Jas 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?
Poor of this world.
We lament our poorness don't we? We spend days, nights, weeks, months, years of our lives wishing and longing to be rich- or at least richer than we are so we don't have to scrimp and save, barely getting by. So much of our time is spent longing for more than we possess. So much time Satan steals from us as he insinuates that our poorness in worldly goods is something to be ashamed of, something to fix, something to abhor, something to hate. Yet we are told by God that the POOR are chosen to be RICH in faith- and HEIRS of the KINGDOM, the poor who LOVE HIM have this promise. The rich who love God will also be heirs and yet very few rich people even feel they have a need of God. Very few rich people will see God's kingdom…
Luk 18:25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
Rich men have such an awesome responsibility to help the poor that it becomes incredibly overwhelming. They lose sight of the point where they should help even if it means losing their own riches and becoming poor themselves.
Hath not God chosen the poor of this world.
Rich in faith.
Heirs of the kingdom promised to them that love him.
Jas 2:6 But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats?
Jas 2:7 Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called?
But people despise the poor and being poor. When a person is poor it is a sign of failure- failure to be more than poor. The poor really are despised- and under a guise of pity people might help them a bit, yet that fear of being poor themselves rears its ugly head all too often. You'll get so many people saying they do not despise the poor at all yet the majority of those would not give up all their riches and become poor- to become like those they say they pity. They despise them and do not want to be like them, they despise the idea of being truly poor.
People who belong to God are oppressed by others, those others blaspheme the name of God. We cannot be like them we just can't! We cannot despise the poor, we cannot have respect of people on the level that the earthly do, on the level that our natural person strives to do.
We only have hope through CHRIST, ONLY THROUGH CHRIST!
Jas 2:8 If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
Jas 2:9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
The ROYAL LAW according to Scripture…
Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Lev 19:18 Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD.
Mat 5:43 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
Mat 19:19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mat 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Mar 12:31 And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
Rom 13:9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Gal 5:14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
Fulfilling the royal law.
If we do NOT love our neighbors then we are respecting people in the sense we are judging them and we are sinning.
Oh to love others as we would be loved…treat others as we would be treated. We are given so many incredible reasons NOT to love others by the things they say and do to us. No matter how horrific we are to LOVE them. It is this seemingly impossible feat that we are to accomplish and we ONLY can do this through the GRACE of our LORD, through HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, HIS LOVE!
Please Lord, Please….
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
Help us not to be partial towards others
Jas 2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
Jas 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
Jas 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
Jas 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
We judge all too often based on sight, and it's so incredibly hard not to do that isn't it? I know all too often I'm guilty of looking upon a person and based on their outward appearance I imagine them to be a certain type of person. The woman that dresses skimpily- she's obviously an immoral person, right? The boy with the jeans hanging off his rear with his hair spiked and big hoop earrings stretching out his earlobes, why he's obviously a rebellious youth - a troublemaker. The girl with the pink hair and chains crisscrossing her body is obviously disturbed and also a troublemaker. And you know what, maybe my presumptuous thoughts are way off the mark but aren't these people TRYING to portray a certain image? Seriously, don't those who blatantly dress and groom themselves in certain ways desiring to appear in a particular manner do so because they WANT us to view them like that?
I believe we have to be wary and yet NOT judging if that makes sense.
If a person who lives on the streets without access to bathing facilities and without access to decent clothing and such approaches us automatically we tend to be leery of them, yet God would have us treat ALL men equally- even those who appear like gangsters, like gang members, like prostitutes, like pimps, like thieves, thugs, and simpletons, etc. ALL men treated equally- sounds like our constitution doesn't it, but truthfully God would have us NOT judge that outward appearance. While we are wary and not eager to throw ourselves into situations that might be dangerous, we MUST have faith in God that He will protect us or allow us to endure a trial for our faith, no matter what.
If we only cater to those we imagine are of equal or greater stature than ourselves then we are doing the exact opposite of what Jesus taught us. Jesus went to ALL classes of people without prejudice and we are to do the same.
Maybe we don't often find ourselves in situations that make us choose between an upper class or lower class person - as society judges, but when we do we HAVE to ask ourselves who needs us to be more compassionate- the one who has much or the one who has little?
May God bless us and help us to live as He would have us live and treat others as He would have us treat them. Help us NOT to be partial in ourselves- judging wrongly based upon sight as man judges. Help us Lord to judge as God would have us judge- all through HIS grace! Through HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! HIS AMAZING LOVE!
Amen.
Jas 2:2 For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
Jas 2:3 And ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool:
Jas 2:4 Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts?
We judge all too often based on sight, and it's so incredibly hard not to do that isn't it? I know all too often I'm guilty of looking upon a person and based on their outward appearance I imagine them to be a certain type of person. The woman that dresses skimpily- she's obviously an immoral person, right? The boy with the jeans hanging off his rear with his hair spiked and big hoop earrings stretching out his earlobes, why he's obviously a rebellious youth - a troublemaker. The girl with the pink hair and chains crisscrossing her body is obviously disturbed and also a troublemaker. And you know what, maybe my presumptuous thoughts are way off the mark but aren't these people TRYING to portray a certain image? Seriously, don't those who blatantly dress and groom themselves in certain ways desiring to appear in a particular manner do so because they WANT us to view them like that?
I believe we have to be wary and yet NOT judging if that makes sense.
If a person who lives on the streets without access to bathing facilities and without access to decent clothing and such approaches us automatically we tend to be leery of them, yet God would have us treat ALL men equally- even those who appear like gangsters, like gang members, like prostitutes, like pimps, like thieves, thugs, and simpletons, etc. ALL men treated equally- sounds like our constitution doesn't it, but truthfully God would have us NOT judge that outward appearance. While we are wary and not eager to throw ourselves into situations that might be dangerous, we MUST have faith in God that He will protect us or allow us to endure a trial for our faith, no matter what.
If we only cater to those we imagine are of equal or greater stature than ourselves then we are doing the exact opposite of what Jesus taught us. Jesus went to ALL classes of people without prejudice and we are to do the same.
Maybe we don't often find ourselves in situations that make us choose between an upper class or lower class person - as society judges, but when we do we HAVE to ask ourselves who needs us to be more compassionate- the one who has much or the one who has little?
May God bless us and help us to live as He would have us live and treat others as He would have us treat them. Help us NOT to be partial in ourselves- judging wrongly based upon sight as man judges. Help us Lord to judge as God would have us judge- all through HIS grace! Through HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! HIS AMAZING LOVE!
Amen.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Unspotted from the world
Jas 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
Pure religion is revealed in our actions.
We can try all we want to convince ourselves and others that being a follower of God, our Creator, doesn't mean 'living' a certain way, but all we are doing is lying to ourselves and others.
Men of God do behave differently then men of the world and they always have.
Right here in this verse we are told that a man of God will keep himself UNSPOTTED from the world. The only way to remain unspotted is to realize that you can live a spotted life. The world offers us a spotted life. And our Bible - the word of God- tells us what the various worldly spotting consists of.
Read this passage-
Tit 2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
Tit 2:2 That the aged men be sober...
Be sober- not drunkards- being a drunkard is being spotted by the world.
Tit 2:2 ...grave,
Being serious- not being serious is being spotted by the world.
Tit 2:2 ...temperate,
Not being temperate means being unable to control your lusts, your passions. It also means not having a sound mind- this is being spotted by the world.
Tit 2:2 ...sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Those who are NOT sound in faith, those who have NO charity, those who possess no patience these are those who are spotted by the world.
Tit 2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers
We cannot be liars.
Tit 2:3...not given to much wine
We cannot be drunkards.
tTit 2:3 teachers of good things;
We must be teaching GOOD things, not evil things.
Tit 2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
Tit 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Tit 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
Tit 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
Tit 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Tit 2:9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
Tit 2:10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world
We must be UNSPOTTED from the world!
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Tit 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
Tit 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Tit 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
Tit 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
Tit 3:11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.
These are just a couple of chapters in the Bible where we can find a message on how we are to live our lives. No where are we told that we can live as we please filled with evil ways, deliberately committing ungodly acts over and over and over again and expect that we will be saved in those acts. Forever we have to give our lives to our Savior, constantly we have to give our lives to God and pray to overcome the evil that plagues us- never accepting the evil, never calling the evil good, never believing that our sin doesn't matter. Satan would have us give up, he pounds away at us wanting us to despair of ever being the godly person, the unspotted person we are to be. We cannot despair! We must live in hope of being transformed by our Savior into the person He desires us to be and we have to live constantly surrendering our lives to Him, constantly seeking forgiveness and grace.
Please Lord help us live unspotted from the world, help us to live with love in our hearts - loving others who have had misfortunes befall them. Please Lord live in us! Clean our hearts, our lives! Please Savior, save us - all through YOUR mercy, YOUR grace, YOUR amazing LOVE!
Amen.
Pure religion is revealed in our actions.
We can try all we want to convince ourselves and others that being a follower of God, our Creator, doesn't mean 'living' a certain way, but all we are doing is lying to ourselves and others.
Men of God do behave differently then men of the world and they always have.
Right here in this verse we are told that a man of God will keep himself UNSPOTTED from the world. The only way to remain unspotted is to realize that you can live a spotted life. The world offers us a spotted life. And our Bible - the word of God- tells us what the various worldly spotting consists of.
Read this passage-
Tit 2:1 But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:
Tit 2:2 That the aged men be sober...
Be sober- not drunkards- being a drunkard is being spotted by the world.
Tit 2:2 ...grave,
Being serious- not being serious is being spotted by the world.
Tit 2:2 ...temperate,
Not being temperate means being unable to control your lusts, your passions. It also means not having a sound mind- this is being spotted by the world.
Tit 2:2 ...sound in faith, in charity, in patience.
Those who are NOT sound in faith, those who have NO charity, those who possess no patience these are those who are spotted by the world.
Tit 2:3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers
We cannot be liars.
Tit 2:3...not given to much wine
We cannot be drunkards.
tTit 2:3 teachers of good things;
We must be teaching GOOD things, not evil things.
Tit 2:4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,
Tit 2:5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Tit 2:6 Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded.
Tit 2:7 In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity,
Tit 2:8 Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you.
Tit 2:9 Exhort servants to be obedient unto their own masters, and to please them well in all things; not answering again;
Tit 2:10 Not purloining, but shewing all good fidelity; that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.
Tit 2:11 For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Tit 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world
We must be UNSPOTTED from the world!
Tit 2:13 Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Tit 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.
Tit 2:15 These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.
Tit 3:1 Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,
Tit 3:2 To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men.
Tit 3:3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
Tit 3:4 But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared,
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
Tit 3:6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;
Tit 3:7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
Tit 3:8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable unto men.
Tit 3:9 But avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and vain.
Tit 3:10 A man that is an heretick after the first and second admonition reject;
Tit 3:11 Knowing that he that is such is subverted, and sinneth, being condemned of himself.
These are just a couple of chapters in the Bible where we can find a message on how we are to live our lives. No where are we told that we can live as we please filled with evil ways, deliberately committing ungodly acts over and over and over again and expect that we will be saved in those acts. Forever we have to give our lives to our Savior, constantly we have to give our lives to God and pray to overcome the evil that plagues us- never accepting the evil, never calling the evil good, never believing that our sin doesn't matter. Satan would have us give up, he pounds away at us wanting us to despair of ever being the godly person, the unspotted person we are to be. We cannot despair! We must live in hope of being transformed by our Savior into the person He desires us to be and we have to live constantly surrendering our lives to Him, constantly seeking forgiveness and grace.
Please Lord help us live unspotted from the world, help us to live with love in our hearts - loving others who have had misfortunes befall them. Please Lord live in us! Clean our hearts, our lives! Please Savior, save us - all through YOUR mercy, YOUR grace, YOUR amazing LOVE!
Amen.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Living the word of God
Jas 1:23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
We are surrounded by mirrors. Every house has a mirror, every bathroom has a mirror, we have big mirrors and tiny hand held mirrors. Maybe I'm being presumptuous, I'm sure there are a lot of homes without mirrors but not in the United States. Our stores have mirrors, restaurants have mirrors, etc. Barring a mirror there are many reflective surfaces that surround us all the time.
Watching clips from the show Survivor after the contestants are sent back to a camp if they are put on the jury, it's very common for each person returning from the game to the camp to be shocked at how they appear when they get their first real glimpse of themselves in a mirror. They're amazed at how they look and mostly NOT in a good way. They've become so used to viewing themselves daily- several times a day- that to go without access to a mirror is a huge deal to them.
We DO look into reflective surfaces all the time and yet when we go away from the mirror and set about our business do we fully recall our appearance? Some will be quick to say they do but truthfully if they really remembered -would they have to look at themselves so often?
What are we doing when we look into the mirror? What are we expecting to see? We are appraising our appearance aren't we? We are judging whether or not there are imperfections we need to fix-aren't we? Hair that needs to be brushed just so. Dirt on a face that needs to be washed. Teeth that need to be brushed. Blemishes that need to be noted and tended. We are trying to look a certain way aren't we? We call it respectable, decent, well groomed and so on and so forth. We are trying to look our best. A lot of people look into mirrors to put make up on their faces to alter their natural appearance. People style their hair this way and that and they do it hoping it will look good. Some people look in mirrors and are disgusted with what they see- some honestly, genuinely disgusted and others using self-delusion believing they are disgusting when in truth they are not. Mirrors can be good things, showing us things we might not otherwise see that need seeing. Mirrors don't always have to be used for vanity, right?
Looking into a mirror and seeing our natural faces we look at them and then we walk away and we no longer are face to face with ourselves having to see ourselves, examine ourselves. We can begin to imagine we are better than what we appeared in that mirror- right? We don't have to see ourselves any longer and see the truth of our appearance. When we don't see ourselves we can imagine so many other things about ourselves, yes? Some might want to forget what they look like, some might want to forget the imperfections in themselves.
Someone who only hears but does not obey the word of the LORD, is like a person who doesn't want to be face to face with the reality of themselves, their sinfulness.
One who hears the word of the LORD and then does what the word tells them to do is like someone who leaves the mirror and remembers exactly what they saw there, forgetting nothing - it's as if they continue looking into the reflection of themselves so they don't forget what they are seeing. They want to see their imperfections so they can understand that it is God who is great, not them.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
When we look into the WORD of God we are free to believe in Him, free to have faith, free to love, free to be saved by the grace of our Lord. If we continue to believe in the word of God, NOT FORGETTING the word, we are blessed. If we follow the word of God- actively- then we are blessed in what we do.
We cannot allow ourselves to be stop at hearing the word of God, hearing, ever hearing and NEVER making the word of God real in our lives. It isn't easy making the word of God real in our lives- it involves suffering the death to self that we naturally rebel against. Is it any wonder the majority of people would rather hear and not do.
May we forever and always be hearers and doers of the word of God no matter the pain it brings, no matter what trails, what temptations, whatever it is we are called to face. May we forever continue to grow in the grace of the LORD. Please Lord, help us to be doers of Your word ALWAYS, help us, please we are lost without You.
In Your amazing love!
By YOUR GRACE!
Amen.
Jas 1:24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
We are surrounded by mirrors. Every house has a mirror, every bathroom has a mirror, we have big mirrors and tiny hand held mirrors. Maybe I'm being presumptuous, I'm sure there are a lot of homes without mirrors but not in the United States. Our stores have mirrors, restaurants have mirrors, etc. Barring a mirror there are many reflective surfaces that surround us all the time.
Watching clips from the show Survivor after the contestants are sent back to a camp if they are put on the jury, it's very common for each person returning from the game to the camp to be shocked at how they appear when they get their first real glimpse of themselves in a mirror. They're amazed at how they look and mostly NOT in a good way. They've become so used to viewing themselves daily- several times a day- that to go without access to a mirror is a huge deal to them.
We DO look into reflective surfaces all the time and yet when we go away from the mirror and set about our business do we fully recall our appearance? Some will be quick to say they do but truthfully if they really remembered -would they have to look at themselves so often?
What are we doing when we look into the mirror? What are we expecting to see? We are appraising our appearance aren't we? We are judging whether or not there are imperfections we need to fix-aren't we? Hair that needs to be brushed just so. Dirt on a face that needs to be washed. Teeth that need to be brushed. Blemishes that need to be noted and tended. We are trying to look a certain way aren't we? We call it respectable, decent, well groomed and so on and so forth. We are trying to look our best. A lot of people look into mirrors to put make up on their faces to alter their natural appearance. People style their hair this way and that and they do it hoping it will look good. Some people look in mirrors and are disgusted with what they see- some honestly, genuinely disgusted and others using self-delusion believing they are disgusting when in truth they are not. Mirrors can be good things, showing us things we might not otherwise see that need seeing. Mirrors don't always have to be used for vanity, right?
Looking into a mirror and seeing our natural faces we look at them and then we walk away and we no longer are face to face with ourselves having to see ourselves, examine ourselves. We can begin to imagine we are better than what we appeared in that mirror- right? We don't have to see ourselves any longer and see the truth of our appearance. When we don't see ourselves we can imagine so many other things about ourselves, yes? Some might want to forget what they look like, some might want to forget the imperfections in themselves.
Someone who only hears but does not obey the word of the LORD, is like a person who doesn't want to be face to face with the reality of themselves, their sinfulness.
One who hears the word of the LORD and then does what the word tells them to do is like someone who leaves the mirror and remembers exactly what they saw there, forgetting nothing - it's as if they continue looking into the reflection of themselves so they don't forget what they are seeing. They want to see their imperfections so they can understand that it is God who is great, not them.
Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
When we look into the WORD of God we are free to believe in Him, free to have faith, free to love, free to be saved by the grace of our Lord. If we continue to believe in the word of God, NOT FORGETTING the word, we are blessed. If we follow the word of God- actively- then we are blessed in what we do.
We cannot allow ourselves to be stop at hearing the word of God, hearing, ever hearing and NEVER making the word of God real in our lives. It isn't easy making the word of God real in our lives- it involves suffering the death to self that we naturally rebel against. Is it any wonder the majority of people would rather hear and not do.
May we forever and always be hearers and doers of the word of God no matter the pain it brings, no matter what trails, what temptations, whatever it is we are called to face. May we forever continue to grow in the grace of the LORD. Please Lord, help us to be doers of Your word ALWAYS, help us, please we are lost without You.
In Your amazing love!
By YOUR GRACE!
Amen.
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Bring my soul out of trouble
We are dependent upon God, and if we forget that we are lost. Without God we have no hope. The miracle of our Savior- is that hope is given back to us. ONLY by the grace of God do we have hope. Nothing we did brought that hope, nothing we can do will manufacture hope. We are given that hope by grace, unwarranted, undeserved.
Have you ever been given something you didn't deserve and you KNEW you didn't deserve it for whatever reason? How did it make you feel? Wasn't there a touch of dismay brought on by the fact you knew the gift was completely underserved, in fact if anything the opposite would be much more appropriate- you should be punished. Yet there it is, an undeserved gift and offered to you.
The most precious gift in life is the forgiveness we can find through our Savior.
His righteousness, not ours, not ever ours.
Psa 143:1 A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
Psa 143:2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
To be judged we will forever be found wanting, in the sight of God we CANNOT be justified on our own- it's IMPOSSIBLE.
Psa 143:3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
Those long dead dwell in darkness, the darkness of death's sleep and Satan would have us enter into a living death, a living darkness- completely void of the light of salvation.
Psa 143:4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
The feelings of despair are NOT special to us, every human being has this propensity to feel the overwhelming heaviness in spirit, our heart desolate. There is no magic key to keep away these feelings, and so many people turn to pills and alcohol and other things to push away the darkness in their lives, not realizing it is when we feel the desolation, when we feel the overwhelming of our spirit it is that which draws us towards Christ- towards the realization He has to be our all in all and we will not find peace in this world outside of Him.
Psa 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
Psa 143:6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
Everyone has seen how water quickly disappears in the parched earth, yes? You've seen very dry dirt, cracked and crumbling and poured water upon it, yes? Thirsty land eagerly absorbs the water poured upon it without hesitation. A soul thirsty for Christ is eager and ready to absorb all that Christ has to offer.
Psa 143:7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Psa 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Cause us to know the way we should walk as we lift up our lives to You God.
Psa 143:9 Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
Deliver us from all our enemies and the spiritual evil that attacks us is truly from our greatest enemy, help us as we flee to you, seeking to hide in You.
Psa 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Teach us because Lord we don't automatically know, we aren't inclined in the natural man to do Your will, TEACH us Lord, please, TEACH us to know and to DO THY WILL.
Psa 143:11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
Psa 143:12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
We would be YOURS Lord! We would be Yours, under Your protection! We are Your servants Lord, Your servants. So much in life would have us turn our backs on You and Your will and follow paths that are far from being the paths You would have us take. Enemies surround us and so often we cannot even see them, the most evil of enemies fighting the spiritual warfare against us while we simply go about our daily lives as if we are not in a war at all. How easy is it to lose a battle you don't even realize you are fighting? Seriously? Sneak attacks at the very beginnings of wars have the distinct advantage of destroying a multitude of lives simply because they weren't expected. Hundreds, thousands dead simply because they didn't even realize they needed to be prepared to fight- that an enemy was right there on their doorstep. Dead before they even understand what's going on. Satan works this way too. Satan loves to have people spend their entire lives oblivious to His existence in their lives in a very, very real way. So many people rush through life and ignore the fact they are in a war, a spiritual war and we need our Savior to destroy those who afflict our souls, we need God to cut off our enemies. We need God to have mercy upon us, wonderful, wonderful mercy.
Please Lord bless us.
Thank you for Your amazing love, for Your mercy, for Your grace!
In You Always!
Amen.
Have you ever been given something you didn't deserve and you KNEW you didn't deserve it for whatever reason? How did it make you feel? Wasn't there a touch of dismay brought on by the fact you knew the gift was completely underserved, in fact if anything the opposite would be much more appropriate- you should be punished. Yet there it is, an undeserved gift and offered to you.
The most precious gift in life is the forgiveness we can find through our Savior.
His righteousness, not ours, not ever ours.
Psa 143:1 A Psalm of David. Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness.
Psa 143:2 And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.
To be judged we will forever be found wanting, in the sight of God we CANNOT be justified on our own- it's IMPOSSIBLE.
Psa 143:3 For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead.
Those long dead dwell in darkness, the darkness of death's sleep and Satan would have us enter into a living death, a living darkness- completely void of the light of salvation.
Psa 143:4 Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate.
The feelings of despair are NOT special to us, every human being has this propensity to feel the overwhelming heaviness in spirit, our heart desolate. There is no magic key to keep away these feelings, and so many people turn to pills and alcohol and other things to push away the darkness in their lives, not realizing it is when we feel the desolation, when we feel the overwhelming of our spirit it is that which draws us towards Christ- towards the realization He has to be our all in all and we will not find peace in this world outside of Him.
Psa 143:5 I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.
Psa 143:6 I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah.
Everyone has seen how water quickly disappears in the parched earth, yes? You've seen very dry dirt, cracked and crumbling and poured water upon it, yes? Thirsty land eagerly absorbs the water poured upon it without hesitation. A soul thirsty for Christ is eager and ready to absorb all that Christ has to offer.
Psa 143:7 Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth: hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit.
Psa 143:8 Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.
Cause us to know the way we should walk as we lift up our lives to You God.
Psa 143:9 Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.
Deliver us from all our enemies and the spiritual evil that attacks us is truly from our greatest enemy, help us as we flee to you, seeking to hide in You.
Psa 143:10 Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.
Teach us because Lord we don't automatically know, we aren't inclined in the natural man to do Your will, TEACH us Lord, please, TEACH us to know and to DO THY WILL.
Psa 143:11 Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble.
Psa 143:12 And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies, and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.
We would be YOURS Lord! We would be Yours, under Your protection! We are Your servants Lord, Your servants. So much in life would have us turn our backs on You and Your will and follow paths that are far from being the paths You would have us take. Enemies surround us and so often we cannot even see them, the most evil of enemies fighting the spiritual warfare against us while we simply go about our daily lives as if we are not in a war at all. How easy is it to lose a battle you don't even realize you are fighting? Seriously? Sneak attacks at the very beginnings of wars have the distinct advantage of destroying a multitude of lives simply because they weren't expected. Hundreds, thousands dead simply because they didn't even realize they needed to be prepared to fight- that an enemy was right there on their doorstep. Dead before they even understand what's going on. Satan works this way too. Satan loves to have people spend their entire lives oblivious to His existence in their lives in a very, very real way. So many people rush through life and ignore the fact they are in a war, a spiritual war and we need our Savior to destroy those who afflict our souls, we need God to cut off our enemies. We need God to have mercy upon us, wonderful, wonderful mercy.
Please Lord bless us.
Thank you for Your amazing love, for Your mercy, for Your grace!
In You Always!
Amen.
Friday, December 23, 2011
Be doers of the word
Jas 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
It is so incredibly easy to hear and not do the things we hear isn't it? It's easy to KNOW to do good, but incredibly difficult to do the good things we know we should do. Why is it that way? Why?
I KNOW I shouldn't lose my temper. I KNOW I shouldn't speak hurtful things. I KNOW I should be more considerate of others. I KNOW I am so incredibly far from being a doer of the word in so many ways. The closer I long to be to my Savior the further away I seem to go. I've noticed just recently after studying about 'counting it joy', and trying to implement this in my life that Satan pulls out all stops and not just in me but abusing those I love so that it pains me to watch them being spiritually attacked over and over again.
These spiritual attacks happen ALL the time and yet we've been taught to believe they are far from spiritual attacks and simply human invention. Humans don't like to believe they can be used by Satan to hurt others and yet it happens all the time. Satan exploits our weaknesses and our propensity towards evilness in all forms. If He knows we are hurt by something that is supposed to be harmless, he'll do all he can to bring about that supposed harmless situation. Oh there are so many ways the evil one works at us and when we can see his work in us shouldn't it sicken us? I know it sickens me to know that Satan's influence on a spiritual level affects me and my actions. I don't want to be hurtful, harmful, insensitive and yet all too often I find myself being that way and the sad thing is a lot of the times I try and justify the reasons I have for being that way- another trick of Satan's. Preserve SELF at all cost! Even when giving up some of self- turn that into a supremely selfish act through motive. Are we truly giving of ourselves because it is what our Savior desires of us or are we giving of ourselves so that we may APPEAR to be giving as our Savior desires? Satan uses wiles we can't even comprehend as he attempts to twist our lives so horrifically that we don't know whether we are coming or going and His purpose? To get us to give up in despair, to be defeated by all the confusion he's managed to cause.
Doers of the word.
In all our actions.
This isn't simply for becoming the supposed ideal Christian person- diving head first into all manner of Christian acts, this is for ALL aspects of our lives. Our Savior's word touched our lives on many, many levels and it's in ALL those levels that we have to be DOERS of the word. We don't get to pick and choose when we should be doers and when we should not, simply because we should ALWAYS be doers of the word. If we are not ALWAYS doers of the word then we are truly DECEIVING OURSELVES.
Deceiving ourselves has become an art form, hasn't it? We deceive ourselves in so many various ways and we do it because the ultimate goal is to live for self. Self preservation- mentally, emotionally, physically. Our lives revolve around preserving ourselves in so many, many ways. Whenever we get upset in any way we need to stop and ask ourselves if there is any self preservation involved in this upset. By self-preservation I mean are we concentrating on self, preserving our self desires, our wants, our idea of how our lives should be, our opinions, our choices over another's, our needs, our idea of how something should be done or shouldn't be done. Are we putting ourselves FIRST for whatever reason we can think of? Are we more concerned with how we are made to feel about ourselves than anything else? Do OUR feelings come first? Are we ridiculed and laughed at, and does this produce a selfish desire NOT to be treated like that? Does it created a desire to preserve SELF? We NEED to ask ourselves this, we HAVE to ask ourselves this because giving up self is the message of our Savior who came and GAVE UP HIMSELF for US! We are to give ourselves up for Him and for others, we are to come LAST- not FIRST and we put ourselves FIRST in so many, many ways!
Doers of the word in ALL ways or we truly are deceiving ourselves. If we think for one moment we can be hearers only and then go away and live our lives any ol' way we choose, keeping that old man alive, that old self alive and well by feeding it all the sin it's used to being fed, then we are DECEIVED! We HAVE to be HEARERS of the WORD and THEN DOERS! This is an action, the action of DOING, of LIVING the Word of God in our lives!!!
Please Lord, help us! Please! Save us from OURSELVES! Please!
In Your amazing love always!!!!!!!
Through Your righteousness forever!
Please Lord, mercy…
It is so incredibly easy to hear and not do the things we hear isn't it? It's easy to KNOW to do good, but incredibly difficult to do the good things we know we should do. Why is it that way? Why?
I KNOW I shouldn't lose my temper. I KNOW I shouldn't speak hurtful things. I KNOW I should be more considerate of others. I KNOW I am so incredibly far from being a doer of the word in so many ways. The closer I long to be to my Savior the further away I seem to go. I've noticed just recently after studying about 'counting it joy', and trying to implement this in my life that Satan pulls out all stops and not just in me but abusing those I love so that it pains me to watch them being spiritually attacked over and over again.
These spiritual attacks happen ALL the time and yet we've been taught to believe they are far from spiritual attacks and simply human invention. Humans don't like to believe they can be used by Satan to hurt others and yet it happens all the time. Satan exploits our weaknesses and our propensity towards evilness in all forms. If He knows we are hurt by something that is supposed to be harmless, he'll do all he can to bring about that supposed harmless situation. Oh there are so many ways the evil one works at us and when we can see his work in us shouldn't it sicken us? I know it sickens me to know that Satan's influence on a spiritual level affects me and my actions. I don't want to be hurtful, harmful, insensitive and yet all too often I find myself being that way and the sad thing is a lot of the times I try and justify the reasons I have for being that way- another trick of Satan's. Preserve SELF at all cost! Even when giving up some of self- turn that into a supremely selfish act through motive. Are we truly giving of ourselves because it is what our Savior desires of us or are we giving of ourselves so that we may APPEAR to be giving as our Savior desires? Satan uses wiles we can't even comprehend as he attempts to twist our lives so horrifically that we don't know whether we are coming or going and His purpose? To get us to give up in despair, to be defeated by all the confusion he's managed to cause.
Doers of the word.
In all our actions.
This isn't simply for becoming the supposed ideal Christian person- diving head first into all manner of Christian acts, this is for ALL aspects of our lives. Our Savior's word touched our lives on many, many levels and it's in ALL those levels that we have to be DOERS of the word. We don't get to pick and choose when we should be doers and when we should not, simply because we should ALWAYS be doers of the word. If we are not ALWAYS doers of the word then we are truly DECEIVING OURSELVES.
Deceiving ourselves has become an art form, hasn't it? We deceive ourselves in so many various ways and we do it because the ultimate goal is to live for self. Self preservation- mentally, emotionally, physically. Our lives revolve around preserving ourselves in so many, many ways. Whenever we get upset in any way we need to stop and ask ourselves if there is any self preservation involved in this upset. By self-preservation I mean are we concentrating on self, preserving our self desires, our wants, our idea of how our lives should be, our opinions, our choices over another's, our needs, our idea of how something should be done or shouldn't be done. Are we putting ourselves FIRST for whatever reason we can think of? Are we more concerned with how we are made to feel about ourselves than anything else? Do OUR feelings come first? Are we ridiculed and laughed at, and does this produce a selfish desire NOT to be treated like that? Does it created a desire to preserve SELF? We NEED to ask ourselves this, we HAVE to ask ourselves this because giving up self is the message of our Savior who came and GAVE UP HIMSELF for US! We are to give ourselves up for Him and for others, we are to come LAST- not FIRST and we put ourselves FIRST in so many, many ways!
Doers of the word in ALL ways or we truly are deceiving ourselves. If we think for one moment we can be hearers only and then go away and live our lives any ol' way we choose, keeping that old man alive, that old self alive and well by feeding it all the sin it's used to being fed, then we are DECEIVED! We HAVE to be HEARERS of the WORD and THEN DOERS! This is an action, the action of DOING, of LIVING the Word of God in our lives!!!
Please Lord, help us! Please! Save us from OURSELVES! Please!
In Your amazing love always!!!!!!!
Through Your righteousness forever!
Please Lord, mercy…
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Put away all filthiness
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Lay apart… put away, cast aside. This is an action. Once again we come face to face with that old belief that you shouldn't have to do anything at all as a Christian because if you do stuff- such as putting away the filthiness in your life you are hoping that action will save you. WRONG. The people who came up with the idea that you no longer have to obey God's commandments, and you no longer have to 'sin no more', that you no longer have to 'lay apart' anything in your life, that you mustn't try at all to do anything whatsoever because then it's 'works' and not 'grace' you are living by- those people are in league with Satan.
Our Salvation is through our Savior alone. We cannot do anything aside from accept what He's done for us in order to be saved. But once we have experienced that new birth then how can we truly expect to carry on in the old man? How? How can we accept the willful sinning we live in as being acceptable to God, because our not sinning won't save us? God has never and will never accept sin. Anyone that believe God will accept sin is fooling themselves. We need to ask forgiveness for EVERY sin, not just the ones we committed before we first accepted Christ as our Savior. We need to ask for forgiveness for the first sin we commit after we've accepted Christ all the way to the last sin we commit. We will NEVER be in a position as long as we are living in a time before the second coming of our Savior, to sin willfully and neglect to beg, to plead for forgiveness from God.
We are wretched beings and only Christ can save us. As wretched beings we are immersed in a constant warfare with Satan. It is a WAR. People don't realize it, but it is. Our lives are spent in a war! A REAL war. A SPIRITUAL war. When we are tempted to sin that is the enemy warring against us. When we sin that is the enemy claiming a victory over us. When we ask for forgiveness with true repentance and sorrow for that sin we are being renewed by our Savior and declared His, not Satan's. Satan wants us on his side and he'll use any means necessary to get us there. If we live in willful sin we are Satan's. If we live in a constant battle against sins that are so easily besetting us then we are striving against sin and we are claiming Christ as the victor over those sins. If we lay down our lives and no longer strive, no longer set aside, no longer go and sin no more, no longer lay apart all filthiness then we are not living our lives as Christ would have us live them. This war is real and we have our part in it, as a soldier of Christ's we have a leader who has told us so much through His life, through His word, through the words of those guided completely by the Holy Spirit. We cannot get to a point in our lives where we NO longer desire to lay aside the besetting sins. As much pleasure as our flesh nature may receive from these besetting sins, they will NEVER be acceptable to God, never! Our flesh pleasure is not the indicator that something is good and acceptable. If this were true then all those who derive pleasure from acts we call criminal would have the right to say they are acceptable acts, good acts from the simple fact they bring them happiness and pleasure.
We are to deny ourselves-
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
We are to go and sin no more-
Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Joh 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
We are to lay aside every weight-
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
We are to lay apart all filthiness-
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
We are to do this and then receive WITH meekness the engrafted word- the word of God- the words of life that will save us. Those words we receive are the words of the gospel our Savior preached to all.
By His grace may WE receive the word of God fully into our lives. May we fight in this war we are embroiled in and not surrender to Satan and his evil, deceptive ways.
Please Lord, SAVE US!
All through Your love!
Amen.
Lay apart… put away, cast aside. This is an action. Once again we come face to face with that old belief that you shouldn't have to do anything at all as a Christian because if you do stuff- such as putting away the filthiness in your life you are hoping that action will save you. WRONG. The people who came up with the idea that you no longer have to obey God's commandments, and you no longer have to 'sin no more', that you no longer have to 'lay apart' anything in your life, that you mustn't try at all to do anything whatsoever because then it's 'works' and not 'grace' you are living by- those people are in league with Satan.
Our Salvation is through our Savior alone. We cannot do anything aside from accept what He's done for us in order to be saved. But once we have experienced that new birth then how can we truly expect to carry on in the old man? How? How can we accept the willful sinning we live in as being acceptable to God, because our not sinning won't save us? God has never and will never accept sin. Anyone that believe God will accept sin is fooling themselves. We need to ask forgiveness for EVERY sin, not just the ones we committed before we first accepted Christ as our Savior. We need to ask for forgiveness for the first sin we commit after we've accepted Christ all the way to the last sin we commit. We will NEVER be in a position as long as we are living in a time before the second coming of our Savior, to sin willfully and neglect to beg, to plead for forgiveness from God.
We are wretched beings and only Christ can save us. As wretched beings we are immersed in a constant warfare with Satan. It is a WAR. People don't realize it, but it is. Our lives are spent in a war! A REAL war. A SPIRITUAL war. When we are tempted to sin that is the enemy warring against us. When we sin that is the enemy claiming a victory over us. When we ask for forgiveness with true repentance and sorrow for that sin we are being renewed by our Savior and declared His, not Satan's. Satan wants us on his side and he'll use any means necessary to get us there. If we live in willful sin we are Satan's. If we live in a constant battle against sins that are so easily besetting us then we are striving against sin and we are claiming Christ as the victor over those sins. If we lay down our lives and no longer strive, no longer set aside, no longer go and sin no more, no longer lay apart all filthiness then we are not living our lives as Christ would have us live them. This war is real and we have our part in it, as a soldier of Christ's we have a leader who has told us so much through His life, through His word, through the words of those guided completely by the Holy Spirit. We cannot get to a point in our lives where we NO longer desire to lay aside the besetting sins. As much pleasure as our flesh nature may receive from these besetting sins, they will NEVER be acceptable to God, never! Our flesh pleasure is not the indicator that something is good and acceptable. If this were true then all those who derive pleasure from acts we call criminal would have the right to say they are acceptable acts, good acts from the simple fact they bring them happiness and pleasure.
We are to deny ourselves-
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
We are to go and sin no more-
Joh 5:14 Afterward Jesus findeth him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee.
Joh 8:11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
We are to lay aside every weight-
Heb 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us
We are to lay apart all filthiness-
Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
We are to do this and then receive WITH meekness the engrafted word- the word of God- the words of life that will save us. Those words we receive are the words of the gospel our Savior preached to all.
By His grace may WE receive the word of God fully into our lives. May we fight in this war we are embroiled in and not surrender to Satan and his evil, deceptive ways.
Please Lord, SAVE US!
All through Your love!
Amen.
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