Does The Word Change You

People believe they can fix themselves, but they can’t change themselves spiritually, so some get mad at God.  How many people do you know that if asked, how are you going to fix this or that, would say don’t worry, I can fix it, but know nothing about whatever it is that they have to fix and what about if they are struggling with emotional or spiritual, things will say that they can fix them also!!  There are some things about who we are that we can’t fix, like having certain kinds of illnesses in the physical or mental realm, that we cannot fix without help.  In the spiritual realm there are some things that only God can fix, and it doesn’t matter how hard we try.

Many people may feel that they exceed others in the spiritual realm by comparing themselves to other people by the things that they have accomplished in their life, they may have done more of what some call good works than others and a lot less sinning than others, so they sit in their pews thinking that they are far superior than others are.  I have got bad news and good news for those that feel that way, if you haven’t been born again there isn’t any amount of good works that you can possibly do that can make you righteous or right with the Lord.  You may think you are righteous because of what you have done, but the Word of God says that our righteousness is like filthy rags, that is why we need to be covered by the righteousness of Christ.  It also says there is none righteous, no not one.  I have written on this subject before, but I feel that a reminder won’t hurt.

There is so much in the Word of God that it is not easy to remember all of what we have learned when we are trying to learn more and more, at least in my case; maybe I try to learn too much too quickly.  I heard a story that I need to keep in mind more often, about a boy and his pastor that went something like this: The pastor would visit the boy at different times and talk with him.  After the pastor had been going there a few times he noticed that the boy was reading from the same passages in his Bible, so he asked him why and the boy said until I learn to live these verses there is no reason to go on.  Maybe the same thing should be applied to our memory, if we can’t remember the scriptures maybe we need to keep going back until we have them planted in our minds and hearts, so we won’t forget them when we need them; something to think about.

Comparing ourselves to other people for our standard and our righteousness and right standing with God can be very hazardous, we need to study the Word then ask ourselves if we are living up to these standards or if the world is changing our lives and we are conforming to the world and its standards instead of practicing what we read in God’s Word.  How many people are sitting in pews and think that they are going to heaven because they are what they would consider a good person?  It doesn’t work that way please read John 3:1-3, “There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’”

The Pharisees thought themselves better than the ordinary people and they looked down on them because, guess what, they compared themselves to other people.  Please read this, Luke 18:11-13, “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!’”

Off course the tax collector went away justified.

Morally you may think you are better than someone else, and you may be, but that will never put you in good standing with God if all you have is religion and not a relationship.  Like the Word says, you must be born-again to have a true relationship with the Lord.  Because we are born in sin and shaped in iniquity, as David said, I think we all need a Savior to forgive us for our sins and to cleanse us of our iniquity, and of all are unrighteousness and that is why Jesus, the Son of God, died for our sins.  He laid his life down, no one took it from him, he was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.  Without His sacrifice no one could be saved.  I have heard it said that baptism saves a person, but if that was true how did the thief that was hanging on the cross next to Jesus go to paradise, he didn’t get off the cross and go get baptized, but Jesus told him, this day you shall be with me in paradise!!  And what about people that get saved on their death bed who repent and receive the Lord just before they pass on into eternity?

My Bible says this about being saved, please read Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

I think it is very important to be baptized if you can and I believe it should be done after the age of accountability if possible.  I also believe the person should be immersed, showing an outward testimony of an inward change after they have made a true confession of faith, showing that they have truly repented, turning from their sin, to the Lord and receiving Him as their Lord and Savior!!  Like I said, without the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus no one could be saved.  So if you’re trying to get to heaven by your own good works, please consider what has been typed in this Tidbit, not one could ever be righteous on his or her own merit I want to say this as kindly and lovingly as I can because the reason for me typing these Tidbits is to bless and encourage people and also for the purpose of winning some to the Lord with His help.

Please read Revelations 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” 

Jesus was talking to the church at the time, but just as Jesus was saying that He was knocking on their heart’s door and if they would open their heart’s door and ask Him to come in and be their Lord and Savior, He would, and I believe if you are being convicted of your sin by the precious Holy Spirit and truly repent of your sins by turning from them to the Lord, He will do the same for you.  The choice is yours, have a super day and may the precious Lord bless you and yours with his perfect peace, love and joy and health and happiness, praise the good Lord for He is worthy!!  My prayer is that this has been a help and a blessing to all who read it!!

Give Me That Old Time Religion

I don’t need to have my ears tickled by watered down preaching or teaching and I don’t need to be entertained constantly.  A steady diet of these things will bring about complacency and inner emotionality that needs to be fed every day so that each person can keep going that’s being sustained by them.  We are all emotional beings, but if people continue to prey on our emotions what will happen when all the hype is gone?  Where will many people be without that constant emotional high being fed by what goes on around them outside of themselves. You might think of it this way, when the hard times come, and they will, Jesus said in this world you will have tribulation, when trials and testing come along with persecution, which will happen, remember this, Paul said everyone who lives a godly life will be persecuted, and there is no music or anyone to entertain you, the only thing that will sustain you and strengthen you is the joy of the Lord that comes from the inside of you and not the outside, if you have a true relationship with the Lord.  

God’s Word says the joy of the Lord is our strength. The world tries to think of more and more ways to entertain people all the time, now think about this, are we trying to compete with the world or conform to it?  The Word of God has something to say about this also in Romans 12:2, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The world thinks this way, for instance, as far as some entertainment is concerned, we need bigger and higher and scarier rides, the bigger and higher the ride the better people will like it and the more money comes in.  People are sustained by hype every day and many may think the more the better, it seems kind of like a way of escaping reality, kind of like taking drugs, whatever your choice might be.  We exist in a world where we are entertained constantly by T.V., movies, computers, iPhones and of course the internet, going to theme parks and beaches and many resort areas.  Don’t get me wrong, we all can use some entertainment now and then, but a steady diet of it, I believe, will do more harm than good.  I believe in every area of our lives we need to have a balance.  Too much of anything will burn us out prematurely.

A joyful heart is good medicine and where does true lasting joy come from?  The Lord of course!!  I think preaching and teaching needs to have a balance of truth, even if it hurts, plus love and grace.  Today it seems like we hear mostly love and grace without the conviction factor or the fear factor which causes very few to weep at the altar because of their sins before a righteous God!!  

Last I heard the fear of the Lord was the beginning of wisdom.  Where is the godly sorrow today which leads to true repentance unto true salvation?  There are consequences for sin, and no one should take it lightly.  Jesus Christ willingly laid down His life and, in the process, suffered a great deal of pain, making it a very costly sacrifice for the forgiveness of our sins, something we could have never accomplished on our own.  He was crucified, died and was buried for the atonement (forgiveness) of our sins, without His sacrifice no one could be forgiven of their sins and we all are guilty.  Praise be to the King of kings and Lord of lords for His grace and mercy and love, through Him we can find forgiveness for our sins, praise the Lord!!  

For me, I prefer the old-time religion with a little more grace and love thrown in for a balance.  Enough said, I pray that the good Lord will bless you all today and give you all a blessed day!!  PS if you haven’t yet today, or even if you have, thank and praise the Lord for He is worthy!!

What About the Lost

No one can know another person’s heart or how their mind struggles with whatever they are going through.  We need to be very careful of how we judge people because we can show how hypocritical we really are at times.  And, don’t try to fix someone unless you really care and are willing to go the extra mile with them, because in the end the person may be hurt more by the double standard that you show and live, than if you didn’t try to help them at all.  

We have a responsibility towards others and that includes pastors also!!  Did you ever hear a pastor say if you don’t like it here then leave, like he was the head of the church?  Be careful, because Jesus is the head of the church and He is not willing that any be lost, but that all come to repentance.  Think about this, not everyone follows the crowd and it is not always out of rebellion, but it could be from being cautious.  Let me tell you it is a very hard thing at times to correct a pastor when He says something that isn’t true, but they think nothing of it when they correct you in front of everyone.  I have read, and probably heard it said, that the greatest among you should be the servant of all and Jesus demonstrated that while He walked the earth.  I want to say this, this isn’t about me being down on any particular person, but it is the truth.

Please read Matthew 18:10-11, “Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”        

These are sobering words and can be even a little scary, but they are also words that can help set people free and bring encouragement and help to those that hear it or read it, whatever the case may be.  I know this part of the Word of God is talking about lost sheep (people).  Think of this, how many have been offended by pastors, or others in the body, and have walked away from the church because of people’s attitudes, because instead of being built up and encouraged they were put down and discouraged?  I feel that I have been guilty of this also to my shame.

I am not typing this to put a guilt trip on anyone, but as a reminder that we all have a responsibility to an extent for all who we converse with in our congregations, pastors and all.  Think of this, how many times have you heard from people that they love you, and many of them same people are the ones that hurt you the most in the end.  I have heard it said, our words bring life or death, and I can understand why.

Think of this, the suicide rate among young people has never been as high as it is now, as far as I know and why do you think that is?  It is because of words that were said to them or about them in many of the cases.  Words are extremely important and how we use them is very important also.  Some words, and the way we bring them forth with our attitudes, is like wielding a sword and cutting and maiming whoever it is that gets in our way.  Like I said, we need to be very careful of our words.  Maybe it would help if we said to ourselves before we get uppity and haughty, what would Jesus say and do in this situation?  We heard this saying quiet often a while ago, I think it was put on bracelets, but we don’t seem to hear it near as much lately.  Maybe we ought to hear much more than we do and put it into practice.

Well I think I said enough on this subject for now and I hope this has been a help and an encouragement to all who read it!!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you all have a wonderful blessed day!!  And please don’t forget to thank and praise the Lord, for He is worthy!!