life. For help on what to do during this morning time with the Lord, keep an eye out for an upcoming podcast on “<a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/how-to-spend-time-with-jesus-in-the-morning/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">How to Spend Time with the Lord Jesus in the Morning</a>.”

How to Build up the Habit of Spending Time with the Lord Jesus in the Morning

In both a world filled with turmoil and in our own lives, is it possible to have inner peace? It is if we have the key.

In both a world filled with turmoil and in our own lives, is it possible to have inner peace? It is if we have the key.

The Key to True Inner Peace

The disciples found peace in the stormy sea by taking Jesus into their boat. Today, we can find peace by taking Jesus into our troubled lives.

The disciples found peace in the stormy sea by taking Jesus into their boat. Today, we can find peace by taking Jesus into our troubled lives.

New Video: Is Jesus in Your “Boat”?

Although we believed in the Lord Jesus and received Him as our Savior, at times we may have wondered, “How do I know I’m saved?” Sometimes we feel we’re definitely saved; at other times, we’re not so sure. When we’re tossed back and forth between certainty and uncertainty, it’s difficult for us to progress in our Christian life. But we don’t have to be unsure, since God provides three clear ways for us to have the full assurance of salvation. In this podcast we’ll discuss these ways. The first way we can know we’re saved is that the Bible says so. We have to realize that the Bible isn’t an ordinary book; it’s the speaking of the living God Himself. And God does not lie, so we can absolutely believe, trust, and rely on His Word. First John 5:13 says this: “I have written these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life, to you who believe into the name of the Son of God.” This verse shows us God doesn’t want us to be unsure about our salvation. We have something in writing—the Word of God—and by these written words we can know we’re really saved. God wants us to be assured of our salvation by His written Word. Note 1 on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version speaks about the assurance of salvation we can have through God’s Word: “The written words of the Scriptures are the assurance to the believers, who believe into the name of the Son of God, that they have eternal life. Our believing to receive eternal life is the fact; the words of the Holy Writings are the assurance concerning this fact—they are the title deed to our eternal salvation. By them we are assured and have the pledge that as long as we believe into the name of the Son of God, we have eternal life.” We have a pledge concerning our salvation! Our “title deed” is the Word of God. John 3:16 is another word we can be assured by: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.” This word tells us that when we believe into Jesus Christ, we’re saved; we have eternal life and we will not perish. We’re saved when believe in Him and receive Him as our Savior. This is God’s unchanging and reliable Word. Relying on the facts in God’s Word, as opposed to our own feelings or deductions, is one strong way we can be assured we’re really saved. A second way we can be sure we’re saved is through the Spirit. God gave us two wonderful gifts: the Bible, which is something outside of us, and His Spirit, who is inside us. Both testify that when we believe in Jesus, we’re saved eternally. When we were born again by believing in Jesus, the Spirit came into our spirit to live in us forever. Romans 8:16 tells us clearly of these two spirits: “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” The Holy Spirit witnesses deep within us, in our spirit, that we are truly saved. Even if we doubt this and say, “I don’t think I’m a child of God,” the Spirit within us witnesses to confirm that we are. One reason we may wonder whether we’re saved may be because we don’t know how to experience this witnessing of the Holy Spirit with our spirit. Instead, we may rely on our fluctuating feelings or our doubting mind to assure us we’re saved. But the key to experiencing this witnessing is to realize that it’s with our spirit, which is deeper than our emotions or our mind. To help us experience this witnessing of the Spirit, listen to 1 Corinthians 12:3: “No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit.” Note 3 on this verse explains how saying, “Jesus is Lord” is crucial: “This indicates that when we say with a proper spirit, ‘Jesus is Lord!’ we are in the Holy Spirit. Hence, to call on the Lord Jesus is the way to participate in, to enjoy, and to experience the Holy Spirit.” Whenever we’re doubting our salvation, we can say aloud, “Jesus is Lord!” As we declare this, we’re in the Holy Spirit, not in our questioning mind or our fluctuating emotions, and the Spirit in our spirit witnesses and assures us that we most certainly are children of God. In addition to the Word of God and the Spirit in us, we can know we’re saved because we have a genuine love for our fellow Christians, even for those who are very different from ourselves. This love isn’t something we had before we were saved, and it’s not something we manufacture after we’re saved. It’s the spontaneous result of our receiving the life of God at our regeneration. The apostle John in 1 John 3:14 said, “We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers.” Note 1 explains the relationship of life and love in this verse: “Death is of the devil, God’s enemy, Satan, signified by the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which brings death; life is of God, the source of life, signified by the tree of life, which issues in life (Gen. 2:9, 16-17). Death and life are not only of two sources, Satan and God; they are also two essences, two elements, and two spheres. To pass out of death into life is to pass out of the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of death into the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of life. This took place in us at our regeneration. We know this, i.e., have the inner consciousness of it, because we love the brothers. Love (the love of God) toward the brothers is strong evidence of this. Faith in the Lord is the way for us to pass out of death into life; love toward the brothers is the evidence that we have passed out of death into life. To have faith is to receive the eternal life; to love is to live by the eternal life and express it.” This love in us for our brothers in the Lord is evidence to us that we’re genuinely saved. Once we receive Christ as our Savior, we have such wonderful assurances of our salvation in the written word of the Bible, the Spirit witnessing with our spirit, and a love for our brothers in the Lord. Thank God we can know with certainty that we’re saved eternally and that we’re truly God’s children! With this assurance as our solid foundation, we can have a joyful Christian life and go on to experience Christ and grow in Him.

Although we believed in the Lord Jesus and received Him as our Savior, at times we may have wondered, “How do I know I’m saved?” Sometimes we feel we’re definitely saved; at other times, we’re not so sure. When we’re tossed back and forth between certainty and uncertainty, it’s difficult for us to progress in our Christian life. But we don’t have to be unsure, since God provides three clear ways for us to have the full assurance of salvation. In this podcast we’ll discuss these ways. The first way we can know we’re saved is that the Bible says so. We have to realize that <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/bibles-source-god-or-man/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">the Bible isn’t an ordinary book</a>; it’s the speaking of the living God Himself. And God does not lie, so we can absolutely believe, trust, and rely on His Word. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=7493&amp;lvid=7493" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">First John 5:13</a> says this: “I have written these things to you that you may know that you have eternal life, to you who believe into the name of the Son of God.” This verse shows us God doesn’t want us to be unsure about our salvation. We have something in writing—the Word of God—and by these written words we can know we’re really saved. God wants us to be assured of our salvation by His written Word. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=8451" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Note 1</a> on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version speaks about the assurance of salvation we can have through God’s Word: “The written words of the Scriptures are the assurance to the believers, who believe into the name of the Son of God, that they have eternal life. Our believing to receive eternal life is the fact; the words of the Holy Writings are the assurance concerning this fact—they are the title deed to our eternal salvation. By them we are assured and have the pledge that as long as we believe into the name of the Son of God, we have eternal life.” We have a pledge concerning our salvation! Our “title deed” is the Word of God. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=2992&amp;lvid=2992" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">John 3:16</a> is another word we can be assured by: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that everyone who believes into Him would not perish, but would have eternal life.” This word tells us that when we believe into Jesus Christ, we’re saved; we have eternal life and we will not perish. We’re saved when believe in Him and receive Him as our Savior. This is God’s unchanging and reliable Word. Relying on the facts in God’s Word, as opposed to our own feelings or deductions, is one strong way we can be assured we’re really saved. A second way we can be sure we’re saved is through the Spirit. God gave us two wonderful gifts: the Bible, which is something outside of us, and His Spirit, who is inside us. Both testify that when we believe in Jesus, we’re saved eternally. When we were <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/born-again/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">born again</a> by believing in Jesus, the Spirit came into <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/what-is-the-human-spirit-in-the-bible/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">our spirit</a> to live in us forever. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=4988&amp;lvid=4988" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Romans 8:16</a> tells us clearly of these two spirits: “The Spirit Himself witnesses with our spirit that we are children of God.” The Holy Spirit witnesses deep within us, in our spirit, that we are truly saved. Even if we doubt this and say, “I don’t think I’m a child of God,” the Spirit within us witnesses to confirm that we are. One reason we may wonder whether we’re saved may be because we don’t know how to experience this witnessing of the Holy Spirit with our spirit. Instead, we may rely on our fluctuating feelings or our doubting mind to assure us we’re saved. But the key to experiencing this witnessing is to realize that it’s with our spirit, which is deeper than our emotions or our mind. To help us experience this witnessing of the Spirit, listen to <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=5493&amp;lvid=5493" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">1 Corinthians 12:3</a>: “No one can say, Jesus is Lord! except in the Holy Spirit.” <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=4514" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Note 3</a> on this verse explains how saying, “Jesus is Lord” is crucial: “This indicates that when we say with a proper spirit, ‘Jesus is Lord!’ we are in the Holy Spirit. Hence, to call on the Lord Jesus is the way to participate in, to enjoy, and to experience the Holy Spirit.” Whenever we’re doubting our salvation, we can say aloud, “Jesus is Lord!” As we declare this, we’re in the Holy Spirit, not in our questioning mind or our fluctuating emotions, and the Spirit in our spirit witnesses and assures us that we most certainly are children of God. In addition to the Word of God and the Spirit in us, we can know we’re saved because we have a genuine love for our fellow Christians, even for those who are very different from ourselves. This love isn’t something we had before we were saved, and it’s not something we manufacture after we’re saved. It’s the spontaneous result of our receiving the life of God <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/what-happens-when-person-gets-saved/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">at our regeneration</a>. The apostle John in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/BibleVerses.asp?fvid=7449&amp;lvid=7449&amp;q=love%2520brothers" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">1 John 3:14</a> said, “We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers.” <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=8348" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Note 1</a> explains the relationship of life and love in this verse: “Death is of the devil, God’s enemy, Satan, signified by the tree of knowledge of good and evil, which brings death; life is of God, the source of life, signified by the tree of life, which issues in life (<a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=7998&amp;lvid=7998&amp;ol=on" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Gen. 2:9</a>, <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=8005&amp;lvid=8006&amp;ol=on" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">16-17</a>). Death and life are not only of two sources, Satan and God; they are also two essences, two elements, and two spheres. To pass out of death into life is to pass out of the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of death into the source, the essence, the element, and the sphere of life. This took place in us at our regeneration. We know this, i.e., have the inner consciousness of it, because we love the brothers. Love (the love of God) toward the brothers is strong evidence of this. Faith in the Lord is the way for us to pass out of death into life; love toward the brothers is the evidence that we have passed out of death into life. To have faith is to receive the eternal life; to love is to live by the eternal life and express it.” This love in us for our brothers in the Lord is evidence to us that we’re genuinely saved. Once we receive Christ as our Savior, we have such wonderful assurances of our salvation in the written word of the Bible, the Spirit witnessing with our spirit, and a love for our brothers in the Lord. Thank God we can know with certainty that we’re saved eternally and that we’re truly God’s children! <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/am-I-really-saved-video/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">With this assurance as our solid foundation</a>, we can have a joyful Christian life and go on to experience Christ and grow in Him.

Assurance of Salvation: How Do I Know I’m Saved?

Discover what God’s complete salvation is for us in the Bible and how it gives meaning to our Christian life.

Discover what God’s complete salvation is for us in the Bible and how it gives meaning to our Christian life.

What Is God’s Complete Salvation in the Bible?

We’ve all heard someone say, “I’ve been blessed by God,” usually in relation to success, health, family, wealth, or a job. We’ve even heard athletes say this after winning a big game. We all want to be under God’s blessing. The common understanding of what it means to be blessed by God is that He gives us good things. In this respect, we can say that God’s blessing is on everyone, believers and unbelievers alike. Matthew 5:45 says that the Father who is in the heavens causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust. But does God’s blessing pertain only to material things? Though these are included, thinking of God’s blessing as mainly material things severely limits our understanding of what is in God’s heart for us as believers. So what is the fuller meaning of being blessed by God? Let’s begin with the blessing of Abraham by God in Genesis 12:3: “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” We might think being blessed here means something outward, like having a good life. But in Galatians 3:13 and 14, the apostle Paul specifically explained what blessed in Genesis 12:3 means: “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf; because it is written, ‘Cursed is every one hanging on a tree’; in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” These verses explain both how we can be blessed and what the blessing of God is. How can we be blessed? As fallen sinners, we deserve nothing but judgment and curse, certainly not blessing. And our good works or behavior can never make us “blessable.” But Jesus became a curse on our behalf. On the cross, He bore the curse that was upon all humanity and died in our place. Because of the redemptive work of Christ on the cross for us, we cursed sinners can now receive the blessing of God through faith in Christ. What is the blessing of God?  Galatians 3:14 makes clear that the blessing in Christ Jesus that God wants us to receive isn’t material things, but something far greater—the promise of the Spirit. Note 2 on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version helps us understand what this blessing is: “In the gospel we have received not only the blessing of forgiveness, washing, and cleansing; even more, we have received the greatest blessing, which is the Triune God—the Father, Son, and Spirit—as the processed, all-inclusive life-giving Spirit dwelling in us in a most subjective way for our enjoyment. Oh, what a blessing that we can enjoy such an all-inclusive One as our daily portion!” But in this verse what, or who, is “the Spirit” that we receive? The next note on verse 14 says this: “This verse indicates that the Spirit is the blessing that God promised to Abraham for all the nations and that has been received by the believers through faith in Christ. The Spirit is the compound Spirit,…and actually is God Himself processed in His Trinity through incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and descension that we may receive Him as our life and our everything. This is the focus of the gospel of God. “The physical aspect of the blessing that God promised to Abraham was the good land (Gen. 12:7; 13:15; 17:8; 26:3-4), which was a type of the all-inclusive Christ (see Col. 1:12 and note 2). Since Christ is eventually realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45; 2 Cor. 3:17), the blessing of the promised Spirit corresponds with the blessing of the land promised to Abraham. Actually, the Spirit as the realization of Christ in our experience is the good land as the source of God’s bountiful supply for us to enjoy.” Christ dwells in us as the all-inclusive Spirit, so we can experience Him in a personal, subjective way by contacting Him with our spirit. We can pray, call on His name, and read His Word. By simply turning to Christ in our spirit, talking to Him throughout the day, we can enjoy Him as our rich portion. Suppose you pray for a better job and get a higher paying position. Happily, you thank the Lord for it. But what happens when the new work environment presents some difficulties? If you realize that God didn’t just bless you with a new job but with much more, with the all-inclusive Christ who lives in you, you’ll contact the Lord as the life-giving Spirit dwelling in your spirit. So instead of asking the Lord to take away the problems or bless you with another job, you’ll open your heart to Him and ask Him to be your wisdom, strength, or whatever you need, to face the troubles at work. You’ll begin to experience Christ as the bountiful supply in that difficult situation. You’ll enjoy Him—the top blessing. If we think God’s blessing is mainly of things in the material realm, we’ll pursue these things, spend our prayer time asking God for them, and when we don’t get them, wonder whether we’re blessed by God. Meanwhile, we’ll miss enjoying the broader, fuller, and more real blessing of God—Christ for our experience and enjoyment. By focusing on and pursuing Christ, we can enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit as the top blessing of God! Surely we should be thankful for the material things the Lord gives us. But we’re truly blessed when we experience Christ as our love, our peace, our patience, our satisfaction, our joy, and so many other aspects of Himself. We have this wonderful Person now within us, the greatest blessing in the universe! We can pray, “Lord, thank You for dying as a curse for me so I could be blessed with Yourself. Thank you for living in me as the Spirit. Open the eyes of my heart to see beyond the physical and material blessings You’ve given me. I desire to experience You as the highest blessing in the universe!”

We’ve all heard someone say, “I’ve been blessed by God,” usually in relation to success, health, family, wealth, or a job. We’ve even heard athletes say this after winning a big game. We all want to be under God’s blessing. The common understanding of what it means to be blessed by God is that He gives us good things. In this respect, we can say that God’s blessing is on everyone, believers and unbelievers alike. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=135&amp;lvid=135" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Matthew 5:45</a> says that the Father who is in the heavens causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and unjust. But does God’s blessing pertain only to material things? Though these are included, thinking of God’s blessing as mainly material things severely limits our understanding of what is in God’s heart for us as believers. So what is the fuller meaning of being blessed by God? Let’s begin with the blessing of Abraham by God in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=8260&amp;lvid=8260" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Genesis 12:3</a>: “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” We might think being blessed here means something outward, like having a good life. But in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=5971&amp;lvid=5972" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Galatians 3:13 and 14</a>, the apostle Paul specifically explained what blessed in Genesis 12:3 means: “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf; because it is written, ‘Cursed is every one hanging on a tree’; in order that the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” These verses explain both how we can be blessed and what the blessing of God is. How can we be blessed? As fallen sinners, we deserve nothing but judgment and curse, certainly not blessing. And our good works or behavior can never make us “blessable.” But Jesus became a curse on our behalf. On the cross, He bore the curse that was upon all humanity and died in our place. Because of the <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/jesus-the-lamb-of-god/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">redemptive work of Christ on the cross</a> for us, we cursed sinners can now receive the blessing of God through faith in Christ. What is the blessing of God? <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=5972&amp;lvid=5972" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Galatians 3:14</a> makes clear that the blessing in Christ Jesus that God wants us to receive isn’t material things, but something far greater—the promise of the Spirit. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=5302" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Note 2</a> on this verse in the New Testament Recovery Version helps us understand what this blessing is: “In the gospel we have received not only the blessing of forgiveness, washing, and cleansing; even more, we have received the greatest blessing, which is the Triune God—the Father, Son, and Spirit—as the processed, all-inclusive life-giving Spirit dwelling in us in a most subjective way for our enjoyment. Oh, what a blessing that we can enjoy such an all-inclusive One as our daily portion!” But in this verse what, or who, is “the Spirit” that we receive? <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=5303" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The next note</a> on verse 14 says this: “This verse indicates that the Spirit is the blessing that God promised to Abraham for all the nations and that has been received by the believers through faith in Christ. The Spirit is the compound Spirit,…and actually is God Himself processed in His Trinity through incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and descension that we may receive Him as our life and our everything. This is the focus of the gospel of God. “The physical aspect of the blessing that God promised to Abraham was the good land (<a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=8264&amp;lvid=8264&amp;ol=onC:%5CUsers%5Cvbchen%5CDesktop%5CBibleRecoveryVersion%5CGen.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gen. 12:7</a>; <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=8292&amp;lvid=8292&amp;ol=onC:%5CUsers%5Cvbchen%5CDesktop%5CBibleRecoveryVersion%5CGen.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">13:15</a>; <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=8364&amp;lvid=8364&amp;ol=on" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">17:8</a>; <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=8654&amp;lvid=8655&amp;ol=on" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">26:3-4</a>), which was a type of the all-inclusive Christ (see <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=6333&amp;lvid=6333&amp;ol=on" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Col. 1:12</a> and <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=6201" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">note 2</a>). Since Christ is eventually realized as the all-inclusive life-giving Spirit (<a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=5619&amp;lvid=5619&amp;ol=on" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1 Cor. 15:45</a>; <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=5714&amp;lvid=5714&amp;ol=on" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">2 Cor. 3:17</a>), the blessing of the promised Spirit corresponds with the blessing of the land promised to Abraham. Actually, the Spirit as the realization of Christ in our experience is the good land as the source of God’s bountiful supply for us to enjoy.” Christ <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/where-does-god-live-today/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dwells in us</a> as the all-inclusive Spirit, so we can experience Him in a personal, subjective way by contacting Him with <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/a-life-changing-discovery-my-spirit/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">our spirit</a>. We can <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/what-is-prayer/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">pray</a>, <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/calling-on-the-name-of-the-lord/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">call on His name</a>, and <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/3-benefits-of-reading-the-bible-every-day/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">read His Word</a>. By simply turning to Christ in our spirit, talking to Him throughout the day, we can enjoy Him as our rich portion. Suppose you pray for a better job and get a higher paying position. Happily, you thank the Lord for it. But what happens when the new work environment presents some difficulties? If you realize that God didn’t just bless you with a new job but with much more, with the all-inclusive Christ who lives in you, you’ll contact the Lord as the life-giving Spirit <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/what-happens-when-a-person-gets-saved/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dwelling in your spirit</a>. So instead of asking the Lord to take away the problems or bless you with another job, you’ll open your heart to Him and ask Him to be your wisdom, strength, or whatever you need, to face the troubles at work. You’ll begin to experience Christ as the bountiful supply in that difficult situation. You’ll enjoy Him—the top blessing. If we think God’s blessing is mainly of things in the material realm, we’ll pursue these things, spend our prayer time asking God for them, and when we don’t get them, wonder whether we’re blessed by God. Meanwhile, we’ll miss enjoying the broader, fuller, and more real blessing of God—Christ for our experience and enjoyment. By focusing on and pursuing Christ, we can enjoy the all-inclusive Spirit as the top blessing of God! Surely we should be thankful for the material things the Lord gives us. But we’re truly blessed when we experience Christ as our love, our peace, our patience, our satisfaction, our joy, and so many other aspects of Himself. We have this wonderful Person now within us, the greatest blessing in the universe! We can pray, “Lord, thank You for dying as a curse for me so I could be blessed with Yourself. Thank you for living in me as the Spirit. Open the eyes of my heart to see beyond the physical and material blessings You’ve given me. I desire to experience You as the highest blessing in the universe!”

What Does It Mean to Be Blessed by God?

In a previous podcast, we saw the benefits of reading the Bible daily and why it’s an excellent habit for every Christian to develop. But how do we get started? What can we do to develop this healthy and necessary habit? In this podcast, we’ll cover seven practical points to help you build up a daily habit of reading the Bible: First, pray for a hunger for God’s Word. In Psalm 119 we can see the psalmist’s love and hunger for God’s word. In verse 103 he overflows with his joyous experience of God’s word: “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth!” We, too, can have this kind of joy in God’s Word; we can simply ask God to give us a hunger and a taste for His Word. Surely this is a prayer God would like to answer. Second, choose a set time to read the Word. It helps to schedule a set time for reading the Bible. Morning is an excellent time, before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. Other times like during lunch or before going to bed can also be good. A scheduled time helps us remember to read the Word and makes it a part of our daily routine. Third, read consecutively. Perhaps we’ve read the Bible occasionally, reading here and there in the Scriptures. But a good way to help us regularly and consistently read the Word is to read it consecutively, chapter after chapter and book after book. This way we don’t have to decide what to read each time, and as we read the Bible cover to cover we’ll begin to see what a cohesive book it is. Fourth, turn your heart to the Lord before reading. Every time we come to the Word, it’s good to turn our heart to the Lord Jesus. Before we start our Bible reading, we can pray a simple prayer like this: “Lord, as I come to Your Word, I turn my heart to you. I open to You and to Your speaking. Speak to me, wash me, and shine more light from Your Word on me today. Dear Lord, there is so much more for me to see in Your Word. Enlighten me more as I read today.” Praying a simple prayer like this will help us be open to anything the Lord would like to speak to us in His Word. By opening our heart and spirit, we’ll contact the Lord Jesus in His Word and His Word will be food to us. Next, pray over what you read. Sometimes as we’re reading the Bible, a certain verse stands out to us. It may comfort us, convict us, or apply exactly to our situation. Other times, a verse may perplex us. Whatever our reaction, we can stop and pray what we’ve read back to the Lord. We might thank the Lord or praise Him for certain portions, we might ask Him to show us the meaning of a certain verse, or we might just talk with Him about a verse. In this way the Bible can be a prayer book to us, helping us to spend time with the Lord. As we practice this, the Bible will become more than words on a page to us; it will become a place where we meet with our dear Lord Jesus. Sixth, keep track of your Bible reading. Keeping track of what you’ve read is helpful, and there are many ways to do so. You can check off what chapter or book you’ve finished in your Bible. You can use a blank page or the table of contents to check off each book as you read it. You can also mark the number of times you’ve read the whole New Testament and the whole Old Testament. Online tools like ReadHisWord.com and LettheWord.com are also available to help you keep track of your Bible reading. Keeping track encourages us in our habit. For example, you may think you’re going too slowly if you read one chapter per day. But even if you only read one chapter per day, you’ll finish the entire New Testament in under one year. After five years of reading the Bible daily, you might look at your record and find you’ve read the whole New Testament seven times! Seeing this kind of progress really encourages us to continue on. Finally, treasure your daily Bible reading time. Reading the Bible daily is so important for us as Christians, so we must treasure and guard the time we’ve set aside to enjoy the Word of the Lord. Our lives are full of things that can interrupt or distract us, so we really have to be active to guard the time we set. For example, you may want to silence your phone during your set time for reading the Bible so incoming calls, texts, and notifications don’t interrupt you. Resolving not to respond to these alerts will keep the time you’ve reserved for the Word from being eaten into. Some people find reading the Bible using an electronic device is less than ideal because of the distractions that are only a click away. In this case, so you can focus your whole attention on God’s Word, you could try using a print version of the Bible instead. A daily Bible reading habit will lay a foundation for our Christian life, strengthen our Christian faith, and help us to know the Lord Jesus in a deeper way. May God grant us all His grace to daily read His Word so that we can be brought on to the full knowledge of the truth!

In a <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/three-benefits-of-reading-bible-every-day/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">previous podcast</a>, we saw the benefits of reading the Bible daily and why it’s an excellent habit for every Christian to develop. But how do we get started? What can we do to develop this healthy and necessary habit? In this podcast, we’ll cover seven practical points to help you build up a daily habit of reading the Bible: First, pray for a hunger for God’s Word. In <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/BibleChapters.asp?fcid=857&amp;lcid=857" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Psalm 119</a> we can see the psalmist’s love and hunger for God’s word. In <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=23960&amp;lvid=23960" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">verse 103</a> he overflows with his joyous experience of God’s word: “How sweet are Your words to my taste! Sweeter than honey to my mouth!” We, too, can have this kind of joy in God’s Word; we can simply ask God to give us a hunger and a taste for His Word. Surely this is a prayer God would like to answer. Second, choose a set time to read the Word. It helps to schedule a set time for reading the Bible. Morning is an excellent time, before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. Other times like during lunch or before going to bed can also be good. A scheduled time helps us remember to read the Word and makes it a part of our daily routine. Third, read consecutively. Perhaps we’ve read the Bible occasionally, reading here and there in the Scriptures. But a good way to help us regularly and consistently read the Word is to read it consecutively, chapter after chapter and book after book. This way we don’t have to decide what to read each time, and as we read the Bible cover to cover we’ll begin to see what a cohesive book it is. Fourth, turn your heart to the Lord before reading. Every time we come to the Word, it’s good to <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/what-is-the-heart-in-the-bible/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">turn our heart</a> to the Lord Jesus. Before we start our Bible reading, we can pray a simple prayer like this: “Lord, as I come to Your Word, I turn my heart to you. I open to You and to Your speaking. Speak to me, wash me, and shine more light from Your Word on me today. Dear Lord, there is so much more for me to see in Your Word. Enlighten me more as I read today.” Praying a simple prayer like this will help us be open to anything the Lord would like to speak to us in His Word. By opening our heart and spirit, we’ll contact the Lord Jesus in His Word <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/the-bible-as-our-spiritual-food/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">and His Word will be food to us</a>. Next, pray over what you read. Sometimes as we’re reading the Bible, a certain verse stands out to us. It may comfort us, convict us, or apply exactly to our situation. Other times, a verse may perplex us. Whatever our reaction, we can stop and pray what we’ve read back to the Lord. We might thank the Lord or praise Him for certain portions, we might ask Him to show us the meaning of a certain verse, or we might just talk with Him about a verse. In this way the Bible can be a prayer book to us, helping us to spend time with the Lord. As we practice this, the Bible will become more than words on a page to us; it will become a place where we meet with our dear Lord Jesus. Sixth, keep track of your Bible reading. Keeping track of what you’ve read is helpful, and there are many ways to do so. You can check off what chapter or book you’ve finished in your Bible. You can use a blank page or the table of contents to check off each book as you read it. You can also mark the number of times you’ve read the whole New Testament and the whole Old Testament. Online tools like <a href="http://readhisword.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ReadHisWord.com</a> and <a href="http://lettheword.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">LettheWord.com</a> are also available to help you keep track of your Bible reading. Keeping track encourages us in our habit. For example, you may think you’re going too slowly if you read one chapter per day. But even if you only read one chapter per day, you’ll finish the entire New Testament in under one year. After five years of reading the Bible daily, you might look at your record and find you’ve read the whole New Testament seven times! Seeing this kind of progress really encourages us to continue on. Finally, treasure your daily Bible reading time. Reading the Bible daily is so important for us as Christians, so we must treasure and guard the time we’ve set aside to enjoy the Word of the Lord. Our lives are full of things that can interrupt or distract us, so we really have to be active to guard the time we set. For example, you may want to silence your phone during your set time for reading the Bible so incoming calls, texts, and notifications don’t interrupt you. Resolving not to respond to these alerts will keep the time you’ve reserved for the Word from being eaten into. Some people find reading the Bible using an electronic device is less than ideal because of the distractions that are only a click away. In this case, so you can focus your whole attention on God’s Word, you could try using a print version of the Bible instead. A daily Bible reading habit will lay a foundation for our Christian life, strengthen our Christian faith, and help us to know the Lord Jesus in a deeper way. May God grant us all His grace to daily read His Word so that we can be brought on to the full knowledge of the truth!

7 Ways to Build up a Daily Bible Reading Habit

Praying the words of the Bible is one way for God’s Word to become living and personal to you.

Praying the words of the Bible is one way for God’s Word to become living and personal to you.

Praying God's Word—An Unexpected Experience

The Lamb of God is a precious name referring to the Lord Jesus. Perhaps you’ve heard it before, or remember reading it in the Word. Many of us may have sung it in Christian songs and hymns to praise the Lord as the Lamb of God. To increase our appreciation of our Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God, in this podcast we’ll dive into the meaning and importance of this profound name of Christ in the Bible. To understand the meaning of the name Lamb of God, we have to go back to the beginning in Genesis. After God created Adam and Eve, He put them in the garden of Eden, and in the garden was the tree of life. God wanted Adam and Eve to eat of that tree, which represented the eternal, divine life of God. God desired to share His life with them and be everything to them. By partaking of that tree, they would be made one with God, He would become their life inwardly, and they would express Him outwardly in their living. God also specifically warned Adam and Eve not to eat of another tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He told them that if they did, they would surely die, since that tree represented Satan as the source of death to mankind. Sadly, we know that Satan seduced Adam and Eve to eat of that tree. They disobeyed God, and by eating of that tree, they were poisoned with the sinful nature of Satan. Since God is righteous and holy, He couldn’t simply overlook their disobedience; God cannot tolerate sin. And as Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” They had to die. But God didn’t want the human beings He created to die. So what could He do? Instead of killing them, God made Adam and Eve coats out of the skin of an animal to cover them. Based on the further revelation in the Old Testament, the animal was probably a lamb. That lamb took their place and died for them. So instead of Adam and Eve being killed, that lamb was killed. Instead of their blood being shed, that lamb’s blood was shed. A guiltless lamb died for them, the guilty ones. And because it died for them, God could clothe Adam and Eve with the skin of that substituting lamb. When God looked at Adam and Eve then, He didn’t see their sinful condition; He saw the lamb. From then on throughout the Old Testament times, a person could not come to God without offering a lamb. What was required was that a lamb be sacrificed to die in the offerer’s place and to shed its blood for the sins of the offerer. The death and the shedding of the blood of a lamb was the only way sinful human beings could be accepted by God. Hebrews 9:22 tells us clearly, “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” But the lamb the Old Testament people of God offered up was only a temporary solution, a picture of the coming of Jesus as the real Lamb of God who would take away His believers’ sins for all time. In the Old Testament, every lamb offered up was the lamb of a man, prepared by the offerer. But in John 1:29 in the New Testament, when John the Baptist saw Jesus he declared this: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John the Baptist declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God. Jesus was the real Lamb purposely prepared by God Himself to take away the sins of the entire world. As the uniquely spotless and sinless One, Jesus alone was fully qualified to die for fallen mankind, shed His precious blood, and take away the sins of the world. How did Jesus take away the sins of the world? God so desired to bring fallen mankind back to Himself that He provided Jesus, the Son of God, to be the Lamb of God to bear our sins for us. Although Jesus was the Son of God with divinity, through incarnation He put on a body of flesh and blood so He could die for us. The account of the Gospels tells us that it was on the cross that Jesus, the guiltless One, bore our sins, died, and shed His blood for us, the guilty sinners. There, God put all the sins of all mankind on Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God. Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was wounded because of our transgressions; He was crushed because of our iniquities; the chastening for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we have been healed.” Consider how heavy the load of sin that was laid upon our dear Savior! While Jesus was bearing the sins of the whole world, God judged Him as our substitute. This is why at a certain point, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” God had to forsake Jesus on the cross, not because Jesus was sinful but because He was taking the place of all of us sinners. God’s righteousness required the shedding of the blood of Jesus for us to have forgiveness of sins. Oh, our dear Lord Jesus bore our sins on the cross, suffered death for us, and shed His own blood for us! His blood washes away our sins and brings us back to God. Jesus, the Lamb of God, accomplished a perfect and eternal redemption for us. When we realize the meaning of Jesus being the Lamb of God, how can we help but love Him with all our hearts? In Genesis we saw man’s fall and a lamb slain for Adam and Eve as a picture of Christ as the Lamb of God. In the New Testament, we see the reality of that picture—Jesus the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world by His death on the cross. Now in resurrection, He is still the Lamb of God for us. May we never forget that whenever we come to God to fellowship with Him, we come not through any merit of our own but through the shed blood of the Lamb of God. Even in Revelation, verses that speak of eternity future still refer to our Lord as the Lamb of God: Revelation 22:1 says, “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.” For all eternity, Jesus will be the Lamb of God to us, His redeemed ones. Praise Him! Consider these additional verses regarding Jesus as the Lamb of God. May our hearts and our tongues be filled with thankfulness and praise to Him! Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way, and Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” In Matthew 27:46 we read, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” 2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us, “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Peter writes in 1 Peter 1:18-19, “Knowing that it was not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, that you were redeemed from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ.” And 1 Peter 3:18 says, “For Christ also has suffered once for sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, on the one hand being put to death in the flesh, but on the other, made alive in the Spirit.” If you hadn’t heard of Jesus being the Lamb of God before, you might be wondering, “How can I have this forgiveness and know the Lamb of God?” Although it is an accomplished fact that Jesus the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world, this fact has to be applied to you personally. You simply need to repent, that is, turn from being away from God and turn back to God. Believe in Jesus and all He did for you, and receive the Lamb of God as your Savior. You can do this by opening your heart and praying this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I turn to You. I confess I am a sinner. I need Your forgiveness. Lord Jesus, I believe in You and all You did for me. Thank You for dying for me as the Lamb of God. I receive You as my Savior right now. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.”

The Lamb of God is a precious name referring to the Lord Jesus. Perhaps you’ve heard it before, or remember reading it in the Word. Many of us may have sung it in Christian songs and hymns to praise the Lord as the Lamb of God. To increase our appreciation of our Lord Jesus as the Lamb of God, in this podcast we’ll dive into the meaning and importance of this profound name of Christ in the Bible. To understand the meaning of the name Lamb of God, we have to go back to the beginning in Genesis. After God created Adam and Eve, He put them in the garden of Eden, and in the garden was the tree of life. God wanted Adam and Eve to eat of that tree, which represented the eternal, divine life of God. God desired to share His life with them and be everything to them. By partaking of that tree, they would be made one with God, He would become their life inwardly, and they would <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/does-god-have-a-plan/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">express Him</a> outwardly in their living. God also specifically warned Adam and Eve not to eat of another tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He told them that if they did, they would surely die, since that tree represented Satan as the source of death to mankind. Sadly, we know that Satan seduced Adam and Eve to eat of that tree. They disobeyed God, and by eating of that tree, <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/garden-of-eden-2/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">they were poisoned with the sinful nature of Satan</a>. Since God is righteous and holy, He couldn’t simply overlook their disobedience; God cannot tolerate sin. And as <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=4947&amp;lvid=4947" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Romans 6:23</a> says, “The wages of sin is death.” They had to die. But God didn’t want the human beings He created to die. So what could He do? Instead of killing them, God made Adam and Eve coats out of the skin of an animal to cover them. Based on the further revelation in the Old Testament, the animal was probably a lamb. That lamb took their place and died for them. So instead of Adam and Eve being killed, that lamb was killed. Instead of their blood being shed, that lamb’s blood was shed. A guiltless lamb died for them, the guilty ones. And because it died for them, God could clothe Adam and Eve with the skin of that substituting lamb. When God looked at Adam and Eve then, He didn’t see their sinful condition; He saw the lamb. From then on throughout the Old Testament times, a person could not come to God without offering a lamb. What was required was that a lamb be sacrificed to die in the offerer’s place and to shed its blood for the sins of the offerer. The death and the shedding of the blood of a lamb was the only way sinful human beings could be accepted by God. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=6983&amp;lvid=6983" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Hebrews 9:22</a> tells us clearly, “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” But the lamb the Old Testament people of God offered up was only a temporary solution, a picture of the coming of Jesus as the real Lamb of God who would take away His believers’ sins for all time. In the Old Testament, every lamb offered up was the lamb of a man, prepared by the offerer. But in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=2929&amp;lvid=2929" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">John 1:29</a> in the New Testament, when John the Baptist saw Jesus he declared this: “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” John the Baptist declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God. Jesus was the real Lamb purposely prepared by God Himself to take away the sins of the entire world. As the uniquely spotless and sinless One, Jesus alone was fully qualified to die for fallen mankind, shed His precious blood, and take away the sins of the world. How did Jesus take away the sins of the world? God so desired to bring fallen mankind back to Himself that He provided Jesus, the Son of God, to be the Lamb of God to bear our sins for us. Although Jesus was the Son of God with divinity, <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/the-deep-significance-of-the-birth-of-jesus-christ/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">through incarnation</a> He put on a body of flesh and blood so He could die for us. The account of the Gospels tells us that it was on the cross that Jesus, the guiltless One, bore our sins, died, and shed His blood for us, the guilty sinners. There, God put all the sins of all mankind on Jesus as the sacrificial Lamb of God. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=26675&amp;lvid=26675" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Isaiah 53:5</a> says, “He was wounded because of our transgressions; He was crushed because of our iniquities; the chastening for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we have been healed.” Consider how heavy the load of sin that was laid upon our dear Savior! While Jesus was bearing the sins of the whole world, God judged Him as our substitute. This is why at a certain point, Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” God had to forsake Jesus on the cross, not because Jesus was sinful but because He was taking the place of all of us sinners. God’s righteousness required the shedding of the blood of Jesus for us to have forgiveness of sins. Oh, our dear Lord Jesus bore our sins on the cross, suffered death for us, and shed His own blood for us! His blood washes away our sins and brings us back to God. Jesus, the Lamb of God, accomplished <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/why-did-jesus-have-to-die/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">a perfect and eternal redemption</a> for us. When we realize the meaning of Jesus being the Lamb of God, how can we help but <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/loving-jesus-with-our-best/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">love Him</a> with all our hearts? In Genesis we saw man’s fall and a lamb slain for Adam and Eve as a picture of Christ as the Lamb of God. In the New Testament, we see the reality of that picture—Jesus the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world by His death on the cross. Now in resurrection, He is still the Lamb of God for us. May we never forget that whenever we come to God to fellowship with Him, we come not through any merit of our own but through the shed blood of the Lamb of God. Even in Revelation, verses that speak of eternity future still refer to our Lord as the Lamb of God: Revelation 22:1 says, “And he showed me a river of water of life, bright as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb in the middle of its street.” For all eternity, Jesus will be the Lamb of God to us, His redeemed ones. Praise Him! Consider these additional verses regarding Jesus as the Lamb of God. May our hearts and our tongues be filled with thankfulness and praise to Him! <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=26676&amp;lvid=26676" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Isaiah 53:6</a> says, “We all like sheep have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way, and Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” In <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=1031&amp;lvid=1031" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Matthew 27:46</a> we read, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=5754&amp;lvid=5754" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">2 Corinthians 5:21</a> tells us, “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Peter writes in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=7248&amp;lvid=7249" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">1 Peter 1:18-19</a>, “Knowing that it was not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, that you were redeemed from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers, but with precious blood, as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot, the blood of Christ.” And <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=7298&amp;lvid=7298" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">1 Peter 3:18</a> says, “For Christ also has suffered once for sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, on the one hand being put to death in the flesh, but on the other, made alive in the Spirit.” If you hadn’t heard of Jesus being the Lamb of God before, you might be wondering, “How can I have this forgiveness and know the Lamb of God?” Although it is an accomplished fact that Jesus the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world, this fact has to be applied to you personally. You simply need to repent, that is, turn from being away from God and turn back to God. Believe in Jesus and all He did for you, and receive the Lamb of God as your Savior. You can do this by opening your heart and praying this prayer: “Lord Jesus, I turn to You. I confess I am a sinner. I need Your forgiveness. Lord Jesus, I believe in You and all You did for me. Thank You for dying for me as the Lamb of God. I receive You as my Savior right now. Thank You, Lord Jesus. Amen.”

Jesus the Lamb of God

We human beings are complicated. Every one of us is unique, with different backgrounds and personalities. But with respect to how God created us, we’re actually all the same. The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:23 that we were all created with three basic parts: a spirit, a soul, and a body: “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We can illustrate man’s three parts with a simple diagram. Picture three concentric circles; the outermost circle represents the body as the visible part of our being; in the middle, the second circle represents the soul as our inward part; and the central, smallest circle represents our spirit as our innermost, hidden part. Let’s consider each of these three parts and their corresponding functions. Our body through its five senses contacts the visible, touchable, tangible things of the material world. It’s the most outward and visible part of our being, and by it we exist and experience the things in the physical realm. But of course, we’re more than just a physical body. Our soul, though unseen, is just as real as our body. By our soul, we experience things in the psychological realm. In fact, the Greek word for soul in the Bible is psuche, which is also the root word of psychology. Our soul is composed of our mind, which enables us to do things like think, reason, consider, remember, and wonder; our emotions, which enable us to have feelings like happiness, sorrow, anger, relief, and compassion; and our will, which enables us to choose and make decisions. Our mind, emotion, and will make up our soul, which is our personality, who we are within. But we are even more than just a body with a soul within. We have a part that’s deeper than our soul—our spirit, which is the deepest and most hidden part of our being. By our spirit we can contact the spiritual realm. No other creature was created with this third part, the spirit, within. By our spirit God is real to us and we can contact Him, receive Him, contain Him, and fellowship with Him. God created us with a spirit because He wants to know us, have a relationship with us, and even live in us. Not only was our spirit made for God, but our spirit also has the ability to contact, receive, and worship God. As John 4:24 says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.” John 3:6 tells us that we are born of the Spirit in our spirit. After we are born of God, we continue to contact and worship Him by our spirit. God’s desire for us is that we human beings with all three parts would be vessels to contain and express Him. As we saw, God’s purpose is to come into our spirit to fill it with Himself. When we believe in Jesus Christ, He comes to live in us as our new life. He is in our spirit as the new Person in us so that He would be expressed through our entire being: spirit, soul, and body. This all begins when we receive Him into our spirit and are regenerated, or born again. Before Christ came into us as the new life in our spirit, our soul was our leading part. We pretty much did everything by the thoughts and desires of our soul. We made decisions with our soul based on our own thoughts and considerations, our own feelings, and our own discernment. Whether we lived a good life or a bad life, a moral life or an immoral life, we lived a life in the soul. But God’s desire is that once we’re saved, with a new life and with Christ as our new person living in us, our spirit would become the leading part of our being, not our soul. When we live by our spirit, our soul begins to express God’s life instead of our own. Every day, even every moment, we have a choice. We can live by the old, independent life of our soul, or we can live by Christ as the new life and Person in our spirit. We can choose to allow our spirit to be our leading part, using our will to turn our mind to our spirit and to take in God’s living Word, allowing our emotions to be awakened and stirred to love God, and presenting our body to live a proper human life. God’s intention in giving us three parts—a spirit, soul, and body—was that we would be vessels to contain Him and express Him. By choosing to live by our spirit, our third part, our soul and even our body will function together to fulfill God’s purpose.

We human beings are complicated. Every one of us is unique, with different backgrounds and personalities. But with respect to how God created us, we’re actually all the same. The Bible tells us in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=6500&amp;lvid=6500" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1 Thessalonians 5:23</a> that we were all created with three basic parts: a spirit, a soul, and a body: “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We can illustrate man’s three parts with a simple diagram. Picture three concentric circles; the outermost circle represents the body as the visible part of our being; in the middle, the second circle represents the soul as our inward part; and the central, smallest circle represents our spirit as our innermost, hidden part. Let’s consider each of these three parts and their corresponding functions. Our body through its five senses contacts the visible, touchable, tangible things of the material world. It’s the most outward and visible part of our being, and by it we exist and experience the things in the physical realm. But of course, we’re more than just a physical body. Our soul, though unseen, is just as real as our body. By our soul, we experience things in the psychological realm. In fact, the Greek word for soul in the Bible is psuche, which is also the root word of psychology. Our soul is composed of our mind, which enables us to do things like think, reason, consider, remember, and wonder; our emotions, which enable us to have feelings like happiness, sorrow, anger, relief, and compassion; and our will, which enables us to choose and make decisions. Our mind, emotion, and will make up our soul, which is our personality, who we are within. But we are even more than just a body with a soul within. We have a part that’s deeper than our soul—<a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/what-is-the-human-spirit-in-the-bible/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">our spirit</a>, which is the deepest and most hidden part of our being. By our spirit we can contact the spiritual realm. No other creature was created with this third part, the spirit, within. By our spirit God is real to us and we can contact Him, receive Him, contain Him, and fellowship with Him. God created us with a spirit because He wants to know us, have a relationship with us, and even live in us. Not only was our spirit made for God, but our spirit also has the ability to contact, receive, and worship God. As <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=3036&amp;lvid=3036" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John 4:24</a> says, “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truthfulness.” <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=2982&amp;lvid=2982" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John 3:6</a> tells us that we are born of the Spirit in our spirit. After we are born of God, we continue to contact and worship Him by our spirit. <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/does-god-have-a-plan/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">God’s desire for us</a> is that we human beings with all three parts would be vessels to contain and express Him. As we saw, God’s purpose is to come into our spirit to fill it with Himself. When we believe in Jesus Christ, He comes to live in us as our new life. He is in our spirit as the new Person in us so that He would be expressed through our entire being: spirit, soul, and body. This all begins when we receive Him into our spirit and are regenerated, or <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/born-again/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">born again</a>. Before Christ came into us as the new life in our spirit, our soul was our leading part. We pretty much did everything by the thoughts and desires of our soul. We made decisions with our soul based on our own thoughts and considerations, our own feelings, and our own discernment. Whether we lived a good life or a bad life, a moral life or an immoral life, we lived a life in the soul. But God’s desire is that once we’re saved, with a new life and with Christ as our new person living in us, our spirit would become the leading part of our being, not our soul. When we live by our spirit, our soul begins to express God’s life instead of our own. Every day, even every moment, we have a choice. We can live by the old, independent life of our soul, or we can live by Christ as the new life and Person in our spirit. We can choose to allow our spirit to be our leading part, using our will to turn our mind to our spirit and to take in <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/6-functions-of-the-living-word-of-god/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">God’s living Word</a>, allowing our emotions to be awakened and stirred to <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/love-god-with-all-your-heart/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">love God</a>, and presenting our body to live a proper human life. God’s intention in giving us three parts—a spirit, soul, and body—was that we would be <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/why-does-god-want-earthen-vessels/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">vessels</a> to contain Him and express Him. By choosing to live by our spirit, our third part, our soul and even our body will function together to fulfill God’s purpose.

The Three Parts of Man—Spirit, Soul, and Body 

Believers are inspired by the heritage of Christian hymns. A. B. Simpson’s classic hymn, “Once It Was the Blessing,” shares his discovery of “Christ in you.”

Believers are inspired by the heritage of Christian hymns. A. B. Simpson’s classic hymn, “Once It Was the Blessing,” shares his discovery of “Christ in you.”

“Once It Was the Blessing; Now It Is the Lord”—A Classic Hymn

The Bible uses two Greek words for “word” in the New Testament: logos and rhema. Find out the meaning of these words and how they impact our Christian life.

The Bible uses two Greek words for “word” in the New Testament: logos and rhema. Find out the meaning of these words and how they impact our Christian life.

Two Important Greek Words in the Bible: Logos and Rhema

This podcast presents a Bibles for America staff member’s testimony about discovering her human spirit and how it affected her. We hope you enjoy her story: The blog post “A Life-Changing Discovery: My Spirit” really touched me because what it talked about is exactly what I have experienced. Since I began to see in the Bible that I have a human spirit, and then began to actually experience the Lord who lives there, my life has never been the same. I had always felt deep within that something was missing in my Christian life. When you believe into the Lord and get saved, then what? What did God want? What was being a Christian all about in my daily life? For a period of time I thought that maybe the Lord wanted me to help people. For instance, I thought of becoming some kind of doctor, or joining the Peace Corps. And then other times, I thought He wanted to me pursue and fulfill my dreams. There is a very specific moment in my life after graduating from high school that I’ll never forget. As I laid in bed with my two younger sisters, tears streamed down my face as I silently cried, trying not to wake them up. I was so desperate for something real. So I cried out to the Lord, “Lord, You have to be real to me! I can’t go on if You aren’t real to me!” The Lord really answered that prayer when I went to college. I met a group of believers there who showed me in the Bible that God had a purpose, and that in order to fulfill this purpose, He created man with a human spirit to contain and contact Him. Even growing up as a Christian, I had never seen or heard about this crucial truth. I was helped to see that when I believed into the Lord, He came to dwell in my spirit! I was also helped to see that God wants people to experience Him in their spirit. He isn’t this impersonal, faraway God that I had to try to please by doing good, or by doing something for Him yet apart from Him. No, the God of the universe was Someone I could turn to, fellowship with, and live by in my spirit. God became so real to me! For so long there had been an emptiness within me that I could never explain or fill. But when I touched the Lord in my spirit, that emptiness was gone. There was a sense of, “This is it! This is why I was created!” We were created to receive the Lord Jesus and enjoy Him as the Spirit in our spirit. I am so thankful to the Lord that this crucial truth has been revealed to me and that I’ve been able to experience the Lord Jesus in my spirit. My prayer is that so many others would be able to discover their human spirit and that the Lord would become as real to them as He has become to me.

This podcast presents a Bibles for America staff member’s testimony about discovering her human spirit and how it affected her. We hope you enjoy her story: The blog post “<a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/a-life-changing-discovery-my-spirit/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">A Life-Changing Discovery: My Spirit</a>” really touched me because what it talked about is exactly what I have experienced. Since I began to see in the Bible that I have a human spirit, and then began to actually experience the Lord who lives there, my life has never been the same. I had always felt deep within that something was missing in my Christian life. When you <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/the-difference-between-believing-in-and-believing-into-jesus-in-john-316/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">believe into the Lord</a> and get saved, then what? What did God want? What was being a Christian all about in my daily life? For a period of time I thought that maybe the Lord wanted me to help people. For instance, I thought of becoming some kind of doctor, or joining the Peace Corps. And then other times, I thought He wanted to me pursue and fulfill my dreams. There is a very specific moment in my life after graduating from high school that I’ll never forget. As I laid in bed with my two younger sisters, tears streamed down my face as I silently cried, trying not to wake them up. I was so desperate for something real. So I cried out to the Lord, “Lord, You have to be real to me! I can’t go on if You aren’t real to me!” The Lord really answered that prayer when I went to college. I met a group of believers there who showed me in the Bible that <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/does-god-have-a-plan/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">God had a purpose</a>, and that in order to fulfill this purpose, He created man with a human spirit to contain and contact Him. Even growing up as a Christian, I had never seen or heard about this crucial truth. I was helped to see that when I believed into the Lord, <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/8-verses-showing-jesus-lives/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">He came to dwell in my spirit</a>! I was also helped to see that God wants people to experience Him in their spirit. <a href="http://blog.biblesforamerica.org/where-does-god-live-today/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">He isn’t this impersonal, faraway God</a> that I had to try to please by doing good, or by doing something for Him yet apart from Him. No, the God of the universe was Someone I could turn to, fellowship with, and live by in my spirit. God became so real to me! For so long there had been an emptiness within me that I could never explain or fill. But when I touched the Lord in my spirit, that emptiness was gone. There was a sense of, “This is it! This is why I was created!” We were created to receive the Lord Jesus and enjoy Him as the Spirit in our spirit. I am so thankful to the Lord that this crucial truth has been revealed to me and that I’ve been able to experience the Lord Jesus in my spirit. My prayer is that so many others would be able to discover their human spirit and that the Lord would become as real to them as He has become to me.

How Knowing My Human Spirit Affected My Christian Life

Christians may have many friends, both saved and unsaved, but they also need spiritual companions who will run the Christian race with them.

Christians may have many friends, both saved and unsaved, but they also need spiritual companions who will run the Christian race with them.

Why Believers Need Christian Companions

When the love of the Lord Jesus first touched us and we repented and confessed His name, a previously unknown joy filled our hearts. What a joy it was to be forgiven and born again! God wants us to continue to be joyful in His wonderful salvation for our whole life. And this isn’t only for a select few; it’s normal for all God’s children, as we read in 1 Peter 1:8: “You exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.” We can never lose our eternal salvation, but we have to admit that at times we lose the joy of our salvation. Let’s talk about two reasons why that is, how we can recover our joy in the Lord, and what habits we can develop to have a joyful daily life. First and foremost, the sins we commit cause us to lose the joy of our salvation. Although we’re saved, all of us have sinned, failed the Lord, or disobeyed Him. And after we sin, we feel something’s wrong; we sense a barrier has come between us and the Lord. Isaiah 59:2 tells us, “Your iniquities have become a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” Our sins separate us from God because God is righteous; He can’t tolerate sin. This is why even a small transgression creates a barrier between God and us. Big or small, our sins cause us to lose the joy of our salvation. Second, grieving the Spirit who indwells us also causes us to lose the joy of our salvation. Romans 8:9 tells us clearly, “the Spirit of God dwells in you.” When we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior, He not only redeemed us, but He also came to dwell in us as the Spirit. Now we no longer live alone; we have another Person living in us, and He has His own thoughts, feelings, and preferences. Whenever we go along with the Lord who lives inside of us, He’s happy. And when He’s happy, we’re happy. Paul said in Ephesians 4:30, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.” Note 1 in the New Testament Recovery Version explains what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit: “To grieve the Holy Spirit is to displease Him. The Holy Spirit abides in us forever (John 14:16-17), never leaving us. Hence, He is grieved when we do not walk according to Him (Rom. 8:4), that is, when we do not live according to the principle of reality with grace in the details of our daily walk.” Let’s say, for example, we want to go to a certain place. But when we think about going, we feel uneasy. This feeling inside tells us that the Lord doesn’t want to go there. Though we try to reason to ourselves that it’s okay, the uneasy feeling won’t go away; the Lord Jesus in us simply doesn’t want to go there. But instead of agreeing with the Lord and obeying Him not to go, we go anyway. By not walking according to Him, we grieve Him and make Him unhappy. And it’s impossible for us to be happy when He’s grieved. How can we recover and maintain the joy of our salvation? Our joy in the Christian life can at times seem so elusive. We may even find ourselves crying out as David did in Psalm 51:12, “Lord, restore to me the joy of Your salvation!” What can we do to recover our joy in these times, and how can we avoid losing it in the first place? Just as a delicate flower is maintained and nurtured by the proper soil, water, and sunlight, our joy is preserved by the right conditions. The following four healthy habits can provide the right conditions to maintain our joy. First, we should confess our sins quickly. Whether our sin is a small transgression or a serious offense, we must confess it to the Lord. This includes grieving the Spirit. Whenever our conscience makes us aware that we’ve sinned, we shouldn’t wait to confess our sin to the Lord. First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We confess, and God is righteous to forgive us and cleanse us. The problem of sin is dealt with and our fellowship with Him is restored, and we can enjoy the joy of salvation. Learning to confess without delay is a good habit to develop. There’s no reason to wait. The sooner we confess our sins and failures to the Lord, the sooner we can enjoy sweet fellowship with Him once more. Second, we can take in God’s Word as our spiritual food daily. We all know how grumpy and irritable we can be when we haven’t eaten and are physically hungry and undernourished. We experience the same thing spiritually when we haven’t been eating the spiritual food of God’s Word. If we spend time daily to delight ourselves in the Lord in His Word, the Word we feed on becomes the gladness and joy of our heart, supplying us throughout our day. Eating physical food is an enjoyment to us, but eating the Word of God brings us true enjoyment and inner satisfaction. A daily habit of taking in God’s Word as our spiritual nourishment will help us maintain our joy in God’s salvation. Third, we can speak to the Lord in prayer all the time. We don’t need to kneel down and solemnly recite a particular prayer when we pray to God. We can simply open our hearts and instantly speak to the Lord Jesus in a personal way. Any time of day or night, we can talk to Him. In John 16:24 the Lord Jesus told us “ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be made full.” Speaking to Him in prayer about everything brings us joy. We can even pray by simply calling upon the name of the Lord. By opening to the Lord in prayer, not only at set times or during major life events, but each day and throughout the day, we strengthen our loving relationship with Him. By staying in fellowship with Him, we maintain our joy. Finally, we should fellowship with other Christians regularly. Having fellowship with other Christians also helps us maintain our joy in the Lord, since one of the joys of the Christian life is for believers to come together with others who love Jesus. Concerning the believers’ fellowship, in 1 John 1:3-4 the apostle John showed us that genuine Christian fellowship is not a duty or a ritual but a matter of joy, even full joy: “That which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us…And these things we write that our joy may be made full.” Gathering with other believers to read the Bible, speak about Christ, and praise the Lord is a highlight of our Christian experience that refreshes us, encourages us, and makes our joy full. May we be those who endeavor to build up these healthy habits in our daily life. By confessing our sins, feeding on God’s Word, speaking to the Lord in prayer, and getting together to fellowship with other Christians, we can maintain an overflowing joy in our Christian lives.

When the love of the Lord Jesus first touched us and we repented and confessed His name, a previously unknown joy filled our hearts. What a joy it was to be forgiven and <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/born-again/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">born again</a>! God wants us to continue to be joyful in His wonderful salvation for our whole life. And this isn’t only for a select few; it’s normal for all God’s children, as we read in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=7238&amp;lvid=7238" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1 Peter 1:8</a>: “You exult with joy that is unspeakable and full of glory.” We can <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/can-you-lose-your-salvation/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">never lose our eternal salvation</a>, but we have to admit that at times we lose the joy of our salvation. Let’s talk about two reasons why that is, how we can recover our joy in the Lord, and what habits we can develop to have a joyful daily life. First and foremost, the sins we commit cause us to lose the joy of our salvation. Although we’re saved, all of us have sinned, failed the Lord, or disobeyed Him. And after we sin, we feel something’s wrong; we sense a barrier has come between us and the Lord. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=26761&amp;lvid=26761" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Isaiah 59:2</a> tells us, “Your iniquities have become a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” Our sins separate us from God because God is righteous; He can’t tolerate sin. This is why even a small transgression creates a barrier between God and us. Big or small, our sins cause us to lose the joy of our salvation. Second, grieving the Spirit who indwells us also causes us to lose the joy of our salvation. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=4981&amp;lvid=4981" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Romans 8:9</a> tells us clearly, “the Spirit of God dwells in you.” When we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior, He not only redeemed us, but He also came to dwell in us as the Spirit. Now we no longer live alone; we have another Person living in us, and He has His own thoughts, feelings, and preferences. Whenever we go along with the Lord who lives inside of us, He’s happy. And when He’s happy, we’re happy. Paul said in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=6158&amp;lvid=6158" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ephesians 4:30</a>, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption.” <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/FootNotes.asp?FNtsID=5789" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Note 1</a> in the New Testament Recovery Version explains what it means to grieve the Holy Spirit: “To grieve the Holy Spirit is to displease Him. The Holy Spirit abides in us forever (<a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=3540&amp;lvid=3541&amp;ol=on" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John 14:16-17</a>), never leaving us. Hence, He is grieved when we do not walk according to Him (<a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=4976&amp;lvid=4976&amp;ol=on" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rom. 8:4</a>), that is, when we do not live according to the principle of reality with grace in the details of our daily walk.” Let’s say, for example, we want to go to a certain place. But when we think about going, we feel uneasy. This feeling inside tells us that the Lord doesn’t want to go there. Though we try to reason to ourselves that it’s okay, the uneasy feeling won’t go away; the Lord Jesus in us simply doesn’t want to go there. But instead of agreeing with the Lord and obeying Him not to go, we go anyway. By not walking according to Him, we grieve Him and make Him unhappy. And it’s impossible for us to be happy when He’s grieved. How can we recover and maintain the joy of our salvation? Our joy in the Christian life can at times seem so elusive. We may even find ourselves crying out as David did in Psalm 51:12, “Lord, restore to me the joy of Your salvation!” What can we do to recover our joy in these times, and how can we avoid losing it in the first place? Just as a delicate flower is maintained and nurtured by the proper soil, water, and sunlight, our joy is preserved by the right conditions. The following four healthy habits can provide the right conditions to maintain our joy. First, we should confess our sins quickly. Whether our sin is a small transgression or a serious offense, we must <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/confessing-to-restore-our-fellowship-with-god/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">confess it to the Lord</a>. This includes grieving the Spirit. Whenever <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/what-is-the-conscience/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">our conscience</a> makes us aware that we’ve sinned, we shouldn’t wait to confess our sin to the Lord. <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=7405&amp;lvid=7405" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">First John 1:9</a> says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We confess, and God is righteous to forgive us and cleanse us. The problem of sin is dealt with and our fellowship with Him is restored, and we can enjoy the joy of salvation. Learning to confess without delay is a good habit to develop. There’s no reason to wait. The sooner we confess our sins and failures to the Lord, the sooner we can enjoy sweet fellowship with Him once more. Second, we can take in God’s Word as our spiritual food daily. We all know how grumpy and irritable we can be when we haven’t eaten and are physically hungry and undernourished. We experience the same thing spiritually when we haven’t been eating <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/the-bible-as-our-spiritual-food/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the spiritual food of God’s Word</a>. If we spend time daily to delight ourselves in the Lord in His Word, the Word we feed on becomes the gladness and joy of our heart, supplying us throughout our day. Eating physical food is an enjoyment to us, but eating the Word of God brings us true enjoyment and inner satisfaction. A daily habit of <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/how-to-eat-the-word-of-god/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">taking in God’s Word as our spiritual nourishment</a> will help us maintain our joy in God’s salvation. Third, we can speak to the Lord in prayer all the time. We don’t need to kneel down and solemnly recite a particular prayer when we pray to God. We can simply open our hearts and instantly speak to the Lord Jesus in a personal way. Any time of day or night, we can talk to Him. In <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=3606&amp;lvid=3606" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">John 16:24</a> the Lord Jesus told us “ask and you shall receive, that your joy may be made full.” Speaking to Him in prayer about everything brings us joy. We can even pray by simply <a href="http://biblesforamerica.org/calling-on-name-of-the-lord/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">calling upon the name of the Lord</a>. By opening to the Lord in prayer, not only at set times or during major life events, but each day and throughout the day, we strengthen our loving relationship with Him. By staying in fellowship with Him, we maintain our joy. Finally, we should fellowship with other Christians regularly. Having fellowship with other Christians also helps us maintain our joy in the Lord, since one of the joys of the Christian life is for believers to come together with others who love Jesus. Concerning the believers’ fellowship, in <a href="http://online.recoveryversion.org/bibleverses.asp?fvid=7399&amp;lvid=7400" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">1 John 1:3-4</a> the apostle John showed us that genuine Christian fellowship is not a duty or a ritual but a matter of joy, even full joy: “That which we have seen and heard we report also to you that you also may have fellowship with us…And these things we write that our joy may be made full.” Gathering with other believers to read the Bible, speak about Christ, and praise the Lord is a highlight of our Christian experience that refreshes us, encourages us, and makes our joy full. May we be those who endeavor to build up these healthy habits in our daily life. By confessing our sins, feeding on God’s Word, speaking to the Lord in prayer, and getting together to fellowship with other Christians, we can maintain an overflowing joy in our Christian lives.

How to Maintain the Joy of Our Salvation

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