Pleasant Grove Baptist Church September 14, 2019 at 04:30AM

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via IFTTT Are you prepared to die for your faith? Are you looking forward to the honor? Before you answer, take a close look at your own recent past. Have you shied away from declaring sin as sin? Have you accepted "what's normal" so that you would appear "weird"? Have you followed what is socially acceptable to avoid being singled out? Have you not wanted to "rock the boat" in your own family? So often we think we are ready to "die" for our faith but we are too scared to live it! Paul was not afraid, not timid, he looked forward to it. He counted persecution of all sorts as a great honor! To be counted worthy to experience the persecution of the saints?!?! Wow! What an honor! How popular would an alter call be if it was clearly explained that the promise is a life of persecution? Sure, eternal life later, but Jesus said to "count the cost". Jesus promised we would face persecution and death if we lived the gospel. Not riches and happiness, no. Persecution and death. That is the promise, the honor of the truly repentant and saved Christian. The problem you see, the problem in America is that Christian Life is so easy, it takes no commitment, brings no cost. And for that reason, Christianity without cost is fake. It's not real. Jesus made a promise. Persecution in this life. If you are not experiencing persecution either Jesus lied or your not living the Gospel! Paul counted persecution as an honor, a blessing. Do you? Or do you avoid it? What if the level of persecution we experience in this life is in fact a measurement of how well we follow Christ? If we are promised persecution by Jesus Himself, why would we expect any other outcome? Therefore, it is a valid argument.... Lack of persecution may mean lack of Christ in our life. Now, be careful when evaluating this. Persecution for sin is not the same as persecution for righteousness. Jesus promised persecution for living His life and shining His light to the world. If we are persecuted because we compromised the gospel or outright sinned, that is different. Take heart, expect criticism. Expect to loose friends, to have rumours based on lies spread, expect to be misquoted, expect to be ostricized for your faith, expect to be criticized for speaking truth, expect to be an outcast because those who love sin are uncomfortable around someone who exposes sin as sin. Expect to be persecuted! The promise is that WHILE you are persecuted, while in prison, while beaten, while being mistreated, you will experience the greatest peace and comfort beyond understanding. Not because you were "rescued" from the evildoers, but because the Holy Spirit lives in you and brings peace inside a storm. The storm isn't quieted, but tranquil comfort abounds in your heart. The quiet strength that says "I know God can calm the storm, but even if He doesn't, I choose righteousness and truth". Paul headed towards persecution, not as a sacrifice but as an honor. Are you ready?

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church September 09, 2019 at 04:10AM

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via IFTTT God is not mocked. Ever. Man may think from time to time that he has "gotten away with something" or "slipped by". NO. Never God is not mocked, ever, but He is incredibly patient. He is the good father that does not take pleasure in punishment. It hurts His heart to discipline us. He does not in any way enjoy doling out justice to us, His children. But He does, when He must. When we exhaust His Mercy, when we push His patience to the limit with our wicked behaviour, He has no choice. I understand this. I have 12 children. Never in my life have I enjoyed doling out discipline. It is a job, a duty. I do it, but only when absolutely necessary. There is no pleasure in giving discipline or justice. Pleasure of a father is found in giving mercy. But, sometimes the child requires discipline. God's heart is deep. He loves us. All of us. You. But His love is so deep that He will indeed discipline who He must. First He tries mercy, invitation, softness. But He will not be mocked. He will not tolerate a child who rebels over and over. He will not tolerate one who takes advantage of His gracious mercy. Sin is sin, and leads to death. If the Bible lists something as sin, it is sin. Period. God will not change, will not be mocked. Sin is death. Know that God is a gracious Father full of Mercy. Know that God will not be mocked

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church September 04, 2019 at 04:59PM

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via IFTTT Rosebud Food Ministry. Thank you for your support!

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church September 02, 2019 at 04:25AM

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via IFTTT The kingdom of God is not about rules and regulations, it is about joy, peace, righteousness. People get very hung up on rules. Do this, don't do that. A "good Christian" does not do this. A "saved" person would not do that. "You can't be a member of our church unless you follow our rules." Then on the other side you hear "let everyone do whatever they want, it's all just love!". Or " I can do anything I want, I'm saved". Or even "God accepts everyone in His love". Both extremes are lies, because they focus on laws, rules and regulations. One side demands the following of rules, the other demands the extinction of rules. Rules rules rules. But the law kills, the spirit brings life. Lay the rules aside and realize what Paul says here. Rules only have the authority that the individual is convinced they have, but the following or breaking of rules must be driven by a deep desire to portray Christ to the world. If we break rules because WE want to, we sin by those rules. It was our want, our preference, our desire to break the rules and that is sin. Doing anything for our own benefit is sin. But, if we pretend that following rules makes us more holy, we also sin. The only thing that can make us holy is the blood of Christ and work of the Holy Spirit, not man's efforts to follow rules. So, you see, the law, the rules, are beautiful. They show us God's heart. They are the instructions book for man in how to live long, healthy, at peace. But they do not in any way make us more holy and we can not judge someone's holiness by the following of the law's letter. We hold each other accountable for sin, we cry out to the world over activities of sin that breaks God's heart, but we do not ever think that the absence of acts of sin brings holiness. Complex? Contradictory? Not really. Not when you see that God's kingdom is not about rules, but about "love your neighbor as yourself" and "love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength". If we do those two things in spirit and truth, we will follow the law and enjoy living according to His rules. Not because we have to, but because we finally can ! You see, if you follow the rules because you must in order to avoid punishment, you missed it altogether. No parent wants their child to "do as little as possible to avoid punishment". Parents want the child to mature to the point of "how can I help?" Instead of "what must I do". It's all in the heart. God is love. So much love that He gave law to follow that shows us what life should be like. He wants us to live at joy and peace while following the law, because our heart is washed clean from sin by His Sons blood. Law does not bring us closer to God, the desire to follow law shows us how close we ourselves are.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 30, 2019 at 04:30AM

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via IFTTT No provision, none, for the desires of flesh. Strong words indeed! And a command that flies in the face of the common thought. What does it mean, "make no provision"? Similar concept to "lead us not into temptation" from the Lord's prayer. It is the thought of staying as far away as possible from that which our flesh desires. Not only rejecting, but avoiding all situations that may tempt us. Purposefully providing no opportunity to be tempted and stumble. What does it mean "desires of the flesh"? Basically everything that you want aside from what God's word wants for you. The desires for fame, pleasure, fun, wealth, food, sensuality, appearances, all those things that make us feel good but are contrary to God's will for us. Does God not want us to enjoy life? Of course He does, but there is a difference between enjoying something that is a result of righteousness, and enjoying something because you want to enjoy it. The latter leads to sin and error, then death and destruction. If we follow our desire to "feel" good, we fail to please God . It is not what we do but why. If you give to the needy because it makes you feel good and you wish to feel good in that way, that is feeding your flesh. If you do good because you wish recognition of others, to be noticed, rewarded, then that good you do for you is feeding your flesh. If you pursue a relationship or activity because you enjoy it , that is feeding your flesh. Seem extreme? How so? Are we not dead to our own wishes? Are we not crucified with Christ so that He may live in us? Are we not to commit our every moment and breath to serving God? Did He give you the day off to go enjoy yourself instead of serving others? We say the phrases, but do we live them? Are we truly considering all of our own dreams, goals, wants, desires to be dead? Do we set aside everything of our life to exclusively live for Christ? We recently had a river baptism. Beautiful ceremony, exhilarating experience. As the new saints came up out of the water, the old stayed below and "all things are made new". How then can we return to spending any time enjoying the desires of the flesh? Life is no longer ours ! At baptism we "gave our life to Christ", so what desire do we have left but to please him with every heartbeat we are granted? There is no vacation from being Christian. It's a life long 24x7 and 365 1/4 day per year commitment. We dare not pick up those old desires and act on them, ever. Life no longer belongs to us. But what if we do, what If we stumble? God is grace and mercy, but that is not an opening to sin! We dare not sin because we know forgiveness is coming. The agony! God will discipline His children! There will be consequence for open disobedience. There is a price to pay! God will ensure that the pleasure of sin is outweighed by the pain of Justice. He must, for this alone is love. Do not give any provision for sin. Do not justify sin. Do not accommodate the desires that rage within you. Instead give them to Jesus. Cry out to God how weak and depraved your flesh is, how you seek deliverance from all those fleshly desires! Give it to Him and do what you can to flea from every situation that tempts you to "feel good". Flee before the feelings arise, before the flesh rises up and the desire is overwhelming. Flee while you are far enough away from sin to avoid the pull it has on you. Flee to the church, to the Bible, to His presence. He will not leave you nor forsake you. You can behave right, by giving to Jesus all those desires to feel good. Rely on Him. Seek His presence. Not because He makes you feel good, but because He is worthy. Everything we do is to please Him because He and He alone is worthy to serve. Once again, it's all Jesus, He is the only answer .

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 26, 2019 at 04:30AM

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via IFTTT The remnant. "A small remaining quantity of something". Both beautiful and powerful! Never loose hope. Never think you are the only one left. Never think all have fallen away except for you. There is always a remnant. There are always many more righteous then you can see. The remnant. All through this world history, for over 6000 years God has preserved a remnant of people. At one point the remnant was incredibly small, a single family. But it was still a remnant. God will not let his creation fail! People today tend to panic, tend to loose hope. Things are just too bad this time. Whether it's this cause or that cause, both Christian and non Christian alike tend to think things are worse than it has ever been. And this is true! But not because things have gotten out of hand. Not because there is no future. The Christian who is in tune with God knows that this is all according to plan. God is totally and forever in control. And He has a remnant! A set of people of unknown number, dedicate at heart to serving the Lord regardless of circumstance. People who will not bow the knee to modern day idols. People who will not enjoy the pleasures of illicit sin. People who love God more than self. Why is there a remnant? The scripture says "God's gracious choice". He has done this! God has preserved a remnant of people, not because the people were special, but because he CHOSE them! He kept them clean. Wow! What a revelation! God can keep you clean from this world. God can keep you from sin. God can keep you holy. It is not up to you to make yourself holy, God Himself will! All you must do, is submit to His hand. Being a part of the remnant is not something you do, it is someone you are, created by God. He has chosen those who shall be. And let me say this. If you feel a tug at your heart when you read these words, He has chosen you! The very fact that you are here, reading this right now, shows His power to draw you in. God arranged you life so that you would read these words and realize that you are called to be one of the remnant. That's the good news that changed the world. God did, through Jesus, what you could not do, and now He calls to you. Will you step away from your life and live His life? Will you put your trust in Him and Him alone? Will you turn to Him in your time of need? The remnant is a beautiful and a powerful thing to behold. The world can not degrade beyond God's power to keep those clean whom He wants. He is still God, and still in control.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 23, 2019 at 04:25AM

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via IFTTT God's man is not always a good man, and not always someone that should be supported. This is a great paradox! Consider pharaoh. Scripture says God Himself raised him up God appointed Pharaoh, leader of Egypt. God chose him and set him in power as the most powerful man across the Earth. God blessed him with riches and power beyond everyone else on Earth at that time. God's chosen man! Why? To create unprecedented opposition to Moses over the Hebrew slaves. Pharaoh was an evil man, drunk on power and riches, considering himself God. He keeps the Hebrews slaves and fought Moses and God through the plagues. Wait .. pharaoh was God's chosen leader, to fight against God? Yes. Let that one sink in. This wasn't the first time either, several times God says that He raised and enriched a nation or ruler specifically to conquer an errant Israel. God raised up an anti God ruler and nation to discipline and correct Israel. So, flash forward to today. When a nation like the USA walks away from truth, God may bring a strong successful but proud and abusive leader to achieve the goal of someone who will oppose God's errant people. Someone who will expose apostate beliefs and lives. In today's world, do we vote for that chosen man? Pharaoh was obviously an evil man, worshipping idols and abusing slaves. Yet God had his finger on this man for winning any election. But do you vote for a man who opposes God and God's law? If you do not vote for him, you are voting against God's chosen man. Voting against God's plan! If you do vote for him, you are voting for an evil man to be ruler and bring misery. What to do? How can you vote if you know God is raising a pharaoh to do evil? And herein is wisdom. A vote cast is our personal obedience to scripture. Who wins is up to God, not our vote. God alone appoints rulers, for blessing or curse. Our vote then, is our personal obedience to scripture. If we were in Egypt voting it would be wrong, even sin, to vote for the pharaoh God was raising up to win the election. God's chosen man, can just as well be evil as good. Our job is to discern which and vote according to scripture principles. Our vote is a statement, a prayer, telling God who we think meets biblical qualifications for public service. Who wins, is in His sovereign hands. Pharaoh was indeed God's man. He was brought to power by God himself. And through the pride and evil of this man God destroyed the nation that supported him. It is quite conceited for us today to think that God's chosen man would bring blessings only. Throughout history God punished errant nations through leaders who represented what was wrong with that nation. God chose and raised those men specifically to demonstrate His greater power and crush the people that praised man over God. America is unique. We have the ability, the responsibility to choose civil leaders. But we must realize that God's chosen winner is just as likely to bring curse as blessing, death as life. Our vote must be according to God's principles of faith and evidence of proper fruit. But the winner of an election, good or bad, is always God's chosen man or woman. He alone appoints authority. Think back over each and every elected official during your lifetime. God chose them for the time, to bring blessing or curse. God is sovereign. He is God. He chooses who He wants to work out His purpose. It is not the place of the church to tell anyone who to vote for or not, but is absolutely the place of the church to speak clear Bible principles of how we should decide who to vote for. Our chosen candidate must meet clear minimum requirements for civil servants as laid out in scripture. Only then can we consider casting our vote. Not from fear, but from faith. Faith that God is in control and appoints each leader. Our job is to choose who to support wisely according to scripture and not be driven by man's fallible wisdom nor fear of any outcome. We stand on principle and relax, leaving the outcome to God. And if God raises up another pharoah, so be it. We do not support such an evil man, we oppose him, even though we may know that God chose him. How do we know that God chose him? Because he won. How do we know not to support him nor vote for him? Because he is evil and does not meet minimum qualifications laid out in scripture. Vote according the scripture. Faith, not fear

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 18, 2019 at 07:41AM

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via IFTTT Reminder, if you would like a ride to church this morning from Rosebud, call before 10:00am at 951.662.8477 We will pick up at second and main in rosebud at 10am, return at 12:30 Come as you are!

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 16, 2019 at 04:04AM

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via IFTTT Sin is a choice to follow the desires of the flesh instead of the righteousness of Christ. Following the flesh, is wrong. Always wrong. The flesh is against God. What does that mean? What are the desires of the flesh? Things that "feel good" but violate God's law and design. You see, sin feels good. The flesh loves feelings, good feelings. Physical pleasure, mental pleasure, physical satisfaction. These things are of the flesh. Obeying the desires of our flesh is sin. This is why homosexuality is found in the same list of sins as gluttony (eating for pleasure instead of health). It is the same thing, violating God's law and design for physical pleasure. Sin. Obeying the desires of the flesh. We are to die to the flesh in order to live for Christ, that means we must bring the flesh under submission to God's will. We must give out bodies to God for His use, not our enjoyment. Life is not about enjoyment, but about serving. Is it wrong to make food taste good? Of course not. But it is wrong to eat things you know are unhealthy because it tastes good! Is it wrong to enjoy physical pleasure? Of course not, but it is wrong to enjoy physical pleasure in a manner outside God's design of committed marriage between man and woman. But wait.... Some say "I was born this way, my sexual desires are how I was made" Yes, we were all made to crave sin in our flesh, and we must all overcome those desires through the power of the cross. Some crave one sin, some another. The sin is in giving in to the cravings and desires of the flesh, giving in to how we were made. That is sin! We are to give up pleasing ourselves, give up being slaves to how we were made. That is the whole point of the gospel! Paul says to stop doing what feels good, and start going what God's will is. We have written scripture explaining God's will in principle, and we have the Holy Spirit to teach us all things in the moment. There is no excuse! Stop living for pleasure, stop living to serve your body. Instead set all that aside and ask Jesus so set you free from the desires of the flesh. Be free to follow scripture and God's heart. Be free to live without sin. Be free!

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 11, 2019 at 06:13AM

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via IFTTT Looking for a volunteer carpenter / handyman to repair this playset. This playset was donated to the church kids by a generous local couple. It is in decent shape but has a few areas that need replacement or repair. Work would be done on site at the church where it sits partially unassembled. If you or someone you know is capable and interested, please let us know. The children are waiting to use this awesome donation!

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 08, 2019 at 08:30AM

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via IFTTT NOTE: There will NOT be a food delivery today (Thursday) in Rosebud. Please pass the word.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 07, 2019 at 01:04PM

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via IFTTT Homemade jam? The Pleasant Grove kids are out in front of the church selling homemade jam. Stop by and say hi if you have a minute! Corner of fm2027 and fm1048

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 07, 2019 at 04:00AM

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via IFTTT Much debate, even argument, about works and faith. Yet why? Paul is very clear here in explaining this. We are justified by faith alone, not works. That justification fulfills the law through our good works. Why? Because justification by faith clears the path for the Holy Spirit to live on us and guide is in following the law, not because we have to but because we want to. God changes our "wanter" from the inside out. The law is writen on the heart, changing the very core of man into one that desires righteousness. You see, the Gospel is not about willpower, not about following "the rules", not about acting right. The gospel is about BEING right, from the inside. Whole, complete, at peace with God. That is the gospel! And then, our heart is born of spirit and we desire to please our heavenly Father in every detail. Religion is about doing right. The Gospel is about being made right. So the proper way to look at things is, through the gospel we can finally live by and fulfill the law. Following the law is not the goal, it is the result! Salvation is through faith, but those "saved" will "do good works" for pure motives of pleasing God. Doing the works does not save you. Jesus saves you. And then you want to do only good works.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church August 06, 2019 at 03:21AM

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via IFTTT Judgement is coming. Fair and honest judgement. Judgement not based on affleuance, not on affiliation, not on membership, not on association, not on race. Judgement based on actions driven by the heart. God is impartial, all men are created equal, no one gets a free pass! Men on the other hand, tend to judge based on all those things that God ignores. Things like: Wealth Success Appearance Popularity Positions of authority Membership in organizations Educational achievement and school Awards of man These are the things we find on a resume. The things we brag on for ourselves and judge others by. These are the worthless things, misleading things, things of the world invented by men to honor man above God. Do not think for a second that your money, diploma, awards, position or popularity means anything to God. He gave you all those things! You didn't earn it! How proud we are to claim success in life to be our own! How dare we take a free gift from God and declare that it was our own doing. You see, we aren't judged by the things of this world that appear on our resume because all those things are gifts from God. He decided in His infinite wisdom to make Bill Gates wealthy. He orchestrated life to bring the fabulous success of Microsoft. It was not Bill himself, he is not some super human with deep wisdom. And even if he was, God granted that too! We are each made, designed, built by God for a purpose in life. He gave us what we have. We dare not say anything that is a free gift makes us "better" then another in other conditions of life. We dare not think that the gifts of God in this life somehow make us worthy of heaven or eternal reward. We dare not think "I can get away with that sin because I am (insert any from our resume here)" There is one thing and one thing only that we are to be judged on, our actions. Actions spring from the heart. Good deeds come from a good heart, washed clean of ambition and pride by the blood of Jesus. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God" is the answer. If you seek God first and His righteousness, if you hunger and thirst after God's presence and holiness, then you will do good deeds that you will be judged by. It's not even the deeds themselves, it's the heart that seeks to do good. That is the key, the root. Doing good deeds for the wrong motive will bring harsh judgement. Bottom line? It's all Jesus. Turn life over to Him, stop trying to do it on your own. Stop taking credits for success. Start seeking Him first. Start bragging on Him. Start spending time with Jesus. Let His presence be your shining glory. His name is what will bring good judgement on that fateful day when we all stand together shoulder to shoulder. The poorest man on Earth will stand next to Bill Gates and be judged just the same. God is impartial and fair.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church July 30, 2019 at 04:07PM

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via IFTTT The food set and available. If you are in need, come on down to second and main in rosebud. Will be here till 8pm or when the food runs out

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church July 27, 2019 at 03:23AM

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via IFTTT The battlefield of Christ is in the mind! Thoughts, fears, anxiety, imaginations, dreams, these are the things that matter. To often we focus on actions. Sure actions matter, actions are what will be judged in the end. But the hidden battlefield of thought inside ones mind is where actions spring from. It is the thoughts that we allow which drive the actions we do. Think wrong, do wrong. Think right, do right. Remember what Jesus said... If a man "looks" on a woman with lust in his heart, he has committed adultery. Looking and thinking about the pleasures of sin is what leads us to sin! The thoughts make us guilty because if we don't "capture" the thought, we end up doing the action. Thoughts matter! They are seeds... Either seeds of destruction of seeds of success. The battle is about judging each thought properly and captureing, removing, halting those thoughts leading to evil. What is an evil thought? Anything that goes against God's will or law: I wish I could go party with them. It's too bad I got caught. That would be so much fun if I could do it. I know that is wrong but it sure looks fun. I wish I could have what they have. I hate that person. I really don't like this but I have to. Evil! So many simple thoughts are evil! Perhaps not blatantly evil, but evil still because they lead away from God's mercy, grace, and righteousness. Praising sin, thinking fondly of the pleasures of sin, looking back at sin with longing for the fun, evil! Remember Lott's wife? She looked back, longingly. She missed the pleasures of her old life and looked back at her old home in Sodom. Wham! God's judgement turned her into a pillar of salt. Looking back longingly at the pleasures of sin, missing them in our thoughts; evil! So what do we do? Daily, hourly, minute by minute we actively capture thoughts that are not in line with God's righteousness, and we remove them. We stand against the seeds of sin in our own heart. The flesh will always desire the pleasure of sin. But our spirit desires the righteousness of God once we are filled with the Spirit. The soul sits in the middle and decides to either follow the flesh or the spirit. That is the battle ground. You, your mind, your will, is in charge of the path you choose. As soon as a negative thought pops in, don't give it room to grow, capture it immediately and toss it out. Ungodly thoughts are an infection, they reproduce and spread rapidly. If we don't capture them when small and single, they quickly grow strong and drag our emotions to the flesh. The battle gets harder every second we allow that initial thought to remain. Take captive any and all thoughts that even slightly violate the knowledge and righteousness of Christ. All. Don't entertain lust, greed, envy, hatred, sinful pleasures, memories or desires for pleasure of sin. None of that! Think on what's forward, the holiness of Christ, the good things, the holy things, the things of good report. These thoughts build us up, give us strength, lead us into life and light. It matters what we think. Thoughts will make or break us. Be diligent in monitoring your own thoughts through the lens of scripture. Be quick to capture the ones that violate good or praise sin. Take that first step in deciding to capture the bad thoughts, and God, through the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit will give the power to live righteously. This is victory!

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church July 22, 2019 at 03:46AM

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via IFTTT Cleanse ourselves? How do we "cleans ourselves"? We can't. Yet we can. We can not do the cleansing, only Jesus through the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit can cleanse us and change our heart. But.. and this is important, we must submit those areas of our heart and life to His will. We must take the step of submitting to Him. If we do not turn a part of our life over to the authority of Jesus, He will not cleanse us in that area. When we stubbornly hold on to a sin that we like, a habit, a thought, a pleasure that we just aren't ready to give up, we remain in that sin. What to do? Pray to "want" to give up that sin. You see, even when we truly want to çontinue enjoying the pleasures of a sin, we can decide that we want to stop wanting it! Just like a person who tries to stop smoking. For a time at least, they often want to quit, but the can't, they don't want to do what they want to do. During this time they want to not want it, but they still do. How is this possible? Because we are a three part being. Body, soul, and spirit. All three parts if us can have "wants" and those wants can conflict. This creates the common war within a person, when the body wants this and the soul wants that. When the spirit drives us this way yet the soul demands that way. The path to peace, to overcoming, is first realizing that we do have three parts, and those parts can be at war. Only Jesus can bring all three into harmony and fix us completely. Not willpower, not struggling, but truly change us to be single minded and desire Him only. The second step is to make the decision that we want to be clean. We want to be rid of this sin or that. This habit or that. Pray for the desire to end it. Pray for God to change your heart. Give Him permission, in your words, to do whatever He needs to cleanse you. Anything. Turn it over to Him. Whatever it takes. Scary? Yep. If your body or soul is bent on living in a sin, it may take a lot to change that. God can and will do it, but only if you make the decision that it's worth it. He will bring us to the point where the sin disgusts us, the pleasure of it holds no attraction anymore, and we can walk away in peace. Are you ready? Are you prepared to say to God that you will submit to His will, ask Him to do whatever is necessary to change you? To remove that sin? The habit? Tell Him now. Give verbal permission, from your true heart, to bring you to a place where you no longer desire sin. Trust that Jesus through the refining fire of the Holy Spirit will change your heart, and it will be worth it. Turn from sin. Set aside sin. It is a decision we make, and the power to accomplish it comes from above. All we need do is decide and trust. Follow whatever path God opens for you, and trust. Be clean. Be whole. Be like God. Be at peace.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church July 21, 2019 at 04:09AM

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via IFTTT "come out" "Do not touch what is unclean" God's people are called to live differently. Called to stand out. In the verses before this, Paul talks about those of light associating with those of darkness, of clean mixing with unclean. What does this mean for us today? Be different. Be the light. We are not different if people can not see that we are different. We should live different, do things differently, act differently. Not on Sundays, but everyday of the week. In public and in our homes. Today it's questions like: How are our children raised? Who teaches them? What do they learn? What messages blare from the tv inside our home? What music fills the air in our home or car? Do the females in our family dress modestly, by biblical standards? Do the males look like ambassadors of Christ? Where do we turn for fun and entertainment? How do we spend our days? What does our home look like on Halloween? What type of friends do we hang out with? What words fill the air around us? So many questions to ask. All asking "are we different? Do we embrace the world and it's pleasures or do we change it? Do we join in or stand apart? Can someone look at us and tell from our demeanor, our presence, our speech, our life that we belong to God? As a demonstration of this principle. Try this experiment. Take two glasses of pure water. They look the same. Now drop a few drops of food coloring in one and mix. Colored water, unclean. Now... Pour both glasses into a third glass, mixing them. What do you get? Unclean water. The pure does not clean the unpure, instead the blend together into a compromise, and stay that way, unpure. Now be careful. Here is where many go astray. There are two common missteps with this concept. Misstep 1: legalism. When we start to define what exactly is and is not acceptable, and think that DOING one is good while DOING the other is bad, we ran adrift into legalism. This isn't about rules, but the heart. It is not about actions, but desires. Do you desire to be clean and pure? Are you looking for ways to be pleasing to God in every area of our life? Have we submitted every moment, every action , every desire to His will? Misstep 2: holier than thou. When we start to think that we are better because we DO things or don't DO things, we get proud. We puff up and look down our noses to others. That is pride and sin. That is what hung Jesus on the cross. We are never to consider ourselves better than anyone, for all that is good is Grace, not earned. Also, a warning to keep this in context. Paul is talking about relationships, bonding, mixing, fellowship. Who do we view as friends and partners, what do we accept as normal life. This says nothing about going to help people in desperate situations. Walking into a bar is not sin, walking in to get drunk as fun or escape is. It's the motive of the heart that matters. We are not to avoid those who most need the light, but we are also not to live like them. Jesus was criticized because He visited and ate with obvious sinners. He brought the light to the darkest. Those who concentrated on appearances criticized Jesus for it. Yet they themselves lived in darkness that was kept quiet. They had hearts not seeking the light, but seeking to live like the world while appearing to be the light. It's in the heart. What is the desire of your heart? Do you yearn to be like your Holy Father? If so... You will. This promise is amazing! God the Creator of the universe will be with you, if you desire to be like Him. If you want His holiness more than the world's pleasures, you will find Him What do you want? God or this world? Choose, and choose wisely. You can walk with God, talk with God, know the presence of our Father as a dad, know Jesus as our closest friend. All we need do is, seek Him. Stop living like the world, stop seeking the world, fall on those knees in respect and submission, and seek Him .

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church July 15, 2019 at 03:20AM

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via IFTTT Strong and gentle. Two concepts we rarely associate together. Yet they are. In fact, you can not have gentleness without true strength. Think what it takes to be gentle and loving. For example, let's say a groom wants to lovingly and romantically carry his bride across the threshold into their new life together. If he is not strong, he will struggle. In the struggle he will likely cause hurt or at least fear in his bride. Or think of a fireman needing to carry an injured person out of a burning building to save them. The fireman requires strength to be able to carry someone without causing further injury. Strength is a necessary prerequisite to gentleness. Here Paul is saying to "be strong" yet "walk in love". Strength in truth. Stand against all compromise. The Corinthian church had become weak. When members sought to define their own truth, the leadership allowed it. They did not defend the faith. The result was chaos, sin, confusion. The church as a whole suffered because the people were not standing firm in truth. They preferred to accommodate personal desire, to be inclusive, to be sure to not offend, to be politically correct. And all of that is compromise and sin. Paul says to be strong and stand for the pure gospel, speak against sin and compromise. But Do so in love. Never attack anyone nor act disrespectfully. Always consider the one struggling to resist sin as a brother needing love. Treat them with the same respect you would your best friend who is making bad choices. This takes strength. It's not easy to lovingly correct a brother. But we must. It's not easy to accept everyone in love while standing against sin, but we must. We are, in fact, our "brothers keeper". Be strong, be courageous, be brave, but act in love. Don't let people continue in sin, but rescue them from it. Speak truth in a manner that conveys respect and love.

Pleasant Grove Baptist Church July 12, 2019 at 03:30AM

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via IFTTT The gospel in a nutshell. Christ died for our sins Was buried And rose from the grave on the third day. That's what matters! The foundation. All else is built on these three facts. Christ died for our sins Man fell under judgement, convicted and sentences to death for disobedience to God, our creator. Jesus stepped in and volunteered to suffer our sentence, to die instead of us, instead of you, so that you could live. The debt, the sentence was paid and by accepting this, we, you, carry no sin. Our entire past is erased and we are clean as the day we were born, having been "born again". "There is now therefore no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus." Crist was buried It was real. His body suffered and died a horrible death. It was over. No tricks, He died and was placed in a tomb and sealed. Not hours, but days. Three days and three nights. The body had already decayed and begun to decompose. Christ Rose from the dead! He had the power to lay down His life and to take it back up again, proving that He was indeed victorious over death itself. And the best part? He never died again! He lives today, now. He is just as alive and real today as when He walked on this Earth. He is Alive, real, and available to us. He speaks to us, intervenes in our lives, watches over us just as He did then. We do not have to fear anything in this life, not even death, as Jesus has proven Himself master over all! As long as we stay with Him, in Him, we are safe from everything thrown at us by anyone, we are victorious over everything because we are in Jesus and He in us. That's the gospel! You can be clean, washed free from all of your past AND you can live victorious as a servant of Jesus with no fear, no anxiety, no risk. We tend to add a bunch of stuff to it, but the foundation is simple. Be clean, be free, be victorious by giving yourself, your life, your everything to Jesus. There is no other way, no other path to God. No other plans to find peace and prosperity in life. All other attempts are futile and will fail. It is this simple. Give it all to Jesus and live, hold on to it to keep trying and fail. If you have not yet surrendered all to Jesus, do it now. Give your life, your troubles, your worries to Him and live for Him freely. Live for Him, not you. Find peace and freedom by and through Him. If you have surrendered to Jesus, ask what else you can surrender! Seek to give more, ask what is left that you still hold on to. Ask where you still try to run things. Ask what part of your life has not died yet. And then surrender that too. Seek 100% submitted to Jesus. It's actually pretty easy to see what you have not given to Jesus... It's those things you still worry over! Those things that cause anxiety. How can you be worried when it's His responsibility? What do you have to be anxious over but the things you hang onto and try to control yourself. Find peace, peace that "passes all understanding" by giving it all to Jesus. Because you see, it's all Christ. All. What He did, who He is, what He does. We are nothing, He is everything. The gospel. It's all Jesus.