What is on your list?

Do you have a wish or want list? The kind of list where you list the things that you want and wish that you had. What would be on your list if you had one? Maybe a new car or a larger home or a husband or wife or kids or a pet, etc. What should be on our list? Should we even have one? In I Timothy 6:6 - 8 it says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment (clothing), let us be therewith content." I can see it now, the want/wish list having on it such things as: new socks or one dozen eggs or brussels sprouts or milk, etc. I'm not 100% certain of the answers to the questions that I just posed, but I know God's word wants us content and not always striving like those in the world who want more and more. Hebrews 13:5 throws light on the subject. It says, "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." Blessings to you.

Just any day now!

In Proverbs 15:3 it says, "The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." God sees all and God knows all and God is all powerful and he will take care of all the evil that is going on around us. In the same chapter of Proverbs in verse 29 it says, "The Lord is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous." As we await the Lords return we are told to watch and pray and be sober. Let's lay the burdens of our hearts out before the Lord and leave them all with him. Daily we should be looking for and anticipating his return for just any day now our Lord is coming.

How is your ticket punched?

I sat and was taken aback by the vileness of the old man as he spewed out curse after curse. Surely at some point in this man's life someone told him the 10 commandments of the living God. Surely he knew better than to take the Lord's name in vain, but I guess he doesn't believe the word. Hopefully I will be able to speak with him soon about the things of the Lord. There are many who don't believe God's word so they don't believe in a Heaven nor a Hell and they don't believe in God or his son Jesus Christ the Lord. It really does not matter what they believe for they aren't in charge of life, their life or any other life for that matter. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Everyone has a ticket to their eternal future punched with only two possibilities, either to Heaven or to Hell.

Do we love Jesus?

In the last verse of Paul's letter to the Ephesians, he wrote, "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen." In Philippians 1:9-10 he wrote, "And this I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in the knowledge and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ;..." In both of these letters he mentioned being sincere, which means to be honest, genuine, and without hypocrisy. He admonished them and us to love Jesus sincerely and to live sincerely and without offense till the day of Christ. How can we know if we are being sincere in loving the Lord? Jesus gives us the answer several times in the word. One of these is found in John 14:21 where he said, "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me..." Let me ask this obvious question, do we love Jesus?

One in Christ?

In John chapter 21 Jesus is praying for his disciples and in verses 20 & 21 he says, "Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word. That they all may be one as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me." I wonder how this is working in the body of Christ. We should all be one in Christ and not divided over man made religious rules that seem mostly rooted in touch nots and taste nots. I recently heard of a minister that was telling Christians that they are going to hell for not following the dietary laws of the Old Testament. Are we loving our brothers and sisters in the Lord the same way we love ourselves? Can we fellowship with all those who are born again? If not, why not? What do you suppose those in the world are thinking as they view the Body of Christ in such an anemic condition?

Do you love the light?

Upon returning from a 2 week trip I could not locate my small flashlight that I took on the trip. I use the light in the dark of night to make it to the bathroom and back to bed without stubbing a toe. I prefer to walk with light and not in the darkness. Many prefer walking in darkness because as Jesus said in John 3: 19, "And this is the condemnation that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil." Churches across the lands will be full of people who choose to do their own will rather than the will of God. They act as though they are one thing and all the while they are something else. I John 1: 6 says, "If we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth." Remember that there will be those who will be outside the gate of the city of God and won't be able to enter in. Who are they you ask? Revelation 22:15 says, "For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie." Oh yes, I found my flashlight in one of our suitcases and I am so happy to have my light back.

A pruned life bears fruit

In John 15: 1 -2 it says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit." We have had to prune some of our plants at times and it is hard to do but it causes the plant to bear fruit. We have separated peony plants before with good results. We took a shovel and cut or pruned the plant right down the middle and moved it to another part of our garden. Within a year or two it was bearing fruit with beautiful flowers. If the original plant wasn't bearing fruit, we would dig it up and throw it away. If it was bearing fruit we would prune it by cutting it back and relocating it. I'm thankful that God prunes our lives on a regular basis. It can be upsetting when it happens but God is the Master Gardner and He knows when to prune a life and when to take one away. Do we recognize when our lives are being pruned?