Does He Watch Over You?

"For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil". I Peter 3:12 God certainly watches over us and hears our prayers, that is, if we are righteous. But the Heavenly Father turns away from those that do evil. What an awful thought, a father turning away from his child, but the Heavenly Father turning away from one of his creation, that He wanted to be saved, is eternally awful. To believe in the Lord Jesus Christ brings salvation to one's life, and that is where our righteousness comes from ( Philippians 3:9). Are you saved and clothed in the Lord's righteousness?

He was just a janitor to most!

He was just a janitor to most, but not to my wife and myself. To us he was a man of God, that God had put into our lives at just the right time to help us on our way. He had been a pastor and was a mature Christian. We had him over several times to answer our questions and to teach us the basics of Christianity. I was attending college at that time and would see him in the hallway almost daily. It was my pleasure to greet him on those occasions, and to fellowship for a moment. We don't know where he is today, but we would like to honor him with this short blog. In I Peter 2:17, it says, Honor all men. We want to say thank you to Duane Sweat who, like I said, is a man of God. We look forward to seeing him in heaven. Are we honoring all men?

Demas' sad choice!

II Timothy 4:10 says, "For Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica..." Demas chose the world over serving Christ. We must all make a choice as to whether we will serve Christ or the world. I John 2:15 says, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. Verse 17 of the same chapter says, "And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." We are clearly told that we can't serve God and mammon (the world) for we will love one and hate the other (Matthew 6:24). Trying to serve both will cause us to fall. We must make a righteous choice, and chose serving Christ. Are we up to the occasion?

The goodness and severity of God!

Romans 11:22, says, "Behold the goodness and the severity of God..." Have you ever seen a promise box? It is a box of small cards with the promises of God written on the cards. Although I must say that the ones that I have looked at, didn't have what I would call all the promises of God, for they left out of the box any promise that was deemed negative. God does have two sides, as Romans 11:22 clearly states (the goodness and the severity of God). The rest of that verse goes like this,"on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."
Everyone likes to read of the promises of God that seem positive , but don't seem to like the promises of a just reward for our improper behavior. If we continue to be obedient, we receive his blessing. If we are disobedient, we are cut off. Let's summarize, obedience brings blessing, disobedience brings cursing or being cut off. We must choose which we desire, the goodness or the severity of God. It's our choice!

Is it weakness or wickedness?

Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not, deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. (I Corinthians 6:9,10) Humanity sure is inclined to label wickedness as weakness. What say you on this subject? Be careful in answering this question, for the Bible says in Proverbs 8:13, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil..." Are we haters of evil or do we give evil a name like, weakness, fault, or disease. God knows! Hopefully we do too!

Which do you need?

A child misquoted John 14:18 as such, "I will not leave you comfortable". The Lord never intended for us to be comfortable, at peace with God and resting in his love, but not comfortable. He said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world you will have tribulation: but be of good cheer; for I have overcome the world". (John 16:33)
Too many Christians are serving the Lord for what they can get from him, rather than how they can serve him and their fellow man. They are at ease in Zion, on beds of ivory (comfort), eating the lambs and calves of the flock. They are drinking wine, and basically just partying on. (See Amos 6:1-7) They have been brought into captivity and the devil couldn't be happier.
An old saying goes as such, "the preachers job is to comfort the afflicted, and to afflict the comfortable". Are we needing comfort for an affliction ,or do we need to be afflicted because we are so comfortable? Good news, Jesus can and will do both!

Time for your medicine

A little boy ask his mother where they got his baby brother, who was screaming at the top of his lungs? She said, we got him from heaven, to which the little boy replied, I can see why they threw him out.
Proverbs 17:22, says, A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
I hope your day is going well, and that you won't forget to take your medicine.

Can you hear me now?

Can you hear me now is a slogan or jingle of a phone company, and is quite catchy. Proverbs 15:31, says, "The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise". Why is it that some folks can hear God speaking, while others only think they hear God speaking? Would being stubborn of heart or being rebellious in spirit have any thing to do with it? Are we submitting ourselves one to another in the fear of the Lord (Ephesians 5:21)? Many a time the Lord has kept me from making a really poor decision through the imput of a brother or sister. What they said to me would be of little value, if I didn't consider it, and ask the Lord to confirm it, if it were right for me. Proverbs 21:2, says, "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the hearts". Can you hear me now?

A Blessed Home

Proverbs 3:33,"The curse of the Lord is in the house of the wicked: but he blesseth the habitation of the just". The Lord blesses the home of the one who have received Christ as Lord and Saviour through faith. Justification to these, means, just as if I'd never sinned, for Christ took my sin on himself and has forgiven me. A cursed home or a blessed home, which is yours?

Carrots

I remember well the vegetable garden that I planted, with row after row of carrots. I was naturally anxious to eat these fresh carrots as well as everything else we planted. As they grew I couldn't resist pulling one to see if they were mature or not. After watching me do this for several days, my wife commented that "if you don't quit pulling the carrots before they are ripe, there won't be any left to harvest". From that point I left them alone knowing she was right. At last they were ripe for the harvesting, and sure enough we had a great harvest of carrots as well as other fine vegetables. I had sowed carrot seeds and had reaped carrots.
In Galatians 6:7-8 we read,"Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
We are all planting a garden in our lives, and will reap just exactly what we plant. Sow love and reap love, sow generosity and reap the same, sow forgiveness and reap the same, sow mercy and reap mercy, etc. What are we sowing, in this hour, into our lives. I hope and pray for us all, that we are sowing seeds of righteousness.

Two Questions?

In Acts 9, Saul, who later became Paul, was on the road to Damascus with the intention of persecuting Christians, when he was confronted by God in the form of a light from heaven, and a voice from heaven which said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" It was in response to the light and the voice that Saul asked two questions. The first was "Who art thou, Lord?" and the second was "What wilt thou have me to do?" Jesus answered the first by saying, "I am Jesus whom thou persecutest:" and the second Jesus said, "Arise, and go into the city,(Damascus) and it shall be told thee what thou must do."
Just as Saul asked two questions so must we. After God gains our attention as he did Saul's the first question we must ask is , "Who are you?" and then God will reveal himself to us through his son the Lord Jesus Christ. After receiving Christ as our Lord and Saviour, we then ask, "What do you want me to do?", after hearing what it is the Lord want us to do, we must be about it just as Saul did. Have we asked these two questions and gotten answers? If not, we must go into our Damascus and wait upon the Lord, if we have gotten answers, then we should be about God's business for our lives. Wherever we are at the moment, we have things to do. Are we busy with God's business?

Come!!!

She stood in the doorway calling out to her children to come in out of the rain. After a while with much pleading they were all in the safety of their home. It was then that mother said to them in the form of a question, "don't you have enough sense to come in out of a storm?" The children replied, "but mother, we were having so much fun and didn't want to stop."
They stood in the doorways of life calling to God's children to come in out of the storm. They pleaded, begged, reasoned, and tried to persuade, but all to no avail. The children just would not listen for they were having so much fun. Then the prophets wept over the children, for they would not listen, hear, or respond. They didn't believe they could lose their own soul by trying to gain the whole world, and after all, "everyone is doing it."
The allure and temptations of the world are real and powerful, ever enticing and snaring soul after soul. So the prophets cried out and will continue to cry out for the children to turn their backs on the world's so called joys and pleasures, and to come to the Father's house - to come in out of the storm. Safe from the traps and snares and allurements, realizing that the world's glitter isn't the gold and silver of God's Kingdom. Are you out in the storm? Come to the Father's house and you'll be safe and secure. Come for the Spirit beckons you. Come!!! 2/10/02

The Ultimate in Greatness

I like life. It is really great. What joy to experience grass growing, trees leaving, flowers blooming and most important of all, people living, growing and changing.

I hate death. It is really gross. How depressing to see the end of what God intended to go on forever. Man sinned, man fell, man died.

But thanks be to God, who gives to us eternal life through Jesus Christ. To live with Him, forever and ever, will be the ultimate in greatness. Are we ready? Christ is the only way!

Anyone in for dancing?

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
What time is it in our lives? We are all probably in different places, seasons, and times, but I believe it is important to know what place, season or time we are in. This is were the precious Holy Spirit leads in our lives. May the Lord help us all to hear and to respond accordingly. Anyone in for dancing?

Lights in darkness

"Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world" Philippians 2:14-15. Doing things in love, without envy, strife, murmurings, and disputings, etc., marks us as unusual and different, which the world doesn't like nor does it tolerate. The world wants conformity, with no one allowed to be or to think differently. Our actions are expected to measure up to society's norm. If we don't laugh at dirty jokes, or lust after what the world defines as normal, we are considered unusual and will certainly be noticed.
Surely we can see that we stand out in this crooked and perverse world that we live in. Hopefully, we are standing out because of our righteous behavior. If so, we shine as lights in darkness in this present world. Now let us consider this, how bright is our light?

Kindness

I have heard it said "To be right satisfies the ego, to be kind satisfies God." Of the several virtues we are told to put on in Colossians 3:12-14, one that is good for us to check in our lives is kindness. Let me ask, are we kind people, or, are we proud, pushy, and pleasure loving folks? We have all seen the type, they are forever joining the world in it's march to acquire the most toys, treasures and titles. To be kind is a wonderful virtue, especially as it is manifest into everyday life. You know, kind to the waiter, the store clerk, the postal employee, our neighbors, our family, etc.
God really wants us to feast on the good things that He has made available to us, and kindness is one of the main ones. Check out the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23 and depending on the translation, you will find gentleness or kindness.
How kind are we? I'm not sure that I know, but I think that we should be the kindest people on God's good earth. What do you think?

We Need Help

In Galatians 6:2 we are told to bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. In the same chapter, verse 5, it tells us that every man shall bear his own burden. We must carry our own load, and yet, there are times that we need help. Asking for help is a hard thing for most of us to do, but do it we must when our situation warrants it. When we are asked to help, it is an honor to help. If we spot someone that needs help we should step up and volunteer our help. How are we doing in both of these areas? As we love one another as we love ourselves, we will do these areas with great ease. It will become natural to step up and help, and to step up and ask for help when needed. The end of it all is love.

Where are the nine?

"And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine"? Luke 17:17 There were ten lepers that Jesus healed, but only one returned to give thanks. For these nine to have been sick and put out of their homes and community for a long period of time, and then to get healed and not say thank you as the Samaritan did, is not easy to understand. All Christians should be instant at being thankful and grateful. We were destined to die for our sins, but Christ took them onto himself on our behalf. Now we are free, our sins forgiven, never to be brought up again by God. To show our gratitude for being included into God's family, we become spoiled kids expecting more and more but not being grateful for God's bounty. What are we thinking? God loves us, but will say about us if we are ungrateful "where are the nine"? I personally hope to be the one that says thank you, to God, for all he does in my life. Are you with me on this? Hopefully we all are!

What is causing us to miss a blessing?

Collectively they all said, "isn't this the carpenter and Mary's son". They had just listened as he taught in the synagogue, and were astonished at his wisdom and even referenced his mighty works. With that before them they were still offended with him, which caused Jesus to say "a prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house." The final thought in this chapter says, he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Matthew 13:53-58
It is a blessed thing to grow up in a Christian home with Christian parents and siblings. It is also wonderful to attend a sound Bible preaching Church. And yet, this familiarity with God and the things of God, causes us to miss blessings that are regularly being received by the new babe in Christ. You know him! He is the one who has been forgiven much, and takes nothing for granted. Some folks could live next door to Jesus and never receive a blessing because of their unbelief!