What is Your Best Kept Secret?

But let it be THE HIDDEN MAN OF THE HEART, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

1 Peter 3:4

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet THE INWARD MAN is renewed day by day.

1 Corinthians 4:16

There is an inward man. There is a hidden man. On the inside of you is a man who does not lie. On the inside of you is a man who does not steal. On the inside of you is a man who does not cheat. On the inside of you is man who does not commit fornication. On the inside of you is a man who pleases God. We would like to meet this man who is a partaker of God's Divine Nature. We would like to meet this man who is created after God in righteousness and true holiness. We would like to meet this spirit that is born of the Father of spirits. For too long the spirit within has been a well-kept secret for many believers. They have the nature, but nobody knows. They are God's children, but we can't tell the difference. Let us meet with the real you... let us meet the new man!

Jyde

Because You Believed...

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.For with the heart man BELIEVETH UNTO RIGHTEOUSNESS; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

Romans 10: 9,10

For years after getting born again I was uneasy about my relationship with God. I knew I was saved. I knew if I were to drop dead at any moment, I would find myself "absent from the body, but present with the Lord."

But I wasn't sure I was "good enough." I wasn't sure I was "good enough" to get my prayers answered. I wasn't sure I was "good enough" to take my place in life as one who is more than a conqueror. If you were to walk into a room and make enquiries for a righteous man, it wouldn't have occurred to me you could be talking about me.

That is, until I saw what Paul is saying in these two beautiful verses. The apostle tells us, "The way to get saved is to believe in Jesus. And when you believe, you are immediately made righteous. In fact, the reason why you are described as saved, is because you became righteous when you believed."

Read these verses over and over again. Meditate. Stay with them until you come to a full assurance of understanding. We do not do any good works to become righteous. We do not "pray unto it." We do not "fast unto it." We "believe unto it." The way to become righeous, is to believe...

Jyde

Always Remember... Never Forget...

But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath FORGOTTEN that he was purged from his old sins.

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in REMEMBRANCE of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

2 Peter 1: 9,12

What a different world it would be if, once we had learnt something, we could never forget it. Going through school would be much easier, since teachers could just teach a topic and give a test immediately. Anyone who passed would never need to be retested on that topic again. Financial losses and romantic disappointments that occur due to forgetfulness would be entirely eliminated. And industries that provide reminder services would be unnecessary, as would be diaries and journals that help us to keep records.

Well, let's stop dreaming. MANY TIMES WHEN WE REALLY, REALLY SHOULDN'T, WE FORGET. That's the real world.

And Peter points out, "The reason why some people lose sight of spiritual things is because they have FORGOTTEN. That is why I will always try to REMIND you. I know you probably know these things I'm talking about, but I also know you need to be reminded about them from time to time."

In my own experience with teaching and preaching God's Word, I've discovered that the preacher's task is more involved with reminding believers about what they know already, than teaching them new things.

Please don't forget to remember... these things...

Jyde

But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath FORGOTTEN that he was purged from his old sins.

Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in REMEMBRANCE of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

2 Peter 1: 9,12

What a different world it would be if, once we had learnt something, we could never forget it. Going through school would be much easier, since teachers could just teach a topic and give a test immediately. Anyone who passed would never need to be retested on that topic again. Financial losses and romantic disappointments that occur due to forgetfulness would be entirely eliminated. And industries that provide reminder services would be unnecessary, as would be diaries and journals that help us to keep records.

Well, let's stop dreaming. MANY TIMES WHEN WE REALLY, REALLY SHOULDN'T, WE FORGET. That's the real world.

And Peter points out, "The reason why some people lose sight of spiritual things is because they have FORGOTTEN. That is why I will always try to REMIND you. I know you probably know these things I'm talking about, but I also know you need to be reminded about them from time to time."

In my own experience with teaching and preaching God's Word, I've discovered that the preacher's task is more involved with reminding believers about what they know already, than teaching them new things.

Please don't forget to remember... these things...

Jyde

Do You Believe the Scriptures?

For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.

1 Peter 1:16

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you,...

1 John 1:1,3

I have always been amused by the tendency of believers to slip into what I call "fairy tale mode" at the very times when they need to be very mentally alert. These are intelligent, educated, reasonable people endowed by God with common sense, but when they pick up their Bibles or step into a church building, they suddenly become 6 years old again, and they are ready to listen to any story "Grandpa" feeds them. Part of the problem is the fact that most believers do not think of the stories in the Bible as narrations of real events that happened to real people as they interacted with each other and a real God. That is why they find it difficult to take action based on what they have come to know of the Word. Peter assures us, "Together with my fellow disciples, I was an eye-witness of the things that Jesus did, and the things that happened to Jesus." John goes a step further and said, "I heard the Word. I saw Him. I touched Him. I handled Him with my hands. That is why I am so sure of what I am telling you." When the chips are down and the time comes to take an action that shows just how much conviction you have in a story, would you risk your life on the assumption that there was really a peasant girl called Cinderalla who had a wicked step-mother, lost a silver slipper, married a handsome prince and lived happily ever after? Of course not! And for the same reason, many believers will not risk any thing on any truths they have encountered in Scripture, because they count it all to be mere tales. You can trust these eye-witness accounts. You can trust the testimony of these men of integrity who saw and touched and heard and ate with and talked with and walked with the Word, two thousand years ago. Jyde

What Do You Want?

As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so PANTETH my soul AFTER THEE, O God.

Psalm 42:1

As newborn babes, DESIRE the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

1 Peter 2:2

The first verse of Psalm 42 is rather characteristic of the beatiful poetry of the Psalms. The hart is a deer-like creature usually found in grasslands. It usually expends a lot of its energy running, which it does at rather fast speeds. And when its time to drink, you can be sure that this creature has a big thirst to quench!

David says, "The way the hart usually has a deep longing and a craving for water, is the same way my soul has a DEEP LONGING AND A CRAVING FOR GOD."

Peter, the apostle writing 1,000 years after David, instructs evry believer, "The same way a new born baby has a natural, innate desire for its mother's milk, that is the same way you should DESIRE the UNADULTERATED TRUTH of God's Word. This is necessary for your growth."

I've met a lot of believers who desire every other thing except progress in understanding the truth of the Word. But Bible teaches that the very first thing we need to ensure growth in the Lord is a desire for the Truth and the Truth alone. Prayers, fasting, evangelism, church attendance, preaching, singing songs of praise, etc are good and Godly spiritual activities that we ought to engage in, but they are no substitute for the UNADULTERATED TRUTH.

DESIRE!

Jyde

The Believer’s Winning Attitude

If Ronaldinho was in your local football team, what difference would that make? What about going into a joint business venture with Bill Gates? If your city wages war against its neighbour with the support of the US & UN troops, which is likely to be victorious? Pause a moment to think - As you face the challenges of life, "If God be for you …" No one swims with God and goes to the bottom (Polish proverb). Although we have been told that life is all about ‘win some and lose some’, but there are no defeats in God’s camp. We serve a God that ‘causes us always to triumph’. Maybe in the past years, you had goals that were not realized, it doesn’t mean you lost. It’s wrong to declare the winner of a game while it is still on. You are still a full participant in the game of life and because God is your team partner (II Cor. 6:1), at the end of the game, when the chips are down, you ought to be declared a winner. This year you will undoubtedly face challenges in your ministry, career, vocation, education etc. and I desire you face them with the winning attitude: "… Because God is my team partner & leader, I will surely win …"