QUIT SWEATING IT

What the world calls virtue, without Christ, is a name and a dream. The foundation of all human excellence must be laid deep in the blood of the Redeemer's cross and in the power of His resurrection. –Robertson

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. Acts 4:12

Has a friend or family member ever talked to you about Christ? Did you tell them, “Sure I will come to church with you.”, but you keep putting it off time after time? Are you afraid of giving up “things”? You know your life style will change so you just don’t go. I was there. I remember. I thought, "What would I be “giving up” in order to go to church?"

           Is that you now? Has someone, maybe even me, been inviting you to church? Have you put them off time and time again? Are you worried about what you will have to change? Don’t sweat it—God will do the changing!

ONLY BY FAITH

        “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand.” — Author Unknown

James 1:5-6, If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.

Abraham stepped out by faith to what God had called him to do. Not knowing where he was going.

Noah stepped out by faith to what God had called him to do. Never before seeing rain.

            All throughout Hebrews 11 we see the patriarchs of our faith commended for their faith. 11:2 says, "For by it the elders obtained a good report." How are we living by faith? Living by faith is obedience to what God wants for our lives. Not seeing what He has done but having faith in what He will do!

            Lord help us to live by faith and not by sight. Help us live according to your will. Guide us, mold us, make us what you'd have us to be!

WHERE IS GOD

           I heard the story of a man, a blasphemer, profane, an atheist, who was converted singularly by a sinful action of his. He had written on a piece of paper, "God is nowhere," and ordered his child to read it, for he would make him an atheist too. The child spelled it, "God is n-o-w h-e-r-e-God is now here." It was a truth instead of a lie, and the arrow pierced the man's own heart. –Spurgeon

Proverbs 15:3, “The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.”

Proverbs 5:21, “For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings.”

            Our view of God means everything. God is no-where or God is now-here is a perfect example. If I realize there is no place where God is not at then I will change the way I walk and talk. However, it goes deeper than that because God looks in the heart. He sees our hearts motives. He sees the why we do what we do. Is it for fame or fortune? Or is it because we love God? Our motivation should always be that we love God. I mean look what He did for us out of love. Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Keep in mind throughout your day that, “God is now-here!”.

FREEDOM IN SALVATION

Those are no friends of Christ and his disciples, who make that to be unlawful which God has not made to be so. -Henry

John 8:36, If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.

           When talking about freedom, it has been said many more times than I have probably ever said, “Freedom isn’t free!” It not only cost us financially, it costs us the blood of friends and family. To maintain freedom, it continues to cost us the same today and it will cost the same in the future.  

           When we received our freedom from sin, shame, and the guilt of sin, it costed Jesus His blood! Our freedom was bought with the price of God’s own darling Son. God gave His best for our worst. What a blessed thought, Jesus’ blood was given to set us free! Don’t take the freedom you have in salvation for granted friend! Nurture it! Rejoice in it! Share it!

A FEW GOOD MEN

God is searching for men who are unique, thoroughly saved, and filled to running over with His spirit. God and the world need men who will stand in the gap. —Frank Carlson

Ezekiel 22:30, And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

            Missionaries coming off the field, pastor’s quitting the ministry, preachers only preaching for a pay check; the days are becoming very dark when we begin to think about how many men are giving up on what God has called them to. In a day and age when we need more men to surrender and stand in the gap, many are running from what God has called them to. Others don’t care and they ruin their qualification to be what God desired for them to be.

            Men, what has God called you to be; a husband, a father, a deacon, a minister, a pastor, a missionary? Will you stand up and stand in the gap? Will you take seriously your responsibility God has called you to? He is still looking for a few good men to do His work!

Final Destination

The problem with our giving is that we give the widow's mite, but not with the widow's spirit. –Anonymous

For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living. Mark 12:44

            I believe, which has been proven, that if the Lord gets your heart, He will get your wallet and or purse as well. Unfortunately, that is why many men and women will not receive the free gift of salvation; they value their salary more than they do their own soul. What motivates you and your giving? Is it the praise of man or the pleasing of the Saviour? Is a dollar going to determine your final destination?

LOVE OF LIBERTY

            The God who gave us life gave us liberty at the same time. -Jefferson

Galatians 5:1, Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

            Many have never experienced the liberty we have in the United States of America. They hear about it on the television and radio, they read about it in magazines and the internet, and they get the second hand information from Americans themselves when they visit their country. Oh, that everyone could have the liberty as we in the United States have!

            Many have never experienced the liberty that the Lord Jesus gives when they get saved. They only see and hear about the liberties we have never tasting them themselves. Some, taste the liberty that can only be found in Christ and then, for whatever reason, they chose to go back into the bondage of sin. Oh, that everyone would taste and see the liberty that Jesus brings and be satisfied with it! Then they can share the love of liberty with a lost, dying, and hurting world!

SUNDAY SHOULD BE…

         The difference between listening to a radio sermon and going to church, someone has said, is almost like the difference between calling your girl on the telephone and spending an evening with her. -Moody

Psalm 26:8, LORD, I have loved the habitation of thy house, and the place where thine honour dwelleth.

            Sunday should be the day when you schedule everything around church. Church should be the excuse why things don’t get done. Church should be your first priority for the first day of the week. With that mindset and aim, you can’t help but have a blessed week. As one fella said, “Missing church the first day of the week, makes one weak!”

            Sunday should be your GET UP, GET READY, and GO TO CHURCH day! Don’t let a ballgame, a fishing hole, a shopping trip, a good movie, vacation, or anything else come in between you and The Lord’s Day!

STOP COMPLAINING AND GO PRAY

Ten minutes' praying is better than a year's murmuring. –Spurgeon

Philippians 2:14, “Do all things without murmurings and disputings:”

I have a challenge for us today. See how long we can go without complaining about anything. Be thankful for the home we have, for the clothes we have, for the country we live in, for the freedoms we have, for the spouse we are married to, for the children God gave us, for the food we will eat today, and most especially for the salvation that has been provided for us in the Lord Jesus! The list goes on and on. If you have ever worked with someone that all they do is complain then it will become very evident how unthankful we can be.

In Romans 1:21, we see the beginning of the fall of a person that does not glorify and thank God. “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” Read the progression through verse 31 to see how a heart falls when we don’t glorify and thank God for whom He is and what He has done!

Stop complaining and go pray this morning! It will be the beginning of a wonderful habit you will not be able to live without!

SOMETIMES IT’S HARD TO DO THE RIGHT THING

Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the others. -Twain

Romans 12:17, Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

            If you have been watching any of the news lately, it doesn’t take long before your blood gets to boiling. No matter what side of the spectrum you might be on politically, it doesn’t take you long to find something to nitpick the other side about. It is really disheartening to think we can be so divided in a country that not so long ago stood together fighting for the very freedoms we hold dear. It makes it really hard to do the right thing when so many are going against what is Biblically right.

            I am reminded this morning of the simple acronym for the word joy; Jesus, Others, and Yourself. Keep Jesus at the forefront of your life; seeking to honor and glorify Him in all you do. Place others before yourself; following the Lord’s command- Galatians 5:13, Enjoy life as you seek to keep Jesus first, others second and yourself last. Even when it’s hard, you must stand above the crowd and do the right thing bringing honor and glory to your Heavenly Father!

TIME TO REFUEL

         Rest, for the Christian, should only be a temporary status.

Hebrews 4:9, There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.

            In any war, you must have relief for the soldiers on the front lines. They cannot keep up the fight effectively without having some type of break to rest, regroup, regain strength to fight the next battle. That is one reason why the US Navy rotates the fleet in the Mediterranean Sea every six months.

            There is an old saying, “You must come a part, before you come apart”. Rest is good for a season but that season should not be 24/7. So, take a break Christian friend. We are in a spiritual battle that is only going to get worse. Take a break on Sundays and Wednesdays entering the sanctuary of your church. Get refueled with the Word of God and then go out and fight the good fight of faith for the glory of God!

TELL THEM

Every Christian is either a missionary or an impostor. –Spurgeon

And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also. 2 Timothy 2:2

A few questions for every Born Again Believer today—when was the last time you shared your testimony with someone? When is the last time you asked someone if they were saved? When is the last time you shared the Gospel with a person you are pretty sure is lost and on their way to hell? When is the last time you simply invited someone to church? Last question—if you don’t, who will? Don’t leave it up to someone else to tell them about Jesus when God wants you to do! Just remember, “…behold, now is the day of salvation.”

WHATCHA READING

Look up and not down; look forward and not back; look out and not in; and lend a hand.-Hale

1 Peter 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:

Attempting to turn over a new leaf today? Start off by picking up a Bible and start reading. It will give you schooling in how to be delivered from sin. It will give you strength for daily living. It will give you salvation for your eternal destination!

JESUS’ WORK ON THE CROSS

           No scene in sacred history ever gladdens the soul like the scene on Calvary.  Nowhere does the soul find such consolation as on that very spot where misery reigned, where woe triumphed, where agony reached its climax. -Spurgeon

Galatians 6:14, But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

            In working on a gift for someone special in your life, the gift itself is the summation of what it took to get it. We men are more likely to get a gift card rather than to spend hours looking for a specific token of our appreciation. Many times, we do not know what that special someone desires because we have not been listening to them when they are talking. We are in our own little world, doing our own little thing. Listening to them and getting them something they have been wanting will demonstrate our love for them.

            The work on the Cross involved a whole lot more than Jesus showing His loyalty to what He believed, His love for man, or how His work on the Cross removed the stain on sin from God’s honor. Jesus’ work on the Cross, demonstrated the exact need for fallen man. He did not need to listen to man because He saw the shape we are in; vile, wicked, unjust, helpless, hopeless sinners in need of a Saviour. Jesus’ work on the Cross met that need! His work on the Cross was vicarious- done for another (You and I). It is the satisfaction for payment of man’s sin; it involves the justice and law of God, the atonement, the propitiation, and reconciliation, and the work on the Cross is the Ransom paid to redeem lost man. All of this is of none effect to those who do not believe. It is only when a man, woman, boy or girl, confesses Jesus Christ as Lord that the work on the Cross has any effect to their standing before God.

            Friend, do you believe? Have you trusted Jesus as Saviour? If not, call out to Him. Then work of Jesus on the Cross can be applied to your account.   

HONORING MY DAD ON THIS FATHER’S DAY

            “Dad. He can play like a kid, give advice like a friend, and protect like a bodyguard.” – Unknown

            My Dad use to say, "Don't do as I do, do as I say do!" I am glad that, even though later in life, his philosophy changed. Why did it change? He accepted the Lord as Saviour. It went from that to-- "Trust in the Lord with thine own heart."

            Before Dad went to Heaven we sat and talked one day. He had a lot of regrets in his life. Things he wished he had done, things he wished he had done differently, and things he wished he hadn't done at all. One thing he wished he had done earlier in life was giving his life to the Lord. He truly believed if he had done that, his life would've been different.

            I learned a lot from my Dad as many of us have. How to work hard, to take care of family, to lend a helping hand to those in need, and most important; even when it looks as if everything is lost- to trust in the Saviour.

            Today, I honor my Dad by taking my family to church, by worshiping our Heavenly father together, and by forgiving others when, in the world's eyes, they don't deserve to be forgiven. You see that's how my Heavenly Father loved me. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8

EDUCATION WILL ONLY TAKE YOU SO FAR

         Knowledge and timber shouldn't be used until they are seasoned. -Oliver W. Holmes

1 Corinthians 13:11, When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

            There are certain desires that tend to fade away the older most of us get. That doesn’t mean that we can overcome sin and save ourselves. What it does mean is exactly what I said, some desires fade away with age and they don’t have the power over us as they use to.

            The only thing that gives true victory over sin is not a thing at all, it is the person Jesus Christ. It is by faith in His death, burial, and resurrection that we are set free! You can have a head knowledge of Him but if you don’t have saving faith, all that knowledge will not do you any good. Education, on the job training, and life experiences are good to have but they will only take you so far. Only getting saved will truly save your wretched soul from hell taking you all the way to Heaven!

DROP THEM!

Psalm 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

How many burdens are we attempting to carry around today? We've got our jobs, children, retirement, lost family, lost friends, house payments, and the list goes on and on. That's just the good burdens we have. What about those bad burdens of sin? What about the porn, the alcohol, the envy, the hate, the coveting, the jealousy, and the list goes on and on?

Psalm 55 tells us to cast thy burdens upon the Lord! Why would we want to continue to carry those burdens when we can walk around this life free? Having victory in our life! Having peace that passes all understanding!

            Got a lot of burdens stacking up so that you feel like you’re going to have a hard crash? Like your on the edge of a cliff and about to step off? STOP!!!!! Don't take another step! Look up and reach up so that the Lord can lift you up! As you drop those burdens, He will lift you up. He will take those burdens but you have to lay them at His feet. It's your choice. Either continue to bear your burdens by yourself or you can yoke up with the Lord Jesus and He will bear the load!

Matthew 11:28-30 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

HEAVEN BOUND

No man can resolve himself into heaven. -Moody

Ephesians 2:14-16, “For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:”

In these three verse we have the central figure of who reconciliation is about, Jesus. We have the theme of the verse, man’s complete acceptability in God. And we have the means in which Jesus, in and of Himself, accomplished this task, “by the Cross”.     

Pieter DeVries said, “If Christ, by His suffering and death, did not truly bring about reconciliation, there would be no salvation.” So, to put in my own words what DeVries said, If Jesus didn’t come, didn’t get up on the Cross, didn’t die, did not arise, we would still be in our sin and on our way to Hell. But Hallelujah He did come! He did get up on the Cross! He did die and He arose again the third day, conquering death, Hell, and the grave! Without the atoning work of Jesus on the Cross I would be a Hell bound sinner without hope or help in this world we live in.

I’M NOT GOING TO HELL

          It is shocking to reflect that a change in the weather has more effect on some men's lives than the dread alternative of heaven or hell. -Spurgeon

Ephesians 2:8-9, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.

            Here are some interesting questions concerning getting into Heaven- How much is enough when it comes to giving? How much do I need to give to get a ticket into Heaven? What if I cheat a little on what I owe for taxes? How much good would I have to do in order for God to be please enough to open the gates of Heaven for me?

            Guess what, we will not get into Heaven by giving to the church, paying our taxes, or by being a good person. There are no tickets into Heaven! When the Ethiopian Eunuch ask Peter, “What doth hinder me to be baptized?” Peter answered, “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” The Eunuch’s response was how I got saved and it’s the same way any lost person will get saved, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

            Are you saved? Do you know Jesus as your personal Saviour? If you died today, do you know where you’ll spend eternity? I know this, you don’t have to go to Hell! If you trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour you’ll go to Heaven! Have you done that? Will you do that? If so, let me know! I would love to pray with you and give you something for your New Life in Christ!

TRYING WITHOUT WISDOM

  Authority without wisdom is like a heavy axe without an edge, fitter to bruise than polish. -A Bradstreet

A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels: Proverbs 1:5

            It is good to listen to Godly people who have gone down some of the roads that we have to make a decision to go down. Like a scientific experiment, they have tried this and that, if we listen to their wisdom it will help us not waste time or energy on something that just doesn’t work. When we get to those “crossroads of life”, will we seek out Godly counsel or will we trust in our own wisdom, bruising those around us along the way? Our decisions will determine if we are wise servants of the Lord or a foolish servant making a mess! It wise to ask for fellow believer’s advice! It’s best to ask the Lord to lead and guide you in His will!