Pieces

Think of a vase that just fell and shattered on the floor and the pieces went everywhere and there was no way that anyone could put the pieces back together.  Now think of this, that it was a very costly vase that could not be replaced because it was so unique that there was no other just like it.  Let me suggest this to each of you, that this scenario represents each of us.  All of us are born broken because of the sin nature that we inherited from Adam and Eve when they chose to rebel against God.  And all of us were created in the image of God and none of us can be reduplicated because we are so unique, no one else is quite like us.  Even identical twins are not perfectly the same and all of us are worth far more than we can imagine.  This reminds me of snowflakes, not one of them is the same.  Can you fathom that fact that each one is different, but none of them falls to the ground without the God of the universe knowing about it?  Now think of all the babies, that if given a choice would have wanted to live, but were not given that choice, they were all made in the image of God also.  

Why do we make these choices?  Because we are all damaged goods and broken, because of sin.  The same thing happens with drug addicts, alcoholics, those hooked on porn, the sexual immoral plus those that lie, cheat, steal, kill, rape and on and on it goes.  These things happen because we all started out broken, and the worst part is that no one walking the earth today can fix us.  I realize there are many self-help books out there and there are inspirational speakers and also motivational speakers, but none of them can fix us; they might inspire us and motivate us and to some degree help us but they can never fix us because what has been done is irreparable to man and the change we need has to take place on the inside and not just the outside.

I heard Ron Hutchcraft this morning talking about Humpty Dumpty and how he fell off the wall and all the King’s horses and all the King’s men couldn’t put Humpty back together again; I guess everyone knows that he was an egg, kind of a sad ending for a kid’s riddle or poem.  We are sort of like Humpty Dumpty, we all start out broken and as much as we might try to fix ourselves we always end up falling because we are so flawed.  I know there are people that don’t like to think that way because they think that they are pretty good, and they may be in some ways, but I think everyone knows if they really think about it in all honesty that they have flaws.  If you don’t think you do, just ask your kids, your spouse, your coworkers or your true friends that will tell you the truth.  

Up to this time I have given you the bad news but hold on, there is good news also.  What would you do if the foundation of your house was broken and you couldn’t fix it and you knew that eventually your house was going to fall down?  If you knew someone that could fix it, you would probably have it fixed.  Well, the good news is there is someone who can fix all of us and put all the broken pieces back together.  He can erase all the sins that you have committed, up to this point, and you and I can be forgiven.  We can be set free of the guilt and shame of all these sins and start with a clean slate.  Would you be interested in that good news?  

Read John 3:16-17, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.”

             

God’s forgiveness is there for all who will forsake their evil ways, repent and come to Him and trust in Him and believe on His beloved Son, Jesus Christ who gave His life and shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins, the invitation is right before your eyes.  

Read what God said to the Israelites in Isaiah 1:18-20, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

Now read Hebrews 8:10-12, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.”

Read Micah 7:18-19, “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

You can repent of your sins and ask the Lord to forgive you and to be your Lord and Savior.  Read Acts 3:19, “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.”

If you want to be refreshed, renewed and forgiven of your former sins, and have them blotted out, trust the Lord, He is the only one that can put all the broken pieces of your life back together and make you whole again.  Only through His mercy and grace and His precious shed blood can this take place.  Something to think about and may you have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!

Jesus The Bondage Breaker

The devil wants to steal, kill and destroy; Jesus came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  Let me ask you a question, are you truly born-again?  Have you truly trusted in the atoning work of Christ for your salvation?  Have you repented of your sins and turned away from them?  

Paul said this in 2 Corinthians 7:10, “For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.”  

This is the first step in being set free of sin and bondage in your life, without this you have little hope.  You can do the twelve steps that these people teach about in the AA meetings and be taught that once you are an alcoholic or a drug addict or whatever, you will always be these things.  

But read what Jesus said about God’s true children in John 8:31-36, “Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Sin enslaves; it has a way of dominating your life, your attitude and it brings condemnation, shame and also guilt, but Jesus can set you free of all that and give you His perfect peace, love and joy and in the process He can also heal the scars and the wounds that sin has caused.

Maybe you are very sincere about being set free of the sin and bondage that seems to have a grip on you, and you have prayed and sought the Lord for deliverance, but you are still struggling.  If so, you need to take action, and part of this is resisting the temptation and to take a stand determining not to allow your emotions, or anyone or anything, to hinder you from resisting whatever it is.  Take a stand and take control and get your feet grounded in the Word of God and resist with everything you have in you.  

When a person wants to be the best he can be at any kind of sport they have to commit themselves to vigorous activities.  They have to make sacrifices, maybe in their eating habits and other things that would hinder them in meeting their goals.  They have to be determined to get rid of everything that will hinder their progress.  And you will have to make a conscious effort to get rid of whatever it is that entices you to fall back into the same old sin.  The Lord has provided the Holy Spirit so we have no excuse when we don’t overcome these things, if we have the Holy Spirit within us.  God’s Word says that it is not by power or by might, but by my Spirit saith the Lord!!

There is no sin or bondage that the Lord hasn’t broken in people’s lives and yours is no different.  You may need to find new friends, the kind that will build you up and tell you the truth even if it hurts.  Many times it is not what you want to hear that is important but it is what you need to hear!!   I am not talking down on anyone, I have been there.  Yes, I thank God that He has delivered me from many things in the past; but I face struggles every day that I need to overcome and I don’t always do it as well as I would like to, but I know I have no excuse and I have to repent and try harder the next time temptation comes knocking on my door, so to speak.

This might help; you are not only hurting yourself but in many cases you are hurting others and the worst thing about sin is that you are hurting the Lord who shed His blood for you and for me.  So, like I said, stand your ground and if you are a true believer you have help to overcome and can overcome any temptation and sin.

What does it say in Hebrews 12:1-4, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.”

Something to think about and I hope you will, and then act on what you have read.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!! Don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord!!

(Grace that doesn’t make a person better is counterfeit grace!!)

The End Of Life

Many people start out in the Christian life pretty strong, but it is the way you finish that is most important.  Judas started out as a disciple, but was disqualified in the end.  I heard a sermon Friday night by Dr. Michael Brown that was a real eye opener, you might say.  The way we handle temptation is very important, it is something we best not ignore because in the end of our journey it may be the difference between being qualified or disqualified.

Read what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27, “I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air: but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage: lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected.”  I am not saying that Paul would lose his salvation, but he could lose his reputation and his witness, like so many that have once walked with the Lord starting out strong but in the end falling into horrible temptation and sin, losing their wives, families and much more.  

Dr. Brown told some terrible stories about two people that were in the ministry that started out strong but ended up destroyed and all because they yielded to temptation.  These people, and many others, didn’t think that what they were getting into would go as far as it did, but one of them ended up being tortured and killed, the other one ended up in a sexual incident that ruined his ministry and I am not sure if he ever recovered from it.  Then there was a young girl that left her home by her own choice, ending up in a bar and then became a prostitute.  She was very young and there was jealousy amongst the other girls because most of the men preferred her.  Then while trying to escape she ended up being tortured and killed and thrown into a river.  I am sure when they started out they didn’t dream they would end up the way they did.

Temptation is very real and it is, in many cases, very alluring and can be very deadly, so we must do our very best to flee temptation.  We have an enemy that has had years to master his deceptive schemes and has destroyed the faith of many through enticing temptations. Think about this, he coerced one third of the angels to rebel against God and he has accomplished that goal with many others down through the ages.  I know he was defeated at the cross but he is very much alive, he deceived Judas and he wanted to sift Peter as wheat and if not for Jesus intervening he may have taken Peter down also.  He is still powerful today, but praise God that he isn’t all powerful like the Lord is and with the Lord’s help we can overcome the enemy also.  The enemy will never give up trying to take advantage of God’s sons and daughters, so we need to be studying the Word and walking in the Spirit, prayed up with the whole armor of God on, so that we will be aware of the enemy’s schemes and his devices.

Read what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 2:17, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”  I know this is talking about forgiveness but I think we can use it here also because the enemy is always trying to take advantage of us and bring destruction to all of us that are believers.  Usually the enemy comes when we are tired, down or discouraged or even persecuted.  What we need to remember is this, if we resist the devil he will flee from us.  In 1 Peter 5:6-8 it says this, “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.”

So let’s make an effort to end up even stronger than when we started this journey and then we may hear these words, “well done, my good and faithful servant, enter into your rest.”  I have given you something to think about and act on and I hope you will.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!  And don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord, for He is worthy!!

Desert Places

I was reminded of something this morning by Ron Hutchcraft that might help some people that may be struggling, wondering what is going on in their walk with the Lord.  You may feel like you are in a dry and arid place and don’t understand why.  I think that we all want to live on the mountaintop, so to speak, where everything seems to go relatively smooth, where the Lord seems to be the closest to us and we feel content and fulfilled; but in order to really know what our heart is really like, as far as our intentions and our motives, we may end up in the valley or what you might call a dessert place.

Think about the Israelites, when they were brought out of Egypt, I think it would have taken them a very short time to get to the Promised Land, but it took forty years and many of them didn’t even make it.  It is important, when we get into what I would call a wilderness place in our walk with the Lord, that we dig in and let God be God, knowing that He is working all things out together for our good just like He did for the Israelites.  If God took them the short route, the Philistines would have fought against them and many of them would have died and many would have turned back.  God knew the thoughts and intents of their hearts and He also knows the thoughts and intents of our hearts and He would reveal it to them as time went on.

There is a song that the Brooklyn Tabernacle sings; I think it is called, “Sometimes it takes a Mountain.”  Some of the words go like this, “Sometimes it takes a mountain, sometimes a troubled sea, sometimes it takes a desert to get a hold of me, your love is so much stronger than whatever troubles me, sometimes it takes a mountain to get a hold on me.”  It is a great song, check it out and let it minister to your heart.

Just like the Israelites, God may take us through some desert places so that we can see the real person that we are and what is really in our hearts.  When we come under pressure we start seeing the flaws and cracks in our armor, so to speak.  We may react like many of the Israelites did with fear, whining, complaining and blaming others for our situation.  We may throw a pity party, feeling like woe is me.  Sometimes we act so proud and arrogant, maybe even pharisaical, and God is trying to get our attention so that we will repent.  I have been there, to my shame, and it is a terrible place to be and without God’s intervention we may not even realize it.       

Until we know what our condition is before the Lord, we will never repent and ask the Lord to forgive us and we will stagnate and be very ineffective for the Lord and we will end up losing our joy.  When this happens remember the Lord said He would never leave us or forsake us.  Weeping may endure for a time but joy will come, if you do the right thing.

I hope this Tidbit was an encouragement to everyone that reads it.  Something to think about and I hope this has helped.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a super day!!

Are You Bound

I have been going to a recovery class at the church that I go to and have discovered that there are many people that claim to be Christians that are still bound and struggling with bondage in their lives.  Some are still in their bondage and can’t seem to break free.  Now I am not implying that if you are a true believer you won’t have to struggle with temptation because that is inevitable.  But I think to always say I can’t help but sin because I am not perfect is very detrimental to a believer.  If your mindset is this, that I am always going to sin because I am not perfect, then I believe you will always sin but far more times than you need to.  What you are doing is convincing yourself that you have to sin and then you do and it starts to become an endless cycle of sin and confess, sin and confess, sin and confess and on and on it goes.  Maybe the problem is this, that many believers think that they are still bound, not realizing that they have been set free.  

Think of this, Jesus didn’t shed His blood and die and be buried and resurrected again to make bad people good, no, it was to make dead people live.  God’s Word says that we were dead in our sins and trespasses.  Jesus came to break the bondage of sin and trespasses in our lives and to set us free.  Think of this, spiritually we were dead, then when we repented and confessed and turned away from our sins, the precious Holy Spirit of God quickened us and we became alive spiritually.

Please read Romans 8:5-17, “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

This is good news and may get you off that roller coaster ride you have been on for so long.  God’s Word also says this in 1 Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

The problem is we don’t look diligently for the way out, think of Joseph when Potiphar’s wife tried to seduce him, he ran out naked.  There are some temptations you don’t even have to think about, you just move on instinct and flee the situation.  I want to share a story with you that I heard, or read, quite a while ago so I will give you my version of the story.  It goes like this; a farmer had a big farm and one day his donkey came up missing so he searched for it for a few days and then he found it in a ditch all tied up.  He went down and untied the donkey and said, “let’s go,” but the donkey just laid there like he was still tied up.  Then the farmer hollered at the donkey, but that didn’t help either, then he slapped the donkey on the butt and tried to get him to move, but he still laid their like he was still bound. Then the farmer went and pried and pushed on the donkey until he finally got up and the farmer got him out of the ditch.

Now think about Lazarus, when Jesus said, “come forth,” he did but he was still bound until Jesus said to unloose him.  I wonder how many believers fall into this same category; they have received the Lord but they think they are still bound.  There is no bondage that the Lord hasn’t broken in a believer’s life, and He can break whatever the bondage is in yours, or my, life also, I am living proof of that.  God’s Word says that it is not by might, nor by power but by my Spirit sayeth he Lord!!  No weapon formed against God’s people will prosper and when the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of God will raise a standard against him!!  What we need to do is to resist the devil and he will flee from us.

I have given you something to think about and to act on and I hope you will.  May God bless you and yours and may you all have a super day!!  And don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord for He is worthy!!