Speaking like Jesus

Have you ever noticed that Jesus never talked about any personal possessions? He spoke of such things as:

1. My Father
2. My friends
3. My disciples
4. My Church
5. My name
6. My words
7. My sheep
8. My joy
9. My peace

How much would our conversations have to change if we spoke as Jesus did?

Pleasing God

In I Thessalonians 4:1 in the Amplified version it says, "Futhermore, brethren, we beg and admonish you in (virtue of our union with) the Lord Jesus, that (you follow the instructions which) you learned from us about how you ought to walk so as to please and gratify God, as indeed you are doing; that you do so even more and more abundantly -- attaining yet greater perfection in living this life." Nothing like an obedient child. The father and mother are really pleased by the obedience of the child. God is gratified and pleased by your and my obedience. Obedience brings blessing into our lives. Isaiah 1:19,20 KJV says, "If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." God loves our obedience and He also loves our willingness as stated in the above scripture. God hates sin, so He hates our refusal to obey and our rebellion, in fact it is stated that those acts bring us to the place of being devoured with the sword. Our obedience brings blessing while our disobedience brings cursing or death into our lives. The choice is ours to make.

Strength

Proverbs 24: 10 says, "If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small." There is so much going on in life that we must be careful or we will be fainting because of all the evil surrounding us. Evil is getting worse and worse in all arenas of life. People have no guiding light to keep them on the path of righteousness so they do and say just what feels right to them at the moment. The solution to keep us from fainting when trouble has our address is found in Psalm 27:1 which says, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid." In verse 5 of this same chapter it says, "For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock." When trouble knocks on our door we need to turn to the Lord Jesus Christ and he will be a very present help in our time of need.

The Choice is ours!

How has it gone for you lately? Have you sensed God's presence in your life? Is His word alive to you as it feeds your soul? Maybe things haven't gone well for you and God seems a zillion miles away and His word is putting you to sleep. What could be causing these problems? Could it be sin in your life? We are given the choice daily to choose to follow God or to follow Satan's leading or follow the lust of our own flesh. Are we consistent in choosing to follow God? The choice is ours and should reflect just where our hearts are. The children of Israel were told in Joshua 24: 15 "...choose you this day whom ye will serve." Will you choose with me to say as Joshua did, "as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." The choice is ours!

Come!!!

She stood in the doorway calling out to her children to come in out of the rain. After awhile 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 the people to come in out of the storm. They pleaded, begged, reasoned, prayed, and tried to persuade, but all to no avail. The people just wouldn't listen for they were having so much fun. Then the prophets wept over the people, 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 was 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 people to turn their backs on the world's so called joys and pleasures and come to the 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 in the storm? Come to the Father's house and you'll be safe and secure. Come for the Spirit beckons you. Come!!!

Mercy!

A most familiar portion of scripture from John 3: 16 says, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." God gave his Son to give us undeserved mercy, that is if we believe in him. I'm thankful for God's wonderful mercy for we all need it. It is important that we grasp this mercy issue. Everyone of us deserve to die for we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. In Matthew 5: 7 it says, "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy." The next time we are tempted to sit in judgment on someone, let's remember to show mercy. I have heard many of us at times speak of one of our fellow sojourners in a less than merciful way. We will all need mercy extended to us many times in our lives so it is important to give mercy to others. Oh by the way, mercy means extending compassion to an offender. May God continue to have mercy on us all.

I look to thee

I look to thee in every need
And never look in vain;
I feel thy strong and tender love,
And all is well again:
The thought of Thee is mightier far
Than sin and pain and sorrow are.

Discouraged in the work of life,
Disheartened by its load,
Shamed by it failures or its fears,
I sink beside the road;
But let me only think of Thee,
And then new heart springs up in me.

Thy calmness bends serene above
My restlessness to still;
Around me flows thy quickening life,
To nerve my faltering will;
Thy presence fills my solitude;
Thy providence turns all to good.

Embosomed deep in Thy dear love,
Held in Thy law, I stand;
Thy hand in all things I behold,
And all things in Thy hand;
Thou leadest me by unsought ways,
And turn'st my mourning into praise.

Samuel Longfellow

What breaks our fellowship?

In the past week we had the blessings of visiting with some new friends as well as some that we have known for some time. When we are walking with the Lord we have so much in common and fellowship naturally takes place. In 1 John 1: 5-7 the Bible says, "This is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." What breaks fellowship? Walking in darkness is the answer. Lord help us all to continually walk in the light, and to praise you forever and forever.

The Highway Of Holiness!

Would we like to prosper as the King James Version says in Psalm 1. The amplified explains it a bit further by saying prosper and come to maturity. I'm referring to Psalm 1: 1-3 which says, "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he mediated day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." Being a doer of God's word keeps us on the straight and narrow road that leads to life everlasting. Hope to see you on that road. By the way, I believe that road is called the highway of holiness. (see Isaiah 35)

Renewed Strength!

Isaiah 40 beginning in verse 29, which is speaking of God, says "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fail: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." These verses should encourage each of us. Just knowing that God will change and renew our strength and power as we wait, look for, and hope in Him. We have our part in this exchange. Are we waiting?

God is rich in mercy and love

In Ephesians 2 we read beginning in verse 1, "And you hath he quickened; who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But, God who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, by grace ye are saved:" As we gather with other Christians this Sunday let's all remember to praise God for his mercy and love whereby he loved us while we were rooted in sin and disobedience. Praise God that we are saved by grace through faith, we didn't deserve it but God gave it anyway. Oh the mysteries of God and his great love!

Let's pray

Do you have family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors, etc. who don't know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior? Perhaps we all do. I know that I personally have many who have been on my heart to pray for. Are we fervent in prayer for them? God desires that all come to Him through Christ for His word says that He would that all be saved. The book of James 5: 16 says, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." Let's pray without ceasing.

Forever and ever!

We have just heard of the death of two different men. Both of whom we believe knew the Lord. May the Lord bless the families as they grieve their loss. Psalms 116:15 says, "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints." In the Amplified version of the Bible this word precious can mean ( important and no light matter). It is important and no light matter when a believer goes to be with the Lord. Jesus told the thief hanging on the cross next to him who said , remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom, "today you will be with me in paradise". ( see Luke 23:43 ) I have often spoken of the death of a saint as graduation day, the day that we walk across the stage of this world for the last time only to enter into paradise where we will be forever and ever.