Here I Am, Lord – – tqministries.com

A Really, Really, Bad Idea

“And David consulted with the captains of thousands and hundreds, and with every leader……Let us bring again the Ark of God to us: for we enquired not at it in the days of Saul. And all the congregation said that they would do so: for the thing was right in the eyes of all the people” (1 Chronicles 13:1,3,4).

The Ark of God had been abandoned and left standing in a field. It had not been inquired of in 70 years and David found it and wanted to bring it to Jerusalem. He consulted men on this and not God which, as we will see, resulted in disaster. We are to seek the Lord and His ways in all that we do.

“So David gathered all Israel together… to bring up thence the Ark of the Lord, Who dwells between the Cherubim, Whose Name is called on it” (verses 13:5a,6b).

David was bringing the Ark of God to Jerusalem so that it could be inquired of, yet he did not consult the Lord at all regarding this. The ark represented the very Presence of God. He resided between the Cherubim over the Mercy Seat. Moving the Ark of God was the right thing to do, but it was not being done in the way the Lord had instructed Israel to do it.

“And they carried the Ark of God in a new cart….and Uzza and Ahio drove the cart. And David and all Israel played before the Lord with all their might, and with singing, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets” (verses 7,8).

At a point in time within the 70 years that the Ark of God had not been consulted, it had been captured by the Philistines. The Lord judged them for this and they sent the ark back to Israel on a new cart. Why David decided to use a new cart, we do not know. But the Philistine’s use of the new cart may have played a part in his decision to use it. The Ark of God was to be carried on the shoulders of the priests when it was moved, and not on a cart. Again, this was clearly spelled out in God’s Word.

“And when they came unto the threshing floor of Chidon, Uzza put forth his hand to hold the Ark; for the oxen had stumbled. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Uzzah, and He smote him, because he put his hand on the Ark: and there he died before the Lord” (verses 9,10).

Again, the Word of God was not consulted and this ended in the death of Uzza. The Bible says David was “afraid of God that day.” A man was dead because the Lord’s Word was ignored. The Bible tells us that David did consult the Word of God after this and the Ark was brought to Jerusalem. But initially, it seems that Uzzah and everyone else was depending on David to know the right way to bring the ark to Jerusalem. They, like David, did not seek the Lord’s way to carry the ark. This was a grave error. This terrible end could have been avoided if they had only sought the Lord first.

We can learn some valuable lessons from this account. Salvation is all of the Lord. He does not need our help. Also, we are to seek the Lord ourselves and not depend on anyone else. We all want godly pastors, but in the end we are responsible before the Lord for following His Word. There are many in Hell today because they trusted in others to show them the way. We are responsible to the Lord for our own Salvation. The Lord’s way is Jesus Christ and Him Crucified. This is where our faith must be daily. If we move our faith to anything else; we are depending on a “new cart.” The Holy Spirit will keep us on the right road, so to speak, as we place our faith in the Lord and His great sacrifice at the Cross.

As previously stated, there is a happy ending to this story. David did bring the Ark of God to Jerusalem. He did it the Lord’s way which was to have the ark carried on the shoulders of the priests as the following verses tell us:

“So David, and all the elders of Israel, and the captains over thousands, went to bring up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord out of Obed-Edom with joy. And it came to pass, when God helped the Levites who bore the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, that they offered seven bullocks and rams. Thus all Israel brought up the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord with shouting, and with sound of the cornet, and with trumpets, and with cymbals, making noise with psalteries and harps” (verses 25,26,28).

These sacrifices, and all those offered up in the Old Testament, represented the coming Redeemer and His shed Blood at Calvary which paid the sin debt owed for you and me. New carts are widespread in the church world today. We must be vigilant in our pursuit of the Lord and His ways. Again, placing our faith in anything other than Christ and Him Crucified for our Salvation, or for our Sanctification, represents a “new cart,” and that will not end well.

“Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

It’s Located in the Hearts of All Mankind

“And you will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:13)

If we go out shopping and lose something of value; we return to the place we believe we have lost it and search for it. And when we find the lost item we rejoice. Well, due to what was lost by Adam and Eve in the Garden; we are the lost something of great value, and the Lord, through the Holy Spirit, seeks us out in order that we may be found. When we do come to the Lord His Word says that there is rejoicing in Heaven (Luke 15:7). The Lord, by way of the Holy Spirit, looks at the heart. When the Word of God speaks of the heart it is not speaking of our physical organ but of our soul and spirit – our inner being. The Holy Spirit draws us and convicts us of our lostness looking for a heart response from us towards Him.

“…For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7b).

Men look on the externals while the Lord looks upon our hearts. When the Gospel is heard: How will we respond? It was said of David that he was a man after God’s own heart. He made some serious mistakes in his life, but he was sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit and when he did err sought forgiveness and sought the Lord’s will. What would the Lord say regarding us? Are our hearts seeking the Lord and His Righteousness? Has Heaven rejoiced because we have been found? As the following verse tells us there is a way that seems right, but it is not the way of the Lord:

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” (Proverbs 16:25)

Many today, if they do seek the Lord, believe that we must live good lives and the good in our lives must outway the bad to be acceptable to the Lord. While living good lives is certainly the way we should live, that alone will not gain us a relationship with the Lord nor will it result in our going to Heaven. There is only one way to know the Lord in Salvation, knowing that we have passed from death (lost) to life (found). We are to acknowledge the drawing and convicting power of the Holy Spirit, repent of the way we have been going, and with our hearts believe in the salvation the Lord has provided. The following verse says it well:

“That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Our Salvation is completely of the Lord, and it is by faith. We come by faith just as we are and the Lord accepts us. The following verse tells us that when we believe in the Lord Jesus and his sacrificial death on the Cross the Lord imputes to us His Righteousness.

“For with the heart man believes unto Righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto Salvation” (Romans 10:10).

We are to trust in the Lord, not ourselves. We were “lost” and unable to save ourselves. The Lord loved us and showed His mercy and Grace towards us by becoming a Man, the God/Man, and dying on the Cross so that we might be “found.” Our search for the Lord ends at the Cross. Our Great Shepherd calls out to us with the following:

“Come unto me (Jesus) all you who are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Jesus is speaking here of the Salvation and rest that comes only through faith in Him and His sacrificial death at Calvary. We trust in the Lord with our whole heart and he saves us and leads us. We were lost, but God considered us of great value and pursued us giving His life as a ransom for our souls. What an amazing Grace that the lover of our soul has provided. Our hearts cry out in thanksgiving to the Living God. As John Newton’s beloved hymn “Amazing Grace” proclaims: I once was lost, but now I’m found!

Amazing Grace

Amazing grace how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me
I once was lost, but now I’m found
Was blind but now I see

Composed by John Newton in 1772

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

The Times in Which We Now Live

“Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times, some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils (demons)” (1 Timothy 4:1).

Departing from the faith means departing from Jesus Christ and Him crucified as the only way to Salvation and the only way to victory in our daily lives. We are saved by faith and we are kept by faith. Any time a departure from the faith occurs it will involve seducing spirits. Satan is after our faith. He introduces doctrines of demons into the church to divert our faith to other things. If he can be successful in compromising our faith then we will not walk in the victory we so want in our lives. Peter exhorts us to be aware of, and vigilant against the schemes of the Devil:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the Devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom He may devour” (1 Peter 5:8,9).

The Devil is a powerful adversary, but the Holy Spirit is our Divine Helper. In our introductory verse, the Holy Spirit is pointing out and warning against this departure from the faith in latter times. This is speaking of the times we are now living in. The Holy Spirit works exclusively through the finished work of Christ. Our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross allows the Holy Spirit to work mightily in our lives (Romans 8:2). The church at Galatia was being tempted to move their faith from solely in Christ, as the Apostle Paul had taught them, to Law. Paul addresses this in the following verse:

“I marvel that you are so soon removed from Him (the Holy Spirit) Who called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another; but thereby some who trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ” (Galatians 1:6,7).

Those troubling the Galatians were Judaizers who had come from Jerusalem and told them that along with faith in Christ, they must obey the Law and be circumcised. Paul comes against this strongly in his epistle to them. If we add anything to our faith in Christ and the Cross we have perverted the Gospel. Satan’s aim is to corrupt our faith. We are saved by faith which allows the Holy Spirit to come into us and by continued faith in the Cross to change us into the image of Christ. We are not suggesting sinless perfection but living a victorious life by faith through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul said the following strong words in standing against this false gospel brought in by the Judaizers:

“But though we or an Angel from Heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8).

We are to be aware of Satan’s tactics and are to stand fast in the faith. Our victory is assured as we walk out this life by faith, and in the power of the Holy Spirit. There are many false doctrines and false ways circulating in the church today. How can we protect ourselves from going a wrong way? How can we avoid the trap of seducing spirits tempting us with doctrines of demons? There is only one way. We are to make Jesus Christ and Him crucified the object of our faith. When we do this we will be able to recognize false doctrine for what it is, and the Holy Spirit will lead us in our daily walk with the Lord. We are in a spiritual battle and we are to stand fast in the faith.

“Watch ye (a military command, be vigilant), stand fast in the Faith (don’t let the devil move your faith from the Cross to other things), quit you like men (act like nature men), be strong (strong in the faith, which makes one strong against the Devil)” (1Corinthians 16:13 with ESB commentary).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

Victory and Liberty Are Mine

“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on Eternal Life, whereunto you are also called….” (1 Timothy 6:12).

When we hear the admonition to “fight the good fight” it may bring to mind the picture of a boxer in the ring exerting all his physical strength against a worthy opponent. In the natural, this is how we must fight if confronted with a physical threat, but this is not how we walk out this life spiritually.

“Examine yourself whether you be in the faith; prove your own selves (make sure)..” 1 Corinthians 13:5).

At first glance, this seems like an odd thing for the Apostle Paul to write to those that are Christians. However, the Corinthian church was allowing sin to continue in the church and Paul sent this letter as a call to repentance. Just as our boxer must prepare for the encounter and believe that he is able to be victorious against his opponent, we must “examine ourselves” to make sure that our faith is properly placed in Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross. Our victory against the world, the flesh, and the devil are totally dependent on it. We must examine ourselves daily to make sure our faith is in Christ and Him crucified.

I’ve heard it said that some Christians are miserably saved. What is meant by this is that they live a life of failure because their faith is in something other than Christ for their daily Christian walk. There are only two places we can have our faith in as we walk out our Christian lie – faith or works. If we are trusting in anything other than Christ and His sacrificial death on the Cross then we are trusting in works and it will result in failure. The Christian disciplines such as reading the Bible, praying, and attending church are all things we should do, but they will not bring us the victory we seek. We “lay hold of Eternal Life” through continued faith in Christ and the Cross. When we do this we are walking in the Spirit and the Holy Spirit will help us.

“Thus I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

The Lord Jesus paid the price for us at Calvary. If we could have victory in our lives in any other way, then He need not have died on the Cross. His death on the Cross not only paid the sin debt owed but gives us victory and liberty in our daily lives. If we walk out this life any other way then we are depending on our own efforts which will only result in failure and bondage. Paul encouraged the church at Galatia to stand in the liberty that Christ provides in the following verse:

“Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ has made us free, and be not entangled again by the yoke of bondage” (Galatians 5:1).

We are “called” to follow Christ. We follow Him by examining ourselves making sure we are “in the faith,” by fighting the good fight of faith, and by standing fast in the liberty which Christ paid the high price to gain for us. We do all this by anchoring our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary. We were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God…… The Lord has won the victory and we need only come to Him in faith.

“But thanks be to God, which gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

“I have set before you life and death” (Deut 30:19).

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so, must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14).

In this verse of scripture, the Lord is referencing the time when the children of Israel had been delivered out of Egypt and were in the wilderness. They complained and “spoke against God” to Moses as the following verse tells us:

“And the people spoke against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loathes this light bread” (Numbers 21:5).

They hated the Manna that the Lord had provided for them and their complaining brought judgment on them in the form of “fiery serpents” which took the lives of many of the Israelites.

And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died” (Numbers 21;6).

The people then admitted their sin against the Lord and asked Moses to intercede for them before the Lord. Moses prayed for them and the Lord answered his prayer.

“And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass (copper), and put it upon a pole and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived” (Numbers 21:7,8)

For us today, this serves as a type pointing to the Cross. Sin, represented by the serpent, will result in death for us as it did for the Israelites if we reject the true bread from Heaven, the Lord Jesus Christ. The only answer for sin is the Cross. It was totally addressed at the Cross. When we look to the Cross, that is, place our faith in Christ and Him crucified, our sins are forgiven and we are given “newness of life” through faith by the power of the Holy Spirit.

All blessings come from our Heavenly Father through the Lord Jesus Christ. His sacrificial death on the Cross paid the sin debt owed to God and allowed the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. By faith, we are forgiven and will have victory over the sin in our lives. The following verse shows us the way:

“For the Law (Law of God) of the Spirit (how the Spirit works) of life (all life comes from Christ through the Holy Spirit) in Christ Jesus (by His sacrificial death on the cross which makes newness of life possible) has made me free from the Law of Sin and Death (the Law of God is the only way to victory over the Law of Sin and Death)” (Romans 8:2 plus commentary – mine & ESB notes).

In our introductory verse, the Lord Jesus is showing all those that will heed the call that forgiveness of sin and newness of life comes through His sacrificial death on the Cross of Calvary. It comes only through the Cross. We are warned in the New Testament against rejecting the Gospel. Hebrews 2:3 says “How shall we escape if we reject so great a Salvation. The Lord is calling out to all those in the world today. Mercy and Grace are there for anyone that will come in repentance and faith. The Lord was lifted up on the Cross and draws “all men” to Himself through His atoning death at Calvary as our closing verse tells us:

“And I, if I be lifted up from the Earth (His sacrificial death on the Cross), will draw all men unto me” (John 12:32).

Always Remember,

God Loves you!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

“In the Beginning, God Created the Heavens and the Earth” (Genesis 1:1).

“The Earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they who dwell in it” (Psalm 24:1).

“I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even My hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded” (Isaiah 45:12).

“The heavens are Yours, the Earth also is Yours: as for the world and the fulness thereof, You have founded them” (Psalm 89:11).

Our God created the Earth and everything in it. He created man to dwell upon the Earth and created the heavens above us. All creation came into existence by the Word of the Lord. And He alone sustains it.

“God has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son (the Lord Jesus Christ) Whom He has appointed Heir of all things, by whom He made the worlds. Who being the brightness of His Glory, and the express Image of His person, and upholding all things by the Word of His Power….” (Hebrews 1:2,3).

The Father has spoken to us through His Son in these last days. He has done that by the Incarnation. The Lord Jesus came to speak the Father’s Words to mankind and to die on the Cross to pay the sin debt. This was God’s plan from the foundation of the world. He has appointed Jesus “heir of all things” by way of the Cross. All that has been created has been created through the Son and is sustained through His (Christ’s) Power. These verses speak of Christ’s humanity in becoming the God/Man and living among us. They also speak of His Divinity being the “brightness of His (God’s) Glory” and “the express image of His Person.”

For by Him (Christ) were all things created, that in Heaven, and that are in Earth, visible and invisible…. all things were created by Him, and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him, all things consist” (Colossians 1:16,17).

He (Christ) was before all things created and everything was created by Him and is dependent on Him. Again, this speaks of His Deity. All that was created was created by Christ and He sustains it all. The Earth is the Lord’s and everything in it. It’s incredible when you think about it: the God of Glory came and dwelt among us to save us from our fallen nature.

 “Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear” (Hebrews 11:3)

All that was created was created by the Lord out of nothing. He spoke the Word and all that we see in our world today was created by Him and for Him.

“All things were made by Him; and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1:3).

As this scripture tells us: the Lord created and sustains all things in our world. He will maintain our world until the time judgment comes. We are to be good stewards in this world that He has created, but He is the One Who sustains it. Everything will continue by His Power. We need not fear that our world will be destroyed by overpopulation, or anything else. The Earth is the Lord’s. His care over it is made clear in the following verse:

“As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” (Genesis 8:22).

Always Remember,

God LovesYou!

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

Who Will Heed the Warning?

“But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Isaiah said, Lord, who has believed our report” (Romans 10:16).

The following illustrates the danger that those in the world face who do not know the Lord. I relate this, as best I can, as an illustration I once heard from a pastor. A man stands in the darkness of night waving a lantern as a car approaches. There has been a horrific storm and the bridge ahead is out. The man standing in the road seeks to warn all those that approach of the danger ahead. A father in an approaching car has his family with him. He sees the dark figure standing in the road waving the lantern. He wonders who this person is and what his intent might be? Should he stop and risk the safety of his family? As he approaches he slows down and opens his window. He now clearly sees the figure standing there. The man is waving and yelling something. The father makes the decision to come to a stop and hear what the man is yelling. His face turns pale as he hears the man repeatedly yell, “The bridge is out ahead! The bridge is out ahead!”

The father in our fictional story had a decision to make. A decision that would affect his and his family’s wellbeing. He chose to heed the warning and his family was saved from certain death. We can liken the father and his family to those in the world. The man standing in darkness warning all those that come this way can be likened to the Lord. The bridge out ahead represents the end for all those who do not heed the Lord’s warning. the following familiar verse says it all:

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have Everlasting Life” (John 3:16).

The Lord left His home in glory to save us from certain condemnation and an eternity of suffering away from the presence of the Lord. We have a fallen nature and cannot save ourselves. The Bible says “There is none righteous, no, not one” and “For all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God.” The Lord saw our great need and came to die on the Cross to pay the sin debt owed to God that we could not pay. He offers us forgiveness and “Newness of Life” in Him.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord” Romans 6:23).

This verse warns all those that will not come the Lord’s way of the end they face. The “wages of sin is death.” This is an eternity away from the presence of God. The bridge is out ahead and the Lord calls out to all those on the Earth. By faith in Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross, the Lord offers Eternal Life with Him in Glory. It is a “gift of God.” We cannot earn it. We come just as we are and believe in the God that loves us and stands in the roadway of life warning all those who come this way.

The Lord has done all He can. It is up to us to hear His words of warning and heed them. The bridge is out ahead! Will you listen to the one who loves you and has proven that love by giving His life for us? It is no small matter. Our eternal well-being is at stake. The Lord is calling out to all those in the world today in His Mercy and Grace.

“Come unto me (the One Who gives Salvation), all you who labor and are heavy laden (we cannot work our way), and I will give you rest (by our faith placed in Christ and Him crucified)” (Matthew 11:28).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

“Oh grave, where is your victory?”

“Oh death, where is your sting….” (1 Corinthians 15.55a).

The answer to the question our title poses is sin. We have a fallen nature that we were born into. We are unable to lift ourselves out of this fallen state. We are unable to save ourselves. When we come to the Lord: the sting, or fear, of death, is removed because Jesus paid the sin debt owed, and that took away the sting of death. We have been forgiven and can look forward to spending eternity with the Lord.

“Oh grave, where is your victory? (1 Corinthians 15:55b)

Those that do not know the Lord have a fear of death. Just as Adam and Eve feared and hid from the Lord after they sinned against Him, those that do not know the Lord live in fear. They know they are guilty of sin. The only remedy is the forgiveness and grace of God. Sin is the sting of death. The Lord is offering mercy and grace today to whosoever will come to Him. Should they choose not to come, eternal death will surely be their end.

“The sting of death is sin….” 1 Corinthians 15:56a).

Jesus conquered death on the Cross. Death came as a result of original sin. When Adam and Eve sinned, it resulted in a fallen nature, the sin nature, and all those that came after them were born in this fallen state. As believers, we no longer fear death because we know that we have a bright future, all because of what Christ accomplished on the Cross. When we die we will immediately be in the presence of the Lord.

“We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8).

We love the life the Lord has given us here, but we know that it will end at some point and look forward to being in the presence of the Lord when our time here ends. The sin nature was the consequence of the Fall in the Garden. The final effect of the sin nature left on its own is death. The Lord, seeing our fallen condition, left His home in glory and died on the Cross to pay the sin debt and save us from the sin nature that kept us in bondage. When we place our faith in Christ and Him crucified, we are dead to the sin nature.

“Likewise reckon (account) yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin (the sin nature), but alive unto God (Resurrection Life) through Jesus Christ our Lord (by what Christ accomplished at the Cross) (Romans 6:11).

Should we not go the Lord’s way the end result will be death and separation from the Lord for all eternity. The sin nature is empowered by the Law. The Law shows us what is right and what we should do, but gives us no power to obey it. We are also talking about laws we make up to make ourselves acceptable to God. This results in self-righteousness which is wholly unacceptable to God.

“…..and the strength of sin is the Law” (1 Corinthians 15:56b)

By our faith in Christ and Him crucified, the Lord imputes to us His Righteousness which makes us right with God. The Lord saw our helpless condition and reached down in His love and provided our Salvation to us as a gift. We are saved by grace, not by any works we might do. Salvation is completely of the Lord. We can now say “Oh death, where is your sting.”

“But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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HereI Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

One Man’s Journey

“Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6).

I knew a man whose testimony was all about wasted years. When he was a child he wanted to know and serve the Lord. He went to his pastor who, unfortunately, did not know the Lord. He spoke to the boy about church rules. The boy served in the church but he did not gain what he originally came to find which was to know the God Who he felt was drawing him. He eventually left the church as a young man finding nothing there that satisfied his desire for the Lord.

His life through his twenties and into his thirties was spent in the world with little regard for the things of the Lord. He had little hope in finding what he sought as a young boy. However, deep down he still believed that there was a way to know the God that he felt had drawn him those many years ago. He went through a business failure and had much free time to pursue his favorite pastime, which was reading.

He came across a book on prophecy and read it cover to cover. The same author had written other books and in one of those books, the author shared the Gospel. He couldn’t believe that the Gospel was so simple. Jesus died for our sins on the Cross and if we repent and place our faith in His sacrificial death at Calvary, we will be saved and have fellowship with the Lord. The man was excited about finally knowing the way to the Lord after all those years. But he thought about all those wasted years. He was so grateful that the Lord had revealed Himself to Him, but he thought how much different his life would have been if he had found the Lord as a child. Wasted years!

This man’s story is one of many regarding wasted years. He did not hear the Gospel until well into his thirties. He thanks God every day for His mercy and grace and is so thankful that he knows the Lord and has been brought into the family of God. The Lord has blessed the man abundantly since his coming to the Lord. In some ways, the Lord has restored those lost years in blessings. The man has drawn near to the God Who called him those many years ago.

Many, however, have heard the Gospel and have chosen to reject it. They have heard that the Lord has provided a Salvation for whosoever will come His way. They have chosen to go their own way which will only lead to an eternity without the Lord. Wasted years – wasted lives!

“O satisfy us early with Your mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14).

We are on this Earth for a short period of time and coming to know the Lord is the most important thing that could ever have happened to us. Once we know the Lord, we rejoice and are glad through all the remaining years of our lives. If we put off knowing the Lord for the present, there is no guarantee that we will come to the Lord in the future. The longer we live without the Lord, the harder it will be to come to Him as we become more and more settled in the ways of the world. If we do delay coming to the Lord after hearing the Gospel, and come to Him later in life, we will see that it is the greatest life we could ever live. We will look back on those wasted years when we did not know Him and think how foolish we were.

If you do not know the Lord – you have heard the Gospel today. It is your decision to accept, or reject it. I pray that you will come to Him in repentance and faith. All the years of our lives that are lived outside of knowing the love the Lord has for us are wasted years.

“For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023

Those Led by the Spirit Are the Children of God

“But as many as received Him (Jesus), to them gave He power to become sons of God, even to them who believe on His Name” (John 1:12).

I have heard it said that we are all children of God. As far as creation is concerned, that is true. But not all are children of God by a relationship with Him. We become children of God, with all its wonderful benefits, by placing our faith in Christ and His sacrificial death at Calvary. Jesus called it being “born again” or being “born of the Spirit” (John 3:3,6).

“The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ…..” (Romans 8:16,17).

The Bible tells us that those that have come to the Lord in repentance and faith are children of God now and that the Holy Spirit “bears witness” to that. The Holy Spirit abides within us if we are children of God and is constantly speaking to us. We are also heirs of God. What an amazing privilege! And we are not only heirs but joint heirs with Christ. All that is Christ’s is ours through our faith in His sacrificial work at Calvary. The Holy Spirit leads us as the following verse tells us:

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).

The Holy Spirit leads us in our daily walk. He works exclusively through the finished work of Christ. As we make Christ and Him crucified the object of our faith, the Holy Spirit will work mightily in our lives. We are not to live by law or works, but by faith.

“For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but you have received the Spirit of Adoption, whereby we cry, ABBA, Father” (Romans 8:15).

If we attempt to live our lives by law or works of any kind, it will result in bondage. And bondage results in fear because we cannot live a life pleasing to the Lord in our own strength. It is impossible!! We are to walk by faith. We will do works such as the Christian disciplines (i.e. Bible reading, prayer, fasting, etc), but they are not to be the object of our faith. This will only result in us striving for victory in the wrong way.

“For you are all the children of God by faith in Jesus Christ. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:26,27).

We have been “baptized into Christ.” This is a spiritual baptism and not a water Baptism. Spiritually, we are baptized into His death, buried with Him, and raised in Newness of Life. He became our substitute and our faith in Him gives us all the benefits for which He died. We are children of God and joint- heirs because we have “put on Christ.” Jesus explains this in the following verse:

“At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in Me, in I in you” (John 14:20).

Jesus was speaking about what would happen after the Resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost. He is speaking of His Divinity, “I am in the Father” and that we would be “in Him” by faith, and He would be in us to give us victory in our daily lives.

“..Christ in you, the Hope of Glory” (Colossians 1:27).

We are children of God today by faith in Christ and His sacrificial work at Calvary. We are heirs and joint heirs with Christ. We have the Holy Spirit within us to guide us and give us victory in our daily lives. The full realization of all the Lord has for us will come at the future Resurrection when we receive our glorified bodies. We are truly blessed by the Lord. What more could He have done. We were “lost and undone” as the words of the hymn tell us. And the Lord reached down and saved us from the sin that bound us. The Father loves us in spite of our fallen nature and sent His Son as a sacrifice for the sin of the world so that we might be forgiven and become the children of God. What love has God shown to us!!

“I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2 Corinthians 6:18).

Always Remember,

God Loves You!

Find podcasts of this article, and all the articles on this website on the “Here I Am Lord” podcast on Spotify for Podcasters, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, and RadioPublic. Also, Here I Am, Lord is on Telegram.

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Here I Am, Lord – Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2023