Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
Gal 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.
I am crucified with Christ.
What exactly does that mean?
It goes on to say...
Nevertheless I live, yet NOT I, but Christ liveth in me.
To be crucified is to be killed. If a person is killed yet they live, we have to ask ourselves how that is possible. You can't kill something and have it live, killed means dead, no longer living. Yet Christ was crucified. Christ was murdered and yet He lived. As the Son of God a miracle was performed. God raised His Son back to life accepting His sacrifice for all of mankind giving mankind hope of eternal life. When we are crucified and yet we live, what does it mean? We aren't killed and then brought back to life. If we are crucified with Christ it has to mean something in us is killed, something in us dies so that Christ can live in us. What is it in us that dies? What are we crucifying, or what is being crucified? I. The I in us is being crucified. Self. The part in us we use to say I am. We cannot save ourselves, Christ must save us, Christ must live in us through faith. Christ lives, and it is Christ in us living that is righteous, not anything of ourselves. Christ living in us is the grace He gives to us, the hope He gives to us. Christ has to live in us by faith. The love of the Son of God was manifest in His dying for us, taking on our sins and being crucified. We could die a million deaths and none of them would warrant a thing because we have no righteousness. Christ's death gives us eternal life, His righteousness alone saves us. It is only through His death that we can live. To be crucified with Christ means any part in us that believes it is righteous has to die.
We cannot frustrate the grace of God and we do frustrate it when we believe that by our own actions we are saved eternally. We frustrate the grace of God when we believe anything we do is righteous in His eyes and warrants anything at all. Only Christ's righteousness brings salvation. Christ is dead in vain if we believe our own righteous acts can save us.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord we live only in Him. All praise and glory, all honor to Him now and forever. In His righteousness alone may we be crucified with Him so that we may live in Him forever.
Amen.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Saturday, April 10, 2010
God be merciful to me a sinner
Luk 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
We live in a world of self-exaltation.
We live in a world where we are obsessed with ourselves.
The world revolves around us because we exist and all things should be just so in order that our lives are acceptable to us.
Work humbles us doesn't it? Having to take time our of our lives to go to a job we more often than not do not like at all. Work. It might not be tilling the ground so that it produces food for you to live, but it's a task that gives you monies to buy that food, to buy the roof over your head, to buy the water you drink, the clothes you wear, the entertainment you desire.
God said this to Adam--
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
We are far from the days of ekeing out a living from the ground and supplyling all our own means of living. Except for a very tiny minority of people who go back to such a life, and except for those in the remote jungles, and those who live in such poverty they cannot do otherwise, people do not supply their own needs, but rather work to pay others to supply those needs.
Still, working humbles us a bit and even those who stay at home and work can't escape the many needs a household has to keep it running smoothly. Work humbles us and those who are rich and have no need to work lose some of that humbleness don't they? We call them stuck-up, self-absorbed, snobs and with good reason- they are rich and think they have need of nothing. They are like that Pharisee who prayed about his own humbleness, his own goodness, self-exalting himself, claiming his own righteousness as satisfactory. People, working class people, sometimes long for that day they can retire and live off the work of their years - enjoying time off to do what they want to do rather than what they have to do. Sometimes they'll boast of their years of working and their deserving of this time off that age has provided for them. All too often however people have to work beyond their time of retirement just to survive and these people aren't looking towards any leisure life of retiring but rather death will be their rest and they know it.
Do all working class people have a humbleness? No. Why? Because we like to exalt ourselves even when we aren't rich. We like to have illusions of such a life of self-importance. Isn't today's key word- self? Believing in yourself and you can accomplish anything. Take pride in yourself. You are everything and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The trouble with all this self-exaltation is that many people don't quite believe it. There's this nagging doubt in their minds about their self-worth and they are told that's a problem that needs correcting-- you need to be fixed so that you can believe in your own self-worth and once you have that belief the whole world will be at your fingertips and nothing will stop you from realizing whatever it is you hope to realize. Stop holding yourself back we tell people. We boast that we are just as good as everyone else and NO ONE is better than us, no one. We are just as important as the next guy. We tell others don't let anyone make you feel like you are nothing, especially not yourself. Tell yourself you're important and believe it. Yet, isn't that a trap? A big trap that is very pretty and enticing to us because we want to believe in ourselves, that we have some sort of self worth that makes our lives worth living. We are not taught that we need Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and only through Him are we worth anything, because it's in His eyes we are valuable enough to die for. It's not because we are wealthy that we attract the eye of our Savior. Our demeanor and deportment, our station in life, our clothes, our ability to believe in ourselves are not what attracts Him at all. Being on the top of the list in tithing and works, even charity work, will not catch the eyes of our Lord. Self does not attract but repels the One who gave all of Himself for us. Taking self out of the picture and replacing self with Jesus is what matters more than anything. God first, always. Yet we're too busy putting ourselves first even using His name to do so, to really put Him first in our lives above our desires, our needs, our wants, our lives. Sometimes our lives change unexpectedly proving to us that we really do have little control over our own lives, yet we are often in a hurry to pick up the reins again and start running our lives rather than seeking God first and in seeking God first accepting that His path for us might be different than one we'd choose for ourselves.
Did you ever stop and wonder how many forks in the road of your life that you've come to and chosen the wrong one? Some are blatantly obvious wrong forks, yet I think we are presented daily with these choices and we need to seek God first. If we make a wrong choice while humbly seeking God first, God will know. We, like the Publican have to pray--
'God be merciful to me, a sinner'
And as a sinner who trusts in self more than God, this needs to be changed by God's mercy and our willingness to allow Him to work in us as we choose to follow Him and only Him and not self.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever.
Amen.
Luk 18:11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
Luk 18:12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
Luk 18:13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
Luk 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
We live in a world of self-exaltation.
We live in a world where we are obsessed with ourselves.
The world revolves around us because we exist and all things should be just so in order that our lives are acceptable to us.
Work humbles us doesn't it? Having to take time our of our lives to go to a job we more often than not do not like at all. Work. It might not be tilling the ground so that it produces food for you to live, but it's a task that gives you monies to buy that food, to buy the roof over your head, to buy the water you drink, the clothes you wear, the entertainment you desire.
God said this to Adam--
Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life
Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
Gen 3:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
We are far from the days of ekeing out a living from the ground and supplyling all our own means of living. Except for a very tiny minority of people who go back to such a life, and except for those in the remote jungles, and those who live in such poverty they cannot do otherwise, people do not supply their own needs, but rather work to pay others to supply those needs.
Still, working humbles us a bit and even those who stay at home and work can't escape the many needs a household has to keep it running smoothly. Work humbles us and those who are rich and have no need to work lose some of that humbleness don't they? We call them stuck-up, self-absorbed, snobs and with good reason- they are rich and think they have need of nothing. They are like that Pharisee who prayed about his own humbleness, his own goodness, self-exalting himself, claiming his own righteousness as satisfactory. People, working class people, sometimes long for that day they can retire and live off the work of their years - enjoying time off to do what they want to do rather than what they have to do. Sometimes they'll boast of their years of working and their deserving of this time off that age has provided for them. All too often however people have to work beyond their time of retirement just to survive and these people aren't looking towards any leisure life of retiring but rather death will be their rest and they know it.
Do all working class people have a humbleness? No. Why? Because we like to exalt ourselves even when we aren't rich. We like to have illusions of such a life of self-importance. Isn't today's key word- self? Believing in yourself and you can accomplish anything. Take pride in yourself. You are everything and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. The trouble with all this self-exaltation is that many people don't quite believe it. There's this nagging doubt in their minds about their self-worth and they are told that's a problem that needs correcting-- you need to be fixed so that you can believe in your own self-worth and once you have that belief the whole world will be at your fingertips and nothing will stop you from realizing whatever it is you hope to realize. Stop holding yourself back we tell people. We boast that we are just as good as everyone else and NO ONE is better than us, no one. We are just as important as the next guy. We tell others don't let anyone make you feel like you are nothing, especially not yourself. Tell yourself you're important and believe it. Yet, isn't that a trap? A big trap that is very pretty and enticing to us because we want to believe in ourselves, that we have some sort of self worth that makes our lives worth living. We are not taught that we need Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior and only through Him are we worth anything, because it's in His eyes we are valuable enough to die for. It's not because we are wealthy that we attract the eye of our Savior. Our demeanor and deportment, our station in life, our clothes, our ability to believe in ourselves are not what attracts Him at all. Being on the top of the list in tithing and works, even charity work, will not catch the eyes of our Lord. Self does not attract but repels the One who gave all of Himself for us. Taking self out of the picture and replacing self with Jesus is what matters more than anything. God first, always. Yet we're too busy putting ourselves first even using His name to do so, to really put Him first in our lives above our desires, our needs, our wants, our lives. Sometimes our lives change unexpectedly proving to us that we really do have little control over our own lives, yet we are often in a hurry to pick up the reins again and start running our lives rather than seeking God first and in seeking God first accepting that His path for us might be different than one we'd choose for ourselves.
Did you ever stop and wonder how many forks in the road of your life that you've come to and chosen the wrong one? Some are blatantly obvious wrong forks, yet I think we are presented daily with these choices and we need to seek God first. If we make a wrong choice while humbly seeking God first, God will know. We, like the Publican have to pray--
'God be merciful to me, a sinner'
And as a sinner who trusts in self more than God, this needs to be changed by God's mercy and our willingness to allow Him to work in us as we choose to follow Him and only Him and not self.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, now and forever.
Amen.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Do I seek to please men?
Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
So many of us are caught up in the idea that we have to please others. No, I'm not saying please as in physically please others- though that too is an issue of it's own. We grow up being taught to conform at all costs. The ones that stand out as radicals are punished by society in many ways. This isn't to say that our culture hasn't embraced non-conformity as a way of formally protest issues, this it saying that to protest is to be a non-conformist and to be labeled at such. Some, though they are a minority, revel in non-conformity. They love to buck the system every chance they get. Again, labels are attached to those people. They are called troublemakers, rabble rousers, and many other things. The point being we aren't taught to be non-conformists. We are taught from a young age the this is the way things are done and if you don't do them that way then you will suffer consequences. Many countries around the world take this to a very harsh extreme and as such their children learn to conform early on. Other countries are more lax and the result seems to be a society that is much more troublesome.
This verse above--
Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Do I seek to please men?
If we seek to please our fellow man, if we seek to keep the even flow of well-being at all costs, we sacrifice principles to do so. Some might scoff at that and say, that's old school thinking, that happened in the old days now you can do or be whatever you want, worship whoever you want or not worship at all and nothing matters. We don't force anyone to bow down to a king or die, we don't imprison people who stand up and claim God as their Father, we don't imprison those who claim Satan as their Father. And we say this is the way Jesus would have it. Loving all, letting all do whatever it is that is pleasing to them because that is what it's all about. You don't love if you don't accept everyone for who they are. You don't love or show the love of Jesus if you condemn anyone. Jesus loved the sinner we are to love the sinners too, especially because we are among them. So where is a line drawn here? Where does this verse come into play?
Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
We need to understand what it means to please God.
Does it please God when we worship Satan? No.
Does it please God when we accept any faith that denies Christ as the world's Savior? No.
Does it please God when we have no principles that demand we stand up for our beliefs? No.
Time and time again throughout the Bible we are shown that those who believe in God and refuse to worship at any other altar are persecuted. Paul didn't go into the cities of pagans and worship at their altars to their Gods just to show He had love for those people. Paul went into the cities of pagans and stood up for God preaching Christ crucified, preaching the true God in heaven above and for this he was beaten, imprisoned, persecuted time and time again. Was He not showing Christ's love? Today people say if we are unaccepting we are loveless. Today people say to be a Christian is to accept all faiths.
If we please men, we would not be the servant of Christ. We have to be prepared to be disliked for our faith in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. We have to understand that many are going to persecute us and we will seem to the whole world as if we are not loving at all, but haters. We will seem like the devil's own to those who hold a false belief in what it means to be Christ's. Right now we might face this in little things, but the little things are stepping stones leading up to a stronger faith. Our faith is tested and tried and by the Grace of God we will strive always to please God and not worry about pleasing man, or being accepted by man, even those who claim Christianity as a way of life and point to you and say you are of the devil.
God first.
Please God first, always.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ now and forever in Him and His amazing love and forgiveness, through His righteousness.
Amen.
So many of us are caught up in the idea that we have to please others. No, I'm not saying please as in physically please others- though that too is an issue of it's own. We grow up being taught to conform at all costs. The ones that stand out as radicals are punished by society in many ways. This isn't to say that our culture hasn't embraced non-conformity as a way of formally protest issues, this it saying that to protest is to be a non-conformist and to be labeled at such. Some, though they are a minority, revel in non-conformity. They love to buck the system every chance they get. Again, labels are attached to those people. They are called troublemakers, rabble rousers, and many other things. The point being we aren't taught to be non-conformists. We are taught from a young age the this is the way things are done and if you don't do them that way then you will suffer consequences. Many countries around the world take this to a very harsh extreme and as such their children learn to conform early on. Other countries are more lax and the result seems to be a society that is much more troublesome.
This verse above--
Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
Do I seek to please men?
If we seek to please our fellow man, if we seek to keep the even flow of well-being at all costs, we sacrifice principles to do so. Some might scoff at that and say, that's old school thinking, that happened in the old days now you can do or be whatever you want, worship whoever you want or not worship at all and nothing matters. We don't force anyone to bow down to a king or die, we don't imprison people who stand up and claim God as their Father, we don't imprison those who claim Satan as their Father. And we say this is the way Jesus would have it. Loving all, letting all do whatever it is that is pleasing to them because that is what it's all about. You don't love if you don't accept everyone for who they are. You don't love or show the love of Jesus if you condemn anyone. Jesus loved the sinner we are to love the sinners too, especially because we are among them. So where is a line drawn here? Where does this verse come into play?
Gal 1:10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
We need to understand what it means to please God.
Does it please God when we worship Satan? No.
Does it please God when we accept any faith that denies Christ as the world's Savior? No.
Does it please God when we have no principles that demand we stand up for our beliefs? No.
Time and time again throughout the Bible we are shown that those who believe in God and refuse to worship at any other altar are persecuted. Paul didn't go into the cities of pagans and worship at their altars to their Gods just to show He had love for those people. Paul went into the cities of pagans and stood up for God preaching Christ crucified, preaching the true God in heaven above and for this he was beaten, imprisoned, persecuted time and time again. Was He not showing Christ's love? Today people say if we are unaccepting we are loveless. Today people say to be a Christian is to accept all faiths.
If we please men, we would not be the servant of Christ. We have to be prepared to be disliked for our faith in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. We have to understand that many are going to persecute us and we will seem to the whole world as if we are not loving at all, but haters. We will seem like the devil's own to those who hold a false belief in what it means to be Christ's. Right now we might face this in little things, but the little things are stepping stones leading up to a stronger faith. Our faith is tested and tried and by the Grace of God we will strive always to please God and not worry about pleasing man, or being accepted by man, even those who claim Christianity as a way of life and point to you and say you are of the devil.
God first.
Please God first, always.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ now and forever in Him and His amazing love and forgiveness, through His righteousness.
Amen.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Present Evil World
Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father
How evil was the world in Jesus' day?
For some reason we think our day is the epitome of evil and yet we forget when the world was consumed with evils we would not abide today such as--
The Roman Colliseum and the infamous gladiators-
Internet-
Occasionally used for executions in which the hero of the story — played by a condemned person — was killed in one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death.
The brave gladiators face each other in pairs. They know it's a fight to the death.
When the Christians refused to sacrifice to the emperor and worship his false gods, they were accused of treason and thrown into the arena to combat wild beasts. When one member of a family was accused the whole family would be thrown into the lions den, small children included.
In 80 Emperor Titus held an openings party, which lasted 100 days. The party took the lives of 5000 animals.
The fights that were shown in the Colosseum were inhuman. Humans killing humans, animals killing animals and there were even fights between animals and humans. Blood was shed all over.
*******
We would not tolerate anything like that today. Yet some will argue a lot of that stuff goes on today behind the scenes of every day life and they're right. Criminal activities thrive and the world is filled with evil but it has always been filled with evil. This world is Satan's. Satan is the prince of this world and it will never be filled with peace as long as He remains the prince of this world. Jesus prayed to the Father to keep us from the evil of the world- not take us out of the world. The verse above...
Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father
Jesus will deliever us from the present evil world, He died, giving himself for OUR sins. The evil of the world will not disappear. We have to live surrounded by the evil of the present world, but our treasures don't have to be of this world. Our treasures are to be in heaven. As far as I know no one has a physical treasure chest they can fill in heaven. Our treasures have to be treasures of the heart bound to Christ's heart. There should be NOTHING in this world that we should be so entangled with that we aren't willing to give it all up for our heavenly treasure- Christ. Cares of this world will try to bring us down and do away with any heavenly treasure we might possess. As long as we holdfast to this world we lose heaven. Jesus died to deliver us from this present evil world. By His grace and His mercy, by His unfathomable love and forgiveness of our vile sins, we will be delivered.
In Him.
Amen.
How evil was the world in Jesus' day?
For some reason we think our day is the epitome of evil and yet we forget when the world was consumed with evils we would not abide today such as--
The Roman Colliseum and the infamous gladiators-
Internet-
Occasionally used for executions in which the hero of the story — played by a condemned person — was killed in one of various gruesome but mythologically authentic ways, such as being mauled by beasts or burned to death.
The brave gladiators face each other in pairs. They know it's a fight to the death.
When the Christians refused to sacrifice to the emperor and worship his false gods, they were accused of treason and thrown into the arena to combat wild beasts. When one member of a family was accused the whole family would be thrown into the lions den, small children included.
In 80 Emperor Titus held an openings party, which lasted 100 days. The party took the lives of 5000 animals.
The fights that were shown in the Colosseum were inhuman. Humans killing humans, animals killing animals and there were even fights between animals and humans. Blood was shed all over.
*******
We would not tolerate anything like that today. Yet some will argue a lot of that stuff goes on today behind the scenes of every day life and they're right. Criminal activities thrive and the world is filled with evil but it has always been filled with evil. This world is Satan's. Satan is the prince of this world and it will never be filled with peace as long as He remains the prince of this world. Jesus prayed to the Father to keep us from the evil of the world- not take us out of the world. The verse above...
Gal 1:4 Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father
Jesus will deliever us from the present evil world, He died, giving himself for OUR sins. The evil of the world will not disappear. We have to live surrounded by the evil of the present world, but our treasures don't have to be of this world. Our treasures are to be in heaven. As far as I know no one has a physical treasure chest they can fill in heaven. Our treasures have to be treasures of the heart bound to Christ's heart. There should be NOTHING in this world that we should be so entangled with that we aren't willing to give it all up for our heavenly treasure- Christ. Cares of this world will try to bring us down and do away with any heavenly treasure we might possess. As long as we holdfast to this world we lose heaven. Jesus died to deliver us from this present evil world. By His grace and His mercy, by His unfathomable love and forgiveness of our vile sins, we will be delivered.
In Him.
Amen.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Because We Will Be Judged
Mat 7:1 Judge not, that ye be not judged.
We judge.
We form opinions, we form estimations, we decide, we condemn, we pass sentence on (even if it isn't legal, and only a mental sentence), we deliberate, we assume. We do all this to each other all the time on a daily basis. We might not think this is something we do but we pass people on the street and we are making mental judgments on them. We take in their demeanor and label them and I'd be remissed if I said this was always a bad thing- it saves lives sometimes right? We see a seedy character and we instantly judge them to be a threat and we act accordingly- cautiously. However sometimes we judge wrong based on what we see, don't we? We don't see the heart, only God sees the heart. I had a relative tell me not too long ago that they were going to get a tattoo that read- 'Only God Judges Me' or something to that effect. I was touched by that revelation, that my realtive felt judged by others and this led them to want to proclaim permanently that only God can judge them. They're right. Only God can judge. We can make observations and rather err on the side of judging harshly perhaps we need to judge on side of being less harsh. Instead of the worse maybe we need to think of the best, or if not the best then at least better. Maybe we need to judge on the side of compassion, exchanging condemnation for sympathy deserved or undeserved.
We will be judged as we judge that's something we need to constantly hold before us as we go through our day to day lives. Do we want others to judge us with compassion? Do we want others to form good estimations of us? Do we want the sentences passed on us to be good ones? We do. However we know with the majority of people not God's but rather under the control of the enemy (knowingly or not), that we will be judged harshly and even so we can't return judgment the same.
Judge not.
Judge not.
Why?
Because we will be judged.
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
By the grace of our Lord may we hold God ever before us. Leaving judging to God. If any vengeance is needed, let God claim it. Is it easy? No. Only by the power of our Lord will we live as we should. Only through the righteousness of our King will we prevail.
In Christ's love, through His cleansing blood, by His mercy, through His forgiveness now and forever.
Amen.
We judge.
We form opinions, we form estimations, we decide, we condemn, we pass sentence on (even if it isn't legal, and only a mental sentence), we deliberate, we assume. We do all this to each other all the time on a daily basis. We might not think this is something we do but we pass people on the street and we are making mental judgments on them. We take in their demeanor and label them and I'd be remissed if I said this was always a bad thing- it saves lives sometimes right? We see a seedy character and we instantly judge them to be a threat and we act accordingly- cautiously. However sometimes we judge wrong based on what we see, don't we? We don't see the heart, only God sees the heart. I had a relative tell me not too long ago that they were going to get a tattoo that read- 'Only God Judges Me' or something to that effect. I was touched by that revelation, that my realtive felt judged by others and this led them to want to proclaim permanently that only God can judge them. They're right. Only God can judge. We can make observations and rather err on the side of judging harshly perhaps we need to judge on side of being less harsh. Instead of the worse maybe we need to think of the best, or if not the best then at least better. Maybe we need to judge on the side of compassion, exchanging condemnation for sympathy deserved or undeserved.
We will be judged as we judge that's something we need to constantly hold before us as we go through our day to day lives. Do we want others to judge us with compassion? Do we want others to form good estimations of us? Do we want the sentences passed on us to be good ones? We do. However we know with the majority of people not God's but rather under the control of the enemy (knowingly or not), that we will be judged harshly and even so we can't return judgment the same.
Judge not.
Judge not.
Why?
Because we will be judged.
Mat 7:2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
By the grace of our Lord may we hold God ever before us. Leaving judging to God. If any vengeance is needed, let God claim it. Is it easy? No. Only by the power of our Lord will we live as we should. Only through the righteousness of our King will we prevail.
In Christ's love, through His cleansing blood, by His mercy, through His forgiveness now and forever.
Amen.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Seek God First
Mat 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Do you really believe God will provide for you?
The Gentiles don't believe.
Who is a Gentile?
gentile (jèn´tìl´) noun
1. Often Gentile . One who is not of the Jewish faith or is of a non-Jewish nation.
2. Often Gentile . A Christian.
3. A pagan or heathen.
4. Often Gentile . Mormon Church. A non-Mormon.
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary
Basically a Gentile is anyone who is not God's.
We are either God's or not God's. We either choose to be with God, or not to be with God.
Those who choose not to be God's are Gentiles and they concern themselves of the things of this world.
Those who choose to be God's have to rely on God for all things. For the very breath they breathe, for the very heart beating in their chests, all of it is by God. Seeking GOD FIRST is our duty. God First.
We too often concern ourselves with everything and put God as an afterthought.
God first means God first!
The first thing we think of upon waking should be God and His will being done in us.
It's not easy for us to do this because we can't grab God up and put Him on us as we might a pair of glasses, or a bath robe, or slippers. What's the first thing you do upon waking? Think about it. Do you put on glasses? Do you shuffle off to the bathroom? Do you wash your face, brush your teeth? There are quite a few things people could do first upon waking, and no matter what you do first unless it is a prayer to God, it shouldn't be done before acknowledging a new day in which to worship, praise, and honor God.
God First!
This is something I've written on before and something I'll probably write on again and again, it's that important and it helps me to remember as well. God first. When we seek the kingdom of God first we are seeking God first. Seeking to be embraced by the forgiveness, the mercy, the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior; seeking to live in Christ now and forever.
In the love of Christ.
Amen.
Mat 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 6:34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
Do you really believe God will provide for you?
The Gentiles don't believe.
Who is a Gentile?
gentile (jèn´tìl´) noun
1. Often Gentile . One who is not of the Jewish faith or is of a non-Jewish nation.
2. Often Gentile . A Christian.
3. A pagan or heathen.
4. Often Gentile . Mormon Church. A non-Mormon.
Excerpted from The American Heritage Dictionary
Basically a Gentile is anyone who is not God's.
We are either God's or not God's. We either choose to be with God, or not to be with God.
Those who choose not to be God's are Gentiles and they concern themselves of the things of this world.
Those who choose to be God's have to rely on God for all things. For the very breath they breathe, for the very heart beating in their chests, all of it is by God. Seeking GOD FIRST is our duty. God First.
We too often concern ourselves with everything and put God as an afterthought.
God first means God first!
The first thing we think of upon waking should be God and His will being done in us.
It's not easy for us to do this because we can't grab God up and put Him on us as we might a pair of glasses, or a bath robe, or slippers. What's the first thing you do upon waking? Think about it. Do you put on glasses? Do you shuffle off to the bathroom? Do you wash your face, brush your teeth? There are quite a few things people could do first upon waking, and no matter what you do first unless it is a prayer to God, it shouldn't be done before acknowledging a new day in which to worship, praise, and honor God.
God First!
This is something I've written on before and something I'll probably write on again and again, it's that important and it helps me to remember as well. God first. When we seek the kingdom of God first we are seeking God first. Seeking to be embraced by the forgiveness, the mercy, the grace of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior; seeking to live in Christ now and forever.
In the love of Christ.
Amen.
Monday, April 5, 2010
God Knows Us
Isa 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:
Isa 29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Isa 29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Isa 29:16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
How many of us talk of God? How many of us say things to honor God? A lot of us do. I know lots of people who would loudly profess Christ crucified, of God the Father glorified. It's easy to speak. It's easy to say things. Easy to spout off whatever we want to and whatever we think others might want to hear. We can fool others, we can possibly even try to fool ourselves but we can't fool God ever. God knows our hearts and He doesn't lie when He says there are people who draw near to Him with their mouths, people that honor Him with their lips, but their hearts are removed FAR from Him. They have no HEART connection, no real love for God. They are taught by other men, but they are not taught of God.
The wisdom of the wise men -- perish.
The understanding of thr prudent men -- is hidden.
Nothing is hid from God! Nothing we do is hidden from Him! We think we do things in secret but there is no such thing. All that we are, all that we do God knows. The worst of the worst isn't given freedom in their evil to go unnoticed, their acts are recorded. The best of the best, they too are an open book to God. Nothing is hid. We can sneak around on other people, friends, loved ones; we can hurt others in ways we believe are anonymous and we can get away with a lot of our evilness without a single person finding us out, but God knows. The deepest ways we take to hide our counsel from the Lord is ineffective. All the works we do in the dark believing no one sees, God sees. God knows us in and out.
We can twist things all we want and our fellow man may believe all our upside down and inside out deceptions are effective, but they're not.
When we create something does that creation tell us we didn't make it? Does it? No! It's absurd to even think such a thing. Does a child who knows their birth parents tell their birth parents they didn't create them, their mother that they didn't birth them? Their father that he had no hand in their conception? NO! Creations do not question their creator because truth is truth, it's ludicrous to think otherwise. The thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? The thing made question the maker? Yet we foolish people dare to question God over and over and over. We think in our small minded ways that we have a right to question the Creator, that somehow questioning our Maker makes us on equal or higher ground than He is. Fools. We are fools.
God knows us.
God knows our hearts.
Nothing is hidden from God.
Nothing.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior let us lay our hearts open to Him fully and stand before our God, our Creator with nothing hidden from Him. Lord, know us, see us, help us, save us. In Your love, Your righteousness, Your mercy, Your forgiveness now and forever. We believe, Lord, help our unbelief.
Amen.
Isa 29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.
Isa 29:15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us?
Isa 29:16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
How many of us talk of God? How many of us say things to honor God? A lot of us do. I know lots of people who would loudly profess Christ crucified, of God the Father glorified. It's easy to speak. It's easy to say things. Easy to spout off whatever we want to and whatever we think others might want to hear. We can fool others, we can possibly even try to fool ourselves but we can't fool God ever. God knows our hearts and He doesn't lie when He says there are people who draw near to Him with their mouths, people that honor Him with their lips, but their hearts are removed FAR from Him. They have no HEART connection, no real love for God. They are taught by other men, but they are not taught of God.
The wisdom of the wise men -- perish.
The understanding of thr prudent men -- is hidden.
Nothing is hid from God! Nothing we do is hidden from Him! We think we do things in secret but there is no such thing. All that we are, all that we do God knows. The worst of the worst isn't given freedom in their evil to go unnoticed, their acts are recorded. The best of the best, they too are an open book to God. Nothing is hid. We can sneak around on other people, friends, loved ones; we can hurt others in ways we believe are anonymous and we can get away with a lot of our evilness without a single person finding us out, but God knows. The deepest ways we take to hide our counsel from the Lord is ineffective. All the works we do in the dark believing no one sees, God sees. God knows us in and out.
We can twist things all we want and our fellow man may believe all our upside down and inside out deceptions are effective, but they're not.
When we create something does that creation tell us we didn't make it? Does it? No! It's absurd to even think such a thing. Does a child who knows their birth parents tell their birth parents they didn't create them, their mother that they didn't birth them? Their father that he had no hand in their conception? NO! Creations do not question their creator because truth is truth, it's ludicrous to think otherwise. The thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding? The thing made question the maker? Yet we foolish people dare to question God over and over and over. We think in our small minded ways that we have a right to question the Creator, that somehow questioning our Maker makes us on equal or higher ground than He is. Fools. We are fools.
God knows us.
God knows our hearts.
Nothing is hidden from God.
Nothing.
By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior let us lay our hearts open to Him fully and stand before our God, our Creator with nothing hidden from Him. Lord, know us, see us, help us, save us. In Your love, Your righteousness, Your mercy, Your forgiveness now and forever. We believe, Lord, help our unbelief.
Amen.
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