Do we deny Christ?

Matthew 26:34, Jesus said unto him, Peter, “Verily I say unto thee, that this night, before the cock crow, you shall deny me three times”; Matthew 26:75, And Peter remembered the word which Jesus had said, before the cock crow, you shall deny me three times, And he went out, and wept bitterly”

Do we deny Christ?

One of the worst things a Christian may possibly do in their lifetime is to deny Jesus Christ as Saviour before the presence of unbelievers. We usually think that denying Christ is an outright act, like Peter’s denial of knowing Jesus in John 18 v 16 & 17….
but Peter was standing at the door without. So the other disciple, who was known unto the high priest, went out and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter. The maid therefore that kept the door saith unto Peter, Art thou also one of this man's [ Jesus’] disciples? He saith, I am not.

but that isn’t the case. It’s so sad and disheartening that many believers today aren’t even aware that they are denying Christ.

Reginald Heber, the English writer of the hymn “Holy, Holy, Holy,” pointed out that we can deny the Saviour in more subtle ways. He wrote:
(1) “We deny our Lord whenever we, through love of this present world, forsake the course of duty which Christ has plainly pointed out to us.
(2) We deny our Lord whenever we lend … our praise, or even our silence, to [things] … which we ourselves believe to be sinful.

(3) We deny our Lord whenever we forsake a good man in affliction, and (4) We deny our Lord when we refuse to give help, encouragement, and support to those who, for God’s sake and for the faithful discharge of their duty, are exposed to persecutions and slander.”

Titus 1:16 puts it this way, "They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate." We who have been born again by the blood of Christ will consciously avoid any open, deliberate, and vocal denial of the Lord.

But loving the world, failing to do as God directs, tolerating sin, and refusing to support our fellow believers are subtle ways we do, in effect, deny the One who has redeemed us from eternal death.

We also deny Him in other ways such as:
(1) Does our lifestyle deny that we are close to Him?

(2) Does our cheque book deny that He is Lord of our life?

(3) Do we deny His hold on our lives, by disobeying Him, tuning Him out?

(4) Do we deny His gifts to us, by neglecting to use them?

(5) When we cheat on our taxes, we deny His lordship over our lives, for it was Christ who told us to give the money we should give our government as citizens (Mark 12:17).

(6) When we buy new clothes or a new car - (and, believe me, there is nothing wrong with these) - but if we do not tithe to our church, we are denying Christ's rule over our wallets.

(7) If we are spending our entire spare time pursuing our hobbies - nothing wrong with these either in balance! - but if we are neglecting to use the gifts God gave us for the purpose of service, we are denying Him lordship of our time.

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You can’t turn your back on Christ if you keep your eyes focused on Him, our Redeemer and Saviour.

Mikey

bless you all

Yaddy

HUMOUR ME.......

Just humour me and go along with this……
Two angels talking and watching…..what…or who are they watching?

God the father….God the Son….. and God the Holy Spirit

God the father is speaking….(The angels are listening)
God says....
“I am going to make a planet…an earth like planet, so I can put beings on it, which will be made in our image!”
God the Son thinks that a fantastic Idea, and so does God, the Holy Spirit.
“But,” God the Father explains…. “These beings, we will call them humans, will be tempted….. and will give in to that temptation” and He looks questioningly at God the Son, Jesus, “They will commit what we will call sin”
“I think to have beings made in our image wonderful we can love them and love them….” Says Jesus.
“But…” says God the Father… “We will need some one to stand in for them…..someone who is totally blameless and sinless….so they can be redeemed as it were….”
The Son Jesus looks at God the Father…..then He looks at God the Holy Spirit….and speaks up…. “I will stand in for them to redeem them…..” He says.
God the father is smiling….so is God the Holy Spirit who says…. “And I will come, when the time is right, and be right along side of you….so we can do the work together…”

The two angels look at each other in horror…….

Their precious Jesus…..the darling of heaven.....going down to earth? What is he planning on doing?

God is speaking again…… “Son….you do understand that you will have to go down and become one of them? You will have to be born like one of these humans…else you cannot take their place when the time comes?”

Jesus smiles…. “yes…I understand…”

(So….when the time comes….the earth has been created and the humans have been made and have become sinners…. The time for Jesus to go down has arrived…. The angels have been told that the only thing they are allowed to do is announce the event to some simple shepherds…when it is time….).


There is silence in heaven…….Jesus is walking down a long corridor….ready to go down to earth….to “become one of them”

The angels hold their breath….this is awful……

One minute Jesus is there…….

the next he is gone…..


(Not long after, by heavenly time….,)

the angels are told to go and proclaim a message to the shepherds…which they are overjoyed to do, as they now know all went according to plan….
A lovely little boy was born to a lowly couple named Joseph and Mary….they named Him Jesus just as the angel Gabriel had told them to do….
We celebrate His birthday soon…please remember why we celebrate!

Blessings
Yaddy

BIRTHDAY PRESENTS....

When I woke up on "my" birthday Lord......there were presents...just for me!
From my brothers and my sisters and from friends and family!

As if I'd somehow earned it, or....somehow had a say
in coming to this world...and being here....today!

Lord....help me to remember..... that it's only by Your grace,
that I live....and breath....and function
that I can be here....in this place!

Please help me through Your Spirit....live...
as only You would have me do
a life of loving service...my gift of love....to You!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When I woke up on Your birthday Lord...
there were presents.....just for me!
from my brothers and my sisters and from friends and family!

But wait...yet another gift,
this one from my Father up above....
He sent His precious Son for me...His precious gift of love!

AS IF I'D SOMEHOW EARNED IT!

Lord....help me to remember, that it's only by Your Grace....
that Jesus came to live with us, that we could look upon His face.
That He took my guilt onto the cross, and died there....in my place!

And help me through Your Spirit live as only You would have me do
a life of praise and honour....my gift of love.....to You!

For....unto ME a child is born....unto ME a Son is given....


HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS

written by Tom Reitsma Gosford 1987

Bless you all

Yaddy