A Roaring Lion

1 Peter 5:8 (NLT)
8 Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

There is a lot packed into this one verse. The apostle first warns us to stay alert or in some translations to be sober and vigilant. We should allow nothing to distract us from the fact that Satan is an enemy of those who love God.  Matthew Henry’s commentary tells us this of Satan’s name:  “By his characters and names. (1.) He is an adversary: "That adversary of yours; not a common adversary, but an enemy that impleads you, and litigates against you in your grand depending cause, and aims at your very souls.’’ (2.) The devil, the grand accuser of all the brethren; this title is derived from a word which signifies to strike through, or to stab. He would strike malignity into our natures and poison into our souls. If he could have struck these people with passion and murmuring in their sufferings, perhaps he might have drawn them to apostasy and ruin. (3.) He is a roaring lion, hungry, fierce, strong, and cruel, the fierce and greedy pursuer of souls.”  Satan is not idle in his activities. We see that he prowls or walks about looking for opportunities to tear down those who love God. We know from the Book of Job that Satan attacked Job who was a man of faith, who loved God and who went out each morning to pray for the sins of his family. Yet Job persevered and stood firm in his faith.

 

According to Psychology Today, in 2008, 4,000 books were published on happiness—up from 50 books in 2000. If you don’t believe people are under attack in today’s society those statistics on books to make us happy should be convincing. People are searching for happiness. Iif there isn’t a firm faith in The Lord and a good understanding God has the best plan for their lives – they look for happiness in the wrong places.

Satan is walking about looking to steal our happiness which is found in the Lord. Peter chose a lion for illustration because a lion roars to claim its territory. The roar of a lion is frightening and can be heard five miles away. Satan wants to claim the world as his own. Fortunately we have a savior Jesus Christ who is The Lion of Judah. The voice of Jesus carries around the world speaking to every one of His love, grace and mercy.

Give thanks to the God of heaven

Psalm 136:26 (NLT)
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.

This verse tells us that God is a glorious God, and the glory of His mercy is to be taken notice of in our praises. Romans 9:23 states the riches of his glory are displayed in the vessels of His mercy. Psalm 136:26 also denotes Him to be the great benefactor, for every good and perfect gift is from above, from the Father of lights, the God of heaven; and we should trace every stream of mercy and goodness back to His fountain. Other mercies may perhaps endure but a while, but the mercy that is in God endures forever; it is an inexhaustible fountain.

 

Evelyn Bence in “Two Kinds of Thanks” wrote about her experience spending the night in a homeless shelter.  In reflecting on her experience she wrote the following:   

Only after I walked back out into the night air did the women's stories unsettle me. Their paths had too much in common with mine. In a sense, I was one of them: A mother's daughter. Vulnerable. A sinner in need of grace. ...

Since then I have been more aware of the uprooted Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Latin American refugees who live in my neighborhood, who ride my bus. War, political change, economic collapse--conditions over which they had no control--destroyed their lifestyle and stole their ability to communicate easily and thus to work efficiently. My thoughts have frightened me. My comfortable world, my secure home, is not guaranteed.

At the sight of the outstretched hand of a city beggar, I have always grown uncomfortable. Until recently, I have thought it was because of Jesus' warning in Matthew 25:45: "Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these [the hungry, thirsty, unclothed, homeless], you did not do for me."

But since I spent an evening at the women's shelter, I see that Matthew 25 is only the partial cause of my discomfort. I am uncomfortable because I see the beggar as myself--or my very own brother or mother or father. And I cannot think of a homeless or hungry woman in such personal terms without a reversal in the way I give my thanks.

The difference between "Thank you that I'm not one of them" and "Thank you for the grace you have shown to me, and help me to mirror your grace to others" may, at first, seem slight. But the second is for me a wholly new mindset that makes me want to reach out, that reduces my discomfort around those who have less than I, and, surprisingly, that reduces my fear of a future that is unknown. Why? Because even though I know I have no insurance policy against war and famine or sickness, I know I have a God who does not forget his own. And for that I thank him also.

An Imperfect King

2 Samuel 6:14-23 (NIV)
14 Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, 15 while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets. 16 As the ark of the Lord was entering the City of David, Michal daughter of Saul watched from a window. And when she saw King David leaping and dancing before the Lord, she despised him in her heart. 17 They brought the ark of the Lord and set it in its place inside the tent that David had pitched for it, and David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings before the Lord. 18 After he had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord Almighty. 19 Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each person in the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women. And all the people went to their homes. 20 When David returned home to bless his household, Michal daughter of Saul came out to meet him and said, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” 21 David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” 23 And Michal daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.

Michal was the first wife of King David and also the daughter of Saul. Michal loved David when Saul reigned as king. In The Bible it is the one place where a woman is said to have loved a man. She was a woman used, first by her father, King Saul, and then by her husband David. She was given by Saul as a wife to David for his victories over the Philistines. Later she helped David escape Saul’s wrath as he became jealous of David’s superior ability as a warrior. After David’s escape Saul gave Michal to be the wife of Paltiel trying to prevent David’s claim to the throne. David had even remarried before returning for his wife. After Saul died, David returned to reclaim Michal -- not because he loved her, but because her lineage strengthened David's claim to the throne. Paltiel was grief stricken and weeping as they took his wife away while nothing is mentioned of Michal’s feelings. (2 Samuel 3:14-16)

In the verses above David is rejoicing to bring the Arc of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. Wearing only an ephod, which was basically a small apron, David danced and whirled in ecstasy in front of the Ark as the procession made its way toward the palace. Verse 16 shows Michal’s emotional despair over David’s actions. Then she gives her reason in verse 20, “How the king of Israel has distinguished himself today, going around half-naked in full view of the slave girls of his servants as any vulgar fellow would!” David’s reply was not the kindest one. David said to Michal, “It was before the Lord, who chose me rather than your father or anyone from his house when he appointed me ruler over the Lord’s people Israel—I will celebrate before the Lord. 22 I will become even more undignified than this, and I will be humiliated in my own eyes. But by these slave girls you spoke of, I will be held in honor.” Basically he told her as King he could do anything and that he would rather have the admiration of others than the respect of his wife. The last word of Michal was she died having no children.

In marriages made under God they are a covenant of commitment to one another. It is a commitment to love, honor, trust, protection, care and faithfulness. David did not show these qualities as a husband. In fact David made many mistakes when it came to marriage and parenting.

As imperfect as David was – God loved David because David loved God, which we see throughout Psalms. Remember this about your life. God is looking for your love, not perfection. God makes us perfect by trusting in His love for us, which is why God gave His Son Jesus to die for our sin. Trust in God and Trust in Jesus as your Savior.

The Change in Me

Matthew 20:28 (NLT)
28 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This verse comes after the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons to make a request. The request was, “In your Kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.” Jesus knew they were not certain what they were asking for so Jesus gave an explanation of His purpose. Jesus was not to be a ruler who sat and did nothing; Jesus came to serve others. The life of Jesus was not going to be pleasant for Jesus was going to give His life to ransom many from the sin that held them captive.

 

 

The disciples wanted something from Jesus He could not give them. It was a change the disciples needed to make in themselves. Imagine if Jesus had said to them, “I want you to die on a Roman cross tomorrow for my sake.” I doubt at this point in their lives they would have complied. Change is from the inside.

Altering directions a little, when you have a problem with someone else - who do you focus on the most?  Do you think things would change if that other person would just change or do you think, wow I need to make some changes in me?

Jesus said:  Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye (Matthew 7:3-5).

Jesus said we must first focus on our own shortcoming, on changes we need to make. This is not to say that those around us don't have faults, bad habits and sins. They do. But despite that, God wants us to focus first on our part. We need to be willing to see if we need to change something in us.

There is also the issue we cannot change someone who does not wish to change. We can threaten, belittle and try all types of things, but if a person doesn’t want to change – guess what, they are not going to change. Only God can work in the hearts of people to change them, which is why our prayers for others are so important. Only God can soften the hard hearted and restore their life to a good place.

Do you ever say things like – It is their entire fault; I only get angry because they do that; He/she hurt me and I want them to feel the pain I did; I need to confront their sin, they just aren’t getting it.

I'll be honest, I know I have said things like that in my life and maybe some of you have too. We need to remember to first examine ourselves and see what we need to change about us.  Pray God would reveal to us the things we need to work on, how we relate to people and how we can serve others as Jesus served.

Seek to truly understand others opinions and emotions. When you understand where the other person is coming from, look for ways to minister to them as you talk. God wants us to speak with love and courtesy, whatever the circumstances. Our words should be things of beauty, "like apples of gold in settings of silver" (Proverbs 25:11). Even if you need to take strong actions, control your anger (Proverbs 29:11). Remember you can only change yourself. It’s others who have to want to change themselves by allowing God to work in their lives.

Use God's Word correctly

2 Peter 3:14-16 (NIV)
14 So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him. 15 Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. 16 He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.

In these verses the apostle lets us know that we are in constant danger of being turned away from the truth. For we must remember even Satan knows the scriptures and used them against Christ, not for Christ’s benefit, but instead as an attempt to seduce Christ with the temptation of sin. We must be careful with scripture for it is our relationship with Christ that allows us to understand and use scripture wisely. There are some who take the Word of God away from Him and use it for themselves; men without law, who keep to no rules, set no bounds to themselves, a sort of free-thinkers. For we cannot think alone, but instead out thoughts must agree with those of Our Savior who with love, mercy and grace gave His life for us. If Christ allows you to grow in grace then allow others the same benefit.

 

 

William Henry Willimon is an American theologian and bishop in the United Methodist Church, currently serving in the North Alabama Conference. The following comes from one of his sermons :  Early in my ministry, I served a little church in rural Georgia. One Saturday we went to a funeral in a little country church not of my denomination. I grew up in a big downtown church. I had never been to a funeral like this one. The casket was open, and the funeral consisted of a sermon by their preacher. The preacher pounded on the pulpit and looked over at the casket. He said, "It's too late for Joe. He might have wanted to get his life together. He might have wanted to spend more time with his family. He might have wanted to do that, but he's dead now. It is too late for him, but it is not too late for you. There is still time for you. You still can decide. You are still alive. It is not too late for you. Today is the day of decision." Then the preacher told how a Greyhound bus had run into a funeral procession once on the way to the cemetery, and that that could happen today. He said, "You should decide today. Today is the day to get your life together. Too late for old Joe, but it's not too late for you." I was so angry at that preacher. On the way home, I told my wife, "Have you ever seen anything as manipulative and insensitive to that poor family? I found it disgusting." She said, "I've never heard anything like that. It was manipulative. It was disgusting. It was insensitive. Worst of all, it was also true."

Will’s wife was right the words spoken at the funeral were true. Anyone can die at any minute. And once the person dies it is too late to make any other decisions about life. It becomes too late to make the most important decision about their eternal life and whether they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The problem with the sermon is this was a time of mourning for most people and they needed comforting and not a head bashing. Yes, they need to know the love, mercy and grace God offers, but who is going to listen quicker – one that is comforted or one that bashed over the head with strong words? Who will listen quicker – a person hearing God’s word given in a loving and caring method or from one who berates one into submission? Yes, the words were correct, but the delivery was wrong. Remember to use God’s word first with yourself to build your relationship with Christ and then out of love for others.

Happy Thanksgiving

Knowing this is Thanksgiving week-I usually take time off from my devotions to consider the blessings in my life and allow others to do the same. We are given so many things in life we take for granted from good health to having a place to live. There are parts of this world that are not as fortunate as others so during this time of Thankgiving remember those parts of the world in your prayers and if lead to help do what you can. May God bless each of you, your families and those who are close to you. May your memories be joyful ones and I pray God will help you put away any thoughts that take away from giving thanks this week.

I'll be posting again next week - God willing. :)


1 Thessalonians 5
¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

¹⁹ Do not quench the Spirit. ²⁰ Do not treat prophecies with contempt ²¹ but test them all; hold on to what is good, ²² reject every kind of evil.

²³ May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. ²⁴ The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.


 

Kind words

Proverbs 16:24 (NLT)
24 Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

This proverb speaks metaphorically about kind words tasting like honey to those who hear them. The pleasant words should be from the heart of wise teachings. They are words of seasonable advice, instruction, and comfort. These words should often be taken from God’s own word and passed down as teachings to others. Solomon had learned from his father to account sweeter than honey and the honey-comb from Psalm 19:10. To those that know how to relish them - these words are pleasant. They are like the honey-comb, sweet to the soul, which tastes in them that the Lord is gracious, kind and merciful. They are wholesome words. Many things are pleasant that are not profitable, but these pleasant words are health to the bones, to the inward man, as well as sweet to the soul. They take the bones, which sin has broken and put out of joint, to rejoice. The bones are the strength of the body; and the good word of God is a means of spiritual strength, curing the disease of sin that has weaken us.

This proverb is easy to identify with. Try to think of someone who enjoys hateful, venomous, burning words being railed against them. I would dare say there are few if any that would choose a hateful lecture over a kind word. I know personally I would much rather hear a kind word.

Hateful words stir and enrage the soul. Hateful words tear down a person. Hateful words tear into the soul and rip it apart. In today’s world we often hear about the bullying of another with words that are mean and cruel. In the past few years words alone have been enough to cause teens to take their lives. In some cases the bullying has caused violence to break out. So we must remember that hateful words destroy lives.

Kind words are sweet and pleasant to the ears. Kind words lift a soul out of darkness and take it towards the light of Christ. Kind words encourage, sooth, comfort, motivate, and show the love, mercy and grave given by God. You see words of kindness are wrought from the fruit of the spirit while words of hate are wrought from our sinful desires.

As Christians we should always be willing to pass along kind words to others. If we are allowing The Holy Spirit to work in our lives then we know the words we say will be associated with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no condemnation against us when our words come from these motives.

If your words relate to sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these then your words are coming from your sinful nature and contain hate for God within them.

I pray as you speak to non-believes as well as Christian’s your words would be those of kindness. I pray the words you use would be as a light to show those who do not know God what God is truly like. I pray hatred will be put aside in all cases and that you find a means to restrain and hold against the temptation of lashing out hatefully. May God guide you and bring others to Him because of your own kindness. Amen!

The Gift

PSALM 1:1-6 (NLT)
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. ---- 4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment.  Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

This is a psalm of instruction concerning good and evil, setting before us life and death, the blessing and the curse that we may take the right way which leads to happiness and avoid that which will certainly end in our misery and ruin. [Matthew Henry].  There are those who follow God and serve Him. In contrast there are those who disobey God. Those who disobey will end their lives in ruin, while the righteous will be rewarded for their obedience. If every person were honest with themselves they would see their own path of life and where it leads.

 

 

In her book Amazing Grace, the writer and poet Kathleen Norris shares what she calls "the scariest story" she's ever heard about the Bible. Norris and her husband were visiting a man named Arlo, a rugged, self-made man who was facing terminal cancer. During their visit, Arlo started talking about his grandfather, a sincere Christian. The grandfather gave Arlo and his bride a wedding present: an expensive leather Bible with their names printed in gold lettering. Arlo left it in the box and never opened it. But for months afterwards his grandfather kept asking if he liked the Bible. Arlo told Norris, "The wife had written a nice thank-you note, and we'd thanked him in person, but somehow he couldn't let it lie, he always had to ask about it." Finally, Arlo grew curious enough to open the Bible. "The joke was on me," Arlo said. "I finally took that Bible out of the closet and I found that granddad had placed a twenty-dollar bill at the beginning of the Book of Genesis, and at the beginning of every book … over thirteen hundred dollars in all. And he knew I'd never find it." [Kathleen Norris, Amazing Grace:  A Vocabulary of Faith (Riverhead Books, 1998, p. 95)]

Sadly Arlo had only glanced at the treasure he was given as a wedding gift. The evidence he had ignored this treasure was he didn’t know about a second treasure left by his grandfather. The money was valuable, but The Bible was even a more valuable gift. The Bible contains words of wisdom, words for living, words for the way we treat people and even examples of what happens when our lives go awry. Yes there was a treasure in Arlo’s closet that was missed out on for a very long time.

We must always be careful with God’s word to use it wisely. The psalmist above said it should be meditated on day and night. In other words we should commit God’s word to our heart so that it can direct our lives. God will give each person a purpose and God’s word will speak to them about that purpose.

However the greatest of all things The Bible speaks about is God’s plan of salvation for our lives. God knew man could not hold firm to all of His laws so there a second part to God’s plan. The second part or second covenant was one of love, mercy and grace where God gave His son Jesus Christ as payment for our sin. Jesus died a horrible death, rose to life on the third day to defeat death, and for all who place their faith and trust in Jesus their sin is forgiven. Don’t miss out on that plan God has for you. God wants you to live eternally with Him, but it’s your choice whether you accept or ignore His plan of Salvation and His gift of heavenly eternal life.

Love like Christ

Luke 15:1-2 (NLT)
15 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. 2 This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

From Matthew Henry’s Commentary:  Here multitudes of publicans and sinners drew near to him, with a humble modest fear of being rejected by him, and to them he found it requisite to give encouragement, especially because there were some haughty supercilious people that frowned upon them. The publicans, who collected the tribute paid to the Romans, were perhaps some of them bad men, but they were all industriously put into an ill name, because of the prejudices of the Jewish nation against their office. They are sometimes ranked with harlots (Mt. 21:32); here and elsewhere with sinners, such as were openly vicious, that traded with harlots, known rakes. Some think that the sinners here meant were heathen, and that Christ was now on the other side Jordan, or in Galilee of the Gentiles. These drew near, when perhaps the multitude of the Jews that had followed him had (upon his discourse in the close of the foregoing chapter) dropped off; thus afterwards the Gentiles took their turn in hearing the apostles, when the Jews had rejected them. They drew near to him, being afraid of drawing nearer than just to come within hearing. They drew near to him, not, as some did, to solicit for cures, but to hear his excellent doctrine. Note, in all our approaches to Christ we must have this in our eye, to hear him; to hear the instructions he gives us, and his answers to our prayers.

 

I like Matthew Henry’s summary - in all our approaches to Christ we must have this in our eye, to hear him; to hear the instructions he gives us, and his answers to our prayers. When we listen to Christ and heed his instructions we begin to realize we must minister to those such as Christ did. We are told to encourage fellow Christians and keep each other accountable; but we are also to reach out to those who don’t know Christ. There are many good people who don’t know Christ. There are also many who are outwardly sinful even in the eye of those who are good non-Christians. Christ ministered to all of these.  

Our duty as Christians is to reach out to people - even that one person who others may shun away from. Maybe that person is in jail. Maybe that person frequents bars. Maybe that person is homeless and survives in ways we would be critical of. Maybe the person has difficulties that make them unlovable. Yet we too are to find that one lost sheep and lead them to Christ. (Luke 15:3-7)

Some may find it uncomfortable reaching out to these people and may need the encouragement and support of fellow Christians. Sometimes it happens by accident. I once was placed at a restaurant bar because the restaurant was full and I was along. But then I found I wasn’t alone – there was a man sitting next to men who needed to be reassured about the love of Christ. We need to be willing to reach out and love these people and do so in a way that we remain open to the people but apart from the world.  I wasn’t drinking at the bar where the man was drinking and amazingly he stopped drinking to talk with me and left his drink behind and untouched.

Look for opportunities to reach out to people. Reach out in love as Christ did and just love on people when they are hurting. Love on the unlovable so they can understand love. Love as Christ loves and your heart will overflow with joy.

To those who know Christ I love you and encourage you to keep loving The One who loved you first. To others I pray my love for you would show you what Christ looks like that you would love Him too!

Live free for the sake of others

1 Peter 2:15-16 (NIV)
15 For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish people. 16 Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves.

Matthew Henry writes about doing well in the face of those who would do us harm. [1.] The will of God is, to a good man, the strongest reason for any duty. [2.] Obedience to magistrates is a considerable branch of a Christian’s duty: So is the will of God. [3.] A Christian must endeavor, in all relations, to behave himself so as to put to silence the unreasonable reproaches of the most ignorant and foolish men. [4.] Those who speak against religion and religious people are ignorant and foolish. Matthew Henry goes on to explain that we are free in Christ and we should not abuse our freedom. [1.] All the servants of Christ are free men (Jn. 8:36); they are free from Satan’s’ dominion, the law’s condemnation, the wrath of God, the uneasiness of duty, and the terrors of death. [2.] The servants of Jesus Christ ought to be very careful not to abuse their Christian liberty; they must not make it a cover or cloak for any wickedness against God or disobedience to superiors.

 

 

The daughter of missionaries to the Congo Republic told Pastor Leith Anderson this story: As a little girl, she participated in a daylong rally to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the coming of missionaries to that part of Africa. At the close of a long day of speeches and music, an old, old man stood before the crowd and insisted on speaking. He soon would die, he said, and if he didn’t speak, information that he alone possessed would go with him to his grave.  He said that when the missionaries arrived, his people thought them strange and their message dubious. The tribal leaders decided to test the missionaries by slowly poisoning them to death. Over a period of months and years, missionary children died one by one. Then, the old man said, “It was as we watched how they died that we decided we wanted to live as Christians.” Those who died painful, strange deaths never knew why they were dying or what the impact of their lives and deaths would be. But through it all, they didn’t leave. They stayed because they trusted Jesus Christ. [Leith Anderson, “Mystery Martyrs,” Men of Integrity, (January/February 2004)]

My friends live as a Christian should live. The Bible tells us our salvation is not dependent upon our good works, but by our faith and trust in Christ who paid the debts for our sin. We are to repent and turn from sin and live as Christ did although we have the freedom to live sinfully. But living sinfully confuses others as to what Christianity means for we have been freed from sin, so why live in sin. Live instead that your life might be a witness to others. Live that God’s light shines through you and touches the lives of those who don’t know Christ. Live such that even in death others see the life you have been granted. I pray God will keep you faithful to Him and will keep you from wavering in your dedication to live as Christ lived.

Our closest friend

Philippians 4:8 (NLV)
8 Christian brothers, keep your minds thinking about whatever is true, whatever is respected, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever can be loved, and whatever is well thought of. If there is anything good and worth giving thanks for, think about these things.

The apostle exhorts us to dwell upon the true and good things of life. Keep those things close to our hearts for others to see the goodness of truth and righteousness in us so it also becomes their desire.  Matthew Henry gives these observations: Observe, 1. The apostle would have the Christians learn anything which was good of their heathen neighbors: "If there be any virtue, think of these things—imitate them in what is truly excellent among them, and let not them outdo you in any instance of goodness.’’ We should not be ashamed to learn any good thing of bad men, or those who have not our advantages. 2. Virtue has its praise, and will have. We should walk in all the ways of virtue, and abide therein; and then, whether our praise is of men or not, it will be of God.

 

According to a 2006 study, our circle of close friends is getting smaller. Over the past twenty years, the number of people we can discuss "matters important to us" dropped nearly a third. The number of people who said they had no one to talk to about important matters more than doubled, to nearly 25 percent.  It's an amazing conundrum; in a world of increased communication and higher technical advances, people feel more isolated and alone when it comes to real, legitimate friendship. "A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother."  Proverbs 18:24 Even on days when it seems like our "friendship circle" is closing tighter and tighter, we still have a friend in Jesus! Thank goodness for Christ walks with us each day, listens to our problems, and speaks to our hearts about what we must do. We need friends, but when our friends are not with us remember Jesus always is!

Freedom from sin

Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)
18 “Come now, let’s settle this,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them as white as wool.

Through Isaiah God tells the people that though their sin covers them as one covered in blood He is willing to cleanse them if they are willing to draw close to God and repent of their sin. It is hard to reason against such a generous gift. They are stained by sin and for their willingness to turn from sin God is ready to restore them to a pure and clean life.

 

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23

Dorothy Sayers, the mystery writer, was also a devoted Christian. Dorothy Sayers was attempting to explain the moral law of God. She pointed out that in our society there are two kinds of laws. There is the law of the stop sign, and there’s the law of the fire. The law of the stop sign is a law that says the traffic is heavy on a certain street, and as a result the police department or the city council decides to erect a stop sign. They also decide that if you run that stop sign, it will cost you $25 or $30 or $35. If the traffic changes, they can up the ante. That is if too many people are running the stop sign, they can make the fine $50 or $75, or if they build a highway around the city, they can take the stop sign down, or reduce the penalty, making it only $10 if you go through. The police department or city council controls the law of the stop sign.

But then she said there is also the law of the fire. And the law of the fire says if you put your hand in the fire, you’ll get burned. Now imagine that all of the legislatures of all the nations of the entire world gathered in one great assembly, and they voted unanimously that here on out that fire would no longer burn. The first man or woman who left that assembly and put his or her hand in the fire would discover that the law of the fire is different than the law of the stop sign. Bound up in the nature of fire itself is the penalty for abusing it. So, Dorothy Sayers says, the moral law of God is like the law of the fire. You never break God’s laws; you just break yourself on them. God can’t reduce the penalty, because the penalty for breaking the law is bound up in the law itself.

We would like to delude and comfort ourselves by thinking that God’s laws are all just like the law of the stop sign, and not like the law of fire.  They’re not.  We think that we may just bruise ourselves a bit when we violate one of His laws, but Romans 6:23 says it’s a far more serious thing to violate His law and put our hand into the fire of sin: the result of that is death.  And that’s a lot more serious than a bruise or two.

PRAYER: Father, give us the gift of discernment and wisdom to grasp the seriousness of our sin. Let us be thankful for Jesus who cleanses us of our sin. Let us never forget what Jesus did for us!

 In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Serve The Lord

Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
15 But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

Matthew Henry writes, “Never was any treaty carried on with better management, nor brought to a better issue, than this of Joshua with the people, to engage them to serve God. The manner of his dealing with them shows him to have been in earnest, and that his heart was much upon it, to leave them under all possible obligations to cleave to him, particularly the obligation of a choice and of a covenant.”

 

The snow covered the ground, and three young boys were playing in it.  A man said to them, "Would you like to try to race, with the promise of a prize for the winner?" The boys agreed, and the man told them that his race was to be different.  "I will go to the other side of the field," he said, "and when I give you the signal, you will start to run.  The one whose footsteps are the straightest in the snow will be the winner." As the race commenced, the first boy began looking at his feet to see if his steps were straight.  The second lad kept looking at his companions to see what they were doing; but the third boy just ran on with his eyes fixed on the man on the other side of the field. The third boy was the winner, for his footsteps were straight in the snow.  He had kept his eyes on the goal ahead of him. A long time ago, another man using similar words taught the same principle.  It was Paul who said, "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:13-14).

We have a choice in life as to who we can serve. Joshua told the people gathered around him you can serve other gods or you can serve the true Lord. If we are to serve the Lord we are to keep our eyes fixed on Him, watching him and our steps in life will always fall straight towards him.

I pray your household would serve the Lord and that your days would go well for you even under the duress of life. I pray God would strengthen you, guide you, grant you wisdom and help you endure against temptations that will come your way. May God touch your heart and let the love of Jesus Christ shine through you to all people. Let’s us thank The Lord for His love, mercy and grace. Amen.

Prayers for all

1 Timothy 2:1-2 (NLT)
1 I urge you, first of all, to pray for all people. Ask God to help them; intercede on their behalf, and give thanks for them. 2 Pray this way for kings and all who are in authority so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives marked by godliness and dignity.

Here we find Paul urge Timothy along with the Christians for which he is responsible to pray for all people. There are to be prayers for ourselves. There are to be prayers for our family. There are to be prayers for our neighbors; and there are to be prayers for those foreign to us. Leaders and those in authority should also be prayed for so that God can supply all needs and make our lives peaceful and quiet.

 

The election results are in and some may be overly exuberant in their wins while others may be overly disgruntled in their losses. However, now is time for all people to come together, praying for one another and especially praying for our leaders that the right decisions might be made. Don’t allow your personal feelings on election results go towards hurting others, but instead allow yourself to do good for others. Give congratulations where congratulations are due. Give accolades for those who lost in their attempt to do what they felt was right.

Pray such as this: Heavenly Father we are a country that was formed for freedom of worship. Let us not forget that we are not to exclude you Father from our daily lives nor exclude you from our country. Lord please bless each person in this country. Help those who are in need. Help our neighbors who might be struggling with financial or personal issues. Lord guide our leaders and help them to be good examples of what a leader should look like. Let us put aside our personal feelings and instead work together to do Your will. God bless this country and continue to make it a country that stands firm against evil and has the best interest of people at its heart. Amen.

The Bridegroom of the church

Ephesians 5:25-33 (NIV)
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.

Here we find the apostle writing about the responsibility of husbands in marriage. The apostle also relates the covenant of marriage to the covenant Jesus made with the church. Just as a husband is to watch over his wife, Christ watches over the church.

 

 

This past weekend our daughter got married in a lovely wedding ceremony. The beautiful part of a Christian wedding is the reminder that the wedding symbolizes what Christ has done for the church. Jesus several times referred to Himself as the bridegroom of the Church.  Even John the Baptist said that the bride belongs to the bridegroom referring to those who have placed their faith in Christ in as the bride and Jesus as the bridegroom who would receive them unto himself as their protector.

While many debate the meaning of marriage we all need to remember that Christ promises to be the bridegroom who will love, honor, cherish and protect us as our lord and savior. It is a promise we should never forget.