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The Lord has asked everyone to choose life because he does not want any man to perish. The men and women of the world whom the Father in Heaven is asking are not aware of God’s desire to save them from the coming wrath or the fact that God has chosen to love them regardless of what they have done. Theseey have never experienced a love that is determined to govern the way God thinks and shows respect for the people who don’t know him.  They haven’t n or understood love from God’s Perspective.                                                  (Continued after the links from God’s perspective)        

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Authority of God Versus Satan

We live in a world where every man, woman and child were given the power to think independently of each other. However, without delegating authority to govern our lives, we would live in a society where everyone would be in charge, but without order. Without the consensus of men to enact law and the delegate authority to govern its citizens, man would be unable to prosper. For this reason man has found it necessary to share authority and create a chain of command. Throughout the world man has formed several governments and each has a head of state, However, God is over all of them.

There are several forms of authority, the right of ownership for example, authority of influences and the authority to control personal possessions. Men and women gain authority by using his or her influence of strength, knowledge and experience while exercising their skills every day. Another authority passes the right of succession from Father to his heir within his family. God possesses all of the authorities mentioned above and is recognized by men to rule with supreme and sovereign authority.

God desires to rule over those who volunteer to be governed by his law and accept his Son’s authority as their Lord. In this arrangement, Jesus has the consent and legal right to rule your life for your benefit. By choice the entire citizenry of God’s Kingdom is subject to his rule.

God delegated his power and authority to the person of Jesus Christ, in the same manner as Pharaoh invested his authority to Joseph making him only responsible to Pharaoh himself. Jesus was accredited authority by God’s word and the signs and wonders that accompanied his ministry.

Jesus Christ does not have the unconditional authority of carte blanche, as no man has to bow his knee to God.  He has been commissioned by God to administer his Kingdom with authority to carry out a particular task of restoring the relationship of man to God.  The great commission given by Jesus Christ gave man the commission to go preach the good news and make disciples, to baptize them and to strengthen them by teaching the commands of God.  

In another form, God presents his authority as a father and head of the household with Jesus as the Son within his family unit. The Father has the responsibility to demonstrate and teach his children the wisdom gained from his knowledge and experience throughout his life. Within the family, the children are expected to obey the father who is ranked as the head of the household. The father’s upbringing produces a mature adult that is capable of having a long and successful life of his own. Being of noble character God expects his children to adopt the attributes of his grace and righteousness by living a morally pure life that is governed by a love for one another. The goal is a standard of holiness all the way down the ranks from God himself to the disciples of Jesus Christ. No one is exempt.

God dwells in the spiritual realm where his supreme and sovereign authority over his kingdom goes unquestioned. God like Jesus has a permanent authority by way of an indestructible life and uses his influence of strength, knowledge and experience to rule in a righteousness manner. Because God has supreme and sovereign authority, no one is able to topple his rule, exert authority over him or able to thwart his plans.

Authority requires responsibility and accountability for those under its control. Under the authority of God’s word the bible declares that everyone will give an account of his or her life.

We are accountable to God just as God is responsible to keep his promises. God makes his promises with a dedicated effort to do what he has promised. One of those promises is to reward everyone according to the deeds he or she has done in the flesh. Your deeds reflect the truth about your moral character whether good or evil. However, he especially warns all men that no evil will be tolerated in Heaven.

Satan has no authority that God hasn’t given to him. In open rebellion to God and his commands Satan is oppressing mankind relentlessly. Ages ago, God created Satan by the name Lucifer. He had the rank equivalent to Gabriel and Michael who also had command over hundreds of angels. In Heaven Lucifer was engaged in commerce becoming successful through the exchange of goods. He delighted in his appearance and became full of pride due to his beauty and accomplishments. Overtime he learned to become cunning and deceitful and decided to become like God. God became aware of his conduct and arrested him, stripped him of his heavenly privileges and expelled him from heaven all because a holy God would not tolerate his sin.

Knowing that his time is short and that his fate is certain, he was filled with fury and chose to vent his anger on the children of God. Currently he is waging a spiritual war on the inhabitants of the earth. Satan knows the power of deceit, and with cunning he is able to incite man to sin against God.  

The problem with this war is that it is spiritual in nature and no one can see into the spiritual realm through his or her eyes. Christians know of this war only because of what they learn about it through the word of God. The trials of their life make the truth of God’s word more certain. Those in the world are not aware of this war though they are both the pawns and the victims of this war.

Although Satan has no authority over men he knows how to coerce men to sin. Through intimidation he forces you to think that you will do more harm to your self by avoiding evil than doing things without concern of who gets hurt. Satan goal is to dominate and restrain your thoughts so you will reject God and the truth of his word.

To accomplish his goals Satan incites the world to chase after the wind and the things the world produces for its pleasure. The appetite of the world is filled with self-indulgence and keeps one busy yielding to things that absorb time and the resources that could be used to help the less fortunate.

Satan usurps a groundless and oppressive authority over the world through his skills of misinformation, outright lies, and deception.  He holds men slave to sin by a fear of death when its common knowledge that Jesus paid the penalty for the sins of the world. Although he incites you to sin he claims no responsibility for your sin but be assured he will accuse you of sin. To Satan you are just a trophy, in his attempt to humiliate God since he lost his battle with God for his throne.

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Believer Versus Sinner

God has given man the right to become the architect of his own beliefs.  However, the normal man is inclined to believe nothing more than what will work. To some man’s occupation is the most important area of life a man should be involved with. Even then the beliefs of the financier, the scientist and the lawyer are completely different from everyone else, whether or not they are college educated. Still, man must consider that God created men and made it possible for every man to believe the possible, the feasible and the truth and a way to determine if anything deviates from reality or truth.     

The thinking man needs a reason to believe and will not believe until the facts have convinced him of its reality. In other words, man must have a smidgen of trust and the hint of feasibility before he can believe anything. Ideas are often dismissed because they are not feasible or too impractical to be believed. When new ideas are presented to us, our mind immediately sorts through our memory to compare this idea with other ideas that have known to work. Within milliseconds we have information to determine whether the idea is feasible with what is known to exist.

Man solves his everyday problems with the knowledge he has. Most of us have heard the expression that a cat can be skinned nine different ways. While most problems can be solved in several ways, the only way you will solve your problems is the way you believe will work. Your experience gives you the confidence to know what you have done in the past will accomplish the same thing every time you do it.

Some say that seeing is believing. Children are amazed when the magician pulls the rabbit out of the hat. Magic is the sleight of hand for entertainment, but it is also very deceptive. The real art of the magician is to keep you focused on what you can see so the hidden object will be revealed at his command.

From this we should learn that all deception begins with what we know and understand. We see a huge amount of things taking place during out lifetime that should not have been done. What’s worse we don’t always see what has been done to correct the issue. The biggest deception of the world involves hiding our disgrace, shame and the consequence of your faults or what we call sin. What you don’t see is more often the deceiving factor.

Man can be deceived to believe in absolute power and become so corrupted that they do hideous things to other men. What is more shocking than genocide, torture, and starving its people to death, was those who deliberately sacrificed their children in the fire of a non-existent god. God said it was

God believed that man would learn to do worthwhile things and would do what is right to establish a life of worth. Led by deception Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and because they chose to sin against God, lost their right standing with God. The consequence of sin caused God to drive Adam and Eve from the Garden and subjected their lives with the harshness of decay in hope that man would regain right standing with God.

God revealed the truth when he said man is without excuse to believe that God exists.

The reason man has no excuse is that God made everything to glorify the creator of heaven and earth. God created man to perceive what he created and gave him the ability to understand the things he has seen. With this knowledge, God knows that man is able to determine that an invisible divine God exists. In addition God’s word says,

Regardless of where man lives in this world God has made his presence known. He is the reason every living thing produces a seed after its own kind. God created this world to have a prescribed order that like him would not change. The stars have a precise orbit around the sun and the moon has not left the earth’s side. The sun rises in the East and sets in the West and has done so ever since creation. There is nothing new under the sun and man’s environment has not changed. The habitat man lives in has instilled on man the common impression that a Supreme being that created everything solely for a purpose of supporting human life.

When Christians think about God plans, lets consider that God has a plan for our future long after he gathers us home.

The Christian understands this verse to be speaking of this world and the hereafter, which is a considerable amount of time.  At the same time let’s consider that God has a long list of characteristics that will not enter the Kingdom of God. Among them are the cowardly and the unbelieving (Revelation 21:8).

The unbelieving knows the promises of God, but is not willing to trust God to honor his word. The cowardly also knows the promises of God, but can not muster his strength to carry out God’s command. On the other hand, those who believe in Christ develop a love for God and learn to trust God with all his heart. His trust grows over time by taking God’s word to heart and then practicing its the principles.

The unbeliever rejects God and the principles of truth that God teaches. God is the last thing on his mind as he is filled with the concerns of his life and the problems the world throws at him. He is not interested in what God wants to do for him rather his concern is for the next paycheck and what it can do for him.

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Beside Water Versus Arid Places

Water was very important to Israel as the land is covered with very porous soil and stone. Israel is typical to land located near or at sea level, which normally absorbs the rain into the soil as fast as it falls. For this reason its not unusual when the rain stops to find tell tale signs that it had even rained. Israel has a long rainy season that gives the land thorough watering, but as the bible says.

You may think that water is plentiful, but in parts of the world water is so precious that water is sold and wars have been waged over water rights. The struggle for water occurred in biblical times under similar conditions. The bible tells us that Moses offered to pay for the water they drank while traveling through Edom. Again Abraham made covenants with the surrounding peoples to keep rights to the wells he had dug.  

The human body dehydrates rapidly and the early symptoms of dehydration begin with thirst. In addition, the need for water may be all that is on your mind when you haven’t had water for a long time. Water is important part of man’s survival as man is 95% water and the medical community advises everyone to drink 8 glasses of water a day. We lose water in perspiring and evaporation, but without replenishing our bodies with water, man would quickly perish.

The same is true in the spiritual life of man for without spiritual water of God’s word the spirit of man would perish. The spirit needs to be washed and nourished for a healthy spiritual life.  In the Old Testament, the inner parts of the sacrifice were washed before being placed on the altar. In the New Testament, your spiritual act of worship is to renew your mind to wash the evil from your heart.

The Christian that keeps himself near water is like the tree planted by streams of water. It’s leaf does not fall nor dry out, but yields good fruit in its proper time. They will neither hunger nor thirst, nor will the desert heat or the sun affect them. Being beside streams of water brings out the beauty of life and enables the living to prosper in the heat of the day.  

Plants of the earth take root searching for water and produce a crop useful to those that farm the land. In the same way the ungodly have their roots in the world’s system searching for ways to support their life. Christians on the other hand must sink their roots into Jesus Christ and things above. Matthew gave this reason.

God has prepared good works in advance for man to perform. However, eternal life is not based on what we produce, but on God’s grace and knowing God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Moses said we live by every word spoken by our father in heaven. Jesus said he spoke every word exactly the way his father told him to say them and that his words were spirit and life. When we think about being beside streams of water, lets remember that a river of life flows from the throne of God, and on its banks stands the tree of life yielding its fruit every month.  In the meantime we need to drink from the water that God gave us.

Being beside streams of water speaks of the living water that flows from God. It should create a desire to be bathing in God’s word and enjoy the times of refreshing that can only come from being in the water God provides. In addition, beside the streams of water speaks of the oasis surrounded by arid places. The oasis is where we received nourishment while renewing our minds to think as God does. In the same way those who build homes dig wells close to the house. The closeness to the well determines your ability to hear, obey and learn to please our Father in Heaven.

In the meantime the human race is in arid places where we have to seek water to survive. Isaiah spoke of people who worship with their mouths, but their hearts were on everything but God. In addition, James said they praise our Lord and Father in church, but when at work they curse man made in God’s likeness. The double minded want the good things God has to give, but they also place a higher value on the things God hates. At the same time they seldom go looking for spiritual water and will perish for that reason. All they have is hope but even that hope is futile for two reasons.  The world does not understand that God has a mind of his own and God will not accept their failure to seek him. They avoided the knowledge of God and refused to go to the stream where the water of life flows.

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Birth Versus Death

The most exciting and beautiful time of marriage is when their child makes his or her debut. It is a time of celebration remembered throughout the lifetime of every parent. Birth is a beginning, an origin that happens once a lifetime for each person. However birth is only a beginning, as time never stops due to its relentless pursuit of the future yet to come.  

The time and location of your birth as those before you were not of your choosing.  At birth everyone has something in common, they were given a set of circumstances they must learn to overcome. During our lifetime every person has billions of decisions to make, some are good and others not so good. Still God made it a natural choice for parents to want children because children are a gift of God that has purpose and in time meaning.

The dawn of a new day begins at sunrise and for men and women worldwide, at the same time dawn start a day’s work and the aches and pains you suffer from at the end of the day. What would life be like without the dawn of a new era, a new idea and a new life that begins with God? Even ideas have an origin and everything produced by man has a day it was conceived and made.

The earth had its origin in time and man knows that God created the heavens and the earth. Although scientists believe that all life began as a single cell they have not been able to determine how, when or where the first cell originated. Scientists also believe that every species of life began around the same time. However with all their scientific expertise, they will never be able to explain how many life forms evolved from that single cell.

Even Adam and Eve would have to admit that they were not present while the heavens and the earth was created.  However, God was there - and if anyone had his expertise concerning the truth of creation, God had it.  Most scientific theory is subject to change because the sum of all truth is not accepted by every human being there is some confusion. But if God and the scientist could see each other the Scientist and God would be of one accord.

Ideas are conceived in the mind just like babies that are conceived in the womb. However, everything conceived is a stage that begins the overall process prior to birth. In other words the automobile was conceived on paper long before the actual car rolled off the assembly line.  In addition the candidate announced his bid for the elected office and campaigned before he took the oath of office. Each introduced a process for an expected outcome. In the same way God created the earth before the beginning of time.

Sin also had its origin in the garden when Adam and Eve ignored the warnings of God that they may eat from every tree except the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Free will and the ability to make decisions apart from God began a process that immediately separated man from God. God drove Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden and placed them in surrounding that forced man’s toil to eat by the sweat of his brow.

The bible tells us that all sinned.

The knowledge that all men have sinned leads to repentance through the mercy of God.  We learn that God’s mercy combined with his Grace is a gift that begins a new life that will last forever. We also learn that by repenting and recognizing Jesus Christ as Lord we begin a new life without the wrath of God hanging over us. This new beginning is called the born again experience. It’s not the rebirth of the flesh, but a choice of God to give birth to our spirit and begin a life of communion with God. Through this born again experience we become the children of God and heirs to the Kingdom of God.

We make millions of choices during our life and all of those choices give birth to deeds that we will be judged for. James wrote,

The average Christian does not want to sin as sin gives birth to guilt, broken fellowship, and the discipline of a loving father. However, sin is that which we know is wrong, and do anyway, it is an act that will separate you from God and eventually bring death by the lake of fire. God’s discipline is good as it gives birth to understanding and teaches you the reasons why you shouldn’t sin again. On the other hand, obedience gives birth to our father’s approval and the trust that nurtures our relationship with God.

However everyone will taste death when his or her body has been spent. When that happens the love ones left behind experience a total separation from their those who passed on to meet their maker. There is something final about death as there are no more decisions to make no more chances to tell that someone special that you love them. What’s worse, no more opportunities to accept Jesus Christ as Lord or get right with God.  Although they heard that God loved them they did nothing about it. They knew that God sent his son that whosoever believed on him would not perish. At every turn in life they rejected the gospel of Jesus Christ showing God their need for him. With tears in his eyes God will say you have showed me your desires and I will grant them. Depart into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

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Blessing Versus Curses 

The blessings of Deuteronomy 28 involved the promises of God in relation to the obedience of his people. Those who obeyed him would be pursued by the first fourteen verses of Deuteronomy 28. God promised that Israel would see God’s favor and the work of their hands would prosper. Those who violated God’s law would be plagued with the last fifty-two verses describing the things that God would do to frustrate the ways of the wicked until they overtaken and ruined.

Today we think of blessing as the short prayer before a meal to recognize and thank God for the bounty placed on our dinner table. In addition we find the words “God bless you” are used more today when people sneeze than for any other reason. The purpose for blessing has lost its meaning especially when it can be given without knowing God.

The blessing was to be spoken over the children of God by Aaron’s sons and God would bless those blessed by Aaron. God instructed Moses to command Aaron and his sons to verbally give the Israelites the blessings above. The reason for blessing his people was God’s name would be placed on his people and then God would bless them.  

Balak son of Zippor sent for Balaam because he knew about the one talent that he was known for, which would enable him to defeat Israel. Balak knew that whoever Balaam cursed would be cursed and whoever he blessed would be blessed (Numbers 22:6). Balaam refused to go at first and may have known that Israel was blessed of God. Despite the fees he would receive, he informed the messengers that he could only say what God gave him to speak. Against the known will of God, Balaam went to Balak’s camp overlooking Israel. There he offered sacrifices to God and sought his will. Through Balaam, God blessed Israel and turned the Balak’s desired for cursing into a blessing.

God blesses his people so they may be a blessing to the world. God does not want you to curse anyone, if anything God prefers that you bless those who persecute you (Romans 12:14). This command strikes a hard note with those that prefer to bare grudges and seek revenge. Still God sets the example for us, without showing a desire for revenge, God sent rain on the wicked as well as the righteous. God sent his only son to bless the world with the grace of God and his redemption plan that demonstrate his love for all men.

The act of blessing other men is a way to show God’s love through you to all men. It is a way to show mankind that God does not want anyone to perish but come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ. God wants man to prosper and not to be harmed, instead he has plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Blessing one another is God’s will and shows your wish to contribute to the well being and prosperity of others.

Your words have the potential to completely change your life and your tongue is likening to a rudder that keeps a ship on course or the spark that starts a forest fire. Your spoken word affects how people feel about you and you may have to eat crow through an apology for what you said. The bible says,

The way things are said can put you into the arms of the one you love or it can put you in the doghouse. Jesus said, on the Day of Judgment men will have to give account for every careless word they have spoken (Matthew 12:36). It appears as if man can be careless about what he says or give careful thought before speak so other people may keep their dignity, be blessed through the words you speak and gain wisdom that they can use throughout their life.

To Abraham God made this covenant.

God said I will bless you and all people will be blessed through you. The power of the tongue is influenced by the treasuries found in the heart and is displayed through the words of your mouth.  James says the tongue is likening to a spark that engulfs forest with fire, but it also steers the ship wherever we want to go. Wouldn’t it be better to steer our life and those in the boat with us in the way you would want to go? You can bless others the way you would want to be blessed by releasing God’s love on earth.

Binding agrees with God’s love and shows an agreement with words said on earth and the corresponding actions taken in heaven. In the same way your blessing agrees with God’s word that all people would be blessed through you. Your blessing gives God the opportunity to work with you to openly display the love of God.

On the other hand people think of curses as being profanity or using God’s name in vain. However, curses are careless words spoken in anger, which display the character of an evil person. With his or her mouth the world openly displays the desire to see misfortune fall on those they curse.

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Choice Versus Neglect

Life is filled with diversity ranging from what we can become to what we want out of life and yet when making decisions our preferences always makes the short list.  Most people think that life did not come with an instruction manual, but the same people treat life in the same way we treat the written instructions of God. For some people they would have never put the bike or furniture together without the pictures on the instruction sheet. And although the engineer that created the bike or furniture wrote the instruction manual its more convenient to look at the pictures and ignore the help of his instructions.    Man is used to putting his life together from the pictures that the lives of other people.

If everyone had the choice to succeed in life they would make that choice in a heartbeat.  The number of how to do books grows each day, but unknown to the reader wanting success, the author earns more from selling his ideas than he does from following his plan. On the other hand, the bible, the greatest how to do book ever written is largely ignored because it advocates a disciplined life no one wants.

At the same time the bible is full of pictures pertaining to human life and includes the rise and fall of men’s stature.  The pictures in God’s word are not the kind of picture hung in an art museum, but pictures that should be hanging on the walls of your heart. These pictures serve as reminders to guide and encourage us to make our life one that God can accept and treasure in his own home. These pictures also help us shape the desires of our heart and work to become what we want out of life.

Our choices reflect the way we think and depending on how we think we can guide our life to success or to despair. The prudent man makes informed decisions based on knowledge and those who are willing to pay the piper are more likely to find themselves on the short end of the stick. Those who consider the outcome of bad choices and make plans to avoid failure.

When we take a serious look at the motives for our choices all of them are selfish in nature. Every choice we make reflects our preference even when it comes to the choices God wants us to make. People live their lives as they see fit, which reflects our way of making choices, which are based on preferences. The knowledge of God makes us aware of the fairness of his methods and warns us of the outcome your actions will create. The wisdom of God gives tells a number of stories from which we gain insight into the manner other people lived and the outcome derived from the choices they made good and bad. These stories make it possible for us to gain insight for the decisions we have to make that we would otherwise learn the hard way. The success or failure of biblical characters provides you with reason to make godly choices.  

When making choices you must determine what you are going to make happen. You have the right to make good decisions as well as bad ones. Remember that every decision you make creates a domino affect, which causes one domino falling against a line of dominos. The result is that the choice you made yesterday affects the one you will make today. Again the choice you make affect the lives of other people and the choices they make. Therefore, any choices you make should reflect a concern for how they affect the next person’s life. From this idea, we should understand that our lives are intertwined with other people as the decisions they make affects our lives too.

The outcome from your choices helps other people to discern the true nature of your character. Men and women become liars because of the number of times they do not fulfill promises to one another. What is worse is that we remember such things and shape our trust for men and women according to the way they respond to you.  

The bible tells us that God will reward each man according to his deeds. Your deeds tell God about the character you have developed and whether your deeds are the sin that God detests. The bible tells us how we may know and approve what God’s will is and what pleases him. Ultimately your deeds show God your worthiness as a member of his household and a citizen of Heaven.

Prime beef is a higher grade of beef than hamburger, diamonds are better that cut glass and the freedom to choose is better than being dictated to. The quality of products and what appeals to your taste determines the value of things chosen for your daily use. These may be a preferred choice but not the ones we actually make. Choices also have a cost in exchange for what is wanted and while prime beef is what we want, hamburger is all we can afford.

Eternal life or going to heaven is another choice man must make. You have the knowledge that heaven and hell exist and the proof that God exists embedded within your heart. The problem is that men do not seek the right knowledge needed to ensure safe passage to heaven.  Instead men hope they have been good enough for God to accept them into the kingdom of God. Another fatal mistake is that they have not accepted Jesus Christ who paid the price for our eternal life.

The choices we make today shape our future. Everything on earth proceeds in an orderly fashion and plans are made according to how things respond to what we do. The bible makes it plain that God considers the way he lives. From the Bible we learn that God does not want man to perish but to repent of his ways (2 Peter 3:9). With that in mind he has planned a way for all men to obtain salvation through Jesus Christ.

Heaven is the preferred destination for anyone that understands heaven is a better choice than hell. God has made known the only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ. Ultimately, your choices committed to, turn into deeds that either prove or neglect of turning away sin and shunning evil. By knowing and doing things that please God you will show God that you love him and have obeyed his commands.

In contrast the world is filled with people who dismiss God’s purpose and who through carelessness forfeit their salvation from neglect. God knows that he has done everything in his power to inform man of his existence and his plan of salvation, so men are without excuse. God should accept them into their kingdom just because they feel they are morally good and sound people, At the same time they refuse to have anything to do with him. Instead, they live by the pictures that they see men do and think that they are worthier than the other people.   All their life, the arrogant man of self made importance have told God where he can go, not realizing that on Judgment day God will tell them where to go.

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Citizens Versus Aliens

God created the earth for man to inhabit and populate the earth with his own kind. It would be a matter of history to explain how the earth was populated and how the human race settled down in different locations. However in due time the land where Abraham and Lot lived was not large enough to support the herds they owned. This began to fuel arguments between the two groups.

Even before Abraham’s time people bonded together into groups outside the family unit for common reasons. Villages developed as upright men and women found strength in numbers and joined to protect one another. Men built walls around their villages and fortified them to withstand animals and those with malicious intent from harming the citizens inside.

It is safe to say that every person within a village was not of the same mind. Some wanted to be wealthy and others wanted to be allowed to live in peace with his neighbor. Those who became wealthy used devious ways to take an advantage of suppliers and customers.  Those who wanted to live in peace found it increasingly difficult to get along with deceitful people. For this reason men formed governments and agreed to live by the laws they legislated.

Every person within the family unit bonds through the time they spend together and form a sense of belonging and loyalty to this unit. Being a citizen of a City, State or nation works on the same principles as the family unit only on a larger scale. Your relation with citizenship gives you a sense of belonging and loyalty with your friends, neighbors and those who are known and live close by.  

Everyone becomes an instant citizen at the moment of birth and most live their entire lives in the vicinity where they were born. Still citizenship can be derived in several ways. A few men are dual citizens as they were born in one country and live in another. Men have also defected by abandoning their loyalty to the nation where they were born. However, before anyone can become a naturalized citizen of another country they must give their pledge to obey the laws of the nation adopting them as their citizen. The reality of citizenship permits you the opportunity to know where you belong and the ability to be reasonably safe and secure in the state where you live.

Christians have dual citizenship as their name is written down in heaven in addition to being pilgrims in the world. Christian’s consider themselves to be pilgrims in the sense that they are traveling through this world on the way to their true home in heaven. The reality is that Christian’s have dual citizenship as they have a physical relation to where they were born on earth and a spiritual birth registered in the book of life in Heaven.  

Christians are also naturalized citizens of heaven as they spend a lot of time learning the history of God working with man. In addition they learn the laws of the kingdom and obey them out of respect for God. Then they pledged their allegiance to God and promised to serve God the remainder of their life. They have set their hope in Jesus Christ and are abandoning the ways of kingdom of darkness to begin a life’s journey as citizens of heaven.

However, Christians living on earth have become strangers in a land that does not know God and must serve the kingdoms of God and endure the kingdom of men.  Christians know the moral laws of the kingdom of God far exceed those of men and share that knowledge as Christ’s representative. Christians in foreign lands are the ambassadors of Jesus Christ with a mission of reconciling men to God. Their mission is to present the gospel to whomever will listen and present the gospel of Jesus Christ accurately. Inviting foreign nationals or sinners to Church offers a picture of the ambassador issuing a temporary visa into the kingdom of God in hopes of demonstrating God’s goodness and help them obtain citizenship in heaven.

To enter the kingdom of God you must orally declare with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe that he died and was raised from the dead.

Because of your faith in Jesus Christ, God translated us into the kingdom of his Son. Because of this, you are no longer considered a foreigner, but a fellow citizen with God’s people. Although we live on earth our citizenship is in heaven therefore we must begin adopting the ways of God. The process only began when you swore allegiance to Christ and now you must learn to hear and obey the laws of God’s kingdom. All of God’s command hangs on two commands. As law-abiding citizens of Heaven we must love God with all our being and do unto others what you want them to do to you. The good news is that we have a personal tutor to guide us through the lifetime process.

For the time being, there is work to be done and people that need to find Jesus Christ as their Savior.  We expect that the day our faith will become reality soon and dream about walking the streets of God’s kingdom. Once there we will not need to lock our door or have anything to fear. We will live under the shadow of our Lord and Savior and he will cover us with love.

Those who have not confessed Jesus as their Lord are foreigners and will not receive the privileges given to the citizens of heaven. For the most part they served their own ends all their life and gave their allegiance to no one. They opposed the things of God and refused enter the house of God. They also knew that God existed but did nothing to seek him or learn what he planned for them. By choice they refused to allow Jesus Christ in their life and by this choice reserved a place in Satan’s kingdom as a citizens of hell.

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Clean Versus Unclean

When as human beings try to define the word clean we tend to consider the exterior of things because that is what we see with our eyes. We spend a lot of time removing dust and polishing things to make them both usable and attractive. However, tools and machines need to be disassembled periodically to repair and in the process we clean and oil the interior parts. This is when we truly discover that dirty machine parts wear out and something must be done to restore the machine into working order.  

The person with a mechanical aptitude understands that dirty machinery wears out faster than those cleaned and oiled frequently do.  Somehow tiny specks of grit work their way through seals to critical joints between parts and grind the parts during normal use. Eventually these parts break under normal conditions and do additional damage to other parts of the machine.

Americans are taught a wide range of personal hygiene, which promotes good health. They are taught the negative side of bacteria and what germs can cause. When it involves the food we eat we wash the food, the dishes and our hands to remain healthy. Even as we grow up, we are given baths by mom or dad and later in life we are expected to bathe daily.  Mom thinks it’s important enough to tell us don’t forget to wash behind the ears and brush your teeth.

Lets not forget that mom washes the dishes and clothes, mops the floors, and demands that you clean your room.  The windows are cleaned once a year, and if someone is invited over there is a mad rush to pickup the newspapers put the pillows back in place and throw the trash away.  The housekeeper makes a good impression, but this makes the house look like a showcase, as if no one lived there.  Still this practice is an attempt to hide the poor living habits of those living in your home.

The bible tells us that the Pharisees went overboard to make public displays of being religious in everything they did. Jesus said even though they appeared to be religious they neglected the more important matters of the law regarding justice, mercy and faithfulness. Jesus said that men saw them as saints of the most high God, but what they treasured in their hearts made them wicked men. They harbored greed, self-indulgence, hypocrisy and covered it with acts people thought was righteous before God.  

Jesus spoke of a different kind of cleanliness, a cleanliness of the heart. God sees our life from a different perspective, not so much as a physical being, but as a spiritual being. The bible tells us that God doesn’t look at man in the same way men do.

God is concerned with the condition of the heart that guides our spiritual life. It is easier to take a bath, scent our bodies with perfume and colognes, comb our hair and dresses in the finest apparel than to rid our minds of the filth of this world. Men are experts at making a good impression until they speak. When they speak they display the treasures eating away at their heart.

The thoughts harbored in our hearts are the steering mechanism that motivates our decisions and the deeds that follow. When men allow evil thoughts to guide their life, their friends and relatives will see their faults. No matter how good you are at covering your sins, God will know about them. Your words and deeds display and testify to the nature of your being.

The Pharisees trusted in the relation of being Abraham children who were God’s chosen people. Jesus said,

The Pharisees knew the law of God and yet served God their own way and often nullified God’s word by the way they lived. Hundreds of prophecies were fulfilled before their eyes yet in their eyes it was impossible for Jesus to be God in the Pharisees eyes. The words Jesus spoke at his trial and the words the Pharisees refused to believe condemned Jesus to death.  As far as they were concerned Jesus was just another man claiming to be God’s son.

Paul wrote that it was a spiritual act of worship to renew our minds to know God’s good, pleasing and complete will. He wrote that we should think about things that are noble, true, admirable and praiseworthy, (Philippians 4:8). He said that Jesus gave his life for the church cleansing the church with water of the word, (Ephesians 5:25-27). John writes that the blood of Jesus Christ purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7). To summarize these thoughts spending sufficient time in God’s word an cleanse you of evil thoughts. Remember what Jesus said to his disciples,

In God’s sight, sin is the moral corruption of our spirit that separates him from us. The contamination from sin corrupts the qualities of good in men and women and must be removed. It is written that sin can not be atoned for without the shedding of blood. In addition we must confess our sin and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior..

Maintaining our cleanliness before God requires every Christian to bathe our spirits in God’s word by the washing with water through the word. This takes your time and effort on your part. At the same time take his words of instruction to heart.

To God uncleanness is likening to the speck of dirt in a precious gem, but it is the one part that completely ruins the value of the stone. God has a collection of precious stones surrounding his throne known as the crystal sea. Every stone in his collection was hand picked for their purity. They sparkle with clarity reflecting the glorious light of their God and Savior. Therefore do not expect God to choose a defective stone corrupted with evil to be in his collection?

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Clear versus obscured

The wife and I took a trip on the Blue Ridge trail that led to a mountaintop at the border of Tennessee and North Carolina. There is a viewing point with coin operated telescopes that allows you to see five states with your eyes on a clear and sunny day. The mountain’s height and clear skies allow you to see for miles until the distance becomes a haze of colors. People disappear in distance from your perspective due to the vastness of God’s creation. Like looking at the stars at night when they become nothing more than light in the darkness of night these great distances give a different viewpoint about human life. The broader picture or those things seen from a distance tends to make man appear to be insignificant in the overall picture. Without the knowledge that the creation was designed to support mankind, man appears to have been an accident or a freak of nature.

It is not unusual to see the telescopes or binoculars used by people at this height to view the surrounding landscape. These instruments allow more clarity, even though things in the distance still may not be seen clearly. Telescopes and binoculars are limited to adjust and focus your eyes on what these instruments are pointed at.  In the same way, scientists use a microscope to enlarge molecules too small to be seen with the eye to allow their eyes to focus in on minute details.

Seeing clearly with the eye depends on the amount of light, movement and distance. We pay more attention to things that are closer due to its clarity rather than things off in the background that don’t affect you.  Still what is seen depends on the amount of light and all too often we need to use additional light to identify what may be seen. In addition, whatever is moving catches our attention and our eyes focus on the movement to know what is causing it.

Clear can be used is several ways and carry the same general idea. A field is cleared to plow, a man is cleared of all charges, and he is clear of all debts. The things hindering your life from moving forward are no longer in the way, giving a freedom to see, hear and do something with your life.  In the same way having a clear conscious means that you have nothing to feel guilty about.

We have yet to talk about the clarity of your life and language. What’s clear about you may not be clear to God and your friends. Especially when what you say is not what you do. Therefore it is important to know that the things you promised to do must agree with corresponding deeds that agreed with your promise. Your word shapes the opinions of men and women depending on you. If you repeatedly fail to do what is asked of you its clear that your word mean nothing to you.

In Revelation 3:16, Jesus said that you were lukewarm because he was unable to make the distinction of whether you were hot or cold. The double mind man changes his mind back and forth from doing something one way and then another way.   He is like a tree shaken by the wind and the waves of water that roll in and retreat to the sea. His stand is unclear and undependable to those who observe his life.

It’s difficult to be of one mind when we must associate with people who do not have the same God. The peer pressure of the world is constantly tugging on your life wanting you to come over to their side. However Christianity is a commitment and a personal relationship to remain loyal to Jesus Christ. To counter the tug of the world James wrote.

And Jeremiah quoted God’s promise that you would be his people.

Christianity would be a guessing game without a God that responds to our needs. Our God understands that humanity is corrupted by his evil desire and would eventually become perverse like the men of Sodom and Gomorrah left unchecked. Drawing near to God is a matter of spending time with God in seeking his presence in prayer and bible study. Your time spent in prayer and bible study is what washes and purifies your heart. It creates the change of heart God wants when you allow God to reason with you and show you what evil does to people. With God’s help you will see a clear picture of evil and learn what to do to avoid doing evil.

Mimicking the nature of God and taking advantage of God’s precious promises offers God the opportunity to demonstrate his nature to you. At the same time, God is looking for distinct qualities in his children and your deeds will provide clarify with the proof of the right qualities.

As Christians we must work out our salvation with God making sure that we have a clear relationship with God.  God wants your life to be without spot or blemish knowing that if we confess our sins, he is faithful to forgive us of our sins. God wants those who worship him in spirit and in truth and the way you live demonstrates the truth of your character.

However there are a few people that do not give any attention to the aspect of life through Jesus Christ. These people muddy up the true picture of life by obscuring and treating the consequences of their sin like a trophy. They make sin attractive to those who want to live as they see fit. Therefore they only see what they want to see and neglect the possibility that God will judge the world for its sin.

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Comfort Versus Apathy

People think of comfort as the relative safety of their home where they can put their feet up lie back and take it easy. Within the home there is a sense of tranquillity where the average person can do what pleases him or her. Everyone has built their home with the things that interest them and the things that they hope will relieve the tensions the work place created. Still at home, there is another kind of unrest apart from workplace that causes tension with the family unit. It seems as if everyone of the kids need to be ten different places at the same time every night of the week and mom is too tired to be super Mom.

Juggling the responsibility of parenthood generates a huge amount of stress, which tires out mom and dad. The kids are full of energy and can’t wait to get to the next activity on their agenda jumping up and down and screaming with delight. So completely engulfed with their life they are unaware of their mother and father’s feelings and that their enthusiasm places stress in their parent’s life. The problem being that either parent doesn’t seem to have the time for their hobbies or do the rest of what is expected of them.

Stress is a part of life but who has the time to look for the causes of stress. Even when you know what causes stress there is not much that you can do about it. Adults tend to buy things to relieve stress such as TV’s and other electrical gadgets. However, no matter how many TV’s in the home there is always someone who wants to watch another channel.

Today men and women buy gadgets to relieve stress and help them to relax, but these gadgets do not bring contentment. Instead they use up your time on games that temporarily keep your mind busy on other things. Gadgets create more problems in the long run, as there are not enough gadgets to go around and everyone wants to use the one you are using. The outcome is that gadgets develop a selfish attitude in the people who use them when selfishness is a contributing cause for stress.

The world derives a false sense of comfort in things rather in ways to comfort others. In other words they seek ways to please self rather than live in ways that brings comfort to the lives of other people. There is a stronger sense of personal worth and self-esteem when you serve the well being of other people.  Personal integrity and dignity instills comfort to the man who has lived his life helping those less fortunate than he is.

Our Father in heaven is the God of all comfort and he is the shining example of what all Christians should become. God comforts us in our times of mental distress and anguish and he relieves and soothes our physical sufferings. In addition he encourages us always lifting us out of the mire and setting us on solid ground. He does it so we can encourage and comfort others in their time of need. We can say this is what God has personally done for us and if he has helped us he will certainly help you.

Just as God in heaven is the God of all comfort he is also a God of compassion. To comfort others we also must have compassion for people. Compassion is a concern over the suffering of others and the desire to do what it takes to ease and relieve the pain. One may not be able to change the circumstances, but we can always be there to help them through the time of trouble.  

A personal example of the God of all comfort is the comforter that God gives each of his children. What a comfort it is to know that God does not want anyone to perish and that he gives his Holy Spirit to comfort and guide our lives. The Holy Spirit is the guarantee of what is to come, the seal that identifies Christians as those who belong to God.

Another comfort is the promises of God and the plans of God to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11). Christians have the hope of glory, the belief that God will return with Jesus Christ.  With our own eyes and in our own glorified body will live in God’s home and reign with him forever

All Christians have been given a hope of glory – a ministry of reconciliation – compassion – and a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. All gifts from God, given to us to glorify and exhort God so all men may come to know a loving God that is concerned for every man’s well-being.

However we can be like the Priest and the Levite who crossed the road to avoid the half-dead man on the berm of the road. It was the Samaritan who took pity with compassion bound up the wounds and then paid the innkeeper out of his pocket to care for the injured man until his health returned.

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Commitment Versus Reneging

One of the most sacred commitments a Christian enters into is the covenant he or she has with their Lord and Savior. A personal relationship with God is a covenant of love demanding the Christian to love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their mind and with all their strength.  The duration of this covenant is for the rest of your life and when you think about it the rest of your life you must embrace all of eternity.

Christians consider entering into a covenant with God make an agreement to serve God for the rest of their lives. The actual agreement contains two parts, the part man has and the part that God has. God’s part is to be our God as long as we love and obey him and our part is to love and obey him. Sounds relatively simple but there is more to our part of loving and obeying God and to God’s part of being our God than the wording of the agreement would indicate.

A Covenant is an agreement containing one or more promises that each party agrees to do for the benefit of the other party.  It’s a formal arrangement where an exchange of goods and services can be achieved in an orderly fashion. However, most contractual agreements contain a penalty for failure to meet the contractual arrangement and compensation for complying as agreed.

For the most part, the covenant Christians make with God is a formal verbal contract with the public announcement that Jesus is Lord. The verbalizing your commitment makes it a binding agreement with God. A commitment is a promise or a declaration that you will or won't do something, which creates a bond, which obligates you to carry out the vow.

It’s not too unusual for the covenant with God to be breached with a deed called sin. However, the covenant with God has a clause for reconciliation putting aside the penalty of death for any and all sin. The testimony of God tells us that while we were still sinners Jesus died on the cross paying the penalty paid for our sin on our behalf through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  And it is the blood of Jesus Christ that purifies us from all sin.

Since our commitment to God is verbal, our word becomes the guarantee that we will not sin and breach the commitment making Jesus our Lord. Therefore an effort must be made to be faithful to the words of our mouth, we should treat them as a sacred promise with a determined mindset to keep and accomplish them. Notice the similarity in God’s promise.

Many promises are made with the good intention of being kept, but good intentions have a way of being forgotten. Although the promise was forgotten, you should remember that those who are depending on your commitment will always evaluate your word. For the most part, promises are forgotten because there is no commitment or determined effort to keep them.  The example shown in Isaiah 55:10-11 demonstrates that God is resolved to honor the words of his mouth with actions that agree with his words. The commitment God has declared in his promises is his bond and our surety.  Joshua testified to God’s reliability with these words.

Commitments are made with a combination of giving one’s word, the shaking of hands and in today’s world the signature on the dotted line of a binding contract.  Regardless of the formality involved with a commitment, a commitment is taking on an obligation by choice. It is the binding of oneself to your word, your honor, personal integrity and your worth as a person. Keeping your word builds the trust of others for you and the principles you stand for. The effort you make to honor your commitments makes your word a guarantee of great worth and positive rewards. Your word should demand that whatever the cost of your words your responding actions will achieve the promised outcome.

You can’t escape the use of commitments because commitments are a part of everyone’s life.   People want to know what to expect and commitments help them to plan and accomplish a planned event. For the most part, commitments make the overall job easier to accomplish especially when the work and responsibilities are shared.

 Among the commitments the average person makes is to be married but marriage leads to other commitments.  You have the marriage vows to honor and the added responsibilities of caring and nurturing your children. Your family needs a place to dwell in, a means of transportation, and a job to establish a means to pay for those needs.  At times your marriage proves to be a “commitment training in progress”, as sometimes you want to explore the clause until death do you part in your marriage vows.

Your marriage partner should be among the closet lifetime friend, but commitments are made with other people. Those who become close friends are those you know that your secrets are safe with them and that you can confide in them. Becoming a friend is one more commitment to do to another person what you would want them to do to you. Making a commitment to follow the guidelines of God’s laws demands a discipline with an effort of obedience and by honoring your word. Honoring the commitments you have made in your lifetime builds the trust that everyone needs for their own security and well being. Its not just God, but everyone wants to know the depth and worthiness of your commitment.

The consequences of forgetting and neglecting your commitments involve your worth as a person. Your word loses its value to other people who are depending on you to fulfill your obligations. The commitments you have made can make your life exciting, but the deliberate act of failing to fulfill a promise turns you into a deceiver and a liar.  You may tolerate the person who lied, but your trust in what they say and do is always put away with the other broken promises you have received.

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Compassion Versus Vanity

God gave his disciples and children the command to love one another and loving one another demands that we have compassion on the person in need. God gave his children a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline and commanded us to love one another. Within the framework of love God gave us the ability to be concerned over the well being of others.

In contrast God Said,

The Lord is compassionate but he chooses the person he will have compassion and extends his mercy to. Having compassion depends on your spiritual insight to discern the suffering of another person. Being aware of the emotional and physical state of other people is just as important as understanding their spiritual condition. These conditions initiate the next step in a choice to do something about their condition.

It is as much a choice to relieve that person’s condition as it is to ignore their condition and let them struggle in their misery.  No one likes the trial that causes pain and suffering. However, some handle their trials by rising to the occasion when others have a mental breakdown. Christians who rise to the occasion have the fortitude of Jesus Christ and with his help overcome the problem appearing to be unscathed. Those without Christ do not have their minds on the problem solver and use escape methods that often take them deeper into despair. For example, drunks lose their jobs and become homeless then beg for the next drink and gamblers bankrupt themselves and steal to support their addiction.

Compassion also has the deep desire to relieve by helping the person in distress. It’s sharing a meal with a stranger even if he is your known enemy. Its praying over the problem with someone and showing the way God has helped you in the past. Its sharing what is in your hand with other people even if all you have is Jesus Christ.

One day John and Peter came to the synagogue for prayer and passed by a beggar wanting some money. John and Peter looked directly at the beggar and said.

John and Peter looked at the lame man and saw a need that money could not fix, John and Peter had no money but they had the power of Jesus name and they spoke in his name to relieve the condition. They exercised their compassion by calling on the name of Jesus for his mercy to heal the lame. John and Peter knew that they did not have the power to heal but they called on the one person who did.

They were sick, they were deaf and dumb, they were blind, they were hungry, they were sheep without a shepherd, they were sinners, they were harassed and helpless, but Jesus had compassion on all of them. He ministered to the poor, the down trodden, and anyone who asked for help. He even forgave those who crucified him from the cross.

For everyone who calls on his name and recognizes his authority to rule his or her life, he gives the gift of eternal life. However, God cannot help those who reject him and refuse to repent or deny a need for his salvation. Neither can we help those in their helpless estate if they don’t want to be helped.

However, Jesus said that in this life we would always have the sick, the poor and the sinner to help. He also said, in this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world, (John 16:33). Christians have tribulations right along those in the world.  God us that we would be persecuted and we would suffer many trials, but he has promised to help us go through them.

We must remember that the dynamic power of Jesus Christ dwells within our hearts right now with the authority you allow. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (Colossians 2:9) and Jesus Christ lives in us as long as we permit him to be our Lord.

Do we show the compassion of Jesus Christ to help with a personal concern for the well being of the poor and destitute? Are we concerned for the lost? It is a choice to do something to relieve a person’s helpless condition, but is also a choice to ignore their condition and let them struggle in their misery. There were many that are still helping those who lost everything to Katrina. There are many that feed the poor, who take people to and from the doctor’s office, and help people with their coats.   Compassion needs the mercy of men and women dedicated to serve the needs of others.

Still the world is filled with men and women that are not concerned with how their choices affect another person. For example, the judge who neither feared God nor cared about men demonstrated an attitude of selfishness. His selfish nature did not have compassion nor did he show concern when he heard the widow’s complaint a number of times. He wasn’t in any big hurry to grant the widow her justice. He may not have been concerned about truth or justice or if his ruling was fair. The judge may have been more concerned about his stature in the public’s eye when he judged in favor of the widow. Did the judge have compassion or did he go through the motions for appearance sake?

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Contentment Versus Wanting

Contentment is a condition of the mind that is satisfied with what one has. How can anyone be content when we live in a competitive world that thrives in keeping up with the guy next door? He has a new car; a new home, motor cycle, boat, and his kids have all kinds of toys with remote controls. He has everything that is desirable to the eye, but deep inside he is not satisfied. He struggles to have the latest and the greatest thing to keep up with the world, but he also has created unnecessary stress in his life.

Paul writes,

Paul said that he had learned to be content regardless of his situation. It didn’t make a difference if he was hungry or had bad dreams, he learned to be content. Having your name written down in heaven and having Jesus Christ dwell in you is all that is really important. Paul considered the things of this world as being temporal like refuse that is thrown away and fixed his eyes of what was not seen and eternal. Knowing Christ as his Lord was gain.

Paul repeatedly advised his fellow Christian to fix their eyes on Jesus Christ. To renew their minds and bathe themselves in the word of God. Perhaps we need reminded that the God of peace said.

We need to consider the promise that comes with fixing our mind on things above and where Jesus Christ is seated at the right side of God.

Fixing your mind on things above will constantly remind you of God’s promises and with his help, enables you to escape the corruption of the world. A mind fixed to God’s thoughts and ways helps you to live a life acceptable to God.  As an added benefit the world will see your contentment, which is something they desirable. God’s promises are there to serve his needs and the needs you have in ministering to other people. God is sufficient to meet your needs and he is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask and exceeds our needs.

Worry and distress falls on every human being and it affects our everyday life to the point that worry and the anxiety can control what we do.  

God’s word is a stabilizing influence on our lives, and he is faithful in keeping his promises. These promises make the difference and they comfort our life in times of trouble. Therefore, your dependence and trust on God’s word is the key to contentment.

God may not do things in the way we think he should, but his grace is always sufficient.  Paul said that when he was humanly weak God became his strength. Our reliance on God gives us the knowledge to understand that God is always ready to help because he cares for us. Jesus Christ is willing to do anything we ask of him so that his father will have the glory.

God has many commands that demand a deliberate effort to shape your mind with a commitment to serve God and the lives of other people. Christians are to love, to be strong, to take courage, to honor God by tithing their income and live a holy life. When we do these things, we have the assurance that we are doing what we can do to please our father in heaven.

Money is never a source of contentment.  Money may provide comfort for your flesh, but peace of mind is a condition of your mind and reflects your relationship with God. No one can be content while he is hostile towards God. The sinner refuses to repent and he rejects the authority of God. Even when he has the absolute knowledge that God rules the world he stirs contention and lets the world know that he doesn’t need or want God. His actions are like rivals of God who are contending for his throne. They are rebellious and out spoken.

The world is always wanting, always in need and never satisfied with what they have. They seek satisfaction in the wrong places and try to only satisfy themselves. They chase the wind and never allow contentment to find them. Every human being has the peer pressure of the world demanding that you are up to snuff, you must have the things of the world.  Wanting is the condition of lacking something necessary and there is nothing more absolutely necessary for eternal life than knowing the Lord Jesus Christ.

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 Delight Versus annoyed

Depending on which side of the fence you are on the word of God can be delightful or it can disrupt your life. The average Christian wants to know the truth and delights in the truth when he realizes its value. At the same time he needs the disruption of truth so he can recognize and correct the error of his way. He wants to please God as much as God wants his child to enjoy life.

No one enjoys the consequences that disrupt our lives due to the sin we have committed. While most are sins are due to ignorance, God will never say you I told you so.

We are to delight in the word of God for they are our Father’s instructions to guide and shape our lives to his standards. God’s standards are universally accepted and admired by all men, but few choose to adopt them. When adopted, God’s precepts guide the Christian in such a manner that we do not have to worry about who will find fault in us or taking the blame for something you didn’t do. In comparison, shame and disgrace follow those who were at fault, who are rightfully blamed and were caught.

What a blessing it is to know how to do things the Lord’s way. When we obey our father in heaven we know that even if sin is crouching at our door the choice to obey God places a barrier sin can not pass. God’s word is the teacher that trains Christians how to master sin, it teaches how to overcome the sinful nature of man and have victory in spiritual matters. Therefore we can delight in the victories that God gives us.

Everyone wants to be blessed by God, but being blessed by God means that you must take him seriously. We can delight in obeying God’s word as his curses fall and overtake those who sin. When God disciplines his children it is to teach his children the way of righteousness. We may not like his discipline at the time but his discipline is a blessing that reaps eternal life.  

Leading a Christian life is not easy when the world is constantly enticing you to revert back to their way of life. We may need clothing food and shelter but Jesus said,

We can delight in the precious promises of God, as they provide the way to escape the traps of our own evil desires. Just as parents provide for their children, we can expect God to provide all our needs. As God’s children we can delight in his desire to make us into men and women of noble character with integrity and dignity of life. We can also take delight in the respect of the world gives for our moral stand.

We should delight that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins and our sins have been atoned for by his sacrifice. Nothing we could do warranted his unmerited favor for by his grace we have been saved. We have been forgiven and been given the opportunity to turn from and avoid sin.  

We can also delight that God has sealed us. When we are saved Jesus comes into our life baptizing us into the Holy Spirit. Paul tells us that we were marked with the Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our redemption and access to our inheritance. In addition in pouring out his Holy Spirit on us God has anointed us with power.

We can also delight that our names are written down on in the Lambs book of Life. On Judgment day only those, whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life will be condemned. They will face the wrath of God and the penalty that their deeds deserve. We can delight that though we deserve to be thrown into the lake of fire God will spare us and accept us into his home.

Lets delight in the hope of Glory and that someday God will bring Jesus Christ who will raise his elect from the grave. With our own eyes we will see our Lord in person. For those who are still living we will meet him in the air to live in his presence forever. On that day we will cross the finish line and with open arms be welcomed into the kingdom of God.   

We should delight in the relationship we have with God and those he gave to us for our companions. We delight in what God and what other people do for us, but we can also delight in serving others in need.  In addition there is great delight in knowing we have obeyed God and have pleased him.

Delight is how we feel towards the things the Lord provides, but those who take delight in the things that men provide only satisfy the human nature, will not enjoy them forever. On earth we grow tired of the things of this world because they never fulfill our lives. You can’t take the things of this world with us into the next life, but leave them to the living that can’t enjoy them without you.

What is not understood is why men are annoyed with the things that delight the Christian. Its not the gift of life that annoys men or the change of life demanded by God. Or is it that man is annoyed more because he has to recognize the authority of God and bend the knee.

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Discernment Versus ignorance

Ninety miles north of Atlanta Georgia is a one of the largest solid granite rock known to man with three Confederate Generals sculptured into its side. This national tourist attraction has a ski lift that will take you to the peak nearly 800 feet above the park below. From its summit you can see nearly a hundred miles in any direction but in the distance Atlanta is almost always covered with a haze. Chances are you would not have been able to recognize the skyline of Atlanta if someone hadn’t pointed it out.

Being able to distinguish one building from another is impossible from that peak because the distance and haze obscures the clarity of things. If anything Atlanta looked more like a colored spot in the distance that resembled a jagged hill. Shapes and colors mean very little in the scope of your sight when all you can do is imagine what the blur of shapes and colors represent.

Discernment is the ability of our mind to distinguish and understand. The difference between right and left was taught to us when we were young and that knowledge stays with us the remainder of our lives. Knowing the difference between right and left helps us to give directions to strangers and enables the stranger to make his or her way to their destination. The ability to understand right from left gives you a reference point to start from.  Once you locate the reference point you know the direction to look.

At the same time we also need to distinguish what is at the right hand as well as what is right. Are you on the right side of Christ or not at Christ’s side? The difference tells you whether are you right with Christ or standing at Christ right side. The truth is that you can stand at Christ right side and not be right with him. The point is, standing at Christ’s side is a physical condition and being right with Christ is a spiritual condition.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, but for most men the heavens are what can be seen of the sky and the stars in the universe.  For the spiritual man, the heaven God created represents the home of our Father and the realm where we expect to go after this life is over. Man has the ability to understand mental pictures of heaven because how we discern heaven is similar to the way we see things on earth. However we have an expectation that the things in heaven will far exceed what is on earth. On the other hand God presents an another picture of unrelenting intense torture with intolerable and near death conditions for those found unworthy of Heaven. These pictures provide the incentives that help you to distinguish good from evil and to choose what pleases God.  

The bible tells us,

Discernment does not come from perception, experience or the knowledge we acquire alone. According to Hebrews 5:14 we acquire discernment through constant practice of obeying God’s word so we are able to distinguish the difference between good and evil. However, the difference between black and white is distinguished by sight. At the same time information about the Granite rock north of Atlanta Georgia is said to extend eight miles below the earth’s surface is discerned by scientists.

Still, the ability to distinguish the difference between good and evil doesn’t do much good unless we apply ourselves to do good and shun evil.  When it is all said and done we learn from the outcome to distinguish the quality of good or evil from the outcome. The outcome of our experience adds the additional depth of influence of knowledge to our perception, which leads to discernment.

We can be taught the difference between good and evil from our parents but when it comes to understanding the bible most people are clue less.  Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus Christ is read frequently at Christmas time and many love to hear the story but that is all it is to some. The bible is good literature but it is foolishness to think that stuff is still valid in modern day.

Although the bible can be read and partially understood Prophets inspired by God wrote the bible in spiritual terms. The people that study the bible do so to discern the truth. However the Holy Spirit who guides us into the truth helps us to spiritually discern the scriptures. When we think about the scriptures his voice is heard in our hearts revealing the secrets of God.   

Therefore we must also understand that discernment demands a commitment to love the Lord, seek him with our entire being and develop a personal relationship with him.  Godly discernment demands that we distinguish good from evil and shun the evil hated by God. If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, God will give his wisdom generously to all without finding fault. Everyone who hears the words of Christ and puts them into practice is like a wise man building his life in preparation for eternal life. Through a personal relationship with God we learn as much as we can about God and put that knowledge to practice.

The other side of the coin is ignorance, which is a carefree life, one that lives in aimless pursuit of gratifying the evil desires of the heart. There is no commitment or restricting your actions as you live as you see fit in your own eyes.  There is no protection from the sin that cause problems of life for sin leads to self ruin. Ignorant men and women lack the insight of knowing the consequences of poor behavior and their deeds will lead to death in the lake of fire.  Ultimately the ignorant person learns what they should have done when its too late to change the outcome of their life.

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Fact Versus Opinion

Facts are created but they are the result of things that have been done in the past. Even though scientist may disagree, when God created the heavens and the earth it was a deed that God performed. One fact of life that no one can argue with is that human life dominates and rules the earth. Like truth, facts agree with reality.

Facts incorporated into your mind have the knowledge that tells you what is feasible and what is impossible. For example, pregnancy is not possible within the same gender and a cow can not produce orange juice.  A fig tree does not bear grapes and the ocean is not fit for drinking water. However water can become steam or ice by altering the temperature. Another absolute fact is the mess you have to clean up by allowing your three-year-old to bake a cake. The mess will be on the floor, on the counter, on your clothing, and in places that you cannot reach.  At the same time the biggest and worse mess will be found around the mouth and hair of your child. That’s reality.

The nature of facts is an absolute agreement with reality and when the truth is known facts can not be altered to achieve your goals. For this reason you must learn to work with known facts to achieve the desired outcome. There are no exceptions to fact, just as man is born into this world all men will leave this world through death.

The fact is that there always is something in opposition to the things we want to do. The law of gravity states.  For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. However, when we want to do things there are always difficulties to overcome. Even when the proper methods have been perfected there are always someone who knows more than you do and wants to change the way things are known to work.

Facts present a genuine picture of the actual thing that reveals the real truth. In would be unusual for facts to announce themselves as they happen, but knowing the facts will guides to what is necessary to accomplish feats of work quickly and efficiently. The reality of facts is that they do not change or lie and because of this quality, they are considered a reliable foundation especially in technical and scientific fields.  

The history of man is another field that bases its information on fact. The majority of biblical facts have been proven with archeological within the facts of what they have found and examined. The facts of their discoveries coincide with the words and stories written in the bible. Like a traffic accident, the facts are seen in the point of impact, the skid marks and the injuries that occurred. The physical evidence reveals the facts just as much as the driver’s statement.

Almost every prophecy about Christ has been fulfilled to the letter with the knowledge that there are still more prophecies yet to be fulfilled. Because we found a number of prophecies have been fulfilled we consider the unfulfilled prophesies to be reliable and factual.  Most Christians expect the rest of the prophesies to happen in the near future.

Nearly everything manufactured in this world has the manufactures name embedded on its product. At the same time the world no problem recognizing God’s signature on his creation.

Very few people in this world deny that a superior being was responsible for creating the earth they live on. Several scientists have tried to discover the origin of the earth and all they have come up with is the big bang theory.  The big bang theory says that everything came into existence about the same time, depending on how you look at the facts it would explain the accuracy of the Creation story.

How do we know that God exists? Is it a fact?  The result of the deeds done in the past becomes the undeniable facts of your future.  Romans 1:19 tells that God has made himself plain and clearly understood through the things he made. People may deny that they are a part of God’s creation but in reality God will judge you according to your deeds. The reality is that God has made himself open to Judgment by mankind so you may know his value to you as a person. On the other hand by your own deeds, you have left yourself open to scrutiny by God to determine your worthiness for eternal life.

Having a personal relationship with God is not impossible for the bible tells us that all our sins have been paid for by the blood of Christ. We have been reconciled to God.  On the other hand sinners are hostile with God and are involved in a spiritual war with God that is impossible to win. God expects every man to do what is possible to have eternal life through a simple commitment to obey his commands and serve his fellow man. The bible tells you what you can do and what you should avoid. The bible is a book of instructions that will give you the knowledge you need to be found worthy of God’s approval.

The nature of facts is absolutely reliable as facts are universal and will not alter themselves to fulfill your needs. The same can be said of God, “I the Lord do not change. (Malachi 3:6) and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion (Exodus 33:19). God’s word is the truth and the promises of God make the unchanging nature of his purpose known to man. His covenants can not be broken, his plans cannot be thwarted, and his promises can not be altered but will return to him completed as he promised.  

The world is filled with opinions mostly coming from the people whom would do things differently if they were in your shoes. For the arrogant, opinions out weigh the known facts as they are going to do everything as they see fit. Opinions are often proven to be wrong, but facts have the weight of reality and have a specific reaction to the force applied. Those with expertise and specific knowledge on any subject know that there is an expected reaction to a plan that achieves the desired outcome. The problem is everyone has an opinion that cannot be substantiated with facts. One of those opinions is that God will accept men and women into heaven by the standards of men.

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Faith Versus doubt

What is it that gives you an assurance that anyone is trustworthy? For most people it is the time we spend with another person building a personal relationship with them. Their trustworthiness depends on whether they keep their word and if they act according to the advice they give. Trustworthy people are loyal to their friends and will stand beside their friends.

Friends are those who have moral fiber who are honest and don’t take advantage of you. For the most part we want friends whose character is genuine and a person we can be depend on through thick or thin. Those who have a relationship with God know that developing a godly character with his love is the foundation to a person admired by everyone.  Knowing that God calls for a higher standard demands a character of loyalty, one that values his character and develops the same characteristic in their life.

Does God has faith in you?  Perhaps we should ask how do you rate your trustworthiness to God. Do you fulfill your promises to God and do you keep your word to your friends and other people? Are you serving God with your whole being and worshipping God in spirit and in truth? These are the desires that everyone seeks from the people they trust. In other words is your life is credible to those who look to you and desire a closer relationship with you?

Faith is more than the church you attend and the doctrine you believe. What builds faith is the principles you adhere to and the way you conduct your life. Faith in God is the guarantee that you will see the desired end long before it happens. Faith, therefore is the ability to take another person’s word to heart and trust that they will fulfill their promises. For example, how much would you trust God if he did not fulfill his promises or answer your prayers?

God has given man the right to become the architect of his own beliefs.  In the world, the normal man is inclined to believe the principles they know will actually work. The financier trusts his profit margin and does what he believes will increase his profits, the scientist believes in what occurs when a certain force is applied and the lawyer bases his life around the law. Each person trusts in the knowledge and experience they have. The Christian may not see God, but he or she places his trust in God because he knows that he exists and rewards those who seek him with all their heart. The knowledge and experience they have in Christ is the foundation to their faith.

In other words faith is developed over time using certain principles that you have tried tested and know will bring the desired outcome. Like the scientist that understands when identical forces are applied to specific things the outcome will be the same. From a Christian perspective, faith in God is based on the fact that God makes a determined effort to accomplish and fulfill his word.

The Christian uses the word of God to formulate a plan and strategy for his or her life and works with the God relying heavily on his promises. However, Christian’s like all men must have a smidgen of trust and the hint of feasibility before he can believe anything. God wants you to taste his word to see that he is good.  God wants you to have the experience to know his word is true and he is resolved to achieve the purpose that his word was given for.

Faith involves a deep assurance of another person’s trustworthiness and the accuracy of his advice. When you listen to their counsel your mind goes to work and within milliseconds have information to determine whether the idea is feasible. Their character tells you whether you should listen to them for certain people do not live according to advice they give.

Most of us have heard the expression that a cat can be skinned nine different ways. While most problems can be solved in a number of ways it is generally known that everything has to be done in a prescribed order.  For example, tickets have to be purchased before you get on the plane, you need a boat before you can sail on water. In the same manner, before you can go to heaven you will need to make an agreement with Jesus Christ before God will welcome you into his kingdom.  

From this we should learn that all faith begins with what can be perceived. Everything that can be seen is of earth is deceiving because the truth is suppressed by the world. However, we do not live by sight, as acts of faith are deeds of the spirit. God’s response comes from the spirit realm and filters down from heaven through his servants.   The promises made by God are based on the truth and through the promises of God we develop the character that builds trust that others can see and rely upon.

We should also understand that God has an enemy who is hard at work masking the truth. He is out to destroy the works of faith by placing doubt in the gospel truth and the precious promises of God.  He wants man to believe that it’s too good to be true or no that can’t be true, to produce the uncertainty and the doubt that all nothing is possible with God. Doubt is the major reason for failure and why you know it won’t work. Just the trace of doubt will prevent you from beginning a task. We may feel that when everything has been said and done that we will be on the losing end. There is a perception that the gospel is foolishness and you don’t need Christ. Therefore being a Christian is utterly worthless. It’s this kind of doubt that keeps you defeated and the reason that God can say he never knew you.

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Fellowship Versus Separation

Christians Fellowship is an interaction of common interest in their spare times such as cards, baseball, bible studies and potluck dinners. For the most part fellowship is a time where Christian’s can have fun and still show their love for God and the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Fellowship can also be taken serious by attending church solely to know more about God take communion and show our devotion for our Lord and Savior through a formal worship service. What fellowship does is to let you know that there are other like-minded people who love Jesus as much as you do.

However there is another kind of fellowship and that is in sharing the problems and injured feelings we have with our fellow Christians. It gives us strength as a group to take every problem great or small to our Father through the name of Jesus.  Group prayer releases the awesome power of God and the answer that meets our need is on its way. We have heard testimony after testimony about the various answers that God has given to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.

Secondly, by sharing our problems with one another is like group therapy where you can derive a sufficient amount of advice that can be trusted. The genuine advice you receive is not out to sell a product, but sound advice that others found that worked when they went through a similar trial. Sometimes the best advice is to place your trust in God and know he has the solution to your problems.  

Fellowship is described as having companionship with other individuals one similar to the relationship we have with Jesus Christ and our heavenly father. Normally fellowships establish a common place to meet, such as a sanctuary, lodge, or hall. Rules are set up so everyone can enjoy the facility, feel comfortable and feel free to discuss what is on their mind. For Christians the church is governed by a constitution drawn up by its leadership, but every Christians has a place within their spirit where God dwells.

Fellowship with God begins as soon as we accept Jesus Christ as Lord. Immediately Jesus Christ comes into your heart and because the fullness of deity is in Christ, God dwells in you.  Since you are children adopted by God, you are also granted full access to the throne of God. Therefore, your body becomes a house where your immediate spiritual family lives under the same roof. In other words, our body becomes the common place for fellowship with God. The easiest way to meet with God is through our devotions, bible reading, study, prayer and pondering his word. This kind of fellowship having interaction with God occurs within the confines of the heart of man.

Within the church other like minded Christians share the same beliefs, desires, and goals. Together they listen to the expounded word, pray for the same concerns and make an effort to propagate the gospel both here and abroad. Most churches are the origin of other fellowship groups such as studies into God’s word, men and women’s groups, youth activities, card clubs such as euchre, baseball teams and a number of other activities suited for Christians.  

The most sacred fellowship is taking communion for by taking the elements you partake in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, do this in remembrance of me knowing Jesus died for the forgiveness of my sin. It should be a humbling experience to know that the Son of God chose to die in your place and pay the penalty that you deserved.  Yet God so loved the world that he gave his only son so whoever would believe in him would not perish.

Christians entered a covenant with God when they accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. Our covenant with Jesus is the foundation of our Christian life and the basis for communion with God. Jesus was sent by God to the earth to reconcile man to God. Although God is all knowing, Jesus had to become a human being to completely understand and share in the trials and sufferings of mankind.  

In the same way, just as Jesus suffered through the trials common to all men - we too should learn to submit to God. Trials and temptations gave Jesus the same experiences that all men have, but it’s going through these trials we learn to trust in God, shun evil to avoid the consequences that come from our evil desires. Jesus went through similar experiences but it is through experiences that God guides and shapes our making of decisions. When it comes to the trials we face it becomes essential to have fellowship with God.

It seems like the larger ministry’s is always in need for money.  No one likes fund drives but it is another act that Christians work in one accord for a common goal. Christians are known for their generosity and at times it seems at times it places a stress on our income. We serve a great God who can replace whatever we give but without fellowship with God we would not give. The better our fellowship with God the more like minded we become, and in time God’s characteristics rub off onto us.

However, without fellowship with God men becomes estranged from common decency. The separation from God allows the lack of restraint, choices that are self-motivated, and actions few approve of. There are two kinds of fellowship those you interact with and those you tolerate but don’t really associate with. You have fellowship with fellow believers but you also associate with unbelievers. The fellowship with unbelievers is where you are given an opportunity to share the gospel with those that think the gospel is foolishness. Too many places are not designed for fellowship but you have a common interest in the work you share, the food you buy, and the entertainment you like.  Take advantage of the opportunities that God gives you.

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 For Versus against

God is not a politician with a neutral stand on moral issues, but lives by a set of absolutes that has no space in the middle for a difference of opinion. God does not straddle the fence, take the middle road, score your life on a curve or accept the mediocre. With this in mind we need to consider what is God looking for when he examines our deeds? Is he looking at what actually defines your character and when he looks at your deeds what will those deeds tell God about your life?

Politicians take neutral stands for your vote. They want those who have a stand on a specific issue to consider them as a viable candidate. These Candidates want you to perceive that they will not vote against your cause and may be the better choice over a candidate that is known to vote against your beliefs.

Taking neutral sides is like a Bug’s Bunny cartoon showing a round black bomb lobed in his direction. The cartoon soon centers in on the burning fuse that disappears into the bomb and then it seems as if the fuse died.  There stands Bugs with his fingers in his ears expecting the bomb to go off, but nothing happens. Eventually Bugs goes over and picks up the bomb and looks at it. Only, no sooner than he picks the bomb up, the fuse sparks back to life and Bugs throws the bomb over his back with tremendous explosion in the background.

Neutral stands are loose cannons and like burglars that you will never let you know where and when they will show up. When they do it is really too late to do anything, but clean up the mess they leave behind. The neutral stand is really deceptive because it creates an unknown factor that tricks you into believing something that doesn’t exist.  

Neutral stands present a picture of a spinning bottle. You never know which way it will be pointing when it stops spinning. There are times for games, but eternal life is too serious for playing Games with God. More so when the God of creation is a God of absolute principles. He knows the end from the beginning and has planned everything in life to work out for his benefit.

God has other things planned and he needs Christians like you and me to carry out his plans. He wants a personal knowledge to know who is trustworthy. God has made it plain that he wants his children to love him with all their being. The love God demands requires his children to give a hundred and ten percent of themselves to God. Like Jesus Christ giving all you have to give increased his chances of achieving God’s goals.

God does not expect a middle-of-the-road relationship with his children. When you need him he is there to comfort, encourage and provide what you need. He teaches his children to do the same for him and the rest of his family. The way you respond tells your father if you are obeying his teaching and commands. Ultimately your deeds tell your father how to reward you for acceptable behavior or if discipline is needed to obtain the character he demands.

God believes in absolutes, which says there is no middle ground. Putting you whole heart mind and soul into doing things to please God shows God that you have every intention of prospering and having success.  

Being lax shows God the concern you have for working for his purposes and goals. Like the employer walking into the room everyone suddenly finds something to do. Ultimately, laxness takes on the indulgence of non-essential things, things lose importance and begin to take everything for granted and fade in time. Just as the moral fiber of our nation has over the last hundred years.

Taking a stand on moral issues shows everyone why you are concerned and against a specific behavior. Your stand distinguishes the way you think and the way you will treat other people in the days to come.  Because man is a creature of habits, your stand establishes a pattern that God can predict will happen in the future.

Jesus said that man cannot serve two masters at the same time, he will serve one or the other. Then he told a story of a rich man who wanted to know what he had to do to go to heaven. The man was dejected when he was told to sell everything he relied upon and could boast about.

Jesus gave several examples of behavior that God will serve as the guide for Christian character. Who or what you serve will tell God more about your character than all the words and arguments that you can muster. You cannot be hot when you are in ice water, you cannot reap without first sowing the seed and you cannot be good in God’s eye with sin soiled garments.

The same thing is true when you love the things of the world. The world is full of things that are designed to lull you to sleep and keep you from doing the chores your father has assigned you to do. It takes a dedicated effort to do the chores your father has for you to do. Understand this, your father allowed you to have fun after his chores was done and so will your heavenly father.

Jesus went several times to his friend Lazarus’s home to rest and relax. Even there Jesus talked about his father and because of this practice God was well known where ever he went. To Jesus, his father business was always on his mind and had priority over everything else.

Unfortunately some are against everything God stands for and they really can’t say why. Most don’t know what God expects of them but they expect God to accept their life as worthy of eternal life.  They love the very things that God hates and are found lacking moral substance and fortitude. They also ignore the consequences of evil seeing it as bad luck and find it convenient to live as the world does. Ultimately they become self oriented and do what is right in their eyes.  

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Foresight Versus hindsight

Horrible consequences could have been avoided if we could only have seen how things would have turned out before we started. For the most part people do not look into the future when they make plans to know what will happen. Instead our plans depend on what has happened in the past. Without that experience you can not see the end from the beginning. And at other times plans are based what happened to other people because you have seen what has happened in their lives.

To avoid those consequences you must look at your goals and see what you have to do to achieve a favorable outcome. Most people would rather have minimal success than to be a failure. However everyone should know that God has given everyone the ability to see into the future to know the outcome of our lives knowing that eternal life awaits us.

Ignorance keeps everyone regardless of their stature unaware and uninformed about what goes on in life. Even those who are educated lack knowledge in everything that God has made. Anyone can become a doctor of medicine and not know how to milk a cow. More often men educate themselves in things that interest them, things about their career and things that they have to know to achieve what they need to do. However an education gives you knowledge on the way things work and the ability to plan your future.

Christians are interested in the things of God. They know that God holds their life in his hand literally, (John 10:28). They understand that eternal life is a gift of God and that God wants to give the gift of life to anyone who is sincere about living forever. Jesus said that his words were spirit and life and Revelation 1:3 tells us that those who take the words of God to heart will be blessed.

Why were men blessed for taking God’s words to heart? The answer to this question depends on what you know about God and how well you know him. The serious Christian knows that God is their father and his words are the loving instructions of their father to guide their life. Christians also know that those who obey his word find favor in their father’s eyes and those who disobey can expect his discipline.  

Much that is known about God is experienced in everyday family life. There are certain things your parents will not let you do especially when your deeds cross the line and are wrong in their eyes. Then there are other things they demand of you. Almost everyone has heard their parents say “don’t lie to me or give it back to them”. The more frequently things like this occur the easier to know what your parents are going to do. In other words you know if there will be consequences when you have done something wrong.

It’s the consequences or the rewards from your deeds that gives foresight into what controls your fate or destiny. What is the consequence or reward for graduating from college? The reward is seen in having knowledge of earthly things to earn and forge a better life for you and your family’s future. Yet most schools whether High school or college do not teach you how to get along with God or your fellow man.

The average foresight that men and women have is concerned over things that affect their earthly life. Not everyone has the total picture about what life is all about and some live their entire life unaware of what will become of them in eternity. Death is something most people never think about until their normal life span is almost over. Yet people die and it’s after death that we realize that we may never see them again.

Foresight gives hope for a brighter future. The hope of meeting our loved ones in heaven or knowing life as it should be is out of the reach to those who do not know God. While they know about God they have never considered a need for having a personal relationship with God.  

People will restrain their actions when they know that horrible things will happen because of what they are doing. In the same way, people will respond to the truth of the salvation message when they choose to believe. However, unless the word of truth is preached they will never know that the wages if sin is death and Jesus is ready to forgive their sin. Preaching the word gives people the foresight to know what they can do to inherit eternal life.

The practical side of foresight is that it provides sound judgment in the methods used to live. Everyone respects those who are prudent as they use a commonsense approach in everyday matters. These people are reasonably successful and never have to explain their actions to anyone.

Hindsight recognizes the significance of events when the outcome of planning gives you success. On the other hand hindsight knows the consequence of bad decisions and the reward for making good decisions.  Most people know that bad decisions create a problem that needs to be cleaned up or repaired. However, you cannot undo the damage and it will haunt you the rest of your lives.  

Everyone wants to hear the words of God saying, “well done” and be allowed to pass through the gates of Heaven.  At the same time, no one wants to hear the words “well done” after they have been in hell for billions of years. In this case it is better to have foresight because hindsight never changes the situation you have gotten yourself into.

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Forthright Versus Guile 

Being forthright is a way of life that insists upon honest dealings with other people regardless of the outcome. Your effort of being forthright can be offensive to some as answers you receive can be blunt and without tact. On the other hand, It tells everyone what you see is what you get.

However the forthright person does not see his or her self as being offensive, but sees life in a black and white manner. They see things with distinct patterns and having simple procedures that cannot be violated. There is a right way to success and a bad way that leads to disaster and they to know want the specifics without sugarcoating.

The forthright want straight answers because they don’t need evasive answers that are illustrated to the umpteenth degree or have the life’s history explained before answering any question. They want to get straight to the heart of the matter to know the practical details. They often think of some answers as a waste of time and effort.

The forthright don’t like the aspect of having to read between the lines to get anyway near to the truth. They often present a solution in open and straightforward manner to provide a clear answer.   They are not evasive as their answer is right on the nose and directly to the point.

Jesus gave forthright answers to almost every question and got to the heart of the matter in twenty-five words or less. The rich man was told to sell what he placed his trust in before he could enter the kingdom. The disciples were told they had to eat Christ’s flesh and blood to be a true disciple. Not knowing how to take the answers some left discouraged and disappointed.

Jesus gave specific examples of everyday life that were described in physical terms but also had spiritual overtones to them. He used figurative language and spoke in parables to reflect the spiritual aspects of heavenly principles. However those without God’s spirit were not able to make sense of the stories or hear the spiritual principles within the parables. In other words they had ears to hear but were unable to understand what they heard.

Those with God’s spirit found a number of truths in every parable. The understanding of each parable can be pondered several times and each time the Spirit of God has the opportunity to present a new specific truth.  God has the ability to highlight a new truth every time you ponder his truth to bring out a point that you need right now. Sometimes he is downright explicit about your relationship with him and what you need to do to correct the situation. At other times he shows you the methods to use what to speak or how to pray.

God offers a forthright way called holiness to live that considers the moral behavior of each person. It is an honest approach to life that respects the rights of other people and establishes both your and their dignity.  It considers that every decision of yours affects those around you and that anyone of your decisions can destroy relationship with other people.  Your decision initiates the control of your behavior and the person affected will judge your deeds for being right or wrong.

God’s plan of salvation is forthright. God sent his Son and gave man the choice to believe in him for their salvation and those who believe in Jesus Christ will not perish. During his lifetime Jesus taught the principles of the kingdom, what was expected of man and that he was the way the truth and the life. Because salvation is a gift there is nothing we can do to warrant life eternal but to believe in the saving grace of God.  However, once we commit our lives to believe on Jesus Christ we must turn away from wickedness.

Salvation is a cooperative effort to work out your salvation with God. Every Christian has the absolute knowledge that if they were to die today they would be with the Lord. God gives his children the assurance of their eternal salvation and they will have life abundantly in heaven.

God is open to anyone who lacks wisdom and promised that he would give knowledge generously. He first revealed his plans to his servants the prophets.

And again Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit.

And when Christ spoke about the end times and his return he said.

Take his word to heart because God is certain that you can be led astray.

God does not want anyone to perish but to come to repentance. He advises a number of things to assure Christians of their future and he is doing everything in his power to see us live an acceptable life. He expects an effort on our part to be Holy in the same way he is Holy and he is aware that you must seek his help to live without sin.

Most Christians know the passage, if you have seen me you have seen the Father. It’s a forthright statement to the disciples about what they saw in Jesus. These words speak of his personal appearance as well of the character of Jesus Christ. He was just as forthright when he spoke of his dedication to his father.

There wasn’t any underhanded plan to deceive anyone in the words Jesus spoke. There are people in this world that have forked tongues and you have to read everything they say between the lines. They are sly and untrustworthy, but to interact with them you have to be just as shrewd as they are. You have to know the truth that is able to set you free.

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Fortune Verses Tragedy

Fortune is the course of events in one’s life that doesn’t always lead to success or the accumulation of wealth. Abraham and Job were two of the wealthiest men of the bible that obtained their wealth through obedience and devout worship of God. Was this a happenstance? Fortune may be the course of events governing one’s life but your fortune may not be as favorable.

Fortune is what we think as our fate or what we have been predestined to become. Fortunetellers speak of future events that are destined to affect your life. However, most people believe that we forge our own destiny. Not everyone believes that being fortunate pertains to being lucky? There are people that believe that with the right knowledge we can make our own luck, shape our own destiny, with a high probability of success.

Some people actually believe that their fate has been predetermined and that they can do nothing to change the outcome of their life.  On the other hand, Divine Providence denies the idea that what God created is governed by chance or fate. God does not infringe upon man’s choices or deny his responsibility to become a holy person in his sight. God has made it plain that he will judge the inhabitants of the earth by their deeds. With this warning man can find out what pleases God and gain the knowledge to make the proper choices and make the destiny of heaven a reality.

All of the accumulated wealth cannot buy eternal life. Yet eternal life is worth everything a man has in exchange for it. Eternal life is not the effort of a lifetime of work. It is a gift that God bestows on people of his choosing. At the same time eternal life is not given to fortunate people but to those God has found worthy.

Fortune cookies foretell one’s future. Most fortune cookies describe something great is about to come into your life that will affect the rest of your life. Are we to believe in the predictions of fortunetellers? In most cases you have a 98% chance that the prediction will not happen. However if a prophet of God tells you what will happen in your future, you should listen. We have God’s word that if his word does not come to pass then he is not God’s prophet.

So what is true fortune to any man? What is wealth if you can not take it with you into the next world? What is the value of accumulated things if they cannot be strained through the sieve of death? What good are material possessions if we are unable to lay our hands on it? The dictionary defines fortune, as a chance happening of good luck when going to heaven is not by chance but a result of a promise.

When we look at the things in heaven we see precious stones gathered around the throne. Stones without defect that are reflecting the light of Jesus Christ and of our God. What God sees, as his fortune is his children, those he gave his one and only son for. He also sees the character of his son Jesus in each member of his family.

The fortune man accumulates is in knowing God and in his son who was sent to earth to atone for man’s sin. We were born with nothing and we can take nothing with us except a relationship with God and the deeds done in the flesh. We may not be able to take the things of the world but we can take the things of the spiritual world. We take with us the knowledge of our savior Jesus Christ and the redeeming power of his blood.

Jesus Christ is our portion, he is the way, our life and our resurrection. He is the portion that we are to share with the world so they may taste his goodness and want him for their own. He is the center of our life for without him there is no life beyond the earth.

Christians have the good fortune of living under the protection of God. The devil is a formidable adversary that uses deception as a weapon to destroy our stand in Jesus Christ.  When tempted we can submit to the lordship of God and accept the mercy of Jesus Christ. He is the rock of our salvation and the foundation of truth in which we place our trust. By exercising our trust in God we will never be taken out of his hand.

Our destiny is in God and in his divine power for he has given us everything we need to live a godly life through our knowledge of him.   It’s through his promises that we are enabled to participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption of this world. We have the ability to know the love of God that surpasses all knowledge and the ability to be filled with the fullness of God.

Accumulated wealth is not in things that give us creature comfort, but in the things of the spirit that creates and sustains life. Life begins with a personal relationship with our father in heaven and with Jesus Christ the Savior of the world. He shows us the sacredness of life through the truth and demonstrated life, as it should be lived. Our accumulated wealth is a gift that we as stewards of God are to use to show the love of our Father. God is our state of prosperity and without him our hope of resurrection our hope of going to heaven would not exist.

However within all this fortune there is a tragedy of life that is not seen by all men. Those who refuse to learn from God or make an attempt to know what God wants will find tragedy lurking around the corner of life. God will bring them to ruin where they will suffer extreme sorrow because they failed to cope with the truth and develop the moral character God wants. They chose to live as they saw fit and chose the things of this world as their fortune.  They chose the things of this world that brings grief.

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Free Will Versus Slavery

In the market place there are several things that you can get free when you buy two other items. The free stuff seems to have strings attached to them. It turns out that buy one get the second free is nothing more than a sales gimmick to entice you to buy. When it comes right down to the nitty-gritty there doesn’t appears to be anything on this earth that is really without a cost of some kind.   However, there are some things God provides without cost to us.

God cursed mankind telling his that he would eat by the sweat of his brow (Genesis 3:19). It is evident that God was not talking about physical food that sustains the body. Still our life is sustained through the food the spirit needs to prosper. God is speaking about a specific food that serves the spirit of man causing him to grow and mature, as a man of God.  

In addition, God is talking about a barter system that does not involve money, but a way to exchange goods and services between him and us. The human race is not accustomed to a barter system that trades or exchanges possessions for what you want. Therefore we must look for the things God wants in exchange for the goods and services he is offering.

Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? In this case God is offering something that is not bread and still satisfies. Nothing in the world system can satisfy our spirit and fulfill our life to the point we are content.  What is it that God wants more than our earthly wealth, especially when everything belongs to God already?

God has placed a proposal on the table as if he were offering a contract stating the responsibilities of each partner. God is saying, listen to my plan. I am offering you a way to live forever and I am willing to make a covenant with you, as I had with David.  I took David as a shepherd boy and made him into a king that Israel is still talking about today. I endowed him with splendor because he was a man after my own heart.

David wanted to know God and he often sought him from his bed in times of prayer. The thrust of Isaiah 55:1 is to come to me and to the waters you who are thirsty and hunger for righteousness. The chosen men of God went to him often, just as the prophets who were seeking his counsel did. The reverence they had for God was the beginning of the knowledge that served as a guide to live by every day of their life.

Knowledge is a benefit from knowing God, but what these men valued even more was a personal relationship with God. This personal relationship with God can not be bought with money. It requires you to spend time with him to know God first hand,

God is pleading with men to come to the place where he can be found. God said, you who are thirsty - come to the waters, come to the living water of God’s word. Again, God said in other words something to the same effect,

No one finds God by chance, you must intentionally head in the direction that others like you have gone to find him. It is your sin that separates you from God and until you have dealt with your sin you will not find God. Jesus said,

Jesus said the only way to God was through him, which means that you seek God through Jesus Christ. You must make a genuine effort on your part to accept the sacrifice Jesus Christ made to atone for your sin.  Because sin is what separates you from God you must give an oath to obey Jesus Christ and turn from the sin that utterly destroys your relationship with God.

God allows you to accept or reject his plan, because he wants men to serve him of their free will. God has given each person the ability to govern his own life as they see fit and for that reason, you have the sovereign ability to choose the way you live. Instead of a whip he pleads with you to take the plan of salvation to heart.

On the other hand, sin is slavery, a silent master that forces you to commit an additional sin to excuse or hide a previous sin. Sin produces a guilt you are ashamed of and it forces you to deceive your friends into believing that you at blame. Therefore, sins are covered with a second and third lie intended to show you are not guilty of the matter. The truth always comes out and your sin will find you out and ultimately life will be destroyed as a result of sin.

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Friend Versus Foe

It has been said that if you have more than five true friends in this world you can consider yourself lucky. That phrase says a lot about the nature of the human race. The majority of people are more concerned about things that affect their lives than they are about their friends.  It also tells the Christian that without God’s help it is nearly impossible to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

We have friends that we are generally aquatinted with and those we can share our deepest and most sacred secrets with. When one thinks about this, there are some people that we are generally friendly toward and a few that can be intimate with. The difference being the amount of trust you have gained getting to know them and how they have responded to you.

However, you can be a friend for pure selfish reasons. Some friends can be acquaintances that make you wonder what they want whenever you see them. After all, they are only friendly when they want something from you. Then you have friends that seem to be too busy to help you out unless it is in their best interest.

A few people want to spend time with you and become an open book by letting you into their life and sharing their personal past experiences with you. Some say that your spouse is one of those five friends that you find during your lifetime. However that is not always true especially when you want to hide from them because they intimidate you or they retaliate in anger. On the other hand, love is so fragile that your friend can become an enemy by saying the wrong word at the wrong time.

Christians sing a testimonial song in church with the following words.

What a Friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and grief’s to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

Prayer is the place we confide our deepest concerns to Jesus Christ our Lord. Jesus is not only our Lord but also the closest friend we have. He is a friend because he is always willing to share his life, his time, and what he has with you. He is ready to drop everything he is doing to help when you need it. One of the wisest men known to man wrote this,

Most Christians think of Jesus Christ when they hear this passage because they know this to be true from experience. They have shared their lives with Jesus Christ and found him to be a friend that knows the right words to encourage you to do the right things and he always responds in a way that shows that he cares for you. We learn from other Christians that he cares for them in the same ways, which says he is deeply concerned for each person individually.

We have much to learn from Jesus, as he has certain qualities built into his personality that everyone admires. Jesus has a profound respect for the lives of others and lives in a thoughtful way to gain the respect of others. He knows that if you want to be respected you have to accept people the way they are and without exception treat your enemies as friends or at least in the same way you expect to be treated.

You must be mindful of how you live and how your deeds affect another person. Jesus taught his disciples to obey God’s laws, which were enacted to avoid abusing the dignity of another person. On the other hand, the disobedience of God’s law stirs up the anger of those affected by your sinful nature. We learn that the obedience of God’s law limits your deeds to those that builds relationships with an emphasis on another person’s well being. Overall, the obedience of God’s law brings out the humane character of kindness, mercy, and compassion, the very essence of Christ’s character.

At the same time, Jesus gave people hope for their future. His life demonstrated that life was better spent serving the needs of other people and real joy comes from meeting another person’s need. In a nutshell Jesus said,

Jesus came to free the world from their sin, but God will not force his grace or the gift of salvation on mankind; instead he offered mankind the option of accepting his grace. He chose to die for the sins of man so man could have eternal life.

 Ultimately the graces of God are the qualities that man finds admirable in friends. If man could adopt the graces of God into their personality and use them to guide their life, wouldn’t life be better?  Unfortunately, the selfish nature of the world sees these qualities as allowing another person to use you for their benefit.

There is a degree of trust you place on everyone based on deeds you have experience. You want a friend that will not deliberately harm you and will work with you to establish and sustain a favorable relationship. It is said that you are you own worse enemy. In this world, it seems as if everyone has known someone who comes at you purposely with both guns blazing wanting to return what you have done to them.  Chances are that you handed them the ammunition and loaded their guns by what you did.

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Gathering Versus Scattering

Christians long for the day when Jesus Christ will send his angels to gather his elect and that day we will meet Christ in the air. What is unknown is the date and hour of his return, what is known is that God will continue to record all of our deeds until then. Therefore we should be about the Lord’s business.

Please note that the words with me are reflecting God’s viewpoint but apart from God we can do nothing. However, it also shows that God desires to gather the fruit of the earth with the help of his people. Throughout God’s word, God instructs his disciples to go into the world and preach the gospel.

God wants men to believe in him through faith because without faith it is impossible to please him. The faith that pleases God is the ability to rely and place your confidence in every word and promise God has made. Faith comes by hearing the word of God and it is for this reason that the word of God must be preached. Preaching should never be entirely left in the hands of ministers for God has called every disciple to go and preach. Preaching can be done in your home and place of work, demonstrated by the way you live or by teaching one phrase at a time.

How do you draw people to God if you show less reverence for God during the week than you do Sunday mourning? Are you life like a billboard strategically placed on the side of roads where men travel to advertise Jesus Christ? No matter the church you attend, your life display a visual picture to the eyes of the world. The world’s perception of God comes from what they see of you.

Does the world see Jesus Christ when they look at you? Jesus said if you have seen me that you have seen the father. Jesus was acutely aware of the presence of his father dwelling within him and he openly demonstrated that he was like his father.

Jesus openly admitted that it was not him, but the father that was doing the miracles. We need to admit to the world that Jesus changed our lives and openly demonstrate his influence and presence in our life by the way we live. God is able to do much more than we ask or imagine when you allow him to work in you. (Ephesians 3:20)

Everyone paints a self-portrait of himself or a pattern of habits that they seldom look at. While we are busy with everyday life the picture we paint shows God and the world the way our character really is. However, the character your friends see is more often contradicted by the picture you want them to see. That first impression of the good guy in the white hat is often interrupted by actions that tell them he is really wearing a black hat. In other words your actions reveal the real nature of your life to God and the world.   

People are not aware of the picture they reveal to other people. Your life is a picture that people see and judge you by. In the same manner Christ sees what you are doing because he lives in you. Your deeds tell God whether you are making the attempt to gather or lead someone to the Lord.

Gathering with Christ demands that you make him the lord of the harvest. This allows Christ to choose the field you are to work in and the crop he wants harvested. In other words you follow him and go where he leads.  The fields are harvested through faith in God trusting that he will supply the right words to lead a person to Christ.  God knows that the truth will convince men and women to repent and he knows that the truth will set you free.  Lets remember that not everything on the vine is suited for harvest and men and women have the right to say no thanks.

Christian’s disciple men and women into the faith as the great commission dictates. They go into the world and preach the gospel and commit the word of into the care of God who brings in the harvest. Then they teach them to obey the commands of God to firmly establish them as Christians. However the world is a formal adversary that penetrates every area of our life. Without reinforcement of our beliefs and hope for our future, we would revert back to the way of the world.

Gathering to God can be done from our perspective as well as from God eye. Christians like sheep wander off in all directions when they lose sight of the shepherd. Habitually seeking God has its rewards, as when you draw near to God he will draw near to you. Some day soon God will gather you to him and then everyone will see his face.

There are Christians that allow Christ to live in them as long as he remains secluded and they don’t have to make time to actively participate with Christ.  Something is wrong about this picture when they say Jesus is lord, but treat him like they are ashamed of him.  On the other hand if you do nothing to seek the lord or help the world avoid the fire of hell, can you say you gathering with the Lord? Obviously, if you are not gathering with God you are scattering in ignorance.

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Generous Versus Hoarding

Traditionally, generosity is associated with the amount of money that an individual gives to charity.  The appearance of being generous can be an matter of pride to a open display of wealth or compassion. The reality of the world’s generosity is associated with the selfish desire for what you acquire in return. Lets not forget that in America you receive a tax incentive for giving to charity.

Outside of tradition, generosity is a behavioral issue taught in the home. It begins with the concept of sharing the toys with their brothers and sisters. Sharing the toys with their brothers and sisters doesn’t mean that the child has to give the toy away.  It means that you want your child to understand that the toy is not an all-important possession but something that others can enjoy. When you think about generosity, teaching your child to share is another way to break your child of being self-centered and selfish.

Generosity is an admirable characteristic of nobility that honors the less fortunate with human dignity. It is a character that God wants each of his children to adopt and use throughout their lives. With God, generosity is seen as much in the things that he bestows as giving his life.

Forgiveness is a quality that all men have, but do we forgive freely. As parents we are able to forgive our children a number of times for doing the same thing. Really there is no limit that our children can go that we cannot forgive them. However, there comes a time when we recognize that our children refuse to behave in the manner we trained them and they show no signs of remorse. It seems pointless to forgive when you know that they will do it again, but our father wants us to forgive them regardless of what they have done. Christians tend to forget the number of times our father in heaven has forgiven us of our sins.

Another form of generosity is honoring another person above our own life. We have to recognize at times that life seems to be unfair and there are times when the circumstances of life bring about desperate conditions. Without forewarning, there is nothing more disappointing than going where you have worked for the last twelve years to find an out of business sign and a locked door.  What will you do when your paycheck is gone, your savings have dwindled and you can no longer pay the rent or buy food? It’s wonderful to have Christian friends come to your rescue to lift your spirits and help out with the bills.

God asks us to love one another including those who have become our enemies and then pray for those who deliberately mistreat you. Every Christian knows someone who scorns our beliefs and downplays the importance of God in our life saying we are foolish to believe such things. Its difficult to show love to someone not attracted to God and offends you by being totally ignorant about your feelings for Jesus Christ. Their words and actions demonstrate their lack of respect for the one person you highly esteem.  

And yet that person is a person Jesus Christ gave his life so that he would not perish. Perhaps we do not see beyond our rejection and see the potential that Jesus Christ sees in the person persecuting you. The person that is scoffing and ridiculing you right now could be the next prophet God has chosen to lead his people. Each of us has family members that do not have a personal relationship with God and are facing the wrath of God. Each of them has a kind nature to them and a tremendous potential to be an outstanding Christian. Christians don’t often think of being generous with their patience as being a way to bring people to Christ.

Jesus remained silent while the men God chose to build his church called him a blasphemer. He was silent while they pulled at his beard slapped his face and pushed thorns into his forehead. They shredded his back with whips embedded with fragments of bone and metal. Then in his weaken condition made him carry the cross he died upon to a hill to be displayed as a criminal. The people he came to save, those who sang hosanna now cried crucify him. The suffering and pain and utter rejection from those who did not know what they were doing anguished at his soul. Dying for a crime he did not commit, rejection, humiliation, the pain of his flesh was mounting on his shoulders. For most people the terror of that day would have been more than they could bear.

It must have been hard to endure the cross so that the sin of so many could be atoned for. However, it took an abundance of humility for Jesus Christ to resist the temptation to call on twelve thousand legions of his father’s angels to rescue him from his suffering. He pointed no fingers or named anyone, but he asked his father to forgive them. We learn that God forgave and that his forgiveness continues to this day.

Your generosity should not be restricted to dollars and cents. Your relationship with other people depends on what or how much you are willing to give of your self and uses what he has to serve the needs of his neighbor. Are you willing to show respect, forgive them, help them, have compassion and most importantly share Jesus with them? In comparison, the person who hoards works tirelessly to protect and keep what he has and says I’m looking after number one.

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Gift Versus Wages

The bible talks about a number of gifts that God gives to human beings, which are not, based on a relationship with him. For example, we may not think of rain as a gift, but how would man survive without rain? Rain is one example of the gifts God gives without being partial to anyone. One could easily think that God gives mankind gifts based on human need more than any other reason. God saw man in a helpless state and did something to relieve that condition.  For this reason, God said, what good is our faith if we see someone in need and do nothing about it? Don’t we understand that a cup of cold water does wonders to a person hot and sweaty?

God saw man in his helpless condition of sin and sent his son to a people who did not see the truth, the way and the life as Jesus Christ. They saw a man similar to themselves without an appearance that distinguished him as God in the flesh. In addition, God gave Jesus Christ thirty years of experience living with man that lived as they saw fit and was completely unaware about the kingdom of God. He taught us several kingdom laws through the parables and gave them in such a way that those who had eyes and ears could understand them. Today Christians still learn godly principles that help them to succeed in everything they put their hands to do.  

Not all of the gifts from God are not based on knowledge, as some of the gifts can be used to earn a living, to help another person and for service to God. There are gifts that are given in this age and gifts that will be given sometime in the future. There are God given gifts that go unused for the most part, such as the gift of life. How many Christians do not know what their gift is? On the other hand, how many Christians do something in the church that they are exceptional at?

A few men are wealthy, owning the best of homes, cars, boats, and clothing. However, they were not given a gift to enjoy their wealth. They strive for one more dollar and when they suddenly lose all and their hope for more money is gone they cannot bear to live any longer. However, there are some that God made wealthy and were given the gift to enjoy life. At the same time those who enjoy life use their money wisely to help other people enjoy their life.   

Some of God’s gifts come in the form of a talent. Even the gifts that we use in our hobbies can be used to serve another person. Its not compulsory to use our God given gifts for God’s glory as they are ours to use as we see fit, but how do we love God properly if we don’t use what we have at our disposal? Like all parents we are taught to share what we have with our brothers and sisters. The gifts God has given each of us are meant to be shared with everyone we encounter in our daily walk.

On the other hand God has given spiritual gifts that are to be used for God’s glory. Some Christians are given the talent to teach and others the gift of mercy. Note that not all of the gifts are given to leaders of the church. A man or woman who can’t stand to see trash on the floor of the church also has a neat home, neatness is a gift from God. Another gift of God is the church piano player who can play any tune you can hum, but cannot read sheet music. Some of God’s gifts are miraculous and others are developed through experience, but all of the gifts are necessary for God’s purpose to succeed.

God’s gifts are given to men to funnel them into his service. However, some men and women are not certain of the gift God has given them. Is it possible you are using God’s gift and are not be aware that you have a gift? Have you looked at what you find yourself doing consistently?  A handshake, a smile, being friendly are things you can develop, but the talent to listen to the woes of another person when you yourself are hurting is a gift of God.

Do we see that the church is properly maintained? In every church the door squeaks for lack of oiling, lights burn out, the snow need shoveling, and the computer needs maintenance. Every church has members who can do at least one of those jobs and are willing to do it for God. Those who do the work may not have a God given talent to do those jobs, but they make themselves available.

When speaking on the Holy Spirit Jesus said that we give good gifts to our children. More often we give gifts to our children that they want and have need for. In the same way God gives us his Holy Spirit to guard our lives and help us to live a life acceptable to God.

Its wonderful to know that the gifts God gives to man are ours to keep and use as we see fit. While God’s gifts are given freely and irrevocable, (Romans 11:29) the principles that our father teaches us to live by should govern the way we use the gifts of God. He tells us what you have been freely given, freely give to others.

We have the choice, we can use the gifts God gives to us to honor him or we can adopt the gifts the world instills into our character. Those gifts are greed, self-importance and the need to look after our self. When you earn what you want and did it the way you see fit without accepting God into your life, you have your reward. Lacking God becomes your major accomplishment and therefore the wages you have earned, as Hell is for those who do not want God in their life.

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Giving Versus Hoarding

The ability to give is a gift from God and a attribute of God’s grace that he wants his children to learn.  As parents we teach our children to share what they have with their brothers and sisters or person they are playing with. In the same way God is asking his children to share what he has given his children with those in need. Who knows, God may have given you what you now own, so you can give it to the person in need.

From the human perspective it is easy to say ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35) especially when as human beings we love to receive more than giving. For the most part, it is hard to live by this principle when you have worked hard to own things just to give it away. It’s human nature to want good things and we tend to think that the things we have earned are not yours, but mine alone.

Giving has more to do with your attitude towards other people and how much you value them. How can you say that you love one another and see someone in need, but do nothing to help them?  God doesn’t think in the same way that men think. We know that God’s disposition is based on love and his love desires a relationship with anyone who wants to know him. In addition, his love for life demands a moral attitude requiring him and his children to keep relationships in right standing.

Anyone can strengthen a relationship beginning with giving honor to another person. It requires you to step aside or lower your ego to purposely elevate another person to a place of respect and importance. In this way, you gain the respect and a place of importance with another person because you reap what you sow.

Bringing forgiveness into a relationship is another way of give of your self.  Forgiveness starts with recognizing that the majority of people do not deliberately set out to hurt your person or your feelings. In most cases, the personal injury did not cause blood to flow, but they had ruined your plans or hurt your feelings.  

Reconciling begins with identifying the cause of the harm and learning what can be done to rectify the matter. It also brings out into the open the reason you have been hurt where you and the other person can deal with the pain. Something marvelous happens when you learn that the other person did not want to harm you and they are willing to prevent the same occurrence from ever happening again. Resolving the problem begins with forgiveness to restore your self with the other person. At the same time both individuals gain a deeper respect for the other person and during this process become closer to them.

Giving has rewards. The Bible says,

From your father’s perspective giving from the heart involves faith in him and having the right motives.  Giving to increase what you have may be a good practice in this world, but giving to profit is a form of greed.  Instead giving is letting go of what you have to help those in need and relinquishing control over how the gift is used. It also means that your main purpose is not based on what you have done, but in knowing that the person in need is better off than when you first saw their need.

Paul tells us that the poor deemed it a privilege to give and were able to give beyond their means.  The reality is that one man gives out of the abundance of his wealth and another man gives until he puts his family in jeopardy. Another man gives, as if it were a compulsory obligation, but the man God is looking for is the man who gives from the heart. Still man can be moved by God to give for his glory. This man, God is more likely to bless so that through him he can be used again to bless the people of this world.

No one should announce that they are giving, as one could easily brag about their wealth and how good they are.  Wealthy people often become charitable to have influence over the poor. However some celebrities donate their stature in addition to their time and effort to raise money for the charity of their choice. In doing so they show their concern over a group of people who are in need.

In the over all picture giving is all about serving the need of men who are unable to help themselves. What people need more than money is companionship and the knowledge they are worthy in someone eyes. It’s the generosity of sharing your time and possessions with those in need. Giving says that you have compassion about another person’s welfare and want to do something other than talk about their plight. Its getting involved with other people lives and elevating their needs above your own by raising their hopes which gives them a new outlook on life.

Our financial advisors advise us to put six months wages aside for a rainy day  and they tell us this while it is raining. Human beings we treat money as an important asset worth accumulating and protecting. The problem is that we may be placing a greater value on money than our relationship with God. Hoarding anything that God wants to use is telling God that he is not our God. God says that you never know how long you have to live so why hoard the life God has given us.

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Good Deeds Versus Sin

You can make the choice to lie on bed of roses and take your chances of being pricked or severely scratched.  It can be a good experience or one that you will never do again. Yet, it is personal experiences like this that reveal to us the differences between good deeds and sin. It doesn’t take long in some cases to know whether you like or dislike your experience depending upon how you feel when it is over.

For the most part good deeds are life building blocks that leave everyone in better shape because of what has been done. When good deeds are done you always benefit in some way for the rest of your life. It’s common sense to do good deeds for those your deeds builds a solid relationship with people God wants us to love.  

On the other hand, we all appreciate the times when good deeds are done specifically for you? It raises our self worth and affects your outlook on life. It heightens your awareness that someone values you as a person and considers your well being as worth the effort to make you feel better. Good deeds reflect the relationship you have with God and his love, because those deeds are remembered for the rest of our life.

No one has ever held a grudge for someone who has made your life easier or more enjoyable. Who gets angry when the monotony of life is broken with humor and it is not at your expense?  Life is better when the tensions and distress of life is eased because of a good joke or a picture of a cat lying on his back and the dog nursing kittens. As a result, good deeds are things we can thank God for and it is serving the needs of one another are what giving is all about.

Who is going to stop you from doing good things or who is going to harm you if you consistently help others? The good things you do for others act as an incentive for other people to return what you have done. Good deeds nurture a win, win situation.  You win from the good deed and the same good deed improves both you and the recipient's outlook on life. You win again when the person you help are inclined to deepen their relationship with you.

It’s not easy to love your enemies or to do good to those harm you. What makes doing good deeds difficult is that when you want to do good every the excuses that prevents the deed comes to the forefront of our mind. Thoughts like why are you doing this to a person that abuses you on a regular basis? Why be nice when you’re going to get hurt again. Why do those thoughts come to mind at that precise moment you going to begin doing something good.  Where did those thoughts come from? Stranger still, the reasons go away the minute you start.

Whose thoughts are in control when God demands that we do the thing we want other people to do to us? Who benefits the most when your thoughts cause you to do nothing? When you do nothing Satan is polishing his trophies because he stopped you cold in your tracks. We don’t always look to God who prepared good works for us to do but we look for praise when you have done good, especially the words, well done.

Doing good deeds cost time, effort and money, but it’s the thought that counts. Good deeds often require you to use the graces of God that he wants you to use. Just listening to the lonely, being there for a friend or praying for another person is a good deed and shows your concern for their well being.  

God said that we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works and we were to honor one another above ourselves. God also asks that we be good especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ. In other words, we need to practice love within our family as much as we need to do good for sinners. Let’s remember that we have as much opportunity to shun evil as we do to take advantage of the moment with good deeds.

God’s love is not physical in its nature but spiritual. When we look at the effects of God’s love, we see that God sent his son to reconcile men back to God.  He chose to have compassion on sinful man and responded by giving the world his son to be sacrificed as a Lamb for the sins of the world. Every deed Jesus accomplished was a demonstration of the agape love of God, which is a love of benevolence characterized with good deeds.  

What kind of examples would we be to those outside of God’s kingdom if we were like Christ? Doing good things is a way to build his kingdom through the demonstration of God’s love. We should desire to become the instruments that God can use to build his kingdom and become like Jesus Christ who is the example the world needs to see. Jesus said, what good are we doing for the kingdom of God if we only do good to those who love us? Good deeds is the doorway that lets the people of this world see God’s love practiced by those who love God and test God has done for you. Any deed you perform increases the potential to lead someone to Christ or drive them away.

When we look at the nature of sin we find that it is destructive to the person who sins. Ultimately, the indulgent, the depraved and self-centered man has no concern over the effects of doing evil things. Sin produces personal ruin, pain and suffering that affects the victim.  Sin is deceptive and contagious. Sin produces the desire for revenge, but in taking revenge the victim become as bad as the perpetrator. In the long run, the victim must sin to have his or her revenge.  When does it all stop?  The evil of sin only yields bad things for you affecting the trust people have for you. Sin causing your inner circle of friend’s shrink and ultimately front row seats in the lake of fire.

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Good Versus evil    

Everyone prefers to be respected and be able to live without any kind of trouble being inflicted on them but without a concern for what happens to the other person. Good things are beneficial for achieving goals or the desirable outcome. On the other hand carelessness from others throws a monkey wrench into our affairs when we are trying to get things done in a timely manner.  Having someone do good to you is a pleasing experience and shows that someone really cares for you.  

When the thief comes, he leaves everything in disarray and ruin, destroying memories and violating the sanctity of your home.  The thief does not have to take the things of value with him, but he will leave you with emotional distress that you have to deal with in the weeks and years to come.

On the other hand when a deed benefits your life that deed is something that you will cherish the rest of your life. Unfortunately, we seldom praise the people who do good things for us. Jesus comes to give us life to the full, which may be hard to fathom, but he brought a way to live that we could use eternally. Good deeds are something you appreciate and often feel obligated to return. Because this practice is continued over a lifetime, you will reap the love you have sown.

The good shepherd came to lay his life down for everyone who would accept Christ’s death as the atonement for the sin of the world. The purpose of his death was to provide a way to eternal life that would benefit all of mankind regardless of who they are. Prior to Christ’s death man was unable to live without sin or find a sacrifice suitable for the punishment of sin that God would accept.

Jesus became the Lamb of God perfect in every way and acceptable to the demands of God’s justice.  On the cross he took on the sin that we committed and died carrying our sin into the lake of fire. He endured the sin of mankind so we would not perish in eternally separated from God.

We have a promise from God.

And another promise,

These are promises made to those who have entered into a covenant with God by proclaiming that Jesus is Lord. This covenant requires man to love and obey God for we were created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Jesus Christ was our role model as he routinely did the good works. He healed the sick, he gave money to the poor and he did things to comfort the pain and suffering that he saw around him.

All in all the attributes that describe the nature of God are strengths that men benefit from. They are strengths that build self-esteem and relationships through sharing with what one has or can do for another.

God is compassionate          God is life                             God is my rock

God is faithful                     God is love                           God is our salvation

God is forgiving                   God is merciful                     God is our strength

God is generous                  God is mighty                        God is righteous

God is gracious                   God is mighty to save             God is Spirit

God is greater                     God is moral                         God is truth

God is just                          God is my help                     God is your refuge

In addition God uses these skills and attributes not for evil purposes but to do good. His choice was to demonstrate the love of God in a social and moral manner and in such a way that his decisions do not harm others. For example,

Notice that God’s is defined in a specific manner. God’s choice to demonstrate love in a social and moral manner is the agapao form of love and his choice not to harm anyone is found in the agape form of love.

NT:26  agape from NT:25; love, i.e. affection or benevolence; specially plural) a love-feast:  KJV - (feast of) charity ([-ably]), dear, love. strongs

NT:25  agapao perhaps from agan (much) [or compare OT:5689]; to love (in a social or moral sense):  KJV - (be-) love (-ed). Compare NT:5368. Strongs

God’s love is both spiritual and physical in its nature and his love is characterized with good deeds.

From man’s perspective anything that is favorable, pleasant, to his liking, is done well, is right in his eyes, and the best you can do is good. When we consider God’s nature and what he demands of his children, we must also consider that not one of his commands encourages evil deeds.  Rather, God’s word teaches us not to respond to our sin nature and say no to ungodliness and its worldly passions. His commands reflect a way to live in a holy manner that produces his holiness.  

This verse summarizes the difference of good and evil that effects all life. Evil is a source of suffering, injury, destruction and the consequences of evil deeds. Deeds that man and women throughout the world consider absolutely wrong especially when they are the victim.  Remember this, evil will rule your life, but you have to control your actions to do good deeds. Most people like to think that they are in charge of their life but on judgment day God will judge your deeds. Deeds determine if evil was allowed to rule your life, but if you do good deeds the outcome will be to your favor.

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Healthy Versus sick

It’s hard to believe that the health of a person affects how they treat another person, but it really does. Normally a healthy person is full of life under normal conditions are polite, courteous and nice to be around. On the other hand, when that same person has something affecting his health he or she can become stubborn, grumpy and rude. Health changes a person outlook on life and the way they feel is often reflected in his or her actions.

It is not unusual that personal health affects your relationship with life and death. Some health problems are curable while others have the potential of killing you and still others are guaranteed to shorten your life.  With the help of medical science, we strive to stay in good health but we are still faced with the promise of God that it is appointed once for man to die. Then we are summoned to appear before God for judgment.

Consider this, men do not fear death as much as the outcome of God’s judgment. On Earth we have a reasonable environment that supports life whether good or evil. However, the outcome of God’s judgment has two destinations. One that supports a life of abundance and another that keeps you on the brink of death.  Hell is a spiritual death being separated from God for eternity in a cordoned off area designed to prevent the sick from mingling with the healthy.

We must consider that being separated from God guarantees eternal death in our personal lives.  No one with a rational mind would choose to pursue a course of action that would end in his or her life in hell. However for a lack of knowledge and neglect even people various degrees of higher education and intellect overlook the obvious. God created the Earth and everything on it. God had a purpose for creating man giving him dominion over the Earth, but embedding the knowledge of Heaven and Hell in their spirit.

God created man in two forms one that can be seen and another that rules the spirit, which is not seen. From a human standpoint having two forms of life seems far-fetched. However we feed both in normal everyday life without realizing it. There many kinds of food that nourishes and sustains the body, but the intellect (spirit) that rules our life needs knowledge to grow as a person. However there are many forms of knowledge, one for every occupation and with knowledge comes the means to earn, shape and preserve the comfort of the body.  All men have a basic knowledge concerning our physical health, hygiene and common courtesy. However, not everyone has adequate knowledge concerning his or her spiritual health, as the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.

Most people understand that normal health exists during good times when can function properly.  We also understand that when we are sick our feelings and functions are seriously affected. From a physical standpoint a virus has invaded our body and has corrupting parts of the body with pain that affects the rest of our body.  However, most people do not understand that normal spiritual health only exists when our relationship with our Lord and Savior is in functioning properly. Sin is the spiritual type of virus that corrupts our spirit, destroys our relationship with God, and will put you in quarantine, separated from God.

Our spiritual health demands the knowledge of God and knowing the cause for sin. Sin is created when we allow our evil desires to perform deeds that lead to spiritual death. Sin has its origin when we sanction the breaking of God’s law to satisfy our own evil desires. After Adam and Eve ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil they knew that they had disobeyed God and hid from his presence. God hates sin but he has given man many promises to escape the corruption of sin.

Throughout the Bible we see several stories that illustrate the sinful nature of man. The bible gives us several examples of turning from God during the kingdom era. During this period the Israelites saw other nations having good harvests and prospering while they were serving idols made of wood and stone. They began to worship god’s that could not save them. Unfortunately they became stubborn allowing all sorts of evil to creep into their life. There came a time when God said let their god’s save them and sent heathen rulers and nations to pillage the work of their hands. They took them captive and reduced the Israelites to slavery.  Then they remembered the good times but now that they were in slavery so they cried out to God for mercy. Even today men seldom give God the time of day even to think about him and seldom consider if God would approve their plans.  When we ignore God we open our lives to sin.

Sin is always around seeking to devour, harm and separate you from God. The desire to sin is a choice but it is a choice that God has given you the right to say no to! God’s has embedded his laws in men so men would understand that sin is breaking God’s law. They also know that sin punishable by death, but they continue to sin and approve the sin of others. Sinners seldom consider what they will do when God confronts them and how they will answer God when calls them to account?

 

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Heaven Versus Earth

Probably one of the best known verses in Christendom next to John 3:16 is Genesis 1:1. From this verse comes the undeniable origin of the planet Earth and the man who was given dominion over God’s creation.  At the same time God has established himself as the one and only creator of the earth that man dominates.  

When we open our eyes to see, we can see that the heavens declare glory of God as the work of his hands. No two clouds look the same, not every cloud brings rain, not every cloud is the same color and not every cloud at the same altitude.  The clouds provide shade from the heat of the sun, yet God rides the clouds and peers downward with an inquisitive mind in search of the righteous.

Throughout the earth the glory of God is known to be eternal. Those who worship the sun and moon see God’s glory, but do not realize that the heavens declare the glory of the God that created them. They know that the sun has risen in the east and set in the west as long as they can remember and know that the sun will rise again tomorrow.  

God is awesome when the heavens are darkened with rain clouds and God sends his bolts of lightning striking his target dead center. The lightning bolts light up the heavens and is seen from one end of the earth to the other. Lightning is often accompanied the clatter of electricity and the sound of rolling thunder. The sound of thunder can shake the very ground you are standing on and put the fear of God into the recesses of your heart.

Man was given dominion over the earth, but the dominion of the heaven over the earth belongs to the Lord. The heavens are used by the Lord to bring glory to God, but the heavens are used to discipline mankind. The Bible tells us that,

Out of all the evil God saw, he found a righteous man named Noah, who he used to save eight persons from the flood that he was sending. Noah prepared an ark of safety at God’s command for his family and the animals God created and then the rain came. The floodwaters raised the arc above the mountains of the earth and everything on the earth with breath perished. The animals, Noah and seven others remained on the arc for over a year before they were permitted to leave the arc.     

After leaving the arc, God commanded Noah and his family to be fruitful and increase in number. He made a covenant with Noah and the generations to come not to cut man off the earth or destroy the earth by flood again and placed his rainbow in the sky as a sign of his covenant.  This rainbow is like the brilliant light that surrounds God and our Savior, like a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This is the glory of the Lord (Ezekiel 1:28).

As the Lord left Abraham’s tent and headed towards Sodom and Gomorrah God confided with Abraham that they were going there to see if the outcry against the people was as great or as grievous as the reports they heard. When they arrived Lot found them and persuaded them to come to his home. Even under the customs of the land when guests entered your home they were in the protection of the owners house. Because the men of Sodom and Gomorrah had given themselves over to sexual immorality and perversion they violated the hospitality of Lot’s home and demanded that his guests be handed over to them. The men insisted that they have Lot’s guests for their pleasure but the Lord pulled Lot inside the house and ordered him and his family flee to the mountains. Unable to physically flee to the mountains they settled on a small town called Zoar. When Lot and his two daughters reach the protection of Zoar, the heavens erupted raining down burning sulfur overthrowing the surrounding suburbs and plain of Sodom and Gomorrah.

The heavens supported Moses when God judged Egypt bringing Locust to devour the produce of Egypt.  Again the winds brought doves to the Israelites when complained. Hail fell on Joshua’s enemies and the Sun stood still over the Valley of Aijalon (Joshua 10:12).

Forty days after the resurrection Jesus led his disciples into the valley near the garden of Gethsemane and ascended before their eyes. Disappearing in the cloud two men appeared asking why they were staring at the sky. What they said next might have blew their minds as they said,

The words of prophetic truth that Jesus spoke at his trial in the Sanhedrin were not heard by his disciple but by men who refused to believe that Christ was the Son of God.

Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven." Matthew 26:64, Mark 14:62

One day the heaven and the earth will pass away fleeing from God’s presence. God will create a new Heaven and a new Earth that has not been corrupted with sin. Then the New Jerusalem, that is the dwelling of God will come out of Heaven. We can only assume that the New Jerusalem will be part of the New Heaven and Earth.  

 

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Heaven Versus Hell

Much has been said on the subject of Heaven for heaven has been described with great grandeur. Many of the descriptions display the splendor, beauty and glory of God and many talk as if God spared no expense in creating the city of God.  We can easily understand that heaven is massive, beyond the size of any structure man has ever attempted to build. Heaven is 2,250,000 square miles in size, but built like a cube for it is as 1500 miles long and 1500 miles wide and 1500 miles tall. After doing the math and giving some thought to its size heaven has ample space for billions of living beings.

When we say God spared no expense in creating heaven we are talking from the human perspective. To us the building materials used in making heaven would cost us more that all of humanity could earn in their lifetime. The gold and precious stones that God used, as building materials is more practical that you may think. The life expectancy of gold and precious stones is eternal, much longer than wood or steel. Even though we may think of the building materials as costly, but there was a higher cost, the death of Our Lord and Savior to redeem the men and women of the earth.

Heaven will sparkle like a jewel under a strong light. Isaiah prophesied that God would will make the cities battlements of rubies, your gates of sparkling jewels, and all your walls of precious stones (Isaiah 54:12). Revelation describes the walls of the city as jasper, clear like glass with twelve foundations, which were decorated with various kinds of precious stones. The stones in heaven’s foundation were similar to those on the breast piece to represent the tribes of Israel.

The breast piece was pouch folded square with four rows of precious stones mounted on it and worn on the chest of the high priest. Each stone on the breast piece represented a tribe of Israel and the twelve foundation of Heaven represents the twelve apostles of the Lamb. What made the breast piece so special was that this pouch contained the Urim and thummim that was a means for the High Priest to know the decisions of God. Urim and thummim are illuminaries that are representative God and the Lamb who’s radiance provides light the streets of Heaven.

There are twelve gates for the entrance to the city of God, three on each wall. Each gate is enormous pearl, guarded by an angel and over three hundred miles apart. The gates of Heaven will never be shut and nothing impure will ever enter the city. Those who are allowed to enter will have their names written in the Lamb’s book of life.

John was asked in his vision of Revelation, these in white robes, who are they, and where did they come from?" Not knowing how to answer the angel responded by saying they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Those who entered the city of God did not enter on their own accord, but they discovered God’s plan of Salvation cleansed themselves from their sin with the blood of Christ and worked out their salvation with God.

The future residents of Heaven at one time were born with a sin nature and were sinners saved by the grace of God. Working with God they learned to master sin and overcome the sin of the world. They learned to walk with God and became morally pure in his sight. God gave anyone who chose to make Jesus Christ their Lord and put their trust in him the right to become the children of God.  They were not children of God through human birth, but born in the Spirit by the grace of God.  Being born of the Spirit was only the first step on the road to heaven for those who call on the Lord must turn from all wickedness, as heaven is also the kingdom of God.

Sin soils the robes that each person has and that filth can only be washed away with the blood of Christ.

Because you are children of God you can be like Ruth speaking to Boaz said "Spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer." Ruth 3:9  God will spread his tent over them (Revelation 7:15) but there is more,

John said he saw the Holy City, the New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, beautifully dressed as a bride for her husband. God will give us everything we need as a father raising his children. Those dressed in robes washed by his blood will become his people.  He will comfort them by wiping the tears from their eyes and because the old order of the world has ended there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.  

Hell is a place reserved for those who indulged themselves in the sin of the world. They did not love the truth, they scoffed at God’s authority and wanted nothing to do with God. They will received the desires of their heart because they overlooked the warnings God gave them.  

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Holiness Versus Corruption

To understand holiness one has to ask why God would demand this quality over others? The answer may lie in his attributes for God is eternal, a God of order, a God of Love and a God of peace. What we find is that holiness incorporates all of these qualities, which in turn makes heaven a place without sin, of rest, stability and desirable for ones home. The acceptance of holiness as a way to conduct your life makes it possible to maintain a right relationship with God and everyone of like mind.

Holiness is a disciplined way of life that shapes God’s disposition, keeping his behavior in check and is the demeanor that God trains his children to nourish, respect and employ. Everything in life has a proper procedure that produces a desired outcome. When those procedures are violated or a step is left out there is a consequence, which requires you retrace your steps or start over. Godly behavior has procedures that must be adhered to and when these procedures are violated God calls your behavior sin. However, before you can resume a proper order of life, one has to make amends for his sin.

   Holiness is a way of life approved by God based on morals, which conforms to a concern for others and God’s will. The character of holiness considers the sanctity of life, respect for others and the understanding that everyone wants the same quality of life as you desire. In the same respect, personal holiness elevates God to everyone you encounter to a place of importance, dignity, integrity and nobility.

God blesses the person with a holy character, for holiness is a characteristic that continues to build another person’s worth up. To God all life is sacred and he treats everyone the same way without partiality. At the same time the life of holiness creates a condition of rest among those you encounter. Who is going to harm you if you do not react to the evil you receive, but return blessing for the slander of others.

Followers of Christ are called to do good works to honor God our heavenly Father and avoid the sin of the world. The works of the world creates unrest, confrontation, mental anguish, strife and tension. None of these works is desirable for anyone. Therefore, a plan is needed for a way of life to eliminate the hardships of life promoted by sin and pursue a means of having complete peace with others and your conscience.

Who can argue with the holiness of God and who can find fault in the way he treats his creation?  From the beginning of time God has pursued a course of peace with man, caused by disobedience and sin. He offered man blessings for obedience and curses for disregarding his commands. He offered man a system of Sacrifices for reconciliation, the means of reinstating holiness in God’s sight. Finally he sent his Son to offer himself as the atonement sacrifice for man and to pay the penalty of sin. With this plan man could be reinstated to God and have a continuous relationship with God.

He gave man the right to become the children of God when they accept Jesus as Lord. However, no one can make or set Jesus Christ apart as Lord unless they obey his commands. This requires that you to make God a priority of your life just to be his servant.  You, your life and everything God has given to you is something to be yielded to God. The life of holiness demands a devotion to make yourself accountable to God alone.  Paul described your personal holiness in this way.

Most Christians find true holiness hard to live and it is because they are in the world and constantly seeing the truth of God being suppressed by the world. When your eyes are focused on the sin of the world its sin makes it easier to be lured into sin. Holiness requires a discipline of the man of God to live in the spirit or to set your eyes on Christ. Then when you submit yourself to God, the Holy Spirit will empower you to live a life of holiness. With this in mind, lets remember that the sin nature is always hostile to the ways of holiness, we must consider that the way of sin is death, but the life of holiness leads to life with God.

Gratifying the sinful nature amounts to self-centeredness and says that I am more important than all the other people of the world. It doesn’t take into account that you are just one of many who are in the same boat trying to leave this world with God’s favor. In the same respect gratifying your sinful nature shows your lack of concern for those who are less fortunate.

The sin nature does not have a disciplined life neither does it consider that God has their life in his hands. The sin nature tells man that they are good enough for Heaven. When the Bible says,  

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Holy Versus Unholy

Most Christians understand that the word Holy is always associated with the person of God as being sacred and worthy of worship.  Jesus used this term when teaching his disciples the way he addressed his father.

And again

The word Holy is incorporated into the name of the Holy Spirit and the word holy was used by the demon Jesus cast out at synagogue in Capernaum who described Jesus as the Holy One of God.

Every Christian is to consider God in a sacred manner, as he is morally pure in all his dealings according to his disposition. In other words, God is holy because there is a total absence of evil in his thoughts, relationships and deeds. The opposite is love mercy and compassion blended with a high standard of conduct with excellence that he deserves the highest degree of respect.

However holy is used of men after they have become children of God as God considers Christian’s his holy ones. Paul used the term holy (rendered as Saints) when he wrote to the church at Rome.

The phrase called to be saints becomes important when it is the normal process for all Christians to become more like Christ. Just as the instruments used for worship in the Old Testament were ceremonially cleansed before being declared holy, so the children of God are cleansed from sin. In salvation, the saints become an instrument of worship that is cleansed from sin with the blood of Christ.

We struggle with sin regularly and fail repeatedly in our human strength while we make the effort to become more like Christ. Our sin nature is part of us and must be ruled over by our spirit to become holy. At the same time we must lean to trust God and allow him to work in our lives.

 Keep my decrees and follow them. I am the Lord, who makes you holy. Leviticus 20:8, Leviticus 22:32, Exodus 31:13  – I am the Lord, who makes them holy. Leviticus 21:23, Leviticus 22:9, Leviticus 22:16

All of the above passages refer to a requirement to obey God for every person that calls on the name of God must turn from wickedness. With the attitude of love, it is compelling to obey God, for by observing the royal law to love the Lord our God, gives you a passion to please him.

Because we have been redeemed from the ruler of this world, it is considered to be our reasonable act of worship, as the sons of God to renew our minds to know his good and perfect will.  Through the consequences sin brings into our lives we learn God’s reasoning for hating sin and why we should hate evil with the same passion.

Everyone that receives Jesus Christ as Lord is given the right to become the children of God but it is a choice God makes. We call this born again.  

The adopted children of God are God’s holy ones or saints that are in Christ and indwelt by the fullness of the Deity. They are empowered from on high to live a life consistent with the morals that God approves of. These morals establish the righteousness of Christ in us.  Yet Christ’s righteousness can not be obtained in our own strength, it requires a personal relationship with God and an effort to purify our lives from all unrighteousness. It is a cooperative effort of keeping God in the leadership role and our willingness to be a servant that obeys his word.

The holy ones or Saints are under the protection of God. The bible speaks of those God protects as men and women God has placed a hedge around. The saints are those whom are surrounded by the angels of God and those who seek the shadow and refuge of God’s wings.  The man that God gives his Holy Spirit to and those who are declared holy will stand in the presence of God – on holy ground.  Over all it is the person whom God determines and declares holy are the only ones that are holy.

Holy is also a term God uses to describe the way of life he considers sacred and worthy to revere. God regards the holy life as a solemn undertaking, which requires a plan and the resolve to live by the demands of holiness. There are no double standards as the holy life sets a high standard of personal conduct based on decisions that are made from absolute truth, a truth that avoids deceit and wrongdoing of all forms.

   The unholy are those who refuse God’s kindness and salvation.   They are members of the world and children of Satan who rebel against God’s authority and indulge in adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, wrath, strife, sedition’s, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling. They are liars, unbelievers, thieves, greedy, drunkards, cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, and those who practice deception. They are those whom God has not considered worthy of eternal life and they have been rejected for all of eternity.

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Honest Versus Deception

Every person has a need to be honest with themselves. For this reason we must examine our lives to see if we are attempting to be more than we are. Do we really present ourselves to other people as other people see us? Do others respect the way we live and do others personally trust us? If we are to be honest and persuasive among our peers we must be credible and truthful to make ourselves believable. In the same way the honest person works to maintain a right standing with others must include a personal integrity in everyday affairs with other men and women.

In the business world men and women are taught to create a good first impression.  There can be no pretense, we are what we are and when our first impression is false, you can guarantee that anything coming from a business transaction conducted with this person will have strings attached. Honesty is generally considered to incorporate an honorable and trustworthy life. Still this attitude can be deceptive, as these attributes represent a person who has motivated to be fair with you. However, having an actual honest person working for you is an asset that you will cherish. He or she is the kind of person you can trust and know you will have a day’s work for a day’s wage.

Honesty is a desire to be fair with other people. Perhaps we can see the picture of honesty in the golden rule, to do unto others the same as you want from them. God used the scales and balances as an example of honesty. Scales and balances can be rigged and weights can be manipulated in favor of the operator. However truth can not be rigged or manipulated for anyone, because the truth remains the same today yesterday and tomorrow. When dishonesty is present, truth will expose deceit and the news of deceit will spread like wildfire. Then the corrupt person downfall will soon follow. By establishing your life through a disposition of honesty you receive the desired trust of the men and women you work with and meet in your daily activity.

A man is established through honesty and he will become a person of worth to other men and women. Men and women unconsciously value the worthwhile, beneficial and usefulness of people around them for their reasons such as their need. The person who is honest and consistently speaks the truth has a virtue that will assist them on their road to success and prosperity.

The honest person looks at his life and evaluates his or her worth to other people and then develops a system of morals to deal with the issues of life. He looks at how the other person may perceive them and considers a way to benefit both parties and keep his or her integrity intact. Considerate and reputable people do not take advantage of other people, but make their dealings equitable.  

People respect people who are sincere, of solid character, ethical, and have a system of morals that do not harm them personally.  Honesty is a part of an ethical armor, like a belt of truth that is connected to the breastplate of righteousness. The sword of truth is also hangs on the belt just as the truth is to be spoken in love. Putting on the armor of God means that you are using the same attributes God developed for his life. Consider that God is known for his fairness and straightforwardness of conduct therefore, what would your life become known for?

However there must be a commitment of your Spirit’s will to be honest, for all it takes is one lie to destroy your character.  A lie is a statement deliberately presented as being true but is really meant to deceive. Honesty does not leave a false impression but gives a reliable statement that can be trusted and relied upon. A commitment to being honest must be like a contract that you will not violate because there are consequences for each infraction. The consequence that everyone has for being deceptive is that it takes several years to restore a personal character of honesty.

A commitment of honesty is almost impossible when our will has been corrupted. We must also commit our self to be honest even when it hurts. When we see a consequence for being in the wrong coming our way the sin nature in us demands that a lie be in our best interest.  The temptation to be right is fueled by Satan, who only wants to destroy God’s children.

Honesty must be an absolute resistance to a personal moral corruption requiring you to lie, cheat, defraud, steal or deceive. These attributes of deception belong to Satan and his children. So why does Satan’s family hat these attributes?  Is it because these attributes are gaining the trust of other people such as themselves? As a member of God’s family, honesty is an absolute refusal to lie, steal, or deceive in any way because they are sins, detested by God.

Having a sincere reverence for our Father in Heaven is our only way to overcome the deception of sin. God not only promotes healthy attributes of integrity, truthfulness, and straightforwardness, but also helps you to govern a spiritual and mental process to employ them. God teaches the consequences of dishonesty is a path that leads to ruin and shows verified examples of consequences for those who were dishonest in the past.

The thief comes to steal to kill and to destroy and promotes the activity of lying, cheating, or stealing. He knows his destination and trembles at the thought. However he is at war with God and knows he cannot win. At the same time, he is doing his best to deceive the world and thwart God’s plan. Any misrepresentation of the truth intended to deceive the elect or the world does not come from God. However, the outcome for the person who intends to deceive another person is the place reserved for Satan. The bible tells us,

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Honor Versus Disgrace

Honor or disgrace is often given for your achievements during your lifetime. Whether it is a few kind words describing your achievement of excellence or a life sentence for a deed violating society wishes, honor is a reward for virtue and disgrace is the consequence for wrong doing. Respect and special merit are given to those that demonstrate a strong concern for his fellow man or for a lifetime of work that benefits the society he lives in.  

However, those who have earned honor, show a distinctive effort to surpass what is considered the reasonable undertaking of man.  Sometimes the effort has danger and possible harm involved but you muster your strength and do whatever is required to overcome the danger. The military calls it bravery beyond the call of duty honored by parades and includes pinning a distinguished medal on the uniform.

Honor is a man’s method of showing approval especially among those of rank. The judge is called your honor, the king your majesty, the mayor the honorable and the police officer Sir. The method is the way that men recognize the rank of the person of authority, not so much the character or reputation of the person in authority.

However, the character or reputation of the person in authority demands accountability to the community that gave them authority. They are expected to live exemplary lives because being a public servant requires a higher standard of morals to live by. Of late we have seen one politician after another honor the public by resigning in shame after violating the peoples trust. Some were responsible enough to resign from authority before being exposed.

There are rewards given to students who have achieved and maintained a higher level of learning as seen their grade averages. They have made an effort to sudy advanced subjects and scored well on the test. The honor to deliver the valedictory or parting address at graduation is given to the student with the highest academic rank in their respective class.

Similar conduct worthy of honor is found in God within his noble character and the numerous qualities of grace that he exercises through love. The same qualities of grace are instilled into God’s children with encouragement for doing good works. In other words, our heavenly father is training his children to do good things worthy of merit and be generous while doing so.

Just as Jesus taught his disciples humility while washing their feet that it was just as important to know leadership begins at the lowest level.  Otherwise deeds with honor include meeting the needs of the less fortunate person where he or she is at. Agape love requires that you also meet the emotional needs of the person and help them reach a point where they can stand on their own feet again. Meeting the needs of the less fortunate always requires more than giving out of the pocket.

Agape love is a disposition of benevolence with a characteristic of generosity. This love is more than a gift given to the poverty-stricken solely for the reason they are in need, it also requires you to give of your time and life. Agape is a love combined with compassion so that when you see a need you also have a desire to solve the affliction.  In addition love finds no fault, rather it covers over a multitude of sins. It is not quick to judge but willing to pardon faults knowing you have similar faults.

God knows the man who loves him but he or she who loves his neighbor as themselves will be honored by God.

What we find that by meeting the needs of those in need we are honoring the wishes of our heavenly father who loves all of his creation. God prepared good works from the beginning for man to do, Jesus said the sick and poor are always around us. This gives us the opportunity to honor one another not only with the fruit of our labor but with God’s love.

On that awesome day when all men pass under the shepherd’s rod, Jesus will separate men and women as if sheep from goats and he will say.

What he is saying those you honored through the love of Christ represented my needs and you will receive a just reward. This love is developed through obedience of the royal commands given to us by God.

Disgrace is society’s method of showing its disapproval for a person’s action. To those who are disgraced by the way they live, society not only denies them respect and honor, but also deals harshly with them to correct their behavior.  Their reputation and how they are known changes the public’s feelings about them. The person character becomes one that cannot be trusted and they lose friends over their shame. They are often avoided deliberately and the public spurns others. From God’s perspective those who did not do anything in love to meet the needs of the stranger will be subject to his wrath. Those who did not honor one another as commanded by God will be isolated from his kingdom, being separated from God and those he loves forever.  

 

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Hospitable Versus Scorn

Hospitality is demonstrated in the way you greet your guests in your home and church. For the most part, people do not accept strangers and friends in the same manner.  The motivation involves uncertainty from living in a corrupt world and we greet strangers with caution. We treat them with a form of respect that keeps them apart and at a safe distance, at least until the ice has been broken enough to see through the cracks to know them.  

Every day we meet strangers and say how are you and how do you do in passing. Having or even starting a conversation with a stranger seems to be out of the question as you have other things on your mind. Most people are too busy to be friendly to strangers for fear that they may be hurt. There is a certain fear of the unknown and because it takes time to build trust they may not want to take time to get to know you either.  

Still it never hurts to perform acts of kindness such as picking up something that a person has been dropped or getting items off the shelf for those whom cannot reach them. Christians call this type of kindness serving one another. On the other hand, these acts of service are a good way to break the ice and enable you to start a friendly conversation and possibly develop a relationship.  No one knows the benefits that may come out of a new relationship. In time you may lead them to Christ or they could do you a favor in the future.  

Hospitality is more than meeting new people it is a way to exchange your beliefs for actions that demonstrate your compassion for people in need.

The church has many ministries that practice hospitality to those in need.  Christians regularly take guest speakers into their homes. While other Christians provide services such as food and clothing banks, aiding the homeless with whatever they will accept. Those involved in these ministries are often heartbroken when finding men and women in horrible conditions. It requires a loving person to have compassion on a man with dirty clothes reeking from alcohol, just to feed and give him a place to sleep.

The world produces several informative TV shows on the topic of ways to have festive holiday parties. These shows deal strictly with the cuisine and table decorations, but neglect the treatment of guests or help those in need. In the service and tourism industry public relations depend on hospitality between the guest and it’s firm to establish and promote a favorable relationship with customers.

In the same way, most church greets visitors as they enter the church to advise them of the various services and guide them to the right room. The aim of the church is to establish and promote a favorable relationship with its congregation. In addition the church wants to make the stranger feel at home and part of their group.

Making a person feel welcomed plays an important role in building the stranger’s sense of self worth. When you establish a new relation with men and women, you do unto others what you would want done to you. Every human being wants to have a sense of being worthy to be an important part of other people’s life. Establishing a good first impression does not depend on your appearance, but the way you respect them as a person.

In the Old Testament it was customary to take care of the stranger traveling from one place to another.  Refuge for the night was expected so travelers would enter the city looking for someone to take them into their home.  Food was carried in the fold of a garment, which meant food was subject to spoiling and fresh food was provided for them. Eating bread and salt under the same roof was also a practical way of sealing a covenant of brotherhood. Most importantly they also came under the protection of the hosting home by providing a safe haven for the night and allowing them to continue on their journey refreshed.

Hospitality incorporates the ability to demonstrate his love and respect for his fellow man.  Consider how the Bible defines love.

Plain and simple hospitality is treating strangers with the respect you want from them. It involves an accepted and refined ethics within social groups to avoid offending one another. However, hospitality goes a step beyond being polite as it considers the needs of others with the compassion to accept them as they are. God asks us to love our enemy by doing good and lend without expecting anything in returned. In other words, be the Good Samaritan of your day that saw the helpless man beside the road and did something to relieve the harm done to man.

Do not look down a man’s social status or avoid the dirt a man wears on him. Slighting another is offensive and scorn and disdain has its reward that is quickly returned. The bible says that God cannot be mocked you will reap what you sow. (Galatians 6:7)  Therefore, show respect for God’s creation.

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Hot Versus Cold 

Love for God and the things of God can burst into flame with time spent fanning the coals of your spirit. How you feel about anyone can be expressed in the heat of activity such as a ardent lover or frigid like the hermit who fights for his privacy. One can be aroused easily or it may take a ton of bricks to get the point across. Activity with God’s word kindles your spiritual life. The closer to the fire, the more involved you become in the things of God.

Water boils when exposed to heat and plastic shrinks from heat. Iron glows from the heat and a loaf of bread is baked. A change takes place when things are exposed to the flame of a fire.  In these examples the source of heat is different some being direct, and some indirect.  For example, plastic placed directly over the fire will shrink from the fire, but the iron rod placed directly into the fire will glow after a few minutes. However, water and cake batter is never placed directly into the fire as water would put the fire out and the batter would be burnt.  

People eat three times a day adding fuel to the digestive system, which converts food into fuel for their body. The world believes that man lives by the food grown and harvested from the soil.  Spiritual men understand that the food produced from the earth only sustains the body, but the words spoken by God sustain the life of man. God’s words are truth, they are spiritually discerned but they give life. The reverence of God is the beginning of knowledge and through his word men can develop a personal relationship with God the father and Jesus Christ.  This personal relationship is eternal life, (John 17:3).

Like gold refined in the fire Christians are refined in the fire of life to remove the dross of sin from his or her character. Gold is placed into the fire to refine and make the metal more valuable and in a similar manner the vine is pruned to produce more fruit. To God the character of man is the fruit that God produces and is liken to a precious stone polished will sparkle in the brilliance of God’s light like Jasper in the crystal sea.

However, there are some that shrink back in the heat of intimidation. Whenever you want to do good a sudden dread comes over you and you have ten reasons why you should not complete what you started or wanted to do. This is spiritual warfare and a few Christians buckle under the pressure by giving up and reverting back to the old way of life.

Plastic melts and shrinks from the heat of the fire, but plastic will never return to its original condition. Walking away from your salvation will leave a scar on the heart of man just as the plastic forms a ring around the hole.  Jesus is ready when you are willing to take up and carry your shield of faith. That shield of faith is able to quench the fiery darts of Satan. Try to remember that Jesus is the great physician and he is able to apply a healing touch to the scar of sin.  

Paul writes do not put out the Spirit’s fire. God’s Spirit lives within our heart guiding us into all truth and we can ignore or miss hearing his voice. We can quench the spirit by treating the word of God with contempt and dishonoring God. Paul instructed Timothy to test all things and hold onto the truth then avoid every kind of evil.  The act of sin will stop all of God’s activity in your life until you have corrected your behavior. Continuing in sin will sear your heart as if with a hot iron making it nearly impossible for you to hear God’s voice.

Timothy may have been depressed and may have lost his passion as a minister to the Epheasians church. Paul reminded Timothy of his mother’s faith and advises Timothy to fan the gift he received from the laying on of hands into flame. Paul goes on to say guard that gift with the help of the Holy Spirit. Endure the trials and troubles of Christian life like a soldier who wants to please his commanding officer, (Jesus Christ). Paul gave two other examples, one of the athlete who competed by the rules and another of the farmer who was able to eat the first of his crops.

Paul instructed Timothy not to argue over words that destroy the faith of some. Instead Timothy was asked to study the word of God to correctly interpret and proclaim the word of truth. Fanning the gift of God into flame takes effort on your part.   Studying the word of God takes time spent with God and is the best way to burn the dross of sin out of your heart. With God’s help you can become a strong vibrant Christian who knows and respects the sacredness of his God.

When God referred to those who are neither hot not cold he may have been thinking of those who warm the pews of the Church. Just as you can fan the fire of the spirit the spirit can cool down by doing nothing for God. Most Christians leave God at the church where they worship and neglect his salvation the remainder of the week. They have a form of Godliness, but deny God’s power and fail to live by faith when put to the test. God is going to judge man by his deeds, but will the man who is cold have acts of faith?

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Humble Versus Proud

While the majority of men are proud of their self-importance, being humble is a way to rule your life by lowering your ego, pride and self-centeredness to show God’s love and build others up. The importance of being humble is to gain acceptance, respect and admiration of your fellow man and God. It may be difficult to love one another as your self when the person God wants you to love is arrogant, unruly, and downright nasty. Let’s remember the love of Jesus when he humbled himself, suffered abuse and was condemned for telling the truth. Then he was put to death to make it possible for man to become the child of God. Yet, the words of his mouth were not filled with vengeance but words that forgave the deeds of mankind. (Luke 23:34)

Let’s consider that you are an insignificant person in God’s sight, since you are another person that will give an account to God for their deeds. On judgment day man will realize that most everything is right in their eyes on men but not acceptable in God’s sight at anytime. On that day men will ashamed of their deeds and they will regret that they did not seek God during their lifetime.

Peter describes humility in this manner, who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good (1 Peter 3:13)? The humble attitude submits to those in authority, renders unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar’s and gives God what belongs to him. God wants his child to make decisions that brings out the love of Jesus Christ for mankind. He made himself a servant of God and in serving the needs of man by redeeming men from the slavery of sin.

Jesus taught that if you wanted to be great in God’s kingdom you must be the slave of those you rule. Those who follow Christ must deny themselves and take up his cross and follow him. Remember the owner of a business strives just as hard to keep his employees working as he does to make a profit. The act of denying yourself demands trusting God to supply your needs, while using your time to help those he loves.

Let’s consider Jesus as he was nearing Jericho and heard Bartimaeus crying out in a loud voice, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.  Those leading the procession rebuked the blind man and demanded he be quiet.  Jesus denied himself by stopping on the spot to respond to the cry of Bartimaeus and asked what he could do.  Bartimaeus was in need of sight and Jesus being the great physician healed him.  Both Bartimaeus and Jesus were in a position to give God the glory.

Let’s examine the actions of those involved in this story. Although Bartimaeus was a beggar he still was considered to be inconsequential because he was blind. The disciples elevated themselves above Bartimaeus so Jesus became subject to scoffing simply because he lowered his stature to heal a man without value in the world’s sight. Jesus taught his disciples that whoever wanted to be first in the kingdom of God were the slaves of everyone. By example Jesus demonstrated God’s love to a person of low estate. These examples shows it is not our place to determine whom God wants us to show compassion to, but humble ourselves to honor those in need. The outcome of helping another person to his feet is not for our benefit, rather it brings glory to our father.

Jesus was no exception, he was heard because of his reverent submission. Although he was God’s son, he learned obedience from what he suffered. We have the same choices that Jesus had and can learn to obey the authority of our Father in heaven. The supreme choice is to recognize the grace of God, build our faith in Jesus Christ and walk as Jesus did. Jesus said.

Whoever accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord must reverently accept the authority of God to become children of God.  His children embrace the desired behavior our father wants knowing that he will instill those ideals in us. There are times when our father will ask us to do things we don’t want to do, but we must humble our self in reverence to our father to do his will.   

Let’s remember the Pharisee who prayed about himself and compared his holy lifestyle to deeds of other men and even pointed at the tax collector standing off in the distance.  The tax collector could not raise his head toward heaven but in anguish beat his breast. He cried out to God with tears flooding his eyes, have mercy on me a sinner.  The tax collector was justified because he recognized his stature and his need for God’s intervention.  The Pharisee elevated his personage and admired his perfection, but his words showed contempt for those God loved. Jesus used this story to illustrate a principle.

Men and women with a generous amount of pride have no room for God or regard for God’s law. Even though appearances can be deceiving they appear to be prosperous, and though they are friendly, they frequently slander their adversaries. They have risen above their peers and have made enemies of those who want get even for what they have done.

God has given man the right to govern his life as he sees fit and control his destiny.  However, the majority of men lack the understanding that behavior such as arrogance and pride do more to destroy relationships and burn bridges behind you. The outcome of these characteristics will bring their lives to ruin and the lose the favor of God on Judgment day.  On that day,

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Innocent  Versus  Guilty

Innocent is what everyone wants to be when confronted with their sins, but according to God, all have sinned and fallen short of his glory. Instead we find that innocence cannot be obtained before the God of our creation through anything that man has done or could do. Its known that our sin must be forgiven by the grace of God. Lets be clear, no Christian is without sin, through God‘s grace that Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sin by his death on the cross. God chose to forgive man as if his sin never occurred through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.

Man has been captive through the ages by the sin nature, therefore man is not innocent of sin. This sin nature is the reason man has indulged himself with the cravings of the flesh and his pride. Sin occurs because we do not structure our life around a plan to avoid sin and develop a way of life that limits what we will and will not do. because of this sin has completely corrupt the world that we live in.

When we take time to consider what life is all about, we must consider that nothing was ever made without a purpose. It also stands to reason that God had a purpose for creating man and the purpose of God will be revealed in his current activity in reconciling men to him and when he gathers his elect to fulfill his plans.

However, the Lord Almighty will not force anyone to serve or obey him. Serving God is a voluntarily choice to serve the origin of life, creator who is God. God knows those who have chosen to serve him for they have a relationship with Jesus and have turned from the corrupt ways of this world avoiding every form of sin.

God made himself known to every man and hoped that everyone would find salvation through Jesus Christ. However, how can man be innocent of sin when he knows that God exists and lives as if God didn’t? How can man be blameless in God’s eyes when he neglects so great a salvation by neither seeking him nor attempting to find out how to please him? To make his salvation known to man, God’s laws have been written on the walls of man’s heart and everyone knows the difference between good and evil, right and wrong.

John writes that because we are children of God we shall be like him and we shall see him when he appears. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. Peter writes just as Jesus who called you is holy – be holy in all you do.  Peter empathizes the need to be holy because God is holy or in human terms, like father like son. Consider this, if you were to think and act as God does, how could God find fault in you?

Because we are members of God’s family our lives should reflect the character and upbringing of our heavenly Father. Jesus Christ is the Son of God, he the pattern of holy living that we are to identify ourselves with. From the immaculate birth until his death on the Cross, Jesus led a sinless life. Although we have all sinned, we can seek the forgiveness of Jesus Christ and have his help to avoid every sin.

All sin is wrongdoing, and the cause that corrupts men is the evil desires of men. Sin is self-destructive because the consequences of sin affect the victim as much as the sinner.  To be innocent before God we must learn there are consequences for sin and knowing the outcome of sin will help us to avoid sin. At the same time a godly life is achieved through doing good and honoring one another, which encourages others to walk in the light of Christ.

God has prepared good works in advance for us to do and good works demonstrate the life of Jesus Christ. God’s children become familiar with the words of Christ and through his teachings learn the graces of God. We find that mature Christian has distinguished good from evil and with God’s help overcomes sin through knowledge and discipline.  God’s word says,

Since Christians are looking forward to their heavenly home, they need to make every effort to be found without sin and at peace with God. God has given every Christian everything he or she needs for a godly life. Through his great and precious promises every Christian can participate with God to escape the sin of the world.

The process of renewing your mind includes ponder God’s word so you are able to be certain and know God’s good, pleasing and perfect will.  When you are confident in your knowledge of God you will begin to naturally do what is right before your Father’s eyes.  Remember that innocence cannot be obtained before God through anything that man has done or could do. We need the righteousness of Christ that comes from God.

It’s the shed blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses your heart from all sin. Your deeds will show God whether you have made an effort to reflect the light of your father and if you have shunned sin. Blessed are those who have wash their robes that they may share in the eternal goodness and glory of God.

The guilty person is the man or woman who has neglected so great a salvation. What scars your life with sin is doing nothing to be cleansed of sin and continuing in sin. For the most part, the neglect of men and women is due to a lack of seeking the truth or knowing how much God loves them. However, they will perish – if they refuse to repent and serve the God who created them.

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Jesus Christ Versus Satan

Most stories are not complete unless there is a good guy and a villain in a black. The gospel story has these two persons one representing good and the other evil. However, it is evident that the world knows more about Jesus Christ than they do about Satan. The reason is that Jesus Christ is the most studied the most written about and the most followed person that ever lived on Earth. Satan on the other hand, works tirelessly to remain hidden from view, because of his nature, he best at deceiving mankind and corrupting the world by not being seen or known.

In matters related to God, Jesus Christ was both God and man.  He was acquainted with the holy life God desired and the struggle man has with sin. Because of the notable quality of his holy life, God appointed him to serve as the High Priest and mediator between God and man. He serves the needs of God by presenting God’s demand to mankind, while also presenting the needs that every man has to God. The position that Jesus has is necessary to completely reconcile man to God due to the war man has with sin. While Jesus encourages man to live a life acceptable to God, Satan entices man to sin. The outcome is that man is torn between the choices he has between good and evil. The choice to do good builds a relationship with God when the consequence of sin severs the relationship man has with God.  

Jesus was sent by God to set men free from the slavery of sin and to bring salvation to the world.  His life’s work enabled man’s relationship with God to be restored. From a human standpoint his life was significant because he lived a sinless life. His life began by being conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin that was highly favored by God. Like Adam and Eve his origin was with God, but once sin entered Adam and Eve every generation that followed was involved with a sin nature. Because of this Jesus was sent to be a perfect sacrificial Lamb of God slain from the beginning of the world.  

Jesus came to serve man and to give his life as a ransom for the many that would accept him as Lord. The ransom price was the blood of Christ and with his blood, he purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. (Revelation 5:9)  The law demands that everything be cleansed with blood for without the shedding of blood the penalty for sin could not been paid and there could be no forgiveness for sin. His blood represented the blood of the covenant that was poured out for many specifically for the forgiveness of sins.  The bible also talks about those around the throne saying

In addition Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our relationship with God. To those who believed in his name and received Jesus as Lord he gave them the right to become children of God. The born again experience was God’s choice, his children are built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and the precious promises of God. Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our spiritual life because our relationship with God is built around Jesus Christ the rock of our salvation. Without Jesus Christ you do not have the father or the right to become children of God. You are the temple of the living God (2 Corinthians 6:16), and the reality that God would dwell in you by his Spirit is made possible through Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our spiritual life.  

Bread is a common staple of life made from the wheat that men grow from the soil. Jesus made reference to being the bread of life, which men may eat and live forever. Paul records that at the Last Supper Jesus took bread and broke it saying that this is my body, which is for you. The bread itself is symbolic of his broken body and we eat the bread in remembrance of Jesus Christ.  Consider this, Wheat is the main ingredient of bread, but the kernel of wheat must die before it can produce many seeds (John 12:24). In the same way Jesus had to die so that many would come to know his Father.

The resurrection is the greatest incentive the Christian has for eternal life. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the hope of glory and the mainstay of Christianity. Every religious leader except Jesus Christ has a grave that contains their remains, but by the power of God, Jesus was raised from the dead. His resurrection is a foundational truth that all Christians cling to and believe in deeply. Without a resurrection our hope of eternal life is pointless.   

Jesus is the good shepherd that leads us to the tree of life, the streets of gold, the river of life and eternal security. Jesus Christ is the way and his followers know his voice. He knows who his followers are for his followers have all turned from wickedness and sought the holy life of our heavenly father. Those who cling to God know that they are safe forever, for no one can snatch his them out of his hand. They also have the assurance and the foreknowledge that if they were to die today that they would continue to live in the hands of God forever.

Satan on the other hand is attempting to thwart the plans of God. He works the best in the realm of darkness while he secretly plots to destroy everything God has built. Presently, he has declared war on the Saints of God in his attempt to thwart God’s plans and corrupt the morals God has instilled in his children. For the most part sinners do not know about Satan, are not aware of his presence, do not know that he can provoke them to sin, and they will be gathered and thrown into the lake of fire with him. They do not know that sin will be completely destroyed, God’s plans can not be thwarted, what God has built can not be demolished, and Satan has already been condemned to the lake of fire.

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Just Versus Unjust

Everyone wants equity especially for every dollar they spend. In other words, they want a dollar’s worth of goods in exchange for every dollar they’ve earned. People do not like to be cheated or taken advantage of, but when morals are lax you don’t always get a fair exchange. The honorable person desires to be fair, but those who are only concern with their welfare often look for ways to make everything work for their benefit.

The prudent person is careful in regard to one's own interests. He exercises good judgment and common sense in the way he conducts his life and affairs. It’s good business to know your customer and what he is willing to exchange for your services. On the other hand, have you given the customer exactly what he paid for.

God is concerned with your everyday behavior and how your actions affect your neighbor and friends.

This foundational rule of love is the most practical method of showing the need to be fair, just and right with everyone. It tells you what is right for my life is the right thing to do for others. Being treated right is inbred into your human nature, more so when men and women’s anger are easily aroused when being treated unfairly. Therefore, we should give respect where respect is due and honor all others above ourselves. The outcome of treating the other person properly leaves them with their dignity intact and feeling good about themselves.

The problem is that no man is just before God. The reason being that all men have sinned and fallen short of his glory. Therefore something had to be done about the sin that placed a barrier between God to reestablish the relationship God wanted with man. Sin began when Adam and Eve disobeyed the command not to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. With God’s command came the penalty of death for he said, when they ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil they would surely die.

God drove them out of the garden to prevent Adam and Eve from eating from the tree of life and in time they died in the course of time.  The story develops as their two sons grow up and become responsible for their own lives.  Cain became a vegetable grower, Abel a shepherd and over time both became prosperous.  The time came to offer sacrifice to the Lord. Cain brought the first fruit of the soil and Abel the first fruit of his flock. Abel’s offering was acceptable but Cain’s offering wasn’t. Cain took God’s disapproval personal and refused to learn from the outcome.

Its evident that Adam and Eve taught Cain and Abel how to offer an acceptable offering to the Lord. However, Cain offered a first fruit that had not been exchanged for something the Lord approved of, but if he had God would have found favor in his offering as well.  

Was it that God knew the plot to kill Abel had entered Cain’s mind? God’s said sin desires to have you, but you must master the sin that wants rule your life.

Living an acceptable life before God requires that you do not make your life more beneficial at the expense of another. Right and just or just plain proper Christian behavior demands that you to go the extra mile to be fair and equitable. Taking advantage of another person demands that you deprive another of his or her dignity by the use of deception.   

Christlike behavior demands that you to go the extra mile to be fair and equitable. In the study of Jesus Christ’s life we learn that his life was spent to justify and reconcile man to God. A just life is a life acceptable to a Holy God however, justification is the other side of the coin where death on Calvary made it possible for man to be acceptable to God. In other words, the forgiveness of sin required the shedding of blood showing that the penalty of death occurred and the justice God demanded had been accomplished.

The life of Christ brought out the various meanings of being just. Jesus Christ’s life was exemplary, his sinless life made him the perfect sacrificial lamb as payment. However he had to carry the sins of man to the cross to justify man. The message of the cross is simple, Jesus became sin of man that required the death of the sacrificial Lamb of God. He paid the penalty when man could not make the restitution God required fulfilling the requirements of the law. Jesus became the substitutionary penalty and atonement for man’s sin and when man accepts Jesus Christ as Lord that man is justified before God and accepted as his child.

Parents shape the decision making process of their children over their lifetime. Being just before God also requires his children to conform to a higher standard of moral behavior. God deemed it proper to endow every human being with the knowledge of right and wrong, or good and evil. At the same time, God gave man autonomy and the right to make choices guided by the wisdom given to the parents and family.  As Christians, our heavenly father guides his children to be just, to live in truth and be fair to all.

Sin desires to have you, but you must learn to rule over the evil desires that infest your lives. God would prefer that you do what is just, right, and fair so that no restitution is ever necessary. God is also just, he causes his sun to rise and sends rain on both the just and unjust. He is impartial wanting no man to perish, but he is prepared to execute his wrath on those who reject his way of life and the decisions he wants men to make.   

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Knowledge Versus Foolishness     

Knowledge is the awareness of the consequences and benefits from the things done in life gained by experience and study.  Once a wise man learns the cause and affect of things, he can take specific steps to avoid failure by planning to do things in the proper fashion. The prudent man that wants to improve his life looks for a course of action that he can benefit and not harm others in the process. Proven methods and common sense guides the prudent man to improve his life and become successful. Ultimately knowledge is a resource that saves ones life.

Christians believe that the Lord is the beginning of knowledge and they revere him because he does not discriminate over the reason why the person seeks knowledge but gives it freely.

  The knowledge of God deals primarily with behavior, not with the knowledge of the world. The world’s method of correcting moral behavior is to incarcerate them in a system of rehabilitation that seldom teaches them how to behave. God teaches men to live holy lives that can be accepted by both him and the men of the world. However, let it be known that God will determine the worthiness of man when he judges man according to what he has done during his lifetime.   

The knowledge of God has made it plain that he owns everything on the face of the earth and because of this he can and will demand an accounting from everyone. He gave us the golden rule to instruct us of a way to do to others what you would have them do to you. He concluded that the golden rule sums up the Law and the Prophets. (Matthew 7:12). The inspired word of God teaches us the morals and the expected behavior of God’s holiness.  Applying God’s morals to our life is the only way we can derive his holiness. God asks that we take his word to heart because he is coming soon and will judge everyone according to his or her behavior.

For the Christian, the beginning of knowledge is a sincere reverence for God. Christians know that God is the beginning and end of what we call life. In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the earth, he formed man out of the dust of the earth. We also know that bible says that it is appointed once to die and then the judgment. The judgment day marks the end of our earthly life and the beginning of our life in the hereafter. God was involved with your birth and you will return to him to be judged according to the deeds your actions created. The knowledge we gain from knowing God between the beginning and the end of our life is what prepares us for eternal life with our Father.

The knowledge of God and of his divine nature has been made plain to mankind.  God created everything in such manner that man could understand him through what he made.  However, there are intelligent men who see life from a scientific perspective and who prefer to see life through science looking at God’s creation without seeing God’s involvement.  Man faces a dilemma, how do men determine the right knowledge needed to live before God and man.

The rational man seeks knowledge that will shape his life and his profession in a positive fashion. Prudent men will not chase after anything considered foolishness for fear of being deceived or look ridiculous. The need for good information that benefits your desires and goals often determines your interest for additional knowledge.  However, man can be rational and prudent but be so involved in being successful in their financial affairs that they neglect the things that promote life.

Christians are aware that life on earth is but a twinkling of an eye compared to the gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Jesus said that eternal life is the outcome of knowing both God and the son. Ultimately, God has an abundance of life to give but he is also the beginning of knowledge.

Those who know God understand that God is our Father that translated us out of the world into his Son’s kingdom. They understand that God knows them personally and that they have made a commitment to love and obey him. They confess Jesus Christ as Lord of their life and commit themselves to turn away from sin and shun evil. The knowledge of God is the key, a sure foundation, a store of salvation and wisdom that leads you to revere the Lord. (Isaiah 33:6)  God redeemed us from the control of Satan and adopted us into the kingdom of his Son through the forgiveness of sin, (Colossians 1:13-14). Through Jesus Christ who lives in us, we have access to the father who gives us wisdom without finding fault. (James 1:5)

The secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given to you and your fellow Christians through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.  Jesus led a sinless live, but he came to give everyone the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of sins.  Anyone who becomes God’s son or daughter is asked to renew their mind to make it obedient to the knowledge of their Lord and Savior. The knowledge that comes from the mouth of God has empowered us through his promises to escape the corruption of this world caused by its evil desires. That knowledge of our Lord will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter1: 12).

Without knowledge men are doomed to live like infants who without parental care run wild, become undisciplined and have no concern for others. Anyone who rejects the knowledge of God is quick to do evil and become like the father of lies known as the devil without their knowledge. They are trapped in their ignorance not knowing the devil is real and they are doing the deeds of their father who was expelled from heaven and facing eternal torment. For this reason God will reject them.

The foolish person says there is no God and confirms his beliefs by scoffing at religion and rejects God and the knowledge of good and evil. They are filled with greed and depravity, evil thoughts, envy, strife, deceit and malice. They display their lack of morals becoming slanderers, insolent, arrogant and boastful of indecent behavior. They lack the discipline and social skills that their creator demands of all men. They not only reject the gospel, hate the authority, discipline and the foundation of truth that God lives by.

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Life Versus Death

What is life when it has the potential to exist continually? Is it not the essence of being aware of who and where you are? The bible tells us that the body without the spirit is dead and in like manner the body without breath or animation cannot exist.  Ultimately Man must come to realize that man’s life exists until such time as the body is spent or as long as the Lord permits.  

Man has studied the human anatomy and other living organisms and has educated his fellow man to become doctors of medicine. In the overall picture the need for a doctor seems like wasted time when human beings may prolong life but cannot escape the sting of death. The answers to life are not found with discovery of the latest science, but in places that the majority of scientists refuse to look. The cure for death is not found in how the body functions, but in finding God’s gift of life.

Where do we go to find out what life is all about? What do you call a person who has no beginning or end to life? Who calls things as they are and whose name is, I am that I am.  The bible tells us that God is the beginning and the end and the reality of human life is found between the beginning and the end of God’s plan.  In the same regard God is life, the one who was, who is and is to come, he is the origin of life itself. In the beginning God created all life on Earth and on the last (judgment day) God will bring life on earth to an end. God made man to be an eternal being in the same way that as he is eternal. The bible also tells us that it is appointed for man to die once and then the judgment.  We need to consider the need to live responsibly because our life is subject to God beckoning call.  

From God’s perspective, the moment Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit they not only disobeyed God, but they made themselves subject to the penalty of death.  They had access to the tree of life until God drove them from the Garden.

God said, man must not be allowed to eat from the tree of life and live forever. Is God saying that eternal life can be obtained by eating from the tree of life? If so, Jesus Christ is the only access to the tree of life. The tree of life may be a part of the God’s formula of life, but the abundance of life came through Jesus Christ. (John 10:10) Eternal life is realized through knowing the true God and Jesus Christ. (John 17:3) In other words you must go to God to understand what life is about and accept the life of Jesus Christ into your heart.

We are asked to look at the life of Christ for the answers to life. However in this context we have to look at what Jesus did over his lifetime. His earthly beginning was described as born of a virgin and his end came with sacrificing his life for the sins of mankind on the cross. He spent his entire life meeting the needs of others and God was with him accrediting him with signs and wonders.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him. Acts 10:38

Jesus said several things about himself and how life was related to him.  

Jesus also said,

God has given his creation the choice of life and death.

God has given everyone the choice of life by listening to his voice and holding fast to him. At the same time God has left man a choice between life and death. We are living in an environment where sin abounds and appears to be the normal. Sin is destroying the world and although the world knows right from wrong they continue to sin and approve of those who regularly sin to get ahead in life.  Sin has corrupted life, but you have a choice to participate in the Divine Nature to escape the corruption of the world caused by its sinful desires.

God designed man to live forever, but the kind of death God is speaking about is a place of separation from life in Jesus Christ.  Hell is the place where you are tormented without end, ever dying without hope, ever suffering without compassion, ever regretful without forgiveness for sin.  The choice for life is never easy in the midst of overwhelming and prevailing evil, but it is a choice you can make and achieve with God’s help.

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Light Versus Darkness   

God created the heavens and the earth as the Spirit of God hovered in darkness over the face of the deep. We know that God is light, so why did his first command concern light. We also know that the light God created was designed to last for thousands of years or until he returns for his elect. Although the sun lights the world no one can bare to look upon the sun for any length of time.

God wanted his creation to perceive him, the sun gave light during the day and the moon reflected its light during the night hours. The Sun illuminates the face of the earth making the objects of God’s creation understandable through man’s sense of sight. It is a combination of illuminating objects that our eyes will perceive and a mind that becomes aware of the object in our path that allows man to move from one place to another.  Light opens the mind to see obstacles in our path that may cause us to stumble and injure us.

For the most part, light helps man to navigate. Light functions in this world to help man organize his thoughts through what is perceived with our eyes. However, light comes in many forms. For example, light comes in shades from light to dark, which gives weight to what is seen, is reflected off objects and can be crisp and sparkling. The light of God’s word opens our eyes to the truth and the spiritual realm where God illuminates the streets of gold. Light has many uses and its application depends what your mind is focused on.

It’s not surprising that man’s eyes a turn to the light for the light reveals an abundance of information to consider and understand. However, complete exposure to the actuality of life depends upon the amount of light available to the mind.  For example, it might be a dark overcast and cloudy day or we could be looking through sunglasses to obscure the brightness of sunlight.  On the other hand it could be a hot and cloudless day with an abundance of light when the true beauty of the earth can be seen. In addition there are times when we need to virtually put something under the floodlight to scrutinize what cannot be seen under normal conditions.  

Without light, man would know little about a three-dimensional world and the dangers that man face in life.  Yet without the true source of light (God) man would not be able to comprehend the truth and make sound decisions. God’s word is a lamp unto my feet as it sheds light on the decisions and direction that God wants me to take. To Some God’s word is foolishness but to the Christian God’s word is the instruction of a loving father who is raising his children to address life and the world in a prudent manner.  

God’s word is a beacon of light concerning Jesus Christ who exposed the plans of God and his desire to redeem man from sin. Jesus Christ brought God’s plan of Salvation out into the open making his father’s desires known to man. He also paid the horrible price for the sin committed by every man, which separated man from God. The act of sacrificing his life for man was the greatest news that man needed to be aware of.  The truth of the cross, when accepted has given man the right to be reconciled to God. It is imperative for men to set their eyes on the light of the world that is Jesus, to understand and know that eternal life is knowing God the father and Jesus Christ (see John 17:3).

When we were saved, God redeemed us from the slavery of our sins and transferred us from the control of darkness into the kingdom of light. While in the kingdom of darkness we never saw the truth for it was hidden from us. When the light of God’s word exposed sin for what it is, we saw the need to change the direction of our life. His light exposed the only way to eternal life was through Jesus Christ and that we needed to seek his forgiveness. With continued exposure to God’s truth we discovered that as God’s children we needed to obey our father’s instruction.   

At times Light exposes things we didn’t want to see, but needed to see. At the same time placing light directly on the subject forces us to look the truth. We learn that truth does not change and came to know that God does not change. However, the knowledge of God and the truth makes us aware that certain facts exist. By becoming aware of truth and God we can make decisions to agree with the truth or choose to reject the truth. A prudent person searches for the truth because the known truth shapes the outcome of his plans.

Man stumbles and falls due to the darkness, but he also sees the troubles of life well in advance when he has light. Sin keeps man in darkness and unaware of what is about to happen. Still men need to know that they have sinned and fallen short of God’s sinless life. Darkness imprisons life in fear and where the fear unknown lurks, leaving nothing but the hope that he has done the right thing. Rather the world complains that under the cover of darkness thieves break into homes to steal and those who commit adultery try to hide the fact. Darkness is the hiding in the place where evil deeds are neither dead nor buried. Those deeds lie dormant ready to be exposed when light is shed on them.

Darkness is the lack of light, where eyesight is severely restricted. Shedding light on the truth reveals the truth, but when there is no light, deception exists without the fear of being discovered. From a spiritual viewpoint, darkness is the realm of sin and the kingdom that Satan rules. While, evil stems from the realm of darkness it is also the ultimate place for God’s wrath.  Jude 13 describes hell as the blackest place of darkness reserved for Satan and those who cause sin and commit evil deeds? Ultimately hell is the final destination for those who refuse to love the truth.

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Like Versus Unlike  

When someone says that he or she likes anything they are really revealing their preferences. On the other hand, like is used to show a similarity or a resemblance to another idea or thing. For example, Jesus said if you have seen me you have seen the father, (John 14:9). Contrasts show other examples to display the pro and cons and when properly considered allow you to choose the option you prefer.

John 14:9 presents the idea that God the father has a strong resemblance to Jesus Christ.  His words speak of a resemblance to each other perhaps due to family lines or a similarity of character. Their appearance may be identical, indistinguishable or similar in nature. We all heard like father like son and this also may be the case. Hebrews confirms this issue when it says,

The Old Testament foretold about how Jesus would present the truth of God’s word.

Jesus used the word like a number of times when he described what the Kingdom of God was like. In his parables he gave us a common example of everyday life to compare to a spiritual truth.  Most of his stories were about real people and events that related to the group or person he was speaking to. However, the truth was not readily available to the lost for the truth was spiritually discerned.    

Jesus spoke to men and women with calloused hearts like we see today. Those who see no need nor are interested in God, to the foolish that said there is no God and those who will not have Jesus as Lord. They are proud, arrogant, and haughty that spoke boastful words against God. However, to those who were interested the parables contained the secrets of the kingdom of God but those secrets were given to men and women that God chose to reveal them to.

The parables were given to men as examples to shed light on like truths in the spiritual realm. Truth is an absolute principle in the spiritual and physical realms, and by revealing the truth of this realm we could see the truth of the spiritual realm. Truth is a principle that never changes and will heap coals of fire on you when you act against it.

The parables Jesus told presented an example of truth like those you would find in the spiritual realm. By understanding the cause and effect concerning things that happen in the physical realm you learn the truths that govern our lives within the spiritual realm.  The truths you learn help you to avoid the mistakes or sin that has disaster written all over it. On the other hand, the truth of the parables becomes a guide for a prudent life. Jesus brought out the point that by understanding the truth you could establish a way to live that was acceptable to God.

The truth is that sin works the same way as yeast does. Yeast is the bacteria that ferments and forms pockets of carbon dioxide that causes the size of the dough to increase in volume. However, If the dough is left unattended too long it would spoil.  When baked the pockets formed in the bread are seen in the void spaces of the slice. These conditions of are transferred into the baked product and then eaten. This idea presents a like picture of truth about sin.  Because we know that yeast spreads throughout the dough we also know that sin can consume and spoil your entire life. We also know that sin puffs up your life with self-importance and pride, which are represented by the voids in your character. Still the character of the bread is a factor that determines whether you eat it. Finally just as yeast can spoil the dough through lack of care, leaving sin unattended spoils the worth of your life to God.

Knowing what to like tells you if they will benefit or harm your life. Common sense tells us that no one in their right mind likes things that bring harm to them. However, people are harmed by not knowing the knowing the outcome beforehand. In the same way, our experiences remind us of a like condition that will help us to avoid the same mistake again.

In the long run experience determines the condition whether we like something due to its nature or have similar characteristics to a like item. God’s word was written primarily as a father’s instruction to his children, teaching them the way that he expected them to live. He deals with the development of love and the relationships derived from the expected behavior of his children.  Without having the ability to know the difference between right and wrong we would lack a method to contrast or compare ideas.

Like and unlike expresses that there is a noticeable difference between the nature or character of the compared item. For example a holy life has a concern for other people whereas a sin filled life does not. Like and unlike provide mental pictures for you to compare and evaluate their worth for future decisions that produce a prudent life. The fool says there is no God, but the wise knows God but they also compare everything to know the truth. At the same time God will compare your life to know what you are like.

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Love Versus Hate

Love is the bonding agent of choice that creates a durable lifetime relationship. It supplies the condition that affects your emotions and decisions concerning other people. Any act of love is an open demonstration of one’s concern over the well being of another.  There are many attributes that lead to a sense of belonging, especially those in a relationship. Among them are kinship, having desirable qualities and a desire to spend time with them.

Love is the basic foundation for solid relationships and God wants us to develop a foundational love towards him and one another. Jesus confirmed that all the law hangs upon the way your love is directed. He said the main focus is to love God with all of our being and to love our neighbor as you love yourself. Being a basic foundation to all relationships, love for God demands a personal need to know and understand God.

Our relationship with God began with the knowledge that we have sinned and needed God’s forgiveness. We also learned that while we were still in sin Christ demonstrated his love by paying the penalty for our sin. His death justified us before an awesome God because the penalty for our sin was paid in full we were reconciled to God. Christ’s death meant we could reestablish a relationship because we obtained righteousness from Christ.

The love of God is indescribable because it transcends man’s ability to understand the true nature of love. Both Greek and Hebrew languages have words that define differing kind of love for one another, yet none can compare to the unconditional love of God. Although many have tried to understand God’s love none have ever been to describe the manner of God’s love in complete detail.

The words “for God so loved the world” do not exclude anyone from receiving the gift of life or his love. Jesus Christ demonstrated his love for every man when he died once for all. God’s word was written for everyone and some have developed a deep and abiding relationship with God just from reading his word. God’s love does not show partiality for he offers his love to any person regardless of their character.

God’s love for mankind is shown in many ways, for example, who does the sun shine on and who does it rain upon? God loves the person that sins, but hates his what he or she has done. When one considers the complexity and vastness of the earth, the distance of space and the number of stars in the sky, man becomes nothing more than a speck of dust in God’s creation. It makes you wonder why God is so mind full of man and why is man at the center of God’s attention? Why would God love the person who points his finger at him and tells God that he doesn’t need or want him in their life?

Even Christians do not know the full extent of God’s love, but we have an eternity ahead of us to learn more about his love. On the other hand, do we as Christians know the full extent of God’s wrath?  Perhaps knowing the full extent of God’s wrath we can understand why God does not want anyone to perish. No one who loves wants to see anyone harmed much less tortured. However, hell is a place of continuous torture that will cling to the soul throughout eternity.

Man knows that he can hate with greater force than it takes to love another person. Love can be forgotten when a person feels betrayed and replaced by hate in a split second. When speaking about divorce God said, do not break faith. (Malachi 2:15) To understand what God is saying, faith is your confidence and trust in another person that causes love to exist, but it is deception, betrayal and mistreatment committed against you that destroys your love for them.  In the overall picture it is difficult to love anyone without trusting them.

Consider this, faith is placing your trust in God and as your feeling of trust that deepens a relationship with God. God has made hundred of promises to help man is their struggle to master sin. Would you consider that God loves you if he did not honor his promises?  Failing to honor his word would alter the kind of trust you have for God and the time you spend with him. Your opinion for a lack of trust would become unfavorable and you would shy away and complain about his or her faults.

Love inclines you to show favor to those in your inner circle of relationships and in return your friends are inclined to show good will to you. However, God wants you to love those who use you and your enemies without expecting anything in return.  

Isn’t love a concern to see that the needs of others are met?  Jesus said, if you love me you would obey my commands. God’s commands are building stones that create the character men and women admire and trust. His commands teach men and women the behavior of every person in all walks of life a respect for life that they want for themselves. By obeying the commands of God you also honor every person above your own needs and demonstrate your love for God.

On the other hand, hate does not show a concern for the well being of anyone, but you. Hate is a demonstration of lack of your self-control with hostile emotions, with words and deeds that follow. Ultimately hatred is an act of war as the person who hates is not concerned over who gets hurt. It keeps a record of wrong, it’s rude which demolishes trust and love.

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Mature Versus Immature

Maturity is a measure used to explain the natural development of living things. The level of man’s maturity is described from least to greatest by the development terms of – newborn – adolescent – teenager – youth – and adult, each being a stage of growth. Still, it’s not uncommon to see a person with see an adult without Down syndrome have a mind of a child. Plant life, animal life and the structure of the human body naturally mature with age.  

God is interested in the spiritual side of man and how the spirit matures with the knowledge of good and evil. He is concerned about the behavior of his children due to the decisions they have made and will make in the future.  

During the normal life, people make mistakes that show the immaturity of their decisions. It is through the trials of life and its successes that we learn to distinguish good from evil. God told Job if he contended with the leviathan that he would remember the struggle and never do it again. The same is true not true with sin and even though you remembered the consequences man’s heart is stubborn.

The situations of life are repetitive such as working on an assembly line where you repeat the same process thousand of times. How many times have gotten out of bed or worked beside the same person? Our life is forged by repeated activity that becomes second nature in our mind and in our memories. The amount of information that our mind remembers is incredible and most of those remembrances can be recalled.

The behavior of God’s children is a concern because the decisions his child makes affect the lives of other people. Life is such that it demands a set of morals leading to a social behavior that human beings can except as a whole.  However, nothing compels man to comply with the morals of God unless he wants to please God. God gave man an independent mind capable of developing morals of convenience but the morals you develop change how people see you. The difference is that God’s morals are fixed and man’s morals have too many exceptions.

Man can obtain the highest degrees in education, gain professional expertise and reach his potential, but never demonstrate a system of morals.  The things of this life are something that every father wants his family to have. Obtaining those things will consume your mind and become so important that you forget those you love. Over time you become so involved with having things for your family and work that you cannot make the time for God.

Successful people keep their eyes and mind on their objectives. In the process of reaching their goals prudent men review their work on to determine the problems that may hinder the desired outcome.  Paul says that we should run the race to win the prize and not disqualify your self as a contestant.  The prize of Christian life is eternal life and Christians bear the responsibilities of obeying the rules. Paul said that its not wrong to have goals for your life, but if you leave God out of your plans you will extinguish any hope of going to heaven.

Setting your mind on Jesus Christ, as your priority will establish the reason you are a Christian. Success is often measured by controlling the thoughts of your mind. Most businesses require you to keep your mind on what you are doing.   In Christian life, developing this line of thought requires dedication, devotion and consecration to God. Those of us who are mature should take such a view of things to attain the fullness of Christ.

However if we do things right everything will work properly in it own time. Every deed has a procedure just as you will reap what you sow. Reaping beans requires that you plant the appropriate seed and good morals that you obey the laws of God. Maturity in Christ means that you understand that his laws teach morals and to obey his commands shows you love for God. Remember Jesus overcame the world and is seated at the right hand of God and by understanding the wisdom of his commands you will  be able to distinguish good from evil.

The mature by constant use have been trained to distinguish good from evil therefore, the mature move on to do the works God has prepared in advance. Maturity develops good judgment combined with practical deeds concerning the lives of other people. The way a person conducts himself for his advantage determines his prudence, integrity and maturity.

More often the immature do what is right in their mind even when things do not go right. The immature are like the boxer that swings his fists aimlessly only hoping to strike his opponent.  They are uncertain about their future and at best hope that God will accept them. More often men are not concerned about having to give an account to God for their life. Instead they take comfort in the security of their wealth.

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Meek Versus Arrogant

Many think that the meek person is easily imposed on and can be easily pushed around. However, from God’s viewpoint, a meek man is has a mild demeanor and deals with other people in a gentle fashion. Meekness is a conscious choice to recognize that God is in control and that everything works out for the good of those who love God. The meek person shows patience, but he limits his strength and courage with controlled kindness.

The meek honors one another above themselves, (Romans 12:10) but at the same time he does not consider one person to be any better than another. He submits to supervision and becomes accountable in doing the tasks assigned to him putting forth his best effort. In all this he is not easily provoked to anger but patiently absorbs the pride of the arrogant, the anger the undisciplined mind the unstable person and what occurs because of their decisions. He understands that one day they will stand before an awesome God to be judged.

Recognizing that God has authority over the universe and over the lives of man is only common sense. God has made his divine nature and eternal power known to man through the things he created. There is no place on earth where the power of the sun is not felt and where men seek shelter when it rains.  Even huge trees can not stand up to lightning bolts when they strike their target. No man is without excuse for not understanding that God exists.

It is easy to say that God has the authority to rule the universe, but it is much harder to say that God has a right to rule your life. Men with intelligence recognize that if God rules over the universe but he also rules over the people that are in the universe. Men love to think that they are in charge of their lives and for the most part they are. However, God has also embedded the thought of eternal life within the consciousness of man.

Within the embedded thought of eternal life men know that Heaven and Hell are the only destinations. The intelligent man must consider that the people God excepts go to Heaven and the bad person goes to Hell, there must be a way for man to determine where he goes. If that is the case then there must a guideline for the man who wants to control the destiny where he spends eternity.

Meekness is a quality of intelligent men that recognizes and accepts that he is not entirely in charge of his life. All authority lies where the power is at and there are always someone with more authority than you have. Men can easily reason that if God created the entire universe he also created you and has the right to do with you as he pleases.

Man throws things away when they do not perform as they were designed to work. In the same way, God prepared good works for man to do in advance, but what happens to man who fails to do the work God planned for him to do?  The meek finds out what pleases God (Ephesians 5:10) and submits to God’s authority.

The outcome of meekness is shown by the person who honors another person above them self. This quality brings out the point Jesus Christ made when he said he did not come to be served but to serve.   

No one can compel you to serve one another but a true leader serves his subjects. Serving the needy does not lower your status as a human being rather it elevates you to being a compassionate person. When Jesus saw people in need he had compassion and did something to serve their need.    

Paul instructed God’s chosen people to be meek with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  These are qualities that people look for and desire when they are having bad times or in desperate need. Meekness is a quality God appreciates, as he wants people who employ meekness to serve one another.  

The meek honors one another above themselves and in the business world the customer is always right. The world knows how to be meek when being meek means cash in the drawer. Being meek more frequently means that you treated with harshness or deceit by mean spirited people. However, there is a reward for being meek, Jesus said the meek would inherit the earth.

Bloated with ego and overbearing pride the arrogant person becomes more important than their peers are. Because they think more highly of themselves than they ought, they take credit for what others do and frequently exaggerate the facts to become the hero of the day. By these deeds they lose respect of their peers.

The bible refers to stiff-necked people who resist the Holy Spirit as being stubborn in their ways. Their thinking is without reason and they make themselves inaccessible to God by failing to consider his authority. Ultimately, they become undesirable to God and make themselves unworthy by a repeated and openly defiant life refusing to humble them self before an Almighty God. God has warned man that his arrogance will not be tolerated on that day.

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Moral Versus Corrupt

It’s ironic that in the world’s opinion, morality can not be legislated. What is ironic about that thought is that every nation under the sun enacts laws that dictate the acceptable behavior of its own citizens. Each nation governs its people with laws that are right, just and fair to its citizens. They enact laws that consider a minimum standard to attain equality and right standing with other people. However, everyone has morals of their own designed around the desires they want to live by. This means that a small segment of society does live within the law therefore, the law must have the power to enforce the laws violated by those who do not obey them. The Bible says,

What good are laws when no one obeys them and they have to be enforced? America has laws, but we also have a police force to enforce the law. Having to employ a police force to maintain order means that some are not willing to behave in a lawful manner. However, the Kingdom of God does not have a police force to enforce the laws of God rather it demands that each citizen obey God’s law of their free will.

God employs a system of self-discipline by teaching the difference between right and wrong. However, his teaching includes the knowledge that the decision to do good has a reward, but decisions to do evil has a downright nasty consequence that demands correction. Therefore, God’s child is required to learn and consider the difference between right and wrong before making any decision.

Since, you are not the only person on the earth there is a need to create a relationship of right standing with the other person. As man began to settle down in one place they found ways to make relationships by making peace agreements called covenants. Today we would call them contracts with conditions that enable men to work together for their common good.

Man has a contract with God, with God saying, “obey me and I will be your God” and man saying, “Jesus is Lord and I will serve and obey God”.” God said,  

Just as the lion characteristic is to roar when he has no prey, man has characteristics that he lives by. Bad character drives people away and good behavior forms a social way of life that all man can accept. You may not agree with the way other people live, but you can live according to ways that you and God can agree upon. Did you not agree with God that  “Jesus is Lord and you would serve and obey God”?

The morals of God are not rules to make you feel good about yourself. It is a way of life that conforms to the royal law of God. His law is simple, to love God with your entire being and to love your neighbor the way you want them to love you. This law expresses a sense of fairness, just behavior and the right standing in a way other people can see that you have respect for their self worth.   

When one understands the nature of sin, sin can be understood as taking an unfair advantage of other people. No one likes his possessions taken, being lied to or been deceived through the deeds of another. On earth these actions are called crimes against humanity, but in heaven these crimes against God are called sin.

God is involved with training his children to develop a moral character by teaching each of his children how to behave. God knows that behavior must be shaped by the conditions formed by your decisions. The behavior due to your decisions can change the outlook of people that interact with you. Regarding God’s law to love one another as yourself, your deeds tell people whether you care for anyone other than yourself.  

God knows that sin corrupts the character of man by thoughtless behavior for personal gain. When man’s character is not properly trained he or she becomes the rotten apple that spoils entire bushel of apples. The world has become an example that everyone sees but ignores that they along with the world have been corrupted.  Therefore, they live desire the things of this world but have no concern over the consequences of Judgment day.

Do not be deceived, sin corrupts man’s character to a level of selfish behavior due to a desire to love God and our fellow man. The lack of morals does not establish a sense of righteousness; rather the lack of morals causes shame and disgrace due to poor ethics, scruples and double-dealing. It has a double standard of convenience that allows good deeds while at the same time making the end justify the means.

Morals corrupted by this world destroy the integrity of man as if he were a rotten apple. No one including God places a rotten apple in his bushel as God knows that the rotten apple will spoil the good apples.

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Narrow Versus Wide

The most familiar passage of scripture that uses narrow compared to wide is the quotation Jesus used to describe the entrance to life.

Jesus may be pointing out that the way your life is pointed at is not at the narrow gate. Normally people take the shortest route but Jesus Christ who is the gate represents the gate that leads to life. (John 10:9) Still the shortest route (way) to anyplace is in a straight line especially when we look at the narrow gate. In this comparison Jesus is not saying that the gate to life is so narrow that you have to suck the belly in to squeeze through. Jesus is putting more emphasis on where the roads take you and the road your life is taking.

Jesus is making the effort to tell you the wide road has no limits or restrictions to arrive at its destination of destruction.  However, if you want life the entrance to this the narrow road leading to life is found in Jesus Christ. The road to life has been narrowed down to one person as the only way to eternal life.

The only way into the kingdom of God is to accept Jesus Christ as Lord.  There is no exception, which makes the gateway to eternal life narrow. Honoring the name of Jesus Christ is the only way you can be saved from the coming wrath or be welcomed into the kingdom of God with open arms.

One version uses the word strait as a word picture for the gate and the word narrow for the road that leads to life. Strait and narrow are also nautical terms that refer to shipping lanes between Islands and others forms of the sea. This term pertains to the unseen conditions beneath the surface of the ocean or sea such as water depth and sandbars. These conditions obstruct, restrict and shape the shipping lanes. Obstructions such as water depth funnel ships to points where it is safe to travel without the loss of ship or the souls onboard.

The road to the gate is filled with potholes we know as trials and tribulation. Satan uses the trials and tribulation of life to cause you to veer to the right or the left steering you away from the road that leads to life. God helps you to go through the trials and tribulation of life and helps you stay on the road to life. Such is the case of Balaam when he met the angel of the Lord in a narrow place.

The angel chose this narrow place because it gave him the commanding ability to complete the mission God sent him for. However, God used this narrow place to open the eyes of his donkey and Balaam to see the angel poised to use his sword.  God also used the donkey to warn Balaam about the situation facing Balaam.  Yet in this narrow place God confronted Balaam with a warning that asked Balaam to consider what he was about to do.

Every Christian has a narrow place during his lifetime as he or she walks on this narrow road to eternal life.  What made the road narrow are the trials and tribulation that demands that we veer to the right or to the left to avoid the evil Satan suggests will happen.  Satan uses his skill of deception to ensure that we fail and find our faith in God shipwrecked and our stand with God faltering on the rocks.   At the same time these trials and tribulations teach us to rely on God without deviating from his promises. His promises enable us to trust in God enough to persistently plow through the trial and remain on the road to life.

The picture of narrows and straits between islands give us an idea that there are hidden obstructions that can not be seen in life. Another such picture is the roaring lion that stalks his prey with the intention of not being seen. When this lion is successful it means that he is headed back to his den to devour his lunch.

However there are other restrictions that we must deal with on that road to eternal life.  God wants man to consider the restrictions that hinder safe passage into the kingdom of God. These restrictions limit our behavior to trust in God who strengthens his holy ones to deal with the problems of life. When the problems of life are confronted and dealt with they seldom come back, but the troubles when avoided they return becoming the obstacles that will overcome your life. Our trust based on faith in God gives us the confidence to attack the problem rather than ignore them.

When Jesus spoke of the wide road he was speaking of a different direction. A example to illustrate this point would be the road you take to go from Chicago to New York City? Taking any road eastward would take you closer to New York City, but unless you are on the right road you could end up at the Atlantic Ocean several miles away.   In the same way, any road south may take you to the city of New Orleans.  Therefore the road we take to a specific place depends on the use of maps, the human intellect and other guides that direct us to the right road. God gave us the directions to heaven, but it is up to man to choose the road he travels.

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New Versus old  

New things are exciting and keep us interested in life. It doesn’t take long to know that new things also come with a fresh learning experience because it causes a change from that which has turned old and useless.  Even the new things soon become the old hat that will eventually wear out with no surprises. We become so accustomed to things that wears out with use and what was once new today becomes old and tomorrow’s trash. Keeping things new becomes a vicious circle in this life because there is always something new around the corner needing to be replaced. This never-ending cycle creates an incentive to look for things that last longer.

The newness of anything usually refers to its time of origin when it was first introduced into our life. Why is that cars never grow old, they become used?  Still a used car is considered new when it was recently bought. It may be a car we have not seen before, experienced its handling or discovered its potential use. Simply put the car came into your life a short time ago.

Becoming old is when you know you were responsible for the scratches and dents on your watch but can’t remember how long ago they happened. Its old when the first time this thing affected your life was way back in the past. All you know is that it has been around for a long time. Like the polished pocketknife you’ve carried most of your life, it shows the physical characteristics of age. It’s the white hair, the wisdom acquired during your lifetime and the cane that shows the effects of aging while growing old. However you will never know how old you are until most of your friends have been laid to rest.

As Christians we sing “Give Me That Old Time Religion” when the old time religion is really never out-of-date, you’ve haven’t experienced it for a while.  Instead we should be seeking a fresh, touch from God that keeps our relationship new and alive. The old time religion speaks of a former time when our relation with God new and exciting, the problem is that we haven’t done anything to renew that experience.  The cross is the point where we began with our relationship with Christ, but Christians need to grow.  Children are expected to grow in size and learn how to live with other people. In the same way, a relationship with God must grow and mature through our experiences with God.  

Paul spoke of shedding the old man and restoring our minds to the new man of God.

Paul referred to this change as being transformed by renewing the mind. Renewing your mind considers that God thinks differently than men do.. The need to develop a new and lasting relationship with God requires that you to learn to think speak and act in ways approved by God.  Paul continues to write it is your spiritual act of worship to know and approve of God’s good and perfect will. (See Romans 12:1-2)

Relationships can become stagnant if you do nothing to keep in touch. What make your relationship with God new and fresh are the frequent and recent experiences with God. This includes doing things together for the well being of those God loves. It is not unusual when God revives your spirit with that special touch rewarding you for obeying him.  You might even say when he answers your prayers what he excites you by doing more than expected.  

As Christians we expect soon to have a new home, a new place prepared in advance of our arrival at heaven. Currently we are sojourners that are traveling this world on the way to our heavenly home. Although we are sojourners, we know that we do not have a righteousness of our own and we know that we can not go directly to heaven in our own power. Because of this, every Christian relies on God’s promise for Jesus Christ to come again and take us to our celestial home.

On that day the old order of things will pass away and Jesus is going to make all things new. On that day we will drink without cost from the spring of the water of life that flows from our father’s throne. Once again man will have access to the tree of life and see the face of God.

The Christian life is filled with new things. We have a new covenant in the blood of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:20). A new command to love one another as Christ loved us (John 13:34). We have new birth and have become a new creation in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17). God has made a new heaven and a new earth, the New Jerusalem and given us a new song to sing and a new name, which only we know.

New things are great, but when the new comes, the old is discarded. Our old way of life was corrupted by deceitful desires and we must put on the new man.  This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority (2 Peter 2:10). Their character has been utterly perverted by the concern for one’s life and the desire for money and the pleasure that robs them of the truth. The old man is foolish because he does not seek the knowledge that can save him from the certainty of spending eternity in the lake of fire.

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Obedient Versus Disobedient

For some Christians becoming obedient to God is more difficult than following the instructions of a policeman, accountant, mechanic, businessman, and even our love ones. The truth is that we are more compliant to men and women who are providing a worldly service than to God.  On the other hand, it doesn’t take long to learn that any one of authority will express his disapproval when you fail to meet their needs.

When it comes to authority everyone has a piece of the pie. Beginning in the home mothers and fathers have a title commanding respect from their children. Establishing a manageable family requires agreement between parents and children who show love for their parents by obeying them. The child’s respect demands discipline by the parents reflected with sound reasoning and a rod of authority to remind them that they are loved.

Jesus said, if you love me you would obey me. No one is going to make you obey Jesus Christ unless you first give him authority to command your life and even then if you are willing to comply with what he wants.  This authority goes two ways in that Jesus will comply with your needs.

You may recognize the authority of another person and understand that they have a specific power or expertise. However nothing will make you obey their authority without love or respect. You obey some out of respect and others you voluntarily obey of your free will. Those you voluntarily obey are usually related and bonded into a unit such as a family. Another reason for voluntarily obedience is for the common good and mutual goals. However love is a compelling reason to make the effort to please the person you care for in an affectionate manner.

Obedience is used in trading your skills and goods in exchange for the skills or goods another person possesses. Obedience complies with the desires of another person that is willing to exchange something you need. The consequence for disregarding their needs means that no exchange will take place and you are left without anything from you efforts.

A Law abiding citizen knows freedom comes at the expense of obeying the laws of the land. Your neighbor’s part in obeying the laws of the land is no different from yours and the benefits from the law are equally shared. Those who defy the law find the long arm of law ready to take them to a court of law where the guilt is assessed and exchanged for time behind prison bars.  

From God’s perspective every deed of worth has a value of exchange, especially when deeds are rated in the minds of men as good or evil. The godly person considers his actions to ensure a decent reaction for his behavior. God also knows that good behavior does not happen without discipline. Behavior has consequences and without the proper training your children and God’s children would do as they see fit.

God, mothers and fathers have the experience to know the consequences from poor decisions. From that experience parents instruct their children to behave in ways that avoids the outcome of bad behavior. Obedience to the instruction given to you by your father leads to the behavior that he approves of and comes with rewards. Disobedience to instructions demands the use of the rod so the child remembers.

God has warned man several times throughout his written word that man would be given a reward according to what his deeds dictate. His terms regarding behavior are limited to good and evil, so we should become aware of his demands. In his written word God speaks of good works prepared in advance for those who obey him, they shall receive eternal life. Those who have caused evil – who have done the works of the devil that steal and kill and destroy – those who refuse to obey God – will be condemned. Man has the knowledge of good and evil deeply embedded within the core of his and her life. They know how they feel when good has been done to them and how bad life can be when they have been harmed by evil deeds.

Therefore doing unto others, as you would have them do to you has merit. Knowing how you want to be respected by another person shapes the guideline for you to obey. You alone govern your life by the degree of discipline used to maintain your behavioral standards. Let’s also remember that your behavior determines how other people react toward you. People will react according to your conduct for the behavior you sow will be the behavior you will reap.

The easiest authority to obey is your own, but it is also the easiest to ignore. Authority demands loyalty, commitment, and the determination to honor an authority and obey it. Lacking one of these qualities will make your obedience a matter of convenience and develop a double set of standards. Loyalty, commitment, and the determination to honor authority will develop trust, but a double set of standards destroys the stability of your integrity.

The faithfulness to obey a solid moral or ethical standard is the foundation that develops the quality of integrity. Who can read the Bible without noticing that the commands of God embody the qualities that build the integrity of his children? God wants his children to mature as solid citizens who are worthy of trust. Lets remember that our obedience honors our father in heaven but it also makes us into a person worthy of having respect and self esteem.

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Past Present Versus Future

It’s is obvious that past present and future are related to a point of time before, during and after the lifetime of men and women. The past relates to yesterday, a time already experienced and to things we can not change. The present relates to today where we can repeat what we have done in the past or make changes according to our previous experience. The future relates to a time we have yet to experience but it is also a time where our previous life experiences shape what will come.

The past is nothing more than a memory of the outcome of what we have done before.  Today we look back at those memories before making decisions needed for today. The memory of our past dictates what we do today, but the past also makes us creative for developing our skills and shaping our character in other ways. Our past gives us the opportunity to change and improve our lives for the better.

Our past gives us the opportunity to look back to our deeds to evaluate its worth. Knowing the advantage or the consequences of our deeds will determine whether we do the same thing or change our ways.  Most people want success, but success depends on knowing the truth. Truth is hard to own up to when it has humbled our ego beyond the point we desire.

Human history has a habit of repeating itself and what was done in the past is still done today. Solomon said,

The sin of the past is still a sin today and will be a sin even in the future. What God has considered good in the past will be good today and long into the conceivable future. Although we learn from our past we also learn from what other people have done. The Bible presents a history of people and the methods that God wants men to use to overcome the sin God detests.

What we do today is an investment for the foreseeable future. Those who earn a college degree and invested their lives in the market place typically have a larger salary. Those who invest their time to know God can expect an eternal reward, but those who sin will suffer shame and disgrace long after their sin is revealed. God controls our future and will decide our future based on our deeds.

The deeds of our past often tell people what you will do tomorrow. The past has given us time to gain experience to evaluate whether a person can be trusted to react in an expected manner.  At the same time our past deeds is the evidence and the testimony that tells God the truth about our moral convictions.  Good deeds tell God your willingness to obey him from love. Evil deeds will convince God of your intent and the respect you have for another person.

The past and present are the time God has given to all men to prepare for his or her future destiny. God created an environment for men to live in as his habitat and has made it plain that God exists.  Everything that we can see has an ordained sequence and appears to operate in a prescribed way. If there were an exception to the prescribed way it would be in the thoughts of man.  Men have the same mental faculties, but no one thinks alike.

The thoughts of man differ from one person to another and some are more absorbed in their lives than others. Self centered men and women lack a concern if another person is harmed by their decisions.  They pay the piper in the aftermath after the damage has been done and have to apologize for their actions. God is not the only person that considers the thoughts of man because thoughts are the origin to your deeds. The time God gives to all men is time every man has to think about how his deeds will affect others.

Using your time to prepare for the future is one thing putting your plans into actions requires you to manage your time. How does one manage his life when you barely get up and its time to go back to bed?  The average person has enough work to keep them busy all day long. Some things are a daily routine and other things happen on a spur of a moment and must be dealt with right away. The important things must have priority such as going to work and paying the bills. Regardless of how important survival may be God must have our complete devotion.  Loving God is a part of Christian life.

How should the Christian use his time between the weekly services and potlucks? How should you behave at work when your boss is out of the office?  We are responsible to those we have made agreements with to honor our agreements. Remember the man who hid his master’s money and did not use it to for his master’s benefit? He lost his job and was thrown out his master’s household.

Off in the future God will demand an account for what we have done in the flesh. That day we will have no choice, but to relinquish control of our life to God. He also spoke about a book of remembrances that records what you have done in the past and the Lambs Book of Life that records your salvation.

Time is a gift of God that everyone has.  We live under the mercy of God who says today is the time of salvation. Everyone has the same amount of time to find God and find out what he expects of us. We also have time to enter into a covenant with God and change the way we live. God’s conditions are not so heavy that we can not accept them during our lifetime. Putting that decision off until tomorrow is a bad decision for tomorrow has trouble of its own and that choice will no longer exist when standing before the judgment seat of God.

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Peace Versus War    

Life would be great if everything was agreeable with our needs and was always at our fingertips. Why is it that there is always some contention in everything we do, blocking the ease in life that we so desperately want? Why does everything we have planned to do fall to pieces the moment we begin to work? The problem is not that we are not there to do the work, it’s that everyone else has a different agenda and thinks that the work should be done in a different way. Wouldn’t life be great if there was no one to tell you it’s my way or not at all?

The world has so many things that upset the apple cart, things like anxiety caused by worry, and multi-tasking that has your abilities stretched to the limit. Even your supervisor makes things worse by wanting it done yesterday. When you go home planning to read that book the wife informs you to take care of the kids while I am at the PTA meeting. It seems as if life is better at disturbing your plans than you are at caring them out.

We think of peace as an agreement to avoid armed conflict when the weapons of war are put on the shelf and we spend our time becoming prosperous. It’s a time of building, of making our careers successful and overall making our lives more comfortable. We think of peace as a time when tearing down is done to expedite progress by building something new and more constructive.

Holding God in reverence is a key to having true peace. Even then there can be no peace with God until we as men come to an agreement with him.  We must recognize that God’s authority is superior to the men he created. We must also understand that there is no life or the means to exist without him. Simply put Christians are pilgrims on a journey to a new life where the divine God of all creation rules.  

Usually agreements state what the first party is responsible to do and what the second party is responsible to do. True peace is maintained when the responsibilities of both parties are complied with. While the explanation to describe this agreement with God can appear to be complicated, Jeremiah 7:23 makes God’s terms for peace easier to understand.

Any agreement of peace dictates the responsibilities of both parties and reveals the expected behavior and the proper reaction on behalf of both parties. In time, the children of God learn that our behavior needs to reflect the moral purity of God. His idea of moral purity is to consider the well being of others before you commit to a plan or action. Simply stated God’s morals require that you do no harm to another person. The principles involved in moral behavior concerns universal relationships with all kinds of people in every profession. God sums up morals in these terms.

When we think of war we consider that war is an open conflict between nations and people.  The bible tells us that the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy and war compels men to steal, kill and destroy like the thief. The outcome of waging war always produces a need for additional hostility making it almost impossible to stop. Somewhere the reason for conflict is given rational thought and for the most part the war stops only when one side is willing to sue for peace.    

The bible also speaks of war in the spiritual realms where Satan rebelled against God through some shady trading. Because sin was found in him he was subdued and thrown to the earth to be made into a spectacle. Today Satan is attempting to corrupt the very nature of man and spoil God’s plan and take as many trophies as possible. Satan uses his skill of deception to allow you to see everyone prospering in sin and then tells you that you have every right to sin and be free of wrongdoing.

As long as man sins he will be hostile to God and the kingdom he is building. When man refuses to turn from the sin that God hates, God finds his deeds unholy and is detestable in his site. God says the acts of sinful man are obvious.

These deeds speak of the man who is not in control of his life and spending his time doing as he sees fit.  Every one of these deeds speaks about the nature of a person.  How can this person love God with his entire being when he cares for no one but himself? God is building a kingdom of men and the deeds above do more to destroy the personal esteem of men and women. Ultimately allowing those who cause sin into heaven will divide the saints of God and causes them to fight among themselves.  As the scripture says a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand and come to ruin. Aware of this strategy God is not going to let that happen. He will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

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Planting Versus Harvest

Every work ever accomplished took some effort to prepare before the actual process could be performed. After the ground has been prepared, planting is the process of putting seed into the ground expecting growth of vegetation that produces fruit.  Harvesting in the outcome cultivating during the growing season and picking the fruit from the plant.  

As human beings we look at the space available to us and consider what we can expect from our effort. We also consider the availability of sunlight, access to water and kind of fertilizer needed to promote growth.  When the plan is complete we gather the tools and begin to prepare the soil by turning it over to loosen the soil so it can take in air and water the plants need. Then we plant everything in an orderly fashion so the farmer can nurture and cultivate the plants during the growing season.  When the planting is complete, do we ever consider that we are using the earth and seed God provided or the principles God established to supply our needs?

Planting begins with a plan to determine what needs to be done. Then we buy the seed fertilizer and the tools we need to plant. After we tear the soil up, remove the weeds and expose dirt to the sun we mark out the rows. From this experience we can understand that there is a considerable amount of work to do before we can plant our seed.

The work to plant and harvest a crop may help us to understand God and the plan he has for man. However it may be humbling to understand that the man God created is the fruit of the earth.  Man was expected to multiply and fill the world with the fruit he will harvest when Jesus comes for his elect. He will put the fruit of his labor in his barn and burn the fruit that spoiled on the vine along with the weeds.

When God created the heavens and the earth, he began with an expanse without substance. The first thing God reveals about the heavens and earth is that the spirit of God is seen hovering over the deep telling man that the earth was formed out of water. (See 2 Peter 3:5) Then God created light to illuminate the surface of the earth and then separated the water on land from the water we breathe in the air. The soil was brought to the surface and the water formed rivers leading to larger bodies of water called seas. The soil God created began to produce vegetation with seed according to its own kind. The earth, sea and air were filled with living creatures each producing seed after its own kind.

The five days before man was created were days God prepared the earth, a place for man to live. Everything God created to this point was done to support growth in the man that would produce the fruit God wanted. However, to see the fruit God wanted we must look at the fruit God will harvest at the end of the growing season. At that time, God will send his angles to gather every human being to appear before him.

The harvest is normally thought of as the process of gathering the fruit before the next step. However the most important part of the harvest is sorting through the fruit to keep the best for your own use. In this process the weeds are removed, spoiled fruit is thrown away and the fruit worthy of being preserved are prepare for storage. It is a long tedious process but in the long run the effort to grow the fruit is not wasted.

From God’s perspective his harvest is gathering the fruit of the earth from the seed he planted in the Garden of Eden. While it may be hard to understand that intelligent men could be fruit of the earth, the earth was created to produce everything man needed to exist. The kingdom of God is the barn that he wants to fill with the best fruit from his garden. (See Matthew 13:37-43)

When God gathers the fruit of the earth to him his angels will bring the fruit of the earth before the good shepherd who will sort the sheep from the goats and the good from the bad.  

However between the planting season and the harvest there is other work needed to produce the fruit we want. The growing season involves removal of the weeds that rob the plant of sunlight and available nutrients. In addition the weeds take the water and fertilizer from the soil without producing the fruit the gardener desires. The gardened keeps his eye on the plant during the growing season to ensure proper growth and prunes the vines so the plant will produce better fruit.

We learn that as fruit of the earth we need the help of the gardened (God) so we become the desired fruit worthy of keeping. God created a perfect environment where man could mature into a living being like him. However God’s enemy also sowed his seed to choke the growth of man and corrupt man with his desires. Sin when found in the fruit is the blemishes and inedible portions that spoil man for its intended use.  

Over all the contrast of planting and harvest bring out a specific point. The seed God planted was good but the harvest brought in good as well as the bad. After God planted his seed in the Garden of Eden he began his work to cultivate and form man into the image of Christ. The weeds planted along side of us are choking us of the nutrients we need to grow properly.  

However man is an animated fruit that is able to accept or reject the help God is willing to give. Just as we are able to cut out the bad portions of fruit to eat the good, God is able to remove the blemishes that spoil the fruit he wants. Ultimately God has given us a choice to be the fruit that God is willing to accept.

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Pleasant Versus Offensive

Pleasant is a word that is not used very often in our day and age. Its lost its importance because people are more interested in having fun than in making life agreeable to the desires of other people. Today the idea of a pleasant life has more to do with how we feel even if that feeling comes at the expense of another person. The question is who is responsible for making life pleasant for your own life?

Why is it that being the center of attention is appealing to you, but the people around you do not find you to be a pleasant person? Pleasantness is a matter of behavior that reflects an attitude and a willingness to be agreeable with others. You can control a pleasant behavior with other people by doing things that are desired and found to be socially acceptable by other people.

Being pleasant shows respect, discipline, courtesy, and bearing to make the life of another person more enjoyable. It is not only the way that we greet people, but a matter of serving another person by being polite. May I help you with your groceries, is it all right if I shovel your driveway? It is also being there ready to make life easier for anyone when they need help.

Being pleasant is marked with pleasure and the enjoyable manner in which others accept you. It is also marked with sharing the responsibility and bearing the cost to make life pleasant. When you are pleasant to others you make them the center of attention because you are also honoring them above yourself. When you honor others you also honor God who is pleased with the way you conduct your life.

The Bible tells us that we bear the responsibility of finding out what pleases the Lord. (Ephesians 5:10) The bible also says it is our spiritual act of worship to renew our minds to know the good and pleasing will of God (Romans 12:1-2). The behavior of each of his children is of extreme importance to God. his goal is to teach each of his children to restrict their behavior to be fair and just to all. God requires obedience as he disciplines those he loves.

God wants all men to be holy, to love one another and live in unity.

How can man live together unless they become agreeable.

When you disagree with the faults of men it is difficult, but not impossible to be pleasant.  A prudent man overlooks the faults of others and he looks for things that the two of you can agree with. To accomplish this task God asks that you be courteous enough to accept them as a being human subject to faults. The problem is that you never see the faults you have unless someone tells you.

God forces you to see sin in your life because sin is detestable in his eyes. Sin is downright offensive to God and sin is the primary reason why the access to God is through Jesus Christ. It’s not your person but the decisions to commit sin separates you from God and defines your nature.  

Everything that God created was good. On the other hand, Satan knew that everything good could be altered and used for evil. No one knows when Satan confronted Adam and Eve, but we know that Satan’s primary goal was deceive both Adam and Eve and cause them to fall from God’s grace. The simple act of eating fruit from a tree God said do not eat from was the first recorded sin, but it was a sin that radically changed man’s environment in hopes that man would learn sin is offensive to God.

Sin is offensive to God in many ways, but man does not consider sin to be offensive but the act of sin challenges God’s authority. God’s commands are beneficial to those who obey God considers the outcome of his actions and how they affect his future. From experience God knows that sin is destructive because sin disrupts life and forces you to rebuild what it has destroyed.  

God is love and love builds every relationship to a desired level that is beneficial to both parties. Love creates the bonding agent that makes things cling and stick together. On the other hand sin acts like a wedge driven into a log to split and separates the log.  Sin separates you from the desired respect you had for God. Sin alters the state of your relationship by affecting your trust in the person who sinned against you.   

Sin is an attack on your well being, ego and self worth. Sin changes how you feel about yourself and how others think about you. Sin changes your worth to God and other people that avoid you. Sin is always unpleasant to the person affected but in the same way as sin makes your life unpleasant to you. it gives you emotional  baggage that you carry the rest of your life.  Being an unpleasant person labels you as an evil person, a liar, a thief and destructive. Ultimately sinful deeds are offensive, not pleasant to the person who suffers for the sin of another.

The things that are offensive to God are the same things that men find offensive. Yet the love of God sent his son to reconcile and restore men who were offensive to him. By recognizing and submitting to God’s authority you become agreeable with God. The only way we expect to be rewarded with eternal life is by honoring our creator and by making peace with God. History shows that Adam and Eve lost privileges of living in a perfect environment and were removed from the paradise God created for them. The rest of their lives were spent in a world cursed by God and separated from his presence.  Those who are offensive to God also have a bleak future being eternally condemned to a place subjected to torment.

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Plenty Versus Lacking

American money that is used to purchase goods and services proudly displays the words “In God we trust.” America is the land of plenty because our founding fathers of our nation based its constitution on the laws of God. They placed their trust in God to pursue the freedom to worship God according to their beliefs.

Plenty is the outcome of prospering due to one’s obedience to God.

We have God’s promise when we obey God that he will bless everything we put our hands to (Deuteronomy 28:8.) Wherever you go, your life, your livestock, your barns, God will bless the crops of your fields. These blessings will be yours if you obey the Lord your God. The Lord will grant you prosperity in abundance. God will open the windows of heaven to bless you and he will send rain on your fields in season. From the abundance you will not have to borrow but be able to lend. Your character will rise above your neighbors and you will glorify your God who is in heaven.

Its difficult to study the patriarchs of the bible without noticing that these men had one thing in common. They were men who were stewards who accumulated a wealth of plenty yet did not consider their wealth to be anything of worth. They looked to their supplier the one who supplied all their needs according to his riches. They saw his word as being more valuable than gold and knowing the almighty as finding life. David wrote

Within God’s word men found the abundance of wisdom that could not be frustrated.  His wisdom is still universal and beneficial for every situation that rises to confront your life. Those who trust in his principles take his word to heart and use them to prosper. They are not only successful in accumulating goods that can be exchanged in the market place but thrive in their relations with men.

Having plenty speaks of being amply supplied in quantity and abounding with abundance. However, true abundance is only found in God who gives his spirit without limit (John 3:34.) Jesus said I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10  Paul wrote that

Life is an asset that all men want to increase because its value to mankind is priceless. Life is an asset that no man is able to reproduce or able to extend for every attempt has failed. Studying the nature of God reveals that the basic requirements for life emanate from him.  God governs life and its law says no amount of gold can buy it, there is nothing that can replace it and life always ends in death because of sin. God has given man the option to choose life and that life is found in Jesus Christ.  However the choice for life has the responsibility to develop and manage so that it gives God glory.  

Jesus said,

It’s clear to see that God has a sufficient quantity of life to give freely to anyone who willingly accepts his offer of life. God’s gift of eternal life is without end and more plentiful than we can ever imagine. On the other hand, life is so sacred that God bears a responsibility to his kingdom and family to award life to men that is found worthy of eternal life.

The problem of being without God in your life is that there is something always lacking. The knowledge that you are unacceptable to God, being hostile with God, always having more stress that you want out of life is always present. Life without God is empty, void of true happiness, always wanting something that does not satisfy the desires of your heart comes from turning from God.

Life without God is a bummer, especially when you have been taught right from wrong and ignore the importance of other people. When Nebuchadnezzar’s heart became harden with pride God stripped him of his throne and forced him to think like an animal until he recognized God was Sovereign. His son Belshazzar knew the story well, but set himself against God by using his sacred instruments of worship to worship the God’s of Gold and silver that could not see or hear or understand or even respond. Belshazzar knew the consequences his father faced but he still defied God. The writing on the wall humbled Belshazzar to the point his knees knocked. God wrote this message.

You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. Daniel 5:27

Belshazzar lacked reverence for God in the same way the world demonstrates its desire to know God and the benefits of knowing him. Like Belshazzar, the world does not appreciate the evil that attacks their life, but they quick to return evil when the feel the need to do so. God says,

God says the primary reason the people of the world are destroyed is because they reject his word. To those who are perishing they think the gospel is foolishness yet to those who are being saved it is the power of God leading to salvation. The common testimony of the new Christian is – when I found out my life changed for the better. When they say those words they admit that they learned about the good news and therefore they found themselves lacking solid ground to stand on.

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Principled Versus Unscrupulous

In science everything functions in a prescribed pattern due to its qualities and everything reacts to outside influences in a prescribed manner. Men of science examine the cause and effect of everything imaginable to learn what happens when a foreign substance is introduced to a known element. The idea is to learn why a specific reaction occurs with a controlled cause. The purpose of these experiments is to understand the basic principles of cause and effect and to learn the laws that control the reaction.

A principle is the basic law of truth regarding behavior. Everything God created has a goal to accomplish and functions in a fundamental manner to achieve its purpose. When men become aware of how the world functions they can use known principles to achieve a beneficial outcome from their effort.

Men have learned the basic principle that the earth revolves around the sun and has designed mechanical devices that measure time precisely. This knowledge enables trained weathermen to predict the next sunrise anywhere on the earth. However, predicting the next sunrise would be impossible for man without absolute principles established by God in the creation of the heavens and the earth.

The entirety of absolute principles embedded into the creation has two purposes. The primary purpose is to glorify God and the second to support the life of the most prized part of creation - mankind. Still a principle is the basic law of truth regarding behavior and Christians know from experience that God demands the principles of moral behavior.

Isaac Newton coined a physical law that said “To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” This law applies to everyday things in our physical environment.  However physical laws is not always the same as spiritual laws. Sometimes the reaction to broken spiritual laws is not always equal but greater. For example when your physical possessions are taken, you are not always satisfied with putting the perpetrator in jail. The natural reaction is to seriously hurt that person by ringing his neck.

The law of science states to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction but God has a identical principle that states what you sow is what you reap. However, from God’s perspective, beating the daylights out of the thief taking your possessions makes you as bad as they are. Does God have another principle that states the end does not justify the means?  

Paul addressed the same moral issue that all men face through his own personal experience. He said.

Paul wrote about the law of sin that is waging war against his mind. In this war he delights in the laws of God, but in reality he did the very things that he knew opposed God’s law. He had the desire to live in right standing with God, but the influence of the world dominated his mind.  Although he desired to live by God’s law sin stood in his way waging war in his mind.

For the most part, the human race is a prisoner of sin.  The shame of sin is covered over with lies and deception. The outcome is that you fall prey to your own deeds in order to save face or appear to be honest with other people.

With this in mind, we come across yet another principle regarding how we think. Our deeds good or evil is produced by the way we think. Our mind thinks by what our mind perceives and by reading the bible we see mental pictures expressing principles of truth. The problem is that the picture of the world shows that wickedness can appear to be more effective than being honest. However the world never presents a whole picture as the evil deeds of the world are covered with lies.  God has given us experience in the world, his word and a mind to sort truth from deception. He has also given us the ability to know the truth in Jesus Christ.

With an enduring life that outlasts several ages, a prudent person searches for absolute principles that will work every time you need to use them. God has several absolutes in his disposition that never fails. His promises are absolutes and are guaranteed to accomplish whatever he sent his word to do. Every principle of God promotes life in abundance and life that can be relied upon.

Life without trust or relationships life would be downright miserable. The world’s population would not have increased without the relationship between the husband and wife. Yet the principle of love governs solid relationships.

 Love demands that you honor another person with serving their needs. Love looks for ways to please another, it does no harm, and love creates the security of self-respect and worth.

Abiding within the principles of love will keep peace in heaven for an eternity. When you consider that God will reward each man according to his deeds, the best thing we can do is to find ways to please God. Every minute spent with God increases your ability to understand God and know his good and perfect will. The bible tells us.

Those without scruples see laws as being restrictive what they do and hinders them from the goals and way of life they are pursuing. They are not concerned with the morality of their actions because to them the end justifies the means. They are willing to bend the laws of man to get what they want even when their deeds are performed at the cost of hurting other people. They have chosen to believe the lie that as long as you don’t get caught its OK or everyone else is doing it and gets by with it. unknown to them God lives by principles of absolutes.

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Prosperity Versus Ruin  

From the world’s perspective, prosperity is the condition of being well off having success in personal financial affairs. From this perspective prospering has more to do with the amount of wealth than it has to do with our spiritual lives.  Those who prosper seem to get richer every day and there seems to be no end to their accrued wealth. However today’s wealth is shuffled around on paper and the gold stays in vaults kept securely from the hands of thieves.

The word prosperity is primarily thought of in the financial world as having wealth in abundance. Although wealth has certain benefits the world desires it cannot buy your health or life you consider having far greater value than gold. Money is deceptive in that you think that money can solve every problem, when wealth can not extend your life a single second beyond the time God has given you.

We think if prosperity as having an abundance of wealth. However there is wealth of knowledge, wealth of health, wealth of toys and a wealth of foolishness. Jesus spoke of another kind of wealth by having life in abundance.(John 10:10)  God is offering mankind something considered being more precious than all the riches of this world called life. God says the gift of life is free to those who will receive it. God is talking about a wealth that goes beyond human conception, prospering in life is to have an bounty or a rich supply available to you.   Life is like the man who found a gem of great value and sold everything he had to buy it.

Christ used these men as examples, to show that there are things with so great a value that men would sell everything at their disposal to obtain it. Still behind the scenes were prudent men who used their wisdom to find out who owned the field and the price they wanted. They also made a decision to commit all of their personal assets to buy the one thing they found of great value.

We also find that prudent men set priorities in life by planning a way to achieve those objectives.  Jesus spoke about those who worried about the common everyday things that took their mind off Jesus Christ and eternal life. They worried about the simple things, such as what they were going to put on the table to eat and what they were going to wear. Jesus tried to calm the fears of men buy telling them that God fed and clothed the lilies of the field. He said that man had greater value to God than all the lilies of the field. Then he said.

He said the wise man gets his priorities straight and establishes a method to obtain them. Jesus also said that eternal life was more about knowing God and having a personal relationship with him. God is life and the things God do promote an abundance of life. Those who listen to God will know the way to the throne of Jesus Christ and eternal life. Jesus likens his disciples to sheep that knew his voice and followed him.

However the majority of people are focused on things God hates. The wealth men chase after are left to people who spend it foolishly. The bible tells us that we came into this world with nothing and will leave this world with nothing.  

Unfortunately men have sold their souls to gain the power of wealth and whatever can be traded for it. They set their priority on money, which is so short-lived and here today and gone tomorrow.  The wealth of life is gained by knowing a God that is always been and will always be. God’s plans are eternal and those who want the ground floor of eternal life get involved with God’s plan.

 Prosperity has three rules, know God’s plan educate your self to know God’s will.  Then consider his plan for feasibility and decide if the cost is worth obeying God. Then be careful to do everything written in his plan. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Needless to say that ruin is never far from those who reject or ignore the knowledge of God. The Bible says knowledge gives men of God an advantage of wisdom that preserves his life. (Ecclesiastes 7:12) The world considers God’s word to be foolishness and reject the word of God, thinking they forge their destiny through their own efforts.

Ruin will always be at the door of those who will neither seek the love of God nor accept the gift of life from God. Most hope that they have been good enough to be accepted by God into heaven. They judge themselves by human standards saying that they are better than everyone else. To their surprise even the hope they have will be taken from them and thrown where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Because they rejected God all or most of their life God will reject them. They refused to accept his authority and the plan that would rescue them from God’s wrath. Their refusal to repent and turn from the evil works will bring them to their own ultimate ruin.

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Prudent Versus Foolishness

Not everyone is aware of what is going to happen in his life or the consequences that his decisions and behavior will cause. However the person who is aware of the potential conditions approaching his life makes preparations to do things to shape the outcome for his benefit. In other words he plans a commonsense approach to his affairs to ensure a dignified life. In other words, this person is concerned with his personal conduct and how his decisions affect the outcome.

Being mindful of how certain methods work in life helps you to know what to do and gives a reference point to start from. When man looks into his future to consider what he wants to accomplish he must consider a course of action and the factors that will control his success. He must also consider how to make those conditions reoccur as many times as needed to ensure success.

We must also consider that the circumstance changes with every step and be aware of the step. Some procedures are different with every task and other procedures remain the same most of the time.  Some procedures produce a faulty product and others produce outstanding merchandise every time you follow standard procedures. It’s prudent to prepare your life to do things that nurture the desired outcome from the work of your hands.

We find that the work of our hand is an extension of your mind. In everything we put our hands to the reality is that your hands do what your mind instructs them to do. In addition your mind has to know what to do before the orders can be pass the down to the hands that do the work.

In this passage Paul writes that it is necessary to train yourself to run in the race of life. How can man expect to win a foot race if he runs aimlessly?  If a boxer swings his hands in the air his opponent will assuredly knock him to the ground. Therefore it becomes imperative to educate and plan a strategy for the circumstances that impact your life.

A prudent person is aware that God rules everything he can see hear and touch. He also reasons that he is one of the things that can be touched seen and heard. He finds the time to investigate what God expects of him. Once he has acquired the necessary knowledge he considers the matter and then makes a decision based on what he is convinced of.  Once the decision is made a prudent person will give his personal attention to his commitments to ensure success.

He finds that God is interested in everything that impacts his life the most. God is primarily interested in his character and the relationship he have with him. God makes the demand that his children love him with all their heart, soul, mind and strength. This is an imperative and a feasible way to ensure a benefit that will endure forever.

God is also interested in your relationship with those he loved enough that he sent his son to pay the price for their sin. Grace is a course of action for God to freely forgive to whoever is willing to accept them. God wants us to take the message that he loves the world and is willing to forgive them of their sin. Those who encircle his throne will benefit by sharing in the responsibility of extending God’s grace one another.

In Proverbs a book of wisdom it is written that God’s word has words of insight to help them become wise. The first five verses of this book provide an excellent summary of the entire bible. It reads as follows,

The bible teaches man that he is to live a life dedicated to God by choice that is determined to live a holy and acceptable life.  He is to openly demonstrate the love of God by making a deliberate effort to be right, just and fair. The prudent person knows that a respectable behavior is produced by God’s discipline. At the same time its only prudent to use that knowledge to an advantage in a just and fair manner. Furthermore the prudent are determined to sustain their life in an honorable fashion by adopting every grace of their father in heaven.

It is not rational to know that you can do good and do something that will harm your life. However, it is another thing to desire to do what is good, but not be able to carry it out.  Foolishness is the absence of common sense and reason, which reduces your worth to God and the people around you. God gave us a mind to reason and make choices that benefit our lives. However, the fool says in his heart there is no God (Psalms 14:1) and although the fool understands that God rules the universe they say I will not have him as my God.

The fool runs the race of life without knowing the rules, but runs this race in hope of going to Heaven. Somewhere in this race the fool forfeits the prize due to attempt to gain the whole world.  However foolishness is not laughing matter. Foolishness is taken seriously by God and your actions will turn your life into the trash that will be thrown into the fire.

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Pure Versus Blemished

When we speak of things that are pure, we are referring to the consistently throughout the complete substance. We know that the smallest amount of foreign objects can alter the consistency of the entirety lot. In the long run the degree of foreign material affects the value of the product and the price we can derive from it.

Salt for example has several grades sold in the market place depending on its cleanliness and use. Some salt is washed while other salt is kiln dried, salt comes in coarse and fine grains and some grades of table salt add iodine while another removes the sodium. The color of rock salt is darker than table salt due to the impurities and determines is grade and use. For the most part the darker grade of salt is not used for human consumption. Instead it is thrown on the ground to melt the snow and ice. On the other hand, the cleanest and finest grade of salt is used to flavor the foods that men eat. Therefore the purity of salt determines what it is used for.

When you consider salt you will remember that Jesus said you are the salt of the earth.

Salt will remain salt as long as it is not polluted or corrupted with other substances. Just as salt alters the taste of food, food pollutes the saltiness of salt. By saying you are the salt of the earth Jesus said your life was to preserve and flavor a godly life that the world could accept God. However, the world can corrupt the saltiness of your life in ways that it becomes useless to God. Like the branches pruned from your vine is thrown into the fire. Like a tiny blemish found in a diamond is a tiny spark to a forest.

Out in the western parts of America there are thousand of acres of trees burnt to the ground and in the midst the remains of homes that people once lived in. It only took a small spark to set these forests on fire, but look at the damage that small spark did. James said,

Your tongue is a small spark ready to salt what ever it comes into contact with. Just as salt has different uses there is a fire that burns forests down and a fire that either destroys the heart or burns the dross of the heart away. Dross is the unwanted substance that is removed by the refiner’s fire and refines gold and silver into a pure state.

Have you ever seen an automobile in a showroom that was not washed and polished? In the same way, the things that degrade its desirability to God mark the purity of man’s heart. Therefore let’s consider that around God’s throne is a sea of mankind liken unto clear glass similar to the crystal of ice. And although they were in the world they were not of the world. These men and women made an all out effort to cleanse themselves of the things that ruin their value as human beings to establish a rightstanding with God.

There is another form of purity spoken about in the letters to the church where he says you are neither hot nor cold.

The question derived from this statement should be what is causing you to be lukewarm? We can add hot water to cold water and we can add cold water to hot water to obtain a lukewarm condition. It’s not a question if we have more hot water than cold or more cold water than hot. It is that we are a blend of the two and it is not clear which side of the fence are we on.  

A part of the Passover ceremony was the spring cleaning of the house to remove the leaven found in the home. Leaven was tied to corruption and how that leaven worked its way through the whole batch of dough. Today man is faced with the evil desires of the world that corrupts his moral stature with God. The deceitfulness of this world’s wealth has its hand at your throat choking everything of value from you. Along with the worries of the world its hands give you a desire to compromise your values.  Jesus said that he overcame the world, and that we must purify our lives from all sin.  The practical application to taking Communion is to clean your house of the sin that is corrupting your spiritual life.

Sin contaminates the vessel purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. Therefore it is a full-time job to live a life with rightstanding with God. Unlike Pilate we cannot wash our hands of the guilt of sin and become innocent before God. Nothing can pay the penalty for our sin, wash away our sins, and obtain God’s forgiveness if it was not for the blood of Jesus Christ.

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Receive Versus Reject

Most Christians have been taught that It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35.) These teachings focus on the idea that being blessed by giving is more important than receiving. It is also important to receive from God and you should want everything is willing to give. The things God wants to give are things you need and the power to overcome the world.   

Very seldom in teaching on giving, does the teacher ever focus on the blessings God has promised in Deuteronomy 28:1-13. In this chapter God has promised to bless everything we put our hands to do as long as we obey his commands. The remainder of that same chapter God reveals how he will react to those who rebel and reject his law.

We can reject God’s will and purpose for our life when we ignore him and do as we see fit. We can also reject the concept that the earth and all that is on it belongs to its creator. We can not ignore that it rains on the unrighteous as well as the righteous. That rain feeds the plants of the field, which aids the growth of food that sustains man’s life. God is in the business of blessing all of mankind with good things.

The problem arises in how we receive God’s blessing and what we do with them. Most of mankind greedily takes the blessings that God has given them and spends all of it on the things that make their life more gratifying.  The Christian has a responsibility to God to use whatever he receives from God wisely. God does not dictate what you do with your wealth, but he does hope you will use what he has blessed you with to bless others.  

Christians are taught stewardship or how to administer the wealth of God to his advantage. Everything belongs to the Lord and what God has given to us is in our care. Therefore, what we do with the wealth God has given us should be administered according to his wishes. There is always abundance in everything God gives to us to handle. That abundance is to be used to bless the poor sick and needy.

It is also important to remember that without receiving you would not be able to give. When Jesus said (It is more blessed to give than to receive Acts 20:35) he was not speaking of giving for the blessing. Jesus was saying that you would be blessed more from giving than from receiving. Most Christians know when God has blessed them their testimonies that are not always heard on the floor of the sanctuary.

We receive many things from God and most are not monitory in nature. The problem is that we don’t always recognize the gifts that God gives as blessings. What condition would man exist in if it were not for the air we breathe the water we drink and sun that warms our body and brightens our outlook on a sunny day? All these gifts are for our benefit even when we are driven inside when it rains. We may not like the rain but is the long run rain washes the dirt out of the air we breath, fills the rivers and streams and oceans where man finds recreation of boating, fishing and swimming. These things are so common that we really don’t thank God for them.

Do we as Christians have the grace to thank God for everything we receive from him? Do we think about our behavior towards of our friends and relatives as gifts that God has given to us? When you think about all that God has given men the list becomes endless. In addition men fill their time with the things of this life that they really did not receive from God graciously. In some cases they just want God to give them the things they think they need.

The bible says you will not receive from God because you ask for the wrong reasons. There is a difference when you need a car to get back and forth from work when you are out of work than to ask God for a car when you have a regular job.  God gives you the ability to produce wealth, which also gives you a way to buy one.  Just as you provide food and clothing for your children God will provide what you need just as you do for your children,

What you want is at your parents desecration and it is their choice not yours. Its not to unusual to think that you deserve something special but you don’t get everything you want. Still the things you appreciate the most are the things  that you have worked for and earned.

There is a gift everyone on earth wants more than anything else and that is to live forever. Eternal is a gift of God but it is also a gift that God can give at his desecration.  Still Life is a choice and a gift that God can give to anyone who wants it. However God wants you to use the gift given through Jesus Christ.  The gift requires you to receive Jesus Christ into your heart, accept his discipline and live by the limits that the holy life demands.

This life begins when you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  When you reject Jesus Christ as Lord you also reject the gift of eternal life. The problem with rejecting eternal life through Jesus Christ is that the alternative to life is to perish in torment.

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Redeemed Versus Captivity

Redeeming was done several times in Israel’s history with God, but the idea of redeeming has changed over time. Today redeeming is seen as making the final payment on layaway or the use of store coupons in lieu of money.  However the bible uses the idea of redemption to explain how God redeems mankind from sin.

The book of Ruth is a story that began with a famine as the reasons for Naomi and her husband to move to place where there was food. This story tells about a man and wife who took their two sons to Moab to begin their life over. In the course of time the harshness of the land caused the deaths of the father and the two sons leaving three widows to fend for themselves. The mother, Naomi decided to return to her homeland and to her relatives but asked her daughters in law to return to their families in hope that they would acquire a family of their own.

When you look at the things Naomi said family was important to her. She felt cursed because the family she had built was taken from her. However she had not realized that she had formed a strong relationship with a nobile woman named Ruth, who had married her son. Ruth developed a love for Naomi that allowed her to forsake her family in Moab to make a covenant to cling to her mother in law’s way of life and her God . Ruth promised to go wherever Naomi went and be her constant companion for the rest of her life.

As the story develops, Naomi’s life demonstrated a continued concerned to see that Ruth had a family of her own. At the same time when Ruth and Naomi returned to Naomi’s hometown they were in a financial crisis. Naomi was elderly and weak so Ruth went into the fields to glean by herself.  Every night when Ruth came home to share the gleanings, Naomi asked her about her day. One day Ruth told that she had gleaned in the fields of Boaz a relative of Naomi and that Boaz took notice of her and demanded that she only glean in his fields.

We can see Naomi’s mind begin to click as she puts a plan in motion to give Ruth the security of a family. Naomi knew that Boaz was a close relative and stood in line as a kinsman redeemer. Should I not try to find a home for you, where you (Ruth) will be well provided for? Naomi advised Ruth to make herself attractive for Boaz and to lie at his feet when he fell asleep. Waking during the night Boaz realized that Ruth was near by. Boaz knew what to do when Ruth said spread the corner of your garment over me, since you are a kinsman-redeemer.

Boaz was a kinsman-redeemer, but not the closest redeemer in Ruth’s family. That day Boaz approached the elders of his village to consider the Hebrew law of concerning widows right to carry on the family name. He also placed Naomi’s land for sale knowing that whoever acquired the land also acquired Ruth through marriage and would provide a family for her. After the nearest kinsman-redeemer waived his rights Boaz acquired Ruth’s property, married Ruth and had children.  (See Deuteronomy 25:5-10 )

In the Old Testament redemption is seen as redeeming one from slavery, the return of family property, and to marry his brother’s widow to continue family lines. The deliverance from slavery in Egypt was such a story where God redeemed Israel from Pharoah with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. (Exodus 6:6)

God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt and it was a picture of God’s plan to redeem man from the slavery of sin. Every picture of redeeming involves a cost to buy back or to restore freedom. We also see that Israel was a slave in Egypt, slaves were compelled to achieve the will of his owner. The cost was applied to Egypt first born and to the families who did not place the blood of the Passover lamb on the doorposts of their home.

Within the blood of the Passover lamb is the key to redemption for man’s salvation. Without the shedding of the Lamb’s blood there can be no forgiveness for sin. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God slain from the creation of the world. He came to fulfill the law and in fulfilling the law, he shed his blood as the Lamb of God for the sins of man.

Jesus Christ came into the world to reconcile man to God and to give his life as a ransom for many. Jesus explained that everyone who sins is a slave to sin and they were doing the same deeds their father, the devil had done. The Jews were proud of their ancestry, as they were descendants of Abraham. Paul reminded them that Abraham had sons by a wife and a slave. Sarah son inherited and the son by Hagar was a slave who had no rights to Abraham’s inheritance.

Jesus Christ came to preach the good news to the poor. He was sent me to proclaim freedom for the captives as a release from the deeds of darkness. Those who chose to believe in the name of Jesus were given the right to become the sons of God. We are sons of the Most High we will inherit the kingdom of God because Jesus Christ paid the ransom price redeeming us from a life of sin.

Those still held in captivity to sin will not be rescued from the coming wrath of God. They did not allow God to set them free from the consequences of sin.  All, because they failed to make a covenant of peace with God by unknowingly allowing themselves to remain in captivity of sin.  They also ignored that Jesus Christ came to redeem them from the coming wrath of God.

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Rejoice Versus Sadness      

The average Christian does not think about rejoicing in the Lord very much specially when every day seems just like another. One day can lead to another and you’ve become so accustomed to everyday life to recognize what God has done to brighten up your life. Everyday life has a tendency to lull Christians to sleep and fail to recognize that God is actively seeking a deeper relationship with them?

Christians should be rejoicing because they have been blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus. Perhaps we have forgotten that our sins have been forgiven and our names are written in the Lamb’s book of Life. Therefore, we have reason to expect living in our father’s eternal home.

It may be mandatory to count our blessings to see what the Lord has done for us to rejoice.  Living in a corrupt world may be the biggest culprit preventing us from recounting what the Lord Our God has done for us in regards to expressing our feelings with emotion. It’s not that we can not express our feelings, but for some it may seem as if they were required to express those emotions in a deceptive manner. That is to produce words that express feelings that aren’t really from the heart. For example have you seen those preaching about rejoicing act like a calf released from the stall? (Malachi 4:2-3)

Lets consider that the calf jumps up and down and shows its emotions at the time of his release not three hours later after he has become accustomed to his freedom.  Rejoicing is not always done in front of other people but spontaneously. Rejoicing is releasing our emotions of happiness the moment when we have been exited by what God has done. Rejoicing demonstrates to God how we feel. In other words, rejoicing in the Lord doesn’t mean that we have to openly demonstrate our feelings before men. However, rejoicing before man shows other men and women what God is capable of doing for them.

Rejoicing can be an excitable experience like the calf romping in the pasture, but the emotion of the calf doesn’t care who sees him having a good time. While romping he is grateful he is to be free and able to release his delight. On the other hand every creature that saw the calf leaping about was lifted up and had an enjoyable experience.

Everyone releases his or her emotions in a different manner and like the calf will become emotional at the time of their joy. There is a time to express your joy, as did the father of the prodigal son when he returned home. There is also a time to celebrate or to observe a special event in your life.  We solemnize religious ceremonies such as communion to honor the work of Jesus Christ on the cross with dignity and celebrate birthdays, and wedding anniversaries with gaiety

Rejoicing in the Lord can be done in public when paying tribute by praising God in song, public reading of scriptures and through personal testimony. These are public ways of exalting God in word to lift him up and to recognize what he has done for you. In addition whenever you obey God you are paying tribute to God by honoring his ways.

Another way to rejoice in the Lord is to delight yourself in his word. Learning a new truth gives those who delight in God’s word inexpressible joy, the kind of joy that you can’t wait to tell another person. Thus giving you the opportunity to spread the good news.

Making others rejoice in your happiness is a good reason for rejoicing. Your happiness is contagious as others can share your happiness by saluting good behavior, achievement and bravery. The few people who have integrity are always a good reason to rejoice. However in Christianity, we must remember a crucified Jesus Christ who on the cross died so that whoever would accept and believe on him would not perish. Christians should rejoice in the fact that Jesus rescued us from the coming wrath of God.

The day will come when we will not be able to contain our happiness and we will leap about the streets of gold like a calf released from the stall. The calf in the stall has penned up energy needing to be released, as does the Christian waiting for the Day of the Lord. We look forward to that day and think that heaven will be happier than our wildest expectations.  It may take ages to express our happiness to God.

Perhaps we forgot God and how he and his angels express their happiness with the salvation of one soul. God also rejoiced in his son whom he was well pleased.  Rejoicing takes place at festivities, but it maybe hard to see God singing and dancing at the wedding supper of the bride.

Lets also remember that God was grieved that he had created man when the majority of men lived a depraved life at Sodom and Gomorrah. It’s a deplorable story of unrestricted violence, men who lived for themselves, and refused to seek God. The way these men lived must have depressed and hurt God’s feelings.

How will God feel when sitting in the judgment seat of the great white throne? Will God be weeping as he sends those who refused to repent into outer darkness? After doing all that could be done to ensure that mankind could enter the gates of his eternal home, why were there so many deceived? Why did so many turn their backs on God and why did so many refuse to make him Lord?  Yet, when God looks at those who chose life and made him Lord, that sight will change his gloom to happiness and give him the opportunity to rejoice with his children.

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Repent Versus Sinning

Repenting is the deeds corresponding when a person has a change of mind. On the other hand, success oriented people will not do things that are known to fail in the past. Their reasoning may be that what has failed in the past will fail in the future so they turn to alternative options to achieve their goals. 

What does God mean when he says repenting is the corresponding deeds of a person when he has a change of mind? Every sin begins with a thought, every deed is an outcome of a command from your brain. Therefore, repenting begins with the restructuring of the mind and the way it thinks. The mind works from the memories and experiences of the past. Repenting is an action taken after one recognizes what has been done has failed or has caused harm to another person. Repenting is the recognition of sin and making a decision that avoid evil deeds. In other words repenting is turning away form anything that causes or does sin.

In the work place change is called innovation a method of introducing something new, mostly done to increase production and lower production cost. In Christian life repenting is a change of heart to avoid sin but it also recognizes the existence of God and Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. In addition, repenting forces a man to recognize that he has sinned against God and needs to make changes in his life to have right standing with God.  

Those in the world are accustomed to evil and are not willing to do anything more than complain about the sin that the world continues to do. However, those who follow Jesus are forced by a holy God to look at good and evil as being deeds he both disapproves of and hates. When we obey God we not only demonstrate our love for God, but we also show the need to change and do what is right in our future.

Repenting demands the recognition of evil and taking the appropriate action to avoid sin.  Whatever you do it will be a result of how your spirit evaluates the situation and the decision you make before the corresponding action is done through the flesh. Lets remember sin is allowed by an undisciplined mind that limits his actions for a good outcome.

When man sees the wrongs of evil what does he do about it? The world complains about the evilness of others, but complaining does nothing to prevent sin from happening again. Therefore, a personal decision must be made to do things using a different method designed to harm no one. Repenting of our sins, recognizing Jesus as Lord translates us into God’s kingdom where everyone lives by the laws of God. Life in his kingdom are reduced to two laws.

Obeying these laws require a change of heart, and the need turn away from wickedness. (2 Timothy 2:19) Again those who repent must take words of his testimony to heart because the time is near. (Revelation 1:3) God is serious in this matter for if one person in his kingdom has evil thoughts he will have a divided kingdom that will fall.

 Repenting is a not an instantaneous happening, but a process that continues throughout Christian life. Because repenting is a continual process, when we become aware of our sin we ask for forgiveness and plan avoid this sin again.

The word of God instructs men in ways to correct the outcome of sin as well as what we can do to please God. Those who confess the name of the Lord show their love for God by obeying his commands and turn away from the evil things God calls wickedness. Repenting is not complete until you do what is right in the eyes of God.

Those who see no need for God are haughty and arrogant. Being filled with pride that think that they worthy of God’s goodness. Job posed a question to his friends saying,

Repenting recognizes that God is capable of thinking, as he so desires. The world has different standard than God does but Heaven is ruled by God’s standards. Those who continue to sin are like leopards that cannot change their spots. They will continue to sin up to the day the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of God. On that day those who continue to sin will be treated as weeds.

Because God is an eternal being, he will always be the absolute ruler of the universe. Repenting is more than acknowledging that God rules the known universe, but also recognizing that you are a part of the universe he created.  If you recognize that you are a part of the universe God created are you willing to allow God to rule your life? You have to make a decision what you are going to do with that knowledge. On the other hand, those who refuse to accept God as ruler of their life has also rejected a place in his kingdom that is known as Heaven. That awareness also affects your decision. Every sin begins with a thought, every sin begins as a command of your brain. Therefore, repenting begins with the restructuring of the mind and the way it thinks.

Anyone knows that God rules the universe for he has made himself known and understood by his creation. (Romans 1:19-20) For this reason no one has an excuse. Therefore failing to discern God is foolishness. With that frame of mind it is difficult to detect the wrongs of evil when the consequences for the wrong go unpunished. Rather than repent man has chosen to cover their evil deeds with other sins.

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Respect Versus Contempt 

Everyone shows regard of one kind or another towards other men that they encounter every day. This regard is usually based on experience where your favors are extended to those you respect while you tolerate others. Perhaps the best way to explain how man shows his respect for others is seen in the following verse.

The thoughts of our mind are frequently not in agreement with the words of our mouth. By choice we are more apt to say what the other person wants to hear rather than expose our true feelings to their face.  We as men express our feelings for other people in different ways such as praise and contempt through cursing. Our language openly demonstrates a respect or contempt for other people, but do we have an overall picture of life through our self-centered nature? From a human standpoint every man, woman and child on earth are in the same race for life, have the same option to choose life, and each will be given a reward according to their deeds.

Respect does not come automatically and respect has not manifested itself because all of mankind is in the same boat facing the same trials and troubles of life. Respect is emotional feeling affecting relational issues between you and another person. Regardless of how one defines respect, respect begins with the way God treats mankind and how God demonstrates his regard for mankind.  His respect for mankind is determined by love and demonstrated through his love for mankind by sending his son to die for the sins of whosoever would believe in him.

God’s respect for man is not partial as man would not continue to exist if it were not for the sun and rain. When God created the earth he created the same conditions for every living creature on earth. Sunshine and rain falls from heaven to the earth and it does not consider where you live, who you are or what you have done. Yet every man benefits from the sun and the rain. God wants you to develop respect for others that does not consider where they live, who they are or what they have done.  Ultimately, God demonstrates his love a though kindness by sending the sun and rain to meet the needs of the entire world.

To God, life has a sacredness that demands respect. Sacredness for life begins with our relationship towards God and then reflected towards our family, friends and to everyone that God loves. It is written that God so loved the world that he sent his only son so no one would perish. He did not exclude anyone from the gift of eternal life nor should we fail to respect anyone.

God created a condition that each one of us faces in the family structure. We all had a father who held the authority as head of the household. We obeyed him because executed his power to nurture us through discipline. We may not like the discipline, but we learned to respect our father’s wishes and later in life would learn his discipline was in our best interest.

Respect has to go beyond the authority of our father because the main reason that your father punishes you is for failing to respect the rights of other people.  Discipline is needed when your son strikes a friend for playing with his toys when you desired they share what they have been blessed with. Respect recognizes that other people have an authority and ego that needs to be recognized and honored.

Honoring another person above yourself is a command of our father to consider everyone else is worthy of respect and to behave accordingly. It demands that you personally conduct your life in a dignified manner that earns the merit, honor respect and personal integrity desired by you.Living by the golden rule demands that you consider how your actions affect the lives of other people.  

Respect is something you have to give to be respected by your fellow man.  The world focuses on the first impression when the neatness of your person does not show your true nature or the way you treat others.  God focuses on your behavior that demonstrates your true feelings for another person. In other words your behavior can be either godly or devilish and be positive or negative in your outward acts. In regards for other human beings, your behavior is an open demonstration of your feelings toward the other person.

Contempt is seldom directed at the person, but focuses on the behavior of people. It is what they do that bothers you the most, and drives you up the wall wondering how they could be so inconsiderate.  Unfortunately, when confronted with their behavior both men and women take criticism personally. They turn defensive to defend their actions for being the right thing to do.  

Unworthy behavior warrants or guarantees contempt because of its self centered nature. The person who thinks too highly of himself is more apt to be proud, arrogant and haughty. The excessively proud person has a majesty that demands the need to be worshipped by his fellow human being. He knows everything but demonstrates how stupid he really is. He makes unwarranted claims and but is never responsible for what happened. What make him contemptuous to God are his ignorance and his open defiance to God and his laws. He has elevated his own stature above that of God without understanding that God will have the last word.

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Rich Versus Poor

Most think being rich pertains to possessing great sums of money, a big house, an expensive car and not having to worry where the next meal comes from. The bible points out that man may have money to burn on earth but be a pauper in God’s eyes. In other words, you can be rich in things and poor in the spiritual realm.

Have you ever tasted the chocolate hours after you had eaten the cake? Have you ever flooded an automobile engine with too much gasoline? Have you smelled flowers, a horse barn, or a sewage plant from a distance? Each of these situations is due to an abundant quantity of a substance that you have sensed through eyes, ears and nose.

Being rich has a value another person can use. The desired riches of heaven are known as holiness, a usable substance to Christians that lacks a wealth of sin. Sin has the value of a coffin maker in heaven since a coffin maker is only needed when someone dies. Since no one dies in heaven that skill and related products are utterly worthless.   

We think of being rich on earth as accumulation of material goods and the wealth of possessions. It is wonderful to have the things that make you comfortable, but what value is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul? When your time comes to die wealth will not prevent you from dying and it won’t buy your way into heaven. God desires the richness of character that can be admired by all.

On earth being rich is the power to men who have wealth, but wealth is considered wealth entirely different in Heaven. The streets of heaven are paved with gold and the walls of heaven are embedded with precious stone and gems. These things could be considered a gaudy display of personal wealth but to God these materials have enduring value that outlasts wood, asphalt and concrete.

God offers some advice to those who want to be rich in God’s eyes.

God values our trust in him, he values our desire to change to become more like him.  Those who place their trust in earthly wealth are millionaire’s one day but can be broke the next day.  Having faith in God is placing your trust in person who is committed not to change his or her values. Nothing will change the value of truth nor can truth be changed to deceive. Everything about God reflects the truth and his promises are more valuable than gold.

The bible tells us that God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable (see Romans 11:29) and the gift of God is eternal life (see Romans 6:23 and Ephesians 2:8). Those found worthy of eternal life have the kind of riches that God is looking for, faith in God, a love for one another, the love for truth, and a willingness to submit to God’s authority. All of these qualities nurture life.

Peter recommends that we add to our faith;

Make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.  

God wants a richness of character, the character that develops faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. These characteristics have enduring value to God which are greater that gold or silver.  When men seek richness of these characteristics they must also determine to use them in their dealings with men.  

The richness of character God wants his children to acquire is based on moral purity. Moral purity is God’s sense of right and wrong and the goal for an acceptable personal behavior in God’s eye. As God’s child God will nurture the character he desires and when we obey him we will develop a richness of moral character that sets us apart from the world.

Doing good may not be as productive as you hoped for in the short run, but on judgment day you will receive a rich welcome and the praise of well done. Just as wealth is built one day at a time the richness of character is built in the time you spend with God.  Becoming rich whether it is on earth or rich in God’s eye is never instantaneous, it requires an effort on your part. Being rich in spiritual matters requires you to spend time with God.

  The poor of spirit are lacking a system of authority and the moral character obtained by knowing God. They are lacking the qualities that God requires maintaining peace and order in heaven. They are self-oriented, loving themselves over others and consider their own needs before those in need. They are proud and arrogant feeling worthy of going to heaven on their terms. In reality they have done nothing required by God to enter the gates of heaven. Least of all they have not submitted to the authority of God who rules the kingdom of God known as heaven.

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Right Versus Wrong

Right relates to a direction and position a man takes to live properly. When one thinks of his right hand he always looks to the same side regardless of the direction he is facing. Yet being right is an unchanging condition of that every man woman and child thinks he has. Yet Jesus Christ is always seen on the right hand of God as if it was his place.

Being on the right side pertains to taking a position that agrees with those in authority. Being right is the moral behavior considered proper the eyes of the majority. In the area of knowledge those who have the correct facts are right. Over all, to be right you have a corresponding action with something known to be proper, factual and true. Yet you can be right in your eyes and be wrong in God’s eyes.

The first time the word right is used in the Bible explains the importance of being right with God. God said,

Acceptance appears to be the main thrust as doing right what God considers to be proper. God goes on to say that each of us must be the master of our actions by doing what is right to avoid the sin that is desires to have you.   The same picture is given by Paul when he says he beat his body to make it a slave of righteousness so he would not be disqualified for the prize (1 Corinthians 9:27).

Being right is a condition of acceptable behavior within relationships, which is an appropriate action, found to be agreeable with those concerned. In any relationship man his actions must be agreeable with fact, truth, the law and our personal sense of justice. These are absolutes or qualities affect how everyone controls his decisions and behavior.  Proper behavior affects your stand with the law, your relations with other people and the respect you receive from your fellow man. At the same time their behavior affects you feel about them.

How can man be right in God’s eye unless he knows how God feels about right and wrong?  A prudent man accepts that the earth was created and that the creator will judge his creation. We must consider what men do to their creations when they don’t function the way they were designed to work. The bible tells us that God created us in Christ Jesus to do good works. (Ephesians 2:10) if man destroys what he created because they don’t work as desired than what can we expect of God? Will God not accept you if you do what is right?  (Genesis 4:7)

The only thing right about an argument is that there is no agreement. Without some sort of agreement between two people there can be no relationship. That relationship can not continue when the differences are unreconcilable. For example.

Being right with each other makes it possible to have a close or intimate relationship. The Spirit of God leads those who have agreed to walk with God. (Romans 8:14, Amos 3:3) Your agreement with God (Jesus Is Lord) is the bonding agent that connects your relationship with God.

Although men strive to be right, being right can be a fault when you insist that you are right. Defending what is right doesn’t do much good when your righteousness is nothing more than quarreling over words.

Christians take pride in knowing God’s word, but they are notorious for following men. And some know the doctrines of the church better than the word of God. They listen and repeat what men say rather than attempting to understand the words of God. Unfortunately everyone who expounds on the word of God does not handle it right.  

No one including God wants to tell others when it is too late that I didn’t promise anything like that. No one likes being misquoted and worse yet they do not honor promises that they did not make. No one likes to be deceived into relying on a false premise. Paul wrote about this issue saying that it was our spiritual act of worship and we were to no longer conform to the world. Through renewing of your mind by absorbing God’s word you will be able to test and prove what God’s will is (Romans 12:1-2). When you know God word you will know the appropriate action for right standing with God. The knowledge of being right with God will give you a confidence and the favor of God on Judgment day.

However, those deceived will be found in a wrong condition in God’s eyes. Contrary to what people think God did not promise that he would allow anyone to enter heaven for being a good person. You can stand and knock on the door but if the person on the inside doesn’t know you the likelihood of entering his home is not good. Don’t let the first time you meet God be on Judgment day for it is at the Great White Throne it may be the first and last time that you will come to an agreement with God.

In this world we have the choice to accept Jesus Christ as Lord, but on Judgment day, every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.  Those names that are not written down in the Lambs book of life will be judged according to what they have done by God’s standards. Have you mad an effort to know and consider what is right and wrong in God sight?

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Righteousness Versus Unrighteousness    

The Christian is never righteous in his own power because the only righteousness a Christian has is through faith in Christ. Abraham was credited as righteous because he believed God. Phinehas acted with great zeal against those worshipping the Baal of Peor. His act of obedience ended the plague facing the Israelites and that act was credited to him as righteousness.

The list of righteous men is almost endless in the bible, but you too can acquire the state of righteousness with God. The bible tells us that it is impossible to please God without faith. Those who pursue a right standing with God must believe that he is a living being, supreme in nature and capable of rewarding those who worship him.

However, righteousness can never be established by your own merits. No one is righteous in the eyes of another person unless that he or she agrees that your actions are proper with them. In other words, to have right standing with anyone, your righteousness depends on what other people consider correct. Therefore, how can man be righteous before a Holy God unless God approves of your conduct.

Righteousness is a quality that must be pursued just as men desire the things of this life. Jesus said why worry about where the next meal comes from and how you will clothe your body. He went on to say “Oh you of little faith, God knows that you need these things. Seek the righteousness of God and your needs will be met.

Righteousness is given to you by God and established through faith. Paul tells us that by God’s grace everyone was given a measure of faith. He also instructed us to seriously consider our relationship with God and to use the faith given to us in harmony with our ministry gifts (Romans12:4-6). Matthew 6:33) tells us the way to obtain righteousness from God is through obedience.

Those who believe God exist also understand that God will reward them according to their deeds. In their pursuit of God they learn of deeds that God approves of and has prepared for his children to do. God revealed his will in this fashion, Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31).

Everyone knows how he or she wants to be treated, but they don’t always consider how their plans affect the people around them. Granted that most people would not harm another person deliberately, as no one is perfect. When you pursue God you will learn that God has a plan for you so you can treat other people as you would have them treat you.   

Righteousness is a moral principle defined by God’s law, but only those who obey the law will be declared righteous (Romans 2:13). Therefore, it is worthwhile endeavor to understand the law of God to conform to the righteousness of God.  The golden rule is a principle that forces us to consider that our deeds affect the lives of other people.  

When considered properly God’s golden rule establishes a need for appropriate behavior. The golden rule is a simple statement that can be a rule of thumb that defines the nature of God’s morals.  Morals define the behavior of men concerning what is right just and fair.  When combined with our faith in God we develop an unchanging or absolute standard of proper conduct provided through the wisdom and experience of God. How we handle our lives in regard to practical matters must exercise good judgment and common sense to achieve our purpose and not harm or hinder another person’s life.

Our right standing with other people is affected by the way we treat their friends, relatives and loved ones. In the same way our righteousness is affected by the way we treat the men and women that God loves.  The need for God’s righteousness demands that we develop a prudent plan to avoid any evil that causes pain and suffering.  

Those who is righteous in God’s sight prosper as righteousness promotes peace and harmony between people. The children of God are blameless and upright before God as they live by faith and shun evil through their obedience to God.  They stand out among men and are recognized because they are different from the people of the world. In addition their faith in Jesus Christ gives them confidence that if they were to die at that moment they would be with Jesus in glory.

On the other hand, the unrighteous do not have faith in Jesus Christ or realize what Jesus Christ did for them at Calvary. The refuse to serve the person that gave his life to redeem his and save him from the coming wrath of God. The unrighteous do not understand the sense of justice involved with doing harm to others. While they see other people sin and appear to be unscathed they do nothing to be the solution.

The unrighteous make behavioral standards of their own and conveniently violate them for their own needs. Their lack of morals makes their ways unstable where even the people that know them are certain about their nature. The deeds of the unrighteous are hostile towards the people God loves and a sense of justice produces a hostile reaction from those affected by evil. When it is all said and done God is looking for men and women that will agree with his thinking and the kingdom he is building.

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Rock Versus Stone

There is a day coming when men of great stature and men of low estate will call out to the mountains and the rocks to cover them. Their goal is to seek refuge, to hide from God and the wrath of the Lamb.

On that day the tables will be turned for during their lifetime, men will seek refuge in the rocks because of their wicked deeds. During the kingdom age men sought the Lord and took refuge in him because he is a rock and delivered them from trouble. It is an experience that men and women remember and sing songs to remember. The lyrics that most people remember contain the words; “Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee.”

Following the deliverance of Israel from Egypt and during the time in the wilderness Israel became inpatient with the Lord, not once but several times. They set their hearts on evil things and indulged in pagan revelry and some perished for it. They quarreled with God and Moses over water in the desert where there was no water. Moses prayed on behalf of Israel and the Lord said to Moses.

Moses did as God commanded and assembled the camp around a Rock and spoke to Israel saying. "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?"

Paul reflected its importance when he wrote.

The rock was symbolic of God and Jesus Christ as their presence was with the Israelites while traveling towards the promise land. The same is true today as God and the Lord Jesus Christ dwell in our spirit as we travel this sod to the promise land.

Jesus said that our spiritual lives are built upon a rock and in a parable he explains his reasoning. He said

Jesus explained that every man’s house was at the mercy of its environment for the rain was driven by the wind and the waters from the rain began to rise. These conditions caused the house built on sand to fall, but the house built on the rock of Jesus Christ remained standing because the foundation was on a solid rock.

Rocks are generally considered stable because the nature of the Rocks remains structurally the same over extended periods of time.  In the same way, God is immutable which means he is not subject to change.

 Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. James 1:17 - "I the Lord do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Malachi 3:6 - Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Hebrews 13:8

God has an unchanging nature so we may take hold of the hope offered to us through his promises and we can anchor our souls in Jesus Christ.

 A wise man builds his house on the rock making Jesus Christ the cornerstone of our life.

Our commitment to God is solidified in Jesus Christ.  With one promise after another our life in Jesus Christ becomes as solid as a rock with a guarantee of redemption.

However there is another kind of stone for those who choose not to believe the gospel and think of the gospel as foolishness.

For the most part a rock speaks of stability and an unchanging character of God, yet God is just and fair to everyone. However God is going to rock men’s life in the near future.

Like a sieve, God will sift mankind to separate the good from the bad. He will put the good in his barn but the bad will be thrown into the fire.

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Saintly Versus Ungodly

There are not too many Christians that think of themselves as Saints of God. One reason is that no one seems to empathize what Christians are in Christ. Secondly, Christians do not understand that they are saints because the word saint is rarely used in the church. In addition Christians don’t feel or act like a saint.  However, being a saint is not in how you feel but in what God says you are. Finally, God’s word uses the word Saint sixty-nine times to describe those who belong to God.

According to Daniel, after the court of God had convened, and pronounced judgment in favor of the Saints, then-   

Among those called Saints are God’s children, his chosen people, the body of Christ, the sheep of his pasture, the elect, and those he has declared Holy. And like Jesus Christ, every one of these named groups is called his holy ones. Saints simply refers to person in a personal relationship with God to whom they belong, serve and obey.

Those God have declared holy are responsible to him for their actions as he is guiding their lives. He demands that his children be holy just as he is Holy. This requires that everyone who calls upon the name of Jesus Christ turn from an unruly life to shun evil and do good to his or her neighbor. In others words if you want to remain a saint then you must act saintly.  

Being saint demands a reverence for God and becomes a person who considers his or her relationship with God sacred. This means you must resemble a saint and restrict your life so that you behave in a godly manner.

The first step in resembling a saint is to recognize that you are a child of God and a member of his household. You may want to consider that God is the highest authority in the kingdom of God and being his child you are members of the royal family. As members of the royal family you will receive special tutoring to act in a manner befitting of God because you represent the royal family.  

Each of God’s children have been set apart by God, consecrated to become a leader among the ranks in the kingdom of God. This may sound incredible, but the bible tells us that we will reign with Christ for a thousand years. Here on earth each of us has a ministry of reconciliation that spreads the gospel to the entire world.

Adopting the graces of royalty is similar to the graces of God holiness of which he wants his children to develop as they mature.  Foremost the grace of love, which is a lifetime commitment to love one another as you love yourself. The grace to forgive the sins that other persons has committed against you. The grace to be generous especially to those in need. The grace to be truthful in every spoken word and action taken. The grace of keeping your word by honoring the commitments you have made. The grace of kindness knowing that everyone undergoes the same trials that you have went through. The grace to control your temper and treat everyone with respect and the grace not to take advantage of your authority to fulfill your needs. This grace requires that you deny your self and serve the needs of the kingdom. The leader in any position of authority serves his followers just as the employer plans for and provides work for his employees.  The leader in God’s kingdom grants the compassion and mercy of God to his subjects without partiality. Sister Teresa was an example of God’s grace of compassion and mercy. She was a Saint that saw a needy people and served God by meeting the needs of the poor in India. When She died, she was honored like royalty with a state funeral in a land that serves a foreign god.

Being saintly requires that we take on the nature of God as he has commanded man.   

John spoke of Christ’s coming and eternal life saying everyone who has this hope in Christ purifies himself, just as he is pure (1 John 3:3). Jesus Christ was sinless and for this reason we are to make every effort to be found blameless in God’s sight and be at peace with God. In everything we do we must serve faithfully with all of our heart, our soul, our mind in fullness of strength and skills that God gives us.

God would be unjust if he did not endow us with the ability to obey his commands. We do not have a spirit of timidity but a spirit of power, love with self-discipline. (2 timothy 1:7) In addition God gave us his word as instructions.

Therefore as saints of God we must consider that everything we do also represents our heavenly father.  We may want to act in a godly manner, but it seems as if every time we want to do a good deed for the Lord four hundred excuses pop into our minds in the attempt to make us a prisoner of sin again. Let’s face the music, Satan is busy inciting us to do nothing. We can not be hearers of the word alone but become doers of the word. We also need to go in the strength God gives us, but at the same time we need the help of the Lord to empower us. Ask God for his help when we are powerless, if we work with God we will find ourselves naturally doing his will.

However, the majority of decent but worldly people don’t even try to live a godly life. For the most part they cannot connect the love of God with the need for a personal relationship with God. The outcome is that they do not seek God or attempt to determine how to please God enough to give them eternal life. When no effort is made to become holy, as God is holy they will be considered unworthy of eternal life.

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Saved Versus Lost

In spiritual terms let’s consider that there is something similar to a lost and found department in eternity different from those on earth at least for the sake of argument. There are men and women that sought God and found him and men and women that remain lost because they did not attempt to find God. We know God is not lost, but he is seeking those who are lost.

The lost and found department may be a pun on words but the truth of the matter being saved or lost has eternal consequences. One thing is certain, lost items that are placed on the shelf remain there until the owner comes looking for them.  Those God saved have been restored and put into his service. Those who did not seek God belong to Satan, but God has a special place reserved for him and his lost articles. They will remain in this place called hell forever and never realize what true life is all about.  

Therefore it is important to learn what being saved or being lost is about especially when it involves a future life without end. We can’t overly empathize the importance of being saved as the saved are those who have been rescued from the power of Satan revitalized and enter into God’s service. The lost are his slaves and do his bidding without realizing the true nature of their future.

One crucial problem men face is that everyone is in charge of their own life and attempts to usurp his or her authority on other people.  Unfortunately they can shout out commands all day long only to find out that nobody will carry out their commands. While God gave man dominion over the earth, God did not give us the authority to rule over every one else.

God invested man with the power to make decisions, the power to make and enforce laws and the knowledge of good and evil.  These endowments were given to us to govern our lives and make each man responsible to God for how they handled themselves. However in this system of authority we find that the decisions man makes falls in two categories. One that favors his personal needs over another person and a decision to be fair right and just with everyone.

We also find the man is his worse enemy through decisions that favor his own needs over another person. These decisions are associated with selfishness, greed, saving of face and decisions that involves the need for deception or theft. The outcome is that man needs to be saved from him self because sin always involves another person who is offended, emotionally hurt and is angered by what you do.

We were given the power to choose, to make and enforce our standards with the knowledge of good and evil. However, these endowments are developed over time and for the most part its not until your hair is gray and your body is nearly spent that you learn to combine these endowments effectively. More often your memory and past experiences save you.

Sin always involves another person who is offended, emotionally hurt and is angered by your actions. God was sorry that he created mankind because of their sin.

It is not too hard to understand why God hates sin and deals harshly with the cause of sin and the sin itself.  God has made himself known to man and he created mankind with a purpose of building an eternal kingdom of kings and priests. Although Man is aware that God created him, they are unwilling to make an effort to find God’s purpose for their life. It is this lack of knowledge and the neglect of mankind to seek God and to discover God’s plans for man that prevents his salvation. These are the basic reasons why sinners will perish.  

 Mankind knows that the devil exists but what they don’t know is that he caused them to sin against God. In fact the bible says that all men have sinned (Romans 3:23) and again,

Because of sin Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden to keep them from the tree of life so they would not live forever. In the same manner all sinners have been separated from God declared guilty of sin and sentenced to die. Eternal life is a long time to be confined to die in the lake of fire. The good news is that God does not anyone to perish but they will if they don’t make the right choices.  

Salvation is God’s plan to save you from the lake of fire that has been reserved for Satan. God knows that you are a victim of sin, which makes you a slave to each and every sin. He knows the effects of sin and what it can do to your life, but he also has a plan to rescue you from the grip sin has on you and the wrath planned for those who sin.

Ultimately God’s plan of salvation refers to saving you from your sin, and the wrath of God through the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary.

The plan of salvation demands that you recognize your need and acceptance for the shed blood of Jesus Christ as atonement for your sin. This plan also demands a statement of faith that Jesus Christ is Lord followed by repentance and a turnabout in your life that reflects you are obeying God. In addition, Salvation is not complete without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

While we spoke of being in charge of our own life consider and understand that the plan of salvation allows you to serve God of your free will. Eternal life is a choice that you and only you can make. This choice is rewarded by the gift of life, which God is pleased to give you. Being saved is the outcome of a changed life by seeking God and following his step by step plan of salvation.

Like we said God has given every man to right to make his own decisions and choose our own destiny.  However, without being covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, man is hopelessly lost, for without the shedding of blood there can be no forgiveness of sins.

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Seeking God Versus Avoiding Him

The question “why should we seek God” has been around as long as man has been on Earth. However there is a large number of people who think that they can get along without God. Seeking God is the furthest thing from their mind as they have the car, food for the table, the cable TV and their home to pay for. Then when the day’s work is done their just too tired to do anything but to watch the mayhem on the tube. When you think about this self-indulging lifestyle there is no time left to seek God and your mind is too busy with the problems life affords to be able think of anything else.

Why seek a God that you cannot see? Have you looked at the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and considered the number of gallons of water that evaporates from them on a continual basis and yet the ocean never runs dry? Ask yourself why are the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans are salty the next time you put salt in the brine tank of your water conditioner. Everything was created with a purpose and was designed to last as long as man is on the earth. For example water evaporates from the ocean forming clouds, the wind carries the clouds over land where it forms rain and waters the earth. The excess rain finds its way to river that flow into larger bodies of water and eventually back to the Ocean. Where the water is cleaned in salt water as if the ocean were a water conditioner and the whole process starts over again. God has made his existence plainly known to all men and there are too many reasons to explain that God created everything with a purpose.

The world is in a continuous recycling process and anything that dies is replaced by something else. There is a purpose for everything and everything has a purpose. So why did God create man and what is God’s purpose for creating man? Unless man takes the time to seek God he will never know the purpose or plan God has for you?

God has a plan for you that are not harmful to your health, your family, or your prosperity.  God’s plan is to establish a personal relationship where mutual concerns are met, an exchange of favors that benefits the other and where each person may have dignity and honor. But that is not all he has promise.

Ask yourself who benefits the most from seeking God? Two of the better reasons for seeking God is the personal relationship we have with God and having someone to love and be loved by. In this relationship there is a sense of security, a sense of belonging, and a feeling that you are needed that gives you a heighten sense of importance. The truth both you and God benefit as God wants to be loved by you and you want to be loved by God. If you only seek him with all your heart, God will become a friend that is closer than a brother.

In addition through seeking God you can find out what pleases him, learn to obey him and have peace with God. Still there are other reasons for seeking God specially when taking the advice of worldly people will keep you in trouble. Even those who do not know God seek his help, specially when they are desperately in need and God is the only one that can solve the need.  Anyone can seek God out of selfish motives thinking that God is a sugar daddy or someone who will give the things that you are not willing to work for. But it also points out that God is a God of last resort and can be easily be misunderstood and mistreated.

Advice is cheap but seeking God for wisdom makes good sense. When anyone seeks advice, they look at the character and success a person has in their life. In seeking advice men have looked to God for his solid character knowing that he has always given sound advice that is worthy of trust.  They also know that God is all knowing and has been around long enough to have experienced just about every problem man faces. Because of the way he lives its plain to see that he knows how to avoid the consequences from bad decisions.

Seeking God is the only way that you will know the promises that God has made to help you live in every circumstance of life. Man faces a majority of his or her problems from violating morals and submitting to his evil desires. Our reliance on God and his promises become the only means to overcome the sin of this world to be able to live a life that God approves of.

 Men often seek God for his generosity and God is known for forgiving the sins of mankind as he is for being a God of love. So much so that God sent his son into the world to reconcile man to him. Those who seek God, believe in Jesus Christ and repent will not perish because of God’s gift of life.

all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. Romans 3:23-24 and For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23

Every man that wants to live has a solid reason to seek God. However, those who spend their lifetime avoiding God for whatever reason will be subject to recompense. The people who avoid God are usually those who see no need for him. Those who avoid God do not realize that God loves even those who do not love him and because you have not shown a desire for him, he will demonstrate no a need for you. Mankind is given a lifetime to seek God who has given the choice to have life in abundance.  In eternity there are two destinations and both are a choice of your making.

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Sharing Versus Selfishness

Sharing is defined as allowing others to freely use, enjoy and experience possessions belonging to you. It is character trait that parents teach their children regarding their toys, special treats and anything they hold a high regard for. Selfishness has special regard for personal possessions that they hoard and prevent others from using the things belonging to them.

From God’s perspective sharing is an important part of keeping relationship with others strong. Within the family unit there are a number of things shared in common. The home, the food on the table, and accomplishments of each member are part of family life. We share emotions of life found in birth, various graduations, awards, marriage, personal growth and eventually his or her passing.

We also share responsibilities at work more so with multi tasking. In sharing the workload, everyone within the organization has a specific task he or she does. Together when all the jobs are completed the final product is ready to be used by others. When it comes down to the brass tack, many jobs are too big for one person to accomplish. Sharing our lives and skills with others becomes a necessity.

Even God finds sharing a necessity in his nature to accomplish his goals. In speaking about the Holy Spirit Jesus said,

And speaking about his disciples Jesus said,

The bible speaks about the many battles that the Israelites fought in. Although the battle was the Lord’s, he fought alongside the men of Israel. The Israelites shared in the spoils of war, but were seen by men as victorious. God received the glory in addition to a tithe of the spoils. However, some of the battles called for complete devastation of life and property. That is when men learned obedience and shared the harshness of God with sin and idolatry.

The harshness of God with sin and the compassion of God is shared in the substitutionary sacrifice of a lamb for the sins of man. The compassion of God sought a way to regain the fellowship with his creation. His plan allowed a death of a lamb as a substitute for the death of the person committing sin. God was showing man that sin shared a consequence with its commission.

Old Testament history shows whenever Israel strayed from God their nation was punished by those invading their land. Idolatry was the one sin that separated the love of God from Israel. We also see the humor of God as he chose people that served foreign gods similar to those Israel worshipped to punish them.  The invading people showed no respect for life and took and destroyed their possessions. Even those who remained loyal to God suffered with those who rebelled and were subjected to God’s wrath.

Many are called but only a few choose the heavenly calling of our Lord and Savior. In this calling those who respond share in the heavenly citizenship within the kingdom of God, the love of God, and the peace of God. We also share in the responsibilities of kingdom citizenship by loving one another and maintaining the peace of God.

The bible speaks of how the Passover lamb was shared so none of the lamb would go to waste. God required that enough people would congregate and share in fellowship during the night of Passover as to consume the lamb. They celebrated the Passover in the years that followed to remind them that God demonstrated his power by passed over them to deliver them out of slavery. Today we share in communion with elements of wine and bread symbolic of the blood and body of Christ.  We are reminded that Jesus became the Lamb of God that was slain in our place that we might have life and fellowship with God.

When we partake in the wine and bread we share in the blood and body of Christ. It reminds us though Christ was sinless he carried our sins to the cross so we may be restored to fellowship with God.  

Today we share in the ministry of reconciliation.

As kings and priest of his Kingdom we have a command to spread the gospel so that all men may be reconciled to God. Paul writes that we are God’s ambassadors commissioned with his message pleading his desire to be reconciled to other men and women. The outcome is that we share in the mission of Christ for the salvation of men.

Through the ministry of reconciliation those who accept Christ also share in the grace of God. For it is by grace that we were saved. (Ephesians 2:8-9) When we accept Jesus as Lord we learn to obey God knowing that God disciplines us for our good so we may share in his holiness. When Christ returns we have the promise that we will share in the tree of life and have permanent residence in the city of God. There in the city of God, he will allow you to freely use, enjoy and experience the possessions belonging to him.

However there are the arrogant and haughty who practiced selfishness. They hoard possessions, absorbed the earnings of others, and devour the luxuries of this life while having no concern for others. All their efforts were wasted, as they will leave everything behind for others to squander. And in the end they will face God who will reward them according to their deeds. The outcome is completely different for he will allow the selfish person to freely use and share in the reward reserved for Satan.

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Shunning Evil Versus Indulging In Sin

One of the major culprits of all our problems involve the decisions we make, but the decisions we make in response to our selfish desires are those that are most devastating and damaging to our lives. I know someone that had several hundred dollars and a goal of fixing a vehicle in desperate need of repair. Arrangements were made to repair the vehicle, which took time and in the meantime they saw other things they wanted. By the time the repairs were made the money for repairs was spent on their amusement. Their goals went up in smoke but they were easily amused with what they purchased. While buying things for amusement wasn’t a sin it certainly didn’t help them reach their goals.

Having money in your pocket is good unless you haven’t learned how to use it. Unfortunately no one really learns how use money until they are in a financial crisis and being prosecuted by their creditors while having trouble paying the bills.  Most people live from paycheck to paycheck and every penny is budgeted to pay their creditors months before they see the paycheck.  This encourages panic when losing their job.

Paying off your debts requires you to develop a budget, which is a basic plan for spending your money. At the same time, common sense suggests that you cut up your credit cards and learn how to spend your money wisely. If you follow this plan you will work yourself out of debt in time. Hopefully, the school of hard knocks teach you to avoid excessive debt in the future.

Why is that man must become desperately in need before they see a need to change how they live and learn to avoid the unpleasant circumstances of life in the future? The same can be said of our life in relationship to eternal life. For the most part the majority of people do not know that all have sinned and their sin will keep them from being welcomed into heaven. That creates a fatal problem with the outcome of spiritual death.

How do we change the way we live to avoid the lake of fire and have eternal life in heaven? God devised the plan of salvation so that a person separated from God by his sin may be restored to him as if he had never sinned. The plan of salvation first deals with the sin of man and then God gives man a plan to follow to keep them from falling back into sin.

The plan of salvation educates man with the knowledge of what sin is and what sin will do. One of the principles God teaches is sowing and reaping which says by doing good deeds good things will happen to you.  At the same time the troublemaker is always in trouble because of what he does to other people.  Like those planting corn always harvest corn and those who sow evil and will be harvest the seed they’ve sown.

Sin is a thief that comes to kill, steal and destroy your life. Therefore, everyone needs to know how to identify sin, learn the affects of sin to you and others and the way to avoid sin to keep your relationship in right order with God. Like making a budget to control your spending you need a plan today to know what to do when sin crouches at your door tomorrow.  Cain’s anger was brewing when God said to him.

After being freed from our sin who wants to return to slavery, where sin regains control of your life. Committing any sin guarantees that you will reap the unpleasant affect of evil. Therefore, you may be sure that your sin will find you out. (Numbers 32:23) Therefore a prepared plan gives you the advantage over sin and combined with the knowledge of how sin affects you, gives you have an incentive to shun evil.

Shunning evil is like seeing the lion stalking you for food and once you see the lion, shunning him is what you do to preserve your life. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings (1 Peter 5:8-9). Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

Like the person in the first paragraph their cravings for other things overwhelmed their plans to repair the car.  In the same manner sin begins with our own evil desires which is able to overcome doing anything that is right in God’s eye.

Paul said.

In other words, have we transformed our mind to know the good and perfect will of God? Every decision is made in the mind and it is here that we have to take control of our actions by making every thought obedient to Christ? (2 Corinthians 10:5) God will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear and he has provided you a way to stand your ground and fight the good fight of faith. (1 Corinthians 10:13) Shunning evil is our resistance to sin and the intimidating roaring of the devil by submitting to God who will make him flee from you. (James 4:7)

Indulging is sin may seem pleasant at the time but the consequences of you sin brings shame and death. However, indulging is sin is the outcome of an undisciplined mind that does not restrict its evil desires. At the same time, lets consider that a record of your sins will be in God’s hand before you see him. What can you do or give in exchange for your life for all the sin you have indulged in, especially when God is more concerned about your moral character than in the luxuries and things you have acquired in your lifetime.

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Sight Versus Blindness

Sight is the God given ability to perceive with our eyes and ears. As human beings we are able to see objects and other things under normal conditions. However, if we were in a dark room we would not perceive enough to navigate the room without turning the lights on.  In other words sight is used in conjunction with light as we can only see objects or things that reflect light or things that light does not completely pass through unhindered.   

For the most part, human beings are creatures of the day when the sun lights up our part of the world. The most productive part of the day is after the sun rises in the east and before the sun sets in the western skies. So why do people gather on mountaintop to watch the sun rise or go to the shoreline to watch the sun sink into the horizon? It has to be the spectacular array of light that they want to perceive and remember.

Our sight allows us to see our path while moving about the world and avoid stumbling or running smack dab into the traps of life. God has given us sight to perceive the things of this world and insight to perceive the things of the spiritual world.  Working together, light and sight are basic requirements that help us to understand information affecting our lives. What we perceive assists in the development of the decisions we make.

The combination of sight and hearing allows us to perceiving raw information consumed by our minds. Information is perceivable by the human mind but only to the extent of our knowledge of what we have seen or heard in past experiences. However to apprehend through our senses we must have a mental picture in our mind to understand. This concept is true when learning new information especially as a means to see and understand the cause and effect of things.

Today the amount of written information ranges from technical papers to comic books and includes just about any subject you can think of. There are some books that you can read but not understand. All too often not knowing the jargon used by the writer will hinder our ability to see and understand the purpose of the book.  Having a personal knowledge and experience in the field the author is writing about provides the light that allows you to grasp what the author has written.

There are thousands of books in the market place ready to be purchased and read. The best seller and the most read book in our century is the bible. Nearly every family in America has a copy, some are read and others collect dust. The Christian may have several versions of the bible for reference but he or she still reads the version they understand the best. Even the Christian who have read the same passage hundreds of times have said, I never saw that before.  

If you have never read the bible before it may be rather hard to understand and the true purpose of the bible can be easily overlooked. Still there are some that have read and re-read the Bible and have come to know God and were led by its truth that eventually changed their outlook on life. As the passage above states the Bible was meant to give sight by providing light for you to travel by on your way from this world to your home in heaven.

Why read it again, I’ve already read it and I didn’t understand it.  For the natural man the bible may interesting literature but confused why so many read it. People read the bible because they know that God rewards those who diligently seek him. In addition God chooses to adopt those who choose to serve him with their entire being. What makes the difference is that God opens his children’s eyes to give them sight into spiritual truths.   For the spiritual man the bible is a light that is used to guide their path to the heavenly shores of eternity.

The problem of seeing into the spirit world is that our eyes were designed for the world we live in.   However, those who diligently seek God soon learn that we live by faith not by sight. The sight that comes from the spirit of God leads to depending on his promises as a means to survive the power of evil.  Faith gives us Spiritual sight and the trust to accept the wisdom of God to take us through the trials of life. (1 Corinthians 2:14)

As Christians we learn to lean on our heavenly father who gives his wisdom freely anytime we do not understand spiritual principles. Using our faith gives us experience to use godly principles which shed light on the path that takes us through the trial unscathed.

However there is another side to sight that we have not discussed as yet. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight (Hebrews 4:13).  God saw how corrupt the earth had become and decided to send a flood to destroy mankind, but he saved the family of a righteous man who built an ark. Zechariah and his wife were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord's commandments and regulations blamelessly (Luke 1:5-7) and God chose them as parents to the man who baptized Christ.  If God seen certain qualities in the lives of Zechariah and Noah, how are we seen in the eyes of God? (Hebrews 4:13) What God sees with his eyes is your heart for God does not look at man outward appearance. God knows if you are faking a godly life or walking upright in his sight.

The bible tells us that without holiness no one shall see God. Jesus said, I have come into this world, so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind (John 9:39). Its not the physically blind person that Jesus is speaking of. It is a person who has allowed sin to deliberately placed a blind fold over his eyes. They have neglected to make an attempt to understand the salvation of God and the nature of spiritual death. Their blindness makes them uncertain of their eternal destiny forcing them to hope they are worthy in God’s sight.

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Sincere Versus The Hypocrite

God is looking for those who are sincere so being sincere is a topic worth looking into. The following passage tells us that God is looking for the person, who is sincere,

When anyone is not sincere before the Lord they lose their influence and value as a person to God. I think we have all known people that have said one thing and done another. These people seem to know what to do but their life is a mess and their advice is untrustworthy because they don’t do what they say.

For the most part, we want friends that are trustworthy and dependable, someone whose word is trustworthy and friends we can rely on. Sincerity is one of those qualities God wants to develop in each of his children. If only Christians lived their beliefs seven days a week they would have a greater impact in their community and the world around them.

It’s the hypocrite that ruins the Christian life for although they attend church habitually their life outside the church makes wonder if God is real. Some call this form of religion being two faced and a quality that is easily recognizable with God and men.  In speaking to the teachers of the law and Pharisees Jesus Said,

The Bible tells us that God is looking for worshippers that will worship him in spirit and in truth. Some call a sincere life that God wants is the way of holiness or living according to the spirit. The double-minded man is a person who is not sincere, he or she wants the benefits of being God’s child but lives in the same fashion the world does. The end result is that they become corrupt and constantly repenting for the same sins.

Sin allows you to alter your methods of solving problems for selfish reasons with whatever tends to benefits you the most. Sincerity demands an adherence to a moral plan that develops a soundness of character. For example, how sincere would God be if he were to lie to you?  

How can you be sincere with God unless you are honest with yourself? Have you examined your life to know if you are being honest with your self or seen sin and not repented? Self-denial is a stage where a person deceives himself by knowing something is wrong yet doing nothing to correct it. You can say you know the Lord but sin without remorse doesn’t show sincerity. A sincere Christian knows he or she is a sinner saved by grace and they make every effort to live a holy life approved by their heavenly father. And if they sin, he or she makes the effort to make amends and restore his or her relationship with the person offended.

Are you the genuine article and are you truly a disciple of Christ? The quality of sincerity reveals evidence showing that you are real to God and other people.  Remembering what you have said and done is a method used by other people to determine whether you are real to them. A sincere person has words and actions that agree with each other. The same person ensures that their promises are kept so he or she can be trusted.  In the same way God makes the effort to make sure that his promises fulfill the purpose they were intended for.

In John’s letters to the church he quoted God as saying you are neither hot nor cold. In other words God was saying that there was some doubt to the validity of your life in his eyes. God says you are one or the other and there is no living middle of the road life nor can a man serve two masters. He’s saying the validity of Christian life is a person who loves God with their entire being and offers proof of repentance within his actions by avoiding evil.

People are watching your life even when you are not aware of their presence.  One way to preach the gospel with sincerity is to live a life approved by God every minute of the day. You may not see the affect your life has on another person but living according to your beliefs has a known influence that God uses to transform the lives of other people.

A sincere Christian does not ignore the salvation of God or his gift of eternal life but considers both with reverence. Because God is sincere when he promised certain things, he also considers the repercussions from not keeping his promises. Fulfilling every promise makes his word real and true to the men and women who serve him. Being sincere requires taking your words and actions to heart because what you do and say reflect your moral character. God is not out to rule his people with strict guidelines, rather he is building a character in his child that everyone can respect. Those who recognize that God is sincere is more apt to take God’s word to heart and respond with the sincerity God wants them to have.

Christians that cross the line frequently and sin openly are recognized as a religious hypocrite and for the most part the world says who wants that? God will see the pretense of men and women because nothing man has said or done is hidden from God's sight. Every deed is open and in plain sight before the eyes of God to whom we must give an account. Your deeds will reveal the sincerity of the heart and worthiness to enter eternal life with the rest of God’s children.

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Singleness Versus Double Minded

Singleness of mind demands an effort to derive a plan of action that supersedes all other plans and desires. To obtain a singleness of mind we must have a goal from life that is so important that you will go to great lengths to obtain it. For the most part people prefer to live according to a known truth and form some sort of agreement that everyone can live with.

A single minded approach described in the first paragraph fulfills God’s plan to be reconciled to his creation through the death of his son.  This plan is still in affect today since everyone has sinned and his or her sin has separated him or her from God. Man would be hopelessly lost if it were not for the mercy of God and because of sin that had separated man from God. Therefore, God devised a plan to restore his relationship with man through his who son died as a substitutionary death for our own.

There is only one way to be saved is through the name of Jesus Christ. To have God’s forgiveness, we must accept Jesus Christ as Lord and repent, which means that you have to stop committing the simplest act of sin that would separate you from God again.

Singleness of mind is the effort to devote all of your attention and energy for a common goal. For example, one can devote his or her entire life to obtaining riches or to gain knowledge. God has a single minded approach to life that he wants each of his children to live by. His plan is primarily focus on love.

You create a singleness of mind when you make the effort to love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. This plan also calls for you to deny your personal needs to put God’s needs before your own.  For example, Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve others. He expressed this single-minded approach by submitting himself to do the will of God and demonstrated his love for sinners by dying for them.

This approach of loving God with singleness of mind demands that we love those God loves. Jesus separating the sheep from the goats best illustrates this concept.  

Whatever we do help lift the spirit of another person loves a person that God loves. Sharing the gospel with someone who doesn’t want to hear it still loves God as God does not want anyone to perish but to come to repentance.

Lets remember that everything God approves of and commands us to do has an absolute principle behind it. Obeying these absolutes of God develops a singleness of mind. God is building a kingdom of kings and priests that consist of a multitude that can not be counted. Consider this, God has prepared good works for each of his children to do, but doing good works demands that you learn to think as God does.  God has a simple plan for our future.

God says he will rejoice in doing good to his children. God has prepared good works for his children to do and in heaven we can expect to serve one another by continually doing good to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Having this single approach in heaven will have a stabilizing effect and will make heaven safe and enjoyable place to live for an eternity.

There is another aspect of singleness that God lives by. Although God consists of more than one person they have become a unit of one. In the same way God created man in his own image, male and female he made man. God made Adam and Eve out of the same clay as a unit. He expected this concept to continue for Adam’s son was to cling to his wife and then God said they would become one flesh. God was saying that he expected man to be a unit in the same manner God was one in Spirit. Marriage provides a foundation for man to experience the entirety of God’s absolutes in a relationship of a unit and live in one accord.

For those who become God’s children God expects them to  

God wants this singleness of mind to become our first nature by renewing our mind to agree with God and then live in one accord as a family of God.

Double-mindedness affects the maturity of the Christian with the corrupted thoughts of the world. In other words, the men and women of the world are not required to organize their mind to be in one accord with God. It is because he or she hasn’t spent time with God to renew his or her mind to know the good and perfect will of God.

The word double-minded suggests that there are two trains of thought in opposition to each other. One train of thought saying this and the other saying something entirely different. It’s the disagreement of a divided mind that starts a war within your mind and then trouble follows. The war within your mind causes you to be hesitant and that can be costly specially when it’s known that a split second of indecision can cost you your life.

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Son Versus Illegitimate Son

When the bible speaks of the son it is primarily speaking of the Son of God. This person, known as Jesus Christ was sent by his father to restore the relationship between man and God because of sin. The life of God’s son changed human history and the lives of those who have followed Jesus Christ since his death on the cross. Having a relationship with Jesus changed their outlook on life.

Christians glory in the fact that Jesus Christ is the most honored and revered person who ever walked on the face of Earth. So much so that they have decided to imitate his life to become Christlike with a desire to attain to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. The life of Christ is an example of what one man can do and the influence that he had from being completely devoted to his father.

Although he preferred to be called the son of man he was person of the divine. God sent Jesus to represent his mercy and grace as the Lamb of God.  Jesus was not born by the choice of man but through a decision made of God. God chose a virgin named Mary and sent his angel to her to reveal his plan.  Being a loyal servant of God she said.

The power of God intervened, Jesus the son of man was conceived through the grace of God by what is known as an Immaculate Conception. This supernatural event made Jesus a direct descendent of God the Father when by human standards Jesus was thought to be the son of Joseph.  

Being a descendent of God the Father and born of woman gave Jesus Christ the unique stature of being both the Son of God and the son of man during his lifetime. In this capacity he served mankind by becoming the ransom price for the souls on man. His mission was to redeem every man who was held in slavery to Satan and the sin they had committed. Jesus Christ became the Lamb of God and with his blood shed on the cross he purchased men from every walk of life setting them free the slavery of sin.

His mission was not completely over when he died for the sins of man.  He was sinless so God would not abandon Jesus to the grave or allow his body to see decay. God raised Jesus on the third day to life and gave Jesus Christ authority to redeem as many who would believe in him.

Unlike the first covenant when many sacrifices were made for sin. Jesus offered his body and became the Lamb of God for the sins of mankind once for all.  Jesus tasted death, so that by the grace of God he might suffer death for everyone. We learn that the new covenant is based on grace for God desired mercy and acknowledgment of God rather than sacrifices. (Hosea 6:6) There is no more need for sacrifice and because he died once for man to bring many sons to glory.

Those who receive Jesus Christ as Lord also acknowledge God and by accepting Christ into their heart become God’s children. Becoming God’s children has responsibilities and the first is to accept the authority of God your father and your Lord and Savior.

Most of God’s sons and daughters have never undergone an adoption process to understand how it changes your life. There is a complete change of guidelines to live by, as his sons are to be holy in the same way our father is holy. God’s sons are expected to love their new father with their entire being and to obey him out of respect.

Our fathers disciplined us as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. (Hebrews 12:10) However, those God does not discipline are not his son for what right has anyone to punish a child that belongs to another father? No one likes to be disciplined, but has a purpose of correcting our ways so that in the days to come, it will be beneficial to our lives.   

The meaning of son is rendered from the Greek refers to the decendants of, child and most commonly son. This would include every daughter, as she also is a child descended from her father. As a descendent they are in line to inherit their father’s possessions. As sons of God we will inherit the kingdom of God where there will be no more death, mourning, crying or pain. We will be removed from the corruption of the world and receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.     

The illegitimate son hopes he is worthy of entering into the eternal kingdom of God. However, this descendent of man did not seek God nor inquire of God to find how to please God. Instead he acted like a son of Satan who challenged God’s authority, did as he pleased and ignored the plan of salvation offered by God.

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Sowing Versus Reaping

Jesus used many examples about sowing seed and the increase you could normally expect from sowing seed.  For example he spoke of a farmer who sowed his seed over his fields without concern of where the seed fell or the soil conditions.  In his parable he explained how the seed was received and the crop it produced. In some areas the seed produce very little and in other areas produce abundantly. Then he said he who has an ear let him hear.

Most of the people that heard Jesus telling this story farmed the land nearby. So they were in a position of knowing what Jesus was saying and could have easily said tell us something we didn’t already know.  Although many understood how crops matured they did not grasp the spiritual principle of the parable. They understood what happened in their fields and were not spiritually minded enough to grasp the things of the spirit. The fact is most of us would not have understood the spiritual principle if Jesus hadn’t explained the parable in spiritual terms.

Jesus said the soil conditions spoke of the heart of men and that the seed was the word of God. As Christians we often fear that we will be rejected for the word we sow to unbelievers.  However, the farmer in this parable was nor concerned soil conditions or where the seed fell and neither should we. Yet, Jesus told other parables using the seed principle in relation to the kingdom of God.

Being earthbound, we understand the reason for sowing seed in rows so when the seed sprouts we can cultivate its shoots. However, many of us are not concerned with the reasons why the seed sprouts or produces fruit. We have seen the process many times over our lifetime and expect a crop from sowing seed. Still, when it comes to sowing spiritual words we fail to trust in and stand on God’s promise.

Farmers depend on rainfall for their livelihood but they also know that God sends rain in its season. Watering the earth with rain from the heavens is God’s way of giving life to the seed and the fruit it produces.  Just as the rain from heaven produces a harvest from the seed, sowing the seed of God’s word only begins the overall process. God said his word will accomplish the purpose for which he sent it.  Lets consider that today Christians are the instruments used to send his word. Our task is to sow the word and then wait on the Lord to send rain so the word will bud and flourish.

As a Christian and an ambassador of Christ, God has assigned us the task of taking his word into the world. Its not a question of the heart condition or who will accept his word, but it is response to the great commission to go into all the world to make disciples. We are to sow the word in season and out of season knowing that God can harvest his crops year around.  Your father in heaven causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Whenever you sow the seed of God’s word ask God to send his rain upon the seed you have sown.

When television evangelist get into fund raising drives they use the law of sowing and reaping to attract contributors. I love the concept of receiving extra money personally but in most cases the law of sowing and reaping can easily lead to greed and giving for the wrong motives. The idea of giving money to the Lord should never done thinking God will give you much more than you gave. The motive for giving to the Lord is love, give not expecting anything in return.

Paul also spoke of another seed that is crucial for our life in the kingdom of God. The life of our spirit that God gave us is a seed that will mature and be harvested when Christ returns for his elect. How and what we sow into our lives makes the difference in the selection God makes. We can corrupt our ways by living according to the pattern of the world and ignore God altogether. Or we can find out what pleases the Lord and make the effort to purify our lives from all sin so we are not found with spot or wrinkle. We could be like the world that has no room in their hearts for God’s word or we can place his word in our hearts and allow his word to overflow into the world.

God’s word can be used to show the world the Love of God. For those who follow Christ the words of God is the seed used for personal growth but even then we need his rain so we may bud, flourish and mature in the image of Christ.  Jesus said

In the beginning God sowed the seed of man as a living being in a garden called Eden. From the very first day until this day God has worked tirelessly to build a kingdom of kings and priests. Many of those seeds refused to respond to God and became corrupted with sin. The few that responded to God are bearing the fruit that God desires. The growth cycle is nearly over and the final day of harvest is approaching. At the end of this age Jesus will send his angels out to harvest the earth. Lets remember that some of the earth’s fruit is corrupted with sin and filled with stuff that no one would want to keep or consume. The seed Christ sowed in the earth will bear many seeds and Christ’s angels will gather his seed and bring them into his barn. May God find the fruit of your life worthy of being reaped and stored in his barn.

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Spirit Versus Earthly Realm 

Much of what is known about the spirit realm has been greatly exaggerated through the wild tales of degraded minds and the movie industry.  The plot that these stories are based upon have to be a tool Satan uses to deceive mankind into thinking that the spirit realm is a figment of man’s imagination.

What makes the spirit realm real in the minds of men is that God talks about its reality in factual stories within his word. His word is known to be consistently true throughout the bible and any doubt of spirit realm existence has been totally erased. The spirit realm is a reality to the Christian knowing that God dwells and rules in both in earthly and spiritual realms.

Man has the knowledge and experience of the world, which exists in the earthly realm. However, with all the wisdom man can acquire about the earthly realm we learn that it’s only a taste of the Spirit realm. Still, knowing the truth about these realms is limited to the knowledge that comes through faith in God. This faith has a confident expectation that everything God said about the spirit realm is true down to the last letter.

Knowing the fact that our spirit occupies our body confirms the idea that man is both spirit and flesh. We also learn that when the body and spirit separates the outcome takes you on a path leading through the gateway into the spirit realm. The bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8)  For the most part there is no return from the spirit realm unless by divine intervention, which is the resurrection of our bodies. For example, divine intervention is seen in Lazarus and the resurrection of Jesus Christ the hope of glory.

Paul also wrote about the powers of the spirit realm. For the most part he spoke of the power of the kingdom of darkness but he also spoke of divine power that was able to demolish and completely destroy the weapons of the devil. Though God’s word we learn about the leaders in each kingdom through the personal profiles prepared for man so he can understand why the spoils of spiritual war is to possess man’s soul. Jesus Christ is leading the eternal kingdom of light and Satan leads the kingdom of darkness that will be destroyed with the splendor of Christ’s coming.

The names of these kingdoms refer to the nature of its leader as Christ lives in the kingdom of light and equips you with the truth. Satan on the other hand, keeps you in the shadows of darkness in order to deceive you to keep you from entering the kingdom of light. God speaks the truth so you can make an informed decision to follow him whereas Satan will lie and deceive you to follow him into the fire of Hell. To summarize the goals of these kingdoms, Christ is building a kingdom for his father based on truth and doing good deeds.  Satan is out to destroy God’s kingdom through deceit and wicked deeds without a concern for the victims he destroys to accomplish his goal.

Entering the kingdom of God is a choice but upon death of the body, entering spirit realm is guaranteed.  The destiny, one of two places, the preference of choices made in the earthly realm. The outcome of obeying God’s law to love both God and one another determines your worthiness for his kingdom. Those who chose to live in difference to God’s laws will be sifted out and will dwell with Satan in hell, forever.

Within the realm God rules there are a set of absolutes that limit your actions to doing good to one another. Within Satan’s realm there are no absolutes and anything goes as long as you benefit. However, God says not everything is beneficial for you. What he means by that statement is not everything that you desire is good for you or the people around you. Having absolutes is good for God and his kingdom, as any system without absolutes will collapse. God’s system of absolutes demands the self-discipline from each person to limit his actions to doing good through serving the needs of each other.

God is the origin of all life and by his plan the earthly realm appears to be an incubator of sorts. An incubator provides a suitable environment that permits the development of an infant until a time when he or she can live outside the incubator.  In the concept of eternity a man could live to a thousand years of age and still be an infant in God’s sight.  Still, within this idea, living outside the incubator would require a transition from the environment of the incubator to a life outside the earth realm to life in the Spirit realm.

The earthly realm is much different from the spirit realm as God saw fit to equip man with eyes to see and ears to hear to know and understand their environment. At the same time God made his existence known to man through the things he created. Then he sent his son into the world to redeem the lost and the outcome of his life changed human history. In addition, God inspired man to record the life of his Son and has inspired the writing of many books that proclaim Jesus Christ and God’s plan of Salvation.

We may not be able to see into the spirit world but God has given every man a mental picture of heaven and hell.  Intuitively, we know Heaven is an ideal place to spend eternity and Hell is a place of eternal torture reserved for Satan his followers. The choice is obvious but many lack the proper knowledge of God’s plans and fail to make the choice for life. Unfortunately those who neglected to choose life has unknowingly made a decision not to serve God. The decision not to serve God demands that you become a victim to one absolute of God to give you the desires of your heart. God will not force you to love or obey him, but honoring the desires of your heart to have nothing to do with - God will separate you from him forever.

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Spirit Versus Flesh

It is written that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, (1 Corinthians 15:50) which makes these words an imperative to understand. From the scriptures we learn that God created man in his own image and in that his image was formed from the dust of the earth.

The verse above describes the how the flesh of man was made from the dust of the earth and then the breath of life was breathed into man. In other words we could easily say man is a spiritual being clothed with flesh as if it were a robe from God’s sight. We could also say that man is an animated being of flesh made in the image of God. However this image of God can be seen and touch with the flesh made from the dust of the earth. To wrap up this description the flesh was made from the dust of the earth and the spirit that rules the flesh came directly from the mouth of God.

The two words “image and likeness” are only found in two verses of the bible.  The first describes the creation of man (Genesis 1:26) the second is the birth of Seth. (Genesis 5:3) and the reason may be that the creator wanted man to know what he looked like. Secondly, God may have wanted man to understand him as the father of mankind.

Let’s also consider the visions of God that was seen by Ezekiel and was described in these words.

Man has these two things in common with God, God has the form of man and man depicts the form of God. God is a spirit being and man clothed with flesh is a spirit being. These are spiritual terms used in the Christian community to explain the two-fold nature of man and the reality that he or she is a spirit being. At the same time we may want to consider why God does not look at the outward appearance of man. Is it that he is more concerned with the spirit of man and the character that will inherit his kingdom.

To understand the difference between the flesh and the spirit of man, Paul writes that the flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of God. At the same time the bible says you must be born of the spirit. The desires of the flesh can rule the spirit of man but God wants the spirit to rule both the spirit and flesh. Being a king in the earth realm may be nothing than ruling the domain of our body that was made from the earth.

A king makes billions of decisions in his lifetime most of which affect another person. It is these decisions that God is concerned with. Any decision man makes fall into two categories, those that affect his life directly and those that affect another person. The outcome of those decisions can be seen as sin or as good deeds. And the spirit of man can control every deed, good or evil in the initial stage where thought is conceived.

Thoughts are conceived in the mind and then sends its orders through the nervous system to the parts of the body that actually do the work. Jesus said in affect that its not what goes into man but its what comes out that determines his true nature whether good or evil. For the most part God’s word deals with issues that instruct men and women ways to make good decisions and ways to avoid sin.

Paul writes

 Paul a leading prophet of God found himself in a predicament in that he wanted to submit to the spirit but sinned instead. He summarized up his situation by saying that he was in the middle of a spiritual war that struggled for the control of his spirit. In this war Satan’s tactic is to divide and conquer and he specializes in inciting Christians to act according to what they desire rather than what the spirit wants.

Every Christian receives a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline for God did not want his children to be timid. (2 Timothy 1:7) Ezekiel 36:26 says I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. John 3:6 tells us that Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. So why is important for the Christian to understand? The bible gives the answer.

The flesh lives from what the earth produces and when the flesh can no longer function and dies it is buried. The body remains in the grave, but the spirit separates from the body and returns to his or her maker.

Just as the spirit of man came from the mouth of God so the spirit lives by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  Our life came from God and will return to him as the fruit of the earth. However the standard practice in harvesting is to sort the good from the bad before keeping the good.

Those who have the hope of going to heaven need to learn how to think and act in a godly manner. Therefore it requires us to renew our mind or in other words to rebuild the foundation of our thoughts or intellect with God’s word. The reason is obvious as the outcome of rebuilding the mind with godly principles give us the ability to know and test the will of God.

The earth was designed and covered with living creatures made from the common elements that the earth was made with. The flesh was no exception as man was also made from dust and the breath of life from God. However, the flesh is just an outer garment that covers the spirit.  In heaven the saints of God will be given fine linen, bright and clean similar to the wedding garments such as those seen in the marriage banquet.

Let’s remember that sin is a response to satisfying the desires of the flesh. The cravings of the flesh are selfish and will demand that its passions be met. As Christians we learn that when the desires of the flesh are not met it often responds by cursing God in anger. Our human cravings are more than that, our desires outweigh common sense and practicality. The spirit demands a disciplined mind before it destroys anything you have planned for in your future. This includes going to heaven to be with God.

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Spirit Versus law   

It may be surprising to Christians that there are three ways to define the word Spirit. For the most part we in the Christian community think of Spirit as being of the nature of a holy God and secondly the inner man or the intellect of man. The worldly person thinks of spirits as an alcoholic drink. The third kind relates to a national spirit like that seen in the story regarding the tower of Babel.

In this story man had a common language and began to plan and work together for common goals.  From the story we learn that a national spirit developed so that everyone in Babel was working to build a tower that would reach the heavens. In the New Testament church this “national spirit” reached by the people of Babel would be called being in one accord. A national spirit is where a group of people established common goals through agreement and then unites to complete the goal.

The law for the most part is rigid instrument and intolerant of those who violate it. It is a foundational set of rules that establishes the acceptable behavior of the citizens willing to live under the law of the land. Within the law there is usually a mandatory penalty that does not allow for compassion or mercy.  The purpose of God’s law provided a way for his people to become a holy people. The penalty of the law served two purposes. The death of the person who sinned purged the camp or congregation of sin and death served as an incentive and encouragement to obey the law.  

The sacrificial system was a way for those who violated the law to be made holy. However, the animal they sacrificed was substitutionary for the person who committed sin. The problem was that no man was able to obey all of the law and that resulted in an endless stream of burnt offerings. So many that God said.

How does a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who desires mercy, not sacrifice, live by the spirit of the law? And how does God’s law work for the good of those who love him who have been called according to his purpose? How does man survive such a rigid law when all have sinned and deserve to die?

The bible tells us that,

It was through a loving, compassionate God who desired mercy rather than sacrifice that the law was fulfilled.  God sent his son, the Lamb of God to bear the sins of the world once for all.  His work on the cross canceled the written code, with its regulations.

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law so that by faith in Jesus Christ we might receive the promise of the Spirit. Faith has come so we are no longer under the supervision of the law but under grace. The bible tells us that we are saved by grace not by works. However, man is utterly sinful and helpless without God because man can not obey the full extent of God’s law. The bible tells us that,  

James tells us that our own evil desire conceives sin but when it matures gives birth to death. Paul writes that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set man free from the law of sin and death. Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God as the spirit will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26)     

As children of God we have a common goal and the plan of salvation to work from. The royal law demands that we love God with our entire being and to love God properly we must develop a personal relationship with him. To reach our goal we must unite with God and realize that we cannot do everything ourselves. We are saved by God’s grace and are dependent on God. In the plan of salvation Jesus has his part to fulfill and we have our part to complete. In this plan we live in a spirit of agreement and work with the spirit of God to reach our goal.

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Christ. John 1:16

We are not under the law but are saved by the grace of God.  The law will judge those who have fallen from God’s grace and resort back to obeying the law. To live by the spirit we must live by faith trusting the promises that God has given us.  

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Spiritual Versus Carnal

The title reveals a difference of the human state that by nature is both spiritual and carnal beings. The spiritual side of man sees God and accepts him into his or her life but the carnal man sees life through the flesh and cannot accept God. The difference is the perspective of the individual, as the spiritual man knows that God exists and has a plan for their life. The Carnal man does not have an interest in God whatsoever.

The Spiritual nature and the Carnal nature refer to the way men and women think. When God refers to the spiritual of carnal nature he is speaking to the depth and basic orientation of the mind.  For example the referring to the carnal mind God said,

God saw the intent of the heart was evil and was grieved. Yet man was born into the kingdom of God with a mind involved with a temporary but corrupted world. The world has suppressed the truth and for this reason men are not always aware of its influence on us as a Christian. As Christians we are no longer of this world but have our citizenship recorded in heaven. It also stands to reason that being citizens of heaven that we need to think as one.

It may be for this reason that Paul places a demand on Christians in Romans 12:2 to renew their mind as a reasonable act of spiritual worship. Renewing the mind affects our relationship to God and who we are, but it rebuilds the thinking patterns so we can think and understand the desires of God. Understanding God can only be known through spiritual discernment and that means we need the help of the Holy Spirit to guide us. Renewing the mind constructs a disciplined mind that brings our thoughts into agreement with the word of God.

Although we are pilgrims in this world we are citizens of heaven traveling on their way home. And because we are alien to this world we should think and act as citizens of heaven. By the same token the world should see us as different  like we are from another place or country.

A prudent man known by God would search the bible to know facts with certainty and be able to test and approve God's good and perfect will. We have to ask this question.  Have we placed God into a position where he can say – “I didn’t say that” or “that’s not what I intended”. This concept should give all the more reason to know the good and perfect will of God with certainty.

The disciples were prepared for Jesus to reinstate Israel to its former state and send the Romans packing. On the other hand, Jesus frequently prepared his disciples for his death telling them that he would be killed and three days later rise again. Thinking as a man Peter took Jesus aside to set him straight. However, Jesus rebuked Peter.

Peter made unwarranted presumptions about Jesus in a worldly or carnal fashion. Peter had his own opinion and treated his opinions as fact. Jesus was going to fulfill the plans that Peter assumed Jesus would do. Peter did not have the mind of Christ or consider the plans that God had, he became boldly arrogant and offensive to Christ.

When the Pharisees were challenged the authority of Jesus Christ after he had taken a whip into the temple courts to cleanse the temple. Replying to the Pharisees, Jesus said.

Paul continues that theme when he said,

Renewing our mind to know and approve God’s will affect your life. The process of renewing the mind takes a lifetime because you are laying a new foundation of thought to make decisions from. And renewing our mind is a must because we live in a world that suppresses the truth and neither concerned for truth or in God.  

  He said there was a war going on in his mind and the way to overcome a sinful life was to set his mind on what the spirit desired. Paul wasn’t speaking of a casual effort to renew our mind but a focused effort.  A man is a Jew if he is one inwardly (Romans 2:29) by the same reason a man is only a Christian if he thinks like God.

Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Romans 8:5

The carnal mind sets his mind on his evil desires and the spiritual man disciplines his mind to think as God does. The carnal mind is arrogant, proud, demonstrates superiority and mocks other people’s lifestyle. They should remember that their day will come.

Spotless Versus Blemished

Who wants a brand new car off the show room floor with a broken windshield? When most people spend thousands of dollars for a new car they expect it to be undamaged and in good working order. In Christ Jesus you are a new creature and you were bought with the shed blood of God’s only Son, so we have to ask, does God wants a person that is damaged by sin?

While God may not wanted to purchase damaged goods he thinks you are so precious that he will take you as you are. He bought you as if you were a derelict knowing that you were in need of cleaning and repair. Immediately everyone saw that something had changed as God restored you for his use. He entered a clean heart declared you holy and made you into a temple for God to live in.   

No matter how you look at it, God is going to do everything in his power to teach you how to clean up your life and live right in his eyes.  Therefore, we must find out what God considers proper and then live accordingly.

Jesus was asked what was the most important commandment God expected his people to obey.   

In another place Jesus said,

For the most part God is making an effort to raise each of his children to have the characteristics every one will love and admire. What men don’t understand is that God wants us to have the same characteristics that we admire him for. Just as we would, God is raising his children according to the ways he thinks is proper. That includes a disposition to love all of his creation with respect and dignity.

Just as God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous he loves all of his creation without partiality. He expects his children to love one another, as we would have them love us. This calls for a disciplined mind that is willing to limit his and her actions for the good of the other person.

We soon learn that sin an the action of our evil desires that brings harm to your life and character in addition to those affected by the way you live.  If we were to consider the relation of sin to eternal life we would understand that sin is the source of corruption that would make Heaven no better than the world. Sin would cause the breakdown of the heavenly kingdom and bring it to ruin. For this reason God deals severely and permanently with sin.  

God expects his children to live by a standard that will last as long as we live in eternity. The time to live as God wants starts today.

To live a spotless and acceptable life before God we must be able to distinguish good from evil and do the good works God has prepared for us in advance to do. Lets consider the following promise.

For the same reason God expects you to never stop doing good to your brothers and sisters in our eternal home. And since Jesus is Lord we need to start living his way now.

Those who have washed their robes made an effort to be spotless in God’s eye. It is not the effort to look immaculate before man but an effort to cleanse the heart to be holy as your father in heaven is holy.

What it means is that God is not impressed when you harbor sin in your heart because he knows that what comes out the heart and makes you unclean.

It is not the outward appearance that God is concerned with, it is the condition of the heart. Cleansing the heart begins with renewing the mind and the washing of the word.  It is after you have renewed your mind that you will know God’s will and only then can good words come from your heart and out of your mouth.  God speaks to us through his word and Jesus said,

The effort that a person makes to purify his heart to make it spotless pleases God, but God is the only one who can cleanse us from the blemishes that scars your life.  He does this in such a way that he removes the guilt of sin from, which enables you to be at peace with God.

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Straight Versus Crooked

I don’t know about you but when I travel the interstate I like to eat at restaurants where I can see the interstate on ramp. I want to be able to get back on the interstate highway where I can resume the way I planned to get to my destination. I have learned that it is easy to get lost when you leave the main highway and are detoured away from the direct and easiest route.  I have to admit that in my lifetime I have found myself out in the middle of the boondocks several times by saying I wonder where this road will take me.

The same is true for our lives especially for those who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ and serve him. We find that it is not as easy to follow Jesus as it is to allow the world to detour us away from the Lord. So many things of the world attract and hold our attention using the time we had planned to be with the Lord.

When choosing a destination such as going from Rochester New York to Atlanta Georgia, we place our attention on maps to plan a direct route.  For the most part we know how to plan out the things of earth especially when they are the things we want to do. Even the common everyday things like getting your child to bed who wants to stay up all night can distract your attention on things you consider important. To prevent this from happening we need to have a priority of importance that outweighs everything else to make time for God.

The words “prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." are the words we need to give attention to as they speak of a plan for our Salvation. And for the most part the word straight refers to the path we take in this life to go to heaven. Making straight paths is determined by a priority that outweighs everything else.

 The American interstate system is planned for direct routes between distant population centers. They are designed for safety but they intersect with main roads to make multiple destinations possible. Preparing the way or planning a way for the Lord demands a road clear of obstructions that does not veer to the right or to the left of the planned route. The route is a priority that outweighs everything else.

Paul used several examples of athletes especially of those who ran the race and at least one example of the boxer.  The athlete who ran, ran in such a way to win and the boxer could not expect to be standing at the end of the fight if he didn’t attempt to knock his opponent out. However, Paul said that both went into training and both planned a strategy before the main event. Both knew that veering from the plan would be the reason why they lost.

Paul concluded that just because he was a preacher he had to live the Christian life so he would not be deprived of the prize. How other people live was not his major concern after all he was a sinner saved by grace as well. His goal was to follow Jesus and he had the urgency to exercise his beliefs to become the person that God approved of.

The Bible instructs men to do the following.

It’s easy to say the road that leads to life is always in front of you until you have to walk it. God uses several ways to explain his plan for the road that leads to life. For example God says,  

Our map is the word of God that tells us that Jesus Christ is the way and the truth and the life. And that no one can come to the Father or know him except through Our Lord and Savior. The straight road to eternal life begins with knowing the true God, and Jesus Christ who was sent into the world as the Lamb of God. Once we have accepted Jesus Christ into our hearts we have the assurance of being on the straight and narrow road.

On the other hand those who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior are on a road to destruction. Their road is crooked and leads them in circles and takes them to a destination they hoped to avoid. They are double minded always looking for short cuts, taking perverse and devious ways to arrive at their goals. However, God can not be avoided and the road they’ve taken ends at eternity’s door with an escort straight to the great white throne.

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Strong Versus Weak  

We really are not sure what the weakness that Paul spoke about, but he considered his weaknesses to be a thorn in his flesh. To Paul, the thorn was a tormenting messenger of Satan. Although Paul pleaded for its removal God responded with  

Paul could have made himself out to be a spiritual giant in his day, being caught up into heaven where he saw and he heard things that he was forbidden to talk about. Perhaps the thorn in his flesh was to remind him that he was a mere man, and no better than other men.

He was constantly reminded of his human condition and found he was a weak man subject to making mistakes being insulted, suffering in hardships, knowing the reality of persecutions, and having difficulties occurring at the same time. He may have been mentally exhausted, but he persisted as a man to seek the power of God to be victorious over the power of the kingdom of darkness.  

 When Paul wrote to the Ephesians he gave them a mental picture of the body armor of a roman soldier likening it to the spiritual armor of God. He said that our battle is not with the men of this world, but against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realm. (Ephesians 6:10-18) To the Corinthians he said we do war as men do, the weapons we use are divinely derived and inspired. (2 Corinthians 10:3-5) We are involved in a spiritual war that Satan is waging against those who obey God's commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 12:17)

As men we only see the surface of things for we do not see what is going on in the spirit realm. No one has seen the spirits (demons) at work producing the fruit of evil but we have seen the evidence of evil manifested in this world. The weapons of this world were designed to destroy the things of this world but they have no effect in the spirit realm. So here we are fighting a war with the powers of darkness that we cannot see or harm with the weapons of this world.

David was a man after God’s heart but he fought a number of battles to establish the nation of Israel. A number of those battles were recorded and one common ingredient was found in each one. He sought the Lord for guidance before going into battle. One of his more famous battles took place before he became king during the time Saul reigned. In a battle with the Philistine army a giant of a man came forth and defiled the name of Israel’s God.   

David heard the insults of Goliath, which stirred his zeal for the Lord rather than shrink in terror. He was offered Saul’s armor, which proved too much and then his own brothers ridiculed him. In his zeal for the Lord he stopped long enough to choose five smooth stones from the stream and calmly approach the Philistine. One look at David and Goliath said to himself “you can’t be serious. You are sending a teenager at me with just a sling?

David understood that he was a mere boy who was the servant of the Lord. He understood the possibility of loosing his life at the hands of Goliath but he placed his trust and his life into the hands of God. He went in the name of the Lord knowing that the power of God is able to overcome anything the enemy can throw at you.

What makes a Christian strong is the unyielding confidence in the power of God to deliver them from the spiritual war and influence of Satan. We fight the good fight of the faith by looking to God and his promises for deliverance.

The weak are those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. If anything they have grown accustomed to the corrupt morals of the world and consider everything they do right in their own mind. They stand condemned already because they do not trust or believe in the name of God's one and only Son. (John 3:18)

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Summer Versus Winter

For the most part summer is characterized with the growth of crops, a time of parties and festivities graduations and personal fulfillment. Summer is filled happy times, times of productivity, vacations that give us the opportunity to absorb the beauty of God’s creation. Filled with vacations it is when we wake up to see the awesome wonder of Gods vast creation especially when we are out of our home environment where everything is common place and taken for granted.

We make every effort during the summer to escape the house bound condition caused by the winter and enlarge our circle of friends. Regardless of how beautiful the earth can be, how vast the oceans are, every human being searches for someone to be with. The mountains may present an awesome view but they mean nothing without someone to share them with.   

In July America celebrates Independence Day with fireworks and other festivities. Yet, July is the month that the fields turn white in readiness for its harvest and wheat ripens.

It’s easy to loose sight of God when the activity of man increases and we our schedule is filled with our work and enjoyment. In these times it is hard to focus on anything else but on the things that we enjoy. Summer is the time we tend to forget that without God, none of this would be possible and our lives would be rather frustrating.

Yet in the Hebrew culture you could count on the festivals to keep the summer alive with things that reminded you that God was great. Three festivals required that you present your self before the Lord but other feasts and festivals were held in the community. It didn’t matter who or what you were, everyone was invited to share in the food fun and activities.   

The new moon festival was the most popular but this celebration was connected to atonement for sins in the previous month. The feast began with the sound of trumpet blasts. People would gather around the tent and the sacrifice was made. At the new moon festival many were reconciled to the Lord.  

The Day of Atonement was set aside for everyone to fast and do no work. It was celebrated on the tenth day in the seventh month as required by God’s law. The trumpets were sounded as the High Priest began a sacred ritual taking a ceremonial bath, putting on the priestly robe and then sacrificed a bull for his sins. Then he sacrificed a goat for the sins of the people and took its blood into the inner sanctuary to pour out the blood before the mercy seat. The second goat was taken into the wilderness and released.

This is the most important feast of the year for Christians for it is the blood of Christ that has made atonement for us once for all. The bible tells it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Hebrews 10:4) Jesus entered the heavenly sanctuary with his blood and presented it before God. (Hebrews 9:23-24)

Lets remember the words Jesus Christ said on the night he was betrayed.

Ironically the day of Pentecost occurred seven weeks after observing the Passover. In this celebration Israel stayed in their homes and ate the Passover Lamb sacrificed for the occasion. They remember the night that the destroying angel passed over Egypt and the first born in every home without the blood of the Passover lamb on its door died. Symbolically Jesus Christ was the Passover Lamb that rescued the first born from the destroying angel.    

The disciples were told to go to the upper room and tarry until they were endowed with power from on High.  They waited until the day of Pentecost came.  Suddenly the streets of Jerusalem vibrated with the sound of a violent wind, which filled the upper room with what looked like tongues of fire. The fire of God fell on each of the disciples filling them with the Holy Spirit.  

The seventh week after the Passover concluded the harvest and the first loaves made from the new grain were then offered on the altar. Symbolically the disciples were the first fruits of the Lord of Harvest.   

Jesus commissioned his disciples to go into the world to make disciples. We learn that law required the feasts to be observed by men, but in reality the feasts foretold the plan and purpose of Jesus Christ’s life. The festivals give us additional depth to the love of God. Our reconciliation took place during the summer and concluded the successful life of our Lord on Earth. He came and nailed our sins to the cross, by a plan to rescue us from the wrath of God. We have reason to celebrate Communion with rejoicing.

 The winter for the disciples was a time that they spent around the fire telling war stories to keep warm.  Yet the people out in the world can be liken as people suffering during the wintertime, having a miserable life filled with sin and barrenness of soul. Without the life giving blood of Christ being sprinkled upon them, they face death in the lake of fire.

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Sunlight Versus Rain

When we think of sunlight we are referring to the radiance of the sun cast on the Earth. Sunlight often speaks of the condition of our environment and the amount of brightness surrounding our outside activities.   Man takes advantage of sunlight for the active part of the day but the amount of light often affects our outlook on that day. When the clouds hide our sunlight the darkness gives a gloomy outlook.

Perhaps we haven’t looked at the sun as a source of light that governs our life for light is critical to sensual beings. Sunlight governs the day for it is a strong light capable of providing light for every creature on the face of the earth. It gives us the ability to see the obstacles in our path and move about freely. Sunlight is so normal to men that if the sun ceased to exist, everyone would panic. The world considers the Sun to be a renewable resource because of its reliability. God predicted that during the end times the sun will be darkened and thinking about that all I can imagine is the panic and chaos that will take place to humble mankind.  

Anytime men loose control of their surroundings such as during an earthquake, they go into hysteria. Its not normal for the weather conditions to be in control of them yet the weather conditions are capable of tossing men and women about in any direction like a wet rag. For the most part the weather conditions promote life and provide men with the necessities to continue living.     

Man has built all kinds of shelters, wear sunglasses, carry umbrellas, and seek the shade of trees to avoid the heat and brilliance of the sun. The light of this world affects everyone, but unseen by the world is the eternal light of the Son.  Jesus said,

Every person knows what earthly life is but can’t explain true life. Life is not about existing for self-indulgence but how we share life with others. Led by Satan the world is cruel toward its inhabitants making life miserable at times. Jesus Christ entered the world to reveal his father’s plan and became the light of the world to reveal a true way to live. Without this light from God we would fall victim to the corrupt ways of the world.

The words of our Lord are spirit and life. (John 6:63) The meaning of these words elude some however we learn that man does not live by the food produced from the soil alone, rather his life depends on every word spoken by God. (Deuteronomy 8:3) His Son’s word is a lamp until our feet and light revealing a good way to live. If our life were to depend on human reasoning believing that God rules the entire universe, than our life depends on obedience to every word of God.

Many did not recognize Jesus Christ as the messiah especially the Pharisees who studied his word. God placed a light on his Son Jesus and accredited him with signs and wonders. He used a parable of how the candle was placed so everyone could see the light from it. Then because of the Pharisees unbelief, he was taken to the top of mount Calvary and there was sacrificed as the Lamb of God. On mount Calvary he became the candle placed in plain sight so everyone could see his light.

The bible tells us that,

For Christians we are given the promise of life through the light of the Son. We are also looking for the dawn of a new day when the sun of righteousness will rise.

We are looking towards the day when we shall become like him,

More important we be with him enjoying the light of the heavenly city.

On that day the Lord will create,

On that day it will begin to rain but not the normal way it rains on earth.

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True Versus False

Have you ever seen a frog walk? Everyone can spot something wrong with this question. A walking frog is not consistent with the nature, they jump, leap and hop, but they don’t walk. This illustration is absolutely contrary to reality so everyone should be able to see the deceit almost immediately.  

There in lies the nature of what is true, whatever is true is consistent with reality. Everything has a procedure and works in a prescribed way. Scientist uses this principle to know the reaction to a series of identical test. When the reaction is the same in every test what’s true becomes apparent.

For the most part I use the two or more witness rule to establish what is true. My reasoning tells me that one witness represents a person who may have experienced and may know the facts, but a single witness leaves room for doubt. When the testimony of second witness agrees with the first, their combined statements present a verified statement that conforming to reality. However, when several statements agree the overwhelming facts erases all doubt of error.  We have the consistency of reality.

Consistency is the key factor to know what is true. Most people do not understand how they make their real life known to other people. The one thing consistent about people is how they react to other people under identical situations. For this reason, those occurrences continue to happen in the same way, it is the frequency of the same reaction that reveals what is real and true.

There has to be a reason for certain issues to arise in our life with consistency. Could it be that God allows these issues to happen as if it were an experiment to see how you react to a given test? This may present a reality we hadn’t thought about. According to God’s word, he promised to reward each man according to his deeds.

Deeds are actions representing what was said and done during your lifetime that belong to you alone. The consistency of your actions presents a reality of truth regarding your character.  It’s the consistency that people and God is looking for. We need to consider that people also look at specific reactions to identify your character. At the same time if God were to use two or three witnesses that you unknowingly provide to establish the truth about your life, what would he see?

As Christians being true to Jesus Christ demands that we take our commitment to heart. That vow made him Lord of our life. God is looking at our life to see if we are genuine to know if our commitment is real.  Being faithful to him and his cause makes the validity of your commitment credible. In other words what we do in life designs a pattern for everyone to see but the people surrounding your life will use the pattern you design to judge your life.

From the pattern you design about self, men and women determine whether you are worthy of trust. Your actions tell them whether your life devoted to serving God. Everyone wants to know whether your promises worthy of merit and if you can be relied upon?  The pattern developed by your life determines if you are credible person and worthy of being a friend.  

Most of the sermons I’ve heard about worshipping God in spirit and in truth has something to do with the enthusiasm songs are sung in worship services. My experience tells me that it is hard to consistently express the degree of enthusiasm that they are talking about.  At the same time we should consider this.

In so many ways God has spoken about the condition of the heart. He is more interested in the overflow of man’s heart. (Luke 6:45) Paul spoke about the renewing of the mind as being a reasonable act of worship. What Paul meant by renewing the mind was to rebuild the foundation of our thoughts to one that could think in a godly fashion. In other words, our citizenship is registered in Heaven then we should be able to think as if we have been born and raised in the spirit realm.

Consider this, when we think in spiritual terms, our actions will be spiritual. Our actions will agree with our thoughts and work for our good and the good of others.

In the verse above Paul is giving us an example of living according to the spirits desire by speaking to one another in spiritual terms and singing spiritual songs. Paul is telling us to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires.

Renewing our mind changes the attitude of your mind, which in turn gives us the ability to put on the new man.  If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation one that has been created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Its difficult to put up a false front before God. He knows the condition of the heart even when it is far from him and whether the lips of man truly honors him. The deeds of man tell God the condition of the heart whether it’s good or evil. Man will reap the reward from God according to how he has sown his life. If he pleases his sinful nature he will reap destruction but if he sows to the spirit he will reap eternal life.

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Trust Versus Uncertainty

Trust is an important issue that each man needs to earn and develop in others. Trust is like a two way street where people need to be able to trust you and you need friends you can trust. Trust is developed overtime by the nature of your character and the way you consistently respond to others. Trust is so fragile that all you have to do is to let someone down just once and you have to rebuild that trust over again.

It’s easy to place your trust in a chair you’ve never seen before because very few have been known to collapse or injure the person sitting on it. On the other hand, the trust in a person you’ve never met before hasn’t been built. Most people need an icebreaker before they are willing to talk with you for any length of time. Its not knowing what to expect because your experience with that person is non-existent. Once the initial fear is over and you have some experience relating to that person’s character becomes open to some trust.

Very few assume that a person is someone they can trust right off the bat. Just five minutes with that person makes a huge difference. Trust begins when you feel you can express yourself freely. Still people are leery of placing their complete trust in you.

Trust begins with simple things and develops by taking on greater responsibilities over time. The story that the verse above described spoke about the wise man’s handling of his master’s money. The master noted his shrewd handling of his customers that enabled him to put his master’s receipts in his hands on the day he would be dismissed. At the same time he had gained new friends that could keep him in work during his lifetime. Jesus concluded that we should take the money he provides and use it for his glory to make friends over your lifetime.

In the parable of the talents, the master of the household gave three of his servant’s assets and responsibilities while he went on a journey to become king.  On his return he honored the servants who put his money to work and rewarded them with additional responsibilities. The servant who was afraid of his master did nothing to increase the assets that were given to him. The master considered the matter and completely lost trust in his servant. He collected the unused assets from the fearful servant, fired him and threw him out of his house.

Both parables spoke of how trust was built and how that same trust was destroyed. The master’s trust was in the servants ability and the expect return on that trust. He also gave differing amounts to each of his servants according to their ability. This shows that there can be a degree of trust that you can obtain from other people.

Two of the servants went to work immediately taking the responsibility that the master gave them to heart. Before the master returned their efforts had doubled their master’s assets and they were eager to show the profit that they had accomplished. The servants had earned the trust of their master who had developed his trust in them to to give them additional responsibilities. The servant that did not attempt to place those assets where they would be safe but still have an increase failed the test.

Would the master of the house been considerate if the servants said, --- "No!  The responsibility is too great?” Would the Master’s trust level dropped or would he have said, “I know you can do it, I have faith in you.”  His confidence was based on past experiences and observations and he knew the servant’s abilities and their integrity.    

The master knew his servant’s abilities and had seen them taking on new responsibilities and excelled while doing them. Almost everything they put their hands to turned out for the master’s good and he saw that they carefully considered the outcome of their decisions before they executed them.  Perhaps we should take note that the master gave the least amount of assets to the servant who feared him. His confidence in this servant was not as great because of his past experiences. It’s obvious his experiences with this servant gave him reason for uncertainty yet he wanted to place some trust in him.

For the new convert trusting the Lord is a challenge to apply God’s word to their life and to observe the Lord’s response. It may just be a coincidence that things turn just as the Lord’s promises said it would. So we test him again and again only to find that he is true to his word. Before we know it we have tested him concerning several promises and found the Lord was true in those promises as well. Every promise he honors earns a deeper trust.

However, trust is like a two way street and God test men to see if they will obey him. (Judges 3:4, Exodus 16:4, and Deuteronomy 8:2 in order to know what was in their heart) Just as Men test the Lord to know that his word is good God tests men to know with certainty whether your heart avoids evil or is bent on doing evil.

When Jesus said you are neither hot nor cold he was revealing that he was uncertain where your loyalties lie. He wants to be certain about your character because he doesn’t want the eternal life he has promised to his saints to be ruined by anyone. God is going to weigh the pros and con’s of your life through the deeds you have done. Those deeds show with certainty the very nature of your heart.   

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Truthful Versus Liar    

Truth is a essential building block for trust in everyone’s character. Truthfulness builds a dependable characteristic that people desire and admire and no matter who you are, the demand for truthful response aids in your decision process. People do not want answers or advice that gives inaccurate information or turns out erroneous and unreliable.  

Its better to say I don’t know or I am not sure than it is to give an answer off the top of your head. There are men and women that are knowledgeable on every subject under the sun, except the answer they gave you ended up being costly. The problem is that they didn’t realize that you are relying on them especially when their advice causes the harm you didn’t want or need.

It is the consistency of telling the truth that people are looking for and they are constantly searching for anyone whose advise is beneficial to them every time they need help. Truthfulness has purpose and it is asset for a life of integrity.

It also means that you can look at your life to see if you are being truthful with your self.  People have faults but when a friend reveals a fault they’ve seen in your life you should trust their judgment and listen to them. When a friend reveals your fault they are only trying to help make your life better for those around you.  They are not out to harm you, instead they want to correct a fault that is hurting everyone.

Its difficult to get through to someone that immediately defends his actions but the bible tells us a mocker will hate you but a wise man will love you because of your rebuke. (Proverbs 9:8) Being truthful may hurt for a while but in the long run will pay out dividends.

Truthfulness is a moral issue with the intent to do no harm. So often it appears as if one has to color the truth to prevent harming another person’s ego but coloring the truth is an act of misrepresenting the truth. Truth is never peppermint flavored, but neither is a lie, that is until the person that has been lied to finds out. The lie is poison to the soul, but the truth is sweet and the exact flavor you wanted.

The act of consistently telling truth is a stabilizing factor of life. Because truthfulness is a moral issue, the truth steers your path in such a way that you will not have to memorize what you said to this person or to that person. The truth will be the same regardless of whom you have spoken to. It also means because there is no attempt to deceive anyone and your words become trustworthy.   

When God says that these words are trustworthy and true we can take his words to heart. Are you going to take his words seriously?

  Most Christians know John 17:17 by heart but Jesus said something else that adds validity to the words “Your word is truth.”

Those who desired eternal life through Jesus Christ have also learned to love Jesus and the father through his word. Every precept has merit, every promise is true, and every word can be taken to heart. His promises may be worded differently, but they proven to be trustworthy in every way. Joshua’s testimony about God’s promises said this.

He concluded that every promise of God never failed, but were fulfilled.  Joshua cautioned his people by saying if God’s promises never failed neither would the curses of law. They will fall on you if you forsake him by doing evil in his sight. Both were promises and both were for the benefit of man. The curses were meant to bring you back to God however, if you did not respond the curses they would increase until you were destroyed.    

We know God’s word will be achieved its purpose (Isaiah 55:11) and we know that the prophecy regarding the end times will be fulfilled.  The truthfulness of God’s words has become fact as every prophecy regarding Jesus Christ was accomplished to the letter. The majority of prophecy regarding the end times has already been completed and God has established a record of performing his prophetic words. By taking the record of the truthfulness of God’s words to heart Christians around the world are preparing themselves for his coming. Christians are also expecting the old order of things to pass away for there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain in Heaven. (Revelation 21:4-5)

However the majority of men and women have never trusted in God’s word to know the actual benefit of God’s truthfulness for their self. They depend on their senses and experience to guide their lives. But they will perish because they refused to love the truth and be saved from the coming wrath of God. They will be condemned because they gave proof that they believed a liar known as Satan.

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Unmerited Favor Versus Earned Favor

Most Christians think of unmerited favor as the grace of God, when grace is a method of exercising his choice to love you. The bible tells us that we are saved by grace not by works lest you should boast. (Ephesians 2:8) Otherwise, When you are saved God also gives you the gift of life.  Within this passage we find out that salvation is a gift through God’s grace that we didn’t have to earn. Still salvation is a gift in response to acknowledging him as Lord.

Salvation is an outcome of a believing and trusting in Jesus Christ and recognizing his authority over your life.  In other words salvation is the outcome of verbally committing your life to serve the one and only true God and by accepting God’s authority your authority must diminish.

Grace is a method of exercising a decision to love. Therefore we must consider the greatest commandment or the most important requirements of God as a law we are asked to adopt.

Everything we do depends on obeying these two laws. Therefore, it appears as if God expects a change at the very center of our being through the way we make decisions and carry them out.  Still at the same time, when we look at the love God commands from us, our name is at the bottom of the list and we are to love everyone else above ourselves. Putting our self on the top of the list would allow us to gratify our own evil desires or the selfish desires of the flesh. Inserting your name at the top of the list is the way the world satisfies itself without the need to love.

Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17

This Love demands an outward reach to others, first to God and then to mankind. If we look at the initial Love God extends, he does not show favoritism, salvation is for whosoever that believes in his name. Notice he also sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous without partiality.  

The bible tells us that we are saved by grace not by works lest you should boast. (Ephesians 2:8) Notice what the bible says following that passage.

These good works are like those that Jesus did (Acts 10:38) and was accredited by God. (1 Peter 2:15, Romans 2:7, Galatians 6:9) The good works God wants men to do are the same good works that he does for mankind. Jesus brought out a point that every Christian needs to understand.

The Love God demonstrated was an outward reach to the world, not a love that sought personal gain or recognition. He came to serve man and serving man’s need required him to make it possible for every man to have a personal relationship with his Father. Therefore it was necessary for Jesus to ransom man, freeing him from the grip of sin. Because Jesus was sinless his death did not free him from sin but dying was a deed that served the needs of mankind.

Serving others does not mean you need divine power of healing but it does mean that you will adopt and employ the teachings of Christ in ways that Christ’s love can be seen and felt. The majority of things God wants us to do are acts that demonstrate an importance for another person’s well being. That deed will lift the spirits of affected person with importance and leave them with a sense of dignity.   

Demonstrating love to someone you don’t know is important issue, as God does not show partiality. His love is for those who need it at the time of his or her need. When you do an act of love for the non-believer you show the love of God that may one day cause them to seek the Lord.

When we look at unmerited favor we have to look at what God did for us. Listen to the last words of Jesus as he was dying for our sins.

Those words were not only for the Pharisees or for the Roman Soldiers that crucified him, but they were words that included you and me. They were words spoken to a lost world that were held captive of their sin nature, who were too busy chasing the wind to notice that God had a plan for their lives that included eternity.  

God devised a plan so man would no longer be separated from him because of sin. Jesus paid the penalty for the whosoever who can accept his death on Calvary and his Lordship so they may have everlasting life. Forgiveness is a grace that endures forever and a grace that requires a choice to love and settle the differences between persons.

Unmerited favor is a blessing that begins with a choice, but unmerited favor is a seed that you sow in life that you will reap grace from. Learning to extend God’s grace is a way to bless another person that allows you to show your love for God. At the same time you gain ability to reach out to another person who is in need.  

The world is constantly on the run to satisfy their personal comfort and gratify their longings. Everything they do depends on obeying one law, what do I want in life?  Consider this, the world doesn’t know about unmerited favor or the grace of God.

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Victory Versus Defeat

Victory has several meanings that refer to a successful outcome. In a military battle victory is the thought of bringing a conflict to and end and subduing those in opposition. An athlete thinks of victory as the victor who has defeated an adversary and became the winner in a contest. For the average person victory is the success in the face of overwhelming odds in favor of defeat. It is the triumph against the difficulties that men and women struggle against in life.

Most people are unaware that there is a battle raging in the spiritual realm over the lives of men and women. These people are also unaware that God has given them a choice to make for life, but the opposition tries to prevent the choice from being made, Satan is working hard to suppress the good news make it sound like foolishness.   

The choice for life is not exclusively for human life on earth, but for eternal life in the kingdom God is building. Life begins when we acknowledge God as the creator of life itself and that he rules the life we see, touch and live in. However, because all men have sinned we have fallen short of God’s expectation, our sin has separated us from having fellowship with him. It means that to restore our relationship with God we must do two things, repent of our sin and secondly accept and give Jesus his rightful place as our Lord.

No matter how we look at the world, the majority of people is certain that God rules the universe, but does not think their life is a part of God’s universe. Being a stubborn and obstinate people they refuse to give God his right to govern their lives. Although Jesus freed those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:15) they cling to an sinful way of life that ends in death.  

There is a song that is sung in church that goes like this, “Faith Is The Victory Faith is the victory, we know, That overcomes the world.” It is our faith, the confidence in God’s promises that gives us strength to hold fast to our Lord. James tells us that if we will submit to God Satan will flee from us. (James 4:7) Ultimately victory over the kingdom of darkness is not from anything we have done, but the battle belongs to the Lord.

The strength of men does not have the power to prevail in the spiritual realm. In the war of faith we need divine power to demolish the strongholds of the spiritual forces of evil where ever they are found. For our struggle is not against men but against the rulers of the kingdom of darkness. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:4) The outcome is that believers are surrounded by captives of their own evil desires and those who think the gospel is foolishness.   

Peter likens our enemy like a lion who preys on the unsuspecting and those who do not know the craftiness or manner of deceit he uses. He roars while seeking his prey but when he attacks a Christian he has entered the territory of another Lion. He is tampering with the property of the Lion from the tribe of Judah. Christians need to submit to the Lion of Judah because he has overcome the world and able to open the sealed scrolls of God. (Revelation 5:5)

When we became followers of Christ the blood of Christ purified us from all sin. (1 John 1:7) We were washed, justified and sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11) In addition the Lord Jesus came into our lives (John 14:23) and we became Children of God.

We have the additional promise of belonging to God.

We have the overcoming power of God’s promises that give us victory over death, sin and corruption, over the world and over spiritual powers in the spirit realm.  We have the blood of Christ that purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7) and we have the confidence to fight the fight of faith. (1 Timothy 6:12) We have divine power to crush the strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4) of Satan and the power of God working in us who is able to surpass anything we can think or imagine. (Ephesians 3:20)   In addition we have been given authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy. (Luke 10:19) God has given us the ability to overcome the world and every obstacle that attempts to distract our attention from following Jesus to our home in heaven.  He said.

Unfortunately there are many who believe they are worthy of eternal life. They spent their entire life living as they saw fit (Proverbs 14:12), they understood God to be the ruler of the universe, yet they did not make the attempt to find God or restore their relationship with God. In their arrogance they have been defeated, not realizing that Heaven is reserved for those who personally chose to make their loyalty and allegiance to the Kingdom of God and our Lord Jesus Christ known to God.

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Vindicated Versus Condemned

 The Bible makes it clear that there is no one who has not sinned. Every person has made decisions that benefited their lives but harmed someone else. For the most part many of us have not reached the maturity level of Jesus that God wanted man to have. The outcome is that our decisions harm others even though we had no intentions of harming anyone.

Can you imagine the world we live in without a means to keep our relations secure and in working order? What value would life have if we could not stand to be in the presence of one of several people you could not trust? Wouldn’t serving the needs of another become a matter of your fulfilling desires just to survive?

It is typically human to find fault in another person and condemn them for what they did to you without allowing them the right to defend their actions. This leads to an exaggeration of facts and unwarranted misunderstanding, especially when it does not require an effort to love or keep peaceful relations with them. Without confronting the matter things only get worse, as it is not fair to the other person to accuse them of something you only think they did. Everything a person does from that point on strengthens the accuser of his convictions and over time forms a hatred and mistrust for any future relations with that person.  Unfortunately you reap what you sow.

Adam and Eve made a huge mistake when they chose to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They were encouraged to think that they would be like God knowing good from evil. He went into the garden to find and have fellowship with Adam and Eve but heard Adam say, we hid from you because we were naked.  

God could have immediately formed a decision in his mind and condemned Adam and Eve. However, he asked Adam and Eve to confirm what he heard and saw before taking any action. God may have driven them away from the tree of life, but not before he clothed them with the skins of animals. Was providing them with clothes out of kindness or was it a matter of forgiving their sin?

The penalty for eating from the tree of knowledge of good and evil was death for God said,

God did not end their life or his relationship with them, he devised a way to make future relations possible. God also worked with Cain when he saw his anger and his face downcast because his sacrifice wasn’t accepted in the way he thought it should. God confronted him as well and asked Cain why he was angry. Then advised him that sin was crouching at his door; it desired to have him, but Cain, listen - you must master sin. (Genesis 4:6-7)

Cain’s anger grew as he considered the matter and chose to kill his brother. God confronted Cain the second time and asked him. "Where is your brother Abel?" and gave him an opportunity to defend himself. "I don't know," he replied. "Am I my brother's keeper?"  Then the Lord said to Cain, "What have you done? Listen! Your brother's blood cries out to me from the ground. You are under a curse and driven from the ground where your brothers blood cries out to me. (Genesis 4:9-12)

God exacted a just penalty for the sins of Adam, Eve and Cain, but they lived out their lives because God devised a way so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him. God has a plan where his sense of justice can be atoned and satisfied within his disposition of love. God’s plan for atonement is in affect today.

When the time was right, God sent his son as the Lamb of God. The scriptures reveal God’s love for the world this way.

He not only sent his son as the Lamb of God but to teach mankind how to take control of their life and master sin.  Jesus repeated the need to obey God’s commands. He said that all the law depended on your love for God and your fellow man. (Matthew 22:37-40)

During his lifetime Jesus did not sin, but stayed on a course to offer his life as the penalty for the sin of mankind. In this respect he became the substitutionary sacrifice that paid with his life the penalty of death. As the Lamb of God he atoned for the sins that man committed, but at the same time made it possible for every man or woman to accept the death of Jesus as the price for their atonement. When we accept Jesus several promises of God takes place such as purification, sanctification but most importantly justified and accepted as if we had not sinned. (1 John 1:7, 1 Corinthians 6:11, Romans 4:7-8)

Do this in remembrance of me Jesus said, taking the holy sacrament of communion is to remind you that your sin is forgiven and your Lord died to vindicate and redeem you from sin.  

The one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. (John 12:48) Those who did not choose life, who chose not to know the father and the one he sent or believe in Jesus will perish. The will hear Jesus plainly saying

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Vow Versus its Value

Almost everyone recognizes the vow they took when they were married, through sickness and health, unto death do we part. These words do not mean as much, as they use to. Today men and women don’t need much of an excuse to be separated or dissolve a marriage. Reneging on vows is common place in the world today as people loose faith and fail to honor their word.

A vow given to a person is a guarantee to another person that you will act in accordance with the terms of an agreement. For the most part a vow is a commitment on the part of giver that is similar to a verbal contract assuring them what you will do or will not do for or on their behalf.

A vow should be taken seriously as it affects your character by violating a system of morals that God wants you to adopt. People want friends that are reliable and come to depend on the promises you make. Christians depend on the promises that God made to them. What makes God different from men is that God makes a determined effort to honor his word. (Isaiah 55:11) Remember that broken promises sever relationships by braking trust.

If we were to take the example of the determined effort that God makes to honor his word and apply the same effort to honor our promises then we would have the same kind of respect God has.  The effort may require you to keep a calendar, write your promises down and make an effort to complete them before the time you promised.

The same effort must be applied to your marriage vows. Marriages that last a lifetime are marriages where the partners made the effort to honor one another. It also meant doing certain things for your partner to make their life pleasant when you didn’t want to. Most of all it meant respecting them as a person by allowing them to be the person of they want to be. The moment you stop loving them you will hear you don’t love me anymore. What is means is that the determined effort to love them in sickness and in health is no longer a priority.

Vows strengthen relationships with shared responsibilities. Companionship for a lifetime is important to everyone for after years with the same person their death changes the world around you. Your partners necktie or jewelry revives wonderful memories and the pain of their passing.

So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith. (Malachi 2:16) Do not send God away nor forsake him for God can be grieved. For he has promised not to forsake you or leave you. He has promised us that nothing can snatch us out of his hand and that he would be with us until the end of the age. in addition, God has promised that in the age to come we will be in the light of his presence and there we will be forever.

 So guard yourself in your spirit, do not make promises that you may regret.

Jepthhah was horrified as his daughter came out the door to greet him. He wish that he could have substituted his daughter for an animal, but he was determined to honor his promise. His daughter honored the same promise made to God and submitted her life to be sacrificed.    

The words of your mouth a vow obligates you to a promise you made. According to the footnotes of the NIV bible regarding a covenant of blood made by Abram there was a serious side to making a vow with the Lord.  The vow was in response to the Promised Land that God made to Abram. Abram wanted assurance that the promise would be kept and God said bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon. (Genesis 15:9)

Abram gathered the animals for the covenant ceremony dug a trench where the blood of the animals could be collected cut the animals in half and arranged half the carcass on each side of the trench and allowed the blood to fill the trench.

Then the covenanting party would walk the length of the trench passing between the pieces and stated these words - may this be done to me if I fail to keep my word.  

God made his covenant with everyone on the face of the Earth through the death of Jesus Christ. Jesus shed his blood at Calvary for the sins of everyone in the world. Those who accepted his covenant are reminded of the covenant of blood every time they take communion. Those who do not believe in Jesus have not accepted the gift of life that comes through accepting Jesus into their heart.

However we need to look at the full picture the covenant God made with man because God has warned mankind what he has planned to do when he comes to gather his elect. He said many would be slain on that day. (Isaiah 66:16) On that day God will harvest the fruit of the earth likening man to grapes. They were taken to a press and trampled upon to extract its blood. The bible tells us that there was so much blood that the blood rose to the height of a horse’s bridle for two hundred miles. (Revelation 14:19-20) We don’t know all the particulars, but we have enough information to know that God intends to walk in the blood of those who would not live up to the covenant he made with mankind.

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Water Versus Blood  

Water is associated with a number of uses throughout the Bible.  Water by Peter’s account is how the earth was formed. (2 Peter 3:5) Genesis speaks of a great flood that covered the earth,(Genesis 7:24) Paul speaks of the significance of water baptism (Romans 6:4) and the washing by the word of God. (Ephesians 5:26) Jesus said

We can speak of the feet washing (John 13:14) being born of water and the Spirit  (John 3:5) and the water of life. (Revelation 22:17) — This water of life where does it come from and what is its importance? In the verse below we learn that the river of the water of life flows from the throne of God.

It’s not really hard to explain why the river of the water of life flows from God’s throne. In the thirtieth year of the exile (Ezekiel 1:1) saw visions of God and he saw the cherubim that formed his royal escort and provided transportation for God. What he saw was a similar picture to God’s throne in Revelation.

Ezekiel revealed his from the base rising to a place high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. In the background he saw an expanse what we might know as the arch of the sky.  Science tells us for man to see the sky there has to be something to reflect light.  Didn’t Jesus say he was the light of the world (John 8:12) but he also said to his disciples you are the light of the world.

According to Paul, God lives in unapproachable light, (1 Timothy 6:16) and on his walk to Damascus Jesus appeared to him in a blinding light that was healed by an act of God. God is also the father of heavenly lights who does not change like shifting shadows.

Within the sky Ezekiel saw what looked like sparkling ice, which may be the effects seen in water within fine mists.  In this light Ezekiel also saw an appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day. From experience on the day when rainbows have been seen, it has almost always follows a day of misty rain. At the same time several rainbows are seen over and below Niagara Falls where the fall of the water beats the water below into a fine mist. At this site the rainbows are more apt to bee seen in the summer and in the early afternoon. Science tells us that rainbows are the result of light refracted by a fine mist of water.

Still we can see the rainbow because it has to do with air. We see the sky because the atmosphere reflects the light of the sun. We also see the fine mist because it also is in the air and the air keeps this effect aloft. God said

Another rainbow is seen in (Revelation 4:3, Revelation 10:1) in the presence of God. In the pictures of God we see an effect of gravity when we look beneath the throne. The rainbow is cause a mist of water and light but this water is also the source of the river that flows from the throne of God. Only one conclusion is possible, God is the source of all life because according to science, the basic elements of water, air and light required for life come from his presence.

Water demonstrates the greatness of God and it is seen everywhere from the creation to the river of life found in heaven. Water supports human life but it can also destroy life.

The water needed for our flesh has been provided in abundance, but it’s not as important as the spring of water welling up to eternal life.  Jesus said that the flesh counted for nothing. God is not concerned with the flesh of man because the flesh will not inherit heaven. God is concerned about the condition of the heart and the decisions it makes. God knows his kingdom can be ruined by sin just as a single spark can destroy an entire forest.  

It was the shed blood that made atonement for man and for the most part we look to the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. However it is the blood of Jesus Christ shed for our sin that make atonement for our lives. And all we have to do is accept Jesus Christ into our lives because he is the way and the truth and the life. (John 14:6)

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Well Being Versus Self

The world teaches us to be primarily concerned with our own well being, but at the same time, the world wants you to own everything it makes to distract you from the important issues of life. We have a big house, two cars in the garage and every electronic gadget imaginable. However behind the scenes, the world is really self-motivated and makes every effort to ensure that you become the slave of the world system rather than to set you free from the burden it creates.

The world is based primarily on an economic system of prosperity that encourages an all out effort on the part of its citizens to have and create wealth. The world has created an outlook on life that says no one is going to look after your needs but you. However, the mentality of the world has influenced men to develop a character of a self-centered person that doesn’t require a love for anyone, but your self.

On the other hand, God wants his children to deny them selves and Love one another. Quite a contrast between the world system and the kingdom of God and the difference makes it difficult to respond to the needs of others in a way our Father in heaven approves. We are often torn between the choices that God wants us to make and the desires of our flesh. Paul faced similar situations in his life and said that the things he wanted to do for God were things his desires prevented him from doing. He wanted to honor God but he found that he sinned even when he wanted to avoid sin.

Therefore we have to ask a series of questions about our life and our relationship with God. Questions like, what does God expect from us? What is the bible about? What is the bible teaching its reader? What did Jesus demonstrate? How do you define love? Why does God demand that we love one another? At the same time, why can we summarize everything God is teaching man involves doing good works that benefit others?

 The primary directive and most important law involves the love we have for God and for other men.  Jesus said that all the law hangs on these two laws. Even the golden rule points out a specific rule of thought. The well being of other living beings is the direct outcome of our decisions, which is a practical way express the love of God.

Love is a means of expressing another person’s worth to you. How is love expressed for God unless it is shown in word and deed? How do you express a genuine love for God unless your words and actions agree? Regardless of the question, love demands the effort to make every thought obedient to the Royal command of God.

Love is a compelling part of our nature that demands a means to express itself in our relationships. At the same time the love we have for our own being must be used as a guideline for the well being of others. When we consider the Ten Commandments of God, every law reflects a way that directs and limits our actions towards the well being of another person.  The other side of the coin is that every sinful desire is harmful to you and the well being of another person.

Expressing your love for other beings requires that you honor one another above yourself by lowering your self to help them. Love demands compassion for one another and the desire to help those in need. The passage above talks of loosing his life, which may be as simple as loosing your human stature to become the servant of God. In the same way many have left their lucrative practice to work in the missionary field to help those that needs his services.

Some say that we don’t deserve the grace of God’s forgiveness, but from God’s perspective choosing to forgive the sins of the world is a decision he made for our well being. We must also consider God’s forgiveness had to be a moral choice, God cannot chose to forgive one person and not another. Forgiveness leading to the well being of every person on earth must be considered without partiality. Therefore He sent his Son so that the sins of the world would be pardoned for everyone.

Let’s also consider that there is a time and place for everyone to stand before the throne of God. God has given man the opportunity to approach his throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16) Some think of God’s throne of mercy as where Jesus Christ shed his blood so that anyone that could accept the atonement may receive the gift of life and God’s spirit. Without partiality, these two gifts are for the well being are for anyone who can accept Jesus Christ as Lord.

However there is another throne where God will sit in judgment for those who did not accept Jesus Christ into their lives.

For their own well being God embedded the knowledge that he and heaven existed but hell was in their future if they did come to grips with God. They procrastinated too long or they refused to accept Jesus into their life. God will make a distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. Those who do not serve him are those who sowed seeds for self to reap, those who will divide the Kingdom of God against his elect. Will God be thinking of the well being of his elect when he commands his angels to throw the ungodly into the lake of fire?

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White Versus Black  

It’s fairly easy to see the difference between white and black when seeing them beside each other. Still, most people do not know enough about color to accurately define the colors of white and black with words.  Seeing the color difference with your eyes is an everyday event but understanding the definition may add to the spiritual awareness these colors represent.

White - The achromatic color of maximum lightness; the color of objects that reflect nearly all light of all visible wavelengths;

Black -The achromatic color value of minimum lightness or maximum darkness; the color of objects that absorb nearly all light of all visible wavelengths

By definition, light responds according to an object’s color. White reflects the most light where black absorbs all light. White gives off light but black hoards every color in the spectrum.  An example of the color difference can be seen in our homes and work places. Rooms with white walls and ceilings are bright but rooms painted black have lighting specifically for targeted areas. The reason being is that you can flood a dark room with harsh light and the room would still be darker than a room painted white.

In the same respect the Kingdom of Light and the kingdom of darkness have similar qualities.  However, the kingdom of darkness uses deception for its system method of influence. Paul said that Satan, the leader of the kingdom of darkness masquerades as an angel of light. (2 Corinthians 11:14) And just as thieves’ work under the cover of darkness Satan keeps the world in darkness so he can work unhindered.  He suppresses the truth that sets men free and keeps them busy chasing the evil desires of man’s heart.

On the other hand, there are many reasons why God refers to his kingdom as the kingdom of light. The primary reason is that he wants the truth to be known and light reveals the truth without tainting the truth or favoring God’s view.  The Almighty God is a God is light, a light so strong that its color appears to be white.

His son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, (Hebrews 1:3) He is the word the lamp that lights the path of the chosen in heaven. (Revelation 21:24) The light emanating from God was so brilliant that it appeared to be white. This light as described by Paul was unapproachable, which was a humbling experience to Paul seen in a vision while traveling to Damascus. The light of God’s glory best reflects the color of white and every heavenly being representing him is dressed in white. The transfiguration of Christ revealed some interesting facts.

The clothes of Jesus Christ became white as his face. The picture of Christ in the opening chapter of revelation said both his face and hair were as white as snow.  (Revelation 1:14)

Sill there is a day when the Lord shall humble the arrogant and haughty. It will be a day of darkness when the light of the sun will be extinguished. Then in the eastern skies a light will appear and every eye shall focus on it, even the eyes of him who pierced our Lord’s side shall see our Lord coming for his elect. Every person shall be gathered to our Lord and he shall separate the sheep from the goats. Those who did God’s will to one side and those who did not to another place.

Our Lord will mount his white horse and go into battle slaughtering many, treading their blood into the ground. When the time is right he will judge in truth and righteousness. And God will judge those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s book of life before his great and awesome white throne. Makes you wonder if the brilliance of light will lay the sins of the world bare before God.

The scriptures reveal the events of Christ on the mount of transfiguration and how his face lit up the area even making his clothes shine like his face. Is it possible that we may be seeing an image of what our glorified body may look like? Jesus said that we are the lights of the world.  What happened to the face of Moses after his meetings with God when God spoke to Moses face to face may happen to us. Moses covered his face with a veil because hiss face was radiant.  

His face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord and Moses was reflecting the glorious light of his God.  The light of Moses’s face struck fear into the hearts of the Israelites, humbling them knowing that Moses had been in the presence of God.  

The color white has a symbolic meaning of purity.  Listen to David’s prayer,

It’s the blood of the lamb that cleanses us from all sin but it is washing our robes in the blood of Christ that gives us a right to the tree of life and to be eternally with God in heaven. (Revelation 22:14) John writes, everyone who has this hope purifies himself from his or her sin.  (1 John 3:3) Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus that his purpose was to see the church was presented to Christ in pristine order.

Peter described Christians as living stones and John spoke of God’s holy ones as Jasper that made up the crystal sea. The crystal sea sparkled which meant that the sea reflected the brilliance of God’s glory.

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Wealth Versus Poverty

Men and women of this world define wealth as material possessions they have accrued over a lifetime. The majority of people are more concerned about accruing enough wealth to be able to retire in comfort. Instead we find the plunder of the poor are in the homes of the wealthy. During our lifetime we find more people with their hand extended desiring your meager earnings than wanting to be your friend. What is worse, those who receive a check on Friday evening are penniless by Monday mourning. In conclusion, an inordinate number of people compete for the wealth of men but few are really satisfied with what they have accrued. Yet wealth is something of value to every man.

What good is wealth if you can not keep it or take it with you. Unfortunately the desires of man and the power of wealth in a temporal world define wealth in the world we live in. Life in abundance is virtually unheard of in this world, but it is a form of wealth when we will have life for an eternity. However we should seriously consider that wealth is marked by an abundance of possessions and resources.

However the one thing that we should value the most is the life God gave us. Life is the asset we cannot replace and once our life is spent what can we look forward to?

 We live in a world where the thief Jesus spoke of is attempting to dominate and rule. Jesus came so man could be restored to God and through accepting Jesus as Lord we are given the gift of life.  This gift of life is without end and the meaning of life in a world without death has to change along with idea of wealth. For this reason we should consider that life in abundance is a form of wealth.

Eternal life is a source of wealth as the idea of eternal life is marked with an abundance of life that can not be counted, be measured or be out lived. Life can also be marked with an abundance of grand children, friends, health and memories, but without God even things we cherish can be meaningless.

If we were to seriously consider the nature of human life in relation to the years we have to consider the purpose of life.  King Solomon seriously considered what life was about and wrote.

He said everything done under the sun is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. Everything we do is short lived more or less something that gets us to the from one day to the next. He concludes that life consists of serving God.

Eternal life is a gift of God and life is something we should place a high value on by making the effort to hold onto abundance that God gives us.  When we look at God we see an abundance of qualities in God’s character that give life meaning and purpose. God’s character is marked with an abundance of grace and the first is being saved by his grace.

Its by grace that we are saved from the coming wrath of God against those whose sin ruins lives and the life God planned. Through the graces of God, life can be restored and maintained by God’s graces. This life demands adopting the grace of forgiveness and loving one another, as you would want to be loved. We become fellow servants of our brother and sisters in Christ as well as servants of God our Father.

In respect of being judged by God for the deeds of our life, have we considered creating a wealth of good deeds.  God has prepared good works for man to do in advance of their time on Earth. In addition by knowing that God has certain expectations of his children shouldn’t we be about our father business. By knowing what God expects we can create an abundance of good things to represent his love to the world that needs to know him.

  Because God wants you to do good works out of the wealth of scriptures he will thoroughly equipped you for every good work.

Paul wrote to the church at Phillippi saying,

God will supply everything you need according to his glorious riches in Jesus Christ. The things of value are what we need at the time of need. Money doesn’t have much value when we need God’s healing touch or a job that gives us the power of wealth to feed our family. God’s wealth is available to us through our faith but God’s wealth is not to be squandered for our personal desires.

However, there are people living in poverty owning cars, boats and luxurious homes. These are the things people of the world brag about, but they have no value to God. Rather they are things that robbed God of the Love he wanted from them. They have been deceived in thinking that things will give them happiness and enjoyment for the rest of their lives, yet they will give all they have to live another day. They are willing to do almost anything to live except for one thing God wants them to do. They refused to repent and serve God.

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Wise Versus Foolishness

Jesus posed the idea that a king was about to go to war with another king.  In this parable the question was asked if this king would sit down with his advisors and consider the feasibility of victory with his current assets. This was the second parable that Jesus taught in regards to the cost of being his disciple and both parables brings out the point that disciples may not have enough fortitude to succeed. What then? Are we prepared to look like a foolish person because we were not able to finish the course and succeed?

For some the cost of following Jesus is their life but they succeeded. For others the cost of discipleship is all they had. But for the majority, discipleship has not caused them to shed blood or give up the wealth of this world.  Yet there is a cost that every disciple is willing to pay, the price of repenting and turning from sin.

Finding the right thing to do to please God is not easy and it involves that you take time out of your busy life to seek God for the answers. Like building a house you have to understand what you have to do to make the house last a lifetime. However, building the house is going to cost you an arm and a leg.  If you plan and build the house right the house will out last your lifetime by two or more generations.

With Jesus Christ in our lives we are to build our house on a rock.  Jesus is the rock of the ages and the cornerstone our house is built around. The house we are building is not a earthly house, but a temple where the spirit of the living God lives. (2 Corinthians 6:16, 1 Peter 2:4-5)  To begin we must lay a foundation on the rock and we do this by making Jesus Christ our Lord and inviting the Lord into our lives.

However the plan and building materials for this house is based on hearing the word of God and putting his words into practice. In other words we have to look at the plan and decide how best to apply the knowledge of God’s word to our lives.

What we find right off the bat is that the bible is written to mankind but it was written is spirit filled words. By this we mean that to understand the Bible we must renew our minds to know God’s will. Renewing our mind changes the way men think to the way God thinks. The bible is spiritually discerned and we must have the mind of Christ to discern the will of God.

Solomon wrote that Proverbs was written for a reason.

In this brief study we have seen the basic definition of the word wise laid out before our eyes. According to a dictionary the word wise is defined as discernment for what is true, right, enduring and exhibits a common sense approach to life. The bible lays out a common sense plan that teaches every disciple of Jesus Christ how to live right in accordance with the truth. Within the pages of the bible we hear the truth being repeated consistently, which gives us the ability to discern the truth.

God’s word gives man plan with a course of action. According to the plan we must use our shield of faith to quench the constant bombarding of fiery darts. Those darts are thoughts filled with lies and doubts about God and we must capture those thoughts and make them conform to Christ. Then by submitting to Christ, we can take our stand, Satan has no other choice but to flee from the wrath of God.

Wise men obey God by taking the gospel to the world. When we obey the royal command to love God with our entire being and love our neighbor as our selves the outcome is that we don’t want to see anyone face the wrath of God or go to hell. Sinners require Christians to exercise their beliefs and God wants to see you love one another. Telling a sinner that all have sinned, Jesus took their sin to the cross and paid the penalty all because God loves them is the message God wants them to hear. But if no one takes the message how will they know that they can choose life?

The bible tells us that the world thinks the gospel is foolishness but it also says fools despise wisdom and discipline. (Proverbs 1:7) The world has no doubts that God is the supreme ruler of all creation, but even though they are part of God’s creation they refuse to allow God to rule their lives. One day God will summon his creation to his throne and on that day he will humble the arrogant and haughty men and women of the world.

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Working Versus Lazy 

Work is an essential life that gives us ability to gain wealth but at the same time it is written that hunger is the incentive that will force man to work. (Proverbs 16:26) Look at the achievements of man and possessions that man has been able to accrue yet not one good work was without God’s approval. This is not to say that there are works of evil that will never have God’s approval.

Work is a combined effort of the mind and hand that is directed towards an accomplishment. Work employs the mental attributes of man to plan the procedures that will be used.  The hands are used in accordance with specific plans to accomplish the overall purpose of the plan. Everything we do starts in the gray matter of the brain as an idea or thought. A choice is made and the thought is scrambled again in the mind where orders are sent through the body, to the nerves that manipulates the hand. This process may have thousands of commands that will continue to function until the work is finalized.

In other words, every work starts with a thought, but we must decide the kind of work and the purpose that the thought proposes. The mind is an open door where thoughts enter our mind, but the mind is also the originating point where decisions are made. Its in our mind that we must determine the nature and purpose of every thought before it goes any further. We have to determine if the thought is to be thrown in the trash can or acted on.

As Christians we have a further responsibility and that is to compare that thought with those of our Lord.

Its in the mind that we can nip any thought in the bud and prevent its forming fruit. On the other hand we can take the thought and nourish it so it will produce fruit. In the same way our deeds become the fruit seen by God attached to our person. Like fruit on a tree every thought has the potential to become the fruit the tree is known for.

When we take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ, are we not giving God the right to prune the limbs before they can produce fruit?  Let’s consider that when God prunes our limbs he also like the potter that is molding the pot for noble purposes. This pruning changes our thinking patterns so we will produce the fruit God wants. In other words allowing God to prune our lives develops the character God is working towards.

When we see Jesus through out the New Testament we see him at work in the Harvest field doing the good deeds prepared for him. He had compassion and comforted the people by healing the sick.

With a little imagination you can see Jesus standing in the field hiring new hands and designating the place for them to work. But if you were to look at the fields you would see that not every area of the field is filled with fruit and you may have to work in an area that has already been picked. The quality of the fruit is not our concern and not your job to sort, but to harvest.

Every worker that goes to work in this field will be given the tools required for the work assigned to them.  They may not be to our liking but they will be adequate to perform the work. At the same time the Lord of Harvest doesn’t want to see you twiddling your thumbs. He wants to see you actively doing the work assigned to you.

When looking at the field a second time we will realize that its not a vegetable garden or a grove of fruit trees that we are going to harvest, but men. God is building a kingdom of kings and priests and our job is recruiting men and women for God’s use. However we will not be working alone, Jesus Christ will be our working companion.

When we go into the harvest field we will have the opportunity to know our companion through our conversation. During that time he will endeavor to work on our behavior so we will be able to influence men and women to seek salvation through Jesus Christ. Our influence is not enough for we must introduce the fruit to the Lord of Harvest. From that point it is between the recruit and Jesus Christ to make him ready for the kingdom to come.

As we said, the Lord of Harvest doesn’t want to see you twiddling your thumbs.

This verse may be taken out of context but what would you do if you saw someone in your employment not doing his job.  

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