A Greater Purpose

Mark 5:18-19 "And when he was come into the ship, he that had been possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him, Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."
   Prayer is a powerful thing, for it connects us straight to the throne of God. The Creator of the Universe listens to what we have to say. Like a good father he hears our petitions, our thankfulness, our cries, our fears: all of our prayers. But also like a good father, he does not always answer them the way we expect or want him to. God sees beyond what is directly in front of us; he sees the path each decision will take us. We are limited in our understanding of the future and what it holds for our lives, which is why we ask the Lord for direction - to seek his guidance for each day.
   Mark 5 reads of the time when Christ restored the maniac of Gadara to his rightful mind and expelled the Legion of devils inside him. The natural reaction of this man was to be with Christ, for he had just been healed by him. Do we not seek to be with Christ after salvation in order to be closer to him? It is a natural reaction for one who has been saved from eternal damnation. However, the prayer and desire of the maniac was not what God had in mind for him. Christ knew that the people of the Gadarenes would want him gone from the country, which is why he denied the very honest and humble plea of the previously possessed man - Christ could see beyond the immediate situation of this man. Although denied his desire to be with Christ, he was given a new purpose.
   We often think we know what is best for us, but if we trust God, he will show us a better way - a new path. A path that fulfills a purpose, that accomplishes the will of God...even though we do not understand where the door God has opened leads, we can trust that the path he puts us on is for the best. Christ's new purpose for the man in Mark 5 was to become an Evangelist, a Missionary to his own people. A place that Christ was denied to go, was the very place this man could go to reach his family, his friends, his neighbors with the miracle of Christ in his life. We have this purpose also, to reach out to those around us and show them the miracle of Christ in our life, the healing of our souls, the greatest gift ever given - salvation!
   Do not despair when God denies your request or is seemingly deaf to your prayers. He hears you, but he knows that what you ask he can not give you because he has a greater purpose for you. One that may not make sense right now, but will forge a way to what the future holds for you. He sees beyond our limited sight and will give you a new purpose, a new desire, if you let him. Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Clad With Zeal

About my shoulders I feel the thrill of excitement and new beginnings! What does God have in store?!  Who does he need me to encourage or to show his love?  Is there something else I can do for my Saviour? I am covered with zeal for my God - it's a cloak overtop the armour he gave me. Ephesians 6:13-20 "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak."
Isaiah 59:17 "For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak."

   Zeal is that last piece of the whole armour of God. It is what we need to carry out the great commission - to share the good news of Christ to a dying world. Our salvation is not to be empty of spirit. Our gospel message is not to be kept only within our hearts. Our Saviour is not to be hushed by his children's lips. The cloak of zeal unlocks our stammering tongue.
Exodus 4:10-12 "And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue. And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD? Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say."
 
   This cloak is given by God, but it is up to us to put it on. Perhaps you have taken off this piece of your armour. You may be discouraged or struggling with your walk with God. I encourage you, Christian, to be "clad with zeal". Place it on your shoulders once more and allow it to fill your heart with the desires of the Lord. Commune with the Lord Jesus Christ - let him in, he wants to have a good relationship with his child. He's waiting on you to open your heart.
Revelation 3:19-20 "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent. Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."

Will you put on the cloak of zeal or continue in idleness? The decision is yours.

Administering Grace

God gave us his amazing grace not only as a means of saving our souls,
but to give us an example to follow in order for us to administer
grace to other believers. Giving grace to those we interact with is not
always easy and it does not come naturally with any of us, but we can
change that. Using Christ as a comparison and an example, we can see how
we too can bestow grace to those around us. [John 13:15 "For I have
given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you."
1 Peter 2:21 "For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his
steps:"]

In the Bible, you find grace often paired with "in the sight" or
"in the eyes". Although grace has many uses, there is a form of grace that requires
us to change how we view people. Our eyes are the windows to our soul, and
what we see evokes thoughts in our hearts. It is easy to be critical of others
and to assume the worst based on what we see. We don't ask questions,
we just automatically form an opinion of them based solely on how we perceive
that person. If you are always wearing tinted glasses, it's going to affect your
perception of people. Our sight improves when we take off those tinted
glasses of presumption and we begin seeing people with the aid of grace.

When we are lost, God sees us in our sin - we are covered in the filth
of our wrong doings. When we accept Christ as our Saviour, God changes
his view of us. We are no longer sinners in his sight, he doesn't see
our sin any more. Grace steps in, and we become sinless through his
eyes, we become as his precious Son. He views us differently and then
has a love for us that goes beyond our comprehension. He knows what
we were and who we are, but he sets that aside and chooses to see us with a
different perspective. We must also make the choice to view others
differently, to set aside their faults and give them the same grace
that God gives us.

I Have Made a Decision

   You have to make decisions all of the time, and each decision made can have a great impact on your life. Choices we make have the power to change our lives forever. One very important choice is salvation, but there is another choice, for those of us who are already saved, that is just as important: Am I willing to surrender my life to Christ? As with salvation, this is an act of your free will. Only you can choose. The difference between salvation and surrender is that salvation need only be done once, but the decision to surrender your life to Christ is done daily.
   Every day you must decide if you will let God lead, or if you will lead. (Proverbs 12:15; Proverbs 16:2; Proverbs 21:2; Jeremiah 17:9; 1 Samuel 16:7) What we think is right and what God thinks is right are two different things. Our hearts can easily deceive us into believing we are doing what is right, when God's way is totally opposite. You can be doing all of the right things and still be going the wrong way, if you are trying to do it in your own strength. However, the Lord is gracious and merciful to those who truly have a heart to learn his will. (Isaiah 45:2a) All of the "crooked" decisions we have made - all of our mistakes, he goes through and straightens them, conforming us to his will. (Romans 12:1-2) But you first have to decide to let him lead.
   Allowing God to lead you requires you to put aside all that you think you know and to trust God to show you what is right. This isn't easy for those of us who like to be in control and who like to know all of the reasons why. Trusting God for what's around the corner is difficult, but it is unavoidable if he is to lead. God does not have to play by our rules, he does not have to tell us his every move - he has reasons for why he is taking you down a particular road, and he can see the bigger picture - your job is to simply trust him. As the hymn says "Simply trusting every day, trusting thru a stormy way; even when my faith is small, trusting Jesus - that is all. Trusting as the moments fly, trusting as the days go by; trusting him whatever befall; trusting Jesus - that is all."
   This decision of surrender should never be some fly-by commitment...even though it has to be made every day, the inconsistency of keeping that choice would be an injustice to Christ. If you will choose to surrender your life to Christ, be sure you are fully persuaded, and determine that you will not waiver. (Psalm 16:8; Matthew 26:41; Philippians 4:13) Our flesh certainly is weak, but we have the Holy Spirit within us and when Christ is our strength, we can do what is right. (Ruth 1:16-17) Ruth was fully persuaded in her mind of what she should do...there was no second-guessing herself...nothing Naomi said would change her mind of what she believed was the right thing to do.How persuaded are you? Are you sure that you are on the path that God has laid out for you? Are you doing the right thing?
   I have made a decision to trust God, what will you decide?

Observe and Do

Observe and Do

Joshua 1:7-9

   There comes a time in the life of a Christian {or many times} where you must stop wondering what to do and instead 'observe and do.' God will bring his children to a corner that they cannot get out of, they cannot move anywhere but where God wants them to go. Sometimes we fight it or are blind to it (because of the flesh or our own will), but eventually we will come to the place where there is nothing else to do but to 'observe and do'. Observe what God wants us to do and then simply do it! {Of course, if you are feeling rebellious, you can always refuse to obey God, but I wouldn't recommend it.}

   Joshua 1:7 "Only be thou strong and very courageous, that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law...turn not from it to the right hand or to the left..." Whatever it is that God wants you to do; you must be strong and very courageous towards the task ahead of you. When we are "down" spiritually, we struggle with what God would have us do, because we are not "healthy" spiritually. When we need to be doing the work of Christ, we must have a strong, healthy relationship with our Father in Heaven, and we must also be courageous. Courage means to not fear what man can do, because God is on your side. We must have the courage to stand our ground as we 'observe and do' what God would have us to do. Both spiritual strength and the Believer's courage are key factors in insuring that we will not turn (to the right hand or to the left) away from God's will that he bids us to observe and to do.

   Joshua 1:8 "This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success." 'Observe and do' is preceded by studying and meditating on the word of God. If we are not filling our lives with the influence of the Bible, how can we expect God to show us his will? You will not find God by leaving his book on a shelf while you live your life; he uses his word to reveal himself to you - you have to first read God's word, then you can meditate on his word. Through this saturation of scripture, God promises to make our way prosperous and to give us good success! That's the key - bathe yourself in the word of God!

   Joshua 1:9 "Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest." When you 'observe and do' what God wants done, you can be assured that he will be by your side. There is not one place that God will not go with you. When you stumble- he will catch you, when you need him- he will be there! God is the one who has commanded you to 'observe and do', he will not forsake you - he will never leave you.

   What is it that God would have you to observe? What does he want you to do? Are you willing to do it? Are you preparing yourself to hear from God? Observe and do.

I Forgive

I Forgive

those who have strayed...

   Every believer has experienced that terrible sinking of heart when a brother or sister in Christ has left God to chase the world. And although it is such a heart breaking event, many turn it into bitterness of heart rather than continuing instant in prayer. I understand how easy it can be for someone to focus their anger on the person instead of the sin, but that doesn't justify your unforgivness. Be angry and sin not! Don't hate the believer - hate the sin. Just as God didn't hate you because you were a sinner, he hated, and still hates, only your sin. Give mercy to your fellowbeliever! Those who fall are still your brothers and sisters in Christ and should always be treated with the charity that God patterned out for us to follow.

   Romans 12:3 "For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith." Don't make the same mistake as the brother who stayed at home in Luke 15:29-30 did, and think that you are somehow better than that fallen brother or sister. We are all wicked and all our hearts are deceitful, and any one of us, weak or strong, can fall away from God in an instant.

   Another reason why you should bestow charity and prayer upon that soul, who has chosen to run their own life, is when they get right and return to the fold. What kind of attitude prevents you from loving them when they return? That bitterness that you have locked up inside - that's the attitude that will cause more problems in your Christian walk than anything else. That's the very thing that will cause that fallen child of God to not want to go back to the Father...that's the very thing that will cause you to fall away from God yourself. Don't risk your spirituality or another believer's for the satisfaction of being bitter and being unforgiving. In the end it is a false satisfaction, it is only a terrible cycle that never stops till you forgive.

   Forgive them for their weakness of faith, for you could soon find yourself in the very same position as they. You don't have to accept their wrong-doings, you don't have to excuse whatever sin they have committed...you need to bestow upon them mercy for what they have done and lift their name before the throne of God.

   The burden that comes with bitterness towards a fallen Christian is one that we do not need to bear. We act as though they have somehow sinned against us and can never be forgiven. Thankfully, God has a different view! Even so, as God told Samuel: "...they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them." Forgive them, show charity, and pray continually! Don't give up, don't harbour bitterness, and don't deceive yourself into thinking that you are better than they. God has blessed you because you have chosen to stay in the fight, don't ruin it with bitterness! Forgive.

Bless The Righteous

Psalm 5:12

“For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.”

   Everyone is always saying “do right and God will bless”, but to be honest, the blessings don’t always come right away…sometimes God waits to bless. Why does he do it that way? I have asked this question often, I want to do right and give glory to God through my life, but why must I wait for the blessings- the rewards? Perhaps it is a selfish question, but it’s important that it gets answered. I believe that God waits to bless us for the same reason he allowed Job to go through such terrible circumstances- “Doth Job fear God for nought?” [Job 1:9] Job was put to the test; would he continue to do right despite his circumstances? Will we continue to do right even when our circumstances don’t appear to reflect the goodness of the Lord?

   In Hosea 10:12, the Lord encourages us to do right and he also gives the consequences of doing right- "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." Notice, however, that the verse says “till he come”, he doesn’t promise immediate results like we would want him to, but he does promise that he will bless in his timing. To get the blessing, though, we have to do what is right first- be righteous, break up the sin in your life, seek the Lord!

   [Revelation 22:11] “He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.” If you are doing right, keep doing right! God blesses the righteous- “For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.” [Psalm 5:12] I know it’s not easy to be righteous, especially since we still have the old man- our flesh to deal with. The new man has to fight hard to do right, and there will always be that constant battle between the old man and new man. [Ephesians 4:24] “And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

   [Jeremiah 4:3] “For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” If you don’t break up that fallow ground- that sin, any seed that you sow for Christ will soon be choked by the thorns of this world, your flesh, and the Devil. [Mark 4:7] “And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.” You will gain no fruit for the Father, and your Christian life will be a wasteland of ‘could-have-been’. [Matthew 7:18] “A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.” Your rewards will not be blessed, but cursed- worthless- wood, hay, stubble. [I Corinthians 3:11-13] “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.”

   [Hebrews 11:6] “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Seeking after the Lord has it’s blessings, God will always reward those who seek him. [Psalm 37:4-5] “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” Through and through the Bible, God promises his blessings if we would simply seek after him. If we do not seek, we will not find; there’s no other way around it…if you want the blessing, you must live for God.

   God wants to “bless the righteous”, if you are doing what is right, he will bless you, you can be assured that he will hold nothing back. Sometimes it may seem that you are not getting anything in return for doing right while others follow the wrong path, but keep on the right because the blessings are coming! When it seems like it’s the hardest to continue in righteousness is when it’s the most important to cling to Christ, for the blessings are right around the corner. Many give up on God during the rough times and they miss the greatest of God’s blessings by a few moments. Don’t give in, stay strong in the Lord and weak in the flesh; it’s worth all the trials and troubles you go through to hear the greatest blessing of all: “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.” [Matthew 25:21]

   [Proverbs 14:9] “Fools make a mock at sin: but among the righteous there is favour.” Previously, I mentioned that God doesn’t always bless immediately, instead he waits and watches to see what we do even when the blessings aren’t there. Choosing to be righteous can have a selfish motivation or it can have a God-centered motivation. As a selfish motivation, the standard still applies that God will bless those who do right, yet it’s not nearly as wonderful as a God-centered motivation. A God-centered motivation means that you are not doing right for the benefit of the blessings, rather for the glory of God. Align your motivation, and it is possible to be in favour with God- this is a very prestigious place to be, but to get there you must be humble, for that is what God admires. [Proverbs 11:27] “He that diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it shall come unto him.” There are some examples in the Bible of those who have found favour with God, we may not have seen their “qualifications”, but God was looking at their hearts. [1 Samuel 2:26] “And the child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the LORD, and also with men.” [Luke 1:30] “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.”  [Luke 2:52] “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man.” Samuel, Mary, and Jesus all found favour with God- all had humility and were living righteously for the glory of God.

   Live righteously, gather blessings, find favour with God…and a shield? [Proverbs 30:5] “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.” God is our protection, our mainstay, he is our shield! The Lord does not come and go, he is steadfast (if there’s any moving away, we have done it) and you will find that as you live righteously, gather blessings, and find favour with God, you will be closer to Christ. Notice: God is there in [Luke 1:28] “And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” See how with favour comes a need to be near: [Genesis 18:3] “And said, My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant:” [Genesis 30:27] “And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience that the LORD hath blessed me for thy sake.” Righteousness, blessing, favour, and a shield… [Psalm 84:11] “For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.” God blesses the righteous; are you willing to be righteous for the glory of God?

Romans 5:8

Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."

If you were the Devil, what better way to lead God's children astray than to twist and corrupt God's holy word?? The Devil certainly has many ways of deceiving, but his most effective way is through something that we put our faith in trust in, the Bible!

For an example, I have chosen the common passage of Romans 5:8. Through the years, I have listened to many sermons where  many have quoted or read Romans 5:8...and many have, unfortuantely, changed the word 'commendeth' to (most often, but not limited to) shows, showed, demonstrates, demonstrated. Now, many will assume that their Pastor, teacher, father, esteemed other, etc. knows his Bible well enough so they themselves have no need of searching out the validity of this statement. Let me encourage you to search out the scriptures for yourself...God will show you the truth if you seek it.

The word 'commendeth' shows up exactly 3 times in the Bible- Romans 5:8, 1 Corinthians 8:8, and 2 Corinthians 10:18. As stated above, the word 'commendeth' is routinely changed in Romans 5:8, yet it isn't commonly replaced in the other two passages of scripture. If you would change 'commendeth' in one verse, why not all three? Lets test this particular theory...

1 Corinthians 8:8 "But meat (shews, shewed, demonstrates, demonstrated) us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse"

2 Corinthians 10:18 "For not he that (shews, shewed, demonstrates, demonstrated) himself is approved, but whom the Lord (shews, shewed, demonstrates, demonstrated)."

Being perfectly honest before your Creator, do either of those vereses make sense by replacing 'commendeth' with any of the words that are used to correct Romans 5:8?? Changing the word simply doesn't fit with every occurance in scripture! If it doesn't work in two out of three, then maybe it doesn't actually work in one out of three either. So, lets take a look at the word God put there in the first place...does it fit?

The etymology of 'commendeth' is broken up into a prefix (com) a verb (mend) and a suffix (eth). Beginning with the suffix, -eth puts the verb into a present tense form. (Shew-ed and demonstrat-ed are past tense verbs making them wrong grammatically as well as scripturally.) Now for the prefix and verb, com-mend...com- meaning 'with or together' and mend- meaning 'to repair'. Taking these meanings and applying them to Romans 5:8 makes quite a difference! God is repairing the relationship between himself and man (broken by sin)...bringing us together with him to become the children of God! What difference to shewed: God wanted us to see the love...

and to demonstrated: God wanted to prove his love...

[Although God both wanted to prove to us his love and for us to see how much he loves us through his Son's death on the cross, these meanings simply don't work with the simplicity (as well as complexity) of this scripture.]

Bringing this word (and now verse) to a whole new light, the next step is to make the connection between all three verses containing this word 'commendeth'.

1 Corinthians 8:8 "But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse."

Chapter eight of First Corinthians speaks of not being a stumblingblock to your fellow believers, and God interjects verse eight to confirm a truth. The things you do or don't do have no bearing on God mending his relationship with man- also known as salvation.

2 Corinthians 10:18 "For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth."

God does the mending, you don't!

[Please note that  "commendeth" also refers to "to praise" (another definition for the combined word of "commend" short for "recommend") this is confirmed in the context of 2 Corinthians 10:17 "But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord."]

Without Romans 5:8 saying commendeth, these other two verses lose part of their meaning, we understand them because of Romans 5:8's "commendeth". God has a purpose for every word in his Bible! Why assist the Devil in corrupting the holy words of God?

Now I Know

Genesis 22:1-13

Vs. 1, 7, 11

"And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said, Behold, here I am. And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And the angel of the LORD called unto him out of heaven, and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I."

        Here am I, Lord! Abraham was quick to listen to God’s calling. As soon as God called- he answered…even when his son had a question, Abraham was ready to listen. When God is calling us to a particular ministry or to follow his will, we need to be ready to listen! Sometimes God speaks to us directly through his word or preaching, but other times he uses people to show us his will. Do we want to hear from God? Or are we looking for a reason not to listen? Whatever it may be, God’s will is always perfect! It may include breaking our own stubborn wills, shattering our life-long dreams, or be something that you never imagined God would want you to do; still we must listen for the smallest whisper from God.

Vs. 2, 9, 10

"And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son."

            Not this, Lord! Listening will always lead to submitting. Both are a battle of the flesh for all of us. Abraham had learned to trust God, so even though it was hard to listen to God’s request, he knew he needed to submit. ‘Sacrificing his only son’ must have been a horrible thought…he knew how difficult it would be, yet he submitted to the will of God. Oftentimes, God will ask us to submit to a very hard thing. We won’t want to do it; we will fight it to the bitter end! We will say ‘Not this, Lord!’…’I can’t sacrifice this!’ It may be uprooting to a mission field, losing a child, or a family member, or a friend, and many other things. However, “He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.” {Matthew 10:39; Matthew 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; Luke 17:33}.

Vs. 12, 13

"And he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son."

            Now I know! What if this great sacrifice that we have been asked to submit to is simply the door to what God’s plan truly is? It’s a difficult concept to grasp, but it is possible. Look at Abraham for example, his great sacrifice was his only son…God saw Abraham’s great faith…”Now I know!”…God shows Abraham a different path that is easier to accept…Abraham is willing to serve in this new path because he has already submitted to a greater sacrifice. The same may be for us. God wants to see – to know that we are willing to do whatever he asks of us. He may simply be testing our faith and trust in him. He then shows us what his perfect will is for our lives…he has been waiting to show us…but first, he tested us…the question is ‘Did we pass the test?’ Were we willing to sacrifice? Were we willing to give God whatever he asked of us? Did we hold anything back? Will we let him mold us into a vessel that can be used for him? Or do we resist and rebel? Do we refuse to let God work in our lives? Do we miss our opportunity to do something truly great for God? Do we settle for second-best? What is God saying to us? Does he say, “Now I know that thou fearest God”? Or does he say, “Now I know you never had a heart to serve your Saviour”? The decision is yours- are you ready to listen for your calling, to submit to your calling, to serve in your calling? Now he knows.

The Decaying Christian

{Ecclesiastes 10:18}

   "By much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands the house droppeth through." We are so quick to forget our duty to our God- we are content with laying dormant in our spiritual lives. After salvation, there are works we can do, things we need to learn, places God wants us to go. However, if we are not willing to grow, the Lord will not force his will on our lives- it must be our choice. When we do not want to grow, we stay a seed- planted, but no roots, no stem, no leaves, no flower, no growth. God can do nothing with us, we become a dead seed- a decaying Christian.

   The decaying Christian isn't always a seed, it can be a flower, who was once in full bloom, now withered. We see the Lord work all around us and in us, but we still get distracted. Don't let the trials and troubles [nor the pleasures] of this world distract you so much that you forget what God has done and what he can do. A withered flower always looks so sad and neglected- a withered Christian looks the same. You will no longer be happy in the Lord, and your spiritual life will disappear. Christ will revive you, if you will let him.

{Mark 4:14-20}

   "The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred." What seed will you be? Will you stay dormant and decayed or will you bloom and grow?

{Joshua 24:15b}

"...but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

Draw It Out

Proverbs 20:5

“Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water;

but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

{1} What is counsel?

Counsel is bringing others God-ward, teaching them the Bible, and showing them how to walk with God. {Exodus 18:19-20} Good counsel comes from many sources, but it will always point towards God. {Proverbs 21:30} Counsel is known as good advice {Proverbs 20:18}, it is of the Lord {Proverbs 8:14}, it is the thoughts of God’s heart {Psalm 33:11; Micah 4:12}, and it is instruction from the Lord {Proverbs 19:20; Psalm 16:7}. Throughout scripture, counsel is linked with understanding, wisdom, and strength…without counsel the other three cannot be yours. {Deuteronomy 32:28; Job 12:13; Proverbs 8:14; Proverbs 21:30; Isaiah 11:2} Counsel isn’t there to just receive, but also to give. {Proverbs 27:9; Exodus 18:19; Judges 20:7; 1 Kings 1:12} Counsel is not to be used only once and then be put aside because it is ‘inconvenient’, counsel is to be used daily (like a medicine) to prevent sin (like a disease). {Daniel 4:27} Counsel is to be drawn out and used for God. {Proverbs 20:5}

{2} What will I do with the counsel I’ve been given?

Take it or forsake it- simple as that. Unlike salvation, choosing counsel will have to be repeated several times throughout your life. You must constantly decide to ‘take it or forsake it’ because it is constantly being given to you. Unfortunately, for most of us, we choose to forsake more often than to take. {2 Chronicles 25:15-16} King Amaziah went after strange gods, so God gave him a chance to repent by sending a prophet. Amaziah forsook the good counsel of the prophet and was destroyed. God gives each of us a chance(s) to repent, but how many chances will he give? Each time we forsake good counsel, it’s another chance gone…although God, in his mercy, can give us more than one chance, we have no way of telling which will be our last. The men of Sodom and Gomorrah and Lot’s wife ran out of chances- don’t let it happen to you. {Genesis 13:13; Genesis 18:20-32; Genesis 19:1-26; Luke 17:32}

As believers, we know what is right…we have been taught it and have seen it many times, yet, we have purposely chosen sin, knowing that it is wrong, knowing what right is- this is called Rebellion. Many people think Rebellion a rather small and insignificant sin, they seem to believe it to be a short stage or phase that everyone goes through. I must disagree, no one has to be rebellious to get through life- Rebellion is a choice of the heart. The Bible shows both rebellion and stubbornness (for the two go hand-in-hand) in a different light- in a far more serious light than we choose to show it. {1 Samuel 15:23} We seem to look at certain sins to be very small and others to be very great (almost like a scale of 1-10). No sin is too small to be considered right or even “ok”, we truly need to start looking at our “little” sins and “big” sins as God sees them. To him they are all wicked to the fullest degree, not one is “not as bad” as the others. Each sin is an abomination to him and so it should be with us. If we start looking at it from God’s perspective, we will start to see how serious an epidemic there really is. Stop making yourself blind to the realization of Rebellion; it’s a sin that so often is given free-reign. You don’t have to rebel, you don’t have to do wrong.

If you do, however, decide to rebel against the good counsel given to you, you need to understand the depth of the quicksand into which you just stepped. It will take you deeper than you want to go. Don’t let your ignorant pride stand in the way of reason and right. Don’t look at counsel to be something you ignore and retaliate against, it’s something that you are supposed to use- to draw out of your heart.

Perhaps you have already rebelled, but God is still giving you chances- even this essay is providing a chance to reconcile. {Revelation 3:19} Some of you have been rebelling for years and others perhaps only a moment, but no matter how long and hard you rebel you can still be given another chance to turn around. You’ve been given counsel before, so will you draw it out and use it, or will you bury it deeper?

{Psalm 25:7 “Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness' sake, O LORD.”} Choosing to draw out the counsel within your heart isn’t a weakness or compliance. According to the bible, you will be esteemed as one with understanding! Dig up some counsel you’ve already been given…think it over…is doing wrong really worth all the regret only to finally admit that you wish you had lived your life differently? You don’t have to wait 5, 10, 20 years for the realization to ‘click’ in; you can choose to see and accept and understand the truth now. You can skip right past the regret that follows foolish decisions and start serving your Saviour today. So many people have gone through their whole lives putting off God, forsaking the truth, trying to make their way by going ‘their way’, then they realise what they’ve been running from is what was missing. They have an empty space in their hearts (where God should be) that they have filled and re-filled with anything and everything this world can offer, yet that space remains empty – their lives unhappy. All of this was because of a wrong decision that they continued to make day after day, year after year. Constantly telling God no; they wanted just a little more time to play and to have ‘fun’. You don’t have to turn out this way, you can decide differently. You can draw out that counsel and use it before it’s too late. God has so much more in store for you; he will give you experiences that this world cannot give. What will you do with the counsel you’ve been given?

{Proverbs 19:21} The heart of man contains many things, including the counsel of the Lord. No matter how much wickedness that man puts in, he will never be able to rid himself of the counsel of the Lord- it will stand! Counsel may be buried deep, but it’s still there. Will you be drawing it out? Will you be a ‘man of understanding’? {Proverbs 20:5; Proverbs 1:5; Proverbs 10:23; Proverbs 11:12; Proverbs 15:21; Proverbs 17:27-28} Will you have good understanding?  {1 Samuel 25:3; Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 3:3-4; Proverbs 13:15}

{3} Am I going to be considered wise or foolish?

{Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.”} The only thing that a fool has is his folly…it’s his ‘best friend’, it goes with him everywhere, it’s what gets him into scrapes, it’s the only thing that stays when everyone else has left, it’s bound to give him a ‘good time’ (for a season), and eventually [whether it takes a week or a lifetime] it’s what shows him how much of a fool he truly is. {Proverbs 1:7; Proverbs 8:5; Proverbs 10:8; Proverbs 10:21; Proverbs 10:23; Proverbs 13:16; Proverbs 14:8-9; Proverbs 14:16; Proverbs 14:29; Proverbs 17:10; Proverbs 17:12; Proverbs 17:16; Proverbs 17:21; Proverbs 17:24; Proverbs 18:2; Proverbs 18:7; Proverbs 20:3; Proverbs 23:9; Proverbs 24:7; Proverbs 26:1; Proverbs 26:11; Proverbs 27:3; Proverbs 27:22; Proverbs 28:26; Proverbs 29:11; Ecclesiastes 10:3} {Psalm14:1; Psalm 53:1 “The fool hath said in his heart there is no God…”} Though he be a saved fool, because he is running from God he attempts to get God out of his mind. He continues to convince himself, but finds that his plan backfires…one who is saved cannot run from God because God is in him, though he hides it.

Now, I know that if you have already decided to risk making a fool out of yourself that no amount of scripture or words I write will affect you. You do not want this counsel. {Proverbs 15:5; Jeremiah 38:15; Luke7:30}. But just because you have ridden the rollercoaster of Rebellion doesn’t mean you can’t get off, and just because you are waiting in line to get on it doesn’t mean you can’t say ‘No.’

{Proverbs 19:20 “Hear counsel and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.”} There are many who are ‘waiting in line’, many who are considering but haven’t made up their minds yet. Please consider carefully! You are teetering on the fence that separates you from the world- its lusts and pleasures. You are considering the world, but have you considered God? You can still be wise- no need to be a fool. {Proverbs 22:3 “A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished.”} One who is prudent or wise can see the evil and knows it won’t do him good, so he avoids it. One who is simple or foolish sees the evil and thinks he can pass it without being affected; he gets in the midst of evil and expects to come out unharmed. If you know that it’s wrong and that it will hinder your spiritual growth then get away from it!

{4} Am I getting good or bad counsel?

If you are going to store counsel in your heart and use it, you need to be sure that you are getting only what is good for your spiritual growth. Determining counsel as good or bad isn’t always easy because our hearts are wicked and deceiving. {Jeremiah 17:9} If our hearts are right with God, then we can distinguish between the good and bad, because our hearts are seeking for what is right. When we are only half-hearted about serving the Lord Jesus Christ we are in very great danger of taking bad counsel that encourages bad decisions. You cannot possibly accept all the counsel given to you; there will always be someone(s) that is out to ruin your testimony and get you to do wrong. {Numbers 31:16; 2 Chronicles 22:3; Nahum 1:11} But, just as much as someone will be seeking to trip us up with bad counsel, often times we will choose bad counsel on purpose because our hearts are deceitful and desperately wicked. {1 Kings 12:6-16} King Rehoboam was given both good and bad counsel, he chose wrong because his heart wasn’t right. {1 Chronicles 10:13-14 “So Saul died for his transgression which he committed against the LORD, even against the word of the LORD, which he kept not, and also for asking counsel of one that had a familiar spirit, to enquire of it; And enquired not of the LORD: therefore he slew him, and turned the kingdom unto David the son of Jesse.”}

The simplest way to decide a counsel’s identity is this: Good counsel points to God and bad counsel points away from God. {1 Kings 12:26-28; Exodus 18:19-20} Bad counsel doesn’t have knowledge, it has no foundation, and it is foolish. {Job 38:2; Luke 6:48-49; 2 Samuel 15:31; Proverbs 14:7-8; Proverbs 15:7; Isaiah 44:25} When you purposely stay away from ungodly counsel, God will bless you! {Psalm 1:1; Proverbs 10:6} A good counsellor will be good and just and will take no part in evil counsel. {Luke 23:50-51}

{Isaiah 30:1-3} The Christian “rebellious children” of this age have taken counsel that isn’t God’s – they have lain aside the Spirit of the Lord for a strange and devilish spirit – they do not want their conscience bothered by the Holy Spirit’s prodding – they wish to add to their debt of sins – they walk after the world – they strengthen themselves within the world – they foolishly trust the world – if they do not repent, their strength will become their weakness – they will be a shame unto themselves – their trust in the world will be their confusion. {Isaiah 36:5-6}

{Proverbs 1:24-33} Deciding against good counsel can be the worst thing you could ever do to yourself. God is gracious, but if you keep rebelling and forsaking, he will give you what you deserve- what you think you want. I always say, the best place to be is right in the center of God’s will; the opposite is also true, the worst place to be is outside of God’s will. Forsaking the counsel of your Heavenly Father could send you into the shadow of death, like it did Nabal. {1 Samuel 25:37-38; Psalm 107:10-12}

The Lord Jesus Christ is our Counsellor, though others fail you in their counsel, he will not. {Isaiah 9:6} The Lord God is “great in counsel and mighty in work” – he is willing to give counsel if his children want it and he will do a mighty work in you if you heed his counsel. “…to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:” – Whether you choose to do right or wrong, God will give you the fruit of your labour, if it is good or bad is entirely up to you. What kind of fruit do you wish to yield? {Jeremiah 32:19; Proverbs 1:31; Proverbs 10:16; Proverbs 11:30; Isaiah 3:10; Jeremiah 17:10; Jeremiah 21:14; Micah 7:13; Matthew 7:16-20; Matthew 12:33; Luke 6:43; Luke 8:14-15}  Is the counsel of the Holy One something you look for, hope for, and yearn for? {Isaiah 5:19_b}

{5} Draw it out.

Counsel is very important to our Christian lives, and we must draw it out! There are countless situations in all our lives where we aren’t sure what to do and then the Holy Spirit brings to memory a piece of counsel. The counsel in your heart may be packed down small and pushed into a corner, or it might be on the brim of your heart, but nevertheless, it’s still in there and it needs to be used. We need to plead with the Lord for a heart prepared to take good counsel and then to use it and then to give it. What are you going to do with the counsel in your heart? Will you draw it out? {Proverbs 20:5}

You Do What?!

   “You do what?!” You can imagine the shocked tone coming from someone’s mouth as they say these words. We are often surprised to find out that other believers are crossing over our lines of conviction. It seems that everyone judges each other, one way or another, and for some of us, it has become a hobby or obsession to judge those around us. Being judgemental is part of our human nature, but that doesn’t give us the right to be mean and spiteful. How many times have you seen someone and immediately you have an opinion of them without having ever met them? In many cases, the way someone appears isn’t anything like their character (physical or spiritual.) However, it isn’t a bad thing for you to make a judgement of someone; for example, it can help steer us away from physical harm or from spiritual downfall. God judges, so we can also judge…simply be careful how you judge. “Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” – Matthew 7:1-2 When you judge someone, remember, you could very well be judged with that same judgement. This is why we MUST apply our judgements of others to ourselves first. You could be just as out of tune with God as they are, if not worse. Let’s look at what the Bible has to say concerning judging our fellow believers, but we need to make sure that we apply these principles to ourselves first! (NOTE: Don’t start making a mental list of people who REALLY need to read this essay!)

   Romans 14:12 “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” We are first responsible for ourselves – how can we explain our actions? We are always so keen to point our fingers at other people that we forget that one day WE are going to have to account for what WE have done, not what everyone else has done. Are you really doing what Christ would do? (He is the example for CHRISTians, you know.) Or are you fulfilling your own lusts and desires? Examine all things in your life…should you really be doing those things? II Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” I Corinthians 3:16 “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?” Do me a favour, stop reading, and answer the above questions before you continue. It is so important that you KNOW that you are doing what is right in every area of your life, because some day you are going to be judged accordingly. Some people say “Only God can judge me.” The Psalmist in Psalm 43:1 entreats, “Judge me, O God,…” God does judge, he will judge us ALL someday! Are your works “gold, silver, precious stones,” or are they “wood, hay, stubble;”? I Corinthians 3:13 “Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.” II Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”

   These next several passages deal with: judging one another, and why we shouldn’t do certain things for the sake of our fellow believers. Romans 14:1-6 “Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him. Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.” Romans 14:10 “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” Romans 14:13-15 “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way. I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean. But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.” Romans 14:20-21 “For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence. It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.” Romans 15:1-2 “We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.” I Corinthians 8:8-13 “But meat commendeth us not to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; neither, if we eat not, are we the worse. But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumblingblock to them that are weak. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol's temple, shall not the conscience of him which is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; And through thy knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? But when ye sin so against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth, lest I make my brother to offend.” According to this last set of verses, it is a sin against God for us to cause another believer to sin. We may do something that honestly doesn’t bother our conscience at all, however, there are those who are incapable of doing that very same thing without feeling guilty of having sinned. Because someone else is more conservative or more liberal in the way they do things, doesn’t mean that you or they are wrong. Do you not expect them to respect or accept your convictions or beliefs? You will always judge people by the way they dress, talk, and what they do, but you need to do what is right. God deals with every person individually, so their convictions can’t be your convictions or vice versa. For example, Christians seem to get stuck on the way other Christians dress compared to themselves…what they are forgetting is: What someone wears doesn’t dictate their spirituality, but modesty DOES! As the Bible dictates in I Timothy 2:9 “that women adorn themselves in modest apparel,” When someone has a spiritual change in their life, things will start to change. They will dress differently, talk differently, and even do things differently. So be careful not to compare yourself with other Christians…maybe they are still growing in the Lord or perhaps God hasn’t convicted them yet. II Corinthians 10:12-18 “but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.” If you think about it, everyone is also judging you by your “cover” and they are making assumptions and opinions based solely on how you are dressed, how you talk, and how you act. We need to do what is right despite what other believers (or the world) do, say, or how they dress. Concentrate on your life, on your spiritual state – not everyone else’s.

   The Bible says in I Samuel 16:7_b “…for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” You may be spiritually right in your heart, but guess what- men can’t see what’s in your heart! This is why we must “Abstain from all APPEARANCE of evil.” People can only judge you by what they see. If an unbeliever doesn’t see any difference between you and them, most likely they won’t even think about getting saved because they can’t SEE any difference! When you get to Heaven someday, you aren’t going to want to find out that a friend or colleague has to spend an eternity in Hell simply because you didn’t APPEAR any different. We are supposed to be a peculiar people! No, that doesn’t mean weird, simply different -different from the world. Titus 2:12-14 “Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” People should KNOW that you are saved, not just by your words, but by your appearance and actions too. Now, don’t get this confused…you need to set the example for the unsaved, but that doesn’t include impressing other believers, following other Christians, OR comparing with other believers appearances. Galatians 1:10 “For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.” You are here to please God, not men, not other believers, or even so-called “Christians.” God will fine tune you to his perfect will if you sit down and shut up long enough. God will show you what pleases him and how you can please him, all you have to do is listen and then OBEY! II Corinthians 10:7 “Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.” Once again, I reiterate, appearances aren’t everything. Your fellow believers (although they may have different convictions) are also part of Christ and can be just as spiritual as you, so be careful when you start accusing them of being ungodly simply because they aren’t dressed just like you.

   As stated at the beginning, to judge and criticize is part of our nature, but we can control it with the help of Christ. Don’t try to do it on your own, you will fail miserably. Let God help you control your judgements. Solomon asked for wisdom concerning judgement in I Kings 3:9-12, and God gave it to him. Why wouldn’t he give it to you? “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:” –Matthew 7:7. Please notice that Solomon didn’t ask to be freed from judging others…rather for God to allow him to judge righteously and justly. Also, remember to pray for those you are judging. If you think someone might be backslidden, trapped in sin, discouraged, or simply doesn’t know which way to go, don’t start comparing yourself to them, pray for them! The Bible says: “Pray without ceasing.” “I will therefore that men pray everywhere,…” “…,and pray one for another,…” “…that men ought always to pray,…” “Brethren, pray for us.” Be an example to the brethren, and PRAY for the brethren! It isn’t wrong for you to judge, but don’t make it your life’s work. Check out your own life first, are you doing right? You do what?! You do right!

Which Way?

   “Which Way” is a crossroad that comes in every believer’s life and we must all make the decision of which way we will go in our Christian walk. There are two ways to go on this crossroad, “God’s Way” and “Your Way” (also known as “My Way”.) I Samuel 8:10-20 tells of the Israelites demanding an earthly king over the one, true King. They knew of the greatness of God and all the blessings he had bestowed upon them as a nation, and even after they were told the consequences of having an earthly king, they still wanted to go their way. Like the Israelites, we have been taught what was right and wrong; we also have the ability to read for ourselves in the Word of God what is right and wrong. There is, however, a rebellious spirit that can linger within us despite this knowledge of good and evil. We use Christ, our church, fellow believers, and sometimes our families as “crutches” till we “grow up” and can “make our own decisions.” What we are forgetting is that God didn’t make us robots; even little children have a will within them and are judged according to their will (not their parent’s, not their pastor’s, not even God’s.) Proverbs 20:11, “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.” The Lord gives a choice to those who are unsaved, whether or not to accept Jesus Christ as their Saviour, likewise he gives believers a choice – will you serve the God that cleansed your sin and saved your soul from Hell, or not? In the scriptures, the Lord shows us how to follow him, if we want to. Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” II Timothy 2:15-16, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness.” He also gives us the opposite of following him in II Timothy 3:1-5, “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof:…” To finish the verse, he advises us, “… from such turn away.” The Lord won’t make you do his will, but he does want you to, of your own will, accept him as your guide and shepherd. You need to follow Christ’s steps as it says in I Peter 2:21, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:” Then let the Lord show you his perfect path. Proverbs 16:9, “A man's heart deviseth his way: but the LORD directeth his steps.” God has provided the example of Christ for us to replicate if we so desire, but WE have to make the decision to take that path! Job is a prime example of one that believed in God and was given the chance (circumstances and all) to “curse God, and die”, as his wife put it in Job 2:9. Job decided not to; he decided to do right no matter what. The Lord gave the Devil full reign of Job’s life and the Devil destroyed everything he owned and loved, yet Job kept his mouth shut, he would NOT curse God! God may be giving you such a chance, as he gave Job, to stand for the truth – to do what is right. Are you going to make the same choice as Job, or are you going to go “Your Way”? There is a saying, “There are only two choices on the shelf, pleasing God or pleasing self.” You need to ask yourself: Do I want to go God’s Way or My Way; who do I want to please? You must choose to go one way; you must take one of these paths; you can only serve one master - God or You. Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” The Devil ruined Job’s life temporarily, yet he made stronger Job’s decision to not curse God. Don’t let the Devil’s ways seep into your life and destroy your testimony for Christ, rather let the Devil, his ways and ideas be what pushes you to go God’s Way! Which way are you going to take – “Your Way” or “God’s Way”? You have to decide for yourself which path YOU are going to take, so DECIDE!

Closer To Christ

 How can we help others get Closer to Christ? This is the question I have for you, believer. When you got saved, you took on the responsibility of the Ministry of Reconciliation. The Ministry of Reconciliation is bringing others Closer to Christ, whether they are lost or saved. Most of the time, we don't act like Christians:

• We don't witness like we should.
• We don't encourage each other in the faith like we should.
• We forget about our fellow believers possibly falling into sin.
• We fall into apostasy and sin ourselves.

All the while, we are interested in only ourselves and how we can look good compared to everyone else. Wake Up, Believer! It is time to actively start your Ministry of Reconciliation. It is time to bring people Closer to Christ!

   There are countless unsaved souls that need to be shown how to get saved. Will you show them how to get Closer to Christ?

   There are many, who are saved, that have left God behind to chase after the world. These believers need to be shown that God is willing to receive them and help them get Closer to Christ.

   There are still others who are saved that are playing the "Christian Game." They need to be shown why they should continue being a Christian, and to let God use them in a miraculous way. Closer to Christ IS the place to be!

   Last, but not least, there is you. You need to be carefu not to fall into the sin of self-righteousness (or any other sin for that matter). Give God the glory. Get Closer to Christ.

   Please join me in the Ministry of Reconciliation and start serving the Lord Jesus Christ today!

"The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen." -  Romans 16:24

Character Building - Your Roof

Listening and responding are the key factors in having a strong roof on your spiritual character; without these factors, you have a leaky roof. God speaks to us through his word, prayer, and preaching. You may not realize it, but whenever you respond to God's leading you are making a decision. We must take careful thought in how we respond when God speaks with us. But how can we respond if we aren't listening? Matthew 11:15, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Matthew 13:9, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Mark 4:23, If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. If we are to respond the correct way to God's voice, we need to listen up! Too often we are too busy listening to other people, the world, and ourselves that we completely cut off God. How can you respond as you should if you aren't paying attention to what was being said? God has so much to show and tell us that we should be spending every possible moment in our lives listening and heeding his words. The roof of your character will get stronger against the storms of life the more you decide to follow Christ. It is no easy task to follow Jesus Christ through every trial that we may face, but he is ALWAYS there to walk beside us and help us through every difficult situation, small or great! He is prepared to listen to our voices when we cry for help in times of need and he can answer any prayer of ours. I John 5:14-15, And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. So, what exactly is our problem? Why is there a leak in our roof? He loves us, he listens to us...why don't we listen to him and love him like we should? We are all so apathetic in our Christian lives that we have NO RIGHT calling ourselves Christians! We are the farthest thing from Christ-like! We have stopped responding to God's voice, we have stopped repairing our roof to the point where our protective roof no longer exists! And, without the roof to our house the inside begins to deteriorate and spoil and eventually there will be no house whatsoever! Our entire Christian character is then lost, gone, and cannot be found or identified in our lives! If we aren't going to listen then we can NOT respond. Listening, however, isn't the only problem. We can listen, but if we don't respond correctly then we still have a leaky roof on our house. When we don't respond with the right attitude to what we hear we are ruining the point of even listening. Our attitude towards a situation greatly determines our character. God looks on your heart – your attitude is the state of your heart and if your attitude isn’t right, God can’t use you – just like he couldn’t use Eliab in I Samuel 16:7. God wants us to have a good attitude when we respond to his leading so he can use us for his perfect will. He is the potter, we are the clay – let him mould you into a great example that will give him the glory that he deserves. Make your roof strong! Listen and respond correctly today while you can, while you still have the ability to make the right decision by following Christ. Build your character on the Lord Jesus Christ, choose the right materials, and respond to God's leading.

I’d Rather Have Jesus

I'd rather have Jesus than silver or gold, I'd rather be his than have riches untold; I'd rather have Jesus then houses or lands, I'd rather be led by his nail-pierced hands chorus Than to be the king of a vast domain Or be held in sin's dread sway; I'd rather have Jesus than anything This world affords today.

I'd rather have Jesus than men's applause, I'd rather be faithful to his dear cause; I'd rather have Jesus than world-wide fame, I'd rather be true to his holy name He's fairer than lilies of rarest bloom, He's sweeter than honey from out of the comb; He's all that my hungering spirit needs, I'd rather have Jesus and let him lead