God's Timing!

Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 says, "To everything 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." We humans sure can be impatient in waiting for God's timing in our lives. If we get to impatient we will move ahead of God's timing and will make a mess of things. Are we aware of what time it is in our lives? Ecclesiastes 8:5 says, "Whoso keepeth the (king's) commandment shall feel no evil thing: and a wise man's heart discerneth both time and judgment."

Love Is The Call

In II Timothy 3:1,2 it says, "This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, ..." In the last days some men will love themselves so much that they will have no regard for other people or their feelings. They are everywhere in society and never more prevalent than driving down the same streets that we are. They have no sense of treating others the way that they want to be treated and the way they feel that they should be treated. They just do their own thing all the time. Some would say that they are narcissistic in personality which means that they are vain, conceited, having big egos, and extremely selfish. Some characteristics of those having narcissistic personality disorder are: Inflated sense of self importance, belief that they are special, have a sense of entitlement, take advantage of others, lack empathy, envious of others, and behaves in an arrogant and haughty way. We won't have to look far to find people with this extreme self love. Our call is to love God with all that we have and love our neighbor as ourselves, and as we do this, we will stand out to those around us because we will be so different than most of society. Love is the call.

Nothing To Fear!

Psalm 46: 1-3 says, "God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah." When God is our refuge, strength, and present help in trouble we have nothing to fear, not even the horrible things listed in these verses. Nothing to fear, what an awesome thought, for God loves us and His perfect love casts out fear.

Fear Not Believe Only!

Jairus a ruler of the synagogue came to Jesus and fell at his feet asking Jesus to come to his house for his 12 year old daughter was sick and dying. As Jesus was going to Jairus' home, one of Jairus' servants came and told Jairus that his daughter was dead. When Jesus heard it, he said to Jairus in Luke 8:50, "Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole." If you have read this story then you know that Jesus raised her from the dead. He told her to arise and her spirit came again to her and she arose. This is a wonderful story of Jesus stepping in and stopping a storm for these folks. The point that stands out to me today is how Jesus told the father to fear not believe only. It would be good for all of us to remember Jesus' words when we are in any storm of life. I know that I need to fear not and believe only more and more all the time. May the Lord write this upon each of our hearts.

Do You Love Me More Than These?

In I John 2:15-17 it 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. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." Have we been able to hear the Lord when he asked us, do you love me more than this person or that object or that activity? Can we honestly tell the Lord that we love him more than anything?

A good mission report!

I recently received a mission report from a good brother who had taken a team of Christians to Port au Prince, Haiti which was rocked with an earthquake on 1-12-2010. When the team arrived 3-25-11 they found that the city appeared to still be in complete ruins. Their mission was to build a small building for a widow to live in, which they accomplished before leaving. While they were there they attended worship services where the Lord was alive in the hearts of the people. One young man told this brother that on the day the earthquake came, "God received much glory!" for it had caused many people to turn to the true and living God and have professed Christ as their Savior. When tragedy strikes, folks are moved to turn to God in new and fresh ways and as they do God meets them in the midst of it all. Haiti needs a revival and so does America. Which country is worse off, only God knows. Please pray that God would send revival around the world and that many would come to the Lord while there is still time. Thank you God that you are still moving in the hearts of people.

Fired Up!

In reading of the miracle that Jesus did when he cast the legion of demons out of a man, it is absolutely awful how this man was enslaved by Satan and how that caused him to live. This man had these demons for a long time. He was tormented to the place that he wore no clothing, sat crying and cutting himself with stones, had been bound with fetters and chains (although with superhuman strength he broke loose), lived in the tombs and not a house, and was so fierce that no man could pass close to the tombs. After Jesus had cast the demons out of him, the man sat clothed and in his right mind and wanted to go with Jesus. Who could blame him, but Jesus told him in Mark 5:19-20, "Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee. And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel." All men marveled and well they should have. When God takes the vilest of sinners and saves and delivers him, it is certain that his friends would marvel when they saw that he was totally changed. To be transformed by God fires one to the point that they just have to tell all who will listen. Was our salvation experience to the point that it fired us up? I do hope so. I also hope that we are still fired up.