"Keep Holding On" - Too

 "For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;" (Hebrews 3:14 KJV)

  "My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins - and not only our sins but the sins of all the world." (1 John 2:1-2 NLT)

 For the last couple of days, I have heard several messages about this particular passage from John, especially that portion that says, "We have an advocate that pleads our case; Jesus Christ!" Yesterday was more direct than Monday, so it made me think that the Holy Spirit was really trying to stir up some hearts. I know He did mine, because there are times when I do get discouraged; mostly because I sometimes don't feal as though I have what it takes! 

 We really need to understand that the enemy of our souls is not nice; you can see that being illustrated in the Book of Job, as he really does not care how hard we suffer, especially when we start blaming God for the situation we might be dealing with. If that might be something you have felt, then you need to repent and tell God how sorry you are for blaming Him!

 Unfortunately, there are certain people that will use Isaiah 45:7 to validate the idea that God is to blame for everything that happens: "I create the light and make the darkness. I send good times and bad times. I, the LORD, am the one who does these things." (NLT) It is not God's fault that man cannot obey Him! 

 Why else did He need to send His precious Son down here to die on a cross for our sins? It was man's fault that Jesus had to come and die for our sins, not God's! Everything that God did was for man's life to live in perfect splendor; everything was put in place for man to enjoy a beautiful earth; but Adam had to do the one thing God told him not to do! 

 That said, I am 110% sure that we will see Adam and Eve in heaven, because they realized that they sinned and were forgiven by God! That is something I feel is the most important thing God loves to do, forgive us of our sins! It was so important to Him, that He sent His Son to make it happen.

 Yesterday, Pastor Mike, got a little hard on Jonah, saying that he was an evangelist without compassion for the lost. This was because God wanted him to tell Nineveh to repent; and he knew that if they did, God would forgive them...

"And the LORD God arranged for a leafy plant to grow there, and soon it spread its broad leaves over Jonah's head, shading him from the sun. This eased his discomfort, and Jonah was very grateful for the plant. But God also arranged for a worm! The next morning at dawn the worm ate through the stem of the plant so that it withered away. And as the sun grew hot, God arranged for a scorching east wind to blow on Jonah. The sun beat down on his head until he grew faint and wished to die. "Death is certainly better than living like this!" he exclaimed. Then God said to Jonah, "Is it right for you to be angry because the plant died?" "Yes," Jonah retorted, "even angry enough to die!" Then the LORD said, "You feel sorry about the plant, though you did nothing to put it there. It came quickly and died quickly. But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"" (Jonah 4:6-11 NLT)