A Way to Escape.

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

Examples, our admonition.

Is it important to recognize that as part of the family of humanity from the very beginning of mankind that we all share a certain fate? That fate is one of our ultimate demise. Because since the beginning we have this end of story life, it is important for us to learn during our life and one way we can learn is by example. We can look to all those who have gone before us. We can read the word of God and in that word we can find many admonitions. Admonitions are cautions, warnings, rebukes- you get the picture. We are given many warnings throughout God's word and you know what? Whenever a person is given a warning if they fail to heed it then that is on them and no other. I can warn someone not to do something until I'm blue in the face, until the cows come home, until the end of time and if they choose to do that very thing it's not for my lack of trying to stop them. Would I feel happy if they chose to not listen? No. I would feel a certain sadness, a disappointment, maybe a little anger too because I only wanted what was best for them. These are all very human emotions, but we were given these emotions by our Creator in order to cope with all the chaos in our lives. The Creator knowing good and evil has reactions to both, and we too have reactions to both- having decided for ourselves that we needed to know good and evil.

We are given admonitions and examples and it is up to us to learn from the examples and heed the warnings. Our choice.

We are furthermore told-

1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. 

We can't allow ourselves the luxury of independent hope, we must have a dependent hope and that dependence is on a Savior. If we happen to be standing it is only because we are being held up by the grace and will, the mercy and love of our Savior- on our own we can only fall- this is something we cannot forget.

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

There are many who would dispute this Bible verse, they'd pick it apart piece by piece. Doesn't it seem like temptations are individualized- tailor made to each particular human being? While that may be true in a certain way, in another it isn't. We all have basic temptations that are common among us. No, I may not lust after a particular person- the one you are lusting for, but I may lust after another. I may not be tempted toward stealing store items, but I have no lack of being tempted to take credit for something I didn't do and steal the rightful praise of another. We may not have the same sins in the tiny details but categorically we will all face the same temptations.

We all have to face temptations, you can't live in our world without facing them. And as soon as we begin to call the temptations good things, normal things, things that make us human- we are attempting to take away their wrongness so we can indulge in them without guilt. While they may be normal because they exists for us all, they are never going to be acceptable, they will forever need to be forgiven should we give into them. Like it or not, this is truth. We live in a very flawed world and we will be tempted to engage in a lot of the flaws.

We are told this..

1Co 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 

…because it is true. Our temptations, no matter what they are, are common to man. It's because we are flawed whether we are born with the temptation to steal, or towards lust, or towards murder, or coveting you name your temptation and whether or not it is one you were innately born with or a temptation that has been roused over time and exposure to certain things, there will be a way to escape committing the sin from that temptation.

Giving in to temptation. Ask yourself, is there any temptation you can refuse to give into and it will kill you because you did not give into it? 

You are tempted to steal. Will you die if you don't steal? You might be able to answer yes, then let me ask you- is it better to die without sinning?  Most would say, no. Let me ask you, would you die if you don't commit the sin of lust? No. Will you die if you don't dishonor your parents? No. We don't die from refusing to sin, and if we do die from refusing to sin is it better to die yielding to the righteousness of God, or die sinning- disobeying God?

There is a way to escape sinning brought on by temptation. With every temptation there is a way to keep from giving into the temptation and thereby sinning. If there wasn't a way to keep from sinning, we would not be told to sin no more, we would not be guilty of sinning if it wasn't something under our ability to control through God. God makes the way to keep from sinning, God is faithful.

Right now if we are caught up in any particular sin we need to ask ourselves what way has God faithfully made for us to escape this sin?

We need to search for the escape, diligently search if it isn't something blatantly apparent to us. It is worth searching for because to willfully disobey God is to align ourselves with Satan. And, if we know the ending to the story already and who wins and who doesn't, why do we want to choose the losing side?

God help us to choose You! God help us to diligently seek to follow You at all costs knowing the reward is worth any temporary pain mentally, physically, emotionally that we have to endure right now. Save us, Lord, save us from ourselves. Please, Lord, show us the ways we need to go as we acknowledge You are our God, lead us in the way everlasting! All through Jesus Christ!

Captivity of Evil Things.

Do you remember the story of the people Moses set free from slavery? You know the one, The Ten Commandments? They made a movie out of it and show that movie every year around Easter time. Here in the New Testament, by people living long after Moses…about 1500 years after… we read about Moses and more importantly the people he freed. They were examples not only for those living in the time of the writing of the book of Corinthians, but for us- yes, us, you and me. Examples.

All those who followed Moses out of Egypt, every single one of them were touched by the miraculous mist of the parted sea. Not one person escaped Egypt that didn't have to pass through the sea which was parted just for their escape. The parting of the sea was miraculous though you'll get skeptics explaining things away as skeptics always try to do thinking their superior intellect keeps them from believing in miracles. That parted sea was held in check by God and every escapee felt the power of that miracle. They were touched by the mist of the sea, some could even say drenched. If you've ever had an opportunity to stand in front of mist, or under a mist machine, or by Niagara Falls when you go on the Cave of the Winds tour, or take the Maid of the Mist boat ride, or simply been outside when it is more misty than actually rainy, then you know how drenching a mist can be. These Hebrew Egyptian escapees were drenched by that mist as they made their journey from shore to shore and in essence they were baptized in that mist and their baptism was of spiritual origins because of the miraculous means.

Then to top it off, after they'd depleted any food supplies they had with them when they left Egypt they had to rely upon food provided for them miraculously. NO one today can claim they've been supplied with angel food from heaven. A lot of people have starved to death (tragically) and not been supplied with spiritual food. The Israelites escaping captivity after four hundred years were given spiritual food, manna, bread from heaven to keep them alive. When they ran out of water to drink and were thinking they'd die of thirst, water was provided for them, again- miraculously. Spiritual water kept them living.  So there we have it…

Baptized in the spiritual mist of the parted sea, fed with spiritual bread, given life sustaining water spiritually provided- these people were blessed with so many blessings it is mind blowing.

To top it ALL off, something a lot of people don't realize, the provider of all these spiritual life saving happenstances was Christ!

The Rock that flowed forth spiritual water was given to them by CHRIST.

That Rock was Christ!

Christ the provider long before He took on human form, some 1500 years, Christ was saving these people.

Read it for yourselves-

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 

1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 

1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 

1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 

The Rock that Peter was called to build a church upon was the Rock- Christ, not the rock himself- but that's another study.

The Rock was Christ, Christ the Savior was working to save these people and yet…

1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 

These people were physically saved from death and given their freedom from slavery and yet they were so corrupted by their years of captivity and refusal to let go of their self-serving ways, God was not happy with them at all. They were hard-hearted refusing to truly surrender their lives to God's leading. They desired the luxuries of captivity by Egypt rather than the depravation of living free and there was great depravation. They no longer had familiar and yes, the comforts of living in Egypt even as slaves and most of them preferred those comforts over the great hardships of their journey to freedom. When a ready food source was no longer there and they felt the first hunger pangs of being deprived- they longed to return to their captivity so they wouldn't starve to death.  That seems logical in a way, doesn't it? Yet, aren't there some who would rather die free than live enslaved? Was their enslavement to a sin serving, idol worshipping, God-less king better because they didn't have to think about where their next meal was coming from, or where their clothing would be provided, or where the wells of water were? They wanted to live enslaved just so long as they could live, rather than die free from slavery and belonging to their Creator who alone could offer a much better world in eternity.

You know this has a more modern version as well- the enslavement of the African people once ended here in America found many slaves destitute and longing for the security they once had under their master's rule. Yet the mere idea of such a thing is repulsive to us and rightly so. Slavery is not something to be condoned.

Even today, right now, you'll get people who have been made slaves who are given a choice to be freed from their captors but choose to stay because it gives them a sense of security in a life they know rather than that insecurity of not being taken care of - food/drink/clothes- all provided for them rather than having to suddenly provide all that for themselves. People can't comprehend why a slave would choose to remain a slave, but the fear of dying free outweighs the aspect of enslavement.

Getting back to Moses and the Israelites freed from captivity. They not only missed the food and drink security, they missed the evil things they'd grown accustom to. They missed the idolatry, the wild abandon of fulfilling lusts that took place in the world of Egyptians. Sure, they had to work under awful conditions very hard, but they were allowed time to indulge their passions as well. Once freed from the idolatrous ways of Egypt, they didn't want to give up the self-serving lusts they were used to. Sure, the idea of being free from the hardships of slavery was great, but the reality was far different for them when they comprehended they were being asked to return to God's care, and give up self-serving.  Here read this--

1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 

1Co 10:7  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 

1Co 10:8  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 

1Co 10:9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 

1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 

They lusted after evil things.

They had before them the freedom of salvation, yet they lusted after the captivity of evil things.

Today, just as in Paul's day, people lust after evil things preferring the evil things over Christ's salvation. They want evil things so they call the evil things good things, and the good things evil. They want evil things because it is self-satisfying, self-pleasure seeking, and indulging in things that give pleasure is something people often choose because to otherwise endure hardships is something that has become appalling and to be shunned at every turn. Work hard but only because you want to be able to play hard is the motto of many- even if they won't admit to it.

We have grown used to fulfilling our pleasure seeking lives and count it joy when we have been able to do things that please us.

God help us. we are so corrupted in so many ways!

More on this tomorrow… by the grace and will of God.

Choose Jesus.

Parables.

If I tell you a parable it isn't necessarily factual, in fact it could be quite the opposite. I could tell you a parable of a lion and a mouse- the lion with a thorn in its paw it can't get out… oh, you know that parable, but you call it a fable they are basically the same thing. There is a story being told that has a moral meaning in it, but the story itself is not necessarily based on real happenings. We all know that a lion and a mouse do not converse and most certainly a lion would not let a mouse near it's sore paw - those things are facts. The lion would not be in debt to a mouse in reality but for the sake of the parable this story lion was in debt to the mouse and later when the mouse was in trouble the lion saved the mouse- returning the favor rendered.  The moral of that particular fable was we should do good even to those we are afraid of and can hurt us and one day maybe that will help us out.

Jesus spoke in a lot of parables, telling a lot of stories that had meanings beyond the literal words He was speaking. In fact if we took parables literally then we would miss their meaning entirely.  The parable of the seed sown would mean nothing more than seed being sown, some coming up and some not, and there would be no hidden meaning, no lesson to learn whatsoever. We'd just realize the obvious. Of course the seed that falls on a rock won't have dirt to take root in…end of story. That's not what Jesus meant though, He had a lesson to teach.

The following is a parable so for us to interpret it literally would make no sense whatsoever yet people have taken it literally.

Mar 9:43  And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 

Mar 9:44  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 

Mar 9:45  And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 

Mar 9:46  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 

Mar 9:47  And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 

Mar 9:48  Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 

Yes, I told you some people have taken this parable to be literally and have actually sought to maim themselves thinking that would rid them of the ability to sin with said part they are maiming.

What is the parable's true meaning? What is Jesus trying to convey here? The extreme importance of recognizing the offenses we commit and the striving not to commit those offenses. First we have to comprehend what we are allowing ourselves to do with our hands, feet, eyes… our bodies. What controls all of these physical attributes? Does a handless, footless, blind person not have the ability to sin? You might be tempted to answer yes to that question believing that the ability to sin would be gone but that blind man could be caught up in a mental battle of lust, or the one orchestrating intricate plans of thievery and running a drug operation as the brains of the outfit so to speak if nothing much more. Farfetched maybe, but impossible, no. A man sent into war whole bodied might not return as such, but that won't change the man's ability to sin with his thoughts- using other people to carry out acts of sin for him, or with prosthetics and such carrying them out himself.

PARABLE.

What Jesus wants us to realize is how truly important it is that we recognize the evil we are tempted to commit and in recognizing choose not to sin. That it is much better for us to sacrifice to the extreme in order not to sin, than to give into the sinning as if it won't have consequences. 

The kingdom of God will not be filled with one eyed, one hand, one footed people, but it will be filled with those who have realized the need to sacrifice selfishness, flesh prone lusts, all that would keep them from being committed to serving Christ Jesus, to loving God first and foremost and then others as God would have them loved.

The kingdom of God will not be filled with those who are not God's. NOT EVERYONE is going to heaven! This is truth, a truth we like to ignore and sweep under a rug and shove that filth hiding rug in a hole and bury it deep. We don't want to think about the possibility of the majority of the world's people not going to heaven- it messes up our idea of God simply forgiving everyone and not making anyone accountable for actions they choose to commit.

God will and can forgive anyone, but not everyone wants forgiveness and this is truth. God knows the hearts and knows the truth of every person's choice to serve Him or not serve Him.  There will not be a single person in heaven who has not surrendered themselves to God's will, to God's truth, to God's love.

We must make a choice and it's a constant - living the truth of that choice- renewing that choice always- above many, many temptations that will come our way.

God help us to always choose HIM over all!

We would be HIS!

The World Hates Me (Thinks I'm Very Odd) And That's Okay.

Can we all agree that there is no such thing on this earth as having a perfect life? We have expectations of how life should be, how we imagine a perfect life will be, but isn't. We tell ourselves if only this would change, or if I had that, and maybe if this wasn't how I was born- life would be much better. Why couldn't I have that look, or be born with those genes, and into that seemingly idyllic family. We will never have a perfect life. Nothing will ever give us a perfect life. There isn't a single person alive today that has had a perfect life.

We are perceived by others as being odd, and to their way of thinking we may be odd. We are perceived by MOST others as being odd, and to all their way of thinking we may be odd. We are perceived by EVERYONE as being odd, and to everyone's thinking we may be odd. To ourselves we just are. We didn't set out to be odd to anyone. We didn't set out to be different from the majority acceptable norm. We turned out this way because individuality exists.

I'm not the smartest person, I don't have the best common sense, I'm not the prettiest person, I don't have the best body shape (even thin as a board should thinnest be a criteria for best body). I don't have the best hair- not even close. My skin is awful with moles, freckles, age spots, wrinkles and various imperfections too numerous to account for. By all accounts based on every single one of these things just mentioned, I am a huge mess of a human being.

Some of the mess is my own doing, but a lot of it is not. I can't with thinking change a single thing about myself. Externally and internally I am filled with flaws that make people say-

I can't believe you didn't (insert what I didn't do here). I can't believe you thought (insert weird thinking I do here). I wish you would have (insert the many wishes I've left unfilled). Why couldn't you (insert what I couldn't do here). Shouldn't you be (insert what I should be instead). If you'd only do this (insert thing I should do) then you'd be different. Stop obsessing over (insert obsessiveness here). How could you think that (insert odd thoughts). Do you know you made me feel like I can't (insert how I obstructed feelings). Because you reacted this way (insert my not good reaction here) I can't be myself around you. With your believing (insert my beliefs) I have to watch what I say around you. This list goes on and on and on… and on… and on…….. Yes, and on. Even in my bubble wrapped world of immediate family I often end up the really odd one.

What am I left to believe? The beliefs of what so many say or something else?

The beliefs of so many, I have to believe that. The majority rules after all.

So to be able to live with myself I call myself eccentric and somehow that helps a little bit . It makes me sound okay in my extremely flawed state of being. Don't mind me, I'm just very eccentric. Nice way of saying, yeah, I know I'm weird but, hey, it's okay.

If this is your story too, don't be surprised- we are all strange to each other and some accept the others strangeness without pointing it out, while others can't help but point it out- it makes them somehow feel good about themselves.

I can let what others think destroy me, or I can accept myself and the realization that until my Savior returns and changes my vile, corruptible, flawed body and mind- I will be what I am- completely and utterly imperfect, and only growing more so over time hitting me with the 'you are aging really badly' stick. I can let Christ be the perfection I need in me, not me be perfect. I'm not perfect I'm the misshaped, oddball, who stands out even among a world of oddballs- but Christ in me is perfect.

Joh_14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Joh_15:18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.

Joh_15:19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.

Joh_16:33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Joh_17:14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Joh_17:15 I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

Joh_17:16 They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

How Often Do You Think of Heaven?

The kingdom of heaven, how often do you think about the kingdom of heaven?

How often should we think about the kingdom of heaven?

Ask a person who has been taken reluctantly from their beloved homeland to a land far away how often they think of their home and what do you think they'd tell you?

Pay close attention to the word reluctantly.

If you have a dream of returning to your homeland which you left - not because you wanted to leave but because you had no choice in the matter- wouldn't you think of it often? What if all your efforts go into returning? The job you have is worked hard so you can save money to make that return possible. Perhaps you have more than one job because you so desperately want to return home. Maybe you sacrifice a lot of things just so you can keep the majority of your earnings for the anticipated journey. Do you think of your homeland often if all that is the case? Yes.

You make the best of your circumstances but you refuse to put your earnings into making the place you are living now into anything but the barest minimum for survivability, the basic comforts only, no luxuries- you really, really want to go home. You make friends with some of those around you but you do so with them knowing of your dream of going home and all the plans you make are towards that end. Your desperation to return home is something that you keep before you all the time, your love for your home is so strong nothing can deter you from it, not a single thing. So how often are you thinking of your home when your entire life is focused on getting back there?  All the time. You are truly thinking of your home all the time because it is something you want so fiercely.

Let me ask you again- how often should we think of the kingdom of heaven?

I think you know the answer.

*******

Mar 4:30  And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 

Mar 4:31  It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: 

Mar 4:32  But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. 

Tiny seed.

Heaven.

Tiny seed planted.

Heaven opened through the gospel Jesus preached.

Tiny seed sprouted.

The message of heaven through the sacrifice of Jesus spreading.

Tiny seed sprouted growing and growing.

The gospel spreading and spreading.

Tiny seed no longer tiny but a huge tree.

The gospel of the kingdom realized in full.

Defiant Obedience Vs. Lying Disobedience.

Who will get into the kingdom of God?

People envision a certain sort of person getting into heaven on one hand, and on the other they envision everyone getting in.  The flip side of that coin might be people envisioning a certain sort of person not getting into heaven, and no one getting in at all.

If you had to make a list of people you believe are guaranteed heaven who might be on that list?

Did your mind instantly go to a loved one that died? Surely, simply because we love someone and it eases our minds to think it, we want those people in heaven when we all are called to rise and meet Jesus in the air- the dead and the living. We want our loved ones with us, we want to be called to Jesus at that last trump. But who will get into the kingdom of God? We KNOW Jesus tells us that NOT everyone will get into heaven. We've read it time and again that a lot of people are NOT going to be called to Jesus in that last day. So, who will get into the kingdom of God?

There are no shortage of parables from Jesus on this as we have been studying off and on for almost a month. It's no wonder either, because Jesus came to preach the good news- the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus' ministry was all about the Kingdom of Heaven and the way to that kingdom through Him. Jesus knew He was the ultimate sacrifice that would be needed to insure that humanity had a way of restoration to their original purpose upon creation- to be with God, to be in the way of God filled with love, with the oneness intended, to be united in such a way as to never part from God.

Mat 21:28  But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. 

Mat 21:29  He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. 

Mat 21:30  And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. 

Mat 21:31  Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. 

Mat 21:32  For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him. 

Picking up on yet another message from our Savior He spoke the above message about two sons- one asked to do something and he refused but then went and did it anyway- another asked to do something and he agreed but then he didn't do it.  Most of us can imagine this situation quite clearly. Would we rather someone say no, and then do it? Or someone say yes, and not do it?

Either way there is a defiance there, but one of the situations reveals repentance and obedience, while the other reveals deception and disobedience.

Sure, it might seem wonderful to hear the acquiescence to our requests- who doesn't want to hear an affirmative answer in reply to a request for action? If I ask someone to do something and they tell me they'll do it, I expect it to be done. If I hear someone tell me no, they won't do it, then I'm not expecting it to be done and I'm disappointed. Either way there is disappointment involved, right? Yet being obeyed ultimately is better than not being obeyed, yes? Would we rather hear good things but all those good things mean nothing? Or would we rather hear not so good things and those not so good things turn out to be untrue? Do we want lip service or service?

Of course I can hear the reply we want BOTH. We want to hear a- yes, I'll do it, and have it be done. This is what we really, really want, but if you had to choose between the other two scenarios most assuredly you'd want obedience from the defiant rather than lies from the disobedient.  Did you read that… the second scenario was all evil, while the first was repentance from evil. 

Defiance/Obedience  -  Lies/Disobedience

We are all sinners every single one of us there are absolutely NO exceptions to this rule.  Christ came in sinful flesh born with ALL the ability to act on the flesh nature He possessed, but He did NOT succumb to any temptations in all 33 years of His life upon earth. Christ was God's ONLY begotten Son. Christ was Emmanuel- God With Us. Christ consented to die, and not only did He consent to die- He consented to die a sinner's death, a criminal's death. His consent to taste death wasn't a simple- one split second alive and then dead as some deaths can be. His death was torturous, agonizing, slow and drawn out, and totally UNDESERVING.

We all deserve death because we indulge in our sins, we yield to temptations- but we are told if we REPENT and turn from those sins and rely upon the Savior's grace we can be redeemed.  However, we don't have to repent, we don't have to keep ourselves from temptation, we make the choices.

If we repent- as the one who repented of his defiance and obeyed, we most assuredly are following Christ's Way of redemption.  If we do not repent and obey, lying to other and to ourselves, we can seemingly be the most upstanding person in society and it will not redeem us at all.

Repentance and obedience through Christ, always!

Please, Lord, keep us from the evil of false obedience, of lying actions, of mouthing the word Christ, cloaking ourselves in the label of Christianity and having it all be lies. We would truly, and wholly be YOURS, we repent of our disobedience, of our sins! We seek to obey You and follow You, to be YOURS now and forever!!!!!!!

Choose Right Now.

Earthly, riches here and now or eternal life with Jesus, entering the kingdom of heaven?

Choose.  Go ahead and choose. You pick one or the other, not both.

Make a choice.

Do you believe in Jesus? If you answer, yes, then you have to believe what He tells us in His word.

We are told this-

Mat 19:24  And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God. 

It is impossible for a camel to go through the eye of a normal sized needle, and most certainly anyone entertaining the idea of creating a camel sized needle is not comprehending what Jesus is saying at all, but looking for a non-existent loophole.

We are told-

Col 3:1  If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 

Col 3:2  Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

Are you seeking things here on earth?

Are your affections here on earth?

Psa 62:10  …if riches increase, set not your heart upon them. 

Mat 16:23  …Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. 

1Jn 2:15  Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 

1Jn 2:16  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 

1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. 

Choose.

Choosing Christ over the world we are not to be of the world- our actions are not to be consistent with the world's, caught up in the angst of the world. Satan would trap us in the angst surrounding us, controlling us, filling our lives with all the angst he can just so we do not choose Christ over the world.

Daily angst- we all know what that means. From the expected angst, to the unexpected we know the world will offer us angst at every turn. HOW we handle the angst is HOW, is WHERE, is WHEN we make our choice for God or the world. The opportunity to choose appears constantly over and over again.

Col 3:12  Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 

Col 3:13  Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. 

Col 3:14  And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. 

Col 3:15  And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful. 

Col 3:16  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 

Col 3:17  And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. 

The PEACE of GOD must rule in our hearts.  That doesn't say- let the peace of your own making, the peace of an angst free life rule in our hearts. It doesn't even say let the peace the world offers in fantasies and rare moments fill our hearts. The PEACE of GOD is a peace that PASSES our ability to comprehend. It is the peace of God, of having our affections set in heaven not on earth.

Truly anyone caught up in this world and that includes the RICHES of this world in whatever form they may take for us- is not choosing the Kingdom of Heaven.

God help us choose You over ALL else!

Save us from our wretched selves.

All through Jesus Christ our LORD and SAVIOR right now and FOREVER.