Going the Wrong Way…

This morning I stepped outside my job trailer to check the temperature, a brisk 37 degrees Fahrenheit, looked up in the sky, and noticed a flock of Canadian Geese flying north. Off to the side of the flock was a single frantic goose wildly flapping and squawking unusually loud.

The flock continued to fly north, but after many attempts to alert them, the single goose, turned around and began flying south, by itself, with more of a mournful honk. I went back inside my trailer, but couldn’t shake that episode from my mind. It was then I realized, here is a spiritual picture.

We as believers are “in the world” but we are not to be “of the world”. The masses in this world are headed in the wrong direction, in their sin, headed for Hell, and a Godless eternity, and it is our vocation to alert and warn them of what fate awaits them if they continue in their direction. But we must be careful to warn and not follow them. We can be the witness to them, but there are places and situations we need to avoid, that could cause us to stumble. Paul warns us: “Wherefore, let him that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12 KJV)

The Word instructs us to follow “The Narrow Way”

[13] “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. [14] Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV)

Have a Blessed Day

Speaking Right…Rightly Speaking

Have you ever said something, and then later or maybe even as you were speaking, you wish you weren’t saying it, or hadn’t said it?

Heard this saying: “Words are like nails, you can pull them out of the wood, but the holes are still there”. Whatever we speak, has the ability to permanently effect those who hear it, especially if it is directed at them.

Heard a preacher give this acronym about our speech: THINK

T: Is it True? H: Is it Helpful? I: Is it Inspiring? N: Is it Necessary? K: Is it Kind?

Everything we speak must be truthful if we are to pleasing to God, but also if we are to be trusted to those to whom we are speaking.

Our speech should be “helpful”, not “hindering” or destructive.

Our speech should “inspire” not “degrade” or “suppress”.

We should determine if our speech has purpose; Is it necessary or empty?

Is our speech “kind” or “mean spirited”?

Paul lays out the template for our speech and other communication in Ephesians

Ephesians 4:29 – 32 (KJV)

[29] Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. [30] And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. [31] Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: [32] And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.

When I measure my speech by the Word of God, I found myself in grave deficiency; I’ve missed the mark, offended the innocent, hurt the ones I love, and completely put my foot in my mouth, not to mention, compromised my witness for Christ.

May this be my prayer, not just daily, but moment by moment:

Psalm 19:14 (KJV) “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord my strength, and my Redeemer”

Something to ponder…..

Contend for the Faith… the Jude Challenge

I’ve been making a list, and yes checking it twice…..but this list is a bit different; this list is comprised of Ministers I either have watched on TV or heard on the radio. The list features their name, the topic of their message, the passages they preach or teach from.

Truly, for the most part, the Prophetic books of the Old Testament are widely ignored, especially the “minor prophets”, but there are New Testament Books that are often ignored also; One of those would be the Epistle of Jude.

Well I began to read Epistle of Jude, and today got as far as verse 4. Here’s verses 3 & 4:

[3] Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. [4] For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ. (Jude 1:3-4 King James Version  - KJV)

Well, it isn’t rocket science, and doesn’t take a college degree to see why so many people avoid the book of Jude, it simply is not politically correct at any point! But it is the Word of God, and we need to allow the complete council of the Word to penetrate our hearts, and change our lives, and in turn, change the lives of those around us.

So here’s the deal, I’m asking you to consider committing to what we will call “The Jude Challenge”. There are 3 basic levels of participation I would ask you to consider:

1 – Read the entire book (it’s only 25 verses long), at least once every week for the next month.

2 - Read the entire book (it’s only 25 verses long), at least once every day for the next month.

3 – Do one of the above, and see if God will move you to preach, teach or share it with someone else.

I guarantee that if you commit to one of these levels, and act on that commitment, your life and possibly those around you, will be forever changed.

So prayerfully consider this, and with each reading, ask the Spirit of God to teach you; I’m in, are you?

Something to consider…..

If……..

It has been, and continues to be of great interest to me, to study the “if’s” of the scriptures, for the basis of an “if” is a hypothesis, almost algebraic in structure, where there are at least one constant and one variable. Depending on the variable will affect the solution or answer to the equation. This is equally true with scripture, because our God, the creator, is an entity of order, and not confusion.

In the study of the first chapter of 1 John, there are 5 hypothesis or “if’s” that have to be answered by every person. Let’s look at them.

It is established in verse 5, that there is no darkness in God because He is the author of light, so when in verse 6 it says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and we walk in darkness, (Then) we lie, and do not the truth.” Please note there is light and darkness, no shadows or “grey” area here.

Verse 7: “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, (Then) we have fellowship one with another, and blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from all sin.” Please note here, that it is predetermined by “we walk in the light”, that if fellow believers are not “in fellowship” with each other, or are at odds with each other, one or both are not walking in the light. Fellowship in this equation requires both to be walking in the light.

Verse 8: This verse negates the doctrine of “sinless perfection”: “If we say we have no sin, (Then) we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” We know the doctrine of sinless perfection is negated here, because the Apostle John addressed this letter to believers, concerning their conduct.

Verse 9: “If we confess our sins, (then) He is faithful to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This hypothesis, is about holiness, sanctification, being conformed to His image. We can assume this because again, John is addressing believers not those outside of Christ. The caveat to this is, if we are not continually being transformed, if we are not being sanctified or set apart (part of daily confessing our sin and shortcomings), the initial act of salvation probably never happened. The true mark of a believer is the desire to grow in Christ, not acquire a “Holy Fire Insurance Policy”. The further proof of this is in verse 10: “If we say that we have not sinned, (then) we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.” Simply stated, if His Word is not in us, we have not experienced His Salvation.

We must be aware of the if’s and then’s in scripture, Practice the “if” where it leads to a “then” that invokes transformation and blessing in our life and the lives of other, honors Christ, and brings glory to Him; and avoid the “if” that can bring shame to the name of Christ, and damnation upon our own lives.

Something to meditate on…..

All biblical text from KJV. Items in parenthesis do not appear in the text, but are implied textually. 

Setting Priorities & Establishing Boundaries

Originally posted July 19, 2011 at 11:29 AM 

I like to be comfortable; I like nice things – really nice things; I like conveniences; I like prosperity; I like good health; I could be more specific, I could, without difficulty, fill a couple of pages with my likes as well as my dislikes. There is absolutely nothing wrong with liking and desiring good things – but good things must have their rightful place, which is to say, they must not have our hearts.

You see to have the right attitude towards “good things”, we must first realize they are temporary, on loan to us; then we need to be willing to lose or give them up. For if those “things” are so a part of us that we cannot relinquish them, then they have become our object of worship rather than God.

Speaking to the rich young man: “21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. 22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 19:21-23

The reason an individual consumed by their possessions will not enter heaven, is because they are so consumed by their treasures, so self sufficient, they have great difficulty in turning their back on self sufficiency and depending on God.

When the stock market crashes again, when our nations’ financial structure is broke and belly-up, all that treasure and self sufficiency will be of no use.

19 ¶ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Matthew 6:19-21

We are headed for difficult times, more than most of us have ever imagined, and if our faith is in our self sufficiency and treasures, which can be taken from us, then we will be completely hopeless. This is where the “prosperity gospel” (which by the way is “another gospel”) fails ultimately. Our only true provision is in the Lord, He and He alone is our sufficiency.

“24 ¶ Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. 25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. 26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works.” Matthew 16:24

Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. 2 Timothy 3:12

I reality, most of us live completely beyond our needs, and some completely beyond their means. So where are our priorities? Something to ponder, for sure.

“We should be continually laboring to cut off all the useless things that surround us; and God usually retrenches the superfluities of our souls in the same proportion as we do those of our bodies.” – John Wesley

Has the Salt lost its Savor?

Regardless of your political preference, some things took place on November 4, 2014, at the polls, which have the ability to hinder the direction the USA has been headed down (hinder in a good way!). The question is, will we the church “redeem” this time, and be the salt and light Christ called us to be, or will we continue to operate in the apathetic style we have become so accustomed to?

The church that presents a “politically correct” message, will most likely never suffer any persecution, because they are not salt and light to begin with; those churches will continue to tickle their parishioners’ ears so they don’t financially destroy the “perfect” little country clubs they have built.

However, the REAL church, the true bride of Christ, will as never before, proclaim the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ, un-edited, and stand behind it as inerrant, and will eventually suffer for the name of Christ.

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”. Luke 9:23 (KJV)

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These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 (KJV)

“Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men”. Matthew 5:13 (KJV)

Let the true Church of the redeemed, the Christ followers, the “people of the Way, “redeem the time, because the days are evil”.  (Ephesians 5:16)

Let's Roll!!!!!