Wake Up

Have you ever heard the old saying wake up and smell the roses?  I ask this question because there are many people professing Christianity that may not be Christians at all.  All they may have is a lot of religion and nothing else.  Have you ever examined yourself to see if you are really in the faith or are you just taking that for granted?  Were you on an emotional high or did something truly take place when you walked down the aisle?  Did you say a simple sinners prayer without any mention of repentance or being sorry for your sins?  I know you may have heard the word repentance, but did you have any idea of what repentance really meant or was it explained to you?  And what about your condition as a nonbeliever, was that explained to you outside of the fact of hearing that God loves you and will forgive you?  These are important things to think about very seriously and not to ignore them.

Think about what Jesus said in Matthew 7:15-20, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

What are the first two greatest commandments; To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength and mind and love your neighbor as yourself.  Without getting these two in the right order you can go nowhere.  If this is true in your life you will want to help your neighbor.  You will try to do the things that God has called you to do, which is called good works that the Lord has ordained for you to do.  Read Ephesians 2:10, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”        

This covers every aspect of a believer’s life; your actions, your words, the way you live when no one else is around and also when you are on your job, when you are in the grocery store or wherever you happen to be.  Do you spend time with the Lord in worship and praise, in Bible reading and in prayer?  

It includes how you treat others, also how you treat your wife and family and also your neighbor.  What does God’s Word say about true religion to the committees, or church as we call it?  How does the church, go to the church, that’s strange?  Just a side note in James 1:26-27, “If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”

Now read Matthew 5:13-16, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”  

How will anyone see your good works if you are not doing any acts of charity, kindness or good will and can be also an act of piety.  Now read James 2:14-26, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe—and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.’ And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out another way? For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”  

When you do good works, you demonstrate good fruit and what about the fruit of the Spirit?  Read Galatians 5:22-23, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Do you have the gifts of the Spirit?  Something to think about, have a super day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!! PS don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord, for He is worthy!!

Sin Revealed

There will be terrible times and sin will be rampant in the last days and we see and hear about its effects every day.  All you have to do is turn on the real news and listen to what is being said. Paul spoke about this many years ago he said this in 2 Timothy 3:1-9, “But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. Now as Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, disapproved concerning the faith; but they will progress no further, for their folly will be manifest to all, as theirs also was.”

Every kind of evil and wickedness will take place, sounds like what is happening today.  Then Paul shows this by his example the kind of person Timothy and all believers should be by following read from that same chapter verse 10-15, “But you have carefully followed my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, longsuffering, love, perseverance, persecutions, afflictions, which happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra—what persecutions I endured. And out of them all the Lord delivered me. Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.”

Then Paul ends the chapter by telling Timothy what the Word is useful for in verses 16-17, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

Then in 4:1-2 Timothy is exhorted to preach the word, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”

They need to hear the truth for a time is coming when men will not put up with sound doctrine, so Timothy and every other preacher from Timothy’s time until the present, needs to be doing the same thing not watering down the Word or worrying about offending someone.

Now read 2 Timothy 4:3-4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

Then Paul added this in that same chapter verse 5, “But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

I think you got the point, preaching the Word and living the Word are very   important.  Preaching the truth, no matter whose toes you might step on, so to speak, is imperative; that is the only way you will get God’s blessings on your ministries in your community!!  If your community isn’t growing maybe you need to start there!!  Are you trying to be put on a pedestal by those who are in your community or are you preaching the truth and letting God get all the glory!!  Something to think about, have a super nice day and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!

Trials and Persecutions

Doesn’t it seem strange to anyone that we hardly ever hear about persecutions and trials from the pulpit?  As time goes on I know there will be much more persecution and we need to prepare ourselves for it.  It seems like our rights as Christians are being taken away daily and the negativity is rising.  Jesus said if they hated me they will hate you.  There are many other things that the Word of God says to try to prepare us for what is coming.  

I know many believers are getting ready to fly on out of here, thinking they are going to escape the trouble and trials and persecution that is coming on the earth.  I personally don’t believe you can prove that theory in the word of God.  Some preach and teach that we will be taken up, or snatched away, in a pre-trib rapture scenario but the big problem is that people are not being prepared for what is coming.  I think instead of taking someone else’s word for it we need to pray and ask the Lord to show us the truth.  Study the scriptures in the right context and I think you will see that I am right.  I understand that it is a convenient gospel to think that we will just be taken out of the real hard times that will be coming on the earth.  I think the best thing we can do is to prepare ourselves for what is coming so it won’t take us unaware.  People should have been prepared for what is coming for years.

Read Matthew 24:3-14, “Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, ‘Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?’ And Jesus answered and said to them: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.’”

Now read verses 21-22 in that same chapter, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”      

I am not trying to scare anyone just trying to help you to be prepared for when these things happen!!  To be honest about it, we all know that some of these things that Jesus talked about are taking place already and I don’t hear about it being preached from the pulpit.  These things are very important and should not be taken for granted but need to be taken very seriously.  We need to take a lesson from the Bereans who didn’t take anyone’s word, but they studied the Word for themselves like we all should be doing.

It says this in 2 Timothy 2:15, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

I think I said enough for now and I hope you will seek out the truth for yourselves because when you know the truth, the truth will set you free. May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super, super day!!  Don’t forget the thank and praise the Lord for He is worthy!!