Christians live a double life, but we aren’t to be double-minded. Physically, we are in a world filled with sin, temptation, and evil. Old friends tempt us to return to old ways, but since coming to faith in Christ, the old ways must be put away, and we need to concentrate on our true Home.

“A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways” (James 1:8).

Temptations will happen as long as we live on this side of Heaven. It’s important that we willingly stay away from the things that tempt us to sin.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners, and purify your hearts, ye double-minded” (James 4:7-8).

Every Christian has a past, and temptation can easily pull us back into worldly ways. Satan doesn’t want you to draw close to God. If you do, you may influence your friends to do the same. Old friends and unbelievers around us don’t know, nor do they really care, that we’re trying to please God instead of people. They may mock us and think we’re acting strange when we reject old sinful lifestyles, but we must please God and be an example to the people around us.

We are also an example to fellow Christians. If a babe in Christ sees you embracing sin, getting angry, and generally dishonoring God, then that person may think it’s just fine to sin as long as you profess to be a Christian. God will forgive, but true repentance will change your mind about sinning so that temptations will lose their power over you.

We have to live in this world until God decides to take us Home, but living in the world is different than living like the world.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:1-2).

Christians need to live for Christ, not for the world. If we allow ourselves to be influenced by the old lifestyles we should have left behind, we can get very frustrated. It’s a choice we make daily. Actually, it’s a minute-by-minute choice.

“Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God” (James 4:4).

When you surround yourself with true Christian friends, it’s much easier to stay on the strait path that pleases God. Old friends may tempt you to return to old habits of behavior, but that’s not the way to find true joy in life. When you go to work each day, the same co-workers you knew before you met Jesus are there and expect you to be the same as you always were. Do you join in on the office gossip, or do you choose to pray for the people that the gossip is hurting? Which choice would Jesus want you to make?

When you go home at night, do you choose to sit and watch television to “unwind,” or do you spend time with your family? You are the example for your children to follow. They’ve been under the influence of secular teachings all day, and you need to lead them to follow Jesus. Instead of television, why not have a family Bible study? This will strengthen your own faith and that of your family.

Christians are ambassadors of Christ to this fallen world. An ambassador represents his nation in a foreign land.

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20).

That’s a great responsibility, but Jesus will help us if we allow it. The Holy Spirit is sealed within us from the very moment we truly believe, and if we listen to Him, we will be better fit to resist temptation. The Holy Spirit will never lead you away from God’s truth. If you “feel” as if you should do something for Christ, like witness to a friend about what Jesus has done for you, then that prompting is from the Holy Spirit. Don’t let fear stifle the voice of God working in you.

“Quench not the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19).

On the other hand, if you “feel” you need to angrily chastise someone or get even with them for a wrong they may have done to you, that isn’t the voice of God. We are supposed to pray for our enemies and show God’s grace and mercy in our actions. Is that easy to do? Not at first, but with God’s help, it gets easier. A good way to learn to forgive wrongs done to you is to think of what Christ sacrificed for your redemption. Think of the wrongs He suffered. We all sin and need to humbly ask forgiveness. If we want God to forgive our sins, then we must forgive others.

“And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil” (Luke 11:4).

If you study your Bible rather than sit in front of the television, you’ll clearly see that God says we are to forgive others.

We need to model our actions after Jesus and remember what He did for us on the cross. Sin comes very easily for most of us. A little “white lie” doesn’t seem so bad, but God sees sin in a much different way than people do. God says that even our thoughts are sinful.

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28).

The Apostle Paul wrote to the congregation in Corinth to encourage them to turn from the sin that was being brought into their midst. He knew that actions begin as thoughts, so we need to control our thoughts.

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds:) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).

Unless you give your thoughts to God, sin will take control of your thoughts. Be sure to keep an active prayer life and talk to God about your sin. Ask Him to help you control your thoughts and actions. Humbly ask Him to forgive you when you sin. He will always forgive, but you need to earnestly repent and turn from sin.

Many people get mad at God and say, “Why should I trust God ?What has He ever done for me?” That’s a question that comes from pure ignorance. Instead of believing God’s truth, many people seem to go out of their way to believe some pretty ridiculous ideas. For instance, some think we die and then come back over and over again until we get it right. Maybe we come back as a bug or a mouse. I wonder what standard of perfection is required and who determines it. There are some who think that we were planted here by aliens from a distant planet. People will come up with many fables in order to avoid truth. God created everything.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him: and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1-4).

Why is that truth so hard to accept? Our sin separates us from God, but that’s not what God wants. He wants us to be with Him for eternity. We cannot work for eternal life, but we must have faith in Jesus. Faith in who He was and what He did.

“And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

Remember that God took on human form and gave His life, so by faith, we can live eternally with Him.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God” (John 3:16-18).

Don’t misplace your faith. Believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

If you’re one who wants to know what God has done for you, you need to also ask, “What has the World done for me lately?” In the world, you have death, disputes with people, trouble, illness, and no hope. Faith in Jesus doesn’t take the troubles away, but through Christ, there is hope beyond this life.

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

Jesus entered His creation because of His perfect love for us. Jesus chose to step down from the glory of the Heavenly Realm and live in this fallen world because He loves us. He was fully God. He had to be God in order for His blood to be untainted by sin that began with Adam. We are redeemed by His blood. He was also fully human.

His mother was a mere human, just like any other woman. Her blessing came because she was obedient to God in spite of what it would cost her, but still, she was just a human. That meant Jesus was human and a kinsman to all humanity, no matter the color of your skin or the size of your bank account. His pure blood was shed to take away the sin that has condemned everyone since Adam chose to sin. John the Baptist described Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If you reject Jesus, then you condemn yourself to Hell.

Time is quickly slipping away. Each day that passes is one step closer to eternity. The soul lives forever in either Heaven or Hell. Either you will die and pass from this mortal life, or the Rapture will happen and you will either be taken to be with Jesus, or you will be left to face Hell on earth. The signs are showing us that the Rapture could happen at any moment. Make your choice to choose Christ today. God doesn’t want anybody to spend eternity in Hell, and He provided the only way for eternal life. Choosing Christ today is a must.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

If you talk to most people, they’ll tell you that they will go to a “better place” when they die. They can’t tell you what that better place is or where it’s located, but they’re sure it will be where their friends are. When you press them on the subject, you’ll find out that, in their opinion, they will spend eternity in that wonderful place because they think they’ve been good enough.

By human standards, they may be very good and kind, but God doesn’t judge by human standards. By human standards, I’m not too bad. I don’t cuss, I occasionally do something nice for someone, and when I fall short of God’s standard of perfection, I can usually logically excuse my actions. If measured by human standards, I’m no worse than anyone else. It isn’t human standards we must meet; it’s God’s perfection that is our standard. By God’s standard, I’m not “just as good as the other guy,” but I am just as bad.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Now that I think about it, I fail quite often in my walk with the Lord. I’m sure you do, too.

“O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin” (Romans 7:24-25).

I’m not a man; I’m a woman, but the cry is the same.

Sin is very serious in God’s eyes. God loves every person who has ever lived, but right from the beginning, mankind rebelled against God’s rules.

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

He started with nothing, then created everything. The first thing He spoke into existence was light.

“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

There wasn’t a long period of time as light evolved. One moment there was darkness, and the next moment there was light.

“And God saw the light that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:4-5).

Each new day brought new wonders that God created. On the second day, He divided the waters and put the firmament of Heaven above the waters. Then, on the third day, He brought forth the dry land and gathered the water into Seas. The earth was to bring forth grass and herbs and fruit trees all after its kind. On the fourth day, it was time to gather the light.

“And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning was the fourth day” (Genesis 1:16-19).

When we read of the two great lights, the word is “ma’or.” This holds the light, like a lantern or a candlestick. Now, it was time to fill creation with living things such as fish, whales, birds, and every living creature.

“And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning were the fifth day” (Genesis 1:22-23).

In order to be “fruitful and multiply,” there had to be male and female of each creature. They were all to procreate after their own kind. Fish weren’t to mate with birds, and sheep weren’t to crossbreed with horses. God wanted no genetic tampering.

Then came the sixth day. All things were ready for God’s ultimate creation: humans.

“So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth” (Genesis 1:27-28).

Don’t let anybody tell you that you aren’t a special creation of God. Humans were made in God’s image and aren’t just another animal. You didn’t evolve from goo, but Adam was created in God’s image. God created a male, and then a female was taken from Adam.

Today, we have some very deceived people who think they are “non-binary,” meaning they are neither male nor female, but opt for “other.” There are some who are deceived into thinking that a genetic male is really a female, or a genetic female thinks she’s a male. Then artificial hormones and body mutilation happen, and truth is turned into lies. That is a delusion and a lie from the father of lies, Satan. A doctor can tell if a baby is male or female long before birth, but now children who are barely potty trained are allowed to choose their gender, even though they can’t be trusted to cross the street alone.

Creation was finished, and God rested from His work. He had created everything needed for life to continue. Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden, and the beauty there must have been something to behold. It wasn’t tainted by sin, and everything was new and fresh. There was no death.

“And God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:31).

When God says it’s good, then it’s good. There were many trees for food, but the fruit of one tree was dangerous for Adam to eat.

“And the LORD God commanded the man saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die” (Genesis 2:17).

The command was given to Adam prior to Eve being created, and Adam was entrusted with teaching God’s word to Eve. Adam loved her from the moment he saw her, but Satan was already plotting his lies to deceive Eve.

How long did they live in the Garden? How long until Eve chatted with the serpent? A week? A year? Scripture doesn’t say, but the tactic that Satan used was the same tactic he uses today… lies and deception. God’s words are twisted to make God look bad and seem as if He only wants to ruin all your fun. In truth, God’s rules are in place for our protection. Adam ate the Forbidden Fruit, and death entered into creation, just as God said. Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden, and life has been a struggle ever since.

God didn’t lie to them; Satan did. Why is it that people still believe Satan’s lies instead of God’s truth?

God didn’t stop loving Adam, Eve, and their descendants. He had a plan for salvation, and it took many years to bring that plan about. Study both the Old Testament and the New to understand God’s plan for redemption.

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit” (1 Corinthians 15:45).

Death came through Adam, but life comes through Jesus Christ.

“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at the coming” (1 Corinthians 15:22-23).

Every human is under the curse of death. Our bodies grow old and wear out. We die. For those of us who have chosen to place our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it’s only our body that dies. Our spirit will live eternally with Him. Going back to the first paragraph above, when I think I’m a nice person and good enough to live eternally, I’m wrong. I’ve sinned, and even one tiny sinful thought is enough to condemn a person to eternal death. God’s standard is perfection.

“And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:14).

Adam sinned by choice, and all of Adam’s children will die, but God chose to step into His creation to offer us eternal life. Only through true faith in Christ can we be made alive for eternity.

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:12-13).

Jesus was God incarnate. He gave His life for our salvation. There is no other way.

Today, people are still being deceived by the same old lies that Eve listened to. Satan twists God’s truth, and people believe him. He tells us that all roads lead to Heaven, so go ahead and participate in yoga and open yourself up to the kundalini spirit (a demon), or empty your mind in meditation so any passing demon will take up residence. Satan would like us to believe that Mormons, Muslims, and Eastern beliefs are all the same as Christianity and that all roads lead to God. Does Jesus agree? Jesus told His disciples that He was going to His Father’s house but would return one day.

“And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know” (John 14:4).

Jesus was headed to Jerusalem where He knew He would be crucified… the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He wasn’t talking about the disciples following Him there. He was talking about following Him to eternity. There is no other way to eternal life than through true faith in Jesus. Thomas wasn’t sure what Jesus meant, so He asked. Jesus answered Him with very reassuring words.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6).

There is no other way. If you think you can make it to Heaven by being “good enough,” you are wrong… dead wrong. There is only one way, and that is through the righteousness of Christ.

“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3:9).

Adam’s sin caused death to enter creation, but today, we have a solution to that sin. Adam made a choice, and so must we. We must choose to receive Christ for salvation.

Don’t be lost for eternity. Find salvation through Jesus Christ because He is the only way, the only truth, and the only life.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham
twotug@embarqmail.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.