The Promise and Faith

The Promise by The Martins

I never said that I would give you silver or gold 

Or that you would never feel the fire or shiver in the cold 

But I did say you'd never walk through this world alone 

And I did say, don't make this world your home 

I never said that fear wouldn't find you in the night 

Or that loneliness was something you'd never have to fight 

But I did say I'd be right there by your side And I did say I'll always help you fight 

'Cause you know I made a promise that I intend to keep 

My grace will be sufficient in every time of need 

My love will be the anchor that you can hold onto 

This is the promise, this is the promise I made to you 

I never said that friends would never turn their backs on you 

Or that the world around you wouldn't see you as a fool 

But I did say like me, you'll surely be despised 

And I did say my ways confound the wise 

I didn't say you'd never taste the bitter kiss of death 

Or have to walk through chilly Jordan to enter into rest 

But I did say I'd be waiting right on the other side (yeah, yeah) 

And I did say I'll dry every tear you cry 

'Cause you know I made a promise that I've prepared a place 

And some day sooner than you think you'll see me face to face 

And you'll sing with the angels and a countless multitude 

This is the promise, this is the promise I've made to you 

So just keep on walkin', don't turn to the left or right 

And in the midst of darkness, let this be your light 

That hell can't separate us and you're gonna make it through 

This is the promise, this is the promise I made to you, oh 

This is the promise, this is the promise I made to you

The Faith...

Now faith is the certainty of things hoped for, a proof of things not seen. For by it the people of old gained approval.By faith we understand that the world has been created by the word of God so that what is seen has not been made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain, through which he was attested to be righteous, God testifying about his gifts, and through faith, though he is dead, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he would not see death; and he was not found because God took him up; for before he was taken up, he was attested to have been pleasing to God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for the one who comes to God must believe that He exists, and that He proves to be One who rewards those who seek Him. By faith Noah, being warned by God about things not yet seen, in reverence prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned the world, and became an heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he left, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a stranger in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised. Therefore even from one man, and one who was as good as dead at that, there were born descendants who were just as the stars of heaven in number, and as the innumerable grains of sand along the seashore.

All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. And indeed if they had been thinking of that country which they left, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and the one who had received the promises was offering up his only son; it was he to whom it was said, “Through Isaac your descendants shall be named.” He considered that God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which he also received him back as a type. By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau, even regarding things to come. By faith Jacob, as he was dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, and worshiped, leaning on the top of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the exodus of the sons of Israel, and gave orders concerning his bones. By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden for three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to endure ill-treatment with the people of God than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin, considering the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt; for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he persevered, as though ⁽seeing Him who is unseen. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them. By faith they passed through the Red Sea as through dry land; and the Egyptians, when they attempted it, were drowned.

By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after the Israelites had marched around them for seven days. By faith the prostitute Rahab did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.

And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection; and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they might obtain a better resurrection; and others experienced mocking and flogging, and further, chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were put to death with the sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented (people of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts, on mountains, and sheltering in caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect.

Yes those are long readings this morning but it's God who brought them together in my mind today.  As my former Pastor used to say in his sermons in Elyria, context is the key. 

You just read an entire chapter in Hebrews as it was meant to be read.  In whole not in part. 

We are heading, as a civilization, to a destiny destination with the judgment of God.  Some, as Scripture says, will not taste death, for the Rapture will occur. Others will indeed be saved throughout the Tribulation.  

Faith and the Promise.  The Promise and the Faith.  They go hand in hand.  We who are in Christ must believe that He is, and is a rewarder of those who seek Him. 

We need to realize my friend, that, Scripture cannot be changed.  Regardless of feelings, regardless of anything, Scripture must be fulfilled.  There were times in the Old Testament when the Lord would brook no further delay.  Judgment came at the Flood.  Judgment came at the crossing into the Promised land. Judgment came to Goliath. Judgment came to the people of Israel.  Judgment came and comes to every country and every person.  Sin has to be destroyed. 

Sin must be judged. 

In Christ sin is defeated. Only in Christ. 

That too is the promise of redemption. 

In this world there was, and is, no path to be had to Heavens gates except through Christ Jesus.  

We are in some hard times. We will face still harder times.  We stand with those who we read about in the Faith.  Jesus stood by Paul. He stands by each of us who are in Christ. 

This life isn't ours to live for ourselves.  It's to be a time of growing up to all the fullness in Christ. To lead and show others the way to Salvation. 

Consider well today God's promises to you. 

What does your life say who you live for?

Who does your life say you live for?

“Be angry, and do not sin”: 

do not let the sun go down on your wrath.

Ephesians 4:26

Few things are more destructive to Christians than anger. Anger causes us to lose our self-control and to say and do things we would otherwise never consider. Anger, if allowed to remain, turns into bitterness that eats away at our hearts. Scripture consistently commands believers to put away anger and lists it as one of the sins of the flesh (Eph. 4:31). At times, we try to defend our anger by citing Ephesians 4:26. As additional proof we argue that Jesus cleansed the temple in “righteous indignation.” Ephesians refers to anger that does not lead to sin. Jesus was capable of being angry without sinning. When Jesus cleared the temple, Scripture does not indicate that He was angry (Matt. 21:12–14; Mark 11:15–18; Luke 19:45–46).

We must be careful not to justify our anger with Scripture. Ephesians 4:31 commands us to put away all anger. That does not mean that we cease to have strong convictions or lose our desire for justice. It does mean we refuse to allow others’ sins to cause us to sin. Anger does not bring about God's redemptive work; far more often it hinders what God is working to accomplish.

If you feel that you have a righteous anger because of something that has happened, see if you are holding anger in your heart without sin. Is your anger turning into bitterness? Is it causing you to speak in an unchristian manner to someone or to gossip about them? Is it causing you to make excuses for your own ungodly behavior? You must examine any anger within you and allow God to remove any sinful attitudes that your anger may have produced. - Blackaby Experiencing God Day by Day 

Anger is but one indicator of what's inside a man or woman. 

Love is another but a worldly love isn't God's idea of what love is.

Embarrassment is yet another indicator. 

Rage is an indicator. 

Those are examples of sight, what about examples of sound?  Hearing what's inside a man or woman?  Yes.  What you listen to also tells people who is in you.

What you do is another indicator.  What you do when nobody's around is another.  

Selfishness or not being selfish is another.  

It isn't as simple as just going through the motions in life waiting to die.  You are living for someone.  Either it's Jesus, if you are a Christian or it's yourself if you are not.  Even that isn't an absolute.  There are plenty of Christians who live for themselves.  There are plenty of non-Christian people who believe that apart from God they can live a good life without all that God stuff. 

Anger just seems to be the one indication of uncontrolled output of a soul.  It's a dangerous emotion that honestly people cannot control.  The only one who can experience it, while retaining wisdom and righteousness is God.  We cannot fathom the effects both close to us and farther away when we act out in anger.  Anger is but one emotion that has the same effect as a nuclear device.  It happens and the effects go on and on.  Uncontrolled it's a disaster.  

Who we live for determines our behavior in our world and the world around us.  

Do we show the world, let alone ourselves, that we live for Jesus or ourselves?  Our choices of car or house do not. Our choices of speech, conduct and appearance do. Our musical tastes. What we listen to, who we listen to, tell the world and if we are willing to hear it, ourselves just who it is we are in this world for.  Our choices of books and movies. Television shows.  What the world calls comedy, would we remotely think that Jesus would call it funny?  Would we ever consider our speech acceptable if we physically had Jesus standing there.

What you surround yourself with speaks to who you are living for.  Are the things of God important to you? If not, why not?  Is the world's idea of fun more important than what God thinks to you?  As Disciples, the 12 had their values challenged and changed. 

If you are a Disciple of Christ you SHOULD be having your values of what's important challenged and changed. 

You ought not love the world nor the things in the world.  Do you?

How is loving the world or the things in this world going to help you as you stand before Christ?

Who is your life showing that you live for?

Are you double minded?

Are you double minded?

“I will destroy . . . those who bow down and swear by the LORD and who also swear by Molek.” Zephaniah 1:4–5 

These people thought they were keeping themselves safe because they were siding with both parties: they went with the followers of Jehovah and at the same time bowed to Molek. But duplicity is an abomination to God; His soul hates hypocrisy. Idolaters who distinctly give themselves to their false gods have one less sin than those who bring polluted and detestable sacrifices to the temple of the Lord—people whose hearts are with the world and its sins. To run with the rabbit and hunt with the hounds is a treacherous policy. In the common matters of daily life, a double-minded person is despised—but in religion double-mindedness is loathsome in the highest degree. Today’s verse pronounces a terrible penalty, but it is well deserved. How should divine justice spare sinners who know the right thing, approve it, and profess to follow it, while at the same time loving evil and giving it the rule in their hearts? My soul, search yourself this morning and see whether you are guilty of double-dealing. You profess to be a follower of Jesus—do you truly love Him? Is your heart right with God? Are you the child of Bunyan’s Father Honest, or a relative of the false Mr. By-ends? A living name—Christian—is of little value if I am still dead in my trespasses and sins. To have one foot on the land of truth and another in the sea of falsehood will lead to a terrible fall and total ruin. Christ will be all or nothing. God fills the whole universe, so there is no room for any other god. If He reigns in my heart, there can be no space for another ruling power. Do I rest solely on the crucified Jesus, and live only for Him? Is it my desire to do so? Is my heart set on doing that? If so, praise the mighty grace that has led me to salvation! If not, Lord, pardon my sad offense and unite my divided heart to fear your name. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

Before we go any further, read this definition. 

Miriam-Webster's Dictionary says this about double minded:

: wavering in mind : undecided, vacillating. 

a double-minded man unstable in all his ways— James 1:8 (Revised Standard Version)

Yes, I was surprised that the Dictionary used Scripture to make its point. 

But that's both good and expected.  Most don't know that Webster's first work wasn't the Dictionary. It was his own translation of the Bible. 

But what you should be looking at is you....in a mirror. 

The mirror isn't supposed to lie.

The mirror is to be seen as a reflection of the truth of how things really are. 

In your life are you double minded? Are you in love with Your Savior and the world?

Are you?  

Mind you don't make up your own definition of what is and isn't love with the world.  What is God's definition? You who claim the name of Jesus, you live by His definition, by His rules and His command. No where is it to be by anything of ourselves. 

Does idolatry exist in your life?

That's what you need to look in the mirror for. 

I am not here to say that there isn't aspects of it in myself.  Everyone is susceptible to it.  It started with Adam and Eve.  It's part of the sin nature. 

Until we have a glorified body in Heaven we will have issues with it.

But in the here and now you must decide whether to be truly in love with Your Savior or your world.  Jesus does not want you choosing between Him and the world. He saved you, the world did not.

Are there things you have justified in your world?  Come on, we all have done it.  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.  We all sin in various ways. 

Are you passionate about Jesus or something in this world?  That is a telltale of where your love is.  It can be a job, a sports team, a university or college, a person, people, anything. 

Where is your heart?  

If you willing watch the clock in anticipation of a game while you are in Church, my friend you have a problem of being double minded. 

If you willing get upset or over zealous over your job or accomplishments yet won't seek a deeper relationship with Jesus, you my friend have a problem of being double minded. 

If your love of anything fires you up outside of your walk with Jesus on any consistent basis then, my friend you have a problem with being double minded. 

Be real with yourself as you look in that mirror.  This is you being real with yourself and God.   

How much do you know about what you love in this world versus what you know about your Bible?

How deep are your conversations and thoughts with Jesus?

As a plant cannot exist apart from the ground a believer cannot live apart from a healthy relationship with Jesus. 

In Hebrews I was reading today about those who willingly sin. Who knowingly, intentionally, sin.  About how if they really look at themselves in truth they are terrified about what God thinks about it. That it's a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.  Judgment hovers over the head of those who willingly sin and those claiming to be preachers who teach others that willingly sinning is acceptable.  How would you answer Jesus asking the questions "Why did you teach people that homosexuality is ok for a child of God when My Word says otherwise?"

"Why did you teach people that as long as they keep asking for forgiveness that it was ok to keep on willingly sinning?" 

"Why did you teach your children to walk in the ways that My Word says?" "Why did you teach people to go to a priest to ask for forgiveness when My Word says that only I can forgive sins?"

I have plenty of things to answer for myself before Christ when I give an account of my life.  He picks me up many times a day from my faltering and face planting from my sins. 

Am I double minded? Yes. Lord willing not as bad as I used to be.  You see that is one of my chief reasons for no longer following sports.  I realized that I was more passionate about them than my relationship with Jesus.  It was shown to me to be idolatry. 

Look in the mirror today and get real before God while there is yet time to set things in order. 

No end to Prayer

No End to Prayer 

Men always ought to pray. Luke 18:1 NKJV

 If people should always pray and not give up, how much more should Christian people pray? Jesus has sent His church into the world on the same errand for which He came—and this mission includes intercession. What if I say that the church is the world’s priest? Creation is speechless, but the church is called to find a mouth for it. It is the church’s high privilege to pray impartially for all. The door of grace is always open to her petitions, and they never return empty-handed. The veil was torn for her, the blood was sprinkled on the altar for her; God constantly invites her to ask for whatever she wants. Will she refuse the privilege that angels might envy? Isn’t she the bride of Christ? Can’t she go in to her King at every hour? Will she allow this precious privilege to go unused? The church always has need of prayer. There are always some in her midst who are declining or falling into open sin. There are lambs to be prayed for, that they will be carried in Christ’s loving arms—the strong, so they don’t become presumptuous, and the weak, so they don’t despair. If we held prayer meetings twenty-four hours a day, every day of the year, we would never be without a special subject for supplication. Are we ever without the sick and the poor, the afflicted and the wavering? Are we ever without those who seek the conversion of relatives, the reclaiming of backsliders, or the salvation of the immoral? No! Congregations are constantly gathering, ministers are always preaching, millions of sinners are lying dead in trespasses and sins; in a country over which the darkness of false teaching is certainly descending, in a world full of idolatry, cruelty, and all sorts of devilry, if the church doesn’t pray, how will she excuse this neglect of the loving Lord’s great command? Let the church be in constant prayer! Let every individual believer throw his or her small coin of prayer into the Lord’s treasury. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

Where are you going?  Have you spent time with Jesus yet today? 

What are you doing?  Is your heart where it ought to be?

What are you thinking about?  Have you given thought that today might be the day that God speaks to you?  Oh don't give me that "God doesn't ACTUALLY speak these days" speech.  My friend oh yes He does. 

The most memorable moments in my life are when I clearly know that Jesus has spoken to me. 

Are your thoughts at all to do with people you know? People you have met? 

As Spurgeon aptly pointed out there is always something that someone needs prayer for. 

Is your example before men and women what it ought to be? 

Do you praise your Heavenly Father yet swear at others with that same mouth?

Do you curse people who disagree or disrupt your ideas of what should happen or has been said and yey try to pray for things you want?

I guess God's point of today's post is for people who claim to be Christians to examine themselves to see if they are living, not going through the motions, of what the Christian life is meant to be. 

There is no reason to not be praying.  There's no excuse for not approaching the Throne of God in regards to ourselves or others that He has brought our way. 

So maybe it's time for the Church to be the Church.  To be about the Father's business. To be letting go of the things of the world. To stop loving the things of this world. Yes that's a verse from the Bible.  Love not the world nor the things of the world. 

More to come in another post. 

If only we would and could

If only we could and would 

In these days he went out to the mountain to pray, and all night he continued in prayer to God. Luke 6:12 ESV 

If any human being could have lived without prayer, it would be our spotless, perfect Lord—yet no one was ever as prayerful as He was! Jesus had such love for His Father that He wanted to have much communion with Him; He had such love for His people that he desired to offer much intercession for them. This conspicuous prayerfulness of Jesus is a lesson for us—He has given us an example that we might follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21). The time that Jesus chose was admirable—it was the hour of silence, when the crowd would not disturb Him; the time of inaction, when everyone but He had stopped working; the season when sleep makes people forget their sorrows and stop begging God for relief. While others found rest in slumber, Jesus refreshed himself with prayer. The place was also well selected. Jesus was alone where no one would intrude, where no one could observe—so He was free from the Pharisees’ ostentation and interruptions. Those dark, silent hills were an appropriate prayer chapel for the Son of God. In the midnight stillness, heaven and earth heard the groans and sighs of the mysterious Being in whom both worlds were blended. The length of Jesus’s pleading is remarkable. Long watches were not too long; the cold wind did not chill His devotion; the grim darkness did not darken His faith and loneliness did not restrain His persistent prayers. We cannot watch with Him for one hour (Matthew 26:40), but He prayed for us all night. And the occasion for this prayer is notable—it was after His enemies had become enraged with Him. Prayer was a refuge and solace for Jesus. This was just before He sent out the twelve apostles, so prayer was the gate of His enterprise, the herald of His new work. Shouldn’t we learn from Jesus to resort to special prayer when we are under special trials or contemplating fresh endeavors for the Master’s glory? Lord Jesus, teach us to pray. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

"If only..." As if just using the word "if" wasn't strong enough for a possibility, we add "only" to it.  Turning it into a kind of plea. 

If only I could...

If only God would...

If only I wouldn't.. 

If only...

If only my prayer life was as vibrant as my Lord's oh what my life would be like.  If only it were a tenth as potent as His, what my life would be like.  

Prayer with tears, prayer without them.  Just prayer of the honest and true kind. 

Oh the changes wrought by those found to be in prayer. Our wants and desires change ever so slowly, but they do change.  Our worries start to ebb and peace we cannot explain starts to settle in.

Many think that I am something special in what I am able to do.  Problem solving, troubleshooting, finding ways to make things happen when on the surface it didn't look like what it ends up looking like.  

My Brother's and Sister's in Christ...let it be known that it's prayer and only prayer that causes what you see to happen with me.  

I am nobody special. I am a sinner saved by Jesus Christ.  He is alive and at work in me.  He answers prayers.  I share my heart with Him as daily as I can.  He knows my pitfalls and my challenges.  He knows my weaknesses and my strengths.  As Scripture says power is perfected in weakness.  His Grace is sufficient.  When I am at my weakest it is then when I am the strongest in Christ. 

You who claim the name of Jesus, just how honest are you in your prayer life?

How important are the things of God to you?  

You really should be prepared to look odd to the world when you choose to put what God wants first in your life.  Because you're going to look odd.  Those in darkness cannot understand the light. 

Scripture further says that the natural man cannot understand the things of God for they are spiritually discerned.  We are to be an enigma to the world.  Offering that new relationship to those who aren't there yet.

Your prayers are to be an honest outpouring of you.  It's not just an emergency phone line. 

It's not you sending a list to your Butler of items you wish and wish to be done. 

It's not to be complicated.  The Gospel message was never to be complicated. 

Jesus wants a personal relationship with us.  Not an impersonal.  Not without feeling.  

When we try to separate our lives from our life with Christ, we lose.  You cannot serve two masters.  You will love the one and hate the other. You will despise one and cling to the other.  You cannot have it both ways.  

When we rage at the world how is that being Christ-like?  When we rage at people  how is that Christ-like?  When we only think on people with anger, are we being Christ-like?

Inevitably we put up a wall between us and God when anger is our strange bedfellow. 

I am not better or worse than any other sinner who has lived or will live.  I am saved by the grace of God through His abundant mercy live each day trying to do my best for Him and Him alone.  I do not work for my employer or my family.  No where in Scripture does it say to work for them or even myself.  It says in Colossians 3 to work as unto the Lord.  Period. 

Oh what we could and would be doing in this world if more professing Christians prayed with an honest heart.  

I am as much blown away as others who see my supposed accomplishments.  They are not mine.  What is seen is an answer to prayer. 

I read my Bible whether or not I understand it now or days, months, weeks from now.  It feeds my Spirit and my soul.  You eat meat and vegetables yet you don't sit n ponder how your body separates them into something useful to your body. 

My prayers are different in that I can see, hear what is in me towards God and others.  I can see the before and after if I am looking for it.  God uses even a wretch like me.

What are you doing in your prayer life? Do you even have one? Is your time with Jesus only about being thankful for food at your time to eat it? Is it only a flippant mention of thankfulness when you weren't hit by a car?  Is there anything personal about your prayers?  Is your prayers, and yes the invoking of God's Name in all instances is always the beginning of a prayer, only when you utter His Name in vain?  There is no mentioning God without it meaning God. To flippantly say "Oh God!" in exasperation is to open in prayer.  To use the Lord's name in vain is really to open in prayer between you and Him.  It isn't some figure of speech.  You are using what the Bible teaches is "the Name above all Names".  Satan teaches that it's a curse word.  That it can be can be said without meaning something.  I know of Christians who speak that way.  

I am also horrified at unbelievers who speak that way.  Why so? Because in their next breath which came from God they curse my God.  Because that breath can be taken at any moment and their eternity is sealed in that they will spend eternity crying out in torment either in sorrow or anger at God. 

Prayer is supposed to change you. It turns the soil of your heart.  It pulls the weeds of the world away from your soul. 

It prove that without faith it is impossible to please God.  

What of you my friend? What are you going to do about your prayer life today?

What we want and What God Wants of Us

. . . the trial of your faith . . . 1 Peter 1:7 KJV 

Untested faith may be a true faith, but it is sure to be a small faith—and it is likely to remain stunted as long as it is without trials. Faith never prospers as much as when all things are against it: storms are its trainer, lightning its illuminator. When calm reigns on the sea, you can spread your sails as much as you’d like, but the ship will not move toward harbor; on a sleeping ocean, the vessel sleeps too. But let the howling winds rush forth and the waters rise and crash—then the vessel rocks, her deck washed with waves, her mast creaking under the pressure of the swelling sail—that is when she makes headway toward her haven. No flowers wear such a lovely blue as those which grow at the foot of a frozen glacier; no stars gleam so brightly as those which glimmer in the polar sky; no water tastes so sweet as that which springs up below the desert sand; and no faith is so precious as that which lives and triumphs in adversity. Tested faith brings experience. You would not have believed your own weakness had you not been compelled to pass through the rivers; and you would never have known God’s strength had you not been supported through the floods. Faith increases in solidity, assurance, and intensity the more it is exercised by trials. Faith is precious, and its trial is precious too. May this not discourage those who are young in faith. You will have trials soon enough, without ever seeking them; your full portion will be measured out in due time. Meanwhile, if you cannot yet claim the results of long experience, thank God for the grace you do have; praise Him for the degree of holy confidence you have attained. Walk according to that rule, and you will have more and more of the blessing of God, until your faith can remove mountains and conquer impossibilities. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

It's always interesting when God shows me in real life what He meant in something that I have read in the Bible. 

I wrote a small post on LinkedIn about the promise and perils of cross-training.  Whereas it does keep people busy by teaching, it does little in the area of growth with any significance. 

The basis of was which was an example of a plant.  Plants grow best when tended to in their intended spot.  When the roots have space and depth to grow, are nurtured and fed, they grow in ways we didn't imagine.  You take a similar plant and up root it and move it every time you need a different view, it will never grow the way the one left in place did.

Scripture says in the New Testament of us being Christ's workmanship.  We are that plant or as Scripture words it, we are that pottery piece.  We are moulded and shaped as He sees fit once we come to Him for Salvation.  We are placed where one, we will do the most good for the Kingdom and two where the people are that He meant for US to impact by His work in us.

Regardless of what you see in an unkempt back yard with supposed overgrowth, God still has a Plan.  Regardless of what your world looks like, God still has a Plan. 

I don't know of anyone who has never seen a child having a tantrum in public.  If you are so inclined, just watch the scene unfold.  After its done, ask yourself a few questions.  One, what did you just observe? Was what really happened?  Oh you will probably answer those with the obvious choice but you actually would be wrong.  First, you observed time being wasted.  Time, energy and effort going in circles, consuming both the parents and the child.  Secondly you observed more than a bit of dischord in a relationship. You witnessed the will of the parents being questioned and disrupted. You yourself were disrupted in what you were doing. The others around this were disrupted as well.  The disrespect between child to parents was another problem. 

We do this with God when we fight what He is trying to do in our lives.  We are in what's termed a microwave society. We want results in real time. We pray and get impatient with God.  As Moses found out, as I read in Blackaby's devotional today, he was being added to the ranks of the work of those who preceded him.  We live in a 'the world revolves around us' society.  We try this with God.  Not realizing that our tantrums are disruptive to His Plan for us. Yes, some things do really impact us. However we need the mentality of Paul to remember that how we fit into and how we relate to God's Plan is what matters. We are told not to worry about food or drink. That God will take care of it. We are told not to worry about tomorrow. God is already there.  Getting back to the plant.  Plants that God nurtures don't worry about food or drink.  They are provided for by the same God that provides for us.

The term thinking outside the box is also used a lot when it comes to success.  It also applies to how we live.  In our box, our world, we always want things 'just so'. A just so life sees no challenges or ever grows beyond that expectation.  Jesus expects growth and expects what changes He brings to change us to be more like Him.  Without what He brings both we and those around us will never know the God of the Bible.  Our tantrums only waste His time and ours. It stops the momentum in the work He is doing in us and others. It limits an already limited future. We only have so much time on this planet. 

Ask yourself today if you are really thinking of yourself in your interactions with God or are you looking at the bigger picture of how God intended you to interact with Him and those around you.  Are your wants and wishes all you ask Him about and for?  Or are you including others in your prayers and time?  Are you showing yourself to be His workmanship or are you a vessel that is fighting His work in you?  Are you willing to bloom where He planted you or are you fighting that as well?

Friendship...the Wrong Kind

Friendship...the Wrong Kind 

“It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher.” Matthew 10:25 ESV 

No one will dispute this statement, for it would be inappropriate for servants to be exalted above their Master. When our Lord was on earth, what treatment did He receive? Were His claims acknowledged, His instructions followed, His perfection worshipped by those He came to bless? No, “He was despised and rejected by mankind” (Isaiah 53:3). His place was outside the camp; His occupation was bearing the cross. Did the world offer Him comfort and rest? “Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head” (Luke 9:58 NLT). This inhospitable country afforded Him no protections; in fact, it cast Him out and crucified Him. If you are a follower of Jesus, maintaining a consistent, Christlike walk, you must expect similar treatment for the part of your spiritual life the unsaved world can see. They will treat your faith as they treated the Savior—they will despise it. Don’t imagine that worldly people will admire you, or that the more holy and Christlike you are, the better people will act toward you. They didn’t prize the polished Gem, so why should they value the diamond in the rough? “Since I, the master of the household, have been called the prince of demons, the members of my household will be called by even worse names!” (Matthew 10:25 NLT). If we would be more like Christ, we will be more hated by His enemies. It would be a sad dishonor to a child of God to be the world’s favorite; it portends bad things when the wicked world claps its hands and shouts, “Well done!” to a Christian. When the unrighteous give us their praise, we may want to review our own character and see whether we haven’t been doing wrong. Let us be true to our Master and have no friendship with the blind and ignoble world that scorns and rejects Him. Far be it from us to seek a crown of honor where our Lord found a crown of thorns. - C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening 

Most have either experienced or have seen the ill effects of hanging with the wrong crowd or people.  Watch a TV show that takes an unexpected turn in the on-screen relationship and the fallout that ensued. 

It's ugly.  We watch things like that like watching a slow motion train wreck.  For whatever reason we just can't take our eyes off of it.  

Every drama show or movie has used that plot twist.  Why?  Honestly it's because it has its roots in the earliest parts of the Bible.  Although most would dispute that.

We all like sheep have gone astray, each one doing what is right in their own eyes. 

We don't like to lose nor like to be made a fool of.  Yet in most every instance Satan loves to throw that at us to goad us into making poor decisions, especially in relationships. 

Ruining relationships is a primary focus of Satan outside of the other evils he is involved in.  The biggest being anyone's relationship with Jesus.  However great or small that relationship is, he looks for anything to use to disrupt or destroy that relationship.  From private to public embarrassment to the same with humiliation.  Perverse thoughts and actions up to and including mutilation of the body into something that God never intended.  Seemingly trapping people in a life that they think they cannot get out of.

Hope.  I have long said this, and with all my heart believe, that as long as a breath of life is in someone hope exists for Salvation.  Many disagree.  They won't admit it but the reason to disagree is that it would mean work on their part to continue in prayer for those lost souls. 

Consider the ones that are recorded in the Gospels.  Brought to Jesus in order to cast out the demons from that the Disciples couldn't.  What did Jesus say?  More importantly was His answer just an answer or was it a set of instructions?

The only lost souls, truly lost, have no breath of life in them.  Once you die your decision to come to Christ or not is finalized. 

If you are in wrong relationships with this world then you will indeed struggle.  

If all the world does is praise you and you claim to be a Christian then you need to look in the mirror.  If your rights are more important than what obedience to God to you then you have a problem. 

Your relationship with Jesus should always be more important than your friendship with the world. 

You indeed may never be called upon to give up everything. However you may be positioned to help someone who was put before you on purpose by God to guide on their way towards Salvation. 

Your relationships may indeed stink in regards to others.  Early on in my life I got burned by many a bad relationships with others in school.  It caused me to turn away from fostering any friendships.  To this day I still remember bad decisions in trying to be accepted by my peers. 

If you are thinking that liberty in Christ means all sunshine and rainbows you aren't reading your Bible.  If you are thinking that it should all be blessings then you aren't reading your Bible. If you are thinking life should mirror those wholesome 1960's TV shows, then you aren't reading your Bible. 

Jesus spelled out what struggles the believers would have.  Yet He didn't leave us alone nor abandon us to 'fate'. Look at His life on Earth from the beginning of His ministry to the cross. He always was working the Father's Plan.  When it says that we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that He has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them, He is working His plan in our lives. Take it to the heavenly bank.  There's never been a moment when He isn't working in our lives.  We should never keep grasping at the world for answers to the life Jesus is working out in us.  Mistaking His efforts for a change with a need to be supplied by the world. 

Friends are often hard to come by.  A great many people mistake acquaintances as friendships.  A true friend lets you into their hearts not just their lives.  They know the ugly side of you and stay anyway. 

Jesus knows all your ugly and wants a relationship anyway.  But as people try to do, claiming that Christians are hopelessly single minded and against them, realize that's Satan talking.  There's nobody who was ever touched by Jesus that regretted it.  Including Judas.  Judas didn't have the indwelling Holy Spirit. So it wasn't much for Satan to get to a greedy man. 

Look at what you write about on social media.  Look at your conversations in your day.  Is it or any part of it all about you and your rights?  Are you looking for peace in this world by compromising your beliefs?

Prayer is central to a right relationship with Jesus.  Worry is expecting the world to save you and you see that it isn't and it compounds the problem. Prayers go to the Throne of God. Worry goes in circles away from us and back to us.  Prayers are always heard from the believer. 

Look at your life and just what you consider important.  Before you take another step look at what you are holding onto.  Before you make another decision to lash out about your rights, consider if it's about you or your fighting what God wants to do in your life.