Vanity and Pride

We hear a lot more about pride than we do vanity.  Do you know people who seem to think more highly of themselves than they should?  When you are around these kind of people do they act like they are looking down on you or do they seem to ignore you?  Do they stay in their own little group acting high and mighty?  They probably have a problem with vanity and pride!

I think if we were honest with ourselves, we would have to acknowledge the fact that we all have this problem to some degree or other.  

Think about this, there are some very beautiful and handsome people in this world and it seems like most of us want to be one of these people.  If most people were honest they would say that there is something about their appearance they would like to change.

Question:  Why do we always want to be different?  There seems to be an obsession in our country to be someone else or to be different in some way.

Why can’t most of us be satisfied with who we are and what we look like?

There are people that live horrible lives because they are jealous of someone else.  We stress about our weight because we think we are too heavy or we are to thin.  We aren’t pleased with many things about ourselves, our lips are too thick or to thin, our ears are too big or too small.  What about our head and face, it is to round or to oval, our eyes are too wide or too close together and what about our nose, forget it, it is either too long, too short, too big or too small.  We have too much hair or too little hair or no hair at all.  Some of us think we are too tall or too short and I could go on and on, why can’t we just be glad we are who we are?

The people that sell cosmetics and makeup are happy because they are rich because of our vanity and/or pride, it is crazy.  Have you ever heard a woman say, “I can’t leave the house without putting my face on?”  Come on, wasn’t she born with a face?  If they have to put their face on then I guess they walk around with two faces, imagine that!  (It seems like if someone married a lady and she forgot to put her face on that night he might wake up in the morning and be scared to death when he looked at her, and the honeymoon would be over, Ha, Ha, a little humor).  Come on stop conforming to the world.  We worry so much about what other people think about us.

We think the way we do because we buy into all the commercials and the sales pitches that we hear.  Plastic surgeons love it because they are also getting rich on people that are not satisfied with what they look like.  Many have had face lifts and tummy tucks.  Now don’t get me wrong I am not against anyone trying to look their best but we are taking this thing to extremes, there needs to be a balance in everything.

Now what about clothing, most of us need to wear the latest styles regardless of the cost, dresses, shirts, pants, coats, hats, and shoes.  And don’t forget about handbags, scarves and gloves.  It is not like we don’t need all these things, but how many of them do we need, and do we need the best?  When was the last time you went to a garage sale or flea market to buy your clothing?  

We have all conformed to this way of thinking in one way or another.

All of these things come under the banner of vanity, shame on us.  Now I want us to focus on ourselves and not our clothing.

First I want to say that God loves us so much that we will never be able to fully understand it.  The Bible says, “Greater love hath no man but that he would lay his life down for a friend.”  But God took love even further than that, He gave His life for His enemies also and that included us.  When we were born with a sin nature we were enemies of God but that didn’t stop Him from giving His Son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for us.  Jesus paid the ultimate price for us so that we could be reconciled to God, blameless, washed and cleansed by His precious blood.  Praise God!  Another thing I want to say is God doesn’t make junk, in His eyes we are beautiful and if there is anything He wants to change in us He will, if we let Him.  Do you think God is impressed with all our makeup and our fancy clothes?  No!

I think many handicapped people struggle with this problem wondering why they were born with some kind of disability.  They think because some people treat them different, they feel inferior thinking most people don’t like them.  They may even think that God doesn’t love them.  God loves the handicapped whether they were born that way or became handicapped later in life.  Think about this, when was the last time you laughed at a handicapped person?

I remember there was a guy where I worked that had a nerve problem and his head shook to the point that he didn’t seem to be able to control it.  He ended up with the nickname “wobble noggin.”  We all called him that, not to hurt his feelings but just because it was his nickname and that is what would come to mind when you saw him.  I think you always know when you are saying something you shouldn’t say, because you wouldn’t say it to the person’s face.  He never seemed to mind it, but I wonder what he really felt like.  Today I really regret calling him that even if it was only behind his back, I should have known better because I had, and still have, a similar problem.

I have had what the doctors say is a chemical imbalance in my brain since I was a teenager, which is also called a tremor.  At first it seemed to affect only my hands when I would write.  Now since I have gotten older it affects my whole body.  If I get a little nervous my whole body shakes uncontrollably.  I can’t control my hands in many situations so it affects most everything I do.  I can’t write, but praise the Lord, I can type.  It takes me much longer than the average person because many times I hit two keys or the wrong one completely.  I thank God that my daughter, Christy, encouraged me to do this blog so that I might be an encouragement to someone else through these teachings, which I praise the Lord for helping me with.  I am sure that some people have laughed at me behind my back and made fun of me.  May the good Lord forgive them and bless them with repentance and salvation.  Because of my tremor I have tried very hard to please people and to get them to like me because I feel inferior most of the time.  I have a hard time going to a restaurant because I get embarrassed because of the way I have to eat.  Sometimes I just want to avoid people altogether.  There are times when I have questioned God, being angry at Him for not healing me, which was very wrong.  I had a chance to be healed of my tremor once, but I chose to be healed of my asthma, and I was miraculously healed, Praise God.  Like I said, it is hard for us to be happy with ourselves.

Lately I have asked the Lord, “why would you want a child of yours to be this way and how are you glorified in this?”  And this is the answer I think He gave me.  “My priority isn’t what is going on, on the outside of a man or woman, no, My priority is what is going on in the heart.  What honors Me is the sweet and gentle spirit.  I resist the proud and draw to the humble, it is not that I am not concerned about everything about you, but I see things different than you do.”

I didn’t tell you these things to have you feel sorry for me, no, my purpose is to encourage anyone else that may feel like I do.

Let me give you an example of what I am talking about in the Word.  I thought about this after the answer came to me.

After Saul had been rejected as King of Israel because of his sins God told Samuel to go anoint one of Jesse’s sons as King in Saul’s place!  It says this in 1^st Samuel 16 verses 4–7, “So Samuel did as the Lord instructed him to.  When he arrived at Bethlehem the leaders of the town became afraid.  ‘What’s wrong,’ they asked, ‘do you come in peace?’ ‘Yes,’ Samuel replied, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.  Purify yourselves and come to the sacrifice?’  Then Samuel performed the purification rite for Jesse and his sons and invited them to it.  When they arrived Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought surely this is the Lord’s anointed, but the Lord said to Samuel, ‘don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him.’  The Lord doesn’t make decisions the way you do, people judge by outward appearance but the Lord looks at a person’s thoughts and intentions.” (from New Living Translation Bible)  Then Jesse presented all seven of his sons to Samuel but there was another son named David that wasn’t there.  Jesse saw this son only as a shepherd boy, but God saw him as a King.  David ended up being a man after God’s own heart.

The moral of the story is that we need to be striving to have a pure heart and a sweet and gentle spirit.  We also need to glimpse at people and gaze at the Lord!  There is nothing wrong with trying to look our best, but what is our motive?  That is what is very important.  Don’t fall into the trap of vanity and pride over your appearance, praise the Lord for what He has created, you, and start loving yourself, and remember the Lord loves you beyond anything you can imagine just the way you are!  Praise God and have a great day. P. S. God bless You!                

Victorious Believer

Question: what does it mean to be a victorious believer?

Is a victorious believer just one who claims to be a believer?  no

The Bible says that there is victory in Jesus, does that make us a victorious believer?  no

In a marathon many runners start the race but do they all finish the race?

Paul related our Christian experience to a race.  It says in 1^st Corinthians 9:24–27, “Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize.  You also must run in such a way that you will win.  All athletes practice strict self-control.  They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.  So run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.  I am not like the boxer who misses his punches.  I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.  Otherwise I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”    

After starting the race, could we be disqualified?  Think about it.

I know that there are some well intentioned brothers that teach the doctrine, once saved always saved.  I have a problem with this because it overrides our free choice.  It is true that no one can snatch us out of God’s hands but we can choose to walk away and God won’t stop us.  I believe that God will make us very miserable, but that is no guarantee that we will repent and make the right choice.    

The Bible says, “many are called but few are chosen.”

Paul also went on to say this as a warning to the Corinthians, and to us, as the true church in the 10^th chapter of 1^st Corinthians 1–11, “I don’t want you to forget dear brothers and sisters what happened to our ancestors in the wilderness long ago.  God guided all of them by sending a cloud that moved along ahead of them, and he brought them all safely through the waters of the sea on dry ground.  As followers of Moses they were all baptized in the cloud and the sea.  And all of them ate the same miraculous food, and all of them drank the same miraculous water.  For they all drank from the miraculous rock that traveled with them, and that rock was Christ.  Yet after all this God was not pleased with most of them, and he destroyed them in the wilderness.  

     These events happened as a warning to us so that we would not crave evil things as they did, or worship idols as some of them did.  For the scriptures say, ‘The people celebrated with feasting and drinking, and they indulged themselves in pagan rivalry.’  And we must not engage in sexual immorality as some of them did, causing 23,000 of them to die in one day.  Nor should we put Christ to the test as some of them did then died from snake bites.  And don’t grumble as some of them did, for that is why God sent his angel of death to destroy them.  All these events happened to them as examples for us.  They were written down to warn us who live at the time when this age is drawing to a close.”

Then Paul goes on and says this in verses 12–13, “If you think you are standing strong be careful for you to may fall into the same sin.  But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience.  And God is faithful He will keep the temptation from becoming so strong that you can’t stand up against it.  When you are tempted He will allow you a way out so that you will not give into it.”  Praise God!  The shameful thing is, that many of us, when tempted don’t look for the way out so we fall into the temptation.           

When you became a believer did you ever stop and think about what it would cost you?

When you sign on to follow the Lord you enter into a battle, a battle you would have to fight the rest of your life.  Don’t forget we have many enemies in this battle and some may be in your own family.  Jesus said he didn’t come to bring peace on the earth but a sword and the members of ones own family would be against one another.  Thank God, we have the power of the Holy Spirit in us to always be victorious in the fight.  This battle will not be an easy one and I don’t think it was meant to be.  The forces of darkness seem to be everywhere you look or go.  We need to stand totally committed and dependent on God

It is not how you start out in this battle that counts, it is how you end up that determines whether you are a victorious believer or not.  So stand firm in the faith, unmovable and don’t forget to put on the whole armor of God so you can resist the evil one and always thank and praise the Lord for the victory!  God bless you and have a great day.

Accept Weak Christians

I would like all who read this to take some time to reflect back to when you were a new believer.  Take some time to think of the convictions you had then but have changed since then.  When a new believer starts out with the Lord he is considered a “babe” in Christ.  Some of you reading this may be moms or dads having children of your own.  We all know when a child is born he or she is virtually helpless, totally dependent on his or her parents.  They can’t crawl or stand or walk, or talk or feed themselves, all they can do is cry and mess their diapers waiting for you to feed and change them and hug and love them.

New believers are kind of like new babies.  Their way of thinking is still worldly in many ways and they need to be loved and fed spiritual food (God’s Word) and be discipled so that they can grow and mature in their Christian walk.   

I can remember years ago I wouldn’t have anything to do with devils food cake or anything else that had devil on it. Watching things on T.V. with cuss words was o.k.  There were things that I considered o.k. then, that I wouldn’t now and vice versa.  With time and the Lord’s help we grow and mature.  But it seems like many times instead of helping new believers we hinder them by standing in judgment of them.  Many times instead of building them up and encouraging them we are too hard on them and we discourage them by expecting too much out of them.  Sometimes we forget that this is a lifetime process and some believers don’t mature as fast as others.

I have had a problem with comparing young believers with myself at times disregarding the thought that I have been in the Lord for many years and I am certainly far from where I should be still.  This is part of being self-righteous!

I think the Lord helps me to type out these lessons not only to help those who read them but also to convict me so that I can see the errors that I need to repent of and work on in my own life, and I Praise God for it.  One of the things you and I should never disregard and take for granted is the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives, no we need to thank and praise God for it.  This might shock you, we also need to thank and praise the Lord for his chastisement and correction in our lives because God is treating us like His children, Praise God.  

The Apostle Paul wrote about some Christians in the Corinthian Church saying they were infants in Christ. Paul said in 1^st Corinthians 3:1–3, “Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn’t talk to you as I could to mature Christians, I had to talk as though you belong to this world or as though you were infants in your Christian life, I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food because you couldn’t handle anything stronger and you still aren’t ready for you are still controlled by your own sinful desires you are jealous of one another and quarrel with one another, doesn’t that prove that you are controlled by your own desires.  You are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord.”

The Corinthian Church had a real problem and it is still evident today.  This doesn’t only happen to new believers but also with those that have been in the church many years.  We need to pray for discernment, compassion, patience and love and then demonstrate them to our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

Paul also said in Romans chapter 14:1-6, “Accept Christians who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.  For instance, one person thinks it is alright to eat anything but another believer who has a sensitive conscience will only eat vegetables.  Those who think it is alright to eat anything must not look down on those who won’t and those who won’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do.  For God has accepted them, who are you to condemn God’s servants?  They are responsible to the Lord so let Him tell them if they are right or wrong.  The Lord’s power will help them do as they should.  In the same way some think one day is more holy than another day, while others think every day is alike.  Each person should have a personal conviction about this matter. Those who have a special day for worshipping the Lord are trying to honor Him.  Those who eat all kinds of food do so to honor the Lord since they give thanks to God before eating and those who won’t eat everything also want to please the Lord and give thanks to God.  For we are not our own masters, when we live or when we die.  When we live we live to please the Lord and when we die we go to be with the Lord.”

Romans 14:10 says, “so why do you condemn another Christian?  Why do you look down on another Christian?  Remember each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God.”

If this is speaking to you and you realize that you are guilty of this, repent and confess it and ask the Lord to forgive you.  We Christians have a promise in 1^st John 1:9 that says, “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteous.”  Praise God for his promises that we can rely on.  

Paul goes on to say some other interesting things about this subject in Romans 14:17. Paul says, “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat and drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  If you serve Christ with this attitude you will please God, so then let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up.” 

There is more on this subject, check out the entire chapter of Romans 14. Knowing these things, let us look to others as better than ourselves, and let us do nothing to hurt each other. Let your love be evident to those that are weak in the faith by supporting and encouraging and building them up in the faith and we will be pleasing God.  Have a great day and may God bless you!    

Inner Purity ~ Righteousness

Jesus taught on this subject in the Word of God.

Question: how do we achieve inner purity in our lives?  Is it something we can accomplish on our own?

Can we become righteous or pure using our own effort and accomplishments?

The answer is no, we cannot possibly be pure or righteous by our own efforts.

     

The Bible says that, “our righteousness is as filthy rags.”  So in us there is nothing pure or righteous. The Bible says that, “our hearts are deceitfully wicked and who can know it.”  It also says, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”  It sounds to me like we have a big problem.  How do we get rid of this deceitful heart and become pure and righteous?

There were some teachers of the law called Pharisees that thought they were righteous and pure by keeping their traditions, or their man-made laws, in fact keeping their traditions was more important than keeping God’s laws.

One of their traditions was to wash their hands before they ate and in between courses.  They must have thought they were made pure by this act.  Jesus tried to set them straight on this issue and others.  

Jesus said this to them, “You hypocrites!  Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said, ‘These people honor with their lips but their hearts are far away.  Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teaching.  For you ignore God’s specific laws and substitute your own traditions.  You reject God’s laws in order to hold on to your own traditions.’  For instance, Moses gave you this law from God.  Honor your father and mother and anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.  But you say it is alright for people to say to their parents, ‘sorry I can’t help you, for I have vowed to give to God what I could have given to you.’  You let them disregard their needy parents. As such you break the law of God in order to protect your own traditions.  And this is only one example, there are many others.”

Then Jesus called the crowd to come and hear.  “All of you listen, He said, and try to understand.  You are not defiled by what you eat, you are defiled by what you say and do.”  After this Jesus went into the house to get away from the crowd.  Then His disciples asked Jesus what He meant by His statement?  Then Jesus said, “Don’t you understand either!  Can’t you see that what you eat won’t defile you?Food doesn’t come in contact with your heart but only passes through the stomach and then comes out again.”  By saying this, He showed that every kind of food is acceptable.

And this is the reason we cannot be pure and righteous on our own.

Jesus said, “It is the thought-life that defiles you.  For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.  All these vile things come from within they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God.”  Check it out in Mark 7: verses 1–23 (New Living Translation)

This is quite a list, if we have all these things in our hearts, how can a person possibly be pure or righteous?

What is impossible with man is possible with God!  The only way anyone can be righteous or pure is when we confess and repent of our sins and ask the Lord to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.

When that takes place we will be born–again.  When we become Christians we are covered by the righteousness of Christ.  Then we stand covered by the blood of Christ, cleansed and purified.  Praise the Lord!  Our bodies also become the temple of the Holy Spirit and we receive the mind of Christ.   

Without being born–again it is impossible to be pure and righteous, so if you haven’t humbled yourself before the Lord and you feel the conviction over your sins and you want this experience in your life don’t put it off another second.

God loves you and wants a relationship with you.  John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.”  The Word also says that, “God is not willing that anyone be lost but that all come to repentance.”  The Word also says, “Jesus didn’t come to condemn the world but to save the world through Him.”

So if you are ready to turn away from your sins and repent and ask the Lord to forgive you of your sin and to be your Lord and Savior, bow your head and pray and tell Him your intentions and don’t be shocked if what I said happens.  Praise the Lord and have a great day.  PS don’t forget to thank the Lord.       

Denial

Question:  Are you living in denial?  I think at times we all enter the gates of denial.  This not only affects the non-believer but also the believer as well.

What are some of the ways we live in denial?

*What about obesity?  Many of us are overweight but we choose to do nothing about it.

*What about being out of shape, we know we are at times, but sometimes we refuse to exercise.

*Think about stress, many people die of heart attacks because of stress, so what do we do about it, nothing, we ignore it thinking it will just go away.

*How many times do we fall into dire circumstances and situations that we could have prevented, but we ignored the warning signs just to regret it later when it was too late?

Counselors run into this problem all the time.  It makes no sense to pay good money to a counselor and live in denial doing nothing with the counsel that is given.  Some people get counseling for years with very little change, many times it is not the information given that is the problem, it is our response to that information.

Same with going to a doctor, how many of us go then ignore what he tells us to do?  Many times people won’t even take the medicine that he prescribes.   

Sometimes we live in denial from all these things

The same thing happens when it comes to the Word of God.

Many people don’t want to hear the word “sin” they like “mistakes” better.

Many don’t want to hear about “Hell” no they want to hear about “Heaven.”

Many don’t want to hear about “chastisement or correction” but they want to hear about God’s “love, mercy and grace.”

Many don’t want to hear about the “fear” of the Lord but they love to hear that there is “no condemnation.”

Many don’t want to hear that the “wages of sin is death” but they will listen to the “gift of God is eternal life” through Jesus Christ our Lord.

God doesn’t want us to ignore the things we don’t want to hear because the things we want to ignore are the very things we need to hear the most.  God doesn’t want us to hear only the things we like to hear, no, He wants us to hear the things we need to hear.

When the Lord says to take up your cross, deny yourself and follow Him our flesh recoils at the very thought of denying ourselves because many of us have learned to be very selfish, thanks to our sin nature.

What about these words?  “It is better to give than receive.”  Many of us, if we were honest, would prefer to change these words around to say, “it is better to receive than to give.”

What about the verse that says, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you?”  Many would prefer, “do unto others before they do it unto you.”  There are many verses some of us would like to ignore, or deny, that they are there at all.

This is how many Cults got started; they interpreted the Word to say what they wanted it to say.  They live in denial of the truth to their destruction and shame.          

There is another kind of denial that Jesus talked about and that was denying Him before men.  Jesus said, “if you deny me before men I will deny you before my Heavenly Father.”  There are many Christians and Non–Christians that have denied the Lord today.

What happens to a non–believer when they deny Jesus and die in that state? They have sealed their fate and Hell will be their destination.

What is the fate of a believer if they deny Jesus, and many of us have?

Let’s see what happened to Peter when he denied the Lord, not only once, but three times, after he denied that he ever would, saying he would die first.  Check it out in Matthew 26: verses 30–35.

After Jesus was falsely accused, it says in Matthew 26: verses 69–75  “Now Peter sat without in the palace and a damsel came unto him, saying ‘thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee’.  But he denied before them all saying, ‘I know not what thou sayest.’ And when he was gone out into the porch another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, ‘This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth.’  And again he denied with an oath, ‘I do not know the man.’  And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, ‘surely thou also art one of them: for thy speech bewrayeth thee.’  Then began he to curse and swear saying, ‘I know not the man.’  And immediately the cock crowed.  And Peter remembered the word of Jesus which said unto him, ‘before the cock crow thou shalt deny me thrice’ and he went out and wept bitterly.”

The answer to the question I asked earlier, what would be the fate of a believer if they denied the Lord is this.  Look at the last sentence in verse 75, what did Peter do?  It says he went out and wept bitterly, in other words Peter repented.

And don’t forget all the other disciples forsook Jesus and fled also.  Praise the Lord He forgave all of them.  The Lord always seeks the humble and contrite heart.

If you have denied the Lord, you need to confess and repent and the Lord will forgive you also.  Praise the Lord!  God Bless you and have a great day.

P.S. please leave a comment so I know what you think of this blogspot.  If you would like to read a lesson on a certain topic please let me know.  Thanks!        

“They Hung On Every Word”

Wednesday morning I asked the Lord to show me what He wanted me to read in His word and while I was thinking about it I started reading Luke chapter 19: verses 45–48 in my New Living Translation Bible.  I had read these verses at different times before and anyone reading this is probably very familiar with this story.  It tells about how Jesus showed His righteous anger over the way the people were using his Father’s house.  Jesus told them, “The Scriptures declare my Temple will be a place of prayer but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”  Because of what Jesus did, along with his other teachings, the leading Priests, the teachers of the religious law and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill Him.  When I read these words I wondered why more of God’s people don’t seem to have a righteous anger over a number of things that are going on, in and out of the church today.  I guess it’s much easier to go with the flow so we won’t offend someone.

Even thou all these things are very important the verse that seemed to jump off the page to me was verse 48, “But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every Word He said.”

Think about it, some of the people planned to kill Jesus but they couldn’t because all the people were so enthusiastic about Jesus’ teaching that they hung on every word!  This may not excite you but I was so excited because I have always wanted to teach and preach to people that were that “intent” on hearing God’s Word.  I am not saying this just for my benefit but for their benefit also.  I have taught and preached the Word over the years and I have never experienced this kind of “intent” and excitement and devotion to the Word.

Don’t think I am comparing myself to Jesus, not at all, what I am saying is that the Word of God is just as important today as it was in Jesus’ day, but where is the devotion and the zeal to hear it and read and study it.  A while back I read that only 20 percent of Christians even read their Bible.  There is a real famine in this country and it is not the lack of physical food, no, it is the lack of the Word of God, which is our spiritual food.  It is the lack of wisdom and knowledge and understanding that you can only get from God’s Word.  The reason we are in this dilemma is our fault because we chose not to take time to read it.  It has nothing to do with a shortage of Bibles, most people have one or more in their houses collecting dust.

Having a Bible and benefiting from it are two different things altogether.     

While I was thinking about these things I was reminded of the story of Mary and Martha in Luke chapter 10 verses 38–42 which says, “As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem they came to a village where a woman named Martha welcomed them into her home.  Her sister Mary sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what He taught.  But Martha was worrying over the big dinner she was preparing.  She came to Jesus and said, ‘Lord doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work?  Tell her to come and help me.’  But the Lord said to her, ‘My dear Martha you are so upset over all these details!  There is only one thing worth being concerned about.  Mary has discovered it and I won’t take it away from her.’ ”

I don’t think Jesus was scolding Martha, I think He was trying to help her to get her priorities straight.  Jesus’ main concern at the time wasn’t physical food and neither was Mary’s, no, she also “hung on every Word” Jesus taught.  Jesus knew how important it was for Mary and Martha to hear His Words.  Was Martha doing a bad thing?  No, I don’t think so but it was far from the most important thing at the time.

If Jesus was to walk into your home, what is the first thing that you would do?  Would you start cleaning the house hiding things that you wouldn’t want Him to see?  Would you start preparing food or would you be so excited about Jesus being there that you would sit at His feet listening to his teaching?  Let me say this, if you are not spending time in God’s Word now, and if the Word of God isn’t a priority in your life already then you may have reacted like Martha did.

Maybe you don’t realize it but when you open your Bible and start reading you have just invited Jesus into your home to teach you.  The Bible was written by man but it was inspired by God, in other words the Lord was writing the truths through the people He choose to write it.  As you read the Word, Jesus is teaching you through His Holy Spirit, the greatest teacher of all.

Think of it this way, the Bible is the Lord’s love letter to us.  If He didn’t think it was very important He wouldn’t have bothered to bless us with it.

When Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil, the devil said unto him, “If thou be the Son of God command this stone that it be made bread.”  Jesus said to him, “It is written that man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God! (KJV Bible)  If Jesus used the Word in the time of temptation, or the time of testing, how much more do we need to read, study, listen and learn it so that we can resist the evil one when he comes after us?  

In the book of Revelations chapter 2 and 3 Jesus spoke to seven different churches and at the end of each discourse he made this statement, “He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”  If the churches needed to hear what the Spirit had to say then we need to hear what the Spirit is telling us today.

The Bible relates the Word of God to a hammer that breaks rocks into pieces.

God’s Word is also related to a sword.  It says it is shaper than any two edged sword; it cuts to the bone and morrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.   

The Word of God is also profitable for teaching, correcting, reproof and training in righteousness.

The Word of God is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path.

What I am trying to say is that the Word of God is so important to a believer’s life and we should be excited about it today like they were excited about it back then.

How can we overcome the world, and the evil one, without a good understanding of the Word of God!

Without a steady diet of the Word you will be spiritually weak and the flesh will become very strong and temptation will be very hard to overcome.

Please, if you are not listening to the Word or reading your Bible, start today.  Let the Lord fill you with the power that comes from studying and listening to the Word of God.  

Praise the Lord!  Have a great day, God bless You!

Self-Righteousness

This is something that I have had to confess and repent of and ask the Lord to forgive me of, to my shame.  I wonder how many other Christians have been caught up in this sin.

In our walk with the Lord we can fall into so many sins that we seem to be blind-sighted to.  I believe that a true born–again believer wants to live a sinless life, and by the way this is being taught in some churches.  I would like to meet someone that lives a sinless life so I could get some pointers on how this person accomplishes this in their life, it just doesn’t seem possible to me.

I know that the Apostle Paul said that we need to strive for perfection and I know that should be our goal but I also know that it seems much easier said than done.  Striving is one thing, never sinning is another.

I know that when we are born–again we have been set free of sin’s grip on our lives.  We are not enslaved by sin anymore, we have been covered and washed and cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus, Praise God!

Then we also have the precious Holy Spirit living within us to help us to overcome sin and temptation in our lives.  Plus there is a scripture in the Bible that says something like this “That there is no temptation taken you that is uncommon to man, but with that temptation God will also provide a way of escape that you may be able to bear it.”  So what seems to be our problem, why are so many believers bound by sin?There is definitely more than one answer to this problem and it is a real problem something that needs to be addressed.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that many haven’t been taught the fear of the Lord.  If we don’t have a healthy fear of the Lord it will be easy to take Him for granted.  In Acts Chapter 5 verse 11 when Ananias and Sapphira lied to Peter and the Holy Spirit it says they fell over dead and “Great fear gripped the entire church and all others who heard what happened!”  A healthy fear of the Lord will definitely help to keep us from falling into temptation and sin.

Another problem I see is that many preachers don’t preach on God being a consuming fire, a just God that has to judge sin whether it is in a believer’s life or a non-believer’s life.  The Bible says, “that judgment will start in the household of God.”  Brothers and sisters, God hates sin no matter who commits it.  God judged Ananias and Sapphira who belonged to the church, what about us when we sin.

Thank God for His love, mercy, grace and forgiveness which we seem to hear about most of the time, if not for that we would all be lost and on our way to Hell but we need to have balance in our teaching and the things we learn.

Many Christians and non-Christians alike don’t believe that there is a literal place called Hell.  They don’t believe that God will ever allow anyone to go there, but believe me He will if that is your choice.  And once you are there you will never escape the torment which goes on forever and ever.

I know this is a hard teaching but we all need to hear it and take it very seriously.

Read about some of the things that God did and allowed in the Old Testament.  Then think of this, the Bible says, “That God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  He is not a man that He should lie and He doesn’t change by turning.”

While I am typing this lesson God is speaking to me, as well as to whoever reads this.  I am not exempt just because I am typing this up with God’s help, no, if I sin I am as guilty as anyone else and I need to confess and repent also.

I think another problem is, we still have the sin nature in us, that is totally against what the Holy Spirit wants for our lives.  And many times we yield to the flesh instead of the Holy Spirit and when the temptation comes we don’t look for the way of escape that God has for us and then we sin.

Many Christians lack wisdom and knowledge because they hardly ever read their Bible and spend very little time in payer and they become stagnate, not growing in their faith.

Self-righteousness is the title of this lesson

This is a sin that I think runs rampant in the church.  Jesus said, “unless your righteousness exceeds that of the Pharisees you cannot see the kingdom of Heaven.”  If you know anything about the New Testament, you know something about the Pharisees.  Most of the things they did, they did to be seen of men.  They thought they were better than the ordinary person.  They were the teachers of the Law but they didn’t keep many of the Laws, but they expected everyone else to.  When they were at a feast, they wanted the best seats.  When they prayed on the streets, it was more for show than anything else. 

There is a story in the Bible in Luke 18 verse 9–14 about a Pharisee and a tax collector.  These two were praying in the Temple.  The proud Pharisee stood by himself and prayed.  “I thank you God that I am not a sinner like everyone else. Especially like that tax collector over there.  For I never cheated, I don’t sin, I don’t commit adultery, I fast twice a week and I give you a tenth of my income.”

But the tax collector stood at a distance and dare not lift his eyes to Heaven as he prayed.  Instead he beat his chest in sorrow saying, “O God be merciful to me for I am a sinner.” Jesus said, “I tell you this sinner not the Pharisee returned home justified before God.  For the proud will be humbled but the humble will be honored.”

And what about you and me, do we compare and judge ourselves by other people?  And what about the things we do, are we doing it for a show?  Are we letting everyone else know how much we give?  And when we help people out, do we blow our own horn so everyone will know what we did? And do we think we are more important than we really are?

What are our real intentions, to get the glory for ourselves or are we doing what we do to glorify God?

Only you and God know about why you do things, or what your intentions are.

I confess, at times, I have been guilty of all these things and I have had to confess and repent, asking the Lord to forgive me and if you are guilty of all or any of these things you need to do what I did.

The word says in 1^st John 1: verse 9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.”    

So if you are a Christian and confess and are really sorry for your sins you will be forgiven.  Praise God!  God bless you and have a great day. 

 

Encouragement and Discouragement

Let’s talk about discouragement and encouragement today. There is probably not a single person alive that doesn’t need to be encouraged at times.  I would say it is one of the greatest needs of our times.

Think about yourself, when was the last time you needed to be encouraged? 

Now I am going to mention some very discouraging things, but don’t lose heart, some encouragement will follow.

We live in a world of uncertainty not knowing what is going to take place from one day to the next.  It seems like any day our economy could collapse.  Food prices are rising along with gas prices and utility bills.  People are losing their homes and jobs left and right.  We have, what some call, Obamacare that will never be a success in its present form and the cost will be unattainable.

Divorce seems to be at an all time high.  Stealing, rape and murder are out of control.  The weather is running havoc around the world causing floods and a great amount of damage plus there are wars and rumors of wars.  We can hardly house all the criminals in our jails and prisons.  There are violent protesters in our streets.  Our government is run amuck and seems to be out of control trying to enslave us by taking all our freedoms away.  Judges legislate from the bench and not the Constitution.  The persecution of born–again believers is rampant in many countries of the world and many people call evil, good and good, evil by their actions and the way they live.  For centuries a married couple was acknowledged to be between one man and one woman which was God’s will but now in many places it is considered to consist of two men or two women.  Abortion is the law of the land and I could go on and on.  And because of all these things that are going on, men’s hearts are failing them from fear.

It sounds like what the Bible says will happen in the end times in Matthew chapter 24.  I invite you to read it for yourselves, don’t just take my word for it.

If you weren’t discouraged before, after reading this so far you probably are discouraged now.  Well let me try to encourage you and give you some suggestions on how you might encourage others.

All the circumstances and things that I mentioned are pretty discouraging.  But, Praise God, we as Christians don’t have to live under the circumstances. God isn’t shocked or surprised at what is going on.  I do think it makes Him sad especially when He has such a different plan for our lives.  Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  The Word says that, “God’s purpose is not to harm us, but to prosper us and to give us hope and a future.” Praise God!  God knew all these things would take place but He doesn’t want us to be discouraged.  He wants us to be happy, encouraged, excited.  No matter what we have to face or experience He will be with us through it all.

Remember Daniel when he was put into the lions den, he came out without a scratch and look what he was facing, a bunch of hungry lions nobody thought he would come out unharmed.  The King was hoping he would, but come on, it would take a miracle but this was one of God’s children and God sent one of his ministering Spirits to close the mouths of the lions.

And what about Daniel’s three friends Shadrech, Meshach and Abednego who were thrown into a blazing furnace so hot that it killed the men that threw them in.  Did the Lord let them go through the fire alone?  Of course not!  To the King’s amazement when he looked in he saw four men walking around unbound and he said the fourth man looks like the son of a God, or a divine being.  So be encouraged regardless of what the Lord allows us to go through He will be there with us.  Remember we are His children and He loves us with a passion that we will never be able to comprehend.  If you want to read about these stories look in the Bible at Daniel chapter 3 and chapter 6.

There are many other examples in the Bible where God protected His people and He is still doing just that.  The Bible says, “When the enemy comes in like a flood the Spirit of God will raise a standard against him.”  It also says, “no weapon formed against us shall prosper.”  Praise God!  I am not trying to say we will live a godly live without trials or tribulation, no, I am saying that whatever we go through, or suffer, it won’t happen without God allowing it to take place and He will be there with us.  The Bible says, “He will never, never leave us or never, never forsake us so.”  Be encouraged by these promises.

Now how can we encourage others that need encouragement?

*A smile and a kind word will go a long way.

*A card or an encouraging phone call will bless someone.

*Praying with a discouraged person is paramount and essential and will start the healing process.

*Showering a discouraged person with genuine love and concern will be a major healing agent.  

*If the person is not born–again, the greatest thing you could do is to invite them to have a personal relationship with Jesus.

*You could share the precious promises of God in his Word with them!

I hope what I said here was an encouragement to all who read this.  My purpose is to share the truth and bless the reader and to change your way of thinking. I hope you will apply some of these things to your lives.  God bless you and have a great day!  

Preparing the Way

John the Baptist came to prepare the way for Jesus.

How did John go about accomplishing this?  One of the first things he did in his ministry was to preach the Good News.

What was his message? “Turn from your sins and turn to God because the kingdom of Heaven is near.”  Matthew 3: verse 2.

What did God say about John in the book of Isaiah?  ”Look I am sending my messenger before you and he will prepare your way.  He is a voice shouting in the wilderness prepare a pathway for the Lord’s coming.  Make a straight road for Him.”

What was John’s appearance like?  His clothes were woven from camels hair, and he wore a leather belt.  What did John eat?  locusts and wild honey.

What else did John do?  He baptized people that had repented of their sins and turned to God.  In Mark 1: verses 7, 8 John said, “Someone is coming soon that is far greater than I am, so much greater that I am not even worthy to be His slave.  I baptize you with water but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” These verses are from the New Living Translation Bible.

John the Baptist may have looked and acted very strange in his day, not the kind of person you might think that God would use in this ministry.  Remember God does not look on the outside as man does, no, He looks at the heart.

John not only preached and baptized but he was a light shining in the darkness. John was a true witness for Jesus standing for holiness and righteousness in his time.  John was doing what God had called him to do to further God’s kingdom.

Question: what about you, how are you preparing a way for Jesus in this day and age?

Are you letting your light shine in the lost and dying world we live in?  Are you being the salt that heals and preserves or have you become stagnate and stale?

What about the light that is in you, does it shine bright for the world to see or has it become dull and tarnished like an old flashlight with dying batteries in it?    

There is nothing worse, it seems, than when you need a light and not having any when you need it.  When was the last time you were excited about your salvation or something that the Lord had done in your life and you shared it with someone?

Maybe you tried to witness to some people and they rejected you and you are discouraged.  Remember this, you are not the only one in this battle there are many fighting with you.

Think of a chain, it has many cogs in it depending on how long it is.  Now think of yourself as one of these cogs and think about the millions of other believers in the world.  You witness and get rejected but you have planted a seed. Another believer comes along and shares with that same person and gets a little better result.  Then the Lord sends another believer along and that believer speaks to the same person about the Lord and the person repents and prays the sinner’s prayer and is born again.  Praise God!  Does that me that you had nothing to do with that person’s salvation?  No, you planted the seed, the next person watered the seed and the next person reaped the harvest with God’s help.  You all take part in the end results.  There may be people in Heaven that you helped to get there and you won’t even know it.  Think about a brick building, many people may apply the bricks before the building is complete but all of them made it happen.  So don’t be discouraged, let your light shine and be the salt and light the Lord has called you to be.

Paul spoke about this subject in the 3rd chapter of the book of 1 Corinthians verses 5–9 when Paul said this, “Who is Apollos, and who is Paul, that we should be the cause of such quarrels?  Why we are only servants.  Through us God caused you to believe.  Each of us did the work the Lord gave us.  My job was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it.  The ones that do the planting and the watering aren’t important, but God is important because He is the one who makes the seed grow.  The one who plants and the one who waters work as a team with the same purpose.  Yet they will be rewarded individually according to their own hard work.  We work together as partners who belong to God.  You are God’s building, God’s field not ours.”  

I want to encourage you to hang in there and accomplish what the Lord has called you to do in your life.  If you haven’t started preparing the way for Jesus to be enthroned in other people’s lives as their Savior and Lord, start now.  Let your light shine bright and be the healing and preserving salt you have been called to be.

Don’t let the enemy get you down and discouraged, rise up in victory and go forth tearing down the enemy’s strongholds in people’s lives by introducing them to the Lord.  Be a living testimony for the Lord and bring glory to Him and Praise Him.  Have a great day and may God bless you!