To Live for Self Rather than for Jesus

To Live for Self Rather than for Jesus 

"And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, this is the one who will save it. For what good does it do a person if he gains the whole world, but loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels." Luke 9:23-26 NASB 

The placement of this part of Luke caught me this morning.  It's after Peter confessing Jesus to be the Christ and the Transfiguration.  The Transfiguration being a taste of seeing the Kingdom.  

But what we read is very important even for its brevity.  Who you live for determines whether you are living a life ashamed of your relationship with Jesus or you aren't. 

If you live life striving for health, wealth and prosperity and only that after coming to Christ for salvation, then you aren't living for Jesus.

I have had my priorities changed in big ways in the last 8 months.  Oh its hard to believe it's been 8 months since things began that brought us here.

I loathe misuse of Scripture by meme's and people trying to make a point out of context. There's no extra punishment for scrolling past a post on Facebook that if you don't like and share that proves you are ashamed of Jesus. To be truthful its not even funny.  That's taking away from the meaning of it all.

We can be driven people. We can pursue things in life.  We read in many places in the Scriptures of every man doing what was right in their own eyes. 

We see here of Jesus teaching of the depth of the seriousness of Discipleship. 

Living on our whims isn't it.

Living on our personal desires over God's Will isn't it.

Look at the 4 Gospel accounts. There's good reason why there's 4. We need to see the truth about BEING a Disciple from multiple sources. 

We see that they were taught to do what we see in what Jesus said here. 

To live for yourself tends to push God aside. 

To live with worries and sins verses prayer and freedom from sins is to show shame of what God's ways are versus ours.

We can't live for self and please God. 

We read many times in Romans 12 that as Christians we have a role, a place and responsibilities in the body of Christ. 

To have excuses for not following through with those is to be showing shame for your relationship with Jesus. 

I say excuses because there are no acceptable reasons for not obeying. 

There's no list of ways to get out of obeying God's word. 

I think on how this plays out in the children's song of "If You're Happy and You Know It".  The line that says "If you're happy and you know it your life will surely show it...".

We can indeed pursue success in life...but it needs to be success in what God's desiring to fulfill in us.  When we seek our own interests and not God's then we are not taking up our own cross and following Him. 

We see these two points are connected. 

To take up our own cross is tied to a life of purpose and that purpose in Christ that does not need to be showing shame. 

We sometimes hear a phrase of let go and let God.  Well this too ties into Godly living.

When we look around at our life choices and see lots of self and very little of obedience in our walk with Jesus then indeed we need to question who we are ashamed of. 

I often feel like this new hometown is another chance at getting my life's direction and priorities right.  I was forced to let go of a lot when we moved.  I had began months earlier not even knowing we were really going to be moving.  It was hard and honestly painful to let go of stuff. 

I still brought stuff that I am considering getting rid of because I don't want stuff preventing me from living out my faith because of putting those things above my relationship with my Savior. 

We can be absolutely the best at justification if our thoughts and actions. 

We can provide the most absolutely rock solid reasoning with spreadsheets and graphs if necessary to prove our position behind our choices.   What it comes down to it, do our choices line up with obedience to Jesus.  Do our choices in what we have around us show us putting value to things, to careers, to entertainment, above our relationship to Jesus?

We can't have a divided heart.  Anyone who's had physical heart trouble knows the consequences of a heart that isn't wholly devoted to working as God intended. It's the same in Spiritual matters. 

Jesus said you can't love the world and God.  You can't. 

You will indeed stand before Jesus some day to give an account of your life's deeds.  Will they show you had lived for Jesus or for you?  Will it show you valued your personal health, wealth and prosperity over what you could have had if you had lived for Jesus the way He intended?  Read the rest of the New Testament. We aren't guaranteed a life of health, wealth and prosperity.  We are guaranteed personal tribulations.  We are guaranteed struggles as the Spirit does what surgeries are necessary to make us more like Christ Jesus.  We are told in advance of this and we are still given the choice and chance to obey or not.

Many Believers have been called home early in this life due to not obeying. They were giving Jesus a bad name in how they lived.   

You come to Jesus you choose what He has in mind for you and your life. 

Do you see yourself as taking up your own cross in how you live?  You need to look in the mirror, stop with the excuses, and submit to the obedience that the Spirit is showing you.  Everyone in Christ is being shown how to live in Christ Jesus.  There are no exceptions to that. 

To not have a life that surely shows it...you certainly won't be happy...and you know it.

Urgently Resting

Urgently Resting 

I was reading again in Psalm 139 in addition to Romans 12 and in reading through the Bible plan that I follow.  Interestingly enough I was still brought back to the story of Mary and Martha. 

I was thinking on that and a book title that I have never read before came to mind and I did a search concerning "the tyranny of the urgent".

"Urgent tasks become a problem, though, when they prohibit people from working on and completing more important activities. When this happens, urgent tasks become “tyrants” in our work day and keep us from being the productive, goal achieving people we all want to be — thus the term, “tyranny of the urgent.”"

"Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who was also seated at the Lord’s feet, and was listening to His word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving by myself? Then tell her to help me.” But the Lord answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; but only one thing is necessary; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 NASB 

Upon moving we have found ourselves relearning how to live without being pro-reactive. To not 'need' to plan several steps ahead in order to maintain our levels of 'peace' and 'security'.  Even in a suburb of a large city such as Columbus, Ohio, you had to.  It's almost a survivalist mentality.  Do what you must, but then get back to your 'compound' to safety.  It may not be that for everyone but it was for us.

The mentality in such cities is a driven mentality. You can go places and can maybe enjoy a moment or two, but people just are not open to relationships. If they are, most are guarded relationships. 

In coming to our new hometown, it's so difficult to put into words, but it's like finally finding an oasis of sorts.  Of finding people who are willing to be in relationships. Who are willing to be open. 

Things still need to be done, but, whereas in most cases you were on your own about it before, now you aren't. 

We struggle with words but the best umbrella word is blessed.  You find yourself so blessed of God in the relief that you experience.

We are indeed a busy people.  I mean everyone.  We have attached so much importance to so many things. 

We attached importance to time, money, possessions. 

We attached importance even to our thoughts.  We quickly try to decide what's important and what isn't among various important thoughts and ideas. It's so bad that we look for creative ways to make lists so that what we can't call important now but still is important, isn't forgotten by our drive to get other things done. 

Philippians 4:7 NASB "And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Jesus commended Mary for resting in Him.  She indeed found Philippians 4:7 before it was even written. 

As our Pastor's recently sermon series is about "Breaking Free From Normal" to a life God intended...this indeed is necessary to finding rest. 

We can't keep believing that notifications are all that important. 

We can't keep believing that what's urgent to the world should be urgent to us.

We can't keep piling on things to be doing or need done and have no time left to give to God. 

We can't live that way. 

Look at what things in your life you keep calling urgent. 

Look at what things suck the life out of your finding rest.

Look at what things you have inadvertently been worrying about that you shouldn't be. 

Martha had Jesus, in whom she believed, right there with her but was still worried.  You think you're any better at it when you feel rushed?

Psalm 139 the Lord tells us of knowing of our going out and coming in.

He knew every moment of our lives before we had any.

Don't you think that if our priorities were right that we would live like we ought?

Some think that I am a bit off my rocker by getting up early to read and write.  I  have done this for so long that it's almost second nature.  I enjoy the quiet, peaceful time at Jesus's feet.  I may be up early, but go search to read how many times Jesus got up early to go be with His Father. 

If it's important enough you will make time for it.  If God's Will and God's Word, if God's Plans are important to you...then you will make the time.  

If those are not important to you, but your hurried life is...then...well...you are a Martha. You have a significant problem. 

You won't find the peace of God that passes all understanding if you keep living a hurried, busy, life that does not allow God any time in it.

You will never know rest in this life until you're on your back in a hospital, if you're so fortunate to get into one.

I have been learning to pour out my heart to God in these morning drives that I have going to work.  Leaving what I pour out with God is a challenge. But when I do, I find that peace. I worry less and rest easier when I do. 

Is what you're doing working in regards to growing in Christ Jesus?  This includes whether or not you are in the right Church, right city, right job. 

You won't find what Jesus calls peace and rest by making yourself a suffering servant for no Godly reason other than your own stubbornness in refusing to go where He’s lead you to go. To do what He's lead you to be doing. 

Justifying your actions may convince you but if you know Godly people whom you trust to tell you the truth...this will help you verify the path you are on.  We read that all mankind is easily deceived.  It's our sin nature.  We need Godly second opinions to help us get into what His plans are for us. To find that peace and rest, to be the Children of God we are to be.

Daring to Pray and Daring to See

Daring to Pray and Daring to See 

"Lord, You have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I get up;
You understand my thought from far away.
You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You know it all.
You have encircled me behind and in front, And placed Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,” Even darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

For You created my innermost parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in Your book were written
All the days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You.

If only You would put the wicked to death, God; Leave me, you men of bloodshed.For they speak against You wickedly, And Your enemies take Your name in vain. For they speak against You wickedly,And Your enemies take Your name in vain.

Do I not hate those who hate You, Lord? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?
I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

Search me, God, and know my heart;
Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
And see if there is any hurtful way in me,
And lead me in the everlasting way." Psalm 139 NASB 

This Psalm of David is all encompassing in its to the core of your being truth and its boldness in its simple prayer.

Realizing just how intimately our Creator knows us, and how much obedience means is powerful.  

Realizing what the Lord said of King David, that he was a man after God's own heart...then reread this Psalm a few more times.

We are so easily distracted by so many things, thinking them to be of great importance.  We are mostly Martha's rather than her sister Mary in regards to life. We put great importance where it shouldn't be and don't where it should be. 

We look for the betterment of ourselves and our image yet neglect what God's directed us to do in life.  We put what His desires are second to our own if they don't align.

We need to read this Psalm daily in order to put our perspective back in place.  We who have come to Christ once realized our humble estate and realized our need for salvation due to nothing good being in us. We saw that we needed to turn and repent. We came to Christ and He indeed washed us of our sins, making us right before God. 

We should always keep this in mind as well as these words of David in Psalm 139.  We can easily be full of ourselves. We can easily be deceived by the comforts of this world as well as be seemingly overwhelmed by the woes of this world. 

We can forget who's we are. We can lose ourselves in our selfishness or in our service.  Martha thought she was serving properly yet forgot what was important. 

Remembering who we are is what the enemy of God doesn't want to have happen. He would prefer us to indulge in bouts of selfishness. Nothing overt just a bite here and there. Enough for us to miss out on doing what we are here to be doing. 

We are all part of the plan of God if we are in the body of Christ. We all should be reminded daily that that is our first duty. 

It's not about us enjoying life and being all that we can be.  It's not about finding a path towards prosperity as the world defines it.  We may not see those things until we get to Heaven. 

Do you see that prayer at the end of Psalm 139?  Would you dare to pray that your eyes would be opened to know the truth about you from God Himself?

David evidently did pray it because he wrote it down. 

Would you think to try it yourself?

God has been turning my life on its ear for several years now. The funny thing is...it's not even about being turned as much as corrected. Not as much about being turned sideways as it is turned upright.  

Realizing who I am in Christ and finding my purpose in the body of Christ and doing it, is far more important than my personal success and prosperity.  Don't expect many to understand this if you pursue it as well.  

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and spirit.

Love your neighbor as yourself. Put no other gods before Me.  

Deny yourself, take up your own cross and follow Him.  

Set your minds on the things above and not on the things of this world. 

Put on the full armor of God. 

We need God to search our hearts and minds and to reveal what should not be there.  We need Him to lead us in the way everlasting.  We need to make what's important to Him, important to us. 

Take a good look at your life.

Take a deep real look at what is around you and what you have placed importance upon. 

What you see will help reveal just who is more important that is receiving your devotion and service...God or you. 

Being Careful Listeners

Being Careful Listeners 

by David Brenneman 

"“Now no one lights a lamp and covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see the light. For nothing is concealed that will not become evident, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.” Luke 8:16-18 NASB 

This morning's reading that one thing was the first to stand out for me.  Being careful how we listen. 

Jesus in another passage taught the following:

"And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread. And Jesus said to them, “Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “He said that because we did not bring any bread.” But Jesus, aware of this, said, “You men of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand nor remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets you picked up? Nor the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets you picked up? How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees." Matthew 16:5-12 NASB 

What do you allow into your ears?

From the conversations we have, to the television, to the radio or internet. To the sermons we ingest, we take in teaching whether or not we consider it such.  What we hear shapes our thinking and our lives. 

We don't consider words as we do food, but in relative terms it's the same consideration. Our own Bible says things on this.  

Your Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you. 

Be doers of the Word and not just hearers only.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.

Music shapes our thinking.  We don't realize the depth that it reaches into our mind and heart.  Music is what much of the book of Psalms was set to.  Intentionally so in order to go deeper into the heart and soul in ways that hearing only would or could do.  Think about that.  You can read or even recite lyrics to a song. It's not the same as you hearing it set to the right music. You receive it differently. 

What you take in, in regards to sermons and teaching shapes your thinking.  Jesus was warning His Disciples about false teachers and false prophets. We certainly have them today.  We are warned by Paul in a letter or so about this same thing. 

Being careful of what you listen to in all things will impact the whole direction of your life.

A compliment will encourage.

A disparaging remark will cast people down. 

Words that are entering the soul through listening. 

You either stand fast to your convictions or compromise due to words listened to. 

"But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not just hearers who deceive themselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does.

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world." James 1:22-27 NASB 

Consider what is taught about how Jesus taught His Disciples.  He made sure they understood His teaching. He made sure they were listening. 

We listen to all kinds of music and think it's nothing but enjoyable and do not realize it taints our thinking.  You don't realize how it changes you.  It does or Jesus wouldn't be telling us to be careful about it!  Just like in everything He teaches us to be careful listeners. 

We listen to politicians, it changes our thinking or sets it in concrete.

We listen to questionable music we either overtly or subtly have our values changed to accept or allow sinful ways and behaviors.  

We listen to certain teachers or Preachers and it challenges or changes our thinking by way of our listening. 

We listen to Doctors and it changes our way of thinking about our health either for the positive or negative. 

Being careful of how we listen is evidently very important to Jesus, shouldn't it be important to you?

I have a very select set of music to listen to. Atypically it's added to after some Sunday's at Church due to its words. I added 2 from yesterday's service.  

Garbage in garbage out. What we permit our ears to hear impacts our hearts. We listen to enough songs, or in some people, a song about inappropriate relationships and it WILL change your thoughts on it to some extent. 

You listen to songs that are about patriotism and it is intended to impact your thoughts on patriotism. 

We either bolster our faith or compromise it by what we listen to. 

Solomon was the wisest man to live. Yet when he began listening to others more than he did of God's Word, it spelled his downfall. He violated Scripture by taking more than one wife. He took concubines in addition to his wives. He turned his heart from wholly serving God to giving attention to the idols of his wives.

We need to take great care in what we listen to.  Jesus taught this and we should heed it.  

We will either grow or stagnate in our walk with Jesus depending on what goes in our ears and into our hearts. 

Playlists are everywhere. What's on yours?

Churches teach...what does yours? Is it teaching Biblical principles or legalism? 

Are you listening to songs, news, instructional videos that are actually causing you to drift from your relationship with Jesus?

"Oh its not that bad!" If Jesus took the time to make sure it was taught...it's THAT bad. We are all susceptible to its impact. 

I know people who have indeed listened wrongly to others and it's, to borrow Paul's phrase, shipwrecked their faith. They are accepting of sin in others rather than having the Biblical stand they used to have.

Beware of false teachers and false prophets is the Biblical warning.  

Beware because they will teach what people think they want to hear. 

2 Timothy 4:3-4 NASB "For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths."  This is done by hearing. 

You need to look at just who you have listened to. It will be an eye opener for many.  It was for me years ago which is why my song list has changed to songs that direct my mind towards the things of God. I have stopped listening to the news because it can stir up my mind in ungodly ways. 

The battlefield is in your mind. The attacks are meant to reshape your thoughts.  Be careful listeners. 

Who You Were Meant to Be, Not Who You Think

Who You Were Meant to Be, Not Who You Think 

"Lord, You have searched me and known me.

You know when I sit down and when I get up;

You understand my thought from far away.

You scrutinize my path and my lying down,

And are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before there is a word on my tongue,

Behold, Lord, You know it all.

You have encircled me behind and in front,

And placed Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,” Even darkness is not dark to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
Darkness and light are alike to You.

For You created my innermost parts;
You wove me in my mother’s womb.
I will give thanks to You, because I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the depths of the earth;
Your eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in Your book were written
All the days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

How precious also are Your thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them, they would outnumber the sand.
When I awake, I am still with You." Psalm 139:1-18 NASB 

You are not who you think that you are. 

We were learning last night at Bible study of how we really are in this world.  Not necessarily in the Biblical sense, but the reality sense. 

We are one kind of person to coworkers, another kind of person to certain family members and a different kind to others. We are many kinds of people to different people.  We are confident towards some, insecure towards others.

We began all this at an early age. We don't realize it in most cases of our relationships in life.  

As Chip Ingram pointed out all this began in the Garden of Eden. It began with the original fear of being exposed before the Lord Jesus Christ. 

We get directed, coached, mentored to be a certain way based on what is perceived as our personality.  We are one way towards women, another towards men. 

This isn't exclusive to believers and the unbelieving. It's humanity as a whole.  What makes this complicated is our sin nature will cause those without Christ to behave in far more sinful ways than those who are saved in Christ Jesus. 

We can't rely on us to live as we ought to be living. We will find ever more creative ways to deceive ourselves and others.  Remember the words of Jesus when He, the Spirit and the Father were talking about mankind at the Tower of Babel. If they didn't do something concerning their language nothing would be impossible for them.  They would indeed find more destructive ways to ruin their relationship with Jesus.  Mankind already had a penchant for destruction towards itself. But the point of the Tower of Babel was to reach into the Heavens. 

Mankind attempting to storm Heaven. Mankind attempting to force it's will upon God.  This isn't what we were meant to be.

We read in Psalm 139 of who we really are. It's humbling!  It's a right perspective on interpersonal relationships. It's a right perspective on our relationship with our Creator. 

We aren't here to be creating solely health, wealth and prosperity. We aren't here for those perfect jobs nor perfect associations with just the right people. We aren't here to waste away time in pursuits that gain the Kingdom of God nothing. 

We aren't here to attempt to create paradise on Earth. 

We are not here to collect things, nor live for the moment. We aren't here to sit on the sidelines of life seeking a peaceful existence until Christ calls us home. 

We aren't here as Children of God to be living as though we were just like the rest of the world. 

We come to Christ we gain a right relationship with Jesus, we inherit His mission. We are given a new identity in Christ Jesus. We have responsibilities that align with the workers in the harvest that Jesus said to pray for. 

We are meant for so much more than the world tries to convince us of. 

We are created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them.

We are His workmanship. We are to seek His will for our lives. What we could be or should be in life to further the Kingdom of God not to further ourselves. 

Do you claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus? Does your life show it?

Do you look around your world and see a life that glorifies You or God?

Do you set your mind on things above or things of this world?  

Do you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness? Or do you seek to further your own kingdom?

Do you seek to be who you are as a Child of God or not?

It's not easy to wrap my head around waste. Wasted time, wasted effort, wasted this, wasted that.  I feel bad when I find that I wasted money buying something that I already have but wasn't taking the time to put away properly.

I have two types of thoughts in me from both sides of the family. One side likes to collect things, the other has to have a purpose to what is kept. So at least once a year I end up sorting and cleaning out what I have collected. 

I struggled greatly with interpersonal relationships in most all my years of life.  I was an outsider most of my years in school.  People were an enigma to me. I tried to be myself and it wasn't received well.  The more I did the more I ended up being bullied or mocked. 

God's been working on me greatly in the last decade on my relationships with people. I have been adamant about making sure this second chance in this new home, new hometown, will have me doing what God designed me to be doing. 

I want a stronger relationship with Jesus. 

I want to be found by Him doing what He meant for me to be doing. 

I want relationships that bring out Christ in me. 

Possessions come and go. Collecting things is pointless. He calls you home, they are likely seen by others as wasteful spending. The pursuit of success is pointless because it's success as defined by mankind, which might not be the same in God's eyes.  

There's a finite amount of time between this very second and the return of Jesus Christ to bring His Bride, the Church, to His Heaven.

There's a finite amount of time given to all who live to make the most of life for God. 

There's a finite amount of time per day, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice towards God. You read here in Psalm 139, you read Romans 12, God does NOT say that He gets whatever is left of your life after you get what you want. 

Jesus came to seek and save the lost. He commissioned the Disciples to do the same. 

He taught the Disciples how to live. 

We are created to have a life of purpose before God, in our walk with Jesus. Success as defined by God is likely going to be foolishness to the world. The natural man does not understand the things of God they are not understood by them. That's in 1 Corinthians 2:14.

Mankind keeps trying and trying to live for Self. Sin destroyed the right relationship with Jesus. Sin clouds judgment. Sin ruins relationships.  Sin distracts you and I from being who we are to be. 

I am reminded of the Charley Pride song "This Highway to Glory". There's all kinds of exits in life to try to get you from being who you were meant to be in Christ Jesus. Temptations abound and temptations are prolific. Temptations are subtle and extremely little pressure is required to get us to take the bait. 

As the joke goes about the attention span of a dog...they are fine until a squirrel shows itself. Humans are just as bad. 

This or that shapes our thoughts and ideas of life, making our lives more or less difficult.

We are meant to be something, and we need to be in a right relationship with Jesus to find out just what that is. It might mean being pushed through something we fear. It might mean slowing down to keep pace with God's plan. It indeed means being anxious for nothing but to be in prayer. 

You indeed were meant to be a part of the body of Christ for a purpose. Romans 12 doesn't say we might have been given gifts from the Spirit. It says we WERE given. 

We ARE His workmanship. Not we might be. 

We ARE Children of God and ARE meant for more in the Kingdom of God than we know.

We who are in Christ have a God who loves us more than we will ever know. One who knew us before a single hour of our existence was experienced.

Look at your life, is it spent on you or on being a Child of God?  

The Vine and Branches Declare the Fruit

The Vine and Branches Declare the Fruit 

We live in a world of increasingly "self identified" people.  

Jesus declared that we shall know people by their fruits. As to whether or not they belong to Christ or they don't. 

It stuck with me yesterday thinking about Jesus separating people at the Judgment. I am thinking now of the Rapture of the Church. 

At no point is a human being asked who or what they identified with. The only evaluation is whether or not you are in Christ or not.  

Those who are not, prior to the Rapture of the Church, will indeed spend their time in Hell paying for their own sins. Not celebrating, no endless supply of merriment. Suffering. We read in the story of the Rich man and Lazarus exactly what people who refuse salvation in Christ Jesus will receive and will go through. 

We cannot tell God which kind of fruit we will be.  We come to Christ and HE pardons sin and HE makes all things new. HE brings the dead to life and only He declares people His by their faith and trust in Him for salvation as testified by the Spirit of God. 

People in today's world are trying to declare their identity and are trying to force others not only to accept it, but make them declare their acceptance of it.

Countless trillions of people in Hell all believe they don't belong there. All think that their way was the right way. All don't think that their sin was indeed sin or that they deserve to be where they are.  Weeping and gnashing of teeth covers the responses of everyone there.  Think about that.  Countless trillions of people and only two significant responses from them. Weeping people because they had lived such deceived lives.  Lived lives that were entirely self-centered and self-serving. Lived lived they thought were good lives. Lived lives that they believed deserved a better afterlife.  Then there are those so hung up on themselves that they yet still shake a fist at God from their torment in Hell.  They rage at their choice of lifestyle not measuring up to God’s desires.  That they shouldn't be where they are. 

Fast forward...oh wait we don't have to.  People today don't see the lines being drawn in the sand between the believers and the unbelieving.  So-called churches are indeed fostering false prophets and false teachers in the name of inclusion and diversity.  So the lies of Satan continue to gain momentum...in the professing Church. Everything the early Church was warned about we see if indeed we have eyes to see. 

We will know them by their fruits.  We won't need to judge others. We will have the discernment of God if we are indeed walking in the light of Jesus to be able to know.

We are to be that indiscriminate light. 

That is an excellent way to SEE this.  The light of Jesus is extremely and exactly indiscriminate. It is the revealed truth of God to all who are exposed by it. 

Now...fast forward...the Church, the Bride of Christ that she is, is taken out of the way at the end of the age of the Gentiles. At the end of 1007 years, the 7 year Great Tribulation plus the Thousand year reign of Jesus Christ on this Earth, we see Jesus separating people.  Those who came to Christ for salvation during that time and those who didn't. We see NOBODY being asked who's side they were on. 

Jesus knows far more about you, far more than you think He does. Considerably more than Satan knows about you. 

Jesus declared to fear the one who has the power to destroy both body and soul. Matthew 10:28 NASB "And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."

People today aren't holding back on revealing their ugly sin nature. They are proving the need and reasons why God indeed must judge and must put an end to sin. Identified as anything but what God designed them to be, physically or mentally, they shake a fist at their Creator. They rage at Him before they see Him in Judgment. People who live lives to please themselves and don't realize they condemn themselves before a Holy God by their words and actions. 

No Church should be watering down the Word of God. 

No Believer in Christ should be telling others that a life of sin is acceptable to God. 

No Believer should ever declare what God has established in His Word as unnecessary. 

We who are in Christ are to reflect the indiscriminate unchanging light of Jesus Christ to this world.  That Light that reveals everything. What is revealed by the Light is what it is. Either showing fruits that are in Christ or fruits that are not. 

Jesus will never ask what kind you are.

Jesus will never agree with anyone in that what they have chosen in life is ok if it doesn't align with God's Word. 

Jesus will never acknowledge an identity that anyone chooses outside of them being saved in Christ or not saved in Christ. 

Jesus will reveal Himself to either be a person's Savior or their Judge. You either have your sins washed away by His shed blood for the forgiveness of your sins or you don't.  

He will know you. He DOES know you.

What Fruit Are You?

What Fruit Are You?

"For there is no good tree that bears bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree that bears good fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil person out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart. Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? 

Luke 6:43-46 NASB 

It's an interesting question to ask of you.  But the direction of thought probably isn't where you think its going. 

Many will come before Jesus claiming many things done in His Name. 

Many today rate themselves in their own eyes and before the world. They don't think they are as bad as so-and-so. They at least aren't doing this or that. Don't you realize that you are indeed attempting to declare what kind of fruit you are?

Within minutes if not seconds after the Rapture of the Church, billions will likely understand what happened.  World leaders will lie about what happened but most will figure it out.  The clues will all be there.

People will be in disbelief that God left them here and took others that they knew. 

People will either be filled with remorse, regret or rage at the God of Heaven. 

In their eyes they won't see nor understand why they were left behind.  They believed they were good people.  Truth is good isn't good enough.  They believed they hadn't done anything wrong. Yet they had. They never placed their faith and trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

Those in Jesus's day thought what we do today. That they were ok. Until they heard the words of Jesus they never understood how far away from God they were.  People today try to rewrite the Scriptures or omit the Scriptures that reveal how utterly sinful people really are.

Whether or not you believe the Scriptures isn't relevant. God's Word is God's Word. It's power never changes nor weakens. 

What you claim as truth isn't truth unless it is God's Truth. 

We can't look at this world with wholesome optimistic eyes. God's Word says otherwise.  This world is going to perish. This world is going to go through horrific years as outlined in the Scriptures.  People throughout all of time will give an account of their lives before Jesus. People whose names are not written in the Lamb's book of Life will be judged guilty and spend eternity in the Lake of Fire.  

The thing about fruit trees is the fruit doesn't pick what kind of fruit it is.  The branches and trunk do.  To bear good fruit, to be good fruit requires being on the right tree. Jesus said apart from Him you can do nothing. 

You cannot live a good life.

You cannot live to His standards of Holiness. 

You cannot be who you were meant to be in Christ. 

Your good deeds are as filthy rags apart from a right relationship with Jesus. The Bible says that. 

You can love others and not be saved, but in light of eternity you will spend it in torment in the future if you never receive Christ as your Savior. 

You can’t show that you are good fruit.  

Fruit is graded by more than looks. It's graded by weight and aroma.  You've likely heard to not judge a book by its cover.  Well this is true.  We don't know the hearts of mankind. God does.  In the day of Judgment, Jesus never asks anyone if they are or aren't one of His.  He knows. 

We are encouraged to make sure of our salvation for good reason.  Once you die its too late. No second chances. 

The probably most often abused Scriptures are around not judging others.  Read in context we are to evaluate people. To look for those who are saved vs those who are not.  We are not to cast our pearls before swine.  Meaning we have to know by evaluation whether or not whom we share the Scriptures with are saved or not.  Many who aren't can turn on you and trample you.  We see Paul showing his evaluating people in the letters he wrote that are part of the Bible.  Therefore it is NOT what people are claiming that you shouldn't judge.  If in another passage we read about the log and spec...what do you think that really is?  It has to do with judging as the world does.  Not how God does.  Before we do we should be making sure our lives reflect Christ Jesus and not our sin nature. 

You neef to be sure of your salvation in Christ before that day of the Lord. 

Millions will be flocking to churches everywhere seeking answers and be horrified by the truth. 

For those who are claiming the name of Jesus Christ as their Savior, are you living as though you ARE part of His vine and branches?  Are you living a life that says "Ask! I know who can save you!"

Jesus is coming soon.  Will you be ready for that day or will you be ashamed of your fruit?  Will the evidence of your life's deeds be burned up with nothing left to show you lived for Him?  

Romans 12 speaks of the body.  Cells in a body prove they are indeed part of the body by doing what the body requires.  Cells that don't, have no part in that body. 

Does your life show you as being part of the world or as part of the body of Christ. 

John the Baptist preached that people should turn and repent for the Kingdom was at hand.  Jesus said that there would be another coming before His return saying the same message.  Right now many Godly men are preaching that message.  Turn and repent.  The Kingdom of God is at hand. Are you ready or are you fearful of seeing Jesus face-to-face?

Being a good person only will guarantee you that you will never see Heaven. 

Only through the shed blood of Jesus is salvation possible.  Only a life in Christ will bear good fruit. Only one in Christ Jesus will be good fruit.