Waiting

I want to speak to the people today that are straddling the fence, so to speak, the ones that haven’t made a commitment to the Lord Jesus as of yet.  They have heard the good news about the Lord and Him healing the sick, casting out demons and also making blind eyes see and His crucifixion, death and resurrection and Him rising from the dead and more.  I know that some people just seem to procrastinate for a time, thinking that they have plenty of time so they just keep putting it off.  That way of thinking is not good because if you keep putting this off you may be hardening your heart and you may never make the right choice.  Besides that, you are not guaranteed another moment.  People may think they can put this off until they get old but there is no way of you knowing if you will ever get old!!  I am not typing this to scare anyone but to encourage everyone that reads this Tidbit to make the right choice and the sooner the better.

Read what it says in Hebrews 3:7-10,  “Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, in the day of trial in the wilderness, where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’”

The Israelites hardened their hearts in the wilderness even when they saw the miraculous works that the Lord God did among them.  If you feel the Lord drawing you today don’t put off this important decision to repent, which means to turn away from your sins and to turn to the Lord, asking the Lord to forgive you of the sins that you have committed and receive the Lord into your heart to be your Lord and Savior.  The Lord is seeking the humble and contrite heart, that He will not despise for He resists the proud and draws close to the humble, so truly humble yourself before the Lord and He will lift you up; resist the devil and he will flee from you, it is him who wants you to procrastinate because he doesn’t want to lose you!!  

Read what the Lord God’s Word says in Revelations 3:20, speaking to the church, “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.”

If you truly repent and ask the Lord to forgive you I believe that He will because His purpose is not to harm you but to give you hope and a future, praise the Lord.  Read what God’s Word says in John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

So if this Tidbit is speaking to you please don’t procrastinate any longer.  If you feel the Lord drawing you today, because without the conviction of the Holy Spirit and the drawing from God the Father to His Son Jesus, you can’t receive Him; then please don’t reject His calling.  I think I have said enough have a super day!! My prayer is that what I have typed here will be an encouragement and help to you and may the good Lord bless you and yours!!   

Loving People Versus Fixing People

Have you ever heard a believer say this or something close to this statement?  I hate myself and I hate my life and I don’t need phony people around who just want to preach to me, pretending to be my friend.  Well maybe you need to hear this or maybe you just need to be reminded of this statement that I have heard, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care,” and that is the truth.  It seems like we get into this ‘fix it’ mode every time we hear that someone has a problem, but we have very little to do with them any other time.  Now let me give you an eye opener, we can fix no one!! But one thing we can do is love them and then when people know that we really care then we can pour encouragement into their lives and guide them with the Lord’s help into the truth that can set them free.

Think of this, there is a guy I know but not very well, I met him once.  After that I tried to talk to him on different occasions but he would just seem to ignore me so one day I said to him why don’t you like me and his response was, “I love you,” which sort of blew my mind.  Then I asked him and his friend to my house for dinner and everything was set but they never showed.  Then the next week I talked to his friend because the other man didn’t come around me much after that and his friend said he would call and let me know if they were coming or not and they never came or called.  My wife has the gift of hospitality whether she knows it or not and sometimes she stays up very late preparing for the meal the next day trying to get things just right, but it seems like people have their own agenda and that is what is important to them.  I am not saying that loving people is easy, but it is an action word and it needs to be displayed not just tossed around.  I try very hard not to tell anyone that I love them unless I am quite sure that I do and that I am willing to display it before them.

We come into the church hearing that we need to love people, so right away we start throwing that word around like it were true because it sounds good.  When I got committed to the Lord years ago I came out of a life situation where I hated most everything, even myself, because it seemed like I lost everything I got close to and I take the blame for what has happened in my life.  When I came into the church I prayed sincerely for people but when I saw them I couldn’t stand them and I knew that something was truly wrong.  When I married my wife I didn’t love her and when the kids started to emerge I had a hard time going to them, they had to come to me; I guess I was afraid that I would lose them also.  

I have had a struggle with God loving me also; how could the Creator of the universe love me?  So I can understand why people have a struggle loving people and expecting love from others and the worst thing we can do is start preaching at them like we have walked in their shoes telling them what they should be doing and what they shouldn’t be doing when we have no idea what they are doing, like we think we can fix them.  Maybe, instead of preaching we should start praying and loving and encouraging people.  Enough said I hope this has been a help to someone.  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!! 

The Restorer

I want to talk about the Lord, who created the world as we know it in six literal days then rested on the seventh at least this is what I believe is the truth, and His love for mankind.  Did the Lord need us?  No, He is complete in Himself!!  Maybe the reason why the Lord created mankind was to demonstrate His love, compassion and mercy.  Seeing that He knows all things, He knew what would happen if He created mankind, but He was still willing, even though He knew His heart might be wrenched and maybe even broken because of our rebelliousness and all of our other sins that would be committed against Him.  He not only created us but He created us in His image and likeness and not only that but He gave us a free will to make our own choices!!

Think of this, the Lord didn’t need to give us any choice at all, He could have made us make the right choice, He also could have made us love Him and keep His commandments whether we wanted to or not, but that wouldn’t be true love on our part.  The only way we can know if we truly love Him is if we repent of our sins by turning from them and turning to the Lord, confessing sins and asking forgiveness, by spending time in His Word, spending time in prayer and spending time praising Him and witnessing to the lost, snatching those who are spiritually dead from the grip of Satan.  With the Lord’s guidance we can bring them into the light of the truth and ask the Lord to set them free, knowing we can do nothing without His help.  We not only will do this and more but we will also have a desire to do them.

God knows all things so He knows who truly loves Him and He knows those that are just going through the motions.  Do you love the Lord and do you believe that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him?  If you do that is a good thing.  But let me ask you a question, are you diligently seeking Him or do you seek after everything else and just try to fit the Lord into your schedule when it is convenient?  How much time do you spend with the Lord and how much time do you spend with other things such as TV or sports or your favorite hobbies or whatever else that you are involved with?  It seems so easy for us to get drawn into other activities and neglect the one that we have dedicated ourselves to and that is the Lord, then we can become lukewarm like the church in Laodicea.

Read Revelations 3:14-17, “And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, These things says the Amen, the Faithful and True Witness, the Beginning of the creation of God: ‘I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.”            

We may be like the Church of Ephesus who had forsaken their first love.  Read Revelations 2:1-5. “Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks; I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars: and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.”

It just might be that some of us need to repent over our complacency and to turn from our idols and turn to God and start doing the things we used to do when our walk was fresh with the Lord.  

If this has happened to any of us we have two choices, one that the Lord provided in Revelations 3:20 please read, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

Or we can make the choice not to repent and be separated from the Lord until we choose to repent!!  The Lord’s choice is for us to repent if we are in this situation and receive the mercy and grace and love and forgiveness He has for us.  His purpose is to always restore us to a close relationship with Him, praise the Lord!!  The Lord is always in the business of restoration, so if this is you I pray that you will make the right choice.  My prayer is that this has been an encouragement and a help.  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!!

Mercy And Grace

My purpose is to encourage and build up people not to condemn or judge.  I always want to do it with the truth without compromise and I know that sometimes the truth hurts, but telling a lie would be far worse.  I believe every born-again believer should feel this way also.  Jesus always told the truth but some people hated Him for it because they couldn’t handle the truth, and I admit that at times hearing the truth isn’t always an easy pill to swallow.  But if you look at it this way only the truth can set you free, then it may be easier for you to handle. The Word of God is true whether we believe it or not and there is far more proof that the Word of God is true than there is that it is not true.  It has stood the test of time and has been proven accurate time and time again by historians and by archeologists and by the change in people’s lives that hold to it.

The Word of God is also the bestselling book ever and has been for quite some time.  It is good for doctrine, reproof, training and correction in righteousness so that the man of God will be thoroughly equipped for every good work.  The problem with many people is they read it but cannot understand it because it is spiritually discerned.  So without the Spirit of God you cannot understand it.  Sad to say there are many that claim to be born-again who hardly ever read or study it.  A lady told me she read it because she liked the poetry.  There may be people who read it trying to find errors in it or contradictions in it.  Some, in their quest to disprove it, are born-again believers today.  I would challenge anyone to read the Word of God with an open mind and try to put their biases and prejudices to rest and just let the Lord speak to their hearts starting with the book of John, the fourth book in the New Testament, and see what happens, God’s Word says taste and see that the Lord is good!!

Read Psalms 34:4-11, “I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the Lord, you His saints! There is no want to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. Come, you children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.”  

The Lord’s mercy and grace are found throughout His Word and anyone with a desire to know the truth will find the truth.  Who is the truth?  Jesus is.  Read John 14:6, “Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Now read what it says in Jeremiah 29:13 when the Israelites were in exile in Babylon, “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.”

When they looked for Him with all their hearts they would find Him and I think that still holds true today!!  So seek the Lord while He may be found and don’t put it off, it will be the best decision you will ever make!!  His mercy and grace are still true today and everyone has experienced in one way or another!!  May the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!

Holy Spirit’s Power

I have been thinking about something I heard the Pastor say yesterday about hunting quail.  He was relating it to our enemy and how you may have to walk right on top of the quail before they all fly out at once and startle you and then it’s easy to miss all the birds.  That is what the enemy does, He tries to scare you and put fear in your heart so that he can rend you helpless.  It was a very good message but when I got thinking about it I thought that using a bird dog had an advantage; with a dog you would be ready to bag some of the birds because you would be far enough away that they wouldn’t startle you.  What makes the difference, the dog being between you and the birds and what will make the difference when the enemy of your soul tries to attack and scare you the power of the Holy Spirit who stands between you and your advisory. And how do we get this power?  Let me give you some good news, every born-again believer has this power dwelling within them all the time.

Please read 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.”

So how do we access this power?  That is very easy because this power is only a prayer away.  When we feel like we are losing this battle, when the enemy is just overwhelming us, we have some promises we can stand on and they are in the Word of God.  David, when he came up against Goliath the Philistine giant, instead of running from the battle he ran towards the battle and defeated the giant, with God’s help, because he went in the name of the Lord!!

There are promises in the Word of God for us to read Isaiah 59:19, KJV, “So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.”

Now read Isaiah 54:17, NASB, “‘No weapon that is formed against you will prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn.

This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their vindication is from Me,’ declares the Lord.”

The Holy Spirit has the ultimate power, read this in Zechariah 4:6, “Then he said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”  

The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead lives in every born-again believer and there is no bondage that He can’t break; not the spirit of pride or alcohol or drugs or porn, gambling or homosexuality or abortion or prostitution or any other sin that has a hold on mankind.  Jesus came to set the captive free, if you want to read a true story about a man that was filled with many demons and then was set free, read Luke 8:26-39 and this same thing is happening in many parts of the world today. I know that many of you who read this know these things, but it doesn’t hurt to be reminded of this again.

This wasn’t meant to condemn anyone, but to encourage everyone that there is hope for whatever situation you are in.  Jesus came to seek and save that which is lost.  If you are not a believer and you feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit, repent of your sins which means to turn away from your sins and turn to the Lord and ask Him to forgive you and to come into your life and to be you Lord and Savior and to cleanse you from all unrighteousness and to cover you with His righteousness.  His Word says if we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness in 1 John 1:9.  It also says that He is not willing that any be lost but all come to repentance.

I hope this has been helpful to everyone who reads it and may the good Lord bless you and yours and may you have a super day!!