Christians United

Verse of the day: Philippians 2:3-4 Let nothing be  done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

In this world of "self", "take care of #1", and "me, me, me", these verses will definitely have us swimming against the tide. If there is anything God wants to see from His people, aside from worship, and obedience, it's unity with humility. Sadly, there are way too many Christians trying to out do each other. We are not here to compete with each other to see who can buy the bigger, and better, house or car. Who can attain the higher degree or better job. Who can have the greater status in society or within the church. I can go on and on. We are here to worship together, and serve God together. We are to be united, with one purpose, and one cause in mind; spreading the Gospel, and representing God, in Christ, in a way that brings Him honor, and glory. We are to not look down on each other, but lift each other up. We are to look upon our brother/sister, regardless of status or background, and treat them as if they are more important to us than ourselves. We are to look out for the good of others, and make it a priority over our selfish wants. We are to care for each other's needs, knowing God will take care of our needs. We are to serve each other in kindness, and love. Jesus said that by this, the world will know we are His. We are not to be busybodies or gossipers, but always ready to help when needed or sought out. We are to sacrifice time, self, and resources, if necessary, in order to allow God to use us to be a blessing to one another. We could move heaven, and earth if we were as organized as our enemy. Remember, as born again believers we have the same Father, the same Savior, and the same Spirit indwelling us. Let us come together, and show the world that we are united, and we are His. Only then will God be able to do truly great, and miraculous, things in Christianity today. Only then will we see true revival. It all begins with us, and how we respond to God, and each other.

Be Still

Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!

Be still...something that most people, even Christian, do not like to do today. It seems that every day everyone is in a hurry to do this or that. Everyone is busy doing this or that, and the result is that we either get too busy to spend real time with God, or we "speed" thru our "quiet" time with Him, and completely miss those moments when He is telling us to be still. This is especially important during times when we are experiencing anxiety, and stress, because of troubling or difficult circumstances. One of the things that causes us the most worry, and anxiety, is when we take on areas of our life that God desires to take control of. Those areas where He wants us to trust Him, and exercise our faith, but we're too busy trying to "fix it" ourself. The end result is usually that God allows us to be in situations that are impossible for us to resolve on our own, situations out of our control. The choice we have to then make comes down to, we can either stress ourself to the point of breaking down (emotionally, physically, and mentally) or we can trust God, pray, and be still. If we do the latter, the end result will be that we will see, and experience, God do what only He can do, which builds our faith, and serves as a blessing in our life. Ultimately, it becomes a wonderful testimony for us to use to exalt God before an unsaved world, and encourage other born again believers to trust, and worship, Him.

Blessed Chastening

Proverbs 3:11-12 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord , Nor detest His correction; For whom the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.

We are reminded of this very thing in the Book of Romans. As God's children (born again believers) we receive all kinds of blessings. They do not always come in the form of money or material things. Although they may come by way of answered prayers for healing, resolution to a troubling situation, etc; there is another form of blessing that we do not always recognize as a blessing. It is God's correction in our life. Those times when God allows trials to come, whether in the form of an illness or hard consequences, resulting from us sinning against Him or someone else. God's correction is His way of reminding us that we belong to Him, and that He loves us. As we would not correct someone else's child, God does not chasten the unsaved, as they still belong to Satan. We however, we are part of His family, and the correction we receive should result in us changing our behavior or attitude so that we become more like our Savior; and that, my brothers and sisters, is a blessing. Think about it. God loves each of us enough to care that we are going down the wrong path with our anger, unforgiveness, bitterness, unkindness, selfishness, gossip, etc., and actually allows something to enter our life in order to get our attention, and turn us around, so that we not suffer greater consequences for our disobedience. That is true love, and a blessing. Sometimes it does call for tough love (hard consequences) in order to get our attention (I know this from personal experience), but the results are always for our benefit, our good, and His glory. So, if you are currently experiencing His chastening, acknowledge it, embrace it, thank Him for the blessing, and His love. You will ultimately praise Him for His goodness when you begin to see the change in your life, and come to the realization that you a one step closer to being more like Jesus.

Are We So Foolish?

Verse of the day: Galatians 3:3 Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh?

How did any of us become born again Christians? Was it by anything we did? Was it by some glorious work that impressed God so much that He just had to allow us to become part of His family? According to what I have found in His Word so far, I would have to say...no. The truth of the matter is that we all became born again believers, by faith, by the will of God; and we were justified (declared not guilty) by the righteousness of Jesus applied to us (and not our own righteousness). The Bible even goes so far as to say that our works of righteousness are like filthy rags to God (Book of Isaiah). So, let me ask you a question. If this is so, and it is, then why do we put so much weight on our works, after being saved by faith, when it comes to pleasing God, and trying to stay in His good graces? This is what the Apostle Paul was trying to help the Christians at Galatia understand. They had become Christians by putting their faith in the finished work of Christ; yet, others had come along, and convinced them, that along with their faith, they had to be circumcised. Sadly, this still happens today. Too many Christians have enslaved themselves again, after being made free by Christ. Too many have allowed themselves to be convinced that they must keep a certain set of rituals in order to continue enjoying God's favor. How can any of us gain God's favor via a method or ritual God sees as filthy rags. The only thing we do when we fall into that trap is give Satan, and his minions, ammunition to fuel our guilt when we fall short. In the end, the very system we set up is the very system that enslaves us, breaks us, and causes us to shy away from God. Our Father already showed us how much we fall short by the use of His Law. He then provided us a Way, Jesus, to be reconciled to Him. He even took a step further to remind us, in the Book of Hebrews, that the ONLY way to please Him is by faith. What does that mean or look like. It means that every good work we perform, as born again believers, should come from a heart of gratitude, and trust, knowing that we have gained all the favor we will ever have, because of, and in, Jesus. What it looks like is this; we have $1 to our name. God presents us with an opportunity to give that dollar to someone else in need. We give them the dollar. Now, if we gave the dollar because we were trying to gain more favor with God or show everyone what a good Christian we are or boost our own religious pride...then we missed the mark. However, if we give the dollar because we have faith that God will take care of our need, and we simply want to be obedient, and show the love of Christ, not expecting anything in return, and seeking only to bring God glory, and seek an opportunity to share Jesus with that person (regardless of whether or not we get another dollar back ourselves)...bingo! We have hit the mark! You see, there is a certain freedom in knowing that I am free to do good, because God will always take care of me, because He is good. There is a certain freedom in serving God, by faith, knowing that I am accepted by what Jesus did, and not by whether or not I did something to deserve it. Let our faith, and gratitude, fuel how we live for God, not religious rituals that only fuel our pride, and sense of self importance. Let the love of Jesus move us to serve Him, and others, expecting nothing in return, except glory for the One who deserves it all...our Lord, our Savior, our God.

I Am Always With You...

Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

These verses are known to many as the Great Commission. A command to go, win the lost, and teach them, making disciples of them. How are we doing in carrying out that command? When was the last time you told someone about Jesus and what He did for us on Calvary? When did you last hand someone a Gospel Tract to inform them of the free gift of salvation available to them? What are you teaching others about Jesus, and Christianity, by your behavior? Sometimes, as born again believers, we waste way too much time trying to correct the unsaved in respect to their behavior (which we should completely expect, considering they are unsaved), but then we turn around and behave like the devil ourself. We cuss, have a bad attitude, constantly complain, treat others unkindly, are dishonest, and have the worst work ethic. That my brother/sister should not be. We are certainly not perfect, for if we were, we would not need Jesus. However, for us as God's children, these things should be the exception, and not the rule. For with our actions, and behaviors, we are teaching the wrong thing in respect to what it is to be a born again Christian. Today, let us make a greater effort to tell others about Jesus, and share the Gospel message by whatever means we have; by speaking it, handing out a tract or tracts, and behaving in such a way that does not make us look like hypocrites, but instead opens the door for us to tell others about Christ, and at the same time teaches those who are watching (because, believe me, someone is always watching), what it truly means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

Do You Love God?

Psalm 97:10 You who love the Lord , hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

Do you love God? If you say yes, then do you hate evil? You might answer, "Of course!" Well, why is it that we say we love God, but we often involve ourself in evil practices? I understand that oft times it's part of the battle between our flesh, and the spirit, but quite often our involvement is the direct result of our own choice. We choose to cuss. We choose to lie or gossip. We choose to be unforgiving, and unkind. Amazingly, God has delivered us from all of that, as born again believers. He even, often, delivers us from those types of people. How then can we, as His children, behave in such manner? When we called upon Jesus, we were sealed by the Holy Spirit, and our salvation is secured. We cannot lose our salvation, and we are free from condemnation. However, our sinful choices, and actions have consequences. They hinder our relationship with God, and affect other people. Even so, it doesn't change God's love for us. That really quite amazing! Let us do our best, today, to obey God, do good, and trust Him to deliver us from any evil that may come our way or that we may be currently dealing with. Remember, the way to respond to evil is not by returning evil, but instead, doing good. He is our Strength, and our Protector.

Only One

Verse of the day: 1 Timothy 2:5-6 For there  is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,

Only One Way. Period. That seems so narrow minded. Well, yes, it is. However, that is the mind of God, who clearly tells us that there is only one Way to gain salvation, and one Savior...Jesus Christ. Too often, man wants to decide what the terms are going to be for reconciliation. Those terms usually involve man doing something that feeds man's ego, and pride (religion). God's Way to salvation is one that requires complete humility. It requires an admission that we cannot, and never will be able to, save ourselves, by our own works. Therefore salvation can only come thru Jesus, who gave His life for us, and who now represents us before our Heavenly Father. He desires relationship, not religion. Our gratitude for receiving such salvation is a life committed to, and surrendered to, God, as ambassadors of Jesus; living to worship, honor, and glorify Him. What most don't realize is that there is complete freedom in going before Jesus as our Representative, as opposed to confessing to another man, as our mediator. Jesus has paid the ultimate price, thereby making our burden light. Whereas man, always makes our burden heavier, and regardless of whether he is a pastor (although called to preach, and serve) or a priest, he is simply a man, a sinner, as we are. Jesus is the only One truly qualified, and accepted by God, to represent us before Him when we sin, and are seeking forgiveness. When we pray, it is because of Jesus righteousness, not ours, that we are heard; and when we know not what or how to pray, the Holy Spirit prays on our behalf. You see, we always have an open line to God, and access to the Throne Room of God, but only because of Jesus; because our salvation comes not from anything we have done, but by the sole will of God, and the work of Jesus on the Cross, at Calvary. Let us find comfort, joy, peace, and hope, in knowing that we have One who represents us who will always speak for us, in all situations and circumstances, and will never forsake us.