Sincere Worshiping

Let me start out asking; do you worship the Lord in vain?  In other words, do you worship the Lord but your heart is far from Him?

This is what Isaiah 29:13-14 says, “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, therefore, behold, I will again do a marvelous work among this people, a marvelous work and a wonder; for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hidden.’”

Do you worship God honestly and sincerely or has your worship become routine and meaningless?  At this time, the people claimed to belong to God but their disobedience told another story and spoke of just going through the motions.  Religion had ceased to become a reality and their worship was not genuine worship.    Often we slip into routine forms of worship; sometimes we don’t even think about the words we are singing and other times we may worship but our minds on what is going on around us or a multitude of other things.  All of us can fall into hypocrisy at times and we can slip into routine forms of worship that mean nothing to us.  We need to be careful that we worship in all sincerity and in Spirit and in truth.

The Bible relates to this subject in Matthew 15, speaking of the religious leaders of that day, read verses 7-9, “Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”

If our hearts are far from the Lord while we are worshiping, it means nothing.  If we hide sin in our hearts then come before the Lord in worship, without confessing them and repenting, are we pleasing the Lord?  Of course not, we are wasting our time because our sin separates us from the Lord.  If we live like the world all week, conforming to it, and then come before the Lord on Sunday to worship, we act like hypocrites and deceive ourselves.  It is not enough to look and act religious; we need to be sincere in our words and actions.  These religious leaders knew a lot about the Lord and even about His teachings, but they didn’t know Him on a personal level.  We will always be hypocrites if all we do is know about the Lord and what He claimed but not go further and deeper, so we can have a personal relationship with Him.  

Read what Jesus said about true worship when He talked to the woman at the well in Samaria in John 4:20-24, “‘Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.’”

The only way we can worship in Spirit and truth is to have the Holy Spirit within us, and that only happens at rebirth, or when we are born-again and the only way it will be acceptable is when we are truly sincere.

In John 3, Jesus talked to a man named Nicodemus, a Pharisee and ruler of the Jewish people, about being born-again.  He said this to him in verses 1-7, “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 a 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.’

Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’

Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

If you are not born-again but would like to be; humble yourself before the Lord and ask him to forgive your sins and to be your Lord and Savior and to transform your life then let Him fill you with His peace, love and joy and go share what He has done with others.  Read John 3, the whole chapter, asking the Holy Spirit to teach you the truth then continue to read the book of John and so on.  

I have given you something to think about, I hope you will!  If this is speaking about you, I hope you will respond in a positive way and do the right thing, the choice is yours.  May you have a super day!  May the good Lord bless you and yours!!        

Being Deceived

I heard something this morning that helped me do some soul searching; it was very convicting, so I am going to confess this; I have been guilty of being a hypocrite.  My sin was comparing myself with others instead of comparing myself with God and His righteous standard.  I think this is one of the easiest sins we can fall into and be deceived, as believers.  

Let me explain, I always thought I had a very close relationship with the Lord, like so many other believers as new born babes in Christ.  I was always very much convicted over the sins that I committed and I repented very quickly and backed it up with ridding myself of the stumbling block that I felt was causing me to sin.  I would beat myself up, so to speak, and feel horrible about what I had done.  The Lord was blessing my family and I, using us in various ways and I saw, what I would call, many true conversions.  He had delivered me of many things I was in bondage to, and I had heard Him speak to me, in my mind, at least a couple times.  I prayed throughout the day, no matter where I was, and spent lots of time with the Lord in prayer and studying the Word and thanking and praising the Lord and I became an avid reader, like I said, I felt I had a very close relationship with Him. Then, because of what I felt was a very close relationship, I guess I became puffed up and overly proud: I started looking at others as not as good as me in God’s eyes.  This was very easy because I could see their faults but was blinded to my own faults, and not realizing it, I had become a Pharisee and a hypocrite which I am ashamed of.  

Being convicted of some things a while back, I have been on a journey to rediscover the Lord.  In my journey, God has been revealing some things to me that I needed to make right and to repent of, for which I am thankful.

Read what God said to the wicked in Psalms 50:19-22, “You give your mouth to evil, and your tongue frames deceit. You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son. These things you have done and I kept silent; you thought that I was altogether like you; but I will rebuke you, and set them in order before your eyes. Now consider this, you who forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.”

I consider myself a child of God, and not a wicked person, but if I act wickedly, will I escape God’s judgment?  I don’t think so!  I know we hear that God is a loving God, which He is, but He is also a just God and He doesn’t wink at sin, He judges it and He corrects the one who sins.

Read what it says in Hebrews 12:5-11, “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the Lord loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

Question: have you ever been critical of others, looking down on them, so to speak, plus using your words to slander them and have you stood in judgment of them?  I know this takes place in the church far too often and God is not pleased with it.  Maybe this happens because God doesn’t always chastise everyone immediately, so it is easy to think we got away with it.  Just because God may not correct us immediately, doesn’t mean that He ever condones sin; He never does.  We need to thank God that He is very merciful, after all He owes us nothing, we owe Him everything.  Think of this, God may be holding deserved punishment to give people time to repent.  Judging others is a very serious sin, because we all stand guilty before a righteous God.

Read what it says about this subject in Matthew 7:1-5, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

I truly have been guilty of this and have confessed it and I am truly sorry.  I am thankful for this verse 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.”

Are you guilty of this sin?  If you are, ask the Lord to forgive you and tell Him you are sorry, then try to make it right with the ones that you talked about and ask the Lord to help you not to do this again.  Something to think about!  May God bless you and may you have a great day!!

Orphans

What is an orphan?  It is someone who has been deserted or has lost their parents, maybe through some type of tragedy.  I think I know a little bit of how it feels to be an orphan.  

When I was very young, I spent about four years in a Children’s Home and it wasn’t easy.  I can’t remember some of the things that happened, but when it was time for me to go back home I was very happy.  I was from a blended family of fourteen, counting my mom and dad, and at the time my parents couldn’t afford to keep all of us.  

I think some of the questions an orphan might ask are:

Why am I here and when will I go back home?

What did I do wrong?  

Why don’t my mom and dad want me or love me anymore?

Will someone ever adopt me?

Will I ever have a home of my own to live in?

Am I that terrible that no one wants me or loves me?

Will someone please love me and take me home?

I am sure some of these questions haunt some of these young children or even the older teens, for years.  Thank the Lord for the people that adopt some of these kids and give them a loving home.

I was listening to a man last night that was preaching on this subject, and I thought I would do a Tidbit on it today, because I have some ideas on this subject also.  Question: does God have any orphans?  I don’t believe that God has any orphans; I believe that He has adopted many orphans, but when that took place at rebirth He allowed them all to be His children.

It says this in John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”

Even if someone may be orphaned in the natural, at the moment they are born-again they are the children of God in their spiritual existence.  When God walked the earth in the form of His Son Jesus, He had some special things to say about children.

Read what it says in Matthew 19:13-15, “Then little children were brought to Him that He might put His hands on them and pray, but the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.’ And He laid His hands on them and departed from there.”

Jesus loved the children and He wanted them to come to Him and not be turned away.  The disciples may have forgotten what Jesus said about children prior to this in the 18^th chapter in verses 1-6, “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me. Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.’”

These are some harsh words that show how much the Lord loves little children.

It says this in Psalms 68:5, “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows,

is God in His holy habitation.”

Read what it says in Psalms 127:3-5, “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate.”

I have one more for you to read, it is in Mark 10:13-16, “Then they brought little children to Him, that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked those who brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was greatly displeased and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.” And He took them up in His arms, laid His hands on them, and blessed them.’”

There are many other verses in God’s Word you can read on this subject.  Jesus truly loves the orphans and all the children, and His desire is to adopt each one of them and make them His children, having a personal relationship with them regardless of their age.  I guarantee you will never find a more gracious, kind and loving Father as He is.  If this is your desire, then repent which means to leave your sins and turn in the other direction and ask the Lord to forgive you and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness, by covering you with His precious blood, and to be your Lord and Savior, and let Him fill you with His peace, love and joy!!  Then share what the Lord has done in your life and start growing in your new found faith!!

Something to think about!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a great day!!   

Rescued

Have you ever been in a situation where you had to be rescued?  Kids get into situations far too often with bullies, where they need someone to help them or rescue them.  There are many situations in life where we will have to be rescued.  Some people need to be rescued when their vehicle breaks down, some experience floods or some other weather related situations that they need to be rescued from.  Some people need to be rescued from the hands of violent people and some need to be rescued from themselves, because they try to harm themselves.  

All of us have one thing in common, and that is we all need to be rescued from the bondage of sin and that could only be accomplished through Jesus Christ, the Son of the Most High God.  There have been multitudes of people that have been rescued from sin since Jesus walked the earth, and even though they were set free and were grateful for it, many suffered, being persecuted for their faith in the Lord.  After Jesus laid down His life for the sins of mankind by allowing Himself to be crucified, suffering severely, dying on our behalf, He was buried, then rose again on the third day and showed Himself to many people and was taken up to heaven; at that time heavy persecution broke out and King Agrippa had James, the brother of John, killed.  When he saw it pleased the Jews, he had Peter arrested also so he could do away with him, but God had another plan.  

While prayers were going up continually for Peter, God sent an angel to rescue him; it was a spectacular miracle, chains falling off, locked doors opening, guards sleeping and Peter walking out of the prison.  This was so amazing that Peter thought he was in a vision.  One of the things all believers can know is that God can rescue us from any situation or circumstance, but sometimes He allows us to go through certain things, maybe to accomplish something in our lives or maybe to help us grow in certain areas or for a vast number of things, maybe to help us rely on Him more and not on ourselves.  

This brings to mind Daniel, when he was thrown into a lion’s den, with some real hungry lions.  Daniel was not harmed because God chose to rescue him from the power of the lions.  This also brings to mind Daniel’s other three friends who got in trouble with King Nebuchadnezzar because they wouldn’t worship the golden image that he had set up.  When they refused, they were bound and thrown into the fiery furnace, which was so hot the men who threw them in died because of the flames.

Read what happened in this situation in Daniel 3:24-30, “Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his counselors, ‘Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?’

They answered and said to the king, ‘True, O king.’

‘Look!’ he answered, ‘I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.’

Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, ‘Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the Most High God, come out, and come here.’ Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, ‘Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His Angel and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this.’

Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.”

Here was another situation where God intervened and rescued these three men.  If He did this for these men, what about your situation, do you have enough faith to trust Him for your deliverance?  Something to think about!  May you have a great day and may the good Lord bless you!!

Question

If Christianity were true, would you become a Christian?  I watch a TV program called, “It Takes More Faith to be an Atheist,” and I believe it does.  Every one of us has to have faith in something; it takes faith, to a certain degree, to live and function in this world.  Sometimes we are not aware of it, but if you get out of bed in the morning and you proceed with your day, many things you do will take a measure of faith.  When you get out of bed and walk around your bedroom, you could trip and fall and if you take a shower or bath you could accidently fall also.  Going to work or just to the store in your car or truck takes some faith that you will make it there and back safely, or going over or under a bridge on the way there or on the way back, takes faith that it will stay up and not fall.  While we go through life we will all put our faith in something.  Most people will put their faith in the Creator or in the big bang theory of evolution.

Here are some suggestions you might want to check out.  Archeologists have discovered things from Bible times that can explain some of the Bible truths, plus there are many Bible prophecies from the Old Testament that have come true many years later in the New Testament.  The big bang theory is just that, a theory and cannot be proven.  There is another TV program you can watch called, “Ancient Secrets of the Bible,” which explains how some of the Bible truths could have happened.  We get these channels on Directv and there are many debates between Creationists and Evolutionists, which are worth checking out, if you are truly seeking truth.  In the world we live in, people are struggling to know the truth.  There are many religions in the world and I believe there are many well-meaning people that are seeking the truth, but with so many claiming to have the truth it can be a struggle to know which one is really the truth.  Some people can walk by faith and some people need to see proof; even one of Jesus’ close disciples had a problem with this, even after walking with Jesus, talking with Jesus, seeing all the miracles that He performed and knowing that Jesus would suffer and be crucified and raised from the dead.

Read this in John 20:25-29, “The other disciples therefore said to him, ‘We have seen the Lord.’ So he said to them, ‘Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.’ And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, ‘Peace to you!’ Then He said to Thomas, ‘Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.’ And Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’ Jesus said to him, ‘Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.’”

Jesus didn’t rebuke Thomas for his doubt.  Doubt can cause us to ask questions and seek answers and that will help us to receive the truth, which is a positive response and is a good thing.  Of course if we doubt and allow that to make us angry and we allow it to turn into bitterness and unbelief, that is a destroyer and we should not give into it because there is truth and we should never give up until we find it.  If you truly want to be set free and know the truth, seek it until you find it, then walk in that truth.  

I want to challenge you with this; if you really want to know the truth, pick up a Bible that has been translated, not a paraphrased one, and start at the book of John, which is the fourth book in the New Testament.  Read it with an open mind and I believe God will reveal the truth to you and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free!  You might also check out Romans, the first and second chapters, which is the sixth book in the New Testament.  When you get done with them, just keep reading and studying.  The only one that can convince you is God Himself.  God said in Jeremiah 29:13, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

I have given you something to think about!  Jesus loves you and is not willing that any be lost but all come to repentance.  May the Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!