Final Destiny

Sometimes we as Christians think and act like this is our final destiny.  We get so involved and caught up in the world that we emulate the world and all that it involves.  It seems like we are so much like the world in our thinking and actions that when people find out that we are Christians they can hardly believe it is true.  Believers should be so different that the un-believer can tell that there is something different about the believer without being told.

Whether the worldly person likes it or not, they should in their conversations acknowledge the fact that you are different and you should make them feel a little uncomfortable being around you.  Your actions and speech should bring some kind of conviction, even causing anger at times, because at times that’s what conviction does when a person is confronted with his or her sin.  Many times believers will offend non-believers without even knowing it or without any intent on their part.  Think about this; everyone that has been martyred has offended someone at one time or other.

Jesus wasn’t murdered for no reason, He was murdered because He offended many people since He spoke the truth in love.  When flesh and pride get offended, anything can happen.  I remember a time when I was convinced that if I acted more like the non-believer I would be able to witness to more people, because I was so excited about what the Lord had done in my life people wanted to run the other way when they saw me because I would share my testimony.  I must have made many people uncomfortable because I have never been too shy when it came to sharing what the Lord had done in me and my family’s lives.  

But, that was a big mistake on my part, we should never conform to the world, we should always be transformed, we should never stoop down to the world’s level to win souls, we should always try to bring people up to our level of godly living and let the Holy Spirit convict them through our testimony and the way that we live.  The problem I see is, if we act more like the world than a believer, then where will the conviction come from.  The Word says to seek first God’s Kingdom.  

As Christians we need to be very careful not to fall in love with the things of this world because we are just passing through, this is not our home.  There was a man called Demas, a co-worker of Paul’s, this is what Paul said about him in 2 Timothy 4:10, “for Demas, having loved this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica; Crescens has gone to Galatia, Titus to Dalmatia.”  Demas loved worldly pleasures and worldly values.  God loved the world because He created it, but He doesn’t want us to love the world like Demas did.  We are to love and seek God’s kingdom and look forward to going there one day.  Others love the world, sin and all, like Demas.

The Word says this in 1^st John 2:15-17, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”

So be very careful that you do not fall in love with the world and its ways, for your ‘Final Destiny’ is Heaven and that is what you should be seeking.  This is something to meditate on, enough said, may God bless you and yours and have a great day!!       

Let’s Be Honest

Let’s talk about the Psalms today, in them we can find great insight.  David, and the others that wrote the Psalms, were very honest with what they were feeling and they told God about what they felt.  Today many believers act like they are ashamed of the way they feel at times because they don’t want to admit how they feel, fearing that other believers might look down on them or judge them, accusing them of having a lack of faith.

It is so easy to condemn others and fire out scriptures that are condemning, than to take time to listen and have compassion on them.  Many times in the church today we are told if we are sick or experiencing difficulties it is because we lack faith.  

I remember praying in my bedroom for a healing for my back problem, my asthma, my tremor and other things and while praying I heard a voice in my mind which said, “Jerry if you were to be healed of one of these things what would you want to be healed of?”  These are the exact words that I heard and I choose the asthma which I was healed instantly of, praise the Lord, and it has been verified by doctors.  My question is, if I had the faith to be healed of one thing why not all of them, is God limited in His healings?  Of course not, He just didn’t choose to at the time.

What about Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, he prayed three times and was never healed.  I am also sure that Paul prayed for his good friend, Timothy, and he wasn’t healed.  See 1 Timothy 5:23, “Don’t drink only water. You ought to drink a little wine for the sake of your stomach because you are sick so often.”   We don’t know why he wasn’t healed but this wasn’t an invitation for alcoholism.  There was also a friend of Paul’s, named Trophimus, who was sick, I think Paul would have prayed for Him also, but he was not healed that I know of.

We live in a fallen world resulting in sickness and diseases and there are hindrances to prayer and they are not all lack of faith.  You can’t put God in a box; He will do what He wants to do.  As far as problems are concerned, Jesus said that we would have tribulations, and, as far as persecutions are concerned, Paul said that if you live a godly life you will be persecuted.  Someday every born-again believer will be healed and delivered but some may have to wait until they get on the other side.  

Our bodies continue to decay every day and we will all pass away from something, but we can look forward to new bodies that will never experience sickness again, praise the Lord!!  We all face problems, trouble and sickness at times and we shouldn’t be afraid to express them and seek God’s help for these things, but there will be times when it seems like God is so far away and all our prayers are bouncing off the ceiling and this may go on for a spell but hang in there, this too shall pass.

David felt like he was deserted on more than one occasion, read what David said in Psalms 13:1-4:

“O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever?

How long will you look the other way?

How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul,

with sorrow in my heart every day?

How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Turn and answer me, O Lord my God!

Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.

Don’t let my enemies gloat, saying, ‘We have defeated him!’

Don’t let them rejoice at my downfall.”

Even though David started expressing his feelings at first, in the end he remembered God’s mercy, love and grace, read verses 5 and 6, his whole perspective must have changed:

“But I trust in your unfailing love.

I will rejoice because you have rescued me.

I will sing to the Lord

because he is good to me.”

Jesus said that He would never leave us or forsake us and He never will.  When we go through difficulties and trials the Lord is right there with us.  So, don’t get discouraged, find trusted friends you can confide in and share with them your burdens, be honest and ask them to pray with you and don’t be afraid to tell the Lord the way you feel.  Don’t forget how good He has been to you, and if you have to, start giving Him a sacrifice of praise.  I hope this has been encouraging.  God bless and have a great day!!            

David Repents

I like to bring this subject up sometimes because I don’t know who may read this ‘Tidbit,’ who may not have heard this kind of message before.  I think it is very important that everyone hears this kind of message and act on it if they have not.

If you are a born-again believer you probably heard about repentance.  I wonder how many have really wept over their sins, before or after their conversion.  Repentance means to blame no one else for your bad behavior and to take responsibility for what you have done.  It means changing one’s mind and turning away from sin.  It means acknowledging the fact that you have sinned, and are a sinner, and being sorry for the sins that you have willfully committed.  It means to decide to make a change in your life by turning from sin and going on doing your own thing by turning to God and submitting yourself to His authority.  One thing it doesn’t mean is to just be sorry you got caught at something you should not have done, that is called worldly sorrow, what you need is godly sorrow.  

The Apostle Paul, when the Corinthian church repented after being corrected, said this in 2 Corinthians 7:6-16, “But God, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus; and not only by his coming, but also by the comfort with which he was comforted in you, as he reported to us your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me; so that I rejoiced even more. For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while— I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death. For behold what earnestness this very thing, this godly sorrow, has produced in you: what vindication of yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what avenging of wrong! In everything you demonstrated yourselves to be innocent in the matter. So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the offender nor for the sake of the one offended, but that your earnestness on our behalf might be made known to you in the sight of God. For this reason we have been comforted.  And besides our comfort, we rejoiced even much more for the joy of Titus, because his spirit has been refreshed by you all. For if in anything I have boasted to him about you, I was not put to shame; but as we spoke all things to you in truth, so also our boasting before Titus proved to be the truth. His affection abounds all the more toward you, as he remembers the obedience of you all, how you received him with fear and trembling. I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you.”

There were divisions in the church that had to be addressed, and Paul was delighted with the results, because the people repented with godly sorrow.  Repentance is a healthy expression and does wonders for the parties involved in sin.  King David wrote about this subject in Psalms 32:1-5, “How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!  When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long.  For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the Lord’; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.”

In Psalms 51:1-17, King David’s repentant prayer is recorded which he prayed after being confronted by Nathan about a year after his sin with Bathsheba and having her husband killed.  Pay close attention to verse 17 which is what the Lord desires of man, it says, “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.”

I think I have said enough, now you have a decision to make if you find yourself in an unrepentant state.  I hope you choose to repent and get right with the Lord.  God bless and have a great day!!    

Tribulation

Do you ever think about all the times you have been discouraged?  Discouragement is a part of life, happening after sin entered into the world.  I don’t believe there has ever been a person that didn’t experience disappointment and discouragement in some way, if they had the privilege of walking the earth.

I think even Jesus went through discouragement at times, having to deal with fallen man.  Jesus said to His disciples, after teaching on different subjects, in John 16:29-33, “His disciples said, ‘Lo, now You are speaking plainly and are not using a figure of speech. Now we know that You know all things, and have no need for anyone to question You; by this we believe that You came from God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.’”

At the time, Jesus was talking to His disciples, but we know that we as believers would experience these same things mainly because of the enemy of our souls.  He controls the non-believer and causes hatred between non-believers and believers by blinding their eyes to the Truth.  In the previous chapter Jesus warns the disciples about the hatred of the world when He said this in 15:17-25, “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘ A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this to fulfill the word that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’”   

As long as Christians and Non-Christians live together there will be tension, strife and tribulation.  Jesus experienced it and the disciples did also and so will we.  Many times in church we are painted a much better picture about how life will be as a believer, but Jesus didn’t water down the Truth, He told it the way it was, He was not trying to lull His disciples to sleep.  He was preparing them for the battle of their lives and also preparing us, praise His holy name!

In 16:1-4 Jesus said this, “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling. They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God. These things they will do because they have not known the Father or Me. But these things I have spoken to you, so that when their hour comes, you may remember that I told you of them. These things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you,” so that they, and we also, would be fully prepared for the battle that lay ahead of them, and us.

What these disciples needed was a Comforter because Jesus was going to leave them but He was not going to leave them all alone.  Jesus said this to them also in 16:6-7, “But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.”

Then He went on to say this in verses 19-20, “Jesus knew that they wished to question Him, and He said to them, ‘Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy.’”

This was fulfilled in Acts 2, when all the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter had come and the disciples were empowered and even though they faced trials, tribulation and persecution, they had the peace and joy that surpasses understanding in their hearts and lives, praise the Lord!  We believers today have that same Comforter to comfort and empower us, so that we can be overcomers also, and we can be of good cheer like Jesus said when He said, “be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.”  Because Jesus overcame, we can overcome and be victorious also.

So, let us walk in the Spirit and we will not glorify the desires of the flesh and the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, will help us overcome the world.  Hallelujah, praise the Lord!!  Something to think about, have a great day and may God bless you and yours!!   

Balance

I have been thinking about balance lately and how it seems that we end up, “throwing the baby out with the bath water,” so to speak.  In most things we seem to have a balance problem.  

Think about the government for instance, the parties are, for the most part, conservative or liberal and today it seems like there is a dividing of people instead of a uniting of people.  If you are a Republican, you are considered a conservative, if you are a Democrat, you are considered a liberal and it seems like there are no bipartisan people so very little gets accomplished for the greater good.  

If you are not black, you are a racist and if you are white you must be prejudice and if you are not gay you are a bigot.  We have lost all the balance and are mostly one sided, it seems, in most of the areas of life, but none of these things are completely true although if certain parties say it enough people will start to believe it as the truth, which is called divide and separate.  

Some of the biggest fights and arguments that occur have been between these groups of people.  All these things are worldly and have no business in the church of the Living God that ordained it.  The Bible says in Mark 12:30-31, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.  And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

The Bible makes it very clear who your neighbor is, all you have to do is read the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 25:25-37.  This is a story about love and mercy, not gender or color of skin, or their political party or sexual preference.  This story is a very familiar story which many people know, whether they are a believer or not, and is centered on mercy, compassion and love.  If you know anything about the Jews and the Samaritans hatred for one another, you realize that this was an amazing thing that took place.  Think about this, would you do this for your enemy or would you just pretend you didn’t see the man and go on your way like the priest and Levite did?  There was a very deep seated hatred between these two men because the Jews felt that they were the pure race, descendants of Abraham, but not so with the half breeds they considered the Samaritans to be.  

This is the kind of response the Lord wants His people to take when they deal with an enemy or anyone else that they encounter.  He doesn’t want us to be like the priest or the Levite, ignoring people that are in need for our own benefit or because we are prejudice or we are holding a grudge, no, the Lord wants us to act out of love and compassion, with mercy sprinkled in also.  We will not be able to help everyone but we can certainly help someone.

So, don’t buy into the separating and dividing theory the world would want us to embrace, take the role of a bipartisan person that sees the good in all people regardless of who they are and respond to them as the Good Samaritan did towards the Jew and not like the other two men did.  Let’s be careful to seek a balance in our life and not be lopsided in our thinking, reaching out to only those who are in our inner circle, but expanding our horizons to include everyone without hypocrisy and let us love in deeds and not words only.  

I hope this has been a help to you, may you have a great day and may God bless you and yours!!!