Beware of Hypocrisy (Part 5)

Verse of the day: Matthew 23:23-24 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought you to have done, and not to leave the other undone. 24 You blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.

Over and over again the Lord tells us that He prefers obedience over sacrifice (1 Sam 15:22; Ps 51:16; Pro 21:3; Mt 12:7; Mk 12:33). The Pharisees’ hypocrisy was great in that they put great importance on the lesser, yet ignored that which was greater before God; in other words, they majored in the minors. In verse 24, the Lord was referring to the practice of straining their water or wine to remove the insect larvae. They were troubled and careful to strain the gnats, but swallowed a camel by ignoring that which was more important to God. How many of us have been guilty of the same? I would have to say that if we are honest with ourselves and God, we’d have to say that we all have. We put much emphasis on the sins of commission (the things we do that we are commanded not to do), and less emphasis on the sins of omission (the things we do not do that we are commanded to do). We readily condemn the murderer, rapist, thief, adulterer, fornicator, but turn a blind eye to the one who fails to love God and his neighbor, the one who fails to forgive, or show kindness; the liar, and the gossiper who causes division. Too often we pick and choose the biblical truths to live out that are convenient and make us seem “religious” and dedicated to God; all the while, behind closed doors, and in our hearts, we are far from being committed to the Lord. The Pharisees brought their tithe for all to see. Jesus was clear that our alms were to be given with humility and in secret (Mt 6:1-4). We are not to boast of how much we give when we are giving it to the Lord, for His purposes. Too often I have heard people give “testimony” of how they gave “this much or that much”, alleging that they are giving God the praise; when in fact they were looking to tell others what a great amount they gave, all for the pat on the back. They flaunted their “religiosity”, but failed to be just in the way they treated the people, the poor, and the needy. They were merciless and operated without true faith in God, always being self-reliant, and refusing to elevate God in their lives; instead, preferring the glory for themselves. As born again believers we must not just seek to avoid the sins of commission, but we must also put great emphasis on avoiding the sins of omission. A Christian who truly loves God and loves his/her neighbor does so when no one is looking. A Christian who desires to avoid hypocrisy will apply the Word of God equally, and will resist applying only that which is easy for that current circumstance or that which makes them appear godlier than they really are. God is not interested in our outward religion. He wants us to have a heart for God (1 Sam 16:7; Jer 17:10). We go to our worship services, bringing our tithes and offerings; we teach our classes and we speak our Christians words, praising God. Yet, in our hearts we harbor hatred toward a brother or sister. We refuse to forgive offenses that God commands us to forgive and hold on to grudges and thoughts of vengeance. We smile our fake smiles, all the while failing to love sacrificially as God tells us to. We openly behave like Christians, but privately we do all that grieves God and then justify our actions or inactions when we are caught in the web of our own deceit. King David is wonderful example of what God sees as a man who is after God’s own heart. King David sinned against God on more than one occasion. The one he is best known for is his adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, and the murder of her husband Uriah, which he orchestrated in an attempt to cover up his adultery. Although he paid a great price via his consequences, in all of this, God called King David a man after His own heart (Acts 13:22). Why did God see him in this fashion, even after all he did to sin against God? It was because King David was a man of humility. He had reverence for God. He trusted God. He was obedient. He was devoted. He was repentant when God confronted him regarding his sins. King David was an example of one who did not ignore the sins of omission, even though he had moments of weakness with sins of commission. God sees beyond our “religious” actions and sees right into what we harbor in our hearts. Let us not be pharisaical in our Christianity; let us seek to serve and worship God without hypocrisy.

In Christ, we will be forgiven for all our sins. Jesus paid the price for the world (Jn 3:16; 1 Jn 2:2; 4:10). Today, He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Beware of Hypocrisy (Part 4)

Verse of the day: Matthew 23:16 Woe unto you, you blind guides, which say, whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!

In this next portion of chapter 23:16-22, Jesus deals with the hypocrisy of making oaths, or making promises to God, on the basis of swearing on the gold of the temple or the gifts of the altar. This was yet another reflection of the greed on the part of the Pharisees, and their desire for worldly gain over seeking, and leading others to seek, God’s glory. Jesus pointed out their foolishness on putting more importance on the gold that was in the temple, when it was the temple that sanctified the gold (v. 17). In verse 19 He reminds them that the gifts on the altar, which they foolishly taught were of more importance, were sanctified by the altar; both the temple and the altar were sanctified by God and not the materials and gifts that they contained. The reality of what they were doing is that they cared nothing for lifting up the glory of God before men, but sought to have the people bring their gold and offerings to the temple, to make promises to God, seeking to get something from God, when in reality they wanted the gold and gifts for their own personal gain. Sadly, I have seen far too many so-called men of God boldly proclaim that if you sent them money or gave a certain amount of money God would deliver them from whatever troubles they were experiencing. They even claim that by giving more to their ministry, God would bless them by prospering them financially or materially. What foolishness! God is not our lucky rabbit’s foot or our genie in a bottle that we can just rub and demand whatever we want. Sadly, we have used the confessing of an oath a thing so trivial that we are no longer careful about the things we promise God or others. The fact of the matter is that our word, as Christians, should be “yes” or “no”, and people around us would know, and trust, that we will keep our word, without the necessity of having to swear on anything or anyone (Mt 5:33-37). This is not to say that we cannot promise the Lord that we will do something on His behalf, in being used for Him, for His glory. So often, the Lord wants to use us to be blessing in someone’s life or in service to our local church, and we make the promise or commit to perform a duty or complete a task, then we fade into the woodwork and fail to keep our word. When we do this, we are no better than these Pharisees. When we make a promise in connection to God’s service, we have made the promise, not so much to the person or people, but to our God. We take utmost care not to be careless with our words and promises; especially as born again believers. We, who know the Lord, are called to be the living example of what it means to be a child of God. When we lead others astray by our careless living, we will have the greater accountability before our God. Another lesson we see from this interaction is that we foolishly put more importance, and give more glory, to that which is created, and is sanctified by God, rather than God who is the One who sanctifies all that He sets apart for His own use. For example, all that we do that is good, regardless of how good and righteous it may be viewed by man, is like filthy rags to God if it is done outside of Christ, and done for the purpose of self exaltation or for the purpose of trying to earn what God is freely offering, by faith, in Christ; our salvation (Is 64:6; Eph 2:8-9). Yet, those same good works of righteousness become award worthy when they are done as a result of being in Christ, and performing them out of faith, trusting God to use them for His glory because it is being done sacrificially with the intent to humbly serve God. When we give our gifts, whether to the local church or to an individual; if we give it seeking a pat on the back, then that will be the extent of the reward (Mt 6:1-2). What sanctifies the gift is when we give it in obedience to God’s leading, again in Christ, by faith, seeking God’s glory. There is something wrong when the upkeep of the church building is more important than the upkeep of our lives, so that are living godly lives (Phil 2:12-13). The building is a meeting place that is sanctified when set apart for worship. We, the Christian, are the church. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit, and it is Jesus who makes us a priesthood of believers (1 Pt 2:1-9). It is Jesus who sanctifies us, the building, and the gifts brought to Him in the local church or to any individual, in His Name. Let us not make the same mistake that the Pharisees made by putting more importance on anything or anyone other than Jesus. For it is in Him that we exist and are set apart, and sanctified in. Let us be careful of what we promise our God, knowing that we will give account for every idle word spoken, and every promise made (Mt 12:36). Let us be known as people who keep our word, for the glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

God has never gone back on a single promise. He promises that in Christ, if we trust Him, we will someday spend eternity with Him. Today, He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Beware of Hypocrisy (Part 3)

Verse of the day: Matthew 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, you make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

The indictment against the scribes and Pharisees in this verse is that they would do whatever was necessary for them to add to their own numbers. They were not bringing others in for the sake of bringing them to the Messiah, but were only interested in adding to their own circle, and taking from them whatever gain they could while corrupting those proselytes further than they already were. The men they drew into their “religious club” were pagans who would put aside some of their practices for the sake of joining the “club”, and once they had nothing else to offer they were cast aside and left to their own devices. They become worse than the ones who brought them in and indoctrinated them. They were the Pharisees who would later be the most vicious against Christians and Christianity, and opposed anything that had to do with Jesus. In the end, once left to their own devices, they not only practiced some of their former wicked rituals and traditions, but to them they added all the hypocritical attitudes and actions which Jesus was here condemning the scribes and Pharisees for. There are cults that exist today that resemble this group of religious men. Sadly, even within “Christian” circles, there are some local churches that almost resemble this same pattern. I have seen “local churches” that are more concerned with meeting social needs and taking care of their church building than they are in winning people to Christ. I have seen these same establishments run pastors out who came in and preached the Gospel, and began winning people to Christ. The end result is hostile take overs, and driving people out who they determined were not fit to be part of the “club”. They did not meet the social status requirements. I remember one instance in which the pastor of a church was forced to leave and start another work that did flourish because he was preaching the Gospel and winning people to Jesus; while those who were more interested in the church building and wanted nothing to do with winning others to Christ remained, only wanting to add to their own little social circle, and ended up having to sell that building to someone who converted it into a condominium complex. How sad that a town that had a beacon of light in the center of its town now has nothing to combat the darkness that already existed in their midst. This is what happens when we are more interested in our own gain, and use “religion” as a means of gaining more of what is worldly. Please hear me. There is nothing wrong with Christians or local churches seeking to meet the needs of those who have needs (the poor, the homeless, the broken, etc.). However, let us not forget that the greatest thing that man needs today, and has always needed, is a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. If we as born again believers want to make an impact in this world, we must first and foremost preach, and live, the Gospel message (Mk 16:15). The scribes and Pharisees measured the success of their religion by their numbers. The more men they could bring into their circles, the more they considered themselves to be successful, feeding their own egos and flaunting their delusional success before the people in order to feel more important. There are too many local churches today that are measuring their success by the number of heads they count in their Sunday morning service. Yet, within those same local assemblies we have “believers” who do not share Christ with others, do not live changed lives, are not participating in any form of discipleship, and are intermingling former belief, and personal traditions with their new found faith, that for all intents and purposes seems to be okay with letting them continue in certain sinful behavior without any real consequence as long as they fill the pews and swell the weekly head-count. Even more damaging is a new believer who observes that we, who bring them in, preach one thing about what we believe, but live another. On the contrary, I have had the privilege of sitting in, and participating in, corporate worship, in small local churches who were small in number but great in worship, preaching the truth of God’s Word, doing all they could to win people to Christ, and doing their best to teach, the few who they do win to Christ, God’s truth. I’ll take that, any day, over some of these Mega-churches who seem to be alive with excitement, but dead in their commitment and surrender to Christ. I have known too many Christians who love to brag about how many people they have won to Christ and brought to a local church service, but can barely tell us, if at all, how many of them they have actually spent real time with, teaching them the truths of God’s Word. The end result is people who make professions of faith, who come to a service or two, and then disappear because the confession was superficial, or they were left to their own devises because we did not take the time to follow Jesus command to not just win them, but make disciples of them (Mt 28:19-20). We are more interested in showing others what great soul-winners we were, but that is often only for our own pat on the back. Let us not be like the Pharisees, bringing people into our circles, but failing to truly point them to Christ, leaving them out there for Satan to abuse and discourage, ultimately leaving them worse off than they were before they even heard about Jesus.

The central Theme of our Gospel message is Jesus. Today, He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Beware of Hypocrisy (Part 2)

Verse of the day: Matthew 23:13-14 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in. 14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayer: therefore you shall receive the greater damnation.

Jesus was not afraid to call out hypocrisy when He saw it. He observed that those who were supposed to know the truth of God’s Word were corrupt in that they were false teachers who wanted the glory that belonged to Jesus for themselves. They had the Old Testament prophesies of the coming Messiah; yet, when He came, they were more interested in pointing people to themselves and their traditions, which puffed them up. Rather than point people to the One who came to give them eternal life, they put the people on the path to eternal condemnation (Lk 11:52). We must be so careful that we not impose our own “religiosity” upon others as a condition of being saved. There were those who later falsely taught that circumcision was required, along with belief in Christ, for salvation (Acts 15; Gal 3:1-3). I have, all too often, seen that a false idea has been given about when we can come to Jesus for salvation. Too many have led people astray by giving them the idea that they had to “straighten out” their lives BEFORE they called upon Jesus. That, my friends, is putting the “cart before the horse”. If we could straighten out our own lives, we would have no need for a Savior. Jesus came to do what we could not do; it is in Him that we are justified (declared not guilty) before our Heavenly Father. It is in Jesus, with the Holy Spirit working in us, that He will make our lives right. By our very hypocrisy and desire to make ourselves better than others, by a show of our religion, we push people away from Christ, rather than to Him. God is not interested in our religion; He is interested in a relationship. When we falsely impose our religious preferences, traditions, and convictions on others as a requirement for receiving eternal life or having a relationship with Jesus, we repel those that would otherwise come to Jesus. In verse 14, Jesus goes on to condemn the religious leaders for their hypocrisy in using their “religiosity” for dishonest, personal, gain. They put on the façade of being religious, by their lengthy prayers, in order to deceive the widows and the poor. Oh how often the Gospel message has been misused for personal gain by those pushing a false gospel. Oh how often the Gospel has been used, by false teachers, to gain a large following from which they can take advantage of, for their own prosperity, and promising through their fake, religious, behavior, that these followers can also prosper if they give all they have to these false teachers, who will someday stand before God to give account. Let us not forget that not everyone who calls Jesus Lord or performs in His Name will be accepted by the Lord, because He never knew them (Mt 7:15-23). As followers of Jesus, the message that we carry to the world is that Jesus died for our sins, and He will freely give us eternal life, if we call upon Him by faith. We must confess that we are sinners and need a Savior. Only when we come to Jesus believing who He is, confessing our sins and ready to repent of our ways, will we receive eternal life, and begin the journey of being changed, from the inside out, by the work of the Word and the Holy Spirit working in us, and through us. As born again believers, we are to be a blessing to those around us, especially the poor, the widow, the orphan, and all those in need. We are always to be ready to be used by God for His glory and the benefit of those He puts in our path. Our times of prayer are to be personal, and when we pray in public it should be a genuine desire to speak to the Lord and not a “look at how great I pray, and how religious I am” session. Some of the most honest and heartfelt prayers I have heard in my lifetime came from people who were not eloquent in speech, but simply spoke to the Lord from their heart. The bottom line is that we are not to use our life as a Christian to steer others away from Jesus, robbing the Lord of glory due to Him, but share a true Gospel with others, putting our own preferences and convictions aside and sharing God’s truth in love. We are to avoid using false teachings for our personal gain, robbing those that are already struggling; for when we rob the poor and the less fortunate by deceit, we also rob those whom Jesus died for, and someday we will give account to our God for how we served Him. Let us be true ambassadors for Jesus (2 Cor 5:20).

Jesus bids you, “Come as you are”. Today, He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Beware of Hypocrisy (Part 1)

Verse of the day: Luke 12:1 In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they stepped one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware you of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

If there is one thing that the Lord desires from us is that we are “real”. Hypocrisy has been one of the biggest hindrances of spreading the Gospel. I cannot begin to count the times that I have shared Christ with someone and the first thing they did was begin to tell me the story of someone they knew, who tried to tell them about Jesus, but whose life was completely contrary to what they were telling everyone else a Christian looks like and lives like. Jesus described hypocrisy as leaven. How is hypocrisy like leaven? Well, leaven can exist undetected for a time. It can be mixed in flour, but the way that it affects the lump will not be evident until it is heated and cooked with the flour. Leaven will take over and affect the entire lump. In a person, it may start out small, and practically unnoticeable, but over time will grow and become obvious as it causes them to be filled with pride over their “religion” or “piety”. They look down on others who do not do “religion” the way they do, and are extremely critical of others, and often give themselves a “pass” when they are not living up to the standard they hold others to. The hypocrite, although at first may seem to have a true heart for the things of God, is far from humble, and is quite often deceived into thinking that no one notices their hypocrisy. Quite often they live a secret life of sin that sooner or later is exposed; and for this reason Jesus says in verse 2 that “there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known.” As God’s children we are not to be like the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. In Matthew 23, Jesus gives a discourse of the things that we are to avoid as His followers so that we are not living like the Pharisees did. In Matthew 23:3, Jesus tells the multitude to do as the Pharisees tell them to do, but do not follow their example. Sadly, there are many born again believers who know what the Word of God says, can teach it, and give biblical advice, but are poor examples of what living the Word of God looks like. Please understand, I am not talking about the person who is doing their best to live obediently, in accordance to the Word, and occasionally stumbles. I am talking about the person who teaches one thing, but insists on living a life filled with secret sin and whose hypocrisy becomes evident from the way they mistreat others and by the words they speak, when they are not in fellowship with other believers, that bring no honor or glory to God. Jesus, in Matthew 23:4 tells us that the hypocrite places a heavy burden on the life of others, but they themselves are far from living it. When they do live it, it is only for show so that others will see how “religious” they are (Mt 23:5). These same people enjoy having titles, being recognized amongst God’s people, and referred to by those titles. They love having a position of importance within the body of Christ, and enjoy the pat on the back for the façade they proudly display with neon lights pointing to them (Mt 23:6-7). There were those that carried the title Rabbi or Father, but Jesus was clear that no one other than the Lord Himself is Master, and the only One who deserved the title of Father is our Heavenly Father (Mt 23:7-10). Jesus, who had every right to exalt Himself before man, instead chose humility. He chose humility, even unto death (Phil 2:5-8). Like Jesus, we are to approach Christianity with much humility. Jesus explained in Matthew 23:11-12 that those who are greatest before God are those who are willing to be humble servants. Those who exalt themselves will be brought down low, and those who are humble in their service to the Lord will be exalted by God. The bottom line is that true humility comes from a healthy fear of God, a respect and reverence for the One who can not only kill the body, but also destroy the soul (Lk 12:4-5). True humility comes from a true love of Jesus that moves us to do our best to obey His every command (Jn 14:15). As God’s children we must live a life that is consistent with what we say we believe. We must live a life that exalts God our Savior and brings Him honor and glory. Let us avoid the danger of living a hypocritical life by humbly obeying the Word of God (both publicly and privately), and serving the Lord, and others, fearing God, so that out of great reverence for the One who died for us we would do all that we can not to bring shame to the Name of Jesus by the exposure of our hypocrisy.

Jesus was our Greatest Example of humility here on earth. He allowed Himself to be put to death so that we can live for eternity. Today, He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

What Excuse Can We Possibly Have?

Verse of the day: Exodus 4:11 And the Lord said unto him, “Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? Have not I the Lord?”

And He said unto them, “Go you into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). A very simple command; yet, all too often we find it too difficult to carry out. Why? Fear…fear of rejection. Fear of persecution. Fear of what others will think about us, or fear of whether or not we will know what to say. It is fear. Fear was what caused Moses to make excuses with God as to why he was not fit to go to Egypt and lead God’s people out of captivity. His fear was rooted in the fact that Moses saw a task that was much greater than he was capable of carrying out on his own. What he failed to see, and what many of us fail to see, is that when God sends us out to serve Him, regardless of how small or great the task, it is God who goes before us to prepare the hearts of those who will receive the message. It is God who goes with us and strengthens us to accomplish the task at hand. God is trying to remind Moses that it is God who created him. Not only did He create him, but He created him exactly how he was, with the characteristics, talents, abilities, and even his physical shortcomings. What a beautiful reminder we see here that all who are born into this world, whether whole or with a handicap, are born the way they are for God’s purposes. I have seen, over the years, God use people who have physical handicaps in ways that leave us in awe and praising God for who He is. God reminded the Apostle Paul that in his weakness God would show His strength (2 Cor 12:9). God was very clear with Moses that it is He who makes man’s mouth, whether it is eloquent in speech, whether it stutters, or whether it can speak at all. It is God who makes the ears and the eyes, and sometimes He makes them to hear and see, and some He creates to be deaf and blind. Regardless of how He makes them, He can use them for a greater purpose than we can ever imagine! Sadly, I often see perfectly healthy, talented, and able-bodied Christians who refuse to use their talents and abilities to serve the Lord. They are more interested in using those talents and abilities for their own gain of earthly wealth, and elevation of self in this world, than to lift up Christ in their lives. We recoil at the thought of teaching a class in our local church or serve in some other capacity, or fail to be vocal about our faith at work or within our social circles of influence; but are quick to lift up our favorite sports team or give advice about some worldly subject. We use our mouths to promote self and break down and criticize others, but fail to speak boldly about the One who was not ashamed to be publicly humiliated and nailed to a cross for our salvation. God wanted Moses to know, just as He wants us to know today, that He is the One who will be with us when He sends us out into the world. He is the One who will guide us in what we are to say, because He has already equipped us with the Holy Spirit who will guide our words and tell us what to say (Lk 12:11-12). What have we to fear if God is with us when we are sharing Christ with others? What have we to fear if God is with us when He leads us to serve in our local churches? What have we to fear when He calls us to stand and be apart from what the world says is acceptable? What have we to fear when we stand for righteousness before a society that is dark and wicked? When we fail to realize that it is God who will enable us to carry out whatever task He sends us to complete, we will hesitate, and possibly miss out on seeing God do something great in our lives or the lives of others around us. Fear is what caused Peter to deny the Lord (Jn 18:15-27). Fear caused Gideon to hide like a coward (Judges 6). Fear caused Abraham to lie (Gen 12:1ff; 20:1ff). Fear caused the servant to hide the talent given to him by the master, rather than invest it and gain more (Mt 25:24-30). Only when Peter feared God more than man did he preach boldly (Act 2:14-42); and only then did both he and John speak the Name of Jesus boldly in the face of persecution (Acts 4). What are we putting off in our service to the Lord because of fear? What will it take for us to be reminded that it is God who created us just the way we are and knows exactly what we need in order to carry out the tasks and duties He sends us out to accomplish? What will it take for us to realize that it is God working in us and through us that will allow us to accomplish things that are far greater than any of us can ever imagine? So, I ask us today…what is our excuse for not going forward to do what God has called us to do?

God was not ashamed to suffer for our sake. He was humiliated for our redemption. He allowed Himself to be put to death so that we can live. Today, He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Why Pursue the Perishable?

Verse of the day: Psalm 4:7-8 You have put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased. 8 I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for You, Lord, only make me dwell in safety.

I find it strange that we who know the Lord, and are born again believers, sometimes find ourselves envying the unsaved and what they have. Why do we, who have gained eternal life, everlasting rewards, and riches and spiritual blessing in Christ, envy that which is corrupt, and perishable? What do the unsaved have that the Lord cannot give us, if He so desires it for us? Sadly, the problem that exists within us is a lack of contentment. The Apostle Paul learned how to be content with whatever state he found himself in while serving the Lord, and he confessed that his ability to be content was rooted in the strength he was given in Christ Jesus (Phil 4:12-13). Jesus told us that we were not to worry, and be satisfied with having clothes and food, and that He would meet our daily needs if we first focused on the things of God (Mt 6:24-34). In this life it always seems like the unsaved and the wicked are usually the ones that prosper, but their end is destruction and we are not to envy their prosperity (Pro 24:1; Ps 73:3, 17-19; Ps 49:16-20). The fact of the matter is that no amount of this world’s wealth or the wicked man’s prosperity can compare to what we have gained in Christ! No amount of money can by the gladness or exceeding joy that God puts in our hearts when we are in Christ; a joy that abounds even in the worst of times. A lifetime of trouble, as a child of God, is far better than a day of goodness in the life of one who is perishing without Jesus (Mt 16:26). We often envy people who, on the surface, seem to be happy; yet, inside they are dying and outwardly they hide their distress. Privately they are tormented, even though publicly they boast or their status in society and flaunt their riches. How do their riches, worldly gain, and elevated status help them when death comes knocking on their door? How does all they have gained help them when a loved one becomes terminally ill or is taken in death? What peace do they have when they lose all their earthly riches; sometime even in the blink of an eye? In the end, those who chase after riches do it for a lifetime, and end up with nothing; sometimes even choosing death (in suicide) over their alleged rich lives (Pro 23:5; 1 Tim 6:17). What we fail to see is that their riches also come with a lot of sleepless nights, which accumulate and result in unbearable stress, sickness, and imprisonment to addictions and ultimate destruction. One of the greatest feelings in the world is to be able to lay our heads on our pillows at night, knowing that our God, who has saved our souls, is in control and we have nothing to worry about, regardless of what circumstances we may be living with at the moment. The end result is that we can sleep peacefully because God is watching over us. Again, there is no amount of this world’s riches that can buy that kind of peace, because it is a peace that can only come from an intimate relationship with Jesus (Jn 14:27). Let us stop focusing on what we think we need to make our lives complete. Instead, let us be satisfied with what God chooses to give us (or not give us), and seek after that which is far better than money, material gain, or high status in society (Heb 13:5). Let us chase after God, His righteousness, and those things that are pleasing to our Him. Let us be satisfied with the fact that we have the Lord and all that we have gained in Him; our heavenly and spiritual blessings (Eph 1:3; 1 Tim 6:6-12).

All that this world has to offer will perish. Only what God has to offer is eternal. Today, He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Singing in the Silence

Verse of the day: Psalm 28:7 The Lord is my Strength and my Shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoices; and with my song will I praise Him.

This Psalm can be read from two perspectives. The first, from the perspective of one who is crying out to God, and in faith praises Him for deliverance; or from the second, as one who is praising God for deliverance, and is recounting his prayer for God’s protection and deliverance from those that are causing him trouble. Either perspective is comforting to the child of God because both are reminders of God’s faithfulness in hearing us when we cry out to Him in those moments when we need Him most. In verse 1 we see the desperate cry of one who wants to hear from God, and the desperation that we can experience when it seems that God is being silent with us, and appears to be still. Unlike man, when God is silent it is not because He is not near, and it does not mean that He is not working on our behalf. Regardless of what is going on in our lives God is still working out His will and plan for us. The difficulties we face are all allowed for our growth in learning who He is in times of trouble, and to mold and shape us into who He wants us to be in Christ (to respond to life in a Christ-like fashion). He promised that He would never leave us nor forsake us, and that He is our Helper (Heb 13:5-6). Knowing this, in spite of finding himself surrounded by those that would cause him harm or have evil intentions toward him, King David was certain that God would see him through whatever the difficulties were that he was facing. In this verse we see that even in the midst of deafening silence King David knew that the Lord would hear him, answer him, and was his Strength. The word does not just mean physical strength, but personal and social. We have a personal God who is interested in the things that affect our personal well-being. He is the source of our boldness when we need it and the source of endurance when we are feeling like we cannot stand against our opposition. He is our Shield, or defense; the One we hide behind when the forces become overwhelming. Time after time King David, both before and after he became king, found himself being pursued or opposed; whether by King Saul or even his own son. The fact of the matter is that there are times when those closest to us will be the ones that we are at odds with, and the ones that persecute us and cause us the most heartache. It may be during those times that we have the most difficulty dealing with God’s silence. However, know this, even in those times God’s silence does not mean that God is not aware of what we are going through. He is still working to resolve the situation, already knowing the outcome, and working it all out for our good and His glory (Rm 8:28-29). There were times when King David wept bitterly over what was happening in his life (Ps 39:12; 42:3), but in his heart he trusted the Lord, even as he states here in this verse. By faith we can trust that God hears our cries and is working to help us through our difficulties, even when He is silent. It is in those moments that our hearts and minds will be guarded with God’s peace that passes all understanding, when we bring it to Him in prayer (Phil 4:6-7). It is in those moments when we will be able to carry on with joy in our hearts, rejoicing, and giving God the praise for who He is in our lives; knowing that He has not abandoned us. This was why King David could sing praises unto the Lord, even before he saw God’s deliverance. Regardless of what we are going through today, and regardless of whether or not God is being silent, let us have a song of praise in our hearts, and on our lips, for our God who is faithful to see us through whatever circumstances He may be allowing. God is pleased when we offer up, by faith, and in Christ, our sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise in the midst of times when it makes no sense to the world that we would thanking and praising Him (Heb 13:15).

Jesus endured great suffering for the sake of our salvation, and He wants us to come to Him to find the strength and comfort that can only come from a personal relationship with Him. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Endure for the Sake of Others

Verse of the day: Romans 15:2-3 Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification. 3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached you fell on me.

What the Apostle Paul continues to speak of here is linked to the previous chapter where he admonishes us to live in peace with one another, not judging each other for our preferences. Some chose to eat meat while others did not. Some celebrated certain holidays while others did not observe them. Those that were weak in their faith felt that they needed to observe certain things and avoid eating certain foods, which is not prohibited by Scripture for us as born again believers, and was therefore their conviction and preference in their way of living for the Lord. The Apostle clearly tells those who are stronger in their faith to not judge the weaker brother/sister for their preferences. Instead, we are to seek after those things that produce peace and edifies the other person (Rm 14:19). We all have our preferences and convictions, and as long as we are not sinning by violating the Word of God, there is no need to judge someone because their convictions or preferences are different than our own. As a matter of fact, the Apostle takes it a step further and encourages those of us who are stronger in our faith to live out our convictions and preferences, by faith, privately, between us and God, if that will help in the avoidance of causing our weaker brothers and sisters to stumble in their faith (Rm 14:20-22). If we become stubborn in this and cause our brother/sister to stumble, we sin against Christ, who died for the weaker brother/sister also (Rm 14:15). In today’s verses we are encouraged to put these things into practice so that our neighbor (in this case, our fellow Christian) will be edified, and so that the end result will be peace and unity within the body of Christ. The Apostle also reminds us that the greatest example to follow in this is Jesus Himself. Jesus came to carry out our Heavenly Father’s will. Jesus did not come seeking His own will or honor, but that of the Father’s (Jn 17:5; Phil 2:1-8; Heb 10:9). He did not come seeking His own personal wealth or comfort. Instead, He denied Himself for the benefit of man. He did not avoid the horrific death that He was facing, but went to the cross and fulfilled His Father’s plan to purchase salvation for mankind (Lk 22:42). The Apostle refers to Psalm 69:9 in respect to the reproach that Jesus endured for the wicked; those who abused the law of God. The bottom line was that Jesus was willing to endure suffering for the good of us all. So, we in turn must endure and put aside our own preferences in order to allow our weaker brothers and sisters to grow in their faith with as little stumbling as possible. We are to help and encouragement others in their faith. We are to take up our cross daily, and put Christ’s will in our lives first, as well as the needs of other, before our own (Lk 9:23; Phil 2:3-4). In the end it is better to follow in the footsteps and example of our Savior and Lord for the sake of the peace and unity He calls for amongst His people.

Jesus endured great suffering for the sake of our salvation. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

There Is No Other Like Him

Verse of the day: Psalm 100:3 Know that the LORD, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Psalm 100 is a Psalm of praise. Praise because God is Creator. Praise because we are His. Praise because He is good. Praise because His mercy is everlasting. Praise because He is Truth. Praise because He is God! We are to go to Him with thanksgiving and praise simply because of who He is. This Psalm tell us to "know" that He is God. In other words, we are to learn, discern, distinguish, acknowledge, and confess that He is God. We are to distinguish Him from any other gods that we may have erroneously formed in our lives. We are to acknowledge Him as the only True Living God; like Him there is no other (Ex 15:11). Because He is God, we are to worship no other gods before Him. We are to avoid idolatry and make nothing or no one a god in our lives. Too many  of us born again believers have allowed too many things and people to take priority in our lives over our relationship with the Lord. He is to be the #1 priority in our lives. He is to receive the first and best of our time, talents, and resources. No other relationship, career, hobby or material wealth should overshadow God in our lives. He is a jealous God (Ex 20:5). He is jealous for our good because He wants the best for us. No one will take care of us and provide for us like He will. No one else can bring us salvation; and He has already proven that in His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. For there is nothing and no one that can give us eternal life. He has created us when we had no power of our own to come into existence. We are His creatures, and through Jesus He has given us the power to become His children (Jn 1:12). He is omnipotent and proved His power in creation. He spoke and all that surrounds us came into existence. All that He has blessed us with belongs to Him. Why then do we sometimes hold on tightly to that which He tells us to freely give back to Him to be a blessing to others? Anything or anyone we choose before Him would be foolish on our behalf, because no one is His equal. Like a shepherd leads his sheep, and protects them, so our God is our Shepherd. Jesus is the Good Shepherd who gives His life for us, His sheep (Jn 10:11). He leads us, takes care of our every need, and protects us (Ps 23). When we think of, and acknowledge, who God is, how can we even consider putting anyone else before Him? Regardless of what may be going on in our lives, let us today stop and consider who God is in our lives. It may be that He is allowing some difficulty in our lives so that we will turn from whatever god(s) we are depending on, and finally turn back to Him, the One and Only True God, for relief, shelter, protection, peace and joy, that can only be found in an intimate relationship with Him through Jesus. Let us today go to Him with thanksgiving and praise, knowing that He is God, and like Him there is no other.

He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

He Always Gives the Best

Verse of the day: Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

The one thing that we can be assured of is that God will ALWAYS answer our prayers, and He will always give us what is best for us. Please read that sentence again… Did you? Good...now I will say again that God will give us what it best for us, not what WE think is best for us. The majority of the time what we want from God and what He knows is best are at opposite ends of the spectrum. There are also those times when He wants to give us what we have asked for in prayer, but we may not be ready to receive it. Therefore, the time frame in which He gives it will be much different than what we may desire it to be. We are reminded in this passage that God wants to give good things to them that ask Him. Interestingly, in Luke 11:13, Luke tells us that God desires to give us the Holy Spirit. How do these two passages line up with one another? Well, the best thing we could ever receive from the Lord is the Holy Spirit, who seals and indwells each believer who has called upon, and accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord (1 Cor 6:19-20; 2 Cor 1:21-22; Eph 1:13; 4:30). I have had many people ask, “If God wants the best for me, why didn’t He answer my prayers?” The question is often asked in response to getting a “no” or “wait” response from the Lord. Again, just because we do not have our prayers answered in the way we think is best, does not mean that the prayer was not answered. The other statement I often hear is, “If God wanted the best for me, He would have given me what I asked Him for” or “If God wants the best for me, He would have healed, me (my child, my parent, my best friend, etc.)”. Again, we base whether or not God gave us what was best based on our opinion of what we see as being best for us. I must reiterate that we often are way too ignorant of what is really going on behind the scene and there do not know what is really best for us from Heaven’s perspective. The Word of God tells us that we often do not receive what we are asking for because we do not know what we are asking for (Jm 4:2-4). We often ask with selfish motives with no thought for God’s glory or God’s will in what we are asking for. This is why it is so important for us to be in God’s Word continually, learning who God is and what is His mind, growing in our knowledge of Christ (Phil 2:5; 3:8; 2 Pt 3:18). God tells us that He will give us the desires of our hearts. However, there are conditions to that promise. We must trust the Lord, delight ourselves in Him, and commit our ways to Him (Ps 37:3-5). When our thinking and desires line up with God’s, then we will be mindful of what we are asking for, keeping in mind His will and plan for our lives, and ultimately, and above all, His glory. We are to be consistent in prayer; praying without ceasing (1 Thess 5:17). We must ask, and ask, not fainting, and being persistent (Luke 11:5-13). Too often, when we do not see an answer, we assume God does not want to answer that prayer and we give up; we stop praying, only to have the prayer later answered, and we feel shame because of our lack of faith. This is why it is so important that the greatest gift God can give His child is a filling of the Holy Spirit when we pray. In praying, we must ask for the Spirit’s guidance. It is a good practice to pray the Word of God. Romans 8:26-29 reminds us that it is the Spirit that helps us in our weakness because we do not know how we ought to pray. It is the Spirit that knows the mind of God and the will of God. It is His intercession that works all things together for our good and God’s glory; and the reason it works together for our good is because God answers in accordance to His will. Romans 8:31:32 also reminds us that if God is for us, who can be against us? If He gave us His son, how much more will He then give us all things? Again, not all things that we selfishly desire, but those things which line up with His will and plan for our lives and for the lives of those we pray for. The bottom line is that when we pray we must pray without giving up, and being persistent, knowing that God will answer and give us what is best for us in whatever given situation we find ourselves in. 1 Peter 1:6-9 reminds us that our trials are more precious than gold. So ultimately, even if the answer to our prayers is that He chooses for us to remain in a difficult situation for a time, it is for our best because in the end we will come out of it trusting Him more, as we see Him working in it and comforting us in it, giving us joy and the peace that passes all understanding, in spite of the circumstances; and ultimately molding us so that we are more like Jesus in our outlook and response to life in general (Phil 4:6-7; Rom 8:28-29). The bottom line is that we need to be persistent in our prayers and not lose heart because God will always answer; we just have to be ready to accept the answer, regardless of what that answer might be (Lk 18:1).

The greatest answer God can give to prayer is the one that comes when we call upon Jesus Christ to save us. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

At the Feet of Jesus

Verse of the day: Luke 10:39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.

Being busy in ministry and service does not always equal intimacy and worship. In this chapter we have two examples of someone who was serving, but not worshiping, and another who was worshiping, but was complained about because they were not serving. Sadly, we all too often judge a person’s spirituality and intimacy with Jesus by what we see externally. However, what we see externally can be far from what is really in the heart. This is nothing new with man. In the Old Testament, the Prophet Samuel, when looking for Israel’s next king after King Saul, looked at David’s brother Eliab and would have chosen him, who looked to him like king material. God told Samuel not to look at Eliab’s appearance because He does not see man as man sees man, from outward appearance, but the Lord sees the heart (1 Sam 16:6-7). There are many Christians who equate how spiritual they are by how much they are doing around the church building or how busy they are, doing things for others. May I remind us that there are many unsaved people who are continually busy doing thing for others; yet, they do not even know Jesus as their Savior. There have been many who have fallen because outwardly they were “busy” for Christ, but inwardly they were very far from Him. Their level of intimacy was almost nonexistent. In Luke 10 Martha had welcomed Jesus into her home and was busy being hospitable; and there is absolutely nothing wrong with being hospitable, as the Word of God encourages us to be welcoming and hospitable to others (Rom 12:13; Heb 13:2; 1 Pt 4:9). However, in this case the Scriptures tell us that Martha was “distracted with much serving” (v. 40). So, even though she had welcomed Jesus into her home, she was so cumbered with serving that in essence she neglected the most important opportunity, which was a moment of intimacy with, and worship of, Jesus. In her busyness she become annoyed and complained that Mary was not doing anything to help her with all the tasks she was trying to accomplish. She then goes to Jesus to try and get Him to “correct” Mary’s inconsiderate behavior of leaving all the physical work to her. Jesus’ response is eye opening. He tells Martha that Mary has chosen to do that one thing that was needful above all else that was taking place at that moment, and Mary had made the right choice to sit at His feet. Furthermore, this would not be taken from her (v. 42). The truth of the matter is that our busyness in ministering does not make us any more spiritual. Quite often, it puffs us up and we become proud, and critical of others we feel are not “pulling their weight” in serving God (which really is not for us to judge). Equally so, we can allow the busyness of work, and other responsibilities hinder the times that we should be spending in prayer and study of God’s Word. The Word of God warns against laziness (Pr 6:6; 9-11; 10:4). In this we must have balance, as there are times when we must put aside the busyness and spend some quiet, intimate, time learning at the feet of Jesus. All of us, as born again believers, have the same opportunity to have an intimate relationship with Jesus. How intimate our relationship is will be determined by how much of a priority Jesus is in our lives. Do we choose time with Him over time sitting in front of the television, computer, or game console? Do we prefer time with Jesus over time wasted with certain hobbies? This does not mean that we cannot have hobbies, but certain hobbies become our gods. Do we prefer the company of Jesus over the company of those that would lead us astray by inviting us to do things will corrupt our life and take from our intimacy with Christ? Sadly, we allow even those things that are not sinful to do to take up much of our time, and robbing us of our duty to seek the Lord in prayer, His Word, and worship. This is where what it not sinful to do becomes sin to us. Martha, although she was doing what was right, in being hospitable, allowed her hospitality to distract her and to cause her to murmur. We are told in Scripture that we are to do all things without murmuring (Phil 2:14). Had Martha served Jesus with a heart of worship she would have found pleasure in serving and not allowed it to turn into a distraction and burden. One of my favorite examples of intimacy with Jesus, found in Scripture, is how John is referred to as “the disciple that Jesus loved” (Jn 13:23; 19:26; 21:7). When we read the Gospel we see that John is the one who reclines and puts his head on Jesus’ breast, an opportunity available to whoever was sitting on the other side of Jesus. John is the disciple who is at the foot of the Cross when Jesus is crucified. It was obvious that John took the steps to seek intimacy with Jesus, and therefore, Jesus acknowledged John’s attempts in obtaining that intimacy. When Mary chose to sit at Jesus feet, she chose to worshiping, and learning, from Jesus, over the other things she could have chosen. As important as hospitality and avoiding laziness are before God, spending time in His Word, worshiping Him, and seeking intimacy with Him should be a priority over all else. There will be moments when we will be given these opportunities, but we must also strive to make these opportunities; even if it means going to bed a little earlier so that we can rise a little earlier and give God to first part of our day, spent in prayer, reading and studying His Word. Just like Mary, when we make Jesus a priority, we may even be criticized by other Christians, and people in general, as being fanatics. Why is it okay to be a fanatic when it comes to cheering on our favorite sports team (yes, even amongst Christians); yet, wrong when we are fanatics of the things of God? If we were to honestly measure our intimacy with Jesus, based on how much of a priority our time spent with Him is in our life, how would we do?

God desires an intimate relationship with us through His Son Jesus Christ. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

Why Fear or Trust Man More Than God?

Verse of the day: Psalm 56:4 In God (I will praise His word), In God I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me?

The Word of God is very clear that the fear of man is a snare or a stumbling block (Pro 29:25), and will often cause us to make decisions that are contrary to God’s will and plan for our lives. God reminds us that we are not to fear man who can only kill the body, but instead we are to fear God who can destroy both body and soul (Mt 10:28). Not only do we make decisions based on our fear of man, but we often make the wrong decisions because we put more faith in man than we do in God. The Word of God tells us that when we trust in man and make him/her our security or source of wisdom, we are cursed and our heart departs from the Lord (Jer 17:5). This Psalm was attributed to David when he was fleeing from King Saul and fled to the Philistines. In his fearful haste to escape King Saul, he ran and trusted that he would be safe amongst the people whose warrior, Goliath, he had killed. However, when he went to Achish, king of Gad, the Philistines had not forgotten what he did (1 Sam 21:10-11), resulting in his capture. The fear of man, and our trust of man, will lead us down paths that will ultimate make our lives more difficult. When we are face to face with difficult times and have to decide what solution to seek, our greatest source of wisdom and protection should be, and is, the Lord. David ultimately realized that the only One who could help him survive the predicament he was in was the God. David praised God’s Word (what Scripture was available to him at that time) because it reminded him of God’s promises to him and His (God’s) people. How much more should we praise the Word of God knowing that we not only have the Scriptures that David had, but we also have God’s completed revelation to us in our Bibles, and many promises to hold on to in Christ, as born again believers? We have God’s Word and an answer to every situation at our very fingertips. This is why it is of utmost importance that we truly study the Word of God and not just skim it. We must do more than memorize verses; we must pick it apart and dig deep into what God is telling us about Himself, about us, about those that oppose us, and about life when we are outside of Christ or in Christ (2 Tim 2:15). Along with this we must be does of the Word, and not just hearers (Jm 1:22-25). The bottom line is that when we find ourselves in a situation where others plot against us, persecute us, and try to do all that is in their power to cause our downfall, we can turn to God who will enable us, like the eagle to soar above the storm clouds. For if we wait on Him, He will renew our strength so that we not faint (Is 40:31). The Word of God tells us that if God be for us, who can be against us (Rom 8:31-34). When we are reminded, by God, that He is with us, and will never forsake us, He also reminds us that we need not fear man or what man can do because He is our Helper (Heb 13:5-6). Even if Satan is on the attack, God is the One who decides what will enter our lives, what trials we will suffer, and to what extent we will endure whatever He allows (Job 1-2). It should be encouraging to us that God has that much control over what happens in our lives, even when we do not expect it or understand it. Like David, we must praise Him, in Christ, and put our complete trust in God as our Helper and Deliverer; and the source of our reminder is the Holy Spirit using the Word of God (which we should value as the greatest treasure we own). In the end, if we are making our decisions and living our lives in accordance with what God expects and commands, why would we fear or even care what man thinks or how they will react?

Many things were said about Jesus, and many things were plotted against Him, but His ultimate goal, which He accomplished, was to lay down His life for us. Today, He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

The True Pursuit of Happiness

Verse of the day: Psalm 119:2 Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, Who seek Him with the whole heart!

What are we doing to pursue a life of happiness? As a born again believer, a child of God, a follower of Jesus Christ, where are we seeking happiness? Too many are seeking it in the vain things of this world, and the things that are temporary and corrupt. For some, finally buying that new house is where we are seeking our happiness; or buying that new car. Maybe it is in finally landing that dream job or making more money (which only leads us to want more money). Some think that our arrival at happiness will be when we find the right person to marry or start that family we have always wanted once we start having children. Well, I can say, without any doubt in my mind and heart, that none of these things will bring us lasting happiness. All the earthly wealth and gain that we seek is temporary, and the happiness that they bring is also temporary. In many cases the very things that we sought for our happiness are the very things that later enslave us and become a burden and source of our miseries (Eccl 5:10-17). So what is it that brings the Christian true happiness? Simply put...a pursuit of God. This verse tells us that happy are those of us who keep God’s Word and pursue Him with everything that is in us. In other words, we are to desire a life that exemplifies what it means to live a life that is obedient to God’s truth; a life lived in faith and by faith. Psalm 1 tells us that happy are we if we seek not the counsel of the world and love the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. It is in God’s Word, and prayer, that we will find true joy and peace. A life filled with the joy of the Lord and the peace that only God can give is a truly happy life. It is a life that learns contentment with whatever the Lord chooses for us (Phil 4:11-13). Sadly, too many of us justify going after the earthly things by convincing ourselves that God wants us to be happy; however, happiness comes from being in the center of God’s will and living the life God already has planned for us to live. A life committed to God and seeking Him so that He becomes personal in our lives is a life that will remain happy regardless of what circumstances we face. Will we experience times of sadness or times when we will mourn because of loss or because of a wrong decision or someone else’s wrong decision? Yes, we will suffer those times. However, when we learn contentment, and hold on to our joy in Christ, those times will not shake our happiness, as we will still count our blessings; the blessing that we are reminded of in God’s Word. For this reason it is so important that we guard the Word or keep it hidden in our hearts, where the Holy Spirit can use it to bring to our remembrance in those times when we need the strength, joy, and peace. We are also reminded that it is not enough to just know the Word of God, but we must also live it in our pursuit of God. Our pursuit of God should not be half-hearted; it should be fervent and diligent. I have seen some who get more excited about their favorite sports team winning and more fanatical about following that team than seek and going after God and the things of God. If we truly want to know who God is and who He is in our lives, we can only find that answer in living out the truths of His Word. It is in those times that He will show each of us personally who He is in our lives. He promised that if we truly seek Him we will find Him (Deut 4:29; Pro 8:17; Jer 29:13; Heb 11:6). The bottom line and sad truth is that I have seen Christians, self included, that have sought after things that had no eternal value, with such fervency that it was to their own hurt and the hurt of their families. Many of us have made a mess of our lives and shipwrecked our faith because of our pursuit of things that were of no heavenly worth (to include some earthly relationships) or were not even in God’s will and plan for our lives. In 1 Timothy 6:9-11 the Apostle Paul tells us that those who pursue money and earthly riches do so to their own destruction and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Instead, we are to seek and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness. In other words, our ultimate and true happiness comes from a fervent pursuit of a close, intimate, relationship with Jesus; which we will find if we seek and pursue Him with all our heart (Lk 10:27).

God sought us by sending His Son to die for us. Will you seek Him today? He extends an invitation to you to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

We Must Count the Cost

Verse of the day: Luke 9:57 Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

Many of us can remember the excitement we felt when we first called upon Jesus by faith and received eternal life. We made a commitment to serve Him and follow Him; oftentimes that excitement drove us with a desire to tell everyone we know about Jesus and how to receive eternal life. Many wanted to serve in the local church, go into ministry and even go out on the mission field. However, something happened along the way that diminished our desire. People were not really all that receptive to hearing us talk about Jesus and the Gospel message. As a matter of fact, some were just outright rude in communicating that to us. Our desire to serve within the local church was great until the “honeymoon” period passed and it became a challenge, and sacrificial work. Going into the ministry, to include the mission field, requires great sacrifice that affects not only us, but our families as well. As the cheers and accolades fade from those who praised God for saving us, and praised us for our dedication, so does our fervor in making a commitment to serve. Suddenly it does not seem like the greatest idea we have had, and we slowly fade into the woodwork to become “pew warmers”. We see from this passage that there is a cost to following Jesus. There will be sacrifices that will need to be made is we truly want to follow Him wherever He leads us. In John 1:37-39, the disciples question Jesus as to where He stays, and His answer to them is, “Come and see”. He does not go into some elaborate explanation, and simply tells them to follow Him. If we are to follow Jesus, we need to do it by faith, but we are also to be wise and count the cost of what it means to follow Jesus. In Luke 14:25-33, Jesus explains that in order to follow Him we must take up our cross daily. However, He also explained that if we are not careful to count the cost of following Him we will ultimately end up looking foolish and unwise as one who sets out to build a tower but fails to make sure he has the resources and ends up having to abandon the project; or the king who goes out to war, but then realizes that he does not have enough men to meet his opponent. It is unwise and foolish of us if we do not first count the cost of following Jesus before we set out to make commitments to serve Him. In this passage, Luke records the excuses made by those who both volunteered or were asked to follow Jesus. Each one used members of their families as excuses for not following Jesus; yet, it is their families that would benefit most from their commitment to follow the Lord. Our commitment and service to the Lord is a great example to set for our families to follow; yet, many will use their family as an excuse not to follow. In order to avoid conflict with a spouse or we want our children to be able to play some sport that requires that they attend practices or games that have conflicting schedules with our corporate worship or service times. The end result is that our commitment to God takes a back seat to the busyness of our lives. The devils are good at keeping us occupied with things that are not sinful to do, but later become like idols in our lives, and take us away from our ability or desire to serve and follow Jesus. In the end, I have seen many families who gave in to these things, only to later complain that their children have no interest in seeking the Lord; or families as a whole are no longer in regular attendance or service in their local churches. Little do we realize how much that is affecting the spread of the Gospel and how much it is affecting society as more and more people are having less and less interest in anything that pertains to God, serving Him, or following Him. We can blame no one but ourselves. The bottom line is that serving and following Jesus is going to cost us something. Before we make a commitment to being His disciples we must realistically evaluate what it is going to take to follow Jesus and take up our cross daily. God made a commitment to us, and it was one that cost Him His Son. Jesus obediently committed His life and laid it down to purchase our salvation. Let us stop making half-hearted commitments. We, as God’s children, must realize that it is not enough to commit our lives to the Lord; we must count the cost and then surrender our lives to serve Him and be used by Him for His purposes. It was for this cause that He saved us, so that we will be separated unto Him for His service; to do whatever He requires of us.

He already sacrificed all for us, and now He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).

To Rejoice and Be Glad Is A Choice

Verse of the day: Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Let us stop for a moment and ask ourselves, “How did I wake up this morning? Did I wake up in a bad mood for no apparent reason? Did I wake up stressed before my feet even hit the floor? Did I allow my troubles, trials, or challenging circumstances to rob me of a good night’s sleep because I failed to bring it to the Lord in prayer? Did I pray about my situation, but still held on to it, causing me to continue stressing about it? Have I lost sight of the fact that God woke me up this morning, even though I was not guaranteed today yesterday?” Some of us even allow the weather, and not God, dictate whether or not our day is going to be good or bad. Life is short and we are not promised tomorrow (Jm 4:13-17). If we do anything short of beginning our day by thanking God for His blessings in our lives and for the fact that He gave us another day, then we are setting ourselves up to live a miserable day, focused on every, besides the Lord, that troubles us. If we do anything short of waking up and praising God for His goodness, we set ourselves up to allow the enemy to fill our minds with doubts and thoughts of what might happen, that in reality may never come to pass. Every day that we are given is a new canvass for us to paint something on. We can fill it with thanksgiving, praise, and good works motivated by our faith, God’s grace, and appreciation for the eternal life we have been given, even though we do not deserve it; or we can fill our day with worry, stress, bitterness, anger, and all that will cause us to respond improperly, leading to the ruin of our testimony and misrepresentation of the One we represent here on earth, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The fact of the matter is that we must make a conscious effort to remind ourselves that each day is truly a gift from God and we must purpose to fill it with the peace and joy that only God can give us in Christ (Jn 14:27). The Psalmist had much to be grateful for as the Lord had answered his prayers and delivered him (v. 5). He put his trust in the Lord, and not in men (v. 8-9). The Lord delivered him, was his strength, and his salvation (v. 10-14). Our downfall in failing to celebrate a new day, the way that we should, is that we focus on what we cannot control or predict; that is, what will happen tomorrow, or even later in this new day. We therefore worry and stress over that which is in the hands of the One who has already proven His faithfulness. The Psalmist focused on all the good the God did, even in the midst of all his troubles. We must learn to keep our eyes on Jesus, remind ourselves that the Spirit is in us, and that our God has promised to always be with us and that He will be our Helper (Heb 13:5-6). Even though we may not see the immediate victory, in Christ we have been promised the victory (Jn 16:33), and that should be enough to cause us to rejoice and be glad, regardless of what our circumstances may look like to us. The greatest victory we who are born again have tasted is our victory over sin and death. This victory has come to us in Christ when we called upon Him in faith. Therefore, anything we experience for the remainder of our time here (whether He calls us home or comes back to get us all) is not to be compared to what He has in store for us when we are finally with Him (1 Pt 1:3-9; Jm 1:2). The Word of God reminds us that we are not to worry about today or tomorrow, but trust Him for whatever we will need, both today and tomorrow (Mt 6:25-34). We may not always understand what God is doing, but we are not to lean on our own understanding, but submit all our ways to Him, and trust Him for the outcome (Pro 3:5-6). When we begin to feel anxious, we are to bring it to Him in prayer so that the peace of God that passes all understanding can guard our hearts and minds in Christ (Phil 4:6-7). We are to cast all our cares upon Him because He cares for us (1 Pt 5:7). If we have all these promises to fill each day, how can we not then recognize that this day was made by Him, under His full control, and thereby be able to rejoice and be glad in it? There are many things that can cause our day to go “sideways”. However, if we keep our eyes on Him, nothing will move us or defeat us. We may suffer a temporary failure or loss, but the real failure is the failure to recognize that in Christ we have already won, and in Him we have every reason to live a life of joy and peace regardless of what happens; not because of our ability to overcome, but because in Him we have overcome, and He is over all. Our ability or failure to rejoice and be glad comes down to what we choose to put our focus on. Let it be Jesus.

If you do not know Jesus, let today be the day of your salvation. He extends an invitation to you today to accept His free gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus in repentance, confessing their sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His free gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).