Mat 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
The last to arrive were the first to receive their pay. The first to arrive were the last to receive their pay. That they both received the exact same pay for different amounts of time worked is solely up to their employer. No one should begrudge the good done by someone just because THEY do not receive what they might consider their due, their fair share. We truly need to count our blessings the smallest blessing as well as the largest ones. We've become so jade by our society and the desire for MORE that we forget to focus on what we do possess. Jesus told us to place our treasures in heaven, our desire should be in heaven as well, yes? And if our treasures, our desires are in heaven then we aren't caught up in the FAIR SHARES we believe we deserve down here on earth- right?
Is it fair that the last to come to Jesus- perhaps those we consider hard-core sinners, those who murder, rape, abuse children, abuse elderly, animal abusers, the worst of the worst- when those people at the very last moment before probation closes accept Jesus as their Savior and repent of their sins, truly repent and are saved before those who have been Jesus' for a long, long time? YES, it is fair because fairness is found in the truth and the acceptance of that truth. The truth is, fairness is something that doesn't matter-Salvation matters. What we call fairness is truly fantasy, a fantasy built upon a perfect society but that society isn't perfect because so many do not want the only perfection that exists and that is Jesus. They want to create their OWN idea of perfection. The perfect life being one with all they ever want they can have, and that all includes all the foods, all the parties, all the nice things, all the things that will only ever contribute to their happiness. Clothes, wealth, entertainment all these things that are treasures HERE on earth. We want treasures here on earth and this we call fairness. We are getting our desires- our flesh desires. Some might say that it's not wrong to want to live without the fear of hunger, the fear of homelessness, the fear of sickness, the fear of no transportation, and they'd be right. It's not wrong to want to live without those fears and so many people do live without them even when they have nothing at all. It seems impossible but it's true. There is a very small select group of people who do fully trust in God for all their needs and when bad things happen they still bless God, they still thank God, they still believe that somehow all things will work out. Putting our faith in God, putting our treasures in heaven, if we would ONLY live this way rather than how we do maybe, just maybe we wouldn't feel the covetousness, the selfishness, the unfairness, the envying that we fall victim too.
There is so much we need to study, to learn, to comprehend and only our Savior can help us do that, only the Holy Spirit can guide us, enlighten us.
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
Yes, many are called…. but few are chosen.
By the grace and mercy of God may we be chosen
Please Lord, help us we need Your help so desperately, we need Your righteousness as our own unrighteousness is made so much more clear to us. We are so far from being what you'd have us be Lord and it's ONLY by You we have any hope at all whatsoever!
Please Lord, please help us to realize that we are NOT guaranteed fairness as such as we believe we should be. We are guaranteed YOUR TRUTH and that TRUTH is YOUR LOVE and that is ALL we need…YOU.
Bless us Lord, please we beg You, bless us.
Amen.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Monday, January 30, 2012
Is thine eye evil....
Mat 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard.
Mat 20:2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Mat 20:3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Mat 20:4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Mat 20:5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
Mat 20:6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Mat 20:7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
Mat 20:8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
Mat 20:9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
Mat 20:10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
Mat 20:11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Mat 20:12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
Mat 20:13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Mat 20:14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Mat 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
When reading this passage I couldn't help but apply it to our common idea of fairness. Our idea that we've tried to make it so that everyone has equality in all things and yet at the same time we promote ingenuity and the ability to get ahead. If we are promoting getting ahead we aren't promoting equality. Socialism - based on the idea that we all deserve equal shares in life with no one able to get ahead of another- we frown on that, right? We love the idea of capitalism- America was founded on this idea in many, many ways and a lot of people would say we've abused it until we've caused our own downfall. The rich have gotten way richer while the poor have become way poorer and we say this is okay because the rich have worked for their riches- or family has worked for family to be rich. We say the poor can always boost themselves up out of being poor and become rich- they just have to work for it. Remember- the American dream? Bring us your tired…hungry…you know the rest or the gist of it. We grow up believing we are entitled- even if we don't always work for it. We grow up believing life should be fair. This parable of Jesus' is telling us that we shouldn't have that illusion and if we do our 'eyes are evil'.
Life isn't fair. Those who have lots also have the right to distribute their wealth as they choose, yes? If they follow Jesus they'll do a lot to help the needy but that doesn't necessarily mean that they have to distribute their wealth equally to every single person they meet, right? Sometimes a need is greater than we realize for one and they need more than another. Fairness isn't Godliness, not in the sense that we've come to learn it.
All too often one person has to work hard to barely make ends meet, while another seems to have a nice easy job and they make more money than they know what to do with- and we call that unfair. Some people are born into wealthy families while others are born into poor families- and we call that unfair. We need to get rid of that sort of idea of fairness because it's not good- in fact it is evil. It rears up inside of us as a breeding ground for envy, for coveting, for selfishness and those are evil traits- not godly at all.
More on this tomorrow… too tired to think.
By the grace of our Lord and Savior may we learn HIS goodness, and not have an eye of evil.
In HIS love!
Amen.
Mat 20:2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Mat 20:3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace,
Mat 20:4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way.
Mat 20:5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise.
Mat 20:6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle?
Mat 20:7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
Mat 20:8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first.
Mat 20:9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny.
Mat 20:10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny.
Mat 20:11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house,
Mat 20:12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day.
Mat 20:13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny?
Mat 20:14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee.
Mat 20:15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
Mat 20:16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.
When reading this passage I couldn't help but apply it to our common idea of fairness. Our idea that we've tried to make it so that everyone has equality in all things and yet at the same time we promote ingenuity and the ability to get ahead. If we are promoting getting ahead we aren't promoting equality. Socialism - based on the idea that we all deserve equal shares in life with no one able to get ahead of another- we frown on that, right? We love the idea of capitalism- America was founded on this idea in many, many ways and a lot of people would say we've abused it until we've caused our own downfall. The rich have gotten way richer while the poor have become way poorer and we say this is okay because the rich have worked for their riches- or family has worked for family to be rich. We say the poor can always boost themselves up out of being poor and become rich- they just have to work for it. Remember- the American dream? Bring us your tired…hungry…you know the rest or the gist of it. We grow up believing we are entitled- even if we don't always work for it. We grow up believing life should be fair. This parable of Jesus' is telling us that we shouldn't have that illusion and if we do our 'eyes are evil'.
Life isn't fair. Those who have lots also have the right to distribute their wealth as they choose, yes? If they follow Jesus they'll do a lot to help the needy but that doesn't necessarily mean that they have to distribute their wealth equally to every single person they meet, right? Sometimes a need is greater than we realize for one and they need more than another. Fairness isn't Godliness, not in the sense that we've come to learn it.
All too often one person has to work hard to barely make ends meet, while another seems to have a nice easy job and they make more money than they know what to do with- and we call that unfair. Some people are born into wealthy families while others are born into poor families- and we call that unfair. We need to get rid of that sort of idea of fairness because it's not good- in fact it is evil. It rears up inside of us as a breeding ground for envy, for coveting, for selfishness and those are evil traits- not godly at all.
More on this tomorrow… too tired to think.
By the grace of our Lord and Savior may we learn HIS goodness, and not have an eye of evil.
In HIS love!
Amen.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Kept by the POWER of God
1Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Kept by the power of God.
Through faith.
Unto salvation.
Ready to be revealed.
In the last time.
We are ONLY kept by the power of God.
We have to believe this- and THIS is our faith.
Our Salvation by faith.
That salvation fully realized in the last time.
A promise can be believed, and a promise can be kept, and a promise can be realized and fulfilled. The promise we must believe is that we DO have salvation as our reward, salvation a gift given to us, a promise made to us by our Savior. We must believe in that promise, we must believe in the eventual fulfillment of that promise.
That there are TWO deaths seems so strange to people but the Bible tells us there is a FIRST and a SECOND death.
Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
There is first resurrection- to be resurrected mustn't you first be dead?
The first resurrection.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
This speaks so plainly doesn't it? People are in their graves. People are NOT in heaven and being resurrected from the dead from heaven. IF people are in heaven already there is NO need of any other resurrection, right? It would make NO sense to have a first resurrection, a resurrection of life, if there is already life.
We are promised a resurrection from the dead - those who die in Christ will be called to the resurrection of life. They will be raised from the graves, resurrected to LIFE.
Those who are alive when our Savior returns and raises those that are His to life, do NOT taste even of the first death.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
*
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
*
There is an inheritance waiting for us in heaven, but we MUST be kept by the power of God - through faith, to receive salvation. If we die before our Savior returns we will be raised from the dead when He returns- this is a promise. If we are alive when our Savior returns we will be raised from the earth still living to receive salvation.
We have to believe we are kept by GOD'S power, not ours, but HIS POWER. We MUST BELIEVE this is the faith we must have, all by the grace of God.
All in His love!
Amen.
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
Kept by the power of God.
Through faith.
Unto salvation.
Ready to be revealed.
In the last time.
We are ONLY kept by the power of God.
We have to believe this- and THIS is our faith.
Our Salvation by faith.
That salvation fully realized in the last time.
A promise can be believed, and a promise can be kept, and a promise can be realized and fulfilled. The promise we must believe is that we DO have salvation as our reward, salvation a gift given to us, a promise made to us by our Savior. We must believe in that promise, we must believe in the eventual fulfillment of that promise.
That there are TWO deaths seems so strange to people but the Bible tells us there is a FIRST and a SECOND death.
Rev 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
There is first resurrection- to be resurrected mustn't you first be dead?
The first resurrection.
Joh 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
This speaks so plainly doesn't it? People are in their graves. People are NOT in heaven and being resurrected from the dead from heaven. IF people are in heaven already there is NO need of any other resurrection, right? It would make NO sense to have a first resurrection, a resurrection of life, if there is already life.
We are promised a resurrection from the dead - those who die in Christ will be called to the resurrection of life. They will be raised from the graves, resurrected to LIFE.
Those who are alive when our Savior returns and raises those that are His to life, do NOT taste even of the first death.
1Th 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:
1Th 4:17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
1Th 4:18 Wherefore comfort one another with these words.
*
1Pe 1:4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you
1Pe 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
*
There is an inheritance waiting for us in heaven, but we MUST be kept by the power of God - through faith, to receive salvation. If we die before our Savior returns we will be raised from the dead when He returns- this is a promise. If we are alive when our Savior returns we will be raised from the earth still living to receive salvation.
We have to believe we are kept by GOD'S power, not ours, but HIS POWER. We MUST BELIEVE this is the faith we must have, all by the grace of God.
All in His love!
Amen.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
If any do err...
Jas 5:19 Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him;
Jas 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Erring from the truth.
We find the truth in Jesus.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
If any of us err from the truth we find in our Savior and another person brings us back to Jesus- to the truth then they will hide a multitude of sins. The ONLY way that is possible is because the ONE who reveals the truth to the erring one is living in the truth of our Lord's grace and forgiveness.
We can't go about thinking that we are saved- hiding our own sins when WE bring another to the knowledge of Jesus. We are only EVER saved by Jesus' forgiveness, by Jesus' spilled blood covering our sins. We can understand that our Savior is what matters most in life, truly what matters more than anything. Our Savior matters more than the favor of ANY man! We cannot deny Jesus to keep face with those around us and have hope in Salvation. We must live Jesus- and in living Jesus we - by His grace will be able to share His love. We CANNOT preach Jesus and despise those around us- the worst of sinners does NOT need our shunning, but our LOVE! You can convert no one to the truth by showing hatred. You can convert no one to Jesus' love and salvation by hating and despising them. We have to SEE everyone as Jesus sees them. Not as one to be despised but one to be forgiven. Even the pharisees that sought to kill Jesus more than once were loved.
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
And those who nailed Him to the cross- they were LOVED.
Luk 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
When we reveal this love to others and those erring from the truth return to the truth, we truly do hide a multitude of sins because we are immersed in that amazing love that brings us forgiveness.
The truth.
Jesus.
The truth.
Salvation only found in Jesus.
The truth.
The kingdom of heaven come down to us in Jesus.
The truth.
Our Savior's amazing love towards us, His unending love!
The truth.
Our King, Jesus!
The truth.
Our Advocate Jesus.
The truth.
Love of God.
The truth.
Love of our fellow man.
The truth.
The Truth, the Way, the Life.
The truth.
Jesus.
Amen.
Jas 5:20 Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.
Erring from the truth.
We find the truth in Jesus.
Joh 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
If any of us err from the truth we find in our Savior and another person brings us back to Jesus- to the truth then they will hide a multitude of sins. The ONLY way that is possible is because the ONE who reveals the truth to the erring one is living in the truth of our Lord's grace and forgiveness.
We can't go about thinking that we are saved- hiding our own sins when WE bring another to the knowledge of Jesus. We are only EVER saved by Jesus' forgiveness, by Jesus' spilled blood covering our sins. We can understand that our Savior is what matters most in life, truly what matters more than anything. Our Savior matters more than the favor of ANY man! We cannot deny Jesus to keep face with those around us and have hope in Salvation. We must live Jesus- and in living Jesus we - by His grace will be able to share His love. We CANNOT preach Jesus and despise those around us- the worst of sinners does NOT need our shunning, but our LOVE! You can convert no one to the truth by showing hatred. You can convert no one to Jesus' love and salvation by hating and despising them. We have to SEE everyone as Jesus sees them. Not as one to be despised but one to be forgiven. Even the pharisees that sought to kill Jesus more than once were loved.
Mat 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
And those who nailed Him to the cross- they were LOVED.
Luk 23:34 Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
When we reveal this love to others and those erring from the truth return to the truth, we truly do hide a multitude of sins because we are immersed in that amazing love that brings us forgiveness.
The truth.
Jesus.
The truth.
Salvation only found in Jesus.
The truth.
The kingdom of heaven come down to us in Jesus.
The truth.
Our Savior's amazing love towards us, His unending love!
The truth.
Our King, Jesus!
The truth.
Our Advocate Jesus.
The truth.
Love of God.
The truth.
Love of our fellow man.
The truth.
The Truth, the Way, the Life.
The truth.
Jesus.
Amen.
Friday, January 27, 2012
Earnest Prayers Answered! PRAISE GOD!
Jas 5:17 Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.
Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Prayer.
Praying earnestly.
Today an earnest prayer of mine was fully realized in the birth of my great niece, Lyla Rose Myers!
ALL GLORY, HONOR, and PRAISE UNTO GOD! This was HIS miracle! This was by HIS grace! Through HIS love!
Back in May 2011 my niece found out she was pregnant, her seventh or sixth pregnancy, all the others having failed through miscarriage. She was resigned to losing this baby too- feeling all the same familiar, horrible pangs of a miscarriage wracking her body. She went to the hospital emergency room and I was asked to go be with her. When I got there I could see the heartache written all over her face, she was devastated already but trying to steel herself for the inevitable outcome of the hospital visit. Doing my best to comfort her, it was only when her mother and husband arrived a short while later that she gave into the tears and heartache full force. With my heartbreaking for her I PRAYED EARNESTLY for a miracle to our LIVING GOD! To a God who hears, to a God who sees, to a God who knows, to a God who LOVES us, and OUR MOST AMAZING WONDERFUL GOD answered that prayer, a prayer that MANY were praying the day. Our LORD answered our prayer! Our living God blessed the womb of my niece and the baby had a heartbeat. In spite of having all the signs of a miscarriage my niece miraculously carried a living child. After nine months- that beautiful miracle baby was born today! PRAISE GOD! PRAISE OUR LIVING, LOVING, WONDERFUL GOD! Our God who answers earnest prayers as ONLY HE CAN!
Do all earnest prayers get answered? Yes. Maybe not the way we always desire because the earnest prayer includes first and foremost God's will to be done, not ours. We can't see the big picture, we just can't, but God can! God sees the end from the beginning and He knows. This miracle blessing of this successful pregnancy is proof. Yes, a thousand prayers might go unanswered in the manner we'd like but all it takes is one prayer to be answered as we earnestly beseech our most HOLY GOD, and we can truly comprehend that our LIVES are in the hands of a living, loving, amazing, and wonderful God.
Yes, our heartaches might out weigh our joys by a million to one, but we need to have faith that HE, our GOD, knows better than we do what sort of refining fires we need to pass through to be His, wholly His!
Thank You GOD! Thank You for this most wonderful of miracles! Please Lord, please continue to bless little Lyla Rose and her parents and keep them IN YOU, in YOUR LOVE!
ALL PRAISE to GOD!
ALL GLORY to GOD!
ALL THANKSGIVING to GOD LORD OF THE SABBATH, OUR CREATOR, OUR SAVIOR, OUR KING!
Amen!
Jas 5:18 And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit.
Prayer.
Praying earnestly.
Today an earnest prayer of mine was fully realized in the birth of my great niece, Lyla Rose Myers!
ALL GLORY, HONOR, and PRAISE UNTO GOD! This was HIS miracle! This was by HIS grace! Through HIS love!
Back in May 2011 my niece found out she was pregnant, her seventh or sixth pregnancy, all the others having failed through miscarriage. She was resigned to losing this baby too- feeling all the same familiar, horrible pangs of a miscarriage wracking her body. She went to the hospital emergency room and I was asked to go be with her. When I got there I could see the heartache written all over her face, she was devastated already but trying to steel herself for the inevitable outcome of the hospital visit. Doing my best to comfort her, it was only when her mother and husband arrived a short while later that she gave into the tears and heartache full force. With my heartbreaking for her I PRAYED EARNESTLY for a miracle to our LIVING GOD! To a God who hears, to a God who sees, to a God who knows, to a God who LOVES us, and OUR MOST AMAZING WONDERFUL GOD answered that prayer, a prayer that MANY were praying the day. Our LORD answered our prayer! Our living God blessed the womb of my niece and the baby had a heartbeat. In spite of having all the signs of a miscarriage my niece miraculously carried a living child. After nine months- that beautiful miracle baby was born today! PRAISE GOD! PRAISE OUR LIVING, LOVING, WONDERFUL GOD! Our God who answers earnest prayers as ONLY HE CAN!
Do all earnest prayers get answered? Yes. Maybe not the way we always desire because the earnest prayer includes first and foremost God's will to be done, not ours. We can't see the big picture, we just can't, but God can! God sees the end from the beginning and He knows. This miracle blessing of this successful pregnancy is proof. Yes, a thousand prayers might go unanswered in the manner we'd like but all it takes is one prayer to be answered as we earnestly beseech our most HOLY GOD, and we can truly comprehend that our LIVES are in the hands of a living, loving, amazing, and wonderful God.
Yes, our heartaches might out weigh our joys by a million to one, but we need to have faith that HE, our GOD, knows better than we do what sort of refining fires we need to pass through to be His, wholly His!
Thank You GOD! Thank You for this most wonderful of miracles! Please Lord, please continue to bless little Lyla Rose and her parents and keep them IN YOU, in YOUR LOVE!
ALL PRAISE to GOD!
ALL GLORY to GOD!
ALL THANKSGIVING to GOD LORD OF THE SABBATH, OUR CREATOR, OUR SAVIOR, OUR KING!
Amen!
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Fervent Prayer
Jas 5:13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
The power of prayer. You've heard it said before that there is power in prayer and there really is. We are told to pray.
If we are afflicted. Pray.
If we are sick. Pray.
If we are repented and seeking forgiveness. Pray.
If we have faults. Pray.
We must pray!
Prayer is instantly recognizing God as our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer. At least sincere prayer is all that. Too many pray without sincerity. Too many pray repetitive prayers that lose all their power because they are prayed without any real meaning. When we talk to someone they know whether or not what we are saying is sincere- at least most of the time they do. People can tell when we are speaking from the heart can't they? You can see the interest, or lack of it in another as you are speaking. Have you ever been talking and seen the one you are talking to just lose focus in what you're saying? Have you gotten mad because what you were saying was important- to you at least? When we talk to people it is very seldom just to hear ourselves speak, right? We want the other person to listen to what we are saying and respond as one that has heard. It is NO different with God. When we speak with God it has to be sincere speaking, not passionless, but filled with passion. We can't expect God to hear our prayers if we are praying but NOT really speaking to Him at all. We can't drone on and drone and expect God to listen to us.
The effectual FERVENT prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Fervent- 'having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; ardent: a fervent admirer; a fervent plea.'
Pasted from
Intensity of spirit. Enthusiasm. Great warmth. Are our prayers fervent? Do we pray with passion? Seriously, do we?
We need to.
Our righteousness is found ONLY in Christ Jesus our Savior. And we can pray fervent in His name knowing He hears, knowing that He cares.
We can choose to pray softly, silently even, and still do so with great intensity.
We need to pray. We need prayer in our lives and it must be a big part of our lives.
All through the grace and mercy of our Savior!
Amen!
Jas 5:14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
Jas 5:15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
Jas 5:16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
The power of prayer. You've heard it said before that there is power in prayer and there really is. We are told to pray.
If we are afflicted. Pray.
If we are sick. Pray.
If we are repented and seeking forgiveness. Pray.
If we have faults. Pray.
We must pray!
Prayer is instantly recognizing God as our Creator, our Savior, our Redeemer. At least sincere prayer is all that. Too many pray without sincerity. Too many pray repetitive prayers that lose all their power because they are prayed without any real meaning. When we talk to someone they know whether or not what we are saying is sincere- at least most of the time they do. People can tell when we are speaking from the heart can't they? You can see the interest, or lack of it in another as you are speaking. Have you ever been talking and seen the one you are talking to just lose focus in what you're saying? Have you gotten mad because what you were saying was important- to you at least? When we talk to people it is very seldom just to hear ourselves speak, right? We want the other person to listen to what we are saying and respond as one that has heard. It is NO different with God. When we speak with God it has to be sincere speaking, not passionless, but filled with passion. We can't expect God to hear our prayers if we are praying but NOT really speaking to Him at all. We can't drone on and drone and expect God to listen to us.
The effectual FERVENT prayer of a righteous man availeth much.
Fervent- 'having or showing great warmth or intensity of spirit, feeling, enthusiasm, etc.; ardent: a fervent admirer; a fervent plea.'
Pasted from
Intensity of spirit. Enthusiasm. Great warmth. Are our prayers fervent? Do we pray with passion? Seriously, do we?
We need to.
Our righteousness is found ONLY in Christ Jesus our Savior. And we can pray fervent in His name knowing He hears, knowing that He cares.
We can choose to pray softly, silently even, and still do so with great intensity.
We need to pray. We need prayer in our lives and it must be a big part of our lives.
All through the grace and mercy of our Savior!
Amen!
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Swear not....any oath
Jas 5:12 But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
How easy it is for us to 'fall in condemnation' because we enjoy talking. Our tongues enjoy wagging. Where would most of us be if we didn't have wagging tongues? We love the sound of our own voices, don't we? Can we go a month without talking? A week? A single day? Seriously, can we willingly- not medically induced, keep from talking for a single day. What do you think would happen if you tried it? Do you think you'd succeed? You say you have to talk, that family, friends, co-workers and such are dependent upon your talking. Then ask yourself if you did have laryngitis how would they survive without your speaking? That's different you say? No, it's really not. Unless of course you result to writing, which people can do when they can't speak- but in truth it's still a form of communication and don't we need to just see what it's like NOT to speak for a bit?
This verse in James talks about us no swearing by heaven or earth or anything really. We need to speak plainly. What is more than yes and no leads to confusion a lot of times. We want to say more than yes and no we want a lot of leeway.
We do NOT want to fall into condemnation. We should not make any oaths because we have power over NOTHING. We have to realize our place and that is as a creature and as a creature we have no power, our Creator has the power and it's to Him we have to bow down and worship. We have to realize that He has the control we have none.
We are condemned when we believe we have power, when we believe we have control. As long as we believe more in ourselves and less in God we are lost. People have to believe this because it's true.
Our God is so awesome, He is all powerful!
The mercy of God is beyond our comprehension.
God is our all in all, so far above us and we are blessed, blessed to be able to worship Him.
We really do have to consider how we speak much more than we do and James has been paramount in trying to teach us this.
Please Lord help us to take Your words to heart, let us realize our place, You are our all in all forever and ever.
Amen.
Mat 5:34 But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne:
Mat 5:35 Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.
Mat 5:36 Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
Mat 5:37 But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
How easy it is for us to 'fall in condemnation' because we enjoy talking. Our tongues enjoy wagging. Where would most of us be if we didn't have wagging tongues? We love the sound of our own voices, don't we? Can we go a month without talking? A week? A single day? Seriously, can we willingly- not medically induced, keep from talking for a single day. What do you think would happen if you tried it? Do you think you'd succeed? You say you have to talk, that family, friends, co-workers and such are dependent upon your talking. Then ask yourself if you did have laryngitis how would they survive without your speaking? That's different you say? No, it's really not. Unless of course you result to writing, which people can do when they can't speak- but in truth it's still a form of communication and don't we need to just see what it's like NOT to speak for a bit?
This verse in James talks about us no swearing by heaven or earth or anything really. We need to speak plainly. What is more than yes and no leads to confusion a lot of times. We want to say more than yes and no we want a lot of leeway.
We do NOT want to fall into condemnation. We should not make any oaths because we have power over NOTHING. We have to realize our place and that is as a creature and as a creature we have no power, our Creator has the power and it's to Him we have to bow down and worship. We have to realize that He has the control we have none.
We are condemned when we believe we have power, when we believe we have control. As long as we believe more in ourselves and less in God we are lost. People have to believe this because it's true.
Our God is so awesome, He is all powerful!
The mercy of God is beyond our comprehension.
God is our all in all, so far above us and we are blessed, blessed to be able to worship Him.
We really do have to consider how we speak much more than we do and James has been paramount in trying to teach us this.
Please Lord help us to take Your words to heart, let us realize our place, You are our all in all forever and ever.
Amen.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Endure
Jas 5:11 Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy.
Endure.
Persevering.
Continuing in spite of wanting to give up.
Carry on, regardless of circumstances.
Having faith, enduring.
We bring up Job as an example all the time and why? Because we need to. We need to understand life at it's possible worse for us and even in that believing in God.
Satan wants us to blame God.
Satan wants us to give up.
Satan does NOT want us to endure.
Satan does NOT want us to have patience.
Satan does NOT want us to have faith.
We have to keep the patience of Job in our lives always when it's the hardest to do so, when it seems impossible to do so. When tragedies strike we CAN'T blame God! We CAN'T give up! We MUST endure!
Our Savior is very compassionate, our Savior's mercy in unending. We have to endure… we have to and by the GRACE and RIGHTEOUSNESS of our SAVIOR we will.
Only through Him, only by Him, always in His love!
Endure.
Persevering.
Continuing in spite of wanting to give up.
Carry on, regardless of circumstances.
Having faith, enduring.
We bring up Job as an example all the time and why? Because we need to. We need to understand life at it's possible worse for us and even in that believing in God.
Satan wants us to blame God.
Satan wants us to give up.
Satan does NOT want us to endure.
Satan does NOT want us to have patience.
Satan does NOT want us to have faith.
We have to keep the patience of Job in our lives always when it's the hardest to do so, when it seems impossible to do so. When tragedies strike we CAN'T blame God! We CAN'T give up! We MUST endure!
Our Savior is very compassionate, our Savior's mercy in unending. We have to endure… we have to and by the GRACE and RIGHTEOUSNESS of our SAVIOR we will.
Only through Him, only by Him, always in His love!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Clean my heart, Lord, please!
Mat 15:11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
This goes along with the tongue being an evil member doesn't it? Seriously, it's what comes out of our mouths that defiles us.
What we speak. The things we say.
How can we even dare to open our mouths when so much evil is ready to spill forth? It's so easy to sin when we speak, so incredibly easy.
You hear of monks and such taking vows of silence, how amazing it must be for them to be forced by their own vow to NOT defile themselves with their mouths. If we would just follow the Word given to us and be 'SLOW to SPEAK', how much sin would be averted? If only we'd think before we speak and yet we are so quick to JUMP in and just say anything that comes to our minds. We don't take time to think, we speak because we want to, because we feel we have to voice our opinions. We feel we have a RIGHT to our opinions. I've said that so many times- I have a right to my opinion, it's just my opinion and what I'm doing is using 'my opinion' as the supposed right to say what I please and I expect no consequence from what I say because it's just my opinion and I'm entitled.
WE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO HURT OTHERS WITH OUR WORDS- opinion or not.
We are not entitled to create fuss and arguments because we just have to speak. We DO have the option of NOT SPEAKING.
So many of us have issues with our mouths, it's not limited to those with thinking problems. I know I have a BIG problem and I know the defiling stuff that comes from my mouth abhors me! I don't want to have a mouth that defiles me.
Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
I don't want to have an evil heart! I don't want to have a defiling heart! I want a CLEAN heart and a mouth that doesn't defile.
Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Only by the grace of God can I have a clean heart. I need God to create a clean heart in me. Please LORD
CLEAN MY HEART!
Please!
This goes along with the tongue being an evil member doesn't it? Seriously, it's what comes out of our mouths that defiles us.
What we speak. The things we say.
How can we even dare to open our mouths when so much evil is ready to spill forth? It's so easy to sin when we speak, so incredibly easy.
You hear of monks and such taking vows of silence, how amazing it must be for them to be forced by their own vow to NOT defile themselves with their mouths. If we would just follow the Word given to us and be 'SLOW to SPEAK', how much sin would be averted? If only we'd think before we speak and yet we are so quick to JUMP in and just say anything that comes to our minds. We don't take time to think, we speak because we want to, because we feel we have to voice our opinions. We feel we have a RIGHT to our opinions. I've said that so many times- I have a right to my opinion, it's just my opinion and what I'm doing is using 'my opinion' as the supposed right to say what I please and I expect no consequence from what I say because it's just my opinion and I'm entitled.
WE ARE NOT ENTITLED TO HURT OTHERS WITH OUR WORDS- opinion or not.
We are not entitled to create fuss and arguments because we just have to speak. We DO have the option of NOT SPEAKING.
So many of us have issues with our mouths, it's not limited to those with thinking problems. I know I have a BIG problem and I know the defiling stuff that comes from my mouth abhors me! I don't want to have a mouth that defiles me.
Mat 12:34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
I don't want to have an evil heart! I don't want to have a defiling heart! I want a CLEAN heart and a mouth that doesn't defile.
Psa 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
Only by the grace of God can I have a clean heart. I need God to create a clean heart in me. Please LORD
CLEAN MY HEART!
Please!
Sunday, January 22, 2012
The prophets- an example for us
Jas 5:10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
We are to look at the prophets, the Apostles, we have to look at the men and women of the Bible as examples. We are foolish if we refuse to look at their lives and understand that they ARE examples for us. An example is something you look at to know what something else should be like. If you're giving an example on how to do something you are to follow that example and do what the example shows you. We are to do as the disciples alive when Jesus walked the earth did. We are to be as they were. Can we be exactly like them? No. We can't be exactly like them because we live in totally different times. However, we must be like them in our passion, our compassion, our love, our attitudes. The Bible gives us so much instruction and if we ignore it then we are fools.
Right here in this verse we are being told we have examples to follow- examples in SUFFERING AFFLICTION and PATIENCE.
We will suffer!
We need patience in that suffering.
When we read of the lives of the Apostles we must do so with the understanding we are to expect our lives to be no different. We aren't going to suffer less. We aren't going to be given special exemptions from suffering and if we think we are then we are in for a rude awakening. We are called to comprehend.
We are to suffer.
Honestly, if our Savior suffered why in the world would we think we should not have a life of suffering?
There are so many ways of suffering too. Maybe we don't have men trying to find reasons to kill us for something we say they don't agree with, in fact most of us don't, but we have different types of suffering.
We have to suffer through big things and many, many little things. When we stop and wonder why we suffer, all we have to do is look at the Apostles, look at our Savior and know that we suffer because we are called to do so. We live in a world that is as far from perfect as it can be and with things so messed up there is going to be that much more suffering.
At the beginning of the book of James we were told this…
Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
We cannot forget this EVER!
We will suffer but there is joy, the joy of the love found in our Savior.
May we learn from the examples given to us, learn and understand our lives as followers of Christ.
Please Lord bless us, help us to look at the examples You have provided for us and as we look at those examples Lord help us to follow them, know they followed You and we too would be Yours wholly and completely Yours.
All by Your grace, through Your love!
Amen.
We are to look at the prophets, the Apostles, we have to look at the men and women of the Bible as examples. We are foolish if we refuse to look at their lives and understand that they ARE examples for us. An example is something you look at to know what something else should be like. If you're giving an example on how to do something you are to follow that example and do what the example shows you. We are to do as the disciples alive when Jesus walked the earth did. We are to be as they were. Can we be exactly like them? No. We can't be exactly like them because we live in totally different times. However, we must be like them in our passion, our compassion, our love, our attitudes. The Bible gives us so much instruction and if we ignore it then we are fools.
Right here in this verse we are being told we have examples to follow- examples in SUFFERING AFFLICTION and PATIENCE.
We will suffer!
We need patience in that suffering.
When we read of the lives of the Apostles we must do so with the understanding we are to expect our lives to be no different. We aren't going to suffer less. We aren't going to be given special exemptions from suffering and if we think we are then we are in for a rude awakening. We are called to comprehend.
We are to suffer.
Honestly, if our Savior suffered why in the world would we think we should not have a life of suffering?
There are so many ways of suffering too. Maybe we don't have men trying to find reasons to kill us for something we say they don't agree with, in fact most of us don't, but we have different types of suffering.
We have to suffer through big things and many, many little things. When we stop and wonder why we suffer, all we have to do is look at the Apostles, look at our Savior and know that we suffer because we are called to do so. We live in a world that is as far from perfect as it can be and with things so messed up there is going to be that much more suffering.
At the beginning of the book of James we were told this…
Jas 1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
Jas 1:3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
Jas 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
We cannot forget this EVER!
We will suffer but there is joy, the joy of the love found in our Savior.
May we learn from the examples given to us, learn and understand our lives as followers of Christ.
Please Lord bless us, help us to look at the examples You have provided for us and as we look at those examples Lord help us to follow them, know they followed You and we too would be Yours wholly and completely Yours.
All by Your grace, through Your love!
Amen.
Saturday, January 21, 2012
The JUDGE stands before the door.
Jas 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
Grudge not.
Murmur not, complain not.
What's it mean to be a complainer? Seriously, what does it say about a person when they complain about others? What's that complaining accomplishing? Is complaining- loving?
That's it right there, isn't it. Complaining is not speaking highly of someone but belittling them for whatever reason a person has- even one they might feel is totally justified. When we belittle anyone it's not love- right? How can it be? So many people have warped beliefs- they think their belittling is constructive criticism and therefore acceptable. They believe that as long as their intentions are not to truly harm another that it's all well and good to complain about them, it's not as if they're telling actually lies or anything. Voicing our opinions is something we've been taught is perfectly acceptable and it doesn't matter who it harms because after all it's just our opinion right, and we're entitled to have that opinion. Yet where does love come into play here, in all this?
Do NOTHING that you would NOT want done to you.
And once more you'll get people who claim they'd love to have you give them constructive criticism and if it takes on the form of belittling oh well, they can handle it. But then often when you do just that they're the first to take real offense and want to 'get back' at you for making them feel the way you did.
Does anyone truly long to be murmured against? Does anyone truly crave belittling? Again I hear choruses of yes, there are freakish people who love that and pay people to degrade them. While that is true - would we call that healthy? Seriously, would we call that normal? We actually call it deviant behavior because it goes against the mores of society and those mores are created from what is most commonly believed. Is it safe to say there are people in every single family that want to be degraded? No. I don't think so. I think it might be more common than I'd like to believe but it's still not the majority. There are scandals started from such behavior when prominent people in society are found to have committed such deviant behavior.
'Grudge not one against another' - murmur not, complain not. We are not to utter a single word against another person that we would not turn around and want to have uttered against us in a similar situation, if not exact.
Imagine for a moment that you are talking with Jesus and Jesus says something like this- "Yes, he's a very lazy person, and the way he clothes himself is disgraceful. Did you see the way he eats with his mouth open and wipes his hands on his clothes? And he didn't even thank me when I gave him a meal."
Seriously, could you even imagine our Savior talking like that?! Maybe it's true the man is lazy, maybe it's true that the clothes the man wears are disgraceful and yes, he does eat with his mouth open and wipes his dirty fingers on his clothes. And mostly like the man never ever thought once to thank Him when he was fed. All of it is truth, but can you imagine Jesus speaking like that?
Just because something might be true of another person does that give us the right to speak against them? To disparage them? To murmur and complain against them? We want to have the right because we are so incredibly prone to speaking about others like this, and if we have the right then all is well and good but the truth of the matter is- we do NOT have the right no matter how true the facts are. When we choose to speak complaints- however true of another we are speaking in a way our Savior would never speak. Compassion is LOST when we choose to speak out in complaining, murmuring ways. We lose a lot of our compassion when we speak, and that compassion is born out of love for our fellow man. The complaining, the murmuring does NOTHING constructive whatsoever. Voicing our complaints against others has NO good result, NONE. It's like talking for the sake of hearing your own voice without edifying anyone and when we talk that way it bears nothing good, nothing of love. We can try and fool ourselves that we only speak out of love, but the truth is, we are speaking to hear ourselves speak and the devil loves when we do that.
The words that come from our mouths should be ALWAYS uplifting, always working for the good of God's love. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves when we speak ill of others NO MATTER HOW MUCH TRUTH there is in what we are saying.
Jas 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
WE WILL BE CONDEMNED by our own words.
With what measure…
Mat 7:1 Stop judging, so that you won't be judged.
Mat 7:2 For with the judgment you use, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, you will be measured.
Jesus' words!
With ever word we utter against another we are being measured against those words. Our lack of compassion is being measured. Our lack of love for our fellow man is being measured. When we are judged by the same standards we judge with we will mourn our foolishness, we will lament our lack of compassion, our lack of love.
'The JUDGE stands before the door.'
The Judge knows, the Judge is there listening to our every word.
Please God, please help us to pray that You'll keep the door to our lips which speak so often grudgingly, murmuring, complaining against others. Please Lord help us! We are so incredibly prone to speak from our self-centeredness and not from love. Help us, Lord, without You we have no hope whatsoever, no hope. Change our vile selfish hearts, Lord, PLEASE. Lord, You have the power to change our hearts, You and You alone can bless us and take our wickedness and forgive us, cleansing us, changing us. Please Savior, save us from ourselves, from our own wickedness we are inclined towards.
All in Your love!
All through Your grace!
All in Your mercy!
All through Your righteousness Lord!
All by Your forgiveness!
Amen!
Grudge not.
Murmur not, complain not.
What's it mean to be a complainer? Seriously, what does it say about a person when they complain about others? What's that complaining accomplishing? Is complaining- loving?
That's it right there, isn't it. Complaining is not speaking highly of someone but belittling them for whatever reason a person has- even one they might feel is totally justified. When we belittle anyone it's not love- right? How can it be? So many people have warped beliefs- they think their belittling is constructive criticism and therefore acceptable. They believe that as long as their intentions are not to truly harm another that it's all well and good to complain about them, it's not as if they're telling actually lies or anything. Voicing our opinions is something we've been taught is perfectly acceptable and it doesn't matter who it harms because after all it's just our opinion right, and we're entitled to have that opinion. Yet where does love come into play here, in all this?
Do NOTHING that you would NOT want done to you.
And once more you'll get people who claim they'd love to have you give them constructive criticism and if it takes on the form of belittling oh well, they can handle it. But then often when you do just that they're the first to take real offense and want to 'get back' at you for making them feel the way you did.
Does anyone truly long to be murmured against? Does anyone truly crave belittling? Again I hear choruses of yes, there are freakish people who love that and pay people to degrade them. While that is true - would we call that healthy? Seriously, would we call that normal? We actually call it deviant behavior because it goes against the mores of society and those mores are created from what is most commonly believed. Is it safe to say there are people in every single family that want to be degraded? No. I don't think so. I think it might be more common than I'd like to believe but it's still not the majority. There are scandals started from such behavior when prominent people in society are found to have committed such deviant behavior.
'Grudge not one against another' - murmur not, complain not. We are not to utter a single word against another person that we would not turn around and want to have uttered against us in a similar situation, if not exact.
Imagine for a moment that you are talking with Jesus and Jesus says something like this- "Yes, he's a very lazy person, and the way he clothes himself is disgraceful. Did you see the way he eats with his mouth open and wipes his hands on his clothes? And he didn't even thank me when I gave him a meal."
Seriously, could you even imagine our Savior talking like that?! Maybe it's true the man is lazy, maybe it's true that the clothes the man wears are disgraceful and yes, he does eat with his mouth open and wipes his dirty fingers on his clothes. And mostly like the man never ever thought once to thank Him when he was fed. All of it is truth, but can you imagine Jesus speaking like that?
Just because something might be true of another person does that give us the right to speak against them? To disparage them? To murmur and complain against them? We want to have the right because we are so incredibly prone to speaking about others like this, and if we have the right then all is well and good but the truth of the matter is- we do NOT have the right no matter how true the facts are. When we choose to speak complaints- however true of another we are speaking in a way our Savior would never speak. Compassion is LOST when we choose to speak out in complaining, murmuring ways. We lose a lot of our compassion when we speak, and that compassion is born out of love for our fellow man. The complaining, the murmuring does NOTHING constructive whatsoever. Voicing our complaints against others has NO good result, NONE. It's like talking for the sake of hearing your own voice without edifying anyone and when we talk that way it bears nothing good, nothing of love. We can try and fool ourselves that we only speak out of love, but the truth is, we are speaking to hear ourselves speak and the devil loves when we do that.
The words that come from our mouths should be ALWAYS uplifting, always working for the good of God's love. We ought to be ashamed of ourselves when we speak ill of others NO MATTER HOW MUCH TRUTH there is in what we are saying.
Jas 5:9 Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door.
WE WILL BE CONDEMNED by our own words.
With what measure…
Mat 7:1 Stop judging, so that you won't be judged.
Mat 7:2 For with the judgment you use, you will be judged. And with the measure you use, you will be measured.
Jesus' words!
With ever word we utter against another we are being measured against those words. Our lack of compassion is being measured. Our lack of love for our fellow man is being measured. When we are judged by the same standards we judge with we will mourn our foolishness, we will lament our lack of compassion, our lack of love.
'The JUDGE stands before the door.'
The Judge knows, the Judge is there listening to our every word.
Please God, please help us to pray that You'll keep the door to our lips which speak so often grudgingly, murmuring, complaining against others. Please Lord help us! We are so incredibly prone to speak from our self-centeredness and not from love. Help us, Lord, without You we have no hope whatsoever, no hope. Change our vile selfish hearts, Lord, PLEASE. Lord, You have the power to change our hearts, You and You alone can bless us and take our wickedness and forgive us, cleansing us, changing us. Please Savior, save us from ourselves, from our own wickedness we are inclined towards.
All in Your love!
All through Your grace!
All in Your mercy!
All through Your righteousness Lord!
All by Your forgiveness!
Amen!
Friday, January 20, 2012
Be patient- unto the coming of the Lord
Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Be patient.
Being patient means waiting for something, yes? Can you have patience if you're not waiting for anything? I can have patience waiting in a line. I can have patience waiting in a doctor's office. I can have patience waiting for a package to arrive. I can have patience as I'm listening to someone- waiting for my own turn to speak. I can have patience as I wait for someone to learn a task they're not familiar with. When someone has patience with me, they're exhibiting that patience because they're waiting for me to even find comprehension of something they're saying. Patience is indicative of waiting, of endurance.
To be patient unto the coming of the Lord means to endure the waiting for our Lord calmly. We lack patience when we are waiting in distress, upset when what we wait for isn't coming to pass. Patience is persevering.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Some men think it is slackness concerning the promise Jesus made to return. That Jesus hasn't return promptly enough.
This is part of the Webster's definition of slackness-
'Remissness; negligence; inattention; as the slackness of men in business or duty; slackness in the performance of engagements. Slowness; tardiness.'
Unlike a set appointment time, we know the Jesus will return- not the when. We cannot truly say He is slack in His promise when we were never given an actual time, right? Some who are impatient will count Jesus slack- they'll say He's remiss, He's negligent, He lack attention towards His promise, He's slow, He's tardy. We look at the state of the world and can't imagine what is keeping Him from fulfilling His promise. We look, just as the Apostles looked and thought the exact same thing. They wanted Him to return in their time. The Apostles looked at their corrupt world and desperately wanted Jesus to return. They DIDN'T count Him slack though because they trusted He would fulfill that promise just as He said He would and He wouldn't come a moment sooner. They trusted that no matter how awful their world became, no matter how awful their own personal situation and the situation of those around them, that Jesus in love would return and not delay out of anything even remotely considered slacking. Jesus is LONGSUFFERING - Jesus endures the agony along with all His chosen- suffering along with them- not wanting a single person that would be His to be lost, not one. Jesus will not return a moment too soon, He will be right on time, His time, the time He's appointed- knowing that all who would be saved are save, and those that would be lost are lost and beyond saving by their own choice.
Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Anyone who has done any gardening of produce understands that you cannot rush the process of growth, of maturity, of bringing forth the fruit, ripe to the picking. Sure you can add various nutrients, supplements, chemicals and what not but in the end the process is not shortened considerably. A seed germinating and springing forth does so in its appointed time. The growth of the vine, the stalk, the plant all takes time. The appearance of the flowers to pollinate will not be forced against time. The growth of the fruit all takes time. The stuff of science fiction and fairy tales has a seed planted and full grown, bringing forth fruit in a single day- that is not reality. There is a process and as it is with these plants needing their early and latter rain- Jesus' return is a process and NOT to be rushed because we desire Him to return selfishly. Our desire should be our Savior's desire, that He not return until all who will come to Him have come to Him- not a single one is left out.
We must be patient unto the coming of the Lord.
Our hearts must be establish in that patience, knowing the Lord's coming is a REALITY, it is INEVITABLE and not something we dare forget.
By the grace of God we will be establish in our hearts- patient unto the soon coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
In HIS LOVE!
By HIS MERCY!
HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Amen.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Be patient.
Being patient means waiting for something, yes? Can you have patience if you're not waiting for anything? I can have patience waiting in a line. I can have patience waiting in a doctor's office. I can have patience waiting for a package to arrive. I can have patience as I'm listening to someone- waiting for my own turn to speak. I can have patience as I wait for someone to learn a task they're not familiar with. When someone has patience with me, they're exhibiting that patience because they're waiting for me to even find comprehension of something they're saying. Patience is indicative of waiting, of endurance.
To be patient unto the coming of the Lord means to endure the waiting for our Lord calmly. We lack patience when we are waiting in distress, upset when what we wait for isn't coming to pass. Patience is persevering.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
Some men think it is slackness concerning the promise Jesus made to return. That Jesus hasn't return promptly enough.
This is part of the Webster's definition of slackness-
'Remissness; negligence; inattention; as the slackness of men in business or duty; slackness in the performance of engagements. Slowness; tardiness.'
Unlike a set appointment time, we know the Jesus will return- not the when. We cannot truly say He is slack in His promise when we were never given an actual time, right? Some who are impatient will count Jesus slack- they'll say He's remiss, He's negligent, He lack attention towards His promise, He's slow, He's tardy. We look at the state of the world and can't imagine what is keeping Him from fulfilling His promise. We look, just as the Apostles looked and thought the exact same thing. They wanted Him to return in their time. The Apostles looked at their corrupt world and desperately wanted Jesus to return. They DIDN'T count Him slack though because they trusted He would fulfill that promise just as He said He would and He wouldn't come a moment sooner. They trusted that no matter how awful their world became, no matter how awful their own personal situation and the situation of those around them, that Jesus in love would return and not delay out of anything even remotely considered slacking. Jesus is LONGSUFFERING - Jesus endures the agony along with all His chosen- suffering along with them- not wanting a single person that would be His to be lost, not one. Jesus will not return a moment too soon, He will be right on time, His time, the time He's appointed- knowing that all who would be saved are save, and those that would be lost are lost and beyond saving by their own choice.
Jas 5:7 Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord.
Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.
Jas 5:8 Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
Anyone who has done any gardening of produce understands that you cannot rush the process of growth, of maturity, of bringing forth the fruit, ripe to the picking. Sure you can add various nutrients, supplements, chemicals and what not but in the end the process is not shortened considerably. A seed germinating and springing forth does so in its appointed time. The growth of the vine, the stalk, the plant all takes time. The appearance of the flowers to pollinate will not be forced against time. The growth of the fruit all takes time. The stuff of science fiction and fairy tales has a seed planted and full grown, bringing forth fruit in a single day- that is not reality. There is a process and as it is with these plants needing their early and latter rain- Jesus' return is a process and NOT to be rushed because we desire Him to return selfishly. Our desire should be our Savior's desire, that He not return until all who will come to Him have come to Him- not a single one is left out.
We must be patient unto the coming of the Lord.
Our hearts must be establish in that patience, knowing the Lord's coming is a REALITY, it is INEVITABLE and not something we dare forget.
By the grace of God we will be establish in our hearts- patient unto the soon coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
In HIS LOVE!
By HIS MERCY!
HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!
Amen.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Rich men weep
Jas 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Jas 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
Jas 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Jas 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
Remember this…
Mat 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
What is it about riches that corrupt us? Can a person be rich and be uncorrupt? I believe they can but it's a very rare thing. Helping others, doing for others what you would like done to you, all but demands that the riches be shared- yes? Helping those in need, tending to the needs of the poor. Jesus would rather we put our treasures in heaven- not here on earth. When we become rich we tend to accumulate 'things', and those 'things' become our treasures don't they? If your home caught fire (God forbid) but if it did and everything inside it was destroyed, how long would you mourn the loss of the things you possessed- beyond the things of what we call necessities?
I've been cleaning out our garage where we store a lot of things and in the process of cleaning I've been able to go through what I call- baby boxes- my children's and my own. Inside those boxes are the things of memories. I'd take out a little bank statue of Mickey Mouse I bought when I went to Disney World in 1976 with my family and I was only 13 years old, and the memories would come flooding back. Or I'd pick up a little ABC Ceramic child's bank belonging to my son and I'd smile with the memories of him being a baby. I'd open notebooks and read some of the things my children wrote when they were little and the smiles they would bring to my face were too numerous to count. Things that provoke memories- things that would be irreplaceable if lost but things that will NEVER have the same thought-provoking moments for another person. After I'm gone and my children inherit my things they'll hold up the stuff monkey I was given when I was six months old for my first Christmas and it will mean nothing to them, maybe that's a little harsh, it will mean very little to them. And once they have children and those children inherit things- if my things are even kept by my children- those things will have even less meaning, finally other than being really, really old things worthless to anyone but me, those possessions those treasures will be completely meaningless. If I lost all my possessions I'd lose a lot of memory provoking things, and yes, a few things of monetary value but not much. Yet a rich man who possesses much-has a lot of money tied up in the things he possesses and in affect he loses money if he loses his possessions. If we tie our affections to the things of this earth we are NOT tying our affections to heavenly things.
How real is heaven to us? How real is life everlasting to us?
Is there any wonder we are told rich men will suffer?
Jas 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Jas 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
Jas 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Jas 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
The earthly riches mean nothing as they are selfishly bought and selfishly held fast to. NO one can take their riches with them into heaven when our Savior comes. No one who is blessed enough to receive the miracle of salvation will want to bring any earthly riches to heaven.
So while we long to have riches enough to live in what we call a comfortable manner without having to worry about paying bills and such, we have to comprehend that we are truly blessed in being able to understand that things are just things and life is more than mere riches.
We are blessed in not being rich, we really, really are but it's so incredibly hard to believe as we struggle with our finances.
Please Lord, help us to trust in You in all things, including in the riches we do possess and if they are mostly spiritual riches help us to know that heavenly treasures are those that really matter most. Please Lord, help us.
In Your Love LORD, Your LOVE!
Amen.
Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Jas 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
Jas 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Jas 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
Remember this…
Mat 19:23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Mat 19:24 And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
What is it about riches that corrupt us? Can a person be rich and be uncorrupt? I believe they can but it's a very rare thing. Helping others, doing for others what you would like done to you, all but demands that the riches be shared- yes? Helping those in need, tending to the needs of the poor. Jesus would rather we put our treasures in heaven- not here on earth. When we become rich we tend to accumulate 'things', and those 'things' become our treasures don't they? If your home caught fire (God forbid) but if it did and everything inside it was destroyed, how long would you mourn the loss of the things you possessed- beyond the things of what we call necessities?
I've been cleaning out our garage where we store a lot of things and in the process of cleaning I've been able to go through what I call- baby boxes- my children's and my own. Inside those boxes are the things of memories. I'd take out a little bank statue of Mickey Mouse I bought when I went to Disney World in 1976 with my family and I was only 13 years old, and the memories would come flooding back. Or I'd pick up a little ABC Ceramic child's bank belonging to my son and I'd smile with the memories of him being a baby. I'd open notebooks and read some of the things my children wrote when they were little and the smiles they would bring to my face were too numerous to count. Things that provoke memories- things that would be irreplaceable if lost but things that will NEVER have the same thought-provoking moments for another person. After I'm gone and my children inherit my things they'll hold up the stuff monkey I was given when I was six months old for my first Christmas and it will mean nothing to them, maybe that's a little harsh, it will mean very little to them. And once they have children and those children inherit things- if my things are even kept by my children- those things will have even less meaning, finally other than being really, really old things worthless to anyone but me, those possessions those treasures will be completely meaningless. If I lost all my possessions I'd lose a lot of memory provoking things, and yes, a few things of monetary value but not much. Yet a rich man who possesses much-has a lot of money tied up in the things he possesses and in affect he loses money if he loses his possessions. If we tie our affections to the things of this earth we are NOT tying our affections to heavenly things.
How real is heaven to us? How real is life everlasting to us?
Is there any wonder we are told rich men will suffer?
Jas 5:1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
Jas 5:2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
Jas 5:3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
Jas 5:4 Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth.
Jas 5:5 Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter.
Jas 5:6 Ye have condemned and killed the just; and he doth not resist you.
The earthly riches mean nothing as they are selfishly bought and selfishly held fast to. NO one can take their riches with them into heaven when our Savior comes. No one who is blessed enough to receive the miracle of salvation will want to bring any earthly riches to heaven.
So while we long to have riches enough to live in what we call a comfortable manner without having to worry about paying bills and such, we have to comprehend that we are truly blessed in being able to understand that things are just things and life is more than mere riches.
We are blessed in not being rich, we really, really are but it's so incredibly hard to believe as we struggle with our finances.
Please Lord, help us to trust in You in all things, including in the riches we do possess and if they are mostly spiritual riches help us to know that heavenly treasures are those that really matter most. Please Lord, help us.
In Your Love LORD, Your LOVE!
Amen.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
To know good and not do good is sin
Jas 4:16 But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.
Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
We boast that we have tomorrow when the truth is, it is in God's hands. We boast, not saying God's will be done, but ours and this is evil. When we are surrounded by news of vile murderers, thieves, rapist, child molesters, we tend to lose sight of evil in what we consider the 'small' things. Boasting is evil though, it really is. Our boasts are filled with self-centeredness, self-exultation, and so often we don't even realize it. We make assumptions and that is the last thing we should be doing, assuming. Yes, we must live our lives planning for our futures here and now but we have to do that with God's will in mind. We have to understand fully that any plans we make are subject to His acceptance, His approval, and out of LOVE He will guide our lives in ways we cannot begin to understand. We need to desire God's will for us in all things. Do I want to go out to the garage tomorrow and continue cleaning? Yes. And if it's God's will that's exactly what I'll be doing. Do I want my children to continue their education? Yes. And if it's God's will that's exactly what will happen. Do I want my husband to continue to heal and his back surgery be completely successful so that he's able to walk without his legs buckling? Yes. And if it's God's will this will happen. We do NOT stop desire things, we do NOT stop our arranging and planning, but we have to stop boasting about a tomorrow we might not even have. We have to stop living our lives outside of full acceptance of God's will.
We know to do good.
If we do not do good then we sin.
Choosing not to do good, choosing to abstain from doing good, excusing ourselves from doing good is SIN.
Remember sin is the transgression of the law and it is the law that we love God and love one another.
When we do good it is for a purpose. When we are presented with numerous situations throughout our life we have a choice to either do good or evil. We have to believe this is real, our reality. Those choices we make and some of them everyday, are made for good or evil. If we KNOW to do good and don't do that which is good then we are choosing to do evil. If we choose to do evil it is sin.
We need to repent of our sins. We need to repent when we choose not to do good.
By the grace of God may we choose good over evil, may we choose God over Satan, may we choose life over death. Please Lord, help us to know good and to do good in Your name, by Your grace, through Your mercy and love, all by Your righteousness. On our own we are nothing, nothing at all.
Help us Lord.
Save us.
Jas 4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.
We boast that we have tomorrow when the truth is, it is in God's hands. We boast, not saying God's will be done, but ours and this is evil. When we are surrounded by news of vile murderers, thieves, rapist, child molesters, we tend to lose sight of evil in what we consider the 'small' things. Boasting is evil though, it really is. Our boasts are filled with self-centeredness, self-exultation, and so often we don't even realize it. We make assumptions and that is the last thing we should be doing, assuming. Yes, we must live our lives planning for our futures here and now but we have to do that with God's will in mind. We have to understand fully that any plans we make are subject to His acceptance, His approval, and out of LOVE He will guide our lives in ways we cannot begin to understand. We need to desire God's will for us in all things. Do I want to go out to the garage tomorrow and continue cleaning? Yes. And if it's God's will that's exactly what I'll be doing. Do I want my children to continue their education? Yes. And if it's God's will that's exactly what will happen. Do I want my husband to continue to heal and his back surgery be completely successful so that he's able to walk without his legs buckling? Yes. And if it's God's will this will happen. We do NOT stop desire things, we do NOT stop our arranging and planning, but we have to stop boasting about a tomorrow we might not even have. We have to stop living our lives outside of full acceptance of God's will.
We know to do good.
If we do not do good then we sin.
Choosing not to do good, choosing to abstain from doing good, excusing ourselves from doing good is SIN.
Remember sin is the transgression of the law and it is the law that we love God and love one another.
When we do good it is for a purpose. When we are presented with numerous situations throughout our life we have a choice to either do good or evil. We have to believe this is real, our reality. Those choices we make and some of them everyday, are made for good or evil. If we KNOW to do good and don't do that which is good then we are choosing to do evil. If we choose to do evil it is sin.
We need to repent of our sins. We need to repent when we choose not to do good.
By the grace of God may we choose good over evil, may we choose God over Satan, may we choose life over death. Please Lord, help us to know good and to do good in Your name, by Your grace, through Your mercy and love, all by Your righteousness. On our own we are nothing, nothing at all.
Help us Lord.
Save us.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
If the Lord wills
Jas 4:13 Go to now, ye that say, To day or to morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year, and buy and sell, and get gain:
Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
If the Lord wills.
If the Lord wills we will live.
If the Lord wills we will live and do all that we do.
How can we truly believe we have control over our lives? We believe that though, we really do. We make our plans and when they fall through we get upset. When they're successful we boast as if we were truly the force behind that success.
The very breath we breathe is given to us by God and yet we lay claim to that as well don't we? We live because we choose to do so. We live because we choose not to end our lives. We live because we were born- something out of our control but something that was in the control of our parents- beings like us who made the choice to have us. Because we are allowed to make choices we believe we are in control of all things and that's not true. God gave us the breath of life no matter what anyone says. God put the beat in our hearts. Yes, sometimes that breath isn't there for long, and sometimes our hearts only take a few beats and the tragedy of life ending is awful but our God- who knows the beginning and end of all things has reasons for it all that we cannot begin to understand, not in the least. We want to yell and scream that it's not fair and if there is a God He must hate us etcetera but the truth is, we HAVE to admit God knows things of eternity and we haven't a clue. God lives in the realm of the eternal and His understanding isn't our understanding. We have to TRUST, we have to have FAITH, and only then can we truly live in God's will without wanting our own will done all the time, without expecting our own wills to be paramount in all things- good and yes, even bad.
Faith calls for us to live for God's will, not our will.
When we say God's will be done we have to mean it, we have to believe it, we don't have to like it especially if it's something causing us pain, but we must accept it and continue to love the God who knows our eternity.
We ought to say-
If the Lord wills.
Let's make plans, let's make choices, let's make decisions but in ALL we do let us say first- IF THE LORD WILLS.
We must try this, really we must because for far too long we've been totally bent on having our own will done.
We need God's will to be done- we need to desire God's will to be done, not ours. We need to give our lives to God- our lives we live right now and the lives we will live for eternity.
God's will.
Let us accept His will, not fight it, not rebel against it, not hate it, but choose to accept His will in all things.
ALL BY HIS GRACE! All through HIS righteousness! All through HIS power!
ALL IN HIS LOVE!
Amen.
Jas 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Jas 4:15 For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.
If the Lord wills.
If the Lord wills we will live.
If the Lord wills we will live and do all that we do.
How can we truly believe we have control over our lives? We believe that though, we really do. We make our plans and when they fall through we get upset. When they're successful we boast as if we were truly the force behind that success.
The very breath we breathe is given to us by God and yet we lay claim to that as well don't we? We live because we choose to do so. We live because we choose not to end our lives. We live because we were born- something out of our control but something that was in the control of our parents- beings like us who made the choice to have us. Because we are allowed to make choices we believe we are in control of all things and that's not true. God gave us the breath of life no matter what anyone says. God put the beat in our hearts. Yes, sometimes that breath isn't there for long, and sometimes our hearts only take a few beats and the tragedy of life ending is awful but our God- who knows the beginning and end of all things has reasons for it all that we cannot begin to understand, not in the least. We want to yell and scream that it's not fair and if there is a God He must hate us etcetera but the truth is, we HAVE to admit God knows things of eternity and we haven't a clue. God lives in the realm of the eternal and His understanding isn't our understanding. We have to TRUST, we have to have FAITH, and only then can we truly live in God's will without wanting our own will done all the time, without expecting our own wills to be paramount in all things- good and yes, even bad.
Faith calls for us to live for God's will, not our will.
When we say God's will be done we have to mean it, we have to believe it, we don't have to like it especially if it's something causing us pain, but we must accept it and continue to love the God who knows our eternity.
We ought to say-
If the Lord wills.
Let's make plans, let's make choices, let's make decisions but in ALL we do let us say first- IF THE LORD WILLS.
We must try this, really we must because for far too long we've been totally bent on having our own will done.
We need God's will to be done- we need to desire God's will to be done, not ours. We need to give our lives to God- our lives we live right now and the lives we will live for eternity.
God's will.
Let us accept His will, not fight it, not rebel against it, not hate it, but choose to accept His will in all things.
ALL BY HIS GRACE! All through HIS righteousness! All through HIS power!
ALL IN HIS LOVE!
Amen.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Speak Not evil of one another
Jas 4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
We have to answer only for ourselves, right? I can't answer for anyone else. I can't know the thoughts, the feelings, the ideas, the intricacies, the secrets, the heart of another. Not even the two closest people in the world could know all that, it's just not possible with us. We are limited by our inability to know all there is to know about another person. For many years, probably too numerous to count, people have been trying to find ways to understand each other more completely. Scientists have tried many experiments with the hope of gaining insight into the thoughts of others. In the end of it all the only one we have all the insight to is ourselves. So while we can see what others do and try to base our conclusions of them on what we see, we will never know it all, it's impossible. When we judge we are making assumptions about others. We might witness a person's vile temper first hand and pass judgment on them, when the truth is we do NOT know where their anger comes from, not the real deep down reason. We judge based on what we see, we pass judgment on people and we have to realize we have NO right to do so, no right at all because we cannot know them as God alone can know them.
When we presume to know enough to judge we do put ourselves in great danger, spiritual danger because we are trying to assume the role of God and that is wrong, extremely wrong. We are not God and we will NEVER be God and to try to assume the role of God in judging another we are breaking His law.
God alone is our lawgiver.
God alone is able to save eternally.
God alone is able to destroy eternally.
Who do we really think we are when we judge? Why do we feel we have a right to judge others? Why? Maybe because we feel as if we are judged that we learn to judge. If we feel as if others are judging us we in turn come to believe that judging is a good thing, or rather an acceptable thing. God forgive me for finding it all to natural to judge others based on what I know of them. It's not right and I have to learn that it is not right. I can make judgments on actions committed, I have to do that, but I cannot judge another person, I have no right.
That ol' 'He who is without sin cast the first stone' comes into play, doesn't it? How do we dare to judge others when we are so imperfect and easily judged and found wanting.
May God help us learn to stop judging others, that it is wrong to speak evilly of others no matter how deserving we assume in our finite, and very limited understanding, that they are. We cannot know their hearts! We cannot know their reasoning! We cannot know the walk God has for them to follow. We cannot understand the trials and chastening that God is using upon others, that is for Him and Him alone to determine.
Help us Lord to understand that when we speak evil of others we are speaking wrongly because we are not You and You alone know the end from the beginning, You alone know the heart.
Please Lord help us to do Your will in all things and to know we are not judges, You are judge.
In Your amazing name, in Your amazing love always!
Amen.
Jas 4:12 There is one lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy: who art thou that judgest another?
We have to answer only for ourselves, right? I can't answer for anyone else. I can't know the thoughts, the feelings, the ideas, the intricacies, the secrets, the heart of another. Not even the two closest people in the world could know all that, it's just not possible with us. We are limited by our inability to know all there is to know about another person. For many years, probably too numerous to count, people have been trying to find ways to understand each other more completely. Scientists have tried many experiments with the hope of gaining insight into the thoughts of others. In the end of it all the only one we have all the insight to is ourselves. So while we can see what others do and try to base our conclusions of them on what we see, we will never know it all, it's impossible. When we judge we are making assumptions about others. We might witness a person's vile temper first hand and pass judgment on them, when the truth is we do NOT know where their anger comes from, not the real deep down reason. We judge based on what we see, we pass judgment on people and we have to realize we have NO right to do so, no right at all because we cannot know them as God alone can know them.
When we presume to know enough to judge we do put ourselves in great danger, spiritual danger because we are trying to assume the role of God and that is wrong, extremely wrong. We are not God and we will NEVER be God and to try to assume the role of God in judging another we are breaking His law.
God alone is our lawgiver.
God alone is able to save eternally.
God alone is able to destroy eternally.
Who do we really think we are when we judge? Why do we feel we have a right to judge others? Why? Maybe because we feel as if we are judged that we learn to judge. If we feel as if others are judging us we in turn come to believe that judging is a good thing, or rather an acceptable thing. God forgive me for finding it all to natural to judge others based on what I know of them. It's not right and I have to learn that it is not right. I can make judgments on actions committed, I have to do that, but I cannot judge another person, I have no right.
That ol' 'He who is without sin cast the first stone' comes into play, doesn't it? How do we dare to judge others when we are so imperfect and easily judged and found wanting.
May God help us learn to stop judging others, that it is wrong to speak evilly of others no matter how deserving we assume in our finite, and very limited understanding, that they are. We cannot know their hearts! We cannot know their reasoning! We cannot know the walk God has for them to follow. We cannot understand the trials and chastening that God is using upon others, that is for Him and Him alone to determine.
Help us Lord to understand that when we speak evil of others we are speaking wrongly because we are not You and You alone know the end from the beginning, You alone know the heart.
Please Lord help us to do Your will in all things and to know we are not judges, You are judge.
In Your amazing name, in Your amazing love always!
Amen.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
He shall lift us up
Jas 4:8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Do we draw nigh to God, do we? How are we to draw close to God? Sometimes it seems as if He's completely out of reach, doesn't it? Sometimes it seems as if He's so far away we could never hope to get near to God. We have to approach Him though. We have to seek God. We have to pray, in prayer we are drawing close to God aren't we? We are talking to God and if we are talking to God we are seeking to be in His presence aren't we? We wouldn't be talking to someone if we weren't seeking a closeness, right? When we call someone on the phone, even if they live 3000 miles away we are seeking to make contact with them, we are seeking to get closer to that person mentally, emotionally even if not physically. We have to seek to draw closer to God, to approach God.
We need to cleanse our hands.
We need to purify our hearts.
We are sinners, we are double minded- we want the world and we want God. We have to seek cleansing, we have to seek purifying and we can find this only through Christ and HIS righteousness, only through bowing at the feet of our Savior and begging His forgiveness.
We have to be afflicted.
We have to mourn.
We have to weep.
Why? Because only through recognizing our despondent state can we truly recognize our need of a Savior.
We must humble ourselves before God, we MUST realize our humble state, our need of God. God cannot lift up those who do not recognize they need lifting up.
So even while we are counting our trials joy, we are afflicted with the knowledge we are sinful, we are mourning with the knowledge we are unworthy, we are to weep knowing that we are filthy with the sins we've committed. We might laugh but our laughter is temporary when we understand our vile state. Any joy we have is to turn to heaviness because we know how far our sins separate us from God. Yes, we HAVE to humble ourselves before God so HE can lift us up. We cannot be lifted up by God until we realize are need before Him knowing we cannot lift ourselves up, we have no power to lift ourselves up. God will lift us up though, He will if we seek Him and seek to understand our place before Him as His creatures.
Please Lord help us to submit to You, to seek You, to humble ourselves before You and only YOU!
Please Lord we need you so desperately, so very desperately.
By the grace of God always!
In Your love!
Amen.
Jas 4:9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
Jas 4:10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Do we draw nigh to God, do we? How are we to draw close to God? Sometimes it seems as if He's completely out of reach, doesn't it? Sometimes it seems as if He's so far away we could never hope to get near to God. We have to approach Him though. We have to seek God. We have to pray, in prayer we are drawing close to God aren't we? We are talking to God and if we are talking to God we are seeking to be in His presence aren't we? We wouldn't be talking to someone if we weren't seeking a closeness, right? When we call someone on the phone, even if they live 3000 miles away we are seeking to make contact with them, we are seeking to get closer to that person mentally, emotionally even if not physically. We have to seek to draw closer to God, to approach God.
We need to cleanse our hands.
We need to purify our hearts.
We are sinners, we are double minded- we want the world and we want God. We have to seek cleansing, we have to seek purifying and we can find this only through Christ and HIS righteousness, only through bowing at the feet of our Savior and begging His forgiveness.
We have to be afflicted.
We have to mourn.
We have to weep.
Why? Because only through recognizing our despondent state can we truly recognize our need of a Savior.
We must humble ourselves before God, we MUST realize our humble state, our need of God. God cannot lift up those who do not recognize they need lifting up.
So even while we are counting our trials joy, we are afflicted with the knowledge we are sinful, we are mourning with the knowledge we are unworthy, we are to weep knowing that we are filthy with the sins we've committed. We might laugh but our laughter is temporary when we understand our vile state. Any joy we have is to turn to heaviness because we know how far our sins separate us from God. Yes, we HAVE to humble ourselves before God so HE can lift us up. We cannot be lifted up by God until we realize are need before Him knowing we cannot lift ourselves up, we have no power to lift ourselves up. God will lift us up though, He will if we seek Him and seek to understand our place before Him as His creatures.
Please Lord help us to submit to You, to seek You, to humble ourselves before You and only YOU!
Please Lord we need you so desperately, so very desperately.
By the grace of God always!
In Your love!
Amen.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Grace to the humble
Jas 4:5 Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy. This is the carnal flesh nature in us. It is ONLY by the grace of God we can live as our carnal natures fight to give into the lusts that surround us. We have to surrender to the grace of God, we have to fall at the feet of our Savior understanding that we are NOTHING without Him, nothing. And by nothing I mean nothing good at all whatsoever. Our carnal nature strives against God. We MUST choose to be humble before God, to recognize that He is everything while we are nothing, nothing at all good without Him.
We MUST submit ourselves to God!
Satan does not want us to submit ourselves to God. Satan would have us forever live without being humble in the sight of God. Satan would have us value ourselves- our vain desires, our envying lusts, our self-centeredness all above God. As long as we are focused on ourselves we are NOT focused on God. When we pray for God's will to be done, are we really praying for God to let our will be done? This isn't how it is to be. God's will, not ours must be done and we need to submit ourselves to God. We need to offer our lives to God. We might not see where we are living for God, but we HAVE to continuously submit to God, to give Him our lives to use for His will. Day in and day out those men and women recorded in God's word as being submitted unto Him, lived their lives not in one epic battle after another throughout their lives but they lived as we live. They had a daily existence beyond their glorious moments recorded in the Bible. David did not slay Goliath daily. Moses did not part the Red Sea every single day. Abraham was not called to sacrifice Isaac on a weekly basis. These great men of God had their trials and tribulations, they had their day to day lives that they needed to choose to submit to God even when they faced monumental temptations to give into their carnal natures. Did they never fail? No, in fact they did fail on more than one occasion. It took more than a single day for David to lust after and take a married woman to his bed. It took more than a mere day for David to send that woman's husband off to be killed. Their epic failures produced epic forgiveness. Their epic failures allow us to comprehend that they were mere human beings just like you and I, not special, protected men of God - sinless and perfect. They failed and they sought forgiveness, they repented and submitted themselves to God over and over just like we must do. As these renown men of God lived day after day it wasn't extraordinary, but ordinary in many, many ways. We have to live our day to day lives submitted to God and NOT in the hope of obtaining signs that we are God's, but with FAITH that we are God's in our everyday ordinary lives. If God chooses to use us for a grand purpose that is HIS will, but it's more likely God will choose to use us for His purposes that seem to us to be quite ordinary.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Resist.
We resist a lot of things in our lives don't we? We resist the efforts of others to get us to do things they want to do that we have no interest in. We resist the temptation of doing things we know are harmful to us yet desirable- maybe not every time- but we do know what it is like to resist temptation. We resist a lot as we are growing up and being told to do things that are contrary to what we'd rather do. We put up resistance and we know what it's like. Sometimes the resistance is easy because we don't want to do something, other times resistance is extremely difficult because we want to do something and are fighting not to do it. When we are called to resist the devil it's not as if we are being called to resist some ugly, fire breathing monster intent on harming us, we'd find it very easy to resist such a creature. We are being called to resist a cunning deceiver that will exploit every single one of our weaknesses. We are being told to resist the evil one who disguises himself in countless ways and each disguise is fitted to deceive us into believing we are depriving ourselves of something good when we resist. Temptations are ONLY temptations when we are desirous of the thing we are tempted by. You cannot tempt a sweet eater with a coconut cream pie if he detests coconut. You can tempt a sweet eater with chocolate cake if he absolutely loves chocolate. You can't tempt a man with another woman if he is completely satisfied with his wife. You cannot tempt a thief to steal a diamond when all he desires to steal is cars. You understand what I'm saying don't you? We are not being told to resist the devil - the evil angel being invisible to us we are being told to resist the temptations that evil invisible being loves to tease us with. As we submit ourselves to God we are allowing God to have His will in us and we will as a matter of course live as the word of God has told us to live. And when we submit ourselves to God, the devil will become very upset and attack us- not by beating us up with his invisible evil angel fists but by throwing all those temptations at us- tempting us to leave God in favor of living for our own selfish desires of which there are many. Submit to God and resist the devil. When we resist we are in truth reaffirming our submission to God, we are growing closer to God and the closer we are to God the less able the devil is to tempt us to himself. It's a constant submission to God and a constant resistance. Even Christ in the wilderness wasn't tempted once and then left alone, Satan tried again and again.
We can't submit ourselves once and resist once, it has to be on a daily basis- a living basis- on an AS needed basis- which is much more often than we want to believe. This is what it means to be an active Christian- we are in a war and our enemy never sleeps.
By the grace of God we will submit ourselves fully to Him over and over again, resisting the devil always!
In our Savior's amazing love!
Amen.
Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
The spirit that dwells in us lusts to envy. This is the carnal flesh nature in us. It is ONLY by the grace of God we can live as our carnal natures fight to give into the lusts that surround us. We have to surrender to the grace of God, we have to fall at the feet of our Savior understanding that we are NOTHING without Him, nothing. And by nothing I mean nothing good at all whatsoever. Our carnal nature strives against God. We MUST choose to be humble before God, to recognize that He is everything while we are nothing, nothing at all good without Him.
We MUST submit ourselves to God!
Satan does not want us to submit ourselves to God. Satan would have us forever live without being humble in the sight of God. Satan would have us value ourselves- our vain desires, our envying lusts, our self-centeredness all above God. As long as we are focused on ourselves we are NOT focused on God. When we pray for God's will to be done, are we really praying for God to let our will be done? This isn't how it is to be. God's will, not ours must be done and we need to submit ourselves to God. We need to offer our lives to God. We might not see where we are living for God, but we HAVE to continuously submit to God, to give Him our lives to use for His will. Day in and day out those men and women recorded in God's word as being submitted unto Him, lived their lives not in one epic battle after another throughout their lives but they lived as we live. They had a daily existence beyond their glorious moments recorded in the Bible. David did not slay Goliath daily. Moses did not part the Red Sea every single day. Abraham was not called to sacrifice Isaac on a weekly basis. These great men of God had their trials and tribulations, they had their day to day lives that they needed to choose to submit to God even when they faced monumental temptations to give into their carnal natures. Did they never fail? No, in fact they did fail on more than one occasion. It took more than a single day for David to lust after and take a married woman to his bed. It took more than a mere day for David to send that woman's husband off to be killed. Their epic failures produced epic forgiveness. Their epic failures allow us to comprehend that they were mere human beings just like you and I, not special, protected men of God - sinless and perfect. They failed and they sought forgiveness, they repented and submitted themselves to God over and over just like we must do. As these renown men of God lived day after day it wasn't extraordinary, but ordinary in many, many ways. We have to live our day to day lives submitted to God and NOT in the hope of obtaining signs that we are God's, but with FAITH that we are God's in our everyday ordinary lives. If God chooses to use us for a grand purpose that is HIS will, but it's more likely God will choose to use us for His purposes that seem to us to be quite ordinary.
Jas 4:7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Resist.
We resist a lot of things in our lives don't we? We resist the efforts of others to get us to do things they want to do that we have no interest in. We resist the temptation of doing things we know are harmful to us yet desirable- maybe not every time- but we do know what it is like to resist temptation. We resist a lot as we are growing up and being told to do things that are contrary to what we'd rather do. We put up resistance and we know what it's like. Sometimes the resistance is easy because we don't want to do something, other times resistance is extremely difficult because we want to do something and are fighting not to do it. When we are called to resist the devil it's not as if we are being called to resist some ugly, fire breathing monster intent on harming us, we'd find it very easy to resist such a creature. We are being called to resist a cunning deceiver that will exploit every single one of our weaknesses. We are being told to resist the evil one who disguises himself in countless ways and each disguise is fitted to deceive us into believing we are depriving ourselves of something good when we resist. Temptations are ONLY temptations when we are desirous of the thing we are tempted by. You cannot tempt a sweet eater with a coconut cream pie if he detests coconut. You can tempt a sweet eater with chocolate cake if he absolutely loves chocolate. You can't tempt a man with another woman if he is completely satisfied with his wife. You cannot tempt a thief to steal a diamond when all he desires to steal is cars. You understand what I'm saying don't you? We are not being told to resist the devil - the evil angel being invisible to us we are being told to resist the temptations that evil invisible being loves to tease us with. As we submit ourselves to God we are allowing God to have His will in us and we will as a matter of course live as the word of God has told us to live. And when we submit ourselves to God, the devil will become very upset and attack us- not by beating us up with his invisible evil angel fists but by throwing all those temptations at us- tempting us to leave God in favor of living for our own selfish desires of which there are many. Submit to God and resist the devil. When we resist we are in truth reaffirming our submission to God, we are growing closer to God and the closer we are to God the less able the devil is to tempt us to himself. It's a constant submission to God and a constant resistance. Even Christ in the wilderness wasn't tempted once and then left alone, Satan tried again and again.
We can't submit ourselves once and resist once, it has to be on a daily basis- a living basis- on an AS needed basis- which is much more often than we want to believe. This is what it means to be an active Christian- we are in a war and our enemy never sleeps.
By the grace of God we will submit ourselves fully to Him over and over again, resisting the devil always!
In our Savior's amazing love!
Amen.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friends with the world are enemies of God.
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Read that verse several times if you need to and let it sink in.
Friendship of the world.
Friend of the world.
Jesus said--
Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me OUT OF THE WORLD: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I PRAY NOT FOR THE WORLD, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, BUT THESE ARE IN THE WORLD, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Joh 17:14 I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD; AND THE WORLD HATH HATETH THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16 THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I ALSO SENT THEM INTO THE WORLD.
The world.
We generally know that our world is filled with corruption, don't we? That society as a whole seems to be filled with liars and thieves, filled with those who do not love their neighbors as they would be loved. We want to shake our heads and say it isn't so that surely the majority of people are good, but the truth of the matter is the majority of people are self-serving. There can be an amazing number of sweet, kind people but that doesn't make them God's people, people not of the world. What's it mean to not be of this world? How was Jesus not of this world?
Jesus did not conform to the worldly ways surrounding Him. Jesus did follow the laws ceremonial and otherwise as He was raised, but He followed them as God intended and not as man had corrupted them. Jesus loved His Father first and foremost and then Jesus loved others as He desired to be loved. Jesus lived that love.
Jesus saw corruption all around Him- men of the world living for the world and for things of the world and not living for God and the things of God.
Jesus did not live for the approval of the world.
Jesus did not live for the material aspects of the world.
Jesus taught laying up our treasures in heaven, not in this world.
Jesus was humble.
Jesus was self-less.
Jesus was filled with love towards God.
Jesus understood that the heavenly was His goal.
He lived here on earth for 33 years and 3 of those years He spent in His ministry teaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. The gospel of the kingdom- salvation from this sinfilled existence- salvation to live with Him in heaven when He returns for us. The gospel of the kingdom was our Savior's message the message He preached far and wide, the message He sent His disciples to preach. The gospel of the kingdom- salvation from this world- so that we are not OF this world as HE is NOT OF THIS WORLD. The message of the kingdom- salvation THROUGH HIM- salvation from a sin-filled existence- salvation from the world drenched in sin and sinful ways.
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Some will take objection to being called adulterers and adulteresses, but the truth is all of us have gone astray from Christ, all of us have let sin separate us from God while we've let the sin turn our heads, our hearts from God while we go after sinful lusts that are contrary to God's will, God's ways. Only through forgiveness, undeserved forgiveness are we able to be reconciled to God. Only by the grace of God are we able to be forgiven of our adulterous lives.
We all have to realize that we are NOT to seek to be friends with the world. We are NOT to seek to conform to the world. Jesus did NOT seek to conform to the world, Jesus did not seek a friendship with the world. Why do we think we need the acceptance of the world? Why do we believe we need people around us to accept us? Why do we want to fit in? Why do we want to conform? Why do we WANT friendship with the world? WHY?! We have to be NOT OF THIS WORLD. We must live in this world, but we must not be OF this world. Our world is with Jesus! Our world has to be Jesus' world! Jesus was NOT of this world - His words! He said He was not of this world. Jesus knew that to be friends with this world would mean being an enemy of God's and there was no way He was going to be an enemy of God's, no way! Jesus did not seek to be friends with this world. Jesus sought to save us from this world- not to teach us to be friends with the sinfilled world.
We have to read this verse in James and know that we must be estranged from this world because it is contrary to God and His will.
Please Lord, help us to understand this and what it means, help us Lord, help us not to seek friendship with this world but to seek You and Your kingdom, all through Your LOVE!
Amen.
Read that verse several times if you need to and let it sink in.
Friendship of the world.
Friend of the world.
Jesus said--
Joh 17:6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me OUT OF THE WORLD: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.
Joh 17:7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.
Joh 17:8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.
Joh 17:9 I pray for them: I PRAY NOT FOR THE WORLD, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.
Joh 17:10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.
Joh 17:11 And now I am no more in the world, BUT THESE ARE IN THE WORLD, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.
Joh 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
Joh 17:13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
Joh 17:14 I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD; AND THE WORLD HATH HATETH THEM, BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.
Joh 17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
Joh 17:16 THEY ARE NOT OF THE WORLD, EVEN AS I AM NOT OF THE WORLD.
Joh 17:17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
Joh 17:18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I ALSO SENT THEM INTO THE WORLD.
The world.
We generally know that our world is filled with corruption, don't we? That society as a whole seems to be filled with liars and thieves, filled with those who do not love their neighbors as they would be loved. We want to shake our heads and say it isn't so that surely the majority of people are good, but the truth of the matter is the majority of people are self-serving. There can be an amazing number of sweet, kind people but that doesn't make them God's people, people not of the world. What's it mean to not be of this world? How was Jesus not of this world?
Jesus did not conform to the worldly ways surrounding Him. Jesus did follow the laws ceremonial and otherwise as He was raised, but He followed them as God intended and not as man had corrupted them. Jesus loved His Father first and foremost and then Jesus loved others as He desired to be loved. Jesus lived that love.
Jesus saw corruption all around Him- men of the world living for the world and for things of the world and not living for God and the things of God.
Jesus did not live for the approval of the world.
Jesus did not live for the material aspects of the world.
Jesus taught laying up our treasures in heaven, not in this world.
Jesus was humble.
Jesus was self-less.
Jesus was filled with love towards God.
Jesus understood that the heavenly was His goal.
He lived here on earth for 33 years and 3 of those years He spent in His ministry teaching the gospel of the kingdom of God. The gospel of the kingdom- salvation from this sinfilled existence- salvation to live with Him in heaven when He returns for us. The gospel of the kingdom was our Savior's message the message He preached far and wide, the message He sent His disciples to preach. The gospel of the kingdom- salvation from this world- so that we are not OF this world as HE is NOT OF THIS WORLD. The message of the kingdom- salvation THROUGH HIM- salvation from a sin-filled existence- salvation from the world drenched in sin and sinful ways.
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
Some will take objection to being called adulterers and adulteresses, but the truth is all of us have gone astray from Christ, all of us have let sin separate us from God while we've let the sin turn our heads, our hearts from God while we go after sinful lusts that are contrary to God's will, God's ways. Only through forgiveness, undeserved forgiveness are we able to be reconciled to God. Only by the grace of God are we able to be forgiven of our adulterous lives.
We all have to realize that we are NOT to seek to be friends with the world. We are NOT to seek to conform to the world. Jesus did NOT seek to conform to the world, Jesus did not seek a friendship with the world. Why do we think we need the acceptance of the world? Why do we believe we need people around us to accept us? Why do we want to fit in? Why do we want to conform? Why do we WANT friendship with the world? WHY?! We have to be NOT OF THIS WORLD. We must live in this world, but we must not be OF this world. Our world is with Jesus! Our world has to be Jesus' world! Jesus was NOT of this world - His words! He said He was not of this world. Jesus knew that to be friends with this world would mean being an enemy of God's and there was no way He was going to be an enemy of God's, no way! Jesus did not seek to be friends with this world. Jesus sought to save us from this world- not to teach us to be friends with the sinfilled world.
We have to read this verse in James and know that we must be estranged from this world because it is contrary to God and His will.
Please Lord, help us to understand this and what it means, help us Lord, help us not to seek friendship with this world but to seek You and Your kingdom, all through Your LOVE!
Amen.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Ye ask amiss
Jas 4:1 From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
Jas 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Some might say outright that these verses don't really apply to them because they're living in a time when wars and fighting, killing to get what they desire is …well… unheard of. They're above all that fighting, war, killing stuff- that's for governments and they have no say so in what the government does. To actually fight, war, kill those around them that's not heard of except maybe in your street gangs and drug cartels, the mafia and the other organized crime syndicates. The average person just doesn't do that so these verses don't apply. WRONG.
Do you remember what Jesus said--
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment
And…
Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Killing, fighting, warring -- while all these things can be done on a grand scale and while all these things can be done on an organized level- every single one of these things can be done on a personal-internal level as well without us ever raising a finger to shed actual blood. Seriously, we are in danger if our hearts are filled with wicked desires, even if they are never acted upon.
Let's for a moment just take a look at fighting among ourselves- do those fights come from the lusts that war in us? The lust of anger, the lust of selfishness, the lust of …well anything that becomes an overpowering wrong desire? When we fight there is a reason behind it, what are those reasons? I've noticed in myself more and more just how incredibly self-motivated I am and not in a particularly good way. If I don't agree with something I'm quick to voice that. If I feel put out I'm quick to grumble about that. How do we stop ourselves from being self-orientated? Seriously, how? I know people who go out of their way to help others- thinking nothing of their own imposition. You ask them to help and they are quick to do so, no hesitation at all. I long to be a person like that, not to be that person but to have those same attributes that seem so amazingly selfless.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
We can ask all we want for what we believe are things we need or simply desire- but God who searches our hearts knows why we want the things we ask for. God knows if our motives are selfish or selfless.
Psa 44:21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
God knows the secrets of our heart. God knows us- He knows the reasons for all we ask.
Consuming anything upon our lusts is not a good thing- it's pure selfishness. We are to be selfless- not selfish, not self-centered, not self-motivated.
It sounds so easy and yet is it so hard to give up self.
Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
This is my prayer, my desperate, desperate prayer.
I don't want to be filled with lusts, with selfish desires, with selfishness, I long to be LED in the way everlasting.
Please Lord, help us to not 'ask amiss' when we petition You, help us to stop fighting, to stop the upsets, the envying, the strife among ourselves. Please help us to give ourselves fully over to You and Your love seeking only You and Your righteousness.
Amen.
Jas 4:2 Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
Some might say outright that these verses don't really apply to them because they're living in a time when wars and fighting, killing to get what they desire is …well… unheard of. They're above all that fighting, war, killing stuff- that's for governments and they have no say so in what the government does. To actually fight, war, kill those around them that's not heard of except maybe in your street gangs and drug cartels, the mafia and the other organized crime syndicates. The average person just doesn't do that so these verses don't apply. WRONG.
Do you remember what Jesus said--
Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment
And…
Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:
Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
Killing, fighting, warring -- while all these things can be done on a grand scale and while all these things can be done on an organized level- every single one of these things can be done on a personal-internal level as well without us ever raising a finger to shed actual blood. Seriously, we are in danger if our hearts are filled with wicked desires, even if they are never acted upon.
Let's for a moment just take a look at fighting among ourselves- do those fights come from the lusts that war in us? The lust of anger, the lust of selfishness, the lust of …well anything that becomes an overpowering wrong desire? When we fight there is a reason behind it, what are those reasons? I've noticed in myself more and more just how incredibly self-motivated I am and not in a particularly good way. If I don't agree with something I'm quick to voice that. If I feel put out I'm quick to grumble about that. How do we stop ourselves from being self-orientated? Seriously, how? I know people who go out of their way to help others- thinking nothing of their own imposition. You ask them to help and they are quick to do so, no hesitation at all. I long to be a person like that, not to be that person but to have those same attributes that seem so amazingly selfless.
Jas 4:3 Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
We can ask all we want for what we believe are things we need or simply desire- but God who searches our hearts knows why we want the things we ask for. God knows if our motives are selfish or selfless.
Psa 44:21 Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
God knows the secrets of our heart. God knows us- He knows the reasons for all we ask.
Consuming anything upon our lusts is not a good thing- it's pure selfishness. We are to be selfless- not selfish, not self-centered, not self-motivated.
It sounds so easy and yet is it so hard to give up self.
Psa 139:23 Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts:
Psa 139:24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
This is my prayer, my desperate, desperate prayer.
I don't want to be filled with lusts, with selfish desires, with selfishness, I long to be LED in the way everlasting.
Please Lord, help us to not 'ask amiss' when we petition You, help us to stop fighting, to stop the upsets, the envying, the strife among ourselves. Please help us to give ourselves fully over to You and Your love seeking only You and Your righteousness.
Amen.
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Peace not wrath
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Them that make peace.
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Our wrath cannot work God's righteousness. Reading that truth it makes you wonder how so many use their wrath as a form of teaching, as a form of preaching God's word, as a form of spreading the good news of the gospel. They raise their children and run their households with what they call the 'fear of God' as their tool. Don't they realize that OUR wrath is NOT God's wrath and if we claim we have God's wrath at our disposal to disperse as we will, then we are deluding ourselves. The righteousness of God is of God, not US or anything we do. Any wrath that we exhibit is not part of God's righteousness. Yes, there is a justified anger we can possess but we have to realize that anger is subject to God, God will judge our anger and if we use that anger selfishly, in any ungodly way it's NOT of God!
Peacemakers are blessed! Not fear-makers, not wrath-makers. Peacemakers are truly blessed.
Only the chastening that comes from God will create peace in us. We cannot PLAY God! We cannot presume to know what God would do. We have to fall on our knees and pray for understanding, for His guidance in all things.
Is there wrath in your life? What qualifies as wrath?
Greek definition-
1. anger, the natural disposition, temper, character
2. movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger
3. anger, wrath, indignation
4. anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself
a. of punishments inflicted by magistrates
Wrath.
Again I ask, is there wrath in your life? Take a moment to think about it, really think about it as you read that definition.
Any VIOLENT emotion.
Even INDIGNATION is wrath.
TEMPER.
Do we possess any emotions that could be considered violent?
Do we possess any indignation- something we love to call righteous indignation- saying we have the RIGHT to exhibit anger, to feel wrath because of the situation.
How does our temper fare? Do we have what is known as a short fuse? Does our temper flare up? Do we have a temper that is slow to burn but once it gets going it's a bonfire?
There is so much anger in us, so much wrath in us and we've come to call it righteous, we've come to believe it's okay to have this in us, that it's fine because it's righteous- we are in the right, we are being slighted, hurt, abused, tortured, cheated, and so on and so forth. We make excuses for our wrath and say we are just human and that is all the excuse we need. In truth we HAVE to beg for forgiveness for any wrath we possess, it's NOT okay, it's NOT fine, it's NOT something that is overlooked. Like any sin, we have to confess and repent of it and seek our Lord and Savior, seek the Holy Spirit's guidance and help where we feel completely helpless against our own besetting sins.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
IF we MAKE peace then the fruit of righteousness will be sown in that peace.
PEACE in our lives, NOT WRATH.
PEACE making peace, seeking peace, having peace in our lives.
All too often peace will disappear and discord will fill our lives.
We long for peace don't we? The peace of God.
We can't mistake getting our own selfish way, our own selfish desires as having peace and yet so many do. As long as things are going the way we like we claim that we have peace. We need the peace of our Savior to see us through all the strife in our lives. While the world around us seems to thrive on strife we need to hold fast to the peace of God in ALL aspects of our lives and we can have this ONLY through HIS GRACE!
Please Lord help us to have the peace You would have us possess and not wrath. We want the fruit of righteousness to be sown in peace, in us as we make peace all through YOU!
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Amen.
Them that make peace.
Jas 1:20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God.
Mat 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.
Our wrath cannot work God's righteousness. Reading that truth it makes you wonder how so many use their wrath as a form of teaching, as a form of preaching God's word, as a form of spreading the good news of the gospel. They raise their children and run their households with what they call the 'fear of God' as their tool. Don't they realize that OUR wrath is NOT God's wrath and if we claim we have God's wrath at our disposal to disperse as we will, then we are deluding ourselves. The righteousness of God is of God, not US or anything we do. Any wrath that we exhibit is not part of God's righteousness. Yes, there is a justified anger we can possess but we have to realize that anger is subject to God, God will judge our anger and if we use that anger selfishly, in any ungodly way it's NOT of God!
Peacemakers are blessed! Not fear-makers, not wrath-makers. Peacemakers are truly blessed.
Only the chastening that comes from God will create peace in us. We cannot PLAY God! We cannot presume to know what God would do. We have to fall on our knees and pray for understanding, for His guidance in all things.
Is there wrath in your life? What qualifies as wrath?
Greek definition-
1. anger, the natural disposition, temper, character
2. movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger
3. anger, wrath, indignation
4. anger exhibited in punishment, hence used for punishment itself
a. of punishments inflicted by magistrates
Wrath.
Again I ask, is there wrath in your life? Take a moment to think about it, really think about it as you read that definition.
Any VIOLENT emotion.
Even INDIGNATION is wrath.
TEMPER.
Do we possess any emotions that could be considered violent?
Do we possess any indignation- something we love to call righteous indignation- saying we have the RIGHT to exhibit anger, to feel wrath because of the situation.
How does our temper fare? Do we have what is known as a short fuse? Does our temper flare up? Do we have a temper that is slow to burn but once it gets going it's a bonfire?
There is so much anger in us, so much wrath in us and we've come to call it righteous, we've come to believe it's okay to have this in us, that it's fine because it's righteous- we are in the right, we are being slighted, hurt, abused, tortured, cheated, and so on and so forth. We make excuses for our wrath and say we are just human and that is all the excuse we need. In truth we HAVE to beg for forgiveness for any wrath we possess, it's NOT okay, it's NOT fine, it's NOT something that is overlooked. Like any sin, we have to confess and repent of it and seek our Lord and Savior, seek the Holy Spirit's guidance and help where we feel completely helpless against our own besetting sins.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
IF we MAKE peace then the fruit of righteousness will be sown in that peace.
PEACE in our lives, NOT WRATH.
PEACE making peace, seeking peace, having peace in our lives.
All too often peace will disappear and discord will fill our lives.
We long for peace don't we? The peace of God.
We can't mistake getting our own selfish way, our own selfish desires as having peace and yet so many do. As long as things are going the way we like we claim that we have peace. We need the peace of our Savior to see us through all the strife in our lives. While the world around us seems to thrive on strife we need to hold fast to the peace of God in ALL aspects of our lives and we can have this ONLY through HIS GRACE!
Please Lord help us to have the peace You would have us possess and not wrath. We want the fruit of righteousness to be sown in peace, in us as we make peace all through YOU!
Col 3:15 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
Amen.
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Out of the same mouth proceeds cursing and blessing
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Cursing and blessing- out of the same mouth. How true this is for so many, unfortunately myself included. 'These things ought NOT so to be.' Like fountains- we don't expect to get sweet and bitter water from the same one- our mouths should not be cursing and blessing. Just as a fig tree cannot produce olive berries, and vines cannot produce figs, no fountain has salt and fresh water- these are FACTS, undisputed and undeniable. Yet, we are so unreliable, we are so confusing, we are incredibly unpredictable. We spew forth evil and then turn around and gush out love. We throw vile insults as other drivers as they pass us on the road and then go home and speak sweetly to our children. We verbally abuse others and then a moment later we are offering up loving words- how can it be? How?
I'll tell you how- Satan. At every opportunity Satan is there to provoke us and we fall to his provoking ways. We let Satan use us over and over and he will NEVER stop as long as we let him. He will never stop tempting us regardless of our state of being. Jesus was pure in all ways and He was tempted and tried. Satan will go after us, each one of us is another victory for him and he wants all the victories he can get. We must throw ourselves on the mercy of our Savior and beg Him to forgive us, to make us new in Him.
A 'wise man' - will 'show out of good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom'. GOOD conversation- not poisonous, not bitter, not abusive, not evil, not envying, not backbiting, not selfish, not vain, oh, I could go on and on and on but the truth is we know how bad our conversations can become. To have a 'good conversation' to speak only good, only lovingly, with meekness of wisdom- this is our desire! We don't want to have bitter envying, we don't want to have strife in our hearts, we don't want to glory in ourselves, we do not want to be liars. If our lives - our speech- is filled with all this negative evil then we know it is from Satan and not from God. We CANNOT allow envying and strife to fill our lives because from them come confusion and EVERY evil work. It is so incredibly important to really pay attention to how we speak because that is a very good gauge of what dwells within us.
If we find we are living lives filled with envying and strife we better get down on our knees and pray to God for forgiveness, for renewal in HIM, for cleansing from Him, for His blessing to give us His love, to replace our evil with His goodness. God will replace our evil with His wisdom, His purity, His peace, His gentleness, His compassion, His mercy- we need to be impartial and not hypocrites speaking one thing and living another. Please Lord we need the fruit of YOUR righteousness, Your PEACE to give us PEACE.
We cannot give up! We cannot lose hope no matter how hard Satan batters at us, no matter how many tiny victories he seems to score against us, we cannot give up! We have to plead for forgiveness, beg for mercy, we cannot lose hope!!!!
Please Lord, please, save us vile undeserving creatures who deserve to be lost, to be abandoned, to be destroyed! Only Your mercy saves us, only Your unfathomable mercy gives us hope. Please…save us, save us from ourselves and Satan who would have us be His. Forbid him from taking us Lord, please! Forbid Satan from overwhelming us with His evil, we would be YOURS, we choose YOU and YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS for we have none!
In Your love!!!!!!!!
Jas 3:9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
Jas 3:10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
Jas 3:11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
Jas 3:12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
Jas 3:13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him shew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
Jas 3:14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
Jas 3:15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
Jas 3:16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
Jas 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
Jas 3:18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.
Cursing and blessing- out of the same mouth. How true this is for so many, unfortunately myself included. 'These things ought NOT so to be.' Like fountains- we don't expect to get sweet and bitter water from the same one- our mouths should not be cursing and blessing. Just as a fig tree cannot produce olive berries, and vines cannot produce figs, no fountain has salt and fresh water- these are FACTS, undisputed and undeniable. Yet, we are so unreliable, we are so confusing, we are incredibly unpredictable. We spew forth evil and then turn around and gush out love. We throw vile insults as other drivers as they pass us on the road and then go home and speak sweetly to our children. We verbally abuse others and then a moment later we are offering up loving words- how can it be? How?
I'll tell you how- Satan. At every opportunity Satan is there to provoke us and we fall to his provoking ways. We let Satan use us over and over and he will NEVER stop as long as we let him. He will never stop tempting us regardless of our state of being. Jesus was pure in all ways and He was tempted and tried. Satan will go after us, each one of us is another victory for him and he wants all the victories he can get. We must throw ourselves on the mercy of our Savior and beg Him to forgive us, to make us new in Him.
A 'wise man' - will 'show out of good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom'. GOOD conversation- not poisonous, not bitter, not abusive, not evil, not envying, not backbiting, not selfish, not vain, oh, I could go on and on and on but the truth is we know how bad our conversations can become. To have a 'good conversation' to speak only good, only lovingly, with meekness of wisdom- this is our desire! We don't want to have bitter envying, we don't want to have strife in our hearts, we don't want to glory in ourselves, we do not want to be liars. If our lives - our speech- is filled with all this negative evil then we know it is from Satan and not from God. We CANNOT allow envying and strife to fill our lives because from them come confusion and EVERY evil work. It is so incredibly important to really pay attention to how we speak because that is a very good gauge of what dwells within us.
If we find we are living lives filled with envying and strife we better get down on our knees and pray to God for forgiveness, for renewal in HIM, for cleansing from Him, for His blessing to give us His love, to replace our evil with His goodness. God will replace our evil with His wisdom, His purity, His peace, His gentleness, His compassion, His mercy- we need to be impartial and not hypocrites speaking one thing and living another. Please Lord we need the fruit of YOUR righteousness, Your PEACE to give us PEACE.
We cannot give up! We cannot lose hope no matter how hard Satan batters at us, no matter how many tiny victories he seems to score against us, we cannot give up! We have to plead for forgiveness, beg for mercy, we cannot lose hope!!!!
Please Lord, please, save us vile undeserving creatures who deserve to be lost, to be abandoned, to be destroyed! Only Your mercy saves us, only Your unfathomable mercy gives us hope. Please…save us, save us from ourselves and Satan who would have us be His. Forbid him from taking us Lord, please! Forbid Satan from overwhelming us with His evil, we would be YOURS, we choose YOU and YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS for we have none!
In Your love!!!!!!!!
Monday, January 9, 2012
Tongue of poison, tongue of praise
Jas 3:6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
How much more plainly can the Bible speak to us? How can God tell us more clearly this message of the tongue? He can't! How can we dispute the truth of this message, it is so incredibly understandable.
With our tongues we can destroy people. Some might say that's impossible that words are only words and nothing really tangible. Someone can put a person down all they want but that person doesn't have to listen, doesn't have to believe what the other is saying. Yet all too often great moments in our history are based upon mere words. Wars are fought and won, on words. Wars are fought and lost, on words. Insults and praise can come from the same tongue. This powerful, powerful member most of us possess is truly amazing and something to be feared.
I'm not going to go on and on about the tongue's evil, the tongue's deadly poison, YOU know all about it, just as I know all about it. We live with our evil tongues and the hurt they cause, the pain they inflict. We live with tongues that wound and cause invisible blood to flow. That same tongue that can so easily inject its poison can always soothe hurts away and show great compassion. We can't forget that, we can't. With Jesus as our example we must use our tongue to sing His praises, to show love to our fellow man.
No, we cannot tame the tongue, no man can- but Jesus our Lord and Savior can help us and He is a God-man, our Advocate, our Redeemer.
More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD!
In His amazing love!
Amen.
Jas 3:7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
How much more plainly can the Bible speak to us? How can God tell us more clearly this message of the tongue? He can't! How can we dispute the truth of this message, it is so incredibly understandable.
With our tongues we can destroy people. Some might say that's impossible that words are only words and nothing really tangible. Someone can put a person down all they want but that person doesn't have to listen, doesn't have to believe what the other is saying. Yet all too often great moments in our history are based upon mere words. Wars are fought and won, on words. Wars are fought and lost, on words. Insults and praise can come from the same tongue. This powerful, powerful member most of us possess is truly amazing and something to be feared.
I'm not going to go on and on about the tongue's evil, the tongue's deadly poison, YOU know all about it, just as I know all about it. We live with our evil tongues and the hurt they cause, the pain they inflict. We live with tongues that wound and cause invisible blood to flow. That same tongue that can so easily inject its poison can always soothe hurts away and show great compassion. We can't forget that, we can't. With Jesus as our example we must use our tongue to sing His praises, to show love to our fellow man.
No, we cannot tame the tongue, no man can- but Jesus our Lord and Savior can help us and He is a God-man, our Advocate, our Redeemer.
More tomorrow by the grace of our LORD!
In His amazing love!
Amen.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Words are heard forever
Jas 3:3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
Jas 3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
You cannot take back a single word you've spoken that others have been there to hear. Unlike a delete button on our computers that enable us to review things we've written and change them- when we speak in another's presence and they hear the words we say, those words have been heard forever.
I don't think there is a person who is old enough to speak and comprehend what they are saying- able to respond to others and reply in kind- that hasn't regretted words they've spoken. Ask around if you think there are those who haven't ever spoken a word they wish they could take back and not say. You might get some pretty cocky people who will readily say they've never regretted a thing, that regrets are for the foolish, but those people will be liars. Seriously, they'll be lying. Bridling our tongues and keeping them from speaking hurtful things is part of the flesh nature we possess, unfortunately, and people's lives have been altered in ways they don't want because of words spoken.
In yesterday's study we talked about the perfect person being one who does not offend in word, a person who has tamed their tongue is able to tame all their imperfections. Why is that do you think? Because the tongue though it is tiny compared to the majority of our body's members, is powerful. AND the tongue is a reflection of our minds. If we have control over our tongues we have control over our minds.
Satan delights in taking control of us in any way He can. Too many people believe they live outside of the influence of Satan, they'd rather put their own ornery, hurtful, deceptive ways down to themselves than to admit that Satan can influence them. People want to live outside the war, and most do that in their minds- believing the war doesn't even exist. So when we find ourselves caught up in a battle of the verbal kind and are slinging one hurtful barb after another and part of us thinks it's awful what we're doing, yet we keep on throwing hateful words around hoping they'll hit their target wounding the one they're aimed at- all to what end? Any victory achieved through such means is a vile victory stained so thoroughly by the blood of the unseen kind that it ends up being worthless. All too often we'll find ourselves holding that hollow victory and realize just how meaningless it is. We are filled with regret and wish we could go back and unsay what we said and get a do-over so we can do things differently. And yet, no matter how many times we hold hollow victories in our hands it would seem that we can't stop collecting them. Maybe we're hoping for a solid victory and yet we won't find that in a battle of hateful, hurtful words. Because even if you are in the absolute right of things and the other person ends up admitting it, the cost of the battle, the wounds that have been inflicted are open and bleeding for you to see and anyone that can take glory in seeing the wounds is an especially callous, heartless person.
Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Is it any wonder we are told this--
Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath
SLOW TO SPEAK.
How many of the verbal battles we engage in at Satan's urging would have been thwarted if we'd known to be SLOW TO SPEAK? How many of those awful word exchanges could have never been if we'd only listened to the word of God and tamed our tongue at least slowing it down. Too many angry exchanges are made in the HEAT of the argument, in the HEAT of the moment and that heat was set ablaze by our thoughtless words. Truly, thoughtless words. Words we've taken absolutely NO time to speak of, to think about, but rather blurted them out the very microsecond after they were thought. Do you think it's possible to speak without having any thought at all? No. The words must come into our minds through thinking them and we've perfected the art of thinking and speak instantaneously rather than thinking those words and taking time to consider whether or not they are the right thing to say. We think therefore we speak is how we live. Yet we should be thinking and therefore we contemplate our thoughts before putting them into words that we can never, ever, take back, words that are forever spoken, words that can never be erased by a million apologies. A person can forgive a thoughtless word spoken, but they can't forget it. Time will ease the memory of an angry thoughtless exchange but never do away with it.
Oh to be able to learn this great lesson- be slow to speak.
All by the grace of God we will learn, all by the grace of God we will put on the full armor of God and stay protected in this wicked evil world we live in.
In His amazing love!
Amen.
Jas 3:4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
You cannot take back a single word you've spoken that others have been there to hear. Unlike a delete button on our computers that enable us to review things we've written and change them- when we speak in another's presence and they hear the words we say, those words have been heard forever.
I don't think there is a person who is old enough to speak and comprehend what they are saying- able to respond to others and reply in kind- that hasn't regretted words they've spoken. Ask around if you think there are those who haven't ever spoken a word they wish they could take back and not say. You might get some pretty cocky people who will readily say they've never regretted a thing, that regrets are for the foolish, but those people will be liars. Seriously, they'll be lying. Bridling our tongues and keeping them from speaking hurtful things is part of the flesh nature we possess, unfortunately, and people's lives have been altered in ways they don't want because of words spoken.
In yesterday's study we talked about the perfect person being one who does not offend in word, a person who has tamed their tongue is able to tame all their imperfections. Why is that do you think? Because the tongue though it is tiny compared to the majority of our body's members, is powerful. AND the tongue is a reflection of our minds. If we have control over our tongues we have control over our minds.
Satan delights in taking control of us in any way He can. Too many people believe they live outside of the influence of Satan, they'd rather put their own ornery, hurtful, deceptive ways down to themselves than to admit that Satan can influence them. People want to live outside the war, and most do that in their minds- believing the war doesn't even exist. So when we find ourselves caught up in a battle of the verbal kind and are slinging one hurtful barb after another and part of us thinks it's awful what we're doing, yet we keep on throwing hateful words around hoping they'll hit their target wounding the one they're aimed at- all to what end? Any victory achieved through such means is a vile victory stained so thoroughly by the blood of the unseen kind that it ends up being worthless. All too often we'll find ourselves holding that hollow victory and realize just how meaningless it is. We are filled with regret and wish we could go back and unsay what we said and get a do-over so we can do things differently. And yet, no matter how many times we hold hollow victories in our hands it would seem that we can't stop collecting them. Maybe we're hoping for a solid victory and yet we won't find that in a battle of hateful, hurtful words. Because even if you are in the absolute right of things and the other person ends up admitting it, the cost of the battle, the wounds that have been inflicted are open and bleeding for you to see and anyone that can take glory in seeing the wounds is an especially callous, heartless person.
Jas 3:5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
Is it any wonder we are told this--
Jas 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath
SLOW TO SPEAK.
How many of the verbal battles we engage in at Satan's urging would have been thwarted if we'd known to be SLOW TO SPEAK? How many of those awful word exchanges could have never been if we'd only listened to the word of God and tamed our tongue at least slowing it down. Too many angry exchanges are made in the HEAT of the argument, in the HEAT of the moment and that heat was set ablaze by our thoughtless words. Truly, thoughtless words. Words we've taken absolutely NO time to speak of, to think about, but rather blurted them out the very microsecond after they were thought. Do you think it's possible to speak without having any thought at all? No. The words must come into our minds through thinking them and we've perfected the art of thinking and speak instantaneously rather than thinking those words and taking time to consider whether or not they are the right thing to say. We think therefore we speak is how we live. Yet we should be thinking and therefore we contemplate our thoughts before putting them into words that we can never, ever, take back, words that are forever spoken, words that can never be erased by a million apologies. A person can forgive a thoughtless word spoken, but they can't forget it. Time will ease the memory of an angry thoughtless exchange but never do away with it.
Oh to be able to learn this great lesson- be slow to speak.
All by the grace of God we will learn, all by the grace of God we will put on the full armor of God and stay protected in this wicked evil world we live in.
In His amazing love!
Amen.
Friday, January 6, 2012
Offending not in word
Jas 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
Imagine not offending anyone by what we say. Seriously, imagine it.
Right now stop and think of the last time you offended someone by something you said, can you remember it? Unfortunately it's all too easy for me to remember the last time I said something that offended someone. I'm not talking about speaking truth and offending by the truth, I'm talking about every day speaking with those around us. And so what if the other party is easily offended, that's NOT the issue here, that's not an excuse for us to use. Offending in word. Our mouths, our tongues, our lips, our speech, the words that come from our thoughts spilling outwards and offending. It doesn't have to be intentionally offending. I didn't set out to offend anyone, and most of the time we do NOT set out to offend it just comes out unexpectedly from perhaps being wounded by something the other person said or did. Something caused it, perhaps a hormonal imbalance, or low blood sugar, or… I could go on and on but does it really matter what causes the offending? Excuses - legitimate or not are still excuses. Honestly there really, truly is no excuse for speaking offensively is there? Would Jesus offend? Some might said He offended a lot of people and they'd be right, but they were offended by the truth, not by any hurtful words of our Savior.
'If any man offend NOT in word…
…the same is a PERFECT man.'
A perfect man. We are so far from perfect aren't we?
This perfect man can bridle his whole body!
I truly can only imagine that because I feel so incredibly far from being any where near this perfection spoken of.
The fiery furnace of trials seems to be burning hotly all around me lately as more and more of my imperfections are exposed. I pray that God keep me through all the fires, that He protects my eternal life while stripping me of the evil flesh I possess. I pray that He sees Christ's righteousness as I cling to my Savior, whose grace alone can save me.
I pray for Him to KEEP THE DOOR OF MY LIPS!
Psa 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Jas 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
Offend not in word.
By the grace of God!
Amen.
Imagine not offending anyone by what we say. Seriously, imagine it.
Right now stop and think of the last time you offended someone by something you said, can you remember it? Unfortunately it's all too easy for me to remember the last time I said something that offended someone. I'm not talking about speaking truth and offending by the truth, I'm talking about every day speaking with those around us. And so what if the other party is easily offended, that's NOT the issue here, that's not an excuse for us to use. Offending in word. Our mouths, our tongues, our lips, our speech, the words that come from our thoughts spilling outwards and offending. It doesn't have to be intentionally offending. I didn't set out to offend anyone, and most of the time we do NOT set out to offend it just comes out unexpectedly from perhaps being wounded by something the other person said or did. Something caused it, perhaps a hormonal imbalance, or low blood sugar, or… I could go on and on but does it really matter what causes the offending? Excuses - legitimate or not are still excuses. Honestly there really, truly is no excuse for speaking offensively is there? Would Jesus offend? Some might said He offended a lot of people and they'd be right, but they were offended by the truth, not by any hurtful words of our Savior.
'If any man offend NOT in word…
…the same is a PERFECT man.'
A perfect man. We are so far from perfect aren't we?
This perfect man can bridle his whole body!
I truly can only imagine that because I feel so incredibly far from being any where near this perfection spoken of.
The fiery furnace of trials seems to be burning hotly all around me lately as more and more of my imperfections are exposed. I pray that God keep me through all the fires, that He protects my eternal life while stripping me of the evil flesh I possess. I pray that He sees Christ's righteousness as I cling to my Savior, whose grace alone can save me.
I pray for Him to KEEP THE DOOR OF MY LIPS!
Psa 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.
Jas 3:2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
Offend not in word.
By the grace of God!
Amen.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Great condemnation
Jas 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
All too often people will strive to be superior to others, advancing their knowledge so they can impart it. In truth aren't we encouraged to spread the gospel? We are to let our lights shine, right?
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven
Yet we are NOT all called to be teachers, right?
1Co 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
This verse in James tells us outright- 'be NOT MANY masters'.
Another word for master is teacher- 'be NOT MANY teachers.'
If everyone was a teacher there would be none to fill the other duties needed, right? The plain truth is that not everyone can teach and yet so many strive to become teachers, to become those who know the in-depth knowledge only deep scholars can know. Barring that, many try to pretend to be teachers having vast amounts of knowledge to impart to others. We are told 'be NOT MANY masters', so where does that leave people? If we are not to try to become so knowledgeable that we can teach? We are to become those who learn and live what we learn in our everyday lives, not seeking to be masters of it all and make that our calling. That verse doesn't stop there though, it goes on to say that MASTERS will receive GREATER condemnation.
Why? Why should masters receive greater condemnation?
It follows along this line--
Mat 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
A master- a teacher- who is not truly called to be a teacher but has made it their own desire to become a teacher is not following down the path God would have them follow. They become hypocrites in their desire to teach, and that desire is NOT based upon what God would have of them, but what THEY want. They want the accolades of a scholar, they want the superiority of a teacher lording over their students, they want the authority, the position of power and NOT the things that God would truly have of His teachers. When they take on teaching for the wrong, wrong reasons they become hypocrites and have greater condemnation than those who do not seek their own glory in any way at all.
It's important for us to know this because we have to understand that we need to follow God's will and not our own, never our own.
Please Lord help us NOT to seek to be masters, but if any of us are to be masters give us the strength and the courage, the heart love of You to know this is a true calling from you and NOT a hypocritical desire. Please Lord we do not seek great condemnation, we are Your students forever and You are great Master.
Guide us into all knowledge of You, teach us Your gospel, reveal the Kingdom to us Lord all through Your love, Your forgiveness, Your mercy, Your grace and YOUR righteousness!
In You Lord!
Amen.
All too often people will strive to be superior to others, advancing their knowledge so they can impart it. In truth aren't we encouraged to spread the gospel? We are to let our lights shine, right?
Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven
Yet we are NOT all called to be teachers, right?
1Co 12:27 Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
1Co 12:28 And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.
This verse in James tells us outright- 'be NOT MANY masters'.
Another word for master is teacher- 'be NOT MANY teachers.'
If everyone was a teacher there would be none to fill the other duties needed, right? The plain truth is that not everyone can teach and yet so many strive to become teachers, to become those who know the in-depth knowledge only deep scholars can know. Barring that, many try to pretend to be teachers having vast amounts of knowledge to impart to others. We are told 'be NOT MANY masters', so where does that leave people? If we are not to try to become so knowledgeable that we can teach? We are to become those who learn and live what we learn in our everyday lives, not seeking to be masters of it all and make that our calling. That verse doesn't stop there though, it goes on to say that MASTERS will receive GREATER condemnation.
Why? Why should masters receive greater condemnation?
It follows along this line--
Mat 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
A master- a teacher- who is not truly called to be a teacher but has made it their own desire to become a teacher is not following down the path God would have them follow. They become hypocrites in their desire to teach, and that desire is NOT based upon what God would have of them, but what THEY want. They want the accolades of a scholar, they want the superiority of a teacher lording over their students, they want the authority, the position of power and NOT the things that God would truly have of His teachers. When they take on teaching for the wrong, wrong reasons they become hypocrites and have greater condemnation than those who do not seek their own glory in any way at all.
It's important for us to know this because we have to understand that we need to follow God's will and not our own, never our own.
Please Lord help us NOT to seek to be masters, but if any of us are to be masters give us the strength and the courage, the heart love of You to know this is a true calling from you and NOT a hypocritical desire. Please Lord we do not seek great condemnation, we are Your students forever and You are great Master.
Guide us into all knowledge of You, teach us Your gospel, reveal the Kingdom to us Lord all through Your love, Your forgiveness, Your mercy, Your grace and YOUR righteousness!
In You Lord!
Amen.
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