De Nada Sirve Preocuparse

Mateo 6:25-30 (NVI)
25 Por eso os digo: No os preocupéis por vuestra vida, qué comeréis o beberéis; ni por vuestro cuerpo, cómo os vestiréis. ¿No tiene la vida más valor que la comida, y el cuerpo más que la ropa?
26 Fijaos en las aves del cielo: no siembran ni cosechan ni almacenan en graneros; sin embargo, el Padre celestial las alimenta. ¿No valéis vosotros mucho más que ellas?
27 ¿Quién de vosotros, por mucho que se preocupe, puede añadir una sola hora al curso de su vida?
28 ¿Y por qué os preocupáis por el vestido? Observad cómo crecen los lirios del campo. No trabajan ni hilan;
29 sin embargo, os digo que ni siquiera Salomón, con todo su esplendor, se vestía como uno de ellos.
30 Si así viste Dios a la hierba que hoy está en el campo y mañana es arrojada al horno, ¿no hará mucho más por vosotros, gente de poca fe?

Have No Fear

Isaiah 43:1-7 (NKJV)
1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
3 For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
4 Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
5 Fear not, for I am with you;
I will bring your descendants from the east,
And gather you from the west;
6 I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’
And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’
Bring My sons from afar,
And My daughters from the ends of the earth—
7 Everyone who is called by My name,
Whom I have created for My glory;
I have formed him, yes, I have made him.”

No Tengas Miedo

Isaías 43:1-7 (NVI)
1Pero ahora, así dice el Señor,
el que te creó, Jacob,
el que te formó, Israel:
«No temas, que yo te he redimido;
te he llamado por tu nombre; tú eres mío.
2Cuando cruces las aguas,
yo estaré contigo;
cuando cruces los ríos,
no te cubrirán sus aguas;
cuando camines por el fuego,
no te quemarás ni te abrasarán las llamas.
3Yo soy el Señor, tu Dios,
el Santo de Israel, tu Salvador;
yo he entregado a Egipto como precio por tu rescate,
a Cus y a Seba en tu lugar.
4A cambio de ti entregaré hombres;
¡a cambio de tu vida entregaré pueblos!
Porque te amo y eres ante mis ojos
precioso y digno de honra.
5No temas, porque yo estoy contigo;
desde el oriente traeré a tu descendencia,
desde el occidente te reuniré.
6Al norte le diré: “¡Entrégalos!”
y al sur: “¡No los retengas!
Trae a mis hijos desde lejos
y a mis hijas desde los confines de la tierra.
7Trae a todo el que sea llamado por mi nombre,
al que yo he creado para mi gloria,
al que yo hice y formé”».

The Peril of Not Progressing

Hebrews 6:1-12 (NKJV)
1 Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
2 of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.
3 And this we will do if God permits.
4 For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,
5 and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,
6 if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God;
8 but if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.
9 But, beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner.
10 For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister.
11 And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end,
12 that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.

Living according to God’s will for your life requires a growing process. Jesus has saved you, but there are some biblical disciplines that you must develop in order to grow into a healthy and victorious Christian. The Apostle Paul identifies these as “things that accompany salvation” in Hebrews 6:9.”

Garvin R. Alfter

El Peligro de No Progresar

Hebreos 6:1-12 (NVI)
1 Por eso, dejando a un lado las enseñanzas elementales acerca de Cristo, avancemos hacia la madurez. No volvamos a poner los fundamentos, tales como el arrepentimiento de las obras que conducen a la muerte, la fe en Dios,
2 la instrucción sobre bautismos, la imposición de manos, la resurrección de los muertos y el juicio eterno.
3 Así procederemos, si Dios lo permite.
4-6 Es imposible que renueven su arrepentimiento aquellos que han sido una vez iluminados, que han saboreado el don celestial, que han tenido parte en el Espíritu Santo y que han experimentado la buena palabra de Dios y los poderes del mundo venidero, y después de todo esto se han apartado. Es imposible, porque así vuelven a crucificar, para su propio mal, al Hijo de Dios, y lo exponen a la vergüenza pública.
7 Cuando la tierra bebe la lluvia que con frecuencia cae sobre ella, y produce una buena cosecha para los que la cultivan, recibe bendición de Dios.
8 En cambio, cuando produce espinos y cardos, no vale nada; está a punto de ser maldecida y acabará por ser quemada.
9 En cuanto a vosotros, queridos hermanos, aunque nos expresamos así, estamos seguros de que os espera lo mejor, es decir, lo que atañe a la salvación.
10 Porque Dios no es injusto como para olvidarse de las obras y del amor que, para su gloria, vosotros habéis mostrado sirviendo a los santos, como lo seguís haciendo.
11 Deseamos, sin embargo, que cada uno de vosotros siga mostrando ese mismo empeño hasta la realización final y completa de su esperanza.
12 No seáis perezosos; más bien, imitad a quienes por su fe y paciencia heredan las promesas.

Points to Ponder – My Good Shepherd

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.” –Psalms 23:1-6 KJV

“He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” –Isaiah 40:11 KJV

“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness. … I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land, and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD. I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” –Ezekiel 34:11-12, 14-16 ESV

“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.” –John 10:11-15 KJV

“For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.” –1 Peter 2:25 KJV

“And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.” –1 Peter 5:4 KJV

Let Him!

Romans 5:6-11 (NKJV)
6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.
10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
11 And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.

Jesus died at Calvary to take care of your sin problem once and for all time. You MUST let Him take care of it. – G. Alfter

Reconciliado a Través de Cristo

Romanos 5:6-11 (NVI)
6 En verdad, como éramos incapaces de salvarnos, en el tiempo señalado Cristo murió por los malvados.
7 Difícilmente habrá quien muera por un justo, aunque tal vez haya quien se atreva a morir por una persona buena.
8 Pero Dios demuestra su amor por nosotros en esto: en que, cuando todavía éramos pecadores, Cristo murió por nosotros.
9 Y ahora que hemos sido justificados por su sangre, ¡con cuánta más razón, por medio de él, seremos salvados del castigo de Dios!
10 Porque si, cuando éramos enemigos de Dios, fuimos reconciliados con él mediante la muerte de su Hijo, ¡con cuánta más razón, habiendo sido reconciliados, seremos salvados por su vida!
11 Y no solo esto, sino que también nos regocijamos en Dios por nuestro Señor Jesucristo, pues gracias a él ya hemos recibido la reconciliación.

Godly Sorrow

2Corinthians 7:8-11 (NKJV)
8 For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it. For I perceive that the same epistle made you sorry, though only for a while.
9 Now I rejoice, not that you were made sorry, but that your sorrow led to repentance. For you were made sorry in a godly manner, that you might suffer loss from us in nothing.
10 For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
11 For observe this very thing, that you sorrowed in a godly manner: What diligence it produced in you, what clearing of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement desire, what zeal, what vindication! In all things you proved yourselves to be clear in this matter.

Godly sorrow is a good thing–it leads to repentance. – G. Alfter

Tristena Divina

2 Corintios 7:8-11 (NVI)
8 Si bien os entristecí con mi carta, no me pesa. Es verdad que antes me pesó, porque me di cuenta de que por un tiempo mi carta os había entristecido.
9 Sin embargo, ahora me alegro, no porque os hayáis entristecido, sino porque vuestra tristeza os llevó al arrepentimiento. Vosotros os entristecisteis tal como Dios lo quiere, de modo que nosotros de ninguna manera os hemos perjudicado.
10 La tristeza que proviene de Dios produce el arrepentimiento que lleva a la salvación, de la cual no hay que arrepentirse, mientras que la tristeza del mundo produce la muerte.
11 Fijaos lo que ha producido en vosotros esta tristeza que proviene de Dios: ¡qué empeño, qué afán por disculparse, qué indignación, qué temor, qué anhelo, qué preocupación, qué disposición para ver que se haga justicia! En todo habéis demostrado vuestra inocencia en este asunto.