You Are Forgiven (*Terms and Conditions Apply)

forgiven, jesus's blood, forgiveness, sin, God

We’re always told to forgive people when they’ve wronged us. And ultimately, we should forgive them. But is there a limit for forgiveness? What if, after being forgiven, someone commits that same wrong again?

Think about ex-convicts out on parole. They’ve been released from prison on the trust of the state authorities that they won’t commit any more crimes. What good is that freedom for ex-cons if they break the law again and end back up in prison? They’re given freedom (“forgiven”) with a condition. That condition is to live a new life apart from crime. 

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Please Lead Me to You, God – The Psalms Series

lead me, God, path, salvation, Bible, God's word

“Make me know your ways, O Lord; Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long.”

Psalms 25:4-5

When I read these verses, I am reminded of my own past. I thought I knew God and His word. I thought I was on God’s path to salvation, but it turned out that I was actually lost although I didn’t know it at the time. 

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Have You Looked in the Mirror Lately?

mirror, reflect, Bible, God's Word

It’s morning and you go to the bathroom to check yourself in the mirror. Time to see what I look like…

Maybe you’re excited to see your appearance at the start of the day. Maybe you’re expecting the worst. Once we see something in the mirror that we don’t like about our appearance, we usually attempt to fix it before going out. But did you know that your spirit has a mirror too? 

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Is Your Tongue a Tree of Life? – The Proverbs Series

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“A gentle tongue is a tree of life,
but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”

Proverbs 15:4

 A “tree of life” most likely makes you think of the Garden of Eden. But what does it mean that a gentle tongue is a “tree of life?”

Our words can hurt, or they can heal. They can build others up, or tear them down. I’m sure you’ve been hurt by what someone has said at some point in your life. And maybe you have even hurt others with your own words. On the other hand, I’m sure you’ve been encouraged by others’ words and you have encouraged others also. 

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Zeal Without Knowledge…It’s Not Good – The Proverbs Series

zeal, passion, knowledge, God's word, Bible

It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.

Proverbs 19:2

The Zealous Enthusiast

Zeal is defined as enthusiasm, passion, eagerness in pursuit of something–fervor. Maybe you’re a Christian trying to share the gospel. Or rather, maybe you’re someone who wants to help the poor, or work for a world of justice. But if we do these things without sound knowledge of what we’re doing, it’s no good. We might even end up doing the opposite of what we intended, or missing the mark.

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Don’t Be Lukewarm! How To Not Get Spat Out By Jesus

lukewarm, lukewarm faith, Jesus, Bible, God

“I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm–neither hot nor cold–I am about to spit you out of my mouth.”

Revelation 3:15-16

To be spat out. Well, that’s serious business. When would one use such uncomfortable words? Wouldn’t it be when we’re disgusted by something? When we’re at a point when we can’t hold something any longer and have to get rid of it?

So why would these words come from Jesus? This warning of calling it quits, this threat to reject. What kind of people would make Jesus say this? From the verse above, we can see that it’s those who are lukewarm. Let’s see what this means. 

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What’s God’s Favorite Crop? How To Be A Wheat-like Believer

wheat, good seed, God's seed, Bible, God's Word, heaven

You guys are like…really into wheat…

…says a friend who clicked around on the As It Is in Heaven blog. You’ve probably also noticed the trend. Now I like wheat as much as the next person, but our styling and content isn’t coming from an individual wheat obsession. As always, there’s a biblical reason. 

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Have You Put on the Full Armor of God?

Armor of God, Bible, God's word

All types of soldiers, past and present, need to wear some type of armor when they go into battle. Knights wore heavy plated armor, samurais wore bamboo armor, and modern soldiers wear Kevlar vests and other types of protection. But why would soldiers need to wear armor in the first place? Because they’re in some type of battle or war, and need protection.

The Bible tells us that as believers, we also need to wear spiritual armor. The armor of God. Why would God want His followers to put on armor? Who are God’s people fighting? Let’s talk about the answers to these questions.

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Who Does God Want to Save? Just Christians or All People?

God save, God's will, Christianity, salvation

“It doesn’t matter. I’m going to hell anyway,” they say. Their faces tell it all, God hates me. God only cares about Christians. For one reason or another, many non-Christians often feel like God doesn’t care if they go to heaven or not. Like they’re on some blacklist with a sealed fate. But the truth is, God doesn’t only have Christians in His heart to save and redeem. He looks upon the whole world with this hope:

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