Hungry

Paradox; Webster says that word means seemingly absurd, yet true in fact. Let me give you some examples we die to live Romans 8:13
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify {put to death} the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

Philippians 1:21
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.

We Decrease to Increase John 3:30
He {Jesus} must increase, but I must decrease.

We Hunger and Thirst to be Happy Matthew 5:6
Blessed
are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. I want to talk to you about hunger and thirst for a moment. As we enter into the Christmas season we should be happy for many reasons. We see in verse six that the word "Blessed" is used and that word carries the meaning of "HAPPY." Jesus is speaking to those who are hungry and thirsty, yet they are happy. I wouldn't think that this condition would produce happiness but sadness. How can a person be hungry and thirsty and be happy. Remember the children of Israel that after God had destroyed the Egyptians how they sang and praised God but just 3-days after being delivered they came to a place of bitter waters and they were not happy but very sad. Didn't sound like the thirst brought any happiness; for all they were doing was complaining? But we just read that "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst "The few who found the secret understood what Jesus was saying. Jesus did not say happiness is ours when we are hungry because Hunger and Thirst have produced much of our Misery. Jesus did not say Happiness is ours when we are hungry for many are desperately hungry for happiness, but it's always beyond their reach. There is a present possibility and it is found in the small word "are "that is the present tense for NOW! It's not what will be ours in the sweet by and by; not what we get when we have gone the last mile of the way; not what we receive as we cross death's chilling tide. It's ours today not tomorrow or later but today. One finds happiness only in a right relationship with God. Happiness is never a reality for those who live in sin. Happiness is shut out by the dark clouds of sin and there can be no possession of it until one is right with God. David put it this way Psalm 51:2
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

Psalm 51:3
For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
Jesus talks about two of our bodies basic needs; these two words have the sense of urgency. Hunger and thirst describe the driving desire we ought to have for divine righteousness. The person who is never hungry is sick. We all have a natural desire for food and water it is a sign of health. We must eat in order to live, God made us that way. Disobedience to this natural law means death. We too must have the same appetite for holiness if not the same will take place. 1Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: How long would you and I be satisfied with a snack; would you have crackers at a steak house? Too many times we are satisfied with a spiritual snack. Peter Marshall said it like this " Church members, in too many cases, are like deep sea divers, encased in suits designed for many fathoms deep, marching bravely to pull out plugs in bath tubs." Hunger and thirst are constant occurrences. We do not eat all we will ever need at one meal nor do we drink all we will ever need in a few swallows. Our health depends on a continual appetite. No person is more useless than the man who is satisfied with what he has done and what he is. The one who does not hunger and thirst to improve through righteousness is unapproved by God. So feed yourself with spiritual food from God's table on a daily basis and you will grow, grow, and grow if we fail to do so we will starve to death spiritually speaking.

 

THANKSGIVING 2009

HAPPY THANKSGIVING AND MAY GOD BLESS EACH AND EVERYONE AND BE THANKFUL AND GIVE THANKS UNTO THE LORD FOR HE IS GOOD!!!

The Miracle Berry

As I was reading I came across something I have never heard of called the "taste berry" so I looked it up and this is what I found out about the "taste berry." The Miracle Berry is an extraordinary tree fruit found in the West of Africa that has the ability to create an amazing sweet taste. The indigenous people of Africa used this taste changing berry in order to enable them to eat extremely bitter and sour foods in the African bush especially during hard times when more tasty foods were not available. After eating the miracle berry the tribesmen could then eat these usually less palatable fruits without experiencing a bitter taste - in fact the taste of these bitter fruits would be transformed to a delicious and sweet fruit. Take the bitterness out!
The effect of Miracle berry is made possible by contact with the tongue, not through digestion. The most pronounced effect can be achieved by coating the entire tongue with Miracle fruit for up to 30 seconds.  The effect will last from 10 minutes to 2 hours, depending mostly on what you eat. When the effect wears off, everything tastes as before (lemons are sour again).

Wow! Now that's something there is a berry that can take away the sour, bitter, remove the hot from the hot sauce and the yucky from anything we want to eat. Gratitude should be the "taste berry" of Christianity, so when our hearts are filled with gratitude nothing that comes our way would be unpleasant to us. Sorrowing heart, sweeten your grief with gratitude. Burdened soul, lighten your burden by singing God's praises. Disappointed, make your disappointment disappear by having a thankful spirit. Lonely, dispel your loneliness by making others grateful. Sick, grow strong by thanking God that He loves you and will never leave you even in your sickness. When that grumbler, the pessimist, and chronic complainer shows up in your life just get hold of that gratitude and be thankful!

Psa 95:2
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.

Psalms 100:4
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

Philippians 4:6
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Colossians 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.

On tomorrow when you get with your loved ones you will be thankful? I'm sure, but will they know it? Will they see it? Will they hear it? If you think you might have trouble grab hold of some gratitude before you see them and be ye thankful. Today I will go to a funeral of a lady of whom I have been friends with for the last 19 years; she just passed away from that awful disease - cancer. The last eight years of her life have been spent taking treatments, losing her hair, wearing wigs, scarves and stocking caps. She will leave behind a seventeen and a twelve year old daughter as well as her husband of 21 years. Not one time did I ever hear her say she was hurting or why is this happening to me or God must be punishing me; I'll never see my grandchildren, I will not be at my daughters graduation in June not even a hint of such complaining or grumbling. She was grateful for each day she had and very thankful for what she had and she impacted my life greatly by her actions as well as her attitude. I think she got into a bottle of GRATITUDE, what do you think?

 

Enjoy your Thanksgiving with your family and be Thankful! If you decide you must get out in the black Friday crowd be careful that you don't get beat on or ran over by some buy happy shopper that is racing for the next big deal. For myself, I think I'll spend some time with my family and then spend time with some of the greatest people in the world, those at Reformers whom God has made free from all kinds of addictions and over all I'll just be thankful and grateful for just being able to be around one more Thanksgiving. I'll be back on Monday November 31 with something exciting that the Lord has given me to share with each of you. God Bless each and every one is my prayer!

Loud Voice & A Thankful Voice

Yesterday we looked at how the disease of leprosy would cause ones voice to become weak. Today I want you to see a few more things. First notice Luke 17:14 And when he {Jesus} saw them, he {Jesus} said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed.

Jesus "saw" them! Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. While we were yet sinners, Jesus "saw" us and "paid attention" to us ... and even died for us on Calvary! These men did NOT heal themselves!  It was something done UNTO them or FOR them!  An action taken UPON them!

Second notice Luke 17:15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, He was sure it had happened! "KNOWING" you have been delivered ... is a "picture" of the assurance of one's salvation! Now! Can one really know for sure they are saved and on their way to heaven? You tell me here is what the Bible has to say about that subject. 2Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold all things are become new. 2Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
Like this leper realized his leprosy was gone we should be able to tell something is gone.

1John 5:13
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.
John says that we can know we have eternal life.

Third notice Luke 17:16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. We "thank" Him for the things He has done!  We thank Him when He answers prayer and saves souls and lifts burdens. We are seeing in our day that mankind is failing to praise God, we have also lost much of the art of thanking Him too! We are becoming more and more ungrateful! Paul said that ungratefulness is one of the traits to expect ... in the last days on planet earth! 2Timothy 3:1 This know also, that in the last days perilous {difficult, dangerous} times {of uncertain} shall come.

2Timothy 3:2
For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, This leper had already left Jesus' presence ... but once he recognized that healing had come ... he returned to the Lord!  "Turned back" means "to twist back around" ... or to change one's direction! Then the man "glorified" God! Means to value one with esteem or great worth! GLO'RIFIED, Honored; dignified; exalted Luke 17:15
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, Luke 17:16
And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. There are 2-things that jumped out at me.

#1- "loud voice!"  This is proof that the leprosy is gone!  It always affects the human voice, rendering it weak and raspy!  These symptoms are now absent for sure!

#2- "fell down at Jesus' feet!"  The man recently cured fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks I would say that here was a sign of humility! 

The Psalmist tells us Psalms 106:1 Praise ye the LORD. O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.

Fourth notice "Where are the nine?"
Luke 17:17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? Jesus had just healed ten lepers ... but only one took the time to say "Thank You" to our Lord! Romans 1:21"Because that, when they (mankind) knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."  The Bible's greatest Psalm of Praise commands us to worship God with sincere thanks in our hearts! 
Psalms 100:4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. Yes, every time we step into God's House ... we should do so with hearts of gratefulness!
Luke 17:15
And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, Luke 17:16
And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. Luke here equals "glorifying" God to "giving thanks" to Him! He, in the act of glorifying God, gave Him thanks! Only one of them returned to give Jesus thanks, does this mean that more people receive benefits from Jesus than thank Him?  More people pray ("Have Mercy," O Lord!) than praise the Lord (falling at His feet ... with thanks)!  More also are willing to obey rules (go to the priests) than ever express thanks! The priests, served as "inspectors" of leprous men.  Only the Jewish priest, a son of Levi, could pronounce a man "defiled" and banish him from society!  In fact, the last time these men saw a priest ... that's exactly what happened to them! So why not today just GIVE the Lord Thanks for all He has done for you!

Weak Voice

This is Thanksgiving week and I know we say we are thankful, but are we or are we just going through the motions? I want to look at something the Lord showed me in my devotionals; I'm sure you do them if not get started today and spend time with the Lord so He can start showing you things out of His Word. It all happened in Luke 17:11-19 in these verses we see ten men who were former husbands or fathers but their disease has separated them forever from their loved ones! 

Luke 17:12
And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off:
What was the reason these lepers stood afar off?  They were required to do so by the Law of Moses!  Leviticus 13: 45-"And the leper in whom the plague is, his clothes shall be rent, and his head bare, and he shall put a covering upon his upper lip, and shall cry, Unclean, unclean. Leviticus 13: 46 All the days wherein the plague shall be in him he shall be defiled; he is unclean: he shall dwell alone; without the camp shall his habitation be."  As I was reading about these lepers I noticed something I thought was important, these ten lepers that Jesus healed did not specifically ask to be healed from their dreaded disease. Rather, they asked Jesus for mercy! Just mercy! Luke 17:13
And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.
The great British Preacher of bygone years, Alexander Maclaren, said of these sick men: "One symptom of advanced leprosy was the simple fact that the human voice was weakened.  Most lepers could not speak above a whisper!" When these men cried out to Jesus! Maybe their "sounds" were no more than attempted "squeaks" ... begging God for help! When calling upon Jesus, "have mercy" Mercy means to "show compassion" on someone "Grace" deals with one's guilt!  And "Mercy" deals with one's misery of course our misery is due to our guilt! Aren't you glad Jesus cares how we feel! God's Grace (through the Blood of Jesus) takes care of the guilt, so that God's Mercy (through His sheer Love) can care for our misery! The ten sick lepers asked for mercy! And you know what they got? Mercy! In the next chapter we see Mercy again as the publican asks for mercy. Luke 18:13
And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as
his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

Luke 18:14
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified
rather
than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. I want to spend some more time here tomorrow for there is so much here I want you to remember what was said in Luke 17:13 how those 10 men lifted up their voices and remember what leprosy does to the voice; it weakens it.

 

O Taste

At the University  of Chicago Divinity School each year they have what is called 'Baptist  Day.' On this day each one is to bring a lunch to be eaten outdoors in a grassy picnic area. Every 'Baptist Day' the school would invite one of the greatest minds to lecture in the theological education center.  
One year they invited Dr. Paul Tillich. Dr.Tillich spoke for two and one-half hours proving that the resurrection of Jesus was false. He quoted scholar after scholar and book after book. He concluded that since there was no such thing as the historical resurrection the religious tradition of the church was groundless, emotional mumbo-jumbo, because it was based on a relationship with a risen Jesus, who, in fact never rose from the dead in any literal sense. He then asked if there were any questions. 
After about 30 seconds, an old, dark skinned preacher with a head of short-cropped, woolly white hair stood up in the back of the auditorium. 'Docta Tillich, I got one question,' he said as all eyes turned toward him.  
He reached into his sack lunch and pulled out an apple and began eating it.  'Docta Tillich.. CRUNCH, MUNCH 'My question is a simple question,....  CRUNCH, MUNCH... 'Now, I ain't never read them books you read..CRUNCH,  MUNCH..' and I can't recite the Scriptures in the original  Greek...CRUNCH, MUNCH .....' I don't know nothin' about Niebuhr and Heidegger....CRUNCH,MUNCH....  
He finished the apple. 'All I wanna know is: This apple I just ate, . . . . . . Was it bitter or sweet? 
Dr Tillich paused for a moment and answered in exemplary scholarly fashion: 'I cannot possibly answer that question, for I haven't tasted your apple.' 
The white-haired preacher dropped the core of  his apple into his crumpled paper bag, looked up at Dr. Tillich and said calmly, 'Neither have you tasted my Jesus' 
The 1,000 plus in attendance could not contain themselves. The auditorium erupted with applause and cheers.  
Dr. Tillich thanked his audience and promptly left the platform.. 
Have you tasted Jesus?  


Jesus has risen... And He's coming back one day.. 

Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

 

I Don’t Know

I read this and thought it was funny but the sad thing about it is many don't know. I overheard some four- and five-year-old children following their teacher in a familiar cheer. "Give me a J," cheered the teacher. "J," yelled the children. "Give me an "E" encouraged the teacher. "E," yelled the children. The teacher continued, "Give me an "S." "S," chorused the children. Their voices grew louder as the teacher led them to the final letters of "U" and "S." Together they said J-E-S-U-S! With excitement rising, the teacher shouted, "What's that spell?" A strange pause followed and one child finally answered, "I don't know." That reminds me that there are a lot of things I don't know. You may be able to get me excited and even cheer along with you just as those kids did with their teacher; but they didn't know what they were spelling. There are some things I do know. My wife can come into a room full of people and if I have said something or done something I shouldn't have with a smile on her face she can look at me and with her eyes she can speak words clearly understood by me. Why? Because I know her! I can see her coming in a crowd of people and recognize her; Why? Because I know her! I can also read my Bible and the Lord can speak to me loud and clear and I can understand clearly what He is saying; Why? Because I know Him! I can be talking with someone and the Lord can tell me to have a word of prayer with them and I can understand clearly what He is telling me; Why? Because I know Him! To know someone you have to spend time with them. If you don't spend time with your wife you'll never know her. If you don't spend time with your children you'll never know them. If you don't spend time in your Bible and Prayer then you'll never know Jesus either. You may be able to sing the song and know what it spells and still not know Jesus. Paul said it like this; 2Timothy 1:12
For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Philippians 3:10
That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;

John said it like this;

1John 2:3
And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

1John 2:4
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

1John 5:20
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Know what? We can only share what we know. I am so glad I know HIM but better than that I'm glad He knows me!

11:30

When I was a teen my Dad set a curfew; 11:30 not 11:31 but 11:30. I can never remember sitting on the front steps waiting for 11:29 so I could walk in the door right on the dot. But I must say I was there at 11:30 simply because I knew my Dad meant business and he was no three strikes and you're out type Dad, he was 11:31 and you're out and I knew that. There are those who like walking the edge. The problem with that is when we live life near the edge we can go too far before we realize it. Driving on the edge of a road is dangerous, because it can be easy to lose control and drive off the edge. The grooves on a road are there to warn you that you are getting too close to running off. The guard rail is there if you go too far off the edge to stop you and keep you from hurting others. God has put things in our Bible to help us stay on track! As a matter of fact He has given us 10 things to help us be better people. Here are a few Exodus 20:12
Honour {revere, respect} thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. Want to live a long life? Sure you do! Then give reverence and respect to your Mom & Dad; that's only if you enjoy living and want to live a long life.

Exodus 20:13
Thou shalt not kill.

Exodus 20:14
Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Exodus 20:15
Thou shalt not steal.

Just be honest with the people you come in contact with each day. When people lose control they fly off the edge and began to make one bad decision after another and before they know it they are flying off the moral cliff. Stay on the narrow road and you will be so glad you did one day. Now go have a great day and don't push the envelope; for you want to win. If my Dad meant what he said how much more does God!

Eight Miles

Sometimes God gives us what we ask for before we need it in order to show us that we really didn't need what we asked for. We aren't always rejoicing; we must remember we are solders in a battle and as soldiers we must be ready for conflict. Problems are going to come in our lives. Exodus 15:22
So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.

Exodus 15:23
And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah. Watch what happens!

Exodus 15:24
And the people murmured against Moses, saying, what shall we drink? What happened to the rejoicing? They let the burden of the day steal their joy so much so that they complained; how soon we forget the blessings of God. We must remember that Hypocrites may show high affections, and appear earnest in religious exercises, but in the time of temptation they fall away. Moses did what the people had neglected to do; he cried unto the Lord. And God provided graciously for them. They had to have water now they couldn't wait; little did they know that 8 miles up the road God had another blessing waiting them. God knows what we need and when we need it! At Elim there was a well for each tribe and a shade tree for each elder. What should we learn from this? No matter how bad we think things are now, it could be only 8 miles to Elim. Do we feel we are in Marah at times? Do you know how to get out of Marah? Go on, go on. We can't stop at Marah we must go on. Elim is going to come. Marah is bitter but Elim is just 8 miles down the road. Don't despair. Don't give up. Go on, because tomorrow when you turn a corner, you will behold a ray of sunlight you never knew was there. Had the Israelites only had patience and just trusted in the God who had just 3 days earlier delivered them from their enemy; my how soon we forget. Also I want you to think for a moment about this water being made sweet. There were at least 2 ½ million people plus their livestock and in a moment of time the water was made drinkable; sounds impossible doesn't it? No more than you and I asking the Lord to save us and immediately the Lord forgives us of all our sins past, present and future. The Lord teaches us to be patient and remember how you protected us in the past and what you did yesterday you are well able to do today. There is always plenty of good water even if it is 8 miles further up the road, just be patient God has not forgotten you.

Happy Germs

I want you to read this, when I read It I said my joy does affect others. There's recent research that there are some happy germs that people spread around, too. One article said: "We can catch happiness from friends and family members like an emotional virus. The research shows that every happy person in your social network increases your own chance of cheer by 9% and those effects can last up to one year. When someone gets happy, that person's friend experiences a 25% increased chance of becoming happy, and at least two more friends will be affected—happy germs! Would you agree that being happy brings joy into our lives? For when one is happy they are very joyful. Jesus while He spent the last few hours with His disciples before He would be taken, jailed, judged and then crucified shared how to have joy. John 15:10
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

John 15:11
These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and
that your joy might be full.
Did you see it? Jesus said "these things have I spoken unto you disciples that MY JOY might remain in you." The reason being that YOUR JOY might be full because of My Joy! As I tried to take all this in about how my being happy {joyful} affects others and increases their happiness by 25% could that figure be reversed? If I am sad will it affect 25% of the people in my social network? Do you remember reading about God's people when they arrived at the Red Sea? Pharaoh's army was coming up behind them and there was no place to go. I love what the Lord said unto Moses Exodus 14:15
And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward: Do what? Go forward! It looked impossible, water in front of them. So what looked impossible to man God opened up a way. But this is not the best part but we won't read about it until the next chapter. In Exodus 15 we see a happy people and it began to rub off on others. Exodus 15:1
Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him. Happiness affects others as it brings out songs of joy and our joy always affects others Exodus 15:20
And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. Did you see it? One woman's happiness affected all the women. So put a smile on your face and let the joy of the Lord shine out into our happy life and let it affect those you will be around today. Spread those happy germs for they could last a year.

 

Dead Man Living

We are living in a day when we all need a word of encouragement, for there so many that are discouraged. A man told me this past Friday that he had lost his job of which was 6 figures. What do you say to those who need to be encouraged? I love what Paul says in Galatians 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

Paul says "I am crucified with Christ "What does that mean? It means that he willfully dies to self. He forsakes his own desires that he may clear the way for more effective, supernatural power. Then he says "nevertheless I live "How can he die but be alive?" He explains "yet not I, but Christ liveth in me " Paul has died, but Christ within him continues to live through him as Paul rises up alongside of Christ. Now how does Paul do this? The answer is found next "and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. " There it is do you see it? Paul tells us how he is able to live the crucified Christian life. He does it by the faith of the Son of God. It's not by a faith in Christ, but by the faith of Christ. So here are some encouraging thoughts. Webster says that the word encouragement means ENCOUR'AGEMENT, The act of giving courage, or confidence of success; Just reverse it - courage in. It means putting courage in people. You give them courage to take a risk, to trust God, maybe just to get through a very tough day. You put courage in someone when you stop and pray with them. You encourage a person when you give them specific praise for something they did or more importantly for something they are. In the book of Hebrews we read this Hebrews 10:24
And let us consider one another to provoke {encourage each other} unto love and to good works:

Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; {as some of you are doing} but exhorting {encouraging} one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. {Day of the Lord coming} You and I both should encourage each other; we should make it an important part of our day and look for the opportunity to do so. I read of a story of a black mother who heard the Ku Klux Klan horsemen outside. They broke down the door and came in and got her 17 year old son .They dragged him behind a horse down the street, hung him up and shot him full of holes. Then they dragged him back, opened the front door, threw his bleeding body into the house and apologized to her by saying they had gotten the wrong guy. That mother picked up her son and held him in her arms as he died. The next morning, she got up and went to work at the house on the plantation and bathed little white children. Cooked for a white family and it never entered her mind to put poison in their food. It never entered her mind to take a butcher knife and plunge it into the heart of one of those little white boys and take out revenge for her son who had just the night before been killed by white men. She was asked how she could go to the white man's house, wash and iron his clothes, cook his food and bathe his children when they had killed her son. Her answer, "because of the Lord's Prayer Matthew 6:9
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. {Let your name be kept holy}

Matthew 6:10
Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is
in heaven.

Matthew 6:11
Give us this day our daily bread.

Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. {Forgive us as we forgive others}

Matthew 6:13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Do you know someone you might have a word of encouragement for today? Go and encourage them and it will do you both good.

 

Wait!

I remember when I was a child I would say I can't wait for Christmas; I guess as a kid I would have missed a lot of days of life if I could have fast forward to Christmas Day. I remember buying a car one Friday night because I didn't think I could wait and the sales man didn't help either saying things like "this vehicle may not be here when you come back, you better go ahead and buy it if you want it and let's make a deal tonight." I have learned now that they call that impulse buying and sales people like you to buy like that, but you know what comes later? Thoughts like what was I thinking about and did I ever think I could pay for this. My best friend bought a truck like that and I can still hear him saying "I didn't pray about buying that truck but I prayed hard to get out from under that note." We have all done that I am sure at one time or another even when others were saying wait, have you prayed about that; but oh no we just rush into it without doing any of that. That is just what Abraham did, he forgot what God had promised him and so did his wife Sara and decided to have it their way. God told Abraham:

Genesis 15:5
And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Genesis 15:6
And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness. As time went by no children and it looked like God may have forgotten or maybe there was a misunderstanding on Abraham's part.

Genesis 16:1
Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children: and she had an handmaid, an Egyptian, whose name was Hagar.

Genesis 16:2
And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold now, the LORD hath restrained me from bearing: I pray thee, go in unto my maid; it may be that I may obtain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice of Sarai.

Genesis 16:3

And Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar her maid the Egyptian, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of Canaan, and gave her to her husband Abram to be his wife.

Genesis 16:4
And he went in unto Hagar, and she conceived: and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes.

What seemed at the time to be a good idea to Sara turned out to make her jealous of Hagar. Abraham should have used his head here and said NO! Let's wait on God for He has promised. We must remember what the word of God says and not what we think at the moment.

Isaiah 40:31
But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. We live in a let's have it now society but that's not the way God works.
Genesis 16:16
And Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram.

It would be 14 more years before Isaac would be born to Abraham. Waiting does not always mean next day or next month or even next year in this case it was 14 years but Abraham and Sara decided not to wait. They thought they knew what was best and forgot about God's promise to them.
Gen 21:5
And Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son Isaac was born unto him. Wishing that a day would soon be here is only giving away your time and doing something on impulse is probably not the right thing to do at the moment. I know what I am about to say is hard but we must learn to wait! The Bible even tells us to wait, I don't know about you but I must learn to wait. Help me Lord to learn this valuable art; wait!

Garbage? Really!

It is amazing what we have learned to do with garbage. We recycle what seems vile and useless and we make it into something useful. If you ever have the opportunity to fly into New York City you will see the skyline of Manhattan, the water around as your plane lands on one of the runways at LaGuardia Airport. But what you didn't realize was that before that Airport was built it was all just a landfill. A place where New York dumped their garbage! That is what you might think of your life, a garbage dump and worthless. Wait, before you get to thinking too much about that let me share Mary's story with you.

Mary was a young lady that many looked at and had these words to say "what a wasted life." They may have said the same about you! Mary had been abused sexually and to sedate her pain she used drugs and alcohol. But what she said one night reached into the hearts of many whose lives were nothing more than a landfill, a garbage dump, a life that was hopeless. Many have backgrounds that are horrific; mental abuse, sexual abuse, feeling of being unloved, unwanted and not as good as others. Just remember God doesn't make junk and you are someone much loved in God's eyes and heart. Just like LaGuardia Airport that was once no more than a garbage dump, is now one of New York's most valuable pieces of property. Mary herself said "I can't believe how God uses the stuff I've been through to change so many lives." That's it; garbage recycled by God, to help others find life and hope. Mary, like many others just gave her life to God and that made all the difference.

Like Joseph, nearly murdered by his brothers as a teenager, sold into slavery, imprisoned in a foreign land, but ultimately rescued by God and made the second most powerful man in the world. In that position, God used him to prepare for a coming famine, and saved many lives in Egypt even the lives of his brothers who betrayed him. Had there been no betrayal he would have never been in Egypt. No Egypt and many would have died, possibly even his own family. Here's what Joseph had to say about his experience Genesis 50:20
But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
"You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish…saving many lives. That is what God wants to do with the garbage in our lives. Make it into something that can touch and heal many other lives. If you'll release all that junk, all that pain to Jesus, who alone can heal it and redeem it, He will make it into a magnet for some other hurting lives. If you harbor it, it will only make you hard and bitter and largely useless in a wounded world. But if you surrender all that garbage to Jesus, He can and will turn it into a beautiful compassion, because you know how it feels. Which will cause many other struggling people to identify with you, to open their hearts and trust you, as God allows you to lead them to Jesus. He's the One who was "a man of sorrows, familiar with suffering" who "took up our infirmities and carried our sorrow." The Bible says it's, by His wounds we are healed Isaiah 53:4
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:5
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

As in the words of Mary "He will use the things you've been through to change not only your life but the lives of many others".

 

Another Button

I read of man who found fifty cents one time and from then on he walked with his head down. After 28 years, he found 27,000 buttons, 287 worn out fountain pens, several tie pins, and 264 cents just because he walked with his head down. I don't think I want to walk with my head down for that is not much to look forward to in life. Many walk around with their head down so to speak they can find a negative in almost everything they see or do, they are never looking up always down. The Bibles tells us in Luke 21:28…..
look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh. Have you looked up lately? Joshua lifted up his eyes and saw the Prince of Peace. Lot lifted up his eyes and saw the Plains of Sodom. The Rich Man in Luke chapter 16 lifted up his eyes and saw the Perdition of Hell. John lifted up his eyes in the Book of Revelation chapter 21 and saw the Palaces of God's Heaven. Jesus lifted His eyes in John chapter 4 and He saw the Perishing Harvest Field. What have you and I lifted up our eyes and seen? Hurting people? They are all round us. You may say what can I do to help a hurting person? Let me share with you a true story; there was a person because of the way they had lived had no friends and I'm not sure they wanted any. Kindness was showed to this person that someone really cared about them for no one had every treated them that way before with such a kind and loving spirit. Because the time was taken to show love care and concern their whole life was turned around just because someone did something to show they cared. One day that person lifted up their eyes and asked Jesus to come into their life and now their life has been changed for eternity. We can say we care and that is good but just remember actions speak much louder than words. Showing we care is not by giving our treasures but by giving our time, for a caring loving spirit can't be brought with money. Jesus spent His life doing good to hurting people and never once will you read that He asked for money. Hurting people need an encouraging word a pat on the back a spirit that says I care let me show you. So when you lift up your eyes today what will you see? Or will you just find another button?

Comunicación

Durante un vuelo de avión, no hay comunicación constante que implica su plano. You may not have understood anything you have read thus far. The reason is it has all been in Spanish. Therefore if you do not speak Spanish we have not been able to communicate, that is what I want to write about today, Communication!

During an airplane flight, there is constant communication that involves your plane. The air traffic controllers clear your pilot for takeoff, and later at another tower, they will clear him for landing. They stay in touch the whole time between the takeoff and the landing. There is more to the flight than just the beginning and the end. The pilot needs to know if there are other planes nearby or of bad weather that demands a change of plans. It's good the pilot doesn't turn off communication with the tower after he takes off. I noticed something the other day in Genesis chapter 11 that I never have given much thought.
Genesis 11:6
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

Genesis 11:7 Go
to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
We live in a day of great communication or do we? Cell phones, voice mail, text messages, e-mails; just to name a few. But you know none of them are any good unless you respond. A message left in your voice message is no good if you fail to respond to it, a text message is worthless if you fail to answer it and what good is an e-mail if you don't read it and reply. So how good is communication? Well God saw fit to mess up a language to stop a people. As I read this I got to thinking that maybe during the night God changed the language and on the next morning Joe Brown got up to go build on the tower and began to speak to his wife in Spanish not realizing he was speaking in another language. His wife answered him back not knowing anything had changed. While Tom Smith got up and spoke to his wife in French while his wife communicated back not knowing they were both speaking and understanding in French. Now when everyone got to work, they all began to notice they were not communicating with each other and the work came to a halt. Now if we fail to listen we will almost for certain fail in our communication with others. The same is true with God if we never learn to pray, if we fail to listen as we read our Bibles then we are not going to be able to communicate with our heavenly Father and that's for sure. If the pilot get busy listening to a CD and fails to listen to the tower when the tower is warning him about an oncoming danger then that will be disastrous simply because of failure to communicate. The problem with busy people is they failed to check in with the tower when they took off in the morning, and then they didn't check in at the end of the day's flight. Which means we have made a hundred little decisions on our own without ever consulting the Lord? We get cut off from the tower, so we end up in a lot of turbulence and sometimes get off course. We crash into people and we make unnecessary mistakes. Following Jesus means listening to the Spirit's directing all day long, not just at the beginning and the end. So you either communicate or o no está! So listen up today and stay in touch with the tower! Communicate first with the Lord and then with each other so you will not crash.

Is it 1860 For You?

When do you quit? I ask myself a question when things aren't going good or the way I want them too and that question is "am I ready to quit." Anybody can quit at anytime they want, but is that the thing to do? Who will be hurt if I quit? How many will be affected if I quit? Who will be disappointed if I decide to quit? How many will be discouraged if I quit? You and I may never know how many people our lives touch and if we quit it may destroy more than we could ever imagine. As I said it is easy to quit all you have to do is just stop. Life will go on people will still wake up in the morning and go about their daily routine. So what has kept me from quitting? I have a hero that had one failure after another and he didn't quit and every time I feel like quitting I think about him. He failed in business in 1831. He was defeated for state legislature in 1832. He tried another business in 1833 and it failed. His fiancé died in 1835. He had a nervous breakdown in 1836. In 1843 he ran for Congress and was defeated. He tried again in 1848 and was defeated again. He tried running for the Senate in 1855 and lost. The next year he ran for vice president and lost. In 1859 he ran for the Senate again and was defeated again. But in 1860 he ran for president of the United States, and Abraham Lincoln became our sixteenth president. If he had quit he would have been what most people thought he was, a loser, but deep down inside himself he believed he was a winner. When we think about the apostle Paul we would have to think that the people of his day would consider him a religious loser. But we know better today, for had it not been for the apostle Paul we would not have most of the New Testament and most of which was written in prison. But he never quit and because of that we are blessed today. Too many today have no goals, no dreams, no future plans and that is an easy mode to get into and then they become depressed and that is an awful mode to be in. The Lord a few years ago showed me something that has blessed me and others too. I can do nothing about yesterday it is in the history books forever and there is nothing I can do about tomorrow for it is still future. But there is something I can do about today and here is how I start my day off. I awake and I realize that I have a whole new day and I say to myself Psalms 118:24
This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. It's a whole brand new day and this is a day the Lord has made so why not rejoice in it, why not be glad and if you went to bed ready to quit get excited and get going again for this might be the day everything changes for you. It might be like the day in 1860 when the man who had become accustomed to losing became President. Don't quit and let me say it again "whatever you do don't quit any one can do that and you are not just anyone you are a winner and today could be 1860!

Ice Cream

I can remember the times my dad would take me and my brother out for ice cream after Church. Back then there were no Baskin Robins, Brewster's or any other designer ice cream stores, back then it was the soda fountain at the drug store. I think I might have even prayed to God that dad would take us by the drug store for ice cream. You might think what a silly prayer; God has more important things on His mind than a small boy getting ice cream. Really! To an 8 year old boy and his 6-year old brother that is pretty important stuff and I can't say for sure but a time or two I think I heard God tell me to get chocolate. Now you may say that's just a child thinking and you are right we were children of my dad. But before you get too bent over in laughter read this Romans 8:16
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

1John 2:12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.

1John 2:28
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

1John 4:4
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. Don't know if you noticed that we are called "God's Children" and if you noticed there was no age put on that word children. I am glad to be called one of God's children and you know what else I have discovered? That God just sometimes gives us the desires of our heart.

Mark 11:24
Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.
When I was 8 my desire was for ice cream; I don't pray for ice cream anymore for that's not the desire of my heart, my desire is much deeper. Now I pray for people with problems; all kinds of problems and sometimes those problems take them out of this life. I use to wonder why when someone would ask for prayer about a health problem they were having and I would with desire pray and then that person would soon close their eyes in death. Then one day I read this

Psalms 103:1
Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Psalms 103:2
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:

Psalms 103:3
Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;

Sometimes God heals our diseases by death so don't forget all his benefits. Death is not a bad thing; Paul said this about death and he didn't sound worry about it all.

2Corthians 5:8
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

Philippians 1:23
For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better:

2Timothy 4:6
For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.

2Timothy 4:7
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
If God will answer a 8 year old boys prayer about ice cream don't you think he'll answer yours? So what are you praying for? What's the desire of your heart? Go to the one that can help you in your time of need.

Hebrews 4:16
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

 

 

Rest of Story

When I was discharged from the military in 1972 I was not sure what I was going to do. Shortly after discharge I received a letter from the VA hospital with a job opportunity. I did a dumb thing and did not respond to it. I told you that not so you might know how dumb I act from time to time but to bring light to a greater reality. Do you remember a man by the name of Paul Harvey? I am sure you do; if I were to ask you what his trade mark was, you would quickly say "and now you know the rest of the story." Boy, wish I could have known the rest of the story back in 1972! Paul Harvey gave you the rest the story. There are so many times in our lives when we have decisions to make and we wish we had the rest of the story, the whole picture. Every day we have to make choices based on what we can see, knowing that there's so much we don't know and so much we don't see. But there's someone who does

Know the rest of the story and it isn't you and I. We are told in the book of James what to do if we don't know which way to go; James 1:5
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, {generous} and upbraideth not; {Charged with something wrong or disgraceful; reproached; reproved} and it shall be given him. What an awesome promise from God, that if I go to Him in faith, asking for His wisdom regarding this person or this situation, or this decision, I can be sure He knows the whole story!

In 1 Kings Chapter three Solomon has just became the King of Israel and he feels so inadequate so he goes to God who has all the answers as well as the resources. Solomon says 1Kings 3:7
And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in.

1Kings 3:8
And
thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude.

1Kings 3:9
Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?

Here's what Solomon shows us as the steps to getting God's wisdom. First, you humbly admit your ignorance and your powerlessness even if you're number one where you are. Secondly, you acknowledge, as Solomon did, that everything and everyone in this situation is God's, thirdly, desperately seek His wisdom. So often entangled in trying to figure things out; we're so overwhelmed by trying to decide, we neglect to go to God humbly for His wisdom. He's promised He'll give it if we ask in faith believing. There's that word "ASK" again! What and how are you asking?

 

Wish Book

When I was a kid every year about this time there would come in the mail a catalog from Sears called the "Wish book." I would open that catalog up and look at all the different kinds of toys and I would start to wish I had this toy and could even image that very toy being mine. Before long I was wishing a lot of those toys were mine but that was all I was doing, just wishing. That is fine for a young boy to wish, but when one becomes older there is more to it than a wish. God gives us a plan and it's called prayer not wishful thinking but prayer and He teaches us how we are to go about it. Look with me for a moment in the book of Matthew Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Matthew 7:8
For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.

Matthew 7:11
If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

As we read that I want you to remember one word, for it will help you later to remember the process God wants you to take and that word is "ASK." Let me explain. Ask- {To request or petition} this means we must in prayer ask what we desire for the Lord to do.

Seek- {to go in search or quest of} We ask in prayer then we go in search for the quest we made. As one of my college professors taught me long ago "keep going through the doors until they shut."

Knock- {to knock under, to yield; to submit; to acknowledge to be conquered} Keep pursuing after what you asked for. How bad do you want it? Things just don't float out of heaven Ask go after and God will open the doors for you. Take the first letter of each word and you come up with the word Ask, Seek, Knock. What make this principal so important? The same way you get an automatic door to open is the way to get God to open a door for you. You have to start moving in that direction. You have to start walking toward it before it will open. You can look at that door all day and it won't open for you; you can even wish it would open for you but nothing will happen until you start walking toward the door and then and only then will it open up for you. So what do you want God to do in your life? Have you asked Him? Are you seeking Him? Are you walking in that direction? If not then all you have is a wish book!

 

Don’t Worry

We live in a day that things are not going good, many have lost their jobs, pay cuts, stock market is down and on and on we could go. If you and I think on those things for very long we can and will get discouraged. For a few moments I want to look at Psalm 37 and give you a word of encouragement out of God's Word as we start this week. In verse one we are told not to fret Psa 37:1
Fret {to worry, to have the heartburn, to fume, to become vexed}
not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious {To feel uneasiness, mortification or discontent} against the workers of iniquity. Here you are doing right and living right, you're at Church and involved in doing the work of the Lord, giving of your time, talents and treasures and you get laid off from your job that you have been working for the last 15 years. How could this happen? Then you think how could God let this happen to me? If you are not careful you will began to fret and then you might start to get envious against those who haven't lost their jobs and are living like there is no tomorrow. Psa 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb. The grass cannot resist or escape the mower. The beauty of the herb dries up at once in the heat of the sun, and so all the glory of the wicked shall disappear at the hour of death. Death kills the ungodly man like grass, and wrath withers him like hay; he dies, and his name rots. So the cure is not to put trust in what others may have and be thankful for what you do have. 1Ti 6:8 And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.

Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

In order for us not to get fleshly minded when we see the prosperity of the ungodly, to keep us from becoming jealous, as well as keeping ourselves from worrying ourselves to death that we are not doing right and being punished for our sinful actions we must take inventory. Where have you put your Trust? In yourself, your abilities, your confidence, what you have materially or is your trust in the Lord.

Psa 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Faith cures fretting. Sight is cross-eyed, and views things only as they seem. Most of our outward depends upon the inward: where there is heaven in the heart there will be heaven in the house.

Psa 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. In V-3 we are told to trust in the Lord and do what? "GOOD" what is the opposite of "GOOD?" Bad! So if we are trusting in the Lord we are doing "GOOD" We are content with what the Lord has allowed us to have, our mind is not thinking on what we don't have. Fleshly men & women delight in there objects; they put trust in them and are happy because of them; so what is it you are happy about?
Mat 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Do not worry, do not envy because of evil doers for they will soon be gone but those who have put their TRUST in the Lord shall dwell long after Joh 3:15
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 1Jn 5:11 And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.

1Jn 5:12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

Joh 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: We are told to "DELIGHT THYSELF ALSO IN THE LORD" { A high degree of pleasure, or satisfaction of mind; joy}
So is it good to rejoice in the Lord? Php 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. How are we going to do that in this awful time that we are going through? We are told how to do that twice!

Eph 5:19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

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.

When we delight we will commit Psa 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass. What's it going to be for you this week Rejoicing or Discouragement? NO matter where you are or what is going on in your life be Content with what you have.