Thursday, June 24, 2010

Riches and Poor Pride

Jas 1:10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.
Jas 1:11 For the sun is no sooner risen with a burning heat, but it withereth the grass, and the flower thereof falleth, and the grace of the fashion of it perisheth: so also shall the rich man fade away in his ways.


No matter our financial situation in the end we all have the same fate and there is no getting out of that. All the money in the world does not buy life. Some would beg to differ stating money gets you better, more quality medical care and there is no disputing that. But money cannot keep illness away. You could live in an entirely sterile environment and become ill. There is NO escaping time. No matter the money you have you have to live, you have to die. Some argue that they'd rather be rich living than poor and that's a given. But being rich is not the answer to life. Being rich comes with a tremendous responsibility a lot of rich people don't want to think about. The responsibility to use the riches in a Godly way, meaning using the money they have in a way God would approve of.


We really do want to believe money will solve most of our problems. I know I think money would transform my life in many ways and I'd be this very giving person using my wealth as God would want me to do, and yet in the end would I? Money can corrupt and does so very easily. I know it's my prayer that God only allow me the wealth that will not corrupt me and turn me from Him in any way. If being poor is my lot then so be it. By the grace of God may all those who are rich keep from corruption knowing that ...'as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.'


Also... please Lord humble me in all my ways. The poor can be proud and sometimes even more proud than the rich wearing their poverty as a badge of godliness.


Pro 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.


Life is filled with many, many obstacles and we just really need to seek the Lord in all we do. We need to go to His word for direction a lot more than we do.


Rich or poor we need the Lord equally. We all have the same fate - living and dying - with all that comes in between and by the grace of God will we live IN HIM always.

Amen.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Keep the door to my lips

Psa 141:3 Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.

This is my prayer! Please Lord, please set a watch before my mouth! Keep the door of my lips!


How often words I never mean to say escape me before I have sense enough to keep from saying them. How often my mouth gets me into trouble, not only with words but with eating. Truly my mouth is wicked, just as the tongue is wicked.


Jas 3:8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.


No man can tame the tongue but God isn't a man.


Please Lord, set a watch before my mouth! Keep the door of my lips!


Speaking is a blessing and a curse, not many can deny that.


Jas 1:26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.


Pro 21:23 Whoso keepeth his mouth and his tongue keepeth his soul from troubles.


Pro 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life: but perverseness therein is a breach in the spirit.


Pro 15:2 The tongue of the wise useth knowledge aright: but the mouth of fools poureth out foolishness.


Please Lord! Set a watch before my mouth! Keep the door of my lips! This is my prayer Lord. May Your love fill me, by Your grace, Your mercy, Your lovingkindness, through your righteousness now and forever!


Amen

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Powers of Heaven

Luk 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.


Powers….

G1411
d?´?aµ??
dunamis
doo'-nam-is
From G1410; force (literally or figuratively); specifically miraculous power (usually by implication a miracle itself): - ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.


The miraculous power of God is every where. To imagine the powers of heaven being shaken is something amazing. I can fully understand 'men's hearts failing them for fear' when we delve into the mighty power of God unleashed in the heavens. We think about storms we've experienced and we talk about nature going wild unleashing it's powers and we tremble, really we do, not that many will admit to it until they've gone through a tornado, hurricane, flood, fire, lightening strike, torrential downpours, and so on. In the aftermath of such things having witnessed the power of *nature* we realize just how out of control of our own lives we really are. Compared to the powers of nature we have little if non-existent power to combat it face to face. We can hide from nature's assaults, we can run, we can do all we know how to protect ourselves and a lot of times we are left unharmed, but that still doesn't keep us from witnessing the power of the force at hand. People sometimes blame God for allowing things to happen, but in truth all destruction stems from Satan and the fact our first parents succumbed to His evil. God allows, but God is not the reason. We have disaster movies depicting end of the world scenarios with all of natures power unleashed destroying the earth and truly our fear would mimic the fear of the people in those movies only ours would be real fear.

Not only do we think of the 'powers of heaven shall be shaken' as a worldly upset, but in truth the power of heaven shaken in the realization of the end of mankind as we know will be at hand. The power of God will be fully realized by everyone for better or worse for them and we can only hope and pray it's for the better for us by the grace and mercy of our Savior through HIS righteousness in love.

Power-- God's is the power!

Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Mat 24:29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken
Mat 24:30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Mat 26:64 Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Luk 4:36 And they were all amazed, and spake among themselves, saying, What a word is this! for with authority and power he commandeth the unclean spirits, and they come out.

Luk 5:17 And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them.

Act 1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

1Th 1:5 For our gospel came not unto you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance; as ye know what manner of men we were among you for your sake

Monday, June 21, 2010

Little faith makes us fearful

2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.


Gen 15:1 After these things the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.


Gen 26:24 And the LORD appeared unto him the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake.


Deu 20:3 And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them


Deu 31:6 Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.


Isa 41:13 For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.


Isa 43:1 But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.


Luk 8:50 But when Jesus heard it, he answered him, saying, Fear not: believe only, and she shall be made whole


Luk 12:7 But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.


Luk 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.


Rev 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last


Fear not...

2Ti 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.


God doesn't give us a spirit of fear.

When we're fearful it doesn't come from God.

Satan wants us to fear. Satan wants to use fear to overwhelm us, to get us to lose our faith and trust in God. Satan would have fear over take us in any way he can use it. Fear of the future, fear of dying, fear of living, fear in any form is useful to Satan. We need to trust in God, knowing that God would have us trust in Him completely so that fear has no place in our lives.


Mat 8:26 And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.


Luk 21:26 Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.


Little faith makes us fearful. Those who have little faith will have their hearts failing them for fear.


May God bless us and keep us from all fear. It's so easy to let Satan bring fear into our lives in one way or another. Let's recognize the fear for what it is - not from God, and let us draw ever closer to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Answers

Seriously, do you know your Bible? If any situation in life arises can you bring a scripture to mind to guide you? One Scripture?

Sometimes all people have is a single verse they cling to as a talisman of hope through life and that single verse taken to heart is more powerful than a person can imagine.

Instinctively we should call on God when we are in need or joyful, God should be first in our thoughts. God Doesn't answer, people reply, so why call on Him or speak to Him at all? God does answer. God's ways are beyond our imagination.

If we look at the Bible as a normal book and it will fail us. The Bible is the Word of God and ALL the word of God is powerful.

Hebrews 4:12- For the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two edged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Powerful!


Christ is the living Word of God. Christ used the scriptures to combat Satan! God's word is not stagnant, it's alive!

When we read the Bible we are reading the living testimony of our Lord and Savior.

The Bible is a weapon--

The sword of the Spirit which is the word of God. Eph. 6:17

So I ask again, do you know your Bible? Do you use your Bible? The Bible is meant to be used, not simply read but used as a real entity, the treasure of the Bible is immeasurable! The riches in the word of God uncountable.

If we used our Bibles as being a real, living, breathing message of God our lives would be so much different. If we search our Bible as we would search for hidden treasure we would be rich in the way of eternity.

Ps. 119:11-18

Psa 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Psa 119:12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
Psa 119:13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.
Psa 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
Psa 119:15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
Psa 119:16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.
Psa 119:17 GIMEL. Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.
Psa 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy la


Pro. 2:1-5

Pro 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Pro 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Pro 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
Pro 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.

The word of God is powerful and for us to use.

God speaks to us through His word. Life is filled with many obstacles and if we search God's word to guide us through life we'd be doing His will. When we have problems do we go to God's Word? We might pray to God but do we seek His guidance in His word?
Do we really believe God's word holds answers? Do we really believe God's word has power? If someone handed you a book and said all the answers you'll ever need in life are in there would you take the book? Suppose they said that you ask the book a question and open it and the answer would be you'd want that book wouldn't you? At least until it started giving you answers you didn't like.

There's our problem in a nutshell. The Bible has a lot of answers to our problems- yes- even our modern problems but we don't like the answers. We don't like the idea of being given answers that might mean we need to pray for changes in our lives. Perhaps the Bible's answer is that we are too selfish and need to be more giving, more loving. We might be inclined to say, no, I'm not that selfish I give all the time. The answers aren't what we want so we'd rather not go to the source of the help only to be shown we are the problem and need to pray for changes.

We want answers that please us, not answer that require us to do things we aren't inclined to do.

The Bible tells us men love darkness more than light because darkness hides their evil ways. If we close ourselves off from God's work from the answer He provides us because we'd rather keep on in our evil ways then we can pray all we want but rejecting the light keeps our heart in darkness and we cannot expect God to guide us, answer us, be with us if we reject His light.

People are starved for the word of God. People know their lives are missing something but they turn to man-made cures rather than Godly. People feel lost, bored, anxious and they want something to take that away but what they want is anything other than the word of God.

God doesn't offer worldly pleasure & past times and that's what most seek- happiness in the worldly way. They want the emptiness in their lives to be filled with worldly things.

We are blessed to be able to feel the emptiness because that is a cry for our spirit wanting to be filled with God.

Self will always fall short of satisfying. Temporary fixes. Some people live their entire lives on temporary fixes not seeking to find a permanent source of solace in Christ and His ways.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes

Isa 5:21 Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!


Wise in their own eyes. Conceited? Arrogant?


We know it's a good thing to be wise. Solomon prayed for wisdom instead of riches and was granted to be the wisest man in the world. We are told to seek wisdom.


Pro 1:2 To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding;
Pro 1:3 To receive the instruction of wisdom, justice, and judgment, and equity;
Pro 1:4 To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
Pro 1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
Pro 1:6 To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.
Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.


Pro 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Pro 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Pro 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
Pro 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
Pro 2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Pro 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
Pro 2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
Pro 2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.
Pro 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Pro 2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee


Pro 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
Pro 3:14 For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold.
Pro 3:15 She is more precious than rubies: and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.


Wisdom and being WISE in thine own eyes are two different things aren't they.


A wise man would know that considering himself wise wasn't very prudent. A wise man would know that there truly is no time that arrogance and conceit are wise. To be wise in the wisdom from God is desired, to be wise in your own wisdom is a reason for great concern. We don't manufacture wisdom. We don't create wisdom. God's wisdom, wisdom from God these are to be desired more than any riches more than any single occurance of self-congratulation. All honor and glory is to be God's, all praise to our Lord and King. We aren't to consider ourselves wise and prudent but rather consider God the wise and prudent One and by His grace He gifts us with His wisdom.


May the Lord grant us wisdom, may we find wisdom in Him and get understanding from Him. May God's words and commandment be with us. May we fear the Lord and find in Him all things...ALL things.


Jesus said this...


Joh 5:30 I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me


May we through the mercy of our Savior, through the righteousness of Christ our Lord, seek the will of the Father in our lives now and forever. If Jesus of His own self could do nothing how arrogant and foolish are we to think we can do anything of our own selves.


God's will now and forever!


Amen.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Meekness Longsuffering Forbearing

Psa 133:1 ...Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
Psa 133:2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
Psa 133:3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.


Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
Eph 4:3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.





Is it disagreeable to be meek?
Is it disagreeable to be longsuffering, to be forbearing?


Many would argue that meekness, longsuffering, and forbearing are undesireable traits because in our society the meek get trampled on, the longsuffering are taken advantage of, the forbearing are fools. God knows that the the world views His ways of love as being subservient and subservience as being some how degrading and lessening the value of a person. Servants are considered lower class, servants are to be ignored and put in their place by those who are above them- this is how society views servants and some would say they do so instinctively but there is nothing instinctive about treating a fellow human being as someone contemptible. In our society women in the role of serving their husbands is considered wrong. Letting a husband rule over the wife is considered old fashioned and unfair.


Meekness
Longsuffering
Forbearing


These are all the things Jesus was and that Jesus wants for His followers. It is by following the example of our Savior that there can be a unity of peace. It's not a bad thing at all to be meek or to suffer long and forbear all things, it's really, really not. We need to believe this and by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit live our lives as Jesus did not caring what man may think of our ways, as long as they are the ways of our Lord.


Amen.