Wearying The Lord

How many times have we been guilty of this, saying one thing and doing another?  This happens far too often in the Christian community also.  We are not the only ones that are guilty of this, the Jews were guilty of this sin also, but that doesn’t give us an excuse.  How many times have you honored the Lord with your lips but your heart has been far from Him?  The Lord is not interested in lip service; He seeks people with integrity, people that are genuine, those that have no guile.

Nathanael was this kind of person. Jesus said this about Nathanael when Philip brought him to Jesus in John 1:47, “Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward Him, and said of him, ‘Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom is no deceit!’”  You have heard it said that honesty is the best policy and that is true and this was the kind of man that Nathanael was.  

Jesus also said this in Matthew 15:8, “These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me.”

Many people act hypocritical at times, saying things they don’t do like the Pharisees.  At one time Jesus told the multitude and His disciples this in Matthew 23:1-3 about the Pharisees, “Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, saying: ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.’”    

Knowing the Word and speaking it is important but far more important is applying it to your life and living it out so that your words are not just lip service.  Isaiah spoke of this problem first in Isaiah 29:13 where it says this, “Therefore the Lord said: ‘Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men.’”

These people said they belonged to God but their actions said something different.  There are those that have the form of religion but lack the power therein.  These people may look like believers on the outside and even talk like one but their actions speak louder than their words.  They are nothing but pretenders.

Speaking of people honoring God with their lips, what about the songs being sung today as part of worship?  How many really pay attention to the words that they sing and how many lies are taking place while worship songs are being sung?  I used to sing whatever songs were on the agenda, not thinking about the words, until one day it was brought to my attention and I realized that I was just following the leader, and some of the words didn’t apply to my life; in other words, I was just giving the Lord lip service because some of what I was singing wasn’t true and I was singing lies.  I am not saying the person who wrote the song lied; it may have been true in their lives at the time but not in my life at the time.

Let me give you an example, when we sing, “you’re all I want,” is that true?  Not in my life, because I want many things or I wouldn’t own the things that I have that are not needs.  If you are a believer and sing the song, “You’re all I need,” that is the truth.  If we have Him, He will supply all we need, either supernaturally or He will provide the needs some other way.  Living by faith is what is needed.

As believers, let us not weary the Lord with our lip service, let’s try our best to live out what we say and be not hypocritical, then we will be pleasing the Lord.  Something to think about, may the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!

He’s My Son

I heard a song this morning by Mark Schultz called, “He’s my Son,” and it got me thinking about some things I hadn’t thought about for a while so I thought I would do a Tidbit about my feelings on this subject today.  If I remember right, this song was written about a family that had a child who had Leukemia and the parents were praying for a miracle healing which is always heartbreaking.  There seems to be something about a child dying at a young age that seems to grip at the heart and soul of a person and the aftermath is totally devastating.

While typing this I am also thinking about the multitudes of babies that have been aborted, many being killed even after they were born.  Legalizing any kind of abortion is a terrible injustice and is nothing short of murder and partial birth abortion is barbaric and totally wrong for any reason.  People that agree and perform abortions are totally blinded to the truth.  People may teach or preach that there are many gods but there is only one God and everyone who agrees with these practices or performs an abortion will be accountable to the Creator of the world, the Creator of all mankind.  The abortion industry is making, and has made, millions of dollars on killing babies but all the money in the world will not buy a single pardon when you stand before the Lord at the white throne judgment someday to give an account of yourself and your actions.

There is a story that Jesus told in Luke 16:19-31 about a rich man and a beggar, “There was a certain rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and fared sumptuously every day. But there was a certain beggar named Lazarus, full of sores, who was laid at his gate, desiring to be fed with the crumbs which fell from the rich man’s table. Moreover the dogs came and licked his sores. So it was that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. And being in torments in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

“Then he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented. And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us.’

“Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’ Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’ But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’”

The reason I am using this story is this, many women that have had abortions have been taken advantage of and blatantly lied to, thinking they had nowhere else to turn.  Many of them are very poor also and are encouraged to abort their fetuses, which are really babies with life in them.  So many have been deceived into thinking what they are doing is ok.  I am glad that many places that stand against abortion now have Ultra Sound Machines so that the mothers can see what is taking place in their womb and reject abortion because they see and hear and know the truth.

I am not standing in judgment of anyone, just bringing forth the truth.  In God’s Word it says this, “Thou shalt not kill,” and that is talking about premeditated murder and that is what abortion is and it is also sin.

God’s Word says this also in Matthew 19:23-26, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Assuredly, I say to you that it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

When His disciples heard it, they were greatly astonished, saying, “Who then can be saved?”

But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

I want to say this, there is forgiveness for everyone who has had an abortion or performed any because of God’s unconditional love and His amazing grace.  He will not only forgive you, but He will fill you with His peace, love and joy and take the guilt away that has tormented you.  Don’t carry this burden any longer, give it to the Lord.  Repent and confess your sins to God and ask Him to forgive you and to be your Lord and Savior.

It says this in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”  

So take your time and pray through, let the Lord deliver you and give you His perfect peace, love and joy that surpasses all understanding then begin to thank Him and praise Him.  There have been many that have been set free of this sin and guilt by the Lord and they can smile and rejoice again.

Getting back to the song, “He’s my son,” I think of God the Father sending Jesus His son to die for our sins on a cross, which was meant for criminals, to take our place, even though we were the criminals deserving it, and Him giving His life a ransom for all who would receive Him as their Lord and Savior.  This is the love of the Savior ~ He stretched out His arms and died on our behalf ~ a man who knew no sin became sin for us, what a Savior! Praise His holy name!  Something to think about today!  May God bless you and yours and have a super day!!       

              

                                                                         

How Committed Are You

How committed are you to your calling and what are you doing to make your calling successful?  If God has called you to a ministry, have you made it one of your first priorities or has it just become another chore that you do to fill up your week?  Are you enthusiastic about your ministry or are you struggling at it and just doing the bare minimum you can to get through each week? 

It says this in Colossians 3:23-24, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.”  

Every born-again believer is called to do something and whatever it is, it should be a priority and also something we consider a privilege.  I think we need to be careful not to get too discouraged when we struggle doing the work that God has called us to do, thinking that we may have missed His calling.  You can be joyful at times and very enthusiastic and still struggle to the point that you wonder if what you are doing is what you are supposed to be doing; also some people might tell you that you missed what the Lord has for you to do because you are struggling to accomplish it.  

I believe that some people may have missed their true calling but I think it is very important not to forget we have an enemy that hates anything we do that will further the kingdom of God.  Sometimes we are taught, or we assume, that if we are in the will of God everything will fall into place and it will be smooth sailing which many times is more wishful thinking than it is reality.

Think of the struggles Jonah, Job, Shadrach, Meshach, Abed-Nego, Daniel and many others endured in the Old Testament, along with all the disciples, Jesus, Paul and others in the New Testament.  Question: were these people in the will of God?  Of course they were.  I think that every believer that has been in some kind of ministry has struggled with discouragement at one time or other, some much more than others.  

The question isn’t whether you will be disappointed and struggle at times, the question is this; how will you handle the struggles and hard times you will face?  Will you persevere or will you give up and walk away?  In the past I have to admit I made some very bad decisions and gave up and walked out on ministries because I got my eyes on people as well as myself and off the Lord.  I have always said to ‘glimpse at people’ and ‘gaze at the Lord’ but I haven’t always followed my own advice, to my own detriment.  

That is probably one of the reasons why I am typing this Tidbit today, to help encourage anyone that is in this dilemma today, struggling with the decision of whether to go on or to give up.  Question: What if the people I mentioned earlier gave up on what the Lord had called them to do because of discouragement, persecution and troubles?  We may never have heard the good news of the gospel of Christ and we may never have been set free, washed and cleansed by the blood of Jesus.  So remember, we have an enemy that wars against us and he even uses people to work against us and discourage us, so it is important for us to be very committed to our calling and not give up.  And whatever you do, don’t look at people as your enemies and get caught in the trap of bitterness, hatred and unforgiveness.  

The Bible makes it very clear who our enemy is in Ephesians 6:12 saying this, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

It also says how we can put him on the run in James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

So, hang in there and be faithful to your calling and you and others will be thankful that you did.  Something to think about!  May your day be peaceful and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!  PS Praise and thank the Good Lord today and every day!!

Are You Running

Are you the kind of person that runs to God when you are called to come out of your comfort zone or do you run the other way?  There have been times that I have straddled both sides of the fence, so to speak, sometimes jumping in with both feet and other times very reluctant to get involved.  In every one of our lives I think this may be the case at times because we are comfortable with doing some things that we are good at but not so with other circumstances and situations.

There are also other reasons that we may not want to be obedient to God right away when He calls us to minister; maybe because we lack compassion and love being prejudice about certain people or we are scared or we may feel we are not qualified or ready for the job or we think that we are just not worthy and it can’t possibly be done by us.  We know that God can use anyone He wants, so we feel that God should call someone else more qualified than we are and sometimes that will happen if we refuse, but who loses out in the end; we do.  We can either be faithful or we can make excuses for ourselves.  Remember this; God doesn’t always call the equipped but He always equips the ones He calls.

Remember Moses after the Lord spoke to him from the burning bush?  You would have thought he would be ready for anything the Lord wanted him to do, but what was his response even after the Lord said that He would be with Him?  Moses made up excuses for why God should send someone else, even after God had performed miracles in Moses’ presence turning Moses’ rod into a snake and back to a rod again and then causing Moses’ arm to be leprous and to be clean again.  Even seeing these two miracles and the Lord speaking to him about turning water into blood in the presence of Pharaoh and the people, this was Moses’ response in Exodus 3:10-17,

“Come now, therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt.”

But Moses said to God, ‘Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?’

So He said, ‘I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.’

Then Moses said to God, ‘Indeed, when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?’

And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’ And He said, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’’ Moreover God said to Moses, ‘Thus you shall say to the children of Israel: ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is My name forever, and this is My memorial to all generations.’ Go and gather the elders of Israel together, and say to them, ‘The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, ‘I have surely visited you and seen what is done to you in Egypt; and I have said I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.”’

Even though Moses had a real struggle with his self-image and obedience at the time, God still had compassion on him and still used him in a mighty way while also equipping Moses to be a leader.

I am thinking of another man that was asked to do something for the Lord and he ran in another direction, his name was Jonah.  Jonah deliberately ran from God, he was a man that was a prophet and he knew that God had called him to go to Nineveh to preach, to warn the people of the upcoming disaster that was going to take place because of their wickedness.  Jonah responded by running from the Lord and heading for Tarshish because he knew about the atrocities the Assyrians had committed and their wicked ways.  He hated them and he knew if they repented God would relent and not bring the disaster on them that He was going to so Jonah wanted them destroyed, having no love or compassion for any of them.  Then after ending up in a large fish’s belly for three days and three nights he came to his senses and repented and prayed to the Lord and the Lord heard him and had the fish vomit him up and Jonah did what the Lord told him to do. The Lord has His ways of getting people’s attention, but even going through what he did; Jonah was still reluctant because of his lack of love and compassion for the people.

What kind of person are you?  Do you follow the Lord’s callings on your life or do you think of all the excuses you can to not get involved?  Like I related to earlier, the Lord will not call you to do anything He knows you can’t do with His help.  If the Lord calls you, He will equip you also, so that you can bring glory to Him in whatever ministry He has called you to.  So let that be an encouragement to you and try your best to be obedient and faithful to His calling on your life.  Something to think about!  Have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!

Left Behind

I think if we are aware of what is going on around us there is no doubt that we are living in the latter days of the end times.  I know that there are many people that don’t want to hear or read about these things but they are going to take place regardless of how we feel about them.  It is inevitable no matter how we feel we cannot change the fact that the Lord proclaimed it and it will happen, so the best thing that believers or non-believers can do is accept it and prepare for it.  

Nothing in the Word of God is there to scare the believer but for the non-believer it should scare them half to death.  Non-believers that turn up their noses at God in scorn and rejection have something to be terrified about because if they leave this earth without a personal relationship with the Lord (Being Born-again) they will be tormented forever and ever, from my understanding, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  For the born-again believers there will be joy unspeakable and everlasting contentment with no more suffering and no more pain because God will wipe away every tear and the former things will not come to mind.  It says this in Isaiah 65:17, “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;

And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind.”

This is a picture of what will take place in the future for all true believers and how comforting we will feel as the God of all comforts, touches us and we rest from our labors and dwell with God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  Praise the Lord, which is something we will have all eternity to do, and something we should be doing right now.         

Matthew 24 and other books of the Bible describe what it will be like before the Lord’s return and, like I said, these things are written for our good, not to scare the believer, but to warn us of the Lord’s coming so it will not take us unaware or overwhelm us but that we should take these words to heart and be prepared for what is coming.  The Lord wants us to be watching and ready for His return because when He comes back it will be quick and whoever is not ready with their house in order and their feet grounded on the rock and the narrow path that leads to God’s kingdom it will be too late.    

It says this in Matthew 24:36-51, “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left. Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.

“Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master, when he comes, will find so doing. Assuredly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all his goods. But if that evil servant says in his heart, ‘My master is delaying his coming,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him and at an hour that he is not aware of, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Someday the true believers will be snatched away to be with the Lord while the pretenders and non-believers will be left to face a terrible, terrible existence and, in the end, if they haven’t repented and had a rebirth experience, will face a far worse eternity!!  This is a crucial time to examine yourself to see if you really are in the body of Christ and, if not to, make steps towards that goal.

You may want to repeat this prayer:  Heavenly Father I come to you on my behalf seeking an audience with you.  I humbly bow before you in reverence, acknowledging the fact that I need you to be my Lord and Savior and come into my live and make me a brand new creation.  I know that I have sinned and transgressed against you and I am sorry, please forgive me and may your peace, love and joy fill my very soul and put a heart of rejoicing and praising within me as I give my life fully to you.

If you choose to do this, don’t be in a hurry, take plenty of time and let the Lord’s peace, love and joy flood your very soul.  Then start rejoicing in the Lord and start growing by reading and studying the Word of God and praying on a consistent basis.  Attend a church where the truth is being taught and fellowship with others of like-minded faith.  Something to think about!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!